Taking It in Your Stride

Have you ever wondered why many people take the easy route through life? Let's see if a short story will provide some answers.

Many of you will know that Helvellyn is the second highest mountain in England. Many of you will also have been to its summit. Alfred Wainwright describes many different paths up to the summit from east, west, south and north. The one he reserves as the best is also the most difficult and dangerous.

Julia Bradbury, in the TV series Wainwright Walks, was visibly moved by the exhilaration she felt when having completed the walk by the famous Striding Edge route. The series set about climbing a selection of Wainwrights favourite peaks and to give us, the audience, the best experience possible she chose this, the most difficult and dangerous.

Why, when the objective was the same as if having climbed from Dunmail Raise in the west? The trek up from Thirlemere is quite spectacular for mountain scenery, at least to the novice, but easy. Why, choose that most challenging route? Especially when it was the only one in the series that needed an experienced guide.

There is something about the journey, rather that just the end goal that must appeal. What thrill will we get when we try something difficult and exceptional? Feeling the emotions of fear, trepidation, excitement; the physical exertions, stretching and growing in confidence and capability. How lucky then, knowing that we have a guide on hand to get us through the difficult stuff and developing our skill in negotiating and overcoming challenges.
This then might have stirred your emotions. Perhaps you will be one of the tens of thousands that this year alone will climb Helvellyn or maybe you will be one of the relative few that go via Striding Edge.

Perhaps you will take the more difficult route through your career, take on tough challenges and gain so much more than just getting to the summit.
Whatever you decide you will need a coach and guide to support, encourage, teach and praise very step you take into the unknown and be the first to congratulate your achievement.

I will be on Helvellyn in August, amongst the few crowds, on Striding Edge.

Will you be accompanied by a Dale Carnegie coach on your career path? If so give me a call!

David Pickering

Run Clown Run!

3 months ago I signed up to take on what seemed like the challenge of a life time, to run 6 miles in aid of Sports Relief. My main aim for doing so was to improve on my health in time for the summer, whilst raising money for a good cause.

The past 3 months have been fall of temptations and procrastinations to do anything but the gym and there have been times when, let’s say, I have let the odd one get the better of me. However with the motivation of helping others, as well as the thought of letting all my sponsors down, I would head down to the gym.

On a gorgeous Sunday 25th March, dressed as a clown and deprived of an hours sleep thanks to the clocks going forward, I joined the first leg of runners at 10:15 to take the challenge on. It was a great atmosphere, with people of all ages running/walking/hopping/skipping for 1, 3 or 6 miles around The Mall – Buckingham Palace. Now in my leg, there were not many people dressed up and being the only clown it was very easy to spot me, so much so I gained a lot of attention from the supporters including the children, one of which asked for my photo as I run past him. I managed to run most of the way and probably could have completed the run a lot quicker if I wasn’t too busy looking at the celebs; I didn’t even stop to talk to my family or fellow runners. The run its self was the best run I have had, and without all the practice I would not have managed to complete the run within my target of 1 hour, or to be a head of my personal target ready for the summer holidays.

I have learnt a lot the past few months, with the biggest being if you want to achieve a goal which looks unachievable set yourself smaller goals which will help you to go beyond your target.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all my supporters for their support and motivation over the past 3 months.

Stephanie Fletcher

Successful Entrepreneurs

I have recently been reading about entrepreneurs and how they started up as I find people really interesting, especially those who have achieved personal success, in whatever way they view it. It’s all to do with having an ‘ology’ you see!

I love to read their stories and how getting there wasn’t all plain sailing, glamorous or indeed easy. Having ups and downs is very much part of business and it’s reassuring to read that it happens to the best of them.

It was interesting to read why they decided to start up their own business. Toni Mascolo, co-founder of Tony & Guy Hairdressers loved building things...whether it was collections of coins or a family business. After fighting to keep the Toni & Guy name he built up the international business we now know.

Jenny Irvine of The Pure Package was brought up on a farm and has always been self sufficient. Her love of quality healthy food and wanting to make a difference to people prompted her to start up her gourmet diet food delivery service. She strived for success, but to her success was being happy and having time to be with her loved ones, thus eventually creating a business that didn’t rely on her day to day.

Whatever the entrepreneur’s reason for creating their business or businesses, there appeared to be a common denominator. The majority of the people I read about, including Richard Branson, set goals. They set short term achievable goals, mid term goals and some of them long term goals. Apparently Richard Branson always carries a notebook with him with his goals written down – whether you like him or not you can’t fault his success.

