Tag: Project 365

It has been a common theme over the last month, but that’s because it is so serious. Yes, I am talking about New Year’s Resolutions again. Simply because it is that time of the year and I want you to master the best you can be in 2017. Just wait for it… The Facebook statuses that say, “New Year, New Me” will begin pouring in. and we will all roll our eyes. You see, it has become somewhat of a tradition to make New Year’s resolutions as we plan for the year ahead. However, most of us abandon these goals before we even take down our Christmas lights. For a lot of people, it doesn’t really matter.

For those of us who want to make positive changes in the new year, here are seven ways to better the chances of following through:

1. Write it down.

And no, I don’t mean on social media. I mean get a notebook and write out your resolutions.

2. Make a plan.

Don’t just write down the resolutions themselves; have a plan of action.

3. Visibility is key.

Once you’ve got a list and you have a game plan, make sure it’s part of your day. Post it somewhere you’ll see it often, so you can be reminded to stay on track. This doesn’t need to be for every eye to see – but for you to see.

4. Be realistic.

This is twofold. Make sure your goals are reasonable.

Don’t say, “I’m going to lose 80 kg’s this year!” because even though it’s not impossible, it’s unlikely. Set attainable goals – you can also add more through the journey, especially if you hit your goal. 

5. Stay accountable.

Involve your family and friends. (but don’t explicitly give them the details, just tell them your goal is to lose weight). There’s no shame in self-improvement, and getting others involved will help you stay on track.

6. Don’t stop there.

It’s very rewarding to meet your goals, so take it a step further and build on your resolutions. i.e. If you resolved to go to the gym more so you can get healthier, you could try signing up for a special fitness class.

7. Don’t wait.

Along with building on your goals and pushing yourself further, remember it doesn’t have to be New Year’s to resolve to improve your life.

If you have an idea on how to become happier, healthier or just a better you, start today.

Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or little, has its stages of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle and a victory. – Ghandi

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To make a wish is perfect – but to make a wish and to do nothing about it… This will lead to laziness. If you want it to work for it. Your wish is up to you! To be highly successful in your career or even in your personal life, you can’t take the usual path. Just showing up to work every day (or even putting in long, hard days of work) isn’t going to cut it, or just trying to go with the flow and follow the herd like a sheep in society isn’t going to cut it.

You’d love to have an amazing lifestyle and reap the benefits in terms of reaching your financial goals and being able to have the freedom to ultimately have control over the work you get to do. Here is your path to becoming ultra-successful, based on what others who are highly successful have done differently:

Focus on Goals

Successful people know what they want and where they are going.

Grit

What is grit? It’s a willingness to commit to long-term goals and be persistent, even when things get hard. In other words, you’ll do whatever it takes, and you’ll keep at it no matter what.

Passion

Many successful people will tell you to find something you’re passionate about doing. They may say it for many reasons, including that it makes work fun, pushes you to work harder than you would on something you don’t care about, and is infectious – spreading your message and what you’re trying to accomplish on to other people, compelling them to help you. Once you find the thing you’re passionate about, taking that passion and using it in a way that is helpful to others will be what moves you from someone who is just passionate about their work to someone who is truly successful with their passion.

Be Willing to Take Risks

If you’re willing to take risks, you can have big gains in your life. If you’re looking to achieve something huge, playing it safe isn’t going to get you there.

Think Positively

Many ultra-successful people have been interviewed. They are positive thinkers. You can spend more time thinking about what you want and why you can, rather than why you can’t or shouldn’t.

All you need to do is find a goal you’re passionate about and you’re willing to stick with no matter what. Once you find it, there’s nothing that will stand in your way. You can be among those who have enjoyed massive success.

“The question you should be asking isn’t, “What do I want?” or “What are my goals?” but “What would excite me?” – Tim Ferriss

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Obstacles are there to conquer and to be overcome! As you learn to defeat more and more obstacles, your confidence, your skills and your maturity in wisdom will increase and the glory you will find from this will be like no other! You just need to make sure you don’t doubt your ability to actually do it.

Defeating obstacles does take time and through this time it will build your more and more. Even if you fail, the next time you shall progress, the next time you will learn and eventually you will succeed.

So get out there and conquer!

Struggling with the failure side of things? Here are 3 lessons you can adapt and understand to help you keep on keeping on.

• Lesson One: Failure starts early. When starting out something new, failure is always going to be a more likely outcome as – how can you expect to be so good at something if you have never learned it or even attempted it. This is normal.
• Lesson Two: You will fail regularly. Even more, if you continue to try to grow. The more you are pursuing growth – the more you fail, once again due to the Lesson #1, you need to learn, adapt and become familiar with the new something.
• Lesson Three: We can learn from our failures. Nothing can motivate you more to succeed than failing and nothing can teach you more.

