Tag Archives: Mindset

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/

Attitude of Gratitude

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“The secret of happiness, you see, is not found in seeking more, but in developing the capacity to enjoy less.” – Socrates

Gratitude is good for your body, your mind, your wealth, and your emotional well-being. Yet, Americans usually equate happiness to having more in life. And by more, think of monetary or physical possessions — a bigger house, larger bank account, more clothes, the latest gadgets, a faster car. Yet, once you acquire more shiny brand new things, rarely do you find yourself any happier and satisfied.

Instead of acquiring more stuff, the Greek philosopher Socrates taught his fellow Greek citizens to be happy with less. In other words, enjoy that pair of jeans you love so much that you wear it all the time, instead of worrying about the latest fad designer jeans at the boutique that costs two weeks pay.

Simply put, gratitude changes your focus to what you have. Since, it doesn’t matter how much you have if you don’t appreciate it! Without gratitude, you’ll never feel successful, no matter how much you have and own. So regardless of your level of wealth and financial success, practicing gratitude is essential. You get more of what you focus on…what you focus on expands!

According to the Harvard Medical School, gratitude is: “a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives, whether tangible or intangible. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives … As a result, gratitude also helps people connect to something larger than themselves as individuals–whether to other people, nature, or a higher power” 

“The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.” Confucius

Every day won’t be perfect, but focusing on what we are grateful for tends to wash away feelings of anger, sorrow and negativity. And there is added benefits to improving your mindset, attitude and outcome. Recent studies show that being grateful and expressing gratitude leads to better physical and emotional health.

“An attitude of gratitude means making it a habit to express thankfulness and appreciation in all parts of your life, on a regular basis, for both the big and small things alike,” according to Lewis Howe, author of the inspirational book, The School of Greatness. “If you concentrate on what you have, you’ll always have more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never have enough.”

Thus, you must look throughout your day for things and activities to be grateful for, and something to be grateful for will always show up. Just because gratitude is good doesn’t mean it’s always easy.

Do not lose sight of being grateful for simply having a challenge or mountain to climb (it beats the alternative). Only when you began feeling gratitude for the opportunity to serve, to learn and to grow will a shift in attitude and happiness happen.

You can view gratitude as an emotional muscle that will grow and strengthen with intentional use. Make gratitude a habit by starting a gratitude journal, incorporating gratitude into your morning routine practice, or perhaps by having a gratitude accountability partner whom you can email daily.

“Everything — peace of mind, happiness, getting the most out of what you have — springs off of the word ‘gratitude’…True gratitude is based on all things — success and failure. If I’m truly grateful, I’m going to maintain that regardless of the outcome. Otherwise, it’s not gratitude.” Cael Sanderson, Head Wrestling Coach, Pennsylvania State University

Gratitude can be made a habit that you can practice every morning. According to motivational speaker Tony Robbins, gratitude is a ritual that can be broken down into three, three-minute sections, which can provide structure for living a life of gratitude. The three sections are:

  • First three minutes, think of three things you’re grateful for. Tony suggests that one of these be very simple—like how beautiful the sunset was last night or the great night’s sleep you just got.
  • During the next three minutes, focus on creating gratitude by imagining an inner presence that can heal and solve any obstacles in your life.
  • For the last three minutes, identify three things you’re absolutely going to make happen for yourself—what he calls his “three to thrive.”

Imagine what it would feel like to complete these tasks, and “see it as though it’s already been done,” Robbins said.

Enjoying less and appreciating the things you own are not difficult. All it takes is a change of mindset and an attitude of gratitude. Since, gratitude makes dealing with the difficult things and experiences easier. So be grateful when things are challenging, when you don’t feel like it, or when you fall short of achieving your goal.

