Are you closer to your goal? You're likely taking action each and every day towards your goal - right? Sometimes we get frustrated or disappointed that we're not moving along as quickly, or the way we want to. Keep in mind, that achieving something you've never achieved before is going to mean some personal growth along the way. Staying focused on the END RESULT, remaining committed to your SUCCESS, and enjoying the journey of MATERIALIZING your goal is what it's all about.
Inspiration and renewed energy to keep on keeping on comes from many places. Here are some notable quotes that may resonate with you. Write down your favorites and post them in places where you can see them every day. Remember, someone has already done what you want to do. It IS possible.
"Goals provide the energy source that powers our lives. One of the best ways we can get the most from the energy we have is to focus it. That is what goals can do for us: concentrate our energy"
~ Denis Waitley
"People with goals succeed because they know where they are going. It's as simple as that."
~ Earl Nightingale
"A goal properly set is halfway reached."
~ Abraham Lincoln
"Choosing a goal and sticking to it changes everything."
~Scott Reed
"Focus on your potential instead of your limitations." -
~Alan Loy McGinnis
"Instead of worrying about what people say of you, why not spend time trying to accomplish something they will admire."
~Dale Carnegie
"Life's ups and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals. Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want."
~Martha Sinetar
"To achieve happiness, we should make certain that we are never without an important goal." -
~Ralph Waldo Emereson
"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals."
~ Zig Zigler
"Picture yourself vividly as winning and that alone will contribute immeasurably to success. Great living starts with a picture, held in your imagination, of what you would like to do or be." -
~Henry Emerson Fosdick
"Please understand my friend, that where you find yourself tomorrow is a function of the positive decisions and actions you take today." - Akin A. Awolaja
Showing posts with label mindset. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mindset. Show all posts
Friday, February 15, 2008
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Journal your way to success
Your Journal an Effective Tool for Personal Development
A journal is an effective tool to use in your everyday life. It can be used as both a diary to record events in your life, and as a personal development tool. It is a great place to record events in your life and your reaction to those events, kind of like the cause and effect or the actions and reactions in your life. Your emotions are a very powerful memory tool. By writing about how you felt about an event, it helps you to recall the true experience of what happened at a later time.
Your journal will also help you work through some of the negative emotions that you may be feeling. The simple act of actually acknowledging how you feel and writing about it is the first step. Once you know how you feel, you can work at figuring out why, or what happened to make you feel that way. Sometimes, we cannot identify an exact event that caused the feeling, but journaling effectively allows us to at least figure out when the negative feelings started. Now you are ready to identify how you want to feel, and do what you need to do to create that positive feeling in your life.
In order to fully benefit from your journal it is necessary to go back over it and study your progress. If you experience a similar difficult situation or feeling, you can look back and read about how you worked through it before. Your journal then becomes a chart of your personal growth, which gives you cause for celebration. After all, what is the point of making mistakes if you are not going to learn from them?
If you are new to journaling you may find it awkward at first, and you might not know what to write about. The trick is to just write anything. You can even write about the fact that you don’t have anything to write about. Over time your thoughts and feelings will begin to flow freely onto the paper, just keep with it by making it part of your day to day routine. There are no rules or guidelines stating that your daily journaling has to be a certain length, or that it even has to make any sense. Remember, it is for your eyes only, so just write about whatever comes to mind.
Over time your journal can become a useful tool in your personal development. If you use it to record what has happened, and your feelings around the event, you will find that the emotion you put into it helps to keep your memories alive. You can work through your negative emotions much easier by recording them, and their cause. It is an incredible way to chart your personal progress, and learn from the journey. A life worth living is a life worth writing about.
A journal is an effective tool to use in your everyday life. It can be used as both a diary to record events in your life, and as a personal development tool. It is a great place to record events in your life and your reaction to those events, kind of like the cause and effect or the actions and reactions in your life. Your emotions are a very powerful memory tool. By writing about how you felt about an event, it helps you to recall the true experience of what happened at a later time.
Your journal will also help you work through some of the negative emotions that you may be feeling. The simple act of actually acknowledging how you feel and writing about it is the first step. Once you know how you feel, you can work at figuring out why, or what happened to make you feel that way. Sometimes, we cannot identify an exact event that caused the feeling, but journaling effectively allows us to at least figure out when the negative feelings started. Now you are ready to identify how you want to feel, and do what you need to do to create that positive feeling in your life.
In order to fully benefit from your journal it is necessary to go back over it and study your progress. If you experience a similar difficult situation or feeling, you can look back and read about how you worked through it before. Your journal then becomes a chart of your personal growth, which gives you cause for celebration. After all, what is the point of making mistakes if you are not going to learn from them?
If you are new to journaling you may find it awkward at first, and you might not know what to write about. The trick is to just write anything. You can even write about the fact that you don’t have anything to write about. Over time your thoughts and feelings will begin to flow freely onto the paper, just keep with it by making it part of your day to day routine. There are no rules or guidelines stating that your daily journaling has to be a certain length, or that it even has to make any sense. Remember, it is for your eyes only, so just write about whatever comes to mind.
Over time your journal can become a useful tool in your personal development. If you use it to record what has happened, and your feelings around the event, you will find that the emotion you put into it helps to keep your memories alive. You can work through your negative emotions much easier by recording them, and their cause. It is an incredible way to chart your personal progress, and learn from the journey. A life worth living is a life worth writing about.
