Longwood, FL—when it comes to decision making most people have the tendency to stay with their most natural ways of gathering information and evaluating information, when in fact there are two opposite ways to perceive and evaluate. When people use only their most preferred way to perceive and evaluate, they limit their potential in their vocations and relationships.

Within the pages of author Michael E. Lanphere’s new Xulon Press book, In His Image: Discovering Your God Given, Inborn Personality Characteristics ($15.99, paperback, 978-1-61579-807-0), readers will learn how to broaden and enhance their personality preferences, both for themselves and for those to whom they relate.

“The readers should come away with an ability to use their personality preferences in a balanced way that will enable them to see from a broader perspective,” the author says. “When it comes to making decisions, they will begin to understand how to approach people and processes in a way that is most suited for the moment. This book shows people how to use all of their functions regarding gathering information and evaluating that data.”

The book is the result of the Lanpheres’ success over the last 30 years using the MBTI and Keirsey Temperment assessments in pre-marital and marriage counseling. They have also been teaching a 20-hour seminar called “In His Image” for 23 years helping missionaries understand personality dynamics. The Lanpheres, themselves being mirror opposites, have tried and tested the principles in this book in their own marriage. Readers will find help in every relationship by these principles that bring illumination, transformation, and empowerment to live in harmony with one another.

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Communications, is one of the world’s largest publishers, with more than 7,000 titles published to date. Retailers may order In His Image through Ingram Book Company and/or Spring Arbor Book Distributors. In His Image is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.

Do the Unexpected
One really helpful military principle that can be applied to business is the Principle of Surprise. The principle of surprise says, “do the unexpected!” In sales and marketing, this means to be continually seeking ways to out-flank or upset your competition.

Do the Opposite of Before
Sometimes doing exactly the opposite of what you have been doing up till now can turn out to be the perfect solution. The natural tendency for a person, when they find themselves in a hole, is to dig deeper. In many cases, the solution is to go and dig somewhere else. Remember, the first law of holes is, “When you find yourself in one, stop digging.”

Follow-up and Follow-Through
A second military principle that applies to business is the Principle of Exploitation. The principle of exploitation emphasizes the importance of follow-up and follow-through. In business, this means that, when you get an opportunity, you exploit it to the fullest extent possible. If you have a great promotional idea or product or service, you sell all you can. You take advantage of your idea or breakthrough and use every opportunity to capitalize on it.

Work Harmoniously With Others
The third principle of military strategy that applies to personal and corporate thinking is the Principle of Cooperation. In business, this is often called the principle of synergy. In military terms, this is often called the principle of “concerted action.” In business terms, your ability to work effectively and harmoniously with other individuals and groups is more responsible for your success than any other quality.

Win the Cooperation of Key People
A key part of strategic thinking is for you to identify the individuals, groups and organizations whose cooperation you will require to achieve your goals. Make a list of them and then organize the list in order of importance. Then ask yourself, “How am I going to win their cooperation?”

Answer Everyone’s Favorite Question
Everybody wants to know, “what’s in it for me?” The effective executive is always looking for ways to help or assist others knowing that this is the only sure way to create within them a desire to help you to achieve your goals.

By doing the unexpected, by following up and following through, and by constantly looking for ways to get other people to cooperate with you, you will accomplish more in a shorter time than you might ever have imagined.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to apply these ideas in your business and in your work:

First, look at your job, especially the areas where you are experiencing frustration, and question whether or not there is a completely different way of approaching your problem or situation. Do the unexpected. Perhaps you should be doing exactly the opposite of what you are doing today. All success in business comes from surprising the competition in some way.

Second, identify the people, groups and organizations whose assistance you will need to achieve your goal. Continually look for ways to earn their support and cooperation by thinking in terms of what is in it for them.

