What to know something that will make a huge difference in your life?

You’ve come to the right place.

I’ve got ten incredibly amazing things that you absolutely, positively need to know to be a success.

If you can understand and adopt these insights, you will grow, succeed and achieve like never before.

They will open up the possibilities and set you on the path to achieving your dreams.

This wisdom will make a phenomenal difference – but only if you apply it.

The Ten Things You Need to Know

An new idea, a new way of seeing things or a new plan can change your life in an instant.

The amazing things in the list below have the power to do just that.  They can revolutionize your life – if you let them.

Here are the ten things you need to know to be a success:

#1 Everything You Want Is Just Outside Your Comfort Zone

We love to remain comfortable.  We adore feeling safe, secure and in control.  Unfortunately, staying where you are won’t produce any new results in your life.  Keep doing what you’ve always done and you are going to keep getting what you’ve always got.  Is that what you want?

I’m sorry to tell you that to create the life you really want, you are going to have to get uncomfortable.  You are going to have to shimmy out to the edge where things are scary and stay there for awhile.  You are going to have to push yourself to change.  Do you want it bad enough?

#2 Now Is Exactly the Right Time for Your Idea

You are a master of procrastination.  You have lots of great ideas.  The trouble is you sit on them and don’t ever do anything with them.  Sound familiar?

There is no better time than right now to act.  The sooner you learn this and believe it down to the very core of your being, the quicker you are going to start seeing things change for the better.  Action is what creates a new reality.  When will you take action?

#3 Be Yourself – You Are Wonderful

Stop trying to be someone else or what someone else wants you to be.  Be yourself.  You are wonderful!  Your unique talents, ideas and personality are what makes you a masterpiece.  Copies are a dime a dozen.  Originals are priceless.

Who cares if people think you are weird or off your rocker?  I’m sure they thought the same of Steve Jobs, Pablo Picasso and Albert Einstein.  As I’ve said before, normal is not all it is cracked up to be.  Do you have the guts to be your self?

#4 If You Do Not Ask, the Answer Will Always Be No

Things change when you ask the hard questions.  Ask for a raise.  Ask for a promotion.  Ask for help.  Ask for whatever it is that you want the most.  When you ask, you have at worst a 50/50 chance of getting a good answer.  If you don’t ask, the answer will almost certainly remain a resounding, “No!”

I don’t know why we are so hesitant to ask.  I’ve been pleasantly surprised over and over again when I ask.  People usually want to give you what you ask for.  Therefore, the more often you ask, the more often you are likely going to win.  Ask.  Ask.  Ask.  I can’t emphasize this one enough.  It is definitely a key to success.

#5 Opposition Is Greatest When You Are Near the Goal Line

There is a reason they call it the RED zone in football.  How you perform in this area of the game ultimately determines whether you win or lose.  The nearer you are to the goal, the harder the opposition is going to fight to keep you from scoring.  They are going to test your mettle.  Therefore, you have to be mentally and physically ready to execute at your very best if you want to succeed.

You need to come to understand that resistance means you are close to winning, not losing.  When your opposition sees you are about to reach the goal, they pick up their intensity.  Too many of us give up and quit at this point.  We surrender and yet, we are so close.  One last push might be all that is needed for the score.  Getting this right in your head is crucial and can mean all the difference in your success.  What will you do in the face of fierce resistance?

# 6 The Best Way to Predict the Future Is to Create It

What would movies be like if film directors simply let things unfold haphazardly on the set?  How would the story ever make sense?  Would the film be a success?  It wouldn’t.  The whole project would be a big mess and would die a quick death on the cutting room floor.  The film would meander and lack a clear purpose or point.

Peter Drucker knew this to be true in life as well.  That’s why he penned the words above.  You can’t just lazily go with the flow in life.  You have to develop a clear vision for the future and then do everything in your power to direct your time, energy and resources toward making that one desire a reality.  Is this how you run your life?

#7 – Promote What You Love Instead of Bashing What You Hate

Choose to be on the positive side in life.  It is always more fruitful to fight for what you are passionate about rather than fighting against what you despise.  A lot of people miss this important distinction and it drains them of true success.

Your life will simply be more satisfying if you live by this axiom and isn’t that a big part of feeling successful?  Your victories will just taste sweeter.  Your progress will mean more and you will have a greater sense of accomplishment.  Have you chosen the right side to fight for?

#8 – Don’t Trade What You Want Most For What You Want Now

There are so many ways we trade tomorrow for today.  Debt.  Lust.  Greed.  Impatience.  Power.  The list could go on and on.  What is it that you really want out of life?  How do you measure success?  I’m here to tell you that you better get a firm grip on your answer.  Otherwise, you will end up in all the wrong places.

Build your life carefully.  Weigh each choice you make against your ultimate goals.  Don’t compromise your integrity or your principles for a quick win.  The shine will wear off that deal before you can get it out the door.  Life can be unforgiving.  A bad trade today may cost you big time tomorrow.  Will you trade away your success?

