When we want to accomplish something important, we need to find an effective way to get motivated. Very often motivation is the defining difference between success and wishful thinking.

Granted, nobody likes to be under too much pressure. But a manageable level of pressure can provide the motivation we need to accomplish incredible things.

Used correctly a timetable will provide that extra motivational horsepower that leads to success.

Never, never, never, never give up. ~Winston Churchill

The energy multiplier

Having a precise time to begin taking focused action is one of the most important elements of a well thought out goal strategy.  It’s what I like to call a multiplier because it allows you to harness a huge amount of energy and to multiply the effectiveness of all your efforts.

Once you have a clearly defined goal, a well thought out plan of action and a precise time and date to launch into action, amazing things begin to happen.  Your world begins to rearrange itself in a very focused way. As a result, energy in the form of motivation begins to be generated at ever-increasing levels as that starting date approaches.

Something to keep you focused

You don’t have to be great to get started, but
you have to get started to be great. ~Les Brown

Having a precise time to start will help you get focused in the right direction. Equally as powerful is establishing a set length of time to accomplish your goals. Having a point of completion is like having a finish line in front of you.  It provides massive motivation because it gives you something specific to aim for.  The closer you get to the finish line the greater your focus and determination become.  Focus and determination generate energy and create continued motivation.

People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither
does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily. ~Zig Ziglar

The finish line represents success.  It is the point of transition from reaching for your goal, to actually reaching your goal.  Completion is where effort becomes accomplished.  It’s the point where you accept success into your life and acknowledge a job well done.  Reaching the finish line is a legitimate reason to celebrate and to feel really good about yourself. It’s also a perfect opportunity to give yourself some approval.

Create a personal countdown challenge

You can use a timeline to create a personal countdown challenge. This strategy will help motivate you to accomplish a specific goal within a given time frame. As the time remaining to complete your goal grows shorter, your focus and determination will increase.

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached,
don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. ~Confucius

Start by setting a goal that you want to accomplish within a certain time frame. Write your goal down along with the date for completion. Next, make your intention known to the world. Making it public creates accountability, which is also a powerful motivator. I use this strategy regularly to generate motivation and it really works well, so go ahead, challenge yourself and see how amazing you really are!

It’s kind of fun to do the impossible. ~Walt Disney

How do you get motivated to accomplish your important goals?
How do you stay motivated during the process?
The lines are open!

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With so much information and advice bombarding you from every conceivable source, how can a budding entrepreneur distinguish between real opportunities and mere busy work? Answering this one question correctly can literally mean the difference between massive success and unknown obscurity.

If you try to have a big presence on all the social media sites, comment on all the top blogs in your niche, listen to all the free training from every new launch, do all of your own SEO, design work, and content creation,  how busy will you be? As an entrepreneur, time is your most valuable resource, and like everyone else, you only have so much of it.

Will doing all these things really grow your business?

Each of the things I mentioned can add to your overall growth when done correctly, but there is a downside. If you spend too much time focused on those activities, you won’t have enough left over to do the things that really matter. Instead, you will be working twelve hours a day and not making any money.

Here’s where things get a little tricky. You probably do need to do some of these time consuming tasks unless you are in a position to outsource them. So, how can you fit everything in and still have time for a life?

Choices need to be made, that’s how!

If you try to do everything you won’t accomplish anything worthwhile. You’ll be incredibly busy, but you won’t have much to show for it and eventually you’ll burn out. Correct me if I am wrong, but I am reasonably sure that your reasons for wanting to be an entrepreneur didn’t include working twelve hours a day, seven days a week, and making little or no money. And yet, that is exactly the experience many are having by following all the popular trends.

Instead of focusing on the latest flash, I prefer a more pragmatic approach. In every area of life there are always simple, profound truths that will outperform flash over the long run. Granted, when it comes to building a successful business these simple truths may not seem very glamorous compared to the lure of the latest get rich with the click of a button product, but they work and that’s what I care about.

Simplicity is an entrepreneur’s best friend

Complicated strategies can be intellectually appealing because they usually have a big wow factor, but I prefer to go with simple whenever possible. That’s what I have for you today, 3 simple, common sense solution for making the most of your time and effort while trying to grow your business.