Article by Brian Tracy. Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

The Biggest Demotivator of All
They have been raised with a steady drumbeat of destructive criticism, as I was, that has led them to conclude, at an unconscious level, that they don’t really deserve to be successful and happy. The worst effect of negative experiences in childhood, which are all too common, is that when people actually do succeed as the result of hard work, they feel guilty. These guilt feelings then cause them to do things to get rid of the money, to throw it away. They spend it or invest it foolishly. They lend it, lose it or give it away. They engage in self-sabotage, in the form of overeating, excessive drinking, drug usage, marital infidelity and often dramatic personality changes. To change your results with money, you have to change your attitude toward it.

Treat Money With Care and Attention
The fact is that money is very much like a lover. It must be courted and coaxed and flattered and treated with care and attention. It gravitates toward people who respect it and value it and are capable of doing worthwhile things with it. It flows through the fingers and flees from people who do not understand it, or who do not take proper care of it.

Become Skilled With Money
Sometimes people say that they are not very good with money. But being good with money is a skill that anyone can learn through practice. Usually, saying that one is not very good with money is merely an excuse or a rationalization for the fact that the person is not very successful or disciplined with money. The person has not learned how to acquire it or to hold on to it.

Be A No-Limit Thinker
The starting point of accumulating money is for you to believe that you have an unlimited capacity to obtain all the money that you will ever need. Look upon yourself as a financial success just waiting for a place to happen. And see yourself as deserving all you can honestly acquire.

Open Any Door
Money is good. Money gives you choices and enables you to live your life the way you want to live it. Money opens doors for you that would have been closed in its absence. But just like anything, an obsession can be hurtful. If a person becomes so preoccupied with money that he loses sight of the fact that money is merely a tool that is to be used to acquire happiness, then money becomes a harmful thing.

Money is Neutral
The Bible says, “The love of money is the root of all evil.” It doesn’t say, “money is the root of all evil.” It says, “the love of money is the root of all evil.” It is the preoccupation with money, to the exclusion of the really important things in life that is the problem, not the money itself. Money is essential to our lives in society. It is also neutral. It is neither good nor bad. It is only the way that it is acquired and the uses to which it is put that determines whether it is helpful or hurtful.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action:

First, recognize and accept that virtually everyone who has money today at one time was broke and probably broke for a long time. Then they learned the skills of accumulating money and they are now financially independent. Whatever they have done, you can probably do as well.

Second, become a student of money from this day forward. Study it, learn about it and apply the lessons you discover toward your own financial life until you begin to attract more and more money in your direction.

Article by Brian Tracy. Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

Here are three things you can do to expand your list of contacts. First, make a list of the 25 people you feel it would be most useful for you to get to know. Develop a strategy to get to meet everyone of them over the next 12 months. Then make a list of 25 more.

List the people in charge of the major corporations that would be useful for you to know. List the mayor, list the congressmen, list the senator. List the important people that it would be helpful for you to know and then make a plan to meet them.

Network at Every Opportunity
Second is for you to network at every opportunity. Join business and trade associations. Attend meetings. Get involved. Volunteer for service on a key committee. This action alone can cut years off your career.

Once, when I was working with the Chamber of Commerce, I came to the attention of a senior executive who hired me away from the company I was working for a year later at triple the salary. Meeting people is very important. Network at every opportunity.

Get Involved in the Community
The third way is to get involved in community service organizations. The best people in every community, the people you should know and who should know you, are usually involved in public service in some way. Start with the United Way in your own city, or get involved in any charity that you care about or that you’re interested in. You’ll be amazed at the quality of people that you’ll meet doing voluntary service.

Unlock Your Creativity
Another form of leverage is creativity. Remember, one new idea is all you need to start a fortune. Everyone has the ability to come up with creative ideas and solutions if they look for them. All great fortunes begin with an idea.

Create Good Work Habits
A powerful form of leverage that can help you is good work habits. Good work habits make an extraordinary difference. In a recent study, 104 chief executive officers all agreed that the ability to set priorities and then to get the job done fast were the two qualities that most readily led to promotion and increases in pay. Good work habits will bring you to the attention of the important people in your life as fast or faster than anything else you can do. In the final analysis, you always get paid for your results. If you develop a reputation for being the person who gets the job done fast, that alone can put you onto the fast track in your career.