#9 – Someone Else Is Happy with Less Than What You Have

No matter what your situation is, there is always someone worse off than you.  Learn to be grateful.  Keep your feet on the ground and your head screwed on straight.  There is nothing wrong with wanting more, but at the same time, you need to learn to be happy with what you have.  You need to appreciate how far you’ve come and how much you’ve acquired.  If you don’t appreciate it the way you should, trust me, you won’t have it for very long.

The real kicker is that you never miss what you have more than once it is gone.  Are you aware of what you have?

#10 – The Difference Between Who You ARE and Who You Want To BE…Is What You Do

Your good intentions don’t mean squat.  You will remain who and what you are today until you take specific action to change things.  If you’ve read this far, you’ve gathered a lot of amazing wisdom about how to achieve success in your life.  The question is, “What are you going to do with it?”  Will it make even the slightest difference?  Only if you DO something with it.

How you spend the next hour, the next day, the next year is going to determine your level of success.  Sitting around reading, dreaming and theorizing is okay, but in the end, it is what you DO that counts.  If you are 30 years old, you only have about 2,860 weekends left to live.  If you are older, you have even fewer.  How will you spend this weekend?

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

How would you like to wake up every day feeling sure of yourself and totally happy with who you are?

How would it feel not to worry what other people think of you?

How would it feel to comfortably walk in a room and start a conversation with ease?

How would it feel to be the initiator, to make great plans and to really go for it in life?

How would it feel to simply be self-confident?

Awesome, right?  Well, now is your chance to increase your self confidence and claim all these things for yourself.

Don’t you want it?  Let’s make it happen!

Take Action to Increase Your Self Confidence

Two of my fellow bloggers and online friends, who I respect very much, are offering you a limited-time opportunity.  Erin Falconer of Pick the Brain and Barrie Davenport of Live Bold and Bloom, asked numerous people what they most need on their personal growth journey.

The resounding and overwhelming response was self-confidence.  Therefore, I want to assure you that you are not alone, if you feel your confidence needs a shot in the arm.  Lots of others feel the same way.

It is all right if you need and want to bolster your self confidence.  I give you permission to admit this.  You can even say it out loud if you want.  It is okay and nothing to be ashamed of.  This is a safe place.  In fact, my hat is off to you, if you have the courage to do so.

The truth is, we can all use a boost in our confidence from time to time, and trust me, the pay off is well worth it.

Okay, with that little hurdle behind us, now is the time to take action and do something about it.

The Path to Greater Self Confidence

Erin andBarrie have created a 4-week interactive online course to focus squarely on building up your self confidence. It’s called . . .

Simple Self-Confidence: A Course for Personal Empowerment, and it will be held from March 3rd to the 30th.  Psst…here’s a secret, keep reading for a very special offer (shhh…keep it quiet because not everyone will get the chance to get in on it).

If you struggle with issues related to self-confidence, or if you’d just like to improve your level of self-confidence, I invite you to enroll in this amazingly beneficial course.

During each of the 4 weeks, you will focus on increasing your self-confidence.  You will learn specific techniques for rebuilding and reinforcing the way you think of yourself.

The Simple Self-Confidence Course includes:

• Live webinars with Erin and Barrie to guide you on this journey
• Weekly guest experts in psychology and personal development to grow your understanding
• Articles, videos, and podcasts to support you during your self-confidence work
• An interactive online forum where you can share and learn with other participants
• A Simple Self-Confidence Workbook to record your insights and progress
• Plus over $300 worth of bonus materials to further assist you
• Click here for more details

You will come away from this course with specific strategies for increasing your self-confidence in all areas of your life – for the rest of your life.

I hope you will check it out. The course registration opens today, Monday, February 27th.

Self Confidence Is Essential

No matter what it is that you want to accomplish in life, you need self confidence.  It is foundational to every thing else you desire.  If you lack the proper self-confidence, then you’ll likley miss living up to your full potential.  Plus, a chance like this doesn’t come along every day.

So, unless you are the rare exception and you were born with more confidence than you’ll ever need, enroll in this course.  It may be just the inspiration and boost you need to reach that next level.

Empower yourself to:

• Get that raise
• Find that one relationship
• Step up to more opportunity
• Inspire your children
• Just feel better about yourself

I think you get the point.  I highly recommend you take a moment and check out the Simple Self-Confidence Course today.

Early Registrants Get 33% Off!

Now, here’s that special offer I mentioned earlier.

Early registrants will get a 33% discount off the regular price of this course.  Sign up early to get the best deal!

Erin and Barrie are trying to make this as easy as possible for you.  I hope you won’t hesitate.  This is a prime opporunity to invest in yourself.  It could make all the difference in the world.  Don’t miss this course or the special offer!

Check out the course: Simple Self-Confidence.

Space is limited and the time to act is now.

Note: To be totally transparent, I want you to know that if you enroll, Erin and Barrie will pay me an incentive for bringing this to your attention, but even if they didn’t I’d still be recommending their course.  It is that good.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

You’ve got to have a plan – a blueprint to follow.  You need inspiration, advice and insight.

A person doesn’t just stumble to success.  They walk a well-defined path.

Success is built one good habit at a time.  You stack one solid brick upon another and eventually you have a well-built life.  One that stands the test of time and delivers you to your goals.

