Powering Up Your SUCCESS Mechanisms!

Powering Up Your SUCCESS Mechanisms!

An effective self- concept generates the desire to strive for things that were thought to be impossible before. It generates fight, but it doesn't kick dogs and slap babies.

Andrew Carnegie is reputed to be the toughest man to sit behind a desk. But the railroads he built are still with us today, and the foundation he created still advances human welfare.

Before we go into how you can Power Up Your Self Concept. Let's talk about The Four Mental Conditioners first.

The Four Mental Conditioners

1. You are what you concentrate on.

If you concentrate on failure. You get feelings of failure. If you concentrate on success, you get feelings of success.

Which feeling is likely to produce your best effort? Feelings of success, isn't that true?

So you pretend you're successful, and you do this by concentrating. Eventually you make success feelings a habit. By a mental act that originates in pretense, you achieve your best effort.

You are what you practice. You practice what you concentrate on. When you concentrate on success, you practice success. That trains your nervous system to produce success for you.

2. What you concentrate on grows

Concentration on trouble makes trouble grow, because that's what you're looking for.

A guy in playing poker loses a few hands and gets scared of losing more. More disciplined players watch him with a smile. They know that scared money never wins.

When you try not to think of an elephant wearing pink underwear.....you think of an elephant wearing pink underwear. If you try not to think of failure, you think of failure.

That's why scared money never wins.

To produce success, you have to think SUCCESS.

3. What you concentrate on becomes real.

By misusing this one you can wind up in the institution believing you're Alexander The Great. We come to believe anything we concentrate on, no matter how bizarre or fantastic.

A guy can start out as a conman promising heaven, but if he continues to promise it, he winds up a believer. That's the history of conmen, they became fanatics.

Don't kid yourself that they become sincere through some moral revelations. It's a law of the mind that what we concentrate on becomes real. Scientifically they call this "self fulfillment". You can start playing around with astrology with your tongue in cheek, but if you persist in concentrating on it, you'll wind up believing it. Use this law to induce beliefs that produce fruitful actions.

Concentrate on achievement, success, energy, confidence, skill, joy, persistence.

If you concentrate on being Alexander the Great, you have a very severe handicap , your troops were killed centuries ago....

4. You always find what you concentrate on.

The outcome of our efforts always tells us what we are concentrating on.

I know a very good teacher who divides students into winners and losers. That's all he wants to know about them, and he makes a practice of doting on winners. He even carries his theory onto the golf course, pairing himself with people who win. He could make a nice living just playing golf.

People who win are people who think victory. People who lose are people who think defeat. It's hard to convince a loser that he looks for defeats.

Reasoned justification makes a whole literature. Don't waste your time on it. It's just prolonged weeping, which is embarrassing in grown- up men.

Losers all think the world should be changed. It never occurs to them that they might change themselves. But they can, simply by concentrating on winning. That sets up success habits.

You always find what you concentrate on.

To find and develop your greatest potential, you discipline your mind with four mental conditioners.

You concentrate on growing, achieving, winning, confidence, persistence, determination, and success.

You develop your potential by thinking SUCCESS.

It's important to understand that they ALWAYS work whether you consciously use them or not. The greatest danger in your life lies in dwelling on failure.

The greatest reward lies in thinking SUCCESS.

How to use the four mental conditioners to Power Up Your Self Concept.

* Power up your self concept.

Now you're skating on thin ice, because the greatest sin in self- development is looking into yourself. Stay away from introspection as if it were poison. Introspection is self- criticism and plays failure experience on the imagination's turntable.

Stay strictly with what works and what doesn't work. Throw out the things that don't work, and try the things that look like they might work.

* What you see tells you what you are.

To change what you see, change your self- concept. That's all the self- analysis any one needs. That's all he can handle, if he wants to grow up and achieve.

Set your self concept to switch on success by programming it to strive for the things you want. You set your sights on higher performance, because when you move towards higher performance, your ability grows.

Train yourself into a "Go For It!!" self concept by disciplining your mind with the four mental laws discussed earlier.

Let's restate them now in the light of self- concept.

1. Your self concept is formed by what you concentrate on.

2. Concentration makes your self - concept seem real.

3. Your self - concept grows towards the image of your concentration.

4. What you find in the world reflects your self- concept.

Successful mental re-programming produces mental discipline, the ability to think something useful instead of something useless or ....dangerous.

You can think a new self concept into existence by a process of visualizing yourself playing this new role.

You speed up the process by auto- suggestion. Reinforce this synthetic experience by taking the actions that ingrain it into your nervous system.

Soon things that seemed impossible are done automatically. You build your first great success habit when you build a healthy self- concept, and it becomes a faithful General when you've trained it into your nervous system.

In a nutshell; The self- concept governs energy, power, and force. It's the motive power for action. When you set your self- concept to "Go For It!!" you switch on success. It's equally important to build a guidance mechanism for this power mechanism to work through.

Right now, just to get an idea of the power unleashed by a striving self- concept, try carrying a card that says "Go For It!!", we promise you more action than you've had in years.

To your incredible success.

© Jahn A. http://www.noorazan.com/get

Jahn A. is the CIO/Director for FAVCART.COM. He has trained hundreds of ordinary people online and off-line, inspiring and turning them into netrepreneurs overnight through his e-marketing Seminars in Singapore. Jahn has the rare ability to present complex information at a level that is easy to understand. He will help you understand web design and web usability. Jahn is a Marketer by profession and he has an MBA Degree in Marketing and Strategic Mgt and also a GDip in I.T.

Jahn is a Licensed eCommerce Consultant. Visit http://www.noorazan.com/get now to subscribe to your complimentary Latest Internet Marketing eCourses and access more than 150 software programs free.

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SPEED READING: Top 10 Ways to Improve Reading Speed and Reading Comprehension

Here is an article I received from Dr. Richard Feldman about Speed Reading. Actually I thought that this would be excellent timing for students also returning to school this semester. Here it is.
'SPEED READING: Top 10 Ways to Improve Reading Speed and Reading Comprehension' by Dr Richard Feldman

10. Skim Before Your Read - Speed read for main ideas in nonfiction works and textbooks. Scan the table of contents and first and last sentences of each paragraph. You'll improve your reading speed and comprehension if you understand a book's main ideas first. After you've skimmed the material, return to the beginning and read every line with improved reading speed and comprehension.

9. Prioritize Reading Materials - Categorize your reading into "important," "moderately important," and "least important" piles. Then tackle your reading, one pile at a time, in its order of importance. You'll improve your reading speed and comprehension by getting to the most important material first while your mind is sharp and clear.

8. Select the Proper Environment - Avoid reading important or difficult material in bed. Read at a desk instead.

7. Read Early in the Day - Improve your reading speed, comprehension, and concentration by reading during your "mental prime time." For most people this means reading in the morning, not in the evening. Wake up early to take advantage of reading early in the day.

6. Turn Headings into Questions - For textbooks and other reference materials, turn chapter headings and subheadings into questions. Scan the text to find the answers to your questions. Your reading speed improves by doing this, and you stay focused on the material.

