Fortune Friday: "You have the ability to sense and know higher truth."

Every one of us, every single person on this planet, came into this world with a divine spark—an inner light—that is the perfect personal guidance system. Because truth is based on eternal principles. Truth is truth, no matter wrapper you put it in or what label you give it.

For example, I believe in God. Whether you choose to name it The Supreme Being, Spirit, Higher Power, God, Universal Consciousness or whatever, the fact remains that there is an intelligent force, greater than ourselves, behind the system. I just can't believe that our world is the result of some set of freak occurrences mashed together through space and time. It had to be planned. It's all too amazing to be some random fluke.

This ability to sense and know truth can also act like a built in lie detector.

I think most of us have, or at least have had, that inkling of when someone or something was not being completely straight with us. We knew. Deep down we knew. Right?

But as they say, knowing is only half the battle. The more important half is what you do with that information. Do you use that information for your benefit or for your downfall? Food for thought.

To your good fortune!

Do You Know Your Why?

In his enlightening TED talk, author and cultural anthropologist Simon Sinek explained the root cause behind all great innovators and creators:

They know their why.

Or in other words, there is an overriding purpose that drives all their actions.

Most typical businesses and creators spend a good deal of time touting all the benefits and bells and whistles of their products or services. They focus on the 'what'.

If they are better communicators, they may even go into the 'how' of their business. They explain the facilities, the processes, the staff, the systems.

But the real leaders start with 'why'. They share a story that connects. They build bridges of trust and empathy. They speak to the heart-driven, primitive motivations that move people to act how they do. The need for acceptance, for love, for fulfillment.

Similar to my previous essay on goals, taking time to figure out what truly drives you can pay huge dividends—not only to your pocket book, but to your soul.

Because when you really know your 'why' at a core level, all decision making gets easier. You stop second guessing yourself. You stop working with toxic clients. You stop cutting corners.

You come from a place of strength and love and service. And that is infectious.

Fortune Friday: "The only thing worse than being talked about is not getting talked about."

From a personal standpoint I am not sure I completely agree with this one. But it does have implications where our careers and businesses are concerned.

Some experts claim that undercapitalization is the leading cause of failure for new businesses. Meaning, they don't have enough cash reserves to cover the initial slow periods during the businesses' infancy.

The second cause, in my opinion, would be obscurity. Not enough people know that you do what you do. Say you want to be a professional home organizer. You're really good at it. Your own home is a shining reflection of your knowledge and skills.

But you're not making any money at it. How come?

The simple answer is not enough people know who you are and what you do. At a certain point, business is often a simple numbers game: The more people know you exist, the more sales you're apt to make.

So what is the secret to reaching a broader audience of prospects? Google AdWords? Optimizing your website for keywords? Passing out flyers in parking lots? Those can all work, sometimes wonderfully, but the easiest method is to do something work talking about.

Be remarkable. Remark-able. Able to be remarked about.

Start with one client. Just one. And. Be. Amazing. Repeat: A-ma-zing.

We humans are social animals. We love to share and talk and connect. And when we come across something truly amazing or delightful, our first instinct is to tell someone about it. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised how quickly the word spreads.

And don't be afraid to toot your own horn (or ask for referrals). It is not prideful or arrogant to stand up and say you do something well. Just don't be a jerk about it.

In business being talked about can be both good or bad. Not being talked about can be disastrous. Give people something to talk about, and clients will beat a path to your door.

To your good fortune!

Then Make Your Choice

Arguably one of the funnier exchanges between adversaries in movie history is the classic Battle of Wits in The Princess Bride between the black-clad, swashbuckler Westley and Vizzini, the diminutive criminal mastermind.

After his dizzying display of intellect, during which he attempts to confuse and distract our hero, Vizzini finally chooses a poisoned wine goblet and meets his grisly end.

But what I find interesting, and funny, is all the stalling he does.

Tony Robbins is fond of saying that change does not have to be difficult nor does it need to take a long time—but that real change happens in an instant. It is the preparing to change that takes a long time.

And usually the reason behind the hesitancy to decide is a lack of commitment.

"Failure to commit is the high cost of low living." -Steve Hardison

In fact the word decide comes from the Latin 'to cut off from'. When we make a true decision, there are no other alternatives, no excuses. We cut off all avenues of escape. We remove all options of going back or punking out. And the reward for our bravery is that we have no regrets. Because even when we make a decision that ultimately proves wrong or incorrect, at least we made a choice. We took a stand for something—instead of idly doing nothing, letting life happen to us.

