Can We Be Happy, Healthy, And Rich?

Do you really need to read another emotional article about being sick and tired of not being rich? Yes, you do want to get rich. The inside of your head is waiting to explode, you want it so bad!

You want to get rich though NOW, right? . . . RIGHT?

You might even have read a million articles and advice columns all over the internet. “Live below your means” is something you read all the time. It’s absolutely true but that sucks, doesn’t it?

You don’t want people to ask you to create a budget and stick to it or start early or invest now and not touch it until retirement and more along these lines.

Get started NOW. Don’t just spend your lifetime in thinking and dreaming. Do something solid now. It may not be the super right thing to do, but do it nevertheless. Just get started.

Edison did not invent the bulb overnight. He just started. He perhaps found some 10,000 odd ways that will not result in a bulb as the end! But alas, he made his creation. He tells the story about how he had found all the ways it wouldn’t work, so that the next thing had to work!

Start off now. Mistakes are part of the process. You will learn how not to do it the next time. Take action, analyze the results and be flexible. Adjust when necessary.

Remember, it is OKAY to fail. Mistakes are bound to occur. You can’t afford to be too hard on yourself. Most times, success lies behind the last mistake you make, which might even be a 100th mistake you are making. Just don’t stop digging three feet short of the gold!

You want to be rich. You’re just on your way. Pump yourself up and move on. Get closer to your dream.

You have loads of energy in you. You’re sick of earning a pittance. You want to see real money come your way now. So here’s what you need to rightfully do:

First, decide what “rich” is. Are you referring to Bill Gates rich where you can afford just about anything? Maybe you don’t really want to work that hard. You want to work lesser but still be “rich”. So, the first rule of thumb is - be specific. Do you want to be rich in the billion dollar area, 100 million area or maybe just 10 million dollars would be rich enough.

Here’s a quick idea, don’t work! . . . At least, don't work for someone else. Be your own boss. Well, you can have a job, and also work for yourself can't you?.

Are you going to work to please your boss or yourself? Please yourself first; you will realize that everybody around you will be happier with you if you are first happy yourself.

So, make yourself absolutely happy first and then you can go about doing that for others. Primary importance is you and you only. Do not forget this. You must take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else.

Do what you love doing. Commercialize on what you love doing. It might initially seem like you can’t make any money out of it. But concentrate, meditate and THINK of all possible ways to make something work out for you. What you love doing should fetch you money somehow.

Now this doesn’t mean you can play golf all day and earn money. Not unless you’re Tiger Woods! Find some creative ways to make money with something you like doing. You just have to do this.

You can get rich. Just go out there now and do what you love doing. You have a wonderful brain. You just have to tap it and getting that lazy lost thing to start working. Think. Come up with a plan and plunge headlong into it.

Money is just a measure of the value you provide to others. Service to others should always be compensated for in some way. All you have to do is find enough of those people who can afford to pay for your services, and provide value and benefits they want or need, and are willing to pay for them.

Follow your passion and begin to strategize on how to monetize your efforts. Money will follow. Money will follow in great amounts as long as you keep persisting in locating strategies to earn compensation for your efforts. It will.

I apologize if this sounded more like a sermon than a post. After all, I needed a kick in the butt, and this helped me work things out in my own mind . . .

See you next time.

Al

Success Character Traits Of Successful People

Image via WikipediaDo successful people have the genius of supreme achievement by an accident of birth, a favorable environment or from their own individual effort?

Whatever the reasons, superstars really are a different breed. They must succeed and they will succeed. They have an amazing capacity to dream big, strive even bigger and come through against all the odds. They seem to will themselves to do whatever it takes.

Can we learn to become better achievers by looking inside the minds of the big-time peak performers? Successful people do not wait for something to happen; they take action to achieve their goals.

Successful people seem to have a "make it happen" way of thinking. They take it for granted that they will succeed. They act as if it's a done deal that they will win. They are infectious in their enthusiasm for a project and enlist others easily to make it become a reality. They are bursting with positive expectancy that everything will be a smashing success.

A successful person’s motto is, “I will get it done.”

Successful people take action. They start acting on an idea or plan quickly and make room in their schedule for tangible, concrete objectives that take them closer to their goals. They spend time reflectively, but take action when action is required. They don't waste time over-planning. They get right down to it.

Successful people are often not one hundred percent happy with their performances. They are not negative about them, but they are realistic and demanding of themselves and often of those around them.

They continually seek improvement in even the tiniest areas of their performance and regularly raise the bar as each new ability level is surmounted. They hold their best all-time performances as the ideal and seek to rise to that level always.

Successful people typically have superb organizational skills. Successful individuals know how to break projects down into manageable sizes. They know that many details placed together in proper order lead to something big. They spend time planning and keeping records to show progress and to stay on time projections. They are in a hurry to succeed, but never seem to rush.

Successful people are decisive. This is a critical characteristic of all successful people. They gather information and quickly decide to act on it and later make changes based on new information. They take advantage of the windows of opportunities that arise and go for it.

They have confidence that they made the right decision and the confidence that if they do not they can successfully change gear and recover for a positive outcome. They have disciplined themselves to take action from their proactive first creation.

They do not deviate from their chosen course of action. They have highly developed goals, and they have in front of them always, their detailed written plans for the creation of their Goals and Dreams, and they enjoy scoring themselves at the end of the day. It's all good.

Successful people know how to sacrifice to make something happen. They know they often can't have it all and that they must have singular focus to succeed. They are good at getting into a zone where they can block out all distractions and rapidly advance past their objectives.

They will deny themselves those things that do not contribute to making them successful. Again, they know how to be self-disciplined and stay on track.

Successful people love the battle. They love the process. They love the climb up the ladder. This is what it is all about for many of them. They are excited to pursue their goals and they take extreme pleasure in the big challenge, to see what impossible obstacles they can leap on their way to success. They want stories to tell, bragging rights as part of the success trophy.

Achieving is a passion for the successful individual. Meeting objectives and reaching goals is energizing to top achievers. They can't wait to get to work and see the results of their efforts.

They boost their self-esteem and self-confidence as they finish a project or task that is highly satisfying. They pour their entire passion into what they love to do and complete it with all their energies and enthusiasm.

Some people look at successful people and think that they could never do what they do. They get discouraged at the gap between what is and what could be.

Other people look to the superstars and are inspired. They use the superstars as a template or benchmark and use them as models for what they would like to achieve. They view them as the best practices and measure themselves against the successful.

Rather than feel discouraged when you see a successful person let it inspire you to be the same!

Don’t Wait for Something to Happen. Take Action and Achieve your Goals starting right now! If you don't feel successful today, then act like successful people would, and practice one of the above traits every day. Pretty soon your successes will mount up and you will be living the life of your dreams.

And . . . you will be tremendously successful in your own right.

See you next time.

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Vocabulary Words To Live By for Healthy Relationships

Read a great piece today about Words To Live By. Somewhere in my past I found it, wrote it out, and then promptly misplaced it. It isn't mine, but anonymous. Anyway, here it is. I thought it has merit and maybe you will enjoy it too.

Words To Live By

It’s not always easy being in a relationship. Friends and lovers aren’t always going to agree with everything you say or think, but that’s a good thing. Hearing someone else’s point of view is the best way to educate your self and to remind yourself that you aren’t always right.

Besides, loneliness is much worse than compromise. For long, healthy relationships, these are 10 words to live by:

1. Trust:

If you can’t trust someone, do you really want them to be in your life? Make sure you earn their trust by being open, honest and a good listener and friend.

