Prudent Steps to Get Out of Debt and Start Building Wealth

Who does not crave for wealth? Everybody I guess. But those you are stuck in a mammoth debt, their dream of building wealth often go in vain. However, what if I say, with a little discipline and a few tricks one can transform his overwhelming debt into wealth. It might sound simply outrageous but it is true that with time and consistent efforts, one can transform debt to wealth and can save for his retirement, children’s education and other future expenses.

Nevertheless, it would be unfair to expect an overnight change and drastic transition from debt to wealth; it is only if you stay patient and persistent in your efforts you can attain this coveted result.

Before you start the wealth building processes if required opt for a debt consolidation service and relieve your monthly payment to some extent. Read on to know a few steps that smoothen the journey from debt reduction to wealth creation.

Step #1: Spend less, save more

Your first lesson is to remember spending more than you earn trailed by debt and earning more than you spend is rewarded with wealth. Get a clear estimate of your monthly income and expenditures. For this, take into account the past records of your bank statements, credit card bills and checkbooks. Deduct your expenses from your income and make sure you save the leftover each month as your personal monthly cash flow.

Step #2: Priority list

Now that you have a clear idea of your spending, categorize your expenses between essentials and non essentials. Electric bill, utility bills, monthly mortgage, groceries and your minimum credit card payments all come under essentials whereas expenditures for entertainment, drinking or flaunting purpose come under non- essentials for the time being and therefore you must curtail them as much as possible. Sum up your essentials this time and subtract the total from your income. This extra money should be devoted to pay off you due bills every month.

Step #3: Time to pay off

Slay your bills in every possible way. Credit card has the highest APR than any other unsecured debts. You should first stop using credit cards and start using cash and debit card instead. If possible Get a 0% introductory rate credit card and consider a balance transfer. Turn down the offers of higher credit limits right away. If you have private vehicle, then plan your routes to lower gasoline expenditures. A big reduction in the annual mileage can ensure a reduction in the premium charged by the insurance company as well.

Start saving in rent, utility bills and all sorts of home related monthly bills. Once you embrace frugal living you will start to see a reduction in your monthly bills and eventually in the outstanding amount you owe. This is just the beginning; it will continue to accelerate even further if you consistently pay more in future.

Step #4: Accumulate Wealth

If you start reducing your loan amount, it means you have accomplished half of the task already. Eventually you can generate more disposable income and accumulate wealth. You might have heard about the term leverage which is like getting a loan to buy something that will generate future income. It is all about finding some income generating assets like rental properties, investments, stocks, starting a new business or buying an existing one.

You can simply purchase an index fund that mimics the S&P 500 and can consistently contribute to that fund on a monthly or quarterly basis. The best part is that you can evade paying tax and can save a considerable amount here. Make sure you have a good credit rating and sound knowledge in the respective subject to make the most of this wealth building strategy.

To conclude, depending on your current financial status, it can take a little longer to come out of the debt maze and actually start the wealth building procedure but if you remain determined to make your dream of wealth creation a reality, nothing can get in the way.

Patricia Briggs is a guest columnist, blogger, author for various websites and communities including Oak View Law Group, CCHFA, CSCDA etc . She loves to write articles during her free time especially on topics like bankruptcy, debt consolidation service, investment opportunities, monetary policies, etc

5 Powerful Steps to Turning Adversity into Opportunity

Adversity is something nobody can elude forever. Whether you’re a risk-taker or someone who likes to play things safe, life will inevitably throw challenges in your direction.

That could be something in your professional life (maybe you missed out on a promotion or you lost your job after years of dedicated service). It could also be something in your personal life (maybe you were the victim of a traumatic crime or someone close to you just died).

Often, people experience a sense of injustice or hopelessness when something bad happens to them. We wonder “why did this happen to me?” or “how will I cope?”

Whilst it’s important to work through the emotions that these episodes provoke, it’s also important not to wallow in self-pity and despair.

