What Are You Searching For?

I have not yet met anyone in my world travels who didn't want a little more inner peace. And, I have never encountered anyone who would trade a little money to rid themselves of their stress and worries.

So, is this what each of us is secretly or overtly searching for? Well, to be truthful I'm not sure. People who say they want less stress continue to pursue wealth, fame, power, position and more stuff. People who say they want to be happy often seem to sabotage this goal with poor choices, bad judgment and emotional immaturity. And people who say they want more inner peace still harbor old emotional baggage, replay old slights and hurts and let other people control their behaviors, attitudes, emotions and even their thoughts.

If we are truly searching for any or all the items listed above one would have to wonder whether we are just giving lip service to these goals, desires and dreams or if we really want them but just don't seem to know where to find them, how to achieve them or how to keep them.

I too have been guilty. I am just like you in that I would like a little more happiness and a little less stress yet when it comes to doing what is necessary I often fall short.

Sure, I have read all the books, hundreds and hundreds of them, attended the seminars, had personal coaches, spent hours and even weeks setting and planning my personal goals and dreams and spent more hours than I can remember praying and meditating and yet, here I sit from time to time, still questioning whether all this reading, study and searching is worthwhile.

During my years of study, research and searching I have come to a few conclusions.

1) Many of the people who supposedly have it figured out, don't. 

2) Many of the people who preach and teach this stuff to others and get paid handsomely to do so, don't have a clue. 

3) Some of the people who you would least expect to have the answers often do. 

4) Even many of the religious fanatics, diehards or steadfast believers in God still struggle with the same issues, questions and challenges as those who have never set foot in a church or Synagogue or read the Bible.

Why is this? Are we doomed as a species to just search and never find or discover the true meaning of our life or as the title says, why we are we here?

Humans have been asking for centuries; why am I here, where am I going and what am I supposed to do with my life while I am here?

One could get easily discouraged and feeling a little sorry for themselves spending years contemplating simple questions like these.

Have you ever asked yourself any of these searching questions whether in times of doubt or discouragement or happiness and contentment? Success or failure? 

Do you have any answers yet, or are you like most of us, that you just keep on trudging ahead through life one day at a time just earning, spending, working and playing?

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What Wrong With Having Problems?

"The problem is not there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem." Theodore Rubin

A problem is not a problem until you call it a problem. Before that, it is an occurrence or simply something that happened. Expecting all occurrences to be void of breakdowns/problems is a formula for disappointment.

From another perspective, think of the times you felt you were in the zone. It could have been an athletic event or a business transaction. When you were in the zone, problems had little or no effect on you. You may have looked at them as a slight bump in the road and you proceeded to solve the problem with little or no effort. And then you continued on with your goal.

Later, when you were asked how did you solve the challenge so effortlessly, you may have responded that it was like an outer body experience. And it would have been hard for you to explain. When we are in the zone, problems rarely show up as insurmountable. That's the example of when life is good. So why do people have problems with problems?

Perhaps the real reason we have problems with problems is because we secretly expect them. When they show up, we say, 'I knew something would go wrong'. It's like we programmed ourselves for the disappointment.

When they happen, we are upset because life seems to be filled with one problem after another. And all we want is a smooth harmonious life with no problems. It's like we are waiting for the day that we believe we deserve - a life with no problems. But, as usual, we know the next breakdown is just around the corner.

In fact, we spend time dreaming about the day we meet the right person and find the right job that will give us eternal peace and harmony. While at the same time, our environment has trained us to never get too happy because the next problem is around the corner.

Nevertheless, we have all had the experience of being in the zone. If you focus on doing something well, you will find it much easier to get into the zone. In that space, you will find problems rarely seem to be a problem.

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Don't Be Shy - Boost Your Confidence Before Giving Your Presentation

Have you ever been in a situation where you've given a speech, a presentation or a meeting update and it hasn't flowed as well as you would have liked? You're hesitant the next time you're about to present? If you're feeling uncertain about an up and coming event (such as a meeting, speech or presentation) check out these 10 pre-event confidence-boosting questions and see if answering them makes the difference:

1. Are you certain of your core message, point or outcome? If not establish what this is from the outset and allow everything else to flow from it

2. Have you prepared well enough for the event? If not what else can you do to prepare?

3. Does what you're doing make sense to you? Does it sit well with your values and principles? Just how important is it to you? How can you raise its importance in your mind?

