The Single Most Important Ingredient For Success

By ebizmind | November 1, 2007

This last one is, without a doubt, the most important element in creating the kind of life and business you want. In fact, in the end, nothing else really matters, including the six ingredients I’ve already laid out.

So what’s the one thing that trumps all others?
Not positive thinking, not knowing the right steps to take, not skill or luck or talent. Just acting toward what you want, over and over. If you look back through history, you’ll see that everything humankind has created, everything that was worth doing, came about as a result of persistent action.

How many times did the Wright Brothers fail before they flew? How many people and hours did it take to put a man on the moon? What did Martin Luther King and Mother Theresa accomplish in their lives?
Think about your own life up until this point: I’ll bet you can’t come up with one major achievement that didn’t take persistent action to get there, even if you doubted or had a negative attitude about it. Even when you didn’t know how it was going to happen.
So what do we mean by Persistent Action?
First, understand that it’s not a trait or a skill. It’s a habit you develop over time. It’s not about perfection, but longevity of your spirit.
Here’s what it looks like:
1. Pay attention to what you want, simply by feeling what’s in your heart and responding with an image. Usually this happens naturally and organically, without any work at all. It’s not something you figure out – it happens to you.
Take a simple example: say the word “vacation,” and I know fairly quickly what I want it to look like: palm trees, warm sandy beach, gentle ocean sounds. Could be Hawaii, Florida, or Mexico.

2.Define it as specifically as possible. Make it clear for yourself. See it. OK, Mexico. Eight days, seven nights in Cozumel, scuba diving and parasailing. Oceanside cabana with a balcony. Got it. The more I think about it, the clearer and more defined it gets, all by itself.

3. Keep taking actions that will make it happen.
Start putting money aside for it every month. Book the flight and cabana. Pack (why not a few months in advance? Every time you see that suitcase, you’ll renew your excitement). Tell all your friends (and really rub it in). Whatever actions are required, take them.

It really is that simple.
Now don’t get me wrong, there are a lot of things that can help you achieve your goals quicker and easier, but the best predictor of success isn’t skills, talent, luck, or knowledge.
Those who act persistently on what they want are the ones who succeed. Perhaps you’d like to make it easy and quick? Nobody can guarantee that, but here are some tips to practice:

A. Be clear and specific. Let your vision keep calling you. When it becomes cluttered with thoughts of how, let it go. Knowing what you want is more important than knowing how to get there.

B. Be aware of what will make you quit. For example, as a business owner, how bad would it need to get before you throw in the towel? Do you have a paralyzing dread of financial insecurity? If you don’t get the respect you want, will you burn out? How much rejection can you take (before you stop taking it personally and realize it isn’t really rejection)? Sort the excuses and small thinking from the realities and respond accordingly.

C. Engage your creativity around it and look at it from different angles. If you find yourself getting frustrated, play with it like a game. Try something new. Surprise yourself – it will be a lot more fun and you’re likely to see real progress.

D. Welcome failure. I often say to my clients, “The businesses that fail the most end up succeeding the most, and the best.” Allow yourself to learn from your failures because experience is the best teacher.

E. Do something every day. Even if it’s just two minutes of visualizing, it’s critical to keep it in the forefront of your mind. Actors know, especially when working another job to fund their acting careers, that they must take some action, however small, that carries them that much closer to success.

That’s really it. No magic, no secret, no answers that you don’t have yet. Just simple actions, day after day that will bring you closer and closer to success. Until next month, my friends, here’s to Persistent Action!

By: Robin Jones

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Robin Jones is a Certified Professional Life Coach specializing in helping struggling actors, artists, and other self-employed people create thriving businesses while balancing their personal and work lives. Visit www.robinjones.biz to move your career forward now.

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Build Your Self Esteem - A Starter Guide To Self Improvement

By ebizmind | August 24, 2007

So how do you stay calm, composed and maintain self esteem in a tough environment? Here are some tips you may want to consider as a starter guide to self improvement.

1. Negative Work Environment

Beware of “dog eat dog” theory where everyone else is fighting just to get ahead. This is where non-appreciative people usually thrive. No one will appreciate your contributions even if you miss lunch and dinner, and stay up late. In fact to them, staying late to work means your inefficiency to complete your work during the day! Stay out of this, it will ruin your self esteem. Competition is at stake anywhere. Be healthy enough to compete, but in a healthy competition.

2. Other People’s Behavior

Bulldozers, brown nosers, gossipmongers, whiners, backstabbers, people walking wounded, controllers, naggers, complainers, exploders… all these kinds of people will pose bad vibes for your self esteem, as well as to your self improvement scheme.