To become more grateful, there are several everyday tips for living a life of gratitude, according to Robert A. Emmons, Ph.D., a leading scientific expert on gratitude:

  • Keep a Gratitude Journal. Establish a daily practice in which you remind yourself of the gifts, grace, benefits, and good things you enjoy. Setting aside time on a daily basis to recall moments of gratitude associated with ordinary events, your personal attributes, or valued people in your life gives you the potential to interweave a sustainable life theme of gratefulness.
  • Remember the Bad. To be grateful in your current state, it is helpful to remember the hard times that you once experienced. When you remember how difficult life used to be and how far you have come, you set up an explicit contrast in your mind, and this contrast is fertile ground for gratefulness.
  • Ask Yourself Three Questions. Utilize the meditation technique known as Naikan, which involves reflecting on three questions: “What have I received from __?”, “What have I given to __?”, and “What troubles and difficulty have I caused?”
  • Learn Prayers of Gratitude. In many spiritual traditions, prayers of gratitude are considered to be the most powerful form of prayer, because through these prayers people recognize the ultimate source of all they are and all they will ever be.
  • Use Visual Reminders. Because the two primary obstacles to gratefulness are forgetfulness and a lack of mindful awareness, visual reminders can serve as cues to trigger thoughts of gratitude. Often times, the best visual reminders are other people.
  • Make a Vow to Practice Gratitude. Research shows that making an oath to perform a behavior increases the likelihood that the action will be executed. Therefore, write your own gratitude vow, which could be as simple as “I vow to count my blessings each day,” and post it somewhere where you will be reminded of it every day.
  • Watch your Language. Grateful people have a particular linguistic style that uses the language of gifts, givers, blessings, blessed, fortune, fortunate, and abundance. In gratitude, you should not focus on how inherently good you are, but rather on the inherently good things that others have done on your behalf.

It’s vitally essential to live your life and build your wealth based in gratitude. With gratitude comes the realization that we get more than we deserve and we’re content with what we have, received and accomplished.

“Cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you, and to give thanks continuously. And because all things have contributed to your advancement, you should include all things in your gratitude.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

Research has shown that there is a strong link between happiness and gratitude. And there is a lot in your life to be grateful for! Do you want to be happy and wealthy? Stop waiting for happiness to knock on your door. Go out and make a friend or two. Stop thinking others have it better than you do.

Stop looking at what others have and start being grateful for what you have. You probably have a roof over your head and food in your stomach every day. The average world wide salary in 2012 was $18,000, adjusted for purchasing power. If you’re pulling in $19,000 you’re above average and, therefore, in terms of the entire world, rich. Celebrate your new found rich status, by inviting a couple of friends over. It will make you happier.

You must be grateful and love your life whether you’re winning or losing; whether you’re successful or unsuccessful; and whether you’ve built wealth or failed to build wealth. Just be grateful for the opportunity and your life. 

“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow.” Melodie Beattie, Author of ‘Co-dependant No More’

References:

  1. https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/https://positivepsychology.com/gratitude-appreciation/
  2. https://celador.net/the-secret-of-happiness-e611f6471b8f
  3. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/how-to-have-an-attitude-of-gratitude_b_8644102
  4. https://partners4prosperity.com/thank-and-grow-rich-gratitude-and-wealth/
  5. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good/
  6. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/profile/robert_emmons
  7. https://onwardstate.com/2020/05/08/4-lessons-i-learned-from-cael-sanderson-after-covering-him-for-4-years/

Mindset and Paradigm

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“Change your habits, change your life.” Bob Proctor

The number one thing that will stop you from achieving your financial goals and life’s purpose is the way you think…your limiting beliefs and negative thoughts, explains self help guru Bob Proctor. If you want to change your results, you must first change yourself, specifically your paradigms.

Paradigms are nothing more than a group of habits that are programmed into the subconscious mind that control your behaviors which control your results, explains Bob Proctor. Thus, it’s essential to understand that your habits and behaviors control your results.

“We think we see the world as it is, when in fact we see the world as we are.” Stephen R. Covey

Paradigms affect the way we behave and the results we achieve in life, according to Stephen R. Covey. In explaining paradigm, Covey described an event when he “was on a subway in a very large metropolitan city. It was Sunday morning, quiet, sedate. When a bunch of young kids came running into the subway car and their father followed. He sat near me and the kids went crazy on that subway, running up and down, turning people’s papers aside, just raucous and rude. I’m sitting there thinking, ‘I can’t believe this, their father does nothing!’ I look at my attitude, attitude to try to control, but look what I could see.

After a few minutes, attitude went into behavior, ‘Sir, do you think you could control your children a little? They are very upsetting to people.’

