Category: INSPIRE

Being the best you can ultimately come down to self-investment and a high output of determination. If you want something so much – you will have determination like no other and the time spent on achieving this determined result will be due to the invested time and effort on yourself. The more you begin to see results, the more you will be motivated and the further your determination will grow. As for the investment – this will begin to compound. As the original goal may be exceeded by achievement or pre-planned due to the progress being made. With this all aside – here are a few ways you can invest in yourself to help bring out the best possible output you can bring. 

Invest In Books

• Fun Fact: People who make $35,000 or less per year read for entertainment 79% of the time. People who make $160,000 or more per year read for entertainment only 11% of the time.  People who make $160,000 or more per year read two or more books per month in areas specifically targeted to help them grow personally and/or in their careers.

Invest In A Coach/Mentor

Do you know all of the small details or the possible pitfalls? Do you know where making a tiny change could result in a huge return? Do you know where you are just beating your head against the wall and need to stop? No? But guess who does: someone who has already been there. When you hire a great coach, you will save yourself years of frustration and thousands of lost dollars. They will lead you, correct you, encourage you, and show you a vision bigger than your own.

Invest In Relationships

When you are climbing the ladder of success, don’t leave behind those you love most! Lift them into their own success and enjoy the climb together. Invest in relationships because they are worth more than the most precious of diamonds.

Invest In Health

Investing in your health has three main benefits:

• You’ll feel much better: greater energy, a zest for life, and finally enjoying how your body performs.
• You’ll inspire others
• You’ll live longer: success does you no good if you are dead. When you invest in your health, you’ll be around for more years to enjoy and share your success with those you love.

The idea that a degree and a life-long job will bring success no longer rings true. If you want success, you have to make it happen you.

Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time. — Thomas A. Edison

Photo Credit: Instagram @s.dem_ | Location: Mykonos

If you want it to happen, you need to get your butt up and make it happen. Your future. It’s on you! If you want it to happen you need to get out there and tread your own path. 

Wake up today and with the intention to prove the world that you are the capable person you are. Wake up today with the willpower to create the person you wish to be in 5 years, in 10 years and in 20 years. Don’t wait for tomorrow, don’t wait for the right time – as there is never a right time, but the time you have now. 

Dale Partridge of thedailypositive.com & startupcamp.com posted a small motivational message this morning which when reading makes you think and question what are you really doing with your life. 

The person you’ll be in 2020 is based on the books you read and the people you follow today. – Dale Partridge

He further goes on to say: 

WAKE UP. Nobody intends to have a mediocre life. It’s the end of 2015. Are you where you expected to be 5 years ago? Stop following meaningless accounts on social media. Stop dreaming about how your life could be, would be, or should be. Stop being so busy that you lose the time to learn. Remember, an average life is just a series of average choices. Here’s my advice on breaking free. Read these 3 bestselling books in the next 30 days: 1. How To Win Friends And Influence People 2. Essentialism 3. People Over Profit. Today is a chance for you to get your life on track. 

This got me thinking and to the point that what if you don’t read any books? How will this define you in 2020? He isn’t trying to say that if you don’t read that you will be a nobody – but more so the influence you follow now will most likely be the core essence of the person you are in 2020 and who you are and what you do. If this is true, you need to ask yourself… How do you want to be in 2020? What will it look like? At the end of the day you are the one in control – so don’t just spend the next 5 years and blame it on books… You need to take action, you need to create the awesomeness you are and are to be – but the books will help you get there!

If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. — JIM ROHN

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Maybe you doubt yourself? Maybe you lack the motivation? Maybe it all seems too hard. But do you remember how far you have come?

Can I remind you that life is a learning curve? We don’t need to be perfect. We don’t need to live free from mistakes. If you are determined to improve yourself and to become better, then you are already halfway there. You may not be happy with your career, your relationships, with who you are, but you still have the chance and the opportunity to have a brighter future. If you are doing all you can to become better, then maybe you’re doing better than you think you are.

