Living the Life of Your Dreams

Posted on April 21, 2022 by admin

“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.” Steve Jobs

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life or one devoid of purpose. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking, writes Excellence Reporter in a 2019 article. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition.

“Life is to be lived and enjoyed in the moment,” says life coach Lamisha Serf-Walls. “Life is too short not to do what you love and when you are living the life your soul intended, you will experience freedom and bliss you never thought possible.”

Life can be much broader once you discover one simple fact: Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use. Once you learn that, you’ll never be the same or settle again.

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” Fyodor Dostoevsky

You should never have a life’s purpose or live a life with the primary goal of getting rich and building wealth. Money can only be a tool used to achieve a goal or life’s purpose. It should never be your primary goal or purpose.

Instead, your goal and puri should be to value or serve others, to work towards something you believe in and to live a life that matters. You should be building wealth to serve others, to make the world better in some small way or to solve a problem. “Never work just for money or for power. They won’t save your soul or help you sleep at night”, states Marian Wright Edelman.

Additionally, let your passion lead you to your purpose. “If you can’t figure out your purpose, figure out your passion. For your passion will lead you right into your purpose. says Bishop T.D. Jakes Be candid and honest with yourself about what your passions are. What really lights you up and makes you happy? What would you do if money weren’t a concern and you weren’t afraid? Let your passion lead you to your purpose.

Whether you start writing for fun, volunteer at a shelter, or start a new business, take some action today. Your passion will catapult you forward to more of the same and in no time you will find yourself living the life of your dreams!

According to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, a German poet, playwright, novelist, and scientist, there are nine requisites for contented and purposeful living:

Health enough to make work and life a pleasure.
Wealth enough to support your needs.
Strength to battle with difficulties and overcome them.
Grace enough to confess your sins and forsake them.
Patience enough to toil until some good is accomplished.
Charity enough to see some good in your neighbor.
Love enough to move you to be useful and helpful to others.
Faith enough to make real the things of God.
Hope enough to remove all anxious fears concerning the future.

“Everyone has a purpose in life…a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the exctasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of goals.” Deepak Chopra

References:

Purpose

Posted on April 15, 2022 by admin

Purpose is an abiding intention to achieve a long-term goal that is both personally meaningful and makes a positive mark on the world, according to The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley. The goals that foster a sense of purpose are ones that can potentially change and improve the lives of other people. “If you can tune into your purpose and really align with it, setting goals so that your vision is an expression of that purpose, then life flows much more easily”, says author Jack Canfield

Purpose is not a destination, but a life’s journey, a mindset and a practice. It’s accessible at any age and at any income level, if we’re “willing to explore what matters to us and what kind of person we want to be—and act to become that person”. Filmmaker and author Drew Scott Pearlman writes: “Your purpose must be particular to you. This is the road less traveled. Your purpose cannot be someone else’s path, not your family’s path nor your friends’ path.”

Individuals with a sense of purpose report higher levels of happiness and life satisfaction—which seems associated with better health, wealth and emotional well-being outcomes. For many people, it was good and beneficial to have a purpose or a goal, no matter what it was.

Additionally, the physical health benefits of a sense of purpose are well-documented. For example, a Harvard’s School of Public Health study found that people who report higher levels of purpose at one point in time have objectively better physical agility four years later than those who report less purpose.

Moreover, researchers suggest that people take better care of themselves when they feel like they have something to live for. Having a purpose also seems to be associated with lower stress levels, which contributes to better health and emotional well-being. And, according to Helen Keller, “True happiness… is not attained through self-gratification, but through fidelity to a worthy purpose.”

Additionally, people with a more “prosocial” purpose—one aimed at helping others—experienced greater personal growth, integrity, and health later in adulthood. This result was echoed by a 2019 study by Anne Colby and colleagues at Stanford University. They surveyed almost 1,200 Americans in their midlife about their well-being and what goals were important to them. The researchers found significantly better physical health and higher emotional well-being among people who were involved in pursuing beyond-the-self goals, compared to those who were pursuing other types of goals. In other words, engaging in prosocial goals had more positive impact on physical health and emotional well-being than engaging in non-prosocial goals.

