Success Strategy - The Power Of Failing, Fail Your Way To Your Goals!

Another great article by Steve Pavlina on his blog today, Making Decisions That Stick, check it out. Now to today's article on the power of failing.

Do You Believe In Your Own Strengths?

Every successful person will tell you that they only accomplished their goals because they learned how to.

They were not born with self confidence or personal strength. It is something you can create in your own mind – In fact if you examined the track record of every successful person -- you'll find that they failed more often then they succeeded. They didn't dwell on their failures. They concentrated on their goals, and moved forwards.

Successful people are not always successful. But they don't focus on their failures -- and this helps create the self confidence that propels them to greater success. They develop an attitude towards everything in their lives that increases their self esteem and confidence.

Without any arrogance, I believe that I have self esteem and confidence. In fact in spite of all my physical imperfections, I like myself! That helps, because then I can like others!!

I have achieved more than I ever thought of achieving because if I ever felt I did not like my life at any moment in time I made changes. My choice. My desire to feel good came from within and I acted on anything that sabotaged that.

I was not born with personal strength. I remember constantly looking at others in my life and wishing I was like them! I guess the desire to be different was strong enough to start me off down the road that helped me to make changes and to reach where I am happy to be today.

Wherever necessary we can make changes for improvement!

My point is that you can create your own strengths -- by developing the way you think. If you seriously want to change the way your mind focuses on things you can teach yourself to create a new way of thinking. Many have done that and are reaping the success of applying what they learnt.

How many times have you met someone for the first time and just got the sense that they're successful? Or you see someone, and they just give off this feeling of success. You've never exchanged a word with them -- but you just sense that they are successful. You can be the same! Yes you can.

Personal Strength and Self Confidence is created -- it is not given to you! This means that you can create Self Confidence to any degree you want and make the changes you want in life!

If you feel you are locked into certain situations, then change your attitude towards that situation. See it for how someone else would look at it. most of us have many things that others would appreciate, jobs, homes, husbands, wives, children, all the things that we can allow to pull us down at times.

It helps to realise that some people go through their entire lives without any of the things mentioned there. Try to look at what you have from another view point and get some appreciation for the things in your life.

It's entirely up to you how you look at things - you are in control!!

by Violet King

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Learn To Value Rejection! And . . . Hold On To Those Rejection Letters

Hold On To Those Rejection Letters

Now why on earth would you want to hold on to something that has announced its rejection of you? Are you trying to self inflict yourself with more pain? In the beginning I cried at each rejection letter and note that I received. I literally took it personal. I was crushed and my feelings were hurt.

In the beginning, the rejection letters were coming so frequently that I could have decoupaged my walls with them. At first it affected me so horrifically that I stopped writing for a while. I had my usual pity party and thought that writing was for the eccentric, literary genius. The results – no submissions – no rejection letters – no acceptances!

After hearing about some high profile authors and entertainers whose works were rejected hundreds of times before they became famous, I regained a gratifying sense of hope. I re-read and dissected some of my rejected pieces and found grammatical and guideline errors that could have easily been avoided.

After some self-chastisement regarding those crazy, careless mistakes, I opted to turn my negative energy into positive results. Even what I considered to be a polished submission, somehow, it was still shredded to pieces.

I heard a young lady make a comment about her father, who was a writer, throwing away every one of the rejection letters he received. She said that this sent him into a deep depression and ultimately he stopped doing the one thing that he loved to do.

Apparently, he allowed his anger and hurt to overpower his passion to write. What a waste of probably some very good talent! I told her about my experiences with rejection letters and how I overcame them. Hopefully, she will share my story with her father and perhaps it will give him some inspiration to get recharged and start writing again.

Under normal circumstances, it is human to rid yourself of the painful presence of some “thing” or some “one” inflicting the feeling of rejection towards you. In this case, I found that my rejection letters helped me to create a therapeutic poem entitled “Rejection From The Red Pen Bandit.” The more I got rejected, the more I tweaked and rewrote again.

Some of my pieces that were rejected at one publication, I elected to revamp and submit elsewhere. Sometimes this resulted in a published piece. Needless to say I would be in shock, but nevertheless very elated! Now-a-days, if I receive a rejection letter, I will re-edit my piece and shop for publications where my submission adheres to their guidelines and send it out.

Turn rejection into approval by refusing to settle for defeat and accept the sweet smell of victory! While striving towards writing perfection, don’t allow obstacles (attitudes, emotions, people, and situations) to divert your attention from your destination. Be sure to abide by ethical standards. If you are a member of a writing group, sometimes membership packages will include editing services.

