Simple Steps to Handle Worry Situations

"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident." (Psalm 27: 1, 3)

Why have we become so worrisome? Is it our distance from our Creator? I can see it in the eyes of people as they walk around the streets, malls, and grocery stores. They are infested by the "worry bug". This worry bug does not allow them to properly think nor function. Worries fill their heads with negative thoughts which leads them to stress. Children are naturally stress free, until we damage them. Maybe we can learn from them to live today. To live one day at a time. We need to learn to live stress free, taking one day at a time; one task at a time.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
- Matthew 6:34

Here are three simple steps that will help you handle worry situations:

1. Analyze the situation fearlessly and honestly and figure out what is the worst that could happen as a result of this failure. This is the first step and the most important; it will help you put the situation into perspective. You must stop wasting time in trying to play all of the "what ifs" and "theories of doom" in your head. You must take a deep breath and think calmly about the situation.

2. Reconcile yourself to accept the consequences. After you have analyzed the situation and determine the reality of the situation, then accept responsibility for your actions.

3. Calmly devote your time and energy to trying to improve upon the worst which you have already accepted mentally.

One of the biggest challenges in trying to resolve worry situations is that worrying destroys your ability to concentrate. I have seen how people invest time and energy in the worries which would drain them and defocus them from their goals. Trying to resolve difficult situations while you are worried is futile. When we worry we lose the power to concentrate; the power of decision. The solution to worries is the acceptance of what has happened. This will provide us the true peace of mind we need to face and overcome the consequences of any misfortune.

"Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand"
- Thomas Carlyle

Many business owners in their search for "business success" fill their lives with worries. Many of them believe that the unnecessary worries are "part of the trade". This is complete false. Business success does not have to come with worries. Worries are cause by fear. Fear of loss, fear that we wont be accepted, etc. Fear is what causes worries. We destroy our bodies and minds with anxiety, frustrations. hatred, resentment, rebellion and fear.

I share with you Psalm 27:1,3 (see at the top) that I like to repeat in difficult moments. Making decisions while we are worried will generally cause the wrong decision. The best option is to stop and relax. If you believe in the power of prayer, like I do, then pray. Seek a moment and place where you can relax, meditate and calm down. After this process, follow the steps above and see the difference.

Are Your Beliefs, Helping or Hurting You?

"Within you right now is the power to do things you never dreamed possible. This power becomes available to you just as you can change your beliefs." - Maxwell Maltz

Your set of beliefs about life is the most important step in your process of being truly wealthy and living an abundant life. How and what you think have everything to do with your life right now. Your values, what we think is right or wrong, determine what you consider a priority and how you choose to manage your time and your God given resources. You are free to your thoughts and to decide in what you center your energy and thoughts. However, you also have the responsibility to choose what to believe as truth. We are constantly bombarded with all kinds of stimuli that affect our beliefs.

When you are truly wealthy you focus on positive thoughts. You feel positive feelings, you take positive action, and you enjoy life and all it has to offer. You laugh, you cry, you experience fully in each moment and you are grateful for each moment of your life. Yes the bad and the good. It's part of the experience of life and by not fully experiencing your feelings you are not allowing yourself to fully express and feel in each moment. You are in fact missing out on the greater experience of life.

During these difficult times we all must remember to pray expectantly. God is good and does answer our prayers. We must remember that the answer to our prayers may not look exactly the way we envisioned it. God knows best, what is good for us. Finally, I’m reminded to pray expectantly for God to work miracles because “I can do everything God asks me to do with the help of Christ who gives me the strength and power. ~ (Phil. 4:13). Stay focused on God’s road by daily praying for our Creator to order your day, make it clear what HE wants you to do and do that. Then let God do His part and stop trying to take the steering wheel from Him who knows best and is trying to help you.

If you are a Christian, regardless of the denomination, I invite to pour your souls in thanksgiving to God for all of the blessings we have been given. If you are not a Christian, I invite you to do the same. To be grateful for what you have and focus on the positive. I am not here to profess "prosperity gospel". For me being and living a Christian life has provided me a more complete life, fuller, richer and more satisfying life. It has banished my negative thoughts, anxiety, worries and fears. My thinking is more clear and positive which has allowed me to seek better solutions in the midst of these difficult times we are all going through. Think about it, do you think right now me telling you how bad you have it would help you in any way?. Would me bringing to your attention (like you didn't know it already) how bad the economy is, will contribute in any way to the betterment of your or my life.

"Don't spend your precious time asking "Why isn't the world a better place?" It will only be time wasted. The question to ask is "How can I make it better?" To that there is an answer. " ~ Leo Buscaglia

Sometimes we think that action seems to follow feeling, but in reality action and feeling go together. By regulating the action, which is under more direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling, which is not. In other words, we cannot instantly change our emotions just by making up our minds to; but we can change our actions. And when we change our actions, we will automatically change our feelings. Therefore, if we have lost the peace that joy brings to our spirit, we ought to get up joyfully, act and speak as if joy is already here.