Design a Life of Success

Time does not stand still.  Life passes regardless of what you are doing.  You can either use the time wisely to design and construct the life you really want or you can let the chips fall where they may.  I’m not a fan of the passive approach.

The tagline for this site is “Good Habits for a Great Life”.  Aristotle knew what he was talking about when he said, “We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.”

You build an excellent life, one that is happy, fulfilling and prosperous, by training yourself, one little correct behavior at a time.  It isn’t hard.  It just takes an ounce of discipline and a plan.  Trust me, you have what it takes.  You can do this and there are plenty of people ready to help.

Many have gone before you.  They’ve found what works and what doesn’t.  This is tremendously fortunate for you because, as a result, you can avoid all the mistakes and cut the time it takes to achieve success in half (at least in half, maybe even more).  You can make rapid progress toward a great life by simply following tried and true plans that have already been proven to work.

The Ultimate Guide to Personal Growth

So, how do you grow into success?

As I’ve alluded to all long here, you follow a well-proven plan.  Okay, so where do you get such a plan?  You find some really smart people that are succeeding and you start doing what they are doing.  Oh you might have to tweak their formula a little to suit your tastes, personality and preferences, but for the most part, you can just adopt their strategies and make them your own.

Okaaaaaay, where do I find these really smart people so I can start piggybacking on their success?

No problem.  I’ve found them for you.

I have the ultimate guide to personal growth for you, if you have ever wanted more success in any of the following areas:

• Living with more passion
• Eating healthier
• Getting in shape and feeling fit
• Simplifying your life
• Managing your time more wisely
• Overcoming procrastination
• Enjoying a more fulfilling love life
• Relaxing
• Getting motivated
• Feeling inspired
• Building a business
• and much more…

I know this sounds incredible.  How can one guide do all this?

Well, it can’t.  There isn’t one guide that can teach you what you need to know in every one of the areas above.  BUT, there are 30+ guides in one nice, neat bundle that can!

The ultimate guide to personal growth is really called The Empowerment Pack.  It is an amazing bundle of over 30 courses, ebooks and guides from some of the brightest, most talented and creative people on the web today.  If you want a blueprint for success, then you need The Empowerment Pack.

Click the banner to learn more and get this bundle.

You only have three days.  This incredible collection of advice to a happy and successful life from 25 of the top personal development bloggers on the Internet will only be offered for 3 short days.

You have from Monday, January 16, 2012 at 9am EST until Thursday, January 19, 2012 at 9am EST to get in on this amazing offer.  So, please be decisive and take action toward a better life.

Make 2012 a Remarkable Year

There it is.  An opportunity thrown at your feet.  All you have to do is pick it up.  Will you do it?  Will you grab hold of this collection of blueprints for success?  It is yours for the taking.

I’ll admit that you might not have the time to read and apply all 25 of these courses, but even if you just use a few over the course of the year, then you will make 2012 memorable.  If you do nothing, then you’ll likely stay stuck right where you are, or worse, passively slip further away from success.

Empower Yourself and make 2012 remarkable.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

This is a guest post by Trevor Edmon.

So you want more … love, money, happiness, health, … success. Where do you start?

Go to Google and type in “How to” and a gazillion websites will pop up. Should you want to build a better mouse trap that’s a very good thing. But “how to be successful in life” is too intangible. Besides, it’s different for everyone so there can’t exactly be a “one size fits all answer.”

Or can there?

I’m going to attempt that seemingly impossible feat. I’m daring to claim that by the time you have read to the end of this piece you will know the definitive way to be successful in any area of life you choose.

The Answer You Seek

Will it be meditation? Regular exercise? How about a radical change of diet? Or reciting affirmations all day long?

No. It will be none of the above, although if any of those notions appeal to you, feel free to include them in your routine. You see, those are all techniques and whilst they might lead you to feel better – so there’s nothing wrong with any of them – they cannot ever be the answer itself. They can only lead to the answer.

Let me give you this in a nutshell. Success comes to those who believe themselves to be successful.

It doesn’t matter who you are, how old you are, what your background is or if you have a wart on the end of your nose. The past is no indicator of your ability to succeed. There are endless stories of people who have turned tragedy into triumph. Check out Oprah Winfrey’s background or consider Nelson Mandela’s astonishing life story – a man who spent twenty seven years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit! You don’t have to look far for inspiration in case you need some.

If the belief that you can succeed at whatever you want in life is all you need, how do you acquire it, let alone keep it in the face of great adversity?

How to Acquire Self Belief for Success

I’ve already hinted that techniques are not the way to go, but perhaps I should explain that in more depth. Techniques are like arts or crafts. If you want to play a guitar you first need to learn some techniques. But if you really want to be a great musician merely knowing where to put your fingers to make some chords won’t be enough. The musical expression comes from you – and no one will ever play quite the way you do.

Here are 3 steps to bring that wonderful energy, your belief, to the forefront.

Step 1 – Remember How Special You Are.

Apparently there are about seven billion of us swarming all over this little planet of ours right now. That’s right now. Even if you’re an identical twin there isn’t one who is an exact replica of you. Never has been and never will be. You have your own thoughts, ways of doing things, your own special set of memories, tastes, idiosyncrasies … that whole package that is YOU. So stop worrying about what everyone else thinks of you and do your thing, man! (As Dylan might have said).

