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- Will Power July 29, 2010
- The Laughable Life July 28, 2010
- Knowledge is Not Power! July 27, 2010
- Extraordinary Self Control July 20, 2010
- You’ll Achieve Whatever You Believe July 12, 2010
- Your Life’s Reflection July 11, 2010
- Real Self Help July 10, 2010
- Quick Fix? How About the Real Deal Instead? July 3, 2010
- Monday Love June 8, 2010
- To Have Succeeded June 7, 2010
Real Self Help
I was speaking to a group of sales professionals the other day and I let them in on a little secret.
The topic was the toughest sales job they will ever have. It involved the most difficult prospect that they would ever have to persuade.
And I also wanted them to know that once they were able to convince and sell this very specific person and convert them to their way of thinking, they would have a loyal customer for life. And a customer that would lead them to unbridled success.
The little secret that I shared with them and which I will also now share with you is this: The toughest person you will ever have to sell is yourself!
I have a little saying…
YOU are already exceptional. You just have to convince yourself.
You see, most of us do not yet have the confidence that we can accomplish anything we want to. Most of us still surrender to limitation on a daily basis.
We don’t have to. But we do. We haven’t been shown the features and benefits that we possess within ourselves, and in spades.
You’ve also heard me say before that limitations are like the Boogeyman…they only exist if you believe they do. And nothing could be truer. Or sadder.
The only limitations in your life right now are the ones you have acknowledged. You give them life by continuing to believe in them.
Henry Ford was right on when he said, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, either way, you are right”
I’m telling you, once you are able to sell yourself on the truth, you can accomplish anything you want to accomplish in this life. And nothing or no one can sway you from achieving even your most daring dreams. Guaranteed!
Think about any or all of the success stories you have heard in your life. They could be about people who achieved great milestones, athletes who won great events or championships, scientists who invented great things or just anyone who has ever exceeded at an exceptional level in any walk of life.
All of their stories seem to have an amazingly similar theme. And you hear them say things like the following:
“All of my life I was told I couldn’t do it”. “People said that I was crazy for even trying”. “They told me I was too slow”. “My family and friends said I would never amount to anything”.
You get the idea, right?
Almost all of the wildly successful people throughout history have been confronted with a whole bunch of other people who constantly gave them all of the reasons why they couldn’t succeed, warned them about the let down they would have once they failed, and gave them more than enough opportunities to simply quit.
But that didn’t seem to matter. And that’s the secret…
The reason it didn’t matter was because all of those people that have succeeded knew they were going to succeed. And all of the people to this very day who are going to be successful already know it, too! They have already convinced themselves that they will accomplish their goal and nothing that anyone can say to them will change that.
So why is it that we seem to be thrown off track by the negative so often? Simple. We don’t believe in ourselves.
When we make a bold statement about something we are going to accomplish, but haven’t truly sold ourselves on the idea…the naysayers are merely confirming back to us what our subconscious already knows…we’re not going to do it. We’re not talented enough, not rich enough, not smart enough, or whatever the excuse happens to be. We simply haven’t been sold on our own worthiness and ability to achieve. And so it’s almost like throwing it out to the masses so they can just let us off the hook. They take the pressure off of us even having to try. They save us from what we perceive to be certain and total inevitable failure.
What a shame.
I won’t ever tell you that it’s easy to develop the kind of faith in yourself that allows you to conquer your fears and live a life of passion…but I will tell you that if you are willing and open to the idea, you can make it your reality.
Once you have been persuaded by yourself that you are awesome, and once you truly believe that you cannot be stopped from achieving your dreams, goals and desires, it’s a done deal. At that point it just becomes a matter of time. You WILL become a success in whatever area you choose. And no one else can say or do anything to prevent it.
But you have to sell yourself.
Like I told the pros the other day, if you close that deal, your prize will be living your ultimate life. All the time. Meeting adjourned.
Quick Fix? How About the Real Deal Instead?
There was a commercial on TV the other day that grabbed my attention. The reason that it caught my eye was because it was being sarcastic, which I love…and yet at the same time it was absolutely truthful with the message.
It was for a website called CreditFairy.org. Now, I don’t necessarily endorse the site or the info, as I haven’t gone and checked it out in any depth. It does look to be pretty helpful, though.