Read your compositions out loud to see how they flow. Find someone who shares interest in your craft or a mentor who wouldn’t mind giving you some constructive criticism. Don’t allow rejection to “break” you, let it “make” you! Who knows, that rejection letter could turn into an award winning novel.

by Kym Moore

Kym Gordon Moore has over twenty six years of writing experience throughout her corporate career, in various industries from fashion and special event coordination to marketing, public relations and sales. Dedicating the last five years to her personal creative writing projects, she’s currently working on some upcoming book projects. Many of her articles, essays, short stories and poems appeared in a variety of magazines, newspapers, ezines and anthologies. http://www.kymgmoore.com

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No Excuses Left After Reading This . . . Print This One Out!

How To Reach The Top Starting From Anywhere

You need to ask yourself, "What limitations have I been clinging to that I should and will throw right out the window, never to look back at again?" Erik Weihenmayer went completely blind when he was 13... Since then he's climbed the world's tallest mountains, run marathons and jumped out of planes, among his many pursuits.

Erik's story is about having the 'vision' to dream big; the courage to reach for near impossible goals; and the grit, determination, and ingenuity to transform his life into "something miraculous". If you want to learn more about Erik, his book, "Touch the Top of the World" can be found just about anywhere.

OK. So if a blind guy can climb the world's tallest mountain... How do those excuses sound that you keep coming up with about why you can't do that paltry little project that's been sticking its tongue out at you for months now.

People like Erik only have one thing that separates them from most everyone else; the attitude that life is to be lived; that accomplishments require some risk, and that the risks themselves can make life juicy and fun.

Now, it's probably not required that you risk life and limb to achieve most of your goals, is it? You want some juice, don't you? Accomplishment? Real excitement? Then set a big goal. A REALLY big goal. But whatever it is, it's got to stretch you. It's got to be something that you really want... something that would really change your life.

Write down all the steps it will take. Who do you have to call? Where do you have to go? Does it require special training? Do you need tools or supplies? What sacrifices do you have to make?

Sitting on the couch for another 10 minutes might be pretty "comfortable". Taking one more unimportant phone call might be more "fun" in the moment. But at the end of the day when you look in the mirror... the only way THAT'S going to be fun is if you cut short the unimportant phone calls, got off the comfortable couch, stopped hiding out and took some major steps toward a big goal... every day. If you do that consistently, you'll start to really be proud of who you're becoming.

Those "sacrifices", if you'll look at them, aren't sacrifices at all. Happiness comes from what you become, not what you get. If you become more, you'll get more automatically. It's one of those cosmic universal laws.

Erik Weihenmayer, in achieving his goals, has become more. Now he gets paid huge sums to talk to thousands of people every year about the thrill of working to reach your wildest dreams. He gets to write about it. 90% of the people who attempt to climb to the peak of Mount Everest fail. Many die.

Erik "looked" past the risk and "focused" instead on the reward, and went after it passionately. So even though he's blind, he wouldn't trade his life for anyone else's. His life is his life, so he's enjoying every bit of it.

When Erik was about 15 minutes from the top of the world's tallest mountain, so close to his goal, he started to cry... but his tears were freezing, making it difficult to breath in his mask. So he had to put off crying with his blind eyes for another 15 minutes... until he actually reached the top of the world.

WINNING BELIEFS:

-- I am working hard to reach my biggest goal now

-- I learn something valuable every day in pursuing my goal

-- I am becoming more today than I was yesterday

-- I love reaching for and achieving challenging goals

-- I can do it... I know I can

EMPOWERING QUOTE: "Twenty years ago, when I went blind, it was tough to even find the bathroom. Now that I've climbed Mount Everest, well, I guess I've come a long way." -Erik Weihenmayer

What if you had the same minute-by-minute thoughts as the super successful? Mike Brescia has developed the ultimate mental conditioning programs that can help anyone wipe out intense fears and enjoy huge successes in all areas of life.

by Mike Brescia

Mike Brescia is the creator of the world-renowned Think Right Now! Accelerated Success Conditioning Programs. Mike becomes your own personal success coach - guiding, motivating, inspiring, teaching and moving you in a way that only a best friend would. Mike will inspire you to take a hard look at yourself and be accountable for what you are in life, to be dissatisfied with the "old you" and the bad habits, to take action, ready to happily do whatever it takes to win the game of life.

Find descriptions of all his products at http://www.thinkrightnow.net

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Self Esteem Improvement: Who do you think you are?

Self Esteem Improvement: Who do you think you are?

