Inspired! http://annhawkins.com by Ann Hawkins Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:55:00 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-14 http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-14/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-14/#comments Sun, 14 Mar 2010 01:55:00 +0000 admin http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-14/
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010 03 14
 ]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-14/feed/ 0 What’s your second impression like? http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/what%e2%80%99s-your-second-impression-like/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/what%e2%80%99s-your-second-impression-like/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 16:28:48 +0000 Ann http://annhawkins.com/?p=977
What’s your second impression like?



16234 181932104219 510784219 3141352 2914359 n 199x300 What’s your second impression like?

Shadow by Adam Hawkins http://anodizeproductions.com



We see a lot about the importance of creating a good first impression but what’s your second impression like?

You get into the right clothes, do a bit of grooming, practice the smile and the firm handshake, learn a bit about body language and voice tone and wham, bam, thank you m’am you’ve aced the first impression. Everyone thinks you’re a great guy or gal and relaxes.

Then what? Then the real you gets an outing. When you stop trying to impress is there a different you that comes out?

I’ve recently had to re-asses my opinion of someone who always gives a great First Impression performance and remembered this that I heard from George Raynault, a multi-millionaire I worked with for several years who was a very wise man:

Someone at a reception smiled a hello and shook my hand warmly.

Later I saw him almost sneering at one of the waiters.

And, later still, talking behind someone’s back.

You only have one chance to make a first impression, true, but you have an

awful lot of time to make plenty of second impressions.

If you are meeting someone for the first time and may not get a chance to see

them again, a first impression really counts. For a very short time.

However, if you are going to be interacting with a person over a longer period of

time then second impressions are even more important.

Is someone who is rude to waiters and cab drivers or who cheats a barmaid out

of small change really someone you want to do business with?

If someone is always blaming other people and doesn’t treat others as they’d like to be treated why would you recommend them to others?

If people know they can rely on you to behave well and honorably even if no-one is watching, if you listen to them, make them feel good, cheer them up, be kind or give them good advice they will always seek you out and introduce you to others.

Second impressions are even more important than the first ones. Appearances only go so far. Its deeds that show your true worth.

]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/what%e2%80%99s-your-second-impression-like/feed/ 0 You Unlimited http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/you-unlimited/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/you-unlimited/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:55:01 +0000 Ann http://annhawkins.com/?p=963
You Unlimited

image09 You Unlimited

“What counts in the ring is what you can do after you’re exhausted. The same is true of life.” Muhammed Ali

Clive Gott is testimony to these words. When in June of 2004, he reached the lower of two peaks on Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa, exhausted, did he accept that “at least I am at a peak” or did he look for something extra within himself to go the last 210 metres to ‘the roof of Africa?’

In April of 2006, when out of water, bereft of energy and still faced with more than 3 miles to go on stage two of the Marathon Des Sables in Morocco, he was faced with a choice. Would he climb into a land rover and call it a day or, somehow, get to the end of that stage and start a new day tomorrow?

Be honest now, what would you do? Do you have that dogged determination to get to your goal or are you more likely to take the easy way out?

You see, what counts is what we do after we are exhausted. Whether it is physical or mental exhaustion, the ability to find something extra is what separates winners from losers.

Clive applies his experiences to all aspects of life – not just physical and mental challenges but emotional ones too. He was married three times before he woke up to the fact that HE was the one who needed to change in order to have a fullfilling relationship.

He is also very funny. Listen to this short video clip called “Blame the Boss”

Clive has a passion and that is to release the dormant energy and magnificence of others. To encourage and inspire anyone and everyone to take life by the throat and say “I’m not done yet!” Clive is a student of life who happens to be compassionate, courageous, inspirational and very funny. Using his own achievements (and blunders) and life experiences as his main examples Clive has the unique ability to make the seemingly complex simple to understand, the challenging seem achievable and the impossible possible.

He is the reason that my ‘Inspirational Speakers’ events exist because he had faith in what I was doing and inspired me to believe in it and in myself enough to keep working at it and turn it into an achievement to be proud of.

Come and see Clive in Cambridge on 17th March for the presentation “You Unlimited”  You won’t walk away unchanged.

http://www.clivegott.com

]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/you-unlimited/feed/ 0 Help a young man to achieve his dream! http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/help-a-young-man-to-achieve-his-dream/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/help-a-young-man-to-achieve-his-dream/#comments Tue, 09 Mar 2010 12:16:39 +0000 Ann http://annhawkins.com/?p=952
Help a young man to achieve his dream!


16234 181932434219 510784219 3141398 5699641 n1 199x300 Help a young man to achieve his dream!

Sing your Heart Out by Adam Hawkins http://anodizeproductions.com


From Bradley Young (age 12)

Dear All

Please help a schoolmate with his dream.

