Ever felt unmotivated and simply not in the mood to do anything?
Yeah, me too. Even though I'm always motivated and all ready to take action on my goals, I have times when I feel disconnected with my inner muse. No matter whether you are Seth Godin or Robert Kiyosaki, all of us have our own down times where we don't feel like doing anything. It happens. Our productivity plummets to an all-time personal low as we drag our feet around on things we should be doing. It can be frustrating.
When left unchecked, this lack of motivation can get out of hand. Rather than let your productivity yo-yo based on your mood, you should learn to get in control of the situation and counteract with self-motivation strategies. Below are my 9 strategies to deal with situations of low motivation, and they have been proven to work wonders for myself, my readers and my clients.
One of the biggest reasons why we are not motivated is because we are not connected with our vision. Specifically, the vision of what we are trying to achieve. What are you working so hard for every day? What do you want to get out of this? What is your dream outcome? What are your end goals? What will excite and spur you to move forward?
While I'm busy writing and growing my blog, The Personal Excellence Blog, every day, I never lose sight of my end vision. My vision is to have a reader base of millions, travel around the world to speak to people, launch my books and touch the lives of people everywhere. I may not be there yet, but I know I'll reach there as long as I keep working hard. For example, after 1.5 years, The Personal Excellence Blog is now read by over 100,000 readers a month and I'm an established personal excellence coach and speaker in my country (Singapore). Even just typing about this now is making me feel very inspired by what's ahead. With a big vision, it spurs me to create endlessly, rather than settle for status quo.
Lack of motivation can come from losing sight of the "WHY" - why we do the things we do. We are so busy with work and managing different areas of our life that every day turns into a routine of activities. It becomes a race to get as much done, without consciously evaluating why we are doing all these things.
Why do you live? Why do you do the things you do? Why do you slough away at work? What is it for? What do you want to get out of it? These are all important questions to ask ourselves, and important questions to have answers to. If you don't have the answers, perhaps it's time to seek them out.
Discovering my life purpose in 2006 has given me endless drive in life. I discovered my passion in helping others to achieve excellence and live their best life. This realization has led me to make bold life decisions, such as quitting my regular, well paying job 2 years ago to pursue my passion in personal development. Since then, I have started The Personal Excellence Blog, coached hundreds to achieve excellence in their lives and started The School of Personal Excellence (my training school). This "WHY" drives me every day to reach greater heights and accomplish more.
Your goals should come with deadlines so that you will be spurred into action. After all, by Parkinson's Law, work takes as long as the amount of time we give to it. Not setting a date can cause us to slack off and dwindle on the task. If we set deadlines, we will be triggered to get things done by that date. Specifically when do you want to achieve this? What is your cut-off date? Subsequently, set the deadlines for your weekly and daily tasks too.
Some of my clients told me they don't want to set deadlines as they don't want to stress themselves into achieving the goals. That's a cop-out. Stress from deadlines is only because you attach yourself to the outcome. The deadlines for your goals are meant to be reference points so you can achieve them. You should strive to achieve them, but not beat yourself to a pulp if you don't achieve it. Commit to your deadlines, but don't attach yourself to them.
Sometimes when we feel unmotivated, it's cue for a rest. Just like a car with no fuel needs to be refueled, if we run out of energy, we need rest. I was in a slump before and it took me a couple of months to realize it was because I wasn't resting at all. I was just working day-after-day and my mind and soul rebelled by taking a hiatus. I couldn't get new ideas for my writing and some items on my task list became chores rather than enjoyments.
So, stop doing whatever you are doing and take a breather. What are some of your hobbies? Spend some time doing them. Get away from your computer too. Engage yourself in things that interest you. Go take a walk in the park, hang out with friends, listen to music, rest, watch a movie, etc. Simply relax. It'll give you renewed focus and energy.
Sometimes, lack of motivation is a sign from our subconscious that we're not doing things we love. Do you spend a good portion of your time doing things you don't like? This applies to anything, from hanging out with people you don't like, or doing work you are passionless towards.
You don't need to do things you don't like to do. If you feel dead towards something, then stop doing it. There's no point doing things you don't love. Life is too short to be spending it that way. Create an action plan to get out of things you don't like and move towards things you love. As long as you keep yourself stuck with things you feel dead towards, you will forever be held back by them.
For example, after working 2 years at my last job, I reached a state where I completely dreaded work. I was working in brand management and skincare, which was very different from my passion to help others grow. I loved weekends and hated Mondays. I would be hauling myself out of bed and dreading my feet to work during weekdays. Finally, I told myself - this was it. I submitted my resignation letter and left in Sep '08. I never looked back ever since.
Surround yourself in inspirational materials, such as self help books, podcasts, inspirational stories of people, inspirational speeches, motivational quotes and personal development blogs like Dumb Little Man, Zenhabits, Lifehack and Seth Godin's blog. Every morning, I set aside some time to read personal development blogs as well as people who inspire me. In my room, I have motivational quotes plastered on my noticeboard, and I have my vision board of my biggest dreams and goals in life. Just looking at them is a simple reminder why I do the things I do (tip #2).