Track your progress and Celebrate your wins
How you feel is so tremendously important don’t you think? I mean really, when you feel good about an accomplishment it empowers you to do so much more. As a result recognizing that feeling is just as important. By recognizing the feeling I mean you need to celebrate it and by celebrating the process of that achievement you will feel better the entire time you are working towards the end result. Celebrating the process is best achieved by keeping a progress log, either in your journal or on the back of your goal card.
It really doesn't matter how big or how small the goal is that you want to materialize either, no matter what, keep track of your progress towards it and celebrate the heck out of it once you have gotten there. Take a moment and have a look at a couple of goals that have been materialized recently and how we tracked them and then celebrated them.
In January of this year I set a goal to achieve a premium membership status with ezine articles. Now from what I could figure out, that could be a relatively simple process or I could make it a difficult process. I knew that would be my choice. Like I have described in some of my past articles I chose to put focused energy into the task. I went about learning exactly what was expected of my for submitting articles that adhered to the guidelines of the platform, realizing of course, that it didn't matter whether I agreed with the guidelines or not. I wanted to be posting articles there and as a result I had to adhere to their rules. It just was fortunate that I had no issues with the guidelines by the way.
I knew that the process could take anywhere from 10 – 25 submissions and I was on a mission to get the task done in 10. I charted every success on the road. I kept a log of my articles, when they were submitted and when they were approved until I reached what I had faith was the last one that I would need for the upgrade. Every time an article was approved I put a great big check mark and the date by it. Today I celebrate being upgraded by letting my entire list of associates and customers know about it, they celebrate with me and the positive energy around the articles is astounding. Now I realize that this is a small celebration, but it is a celebration none the less and I always feel better celebrating than anything else.
Now let me tell you about a bigger goal that we are going to be celebrating at the end of this month. A couple of years ago my wife and I set a goal to work from home, together, full time and profitably. Because we applied absolute laser beam focused energy into that goal, tracked every inch of our progress towards it we will be celebrating with the bottle of Champagne that we put aside just for this occasion. We put that focused energy into several areas:
Watching and tracking our progress (celebrating every small win and step towards the goal)
Personal development
Goal setting
We carefully chose the business models we would use
Responsibility, and
Accountability
A long time ago we picked out the resort we wanted to celebrate at and we will be doing just that in a few short weeks. Living a life of design, our design is a wonderful thing.
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Using the The 80 / 20 Principle to Materialize Your Goals
Many of you may have heard of the "80/20" rule, less commonly known as the Pareto Principle. What is the 80/20 rule and how does it apply to materializing your goals?
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts. What this should tell us is that, 20% of your results come from the other 80% of your efforts. Is it possible, I mean really possible that 80% of our efforts are essentially wasted? Many of us tend to focus on doing the little things, the unimportant things such as reading an email right away that has no obvious bearing on the task at hand. Often this is just a distraction from focusing on what we really want to achieve. In other words "procrastination". What this really yields us is slow results and a feeling of being overwhelmed with "things" to get done.
Let's look at how to apply the 80/20 principle to materializing your goals. If you spend 20% of your focused energy, time and effort into working towards your goals, you'll see massive results in a short period of time. That's focus. Suppose your goal is to lose some weight. You've made a commitment to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Using the 80/20 principle, you would exercise in the morning, before you start your day. You've just taken massive action towards your goals before you get bogged down in your daily routine and responsibilities. You feel powerful because you've kept your commitment, and it sets your mood for the entire day. Not only do you feel healthy but you've created more energy and mental clarity to get you through your day. Excellent!
Here's another example: You've set a goal to write that best-selling book. You know what time of day you create your best material so you schedule that as sacred "writing time". You spend a couple hours (or one or two) writing without interruption - consistently and persistently. Before you know it, you've completed your manuscript. By taking the time every day to work towards your goal, you're building confidence that you CAN materialize your goal. That begins to take on a life of it's own.
We all have "to do" lists; many of us have ones that never end, some of us have a list of lists to get done. There will always be "things" that needs to get done. Our email inboxes are always full, we just want to watch that one TV show, perhaps getting organized is all we need to do before we begin…all diversion tactics. Take some time every day, consistently and persistently, to do something that moves you closer to your goal. Before you know it, you've materialized your goal and all it really took was focused action.
The Pareto Principle states that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts. What this should tell us is that, 20% of your results come from the other 80% of your efforts. Is it possible, I mean really possible that 80% of our efforts are essentially wasted? Many of us tend to focus on doing the little things, the unimportant things such as reading an email right away that has no obvious bearing on the task at hand. Often this is just a distraction from focusing on what we really want to achieve. In other words "procrastination". What this really yields us is slow results and a feeling of being overwhelmed with "things" to get done.
Let's look at how to apply the 80/20 principle to materializing your goals. If you spend 20% of your focused energy, time and effort into working towards your goals, you'll see massive results in a short period of time. That's focus. Suppose your goal is to lose some weight. You've made a commitment to eat healthier and exercise regularly. Using the 80/20 principle, you would exercise in the morning, before you start your day. You've just taken massive action towards your goals before you get bogged down in your daily routine and responsibilities. You feel powerful because you've kept your commitment, and it sets your mood for the entire day. Not only do you feel healthy but you've created more energy and mental clarity to get you through your day. Excellent!
Here's another example: You've set a goal to write that best-selling book. You know what time of day you create your best material so you schedule that as sacred "writing time". You spend a couple hours (or one or two) writing without interruption - consistently and persistently. Before you know it, you've completed your manuscript. By taking the time every day to work towards your goal, you're building confidence that you CAN materialize your goal. That begins to take on a life of it's own.
