Category Archives: Goals

Patience is a Virtue

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“The most useful form of patience is persistence. Patience implies waiting for things to improve on their own. Persistence implies keeping your head down and continuing to work when things take longer than you expect.” ~James Clear, author of Atomic Habits

Patience, along with effective habits, are a necessity and essential virtue in order to make changes and improvements in your life.

As James Clear points out: “Your outcomes are a lagging measure of your habits. Your physical fitness is a lagging measure of your eating and training habits. Your knowledge is a lagging measure of your learning habits. Your net worth is a lagging measure of your financial habits.”

Effectively, you get in your life what you repeat over the long term.

And, patience is imperative in investing.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett reminds investor regarding the importance of patience when he quipped that: “Successful investing takes time, discipline, and patience. No matter how great the talent or effort, some things just take time. you can’t produce a baby in one month by getting nine women pregnant.”

“The key to everything is patience. You get the chicken by hatching the egg, not by smashing it.” ~ Arnold H. Glasow

References:

  1. https://www.purposefairy.com/75545/quotes-on-patience/
  2. https://bizadda360.com/quotes/warren-buffett-quotes

Positive Wealth Building Thoughts

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“Wealth is the product of a man’s capacity to think.” – Ayn Rand

“We become what we think about.” — Earl Nightingale

Wealth building begins and ends with your mindset, thoughts and behaviors. Thus, it’s imperative to keep your thoughts focused on the positive, on success, on making an impact, on changing the world and on changing people’s lives for the better.

There is an old adage that goes:

  • Watch your thoughts, they become words.
  • Watch your words, they become actions.
  • Watch your actions, they become habits.
  • Watch your habits, they become your character.
  • Watch your character, it becomes your destiny.

You must not fix your eyes on current world conditions or even your own personal situation. Instead, you must focus on what you can control, on how you respond, and on how well you maintain a positive and winning mindset and attitude. Focus on the solution not the problem.

So, your keys to success tips include:

  1. Use only positive words while thinking and while talking. Use words such as, ‘I can’, ‘I am able’, ‘it is possible’, ‘it can be done’, etc.
  2. Allow only feelings of happiness, strength and success into your awareness.
  3. Every time a negative thought finds its way into your mind, immediately replace it with a positive thought or an affirmation.
  4. In your conversation, use words that bring forth feelings and mental images of strength, happiness and success.
  5. Before starting with any plan or action, visualize clearly in your mind its successful outcome.
  6. Read at least one page of an inspiring book or an inspiring article every day.
  7. Associate yourself with people who think positively.
  8. Act courageous. Always sit and walk with your back straight. This will strengthen your confidence and inner strength.

In order to build wealth and to achieve financial freedom, you must develop a wealth building mindset and follow a deliberate plan. As you will discover, your wealth grows to the extent that you do.

“We become what we think about most of the time, and that’s the strangest secret.” – Earl Nightingale

Bottomline…for success, keep your focus and thoughts on wealth building!!! Because, what you focus on expands and establishing habits is the key to expansion.

Don’t focus on the problems your dealing with today or the conditions of the world; fix your eyes on your systems, habits and the destination.

Napoleon Hill describes success as the product of having a definite objective. In achieving that objective, you need a clear definite aim and a definite plan to get there.

A definite chief aim means in simple terms that you must have a clear objective that you are aiming to achieve. Success — building wealth and achieving financial freedom — will not come to you and you will not be able to manifest what you want, unless you know what you want.

Success is ultimately achieved by focusing on a clear objective, and pursuing that objective deliberately and with all the means at your disposal. In simple terms, success is simple, but not easy.

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe it can achieve.” Napoleon Hill

Actually, you just have to be exceptionally clear about what you are trying to achieve, passionate about achieving it, comfortable and happy that what you’re doing matches your values: and finally, and perhaps more important than anything else, you must believe that you can achieve it, you must expect to do so, and you must have a plan to achieve it.

So it’s imperative that you use the power of your thoughts and mind to focus on the positive aspects of your life. This works similarly to building strength in the muscles of your body. As you focus on what’s going right in your life, it will grow and expand like a muscle.

What you focus on grows and expands!