4. What is your relationship with the people around you? Are there any issues here? How will this impact on your delivery? How can you modify your thoughts, feelings and behaviour to address the issues?

5. How can you ensure you express yourself clearly and well? (If you're certain of your core message and you're well prepared it should be much easier to state your case clearly and with conviction). Can you draw on a similar situation when things went well? What is the difference between how you felt then and how you feel now? Why is this?

6. What kind of material do you have? Is it clear and simple to understand for the visual, audio and kinaesthetic among your audience? Can you improve, simplify or clarify it?

7. Have you anticipated any tricky questions that may come up, and prepared responses to them?

8. What are you saying and thinking to yourself about the event? If you're telling yourself how badly it's going to go that's exactly what you risk manifesting

9. Have you looked at the situation from the vantage point of each person who will be at that event? What questions or issues arise when you do this? Can you deal with any of them in advance? If so how?

10. What other messages are being communicated to you from this uncertainty? What do you need to do to quell them?

Answering these questions should go some way to increasing your confidence and ensuring you are well prepared for your event.

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3 Reasons to Carve Out Time Each Day for Yourself and Increase Your Productivity

"I have no time to myself" this is a common refrain by everyone.

Now ask yourself this question, whose fault is it?

First, you have to accept that personal time is a necessity, not a luxury or you will never leave yourself any. This is a growing problem that will even affect your productivity and your health. Let me explain.

One of the most effective ways to manage this is to actually make an appointment with yourself. Block time on your calendar for taking yourself out to lunch, a 30-minute soaking bath, an hour at the library, or at your favorite coffee café. Then treat this like any other high priority appointment and keep it with a vengeance and determination. This is for your mental, emotional and physical wellbeing.

Schedule other appointments like this one through out the month, do not a standard Saturday afternoon one hour once a week slot, this routine will become too common place and will disregard the importance of it. You must think of this as a priority and something to look forward to and plan.

We all need some kind of break each day, to getaway from work, chores, and people, even family. Use your great brain and calmly think of creative ways to make time for you. Perhaps at first your family will need a bit of explaining to understand that you are doing something for them as well as for you and you are not selfish. While you are explaining you are also defusing any guilt that might surface, nurturers are notorious for self-imposed guilt.

Depriving yourself of "me time" will only leave your feeling ornery, resentful and stressed out.

Your stressful emotions will spill over onto your family, friends and other relationships. They will feel that something is wrong and they will absorb your stress.

Knowing that your emotions influence others, you have choices to make. You can be grouchy, resentful, negative, stressed and difficult to be around or you can be pleasant, loving caring calm, happy and a productive fostering healthy relationships.

Besides, how else can we properly evaluate what we are doing, see the big picture, and appreciate those we love, unless we stand back from them once in awhile.

This standing back allows you to put your daily life in to perceptive and you gain patience and calmness. Once you have your daily agenda controlled, you can start on the weekly strategies. This will be an ongoing process but a happier, healthier life is worth it.

Take your allotted number of time outs, this time out ideas are a natural way of managing your stress and becoming comfortable with nurturing you. 

Nurturing the nurturer is a major method in naturally managing your stress.

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Start With Desire

"Desire is the starting point of all achievement." Napoleon Hill.

Hill was not talking about an interest, a hope, or a wish for something. He was talking about a burning desire for something that exceeds any other longing.

If you do not have that desire yet for a specific thing then just start with a desire to be successful.

Once you resolve to be successful, start your self-improvement while you search for a specific goal.

That search should consider work that pleases you, a lifestyle that makes you happy, and achievement of a goal that makes you proud.

Depending on your interests, you might have more than one type of work that pleases you. Think about the alternatives in relation to the type of lifestyle each offers or requires.