Acceptance

The first step to turning adversity into opportunity is acceptance. You need to accept the reality of what has happened, and accept the fact that this isn’t something you can go back and change. Reliving past events and allowing yourself to become consumed with disappointment, anger, guilt or regret is not a healthy process.

You should never deny the reality of what has happened or the emotions this has stirred, but rather than worrying about what you could have done differently, you should start thinking about what changes you want to make moving forward. At the same time, you should accept that there are things beyond your control, and allow yourself to let go of any fear of the difficulties you might face in the future. Otherwise, you will end up living in a state of paralysis.

Taking responsibility

When adversity strikes, people often feel like victims, and this becomes a kind of archetypal role that they assume. People like to be able to find someone to blame when things go wrong in their lives, and find some sort of transient comfort in the notion of their own innocence or misfortune. Ultimately, however, this is not a constructive way to approach the situation.

In some cases, such as the death of a loved one from natural causes, there really is no-one to blame. In others, such as losing a job, you may be able to identify someone who could have treated you differently, but focusing on that person won’t get you anywhere.

Whilst the situation may be something you could never have prevented, the way you respond to it is something you can take responsibility for. The way in which you handle negative experiences is up to you, and once you realise that, you will be empowered to find positive ways of channelling your energy.

Recognising what you have learnt

If you have managed to accept the unpleasant experiences you have endured, and you have taken responsibility for the way you react, it’s important to stop and reflect on the ways in which that journey has affected you. Has it made you a stronger person, better prepared to take on challenges in future? Are you wiser now, more comfortable with your place in the world? Perhaps you will even be able to pass on the insights you have gained to others facing adversity of their own.

Identifying new goals

There is no better time to take stock of the direction in which your life is heading. If you lost your job, this is the time to be honest with yourself – were you 100% happy with your career path so far, or does your passion lie elsewhere? If you lost a parent to a preventable disease, you could use this to motivate yourself to live a healthier life. Or you might just be more grateful for the time you’ve got, and think of new things you want to achieve, places you want to see, or experiences you want to have.

Pursuing your dreams

Once you’ve set some new goals for yourself, remember how active you are in dictating your own destiny, and follow your dreams!

This post was written by Joel who is an online consultant to an NLP training provider called Inspire 360.

7 Ways to Become More Successful

Success isn’t quite as elusive as people think. It’s more a matter of developing strengths and skills, gaining experience and learning how to be successful. A good analogy is a professional career. The “broad brush” approach is your best guide to creating a successful career. For instance, if you’re looking at a career in Occupational Health and Safety Management, you need to learn about everything from self insurance for businesses to how to set up an entire OHS management system.

1. Success- Getting through the obstacle course- Starting out

In all professions, success is based on a combination of talent and marketable skills. Start looking at your strongest skills, the ones you can rely upon to get you somewhere and where your performance is going to be good. You need to look for qualifications and experience in these areas. You’ll find the work is a lot easier for you, too, and these are portable skills.

2. Finding a direction for yourself- Navigating your career

The other major advantage of following your preferences and talents is that you start with a much better knowledge base. Many people find that following a career path in areas where they’re not particularly talented means constant discouragement. In any occupation where you’re naturally interested, the work isn’t even really work. You can achieve a lot in this environment.

3. Learning your job market

Whatever career you choose, you must understand how your career dynamics operate. All careers have their own special job markets, and “career mobility” isn’t just a buzzword. To succeed, you must know how to develop career opportunities and where to look for them.

(Never just assume career opportunities will present themselves. You can achieve more, much more quickly, by selective job moves.)

4. Specialize, or not?

In some careers, like OHS, the top of the profession is safety management consulting . This is a generalist role for experts in OHS. In IT, specialization can be a big positive, but it can exclude you from other roles. The choice whether to specialize or not is quite difficult, and you really need to weigh up your options.

