Don't for the New Year

Do Not Do These if You Want to Have a Successful 2016

First week is in the books and the second is pretty close.

Are you part of the 20-something percent that has already given up on their new Year's goals? It’s not like you’ve completely given up on your dreams, its just that life has already gotten in the way and you occasionally think that there is no way. Then this leads to the whole, "Why do I even bother making New Years goals anyway."

Your job. Your job, your family, your friends, your finances; all of these problems… I mean, responsibilities seem to hit you from every angle and it makes you afraid of taking the leap of faith needed to add another goal on your plate.

Afraid of what people will think if you quit your job.

Afraid of going bankrupt.

Afraid of falling behind in the rat race.

Afraid of not being able to provide for your family.

Afraid of not living up to the expectations of others.

Afraid of not living up to your own expectations.

Afraid of failing.

No one wants to be irresponsible, and everyone feels afraid sometimes. But does that mean it’s impossible to realize your dreams?

Of course not. The Michael Jordans, Steve Jobs and Mark Zuckerbergs of the world show us that goals can be reached and dreams can be made to happen.

“But those people are so much more talented, so much more charismatic, so much luckier than me… I could never be like them,” you might be thinking.

It’s true—you might never be like them. Your dream might not be as big or impressive as theirs.

Your goal may be as small as losing 10 pounds or much more grand like starting a new business or owning a house. It’s not the size of your dream that matters. It’s the pursuit of your goals that turns your life into a thrilling adventure, an exhilarating story. That’s what really matters.

This is that time of the year when all of the online gurus tell you what you need to do to make your dreams a realty, that's not me, sorry.

Instead, I’m going to share with you what should stop doing. These are things we all do on occasion—things that quietly sabotage our dreams, sap our energy, and make our goals look more and more unattainable.

 So Don’t do these things:

1.      Say “I wish” or “I hope”: This is basic NLP 101. Whenever you do this, you put yourself in a mindset where the situation is beyond your control, there is some outside force that has a yay or nay say in whether you accomplish your goal or not. What you can do as an alternative is turn your wishes and hopes into goals. For example, don’t say, “I wish my boss would give me flexible working hours.” Instead, set a goal that you’re going to have a conversation with your boss within the next three days about establishing flexible working hours. When you set goals, you choose to focus on what you can do to improve your circumstances, which is very empowering.

2.      Complain: This is a favorite pastime for many people. There are always things to complain about: the weather, the economy, the healthcare system, the guy who sat next to you on the bus and hummed a really annoying song… but when you complain, you’re not making your circumstances any better. Instead of complaining, think about the many things you have to be grateful for. Another NLP technique is to apply discomfort to habits you are trying to break, so try wearing a rubber band around your wrist. Whenever you’re about to complain, snap the rubber band as a reminder not to.

3.      Blame others: In today's society, we see it everywhere; everyone wanting safe zones, everyone offending everyone else, etc. Nothing is ever their fault. If you want to achieve your dreams, you will need to take full responsibility for your life. That means no blaming your parents, friends, relatives, skin color, disability or bad luck for where you are in life. Recognize that some things are beyond your control, but take responsibility for the way every situation turns out. You cannot change the past, but you can change how you react to it.

4.      Think of reasons why you shouldn’t take action: There will always be plenty of them. Think of all the positive things that might happen if you take action today.

5.      Settle: Settling for second best is a sure way to prevent yourself from reaching your dreams. This applies to your relationships, finances, career and physical health. Decide that you’re going to create a masterpiece out of your life. Don’t give in to the allure of a comfortable but mediocre existence. I was once told that good is the stealer of best.

6.      Procrastinate: You can probably think of at least one thing you can do immediately that will bring you closer to your dream. There’s never a perfect time to take action, so do what you can right now.

7.      Hang out with toxic people: A mentor of mine, Jim Rohn, said that you’re the average of the five people you spend most of your time with. Hang out with negative, critical and judgmental people, and you’ll become just like them in no time. Those aren’t traits you associate with people who make their dreams come true.

8.      Say “I should”: When you say you “should” learn a new language, start writing a book, or go for a public speaking course, it’s unlikely that you’ll actually do it. Say, “I choose to” instead or "I will" if you wan to be more direct with it. This makes you realize that everything in life is a choice. You really do have the power to choose, and to turn your dreams into reality.

9.      Compare yourself to others: There will always be people out there who are better looking, smarter and more capable than you. But you’re not trying to achieve their dreams; you’re trying to achieve yours. Think about the characteristics that make you special and unique, and about how you can use them to accomplish your dream.

