Have you crashed and burned on your goals for the New Year?

Over a third of the people who set resolutions have given up on them after just one month according to Statistic Brain.  That’s sad.  I mean people set goals to lose weight, get organized, spend less, break bad habits and enjoy life more.  I want them to succeed.

How are you doing on your resolutions?  Maybe you haven’t forgotten them yet, but maybe you aren’t making the progress you really want either.

Get Back Up to Speed on Your Resolutions

Since we are at that one month point, I thought I’d share some strategies to help you experience more success with your resolutions.  A big part of what it takes to reach a goal is going about it in the right way.  A bad plan will almost certainly lead to disaster.

Here are three ways you can repair and recover your resolutions:

1.  Focus

I’ve found that the single most important thing you can do to increase your chance of reaching a goal is to focus.  Dave Ramsey says, you have to become “gazelle intense”.  To escape certain death when being pursued by a cheetah, a gazelle must use extreme and intense focus.  Nothing can distract it from the task at hand.  The gazelle must give 110%.  It cannot falter or make a mistake if it wants to survive.

You can apply gazelle intensity to any goal.  You begin by focusing on one goal at a time.  Often, we make a list of goals and try to tackle them all at once.  This divides our attention, resources and resolve which greatly impedes our probability of success.  Instead, pick your highest priority goal, the one that will give you the most bang for your buck, and attack it with all your might.  Get radical on it!  Go to extremes to achieve this ultra-important goal.  Your intense focus on this one thing will lead you to victory.

2.  Break It Into Manageable Chunks

We make the mistake of setting goals that are too big.  Losing weight is the most common New Year’s resolution.  You may know that ideally you need to lose 100 pounds.  That’s a great long-term goal, but it is too big and daunting out of the gate.  You need to break it up into smaller, more manageable chunks.  For example, you should target losing five pounds the first month.  When you accomplish this, you’ll feel more empowered and you can then set your goal for the next month.  You stack these mini-successes on top of each other and before you know it, you’ll have lost your 100 pounds.

Doing your research and being realistic about what is possible helps tremendously.  If you exceed your first milestone goal, no problem, you can increase your goal for next month.  But, if you set too big of a goal, then you will likely become discouraged quickly.  You need those small wins to stay motivated and to keep your emotions on track.  This is a huge part of what it takes to achieve a long-term goal.

3.  Expect Failure

Finally, I suggest that you expect failure from the beginning.  What I mean is that you should anticipate some setbacks along the way.  The path to success is rarely a straight line.  Those that reach their goals know this little secret.  They don’t get demoralized and quit when they experience a setback or a roadblock.  You have to persevere if you want to reach your goals.  Therefore, you should expect some failure along the way.  By preparing for some disappointment up front, you minimize the chance of giving up.  Those that stick to their goals through thick and thin are much more likely to succeed.

When a stumbling block appears on your path, you simply make an adjustment.  You may need to adjust your tactics, your attitude or your milestone goal.  This is not taking the easy way out.  It is being flexible.  Of course, you can’t use this as a crutch, you must be willing to compromise, but you can’t be forever soft on yourself.  Learn from your mistakes and use them to catapult you to greater success.  Expecting a certain amount of failure in your journey toward your goals is essential to staying committed.

Recover and Repair Your Resolutions

I’ll ask again, “How are your resolutions going?”  If they need repairing, use the tips above to get things back on track.  You may have already strayed from the course, but that doesn’t mean that you have to give up.  Your goal is still before you.  You can pick up right where you left off.  It is just a matter of getting focused, breaking it down into chunks and expecting a little failure.  I wish you the best!

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

Are you focused on the right things in your life?

You have to look at what I think are two distinct snapshots of your life to answer this question. 

You have to weigh the big picture versus the little picture to get an accurate account of where you stand.

I’ll get to how I distinguish these two aspects of life, but I can say right now that it is very important to be winning in the big picture.  If you fail in the things that fall into this part of your life, then you are seriously missing the boat.

How the Big Picture Differs From the Little Picture

In life, I think you can separate things into two discrete buckets.  You’ve got the big picture and the little picture.

All too often, we get tunnel vision on the things that fall into the little picture.  This usually creates significant problems.  Often ones that we don’t notice until it is too late.  That’s why it is so important to pull-up once in awhile and evaluate how you are doing in the big picture.

So, what falls into this big picture that is so important?

Well, first let’s talk about what I think goes into the little picture that we get so obsessed with.

The little picture contains things like how much notoriety we’ve achieved in our careers, whether we drive a Lexus or not and whether our home is in the “right” neighborhood.

The little picture is mostly superficial.  It is surface-level stuff.  It seems really important at times and it can consume a large portion of your attention, but in the end, it has very little true value.  I mean if you were lying on your deathbed right now, do you think you’d give a lick about your career or what kind of car you’ve got parked in the driveway?  I doubt it.