References:

  1. https://www.therealsecretofsuccess.com/napoleon-hill/
  2. https://activerain.com/blogsview/5155111/what-you-focus-on-expands

Systems are Best for Long Term Success

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“Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress.” James Clear

James Clear, author of Atomic Habits, spoke at a conference I attended about ‘goals and system’. During his insightful talk, he explained that “Goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress. ”

Furthermore, he said that, “I began to realize that my results had very little to do with the goals I set and nearly everything to do with the systems I followed.” To explain, he writes that “If you’re an entrepreneur, your goal might be to build a million-dollar business. Your system is how you test product ideas, hire employees, and run marketing campaigns.”

Moreover, goals are good for setting a direction, but systems are best for making progress and reaching your destination.

Goals can become too limiting, says Scott Adams, the nationally syndicated cartoonist of Dilbert. Systems, in contrast, habits are things that people regularly do and that increase the odds that an event ends up creating an experience that leads to an eventual success, even though that success might not be immediately apparent.

A system, says Adams, contributes to a positive attitude that widens a person’s field of perception, which he contends is what makes some people luckier than others in that they can see more opportunities.

Build a system for getting 1% better every day.

In Clear’s opinion, “a handful of problems arise when you spend too much time thinking about your goals and not enough time designing your systems.”

https://twitter.com/atomichabitss/status/1498825041835823105

According to Clear, several problems arise when you focus on goals and ignore the system, such as:

Problem #1: Winners and losers have the same goals.

Successful and unsuccessful people often share the same goals, thus the goal cannot be what differentiates the winners from the losers. It wasn’t the goal of winning the Tour de France that propelled the British Cyclists to the top of the sport, states Clear. Presumably, they had wanted to win the race every year before—just like every other professional team. The goal had always been there. It was only when they implemented a system of continuous small improvements that they achieved a different outcome.

Problem #2: Achieving a goal is only a momentary change.

To truly have meaningful and long-lasting change, you must change your habits that led to the problem or challenge in the first place. Achieving a goal only changes your life for the moment. That’s the counterintuitive thing about improvement. You think you need to change your results, but the results are not the problem. What you really need to change are the systems that cause those results. When you solve problems at the results level, you only solve them temporarily. In order to improve for good, you need to solve problems at the systems level. Fix the inputs and the outputs will fix themselves.

Problem #3: Goals restrict your happiness.

The problem with a goals-first mentality is that you’re continually putting happiness off until the next milestone. Happiness should not be just something for your future self to enjoy.

Furthermore, goals create an “either-or” conflict: either you achieve your goal and are successful or you fail and you are a disappointment. You mentally box yourself into a narrow version of happiness. It makes no sense to restrict your satisfaction to one scenario when there are many paths to success.

A systems-first mentality provides the antidote. When you fall in love with the process rather than the product, you don’t have to wait to give yourself permission to be happy. You can be satisfied anytime your system is running. And a system can be successful in many different forms, not just the one you first envision.

Problem #4: Goals are at odds with long-term progress.

Finally, a goal-oriented mind-set can create a “yo-yo” effect. When all of your hard work is focused on a particular goal, what is left to push you forward after you achieve it? This is why many people find themselves reverting to their old habits after accomplishing a goal.

The purpose of setting goals is to win the game. The purpose of building systems is to continue playing the game. True long-term thinking is goal-less thinking. It’s not about any single accomplishment. It is about the cycle of endless refinement and continuous improvement. Ultimately, it is your commitment to the process that will determine your progress.

Fall in love with systems

James Clear surmises that “goals are good for planning your progress and systems are good for actually making progress. Goals can provide direction and even push you forward in the short-term, but eventually a well-designed system will always win. Having a system is what matters. Committing to the process is what makes the difference.”

The next time you think about a goal, something you deeply desire to achieve, think of the system that you will follow — and how often — in order to reach it.

References:

  1. https://jamesclear.com/goals-systems
  2. https://www.cioinsight.com/careers/dilbert-creator-focus-on-systems-not-goals/
  3. https://jamesclear.com/good-habits
  4. https://medium.com/swlh/thinking-in-systems-not-goals-2b9a4105d0d3

James Clear is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Atomic Habits.

