Lou Tice

If your life has an important purpose, does that make you a more valuable human being?

If you're a regular receiver of the Winner's Circle Network, or if you are familiar with my work at The Pacific Institute, you know that I believe a strong sense of purpose is important.

I think it is so important that I spend a lot of time urging others to develop a sense of purpose.  But don't make the mistake of confusing purpose with worth, as many do who are continually looking outside themselves to feel worthy.

You see, when you determine your personal… >>>

What do the words "personal power" make you think of? Do you see yourself as a powerful person?

What you think about personal power will influence your ability to claim it and exercise it in your life. If you believe that power means either control or loss of control, without knowing why, you will hesitate to claim it.

If you think, even subconsciously, that power is bad, angry, manipulative, abusive or intimidating, you won't be motivated to empower yourself or others. Too many people have been conditioned to believe that "power" means "having power over," but it is really not… >>>

When was the last time you really spent quality time . . . with yourself? (Hopefully, it has been the last couple of nights as you made out your lists of shortcomings and strengths, but if it wasn't.)

A word you don't hear much these days is "solitude."  Maybe that is because it isn't experienced much. You know, if you put prisoners in solitary confinement, they go a little crazy, or they use the time to grow.  Most of them go a little crazy because we're just not used to being alone. Humans are social beings. Too much solitude feels… >>>

Just about everyone knows that good role models are important for a child's development, but have you ever thought about why this is true?

If you are familiar with my work, you know that it emphasizes visualization, because we have learned that our mental images, for the most part, are what determine our reality.  In other words, the way we see ourselves and the world is what decides how we will behave, and how we behave determines, to a very great extent, what will happen to us.

Role models serve as living, breathing mental images that help us visualize the… >>>

Given a choice, would you rather carry a bag of rocks or a sack of diamonds? Well, we do have a choice and you will be surprised how many people choose rocks.

Abraham Lincoln once said that if you "look for what's wrong, you will surely find it."  How true this is. The imperfections in ourselves mean we can always find deficits if we try. For a lot of us, it's much easier to find cracks and faults.

If your focus is on what is wrong, if you are busy looking for the flaws and weaknesses in your character, you… >>>

Have you ever looked back on something that you achieved and wondered why you were so successful? When you look back at your successes and the things you've achieved in your life and you look for the reasons why you succeeded, you'll find that most often it wasn't just luck. Some, if not all, of the following were involved:

Knowledge, Skill, Commitment, Motivation, Energy, Confidence, Resilience, and a belief in yourself and what you were doing

It's not hard to see why we succeed. What is hard is explaining why we don't succeed all the time. Quite often people will… >>>

How do you start your morning? Does it have an effect on how the rest of your day goes?

Everyone knows how important it is that kids get off to a good start in life. How a horse comes out of the starting gate can often make its career, and a sprinter's ability to come out of the blocks often determines who wins a foot race. Your first experience with something will often color what comes afterward. The way you start your morning is no exception.

Do you leap out of bed before your eyes are really open, begin a… >>>

Yesterday, we looked at some problems associated with the compulsion to do too much. Today, let's look at some solutions.

Feeling driven to achieve can lead us to become high performance people. But when that is taken to extremes, it can result in compulsive behavior that can have disastrous effects on our families, stress levels and health.

If you sometimes feel that you are a candidate for the "Most Overworked Person Award," what can you do about it?

Psychologist Christian Komer, of Grand Rapids, suggested that you try doing nothing for short periods every day. Designate a time to simply… >>>

What is the difference between a pleasantly active life and one that is compulsively busy?  Sometimes, it is a heart attack.

There is no doubt about it - we are a "can do" society. Sometimes though, "can do" becomes "must do," and "must do" can have some unpleasant consequences. For one thing, people who "must do" things, as opposed to "wanting" to do them, often find ways to subconsciously sabotage themselves, just to take the pressure off. For another, they short-change their families and themselves.

When you are compulsive about how much you have to accomplish every day, you sacrifice… >>>

Do you ever feel discouraged because your work on personal growth isn't going as quickly as you would like? If so, I will give you some advice that may help.

Many people are interested in doing all they can to develop strong and positive self-esteem, and that is a very good thing. But sometimes, there is a tendency for folks who have just started the process of deliberate personal growth to take themselves a bit too seriously.

They may find themselves going abruptly from relative non-awareness to total and complete introspection. They hold a magnifying glass up to every thought,… >>>