Remember You’re Worth it…

In today's fast-paced and competitive world, achieving personal and professional success can be a challenging endeavor. Many individuals struggle to stay focused, find direction, and overcome obstacles on their journey to success. While self-improvement and motivation are essential, having a coach can make a significant difference in propelling you towards your goals. Focus being the key word.  Lets talk about some reasons why having a coach is vital for personal and professional development and how it can help you unlock your potential tapping into your natural self

Clearer Goal Setting

One of the primary reasons to have a coach is their ability to help you set clear and achievable goals. Often, we may have vague aspirations but lack a concrete plan to achieve them. A coach can help you break down your ambitions into specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals. They will work with you to create a roadmap that outlines the steps needed to reach these goals and provide guidance throughout the journey.

Accountability and Commitment

Accountability is crucial when striving for success. Many people find it challenging to maintain consistent commitment to their objectives, particularly when facing obstacles or setbacks. A coach acts as a supportive accountability partner, holding you responsible for your actions and progress. They provide constructive feedback, ensure you stay on track, and help you overcome challenges along the way, keeping you motivated and focused on your path to success.

Personalized Guidance and Support

A coach understands that each individual is unique, with different strengths, weaknesses, and circumstances. They provide personalized guidance and support tailored to your specific needs. By understanding your personality, learning style, and preferences, a coach can adapt their approach to help you make the most significant progress towards your goals.

Overcoming Limiting Beliefs

Many of us are held back by self-doubt and limiting beliefs that prevent us from reaching our full potential. A coach helps you identify and challenge these mental barriers, replacing them with empowering beliefs. Through techniques like cognitive reframing and positive affirmations, a coach can help you develop a growth mindset, enabling you to embrace challenges as opportunities for growth.

Skill Development and Enhancement

Whether it's improving communication skills, leadership abilities, or time management, a coach can offer valuable insights and techniques to enhance your skillset. They provide honest feedback and constructive criticism to help you identify areas for improvement and work towards developing essential competencies to excel in both your personal and professional life.

Stress and Time Management

As you strive to achieve your goals, it's common to experience stress and overwhelm. A coach can teach you effective stress management techniques and time management strategies to maintain a healthy work-life balance. By learning how to prioritize tasks and delegate responsibilities, you can enhance your productivity and overall well-being.

Building Confidence

Confidence plays a pivotal role in achieving success. A coach can help you build self-confidence by celebrating your successes, no matter how small, and recognizing your growth and progress. As your confidence grows, you'll become more resilient in the face of challenges, enabling you to persevere and succeed in your endeavors.

Objective Perspective

Having an external perspective on your life and goals can be incredibly valuable. A coach offers an objective viewpoint, free from biases and emotional attachments. This allows them to provide impartial advice and insights, helping you see blind spots and opportunities you may have overlooked on your own.

Conclusion

In conclusion, having a coach can be a transformative experience on your journey to success. From setting clear goals to providing personalized guidance, a coach helps you unlock your full potential and achieve heights you may not have thought possible. With their support and expertise, you can navigate challenges, develop crucial skills, and build the confidence needed to thrive in all aspects of life. So, if you're looking to take your life and career to new heights, consider investing in the power of coaching and unlock your true potential. 

For a Free Copy of my Book ‘Extreme Winning’ CLICK HERE: www.jimsapara.com  

Reinvent Your Self Everyday

When the morning comes I like to wake up to positive stuff.

I think about possibilities that are happening right now and also things I consider impossible but know there must be a way somewhere to do it.

If I sit and listen for the first 15 or 20 minutes while I consume my caffeine jolt for the day, there are always one or two or three ideas in there that pop out. Some maybe that continues from the night before and others that are out of this world and make me come alive and

sets the tone for the day.

Lately though I have been taking a walk through this huge Flower Garden that is not far from my place and it is just so incredible. When I first enter, the smell of the flowers are just wafting in the air. So much it just stops you in your tracks. When you get in the middle of it and stop and do a 360 your realize the flowers are everywhere. its an amazing feeling and sight being totally engrossed in the beautiful view of the flowers first thing in the morning. As a Kid my Mom and Dad used to plant flowers every spring and it just takes me back there every time I walk into this flower Garden.

It just sets the tone and the pace for the whole day. The whole day!

After that, everything is easy. You still have the regular b.s. to deal with but that is just how life goes anyways. There is always something we need to fix or adjust while we move towards our current and future goals. However if you find something that really stimulates you and makes you feel good. Captures your senses. Makes you come alive first thing in the morning, that too sets your

mood and action ideas for the day. You get lots of stuff done but it just happens in a smoother, gentler way. 

‘In Order to Give Birth to a Dancing Star First Your Life Must be in Total Chaos! ‘

Not sure but I think it was Deepak Chopra who said that. I remember hearing it a long time ago and trying to think, why in the heck would he say something like that? And, what is that supposed to mean anyway? I’d rather have it smooth and comfortable. I like and prefer it that way. 

Life is made up of challenges and problems no matter how you look at it. The bigger problems we solve, the bigger the reward. Just because you don’t have the answer today doesn’t mean you’ll never get it either. Time does a lot to bust up that problem and let your brain send you a solution. In fact, I encourage it. Take the biggest challenge you have going on in your life. One that really drives you crazy. One that would feel so good just to get it solved, eliminated and out of your way. Even write it down and let it roll around in your mind for a few days. Your sustained and ongoing thinking will break it down.

Come back to it on a regular basis and you will break your challenge down into such small pieces that soon there will be nothing left it. 

Your thinking and actions will pound barriers and challenges to pieces if you let it. 

Thats why I like to be kind to my soul, my body and my mind especially in the morning because I know they are all going to help me create amazing things, say amazing things, do amazing things during the day. $&#k the Naysayers and the small minded thinkers.

Let your mind open up for business and let it stay open for the biggest, noisiest, loudest, toughest challenge you can solve and disintegrate into small little micro pieces and dissolve into the universe. 

Now you can create. Work on the projects and things that are important to you. It could be a hobby or a big business project you are working on. 

You can create and design the whole blueprint of the project while you are in the zone. 

The quiet easy hours in the morning or the late stimulating hours at night. Or maybe you like to have AC/DC playing with your headset on while you make it happen and create your work of art at any time.

The thing about creativity is we don’t always know when it will show up but we can keep ourselves open for the next great idea or perfect message to surface.

To consciously and deliberately take the time to embrace your Superpowers and Creativity is a talent all by itself. If you can do that, you are way ahead of the crowd. The amount that we consume on a daily basis is overwhelming.

Social media on multiple platforms, Energy eating the wrong food and senseless and wasted conversations, smoking,  reading trash, wasted time overthinking, doom scrolling, wasted conversations, daily soap operas and much much more. This is what 99% of people do. Just walking around in a bland ugly and unhealthy state of mind just surviving. The biggest one of them all. The most energy sucking and talent wasting, absolute zero productivity gonzo activity is simply hanging around the wrong people. Your proximity group is the most important of all. If you hang around the wrong people, you become a loser too. It is an unhealthy situation and this type of environment will feed off of you and totally drain your energy. 99 % of people are consumers

The other 1% are Creators. 

Discover a craft. Upgrade your hobby. Go looking. Follow your instinct. Listen to what your great friends keep saying. Maybe there are some clues there. Go on a trip. Head into the mountains. Distract yourself. Start Lifting Weights. Have an enriching conversation. Get Your GED. Buy that book that keeps jumping off the shelf. Dare Yourself. Be spontaneous. Walk through a Flower Garden. Ignite or re-ignite your passion. Find a New Lover. Learn a new language. Change Careers. Read 50 Books. Go Skydiving at 10,000 Feet. Learn Yoga. Join a group and Follow Excellence. 

Tell me what you want and I’ll help you get it.

For a Free Copy of my Book ‘Extreme Winning’ CLICK HERE: www.jimsapara.com  

Keep Going Anyways…

‘Once you start it you gotta finish it’ 

‘If you say it you gotta do it’

What I really mean is you don’t want to wait around for someone to tell you hey you gotta get it done. You just keep chiseling away at it every day. It's great to have the bar set for what you want to accomplish with it everyday but the important this is that you show up. Some days you will blow past your daily quota and other days its a struggle just to start or just to show up. That's the day you go and do it anyway. You do it anyways long after the emotion is gone. Because it's your discipline. You don’t have to wait until the time is just right. Make it now. Now when you are thinking about it is when you should get at it because you know if you don’t you’ll be thinking about it for the rest of the day.

When writing some ideas or articles, I like to have some slow quiet music playing in the background. Usually with my earphones. It really puts me in the zone. In the flow, is the best way to describe it.

I ignore all emails and texts or phone calls for that period of time. Nothing can interrupt until it is done. Its a real timeless state of mind 

to be in but it's the best for creating. Things and ideas pop into my mind that I forgot I even knew or an idea to solve a challenge I have been thinking of. It's the part of the day where I own the moment the most. Then when I’m done, I can look back and know I created something today.
So what puts you in that state? What gets you totally in the creative zone where you can totally exploit your genius and talent? 

Running, Working out at the Gym. Yoga. Martial Arts. Walking through nature, Meditating?

It could be a project you are working on. Maybe its a certain amount of production you want to attain. Or you are working on creating the next level of income to reach your personal best. Creating your next piece of Art by sculpting or painting. Inventing something that no one else has been able to do. Or maybe that time is spent carving out your next career move.

For ideas and thoughts to really germinate it's important to come back to them on a regular basis and see what they look like now compared to how they originally looked when you wrote them down.

Sometimes it can be very revealing. Other times an idea just gets discarded. The important thing is to capture those ideas as you move along. It could turn into something that has been on your mind for a long time.

That's why with the project you are working on, its important to keep going anyways. Keep adding to it everyday. Everyday. Everyday.

Ten minutes here and sixty minutes there over a few months time can really create a lot. You can even amaze yourself. 

The other concept is when you get into this creative zone and in the flow your subconscious wakes up and goes to work for you. Challenges you have been working on suddenly unfold in your mind with answers you have been seeking. Ideas that you had come back right out of nowhere and expanded in your mind with extensions of your original thinking.

You must persist and keep going anyways. Sometimes even when it hurts. You can be so pissed off and disappointed with yourself or things around you but you have to be kind to yourself and give yourself permission to stay into your life’s business but also to walk away for a day and then come back and see what it looks like.

Just recently I had some work to do on my website. Now to be real about it, I am just not a techie kind of guy. When it comes to computer stuff I have to work at it a little harder to get my answers. I originally was going to have a professional work on it, but this time I decided I’ll make some time and see what can be created here. I kept coming back to it day after day and some days get would get really stuck with it.

It just seemed I could not get past a certain point. Then I would throw my hands up and say that's it! I’m done!! Then after leaving it for a couple days and then start thinking okay, maybe I will take another look at it. Next thing you know, I would open the tool box back up and it all comes together like I was the master builder lol. I didn’t solve all the things I was working on with it, however I sure made an amazing dent in making it work.

So, that's why I say ‘Keep Going’ on whatever it is you are working on, building, creating, constructing, painting, writing, searching for, climbing to and everything else that you get to use your creative talents to work on. It's not that we can’t complete something. I mean we can figure it out. We can talk to someone who knows about it. We can search for it on google and keep changing the question until we find what we are seeking. We can persist and keep going until our own mind finds the answer for us. The answer could be tomorrow morning or it could be later. But if you persist and keep going you will find it or it will find you. For a Free Copy of my Book Extreme Winning CLICK HERE: www.jimsapara.com

Just Say Yes…..Today

Just do it for you!

Someone asked me today if I was good at interviews.

I don’t know I said I never really think about it.

What kind of interviews I asked?

You know, an interview for a job. That kind of thing.

Well it’s not like I have been going around lately

looking for interviews I jokingly said, but I think

I would be a good interview in any kind of interview really.