1. Do more of what works. For entrepreneurs and small business owners, all tasks are not created equal. Some activities make a direct or indirect contribution to your income, others are much less important with little or no influence to your bottom line. You need to distinguish between the two and prioritize you time and energy accordingly.

I’m not saying you can completely ignore everything that doesn’t grow your income. What I am saying is that the bulk of your time needs to be spent on things that you know are contributing to the growth of your business. Instead of chasing every new moneymaking scheme that comes along, identify what is already working for you and find a way to take it to the next level. The 80-20 rule works well for this.

2. Stop trying to be all things to all people. Thanks to the internet you may have a worldwide audience, but the whole world is not your niche. You need to figure out who your product or service resonates with and focus on them. It is much more effective (and profitable) to fine tune your message for a specific crowd rather than trying to appeal to everyone.

The world is a big place made up of thousands of specialized niches large and small. You only need a small tribe of loyal customers to be a successful entrepreneur. Avoid the temptation of the broad market because it will dilute the effectiveness of everything you do.

3. Personalize your approach. Would you rather do business with the impersonal corporate world or with a real person who is personally involved? Personal branding can transform an unknown entrepreneur into a wildly successful business person.

We all prefer to do business with those we view as authorities and those we trust. Personal branding makes it possible for an entrepreneur to fill both these criteria. When your audience feels connected with you in a deeply motivating way, they will be eager to do business with you.

Narrow your focus to grow your business

Crafting a business breakthrough strategy for my business coaching clients often requires a great deal of creative innovation. But before we move to that stage, we always cover the tried and true fundamental growth strategies first. These are the kind of strategies that should form the foundation of your entrepreneurial efforts.

If you do more of what works and less of what doesn’t, your business will grow. If you focus your efforts and attention on those who already need what you have to offer, your customer base will expand and so will your income. If you are transparent and sincere with your audience in a way that makes them feel connected to you and your message, they will carry you to success.

Are you building your dream on proven growth strategies?
Have you allowed busy work to get in the way of success?
The lines are open!

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Are you ready for your business breakthrough? With a lifetime of business building experience I am ready to help you make a business breakthrough.

Because our life happens one day at a time, there is a tendency to view each day as a separate and independent event. While I am a big fan of living in the moment, it is equally important to understand how one moment relates to the next.

Life is a cumulative experience

Those with something to gain want you to believe that major changes can happen almost instantly and with very little effort. They try to convince you that you can be a millionaire, or the picture of perfect health, if you just buy their product and use it for the next thirty days.

Promises like that can sound very appealing. Don’t be fooled, there is no such thing as an overnight success, or even an overnight failure for that matter. Sometimes it may appear to be that way, but that’s just because we were not in a position to witness the whole process.

See the big picture

In actuality, success and failure are the result of prior choices and actions. Barring any unforeseen catastrophic events, your life today is the sum of all your yesterdays.

To succeed in any area of life we need to learn to view today, not as a single disconnected event, but as a major contributor to our future. This requires a special kind of awareness. It means being able to look ahead and see the likely consequences of what you are doing right now.

Shortsightedness eventually brings pain

If we don’t see the connection between are choices today, and our quality of life tomorrow, there will pain and disappointment in our future. We see this scenario being played out every single day.

One common example of this kind of shortsightedness is someone who eats and drinks without any regard for the long term consequences. Over the years their weight and blood pressure rise steadily. The function of their liver and pancreas is slowly impaired, and their level of physical activity decreases. Then, seemingly out of the blue, they are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, or worse yet, they have a heart attack.

Still no clue

What’s their response to their new reality? They either wonder why, or they chalk it up to getting older. When in truth, it was the predictable outcome of two or three decades of not associating today’s choices with tomorrow’s reality.

We could say the same thing about a relationship that slowly goes bad, or constantly rising debt that leads to bankruptcy. Failure to recognize and acknowledge that our future is the culmination of all the previous days and years is a sure path to pain and disappointment.

Awareness leads to success

On the other hand, we can make good use of the cumulative nature of life to help move us steadily in the direction of our goals and dreams. However, before we can do that, we need to adopt a different mindset with relation to how we view the accumulation process.

We live in a world that wants everything right now. People have linked their positive emotional anchors to instant gratification. They have no patients for, nor do they find any pleasure in the process. They just want the result without having to do the work. The problem with this mindset is that life simply does not work that way.

