There’s no hard & fast rule when it comes to becoming successful in life. But, there are things you can do and guidelines you can follow to make your dreams more attainable. Here are a few of the most important strategies that you can use to get where you really want to be.
The farm principle:
Farmers do it and Jesus taught this to his disciples. “As we sow, so we shall reap”. The principle is that success is not an overnight thing. It’s got nothing to do with nightly prayers (couldn’t hurt though). And it’s got nothing to do with watching others become successful. It’s all about consistent effort. Farmers tend their crops every day without fail, and when the time comes, they reap the benefits.
Success is a lot like that. Continuous, consistent effort makes all the difference.
Zero shortcuts:
For some, it’s a hard pill to swallow: there are no shortcuts. Your destination is a direct result of the level of commitment and effort that you put into becoming successful. The harder you try, the faster you’ll get there. Shortcuts lead to disappointments. Luck may sneak into the mixture on occasion, but shortcuts will spoil it.
Map it out:
Your mental state has much to do with your becoming successful, but the physical acts you undertake make a difference too. Make a plan, stick with it and measure your results. Keeping track of the things that you do and the success rate of those efforts helps you understand what you’re doing right and what needs improvement. During this journey of yours, fine-tune your plan and map out the route you want to take. The better you adapt and change according to circumstance, the faster you’ll get there.
Handle stress:
We all have to deal with stress whether we like it or not. If you want to be successful, you need to learn how to deal with stress. Firstly, you have to learn how to deal with the “daily stuff” in your life. Secondly, you have to learn how to sublimate or channel that stress energy into something that will work for you. Really, stress can be your ally. Turn stress into motivation. Whenever you encounter stress, push-forward and channel it towards achieving something. Do something positive that helps you forward toward your dream. Do not waver from your goal – focus.
Stay positive:
It’s often easier said than done. Try starting-off by eliminating any negative influences in your life. Get them out of the way, and it’ll be easier for you to become positive. Surround yourself with things that will benefit you, hang out with positive, successful or success-minded people. Embrace the positive and shun the negative.
Mike Nalbone’s “Success University” web site is helping thousands of people achieve their personal and financial goals.
Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label strategy. Show all posts
Sunday
Monday
Success Coaching: Instant Success
By: Jim M. Allen
As a success coach, I have a lot of fun working with energetic, motivated individuals who are eager to turn their dreams into reality. They've made that important step from talking about success to actually creating it.
In helping these "doers" create the necessary strategies to achieve their goals, much of my time is spent talking with them about their expectations of how quickly they can accomplish their goals. In the success coaching process, it's not always the most enjoyable part of what we do together, but it is a very important one. After all, it's important to have big goals to work towards, but it's just as important to have realistic expectations about how and when those dreams can be made real.
Unfortunately, everything today is about speed and getting more done, faster than ever before. Not necessarily a bad goal, but that push for speed spills over into all aspects of our lives. We want fast service and fast results -- no matter what we're doing.
Everywhere we look in our instant-everything environment we see examples of this: fast-food restaurants, one-hour photo stores, 10-minute oil change shops, do-it-yourself express-lane checkout, etc. We continue to move faster and faster� and we grow incredibly impatient, especially when it comes to people enjoying the fruit of our own efforts. Getting all we ever wanted just isn't enough, unless in can happen instantly.... overnight... right away... right now!
Success, however, rarely (if ever) occurs instantaneously. It comes to you on its own schedule as the result of consistent, persistent action. Rather than stressing yourself out, take things easy� take your time� stop expecting instant results. Do what needs doing and let life take its own course. This way, you can focus on working smarter and more efficiently while enjoying the process of what you're doing.
Sure, there will be times when you get immediate results and achieve success quickly. Most of the time you'll need to be patient� Just because you're not getting instant results doesn't mean you won't get any. If you keep working towards your goals, maintaining a sustained, consistent effort, readjusting your plans as necessary along the way, you will create the success you're looking for.
Consider this analogy: You build a large, thousand-mile-long pipeline, from Alaska to California. You drill for oil and start pumping it into the pipeline� Now, do you have oil coming out of the other end immediately? Of course not! You have to be patient and wait a while. Eventually, the oil will start to flow at the other end, but only if you keep on drilling and filling up the pipe.
It's the same way your own efforts. You have to be patient while your work creates the success you desire. By not forcing the timetable and pushing for immediate results, you actually improve your chances of achieving your goals.
How can get a more realistic expectation of your goals? Easy...
