Motivation: Small Changes, Big Results

When I was 8 years old, my parents let me go to the toy store with my buddy Mike and his Mom.

My dad gave me a whole dollar to spend.

At the store I found a Frankenstein model that I really really wanted. The problem was the model was 88 cents, I had a dollar and I didn't want to waste the 12 cents difference.

Fortunately for me, Mike's Mom explained that if I took the model to the check-out counter and gave the lady the dollar, she would give me 12 cents back.

I thought this was a pretty cool way to run things so I bought the model.

The model is long gone, but the lesson is not.

Once someone explained the concept of change to me, a new part of the world opened for me.

In my work with helping people to get the changes they want and need in their lives, I find that most clients do not understand the concept of change. Once people see how easy change can be, they get excited, begin to believe they really can change, and a whole new world opens up to them.

One of the most common places people get confused about change is the false notion that in order to change you have to make big, huge, and difficult changes for it to make a difference.

That's just not true. A small change, the right small change, can bring big results.

For example, a plane flying from Atlanta to Hawaii could be off course by only one degree at the start and wind up in Australia.

Applied to our own lives, just one small correction in our course can make all the difference.

I know of a man who was very out of shape who decided to start running. The first day, he made one small change in his day. He ran from the mail box in front of his house to the mail box of the house next door and back. By adding one more mail box to each of his runs, he was able to run a marathon within the year.

Small change, big results.

Let's take an example from one of my coaching clients. This person really wanted to start a savings plan but believed he did not have enough money to begin.

Experience tells me if you look in the right places, you can usually find a little bit of money.

We discovered that he was spending at least $2 a day on a soda and a candy bar on the way to work each morning.

That small amount of pocket change adds up to $10 a week, approximately $43 a month, which is more than $500 a year.

Put that small $2 a day into the right interest bearing places, and you are well on your way to a healthy savings plan, all based on the small change in a pocket.

Small change, big results.

So let's put some hands and feet on this, and apply these notions in your own life.

Choose something you have been wanting to change - just one small thing to do differently. Give up caffeine, walk around the block each night, go to bed an hour earlier, listen to your kids, smile at your spouse, etc. All of these are small changes that can lead to big results.

Here's my challenge:

test this out and see if what I am saying makes practical sense.

For the next week, choose just one small thing to do differently and commit to it.

At the end of the week, check out the results.

I'm willing to bet you'll be surprised and motivated to move on to some more changes. Then you are on your way.

It may even open up a whole new world of

small changes, big results.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

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Google News Updated : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:25:52 GMT S. Ossetia to be absorbed into Russia - United Press International BBC News S. Ossetia to be absorbed into Russia United Press International - 1 hour ago TSKHINVALI, Georgia, Aug. 30 (UPI) -- South Ossetia says it will become part of Russia and host Russian military bases under a new agreement. Video: UN does have double standards RussiaToday Kremlin announces that South Ossetia will Times Online The Associated Press - AFP - Civil Georgia - New York Times all 6,104 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:01:52 GMT Comcast to Place a Cap on Internet Downloads - New York Times ABC News Comcast to Place a Cap on Internet Downloads New York Times - 3 hours ago By BRIAN STELTER Comcast, one of the country’s largest Internet providers, said this week that it would place limits on customers’ broadband usage. Comcast's Answer to ... InternetNews.com Critics Question Comcast Broadband Caps PC World CNET News - Wall Street Journal - ZDNet - InformationWeek all 386 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 09:08:14 GMT Hurricane Gustav Strengthens, Accelerates, Heads for Cuba, Gulf - Bloomberg BBC News Hurricane Gustav Strengthens, Accelerates, Heads for Cuba, Gulf Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By Patrick Donahue and Robin Stringer Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Hurricane Gustav strengthened and picked up speed as it headed toward western Cuba and the US Gulf Coast cities ravaged by Katrina and Rita in 2005, after lashing the Cayman Islands with ... Video: Gustav Follows Katrina's Path CBS Some leave Gulf Coast ahead of likely evacuations The Associated Press Reuters - Minneapolis Star Tribune - New York Times - Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal all 6,069 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 10:40:06 GMT Sign of the times - BBC News San Diego Union Tribune Sign of the times BBC News - 1 hour ago As Russia and the West warn of a new Cold War after the Georgian conflict, the BBC's Humphrey Hawksley in Moscow tries to imagine what it would look like. European Union to Hold Urgent Meeting on Russia Voice of America last straw" for Russia Reuters New York Times - Financial Times - Wall Street Journal - Jerusalem Post all 333 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:10:28 GMT US Oil, Gas Producers, Pipelines Brace for Gustav (Update1) - Bloomberg ABC News US Oil, Gas Producers, Pipelines Brace for Gustav (Update1) Bloomberg - 1 hour ago By Margot Habiby Aug. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Royal Dutch Shell Plc and BP Plc plan to finish shutting oil and gas production platforms in the Gulf of Mexico and Enbridge Energy Partners LP will close pipelines as Hurricane Gustav gains strength and moves ... More volatility seen with hurricane, payrolls Reuters Airlines bounce as oil gives up early gains MarketWatch Forbes - DesMoinesRegister.com - CNNMoney.com - guardian.co.uk all 3,463 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 11:21:02 GMT Experts: Silver lining for ‘viable’ Mitt Romney - Boston Herald Experts: Silver lining for ‘viable’ Mitt Romney Boston Herald - 8 hours ago By Edward Mason Mitt Romney - once a top contender to be John McCain’s running mate - may have suffered a bruised ego when he was passed over for the little known Gov. It's not Pawlenty, it's Palin Worthington Daily Globe Pawlenty, after the pick, another day at fair Minneapolis Star Tribune Post-Bulletin - Washington Post - Grand Forks Herald - CNN all 2,700 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 04:13:29 GMT Obama campaign buoyed by convention - Los Angeles Times ABC News Obama campaign buoyed by convention Los Angeles Times - 5 hours ago He sees an unusually strong jump in support after the carefully choreographed event in Denver. By Peter Nicholas, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer DENVER -- Amy Pearl is the sort of Democrat who made the Barack Obama campaign nervous. Look out, Palin The Hillary factor . . . Chicago Sun-Times Hillary supporters aren't bitter; they're concerned Chicago Tribune The Associated Press - CNN - Philadelphia Inquirer - New York Daily News all 8,528 news articles Publ.Date : Sat, 30 Aug 2008 07:00:48 GMT Make Money With Blogs RSS Software

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