But then in thinking about it more, there was an interview

I listened to a while back about a guy that used to work

for Google a number of years back in the customer service

department. They were trained when listening to a customer

not to say anything about themselves until at least 15 minutes

had gone by. That way they could focus solely on the customer

and what they wanted to talk about and what the reason was for

them calling. It even went so far that they would have a timer on 

their desk and it would quietly chime in the background when

the 15 minutes has gone by.

Could you imagine, they had to restrain themselves from talking

about their self for a minimum of 15 minutes.

On top of that, another part of their training was when listening to

the customer, when the customer was done talking, whatever part

of what the customer had said they understood the least, they

would ask about it. You can imagine how deep the conversations

would go. I mean you could go on forever and ever.

Anyways, after I got over this person asking me about the interview

stuff I started thinking about it some more. Why would I want to talk

to someone about an interview for a job anyways? I don’t want

someone to have control over what they can tell me to do anyways.

There is just no f*&#@ing freedom in that. To be bold, free and autonomous is the ultimate way to fly. Free to do the things, create

the things you want to create. Whatever that is for you. It takes a bunch of thinking and some great conversations with yourself and

other people to realize just what level of freedom you want. But you

can have it all. Big or small. Whatever floats your boat and whatever

makes it come together for you. 

It still comes down to ‘You Gotta Wanna!’ You gotta want it more

than anything. Today with technology there is more and more and 

more noise, so it's important to go within yourself and drown out all

that extra and unnecessary noise so you can focus on whats 

important to you. 

And you don’t have to overdo it either. Whether you start by

spending 10 minutes everyday on your special project or hobby

or 1 hour a day. It’s incredible what you can accomplish in the

next 30 or 90 days. Just imagine a year, you can start getting

into the expert level. Especially if it is something you are really

passionate and excited about. But you gotta start.

For instance, I like going to the gym in the morning. It's such a 

great way to start the day. I haven’t gone swimming for a few 

years and thought hey why don’t I get back to putting that

into my routine. I started with 3 laps my first day and just working my way increasing laps as I go. It's just another way to really unwind. It works every muscle in your body and after you feel like a million

bucks.

 Maybe I’ll keep doing it for a long time, maybe I won’t

but for now it just feels like a fun thing to do. It's another

activity that sets the tone for the day and increases my

endorphins and creativity level.

Even if you are thinking about something you would like

to accomplish another way is to just book yourself for

an hour a week for the next 4 weeks and just tell yourself

it's a trial run to see if you really want to do it. That's sometimes

all it takes to get the mind going and the body to follow.

Sometimes, it’s important to just say yes to yourself.

Your Super Power to the Impossible

How to create what appears impossible when you think you’ve tried everything…We’ve all heard the Master Storytellers say, ‘You have to create the impossible’ or you have to do something that you really don’t think is possible. It makes them look good if you achieve it but also it immediately gets your attention when they first say it.

‘Ya’ you say to yourself ‘What if I could?’ ‘What if I could really do it? Of course you are listening to someone who you’ve never met and probably never will meet. So right about now, it’s sounds pretty damn good. You look at your friend sitting beside you and discover in conversation that they have already been looking at you for the last 60 seconds. Because you are both thinking the same thing. What if you could? What if we both could?

It's kinda like when you are driving down the road. Well, it could be a road or a street or even the interstate. You’ve got some music rockin and you both look over and say ‘Hey we should go back to that little town we keep talking about.’ You both have been there but on different occasions. Suddenly it's like’ Eureka! Ya, let's get to it!’ and away you go.

Even though its not possible because of time or even economic constraints you both operate from the fact that you are going. Guess what? You figure it out.

Our focus can shift in an instant. Whatever you were talking about 5 minutes ago or an hour ago is gone! Totally Gone! But, your focus isn’t. You are on it. You are going on that trip. So, I think it was spur of the moment for me and I was just a kid.  I was listening to a motivational speaker talk his talk and then I started following him for all the latest information about his seminars and his telephone calls where we could hear him. This was of course back in the day when the internet hadn't even started yet. Oh Geesh, I just gave myself away. What an old dawg I am. 

I had self taught myself about Firewalking long before I met Tony Robbins, but still the whole idea of seeing this Giant of a man in person sounded so intriguing. Next thing you know it, I am on a jet plane to San Francisco on my way to spend 3 days at this huge event.

Now, honest I have to tell you I am a self confessed Personal Development Junkie. Beginning in the late 70’s, I began my journey and trajectory of personal development. Actually when I was 18 I signed up for  the Dale Carnegie course. I still can’t figure out how I did that. I think I just read an ad in the newspaper  one day and met with the group and signed up. That's another story.

Anyways, here we are and it's the first night. By 11:00 Friday night Tony has got all 2000 of us chanting ‘yes!..yes!..yes! ‘ and clapping our hands in unison as we are walking out the door of the Hyatt Regency in Burlingame, California because we are so jazzed we are going to walk across 1200 degrees of hot burning coals. It really was overwhelming, but we really didn’t have time to think about it. We just went for it. 

The 3 1 / 2 days were just full of so much excitement, fun and joy that you become totally immersed in it. Since I have been to about 12 of his Firewalking weekends which is called UPW and stands for Unlimited Power Weekend, the first thing I learned was here we are in this crazy environment having a wild time in a safe environment for everyone and the mistake I made was going back to my not as exciting life. The same environment that I left and came  home to. I should have made a bunch of commitments when I was at the Weekend and changed my environment when I got back. The challenge one comes across is, when you have an experience like this, you come home and try and explain it to someone else and they just don’t get it. They can tell you they are intelligent and they understand the experience you went through but really they don't. Absolutely not. Because they never had the experience you just had. They are operating at a lower energy frequency than the mindset you are on. 

So the real key is to make those commitments while at an event like this and bring that commitment back with you and make it happen. Take that vision you had in your mind, that you experienced when you were at a heightened sense of awareness and keep it in your mind. Keep it real in your mind and avoid anyone or anything that is going to feed you bullshit, tell you that you cannot do it or even yet, take the idea right out of your mind.

The thing is though, while you were at this event your escalated attitude was there with you. Oh, you were so enthusiastic! Your attitude was real. You absolutely believed you could do it. So, you just have to remember that frame of mind so you can access it. Who cares, if anyone does not believe it. You actually don’t have to tell anyone. Better yet, with all the notes you took you can always re-read them and rewire yourself.

So the real key is if you want to create something in your life that first appeared impossible, you just have to have that crystal clarity in your mind that you own it. The only difference between someone that cannot create that impossibility in their life and you creating it, is the clarity of the vision. It is clear to you and it is not clear to someone else. To them, it looks impossible. To you, it was possible. Right from the beginning. All you have to believe when accomplishing something is that it is 51 percent possible and eventually evidence starts to show up that you are right.

It's the naysayers that get ya though, if you let them. The Cynics. The Skeptics. It's all about being comfortable around your own mind that anything is possible.

Hang around people that are possibility thinkers. Hang around people that are miracle makers. We all have our own energy which radiates and at different frequencies. Some more. Some less.

The bottom line though is you first and I mean FIRST have to know what you want.

Precisely, clearly, definitively, exactly what the fuck you want. Start with that. 

Actually only 5 percent of people, if not less, will really go through with the exercise.

Even if you, right now, take 5 or 15 minutes and write out 10 things you would like to accomplish in the next 12 months it will change everything for you.

In the morning after I have decided on a new goal, I write it out by itself on a big white sheet of paper and list all the things around it that are associated with it. So now, as I go through that exercise all of a sudden of breaking down my goal, it  is starting to look possible.

How do you think your life would look if you just took one goal and spent every morning for 5 or 10 minutes and wrote out a few action steps and acted on it. Every morning for a year. Do you think your life would be different?

And creating the impossible...don’t tell me ‘you don’t have the time.’ That is so lame. Just last month,  I read an article about a guy who became a Navy Seal, then an Airline Pilot, then became a Surgeon, which has got a whole lot of certifications. He is 35 years old. People that lift weights that only have one arm and no legs that are just muscular and pumped. A Lady playing the Violin and she only has one arm. Not only did she create it, but it also was about not accepting her limitations. She could have stopped when she only had one arm, but no. She decided that even though it appeared impossible to play the violin with one arm, she was going to figure it out. It's not what happened to them, it is the mindset that they created to allow them to make the comeback because they didn’t accept defeat. They refused to quit and persisted. No Matter What! 

So what is it for you that right now looks impossible or out of reach? 

What is it that you would really like to accomplish that looks somehow impossible?

What is one thing you are struggling with right now that if it was just cleared out of the way you could move forward?

Just pick one. Today. Start it right now. One action.

For a Free Copy of my Book ‘Extreme Winning’ CLICK HERE: www.jimsapara.com  

It doesn’t matter how you get there….just get there

Moving off your Rock into the unknown..

It doesn’t matter how you get there. Just get there. Tag your goal and go for it. Go for it with all your might. With everything you’ve got.

If its important for you, you’ll get there.

And oh ya there will be road blocks. People, things, and circumstances will certainly get in your way but too bad. 

What do you think is getting in your way. Time? Highly unlikely. You can make time for it.

There is people making fortunes online spending 30 minutes a day. You can find time anywhere.

You just have to look for it. Take out your daily schedule and start booking out time for your new purpose.

Is it divorce that is stopping you? Is it your spouse?

Is it your co-workers? 

Is it your bankruptcy you just went through?

Did you just lose your whole retirement fund in your last investment?

Did your lose someone?

Whatever it is, I feel for you. But you have to get up one more time and do it anyways.

You have to stop and feel what just happened to you, and you gotta get up.

One more time.

I think about the time that gets wasted. Including my own. I am guilty of using my time

in not the best way at times. But then I remind myself I have to keep doing the most productive and profitable activity at any given time. That keeps my mojo going.

You look at all the systems out there and what they are selling. Someone that might be sitting on the pinnacle of their career. They had no system at all. They just kind of tripped through life. Taking a deal here and a deal there and somehow they built their little empire.Then someone asked them to come and talk to their group about the success they had achieved and just how the arrived in their journey. All of a sudden now they are the authority, or at least they think they are.

The truth is, most people couldn’t tell you how they got there. They think they know, but really when it comes down to it they just don’t know. They absolutely have no idea what they are doing.

Lets get back to talking about you. What are you doing and how are you going to get there.

This is your time to get going. You have to reach into yourself and trust in the unknown that there is always a way if you are committed. There is always a way to figure it out. The best you. The triumphant you is just arriving. Bring it right out into the marketplace.

You have resources you haven’t even used yet. Resources that if you were really pressed could figure out how to do it. We are all much much deeper, richer, thoughtful, resourceful, than we give ourselves credit for. In fact, we tend to be most afraid of how powerful we are.

But you gotta show up. Even if you have to start with one thing on your list that is the most difficult thing in your life right now. Write down an action you can take.

‘Oh I don’t wanna’ or ‘I don’t feel like it’. I’ll just do this safe thing over here instead. It just feels like the right alignment right now’.

Are you kidding me?

But what if you just said, forget it and went out and did that oh so difficult thing, anyways?

Was it something you actually were at first hesitant at doing or just didn’t think you could do it. All because your desires totally were to override your senses because you were so so committed to that goal. What if you did?

What would it look like after you did it? It wouldn’t look so bad would it. The thing is there is people that set their own personal records all the time doing things they just didn’t think they could do. They didn’t over think it. They just went ahead and did it.

So why not go all in anyways? Why not just do what you keep saying you are going to do?

And instead of taking 2 years, what if all you had was 6 months to complete it. What if you did it at the end of 6 months because you knew there was a bonus waiting for you. A huge large bonus of $250,000? Would that kind of excite you? Maybe excite you a lot? You had to absolutely complete it within 6 months or you wouldn’t get the $250,000. It would never get presented to you again.

It kinda gets you going huh? At least it makes you think.

