LIFE ITSELF IS FULL OF RISK
visit my site @ www.starharris.8k.com
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
The Power of Focus - Living On Purpose
Your purpose is the big picture and your goals are the stepping stones. To fully capture the sensation of being alive and experience peace of mind you will need to to align your daily goals with a well defined purpose.
Whether you want to develop success motivation habits, develop powerful positive thinking or create positive change it all starts with a journey. That journey is to learn and to continue to learn all lifelong. The single most important thing that successful people do is learn. You mind is your single greatest asset in your journey for personal happiness.
Are you at a crossroads? Are you sensing a void in your work and a deeper hunger for something more out of life?
At the center of your purpose the personal power to make a difference, the live according to what matters most to you and the ability to make the most of your every waking moment of your life.
This is your task for the journey: To answer your "why" for living by establishing a clearly defined purpose. When you adopt a lifestyle that is driven but purpose you create opportunities to enrich others and make a difference. You purpose will always serve the greater good of others. Any purpose designed to serve yourself at the expense of others is not true purpose. Consider your purpose your true work in life.
What is your work?
Your natural talents and gifts are indicators of what you are created and designed to do. Your desires and passionate interests are glimmers of what is possible for your to pursue. I believe that there is not desire given to you that does not have accompanying it the power of see it realized.
Ultimately the law of sowing and reaping and the golden rule provide some inspiration for why you must pursue purpose for your life. You must exercise your gifts in the service others and service to others will in some way be found in your purpose. Your purpose is designed to naturally incorporate the Law of Sowing and Reaping because the more you give then the more you will receive. The way you treat others is the way you will ultimately be treated.
At the end of your gifts, calling and purpose is a life waiting to be changed - T. L. Pierce, Upgrade Your Mind
Your purpose is a gaze into your future. It is a picture of what you are willing to pursue - T. L. Pierce, Upgrade Your Mind
What are doing with your life?
What is your life's work all about?
What will be your legacy when you life is over?
Here are 3 key points to activate your purpose:
2. Be determined. Don't get distracted or subject to the influence of other people. Stay on track and stay with it. Sometimes it will be lonely. Only when you give yourself to your work will your gift make room for you. Grab a hold of a singleness of mind and commit to doing whatever it takes to fulfill your purpose and your life's work.
Discovering Your Purpose
You have to work it out before your work gets out - T. L. Pierce, Upgrade Your Mind
You have to labor sight unseen. This is what I call the Principle of Obscurity (I'll share more on this in and upcoming article). You have to labor and toil uncelebrated and into the night when working on defining your purpose, refining your purpose and in ultimately realizing your purpose. You alone have to work it out before your work gets out.
You are struggling because you are lacking a clearly defined purpose. Your purpose will overwrite any view of your life as a struggle.
What do you do best?
What do you really enjoy doing?
Have you established your Priority Focus?
Are you in have-to mode or choose-to mode? Are choosing enthusiasm and empowerment?
Discovering your purpose begins with recognizing your special skills and talents. You don't have to work and live your life bored, stagnant and just going through the motions. Purposeful work begins with work that you care deeply about. You don't have to do work and you shouldn't do work that doesn't inspire you and challenges you.
Routine and mundane tasks become less important and your life work takes on new meaning. To realize your fullest potential you life goals must reflect your purpose and the pursuit of money will only result and a portion of life truly passing you by.
Conclusion
I want to encourage you to take action on what you read here. The first action you take is bookmark this site. This blog is a passion. I enjoy writing and enjoy reading your feedback. Each article is and exercise in reflection and personal inspiration. May you be inspired to change your life now and upgrade your life by upgrading your mind.
Never stop learning. Embrace change. Develop the habit of changing your habits for continued success. You are one thought away from change, one idea away from breakthrough. Continue to reach for that next thought and idea for positive thinking and positive change that will fuel your potential, inspire ever increasing possibilities and bring you the personal success that you desire and deserve.
The Power of Focus - Taking Decisive Action!
Taking decisive action is what I like to call making the “command decision”. You have to take some type of action and create some type of motion in the direction of you success motivation goals. Being stuck and not knowing what to do or deciding that you either cannot make a decision or that you won’t make a decision is in fact a decision anyway.
