Unstoppable: The Art of Setting and Achieving Your Goals

Unstoppable: The Art of Setting and Achieving Your Goals

Goals, it can be a dirty word, kind of like “fiber” or “taxes”. You know that thing you do after New Years’ when you’ve eaten and drunk yourself into a bigger pants size and guilt and infomercials tell you that you are too fat. So you set about setting some goals, probably including “lose weight and get in shape”. Setting personal goals is easy, anyone can do it. See something you want? Set a goal to get it.

If this were true though, none of us would have a weight problem or financial difficulties. We know from past experience that setting goals may be easy, but getting there is tough! We’ve fallen down one too many times and now, just sitting with a blank piece of paper with “My Goals” written at the top is enough to make you break out in a sweat. What’s wrong with us? No will power? Into self-sabotage? No discipline? Or do we secretly just like things the way they are no matter how much we complain about it?

Actually yes, that’s exactly what the reason is. Routine, no matter how dull or unhealthy or unproductive, appeals to all of us on some level. As human beings we all began life with 9 months spent being sheltered in a perfectly climate-controlled environment, where all of our physical needs were met before we even knew we had needs. It’s also genetic.

Safety, calm and routine meant you were busy staying alive as a caveman, versus stimulus, which meant stress, which meant fight or flight because something was trying to eat you. Being a couch potato is the answer to thousands of years of common sense being drilled into your head.

So if setting a goal means changing your routine and being scared by the outcome, you already have your subconscious mind working against you. But how does anyone get anything better in life without taking chances?

We also have our conscious mind to deal with. Your conscious mind is working 24 hours a day, 7 days a week asking questions, approximately 60,000 questions a day and they usually are along the lines of, “Why am I such a big loser?”

You can easily prove this to yourself right now. If you don’t have a million dollars yet, why don’t you? Your conscious mind will go about trying to find the answer to that question and let you know, “Well, I’ve never been very good at math. And I really hate my job, so they’re never going to pay me more where I’m at. I’d like to do something else, but what would I do? I’m not really good enough at anything to become a millionaire…” on and on, answering your own question.

When you ask yourself a question, especially one that is set up to be answered negatively, you are going to get back about 10,000 negative answers, which create a negative shift in your thinking. You have successfully talked yourself out of a million dollars already. What else has your conscious mind talked you out of in life?

The key to setting and accomplishing your goals involves your subconscious mind. Think about it. You’re walking around, functioning as a semi-productive member of society right now using about 10% of your brain. If you can do so much with so little, what would be possible if you incorporated another 10% of your brain, basically doubling your brain power? How about if you had access to a whole 50%? Wow, you might be unstoppable!

How do we access our subconscious mind to do our bidding? Just how do you pull the cork out of the bottle and set the genie free?

Your subconscious mind is completely capable of finding a way for you to lose those stubborn pounds and inches, find your soul mate and make you a millionaire. It just doesn’t care about any of that stuff. You will only tap into the power of your subconscious mind with:

Repetition

Your subconscious mind spends a lifetime tuning out what’s going on around you and what you spend your day “thinking” about. You want it to pay attention? You’ve got to drill your goal in there, making the subconscious go, “Oh, I guess you really want that.” Sticky notes are absolutely invaluable in pursuit of your goals; because they can be everywhere.

I guarantee if you write your goal down on 100 sticky notes and place them all over your house, car and workspace, you will be 100 times more likely to accomplish your goal than you would be if you had it written only once.

Completely Positive

When you write your goal, read it out loud. Now read it about 20 more times out loud and when you start to feel negative about it in any way, that’s a clue that this goal, written in this precise language does not appeal to your subconscious. It has to be completely safe to your subconscious, completely positive and your needs have to be completely fulfilled exactly as it is written.

Try rewriting your goal until no matter how many times you say it, you feel completely comfortable.

Understand and Explain Why You Want It

As we said, your subconscious mind could care less about you finally meeting the perfect person and riding off into the sunset and getting married and having babies. In order to get your subconscious mind on the same level as your conscious mind, you’ve got to set a tone in your goal that explains what your real motivation is.