A sense of purpose appears to suggest that humans “can cooperate and accomplish big things together”. Research suggests that team leaders can effectively boost the productivity, work experience and well-being of their team members by helping them connect to a task-related higher purpose. The 2013 Core Beliefs and Culture Survey revealed that 91 percent of respondents who believe that their company has a strong sense of purpose also say it has a history of strong financial performance.

“Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself.” Oprah Winfrey

Purpose also helps both individuals and the species to survive and thrive. Purpose often grows from our connection to others, which is why a crisis of purpose is often a symptom of isolation. Once you find your path, you’ll almost certainly find others traveling along with you, hoping to reach the same destination—a community.

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According to research by Kendall Cotton Bronk, a professor of psychology in the Division of Behavioral & Social Sciences at Claremont Graduate University, finding one’s purpose requires four key components:

Dedicated commitment,
Personal meaningfulness,
Goal directedness, and
A vision larger than one’s self.

Often, finding our purpose involves a combination of finding meaning in the experiences we’ve had, while assessing our values, skills, and hopes for a better world. It means taking time for personal reflection while imagining our ideal future. “Everything in your life informs you what your purpose is. How do you know it’s your purpose? It feels like it’s the right space for you. It feels like ‘This is what I should be doing; this is where I feel most myself’,” says Oprah Winfrey

A sense of purpose as we navigate milestones and transitions means that we can look forward to more satisfying, meaningful and abundant lives.

“He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” Nietzsche

References:

Visualization: Your Life In Focus

Posted on March 27, 2022 by admin

“The key to effective visualization is to create the most detailed, clear, and vivid a picture to focus on.”

Research shows that the more you focus on the things you desire, the better chance you have at getting them. Thus, knowing what you want and focusing on what you want are essential for success and achieving your best life.

As you might ascertain, having a clear direction of where you’re headed or where you want to go is essential. Without a clear purpose and goals, it can be very easy to get caught up in things that aren’t actually moving you forward in your life’s journey.

For example, struggling comedian and actor, Jim Carrey used to picture himself being the greatest actor in the world. When Carey was still a “wannabe” during one of his appearances on “The Oprah Winfrey Show”, he spoke about his early days trying to make it in the entertainment business. He was broke and had no future. But he took a blank check and wrote out $10 million dollars to himself for acting services rendered and dated it five year in the future.

Subsequently, he carried that check in his wallet at all times and looked at it every morning, visualizing receiving $10 million. Five years after he wrote the check to himself, he found out that he was going to earn $10 million from the movie “Dumb and Dumber.”

“Create the highest, grandest vision possible for your life, because you become what you believe.” Oprah Winfrey

Vision boarding is an excellent way to get clear on your goals. Creating a vision board is a powerful way of getting to know yourself and what it is you truly want in your life.

A vision board is essentially a physical (or digital) manifestation of your goals. Vision boarding involves collecting images or objects that speak to the future you want to create and arranging them on a board for a tangible and aesthetically pleasing reminder of where you’re heading.

References:

“Success = Knowing, Growing, Acting and Serving.”

Seven Steps to Success: John C. Maxwell

Posted on March 21, 2022 by admin

“Attitude is the first quality that marks the successful man. If he has a positive attitude and is a positive thinker, who likes challenges and difficult situations, then he has half his success achieved.” John C. Maxwell

Although there is not a perfect formula to be successful, everyone has the capability to become successful. Success is a journey that you create for yourself if you strongly desire it and act on it. And, success can be learned and attained by you and everyone else. One ‘tried and true’ way to learn about becoming successful is to study the success of other people.

And that is what John C. Maxwell* has done. After over nearly fifty years of knowing successful people and studying the subject, John C. Maxwell has taught millions the principles of success and has embraced the following definition of success:

Success is…

Knowing your purpose in life,
Growing to reach your maximum potential, and
Sowing seeds that benefit others.

By this definition, success is a journey rather than a destination. No matter how long you live or what you decide to do in life, you will never exhaust your capacity to grow toward your potential, nor will you run out of opportunities to help others.

