Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will make you look at yourself in a new light.


THE CHALLENGE

The Mindset challenge I am proposing this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What would the new me do?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question during every personal challenge this week and the promise is that you will laugh more, love yourself more and learn to relax more.


THE TIPS

If you are quitting a habit or building a new lifestyle ask yourself "What would the new me do?" in order to see yourself in a new light.

Seeing yourself in a new light is important, especially if you are interested in personal development and self-improvement because you are most likely self-critical.

This means that you are constantly critiquing your own actions, behaviours and results against a standard that you've set for yourself.
Whether you are conscious of it or not, you have a certain standard of performance that you measure yourself against in all areas of your life.

For example your relationships, health, finances and career are only some of the areas that you hold yourself accountable in an effort to improve yourself.

We try to improve our self because deep down we are all good people that just want to be loved, to love and to contribute to something better.

Yet for a however many possible reasons our lofty goal doesn't get realized and we somehow end up feeling scared, alone and afraid to live.

Somehow we are not able to find the self-discipline, the strategy for success or the willpower to stay the course.

But what exactly happens to our best intentions that have us ending up in self-sabotage?

What happens is we tend to think about all the mistakes, the failures the missed opportunities of our past, present and future.

We tend to think about things that don't empower us, and think about our self in ways that don't empower us.

Even in brand new situations we tend to associate our old negative sense of self.

For example someone might not think they are good at talking to people, based on years of their old negative sense of self reminding them of all their failures.

No matter how many new people this person meets they essentially pre-determine their future by imagining a negative outcome.

Even in a situation where the feedback was positive this person would tend to dis-associate any feedback that doesn't resonate with this negative self-vision.

This likely applies to many situations in your life, and if this is you, today's question will help you build a new database of positive experiences.

All you have to do is look for the good in everyone and in every situation and you will attract more of that to you.
For every situation you're in this week (including those that are frustrating or seem completely negative!) write down what is good about that situation.

When you do this notice how it immediately changes your perspective and opens up your mind to new possibilities.

Today is a new day, and instead of allowing yourself to think negatively think about your higher self, your ideal self.

Once you have a picture of the ideal person you want to be then ask yourself "What would the new me do?"
If you are quitting smoking, be present with the craving to smoke and ask yourself, with this craving... "what would the new me do?" and then make a decision from the person who has X amount of days smoke-free.

You are powerful and you can change any habit you want to, instantly if you have a strong enough desire.

It is in the moment and from each moment-to-moment that our destinies are shaped by our choices.
Whenever you encounter a situation that you are emotional about or find yourself reacting to, try and think about your ideal vision of yourself.

Picture you in all your future glory and greatness and from that state ask yourself "What would this new me do?"


THE SECRET

Can you picture yourself in the future, one month from now, one year from now, five years from now?

How about when you are picturing yourself in the past, yesterday, last year, when you were young?

Are you able to appreciate and accept all of your memories?

Are you passionately creating new and exciting memories?

When you picture your past or future self are you receiving attention, affection and adoration?

Or do you tend to criticize yourself, beat yourself up, or think that you should have done something different, if only...

Regardless of whether it is your past you are thinking about or your future you must learn to think about it positively.

The best question to get yourself in this new mindset is: "What would the new me do?" and then think from that state.

One of your greatest challenges in life is to be able to uncover the wisdom in every situation and apply the new found lesson to help you grow.

Where we go in the mind we follow in the body and where we cannot go in the mind we rarely go in reality.

For example, if you cannot picture yourself in a relationship with a certain person you probably wouldn't be in one with them right?

Yet on the opposite spectrum of visualization you got dressed this morning didn't you?

Well chances are you pictured the outfit you are wearing at least once before physically dressing yourself in it.

The visualization of your future self in a positive light is critical and important.

When we picture a happy, joyful and playful future we put ourselves in a positive state.

Then, by virtue of The Law of Attraction, we attract the same situations as we were visualizing our future.

Remember you are a masterpiece in the making and your future is constantly unfolding something new... if you only allow it!

Apply these ideas immediately to your thought process this week and instantly watch your new found future unfold!

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

This weeks Motivating Mindset will help you live with more fun, appreciation and a better overall attitude.


THE CHALLENGE

The Mindset challenge I am proposing this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"What three people have contributed most to my success?"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself this question and you will uncover important life lessons, discover new opportunities and attract exciting people into your life.


THE TIPS

Before you begin your day today ask "What three people have contributed most to my success?"

The follow up questions could be "What specifically did they teach me?" and "How as their teaching benefited my life?"