For one person to say they wrote down their goals and read them every day is one thing, but for 90% of the successful entrepreneurs to do this must mean it actually works.

A common feeling was that if they are not written down then they are harder to achieve as there is no focus, consciously or subconsciously. One entrepreneur looked at his long term goals every day, morning and night and achieved them all within one month of his deadline. And they were not small goals either, unless you consider buying a house, car and having a significant amount of cash in the bank a small goal.

At Dale Carnegie we believe in setting goals and visions both personally and in business. Whether your goal is financial, a change in lifestyle, a holiday of a lifetime or even getting that new promotion you so desire they are well worth setting. You can set them for three months time or a years time, whatever works for you, as long as they are meaningful and achievable with belief and in the cases of the entrepreneurs, good old fashioned hard work.

So go on, write down a few goals and start the journey towards them......you will feel over the moon when you achieve them.

Helen

People support the world they help create!

People will support a world they helped create! A simple statement to comprehend, yet we see so many organisations getting it badly wrong when it comes to creating work environments that are conducive to collaboration and working towards a common goal.

With the current economic climate that we find ourselves in, it has never been more important for organisations to have the individual goals of their employees aligned to the company’s goals, and to treat their employees as partners rather than as commodities.

So let’s consider why employee engagement during times of turbulence is so important. According to Lockwood (2007), employees with the highest level of commitment perform 20% better and are 87% less likely to leave the organisation.

This shows a clear link between employee engagement and performance. In fact, two of the earlier studies on employee engagement conducted by Watson Wyatt found that “high commitment” organisations (those with loyal and dedicated employees) out-performed “low commitment” organisations by 47% in one study and 200% in another study.

Not only have highly engaged employees been linked to higher levels of performance, they have also been linked to delivering more innovative solutions to situations and solving problems more effectively, Scarlett (2008). Finding ways to create an engaging environment for your employees during the financial crisis can yield positive results for everyone in the short term and the long term.

Therefore what changes might you look to implement when trying to increase your employee’s engagement you may ask?

Regular interaction with your employees gives them the mental support to speak out about any issue concerning them. The first lesson is that workers model their leaders’ behaviour. If leaders are not fully engaged, workers will not be either.

So what can leaders do at an organisational level to engage employees? They must create an engaging environment—one that lends itself to providing the tools and elements employees need to build a sense of commitment. Rather than point their fingers at workers alone, the leaders must lead rather than manage. What managers do and how they behave sets the tone for employee engagement therefore managers must model the level of engagement they seek. HR’s role in this regard is to serve as coach to managers when they do otherwise.

In the long term, education and training of personnel is key, not only in their own personal growth but that of the organisation. Employees are engaged because they have a sense of connectivity, and because they have the drive and desire to be a part of the organisation.

Therefore let’s make sure that we as individuals help create a world that our people support.

Dale Carnegie’s next Free Inspirational Leadership for Managers workshop is on the 8th March or 6th April. Click here for more details.

Mark de Stadler
Peformance Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Creating and Achieving Breakthrough Goals

I would like to take this opportunity to introduce our new live seminars!

Secrets of Success Express Webinars provide you with a cost-effective and convenient way to boost your know-how. You can participate in the comfort of your office without the need for travel costs and time. Because the Webinar is live, you can ask our expert questions via online chat during the program. In addition, your registration includes learning aids and other helpful materials.

TUNE IN AND TUNE UP YOUR ESSENTIAL BUSINESS SKILLS

You're probably finding it tougher than ever to achieve your goals. Our turbulent, uncertain economy has put so much pressure on the day-to-day that many of us can’t focus on what’s really important any more. Spend 90 minutes with us and refocus yourself on goals that can be career changers.

Learn how to:

• Set goals that challenge you and stretch your comfort zone
• Design and implement a plan that achieves your objectives
• Stay on track in spite of day-to-day pressures and distractions
• Achieve breakthroughs that will power your career to the next level

For further info please follow the link

http://www.dalecarnegie.com/search_courses/sem_desc.jsp?cCode=WEBC4&keycode=ukGoalsPromo1.11

Corina Balaneanu
Sales Consultant

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

Inspiration to make dreams become a reality

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of meeting a man who has completed some extraordinary feats in his life, in actual fact he has finished two epic journey’s that no person in the history of mankind had ever been able to complete before him.

