Table of Contents:

1. The One-Minute TIP
2. Welcome Notes
3. Your Chance to Partner with God
4. Quotes of the Week
5. Strictly Business:  Reality Never Lies
6. Resources and Tools for YOUR Success!
7. Humor:  Strange Places We'd Like to See

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1. The One-Minute TIP

Most Americans will spend this holiday weekend escaping from work. We’ll play and laugh, relax with friends, do almost anything except “work.” But I hope you’ll also take a moment over the weekend to give thanks for the work you do. Your creative work makes a contribution to this small planet. In some small way, each of us contributes our energy, our talent, our skill to making life better, and I suspect that’s how God intended it.


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2. Welcome Notes

I was amazed by the response to last week’s account of my train trip to Colorado! I got over 100 emails, most talking about their own experiences on the train, good and bad. One thing that surprised me were the complaints about the cost of the train. My own ticket was a fraction of the cost by airfare, but apparently that’s not always the case so check before buying your tickets.

Several people told me travel along the east coast is often crowded and uses older equipment than the trains in the mid-west and west, so you might check that before booking a trip, as well. My trip was spur-of-the-moment and I checked none of those things, but I had a great time. It occurred to me that expectations and “luck” might have a lot to do with it, but the people I met were friendly, the accommodations were comfortable and the scenery was gorgeous. Mary and I will definitely do it again.

Finally, I want to wish all my American subscribers a wonderful Labor Day Holiday. I talk more about that, below, but I hope you get time with friends and family, some time to relax, and do something special. Whether you go to the beach, the mountains, or a local park, get outside and enjoy summer! Have a hot dog (with onions!), some potato salad, or whatever makes you smile. Just be safe and have fun!


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3: Your Chance to Partner with God

Work has a bad name, and that’s a shame.

Obviously, some “work” is just boring, undignified or dangerous, and that’s to be avoided at all costs. In my personal dictionary, however, I don’t really count that as “work.” Drudgery is just drudgery and while we all have to do some things we dislike, it’s mainly to be avoided. In a world of freedom and infinite opportunity, why spend your life being a slave?

True work, on the other hand, is one of life’s great privileges. I’ve often written that work is our chance to partner with God and continue the process of creation. According to the ancient story, God created the world in six days (even He needed rest on the seventh day), but apparently He didn’t finish all the details.

He left the details for us, and I count that a great honor.

Obviously, TIPS subscribers belong to a myriad of religions, and many of you opt for no religious faith, and that’s fine. Please substitute whatever terminology you prefer, but somewhere, somehow, the laws of nature were left for us to discover and use. I like to think we’re each building something worthy of ourselves!

Every day, through our work, we get to invent and build and combine the resources around us to create a world that our grandparents could hardly imagine.

Through “work” the Panama Canal was built. Through “work” the Mona Lisa was created. Through “work’ we have computers, aircraft, computers and the internet. Because lots of people went to work, we have modern medicine, and I count these as good things!

There is tremendous dignity in human effort.

My grandfather often said that during his childhood and early adult years, it was unusual to eat anything that was grown more than twenty miles from where he lived. He recalled the joy of getting a single orange (“All the way from Florida!”) as a Christmas present! The next time you visit a grocery store, think about that. As you look at the aisles full of food from around the world, note that it all arrived on the back of human effort and engineering.

I’m not sure how many countries around the world have a “Labor Day” celebration, but I think they all should. Work is an amazing thing. It’s what makes us human, and allows us to create our world, and modify it to suit our preferences.

Do we sometimes mess up? Of course we do! Do we sometimes build or do things that have unintended consequences? Well, like Duh! Sometimes human beings work for evil or unfortunate ends, and that’s tragic, but it doesn’t change the fundamental truth. Work is the cost of freedom and dignity.

Most Americans will spend this holiday weekend escaping from work. We’ll play and laugh, relax with friends, do almost anything except “work.” But I hope you’ll also take a moment over the weekend to give thanks for the work you do. Your creative work makes a contribution to this small planet. In some small way, each of us contributes our energy, our talent, our skill to making life better, and I suspect that’s how God intended it.

Here’s to the joy and dignity of honest, hard work!


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4. Quotes of the Week

“Everyone has a talent. What is rare is the courage to follow the talent to the dark place where it leads.”
                                          -- Erica Jong

"Inspiration grows into full-scale creation through persistence and
imagination."
                                          -- Carol Lloyd

"We have to do the best we can. This is our sacred human responsibility."
                                          -- Albert Einstein

"Work and play are the same. When you're following your energy and doing what you want all the time, the distinction between work and play dissolves."
                                          -- Shakti Gawain


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5. Strictly Business:  Reality Never Lies

I recently listened to a tape of coach and author, Laura Berman Fortgang’s speech to the International Coach Federation in Chicago a couple years ago. In her presentation, she talked about the fact that reality never lies.

While her focus was on coaching, I immediately connected her words to the fact that in business, our sales, productivity, profits and customer satisfaction are ALWAYS precisely accurate measures of the service we provide.

From the dawn of history, human beings have searched for bargains. We love great products, at bargain prices. We love getting the goods or services we need, at a fair price, delivered on time, and hopefully, with an extra “bonus.” In the words of the old saying, “build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.”