2. Honesty:

If you are always honest, then you prove you can be trusted. Honesty might be tough sometimes, and though the truth can hurt, knowing it can only make you better and stronger as a person, and a friend.

3. Time:

As in, take the time to listen to your friends. Spend time with those you love, and take time out of your busy day to remind them just how much they mean to you.

4. Forgiveness:

Forgiveness has a double benefit: You feel stronger for being the better person, and those who have wronged you feel better knowing that you have been able to forgive their sins. It’s a time tested trait that everyone needs to learn.

5. Compromise:

No one always gets their own way. The ones that do probably don’t actually have any true friends, just hangers-on. A trait of true friendship is understanding that you aren’t always going to get your way, though sometimes you will. Give a little, get a lot.

6. Agree:

As in, agree to disagree. Why keep fighting over something that will never be resolved? Get over it, forgive and move in with the knowledge that even through troubled times, you can still make your friendship work.

7. Communication:

Communication is essential for understanding what is going on inside someone’s mind. No one knows what you are thinking until you let tell them. Keep the lines of communication open at all times, and you’ll be stronger for it.

8. Listen:

Being a good listener is being able to listen without judging. If a friend needs to get something off their chest, just be there for them, and let them do the talking. When you need the same, they’ll be there for you.

9. Love:

Learn to love without prejudice and without guilt. True love sees no borders and knows no boundaries. By the way, Love is a verb, you do it so you can feel it.

10. Learn:

Learn from your mistakes in your past. Learn how to love. Learn what makes your friends happy, and learn what it means to truly be a good friend.

There is no greater feeling than being loved and respected by those who surround you. And being a true friend is the gift that keeps on giving.

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Thanks for listening . . .

Al

Just How Are You Going To Reach Those Tough Goals?

Two quotes I ran across this morning made me wonder if I was doing all I could to reach my goals and enhance my future . . . and I decided that I could do more.

Are you following all the success steps you can to get what you want? I mean really?

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"Do more than is required. What is the distance between someone who achieves their goals consistently and those who spend their lives and careers merely following? The extra mile. "
-- Gary Ryan Blair, Author and Motivational Speaker

"The size of the future you actually experience will largely be determined by one factor: the people you choose to connect with. When you invite people who are truly committed to growth into every aspect of your life, your own potential for growth becomes truly unlimited."
-- Dan Sullivan: Speaker and coach to entrepreneurs

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Are you doing more than your job, business or relationship requires? Are you going the extra mile?

Are you associating with the people who are following the same path as you and may be a few steps ahead of you?

If you answered these questions in the negative then . . . are you really commited to doing whatever it takes?

Just think about it . . .

Al

Brainstorming, Cultivating Belief In Your Goals

Following up on the last post, I have been asked how to create belief in your goal, if at first you are not sure you can do it. Yes, how do you create certainty for yourself? Or is it a leap of faith?

I think Belief is a critical requirement to getting what you want. I believe you must believe your goal is attainable or you will not make the efforts necessary to achieve it.

Here is how I generally start out.

Remember, I do believe that you have to have the Belief that you can do it and more importantly, that you will do it! Belief And Commitment combined . . . are unstoppable. This is why people with a cause are so persistent.

So first, give yourself a cause.

Choose one goal and commit to it's achievement. It seems that this is always the starting point isn't it? It must be something that you feel you can not live without, or you must develop that feeling for it to work. Remember, reasons first, then action.

Did you choose one?

Are you commited to making it a reality in your life? Did you decide that you must have it and absolutely will have it? Is it do or die? Are your reasons for having it, strong enough to propel you forward right now and compel you to action when you may not 'feel' like it?

If not, then choose another one, this is no time to waste your energy on something you are not serious about.

OK. Aggressively research and brainstorm all the ways you can get this goal.

Write them down quickly as you think of them. Use shortforms and abbreviations if you have to, but keep the flow of thought going for as long as it takes. This is a tremendously important part of the process.

Set out some quiet time for this, no interruptions allowed. Let others know that you are doing something of the utmost importance and you are not available for this time period. (Could be 1-2 hours)

Also, do not consider any negative thoughts while you are in the flow. Keep the positive momentum flowing and stay in the zone. There is plenty of time for exploring the negative after you finish with all of your positive ideas.

Finished? OK now, remember those negatives that kept coming up throughout the above?

What challenges or problems will come up when you start taking action? What do you see happening or preventing you from getting what you want? Are there any limiting factors or bottlenecks that may delay or stop your progress?

Write these down also. You have to know what may stand in your way, so that you can address it within your planning. It is not good or bad, just what is.

Be honest with yourself, if you think it, write it down. There is no such thing as unimportant thought. It is all important, vitally important!

Next, come up with solutions that will take care of these problems.

Write down multiple answers to each problem. Stay positive and focused on your target. Write down everything that comes to mind.

All those things that could keep you from succeeding, come up with tons of ways to deal with them. This will give you unstoppable confidence and belief in your ability to have what you want.

Break down your solutions into action steps, into small workable tasks that you can complete quickly. Break each step down into 5 smaller actions. Then break those down into 5 smaller ones. Keep breaking down tasks until you have absolute belief in yourself that you can and will do it, right now, today!

In fact, Break them down until they are ridiculously simple!

Small, simple actions are easy to accomplish, and when these particular actions are put together, they equal the goal result that you want. Again, together they equal the goal result you want!

Belief becomes automatic because you "know" that there is nothing standing between you and the next simple little step, and so on to your goal.

All that is left is to work your plan. You created it, you are commited to it, you must do it, so just do it, and go get your goal. Start with the first step and complete it right now, today. So what are you waiting for? Go For It!

Are you still here? Go get that goal! LOL!

No plan is perfect so there will inevitably be obstacles and distractions, little things which will stand in your way for temporary periods of time. When this happens, just break these down.

And start again . . . and again. Stay flexible and adjust your approach when these occur. Believe, and have faith in the long term.

Adjust your plans and actions as necessary until you have what you want. The result is in the bag, it is a sure thing, all that will change are the strategies, and the timing. You will prevail. This is true.

If this is a major complex goal, you will want to work it backwards through smaller goals, and then break them down into action steps.

Focus on the solution instead of the fear or doubt. This strategy will work for any goal you pick.

Focus on what you want continuously, with passion, and with absolute faith, knowing that you have absolutely done everything necessary and are entitled. Act with that level of belief, and certainty that causes miracles to happen!

Believe it! Now . . . go make your own miracle!

I hope that helps. See you next time.

No Doubts Allowed. Just Do It, Get Off Your Buts!

Lately I have been reading the book "Do It! Let's Get Off Our Buts" by Peter McWilliams and ran across this quote below today.

It reminded me that sometimes we just have to be courageous and have faith in our abilities to persevere and win through even if we are uncertain of the outcome.

Sometimes we just have to Do It!

"When in doubt, make a fool of yourself. There is a microscopically thin line between being brilliantly creative and acting like the most gigantic idiot on earth. So what the heck, leap!"
-- Cynthia Heimel

So, until next time, Go For It!

Breathe Life Into Your Day . . .

Words to Live By - Six Ways to Breathe Life into Your Day
By Joy Fisher-Sykes

We’ve heard the instructions many times over. There is such familiarity that many people can almost recite them verbatim. In fact, these directives are so crucial; they are printed on placards and demonstrated visually by the staff. They are so important that they can’t wait until you are airborne to share.