We all have "to do" lists; many of us have ones that never end, some of us have a list of lists to get done. There will always be "things" that needs to get done. Our email inboxes are always full, we just want to watch that one TV show, perhaps getting organized is all we need to do before we begin…all diversion tactics. Take some time every day, consistently and persistently, to do something that moves you closer to your goal. Before you know it, you've materialized your goal and all it really took was focused action.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Putting focused energy into every moment
We wrote in another article about visualizing yourself having already attaining the goal. This is the whole Be Do Have mindset. When it comes to materializing your goals, you must find a way to see yourself as a success and having already accomplished and materialized your goal. You will know when you have perfected this mindset when you materialize, even a small goal because it will feel almost serendipitous to you. This will feel like it was absolutely was supposed to happen, just like it did.
You see there are times when there will be apparent, and even some not so apparent obstacles that you either put in place or that you run into. These obstacles are a fact of life but how you face them and deal with them is entirely up to you. You can sit and think that you will never be able to overcome them or you can put some intense focused energy onto them in order to easily skirt around them. You can choose to believe that you are the only person that has ever faced that challenge or obstacle or you can very quickly realize that it is what it is, simply a bump in the road and many other very successful people have already hit it and got around it.
You see whatever obstacle you believe is in front of you, there have been others that have overcome even greater challenges. It truly boils down, not to where you are now because in a split second that will be the past so where you are now is of little consequence. What is really important right now, right now and right now is how you approach life. What attitude do you possess towards your future circumstances and how you approach your life.
The ultra successful people in our world and society fully experience every moment. There are a couple of really good reasons, logical reasons for fully experiencing every moment:
- The moment you are in is the only moment in which you have power
- The past is the past, even if it just happened a split second ago
- You future depends on the choices you make right now, right now and right now
In order to live life with an abundant and prosperous future, you must live your life so that it is experienced as rich and rewarding in each and every moment. This is all about putting focused energy into each and every moment and living your life as you would and have imagined it to be. Remember a couple of things about focused energy:
Focused Energy Eliminates Lack (feeling), and
Focused Energy Achieves Results (fear)
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Have a goal of working from home? -- the 6th common denominator for success
As we go about our day, we get asked a lot about how we materialized our goal of working from home, with our own network marketing business. There are many facets of working from home that we needed to figure out. Once those decisions are made and the choice is made there are 5, nope 6 things that you need to master and develop really well as you start to work from home.
All of the leaders in the network marketing and work at home industry will tell you that all you have to do is tap or plug into their system and you will achieve the same level of success as we have. To a degree, this is very very true. A system that is easily duplicated, simple and one that is proven is absolutely essential when working from home. After all, network marketing is a business of marketing and promoting being done, mostly, by people that have very little knowledge of marketing and promoting.
Once you have the business model that is right for you, the leadership that is going to be of the most benefit and the training and support you need to be successful there are 5, no actually 6 things that you need to develop and make your own Daily Method of Operation.
The first 5 things listed here are things that can be developed, practiced and perfected by simply putting them in place with some discipline. Realize as well that these are in no particular order, neither is of more importance than the other. They are simply the 5 things that are absolutely required and need to be done with number 6. Also realize that if number 6 is not there, just set your alarm clock and go to work tomorrow morning.
Even though number 6 is last, it is absolutely required. As a matter of fact you can be successful with just number 6 but it will be much more easily accomplished by combining all 6 together.
- You must perform Income Producing activities every day
- You must become an absolute student of Personal Development
- You must take the time to visualize and meditate on your goals every day
- You must carry an expectation of leadership -- in yourself as well as others
- You must continue to brainstorm and mastermind with the leaders
Now most business leaders will tell you that if you concentrate on these 5 things consistently and persistently then you will have no choice but become successful. This is true. However there is one common denominator amongst the successful home business owners that very few talk about after you "join" their business and that one is number 6.
- A True and Burning DESIRE!!
Friday, February 1, 2008
Be Do Have is very different from Fake it until you make it
As we circulate through the personal development world we hear many of the leaders and the gurus talk about be do have:
· Be the person that you want to be
· Do the things that person would do, and
· Have the things that person would have
Up until I discovered personal development and realized that materializing your goals, achieving your burning desires and realizing the abundance in all aspects of my life was really only a mindset away, I truly thought that Be Do Have was just another way of saying:
· Fake it until you make it, or
· Keeping up with the Jones's
The harsh reality is though that there are still people that believe that they have to fake it until they make it. Actually, as much as I hated the whole idea, we truly were living that lifestyle and weren't really aware of it. When we figured out the true meaning of Be Do Have, there was a huge transformation in our lives.
There are people that are driving around in automobiles that they cannot afford, wearing suits, jewelry, leather coats and perfumes that they just are not in the financial situation to own. These are people living in their dream homes, well before they have achieved their dream. Like we were, they are faking it until they make it and simply keeping up with the Jones's.
Now I am not on a soap box here about over extending or living beyond your means. I am simply saying that there is a major difference between faking it until you're making it and mastering the Be Do Have principle.
Mastering the Be Do Have principle is the key to mirroring successful people. There is a mindset to success, we all know that. The ultra successful people in our world and society have that mindset of success. Take some time to get associated with some successful and some ultra successful people. This is much easier than it sounds, you can get to know Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki and T Harv Eker, just to name a couple of relatively successful people through their books. I actually prefer them in audio format. When you can have a mindset of success that mirrors the mindset of people like these you will now how to Be Do and Have just like them.