When we are confronted with our mortality, it usually brings the big picture back into crystal-clear focus for us.  However, I think we can give ourselves a much needed reality-check without the drama of a near-death experience.

Give Yourself a Big Picture Check-up

Okay, let me help you answer the question I posed at the beginning of this article about whether or not you are focused on the right things in your life.  I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately for myself so please indulge me why I give you the big picture check-up that I’ve been using personally.

This list isn’t very long because the really important things in life are much fewer in number than all the stuff that falls into the cluttered little picture. 

Here are the crucial things that are a part of the big picture that you need to focus on:

1.  Your Health

I put health first on this short list because most everything else hinges on it.  If you aren’t doing what keeps you healthy, then not much else matters.  Once your health starts slipping, then your options in life quickly become very limited.  Who cares what else you are doing if you are going to be too sick to enjoy it?  In the big picture, you’ve got to take care of your health first.

Here are some pointed questions to help you evaluate the priority you’re giving your health:

• Do you smoke?
• Are you overweight?
• Do you exercise regularly?
• When was the last time you got a check-up?
• Do you already have health issues caused by poor choices?
• Are you sleeping eight hours a night?
• How’s your stress level?

In the big picture, taking care of yourself has to be at the top of the list.  You can push yourself for brief periods physically, but if you consistently make the wrong choices, then you are jeopardizing everything.

2.  Your Relationships

Little else matters if your key relationships in life fall apart due to bad behavior and neglect.  How would the people in your life say you are doing?  I’m talking about your spouse, your kids, your family, and your friends.  How would they answer the following:

• Are you giving them the love, affection and attention they want and deserve? 
• Do you demonstrate through your actions how important they are to you? 
• Do you treat the relationship like a rare and valuable treasure?
• Does your schedule reflect your true feelings toward them?

If not, then it is time to make some adjustments.  I want to emphasize that you can’t answer these questions yourself.  You need to know their perspective because that’s all that really matters.  You can be convinced you were doing all the right things and still find yourself standing out in the cold, alone and miserable.  How they feel about your performance is all that matters.

In the big picture, at the end of your life, how your relationships turn out is going to mean a lot more to you than how much money you made, where you lived or how many vacations you went on.  You simply cannot make up for lost time later.  You’ve got to invest now to keep this ultimately important area of your life alive and well.

3.  Your Spiritual Life

Finally, I believe the quality of your spiritual life rounds out the crucial elements of the big picture.  Each of us needs to feel our life has meaning and purpose.  You’ve got to take the time to explore spirituality for yourself to decide what you believe.  It is easy to fly through life on fast-forward never really giving this enough thought.  I think that’s a big mistake.  One that can leave you feeling empty and lost. 

Without an active spiritual life, a piece of your internal puzzle is missing.  This can leave you feeling hollow and wondering what life is all about.  Have you felt that something big is missing from your life?  If so, then you probably need to spend some time reexamining your spiritual beliefs.

A well-founded spiritual life provides you with a moral compass.  It provides a framework to guide you in making decisions on how to live and behave.  Furthermore, a strong faith can be a bedrock you can depend upon in times of trial and hardship.  In the big picture, knowing what you believe and living according to your faith is indispensible.

How are you doing in the big picture?  Are you focused on the right things?  In what area of the big picture do you need to devote more of your time and energy?  Leave a comment on this post and let me know.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

Do you apply these four things in your life?

If you wanted to stir up a success recipe for just about anything in life, you’d want to include focus, determination, passion and intensity as your key ingredients.

You can accomplish almost anything by first developing a well thought-out plan and then liberally applying these four elements to your execution of the plan.

If you lack these, then your endeavor is doomed from the outset.  You will almost certainly miss the mark.  Why?  Because these four things are absolutely crucial to the success of pretty much anything you do.  Let’s examine each of them more closely to see why.

The Four Key Elements to Success

1.  Focus

“The successful warrior is the average man, with laser-like focus.”

~ Bruce Lee

I really like this quote because it says that regular people like you and me can be successful if you know how to really focus.  Focus is about bringing all your attention, effort and and resources to bear on a single purpose.  It is about making one thing a priority such that all your decisions, actions and resolve are completely in line with this goal. 

In a life or death struggle, a warrior knows everything he has is on the line.  Therefore, he fights with laser-like focus.  Losing is not an option.  If you bring this same concentrated focus to bear on achieving your desires, then you will exponentially increase your probability of success.

2.  Determination

“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another.”

~ Walter Elliott

The second quality you need to have to be successful is determination.  Determination is about being firm and fully committed to your goal. How much do you want what you are after?  Are you willing to crawl across broken glass to achieve your cause?  As the quote above lays out, you’ve got to be determined to persevere through numerous trials if you want to reach the winner’s circle. 

Your level of determination is a key factor in your success.  It is easy to get fired up about something only to burn out as soon as the first obstacle blocks your path.  Are you determined to exert yourself over and over again for as long as it takes to reach your goal?  If so, then you are well on your way.

