Month: May 2016

Life is full of taking risks. Everything you do will have a margin of risk and margin of consequence. No outcome is ever to be 100% certain, therefore, any attempt at anything has a chance of failing.

Murphy’s Law – If it can happen it will.

“You will be bitter in life, when you compare yourself with others. Run the race of life at your own pace.” — Lailah Gifty Akita

How you live your life will depend on the choices you make, the risks you take…

Risk is the absence of security. Taking risk leaves future events to chance. Chance is when one can not accurately, or with assurance, predict a future outcome with confidence. Most people find comfort in security, which is fine but there is comfort in security, but not a lot of reward.

Risks can often result in failure. Rewards become illusive in the sense of “Better to be safe than sorry” being a common reason why risks are left aside.

If there were more risk takers there might be more ideas implemented and discoveries made. Until such time, people will take the safer path, a road more traveled.

The point is, we can be making risks and choices in our lives each day to get us to the places we want to go. To name a few:

• Starting that business
• Pursuing a passion
• Telling someone how you feel
• The use of finances and investments

When this time comes that is when we are to be BRAVE. We are to be BOLD. We need to show a willingness to take risks; to be confident and to be courageous.

Stepping out in boldness in itself is strength but when it is also without hesitation or fear in the face of possible danger this is when the magic happens!

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. –Theodore Roosevelt

My challenge to you today is to really ask yourself about how strong and how bold you are. As you will find the more that you think that you are strong enough… the more you may have to grow.

We can try so hard being strong and we can fight it out long enough to surprise ourselves, but soon enough you will need to stop kidding yourself and you may just need to ask for some help.

“I’m not afraid of storms, for I’m learning how to sail my ship.” –Louisa May Alcott

And that is why taking a leap is good for you. If you’re not stressed but you are nervous and excited at the same time, then you are in the sweet spot. You are in the position to take a jump and leap into something bigger than before, that will potential be greater for you than ever before. As you enter into this journey, you will become familiar and comfortable with this once known fear and you will be willing to up the game once again.

With this all in mind, this is just the stepping-stone into becoming the greatest success you can be and it all starts by waking up determined every day and going to sleep satisfied.

Life is difficult for one reason in particular. Every single individual in the world, no matter how much he or she enjoys life, no matter how much he or she has to be thankful for, is always trying to do a little better.

You need to wake up with determination and do all you possibly can to go to sleep with satisfaction; it’s the only way to keep yourself in the right frame of mind.

However here are a few pointers for you to think about:

• You should start your day off on the right foot
• Don’t waste your day
• Wake up and be full of momentum
• Don’t live a life of regret

I recently read a small note which I found interesting and it goes a little something like this…

Live the life of our dreams, even if it kills you. Eventually something will… may as well be on your own terms.

The point is, we are in control of our life, even thought we cannot control everything that happens, ultimately we make the choices and decisions that determine the outcomes. These will have consequences, sometimes risks are worth taking but other times they are not worth it at all. Only you can decide with your moral compass. If that includes the big man upstairs then even better… if not, then you need to be wise about it.

Throughout this time, I have limited free time and in this limited free time I am able to departmentalize and prioritize the important things. In doing so I have learned that it is the small things that will make you happy and these will be different for everybody and change over time.

But it is these small things that help you appreciate the bigger things. But as a complete opposite to this, you also learn to not care about other things – meaning they become a lower priority. Your mind begins to shuffle your once locked down mindset and it begins to adapt, haggle and become totally altered.

So what are the small things that make all the difference?

Well I like to see the best in everything I do, well at least wherever I go I try to find the positive and exciting no matter where I am or what I am doing.

I have noted this before but these are just some of the small things, which help me through the bigger picture and the longer days.

• Breakfast – whether it be 2 eggs, some porridge, some raisin toast or a banana blueberry smoothie. These all make my morning that extra special. (I don’t eat all these for one meal)
• Music – dancing / bopping to some tunes in the morning (in the shower) or while walking down the street.
• Sunrise – watching over and over the sun rise into the clouds, behind the clouds, over the horizon, in to the land and into a full bloom. This itself is a perfect reason to rise every morning.
• Routine – a small routine, a big routine, multiple routines… these are all small or big elements to a great day
• Seeing others smile – seeing those around me happy, glad and walking on sunshine is good enough to brighten my day
• Exercise – whether it is a few hours or a quick 10 minute run. I’ll take what I can get and I make the most of it.