Let's say that you have the skills to play professional baseball. Yet, you love the idea of spending lots of time with your wife and children. Do the two match? From what little I know, major league baseball players spend a lot of time during the season away from home. And the season could be six months long. Would that be a good match for you, or not?

There seem to be a number of higher level jobs that demand of lot of time spent working. And that work is mostly away from home.

Each of us is different. You might be willing to sacrifice lots of family time in order to be proud that you are a professional athlete, a Wall Street leader, or a high-priced lawyer.

Choosing one area that meets the three criteria I listed and creates a burning desire might not be easy. You must look at all the ideals you have for your life. Then you have to weigh the options in which you might be able to maintain those ideals while choosing a type of work, a lifestyle, and a way to be proud of yourself.

Depending on where you already are in life, perhaps you cannot find a choice that is perfect. If you are already a parent with children can you still choose to be a professional athlete? Holding to one value might prohibit selecting another.

Back to Napoleon Hill's quote. Once you have the desire to be successful, then find a goal for which you can have a burning desire because, overall, that goal gives you the best chance of preserving your ideals and making you happy.

When you have finally found your extraordinary goal spend time daily imagining the details of your happy life and feeling the pride of achievement.

This imagination will fuel the fire for your goal. As your imagination of a proud and happy life intensifies, so will your desire. And continued imagination will cause your desire to burn.

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5 Most Common Reasons People Fail To Achieve Their Goals

When it comes to setting goals, a lot of people thought that all they need to do is to write down the goals, and then everything will come true automatically. This is not how it works. Most people fail to achieve their goals because they don't work on their goals.

Studies have shown that as high as 80% of people who set goals fail to reach them. It is not that goal setting does not work; it is the people who set goals do not work.

There are many reasons why people fail to accomplish what they want in their life. And below are the 5 most common reasons people fail to achieve their goals.

1. They give too many excuses

Yes, one of the most common reasons people fail to reach their dreams and make their goals come true is because they give too many excuses.

They will tell you that they don't have the time, something happened and they have to delay doing the work, or they will tell you that it is too hard to do.

Whatever reasons they give, those are plain excuses used by most people to justify the reasons why they are can't achieve what they want in life.

If you want to produce remarkable results and accomplish outstanding success in life, stop giving excuses.

When you say you can't do it because of something, do you know that there are people out there who face similar or even worse situation than you, but they go ahead and do it anyway?

So the next time when you want to give reason to justify why you can't or fail to achieve your goals, think twice.

In fact, most successful people who went on to accomplish amazing results in life are those that did it despite all odds. People like Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Michael Jordan, they were not scholars or coming from rich families.

However, these people chose to work hard on their dreams and keep moving forward regardless of all the odds stacking on them.

Thus, stop giving excuses and start looking for solutions and work on your goals. Things will never change unless you take the responsibility and change yourself.

2. They procrastinate and do nothing

Are you taking action that will move you forward to your goals and your dreams? If you are like most ordinary people who do not do anything about what they want in life, you will never accomplish your goals or live your dreams.

Action is the bridge that connects your dreams and your reality. If you want to bring your dream to life, you must close the gap by taking action.

Sadly, most people say that they want to be successful, but they are not doing anything about it. Always remember this, you are what you do, not what you say you will do.

Don't just say that you want to achieve your goals or to be successful, say like you mean it and do it. Take consistent action and do something each day to progress toward your goals.

You don't have to work 24 hours a day. All you need to do is to take small and consistent action every day. Commit to doing 5 little things that will move you toward your goals.

If you follow through and take 5 small action steps, no matter how small the steps are, within a year, you will have accomplished 1825 small victories.

Can you imagine how these 1825 small victories can make you progress and change your life?

Therefore, be consistent and take action each day.

3. They don't know how

Whatever you want to achieve in your life, someone else out there has already accomplished it.

If you want to lose fat and get slim, there are people out there who have done it. If you want to invest in the stock market and be a millionaire trader, there are people out there who have done it, and they can teach you how to do so as well.

