Everyone is jockeying to be more successful, make more money, be more relevant and find where they fit in this world. But no matter how much we make excuses for our current condition; the economy, our parents or even bad luck, the reality is that the main factor that hold most of us from reaching our full potential is staring at us in the mirror!
Here are 5 tips to help breakdown some of those roadblocks and achieve all that you want and desire in your life.
1. Move your thinking from the darkness to the light and see how bright it can get.
As humans we have a tendency to fall into negative thinking or let the “I can’t” mentality slip into our daily lives. A metaphor for this is that we have a dark cloud hovering over us; we can see the light right in front of us but no matter which way we move the cloud stays fixed overhead. The reality is that we have the power to move away from the cloud and leave it in the dust! By staying in the positive and focusing on our future potential we can achieve almost anything! Energy begets energy. I’ve found when I am in a negative mood or state that is all I attract. Change that energy and poof! Positive healthy things start crossing my path. You try!
2. 98% of your fears will never come true, so cross the street already!
We all do this. An opportunity comes about and we automatically start doing our risk analysis. Going over everything that could go wrong and focusing on the worse case scenario. Think about it this way, across the street is an ice cream truck offering the most amazing ice-cream sandwiches you have ever had. Instead of just crossing the street, your mind and risk analysis kicks in. “I could get hit by a car crossing the street!” “I might break my ankle stepping off the curb!” I might have to stand in a line to get my ice-cream?” “If I eat the ice cream I’ll get fat.” “What if the person selling the ice cream is mean?” “What if the ice cream is spoiled and I get Salmonella and die?”
So you have just taken a simple positive experience and made it into one that is rote with danger. Remember 98% of your fears will never come true, but if you let yourself be ruled by fear you will never accomplish anything or progress because it’s too dangerous. So the moral of the story is go across the street and get that ice cream sandwich and while you are there bring me one too!
3. The best way to fail is never to try, the best was to succeed is fail every once in a while
I was speaking with my son the other day and we were talking about trying new things and taking risks. He has amazing talents and succeeds at almost anything he tries. The problem is he is scared to death to do new things because he has a huge fear that he might fail.
My answer to him came in two parts. First, failure is not a bad thing. What was the story…Thomas Edison failed 10,000 times before he created the light bulb? Then convinced New York City to light the whole city with it.
We don’t learn anything unless we fail and then figure out a way to do it right or better. The second half was that if you never try, you have already failed. If life was easy, it wouldn’t be life it would be death. From challenge and risk come innovation and discovery. So take that challenge, take that risk you might be surprised at what you find.
4. Take opportunities when you get them
I saw this guy at the gym at the other day that I had heard of and knew that a conversation with him could possibly change my business and give me opportunities that I never had before. So what did I do, I decided to walk on by and said “I’ll see him here again, I’ll talk to him then.” That was 6 months ago I haven’t seen him since.
The reality is that opportunities happen exactly when they are supposed to; it is up to us to decide if we are going to take them. Never let an opportunity slip you by, this might be the only chance you get to change your life. There are no guarantees that it will ever happen again. This goes for relationships, work, anything!
5. Find what motivates you and use it
We all need some motivator to drive us. If money is your motivator, be prepared to lose interest and drive. There will never be enough, it will not hold you at night and it will not fill your soul. Now don’t get me wrong, I like money as much as the next guy, and have spent countless nights wondering how to make more or if there will be enough left to make it through tomorrow. But every time money is my primary motivator, I make less. But when I can focus on passion instead money, the money comes. If your motivation is to take care of your parents when they are older, you will do everything in your power to reach that goal. If your motivation is to give your kids a better life than you had, you will do everything in your power to make that happen. If you come from a place of love and giving instead of greed and selfishness, the money will come. So find what motivates you, if what you are doing can better the world and help someone else not only will you be successful but will have a meaningful goal that can fill your heart and your wallet.
I could technically say this was a 6th thing but I’m going to just put it as a bonus.
Don’t forget to take care of yourself! The body you have is the only one you’ve got. I love that most of us take better care of our cars then we do our bodies. Don’t forget to exercise, watch a sunset, get a massage (www.metatouch.com) do something that makes you smile at least once a day. Enjoy life!