Living in a state of low self esteem can be very damaging to the quality of life you lead on a daily basis. Your self esteem is YOUR opinion of yourself, but far too many people allow others to influence or even make up their opinion for them. It sounds so very silly, but if you think on this you will realize how certain events, comments and encounters helped to "make or break" your self esteem.

There is absolutely no reason at all why people should "suffer" from low self esteem. Your self esteem is something over which you have absolute and immediate control. Think of self esteem as a muscle; it never stays the same for any period of time. Like any muscle it either weakens or gets stronger.

Self esteem improvement is like exercising a muscle. It relies on small incremental improvement on a daily basis. You won't run out to the gym and have perfect muscles for life in an hour. Consistent self esteem improvement is the only way to lasting success and an increase in the quality of your life everyday you live it.

One of the critical key aspects of self esteem improvement is to design your own identity. Your identity is highly suggestible and not something that is fixed in time but rather the subconscious sum total of your personal interpretations of yourself based on the events and circumstances of your life. In simply means that subconsciously your mind automatically makes appraisals of yourself based on what's going on around you.

So, who are you? Take a minute and think deeply on this. How do you define yourself to yourself and to others. Your identity is nothing more than your own beliefs about yourself. Your beliefs are the ideas about yourself that you can convey with certainty. If you say I believe I am smart, you probably have life experiences and references to back this up.

Maybe you got good grades at school and your teachers told you how smart you are. These reference experiences play a critical role in our identities (beliefs about ourselves). This definition of yourself is one of the determining factors in your self esteem. Self esteem improvement therefore needs to start with a change or evaluation of your identity.

So how do you define yourself to yourself? Start by writing down all the characteristic you would want if you knew Santa would deliver it tomorrow morning. Spend some time on this and think on all the qualities that your role models have and as you do this start to build a mental picture of yourself with these qualities. Imagine yourself in situations where you would display these characteristics and qualities.

By using your imagination you are giving your self esteem muscle a workout by building references to back up your new beliefs about yourself. Self esteem improvement by changing and installing your new identity is nothing more than installing and building empowering beliefs about yourself.

A belief is a feeling of certainty about what something means. The beliefs you hold about yourself will colour very experience in your life. It gives you the ability to have that sense of certainty in yourself and your own abilities and possibilities.

This feeling of certainty is also called self confidence and is the key ingredient of high self esteem. Self esteem improvement allows you to expand your own view of yourself and become more by giving you that sense of certainty within yourself about yourself and your unlimited possibility.

Once you've decided who you are do not allow anyone to intimidate or influence you. People with high self esteem know exactly who and what they are and are not discouraged by negative feedback or comments. Remember that nothing in life has any meaning except for the meaning that you attach to it. Make self esteem improvement a habit by daily focussing on who you are (your identity) and who you wish to become.

We are all in a constant state of becoming and moving towards our dominant thoughts of ourselves. Take control of your self esteem by consciously defining the identity you want for yourself and as you do this you will accelerate your self esteem improvement by building more references to support your beliefs about yourself. You are a gift to this world and you have your own unique contribution to make to life and the people whose lives you touch.

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.

Getting Started - 10 Tips to Beat Procrastination and Get You Up and Running

Getting Started - 10 Tips to Beat Procrastination and Get You Up and Running

Do you have a project or task you simply can't get started on? Do you recognise that feeling of dread when you think about it; that overpowering compulsion to do any other activity so long as it's not that one thing? We've all been there, but you can beat your procrastination.

Here are 10 great tips to help you on your way.

1. Check your planning. If you don't plan or haven't planned properly your task may seem way too big - you get a feeling that it's simply not doable. So how good is your plan?

2. Break down your tasks into smaller 'chunks' (yes - the technical coaching term is 'chunking down'). When the chunks are too big our imagination simply can't see a way through the task. Keep chunking down until you suddenly say to yourself - hey, I can do that bit now!

3. Practice the action you're holding back from. Telling yourself that you are only practising is a brilliant way of building your skills, making your mistakes and taking the pressure off. And often before your realise it you've moved easily from practice to the real thing.

4. Confront your fears. Exactly what is it about this that is putting you off? It's worth spending a little time on this. Once you know what's scaring you it becomes much easier to tackle. The next four questions should help.

5. It's actually a job you hate doing - so how can you make it more enjoyable - and what are the rewards for doing it?

6. You don't know enough to get started. This is an important one. If there genuinely is more groundwork to be done, it's important for your success that you do it. So, how can you plan and start the groundwork?

7. What if I'm not good enough? It's true that there are things we might not excel at. Pavarotti, for instance, may not be a natural at hang gliding, break dancing or the world pogo championships. Do any of these mean that Pavarotti is 'not good enough'?

