Day #143: The Daily Steps

When you have a goal in sight it isn’t about putting in the effort so that people can see, but it is about being consistent and making the right choices that will add up in the end to the result you were looking for. Daily steps towards you goal will add up in the end.
You may have told someone what you are doing, or maybe you didn’t. Regardless, the daily grind and the daily struggle is to then continue on with a daily practice of ensuring you are making the small choices that will add up in the end. People may not even notice the hard work and efforts, however the time will come and when it does – you will want to be ready for it. This blog is NOT dedicated to the success of washboard abs, but more to the value and impact of daily progress and making the small (sometimes tough) decisions for the long-term.

It’s all about accepting the short-term pain, in order to progress on for long-term gain.

But I guess aside from all this – is the biggest factor of all. Your mind. You.

If don’t believe in yourself, how can you expect to have the sheer willpower to push yourself to the limits required to break your stubborn mindsets.

I have said this before regarding the overall impact of no zero days. Applying this technique enables you to increase yore ability to grow and become the superstar you are meant to be. I would expect from this you will take the pledge to yourself.

However…

I have personally found that keeping your goals to yourself, you are more likely to make it to the end. I also found that doing something which is inspiring, encouraging or actually partaking in your goal/passion DAILY will increase and compound your chances of success daily.

So how will you reach for your next goal? Will you apply integrity and surprise people over time? Or will you take a plunge and hit the ground running maintaining a consistent routine?

The option is yours.

Day #142: Risk For Reward

Everyday you risk your life without even knowing it. Even as simple of walking outside is a risk, as you never know what is going to happen.
For way too long I hear people complaining that they wish this and want that. They consume themselves with worry and doubt that they will never get it or see it. However, I think more than half the time we are too scared to do the something we have never done before in order to have or get the something we have never had. 

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
I’m sure you will have some of your own examples – but at the end of the day you will not see the reward unless you are willing front the risk for reward.

Day #141: The Bold

Did you know life is tough? So tough that you will probably at least once feel like giving up. Heck you probably will give up and that’s OK, but only if you get back up and give it another shot with your 110%. 

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

Remember sometimes to be your strongest you need to be bold enough to ask for help. Are you strong enough?

Day #140: Take A Leap

The scariest moment is always just before you start…

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.

“Each of us must confront our own fears, must come face to face with them. How we handle our fears will determine where we go with the rest of our lives. To experience adventure or to be limited by the fear of it.” – Judy Blume

Day #139: All The Small Things

When life gets busy our minds learn to adapt, to adjust and to see things through a whole new lens. For those who know me well, I tend to work a lot, but not for the sake of it… I enjoy and love what I do and sometimes this requires me to step outside my usual balanced life and hustle hard.

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

You will be surprised how easy it is to trick your mind, or how others can too. But let me tell you one thing. If you take control and take ownership of who you are, you will find your own small things, that will make your day seem all that bigger and better!

Day #138: Believe Reality

Did you know that the more you tell yourself something, over and over again, the more likely you will believe it. Like a routine or a habit, you become accustomed to believe what you are being told. This also means if other people are telling you something over and over again, you will become more and more familiar with it and you will naturally become attained to it. 

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.

Are you up for it?

Day #137: Opportunity & Excitement

Oh Monday why art you so good?

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!

Believe in yourself, take on your challenges, dig deep within yourself to conquer fears. Never let anyone bring you down. You got to keep going. – Chantal Sutherland

Day #136: Another Early Bird

Yesterday I blogged about being the early bird and getting the worm. The traits of a morning person brings benefits that I believe will make you a better person more and more each day. But the big question remaining is:

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.

Do you think you are up for it? Will you give it a go? Would you do it differently?

Day #135: Early Bird Gets The Worm

I’ve always been an early morning person and I am always trying to tell others just how exciting and beneficial it is. I have found that I am more proactive, happy and healthy.

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

I personally love the mornings, breakfast being one of my favorites to look forward to. Why? Because it is a chance to enjoy a meal alone and spend some time focusing on my blog or other personal items, just as a light breather before jumping into another adventure filled day.

Day #134: Try. Fail. Do It Again!

Sometimes the day wont go as planned. You will fail, but you try again. Yesterday may have felt like a loss, but today is a new day.

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. 

 “Fall down Seven times stand up Eight” – Japanese Proverb