Additionally, Maxwell has developed a process of seven steps for success that are available to you and anyone else who desires to study and pursues the journey of success:

1. Make a commitment to grow daily.

“Success is… knowing your purpose in life, growing to reach your maximum potential, and sowing seeds that benefit others.” John C. Maxwell

Success comes from growing, not from achieving, acquiring or advancing. If you commit to growing each day, you will soon start noticing positive results in your life. Every action that you take towards growing will bring you closer to success, it doesn’t matter how small your action is or how slow you go as long as you keep going. As the poet Robert Browning said, “Why stay on earth except to grow?”

2. Value the process more than events.

“You’ll never change your life until you change something you do daily. The secret of your success is found in your daily routine.” John C. Maxwell

If your goal is to go to the next level in life, then strive for continuous improvement. Events in life are temporary, they teach you how to make better decisions. However, it is the process of change and growth that have lasting value. Choose to embrace the process and learn from both, the process and the event.

3. Don’t wait for inspiration.

“If you start today to do the right thing, you are already a success even if it doesn’t show yet.” John C. Maxwell

People who advance far in life find ways to motivate themselves and live the best they can regardless of how they feel. At times, they even have to push themselves to do something. Successful people persevere. Basketball great Jerry West said, “You can’t get much done in life if you only work on the days when you feel good.”

4. Be willing to sacrifice pleasure for opportunity.

“Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best that you are capable of becoming.” John C. Maxwell

There are two paths to follow: “You can play now and pay later, or pay now and play later. You choose whether you will first want to pay or play. Regardless of the path you choose to take, life will always demand a payment. If you choose “to pay first,” you will be more pleased with your results and enjoy greater and sweeter rewards

5. Dream big.

“Where success is concerned, people are not measured in inches, or pounds, or college degrees, or family background; they are measured by the size of their thinking.” John C. Maxwell

If you’re going to dream, dare to dream big. Dreaming small may keep you from discovering what you’re truly made of. Robert J. Kriegel and Louis Patler, authors of If Ain’t Broke, Brake It, assert, “We don’t have a clue as to what people’s limits are. All the tests, stopwatches, and finish lines in the world can’t measure human potential. When someone is pursuing their dream, they’ll go far beyond what seems to be their limitations. The potential that exists within us is limitless and largely untapped. When you think of limits, you create them.”

6. Plan your priorities.

“To Stay Focused in Life: You can’t know everyone. You can’t do everything. You can’t go everywhere. We have to pick and choose between good and a little bit better.” John C. Maxwell

Successful people have many things common and one of of them is that they have mastered the art of how to effectively manage their time. More than anything, they have organized themselves. Henry Kaiser, founder of Kaiser Aluminum and Kaiser Permanente Health Care, says, “Every minute spent in planning will save you two in execution. Time cannot be retrieved, so live every moment the best you can.

7. Give up to go up.

“One of the major keys to success is to keep moving forward on the journey, making the best of the detours and interruptions, turning adversity into advantage.” John C. Maxwell

Everything that has value comes as a result of making sacrifices. Life will present you with countless opportunities to trade something you value for something else. Keep your eyes open to identify those opportunities and once you do, make sure that what you decide to trade will be a trade up, not down.

In conclusion, “success is a journey” isn’t just a matter of words and ideas, it’s a matter of actions. It’s in you to act on what makes you achieve your success every day. Know that what may mean success to you may not mean success to others, and vice versa–and this is completely fine. Success implies diversity of thoughts, habits, behaviors, values, and attitudes.

“If you make it your discipline to do a little bit of growing every day, in just a few years you will be amazed by your transformation.” John C. Maxwell

References:

* John C. Maxwell is an International Leadership Expert, Speaker, #1 New York Times bestselling author, coach, and speaker who has sold more than 26 million books in fifty languages. As the founder of The John Maxwell Company, The John Maxwell Team, EQUIP, and the John Maxwell Leadership Foundation, he has trained more than 6 million leaders. Dr. Maxwell speaks each year to Fortune 500 companies, presidents of nations, and many of the world’s top business leaders. For more information about him visit JohnMaxwell.com.