‘Oh yeah.’ He lifted his head as if to come to an awareness of what was happening. ‘Yeah, I don’t know. I just guess I should. We just left the hospital. Their mother died just about an hour ago and I guess they don’t know how to take it and frankly I don’t either.’”

Imagine the paradigm shift that took place there. Imagine now what the attitude and the behavior would be based upon that paradigm.

The mind’s default, for most people, contains a plethora of negative thoughts and self-limiting beliefs. The mind tends to default to thinking that bad things will happen, that you’re not worthy, or that you’re not likable. ”

Until you change your paradigms regarding money or your financial mindset, money and wealth will not help you realize your dreams or achieve financial freedom.

“You must begin to understand that the present state of your bank account, your sales, your health, your social life, your position at work, etc., is nothing more than the physical manifestation of your previous thinking.”  Bob Proctor

References:

  1. https://www.lifehack.org/900263/reactive-vs-proactive
  2. https://resources.franklincovey.com/blog/paradigms

Mindset Matters

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“Mindset is everything because it touches, impacts, and influences quite literally every aspect of your life.”

Your mindset is the filter through which you see the world. It is comprised of your beliefs, attitudes, emotions, and perceptions that inform your thoughts, habits* and decisions. Mindset encompasses both your conscious and unconscious thoughts as well as how you view yourself. It, your mindset, determines how you spend your time, who you spend your time with, what decisions you make, and where you invest your resources (time, talent and treasure).

Your mindset is an important part of your toolkit for success. Like glasses, they can either obscure your path or bring clarity to the road ahead. Thus, taking an active approach to understanding and crafting a positive mindset is important. Most people don’t realize that they’ve been programming their mindset through their experiences and perceptions. If you constantly feed your mindset with negative perspectives, your outlook will be negative. Garbage in, is garbage out.

On the other hand, cultivating a healthy wealth mindset will help you stick to your financial goals and you find ways to increase your earning potential. And, there are two key inputs that shape your mindset: the environment (or people) you spend time with and the media (written and verbal) you consume daily.

There’s an old saying in financial circles that you’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with. If you want to be fit, hang out with friends who exercise. If you want to think big and aspire to build wealth and change the world, then you must consume inspiring positive media and hang out with people who have great purpose and big audacious goals.

Just as you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with, the same is true for your ideas and aspirations.

A wealth mindset is a set of beliefs, habits, and behaviors that separates the wealthy from the rest. A wealth mindset will guide you to make the most of the money you have. It is essential to effectively and successfully save for the future, invest for the long term, build wealth and achieve financial freedom. A wealth mindset means spending less than you earn, making wise investments in assets, and looking for ways to improve financial well-being with minimal risk.

A wealth mindset matter matters because 60 percent of Americans live paycheck to paycheck, according to Dave Ramsey. And as of 2018, 175 million Americans actively use credit cards. A majority of these credit card holders engage in impulsive spending behavior, wasting money they don’t have on items they don’t need.

“Wealth is a mindset!”, writes Shynna Key, author of “Wealth Is a Mindset”. She encourages you to “keeping it real” with your current financial position, identifying challenges, and taking responsibility for changing the way you view wealth. She opines that you must begin by examining “…what we have been taught as it relates to money and wealth. Though finances are a very private area for most to discuss, it is a crucial topic that will help us to understand the root of our financial ‘woes’ as well as the fruit of our financial ‘favor’; which is essential to our overall growth of wealth.”

“If you correct your mind, the rest of your life will fall into place.” – Lao Tzu

To accumulate wealth and achieve financial freedom, you must first be and think like the wealthy. By doing so, you will develop the habits and take the necessary actions to attract the resources to you. You must be someone first; someone who has what he or she needs in order to take the inspired action. To become a wealthy, you must be an individual who thinks and manages money like the wealthy. For example, “the average wealthy person spends 10 times more time planning their finances than the average middle-class individual”, explains Thomas J. Stanley, author of “The Millionaire Next Door”.

Money and wealth can buy freedom…financial freedom. Very few wealthy people became wealthy overnight. Building wealth is a deliberate process that requires patience and planning.

If you want to be wealthy, you’ll need to develop a wealth mindset. Start by defining your financial goals: how much money do you want to have in a year’s time? Five year’s time?

