Tabula Rasa -- The Power of......
In This Issue: Issue 338 - - January 02, 2007 
•   Welcome! And what's new...
•   3. Live 48 Days seminar
•   1. Tabula Rasa – the Power of a Clean Slate
•   4. Quotes - - Starting Over
•   2. WIN $150 in 48 Days merchandise
•   5. News You Can Use
Welcome! And what's new...
Wow – no matter what happened to you in 2006 – we are now in a New Year. There is something incredibly refreshing about drawing that proverbial “line in the sand” and knowing that we all have a clean slate. Check out the first item below to give you a new perspective on your Tabula Rasa.

This Sunday will be the first edition of the "48 Days to the Work You Love" radio show for 2007. My co-host, Tim Knox (timknox.com) and I bring the latest in news and guest interviews. I’m constantly amazed by the questions and the insights of our callers. You can hear and call in with your questions (615.737.9986) each Sunday night from 6:00-9:00 PM CDT. The call letters are 99.7 FM in Tennessee or go to Super Talk 99.7 WTN for direct Internet access. You can also listen to any past shows via podcast. 48 Days to the Work You Love

Win $150.00. Be sure to enter the easy contest for a new slogan for 2007 that will inspire us all.

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."-- Edith Lovejoy Pierce

1. Tabula Rasa – the Power of a Clean Slate
Tabula Rasa -- This is actually a Latin term meaning “clean slate.” People who end up being successful usually view change differently than the average person.

It was a cold December night in West Orange, New Jersey. Thomas Edison's factory was humming with activity. Work was proceeding on a variety of fronts as the great inventor was trying to turn more of his dreams into practical realities. Edison's plant, made of concrete and steel, was deemed "fireproof". As you may have already guessed, it wasn't! On that frigid night in 1914, the sky was lit up by a sensational blaze that had burst through the plant roof.

Edison's 24-year-old son, Charles, made a frenzied search for his famous inventor-father. When he finally found him, he was watching the fire. His white hair was blowing in the wind. His face was illuminated by the leaping flames. "My heart ached for him," said Charles. "Here he was, 67 years old, and everything he had worked for was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, 'Charles! Where's your mother?' When I told him I didn't know, he said, 'Find her! Bring her here! She'll never see anything like this as long as she lives.'"

Next morning, Mr. Edison looked at the ruins of his factory and said this of his loss: "There's value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew."

What a wonderful perspective on things that seem at first to be so disastrous. A job loss, business failure, personal dream gone sour... whether these things destroy an individual depends largely on the attitude he or she takes toward them. Sort out why it happened, and learn something from the blunders. Think of different approaches that can be taken. Start over. With any failure, there is a lesson to be learned and forgiveness to be found. With the slate wiped clean, look forward. Be wiser and humbler in view of what has happened, but don't stop living because of it. A key truth of the Christian faith is that our hope lies in a still-unseen future rather than in a miserable past.

Don’t ignore the value of your “tabula rasa.” (See our quotes for today.)

Need some tools to help you move forward?

2. WIN $150 in 48 Days merchandise
Here’s a simple contest. Each year I like to come up with a phrase to enter the New Year. Some are easy: “Things will be great in ’98.” “Everything’s fine in ’99.” “Like Eagles We’ll Soar in 2004.” What about this coming year? What can we use as a motto for 2007?

Submit your entry at 2007@48Days.com. Let’s keep it from 3-10 words so it’s easy to state and keep in our minds. What’s it going to be? “I want to go to heaven in 2007.” That probably won’t make the cut. What’s your idea? “I’ll improve my livin in 2007.” It doesn’t have to rhyme with 07 but it would be nice if it did.

Our unbiased panel of experts will select 3 winning entries for these prizes:
1. 1st Place -- $150 gift certificate for 48 Days store: http://www.48days.com/products.php
2. 2nd Place -- 5 Book Package, including 48 Days to the Work You Love hardback, 48 Days to the Work You Love workbook, The Rudder of the Day, Life’s Little Instruction Book, and The One Minute Millionaire
3. 3rd Place – Free 2 CD pack – “Turning Passions Into Profits” and “Is Your Job Your Calling?”

Deadline is this next Sunday night, January 7th at 12:00 midnight. Winners will be announced here in next week’s newsletter.