Building Resilience

Posted on January 13, 2022 by admin

“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr

The author of “Healthy Brain, Happy Life” and “Good Anxiety” explains how to harness the power of anxiety into unexpected gifts.

We are living in the age of anxiety. There are about 40 million Americans— or 18% of the population—suffering from clinical anxiety disorders today.

Anxiety is a situation that often makes you feel as if you are locked into an endless cycle of stress, uncertainty, and worry. But, there are ways to leverage your anxiety to help you solve problems and fortify your wellbeing, explains Dr. Wendy Suzuki, PhD, a neuroscientist and professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. Thus, instead of seeing anxiety strictly as a problem or curse to dread, you recognize it as the unique gift that it is.

Dr. Suzuki has discovered a paradigm-shifting truth about anxiety: yes, it is uncomfortable, but it is also essential for your survival. In fact, anxiety is a key component of your ability to live optimally. Every emotion you experience has an evolutionary purpose, and anxiety is designed to draw your attention to vulnerability. If you simply approach it as something to avoid, get rid of, or dampen, you actually miss an opportunity to improve your life. Listening to your anxieties from a place of curiosity, and without fear or worry, can actually guide you onto a path that leads to inner peace and joy.

Drawing on her own struggles and based on cutting-edge research, Dr. Suzuki has developed strategies for managing unwarranted anxiety and exercises you can do to build your resiliency and mental strength. The exercises include:

Visualize positive outcomes

At the beginning or at the end of each day, think through all those uncertain situations currently in your life — both big and small. Now take each of those and visualize the most optimistic and amazing outcome to the situation. Not just the “okay” outcome, but the best possible one you could imagine.

This process of visualizing “the most optimistic and amazing outcome” should build the muscle of expecting the positive outcome and might even open up ideas for what more you might do to create that outcome of your dreams.

Turn anxiety into progress

Our brain’s plasticity is what enables us to be resilient during challenging times — to learn how to calm down, reassess situations, reframe our thoughts and make smarter decisions.

Reach out

Asking for help, staying connected to friends and family, and actively nurturing supportive, encouraging relationships not only enables you to keep anxiety at bay, but also shores up the sense that you’re not alone.

The belief and feeling that you are surrounded by people who care about you is crucial during times of enormous stress — when you need to fall back on your own resilience in order to persevere and maintain your well-being.

When we are suffering from loss or other forms of distress, it’s natural to withdraw. Yet you also have the power to push yourself into the loving embrace of those who can help take care of you.

Practice positive self-tweeting

Lin-Manual Miranda sends out tweets at the beginning and end of each day. The tweets are essentially upbeat little messages that are funny, singsongy and generally delightful.

If you watch him, you’ll see an inherently resilient, mentally strong and optimistic person.

For you to be that resilient, productive and creative, it’s essential to come up with positive reminders. You don’t necessarily need to share them. The idea is to boost yourself up at the beginning and at the end of the day.

This can be difficult for those who automatically beat themselves up. Instead, think about what your biggest supporter in life — a spouse, partner, sibling, friend, mentor or parent — would tell you, and then tweet, remind or say it to yourself.

Although popular science continues to suggests that persistent, low-level anxiety is detrimental to your health, performance, and wellbeing, but if you could learn how to harness the brain activation underlying your anxiety and make it work for you, you could turn anxiety into superpower, says Dr. Suzuki.

Her research and her own experience demonstrate that this paradigm shift from bad to good anxiety can accelerate focus and productivity, boosts performance, lead to happiness, create compassion, and foster more creativity.