“The most useful form of patience is persistence. Patience implies waiting for things to improve on their own. Persistence implies keeping your head down and continuing to work when things take longer than you expect.” ~James Clear

Habits and System Building

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“Your system is the collection of daily habits.” James Clear

Behaviors and Beliefs are a two way Street, says James Clear, author of “Atomic Habit”. Effectively, the way you act influences what you believe about yourself; what you believe about yourself influences the actions you take and the manner in which you behave. But, you should let the behavior lead the way, explains Clear.

Every action you take on a daily basis is a vote regarding the person you are currently and want to become in the future. Everyday you’re casting votes to become the person you see yourself. Habits matter because they reenforce the person you want to become.

Build a system.

You want to focus on developing a process / building a system or achieving a goal or outcome. You don’t rise to the level of your goals, you fail to the level of your system. Building the system — the way you prepare — that executes on achieving your goals is what is important. The system is what gets you closer to your destination. Ask yourself what you’re optimizing for?

Your goal is your desired outcome. Your system is the collection of daily habits you follow. Your system is your collection of daily habits you follow. Your current daily habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results. Over a long period of time, your life bends towards your system, or collection of habits.

The purpose of habits:

Habits are the autopilot mode that your brain goes into when completing repetitive tasks, according to James Clear, author of “Atomic Habits”. For example, driving to work, the first time you do it, it may be confusing and stressful but after a few weeks your mind is just going through the motions, explains Clear.

Not having a grasp on your habits means not having control of your life and outcomes…consider:

  1. No financial habits = living pay check to paycheck.
  2. No healthy food and exercise habits = lacking energy and good health.

Without good habits, you will always be behind the curve. Success in your life and finances depends on the effectiveness of your habits and systems.

  • Your system for reading might be to read at least 1 page before bed every night.
  • Your system for exercising might be to do at least 5 minutes of bodyweight exercise every morning.
  • Your system for healthy eating might be to eat at least 1 apple every day for lunch.
  • Habits are the “compound interest”of self-improvement.

The bigger your systems, the bigger your results. Systems are the vehicles that are going to take you to your goals—your goals are simply the destination. Effectively, you don’t rise to the level of your goals; you fall to the level of your systems.

If you want to change the world and do big things, the actions you’re doing every day, your habits, are what are going to get you there. That’s where the things happens.

“You do not rise to the level of your goals.  You fall to the level of your systems.”James Clear

Showing up each day and making one small choice or trying to do something in a slightly better way, and then watching that compound and multiply over time. In life, changes may seem relatively small and insignificant on a daily basis, but over 10 or 20 or 30 years, small choices and changes can make meaningful difference.

What starts out small and seems relatively insignificant, grows and accumulates into something bigger.

Your mindsets and your systems can set us up for success. It is important to understand the importance of consistency when it comes to forming habits that last.

“Changes that seem small and unimportant at first will compound into remarkable results if you’re willing to stick with them for years”, says Clear. “We all deal with setbacks, but in the long run, the quality of our lives depends on the quality of our habits. With the same habits, you’ll end up with the same results. With better habits, anything is possible.”

Small incremental changes can end in massive results. Small improvements day by day will result in a huge compounding effect, says Clear.

References:

  1. https://movemequotes.com/beyond-the-quote-8/
  2. https://brenebrown.com/podcast/atomic-habits-part-1-of-2/
  3. https://theherstonproject.com/2020/11/atomic-habits-summary/

Wealth Building and Dividends

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“Systems are the vehicles that are going to take you to your goals—your goals are simply the destination.” James Clear

“We don’t rise to the level of our goals; we fall to the level of our systems.  Don’t share with me your goals; share with me your systems.” James Clear

Are you prepared for your financial future and to build wealth? There are many benefits of investing for the long term and to building wealth. Here is a simple and straightforward checklist to get started:.

  • Start early!
  • Investing starts with a plan
  • Investment plan starts with defining and identifying your financial goals.
  • Create a savings and investment plan based on your goals.
  • Two primary goals must be creating an emergency fund and building wealth for retirement
  • Develop good financial habits
  • Pay off high-interest debt first.
  • Participate in your company’s 401(k) plan and max out any employer match.
  • Understand your risk tolerance.
  • Understand investment fees and their impact on returns.
  • Research all investments thoroughly.
  • Check your investments regularly and maintain a diversified portfolio.
  • Avoid investment opportunities that sound too good to be true.