Far too many people worry about what other people will think of them, but this isn’t a philosophy that will lead to a life well lived. In the end, it is the “one-offs” – those who are not afraid to be themselves – who are the most loved and often the best remembered and they are also often the ones who make the biggest differences too. Not that that should be your goal. Just being yourself is enough!

Consider this strange list:

Bob Dylan. People aren’t supposed to write songs like that, sing out of tune or play guitar out of tune either. One of the best known and most revered musicians of the last fifty years.

Nelson Mandela. He should have been resentful or have had his spirit broken by his experience in prison. One of the world’s greatest peace makers in modern times.

Eddie Izzard. Proudly proclaimed his transvestism – and publicly appeared dressed in women’s clothes and has become one of the world’s most respected, loved and revered comedians and actors.

Rosa Parks. Refused to give up her seat on a bus just because she was black and changed the race discrimination laws of the USA.

Sylvester Stallone. Almost ran out of money and nearly lost his marriage in his determination to become an actor. When he wrote the screenplay to Rocky, agents didn’t want him – an unknown – to be in it. (They wanted Ryan O’Neill!) Stallone, despite being penniless, refused until he was offered, reluctantly, a tiny percentage of sales to star in it. The agent expected a minor B movie, but instead it made Stallone a multi-millionaire and a household name. I don’t know what became of the agent!

Let’s do one more. Muhammad Ali, who as the young Cassius Clay, used the power of his mind, as well as toning his body, to become the greatest boxer of all time. Who doesn’t know that that man repeatedly declared himself “the greatest.” And so he became.

Yes, I know I said you don’t need to repeat affirmations to believe in yourself, but I didn’t say you shouldn’t either. That would be just as much a “technique” as doing it. It suited Clay/Ali’s personality to use that. It felt good to him. But if it had felt stupid or embarrassing it wouldn’t have worked.

And there’s the point. You need to find what makes you feel good.

Step 2 – Trust Your Connection to All Things.

One of the biggest culturally held premises that stops millions from succeeding in life is the sense that you are alone and separate from everything. I’m not going to talk about God; that’s too controversial. Besides, a lot of people think of God as a separate being who gives them a lot of rules to follow. That’s still separation. And it’s like having a big, powerful boss.

I’m talking about your connection to Energy. Even at the simplest level you couldn’t survive without air, water, gravity or sunshine, so to consider those things separate from you is meaningless. Moreover, the energy is intelligent. Acorns always grow into oak trees and never become daffodils. Have you ever seen a nature documentary where a caterpillar metamorphoses into a butterfly? Do you know that Monarch butterflies migrate thousands of miles and return to the very same tree! All with a brain smaller than a pinhead!

If you cut yourself or even break a bone, your body immediately sets about healing the injury. Your food gets digested, your blood circulates and old cells are replenished and replaced with new ones billions of times a day – all “on their own.”

The miracles we take for granted are everywhere.

What does this mean in terms of self belief? It means trust your inner guidance – which you feel as emotions. Jiminy Cricket may have advised you to let your conscience be your guide, but I think your emotions are better. If it feels good – by which I mean you have passion or enthusiasm for something, or it feels joyful to do, then follow it. If it feels wrong in some way, leave it alone. Or change direction to something that feels more exciting.

Which brings us to step 3.

Step 3 – Be Prepared to Take Risks.

“Most people tiptoe through life hoping to make it safely to death,” I think it was Earl Nightingale who said this.

I ask you, what is the point of that? If your life consists of work that feels like drudgery to pay bills you struggle to meet and feel resentful about; or if you are in a relationship where at least one of you is hurting all the time; or if you are waiting for retirement so that you can finally have a bit of time to yourself to do what you really want to do … you aren’t living at all.

That is classified as survival, and although there is some satisfaction in surviving against the odds, in my mind, this is merely existing.

You are endowed with the most adaptable physiology on Earth. There is virtually no environment in which humans cannot live and thrive. More than that, you are endowed with an incredible faculty – imagination. You can dream, and that’s not an accident. Dreams give rise to desires and desires may challenge us, but there is no challenge you can think of that at least one human, if not entire nations, have not achieved once they decided to.

When I say “take risks” I don’t mean you should jump out of airplanes without a ‘chute or gamble your family’s home, I mean for you to use the guidance system you were born with.  Trust the universe knows how to deliver what you have fixed in your mind’s eye and have the adventure you were always meant to have. It’s called your LIFE.  Live it!

There You Have It: The Secret to Success

Have I achieved the impossible?  Have I convinced you this is the definitive way to success?  Do you understand the “formula”?  The only way to be sure is if you go out and give it a try – which means believing in yourself and being all you want to be.  My hope is you will prove I am right.  Self belief is the secret to success.

About the Author:
Trevor Emdon trained in psychiatry and psychotherapy, studied Eastern philosophies and metaphysics, went to the U.S. to attend Anthony Robbins’ “Mastery University” and one day discovered that he not only had been happy for a good while, but that he was pretty good at passing his wisdom onto others – and it was changing lives.