5. Avoid Using a Highlighter When Studying - Highlighting, although a commonly used technique, actually reduces comprehension and reading speed. People who highlight end up reading the material twice. Follow tip number 6 instead.

4. Preview Before You Read - Take a few minutes to preview a chapter before reading it. You'll get a sense of what's interesting and relevant. More important, you'll get a sense of the overall structure of the chapter. This results in improved reading speed and comprehension.

3. Be Flexible with Your Reading Speed - Certain reading material must be read slowly and carefully: legal contracts and mathematical texts. Other materials can be read at much faster speeds: newspapers, novels, and magazines. Adjust your reading speed to the type of reading material and your reading purpose.

2. Read Correspondence Only Once - After you complete your reading of each piece, make a decision about what to do with it before moving on to the next one. By doing this, you avoid the need to read the same correspondence a second time in the future.

1. Enroll in a Speed Reading Class - Check the credentials of the speed reading instructor before enrolling in a speed reading class. If you are in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut, I'd love to see you in one of my speed reading classes!

Dr. Richard Feldman, is the founder of Learning Techniques, the leader in speed reading courses and study skills courses in New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. He holds a Ph.D. in educational psychology from Columbia University.

Overcoming The Must-Do Mindset -- It's Your Choice

Overcoming The Must-Do Mindset -- It's Your Choice

“To budget is to choose” – Trevor Manuel, Budget Speech, 2006.

When our finance minister made this assertion, I got thinking about how easily we can get stuck in a rut, scurrying about our hasty lives, so busy doing all the things we feel we have to do.

I’m referring to important things like having a job for income, getting to work on time so we keep our job so we hopefully have a continued income, submitting our tax returns on time, even everyday housekeeping, grocery shopping and garden maintenance.

To add to the stress of juggling our time constraints, many of our must-do tasks are routine and, whether boring repetition or just plain unpleasant from the outset, we can easily develop resentment, anger and loathing toward these must-do tasks.

Base-level motivators – the drive for survival

So how do we usually cope with these activities? Typically, we will switch on auto-pilot and disengage our minds. When we do this enough we become numb to the purpose and significance of what we’re doing and our activities become robotic. As we separate what we do from the original meaning of it, our motivators lower on Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to the physiological and security levels.

When the bulk of our activities are around survival, it’s hard to avoid feeling like everything we do is a schlep or at best, superficially fulfilling. This is where motivation is dominated by fear and it’s easy to start feeling like every task is a must-do.

So how do we deal with must-do tasks? In truth, there are several ways. However, to keep this article brief and practical, I won’t discuss having a sense of life purpose, having a personal vision, goal-setting, prioritisation of work and a myriad other (for now) distracting answers.

In dealing more effectively with must-do tasks, the method I’ll discuss here involves changing our attitude. Easier said than done? Of course! So here’s how we can look at must-do activities from a new, empowering angle.

All our time is free time

What if I said the phrase “There’s no certainty in life other than death, taxes and change,” is only 33% true? Specifically, the only must-do is death.

Yes, I am saying we don’t have to spend time paying taxes and we are not obliged to change for anything! More specifically, I am saying that how we spend our time is entirely our choice.

It is our choice to work or not. We have a choice to take the kids to school on time or not. We don’t have to put out the bin on garbage day. Those TV ads are right, we don’t have to do banking or laundry, ever! No matter how important or trivial, there is no must-do task in life.

Of course, there will be consequences to our choices. Even if some-one is holding a gun to our head, we still have the choice to disobey the demands. The “or else” may be patent, but it is still our choice to do or not do.

With a must-do task, it is usually obvious what our choice should be. Yet, regardless of the certainty of the consequence, the root of everything we do is our own choice. At the simplest level of binary options, we consider the result of doing and the result of not doing, then we make a choice.

As results materialise, we continue making choices and our results accumulate to shape our reality. Your reality at this very moment, as you are reading this text, is the accumulation of the results of every choice you have ever made in your entire life.

Choices give us power

The more choices we give ourselves, the more power we have available to us. SARS said we must submit our income tax returns by 14 July. It didn’t seem like there was any choice in this, right? But think about it. What about the choice to submit late? Or the choice to not submit at all? Sure, there are consequences, but it’s still a choice and the options are easier to see when we separate choices from consequences.

The more choices we have, the more power we have. Next year, if you choose to submit your tax return on time, you might act with power, purpose and conviction, knowing that you chose to do that. It’s exactly the same with our daily must-do tasks, like getting to work on time. What ever we do, it can flow with much more motivation and power when we choose to do it, not because we have to.

Personal Power and Empowering Self-talk

Let’s put this into practice with two techniques to kick start new habits and ways of thinking. Try out these techniques and see what works for you:

1) Practice personal power: when you notice a feeling of must-do, stop for a moment and consciously think of other options you have. The most obvious is the opposite: to not do. What might result from this alternative choice? Consider all your options, their likely results and how they fit with what’s important to you, then make your choice. Even if your choice is to do the must-do task, notice what happens to your attitude once you’ve made a conscious choice.

2) Watch your language: again, when you notice must-do feelings, reflect on your self-talk. What are you actually telling yourself? Are you saying “I have to do...”, “I should do...” or “I must do...”? When you notice this, instead say to yourself “I choose to do this.” The first time you try it, like any new habit, it may feel odd, so say it aloud! After a few attempts, you’ll get used to it and that’s when you might notice something powerful shift for you.

The life we have is the life we choose

Remember, no-one else can make us do anything unless we choose to. This means that when we do anything, only we are responsible for doing it. Did Zidane have a choice to not head-butt Materazzi? I believe he had absolute choice. No-one else can be responsible for Zidane’s attack but Zidane himself. Knowing and practicing conscious choice can be very empowering.

The moment we get it – that we have a choice in everything we do – is the moment we can take responsibility for our decisions and their consequences. It’s the moment we can stop being a victim.

It’s the moment we can tap into vast oceans of deep personal power. When we practice budgeting, planning and choosing, we take more control in getting the life we want, because the life we have comes from the choices we make.

by Brent Combrink

About Brent Combrink: Brent owns ProMentor, the business leaders’ thinking partner. He works as coach and mentor with executives, entrepreneurs and IT professionals in doing better business better. Contact Brent at brent@promentor.co.za

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Willpower and Self Discipline Need Practice Daily

Developing Will Power and Self Discipline

Most people admire and respect strong individuals, who have won great success by manifesting will power and self discipline. They admire people, who with sheer will power, self discipline and ambition, have improved their life, learned new skills, overcame difficulties and hardships, reduced their weight, rose high in their chosen field or advanced on the spiritual path.

The truth is that everyone can reach high levels of will power and self-discipline through a practical method of training. These inner power are not reserved for a few special people.

Will power and self discipline are two of the most important and useful inner powers in everyone’s life, and have always been considered as essential tools for success in all areas of life. They can be learned and developed like any other skill, yet, in spite of this, only few take any steps to develop and strengthen them in a systematic way.

