If you have ever gotten frustrated at the fact that you haven't yet achieved success in any given area of life, take an honest inventory of your efforts, and then be equally honest about whether those efforts are enough to get the job done.

It's easy to say that we are working towards something, and we may even feel that we are making a serious effort, but our efforts - like anything else in life - can become a habit, and habits are not always effective. One of the key components to success is to only spend time on practices that produce the desired results.

Photo Credit: Dominik Gwarek Despite our best intentions, we often get into the habit of continually doing things that do not bring us the results that we want, yet we do not realize it until we have expended a lot of time and energy. A mental checklist - or even a physical checklist - can help us to stay on track daily, maximizing our results, and minimizing wasted time and effort.

There are numerous success systems that people use on their road to greatness, and it falls to each person to choose and utilize whatever systems work best for them. However, no matter what system you choose, if you don't use it properly and consistently, you won't get the results.

Here are several popular success systems, and tips on how you can make sure you are using them effectively.

Visualization

Visualizing is basically the act of seeing yourself as being successful before you actually attain whatever success you are looking for. Visualization has long been held as one of the most effective and simple to use success systems, yet people often do not get results because they visualize ineffectively, or they do not visualize often enough.

Effective visualization includes all of the following:

• Feeling like you are actually in that present moment, rather than feeling like that moment is in the future. Visualizations are always in the NOW.
• Feeling exactly how you are going to feel when that moment actually arrives. Don't visualize a scene in your head as if looking at a painting or a picture. Make it real and make it enjoyable by feeling the feelings of actually being there.
• Having a sense of 100% confidence and expectation whenever you visualize. You are not visualizing something that you hope is going to happen, but rather something that you KNOW is going to happen.
• Visualizing frequently, preferably several times per day. The most effective times for visualization are when you are about to fall asleep at night, and when you first wake up in the morning. However, visualization can be done anytime, anywhere.

Recommended Resources: Vision Boards, Mind Movies

Affirmations

Affirmations are basically the act of saying something over and over again - in your head or out loud - in order to "reprogram" yourself so you can attain whatever it is that you are affirming for. Unfortunately, saying something to ourselves that isn't yet true sounds like a lie, so it feels like a lie, and we end up not believing it, and thus not getting very much out of it.

Here are some ways to get the most out of your affirmations:

• Say your affirmations out loud. We are all proficient at saying things in our head, but if that hasn't been working, bring those statements out into the "real world". Not only does that make your affirmations more effective, but it also helps you to realize how you truly feel about whatever it is that you are saying.
• Say your affirmations in front of a mirror. Again, realizing how you feel about what you are affirming for will help you to overcome any self-limiting beliefs about it. Say it out loud and in front of a mirror so you can look yourself in the eyes when you do it. It's hard to lie to someone straight to their face.
• Say your affirmations in the present tense. Again, just as with visualization, you are creating something NOW, not in the future. "I am so happy and grateful now that…" as opposed to "I will be so happy when…"
• Say your affirmations many times throughout the day. Affirmations work by programming your conscious mind as well as your subconscious mind, so don't be afraid that you'll "overdo it" by affirming too often.

Recommended Resources: BMindful, ThinkRightNow 

Meditation

Meditation is probably one of the least understood success systems because - in essence - it means to just do nothing! You just sit there, and most meditative practices will have you not even thinking, let alone doing anything else. There are other types of meditation as well, yet all of them share the goal of having you free your mind so that it can let go of the day-to-day struggles, leaving you with clarity and peace of mind.

Clarity and peace of mind may not seem very valuable to someone who wants to be on the fast track to success, yet when you consider that 90%-95% of your life is controlled by your subconscious mind, the power of clarity and peace of mind becomes immediately apparent.

