~ The Service Professionals Resource ~ 
May 3, 2017 
Volume 13, Issue 5                                                                                                          $4.75
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Mark Matteson publishes his Sparking Success EZine Street newsletter on the first Wednesday of every month. The next newsletter will go out on June 7, 2017

A simple choice
Freedom From Fear Forever

freedom from fear
Freedom From Fear Audio CD
Audio CDs
Sales Success Stories
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Mark Matteson gives over 75 presentations each year. Book him now to secure the inspiring message that will spark your group's success! To watch Mark's demo video, go to: www.sparkingsuccess.net . Call 206.697.0454 or e-mail him at [email protected].
  
Notes from My Journal
by Mark Matteson

A client asked me during one of my seminars, "What do you do when you fill up a journal? Do you review it? Go back over it?" My answer was, "Yep!" I gather up the good stuff and pull it forward to the next journal, or like this, use it as content for an article, special report, or e-book. In my first book, Freedom from Fear, (which, by the way, has sold OVER 100,000 copies-get your signed copy from my website bookstore J ) I wrote, "The palest ink is better than the strongest memory." Here is some ink, just for you.
 
Thank You for Today!
 
"Thank you for today, God. I now understand that all I truly have is today. Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is a promissory note. Help me to live in this moment, one day at a time. Today is here, now. Help me to live today to the fullest, in order that I might be of maximum service to my fellow man. Help me to go the extra-mile, add value, do more than I promised; and do all that with a positive, joyful, and grateful attitude. I love my life. Let that love be directed toward my fellow travelers on this journey. I know I only have so many tomorrows, so just for today, let me be kind, loving, compassionate, supportive, uplifting, and a GOOD-Finder! Thank you for today..."
 
On Remembering People's Names
 
Remembering other people's names is a decision, discipline, and habit. It's a hard habit to form, but an easy one to live with. Here are some strategies I have picked up along the way. I hope they help you.  
  1. Truly concentrate during the introduction, listen, and register the name!
  2. Ask them to repeat it or spell it. While they do that, make note of something about them that is memorable.
  3. Use their name in the conversation at least two times before you leave.
  4. Do some homework beforehand if possible and afterward for sure.
  5. Create an image of their name ("Tom" think "Tom-Tom" bang a drum)!
  6. Ask for their business card or trade information on your smartphone.
  7. Remember that the sound of someone's name is the sweetest sound in any language to them.
  8. Write their name down someplace (your journal, smartphone, etc.)
  9. Put their information into your contacts that day. Don't delay.
  10. Follow up with an email or note or phone call.
Try affirming this new belief: Names are fun and easy for me to remember! Remember this: "Every new belief has the word LIE right in the middle. Any goal we set is never true at first. It's only with repetition and emotion, over and over again, does an affirmation like that become true. Be-LIE-ve and succeed!
 