James Christie who is just 16 has entered a song writing competition for east Anglia and is currently in second place but he needs your help.

This is not just a great achievement because he is doing very well but also how he got there.

In 2006 he had a very bad rugby accident; he was stamped in the head. He was rushed to hospital and has been partially sighted ever since. After being told he could not play sport he turned his talents to music. While giving his speech in assembly he had to be helped up the stairs onto stage an someone else had to control the computer as he cannot see the mouse on the screen.

He is very close to first place (or by the time you read this he might be in first). If he wins he gets a lot of help with his career from professional musicians.

The competition closes midnight Sunday 14th March 2010 so please, please, please spread the word quickly.

He is only 212 votes off first place (at the moment)

Here is how to vote:

1. Go to Google

2. Type in: ‘Numu songwriter 2009’

3. Click on the top website

4. Scroll down to the second list of music

5. Instead of looking at recent look at most popular (on the tab at the top of the list)

6. Listen to catch you when you fall by James C

7. Listen to it as many times as you can (put it on mute if you like)

8. Don’t listen to anyone else because a listen counts as a vote

9. Send this message on

10. Enjoy the music

11. The more you listen the more votes he gets

Your help is greatly appreciated

Bradley Young

]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/help-a-young-man-to-achieve-his-dream/feed/ 0 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-03-07 http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-07/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-07/#comments Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:55:00 +0000 admin http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-07/
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010 03 07
 ]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-03-07/feed/ 0 Why Tweeting Quotes is a Waste of Time http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/why-tweeting-quotes-is-a-waste-of-time/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/why-tweeting-quotes-is-a-waste-of-time/#comments Mon, 01 Mar 2010 19:45:53 +0000 Ann http://annhawkins.com/?p=943
Why Tweeting Quotes is a Waste of Time

Quotations and aphorisms are generally just verbal Christmas presents; enticingly done up in pretty paper and ribbons, but once you get them open they generally turn out to be just socks. Tom Holt (2007)

I frequently have a rant about the uselessness of quotes on Twitter. Not ‘quotes ON Twitter’ as in “He who tweeteth quotes shall be deemed as wise as the person he tweeteth” because that’s just silly and most of the people who are quoted were dead many hundreds of years before Twitter came into being.

There is nothing so ridiculous but some philosopher has said it. Cicero (106-43 BC)

No, I mean the endless, indiscriminate parade of stuff that is so saccharin it makes you want to throw up, has no interest or meaning for most of the people who receive it and in many cases is just bullshit.

Some recent examples are “Thoughts become things so choose the good ones.” This is an example of such sloppy thinking that I’d like to slap the originator but instead devoted a separate post to it.

She had a pretty gift for quotation, which is a serviceable substitute for wit…W. Somerset Maugham (1926)

The next one was something along the lines of “Before starting a journey don’t ask advice of someone who has never left home”. Now, I get the idea of this but, you know, there are circumstances when the person who has never left home might be exactly the right person to ask. They may have studied the place you’re going to or they may have the best maps. Hell, they might have invented Google Earth! Does anyone really believe that the only person to consult on anything is someone who has had personal experience of it? (Pause until the screams of many coaches has died down). Frankly, I’d rather consult a doctor who is healthy than one who has the same illness as me.

At all events, the next best thing to being witty one’s self, is to be able to quote another’s wit. Christopher N. Bovee (1857)

Another was “The person who wants to demolish a mountain starts by moving a few stones.” You know what? If I wanted to demolish a mountain I’d hire a bulldozer. Even taking it literally, if I had a job that seemed insurmountable, I’d get help. Wrapping things up in allusions and metaphore doesn’t necessarily make them more powerful.

In a pinch, any orphan quote can be called a Chinese proverb. Ralph Keyes, “Nice Guys Finish Seventh”:

Then there was a quote from Einstein. Now Einstein was a great scientist but deeply flawed in other respects. He was widely regarded as oversexed, immature and lousy at sustaining meaningful relationships so forgive me if I don’t follow his advice unless it’s directly related to science.

Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else’s opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation. Oscar Wilde (1905)

Quotations can be used to great effect when used in articles or essays. They serve as really good hooks or attention-grabbers and can give emphasis to a particular point but on their own, with no reference point to their significance, they are just brain fluff.

Given all this, why do people feel compelled to share a quote, apropos of nothing, with their whole list of contacts?

Famous dead people make excellent commentators on current events. Ralph Keyes, “Nice Guys Finish Seventh”

I guess its because something in that quote spoke to them, which means that they probably need to take action on something that’s happening in their lives. It most likely doesn’t have any significance to anyone else unless they are sharing the same issues.