I’m talking about the life-saving instructions on what to do in case of an emergency that airline passengers receive on every flight before they’re airborne. Given without fail around the globe daily, millions often sit back and ignore flight attendants by reading a magazine, speaking to a neighbor, or simply becoming annoyed at the disruption of quiet.

The highlight of the instruction says:
Should the cabin lose pressure, oxygen masks will fall from the ceiling in front of you. If you are traveling with small children, place the mask on yourself first, then place a mask on the child.

Who would have thought for decades the airline industry has been sharing with millions of people a valuable life lesson.

A Life Lesson

At first blush, this directive seems absurd. After all, when you travel with a child, an adult’s natural inclination says children first. Period. No matter the circumstance. However, consider that our emotional side is not always logical.

Ponder the life lesson to be learned here. If you do not put your mask on yourself first, if you’re not breathing, how in the world can you ever help that child, yourself, or anyone else?

Learn to Breathe

Many of us choose to give our oxygen away all the time. How many times have you felt the “pressure” and a sense of not being able to cope, not able to breathe? Did you take a deep breath or did you just trudge along depleting your reserves to none? A life on empty has nothing to offer to either you or others.

When we fail to see the value of taking care of self before others, we fail to see we can be of no good to anyone unless we choose to take the first breath. Sound selfish? Perhaps, however, it is the only way you can survive. Remember, lack of oxygen causes death – to the mind, the body, and the spirit.

Six Ways to Honor Yourself Daily

What holds true for life in the air holds true for the life we lead on the ground. On a daily basis practice these life- saving strategies to breathe life into your day.

1. Value Time

Time is your most precious commodity that can never be replaced or replenished. Be selective about how and with whom you choose to spend your time. Make every minute count because each is precious.

2. Cut the Umbilical Cord

Lighten your load and learn to let go. Stop dragging around the troubles of everyone in the world. Constantly trying to solve problems for others not only weighs you down, it denies others the opportunity to learn that they can survive and thrive.

Experience breeds personal growth and power. Allow those you love the opportunity to grow. Know that sometimes the best gifts you can offer are your constant love and support and allowing others to resolve their own problems.

3. Maintain Strong Bonds

The real value in relationships is maintaining a connection. Whether you are near or far, don’t allow the busyness of life to let time slip away. Make a conscious effort to connect with friends and family on a regular basis.

4. Choose Your Friends Wisely

You become the people with which you choose to surround yourself. Be very selective with whom you choose to spend your time. Time is a precious commodity you can never get back. Once time is gone, it’s lost forever. Refuse to spend time with others who choose not to honor you.

5. Be Courageous

Have the courage to step up and say what needs to be said and do what needs to be done. Possess the courage to practice what you know to be true. Question not whether everyone likes you all of the time (because they never will). Instead, ask, “Does it really matter if those who choose to disrespect and dishonor me don’t like me?”

6. Celebrate

Celebrate every breath you take and every memory you create. Life is a meant to be a daily celebration. Celebrate all of life’s victories – large and small. Don’t let the calendar dictate special occasions. Every day use the fine china, crystal, and silverware. Celebrate today because life is so precious, and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. Take nothing for granted and celebrate all life has to offer.

Follow these simple life strategies and you’ll find you can breathe a whole lot easier. This valuable life lesson – take a breath - is not to be taken lightly.

Ignore it and you’ll find yourself depleted of oxygen, weary and worn. Practice it and you’ll breathe new life into your day and have an appreciation for life that all can follow. Now those truly are words to live by.

Joy Fisher-Sykes is a professional speaker, author, and success coach in the areas of leadership, motivation, stress management, customer service, and team building. You can e-mail her at mailto:jfsykes@thesykesgrp.com, or call her at (757) 427-7032. Go to her web site, http://www.thesykesgrp.com, and signup for the newsletter, OnPoint, and receive the free ebook, "Empowerment and Stress Secrets for the Busy Professional."

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joy_Fisher-Sykes

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Audio Motivation

Listen to exclusive interviews with the greatest names in personal development. Walk, jog or exercise to Audios with Success Teachers. They are great to download onto your MP3 players so you can take your motivation with you.

Tap into the same power that today's movers and shakers use, and keep yourself at the top of your Game with dynamic, exciting audio motivation messages. Find out more today at AudioMotivation.com.

Read testimonials from people already using them. I joined so I can listen to them too. It is an extraordinary value and a great investment in your future. Do you want the edge? Get motivated with AudioMotivation.com.

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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/.
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Success Takes Energy, Do You Have What It Takes?

Before we get to today's article, I just wanted to say that the Current RGG Ezine is now online for reading. Check it out and subscribe here if you want to receive them to your email inbox regularly.

Increasing Your Energy

Do you have enough energy to create the life you want? Energy is the critical, invisible force that creates your vitality and aliveness. Without it, you drag through life, tired, stressed, and drained. With it, you feel good, enjoy yourself, and have the fuel to create what you want in life.

When it comes to energy, more is definitely better and you can create more with a few simple steps.

Your Energy Account

Think of your energy like a bank account. Your thoughts, activities, actions, and interactions all have the potential to increase or decrease the balance in your account. Withdrawing energy lowers the balance; depositing it raises the balance.

To keep your account high (which is what you want) minimize your withdrawals and maximize your deposits.

It sounds so simple but how can you actually do this?

How Do You Keep the Balance High?

Here are two keys to increasing the balance in your energy account.

Drop the drains.

We use energy all day long. That's what it is for. However, some things drain too much of our life energy. You might be drained by your job, certain family members, technology, time pressures, negative self-talk, negativity in others, or world problems.

What drains you is unique to you. A job, a person, or a task you find draining might not be draining for someone else.

Do less of what drains you. This may seem obvious yet it has been a breakthrough idea for some of my clients. Somehow they hadn't thought of stopping or doing less of what drained them. When they did - surprise! - they had a lot more energy.

Do what lights you up.

What lights you up is what energizes and enlivens you, what you love, what you're passionate about. By their very nature, your "lights" are deposits to your account. The more you do what lights you up, the more energy you'll have.

Like drains, lights are specific to each individual. What lights you up could actually drain someone else and vice versa. People are lit up about many things: a walk on the beach, visiting an art museum, playing with a pet, listening to music, talking with friends. This list could go on forever.

The key is to identity what lights you up and what drains you.

Then do more of the former and less of the latter.

An Example

I've been working on a project the last month or so, a project that was taking more time than I thought it would or "should."

I began to pressure myself to get the darn thing done. I started working more and playing less. This drained much energy out of my account without replenishing it so the balance kept getting lower and I kept feeling worse.

By the time I realized what was happening, my energy was very low. This "low balance alert" told me I needed to stop the drains and do more of what lights me up before I hit NSF (non-sufficient funds) in my energy account!

For me that meant allowing myself to slow down, working less on the project, and taking at least two hours every day to do something that lit me up.

The first day on my new plan, I worked only a couple of hours on my project. I then took a top-down drive in my convertible on a summery day, went to lunch at an elegant restaurant with a book I was interested in, and spent time visiting with friends.

Throughout the day, I kept reminding myself it was okay to slow down and take it easy.

By the evening I was on an energy high, feeling happy, calm, and more myself. Just one day of less drain and more lights made a huge difference! I'll continue to make this a priority until my energy account is filled up.

In Your Life

If you'd like to increase the balance in your energy account, here are a few suggestions.