Think back to your teachers, your parents and your family. What about the people you have worked with, the new friends you've met, old friends you've reconnected with? How about a spouse or a loved one? A work mentor, manager or colleague?

A good test to determine whether the person you are thinking of is in your top three, ask yourself "Where would I be today if I did not learn ______ from this person?"

If you would still be essentially the same person, then perhaps search for someone who possibly has made a more meaningful or significant contribution to your life.

If you would not be where you are today or who you are today as a direct result of dealing with this person then there's a good chance that they rank in your top three.

Try and come up with at least three people, even if this exercise takes a couple days to really think through. You may however have many more than three top teachers, in fact, this is going to be more likely as you get more and more successful.

People who are a success become successful by walking on the shoulders of giants. What that means is that successful people, before becoming a success realize the importance of standing on the shoulders of the people that they respect and admire.

In fact, here is a brief list of famous mentor - mentee relationships that you might recognize:

Huey Lewis mentor to Bruce Hornsby
Don Henley mentor to Sheryl Crow
Mel Gibson mentor to late Heath Ledger
Maya Angelou mentor to Oprah Winfrey
Stevie Wonder mentor to India.Arie
Earl Nightingale mentor to Bob Proctor
Socrates mentor to Plato
Mark O'Meara and Butch Harmon mentors to Tiger Woods

Did a couple of those names you just read surprise you? Yes, mentoring has been around since before Socrates and Plato and some of the most successful people in the world have mentors.

Why does the greatest golf player in the history of the sport require mentors and coaches?

The world's most successful people have long realized that the more people that they learn from the better and faster that they will grow. It is impossible to make all the mistakes you need to learn all in your own lifetime so leverage the lessons of others to skyrocket your success.


THE SECRET

There is no "right" or "wrong" answer because the person and premise is completely decided upon by you. If you don't feel someone is worthy of mention, then simply don't mention them.

The truth is that we ALL have something to learn from one another. Every person that comes into your life, whether yesterday, today or tomorrow has something to teach you.

Try and get in the habit of finding a "Sensei of the Day". Sensei is a Japanese word meaning teacher, so Sensei of the day is simply a Teacher of the Day.

Every relationship that we hold with our self reflects an agreement about the nature of the relationship that we have made with ourselves.

Learn from the people that are in your life whether you perceive them to be a positive or negative influence.

If you feel that they are a positive influence try to identify one or two areas that they do well in and implement a similar strategy into your life. Don't be afraid to approach someone that you admire and ask them for some quick words of advice. All successful people had help along the way, the more you ask for it the more you can receive.

If you feel that they are a negative influence try to identify one or two reasons why you think they are behaving or acting out in this manner and gain understanding as to what specifically bothers you about their actions. This is a contrast to what you do like, but sometimes we need to know what we don't like in order to help determine what we do. The next time you find someone demonstrating a behaviour you don't like, silently thank them for the gift of awareness of contrast and endeavour never to act like them.

When you become thankful for the people that are in your life you naturally start to attract more of them to be thankful for. Appreciate the lessons of life and the teachers they come from and you will be ripe and ready for relationship riches!

Monday Motivating Mindset

THE HYPE

Apply today's Motivating Mindset and you will gain the power of clarity and control.


THE CHALLENGE

The Mindset challenge I am proposing this week is getting in the habit of asking yourself:

"Who am I" as well as... "What do I want"


THE PROMISE

Ask yourself these two questions every day for this week and the promise is that life will move you closer to your answers.


THE TIPS

Asking the question "Who Am I?" and "What Do I Want?" are two fundamental questions that everyone should ask themselves yet most people avoid.

The biggest roadblock in-between people and their desires in life is their inability to ask for it.

Wayne Gretzky said "you always miss 100% of the shots you don't take" and when it comes to your wants, you never get what you don't ask for.

When it comes to asking what you want in life, try not to over-complicate it.

Begin by asking yourself, "what makes me happy?" and "out of all my strengths what do I enjoy most?".

These are merely clues to what you want in life, it is your job to fully investigate where the answers lead you.

The only way you can investigate the journey of your happiness is to know who is travelling with you.

The only way to know who is travelling with you is to ask yourself the three worded question: "Who Am I?"

Yet the majority of people in the world neglect to answer this question until it is no longer possible to ignore it.

The reason most people fail to ask themselves this question is because they fear the answer.

Some fear that the answer they find will cause them to feel like weak, inadequate, misunderstood or maybe even like a mistake.

So they avoid asking themselves this question and pretend to live in balance and harmony without it.