What positive changes are you trying to realize for yourself at the moment? Do you need to put off limiting beliefs and bad attitudes? Have you decided to have a positive attitude about your success and motivation to see your goals realized?
Do you realize that ultimate life is about problems and solutions? The most successful people are those how chose the solve their most pressing problems and the most pressing problems of others as well. Problems are there for you to solve and your mind is the most complex organism and structure know to man science that is uniquely designed to solve complexity. That means you have all you need within you to start your journey for costive change, positive attitudes and lifelong success!
You must take decisive action now. You are naturally brilliant and wonderfully gifted to reap the rewards of life. But life will challenge your dreams and test your resolve. Not because you are not worthy and don’t deserve. No. But because you need to prove your personal fortitude and character. You have to qualify yourself for success by being willing to take action and persist until you succeed. Getting to the end isn’t the real goal. It is in the growing along the way and the wonder of self-discovery that you acquire all you need for sustained success.
Your talents and gifts can get you there but your character is what will keep you there in the long term. Inheritances is one thing but wisdom through experience is another. So don’t worry about what you don’t have. For every purpose and vision you will find provision…when you decide to act!
No more excuse! No more laying down on the job. No more blaming your parents. No more blaming your circumstances and no more blaming yourself. Excuses and blame will only lead to regret and thoughts about what you could have done and what you should have done. What actions do you need to tack in your life right now to activate your success motivation and positive thinking changes?
1. You are bored. If you are bored recognize this and become self-aware of your feelings about you current state of boredom. Now do something different! Don’t just accept boredom. Go out and create the excitement and exhilaration you need to get momentum back into you life. Life is to be lived and not watched!
3. You confidence has slipped. Refer back to the focus strategy on creating confidence and stepping into your fears. Procrastination only adds to weaken your confidence. Getting things done and one thing done at a time is a great way to build confidence. It’s the little wins that build to bigger wins. Completing a simple task alone is a great energy booster. Choosing to take decisive action eliminates the pressures of not acting which results in loss of confidence and procrastination among other possible outcomes.
5. You are doing work you don’t like. We all have certain mundane tasks that aren’t exciting but are required to experience long term success. Success motivation realizes that the successful do things that the unsuccessful won’t do in order to be realize their goals. So certain boring and not so exciting tasks are a part of life. When you shift your thinking from have-to to choose-to, your going will be much more enjoyable. However if you are doing work or in a job that you simply don’t like that you must decide what you need to in order to expand your talents and experience more enjoyment. Don’t be like most people and hang on the security at the expense of live your best life now.
6. You are easily distracted or just lazy! I’ll quote here straight from The Power of Focus: If you avoid taking action because you’d rather put your feet up every night and watch movie reruns on TV, there’s little chance you’ll be enjoying the abundant lifestyle any time soon. The bottom line? Success takes effort and consistent, focused activity. Laziness is not apart of the equation. It’s a banned substance.
At the root of procrastination is the lack of success motivation because it is easier to put something off than to take action. Be focused and on target with your goals and establishing the reasons for why you need to or better yet why you must act will provide guidance and clarity in identifying possible stuck states.
Becoming unstuck and taking action is just a matter of thinking forward and acting with purpose. You must be compelled to action now. Yesterday is now gone and tomorrow never really comes. Don’t get caught in the trap of saying “tomorrow I…”. Friend, you only have NOW.
But just as a magician uses the magic words “TA-DA!”. You can magically change your life and get it in gear right now. Here’s how.
Think. Take the time to reflect and consider you action. Consider you outcomes if you do act and consider you outcomes if you don’t act. Check yourself and check your activities.
Ask. Gather the facts and get the information you need to act. Ask good focusing questions of yourself and those who are your support. Without getting caught up in the paralysis of analysis, get informed and prepare to get going.
Act. Do it now! Build you momentum. I won’t always be easy but it will be worth it. Coach yourself into taking consistent action now! Get and accountability partner or success motivation group that can help keep you on task and in action. Do it now!
The Power of Focus - Consistent Persistence
Consistent Persistence is the prelude to excellence and greatness. When stand for something and commit to doing it well you create remarkable results. You will in turn attract top people and rich rewards for your efforts.
