Creating Your Success: Stoking Your Creativity

Your Creativity:

Create your success by stoking your creativity.

When I signed up for toastmaster's, I brought all my passion and zeal to every speech. I was on fire. A year and a half later, my steam has been reduced to a mere trickle of conviction. I have trouble winning contests. I've embarrassed myself when I tried taking on the humor role. And my drive to help others build success has taken a long road trip.

When I was a child, one of my aunt's called me stupid. "Stupid." That word rang in my ears loud and clear. My high school report cards all included "under achieves" No matter what I did or what I tried, I could not win those gold ribbons given out every quarter to the best students. So I gave up trying.

So what can you do to fan the flames of your creativity when the well has run dry. Let's take a look at several suggestions.

1. Carry a notebook with you. Write down inspiring messages from sermons, from the radio, and from social media. Let those messages sear into your brain and produce sparks of creativity.
2. Spend time reciting positive quotes from the Bible, from affirmation cards, or from the wisdom of your friends. I spend about thirty minutes a night exercising. I like to speak inspirational thoughts as I'm moving about.
3. Test out your ideas with your friends. Had I run my toastmaster's "joke" by a few friends, I would not have embarrassed myself today.
4. Know from the deepest part of you being that we were all born to make a positive impact on the world. Claim that mission and exercise your creativity to the max. When you begin to run dry, proceed to fan those flames until they return brighter and more luminous than ever.
5. Make a commitment to a higher power. Ask for help from God as you know him. He will always come through and pull you through the darkest times. We don't know how brightly we can shine until the fire has dimmed a bit. This is a temporary state which. by definition, does not last forever. None of us are defined by our successes. Nor are we diminished by our "failures." Make the determination to climb that ladder of success by creating success embers. Push yourself past the can't's and move on to reach the stars. Stoke your creativity.

I'm Barbara Altman
Raised in an alcoholic home, I became depressed and riddled with anxiety at an early age. In an effort to build a good life. Over the years, I have dealt with depression in a variety of ways, from counseling to alternative and traditional healing modalities. One of the purposes in my life is to convey hope to those who have suffered from depression and I hope to do this in my writings and in speaking engagements.
Author of "Recovering From Depression, Anxiety, and Psychosis," formerly called "Cry Depression,"...

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Barbara_Altman/678754

7 Books You Must Read If You Want More Success, Happiness and Peace

It Takes Courage To Become Who You Really Are

What did you really wanted to be when you were growing up? Who did you want to be? What desire does light a fire in your soul?

Most times, people think about things they want to have, who they need to be, and how they would like others to perceive them. But they often let go of the dreams they truly desire and forget to reflect on how to be remembered. Time after time, they identify with memories, holding onto the past, assuming these things are defining who they are.

Yet, it takes an immense amount of courage actually to be who you really are. It is not easy to abandon beliefs and convictions which through the years, you adopted from your parents, relatives, friends, teachers, coaches, mentors, and spouse. And yes, it takes courage and work to let go of those things. But now is the time to take a stand for who you are deep inside, and the things you really believe in.

Examine Your Beliefs
Currently, you have a set of beliefs and assumptions, some of which you accepted way back in your early childhood and defended ever since. Once acquired and imprinted, you rarely question these beliefs. You naturally assume that they are all true.

If, for example, you believe that it is hard to make money; well then, it is difficult to make money. Most people often doubt and analyze almost every aspect of their lives, but their beliefs are the last thing they challenge. It takes courage to change things around.

So, if you have problems in some areas of your life, you need to examine all of your beliefs. If you have financial difficulties, look carefully at your principles about money. You have to pay attention to negative statements or views such as "I never have enough money" or "It is impossible to get ahead." Your beliefs get lodged deeply into your subconscious which continually works at creating your reality.

Making Changes Takes Courage
You have to adopt new life-believing principles, living and thinking differently. If your subconscious is picking up negativity or limiting suggestions too often, then it will accept them as real. It will work with those beliefs, day and night, until ultimately, bringing the corresponding events you hold in your mind.

When you accept limitations about yourself, then you believe that they are real until you find out otherwise. Your mind, convinced, will magnify any incidents that support your view, and will ignore or dismiss events which point to the opposite. It will distort your perception of reality and work overtime to manifest those realities.

So, it takes courage and determination to make changes and be who you really want to be. But if you change your beliefs, you change your focus, and in time it will create a new reality. No one said it would be easy. New thoughts and views are tough to imprint but not impossible.

New Thoughts New Reality
While trying to create new beliefs, you might doubt things are changing. You may feel discouraged and wonder if you are wasting your time. Your mind will try to fool you by telling you that it won't work or that nothing will happen.

However, push all of it aside, continue to feed your mind with the beliefs you want, and be patient. It takes courage to become who you really are. Everything in existence is changing. Nothing remains the same. Your circumstances are forever changing and becoming something else.

So, how could your new thoughts, if you persist in believing and imprinting them, do anything but bring you a new reality? Think about it! Let go of the wrong beliefs you have. Ask yourself about the things you want out of life and become your true self.

It Takes Courage to Let Go
Too often, you get attached to things and people, as if they are a part of you. Then you wonder why you feel somehow broken when a relationship ends or something changes. But those things are not who you are. You are not who you were in the past. And you are not the person some people judge you to be.

Therefore, who you are is the result of what you choose to think and do. It takes courage to let go, grow, and change into the person that you really are, without all of the fuss around you. The word 'courage' is French, and its true meaning is 'heart.'

And so, this why you have to follow your heart to become the person you know deep inside you came here to be. In that way, you will manifest the life you honestly dream to have. You can then have a life where everything you experience is yours and only yours.

How to Get More Courage
In every one of you, since childhood, there is a built-in desire that pushes you to want to explore the untapped potential which lies within you. But most of the time, you are afraid to become who you really are. You do not know how to get the courage to find out what you can be. Yet, if you do not, you will end up working really hard for someone who does.