It's like the Son driving down the highway with his Dad and they were talking about Friend of theirs and just how their life was going. They had tried so many time to help out and they knew other people that did the same. It seemed like they had wanted more in their life however never really took the opportunity to better themselves. 

The Son looked at the Father and said 'why is that Dad, why are they still in the same old place and having so many problems and not really changing?'

His Dad said 'Well, I guess they must like it there. They must like the spot they are in'

Really though, if it's important to you, you can find a way. You can change. All it takes is one action. One step in the right direction. All it takes is the right association with people that are good for you. All it takes is the right group of people that can inspire you. To try harder. To adjust your actions. To make a mid course correction. To make your life the way you really really want it. When you do that resources come from everywhere. But you gotta make the first move. Make that first move for you. It doesn't matter what you've been through. That's behind you now. Remove the weight from your shoulders and go lighter. You'e got this and you are worth it.

Creating Real Magic with Your Goals

How to create more abundance in your life…

I remember when I created such a large list of goals thinking that if I just wrote them down they would all come true. The crazy part is that by writing them down many of them will show up and materialize in your life. Even if you write down 10 things you would like to have, be or do in the next 12 months, it is quite astonishing how the universe conspires to make it happen for you. More than that though, it is important to find one of those goals that is your utmost burning desire. One that really keeps you awake at night. Something beyond yourself that gets you quite excited. Something that might even seem impossible at the time, yet achievable. When you have one major goal that you are focusing on it will also drive you to achieve your other secondary goals. Here is the thing to ask yourself. What kind of person do you have to become in order to achieve that goal? You can start by making a list of that. Even just start by making a list of a few things that you could do to propel yourself forward. Then make that list of everything and every action you need to take to complete that goal. Keep writing until you have exhausted every thought and possibility of how you can get it done. While you are brainstorming ideas, keep writing any idea without any judgment of whether it would work or not. Just write down every idea or action that you think of. Don’t even give yourself time to overthink it. Just keep writing your list until you just can’t think of anything else. After you are done, put the list in your pocket and take it wherever you go. Of course if you have it on your phone you can refer to it often. This gets everything started for you. 

When I first learned the power of goal setting, I was told to really tap into my burning desire so as to unleash my creativity of higher thinking. To tap into the universe of ideas. Back then I never used to fully understand that but of course get it now. Really focusing on your Major Goal releases the energy and focus towards that goal. It penetrates your mind and soul deep into your subconscious to find ways for you to reach your goal. The best example of familiarity is like when you buy a new car. Once you buy the car, you start noticing other cars that are just like yours. The cars were there all along, it's just that now your focus is on that car because you own one now. The more you can take the goal you have and describe it, write it out, talk to people about it, even better yet have an exact picture of it. Our mind works in pictures. Once we have our mind locked into our goal with words and pictures our subconscious starts to show us results of our goal. Its like a search you are doing on google except with your mind. A google mind search.

Even if you take your goal and a photo of it and look at it everyday and think about it for a few minutes, you would be astonished at what starts to show up for you. The key is you just have to be consistent and you have to work at it. It takes labor. Hard mental labor. The goal becomes you. You can’t stop thinking about it and eventually you reach your goal. This is how Athletes train their minds too. They know for above average results they have to reach their thinking way up above all the clutter and keep a clear focus on their goal.

So what is the one thing  you constantly talk about? The one goal you are always telling your friends or spouse about? The one goal that keeps you awake at night? What if you started to create it and make it real by just putting a little action behind it? And what is the best time now to get started? Clear your desk and start your list. Clear your kitchen counter and get out that recipe you have always wanted to make. Take the corner of your spare room and put a desk in there for your own private space just for you and your goal. Get right into the middle of it. Surround yourself with it. Be your goal. Put photos all over your walls and mirrors to remind you when you get up to go to work. Put one in your wallet and in your car. The screensaver on your phone. Put it everywhere you go. Everyday. Just take that one goaland make it your project. Your other goals or tasks you have in your life will get done too as you move along. For now though just focus on this one goal. 

Once you do this a few times. Take a goal you had, achieve it and make it real, it gets easier and easier to create more abundance in your life. The subconscious mind sees the results you are getting and reacts accordingly on your next goal.

What if you did? What if you started today? It could change everything!

It spills over to all areas of your life. The quality of one major goal causes you to refine other areas of your life and create even more and more. But you gotta work it. You just have to take the time to define it. What it is you really really want. The more you crystalize it the closer you get to building and achieving it. 

This is how great ideas become real in life. It might have started by someone just scribbling down on a notepad of a goal they had. The next day, they think of something else that adds to it. The next month they have an outline of the full plan but when they look back the last 30 days they can see that the original list they made is already half completed. They add more ideas and actions behind it and build momentum with so much excitement that they work late into the night. Before they know it, the masterpiece is complete and it all started with an idea scribbled on a notepad. Start your scribbling today. Start taking collecting photos of your next goal or project and surround yourself with it. Even schedule your own thinking time onto your calendar to build on it. Make it part of your regular day and let it become your own private obsession. Then it's only a matter of time where all the pieces fit and it all comes together.

Dreambuilder or Crazymaker

How to keep your dream, your visions and outcomes close to you and ignore the Crazymaker's…How many times have you seen a friend or business associate all excited about a new vision they have, a new dream and are just over the moon about their new destination. 

They tell you all about it. What their plan is. The actions they are going to take. Then come Monday morning you see them again and they are totally deflated. Squeezed right out. First You ask them how their plan is going and they say 'what?' Oh you mean that. No, I'm not doing that.’ I talked to my Uncle on the weekend and he said it wasn't a good idea.

So, all of a sudden your uncle is the expert even though he knows nothing about what you were about to do.. He is a sideliner. Watched it all his life. He is a strong influential force in your life but he is just a dream stealer. He's a Crazymaker.

He will pull out great ideas right out of your head and feed you a whole bunch of trash...

We have Crazymakers in our everyday work life. Our personal life. In all aspects. Some people go through their whole life and just get bounced around listening to Crazymakers. They never stand a chance because they either never figure it out or they just never had someone around them that always looked out for their best interests. 

Life happens and it goes on and we all have different experiences that just beat up and tarnish our character and confidence. 

To shift it over, we still have to trust. No matter what. Those four walls we put up to protect and armor ourselves are the same four ways we must let down to feel and let life touch us once again.

And it gets easier too. You get stronger, wiser, faster and better each time life takes a shot at you. Your goals and dreams become clearer and you feel closer to them the more time you spend working on them. They become more joyous, fun and rewarding. Eventually it feels so so worth it.

And it's a balance too. You can't just pretend all the crazymaker stuff is not there. You know it's there, you just let it bounce off you and continue to create your life the way you want it. Eventually less and less of it is in your life and everything works more and more in your favor.

So even when you hit a rough patch, you continue on working and creating your masterpiece life.

Personally, I think back to times in my life where I hit a rough patch and just froze like a deer in the headlights protecting my goal when really I should have doubled down. Instead of listening to someone's crazymaker bullshit I should have forcefully pushed through and knocked it out. The imaginary thumb of what I thought the world wanted me to do or what I thought my job wanted was a false illusion. 

Now I think of all the quieter times where I just felt disconnected but went and created and did it anyways. In spite of any circumstances, I just created. Remember, life doesn't happen to you, it happens for you.

So if you really want to be the Top Bitch or Top Producer or Top Gun

If you want the best of the best of everything.

The hottest and strongest business.

The best of first rate travel.

The most beautiful writing pens.

5 Star Luxury resort Vacations.

The best friends you could ever have.

The most beautiful residence that is set up for your lifestyle.

Then this is the time you have to look in the mirror and declare yourself the Top Gun.

You have to delve deep deep into yourself and bring out your best beliefs that support you and absolutely love them.

Forget all the Crazymakers and the Naysayers. Fuck them. You have to cultivate your own being and fully own it.

Ignore all the chatter. Even the long winded employee at work that just goes on and on and on about everything. Don't subscribe to that. Matter of fact, don't even talk about it because what we talk about, we bring about.

With every fiber of your being you have to reach deep into your soul and pull out and create the best of you. 

And there will be learning experiences.

There will be lots of efforts, lots of trials and lots of failures. Lots of resilience and lots of ups and downs and lots of bumps and bruises. 

And here's the thing...No one gives a fuck!

And either do you, because you are Top Shelf and just know you're stuff.

You just pick up, dust yourself off and go at it again. One more time.

You read things that are important to you. You create your own script that you can review daily about who you are being. Every morning you have time reserved for yourself to study, practice, reflect and keep creating the best version of yourself over and over.

When you walk into the world one or two hours later, you are polished and ready to knock it out. Ready to make a difference on what you are best at. Ready to contribute the best version of yourself to friends, family and business associates. Because you know that just one action or comment can make all the difference for someone who is trying their best not to fall apart. This keeps your compassion and kindness in your heart at all times.

Today is the best day of your life and it's starting again!

Creating your Craziest Dream before the Sun Comes Up!

The Next 12 Months and Results will happen anyways...

Before you can think about the fact that you just woke up from a sleep and before you figure out you just gotta hit the bathroom, scream within 10 seconds. Scream out exactly what you major purpose and dream is! Then say it again over and over about 100 times. Talk about it for an hour. Look at pictures and photos you have collected and impress your subconscious mind and just let it linger all day long within the recesses of your mind.

Maybe I am sounding repetitious about this concept but if you really want to make it happen and create the reality you just have to have that dream in your mind in front of you at all times. So much so, that if you were woken up in a deep sleep you could fully describe and blurt out your vision within 10-30 seconds. Every day you have to keep it in front of you. Surround yourself with people that support your cause and purpose and avoid, I mean totally avoid anyone that wants to just drop a bomb and cave in your grandest vision. Don’t even be around them.

Since I was just a high school drop out and went straight out of school into the work world I didn’t get to my High School Graduation. I was just too busy living life in the way I knew how and in the way I was learning from people I met along the way. The one thing that didn’t diminish and go away was the dream and vision of living a great and fun life. Spending time on the beach in the hot sweltering Sun. I always welcome that no matter what is going on in my life. 

I’m trying to figure out where it started. I was heavy into personal development and learning a lot about myself. Attending Seminars, listening to different speakers, getting new ideas and aspirations for my future. 

Even before that, I had an entrepreneurial bend to my thinking. When I was a kid, I sold Regal Christmas Cards to my neighbors on our block and to my Mom & Dad’s friends. I was a star in my own neighborhood and I was only 8 years old. I am not even sure what motivated me at that time, but I remember seeing an advertisement in a monthly magazine that sounded so good. It said I could ‘Make Extra Cash’ as a Regal Christmas Card distributor. That to me sounded really exciting. Then when the day came that my seller kit arrived, I was just so excited thinking about all the extra cash I was going to make.

That was my first dream as a kid.

Making that extra cash. It just sounded like so much fun. I kept that up for a few years and then got kind of bored with it and started delivering newspapers. That too was an amazing experience because I had to get up at 4 o’clock in the morning to go down to the corner and find my bundle of newspapers that had been dropped off on the street corner. There was the bundle, all strapped up with binder twine and the newspapers all wrapped in plastic so they wouldn’t get wet.

All 79 of them. I had my own little personal paper route.

It was pretty cool. Eventually my brother Ken would help me with them too. On the real cold days our Mom would drive us around. After all the paper just had to go through. It had to get to the customer. Ken and I had a lot of fun with that. Even though I had no description or definition of what an entrepreneur was, I found out later I really was one at an early age. I really was one. The other thing I did on the weekends was find old beaten up bicycles. Either regular riding bikes or fancy 10 or 15 speed bikes. I would give them a mechanical overhaul like greasing the chain. making sure the tires were in good condition, check the tire pressure, and most of the time give them a new paint job. Sometimes I had to re-tape the handle bars so they would look good. Then I would sell them and make a $10 or $20 profit.

Not like today where you can make a $10,000 or $20,000 profit

by doing something like that online. Use the internet as your marketplace instead of a small town that you live in.