Here are some inspirational materials you can start off with:
* The Way to Happiness
* Steve Job's famous Standford Commencement Speech
* Randy Pausch's Last Lecture
* Philosopher's Notes is a great podcast resource - it condenses the wisdom of self help books into short podcasts
* 101 Inspiring Quotes of All Time (free ebook with over 300+ quotes - Most Inspiring Quotes of All Time)
One of the best ways to motivate yourself into action is through competition. When you are in lone man's island, it's easy to descend into a mode of stagnancy. However, when in the face of competition, you will push yourself to do better and better. Look at your goals, and see how you can spice things up with competition. Trying to lose weight? Get friends with similar goals to join in and see who can reach the goal the fastest. Want to grow your business? Benchmark yourself with some of the top people in the industry.
As Jim Rohn says, you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Do you notice that when you are around positive people, you become more positive afterward, even when you are by yourself? Similarly, when you hang around motivated people, their vibes will rub off you naturally too. It's kind of like diffusion. You will get motivated and be triggered to take action.
When I'm around higher consciousness people, I consequently get more ideas and feel more stirred than usual to act on my goals. This is why I make it a point to surround myself with positive friends. Even my browser favorites are filled up with blogs and writings of positive people. Reading them almost always give me added inspiration.
What are the things you are grateful for in your life? Your family? Your friends? Your health? Your life? What are the things that make you happy to be alive and motivate you to live? There are so many things I'm grateful for that the list is endless. I love being alive. I love living my passion, exercising, nightfall, the morning air, sunrises, my friends, my room, my elmo (a birthday gift when I was 15), living a vegan lifestyle, and many, many more. Being aware of these inspires me live life to the fullest.
List down all the things that you feel grateful for in a document somewhere. Feel the gratitude and love for those things that you have. Chances are, there is at least someone in this world who wants this but is unable to get it. Whenever you feel unmotivated, look at this list. It'll remind you of things worth living for.
Written on 5/13/2010 by Celestine Chua. Celestine writes at The Personal Excellence Blog, where she shares her best advice on how to achieve personal excellence and live your best life. Get her RSS feed here and add her on Twitter @celestinechua.
9 Proven Ways To Charge Up Your Motivation
Posted by SoMeOnE at 6:15 AM Labels: Development, Motivation, Success
7 Life Changing Lessons Learned From Walt Disney
Posted by SoMeOnE at 5:27 AM Labels: Development, Motivation, Success
Walter Elias "Walt" Disney was a film producer, animator, entrepreneur, entertainer, director, screenwriter, voice actor, international icon, and philanthropist.
Walt is well-known for his influence in the entertainment industry during the twentieth century. Walt co-founded Walt Disney Productions with his brother Roy O. Disney and became one of the most famous motion picture producers of all time.
The company that he co-founded is now known as “The Walt Disney Company” and has annual revenues of approximately $35 Billion (US).
Walt and members of his staff created a number of the world's most famous fictional characters. This includes Mickey Mouse, whose original voice was Walt himself.
Walt has won 26 Academy Awards and he has earned 59 nominations; he has more awards and nominations than any other individual. Additionally, Walt has won seven Emmy Awards, and he is the namesake for Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort theme parks in the United States, China, Japan, and France.
Clearly there is a ton to learn from Walt Disney. Let's take a look at 7 Life-Changing Lessons from Walt Disney:
In Closing“A man should never neglect his family for business.”
Your family is your first business, and they should never be neglected in pursuit of "a dream." Your family must be part of your dream, and should remain within your focus. Never become so consumed in business affairs that you neglect the individuals whom you need most.“I have been up against tough competition all my life. I wouldn't know how to get along without it.”
Competition makes you stronger, it makes you better, it keeps you on your toes. Never shrink away from competition; never fail to see the value of competition. Your competitors can provide you with more value than your friends. Learn from the competition, and you will grow.
It’s critical that you embrace competition as well as adversity, Walt Disney said, “All the adversity I've had in my life, all my troubles and obstacles have strengthened me... You may not realize it when it happens, but a kick in the teeth may be the best thing in the world for you.”“Disneyland is a work of love. We didn't go into Disneyland just with the idea of making money.”
You must follow your passion, if you’re doing it just for the money, it probably won’t last. Passion is what gives you the strength to overcome the obstacles associated with every dream. Passion is what keeps you going when everyone else is tired…money can't do that for you, only passion; passion is power.“It's kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Walt Disney said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Life is too short to spend it doing the possible. Learn to pursue the impossible, pursue what others say can’t be done, pursue what has never been done before, pursue your dreams, and turn them into a reality.
You must believe in the beauty of your dreams. Walt said, “When you believe in a thing, believe in it all the way, implicitly and unquestionable.” If you’re going to believe, you might as well believe all the way.“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”
I always say that “well done” is better than “well said,” so quit talking and start doing! Quit planning and start practicing; a plan is good, a good plan is even better, but if that plan doesn’t get put into action it’s as useless as a four fingered glove. Learn to get into action, start today, whatever you’ve been postponing …just do it. If you wait for the perfect time, you’ll never accomplish anything.“You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality.”
Isaiah wrote, “Without a vision, the people perish.” But I think it’s worth noting that without people, the vision will perish. Never forget that you need people; never forget that your life is about serving others. When you serve others, you serve yourself.“Whenever I go on a ride, I'm always thinking of what's wrong with the thing and how it can be improved.”