What is will power?

It is the inner strength to make a decision, take action, and handle and execute any aim or task until it is accomplished, regardless of inner and outer resistance, discomfort or difficulties.

It bestows the ability to overcomes laziness, temptations and negative habits, and to carry out actions, even if they require effort, are unpleasant and tedious or are contrary to one’s habits.

What is self discipline?

It is the rejection of instant gratification in favor of something better. It is the giving up of instant pleasure and satisfaction for a higher and better goal.

It manifests as the ability to stick to actions, thoughts and behavior, which lead to improvement and success. Self-discipline is self-control, and it manifests in spiritual, mental, emotional and physical discipline.

The purpose of self-discipline is not living a limiting or a restrictive lifestyle. It does not mean being narrow minded or living like a fakir. It is one of the pillars of success and power. It bestows the inner strength to focus all your energy on your goal, and persevere until it is accomplished.

Both of these abilities are required for daily actions and decisions, and also for making major decisions and attaining major success. They are required for doing a good job, for studying, building a business, losing weight, bodybuilding and physical exercises, maintaining good relationships, changing habits, self improvement, meditation, spiritual growth, keeping and carrying out promises and for almost everything else.

One of the most simple and effective methods to develop will power and self-discipline is by refusing to satisfy unimportant and unnecessary desires. Everyone is constantly confronted and tempted by an endless stream of desires and temptations, many of which are not really important or desirable. By learning to refuse to satisfy every one of them, you get stronger.

Refusing and rejecting useless, harmful or unnecessary desires and actions, and intentionally acting contrary to your habits, sharpen and strengthen your inner strength. By constant practice your inner power grows, just like exercising your muscles at a gym increases your physical strength. In both cases, when you need inner power or physical strength, they are available at your disposal.

Here are a few exercises:

- Don’t read the newspaper for a day or two.

- Drink water when thirsty, in spite of your desire to have a soft drink.

- Walk up and down the stairs, instead of taking the lift.

- Get down from the bus one station before or after your destination, and walk the rest of the way.

- For one week, go to sleep one hour earlier than usual.

- If you like ice cream, don't have any, for a day or two.

These are only a few examples of the many exercises that can be conducted in order to develop will power and self-discipline. You might think that practicing these exercises is being tough on yourself, but they add much to the storehouse of your inner strength.

By following a systematic method of training you can reach far, have more control over yourself and your life, attain your goals, improve your life, and gain satisfaction and peace of mind.

Show and prove to yourself that you are strong and in control, and practice the above exercises for a little while, before passing any judgement.

© Copyright Remez Sasson

Remez Sasson writes and teaches about self-improvement, positive thinking, creative visualization, success, mind power, spiritual growth and meditation. He is the author of several books, and the publisher of the biweekly ezine, "Consciousness and Success".

Visit his website at: http://www.SuccessConsciousness.com and find articles, quotes and ebooks.

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How to Use Empowering Mission Statements Everyday

How to Use Empowering Mission Statements Everyday

There are costs and risks to a program of action, but they are far less than the long-range risks and costs of comfortable inaction. - John F. Kennedy

For many people, the only real introduction to the idea of mission statements has been through the movie Jerry McGuire. Mission statements aren’t stuffy or dry corporate documents, but well-articulated visions that are meant to energize us. Most companies use a mission statement to help remain focused on their core values or purpose.

While people spend hours and hours laboring over a mission statement for a company or their resume, rarely do people spend the same time articulating their life mission. Today we are going to break down this concept of “mission statements,” and see how it applies to everything that we do.

The easiest way to grasp the concept of a mission statement is to begin by swapping out the word “mission” with “purpose.” These statements become a way to articulate our purpose. Often, when our attitude is suffering, it is because we have not connected purpose with our actions.

Many people make the mistake of believing only great feats have purpose—world peace, feeding the hungry, organizing a protest or petition, holding a fundraiser, donating to a blood drive. While this list does have positive action items, we can also bring purpose to everything in our lives—including tasks like doing the laundry or grocery shopping.

Let’s use grocery shopping for our example. After reading the two scenarios, ask yourself which example would be more beneficial to your attitude and outlook. Example A is “auto-pilot.” It is probably how many people shop today. Example B uses awareness and purpose.

Example A: I sigh because my family members are complaining that there isn’t any food in the house, even though it seems like I just went shopping two days ago. Why doesn’t anyone else ever go shopping anyway? And why don’t they put what they want on the list so I don’t have to go shopping all the time?

I do a quick inventory (without the help of anyone else), make my list and drive to the store, even though I was hoping to make some progress on a different project this afternoon. I try to shop quickly and am surprised during checkout by how fast my bill added up! I am tired as I lug the groceries to the car, only to drive home, and lug them into the house, where the first question I hear is “Mom, what’s for dinner?”

Example B: Today is the day I always do my grocery shopping. Grocery shopping is a way for me to encourage my family’s health by selecting nutritious foods.

You will notice Example B is much shorter. Any idea why? It is the magic behind a mission statement or statement of purpose. When we have the clear direction or purpose-filled-statement, we are not distracted with all the “little stuff.” When we don’t have a clear vision, we see everything, including the little stuff. It is the little stuff that derails our attitude. With a focused statement in place, the little stuff doesn’t matter, because what we are doing is bigger than that—what we are doing is purpose-filled. A mission statement should be something easy enough to commit to memory and strong enough to give you a purpose.

Here is another way to think of it. If you were to come and work with me today and the only instructions I gave you were: “just do some work.” What would you do? You would likely look around the office, observe what people are doing, try to think about what would contribute or what to work on. How would that change if I said, “Would you please read through these speaker handouts and write down any feedback or ideas you have on how I could improve?”

By giving clearer instructions and purpose to the task at hand, you wouldn’t have to wonder what to do, and you would be less susceptible to external distractions or getting caught in your own thoughts, because you had a mission in front of you.

Most people are used to mission statements that are made once, and then occasionally glanced at whether it is in work or in life. I strongly encourage you to make a million mission statements. You can create a mission statement for every errand, every task, or for a goal, for a day, for a week, for a month, or for a life. The more purposeful statements you make, the more focused and energized you will become.

The reason is simple: Mission statements clear away all the “mind clutter.” When your mind is presented with a mission, it will act like a computer and work to complete it. Successful businesspeople are masters at using mission statements to stay on course while avoiding diversions and distractions. We can use this business-template to achieve success in our personal lives.

Adapting regular mission statement use to our daily lives will help us stay on course while avoiding diversions, distractions and destructive thinking.

Your Turn

Today, create a positive mission statement for the majority of the activities you do. Writing down the statement will increase its effectiveness. As you learn this practice, you will get to the point where you will be able to easily think of these statements. When you reach that point, you can stop writing down every mission statement, and just write down your larger mission statements that are geared for a day, a week, a month or a specific goal.

by Brook Noel

Brook Noel is the creator of the best-selling 70 Day Life Makeover Program for Women .. The Change Your Life Challenge. This program has helped thousands of women take control of their home, finances, relationships, clutter, time-managmenet and more.

