Yesterday morning, however, was different. Gratitude was replaced by anxiety as I counted up my sleep and decided it was enough. I stopped only briefly to ask my husband in passing whether he’d slept well. In retrospect, I was feeding the wrong wolf, but there I went, wandering further in the wrong direction.

I started worrying about time, and specifically lack of it. Check-in for our flight was at 8:00, it was now nearly 6:30, and I stood in my pajamas wondering if the weather was going to be a problem. Heavy rains were just starting, and were scheduled to get even heavier. As I started getting ready, I pictured every kind of weather-related plane disaster imaginable.

Is Anxiety Controlling You?

When we got to the airport, there were no delays, which I thought was a good sign. In the plane, I was glad to find a place to stow my bag, and then the anxiety started creeping back into my thoughts. Get out of the aisle, you’re in the way, the chances of you and David dying together in a plane crash are infinitesimal. The thought comforted me in an odd way. I went further with my theories: I’ve known two people who died on planes, so the chances of it happening to me as well are pretty much non-existent. But there’s always terrorism. Could any of these people be carrying a weapon?

I had to step in and intervene in this line of thought. The way I was going, toward total insanity and paranoia, was neither helpful nor enjoyable. I reminded myself that every time I’ve ever taken a flight, I do this same thing – I look for ways that things could end in death, and guess what? I’m still alive.

I decided to lay down the law with myself. I could either spend the rest of my life avoiding flying and worrying about terrorists, or I could just accept the great Divine that is God, and that I have a purpose on the earth that I am here to fulfill. When that mission is over, it’s over, and no amount of anxiety or stress is going to affect that. Admitting that to myself, hearing that truth in my head, allowed me to relax and enjoy the rest of the journey.

Overcoming Anxiety And Fear

This is a far cry from how I was in earlier years, not even able to venture out of my house, much less get on an airplane. Without medication, it was a certainly a struggle to heal my anxiety disorder, but now, on the plane, I could enjoy the luxury of feeling pleased with how far I’ve come.

I’d like to take a moment to tell another old story. There was a Shaman who, on the night of each full moon, would sit with the village children and recount the story of the white wolf and the dark wolf. These were two wolves who had been adversaries since the dawn of time. The white wolf thrives on truth, kindness, and love. The dark wolf, on the other hand, gains his strength from hatred, fear, and lies. The two wolves would battle again and again, and each time the children heard the story, they would ask which wolf wins in the end. The shaman’s answer was simple: “The wolf that wins is the one you feed!” And so it is.

My time here at Today is that Day has been nothing less than wonderful, and I am very glad that the blog posts and other content from the site will most likely still remain available even after the new owners get done moving things around. The community that has been built around this site is the most empowering and uplifting group of people that I have ever been exposed to, and I am grateful that via the power of the Internet, I will still be able to interact with many of you.

My own life has changed drastically over the last year, and all of the changes have been for the best! I got married to my wonderful new wife, Shanna, and we live on the east coast of Florida which is a dream come true for both of us. I have rejoined the U.S. Military as an Air National Guard soldier, and I will spend 6 months at Keesler Air Force Base in Mississippi during 2009 learning all sorts of cool, high-tech stuff. My military affiliation will be financing a full-time college education that will also be in the high-tech arena. In addition, I have finally launched the incredible health & fitness website: Surfside Fitness, which is a project that I have been working on for more than 6 months. The result of that work is a beautiful new site that will be an awesome resource for a great many people.

Surfside Fitness is where I will be spending most of my online time, and with major props once again being given to my incredible designer, Jason Larose, I am looking forward to helping thousands of people to attain high levels of health and fitness via that site. I got it completed just in time for the fresh start that 2009 will bring for all of us!

Surfside Fitness is more than just a website and blog, however. The site comes complete with:

• A full suite of services including Fitness Consulting, Online Fitness Training, Program Evaluation, and lots more
• A fitness blog that will be updated several times each week, and a plan is already in place to ensure not only frequent updates, but very high quality health and fitness content as well
• A free health and fitness community that is simple to use, yet packed with tons of features like personal blogs, video uploads, picture uploads, groups, forums, and more
• Frequently updated videos and featured products that will be more than just a stale rotation of old content. The video and product updates will be coming straight from the cutting edge of the health and fitness arena

Since my primary goal with Today is that Day has always been to empower people to believe that they can take control over their lives and build those lives to be wonderful, I want to leave with a parting message:

Never, ever, EVER GIVE UP!

For my wife and I, 2008 has been one of the hardest years of our lives. We have had every imaginable difficulty, and some difficulties that you probably CAN'T imagine. To say that we had to struggle this year in order to get to where we are now would be a radical understatement.

We made it through the fire by sticking to our guns and staying focused on our goals!

There were no hand outs, no easy streets, no miracle cures, and no safety nets. We have had to fight, kick, scratch, and bite for every ounce of success that we have had, and if we had given up, then none of these wonderful things would have happened in our lives.

We sit poised on the brink of a new year that – although there will still be challenges – we are better armed from every conceivable level to achieve success than we have ever been in the past.

We got to this point by believing in ourselves, believing in each other, and keeping our eyes on the prize.

Stay focused on what you want, never give up reaching for it, and your success is guaranteed.

I'll look forward to seeing you all out there wherever our paths cross again, and in the meantime, remember to always enjoy your life. If you're not having fun, what's the point??

You don't need to look any further than the almost universal desire that people have for more money in order to see this concept in action. People jump through all manner of hoops in order to gain financial freedom, but even if they had a mountain of money in front of them, if they didn't do anything with it, then it would just be a useless pile of paper.

Photo Credit: Txt2Pic.comIt is not what we GET in life that matters, because life is handing us new opportunities every single day. Rather, it is what we DO with those opportunities that will ensure not only our long-term success, but our day-to-day happiness as well.

The Dream Job

Every person has their own rendition of what their "dream job" is, so what would you do if you actually attained it?

• Would you just show up for work every day, but not do any actual work?
• Would you stop working towards future success and advancements?
• Would you ignore opportunities to demonstrate the skills or experience that you used to get the job to begin with?

A "dream job" without a corresponding effort on your part to show that you are worthy of that job is nothing more than an opportunity for you to end up standing in the soup line.

The Dream Body

Yep, we've all pictured it in our heads at one time or another, right? Those firm muscles, tight curves, and sculpted features are things that most people give thought to, and for some people, it is an on-going quest that lasts for decades. What would you do if you got your "dream body," though?

• Would you start eating junk food like it was going out of style?
• Would you stop exercising effectively and on a very consistent basis?
• Would you pick up every unhealthy habit that you could get your hands on?

A "dream body" is made up of both the mental and the physical work that it takes to get that body to begin with. If you stop doing that work, then your "dream body" will once again become nothing but a far off goal that you can't quite get your hands on.

The Dream Relationship

Who hasn't dreamed of their "soul mate" at one time or another, or at least dreamed of the guy or girl that would keep them satisfied on an emotional or physical level? That "dream relationship," however, is not something that can be won, but then just ignored.

• If you are a certain person in the beginning of a happy relationship, do you honestly think that relationship will stay happy if you start acting like a different person?
• If you have certain goals or dreams that are shared by your significant other, but your goals or dreams change, is it your significant other's fault when the relationship starts to crumble?
• If you are a family man or woman, but suddenly you decide to recapture your college glory days of keg parties and panty raids, do you honestly think that is going to fly?

