1.) Knowing your outcome is key, but you must also make adjustments along the way. It’s rare you will ever get somewhere without obstacles. Think of a pilot flying from New York to Hawaii. They know where they want to go, but they don’t fly in a straight line to get there. They’re off course 80% of the time, but they use their tools to make small changes along the way and always end up where they want to be (well, usually).

2.) Don’t be afraid to quit a project that isn’t working out. You took the right action by ‘trying’ an idea, but if after evaluating you see it has poor ROI or isn’t connecting with your audience, don’t waste more time on it hoping the world will come around. Learn from your experience and start something new, or rewrite your strategy. Study your metrics and listen to your audience.

3.) Remember success is the result of good judgment, good judgment is the result of experience, and experience is usually the result of bad judgment. The past doesn’t equal the future, so learn from your failings and adjust your thinking. To repeat the same process expecting different results is the definition of insanity, don’t get trapped there.

A great historian Arnold Toynbee once said:
“Nothing fails like success.”

What does that mean exactly? Well, if you consider the challenges you’re facing, you might just be using an old approach that isn’t equal to the challenge. In other words, when we have a challenge and the response is equal to the challenge, that’s called success. But once we have a new challenge, the old, once successful response no longer works. That’s why it’s called a failure.

We have to examine our paradigms (our perception), our tools, our skills to determine if we’re approaching the problem in the right way. As a first step, we may even step back and make sure we’ve correctly defined the problem. Then we need to see if, based on the evidence of results or lack of results, if we need a new approach.
As you ponder your challenges, consider if you need a new mindset, a new skill set or toolset. You may need to adjust your view, try a different perspective or a new way to think about it. Then you may need to acquire some new skills or tools to tackle the problem. Whatever the case, you may need to find a new model to drive success. This can be an exciting proposition because you will most likely find new growth and development in the process—this is success!

Remember: nothing fails like success. Be vigilant and be ready to continually learn and adapt to new challenges, which will surely come your way.

Secret to Success, is Failure video:

I have found that almost all successful people have experienced significant failures in life or in their work, but they learned from those failures. On the other hand, people who don’t recognize their failures or don’t seek learning from them, are often the ones failing again and again. Why? Because they haven’t learned the lessons from the failure – they haven’t gained self-awareness or understanding; they haven’t understood others or their marketplace; they haven’t developed the maturity for humility and integrity – and they find themselves repeating their mistakes again and again.

Think about the failures or mistakes you have made. How did you respond to them? What outcomes did you get? How have they helped you today? How have they not helped you – do you have something still to learn from your failures?

If you want to make significant progress in your life, don’t forget there is success on the other side failure.

New Perception
If you can look past your immediate disappointment and see it as a numbers game you’ll have real leverage when taking risks down the road. Number games work everywhere, the more people you date or ask out, the faster you’ll find your perfect match, the more hands you fold in poker the better chance you’ll have to catch a winning hand when there’s a monster pot, the more you diversify your portfolio the better you’ll weather financial crisis’ (recessions) over the long-term. Think of this, Babe Ruth had more strikeouts than anyone in baseball, but he also the most homeruns. You’ll be remembered for your successes, not your failings.

Become a Master of Emotions
In Business

This applies to everyone so use it in your favor to win over others as well. In business, first think of your outcome, decide if your intention is to persuade, entertain, motivate, inspire, etc. Then find out what already makes your audience feel these emotions, what excites them. You want to direct their focus on things that bring them pleasure. Figure out how will they gain pleasure by having you around, or by hiring you, or from buying your product. A little research on your audience will definitely raise your game.

In Education

When you’re trying to learn something new you can really fire up your brain by connecting what you’re learning to something you are already passionate about. Find a way to relate what you need to know, with what you already love learning, or doing. This creates a chemical reaction in your brain that speeds up neuron connectivity. Because of this, information will really stick. If nothing else, focus on how the new information will help you make a million dollars or other possibilities that exist if you gain this knowledge.

Bonus Tip: If you simply pretend that you’re really interested in a subject, you will gain genuine interest – resulting in genuine knowledge. Fake it till you make it works 7/10 times. Give it a shot.

Our Reality Is Based On What We Focus On
If you focus on the pain and rejection you ‘might’ experience from doing something, you will most likely experience pain and rejection. However, if you focus on the pleasure and euphoria you could feel by doing something, you will most likely succeed. If you procrastinate a lot, focus on the pain involved with NOT getting off your ass and doing it. It’s a double negative, but focusing on the pain of not doing something will motivate you to take action and DO IT! –taking action bleeds reward.

