Staying Motivated, Do You Employ Game Time Strategy?

Here's How Tiger, Oprah, And Spielberg Stay Motivated
by Mike Litman

I want to share with you a powerful principle that I've used to change my life and that you can use to unleash your greatness.

Tiger Woods knows this.

Bruce Springsteen knows this.

Oprah Winfrey knows this.

Name someone great and you can bet dollars to donuts they know this as well.

Before I share this insight with you, I want you to know you don't always have to be on your 'game' and great.

"Mike, did you just say I don't always need to be 'great'?" Yes I did and let me explain.

I want to share with you the principle of what I call GAME TIME.

Let's look at the world class golfer Tiger Woods.

If you ever watched Tiger Woods play golf in a tournament, you saw an intense, fierce, focused athlete who is concentrating very intently on winning.

For those 3 or 4 hours of the tournament that day, Tiger Woods is 'someone else' and here's what I mean.

If you saw Tiger Woods 5 hours after the match with this wife at the movies, do you think he'd be so intense, so focused, so determined?

The answer is no way, he'd be relaxed, laughing, having fun.

Why this change in Tiger Woods from focused to laughing?

Because he understands the POWER OF GAME TIME. He understands that he only has to be GREAT and 'on' during the moments the game is on. Here's an example.

Let's say you're in sales and you prospect 4 hours a day or even 30 minutes a day. That's your ‘game time.’

You need to be focused, organized, have a plan and prepare. Have you ever seen a rock star on stage and they’re so energetic, running around and the crowd is going wild?

Check them out 4 hours after the concert - are they acting like that? No chance, they're acting their normal self.

Here's what you need to do.

You need to ISOLATE the times during the day that you need to be at your best. Maybe time with your clients, with prospects, working on a project at work.

For Tiger Woods, his game time is his gold match.

For Bruce Springsteen, it's when he's on stage at a concert.

For a great chef, it's when he's preparing a meal.

Isolate that time and then ask yourself this question:

If I was going to be powerful, focused and ready to win during game time, what actions would I take today, how focused would I be, and what would my next 2 action steps be?

It's funny, you don't need to be 'on' 24 hrs a day; find the 20% of your day that's GAME TIME.

When Steven Spielberg is directing a film, he changes into this focused, intense director. When is your GAME TIME today? Isolate it. Turn up your ENERGY and enthusiasm. And then give it your all.

Discovering your game time moments and maximizing them will bring you immense and quick rewards.

You can be as great as Tiger, Oprah, Spielberg, Michael Dell and the rest.

Talk to you soon.

Mike Litman is the co-author of the #1 Best-selling book Conversations with Millionaires. Over the last 3 years, Mike has unleashed the greatness of tens of thousands of people worldwide. Networking Times Magazine called Mike Litman ‘a modern day Napoleon Hill’ and at the age of 30 he’s already shared the stage with well-known speakers such as Mark Victor Hansen and Bob Proctor.
www.mikelitman.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

Do You Always Feel Like Taking Action?

Sometimes I run up against this challenge of not following through on my tasks because I have changed my mind set since I wrote up my goals. (poor decision making probably at fault here)

Goals are tremendously exciting and stimulating at the time of writing them up, but sometimes my feelings change somewhere in between setting them and actually taking action on them. Could this be a fairly common challenge in people who are living their dream?

What Do You Do When You Don't Feel Like Doing It? (following your plan, taking action, etc.) You know, at those times when your negative self talk is overwhelming the positive feelings you had previously.

When you now keep saying you really should, all the while dreading and knowing in your heart that it will probably never happen for you, even though it needs to happen in order for you to realize your goal.

That haunting feeling that creeps in knowing you will not want to complete your plan as scheduled because you probably won't want to actually do what is required. Because you had been here before, and you didn't follow through on it that time either. That reluctance you began to feel even as you wrote it on your to do list.

Common examples might be: consistently exercising for fitness, following eating plans for weight loss, or salespeople making prospecting calls, etc. (I remember the last one being particularly challenging in the past).

Have you ever felt those feelings? I sure have, and I’m guessing that just about anyone challenging themselves with tough goals has them from time to time too.

What do you do when you can't seem to bring yourself to that action threshold which separates doing it from not doing it? What holds you back? What spurs you on?