Hence, not knowing how to achieve what you want is not a valid excuse. Search for solutions, find the answers, read books, learn from others, attend seminars and workshops, and get yourself a mentor or a coach to guide you.

Just like what Anthony Robbins said, "Success leaves clues."

You have to study and learn the proven method that will get you the results the fastest. If you keep running west to see the sunrise, you will never make it.

So learn from other experts out there and make it your habit to read and improve yourself constantly.

4. They set the wrong goals

Do you know that most people make a big mistake by setting the wrong goal? They set something that they don't want. And as a result, they find it hard to come up with motivation to work on it.

Make sure you set the right goals that you want. The problem with most people is that they are influenced by people around them and the society.

People want to chase for wealth, fame, and power because they have been conditioned to think that these are the things that make them successful.

The problem with this is that if you set the wrong goals, you will never feel driven to pursue them.

Most people have the motivation in the beginning, but as they go along, work on their goals but are not seeing any result, they lose faith and motivation. Eventually, they will give up because their goals are not what they truly want to achieve.

The solution here is to set something that can connect with your calling. Set a goal that you really want to achieve in life where your goals make you feel complete.

"People are not lazy. They simply have impotent goals - that is, goals that do not inspire them." - Anthony Robbins

5. They give up half way

Another common reason people fail to reach their goals is simply because they give up somewhere along the journey.

When you give up, you fail. A quitter will never win, and a winner will never quit. If you study the success story of extraordinary people, you will notice that they are able to create remarkable results because they persist and they choose not to give up even when the situation is tough.

Successful people are persistent and determined with what they want. They will never give in or give up on their dreams and their goals.

They are willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their targets. And you have to be the same.

"If you run into a wall, don't turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it." - Michael Jordan

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4 Tips To Improve And Boost Your Self-Confidence

Many people today believe that having self-confidence has something to do with ones accomplishments or societal status. Others think it has something to do with having a certain kind of body, the way one looks or even how popular they are with friends and society in general. The idea of self confidence is perhaps one that women need a lot of clarity on because often times we see promotions on what new thing to get, which make-up to use and which "fix you up" products that are all supposed to magically give you an increased sense of self-worth and greater confidence. But does any of this really work?

Personally I know it doesn't work at all for I started off trying to get rid of my insecurities, self-loathing and criticism by buying all the best things I could find to enhance my beauty and confidence.

What experience has shown me, which numerous researches conducted can now confirm is that nothing can increase your self-esteem and self- confidence. Your happiness, fulfillment and overall well-being is very much limited or expanded by your level of confidence and self-esteem. No external thing therefore can truly bring you joy and fulfillment or that sense of deserving except a belief in your own value, which is always determined by your level of inner confidence, and belief in your own Self.

In our modern and rapidly developing society where material possessions are considered a standard measure of value, more and more people are secretly battling with this idea and try to mask whatever emotions they might have by working harder than ever to get more stuff, bigger accolades and more social recognition in the hopes that this will in some way fill the inner void that continues to brew.

This is the worst way to build your success or your self-esteem because none of the outer possessions no matter how good will ever satisfy you or even last very long. They aren't meant to add or complete you where you feel a lack, when we use them for such, we welcome all the evils that divine teachings have warned us against.

What is self-confidence and where does it come from?

Confidence is defined as the feeling or belief that one can have faith in or rely on something or someone. Self-confidence then is the feeling or belief that you can have faith in and rely on your Self.

It all comes from the Self and the error we have made far too many times is in making our capacity, abilities and sense of worth dependent on something other than self. Which brings me to the first point I wish to drive home, the self is the real, infinite and eternal you. But that self-experiencing your current life is under a certain belief, idea, concept about who and what it is. This idea is called self-image. It is the image of self that your mind has believed and defined as you. If this image is healthy and built or a right foundation then you have a great thriving lifestyle because your confidence is booming which means you're deliberately designing and generating the kind of conditions rolling out in your life. However if for one reason or another you didn't form a healthy and true image of self, then real confidence and belief in yourself is something you struggle with which naturally reflects on the quality of life you get to experience on a daily basis.