A relationship – by definition – is made up of 2 people harmoniously sharing their life experiences. If one person changes drastically from how they were in the beginning of the relationship, the possibility that the other person will change enough to balance things out is minimal at best.

The moral of the story here is that the attainment of success – no matter how thrilling – is simply a moment in time when you realize that you have won. After that moment has passed, it is time for you to step up to the plate and consistently prove that you are worthy of that success.

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The truth of the matter is that in order for change to occur – on both an individual scale, as well as a global scale – holding on to the way things "used to be" is a recipe for nothing but a modern-day remake of the same mistakes that we have already made in our lives, and on our planet.

Photo Credit: KadhaIf we want true, lasting change to occur, then we must realize that change means change, it does not mean wrapping the old life up in a new package and then presenting it again as if it's all new. It's like that ridiculous advertising slogan "New and Improved". Something can't be new AND improved – it has to be one or the other!

Nostalgia for Days gone By

One of the biggest reasons why people cling to their old patterns despite an innate need to move forward is nothing more complex than that wonderful emotion of nostalgia.

Our lives, no matter how hectic or chaotic they may be, are filled with "sweet spots" that are permanently ingrained in our memories and on our hearts. We remember "back when," or "that time when," or "how it used to be".

Those memories and the emotions that they invoke are wonderful, and to forget or bury them would be nothing less than criminal. However, living from them is just as much of a crime! Your glory days from the past are just that – in the past. No matter how wonderful those days were, they are gone now, and you need to come to terms with that.

You should cherish your past, and learn from your past, and apply what your past has taught you, but your life will never move forward if you are hooked on "the good ol' days". Recognize your past for its positive aspects, utilize the contrast from the negative aspects as a marker for what to avoid in the future, and then let it all go.

Your past – no matter how powerful it may be – is gone. An exponentially more powerful and more glorious future, on the other hand, is nothing but a thought and a commitment away. 

A Comfort Zone that needs to be Broken out Of

The other main reason why people tend to color their futures with the hues of their past is simply the fact that they are used to doing things that way.

I'm not talking about the standard self improvement dogma about getting outside of your comfort zone – we've all heard that one a thousand times. No, I am talking about the fact that people simply don't do what it takes to create and maintain new habits that cause their lives to be significantly different than they have been in the past.

Each of us is guilty of it on some level or other, but we don't realize our guilt because we are so used to doing things that way that it feels natural to us. Just because something feels natural does NOT mean that it should be a part of your life!

When I was a kid, I lived one quarter mile from a very busy set of railroad tracks. Those trains were very loud, and they came through many, many times every day and every night. After a few years, though, I stopped hearing them. They became such a natural background noise that I didn't even consciously hear them anymore.

Just because I got used to living close to the train tracks does not mean that I would want to live there again!

Our ability to get used to something – even something challenging or difficult – does not automatically mean that we should make that thing a part of our lives. If our habits – no matter how steeped in antiquity they may be – do not take our lives in the direction that we want to go, then those habits need to fall by the wayside.

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I have used the term "if nothing changes, then nothing changes" in so many of my writings that I have literally lost count. I don't keep repeating it because it sounds cool, but rather because it is the truth of our existence.

The more things change, the more they stay the same? I call B.S.!! The more things change, the more they NEED to change.

Anything less is just a carbon copy that is getting more and more faded the more times you copy it.

WHAT'S NEXT?

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Now, I would never recommend that someone just “give up” – far from it. However, there is something to be said for reevaluating any given situation and deciding that starting from scratch – now armed with new knowledge and experience – is simply a more effective or enjoyable use of your time.

In my recent move to the beach, there were many “must haves” that were part of the process, and by checking out the following examples, you can get an idea of how to make a fresh start in your own life, if and when the time comes to do so.

1) Decide what you want AND what you don’t want

Knowing what you want is only half the battle, because it is very easy to miss critical details if you don’t also consider what you don’t want your new life to include.

The primary goal when I moved was to get close to the beach – close being defined as walking distance. The initial search for a place was very fruitful, and there were more places to look at than there was time to do so. By the end of a full day spent looking at properties on Florida’s Space Coast, it seemed that the biggest hurdle was going to be deciding which one was the best!

However, as the details were discussed and properties started being weeded out for various reasons, it became very clear that the north/south location of the house was a bigger factor than originally realized. By putting both a northern and a southern “line in the sand” on the map, the search for a house instantly became much more productive because the desired area had now been so clearly defined. The initial search spanned almost 20 miles of coastline, while the updated search encompassed only about 6 miles.

The perfect beach side home was not found until the realization was made that there were northern and southern boundaries that I did NOT want to cross. That focus fueled the remainder of the search, and it was less than a week after making that realization that a lease was signed on the new home.

2) Define just what it is that you’ll be doing with your new life

It’s easy to say things like “I want a great relationship,” or “I want more money, “ or “I want to lose weight”. However, those types of vague assertions about what you want will only focus vague energies on the process of actually attaining them.

In my case, part of the plan when moving to the beach was to start a new fitness related business based in a coastal community. After spending 3 years as a personal trainer – and then voluntarily walking away from that life – I had to ask myself how this was going to be any different than the last time. What type of business was I going to build that would have all of the joys and benefits of the fitness lifestyle, but without the drawbacks that caused me to back away from that path before?

The answer – I am ecstatically proud to reveal – came in the form of Surfside Fitness and the absolutely magical work of my graphic and web designer, Jason LaRose. I defined the business model and Jason brought it all to life with incredible skill, professionalism, and vision. I don’t know what I was more excited about – the detailed business model that I came up with, or how well Jason brought it all to full-color life.

Click my beautiful Surfside Fitness logo to check out the splash page of the site, and while you’re clicking, be sure to visit Jason’s site and hire him to bring his magic into your world as well.

3) Realize the contrast between your new life and the old life

The age-old definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, yet expecting a different result. If you don’t do things differently than you did before, then you haven’t recreated anything – you’ve just copied and pasted.

How are YOU going to be different in your new life? It’s not just about picturing yourself with all of the joys and trappings of the new life that you want to create, because that is just putting the same habits and lifestyle choices that you have now into a world that looks a bit different. If YOU aren’t different, then your new life will not be any different than the old life.

In my situation, it was a matter of getting back into the “public eye”. I have done the majority of the writing that I have done at Today is that Day for almost 2 years while living a comparably secluded lifestyle. I have worked from home or at local coffee shops for the majority of the time, and a business like Surfside Fitness cannot be run from a coffee shop!

My contrast will be going from a life of almost seclusion to a life of being out in public almost every day. The last time I lived that lifestyle I was well on my way to attaining a 6-figure income…

4) Check your old habits at the door

A conscious decision like the one discussed above to be a different person is all well and good, but what about those nasty habits that will be leftover from your previous lifestyle? Any habits that take you away from the dream life that you are building need to be kicked to the curb.

In my case, it is electronic communication. I’ll admit it now in front of all the world that I am an Internet junkie! I send an email when I should call someone. I go to Google when I could just pick up the yellow pages or call information. I send text messages or leave comments instead of just having real-time communication.

