Here is the latest issue of Take Charge Success Strategies.

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Volume 4, Number 7 October 30, 2004
Publisher: GoalMinds, Inc.
E-mail: condrill@goalminds.com http://www.goalminds.com
Copyright 2004 Jo Condrill
All rights reserved
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Welcome to our many new subscribers! You are receiving this newsletter either because you signed up for it or someone has forwarded it to you. To receive your own copy go to
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and sign up. We appreciate your continuing support. Please FORWARD this newsletter to anyone you know that is interested in improved communication skills and personal development.

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Readers' Comments on the previous newsletter:
'This is AWESOME WORK' --Chula Schlesinger,
Author 'Jump Start Your Life' DVD

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"If you can't change your fate, change your attitude."
--Amy Tan

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IN THIS ISSUE
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1. Six Tips for Communicating with Power

2. Master the Power of a Master-Mind Group

3. Do You Have a Scenario for Survival?

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PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR THE CANDIDATES OF
YOUR CHOICE on Nov. 2 if you have not already done so.

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1. Six Tips for Communicating with Power
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Regardless of your profession, communication is an essential part of your day. From calming down irate customers to negotiating with vendors to giving instructions to employees, your communication skills determine your success. Communicate well and you will sell your ideas more effectively, deal with discord better, and run better meetings. Communicate poorly and you will leave conversations wondering if anything was accomplished at all. Think about the conversations you have throughout the course of any given day. Are all of them productive? If you are like most people, they are probably not. Communicating effectively requires planning, concentration, and consideration of others. So whether you need to talk with your spouse, hash
out a problem with a friend, or land that next big business deal, here are some tips to add power and productivity to your conversations.

1. Think Before You Speak
Know why you are having the conversation and what
you want to accomplish from it before you begin to
speak. The listener will more likely remember your
message.

2. Stop Talking and Listen
The best way to be a good communicator is to be a
good listener. Think of your conversation as a tennis
match, with each person taking turns serving and
receiving, or speaking and listening. When it is your
turn to listen, give the other person your undivided
attention.

3. Ask Questions
To gain the most from any interaction, find out what
people want. Ask open-ended questions that can’t be
answered 'Yes' or 'No.' Then, restate what you heard
and ask them to verify that you received the message
correctly.

4. Handle Disagreements with Tact
Disagreements are inevitable. Be sure you clearly
understand the issue and ask questions. Stay calm
and think of disagreements as a difference in opinion,
not personal rejection. You can understand another’s
point of view without agreeing with it. Everyone has a
right to an opinion, so respect that and work at
finding a common ground.

5. Be Mindful of Your Volume and Tone
Your vocal tone gives the listener a snapshot of your
feelings. If you want to show respect or affection,
soften your tone. If a conversation begins to turn
into an argument, lower your volume; often your listener will, too. Keep your voice calm and even whenever possible.

6. Anticipate Distractions
Nothing you do will make others feel more important than giving them your full attention. Turn off your pager and cell phone. If there are other conversations or events going on in the same room, ignore them.

Communication and success go hand in hand. The more
effectively you communicate your ideas, the better your
outcomes will be. So practice these communication tips and apply them every day. When you do, you’ll communicate powerfully and with confidence and achieve the results you desire.

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Tips found in, '101 Ways to Improve Your Communication
Skills Instantly,' by Jo Condrill and Bennie Bough, Ph.D.
To add this tool to your personal growth toolbox, ask for it at your local bookstore or library. Order online from Amazon.com or the Tool Shop at http://www.GoalMinds.com

Go a step farther and learn how your preferred Listening
Style affects your ability to get your message heard and
understood. Check out the Personal Listening Profile, by
Inscape Publishing, Inc.
http://www.goalminds.com/perlistprof.html

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"True power is being able to affect the world
with who we are." --Patrice Carington
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GoalMinds celebrates the grand opening of our store in
Google's Froogle Marketplace! We are proud to have our
products accepted by Google for inclusion in the Froogle
segment of their website. Search for GoalMinds in Froogle.

Our products are also displayed in the Affiliate Shop
Marketplace. Make more money by becoming a GoalMinds
affiliate and promoting our products to your clientele. Go to http://www.publishandprosper.com/affiliates.htm and sign up. You can then do your Christmas and holiday gift shopping online and get a return on everything you order at GoalMinds.com as an Affiliate!

If you want something special, request autographed books for your clients, friends, and family! We will gift wrap free of charge upon request.

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2. Master the Power of a Master-Mind Group
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Master-mind groups are spawning all over the country. Some of them function like social circles or support groups. However, a master-mind group, as fashioned from Napoleon Hill’s concept in Think and Grow Rich, is much more than that. Hill writes of the POWER of organized knowledge when explaining his ideas. He tells how to tap into the power of collective wisdom.