Is it real or imagined? Can you control it? Is it fear (insert your specific fear here), lack of knowledge, low motivation or I hate to say this but laziness? (I don’t think there are any lazy people, just those lacking motivation.)

How do you get yourself to follow through when you overcome this reluctance in other things? What is the difference for you when you do it and when you don’t?

I’m sure there have been times that you would rather have been anywhere else, but you took action anyway. You did overcome the reluctance and everything went according to plan because you made a decision that this was important to blast through and get it done. And so you did.

So, what did you do to change your mind from not wanting to do it, to actually getting it done? (I’m thinking that an English major could pick this apart because of all the bad grammar, but so what?)

Some strategies I use to shift my mental state or attitude for taking action are:

Affirming my Power. Affirmations.
Asking myself better or different Questions.
Changing my Physiology. (Posture)
Use Momentum. Just start.
Increasing it’s Importance (making it non negotiable)
Renew my Commitment. Make it public.
Making it Fun or Exciting.
Break it into smaller, more manageable tasks.
Changing or resetting my goal deadline.
Calling a Mentor.

Are you using any other strategies that are working well for you? I’d really like to hear how others are consistently solving this all too common challenge. Anyone up for a discussion on how they have gone about overcoming this particular problem? Or how others could model what you are doing?

Al Smith

Quick Tip On Positive Motivation

How To Create Positive Motivation by Jason Gracia
(from The Motivated Mind)

Desire (Motivation), consists of two elements viewed from four different angles. Positive Motivation is created when the two elements, Pleasure of Action and the Pain of Inaction outweigh the elements of Pleasure of Inaction and the Pain of Action.

Here is the simple equation:

IF
pleasure of action + pain of inaction > pleasure of inaction + pain of action
THEN
Positive Motivation results

Success depends on how well and how consistently you are able to alter each factor of your desire. And this is totally within your control.

(from The Motivated Mind)

---------------------------------------------

When we focus on the pleasure we will get from our goals attainment and the pain of regret from not achieving it, we will crank up our desire and create positive motivation towards what we want.

This equation applied backwards also works in reverse to create negative motivation, procrastination and stagnation.

So concentrate on the positive aspects. Your mind can only hold one thought at a time so make it productive thought.

Need More Motivation? Take Pictures Of Your Goals

Do you take lots of pictures of your Goals? How would you like to come home to this after a hard day's work? Maybe a second home right on the beach? Think about it!

If you don't have pictures of your goals then you are missing out on some great motivational material.

By the way this picture was taken on the west coast of BC, Canada (west coast of Vancouver Island specifically) Not too far away for us from Richmond, in the Metro Vancouver area.

We come up here every winter for a weekend or sometimes longer to stay during storm season. The wave action is awesome when the storms hit!

Take pictures and keep copies up wherever you spend time, and definitely keep them in your planners.

If you need more info on how to keep yourself motivated, check out Reasons That Move You Bring Clarity, Focus, Determination and Momentum, an old article of mine.

Productivity Laws - Consistency and Smart Purposeful Action

I noticed a couple of great posts on Life Hacker this morning and just had to share them with you.

One reveals how Jerry Seinfeld has used The Law Of Consistency in his long outstanding career and the other shows you how to use The Laws Of Productivity to increase your goal results exponentially.

By the way Life Hacker is one of my favorites, subscribe to their feed for regular updates. Check them out, they are awesome posts!

Jerry Seinfeld's Productivity Secret

6 Rules To Work Less And Get More Accomplished

Getting Emotional Is Key To Getting Results!

First, I just wanted to point out a great article post over at The NLP Weekly Website about "Conditioning Yourself" for maximum effectiveness during sometimes difficult habit changes. Check it out, there is some good info there. And on another blog to go along with that post, Steve Pavlina makes a good case for the use of Overwhelming Force to create results.

Next, I loved the quote in our article today about how powerful emotions add to the effectiveness of your goal setting program. When I was younger, I had a lot of trouble setting proper goals because I couldn't decide which goal to commit myself to. As if I wouldn't be able to change once I commited myself to a certain direction . . .

Anyway the quote to which I am refering is "Focus less energy on setting the perfect goal and spend more time preparing yourself for ultimate success."

I certainly could have used this information earlier! (or maybe I wasn't quite ready to see it's importance back then)

Top goal achievers all agree on one thing. We must get very emotional about our goals or we are wasting our time setting them. How emotional are you about your present goals?