Everyday you should become a little better than you were the day before. If you can become one percent better daily, you can recreate your life every 100 days. Learn to get better daily; look for ways to improve, to be kinder, more intelligent, and more helpful.
Let us remember that Walt Disney said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.”
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along.
Written on 5/04/2010 by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com or by subscribing to his feed.
Are you driven in life? Do you love to excel? I believe all of us do. We are born to be the best we can be and to make the best out of our lives.
When I was in high school, I wasn't exactly the kind of student teachers would like. I was truant, didn't do my homework and did badly on my examinations. I was lazy and unmotivated in school. However, after a while I realized that this wasn't who I wanted to be. This wasn't the life I saw myself leading. People around me were judging and negative, and I had enough of all of that crap. I had enough of being discriminated against and I decided to turn everything around from then on.
So when I entered University, I began to get my act together. For the 3 years I was in Business School, I was on the Dean's List (an honor roll for the top students in the faculty). I eventually graduated as the top student in my specialization of marketing and was awarded with accolades for being the most outstanding student. When I started working, I entered one of the top companies for marketers, a Fortune 100 company, and led my business portfolios to record breaking results in the few years I worked there.
Then 2 years ago, I left my regular job to pursue my true passion in personal development. I started The Personal Excellence Blog where I share my best advice and help others achieve personal excellence and live their best lives. It has quickly established itself as a trusted and coming-to-age personal development blog, having 3-4k readers a day and being featured by prominent media, including CNN.com.
After years of striving for personal excellence, working with top people in their fields and observing top people in their fields, I realized that there are universal habits that enable people to achieve excellence. As Aristotle would put it, “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit.”.
These habits aren't "ingrained", or "genetic"; they are habits that anyone like you and me can cultivate. Just like Stephen Covey's 7 habits
Closing
This is the same habit as Stephen Covey's 1st habit, and with good reason. Everything starts with the end - the goal or the vision you want to fulfill. If you don't know what the end is, then there's no way of getting there, is there? Imagine getting into a cab. What do you first do when you get into the cab? Maybe you say hi to the taxi driver, then what? You tell the driver where you want to go, so that he can take you there. Similarly, you need to know what is the end you want to reach in order to get there.
Hence, it's critical that you form clear goals of what exactly you want. What do you want? What is the end you envision? What are your personal goals and dreams for yourself? Personally, I have a vision board beside my bed where I have my dreams plastered over it. These dreams include developing The Personal Excellence Blog into one of the top personal development blogs, running my international personal excellence school, speaking to tens and thousands of people in seminars, achieving world peace, finding my soul mate, hitting the best seller's list with my books, and so on. These dreams remind me of what exactly I want and drive me forward every day.
When you do something you love, it's like you have unlimited fuel that keeps you going- day after day. The hunger to excel in it is just greater than if you do anything else. Every day, I'm endlessly driven to build and write at my blog, because it's for a cause I believe in. Helping people grow and live their best life is the one thing I know I want to be doing for the rest of my life.
I have a coaching client who has tried to start 4-5 different ventures before (one at a time), and he was never able to succeed in any of them. Why was this the case? It wasn't that he was stupid, or that he was lazy. Ultimately, the reason was because he wasn't passionate about the things he was pursuing - he was just chasing money. The nature of the business didn't appeal to him emotionally. This is not to say starting businesses because you want to earn money is bad - all I'm saying is it's important that you love what you want to do first and foremost.
What is it you love to do? If you are not sure what your passion is yet, then what is something you are most eager to try at the moment? If you can choose to do anything, what will it be? Your love and interest are fuels that will drive you towards excellence.
I don't know of anyone who has achieved excellent results who hasn't worked hard for them. A big component of excellence is hard work. Sheer, unadulterated hard work. We can streamline processes, choose effective strategies and steps, but ultimately the hard work will still have to come in. Fortunately, if you are doing what you love (step #2), work wouldn't even be work at all.
In the past year since I set up The Personal Excellence Blog, I have spent countless hours, including weekends, building up the blog and writing high quality articles for readers out there. All these have paid off in their own way. I'm not saying you should abandon all social life because that defeats the purpose, but you will have to dedicate yourself to making your business a success. This year in 2010, I intend to increase my efforts even more compared to 2009, and I know it's going to pay off.
Every moment counts. Excellent people know that time is highly valuable. There's this quote by Donald Trump which I read in one of his books, and I absolutely love it. He said that time is more precious than money, because you can earn back money, but you can't get back time. That is absolutely true.
Hence, I'm always making sure that I'm maximizing every moment. If I'm commuting over a distance, I'll pick up a book or listen to a podcast. If I'm out waiting for a friend, I'll take the chance to do something meaningful for the time being. If there are some pockets of time, I'll take out my laptop and do some work.
Note that this habit doesn't mean working like a hog, 24x7. That wouldn't be a true application of this habit. Making use of every moment also refers to knowing when to rest and rejuvenate when it's needed, because this will help us walk the longer mile on the path of excellence.
Living a life of excellence means being a proponent of action. Many people often say "The sky is the limit". My personal philosophy is the sky isn't the limit; we are the limit. Whatever we do or don't do will determine how much we can grow or achieve. If we want to grow and achieve great results, we need to take the equivalent actions to reach the results we want.
