Posts Tagged ‘Personal Development’

The Power Within

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

The phrase you ‘create your own reality’ is something that many new age folks talk about, but what does it really mean, and how does it apply to you?

‘Creating your own reality’ is your perception of how you view your world, how you interact with your world, and how you interact with yourself and others. Perception is not limited to visually seeing something, it is not limited to your thought processes, and it is not limited to your emotions. Perception is all encompassing. What you communicate and the energy you give off based on your beliefs, your emotions, and your behaviors determines what kind of life experiences you have. Your perception of your reality is literally a mirror. At any given moment, your external world and behaviors perfectly mirror your inner consciousness.

When you get right down to it, there is no one more strong or more in control of you than you. As a society we have been practicing, preaching, and implementing these philosophies for an incredibly long time. The challenge is we often forget and then fail to implement. It is impossible to feel badly about yourself without thinking badly about yourself. The only thing that can keep you from enjoying everything you were meant to be and do is thought. Simple but powerful thought. Thinking is an awesome capability, and it can be used either as a tool or a weapon against ourselves.

A lot of people might say their lives or businesses aren’t functioning very well but they can’t identify what is wrong. The root cause of the problem is usually our own thought process. If you fall into this category, here is a suggestion. Buy a notebook that can fit into your briefcase, jacket, purse, whatever is convenient but easily and frequently accessible. For thirty days jot down every single thought you have had about yourself—expressed or unexpressed. At the end of the month, read what you have jotted down and I guarantee you will be inspired to change. By completing this exercise, you will see your negative thoughts fall into specific categories and these identified categories will become the focused areas in which you can commit to improve. After those categories have been identified, there is a proven process that can help you define and select the best solutions and action steps.

Do you know what the number 1440 represents? 1440 represents the number of minutes in a given day. This is the number of opportunities we have to create a positive, productive, and goal-oriented reality or a negative reality. Affirmations are a positive tool to help reinforce a positive reality and many people committed to affirmations typically read or say them 2/3 times a day for about 5 minutes. That equates to about 15 minutes of purposeful and positive input into your brain. How are you managing the remaining 1425 minutes in your day? How are you guaranteeing you are reflecting the positive? Your own mental space can be a castle or a cage, and you have the power to decide which it will be.

As you build your mental castle watch out for cages imposed by allowing other people’s agendas and issues in to your life. We attract this “stuff” into our lives every day. While we certainly learn from other people’s “stuff,” when we get deeply involved with another person’s agenda or issue watch out. It can become very easy for us to adopt and claim another individuals “stuff” for our own. Your mind is the place where you store your success oriented attitudes and corresponding behaviors. Your meaning of life, your purpose, and your success are based on those thoughts. When you have to move or expand your mind to input more good “stuff” that is a good thing. Protect your good “stuff” and don’t let anyone tell you you are off purpose or that your stuff is not the right stuff! Your mind is a place to store all your stuff, but the question really is do you have the right stuff stored? The point being is that your stuff, your attitude, and behaviors, need to always be yours. We achieve more results when we are paying attention to our own stuff! If we let others’ stuff get in the way we hinder our results personally and professionally.

Create within your mind your reality and the reflection you want to see. Believe in yourself. Believe in your ability and business acumen. You have value. You have a set of experiences that no one else has. Have confidence in yourself and commit to be the best you can be!

The Dictionary

Tuesday, August 18th, 2009

The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work …

I was driving down a local highway the other day and a noticed a company’s marquee that displayed a quote that really struck a cord with me. “The dictionary is the only place where success comes before work.” My immediate reaction was “Wow!” … is that statement profound or what … ?

We currently live in a society that has a prevailing attitude that success, financial reward, sometimes even happiness should be given to us automatically by just being part of that society—that those things are somehow owed to us. This thought process is also rampant in businesses and organizations today. People often believe that by existing within an organization, they deserve financial rewards, benefits, and company privileges. The attitude that financial reward, prosperity, and happiness are earned through a process of hard work, dedication, and constant goal achieving seems to be fading away more and more rapidly.

However, before any measure of success can be achieved, three things are required. There needs to be a well-defined plan, specific action steps to accomplish that plan that are measurable, and the personal determination and desire to make it happen.

  • Have you taken the time to develop and establish a written plan for your life?
  • Have you committed all of your critical success factors and your personal goals to writing, and do you review them daily or at least weekly?

Nothing good in life is ever easy, and it will always require hard work. Remember, hard work that is dedicated to a clear plan of action fueled by commitment and passion is always rewarded!