1) Assess your account.

What's your balance?

If you're overflowing with positive energy, congratulations! Keep doing what you're doing as it's working for you. If your balance is not as high as you'd like, try the steps below.

If your balance is depleted or draining rapidly as mine was, make restoring your energy your number one priority. Use the steps below to boost your balance as quickly as possible.

2) Notice what drains you.

Ask yourself "What is draining me?" and get curious about the answer. Give yourself permission to and be creative about how to decrease your energy drains.

3) Give yourself permission to and do more of what lights you up.

If you don't yet know what lights you up -- or would like to know more -- ask yourself on a regular basis, "What lights me up?" or "Does this light me up?"

Create a list of what makes you feel alive, sparkly, passionate, energized, soothed, and nurtured.
Spend some time every day doing something from that list. The more you do what lights you up and the less you do what drains you, the higher your energy balance.

Paraphrasing Mark Twain, "What is a woman without energy? Nothing - nothing at all." Raise your energy balance and make you and your life something - something wonderful.

Enjoy!

(c) Bonnie McFarland, La Bella Via, 2006.

Bonnie McFarland helps professional women at midlife who are feeling bored, stuck, and restless and are wondering what to do with the rest of their lives. Her "Light Matters" ezine with tips and tools for getting more of what you truly want as well as "What Lights You Up? Your Guide to Pleasure, Passion, and Purpose in Life" are both available free at www.labellavia.com.

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

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.

Ever Have The Feeling That You're Underqualified?

Yowser!

Sometimes I feel dwarfed by the quality of information that is being posted around the net by people much smarter I . . .

What the heck am I doing here when there are already so many much better qualified people writing such good stuff?

Well, that bit of self talk really did me some good huh?

Anyway here is another great post over at Zen Habits about Habit Change. And it is thorough and expertly written. Check it out if you have any habits that need changing.

Talking myself out of doing what I enjoy will always motivate me to do more, yeah . . .

OK, I'm over it now. (the overwhelming feeling of inadequacy that is) I'm back!

If you don't understand what I am getting at, that's OK. Sometimes I don't even understand me.

But . . . I'm going for it anyway!

Install Positive Habits And Live Big!

Where Are Your Habits Leading You?
by Jack Canfield

You are an accumulation of your habits. From how you get out of bed, how you shower, how you dress, how you walk, sit, and talk, how you respond to the world, how you act in front of others, and how you think; you're living out your habits.

Habits are necessary. They free up your mind so you can concentrate on how to survive day to day. You don't have to think about how to drive your car so you can be on the look out for danger while you are driving. You don't have to think about how to walk so you can concentrate on where you're going.

Unfortunately, habits can also keep you locked in self-destructive patterns, which will limit your success. To become successful, you will need to drop bad habits and develop new ones that are in line with the life you want to live.

People don't suddenly appear in the life they want to live, habits determine their outcome!

What are the habits you have that are keeping you from achieving your goals? Really be honest with yourself here... Are you always running late? Do you return phone calls within 24 hours? Do you get enough sleep? Do you follow through on your promises? Do you plan out your day?

Imagine what your life would be like if all those habits were their productive counterparts.

What would your life be like if you ate healthy meals, exercised and got enough sleep? What if you saved money, stopped using credit cards and paid cash for everything? What if you stopped procrastinating, overcame your fears, and began networking with people in your field? Would your life be different? I bet it would!

So, my suggested action step for you is to write down some productive habits you could adopt and visualize in your life, step wto is to 'act as if' you were living these new habits right now!

I'd like to help you get moving toward creating more successful habits, so I'd recommend you develop four of your new success habits each year, one for each quarter.

Once you pick the new habit you're ready to adopt, next you'll want to create a method that will support your new habit.

Here are some ideas... You could write it down on a card that you keep with you and read several times a day. You could make it a part of your daily visualization. You could also enlist the help of an accountability partner who has habits to change.

It's important to make a 100% commitment to your new habit, so be specific about the steps that you're willing to take in order to drop an old habit and adopt a new one. Don't be vague about how you will change your habits. Spell it out for yourself so you can recognize situations that motivate you to act out your new habit.

Just developing four new habits a year will dramatically shift your life to be more in line with your vision. And the more in line it becomes, the easier the other habits are to replace because your perspective is shifting and you can see more clearly how your old habits aren't serving you anymore.

Make the decision. Make the commitment. Then watch your new, positive life unfold!

©2007 Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield, America's Success Coach, is the founder and co-creator of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get your FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com

Win-Win, Is It All It Is Cracked Up To Be?

I was rereading an article by Josh Hinds that I especially liked and had printed out. I really try to live my life practicing this principle.

Look For The Win, Win!
Josh Hinds, Copyright 2005

Always be on the lookout for the win, win in all endeavors - I'm absolutely convinced that if we look hard enough at any given situation we can identify a win, win result in it. So what's the big deal about looking for the "win, win" you ask?

Admittedly, I know a lot of people (some are personal friends of mine) that go day to day in their business dealings (and personal lives for that matter) looking for opportunities that only benefit themselves directly.

Now I am not saying there's necessarily anything wrong with this. Even so, I can't help but imagine that their personal level of success would multiply if they only took the extra time to explore ways to ensure that the opportunity was equally beneficial to all parties involved.

There's something magical about focusing on win, win scenarios. When we're fortunate enough to develop ourselves to the point where we are always looking for these types of opportunities it's as if they come out of the woodwork :-) The fact is people like to deal with those that don't have the "what's in it for me attitude", wouldn't you agree?

Believe me, I'll be the first to admit that there are plenty of people who have done very well for themselves without adhering to the win, win approach. However, I wonder if one might really consider them successful?

Keep in mind that success has so many facets to it. Just because someone has attained material wealth for instance does not make him or her successful nor non-successful.

It is all in the eye of the beholder I guess you might say. For me personally, I measure my level of success by how much I can give back to others -- and that's worth thinking about.

To your success, Josh Hinds :-)

(c) All rights reserved.

Josh Hinds specializes in helping people set and achieve their goals and live the life of their dreams. For expert advice on goal setting visit http://GoalsSuccess.com now!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

A Simple Goal Setting Strategy - Keep Your Fingers On The Pulse Of Your Life

Well, September is here already and the first eight months of 2007 are now history.

How is your history reading? How are your goals coming for this year? Are you where you wanted to be by this time? At the end of September, nine months into this year, three quarters of 2007 in the past, how will you be doing?

It is time again to analyze what you've done and what you haven't, to see where you need to adjust your strategies to win your prize. There is still plenty of time to pack in some concentrated effort to get you where you want to be by the end of this year.

Some of my goals are right on track and some are not. After taking a hard look at what I want, I will not pursue the ones which no longer make sense to me. At the same time, I will recommit and intensify my efforts to those that are. And I have added some to my list.

It is the same every year. Once you start on the path, and you are actually in the fight, there are some things that stand out as incongruent with your higher purpose. I do not beat myself up over it. I just adjust and move onward to more of the right things.

This is simple goal setting strategy at work. Plan, organize, execute, followup and adjust as necessary to happily achieve what's important and fulfilling to you. Always moving inexorably towards your major focus. Follow your life's purpose at all times and you will joyfully travel your challenge strewn path through life.

Embrace the challenges. They will make up some of your best memories and give you some of the best stories to tell after you successfully negotiate them. This I know to be absolutely true.

I hope that you are getting the results that you want. You never know how close you are to the prize until you look up and see it right in front of you.