She is the author of 19 books and maintains three free newsletters. The Daily Rush is devoted to quick and easy recipes; Good Morning! is a daily newsletter to get your day off to a great start and The Challenge Weekly offers a personal challenge for self-improvement each week. To sign up for these free newsletters please visit http://www.changeyourlifechallenge.com/news.htm

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Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
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Having Fun Yet, Or Is It Same Stuff Different Day?

Having Fun Yet, Or Is It Same Stuff Different Day?

Are you working harder and enjoying it less?

Has much of the fun that you used to have in your career, job or relationship been replaced with stress, frustration, disappointment and anxiety?

You are not alone.

Thousands maybe even millions of people are asking themselves today, where has all the fun gone?

There is a subtle, yet powerful principle at work here that must be recognized. In essence, the principle is as follows; that fun, joy, peace, excitement, challenge, or whatever, is not a characteristic of the job, career or relationship, but a reflection of you in the thing (job career, relationship etc).

The fun hasn't left the job, relationship or career, it has left you.

If you will carefully examine your previous situation, when the fun was there, I am confident you will find that the problems, circumstances, opportunities and so on that are present today were most likely present before. What has changed is you.

The real question is not how do we put the fun back into the job or career, but how do we put the fun back in you?

Let's talk about two issues that might have changed and what could have been some contributors to your changed attitudes. After we dissect these, lets look at a twelve step process to put the missing ingredients back in your life.

You must first accept the premise that your outcomes are your responsibility or the balance of this article will be of little value to you. You can plug any example you choose into the following discussion. For example, you can use your job, career, a current relationship, a hobby or an activity. You can also select one or more of the following to use as your guide; fun, passion, excitement, enthusiasm, challenger, interest, satisfaction, peace, balance, joy and so on.

On to the heart of the matter. First, what has changed?

Has your outlook changed?
Have your goals changed?
Have your perceptions changed?
Has your environment changed?
Have your values changed?
Have your expectations changed?
Have your interests changed?
Have your opinions changed?
Has your life philosophy changed?
Have the demands on you changed?
Have your interpretations changed?
Have your hopes, dreams or desires changed?
Have your communication patterns changed?
Has your lifestyle changed?

Second, what were the prevailing causes or contributors to these changes?

Have you had a recent life changing event? Has the simple fact of growing older had an impact on your thought patterns or attitudes? Have other's expectations for you been altered in any way? Has the continuous rapid changes taking place in the world affected you in some emotional way? Have you felt an ever increasing amount of frustration, guilt, anxiety, resentment, doubt, discouragement or fear?

Both lists could be expanded even further but I am sure I have given you enough examples to trigger your thinking process to examine the effects and causes of the loss of fun, joy or passion that you once knew or experienced in your career or relationships.

Let me share a twelve step process with you that can help put the fun back in the life area where you have lost it.

You must really want to get the fun back. If you have lost the desire to make it work, don't bother with the following exercises. It will be a total waste of your time and energy. Better to spend your time in the search for a new career, job or relationship. Trying through effort or sheer will to make it work when your real intent is elsewhere is a useless exercise.

These twelve steps won't work unless you work them. If you find you are losing interest in executing any of the steps, it might be a subtle signal that you are really ready to move on and trying to begin again where you are might not be the best thing for you. They are not a magic formula but a systematic way of looking at your life's goals, mission or purpose.

Step one. Define or describe in writing what you feel is missing in your life, career, job or relationship. Be specific. Spend a great deal of time on this step. Resist the tendency to go on to step two too quickly. This step is the foundation for your success in later steps. Shortchange yourself here and you will shortchange the entire process.

Examine every possible career, relationship etc. symptom, cause, problem, feeling, issue, frustration, reason or stimulus. This step could take hours even days but the time is necessary and you will learn a great deal about the root of your current problem if you will persist. You must be critically honest and objective. You must write until you have penetrated beyond the shell protected by your ego.

Step two. Describe what the (job, career or relationship) looked like in the past when you were more excited, passionate, joyous, fulfilled, enthusiastic etc. What were its challenges, problems and opportunities?

Step three. Spend time( as ,much as you need) comparing your thoughts, feelings and attitudes, expectations, outcomes and emotions of the two situations.

Step four. Summarize each (step one and step two) into a single paragraph that represents an accurate assessment of the two stages of your (career, job or relationship)

Step five. Ask yourself, do you still want to put the effort, time and resources into regaining the earlier environment or after all of this work, have you decided to let it go and move on. This is the mid-course reality check, before the real work begins. If your answer is yes, move on to step six if not, bag the process.

Step six. Break down the answer to step one into the following categories and put each category on a separate page: symptoms, causes, feelings, other.

Step seven. Prioritize the items on each page according to their importance.

Step eight . Repeat steps six and seven with the answers from step two.

Step nine. Develop a list of action steps you can take to bring the earlier emotions or feelings back into the present.

Step ten. Determine the roadblocks or problems in implementing these action steps.

Step eleven. Identify the rewards or benefits you will get if you overcome the problems and achieve success.

Step twelve. Put your plan into action. Begin working on the first action step you established in step nine.

Keep in mind this entire process could take several weeks. Don't try to rush through the steps on the way to the finish line. The value is in the process of self-discovery and not your arrival at some pre-planned destination.

by Tim Connor

Tim Connor, CSP is an internationally renowned sales, relationship, management and leadership speaker, trainer and best selling author. Since 1981 he has given over 3500 presentations in 21 countries on a variety of sales, management and relationship topics. He is the best selling author of over 60 books including; He can be reached at tim@timconnor.com, 704-895-1230 or visit his website at http://www.timconnor.com.

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You Can Cultivate A Great Capacity For Courage - Courage Can Be Learned!

Can Courage Be Learned?

If you look at the most revered people in history, the people who have done the most for the world, the people who have pushed society forward, you'll invariably find that a major characteristic of those individuals is courage. But what is courage?

S. J. Rachman, a Canadian psychologist specializing in fear and courage, says that many people think of courage as fearlessness. However, Rachman defines courage as perseverance in the face of fear and stress.

Courage is a personal strength, which equates to the ability to act when others of lesser courage will not. It's the ability to act in spite of fear and overwhelming opposition. It's the ability to act in spite of hardship, despair and sometimes, imminent personal physical danger.

Ask yourself, Who's the most courageous individual you've personally known? Next, who's the most courageous person you can identify throughout history? Now, what were the courageous characteristics that caused you to choose these individuals?

My personal favorite is Winston Churchill. At the end of World War I, Churchill was in charge of the British navy. After a major naval defeat, he was removed from office and then had to endure more than 20 years of rejection of his political views. He admittedly suffered some very low times.

But he never wavered on his beliefs. His views were eventually proven correct when the Germans swept through Europe, and Churchill was the obvious choice to become Britain's wartime prime minister.

Everyone automatically looked to him in this time of need because they knew where he stood and they witnessed him display courage in battle, putting himself in harm's way over and over again. His personal courage and determination helped inspire an entire nation to continue to resist a force that at the time must have seemed to most ... insurmountable. And yet Churchill wasn't a likely person to become courageous.

