What's So Dog-Gone Hard About Success?

I'm excited to tell you that this month's issue of "The Smart Factor" marks the launch of my long-awaited e-course "What's so dog-gone hard about success?" I sure hope you're able to join me in exploring this topic so please read on and click on the link below for all the details.

Also, in the Personal Reflections section of this issue, we'll take a walk down memory lane - a walk that was prompted when I met with a new client this past week. Memories are a funny thing. They can remind us of good times and yet make us sad and happy all at the same time. I've learned that it's what we do with them that make all the difference.

Enjoy

Ann Griffiths
_______________________________________

IN THIS ISSUE
Part 1 - Are You Ready?
Part 2 - It's Here
Part 3 - Personal Reflections
_______________________________________

Part 1 - Are you Ready?

Two months have already passed since the tsunami tragedy took over the hearts and minds of the world and changed the lives of millions. The media still feeds us reports and many of us continue to think about the "whys" and "what ifs".

So - what's happened in your life over these past two months?

Did the magnitude of world events side-track you from your vision of what this year would be (or could be) for you? Did you manage to set some goals but then got caught up in the doing of everyday life?

You're not alone. Visions cloud. Goals move. Determination fades. It happens.

The reality is that achieving success is not just about having a clear vision and setting goals. And it's not about diving into your business or a project with renewed vigor and determination when you decide it's time to pull up your socks and get on with it.

So here we are - coming to the end of the first quarter of the year. And the question is - are you ready to do something about where you're at right now?

Part 2 - It's Here

As a subscriber to my ezine, you're the first to hear about the launch of my new e-course, "What's so dog-gone hard about success?" Click here, www.smartstrategiesinc.com/ecourseezine.html for the full scoop and to see how you can dig into an e-course that will help you:

- Reclaim your focus — so you can get back on track.
- Take action — because talk is cheap if you want results.
- Find a cure for Entrepreneurial Syndrome — before it stunts your growth.
- Move beyond obstacles and self-imposed limitations — to avoid self-destruction.
- Do the right thing — in the right way.

Part 3 - Personal Reflections

The other day, I met with a new client who works for the corporation that transformed my grandparents' fields of hay and alfalfa into fields of concrete and asphalt. From his office, I looked out the window and realized I was looking at the land that was once the acreage that my grandparents homesteaded in the early 1900s - the very place where my uncle died at the age of ten, my father was born and I spent the first years of my life.

As I drove away from the office, I thought about my grandparents. I always knew them as farmers but that day I saw them as courageous adventurers.

Their journey began when my grandfather left my grandmother and their two sons in England to come to a new land of opportunity where they would join him a year later. Together they would uproot, plow, plant and sweat. They would laugh and cry. They would win and lose and cry some more. And they would build a home for what they dreamed would be for generations to come.

As I drove away from my client's office and along what was once fields where I played, I remembered my grandparents' English-style cottage and the home that my father and grandfather had built for my parents when they were married.

In my mind, I walked over the railroad tracks that ran through the middle of the farm, dividing our home from the rest of my grandparents' acres of land. I saw my white-haired grandma standing at the pole fence waving as I hiked across the field to pick up the goat's milk that was the only thing my little sister could drink. And I heard my grandma call out as my five-year-old legs ran toward her once-tall frame. I felt her calluses as we walked hand in hand toward the barn. I smelled the damp soil of the root cellar as we descended the stone stairs to pick out some vegetables. And I heard my grandma scold the chickens who disapproved when we entered the coup to gather their eggs.

Now, fifty years later, as I drive past buildings and street lights, there's nothing to show that my grandparents had ever been there - or that once upon a time a little girl ran in the fields and picked buttercups. Even the road that once had a name is now a number and the gardens and fields are pavement and steel. All that remains is the matter-of-fact recollection that, "This used to be a farm."

Oh, and, yes - there are my memories to pass on to my grandchildren.

What memories could you be sharing?

Ann

PS - Remember to check out the ecourse with bonus and special ezine subscriber offer.

Click Here - "What's so dog-gone hard about success?"

SMART Strategies works with people in business to help them gain clarity, grow beyond obstacles and self-imposed limitations, and succeed in achieving the results they want. To explore how you can get the results you want in your personal and business life, email Ann at coach@smartstrategiesinc.com