For example, many people agree that having press and media feature their business can greatly benefit them, but they believe it only happens when you are prominent enough. While that's usually true, I refuse to let that stop me. I took proactive steps to reach out to the press, writing my own press release and creating a strong story angle so the press would want to feature me. To date, I've been featured in the press for almost 20 times. To read more about how to be featured by the press, you can check out my guest post at Problogger: How To Get Featured By the Press (Repeatedly) Even If Your Blog is New.
Learning never stops. There is always something we can do to become better. We may have great skills and knowledge today, but no matter how great they may be, our skills need to be continuously developed. Excellent people are always learning, reading, exposing themselves to new knowledge, new people, new contexts and developing their skills. If you have played role-playing games or RPGs before, you would know that the characters need to be leveled up to get stronger and progress to the next level. Likewise, we need to always be leveling ourselves up to achieve excellence.
No matter how much we try to improve, we will have blind spots. Blind spots are things about ourselves that we don't know about, and we can't improve on things that we are blind to. Asking for feedback is one of the fastest and most effective ways to improve.
For everything I do, I make it a point to gather feedback. For example, when I was in my previous job, I would often ask my manager and peers for feedback on how I could improve. With my friends, sometimes I would have a random feedback session with them on how I can do things better. As I run The Personal Excellence Blog, I would invite my readers to send in their feedback, either through comments, emails or private messages. Sometimes the feedback is predictable, sometimes it's not and many times it leads to an epiphany on some level.
... Wait, you didn't think that there would just be 7 habits in achieving excellence, did you?
There's 1 final habit to become a highly excellent person - that is, to strive for #1 in what you do. No one's going to achieve excellence if they aim for average, or mediocrity. Excellence comes from aiming for the top - being #1. This #1 should be better than whoever is #1 at the moment, because it will spur you on to work even harder. You will only achieve great results when you set high standards for yourself.
For example, I aim for The Personal Excellence Blog to be the top personal development blog, both in terms of the quality of content and traffic. Whenever I write my articles, I make sure I'm giving the best value that can ever be offered in that topic. Because of this, readers recognize the value of my articles and have spread the word to their friends and family. This has helped the blog to grow quickly and establish itself as a trusted and coming-of-age blog in personal excellence.
These habits have helped me to achieve excellence in my life, and as long as all of us practice them, we will achieve excellent results. Feel free to share your comments - I'll love to hear what you have to say. If you have any questions, I'll love to answer them where possible too. I don't claim to have the answers, but I'll most certainly offer my perspective and help where I can.Written on 4/24/2010 by Celestine Chua. Celes writes at The Personal Excellence Blog, where she shares her best advice on achieving personal excellence. Her blog is read by thousands a day and has been featured by CNN, Today, and other prominent media. Get her RSS feed here and add her on Twitter @celestinechua.
7 Profound Lessons From 7 of our Historical Leaders
Posted by SoMeOnE at 2:32 AM Labels: Business, Entrepreneur, Goals, Leadership, Motivation
Leaders aren’t necessarily special. They don’t wear a halo and they certainly don’t glow in the dark. Leaders are just the individuals who are further along the path that you’re traveling. Because leaders have traveled the path successfully, they are able to provide insights into the journey so by absorbing the lessons they have learned, one would think that with application, your path may be simpler.
Today I want to take a look at seven amazing lessons from seven amazing leaders. These lessons are intended to give us insight into our journey, as well as provide us with some much needed motivation. As you will see, these seven leaders are from differing backgrounds, but their message is similar.
As a sidenote, there are hundreds of leaders out there so if your favorite isn't listed, add it in the comment section below this post. With that, let’s get right to it.
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!"Every artist was first an amateur." - Ralph Waldo Emerson
As the Scripture says, “Despise not the day of small beginnings...Although thy beginning be small, thy latter end shall greatly increase.” It’s important that we remember that Rome was not built in a day. There are no overnight successes.
Success happens over years, and only to those who are consistently consistent.
Every “somebody” was once a “nobody;” everyone starts “small,” but if you’re focused, and if you’re steady, one day, you will be “big.”"Just do what you do best."- Red Auerbach
Learn what you do best, and focus on that! If you wrote a book that only sold one copy after five years, then maybe writing’s not your "thing." Discover your true passion and dedicate your life to doing that task to the very best of your ability. That’s what success is. Success is not buying a Rolls Royce; success is doing the best with the talents that you’ve been given. It's playing the card you've been dealt to the very best of your ability."Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude."- Thomas Jefferson
I know its cliché but your attitude really does determine your altitude. Having a negative perspective is like walking through life with dark shades on; you don’t see as clearly and you miss opportunities that are right in front of you. In essence, you are your own worst enemy.
It’s critical that you keep a positive mental attitude, it’s critical that you believe in your possibilities. Frank Loyd Wright said, “The thing always happens that you really believe in; and the belief in a thing makes it happen.” So always believe that you will succeed."We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit."-Aristotle
Your life is a collection of your habits. If you succeed, it will be because over the course of your life you’ve collected habits that cause success. Your habits will take you further than your education. Robert Collier said, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”"Man, alone, has the power to transform his thoughts into physical reality; man, alone, can dream and make his dreams come true."-Napoleon Hill
What you constantly ponder you will eventually become. You must see where you want to be. The clear vision of your desire gives you the motivation to make it happen. This works positively or negatively. If you consistently think about gambling, you’ll eventually try it. If you consistently think about providing value, you will eventually provide it.