3.  Passion

“They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”

~ Carl W. Buechner

Your passion for what you desire has a lot to do with whether you will achieve it or not.  Do you have a fire in your belly for reaching your goal?  Typically, you need others to cooperate if you are going to make it.  Do you think Sir Edmund Hillary climbed Mount Everest alone?  No way!  He had a team of people helping him reach the top in brutal conditions.  How’d he get them to go along?  He had passion.

Passion inspires others.  It motivates and galvanizes people toward a cause.  Others want to follow a leader that is passionate for achieving great things.  They instinctively know that a leader with passion will reach his goal.  Are you that leader?

4.  Intensity

“The most distinguishing feature of winners is their intensity of purpose.”

~ Alymer Letterman

Finally, intensity ties this all together.  It is about the degree to which you are focused, determined and passionate for your cause.  Examine yourself here.  Do you feel just a little or a whole lot of intensity toward your goal?  If you have a big, hairy, audacious goal, then you are going to need a lot of intensity to power your way to the finish line. 

Intensity has to come from deep within or else it will burn up and dissipate too quickly.  You don’t want to be like a cheetah that can only sustain high bursts of speed for short distances.  You want to be more like the Monarch Butterfly.  Despite its seeming fragility, this butterfly flies as far as 3000 miles each way over mountains, through storms and against wind currents in its annual migration.  Now that is the intensity of purpose that it takes to be successful!

Use These Four to Up Your Chance of Success

There you have it.  As you can see, focus, determination, passion and intensity are key ingredients to achieving success.  Now, go find what you are passionate to achieve and chase it with all your heart.  You are just as capable as anyone else and if you apply these four elements, then you are almost sure to reach your goal.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

A vision board is a very powerful tool to help keep your mind focused on what you want.  Think of it as a life map with your desired course plotted out visually in attractive pictures.

I recently wrote an article titled The Key to Getting What You Want.  If you missed it, you might want to take a minute to read it, but I’ll restate the basic premise now.  The key to getting what you want is knowing exactly what you want.

A vision board can help you clarify what you want and keep you focused on it.  The better job we do at this, the more likely we are to realize the life we truly desire.

How a Vision Board Is Useful

Think of life as a drive down the main strip in Las Vegas.  There are a lot of interesting attractions to the left and to the right.  Now we might have departed our hotel with a destination in mind, but it is incredibly easy with all those bright lights, big signs and interesting looking buildings for us to get sidetracked. 

We might decide to stop and check out a few of the more interesting sights along the way.  This is all right, but it delays us from getting to our original destination.  In a bit, we may look up at the clock and realize it is very late and we’re never going to reach our goal.

This is where a vision board can help.  If when we left our hotel, we had brought along the attractive brochure that vividly depicts and describes all the great things about our original destination and we kept looking at that on our way, then we wouldn’t have been as tempted by all the other attractions along our path.  We would have remained focused on where we were going which would have helped us to arrive in a timely manner.

A vision board creates this same focus for our goals.  What exactly do I mean by focus?  Well, here are a few definitions that break it down (courtesy of WordNet):

• Focus is the concentration of attention or energy on something
• Focus is maximum clarity or distinctness
• Focus is directing one’s attention
• Focus is to cause to converge on or toward a central point
• Focus is to create special emphasis
• Focus is a fixed reference point

A vision board helps us to keep our mind, which is the most powerful asset we have for reaching our goals, focused in the direction we want it going.  Images have a very strong influence over our brains. 

Why do you think television is such a strong medium for advertising?  Because advertiser’s know we remember images.  Images get planted deep in our mind’s eye and are more easily recalled than just words alone.

We can take advantage of this feature of our brains by using a vision board to focus our minds in a more concentrated manner on the specific things we want to achieve, acquire or accomplish.

Think about it for a moment, when we obsess over something, we usually get it.  We can intentionally apply this same principle using a vision board to create the life we most desire.

How to Create a Vision Board

Creating a vision board is simple and inexpensive, yet it is a very powerful tool.  How cool is that?  You can get a lot of bang for your buck here.

Let me take just a moment to say that most people will never take the actual step of creating a vision board.  They’ll dismiss it as hokey.  They’ll intend to, but never get around to it.  They’ll start, but never finish. 

This is what separates the winners from the losers in life.  Winners do the things that lead to success.  They act decisively on the activities that move them closer to their goals.  They make important, high-leverage actions the priority in their lives.  This is what makes them winners.

Creating a vision board is an important, high-leverage action you can easily take to significantly improve the likelihood of getting what you want.  The question is, will you do it?

Here’s how to create a vision board:

1.  Define What You Want

You want to be sure that your vision board is a true reflection of what you actually want.  Therefore, I’d recommend doing a little up front work to properly define this.  I provided some recommendations in The Key to Getting What You Want to help you zero in on what you most desire.  As with most things in life, you are going to get out of this exactly what you put into it so, take you time and do it right.

