Don't Tell Me It's Impossible Until After I've Already Done It: Techniques to Make Your Career Dreams Come True

by Pam Lontos

Techniques for achieving personal happiness and career success accompany the story of how the author transformed herself from an overweight and severely depressed housewife into a successful saleswoman and motivational lecturer.

Genres: Self Help

166 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1986

About the author

An expert in publicity and media placement, Pam Lontos, MA, is the founder and president of PR/PR Public Relations. She is author of the popular books I See Your Name Everywhere: Leverage the Power of the Media to Grow Your Fame, Wealth and Success and Don’t Tell Me It’s Impossible Until After I’ve Already Done It. Pam has been recognized in her industry with the Irwin Award for Book Publicist of the Year as well as the George Morrisey Lifetime Achievement Award.

She is a former Vice President of Disney’s Shamrock Broadcasting, in charge of eight radio and two television stations. Pam was a professional speaker for 20 years and is a long-time member of the National Speakers Association. A graduate of Southern Methodist University with a master’s degree in advertising and psychology, Pam has been in one form of sales or publicity for more than 25 years.

Pam has also earned the coveted Certified Speaking Professional designation from National Speakers Association, and has been featured on CNN, in the New York Times, Entrepreneur, Inc. Magazine and Cosmopolitan, and has appeared on programs with Zig Ziglar, Walter Cronkite, Tom Peters, and Brian Tracy.

Reviews

[Cheryl's Lit · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learning's 24 years later are still relevant today:
- You must be confident and love yourself before you can help others. Deal with your own insecurities first and recognize your hidden potential
- People remember 10% hear; 20% see; 90% participate
-Nothing is impossible. Can't is not a word. Don't say "can't unless you've tried
- Maintain an air of optimism / zest for the job
- With each accomplishment, take an even higher step next time
- Negative preconceptions can defeat you before you even start
- You can get everything you want in life, if you help others achieve what they want as well
- Trying to achieve a goal without first getting the proper picture of success in your mind will result in a great deal of stress and frustration
- It is the desire to succeed and accomplish goals that electric current and power within us. Having found the desire, you must match it with your ca
- Human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitude of mind
- To achieve opportunity in life is to elevate your dreams above reality
- positive stress vs. positive frustration
- People are drawn to people who are happy and energetic
- You can change your picture: Reformulate a picture of what you want to be (outgoing, trim, confident). Then become the person you have in mind (ie jogging or aerobics)
- Make the best of your life today
- The most productive form of imagination is vivid, filled with detail. Make your goals specific and measurable.
- Don’t waste time thinking about what you don’t want to be, picture what you want to become
- Make a dream chart – assemble pictures of all the things you want to do or have; places you want to visit; clothes you want to wear and home you want to own. Cut out pictures of people enjoying themselves while doing these activities. Even paste your face over their face.
- Once you determine on a specific goal and dedicate yourself to achieving it, your energies and emotions quickly pitch in
- Ziglar says you don’t pay the price for success, rather you pay the price for failure.
- Outstanding motivational speakers: Zig Ziglar, Dottie Walters, Denis Waitley, Cavett Roberts, Wayne Dryer

Zig Ziglar tips on becoming a public Speaker
- Pick several people in the audience who are obviously responding to you and smiling at you as you are talking. Feed on their positive reaction.
- Don’t look directly at anyone who has their arms crossed or might be frowning. You can appear to be addressing them if you look just above their heads. Maintain eye contact with those in the audience who are giving you positive feedback and concentrate on them.
- As you prepare for your speech, see yourself doing it perfectly

Exercises
1. List 10 unusual experiences from your childhood that make you unique.
2. List 5 things in your life you are proudest of
3. List 6 life-changing events you have experienced
4. What strange things have happened to you that are difficult to explain?
5. List 5 unusual things you were hesitant at first to try but managed to succeed at
6. What is special, unique and different about you that can help you to become more successful?
7. What are the things about yourself that you most want to change
8. List 10 things you are going to put in your dream chart (and think big!)
9. Write 3 stories of about 2 pages each detailing fantasies you would like to have come true (and don’t be afraid to go far out)
10. Write a paragraph about your most embarrassing moment or biggest failure
11. What are 5 negative beliefs you have about yourself and what is each source
12. List 5 positive beliefs about yourself and source of each belief

Final words of advice:
1. Face the truth about yourself
2. Decide what you want from life, then see the short-term and long-term goals
3. Be specific
4. Avoid the negative
5. Reprogram your mind daily with motivational audio speakers, as well as inspirational and educational books
6. Do the visualization exercise in your mind 10 minutes daily
7. See yourself as achieving something now
8. Make a dream chart
9. Make up your mind to believe you can accomplish your goals
10. Apply the appropriate action to whatever situation you are in
11. Believe in your own higher power of god, whoever that is to you
12. Don’t let anyone tell you it is impossible until after you’ve already done it