December 1, 2009

How to Believe in Others to Bring Out Their Best   "People rise or fall to meet your level of expectations for them.  If you express skepticism and doubt in others, they will return your lack of confidence with mediocrity.    But if you believe in them and expect them to do well, they will go the extra mile trying to do their best."  John Maxwell, leadership expert   When you believe in others, your spouse, children, friends, employees, or business associates, they want to go the extra mile. Furthermore, your belief could be the push they need to become the best that they can be.  In turn, your relationship and/or business will be powerfully impacted.  It's a win-win!   Well, it's one thing to believe in others; you have to show them that you believe in them.   John Maxwell offers these tips to accomplish just that:   B:  Believe in them before they succeed.  "You have to believe in them first, before they become successful, and sometimes even before you can persuade them to believe in themselves."  Put your faith in them. E:  Emphasize their strengths.  "If someone believes that they have what it takes to accomplish some task, they are more likely to succeed than if they are focusing on addressing their perceived weaknesses.  Praise for positive abilities and skills should be both public and private." L:  List their past achievements.  "Helping people to recall their past successes can be a great source of encouragement."  Too often, people forget how well they have done in the past while remembering all too often their failures. I:  Instill confidence when they fail.  "Many people give up at their first failure.  Encouragement at this critical point can make a huge difference."  Share some of your own past failures and show that you have been able to move on. E:  Experience some wins together.  "Help people to achieve small successes and you build their ability to conquer larger problems.  Both their confidence levels and their skills are boosted in this way." V:  Visualize their future success.  "If we 'cast a vision...and paint a picture of their future success' for people it will give them a great source of encouragement and motivation." E:  Expect a new level of living.  "Encouraging people to stretch themselves and expand their horizons will help them to move on to a new level of effectiveness and achievement."   How well do you encourage those in your life to be the best that they can be? You can transform a relationship and a business by believing in someone.        "To be what we are, and to become what we are capable of becoming, is the only end of life."             Robert Louis Stevenson   "Keep away from those who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small people always do that, but the really great make you believe that you too can become great."             Mark Twain   "Leadership is the ability to get extraordinary achievement from ordinary people."             Brian Tracy   "If I help you win, then I win too!"             Denis Waitley     Take yourself back to a time when you were a doubting Tom. You doubted your abilities and you feared the unknown.   How would you ever make it to the next level or rise to the occasion?  It just wasn't in the cards for you.  Then along came someone who believed in you, who encouraged you to stretch beyond your wildest imagination.    What happened next?  Did you succeed?  Were you the best that you could be?  What was the feeling like?   Every day, those same experiences are occurring in families, in places of business, and in friendships.  Pay it forward.  You make a huge difference in someone's life when you believe in them.    Have a fantastic week and believe in others to bring out their best.   Stephanie     We grow by "word-of-email" so please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone whom you think might benefit from and enjoy it. Thanks so much! Contact Us: stephanie@7steps2abalancedlife.com