Join some associations of successful people, either locally or online. The possibilities are limitless online. No matter how you do it, in order to materialize your goals you need to realize that Be Do Have is a mindset.
Be a big thinker, be success oriented, be willing to take the actions to achieve your goals. Do the things an ultra successful person does every day, follow their Daily Method of Operation. Be Just as organized as they are, just as dedicated as they are. Have the same thought process as they do and learn to make decisions quickly and effectively. Study them, their habits. Get to know successful people in all the areas you want to change. Once you are done, and you have become the person you want to be. When you have materialized your goals then remember to share your successes and your abundance. Never forget that abundance is for everybody.
· Be the person that you want to be
· Do the things that person would do, and
· Have the things that person would have
Up until I discovered personal development and realized that materializing your goals, achieving your burning desires and realizing the abundance in all aspects of my life was really only a mindset away, I truly thought that Be Do Have was just another way of saying:
· Fake it until you make it, or
· Keeping up with the Jones's
The harsh reality is though that there are still people that believe that they have to fake it until they make it. Actually, as much as I hated the whole idea, we truly were living that lifestyle and weren't really aware of it. When we figured out the true meaning of Be Do Have, there was a huge transformation in our lives.
There are people that are driving around in automobiles that they cannot afford, wearing suits, jewelry, leather coats and perfumes that they just are not in the financial situation to own. These are people living in their dream homes, well before they have achieved their dream. Like we were, they are faking it until they make it and simply keeping up with the Jones's.
Now I am not on a soap box here about over extending or living beyond your means. I am simply saying that there is a major difference between faking it until you're making it and mastering the Be Do Have principle.
Mastering the Be Do Have principle is the key to mirroring successful people. There is a mindset to success, we all know that. The ultra successful people in our world and society have that mindset of success. Take some time to get associated with some successful and some ultra successful people. This is much easier than it sounds, you can get to know Donald Trump, Robert Kiyosaki and T Harv Eker, just to name a couple of relatively successful people through their books. I actually prefer them in audio format. When you can have a mindset of success that mirrors the mindset of people like these you will now how to Be Do and Have just like them.
Join some associations of successful people, either locally or online. The possibilities are limitless online. No matter how you do it, in order to materialize your goals you need to realize that Be Do Have is a mindset.
Be a big thinker, be success oriented, be willing to take the actions to achieve your goals. Do the things an ultra successful person does every day, follow their Daily Method of Operation. Be Just as organized as they are, just as dedicated as they are. Have the same thought process as they do and learn to make decisions quickly and effectively. Study them, their habits. Get to know successful people in all the areas you want to change. Once you are done, and you have become the person you want to be. When you have materialized your goals then remember to share your successes and your abundance. Never forget that abundance is for everybody.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
How to Control Luck and Materialize Your Goals
Ever wonder why some people seem to have all the luck and others just don't seem to have any luck at all? What is your thought on that? Is there a universal force that determines who gets the luck or do we as human beings determine it for ourselves? Maybe it is the human doers that get all the luck......
We used to wonder the same thing...
especially when we were struggling in life!
It seemed everyone had it easier or had more luck than me... People we worked with were having more success, getting the deal or moving ahead of me. We couldn't figure it out, it just didn't make any sense. We wondered how do we get control over our circumstances and results.
Then we realized something that changed our lives forever!
We began to study those folks, and especially ultra successful people. In talking with these people about their success, they all shared with us that they didn't believe luck had anything to do with their success. They said that their luck, as we knew it, was a result of a series of choices that they made.
Can you believe that? We thought they were all so lucky and they didn't even believe in luck!
Rather, each one of them said they made the decision to be successful and then they took the actions necessary to materialize their goals... that's what made them successful.
We thought...yeah, but you haven't experienced the adversities and challenges that we have!
But, many of them had. The stories of what they overcame to get where they are now were amazing! One good friend of ours is actually legally blind and he has been "lucky" enough to place in the top 10 of the Olympic games in tandem cycling, create one very successful traditional business and an ultra successful online business.
Actually...it was totally inspiring. Here are some choices they made…. And oddly enough they were all choices under their control…. They were mindset choices:
We used to wonder the same thing...
especially when we were struggling in life!
It seemed everyone had it easier or had more luck than me... People we worked with were having more success, getting the deal or moving ahead of me. We couldn't figure it out, it just didn't make any sense. We wondered how do we get control over our circumstances and results.
Then we realized something that changed our lives forever!
We began to study those folks, and especially ultra successful people. In talking with these people about their success, they all shared with us that they didn't believe luck had anything to do with their success. They said that their luck, as we knew it, was a result of a series of choices that they made.
Can you believe that? We thought they were all so lucky and they didn't even believe in luck!
Rather, each one of them said they made the decision to be successful and then they took the actions necessary to materialize their goals... that's what made them successful.
We thought...yeah, but you haven't experienced the adversities and challenges that we have!
But, many of them had. The stories of what they overcame to get where they are now were amazing! One good friend of ours is actually legally blind and he has been "lucky" enough to place in the top 10 of the Olympic games in tandem cycling, create one very successful traditional business and an ultra successful online business.
Actually...it was totally inspiring. Here are some choices they made…. And oddly enough they were all choices under their control…. They were mindset choices:
- Circumstances would not get in the way of success
- No obstacles are too great
- No amount of work is to much
- Nothing anyone else says would deter them
- They would ignore the False Evidence that Appeared Real and replace that with Focused Energy and Achieve Results
What they taught us was that successful goal setters and achievers choose success.
