On the basis of a test, a person’s intellectual level represented by a number determines his/her IQ level. The higher the number, the more intelligent the person is.
   Does high intellect guarantee success in life?
   At first glance, many would believe so. This belief is from the perception that many of the world’s successful individuals have been gifted with high IQ or intellect. There is no denial that some but not all monetary or personal successes are products of intellectual minds. But there are various other factors that contribute to the success of an intellectual person. These factors also apply to individuals with average intellect.
   Some successes are triggered by factors that have little to do with intellect — like opportunity, timing, perseverance and sheer hard work. Devotion or love for your work is more vital to success than intellect. When love is poured into your work, the hardships that go with it somehow dimin...

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   Everything any of us ever wanted to be in life all boils down to a choice.
   Kind of scary to think that everything we are or are not was probably our choice. We decided to not go to college or not try that new business idea. Sure we can all find lots of excuses to explain away our choices—I didn’t have the money for college, the business would probably fail, so why try.
   These are just excuses to provide cover for the reality of your choices.
   But how do we know if we are making the right choices? We don’t always know.
   To have a good idea if you are making the right choice, first get your mind into it. Condition your thoughts to visualize what you want to happen—not just a fuzzy daydream, but a full-fledged, honest-to-goodness, day-by-day kind of visualizing.
   Say you want to be a successful manager—envision yourself dressing up in power suits, going to a corner office with a view, getting pats ...

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   Several laws govern everyone in this world. This is regardless of age, race, sex, nationality or religious background. By virtue of being universal and all encompassing, these laws cannot be changed, nor can they be broken. The most powerful among them is the universal law of attraction.
   What is stated in the universal law of attraction? To put in very simple terms, it simply says that you get what you give. If you give off positive energy, you get back positive energy. If you emit negative energy, then you shouldn’t be surprised when something negative comes back to you. The universal law of attraction is very similar to the law of karma, which also espouses the “like attracts like” principle.
   Every human being is a magnet for different kinds of events and situations. Whether or not we deliberately give out positive and negative energy, the law of attraction is at play. In fact, it is so powerful that some people use the principles of the l...

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   At some point in our lives we all have dreamed of being or becoming someone special.
   You may have fantasized about playing major league sports. Maybe you dreamed of having a successful business. How many times have you dreamed of becoming rich, successful, or maybe just happy?
   Often we dream big dreams and great aspirations. Unfortunately, our dreams remain just that—dreams. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self-actualization, we live in the humdrum of day-to-day existence.
   Actually, life would be better if we would just aim higher.
   But for most of us there is one word that stops us from aiming higher. That word is “impossible.”
Most of us say, “I can’t do this. It’s too hard. It’s impossible. No one can do this.” But if we all thought that way, there would be no inventions, innovations or breakthroughs in this world.
   Scientists were baffled when they studied t...

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Do you know how lemmings behave? They move in groups; they follow the pack.
Don’t you feel that most people are like lemmings? Many stay at the sideline waiting for brave souls to go in first. If they smell success, they jump in and join. Many want only to follow the direction that the crowd takes, rather than dare to trek the road less traveled.
Successful people are usually the first in the field. They are not crowd followers but crowd leaders. By the time other people jump on the band wagon, the crowd leaders have either become leaders of the field or have moved on to different pursuits.
Being the first in the field, many successful people employ unorthodox, eccentric, unconventional ways and “out of the ordinary” actions. Their actions are oftentimes hailed as innovative and creative, for they were the first to think about them. These people are so determined to make it to the top that they push themselves to think out of the box to address seemingly insurmounta...

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We all experience change in our lives. Sometimes the change is one we want, like giving up some bad habits or changing careers. Sometimes it is changes we don’t want, like losing a job or a loved one.
I’m going to write about the changes we choose to make in our lives. Many people will decide to make a change but either can’t or won’t follow through and make the change permanent. I believe this is because they didn’t follow the “change process.”
Yes, just like there is a process for almost everything, there is a five-step process for change. The five steps we all must do to ensure change are: Awareness, Understanding, WIIFM, Commitment and Habit.
Awareness is the “what and why” of our change. What is it that we want to change and why do we want to change. Say, for instance, you want to be a better husband. Think about what can make you a better husband and why you want to be better.
Understanding is the “how and when” of our change. Without understanding how we ...

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Of all the negative character traits, envy is the only one with a redeeming factor. A healthy dose of envy is even good.
Think of it as fuel to drive you on your way to success or contentment. Don’t worry. It’s perfectly normal for people to look at others and wish to have what they have, partly because it is in our nature to make changes and partly because we really are not easily contented.
The trick is to use that envy to better your life instead of using it to fuel your hate.  
Use your envy to make changes for the better. Let’s say, for example, that you saw your friend’s new home and think it’s very nice. You can either wallow in self pity that you do not have the same house or be jealous and start to distance yourself from that friend.
What if you use that envy instead as a blueprint? Think about how you can also make your own home better or get the home you want. Or in business, for example — the other account group is a consistent top grosser and...

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Do you always have a story?
All procrastination is the result of us fooling ourselves. We always have a story why we have not completed a task or have not achieved the success we want.
Procrastination lets us deny reality, refusing to accept responsibility for our lives. To eliminate procrastination you need to stop playing games with yourself. You won’t stop procrastinating until you accept the fact that you are responsible for your life. That may be more honesty than many people are capable of, but there is no other way to achieve a richer life.  
The first step toward overcoming procrastination is recognizing that it’s a problem. Everyone has big problems and small problems, but most problems are made worse by procrastinating and not addressing them.

Does any of the following sound like your story....

• You know what you should do about a problem, and in many cases you know what specific action needs to be taken. But you still find reaso...

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We all say we want to change something in our lives, but most of us never do. Why? It’s generally not because we don’t want to.
We may want to be a better ______________ (fill in the blank), but we just don’t get there.
One reason is we don’t really know what it is we want. We haven’t defined what our “ideal” life would be. Without a picture of the ideal, we cannot make it real in our life.
This is just like if you wanted to build a house. Do you just go to Home Depot, buy some wood and nails, then go home and start nailing boards together? No way. You build it to a plan and a vision.
So why do we think making  changes in our life can be done without a plan or at least an idea of what our ideal life would be?
What is it you want to change? Can you see it in your mind?
I have read a lot about visualization and it seems some “experts” say you should write them down and reaffirm them daily. I’m not a big believer in daily affirmations, because, if w...

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Office politics has long been synonymous with gossiping and backstabbing. But the fact of the matter is, you have a choice to engage or not engage in office politics.
Believe it or not, office politics is similar to a game. There are hard and fast rules. Unfortunately, there are no magical ways to remove office politics.
However, there are ways to minimize office politics. There really are ways to keep the office environment light, friendly, as well as harmless.  
The following are ways to master office politics:

Talk with office people
Work is about work and that is a fact. However, people make the work possible. An impersonal work environment actually breeds resentment and dissatisfaction.  
As much as possible, it is always a good idea to talk to your fellow co-workers. E-mail communication is for those who are not in the office.  
Talking to people suggests an idea that you are making an effort to talk and comm...

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