For the most part, we see all the erred views on self-confidence and self-esteem stemming out of this false paradigm and approach to the self, which causes people to look to the external rather than to the self for a strong, confident and a high sense of value and worth as human individuals simply from just "being" instead of doing or having a particular thing.

The difference between a person who's got a good healthy self-confidence and one who doesn't isn't about how they physically look, what they have or the kind of accomplishments they've made. It's a deeper more profound knowledge and understanding as well as complete appreciation and embracing of all that they are. One of the question's I get asked the most is: What can I do to increase my level of confidence? Here are a few ways:

1. Disentangle your real Self from your conceptions of self

The great endeavour we all need to frequently do as we often get lazy and get pulled back into mass kind of thinking is to disentangle the real Self from the beliefs attached to the self. The "I" in you is the real Self and is not the idea of you that you've formed throughout your lifetime. Your real Self is independent of all the conditions, labels and attachments you developed while on earth. It is this self that gives you life and makes it possible for you to even read this now.

This same self is the one you must learn to believe in, have faith and rely on implicitly. But since many people have no idea how to access or live from this self, the outside alternatives have continued to be promoted because humanity has long gotten used to the idea of looking for power outside in the world of effects. We find it difficult to trust in what is beyond our intellect and yet we can feel that all things tangible are limited. You self-confidence will increase greatly when you learn to tap into your real Self and live from that authentic and infinitely powerful aspect of your existence.

2. Learn the truth about perfection and imperfection

Mankind has gotten so used to the idea of being imperfect. It's drilled in almost all schools of life and the idea of perfection has been given such a bad humanistic and almost vain taste that stating it here I know will arouse the criticism of the uninitiated minds. But the truth always stands and it is that you are perfect! You were born perfect and that's why you innately feel as though you need to express it.

Because you are spiritually perfect, there is no need to ever believe that something needs to be added or fixed. No need to ever believe that you need to seek it because being already perfect, the process of human living is the progressive unfolding and evolving of that inherent perfection. Start viewing yourself as such and life will show you just how perfect you can be as long as you continue progressively moving forward with ease and confidence in who you really are.

3. Discover the biggest war zone in the world and heal it

This is a big one for most people everywhere. Do you know that one of the biggest and hardest habits to break for the human being is that of self-judgment? Neuroscience found this to be one of the most detrimental habits most people indulge in almost unconsciously.

Within your mind is an ever on-going conversation about everything you are experiencing and especially about yourself. This conversation needs to be guarded and reshaped to reflect the kind of lifestyle you wish to manifest before you can hope to have it as your reality. If that conversation is only fault-finding, blaming, arguing and criticizing it will be very difficult for you to ever feel good enough or worthy of a good life. People spend so much time worried about the outside world while if only they could go quiet and listen in, they would soon discover a similar war going on internally.

4. Learn to embrace

Embrace all of you. Not just the good parts but all of you... Ambiguity is natural to you because you exist as Body - Mind - Spirit. When you discover the kind of image you have attached to your "I", it's probable you'll even feel ashamed that you attached such a disgraceful belief to yourself and let it define who you are. We all experience that - but what you need to know is that it doesn't really matter anymore as long as you're now awake and ready to take action and create an image that truly reflects the kind of person you want to be. Hiding, feeling ashamed or guilty over the things you discover from your old beliefs and mindset does nothing except harm you and keep you stuck.

Don't forget these are just a few tips on a very deep topic that every individual needs to work on intimately because it makes all the difference in the quality of life. I have a lot more on this topic and you can have more access in greater details of ways to help you recreate your self-image.

Above all else, understand that changing yours self-image and improving your confidence requires time and consistent practice because it's a major factor in mastery of self. As with all things, the mastery requires certain consistent effort and practice to be invested before the great harvest can be enjoyed. But every step along the way will already move you closer to your ultimate goal and small manifestations that help you track your progress will always be noted so keep working at it, start with these simple ideas and trust that you are all it takes to be this new you that you want to bring into physical reality.

