This is success

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you were to ask someone what would make them happiest in life, a large majority would most likely give answers like: “Spending more time with my kids”, “Having more free time to go out with friends”, “Getting the garden looking like I’ve always dreamed it would”, “Going out to camp, or fish, or travel”. These are the things that make our body, mind, and soul feel complete.

Strangely enough, the same people who gave these answers are the same ones that are working 24-7 to get the bigger house, more expensive car, and the bigger title. Which means they don’t have the time for their kids, friends, garden, camping, fishing, or traveling.

If you find that you too are stuck in this self-deceiving cycle, write down the things that would truly make you happy and post them someplace that you will see them constantly as a daily reminder to what really counts in your life. Start living true to your inner guidance for happiness.

How to be successful

“Four short words sum up what has lifted most successful individuals above the crowd: a little bit more. They did all that was expected of them and a little bit more.”
— A. Lou Vickery

Courage, the ability to overcome fear and confront the unknown head on, and will power are all ingredients for success. Often, success is as much the product of will power and a refusal to give up as it is anything else.

The healthy successful person is someone who believes in themselves; someone who can take control of the situation and bring events to a positive end. They do what everyone else can do, and they continue to do it until they have reached the ultimate goal — success.

What’s your mindset?

“Briefly, your mindset is the combination of your experiences, values, beliefs, self-image, attitudes and habits that are lodged in your unconscious mind. They determine every action and every result you have in your life.”
— James Arthur Ray

Your mindset is completely unconscious, and yet it is what drives all your actions and results in your life. As James Arthur Ray points out, there has been much talk about mindsets in the last ten years, however, very few people know what they are and even less know how to address and change them.

Success in change comes by dealing with the foundational cause in your mindset. This means that even if you have the knowledge or the skills to live a better or more successful life, if the underlying mindset doesn’t support that knowledge, change will not occur.

I am not suggesting that skills and knowledge are not important because they are. But you can only utilize them if they are laid upon a firm foundation of winning thought. This is much more than just motivation, affirmations, or “positive thinking.” If you want to change or improve your results, you must change and improve yourself at the root or causal level — your mindset! Long-term success is not just about acquiring new skills … it’s about shifting your mindset.

Fear: Part Two

“Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better.”
King Whitney Jr.

We now have the power to change our fears into powerful tools of healing. How do we go about ensuring that we are successful in our attempts to improve our life situation? It is all dependent on the type of fear that was holding us back in the first place. But here are some basic guidelines to conquering your fears and making change a challenge we can enjoy based on The Power of Your Subconscious Mind, by Dr. Joseph Murphy:

• Fear is a negative thought in your mind. Replace it with a constructive thought each time you catch yourself being fueled by your fear.
• Love chases away fear. It is an emotional attachment to all the good things in life. Love yourself. Expect nothing but the best for yourself, and without fail only the best will come to you.
• Create an affirmation based on the complete opposite of your fear. Whenever you feel overwhelmed by your fear, repeat the affirmation over and over until you feel in control again.
• You can overcome fear when you realize the power of your subconscious mind can change all conditions and therefore you have complete control over your life.
• Remember the things you fear do not really exist except as thoughts in your mind. The power is within you. Focus only on the good and the good will come to you.

Be bigger than your problem

“You know what makes my problems bigger then everyone else’s? They’re mine.”
— Fictional character of the sitcom “Ally McBeal”

Ah, the lure of our story. The drama of our challenges. If only you could have heard the stuff going on in my head at 3 a.m. while I was doing my best to meditate myself to sleep for at least a couple of hours last night.

And it seems, no matter how much I know all the advice and I live my advice, nothing I could consciously and logically tell myself last night seemed to tame the inner voice, my ego running on fear.

Thankfully, I have a very good life coach who today helped me to see that I was just being overly critical of myself and that I simply didn’t let myself recuperate from some very challenging situations these past weeks.

So the moral of “my story” is that everyone will have problems pop up in life. That is what life is about. Remember to be bigger than your problem, deal with it, and allow yourself the time to heal. Then keep going. Move forward. Take over the captain’s chair from your ego that wants to keep you moving slowly and cautiously even in the best of weather.

I think I am ready for a good night’s sleep tonight.

Successful people

“Successful people are not without problems. They’re simply people who’ve learned to solve their problems.”
— Earl Nightingale

The universe rewards action. If you have a goal, but you don’t have a plan, it actually could more accurately be called a wish. And even more so, if you have problems and you reason that if you run away from them or turn your back on them, they will somehow just disappear, you may be running for a long time.

That doesn’t mean that you should stop dreaming. It is those thoughts that will help you create your reality. Realize though, that there will not be a magic pill that suddenly changes everything to good in your life. But there can be a magic mindset that allows you to see the situation from a different perspective.

Be a success. Face your problems. Work on them. Set goals and take actual action steps to bring you closer to solving them. Review your goals and see what areas still need work. Revise your goals if your ego has tricked you to make them unattainable, and therefore sabotaging your efforts right from the get-go.

Live in the now. Be grateful for all you have in your life and be responsible for everything that is happening in the present moment, for you are creating the stepping stones for your future “now”.

Solving a problem

“Our problems are man-made, therefore they may be solved by man. And man can be as big as he wants. No problem of human destiny is beyond human beings.”
—John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), speech at The American University, Washington, D.C., June 10, 1963

I recently heard an “internet-marketing guru” give some advice on the best way to create a successful business. The first step is identifying what an existing problem is and then figuring out how to solve that problem. Once you find the solution, you sell it and help others who have the same problem.

This made me think how this could apply to our lives as well. When we are trying to change our lives for the better, the first step would also be identifying what the problem areas are in our life.

This awareness of the problem is the beginning of finding the solution. To truly change you need to learn from the problem. Learning, in turn, involves doing something new with your life. And success is selling yourself on the answer.

Think Big for Big Success

“As one thinketh in his heart, so is he.”
— Dr. David Schwartz, Magic of Thinking Big

Live big in your heart and you will live big in life. This could mean big in happiness, big in accomplishment, big in income, big in relationships, big in respect. You name it. When you dream a life to the point that you feel it is true in your heart, these thoughts will create real action in your life.

Take a few steps forward in your dreams and aspirations by allowing moments of opportunity and experience to come your way. Practice being the kind of person people like. Take initiative and introduce yourself to others with a smile at every opportunity.

Encourage others to talk to you about their views, opinions, and accomplishments. It also helps to practice courtesy. This makes others feel better and you will feel better about yourself, too. Accept responsibility when a setback occurs for it is a gift to be able to learn from your actions. Act like a successful person and you are a successful person!

Successful people are not people without problems

“Successful people are not without problems. They’re simply people who’ve learned to solve their problems.”
— Earl Nightingale

The universe rewards action. If you have a goal, but you don’t have a plan, it actually could more accurately be called a wish. And even more so, if you have problems and you reason that if you run away from them or turn your back on them, they will somehow just disappear, you may be running for a long time.

That doesn’t mean that you should stop dreaming. It is those thoughts that will help you create your reality. Realize though, that there will not be a magic pill that suddenly changes everything to good in your life. But there can be a magic mindset that allows you to see the situation from a different perspective.

Be a success. Face your problems. Work on them. Set goals and take actual action steps to bring you closer to solving them. Review your goals and see what areas still need work. Revise your goals if your ego has tricked you to make them unattainable, and therefore sabotaging your efforts right from the get-go.

Live in the now. Be grateful for all you have in your life and be responsible for everything that is happening in the present moment, for you are creating the stepping stones for your future “now”.