He is in his 50s, happily married, lives in a gorgeous rural English village, has great health, and makes some of his income from his self help books online amongst other success coaching activities. You can get 2 free reports about success from his website www.thebookofbeing.com

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

Do you only do things you LIKE to do?

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them”, says Albert Einstein.

Doing only the things you like will limit your success. Why? Because your thinking will remain the same as it is today.

Most of us do not like feeling challenged, confronted or held accountable about what we think.  Therefore, we limit our growth and stagnate ourselves.

We have to confront our current way of thinking if we want to find our way to a more fulfilling life.  We have to challenge our current beliefs.  We have to make ourselves uncomfortable by doing some things we don’t want to do.

I Didn’t Want to Hear It, But It Helped

I came face-to-face with this principle of personal development recently.  I felt more negative than usual about everything in my life.  It wasn’t anything specific.  It was just a subtle, overall feeling of pessimism and cynicism.  Honestly, I didn’t even fully recognize what had come over me.

It was only in hindsight that I see how this mood was robbing me of my happiness.

How did I pull out of this funk?  It was completely unintentional I assure you.

You see, I was in the library a few weeks ago with my family on a Saturday.  I had found the book I wanted and I was browsing, killing time, until the kids were ready.

I stumbled onto an audiobook from a familiar author.  I would have never taken it if it hadn’t been an audiobook.  The idea of listening to something positive during my drive to work seemed both kind of attractive and repelling all at the same time.  The fact that it required no effort on my part, I could just sit and listen, somehow tipped the scale enough that I brought it along.

The first morning I popped it in and started listening.  However, I felt a lot of resistance toward it.

I didn’t want to hear this message.

I wanted to turn it off.  I couldn’t say exactly why.  I just knew I didn’t want to hear it.  I felt kind of repulsed by it.  It was hard to go on.  It made me uncomfortable, not anything specific, just the overall thing.

For some reason, I forced myself to keep listening.  I kept going mainly because I knew this author and that they spoke the truth.  After a few days, I realized, I’m feeling better.  I didn’t even grasp I was feeling so bad before, but as the fog lifted, I certainly understood that I was feeling better.

I kept listening and my mood kept improving.  So much so, that my wife even noticed.  I hadn’t said anything to her about my previous gloom or the audiobook, but this past weekend, she noticed enough of a change in me that she actually said something.  That’s pretty cool.

Now, what would happen if I could apply this same thing to an area where I know I need to improve?

Doing Things You Don’t Want to Do

I’ve mulled this whole concept around quite a bit in my head lately.  It still sort of confuses me.  I mean I really didn’t like the idea of listening to more of that audiobook.  I wanted to turn it off and take it back to the library from the start.  I still can’t say that I’m in love with listening to it, but I know it has helped and that really intrigues me.

The ideas I’ve caught from the audiobook have changed the way I think.  My new thinking solved a problem I either wasn’t aware I had or wasn’t willing to acknowledge consciously.

I’ve extrapolated on this whole idea a bit.  Here are some other things that I typically don’t like or want to do, but if I did them anyway, I’m pretty sure I’d experience the same and possibly even better results than what I got from the audiobook.

More things I don’t want to do, but should for my own happiness:

• Offer forgiveness
• Exercise
• Eat healthier
• Confront a fear
• Be more social  (you have to understand introverts to get this one)
• Volunteer more often

I’m sure this list could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.  Bottom line, I think our feelings deceive us more often than we’d like to admit.  You simply can’t trust them.  They’ll make you think you don’t want to do the very thing that you need to do to live a happier, more fulfilling life.

Test this theory yourself.  Try doing something that you don’t want to do, but know that you probably should and see what happens.  You’ve got to stick with it for a bit, but I think you’ll be glad that you did.

What don’t you like to do that you know deep down inside that you should?  Will you give it a try?  Leave a comment and let me know how it works out for you.

Photo: Copyright PhotoXpress.com

Do you want to know what I know about you?

Knowing and believing the right stuff about yourself is amazingly powerful.  I’d say that 85% of what it takes to be successful is mental.  It is getting your attitude right.  The remaining 15% is talent, preparation and execution.

Therefore, you can get a very long way down the path to success if you know the right things about yourself.  If you understand your strengths and capabilities well enough.

I guarantee you that you underestimate yourself.  You do.  There are no two ways about it.  No matter what you think of yourself, you are capable of more.

3 Things I Want You to Know About You

“If we all did the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves.”

~Thomas Edison

If you could completely internalize the three things about yourself that I’m about to tell you, then you would absolutely astound yourself with what you’d accomplish.  It is so true.  The problem is that you hold yourself back by believing false limitations.

Therefore, today, I’m going to challenge you to train yourself to believe the following three things. 

This won’t necessarily be easy.  If fact, what would be easier is to simply shrug this off and go on thinking the way you do now.  That’s okay, but if you do, you’ll keep getting the results you’re getting now.  Are you satisfied with that?  If you are, then fine.  But, if you want more out of life, then give this a try. 

Roll these three things around in your mind long enough that you can accept them.  Adopt them as the truth.  You’ll be amazed at the impact they have.