It all starts with the vision that you glorify in your mind."A goal properly set is halfway reached."-Abraham Lincoln
Are you working towards your goals? A person without a goal is like a car without an engine; it ain’t going nowhere. You must have a goal, and you must constantly work towards the achievement of that goal. You must constantly move in the direction of that goal. Conrad Hilton said “Success…seems to be connected with action. Successful people keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don’t quit.”“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”-Mark Twain
You only live once, you only get one bite at the apple, I suggest you go after your dreams. Helen Keller said life is either a daring adventure or nothing! So live the life you’ve always imagined, explore, follow your passion, and in the end, you will have no regrets.Written on 4/15/2010 by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com or by subscribing to his feed.
7 Life Lessons I Learned on Success, Happiness & Creativity
Posted by SoMeOnE at 7:44 AM Labels: Change, Learning, Lifehacks, Motivation
I recently looked back at the last two years of my life and contemplated the lessons I've learned. I wasn't bored, wasn't in search for myself, and I wasn't reeling after a defeat; I simply wanted to improve and reflect. I think this is important - to appreciate our wins, losses, new passions, insights, etc. Not reflecting on our lives and experiences is, well, a wasted chance for growth and learning.
At first I was going to jot these lessons down in my diary but then remembered that we are in the age of information sharing and collaboration. So I thought that sharing them here will extend their meaning and benefit beyond my own personal gain and that's a great thing.
So without further adieu, here are some of the more profound things I've learned recently:
So, do any of these resonate with you? These are mine, the things that I really think jump off the page when I think about my experiences. Do you have a similar list? If so, share some of your thoughts and experiences in the comments. If we all take a thought and leave a thought, I guarantee that we'll be better off.
This thought was beautifully summed up by Srikumar Rao. He explains how we fail because we focus our energies on the outcome (the object or circumstance we desire) rather than the process itself. When a child learns to walk, she never focuses on the outcome but solely on the process. Success is then an unthought but very probable outcome.
When you hit a wall and things don't turn up the way they were intended, no one is saying to you: "This is where you stop because you failed". If you do, you are reading the wrong information. Failure tells us, "this method and the intended result do not match. Try another method".
When you get that metaphorical slap in the face (or literal one) after your job application, idea, project, invention or proposal has been rejected, don't waste time feeling bad about it. Stop taking it personally; it's not about you. That slap in the face is a wake-up call for you to pick up your things and keep on moving. Things get rejected every second. So stop the fuss and move on!
We think that happiness is a result that comes after having acquired or achieved something we don't have. The problem is that we are creating the wrong model in our mind in which we link happiness to something that is still to come. This brings eternal dissatisfaction not happiness. Happiness is when we accept and enjoy everything as it is. It's about stepping back and enjoying the ride rather than expecting it at your destination point.
Let your heart talk more; it's wiser than you think. You can be as knowledgeable and clever as one can be but if your mind is out of sync with your heart you are losing a lot of energy in internal conflict. Wisdom is really having reached a stage where you balance all your knowledge and intellect with your heart. Purely and simply.
Creativity is understanding that sometimes you are not the creator but only the medium of a transcendent creative force, bigger than you or I. This is something I have written about in the past where I compared the creative process to the Yin & Yang duality. It has generative side - the brainstorming & playing with concepts. This takes action and effort. But there is also the receptive part which we very often forget. This is passive, intuitive and entails no action but plain receptivity. If you stop at the generative part of the process you will have an incomplete creative cycle and the more you try the more incomplete it is. so stop trying.
Say thank you to the universe every morning. Appreciation and gratitude are instant soul-lifters as angst, contempt and disdain which weigh you down and make you dull. Try it out. Be thankful to at least one thing in your day. It will nudge you into appreciating the delicate equilibrium of life with more depth and perspective.
Thanks for the time and share this with those you care about.
Written on 4/09/2010 by Gilbert Ross. For more great articles by Gilbert, make sure to visit his blog Soul Hiker. You may also subscribe to his posts here or follow him on Twitter or Facebook.
Today I want to talk about the seven most motivational quotes ever spoken (or written). Why? Because motivation is the key to success! I like what Zig Ziglar said about motivation, he said, “People often say that motivation doesn’t last. Well, neither does bathing – that’s why we recommend it daily.”
Motivation is something you need everyday. It's motivation that pushes you forward when you want to collapse; it's motivation that lights the end of the tunnel. If life is a road trip, then motivation is the engine that will take you to your destination. Nothing happens without motivation. Have you been motivated today?
Here are the seven most motivational quotes ever written or spoken, I’ve subtitled them, and given them some commentary, I hope you enjoy.
The 7 Most Motivational Quotes
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along.“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do” --Marianne Williamson, A Return To Love
If not you, then who? We are taught as children that others are great, and that we are not, so I ask the question, “Where do the “great” come from?”