Do they really move you to action, or are they leaving you stagnant? Are you excited about your life? If not you have some work to do in this area.

This is an awesome article today from an expert who knows and practices his stuff. Make some notes about how you can start to apply this in your goals program today.

Emotions are tremendously powerful when it comes to getting ourselves to take action.

Just something to think about today. Enjoy!

Going Beyond Goal Setting
By Kevin Eikenberry

I just Googled the phrase “goal setting”, and found approximately 3,600,000 web pages that relate in some way to that phrase. This shouldn’t surprise us, because conventional wisdom is that goal setting is an important skill.

It is easy to document both through anecdotal evidence as well as through research that setting goals can help us achieve more. There are hundreds of books, tapes, speeches, workshops, and websites that will provide us with tools and processes to set goals.

One would think for something as important as goal setting, with as many tools as there are available, that everyone would be a goal setter. This however isn’t the case.

While I could fill a book with the reasons why, there is one that is very important.

People don’t set goals now because they didn’t achieve the ones they set in the past.

They’ve followed the goal setting process they learned or read about, but the seminar or book stopped at the wrong time. The seminar stopped with the setting of the goal. That is like ending the game after the first play, then going to sit on the sidelines, while the goal is out on the playing field.

My advice to you, if you can identify with what you’ve just read is to stop worrying about goal setting. And start focusing on goal achieving.

In other words, stop worrying about which goal setting model to use, or which software to track your progress with. Stop making the goal setting process the focus, and start putting the focus on goal achievement.

Here are three things you can do to put our focus on goal achievement and drastically increase your success:

1. Get sick and tired. It is often said that people really begin to reach new health goals when they become “sick and tired of being sick and tired.” Achieving a goal means that you want something different than you have now.

To build your ongoing and sustaining drive to achieve the new item, knowledge or situation, you must become disgusted and dissatisfied with the current situation. This doesn’t mean that you should become bitter or grumpy.

Rather it means to develop a healthy dissatisfaction with the way things are now (current profitability, the cycle time for new product development, or your inability to find a bathroom in Brazil).

2. Get (and stay) excited about the result. To sustain the challenges, setbacks and disappointments along your way to goal achievement, you must have another motivation as well. You must really want the benefits that will come to you when the new goal is achieved.

Build a clear and compelling picture in your mind of what you will feel, sense, see, and believe once your goal has been achieved. Focus on the results you will gain from the goal, rather than just the goal itself. This is important because in the end this is what you are after, not “just” the goal itself.

As you work towards your goal, the goal might shift, but as long as the desired results remain clear, you have improved the likelihood of achieving the end result you desire.

3. Start a plan and get started. Notice I didn’t say to lay out a complete plan of all the steps between you and your goal. If your goal is of any size and importance at all, it will require many steps, and it will be very difficult/impossible to identify them with any degree of certainty at the start.

Too many people think they need the perfect plan. They delay starting so they can get the best information. They want to talk to one more expert, read one more book, examine two more options.

Get started already! Give yourself a clear idea of a general approach, and some clear first steps. Allow yourself the luxury of knowing that the next specific steps will become clear as you stay on the path.

Doing these three things will drastically increase your success in achieving any goal you set.

Actually, let me say it more strongly. Until you have these three factors going for you in large (although potentially varying) amounts, you won’t achieve the goals you set.

You will lose momentum. You will lose focus. You will lose hope. You won’t be able to overcome the first setback.

And you will fall into the convenient and comfortable thinking that goal setting “doesn’t work” for you or that you need a new tool, a new technique or a new guru to help you set “better” goals.

Whether you are setting goals for yourself, the team you lead or for your organization at large, take this advice to heart.

Focus less energy on setting the perfect goal and spend more time preparing yourself for ultimate success. Stop worrying about the resolution, and start focusing on the resolve that will be required to succeed.

Doing this will bring you greater success, less frustration and will help you and your organization move closer and closer to your potential.

By Kevin Eikenberry, Copyright All Rights Reserved

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group (http://KevinEikenberry.com), a learning consulting company.

To receive a free Special Report on leadership that includes resources, ideas, and advice go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/leadership.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

Goal Work - Who Are You Spending Time With?

I just finished reading a post over at Dave Navarro's Wealth Blog and I just wanted to pass the link on to you. Great article as always Dave!