Here are the three things you need to know about yourself:

1.  You Are Beautiful

When we think of beauty, we usually think only of outward appearance.  However, there is a deeper beauty that wells up from within you.  You are beautiful.  Do you believe this or does it make you cringe a little inside when I say it?  Guys, how do you react to thinking of yourself as beautiful?  It is a word we generally reserve in our culture for women.  We have laden it with feminine undertones when in fact it is more universal.  All of us are magnificent people that are beautiful.

Do you struggle with believing you are beautiful?  If you do, then I’d suggest reading Do You Know How Beautiful You Are? to broaden your perspective and to deepen your understanding of beauty.  Wrapping your mind around it in the way that Manal lays it out in her article will help you to see yourself in a whole new light.  One that is extremely beneficial to achieving success.

2.  You Were Made for Greatness

There is a greatness inside you waiting to come out.  Your job in life is to find what this is and share it with the world.  Of course, until you know that you were made for greatness it is hard to discover what that greatness is.  How can you find something that you don’t even know exists?  It’s possible that you could just stumble upon it, but if you did, you might not even recognize the value of it.  That’s why knowing deep inside that you were made for greatness and doing all that you can to realize your full potential is crucial to living the best life possible.

Arvind Devalia does a great job of explaining Why YOU are the Greatest Gift you can Give the World.  In his article he says, “We all have greatness within us and the challenge most of us face is accepting and acknowledging that greatness.”  I totally agree.  Some people seem to get this without difficulty and they are usually the ones that succeed.  If this is something you struggle with then I’d recommend exploring these Five Simple Tips That Will Help You Achieve Greatness.  These tips will help you get started discovering what you really can accomplish.

3.  You Are Enough

We often kill our own success by doubting that we have what it takes to be supremely successful at our dreams.  Have you ever had a great idea that you failed to act upon because of self-doubt?  Later did you find someone else doing exactly what you wanted to do and being wildly successful at it?  This has certainly happened to me.  You have to believe that you are enough.  I wrote a whole article for you on another site explaining how You Have What It Takes.  You do.  If you don’t believe me, then please do yourself a favor and read the article so you can understand this.

If you want to read about how someone else that struggled with this handled it, then check out You Are Enough.  Glen was in a dead-end job that he hated before he wrapped his mind around this concept and started really believing it.  Now, he’s building a whole new life for himself that is much more fulfilling.  You can do the same if you start believing the three things we’ve talked about today.

Have you or are you struggling with believing these things about yourself?  Leave a comment on this article so we can talk about it.

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Are you patient enough to be successful?

If you’ve spent any time at all reading my articles, then you know that I believe focus, excellence and action are key ingredients to success.  All three of these are very proactive, lean-forward stances. 

However, there are times when what you really need is nothing more than a heaping helping of patience.  I’m not saying you should give up.  I’m just saying that you can persevere patiently.

Regardless of how loudly and adamantly you demand more from life, sometimes the answer you get is WAIT.

I hate this.  I’m generally not that good with patience especially the long-enduring, persevering kind.  Can you relate?

What I’ve learned though is that occasionally waiting is the best thing you can do.  Once in awhile, it just takes time for things to align themselves so it all falls into place for you.  In these instances, if you push too hard, you can really screw things up.  Instead, you need to practice patient perseverance to succeed.

Impatience Can Be Your Worst Enemy

As I’ve admitted, patience is not my strongest virtue.  I’m usually one that is quick to act or react trying to make something happen.  In general, this has worked well for me, but there have been a few times that it has bitten me in the butt too.  My impatience has been an enemy of my success.

A lot of people out there do not want to be rushed.  They need time to figure things out, get approval, make a decision, rally their resources and finally to act.  When I think about it, this is often the way I handle certain matters.

It is easy to develop a double-standard here.  It is even harder to admit that you have such a blind spot.

We generally want others to hurry up so we can benefit from their action.  For example:

• We want customers to buy
• We want bosses to decide
• We want employers to promote us
• We want employees to take action
• We want others to see things our way
• We want the world to conform to our ideas

But, when the shoe is on the other foot, we often want to take our time.  Therefore, the double-standard.

I’ve learned, through some embarrassing and regretful lessons, that sometimes you’ve got to patiently persevere until people and circumstances line up so things can move forward.  Knowing when to be patient is a key to success.

When Patience Is the Best Path

So, how do you know when you should be patient and when to nudge things along?  Well, from experience, I’ve learned three instances where you should wait instead of trying to force the next step.

Here are three times it is best to slow down and be patient:

1.  When People Ask for More Time

Duh, right?  Well, I’ve certainly been guilty of pushing others despite being asked.  This is a clear-cut example of when you need to back off.  You will almost certainly do more harm than good to your cause if you keep trying to advance your case in this situation.

There are times when people need a chance to think things through.  Trying to hurry it along may only increase the resistance they are feeling to whatever you want.  If someone asks you for more time, then do the polite thing and give it to them.  This takes discipline and patience, but it will pay off in the end.

2.  When Others Are Getting Defensive or Agitated

Oh, how I’ve messed this one up!  When others ratchet up the intensity in a argument discussion, I tend to go right along with them.  This has definitely proven counterproductive for me.  Over the last year or so, I’ve really tried to develop the self-awareness and control to back down and give others time to cool off when they are getting defensive or agitated.