Besides catching frogs and snakes with my friends, buying and selling bikes at that time were an exciting time.

Then when I was 12 years old, I started cutting lawns. Some of my neighbors hired me to cut their lawn on a weekly basis and it seemed to work out really good. Then one day one of my neighbors called and asked if I had cut my lawn that day. I said ‘yes’ of course. He then said ‘well don’t cut it again, you’re fired!’ I was just devastated.

It really shattered my little entrepreneurial mind. It didn’t stop me though.

That summer I got a job at the local manufacturing plant that built Trailers. My Sister was working there so every morning at 6:15 a.m. we would drive to work. My job was to stack lumber. My foreman taught me to separate the lumber into two categories. The ‘Crooks’ which was the crooked lumber and the ‘Straights’ which was all the straight lumber that we could use for building. It was a grueling job. Myself and the worker that was working with me would separate a lift of lumber and put them into the 2 different piles and then bundle them up. We were out in the Sun and it was damn hot! We did such a great job, strapped up the bundles and then went to our foreman George and were so proud of ourselves. George said ‘Well what the hell are you doing standing around then, get over there and get that #@&€@ one done!’ All summer long he just drove us.

We made $1.10 an hour no matter how much lumber we stacked

in that hot sweaty hour. That just got me ready for everything else that was going to happen in my life. Somewhere along the way I would get different versions of what life what was supposed to be like.

I would meet different mentors and follow certain successful people.

Then somewhere along the way you make a transition from just being a kid to being an adult. Your idea changes on who you believe and who you want to believe. But somewhere you get an imprint of what success really means to you. You see other people doing it and want to do what they are doing. You want to be like them. You somehow convince yourself that it is the way to go. So you move along through life and believe what you think is right. 

The thing is though, somewhere along the way you get shafted. Someone fails you or cheats you or lies to you. Then you have to make a choice. Do you want to still believe in your dream just because of this life experience or do you want to just follow your gut and keep working towards your dream. You get input from your friends, your family and everyone else what they think you should do. You actually end up getting way too many opinions and it just scrambles your thinking.

The decision you make, you find is the wrong decision. You fall flat on your Ass!

The whole world is caving in. Now what are you going to do? Do you keep believing in your dream or do you say ‘forget it’ and just make an abrupt change? There are so many choices. When you are young you make so many mistakes. Later in your life, you can look back and realize that you really did, however the thing is that is the only way you are going to forge ahead and move forward. 

It doesn’t matter what level of your life you are at, somehow and someway you just have got to keep believing in your purpose. 

Maybe you don’t know what that is. Maybe you need to bounce of the wall a few more times before your really can get clarity on where you are going. Each time you think you know what your purpose you have to move forward confidently in that direction and operate ‘as if’ it is the correct purpose and direction at the time for you to be working on. Many more times you will probably fail. You will trip up and over yourself and keep on getting up until you get it right.

Oh ya, some people do smoothly sail safely through life. It appears that way anyways. The truth is they have their mountain to conquer to too. Sometimes it just gets hidden behind the veil enough that the whole picture isn’t displayed in front of the world. It is though. The truth eventually comes out. 

The reality is, in our life, the more uncertainty we can handle in our life, the more we get closer to, and can navigate our own success. But you gotta keep going.

We gotta keep going! Because it's not about you. It’s not about me. It’s about we! What We can all do together to keep making the world a better place!

How about we do this!

The more you Focus, the Winner you get

How to transform your thinking into your reality…The other day I was explaining to someone about focus and used the example of how race car drivers are trained. They will be driving down the stretch, things appear to be going smoothly and then the instructor sitting on the right purposely puts the car into a spin and totally alerting the race car driver. Next thing you know the driver is looking at the wall that is getting closer and closer. We all know what happens when we focus on what might happen. If we spend too much time on it, then it comes true.

We totally mess up. What you talk about, you bring about. Like attracts like.

So then the instructor says ‘focus on the turn.’ FOCUS ON THE TURN! he yells. Then the drivers focus is then on the turn and he manages to avoid the wall because of his focus. The drivers are trained this way. Putting the car into a spin is done on purpose so that when it happens in real live racing, they are trained to know what to keep focusing on. 

It's funny because there I was on another day and telling this story to another individual. And each time I tell this story, I hear myself echoing in the background like I am telling it to myself.

What am I doing to keep my self in focus?

What am I focusing on? How often do I focus on it. How important is it on what I am focusing? Is this what I am focusing on everyday? What is my number one focus? Those are the kind of questions I ask myself.

It's the end of November right now and the actions I am taking are focused towards results I am expecting for the next 12 months. 

So how many things or routines are you following that really set you up to reach your goal or destination? Just like a Professional Football player in his off season has to keep them self in reasonable shape, they also have to do that little extra to maintain the edge so that when regular season play begins they are totally ready to just knock it out. To go like sixty down the field, faster and quicker than any of the opposing teams players. So fast, they just won’t catch him.

The more you love what you are focusing on, the easier it is to operate at higher levels of achievement. Focus turns into flow which is the ultimate state. For anyone that is wondering what ‘flow’ really is, just think about an activity that you really enjoy. Something you can totally get wrapped up in and so deep that you get into a state of timelessness. You get so absorbed that you didn’t even notice the day go by. That's the flow state.

Personally, I like to put on some opera in the background and play it on a continuous loop so that is all I hear while I am thinking. It zones out the rest of the world because I can’t hear or see it. I can focus totally on my project in front of it. I have written books this way in short periods of time. Built homes with it. Built fences. Played sports being in total flow and peak performance.. Well except you know I didn’t have headphones on while skating down the ice. But you see what I mean. Many Artists find their zone and set up their environment that is conducive to total and one hundred percent creativity.

Ideas come from space. From places that they never ever expected. The next day when they get up and look at what they created, they themselves are astonished.

If you can find your own personal flow, it can be something that stays with you for the rest of your life. Running or walking or any form of vigorous exercise is amazing for getting into a flow state. I like to start my day like this. I don’t do it everyday but on the days that I do my exercise first are the days that I’m the most productive. The pace that I set in that first hour is the pace that is really set for the whole day. When the day is over, many times I am totally astonished at how much has gotten done. In fact it really gets exciting starting at 4 a.m. to see how much I can get done before 8 p.m. at night. Sometimes the ideas come so fast that you just keep on going because you want to capture all the solutions you are thinking of that create a new path for the next 24 months. 

For some people, they like to put the headphones on and close the door to the office. Then it's just them, the four walls and their project they are working on. It's an amazing process.

If you can break your goal down to measurable processes then it's just a matter of time whereby you can produce it and it shows up in your life.

The more you can speak yourself into existence and see your ultimate goal in your minds eye, the quicker and faster it will materialize.

Personally, in order to keep my dominant goals in front of me and in order to have less or no distractions at all, I will write out exactly what my goal is and looks like. To know that I have arrived at my goal, it has to be measurable. I decide on what the amount of that goal is and my period of time is to reach it. Once I have done that and think that the amount of that goal to achieve is reasonable, then what I will do is add 50 percent to that goal. Enough that it sounds a little out of reach and maybe even a bit impossible. Something that really gets me excited. When I raise the bar a little like that it tends to keep me awake at night. Each night you go to sleep your subconscious mind works overtime to come up with ideas and solutions to achieve it. I like 90 day plus goals like 90 to 120 days. Now my overall goal might be for a whole year, but within that goal I break it down to 3 or 4 parts. That way you can adjust your results up or down instead of waiting a whole year to shift things.

Write your goal out into a few or several sentences in a paragraph. Make it colorful so that each time you read it or say it, your mind just goes crazy imagining you come across the finish line.

Speaking about ‘What you talk about, you bring about’ I remember one of my first sales trainers I had when my young mind was learning the exciting field of sales.

‘Jim, I am telling  you, there is money on the streets out there!’

He used to repeat that all the time. Over and over and over. Even myself, when I was telling potential sales people about the potential in our sales organization, I would say “I’m telling you, there is money in the streets out there!”

Pretty soon other co-workers were repeating what I was saying and what my sales trainer was saying. They just kept hearing it every single day. Several times a day. Next thing you know one of the sales people told me he found some money on the street. Like 2 quarters or something like that. The following week we are in a meeting and a different sales person brings up that fact that he found some ‘money on the streets’ then another sales person in the meeting said ‘hey so did I’ and it just kept happening. Me too. One day I actually found a $50 dollar bill. All because our sales trainer started saying it. It became a part of our whole being talking about ‘the money on the streets out there’

So, I kinda went a little off track there but I just wanted to make a point. Here is a good one. How often do you think about someone and then all of a sudden that person calls you or you bump into them when you are out. That's why we want to get really clear. Very clear on what we want our outcome to be. It's good to speak it verbally too. It doesn’t have to be to everyone either. It can be just to yourself. 

If you are exact, precise and clear on your goal and see it in your mind and just totally own it, you cannot help but attract it into your life. I don’t mean sit and wait. Sure you have to work towards it and take some action on a daily basis, but what I am saying is that when you put it into  your mind and speak it to yourself as if you already owned it, you then put certain forces into action that move towards you in your favour.

In today's world it is so external that many are looking outward and forgetting about the power of their own mind and thoughts.

So try it for yourself. Instead of just reading this and putting it aside, take a few minutes today and write out 3 things that you really like to accomplish. Make one of them something that you have been thinking about for quite some time. Maybe you have been procrastinating on it because you weren’t sure how you were going to get it done. Write all three of them out on a 3 x 5 card. Get up each day and give yourself a few minutes while you are having your coffee or tea in the morning and just look and think about them. Maybe there is one thing you can do to get the ball rolling. I know this sounds like such a mundane activity but just taking the time to do this will be like sending a wave into the universe. Better yet, make the 3 things something that you have only dreamed about, but never really took action with. Something that really lights you up.

Something so big that if it happened it would just be a miracle.

Really stretch the heck out of your mind and dare yourself. Everything and everyone is connected. When a blade of grass is cut, the whole universe quivers.

So here is a summary to really rock your world:

1/ List 3 things that you would like to happen in your life. Something you would like to be, have or do.

2/ Put them each on their own 3 x 5 card or if you want to really get specific get a notebook scrapbook for each one.

3/ On the first page write the goal and in 3 or 4 sentences write out exactly what you are creating. Something that you could read to yourself each time you open your book.

4/ Collect photo’s and ideas and put them into each book that support your goal. Photos are amazing because our mind always thinks in pictures.

5/ Open your book each day and read out what you have written about your goal and browse through everything about that goal you have collected.

This is how we bring goals into our lives. This is how we completely and totally focus on something to bring it into existence. Little tiny goals and huge gargantuan goals. It all starts here. When you do this, you are creating space to bring these things in your life. You will find that certain goals really really excite you. As you focus on them, other things or activities in your life might just go to the wayside because they aren’t as important anymore. This is pure focus. The other activity you could perform is putting some low key music on in the background while you study your goals. Pour yourself your favorite cup of tea and just sit their and contemplate the possibilities of what could be. What you could manifest in your life. Its really an amazing exercise. Pretty soon, different activities or ideas will surface that will contribute to these goals and start to materialize in your life. In the quiet hours, this is how you do it.

In your own zone you can create the most incredible life for yourself.

It all starts with an idea. An idea you can focus on today, because what you focus on expands.

This is how fortunes are started. Books are written. Masterpieces created. By going into your own zone and seeing and feeling an idea and bringing and speaking it into existence through your own creating. You just have to be clear on what you want. Focus. Focus everyday until you bring it into your reality.

Why you can be enough to get there

It’s not just about the money, other experiences make a difference...

You would be amazed how many people with lots of money live a very nominal and non-existent unhappy life.