Would you feel comforted, loved, warm and safe with the addition of this perfect relationship? Make sure you get the basic emotions translated into your goal.

Words Don’t Always Work

Your subconscious is the part of your brain that understands that the Golden Arches means McDonalds. It likes color, it likes shapes and it likes symbols. The conscious mind needs words to translate what the subconscious mind already knows.

Think of a symbol or a color that you will lock into your subconscious mind to mean the accomplishment of this goal. Draw it on a piece of paper, find a way to keep that symbol or color with you everywhere. It’s another way of repeating your goal and another way of opening the subconscious to your desire.

If you set a goal and follow these steps, are you guaranteed success? No, you still have to work at your goal, you still need a detailed plan and you will still need to do the very unglamorous job of showing up every day. No one else can do the work for you.

But if you make the goal appealing to your subconscious mind, if you get that other 90% (or even 30%) working for you, you will be amazed at how much more easily and consistently you are setting and achieving your personal goals.

by Cheryl Hall

Cheryl Hall (http://www.millionairekids101.com/) has the keys for parents to help their children become financially successful. She has created 3 courses to help children learn how to think about money and start on the road to wealth and independence; Millionaire Kids 101, 201 and Millionaire Masters. Cheryl is a successful real estate investor and has been helping new investors start on their way to financial freedom.

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Are you letting the Small Seeds keep you from Enjoying the Fruit?

Another great posting by Steve Pavlina today. His article about 10 Reasons You Should Never Have A Job is not only entertaining but tremendously informative. Skip on over, get a beverage and prepare to take some notes.

Our article for today is about focusing on what you want instead of what you don't want. Grant explains it with a perfect analogy about delicious watermelon. Also great stuff! It's called: Dreams: Spit Out The Seeds By Grant Ferguson.

I love watermelon but don’t care for the seeds. How often have you said something similar about different aspects of your life? Are you letting the small seeds of irritation keep you from enjoying the fruit of your dreams and goals?

For example, you might have said or thought something like this, “I love John’s great business ideas but don’t care for his delays in returning my telephone calls.” Will you let John’s habit of procrastination keep you from a juicy thought that may further propel you toward the fulfillment of your dreams and goals? What if you learned to spit out the seeds and focus on the fruit of that relationship?

Or, perhaps your thoughts might have been put this way, “I like the results from exercise but I don’t care for the time commitment.” Will you let your internal voice put more weight on the seed of your time rather than the fruit of your labor?

In your thoughts and speech today, listen for the “but” phrase that often identifies the seeds of irritation that stop you from enjoying the fulfillment of your dreams and goals. Instead of focusing on those small irritations, spit out the seeds. Then, concentrate on the benefits of the relationship or action.

Come on now, eject those seeds of irritation with a forceful PATOOEY and enjoy the juice of success dribbling down your chin.

http://www.achievefocus.com/blog A bit of background...I love helping people achieve focus to accomplish more in life. My passion is developing leaders of leaders. Through enhanced productivity, I'll show you how to turn your goals into gold. Using a unique process, you'll enjoy the kind of balanced life that others only dream.

Careful...you keep me talking and you'll end up wanting what I have!

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Vision: Why Are You Here, Is Your Vision Clear?

Vision: Yours

Today, yes this very day, a dear family friend, only 48, did not wake up. Yesterday he was fine. Today the funeral is being planned.

We do not know how long we have. Not you. Not me. Not anyone. The grim reaper shows up when he will.

Have you a vision of your potential legacy? Is there a plan in position, your plan, to leave this world a better place. Surely you know that’s why the creator of us all gave us breath and life.

Each day we speak or train, we have the opportunity to allow some part of our vision to be actualized.

I love to share the Johnny Appleseed story from the platform. Picture this frail old man, sack over his back, walking by the side of the road aided by his cane. He pauses every 30 feet, or so, and pokes his cane into the earth.

He reaches into his sack. He takes out one apple core and gently pushes it into the hole made by his cane. He tamps it down with his shoe. Then he walks on. 10 or 12 paces ahead he repeats the performance, a little smile on his lips.