Yep, I’m hooked! However, now that I am the figurehead and the primary trainer for a brand-new, ultra-cool fitness company, I’ll need to give my keyboard something of a break. The Internet and my blogs will always be a part of both my business and my personal life, but as the owner of a “real world” company, I need to kick the electronic habit and start communicating with people more often in real world ways.

5) Make a serious commitment to yourself

In today’s day and age, starting a “business” can be as quick and easy as putting together a website, and that level of ease also brings with it the danger of not taking things as seriously as we sometimes should.

Life is meant to be enjoyed and – as a general rule – should not be taken too seriously. However, at the same time, if long-term success or happiness is the goal, then something more than just a token effort will probably need to be applied.

My example of this is with regard to my own level of health and fitness. If I am going to teach and lead others to fitness success, then I have to be in great shape myself. As regular readers know, I started the P90X home fitness program 3 months ago, and stuck with it through the duration – right up until the last week and half that is!

The P90X program is a 90-day system, which ends up being a total of 13 weeks of training. Mid-way through week 12, I simply ran out of time. Between packing, moving, painting my old house, unpacking at the new house, and fixing some things that needed to be fixed there, I simply ran out of daylight every day. I was up at 6:00am, out the door by around 7:00am, and not home again until late that night, and then I repeated that sequence every day. There was simply no time available to exercise for an hour each day, so I had a tough decision to make.

Do I “give up” on P90X and just say that I ALMOST finished the program? Do I “pad” the truth and say that I finished it, even though I only made it through 11 1/2 weeks?

Well, I am not the type to lie or to even stretch the truth, nor am I the type to “almost” finish something. So, I did the next best thing:

I committed to start all over again!

Yup, I’m insane like that. Well, at least that’s how it seems, but the truth of the matter is that I am not crazy, I am just committed to my career and to leading by example. That type of commitment takes serious will power, but it also leads to serious success.

The key thing to remember here is that a new life requires CHANGE. You can’t hold onto a previous life if you want to build a new life. I’ve said it many times before, and I’ll probable say it many times more:

If nothing changes, then nothing changes!

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Back on June 16, 2008 I wrote the post The Winds of Change will sometimes Ruffle your Sails, and in that post I made the public commitment that I would find a way to move to the east coast of Florida within 60 days in order to start a new business. We signed the lease on our beach-side condo 32 days later!

Photo Credit: Robert RussellWe did not pull off such an impressive accomplishment by just sitting around hoping that it would happen, however. There were tangible, "real world" factors that went into our success, and there were intangible, impossible to predict factors as well. The point of this post is for you to realize that success does not come from sitting around wishing for it, but neither does it only come from working hard.

Success is most often a potent combination of your own efforts, as well as factors that you couldn't possibly predict in advance.

Tangible Success Factors

As I indicated back in my original post when I stated my intention to move to the beach within 60 days, there were "real world" products and services that I offered up in order to make that happen. Despite my iron-clad belief that I would manifest whatever circumstances were necessary in order to achieve my goal, I still didn't just sit around waiting for the success wagon to pull up in front of my house. I went out there and chased the success wagon down!

I knew that coming up with additional funding was going to be critical to moving to a coastal area, and at the beginning of the journey (barely 1 month ago!), neither myself nor my girlfriend had any additional money outside of what our monthly bills were costing us.

So, rather than sitting around waiting for the success genie to drop a free ride into my lap, I actively went out and worked towards my goals:

• I offered products – My own electronic products from 2 years of personal development work continue to be a source of value for all who have purchased them, and I leveraged that in order to help facilitate this move.
• I offered services – Although I have no interest in a career as a blog developer, I do have skills with WordPress, so I offered those skills as a way to help other people out. 3 people took me up on it, to the tune of over $500 towards the cause. (Maija Karin Photography, Privateer Nation, Power Sharing)
• I offered discount memberships – My Personal Development Partners site continues to be a source of inspiration and networking for the members, and also a store house of a ton of great self improvement and personal development information. The lifetime membership option there was taken advantage of by 3 of the members of the site. (Gia, Dr. Hal, and Jeniffer Karas)
• I did manual labor – Just because I'm a computer whiz doesn't mean that I can't get out there and work my butt off. I helped people move, I pulled weeds, I planted trees – heck, I almost got sun stroke one day. I kept my goal in mind, however, and I didn't let a bit of back-breaking work frighten me away from my goal!
• I sold things from my past that were not going to serve my future – Like most people, I had a ton of crap that I was holding onto, but never using. None of those things had anything to do with the business or the life that I want on the coast, so I just sold them on Craigslist. Not only am I free and clear from those things that I associate with my past, but now we don't have to move them, either!

You should note 2 very important things about the list of activities that I engaged in to facilitate this move:

1. I did not stick to any "one" thing as the solution to coming up with more money. I kept my options open and I took action in many different directions at once.
2. I did not limit my options by "classifying" myself. I did everything from skilled technical work, to inspirational and empowering writing, to manual labor. Each and every one of those activities brought income to the equation.

Intangible Success Factors

Despite the success of the "real world" efforts that I listed above, the intangible efforts were just as important to my success. There were things that were part of my success that I could not possibly have foreseen, and that was the result of 3 radically important things that I did every single day during the manifestation of my desires:

1. I visualized what I wanted - Every morning, every night, and sometimes even during the day, I kept a picture in my mind of what I would see once I was living at the beach. Did it work? The condo that we signed a lease on is literally 300 steps from the sand. I could walk from my door to the sand with my eyes closed.
2. I kept a sense of expectation – There were plenty of times over the last month or so that doubt wanted to creep in, but I never let it get a foot hold. I kept the attitude every single day not that it MIGHT happen, but that it definitely WOULD happen.
3. I stayed focused on a specific goal – In the beginning, we actually had about a 20-mile stretch of beach that we were willing to live near as long as the house itself was close enough to the sand. After an entire day of looking at properties and making phone calls, however, we decided that it had to be either Cape Canaveral or Cocoa Beach, FL, which are collectively only about 8 miles of sand. Within 3 days of making the rock-solid decision that it had to be Cocoa or the Cape, we found our place 300 steps from the beach in Cape Canaveral.

Unforeseen Circumstances

My visualizing, my sense of expectation, and the laser-focus on exactly what I wanted brought things into the equation that I could not possibly have foreseen:

• Advertisers that I had never even heard of before purchased ad space here at Today is that Day and also at Fitness Destinations. That was all bonus money for the housing fund.
• Visitors to this site purchased affiliate products that have been advertised here for almost a year, yet had not had any new sales in many months. My commission on those sales went straight into the housing fund.
• Some very generous readers who are also fellow bloggers made donations to the cause, and they know who they are, so I will just take this opportunity to thank them again! Each of the people who donate
  d are also paying members over at PDP, so their continued generosity was a welcome and unexpected gift.
• The person who owns the condo that we are moving into (thanks again, Renee!!) had the old tenant moving out the same day that we went to look at it, and she agreed that if we were willing to clean the place up, she wouldn't charge us a deposit. We signed the lease with nothing but the 1st month's rent. How often does THAT happen anymore???

There were numerous other "synchronicities" that came into play as far as people helping us out, giving us guidance, or helping to keep us on track, and that in itself could be an entire wonderful story. I'll stop there, because by now you should get the point that the unforeseen circumstances were just as much a part of this success as the "real world" efforts that were made.