George Carlin's 10 Rules for Success  
  1. Find Your Place: "I was a rebel. I wanted to be a disc jockey, then comedian, then writer and actor. I was kicked out of school and the United States Air Force! I was an unlawful kid, anti-authority. There was a dissonance in me. Yet I had a talent to project ideas. I was 30 years old and my audience was in their 40s in Vegas! I was entertaining the enemy?! I changed my act to speak to the 20-year-old college kids and it clicked!" 
  2. Train Yourself: "I was a mimic. I was constantly doing imitations of others. I was the class clown, the wise guy. I lifted bits and routines from others. I did it for the attention and approval of my mother and her friends. Laughter = Approval. At eight, nine years old I was doing imitations of Danny Kaye and Red Skelton. At 13 years old, I got a hold of a tape recorder and began taping voices, skits, fake commercials. My mom fostered and encouraged all that." 
  3. Be Restless: "Never be content. Keep striving to improve every aspect of what you do. I am an entertainer and artist. That drives me. I want to be better tomorrow than I was today. Keep going. Never stop improving." 
  4. Write it All Down: "Find it. Think it. Capture it on paper or on your computer. Classify it. Categorize it. Read and re-read it. Study it. Memorize it. Master it. Topical: sex, politics, traffic, golf, cemeteries, baseball, football." 
  5. Cooperate: "The first thing we say after a tragedy (tornado, flood, etc.) is, 'Is everybody okay? Let's find some water and something to eat.' Cooperation versus competition. Seek balance and develop relationships with other people who are good at what you are not (managers, PR, booking, etc.)." 
  6. Have Plans: "Plan the things you feel qualified for and love. I said to myself on paper, 'First I'll be a disc jockey, then a comedian, then an actor, then a writer!' Put it down on paper. Review it. Take Action and Risks." 
  7. Don't Take No for an Answer: "If it's not working (your material) it might not be you; it could be the audience. Blame it on the audience. Learn how to forget the last bad gig, yet remember the great gigs! Keep moving forward. Do more of what works and less of what doesn't." 
  8. Give up the Things That Hurt You: "You gotta have some luck, yet the harder you work, the luckier you get. Hard work! There is no substitute for it. Be determined to succeed. Believe in your ability to change and grow. So, 'no' to drugs, booze, wild women. Let go. Have something to look forward to that is bigger than those old things. Goals." 
  9. Follow Your Dreams: "I was a DJ in Fort Worth, Texas, the 7:00 to midnight shift when I met Jack Burns. He said to me, 'I'm going to Hollywood, California to give them one last chance to see me. I'm gonna snag a news job. You should come with me. In fact, why don't we develop an act and go for it?' So we hit the coffee house circuit and developed a routine. Skits. We were NOT going to do side jobs as waiters. WE drove to LA on spec! We were making $400 a week in 1961. We heard KFWB was looking for a morning comedy team. We got the gig. We kept honing our act and were on radio in the morning and coffee houses at night. Rowan and Martin's manager saw us along with a referral from Lenny Bruce. Two years later, we were on NBC." 
  10. Speak from the Heart: "War. Politics. Race. Death. Homelessness. 'Why not give the homeless their own magazine?' Why not? We have magazines on WALKING! Walking??? Observe, Acknowledge and Heighten! Yes-AND!?"
 
What is in YOUR journal? Why not send ME some stuff? Make it a great day, unless you have other plans.



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Mark Matteson gives over 75 presentations each year. Book him now to secure the inspiring message that will spark your group's success! To watch Mark's demo video, go to: www.sparkingsuccess.net . Call 206.697.0454 or e-mail him at [email protected] .  


Freedom From Fear, Freedom From Fear Forever, A Simple Choice, 
and 
It's About Time - Now Available on Audible.com 

You can now purchase four of my best sellers on Audible.com. I have done the narration on all four books and there will be more coming soon. I highly recommend that you check them out. Click this link to go to the site. Each book is priced according to length per Audible's policy.
 
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BOOK of the Month
 
Creative Visualization
By Shakti Gawain  

Yes, I'm suggesting the SAME book as last month! Why? It's that good. Just in case you didn't commit to reading it ��❗️

"I have seen in my own life that creative visualization works!"
- Oprah Winfrey
 
"Creative visualization was like nothing I'd ever read before. It's what got me started using visualization in my personal life and in my teachings."
- Jack Canfield, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for Soul series
 
Shakti espouses her "Three Necessary Elements" for goal achievement:
  1. 1.    Desire - "Do I truly, in my heart, desire this goal to be realized?"
  2. 2.    Belief - "Do I really believe that this is possible for me to realize or attain?"
  3. 3.    Acceptance - "Am I really completely willing to HAVE this goal? (You must want this, truly want it.)
 
When I reflect upon the goals I achieved in my lifetime versus the ones I did not, her "Three Necessary Elements" ring true for me. I really, truly desired the goal. It was a burning obsession that I believed in my heart I could achieve and accepted what needed to be done to achieve it. If these three are not present for you, move on to something that does fit. Like a shirt that's too big or small, keep looking down the rack at Nordstrom until you find one that does fit just right.
 
I'm on my second reading in a week. This book is special. There is reason it has sold 6,000,000 copies in 40 years. It's simple, practical, and loaded with ideas that will transform your life. Shakti has me visualizing faithfully again in the morning and evening. It works. Test drive it for yourself. Be prepared to rip the ball off the glass!



To purchase a copy of my newest e-book, How to Have Your Best Year Yet! recently published on Amazon, simply click here. It's only $6.95. Thank you.

Mark resides in Edmonds, Washington and takes great pride in the fact he flunked high school English. To watch Markʼs demo video, go to:  www.sparkingsuccess.net  

Mark Matteson gives over 75 presentations each year. Book him now to secure the inspiring message that will spark your group's success! To watch Mark's demo video, go to: www.sparkingsuccess.net . Call 206.697.0454 or e-mail him at [email protected] .