2.  Gather Your Vision Board Materials

I recently created my vision board and here’s what I used: a large piece of poster board, a bunch of old magazines, a glue stick and scissors.  It is as simple as that.  There are also software apps you could use, but why?  I like having my vision board large and hanging on a wall.  I suggest sticking with the basics that keep the cost low and return high.

3.  Find Your Pictures and Create Your Vision Board

I laid everything out on my dining room table and started leafing through some of the magazines looking for pictures and words that idealized my vision.  If you’ve done a good job at Step 1 above, then you should know exactly what kind of things you are looking for.  Once you find them, cut them out and paste them to your poster board creating a collage of what you want your future to look like.  I have included a few examples off Flickr so you can see what others have done and what these things look like.

4.  Hang Your Vision Board in a Prominent Place

Once you have constructed your vision board, then you need to hang it in a place where you’ll see it often.  I put mine in our walk-in closet in the master bedroom.  It is right above the light switch so I see it multiple times per day.  Be sure to take a few moments daily to focus your attention on your board soaking in the images.  Think about how you’ll feel once you get the things on your vision board.  A strong emotional connection will help you to reach your vision even faster.

Use Your Vision Board to Accelerate Your Success

Trust me, vision boards really work.  They keep what you want in the forefront of your mind.  This naturally makes you more receptive to “seeing” opportunities to pursue your vision when they present themselves.  It gives you that focused, concentrated, clarity that will make things happen for you.  They may not happen overnight, but you’ll be amazed at your progress just a year from now if you’ll follow the steps above to create your vision board.

Top Photo by jon crel
Vision Photos by deb roby, tracyshaun, lululemon athletica & SharonaGott

Are You FULL of it?!!

The ancient Greeks had a term called “zoe”, which was a term used to describe both temporal and eternal life.  I like to think of it as “life at its fullest.” 

So, what does it take to experience life at its fullest?  I did some thinking, and came up with the ideas in this article.

They may not fully define a Super-Charged Life, but they will help you to start to paint the picture for yourself.  I will provide some initial thoughts; I will ask you, the reader, to add to my list at the end with your comments.

“Two men looked out the same prison bars: one saw mud, and the other stars”
~ Frederick Langbridge

Focus

Living life in the fullest, to me, means that my Focus is in the right place.  Every day, in every circumstance, I have the power to choose what I will focus on.  Will I focus on my limitations, my failures, my fears?  Will I focus on what I do not have, what I have not yet accomplished, on my weakness?  Or will I choose to focus on what is going well in my life?

“Some men see things as they are, and say, ‘Why?’  I dream of things that never were, and say, ‘Why not?’ “  ~ George Bernard Shaw

One great tool that Anthony Robbins designed to help guide powerful focus is a set of what he calls power questions.  I’ll share them with you now.  These are taken from his book called Awaken the Giant Within. 

He has a set of morning questions that he frequently asks himself, to get his focus on the right things:

• What am I happy about in my life now?
• What am I excited about in my life now?
• What am I proud about in my life now?
• What am I grateful about in my life now?
• What am I enjoying most in my life right now?
• What am I committed to in my life right now?
• Who do I love?  Who loves me?

He also has a set of evening power questions that help him realign his focus for sleep and for the next day:

• What have I given today?
• What did I learn today?
• How has today added to the quality of my life, or how can I use today as an Investment in my future?

The list of questions can go on and on, but I think you get the idea: the right set of questions can give us the answers that help us live life to the fullest.

“Always the beautiful answer who asks a more beautiful question.”
~ E.E. Cummings

Understanding

A second quality that helps me live a FULL life is Understanding.  For me, there needs to be accurate Understanding of God, of myself, and of others. 

“I cannot imagine how the clockwork of the universe can exist without a clockmaker.”
~Voltaire

I have to have an understanding that there is Something beyond me, and that alone life is not nearly as full as when I am working in unison with the Power that created the universe.  It is the same power that many an alcoholic has found when s/he comes into a group and admits, for the first time, that s/he cannot live life on their own. 

The AA Big Book, which is the handbook for Alcoholics Anonymous, talks about this understanding as being the same as the person who turns the light switch on in the room.  They cannot see electricity, but they understand its effects, and they are willing to trust its effects for their benefit.

“I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.”  ~ Billie Jean King, Considered to be one of the greatest female tennis players in history

Accurate self understanding is the essence of true humility, and it affords us the opportunity to live life to the fullest.  When I have been too proud to admit my weaknesses and character faults, it has made life pretty miserable for my wife, my kids, my friends, and people in general.  When I have been too fearful to acknowledge my strengths, my talents, my good characteristics, I have deprived myself and others of a unique gift: me!  There is no other me! 

This is why taking inventory of our strengths, our values, our weaknesses, our goals is so important.  It’s like looking in the mirror in the morning to get ready for work, then walking outside with ketchup smears on our face and our hair uncombed.  We need to be self aware to live life to the fullest.