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The moral to this entire, joyous success story is that not only did I get what I wanted, but that I got it through a combination of both tangible and intangible success factors. If you have been putting all of your faith in one system or the other, why don't you try combining BOTH?

You might be shocked and amazed at the incredible results that you bring into your life!

By the way, if you are curious about the health and fitness business that is going to be one of the results of this success story, be sure to check out my profile over at Bob Doyle's 45-day Boundless Living Challenge. I'll be discussing the entire journey and all of the awesome business details over there!

p.s. – I need to go pack, paint, and do maintenance on the house that we are moving out of and renting, so I'll be "off the grid" for awhile. Look for the next post here at Today is that Day to be typed up from the beach!

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It seems simplistic to say that in order to get what we want, we need to first know exactly what that is, yet defining the exact details of our desires is often not as easily done as we think. Without a proper understanding of the specifics of our desires, it is very easy to end up wasting time as well as mental capital focusing our attention in the wrong direction.

Photo Credit:  v floresThe missing piece to the success puzzle is not so much having the opportunities to achieve success, but rather first knowing exactly what it is that we want. It is critical to not only have a “general” idea of our desires, but to also plug in the very specific factors that need to be present – or absent – once the desired goal has been obtained.

It is very easy once we have decided to make lifestyle improvements to then get caught up in the excitement of those improvements, and not perform our “due diligence” in order to determine precisely what our success will look like. Without knowing exactly what success entails, we will:

• Lack the ability to track our progress to see if we are moving towards our goal
• Waste time focusing both physical and mental efforts on tasks that are not directly related to our specific goal. 

Some common examples include:

The person who decides to lose weight – What exactly does “lose weight” look like? If you don’t know how much weight you want to lose, or what clothing size you are wanting to fit into, how will you know if you are making progress? How will you know which type of fitness program to get involved with? How will you even know when you have attained your goal?

The person who wants to become wealthy – Well, “wealthy” to a homeless person is a few clean outfits to wear, the occasional shower, and a consistently full belly. What exactly is wealthy to YOU? You need to define a very specific lifestyle that defines what wealthy means in your mind, so that you can both work towards that goal, as well as measure your progress along the way.

The person who wants a great relationship – Try to draw a great relationship on paper, and you’ll see that illustrating such a vague concept is challenging at best. Is it a romantic relationship? What type of intimacy are you looking for? What type of companionship do you want? What things are you NOT willing to have in that relationship?

The above are just some general examples in order to give you an idea of what I’m talking about here, but this same concept can – and should – be applied to every area of your life where you are looking to make improvements.

Why is it important to define what you don’t want in addition to the details about what you do? Simple: in order to keep from wasting time and energy on tasks, plans, or circumstances that are not in alignment with your preferred end result!

Visualization 

One of the most effective (and proven) ways to get what you want out of life is to practice visualization. In short, whenever you go somewhere enough times in your mind, you will eventually go there in the body as well.

If you use visualization in order to bring about positive changes in your life, how can you visualize effectively if you don’t know exactly what those changes are? Moreover, what happens whenever you effectively visualize something, yet when it arrives, it isn’t exactly what you wanted? You’ll have to go right back to the visualization drawing board!

Productivity Practices

The idea behind productivity practices is to achieve some desired end result. Sometimes it is something specific like a project that you are working on, while at the same time productivity practices can be used to effectively work towards positive lifestyle changes.

How do you remain productively working toward a lifestyle goal if you don’t know exactly what that goal is? How do you keep from wasting time on tasks that will not take you to your desired end result if you don’t know precisely what that end result is?

Crunch Time

When it comes down to the wire and you are getting very close to the attainment of your goal, you will find yourself needing to make critical decisions about how to move forward.

• Am I at my goal body weight? If so, what’s next?
• Have I attained “wealth” as I define it? If so, what do I do with it?
• Have I secured a wonderful relationship? If so, how do I keep it?
• Have I {insert any other life goal here}? If so, what are my next steps?

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How can you know how to move on to a new goal in your life if you can’t even say for sure whether or not you attained the last one? What if you “sort of” got what you wanted, but sort of didn’t at the same time?

Do you then just settle for whatever you got, or do you reassess and then decide how to move forward? Either way, you can’t make that determination until you first determine whether or not you even attained your original goal.

All of these ideas about how to properly stay focused on success in order to then attain it share this common trait:

How do YOU define success? 

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If you've seen these posts before, then go ahead and revisit them – most of what I write is timeless. If you haven't, then here is a chance to see some great content from the past that you missed the first time around. Enjoy!

• Everybody’s been the dog… – How do you turn science fiction into a lesson about your own infinite potential? Read the post to find out!
• 50 First Dates… - A life lesson about living in the moment learned from watching a very funny and entertaining movie with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore.
• How was your Day? – How much difference can a single 24-hour day make in your long-term success? How about all of the difference in the world?
• Did you feel that Tapping? – For you die-hard people who think that having a plan is the "end all, be all" of success, this post might make you think twice about living by that philosophy.

You don't have to try very hard these days to hear people complaining about the economy, about gas prices, about the housing market, about terrorism, about health care, about schools and teenage angst, blah, blah, blah. There is a never-ending stream of things to complain about, and as long as people continue to complain, those issues will continue to exist.

Photo Credit: bonvivantImagine what would happen, though, if one by one, people started seeing things in a more positive light, and started to see, talk about, and focus on the positive aspects of the state of the world. There is a positive spin that can be put on anything – IF, and ONLY if – you look at the situation from the right point of view. Naysayers will claim that there is nothing positive about negative circumstances, and as long as they continue to look with eyes like that, they will always find a way to prove themselves right. For everyone else, however, turn your attention to the GOOD that comes out of even the worst circumstances, and you may start to realize that all is not lost – despite what the doomsday people would have us believe.

Global Warming – Global warming is indeed a potentially huge negative circumstance. However, if the phenomenon would never have surfaced, we would have continued to blindly go on polluting the environment and the earth, and no one would have known anything about it until it was too late.

I see global warming as a welcome wake up call that we need to get off our butts and start taking care of the Earth. I also see global warming as a welcome wake up call to people (myself included) who previously didn't spend enough time appreciating the value and the beauty of nature. When you are in danger of losing something, you suddenly realize how valuable it is.

Terrorism – Did you realize that in the U.S., until the 9/11 incidents with the twin towers in NYC, that terrorism had been relegated to being "yesterday's news," and that – with full respect to any previous victims of terrorism – it had all but fallen out of view of anyone but the security agencies charged with protecting the U.S. borders? Terrorism has become such an issue today because people keep focusing on how BAD it is.

Do you know what I see when I think of terrorism? I see a much-needed reminder about how wonderful it is to live in the countries whose governments protect us from those types of threats. I see reminders about how each day should be lived to the fullest. I see examples of extreme religious beliefs that remind me of how fortunate I am to live in a country where I can practice any religion (or lack thereof) that I choose to practice. Am I happy about terrorism? No, of course not. However, I AM happy to be safe and alive, and to be reminded that each day is a gift.

High Gas Prices – Hovering near or above $4.00 per gallon of gasoline in the United States, a lot of people would say that this is a real problem, and a lot more people would agree with them. After all, our entire social and career culture is based on people getting back and forth to work and play areas.