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. – Vincent Van Gogh

These are just some of the everyday small things that are simple areas of my life, but they make the day entirely better. Similarly, your mind believes what you tell it and show it. Like I posted a couple of days back (Day #137: Believe Reality):

Whatever you believe, with conviction, becomes your reality, whether or not it is true or false. – Brian Tracy

Whatever you believe, with conviction, becomes your reality, whether or not it is true or false. – Brian Tracy

Like any habit it needs to be consistent in your life in order for it come in to shape and being. Well this is exactly the same for your belief system. Stepping aside from the usual debate of what you believe regarding religion.

A quick challenge is: What about your attitude and your happiness.

If you are going to wake up everyday and begin the day with a foul attitude of doubt, fear and anxiety, what do you expect the day to be like…

If you wake up ready to take on the day and to conquer the obstacles that come your way, this is always going to make you feel that little extra bouncy!

Now imagine you do this everyday for the next month. Imagine how you will feel. Imagine wanting to jump and spring out of bed because you have realized that each day isn’t a struggle, but each day is an opportunity to learn, grow and to build yourself as an individual. 

Stop putting yourself down. Stop pulling yourself down. Stop thinking and suggesting to yourself that you are not good enough. Take these frustrations and concerns and what I recommend is to take them to the GYM and let them loose!

Now this is a just a quick summary and high level view of a couple of examples. However you can apply this to plenty of factors and areas of your own personal life. 

You should be asking yourself – what are you telling yourself each day. Even if it is something positive or not, I challenge you to write it down.

I have been doing this for weeks on end now, simply posting a Monday motivation blog with the intention to have you all see the same that I see. Monday is a day of opportunity and excitement.

Monday’s are the foundation to creating a week full of high-end results as well as shaping the ultimate mindset and routine. It is a chance to seize opportunity and embrace something new.

However, it can be a slow process getting your life in control, and like so it will be a slow process of making Monday’s the day that will set your week. But if you decide to give up… this is never going to speed it up!

So how can you get your Monday in control, to further lead to your week being in control? Monday is the perfect chance to set some mindsets, to do some preparation and to psych yourself up for the week. See below of a few examples of what you can do today:

• Take the morning to revise your goals for the upcoming week. Whether these are personal or for work. Monday is the day to do it.
• Instead of jumping into your day, wake up twenty minutes early to gather your thoughts. You have just finished a week and today is the best day to reflect and identify anything you need to get in line before doing it all again.
• Look at Monday as a new start. Forget last week and focus on what is ahead of you. Aside from learning from mistakes, this week is a new slate.
• Stop looking at the day negatively. Your thoughts control your perception which affects your actions. Be positive. You already know this! Monday or any day for that matter is and should be based off your attitude. So make sure you have it right!
• Breathe, be positive, and go through the day with ease. There is nothing more to it than that. If it gets heated or tough – take another breather, refresh your mind and try again.

These are just some of the things you can be doing. However, I cannot empathize how important your attitude is. If you have a negative approach, you will be stubborn and fight any chance of you being positive, let alone in a happy mood. Maybe last week wasn’t the best, or maybe the weekend sucked. I understand, it is tough, but we are tough. You are tough! So get your head back into the game and get back out there!

How do I become this amazing morning person?

Firstly you need to want to be this amazing morning person and secondly you need to choose to be.

But if it needed to broken down into 3 points, I have found that the below 3 points are what my mornings are made up of and I challenge you to give them a go and see if it works for you too.

Routine 

I have found that for any morning to have any sense of flow and structure you need a routine and a good one at that. Now, this doesn’t mean you do the same thing everyday for the rest of your life, but it means you should have a structured morning each day whether it be the same as the day before, or maybe an alternating routine, or even a completely different routine on the weekend. The idea here is to have something which becomes second nature to you. Once your routine has become a morning usual, your mind and body will learn to adapt and go with the its natural flow. This will put your whole morning into a kick started state when you wake, as your whole body and state of mind will be already doing what it should be… but subconsciously.