Twenty-five positive quotes and reminders to build resilience:

You’re awesome, Bro.
You can do all things through Christ which strengthens you!
Believe in yourself; have faith in your abilities!
Everyday, in every way, you’re getting better and better, dude!
“Great minds discuss ideas.” Eleanor Roosevelt
“Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier
“Be patient with yourself.” Stephen Covey
“People will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
“Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu
“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” Andrew Carnegie
“Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley
“Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha
“The secret of health for both mind and body…is to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddha
“Happiness…is appreciating what you have.”
“We make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill
“Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty.” Charles Dickens
“He is a wise man who rejoices for the things which he has.” Epictetus
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.” Oprah Winfrey
“Open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift–today.” Steve Maraboli
“This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it.”
“Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” Brené Brown
“Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” T. Harv Eker
“Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin
“Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal.” Thomas Jefferson
“Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” Theodore Roosevelt

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs–even though checkered by failure–than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

References:

Wealth Blueprint

Posted on December 19, 2021 by admin

If building wealth and financial freedom are your destination, the journey always starts with your financial mindset, attitude and habits. Jeff Hayden

T. Harv Eker, author of “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”, is convinced that anyone can be build wealth and become financially free. But, he opines that what holds most people back from accumulating wealth is an internal mental script or “money blueprint” that tells them that they can’t or shouldn’t.

In his bestselling book, Eker teaches people to identify their internal money blueprint and revise them. However, many critics rightfully argue that his focus on personal psychology as the sole driver of success ignores very real economic and systemic factors such as inequality, sexism and racism which can be possible determinants of one’s income bracket and net worth.

“If your subconscious “financial blueprint” is not set for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know and nothing you do will make much of a difference.” T Harv Eker

Yet, Eker argues that you have a personal wealth blueprint already ingrained in your subconscious mind that will determine your financial life and overall success. What he means is that you can know everything about saving for the future, investing to grow your money, and accumulating wealth, but if your subconscious wealth blueprint isn’t preset to a high level of life and financial success, you will never amass a large amount of wealth or achieve financial freedom.

What people have to realize is that we are all subconsciously taught and conditioned in how to deal with money and wealth, according to Eker. Unfortunately, many of us were taught by family members and acquaintances who didn’t own a lot of assets and did not have a lot of money, so their way of thinking about wealth became your natural and automatic way to think. And since you are a creature of habit, your internal thoughts and beliefs about wealth and money will determine your external results of net worth and cash flow.

“If you want to change your results, you have to start by changing your thoughts.” T. Harv Eker

Your wealth blueprint single-handedly, according to Eker, determines your financial life, because your thoughts lead to feelings, which lead to actions, which lead to your results. Thought is the ‘Mother of all Results’. It’s about a process of manifestation, that your thoughts lead to your feelings, which lead to your actions, which lead to your results.

Thoughts → Feelings → Actions → Results

The reason you think the way you do about money is conditioning. You were taught how to think about money. You weren’t born with money thoughts and beliefs. You learned them. You were conditioned around money, success, and wealth by:

Verbal programming – what you’ve heard,
Modeling – what you’ve seen,
And specific incidences and experiences you’ve had.

No personal wealth mental blueprint is true or false or right or wrong, says Eker. It’s just how you’ve been programmed. Some people are savers. Others are spenders.

There are several important question to ask yourself: What is your current wealth and success blueprint, and what results is it subconsciously moving you toward? Are you set for working hard for your money or are you set to have your money work hard for you? Are you programmed for saving money or for spending money? Are you programmed for managing your money well or mismanaging it?

Bottomline, your wealth blueprint, meaning your thoughts and beliefs, will determine ultimately your financial life and net worth – and can even determine your personal life, according to Eker.

“The vast majority of people simply do not have the internal capacity to create and hold on to large amounts of money and the increased challenges that go with more money and success. That, my friends, is the primary reason they don’t have much money.” T. Harv Eker

References:

Believe in Yourself and Know What You Want

Posted on December 7, 2021 by admin

“If you don’t know what you want, it’s difficult—often impossible—to create or to get what you want in life.” Paul J. Meyers

People generally think they know what they want, but in practice, they do not. Generally, they don’t know what they really want in life or want to do. Additionally, they don’t know where to start, don’t have a plan, and don’t where to look for help to change that.

American author Mark Twain said he could teach anyone how to get what they want; he just couldn’t find anyone who truly knew what they wanted. Being unclear on what you want is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting what you want and success. Paul Meyer, founder of Success Motivation Institute, says if you’re not achieving the success you desire, it’s simply because your objectives are not clearly defined. Your goals need to be written, specific and measurable.