What failure isn’t: Failure is not about making mistakes. Allow yourself to make mistakes. Mistakes are inevitable and part of the journey.

What failure is: Failure is when you walk away from the opportunity that scares you. Failure is giving up on your dreams to do something more ‘practical’. Failure is when you settle for a life that doesn’t fit your dreams.

Take action: Once you know what you want to do, take action, move towards your goals. You will fall, you will fail. That’s ok. Get up, take more steps.

Don’t be as Thoreau said in Walden: ‘The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation’.

Keep taking action until you reach your goal. It is never too late, and nothing in your life is permanent.

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Sometimes we just need to push a little harder and sometimes we get so lost in ourselves or in the world that we think we need to keep going the same way in order to move on. Firstly you should be identifying if what you are doing and the direction you are doing is actually the right path, the right steps and the right journey for you to move forward. Just because the path seems forward, easy and unstoppable, this does not always mean it is good for you.  Have you ever thought that in order to progress you need to be moving forward, but actually climbing?

Regardless of where you are, I want to encourage you to push a little harder, work a little harder (smarter too) and don’t give up on:

1. Getting back on track.
2. Finishing this year strong(er).

Take action now!

Get honest with yourself… If you are feeling like your struggling to keep up, you feel like you are being left behind, or maybe you feel like you have fallen into a deep hole. Is this due to mistakes you have made, or by the choices you have made? Are you running from something, trying to hide or fill a void? What are you hiding from?

Take a think, ask yourself these questions…

It is time to rise up and take control. Only you know the weaknesses you have – so either start focusing on your strengths, or start accepting your weaknesses and begin to move forward regardless.

“Many a false step was made by standing still.” – Tim Ferriss

C’mon! You’ve got this.

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The new year is fast approaching, and the most common New Year Resolutions are usually health and fitness-related, however adequately preparing for them is not. In this blog I will go through some of the simple ways you can kick-start your journey early and get into the mindset ready for day one – however don’t just think this is for health-related goals – you can apply the same logic across the board. 

It may seem like you can wait until January 1 to get healthy, but if you don’t start planning now, you’re setting yourself up for failure.

Here are five simple ways to kick-start your New Year’s resolutions.

1. Find a workout you like.

Figure out what kind of exercise you want to do.

This is very important because you have to enjoy what you are doing, or you will not stick with it.

• If you hate cardio, find a program that focuses on lifting weights.
• If you hate the gym, find a program you can do at home.
• If you love yoga and pilates, find a studio that offers at least three to five classes a week.

The key take away here is: Consistency

2. Set realistic, specific goals.

You need to have very specific goals. A goal of, “I want to lose weight” will never work. You need to get very specific.

Want to lose weight? Great!

• How much?
• Want to tone a certain body part? Great!
• How many inches do you want to lose?
• Want to build muscle? Great!
• How many inches do you want to gain?

These are very important questions to answer. And again, if you have no idea what you are doing, find a coach or a trainer to have a consultation with. Be sure to make goals that fit your skill level.

• If you’ve never run before, don’t set a goal of running a race within a couple of months.
• If you’ve never lifted weights, start off with some cardio.

The most important aspect is to be realistic. If you make a goal of losing 20 kg’s in three months, you may be setting yourself up for failure. Find a plan that fits your lifestyle and that is made up of an exercise style you enjoy, and let whoever is helping you set realistic goals.

What worked for me is rather than setting a weight goal, I set a diet/lifestyle goal to not eat sugar while maintaining and developing a fluent workout plan. 

3. Pay for it now.

Don’t wait until January to start shopping.

You need to get it set in stone now, so you’re 100 percent ready to go on January 1.

Find a gym, a yoga studio or a workout program you like and genuinely feel you can stick with, and pay for it within the next two weeks. Once you have that part accomplished, you can get your mindset for following through with it come January. Treat yourself to some fun accessories that you will need for your plan as well.

• Joining a yoga studio? Buy a new yoga mat with a fun design that you love.
• Going to start running? Buy some new running shoes that fit like a glove.
• Going to start a weight program? Buy some new dumbbells to use. Get a heart rate monitor and some workout clothing.

Ask for workout things from your friends and family for Christmas presents.

Get yourself excited to use these things, and it will be much easier to jump into it come January.

4. Ask for help.

If you are a beginner, you will need guidance. You can also join a running club or a social gym like Crossfit. Having support and accountability is extremely important to stick with your plan. There are way too many resources out there for you to waste your time and not accomplish anything.

Figure out what works for you, and go after it.