8. What if it doesn't work? Good question. If it's worrying you - then make a list of the consequences of failing - but you should also make a list of the consequences of not starting.

9. Embrace the idea of failure. This is a big one - changing our attitude to the word 'failure' from negative to positive can seem a little crazy at first. In fact it's incredibly empowering to have a healthy attitude to failure. Go back to the previous tip and add in all the positives that come out of having tried. At the very least, you'll have learned an awful lot for next time.

10. Finally - find your motivations. What are the real benefits of doing this project or task? Ask yourself these three questions:

a. What are the benefits of finally getting started?
b. What will the benefits be of completing?
c. How much better will I feel about myself when it's done?

That's it. If you can't start on the project itself - start on these tips and see where it gets you. The chances are that you'll be racing away before you know it.

by Andrew Leigh

Andrew Leigh works with people looking for life direction and wellbeing, and those wishing to find or exploit their unique creative voice. You can find a free self-coaching guide, tools and articles at his website www.pathwayscoaching.co.uk

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

Do It On Purpose!

Do It On Purpose!

Are you doing what you are doing on purpose? Are your priorities keeping you from living a prosperous life? With our responsibilities constantly shifting and the amount of work we receive (personally and professionally) generally exceeding our ability to produce, knowing what to do and when to do it becomes an overwhelming task of monumental proportions.

But you aren’t here to spend your life checking off an endless To Do list. You’re here to connect to your passion and purpose – and use it to enrich your life and others! When you’re in tune with your important and top priorities – the ones that “juice” you, the ones that enhance, advance, and enrich you – you’re harnessing the P.O.W.E.R.!

POWER - Productivity - Order - Worth - Energy - Respect

There is an old Chinese Proverb which says, “If you chase two rabbits, both will escape.” You can’t be effective if you’re running in a thousand different directions. YOU HAVE TO BE CLEAR ON WHAT YOU WANT BEFORE YOU CAN HAVE WHAT YOU WANT.

The first step is to clarify and focus.

* Increase your productivity by identifying and focusing on your top priorities
* Improve your chances of success by setting goals that align with your most important objectives
* Harness the power of focus through planning
* Reduce stress by recognizing and eliminating low-priority activities and distractions.

Why are you waiting?

How you’ve spent time in the past has determined your present environment and work/life situation. Your future 5 years from now will be a direct result of how you prioritize your time and activities right now. Being conscious of priority management directly affects the quality of your life.

Why do we have trouble identifying our important priorities?

1. You lack a specific learning set or skills.

You simply lack knowledge. You need to learn a skill or technique to adjust your approach.

* The task is complex and needs to be broken down into smaller chunks.
* Your space is disorganized.
* You don’t have a reliable way to manage information or tasks.

2. Your external environment or circumstances contribute.

Factors beyond your control which limit how organized you can be. Examples include:

* Last minute projects or meetings
* Illness or something of a physical nature
* Unrealistic workload – accepting or being given too much work
* Transition (Birth, death, divorce, new job, downsizing, promotion, new boss)
* Highly distractive environment – lots of crisis management or interruptions.

3. Psychological factors. By far the most insidious and most common factors are the internal fears, beliefs, or behaviors that prevent you from getting the best from yourself and identifying your personal success. Do you fall into any of these success saboteur personalities?

* Chaos Creators: You get a rush from stress, you’re functioning in disaster mode.
* Fear of Failure – You are afraid you won’t be able to achieve your goals, or you’re afraid you’ll make a mistake.
* Fear of Success – Inability to handle something new
* Fear of Completion – You start projects and don’t finish. You love the creative process but not the grind.
* Perfectionism
* Fear of Losing Creativity – You fear structure will squelch creativity.

Once you’ve identified what’s holding you back it’s time to unpack your mental briefcase: Remove old habits, beliefs and attitudes, values, outdated goals that prevent you from making priorities that will advance and enhance your life professionally and personally.

Get Your A.C.T. Together! There are only 3 steps to getting your priorities organized:

A – Assess, Analyze, Affirm: Identify goal or vision – WHAT do you want to do?

C – Create a plan or blueprint for success: HOW are you going to achieve it?

T – Take consistent, daily action: WHEN you’re going to do it and be willing to modify your plan as necessary to achieve maximum results!

7 WAYS TO TURN PRIORITIES INTO ACTION:

1. Choose the most productive time frames to do your work.

Don’t work on an activity that requires intense concentration during a noisy or interruptive time period. Sometimes you have to choose the toughest job first and get it done while your energy level is high – even if it isn’t your highest priority.