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7 Power Tips to Jumpstart Your Self-Esteem

Self-esteem is the ideas, values, and beliefs that you hold about yourself and how you feel that you are viewed and perceived by the world. Your self-esteem feeds your self-concept, which in turn fuels your mental health and overall sense of well-being.

According to Nathaniel Branden: "If you feel inadequate to face challenges, feel unworthy of love and respect, un-entitled to happiness, fear assertive thoughts wants and needs; if you lack basic self-trust, self-respect and self-confidence, your self-esteem deficiency will limit you no matter what other assets you possess."

People with healthy self-esteem strive to reach their full potential; they see themselves as being competent, confident and capable of achieving their goals and desires.

If your self-esteem is in need of a boost, look no further - here are 7 powerful tips that will jump-start your self-esteem.

1. Control the Inner Critic: Try to stop thinking negative thoughts about you. Let go of your shortcomings, start thinking about the positive qualities that you possess. Counter your negative thinking by saying something positive about yourself. Each day, write down three things about yourself that you are proud of.

2. Reframe Your View of Mistakes: Give yourself a break and accept that you will make mistakes. View your mistakes as learning opportunities that make people interesting. Mistakes provide you with important information - you now know what doesn't work. Think of Thomas Edison and the invention of the light bulb; how many mistakes did he make before finally succeeding?

3. Know and Operate from Your Own Personal Values: Realize once and for all that your self-worth and self-esteem is defined by you and only you. You cannot rely on someone else for your happiness. Another person's view of you is immaterial. Happiness and self-esteem comes from inside of you!

4. Get out of Your Own Head: Know when you are looping and circulating thoughts in your own head. Find and list ways that you can use to shift and change your physiology quickly. Exercise, connect with nature, listen to music, etc. Stop thinking about you. This may sound strange, but low self-esteem is often accompanied by too much focus on the self. Doing something that absorbs you and holds your attention can quickly get you out of yourself and help you to feel better.

Clear out the junk: This means anything hurtful and unconstructive that you've been told by someone you care for, cared about, (or even someone you didn't) is to be taken with a grain of salt. It is one thing to be given constructive feedback in life, but quite another when people are downright mean and unkind. Remember it's the offending party's issue, NOT yours. Take what applies when receiving feedback and leave the rest

5. Set goals: List at least three things that you would love to have the courage to do. Then formulate a plan to actually do them. Set yourself up for success by breaking big goals into daily action steps and take time to acknowledge and celebrate the small successes. This will feed your need for recognition and provides the extra push to keep you moving forward. Rewards could be as simple as giving your self permission to enjoy hat delectable piece of cheesecake you saw in the bakery or as huge as giving yourself a dream vacation. Either way, it is important for you to celebrate your successes.

6. Develop Your Silly Bone: Become a Master of Silliness a Guru of Play. Bring more laughter and fun into your life. Make a list of what you love to do, starting from childhood until now, and try to find time to do it at least once a week, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Enjoy spending time with the people you care about and doing the things you love. Relax and have a good time - and avoid putting your life on hold.

7. The single most important power technique that you can take to improve the quality of your life is that of gratitude. Being grateful and counting your blessings for the simplest things can be the most empowering thing that you can do for your mental health. You begin to notice your strengths, you begin to see what you have, you begin to appreciate the simple things in life, including being grateful for the things people actually take for granted, such as food and shelter, access to a computer, etc.

Self-esteem is very much a state of mind. Just as you can train your mind to be happy, you can teach and train yourself to have higher self-esteem. People with healthy self-esteem have a strong sense of self-efficiency; that is, they feel that they are in control and have power over their lives. It is only through the development of healthy self-esteem that you can fully reach your maximum potential.

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3 Ways To Work on Self Improvement

There are a lot of ways that you can start to work on yourself. People don't always think about that, but it truly is an important thing in life. When you have a good deal of self-esteem, confidence rises, and a lot of great things can come through. Millions of people find themselves stuck in a rut, not really knowing how to move forward, and find themselves needing a helping hand. Sometimes, the best way to get a creative spark is simple, work on self-improvement. How do you start? Well, the following 3 ways can kick start things for the better.