Leaving Cape Town in July 2003 and returning 2 years 2 months later, Riaan Manser became the first person to circumnavigate the African continent by bicycle unaided - 37,000 km through 34 countries. He travelled north along the western coast of Africa, and hugged the coastline as closely as possible. The journey was not easy by any means as he was held captive by Rebels on two seperate occasions in Liberia and the Ivory coast and had to overcome a range of different problems that one would expect with a mammoth journey like this.

Incredibly that journey was not enough to quench his hunger for adventure and 3 years later he became the first person to kayak around Madagascar, alone and unaided. Madagascar is the world's fourth largest island with a coastal perimeter of 5000 kilometres. The journey took around ten months and much of it on grade five to seven sea levels [severe to impossible] making the completion that much greater.

What made meeting this extremely humble man so special was being able to experience his burning desire to inspire others to make their own dreams come true. His achievements already rank against some of the greatest feats of endurance seen by man, like reaching the South Pole, climbing Mount Everest and sailing alone around the world.

When I asked him what gave him the will to complete his trips, he answered with only one word “Attitude”. He said he never ever at any time during his two epic journeys wanted to give up, as his desire to complete his trips kept him going during the good and the bad times.

Therefore it goes to show, if we want to complete any task or goal in life we need to start at the source which is our own attitude, because without it our dreams will never become reality !

We at Dale Carnegie understand the fundamental importance of having the right attitude and we have been developing people's attitudes for almost 100 years. So come and join us for our next Effective Communications and Human Relations seminar in central London on the 4th November 2010 at 6pm. Click here for more details .

Mark De Stadler
Sales Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.co.uk

You've got to 'be' before you can 'do'

Six months ago I was convinced by a friend to run a half marathon, previous to this my longest run had been 10kms or half the distance required on the day. Once signed up I scoured the internet for training plans, tips and advice, immediately I was overwhelmed at the task at hand and the commitment it would take on my part.

“You've got to 'be' before you can 'do', and you've got to 'do' before you can 'have’.– Zig Ziglar. This famous quote from sales guru Zig Ziglar epitomizes the “Be > Do > Get” model which I used to get a roadmap for my training plan, which can also be used in a business context when looking at a goal you want to achieve.

Looking at the ‘GET’ I had to set myself a goal, in this case it is a finishing time, however in a business case it may be a target, promotion, result or milestone. Once assigning the ‘GET’ or goal, to finish injury free in under 2 hours, I moved to the ‘DO’ part of the equation.

The ‘DO’ or doing is the actions required to get the result, in my half marathon the harsh reality is I need to do upwards of 4 runs per week over a 3 to 4 month period and gradually increase the distance weekly. Once I had listed this I also looked at other things such as how much time I needed to commit, how to juggle this around other work commitments, even as far as - do I need new shoes? Yes, so that’s an action which I put on my list – literally listing everything that needs to be done to get the result. Now looking at my plan I have the actions and the result in mind, but still I need to look at what will drive me there, this is in the being, or ‘BE’.

In order to run 4 times a week, take on a project at work or get the promotion, you need to ask yourself, who do I have to be to do these actions, which in turn drives the result? Coming back to the half marathon example, I have to be motivated, without the motivation I will struggle in the ‘DO’ column and if I don’t do the actions (ie training) I cant expect the result in the ‘GET’ column.

A simple, yet effective tool for creating a plan of action when you are faced with a large or overwhelming task. it has helped me take my training one week at a time, knowing if I control the 'BE' and the 'DO' columns I am on track for the 'GET' - which is next weekend!

Try it for yourself, having three columns on a sheet of paper write out your goal in the 'GET', then work it back through the 'DO' and 'BE' until you have a clear plan of what needs to happen and who you need to be to achieve it!

Angus Firth
Performance Consultant

www.London.Dalecarnegie.com

Motivation is What You Need!

‘To succeed......you need to find something to hold on to, something to motivate you, something to inspire you.’ Tony Dorsett

The difference between achieving a goal and not achieving a goal depends on the motivation and inspiration you have driving you forward.

This week the England football team have travelled to South Africa in preparation for the start of the World Cup. They are fully motivated and hungry to win, they will have envisioned themselves lifting the trophy to a huge cheer from the crowd and then returning home to receive a winners welcome from the English fans. When you set yourself a goal imagine what life will be like when you have achieved this goal, picture it in your mind – set yourself a vision for the future.

Create a Vision

Nothing is more personally motivating than creating a compelling vision. Visualize yourself succeeding as a result of the goals you set and achieve. Imagine the benefits of growing as a result of the changes you make -- creating new opportunities, building a more exciting and dynamic future and opening up new opportunities for success.

