You’ve gone as high as you possibly can, right? Have you truly pushed yourself as far as you can go? Do you have it in you to push just a little bit farther or harder? Are you giving up now that you feel you’ve reached the pinnacle of success in either business or in life — or both?
Could it be that you’ve reached a point at which you’re just going to give up? That brass ring is just this far out of reach and you simply can’t push yourself any further? Well, you should push forward. Striving, pushing yourself to greater heights fuels even more activity and even more success. I truly believe that.
What can you do? Here are my three suggestions:
Make sure you have proper perspective. There are times when it feels that all the walls are caving in, but when this happens you need to take a deep breath and step back so you can get a new perspective. You may need to talk to a friend or family member or trusted business colleague to help you regain perspective.
Dream big. Live large. No one says you can’t dream big. If you don’t put out big dreams for yourself, who will? Push your limits to achieve big dreams. If you have a long term goal that is HUGE, break it into smaller bite-sized chunks then go for it!
Attitude matters. If you’re positive you will draw in positive energy and positive people. Negativity feeds negativity and so a positive attitude will feed a positive attitude. See what you can do to gain a more positive attitude then push forward.
Courage is one of those topics where it seems all the reading in the world becomes useless the moment you are face to face with a terrifying event.
We have all heard how courage is not the “absence of fear” but the “will to move forward in spite of your fear”. But have you ever wondered how you might improve your courage or prepare for such an event in advance?
Some people are predisposed toward courageous acts, while others become trapped and even frozen in their fear. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is so simple it becomes easily overlooked or bypassed as important.
I will show you a way to easily become more courageous, and also build a courageous team and family. It’s easy, it’s fun, and you can definitely do this!
Have you ever given careful thought to words derived from the word “courage”? Let’s take a look at two powerful words, one negative, and one positive, and see how they might affect us over time.
As we might expect, the negative “derivative” of courage will diminish courage. It can diminish your courage, and if used by you upon another it can damage their courage as well. The word we are speaking of here is “discourage”.
The word means – “to cause to lose courage, confidence or enthusiasm”.
In effect, when you say something that is discouraging to another, or even in “self talk”, you are causing the “loss” of courage. As we travel through this journey we call “life” we are all exposed to some level of discouragement, and some much more than others. Those who live a lifetime listening to and repeating discouraging remarks can actually reach a point where courage is so distant that they become frozen when confronted by fear.
Being “frozen” is an extreme reaction, and most of us can manage to act a bit more decisively than that, but it shows how much damage we can inflict through discouragement over time. The sad thing is that most people do this to both themselves and the ones they care for most.
Have you ever set out to accomplish something you hoped would be special but it ended up disappointing someone you cared about? What words did you tell yourself at the moment you discovered you had disappointed them? Many would silently say something like, “you stupid… you should have known better”… or the like. Over time, we either become afraid to try or we diminish the effort we give in trying to please another, due to the years of discouraging remarks we have stored in our subconscious mind.
The other side of the equation is “encouragement”, which is defined as, “to give courage, confidence, or enthusiasm to another”.
Wow! Do you get it! I hope a light just came on so bright that it never fades. We can actually “give” courage to another little by little throughout their lives by “encouraging them. This is very powerful and must not be taken lightly. We build or diminish courage in our “team” and or family through these simple and frequently used and abused methods.
To be doubly powerful, encouragement should be the foundation of all communication and discouragement altogether avoided… unless of course you are purposely trying to cause someone harm. (Not recommended)
Try this. Start your next day finding new ways to “encourage” others, and begin to be self-conscious of any “discouraging” remarks to remove them from your vocabulary and life.
It is important to begin with yourself and the way you speak to “you”. If you are already discouraged, then it becomes almost impossible to help someone else, but all is not lost.
Begin by writing five positive statements to yourself and repeat them out loud five times, three times a day, for three weeks
It is important to write the statements “positively”, like, “I will exercise strong character in all my decisions”, rather than, “I will not think negatively”. The very inclusion of the word “not” cancels out much of the value of the statement. When we are going “to do” something, let’s just say what it is we will do.
Remember the very wise words of Yoda, “Do, or do not, there is no try”. The power is in the “do”. The “do not” is doomed to fail.