5. Don’t overdo it this month.

It is very easy to get into the mindset of, “I will get healthy in January, so I’m going to enjoy myself now.”

This is setting you up for failure. The further you have to go to get to your goals, the harder it is going to be. Think about that.

You don’t have to skip the holiday parties and libations, but moderation is key. Making a plan now, and getting your mind ready to execute it, will help you tremendously when trying to set and accomplish health and fitness goals in 2017.

Follow these steps to start preparing now, and remember to ask a professional for help. With a little help and preparation, 2017can be your healthiest year yet.

“What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do.” ― Timothy Ferriss

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Happiness comes down to one simple thing. Choice. Happiness can be inspired and influenced, however, ultimately you are the author of how you show, spread and share happiness. Funnily enough, it is common for people to say to be happy you need to be this or that or do this or that. Well, as much as that might be true based on their experiences – it may have worked for them, but what work’s for one won’t always work for another – but what will always remain is how you define and create your own happiness. 

“Dream as if you’ll live forever, live as if you’ll die today.” James Dean

I honestly think happiness comes down to Life Satisfaction. 

You can have the most exciting, fast-paced or loud lifestyle and be both as happy as Larry or dissatisfied than ever before. This also is the same for someone who follows a routine simplified life and appreciates the little things. So how can you be happy? What are some of the key influences?

 “Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.” Frank Tyger

Have a read below: 

1. Stop comparing yourself to other people. So many seemingly happy and successful people are burning themselves alive on the fire of their inner turmoil.  Focus on you.
2. Socialize.  Even if you are an introvert, force yourself into social scenarios that give you the opportunity to meet people and form connections.  These connections will put you back in touch with your humanity.
3. Make healthy decisions. It is amazing how much exercise and a good diet can change your outlook on the world around you.  The negative thoughts in your head that seem so very real and pressing will melt away.
4. Do something different. Stop wasting your time trying to find the “perfect hobby.”  Pick anything – whether it’s fiber art or coffee tasting.  Find something that you can put effort into, build competence, and see results.
5. Get in touch with your anchors.  We tend to lose these anchors as we get older.  Try to better position yourself within any communities you once found a home in, whether that’s your family, your neighborhood, your culture, or your religion.
6. Look less ahead. Look less behind. Try to refocus yourself on the current moment more often. Start building memories instead of living in them.  Start creating your future instead of just hoping for a better one.  If you don’t do this, your life will become a fog that can stretch across your entire time on earth.
7. Create.  Write in a journal.  Paint something.  Make up a song even if you will never perform it.  Start to fashion the relics that you will leave behind when you are gone.
8. Let go.  Forgive those who hurt you.  I’m sorry you were hurt.  But if you do not leave that hurt in the past, it will follow you like a wolf – forever casting a dangerous shadow over everything you do.
9. Worry more about the others.  Many times it is our own narcissism that destroys us. It seems counter-intuitive, but take some time each day to think about the needs of the other people in your life.  Helping them meet those needs will make you happier in a way that you might not understand right now.
10. Stop running.  There is no such place as “away.” Travel as far as you want, but you will still find yourself waiting for you when you get there. Pull out your sword. It’s time to turn around and fight the dragons inside you.

“Be happy with what you have. Be excitedabout what you want.” Alan Cohen

So what are you doing to keep yourself happy or how are living your life to enable your happiness. Remember it really comes down to your choice. You cannot be forced to be happy, but you can be influenced.

“Life is a journey, and if you fall in love with the journey, you will be in love forever.” Peter Hagerty

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The journey from negative to positive is no simple one. Despite an endless stream of upbeat self-help books and articles, the great majority of us simply can’t change our lives completely overnight. Gradual change is harder, but as always, necessary. There are no shortcuts, we are always told, but this is only partly true. On top of the time wasted, there is always guilt and shame – and often awful stress – over procrastination, both at work and home. That’s how decision-making and our productivity become so warped and clouded by the reaction, not proactive thinking.

Here are the strategies that can be used to turn negative emotions into high performance:

• Having a routine in place to minimize the required time to make decisions on what is required each morning will help you stay on top of things and void any guilt/shame when making the decision. I am talking about having your lunches, clothes, items and other things ready the night before the day ahead – especially for work. Take these things from your place so you can focus on growing you in the morning. Exercise, better eating, and spiritual growth.
• Being accountable to others will help use any potential shame as a force for productivity.
• Feeling guilty about what you eat? These are the first, easy and clear things you should be changing and you can use these moments to enable smaller habits such as for an example:  in order to get to breakfast, you have to drink water first to start your digestion. Then turn into a glass of water before every meal and eventually other small, but critical changes for better digestion.