Do you know what I see when I look at the price of gas? I see opportunities for us to explore and develop alternative technologies that we should have been exploring and developing a long time ago. I see people getting more exercise by walking or riding bicycles more often. I see people staying in and becoming part of their communities more, rather than thinking that happiness is always just another car ride away. I see people coming together as metropolitan communities via increased use of public transportation, and an increased awareness of what life is like for people who weren't driving cars before gas prices sky-rocketed. In short, I see high gas prices as a positive change in the global culture, not the "evil" that many people seem to think it is.

Health Care – It doesn't take long to find a group of people who are willing to complain about the health care system, the price of medications, and a lack of affordable coverage. Those issues, however, are not in debate. The fact that they exist simply is what it is. How the majority of people LOOK at the health care issues is what will determine the long-term positive or negative state of the health care industry.

When I think of "negative" health care issues, I see an opportunity for people to realize the need to do what they should have been doing all along – taking better care of themselves! From both a mental and a physical standpoint, any given person has a HUGE amount of power over their level of health and fitness. If rising health care costs are what it takes to wake those people up, get them to step away from the table, to take up exercising, and to realize the power that their minds and their attitudes have over their health, then I think that is just glorious.

Schools and Generational Issues – What's wrong with kids today? They are disrespectful, unmotivated, victim mentality-oriented, overweight, unhealthy, prone to inappropriate sexual acts, and just generally screwed up. We'll all be lucky if the Earth sees another 20 years with those kids at the helm. And it is no wonder that these kids are so messed up, what with the school budget cuts, and the rampant violence that fills our school system these days.

I wish that my slightly tongue-in-cheek description of the state of today's youth and educational system was just a joke, but it's not. However, the problem isn't with the kids or with the educational system, it is with the parents. I don't see the teenagers riddled with issues such as those described above, but rather an opportunity for people to WAKE UP and realize that child-rearing starts at home. I see a chance for today's misguided parents to realize that making babies is about creating a new generation, not about flopping around in the sheets and then figuring out how to pay for and manage the result that comes out 9 months later. I don't see a problem – I see an opportunity.

I could go on and on with examples just like those listed above, but by now the point should be crystal clear:

You can look at life in the worst possible light, or you can look at life with eyes that see opportunities for advancement and growth.

One of those views leads to a world full of negativity, hatred, and destruction, while the other point of view will create a world that is actually worth living in. Personally, I choose the latter…

WHAT'S NEXT?

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The first – and best – course of action is obviously to just avoid getting shot at in the first place. Barring that option, however, the next best thing to do is to duck, dodge, or otherwise evade the bullets that life will inevitably throw at you.

Photo Credit: Justice Blog of AmericaNow, I am obviously talking figuratively here, not literally, yet ironically enough, living a life where you can dodge mental bullets will probably keep you from having to dodge literal bullets as well, so it's an all-around good technique to learn!

The trick to dodging mental bullets is not to actually get out of the way whenever someone fires them at you, but rather to neutralize those mental bullets, thus eliminating their ability to cause you any harm.

Although in a perfect scenario, we could all simply avoid the negativity that is brought into our lives by other people, realistically that is not always going to be possible. However, by knowing how to make yourself impervious to those negative mental bullets (without being from Krypton or having magic bracelets), no matter how negative any given situation is, you will still be able to minimize or eliminate the affect that situation has on you and your life.

The trick to this lies in a very simple concept that everyone is familiar with: Opposites.

What do opposites have to do with eliminating negativity from your life? Quite simply, because opposites cancel each other out.

It is not possible for any extreme state of being to remain in an extreme state whenever the opposite of that state is applied to it.

Confused? Try out these examples:

• What happens when you mix black and white? You get gray.
• What happens when left and right meet in the middle? A straight line.
• What is the mid-line between moving forward or moving backwards? Standing still.
• What happens if you try to go up and down at the same time? Nothing.
• What is the difference between partly cloudy and partly sunny? Sorry, that's not part of the lesson – I just had to throw it in there!

The point here is that if some person or some situation comes at you from an extremely negative standpoint, then all you have to do in order to dodge that bullet is to focus on the polar opposite of whatever the negativity is, and you will immediately neutralize the extreme nature of that negativity.

People 

If someone walks up to you and starts screaming and yelling, just remain calm, and put yourself in a happy place. In fact, if you can conjure up an actual smile, that will REALLY help. It may not help the person screaming and yelling, but it will certainly help you, and what you need is what this is really all about anyway.

Your calm, cheerful demeanor will at the very least keep you from losing your cool and saying or doing something that you'll regret, and at the same time it may have the added benefit of diffusing the situation. Even the instigator of the whole thing may chill out, and both of you can then move forward without all of that negative energy.

Situations

If an extremely negative situation comes up in your life, the first thing to realize is that the situation just is what it is. You may be able to make the situation better in the future, but at the moment when you find out about (and are most susceptible to the negative effects of) the situation, simply accepting the situation for what it is needs to be the first step.

Once you have accepted the situation, then you can pull out the "opposite card". Since the goal is to avoid the negative influence that this situation could have on your state of mind, don't focus on finding a solution at this point, but rather just finding and focusing on the opposite of the situation.

Whenever you focus on the polar opposite of any given negative situation, what is the polar opposite of negative? Positive! No matter what negative situation has been presented to you, you can immediately eliminate the negativity by thinking about and FEELING about the opposite of that situation.

Remember, the goal here is not to find solutions to the situation, but rather to just protect yourself from the negativity that the situation has created.

Health

Have you ever heard the phrase "the rich get richer and the poor get poorer"? The reason why that phrase is true is because rich people focus on prosperity, while poor people focus on poverty. It is nothing more complicated or covert than the frequently proven fact that people get what they focus on. This applies to your health just as much as – if not more than – any other areas of your life.

If you wake up in the morning and think "I am so sore," or "I am so tired," or "I don't feel well," then you will continue to recreate those same feelings all day long. No matter what you do physically in order to try to alleviate those conditions, if you stay mentally focused on the fact that for some real or imagined reason you are supposed to be sore, tired, or ill, you will find a way to keep feeling exactly like that.

Focus instead on the opposite of those feelings. Yes, it will be hard at first because you DO feel sore, tired, or ill. However, by continually focusing on the opposite of those feelings, you will empower your own body to minimize or even eliminate whatever it is that caused those feelings to begin with. Or, if you can't wrap  your head around the fact that your mind controls your body (and it does!), then you should still be able to get your head around the simple fact that if you stop thinking about something unpleasant, you'll stop noticing it as well.

Your life is not just made up of the actual events that transpire during your time here on Earth, but rather how you feel about what happens to you here on Earth. Depending on your personal belief systems, you recognize that you have anywhere from partial to complete control over the physical happenings in your life, and most people exercise their level of control regularly.

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However, the one thing that is absolutely beyond debate is that you have 100% complete, utter control over what you think and what you feel as a result of those thoughts. If your life is the sum of the thoughts and feelings that you have about your physical experiences (and it is), and you can control your thoughts and your feelings 100% of the time (and you can), then doesn't it just make sense to have the best possible thoughts and feelings as often as you can?

You've got absolutely nothing to lose by attempting to use this system of dodging mental bullets, and since I don't see Wonder Woman or Superman swooping in to save your day, you might want to think about handling that responsibility on your own… 

WHAT'S NEXT?