5. The New Economy approach to success- Freelancing and contracting options

Some people actually create two careers. They’ll have typical day jobs, but develop their range of career options through freelancing. This also provides a second income stream, and can pay for a lot of career upgrades like qualifications, equipment, etc.

6. Business skills- Yes, you do need them!

In any career, basic business skills are particularly important. At some point, particularly at management levels, the only way to progress is to have actual business qualifications. You need to learn the language, and you really must understand the business processes in your interest.

7. Networking is both social and business

Networking is a basic career practice. People form natural social networks, and the best business networks are also social networks. The people you meet from training and basic steps onwards are your base network. Make your network a real career asset.

Success isn’t a matter of luck. It’s a matter of skills and understanding. Use your skills, develop your understanding, and you’ll do well.

Shadow Boxing – Your Way to Success!

TAKE the TEST! True OR False?

Is it TRUE that the mind can’t tell the difference between REAL experiences and IMAGINED experiences? Does it react the same way to both Real & Imaginary events?

YES! It’s true.

You can use this principle to your advantage. The theory has been tested in the past. The power of imagining was tested by pitting 3 different groups of students against each other, shooting Basketball Hoops.

A large number of students were tested for their skill at shooting baskets, while standing at the free throw line. From a large group of students, 3 smaller groups of kids, equal size and similar skills were formed. ALL 3 groups shot roughly the same percentage of baskets at the start of the test.

The first group was the Control Group, so for the next few weeks they did NOT practice at all. They were NOT allowed to go into the gym. Group Number 2, entered the gym and practiced doing free throws for 20 minutes EACH day.

The third Group also practiced for 20 minutes everyday, but they NEVER touched a basketball! Each student was told to practice only “in their heads”. They had to IMAGINE shooting free throws for 20 minutes. They NEVER touched a basketball!

At the end of the TESTING period, the First Group, which had NOT practiced, showed NO improvement. When re-tested their scores were the same as their earlier ones.

The Second Group, that had practiced WITH basketballs, shooting REAL free throws, tested 20% HIGHER than their earlier scores.

CHECK THIS OUT!

The Big Shock was Group number 3, which tested 19% BETTER! They NEVER touched a basketball. This proved that we can actually learn a skill by practicing it in our heads.

Is there something that you’re not good at, but you would like to Improve?

If your answer is YES, then just play it over and over again in your mind. IMAGINE and SEE yourself doing this NEW activity, successfully. It works.

BOXERS are very successful using this technique.They IMAGINE fighting their opponents over and over for hours before all important Boxing matches. This has been called “Shadow Boxing.”

Salesmen and Athletes DO IT! This can be a way to build familiarity with any New situation. It builds up confidence.

Mental Imaginary WORKS!

If it’s good enough to help SET Olympic World Records AND BUILD fortunes… what could it possibly do for you?

TRY Shadow Boxing with yourself……

Is there something that you’ve felt too INADEQUATE to attempt? Need a raise? Want to start a New Business? Have desires to write an eBook?

Just IMAGINE yourself doing this thing. Maybe it’s telling your wife that your bother-in-law can’t come to your house this weekend. Maybe it could be going to see your bank about a loan. Whatever it is, IMAGINE it mentally OVER and OVER, again.

ALWAYS remember – your MIND cannot really tell the difference between something you “imagine” and something “real”. YOUR objective is to REPEAT the situation so MANY times that it’s comfortable by the time you actually DO the thing for real. Once you practice enough, it’s nothing new to you.

Add this important new skill to your Emotional Toolbox. Do one repetition at a time and SHADOW BOX your way TO THE TOP!

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Tired of going back to the word GO? Bill Vannot teaches the rules for a Winning Game Plan. Visit Bill today for your business strategy at  http://www.BillVannot.com

Live Life Fully! 10 Things That Can Keep You From It

Have you ever noticed that when you start a new hobby or sport that you have always wanted to start, you feel especially energized and excited about it? You probably notice a similar feeling when you get out of your regular routine, whether it is for a special event or for a vacation. Even if it is something very simple, these can be times when you are living life fully and it is energizing!