These are just some of the ways you can use your negatives and turn them into a positive to work for you. 

We all dream of becoming a successful person one day. This specific thought of “becoming a successful individual” has been instilled in our minds ever since we were children. And as we grow up, it seems that our main focus or target narrows down to this particular concept. We try hard to achieve our goal. We really try hard. But is it really that hard to become a successful person?

Let me remind you – There are no shortcuts to success. Becoming a millionaire by buying lottery tickets can happen once in a million times. So there’s no point in wasting time in buying lottery tickets and praying for a jackpot. Go out there, move at the pace every successful person is moving with, make mistakes, learn from them, teach yourself skills, and conquer the world. No, don’t do that. Just conquer your world, be successful, and be content.

But the key to this is to turn those negative emotions into high-performance enablers.

“You can, you should, and if you’re brave enough to start, you will.” ― Stephen King

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Even though we don’t have control over others and external situations, we do have control over ourselves and our choices. Blaming others and events for our misfortune is an easy way out, but it doesn’t help to solve your problems. Taking on life goals or new commitments and successfully seeing these through comes down to you and your ability to deliver. Taking responsibility and admitting you screwed up takes courage. But, once you own up to your mistakes and realize you are in control of your life, you will make decisions that move you forward.

Society throws life goals at you and expects you to do this (clichés):

• Get married before you are 30
• Retire with $ 1 Million
• Become a manager
• Buy / Own a house
• Marry someone beautiful/handsome
• Make my parents proud of how much I earn

When really it should be about this:

• Get married before you are really ready!
• Retire with loads of precious memories
• Become an influence
• Build a home for the homeless
• Marry someone with inner beauty
• Make my parents proud of how happy I am

So how can you do this?

You should be working smart while at the same time believing that you have the power to make your life better.

Here’s how to work hard:

1. Be grateful for what you have.
2. Use what you have.
3. Discover your strengths.
4. Work smart while working hard.
5. Find your motivation.

Even if you don’t agree with the above – the point here is: You are in control of your life. You don’t have to follow the crowd, you don’t have to meet the needs of society. Take control of the wheel and find the happiness, the lifestyle and the real you have been searching for.

“Incredible change happens in your life when you decide to take control of what you do have power over instead of craving control over what you don’t.” ― Steve Maraboli

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If you had been given the greatest power and you could use it at any time, what would you think and how would you use it? The choice is yours. Well, let’s just say you have been given the greatest power and you can decide to use it whenever you want.  That power is a choice. You have been given the power of choice and free will.

At any given time you have a chance to make a choice. A choice anytime to do more, be more, change something, work harder, reflect, learn, listen, give, share, encourage, solider on and so much more! It is never too late to start a new goal or a new change for the better. Don’t worry about the year being nearly over… If you want a change – start it today! Get a head start for next year! Or simply start and just do it. You have the power, like everyone else but don’t be one of these people who are all talk and no action. Ask yourself the hard question you need to ask.

How much do you want it?

You can’t help everyone. But everyone can help someone. – Ronald Reagan

Help yourself.

If you have lost your motivation or drive to be more and be the best you – think about these 3 inspiring ways to get back to it:

1. Get back to your hobbies.

2. Start remembering your purpose in life.

3. Get into good habits.

So what will you do?

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Now that the final countdown has begun (30 days) it is time to evaluate and begin to assess how the year has been. Identify what have you conquered this year – and don’t be so hard on yourself. Think about the detailed and different things you have accomplished. Some of you would have finished school, started a new job, a new journey and discovered new things. Maybe some of you have lost a tonne of weight, or become the next best thing at a hobby or skill. Maybe you have hit it big with your investments, maybe you have fallen in love. You have the perfect chance to evaluate the done, and to think about the opportunities ahead. 

Regardless. Don’t look back on the year and think it was a failure or that it was a waste of time. Look back on the year of the moments you have become something more, look back and see just how far you have come! You are a champion! If you think you are lacking in achievement… or struggling to identify the wow factor of your year – break it down to experience, break it down into growth and what you are doing. Are you doing the same thing a year ago, or something more, something harder or something at a different pace? Maybe you haven’t started your next amazing thing, but you have completed or planned to start this in the new year – even this is an achievement. 

If you are determined to think the failure was your year, why not try to realize that failure is simply is an opportunity to start again! This time with lessons learned. So before we go to the new year, start preparing yourself for your best year yet! Will you do it? Will you put in what it takes to step it up, to make the changes, to be the best you possible?

“I’ve come to believe that all my past failure and frustrations were actually laying the foundation for the understandings that have created the new level of living I now enjoy.” – Tony Robbins

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