Hundred of thousands of people live there lives without purpose or goals. If you don’t want to spend your life wandering aimlessly, you should dedicate your waking hours determining exactly what you want in life and making plans to achieve those goals.

“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” Paul J. Meyer

Knowing what you want.

If you don’t know what you really want in life, you’re not alone. While most people may think they know what they want, they’re often wrong.

Positive mindset, attitude and focus are vitally important attributes. The attributes are required to reach your goals and to realize your dreams. Thus, you should have a real understanding that you are responsible and capable of creating your reality regardless of the various obstacles you might encounter along the way. According to Inc. Magazine, here are six steps to help you achieve what you want:

1. Make a decision to have what you want, even if you don’t know how to get it. Most people are tentative when it comes to being specific. Instead, be confident in declaring what you want and be comfortable with the fact that you don’t yet have a plan, but you do know what you want.

2. Be clear about the details of the outcome. You should focus on what you do want, not what you don’t want. Practice visualizing yourself in the situation you want to create. You must be clear about what you want, like financial freedom, finding the perfect partner or a happy life. You must imagine the look, feel and sound of the perfect situation for you in your life.

3. Detach from the process. Not knowing “how” to do something holds many people back. The “how to do it,” instructions will appear after you have clearly defined what you want.

4. Believe in yourself and expect that it will happen. You need to believe in yourself and in the creative process. Winners expect to win. A shortage of belief causes many people to give up or never begin in the first place. Believe and set an expectation that what you want will, in fact, appear. It may not appear in the way you thought or at the precise time. You may even experience frustration, anxiety or impatience trying to control the outcome.

“When you believe in yourself, others tend to believe in you.” Paul J. Meyers

5. Be open to possibility when things don’t go your way. The path to the outcome may show up in ways you never imagined before. Suspend judgment of how things should be done and consider that the very thing you think is a deterrent may be the very thing you need to get what you want. Many times, people, circumstances and resources will show up, but you’ll miss the connection. This is where not knowing how, while keeping your eye on the goal, is important.

6. Practice gratitude. Be thankful for the things you have in your life right now. Look at your challenges as opportunities to grow. When you practice being thankful for specific events in your life, even when you don’t understand why they appear in your life, your ability to manifest accelerates almost to the speed of thought.

Getting what you want is not always simple and easy. Challenges, emotions, other people’s negative views and comments can set you back. But in the end, it all comes back down to your choice, commitment, effort and most of all…attitude. It’s essential to choose what you want, believe in your abilities, trust the process, have faith that it will happen and embrace the right attitude.

That is why “attitude is everything”.

“Attitude is everything,” according to Meyers. “It doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, it all has to do with attitude. And then I have an I will-not-be denied attitude. And that’s an incredible thing to have. I don’t look to my weakness; I look to my strength. I don’t look to my problems; I look to my power. It’s all about attitude.”

“When winners choose a goal, their commitment to achieving it is firm and steadfast,” says Meyers. “When winners are confronted with hurdles or run into stumbling blocks, they go over them or turn them into stepping stones. Winners pursue their goals persistently until they succeed.”

Every day, you should strive for increased clarity around your goals and knowing what you really want. Having clarity about what you want keeps you moving toward it.

References:

Successful Investors and Financial Literacy

Posted on December 5, 2021 by admin

Investing is all about: Putting your money to work for you making more money.

One of the most glaring failures in the U.S. K-12 education system is the lack of even basic education in the areas of personal finance, budgeting, saving and investing. We’re becoming a nation in crisis with regard to our schools’ failure to prepare and educate K-12 students in personal finance and decision-making.

Financial illiteracy is an American epidemic and the crisis is growing, according to the non-profit American Public Education Foundation’s national report card on K-12 personal financial education: Vision 2020 Financial Literacy Report Card, 2019-2020. The 50-state review points to a nation in crisis with regard to our schools’ failure to prepare and educate K-12 students in personal finance and decision-making.