First, make a plan before you mark your calendar. That's right, sit down and figure out exactly how you're going to achieve your goal. Figure out all the steps. Determine what resources you already have and which ones you need� Then write it all down, ALONG WITH your estimate of how long it will take to accomplish each individual step! Chances are your time estimates for individual steps will be more accurate than a single estimate for the entire project since you will be looking at smaller action items.
Second, with your firm-but-flexible plan in hand, make a list of potential obstacles, big and small, that could get in your way. Counterintuitive? Too negative? I don't think so� It's really an extension of planning that can actually save you time. Thinking about what may slow you down helps prepare you for overcoming those obstacles, thus speeding you back up. Figure out the average time delay an obstacle presents and factor that into your time estimates.
Third, and finally, look around for examples of people who have accomplished the same (or a similar) goal. Ask them how long it took them to achieve success (versus what they thought it would take)? What obstacles did they face? What surprises did they encounter along the way?
Talking with others who have done what you want to do is a great way to estimate how long it might take you. Plus, you get the added benefit of learning from other people's experience (which, again, could save you a lot of time)!
Three very simple steps, but they can help you focus your mind on the real work necessary to make your dreams a reality.
With a more realistic sense of what can be accomplished, the more you'll enjoy every step in the process of creating success in your life. And when you do reach your goals, you'll see that the success you achieve is more than worth the wait.
As a success coach, I have a lot of fun working with energetic, motivated individuals who are eager to turn their dreams into reality. They've made that important step from talking about success to actually creating it.
In helping these "doers" create the necessary strategies to achieve their goals, much of my time is spent talking with them about their expectations of how quickly they can accomplish their goals. In the success coaching process, it's not always the most enjoyable part of what we do together, but it is a very important one. After all, it's important to have big goals to work towards, but it's just as important to have realistic expectations about how and when those dreams can be made real.
Unfortunately, everything today is about speed and getting more done, faster than ever before. Not necessarily a bad goal, but that push for speed spills over into all aspects of our lives. We want fast service and fast results -- no matter what we're doing.
Everywhere we look in our instant-everything environment we see examples of this: fast-food restaurants, one-hour photo stores, 10-minute oil change shops, do-it-yourself express-lane checkout, etc. We continue to move faster and faster� and we grow incredibly impatient, especially when it comes to people enjoying the fruit of our own efforts. Getting all we ever wanted just isn't enough, unless in can happen instantly.... overnight... right away... right now!
Success, however, rarely (if ever) occurs instantaneously. It comes to you on its own schedule as the result of consistent, persistent action. Rather than stressing yourself out, take things easy� take your time� stop expecting instant results. Do what needs doing and let life take its own course. This way, you can focus on working smarter and more efficiently while enjoying the process of what you're doing.
Sure, there will be times when you get immediate results and achieve success quickly. Most of the time you'll need to be patient� Just because you're not getting instant results doesn't mean you won't get any. If you keep working towards your goals, maintaining a sustained, consistent effort, readjusting your plans as necessary along the way, you will create the success you're looking for.
Consider this analogy: You build a large, thousand-mile-long pipeline, from Alaska to California. You drill for oil and start pumping it into the pipeline� Now, do you have oil coming out of the other end immediately? Of course not! You have to be patient and wait a while. Eventually, the oil will start to flow at the other end, but only if you keep on drilling and filling up the pipe.
It's the same way your own efforts. You have to be patient while your work creates the success you desire. By not forcing the timetable and pushing for immediate results, you actually improve your chances of achieving your goals.
How can get a more realistic expectation of your goals? Easy...
First, make a plan before you mark your calendar. That's right, sit down and figure out exactly how you're going to achieve your goal. Figure out all the steps. Determine what resources you already have and which ones you need� Then write it all down, ALONG WITH your estimate of how long it will take to accomplish each individual step! Chances are your time estimates for individual steps will be more accurate than a single estimate for the entire project since you will be looking at smaller action items.
Second, with your firm-but-flexible plan in hand, make a list of potential obstacles, big and small, that could get in your way. Counterintuitive? Too negative? I don't think so� It's really an extension of planning that can actually save you time. Thinking about what may slow you down helps prepare you for overcoming those obstacles, thus speeding you back up. Figure out the average time delay an obstacle presents and factor that into your time estimates.
Third, and finally, look around for examples of people who have accomplished the same (or a similar) goal. Ask them how long it took them to achieve success (versus what they thought it would take)? What obstacles did they face? What surprises did they encounter along the way?