I submit to you that the great arise from the most mundane of places; the great are those who refuse to remain as they are; the great are those who believe in their greatness.“The vision that you glorify in your mind, the ideal that you enthrone in your heart, this you will build your life by, and this you will become.” --James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
The thoughts that you harbor in your mind, the ones that you continually give your attention to, those thoughts will eventually become your life.
If you see yourself as a success, then you will become a success; whatever you consistently ponder, you will become.“Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.”--Helen Keller
Whatever your dream, go after it; never settle for a life of quiet desperation, never become a realist. John Eliot said, “As soon as anyone starts telling you to be “realistic,” cross that person off your invitation list.” Your life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.“The fishing is best where the fewest go, and the collective insecurity of the world makes it easy for people to hit home runs while everyone else is aiming for base hits. There is just less competition for bigger goals. If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.”-- Timothy Ferris, The Four Hour Work Week
Someone has to be successful, someone has to write the next bestseller, someone has to be number one, someone has to be on the best, why not you! As the famous poem goes, “You have all that the greatest of men have had, two hands, and two feet.”“I do not have superior intelligence or faultless looks. I do not captivate a room or run a mile under six minutes. I only succeeded because I was still working after everyone else went to sleep.”--Greg Evans
Keep working, and keep working, and keep working towards your goal, eventually you will get there. The key is to remain focused on your goal! I like what J.C. Penny said, he said, “Give me a stock clerk with a goal, and I will give you a man who will make history. Give me a man without a goal, and I will give you a stock clerk.”“You got a dream, you gotta protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you, you can’t do it. If you want something, go get it. Period.”--Will Smith in the Movie: Pursuit of Happyness
There will always be “little men” telling you “how you can’t, why you can’t, and how you’re going to fail when you try.” But if you have a dream, go after it; never let someone tell you what you can’t do. You can do whatever you believe you can do.“The greatest achievement was at first, and for a time, but a dream.” --Napoleon Hill
The largest tree was once a tiny seed. There was a time when Microsoft wasn't on any computers; there was a time when Michael Jordan had never scored in a basketball game. Never despise small beginnings, every success starts small. So stay focused, if your focus is steady, you will succeed!Written on 3/30/2010 by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com or by subscribing to his feed.
Amazing Life Lessons You Can Learn From Albert Einstein: Part Deux
Posted by SoMeOnE at 5:06 AM Labels: Motivation
Given the great response to the article “10 Amazing Life Lessons You Can Learn From Albert Einstein,” I’ve decided to publish the other seven lessons that I originally intended to include in that article. These were cut out because I feared the article was too long. However, I now believe that these seven lessons are even more profound than the original ten.
For those who didn’t get a chance to read the earlier article, let me begin by recapping Einstein’s accomplishments. Then we’ll take a look at seven more amazing lessons from Albert Einstein. There’s so much to learn from him! If you read the original, feel free to skip past the next couple of paragraphs.
[Recap] Albert Einstein has long been considered a genius by the masses. He was a theoretical physicist, philosopher, author, and is perhaps the most influential scientists to ever live.
Einstein has made great contributions to the scientific world, including the theory of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the prediction of the deflection of light by gravity, the quantum theory of atomic motion in solids, the zero-point energy concept, and the quantum theory of a monatomic gas which predicted Bose–Einstein condensation, to name a few of his scientific contributions.
Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.”
He’s published more than 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. Einstein is considered the father of modern physics and is probably the most successful scientist there ever was.
7 More Amazing Lessons from Albert Einstein:
Thank you for reading, and please pass this article along!“Only one who devotes himself to a cause with his whole strength and soul can be a true master. For this reason mastery demands all of a person.”
Success requires all that you are, or as Walter Cronkite so eloquently put it, “I can’t imagine a person becoming a success who doesn’t give this game of life everything he’s got.” To succeed, to become a master, will require all that you are. Are you giving your all?“Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.”
With success comes opposition, there will always be resistance to greatness. Zig Ziglar said, “Little men, with little minds, and little imaginations, go through life in little ruts, smugly resisting all changes which would jar their little worlds.” Never let “little men” stop you from achieving your dreams. Know that great spirits have always encountered great opposition.
“The most important decision we ever make is whether we believe we live in a friendly universe or a hostile universe.”
Your perception becomes your reality. If you believe the world is plotting to do you “good,” than it is. If you believe the world is plotting to do you harm, than it is. Wayne Dyer said, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Make the choice to see the world as friendly?“Most people say that is it is the intellect which makes a great scientist. They are wrong: it is character.”
Your character determines how far you go in this lifetime, so work on your character; work on being the person you want people to perceive you to be. Work on your attitude, Einstein said, “Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character,” and without character, success has no value.“Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death.”
Never stop learning, when you’re not learning, you’re not growing; when you’re not growing, you’re dying. Always ask questions; always look for better ways to get things done. Einstein said, “He who joyfully marches to music in rank and file has already earned my contempt. He has been given a large brain by mistake, since for him the spinal cord would suffice.”“No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”
The only way to conquer a problem is to grow bigger than the problem. You must become a “bigger” person. You must change the way you perceive things. This is why reading is so important; reading expands your mind to new levels, it increases your consciousness and your likelihood for success. Learn to cultivate the joy of reading, readers are leaders!“The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule. The value of a man should be seen in what he gives and not in what he is able to receive.”