Have a look at: Surround Yourself With The Right People, because I totally agree that who you associate with will determine how successful you will be in attaining your goals. After you finish reading his post come on back and read an exercise that will help you make the transition.

Goal Work - Who Are You Spending Time With?

Are You Associating With People Who Can Help You Get What You Want?

This is critical to your success. It may be time to pull out the old log book and detail how much time you spend with others and whether their interests align with yours.

Success Masters say they can tell you where you will be in 5 years by the books you read and the people you associate with. Here is an easy exercise to tell whether you will end up where you want to be, or at least what you have to do more work on.

Evaluate your time in the area of whom you spend it with and who has the most or strongest influence over you at this time. Be brutally honest with yourself. There is no good, bad, wrong, or right here, just what is.

Take it over the last week, or month, or year.

Write down all of the people you spent time with at work, or personally, friendships, significant other, mentors, associations, or mastermind group, and list them in any order. If you can, approximate how much time you spend each week with them.

Then, arrange them from top to bottom, with the top being the most time spent, and the bottom being the least time spent. Draw a line through the halfway point. The top half of your list probably accounts for 3/4 or more of your time, and this should be spent with relationships that serve each other's needs and goals, not those who have conflicting aspirations.

Are the people at the top half of the list those who support you, or have similar goals? If this is not the case, then you have some work to do in this area. Work to build relationships with those who can support you in your life's journey. (And the other way around) Get that top half filled with people in alignment with your goals and just watch the magic happen!

I am not recommending that you drop your present friends if they are not pursuing a same or similar path to your own. But . . . if they are real friends of yours, they will be happy that you are spending more time fulfilling your passion and will enjoy hearing about your successes, when you do get to spend some time with them.

In life, you must associate more with those who are moving in the same direction as you want to go, and whose goals align with yours. Even better if they are slightly ahead of where you want to be. If you choose not to heed this very important principle, your journey will be more difficult. Believe me, I know this from cold hard experience. As always, the choice is yours.

Good Luck, start the exercise now . . . (I always wanted to say that. LOL.)

Al Smith

If you continue to have difficulty with negative people in your life then you may have a long, hard road ahead of you. To keep your self esteem high, have a look at this article, Be Your Own Cheerleader

A Tough Morning . . .

A Tough Morning This Morning

. . . and It probably won't be the last . . .

WOW! I had a hard time powering up this morning. Usually I can spring right up and get going, you know, attack the day sort of thing. Well . . . this particular morning was a little different. I felt tired and didn't want to start the day. I thought . . . just let me sleep another hour. Yeah, right!

I have been burning the candle at both ends, maybe I just needed that extra hour. Maybe that was all that it was. I think it more likely that with all the decisions I have been making lately, I have started to move deeper into uncharted territory.

I have commited to literally changing the whole direction of my life. A life that has been pretty safe and secure for quite a few years I might add.

Am I having some second thoughts about whether I can succeed at it or not? After all, I have never attempted this before. What makes me think that I can succeed, where many people fail? It got me wondering. And it was affecting my state. Shaking my confidence. Definitely not good, not good.

Me, MR. Positive. LOL! Has that ever happened to you? I can almost guarantee that if you have ever made a decision to step out of the old comfort zone, that you have felt this way a few times. Only natural.

However this morning, habit took hold of me, and got me to the sink where I splashed ice cold water all over my face and that was the end of my indecision. I was mobile. I started to say to myself "I feel happy, I feel healthy, I feel TERRIFIC! . . . again, and again.

The insecurity was replaced with energy and enthusiasm, and I went on with my day. Three things got me through this rough wake up. Habit, Physiology, and Belief.

What gets you through your tough mornings?

I will complete my plans for a new life, and succeed in any undertaking I commit to. How do I know this?

I believe it deep down in my core that I am worthy and that I will do whatever it takes to make it happen.

Have you installed that belief pattern in yourself yet?

If not, do it now! You absolutely can not know the feeling I am talking about until you have.

Al Smith

---

The Motivated Mind
Discover the Secrets to Getting and Staying Motivated
to Change Your Life and Achieve Your Dreams.
The Motivated Mind is a new, step-by-step guide
that will teach you how to get everything you want in life.
The secrets can now be yours.
The Motivated Mind

---

Are you missing out? Want shortcuts to your goals?
Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of
FREE Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezines.
Blast through Procrastination, Inaction, and Distraction
with Consistent Focused Action!
For success tools at your fingertips,
Subscribe Now to The Realgoalgetter Ezine
at http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/.
--------------------

Motivation And Discipline, A Powerful Tag Team Partnership!