A small boy watches, pulls on the old man’s sleeve and says, “I know what you’re doing. And you won’t be here to see those trees get big, produce apples and give shade.”

The old man wipes his brow with his big red neckerchief. “In that case,” he replies, “I think I’ll plant a few extras today.” His vision is obvious.

What is your vision. What is your vision of the possible you, of the reality that is to be because you stand and speak?

We don’t have to change the macrocosm, the whole world. What matters is that we add value, all we can add, for those in the microcosm, our personal worlds, yours and mine: All the people we know, all the places we go, all the circumstances and conditions of our lives. And that we do it while we can . . .

Are we walking our talks? Are we justifying the space we take up and the resources we consume on this earth? Are we being a model of the possible human? Have we a vision, our personal vision, of our respective legacies? This is what we must face. This is what we must consider in the still watches of the night.

After all, there are only so many tomorrows. . .

by Burt Dubin

© Burt Dubin. Burt Dubin is author of "The Speaking Success System," an unusually effective mentoring program to help speakers reach their career goals faster. Get your complimentary 7 part e-course on how to succeed faster as a paid speaker plus Burt’s Speaking Biz Strategies Letter at: http://www.burtdubin.com/bonus.html Contact Burt at: (928) 753-7546 or 1-800-321-1225 Fax:(928) 753-7554

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18 Core Beliefs Of Financially Independent People

I found an interesting post on Lynn Terry's Self Starters' Forum today about Core Beliefs of Financially Independent People. Here's is the first 8 of 18 and the link to the rest.

The 18 Core Beliefs Of Financially Independent People

NLP uses modeling of peoples beliefs, behaviours and strategies in order to achieve the same results as the role model. This has helped many people achieve the seemingly impossible.

Remember the definition of what a belief actually is. A belief is simply a feeling of certainty that something is true for you - you are sure or believe it to be true.

Below are 18 beliefs of the wealthiest and most successful financially independent people in the world. If you adopt them all, you can expect mind-blowing results. But only if you wear them each day until they become your own.

1. Believe that you and you alone are 100% responsible for your financial future.

2. Believe that in your lifetime, you will become rich and prosperous - independent financially.

3. Believe that if you set your mind to anything at all, you can accomplish it.

4. Believe that you are a magnet for money and investing opportunities.

5. Believe that as you educate yourself and learn more about finance and investing, so you will earn more money.

6. Believe that making money and investing is mere child's play once you're in the know about it.

7. Believe that once you've developed the saving habit, it becomes easy as pie.

8. Believe that to change your circumstance, you need to change yourself - for it to get better, you need to get better.

9. More Of The Original Post Here

Baseball Example Highlights Unpredictability of Life

Baseball Example Highlights Unpredictability of Life

Back in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s there were four Major League Baseball franchise relocations over the span of just seven seasons. In 1966, the Milwaukee Braves moved to Atlanta; in 1968, the Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland; in 1970, the Seattle Pilots move to Milwaukee to become the Milwaukee Brewers; and in 1972, the Washington Senators moved to Texas to become the Texas Rangers.

Following the Senators’ move, most baseball people assumed that another franchise would be moved to Washington, D.C. in no more than a couple of years. That seemed logical, considering the trend toward franchise moves. Besides, the last time a team left Washington (when the original Senators left in 1961 to become the Minnesota Twins), it was replaced with the expansion Senators before a single season had passed.

Well, those people appeared to be right on target in early 1974, when the San Diego Padres were on the verge of being sold and relocated to Washington. Topps even printed “Washington” instead of “San Diego” on some of the Padres player cards that year. The impending move would be baseball’s fifth franchise relocation in nine seasons.

However, enter McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc. He stepped in at the last minute and offered to buy the team and keep them in San Diego. Baseball owners, weary of the recent spate of franchise moves, welcomed his offer and saw to it that the team was sold to him. The move to Washington was off, as he made good on his word and kept the team in San Diego, where it remains today, years after his death.