So, figure out what drives your pleasure and pain factors. What are you afraid of that’s keeping you from breaking free of the daily mundane grind? Find a way to link pleasure to either the rewards of taking a risk, or the pain you’ll experience from not breaking free of the rat race.

1.) Know your OUTCOME.

To actually get what you want in life, you need to know what it is you want, specifically.

If you want a better relationship, you must know exactly what you want in a person, physically, emotionally and intellectually. The more details the better, being picky is very important when defining your desired outcome.You need to be greedy, selfish and honest with yourself for this.

If you want to be a better friend, or increase your social prowess think about the outcome of your interactions, before they occur. Remind yourself, why you are visiting this person, how do you want them to feel after being with you. Is your intention to make them feel cared about, entertain them or cheer them up, or is just to spend some time together. If you think about this beforehand, you won’t end up sitting around wondering why you’re bored. Think about phone conversations ahead of time, don’t be afraid to take notes on interesting stuff you want to remember, be expressive with your body language and voice inflections – even if you’re on the phone. I promise this will make you more likable and memorable.

If you want more money, you need to be clear exactly how much more. What is your dollar amount to feel financially satisfied? Most people can’t answer this question, but you must be crystal clear when defining this. Your conscience and sub-conscience mind will run much more efficiently if you have a clear picture of your outcome.

Focus with this kind of clarity is what produces life-changing results. It’s the key ingredient to phenomena’s such as of law of attraction, positive thinking, law of the universe (The Secret), whatever you want to call it – it exists. All supported with infinite case studies and real examples. It’s also this clarity that gave the world J.D. Rockefeller, Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Bill Gates, etc. Those that define their outcome, define the world as we know it. Whether they’re a salesman, a teacher, a doctor or the President – its all relative.

2.) Take DAILY steps towards your goal (Getting off your ass!)

Before bed or first thing in the morning, think of 2-3 actions you can take to move you toward your goal. Think of something you can do immediately! Then do it, before you talk yourself out of it. Make a phone call, write down your goals, iron your clothes, eat a healthier meal – whatever it is. If you take even two steps a day toward your goal, you will eventually reach it. At least you are consistently moving toward it right? If you don’t consciously move toward your goal EVERY single day, you are taking 2 steps forward and three steps back. Life is too short to waste time with procrastination.

3.) Find a role model and get on the fast track.

Find someone who is already making the kind of money you want, dating the kind of person you want to be with, or look the way you want. Learn what they are already doing and have done to get where they are today. Study their success and simply do what they did. Be thorough.

When I wanted to improve my poker game I studied Phil Ivey, when I wanted to reach my goal in bench pressing 300 lbs I studied Arnold Schwarzenegger, when I needed to kick start my retirement accounts I studied David Bach and Warren Buffet – get the picture. There are countless examples of those who have already achieved YOUR dream. Seek them out and play copycat.

If you surround yourself with people living at a higher level, by the law of nature you will adapt and rise to that level as well.

Gratitude is under-rated and under-utilised. Most of us focus on the things we want to achieve in life ie, the things we have not yet achieved – the things we do not yet have. We hanker after it, gripe about it, wish we had it, wonder when we will get it and scheme to achieve it. It is all well and good to have goals and to visual them and work towards them, but it is critically important to your happiness to take time to appreciate the things you do have and have already accomplished.

The benefits of gratitude

For the moment let’s forget about the “intention manifestation” principle – which states that you attract what you focus your interest on and that being appreciative of your successes will encourage more successes into your life – being grateful has another more immediate function. Being grateful immediately increases your satisfaction with your life and allows you to feel happier, which in turn allows you to accomplish more.

Gratitude refocuses your priorities

Focusing on what you are grateful for also reminds you of your priorities and of what is fundamentally important to you. Often we get caught up worrying or focusing on little things that really are not important to us. Thinking about what we are grateful for allows us to refocus and re-center ourselves on what is important to us.

Gratitude lets you enjoy the simple good

Gratitude allows you to enjoy the good in your life. Oftentimes we believe that only achieving the big goals like getting the big promotion, winning the lottery, having the best party can make us happy. But focusing on being appreciative allows you to focus on the many small good things that occur in your day that you are grateful for such as being on time for the bus, getting your favorite drink in the vending machine, seeing a beautiful sky, sharing a laugh with your partner, seeing your kids healthy and happy and playing. These things make life very enjoyable and satisfying but often we take them for granted in our search for the big and flashy successes. Practicing gratitude allows us to appreciate our success and our happiness more.

