How many of us are guilty of saying to ourselves something along the lines of "I'll do it tomorrow" or "I'll start that new discipline next week, when I've had the weekend to recover"? I'd venture to say we've all had those kinds of thoughts at some point. I know I have. Here's the problem...tomorrow never comes.
You may have valid reasons for waiting to start something. Maybe you are very tired from the day, so instead of getting up an hour early to work on that side project like you plan on doing, you say to yourself that you will get the extra sleep today and then tomorrow you will start on the project. But guess what? Chances are that tomorrow you are going to be just as tired and are going to come up with the same excuse. Whatever your reasoning or excuse is for not starting today, likely it will show up again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. You can't wait for perfect circumstances to begin, and you can't ever think that you will start tomorrow. You have to start TODAY.
How long can this really go on for though? It's just one day, right? Well, since we're approaching the end of 2010, go back and look at your goals you wrote down at the beginning of the year. Are there any projects that you meant to start that you didn't? I can almost guarantee there is something you intended to do that you never did. If you don't start right away, today, then you are risking this result every time.
Not only does "tomorrow" never come, but when you put things off you also run into other issues that are going to hurt you. One of these is the "law of diminising intent". In the example above regarding your 2010 goals, I bet you really felt like you could and wanted to do those projects. But as the year went on and you never started on it, you probably didn't think about it as much, and you probably eventually got busy with other things and didn't even remember that you wanted to do it in the first place. The law of diminishing intent says that no matter how excited and prepared you are to move forward on a project, the longer you put it off, the less excited and the less likely you are to move forward on it. So when you put something important to you off, not only are you delaying the rewards you could be reaping from completing it, but you are risking never completing it at all!
So what projects are you puting off until tomorrow? What should you be doing today that you have been making excuses for not starting? Stop making excuses, stop waiting until tomorrow, and start taking action TODAY. Remember, tomorrow never comes, so stop waiting for it!
Your Focus Determines Your Outcome
What you focus on determines what you will get. Now what exactly do I mean by that? What I mean is that whatever are focusing on or spending your time thinking about, that is what you are going to end up getting back in results. This means if you are focusing your mind on positive results, you are going to achieve positive results. If you are focusing on negative results, that is what you are going to get as well.
Many people think and act and are driven by what they don't want, instead of turning it around and thinking and acting based on what they do want. The don't want to be poor, they don't want to struggle and live paycheck to paycheck, and so on. What they really need to be focusing on is what they do want instead. This is a major differentiation in thought. The positive thought process is like a rocket propelling you forward. The negative thought process is like a huge weight pulling you back. Wherever your mind is most consistantly, that's where your results are most often going to end up.
If you are thinking negatively, if you are always focused on what you don't want, it is a constant drag on your mind. You have a hard time trying to figure out how to get what you want, because you are too worried about trying not to have something rather than trying to have or achieve something. If you are spending your time and effort focused on the positive, your mind is going to be searching for solutions, and when you have a positive focus versus a negative focus, your mind has a much easier time accomplishing this task.
The negative side of this is the scarcity mindset; thoughts centered around "there isn't enough" or "I'll never be able to do this if I don't..." or "I can't afford that". These kinds of thoughts are clear signs that you are thinking with a scarcity mindset. The positive side is the abundance minset; thoughts centered around "how can I achieve this?" or "how can I afford this?". The focus is on the solution, the destination, instead of on the problem.
So when you are thinking about your goals, your plans, where you want to get in your life, think about what you want and not what you do not want. Focus on how to get where you want to go, not how to stay away from where you don't want to be. That simple shift in your thinking will make all the difference. Where your thoughts are is where you will end up.
Many people think and act and are driven by what they don't want, instead of turning it around and thinking and acting based on what they do want. The don't want to be poor, they don't want to struggle and live paycheck to paycheck, and so on. What they really need to be focusing on is what they do want instead. This is a major differentiation in thought. The positive thought process is like a rocket propelling you forward. The negative thought process is like a huge weight pulling you back. Wherever your mind is most consistantly, that's where your results are most often going to end up.
If you are thinking negatively, if you are always focused on what you don't want, it is a constant drag on your mind. You have a hard time trying to figure out how to get what you want, because you are too worried about trying not to have something rather than trying to have or achieve something. If you are spending your time and effort focused on the positive, your mind is going to be searching for solutions, and when you have a positive focus versus a negative focus, your mind has a much easier time accomplishing this task.
The negative side of this is the scarcity mindset; thoughts centered around "there isn't enough" or "I'll never be able to do this if I don't..." or "I can't afford that". These kinds of thoughts are clear signs that you are thinking with a scarcity mindset. The positive side is the abundance minset; thoughts centered around "how can I achieve this?" or "how can I afford this?". The focus is on the solution, the destination, instead of on the problem.