Still, the baseball world was confident that another baseball opportunity for Washington was just around the corner. It wouldn’t be long before another franchise would be sold and relocated to Washington. They reasoned that there wouldn’t be a Ray Kroc to come along and rescue the next team that went up for sale.

No one in their wildest dreams would have guessed that it would be 33 years before Washington would get another team (when the Montreal Expos were relocated to Washington in 2005 to become the Nationals). Even more surprising was the fact that there were no baseball franchise moves at all for 32 seasons, after four of them occurred in just eight seasons. Who knew? Even if you’re not a baseball fan, there are some lessons in here somewhere.

First, trends are temporary. You never know when they will abruptly end.

Second, just because a certain condition exists now doesn’t mean it will always exist. To paraphrase what they say in the investment world, past (or current) performance is no guarantee of future results. Times change. If times are good now, don’t assume they will always be. Instead, be prepared for the inevitable setbacks and downturns of life.

Third, never make the mistake of assuming you’ll get another opportunity soon.

Sure, opportunities may be presenting themselves to you right and left at this point in your life. But that’s no guarantee that you’ll ever get another one. Take opportunities seriously - don’t let them slip through your fingers.

By Terry Mitchell

Terry Mitchell is a software engineer, freelance writer, and blogger from Hopewell, VA. On his blog - http://commenterry.blogs.com/ - he posts commentaries on various subjects such as politics, technology, religion, health and well-being, personal finance, and sports. His commentaries offer a unique point of view that is not often found in mainstream media.

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20 Quick and Practical ways to Boost your Self-confidence

Well, it is good to be back! What a great recharge session! Or vacation time, some of you would say. After taking some time for myself I am eager to get back into the thick of things.

While I was away Coach Thea left a comment, and I followed the links back to her blogs, there are actually a half dozen blogs or so. One I found especially interesting right away was her coaching tips. Check it out and subscribe. I did.

Also today, I found some tips for self confidence building. Here are the first 5 of 20 tips and the link where you can find the rest.

20 Quick and Practical Ways to Boost your Self-confidence

1. Think about someone who is confident and act, talk and walk like him or her. Model their mannerisms and behaviour. It works for them; it will work for you.

2. Smile a lot more. That doesn’t mean putting a silly grin on your face! But smile when you walk down the street, when you meet people and generally be happier even if you’re not feeling that way.

3. Learn from the past; don’t beat yourself up about it. It’s gone; it’s never coming back. Instead learn from it for next time.

4. Buy yourself some new clothes, get your hair done, treat yourself to something new. It will make you feel better and will give your ego a boost.

5. Are you prepared for situations? Are you prepared enough to meet any challenge that may come up? Are you prepared for that meeting, that presentation, that job interview, when you meet someone for the first time? If not, get to it.

Read more . . .

Small Changes Consistently Make For Massive Results!

The Small Change That Creates Massive Results in Your Life

"It is never too late to become what you might have been." - GEORGE ELIOT

I believe that we all reach certain key points in our lives. We all reach crossroads where our lives hit a certain threshold of "pain" that we are no longer willing to settle for. This threshold is very different for every person. I also believe that if you are unhappy with anything in your life then that is a call to action; a desire from deep within the "real" you that wants to experience more of life.

This can be very challenging for a lot of people as they have this urge to improve their lives but they don't have an effective strategy. They then do the "logical" thing which is to work on the effects instead of the cause. Here is a simple thought process that will be a wake up call to you if you feel like you are spinning your wheels.

For my life to get better I have to get better. For things to change I have to change. I am mine. This is my life and I am the creator of my destiny.

I can change any and everything in my life by simply changing myself. This puts me in the driving seat of my life and makes my life my responsibility. It eliminates fear and apprehension for I know that no matter what life gives me I can always get to the next level and take the next step by simply making the internal shift in my own psychology.

I can stop looking for events, people and circumstances to blame. I only need to look inside. No matter how influential you are you cannot control the circumstances and events of your life. There are only three things over which you have absolute and total control and these are all you need. It forms the total experience of life.