This was a huge wake up call for us. There would be no more complaining all the time about circumstances, jobs, bosses... we would no longer feel powerless, as though this was the hand that life had dealt us.
We realized that our lack of luck was an excuse that we were using to justify why we were not living the life we wanted. We were choosing the easy way out.
Choose to take responsibility for the results in your life... no more blaming everyone and everything else. It is time to choose to be lucky!
Donald Trump talks of a great golfer that said:
The harder I work, the luckier I get
We are so thankful and grateful that we made the change in our life, because, quite frankly, we were tired of waiting for luck to work out for us.
And, life is a lot easier now than it used to be...that's for sure!
Once we got that we could create our own luck our lives totally turned around! We attracted a great business and mentors and now live a life we are excited about and have become the leaders and mentors we have always envisioned ourselves to be.
And....the best part? Anyone can create their own luck. we are living proof!
Monday, January 28, 2008
Goal setting needs a plan, a roadmap to success
If you have been following the articles on the blog you will notice that there is a theme here. The theme is one of having the proper mindset to materialize your goals. We will soon get into how to write them properly using the S.M.A.R.T. goal setting principles but at first it is imperative that we have a "roadmap to success". Knowing what, when and why we have a burning desire for something are the most important ingredients in goal setting. Combine what you want, when and why you want it, with affirmation and visualization tools and your goal will materialize the way you want it to. Leave out any of the necessary ingredients, and you should be careful what you wish for because you just may get it.
Now if you are wondering why it is so important to have a "roadmap" for setting and materializing your goals, check out this true story about a goal being set, without reference to the why, the when or what life will be like once it is achieved. This is a goal that was achieved just because the burning desire was so great. Unfortunately it materialized without a plan. This is a true story and should help you in realizing just how important it is to accomplish this goal setting process properly.
"July 2005, we returned from a family vacation and I will never forget how I felt coming back and dreading, I mean really dreading going back to work. At the time I was General managing an automotive franchise store and it was pretty successful. This vacation was the first one that we had taken in a very long time, unless of course you count the ones we spent in a tent or borrowed trailer from time to time.
Now that I look back upon those times it is actually very funny. You see we live in a rural community and my car dealership was pretty well in the center of the City. What is funny though is the times we spent camping in the tent or borrowed trailer were in a campground within the city limits. We actually came into town to go camping.
You are probably asking yourself why we did this and the reason is very simple. I still had to work. Yup, I would leave my family at the campground on Friday and Saturday, while I went to work. I actually brought my suits, shirts and ties with me, camping. I remember thinking at the time that it would not take me as long to get to work those days and as a result I could justify it. I am actually laughing as I write this, thinking back to the times when upon return to the campsite I would start chopping wood for a campfire in my shirt, tie and dress shoes.
So it was upon return from that family vacation in July of 2005 that I said to myself, and my beautiful wife, that's it I am going to get out of this Job and especially this industry. I told myself that every day and meant it as a goal. I put little thought into why I wanted out, as that appeared obvious to me and I set no plan in action. I didn't consider what I was grateful for in the job I had, I didn't think about what it would be like when I was out of it and I didn't even care what I would do instead: I just wanted out.
It only took 2 months or so for that goal to materialize for me which tells you just how effective a burning desire can really be. I got out of that job on September 30, 2005. The problem was though that I got out of it as a result of a massive heart attack at the age of 45. September 30, 2005 I was admitted to the hospital and October 11, 2005 I had a quadruple bypass and came back home on October 16, 2005.
All I could think as we went through the diagnosis, the realization, the surgery and the short recovery period in the hospital was how grateful I was, all of a sudden, for the company I worked for. I reassured myself and my wife that I had not given the notice I had written and that everything was going to be ok. I never thought for an instant that after 8 ½ years of dedicated service to that organization they would let me go after a heart attack.
When I got home from the hospital, made my way to the couch in my living room, I picked up the phone and called my employer. I told him that he didn't have to worry. I would be able to run the store from home if he set up someone to work with me, be my eyes and ears. I meant it too, I really believed that it would only be 5 or 6 weeks and I would be able to be back working the 10 – 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
Then, in the blink of an eye, my goal materialized. I was informed over the phone on a Sunday afternoon, just after open heart surgery that I had been replaced and there was no position for me with the company that I had dedicated my last 8 ½ years to. I had no plan, no roadmap to direct me after my goal had materialized".
Today we are so thankful and grateful that we discovered, and became students of personal development. By putting focused energy into our future, and our goals we have learned how to put the personal back into personal development and materialize our goals.
Now if you are wondering why it is so important to have a "roadmap" for setting and materializing your goals, check out this true story about a goal being set, without reference to the why, the when or what life will be like once it is achieved. This is a goal that was achieved just because the burning desire was so great. Unfortunately it materialized without a plan. This is a true story and should help you in realizing just how important it is to accomplish this goal setting process properly.
"July 2005, we returned from a family vacation and I will never forget how I felt coming back and dreading, I mean really dreading going back to work. At the time I was General managing an automotive franchise store and it was pretty successful. This vacation was the first one that we had taken in a very long time, unless of course you count the ones we spent in a tent or borrowed trailer from time to time.
Now that I look back upon those times it is actually very funny. You see we live in a rural community and my car dealership was pretty well in the center of the City. What is funny though is the times we spent camping in the tent or borrowed trailer were in a campground within the city limits. We actually came into town to go camping.