10.  Watch so much TV: The same applies for going on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc and can also be applied to reading fiction. If you’re not careful, these can become major time sucks. Most surveys show that the average American watches more than four hours of TV a day. I hope that statistic scares you. Imagine how much closer you could get to achieving your dream if you spent those four hours every day doing something more fruitful. I’m not suggesting that you go cold turkey, but set a daily limit for yourself and use a timer to make sure you stick to that limit.

11.  Say “I don’t have time”: Do you make time to watch your favorite TV show? Do you make time to update your Facebook status? Do you make time to eat? We all make time for the things that are important to us. If you find yourself saying you “don’t have time” to do something you know you ought to; it's all about prioritizing our priorities.

12.  Say “yes” to everyone: Many people find it impossible to say “no” to requests and opportunities, even ones that aren’t in line with their values and goals. If you say “yes” to everyone, you’re effectively settling for good, when what you really want is great. The path of greatness is the path of intentional abandonment of everything good, in pursuit of only the best. Think carefully before agreeing to any request.

13.  Try to be perfect: I’m not perfect, and neither are you. Accept yourself fully—achievements, strengths, weaknesses, failures, flaws and all. You don’t have to be perfect to realize your dreams, but you do need to be committed to personal growth. You can only begin that journey when you accept yourself completely for who you are an where you are right now.

14.  Try to please everyone: This goes along with number 12. Like the great P.T. Barnum is known for (Lincoln had a variation of this before him though), “You can please all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all of the time, but you can’t please all of the people all of the time.” Your dreams are personal. You’re not pursuing them to garner applause from the people around you or from society. Don’t make the mistake of trying to make everyone happy, because that’s impossible. So don’t even try.

15.  Deprive yourself of sleep: When you don’t feel your best, you’re more likely to make impulsive decisions that aren’t in your long-term interests. If you want to achieve your dreams, you’ll definitely have to make short-term sacrifices for long-term gain. If you’re sleep-deprived, you probably won’t have the willpower to make the right decision.

I haven’t achieved all of my dreams. Far from it, in fact. Before I have accomplished one, I find that I am formulating plans to accomplish new ones.

I do know, however, that pursuing your dreams isn’t easy. Somewhere along the way, you’ll want to quit, all of us do. You’ll want to run away and go back to your comfortable, familiar, boring life, but I beg you not to. The world needs entrepreneurs who are fully alive. Most people are barely surviving, barely making it through each day. Don’t be one of them.

Dream big. Start small. Act now—right now and as always, here's to your success.

 

Organize and Maximize for 2016

“An end-of-the-year checklist to help get things in order for the upcoming year.”

It's the end of the fiscal year for most, but this isn’t the time to rest on your laurels and wait for the New Year clients to come in. By maximizing this time, the beginning of the new year, you can set yourself up to be more productive in the coming months.

Here are some things that you can do that will help you hit the ground running in 2016.

1.       Evaluate the virtual assistants that are in your arsenal.

If you are not aware of what a virtual assistant is, it’s anyone that doesn’t directly work under you, but takes over tasks that you can’t do, don’t want to do, and shouldn’t be doing. These are the administrative duties keeping you from actually doing your business. There are companies that can do your administrative jobs for you. Your virtual team includes tax attorneys, website wizards, marketing firms, PR agencies; the list goes on and on—anyone who takes on parts of your workload, whether part time or full time, in order for you to get focused on the business at hand which is actually working on your business.

2.       Show appreciation to your clients.

Whether you are sending holiday cards, thank-you notes or even having a giveaway, this is a good practice to get going in your business. Showing appreciation tells the clients that they are not just a dollar sign.

3.       Finalize all of your “C” priorities.

Your “C” priorities are those things that aren’t very pressing, but still need to be done at some point; why not now? The unanswered e-mails, follow up calls, un-filed or misfiled information.  After reading an email, if it is something that is worth keeping, have a folder system set up to transfer it to, do not simply leave it floating in your inbox. By setting up email folders, you keep yourself more organized. If it is something that is of no importance, delete it immediately, clutter causes chaos.

4.       Maximize your website.

Hopefully you are utilizing a service for keeping your website current, but even if you are, go though it anyway and determine if any changes need to be made. By keeping up on it yourself, you keep your techs on their toes and have less site errors. Make sure that your website is not just an online brochure for your business, but is actually gaining clients.

5.       Create or review your email campaigns and contact lists.

If you are not utilizing contact lists and keeping in touch with your client base through e-zine or newsletters, you are leaving a large sum of money on the table. It’s all about effective marketing and effective marketing is all about the relationships. Eluding back to number one, people want to feel remembered and appreciated.