Anyway, the reason I thought the ad was great was because it was really in the face of all of these other places that promise to magically fix all of your credit issues presumably by some sort of magic. It showed a guy looking under his pillow, in search of a clean credit report, much as a child would look under their pillow for some money from the tooth fairy. As the man looked high and low for some good news, his wife walked in the room and said something to the effect of, “honey, there’s no such thing as the credit fairy”. Great stuff!
And it got me to thinking about other things…
There are a whole bunch of “gurus” or “teachers” out there who claim that you can live the life of your dreams, have the freedom to do anything you want, work from the beach, own a mansion, drive the nicest cars, etc. and they tell you it’s all really, really simple! In fact, some of them would have you believe that by merely thinking positive thoughts and repeating affirmations you will transform yourself into the most prosperous and abundant person that you could possibly imagine and that only good and wonderful things will happen to you as long as you live.
Well, I’m here to tell you, there’s no such thing as the Brand New Life Fairy, either.
If you want a quick fix to the good life, I say good luck. Because by all the evidence this world has to offer, that is not a reality or even a possibility.
Hear me out.
A shift in mindset is essential. Thinking positive thoughts and looking for the good in everything is valuable. Repeating affirmations is good.
But those are all only PART of the formula for success.
And no, sitting around on your couch eating cheetos, watching Oprah Winfrey and just waiting to receive all the blessings and abundance of the Universe is not the way it comes together either. Not even close.
There’s a whole lot more to it than that! But that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Quite the contrary. YOU can do absolutely anything you want to do in this life. It just takes a much more serious commitment. YOU have to be vested. The fairy doesn’t come along and do all the hard work while you sit back, relax, and start enjoying the best version of you.
Think about it…anyone could commit to simply saying good things all day, thinking positive thoughts and then waiting for the fun to start. That’s pretty easy.
It’s something else entirely to commit yourself to becoming the person that you are capable of. The person that is deserving of the beach house, the Mercedes, working from home, and spending all of their time enjoying life. It takes a truly serious person who is ready to APPLY the principles that are necessary to achieve success.
The most wildly successful people in the history of the world have very little in common from a quick look at the surface. Some have been men and some have been women. Some have been college educated and some have dropped out of high school. Some have come from poverty and some from wealth. Some were tall and some were not so tall. Some were nice and some were real a-holes. It’s quite a mixed up cast of characters…
But they do have a couple of things in common, for sure.
I recently finished a book that I am totally excited about. It addresses these commonalities. The book talks about exactly what you or anyone else needs to do in order to become extraordinary in life. The key is, you just have to DO it. I want you to read it because I know it can potentially change your life! Not the book itself, or my writings, but YOU can change your life by applying the ideas and being persistent!
The reason I wanted to write this book in the first place was because I was hearing from so many people how they were trying to be positive, or trying to change their lives. These folks might be just like you. They know what they want but they just don’t know how to get started toward actually accomplishing it.
They had tried to tune into the Universe, or they were really asking God for help…but nothing was happening. Many were in difficult situations either financially or emotionally, and things were just continuing to spiral downward. Some had seen movies like The Secret, but had not been able to put any of the teachings into play in a meaningful way in their own lives. Others had read inspiring books or attending wonderful weekend seminars but weren’t able to capture the essence of the concepts and make them a reality.
I’ve spent most of the last 20 years trying to learn the truth about success. I have been fortunate enough to work in an industry that has allowed me to form relationships with countless business owners, CEOs, presidents of companies, etc. I have had the good fortune of asking a lot of questions about how they achieved their levels of greatness. I have been blessed to have come into contact with athletes, religious leaders, coaches, public speakers and authors as well, and have done everything I know how to do to learn from all of them.
It’s been fun. And it has paid off!
I wanted to share the ideas and principles that these successful people have used to achieve incredible things in their lives, in order to help as many people as I can come into contact with to change their own lives.
We’re all looking for more freedom to enjoy our families and friends. We all want to be able to do the things we love in life. And I can tell you that you can absolutely do those things. It just takes the right kind of effort. It won’t happen overnight (insert your own tooth fairy analogy here)…but it WILL happen! You CAN be, do or have anything…that part is TRUE! But, again, you have to know how to get started, you have to actually START, and then you have to be persistent.
