Success may be about dogged perseverance. It certainly worked for this icon. It is easy to give up when it seems things are stacked against you, or that “it’s just not meant to be.” However this famous icon of the 19th century endured, and kept on enduring. ………… This is Abraham Lincoln’s story.  Consider this alternative CV of the great man ;

• 1816 – His family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them (aged 7).
• 1818 – His mother died
• 1831 – His business failed
• 1832 – Defeated in Legislature. Also lost his job. Unsuccessfully tried to get into law school.
• 1833 – Second business failure. He was bankrupted. He’d borrowed the money to set it up from a friend. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt.
• 1835 – Was engaged to be married, his fiancée died. It was said his heart was broken.
• 1836 – Suffered nervous breakdown (hardly surprising) and was in bed for 6 months.
• 1838 – Defeated for speaker in state legislature
• 1840 – Defeated for Elector
• 1843 – Defeated for Congress
• 1848 – Defeated running for re-election to Congress (having got in, in 1846)
• 1849 – Rejected for job of land officer in his home state
• 1855 – Defeated for Senate
• 1856 – Defeated for Vice President nomination. Got less than 100 votes at party’s national convention.
• 1858 – Defeated for Senate (again)
• 1860 – Elected President of the United States

One of the famous quotes attributed to Abe was “having chosen our course, without guile and with pure purpose, let us renew our trust in God, and go forward without fear and with manly hearts.”

Slightly strange language by modern standards maybe, but given all the set backs he met in his life, you have to admire his resolve and determination to see his ambition through. A shining example to us all.

If you want to start this journey and develop your own life plan and personal goals, have a look at our self-development CDs.  http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_list.asp?Section=SELF DEVELOPMENT.    At just £34.99 each they could just get you going on the path to achieving your goals. And we hope you don’t have to face anything like the challenges that ol’ Abe had to face!

Good luck!

You will find many self-appointed gurus all over the internet offering their wares and their wisdom. And we’re sure that with some time you could consider all of them. Most people who are experts in any area of self-development will probably have something that will benefit you. But how do you choose which ones to listen to? 

Personal development is the key to happiness ?!!

Many are American of course, so it is great to find some great ideas that will benefit British people and British organisations right here in Britain. The work of Peter Thomson is something we think you should check out.

His work provides ideal content for those of you running businesses or interested in personal growth and development. We’ve attended seminars and sessions run by Peter and can highly recommend him. He is down to earth and friendly and yet you can tell he’s well rehearsed. What else could be more important in a trainer or speaker?! click on www.peterthomson.com/ to find out more about Peter’s work.

His area of specialism is around helping organisations develop better selling. He refers to himself as the UK’s leading strategist on business and personal growth. But have a look, have a listen and tell us what you think.

The case for training. Admittedly we sell training products so we might be seen to have an opinion on this. As customers become ever more sophisticated and demanding about what they want, so customer service becomes more important.

We came across a quote recently from the highly influential management book from the 1980s “the One Minute Manager” by Kenneth Blanchard & Spencer Johnson.

“You really have three choices as a manager. First you can hire winners. They are hard to find and they cost money. Or second, if you can’t find a winner, you can hire someone with the potential to be a winner. Then you systematically train that person to become a winner. If you are not willing to do either of the first two (and I am continually amazed at the number of managers who won’t spend the money to hire a winner or take the time to train someone to become a winner), then there is only the third choice left – prayer.” This books comes highly recommended. It is easy to read, it is written almost as a children’s book and so you will get through it in no time at all. Amazon is a good source for this book.

Follow this link to find out more http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_0_14?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=one+minute+manager&sprefix=one+minute+man

The One Minute Manager - recommended by Associated Learning Systems

Clearly self-belief and a whole lot of commitment to their ideas is what entrepreneurs have.

At the weekend I was reading about Michelle Mone the former model turned business woman who runs the Ultimo brand. She is 37, and since 1996 has built up a company now worth £45 million according to the Sunday Times.

And yet, it wasn’t always so. In the Sunday Times piece she said “setting up the business was hard and I had to find a lot of money to get it going. Iwas in debt by about £420,000 when the company finally launched. I had to remortgage the house and also take out a number of business loans. I also had debts with every credit card company known to man.”

So what kept her going ? She had overwhelming faith and conviction in her ideas. Now surely for every Michelle Mone there are 100 people that gamble and lose, but what an inspiring story.

While we don’t have audio CDs available yet on how to build a £45 million company, remember that Mao Tse Tung said “the longest journey begins with a single step” and we can help with that. Click through to see the audio CDs on self development and goal setting at  http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_list.asp?Section=SELF%20DEVELOPMENT

But what we can learn is that self-belief and commitment is what she, like other entrepreneurs have.

There are many eminent experts who offer a range of advice on time management. And it is something we could all do with help on. There just never seem to be enough hours in the day to do all the things you want to do are there ?

Perhaps what you want as well as the second best tip is the best tip. Both of them are covered on the time management CD which you can find by following this link http://www.associatedlearningsystems.co.uk/product_detail.asp?ProdID=24. And who knows I may write a blog with the best tip !

Anyway the second best tip is credited to a time and motion consultant who advised Andrew Carnegie a Scot who made his fortune in steel in the U.S. He became the Bill Gates of his time. The tip is this.

Before the start of each work day, write down your 6 main work priorities. Then number them in order that you intend to do them. That becomes your key list for the day. ONLY 6 mind – you can have other jobs written down, but only number the 6 most important. That way it keeps your focus on what is important (because you’ve decided it.) OK so other things will get in the way and emergencies may demand your immediate attention, but then once that’s dealt with – get straight back to the list.

You may feel that you won’t necessarily get through all 6, but if you don’t get through them using this method you wouldn’t have got through them using any other method either ! The best of luck