Maybe you won’t have a better day today than yesterday, or maybe you will. However doing everything and anything you can do work towards making your day a success and better than yesterday should be your priority.  We’ve all climbed mountains we thought we’d never surpass. We’ve been confronted with challenges that have tested us on so many levels.Yet, here we are, still standing. If you’ve fallen down and picked yourself up, recognize the amount of strength that it took. Acknowledge that you’ve overcome so many adversities you once thought you couldn’t and how you’re so much stronger than you knew.

Take a step back and just reflect on the progress you have made. You may not be the best at a specific skill but you’re trying your best. You’ve made improvements and that’s what’s important. Don’t spend time comparing yourself to others – you are your own unique person with your own unique skills and talents. Compare yourself to the progress you have made. If you’re making consistent progress, then give yourself a pat on the back, because you’re already heading in the right direction and that’s what matters.

“The big secret in life is that there is no big secret. Whatever your goal, you can get there if you’re willing to work.” ~ Oprah Winfrey

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When it comes to shooting for the stars and making it to the top of your climb (your journey to success). It all comes down to your expectations and the vision you have. What is it you dream of? What is it that you imagine being or doing when you are the top? Do you have an idea or an expectation? I understand when it comes to successful people can tend to think all about themselves and what they are doing – but what if having success or being successful is greater than that.

It’s all about having a vision outside yourself.

It all starts with this first step.

Without a bigger vision and purpose that is greater than yourself, you’ll quit at the initial stages of difficulty, as you will inevitably be knocked down. In contrast, when you’re achieving something for a purpose outside of yourself, the pressure of accountability alone will push you further than a purpose that is self-centered.

For example, if you’re learning a language in order to have a deeper connection with your life partner, you’re much more likely to persist because your relationship is on the line.

Or, if you’re trying to lose weight, think about how confident, joyful, and happy you will feel. But more importantly, think about how that will affect the loved ones around you.

Shifting from a self-centered goal to a bigger purpose that affects those you love helps you focus on what you will get out of it, instead of how hard it is.

Inside you is a giant, a bigger and better version of you. Most people accept a vision of themselves that is simply too small by conforming to the smaller visions of those around them. Becoming the best you require having a bigger vision of who you are and of what you are capable.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” – Michelangelo

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Most of us are great at setting goals, but not at achieving them. How persistent are you? What did you set out to do this year and have not? Be real with yourself… I am sure you have done plenty, but did you do all that you had planned? Why not?

Whether it’s starting a new business, learning a new language, or mastering an instrument — we love to start things without finishing. One of the biggest reasons why we never achieve our goals is due to a lack of motivation and persistence.

We start out with an abundance of optimism about the journey, without being fully prepared mentally for the inevitable obstacles ahead.

As Tony Robbins says, “Success in anything is 80% psychology, and 20% mechanics.”

Here are six powerful ways to become more persistent, so you’ll never quit again.

1. Have a vision outside of yourself

It all starts with this first step.

2. Build a support team

As the popular saying goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

3. Have a growth mindset

In order to achieve our goals, we often have to get out of our own way.

4. Schedule it

The most successful people in the world, including billionaire entrepreneurs, Olympic athletes, and world-class learners, all use schedules to prioritize their day.

5. Teach Others

Have you ever taught something you learned to someone and found it easier to remember in the future?

6. Have stakes

Why are we less likely to be late to a business meeting than a meeting with our friends? Because the former could get us fired. As humans, we’re naturally more motivated to commit when there is a consequence or a stake, even if it’s a friendly one.

What’s a goal or new skill you’re trying to persist through? Which of these strategies will you use to achieve it?

Photo Credit: Instagram @s.dem_ | Location: Crete, Greece.

Everyone want’s the answers to these questions as they can help set you free… But these will help you identify the real you. We want to know because that’s what being honest does. You no longer hide from yourself. However it can be a little painful at first, but what’s more painful is asking these questions of yourself now, or never asking them and risking never living the life you’ve always wanted to? The more you do it, the easier it becomes. They just become questions you ask yourself all the time and give true answers to.