Just submit your entry here:
2007@48Days.com

3. Live 48 Days seminar
Beginning January 9th, I will be teaching the 48 Days to the Work You Love seminar at Christ Church in Nashville, TN. It’s been a long time since I’ve lead a workshop personally. This six-week presentation will be videotaped and a teaching DVD will be produced. This will then be distributed to the organizations around the world that are requesting it. You can be part of this process that will be seen via DVD in other locations.

During this course, you will learn how to:
• Discover your God-given and perhaps buried talents
• Take your talents and create a clear focus
• Embrace the "gift" of meaningful work
• Experience the freedom that comes from finding your passion
• Understand the differences between "vocation," "career," and "job"
• Learn from the shared life stories of those already living the 48 Days principles
• Go through defeat and "failure" and come back twice as strong
• Find job possibilities that never appear in the newspaper or online
• Make $1,000 a minute by negotiating your offer
• Turn your own ideas into extraordinary income
• Decide whether you want a "traditional job" or one of the new work models
• Recognize the only kind of "education" that has value
• Build up your assets , even while unemployed
• Find your IDEAL WORK – and LOVE it!

Six Week Overview –
48 Days to the Work You Love workshop

Section One: Is All Change Good?
• Lesson 1: Why Do We Work? Introduction
• Lesson 2: The Challenge of Change/Common Career Questions

Section Two: What Do I Want To Be When I Grow Up?
• Lesson 3: Creating a Life Plan
• Lesson 4: The Power of Having a Goal

Section Three: Planning My Work Around The Life I Want!
• Lesson 5: Looking Inward
• Lesson 6: Understanding My Personal Characteristics

Section Four: Nuts & Bolts
• Lesson 7: Shaping the Options
• Lesson 8: Creative Job Search Strategy

Section Five: Interviews and Salaries
• Lesson 9: Preparing for the Interview
• Lesson 10: Negotiating Salaries

Section Six: Nontraditional Work
• Lesson 11: Maybe I Don’t Want a Traditional Job!
• Lesson 12: Final Components for Making the Plan!

If you want a hands-on process to launch your New Year, join us for this six-week process. The seminar package is normally $129 but the church is offering it for $99 and my live teaching is thrown in for free.

You can register right here

4. Quotes - - Starting Over
“Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.”-- Henry Ford

"Never confuse a single defeat with a final defeat."
-- F. Scott Fitzgerald, US author

"Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up."
- Thomas Edison

"Failure should be our teacher, not our undertaker."

"Failure is delay, not defeat. It is a temporary detour, not a dead-end street."

"A man may fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame someone else." --Knox Manning

“Some defeats are only installments on the road to victory.”

5. News You Can Use
This is my Year! If you have any desire to move into your own business – this is the best opportunity you’ll find anywhere. We are providing an instant website, with your own blog and product or service information. Here’s a quick look at the growing list of people who are committed to having the best year of their lives in 2007: 48 Days Coaches

Love your work: Here’s an amazing example of someone who has taken a hobby for juggling to a whole new level. Watch this incredible feat of focus and skill. I never cease to be amazed at the things that can be translated into profitable work – if done with excellence.
Juggler

GIMME A RAISE! It’s the beginning of another year and many of you are hoping for a raise this year. Ask yourself this: How much profit did I make my employer today?” If the answer is “a lot” you have a shot at getting a raise this year. If the answer is “none,” it’s time to get your resume updated. An employee cannot be just an expense to the company. The rule of thumb is that the efforts of any employee must generate 3-5 times what the company pays that person. Don’t expect a raise just because you’ve been with the company one more year. If your efforts are not adding profits to the company every day, you are extra baggage that they will look to discard. Raises are given because you are worth more than what you are currently being paid. How can you make your company more successful? Do you see ways to decrease costs? Systems for increasing efficiency? Will you sell more this year? Do you help others there complete their assignments when you are current on yours? Those are legitimate ways to expect a raise. Check here to calculate your salary range: What I deserve

Here's a Great Job “The very best job I can think of is Venture Capitalist. Not only does it sound great at parties, but you’re expected to fail 90 percent of the time. I mean no disrespect to venture capitalists when I say this, but a hamster with Alzheimer’s could make those kind of numbers”. Scott Adams, “The Dilbert Future.”