As I was thinking about this phenomenon, I recognized that the opposite happens when you are not living life fully. It’s draining to resist living life fully. Your energy becomes lower and you tend to lack excitement. There are many things that can pull us into this fatigued state of going through the motions.

1. Fear

Fear is probably the biggest reason many of us do not always live our lives fully. Especially if you are doing something new, it can be intimidating and scary. If you allow the fear to stop you from doing something you know you really want to do, you are allowing that fear to keep you from living your life fully. When you overcome that fear, you feel energized and excited.

2. Television

That might seem silly to some. However, I contend that watching others either pretend to live or watching them actually live (in the case of reality TV) is NOT living your life fully. I have never in my life heard people discussing television shows as much as I hear them now. I believe it is the ultimate distraction from living. So, limiting your TV time will give you more time to actually live.

3. Clutter

Being overwhelmed by too much stuff in your physical environment can make you feel overwhelmed in general. Every item in your space is something you need to take care of in some way. It can take away from time you would otherwise have to enjoy life. Of course, there are some things you have that you do enjoy. These are not things I would consider clutter. It is the things in your space that you don’t enjoy, that simply take up space and energy that you don’t want to spend on them. Getting rid of excess clutter can help free you to enjoy the things that really matter.

4. Resentment

Holding on to feelings of resentment toward people you feel have wronged you can distract you from living life fully. You may feel and even be totally justified with your feelings for things others have done that hurt you. However, if you hold on to those feelings, you are only harming yourself further. If you find you are having difficulty letting those types of feelings go, one thing you can do is write a letter to get them out, then burn it, flush it or mail it to Santa Claus. Whatever works for you to feel what you feel, then just let it go.

5. Judgment

Spending your time and energy in judgment of others can keep you from living your life fully. You will never have a complete understanding of another person’s motivations because you are not in their shoes. If you find yourself thinking or saying that another person “should” or “should not” do something or do it a certain way, you are judging them. They are not necessarily wrong for doing things differently and you are wasting yourself by attempting to force your ways upon them. Again, this ultimately only hurts you. Let go of your judgments of others and accept them for who they are. This will free you to live your life more fully.

6. Wallowing in Lethargy

When you feel low in energy and unmotivated, the worst thing you can do is give into it for an extended period of time. the longer you stay inactive, the less motivated you will be to become more active. Activity energizes you. If you are feeling unmotivated to do anything, get out and do something!

7. Chaos

When your life is too hectic and chaotic, it can keep you from living life fully. No matter what your circumstances are, be sure to always take time out for you. Whenever you are able to, simplify your life. Get creative with this if you need to. You might be able to simplify more than you think. Regardless of how difficult it is for you to simplify, always take at least a few minutes for yourself every day. Otherwise, what is the point of it all?

8. Drama

Do I even need to elaborate? It’s pointless and petty. I don’t do drama. I’ll leave it at that.

9. Guilt

Guilt is essentially resentment toward yourself for things you have done to “wrong” others. The reasons this keeps you from living life fully are basically the same as for resentment. If you really feel you have wronged someone and want to make up for it somehow, do what you can to do so if you believe it will truly make the situation better. If there is no way to do that directly or doing so will make things worse, write a letter to get it all out & get rid of the letter in a way that helps you let it go.

10. Feeling You Don’t Deserve It

If you find yourself in constant patterns of not living life fully, it could be that you have a subconscious (or conscious) belief that you don’t deserve to life life fully. We all deserve it. Focus on the reasons you deserve it. Write them down. Look at them daily.

There may be many more things that keep us from living life fully. These are my current thoughts on the matter. If you can relate to even one of them and do something to change it, maybe you can get a little more out of life than you were before. Just writing this has helped me realize how I still have many things I can shift in my own life to live it more fully. I always have lots of room for improvement!

