Rohn: How to Start a New Discipline

Success starts by becoming the master over the small details of our lives.

Jim Rohn

 

Everyone has a mental list of “I should have’s”:

I should have written to my mother this weekend.
I should have told her how much I really care long before now.
I should have called that creditor and told the truth last month.
I should have started working out years ago.

Any day we choose we can go to work on the basics—on any one of a host of small activities that will start the process of self-discipline. The joy that comes from this small achievement will start the miracle process.

The early inspiration that comes from the practice of new and simple disciplines will start a process called “soaring self-worth.” It does not matter how small or how insignificant the activity is because it is within those obscure but important disciplines that the great opportunities exist.

This kind of simple progress will build a ladder leading out of the abyss of failure and neglect that once was our dwelling place. With each new discipline we will have constructed a new rung that will enable us to climb out of darkness where the failures, the complainers, and the confused and misguided gather to share their sad stories of how unfair life is.

Building the ladder is easy to do.

The smallest of disciplines, practiced every day, start an incredible process that can change our lives forever.

Until we have learned to take care of the little opportunities life brings our way, we will never master the disciplines for becoming happy and prosperous. The major accomplishments in life begin with the mastery of the small disciplines. The mental, emotional and philosophical “muscles” required to write a letter, clean the garage or pay our bills on time are the very same “muscles” involved in running a company or managing a department. As a wise prophet has written: “Be not weary in well-doing, for in due season you shall reap if you faint not.”

We cannot rule the city until we can rule our spirit. We cannot rule the nation until we can rule ourselves. We cannot design our future until we have redesigned our habits. We cannot increase our rewards until we increase our level of intelligent activity.

The place to start is within ourselves through the development of new disciplines. That is where success really starts, by becoming the master over the small details of our lives. All of the great rewards in life are available to each of us, if we will discipline ourselves to walk through those early stages of growth without neglecting any of the disciplines. We must not permit any small activity to rob us of our future health and wealth and friendship and lifestyle. We cannot allow any error in judgment to delude us into thinking that “letting the little thing slide” would not make a major difference. We cannot say to ourselves, “This is only area where I am letting down on my self-discipline.” It is this “only area” that will start the process of erosion on all of our other disciplines.

One of the great challenges facing us all is disciplined activity. We must discipline ourselves to maintain a proper attitude, for we are surrounded by sources that can quickly erode the attitude we have worked so hard to develop. And we must discipline ourselves to convert dreams into plans, and plans into goals, and goals into those small daily activities that will lead us, one sure step at a time, toward a better future.

Finally, we must use the power of our imagination. We must ponder all that is possible. We must remind ourselves that to do what is possible we must sometimes challenge ourselves with the impossible. As an ancient warrior once wrote, “It is better to aim the spear at the moon and strike the eagle, than to aim at the eagle and strike only a rock.”

Planning, imagination and intense activity are awesome forces that have the power to dramatically change the quality of our lives.

Activity is a major part of the life puzzle. It is the power that gives substance and meaning to our philosophy and our attitude. Intelligent, planned, intense and consistent activity creates new energy and keeps us moving toward the exciting future that our thoughts and desires have already designed for us.

Source: https://www.success.com/article/rohn-how-to-start-a-new-discipline

7 Crucial Mindset Shifts to Achieve Everything You Want

Change is scary. Learn to embrace that fear and watch your dreams unfold.

Cristina Bold

When you decide to embrace a profound life change, it’s scary, because change is scary. But the only way to successfully deal with change is to master it, and once you do, launching your life forward will eventually come easily and naturally.

You can start with these seven mindset shifts:

1. Take time to define your vision and your passion.

There is no vision without seeing. So step out of your comfort zone. Experience, feel and taste what you are passionate about. Get out there and discover yourself, what you stand for and what you stand against. Then ask yourself what you want in life and why it’s important to you. Find what gets you fired up.

Your vision is about you and your desires, and it has to be complete, clear and brutally honest.

2. Become clear and very precise about what you want.

People are usually vague; they have only a pale vision of what they want. Try stopping and taking a break from the day-to-day race. Take a notebook, choose a quiet place and time, and write down what you specifically want to achieve and how you’ll know when you’ve achieved it.

Write down everything. Your brain will do what you want, but in order to get there, you need to be very specific about your mission. So start writing your dreams in full detail.

3. Continually reinforce your motivation.

Often you know precisely what you want, but after surfing the “go get it” wave for some time, you can start to lose momentum. That’s when you slow down and enter a slump. Sometimes you need to reach outside of yourself to pull the best out. Ask yourself: Who is impacted by my dream? Who stands to benefit from it?

Think of all your loved ones. How would they be influenced one year down the road after your dream is fulfilled? What about two years? You’re getting stronger, the benefits to your loved ones are growing and the impact on the community around you expands. Visualize how it all accumulates after five years. Ten years. Focus on that vision and feel the energy.

Return to this visualization exercise each time your motivation needs a boost.