Here are some ways to get the most out of meditation: 

• Make sure to let go of your thoughts when you meditate. If you are just sitting there thinking about all of your problems and all of the things that you have to do, you might as well just get up and go do them. You are not getting anything out of meditation if you are not letting go and letting your mind wander.
• Make sure to stay awake. Many people cannot stay comfortable is a sitting up position for long periods of time, so they lay down to meditate. Although there are some meditations that can be used as you fall asleep, most meditations are supposed to involve conscious awareness, which you obviously don't have if you're asleep.
• Meditate without having some definite purpose in mind, such as trying to think of a solution to a problem. Although meditating is an incredible way to resolve issues, if you give conscious thought to the problem during the meditation, all you are doing is engaging your conscious mind, rather than your subconscious mind. Instead, think of the issue that you want to solve very briefly before you meditate, release your attachment to finding a solution for it, and then start your meditation.
• Look for answers and clarity unexpectedly, rather than immediately following your meditation. Meditation helps your subconscious mind to achieve focus and to find solutions, and sometimes that happens quickly, while other times it will take longer. If you consciously try to "rush" your subconscious mind, you will potentially shut down the entire subconscious solution-finding process. 

Recommended Resources: Meditation Music, Guided Meditations

Attitude

No success system in the world is going to help you if you don't have your mind right. You can visualize, affirm, and meditate all day long, but if you don't have an attitude of confidence, success, and expectancy, you will meet with limited results. Your attitude creates the very reality that you walk through every day, so create an environment that ensures your success by keeping your mind and your emotions focused on success, rather than failure.

Here are some ways to get the most out of your own attitude: 

• Check your attitude as soon as you get up to start your day. Our dreams and/or our memories from the previous day can carry over into the new day. If those are positive, uplifting, and confident memories or feelings, then go with it. If not, then release any negativity before programming yourself for a new day by using affirmations, visualizations, and meditations.
• Check your attitude frequently throughout the day. It's easy to "fake it until you make it" when you don't really feel like smiling or acting confident, but faking it will only get you so far. Negativity can creep back in without you even realizing it, so set reminders or cues to go off throughout the day that snap you back into a positive, confident mindset.
• Check your attitude after a negative situation. If you get into an argument with someone, get stuck in traffic, get a negative message or piece of mail, etc., it can be very easy to fall into a feeling of gloom and doom. People who succumb to those types of feelings are not the kind of people who produce success. If you just got mad, sad, frustrated, or upset by something, now is the perfect time to go back to those affirmations, visualizations, and meditations.

Recommended Resources: Positivity Space, Manifest a Miracle

Conclusion

Everyone wants whatever it is that they want out of life, but only a small percentage of the population are willing to consistently and effectively take action in order to get what they want.

If you have been struggling to attain your desires, why not pick a success system (or two or three), and consistently apply those systems over the long-term? You've got nothing to lose, and everything to gain!

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Learning to invoke your personal development power means allowing yourself to grow into the best 'you' that you are capable of being. Since your best self has unlimited power, don't you think it's time you learned to access that power?

If you knew for a fact that there was a God or a Goddess of unlimited power inside of you right now, wouldn't it be great to learn how to access their limitless abilities? Well, you do have a God or a Goddess inside of you, and gaining access to that power is very much within the reach of each and every mere mortal.

Photo Credit: Jari AhoAccessing your Divine power requires a conscious effort, however. You don't just stumble upon the thoughts, feelings, and actions that re-work the fabric of your own personal space-time continuum. If you want to change your stars (tip of the hat to A Knight's Tale), then follow these steps for invoking your personal development power!

Decide

Your ability to part seas and walk on water means exactly nothing until you decide that you want to part seas and walk on water.

When a magician goes to pull a rabbit out of a hat, do you think that he just waves his magic wand and says "Give me something furry!" or do you think he decides that he wants a rabbit, rather than, say, a weasel? Granted, those types of magic tricks are all illusion, but to even pull off that illusion, the magician still had to decide that he was going to wow the audience by pulling a rabbit out of a hat.

Your unlimited power will bring you the unlimited ability to accomplish absolutely nothing unless you first decide what it is that you want to accomplish. Without a decision, your magic wand is nothing more than a fancy drink stirrer.

Commit

It would seem to go without saying that making a commitment to a given course of action is an integral part of bringing that course of action to life, but how many times have you or someone you know decided to do something, but then not followed through?