Life is a journey and I repeatedly remind myself to enjoy that journey!

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by Jen Kunkel
Connect For Success at http://www.jenkunkel.com
Daily Blog: http://jenkunkel.com/extraordinarylives4ordinarypeople/

Seven Tips For Finding Success in All Our Endeavors

Success in life is not measured by wealth but by peace of understanding. A wealthy person with no peace is a poor person even though he may be regarded as successful. A poor person with all the peace in the world is a rich man even though he is not considered a success. Either way a balance in both can be accomplished if we have the right guidance in whatever we do.

1. Goal or Dream

Having a goal in life is paramount to understanding our existence. A goal could be a dream, a desire to do something, achieve something, make a difference or anything for that matter. Without a goal or dream this exercise is fruitless. Why would we work without knowing what we are working for? Setting the goal is the first step in making sure that something happens. From this point onwards there would be reason for the effort we put into achieving it.

2. Motivation

Without motivation it is difficult to find a reason for doing anything. This is why the dream or goal must be chosen carefully. It is important to know who we are, what we like and what we are capable of doing. These three things enable us to choose carefully what we wish for. If we have chosen correctly then our motivation would surface in the toughest of times.

3. Determination

Reaching the end point for any achievement is driven by determination and zeal. Overcoming the tough times means we must fight with all we’ve got in order to succeed. The strength of the spirit within us must be willing to push us beyond our boundaries and limits in order for us to succeed. Nothing is gained by giving up when we hit obstacles.

4. Self belief

Self belief is very important in ensuring that we have no doubt in what we have chosen to do. Self belief ensures that we stand by our decisions and do for ourselves whatever is necessary to accomplish what we set out to do. Self belief overcomes all the negativity that we could face when we seek advice from others. For those who believe in God this task is a lot easier as his word is truth.

5. Structure

Structure builds discipline. We must have a plan that gives us an idea of how we wish to pursue our endeavor. In this plan we would have schedules. It doesn’t have to be followed to the letter but it is important for us to have some type of scale to measure any progress or regression. It also helps keep us focused on what we desire. Structure also helps us maintain our health and puts in place measures to ensure that we do.

6. A level of Selfishness

Selfishness used in the right way can be a positive thing rather than a negative thing. To focus on our dreams or goals may sometimes require us not to be present in all the other activities that surround us. It is difficult to try to appease everyone at the same time and appease ourselves as well, this is why a certain level of selfishness is required. This ensures that we have the right focus and listen to the right voices.

7. Prayer and faith

Although we may refute this, it is the key weapon in our success. This is what distinguishes between achieving wealth solely for financial gain without peace and achieving wealth with peace. Also if all our efforts end up with nothing as there are no guarantees that they should we can seek answers to our questions at a high level of understanding.

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by Leslie Musoko
http://lesliemusoko.ning.com
http://lesliemusoko.blogspot.com

The Lost Secret of Think and Grow Rich

One of the most powerful principles hidden in the goldmine of knowledge called Think and Grow Rich is what I’ve named “The Pyramid Principle.” Now, I’m not talking about some mystical kind of pyramid power. And I’m not suggesting you go sleep in a pyramid or put a bunch of pyramids around your house or anything like that. No, this is a pyramid of some principles that will create incredible power.

The first chapter in Think and Grow Rich after the introduction contains the very first principle, and it’s the principle that Napoleon Hill calls “Desire.”

Hill taught that, “Desire is the beginning of all achievement.” In countless references throughout the book he describes it as a “white hot desire.” White hot!

That’s a term we don’t often see. But when he introduced the book in 1937 many people in the world were employed in these large factories where big kilns and big fires burned. A hot fire, the hottest fires-had a whitish color. Thus white hot!

So what he was trying to communicate in words of the day was that you needed to have the hottest desire that you could possibly create. That’s the first fundamental principle in whatever it is that you want to achieve.