Real life and success is about not only finding that balance, it's also continuously improving who you are as a person, your lifestyle and what you do everyday to make a difference. To evolve you really have to find those things that are most important to you and focus on those things that keep the balance for you. That means stepping up when you feel you have to step up to really get above average results. You have to surround yourself around people that you can not only learn from but also that you can evolve into. The quality choices are the choices that will make you or break you. Its about deciding about the high end activities that make a difference in the hour. Then make a difference for the whole day.

For instance, I like it when my day is done. I like the idea of just coming home and plunking myself into my chair and read. That relaxes me. I follow my routine and basically relax. Now I have a new project that I have decided to take on and have realized that when I sit down Sunday night to lay out my week, I am going to have to make some more time for this project. It just dawned on me that I need one or two hours every night of pure focus to work on this. If its not in my planner it won’t get done. I consider it a high priority. I can do it sometime after dinner and it wont interfere with my sleep. I will still get my 8 hours. But it still is part of the sacrifice. It will cut into some of my time in the short term but the rewards will be there for the long term.

The ultimate goal for a successful life is to take short intervals every 3 or 4 weeks and examine every area of your life and keep it balanced. And it has to be balanced. If you mess up and are totally off balance in one area of your life it affects the rest. You leave one door open and pretty soon there is a draft everywhere. Your life is all intertwined.

So how you majestically use one system for one area of your life is how you run other areas. I know that sounds so stiff and regimented but all Top Producers and High Level thinkers understand this and apply it. When it's time to work, it's time to really work. When it's time to play and have fun, it's time to really have fun.

Jim Rohn one of my first mentors used to say ‘Don’t go to the beach and think about work and don’t go to work and think about the beach. Wherever you are...be there!’

So wherever you are, focus. Focus and focus some more.

Live and breathe life deeply with activities and values that are important to you.

I know when I’m productive or not. I can tell when the day is over. If you focus on the dominant activities that shift your life, that move you, that make a difference, then it impacts and influences all those around you.

Once you do that and keep pushing eventually you find a personal best. You find an area of excellence that maybe you didn’t even realize you had. But the evidence is out there of your amazing work. It eventually shows up in the marketplace and people will come for miles to do business with you. When you’re on fire, people will come from miles and miles away to watch you burn. Because you are on your game and in the zone!

It's more than that though. You find your area of excellence and your sweet spot in your career and feel really good about yourself and ask yourself what else you can do to have an impact on society. On people.

What can I do for ABC Company? What can I do for Mary, she is so helpful all the time in finishing our deadlines for our projects on time? If you go a little deeper than that and instead ask ‘How can I make a difference?’ What activity could you perform that would make a difference in people's lives. What contribution could you make that could create some momentum to help a multitude of people? Sometimes, we don’t even know where help is needed because it is not talked about. If you are bold enough to ask, It is usually only a few questions deep. You don’t have to look too far. Everyone has stuff going on in their life. How can I make a difference is a powerful question in itself. It could even be a difference whereby you do something that causes an individual to stumble upon a solution to their challenge. You didn’t have to help them directly but you made a difference by helping them indirectly which in turn allowed them to discover their solution and  made a difference. It doesn’t have to be broadcasted. You don’t have to be front page news. There is just somewhere you can silently make a difference whenever you might come across an opportunity to help out. Everyone is always searching for an answer. When you write, you never know who might read it. When you speak, you never know if one little thing you say is going to change someone's life. 

I got into a deep conversation one time and was being really specific and picky about this talk I was going to do and got into a real serious editing session with my material.The person I was working with said that to me. She said “Jim, you should really just leave that in and let people decide what they want to do with it. Because you never know when you might save someone.’ It really busted me up when she said it and almost made me cry because I knew she was right. You never know what is going on in that person's life. She made a difference for me.

I felt it.

Today, I had an experience that shifted me while concluding some business with an elderly gentleman. He was such an interesting person and I felt that he had something to say so I asked him about how things have been for him. He was telling me about how he used to drive the bus for 10 years and then after that he was a drywall installer for 25 years. What a gruelling job that must have been. Every day for 25 years lifting those 4 x 8 sheets up to the ceiling so they can be screwed to the rafters. Imagine the shape he must have been in.

Then he went on to tell me how he lost his partner to cancer in a period of just a few months. I could tell he was still sad about it and just sat there and listened. In fact, I made a conscious decision to sit and listen as long as he wanted to talk. I haven't had a conversation like that for a long time. Perhaps he didn’t either, now that I think about it.

He told me that when he was 68 he made a decision to retire from the drywalling and hang up his spurs. This led me to telling him about my father when he retired at 68.

My Father was a hard independent working businessman. A very proud man I explained to him. Then I went on to tell him that one day he and I were driving down the highway and he said that he wished he hadn’t retired at 68. It’s quite revealing where these conversations can go.

When everything was concluded as he was walking out the door Ron said ‘Well I hope I made your day there Jim, it was sure nice talking to you’ and I said ‘You did Ron, you really made my day. Thank you for sharing some of your life story, that was very inspiring to hear that from you and I’m glad you are pleased with our transaction today.’

‘Make the best of it Jim’ he said. ‘I’m 90 years old now and every day is a brand new day for me’. 

I was just shocked.

I had no idea what his age was but I would have easily guessed 70 or 75 years old.

 I’m still thinking about the conversation and it still resonates with me as the late evening approaches.

Ron really inspired me.

I hope I made a difference for Ron today.

Ron made a difference for me. 

Do You Feel Lucky?

How to shift the scales in your favor everyday. Do you feel Lucky? Well do ya? Some people have different opinions of luck. Some don’t even believe in luck. I know a salesman that totally believes in luck. He walks around talking to his product and as he touches it, he says out loud ‘Everything I touch turns to sold’ and he totally swears by it.

What I really mean is, if you feel like it's your turn in life, your turn to really shine, don't you think everything should count and be in your favor? I mean why not. You really don’t have to wait around for anyone’s approval to let things go your way. Just decide and say ‘hey it's my turn.’

Why? Well because you said so. That's why your environment is so important. Your environment where you spend most of your time every day. The people you are around and the people you talk to everyday.

What happens though if you don’t really have any choice with that. The people you work with are just not your tribe. So, you get up in the morning and fill yourself with all the goals you are working on. Maybe do some Yoga. Go for a long run or walk. Write in your journal. Or just sit in your quiet spot while you drink your Coffee. You fill your tank up with gratitude of the great things happening in your life and just let your sun shine. Let your heart glow. Feel deeply and create such an incredible vision in your mind that it doesn’t matter where you go you can feel life touching you.

All the krap you come across just bounces off you because you have such an impenetrable force field about you.

So when you walk into work everything about you feels good and you just go about your day. When you are done work for the day, you can continue working on yourself and your life projects that are important to you.

The thing is in the next 12 months you are going to get results anyways. If you didn’t do anything at all, you would find your self moving along with the ebb and flow of life and when the year is over you could look back and see all the things that transpired. So results are going to happen anyway. However, with that said if you were to deliberately and intentionally plan, act and go after specific goals that you have a burning desire for that would get you even further.

You would get magnificent results that would end up surprising yourself.

I mean look at Olympic Athletes who practice for 4 years for the real event. They even do exercises in their mind that sees and visualizes them accomplishing their 100 yard dash or their Gold Medal Winning Pole Vault. They see feel and hear the whole process. They see themselves winning as they come across first in the finish line and their arms raised into the air in triumph. They feel the winning moment in their mind as they are jumping for joy and all their team mates are congratulating their win. They hear the roar of the crowd in crossing the finish line because it was the Gold Medal Final race. 

Could you feel that? Even as I am writing the whole winning scene and describing everything it feels like a winning moment. So you want to take every action to make it real in your life. Own the goal in your mind and make it real until it becomes real in your life.

What about your race? What race are you in? What about your winning moment and goal that you want so badly that it could totally consume your being from morning to night until you reach it. What is that for you?

Everyone has something that they wish for more than anything. Here is a great exercise. Close your eyes and just imagine for a moment. Imagine that just as your got up this morning a Magic Genie appeared and gave you three wishes that you could make come true but you had 24 hours to decide on what those three wishes were for. What would you wish for? What is maybe already in your mind, that has been a burning burning desire for such a long long time that now you could make it true. People do it everyday. They take their imagination and think it through about possibilities for the future. They started somewhere. At one time, it was just a fleeting thought. Then it kept repeating. Then they saw someone else achieve that goal. The more they thought about it, the more it sounded like a good idea at the time. Then they picked up a few books about their goal and read up some more research on it online. Then they actually met people that had done it before. Pretty soon they joined a community online of people that had achieved it also. Next thing your know, they are hanging around all these people and eventually achieved the goal too.

But you gotta sift through the stuff. The krap. The slimy film of negativity that can capture you.

You acknowledge that sometimes it's there, but in the end when you focus on a positive overwhelming goal that consumes you, you leave any sludge that has been clinging to you in your dust where it belongs. 

Stronger, wiser, faster, better is the only way to go. Every day we improve ourself in some way and just make the day better than we found it. Or leave someone better than we found them.

There is an absolute abundance of resources out there and in you to help you accomplish any goal. You just have to work on it.

Work on you. All day. Every day.

Everyone has different energies too and at different levels. Some more some less. But we all have energy to create. It is just a matter of degree. For example, I remember a sales group I used to belong too. We used to gather once or twice a month and talk about our sales and how things were going out in our own field. Every once in a while, our manager would have a door prize for us. We would all throw our names in the hat and  while not looking in the hat, our manager would reach in and pull out a name. We had one lady in our group that would win the door prize almost every time. Like maybe once a year someone else would win it. So we all got talking and we asked Joyce if we could leave her name out of the draw just so others would have a chance to win. She agreed, give it to someone else.

He pulled the winning name out of the hat. Joyce didn’t win it. Her daughter Jennifer won it.

Coincidence? Hmmm...it sure makes you think, doesn't it?

So we all have energy, it's just a matter of application. Deciding every day to work towards our goals and ideals.

How about now...do you feel lucky? Or even luckier? You can decide to create your own luck or your own circumstances coming your way. Starting today. Why not and why not you? You are worth it. It's your turn! 

When Thunder Rolls but Lightning doesn’t Strike

How to up your game and save 20 years…. Does it really matter to you? All the books and articles you see about upping your game just a little bit that can make huge leaps in your total performance over 20 years. No, it doesn’t matter if you take action on it. No one is really going to care about it more than you. What is sad, is knowing you could have tried but didn’t. Knowing you had the potential and just didn’t make an effort. Knowing your efforts could have improved or made a difference for those around you but you did nothing. You’d rather be an Ostrich with your head in the sand and let the world go by.

But it does matter. You matter, no matter what anyone says. We all really should matter for each other even though that is not how the world goes. 

We all have stuff. Stuff going on in our life. Each day when we get up its a new day to create something, to say something important, to shout it to the world. To make a difference. I remember a broadcast a long time ago and the guy talking was saying ‘Life is Hard.’ I’m thinking, ‘Are you kidding me Pal, what are you talking about?’ Life hadn’t gotten to me yet. It hadn’t touched me. It hadn’t kicked the shit out of me. Yet. Because I was so young and naive I figured it just didn’t happen that way.

I figured, you just hang around the right people, you do things right every day. Eat 3 squares daily and get your 8 hours of super sleep and everything is dandy. Wow was I wrong.

When life taps you and gives you a jolt, you take a look around, stand up and brush yourself off and don’t think too much about it. But if the same thing happens again, you really start to wonder and pointing fingers. It is everyone’s fault except yours. But if these events keep repeating eventually you have to look at yourself and see what actions you are taking that are causing these crazy events and decide on what you can do about it.

If you don’t, then it's a long slow slide to the bottom. 

You are playing the game of life and think everything is going fine. Then one thing goes wrong. Then another and then another. You try to fight back but the harder you fight, the deeper you sink. Until you can’t move... you can’t breathe… because you’re in over your head. Like Quicksand.