So, find the courage to do the right thing by choosing for you, and not someone else. You do not deserve to live a stressful life oriented or forced by others around you. Choose based on who you want to be, and then honor that choice with your actions. Let go of what others may think!

And let go of people telling you just to be satisfied with what you have or where you are. You know you have the ability to do and be so much more. However, if you allow yourself to grow, take courage because along your journey, you might doubt your willpower to succeed and the impact you can make.

Courage in Action
As a result, you may have hundreds of other reasons as to why your growth is being obstructed in some areas of your life. But you can change the script of your life by getting more courage and become who you really are. Courage in action pays off!

So, if you want to be you truly, be happy with every fiber of your being, and become your real self, you have to get a life that makes your heart sing and fills your cup with joy every day. Only then, will you find happiness and purpose in life! It takes courage to do some inner work so that you can grow to become who you really are. But you deserve to live life with authenticity, every single day.

Sergei VanBellinghen, Personal Growth & Success Expert, Founder of First-Class Lifestyle & SergeiVanBellinghen.com I help and teach people how to get a fresh start and have a brand-new style of living after a divorce, loss or if single. I do this by using self-development techniques to help you grow, succeed and have a better life. Remember, it's not just about growing but also about ending the routine. It's about the lifestyle of working less, living more and enjoying life! Find Out How! Visit my Website [http://sergeivanbellinghen.com] and come to discover how I can afford to stay home and travel anywhere I want.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sergei_VanBellinghen/2425572

Jim Rohn - A Positive Attitude Attracts Success (Jim Rohn Motivation)

Is There Destiny, Luck, or Opportunity?

The news about my boss Andy giving his two-week notice spread like wild fire in the department. Everyone who reported to him was apprehensive about who and what the next guy would be like. Will the new guy be better or worse than Andy? Everybody was concerned about how this change would affect them, including other managers that worked with Andy. Two weeks after Andy was gone, as I was working on the production floor, one of the technicians came up to me and said, "So I heard you have a new boss now."

"Do I?" I inspected some plastic parts coming off a molding machine and replied softly.

"You didn't get the news yet? You and I will both be working for Shaun now," he said as he scrunched up his face in discontent.

"Is it that bad?" I inquired.

"I don't know how much you've worked with him, but he doesn't deserve to be a manager," he added, "The stars were lined up just right for him and the timing of it was right. That's the only reason why he became our boss."

While speaking to an event at Trinity University in Dublin, Ireland, I posed a question to my young audience. I asked if every single thing that they had in their life till date was because of their own action. Some agreed, while most nodded their head with disapproval. Upon continuing my discussion, some of the audience described that they're fortunate to have somethings in their life that they just got and never had to work for it. When I inquired what they thought gave them those things that they're so appreciative of, they used the words luck, destiny, and opportunity.

I want to share what I think about luck, destiny, or opportunity using the personal experience I shared in the beginning with you about my boss Andy and his departure. Andy made a conscious decision to quit and move somewhere else. So Andy created what he wanted through his action. However, Andy's action also resulted in creating a vacant spot in the department. It'll be foolish to say that Shawn intended that.

Did Shawn get the position because of his own action?

One may argue that just like Andy, Shawn made a conscious decision of taking the position, so he created what he wanted through his action. Yes. But one intricate component of this scenario is that the decision made by one person (Andy) impacted what the other person (Shawn) got. That is what we call is destiny, luck, or opportunity.

Every one of us experiences this phenomenon in our personal relationship or professional career at some point of time in our life. Think of experiences in your life or someone you know. That relationship that you so deeply desired with someone, but it never worked out (or when it did workout flawlessly). The job or promotion in your career that you so yearned for and worked hard for, never came to fruition (or when it turned out exactly the way you intended it to). Undeniably, there is some lack of control that we all experience with people and events in every scenario of our life. But it is this same lack of control that plays a significant role in the decisions we make (or don't) which ultimately dictates what we get (or don't) in all domains of our life. This unknown or "out-of-our-control" aspect of our life is destiny, luck, or opportunity. However there is key component that keeps our destiny, luck or opportunity alive. Only when we act does our destiny, luck, or opportunity has a possibility to work as well. All beings (plants, animals, you and I) at every level of evolution follow this principle. If all the ingredients necessary for the growth of a seed are available to it, however, if it does not do what it must do to sprout, irrevocably, it stays in the same state it was in. Whatever you choose to call "it": destiny, luck, or opportunity without your action, the fate of your luck, destiny, or opportunity is dead.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Kit_Gupta/2220997

Motivational video: Positive thinking in 100 seconds

Boost Your Brainpower - Easy Ways to Improve Mental Performance

Struggling in school? Need a boost to your brain? Despair no more; we've put together some great ways to support your mental performance that you can start doing today! Each method is super simple, so you can try them out with very little preparation.

Take a Catnap

A short rest during the day can really help your memory and productivity. This is true even for naps that are less than 10 minutes long, and if you aren't tired! It's very common for entire offices in East Asia to take a 20 minute power-nap during lunch, then come back raring to go. Bear in mind that you should keep naps below 30 minutes, as anything more might cause sleep inertia that could be counterproductive to your cognitive performance.

Almost anybody's mental performance can benefit from a short sleep, regardless of any other techniques or methods you might be using to help cognition. And it's dead easy to try: Just find a comfortable position, lay down your head and close your eyes (use a sleeping mask and earplugs for extra tranquility). You'll hopefully nod off quite quickly - but if you don't, fear not! The sensory deprivation will still work to rejuvenate your brain.

And, if you struggle to get to sleep at night, try some mindfulness techniques. Focus on your breathing, and on taking long, unhurried breaths. More on mindfulness later in the article!