If you do not believe me, try it. Put a big smile on your face, walk big, take a good breath and sing/hum/whistle a song; you will see the effect. The reason it works is that it is humanly impossible to remain sad/depressed while at the same time you are acting joyfully.

"A man is not hurt so much by what happens, as by his opinions of what happens" - Montaigne

Be constructive, responsible, creative, helpful, relaxed, calm, grateful, loving, joyful, and playful. It may be difficult to hold positive thoughts when we are faced with difficult situations, but the key is remembering this too will pass. Let it go, and move on!

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." - Philippians 4:8 ESV

I am not talking about being careless or unrealistic about your surroundings. However, what good will it do to dwell over spilt milk? It happened, it is passed, you cannot go back and change it. Resolve to learn from the past mistakes and to avoid those past mistakes again. Can you imagine if we invest 50% of the time we waste complaining about how bad things are in looking for solutions? Can you imagine the new developments and solutions we would develop?

“A positive thinker does not refuse to recognize the negative, he refuses to dwell on it. Positive thinking is a form of thought which habitually looks for the best results from the worst conditions. It is possible to look for something to build on; it is possible to expect the best for yourself even when things look bad. And the remarkable fact is that when you seek good you are very likely to find it.” - Norman Vincent Peale

Being Grateful For The Things We Have

Our daily lives are filled with challenges. So oftentimes we forget the simplest teachings from the Bible. One the scriptures that has made a tremendous impact in my life is when the disciple Peter walks on the water by faith, until he took his eyes off Jesus, looking at the storm's tempest instead. With the many challenges we encounter in our lives, the media telling us daily how bad things are, family and friends around you bringing negative thoughts and energy into your lives, so often we take our eyes off the Lord, because of troublesome co-workers, marital difficulties, rude people, unfair situations, life's problems, et cetera. The lesson from the scripture is very simple--keep your eyes on the Lord and you won't sink!

Many times to achieve the goals in our lives, we must move away from those "energy suckers", pessimists, naysayers and negative minded friends, family, partners and co-workers. We need to learn to love them from far away to be able to accomplish our God given talents. These kind of people do not contribute anything positive in our lives, love them but keep a distance so you can progress in your mission. Keep in your "inner-circle" those who are a positive influence in your life and help you achieve your goals. Even Jesus at times would bring only some of the disciples to go with him and be part the process of accomplishing his goals. In the gospel of Mark for example we are presented with the event when Jesus heals Jairus' daughter (Mark 5:35-43), he appointed Peter, James and John to go with him to heal this girl who was presumed dead. Jesus loved all of his apostles, but he surrounded himself with the right people to be witnesses of this moment and enjoy Jesus' full intimacy.

The solution to difficult times is to create a habit of looking on the positive side of everything. You and I should be ashamed of ourselves. All the days of our years we have been living in a fairyland of beauty, but we have been too blind to see and appreciate it. Instead of setting your eyes on the difficulties, focus on positive thoughts and solutions, avoid those that all they have to say are the reasons why you cannot do it or you will fail, surround yourself with the inner circle that will help you in locating the solutions to overcome the challenge. Finally, there is a famous inscription found in the Cromwellian Churches of England "Think and Thank". Think of all we have to be grateful for and thank God for all our bounties. We seldom think of what we have but always of what we don't have. The tendency to seldom think of what we have and always of what we lack is the greatest tragedy on this earth. It has caused more misery than all the wars and diseases in history. Count your blessings, not your troubles!

Accomplish Your Goals

Have you ever wondered why some people make dramatic changes in their family, community, and/or business by their achievements? Why some people never take off, they never get passed the dreaming stage?

I think all of us have the ability to have great ideas, to have big dreams. However, many of us fall victim to fear or lack of confidence which freezes us in the accomplishments of our dreams. The purpose of this posting is to motivate you to take action and not to let your goals fall by the wayside. However, many people struggle in the passing from the dreaming stage into the action or implementation stage.

Here I share with you six steps for the effective implementation of your goals:

