TTN TIDBITS

Sink Or Swim -by Joel Arnold, TTNLearning

Did any of you learn how to swim the old-fashioned way, where one of your parents tossed you into a lake or swimming pool with the understanding that you’d either sink or swim? It was a motivational technique – a short cut to learning (or drowning, if you had really mean parents!) But it put you in a situation where you had to either figure out quickly how to deal with the situation, or suffer the consequences. This technique can come in handy for overcoming many types of obstacles in your life. For example, one of my biggest obstacles is shyness. I used to turn a bright shade of red when people talked to me. Nothing was quite as uncomfortable as trying to hold a simple conversation with someone I hardly knew. I sputtered and stumbled over words, and ended up finding excuses to get away ASAP.

I soon learned that the best way to deal with my shyness, however, was to throw myself out there, force myself into situations where I had to face people and talk to them. Since I do a bit of freelance writing outside of my TTN job, I make it a point to participate in panels and give readings at local writers’ conventions. This forces me into situations where I must sink or swim. And each time I do this, the water gets a little clearer, the swimming gets a little easier, and I haven’t had to wear water wings for a while now. Sure, my face still might carry a little bit of a reddish glow, but I’m not mistaken for a stop light nearly as often as I used to be.

Can you think of a situation where tossing yourself into a figurative lake, and forcing yourself to ‘sink or swim’ might help?

ZigOn: Braces

Like most parents, my wife and I believe that straight teeth are a real asset to a person, so we invested in braces for three of our children who needed them. By spending a considerable sum of money for a beautiful smile, we have received more than a good return on that investment. . .When I see an adult wearing braces and the opportunity presents itself, I commend him or her for their foresight and willingness to suffer some temporary pain and possible embarrassment in order to achieve a long-term benefit.

I say all of this to point out that a good smile is important, but at the same time I would like to emphasize that good character is substantially more important. I'm puzzled as to why we don't invest more of our resources in the teaching of a character foundation to more of our children. Evidence is solid that the foundation stones of honesty, character, integrity, the right attitude, hard work, thrift, dependability and a host of other character qualities are the things that separate those people who really succeed in their professions and personal lives from those who enjoy only moderate success. Our founding fathers were taught those foundational qualities from birth. Actually, over 90% of all of the educational thrust in those days, according to the Thomas Jefferson Research Institute, was aimed at teaching ethical, moral and spiritual values. Its effectiveness is evidenced by the lives of Washington, Adams, Madison, Monroe, Franklin and numerous others.

I believe if all of us would analyze this approach to life, we would get just as enthusiastic about character development as we are winning smiles. Straighten your teeth and you will have a winning smile. Straighten and strengthen your character and life will smile on you.

TTN Tutorials

TTN now has exciting new tutorials that are flash-based videos with narration!  These will walk new users and site administrators through some of the functionalities within the TTN LMS. The tutorials provide easy to understand step-by- step instructions on various training features such as reporting, bulk user uploads, and the TTN file cabinet... with more tutorials to be added soon!

To have these tutorials added to your account email us!

Are you at risk?

It’s critical to remember the compliance issues for your business along with the safety of your employees.  This past fall a large national restaurant chain settled in a sexual harassment lawsuit filed by the EEOC, and will be paying two female workers $350,000. 

According to a recent report conducted by TTN, only a small percentage of TTN clients have completed sexual harassment training within the past year. Which group are you in?

TTN Clients who have held sexual harassment training for employees

TTN offers courses on a variety of safety and compliance issues. If you may be at risk please contact us for more information.

Many Miles To Go

A thirst for adventure plunged a young, impetuous Brian Tracy into a trip that became a life-defining odyssey. Naive, inexperienced, without prospects or goals, Tracy quickly learned many lessons about life and business - sometimes the hard way. Using his story as a metaphor for all success in business as well as life, Brian Tracy shows you how you can learn from your experience the simple yet essential steps for realizing the greatness within you and the full potential of your business.

Click here to place your order while supplies last!