Commitments to ourselves or to others should not be taken lightly. When you truly commit to something, your attitude should immediately become Failure is NOT an option! If you leave yourself a safety net or a safe way out in case you are unable to fulfill your commitment, then you haven't committed. If you feel the need to have a safety net or a safe way out, then you aren't ready for that commitment, so don't even bother trying. 

Shout

How many people in your circle of influence know what your goals are, or what you are trying to accomplish? Your answer should be everybody! The basic business concept of "networking" works for a reason; because the more people who know what you are wanting to do, the better chance you have of getting it done.

If you want to have your house painted, but you don't feel that you can afford it, shout it out! Tell your co-worker Suzie what you want, and what your concerns are. Suzie might not care, or be able to help you in some way, but that doesn't mean that Suzie's circle of influence won't be able to help you. For all you know, Suzie is going to go home that day to find a flyer on her door that says "We do quality house painting for cheap!"

Now, imagine if you did that with every single person that you know. In fact, you want your house painted so badly that you keep on talking about it over and over again. Eventually, you are going to come across the resources that you need, and it is very likely that those resources will come from a direction that you could not possibly have imagined in advance. 

Listen

What good is shouting for help if you don't then listen to see if anyone responds?

Again, this very likely will not come in a direct form. You might just be strolling down the street and come across someone else who is getting their house painted, so you strike up a conversation with them. It turns out that their painters need another job as soon as possible, and they are willing to reduce their rates in order to get the work.

You might find out about a brand-new company that is offering discount services in order to get their name out in the community, or you might come across a retiree who loves to paint houses, and he would be happy to paint your house for a lot less than the current rates being charged by local companies.

The point is that the more you shout it out, the more you should pay attention to what happens afterwards. Also - be patient. This process is not always immediate, but it is always effective. 

Expect

To get what you want, you have to expect to get what you want. Often, your attitude of expectation is enough to convince other people to help you out, even if they aren't getting something in return!

Your stark confidence in the fact that you are going to attain your desires makes people say "Wow, this girl/guy has it all figured out." When people have those types of thoughts, they are automatically drawn into your networking process, and they become a part of the solution.

I worked a gym once, and the Fitness Manager was not the most ethical health and fitness practitioner, but that didn't stop him from making a huge paycheck because of his attitude of expectation. He would walk into a meeting with potential new gym members with an attitude of "You ARE joining this gym, and you ARE buying personal training!". Before you knew it, people were signing on dotted lines and busting out their credit cards.

People are attracted to confidence and they listen to confident people. By keeping an attitude of expectation that you WILL be getting your way, you will inspire the world at large to make sure that is exactly what happens. 

Believe

The belief that you will get what you want is similar to your expectation, but belief is at a higher level, and speaks more to the lifestyle that you'll be leading once you get what you want, rather than just the expectation that you are going to get it.

• When you believe that you are going to be wealthy, you are already making plans for what to do with that money.
• When you believe that you are going to lose weight, you are already making plans for what kind of clothes you are going to wear, and how your lifestyle is going to change as a result of the weight loss.
• When you believe that you are going to find your soul-mate, you are already making plans for the things that you and him or her will do together, and how wonderful it will all be.

Belief is even more powerful than expectation because not only are you expecting to get what you want, but you are already planning the next stage in the journey. Doing so further empowers you to do things like sticking to your commitment, shouting to more people, listening for more answers, and fully expecting to get whatever it is that you want.

Enjoy

What's the point of all of this if you aren't going to enjoy the journey, as well as the prizes along the way? If the tasks that are involved in you attaining your desires make you sad, confused, angry, or even just bored, then why are you doing them?

When your heart is 100% involved with attaining your desires, then the tasks along the way - although sometimes mundane - will still be done with joy and enthusiasm because you know for a fact that by doing those tasks, you will get what you want.

If your tasks do not fill you with joy and a sense of bountiful expectancy, then that is a big red flag that you may be on the wrong path. You may be working towards something that you feel you are supposed to be doing or that you are good at, but it isn't something that you truly want for your life.

Your journey towards what you want to get out of life should be just as much fun as actually getting there. If you aren't enjoying the ride, you might want to get off at the next stop and find a route that brings you as much joy as you expect the end result to bring you.