So when you are thinking about your goals, your plans, where you want to get in your life, think about what you want and not what you do not want. Focus on how to get where you want to go, not how to stay away from where you don't want to be. That simple shift in your thinking will make all the difference. Where your thoughts are is where you will end up.
Knowledge is Not Power
You've heard it said that "knowledge is power". But really, knowledge is not power. It is potential power, but knowledge itself is not power. Without action, knowledge will do nothing for you. It doesn't matter how much you know, if you never act on it then it will never make any difference. Action is the event that takes that knowlege and turns it into the power it has the potential to be.
Darren Hardy, Publisher of Success Magazine and author of "The Compound Effect" stated it perfectly when he said "Ideas without execution are wasted. Knowing what to do and not doing it is the same as not knowing what to do at all". You see, one person could know all there is to know about how to make money, how to be successful, and so on and one person could know absolutely nothing about it, and they can both be in the exact same place if the person that knows how to do it never does anything about it. No knowledge is the same thing as unlimited knowledge that is not used.
So don't just stop at educating yourself. You absolutely need to keep learning and make sure you have the knowledge you need to succeed. But don't keep that knowledge locked up inside. Go out and take action on it, or it will all be for nothing. Don't wait until you have all the knowledge you think you need to be able to start. Trust me, you will never get to that point. You learn and gain confidence as you go, and if you use the excuse that you don't know enough to be able to take action, you will be making that excuse for the rest of your life. Educate yourself and take the leap of faith into acting on it!
Darren Hardy, Publisher of Success Magazine and author of "The Compound Effect" stated it perfectly when he said "Ideas without execution are wasted. Knowing what to do and not doing it is the same as not knowing what to do at all". You see, one person could know all there is to know about how to make money, how to be successful, and so on and one person could know absolutely nothing about it, and they can both be in the exact same place if the person that knows how to do it never does anything about it. No knowledge is the same thing as unlimited knowledge that is not used.
So don't just stop at educating yourself. You absolutely need to keep learning and make sure you have the knowledge you need to succeed. But don't keep that knowledge locked up inside. Go out and take action on it, or it will all be for nothing. Don't wait until you have all the knowledge you think you need to be able to start. Trust me, you will never get to that point. You learn and gain confidence as you go, and if you use the excuse that you don't know enough to be able to take action, you will be making that excuse for the rest of your life. Educate yourself and take the leap of faith into acting on it!
Act Into Feeling
A lot of people don't do things because they don't feel like doing them. They have goals but they don't take the steps necessary to reach them because they do the things they feel like doing instead of the things they need to be doing to get there. The many people that are stuck in this cycle have one major thought process that needs to be corrected if they are to ever break free and reach their goals; successful people do not do what they feel like doing. They do what they need to do to get to the point where they can do what they feel like doing. They realize that they need to do things that they don't necessarily want to do in order to get that freedom. They also realize that you can't wait until you feel like doing something to do it, because you will almost never feel like doing it. You have to force yourself to do it until it creates the feeling. The formula is:
Action --> Feeling
NOT
Feeling --> Action
If you are waiting to take action on something until you feel like doing it, change your thought pattern and start taking action first. You will find that the feeling often soon follows the action, but you need to take the action first in order to get the feeling. Once you have the feeling, everything will compound since you are already taking action, and now you have the feeling that makes you want to take action! So...what are you waiting for? Take ACTION, get the feeling you are longing for, and start moving towards your goals!
Action --> Feeling
NOT
Feeling --> Action
If you are waiting to take action on something until you feel like doing it, change your thought pattern and start taking action first. You will find that the feeling often soon follows the action, but you need to take the action first in order to get the feeling. Once you have the feeling, everything will compound since you are already taking action, and now you have the feeling that makes you want to take action! So...what are you waiting for? Take ACTION, get the feeling you are longing for, and start moving towards your goals!
Real Estate: Get in NOW!
I'll make this short. If you are not currently involved in or TRYING to get involved in real estate right now, I just have one question for you? WHY NOT?! This market is a once in a lifetime opportunity to buy buy buy. Buying homes for pennies on the dollar is happening every day. Whatever the excuse is that you have, get past it and get going! If you don't have the knowledge - get educated! Whether it's your own research (not the BEST option), finding a mentor, or taking an education program, figure out how to do it. If you don't have the money - FIND IT! There are TONS of people out there with money but without the time or knowledge necessary to take advantage of this market. You bring the time and knowledge, and they will give you the money you need to do the deals. You just have to be willing to work for it and go and find it.
Whatever the excuses, stop right now and get involved in this AMAZING market that we have in front of us right now!
More on Real Estate coming very soon, so keep visiting the blog!
Check out this software that could help to EXPLODE your real estate business! Click Here!
Whatever the excuses, stop right now and get involved in this AMAZING market that we have in front of us right now!
More on Real Estate coming very soon, so keep visiting the blog!
Check out this software that could help to EXPLODE your real estate business! Click Here!
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