“Tenderness and kindness are not signs of weakness and despair, but manifestations of strength and resolution.”
~ Kahlil Gibran

Finally, we need to have the courage and emotional intelligence to be able to listen to and understand others.  As Steven Covey writes in his bestseller book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek First to Understand, Then to be Understood”.  If I have an understanding of God and myself, I will have the security to listen without defensiveness to the other person’s point of view.

On the flip side of this, having an accurate understanding of myself means that I have the courage to assert myself, to stand up for my own thoughts, positions, ideas, feelings.  To understand others does not mean I give myself up in the process.  In seeking a win-win understanding with another person, I stick to what I believe, but I seek to reach an agreement that we can both live with.

Love

The third element of living a FULL life, for me, is to have the courage to Love.

“Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.
Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.”
~ Mother Teresa

Apart from love, life is pretty flat.  In loving, I am fulfilling the heart of God.  Mother Teresa worked her entire lifetime among the dying poor of Calcutta, India.  When she gave a speech here in the West, she remarked that it is harder to fill the hunger for love than it is to fill physical hunger.  She noted that there is a famine of love in the West.

I am speaking for those of us who are readers here in the United States and Canada (I cannot speak for those in other parts of the world).  Is it not easy to get insulated, working at our jobs, going home, watching television, getting up, doing the same thing over and over again?  We forget that there are neighbors, friends, and relatives who are starving on the inside for a kind word, a smile and an act of service.

One of my favorite passages on love is found in the Bible: I Corinthians 13: 1-13.  If you aspire to love others, please read and reflect on the model of love found in this passage.

The interesting thing about love is that the Law of Indirect Effort comes into play here.  The trick is that you must love without expecting in return.  When you truly love, you are filled up on the inside of your soul.

As with everything else, forming the Habit of Love is not difficult, but it will take practice.  You may have to learn to forgive injuries, take responsibility for your part in what went wrong in a relationship.  My favorite prayer for learning to love comes from St. Francis of Assisi:

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace, 
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
where there is injury, pardon;
where there is doubt, faith;
where there is despair, hope;
where there is darkness, light;
where there is sadness, joy;

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; 
to be understood as to understand; 
to be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive; 
it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; 
and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

~ St. Francis of Assisi

Long Term Perspective and Lingering

Finally, I am going to cheat and include two L’s in the last part of the acrostic that I have used to describe a FULL life: and that will be Long Term Perspective coupled with Lingering.  What?!!  Let me explain.

Living with a Long Term Perspective is what separates achievers from the average.  Anything worth doing will require time and effort.  Think about saving for retirement.  When a person is thinking only about the short-term gratification of spending all they have for the moment, they lose sight of the miracle of compound interest.

When a person has to have their own way in a marriage relationship, or when they cheat on their partner, they are giving up their Long Term Perspective.

When a doctor goes to medical school, she is living with the End in mind.  Sure she is in school for 8+ years, amassing a lot of educational debt in school loans and time missed from other activities, but she is understanding that the prize is worth the price.

On the other hand, if a person only lives in the Future, they miss out on the gift that is called the Present.

There is a habit found in the research on positive psychology that is shown to increase happiness when practiced consistently.  It’s called Savoring (which, for purposes of this article, I am calling Lingering).  I would say that it’s closely linked to Gratitude. 

With savoring, you may want to have a picture album, or you can use your Flickr account, to remember in detail your happiest and most meaningful memories.  Or, during the day, you may just want to take time to notice the beauty of a sunset, the wonder of your pets, the curiosity of a child.  By Living in the Moment, while having the understanding of a Long Term Perspective, you are truly living life to the fullest.

Are You FULL of Life?

In conclusion, I have shared with you my thoughts on living a FULL life:

F – Do you have the proper Focus?

U – Do you have an Understanding of God, yourself, and others?

L – Do you have a commitment to Love?

L – And, finally, are you living with Long Term Perspective while being committed to Lingering in the Present?

I welcome your thoughts and comments as to what constitutes a FULL life for you!

Stephen Borgman’s mission is to help others reach their full potential. He grew up in Brazil, South America, to parents whose legacy of serving and helping others he hopes to carry on. His blog, Personal Success Factors, is dedicated to helping your reach your next level of excellence.

Photo by ViaMoi

You must focus your effort like a laser to accomplish great things.  A determined mind is hard to stop.  Those that commit themselves to a particular goal and then pursue it with persistence and perseverance are the ones that realize their dreams!

A mind and a life that is cluttered and scattered rarely completes anything.  The effort is too diluted to make real progress toward goals.

Smart living requires one to focus your thoughts and actions.  You must determine your priorities, make a firm commitment and pursue single-minded action to win!

Smart living is about determining the right priorities

What really matters to you?  What one thing would make the most difference in your life if you finished it?  What is the next step you need to take toward your most significant goal?  These are a few of the questions you need to start thinking about to determine your priorities.