Your Greatest Power
Your greatest power is your ability to choose between "having to" and "wanting to". Here is a 2 part activity straight from The Power of Focus and this is very powerful. You have to finish this in order to realize the simplicity and liberating power of this strategy.
I want to write down 3 activities that have to get done within the next 3 months. Provide real tasks with real due dates of 3 months or less. It could be anything from goals to groceries. Just give a brief description for each. Next to each activity I want you write down your feelings about that activity. Be honest and make it a one word description of your how you feel. Here are some feeling words to help: upset, worried, excited, joyful, frustrated, happy, sad.
1. Reorganize my office - Anxious
2. Pay Taxes - Excited
3. Give Presentation at work - Nervous
Great! You've completed this short activity. Now cross everything off the list! Here is where you get start get more powerful. The simplicity and power behind this exercise is that you don't have to do anything! Sure there are consequences and repercussions for not doing certain activities but you really don't have to do them. You may be happy if your activities are complete or someone else who is impacted by you not competing a certain may end unhappy as well but again and to be redundant...you don't have to do anything if you don't want to.
Okay lets move on to the next part of this exercise. Do the same exercise again but this time list 3 activities you would really look forward to completed within the next 3 months and associated a word feeling with each activity.
Okay, right now you have two short lists. One is a Have-To list and the other is the Want-To list. I'm guessing that the have-to list result in more negative feelings associated with each activity and the want-to list have positive feelings with most if not all the activities on that list. The point here is that negative feelings weigh you done and steal energy from your efforts whereas positive feelings generate energy and lift you up in completing your tasks. Now ideally this would be great but the world isn't perfect right?
So how do you create positive feelings about the things in life you simply have to do? In life there are things we simply have to do no matter how we feel about them right? If you answered yes, you are WRONG.
The simple truth is that all of life is about choice. Those living in mediocrity do so by choice. It isn't about what they have to do and what they want do. Rather, it is about what they think about the power to choose and the consistent choices that persistent in their lives. Do you understand how powerful this is? This is exciting!
Your trigger point for change is realizing that you can choose a different future. It is your consistency of positive choices or the lack thereof that have provided you with the life you now live. When you realize this you will start to experience greater peace of mind.
Consistent Persistence is learning how to choose wisely and make the right choices for your life and continually making the right choices for the right results.
Choose To Be Free
Do feel the shift in power here? This is how you tackle the have-to activities in your life. You re-frame those tasks in your mind and consciously choose to do them. It is only from the power position that you can then work on creating the lifestyle you desire and that allows you to delegate any and all tasks that you don't like doing.
The Power of Focus - Ask For What You Want
Focus strategy number seven from The Power of Focus is "Ask For What You Want". The Power of Focus (book) goes into greater depth on how this principle is key to increasing and expanding your business but there is a significant benefit for personal success motivation and goal achieve as well. I will discuss them here.
"If there is something to gain and nothing to lose by asking, by all means ask." --W. Clement Stone
Asking is a simple gift and a universal Truth. This Truth is summed up by the phrase "ask and you shall receive". This gift cannot be exercised any more excellently than in young children. When children ask for something, they sincerely believe that they can have it and that they deserve it. Children keep on asking also! I have two children and they are persistent and act in full faith on what you want and desire. When they want something they simply "ask". They don't make it difficult and create complex approaches. They just simply "ask". When they don't get something they ask again...again...again. :)
Asking isn't just about "getting what what you want". Asking is information gathering and increase in knowledge. In getting knowledge you get the power to get what you want when you use it. When you ask, you get all sorts of information, ideas, strategies, names of people who can help you and even money!
Always
Seek
Knowledge
There are many reason why you should ask and why you need to ask but many people don't ask or don't know that the can ask. Why is that?
1. They have a belief system that says that it's not right to ask.
2. They lack confidence.
3. They fear rejection.
You previously learned from our walkthrough on the book The Power of Focus about building confidence. Asking plays a role in getting you want you want. You have to break barriers and do what you haven't done before in order to get what you've never had right? To overcome barriers to asking you simply act with confidence and ask.
