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Greetings!
The success of any organization rests on the senior management team. It is critical that if an organization is going to thrive the management team must develop trust, measure the outcomes and foster innovation. That is just what this month's issue of In Harmony is all about.
Political cartoonist Bob Stuart has illustrated the articles Success by Doing It and Take Action to Achieve Success in this edition. He is acclaimed for his "straight talk" in Texas newspapers and we look forward to having Bob as a regular contributor to In Harmony. We hope he helps you to be In Harmony personally and professionally!
Greg Stuart
President
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 Why Failure Is Good for You
Why is failure good for you? How do you view failure? Do you see it as something negative that you don't want to be associated with or do you see it as something positive? Most people in the world don't like failure.
Fear of failure is the main reason why more than 80% of people in the world are not prepared to change their circumstances. Why do people fear failure so much? The reason for this is because people don't understand the dynamics involved in success and failure.
Everything we do in life has a right way of doing it and a wrong way of doing it. When we do it the right way we meet with success. Needless to say, that when we do it the wrong way we are unsuccessful.
Understanding this is important because it puts failure in its proper perspective and removes the fear around it.
When someone who doesn't understand this dynamic meets with temporary failure, he or she gives up thinking he or she is not good enough or he or she will never make it. But is this really what it is? Does the fact that you didn't make it the first time mean you are not good enough? Does it mean you'll never make it? Not at all! All it means is YOU HAVE NOT FOUND THE CORRECT METHOD YET!
So what do you do next? You go back and find out where you went wrong. Then you try again this time employing a different method. If this doesn't work you go back and look at everything you have done so far. Talk to successful people who have made it in this area. Think of what you might have left out and try again.
Whatever you do, don't give up. Why do you need to do this? Because, "Every failure, every adversity, and every heartache carries with it the seed of an equivalent or a greater benefit", says author and mentor to many great men, Napoleon Hill. Failure contains the seed of victory and of success.
Failure teaches you what works and what doesn't. When you study the reasons for your failure and learn from it, you'll find the key to your success. The great inventor, Thomas Edison, knew this truth better than anyone else. It took Edison 8,000 trials to perfect the Edison battery. Afterwards he uttered this famous quote, "At least we know 8,000 things that don't work."
You should also be like that. Every successful person has had to overcome temporary defeat at one time or another. Know this! You haven't really failed until you ACCEPT defeat. Do you envy those who got success easily? Don't! Success earned in spite of earlier failure is so much sweeter than if you would get it otherwise.
Those who earn success in this way know the road to success. They are not afraid of losing what they have because they have learned how to become successful. Those that easily got success don't know the road.
They got there so quickly that they didn't bother to look around. Let me use the following analogy to illustrate. Take two guys traveling to the same destination, with this difference. The one is going by airplane and the other by car, but the one arriving by car had a few breakdowns along the way.
If you take these two guys back to their original position and ask them to find their way to their destination, who do you think is going to remember the road better the next time? Surely it will be the guy who had a few breakdowns and spent some time on the road because he had the opportunity to look around.
Let temporary defeat no longer be an obstacle. You have many hidden talents, so start working towards realizing your dreams. Don't be put off by the fear of failure. Failure is an ally because it contains the seed of success.
There's no progress without risk. Take action today.
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Success by Doing It
The importance of immediate, massive, daily action has been written about many times already, but it is so important that it is worth writing about again and again. The examples in this article come from the world of business, but they could apply to other walks of life as well.
Marketing is the lifeblood of business, but sometimes businessmen will wait until they have written the perfect advertisement or sales message before they send out even one ad. They also spend weeks making sure their website is beautifully designed with all the latest refinements.
Meanwhile, good selling time is passing them by. Their product may even be out of date before they are happy with the advertisements. By the time they have everything perfect and ready to go, they may run out of capital and be forced to close down their business.
The best lesson I learned from the late Corey Rudl at a seminar in London was not to worry about creating a perfect website. Just get one up. His own dad had a website selling Ferrari car badges which was very ordinary, but it was making money.
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire Mayor of New York, credits his success to getting going without spending too much time planning:
"We act from day one; others plan how to plan - for months."
Dave and Heidi Perry talk about a fairly average businessman and average marketer whom they call Jack.