Which paradoxically begs the question, "how can anyone be in harmony and balance if they are not getting what they want?"

This is equally ponder-some when people say they are getting what they want and yet they don't care to know who they are.

Believing you know what you want in life without first knowing who you are seems a little backwards don't you think?

It's like a Dog trying to Meow because he thinks it would make it happy, yet can't perform to it's level of desire because the expression of such is not programmed into its genes.

When the dog realizes that it is a dog it will stop trying to make itself happy trying to conform to it's previous perception of itself.

This is why it is important to understand what you want most in life as well as knowing who wants it.


THE SECRET

The question "Who Am I?" brings perspective into your life and the question "What do I Want?" will bring control.

Control gives you confidence.

The more control that you feel in your life means the more confidence you will act with day-to-day.

Perspective is having vision.

Gaining perspective is like a rising plane because of the ability to see things in a bigger scope and anticipate future problems.

Without control you will never gain perspective.

Without perspective you will soon lose control.

It is just as important that you get perspective as it is to gain control.

Ask yourself these two questions and give yourself permission not to know the answers right away.

Believe and know that just by asking the questions the formulation of the answer will inevitably arrive with persistence.

Remember to keep an open mind about the delivery of your answers, they never come typed up in an address envelope with your name on it.

Answers are found in synchronicity, coincidences, chance occurrences and what some refer to as blessed events.

Your answers are out there, all you must do now is seek and thou shall find.

The Memory Formula

10 - 24 - 7

Need to remember something? Here's how to make it a habit:

10 - 24 - 7 is the number you need to remember as a formula for making a habit of things.

Here's how it works:

10 = 10 Minutes.
You need to do the desired behaviour for at least ten minutes.

24 = 24 Hours.
You need to do the desired behaviour within 24 hours of the last time.

7 = 7 Times.
You need to repeat the desired behaviour for 7 times.

For example: If you wanted to committ a specific routine from your favorite yoga instructor you would do the following:

- Practice the yoga routine for at least 10 minutes.
- Practice the same yoga routine within 24 hours.
- Practice your yoga routine regiment 7 times.

Voila!! you now will have impressed upon yourself the memory of doing the yoga routine without instructions.

*Interesting note: 10 - 24 - 7 = -21 (number of days to turn something into a habit)

For more information like this and on building healthy habits, check out my squidoo page

Are You Well-Versed In Positive Self Talk?

This might come as a bit of a surprise but what you project forth into the world reflects back.

If you express love, you will receive love. Be respectable and gain respect. By becoming aware of our own internal dialogue or “self-talk” we gain choice. Choice over what we want to see in the world, choice over what we want to manifest in our reality. This is because our inner world creates the outer circumstance and events that we experience, only allowing an expression that is consistent with our inner most thoughts and beliefs.

Every time we possess a thought – of any kind- we have chosen it. If we chose to think negatively, to roll in garbage, to not monitor our mental thoughts – then we have chosen to be a product of bad thinking. Holding onto a thought is a choice, just like it’s our choice to insert a new one.

Like the original water that overflows because it’s being displaced from its container, the human mind can only hold one thought at a time. (Although we believe it holds more because it functions so rapidly). Therefore we displace the unsupportive thought in the conscious mind with a productive or positive affirmation. We can change our life by monitoring and improving the quality of our thoughts.

Become aware of the silent conversation you have with yourself. Listen to your self-talk, that is, what you are saying to yourself inside your head.


Are you a nurturing coach or a alarming critic?

Do you reinforce your own success or negate it?

Does your internal dialogue help grow your results or shrink your potential?

Do your thoughts magnetize or de-magnetize your ability to attract success?

If you find yourself using the "b" words in the first column, try substituting the "a" words instead:

Negative Self Talk Positive Self Talk
b. What if I try and fail? a. This will work for me!

b. This is difficult… a. Challenges are made to overcome!

b. I can’t do that… a. I’ll do that and to the best of my ability!

b. If only I were… a. Because I am smart I will do this

b. Why does this always happen? a. Good things always happen to me

b. I never get anything right… a. I always have what I need when I need it

b. I’m stuck in this rut… a. Now is a great time to get in the groove!

b. I’m such a screw-up a. Mistakes or only human and I like myself

b. I wish I had that… a. I have everything I need and more is on its way!

b. There goes another mistake… a. Things always work out for the best

b. I’ll never get there… a. I am reaching towards my inner most goals

b. I am cursed a. I am blessed

b. He’ll / She’ll never change a. I will change me today

b. Nobody cares as much as I do a. I want to do my best

b. I can’t lose weight a. I can eat healthier

b. My boss ignores me a. I will strive for excellence

b. Why don’t I ever get a break? a. I am not a helpless victim

b. I have no time to exercise a. I will make time to exercise

b. I’ll never get out of debt a. I take small steps each day towards my financial goals

b. He / She never listens a. I need to better understand him/her

b. My kids don’t respect me a. I will work to become a more effective parent

Hopefully these positive affirmations will give you some verbal ammo the next time stinkin' thinking gets a hold of your mind. Try them out, you'll be surprised at the immediate difference you will feel about the situation. If you have a powerful affirmation you would like to share with others, e-mail me at: successsensei@hotmail.com

Onwards, Upwards, and Forwards!