Your Action Assignment
Now, here are two things you can do to leverage your financial potential:

First, get involved in the business, trade, civic and social organizations in your community. Once you become a member, off er to help and serve on committees. This will bring you to the attention of people who can help you faster than any other way.

Second, develop excellent work habits. Be punctual. Plan your work and work your plan. Always concentrate your conscious energies on high priority tasks and make sure that you are doing things that are important to your boss and to your company.

Article by Brian Tracy. Chairman and CEO of Brian Tracy International, a company specializing in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

Personal Semiotics Book Cover

As a companion to the book, a new Web site, www.PersonalSemiotics.com, is being launched as a blog and early-stage social networking site. It will be a place for devotees of the Personal Semiotics methodology to create an ongoing discussion between the author, the book’s readers, and newcomers to Personal Semiotics. Site registration is free, and provides members with access to ongoing content related to solving life’s challenges and decisions using the Personal Semiotics process, mindset and templates.

Advantages for 7 Life Areas

Personal Semiotics helps people to better understand their current situation, identify trends and map their ideal path in 7 core life aspects. The advantages of Personal Semiotics can be applied to career, relationships, finances, physical health, intellectual health, emotional health, spiritual health and more.

In discussing his work, Harold Kelley said, “In today’s challenging economy, where so many people have lost jobs or income, it’s important to focus your energy and efforts in a positive way so as not to lose heart. Personal Semiotics can help each person to develop their ideal life path and ensure that in all aspects of life, good decisions are consistently made – whether related to career, relationships or personal development. It is my honor to be able to serve people in any small way on that journey.”

Harold Kelley saw the power of semiotics in corporate branding where it is used by major international consumer, technology and media brands to identify cultural trends, to learn how brands are perceived in the marketplace and to create an ideal marketing position. Like brands, individuals sometimes need help understanding their current position and desire direction toward a better path. Harold Kelley’s innovation was to adapt the semiotic methodology to help individuals discover within themselves the answers to similar questions.

Praise for Personal Semiotics

Kim Giangrande, principle of Intuitive HR, Woodbridge, CT, is an expert in human resources and organizational culture. She notes, “Personal Semiotics provides a powerful framework for analyzing the obstacles that impede our success and happiness in any area of our life while also being a unique tool for discovering our success codes. Harold Kelley has done an extraordinary job of translating this valuable and timeless analysis tool into a clear set of steps anyone can use to tackle their greatest challenges and goals as they pursue their quest for a better life. I plan to use this methodology with my clients, family, and friends.”

Click here for other readers’ praise of Personal Semiotics.

Book Availability

Personal Semiotics is available as a 272-page, paperback book through Amazon.com for $22.95. Visitors can preview excerpts of the book for free using Amazon’s “Look Inside” feature. Click here for the direct link to Personal Semiotics on Amazon.com.

The book is also available for immediate download as an ebook for $16.95 via PayPal. Click here for the direct link to the Personal Semiotics ebook.

Media Support

Qualified, established media entities and blogs that wish to review the book can request a complimentary electronic review copy of Personal Semiotics by registering on the Personal Semiotics site. Click here to register as a media representative.

About the Author

Harold Kelley is a creative thinker, author, and marketer living in Connecticut, U.S.A. He has worked for more than 25 years in the fields of publishing and high tech, most recently in market research, where he became fascinated with semiotics. Personal Semiotics, as a methodology for self-development, is his creation. Personal Semiotics – Discover the Secret Success Codes to Your Ideal Life Path is his first published book.

About the Publishers

Personal Semiotics – Discover the Secret Success Codes to Your Ideal Life Path is published by BookSurge Publishing, LLC, an Amazon.com company. Insight Loft of Gaylordsville, Connecticut, U.S.A., owns the publishing and media rights to the book and to the Personal Semiotics Web site. Insight Loft welcomes partnership opportunities with hard-cover, retail, new media and international publishers.

Source: PRWeb