You have to narrow things down so you can focus your effort.  Concentrating on what is most important in your life is the fastest way to move ahead.

The problem is that we usually fail to discriminate between our priorities.  We give taking out the trash the same attention that we give creating a personal finance budget. 

You may chuckle, but in reality we may actually give the trash higher priority.  Think about it.  Don’t we procrastinate and delay forever on setting up a budget?  However, I bet the trash gets to the curb every week!  Which one has a higher priority?

This is my point!  You have to make a choice and consciously select your priorities.  It is an essential step in smart living.

Make a firm commitment to start smart living

Once you decide on your one next most important thing to do, then you need to make a firm commitment to accomplish it.  Give yourself a deadline and share it with someone that will hold you accountable.  Your spouse is usually a great choice!

Back yourself into a corner!  Make it extremely difficult to weasel out of doing what you decided needed to be done.

In fact, I’d challenge you to set a very short deadline to accomplish your goal.  This will force you to really focus your attention and energy.  You will have to push all the little distractions aside in order to get this important thing done.  Perfect!

A mind and life focused on the right thing and determined to accomplish it is like a locomotive barreling down the track.  It takes a lot to stop it!

Pursue smart living with single-minded action

If it isn’t obvious, I do NOT think multitasking works!  I believe to maximize your effectiveness, which is a part of smart living, that you have to pursue single-minded action!

The effectiveness of multitasking is a myth that will leave you exhausted and weary from such slow progress toward your goals!  You need the clarity and single-mindedness that comes from concentrated effort on the one priority you identified above.

Focused action will deliver results quickly.  This is why I’m a big believer in focused action and why I include it as a part of smart living.

Move everything else aside at least for a period of time each day and you’ll be amazed at how fast your life moves toward your dream!

Assignment: Focus your thoughts and actions for smart living

As you probably know by now, I am handing out assignments as we progress through the rules for smart living. 

So, here’s what I suggest for getting focused:

1.  Understand that I’m not the only one that encourages focus

I’m not a productivity guru.  I use several techniques in my life to be more effective, but I don’t really write much about it.  Therefore, I’m suggesting you read some articles by a couple of other guys that I respect and that I think have this topic nailed.

Here are three articles on gaining focus that I highly recommend:

• Big Rocks First: Double Your Productivity This Week
• Using Applied Focus Sessions to Boost Productivity
• 10 Ways to Use Laser Sharp Focus to Get More Done

See, I’m not the only one that believes getting focused really works!

2.  Set your priorities, make a commitment and take action

Okay, now it is time to really apply what we’ve talked about.  This is where the rubber meets the road.  Use these steps to get going!

1. Pick a priority – Make a list of all that you have going on in your life.  List things from work and home.  Dump as much as possible onto the paper to clear it our of your head.  Now read back through the list and circle the ones that are most important.  Okay, pick one.  Yes, just one.  This is your top priority.
2. Make a commitment – Resolve to accomplish your one priority.  Set a definite deadline for yourself.  Write it down.  Tell your spouse or someone else that will not be shy about holding you accountable.  Refer back to your written commitment often to keep you on track and don’t start avoiding your spouse!
3. Take action – Write down the one very next small task that you need to do to start making progress toward your priority.  It could be as simple as making a phone call.  Do it right now!  Don’t delay!  Procrastination will creep in if you do.  Get this first task out of the way so you can feel good about yourself and establish some momentum.  Now go back to your list and write down your next three tasks.  Keep going!

If you’ve completed these assignments, then you are well on your way to focused achievement!  Congratulations!  You will get more things done in a day than most people accomplish in a week!

Your focused thoughts and actions will lead you to smart living!

“Good is the enemy of great.”
~ Jim Collins, Author of Good to Great

Getting focused is so important in our busy, noisy world.  We have to get some of the good things off our plate in order to focus on the great things that we really want and need to do to live life to the fullest.  This is smart living!

Follow this link to discover all the rules for Smart Living.

Photo by helgabj

When we fail to adopt a good philosophy of life, we often jump the rails and wind up with a mess on our hands.

Our philosophy of life provides boundaries that keep our lives on track and headed in the right direction.  A well-run life is simple and focused.

What are philosophies and how do they lead to simple living?

A philosophy is a doctrine that guides our behavior.  It is an authoritative statement of our beliefs.  A collection of philosophical statements becomes a compass for us to live by.

Writing a list of philosophies helps us to clarify what it is that we believe.  We can refer to them often to help us stay on track.

Defining our philosophies clearly will also help us to pass them along to our children and family members.

Spelling out our philosophy of life helps us to keep things simple by creating focus and clarity.  It gives us a lens to examine the world by and make decisions.

Five simple little philosophies that I use to guide my life

I took a little time recently to write out my philosophies.  I looked back and asked myself what are some of my core beliefs that have successfully guided my actions over time?

I came up with these five nuggets.