Did You Claim Your Gift Today!

Did you know the special gift everyone has available to them today but only for a limited time?

The Answer Is: A New Day

THE ESSENCE OF A NEW DAY

This is a beginning of a new day. You have been given thisday to use as you will. You can waste it or use it forgood. What you do today is important because you areexchanging a day of your life for it. When tomorrow comes,this day will be gone forever; in its place is somethingthat you have left behind...let it be something good." - Successories Quote

What is so huge, gigantic, top secret, incredible that prevents you from taking a hold of your gift? I challenge you to drop me a line and explore new possibilities.

I want to see you take back your day!

I believe in you. I know there is a new day available to everyone and I'm here to help those who want to wake up to it. Claim your gift today!

Humbled by your greatness,

mailto: successsensei@gmail.com

Looking for a bonus holiday gift?

Looking for action to make the most of this new year? Take this challenge!

Take 3 minutes out of your hectic schedule today to just breathe, observe yourself, your thoughts, just be. If you have never done this or do this infrequently it will probably feel a little uncomfortable for a while, you may not even see the point and stop after a brief moment, either or is still great. If silence is still too foreign for you, take those 3 minutes and repeatedly tell yourself that you are loving, loveable, worthy and deserving.

I realize fully that sometimes life "seems" to have a nasty way of getting in the way of our goals and higher aspirations. I've been to the point of dire frustration when just as things seemed like they were breaking through "something" else would go wrong. I've been caught up watching the successes of others who get more far easier and wondered "why not me?". I would set goals and then not have the desire or willpower to follow throught and then feel like the only idiot on the block who can't get their poop in a group. I thankfully learned that it is postively pointless and painful to associate my success with my self worth.

For many years, so many years I used to almost feel embarrassed by not being able to achieve what I wanted. I've been blessed to be able to see through the illusion and now the things I want to experience come easily and effortlessly. I've been on both side of the fence my friend, and this is why I am offering the people who are looking to break-free or break-through in 2008 an special holiday gift. Take a moment to e-mail me at successssensei@hotmail.com with the subject line "Re: Send Me My New Years Gift" and I will send over 7 simple yet extremely powerful tools for immediately increasing willpower, self-confidence and awareness. Send your e-mail over right away, as I will be packaging these gems into some material and possibly charging for it, so get yours while the gettings good!

Click here to take advantage and empower your future now!

Confidence - "You Only Sell You"

Confidence - "You Only Sell You" by Dr. Denis Waitley

This article's focus is on self-confidence and self-esteem. In my opinion, there is nothing more important than your belief in your own potential for success and happiness, regardless of your age, gender, ethnicity, looks, education or background. The truth is, every day "You only sell you." You don't sell products or a business concept. You sell the value of the person offering the products and services. The decision of the buyer is based on the value of the seller. Just as products are branded as "the best", "cheap", "ineffective", "trustworthy" or "unreliable", so, too, are individuals branded by others as "winners" or "also-rans." Who you are shouts so loudly, that people either can't hear, don't want to hear, or listen carefully to what you are saying.
Everybody loves a winner, and we all want to buy from winners who pass their own value on to us.

Self-confidence isn't something you were born with. It's something you develop. Many of us were cultivated like weeds as children. We played inferior roles to the adults around us, who frequently reminded us of our faults and shortcomings more than our successes and abilities.

If you had that type of childhood, as I did, you face a special challenge in building up your self-confidence as an adult. Here are some basic points to remember about yourself:

1. Realize that the most important opinion about you is the one that you hold. Ultimately, nobody else is responsible for your life but you. Nobody else is accountable for your actions but you. Therefore, nobody's opinion about you is more important than yours.

2. Recognize that the most important conversations are the ones you have with yourself. Whether or not you are aware of it, you have a running conversation with yourself from the time you get up to the time you go to sleep. Your thoughts and ideas are "you talking to you." Have daily conversations with yourself that are supportive and reinforcing. We know the value of talking to people who praise us, reward us, recognize us, are happy to see us, and let us know they genuinely enjoy talking with us. Talk to yourself with those same qualities - silently as well as audibly.