Motivation and Discipline - How to Make Yourself Succeed

One of the hardest things a person can do is make himself (or herself) do something he really doesn't want to do just because he knows it's good for him. Motivation is not only a good thing, it is absolutely necessary before anyone will act to do anything. Here is my definition:

Motivation
A set of psychological factors, having been met, creates an impulsion to act. An internal impelling of someone to want or be willing to do something.

That means, if someone is doing something, they must be motivated. If they are not doing it, they must not be motivated to do it, or they are motivated more to do something else. That is a fact. And that fact means that you must be motivated to do something or you won't do it. But how do we account for doing things we don't seem to be motivated to do?

The answer is what I call "Cross-over motivation".

Again a definition:

Cross-Over Motivation
The use of a motivation to do one thing to make yourself want or be willing to do something else.

An example is: you really want to date a particular person, so you ask them out to do something you don't like to do (for instance, such as bowling) because they do like to go. Here, you are not motivated to go bowling, but you use your want to date this person as your cause to go anyway. To use a crossover motivation on purpose is called discipline.

We will look at discipline in a moment, but notice that what motivates the person to act isn't the want to go bowling. There is a cross-over desire to do or have a greater good that is accomplished through going bowling.

It is a very powerful way to overcome an emotional response to something (such as disgust or annoyance) and stay focused on a more reliable approach to achieving your ultimate goals. This can easily be applied to both life in general and work.

Think about those mornings in school or college when you had an eight o'clock calculus class (or whatever) you really didn't want to attend. You were far more motivated to snuggle back up to your pillow and fughetaboudit!

But in most cases you went to class. Why? Because in the back of your mind you heard a little voice say "you've already missed three classes and one more means you flunk the course. If you want a good job (or to get into med or law or graduate school, or don't want to hear your parents carp) you better get your anatomy out of bed and into class." That is what you were trying to accomplish...not going to calculus.

Of course the cross-over motivation might have been that you wanted to do well and you knew that missing the class would not help you do it. This is still not a direct motivation to be there. If you thought it was simply a review of what you already knew and you had three free skip days left, my bet is you would have turned back over and sawed logs.

In our every day lives and at work, we often find ourselves having to do things we really don't want (an emotional state) to do, so we look for a way to "make" ourselves do them. Use this cross-over motivation on purpose. Think about what larger purpose you serve in doing this unpleasant task--how it will help you or someone else in the longer run, or hurt you or someone else if you don't do it.

Here is my definition for discipline:

Discipline
The ability to take the motivation for one thing, and focus on it as a motivation to do something you neither want nor would be otherwise willing to do.

An example is that you are so motivated to get into graduate school, that you use that motivator to make yourself study for an algebra exam tonight. You neither want nor would be otherwise willing to read algebra, but you use this alternate motivation as your impeller.

It is sometimes the job of a manager, supervisor, mom, dad, friend or counselor to remind others of the larger picture or the greater vision that can be used as a cross-over motivator. We all lose sight of our longer term goals sometimes as we focus on the immediate.

If you consciously look for cross-over motivations for yourself, and help others see the benefits of doing useful but unpleasant things, there will be a great deal more accomplished in your life and in the lives of those you love.

This is the very essence of courage, to stand up to strong emotions (such as dislike, disgust, complacency, indifference, etc.) and making yourself do the "right" thing. Try it once today, and prove it to yourself.

Cogito! You can't enjoy the Christmas lights if you don't put them up. No one likes to do what they don't like to do, but we very often like the result of doing it. Always keep your eye on the prize and forget the struggle. Nothing of value comes without it.

by Phil D'Agostino

Phil D'Agostino, the author of Naked Thinking, how to feel less, think more and make better decisions, is a licensed psychologist, author of the email broadcast E-Motivator, professional speaker and corporate trainer, personal coach and human performance specialist. See his book at NakedThinking.com and his site at BeMotivated.Com

Adapted from Phil D'Agostino's Naked Thinking

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phil_D'Agostino

Keeping Success Simple, Avoid Overcomplicating Your Plans

KISS - Keep It Simple Sweetheart

Ran across a great post on another blog today and wanted to share it with you.