40% of stock market returns come from dividends

It’s interesting that most investors don’t know how powerful stocks that pay dividends are. Dividend stocks are stocks of companies which pay out a portion of their earnings to the shareholder in the form of dividends. Between January 1926 and December 2004, 41% of the S&P 500’s total return owed not to the price appreciation of the stocks in the index, but to the dividends its companies paid out.

An additional benefit is that, under the current tax laws, qualified dividends are taxed at lower rate instead of your standard income bracket rate which translates into more money in your pocket.

Investors know that the best dividend stocks aren’t those with a high yield, but rather are quality businesses that can grow over time and pass along profits to shareholders through the dividend, by repurchasing shares and reinvesting in the business.

Bottomline is that dividend-paying stocks have outperformed in the past and that they have a good chance of doing so in the future. The secret is to reinvest those dividends, and put the power of compounding to work in your portfolio.

To build wealth, investors need to account for a range of significant, real-world challenges, including:

  • Longevity
  • Inflation and rising costs
  • Fixed income vs. equity valuations
  • Low yields

With tens of billions of dollars trading hands every day on the New York Stock Exchange alone, it’s easy to lose sight that when purchasing a stock investors are effectively purchasing ownership interest in a business. Assume for a moment that you don’t get a quote every day for your shares in that business and that you can’t sell your ownership interest for several decades. Your focus would likely shift from price to value.

And the value of that business, whether publicly traded or privately held, is the present value of all future cash flows. After all, what is the point in owning a business – or any investment – if you’re never going to receive any cash from it? When a company generates positive free cash flow, it has several options; the company can hold cash in reserve, fund organic growth, make acquisitions, pay down debt, or return it to shareholders through dividends or stock buybacks.

Using dividends to pay your expenses and allow you to reinvest to get more income. You can achieve this by investing in excellent dividend-paying securities now and letting those dividends reinvest as you work towards your retirement.

References:

  1. https://www.investor.gov/sites/investorgov/files/2019-03/OIEA_Financial_Capability%20Checklist.pdf
  2. https://www.fool.com/investing/dividends-income/2006/09/19/the-secret-of-dividends.aspx
  3. https://advisor.morganstanley.com/christopher.f.poch/documents/field/p/po/poch-christopher-francis/WhyDividendsMatter.pdf

Goal Setting and Accomplishment

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“Since “someday” never appears on the calendar, our good intentions don’t turn into action until we create deadlines.” Amy Morin

A staggering 92 percent of Americans that set New Year’s resolution goals never actually accomplish them, according to research by the University of Scranton.

But, when people followed two simple concepts — setting specific and challenging goals — it led to higher accomplishment of goals 90 percent of the time, according to research by Dr Edwin Locke and Dr Gary Latham. Basically, the more specific and challenging the goals you set, the higher your motivation toward hitting them while your easy or vague goals rarely get met.

Here’s an example: If your goal between now and the end of the year is to, say, lose 20 pounds, that  may be challenging, but it’s not specific enough.

It’s essential to eliminate vagueness and make it more achievable by stating it in a more detailed manner: During the month of August, I will lose five pounds by cutting off refined sugar, breads, and all fast food. I will also walk briskly for twenty minutes every day.

On the flip side, goals that are too difficult to accomplish don’t get met either. While it’s important to challenge yourself, nobody completes a goal when he/she is overwhelmed by the magnitude and difficulty in accomplishing the goal.

If you find yourself with such a scenario, break down your BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) into smaller bites you can actually chew. Use the same process of defining specific and challenging marks to hit when mapping out the smaller goals that will lead you to your final destination.

Additionally, those who succeed at accomplishing their BHAG, they tend to want it badly. So, it’s essential to determine what is your level of commitment? Are you totally committed to reaching your goal even when obstacles occur along the way? Are you committed to “do whatever it takes” to reach your destination. And, do you have the desire or passion to pursue the goal to reach it.

