HabitForce!

HabitForce! Author, Matthew Cossolotto, UrgesPeople to Harness the “Power of Promises” and the “Ebenezer Effect” to Achieve Their Goals

Recent spate of media interviews continues with scheduled appearances on XM Radio, KLLI Radio, CNN Radio, and KDKA Radio Pittsburgh YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, NY – JANUARY 06, 2006 – Matthew Cossolotto, author of HabitForce! How to Kick the Habits of F.A.I.L.U.R.E. and Adopt the Habits of S.U.C.C.E.S.S., today urged people to harness the “Power of Promises” and the “Ebenezer Effect” to achieve their goals in 2006. He says people shouldn’t bother making New Year’s Resolutions. Instead, he says we should try making a few New Year’s “Promises.”

The author’s advice comes amidst a flurry of radio and TV interviews in recent weeks. Cossolotto is scheduled to appear live on XM Radio (Channel 169) on January 6^th; KDKA Radio in Pittsburgh on January 8^th; and on KLLI Radio in Dallas on January 12^th. On January 10^th, he’ll tape a segment on CNN Radio.
These upcoming interviews follow recent radio and TV appearances across the country on, among other outlets, News 12 Westchester; WACK (New York); LA Network (Louisiana); WOON (Rhode Island); KORN (South Dakota); WPDR (Wisconsin); KGNO (Kansas); KBUL (Montana); KABF (Arkansas); WFNT (Michigan); WDLB (Wisconsin); WEGP (Maine); KATE (Minnesota); KBUR (Iowa);WLBE (Florida); and WYAM-TV (Alabama).

Explaining the “Power of Promises,” Cossolotto said: “Year-after-year, lots of people have trouble sticking to their New Year’s resolutions, despite the best of intentions,” said Cossolotto. “People start the year saying they want to lose weight, get in shape, learn a new language, start a business, stop smoking, or even write the great American novel. But the level of commitment to these goals often fades just a few weeks into the New Year. Why is that?”

Cossolotto continued: “I think it has to do with the word ‘resolution’ itself. It’s a wishy-washy concept, and this gives people enough wiggle-room to ignore New Year’s resolutions with a clear conscience. So I urge people to only make a few New Year’s ‘Promises’ for 2006. A promise signals a much stronger commitment. Your integrity is on the line with a promise. This year, try harnessing what I call the ‘Power of Promises’ to achieve your goals.”

In recent articles and interviews, Cossolotto has been urging those who want to jumpstart and sustain positive change in their lives to learn from Ebenezer Scrooge as a role model. He offers the following unusual recommendation: Write your own eulogy.
Cossolotto continued: “I recommend that you sit down and take stock of your life. It helps to project yourself into the future and imagine what people are likely to say about you after you’re gone. Think of your written eulogy as a ‘mission statement’ for what you want to accomplish, what kind of person you aspire to be, and how you want to be remembered. It establishes what’s most important to you and sets your life’s course in the right direction …before it’s too late!”

“For all of the negative qualities associated with his name,” Cossolotto said, “Scrooge is actually a great role model for positive personal transformation. I call this the ‘Ebenezer Effect’ because Scrooge changes overnight after he confronts the effects of his lifetime of negative habits and attitudes. When the ghost of Christmas-Yet-To-Come transports Scrooge to a scene just after his own funeral, he endures the painful truth of what people really thought of him. Then he has a shocking rendezvous with his own mortality when he sees his name on his own tombstone. It’s an alarming but valuable wake-up-call for miserly curmudgeon.”

Cossolotto continued: “Scrooge exclaims to the Spirit: ‘I am not the man I was. I will not be that wretched creature any longer.’ And he is indeed transformed. He awakens the next morning, Christmas Day, a changed man. That’s the power of the ‘Ebenezer Effect.’”

Cossolotto’s book, HabitForce!, is built around two familiar seven-letter words – “failure” and “success” – which Cossolotto has turned into two acronyms: F.A.I.L.U.R.E. and S.U.C.C.E.S.S. For example, the first F.A.I.L.U.R.E. habit starts with the letter “F” for Finger Pointing. This is all about making excuses, playing the blame game.
One of the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. habits described in HabitForce! relates to harnessing the “Power of Promises and the “Ebenezer Effect.” Cossolotto calls it ‘Set Your Course’ – the second-to-last ‘S’ in the S.U.C.C.E.S.S. acronym.

“Making a promise and writing your eulogy sets your course in a very specific, binding direction,” Cossolotto explained.

Cossolotto, who humorously calls himself “The F.A.I.L.U.R.E. Coach™”, coaches individuals and organizations on ways to kick the F.A.I.L.U.R.E. habits that hold them back. He has developed a series of targeted Harness Your HabitForce! workshops and presentations for schools, community groups, and business and professional organizations. For more information, to set up an interview with Matthew Cossolotto, or to schedule a HabitForce! presentation or workshop for your company or organization, please call 914-245-9721, email habitforce@ovations.com, or visit www.habitforcethebook.com.