According to Stephen Mansfield, in his book Never Give In: The Extraordinary Character of Winston Churchill, Churchill didn't have physical strength or towering stature. He was neglected, ridiculed, and misused by friends and family alike. He was brought up in the leisure class, which seldom produces principled men of vision. However, in spite of all that, he developed a staggering moral and physical bravery.

Mansfield goes on to say about courage, "It cannot be taught, though it can be inspired. And it normally springs from something like faith or resolve — a commitment to something larger than oneself. It can burst forth instantly as though awakened by a sudden jolt. But, more often, it waits in silence until aroused by some pressing challenge. What is certain of courage, though," he says, "is that true leadership is impossible without it."

Churchill himself said, "Courage is rightly esteemed the first of human qualities, because it is the quality that guarantees all others."

Mansfield is right to say that it would be difficult to teach someone to operate at, as he says, "the staggering level of courage of a Churchill or a Gandhi or a Martin Luther King." However, it's been proven that courage can be learned, and that is incredibly important for any of us who would like to increase our courage in some area of our lives.

Among S. J. Rachman's research, he observed the military bomb-disposal officers serving in the British army in Northern Ireland. He discovered that these men were able to cultivate a great capacity for courage, even if they initially lacked a high degree of self-confidence or a natural ability to persist under pressure.

He found that the ability to persist and function well in the face of great danger was largely the result of intense and specialized training for their job. Not only being prepared, but knowing you are prepared.

Denis Waitley describes fear as one of the strongest motivating emotions we can experience. Yet we do have the power to choose an even stronger motivation that can override fear and cause us to act courageously.

Denis used to be a Navy pilot, and he observed the training of our astronauts. After some of the most arduous and intense training ever devised, astronauts have been able to act efficiently and effectively, even in incredibly dangerous situations. As Neil Armstrong said after he walked on the moon, "It was just like a drill. It was just like we planned it."

It's apparent that we can become more courageous with enough preparation. If we venture, we do so by faith, because we cannot know the end of anything at its beginning. Isn't this the ultimate reason that doubt and fear are able to eat away at our courage? We're fearful because we cannot know the end of anything at its beginning, and we start imagining the worst possible scenarios.

So, it seems our best chance to overcome fear and become courageous is to prepare and then have faith. Now, in what area of your life would you like to become more courageous?

by Vic Conant

Vic Conant is the President and CEO of Nightingale-Conant Corp, the premier publisher of audio personal development programs in the world.

Vic has undoubtedly worked with more of the great self-improvement authors than any other human being alive today. And when an upcoming author in the human potential field wants to get published it is just natural for him or her to seek out Vic and Nightingale-Conant.

Nightingale Conant publishes personal development audio programs with authors such as: Wayne Dyer, Brian Tracy, Mark Hyman, Deepak Chopra, David Hawkins, Marianne Williamson, and many others.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vic_Conant

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Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of a
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Make Your Goals Real By Specifying Exactly What You Want! No Fluff Allowed.

Make Goals Specific

Saying that you want to be rich isn’t enough. However, when you say: "I want $12,000 two years from now", you have a specific target that you can break down into manageable goals.

You can break that down as follows: $6,000 per year, $500 per month, $125 per week, and $17.86 per day. Now work on getting $17.86 for tomorrow, and then do the same the next day, and then the next day and in two years’ time your goal will be realized.

Goals that are quantified and broken down into little pieces within their deadlines are easily reachable.

The same thing would apply to any goal you have. For example, if you want to start investing in Real estate, you will need to come up with some quantifiable goals. These can be:

· Read one book every two weeks for the next three months;
· Read seven different magazines on real estate the following month;
· Attend one seminar on the fifth month and;
· Look to buy one property in month six.

You need to put a number in your goals like read six books in three months or exercise for 30 minutes everyday. This will make your goals tangible and easy to reach because you know exactly what you need to do to reach them.

If you would like more information about this subject and how to manage your time more effectively to reach your goals click on this link

www.EffectiveTimeManagement.com
Copyright © 2005 EffectiveTimeManagement.com All rights reserved.

by Catherin Nellissen

My name is Catherin Nellissen. I have been organising events and training for over 11 years. I have learned the hard way how important it is to stay on top of what’s happening and making sure that everyone working with me knows what to do in a timely matter. I believe that organization is the key to a successful career and life! Over the years, I have created templates that help me and the people that work with me keep on top of our busy workloads and reach our personal goals. I have decided to share my knowledge of time management, hoping to help other people take control of their busy lives and make sure they accomplish what their heart desires. Life’s too short – get organized!!.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

Are You Having Trouble Sticking To Your Goals?

Why Most People Can't Stick To Their Goals

If you have ever set a new year resolution or tried to set a diet goal and failed to stick to the goal then find solace in knowing that you are not alone. Most people have goals that they are excited about and are revving to begin only to find days or weeks into the goal that it has already been discarded by the wayside for either a totally different goal or their old way of life.

Sticking to goals as you can imagine is integral in the degree of success you are going to enjoy in your life. If you aren't ever completing a goal in your life then how can you possibly grow as a person to take on larger challenges in your life and it also sends a message to inner self that goals aren't really important to you.

If you are struggling to stick to your goals for once in your life then here are a few handy tips to help you get on the fast track to success and you'll be ticking off your goals in no time.

1. Get started today. The key is to start at the very moment that you have committed yourself to the goal. Don't kid yourself that you'll start first thing Monday morning or tomorrow. The best time to start your goal was an hour ago, the second best time to start is right now. After all you don't have any control over your past or future but you do have control in the moment.

The reason you want to start straight away is that you are at the height of your excitement and motivation. That positive energy can create a great momentum in you attaining your goals. Momentum is key as Isaac Newton famously quipped that an object at rest tends to stay at rest. So maybe your goal is time dependent, maybe you have to weight till a class starts or something else out of your control. That doesn't mean that you wait, you still can get momentum started in the moment.

Maybe if you goal is about losing weight, then clean out part of your closet to make room for your newer, smaller sized clothes that are going to be your reality. Maybe your momentum could be to go out to the shops and buy some new exercise clothes that you can be comfortable in or to just get started right now and walk around the block. Whatever you goal there is no excuse not to get some momentum in your goal right this very moment.

2. Focus on building the habit. They say motivation gets you started, habit keeps you there. By focusing on habit you are focusing therefore on making your new goal an ingrained part of your life rather than a new exciting fad that runs the risk of losing its shine at the first sign of difficulty. You want to avoid therefore overdoing your new goal early on.

For example if it is to lose weight, don't all of a sudden go from doing no exercise to going to the gym four times a week and banning all junk food of your menu. If you aren't accustomed to this type of living you are only setting yourself up to fail because you are going to find this difficult to make a part of your habit without having to overhaul whole areas of your life. Instead create a healthy habit of introducing healthy food options into your daily meals and go to the gym twice a week to begin with.