6.       Upgrade, update and clean up that computer.

If your system is bogged down, obsolete or just full of junk that makes finding documents difficult, you need to fix it now. End of the year sales makes for some great deals on new systems, new programs, etc. Your computer generally holds most of your important information, so make sure to take care of it. Upgrade the OS if necessary, make sure that all programs, apps, and system updates are all up-to-date. Get rid of unnecessary files, archive old files to an external hard drive, add more memory and Ram if possible, and defragment your harddrive. This will help keep your computer from crashing.

7.       Clean, clean, clean.

When was the last time you tackled your filing cabinet?  When was the last time you saw the top of your desk? It is now a good time to organize and clean the workspace. Trust me, when you decllutter, you will find that it relieves stress and helps you focus when you are in a clean, clutter free environment. Knowing where everything is will also maximize your time. Spending 15 minutes looking for a lost file is a waste of 15 minutes that you could have gotten one or two new clients, you could have used that time to draw up a new product, you could have even used that time to make some of those return calls and emails that have been piling up. Dusting will help your health also, just saying.

8.       Where did you drop the ball?

Very simple exercise that has the potential of being extremely powerful. Get rid of any distractions, set down with a pen and paper. Now think about and write down the top 10 to 15 things that didn’t go to well for you this past year. Then, before you have time to get depressed, go over each and write down what could have been done to change that situation for the better. By doing this, you are addressing the problem and creating a solution, so the next time a similar situation occurs, you jump right into the solution and, therefore create a better outcome.

9.       Where did you score?

Now, on another piece of paper, write down the top 10 to 15 things that went right for you in the past year. Get as detailed as you can about it. Don’t be embarrassed to show a little pride in yourself. Concentrate on each one and try to come up with a way to do it better. There is always room for improvement. For these accomplishments, did you reward yourself? Very important that you reward yourself for jobs well done.

10.   Set your goals

Decide what you want to do in this upcoming year and write them down, start figuring out how to accomplish them. Goals are like a road map; they get you focused on where you need to go. If you have already set goals, re-evaluate them. Sometimes goals change as our circumstances change. Keep your goals updated and fresh on your mind.

 

Now relax, make a cup of hot chocolate, kick back and enjoy the rest of the holiday season knowing that you are ready for 2016.

 

Your New Year's Resolution:Start A Home Based Business

Start your New Year off with a Home based business. I always tell people that unless you are working for yourself, you're simply fullfilling someone else's dream. And you know it. I have learned many exciting techniques in running a successful home based business and I would like to share them with you.

Now Consider this:

I am sure, if you have been reading my posts for long, that you see it is possible for you to start your own business and kick start your legacy Are you beginning to see how realistically staggering it truly is? If not, I need to apologize to you because I haven’t done my job.

I am extending you an open invitation to duplicate my success and the success of countless others by first changing your mindset and then your life. If I was able to do it, I I know you can.

So I ask you...

         Will you be the next Success story in a home based business in 2016?

Sadly, most people have flat-out given up on the life of their dreams... and they've resigned themselves to a life of struggle, lack, and limitation.  They suffer in the Land of Opportunity.  And they are fooled into believing the lie that it has to be this way. Most people don't realize that with proper leadership and the right opportunity, virtually anyone with desire can achieve the lifestyle and level of income the want with ease!

I'm living proof: Ever since I've started my home based business I feel a rush of internal excitement. I am literally helping people just like you exit the rat-race and achieve the same level of success I enjoy.

You need to possess a willingness to be successful. The individuals you associate with will help you be that person.  Successful people tend to affiliate with others who posses the same attributes. 

Wishful Hoping & No Action is Not Going to Cut It.

 

Here a three reasons why:

 

1.  There is nothing Casual About Worthwhile Achievement.  You must Earn your way to success in life-no matter what you do.  Only then will you achieve  a casual life style with enough money for you and your family to enjoy it in style. My personal achievement channel was my home based business.

 

2.  Trying is Not Doing. People with a " see what happens" attitude get to see what happens,alright...they sit their lazy butts down as they "see" others rapidly making wheelbarrels of success-but they  never do it themselves.  The success of entrepreneurship depends soley on YOUR drive and desire.

 

3.  You need to be honest with yourself to avoid wasting your time in a home based business.  If you only kid yourself, you won't experience a positive change in your life until you First make a postive change. Through personal growth techniques I realized that focusing on positive energy will replace the negativity that is keeping you from achieving the success in your home based business that is vital for your financial freedom.

 

I deserve my success because I took charge of my life.  If you’re wondering what I do with the rest of my time, I spend it with my family; I help worthwhile charities, I ENJOY LIFE and I CHOOSE MY ACTIVITIES.

Make 2016 the year that you decide to move forward and not just be a pawn in creating someone else’s life.