Write Down What You're Thankful For

The very first thing that you need to do is simple, start to write down what you are thankful for. Seriously, what do you love? If you focus on this, you will be able to narrow down the things that make you smile, and you can start to pursue them a little more. When you start to write things down, your mind will start to carry you to the good things that you have in your view, and you'll enjoy life a little more. This is something that many successful people do on a regular basis, and it's a beautiful thing, to say the least.

Start Exercising

There is no bad way to start exercising. Just get out there. You can even start after reading this, simply go for a walk. Walk around your block, enjoy a little bit of a push forward, and just let your body get better circulation and more. Exercise can help improve mood, help you gain a bit of confidence, and even give you a great deal of weight management. Research indicates that this simple step can help you with more than just looking good. It helps with improving mood, and so much more.

Learn Something New

There is a world of knowledge out there, and you can subscribe to it in a lot of ways. Improvement can be as simple as learning a new language. This alone will help your mind expand, and when you start to master the language, book a trip to a location that has this as the first language. For instance, let's assume that you wanted to learn Japanese. You start mastering it, and you then book a trip to Tokyo. Once there, use your new skills and meet new friends. Meet new friends, and you'll discover that you will feel amazing, a transformation that is hard to do any other way.

Changing your life is as simple as focusing on the above 3 elements. There are so many ways to work on self-improvement, but the above 3 can get you started. The purpose of focusing on yourself is to enjoy the beauty that is life. Just step forward, try something new, and enjoy greatness. These things will not come back void; they will bring a lot of great results. As long as you're willing to step forward, you will see that there is a great world around you.

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The Sky Is Not the Limit - The Power Of Positivity

We often hear the phrase "The sky is the limit" and often we hear this when the people around us are expressing their negative feelings on the topic at hand. But do you know that there is another phrase that contradicts this cliché? The phrase "nothing is set in stone" is the one that many successful people use whenever they try or aim for something and that, with the power of positivity, can make anything in this world possible.

The Power of Positivity

People who are successful use the power of being positive in everything they do. One of the concepts that is practiced in positivity is the law of attraction. The law of attraction might be a scientific concept but it is never truer and more applicable than to our society today. Many researchers believe that what people surround themselves with becomes their own actions and thoughts later on. It might not be obvious or apparent at the start and this surprises many when their actions or feelings are observed later on. This is the reason many sociologists or therapists recommend that individuals should surround themselves with positive things to ward off negative feelings.

Another area of being successful is to envision one's own desires and put it into action. Oftentimes, one wants to achieve something but lacks the desire to see it through. Many people blame others for their failure to reach their goals which produces negative results as well. When one wants to become successful, it is important to focus and put their thoughts into actions and carry the responsibilities that come with achieving what they want in life. By taking responsibilities and initiative, one is more concentrated and motivated to reach their goals in life.

What to do to Harness Positivity

When people want changes to happen to their life, they need to understand that they have to leave their comfort zone and start taking charge of their lives. It may be uncomfortable at the start and even cause friendships to end, but sometimes changes can be awkward but may also be the best thing to happen to your life. Cut the negativity that runs in your life - people who you think will drag you down and negative thoughts and envision what you want your life to be. Surround yourself with positive things, find mentors, visualize what you want and you will wake up one day and realize that you have achieved what you want to do and are happier than you were before.

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A Little Change Makes a Big Investment

As I wander through life there are many interesting conversations to overhear and participate in. One that's caught my attention lately is how hard change is. You can resist change and stay stuck in your situation, or you can grow through change and create a different reality.

There's no denying that change is hard, at first. The benefit of sticking with the effort to make a change is that you emerge a better person. The effort you put in is rewarded by the results you get. The path along the way can be a bit messy, even disappointing some days, but you still owe it to yourself to persevere. And you learn and grow from even the messy stuff in the middle.