“America is facing a growing epidemic,” observed David A. Pickler, J.D., CFP®, ChFC®, CDFA®, an award-winning wealth advisor and education leader and one of Financial Times’ 400 Top Advisors. “Our nation is rapidly sinking into a sea of debt and financial dependency. We have created a collective culture where it is acceptable to pursue bankruptcy as a solution to irresponsible financial behavior and decision making. Each of us has a responsibility to change this culture, to become accountable partners in preparing our children to make sound financial choices, or face the consequences that will undermine America’s future and threaten our economic and national security interests.”

According to The Aspen Institute, 16% of suicides in the US occur in response to a financial problem. Further, a USA TODAY report states that less than one-fourth of young Americans ages 18 to 26 are “very optimistic” about their financial futures.

Financial literacy

One of the most successful traders in history once remarked, “If I’d only been taught in high school what I later managed to learn on my own about investing, I likely could have retired wealthy by age 35.”

Anyone can potentially reap massive financial benefits from simply taking the time to learn the basics about investing as early as possible in life. It’s not too late to begin building a fortune through investing, and the sooner you start, the sooner you’ll achieve your financial dreams.

There are two truths:

Taking the time to acquire investing knowledge and skills, whether at sixteen or sixty, will put you well ahead of your peers in terms of financial literacy and in terms of financial success.
An important “secret” about investing and wealth – “You can make a lot more money a lot faster by sending your money to work for you every day, rather than just sending yourself to work every day.”

The best, most successful investors are continually learning and continually honing and expanding their skills at making money in the financial markets.

Stocks, also known as equities, represent fractional ownership in a company, asset, or security. The stock market is a place where investors can buy and sell ownership of such investable assets.

References:

Wealthy Mindset

Posted on December 1, 2021 by admin

“Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of both happiness and success.” – T. Harv Eker

The right mindset can help you on the road to wealth. And, your mind–which refers to your subconscious thoughts and beliefs–represents the biggest obstacle to your financial success and freedom.

The human mind has evolved over the centuries as a self-survival mechanism. It’s not designed to make you happy, or to help you build wealth and achieve financial freedom, it’s designed to protect you and look for and respond to things that are perceived to be wrong or life threatening.

Develop a wealthy mindset

If you want to be wealthy and achieve financial freedom, you have to stop thinking (and acting) like a broke person! It’s that simple.

A starting point in this process is to observe each thought as it comes into your mind and determine if it is supportive or non-supportive thought.

When you change the way you think about money, success, wealth, and financial freedom, you can create the life you’ve always wanted.

“Understanding your past attitudes towards money and changing them if need be”, according to T. Harv Eker. “The only way to permanently change the temperature in the room is to reset the thermostat. In the same way, the only way to change your level of financial success “permanently” is to reset your financial thermostat. But it is your choice whether you choose to change.”

At the end of the day, becoming successful in business is more about your mindset, passion, and determination than it is about your product or service. Mindset is what separates those who are truly successful from the people who are struggling to get by.

It is important that you discover what you’ve been conditioned or taught to believe about money that keeps you from having more of it, according to T. Harv Eker. By assessing your subconscious beliefs about money, you can finally break through the barriers to your financial success and freedom.

Anyone can create financial freedom if they have the right money mindset.

A true measure of your wealth is not your income, but your net worth. Your net worth grows with your selfworth. There is no time better than now to open yourself to receive massive amounts of financial success in your life.

It’s no secret that the wealthy tend to be frugal with their money. While they excel at saving and spending wisely, they also know that one of the best ways to grow their money and accumulate wealth is to invest some of what they earn in buying assets.

If you aren’t doing what you want to do and you’re not where you want to be, there’s something you don’t know.

Three things involved to create wealth:

The right vehicle
The right knowledge (generalized knowledge, specific knowledge)
The right you (mindset, attitude, belief, habits & character)

Determine how good you are at what you do and get paid for the results your produce instead of your time.

Financial freedom

“It’s been proven time and time again that long-term investing can produce significantly more wealth than short term trading, yet many Americans fail to make the most of their best long-term investment vehicle: their workplace retirement plan,” writes Todd Campbell, author of Your Guide to Better Stock Picks, in a piece for The Motley Fool.

