Taking the first step towards what we were born to do

Taking the first step require us to realise that we all great in our own right and once we make that decision to move forward, then there is no stopping once we stay focus.

"Our mind is always more powerful than we think"

I've found this great article:

How to identify your first self-empowerment goal

As soon as you've made that decision, it's time to target where you like to change your life. What goals do you desire to set? And most importantly, what is the first goal you're intending to tackle?

You may have career goals like going back to school, getting a promotion, or starting your own company. You may have personal goals like finding a partner or spouse, improving your finances, or buying a home.

Usually, the key to success with any goal is to focus and take manageable and small steps. If you want to start a business then you'll ideally make a list of the steps required to achieve that goal. Each step can then be a smaller and more attainable goal.

You can add another goal to your plan once you're on the path to achieving one goal and have taken some significant steps toward success. Many people have more than just one goal, but attempting to prioritize them both at the same time can be overwhelming.

Being self-empowered means that you have made the conscious choice to control your life-- all areas of your life. Rather than being the victim of others, of circumstance, or even of your very own negative or limiting thinking, you've decided to take life by the reins, make your personal decisions and set your very own goals.

Which goal will you focus on? Consider the following ideas and questions:

Choosing the self-empowerment goal that you target first may feel overwhelming. Enjoy the process of becoming empowered and taking control over every aspect of your life.

* What goal will have the biggest effect on your life? Sometimes one goal on your list will make the biggest definer for you. 

That may possibly be the most effective place to start.

Most often, the key to success with any goal is to focus and take manageable and small steps. If you want to start a business then you'll ideally make a list of the steps required to achieve that goal. * What goal will have the biggest impact on your life? Another option is to focus on the simplest and easiest goal. What goal do you want to focus on?

* What goal feels necessary to move forward? There may be a goal on your list that just logically comes.

Another option is to focus on the simplest and easiest goal. Create a pattern of success by starting with goals that you know you can achieve.

All things aside, what goal on your list gives you the biggest smile or sense of inspiration? What goal do you want to focus on?

Article source http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/how-to-identify-your-first-self-empowerment-goal

How to make affirmations work for you

During my reading today, I found this great article that explains the truth about affirmation and how to make them work for you.

Hope you enjoy it.

Affirmations: The secret to making them work for you!

Positive affirmations are all over the internet (specifically social media sites like Pinterest and Facebook) 

But they’re not just some fancy saying.

People believe that if affirmations are used properly, they can change your life.

How?

Well, according to theory, if you say them over and over again your mind will start believing them;

And belief is one of the most powerful predictors of success.

But do affirmations really work?

Well the answer is a little more complicated than a simple yes or no. 

Tony Robbins, Life Coach and Self-help guru extraordinaire doesn’t think so. 

He personally attests to incantations which are essentially affirmations combined with movement, intended to get an emotional charge out of you. 

In fact Tony has personally been using Incantations for over 30 years and is a big part of his personal success; which at a net worth of $480 million dollars (as of April 2015) is no small feat.

But there is another way

A secret way of using affirmations that is supported by academic research. It’s called the REINFORCEMENT 

AFFIRMATION TECHNIQUE (or R.A.T. for short)

The academic community calls them self-affirmations and according to research, it’s all about HOW you use them that make all the difference.

So in the academic World many studies have been done on self-affirmation and its impact but instead of trying to figure all of that out for yourself, here are the important points and how it can help you change your life. 

In order to achieve lasting change through Affirmations, three items are absolutely necessary:

Accepting what you’re affirming. If you affirm the following:

"I am amazing at spotting and acting on all opportunities that come my way"

Are you going to believe it? 

If the answer is no then put a big X on accepting what you’re affirming. Suddenly your affirmation becomes nothing more than meaningless words you tell yourself. You might as well say:

"I'm a green banana that leaps tall buildings in a single bound"

Motivation for Change –

Okay so you believe what you’re saying, but are you going to do anything about it? 