May a life of powerful action and courage bless you all!
Every business owner is striving to stay on top, right? Some days it is an easy ascent, other days it feels like you’ll never reach the summit. I’ve come up with some mental exercises to help me stay focused on the prize: being the best at what I do while remaining true to myself and my life missions and purpose.
Here they are:
You need to always believe in yourself. It’s true you may have “cheerleaders” out there, but you need to be your own best friend and ally when it comes to your business and your life.
Grab the bull by the horns and be fearless in all you do. Yes, it’s inevitable that you will fail (we all do) but what matters is that you faced the challenge head on and got up, brushed yourself off and tried again.
Don’t put off making a decision; whether you’re looking to upgrade your computer, move your office, hire an employee… whatever it is, you need to take charge, make a decision and move on. Procrastination kills motivation and leads to emotional stress.
Stay true to yourself. If your clients know you work in an always ethical manner, they will appreciate you all the more. You have to also be ethical and driven in completing the tasks for them that you’ve set out to do. Make certain they can rely on you.
Get out of the office. You need to schedule time for exercise for your mental and physical health. Take a five minute break every hour to walk around the building, do jumping jacks, meditate. Your health is the most important asset you bring to the table for your clients.
Working in your business everyday can sometimes seem like pushing a rock up a hill, right? You know you need to be, and stay, motivated but there are some days when it’s more difficult than others.
There are some ways to stay motivated even when the going gets tough and remember, at the end of the day, success comes to he who works toward it! Here are my business motivation tips:
Set goals. More important than that: Set realistic, attainable goals. If you aim too high and keep falling short, you will lose your motivation. Set attainable short- and long-term goals and work toward them daily.
You’re going to fail. Everyone does. When you do, you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off and start again. Also, don’t forget to focus on your achievements. It is easy to get caught up in a failure and lost sight of your achievements.
Set up a routine and stick to it. Having a routine – even one as seemingly simple as writing down a to-do list on a daily basis – helps keep you on track and a visible to do list keeps you motivated. Additionally, checking items off of your to-do list keeps you motivated for the days ahead!
What can you do to become motivated if you’re not? What steps can you take to remain motivated?
To be successful, both in your personal life and your business life, one needs to have a healthy measure of self confidence. Whether you were born with full serving of self confidence or whether you need to work on it, there are several steps you can take to boost your self confidence and your self esteem, including:
Understand what your weaknesses are and then work to strengthen them. Do you have a hard time with follow-through? What can you to do address that? Can you set smaller, more attainable goals? Can you find an accountability partner?
What are your inherent strengths? Use those to your advantage and focus on those tasks at which you excel. In business you should concentrate on your core competencies and contract out those tasks which fall outside that realm.
Strengthen your weaknesses. Analyze and find the areas that should be improved, then make a daily effort to improve these weak points in an endeavor to make them assets rather than liabilities.
Always be learning. The more you know about your particular business niche the more you will excel in it. If new technologies are on the horizon, take a class, talk to an expert, be the early adapter. Be the go-to expert in your niche.
Attitude is everything. If you project confidence and a positive attitude, it just may manifest itself in all that you do. Adopt a winning attitude!
Remember, no one is perfect and rather than bury your flaws, embrace them and work to make changes to address them.
According to Tim Ferriss, author of the “The 4-Hour Workweek”: 80% of one’s productivity comes from 20% of one’s efforts and likewise 80% of your wasted time comes from 20% of the possible causes.” Do you agree?
Did you know there are steps you can take to address your “20%”:
Has your support system grown? Are you in the same place you’ve always been, networking with the same people you always have? Look at stepping outside your comfort zone and the same circle of networking events and expand your horizons – your business will thank you!
When it comes to technology, are you keeping up with the times? Working with outdated or outmoded technologies can sap your energy. Conversely, being too connected can also drain your energy. You need to work with up-to-date technologies but you also need to know when to “turn off and step away.”
Physical health has a bearing on your mental health and your productivity. It’s not healthy to simply sit in front of a computer working all day. You need to get up – stand up and move around every hour for five minutes. Eat your lunch away from the screen, truly enjoy what you’re eating. Take time to visit friends and family and discuss items that are not related to business.
What can you to do increase your energy and deplete your energy sappers?
