How to Get What You Want

You’ve visualized what you want. You know it’s right for you. You can see it, feel it, smell it, touch it in your mind’s eye. It feels so real that when you open your eyes, you’re surprised that it’s not here yet.

Once you know what you want, hold a vision of yourself in your consciousness already having achieved it. Banish any doubts. Have no hesitation.

Going forward, when you experience any doubt or fear, continuously re-adjust your focus. Remind yourself of how you felt in your visualization. Step into that feeling. Sit down and do your visualization again and again whenever necessary.

The Universe responds to every thought and feeling. Focus your thoughts on what you want.

Nothing Is Impossible

What would you do if nothing was impossible?

You see, there are no limits to what you can be, do, or have. The only limits you have are those you place on yourself.

Release fear and begin to dream. What do you want? Close your eyes. Visualize it. See it. Feel it. Hear it. Smell it. Touch it.

Then open your eyes, keep this feeling foremost in your consciousness, and keep moving toward your goal.

7 Characteristics of Highly Successful People

Success is a journey, however, many people think it’s a destination. You often hear those people saying things like, “When I graduate from college, I’ll be successful” or “When I earn a million dollars, I’ll know I’m successful.”

These achievements are not success. They are the results of successfully doing what it takes to graduate from college and what it takes to earn a million dollars. And, if you ask a successful person about their success, most will answer, truthfully, that they had a lot of fun getting there. What they may not think to tell you is that they built their success with consistent effort over time. Success didn’t just come suddenly to them.

Most successful people have a few characteristics in common.

1. Resilience
Just as a tree bends and sways in the wind, which strengthens its trunk and roots, successful people have the capacity to go with the flow and to bounce back from any obstacles they may encounter in life. Practice resilience and you will be light years ahead of your peers.

2. Persistence
Many people give up just before they’re about to achieve their goals. Successful people know that if they want to achieve a specific goal, they must be persistent in going after it or they will never achieve anything worthwhile.

3. Curiosity
Successful people are curious and they’re not shy about asking questions or showing their interest. They are willing to go after their dreams because their curiosity is stronger than their shyness or fear. Their curiosity drives them.

4. Thick-skinned
Successful people develop a thick skin. They know that if they don’t, other people’s words may sidetrack them. If words can’t hurt you because you just shrug them off and keep working toward your goal, you’re more than halfway there.

5. Positive attitude
This one’s kind of a no-brainer. Positive people generally accomplish more, are happier, and are more successful than negative people. They are also more creative because their positive attitude allows them to feel happy and more relaxed.

6. Sense of humor
Successful people know how to laugh at themselves. If they make a mistake or forget something, they easily find the humor in the situation. They are especially good at dealing, humorously, with failure or obstacles that slow their progress toward their goals.

7. Strong communication skills
Strong communication skills, sometimes in more than one language, are a critical characteristic of highly successful people. Being able to effectively communicate with others can put you on a sure track to success.

What other characteristics do successful people have?

You Are Unstoppable

Obstacles can’t stop you. Problems can’t stop you.
Most of all, other people can’t stop you.
Only you can stop you.
      —Jeffrey Gitomer

It’s human nature to place blame.

In fact, almost everyone has said, at one time or another, that they couldn’t do something because of something that happened or because someone said or did something that prevented them from reaching their goal.

The difficult truth to face is that you are the only one who can stop you. Situations or people may delay you from reaching your goals. But only you can prevent yourself from reaching your goals.

This is a difficult truth to understand, however, once you do understand it—and accept responsibility for it—reaching your goals becomes much easier.

What types of obstacles do you find yourself facing on your way to achieving your goals?

The Greatest Salesman in the World

When I was twelve years old, my Dad handed me a book he wanted me to read. He said, “I think it will help.” I’ve always loved to read and I was curious because Dad hadn’t ever asked me to read a particular book before—although he had asked me not to read some books.

It was The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino and I’ve read this book at least 20 times or more over the years. I love story of how Hafid, a young orphaned camel boy became the greatest salesman in the world. Most of all, I love Og Mandino’s storytelling style and many are the years when I’ve lived with this book, reading and practicing the lessons in the scrolls every day for 10 months at a time. I can honestly say that those years are always among my best.

But what stands out even more luminously for me are the words of one particular quote in The Greatest Salesman in the World. When Pathros sends Hafid on his journey to great success, he tells the boy to remember that,

“Failure will never overtake you if your
determination to succeed is strong enough.”
—Og Mandino, The Greatest Salesman in the World

Many times when I’ve felt ready to give up only to recall those words. They are like a mantra for me. Repeating them both silently and out loud gives me strength, renews my faith, and fills me with the energy and drive to continue to pursue my dreams.

Lucky 2013 — Time to Revise

It’s never too late — in Fiction or in Life — to Revise.
                                              —Nancy Thayer

 We’ve just rung in the New Year. It’s time to wipe the slate clean and start fresh. It’s time to revise the things that haven’t worked in the past year, Reassess the things that have worked, and Determine what to add to your life. Perhaps I should call this time revisioning.

I don’t believe in new year’s resolutions because they’re too easy to break. I do, however, believe in setting goals for the coming year. My favorite thing about New Year’s Day is the quiet time I spend, either first thing in the morning or sometime later in the day, snuggled in the most comfortable chair in our home with a notebook and pen at the ready.

The first thing I do is make a list of everything (and I do mean everything) I want to accomplish, beginning with:

1. What I plan to earn (this is not based on current income—this is what I want to earn).
2. When I plan to take vacation, where I plan to go, and for how long.
3. Next, I list 3 to 5 long-term goals (goals that will require 6 to 12 months to complete.
4. Following the long-term goals, I include up to 10 short-term goals (goals that will require 1 week to 3 months to complete.

 
I usually aim for 10 goals for the new year. However, since this year is Lucky 2013, I’m giving myself some room to negotiate and revise — I’m giving myself 13 very lucky goals.