Eat Right

Overdosing on sugary foods can impair cognition. This is because higher levels of fat and sugar in your blood have been found to be cognitively impairing. Additionally, an Australian study[2] on the impact of fat and sugar on cognition came to the conclusion that unhealthy foods also hurt your mental performance. So, if you want a brain boost, stay away from sugary foods! However, this can be a little tricky. It's very easy to grab a chocolate bar rather than taking out the time to prepare a healthy meal. The key is to find similarly convenient foods that are lower in sugar, that you still enjoy eating. Fruit such as apples and bananas are great options. If you like eating any veggies raw (such as celery) then those are even better. Get chomping!

Get a little exercise

Frequent exercise is another healthy, easy way of supporting cognition according to a metastudy from UCLA[2]. A brief workout will help your mood, cognition and your overall physical health, as well as stimulating your brain and helping it produce new brain cells. Something as simple as a few sit-ups, push-ups or jogging on the spot can help. In fact, any exercise that boosts your heart rate for 8-10 minutes, undertaken daily, will work towards helping both body and mind.

Meditation and Mindfulness

There are some super quick and easy mindfulness techniques you can try out, which will help to relax and energise your mind. Our favourite one goes as follows: Close your eyes, breathe nice and slowly and count towards the number 10. Inhale, and as you inhale, count '1'. Then exhale. Inhale, count to 2, then exhale. Repeat this, and focus on your breathing. Make sure it's slow and measured for the best effect. As you reach breaths 5 or 6 your breaths should be nice and slow, giving you something really concrete to focus on. This will help to clear your mind. Concentrating on your breathing while counting (and not thinking about other things!) goes a long way towards banishing disquiet thoughts and helping to refresh your brain. There's plenty more techniques out there - but it's suggested that even short periods of meditation can help cognition markedly.

Apps or Games to Train Your Brain

In recent years, there's been an explosion in the number of brain training apps, games and programmes that you can carry with you. As smartphones have become ubiquitous, it's easy to spend an hour a day playing around with your phone to procrastinate. Why not replace your usual game with a brain training app, which might help to strengthen your mind while playing? In addition to that, if you're a fan of puzzles, why not try sudoku or a crossword? You could time yourself to see how much you improve week by week!

Conclusion

We really hope that this article helped! There's plenty of ways out there to improve your mental performance, these are just some of the quickest and easiest we could find. If you keep at these techniques consistently, you'll definitely see an improvement in your cognition and performance.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Robert_Dean/2484246

7 Keys to a Positive Personality | Brian Tracy

Compassion and Kindness

In our daily life we often experience emotions and sensitivity in our surroundings and beyond the physical boundaries. These feelings are either related to human beings or otherwise yet make us reflect and initiate actions to circumvent hurdles or explore the benefits that affects us in many ways. It is necessary to comprehend the structural meaning and context of compassion and kindness within and outside its conceptual boundaries.

The etymology of "compassion" is Latin, meaning "co-suffering." Compassion involves "feeling for another" and is a precursor to empathize, the "feeling as another" capacity for better person-centered acts of active compassion; in common parlance active compassion is the desire to alleviate another's suffering (ref: Wikipedia). One can notice that compassion is also closely related to physicians, a human factor. In other words, it is their attributes while practicing medical service.

The holy script in Quran emphasizes compassion and commences with these words, "Bismillah Ar-Rahman, Ar-Raheem," which means, 'In the name of Allah Who is Beneficent and Merciful.' If people recite rhetorically, then its impact becomes less effective, however, reciting with reflection will reveal its profoundness.

If you reflect on the past, say about more than a century ago, we can recollect the compassion as publicly displayed by people with all their sincerity. This has unequivocally and evidently established that most of the people have humanitarian values and less materialistic attachments. Therefore, the values have its profound effect when words described its meaning in the context in which it is used. On the contrary, peripheral meaning and a cursory glance over the words or sentences have either no effect or its impact is least effective. Hence, the cultural, social or political impact of words is directly proportional to its values it subscribed.

If we do critical analysis or objective assessment, then our aim should be to explore the values for which these expressions are used. The result will show the growth of people and their impact on the society.

William Wordsworth says: "That best portion of a good man's life is,

His little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and of love."

It is described that compassion and kindness played an analytical role when these words become debatable. Both are related to human values, yet critical analysis indicates that there is a difference between compassion and kindness. The former is a feeling of someone's suffering and the latter is to extend help others in need of help. Compassion is more productive in not only rendering timely help but also evolves, ways and means to avoid such recurrences. Whereas, kindness is a short-term help to fix the problem at that moment only.

When books were being written on the hero and hero-worship, it emphasized that a nation's character develops in the character of their hero. When heroes shape up the people's character, then a healthy society is evolved displaying their compassion and kindness. It does not matter most follow or minority carry the baton and become the beacon of light to the coming generation.

Here, it is important to caution and advice to younger generations or people who are involved head over heel in compassion or kindness. It may lead to compassion fatigue or stress. Charles Figley, a university professor, says this happens when an individual is heavily involved in excessive information of people's suffering. However, according to Tania Singer and Matthieu Ricard (a Director of social neuroscience and a writer and the Buddhist Monk respectively), lack of suitable stress tolerance which gets people fatigued in compassion activities. It is suggested that whatever may be the cause or reason, an individual or a group should adopt a median path so that optimum results are achieved. It will help them to maintain a healthy body and mind making the youngster to enjoy and get satisfaction.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Ehtesham_Mirza/396754

Positive Attitude is Everything - Very Funny Attitude Video - Inspirational

Five Thoughts You Think Before Giving Up

The hardest part about making the decision to give up is that there is always a fine line between the give up and success axis. We have all been on both ends of the spectrum; the times when you finally broke through and achieved your goal; and the time when you have quit just shy of the goal line. Perhaps the most influencing part about going one way or the other on that line is the thoughts you think right before that decision. Here are 5 of the most common thoughts people think before giving up on an intended goal.