Do you see a pattern developing here? Every step that was just listed not only builds upon the previous steps, but it all culminates in the final step - Enjoy - which was the initial goal to begin with, wasn't it?

Whatever it is that we are after in our lives, it is because we want joy and happiness. Yes, we may take part in tasks or actions that are not directly related to our own happiness, yet we take part in those tasks or actions because we choose to do so in order to attain whatever it is that we personally want.

It's OK to be self-centered in life. Being self-centered means that you insist on living life on your terms, as opposed to being selfish, which means that you insist on OTHER people living life on your terms.

Be self-centered, Invoke your personal development power, and Create a wonderful life for yourself.

Do you see how each one of those words is a present-tense action? The present is the only time you will ever have. Please use it wisely.

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This is a guest post that I did for Jeniffer Karas over at The Thirty Day Year. The post covers 2 of the most important (if not THE most important) success factors - Desire and Belief.

This guest post is part of an awesome series that Jeniffer has been running called The Achievers. In the series, there have been many empowering authors who have shared their secrets to success, and each of the posts in the series is worth checking out.

You can view all of the posts from the series by clicking this link to The Achievers, or you can click the link below to go directly to my guest post. If you see value in my post and/or any of the other posts at The Thirty Day Year, be sure to help Jeniffer out by adding those posts to Digg, Stumbleupon, or your favorite social bookmarking site. Enjoy!

Open The Success Floodgates by Tapping Into Your Burning Desires and Belief

Have you ever heard those people who say that the world revolves around what they want? Here's a quick tip for you - they were right!

Somewhere along the line in history, human beings have lost track of the very real, very important, very self-centered fact that each of us is 100% responsible for our lives. Our happiness/sadness, wealth/poverty, vitality/ill health, opportunity/despondency - and any other polar opposites that you can imagine - are the responsible of exactly one person, and that is you.

Photo Credit: Asif AkbarNo matter what your circumstances are in life, there is a way for you to create happiness and success out of those circumstances, because when all is said and done, one of the truths of existence is that each and and every one of us is the center of our own universe. Our thoughts, feelings, and actions create the very axis on which our entire existence spins, and that process is 100% within our control.

Yes, yes - I can hear your "insert excuse here" arguments already:

I was born this way, so I don't have a choice. - How you were born or raised is completely irrelevant. As Jack Canfield says, "That's the 'so what'. The 'what' is what now?" You can live in the past, or you can create the future.

This health condition runs in my family. - For one, that doesn't mean that you can't take every conceivable step to ensure maximum health despite that condition. For two, that doesn't mean that you can't consciously will better health into your life. For three, that health condition is a circumstance of your life, not the definition of your life. Realize the difference and quit whining about it.

Other people are involved in whether or not this can happen. - No, you allow other people to be involved in whether or not something can happen. People only effect our lives to the extent that we allow them to affect our lives. No matter how much you perceive someone else as being a positive or a negative part of your life, their impact on your life is totally in your control. If someone else is making your life miserable, you've got no one to thank for it but yourself.

It's out of my control. - In other words, you aren't willing to take responsibility for it. Henry Ford used to tell his employees not to bring him problems, but instead to bring him solutions. If something is "out of your control," all that means is that you haven't found a way to take control of it. If you are not willing to find that way, then you're right - it IS out of your control. How does that make you feel?

Whatever other excuses you can come up with, they all boil down to exactly the same thing:

That word "victim" is funny to me, because I think it should actually be elongated in order to more clearly demonstrate what being a "victim" is all about. Perhaps a vote on a better definition?

• Willing Participate
• Drama Lover
• Negativity Junkie
• Responsibility Avoider
• Blind Follower
• Commitment Challenged
• Selectively Ignorant

Oh, the list could go on and on, and no matter how long the list got, every phrase would describe the very same fact:

There are people who believe in and consistently act upon their ability to create wonderful lives for themselves, and there are people who realize how much easier it is to play the victim card, thus avoiding any real responsibility for their own happiness.