To realize your financial goals, you’ll need to develop a wealth mindset, create and follow a plan, and continue to learn and grow. And remember, the road to wealth is bumpy and filled with detours and misconceptions.

In many ways, the health of your finances, as well as your physical health, depends on your mindset and emotional well-being. Thus, it’s important to make it a priority and to take time for you. When you focus on purpose, potential, curiosity and collaboration, you will experience increased energy and well-being. Because, what you focus on…expands!

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” – Unknown

References:

  1. https://wealthfit.com/articles/wealth-mindset/
  2. https://wealthconnecters.com/wealth-mindset
  3. https://www.audible.com/pd/Wealth-Is-a-Mindset-Audiobook/B07MWHKS46
  4. Draper, Taylor, “Mind Matters”, Costco Connection, May 2021, pg. 17.
  5. https://bydeze.com/why-mindset-is-everything/
  6. https://nevadapartners.org/2021/05/21/12-real-differences-between-a-wealthy-mindset-vs-a-poor-mindset/

“Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.” – Socrates

* Habits are consistent, unconscious patterns. They constantly express our character and result in our effectiveness or ineffectiveness. Habits are deeply ingrained and we are constantly pulled in their direction.

Building Resilience

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“God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” Reinhold Niebuhr

The author of “Healthy Brain, Happy Life” and “Good Anxiety” explains how to harness the power of anxiety into unexpected gifts.

We are living in the age of anxiety. There are about 40 million Americans— or 18% of the population—suffering from clinical anxiety disorders today.

Anxiety is a situation that often makes you feel as if you are locked into an endless cycle of stress, uncertainty, and worry. But, there are ways to leverage your anxiety to help you solve problems and fortify your wellbeing, explains Dr. Wendy Suzuki, PhD, a neuroscientist and professor of Neural Science and Psychology in the Center for Neural Science at New York University. Thus, instead of seeing anxiety strictly as a problem or curse to dread, you recognize it as the unique gift that it is.

Dr. Suzuki has discovered a paradigm-shifting truth about anxiety: yes, it is uncomfortable, but it is also essential for your survival. In fact, anxiety is a key component of your ability to live optimally. Every emotion you experience has an evolutionary purpose, and anxiety is designed to draw your attention to vulnerability. If you simply approach it as something to avoid, get rid of, or dampen, you actually miss an opportunity to improve your life. Listening to your anxieties from a place of curiosity, and without fear or worry, can actually guide you onto a path that leads to inner peace and joy.

Drawing on her own struggles and based on cutting-edge research, Dr. Suzuki has developed strategies for managing unwarranted anxiety and exercises you can do to build your resiliency and mental strength. The exercises include:

Visualize positive outcomes

At the beginning or at the end of each day, think through all those uncertain situations currently in your life — both big and small. Now take each of those and visualize the most optimistic and amazing outcome to the situation. Not just the “okay” outcome, but the best possible one you could imagine.

This process of visualizing “the most optimistic and amazing outcome” should build the muscle of expecting the positive outcome and might even open up ideas for what more you might do to create that outcome of your dreams.

Turn anxiety into progress

Our brain’s plasticity is what enables us to be resilient during challenging times — to learn how to calm down, reassess situations, reframe our thoughts and make smarter decisions.

Reach out

Asking for help, staying connected to friends and family, and actively nurturing supportive, encouraging relationships not only enables you to keep anxiety at bay, but also shores up the sense that you’re not alone.

The belief and feeling that you are surrounded by people who care about you is crucial during times of enormous stress — when you need to fall back on your own resilience in order to persevere and maintain your well-being.

When we are suffering from loss or other forms of distress, it’s natural to withdraw. Yet you also have the power to push yourself into the loving embrace of those who can help take care of you.

Practice positive self-tweeting

Lin-Manual Miranda sends out tweets at the beginning and end of each day. The tweets are essentially upbeat little messages that are funny, singsongy and generally delightful.

If you watch him, you’ll see an inherently resilient, mentally strong and optimistic person.

For you to be that resilient, productive and creative, it’s essential to come up with positive reminders. You don’t necessarily need to share them. The idea is to boost yourself up at the beginning and at the end of the day.