4. Make a plan for achieving your dream and set a start date.

How will you get to your dream? What is the complete skills set you need? What new knowledge do you need to acquire? One of the simplest ways to create a roadmap for your journey toward your dream is to model the actions of the people who already succeeded what you wish to achieve.

Find those people. Interview them. Read about their journeys. Replicate their steps. Learn. When you start, you’ll hit the ground running.

5. Work on your beliefs.

Our beliefs are external (what we say aloud) and internal (what we feel deep in our hearts). The internal beliefs are the ones calling the shots about what you really feel about yourself, who you are and what you are capable of. Saying you’ll run a marathon when you don’t believe you’ll even be breathing after five miles is not a winning situation.

The good news is that beliefs can be rewritten through diligent internal work: meditations, daily affirmations, journaling, creative visualizations. Use whatever works for you.

Remember that beliefs drive perceptions, perceptions drive habits, and habits drive actions and success. You are who you think you are.

6. Embrace discipline.

If you want to master something, you have to work consistently and with discipline. That includes 1) consciously setting and following the daily habits we need to reach our goals, and 2) being keenly aware of distractions.

The habits you have right now are specifically geared to help you achieve everything you’ve already achieved. If you want something new, you have to change your habits. So what new habits can you set for yourself in the pursuit of your dream?

Discipline also means developing a distraction alarm. You need to be consistent not only in maintaining habits, but also in the conscious decision to achieve the right things and stay away from the unproductive ones. Multitasking is just a modern myth. The truth is that the most successful people are focused.

7. Decide each day to take three small steps toward your dream life.

By consistently making seemingly small actions, you plant seeds of achievement into your conscience. You start feeling the progress you’re making, and in time, these feelings grow into a belief and then into an attitude.

Before you know it, you’ll be flying toward your dream life.

Source: http://www.success.com/article/7-crucial-mindset-shifts-to-achieve-everything-you-want

5 Money Habits You Need to Adopt Today to Build Your Wealth

There is no single solution or way to become rich.

In all honesty there is no single solution or way to become rich. Many of us assume you just need to lock in a cushy job at an established company. Truth is, you need to develop certain habits around your money if you want to build wealth regardless of your paycheck (to an extent). If you become disciplined early on then you’ll give yourself a huge leg up when the real bucks start rolling in.

Here are five money habits you need to adopt today if you want to build wealth.

1. Don’t always pay for convenience

With technology at our fingertips that can deliver us a fully cooked meal or even an in-house massage, our generation has become accustomed to paying for convenience. Thing is, that convenience will always come at a hefty price. For example, if you’re a big coffee drinker you should buy whole coffee beans and make your own at home instead of going to Starbucks every morning. If you can create a budget and be disciplined about it you’ll be able to easily identify where you need to make cuts. Remember, every little bit counts.

2. Live below your means

You may equate fancy cars and big homes to success and happiness. Sometimes it’s true, however even some of the richest individuals in the world live modest lifestyles. Warren Buffett for example has lived in the same home since 1958 and drives a 2006 Cadillac. That’s pretty modest for a man worth over $70 billion.

Regardless of your income it’s always good to live below your means. You’d be surprised how many individuals may appear to be wealthy on the surface but have little saved up. It’s okay to buy yourself something nice once in a while but try to stay modest you’ll be happier (and wealthier) in the long run.

3. Avoid debt at all costs

If you want to build substantial wealth you need to do whatever it takes to avoid debt. Even if disaster strikes you should explore every other option before taking on debt. For example, try and borrow from friends or family if necessary you can even offer to pay them back with interest. The difference is your credit won’t be affected nor will the interest compound if you miss a payment.

I use my credit cards as a way to build credit rather than a means of borrowing money. I recommend setting up automatic payments on all your credit cards and be very diligent about making sure your pay-to account has enough funds.

4. Sell things you no longer need

Everyone has a little bit of “hoarder” in them. Especially in America individuals accumulate a ton of, for lack of better words, crap throughout their lives. Instead of letting all that stuff sit in your basement why not sell it? There are plenty of online marketplaces for used goods that make it a breeze to sell your unused items. In Steve Job’s words it’s always good to clear out the old to make way for the new.

5. Start a side hustle (or two)

Regardless how secure you think you are at your current job it’s always good to put a couple more irons in the fire. If you think you don’t have time then you aren’t spending your time wisely. There are plenty of ways you can start your side hustle. It doesn’t have to be a part-time job, rather a project that you can manage on the side of your full-time job. You can use affordable automation tools instead of doing all the legwork yourself. If you want to truly get ahead financially you need to have multiple sources of income. A side-hustle is a great place to start.

Final thoughts

Building sustainable wealth takes time. There is really no such thing as a “get rich quick scheme” and it requires much more than hard work. It requires smart and strategic work. Along with the five habits listed above you need to develop a plan that works well for you and your lifestyle. If you’re disciplined you’ll make your millions, I promise.