1. Desire – You must deeply desire the goal. As Napoleon Hill stated in his book “Think and Grow Rich” “The starting point of all achievement is desire”. Therefore, the first step in goal setting and achieving your dreams is to have, what Napoleon Hill describes, “burning desire” to achieve the goal.
2. Visualize – Lee Iacocca said “The greatest discovery of my generation is that human beings can alter their lives by altering their attitudes of mind”. Visualize yourself achieving the goal. Visualize yourself successfully completing the negotiation, giving the speech, landing the perfect jump, etc. The power of this step is in your ability to make a clear representation of your goals. The more detail you have in the representation the better. The better you can experience being in the desired situation, the more power the representation gets. As Stephen Covey says “You begin with the end in mind”
3. Commit – Make a plan for the path you must follow to accomplish your goal. Develop a work plan with target milestones, dates, and important steps that must happen for the goal to become a reality. Write down the plan, the action steps and the critical path. When you write down your goals, the plan, the steps and timeline you transmute your ideas/dreams from the something metaphysical into physical.
4. Take Action – Now that your dreams have been converted into a written plan, you must take action. As Anthony Robbins has been quoted “A real decision is measured by the fact that you've taken a new action. If there's no action, you haven't truly decided.” Here is where many of us fail to convert our dreams into reality, we do not take ACTION.
5. Perseverance – Perseverance is defined as “steady persistence in a course of action or purpose in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragements”. Just the fact that you have an idea, have the burning desire to achieve the goal, you visualize it, you commit to a plan of action, you have taken action, guarantees that your idea will become true. Sometimes you will face difficulties, opposition, naysayers, pessimists that all they want is to destroy your dreams. You must persevere. For example, when Walt Disney had the dream of building Disneyland on a orange grove field, he didn’t have money, over 200 banks turned him down, once the project started it was plagued by problems, the press constantly criticized the project until it opened, Mr. Disney faced daily challenges, opposition, naysayers. He didn’t give up and persevered on his dream.
6. Review - No matter how positively you are thinking, you need to assess your progress. Take a look at all of the factors that are keeping you from accomplishing your goal and develop a plan to overcome them. Make sure you are making progress. If you are not making progress, hire a coach, tap into the support of loved ones, analyze why the goal is not being met. Don’t allow the goal to just fade away. Figure out what you need to do to accomplish it.
You have to have the passion for your dream or it will never come true. Life is now, so do it now. When your goal seems overwhelming, break it down into smaller steps. Avoid negative people. Stay clear of the energy-sucking vampires that are around. Don’t let people flood your environment with negative karma/energy. Just keep working on your goals, following your dreams, a little every day, and before you know it your dreams will be reality!

Dreams the Beginning of Reality

"If the why is strong enough, the how becomes easy." - Jim Rohn

What do you want from life? Do you know, or do you just drift from day to day without any particular aims or sense of direction? It might even be that you feel defeated, or stuck in a rut from which there seems to be no escape. This is a sad turn of events in our life. Instead of experiencing exciting adventures in self actualization, we get caught up in the routine of living from day-to-day just barely existing.

We have allowed the current financial situation in the world stop us from dreaming and in many cases destroy them. As far as I can tell, the current climate is ideal for entrepreneurs. The time to launch businesses and to invest in the real estate market is now. To launch your business and be successful, you must have a vision, a viable product or service to sell, a global outlook and a smart experienced team.The beginning of your success is in your vision, your dream.

It has been said that dreams are the seedlings of reality. Everyone, at some point of his or her life, has dreamed of being somebody special, somebody big, achieve great things. Often, we dream big dreams and have great aspirations. Unfortunately, many times our dreams remain just that – dreams. And our aspirations easily collect dust in our attic.

I know, right now seems impossible to think positive and think big. There lies the problem. The word “impossible”. One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the familiarity with the word impossible. Most people get hung up thinking I can't do this. It's too hard. It's too impossible. No one can do this.

Now think about this, if everyone thought that way, there would be no inventions, no innovations, and no breakthroughs in human accomplishment. If you limit yourself with self-doubt, and self-limiting assumptions, you will never be able to break past what you deem impossible. Have you heard of Dr. Robert Schuler? He dreamt of a Crystal Cathedral in Santa Ana, California, which is an earthquake area. In the 80's he invited a famous architect to plan the Cathedral for him. The architect was skeptical that such a large glass structure could be built there and if possible, would cost a fortune. "Do you have that type of money?" he asked Dr. Schuler. "No" was the answer. "Well, then it's absolutely impossible!" the architect retorted. Dr. Schuler showed him his dictionary. The word impossible was cut out, as it was in all his literature. For him, impossible did not exist and a few years later the Crystal Cathedral was built and today his "Hour of Power" is broadcast to the world every Sunday. Can you imagine if he would have listened to the architect and would have given up on his dream?

What he did, you can do! Be outrageous! Think big!

Here is a poem I came across recently, written by Marianne Williamson and used by Nelson Mandela in his inauguration speech in 1994...

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light not our darkness, that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be!
Our playing small does not save the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking,
so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
You are born to make manifest to the glory of God that is within us;
it is not just in some of us; it is in everyone.
And as we let our own light shine,
we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.
As we are liberated from our own fears,
our presence automatically liberates others."

Thomas Edison once said that genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. Nothing could be truer. For one to accomplish his or her dreams, there has to be hard work and discipline. But take note that 1% has to be a think-big dream, and not some easily accomplished one.