This can be difficult for those who automatically beat themselves up. Instead, think about what your biggest supporter in life — a spouse, partner, sibling, friend, mentor or parent — would tell you, and then tweet, remind or say it to yourself.

Although popular science continues to suggests that persistent, low-level anxiety is detrimental to your health, performance, and wellbeing, but if you could learn how to harness the brain activation underlying your anxiety and make it work for you, you could turn anxiety into superpower, says Dr. Suzuki.

Her research and her own experience demonstrate that this paradigm shift from bad to good anxiety can accelerate focus and productivity, boosts performance, lead to happiness, create compassion, and foster more creativity.

Twenty-five positive quotes and reminders to build resilience:

  1. You’re awesome, Bro.
  2. You can do all things through Christ which strengthens you!
  3. Believe in yourself; have faith in your abilities!
  4. Everyday, in every way, you’re getting better and better, dude!
  5. “Great minds discuss ideas.” Eleanor Roosevelt
  6. “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.” Robert Collier
  7. “Be patient with yourself.” Stephen Covey
  8. “People will never forget how you made them feel.” Maya Angelou
  9. “Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the world belongs to you.” Lao Tzu
  10. “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” Andrew Carnegie
  11. “Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.” Denis Waitley
  12. “Happiness never decreases by being shared.” Buddha
  13. “The secret of health for both mind and body…is to live in the present moment wisely and earnestly.” Buddha
  14. “Happiness…is appreciating what you have.”
  15. “We make a life by what we give.” Winston Churchill
  16. “Reflect upon your present blessings, of which every man has plenty.” Charles Dickens
  17. “He is a wise man who rejoices for the things which he has.” Epictetus
  18. “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.” Oprah Winfrey
  19. “Open your eyes and your heart to a truly precious gift–today.” Steve Maraboli
  20. “This is the day the Lord has made, rejoice and be glad in it.”
  21. “Talk to yourself like you would to someone you love.” Brené Brown
  22. “Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.” T. Harv Eker
  23. “Always remember you are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.” Christopher Robin
  24. “Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal.” Thomas Jefferson
  25. “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have.” Theodore Roosevelt

“Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs–even though checkered by failure–than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat.” Theodore Roosevelt

References:

  1. https://www.cnbc.com/2021/08/31/do-these-exercises-every-day-to-build-resilience-and-mental-strength-says-neuroscientist.html
  2. https://www.wendysuzuki.com
  3. https://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/top-350-inspiring-motivational-quotes-to-tweet-and-share.html

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

Wealth Blueprint

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If building wealth and financial freedom are your destination, the journey always starts with your financial mindset, attitude and habits. Jeff Hayden

T. Harv Eker, author of “Secrets of the Millionaire Mind”, is convinced that anyone can be build wealth and become financially free. But, he opines that what holds most people back from accumulating wealth is an internal mental script or “money blueprint” that tells them that they can’t or shouldn’t.

In his bestselling book, Eker teaches people to identify their internal money blueprint and revise them. However, many critics rightfully argue that his focus on personal psychology as the sole driver of success ignores very real economic and systemic factors such as inequality, sexism and racism which can be possible determinants of one’s income bracket and net worth.

“If your subconscious “financial blueprint” is not set for success, nothing you learn, nothing you know and nothing you do will make much of a difference.” T Harv Eker

Yet, Eker argues that you have a personal wealth blueprint already ingrained in your subconscious mind that will determine your financial life and overall success. What he means is that you can know everything about saving for the future, investing to grow your money, and accumulating wealth, but if your subconscious wealth blueprint isn’t preset to a high level of life and financial success, you will never amass a large amount of wealth or achieve financial freedom.

What people have to realize is that we are all subconsciously taught and conditioned in how to deal with money and wealth, according to Eker. Unfortunately, many of us were taught by family members and acquaintances who didn’t own a lot of assets and did not have a lot of money, so their way of thinking about wealth became your natural and automatic way to think. And since you are a creature of habit, your internal thoughts and beliefs about wealth and money will determine your external results of net worth and cash flow.

“If you want to change your results, you have to start by changing your thoughts.” T. Harv Eker

Your wealth blueprint single-handedly, according to Eker, determines your financial life, because your thoughts lead to feelings, which lead to actions, which lead to your results. Thought is the ‘Mother of all Results’. It’s about a process of manifestation, that your thoughts lead to your feelings, which lead to your actions, which lead to your results.