Source: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/300829

7 Life Truths I Wish I Knew Sooner

Sara Fabian

 

We often talk about stepping into our true power, about building our confidence muscle and boosting our self-esteem. But although self-confidence and self-esteem seem similar—referring to how we feel about ourselves—they are two very different concepts.

Self-esteem refers to how we generally feel about ourselves: how much we like or love ourselves, and the overall image we have about who we are—positive or negative. It is shaped by our experiences and the environments we grow up in, by our family members, our school and our community. Self-confidence relates to how we feel about our abilities and how capable we see ourselves of doing certain things or handling different situations.

Most of us have been raised to focus on our weaknesses and perceived limitations, rather than our strengths. In some cases, we were taught to find ways to improve so that we could become “the best versions of ourselves.”

Take my home country, Romania, where, like in many other places, the schooling system was a fierce competition for the best grades and being first in class. I remember I was spending an average of 10 hours a day or more studying and doing homework; I hardly had time to play and relax. Teachers and parents always made comparisons between students and other kids, and individual talents were not truly encouraged.

I ended up struggling with serious self-esteem issues for many years. As a young woman, I didn’t see myself as beautiful enough, smart enough, good enough. I was constantly and desperately trying to be perfect.

And I was a master of giving—my care and my attention, my time and my energy. Putting my wants and needs first was uncomfortable and felt selfish. I was always striving to be the best friend I could be, the best daughter or the best employee. I wanted to please everyone so they would like me. I needed others to validate my worth.

We can only change the things we are aware of, the things we accept to be true.

We can only change the things we are aware of, the things we accept to be true. So it was only after I faced the truth and recognized my injured self-esteem that was I able to do some work and change it.

I made a list of things I liked about myself and promised myself to add one new thing every single day.

I looked back on my life and acknowledged all of my achievements, knowing they reflected hard work and effort. I made a list of personal skills and qualities I was proud of, giving myself credit for every small accomplishment in my daily life, instead of taking it for granted. It didn’t have to be big like saving someone from drowning. Being able to cook the best moussaka in the world was enough, and my list quickly grew.

I also wanted to discover and know myself, so I took various self-assessments, such as StrengthsFinder and MBTI. I found out that I am empathetic, intuitive, determined, ambitious, focused, hardworking and committed. I have a gift for working with people and being able to identify the strengths in others.

By doing all this, my self-confidence in my capability to do good things and leave a legacy in the world strengthened. I began to see myself in an entirely new light. And my self-esteem and the way I perceived myself improved, too.

Today I treat myself kindly. I have learned to love who I am with all my flaws and imperfections. I am aware of my strengths and talents, and, in the same way, I can see and appreciate the gifts in others.

Building a healthy self-esteem and gaining confidence in my ability to make meaningful choices has been an inside job and a very rewarding journey, and I’ve gained powerful insights along the way. Here is what I know to be true about life and myself.

1. Loving my whole self—mind, body and soul—is not selfish; it’s necessary for a healthy life.

To be able to love others, we need to keep our cup full.

2. Perfection is pure fiction.

I am grateful for all of my mistakes because they were real blessings in disguise that made me wiser. As John C. Maxwell says, “Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn. We never lose.” I stopped stressing myself out while trying to be perfect and I am always aiming for good enough.

3. I am not a victim.

My past has nothing to do with my future and my old limitations do not define who I am today. Blaming others for taking my time, money or love is unfair because I always choose how much I give and to whom. No one can hurt me or upset me without my consent. I am in charge of my actions and my future is the result of my current choices. The day I stopped blaming my past or other people, I set myself free.

4. Worrying about what others think is a waste of time.

I cannot please everyone, no matter how much I try. Whatever people think about me is their opinion, filtered through their lenses; it’s all about them and it has zero to do with me. I stopped trying to please others in the hopes that they would like me. I like myself as I am and I don’t need or expect other people to make me happy. My happiness is my responsibility and everything else is a bonus.

5. Saying no to things we don’t want to do is a learned practice of self-care. 

If it sounds like I should do, I don’t do it. I go for the things that feel like a want. My wants come from myself, instead of being imposed on me by others. I always choose how I am spending my precious time and with whom. My time means life and it’s never coming back.

6. Life doesn’t have to be a fight or an exhausting competition.

I stopped competing and comparing myself to others. Instead, I mind my own journey and I am happy for other people’s achievements. I choose to live in a state of love instead of fear and I believe in abundance. We live in a supportive universe, where there is enough of everything and for everyone.

7. Being authentic is a matter of choice.

I choose to stay true to who I am and what I believe to be right. It is my birthright to be happy and I have decided to live my own life with no apologies or regrets. I am whatever I choose to be, and my life is to be lived, not existed.

I have come to understand that in life, we don’t get what we want. We get what we think we deserve. That’s why believing in ourselves, seeing ourselves as enough and worthy of the best things life has to offer is necessary.

Source: http://www.success.com/blog/7-life-truths-i-wish-i-knew-sooner?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=Post