Recommit to those goals that are still important to you, and redouble your efforts. Discard those goals that don't make sense anymore and focus on where you want to be at the end of this year. We don't want to get emotional over what we need to get rid of in order to clear and concentrate our energies.

As always, Go For It!

Al

Another Perspective To Time Management

Before we get to our article today, please check out the post at Steve Pavlina's Blog about making time for the very important but not urgent actions we need to take to really impact our life.

24 Hour Car Wash - OPEN
By John Di Lemme

I know that you are saying...

"John, what do you mean by 24 Hour Car Wash - Open?"

I am going to break down that exact title.

*24*

24 hours in a day. What do we all have in common? We all have 24 hours in a day. Specifically, we all have 86,400 seconds to maximize and predict our future each and every day.

The question you have to ask yourself is...

Are you taking advantage of the 24 hours, or is the 24 hours taking advantage of you?

Most people, after 65 years of 24 hours a day, are dead or dead broke - 97% of them.

What do the 3% do versus the 97%?

They all had 24 hours a day for them to take advantage of. The answer is they made different decisions and they were accountable for their actions each day and they focused on their Why. They focused on their daily goals, and they made things occur. The difference of the 97%er's versus the 3%er's is they took advantage of the 86,400 seconds over time.

See most people focus on working overtime.

Take advantage of time over working overtime, which means, 86,400 seconds, that is 24 hours open every day for you, in order for you to fulfill, sustain, manifest, and predict your future.

Now let's move forward to 24 hour car wash.

*Car*

What is a Car? A car is a vehicle that moves us, takes us from Point A to Point B. As an entrepreneur, the vehicle you are in right now is your business. Remember, you are always building your business; you are not working your business. People that have a job, work a job. People that build a business, entrepreneurs, build long term.

You have to start to understand the power that lies within your car, which is the business vehicle that you are in.

You drive it.

You steer it.

You control it.

It only goes where the driver drives it too. That is why you must take advantage of the time. You must understand the power that lies within the vehicle. You must absolutely predict your future to be a 3%er.

*Wash*

What does Wash mean? 24 Hour Car Wash. How many of you brush your teeth everyday? I know all of you do. How many of you take a shower everyday? I hope all of you do....

It's when you cleanse your physical body to rid it of the toxins and dirt that build up on the external part of your body. Yet, the most important part of predicting your future is the internal toxins and waste that build up. You must create the habit of personal development each day, to wash the negative toxins that the mind, heart, and sprit get bombarded by each day.

Not lightly....BOMBARDED...it's like a category 5 hurricane that comes through South Florida.....versus scattered showers.

There is a BIG difference. Your mind is bombarded each day. It is like a category 5 hurricane of negative words. Negative words are in the background while the radio is playing, in magazines, advertisements, billboards, newspapers, etc. 97% of what is in print and what your eyes see every day is and what your ears receive every day is negative.

You have to absolutely commit to washing those toxins away.

I believe you are a Champion. Therefore, you have to commit to 60 minutes minimum of personal development each day of your 86,400 seconds, and you must commit to one hour of personal development washing. When you combine those two things, you begin to use your 24 hours to your advantage.

Understand the power that lies within your vehicle, your car, the business you are building, and commit to washing your mind, heart, and spirit every day.

The 24 Hour Car Wash concept will change your life forever.

That is the goal.

Take advantage of it.

I look forward to hearing the results from it.

And remember......

Simplicity to Success Lies In the Basic Fundamentals

Creating 1000 Millionaires by the Day! John Di Lemme was a 24-year-old stutterer working in his family art gallery that dreamed of becoming a world-renowned motivational speaker. Desperate to achieve his goal, he answered an ad that allowed him to break free of the art gallery and build his own business.

Through his business, John built a massive marketing team of over 25,000 representatives in 10 countries and earned a seven figure passive residual income. Seven years later, John retired to Palm Beach, Florida where he continues to live the life of the rich and not so famous.

John has achieved great success as an international motivational speaker, accomplished author and multi-million dollar entrepreneur. His latest best selling book is “Find Your Why & Fly! – The Ultimate Success Factor.” John is also the co-host of an international television show and was a featured real estate investor on CNBC Power Lunch.

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

Positive Attitude Is Not Enough

Just before we get to today's article on Attitude, I want to announce that the current Realgoalgetter Ezine is now online.

Positive Attitude is Not Enough

Contrary to the popular saying “attitude is everything” attittude is not enough. You can have the right attitude and all the motivation in the world and still wind up playing “dead atheist.”

You know, all dressed up and nowhere to go!

The key is that the right attitude must be followed by the right actions. That’s the bottom line of the doing part you mentioned in your question.

Renowned motivational expert Anthony Robbins says that one of the keys to success is to “take action.” In his work with getting people to take action, Robbins speaks often of “massive, intelligent action.”

I’ve taken that concept and expanded on it a bit, and created a concept called “CMICA (pronounced ka-mee-ka). CMICA stands for Consistent, Massive, Intelligent, Creative Action. Let’s look at each of these key factors below.

Consistent - For action to be successful, it has to be consistent. My friends in the health club industry tell me that January is the time of year when the most people will join a health club or gym. A very few will then show up and work out regularly. A few others will show up occassionaly. My friends tell me that most people show up once or twice and then are never seen again.

Seems like that’s how we often approach taking action. “Well, I did it a couple of times and it just didn’t work for me.” Yeah right.

Nothing other than small, consistent, daily actions will bring you the success you desire.

Massive - Massive action simply means to “do all the necessary things” to get you where you want to go. Not a few, not some, not most, but ALL necessary things required to get your goal.

A common question at this point is “what are all the necessary thinngs I need to do?” That’s a good question, which leads us to........

Intelligent - The great news here is that the wheel has already been invented. By this I mean that what you what to accomplish has probably already been done. Through the process of modelling, we simply need to find someone who has done or is doing what we want to do and model their keys to success. Rememer, if it’s possible in the world, it’s possible for you.

At the same time, don’t confuse activity with achievement. Make sure you are spending your time and energy on actions that get you closer the to your goal, and are not simply busy work.

Creative - If you want to really have some fun, be creative in your actions. While you are taking intelligent action, also ask the question “How can I do this in ways that have never been done before?”

Here’s a four step process to get your creativity going:

1) Precisely define your goal.

2) Identify efforts that have not worked in the past and drop them.

3) Come up with crazy, silly, bizzare, outlandish ways to achieve your goal, that you would never do, but are fun to think about.

4) Come up with creative ideas that will get you where you want to go. Sometimes the seeds for these creative ideas are in the crazy ideas. Other times, simply laughing at the crazy ideas will boost your creative juices for other solutions.

Action - Consistent, massive, intelligent, creative ACTION is the path to success.

Remember, trying is not doing. Doing is doing. Oh, and one last thing before I close: get out there and do it!

By Jeff Herring

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com

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Are You Struggling To Achieve Or Are You Attracting Wealth Easily Into Your Life?

ARE YOU ADDICTED TO STRUGGLE?

Which is more compelling: what's right with your life, or what's going wrong?

For most of us (almost all, in fact) what goes right in life sort of fades into the background. What often stands out more often is what's going wrong.

The Law of Attraction offers that what we focus on manifests more of the same. Restated, we tend to perform just about as well (or as poorly) as we expect we will.

Thomas Leonard, the founder of modern life-coaching, offered that "People do what they do because they have nothing more compelling to do." For many, struggle is what's most compelling.