Thoughts → Feelings → Actions → Results

The reason you think the way you do about money is conditioning. You were taught how to think about money. You weren’t born with money thoughts and beliefs. You learned them. You were conditioned around money, success, and wealth by:

  • Verbal programming – what you’ve heard,
  • Modeling – what you’ve seen,
  • And specific incidences and experiences you’ve had.

No personal wealth mental blueprint is true or false or right or wrong, says Eker. It’s just how you’ve been programmed. Some people are savers. Others are spenders.

There are several important question to ask yourself: What is your current wealth and success blueprint, and what results is it subconsciously moving you toward? Are you set for working hard for your money or are you set to have your money work hard for you? Are you programmed for saving money or for spending money? Are you programmed for managing your money well or mismanaging it?

Bottomline, your wealth blueprint, meaning your thoughts and beliefs, will determine ultimately your financial life and net worth – and can even determine your personal life, according to Eker.

“The vast majority of people simply do not have the internal capacity to create and hold on to large amounts of money and the increased challenges that go with more money and success. That, my friends, is the primary reason they don’t have much money.” T. Harv Eker

References:

  1. https://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/what_is_your_money_blueprint.html
  2. https://www.knowledgeformen.com/podcast-t-harv-eker/
  3. https://www.tonyrobbins.com/mind-meaning/a-new-blueprint-for-happiness
  4. https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/lifestyle/weekend-interview/t-harv-eker

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/

Wealthy Mindset

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“Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of both happiness and success.” – T. Harv Eker

The right mindset can help you on the road to wealth. And, your mind–which refers to your subconscious thoughts and beliefs–represents the biggest obstacle to your financial success and freedom.

The human mind has evolved over the centuries as a self-survival mechanism. It’s not designed to make you happy, or to help you build wealth and achieve financial freedom, it’s designed to protect you and look for and respond to things that are perceived to be wrong or life threatening.

Develop a wealthy mindset

If you want to be wealthy and achieve financial freedom, you have to stop thinking (and acting) like a broke person! It’s that simple.

A starting point in this process is to observe each thought as it comes into your mind and determine if it is supportive or non-supportive thought.

When you change the way you think about money, success, wealth, and financial freedom, you can create the life you’ve always wanted.

“Understanding your past attitudes towards money and changing them if need be”, according to T. Harv Eker. “The only way to permanently change the temperature in the room is to reset the thermostat. In the same way, the only way to change your level of financial success “permanently” is to reset your financial thermostat. But it is your choice whether you choose to change.”

At the end of the day, becoming successful in business is more about your mindset, passion, and determination than it is about your product or service. Mindset is what separates those who are truly successful from the people who are struggling to get by.

It is important that you discover what you’ve been conditioned or taught to believe about money that keeps you from having more of it, according to T. Harv Eker. By assessing your subconscious beliefs about money, you can finally break through the barriers to your financial success and freedom.

Anyone can create financial freedom if they have the right money mindset.

A true measure of your wealth is not your income, but your net worth. Your net worth grows with your selfworth. There is no time better than now to open yourself to receive massive amounts of financial success in your life.

It’s no secret that the wealthy tend to be frugal with their money. While they excel at saving and spending wisely, they also know that one of the best ways to grow their money and accumulate wealth is to invest some of what they earn in buying assets. 

If you aren’t doing what you want to do and you’re not where you want to be, there’s something you don’t know.

Three things involved to create wealth:

  • The right vehicle
  • The right knowledge (generalized knowledge, specific knowledge)
  • The right you (mindset, attitude, belief, habits & character)

Determine how good you are at what you do and get paid for the results your produce instead of your time.

Financial freedom

“It’s been proven time and time again that long-term investing can produce significantly more wealth than short term trading, yet many Americans fail to make the most of their best long-term investment vehicle: their workplace retirement plan,” writes Todd Campbell, author of Your Guide to Better Stock Picks, in a piece for The Motley Fool.