The great writers of aphorisms read as if they had all known each other very well. Elias Canetti (1942–1972)

What would be interesting would be to hear what folk did as a result of reading a quote but sadly, I expect the answer would be not a lot except nod wisely and pass it on.

Meanwhile nothing changes. Its thinking for ourselves AND TAKING ACTION that changes things not taking someone else’s thinking and believing it can change anything.

Immortality. I notice that as soon as writers broach this question they begin to quote. I hate quotation. Tell me what you know. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Journals (May 1849)

]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/03/why-tweeting-quotes-is-a-waste-of-time/feed/ 6 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-28 http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-28/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-28/#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:55:00 +0000 admin http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-28/
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010 02 28
 ]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-28/feed/ 0 The Role of Sex in Success http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/the-role-of-sex-in-success/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/the-role-of-sex-in-success/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 16:38:55 +0000 Ann http://annhawkins.com/?p=892
The Role of Sex in Success


16234 181932199219 510784219 3141365 5036600 n 199x300 The Role of Sex in Success


Bright Lights by Adam Hawkins http://anodizeproductions.com

We all know that sex sells almost everything and that PR and Marketing people are always talking about making messages sexy.

This can only work because sex is something most of us find interesting. If it wasn’t interesting, none of these sexy messages would work on us.

For many people sex has become a dirty word; a powerful and entirely natural human instinct has been exploited and used to make money and in the process has been degraded and made to appear shameful. This leads to a conflict. Sex is something we can’t help but be interested in and yet in most ‘polite’ societies it is not generally acknowledged as anything other than distasteful and certainly isn’t linked openly to success.

In the 1930s Napoleon Hill interviewed 500 of the most successful multi-millionaires in America. He found that people who create success have many things in common, one of which is a high sex drive, but the really interesting thing is how they described the extra edge this gave them.

Instead of using this most powerful of human drives simply as nature intended, these successful people all said that they were able to transmute its power into a creative force that helped them to produce and action ideas that in many instances made their fortunes.

While a high sex drive may or may not lead to determined action it is widely acknowledged that castration has the opposite effect in most species.

Controlling our urges

DSC 0013 copy1 The Role of Sex in Success

Sex and Money AdamHawkins anodizeproductions.com

Most of us have heard the debates about whether sports coaches allow their stars to have sex before a game or a match, many believing that the energy and passion associated with having sex can be transmuted and give their subjects a winning edge. While there is no conclusive proof that this happens, what is interesting is the discipline associated with not simply giving in to passions but in channelling thoughts and actions to a desired outcome.

Napoleon Hill cites George Washington, Napoleon Bonaparte, William Shakespeare, Abraham Lincoln, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Robert Burns, Thomas Jefferson, Oscar Wilde, Woodrow Wilson, Andrew Jackson and Enrico Caruso as examples of people with a high sex drive who used it to great creative effect if not always in the disciplined way the subjects of his study describe.

The attitudes we have to sex in today’s media frenetic society may explain why not many high achievers in the modern world are keen to attribute their success to the same source but it is easy to find examples where the same drive that leads to great creativity is also used in a destructive fashion and families, businesses, fortunes and even countries have been destroyed as a result.

16234 181932059219 510784219 3141344 579846 n 199x300 The Role of Sex in Success

Sexy by Adam hawkins http://anodizeproductions.com

Women’s sexuality

Hill’s observation that the way women use their sex drive primarily to influence men is very controversial in the 21st Century and there are lots of double standards and hypocrisy about women’s sexuality. There are more examples of high achieving women now than when Napoleon Hill interviewed the subjects of his study but still no where the same number as high achieving men. Most studies suggest that this is more likely to be a result of social, political and economic factors than anything to do with sex drive or ambition.

Despite the fact that the media seems intent on reporting that high achieving women have miserable relationships and disappointing sex lives, these reports are not supported by any real evidence. One recent piece of research that proves just the opposite is a study of 500 couples that found that the highest levels of sexual satisfaction were among couples who both worked and experienced high rewards from their jobs.

If success is intricately linked to transmuting a high sex drive into taking action to bring creative ideas into being, how can it be used by a wide range of people? Given that sex is the most powerful driver in most human beings and most of the time is controlled rather than given free rein, we must all be transmuting our sex drive in some way. Perhaps the fascination with celebrity sex lives and soap operas is simply a voyeuristic way of indulging what we deny ourselves.


Sex and Creativity

16234 184200474219 510784219 3159996 405178 n 300x199 The Role of Sex in Success

Play by Adam Hawkins AnodizeProductions.com

Creative expression takes many forms and is another way of transmuting this powerful force but whether it is in creating a garden, an empire or a fortune there is no doubt that it is there for us to use and the only difference is in scale and both talent and ambition are an essential part of this.