Another objection to some making change is that it feel like deprivation. You gotta change that mindset. If doing things that are hard creates a feeling of deprivation, not a feeling of challenge and growth, you owe it to yourself to switch your thinking. Growth isn't a sacrifice. When you lose bad habits you are growing. You lose a bad habit by replacing it with a good habit. When you change from a bad habit to a good habit, you haven't lost a thing, you haven't sacrificed anything - you have grown and improved. There's no deprivation in growth.

In my observations and experience, deciding to change some aspect of your life - diet, physique, addiction, meditation practice... any habit you perform - is energizing. That decision is taking the first step. Taking action is the next step, and subsequent steps, until you reach your goal. That's how change is accomplished, one decision and step at a time.

Each step along the way is a chance to learn. You learn about yourself and the world. Exciting! Empowering. That's part of an Energize Me attitude. That's part of the growth that keeps life interesting and valuable.

Are you tired of at least some aspects of your life? What are you doing about it? Action versus non-action is the difference between someone living up to their potential and someone stuck in the past.

Maybe you don't strive to grow and change because it feels like too much work. That's one of the comments I hear. Consider this: you are working toward the wrong goal, you aren't passionate about the change you are avoiding. That is stressful. Altering your attitude or goal will turn hard work into passion.

Another possibility is that you haven't found the right attitude about the change you want, or are told you must make. Can you wrap your head around the idea of accepting that the change is important and taking the first step, even if it's a little one? Can you tiptoe into the change? Some people prefer jumping in with both feet - or diving in head first. Regardless, you have to move toward your goal or your desired change won't happen. What's your style?

A friend of mine has learned to live his life like a video game or movie script. By turning a challenge into a game goal - complete with points, levels, and rewards - he has been living the life of his dreams for over six years now. Now that's energizing! That's the path to success for him, and lots of his tribe.

The reality, is by taking on change you are investing in yourself. You invest in yourself in other ways, like education, saving for a goal, health, or the friends you keep; why not invest in yourself when it comes to your habits and attitudes?

You'll find your life more satisfying and gratifying as you accept that change can be hard, but that you can make it easier. You'll be energized by the action you take with that first step. You'll live a better life.

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3 Reasons Why Writing Down Goals Will Give You The Edge

Why writing goals down will give you the edge.

Do you have goals written down or do you keep them in your head, hoping that you will remember them throughout the year? Have you ever thought about writing goals down to program you to achieve them?

Writing goals down has many benefits. First, written goals will be in your own handwriting. This means that you will automatically feel more responsible for them. Second, when goals are written down, they will send a direct message to your brain to actually achieve them. Remember the time when you had to study for an exam, but used someone else's notes? How well did you study and what was your results of the exams? You are much better off when you study or write goals down in your own handwriting. Third, writing goals down will help you to remember them, I found that when I write goals down, I actually don't need to look at them again, it is just as if the goals are burned into my memory. Therefore I suggest that you consider writing goals down in your own handwriting, rather than typing it or using someone else's handwriting.

Now, how should you write your goals? Well, here are my guidelines for:

They should always start with - I will/I promise to/I must - these messages will tell your brain that it is an absolute must for you to achieve these goals. Most people write it down like I should/I want to/I need to - these are negative and you will struggle to achieve those goals.

Always use the SMART Principle - goals should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time framed.

Make use of the Pareto principle - also known as the 20/80 principle says that you must focus on the 20% effort, resources or time that will give you 80% of the outcomes or results. To apply this principle, think of 3 very easy and simple actions you can take every day that will help you achieve the goals.

Here is an example of ineffective goals:

I need to lose weight.

There will be a very big chance that you will never achieve this goal.

Here is an example of the goal using my guidelines:

I will/must/promise to lose 10 pounds by 10 December 2015, by cutting my soft drink intake in half, going for a walk every second day and eating out only once a month.

From the above example, is it important that we send our brains a direct message that there is no option but to achieve the goals. It is also clear that writing goals down in this manner that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time framed give is a perfect structure. It also shows that you can easily achieve the goal with the 20/80 principle.

Writing goals down can get you motivated, but how would it feel if they actually inspire you to take action and achieve them. Using these guidelines will definitely give you the edge in your life!

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