Inspiration is also an important factor when it comes to succeeding. We are usually motivated to work at achieving something when we have seen someone we respect achieve something similar; someone whose values and beliefs we admire. We can also be inspired by the way someone motivates us to achieve our goals, they can appeal to us in such a way as to make us think and act differently.

The England squad will take their inspiration from the 1966 England football team who achieved their ultimate goal by winning the World Cup and were able to lift the trophy and receive the respect and reward that comes from succeeding. They will also be inspired by their manager Fabio Capello who will give them pep talks before each game and keep reminding them that they can win the matches

Be Inspired

Think of someone who you admire and who really inspires you and whenever you are struggling and feeling de-motivated picture that person in you mind and remember what you admire in them and this will help you to get back on track and succeed. Surround yourself with positive people that will be enthusiastic and help to drive you towards success.

Good luck with your goals and visions for the future and good luck to the England team next week!

If you would like to find out more about setting your vision for the future then please attend our preview of Strictly Business: The Dale Carnegie Immersion Seminar on 10th June – Click here to register.

Sophie Whittall
Marketing & Admin Co-ordinator

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

I challenge you to a duel!

Laying down a challenge is a concept that has been around for years and years and is something that we still do today, we may not challenge each other to a duel but we lay down challenges for ourselves and others that we set out to tackle all the time. If we didn’t take on these challenges life would be very boring!

By setting ourselves challenges we push ourselves out of our comfort zone and force ourselves to try new things. This helps us to flourish and grow instead of always staying in the same spot and going round in circles. As Dale Carnegie said ‘Take a chance! All life is a chance, the man who goes furthest is generally the one who is willing to do and dare.’

Here at Dale Carnegie we have set ourselves the challenge of running a half marathon to raise money for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research. After training for three months and going through the highs and the lows, the big day is almost upon us - Sunday 21st March. We are all very excited and looking forward to taking part in this challenge and feeling the sense of achievement (and glory!) as we cross the finish line. Who knows what our next challenge will be once we have completed this one, the london marathon perhaps or maybe a triathlon...I’ll leave this thought with my team mates!

By setting ourselves challenges we achieve things we never thought we could and with each challenge we complete we feel we have progessed in an area of our life and feel proud of what we have acheived, this is what life is about.

So today I challenge you to set yourself a challenge!

• The challenge may seem daunting so set yourself mini goals that will help you reach the end result.


• Put enthusiasm into what you are doing.


• Do the very best you can.


• Push yourself out of your comfort zone.


• Enjoy what you are doing.

Good luck with whatever you set out to achieve.
For more advice and help with your challenges and goals, please visit our Knowledge Centre.

Sophie Whittall
Marketing & Admin Co-ordinator

www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Dale Carnegie helps sales professionals find effective strategies for dealing with sales stress and other challenges. Inconsistency and the lack of a sales system are the two most common causes of stress. If you make 40 sales calls one week and 5 calls the next week, the amount of new business you close will be different each week. That adds more pressure and greater anxiety.

Here are a few tips:

• Set up a realistic system that you can stick to regularly.


• Develop daily and weekly mini-goals that you know you can achieve.


• Discipline yourself to follow through with your plan.


• Be consistent.

Also to keep stress under control, sales professionals should network with peers by attending professional meetings, events and seminars, this will allow you to see how other salespeople handle challenges such as sales stress.

With that in mind, we'd like to invite you to one of our complimentary seminars...

Sales Advantage preview - Tuesday 2nd March, 9.30am - 12pm

Coaching Salespeople for Success - Thursday 4th March, 8.45am - 10.45am

We look forward to welcoming you!

Corina Balaneanu
Sales Consultant

www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Defeating the winter blues…Why wait…DO IT NOW…

We are in to week six of 2010 and still having to face the weather from snow flakes to sunny mornings. Leaving for work in the freezing cold, getting home after work in the dark and freezing cold! Those credit card statements from all the overspending over the festive period arriving on the doormat. And not to mention those extra pounds gained from tucking into a few too many extra mince pies at Christmas. It’s no surprise that people feel low, associating the start of the year with the blues.

However, a new year should not be doom and gloom and one way that we can overcome this is to have positive thinking. Here at Dale Carnegie we follow the mantra ‘Cultivate a Mental Attitude that will bring you Peace and Happiness’.

To do this follow these seven tips:

1. Fill your mind with thoughts of peace, courage, health and hope.
2. Never try to get even with your enemies.
3. Expect ingratitude.
4. Count your blessings – not your troubles.
5. Do not imitate others.
6. Try to profit from your losses.
7. Create happiness for others.