Give your body a chance to get accustomed to your new goal and your chances of success increase measurably. You don't see athletes aspiring to win an Olympic medal go on a heavy duty training regime at the beginning. They have a four year plan that is developed to give them the best opportunity to be at their peak come time to compete at the Olympics.

3. Get yourself a buddy. We all remember times in our lives when we made a commitment to someone and no matter how difficult it was to stick to it we made sure that we stuck to our commitment so that we wouldn't let them down. If you have a goal that you are serious about completing then why not enlist the help of a friend that can keep you accountable.

Make your goal known to them and your plan to achieve your goal. That way they know when you are running behind schedule and can give you the necessary prompting to get you back on track. Why else would many elite sport athletes still enlist coaches and trainers to help. We all have bad days, and days we just want to quit because it's the easy option. If we have someone there with our best interest to support us the chances of us picking back up and getting back on track to finish the goal are greatly increased.

4. Reward Yourself. You don't have to wait until you complete your goal to reward yourself. The best way to reinforce a good habit is to give yourself pleasure in wanting to keep doing it. One way to do this is to set smaller milestones along the path to your eventual goal completion. As you progress and complete each milestone set a reward that you can enjoy.

Not only are you now one step closer to completing your goal but you have also given yourself a sense of gratification that you can enjoy right now instead of still hoping for that eventual reward at the end of the finish line. One side note to rewards is to try to avoid sabotaging yourself.

For instance if you goal is to lose weight you would hardly want to set a reward that is to allow you to enjoy a bar of chocolate or eat at your local all you can eat buffet. Instead your rewards could be celebrate with friends over lunch, go on a picnic with your family or something fun.

by T. Young

For more personal growth articles visit: http://www.personalgrowthunlimited.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=T_Young

Develop High Self Esteem, The Foundation For Your Success

Healthy Self-Esteem in Thirty Days

Healthy Self-Esteem is your best weapon on the journey of life. Self-Esteem is the cornerstone of your emotional well-being and success in life. Self-Esteem stems from the knowledge that you are a valuable person. It is the understanding that there is on one who is exactly like you. No one talks like you; No one walks like you; No one has the exact color eyes or hair as you. Even identical twins have subtle differences in personality and characteristics.

Healthy Self-Esteem is realizing that no other person has your personality or your abilities, and it is being comfortable with your uniqueness that sets you apart. Healthy Self-Esteem is that calm sense of self-respect and integrity that deep down in your soul you possess self-worth and confidence in your ability and uniqueness.

Healthy Self-Esteem fosters your inner strength to walk your own path. You avoid succumbing to peer pressure. You have the confidence to say, “NO” to requests or ideas which are demeaning to your integrity or will sabotage your goals.

Healthy Self-Esteem allows you to become a leader, instead of a follower. You know what is best for you. With Healthy Self-Esteem you are able to make decisions, regardless of what others say or do. These are traits that we all want for ourselves and our children.

You can build Healthy Self-Esteem one minute at a time. Every waking minute:

• See yourself as having value.

• See yourself as having the key to what is needed in this world.

• Treat yourself with the highest respect. No one will treat you with more respect than you treat yourself.

• Employ self-discipline to follow through with any endeavor.

• Give yourself positive support by praising yourself for doing a good job, for doing what you do, and for doing things the best you can. “You can do it.” “You are good at everything you do.” “You did a good job.”

• Focus on the positive—avoid focusing on the negative.

• Focus on the glass is half full—avoid focusing on the glass is half empty.

• Give yourself praise and pats on the back for your achievements—no matter how small.

• Focus on the process of goal achievement, avoid bemoaning everything you need to do—your goals come to fruition more quickly.

• Be persistent in everything you do—persistence is the only path to goal achievement.

• Praise others for their accomplishments—when you compliment others you build your own self-esteem, because it’s impossible to sincerely praise others without feeling better about yourself.

• Give as much as you want to receive — What goes around, Comes around.

• Take pride in who you are.

• Take pride in what you do.

“Life is not easy for any of us. But, what of that? We must have perseverance and above all, self-esteem in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained.” – Marie Curie

In Thirty days you will notice subtle, but powerful differences in the out-come of your endeavors and you will notice you are feeling empowered, confident and focused on goals and achievements.

By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD

Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, author, speaker and inspirational leader specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing and Physical/Sexual Abuse Prevention and Recovery. Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life's challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.drdorothy.net

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorothy_M._Neddermeyer,_PhD

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Self Image Exercise

OK, So You Know What You Want, Do You Expect To Get It?

How to Get Exactly What You Want

J. Paul Getty was quoted for his formula for success: "Rise early, work hard, strike oil." I'm a huge supporter of the practice of rising early (and if you're not, you probably should be). But regardless of when you wake up, the other two actions in this formula are "work hard," and "strike oil."

When I first ran across this quote ten years ago, I had to laugh, because it looked like Getty was saying you have to work hard and hope to get lucky. But a decade later, I can see the more relevant meaning, and I'm about to share with you why Getty's concept, perhaps more than anything else you might ever read, could be what gets you everything you want for the rest of your life.

It's all about your expectations

In short, it all comes down to your personal expectation as to whether or not you're going to strike oil. That's it. That's where it all starts. I can say this because that's how reality works - you're not going to get anything if you don't work hard to achieve it. But you're not going to work hard in the first place unless you have a strong enough expectation that you'll be successful (or at least be successful at learning from the experience).

This is just how life works. Your motivation to take action, and to follow through until the job is done, is directly proportional to your belief that you will succeed. (Side note: In some cases, the belief in success isn't even necessary - instead, you might be motivated by the fact your action will serve a higher cause, such as a 'failed' protest sparking a larger public awareness down the road).

If you break this concept down to the simplest parts, what you have is this: When you believe strongly enough that you will succeed at something, success is practically guaranteed - not because your belief creates the result, but because you don't give up taking action on a massive level until you get what you want.

When you believe that success is inevitable, you are able to put aside the idea that "failure," in the conventional sense, is a bad thing. Instead, it's just a specific attempt that you can learn from. Another life lesson to be accepted and consumed, not feared.

When you believe that success is going to be the end result of you never giving up, then you are going to attack your objective with a greater energy, a greater passion, a greater work ethic. You're going to be excited about what you're doing, because you know that it matters. You know that whatever it is you're doing, it's adding value that will eventually translate into the result you want.

That unwavering belief lets you focus your thoughts on questions like "How can I … ?" rather than "Why can't I … ?" The perspective of certainty gives you the ability to see obstacles as not these things that stand in your way, but instead as challenges that fuel your growth.

I've paid my dues

I experienced this myself as a ten year old kid in Brooklyn, New York. A horrible turn of events led to my mother getting murdered, my father going to prison for life, and me ending up all but homeless until I was taken in by a relative who was both an alcoholic and a drug user.

Years later, after I escaped the constant surroundings of drugs and violence, people remarked to me how surprised they were that I had avoided getting involved in drugs, alcohol, or any of the gang activity that was so pervasive during those years. Rather than any of that, I pretty much was a straight-A student who stayed out of (too much) trouble.