Dr. Schuler, Edison, Mandela, and thousands of other extremely successful people all have these 3 things in common:

1. They knew exactly what they wanted and started with the end result in mind.
2. BELIEF - People who do the impossible believe they can do it and eventually do!
3. They act in spite of their fears; in spite of their doubts and in spite of what their family and friends might tell them.

Much of what we hope for in life starts out as a dream, whether it is a wonderful family home with a large garden, a successful and stimulating career, or a trip around the world. It is important to have a dream. Through our dreams we can visualize what we want in life. We can turn that visualization into a plan and start taking steps that will take us closer to our dream. Visualizing is also essential, allowing us to see how things could be, see what we really want and then begin the process of making it a reality. If you can dream, visualize and plan it then you can bring it into your life.

So dream on, my friend! Don’t get caught up with your perceived limitations. Be like Dr. Robert Schuler and think big and work hard to attain those dreams and remove the word “impossible” from your life. As you step up the ladder of progress, you will just about find out that the impossible has just become a little bit more possible.Stay tuned, next week we will share simple steps to accomplish your dreams.

As the thought, so the mind.

In order to fulfill your set goals and your dreams, it is necessary to practice thought patterns geared toward wealth building and success. The habitual inclination of our thought patterns is ultimately the deciding factor, which determines our abilities, talents and our personal characteristics. Based on this critical and vital piece of knowledge, one assumes that those lucky few have been born with the special talent you lack and fervently desire to have.

To a large extent this is true, but it has to be said that no one is born a millionaire. The valuable information lies in the art of cultivating the pattern that brings success. We are what we think we are. Like Napoleon Hill would say, “Your Thoughts create the environment”.

Thoughts constitute the mind, and mind constitutes the content of our being. As the thought, so the mind and as the mind, so the man. Thought is another name for fate. We are what we are because of what has gone into our mind.

• Thoughts develop personality
• Thoughts promote health
• Thoughts influence the body
• Thoughts can change and shape the future (destiny)
• Thoughts bring forth creation
• Thoughts influence the physiology and psychology of people
• Thoughts can bring success
• Thoughts can even heal the body

You can accomplish anything through the power of thought. Visualization uses your imagination to allow yourself to ‘picture’ your success or achieving your earnest goal. Your mental thoughts or vibrations are incredibly powerful, because the mind has a tangible connection with your thoughts and your actions. Your thoughts are subtle energies and have a strong connection to our consciousness.

What we will be will depend on what continues to go into our mind. Our destiny is shaped by our character; our character is shaped by our habits; our habits are shaped by our actions. But what shape our actions are our thoughts. If we shape our thoughts, we will shape our destiny. Your thoughts create your reality.

Formula to Success

What you think and how you then act is the deciding factor that will help you discover the goal of success. These two attributes are important together with a set of consistent principles, which you follow through. Thoughts based on reason are a powerful catalyst to start any reaction, and once you set off, you will soon realize that courage is the simple virtue needed for a human being to traverse the rocky road.

Obstacles are natural, and they are a means to the source of acquiring wealth, as I am sure you will agree. Persistence, patience and perseverance will have to be practiced religiously to reach the goal and to overcome the obstacles.

Do not procrastinate, do not pretend that you know it all and finally do not prolong your ‘venture(s)’. Be prepared to fight the stumbling blocks that may confront you, but pursue your goal and allow your potential willpower to predominate.

In any situation in life, it is unequivocally important to remain level headed, despite all the ‘ups and the downs’ that we are likely to face. Remember life is dualistic by nature – the obverse and the reverse sides of the same coin to put it simply. I am compelled to add that though we know that the past is the cause and the present is the effect, it is self evident that with time the present itself becomes the cause with reference to the future.

The following guidelines will help you pave a wonderful path to your ultimate success.

The steps are very simple to implement in your daily life.

1. Do what you love and what you are good at.

2. Be prepared to learn and to be positive (motivation and enthusiasm).

3. Be an innovative individual.

4. Be prepared to invest not just money but your time, effort and resources, too.

I mentioned money – this does not mean that you have to invest a large sum to become wealthy.

5. You must be disciplined in having set goals and targets. Remember that persistence is the key to success.

6. You must be prepared to manage your time effectively.

7. As you evolve, learn to give back what you amass to the society. I call this philanthropy.

You must have a solid vision – one in which you ‘see’ yourself having attained success. Great people of the past and present see to it that they reach this coveted position, by employing these basic steps. Napoleon Hill once said “Whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve”.

Life is the greatest teacher, thus you must be willing to accept challenges all the time (using the power of discrimination) and thus as a result you must learn via its eternal principles the magnificent doctrine it has revealed with the passing of time. This means that you must act when the time is right. Action is incredibly important and highlights success – the two are synonymous to be quite honest. To succeed action is needed but the essential ingredient is how serious you are. Being too serious can ruin your business venture, so the point is to have FUN.

