Tony Michalski's Master Key Coaching

I am somewhat sensitive to sounds. If I hear something out of place — an errant squeak, a slightly off-balance picture on a shelf that knocks as it wobbles when a person walks by it — I have to investigate the source of the sound and fix it so as to make it stop.

When I heard a small, barely audible knocking in my office a couple of weeks ago, I just thought it was the wind.

Then I felt everything swaying ever so slightly. I still thought it was the wind.

It lasted longer than a burst of wind usually lasts, though.

That’s when I received an email that stated that my area was struck by a small earthquake.

Holy cow! What the heck is going one here?

I know that some of you in places like California are laughing at me. I’ve seen the web sites showing the “damage” from the earthquake that originated in Virginia: the toppled lawn chairs and shaken knick-knacks.

You must understand that this was my very first one! Ever. It was the first for probably everyone in my area. It was … Weird.

Moving forward a couple weeks later to this past weekend, my area found itself once again being toyed with by Mother Nature.

This time it was flooding.

The Susquehanna River rising and almost covering the Market Street Bridge in Wilkes-Barre, PA.

A couple places in my area were decimated. Our downtown was evacuated and people expected the worst. The levees that were built to withstand waters of up to 41 feet held strong even though the river crested at over 42 feet.

It’s been somewhat crazy. I even quipped that if hordes of locusts appear, I’m calling game over!

My area isn’t the only place. There are fires in Texas. Flooding in other places. Hurricanes.

What’s the point of all this?

Already in my area, clean up has begun in earnest. People who have lost everything are assessing things and planning their next move. Businesses are moving as quickly as possible to get things up and running.

Human nature, even when forced to the brink by Mother Nature, perseveres and prevails.

In our individual lives, we cannot control everything that happens. As Forrest Gump said in the movie, sometimes “crap happens.” (I sanitized that for our all-ages audience.)

What counts is how we react to the crap. What counts is what we do after the crap has passed. What counts is that we keep on keeping on after all the crap is thrown at us.

One of my favorite quotes comes from Friedrich Nietzsche who exhorted “Build your houses on Vesuvius.”

Life, no matter how safe we try to play it, will always toss something at us. It will do its best to knock us down a notch. It will take its best shot time and again.

We’re better than that, though. We’re stronger. We’re smarter.

So dream big and plan bigger.

Talk loudly and act boldly.

You might fall and fail. You might lose and be defeated. You might end up battered and broken.

But you’ll overcome it. You will prevail. You will stand tall.

That’s just what tough “sum-bitches” like us tend to do.

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One of my favorite quotes — one that guides much of my life and work — is a Japanese proverb:

Your garden is not complete until there’s nothing more you can take out of it.

A garden cannot have EVERYTHING in it. If it does, it ceases to be a garden and instead becomes a mess. A tangled mess.

Beautiful gardens are those in which the person who tends to it carefully and with great thought removes that which is not necessary.

The result is that those plants and flowers that remain are able to get all the nourishment they need and thus they grow strong and true.

People who see the garden or who walk through it notice the care and fore-thought that went into the planning can care and they appreciate the beauty that surrounds them.

The same holds true for your life.

As you remove that which isn’t necessary to you, you begin to nourish those notions and ideas and things that do mean something to you.

So, first you remove the weeds.

Next, you remove the things that, while not weeds, tend to occupy your time to no end.

After that, you remove the not so important flowers and plants. This is where it gets tricky because it may be a close call between what you will keep and what you will discard.

Life is full of tough choices, though.

And they need to be done.

You will finally come to the point that there will be nothing more that you can take from your garden.

What you will be left with is your completed garden. If you tend to it and care for it properly, then you will have a resplendent garden that you will be proud to show.

Sometimes, life and work and play isn’t about acquiring or attaining. It is about removing, trimming, honing, and discarding.

Think about that quote for a little while. I think that as you do that, it will make more and more sense to you.

“Your garden is not complete until there’s nothing more you can take out of it.”

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["10 Steps to Create a Productive and Successful Day" was written by speaker, coach, and author Claire McGee, author of I Believe Therefore I Am.]

Many people anticipate a stressful day. Many people believe their day was very unproductive and little was accomplished.

When we continue to have these experiences, we program our mind to expect this type of day before the day has even begun! A vicious cycle forms making it a challenge to break free from the daily routine of frustration, stress, and lack of motivation.

Here is a list of ten steps you can take to break the cycle of negativity and form new patterns and expectations within the mind. By doing this, you will begin to notice the positive things around you, deal with stress in a healthier manner, build stronger relationships, and enjoy a successful and productive day each and every day.