"Make things harder on myself than they need to be!?", most people cry, "I'm just struggling trying to get ahead!" But, ah! There's that word again: struggle.

Are you addicted to struggle?

An addiction is defined of as "uncontrolled and compulsively engaging in an activity." Don't deny the addictive nature of struggle:

Where else BUT by setting up struggle in your life can you:

- Get the opportunity to get a repetitive flood of dopamine, a small "high", from each small "win"
- FEEL like you're getting ahead by overcoming the struggle you set up (ESPECIALLY if the struggles were unconsciously but purposefully set up to be easily defeated and even if long-term measures say you're stuck in your life)
- Prove (and reprove) your competence
- Justify it when you don't succeed ("look at all I have to overcome", "see how hard it is to get ahead", "you'd be struggling too if you had to overcome all I have to")
- Get attention from friends and family ("you think YOU have it hard.", "poor guy. he's had such a hard time of it."

Many of us wouldn't want to admit it, but isn't a life in which everything goes smoothly just kind of boring!? Isn't it much more compelling to strive, to struggle, to overcome adversity!? We get it all that and more by setting up struggle: the depression of struggle, followed by the high of success, THEN get to repeat it all again tomorrow.

HOW do you make things harder than they need to be? It can happen easily, even in the most intelligent, mature and enlightened of us:

- By insisting that if you're going to change your life it has to be large or else it doesn't count (or you won't do it)
- By insisting that you HAVE all the answers
- By insisting that you'll have to know all the answers before you'll start
- By complaining, associating with other complainers or otherwise focusing on the "struggle"
- By forcing yourself to do it the hard way (e.g. not taking alternative routes, insisting that success will only be accomplished by the ONE route you've locked your focus on)
- By not just taking steps and opportunities as they're presented, instead insisting that you won't move until the step YOU want comes
- By mentally making it harder than it needs to be (focusing on fears, lying to oneself, catastrophizing, black and white thinking, and others errors in reasoning)
- By insisting that you'll have to do it yourself ("I don't work well with others", "If you want it done right.")
- By focusing on organization (busy work) to the exclusion of just moving forward

Are you REALLY moving forward in your life or are you just feeding your addiction?

If you want to achieve success without struggle, you'll need to find reasons more compelling than those driving your current actions.

Life brings enough challenges with it, all on it's own. You don't need to feed your addiction to struggle to get ahead. "Change is inevitable," goes the saying, "Struggle is optional."

Experience the symptoms of withdrawal from the "drug" struggle. How can you make your chosen success - perhaps even with life being "okay" and without crisis -- more compelling than living a life of perseverance?

Join me at TLS and tell me how you're breaking YOUR addiction to struggling to succeed!
__________

Copyright © 2007, Mark Farmer

Reprinted from http://TotalLifeSuccess.com - the Web's leading success community featuring inspirational quotes, success articles, and tools to improve your life. To subscribe, visit http://totallifesuccess.com

12 Energy Renewers - Charge Up To Charge Ahead!

Energy-Rechargers for Winners
by Patricia Wagner

Want more energy so you can live a more fulfilling life? Energy is life's fuel! According to Benjamin Franklin, "Energy and persistence alter all things."Buckminster Fuller believed that real wealth is ideas plus energy. He is famous for designing the lightest, strongest and least expensive manmade structure - the geodesic dome.

It can cover more space without inner supports than any other structureand it can be put together very rapidly. In Honolulu in 1957, a full house listened to a concert 22 hours after the delivery of the dome's parts. Buckminster Fuller made a remarkable contribution to architecture, but he needed energy to do it.

What could you achieve with more energy? Here are 12 energy renewers to help you achieve more in life:

Your physical health rechargers:

1. Eat and drink for optimum health. Be sure to eat well-balanced meals. Drink lots of water because dehydration can exhaust your body of its store of energy. If you're carrying extra weight this too can cause exhaustion. Take advantage of nutritional supplements since there are many key nutrients that may not be in the food you eat.

2. Spend time outdoors and improve your indoor light. Walk to a local park or lovely recreational area on a regular basis.Open the curtains and let in the sunshine. Purchase artificial lighting that mimics the spectrum of the sun.

3. Seek help when you experience medical problems. A number of medical conditions cause tiredness. Adrenal exhaustion caused by stress, low thyroid function, anemia and hormonal inbalances are some conditons that can cause exhaustion.

4. Get enough sleep. Be sure to get your proper amount of sleep. Experiment to see how much you need and then stick to it so you don't sabotage your energy by depriving yourself of needed sleep.

5. Exercise and practice proper breathing. Try to exercise at least three times a week. Don't forget that proper breathing is essential to your health too. Try breathing deeply instead of shallowly. At times for relaxation take deep breaths through your nose and then exhale through your mouth. Do this slowly and deeply. This can be very relaxing and energizing at the same time. It's a great stress reducer!

Your mental and emotional renewers:

1. Say goodbye to worry. Worry never helped anyone. It just drains away needed energy. Captain J A Hadfield got it right when he stated: "This art of resting the mind and the power of dismissing from it all care and worry is probably one of the secrets of energy in our great men."

2. Choose inspiring people for friends. Your friends will either lift you up or drag you down, so choose them wisely.

3. Check your emotional health. Focus on others and learn to develop a positive attitude toward life. Being wrapped up in yourself is very limiting.

4. Work wisely. Work hard at your job or at your self-employment, but don't neglect your family or your need for recreation.

5. Don't waste your energy. Beware of energy-wasters like holding grudges, resentment and unforgiveness. Attitudes like these hurt you and contribute nothing worthwhile to your life. Weed those out for energy conservation.

6. Dream big dreams. Do you have a dream? Having one can help you to be more energetic. There's just something about having a goal that is energizing!

7. Rise above your own strength. The Bible is full of many promises to those who recognize their need. Here's one: Isaiah40:31 - "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."

What's holding you back from increasing your energy? Try these energy-rechargers and win!

Patricia Wagner offers informative tips and f^ree newsletter to help you live a more energetic lifestyle. Check out http://www.a-to-z-wellness.com. She is also an artist and you can view her original paintings at http://www.artbywagner.com.

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Great Attitudes Create Great Results!
Al Smith is also the Editor and Publisher of a Motivational and Goal Achievement Ezine. Subscribe for FREE at
The Realgoalgetter Ezine.
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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

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

Not Enough Time In The Day? Job Seems Too Big?

The Best Way to Deal with Tight Timelines and and Big Challenges

When you watch the end of close sporting events you will eventually see two types of teams or players. One type, when behind, will start to press a little bit. They know they have a limited amount of time to reach their goal and they get stressed and their sense of urgency drives them to accelerate their efforts, scurry, and eventually rush.

This hurried approach can sometimes lead to the desired results but more often creates errors and costly mistakes. Often these are errors and mistakes that wouldn’t occur under normal situations.

The other group, facing the same urgency and pressure, seems to look and act differently. They know the urgency, but they act as if this additional pressure actually makes them better – more confident and efficient.

This second group typically performs better in this pressure packed situation and makes fewer errors in actions or judgment, and more often than not, wins the game.

The difference between these two groups isn’t their skills or abilities. The difference between these groups is best described by the legendary basketball coach John Wooden. He encouraged his teams to “be quick but don’t hurry.”

The first group is hurrying – the second, more successful, group is quick – but facing the same situations they seem more calm and not hurrying at all.