Because of this, your bank account is an accurate reflection of the value the world places on your products and services. The facts and numbers do not lie. They may contain a message you don’t like, or one with which you disagree, but they do not lie.

To increase your sales and profits, you must increase the value of your services. Advertising may help in the short-run. Laying employees off, or hiring “better” people may help briefly. Cutting costs or raising prices may give the illusion that things are “better,” but illusions never last.

The key to the growth of your enterprise is providing more value, at a lower price. Fortunately, this is not difficult. “Value” can be many things, from faster delivery, to larger quantities, to more pleasing colors. The opportunity to innovate, add value, and increase sales is endless.

Reality does not lie. Study the numbers, notice where you can increase value to your customer, and adjust accordingly. Your financial future depends upon it.

Often, the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to add value and improve your bottom line is with the help of an expert consultant or coach. Thousands of entrepreneurs and business leaders have learned that an extra set of eyes and ears, and an objective point of view can quickly make a huge difference. If you would like coaching to improve your bottom line, please contact me. I look forward to talking with you! My email is: Coach@philiphumbert.com 


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6. Resources and Tools for YOUR Success!

     #1 Use a MasterMind Alliance to Achieve Your Goals
     Get the Support, Advice & Encouragement You Need
     We All Need a Little Help from Our Friends
     http://TheNewMasterMind.com 

Every winning athlete, and successful business person has a team of experts behind them. How would you like a team of hand-picked advisors committed to your personal success? What could you do with expert advice, wise counsel, and a network of successful people at your finger-tips?

Back in 1935, Napoleon Hill wrote that a “MasterMind” group was the one essential behind every successful person he interviewed! And yet very few people create a Mastermind team to help them achieve their most important goals in life! Now you can! Most people “don’t know how” or they fear they “wouldn’t know who to ask.” Now, I’ve written the manual! I’ve create a “recipe” so you can create your own MasterMind whenever you wish! I’ve included suggestions for where, when and how often to meet. I’ve even included simple scripts to get you started. Check it out!

If success is important to you, you MUST have a MasterMind group to help you “get there.” Click for more info. http://TheNewMasterMind.com


     #2 Think Right Now!
     The Best Tools for Personal Growth I've Found!
     http://philiphumbert.com/go/TRN.htm 

Many of you have purchased these audio programs to increase sales, lose weight, set and achieve goals or improve diet, health and fitness and you know how good they are! My clients turned me on to these CD's several months ago and I'm incredibly impressed. I strongly urge you to jump on this! Top achievers in every field listen to audio programs. They imagine themselves winning, getting new records and living the life they truly WANT, and they do it by visualizing their victories in advance with the help of Mike's programs. These are fantastic, both for yourself and as gifts. Grab these!
http://philiphumbert.com/go/TRN.htm


     #3 Got a Website?
     Earn Passive Income!
     http://philiphumbert.com/go/1A.htm 

Over the years, I've paid lots of money for shopping carts, autoresponders and systems that were supposed to help me serve my subscribers and make money from my website. None of them worked, or more accurately they worked, but they were complex, confusing and didn't work very well. Then I discovered Don Schnure and the amazing programs he's put together. They work! They are powerful, EASY to use, and they let me automate my newsletter, my affiliate programs and my shopping cart, with no hassle! I love this! And, you can use it for 30 days to check it out. Highly recommended!
http://philiphumbert.com/go/1A.htm


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7. Humor: Strange Places We'd Like to See

My friend, Dolly, sent me this list of towns/states (and the story that follows) and while I didn’t take time to check them all, at least some of these towns actually exist. Amazing! Thanks, Dolly!

Shapeless, Mass.

Oola, La

Goodness, Me

Income, Tex.

Deathly, Ill.

Hittor, Miss.

Praise, Ala.

Coco, Colo.

Proan, Conn.

Farmerina, Del.

Inert, Mass.

Hezmakinizetime, Pa.

Ca,Ca

And How About This Country Funeral:
 
As a young minister, I was asked by a funeral director to hold a grave-side service for a homeless man, with no family or friends. The funeral was to be held at a cemetery way back in the country, and this man would be the first to be laid to rest there.
 
As I was not familiar with the backwoods area, I became lost; and being a typical man did not stop for directions. I finally arrived an hour late. I saw the backhoe and the crew eating lunch, but the hearse was nowhere in sight.
 
I apologized to the workers for my tardiness, and stepped to the side of the open grave, where I saw the vault lid already in place. I assured the workers I would not hold them up for long, but this was the proper thing to do. The workers gathered around, still eating their lunch. I poured out my heart and soul.
  
As I preached the workers began to say "Amen," "Praise the Lord," and Glory!" I preached like I'd never preached before -- from Genesis all the way to Revelations.
 
I closed the service with a prayer and walked to my car. As I opened the door and took off my coat, I overheard one of the workers saying to another, "I ain't never seen anything like that before and I've been putting in septic tanks for twenty years."


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Be kind to yourself and to someone else, and have a
wonder-FULL week!



Philip E. Humbert, PhD,
President, The Philip E. Humbert Group, Inc.


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