A master-mind group consists of people who work together in absolute harmony to achieve diverse goals. While these people work in harmony, they may be very different from each other. The common element is that each draws something from the others, and each contributes freely to the group. It is the focusing of each mind on a common issue that triggers thoughts not readily available to one mind. Those in the group draw upon their unique experiences and specialized
knowledge to help each other.

When many minds concentrate on a single point, the activity generates a power over and above the sum total of each of the individual minds. It is as though an invisible force joins the group and provides additional insight. I have used the master-mind concept with amazing results, first to advance my career and later to lead a group of volunteers to achieve remarkable results, ranking number one in a worldwide organization, Toastmasters International.

Forming a group is relatively simple, but you need to do so with caution. The first step is to choose members wisely. Other tips to keep in mind while forming your group include:

1. You need people who are not like you. People with
different perspectives will challenge you and contribute
different ideas.

2. Remember that the entire group will benefit from the
experience, skills, and specialized knowledge of each
member, and from the expanded network of resources.

3. Group participation is stimulating, but the group will not be successful without individual action outside the group.

4. To be effective, group members must expect good and
positive results from their participation.

5. For a like-minded alliance to survive, a high level of trust must exist.

6. Each person must have something to contribute to the
group, such as a specific talent, specialized knowledge, or a unique skill.

7. The entire group should agree on organizational matters, such as leadership objectives, decisions on when and where to meet, whom to select as members, and establishing an agenda.

Forming a master-mind group is a powerful way to get ideas and support from others. Take the initiative to start your own master-mind group today. You will soon see the wonderful benefits of contributing and receiving ideas, which will propel you and the entire group to new levels of personal and professional success.

Details on forming a group are in our booklet, 'How to Form a Master-Mind Group,' available for downloading at
http://www.goalminds.com/mastermind_groups.html

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3. Do You Have a Scenario for Survival?
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Does your business have an emergency response plan? What
about your family crisis response plan? Who needs to know your whereabouts in an emergency? Spouse? Children? Parents? Boss? Coworker? What if the phone lines are down? What if the Internet is not available?

In business, we have contingency management, 'con-man.' For the Army we wrote and exercised contingency plans. In our personal lives, we should also consider in advance those times when life throws us a curve, when things don't go the way we planned.

One very useful technique is to do mental 'what if' drills in order to anticipate obstacles before they occur. Use your 'over the horizon' radar to look into the future. Then run different scenarios of future events through your mind. What if there was a bomb threat while you were visiting another office and everyone had to evacuate the building? You have to take your mother to the hospital in a few minutes and
your car keys are in the building with your cell phone and all your money. Your coworkers are in the same situation. Whom could you contact? What are your options?

Large companies hire people to gather information, look into the future, and think up plausible scenarios of challenges and opportunities the company may face in the future. The company is then able to do contingency planning. You can benefit from those techniques, too.

Why not apply a 'what if' drill to a few scenarios for
yourself and your family just in case you are ever caught up in an ordinary emergency situation or terrorist activity. In the Army Operations Center, we did recall drills. We had a recall plan where within a very short time everyone could be called back to work. It works like a chain reaction. The person at the top of the list calls two or three people and each of those call two or three people, and quickly any number of people can be contacted. Prayer groups and others
have also used this technique to contact many people in a very short time.

Think of your personal and professional responsibilities. How many telephone numbers do you know off the top of your head? Do you have them written down or stored in your cell phone or PDA so others can make the contact if you are unable to? Should you establish a notification chain so that with one completed phone call, everyone who needs to know
can be notified? What if the phone lines are down? Is email available? If you can only reach a coworker, will that person know whom else to contact? This is a very practical 'what if' drill you can conduct immediately. What if you were caught up in an emergency situation tomorrow? Would you be better prepared than you were yesterday?

'What if' drills can boost your confidence. Even if the
challenging events you encounter in 'real life' are not the precise scenario you thought up, you will have practice in creative problem solving. Stuff happens. Looking over the horizon, anticipating, and doing 'what if' drills will ensure that you are prepared.

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A sincere 'Thank You' to all of you who have served in the military forces of the USA. You have kept our great country free and safe. November 11 is Veterans' Day. Salute!
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If you need more publicity for your project, your product or youself, check out Alex Carroll's publicity package http://www.tinyurl.com/4shap He provides contact information for radio talk show hosts and producers and a lot of tips on how to be a more effective guest!

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11301 W. Olympic Blvd. #345 Los Angeles, CA 90064
Phone: 310 470-1638 Mailto:info@jocondrill.com