Top advice for developing a wealthy mindset, explains T. Harv Eker:

Do not to listen to the negatives in your life and believe in your own convictions.
Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of happiness and financial success.
If you aren’t doing what you want to do and you’re not where you want to be, there’s something you don’t know.
Enjoy every aspect of what you do: how you do anything is how you do everything in life.

References:

Life on the Edge

Posted on November 29, 2021 by admin

“As you get older, the days go by quicker and you need to make the time count.” Mary Peachin, Octogenarian

As you age, it becomes more important to “live each day right to the limit”, states octogenarian Mary Peachin, in Costco Connection magazine, September 2021, Members Connection. Peachin has “walk the talk” and lived her life as a self proclaim world-traveling, deep sea diving adrenaline junkie. “If your body aches, you ignore it and keep on trucking”, she preaches.

When it comes to going after what you love in life, do not take no for an answer. You should expect and intend to live a life well lived and always believe the best is yet to come

“Life is too short not to enjoy it.”

Make your life happen and take action today. Be amongst the few who dared to live their dreams. Live your life in such a way that there is no regret.

Time is short; live every day for a higher purpose. Let’s invest the limited time we have on your life’s purpose and mission. Do not focus on your problems and challenges; instead focus on purpose and destination.

Life is brief and it passes quickly. The average American male lives to be 70 years 4 months. The average American female lives 70 years 4 months. To live life to its fullest, it is not the quantity of your life, but the quality.

Time is running out for all of us.

“Your job will not take care of you when your elderly and sick, your friends and family will.”

Select a few friends to be close to in your life and communicate and strengthen your relationship with them
Get over those who disappoint you and refuse to let those people steal your joy
Lift up and encourage those who are recovering from failure. Treat people with Grace.
Ignore your critics. Decide to see the good in the experience and growth, the lessons you learned and the relationships you made.
Stay fully focused on your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Believe the best! Christ teaches us to believe the best…faith, hope and love. Remember to rejoice and be glad. If God is for us, who can be against us!

The most effective way to live life on the edge is to “find an edge and Live there”, states Peachin. And, you can start to “find an edge” by writing down your dreams and priorities in life, and then focusing on fulfilling those written dreams and priorities. It starts with knowing what you want, and it ends with getting what you wanted. It’s often that simple.

Save for and invest in the things that matter most!

In every positive or negative situation, there are always options. Remember you are the one pulling the strings, and when things look hopeless, it’s because you’re choosing not look at the things that truly matter. You’re choosing to see the the bad stuff, and they have little to do with your ability to change your circumstances. The trick is that you have to see the ocean of opportunity, not that little bucket of water (problems) that you tripped over.

We must decide to see the good and not dwell on the failure, but instead focus on the positives from the experience. Limits do not exist. You have weaknesses of course and we all do, but focus on your strengths. Remember if you’re feeling scared and fearful, it means you’re trying something new.

People don’t run marathons because it feels good.

When you feel bad about your situation, you’re thinking about the mistakes of yesterday, and not the opportunity of right now and the hope for tomorrow. You’re thinking about what has and what can go wrong, and not what can go right.

When you’re feeling defeated and discouraged, ascertain what you’re really focusing on. It important to focus on how far you’ve come, the opportunities that lie ahead, and the resources available you have to go forward.

“What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.” Oprah Winfrey

Always think bigger and focus on your purpose. Build the world as you want it to be.

References:

Costco Connection, September 2021, Vol. 36, No. 9, pg. 119
https://personalexcellence.co/blog/101-ways-to-live-your-life-to-the-fullest/

“Those who are the happiest are not necessarily those for whom life has been easiest. Emotional stability results from an attitude. It is refusing to yield to depression and fear, even when black clouds float overhead. It is improving that which can be improved and accepting that which is inevitable.” ― James C. Dobson, Life on the Edge: The Next Generation’s Guide to a Meaningful Future

Brownlee Global – Wealth Building, Healthy Living, and Emotional Well-Being with Purpose

Guide and Educate Individuals How to Build Long-Term Wealth, Better Manage Their Money, and Achieve Financial Freedom

Tag Archives: Personal Growth

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