Any discipline will require organization and orderliness. You must be prepared to listen to your inner voice as much as you possibly can. This means that rather than being too dependent on your family, friends and so on (not that this is bad) begin to have faith in your own capabilities. Stand-alone and strive to learn and succeed. Often, failures may just result from instances where we have stopped exercising our own views, or we have become too dependent on others’.

Success is not some secret that you have to search for or unearth in order to reach your destination; it is rather the understanding or the recognition factor that you develop with respect to what you really want in life. Intuition, courage, skills, knowledge, challenges and opportunities are some of the concepts that determine the traits of people who enjoy wealth. Any task performed with the right spirit will give you victory. Mental attitude is what will give you success, but negative attitude, laziness and working unwillingly will result in failure. No one is ever defeated until defeat has been accepted as a reality.

To begin a new venture, it vitally important that you realize the following, which I have to say is crucial. You have to appreciate the fact that to start a business you need to acquaint yourself with the term cash flow. Investment in the form of a capital is a requirement, but more importantly it is the concept of viability of the business venture that matters most.

FEAR VS. SUCCESS

“Nothing is more despicable than respect based on fear.” Albert Camus

“Fear is not the natural state of civilized people.” Aung San Suu Kyi

Fear is defined in Webster’s dictionary as, "an unpleasant, sometimes strong emotion caused by an anticipation or awareness of danger". Professionals in the field of human emotions and therapy define fear as a “strong emotion caused by the anticipation of loss”.

Fear is the great paralyzer. It is one of the major factors why some people succeed and others fail. It is one of the major contributors why some people do not achieve their full potential and financial freedom. The majority of people allow relatives, friends and the general public to influence them so they cannot live their own lives, because of fear of criticism, because of fear of rejection.

Fear is the destroyer of dreams, ambition, self-reliance, and the desire to achieve our goals and wealth. Countless numbers of men and women permit relatives to wreck their lives in the name of “duty”, because of fear. Remember that duty has nothing to do with submitting your life to the destruction of your dreams, personal ambitions, and the right to live your own life.

I do not say there is no such thing as fear. Fear does exist. But it exists in your life by your permission only, not because it is needed as a warning against "evil." Fear must be controlled so we can be able to suceed in life and achieve financial wealth.

There are various factors that can create fear and most people don't realize that fear itself is something that is totally internal to their own mind. It is not a real physical thing, you can't point to something and say, "That over there is fear, watch out or you'll trip over it". The good news is that since it is a by-product of our reactions to things, you have the ability to manage your fears. Rudy Giuliani once said: “Courage is not the absence of fear; rather it is the management of fear.

Fear can be controlled. Remove its power to affect you and your potential in life. Having the self-confidence to be able to handle situations will help you. Don’t let fear control you and prevent you from achieving your dreams.

Building Courage for a Better Life

When we develop the habit of courage and unbreakable self-confidence , your whole life changes for the better. Building courage will help you take risks to a better life that you ordinarily would not take. You open doors to a new world of possibilities. When you build courage, you put fear behind you. Courage is the process of admitting that you have fears, yet you are willing to find a way to defeat those fears and not allow them to take control of you.

The good news is that the habit of courage can be learned. To do so, we need to develop a systematic way of thinking to eliminate those thoughts of fear, while at the same time build up positive thoughts of courage that will allow you to deal with the difficult situation(s) that brought those fearful thoughts in the first place. It is a habit that needs to be built in our subconsious mind.

To be able to put under control your fears, we must determine the factor(s) that caused or predisposed us toward the being afraid. Many of the sources of fear have been injected in us since our childhood by our friends and family; “fear of rejection”, “fear of separation or being alone”, “fear of failure” are some of the example of root causes of fear.

Why is it critical that you address your fears now?

Because if you ignore them, your fears will grow until they begin to control every aspect of your life. In addition, as your fears increase you will experience a reduction on your self-esteem, self-confidence and self-respect. You will be making your life decisions based on fears.

Once you build courage, you will learn to self-direct your life. You will learn to accept punishment and rewards gracefully. A courageous person will often feel motivated to accept blame and responsibility (accountability) while reviewing their actions and using what they learn to move forward. Courageous people will step to the front, rather than stepping back when opportunities come their way. On the other hand, a courageous person will step back and take a view at his or her mistakes gracefully, since their self-confidence, self-esteem, and self-respect are high.

With this new found courage, your life will become more relaxed because of an ability to accept the good with the bad. This acceptance is not the same as settling! Settling is product of fear, where as acceptance is product of courage and self confidence, because even in the bad, you are confident in the fact that good will come; therefore aquiring a less stressful life.

A person willing to improve their life will relax. This person will relax even when plans fail. For instance, if it stormed the next day the person will find something else to occupy his or her time and feel just as happy about joining this adventure. Acceptance as a product of self confidence is your key to happiness and a more relaxed life. When you can learn to accept the good with the bad, you can learn how to live happier and improve your personal life.