"This is just too hard"

This one is heard all too commonly. Everything is fine and dandy until its gets just hard enough to reach your breaking point where the brain says this is too uncomfortable and I am at my limit. So then your brain signals to your body to just stop working on what ever it is that you are doing. It's not your brain's fault as this is what it is designed to do. The issue is though, is that goals and accomplishments worth doing are almost always hard and difficult to accomplish, but that is simply what makes it worth the hardship you'll go through; to see the glory of the other side.

"This is not worth it"

Most that use this one are the ones who have been in the trenches so long that they have lost sight of the real intended goal and more importantly the reason why they started in the first place. At this point in their mind, the struggle of working towards the goal now out weighs the intended emotion received with the accomplishment of the goal. In this case the best action to take is to stop the work and go back to look at the reasoning of the intended project and the outcome that it would accomplish. Most of the time that feeling will be reinvigorated and struggle will lessen enough to complete the task; finishing the goal.

"I can't do this"

Closely related to our first reason with some subtle differences. The first reason dealt with the brain's defense mechanism to activate and give reasons to stay in that comfort zone; this reason though is a direct reflection of self worth and the judgement on which you give your abilities to complete the task. You have deemed yourself unworthy by your own accord to be the one who has success at this goal. Simple way to reverse this is drop the letter "t" off of can't and turn it into I can. Simple positive affirmations go a long way in overcoming the "I can't" plague, and the results it has can be pretty amazing too.

"They didn't finish, why should I?"

Another easy justification to let yourself off of the hook. If others put in effort and didn't make it, what makes me think I can make it? This is the age old trap of putting yourself on the level of everyone else and limiting your personal power to join the average crowd. When you level yourself to others who have already given up, you essentially say "I will only ever be as good as them and nothing more". It takes all of your own individual talents and gumption, and throws them right out the window. It should not matter what anyone has said or done, you are not everyone else nor do you ever have to be. Show your personal ethics in such a way that that average crowd turns around and beings to marvel at you, now making you the standard that they follow and not the other way around.

"I'll do this later"

Some may argue that this is not necessarily a thought of giving up; it essentially is though. While I warrant the sometimes this can be used in the proper manner without the thought of never returning to it; it is mostly used in the negative way. This is a synonym for 'I give up'. Putting a task off for "later" means that your brain is using one of its many distractive techniques to keep you in a comfortable state and not challenge you. You know that later never comes, and therefore the goal never gets done. Instead, perform at least a little task that can be completed in a short time, ensuring that you will get it done, since you have already started.

Giving up develops a habitual nature of negativity that will consume your daily life if allowed. Remember these 5 thoughts the next time that lazy monster rears its ugly head, pushing you from giving up and sending you into victory lane with all of your goals and dreams.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Scott_Vanderwood/1259450

How To Reprogram Your Mind (for Positive Thinking)

How Do You View Your Mistakes or Failures?

Do you take them personally and conclude you are not as good as you thought you were? Do you beat yourself up and languish in pain and misery over them? Or even worse, do you use them as reasons to give up or change your goal or profession? Do you fear them so much that they end up becoming self-fulfilling prophecies? All of the above are common reactions to mistakes and/or failing that many people occasionally or regularly make.

As common as the above reactions are, they do not come naturally to us, but rather are learned in our environment. Very early on in life almost all of us begin to dislike making mistakes and failing. Thank goodness that we are not born that way, or it is likely that none of us ever would have learned to walk or talk. Can you imagine babies trying to walk and each time they fail berating themselves about what a screw-up they are? Or imagine if they attempt to talk and gobble-de-gook comes out and they conclude they are not good at talking and give up to focus their energy on drooling−which they are already pretty good at doing.

One of the key differences I have noticed in the higher performing people I work with is the way in which they view their mistakes and failures. First, they tend to be much more understanding of them in the sense that they know they are going to happen. Viewing mistakes and failures as inevitable turns them into part of the process of getting better versus the more common belief that they are a threat to their own value or competence.

Secondly, they have an understanding that if they want to get better they have to constantly be attempting things that are currently out of their reach. No one ever learned to ride a bicycle by staying on a tricycle. In other words, no progress is made without risks. They understand the more things they attempt, the more things they learn to do and the more skilled they will become.

The best of the best that I have worked with are able to completely distance their ego from their mistakes. Failure and mistakes are looked upon as necessary annoyances that will enable them to reach their goals faster. When people ask me how to reach their goal(s) faster, my standard reply is that it's simple, just learn to fail successfully faster and more often.

The great basketball coach John Wooden once told me that most people think the team that makes the fewest mistakes will win, but he has found the opposite to be true. When teams are not making mistakes, they are usually playing it safe and not striving for greatness.

Wouldn't it be great if everyone looked at their mistakes and failures simply as gifts of learning new ways to do things? The truth is, nothing is stopping any of us from doing just that. Like anything, with deliberate practice this will become a habit, and there's a high likelihood that if you adopt this attitude it will enhance your happiness and success.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Sam_Obitz/796527

ATTITUDE is EVERYTHING - Motivational Video By Sandeep Maheshwari I Hindi

The Ascension Process: The Why Of Existence

Existence is here for our growth. Sure, I could start more complicated, more realistic, and more direct. But, in this case, less is more. Throughout this article, I will explain myself.

A friend of mine, yesterday intimated to me as I was going home from somewhere that I was that this reality currently on earth is a simulation or not real, right down to entitlement stuff, debts, benefits, riches, poverty and supposed greatness or mediocrity. In fact, I can say that the purpose of existence is our growth and ascension, not to stay in it and be "happy" and "content".

Sure, there are times of happiness and contentment, okay, I will admit that. Life is mostly growth and ascension to the next level in everything though. Without that, we go down or genuinely lose in lethargic decadence anyway. Because growing up genuinely is growing in power, not "staying the same" or "playing safe too much". Can I say a bromide like "You cannot win, if you do not play" without castigation? Well, anyhow, nothing happens if you do not take action like "you cannot win or lose if you do not play". My point is that the best of opportunities are made and taken, not given or luckily come by.