It is time to make a choice. One that you could be proud of. One that you could tell your kids to make one day. That choice? The choice to make progress, not excuses. To pursue your dream life. To be who you really are. Isn’t now the time to be the real you? Have a go: 

• What would happen if you just went for it? – 
• Who are you? – Write down a list of what’s important to you about life
• Who are you really? – What was important to you before other people told you what was important to you?
• What’s your deepest, most secret desire?
• If you knew you couldn’t fail, what’s the benefit of not beginning?
• If not now, when?
• Whose permission do you need?
• What’s stopping you?
• Who or what is holding you back?
• If you don’t know what you want, why on earth aren’t you trying to find out?
• When you know what you truly want, will you actually do anything about it?
• What’s important to you? – Make a list. Be honest with yourself.
• What’s really important to you? – Seriously. Be honest. Otherwise, this is pointless.
• If you wrote a list of everything that’s important to you, would you even be on it?
• If you don’t prioritize yourself, how will you ever be happy?
• What’s the excuse you use the most?
• When will you stop using your excuses?
• Do you feel good when you know you’re using excuses?
• Will you ever get what you want if you keep making excuses?
• Why won’t you just be honest with yourself?
• How long can you go on doing what you’re doing? – 6 months? 1 year? 5 years? If you don’t take action and do something different, nothing will change.
• When you’re totally honest with yourself, what will happen?
• Do you choose comfort over happiness?
• If any of these have resonated, are you gonna make an excuse or actually do something about it?

“Don’t worry about failures, worry about the chances you miss when you don’t even try.” – Jack Canfield

Photo Credit: Instagram @s.dem_ | Location: Madrid, Spain.

Hard work is what you put into it. It isn’t luck but – better use of the opportunity. Why are there always people who seem to have more, who have something “better” or have a lifestyle which seems to be more freedom than yours? Well, essentially it is the results of hard work. The problem with society, and more importantly the media, is that we only tend to see the finished product. We see musical artists come out of nowhere, or we see a blog post go viral via a ‘lucky’ retweet; however what doesn’t get shown is all the groundwork that has been done behind the scenes leading up to this pivotal moment.

“It takes 20 years to become an overnight success” – Eddie Cantor

Whether you have noticed it already or not, individuals who tend to be blessed and luckier carry with them a unique work-ethic. You may only see the outcome of their success, but what goes on behind the scenes may make you question what it truly means to ‘work-hard’. You may have previously questioned why certain individuals seem to possess more luck than you. However, the fact is that these individuals have created each and every opportunity by following a precise process — and there is nothing stopping you from reaping these same benefits.

So how do they do it? 

• They Never Stand Still

• They Remain Positive at All Times

• They Aren’t Afraid to Fail

• They Have a WHY

• They Show Up…Every Day

Now there is a little more to it then the simplicity of the above 5 points. But these are the traits and the qualities in which the hard-working follow. If you can adopt as many of these five traits of hardworking individuals as possible, you will soon be attracting more opportunities in your daily life.

Photo Credit: Instagram @s.dem_ | Location: Paris, France.

The only limit we have is the limit we set on ourselves. Do not fall victim to underestimating your ability. Your limit will grow and should continue to grow. It is natural for us to have a strong natural tendency to stay in the safe end of the pool and find ways to ignore anything that might challenge us in any way. Basically… we like to make excuses. We allow circumstances and our belief that we have no choices be our guide instead.  Forgetting that we can create happiness as much as we can create misery seems to become a way of life.  Stepping away from what we have been taught and allowing ourselves to make our own path doesn’t even seem to cross the minds of too many of us anymore.

Here are some ways we begin to limit ourselves and we don’t even realize it:

• We go looking for failure.

• We follow the crowd.

• We play it safe.

• We lack hope.  

• We stop listening to our hearts.

• We quit.

• We forget our “why.”

No matter our background, our education level, or our when we get started, holding ourselves back is a disservice to the rest of the world.  Our natural-born talents go untapped, un-shared, and hidden.  No one assigns our limits to us, we assign them to ourselves.  And in doing so, we can also un-assign them.  Doing something out of the norm and unorthodox might upset the apple cart and many people will not understand your motives, believing that they are built on false pretenses.  True limits continue to grow after they have been met…as long as we don’t hold ourselves back from reaching our full potential.

Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe, remember, you can achieve. – Mary Kay Ash

Photo Credit: Instagram @sasha_naidoo | Location: Fiordland National Park, Milford Sound, New Zealand