Jack's motto was: "Doin' it, Doin' it, Doin' it" i.e. do something, anything, every day towards achieving your marketing goals.
 He kept plugging away each day with his marketing even though the format of his sales brochures and forms was not very good. He would not wait for the format to be improved. He believed in 'Doin' it' even if he was not quite ready to do it.
This philosophy and behavior made him a multi-millionaire and a leader. Even though what he said was not profound and could at times be downright stupid, his action-oriented words and behavior led many to trust him and to follow his suggestions.
"He knew that to get a desired outcome, he had to actually DO something to get there."
Jack knew that if his audience would just do something - anything - every day toward their goals, they, too, would get there. He, himself, just started doing something.
He didn't wait until he had enough money to start his business or until his advertising materials were perfect or until he had a stockpile of products to sell. He started with what he had and did something every day to achieve his goal.
You can't dream or wish your way into riches, although this can help. You have to actually do something about it. What is worse than a sales ad? No sales ad. Don't wait until you have a great website or enough money to start your business.
Get going now and do something every day towards achieving your goal. You may still have doubts and fears but by doing something every day you will make progress and your confidence and power will increase.
Some people want to master a piece of software before they use it. The chances are that they will never use it!
The quickest way to learn how a software tool works is to start using it on a daily basis. We will make mistakes, of course, but we will also make progress in understanding the software.
I did not use an autoresponder for ages because I was afraid of making mistakes and sending people the wrong message. When I began using one, I almost immediately made mistakes but learned rapidly how to put them right and no one sent in any letters of complaint!
If possible, find a mentor who can hold your hand while you try something new. However, mentors are not always easily available, so trust yourself to have a go on your own and see what happens.
You will probably amaze yourself at what you can achieve on your own, especially if you don't give up at the first signs of trouble.
Obviously preparation, thinking, and planning are worth doing but there comes a time when the most important thing is to actually start taking action even if this means you are running risks. Try it and see what happens.
Start "Doing it!"
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Take Action to Achieve Success
 Few people really understand how important taking action is to success. We all know the old saying, "Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda," when we see an opportunity slip away. I know I've said, "I THOUGHT OF THAT YEARS AGO!" about some new gadget I came across. I didn't take action. I let small problems be excuses for not moving forward with the things I truly want.
Well, I finally decided enough is enough! I want a new lifestyle revolving around the goals that I want and not what someone else thinks I should want.
Everything doesn't have to be perfect the first time. I've definitely fallen into that old trap! Heck, most people don't even notice. Just do something! You can fix the mistakes later. We learn from our mistakes.
By allowing yourself to say, "I changed my mind" and "I was wrong," you will experience newfound freedom. We are all creatures of habit and hate to be blown out of our comfort zones, but taking risks and just getting out there can move mountains.
Read Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. His entire book revolves around one premise and that is to think. After thinking, take action and be persistent. Be positive in your thinking and stay away from negative influences. When you hear negative comments, just realize most people are envious and secretly wish they were as brave as you.
Don't believe that success is hard. It is a process, so take it one step at a time. You can learn what you don't know. If you are looking to change your financial situation and your life, believe in yourself and take action! Don't let anymore wonderful opportunities pass you by!
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Contact Us 
Harmony Solutions International, LLC
2219 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd. Suite 383 Westlake Village, CA 91362 Call: 805-413-4128 Email Us
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Sign up Today for Our Annual Goals Review Workshop
 Nothing great was ever achieved without dreams, goals, and action. And, now is the time to set your goals and create your plan of action for the year. Sign up today to participate in our Annual Goals Review Workshop and gain the tools you need to achieve success - personally and professionally - in 2012. To learn more and reserve your space, please contact us at 805-413-4128, or via email at info@harmonypps.com
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A Common Sense Approach to Sustainability
Accelerating profitability through aligning your people and processes with the environment.
We are pleased to announce A Common Sense Approach to Sustainability is now available for shipping! The book is written by Tammy A.S. Kohl and Greg Stuart of Harmony Solutions International, LLC is a contributing author. Read this to learn more about creating long-term sustainable business success, while preserving the environment. Complete the short assessment below to ascertain where your organization currently stands as it relates to business sustainability.
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