With these in mind I am off to a spaced learning programme by Dale Carnegie “Effective Communications and Human Relation Skills” on March 9th. We are responsible for our own actions and the sooner we make positive changes the quicker we will achieve our goals. Contact us @ Dale Carnegie where we can work together in improving your performance to improve your company’s performance. Some of our key programmes are listed below:

• Effective Communications and Human Relations
• Executive Leadership
• Leadership Training for Managers
• Sales Advantage
• High Impact Presentations

Mohsana Khatun
Performance Consultant

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/

Sticking to your New Year's Resolutions

Statistically the 12th of January is the most common day of the year to give up on your New Year’s resolution. That’s the day of the year that most people give up …. !

So how did you do on yours? Have the running shoes gone back in the cupboard, was the draw of chocolate just too strong, is the pillow so comfortable that getting up half an hour earlier every day has already gone out the window.

What about those career goals …. Are you still making those extra sales calls? Are you taking the time to get to know colleagues and clients better? Are you still pushing forward with making your career what you want it to be in 2010?

I hope you are!

For anyone who’s already fallen off the wagon, don’t worry it’s never to late to get started again and for those still going, congratulations! I’d like to share a little secret with you to help you keep going on those goals. Our founder, Dale Carnegie, called it ‘The Little Known Secret of Success’ ….. it’s a magical thing called enthusiasm. It’s all well and good to talk about enthusiasm …. We’ve all heard about it but how do we find it? Well here are a few simple tips that I’ve seen people put into practice while training with us that will help keep you on track:

1.Focus all your energy on the outcome not the task.

2.Find one thing about your resolution that you like and focus on that.

3.If you don’t like anything about it pretend that you do ….. I’m serious it works! We can train our minds into liking something… try it!

4.If you have given up … put that in the past. Focus on how good it will feel once you get started again.

Enthusiasm is a powerful influence ….. We have a saying in our business ‘If you act enthusiastic, you’ll be enthusiastic.’ It’s cheesy but it works!

Give it a go …. What’s the worst that could happen?

I wish you every success in your goals for 2010.

David Anderson
Managing Director

www.London.dalecarnegie.com

New Year, New Goal!

It's that time again when we start a fresh year full of resolutions - some of which we stick to and others....well....they seemed like such a good idea when you sat there and made them!!!

It's tradition to make a New Years resolution and common ones are going on a diet, promising ourselves to get fit, to visit relatives you haven't seen in ages, or maybe learn a new language.

However, why do we not always achieve or fulfil our resolutions? Do we start off well and then lose momentum? Well why not turn it into a goal and see how you do then. Goals can be immediate, intermediate and long-range. Achieving day-to-day goals (immediate goals) contribute to the achievement of intermediate and long range goals. So develop SMART goals:

S - Specific
M - Measurable
A - Attainable
R - Relevant
T - Time-specific

Don't forget to review your progress as you go along.....you will be amazed at how motivating it can be realising that you are half way to running that marathon, or to that dream dress you've had your eye on for ages.

Good luck and remember, you can make goals at any time of the year, it doesn't just have to be 1st Jan!

Today is a day in the only life you are ever going to have. Make the most of today. Get interested. Get busy. Reach a goal. Shake yourself awake. let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Make your business prosper today. - Dale Carnegie

Helen Mills
Financial Controller
www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Financial Ruin

I found a piece of paper with some writing on it and I grinned like a “Cheshire Cat”.

The picture looked different about 3 months ago...

It’s a credit crunch, I’m 30 years old and I am constantly tired because of stress and worry. I get up at 5am to travel two hours to a call centre temp job and then go home to sleep on a friends floor because I have no money and no flat. This wasn't the vision of the successful entrepreneur that I had set out to be. I had often taught the Dale Carnegie "Stress and Worry Principles" but on reflection, I never truly understood the meaning of them until now.

The Principle: "What is the worst that can happen?" Well...it already had.

It was a friend of mine who helped me to see how I could "improve on the worst". He said: "set a goal but don’t become attached to the goal". Then "Get Active” and finally, “Choose one project and do that project with all your heart and soul 110%".

I wrote my goal as a question, "How can I make my first £5000?” Next, I brainstormed some actions that I could take to help me answer the question. I then put the paper away and tried to forget about it. I have always been someone who wants everything right now!! By putting the goal away I was able to stay motivated by the actions rather than becoming emotionally attached to the goal. I eventually found my opportunity and I gave it 110%.