You are probably asking yourself why we did this and the reason is very simple. I still had to work. Yup, I would leave my family at the campground on Friday and Saturday, while I went to work. I actually brought my suits, shirts and ties with me, camping. I remember thinking at the time that it would not take me as long to get to work those days and as a result I could justify it. I am actually laughing as I write this, thinking back to the times when upon return to the campsite I would start chopping wood for a campfire in my shirt, tie and dress shoes.
So it was upon return from that family vacation in July of 2005 that I said to myself, and my beautiful wife, that's it I am going to get out of this Job and especially this industry. I told myself that every day and meant it as a goal. I put little thought into why I wanted out, as that appeared obvious to me and I set no plan in action. I didn't consider what I was grateful for in the job I had, I didn't think about what it would be like when I was out of it and I didn't even care what I would do instead: I just wanted out.
It only took 2 months or so for that goal to materialize for me which tells you just how effective a burning desire can really be. I got out of that job on September 30, 2005. The problem was though that I got out of it as a result of a massive heart attack at the age of 45. September 30, 2005 I was admitted to the hospital and October 11, 2005 I had a quadruple bypass and came back home on October 16, 2005.
All I could think as we went through the diagnosis, the realization, the surgery and the short recovery period in the hospital was how grateful I was, all of a sudden, for the company I worked for. I reassured myself and my wife that I had not given the notice I had written and that everything was going to be ok. I never thought for an instant that after 8 ½ years of dedicated service to that organization they would let me go after a heart attack.
When I got home from the hospital, made my way to the couch in my living room, I picked up the phone and called my employer. I told him that he didn't have to worry. I would be able to run the store from home if he set up someone to work with me, be my eyes and ears. I meant it too, I really believed that it would only be 5 or 6 weeks and I would be able to be back working the 10 – 12 hours a day 6 days a week.
Then, in the blink of an eye, my goal materialized. I was informed over the phone on a Sunday afternoon, just after open heart surgery that I had been replaced and there was no position for me with the company that I had dedicated my last 8 ½ years to. I had no plan, no roadmap to direct me after my goal had materialized".
Today we are so thankful and grateful that we discovered, and became students of personal development. By putting focused energy into our future, and our goals we have learned how to put the personal back into personal development and materialize our goals.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Obstacles and Failures -- nothing more than educational opportunities: if you know your why!
Let's face it. Sometimes we set goals and forget about them after a few days, or a few weeks, sometimes a little longer. Why is that? Simply, if you forget about your goals, they're not important enough! This is why it's imperative that we really, really want what we say we want - that's called "a strong desire".
We like to call it a Burning Desire. Ours are like the Olympic flame: never extinguished!
Why do you want to earn $200,000 per year? What will you do with that brand new car? Who will you go on that tropical vacation with? What does that dream house look like? Who is attending that house warming party when you move into the Dream House? Who is that special significant other you're spending your life with? When we're clear on WHAT we want, and WHY we want it, we have a much higher opportunity to materialize our goals.
Here's an example: You've set a significant goal to start your own business, you've established that you want this so that you can have time and money freedom. You go to the bank to get a new-business start up loan and you're denied. Now you tell yourself, "This just isn't meant to be for me" and you quit - before you even start.
Here's that example combined with a Burning Desire: You've set that same significant goal to start your own business. You've established that you want this so that you can spend more time with your kids, be the kind of husband or wife that you know you are, be happy, create a loving and empowering environment for your kids to grow up in, be recognized in your community as a leader, experience memorable vacations with your family and friends, give back in an impactful way and live your life's purpose. You know that in return for this goal you will give back to everybody in your world and then some, you know it is the right thing to do and you have faith that it will work.
You go to the bank to get a new-business start up loan and you're denied. Now you tell yourself:
Next! There is way and I'll make this happen!
You see, the first scenario we had a 50% "why" and a 70% obstacle. In the second scenario we had a 100% why and a 70% obstacle. When we're really, really clear on WHY we want something, we're able to move through the obstacles in our path. These obstacles are just growing experiences and are nothing but educational to prepare us for who we are to become. Think about that - obstacles prepare us for who we are becoming. That in itself is pretty exciting don't you think?!
Revisit your why - if it isn't strong enough, you don't really want it after all. Go back and decide what you REALLY want. Then you'll create magic!
We like to call it a Burning Desire. Ours are like the Olympic flame: never extinguished!
Why do you want to earn $200,000 per year? What will you do with that brand new car? Who will you go on that tropical vacation with? What does that dream house look like? Who is attending that house warming party when you move into the Dream House? Who is that special significant other you're spending your life with? When we're clear on WHAT we want, and WHY we want it, we have a much higher opportunity to materialize our goals.
Here's an example: You've set a significant goal to start your own business, you've established that you want this so that you can have time and money freedom. You go to the bank to get a new-business start up loan and you're denied. Now you tell yourself, "This just isn't meant to be for me" and you quit - before you even start.
Here's that example combined with a Burning Desire: You've set that same significant goal to start your own business. You've established that you want this so that you can spend more time with your kids, be the kind of husband or wife that you know you are, be happy, create a loving and empowering environment for your kids to grow up in, be recognized in your community as a leader, experience memorable vacations with your family and friends, give back in an impactful way and live your life's purpose. You know that in return for this goal you will give back to everybody in your world and then some, you know it is the right thing to do and you have faith that it will work.
You go to the bank to get a new-business start up loan and you're denied. Now you tell yourself:
Next! There is way and I'll make this happen!