2. Choose the Best Task and Do It At The Best Time.

After choosing your priority do it at the time when you can accomplish it most effectively. Perform difficult tasks at peak energy times. Do work you enjoy at low ebb times.

3. Practice Instant Success.

Be successful right now at this moment. If you are actively involved in something you value then you are being successful in this instant – and you are enjoying instant success. Good time management means doing activities you regard as important to achieving what you want in life.

4. Learn How Long Tasks Take.

We tend to overestimate the time it takes to do unpleasant tasks and underestimate tasks we enjoy. We often are unrealistic about how long it takes tasks to complete. We believe we have more time than we do. Plan for interruptions or unexpected delays.

5. Fill Your Time with One Job.

Choose a time slot and fill that slot with one activity. If you have a large time slot (2-4 hours) – choose 2 to 4 1 hour tasks to fill that slot. Smaller tasks should be blocked into small time slots. Don’t start a long involved project if you only have a 30 minute window!

6. Utilize the Best Times to Do Your Work.

Work with energy peaks and valleys.

7. Delegate.

Hire a professional, turn over to a trusted colleague. Even if you love the concept but it’s not in line with your priorities – delegate it!

Learning to manage your priorities is the key element to organization and time management. Connect to your passion and purpose – and make a decision to eliminate ANYTHING that isn’t consistent with your vision.

The secret to a high quality life is not what you add to it, but what you eliminate from it.

Having trouble figuring out where to begin? Contact me at robin@yourlifeinorder.com for a free consultation!

by Robin Stephens

Robin Stephens is an organizing consultant and lifestyle management coach. She is dedicated to helping you uncover your personal and professional vision and create an action plan to live your best life now! Visit her website at http://www.yourlifeinorder.com for a free coaching assessment & newsletter!

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Use Words Wisely. What You Say Is What You Get!

The Power of the Tongue

There is an old proverb with a lot of wisdom. It says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and whoever loves it will eat its fruit."

It is so true. What we say has the ability to create situations, emotions, and thoughts in others. A kind word helps people, negative words hurt - sometimes for a very long time.

Most of the time we think of this concept in relation to how we treat others and that is good. In fact, I wrote an article in the last month or so called "The Power of Praising People." If you missed it, you can get it at the website.

But here I want to talk about this concept in relation to ourselves. How does what we say affect us? Tremendously. There is a simple principle here. Only say things that will create in you positive emotions, thoughts, feelings, and ultimately, actions.

Let me give you a good example. We do not allow the words "I can't" in our house. Why? Because we CAN! The very minimum is "I'll try." We ask our kids to say "I'll try." If we allow our kids, or ourselves, to fall into the trap of saying "I can't," guess what? We won't! And that's not good, is it?

Do you tell yourself negative thoughts during the day? Most of us can fall into that temptation, can't we? I was working the other day and I was brewing over something bad that had happened and I was just getting bent out of shape. So I stopped, realized I had the power to choose what I was saying to myself and began to think about and tell myself good things. And my day changed for the better.

Have you ever been in your backswing on the golf course and said to yourself, "I am going to shank this one." What happens? You shank it. This actually happens to me. So what do I do? I stop my backswing, reset myself, and tell myself I am going to hit it straight down the fairway. What happens?

About half the time I hit it straight, the other half, I shank it, but increasing your ability is a future article! At the very least I increase my chances of performing better. Bad thoughts almost guarantee my failure, while good thoughts increase my chances for success dramatically.

A salesman may see someone walk through his door and say to himself, "I'm not going to be able to make this sale." I can't. I won't.

Some of us aren't even aware that we talk negatively to ourselves. Take some time today to think about what you say to yourself. Maybe ask a close friend if you have this habit. If you find yourself doing this, it is time to change!

Now, don't get me wrong. Self-talk is not a substitute for effort and ability, but it is a strong helping factor. Find some simple phrases that will help you get through the day with more success. Whatever your situation or work is, I am sure there are specific things you can say that will build you up and stick you on the road to success!

The words that you use and the conversations you have with yourself create things in you. They can create positive things or negative things. It is our choice. The tongue has the power of life and death. This is why it is so important to be diligent in using the power of the tongue to create a positive force in our lives.

Remember, your tongue has power. Use it!

by Chris Widener

About The Author:

Chris Widener is a popular speaker and writer as well as the President of Made for Success, a company helping individuals and organizations turn their potential into performance, succeed in every area of their lives and achieve their dreams.

To see Chris "live" at the upcoming Jim Rohn Weekend Event as he speaks on the subject of Secrets of Influence go to http://Chris-Widener.InspiresYOU.com/ or call 800-929-0434.

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