It's all about how successful people (and there are plenty of examples) accomplished extroardinary goals in their life by making simple plans and staying the course.

By consistently putting in the effort towards what they wanted, they moved inexorably towards their goals with persistent, determined actions daily.

Sometimes in our efforts to 'get all our ducks in a row', we will plan everything down to the last detail and not only lose our flexibility to adjust quickly, but we actually make our plans hard to follow and difficult to action.

Here is a teaser and then follow the link to read the rest of this great article.

Success Through Simple Plans

When Seko, the Japanese runner, won the Boston Marathon in 1981, he was asked about his training plan. Seko explained it with only twelve words:

“I run 10 kilometers in the morning and 20 in the evening.”

This simple plan enabled him to outrun the world’s most gifted runners.

When Seko was told that his plan seemed too simple, compared to that of other marathoners, he replied:

“The plan is simple, but I do it every single day, 365 days a year”.
Simple? Yes!

Effective? Yes!

Easy? No!

Most people fail to reach their goals not because their plans are too simple or too complicated.

They fail because they do not follow their own plans. All plans are useless if they are not followed.

Seko’s plan was effective not because it was simple but because he followed it every single day.
On the other hand, we are more likely to follow a plan if it is simple.

The great marathon runner, Paula Radcliffe, has a simple race plan. She gets out in front and stays there!

In the film ‘Waterloo’, the Duke of Wellington is asked by his second in command what his plans are for the battle.

The iron duke replies: ‘To beat the French’.

Wellington was a man who paid close attention to detail in all his campaigns but he kept the simple over all plan in constant view. Every smaller plan must fit into the big simple picture.

Epictetus was another person who knew how to keep things simple:

“If you wish to be a writer, write.”

The writer who has the simple plan of writing for an hour every day will eventually complete whatever they are writing. The weight lifter who lifts for an hour every other day will become strong.

A simple plan that is followed is worth far more than a sophisticated plan which is not followed . . .

Read the whole article here: Success Through Simple Plans

Do You Always Feel Like Doing It?

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This post has been revised and moved to:

Do You Always Feel like Taking Action?

Sorry for any inconvenience.
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The Secret Of Motivation - Knowing What Gets You Motivated And Stimulated!

The Secret to Motivation: Knowing What Gets You Motivated and Stimulated! By Shawn Doyle

If you owned an expensive racehorse (by the way if you do, congratulations!) you would make every effort to determine under what conditions your horse performed at its best. When it won a race, you would try to monitor what it ate and when, the pre-race preparation, the environment, the trainer. You would want to know exactly what your horse did right before the race. Then you would try to replicate those conditions to the very best of your ability, in order to increase the chance of your horse succeeding.

Well, the good news is you are your own horse! You need to determine what gets you motivated and stimulated. If for some reason you are down or tired and had a rough day, the methods that you have identified, will get your horse up and running again.

One day my teenage daughter and I were driving down the road and she said “Guess my favorite movie?” After nineteen guesses, which were all completely wrong, I finally gave up. I said, “I don’t know I give up” and was ready to hear some obscure movie answer. My daughter then told me her favorite movie was Rocky starring Sylvester Stallone.

This would be the last answer I would expect from a very pretty and feminine girl. The movie is a tough gritty story of a loser who rises from obscurity to box his way to the top. It is a movie that is dark, bloody and violent. So I asked her why she liked that movie. Her answer? “It gets me pumped!” The movie, for my daughter isn’t about boxing, it’s about inspiration!

Identifying Your Rocket Fuel

I have found like anyone, that there are certain books, magazines, music and people that really motivate me. I have also found certain books, people, music and magazines to be very draining and de- motivating, They “ rain on my parade” if you will.

What are some of the motivational tools and influences that can keep you going?

•Books

Have you ever read the story of someone who despite all the obstacles that they faced, were able to succeed beyond their wildest dreams? Weren’t you amazed and inspired? There are many books that I have read over the years that have inspired me. A biography, self help, historical, psychology books and even at times fiction has inspired me. You need to identify a list of books that have inspired other people and then find the ones that do the same for you. Then you will have them available, when they are needed.