1. When you wake up, choose to have a productive day.
2. While driving, turn on your favourite music and sing your heart out.
3. When you first arrive at work look at your colleague and say “Good morning…Today is a good day!” If they ask why, answer “Because I chose it to be!”
4. Before you begin, prioritize what you would like to accomplish then write your goal list.
5. When you finish a task, tick it on your goal list with a check mark.
6. Give someone a genuine compliment.
7. Remember two questions: “What’s one thing I can do for you?” and “What’s one thing I can do for me?”
8. Before you head home for the day, look at your goal list and see the check marks!
9. As you head home, listen to music and tap to the beat or sing your heart out.
10. When you arrive home, announce “I’m home! Let the celebrations begin!”

Do this every day and notice the effect it has on your ability to have a great day!

Keep well and remember to smile that gorgeous smile of yours!

—

Claire McGee is the owner of T.S. Consulting Ltd. and the author of I Believe Therefore I Am. You can listen to my interview with Claire at the Master Key Coaching Teleseminars.

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What’s the difference between someone who “makes it” — that is, someone who gets what they want out of life and is what we would call successful — and someone who doesn’t?

I’m sure that you ask that question fairly often. I know that I do!

Is it talent?

Intelligence?

Courage?

An “X” factor?

Let’s see. While all of those are helpful, I don’t think that any one of them — or even all of them together — tell the full story.

There are plenty of talented people who won’t “make it.” Frankly, all we have to do is look at what’s on TV sometimes and it’s very easy to come to the realization that actual talent might be pretty low on the list.

The same is true for intelligence. Sure, being smart is good and even desireable, but it’s not a golden ticket to the good life. Far too many times I’ve seen it hinder people rather than help them!

I think that courage is higher on the list. Once again, though, for every “Donald Trump” out there getting face time on the news or “Richard Branson” performing an outlandish stunt, there are probably ten or more “shy” people who are quietly “making it” and living the life of their dreams.

What about an “X” factor — that unknown or undescribale element that we see in some people. Sometimes it’s amazing talent or skill and other times it’s a personal thing, like incredible charm or the “gift of gab.”

The “X” factor does play a role, without a doubt. Not everyone can thrill a crowd or attract our attention like many of the people we see on the news, especially in the entertainment world.

Again, though, it doesn’t tell the full story. Behind the scenes there is the hard work, the talent, and all the other factors that got the person to where they are.

So what is it? What is the difference between the people who “make it” and those who don’t?

The people who make it understand.

Yes, they may have one or more of the items we listed. The deciding factor in “making it” comes from their understanding.

What do they understand?

They understand how “it” works. They understand how to take the things around them and use their abilities to create what they want. They understand the nature of things, especially the things that impact their business, craft, or vocation.

Understanding is not merely knowldege. It’s definitely not rules or dogma or convention. It’s absolutely not rote processes or methods.

It’s sort of like “seeing.” When a person understands, they have a complete — or as close to it as possible — view of what they’re doing and how it interacts with everything around it.

Here’s an example: I’m certain that at some point in your life you replaced the air filter in your car. It’s an easy thing to do. However, do you understand what the air filter does? How it works? Why it’s there? Why you need to replace it? What it does for the car?

Yes, some of that is merely knowldege, but taken together it makes understanding.

And that’s why your mechanic can charge you a small fortune for even the slightest repair on your car!

With this one example I am sure you can see why — and perhaps even how — this idea of understanding is so important to you and your life.

That’s why The Master Key System is so important — because it provides you a way to truly acquire this understanding. That’s why Charles F. Haanel’s Complete Master Key Course is so awesome — because it imparts an entire philosophy that fosters the growth of understanding within you.

That’s also why the Master Key Coaching Teleseminars are so popular — and why I will continue to provide them to you free of charge. They bring to you a way to truly understand Mr. Haanel’s philosophy of success and then apply it to your life in a way that will work best.

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Love.

Charles F. Haanel wrote:

There is no getting away from the law of love. It is feeling that imparts vitality to thought. Feeling is desire, and desire is love. Thought impregnated with love becomes invincible.

It’s the time of year for love.

There’s no better place to find love than between the covers of a good book.

There’s no better way to show your love than with a good book.

That’s why we want to make it easy for you to find your love and show your love.

For a limited time, all individual books at Kallisti Publishing are only $8.

Every book.

Every title.

Only $8.

Visit Kallisti Publishing’s book store and spread the love today!

Enjoy!

Have fun … Tony.

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