1.  Do the right thing

Integrity is the essence of everything successful.
~ Richard Buckminster Fuller

Be honest.  Don’t cheat.  Be faithful.  Be kind.  Do the right thing!  I firmly believe that doing the right thing is a less complicated way to live.

When you break the rules, you often invite complications and mess into your life.  You then wind up spending more time on something that you didn’t want to do in the first place.

Keep life simple and enjoyable by just doing what you know is right!

2.  Do your best

Doing the best at this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.  ~ Oprah Winfrey

Always put your best foot forward.  Why give less than 100%?  I believe we always know deep in our hearts whether we did our best at something or not.

It is when we did less than our best that we feel regret.  Life is too short to waste it by living below our full potential.  If something is worth doing, then it is worth doing well.

You will always be happier when you know you gave your best!

3.  Treat others like you want to be treated

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.  ~ Aesop

The Golden Rule is golden for a reason.  It is valuable.  It encompasses things like, “If you don’t have anything nice to say, then don’t say anything at all”.

This philosophy encourages us to give others the benefit of the doubt and to forgive them when we feel we’ve been wronged.

Relationships are key to a good life.  The Golden Rule is a simple, but wonderful guide to good relationships.

4.  Enjoy the moment

Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!  ~ Amanda Bradley

Drink deeply of those simple moments where you find true joy.  It could be a few minutes of conversation with a friend or child.  It could be watching the sun rise or set.  It could be a hug from a family member.

Whatever or where ever you find bliss embrace it.  Over the years, I have come to realize that these moments, however brief, are the true, deep pleasures of life.

Pause in these moments and do not let them escape you!

5.  Give back

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward.
~ Kahil Gibran

Taking is not enough.  We must give back to find fulfillment.  Invest yourself in something worthwhile and significant.  Make a difference.

It can be donating money.  It can be giving your time.  It can be just listening as another human being expresses their dreams, desires and hopes.

Find a way to give of yourself in an unselfish way and you won’t regret it!

Philosophies do not have to be complicated to be meaningful

Obviously, the statements above are not rocket science.  In fact, they are pretty simple.  I think the simplicity adds to their beauty and value.

Have you ever taken the time to write down your philosophies?  They are so woven into your life that you probably don’t give them much thought.  I encourage you to jot them down and share them with someone else.  You’ll be glad you did.

What philosophies guide your life?  Did I miss anything important?

Photo by rightee

A fire sparked this idea about achieving our desires.

This weekend I spent a little time out on the patio in my backyard staring at the stars.  The kids were in bed and the day was done.  It was wonderful.  My wife and I listened to the crickets as they sang their song of enchantment.  It was a bit cool after the sun went down which created the perfect opportunity to start a nice fire in the chiminea.  Outdoor fires are so mesmerizing!  If you have a chiminea, fire pit, or have ever had a campfire, then you know what I mean.  It seems almost impossible to draw your eyes away from the flames. 

I watched the flames in the chiminea as they danced, twirled, and glowed.  I moved closer and looked at the various parts of the fire.  It is fascinating to me.  Fire appears on the surface to be nothing more than brightly colored air.  It is see through and like the wind, you know it is real, but you cannot grab a hold of it.  Fire is also powerful.  It can destroy an entire house in minutes.  This fire seemed angry as it whipped about inside the chiminea.  Its power was evident in the bottom of the clay fireplace.  It had reduced some of the wood to nothing more than a few glowing embers.  In addition, the action of the flames created light and shadows on the wall behind us.  It was all very dramatic and made my mind race.  As I was being hypnotized by the fire, I started relating it to how people focus on their desires.

Three things the fire can teach us about achieving our desires.

It occurred to me that there are really three significant ways that I could use the fire to help illustrate the importance of intensity and focus in fulfilling our desires.  Let me see if I can put into words what seemed so powerful in my mind.

1.  Desire is the fuel of accomplishment. 

A fire does not burn without fuel.  I’m sure that you have fed a fire before.  If so, you know that it consumes the wood at an amazing rate.  You have to keep feeding it if you want it to burn.  A true desire is like fuel for a fire.  It is more than a whim or want.  It is something that burns inside of you.  It fills your thoughts.  It doesn’t go away.  It continually feeds your efforts.  Of course, true desire is like firewood.  You have to collect it.  There is a little work to be done before you can get the flames started.  Sometimes, people lack direction in their life.  This is usually because they don’t take the time to fully develop their desire in their mind.  They don’t gather the fuel for their desire.  So, either their fire never gets going or it quickly dies and goes out.  You have to develop a strong mental image of exactly what you want to accomplish.  You need to emotionalize it.  That is, you need to fix the picture of the end result in your mind and then vividly imagine how you will feel when you have met the goal.  This may seem a little too touchy, feely for some, but it works.  It is like gathering the firewood.  You build up the fuel to feed the effort you need to achieve your goal.