Einstein said, “Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile.” Let me encourage you to live your life in service to others, in service to your spouse, your children, your community, and your world. Your greatest success will come from your service to others.Written on 3/23/2010 by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com or by subscribing to his feed.
7 Amazing Lessons from 7 Distinguished Billionaires
Posted by SoMeOnE at 12:31 AM Labels: Motivation
They say that a million dollars in $100 bills is 43 inches high, but a billion dollars in $100 bills is almost three times the height of the Empire State building. A million dollars in $100 bills would weigh 22 pounds, but a billion dollars would weigh 11 tons.
Suffice it to say that the accumulation and maintenance of a billion dollars requires much wisdom. Today I want to look at seven amazing lessons from seven of the world’s most famous billionaires. These billionaires range from Bill Gates to Mark Cuban and each of these individuals have accomplished amazing things.
There are many things that we can learn from them so enough with the monologue; here we go!
7 Amazing Lessons from 7 Distinguished Billionaires
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!“It's through curiosity and looking at opportunities in new ways that we've always mapped our path at Dell. There's always an opportunity to make a difference.” – Michael Dell, Founder, CEO, and Chairman of Dell Inc.
If you never look for an opportunity, you will never find one. The Wright Brothers were looking to see if it was possible for man to fly, they didn’t stumble upon it, they were looking for it. What are you looking for? The Scripture says seek and ye shall find, knock and the door will be open to you.“I always knew I was destined for greatness.” – Oprah, Media Mogul
As the famous poem goes, “If you think you’re outclassed, you are, you have to think high to rise, you must be sure of yourself, before you can ever win a prize.” You must believe in “you” before anybody else will. Oprah believed that she would be a success, and she is. What do you believe about yourself, whatever it is, that’s what you will become.“It's better to hang out with people better than you. Pick out associates whose behavior is better than yours and you'll drift in that direction.” – Warren Buffet, Investor
You can’t soar with the eagles, if you spend your time hanging with the chickens. Find people who are going where you want to go, and “conspire to aspire before you expire.” Atmosphere is critical, diligently guard who enters your inner-circle. Your friends are a prophecy of your future.“As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others.” – Bill Gates, Co-founder and Former CEO of Microsoft, currently the 2nd richest man in the world behind Carlos Slim.
Who are you empowering, who are you helping, who needs you. You can’t go forward without helping others go forward. Instead of being concerned about how you’re going to get ahead, find a way to help others get ahead, and you will get ahead in the process. Empower others and you will empower yourself.“In the end, you're measured not by how much you undertake but by what you finally accomplish.” – Donald Trump, Real Estate Investor/Developer, TV Personality
Don’t be a “jack of all trades” and master of none. Don’t bite-off more than you can chew. Decide what you want to accomplish in your life, and spend your time accomplishing it. Work hard, take breaks, and in the end, if your focus is single, you will have accomplished it.“I'm the type that thinks if you don't learn from history, you're doomed to repeat it.” – Mark Cuban, Internet Entrepreneur and NBA Team Owner
It sounds simple, but many people live a life of repeating the same mistakes over and over again.
The “cow in the ditch” example below gives us a pattern for how we should deal with our mistakes.
Here are the three steps you should follow whenever a "cow ends up in your ditch:"
Step 1: Get Cow Out of Ditch
Step 2: Find Out How Cow Got in Ditch
Step 3: Make Sure Cow Does Not Get in Ditch Again
Using these three simple steps, you can solve many of life’s problems (from debt to relationship issues).“We will go forward, ... We will never go back.” – Michael Bloomberg, current New York City Mayor and Founder of Bloomberg LP
You can’t make much progress forward if you keep on taking steps backwards.
Make a decision to go forward, never settle, never stagnate, life is about growth, it’s about development. You are supposed to grow, you’re supposed to become all that you are capable of becoming, so go forward and never look back!
Additional Details on the Image Used: Bruce Schneier, Mark Cuban and Cory Doctorow. Mark is the only billionaire although I am sure the others are working in it. Bruce and Cory were recipients, along with Yochai Benkler, at the EFF Pioneer Awards.Written on 3/16/2010 by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com. .
I believe that in each man there is a prince and a king. In each woman there is a princess and a queen. Each of them has the ability to obtain the keys to his or her personal kingdom. However, somewhere along the way, society classified us and we got it in our heads that the keys to the kingdom are reserved for a special few.
Believe that and you will be stuck with nothing more than the rabbit's foot key-chain that’s supposed to hold those very keys that you seek. So, how do you find the keys to the kingdom? Let's go through a couple of ideas.
Just realize that everybody deserves to have the keys to his or her kingdom, and obtaining them is just a matter of understanding how they are obtained. I’m sure there are many ways in which these keys can be obtained, but these are just a few simple ideas on how to get there.
Without a doubt the one of the most important qualities that will enable you to find the keys to your kingdom is courage. This means having the courage to walk away from stability. This means having the courage to keep going when you seem like you won’t make it. This means having the courage to go against the grain, when the world around you throws doubt at you.