I always found it a bit humorous that while some people believed it was a solid foundation of strength that kept me on the straight and narrow, the thing that really kept me safe was that I didn't really accept the idea that I could get involved in any of those things in the first place. I just didn't know any better - I thought I was supposed to avoid them!

I just didn't see it as possible or reasonable for me, so I never thought about it. Those things were problems "other people" got involved in, but not me. In fact, I viewed the daily challenges I faced as tests that were there to make me stronger, so one day my life could make some kind of difference. And poof - that's exactly what happened. :

The point of all this is that all of my actions were driven by a firm belief that I would succeed eventually. That I would get through it all and come out okay on the other side. That I would strike oil. And it's no different than the mindset you have to adopt to make any of your goals/dreams/objectives a reality.

There's an old saying, "What would you attempt if you knew you could not fail?" While it sounds good on the surface (and it is, don't get me wrong), it's not perfect. Sure you could say what you would attempt if you knew you couldn't fail, but that doesn't help you when your brain is shouting, "Hey dummy, you're probably going to fail, don't you realize that?" The original question is a good start, but it needs to be taken a step further.

Instead of wishful thinking about what "could" happen, I've found a better question is more along the lines of "What will you attempt knowing that you will ultimately succeed, despite all the 'failures' that are sure to come along the way?"

Because, face it, life is going to throw some pretty rough stuff over to you. You're going to have a lot more "go wrong" than you'd ever hoped for. But striking oil is about drilling deeper, even if you hit a few rocks along the way. In fact, the expectation is that you have to do a lot of drilling before you tap into that pocket of oil.

So let's talk about setting expectations. An expectation, in it's most literal sense, is a certainty that a specific result will occur.

If you've got a major goal that want to achieve, you need to have at least five things straightened out before you can really attack it full force.

#1 - You have to have the expectation that you, specifically you, can achieve this goal.

This one is a biggie. People typically have a lot easier time believing something is "possible" than believing it's "possible for them." They don't fully believe that they will be capable of achieving a goal because they are missing something - the time, the talent, the resources, whatever. They have an unwritten expectation that they will not be one of the people who "has what it takes."

That's a load of garbage. If you believe that, even just a little bit, then it's going to seriously damage your ability to take action. You're never going to give 100% and stick with it until the job is done. If this is you, you need to fix this first. (Stay tuned for an upcoming article on how to do just that. I'll link to it here when it's ready).

#2 - You have to have the expectation that you will close the resource gap, no matter how wide it is.

This one is also a biggie. It's easy to look at a large goal and feel like the distance between it and you is too wide. After all, how can you compete with the biggest successes in the world, who are already established? You can find out how by studying the people who do it every day, like skinny, broke college kid Michael Dell who took on IBM and Hewlett-Packard (and is still winning). If you're reading this years from now, a hundred other stories just like his will have come and gone.

You have to, have to, have to believe any resource gap can be closed. A lack of time, money, manpower, connections … it all doesn't matter, because there's a number of creative solutions out there that you're going to come up with to overcome all that.

If you don't believe the resource gap can be closed, it won't, because you won't take full-out action to make it happen. But if you have the expectation that it will eventually be resolved, guess what's going to happen. (Again, stay tuned for an upcoming article on how to do just that. I'll link to it here when it's ready).

#3 - You have to have the expectation that you will find a solution to every problem that will inevitably come your way. Every one.

You can't guarantee a problem-free life. But you can guarantee that you see a 'problem' as an opportunity, so rather than being drained by the challenge, you are energized. Chew on this and decide how you're going to make this shift in thinking. (In the meantime, bookmark this post and check back later to find a link to an upcoming article on how to do this.)

#4 - You have to have the expectation that every action you take matters. Every darn one.

This is critical. When you think taking action won't matter in the long run, you simply won't do it. But when you recognize that action accumulates - that the pyramids are built brick by brick, and every one matters, you'll be willing to take action even when you don't feel like it and your heart's not in it.

Remember, everything you matters. If you don't think it does, then you need to make that shift as well. Stay tuned for an article on that.

#5 - You have to believe that you can accelerate the process of getting to your objective.

This one's my favorite. As you improve the discipline of following through and taking action on a consistent basis, you'll want to find new forms of leverage to make the journey to completion a lot shorter. This is what "Million Dollar Leverage" is all about.

By holding onto the firm expectation that you can find ways of leveraging all your resources, you'll be subconsciously looking for ways to make that happen, and as a result you'll find a lot more of them. And that will get you to your goal faster. Much faster.

So, I hope I've sold you on the power of expectation to get what you want - to strike oil, whatever that means to you. If not, then read this article again and again until it sinks in. And then put your expectations to the test and get them correctly aligned. It's a bit of work, but if you do it you'll start seeing better results than you've ever seen before in a lot less time than you might imagine (unless your expectation is to see results right away :).

So get a pen an paper and get your expectations put in writing so you can drill them into your brain and use them to your advantage. Do it now - you'll thank yourself for it.

by Dave Navarro

Rapid Results Coach Dave Navarro takes you through how to get anything you want - much, much faster. Learn can't-miss techniques for motivation, follow-through, and business tactics at http://www.davenavarro.com/wealthblog

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Navarro

Where Will You Be In Ten Years? Set Ten Year Goals And You'd Know!

10 Year Goals?!

Have you ever noticed that you, your close family members, and friends seem to accomplish certain goals in all of our lives, whether we realize it or not? For example in grade school, we had a goal to graduate 8th grade in order to get to high school. Or how about getting our drivers licenses, to getting college degrees, to landing that first job? Maybe it was to achieve a certain level of success in our other activities and hobbies, or buying that first car or house. Whatever the case may be, we always have had accomplishments in our lives.

However, it came to my attention that the majority of us have only short-term goals. That is, a goal that we are working to accomplish within the next 6 months to a few years from now. It seems to be a rarity to see a person with a clear set of long-term goals, such as 10 years.

"Wait......... did you say 10 YEARS?? From NOW?!?!"

That's exactly what I said! Now, I KNOW what you're thinking. It's probably along the lines of:

"So what's the point of having 10 year goals anyways? That's WAY too far off!!"

Believe me, I know how you feel. As a matter of fact, that's EXACTLY what I felt when I was first presented with this concept! However, what I found was that sometimes as we progress through life, we tend to focus on what's right in front of us. I know I've been guilty of that sin!

When a person takes their age and adds 10 years to it, what do you think happens? Well naturally, that person might picture themselves looking quite a bit older (or wiser?)-which is great for what we may LOOK like 10 years from now. But have we ever wondered what we would be DOING 10 years from now?

Or even better, have we even considered the type of person we would BE 10 years from now?? Wife, Mother, Husband, Father, CEO, Wealthy, Retired, Soccer Coach, Manager, Athlete, Independent, etc. The possibilities are endless, this simple concept is mind blowing!

In addition to this mind blowing concept, I was taught to try and predict the type of person I would BE 10 years from now in the year 2015 by actually writing down some 10 year goals. Absolutely crazy, isn't it??