Learn to love the journey

Life is about growth and change, that is the journey we are on. If we only focus on the final outcome we miss the joy associated with our experience. In other words, we miss out on life itself.

On the other hand, if we live each day with no awareness of where it is leading us, then we have no direction and will never achieve any goals. What we want is the best of both worlds. We want to fully enjoy and experience each day, and know that it is moving us ever closer to the realization of our long term goals.

How can we do that?

1) Shift your mindset with a question. You need to weigh each day’s activities and decisions according to your long term goals. Simply asking yourself, “will this move me toward success or away from it?” will increase your awareness and change your perspective

This applies to personal goals, business goals, and relationship goals. For example, If you are considering a second helping of dessert, ask yourself if that will move you toward your weight loss goal, or away from it. If you are about to find fault with your mate, ask yourself if pursuing that conversation will strengthen your relationship or undermine it. Always consider the long term consequences before to make a decision or take action.

2) Learn to find joy in the process. I learned this from the legendary Bonsai Master John Naka. When I was relatively new to the art of bonsai he told me that if I did not learn to find enjoyment in the training process, I might as well buy finished bonsai trees and just be a collector.

But I wanted to create not collect. We are all the creators of our own life; we can’t just buy the life we want. Doesn’t it make sense to enjoy the creative process while staying aware of our overall direction? We do this by holding a vision of our desired future and finding joy in each step of the journey.

3) Review your actions weekly. Every week take a few minutes to look back and double check your direction. Are you still moving toward your goals, or do you need to make some adjustments? Were there any activities over the past week that did not support you goals and should be eliminated?

Then review your goals to see if they are still what you want. It is not unusual to discover that the goals themselves need to be adjusted from time to time to stay in harmony with who we are right now. Don’t be afraid to reevaluate your goals as you grow and progress.

Using the present to sculpt the future

As we can see, within the scope of normal circumstances, there really is no such thing as instant success or failure. Learning to maintain a constant awareness of how today’s choices effects tomorrow’s life will empowers us to create the future we want, while finding joy in the journey.

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At first glance, lack of motivation can often seem to be caused by laziness or procrastination , but looks can be deceiving!  If you’re struggling to stay motivated while working on your goals or any other endeavor, a little introspection can be just the thing to provide clarity and insight about what’s really happening beneath the surface.

When working with coaching clients who are struggling to stay motivated, it’s my job to find out why and help them get past it. Granted, sometimes the problem is exhaustion or burnout and then the prescription might be a vacation. But when that’s not the case I like to use a series of simple questions to reveal the underlying cause. If you are finding it difficult to stay motivated, try this…

Write down the answers to these 5 questions

1) Am I afraid of failing? Fear of failure is an all-too-common reason why people lose motivation.  If this is one of the reasons you’re holding back, you’ll likely be able to come up with clear ideas why you feel so afraid.  For example, you may write, “I’m afraid of embarrassing myself in front of my family and friends,” or “I’m afraid I’ll be really disappointed in myself if I don’t make this happen.”  Whatever comes to mind, write it down and then really think about whether it would be so terrible to experience – or if it would be much worse to not try at all.

2) Do I really believe in my own ability to persevere until I make it? Likewise, you may be feeling uncertain about your ability to overcome obstacles and challenges, which is slightly different than a fear of failure.  For example, you may have a certain measure of confidence in your skills and abilities but doubt that you have the determination and fortitude to achieve the full outcome you desire.

3) Have I grown bored with the goals that once meant so much to me? This is an excellent question to ask because sometimes you’re not aware that your priorities and preferences have changed, and you can gain a lot of clarity by understanding what you REALLY want.  If you do find that you’ve lost interest in your initial goals, you simply need to come up with some new and exciting goals that will spark your eagerness to move forward again.

4) Am I afraid of what it might mean if I succeed? Another common fear is the fear of success.  A fear of success is more about fearing the baggage that often comes along with success.  You may feel nervous about taking on extra responsibility, feel overwhelmed by the increased attention your success would bring, or you might even be worried that you’ll never be able to “top” this level of success in the future.  The only way to work through these fears is to discredit them.  When you break them down and really examine them, you usually find that they’re groundless or irrational, which helps you to move past them.