What is great about some books is the fact that they are timeless. The classic books, because they are based on simple truths really don’t lose their relevance. I recently read Mans Search for Meaning by Victor Frankel. The book was written just after world war two, but the principles are timeless and just as relevant today.

Once you locate books, which are the ones that motivate you buy them. I know it is less expensive to get books at the library, but owning the books is a better solution, because they are there for reference when you need them. Invest in yourself!

•Movies/Videos/DVD’s

Have you ever thought about movies that inspire you? I have several that really get me pumped. The Elephant Man starring John Hurt is a remarkable film about the triumph of the human spirit. I also love Dead Poets Society, Tucker: A man and his Dreams, Rocky and several others. Identify the movies you like and add them to your library.

•Magazines and Trade Journals

There are several magazines and journals on the market that are about motivation or success, or that you would find motivational. If your dream is to someday own a yacht, then a yachting magazine might be motivational for you to read. A good magazine should, in my opinion be entertaining, motivating and a potential resource for ideas. I can pick up a magazine and read one article, which can be well worth the price of the magazine. I once picked up Fast Company and read an article by Tom Peters that keep my wheels spinning for days! I was so impressed; I subscribed to the magazine and read it every month.

•People

I really believe that the quality of your life is greatly affected by the kind of people that you associate with on a daily basis. You can and must pick your associations. Try to surround yourself with positive, motivated and upbeat people. Limit your contact with people who are continually negative, pessimistic or mean. You may say at this point “well, I can’t pick my friends and associations.” That is what you have decided to believe, but it is not the truth. The truth of the matter, is that you decide every day who to make friends with and to keep that friend who has driven you crazy for years!

What about your family? You can’t pick your family; they are the cards that you have been dealt in life. Most families have some jokers! However if you have members of the family, that are negative and continuously difficult, limit your contact to the proverbial thanksgiving dinner and pass the gravy.

I want you to think of negative people as “energy vampires” they just sneak up from behind and suck the positive energy and motivation right out before you even realize it! My best friend is a gentleman named Dave. Unfortunately we live in different states. When I call Dave, he is always positive, upbeat and supportive. At the end of a call with Dave, I always feel better than before the call started.

Friends should be the people who support and motivate you. Will there be times when you feel less motivated? Times that you are down? Sure! The key in those times is to have a friend that you can call, to help bring you back up and give you a positive perspective when you are in a “funk”. Not the friend who will say will say, “Well let me tell you what happened to me,” and tell a sad tale of woe. If you surround yourself with positive upbeat people, you cannot fail!

•Exercise

No, this is not a misprint! I said exercise. Exercise is a superb tool to get you motivated and keep you motivated. If you want to be pumped, get in a great workout! In my mind there are two keys to exercise being a motivational activity: 1)Knowing that you have a long-term goal. (see chapter 1) 2) You need to find an exercise program that you enjoy and find rewarding. If it isn’t enjoyable and rewarding it won’t last long!

Here is another compelling reason to exercise. Aside from the fact that you will live a longer and healthier life, in surveys that have been done, only 16% of the people asked said they work out on a regular basis. That means that if you exercise, you will immediately separate yourself from 74% of people that you may be competing against. That is a competitive edge!

Exercise, as you have probably heard many times releases many chemicals such as endorphins, which are “natural highs”. I find that exercise gives me more energy and more confidence. Try it you will like it. If you don’t like it, try some other form of exercise until you find one that you really like.

•Music

Imagine the great movies of our age without music. Can you imagine Jaws with out music? Gone with the Wind? Star Wars? This proves that music can have a powerful impact on people, and it can have a powerful effect on you! When ever you are feeling “down” or feeling less than motivated, use music as a tool to help you get back up.

Find out what kind of music gets you going. It may be music from a soundtrack, from a movie, or a play. It may be a specific kind of music like rock, country or rap. Here is the key guideline; it has to work for you.

•Role Models

It is a useful technique to identify people from the past and present that you admire, that you can use for role models. Reading and studying about other people, who have been highly successful, can help you become more motivated. I am a big fan of Walt Disney, and whenever I read about him and all that he achieved; I just get completely fired up. When I read about all of the adversity he overcame and succeeded in overcoming, in spite of everyone’s predications, it makes me want to work even harder at achieving my goals.