I found that piece of paper again and I grinned like a Cheshire cat because I had smashed the goal. On reflection, the goal could have been even bigger and even braver. There is no magic bullet to overcome financial ruin:

1. Write down a “brave” goal as a question.
2. Brainstorm actions that you CAN take to answer the question.
3. Get active in anyway you can.
4. Choose one thing and do it with all of your heart and soul.

Hayley Kennedy
Dale Carnegie Trainer
www.London.Dalecarnegie.com

Release the Pressure

‘Leading the championships every race is exciting but there are pressures. This is the first time I can relax, go out there, do my thing and enjoy the race.’

These are the words of Jenson Button, 2009 grand prix world champion. After a summer of worrying and living with the stress of wanting the championship title so badly, he and his team mates can now start Sunday’s race knowing they have already achieved what they worked so hard for. The hard work has paid off and the pressure has been released. Jenson can now hit the track with a head free of stress and take pleasure in the sport he loves.

We all at some time or other get worried or stressed and often it is because we put pressure on ourselves as we don’t want to fail but want to succeed and achieve our goals. It is not healthy for us to always be worried or stressed, sometimes you just need to let go and clear your head. In the words of Dale Carnegie, ‘If you have worries, there is no better way to eliminate them than by walking them off. Just take them out for a walk. They may take wings and fly away!’

Here are some tips to help you dispel some of your stress and worry and enjoy whatever you are doing:

• If you want to avoid worry, do what Sir William Osler did: Live in “day-tight compartments.” Don’t stew about the future. Just live each day until bedtime.
• Use the law of averages to outlaw your worries. Ask yourself : “What are the odds against this thing happening at all.”
• Co-operate with the inevitable. If you know a circumstance is beyond your power to change or revise, say to yourself: “It is so; it cannot be otherwise.”
• Let’s fill our minds with thoughts of peace, courage, health, and hope, for “our life is what our thoughts make it.”
• Do the very best you can; and then put up your old umbrella and keep the rain of criticism from running down the back of your neck.’

So next time you let the pressure get to you and you begin to feel stressed, refresh yourself with the tips above and let your worry go. Remember life is there to be enjoyed.

Sophie Whittall
www.london.dalecarnegie.com

Tears of Pride

This time of year many young folk leave for University and have to leave home, not necessarily forever but certainly for long periods of time. This is the start of a new venture for them. This weekend my eldest boy Daniel (step son) will be going to York University to study medicine and become a Doctor. Daniel since the age of five has always wanted to become a scientist or Doctor and now the goal is happening through his hard work and determination. Mick his Dad has always been included in our family decision when it concerns Daniel which has helped keep a stable balance in his life. That was until Mick died just under two years ago from Cancer. Daniel's world was rocked badly. The emotional impact on him and the rest of us as a family was difficult to cope with but somehow you get through. Daniel incredibly showed us that his promise to his Dad on his death bed was to make it as a Doctor and nothing would stop him. He has worked hard but still lived with the passion of enjoying life as an elder teenager and has become a great role model for his younger brother Jason.

Every single day this week we have seen tears from his mum, Jason and me and writing this blog today I am tearful. Great news is the tears are for joy too as we are so proud of him for the great achievement and when the farewells happen on Saturday at least we know Daniel will be fine. He has learnt many life skills and is extremely capable. Home life will be strange for a while but adjusting and adapting can be exciting when approached with the right attitude. Jason is already thinking bigger room for him.

So as Saturday approaches and I remain mellow and tune myself with positive thoughts of the future by living today and enjoying each and every moment and yes I will miss his fun loving nature but realise his inspiration for helping me this year through some tough challenges will be treasured forever. His return at Christmas will be a joyous occasion.

My tears are of pride and a sincere wish for his future as a great and brilliant Doctor, I urge everyone reading this to know whats possible when you take action. Take action on your dreams, goals or visions and make a difference for you.

Dr Daniel you are amazing.

Frank Steggall

Consultant

www.London.Dalecarnegie.com

Don't Worry, Be Happy

Welcome to the Dale Carnegie London Blog, we are very excited about our launch and can't wait to start sharing our views and advice with you. The whole team here in London will be contributing to the blog and we will hold monthly polls to find out what you want to hear about and what issues you are facing.

Right now we are getting fed up with the doom and gloom of the credit crunch and want to focus on our goals and see how we can thrive in current times, in the words of Dale Carnegie 'It's Time to Stop Worrying and Start Living'.......

Sophie Whittall

Marketing Co-ordinator

http://www.london.dalecarnegie.com/