According to Locke and Latham’s research, there are five goal setting principles that can improve dramatically your chances of accomplishing your goals:

  1. Setting Clear Goals. Write your goal down and be as detailed as possible. Use SMART, and consider putting your goal into the form of a personal mission statement  for added clarity. Think about how you’ll measure your success toward this goal.
  2. Setting Challenging Goals. Look at your goal. Is it challenging enough to spark your interest Also, identify ways that you can reward yourself when you make progress. Incremental rewards for reaching specific milestones will motivate you to work through challenging tasks.
  3. Staying Committed. Stay committed by using visualization techniques to imagine how your life will look once you’ve achieved your goal.
  4. Gaining Feedback. Schedule time once a week to analyze your progress and accomplishments. Look at what has and hasn’t worked, and make adjustments along the way.
  5. Considering Complexity. Break large, complex goals down into smaller sub-goals. This will stop you feeling overwhelmed, and it will make it easier to stay motivated.

“Even if your goal is something that will take a long time to reach — like saving enough money for retirement — you’re more likely to take action if you have time limits in the present. Create target dates to reach your objectives. Find something you can do this week to begin taking some type of action now.” Amy Morin, Psychotherapist and author of ’13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do’

Additionally, the following strategies can increase your likelihood of accomplishing your goals:

  1. Break goals into manageable chunks. If you only focus on the big picture, it’s easy to put things off until later. But, if you break those goals down into smaller, more manageable objectives such as, you can start tackling and accomplishing the manageable chunks today.
  2. Establish “now” deadlines. Even if your goal is something that will take a long time to reach – like saving enough money for retirement – you’re more likely to take action if you have time limits in the present. Create target dates to reach your objectives. Find something you can do this week to begin taking some type of action now. For example, decide “I will create a budget by Thursday,” or “I will lose two pounds in seven days.”
  3. Turn abstract ideas into concrete action steps. Abstract ideas encourage inactivity. Saying, “I’d like to be healthier,” won’t help you reach those goals. Establish concrete action steps that you can start doing today. For example, decide that you’re going to take a class, read a book, or conduct 30 minutes of research each day. Identify behavioral changes that you can begin working on immediately and you’ll be more likely to turn your abstract ideas into reality.

Identify some of those goals and dreams that you’ve always wanted to work on but just never had the motivation to start. Look for strategies that will help you view those goals in terms of the present and you’ll increase the likelihood that you’ll start taking steps to turn those dreams into a reality, explains Amy Morin

Goal setting is something that many of us recognize as a vital part of achieving success in the areas of health, wealth and emotional well-being. Understandably, goal-setting research confirms the usefulness of SMART goal setting.

To use the results of the research, you must set clear, challenging goals and commit yourself to achieving them. Be sure to get regular feedback on your progress towards achieving your goals. Also, consider the complexity, and break your goals down into smaller chunks, where appropriate.

If you follow these simple rules, your goal setting will be much more successful, and your overall performance and accomplishment rate will improve.

The path to building wealth and financial freedom is paved with goals!!!

References:

  1. https://www.inc.com/marcel-schwantes/science-says-92-percent-of-people-dont-achieve-goals-heres-how-the-other-8-perce.html
  2. https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newHTE_87.htm
  3. https://www.forbes.com/sites/amymorin/2014/09/04/study-the-secret-to-ending-procrastination-is-changing-the-way-you-think-about-deadlines/

Prioritize Your Happiness

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Prioritize. Spend on the things and on the activities that make you the happiest.

Most people spend their lives sacrificing their own happiness either because of career pursuits or chasing riches. You fail to realize how important it is to value your own happiness and taking care of yourself.

As a result, you unconsciously stumble into a busy and fast paced lifestyle. And, there never seems to be enough time to do the important things you really want, like exercising, hanging out with friends, or attending a wealth seminar. Yet, with so much already on your plate, how can you fit it all in?

In Work Less, Live More (Nolo Press, 2007), Bob Clyatt argues that you can make time for fun stuff. The secret, he says, is prioritizing:

“Imagine you have an empty jar, a collection of a few large rocks, and several handfuls of gravel. Your task is to put all the large and small rocks into the jar. One approach would be to pile all the gravel first, but doing so would leave room for only one or two of the large rocks; you wouldn’t get everything to fit. Switch your approach and put the large rocks in first, and you’ll find that the gravel will all fit nicely around the empty space. If a bit of gravel doesn’t fit at the end, you’ve not lost much.

Let too many little things take priority, and there never seems to be time for the big things. Consider the Big Rocks to be really important things you want to accomplish in life, the things that define you. Get the big things in first, work on the right projects and priorities, and let the little stuff fit in around the edges. Let your Big Rocks be non-negotiable priorities in your weekly calendar—and learn to say “no” when other things begin to intrude. Then fit those other things in where you can.