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Tools to Life is one of many online support groups that are out there, but I think their site offers a lot more than the average self help site. Rather than just being a huge cache of self improvement information, the Tools to Life system is actually a step-by-step and timed system where you are required to take action each day towards your goals.

It would be difficult to list each and every cool and useful aspect of the Tools to Life website in just one blog post, so instead I will highlight three of the separate areas of the site that you should definitely check out. Next, I will do a quick run through of the "toolbox," which is the basic interface that gives you the daily information and tasks that you are required to read, watch, or take part in so you can stay on track.

1. For anyone who has ever considered life coaching as a possible part of their success system, you'll definitely want to take a look at the life coaching support groups at Tools to Life. There are huge groups that are made up of thousands of members, and there are also smaller, more intimate groups that are created by the members themselves. When I was there, I counted over 150 separate groups, so there is something for everyone, not to mention the ability to create your own group as a Tools to Life member.

2. The self help programs that are offered at Tools to Life are the first step for all new members. There are three distinct modules, and you can choose one or more that fit into your own desire for growth. The three programs that they presently offer are: Tools to Life with Coach Steele, Tools To Optimal Health with Dr. Carlos Santo, and Quit Smoking Tools with Coach Steele. For whatever program(s) you choose, you will be given a separate daily toolbox to use in the attainment of the goals related to your program choice(s).
3. For those of you who seek inspirational motivation from the written word, you'll get plenty of that in the articles section at Tools to Life. In addition to just reading articles, however, members of the site can also comment on the articles, and interact with each other in the comment section, much like on a blog post.

The Personal Toolbox – your home base at Tools to Life

Your toolbox is where you go through all of the daily processes that are related to whichever self help program(s) you choose when you first sign up. After choosing your program(s), you then electronically "sign" a personal commitment page where you set the intention to attain whatever your specific goals are. After signing your personal commitment page, you can then use the site's interface to email yourself a copy of the commitment, and you can even email the commitment to others, inviting them to help keep you accountable and/or to join the site themselves.

Your personal toolbox is made up of individual "rooms" where you take part in various activities, usually on a daily basis. The toolbox is set up so that you start in the upper left-hand corner, and then you work your way around, going to each room and doing the activity contained in that room. You will have a separate toolbox for each of the programs that you are involved in.

There are multiple sections in your toolbox, including daily videos with lessons based on whatever program you are working on, daily audio and reading, and a daily checklist to make sure that you do not miss anything along the way.

The first thing that I want to share is Bob Doyle's very cool (and free!) accountability program that is set to launch on July 20, 2008. It is called the Boundless Living Challenge, and after quite a bit of research into it, I have concluded that it is going to be the "kick in the butt" that so many people need from time to time – including myself!

The Boundless Living Challenge is basically a 45-day accountability program where people walk in, state their intention to get something done over a period of 45 days, and then they join a social networking community of others who have done the same thing. The end result is support, accountability, and the laser-focus that I have endlessly talked about on this blog as an absolutely critical success factor.

Add to all of that the fact that the Boundless Living Challenge does not cost a dime to join, yet offers thousands of dollars worth of very cool prizes to the people who make the most changes in their lives, and it quickly becomes something that is more than worth taking the time to check out.

I have already joined the challenge myself, as have hundreds of other people, and there are also still sponsorship opportunities available for anyone who has valuable prizes that they would like to donate in exchange for some extreme exposure during the challenge.

All in all, it looks like some great stuff, and I encourage you all to check it out, and to join up for some fun and goal attainment!

Next is a video post that I just put up over at Fitness Destinations. As I say in the post, I don't talk about the Beachbody business opportunity very often, because I believe that people will ask about it when and if they are ready.

However, this video story about a 44-year old mother of 3 who not only "buffed out," but also found a way to empower other busy moms in the process, was – in my opinion – too good not to share! Check out Suzy's story by clicking the video link below, and realize that her shirt says it all for the moms and dads out there whose family responsibilities sometimes seem to run their lives!

And finally, I was recently the recipient of a very interesting type of evaluation called an Akashic Record Reading. I am not even going to try to explain exactly what it means, as I'll leave that to experts like Akemi Gaines who did my reading for me.

In a nutshell, Akemi gives a deep "reading" of what has gone on in your recent as well as very distant past, and then she uses that information to formulate an understanding of where you are now vs. where you actually want to be. Once that understanding is in place, she then assigns "homework" that you can do in order to clear things that have been blocking you from certain successes in your life.

It is all very interesting, and although it may be a bit too "woo-woo" for some people, I do encourage you to at least check it out, and to ask Akemi any questions that you have about the process. Gaining knowledge of alternative ways of looking at our existence is always a good idea, and you may even learn something along the way!

OK, that's it for now! Enjoy checking out these stops along the way in the self improvement neighborhood, and please do feel free to let me your questions or your comments! 

The human mind runs just like the hard drive on your computer does, only in an unbelievably faster and more efficient manner. However, when it comes to basic programming, the same rules apply: If you put negative stuff in, you will only get negative stuff out.

Photo Credit: Nick BenjaminszIt is not possible to program a computer – or your mind – with commands that create gibberish and chaos, but then expect what gets displayed on the screen – or in your life – to be orderly, perfect, and effective. If you want to program yourself for success then you need to lock down your mind against every single thought that is not colored with success, bathed in positivity, and wrapped up in an iron-clad sense of expectation.

It's the Predominant Thoughts that are Hurting You

Many people struggle with reprogramming themselves for success because although they practice positive thinking, they visualize, and they say their affirmations, negativity is still the predominant factor in their life. It isn't the affirmations and the visualizations that are getting in the way, but rather the thoughts and the feelings that are active the rest of the time!

Most people's lives have been drenched in negativity for so long that an "offensive" move such as visualizing or saying affirmations is just a drop in the bucket compared to the onslaught of negativity that our minds are subjected to when we are not visualizing or affirming.

The results that we have in our lives are a direct result of the thoughts and feelings that we have, and the actions that we then take as a result of those thoughts and feelings. If the majority of your life is an onslaught of negativity, then your predominant thoughts, feelings and corresponding actions will not be positive.

All you have to do to confirm this is to look around your life right now. Your life's results are a direct result of your own thoughts, feelings, and actions. If you do not have the results that you want, then your predominant thoughts are not yet programmed for success, but rather are programmed for the lack of it.

How to Break the Cycle and Program yourself for Success

There is no such thing as a "first step" here, because all of these activities should be undertaken every single day, preferably several times per day, if not all day long. Remember, the goal here is to program yourself for success, not to just give yourself a tiny spoonful.

1. Do your "feel good processes" over and over again. Full credit goes to Gary Evans and the Manifest a Miracle program for the phrase "feel good processes," because that is exactly what they should be. We're talking about visualizing, meditating, saying affirmations, practicing gratitude, etc.

   The entire point behind these practices is to make you FEEL GOOD about whatever it is that you are considering while you do them. Positive thoughts about what you want in your life will create positive results, negative thoughts will create negative results. Period.

2. Eliminate or avoid negative influences. For many people, this will mean nothing less than a radical change in their lifestyle. Negative influences can and do include friends, family members, co-workers/employers, the television and printed news, and even the television shows and movies that we watch.

   Remember: Garbage in = Trashy Results. It doesn't matter where the garbage comes from.