The second principle of the pyramid also has a chapter named after it – Faith. Or, as some people might understand that term: Belief. Belief and Faith are first cousins. They basically mean the same thing.

Napoleon says Faith is the most powerful force on earth and you find references to that throughout all of the ancient wisdom. If you read the Christian Bible there is a passage in there about faith. It says that faith the size of a mustard seed is enough to move mountains. Since a mustard seed is a very small seed, the message is it doesn’t take much faith to do some amazing things.

He goes on to say that these first two principles, desire and faith, must be present to have any type of success at all. You’re not likely to move forward without both of those.

So you start with those two principles and then you add just one more. The principle of “Action” or what Hill calls “Decision.” With that the pyramid is complete and virtually anything you can imagine can be achieved by using its power.

Here’s how:

First, you use the principles in the order presented here:

(1) Desire (2) Faith (3) Action.

If you start trying to take action before desire, before faith is present, then you’re not going to act very long. In fact, your actions will be very weak because you won’t have a full commitment.

Now imagine a pyramid for a moment. On the bottom right hand of the base place the principle Desire. On the bottom left hand of the base place the principle Faith. And at the top of the pyramid place the principle Action.

Begin with Desire and once you’ve identified what it is, move to the left and begin working on your Faith in achieving that Desire. Now move to the top and take some Action — any kind of positive action toward your Desire.

And here’s why taking any kind of action is so important. After studying 25,000 failures he determined at the top of the list of their reasons for failure was the lack of decision, a lack of action.

But I’m sure you’ve also experienced as I have at times the feeling of inertia. So here’s a little secret for taking action. It’s based on Newton’s Law of Motion that you might remember from Science class. Newton found that a body at rest tends to remain at rest, while a body in motion tends to remain in motion. As long as you have inertia, you’re likely to continue with that inertia. But if you can create any kind of motion, any kind of action at all, you’re likely to continue in action.

So find some small action you can take toward your desire. Any kind of action counts. Maybe it’s just making an exploratory phone call or doing some web research.

That Action will produce some additional Desire (you move to the bottom right of the pyramid again) and you re-start the cycle. Each time you complete the cycle both your Faith and your Desire will grow. That’s why the Pyramid Principle is so powerful — it rapidly creates a “white hot desire.”

Once you get the Pyramid Principle started it takes on a life of it’s own. Each additional action feeds more desire. More desire feeds more belief. More belief feeds more action. And on and on.

That’s why it’s so powerful and that’s why this may be the most important “secret” to be discovered in Think and Grow Rich.

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You can see a free video of best-selling author Vic Johnson teaching on Think and Grow Rich at YouTube. For details on how to claim a free copy of Think and Grow Rich go to http://www.AsAManThinketh.net/think.htm.

Do Your Thoughts Sabotage Your Success?

Whether you believe it or not, positive attitude is not just a “soft skill” – it is a significant factor in achievement. Most dysfunction in business and personal achievement can be traced back to a root cause: ineffective thinking habits! That does not have to be the case for you, though. You can learn to manage your habits of thought and directly affect your level of performance and achievement.

Are you ready?

The first step in harnessing ineffective thinking habits and moving toward growth is becoming aware; for with an enhanced level of awareness, you can make choices that promote positive attitudes. It sounds so simple, but effective change always begins with awareness. People will choose to change when they are aware that the change will serve their best interest!

What is attitude?

An attitude can best be defined as a habit of thought. You naturally develop certain patterns of thinking about the people and world around you. These thinking habits can be conditioned and patterned by parents, friends, culture, environment, experiences, and circumstances.

If you do not assume personal responsibility for developing your own effective, positive attitudes, the world around you will shape your attitudes with average thinking, which is usually negative and unproductive. As a result, you become a victim of your own ineffective thinking patterns.