To become successful, wealthy and improve your life you will need to learn how to trust yourself. When you trust yourself, you can trust others as well. Unfortunately, we live in a world where trust is hard to find, yet when you trust yourself, you can’t blame others when things go wrong, you are acountable of your own actions. You will begin the process of eliminating your fears when you create the habit of courageous behavior whenever you are faced with a difficult situation. Remember that anything you practice over and over eventually becomes a habit. Therefore, choose the habit to handle life’s difficulties with courage.

Negative Thinking One of the Causes Of Under Achievement

It may be no surprise to hear that negative thinking is one of the reasons for under achievement. Your life is built on your self image and that image will depend on what you tell yourself. When you choose (and you do choose) to engage in negative thinking you are deciding to believe in your inability rather than your possibility. But it’s not just you! There will be plenty of people in your life who are all ready, willing and eager to spread the doom and gloom over why things just won’t work. Or why you are just not capable of achieving what you hope to. Unfortunately family and friends can be the worst culprits! They will always willingly let you know why you will fail. Why it won’t work out.

Having said that it is important to recognize that at times your nearest and dearest will be the first to shower negative rains on your dreams because they want to protect you from failing. Sometimes they may be afraid of you developing, growing and leaving them behind. There will always be a deep underlying fear in the negative thoughts of another. The most important thing you can do in an effort to avoid under achievement is to learn to protect yourself from the naysayers. Other people’s opinion of you is none of your business! I have no idea who said that originally but it’s spot on. Instead of taking on board what others have to say focus on learning how to develop the inner strength needed to achieve your dreams.

Negative messages from other people can only affect you if you allow them to. Learn to brush them off. It’s time to become stronger about who you are and what you stand for. Before tackling others though it is important you tackle yourself if you want to avoid under achievement. What do you think about yourself right now and how is that affecting the accomplishments of your goals?

Awareness, acknowledgment and acceptance are the key towards changing the negative conversations that rattle around in your mind. Recognize that you have complete control over yourself and your thoughts. Many people believe it is the other way around. They make statements such as “I can’t help it I’ve always thought this way.” But the real truth is you can help it. In fact if avoiding under achievement is your goal then you must work towards not only stopping it but changing the way you think too!

Once you are in a position where people can say whatever they like without you allowing it to affect what you think about yourself then your life becomes more peaceful and certain than it can ever be. The question here is “Are you going to allow what people say to be the reason you under achieve?” Is the opinion of others more important than the opinion you hold of yourself? Are you ready to tackle the negative thinking that goes on in your head (here’s a tip! If you hear yourself thinking negative talks just shout – either out loud or in your head – “cancel” and then turn it round to something more affirming)

Thinking bigger, wanting more, working towards achievement can make you a target for negative messages from your co-workers, family, friends and even total strangers because most people like the status quo. But when you have a strong conviction within yourself, when you work towards ensuring all your thoughts empower you rather than dis-empower you, then you will be going some way towards transforming how you think and feel.

What you think about yourself will determine whether you are a success or whether you give up. Begin the journey of thinking great things about who you are and what you can achieve. Henry Ford once said “Whether you believe you can, or whether you believe you can’t you are right”

The Key to a Better Life

Time management is basically about being focused. The Pareto Principle also known as the '80:20 Rule' states that 80% of efforts that are not time managed or unfocused generates only 20% of the desired output. However, 80% of the desired output can be generated using only 20% of a well time managed effort. Although the ratio '80:20' is only arbitrary, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management.

Some people view time management as a list of rules that involves scheduling of appointments, goal settings, thorough planning, creating things to do lists and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire. But there is more skills involved in time management than the core basics. Skills such as decision making, inherent abilities such as emotional intelligence and critical thinking are also essential to your personal growth. Personal time management involves everything you do. No matter how big and no matter how small, everything counts. Each new knowledge you acquire, each new advice you consider, each new skill you develop should be taken into consideration.

Having a balanced life-style should be the key result in having personal time management. This is the main aspect that many practitioners of personal time management fail to grasp. Time management is about getting results, not about being busy.

The six areas that personal time management seeks to improve in anyone's life are physical, intellectual, social, career, emotional and spiritual. The physical aspect involves having a healthy body, less stress and fatigue. The intellectual aspect involves learning and other mental growth activities. The social aspect involves developing personal or intimate relations and being an active contributor to society. The career aspect involves school and work. The emotional aspect involves appropriate feelings and desires and manifesting them. The spiritual aspect involves a personal quest for meaning.

Thoroughly planning and having a set of things to do list for each of the key areas may not be very practical, but determining which area in your life is not being giving enough attention is part of time management. Each area creates the whole you, if you are ignoring one area then you are ignoring an important part of yourself. Personal time management should not be so daunting a task. It is a very sensible and reasonable approach in solving problems big or small. A great way of learning time management and improving your personal life is to follow several basic activities. One of them is to review your goals whether it be immediate or long-term goals often. A way to do this is to keep a list that is always accessible to you.