3. Choose carefully what advice to listen to. Avoiding negative influences doesn't just mean staying away from negative people. It can also mean to ignore negativity that comes from  sources that are normally positive or uplifting.

   Just because you are reading a book that resonates with you, that does not mean that everything in that book is going to lead you down the right path. Make your own choices about what is good in that book vs. what should go in one ear and out the other. Likewise, when seeking counsel from other people, just because they give you advice, you are not obligated to take it! Even a person that you consider to be a positive influence can give you advice that will not resonate with you, or that will not take you where you want to go.

4. Surround yourself with never-ending reminders to stay positive. There are countless ways to keep yourself reminded of the fact that you are working towards a more positive state of mind, and towards the successful attainment of your goals. Just as when taking advice, however, you should only use the methods that you are personally comfortable with, rather than using what "most people" consider to be effective. Who cares what "most people" think?

   Check out the post How to Infect Yourself with the Personal Development Virus for an awesome list of ways to stay on the fast-track to success, and make sure to use a good mix of methods. I would recommend visual methods (vision boards, pictures), audio methods (affirmations, positive recordings), and mental methods (visualization, meditation).

The bottom line to all of these methods to program yourself for success is that they all stress the INTAKE of information. Remember that your mind is like a computer and that what you put in directly affects what you get out. There is no gray area there – that is simply the way it works!

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The only way you are going to program yourself for success is to go on the offensive, and to make a conscious effort to not only have a constant intake of positive, success-filled thoughts and feelings, but to also avoid any thoughts and feelings that cancel out your success-driven mentality.

Until you learn to avoid or shield yourself from negative influences that are the opposite of your dreams, you will forever be stuck in a loop of taking one step forward, and one step back! 

WHAT'S NEXT?

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The idea was originally hatched by Maria Gajewski of Never the Same River Twice, and then several of the other PDP members came on board to create a ton of value, yet give it all away at no cost whatsoever.

Secrets to Inner Peace eBookPatricia Schiavone of Attracting the Best wrote a chapter in the book, and also helped Maria pull the whole thing together, Maria herself also contributed a chapter, and additional chapters were contributed by:

• Ellie Walsh of Living the Law of Attraction
• Lexi Sundell of Energies of Creation
• Aaron Potts (that's me!) of Today is that Day

Considering that today's world can be full of chaos, uncertainty, and even fear, finding Inner Peace is a goal worth working towards, and the chapters contained in this eBook offer some valuable insight into how to do exactly that.

Grab your free copy by simply clicking right here, or clicking the beautiful inner peace graphic, compliments of Gabriella Fabbri. 

The creation of this eBook marks the first collaborative effort by the members of Personal Development Partners, and it represents a mere fraction of what is possible when like-minded people come together for a common cause.

If you would like to become a part of a community where all of the members share the desire to learn, to teach, or to network for both professional and personal growth, then join PDP today and become a part of a group that is going places, rather than just watching the world roll past.

Membership at Personal Development Partners is free, or you can take advantage of a huge amount of additional value by becoming a Premium member, or even taking on one of the valuable, but limited, Thought Leader positions.

Now is the time to join, though, because at the end of June, the lifetime membership options will be coming down. The lifetime memberships give you unlimited access to all of the perks and benefits of PDP membership, yet without a monthly membership fee, so grab those lifetime memberships before June is over.

Many thanks to all of the PDP members, and a special thanks to those who were involved in bringing the valuable Secrets to Inner Peace eBook into reality! 

Yes, I will be the first (and continual!) person to tell you that if you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always gotten. However, that does not mean that you can't get clues about the things that will make you happy by reviewing what you have done in the past.

Photo Credit: RockoWhen it comes to being "larger than life," what is it that you or the people who know you well would say about you? What character traits, hobbies, or habits have you maintained for years, probably without even giving it any conscious thought? When you find the things that you are already enormous at, you will have found things that are in alignment with who you are, and those things can then be used as an outline to create who you want to become.

It is very likely that when giving consideration to what type of person you have been for years, you will not need to dig very deeply. If you have to think really hard about what type of personality you have, or about habits that you have maintained over the long-term, you are probably putting too much thought into it.

Don't think of it in terms of how a habit or a personality trait could make you happy, or about how you could use it to make money. Just stick to the facts, and then you can sort it out later to determine what it all means. I'll use myself as an example to illustrate the process:

• Healthy – I picked up my first barbell when I was 15 years old, I am 38 years old right now, and I have never gone more than 6 months without being on a consistent exercise program.
• Happy – Although my life has had bumps and bruises just like anyone else's life, I have always had a happy and out-going disposition. Yes, I can get cranky just like everyone can, but overall I have always been cheerful.
• Ethical – I got my first job within a week of being legally old enough to work, and I was mowing lawns and doing yard work for cash long before that. I have always done quality work, and I have always gone above and beyond the call of duty to earn the money that I've been paid.
• Outdoors – I grew up in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York long before everyone had an iPod, a cell phone, and a MySpace page, and playing outdoors was an integral part of my upbringing. To this day, I will literally get stressed out if I stay inside for too long.
• Inspirational – No, I haven't always had my present technical and grammatical skills, but I have always been the kind of person that people come to for advice, and the kind of person who helps people to believe that everything is going to be OK.
• Disciplined – Whether it was walking 1 1/2 miles each way to see my girlfriend 3 times a week when I was a freshman in high school (again – upstate New York – brrrrr!), freezing or sweating during days and nights in the desert while I was in the Army, doing manual labor for days on end in the Florida heat, or BRINGING IT with P90X, I have always been able to rise to any physical or mental challenge put before me.
• Fun-loving – I have never consistently taken life too seriously. Yes, there have been times when I've worn the party hat a bit less often than other times, but for the most part I have always been the kind of person who believed in enjoying the journey, and I have the pictures (and the scars!) to prove it.

Just now when I typed all of that out, it took me only marginally longer to type it than it probably took you to read it. I did not have to give very much thought to those habits and personality traits because they are nothing new to me, and none of them are only in my distant past. All of those examples are things that I have practiced most of my life, and I could call out a recent example of each and every one of them. These aren't habits or traits that I used to have, or that I would like to have, but rather that I already have, and that I've had for years.

Now, if there is something that I am considering – whether short or long-term – I don't have to look any further than that list to see if it is something that I will enjoy doing. As I said back in the Winds of Change post, I am getting ready to start a new fitness program on the coast of Florida. Does it match my profile?

• Healthy – You can't run a fitness business if you aren't in shape yourself – not if you actually want customers!
• Happy – After 3 years as a personal trainer, I can tell you for a fact that a fitness instructor's upbeat attitude is more important than their skills.
• Ethical – Again, if you want customers, you run an ethical business, and I always have, and always will.
• Outdoors – Doesn't get much more outdoors than the coast of somewhere beautiful
• Inspirational – I'll be in charge of inspiring not only a lot of customers to succeed, but a lot of employees and joint venture partners as well.
• Disciplined – I will go from working full-time at home in a temperature controlled environment to working outside in Florida in the summertime. Pretty safe bet that both physical and mental discipline will come into play!
• Fun-loving – I hatched this entire idea because I wanted to do something fun, and – without giving away the details of my business plan – yes, it will be loads of fun!