•Theatrical Shows

I think one of the reasons why Broadway shows are so popular, is that great musicals have always been inspiring. Maybe it is because I am of Irish descent, but whenever I see the show Riverdance my heart soars! Find what kind of shows get you going, whether it is musicals dramas or operas.

The Power of Other Environments

Find out what other kinds of environment get you going and get your wheels spinning. To get motivated, maybe a visit to your local museum, a visit to a certain store or a trip to your favorite coffee shop. Perhaps a nice walk in your favorite park, or a visit to the local luxury car dealer, to look at the car you are going to own!

The bottom line in this chapter is to really understand yourself well enough, to know what the keys are to your motivational lock. It is important to know the activities that get you motivated, keep you motivated and to be in an “up” mood instead of a “low” mood. Don’t get me wrong everybody gets down on occasion and that is ok. What isn’t O.K. is to stay there! I don’t think someone in a foul mood has ever accomplished any thing productive. One proven method to get out of a down mood or frame of mind is to do something, call a friend, go for a walk, but do something!

If you work at identifying the activities that really help bring you up, then like a doctor, you write your own prescription to solve the problem.

One thing I can guarantee, it is almost impossible to stay down when you are doing one of your “mood lifter” activities. There are so many people who seem helpless, trapped in dull boring lives, that are “in a rut”. I think it is tragic, for if they only understood they are the ones who control the quality of the life they live. Don’t live “a life of quiet desperation!” Decide that you are going to lead an exciting productive life of motivation!

Shawn Doyle is the President of New Light Learning and Development (http://www.newlightlearning.com/) a company specializing in Leadership Development and motivation. He is a sought after motivational speaker and coach and he has also authored five books on leadership sales and motivation. His latest book The Manager’s Pocket Guide to Training has just been published by HRD Press. Sldoyle1@aol.com

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It's Half Time, Regroup and Hit The Ground Running Towards The Goal!

Today I ran across two posts on two different blogs that caught my interest. They are two great success tools to use if you aren't already. Check out: Decisions, Actions, . . . and Numbers and You Can't Win If You Don't Have A Thing To Lose. Now back to our article for today.

The Motivation of Second Half Thinking
By Paul O'Sullivan

Football matches are won or lost in the second half. It does not matter what code of football is being played, and it does not only apply to football. It is how you finish that counts – in any sport or competition or campaign. It applies to your life. Look at your life as one complete match or look at your current circumstance and assess where you are in terms of the half time break and begin now to strategize the finish.

I saw this very clearly on one occasion when I was playing a game of top level Rugby. The coach pulled us aside as a team at half time. This was now the quietest time of the match, not the time for noise and action. but the time for strategy for the next half.

We knew we could win, but we were behind at half time. We all felt we had something to say but the coach told us to shut up and listen. He reassured us that they had not penetrated our defense, they had just been lucky on penalties. He told us not to try and score points but to give them the ball and to run them down and then do our scoring.

That was when I learned that half time was the time to listen to that quiet inner voice, not the yells of the crowd or even your team mates. Let the coach talk. It is on the inside, in the locker room where you get the advice. It is on the inside, deep inside our hearts that most people either win or lose. It is on the inside that most organizations either fall apart or become strong, not from attacks from the outside.

Usually we get stronger when we are attacked from the outside. I have never worried about that. It is the inside I want to keep safe from the attack of its own lack of faith and wisdom.

What I learned that half time was that what had got us to where we were was not the thing that was going to get us any further. It was now time to apply a finishing strategy.

We had, as a team been doing things right. We were good at executing the elemental skills of the game. But doing things right is a lot different to doing the right things. Doing things right is efficiency, but doing the right things is effectiveness. The coach did not guarantee us success, but he guaranteed us we would fail if we gave up, or did not adopt the right approach.

Whatever you do, always play hard. There are no soft games. And the goal is not always the score on the scoreboard – it is to reach your full potential. That is called destiny – and everybody has one. Second half play begins with low cost probes. You don’t try to win recklessly and end up losing. You will win when you are well set. So slow down and be deliberate – this is the second half. You will make it.

Half time is the time for inner motivation to drive you, not just some external reward. It is like seeing it in terms of a career and saying 'I would do what I’m doing for no pay, rather than, 'as long as they pay me enough I’ll do what they want’. That is when you know you want to do it and reach your potential.

Discover more about spiritual understanding at the Spiritcode website.

Copyright 2006 http://www.Spiritcode.com

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