5) What would make me feel more motivated about this goal or activity? Sometimes you can’t find any clear reason for feeling unmotivated, but asking this question can often help you feel more in control of your own willingness to take action.  Not only do you realize that you’re not powerless against a lack of motivation, you may come up with creative ideas that could inspire your sense of enthusiasm again.

Motivations is empowering

When we feel motivated we are energized and want to make things happen. When we lack motivation everything seems like drudgery and we have to flog ourselves to get anything done. If this has been your experience lately, it’s worth a little effort to get to the bottom of it so you can regain your enthusiasm and get excited about making thing happen.

What gets you motivated?
How do you maintain your motivation and enthusiasm?
The lines are open!

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My book TRUE SELF is the fastest inexpensive way (coaching is the fastest) to make positive life changes very quickly. Do you want to discover your core passions, dismantle your hidden, limiting beliefs, and realize your most desired goals? TRUE SELF will guide you smoothly through the process.

Why is it that everybody gets so excited at the beginning of a new year? Simply stated, people love the idea of renewal. The mindset of: “out with the old, in with the new” is very appealing for several reasons. If the previous year has felt stressful or tedious, then the prospect of a new beginning carries the feeling of renewed hope and possibility.

If the previous year has been rewarding, then there is the anticipation of even greater rewards in the year to come. It seems to be a basic feature of human nature to be optimistic about the future. Is that how you feel? Are you looking forward to positive changes in the year to come?

The beauty of optimism

Optimism is a beautiful state of mind. When we are optimistic we become more alert to new opportunities. Optimism allows us to focus on possibility. Because we keep track of time on a calendar, the dawn of a new year has come to represent a kind of emotional rebirth. It’s a new opportunity to shed old, unwanted aspects of life, and embrace something a little closer to our perceived ideal.

Think about the thought process that most of us go through this time of year. We reflect on the last 12 months and analyze whether or not we are satisfied with the results we produced. And regardless of whether we are satisfied with those results or not, we make adjustments in an attempt to ensure that the next 12 months will be even better. Then we project that new, improved vision into our immediate future.

Making good use of optimism

Optimism alone is not enough to make positive changes in your life. That’s why most New Year’s resolutions tend to fall by the wayside after a few months. The intentions are good, but there’s a big difference between intentions and results.

If you’ve been making the same basic resolutions year after year, then obviously you didn’t produce the results you wanted. And you know what they say about doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. So, what does it really take to turn our intentions into results? Well, let me ask you this…

What do you think it takes?

Chances are you already have a pretty good idea of what it takes to turn your intentions into results. After all, it’s not some secret formula that’s been purposely hidden from the general public. It is however, a formula that often goes ignored by the general public. Why? Simply stated, because effort is required, and many people are not willing to put forth the effort.

We all like the idea of making positive changes in our lives. And when we see that others have accomplished the things that we’d like to accomplish, we are encouraged. But to produce the same results that they did, we must be willing to put forth the same amount of effort. When you combine the effort with intention you produce results. If you don’t get the results you want, you simply change the way you apply your efforts.

Could this be the year of amazing results for you?

Yes, it could! All you need to do is apply the formula. Like any formula, there are several factors involved. Let’s take a minute to review some of the more important ones in order to make sure that you have what you need to produce the results you intend.

1) Clearly defined goals. Before you can design a plan to accomplish your goals you need to be very, very clear on exactly what it is you intend to accomplish. When setting goals you need to be as specific as you possibly can. Include precise details so that you know exactly what it is you’re working toward.

2) Commitment. Never say you are going to “try” to reach your goals. The word “try” opens the door to failure. Make a commitment to see your goals through to the end, no matter what. Put a high priority on your goals, and make a determination not to allow anything to stop you from reaching them.

3) Understand your reasons. In addition to clearly defining your goals you also need to clearly define the reasons why you want to reach those goals. The underlying reason is more important than the goal itself. How will this goal affect your life in a positive way and why is that important to you? A person can accomplish just about anything if they have a good enough reason.

4) Create emotional anchors. What positive emotions are associated with your goal? Once you identify those emotions, be sure to associate them with your goal. Your goal needs to represent those emotions to your nervous system. Emotions are the horsepower of motivation. To stay motivated you need to do more than think about your goals, you need to feel them.

