Gaining by Eliminating

Ok, I'm taking a page from my mentor's book here, so credit given where it's due this is based on a coaching cd by Greg Pinneo that I recently listened to. S.I.S.E., or "Sh** I Should Eliminate" - what should we remove from our lives to be more effective, to move closer to our goals and grow to live our potential? To live a healthier, more fulfilling life? If you ask people that are very successful, especially those that seem to get more done in a day than seems possible, most of them will tell you that it's not just about what they do that is the key; it's more about what they don't do. Here's few to get you started on thinking about what you should eliminate in your own life. Some are a spin off the cd by Pinneo, and some are my own thoughts.

• Distractions - We are so distracted in our culture today it's ridiculous. Between the ads we see and hear constantly and the constant "ding" of the 30 different alerts set on our phones, we are almost always distracted in some way. It's so bad we even have a phrase to describe it: Continuous Partial Attention. If you're not acutely aware of your own distractedness, it's very easy to get sucked in. It's all around us. When you're in a state of Continuous Partial Attention, you are never truly focused on the task at hand. You not only get less done, but you're never in the moment. You rob yourself of the full experience of so many great things in life if you're never fully present in anything you do.
• Vagueness  - Who wants to live a life where at the end you, or anyone else who was around you, couldn't really say what it was you did? What if they couldn't say what you stood for, what you believed in, or what you set out to accomplish? A vague life is a life without direction. Be clear on who you are, what you stand for, what you will not tolerate in your life, and what you want to accomplish. Know what legacy you want to leave. If the picture of what you want is vague, the results will be as well.
• Negative People - These come in all types, from those who are just "takers" who will never give anything from their end, to those who make you feel less of yourself just from being around them, to those who just have an overall negative attitude, to those who try to shatter your dreams with their own limiting belief of possibility. Here's an easy tip - don't hang around these people. We become like those we hang around. No matter how mentally tough you think you are, if you spend your time around people like this, it will affect your own attitude. Not to mention the fact that many of these types of people are time suckers and will use your time without hesitation or apology - before you know it you've been on the phone with them for 45 minutes, haven't said more than two words on your end, and have just been thrown up on with all of their problems and their negative spin. You know it's true, because it's happened to you before.
• Shallow Conversation - No more "how's the weather?" talk. Let's talk deeper. Let's talk life, philosophy, goals and aspirations. Let's talk life experiences. When we talk deeper, we build deeper relationships, we challenge our own thoughts, and we become better people.
• Worry - Worry has no place in your life. Think about it - has worrying about anything, whatever the outcome, ever helped in a situation? Ever? Of course not. Worrying does nothing but cause stress and make you wonder about things that are either out of your control or will never happen. Worry is a mentally draining, time wasting activity that has absolutely zero chance of having a positive return. If you tend to worry, sit down and make a list of all the things you're worried about. Then go through the list. The things you can do something about, do something about it, and the things you can't do anything about, let it go! We can't control the government, we can't control inflation, we can't control whether we get hit by a bus today or whether we're going to get cancer. Sure, we can do things to stay healthy and we can pay attention when we cross the street. But worrying about something that may or may not happen is worthless and has no place in your life. Control what you can, let go of what you can't. Now go make your list; seriously, right now.
• Apathy - I would go so far as to say this is one of the single biggest problems in our world today. Do not settle for less than what you're capable of. Don't be complacent and stop growing and becoming better. The opposite of apathy is passion. Get involved in whatever you can do with passion and that lights your fire. Then pursue it with everything you've got.
• Exhaustion - Staying up super late and getting up ridiculously early doesn't make you a martyr for your business; it makes you less effective. You're body can't function without proper sleep. You can actually get more done in less time if you're properly rested. Yes, there are times when you need to grind it out and push through, but if you're living every day of your life without enough sleep, you're asking for your body to crash. And it will. Don't burn yourself out.

Remove these things from your life and you will see a huge increase in the quality of your life, and you'll move much more quickly towards those things which you've set out to accomplish. What other things can you eliminate from your life in order to gain? Eliminate them today and start reaping the rewards.

-Comment, let me know your thoughts and what you need to eliminate on twitter - www.twitter.com/invest4cashflow

Finding Your Passion

Today I'm going to keep it short and simple. A lot of people struggle with finding what they are passionate about. You have probably been told or heard somewhere that you have to be passionate about what you are doing to have the greatest chance of success. If you don't know exactly what you are passionate about, answer these questions to help point you in the right direction.

1. What do you like to do in your free time?
2. What gets you excited?
3. What would you do even if you didn't get paid to do it?
4. What cause or goal drives you the most?
5. If you could do one thing for the rest of your life, what would it be?
6. What makes you unafraid to fail?
7. What do you like to talk about?
8. What are you naturally good at?

Take your time answering these. Put some good thought into it instead of just rushing through it and trying to answer them. If you are struggling to find your passion, I guarantee answering these questions will give you a good start on your path to finding it.

Find Your Passion

It may seem cliche, but to be successful you must find your passion. You have to be passionate about what you are doing, or you will never see the success you could have if you were passionate about it. Don't kid yourself either and say that you're going to "fake it 'til you make it" and that you will grow to love what you are doing. If you don't like it now, chances are you will like it even less years later. Find what excites you, what is fun for you and makes you want to get up in the morning to do it, and then find a way to make money doing that.

You also need to know what drives you. What are the reasons you want to accomplish your goals? Why do you want to be successful in whatever your chosen endeavors are? Is it your family? Is it helping other people? Is it having the ultimate freedom - the ability to do what you want, when you want? Whatever your drive is, your "why", it needs to be big. The bigger the "why", the easier the "how to" becomes. A lot of people say their drive is making money. Well, money is great, but what does that money get for you? That's what you're after. Don't just focus on the fact that you want to make a certain amount of money. Focus on the fact that when you obtain that goal, it will give you more time with your family, or the opportunity to travel to the place you've always wanted to go, or whatever it may be that is the real reason you want to have the money in the first place. Money will drive you for a short time, but your "why" will keep you going for the long haul. Money alone will never be enough to help you push through those hard times and get you around the obstacles that you will undoubtedly face.

If you don't know what your passion is, or what your "why" is, you must take the time to reflect and find out what those things are. Without them, you will be hard pressed to be as successful as you can be. With them you can be unstoppable.