2.  Keep your fire focused. 

The flames of a fire are tossed about by every breeze that blows.  It doesn’t take much of a wind to whip a fire all about.    I picture the wind as all the distractions and diversions that come along and try to steal our focus.  I don’t know about you, but it is easy for me to start out in one direction only to have something else catch my attention a few minutes later and before I know it, I have ten things going on.  Of course, I then make very little progress on any of it.  We have to guard the fire of our desire against all these distractions.  We have to stay focused if we want to achieve our goal.  There are so many things vying for our attention these days that this is often difficult.  I find that creating a tangible record of my desire is effective in maintaining a laser focus.  I usually write out my desire, but I have seen others use a collage of pictures very effectively for this purpose.  When you begin to feel distracted, you pull out this record of your desire and use it to stoke the flames of your emotions.  Find what works for you and use it.

3.  Burning intensity will drive you to your goal. 

The hottest part of a fire is often the glowing embers at the bottom.  These are what keep the fire going.  Even if the flames go out, you can toss some wood on the white-hot embers, fan it a little, and the flames will jump up again.  The embers symbolize the core of your desire.  This is the source of your most powerful intensity.  What about your desire is the easiest for you to emotionalize?  Hang on to this.  Recall it when the going gets tough.  When you are up against your biggest critic or obstacle, you will need this glowing ember.  It will revive the flame of action inside you.

You have to keep the fire burning to accomplish your desire.

Keeping the intensity of your desire burning hot is the single most important factor in accomplishing what you want.  You have to clearly know what you want, stay focused on it, and recognize the core of your desire to achieve success.  Those that do these things realize the big payoff.  They live the life of their dreams!

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Photos by Carey Tilden and Steve took it and The Joy Of The Mundane

Entrepreneurs know what I’m talking about here.  Up until a couple of years ago, I was a partner in a small business.  Have you ever tried marketing a small business?  It wasn’t easy.  It takes intensity.  You have to be so committed and intense that it almost becomes an obsession.  It has to be what you think about every waking moment.  This level of intensity is what it takes to get people to notice you and your business.  Why do you think that car dealers bombard us constantly with television commercials?  It is difficult to get noticed and even more difficult to motivate people to take the action we want them to take to buy our product or engage our services.  Of course, most small business owners do not have the marketing budget to run non-stop commercials, so they need intensity to do guerilla marketing.

The attitude has to be one of “Do or die!” or “California or bust!”  Settlers that left good homes in the East and traveled to California back in the 1800s had intensity.  They faced unimaginable obstacles that threatened their lives everyday.  It wasn’t just their financial livelihood at stake, if they went bust, then it probably meant the death for them and their families.  That is pressure that will motivate you to do whatever it takes and to never stop.  This is the same level of intensity we must bring to our endeavors if we want to see them succeed in a big way.

White-hot intensity pushes fear aside for me.  When I’m intensely committed to something, I won’t let anything get in my way.  When obstacles arise and they almost always do, I improvise.  I workaround them.  I find someone that can help.  I try and try again until I find the perfect combination of things to do to overcome the issue.  I have a whole different level of confidence and determination when intensity is working for me.  There is no room in my mind for self-doubt.  I am completely consumed with doing everything I can to make my endeavor a success.

We typically say that athletes are “in the zone” when they are playing with this level of intensity.  You can see it in their eyes.  I have seen it in Tiger Woods eyes on numerous occasions.  His level of concentration toward the game of golf is what makes him a champion.  He doesn’t let anything distract him from the shot he needs to make.  He isn’t thinking “What if I hit into that bunker?” or “Wow, I bet there is going to be a great celebration when I win.”  He is just concentrating on doing exactly what he needs to do to get the ball from where it is to where he wants it to be.  Thinking about the bad things that might happen or how much I am going to party when I succeed are just distractions that take my mind off what I need to do to succeed.

Another thing about intensity is that it seems to have a positive physiological effect on me.  I have more energy and stamina.  I get up earlier to get more done toward my project.  When the alarm goes off, I get right up rather than laying there wondering how morning arrived so quickly.  I work at a pace that would normally wear me out, but I find that when I’m doing what I love, I am able to keep going.  This effect often amazes me, but I thoroughly enjoy it.  I suppose this is another aspect of intensity that benefits athletes as well.

There is a potential pitfall to this level of intensity.  The single-mindedness that I need to succeed is sometimes detrimental to the balance in my life.  I get so intense that I devote all my time and energy to my endeavor and neglect other areas.  I get agitated and frustrated when other important people and things in my life “distract” me from my present initiative.  Fortunately, by attacking things with such intensity, I am usually able to succeed with them in a fairly short period of time.  This allows me to regain the balance in my life quickly.  However, I still have to guard against this because relationships are easily damaged.

My present project is this blog.  I have been going after it with passion and intensity.  I hope you find it beneficial.  Please leave a comment and let me know how intensity works for you.  Also, if you enjoyed this please Digg or Stumble It so others will know.