3. Changing Environment

You can’t be a green bug on a brown field. Changes challenge our paradigms. It tests our flexibility, adaptability and alters the way we think. Changes will make life difficult for awhile, it may cause stress but it will help us find ways to improve our selves. Change will be there forever, we must be susceptible to it.

4. Past Experience I

t’s okay to cry and say “ouch!” when we experience pain. But don’t let pain transform itself into fear. It might grab you by the tail and swing you around. Treat each failure and mistake as a lesson.

5. Negative World View

Look at what you’re looking at. Don’t wrap yourself up with all the negativities of the world. In building self esteem, we must learn how to make the best out of worst situations.

6. Determination Theory

The way you are and your behavioral traits is said to be a mixed end product of your inherited traits (genetics), your upbringing (psychic), and your environmental surroundings such as your spouse, the company, the economy or your circle of friends. You have your own identity. If your father is a failure, it doesn’t mean you have to be a failure too. Learn from other people’s experience, so you’ll never have to encounter the same mistakes. Sometimes, you may wonder if some people are born leaders or positive thinkers. NO. Being positive, and staying positive is a choice. Building self esteem and drawing lines for self improvement is a choice, not a rule or a talent. God wouldn’t come down from heaven and tell you – “George, you may now have the permission to build self esteem and improve your self.”

In life, it’s hard to stay tough especially when things and people around you keep pulling you down. When we get to the battle field, we should choose the right luggage to bring and armors to use, and pick those that are bullet proof. Life’s options give us arrays of more options. Along the battle, we will get hit and bruised. And wearing bullet proof armor ideally means ‘self change’. The kind of change which comes from within. Voluntarily. Self Change changes 3 things: our attitude, our behavior and our way of thinking.

Building self esteem will eventually lead to self improvement if we start to become responsible for who we are, what we have and what we do. It’s like a flame that should gradually spread like a brush fire from inside and out. When we develop self esteem, we take control of our mission, values and discipline.

Self esteem brings about self improvement, true assessment, and determination. So how do you start putting up the building blocks of self esteem? Be positive. Be contented and happy. Be appreciative. Never miss an opportunity to compliment. A positive way of living will help you build your self esteem.

Jacklyn Ker’s experience of overcoming life adversities has lead her to her mission of inspiring and empowering others. Visit her @ www.JacklynKer.com which focus on Inspiration, Empowerment, Motivation and Personal Development.

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Are You Unconsciously Limiting Your Wealth Potential?

By ebizmind | August 24, 2007

Unlimited financial abundance is your birthright!!

Sounds great doesn’t it, but do you really believe it? It’s not surprising if you don’t.

Many of us don’t believe we have access to unlimited financial abundance because we were raised in a culture that places severe limitations on our creative abilities to attract money. These limitations begin during early childhood when our basic beliefs about everything are being formed.

Think back to when you were a child. What did you consistently hear and experience regarding money?

Did you hear that “money doesn’t grow on trees” or “money is the root of all evil”?

Did people in your household fight about not having enough money?

Did your dad grow surly and silent when it was time to pay the bills?

Was your mom afraid to ask your dad for more money if an unexpected financial emergency came up?

Were vacations eagerly anticipated or were they actually stressful because the family was going on vacation even if they “couldn’t afford it”?

Whatever the situation, you consciously and unconsciously absorbed those beliefs about money and wealth. This became your belief system or paradigm.

Many of us are completely unaware of the unconscious belief systems that are governing our attitudes, behaviors, expectations and comfort level regarding how much money we think we deserve and actually attract.

Do this little exercise with me.

Imagine for a moment that a complete stranger walks up to you on the street and hands you a cashier’s check for one million dollars. This stranger tells you that the money is a special gift and is unconditionally yours-no strings attached.

How would you instantly react?

1. Would you nervously look around for the hidden cameras?

2. Would you absolutely refuse the gift and even feel some resentment towards the stranger for putting you in such a predicament?

3. Would you accept the gift but then feel guilty and make immediate plans on how you were going to give the money away?

4. Would you graciously accept the money with heart-felt thanks and happily go to your bank cash the check and enjoy the money?

Your initial “gut reaction” to the above scenario allows some of your unconscious core beliefs about money bubble up to the surface.

If you picked one of the first 3 answers you definitely have some inherent beliefs that are severely limiting your birthright of prosperity. But the good new is-they are only beliefs. Keep in mind that beliefs are not truth. They are just a perception and an acceptance of the truth. What’s great about beliefs is that you can change them and choose ones that support you and are in alignment with unlimited wealth potential

If you picked number four, congratulations!!! You’re well on your way to unlimited financial abundance!!!

About The Author

Becky Kimes is a professional coach, speaker and author who specializes in helping women break through the invisible barriers keeping them from manifesting their dreams.

She works with individuals, and conducts live workshops and tele-seminars. More information can be found at http://www.goingforsuccess.com

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