Every thought you entertain during the day is either positive or negative. There is no in-between or neutral thought. Every moment of your thinking pattern during the day either serves your growth or serves your stagnation.

Most people describe their attitude as neutral – neither positive nor negative. But everything in nature is either growing or decaying, and the same is true in business. There can be no neutral positions. You and your thoughts are alive and dynamic. The thinking patterns that determine your attitudes either work to bring about your growth or work to bring about your decline. It truly is that simple!

Fear is the enemy of positive thoughts

Everyone is challenged by the emotion of fear. Fear is a natural, human emotion that instinctively causes us to respond with a defensive reflex to any perceived threat. If left unmanaged, your attitudes will be controlled by the emotion of fear.

For example, if you set a goal that requires you to do new things, these new activities will seem uncomfortable at first. That is normal, but you may instinctively respond with fearful feelings because the new activities are uncomfortable. This leads you to psychologically interpret those fearful feelings as “risks” or “dangers,” while in fact these new activities may not be dangerous at all.

We all have a basic fear of risks and the unknown. This response is natural, yet absolutely counterproductive to achievement. All achievement requires you to grow beyond your current status or position. You cannot possibly expect to grow and not confront new activities, skills, and responsibilities. If you allow your natural responses of fear to direct your thinking, you personally sabotage your opportunities for achievement by choosing to quit or not to act.

In fact, most of the people who fail to achieve did not fail at all. They simply allowed fear to control their thinking and decided to quit. The fear of risk and the unknown were stronger than their desire to achieve.

How do I conquer the fear?

The best way to get over this natural inclination to fear the unknown is to plan for it. Have a game plan that you can depend on to start fostering a positive attitude. It will start off feeling forced, but over time it will become a habit. Positive habits inevitably lead to positive outcomes!

To get you started, practice the following five steps that will help you develop the mental toughness needed to face the challenge of your natural instinct of fear… and to win!

Step #1 – Maintain positive expectancy

You must keep the vision of your desired, future achievement in the forefront of your mental focus. Achievement is 80% mental! You will first accomplish your dreams in your mind before you ever realize them materially. Build a vision of your future that is stronger than your fears, and fill your thinking patterns with positive expectancy, which actually attracts the circumstances that you will need to realize your achievement.

Step #2 – Manage your daily choices according to your goals, not your feelings

Managing consistent, positive expectancy is difficult because you never feel the same, physically or emotionally, every single day of the week. If you only work on your goals when you feel good, your actions will be too inconsistent to produce results.

My long-time friend and mentor, Paul J. Meyer, would say, “Follow through with your daily plans regardless of circumstances or what other people say, think, or do.” In other words, your dreams for the future must be strong enough to keep you following through with those plans on a daily basis, no matter how you feel.

Step #3 – Aggressively manage your positive relationships

Your associations with others will either promote your growth or deter it. The thinking habits of those with whom you associate affect your thinking. You must, therefore, foster relationships with people who inspire and influence your growth. In the same vein, aggressively avoid those who impose their negative beliefs or attitudes on you. You cannot engage in negative relationships without being negatively affected, so you must manage your personal relationships aggressively!

Step #4 – Live in the moment!

Life comes to each of us one day at a time. You cannot live in the future any more than you can change the past. The past is gone and tomorrow does not exist. Many people never succeed in their life plans because they are always saying, “I’ll start tomorrow.” Tomorrow turns into next week, next month, and next year. Some call it procrastination, but in reality, it is nothing more than a comfort zone.

You procrastinate on your personal growth because it is simply more comfortable to wait. Learn to live right now! Change your thinking about waiting and develop the attitude of urgency in applying effective actions daily.

Step #5 – Believe

Faith – being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see – is a spiritual term. It makes no sense intellectually and can be understood only from a spiritual perspective. Regardless of your religious or non-religious position, belief is vital in your growth and achievement, and you cannot understand belief without an understanding of faith.