On the other hand, the worst liabilities are "the sure things" that are "risk free" and those lethargic realities that do not work except in a downward spiral way. After all basic space travel in a rocket starts with a big risk, and ends in great arrivals off the earth. Life works in the same way to hone us to greatness if we make it hone us into greatness through risking the genuine steps it takes to genuinely grow.

Yesterday, I was complaining to myself about reality being too hard, then I changed my tune when I realized, the best change is growth, all else leads to going down, "down time" or whatever it can be called. When I say a quote like "We all love to win, but, who loves to train?": This, in particular is the feeling that I am feeling very deeply. When you grow up, ascension happens. When you shrink down, back or get fearful, you die. Before I wrote this paragraph section, I thought of L.W. De Laurence's and Charles F. Haanel's "Master Keys" to life and beyond that into what is just plain real anyway. A real death starts in the mind as a dead psyche or negatively mystical mind anyway. To genuinely give up is not just to quit, it is to abdicate, give up and literally be nothing or less.

To end in a brief, but positive way: We all have a choice to shrink or grow, risk or be safe and go nowhere. To do and to go is risky, but to do nothing is nothing. This is where I end and let you do your own thinking and doing. The Master Key to reality is "productive action and well executed plans anyway." Now benefit yourself, get somewhere good. Life is service to the good benefitting the good anyway. What else can it be? That is the key to ascension and transcendence right there. Everything else is manure or less.

My name is Joshua Clayton, I am a freelance writer based in Inglewood, California. I also write under a few pen-names and aliases, but Joshua Clayton is my real name, and I write by that for the most part now. I am a philosophical writer and objective thinker and honest action taker. I also work at a senior center in Gardena, California as my day job, among other things, but primarily I am a writer.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Joshua_Clayton/177409

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/10036544

WINNERS MINDSET - Best Motivational Video

4 Powerful Reasons Why Setting Goals Is Important

Goals are what move us forward through life; they are the oxygen that fuels our dreams. They are the first step we take in every journey. It is essential to realize the importance and significance of setting powerful goals and how to apply this information to your life. If you don't know why you should be setting goals in your life, here are four powerful reasons why goals are important.

They Give You Focus

You may have all the potential in the world, but without focus your talents and abilities are useless. You can't achieve anything in your life if you haven't set goals for yourself. It is your goals that give you direction in life. Having a sense of direction gives your mind the ability to focus on a target rather than just wasting energy drifting aimlessly through life. When your mind is focused, you are better able to reach your goals.

They Move Your Forward

Having goals with specific deadlines provides you with something to plan and work toward. Goals give you something to focus on and visualize to connect yourself with your deepest desires better. Goals give you the motivation and energy you need to work through challenges and setbacks in life. When you write your goals down, they become an external representation of what you desire most and are a constant reminder of what you need to accomplish.

They Help You Believe in Yourself

Setting goals is a way to fuel your ambitions. It isn't just about creating a plan for your life and a way to hold yourself accountable; goal setting gives us the inspiration needed to aim for those things in life that we never thought were possible. If you want to accomplish something, you have to make a goal for yourself and work every day toward achieving that goal. If you aren't able to see the progress you make, your dreams become nothing more than vague notions floating in your imagination.

They Help You Live Life to the Fullest

Taking the time to set goals will ensure that you are living your life to the fullest. There are many beautiful things in life to do and experience. However, without concrete goals, the things that you want to accomplish and experience in your life will be nothing more than a dream. If you're going to get the most out of your life, you have to know what it is you truly want.

This doesn't mean that you have to have every minute of your life planned out in front of you. However, if you don't have clear goals for your life, you'll never be able to do what you want and live life to the fullest.

Article Source: https://EzineArticles.com/expert/Josee_Smith/1677631

NO EXCUSES - Best Motivational Video

Discovering and Understanding Your Life Purpose

What is it that you're missing in your life? What is it that you'd most like to have? Would you like more love, more freedom, more peace?

In life, we strive and fight in our lives to get whatever it is that we believe we need or want. We reach personal and professional goals and acquire what we can afford. But is that what life is really about? Is that what makes our soul thrive and feel happy? Is it what makes me satisfied and complete?

Look inside you. What are you missing? What haven't you got enough of? What would you like to have more of? What do you dream of having?

If your life ended today, what would you be sorry you never got? What would you miss?

If you dream of having things, what need are those things trying to satisfy? What do they give you? What do they make you feel, power, satisfaction, peace... ? If you dream of reaching goal after goal, what does success mean to you? What does it give you? Those things and goals are your way to satisfy your personal needs and those needs somehow mask what you most desire. Ask yourself, then, what it is that your being most wants, what it is that you crave day after day, what is it that would make you feel complete and whole.

Once you know, why not turn that into your life purpose? Imagine planning your days and actions with that general purpose in mind. Everything you do then has that ultimate purpose. Your life immediately adopts a new meaning. Imagine you choose "peace" as your life purpose.Whenever dealing with others, you will now target peace as the highest goal. Your relationships will have that ultimate goal. And so will your work. And your leisure time. And your everyday actions, And the objectives you wish to reach. And your conversations... If you then ever feel bad for whatever reason, ask yourself: am I still pursuing my purpose or did I go astray from it? Your life purpose becomes your inner compass, your north, your direction to follow no matter what. If you deviate from it, you will feel bad because you will not be aligned with it. Which is the same reason that will lead you to returning to it and resuming it. Once your life purpose is defined, it is much easier to return to it. This step that I'm taking, this conversation that I'm having, this action that I'm undertaking... is aligned with my purpose? Is making me move forward? If not, what do I need to do to change it?

Give yourself the gift of this life compass. Don't you see how your life is changed? Pick your purpose and re-focus your life.