If any of this appeals to you or grabs your attention, I would urge you to get the book and read it.
It comes out next week, and I’m doing something really special for all of the good people who are members of Habitual Victory. If you would like to get in on that, simply enter your name and a valid e-mail address in the box at the upper right of this blog. (or HERE) You won’t receive a bunch of garbage, and I don’t share your name or e-mail with ANYONE! What you will get are great motivational e-mails, updates, and other cool stuff from me once in a while. You’ll also be on the list in time to see what special thing I’m doing for the first people that want to get their hands on the new book. But I only want you to sign up if you’re serious. Oh, and you can download a free copy of my last e-book “Stop Procrastinating Now” when you sign up. If putting things off has ever been an issue for you, you should definitely read this one!
I’ll leave it up to you.
Hey, did I mention that I interviewed Randy Gage, Pat O’Bryan, Dr. Larina Kase and Eric Farewell as part of the project and their stuff is included in the book as well?
How cool is that?
Bottom line time: If you’re serious about your life and you really want to do something amazing…the new book is definitely for you, and you need to get it, read it, and apply it.
OR
You can just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll keep getting what you’ve got. Who knows maybe the Brand New Life Fairy will show up one of these days…
Monday Love
It’s a great feeling when you’re doing something that you love. Even on a Monday.
I was getting on the elevator today and this guy gets on with me. He was only going to the 2nd floor and I was headed all the way up to 12. So I didn’t have him with me for much of the trip…
He was talking to someone as he boarded and he was laughing and smiling when he jumped in and pressed the appropriate button.
“Are you having a good time so far today?” he asked me, as he continued laughing a little bit. (Whatever it was he was talking about with his buddy must have been pretty humorous).
“Absolutely!” I replied. And so you know, I wasn’t just saying it because it seemed appropriate. I really was having a good time. In fact, all the way to the elevator I had been thinking about how lucky I am to be doing something that I love every day and for having so many wonderful blessings in my life.
I parked on the top level of the parking garage this morning, which has a separate elevator…and it was out of order…so I had been traveling down five flights of stairs on foot before getting to the main building elevator so I could go back up. Gives a guy a chance to think about stuff…like maybe how he should be doing a little more exercising.
Anyway…
So the guy says, “Good! You have to have a good time. You have to enjoy what you’re doing. Otherwise…why do it?”
“That’s exactly right, my man,” I said, sensing the instant brotherhood we had formed with our common sense of positivity. And then he stepped off.
Now I was laughing…by myself. That was a great way to start the day.
Then I get into the office and while checking my e-mail, I happen to see an update from Randy Gage. I really enjoy Randy’s blog and I also subscribe to his rants. By the way, you should too. Go HERE to do so. And here’s his BLOG.
So, in the subject line of Randy’s Rant this morning it reads, “Mike, Are You Having a Freakin, Fabulous Monday?” I smiled and thought, “Okay, this is pretty cool, I’m starting to pick up on a serious vibe that’s being thrown down”.
And sure enough, Randy’s e-newsletter was about how he loves to get up and start his day because he is so passionate about what he does for a living, and also how so many people just aren’t. He went on to talk about how his wish is for all of us to be doing something we truly love to do each and every day. And I happen to think that’s an absolutely essential part of our existence. I think our spirits long to be happy and fulfilled with the activities we are involved in on a daily basis. And I think if you’re going to do anything “for a living” it needs to be something you love!
So, I say, either love what you do or do what you love. Anything else is just a flat out waste of your time, talent and energy.
There’s no reason that anyone should have to feel a certain way based on whichever day of the week it is. I find it to be pretty sad when I ask someone how they are doing at the end of the week and instead of saying “good” or “okay” or even “great” they say, “It’s Friday!” And of course, these are the same people that drag around and mope and whine and complain every Monday morning. And every Tuesday morning. And every Wednesday morning. In fact, you wouldn’t even know they had a personality until about 3pm on Thursday afternoons. That’s when they come alive for a about a three day stretch…until about 3pm on Sunday afternoon.
Life’s too short and too precious for us to waste it doing things we hate or things that make us miserable. And it is never too late to start becoming the person you might have been!
I’m with the guy in the elevator! If you’re not enjoying what you’re doing, why do it?
So how about it…did you have a good time today?