Then you have a choice. You can trudge along life along the river bottom where all the sludge is. You can let it drag you along. As if you are holding on to the end of a rope and even though it seems you are going slow motion, you need a mask because ‘stuff’ just keeps hitting you in the face so you have to dodge it. You actually have to move so you can dodge it. Move your body just so you can dodge it. Move your body so you can dodge it but also move some more so that you realize if you can keep moving, you can eventually let life touch you once again. If you come to your senses, you can come up for air and let yourself breathe again or you can just stay down there and let life kick the shit out of you.

You can lay there and cry and die or you can get on with it.

The good news is you really have choices. You don’t have to sink so low to the bottom that it feels like you are in quicksand. You can start moving right away.

Identify as much with yourself what is going on in your life. What is really going on? Then you can reach out to someone that can help you get your life organized and help you see the vision of where you think you would want to be. Then it's just taking the right actions.

I really don’t want it to make it sound so graphic sinking to the bottom but I have had times in my life where I just was not certain what the next day held. It's almost like a phase of life you go through and leave it behind you. But it doesn’t have to be like that. You can get up everyday and feel grateful for everything that is around you. If you are living a life of gratitude, it is very hard to be angry at the same time. In fact it's impossible. You can focus on all the positive emotions in your life and do that on a daily basis and eventually your positive just totally overrides any negative emotions that might exist in your life.

You can turn it all around starting today. Starting right now.

Make your life so important. Your activities and actions are so important that taking the right actions on a daily basis is a must in your life. You just have to step up and make it a priority. Make yourself a priority. Make showing up as your best self a priority because if your best self shows up then you can also show up as your best self in front of people that are important to you in your life. Your friends, family, your customers. 

In fact when you do this, you might even find that some of your friends might not even hang around because you have changed so much. Your energy is operating at a different frequency that just doesn’t jive with them. That's okay because your real friends will always stick around. 

This is all why we have to find the balance in our lives. If our vocation or career is going to take up 8 or 10 or 12 hours of our day then we might as well enjoy it. Do the things we love doing and being around the people that are important to us.

It is also why if we want certain things in our life to materialize or we want to achieve certain levels or be above average then we also really really need to be clear on exactly what we want. Exactly and Precisely. 

The more you want it and desire it, the quicker and faster you can achieve it.

As a matter of fact, how quick you really take action and go after something is really an indication of how badly you want something.

One of the biggest changes that can happen the quickest when I am working with  clients is their proximity group. I always ask them “Have you thought about maybe changing the people that you hang around’ Sometimes I will get a defensive answer and clients are visibly shocked that I might even suggest or ask that. 

Usually if we take the top 5 or 6 people that are in our lives and analyze it we can see similar results when we compare ourselves to them. Similar results in many areas. Sometimes when analyzed we can also discover that our proximity group is totally out of whack and greatly affecting what we do. Actually many times there is one person that is influencing your major decision making in a not so positive way. 

Take hold of your thoughts. Take hold of being in silence with yourself. Be kind with yourself. Light a candle and just sit with yourself. Take one of your favorite books and sit in your coziest corner and just read. Sit in a room, with a pad of paper and pen for an afternoon. No social media. Just leave your phone for as long as you want. Just make a list of things you would love to do. A new project you would like to begin. A project you would like to finish. Just let your mind wander for a few hours while you sit with the rays of the Sun coming through the window and write down what could be in your life. What you would like it to be.

Then ask yourself, ‘What if?’ ‘What if I did do this and how would it affect my life?

How much better could you make it?

Which makes me think, it’s Saturday night and the end of the week, I better go clean up my room.

Overstep your Boundaries on Purpose!

How to go Big or Go Home! Bump into life, trip over it, dance with it, skip with it, wrestle with life and you will ultimately find your true purpose. Go all out and you’ll find out what you’re worth in the Marketplace.

But you have to stretch a little. Purposely. Of course when we are young we don’t know that yet. Usually someone will put us in an awkward spot that we have to figure out a solution or they’ll give us larger assignments because they believe in us more than we believe in ourselves. 

It could be one big event that gives you a different outlook and shifts you. It could also be a number of events and experiences that you are exposed to that shape your persona and character as you go through life. It could also be someone who influenced you via being a coach or a mentor.

I remember when I played Hockey and my Coach’s name was Brian Brady. He was a great coach and we had a winning team. Matter of fact I used to play against Wayne Gretzky. I say that like he was my next door neighbor but truthfully we used to go to a tournament twice a year and they always used to move Wayne up into our league. I didn’t know we were playing against him until later in my life when my father explained it to me as Wayne got drafted into the NHL. But it was amazing watching his amazing stick handling and puck control with his gift of skating circles around us.. 

 The position I played was defense. In our practices, our team would work on our different plays and strategies and really work on doubling  up on our strengths. I was a good defenseman and one of my strengths was my slapshot and had one of the fastest slap shots in the league. Some Goalies would sometimes move out of the net when they saw me wind up to shoot. 

Brian would coach us and treat us all with ultimate respect. Give us praise when we were excelling and doing things right and constructive criticism when we messed up.

The game that night was an important one. Brian was not going to be able to be at our game that night, but spoke with us in the dressing room at our last game and wished us luck. We won the game and were quite chuffed with ourselves. 

At the next game, as I was coming through the lobby to get to the dressing room, Brian was there out front greeting everyone as they came in. 

As I walked up, there he was smiling and said ‘Way to go Gunner, you got another one last night!’ as he slapped me on the shoulders.

Wow! I just never forgot that moment. It really came at the right time as I had some personal issues going on in my life. It made me feel good and so happy and grateful that I was part of a winning team. 

So you never know right? Sometimes, you never know that what you say might just give someone the boost they needed at that time. Something you said or did that they took with them through their whole life. After all, we never always know what someone else might be going through.

It's those moments in your life that when you add them up over a lifetime can really make a real person out of you.

When I talk about stretching or going beyond your boundaries it could be going that extra 2 miles when you were on your workout. Or some extra weight to lift in the gym. Or maybe it's a talk or a presentation you might do in front of your peers. It's not something you normally do so just doing it would be a stretch. 

Doing something you wouldn’t normally do or stretching by doing something you really didn’t think was possible. Sometimes we do things that are beyond our capabilities or beyond our own standards. Sometimes without knowing it. 

For example, I went swimming with sharks in the Ocean at night without a cage. Just right out there in the open water. But wait there’s more to that story. We were with some friends and away for the weekend staying at a Condominium resort on the Ocean. That night I was a little restless from flying that day and so woke up around 2 a.m. Then I remembered where we had traveled too and felt so good about that. I decided to go for a walk on the beach. It was the middle of the night and other than the moon that gave off a bit of light, it was quite dark. 

The next urge I had was to go for a swim. It was just me out there and really quite an ominous feeling. I waded in and felt the warm water on my legs and slowly let my body acclimate to the temperature. Wow, it was such a great feeling, so I swam out a little ways till finally I left the sandy bottom and got into deeper waters. I swam around for 10 or 15 minutes. It felt so refreshing just to be able to loosen up my body after all the flying that day.

Anyways the next morning I was in the Condominium Clubhouse having coffee and telling one of the travelers I was familiar with about my middle of the night swim. One of the local guys overheard me and asked me if I was referring to swimming last night and then pointed his finger towards the Ocean just out our window and said ‘ here?’ and I nodded. ‘You’ve got to be kidding’ he said and took me over to a big photo on the wall and pointed to the area with all the Sharks. It was an overhead shot that was taken during the day with hundreds and hundreds of Sharks that resided in the Ocean right in front of our beach. Right where I was swimming.

Honestly, I was pretty flabbergasted. 

So that was what I call a stretch. But really it was an accidental stretch. Had I known there were all those sharks out there, I definitely would not have even considered the night swim.

I did go swimming with sharks without a cage though. That's my claim to fame. I always laugh when I think about it.

Another Risk could be Parachuting. I don’t do it regularly but I have had the experience. The feeling of stepping out of the plane into the open sky is one of the craziest things I have ever done. I must say though, it really gets your blood going and endorphins racing. It’s so hard to explain to someone unless they have also done it. Participating in an activity like this causes you to see the world differently.

A business associate I knew that was a Real Estate Agent, would work all week from Monday 5 a.m. until Friday 12 p.m. Then he would forward his number to his Real Estate partner or to his assistant and would say ‘Don’t call me, See ya Monday.’  Then he would disappear and go parachuting all weekend. He would go up in the plane, then parachute out, then land. Back on the plane and do it again. He did it the whole weekend. It sounds risky however when you calculate the statistics for parachuting, it isn’t much different than driving a car.

The diversion though was what really transformed his whole career. He said he would zone out and totally forget all his problems for the weekend. It was like the risk he took by doing all the parachuting gave him the edge. It freed up the thinking in his mind and made some space to create more deals. And that it did. In the following year after he started doing this, he doubled his production.

When you change your physiology, your brain operates from a different paradigm. From movement of the body you get all your feel good chemicals in your brain making you feel alive and ready to take on anything you set your mind to. 

It could be Yoga that works for you. Running a few miles each day. Going for long walks in nature. Mountain climbing & hiking. Lifting weights. 

Any number of activities that get you up and moving around and feeling good.

And you know it doesn’t take much to assist your brain and remind it that you are winning.

Sometimes you have to give yourself credit and your own affirmations about your beliefs that work for you. You could just start by walking a bit each day. Then each day increase it by a little bit until you get to a level where that feels like the right distance. Just a few activities every day that you do for you. That makes you feel good. This time is reserved for you. It's your turn.

We all have one or two strengths or areas of excellence that we excel at and are better at it than anyone. When you find out what that is for you, then it is just a matter of harnessing those strengths and using them to help you create and achieve your life’s plan. It just takes a little nudge to get going. Then some more. Then some more and before you know it you are up on the Leaderboard amongst the 5 percenters. The 5 percent club. 

The thing is, if you are going to spend 8 or 10 or 12 hours a day doing something then you might as well be enjoying it. 

Creating Inner Impossible Results in Your Life

How to go past the point of no return. It happens every time I start a new project. I decide on it and then look at what is a possible level of achievement or success with what I am doing. Then I like to look way beyond and ask myself ‘What if I totally went berserk with this, what could I really accomplish?’ ‘What really hasn’t been done with this or what even might look impossible about this?’ Then I pick a spot and ask myself just how I could accomplish it. Somewhere along the way because I set such a high bar to reach either reach my level of competence or I just blow right through it. 

Somehow you just have to cut through the noise and see your final result. If you aren’t measuring, you probably are not going to get there. You have to be able to see it.

It’s like the Professor that was with his students and they were way up in the Hills overlooking Disneyland. From the beginning the Professor had promised his Students he would take them on a field trip and one of the stops was to climb way up top and view the big kingdom of Disneyland.

‘Wow!’ the first Student said, ‘If only Walt could see this!’

‘That’s just it, he did! He did see it! exclaimed the Professor.

So you gotta have the vision first. Even if it owns a small piece of your mind, you can work on moulding it everyday to your ultimate dream.

Lately I have noticed my mind adopting a fresher and newer philosophy. When I was a kid, first starting in the business world learning to cut peoples lawns it was just one action for a transaction kind of thing. I never understood the idea of repeat business. 

The only thing back then that was passive income was either Shaklee or Amway where you could get residual checks every month. Now today it is ridiculous the menu of choices one has to start something. It is almost overwhelming. You have to pick one or two ideas and build on them and not be distracted. Like even this week I had new business starting with a larger company. I knew it was going to consume my whole week so I put a whole pile of stuff to the side to devote my time to this. Even my Social Media. I just totally ghosted my own self and didn’t go on at all. The crazy part was I didn’t miss it one bit. I realized how much of my time it was taking up. So now I have a few open days to do some catch up and I’m telling you, it really has got me thinking about what other things are burning up my time that maybe I am missing.