So if exercising makes you happy, schedule your exercise—and then fit the rest of your life around them. Don’t ignore your obligations, but make the stuff you have to do fit around the stuff you want to do, not the other way around.”

What you buy matters too in making you happy. You are happier when you use your money to buy experiences rather than things and when you use your money to help others. So the next time you are feeling down, buy a trip to the spa or donate to a charity.

Thus, your happiness lies in things that you love to so. Therefore, it is important to find time to do all the activities that bring joy to your life. You must prioritize taking time out of your day to spend time on your favorite activities and hobbies that makes you feel refreshed and content.

Bottomline, each day is a new opportunity for you to choose to live a life filled with purpose and happiness. You must consciously and intentionally prioritize to be happy on a daily basis. Otherwise, it’s easy to get stuck in a rut for months or even years.

“Putting yourself first is not selfish. Quite the opposite. You must put your happiness and health first before you can be of use to anyone else.” ~Simon Sinek

References:

  1. https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/your-money-the/9780596809430/ch01.html
  2. https://www.beingguru.com/2019/04/prioritize-your-happiness/

Persistence and Perseverance

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“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence.

Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent.

Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb.

Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts.

Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent.

The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”

Calvin Coolidge

“Three simple rules in life and habits…Go, Ask, and Do:

  1. If you do not go after what you want, you’ll never have it.

  2. If you do not ask, the answer will always be no.

  3. If you do not step forward, you will always be in the same place.”

Austin Miller, VP of Talent Management at Sorenson Capital Partners

Financial Literacy Education

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Financial literacy, quite simply, is a prerequisite for financial freedom. Financial Times

Fixing economic, income and wealth inequality across the nation and globe remains a Herculean task. But, by emphasizing basic financial literacy education — to boost budgeting skills, debt knowhow and investment knowledge— need not be. And basic financial understanding can make a vast difference — not just to economically disadvantage communities, but to anyone in virtually any circumstance.

The correlation between high levels of economic and financial inequality and low levels of financial literacy and understanding is one of the starkest. The problems are worsened by low levels of knowledge about how debt interest is calculated, how it compounds and how to mitigate risk or budget effectively.

From the 2014 S&P Global FinLit Survey, only a third of the world’s population were deemed financially literate, according to analysis by the World Bank.

Financial literacy education, done right, can be a source of emancipation for the economically disadvantaged seeking a way out of deprivation.

Targeted at the young, in particular, it can lay down vital foundations for future prosperity and teaching them about risk and investment opportunity. One of the big reasons to target young people is that later in life they become much harder to reach.

Too many children think money grows on trees. They don’t realise that they have to budget all this money as they get older, they’ve got to pay these bills. FinLit should be one of the things that’s taught to prepare the young for the real world.

“Narrowing the financial literacy gap is crucial for narrowing the wealth gap. But financial literacy clearly needs a boost across the social strata too”, says Aimée Allam, executive director of FT FLIC.

The best investment you can make is in yourself and in your financial education. It’s the obvious starting point to building wealth and achieving financial freedom. And, here are seven reasons:

  • Provides dividends for life that nobody can ever take from you.
  • Increases your earning potential.
  • Increases your return on investment.
  • Improves the quality of your life and finances.
  • Secures your retirement.
  • Defends your portfolio from unnecessary losses.
  • Provides peace of mind around money.

To ensure you become financially free, take the income you think you’ll need in retirement and multiply it by 20. That’s what you need to put away in order to live off the interest without touching your principle.

Determine how much risk tolerance you have as you look to compound the money you’ve set aside for retirement. the billionaire’s secret, whereby they get Risk/Growth-like returns with assets that would fall in the Security asset class. The wealthy risk very little and expect substantial returns.

References:

  1. https://www.ft.com/content/80480742-9853-4144-9c91-238021414bc8
  2. https://financialmentor.com/financial-advice/financial-education-best-investment/13173

Believe in Yourself and Know What You Want

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“If you don’t know what you want, it’s difficult—often impossible—to create or to get what you want in life.” Paul J. Meyers

People generally think they know what they want, but in practice, they do not. Generally, they don’t know what they really want in life or want to do. Additionally, they don’t know where to start, don’t have a plan, and don’t where to look for help to change that.