You see, the first scenario we had a 50% "why" and a 70% obstacle. In the second scenario we had a 100% why and a 70% obstacle. When we're really, really clear on WHY we want something, we're able to move through the obstacles in our path. These obstacles are just growing experiences and are nothing but educational to prepare us for who we are to become. Think about that - obstacles prepare us for who we are becoming. That in itself is pretty exciting don't you think?!
Revisit your why - if it isn't strong enough, you don't really want it after all. Go back and decide what you REALLY want. Then you'll create magic!
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Surviving your circle of influence....
How to survive your Circle Of Influence, or worse yet your family….
Well here you are, developing your list of things that you ARE going to achieve, goals that you are going to materialize so that you can ease that burning desire, and finally live that life that you know you deserve! You have been studying yourself and really opening up your mind to all the opportunities and possibilities: isn't it exciting? You know it is.
It is great that you finally have a belief in yourself, that you know you can earn twice the money you are now and you know that finally you can buy your dream home and find that perfect partner. You have developed your new mindset to have faith instead of just hoping. Hope is just a wish list, while faith is true belief.
Wait a minute though; as you are talking about your goals and aspirations, people that you deal with, even live with every day are saying:
1. You can't do that, what are you thinking
2. Money is the root of all evil
3. Rich people are bad
4. You will never find the perfect person, you should settle for someone good and nice
5. You don't deserve to be any happier than the rest of us
And on and on it goes - and you know what - will continue to go.
It is important to realize that the people around you have no problem with you achieving or being successful. They really don’t. The reality is though, unless they are like-minded to you when it comes to big thinking, goal setting and materializing your goals, they will never want you to be more successful than them. It is just a fact. Think about it - when you see one of your friends or a family member become really "lucky" or achieve a milestone, are you truly happy for them or do you say, man that is great for them but what about me?
Should you be fortunate enough to have positive minded people in your circle of influence, take notice of their reaction when someone gets promoted or achieves a milestone. Their first reaction will be one of elation for the person, and gratitude for knowing someone that has attracted such good fortune into their lives. Proof of abundance will abound for them. Here are some tips for becoming the person that knows and believes that abundance in all aspects of life is for, and is readily available, to everybody:
1. Keep a gratitude log; every time something happens that is positive in your life, write it down
2. Affirm and visualize your goals consistently
3. Write your goals out in story form to help you in your visualizations
4. Associate with like minded people. Join a law of Attraction group or have a get together to watch your new favorite movie, The Secret
5. Most importantly, when dealing with your circle of influence is (drum roll please)… be influential, not influenced: How great would it be to watch your friends and family become ultra successful and jump on this journey with you.
Remember that if your life is on autopilot, it will not take long for your sub-conscious mind to steer you right back on the course you were on. Take the reigns folks, control your outcomes, and create your own destiny.
Well here you are, developing your list of things that you ARE going to achieve, goals that you are going to materialize so that you can ease that burning desire, and finally live that life that you know you deserve! You have been studying yourself and really opening up your mind to all the opportunities and possibilities: isn't it exciting? You know it is.
It is great that you finally have a belief in yourself, that you know you can earn twice the money you are now and you know that finally you can buy your dream home and find that perfect partner. You have developed your new mindset to have faith instead of just hoping. Hope is just a wish list, while faith is true belief.
Wait a minute though; as you are talking about your goals and aspirations, people that you deal with, even live with every day are saying:
1. You can't do that, what are you thinking
2. Money is the root of all evil
3. Rich people are bad
4. You will never find the perfect person, you should settle for someone good and nice
5. You don't deserve to be any happier than the rest of us
And on and on it goes - and you know what - will continue to go.
It is important to realize that the people around you have no problem with you achieving or being successful. They really don’t. The reality is though, unless they are like-minded to you when it comes to big thinking, goal setting and materializing your goals, they will never want you to be more successful than them. It is just a fact. Think about it - when you see one of your friends or a family member become really "lucky" or achieve a milestone, are you truly happy for them or do you say, man that is great for them but what about me?
Should you be fortunate enough to have positive minded people in your circle of influence, take notice of their reaction when someone gets promoted or achieves a milestone. Their first reaction will be one of elation for the person, and gratitude for knowing someone that has attracted such good fortune into their lives. Proof of abundance will abound for them. Here are some tips for becoming the person that knows and believes that abundance in all aspects of life is for, and is readily available, to everybody:
1. Keep a gratitude log; every time something happens that is positive in your life, write it down
2. Affirm and visualize your goals consistently
3. Write your goals out in story form to help you in your visualizations
4. Associate with like minded people. Join a law of Attraction group or have a get together to watch your new favorite movie, The Secret
5. Most importantly, when dealing with your circle of influence is (drum roll please)… be influential, not influenced: How great would it be to watch your friends and family become ultra successful and jump on this journey with you.
Remember that if your life is on autopilot, it will not take long for your sub-conscious mind to steer you right back on the course you were on. Take the reigns folks, control your outcomes, and create your own destiny.
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
How to approach your goals on a Daily Basis
So now you have your GOAL - that is, Great Opportunity to Achieve Lifestyle - the lifestyle you want! You've determined that you want to create something in your life that you currently don't have. Chances are, that's going to mean learning a new skill and developing a new mindset, and creating a new habit. One of those habits is making your written goal your new best friend. You wouldn't ignore your new friend and you won't ignore your newly set goal. Here is your chance to apply your new definition of fear: Focused Energy Achieves Results.