3. Develop a strong system of internal values. Weigh what you hold to be true, good and lasting. Write down some of your values for periodic review. Read material that reinforces what you hold to be significant in life. Know what you believe and why you believe it. At times, have
discussions - even debates - with yourself. Draw conclusions about life. Think about deeper issues. Your values will greatly affect how you relate to others. The stronger your values are, the greater the impact. If you are lacking in internal values, you will tend to draw from and
even use other people to try to mimic their behaviors, if only superficially. Instead, seek to become a model, one who can help and give strength to others.

4. Don't reinforce your failures. Failure is a detour, not a dead-end street. Failure is a temporary setback, not a residence. Failure is a learning experience, not a person. Like success, failure is a growth process, not a status. Don't wallow in your mistakes. Correct them and move forward.

5. Don't demand perfection of yourself. An A is usually awarded to the person who scores 90 percent or better, and sometimes the score doesn't need to be that high. Professional basketball players only make half their shots. Professional quarterback complete only half their passes,
and professional baseball players reach first base less than 40 percent of the time, and that includes walks. And we all know what our averages are in picking stocks to invest in that are always going up. That would be never! Give your best effort every day and keep ratcheting forward. Perfection is not only totally unrealistic to expect and virtually impossible to achieve, but it greatly deters your ability to move forward. The person who is constantly looking over his or her shoulder at what might have been done better, can't possibly be focused on the future. Drive with your eyes ahead; don't drive by concentrating on the rearview mirror.

6. Give each job or task your best effort. Countless individuals say, when confronted with a chore, "I'm too good to be doing this." They have contempt for their current situation and position, and get discouraged easily. Success is an accumulation of what you do in the minutes of each day. No task is too unworthy to do well. There are no small parts - only small actors.

7. View the big picture of life. Step back from the landscape of your life today and take a long walk, ride a bike, or just sit silently, observing the wonder and abundance of God's creation in nature. You are a part of a much bigger whole. Listen to the subtle rhythms of your environment. Recognize that you have rhythms and cycles of change in your life. Relax and open up to the vast creative and interrelated world around you.

To develop confidence, you must see yourself ultimately as a unique part of creation. You must recognize, with pleasure, that nobody else is just like you. No one else has exactly your temperament, history or experiences. No one else has your footprints, your finger prints, your
voice print or your genetic code. No one else has precisely your set of talents, capabilities and skills. You are one of a kind. The value is there. It just needs to be dusted off and polished.

How to "Life Coach" Yourself

How to Life Coach Yourself and Take Back Control of Your Life

There are many different books, audios and movies regarding The Law of Attraction . A great deal of the material covers the laws that govern this principal, but not too many talk about how to govern the mental state that allows for the LOA to work. Yet without the proper mental game to match your intentions, no force in the world, including the Law of Attraction will help you.

So instead of concentrating on areas of manifestation where you powers are not strong, i.e. the 'how-to' details, and controlling other peoples actions, why not gain control in the areas of your life in which you actually have influence. The area to focus on that will bring the most noticeable results the quickest is your attitude. Improving your attitude is the first step in attracting your dream life.

How to Improve Your Attitude in 6 Steps

If you want to take control of your attitude, here's a simple six-step process to do it:

Step 1. Get clear what your attitude is. If your results reflect your attitude, then its probably pretty clear what thoughts, beliefs and vision are creating your current reality.

Step 2. Understand how your attitude is affecting your altitude. This might require some information from a trusted advisor. This could be your mastermind group, coach or by listening to audio programs on other successful people.

Step 3. Write out on an index card with what the desired attitude is that will achieve your desired altitude. Start by gathering clues from other’s who have achieved that kind of success. You might want to emulate their attitude.

Step 4. Practice your new attitude. When situations come up, try on the new attitude and notice you react differently. Make up a “new story” about the situation based on your new way of seeing things.

Step 5. Evaluate your results. What’s different? How is it working? Do you need to further refine your attitude for a great altitude shift? Do you need more support from your trusted advisor to reflect blind
spots?

Step 6. Continue the cycle. This is not something you do once and forget. No way José. This is a process you continue over and over again, each time getting closer and closer to the gold. Take a minute out of your day today to implement this new strategy and tomorrow you will be in a better space tomorrow.

Learn more great ideas from Calgary Life Coach Russell Small by visiting his website:

http://www.RussellSmall.com