So I was listening to a podcast a few weeks ago and the fella on there, I can’t even remember his name now, was talking about how he takes one sheet of paper and once a week on a Sunday he takes all his important projects and puts them on there. The people that are important to him also have a spot. The tasks involved only for that week. He lists those only if he knows he is going to complete them. Then he went into a little more detail for 20 minutes. It's a complete time hack. I used to use something similar to this many years ago and kind of got away from it so I decided I would really make a concerted effort to re-do my ‘One Page Focus Sheet’ and start focusing on that. I started it on October 3rd and I’m already in my 7th week. What an incredible difference it has made in my productivity. In the first 2 weeks it felt like I had got 2 years of work done. Before I had my list of things to do and would just check them off but realize I was just waffling my time. Honestly, if I was working on something, I just didn’t want to commit to anything else. 

So what I am getting at in all of this is, not only can you chunk down big goals into small tasks you can also raise the bar and create much larger results than you ever dreamed possible.

Yesterday, I was leaving a friend of mind and asked her, ‘What is most important to you in life right now?’ ‘What is more important than anything else that you would really like to accomplish?’

‘What is one thing that you really really would like to accomplish, create, be or have or do in the next year?’ I left her to think about it and said we should talk about it next week. 

The thing is, for most of us, we just don’t know how to answer those questions. If more people even took a little time for themselves each week and some time on it each day they could radically alter their life in 12 months, but could you imagine what would happen if you got up everyday and allotted a certain amount of time for that specific goal. I often try to comprehend in my mind how many years in advance an author who writes a 1000 page monster of a book plans it. I mean, did he just think of it and say I am going to start writing it next week and see what happens and then what happened is he ended up with 1000 pages or did he scribble some notes, think about it for a while, maybe follow a text book on how to outline a novel and piece by piece put it together or did it just grow in his mind each day. Imagine getting up each day and your goal is to write a 1000 words. One thousand words doesn’t sound like much but I’m sure some days that 1000 words is the elephant in the room and other days you just knock them off. Before you know it within a year you have a decent novel with a good story.

So, any goal has a bunch of steps that if you follow those steps daily. Think about it though, what is one thing that you could become completely obsessed with that it would consume your thinking everyday. For instance, I like reading. I like taking an hour and just reading online about business owners and entrepreneurs and get some amazing ideas. But really if you think about it when I do that I am just consuming. Consuming the stuff that spontaneously shows up online whereas instead, I could spend an hour or two in my office making some notes on my thoughts and taking some new ideas and sketching them out on paper to look for possibilities for new products, new courses or maybe a book that I have been thinking about writing. Or even writing that new book for publishing. You know how the saying goes, ‘Write it once, Sell it Forever!’

Instead of the consumer, be the Manufacturer, the Author and publisher, the inventor, the creator that produces the videos to educate. And you can collaborate with other creators or if you just want the solitude, do it all yourself. There are so many options.

When you look at the results they sometimes can look intimidating, but to the person who created the results, they were out in the field everyday sweating it out, up everyday working at the primary project and sometimes doing even a little bit each day. But it was something.

Something that made them feel proud of their accomplishment. Something that just kept them going and going. To extract the ideas from their own mind, put it on paper and to make it real in the world is just an amazing feat!

So what is that for you? What is the one thing or project or idea that you could really get excited about? Something you could start today? I like that you are reading what I have written here and I would be so honored if you just stopped in your tracks and picked up a pen and paper and started on your idea. It would be inspiring to hear your story.

During the day I work on assorted projects with people and ideas. It is in the wee hours of the morning, be it rising early at 3 or 4 a.m. or in the deep recesses of my mind I like to cultivate my thinking late late at night if I cannot sleep. It’s like a certain calm that is there when you are awakened with an idea and just have to get up and write it down. You never know when you are going to get a breakthrough on some challenge or idea you have been working on. So that when you finally surface and look at everything you have compiled and produced in your project you even end up astonishing your own self.

What one thing would you like to accomplish that appears almost impossible that if you did it, figured out a way to accomplish it, would change your whole world? 

What You’re Looking For…

is what you’re looking for. How to solve any problem no matter how big it is. No matter what comes along. No matter how big it really is. A problem or a challenge as we prefer to call them, seem really big when they come along. Even the little tťones, like ‘Hey, where is the pepper? I just can’t see it’ Of course you can’t see it. We have to be careful how we can speak ourselves into and out of existence. You always discover the pepper was there all along. Whenever someone says to me, ‘Hey Jim, have you seen that bracket? It was right here a few minutes ago’ ‘I just don’t understand what happened to it’ they say, ‘I just had it a minute ago and seem to have lost it’. Whenever they say that, my first reply as we start to look around is “It is here somewhere and I’ll tell you what...when we find it, it will be in an obvious spot’ Sure enough a minute or 5 minutes later when we find the bracket. Bob says ‘ Oh here it is, oh ya, I remember now, I laid it here on the floor before I flipped over the plywood onto it.’

So there is something to learn here. Many times we are looking for something that we think is lost in our life. Or maybe it is something we are trying to solve and in our opinion just can’t seem to get it. Just can’t seem to come up with the right solutions to solve it. 

One of the best exercises I learned in my earlier years of attending different seminars and workshops was if I wanted to solve something I would put it into the form of a question. For example, if I wanted to increase my income, I would say ‘ How can I increase my income by 20% in the next 12 months?’ Then I would take a blank piece of paper and start making a list of as many solutions possible for this question. No judgement. Just write out the solutions. I wouldn’t analyze it over and over. Just keep writing and writing adding to my list until I felt I had exhausted it. Then take a break for a few minutes and come back to it. After looking at it, many times my solution was either in the first 5 items or sometimes it was the second last one. If I still wasn’t satisfied with my solutions I would place it to the side for 24 or 48 hours and just let the list sit. Many times before I got back to the list I found a solution in a conversation I was having with someone or just happened to be reading something and just stumbled across the winning solution. 

So anything can be figured out if you are willing to put some time into it. No matter how big it is you can start by putting it on paper. This gives you a chance to really look at it. The other way is to talk to someone. It could be either someone you can confide in or even a Professional. Many times, a different set of eyes or ears can see the obvious solution for our dilemma. It is like ‘Eureka’ that is exactly what I was looking for or it can come in a flash of an idea you get as a result of the conversation.

Einstein has been quoted in many forms and one of his famous quotes was ‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’  It’s true too, but we have allow ourselves to open up and be open to a solution. Forget the logic. Just give yourself permission to be open and receptive to a solution. Tapping into your higher self. Your subconscious mind. We are such powerful forces. 

Even when you are working to solve it, begin with the end in mind. Focus on what you want your solution to look like. Write this out as clear as you can get it. So much, that if someone woke you in the middle of the night, you could speak it out in 30 seconds. It is so clear, that it is part of your being. There are many ways to do this. The most important is that you face it. Face your challenge right in the eyes. Hit it head on. Just doing that is 50 percent of it. The rest will unfold as you go. Facing it, starts to remove and unmask the fear and push it to the side. A lot of times you will find that your perceived challenges were just that. Perceived and interpreted to be something that would stop you from acting. 

I used to read articles like this and think it was a good idea and then put it on my list or save it in my email until tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes. Nothing ever gets done or acted on. Even though I was looking for a solution and the solution was right in front of me I never recognized it. I guess I wasn’t hungry enough for a solution. Eventually though, some ideas keep repeating themselves and you start to recognize a pattern that the universe is just trying to remind you.

And so…you act!

Because, your only access to changing your self or your world is action. 

Your action. The world that is watching doesn’t care about what you intend, how committed you are, how you feel or what you think. That’s why you have to take full responsibility for your actions.

Lets face it. No one gives a hoot about your action. They are so caught up with their life and have their own problems to look at and really have no interest in what you want or don’t want.

So Write out your biggest challenge that is going on in your life right now. Make a list. Then take action. Do something about it. Starting now. Even one movement and step in the right direction creates space and will make you feel good because you acted.

Just One More Time

How to fool your mind to succeeding!

You know how your mind can talk back to you. There is something you want to

accomplish daily but certain days it comes along to remind you. That little voice

of self-doubt that wants to test your limits. It attempts to tell you all the reasons

why you shouldn’t do anything today. Or ever. It pushes you, it cajoles you, It pushes

you to the dreadful gloom and doom of days gone past. Then all of a sudden a call comes in with a cheery voice and you forgot all about the trash talk you just had with your mind.

But you know it’s still there. Lingering. Just lingering in the background. Waiting for you to have one ounce of doubt so it can once again cloud your judgement. 

The thing is that the voice of your mind is just so full of it. Its as subjective as it comes and doesn’t have any business messing with you. In a nice firm matter, just tell it to get lost. 

But then there is the real intuition that connects with you. The kind that especially comes around you the more you are connected with your body and mind. It quietly but firmly gives you nudges and hints of maybe something you were thinking about yesterday. It guides you in the right direction. Helps you make important decisions. And you trust it because you just know. You know that it feels right. There is no gut wrenching decision making. When it comes, it just feels like the right decision. So you move forward accordingly. 

That's why it's important to have a routine in the morning that you follow to keep yourself grounded. Some people like to get up in the morning and hit the shower before their thoughts even have a chance to compose themselves. Even a quick cold shower will shock your senses into creativity. Others are reading something positive and/or inspiring for 30 minutes. Doing Yoga. Meditate. Talking to yourself with positive affirmations over and over about parts of your life that are great and also that you want to believe and feel are great. Journaling with gratitude., After all, you absolutely cannot be angry at the same time when you are grateful. It's either one or the other. It sounds really airy fairy for some people, but those are probably the people that have never tried it. 

Just try it some morning. Make a list of 10 things you are grateful for in your life. 

First thing in the morning. Take the time to write it out. It doesn’t have to be a long winded sentence. Just write out each item with a few words. Like ‘I sure am grateful for my wonderful neighbor’ something like that. Try it out. You can actually feel your body and mind shifting while you are writing it out.

Personally, I have a checklist that I like to follow starting first thing in the a.m. I like to get a certain amount of walking in daily. Preferably long walks. Long walks where sometimes I don’t even take my smartphone. Just me. I get to be with my thoughts in the silence. In the quiet. It's amazing what comes out of that too. Taking a walk through nature and a trail in the woods brings out the best feeling. Some people get the same feeling climbing mountains. Then I do some journaling even if it is for 5 or 10 minutes. Take a look at my goal list and look at some of the actions I am taking towards them. It really works too. Here I was this morning going to just jump out the door and go out and make a few stops. Ready to go I just sat down at my desk and I just took a peek at my computer and ‘bam’ all of a sudden I had a few ideas to write down and then ended up writing this article. 

When you get into that flow state it is a fabulous feeling. You know where you are just in a state of timelessness and just keep working on your project., What is that for you? What activity do you enjoy doing that just takes you away? You forget about everything else and just focus on the moment which can sometimes even last for hours and hours. 

The more you value your time, the more considerate you become towards your time and other people around you. For instance, you know how some people like to live for the weekend.

It's because maybe they aren’t happy with their job and they cannot wait for the weekend to arrive. Some like to take advantage of the weekend by working on their hobbies and interests.

For example, did you know that from 5 p.m. Friday until 10 p.m. Sunday there is 37 waking hours. Sure, there are activities we have on the weekend, like taking care of the Family, going to see your sports team, getting together with friends etc. but still you could have some of those 37 hours to really have some fun and build on your hobbies.

Coming back to the morning routine. What happens in that first hour of the day when you work on yourself and your activities? It sets the tone for the day. Your mind is really just waking up and the most susceptible to positive things you expose it to in that first 60 minutes. The best example I ever heard was that your mind is like the rudder of the ship. And the rudder guides it and steers it in the right direction. 

Give yourself some time in the morning to read, meditate, listen, stretch, do yoga, a brisk walk, or a combo of a few of these activities. You’ll be glad you did. Then tomorrow when you wake up, do it just one more time. You are worth it.

Believe in Believing

How to dramatically alter your future!