It would definitely be a big fat no if you’re not accepting what you’re affirming, but you’re much more likely if you do. 

Subsequent Behaviour –
So you believe you are amazing at spotting and acting on all opportunities that come your way (or that you’re a green banana!) and you’re motivated to use that in achieving financial freedom for example;

Will you follow up with the appropriate behaviour?

Well the good news is that if you affirm correctly you’re far more likely to accept, be motivated and act on it then if you don’t. 

So what does this all mean?

How exactly do you do proper self-affirmations?

Well, two things are needed. 

You NEED to believe it and you need to build support around it to move from belief to motivation to action.

Belief

In order to believe an affirmation, you have to believe it to be true in at least one aspect of your life. 

It doesn’t even have to be in the area of your life you want to improve (at first). 

So let’s say;

You want to lose weight but cannot find the motivation to exercise. Saying “I’m motivated” over and over in the context of losing weight won’t be very effective. 

But what if you stop for a moment and think about another aspect of your life where you are or have been motivated. 

For example, you are very successful in your career and you’re motivated to do the best you can in your job. 

Well doesn’t that mean you are motivated in at least one aspect of your life? 

And if you can be motivated in one aspect, isn’t it entirely possible to be motivated in other? Absolutely! 

Now the affirmation doesn’t seem so unbelievable, does it! Of course not. 

Is that enough to actually motivate you into action? Maybe. It depends on the person. If you’re like most people, it won’t be enough. Fortunately there is another step.

Support

What the academics have discovered is that in a lot of cases it’s not enough to simply say it. 

What they have found is that you’re much more likely to alter your behaviour with the proper support around that affirmation. 

And that means taking that affirmation (I’m motivated as evidenced in the pursuit of my career) and write down the details behind that. 

Specifically examples of times when you were/are motivated. 

What that does is it opens your mind to the possibility that this affirmation can apply in other areas of your life and now you have real-life examples to support it. 

And that’s it! Instead of taking the 10 minutes you would use to say something you don’t believe over and over again, take the time to try the Reinforcement Affirmation Technique (R.A.T.) and see if it works for you.

It has a much better chance of positively affecting you. 

Now there are some additional tips I’d like to offer:

If you can’t find any aspect of your current life where the affirmations seems to ring true, then search your past and try and find examples that provide support.

If you’re having trouble figuring out an affirmation to explore further, read them out loud and see which ones touch a nerve. If one of them does, it’s your subconscious nudging you to look into it further, because there is some truth behind it.

Finally, if nothing is working, enlist the help of someone who you can trust and have them shed some light on which affirmation(s) are true in some aspect of your life.

I hope you found this useful and I would love to hear your feedback.

Article source: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/affirmations-the-secret-to-making-them-work-for-you

What is the most effective use of your time

Self development is a must for everyone who wants any kind of success as practising self development techniques generally forces us to 

1. Think about and create personals goals and visions. 

2. Take the necessary steps to turn those goals into actionable plans.

Many times we tell ourselves that we are short on time, why can't we take the next step to self motivate and move on to where we would life to be.  Just remember, if it really means something to you, then you will make the time.

What are the benefits of effectively managing your time?

- More time to do what you really want

- Improves your productivity and efficiency

- Reduces the type of risks you take  (eg. don't be late and then speed down the motor way to get to where you need to be for 9am.)

- Better decision making

- You won't get yourself stressed.

What is the most effective use of our time?

Too frequently we hug tasks that can be easily done by someone else.  Learn to delegate, delegating is the key as you can achieve two things, 1.  you get a chance to teach someone to develop a new skill or just learn something new 2. You achieve your goals without doing too much of the mundane tasks that tend to hold us back from getting ahead. 

How to Overcome Leadership Challenges

5 Ways to Overcome Leadership Challenges

An important part of creating a solid online brand and a solid business both online and offline is leadership. That said, anyone who steps up to be a leader is going to encounter challenges. One of the true tests of leadership is how you overcome the leadership challenges that will come no matter how great of a leader you are. 