Gratitude reduces envy and negative emotion

When you are busy appreciating and savouring all the good things already in your life, there is little time for hankering about what others have. Take a simple common example. Let’s you say you have a regular 20 inch TV, but you want one of those new fandangled, flat screen, plasma items to watch the big game on. Imagine that you keep thinking of how great it would be see the game on that big screen and how you wish you had it you will feel very dissatisfied with the TV you do have and envy all those who have the TV you wish you had.

Now imagine instead that you focus on appreciating the fact that you have a TV to watch the game on your own TV, in the comfort of your home where you can sit in your favourite chair and relax and enjoy your game-viewing experience. You will feel more satisfied and appreciate the TV you have rather than being unhappy wishing you had another TV. Being grateful helps reduce envy and resentment and promotes satisfaction and happiness.

Gratitude improves your physical well-being

Studies have shown that people who take a few minutes each day (for a week) to write down the things that they are thankful for sleep better, exercise more and feel less stressed than the control groups who do not engage in a daily gratitude exercise.

Gratitude improves your emotional well-being

Further experiments have shown that people who practice feeling grateful recover from traumatic events more quickly. They are less bothered by negative memories of the event and when those memories do surface they are less intense. Gratitude helps to make sense of negative events even the most negative events serve the purpose of making you stronger. Grateful people achieve closure and recover faster from negative events.

As you go through you day today, practice being aware of the many good things in life. Never mind if it feels corny, just do it. Simple things such as your good health, your family, your friends. Try to focus on those things and acknowledge to yourself how grateful you are to have them in your life.

#1 Metamucil is like Liquid Drano for your digestive system. It’s made of psyllium husks, a non-digestible, non-soluble fiber, which bulks up in the stomach and traps fat molecules. In addition to trapping fat in the stomach and digestive tract, Metamucil also helps you to lose weight, purge the body of colon build-up, and clears out the fat in the bloodstream. Plus it gives you regular bowel movements and it lowers your cholesterol! If you’ve ever had issues of feeling bloated, have IBS, experience irregular BM frequencies, or have high cholesterol this will change your life almost immediately.

Here’s an interesting fact about your digestive system. It’s the hardest working muscle in the human body. The reason we feel tired some days more than others has more to do with what we are eating than how much sleep we’re getting. For example, when a person has a big dinner, or late meal, they’ll wake up the next morning much hungrier than if they had a light meal, or ate earlier in the evening. You would think if you eat later, you should be full longer. Right? Well, you spent so much energy digesting your large and/or late meal you’re literally exhausted by the time you wake up, leaving you hungry and tired.

#2 Research on the benefits of omega-3 fish oil supplements is incredible. Simply taking this with your morning mix will help you maintain excellent cholesterol levels, lowers blood pressure, helps prevent Alzheimer’s and so much more. Check out this intense-workout article for great information.

#3 Baby aspirin (low-dose). Research has now proven that taking one baby aspirin a day decreases morbidity. Meaning it will help you to live longer, period. It builds a protective layer around your heart, strengthening arteries and aiding in heart attack and stroke prevention. This is a no-brainer, but there are conditions when it may not be right for you. Consult your physician and read this WebMD article for more reasons NOT to try aspirin therapy.

I have been living with this morning mix for the past few years, and it’s changed my body. That’s why I recommend it, it’s simple, and it works. What have you got to lose? My cholesterol went from LDL 201 to about 171, blood pressure went from hypertension levels of 155/95 to 125/75 and I’m the most ‘regular’ and comfortable in that area than I ever have been. While true, it was not this morning mix alone that contributed to my increased health, but it is definitely a big contributor and a perfect way to start my day.

My primary concept for this blog is to share all the information I’ve picked up from reading piles of personal development books, articles, blogs, magazines, seminars, CD’s and all the other media I’ve devoured. The good news for you – I’m going to give it away for free. It’s just too easy to live the life of your dreams, not to share it with the world. That’s kind of my mantra – live, learn and share. Besides, I’m not really expecting anyone to read my blogs anytime soon. My intention is just to put my thoughts in writing – my personal brainstorming session. I want to remember what I’ve learned, experiment with new ideas and learn from others who’ve discovered their true passions. This will be my hub for sharing some of the best audio, video and literary content that actually sparks something inside me. I’ll post my reviews, opinions and share personal strategies that have changed my life as well.

Most of my blogs will involve health, music, and personal development. The way I see it is f you have great health, you will have tons of energy and you’ll look great (huge confidence booster), if you appreciate music, then you understand a universal language of emotion that connects around the world, and if you stay focused on continually growing and developing your character you will no doubt become an intelligent, confident, successful, humble, contributing human being. For me, this creates a very well rounded lifestyle that allows me to enjoy and appreciate this ONE life I have to its fullest extent.