It’s an obvious fact that with high risk, comes with high reward. For most of you who read my blog, you know that I spent the last 6 months looking for a job. I found one and two weeks later, I decided to quit because I hated it. That was a big risk, but one I was willing to take. A blogger I had the pleasure to interview recently said “Sometimes you’ll take 2 steps backward to take 20 steps forward.”
Risk and reward have an almost interdependent relationship. If you have been holding back on something, go ahead and take that gamble and let the chips fall where they may. Whether you succeed or fail, you succeed because you improve and learn.
If there’s anything that will allow you to find the keys to your kingdom and open yourself up to the riches that await you, it’s finding your greatest strength. If people in high school knew that I run a self-help blog about positive thinking, they would be shocked considering that I was once likened to Holden Caufield.
Finding your greatest strength is really about riding a wave in the direction that it’s taking you. If you do this, then your effort will be minimal because you are embracing what you do best naturally. If you try to ride in the direction opposite of where it’s going, you’re going to have a short ride and inevitably will have to start all over again. A few days ago I posted a Facebook status to ask my friends “what are my greatest strengths?” and I learned quite a bit. To find your greatest strengths, ask people around you “what do you think I’m good at?” Choose people who have spent the most time around you. They’re best suited to answer that question. 
Written on 3/11/2010 by Srinivas Rao. Srinivas is a volunteer for the Quality of Life Project. The website shares best practices on getting the most out of life from well known types like Richard Branson and Tom Skerritt to lesser known but equally interesting individuals. The mission of the organization is to help people live more enjoyable, purposeful and contented lives. Srinivas also writes at www.theskooloflife.com.
10 Amazing Life Lessons You Can Learn From Albert Einstein
Posted by SoMeOnE at 2:18 AM Labels: Most Popular, Motivation, Success
Albert Einstein has long been considered a genius by the masses. He was a theoretical physicist, philosopher, author, and is perhaps the most influential scientists to ever live.
Einstein has made great contributions to the scientific world, including the theory of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the prediction of the deflection of light by gravity, the quantum theory of atomic motion in solids, the zero-point energy concept, and the quantum theory of a monatomic gas which predicted Bose–Einstein condensation, to name a few of his scientific contributions.
Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics “for his services to Theoretical Physics, and especially for his discovery of the law of the photoelectric effect.”
He’s published more than 300 scientific works and over 150 non-scientific works. Einstein is considered the father of modern physics and is probably the most successful scientist there ever was.
10 Amazing Lessons from Albert Einstein:
Thank you for reading and be sure to pass this article along!“I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious.”
What piques your curiosity? I am curious as to what causes one person to succeed while another person fails; this is why I’ve spent years studying success. What are you most curious about? The pursuit of your curiosity is the secret to your success.“It's not that I'm so smart; it's just that I stay with problems longer.”
Through perseverance the turtle reached the ark. Are you willing to persevere until you get to your intended destination? They say the entire value of the postage stamp consist in its ability to stick to something until it gets there. Be like the postage stamp; finish the race that you’ve started!“Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves.”
My father always says you cannot ride two horses at the same time. I like to say, you can do anything, but not everything. Learn to be present where you are; give your all to whatever you’re currently doing.
Focused energy is power, and it’s the difference between success and failure.“Imagination is everything. It is the preview of life's coming attractions. Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Are you using your imagination daily? Einstein said the imagination is more important than knowledge! Your imagination pre-plays your future. Einstein went on to say, “The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge, but imagination.” Are you exercising your “imagination muscles” daily, don’t let something as powerful as your imagination lie dormant.“A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.”
Never be afraid of making a mistake. A mistake is not a failure. Mistakes can make you better, smarter and faster, if you utilize them properly. Discover the power of making mistakes. I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again, if you want to succeed, triple the amount of mistakes that you make.“I never think of the future - it comes soon enough.”
The only way to properly address your future is to be as present as possible “in the present.”
You cannot “presently” change yesterday or tomorrow, so it’s of supreme importance that you dedicate all of your efforts to “right now.” It’s the only time that matters, it’s the only time there is.“Strive not to be a success, but rather to be of value."
Don’t waste your time trying to be successful, spend your time creating value. If you’re valuable, then you will attract success.
Discover the talents and gifts that you possess, learn how to offer those talents and gifts in a way that most benefits others.
Labor to be valuable and success will chase you down.“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
You can’t keep doing the same thing everyday and expect different results. In other words, you can’t keep doing the same workout routine and expect to look differently. In order for your life to change, you must change, to the degree that you change your actions and your thinking is to the degree that your life will change.“Information is not knowledge. The only source of knowledge is experience.”
Knowledge comes from experience. You can discuss a task, but discussion will only give you a philosophical understanding of it; you must experience the task first hand to “know it.” What’s the lesson? Get experience! Don’t spend your time hiding behind speculative information, go out there and do it, and you will have gained priceless knowledge.“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
To put it all in simple terms, there are two things that you must do. The first thing you must do is to learn the rules of the game that you’re playing. It doesn’t sound exciting, but it’s vital. Secondly, you must commit to play the game better than anyone else. If you can do these two things, success will be yours!Written on 3/09/2010 by Mr. Self Development who is a motivational author that offers a practical guide to success and wealth; support him by visiting his blog at mrselfdevelopment.com. .