American author Mark Twain said he could teach anyone how to get what they want; he just couldn’t find anyone who truly knew what they wanted. Being unclear on what you want is one of the biggest stumbling blocks to getting what you want and success. Paul Meyer, founder of Success Motivation Institute, says if you’re not achieving the success you desire, it’s simply because your objectives are not clearly defined. Your goals need to be written, specific and measurable.

Hundred of thousands of people live there lives without purpose or goals. If you don’t want to spend your life wandering aimlessly, you should dedicate your waking hours determining exactly what you want in life and making plans to achieve those goals.

“Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people’s criticisms, carry out your plan.” Paul J. Meyer

Knowing what you want.

If you don’t know what you really want in life, you’re not alone. While most people may think they know what they want, they’re often wrong.

Positive mindset, attitude and focus are vitally important attributes. The attributes are required to reach your goals and to realize your dreams. Thus, you should have a real understanding that you are responsible and capable of creating your reality regardless of the various obstacles you might encounter along the way. According to Inc. Magazine, here are six steps to help you achieve what you want:

1. Make a decision to have what you want, even if you don’t know how to get it. Most people are tentative when it comes to being specific. Instead, be confident in declaring what you want and be comfortable with the fact that you don’t yet have a plan, but you do know what you want.

2. Be clear about the details of the outcome. You should focus on what you do want, not what you don’t want. Practice visualizing yourself in the situation you want to create. You must be clear about what you want, like financial freedom, finding the perfect partner or a happy life. You must imagine the look, feel and sound of the perfect situation for you in your life.

3. Detach from the process. Not knowing “how” to do something holds many people back. The “how to do it,” instructions will appear after you have clearly defined what you want.

4. Believe in yourself and expect that it will happen. You need to believe in yourself and in the creative process. Winners expect to win. A shortage of belief causes many people to give up or never begin in the first place. Believe and set an expectation that what you want will, in fact, appear. It may not appear in the way you thought or at the precise time. You may even experience frustration, anxiety or impatience trying to control the outcome.

“When you believe in yourself, others tend to believe in you.” Paul J. Meyers

5. Be open to possibility when things don’t go your way. The path to the outcome may show up in ways you never imagined before. Suspend judgment of how things should be done and consider that the very thing you think is a deterrent may be the very thing you need to get what you want. Many times, people, circumstances and resources will show up, but you’ll miss the connection. This is where not knowing how, while keeping your eye on the goal, is important.

6. Practice gratitude. Be thankful for the things you have in your life right now. Look at your challenges as opportunities to grow. When you practice being thankful for specific events in your life, even when you don’t understand why they appear in your life, your ability to manifest accelerates almost to the speed of thought.

Getting what you want is not always simple and easy. Challenges, emotions, other people’s negative views and comments can set you back. But in the end, it all comes back down to your choice, commitment, effort and most of all…attitude. It’s essential to choose what you want, believe in your abilities, trust the process, have faith that it will happen and embrace the right attitude.

That is why “attitude is everything”.

“Attitude is everything,” according to Meyers. “It doesn’t matter where you are or what you’re doing, it all has to do with attitude. And then I have an I will-not-be denied attitude. And that’s an incredible thing to have. I don’t look to my weakness; I look to my strength. I don’t look to my problems; I look to my power. It’s all about attitude.”

“When winners choose a goal, their commitment to achieving it is firm and steadfast,” says Meyers. “When winners are confronted with hurdles or run into stumbling blocks, they go over them or turn them into stepping stones. Winners pursue their goals persistently until they succeed.”

Every day, you should strive for increased clarity around your goals and knowing what you really want. Having clarity about what you want keeps you moving toward it.

References:

  1. https://ninaamir.com/the-importance-of-knowing-what-you-want/
  2. https://www.lifehack.org/articles/communication/7-ways-find-out-what-you-really-want-life.html
  3. http://successnet.org/cms/goals/top-ten-reasons-people-dont-achieve-their-goals
  4. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-second-noble-truth/201711/you-dont-know-what-you-want
  5. https://www.inc.com/stephanie-frank/6-steps-to-get-anything-you-want-even-if-you-dont-know-how.html
  6. https://www.success.com/paul-j-meyer-what-it-takes-to-be-a-winner/