So wherever you are at in what ever circumstance you find yourself, consider what decisions you have been putting off or avoiding and then go and make a choice. You'll be glad you did.

Fortune Friday: "Your present plans are going to succeed."

Success coach and speaker Steve Chandler often speaks about systems, and the importance of installing and utilizing systems to help us achieve what we desire. In fact many thought leaders promote the idea of creating and setting up your environment to help you succeed.

Want to loose weight? Clear out all the junk food from your cupboards. Want to memorize some foreign language vocabulary words? Post sticky notes on your bathroom mirror. In other words, set up your environment to encourage and reinforce your desired behavior.

Chandler states that any observable circumstance is the direct result of a perfect system in play. For example, are you dead broke? Then whatever it is you are doing or not doing in your life (e.g. habits, living situation, relationships, geographic location, cultural norms, education, etc), you are creating, or at the very least contributing to, a perfect, well-oiled machine guaranteed to keep you in poverty.

The same thing is true for the opposite as well. Are you prosperously wealthy? Then aside from inheriting a family fortune or winning the Powerball lottery, you are probably doing those things on a regular basis which contribute to growing money.

So why all this talk about systems? Because their results are usually immediately obvious. There are flawless systems at play in my life that are reflected in my current circumstance. In that sense, my present plans are always going to succeed. Good or bad, they are succeeding because the systems make it so.

So if you want something to change, analyze the system and take steps to modify it.

To your good fortune!

Goals or No Goals?

Much of the success literature of the past fifty years put a strong emphasis on goal setting, goal writing, goal reviewing, and so on. Declare it, list it, check it. You've got to name it to claim it!

Many of the current lifehack gurus espouse a no-goals philosophy; more of a just-move-in-the-right-direction sort of mentality. Some go so far as to claim that the mere vocalizing of your goals diminishes the odds of their being achieved. That the act of sharing it with others gives us the same sense of satisfaction as had we actually achieved it.

So which is the most effective path to getting what you want? The easy answer is whichever method works best for you. But I'd like to consider an alternative to traditional goal setting.

It's called SOP. Standard Operating Procedures.

Made famous by the military, government bureaucracies, and industry, SOPs are defined as "detailed, written instructions to achieve uniformity of the performance of a specific function." In other words, systems are put in place to make sure that what gets done gets done properly each and every time.

Michael Bungay Stanier, author of Do More Great Work and founder of Box of Crayons, a group dedicated to helping organizations excel, gave a great example of SOPs in nature:

"Birds don’t have a long list of to-do’s or rules and procedures on how to fly. They follow two or three key principles, and that allows them to decide the best behaviour. If you imagine one of those big swirling flocks of starlings, they 1. stay as close to the other birds as possible, 2. fly towards to center of the flock, and 3. don’t run into any other bird. These simple rules allow them to become a self-guided, self-governing group."

So perhaps instead of specific goal setting, we should create a Standard Operating Procedure for our life or our career. For example:

1. I will only work with friendly, courteous clients who respect and value my time.
2. I will only work on projects that engage my soul and maximize my core talents.
3. I will only work on projects that are in line with my moral compass.

We start out slow. Over time we begin to do more of what we want to do, and less and less of what we don't. Now some may view this as naive well-wishing. After all, business is war! Success comes from long hours doing work we hate for people we don't care about. Right?

But is that really true? Does it have to be that way? Yes, work does require effort, sometimes major effort. But if it is something you love it doesn't feel so much like "work." I don't know about you, but when I am immersed in a creative project I am excited about, I can joyously work for hours on end. I even forget to eat sometimes. And I like eating. A lot.

Maybe SOPs are the ticket to success. Or maybe they're just for the birds.

Fortune Friday: "The issue isn't what you're saying; mostly, it's the way."

You ever notice how you can say the most insulting, hurtful things to a dog but as long as you use your silly, schmoopsy, goo-goo voice the dog will contentedly wag his tail? We humans are no different.

I remember back when I was in my cranky teenage boy years I would periodically have "discussions" with my parents. Most likely they were full blown arguments, but I don't recall them that way. Or at least not as intense as they probably were.

For some reason, around age 16-17, almost everything irritated me. I'm sure it was a combination of angst, hormones, confusion, and the move towards independence. Bless my parents for being as patient as I now know they most definitely were.

But what I remember most was when my mother would respond to one of my outbursts with the mother of all parental comebacks, "I don't like your tone young man."

To which I, and I think you know where I'm going here, would reply...wait for it...

"What tone?!"

Ah, irony.

There is a good lesson to learn from this week's fortune: Say what you mean, without saying it mean. No one likes to be barked at.

To your good fortune!