Always determine which task is necessary or not necessary in achieving your goals and which activities are helping you maintain a balanced life style. Each and everyone of us has a peek time and a time when we slow down, these are our natural cycles. We should be able to tell when to do the difficult tasks when we are the sharpest.

Learning to say "No". You actually see this advice often. Heed it even if it involves saying the word to family or friends. Pat yourself at the back or just reward yourself in any manner for an effective time management result. Try and get the cooperation from people around you who are actually benefiting from your efforts of time management.

Don't procrastinate. Attend to necessary things immediately. Have a positive attitude and set yourself up for success. But be realistic in your approach in achieving your goals. Have a record or journal of all your activities. This will help you get things in their proper perspective.

These are the few steps you initially take in becoming a well rounded individual. As the say personal time management is the art and science of building a better life. From the moment you integrate into your life time management skills, you have opened several options that can provide a broad spectrum of solutions to your personal growth. It also creates more doors for opportunities to knock on.

3 Reasons Why Sales Professionals Need A Life Coach

No matter how well you’re doing in your sales career, I guarantee that a life coach can help you rise to an even greater level of success – a life coach could probably even double your income this year alone. That may sound like a bold statement, but I’ve seen results exactly that dramatic time and time again. So, if you’ve never heard of a life coach, or are familiar with the concept but aren’t really sure how they can help you grow as a sales professional, let me fill you in.
A life coach specializes in inspiring you to go beyond the ordinary, to raise your standards and definition of success to a level that you’re truly capable of reaching. Most people will never achieve what they’re truly capable of, simply because they haven’t formed the right partnership to make it happen. A life coach is exactly that – a true partner in your success.
Here are three more concrete reasons why all sales professionals should consider teaming up with a life coach:

1. A life coach not only celebrates your victories, but helps you learn from your setbacks. Let’s face it, in sales we have to get used to rejection. But how you use and learn from that rejection is a major determining factor in how successful you can be. A talented life coach helps put perspective on your successes and failures, so you can benefit from both.

2. A life coach doesn’t judge you. I’m not saying that all you’ll ever hear from a life coach is a rosy picture of where you’re headed. That wouldn’t be fair and it’s not the way I handle my clients. But what a life coach should do is listen to what you’re saying without sitting in judgment, and without over-analyzing you.

3. A life coach gets to know your values, passion and life-purpose …and holds you to them. It’s easy to get sidetracked, to lose sight of what’s truly important for your life and career. A life coach’s job is to help you maintain your focus so that you don’t get sidetracked. Simply keeping you working towards your ultimate goal is one of the most powerful services a life coach can provide. Take advantage of it.

What makes successful people successful?

We would all love to be able to walk down to the local supermarket and pick up a bottle of success. But let’s look past that fantasy and find out one of the most basic reasons why people become successful.

Right now, think of someone that you know personally who is successful. Can you see their face in your mind? Good. Now ask yourself this question, “Does this person have a successful routine or set of habits that makes them successful?” I would be shocked if they didn’t.

Sometimes the only difference between being successful and being average is having successful habits. Some examples of successful habits could be getting up earlier, doing things when they need to be done, being prepared, or effective time management.

So how do you start to build these success habits in your life? Here are 4 tips on creating successful habits.

1. Identify – Find the areas in your life that need changing. Write down these new habits that need to be formed. Don’t become overwhelmed at trying to figure out how you are going to form all of these habits.

2. Pick 2 – Most people sabotage themselves by trying to change everything at once. Instead, pick one major and one minor habit that you want to form. For the next 30-90 days these will be the success habits that you will create.

3. Start small – Now that you have your two success habits, create a daily or weekly routine that is easy to follow. For instance, let’s say that you want to wake up an hour earlier so that you can get more successful things done. Instead of setting your alarm an hour earlier right at the beginning, only set it 2-5 minutes earlier every morning until you reach your goal. This way it would take you 30 days or 12 days respectively to create your success habit.

Remember, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time.

4. Repeat – Once you have created your new habits move on to the next 2 success habits that you want to create. Before you know it you will have created a whole new life full of success filled habits.

Just imagine where you will be in one year if you follow these four keys to creating successful habits. If it takes you only 60 days to create 2 habits, you will have created 12 success habits in just one year!

What have you got to lose by reading one more motivational article?

There are a variety of self improvement articles available nowadays. You may be thinking that this is one of those, obviously. What have you got to lose by reading one more self improvement article?

When you come the 40-year stage in your life, you will suddenly realize many things. You get to ask yourself questions. How will it be when I get to the end of my life? How do I feel about the life I lived? Then someone gave you some self improvement articles or books while telling you that it is not yet too late. Does that mean anything to you? You bet it does. The feeling of anxiety that will come next is just normal. Then you will feel confused because life had felt so good. You were happy, had a successful marriage, two wonderful kids, and a job you reasonably enjoyed. What was my problem? It was your class ceiling. The “practical” and fear-based side that had convinced you all along that your passion and dreams had died.