You will rarely accomplish your objective when you seriously tick someone off.  Also, as your emotions rise with theirs, you are more likely to say or do something you’ll regret.  This will certainly take things in the opposite direction from what you desire.  At the first sign of one of these warning signs, take a time out and allow things to settle down before you re-engage.

3.  When Nothing Else Is Working

There are times when you’ve done everything you can imagine and still you aren’t getting the results you want.  If this is where you are, then maybe you just need to cool your jets and wait.  Perhaps, the timing just isn’t right.  You can’t force a square peg into a round hole.  Backing off may be just the thing to do. 

I’ve run into a wall several times and I’m always amazed at how quickly things seem to resolve themselves when I just step back and give it some room.  Again, this takes patience and maturity, but if you can train yourself to do this, you’ll find a lot more success.

In what other circumstances is it best to be patient?  How did you learn this lesson?  Please share your experiences in the comments so we can all learn and grow from them.

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Are you getting what you want out of life?

If you aren’t, then it is time to try something new.  You need a new attitude, a new strategy or a new goal.

Life is full of amazing opportunities, but you’ll never know if you don’t reach out and proactively pursue more of what you truly want.

Life just doesn’t give up all its treasures without a fight.  What is it worth to you?  Are you willing to roll up your sleeves and demand more?

If you are, then you’ve come to the right place because today I’m going to share with you three very easy, yet extremely powerful ways that you can get more out of life starting right now.

3 Ways You Can Get More of What You Want

What do you want more of in your life?  Is it one or more of the things on the following list?

• Money
• Leisure Time
• Career Success
• Intimacy
• Control
• Happiness
• Opportunity
• Adventure
• Passion

These are all possible.  You just need to clearly understand a few basic principles and you’ll be able to bring a lot more of all of the above into your life.  It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  Well, it’s not.

Anyone can do this, they just don’t.  It’s like Woody Allen said, “80% of success is just showing up.”  Eighty percent of the people out there simple fail to understand, accept and DO the basic things that lead to more success.

If you are ready for more, then let’s get to the things you need to do.

Here are three powerful ways you can get more out of life:

1.  Ask for What You Want

This seems too obvious, right?  Well, how often do you plainly and succinctly ask for exactly what you want?  Probably not often enough.  J. Money over at Budgets Are Sexy recently had an experience that really reinforced the simple, but powerful idea that sometimes you just have to ask.  He has a pay-it-forward project where each month he chooses a family to help.  In May, he identified a family that needed a car.  He asked for it and he got it.  You should read the story to get a full appreciation for just how powerful asking can be. 

You can use this in your life and, trust me, you’ll also be amazed at just how effective it is.  You won’t get everything you ask for, but you’ll get a lot more than you would have otherwise.

2.  Just Do It

Okay, so I’m stealing this one from Nike, but the results you can achieve from just acting without hesitancy can be truly astounding.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that far too often, you fail to believe enough in yourself to act on your ideas.  You are afraid that you won’t measure up so you just don’t try.  As Barrie puts it so eloquently in Don’t Underestimate Yourself, “When you are standing naked in The Land of No Excuses, it can be intimidating. Invisible eyes are on you saying, ‘Ok, now you actually have to do something.’ But it can be exhilarating too.” 

Stop being afraid, push your excuses aside for a moment and feel the exhilaration that comes from trying.  When you just do it, you increase your chance of success 100%.

3.  Focus

I can’t emphasize this one enough.  One of the biggest enemies to success is a lack of focus.  As Aileen acknowledges in Finding Focus in this Age of Distraction, “Dur­ing the times I’ve suc­ceeded I had a laser focus, and the times I’ve failed, I had allowed dis­trac­tions to interfere.”  There are a lot of things competing for your attention today.  It is ironic to say this, but if you want more, you need to focus on less.  You need to zero in on your top priorities and commit all your time, attention and resources on these one or two things until you achieve all of what you want.

You’ve got to be absolutely brutal about eliminating the things from your life that distract you from your focus.  If you do this, you will definitely experience more of the success you desire.

How do you get more out of life?  Please share your thoughts in the comments so we can all benefit.

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Do you want to be outstanding?

You’ve probably heard someone say before that if you want to set yourself apart that you have to do everything with excellence.

Of course, this is easier said than done.  Excellence is a high standard.  It takes a lot of work.  You can’t go about pursuing it half-heartedly.

But here’s the deal.  Everything in life has a price.  If you want to be outstanding, then living a life of excellence is the price you pay for it.  Are you up to the challenge?  Are you willing to give what it will take?  If so, then you will reap the rewards.

The Ten Keys to Personal Excellence

Okay, so what are the keys, the essential elements, of leading a life of personal excellence?  Well, I’ve thought quite a bit about this and I firmly believe the following ten traits are essential.

1.  Integrity

This one probably doesn’t surprise you.  However, if you just watch the evening news, you’ll see that personal integrity is rare.  Gross missteps generally result in a fall from grace that is difficult to recover from.  No matter how good you are at what you do, integrity is a foundational trait that is required for excellence.  Just look at what has happened to Tiger Woods.  Need I say more?