Is your goal written and absolutely defined? By defined, we mean an absolute that is broken down to the ridiculous. If your goal is financial, do you have a number in your goal? If your goal is a new relationship, have you defined the partner that you want to attract? Can you imagine the feelings you will have as you relate to him or her? Have you written your goal in SMART fashion (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely)? If not, take some time now to re-visit the vision of your goal. What specifically do you want? In what quantity? Does your goal seem achievable - somewhat challenging but still achievable? Is it realistic - if you're earning $40,000 per year, a goal of $1 million this next year may be unrealistic, or maybe not: it all depends on the feelings you have as your read, visualize and reach for your goal. When do you want to achieve this goal - by what date? Keep in mind you don't have to know HOW you'll achieve your goal, just WHAT you want. The "how" will show up - the desire is more important at this point. (You'll hear more about SMART goal setting in the near future.) Know that as you maintain your process with us, you will probably be re-writing your goals often.
One of the best ways to ensure that you're always moving towards your goal is to review your goal every day. Ideally, this is first thing every morning and last thing every night. What this essentially does is put your goal in the forefront of your mind for the day, and allows your subconscious mind to work on it overnight. You'll find that you wake up with inspired ideas, urges to follow some course of action and a renewed energy to see the end result. This doesn’t mean that just by reviewing your goals that you'll achieve them - you'll take consistent action to get there. There will be mornings when you awake that you are feeling really good about your goals. Be sure and journal about your dreams and thoughts through the night. Many successful goal achievers actually keep a journal by their bedside so they can write about their ideas in their dreams. Reviewing goals keeps your mind focused on what you want and keeps you moving past the obstacles that will appear in your path.
With repetition, not only will you build confidence in yourself but you'll see proof that you can succeed in what you set your mind and heart to. You're creating a pattern of success!
Is your goal written and absolutely defined? By defined, we mean an absolute that is broken down to the ridiculous. If your goal is financial, do you have a number in your goal? If your goal is a new relationship, have you defined the partner that you want to attract? Can you imagine the feelings you will have as you relate to him or her? Have you written your goal in SMART fashion (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely)? If not, take some time now to re-visit the vision of your goal. What specifically do you want? In what quantity? Does your goal seem achievable - somewhat challenging but still achievable? Is it realistic - if you're earning $40,000 per year, a goal of $1 million this next year may be unrealistic, or maybe not: it all depends on the feelings you have as your read, visualize and reach for your goal. When do you want to achieve this goal - by what date? Keep in mind you don't have to know HOW you'll achieve your goal, just WHAT you want. The "how" will show up - the desire is more important at this point. (You'll hear more about SMART goal setting in the near future.) Know that as you maintain your process with us, you will probably be re-writing your goals often.
One of the best ways to ensure that you're always moving towards your goal is to review your goal every day. Ideally, this is first thing every morning and last thing every night. What this essentially does is put your goal in the forefront of your mind for the day, and allows your subconscious mind to work on it overnight. You'll find that you wake up with inspired ideas, urges to follow some course of action and a renewed energy to see the end result. This doesn’t mean that just by reviewing your goals that you'll achieve them - you'll take consistent action to get there. There will be mornings when you awake that you are feeling really good about your goals. Be sure and journal about your dreams and thoughts through the night. Many successful goal achievers actually keep a journal by their bedside so they can write about their ideas in their dreams. Reviewing goals keeps your mind focused on what you want and keeps you moving past the obstacles that will appear in your path.
With repetition, not only will you build confidence in yourself but you'll see proof that you can succeed in what you set your mind and heart to. You're creating a pattern of success!
Friday, January 11, 2008
Defining your goals is the first step
Defining Your Goals
Have you ever sat if front of your computer, brought up the mapquest site to get your directions to the airport, or some restaurant only to realize that you don't know the address – you just know it as the airport or as the restaurant. So now before you can get your directions and your printout of the map that you need – it is time to do some research. You need to know the address to give to mapquest.
The process of materializing your goals is not all that different – you need to know where you want to go before you can "plan the trip". Accomplishing a goal, no matter how big or how small is simply the process of identifying what it is that you want, putting together an action plan (or map) and then implementing the actions required to put it all together.
So after you are finished reading this – take a moment and write down, first of all some areas of your life where you want to make some real changes.
Have you ever sat if front of your computer, brought up the mapquest site to get your directions to the airport, or some restaurant only to realize that you don't know the address – you just know it as the airport or as the restaurant. So now before you can get your directions and your printout of the map that you need – it is time to do some research. You need to know the address to give to mapquest.
The process of materializing your goals is not all that different – you need to know where you want to go before you can "plan the trip". Accomplishing a goal, no matter how big or how small is simply the process of identifying what it is that you want, putting together an action plan (or map) and then implementing the actions required to put it all together.
So after you are finished reading this – take a moment and write down, first of all some areas of your life where you want to make some real changes.
- Financial
- Prosperity (not the same as financial)
- Relationships
- Career and/or Business
- Free time
- Family
Once you know the areas of you life that are affecting your ability to live the way you have the burning desire for – you can narrow things down. You are now able to set a goal – or goals for each area. Spend some time thinking about the areas of your life you want to expand and the next time we will talk about Fear and why people start on the road to success but either stop enroute or get so side tracked that they loose their way.
Feel free to subscribe to the blog so that you can get the articles in your inbox as they are published. The process of discovering your goals can be a lot of fun – we appreciate being able to be a small part of that with you. If you choose to keep us up to date with email or comments – that would be appreciated as well.
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