Chuck Coté

No-Nonsense Wisdom That Works!

Expect The Best Newsletter

Please feel free to forward this issue to clients, associates, family and friends.

A WebCast is one of the latest and most innovative ways to gain valuable information without leaving your home or office. It’s an inter-active session you participate in right in front of your computer with no hassles! Imagine you are at a presentation I am doing only you don’t have to drive or fly to get there and you can ask questions and see slides of what I am presenting.

Wednesday, May 23^rd from 4:00 PM – 5:00 PM EST I will be doing a one hour session on the Expect The Best mindset and how to use it to get better results personally and professionally. This first WebCast is FREE!!! That’s right … FREE!!!

This is the first time we are doing a WebCast and I want as many people to attend as possible so it won’t cost you anything. PLEASE go to the link below and sign up.

Please click here http://www.chuckcote.com/chuckFix/ to participate in the May 23 Web Cast. Be sure to download the PDF instructions, also on that page, to help make your experience trouble-free. We will be offering two orientation sessions in the days before the WebCast for those who are interested in previewing the software in advance.

You can also call me at (989) 837-3553 if you want more information or have questions about what we will be doing on the “Chuck Fix” WebCast.

“When Facing the Worst … Expect The Best” might seem like a crazy way to deal with a serious problem or setback but it’s the best approach to take because it works. Many times in my life I’ve faced incredible challenges - some personal, some professional, some even life threatening - and every time, every time, the Expect The Best mindset brought me through in amazing ways.

In February of 2002 Josie and I were living a dream of helicopter skiing in the Cariboo Mountains of British Columbia, Canada . Heliskiing is extremely challenging because you ski deep powder snow in wilderness areas that have cliffs, crevasses, avalanche danger and tree wells - deep holes that can be thirty feet deep around the towering pine trees.

We’re both excellent skiers but when our guides warned us that people die Heliskiing, we made sure we listened to and understood all their safety instructions. We skied four glorious days with no problems at all but on the fifth day I found myself … facing the worst.

It was a beautiful morning and we were skiing in two feet of fresh snow that fell overnight. Because it was snowing hard our visibility was limited and we stayed in the woods among the thick pines. Josie and I were weaving our way down the mountain along with our guide Lila, when suddenly my right ski went down in a hole and I tumbled head over heels. When I finally caught myself, I was still in my skis but hanging upside down from tree branches, ten feet deep in a tree well and staring into nothing but darkness below.

I hung there, gripped the branches for dear life and realized I was in one of the worst situations possible. If I lost my hold or came out of my skis and fell down into the bottom of the tree well, snow would cave in on top of me, bury me and I would suffocate. Again and again I yelled for help but no one answered. The more I yelled the more panicked I became. I thought I was doomed.

As I hung there all of a sudden, for whatever reason, I started laughing! That’s right laughing about the crazy predicament I was in and how I got there. Laughing interrupted my negative thought process and changed my mind-set. Yes, I was hanging upside down in a tree well and I was in serious trouble but instead of filling my mind with negative pictures of being buried alive I started to Expect The Best! In my mind I visualized a clear and beautiful picture of being out of the tree well and safe and sound again.

But after I got that picture I realized that I had to figure out how to get out of the hole I was in. I started to formulate an action plan. If no one was going to help me I would have to get my skis off and climb up and out of the tree well. Now I was focusing on positive and constructive ways to help myself instead of imagining all the worst case scenarios.

Still hanging from the branches, I got one ski off and was holding it when I heard Lila’s voice. “You okay?” She inquired as she stared down at me.

Lila reached down and I handed her the ski I had taken off. Then she had me firmly hold the tree branches while she released the second ski and I flipped right side up. Then slowly and carefully I climbed up the branches and out of the tree well to firm ground where Josie, Lila and I hugged each other and recounted what happened. After a few minutes we were skiing again and enjoying the day.

We all go through our share of miserable events and experiences in life. Many times they are unavoidable but they are all part of the journey.

Possibly you have been devastated by the loss of someone you love. Or you may have gone through an ugly divorce and are having a tough time dealing with all the painful issues. Maybe you’ve lost your job and the future is clouded. Perhaps you or someone you know is facing a serious health issue like cancer or heart disease.

I don’t know what it is for you but whatever you’re facing there is a three step process you can use to put your life back on track:

Get Up is step one in the process. As quickly as possible, you need to accept whatever has happened. Don’t deny it, don’t sugarcoat it, don’t ignore it. The sooner you come to grips with it and decide to Expect The Best, even if you aren’t sure what the best might be, the sooner you‘ll begin to work through it.

Maybe you recently lost your job and are confused about the future. Okay, you lost your job and you’re not going to get it back. That’s the reality so accept it. Imagine you’ll have a much better job and begin to get an idea of what the best job for you could be. Start to see and feel yourself immensely successful again and keep that picture vividly planted in your mind.

Get Going is step two and it’s when you start doing something that will get you closer to your new job. Redo your résumé. Call someone who may be able to help you find a better job. Search the web. Network with friends and ask them for advice and assistance. Momentum is created by taking action and you must take massive action to get out of the funk you’re in and feel productive again. If you don’t something, you won’t get anything! Once we Get Going, God and providence work in incredible ways. But you’ve got to Get Going!

Get Through is the final step. This is all about perseverance and commitment. No matter how strong your vision of the new job and how much action you take, things don’t always go your way. That’s just the way life is but you must stay the course in order to Get Through and achieve your goal. People, who are committed and persevere, often fail their way to success.

When you want to learn how to ride a bike you get on, try to ride, and you fall off. But you don’t quit; you get back on until finally you learn how to ride the bike. Trial and error is a normal process with just about anything we do from riding a bike or driving a car, to getting a new and better job.

Someone told me along time ago that “Tough times don’t last but tough people do.” I have a quote from Thomas Edison that inspires me when I need to gather the courage and commitment to Get Through the tough times in my life:

When Facing the Worst … Expect The Best and you’ll be amazed at the new and much better opportunities you create for yourself.

Think about what you can do today to turn a problem or a setback you’ve had into a positive experience. Do something, anything, to Get Up, Get Going and Get Through the problem you have. If you start today you are that much closer to turning a setback into success. Do it now!

Are you looking for a speaker who is entertaining, inspiring and energizing? Who is knows what it takes to get much better results – personally and professionally? Do you need someone to rekindle the passion and dedication in your employees, team members or associates?

If that’s what you are looking for then go to my web site www.chuckcote.com and review my speaking information and programs or call me at (800) 350-7695.

In each newsletter I recommend a book that I think is worth your time and money and this month’s recommended read is The Secret by Rhonda Byrne.

The Secret has become a self-help sensation with more than 1.75 million copies sold. Oprah Winfrey devoted two broadcasts to it and explained that she had been living her whole life by the “law of attraction” and didn’t even know it.

The idea behind the “law of attraction” is that we attract things to ourselves with our thoughts. People who are positive about their careers are more likely to be promoted and get bigger raises than those people who view their work as an unpleasant chore. People who are upbeat are more likely to attract like minded people than those who think the world is against them.

The Secret is a thought provoking book that I really liked and I hope you enjoy it too.

My purpose in writing the Expect The Best Newsletter is simple and straightforward: to give you No-Nonsense Wisdom That Works! Works how? It gives you information you can use to make a difference in your life and the lives of the people around you.

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