This difference is as apparent in work groups as it is in sports teams once you take the time to consider these differences. Some people or teams are always rushing from meeting to meeting, task to task. These people are constantly reacting to situations and “putting out fires.”

Many of these people will say that they like the adrenalin rush they get from this high pace high stress environment – which is good because in their haste they continue to create more fires, more reaction, and more reason to hurry.

Contrast those with people who always seem to have their wits about them. They are able to make decisions and take action quickly, but they never seem to get rattled or seem rushed.

This second group seems to operate with a quiet, confident calm, even when timelines are tight and stakes are high. These people are nimble and quick, but they aren’t hurried or rushed.

As you read these descriptions I’m sure you are thinking that the later group is the more productive and effective, and you are right.

The logical question then is, what can I do (or what can I do in leading others) to be quick, but not to hurry? Read on – the rest of this article gives you suggestions for making that shift.

The Suggestions

Be prepared.
Teams that are most effective in “crunch time” have practiced every situation long before the game. Similarly when you are better prepared you will be ready for whatever situation you are presented with, and therefore will be able to manage it more effectively.

Have a plan.
People who don’t plan argue that things never work out according to the plan – which is partly true. The value of the plan is that when things are going according to the plan, you can be proactive and stay ahead of the challenges and avoid many of the pitfalls. That planning then saves your heightened attention and effort for the parts of the plan that do change.

Focus – stop multi-tasking.
Have you been daunted by the enormity of a project or task? When we think about everything we have to do, we often begin to hurry, rush or try to multitask. You will be more productive when you focus on one task at a time.

A basketball team down by 20 points can only come back 2 or 3 points at a time. A soccer or hockey team can only score one goal at a time. As you complete one task and then move to the next, and you will be making more progress faster.

Think confidently. Be confident in your abilities!
Remind yourself of past successes! (Here’s a hint - when you have a plan and are well prepared it is easier to be confident.) Confidence is an under-valued skill off the court and playing field. When you think confidently you are taking the necessary first step towards acting with confidence.

Stay inside your sphere of influence.
Remember that you can’t change the world (or the other members of the project team for that matter). Focus on what you can impact. Stay inside yourself and proactively work on things that you have the ability to impact or change.

Remain positive.
A positive attitude, approach and demeanor can make a big difference. When you really feel rushed, you probably aren’t your most positive self. But when you feel on top of things, even if you are busy, you are more likely to be positive. Knowing this is true, you can create more positive actions by starting with more positive thoughts.

Take a deep breath.
This piece of advice, given to me often by my grandfather and father is some of the best advice I’ve ever received, and it certainly applies in this case. Take a deep breath, refocus and move forward positively, confidently and quickly - without hurrying.

All of the suggestions above are powerful ways to improve your performance. Now that you have read the list, identify the one or two tips that seem most valuable or applicable to you or your team. Apply those suggestions and your performance will improve immediately and significantly.

bu Kevin Eikenberry

Kevin Eikenberry is a leadership expert and the Chief Potential Officer of The Kevin Eikenberry Group, a learning consulting company that helps Clients reach their potential through a variety of training, consulting and speaking services. To receive your free special report on Unleashing Your Potential go to http://www.kevineikenberry.com/uypw/index.asp or call us at (317) 387-1424 or 888.LEARNER.

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

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Tap into the same power that today's movers and shakers use, and keep yourself at the top of your Game with dynamic, exciting audio motivation messages. Find out more today at AudioMotivation.com.

Read testimonials from people already using them. I joined so I can listen to them too. It is an extraordinary value and a great investment in your future. Do you want the edge? Get motivated with AudioMotivation.com.

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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/.

A Nice Long Break. I'm Back Now . . . With A Positive Imagination

Well, that was a nice long break from posting.

After three years I wasn't feeling the enjoyment anymore or the thrill of sharing quality information. I began to feel more like I was chained to these blogs and that if I stopped writing all that I had built would all come crashing down, so I continued because I feared losing momentum.

I was no longer doing this because I wanted to, or that's what I imagined anyway. Well, I have never been an advocate of doing things for negative reasons or because of fear motivation. I bit the bullet, I stopped posting on all my blogs and took a much deserved break. And you know what?

The traffic to this site actually went up during this time period because of all I had written previously. Most of the information on this site is "evergreen", or to put it simply, never goes out of season. It is always relevant. And . . . I had been imagining the worst possible scenario if I stopped writing.

Success information is and has been written about since the beginning of time, and most of the principles never change. We just change our vocabulary from time to time so it is more acceptable in the present day language. People seem to understand it better if it is written in present day lingo and slang.

Anyway, I digress . . .

While I was reading last night, I came across some information I did want to share with you.

It comes from one of my favorite books, The Magic Of Thinking Big. The topic: Learn to see things for what they can be, not for what they are now, practice adding value. Use your imagination as a positve force.

"People who don't have much, see themselves as they are now. That's all they see. They don't see a future, they just see a miserable present.

I'm determined not to let what I haven't got stop me! I've made up my mind to look at myself as the person I'm going to be in a few short years."

1. Practice adding value to yourself.
Ask yourself this question daily. "What can I do to make myself more valuable today?" Visualize yourself not as you are but as you can be. Then, specific ways to attaining your potential value will suggest themselves to you.

2. Practice adding value to things.
This is what they do in real estate investing. For example, What can I do to 'add value' to this room, or this house, or this business? Look for ideas to make things worth more. A thing -- whether it be a vacant lot, a house, a business or a product -- has value in proportion to the ideas for using it.

There is more information in the book obviously, but you can get the idea. Value is everywhere, value is determined only by our imagination.

And your imagination is all powerful, it can be a force for positive, or in my case previously, a force for negative. I'm back now! For the right reasons again . . .

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

Overcoming The Beast Of Procrastination Once And For All

Overcome Procrastination: A Practical Guide to Beating Procrastination

If you actually follow some of the tips outlined below you will soon get things done.

Are You Bogged Down By Detail?

It's time to step back and take a look at the big picture. What exactly are you trying to do? Sometimes we get so caught up in the detail that we lose sight of where we are going.

Are You Overwhelmed?

If the task seems overwhelming - break it down into small do-able steps. Identify natural milestones along the way. If you want to lose 20lbs - aim for 1lb each week. If you want a tidy, organised desk - tackle it one drawer at a time.

If You Can't Decide What To Do

Do something - anything will do - the first thing that comes into your head. You will soon know whether you have made a good decision - you will know whether it's the right decision for you.

Give yourself permission to change your mind if it becomes obvious you are headed in the wrong direction. Doing something really is better than doing nothing - it will get you started.

Do You Lack Confidence?

Is your lack of skill real or only imagined? If it's in your imagination - acknowledge your fear and deal with it. Fears shout the loudest when they feel they are not being heard. Recognize your fear and create a plan to deal with it - the fear will soon lose its power.

If you need further skills - take steps to get them - ask for help. Take a few deep breaths and allow yourself to step out of your comfort zone.

Have You Got Enough Time?

It isn't always easy to find large uninterrupted periods of time. Try doing things in 15 minute chunks. You will be surprised how much you can do in 15 minutes - and it will get you started.

Are There Too Many Distractions?

You could decide not to answer the door or the phone for an hour. Take control and give yourself the gift of uninterrupted time.

Have You Got Too Many Things To Do?

If you genuinely have too much to do, say so - either to yourself, your boss, or your family, prioritize, enlist help and delegate.