5) Establish some milestones. You need a way to determine whether or not you are on course toward your goals. The easiest way to do this is to identify certain notable features that you will encounter as you move toward your goal. These will be your milestones. Identifying them ahead of time will help keep you on track and provide a sense of accomplishment along the way.

6) Make a timetable. One of the biggest problems with New Year’s resolutions is that people know when they’re going to start, but they have not set a time of completion. How long will your goal take to accomplish? Having a set timetable is one of the most effective ways I know to keep you focused on the task at hand. Before you start, establish a time for completion.

7) Identify success. What will successfully reaching your goal look like? What will it feel like? How will you know when you get there? These are all questions that need to be answered before you begin. If you don’t know exactly what success looks like, and how will you know when you arrive? Don’t take this for granted. Take the time to clearly identify what success means to you before you start moving forward.

Success is not an accident

If you’ve been disappointed in your results in the past, chances are you ignored one or more of the important factors above. If you’re feeling optimistic about your future, and would truly love to make some positive changes in your life, then you should definitely capitalize on that feeling. In reality, there is no reason to wait for a new year to put this process to work for you. But it is a new year, so why not take advantage of it?

I want you to have the most rewarding, productive, result producing year of your life. I truly do! I also know that wishing won’t get it done. Yes, effort is required, but what meaningful aspect of life doesn’t require effort? Everything worthwhile in this life requires some form of effort. Now that you’ve got the formula, there is still…

One more vital element

You must take consistent, focused action. Start now, and don’t stop until you reach your goal regardless of the challenges or setbacks you may encounter. Remember, results are a combination of intention and applied effort. If you don’t get the results you want, you simply continue to change the way you apply your efforts until you produce the results you want.

If you are really serious about finally producing meaningful changes in your life, I encourage you to pick up a copy of TRUE SELF. The whole process is laid out for you in an easy to follow format that is guaranteed to help you transform your life. Instead of just making resolutions this year, why not decide to turn your intentions into tangible results?

What kind of year do you intend to have?
How serious are you about making positive changes?
The lines are open!

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As we begin yet another new calendar year, I’d like to talk to you about a very important concept that can totally change the way you experience life this year. The idea that I would like you to fully grasp is this: You can jump onto the path of success anytime you want to.

It does not matter where you are in life, and it makes no difference what you want to achieve. The moment you finally make up your mind that things are going to be different, that is the point where your life can completely change direction.

You can create that kind of decisive moment in your life anytime you choose; it is entirely up to you. You don’t need to wait for ideal circumstances to come along before you change your life. You just need to make up your mind that beginning right here and right now, you are going to claim the life that you truly desire.

When I say “make up your mind,” what do I mean?

One thing’s for sure, I am not talking about wishful thinking. Many people approach a new year wanting to make dramatic changes in their lives, but how do things usually turn out? Sad to say, they usually slip back into their familiar patterns, and fail to realize any meaningful change. That is because their good intentions were lacking some essential elements. If you want this coming year to be the best year of your life and the beginning of a whole new you, it is going to require a commitment. You need to be serious about transforming your life, and you need to be willing to take consistent, focused action toward your goals.

The truth is, creating a life of exceptional quality requires effort. I know there are those who will try and tell you that an effortless life transformation is possible. That would be nice, wouldn’t it? But I think you and I both realize that is not how things really work. Besides, what is wrong with effort? Effort is fun when it produces the results you want.

I truly want you to experience the satisfaction of reaching your goals. I want to see you reach out and claim the life you really want. Why should you settle for less? If this year didn’t turn out quite the way you were hoping, then don’t you think it might be time to shake things up a bit? After all, if you just do the same things you did last year, chances are you will get the same results. Is that what you want?

Are you willing to change your approach?

Until we are willing to adjust the way we do things, it’s unrealistic to think that we can make meaningful changes in our life. So if you want this coming year to be exceptional, start by asking yourself these three questions:

1) Am I truly ready and willing to go for it this time?
2) Am I willing to learn and apply new skills to accomplish my goals?
3) Am I willing to focus on what is important, and not allow distractions
. . .to sidetrack me?

If you can honestly answer yes to these three questions, then you need to get clear about what you want. The next step is to organize and prioritize the goals you want to accomplish, so that you know where to focus your attention. This means that you need to give some conscious consideration to what is really important to you, and what you really want to accomplish. Once you have done that, you need to write a list of goals for the coming year, and then you need to prioritize them according to their importance in your personal life.