Top advice for developing a wealthy mindset, explains T. Harv Eker:

  • Do not to listen to the negatives in your life and believe in your own convictions.
  • Training and managing your own mind is the most important skill you could ever own, in terms of happiness and financial success.
  • If you aren’t doing what you want to do and you’re not where you want to be, there’s something you don’t know.
  • Enjoy every aspect of what you do: how you do anything is how you do everything in life.

References:

  1. https://www.harveker.com/blog/6-steps-for-wealth-in-business/
  2. https://www.forbes.com/sites/danschawbel/2012/02/06/how-to-master-the-inner-game-of-wealth/
  3. https://www.shortform.com/pdf/secrets-of-the-millionaire-mind-pdf-t-harv-eker
  4. https://www.millionairemindworld.com

Life on the Edge

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“As you get older, the days go by quicker and you need to make the time count.” Mary Peachin, Octogenarian

As you age, it becomes more important to “live each day right to the limit”, states octogenarian Mary Peachin, in Costco Connection magazine, September 2021, Members Connection. Peachin has “walk the talk” and lived her life as a self proclaim world-traveling, deep sea diving adrenaline junkie. “If your body aches, you ignore it and keep on trucking”, she preaches.

When it comes to going after what you love in life, do not take no for an answer. You should expect and intend to live a life well lived and always believe the best is yet to come

“Life is too short not to enjoy it.”

Make your life happen and take action today. Be amongst the few who dared to live their dreams. Live your life in such a way that there is no regret.

Time is short; live every day for a higher purpose. Let’s invest the limited time we have on your life’s purpose and mission. Do not focus on your problems and challenges; instead focus on purpose and destination.

Life is brief and it passes quickly. The average American male lives to be 70 years 4 months. The average American female lives 70 years 4 months. To live life to its fullest, it is not the quantity of your life, but the quality.

Time is running out for all of us.

“Your job will not take care of you when your elderly and sick, your friends and family will.”

  1. Select a few friends to be close to in your life and communicate and strengthen your relationship with them
  2. Get over those who disappoint you and refuse to let those people steal your joy
  3. Lift up and encourage those who are recovering from failure. Treat people with Grace.
  4. Ignore your critics. Decide to see the good in the experience and growth, the lessons you learned and the relationships you made.
  5. Stay fully focused on your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Believe the best! Christ teaches us to believe the best…faith, hope and love. Remember to rejoice and be glad. If God is for us, who can be against us!

The most effective way to live life on the edge is to “find an edge and Live there”, states Peachin. And, you can start to “find an edge” by writing down your dreams and priorities in life, and then focusing on fulfilling those written dreams and priorities. It starts with knowing what you want, and it ends with getting what you wanted. It’s often that simple.

Save for and invest in the things that matter most!

In every positive or negative situation, there are always options. Remember you are the one pulling the strings, and when things look hopeless, it’s because you’re choosing not look at the things that truly matter. You’re choosing to see the the bad stuff, and they have little to do with your ability to change your circumstances. The trick is that you have to see the ocean of opportunity, not that little bucket of water (problems) that you tripped over.

We must decide to see the good and not dwell on the failure, but instead focus on the positives from the experience. Limits do not exist. You have weaknesses of course and we all do, but focus on your strengths. Remember if you’re feeling scared and fearful, it means you’re trying something new.

People don’t run marathons because it feels good.

When you feel bad about your situation, you’re thinking about the mistakes of yesterday, and not the opportunity of right now and the hope for tomorrow. You’re thinking about what has and what can go wrong, and not what can go right.

When you’re feeling defeated and discouraged, ascertain what you’re really focusing on. It important to focus on how far you’ve come, the opportunities that lie ahead, and the resources available you have to go forward.

“What you focus on expands, and when you focus on the goodness in your life, you create more of it.” Oprah Winfrey

Always think bigger and focus on your purpose. Build the world as you want it to be.

References:

  1. Costco Connection, September 2021, Vol. 36, No. 9, pg. 119
  2. https://personalexcellence.co/blog/101-ways-to-live-your-life-to-the-fullest/

“Those who are the happiest are not necessarily those for whom life has been easiest. Emotional stability results from an attitude. It is refusing to yield to depression and fear, even when black clouds float overhead. It is improving that which can be improved and accepting that which is inevitable.” ― James C. Dobson, Life on the Edge: The Next Generation’s Guide to a Meaningful Future