There will be times in your achievement journey when quitting or giving up will seem like the only alternatives. At these times, it will take the strength of your faith to prevail. You must believe that you can achieve, for it is the spark that sustains you.

Putting it all together

Armed with a new level of awareness of how and why negative attitudes are instinctive, you now understand why a positive attitude development program is vital to your growth, success, and achievement.

You must develop a positive, productive attitude. It will never happen naturally, but just because it is not natural does NOT mean you cannot do it! Manage you thoughts and attitudes everyday, conquer the fear, and get ready to ACHIEVE!

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Inspiring genuine growth and achievement in leaders, David Byrd has 30 years of experience working with top business executives and their organizations. He is a master of effective leadership and works closely with leaders worldwide to maximize their leadership potential. For more information about The Next-Level Achievement System® or David’s book, Achievement – A Proven System For Next Level Growth, visit http://www.authorsup.com/David-Byrd.

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When Discipline Becomes a Habit, Boredom Enters Your Life

Daily routines seem to be boring phenomena to many. Especially if you have to wake up at six, reach office by nine and come back home by eight in the evening, after pushing your head through a mad traffic, you will start hating your life. Our elders always choose to advise us to be disciplined. They tell us about their experiences and site believable examples about SUCCESSFUL people who were successful (according to them) because they were disciplined. Many parents want their children to be disciplined to a level that often drives them crazy and children end up doing exactly opposite.

Discipline is not about a fixed routine. Discipline is about putting your own self to an order at the level of health and fitness, work and studies, friends and relationships etc.

1. “You turn down your friends offer to watch a movie because it’s an important day at office” – that’s discipline. “You don’t accompany your colleague for a cup of coffee after you finished your shift because you have to reach home by ten everyday’ – that’s not discipline. That’s you submitting to a routine.
2. “You wake up at 6 in the morning, brush your teeth, do some yoga exercises and then have a light breakfast at 8 before you leave for office” – that’s discipline. “You didn’t have your breakfast because your mom prepared something other than your favorite list of items for breakfast” – that’s certainly not discipline.

Discipline is about having the sufficient gut to do what you want and do it with full attention. If you take up a task, complete it by the deadline and do it well, you are disciplined at work. That doesn’t mean you should always follow a specific method or approach. As soon as you stop playing with methods and ways, you stop growing!

Here are key benefits of discipline:

1. You will be more organized. You can manage your time well and also find some free time to recreate yourself. Your life will be less chaotic and everything will make sense to you. You will not swear at the crowd where everyone is pushing himself forward.
2. You will be better at work or studies. You will keep disturbances and stress at bay and put your hundred percent in doing what you are supposed to do. You will love what you study or do because you will become good at it.
3. You will be a happy individual. Your head will stay safe from clutter and sudden unexpected audio visuals. You will have a peaceful sleep at night and you will appreciate the morning sunshine when you wake up.

When discipline becomes routine:

As soon discipline becomes a routine, you are becoming lesser a part of the practice under discipline. Your involvement comes to a halt because you don’t feel alive while you travel to office by bus, talk to your colleagues on escalator or sit on your desk.

1. You will start hating it. You will be less interested in doing what you are doing. You will find that you suddenly lost interest in doing what you always wanted to do.
2. Boredom enters your life sphere. Suddenly, you don’t like the atmosphere in laboratory or office where you were so happy earlier.
3. Everything starts messing itself up. When your head goes nuts, everything else follows.

When routine becomes habit:

1. That’s the worst part. You won’t feel alive. You will run from one corner to other but peace will continue eluding you.
2. You will stop dreaming about ‘good and great things’ you want in your life.

As soon as you start acting out of habit, whole joy of action is lost. It is important to lose habitual practice to have anything new in life. In the world of internet, majority of young population spend their time on social networking websites, chat rooms and several other portals. As long as the excitement is there, as long as the eagerness is there, they find it interesting. Then, it becomes a habit.

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