Enjoy life... ALL of it,

Humanology

Discover humanology http://www.jessicajlockhart.com/en Understand human beings

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This Is For All Of You Fighting Battles Alone (Walk Alone Speech)

3 Clues to Your "Why"

If you want to make a difference and live a life of significance, you find your why. You need to tap into your purpose. Everybody has one. Your why is the life's blood of your ability to achieve significance.

If you know your why and focus on going there with fierce determination, you can make sense of everything on your journey because you see it through the lens of "Why". Once you find your "Why", you will be able to find your "Way". How do those things differ? "Why" is your purpose. "Way" is your path. When you find your "Why", your path automatically has purpose. And life becomes much more meaningful and complete because you have context to understand the reason you are on the journey the first place.

Does the "Why" always comes first? Can you find your way and then find your "Why"? You may be wondering. What has to come first? The good news is that either can come first. But if the "Why" comes before the way, your ability to tap into power of significance will come more quickly and immediately be more effective.

Think of it like this. Have you ever wondered why people often find great joy in packing for a vacation? They spend weeks building up great anticipation, looking forward to those warm days on a tropical beach or trips down the slopes of their favorite ski resort. So they pick out each item that goes into the suitcase with great care.

When you get ready for a great trip, almost all your effort is focused on your purpose of the trip. That's why it's a lot more fun to pack for a trip than it is to unpack afterward. This concept applies more broadly to our lives. Whatever path you travel, you are going to be able to do things more significantly because you understand your purpose for being there.

When you start your day with your "Why", you will find yourself continually doing things that inspire you. Finding your "Why" gives you the focused and driven energy.

If you tap into your "Why", your life will open up to significance. It will be within your reach every day because you will be able to do simple things that matter. Significance is usually not a result of anything spectacular. It is based on small steps in line with purpose. Knowing your "Why" helps you to know what to do and to follow through.

Know yourself and settle your "Why", and you will have the capacity to focus on others.

Knowing your "Why" gives you great security and comfort in everything you attempt to do That confidence and self assuredness is usually appealing and reassuring to others because most people long for it.

The first question you must ask yourself is this: How can I add value to others? If you can quiet yourself enough to listen for that answer from within yourself, you will begin to understand your why.

I have to tell you that this question has been the foundation and driver of every significant act in my life. Did you get that? Having a life that matters comes from the ability to add value to others. This is where significance starts. Let that idea stir within you.

So here are three questions you can ask yourself and which will help you to find your "Why".

Here we go. Here is question number 1.

Question number 2 and 3, I will share with you in the following weeks.

Question 1:

What do you cry about?

This first question asks you to look inside yourself and think about what breaks your heart. What disturbs you? What inflicts emotional pain? What causes you so much discomfort that you are motivated to take action and do something to bring healing to that situation?

So, what makes you cry? What makes your heart break? What touches you at the depth of your soul? Do you already know the answer? Or is it something you need to start exploring and thinking about?

When trying to figure out what makes you cry, you can look at your personal history. You can think back to your childhood. You can tap into social justice issues that get you angry. You can think about the last thing you got highly emotional about - or the thing that you always get emotional about. Any of these things can be clues to what makes you tick. And they will help identify your "Why".

Question 2:

What do you sing about?

What always makes you happy? What puts a bounce in your step? What makes you jump for joy or spontaneously break into song? Emerson said: "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well".

Doing acts of significance brings you more deep satisfaction than any other work. It fires you up and keeps you going. As the saying goes, work is not work unless you would rather by doing something else.

What do you sing about? What gives you great joy? What feeds your passion? What feeds your soul? What gets you excited?

When you ask other people "What do you sing about?" many people respond by thinking about what entertains them. There is certainly nothing wrong with being entertained or having fun. But what we really talk about is something that makes contented joy spontaneously rise up within you. It's the kind of thing you would do for free, just because. Once again, these are clues that help you to understand your purpose and know your "Why".

M.R.

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One of the Most Motivational Videos You'll Ever See [WARNING!!! - Belie...

The 10 Step Goal Process

What does it take to achieve your goals? There is a process we mentally go through when we set, plan and take action on our goals. At times we think it is just about setting the goal and then getting into action. We quickly find ourselves distracted and off track. This is common, especially when the goal process is not followed. Here is a 10 step process to support you in your efforts. Good Luck!

1. OPENNESS - see opportunities and creatively explore new ways to get things done
2. CLARITY - know what is most important and set a goal
3. MOTIVATION - know your WHY and the benefits of doing this
4. CAN DO ATTITUDE - decide what you will do, celebrate what you have done
5. FOCUS - know what you want to achieve and get it done
6. PLAN - be clear and specific with your goal and plan of what and how you will do it
7. SET MILESTONES - create mini milestones to keep you feeling success and momentum
8. ACTION - have a list, have a schedule and deadlines, be proactive, be flexible, do something
9. SUPPORT - have a network or accountability to support you or keep you on track (it matters if you don't do it)
10. RECHARGE TIME - after giving it 100%, take a break and rest and recharge

Test your goals now...

- Am I open to new ways and ideas? (fixed or closed mindset)
- Do I have clarity on what is most important to do?
- Am I motivated? If not, what is getting in my way and how can I remove the barrier?
- How is my attitude? Do I see the possibilities and solutions? If I am stuck, talk to someone or write down the block and shift to thinking "what is possible?"
- Am I focused? If there are distractions write them down to do later or set up space to reduce distractions.
- What is my plan to get this done? What do I need to do and when will I do it?
- What is the first milestone or significant accomplishment toward this goal?
- What action will I take right now?
- Who can I be accountable too and check in with?
- What will I do to recharge and take a break?

Setting goals isn't just about the goal; it is about the process around the goal. At times these steps can seem obvious or trite however they are key actions in the process of goal achievement. If you are not reaching your goals, consider if there is a step in the process that you can sharpen and increase your goal success!

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Put God First - Denzel Washington Motivational & Inspiring Commencement ...