When a person looks back on their life, they usually remember some of the great accomplishments that they have achieved. But along with all the success might come some regret as well. How many times have you thought about the person you were in the past compared to the person you are today, and you couldn't help but think,

"Hmmmm.... If only I had: *saved more money *had more fun *strived harder in school/job *started that dream business/career, etc.....Things would be much better for me and my family now....oh well, it's too late now...*sigh*."

Some people tend to live in the past like this, and as a result they NEVER seem to get what they want out of life. Doesn't that stink? Sure it does! So what's a possible solution?

Well, how about this? Instead of looking at the past, and wishing that things were different-why not try and imagine your life 10 years IN THE FUTURE assuming you continued your current path, and simply attempt to predict what your regrets would be in the year 2015? AND THEN, simply digging deep into yourself to correct these 'future regrets' by taking action towards the solution right now,THIS year!

Let's look at an example: even though their current careers pay the bills, some people might not be too content with their careers. So naturally they think, "I wish I got into my dream career when I was younger...oh well, it's too late now *sigh*." Well, this is certainly ONE unfortunate way to live life.

However, why not try this technique instead? Simply imagine yourself in the exact same unhappy career path 10 years from now in the year 2015. Then imagine yourself (in 2015 of course) thinking, "Hmmmm...if only I had taken those extra educational courses when I had the chance, back in 2005. Things would have been much better for me and my family now.....oh well..*sigh*." And NOW, when you snap yourself out of your thoughts, you realize that it's the year 2005 TODAY!!!

With this little strategy as the catalyst and motivator towards some positive action, you can decide to start taking steps toward your dream career path, i.e. taking some extra courses, networking with others, etc TODAY.

What is SO powerful about this technique is the simple fact that you might not have even considered taking action today without this little strategy. Can you imagine how this one little strategy alone could possibly save you and your family 10 years of career challenges in your lives?!

Ok....enough 'talking' already....let's actually DO something!

Getting started: One of the most POWERFUL ways to start the process is to simply write some goals on paper, and to simply have them in clear view daily. Authoring your goals on paper seems to have a very powerful reinforcing effect on your subconscious mind.

The easiest way to get some 10-year goals on paper is to simply break them up into little categories. You might have health goals, financial goals, career goals, family goals, etc.... Also, try your best to emphasize the person that you will BECOME rather than what you will just do. Of course, that's up to you.

Step 1) Get a sheet of paper and pen OR open up your favorite word processing application on your computer.

Step 2) Pick out the most important categories that are important to you: Health, Career, Family, Finances, etc....

Step 3) Brainstorm for a few minutes and write down or type the first few goals that come out of your mind for each category. Remember these are goals that you will shoot for by the year 2015.

Step 4) Be creative, let your imagination run wild! Consult with a loved one as well!

Step 5) Place your name and date on your goal sheet. This way, you can hold yourself accountable.

Step 6) Post your goal sheet in a highly visible place where you can view it on a daily basis-for example: on your bed stand, on your computer desktop, at work, in your wallet, on the refrigerator, etc....

Step 7) Read your goals every morning right when you get out of bed, and again at night right before you sleep.

Step 8) Take positive action towards each of your goals. Achieve your goals. Succeed, and HAVE FUN!!!

"When we are motivated by goals that have deep meaning, by dreams that need completion, by pure love that needs expressing -- then we truly live life." -Greg Anderson

"You control your future, your destiny. What you think about comes about. By recording your dreams and goals on paper, you set in motion the process of becoming the person you most want to be." - Mark Victor Hansen

by Cedric Licuanan

Cedric Licuanan is a thriving Chicago-Based Internet Marketer. He has focused on helping people achieve what they want out of life and currently maintains several success-driven websites.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cedric_Licuanan

If There is No Action - Nothing Happens

If There is No Action - Nothing Happens

Jack Canfield says, "the universe rewards ACTION, not thinking."

Mike Brescia says, "remember, nothing works until you do."

My mentor, Mike Litman says, "you don't have to get it right, you just have to get it going."

You can buy all of the success manuals on sale everywhere, attend every conceivable seminar offered and take thousands of dollars worth of courses, but absolutely nothing will happen until you take action and put what you have learned into practice.

Have you ever watched a sporting event where a team that doesn't have a lot of big name players soundly defeats a team that does? The reason this happens is because all of the team members on the less talented team put all their passion and skill into the actions required to play an exceptional game.

Martin Luther King said, "I have a dream." Probably one of the most repeated statements of the last century. He then went out and put his dream into action. Millions followed him and the rest is history. Imagine though what would have happened if after his speech he would have gone back to his church and waited for someone else to put his dream into action. It's almost too frightening to think of.

Yes, taking action requires you to take a risk, probably to move outside of your comfort zone. But what is the worst thing that can happen? Perhaps a little embarrassment, maybe a loss of a little money, but most of all it will mean that tomorrow will be just the same as today. Now, think of what can happen if things go as you planned.

Remember, you haven't failed until you quit. If things don't turn out just as you wanted them to, evaluate what you have done so far, keep the good parts and try a different course of action. There is an old adage that my mother used to tell me, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again."

Another thing she used to say was, "A trip to the local store starts with a single step and so does a trip around the world. The only difference between the two is the length of time you walk."

If you want more success in your life, whether it be in your relationships, in your wealth or in your accomplishments, it all starts with planned action on your part. It all starts with that first step.

So do your research, make your plans, and take that first step, followed by another and another until you reach your goal. Just think of the possibilities!

by Gilbert Griffiths

Gilbert Griffiths helped thousands of people during a professional career that spanned more than 35 years. He recently came out of retirement with a passionate goal to help one million people improve their lives. Would you like to be one of those people? If you would, go to http://www.rockettosuccess.com

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Getting The Most Out Of Your Life Coaching Program

I stopped by The Total Life Success Forum today checking out what's been happening lately. I've been busy with my own goals and haven't been participating much. I was reminded how supportive other people can be on our life journeys. Check out the forum and join in.

It's great for getting over those stubborn plateaus that we sometimes allow to hold us in place. Here is an article by the Forum Founder, Mark Farmer on Getting The Most Out Of Your Coaching Program

5 Quick Steps for Speeding Up the Results of Your Coaching!

#1. Don't just "do the homework"... Do the homework aiming for extra-credit.

If the week's homework was to "be soulfish", don't just try one thing that week to put your soul first. Aim for 7 times (1 a day)... or 10... or 21 (3 a day!)

Whatever the homework is, you can do it three ways -- not at all (you keep getting what you keep getting), begrudgingly (often a self-fulfilling prophecy "I'll try this... but nothing is really going to change...") or going for extra credit ("Let's see exactly what will change if I do this and how fast things will change.")

Aim for extra-credit on every homework assignment.

#2. Email back the homework results early.

Even if the homework is to do X for the week... you can email me back after a couple of days of doing X, letting me know what the results have been and how you're feeling.

The earlier you complete your homework assignment or provide feedback on how you've whole-heartedly d