Getting Way Past Go…                 

Often I reflect back on where I was to where I am now. I do not dwell on the past like I used to but there were times in my life that it just could not be avoided. Like you know, when stuff just happens for no reason and throws a total wrench in your exciting plans. I welcome adventure but not that kind of drama adventure anymore.

Let's talk about winning though. We all have times where we just knew we were winning in life and just totally invincible. We just couldn’t lose.

I was watching a movie the other night called ‘Mississippi Grind’ It was about Gamblers who bet on just about anything. It looked in the movie that it was kind of a transient life but really the characters being portrayed looked to me like they were really enjoying life.

It reminds me of a time when I was young and totally restless. Well, maybe reckless too.

I was on a road trip coming back from visiting all the distributors in our company. It had been a long trip and I was kinda tired from it all. Before I got home that Friday I made a detour to stop by one of my friends and play a game of pool. We got talking and had a few drinks. Then the possibility of getting home that night was not possible. He kept talking about this girl he was missing and wanted to see. The crazy part was though she was 2000 miles away. We talked about possibilities. Since he would not stop talking about her I said why don’t we just drive there.

So we spent the next 2 hours planning our trip and then decided it was too long to drive.

The next day we were off to a home show in the City. As we got near the edge of the City we passed the airport sign. You know the one that has the big sign with an arrow and a jumbo jet on it. Then he saw the sign and started talking about her again. So, I said okay last chance man, either put up or shut up. If you wanna go then let's go now.

That was it.

This was also back in the day that they didn’t have ATM’s on every corner, let alone the airport.. So we drove right into the City and cleaned out or bank accounts and 2 hours later we were on an international flight to San Francisco.

It was love at first sight when we got off the plane. I said to my friend, there she is buddy. He said, how did you know it was her?'' It was just so obvious. Like she had a neon sign on her forehead, she was just glowing with happiness and smiling like a Chesire Cat from such a long ways away. But  you just couldn’t miss her.

We went into the City that night and started planning what to do. Reno sounded like a great idea. We just didn’t know how we were going to get there. We were drinking and having fun and even thought of the idea of chartering a small plane which was a good idea at the time. We took the 6 a.m. Bus the next morning to Reno. When we got there near lunch time we went for lunch and had Champagne to celebrate our getting there. We had some fun in the Casino, spent a little money and then decided to go to a Las Vegas Show as we only had so much time before the Bus which was coming that evening to take us back to the Airport. We were going to take the overnight Red Eye flight so we could be back for Monday morning meetings.

I only had spent about $50 in the Casino not because I was tight with my money but really because that was all I had. We had spent a chunk of money buying our last minute flights.

When we came out of the show we attended I was totally out of funds so I borrowed $20 bucks from my friend. I put some money in the slot machines as we were waiting for the Bus to arrive. Next thing I know my friend is calling me saying we have to go get on the Bus.

I was actually down to my last 4 quarters so I said to him. Hey just wait a minute while I put this in the machine. Sure enough all the numbers and logos on the slot machine linedup and out of the machine is pouring out $250 Dollars of quarters. Just like in the movies, right?

Yey!! I said as I threw my hands up. My buddy said ‘Hey come on man, we gotta go or the Bus is going to give the seats to someone else. Okay, I said wait a minute. I walked across to the Casino Cage and asked for a bucket to put all the quarters in. In the meantime my friend is totally losing it.

Since I really felt like a winner I casually ‘ strutted across the floor walking the walk. I just couldn’t help it.

Then I walked over to the Roulette table near us and put my bucket on the table and reached over and put it on the Red Square.

‘$250 Dollars on the Red’ I hollered in delight. My friend is now really shaking his head. He is pissed.

Winner Winner! the Croupier said. $500 as he rolled all the Chips over to me. I was just totally starstruck. 

We jumped on the Bus. Made it back to catch our flight and got into the Monday morning meeting with 15 minutes to spare.

So when I watch a movie where people are winning, specifically in a Casino story, my mind always goes back to that so much fun Weekend we had. And we walked away Winners!

This leads me to talk about hope. Hope for the future. I don’t mean hope gambling in a Casino, I mean hope and belief about possibilities in your life of what may come. We can’t see the invisible but then all of a sudden, magic can happen. Even taking the time to write down 10 things you would like to accomplish in the next 12 months would change the trajectory you are on.

Hope and belief of a better life. Hope and Belief that you can excel in your Career. Hope and Belief that on your next business deal you can knock it outta the park. Belief in what seems impossible in your life right now. Belief that no matter what it just has to get better than this. Belief that when you see all the other people around you succeeding then you too can create that abundance in your life and much more.. Belief that regardless of what has happened to you in the past you can still rise above it all and shine.

Belief that your life can do a total 180 degree turn in 12 months and make more money than you ever dreamed of.

Belief that your love of traveling will take you to all the corners of the earth. Belief that there is a special soul out there for you and when you find them they are an extension of you and you wonder in amazement and awe about where the heck they were all your life. Belief that even though you just started running that you can create what appears the impossible and run that Marathon. 

We all have a winning story inside us. Its important to carry those moments with you, to remind you of when the road sometimes gets rocky. These successes and beliefs can carry you through the biggest storms in life.

You just have to believe. Believe in believing!

When All is Lost…and crashing down!

We’ve all experienced times in our life when all goes flying in different directions. It could be anything that happens depending on what you have going on in your life at that time. The ‘All is Lost’ moment! Everything just caves in. It could be a financial disaster. Your stocks just tanked and you lost your savings in the stock market. You lost your home. The engine in your car just seized right out of nowhere. Or maybe you’ve been having difficulties keeping up with everything and one payment bounces in your bank account and creates a domino effect for 4 other payments. 

In an all is lost moment, everything collapses and at one point when you bounce off the pavement as you hit bottom everything seems totally useless. Absolutely nothing is working.

It's here where you get to meet your real self. You start to think about how much money you really do have. What friends you can call. What other resources do you have? What can you do? What can you really do about this disaster that is just destroying your being and your life and everything that comes into contact with it?

It turns out that even though it appears all is lost, you will survive and you will get through this. Right now though you are on the hot seat.

Or it appears like you are on the hot seat.

You have to take time to breathe. Just stay the course and slow everything down. Real slow. Even grab yourself a notepad.

There are people out there that will help you. Resources and people highly skilled and trained to help you deal with your situation.

You just have to look around.

You can ask yourself why this happened and what you were supposed to learn from this experience later, but first you have to take care of

your stuff. Whatever that is for you.

A good way to start is to make a list of everything that you think is going on with this moment in your life. Do you have someone specifically that you can talk to confidentially that can hear you out

just so you can verbalize things or even give you some immediate feedback? It's important to vent when something like this happens.

A different set of eyes or ears can sometimes see things that we just 

do not see when there is a crisis going on in our life. A lot of times there is an obvious solution. We just don’t see it by ourselves. There is always someone out there that has had the same ‘all is lost’ moment and still figured it out. Against all odds! That means, if they can solve it then so can you.

The other thing you can do just to take a bit of the stress off, is too

go to your gym and exercise or even better yet go for a long walk.

Your physiology completely shifts when you start walking and or exercising. It shifts your brain, releases endorphins, your cortisol levels changes and all kinds of other feel good chemicals in your neural system are released.

Now you know there is a reason all of this happened. When you get through all of it, a year from now you can look back on this and it will make perfect sense why all this happened. For now though, it's important you stay in the now and allow yourself to move yourself through it.

When something like this happens, I like to make a list of ‘What is great about this?’ This allows the brain to at least see the positive side of the situation and lean towards favorable outcomes. And I don’t mean make a list so that you can ignore your situation, however it is important to always keep in the back of your mind that there is a solution. You might figure it out today. You might not. But, there is a solution for what you are going through.

This is your new project now. Until you have put a cap on it and taken action, it will dominate your life until you take enough action.

Do you know what it is? When you cut through everything, is there one thing or area of your life that really is the crux of the problem of this crisis you are going through. Sometimes that will surface.

Sometimes too, when we have large goals that we are striving for, one big explosion will pop up just to test us. So, think about where you were in your life before this new drama popped up. A couple days before, a few weeks before it happened, what was the one thing you were most excited about in your life. The future you created in your mind and like to talk about all the time. Is that still with you and is that still important to you? Because you don’t want this monumental in your face issue that just popped up get in your way of achieving it. After you move through this, get the noise out of the way and get it wrapped up, you can continue on with the big picture. You need your daily focus more now than any other time. You have to still look after the little things, however it is crucial that you keep and maintain your focus.

Working with Jim: Your Path to Achievement

Do you ever wonder what it takes to achieve greatness and reach your goals? Well, lworking with Jim Sapara can be the key to unlocking your full potential. Jim Sapara is a seasoned coach and mentor, dedicated to helping individuals like you succeed in all aspects of life. In this article, we'll explore why it's essential to work with Jim Sapara and how his guidance can set you on the path to success.

1. A Supportive Mentor

One of the reasons why working with Jim Sapara is invaluable is his role as a supportive mentor. We all face challenges in various areas of your life, from academics all the way to social interactions. Jim understands these struggles and is here to listen, guide, and uplift you when you need it most. With his help, you'll build the confidence to tackle obstacles head-on and grow into a well-rounded individual.

1. Goal Setting Made Easy

Setting goals might seem overwhelming, but Jim Sapara makes it easy and exciting. By working with him, you'll learn how to set achievable goals and create a roadmap to reach them. Whether it's improving your grades, excelling in sports, or mastering a new skill, Jim will help you break down your aspirations into smaller steps, making success feel within reach.

1. A Source of Encouragement

We all need someone in our corner, cheering us on, and that's where Jim Sapara truly shines. With his positive outlook and motivational guidance, you'll be inspired to push yourself beyond your comfort zone. Jim believes in your potential and encourages you to embrace challenges, knowing that every step forward is a step toward growth and achievement.

1. Building Essential Skills

Jim Sapara is a master at identifying your unique strengths and weaknesses. By recognizing your areas of improvement, he can tailor his coaching to help you build essential skills. Whether it's time management, communication, or problem-solving, working with Jim will enhance these abilities, setting you up for success in both school and life.

1. Overcoming Obstacles

Life is full of ups and downs, and facing obstacles is a natural part of growing up. However, with Jim Sapara's support, you'll learn how to approach challenges with resilience and determination. He'll teach you problem-solving techniques and coping strategies, ensuring that you're well-prepared to tackle any hurdles that come your way.

1. Developing Positive Habits

Good habits lay the foundation for success. Jim Sapara will help you establish positive routines, such as setting aside time for homework, staying organized, and maintaining a healthy balance between study and play. These habits will not only improve your academic performance but also instill discipline and self-control, crucial traits for lifelong success.

1. Fostering Self-Confidence

Believing in yourself is a superpower, and Jim Sapara will help you harness it. Through encouragement, positive reinforcement, and celebrating your achievements, he'll help you build self-confidence and a strong sense of self-worth. As you become more self-assured, you'll find it easier to take risks and pursue your dreams with gusto.

1. Embracing a Growth Mindset

Jim Sapara believes in the power of a growth mindset, which means viewing challenges as opportunities to learn and grow. Working with him will encourage you to see mistakes not as failures but as stepping stones to improvement. With this mindset, you'll become more adaptable, resilient, and open to new experiences, which are all essential qualities for success.

Conclusion

In conclusion, working with Jim Sapara can be a life-changing experience.  His supportive mentoring, goal-setting expertise, and encouragement will empower you to overcome obstacles, develop crucial skills, and embrace a growth mindset. With Jim by your side, you'll foster self-confidence, build positive habits, and set yourself on a path to achievement in school and beyond. Embrace the opportunity to work with Jim Sapara, and watch as you unlock your full potential and thrive in all aspects of life. Your journey to success starts now!

For a Free Copy of my Book ‘Extreme Winning’ CLICK HERE: www.jimsapara.com