Write It Down - Tracking Your Progress Will Lead To Bigger Gains

How many times while growing up did my dad tell me, "Write it down!" How many times have I told myself the same thing? Answer to both: too many.

Writing something down has proven to be an effective memorization technique. It is also the key to the past that helps shape your future - and I do mean shape your future. To know where you're going, it helps to know where you're coming from. Regardless of how much fish oil or ginkgo you take, it's far-fetched to expect that you'll remember every set, rep, mile and nuance of your last workout or the one before that.

Why do you need to remember what you've already done? Same reason people write down recipes: to increase the chances of success the next time you're in that situation.

And I'm not talking just sets and reps. In fact, anything that affects your senses can affect your workout, even if you've mastered how to block out distractions. Recreating a situation in which you can tune out those annoyance increases the possibility of a positive gym experience. Control what you can, have a back-up plan for what you can't and ignore the rest.

Food and supplement intake, including quality, quantity and timing, also affects your workout, so make some notes. At the gym, temperature, lighting, music, accessibility to the equipment you need, the gym's layout and how crowded it is are all factors in your workout. Things you noticed on a particular day that affected your training, good or bad, are worth jotting down.

After a while, taking notes will become second nature - a common occurrence within your day-to-day workouts. It doesn't have to be prose; it can be bullet points. Next time you're in a slump, flip back to a great workout and see why it worked. Draw from that experience. Borrow that recipe. It won't always work, but it could mean the difference between a bad day, week or even month. If you harness creativity with discipline, you can create a masterpiece. Write that down.

There are millions hits on the internet search drive for Wellness. It takes quite a bit of research to find any one site that has so much to offer on all the needs for your innermost wellness - joy, bliss and beyond. For wellness' sake you can stop looking out there, and take some time for yourself, a sort of one-stop-shop: Balanced Lifestyle Wikipedia.

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The Secret of Becoming Mentally Strong | Amy Morin | TEDxOcala

Practice the Technique Top Performers Use to Achieve Any Goal

Athletes use this technique to overcome nerves and perform at their peak. Actors use it as the heart of their craft. And, corporate leaders use it to envision bold new products and services for their companies. But, did you know you can use it to overcome anxiety and addictions, create new habits, test decisions, and welcome the experiences your soul desires?

You can apply this technique to any goal you have, such as creating a successful business, finding your life partner, growing a deeper relationship with your current life partner, cultivating health, engaging in self-care practices such as eating well, meditating, or exercising, or any creative project you wish to accomplish.

The technique is "Mental Rehearsal." In this post, you'll learn the steps of this powerful tool for personal change.

The Science Behind the Technique

The premise is simple: imagining a desired experience creates the same neural networks in your body and brain that having an experience in "real life" does. By mentally rehearsing an experience you groove the neural pathways to more easily welcome an experience into your life. What you can imagine in full sensory detail you more easily become.

You use your imagination all the time to imagine experiences you want and dread experiences you don't want. The purpose of Mental Rehearsal is to consciously pave the way for experiences you desire by imagining yourself immersed in the felt experience "As If" you are living it right now.

In a nutshell, Mental Rehearsal familiarizes you with the felt experiences you want to have, so you can recognize them, choose them, and grow them in your life. It also helps you make decisions by imagining what different options feel like and weighing your felt responses. For example, does this option feel light and energized or does it feel heavy and burdensome?

Now, you may not feel worthy of the experiences you desire or may not feel they are possible for you. By mentally rehearsing these experiences, you learn to become comfortable imagining yourself having them. In the process, what you thought was out of reach seems more possible.

To make this practice even more effective, you can imagine not only the experience you desire, but also significant steps you take to get there. This makes taking these steps feel easier and more doable.

It's important to note that imagining a specific experience does not mean this exact experience will happen exactly as you imagine it to be. Life may have even better plans for you-ones you may not have imagined. What's important is to imagine the experience you desire, given what you know right now, and meditatively engage in immersing yourself in this experience "As If" you are living it. This generates the same state of being as if the experience was happening in real life. And, it creates the same neural pathways in your body and brain.

Once you are immersed in your desired state of being, it becomes a filter through which you can recognize and choose similar experiences in real life. Cultivating this state of being becomes a magnet that draws similar experiences to you. For example, if you long for the feeling of being loved, you mentally rehearse what it feels like to be loved, you carry this feeling with you, and you engage in loving others. Then, you notice how loving relationships blossom in your life.

How to Practice Mental Rehearsal

1. Begin by asking your heart for an experience you'd like to have.

2. Close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths, and imagine the specific details of this experience, including where you are, who you are with, what you are saying, and what you are doing.

3. Step into this picture "As If" you are taking these actions. Feel the experience with all your senses.

4. Notice any resistance. Is there any way you would like to change the experience to release this resistance? Imagine these changes.

5. Once you have the experience fully present with you in a way that feels good, imagine three steps you take to this experience from where you are now in your life.

Do this in reverse time order, beginning with a step you take just before arriving in your desired experience. Imagine another step you take just before this one. And, finally, imagine a step you take to initiate this whole process from where you are now to where you want to be.

For a simple example, say I want to make a putt in golf. My desired experience is seeing the ball fall into the hole. I imagine that before this moment I followed through on the correct line to the hole, before this I drew my putter back on this line, and before this I visualized the line of the putt. (Note: These three steps can become a routine for the actual putting of a ball in a real golf game, as well as a tool for Mental Rehearsal.)

Notice any challenges to taking these steps and imagine how you might address these challenges.

6. Run the three steps forward, from where you are now to your desired experience. Then, rest in the feeling of your desired experience again, so you really absorb it.

7. Set your intention to live from this state of being and welcome experiences that grow this for yourself and others.

Keep in mind you don't have to imagine this perfectly. You don't have to get all the steps right. And, it doesn't have to feel incredible at first (though it can). You might even find you imagine failing. For example, when I first imagined myself making a putt in golf, the putt lipped out and I didn't make it. That's O.K. You can pick yourself up and try again. See if you can relax more and try less. Welcoming new experiences takes practice.