I will be personally happy because I will be practicing the very same personality traits that I have been using for years, and I have been using them because I enjoy doing so. I will be professionally happy because I will make a good living using those same personality traits, and at the same time I will be enhancing the physical and the financial success of dozens, hundreds, and ultimately thousands of people.

How to find your own Enormity

You already know what it is that you enjoy doing, so just sit down and right it out, just like I did in this blog post. Don't study it, or analyze it, or try to figure it out. Just write.

When you have a list of 6 to 12 habits or personality traits that have been part of your life over the long-term, then you simply check your present lifestyle and/or your desired future lifestyle against that list.

If your life and your planned future are in alignment with your list, then you are probably lined up for long-term happiness. If your lifestyle and your list are on two different planes of existence, however, now might be a good time to ask yourself why the life you are leading or planning is such a far cry from what you actually enjoy doing…

WHAT'S NEXT?

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 d
ay 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!

WHAT'S NEXT?

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Albert Einstein is quoted as saying "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them" and that statement could not be more accurate. If your dream life is different than the life you are presently living, then you are going to have to make some changes, and those changes could be downright radical, and even uncomfortable. However, if I may tip the hat to another great quote (author unknown), "Do today what others won't so you can do tomorrow what others can't".

Photo Credit: Silvia CosiminiAs you look towards the life that you want to lead, you may very well have to also look at some radical or uncomfortable changes that need to occur in order for you to start living that life. The winds of change – as they continually blow across the sands of time – will sometimes rock your boat or get sand in your eye, and sometimes they will even knock you flat. Nonetheless, the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow is there waiting for all of those who do what it takes to power through and take hold of their dreams.

As is often the case here on the Today is that Day blog, my inspiration for blog posts comes from my very own life, and that is the case here as well. My own life is about to radically change (for the better!), yet at the same time, the tasks involved in creating that change are large and could easily be overwhelming if I didn't know how to control those kinds of emotions.

So, rather than freak out and turn into a useless mass of blabbering inefficiency, I have instead come up with a great plan of action that – as indicated above – will require some radical changes on my part in order to make it all happen. In order to come up with that plan, I utilized a simple, 4-step challenge solving process:

1. Identify the Primary Goal – There are numerous factors that go into facing up to any challenge, but there is always one primary goal that will then fuel or enable the rest of the tasks. Find that one primary goal, and focus on that one thing, to the exclusion of everything else.
2. Assess what Resources you have Available – Often times money helps to grease the wheels of goal attainment, but you may still have to access other resources as well – possibly in order to get that money. Those resources could include your own skills, your experiences, your circle of influence, or even material possessions that might be part of the solution.
3. Find a way to use those Resources to attain the Primary Goal – Now is the time to think outside of the box. Remember, if nothing changes, then nothing changes. If you're alive (and you are!), then you have something to offer that will help you to get what you want.
4. Refuse to accept Defeat as an Option – As long as you continue to hold onto some sort of safety net in case things don't work out, those things WON'T work out, because you will always know in the back of your mind that if you fall (or fail), the net will catch you. DECIDE that you are going to get what you want, and COMMIT to getting it at all costs. Failure is NOT an option!

A Real Life Example:

In my case, the changes in question include moving to the east coast of Florida in order to start a very cool, very unique coastal fitness program. After almost 2 years of working almost exclusively from home, the winds of change now find me:

• Moving all the way to within walking distance of the beach from my present central Florida location
• Starting a company that will ultimately be incorporated, spreading my unique business idea all over the world
• Being available 3 or 4 times per day outside of my home to train clients
• Hiring, training, and managing employees, which is something that I have always managed to avoid in the past

Identify the Primary Goal - This entire business idea is predicated on living by the beach. As much as I love the beach, it's not about sun-bathing and dolphin-watching, but rather utilizing the coastal community as the catalyst and the life-blood of the business. Moving to the beach is the Primary Goal. Without that, nothing else matters.

Assess my Available Resources - My personal development products, my social networking site, my skills and abilities, my fitness coaching site, and my circle of influence.

Use Resources to attain Primary Goal –

• Personal Development Products – My products have great value and quality, and I know that for a fact, so I don't need to "convince" anyone to buy them. They all come with a money-back guarantee and email support from me, and they are all very reasonably priced. Using my products as part of solving this challenge is as simple as reminding people that they are worth checking out.
• Social Networking Site – Personal Development Partners is growing every day, and I have even started advertising it on Craigslist. I will continue to offer the lifetime membership option only until the end of June, so now is the time to take advantage of that. I also have just 3 Thought Leader positions left open, and those are the most coveted spots, so grab one now – they go fast. Again, using my site as part of solving this challenge is simply reminding people of the value that is available.
• Skills and Abilities – I have been encouraged by many people to help others with their blogs and/or to write for other people's blogs. I very much enjoy creating content that people get value from, so I have decided to start offering my blogging and writing services for hire. This is far beyond anything that I have offered in the past, and that radical change is part of my challenge-solving process.
• Fitness Coaching Site – I have been writing at Fitness Destinations for more than 4 years (first as a website, and more recently as a blog), and it is chock full of a ton of really great information. Since I have gotten back into Fitness Coaching, I have been updating that site with product-specific posts at least a few times each week. That site is part of solving this challenge by me encouraging people to check it out, and to pay special attention to whether or not you see value in the P90X Reviews that I have been doing.
• Circle of Influence – In addition to this blog post encouraging people to check out all of the products and services that I offer, I am also going to simply ask for help! Regular readers at Today is that Day say that they love the site and the content, so here is your chance to prove it. If you would
  like to be a part of helping me rise to this huge challenge, you are welcome and encouraged to do any of the following:

• Make a Donation – No donation is too small (or too large!). Since bloggers get paid for their writing, I am well within my rights to ask people to make a donation if they truly see value in my work.
• Purchase a Product – As indicated above, my products rock, and they are worth every penny.
• Join PDP – Personal Development Partners is a great site, and the members are helpful, friendly, and knowledgeable, not to mention the huge list of benefits that all paying members get immediate access to.
• Hire Me – Check out the details on what I offer, and if I can be of service to you, then great. If not, then please let your own circle of influence know what I have to offer.
• Purchase a Beachbody Product – Not only will you get me as your Team Beachbody Coach, but you'll get a high quality product that is much more than worth it's price.

Defeat is NOT an Option – This entire decision for me was based on my own desires vs. the resources and geography that are available where I live now. It is simply not possible for me to do what I want as long as I live here, and I have explored every conceivable option to determine that fact. If I am going to get what I want (and I am!!), then I do not even have the option of living where I live. It's the coast or nothing!

Conclusion

If you'll read carefully through the challenge-solving process, and then see how I applied that process to my own situation, you'll see one very important fact:

The only thing that actually changed was how I presented or utilized the resources that were there all along!

I didn't have to get more stuff, attain more skills, get a lucky break, or do anything that has not been in my control the entire time. All I did was identify the goal, take an assessment, apply my inventory of resources towards the issue, and then stubbornly refuse to accept anything less than success.

The end results? Well, at the time of this writing, that remains to be seen. However, if you want to see me lead by example by attaining this goal, then subscribe to my RSS feed to stay up to date. I'll be moving to my new coastal residence within 60 days – guaranteed! 

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.

WHAT'S NEXT?

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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

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?

WHAT'S NEXT?

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