Here are five effective ways you can overcome leadership challenges and become a star leader:

1. Ask yourself: “What is right with this situation?” Whenever you encounter a challenge to your leadership, no matter how bad the situation may seem, there is always something right or good about it. Make a list of all the things that are right and avoid dwelling on the wrong. Analyzing what is right can lead you to a better understanding of what happened to cause any problem or challenge that you are experiencing. Furthermore you can also get clues about how to avoid leadership challenges in the future by predicting what may happen in the future as well.

2. Search for and focus on solutions rather than problems. Make a list of all of the solutions to the leadership problem or challenge. Avoid being judgmental at first and write down anything that you could do that comes to mind. If there are other people involved ask for their opinion and then proceed solving each problem one at a time with what you have determined to be the most productive solution.

3. Learn from other successful and effective leaders. One of the best ways to become a star leader is to read books written by others who have paved the way before or to interview them or to find ways to associate with them. Take note of what they do or what they did when they encountered leadership challenges that were similar to yours. Pay attention to how they thought and what they did and worked on as a person as well as what they did with those they lead. Effective leaders are created by who you become as a person in addition to the actions you take.

4. Practice positive thinking and motivation. This can only help and improve your leadership. In addition you will be better prepared when those challenges that you know will come appear in your life. Positive thinking also helps you to tolerate and even embrace frustration, failures and challenges.

5. Ask for help. Admit it, sometimes you will need help to overcome your leadership challenges. Turn to someone who has been through the same experience that you have or something similar and ask for their advice. If the situation is severe you may even need to hire them to help you or somehow otherwise obtain assistance. Avoid thinking that this shows weakness since everyone needs help from time to time and a sign of a great leader is that they are humble and open to receiving help when needed.

Know that you can overcome any leadership challenge that is thrown your way and that in doing so you will become a stronger person and you will be viewed as someone that people want to emulate both online and offline.

Article Source: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/5-ways-to-overcome-leadership-challenges

How to lead ones self into the desired direction? Personal Leadership

I recently wrote about a couple of steps to help with self motivation. How do you actually put yourself in the position to actually make the decision about what you want and make that first step?  In making that first step you have to put the word 'tomorrow' out of your mind. "Never put off what you can do today to tomorrow".  That world should not exist in your vocabulary when it comes to your aspirations and your future.  You must learn to be your own leader.  

I have found this great article on personal leadership by Joe Farcht,which you might find interesting
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Personal Leadership Definition
Personal leadership is the ability and desire to crystallize your thinking and to establish a specific direction and destination for your own life. It includes the courage, choice, and commitment to move in that direction by taking committed and determined action to acquire, accomplish, or become whatever you visualize for your future. 

Building Personal Leadership
Critical to your work and personal success is building your own personal leadership. There is no substitute to learning more about yourself, acquiring knowledge and wisdom, practicing new skills, and developing more of your personal potential for greatness. Building personal leadership is absolutely essential to your long-term achievements, success, and happiness. However, what I observe is that many people are so busy that they find no time to create a brighter future for themselves. 

When you build personal leadership you develop your own capacity to work smarter. You improve your effectiveness and productivity. You develop a focus for your life endeavors through developing clear statements of vision, purpose, mission, and values. You make steady conscious progress toward your planned goals, dreams, and aspirations. You become a model of personal leadership for those you interact with. You qualify yourself to become an effective organizational leader. You become aware of the potential pitfalls that could derail you in your work and life. You march confidently down the path of life knowing you are on “purpose.” You easily say “Yes” to the life you should live and “No” to the parts of life that would distract you from your mission.

Many business people believe that developing leadership in their organizations is important and I concur. Building personal leadership precedes building organizational leadership. Examine your own personal development plans and actions. If you are not daily and consciously developing your personal leadership, then you will be ineffective at helping the people who work for you develop their leadership skills. It all starts with you. You have a choice today. What will your choice be?

The original article can be found at http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/Definition_Leadership.html