Here are top ten shifts in perspective that can help you move your life to the next level. This self improvement article will assist you in breaking through your own glass ceiling to create the life you really want.

1. Give yourself permission to dream. You probably had no problem dreaming as a kid. What happened to your ability to imagine and dream about what you want and who you want to be? When was the last time you caught yourself daydreaming and appreciated it?

2. Stop looking outside yourself for happiness. Look inside. Increase your self-awareness. Get curious about who you are at the core. Cultivate and nurture a relationship with yourself.

3. Cover the basics. Take the time to address your personal needs. How can you focus on thriving in your life if you are in survival mode? Set up that meeting with a financial advisor, get your space organized, clean up the details that are wasting your energy.

4. Embrace your past and move on. Shift from “why it happened” to what I want to do about it now. Asking “why” is not a very empowering question. Asking what or how I want to proceed can be much more powerful and produce forward movement.

5. Remember that you are not alone. It is easy to feel overwhelmed with life. Seek support at church, family and friends. Read more self improvement articles and books. They might help you figure about some things that are puzzling you.

6. Count your blessings. What is working right in you life? Make a list. Set aside a bit of time everyday to acknowledge what or who you are grateful for. The more you practice gratitude, the more you attract into your life things to be grateful for.

7. Court your passion. You still have your passions though it has been a while since you may have felt it flow. When are you the most alive and joyful in your life? Who do you most admire and what do they inspire in you?

8. Take action and take a risk!. All the inspiration in the world is not enough to make you move your life to the next level. It takes inspired action to do that.

9. Keep breathing. You probably forget to take deep full breaths. We have all learned to constrict our breathing in response to stress. According to many self improvement articles, we not only need oxygen to stay alive, we need oxygen to give us energy and keep us healthy. Right now take 5 deep, full breaths.

10. Have fun. Call a friend, take a bubble bath, take yourself to an art museum or schedule a whole day out in nature. Put on some great music and dance till you drop.

And you thought this was just one of those self improvement articles.

Develop a Success Attitude

One of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary failure. If you are making the mistake of reading the newspapers or watching the news you are probably being bombarded by all of the negative news about the economy, instead of focusing on the opportunities available.

Here are a couple of suggestions and/or insights on how to keep a winner’s attitude during these difficult times:

1. Start controlling your thoughts and monitoring your self talk. Remember that riches start with a state of mind. But more importantly, remember that with God everything is possible. 
2. One of the main weaknesses of mankind is the average man’s familiarity with the word “impossible”. He knows all of the rules which will not work and knows all of the things that cannot be done. You need to get rid off these people from your life or limit your exposure to them. 
3. Success comes to those who become “Success Conscious”. The same way failure comes to those who allow themselves to become “failure conscious”.

Face Your Fear

Many times we are terrified to take certain actions in our lives. Literally paralyzed by our fears. For example, some of us are afraid of speaking in public. You may know what I am talking about. The moment comes for you to make a presentation and you start to sweat, your voice starts to tremble, your knees to shake. Have you ever been there? I have. However, many years ago I made a decision that changed my life. I decided to face my fear! You see, it would be difficult for a consultant to be afraid to talk to people and be successful. So I invested on myself and bought books from Tony Robbins (yeah Tony). It helped me realize, face and conquer my fear.

I couldn't believe I spent all of those years of my life harboring the fear of speaking to people. After listening to my tapes and reading my books I decided to put my newly learned techniques into practice. I finally did it; the realization that there was actually nothing to fear about it was so blatantly ridiculous I felt like slapping myself on the forehead. I can't believe I spent all that time being afraid of something I was not supposed to be afraid of.

The moral of the story: Some of the things we're afraid of doing aren't actually as bad as we think they are. In fact, most of the time these things are actually nothing to be afraid of; you'd find yourself asking why you wasted so much time being fearful of them.

This is also true with Real Estate Investing. A lot of people are hesitant right now to invest in real estate because they're afraid it's going to be a lot of hard work that never pays off. Many of them are paralyzed due to the news from "experts" they read about the "housing market". They're afraid to be humiliated by sellers and buyers. They're afraid they won't know what to do when a deal is already on the line. They're afraid of this, they're afraid of that and so on. Bottom-line, many people fail to realize that there's nothing to be afraid of. Especially since a lot of experienced investors now are willing to walk you through every step of the way until you're comfortable with it. It's mostly irrational fear. If you're one of those still afraid to take the plunge and invest in real estate, then let me tell you one thing – Today is the best time to invest in real estate. There is tons of profit waiting to be made and it's up to you if you want a piece of the pie or not.

One of the biggest problems of investors is taking the first step.