2.  Passion

Whatever you do, do it with passion.  Be all in.  Put your heart into it.  If you can’t, then you are doing the wrong thing and you need a course correction.  It takes passion to be outstanding.  What makes your heart and mind race?  Go do that.  It doesn’t have to be something exotic or highflautin.  It just has to be something that you love.  Something that you can totally get behind.  Live with passion!

3.  Generosity

Zig Ziglar once said, “You will get all you want in life if you help enough other people get what they want.”  I believe this to be 100% accurate.  Truly outstanding people are generous in helping others get what they want.  They graciously give their time, talents and energy to worthwhile endeavors.  This generosity always seems to come back to them tenfold.

4.  Willingness

Have you ever heard someone say, “That’s not my job!”?  I know that boundaries are important and you have to pick and choose how to use your time, but from my observation, outstanding people have a willingness to get involved that is absent from the masses.  This willingness will lead you to all kinds of opportunities that others simply miss.

5.  Temperate

Those that excel manage their emotions.  You must be emotionally intelligent.  You want to appear calm under pressure and keep your head about you even when others are panicking.  You also want to avoid extremes in behavior.  Practice moderation because it is wise.  This temperance makes you trustworthy.  People that do these things tend to advance beyond others in their field.

6.  Creative

The problems in today’s world are complex.  They are multi-faceted.  Therefore, it takes someone with a healthy dose of creativity to solve them.  Problem solvers are the folks you want on your team.  They are the ones that dream up solutions that make you stand out.  Be a creative problem-solver and you will be outstanding.

7.  Courageous

Courage is not the absence of fear.  It is being afraid and acting anyway.  If you want to be outstanding, then you have to be willing to lean into your fear.  You’ve got to take chances.  Yes, failure could result, but it will not be the end of the world.  You simply have to get up, dust yourself off and try again.  Have more courage than the other guy and you will be extraordinary.

8.  Optimistic

Every outstanding person I’ve ever met has been an optimist.  You simply have to believe that success is possible because if you don’t, you won’t even try.  Trying is the only way that you are going to achieve the excellent results that makes you outstanding.

9.  Humble

Humility is where gentleness, kindness, patience and generosity are born.  If you are great, you don’t have to step on others or make a big show of it.  You can be secure in who you are.  A big part of true excellence is about how you treat other people.  Outstanding people that are humble are well thought of and respected because they are kind.  You should never think higher of yourself than what is prudent.

10.  Dedicated

You have to persist and persevere to become outstanding.  This takes dedication.  You can’t start without finishing and expect to reach great heights.  It often takes years to achieve overnight success.  Prolonged effort is the hallmark of outstanding people.  Excellence is the culmination of years of dedicated practice and refinement.

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Are you waiting for that one big break to make you successful?

It is time to give up.  You heard me right.  There is no need to continue trying to come up with that one brilliant idea or perfect performance that will send you over the top.

You can stop hoping to finally close that monster deal or complete that killer project that will set you up for life.

You need to let it go and stop waiting for that one big break.

Right about now, you might be thinking, “Isn’t this supposed to be a motivational blog?”  Stay with me and let me explain.

Why You Need to Give Up on Your Big Break

People that are successful often appear to have gotten there through one brilliant move coupled with a heaping helping of good fortune.

In reality, this is rarely the case.

You’ve probably heard before that most overnight wonders got there by working diligently for years to achieve their success.  You are just seeing the culmination of all their effort.

Even so, why should you give up?

Well, in most cases, when you are waiting for that one big break, you aren’t really doing all the other long-term stuff you need to be doing to truly achieve success.

You put all your energy into these giant efforts to hit the grand slam while ignoring the fundamental stepping stones that could march you up the hill one step at a time.

This Applies to More Than What You’re Thinking

Steady and consistent action over the long-haul is what produces true success.  How do you climb a ginormous mountain?  You keep putting one foot in front of the other without quitting.  The individual steps don’t have to be huge.  You just have to keep doing the fundamental thing that will get you to the top.

Now, you might be thinking I’m talking solely about success in your career or your business or in achieving some big dream of yours.  Well, this applies to more than that.

It works in just about every area of your life.

For most of us regular people, we are concerned with things like:

• Making our financial ends meet
• Getting along with our spouses
• Taking care of our health and losing a few pounds
• Moving up a little at work

Well, consistency in action is vital in these endeavors as well.  Take losing weight as an example.  Isn’t it all too common that we try to “diet” our way to our goal instead of just consistently doing what we know is right?  If instead of intense short periods of deprivation, we just regularly ate less and exercised vigorously for 30 minutes a day to burn calories, we would be much more successful at achieving our health goals.

Even when we lose weight through some concentrated dieting effort, we gain it all back because we fail to consistently implement the fundamentals needed for enduring success.

As I said, you can apply this same principle to just about every area of your life.  If you do, you’ll be amazed at how quickly real change starts to produce lasting results in your life!

So, give up on that one big break and instead focus your efforts on consistently taking the small steps that will take you to the top.  Then you can be the one that looks like an overnight success.

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