If you feel resistance, unworthiness, or any other uncomfortable feeling about this whole process, I encourage you to simply observe and accept these feelings as they arise. Breathe through them and notice any ways they shift as you pay attention to them with calm, curious, acceptance. You might ask yourself what is underneath these feelings that is important to acknowledge.

See if it's possible to view Mental Rehearsal as an exploration, a game in your imagination, and a fun way to step outside your normal view of yourself and life, so you can imagine something new, exciting, and emotionally compelling. Have fun with this! You are using untapped creative resources to step into the life your soul desires.

Enjoy your practice!

Want guidance and support for your practice?

Visit my blog for insights, tips, and tools to release stress, boost your health and energy, and live the life your soul desires. Subscribe for weekly updates and get a free guided meditation!

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Jack Ma's Ultimate Advice for Students & Young People - HOW TO SUCCEED I...

How Do I Commit TOTALLY to My Goals?

Commitment is one of the scariest words in any language. It has so much meaning, possibility, opportunity and responsibility wrapped up in those three little syllables. When we commit to something, we make a promise at least to ourselves and often to others. These promises are show that we are serious, driven and all in. We're giving 100% and holding nothing back. Too often though we act as if it's a donation. We treat what should be a serious, consuming desire as if we're dropping some coins in the Salvation Army bucket at Christmas time.

Don't understand why I'm making this point and distinction? Consider the old story about the hen and the pig.
Hen and Pig were talking about the farmer. They really loved the farmer because he took such good care of them. So Hen suggested they do something nice for the farmer. "How about we make him a breakfast of ham and eggs, Pig?" Pig pauses and looks at Hen. "Well, I don't know Hen. For you that's a donation. For me that's a lifetime commitment!"

That's how we need to treat our Goals. They need to be lifetime commitments, not donations. Lifetime commitments drive us. They shape our thoughts. They focus our efforts and attention like nothing else. In many ways, though not all, Goals are like marriage. Both require a total commitment that permeates our entire being. They both require us to reshape our thoughts and actions so serve them.

Note well though. While your marriage should be more important than your Goals, your Goals should support your marriage. There should be no competition.

In marriage we commit totally to the other. We should hold nothing back. We give of ourselves without selfishness or resentment. We do whatever it takes to love our spouse daily.

In Goals we commit totally to the outcome. We hold nothing back in our pursuit of that outcome. We give of our time, talent and treasure without selfishness or resentment. We do whatever it takes to achieve those Goals.

Before you ask, of course I mean that our Goals have to be ordered to support and reinforce our Values. So "whatever it takes" in marriage and Goals does NOT mean something that violates our Values.

Our commitment to our Goals requires a similar relationship as a marriage. We have to be faithful to the Goal. We have to support the Goal. We have to put the Goal before for our selfish desires. Put another way, we have to chase one Goal, or one set of related Goals, only. We have to learn the skills and do the work required to move closer to our Goals. Finally we have to be willing to sacrifice to achieve our Goals.

Commitment means giving our Goals the same kind of attention and focus we give to our spouses. That's why commitment to our Goals is so difficult for some people. They either don't realize the level of seriousness Goals require, or they do and just can't make those kinds of promises.

Make those promises. Commit. Be the Pig.

Setting good goals is essential to your success. Everyone thinks they know how to set goals, but sometimes we don't know or remember some things. Visit http://5things.Success-Maniacs.com/ for a free report called 5 Things About Goal Setting You Need to Know Right Now.

Tim Johnson is a life-long student of self-development and leadership material. He's on a mission to teach as many people as he can to be successful in a moral and ethical way, consistent with their values, that can create positive change in themselves and everyone they meet.

To learn more about Tim's ideas on Success, go to http://www.Success-Maniacs.com to learn more.

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KEEP THEM POOR | This Is What The Richest Don't Want You To KNOW (an ill...

Keys To Understand Success

There has not been a single educational conference that I had attended during my college days that did not have at least one student stand up and ask, "How do you define success?". The answers have been varied according to the presenters' own life experiences. Most of us tend to define success as per some societal norms that have been decided ages ago by our forefathers, but do these definitions really help? Let us see some of the ways in which we really learn to understand how to define success.

Experience

Although this might seem a little out there, anyone who is of age would definitely have had multiple experiences in life that are a combination of misery, pain, suffering, joy, satisfaction, and acceptance. It is important to start learning early in life what these experiences might mean later in life. For example, if a student continues to get insufficient grades in a particular subject, it is important to realize that this subject might be of little value when moving on to bigger things in life. Identifying the do's and don'ts from early experiences can help create a focused mind driven towards genuine success.

Sharing

This one is a given. There can be no doubt of the fact that sharing from an early age can substantially help in creating an open and broader mind. What one person thinks of her accomplishments might or might not be mirrored in another's. Through sharing, one might run into someone who shares an equal passion of caring for the destitute, for example, or someone who doesn't, might get genuinely impressed and influenced by such kind of passion. Sharing also helps a person identify what they do not want to be, thus being able to increase focus, and become more goal-oriented.

Your niche

Through a continuous analysis of the experiences in life and the knowledge gained in the manner of sharing, it becomes easier to find one's niche, and constructing a smoother path via that niche to the ultimate goal. This ultimate goal, then, defines the individual success. It is easy to reprimand people running after money by saying "that is not success", but the truth is, it might be the primary definition for success for some people. Other people may define success as being a learned person, being high up the corporate ladder, being conventionally sound, being a proud parent, travelling the world, so on and so forth. All of these are fine definitions of success as long as they do not hurt anyone or anything. Carving a niche for yourself is as much as getting your own things on track as acknowledging and appreciating another person's track.

The importance of respect, understanding, love, and honesty, in the end, cannot be undermined no matter what your definition of success turns out to be.

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