Recognizing the crippling power of distractions

Trying to stay focused on your goals can be really challenging when your life is full of distractions. To overcome this challenge, we need to be very selective with regard to where we focus our energy. If we’re not careful, little distractions can eat up enormous amounts of time. So we need to identify those distractions and impose strict limits on how much time we will allot for them. Make a list of things that easily distract you, and then schedule them into your day ONLY after you have given attention to your priorities.

Start at the beginning

It might seem like a huge task to claim the life you really want. That is why it is so important to break it down into manageable steps. As you go through the process, visualize your desired outcome, but stay focused on doing and enjoying the task at hand. Today I have asked you to think about your willingness to create change, make a list of your goals according to priority, and identify distractions that might get in your way. That is your task at hand and it is plenty for now. It’s a great place to start.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will consider simple yet effective life skills that can help you claim the life you truly desire. However, those skills will only be valuable to you if you are willing to act on what you learn. So in the long run, it all comes back to the same question, are you willing to commit to a life of exceptional quality? Are you willing to actually do what it takes to claim that life?

How much do you want it?

If you are truly serious about transforming the quality of your life and seeing results as quickly as possible, now is the time to act. Do something affirmative starting today and get some momentum started. Yes, it will take some effort, but aren’t you worth it?

So, here we are at a new beginning. Will this be your year? Will this be the beginning of the best year of your life so far? Are you ready to ramp up the quality of your life to an unprecedented level? Many people will be making New Year’s resolutions that will never become reality. Others will make a commitment to creating positive changes and experience extraordinary results. Are you ready to go for it?

Have you decided to make this a year of action?
Do you have your priorities all lined out with a workable plan?
Care to inspire us?

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

My book TRUE SELF is the fastest inexpensive way (coaching is the fastest) to make positive life changes very quickly. Want to discover your core passions, dismantle your hidden limiting beliefs, and realize your most desired goals? TRUE SELF will guide you through the process.

Did you make a list of things you intend to do in the upcoming months to move you closer to your goals? Have you got your action plan in place so you can keep track of your progress?

That’s a great start, but what about the flip side of that coin? Is it possible that there is another important aspect to successfully accomplishing your goals that you haven’t considered? I think there might be!

The hidden side of success

In addition to keeping track of what we intend to do, I think it is equally important to keep track of what not to do. I know that may seem like an odd suggestion, but knowing what to avoid can save you from wasting your valuable time and energy on worthless pursuits.

Let’s face it, life is becoming increasingly demanding with each passing year. We all have endless requests for our time and energy, and trying to do everything will pretty much derail your ability to do anything well. Let me ask you this…

*How many email lists are you on?
*How many time sensitive opportunities come your way each week?
*How easily are you sidetracked by a never ending flow of small
. . distractions from every conceivable source?

What are you going to do about it?

I have decided to make a list of things not to do because avoiding those time robbing, energy wasting distractions will go a long way toward allowing me to apply myself to the things that really matter.

I believe that tossing out the worthless things that steel your attention and prevent you from being able to focus is an excellent way to free up your inner resources.

This includes physical, emotional, and mental clutter.

It is extremely important to recognize areas where we needlessly expend ourselves emotionally and mentally. The physical time and energy wasters are fairly simple to pinpoint, but the issues that creep into our thoughts and feelings can be much more insidious. By the way, the word insidious comes from a Latin word meaning “ambush,” and refers to that which is slowly and subtly harmful.

Anything that represents an emotional drain takes a toll. If there are situations beyond our sphere of influence that fit into this category, it is in our best interest to eliminate them. The same applies mentally. If we can use our cognitive power to have a positive influence, then it’s probably worth the energy. But if all we can do is endlessly ponder a situation with no way to make a difference, then it is nothing more than a waste of energy.

Just say no!

