Powertake

My Formula: Powertake + Skills + Practice = Personal Freedom and Success Ho hum, yet another book on self-improvement. Yes, this is another self-improvement book. However, its purpose is not to make you rich and famous, cure your neuroses (if you have any), solve all of your problems, or make you happy forever. And it is not a book about winning by aggression, intimidation, manipulating others, or acting like a general all-around rat. However, it is a book about being successful, no matter how you might define success. Becoming successful always involves you creating more personal freedom for yourself. A proven path to freedom and success involves three things: • Powertake • Learning powertake skills • Practicing these skills. What the heck is powertake? Go back and review the definition: “Taking control of and using the power you already have in order to get much of what you want from life; and doing this in ways that don’t hurt others.” Important: powertake already is there. It’s built into everyone. (Yes, that includes you.) It’s not some harebrained or mystical concept. It’s not wishful thinking (yours or mine). It’s the inner power and strength that we all have, whether or not we’ve ever used it. It’s what happens when someone reaches deep down inside and draws upon his or her unexpressed personal power. It’s what happens when someone tries to improve his lot in life by changing some things about him. It’s what happens when someone says to herself: “I’m better than this; I know I am. I can be more successful than I’ve been.” It’s when someone says to himself: “I’ve had a lot of disadvantages, but I won’t act like a victim anymore.” It’s what happens when someone says: “I don’t care anymore about how nonsupportive and unhelpful you are. I know I can be successful. And I’ll find someone who’ll support me and help me.” It’s about hopes and dreams. But, just as important, it’s about how you make hope blossom and dreams come true. But what does it really mean to powertake? It really means: • Taking responsibility for yourself and your life • Having more control over the consequences of what you say and do • Being able to stand up for yourself and assert your legitimate rights • Being able to communicate effectively with people • Not being oversensitive to what others say about you • Realizing that there are few things in life that you’re really entitled to, and that entitlement is a negative force in your life • Knowing how to manage your money. These are the seven practical skills that make powertake real. When you learn and practice these skills, you’ll experience real personal freedom and real success. And you’ll get these things without hurting people. And “personal freedom” means? True personal freedom is: • A sense that you have some say about how you live your life. • Knowing that, in some areas of your life, you’re completely in charge. That is, you’re really the boss. • The realization that you have complete freedom to think your own thoughts, have your own feelings, have your own beliefs, and to decide what is important to you and what is unimportant to you. Success You decide what success means. No one else can do it for you. No one else should do it for you. If someone else is deciding what success is for you, then you really need this book. Some people define success as: • Holding an important job • Making a lot of money • Setting and achieving difficult goals • Learning more and more about valuable topics • Being recognized as an expert • Working with people in a wide range of situations • Helping less fortunate people • Owning your own business. The list is nearly endless, but maybe you see success as: • Working more effectively with others • Becoming a more confident person • Coping with nasty people • Becoming more independent and self-directed • Becoming more of a risktaker • Handling stress more constructively • Learning to manage change effectively. Again, it’s a nearly endless list. It doesn’t make any difference how you define success, as long as you do it for yourself. Powertake is the royal road to success. Without Hurting Others Life does not have to be some kind of destructive game in which someone must “lose” so you can “win.” Life does not have to be a “collision sport,” where you must run over others to achieve success. Call me naïve (some people have), but I believe you can gain the success you want without destroying or hurting people. I’ve done it—so can you. You can gain your personal freedom and success in a positive and constructive way. It’ll make your freedom and your success even sweeter. A Lack of Personal Freedom / A Lack of Success The following statements and questions came from clients, friends, acquaintances, and even complete strangers. Do any of these ring a bell? 1. People take advantage of me all the time. 2. I feel like everyone else is controlling my life—everyone but me. 3. Why do others have things and I don’t? It doesn’t seem fair to me. 4. People hurt my feelings all the time. Why do they do it? 5. Nobody seems to understand what I want. Why don’t they understand? 6. I keep making the same mistakes over and over again. It’s driving me crazy. 7. I made more than a million bucks in twenty years. Where is it now? I don’t have enough money. 8. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. 9. I have no control over my life. It’s as though everything is falling apart all at once. I’m lost. 10. People misunderstand me all the time. I can’t get my ideas across. No one understands what I want and what I need. 11. I keep doing dumb things that come back to hurt me. Why do I keep doing these things? 12. People at work keep bugging me. Why can’t they stop? If you can relate to even one of these statements or questions, this book can help you. They are typical of people who do not have enough personal freedom and success—people who did not powertake. They do not have enough control over their lives, in one way or another. They have not achieved the success and freedom in their lives that they need and want. Have you?