So, the key to using sex as part of our formula for success is, as in most other things, discipline. Unfortunately, this had become another dirty word to many and history is littered with stories of successful and creative people who destroyed themselves because they lost control and allowed sudden passions to overtake their better judgement. The successful people that Hill interviewed all knew how to control their thoughts and desires and they consistently used all of their resources to take them closer to their goals.


To laugh often and much; To win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; To earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; To appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded. (Poem often attributed to Emerson but most likely to have been written by Bessie Stanley)

What do YOU think? Is the ability to use our sex drive creatively a major part of success in today’s world? Leave a comment below – I’d love to hear some other opinions on this.

===========================================================

At The Inspired Group on March 17th, Clive Gott will be talking about another factor of success, how to make the subconscious mind work to our advantage. His talk is entitled “You Unlimited”


The other common factors in success that Napoleon Hill identified are:

  • Define your sense of purpose and all-consuming goal
  • Create the self confidence and belief that you can achieve what you desire
  • Acquire the specialized knowledge that will achieve your goal
  • Outwit the ghosts of fear
  • Make practical use of your imagination
  • Use organised planning to put desire into action
  • Master procrastination and make decisions
  • Develop persistence and overcome obstacles
  • Acquire and learn how to use power
  • Understand the role of sex in success
  • Learn how to control the subconscious mind
  • Develop your sixth sense to avoid dangers and grasp opportunities.
]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/the-role-of-sex-in-success/feed/ 6 Thoughts do not become things http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/thoughts-do-not-become-things/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/thoughts-do-not-become-things/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:58:46 +0000 Ann http://annhawkins.com/?p=903
Thoughts do not become things

web1 300x248 Thoughts do not become things

Deception by Adam Hawkins http://anodizeproductions.com


I’ve just read yet another ‘quote’ that, although well meaning, emanates from sloppy thinking and often creates the opposite effect to what was intended.

This one says, “Thoughts Become Things – Choose the Good Ones”. It is of course intended convey the idea that we can control our thoughts and that in any given situation we can choose the thoughts that are most useful to us at that time.

However, reducing a complex message to a trite ‘quotable’ line leaves it open to misinterpretation.

Thoughts, as and of themselves, do not become things. Even thoughts that are repeated many times a day do not become things.

  • How many times does a teenage boy think about having sex and how many times does it happen?
  • How many times does a parent think about their child having a tragic accident and how many times does it happen?
  • How many times someone in debt think about winning the lottery and how many times does it happen?

In some cases these thoughts are accompanied by vivid visualisations, a technique that most ‘positive thinking’ gurus will tell us is almost guaranteed to turn the thought into reality. It doesn’t.

In most cases there is no harm done other than a waste of time and most people quickly realise that simply thinking about something does not manifest it. However, what if someone’s child really did have a tragic accident? What if someone is diagnosed with cancer and despite all thinking and visualisation about the cancer disappearing, it doesn’t?

What happens when these people read trite comments like ‘Thoughts Become Things” and “What you think about is what you get ” and “Your life is a result of the way you think”?

Guilt – that’s what happens.

To add to their troubles these folk now have to cope with the idea that they have brought their misfortunes on themselves and that if only they were able to control their thoughts they wouldn’t have to face the tradgedies that have resulted from them.

This is of course, utter rubbish. We can control our thoughts and day by day choose those that result in positive emotions. We can choose to be offended or ignore a chance remark made by a friend. We can choose to believe the newspaper reports that create fear and anxiety and  instead believe that most people are fair and honest. We can choose to believe that we are worth loving and have lots to offer the world even when teachers and parents tell us otherwise. We can choose how we react when tragedy strikes and give meaning to lives that are lost. Our beliefs and values – not to mention the action we take – play a huge part in this and so thoughts alone are not enough to make things happen.

What we can’t control is the randomness of bad things happening and this, I believe, is why most people buy into the idea that if only we learn how to  turn thoughts into things we can avoid pain and lead charmed lives. It simply isn’t helpful.

Once we realise that bad stuff happens randomly – even to people who think only good thoughts, and that we have absolutely NO control over anything but the way we choose to react to it we can stop  wasting time on trying to think our way to a better life and instead work out how to be , do and have the things we really want, safe in the knowledge that whatever happens along the way, however painful, we WILL be able to deal with it.

]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/thoughts-do-not-become-things/feed/ 0 Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010-02-21 http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-21/ http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-21/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:55:00 +0000 admin http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-21/
Twitter Weekly Updates for 2010 02 21
 ]]> http://annhawkins.com/2010/02/twitter-weekly-updates-for-2010-02-21/feed/ 0