I put together a list of 21 things that have the potential to complicate my life and yours unnecessarily. They may, or may not apply to you. Hopefully, they will at least provide some food for thought as you examine ways to eliminate physical, emotional and mental clutter from your own life, and embrace a less complicated existence. So here goes…

21 Things to avoid so you can focus on things that matter

1. Over committing your time, energy, or brain power.
2. Saying yes when you want to say no.
3. Allowing your “have to do” list overshadow your “want to do” list.
4. Letting external influences make your decisions for you.
5. Expecting others to make you feel happy, satisfied, or loved.
6. Allowing work to dominate your thoughts or conversation on days off.
7. Thinking that there’s not enough time to eat right, or get some exercise.
8. Spending your free time doing things you don’t want to do.
9. Comparing yourself to others.
10. Stressing over things you can’t control or change.
11. Obsessing over the personal decisions that others make.
12. Getting involved in things that are none of your business.
13. Focusing your conversations or thoughts on problems.
14. Projecting negative expectations.
15. Saying “I told you so” when your advice has been ignored.
16. Letting fads or trends dictate your preferences.
17. Blaming others for your current reality.
18. Buying things you don’t need just because they’re cool.
19. Inventing distractions to avoid responsibilities.
20. Signing up for more free information because you are afraid you might
. . . . miss out on something.
21. Trying to hide from or make excuses for your real feelings.

Do you have something to add to the list?
How important is it to know what to avoid?
The lines are open!

If you enjoyed this article, consider email or RSS updates!

My book TRUE SELF is the fastest inexpensive way (coaching is the fastest) to make positive life changes very quickly. Do you want to discover your core standards and personal values? Would you like to make a deeper connection with your real self? TRUE SELF will guide you smoothly through the process.

Success is one of those concepts that we all understand, and yet, in reality it means something different to each individual.  What might represent financial abundance to you might represent poverty to someone like Donald Trump.

Your concept of being physically fit is probably not the same as that of an elite Olympic athlete.  While swimming a quarter of a mile might represent your new personal best, to someone about to swim the English Channel it doesn’t mean much.

Identify what being successful means to you!

To be successful in any endeavor the first thing we need to do is to identify exactly what success in that area means to you personally. Your pattern of achievement will follow your definition. Many people focus on being successful in just one area of their life such as relationships or business. That’s probably why it is so common to see those who are very successful in one area, but struggling in others.

Another thing that can happen when pursuing success is that we choose to make a conscious trade off by neglecting one or more aspects of life in order to succeed in another. For example, workaholics don’t generally have the most meaningful family lives.  Everyone at work may see them as extremely successful, but is that how their families are likely to feel?

On the other side of the spectrum we might find a very devoted family man who excels at being a husband and father, but struggles to make ends meet. While he has succeeded in an area that a workaholic has not, his attainment probably doesn’t bring him much recognition from the business community.

A broader definition of being successful

While any level of accomplishment, in any area of life, can be gratifying, I prefer a much broader and more balanced version of being successful. I would rather raise the level of my whole life experience than pursue billionaire status while everything else falls by the wayside. Life should be viewed as a synergistic adventure where goals in one area contribute to the whole. My concept is actually one of synergistic success.

So when we think of living a truly successful life, we are really talking about having a reasonable measure of success in many different areas.  For that to be a reality, it’s absolutely vital that we establish a definition for what it means to succeed in each of those areas and then analyze how succeeding in that area can contribute to the other areas.  This is the only way that we can gauge our progress without throwing everything else out of balance.

Aspects of being synergistically successful

If you were to list the various important areas of your life that you would like to keep in balance, what would you include? The reason I am writing this article is not to give you my definition of whole life success, but to encourage you to think about what synergistic success means to you personally.

What areas of life matter most to your broader version of being successful? For you to feel like a totally successful person, what elements would need to be included? If you are willing to take the time to actually define your personal vision of a successful life, then you can design a plan that contributes to that vision. If you ignore this step, you may end up neglecting the most important areas of your life in pursuit of a mirage.

How do you measure success?

People tend to measure success by the results that they can see.  Sadly, many people consider material wealth as the most accurate indicator of a successful person.  When you look for signs of success, what do you see? Do you consider the wonderful husband and father of modest means who is well liked and appreciated by everyone he knows as successful? How about the very wealthy person who makes everyone around him miserable, but drives a Rolls Royce Phantom and lives in a 27 room mansion?

It is important to realize that successful is not so much something that we do, it’s something we become. First we succeed on the inside, in our minds, and then we can become successful on the outside. So before you go chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, why not take the time to figure out exactly what success means to you?

How much money would it take for you to feel successful?
How do you value relationships compared to income?
The lines are open!

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