So you may now be asking (Hey that's a good start right there!) ..."How do I ask?". Glad you asked! :)
1. Ask Clearly. Focus and be precise. What do you want? Think clearly about your request, take time to prepare if you need to and create or phrase your questions with words designed to create the greatest impact for you. This is powerful for both yourself and questions you ask of others.
2. Ask With Confidence. When you ask with confidence you ask with the power of conviction. This is detectable by those you ask and reinforces a postive internal belief system. When you act with confidence you certainly get more out of life. Well, when you "ask" with confidence you also get more out life. Avoid asking hesistantly and with uncertainty. If you need to, repeat item number 1. Knowing clearly what you want to ask will go a long way to helping you focus on your outcome and asking with confidence. Be daring in your deserving! Be bold but not brash. Exhibit a quiet strength and ask with confidence expecting a return!
4. Ask Creatively. These are busy times we live in. Sometimes you have to be creative in your asking. You don't want to settle for a "no" and you also don't want to accepted the status quo in your asking. If email and phones calls aren't doing the job in your asking of others then find alternate ways to get your questions positioned for an answer. How about homing pigeons? Dancing bears? Sure it sounds wild but brainstorm and come up with alternate ways of getting your questions ask. Apply the same approach to asking yourself questions about what you really want out of life. Think of creative ways to phrase questions that will help you get greater clarity. Don't just ask yourself questions that don't create a reaction. Ask yourself questions that get you excited, mobilized and energized!
It is up to you to target your desires and generate success. The world is yours for the "asking".
Ask for what you want or take what you get!
There are only 3 more strategies to go as we walk through The Power of Focus. They are:
Strategy Eight: Consistent Persistence
Strategy Nine: Taking Decisive Action
Strategy Ten: Living On Purpose
The Power of Focus - Confidence and Stepping Into Fear
Strategy number six from our series on The Power of Focus is "Building Confidence and Eliminating Fear". Fear is usually the result on our imaginations creating outcomes ahead of time that don't reflect the true "facts" of a situation. Unfinished business is also a confidence stealer and can create negative actions. Building confidence can only be accomplished through action. Eliminating unfinished business, learning to get something done and stepping into fear is the pathway to freedom for winning.
You experience abundance and freedom you need to deal with the FUD in your life. Fear breeds uncertainty and doubt and can spiral into an unhealthy approach to dealing with your life challenges.
What challenges, weights or unfinished business is lingering in your life because of fear? The longer you allow this things to linger and grow the more negative momentum you may be building and the more overwhelmed you will feel. You move from denial and indifference to confrontation. That is, confrontation of issues before you and simply step into you fear.
Everything you want is on the other side of fear. Uncertain outcomes should not be the genesis of fear. Rather, it should be a cause to activate faith. Faith and belief in an expected outcome will empower you to step into your fear and faith bridges the gap between fear and confidence.
The greatest way to build confidence is to act. Step-by-step you will build what I call a "series of wins" or history of achievement and accomplishment which boosts your confidence and trust in yourself. You will build confidence in the reality that you can get do whatever you need to do to succeed. Confidence is not a mystery. Confidence is acting with certainty.
Overcoming fear starts with simply asking yourself the question "what do I really fear?". Ask this of yourself routinely and address your answers with the follow up question of "what can I do to overcome this?" By doing this you are creating a strategic plan to attack your fears using self-knowledge as a key weapon.
1. Remind yourself of something you did well. Do something daily that will demonstrate an act of faith towards your goals and dreams and against fear is a confidence builder. Start small if you have to. Small victories lead to bigger ones.
2. Read inspirational bios and autobiographies. This goes a long way to feeding your need to succeed. You can build a picture of inspiration and possibility in your mind that can get your imagination working for you and not against you. Replace images of fear with pictures of possibilities.
4. Build excellent support around you. Create a circle of people that will support you dreams and speak words that refresh you and remind you of your value, worth and potential. Team work makes the dream work. You need a support system for your success. No one is an island and success doesn't happen in vacuum. You cannot succeed alone. Build a dream team and start living your best life now!
6. Do something for yourself weekly. This is big. Most people don't spend enough time celebrating themselves for the good they do and the tasks they get done. Be good to yourself and celebrate your weekly accomplishments. You deserve it!
The road to confidence is paved with weekly victories and triumphs. Learn to applaud and celebrate your victories and your wins.