My thoughts, my actions and my words are always under my conscious control. They are MY thoughts, they are MY actions and they are MY words AND they create MY world every minute of every day.

This is incredibly liberating. Whenever I want to have more, experience more or change anything, I need only look inwards and work on myself. Jim Rohn once said that the hardest work you will ever do is the work you do on yourself. See, you can run around and work incredibly hard at trying to influence and change circumstances, but that will only make you tired and discourage your future efforts.

It’s much easier to change yourself and your perception of yourself and your life. Nothing has any meaning except for the meaning you give it.

Changing external events have very little impact in your life on the long term. Small changes in you; in your perceptions and psychology might seem insignificant at first, but because the change is in you it effects all of your thoughts, all of your actions and all of your words. This seemingly insignificant change, over time changes the whole direction and end destination of your life.

If a captain of a ship changes direction just one degree the end destination might be a different continent all together. Like the captain changing his course by one degree it might be unnoticeable over a short period of time, but over greater distances the small change becomes very significant.

Most people try and change the big things; they constantly try and change any and everything in their lives, but they then fail to maintain the change. Instead, making small consistent changes in yourself, in your own character you can create phenomenal results. All change starts and ends with you. If you are going to invest the time and effort to improve your life, then invest it in changing yourself.

Invest your time and effort in improving "you" and let go of the superficial urges to control events and circumstances. Your whole perception and experience of life comes from you and who you are. Change yourself, improve your character and just watch the world improve and change before your very eyes.

by Deon Du Plessis

Deon Du Plessis is the founder of The Self Improvement Gym, and author of (in)action, a groundbreaking new action guide on eliminating procrastination. For more of his in-depth insights into personal development and access to his free self improvement library visit http://www.selfimprovement-gym.com/personal_development.html

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Returning to Your Truest Dreams: A Growing Potential

Returning to Your Truest Dreams: A Growing Potential
By Steve Brunkhorst

New dreams are much like unplanted saplings. Alive with the potential for magnificent growth, their roots wait for nourishment. Too often, however, their tiny buds dry up and die before we give their roots a chance to touch the soil.

We admire dreams in our minds, photograph them with our hearts, and fail to nourish them with the first requirement of all dreams realized. That is, we must get them out and into the soil of our daily lives; we must plant with the expectation for growth.

Like a tiny oak, a great dream will often have the potential to grow and thrive long past our own life spans. Yet, it needs more than our admiration and good intentions; it needs our hearts to cherish it and our hands to get it growing.

As when a storm breaks a branch, a dream will need our continued love, care, and commitment to keep it growing and thriving. Do we simply rip off the torn branches of a cherished dream? Even worse, do we pull a dream from the soil, leaving it to die? Do we continue to damage our own resiliency because, by habit, we run away each time a certain type of problem appears?

No, not if we are authentic. We might rest, but we will eventually return to our truest dreams, knowing we will be welcomed. We will realize that there will always be winds to strengthen us; there will always be hurts to teach us healing and forgiveness.

We learn that if we are to finally move forward, we must begin to understand storms as well as our own mistakes. Like oaks sprouting new leaves, we are all in the process of creation and growth. It is a law of life and an unavoidable life lesson.

A sapling will be strengthened by winds, and it will grow to its fullest potential; yet, as people, we must choose to grow. As English novelist, George Eliot, wrote, "The strongest principle of growth lies in the human choice."

In storms, we can find blessings that we would not think to search for on sunny days. We can nurture torn limbs and grow new limbs when some are lost. We can continue to provide the love and care necessary for our dreams to grow--as long as we keep the roots in the soil.

In so doing, we, as well as our dreams, can grow as tall as our potential allows, reaching as high as our Creator intended for us to reach, bringing the legacy of our gifts to future generations.

Wishing you blessings and success,

Steve Brunkhorst

© Copyright 2006 by Steve Brunkhorst. This article was adapted from A Handwritten Journal of Love. All rights reserved worldwide. Reprinted from Achieve! 60-Second Nuggets of Inspiration. Find many helpful achievement resources by visiting http://www.AchieveEzine.com

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