Ask, "What is the most important thing to do right now?" Focus on that. Many 'urgent' things are not as important as people make out.

Is It An Unpleasant Task?

The longer you wait, the greater the chance it will go away or someone else will do it. By procrastinating you are getting a reward!

Do you really need to do it? or Could it be done less often?

Could you trade with someone or buy in help? If you really do need to do it - do it sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the more energy you will spend thinking about it. It's much better to spend that energy actually doing the task and experience the reward of finishing it.

Finally, When you find yourself procrastinating, ask yourself what's so bad about what needs to be done? The anticipation is usually worse than simply doing it. Try allocating 15 minutes to doing the job and see where it takes you.

One thing's for sure - you won't be procrastinating any more.

"The hardest work in the world is that which should have been done yesterday." - Muriel Strode

Procrastination drains your energy - it truly is the thief of time. Plug the drain and begin what you have been putting off - you will feel better for doing it.

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting started is breaking your complex overwhelming tasks into small manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one." -- Mark Twain

Which tip will you use right away? Now, get started.

By Lynne Lee

Visit http://www.beyourownlifecoachnow.co.uk/ for more tips and tools to help you coach yourself. Subscribe to my blog and free newsletter and I'll send you an article with keys to help you take control of your life.

Lynne Lee is a life coach and author working in the UK.

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

Control Your Self Talk - Maximize Personal Development by Stopping Mental SPAM

How to Maximize Personal Development by Instantly Stopping Mental SPAM

Did you know that the one solitary reason why people fail in their personal development efforts is because they allow their own belief systems to get in the way?

You will find people who say that there were circumstances beyond their control that made them have to step away from their self improvement efforts, but that is very rarely the truth of the matter.

Yes, it is possible for life to throw up roadblocks that you have to hurdle, but if you are truly dedicated to making improvements in your life, you will find a way to get over, under, or around any roadblock that is put in your way.

However, since the most powerful gift that any human being has is their mind, that power can be used to trip you up just as easily as it can be used to lift you to new heights.

In fact, in a society that is filled with a seemingly never-ending supply of negativity, an increasing lack of free time, and a continually growing list of tasks that any given person is called upon to do, it is no surprise that people have trouble staying on track with their personal development efforts.

The trick to breaking out of that vicious cycle is to recognize that it is your own mind that is allowing you to believe that the circumstances of your life have the power to get in your way, and then redirecting your mind whenever that happens.

Let's say for example that you are in the process of becoming financially secure. You are focusing on that goal, and you are inspired to take action on business ventures, create new products, or offer new services.

The normal course of the human thought process is to then immediately start to think about all of the things that are going to stand in the way of your success.

Maybe the business venture that you want to get involved with will require resources that you don't have easy access to. Maybe the products that you want to create will require a large expenditure of time. Perhaps you don't see an easy way to offer the new service that you have been thinking of.

Another example could be that of weight loss. You decide that you are finally going to buckle down and start exercising and eating right, and you get excited about the more healthy (and smaller) person that you are going to become.

Once again, your mental roadblocks jump in the way. You start to think about how much time it is going to take you to workout every day. You give thought to how much more difficult it is going to be to prepare and have access to healthy foods.

You start to think about how physically and mentally busy you already are, and how cleaning up your health is going to cause even more strain on your life.

There are endless examples just like the two that were listed with regard to finances and health, but the process is always the same. You decide to make some positive changes in your life, but then you talk yourself right out of doing it.

The simple way to stop this process is to come up with a word or a phrase that you can use to immediately sweep away the negative and disempowering thoughts that come to mind when you are considering your personal development efforts.

It could be a simple power word like "Next!" or something more in-depth such as "I am in control of my ability to accomplish _________________, and nothing is going to stand in my way!"

You can come up with any word or phrase that works for you on a personal level, but the key to achieving success with this method is to consistently use it - especially in the first 30 days of your personal development efforts.

It is a well-known fact that it takes anywhere from 3 to 4 weeks for a new habit to become fully ingrained into our lifestyle, and that fact applies to mental thought processes as well as the actual tasks that are involved in your self improvement efforts.

This method seems simplistic, which is exactly why many people will think that it is not effective. Another negative human habit is that we tend to only give value to something if we have to spend a lot of money for it, or if it is something that is going to require a huge effort on our part.

This simple but effective self improvement technique does not fit either of those descriptions. Rather it is amazingly powerful, yet ridiculously simple.

Whenever you have a disempowering thought, you immediately dismiss it.

Whether those thoughts come out at random intervals, or if they are constantly popping up on a frequent basis, the solution is the same. Dismiss every disempowering thought with your power word or phrase every single time that such a thought crosses your mind.

Before you know it, not only will you have consistently taken action on whatever your initial goal was, but you will have simply and easily reprogrammed yourself for continued success in the future as well. You will also have built a rock-solid base of self-confidence that you will be able to rely on for the rest of your life!

by Aaron Potts

About the Author
Aaron Potts is the founder of the Today is that Day Success Community, and the author of Energy Harmonics, which teaches about self improvement, vibratory alignment, and the Law of Attraction. Visit his site at http://www.todayisthatday.com to learn about Energy Harmonics and to get his free newsletter, or visit his blog at http://www.todayisthatday.com/blog/

Keys To Overcoming Failure On Your Way To Your Goals

I thought this would be a good follow up article to our post the other day about gaining self confidence through failure. (How To Build Confidence And Gain Expertise At The Same Time)

There is good information here for those who might like to know just how to get through failure and and achieve their goals.

5 Keys To Overcome Failure

Everyone hates to fail but what most people don’t realize is that failing is part of success. Anyone who has ever succeeded has failed many times. So, how do you overcome failure?

Here are 5 keys to overcoming failure.

1. Learn from your mistakes and failures. How did you learn to ride a bike? The short answer: you fell off 100 times. Every time you make a mistake or fail, learn as much as you can from it so that you are better prepared next time.

Action Step: Write down the top five things that you learned from your last mistake or failure.

2. Don’t dwell on it. Now that you have learned something from your mistake, move on. Don’t dwell on your past. You can’t tell where you are going if you are looking backwards. Also, dwelling on your past failures will keep you in prison right where you are.

Action Step: Read what you have written down in Key 1 (The 5 Things You Learned).

3. Don’t be afraid to try again. Don’t let the fear from your last failure stop you from reaching your greatness, goal, dream, or potential. Just like learning to ride that bike, you didn’t fall once or twice and then give up.

Action Step: Take what you have learned and try it again now that you are better prepared.

4. Surround yourself with positive people. No matter what it is that you are trying to achieve, surround yourself with successful people that have done what you want to do.

One of the best ways to overcome failure is to learn how other people just like you overcame failure. This will not only encourage you but give you the proof that it can be done.

Action Step: Find a person or a group of people who are successful and get around them as soon as possible.

5. Realize that failure is part of the learning curve. Failure and mistakes aren’t fun but they are what help us learn to be great at whatever it is we are trying to achieve.

“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” – Colin Powell

Action Step: Think back to a time where you succeeded. Then think how many times you failed or made mistakes to get to that success.

Now that you have the 5 Keys to Overcoming Failure, go out there and just do it! You have a seed of greatness on the inside of you. Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from reaching your full potential in life.

By Jason Osborn and Rebecca Osborn

Jason and Rebecca are the founders of http://www.findyourgreatness.com/ They have helped many people to get started on their path towards greatness and start living their dreams. They are an inspiration to everyone they meet.

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