Attitude

Attitude is the key to any good day. Take away routines and you are left just another day. But attitude creates a day into what you want it to be. By setting my attitude the moment I wake up, this is usually the tone and theme for my day. Setting your morning tone basically influences the remaining actions of your day. However, you can also overcome your false or unhappy attitude by stepping out of your current zone refreshing your mind and trying again. 

Excitement

Excitement is all about taking the little things of your day and turning them into the highlights, the high points and using these as motivators and encouragements. When we’re excited we do stuff. We overcome fears. We take chances. We make tough decisions. We push the boundaries. We explore our potential. We become solution-focused. We become more resourceful. Chat with any successful person about their goals and their passion and you’ll see what I mean about excitement. If you’re not excited (on some level) about your goals, then you may need to find some different ones.

Any early bird would know we have a common set of traits which make us successful. Maybe you are in the process of changing up your lifestyle and looking to be an early riser?

This is the perfect blog for you!

Morning people…

1. Accomplish Tasks As Soon As They Start Their Day
2. Potentially More Intelligent
3. They Are Most Focused In The Morning
4. They Follow The Habits Of Successful People
5. They Get Enough Shuteye
6. They Are More Proactive
7. They Have The Time For Breakfast
8. They Are Usually Happier
9. They Usually Have Great Personality Traits

All these traits have some amazing benefits. They allow for more time, for more activities, for better schedules and even healthier bodies. This does not mean being a night owl is worse off. It just means that if you utilize our morning strategically and with a well-rounded routine, you will be jumping out of bed and kick-starting your day at a whole new level.

“When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive-to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love.” – Marcus Aurelius

Today could be a loss. But, your day could also be one of your best days yet.

But what really matters is what is now and within you. How is the present, how are you taking whats within you and making a difference with it?

What lies before us and what lies behind us are small matters compared to what lies within us. And when you bring what is within out into the world, miracles happen. – Henry David Thoreau

Don’t get me wrong – planning is great and should always be a consistent part of your life. However sometimes, you need to take a step back and stop focusing on what has been and stop trying to make everything perfect for the future. Focus on what you can do better now. In order to get to that ‘perfect future’ of yours you will need to make the important and the prioritized. 

Think of it like taking each day and setting it as a foundation for the next. Progressing each day will set a new foundation for the next day. Even if the day feels like a loss, if you are moving forward, or even leaning forward this is still better than being stuck at a single stand point.

The point of all this is: Keep moving forward. Lose many, but win most battles and conquer the war. There will be losses, there will be fights – but by the end of it you will have conquered the very challenge that may at one stage seemed like the impossible. Each day it is a chance to reconvene, to restructure and strategically try again. 

I have been running for about a two and a half years now and having now run roughly 1400km, I have learned 4 things which I think we should all be applying to our own lives. The best way to do this is to simply get out there and start running yourselves!

Any day I am too busy to run is a day that I am too busy! – John Bryant

1. Staying Committed To Your Goals
   • Runners are dedicated, that itself is an understatement.
   • Runners fight the urge to give up, and they continue on to CONQUER.
   • Runners thrive off feeling accomplished.
2. Believing In Yourself
   • Running and completing the run is on you. You are the only one that can get you across the line. You are capable.
   • You are your motivation. Self motivation. Runners learn to build this and believe in themselves.
   • Accomplishing a run, requires determination and a confidence enough to know they can do it.
3. The Alone Time
   • Perfect way to take a break and clear your mind. This is one of the best things I love about running.
   • It is a chance to think about anything. No interruptions. Just you and your mind. A chance to sort out work issues and any self issues…
   • Running wont mean you run away from your issues, but run out your issues. A way to clear the mind and exercise your body and mind too!
4. How To Always Be Happy
   • Exercise has a direct correlation with the level of happiness someone exhibits. Anyone who knows me will now understand why I am always happy!
   • Overall running provides physical, mental and emotional benefits. You can do it your whole life. Why wouldn’t you be happy when you are making your physical, mental and emotional aspects of your life better?

So I hope from this, you can see the benefits of running!

• If you don’t run. Get out there and give it a try.
• If you are slacking off from running, get out there more and see the benefits trickle through.
• If you are running regularly like me. Push on and challenge yourself! You champion!