Talking with others who have done what you want to do is a great way to estimate how long it might take you. Plus, you get the added benefit of learning from other people's experience (which, again, could save you a lot of time)!
Three very simple steps, but they can help you focus your mind on the real work necessary to make your dreams a reality.
With a more realistic sense of what can be accomplished, the more you'll enjoy every step in the process of creating success in your life. And when you do reach your goals, you'll see that the success you achieve is more than worth the wait.
Wednesday
Time Management Strategy - Stop, Take A Step Back & Reevaluate
If things are getting on top of you and you feel like there simply aren't enough hours in the day, it may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your situation. With the pressures of modern life it is easy to lose focus on the goals that are genuinely important to us. If this sounds like you, it is probably time to stop and take a closer look at how you really want to spend your time.
I invite you to start this right away. Commit now to a time, perhaps away from your usual distractions when you can sit down and be alone with yourself and your thoughts. Then with pen and paper in hand, you can look at how you are spending your time now and how ideally you want to spend your time in the future. You need to discover your own motivation and turn it into a compelling reason to act.
Once you are clear about your own motivations, you will use these as a constant reminder in order to even out the ups and downs. These reasons will help you through the tough times or when you feel it is not worth the effort.
When you have gained a clear idea of your goals for the future and how you wish to spend your time you next need to look at how you are actually spending your time now. First of all you should ask yourself the following questions:
• What does my life both personally and professionally look like and feel like today?
• What am I currently spending my time on?
Write down everything that comes to mind. Think about your work, who you spend your time with, your living environment and your income. Also, try to pinpoint the things that are missing from your life as these will hold the key to your using your time more effectively in the future.
The best way to discover where you spend your time is by using a time log. A time log is a record of how you use your time, day in and day out. It is very important that you keep one so that you can see exactly where your time is spent.
If you do this even for just one week you will get a clear idea of how you really spend your time and will probably see some surprising results. Now, that you have a clear idea of how you want to spend your time and how you really pass the hours, it is time to compare the two.
When you do this you will most likely see huge differences between them. I appreciate this may feel daunting and I encourage you to keep going, you are already moving in the right direction.
You will see that change is required, sometimes big and sometimes small. Now you can begin to take steps to spending your time in a way that will make these changes come about. Start with the small things and set yourself realistic short-term goals. Basically, take it step by step. Continue to take small steps towards your goals and later you can move onto some of the bigger changes you may need to make.
Article by:
Discover how to have the time for your important goals and enjoy life. If you're struggling with managing time, then visit www.AboveAndBeyondTimeManagement.com Wendy Hearn works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time.
I invite you to start this right away. Commit now to a time, perhaps away from your usual distractions when you can sit down and be alone with yourself and your thoughts. Then with pen and paper in hand, you can look at how you are spending your time now and how ideally you want to spend your time in the future. You need to discover your own motivation and turn it into a compelling reason to act.
Once you are clear about your own motivations, you will use these as a constant reminder in order to even out the ups and downs. These reasons will help you through the tough times or when you feel it is not worth the effort.
When you have gained a clear idea of your goals for the future and how you wish to spend your time you next need to look at how you are actually spending your time now. First of all you should ask yourself the following questions:
• What does my life both personally and professionally look like and feel like today?
• What am I currently spending my time on?
Write down everything that comes to mind. Think about your work, who you spend your time with, your living environment and your income. Also, try to pinpoint the things that are missing from your life as these will hold the key to your using your time more effectively in the future.
The best way to discover where you spend your time is by using a time log. A time log is a record of how you use your time, day in and day out. It is very important that you keep one so that you can see exactly where your time is spent.
If you do this even for just one week you will get a clear idea of how you really spend your time and will probably see some surprising results. Now, that you have a clear idea of how you want to spend your time and how you really pass the hours, it is time to compare the two.
When you do this you will most likely see huge differences between them. I appreciate this may feel daunting and I encourage you to keep going, you are already moving in the right direction.
You will see that change is required, sometimes big and sometimes small. Now you can begin to take steps to spending your time in a way that will make these changes come about. Start with the small things and set yourself realistic short-term goals. Basically, take it step by step. Continue to take small steps towards your goals and later you can move onto some of the bigger changes you may need to make.
Article by:
Discover how to have the time for your important goals and enjoy life. If you're struggling with managing time, then visit www.AboveAndBeyondTimeManagement.com Wendy Hearn works with business owners to be more effective and successful, achieving a more profitable business in less time.
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