2003, Third Quarter Newsletter: Aldirdge, Kerr, and Associates

2003, Third Quarter

Focus on T h i n k i n g

Thought for the Quarter
“Your life today is a result of your thinking yesterday. Your life tomorrow will be determined by what you think today."

—– John C. Maxwell

POSSIBILITY THINKING

All of us, at one point in our lives, believed we couldn't accomplish something. And, that thinking limited our ability to actually do it. As Sam Ewing said it so well, "Nothing is so embarrassing as watching someone do something that you said could not be done."

John C. Maxwell, in his book "Thinking for a Change," identifies Possibility Thinking as a powerful skill to influence what we can - and cannot - accomplish. Throughout his book, Maxwell explores the impact thinking has on our lives.

He discusses several skills to influence our thinking. Skill #6, "Feel the Energy of Possibility Thinking," identifies how our thinking can limit us. But, if we approach circumstances by using possibility thinking, we can impact our lives by:

1. Increasing our possibilities,

2. Drawing opportunities and people to us,

3. Increasing other's possibilities, because possibility thinking is "contagious,"

4. Allowing us to dream big dreams,

5. Making it possible to rise above average,

6. Gaining energy from possibility thinking, and

7. Keeping from giving up.

Maxwell suggests that by changing how we think, we can impact what we can do! He states, "If you are willing to change your thinking, you can change your feelings. If you change your feelings, you can change your actions. And changing your actions, based on good thinking - can change your life."

KEYS TO POSITIVE THINKING

Michael J. Ritt, Jr. in his book, "Napoleon Hill's Key to Positive Thinking" provides a 10-step approach to "health, wealth, and success" by utilizing positive thinking. Ritt discusses several individuals, including Napoleon Hill, who utilized positive thinking to impact their successes.

Hill used the phrase, "PMA" which is an acronym for "Positive Mental Attitude," to encourage us to "cast off old, energy-draining, negative ways of looking at the world, replacing them with the irresistibly invigorating life that comes with PMA."

PMA can have a huge impact on how we approach life's challenges. It is often called the "I can - I will" philosophy. Napoleon Hill defines PMA as "a confident, honest, constructive state of mind which an individual creates and maintains by methods of his own choosing, through the operation of his own willpower, based on the motives of his own adaptation."

Ritt, like Maxwell (see article above), recognizes that we have the ability to impact how we live our lives by the way we think! In his book, Ritt said, "The power of PMA is enormous. It can take you anywhere you want to go."

He goes on to emphasize that Napoleon Hill and W. Clement Stone (the chairman emeritus of AON Insurance Companies) are great examples of those who have applied PMA to influence their lives in a positive way.

In closing, Ritt states "you can set a goal for yourself and attain it by changing only one thing about your life - your attitude to everyone and everything that you encounter for the better."

NOTABLE QUOTES ON THINKING

"The way you think determines the way you feel, the way you feel influences the way you act." - Rick Warren

"Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it." - Henry Ford

"Where all think alike, no one thinks very much." - Walter Lippermann

"Be careful how you think, your life is shaped by your thoughts." - Proverbs 4:23 (TEV)

"Learning without thought is labor-lost; thought without learning is perilous." - Confucius

"My philosophy is that only you are responsible for your life, but doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment." - Oprah Winfrey

SIMPLE TIPS
(A quarterly feature)

Inefficiencies are created by doing things more than one way. If your organization hasn't standardized the way you perform a specific task, you increase the probability of being ineffective.

Performing a task one way provides numerous benefits:

1. It enhances the ability to streamline the way that task is performed.

2. Newly hired staff can more quickly and easily be trained.

3. Consistency enhances job performance and increases production.

4. It allows the staff to concentrate on how to support the operation's objectives instead of attempting to determine how to do the task.

5. The quality of the product is increased since there is a clear understanding of how the task is performed.

, specializes in helping their clients improve how they do what they do. Contact us at 972.447.9787 or Questions@aldridgekerr.com if you would like to discuss how we can help you streamline and standardize your daily tasks so that your organization can become more efficient.

WIN TWO (2) FREE HOURS OFCONSULTATION

, is offering two free hours of consultation to the winner of this quarter's drawing. (Consultation will be provided via phone and/or e-mail.)

To enter, submit your name, company's name, e-mail address (or USPS address) to Questions@aldridgekerr.com. The winner will be selected on October 10, 2003.

A "BLUEPRINT" FOR IMPROVEMENT

Do you know you
have a problem because things aren't
running smoothly or working right?

will identify the challenges and
provide a “blueprint” for improvement.

Helping companies improve how they do what they do by providing project, process, and documentation solutions.

Charlene G. Aldridge
972.447.9787 (office)
972.897.0580 (cell)
CharleneAldridge@aldridgekerr.com

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