On that same note, there are people who will read this, and become empowered, and there are people who will immediately start coming up with reasons excuses about how these concepts don't apply to their lives because ________________ (insert lame excuse here).

Do yourself a favor and ask yourself which type of person you are. Then do yourself an even bigger favor and give yourself an honest answer to that question.

If you've been a blind, drama-loving, commitment-challenged, selectively-ignorant, negatively-charged, willing avoider of responsibility, then just ask yourself one more question:

How's that been working out for you?

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Unless you are independently wealthy or have found a way to make a living without doing any actual work, your financial success is going to depend on providing some type of product or service. Something as important as your financial success should be based on your own desires and values, however, not by the type of work that is available.

We've all done it. We decide to find a new job, or start a business, and the first things that we think about are the types of work we are qualified for, what employment is available, or what type of business we think that we could succeed at. How is it possible that an entire culture so completely ignores their own desires when it comes to making career decisions?

Am I saying that you should ignore the facts and try to sell surfboards in Siberia? No. However, if you lived in Siberia and you really wanted to sell surfboards, you COULD find a way!

There is an almost global self-limiting belief that our ability to make money is dependent on factors that  - in truth - are merely side notes to a wealth creation plan, rather than being the main considerations:

• To do a certain type of work you need a certain type of education. I call B.S.! Actually, what you need is experience, and the only way to get experience is to do the work. Ask any college grad under the age of 25 who is out looking for a job right now how effective their degree has been in landing them a high-paying position.
• The economy has a lot to do with the success of any given business model. I call B.S.! Yes, the economy is a factor, but if the economy is the main consideration, why are people still buying Jaguars, Ferrari's, 5-figure pieces of jewelry, cinema-like home entertainment systems, and why are they still taking vacations to the Bahamas?
• A proper business plan is needed to ensure success. I call B.S.! When I ran my own personal training business, I shut it down at the height of my success when I would have made $100,000 that year. My entire business plan consisted of a website and one monthly advertisement that I paid less than $10 per month for.

There is only one factor that should be your prime consideration when you are trying to decide what you want to do for a living, and that is what you want to do. No matter what it is that you truly enjoy doing in life, there is some way that you can make money by doing it.

• People get paid right now to go bar-hopping with tourists on paid "pub crawls".
• People get paid to design, test, and play video games.
• People get paid to eat at the finest restaurants, and then write about it.
• People get paid to write smarmy content on the Internet even though the content is given away for free.
• People get paid to travel all over the world and film themselves enjoying the global culture.
• People get paid to go diving and snorkeling in the most beautiful waters that this planet has to offer.

I could go on and on, but you should get the point by now. You can get paid to do what you love, no matter what it is that you love to do.

Pretty cool, huh?

The fastest way to determine whether or not your present career or a career that you are considering is going to be successful over the long-term is to write up a Personal Vision Statement for your career, and then simply compare your career options to that statement.

In order to write up your Personal Vision Statement, you simply need to ask yourself:

1. What do I truly enjoy doing?
2. What parameters have to be a part of (or absent from) my career?

That's it! Don't turn it into an 8-page dissertation - this is just an outline that you can use as a sanity check when you are considering your career options. Here is my example:

• What do I truly enjoy doing? I enjoy empowering people to create success and happiness in their lives.
• What parameters have to be a part of (or absent from) my career? The majority of my work has to be able to be done from anywhere in the world, and my work has to include residual sources of income.

Do you see how this is an outline that I can use to compare career options, rather than it being a business plan? Whenever I come up with an idea for a business, or when I am offered a job, or when I consider getting involved in a joint venture, all I have to do is compare that opportunity to my Personal Vision Statement. If the business idea, the job, or the joint venture does not fit into my Personal Vision Statement, then I do not get involved in it.

This is not rocket science, people, so please don't over-think it. Ask yourself those 2 questions, and then give yourself honest answers based on what you want - not on what you think is possible. 

What is possible is limited only by what you believe that you can do. Create that belief by being passionate about your desires, and success will be a natural - and glorious - side effect.

Acknowledgment: This post was inspired by Shama Hyder's free report, Online Marketing Plan. Thanks, Shama!

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