How to Use Writing to Sharpen Your Thinking

Tim Ferriss on improving your thinking by writing.

Your Goals Are Achievable

We all need encouragement in our pursuit of our ambitions. There is nothing like a number of small successes to give you the motivation to reach that goal. For example you may say you want to be a millionaire in five years time. That is your big goal. The first small goal is that you have to make a dollar today. You have to double what you make today, tomorrow and so on. When you make your first dollar, you will have a sense of satisfaction. But also it will show you that your goals are achievable. If you can make one dollar, you can make two.

You will have different goals for various areas in your life. But they all share similar characteristics. In addition to being written down, they must be specific, achievable and realistic. When I say if somebody somewhere has achieved something similar I mean that it helps you see that it is achievable. World peace but it isn't really a realistic or achievable personal goal to make for example, but we would all love it. The outcome needs to be somewhat under your control. For this reason, you cannot make goals for other people.

The ultimate goal should be broken into a series of shorter term goals. These smaller targets will support you in getting to the final destination but will help spur you on by giving you a sense of achievement when you meet them.

In our pursuit of our ambitions we all need encouragement. To give you the motivation to reach that goal, there is nothing like a number of small successes. For example you may say you want to be a millionaire in five years time. That is your big goal. The first small goal is that you have to make a dollar today. What you make today, tomorrow and so on you have to make double. When you make your first dollar, you will have a sense of satisfaction. But also it will show you that your goals are achievable. You can make two dollars, if you can make one. Taking action, one step at a time will lead you to success. Too few people know what they want out of life, fewer still write it down and even fewer will take any action to achieving their own wishes. The human brain is a formidable machine and it is absolutely amazing what you could potentially achieve if you just decided to go and do it.

People are more open to the possibilities around them when have their written goals. There is no obstacle they can't overcome. They will work around, over or through anything that life puts in place of their destination. If they believe they are going to succeed, nothing stops them putting the work that is required into action.

Having goals gives you the energy and vitality to ensure you are successful. You will accept new challenges. Opportunities will find you or so it would appear but in reality if you don't know where you are going how do you know you have got there when you arrive?

Your energy levels will rise to meet the requirements you make of them and this quite simply makes you feel great.

Article Source: https://articlebliss.com/Article/493996/Your-Goals-Are-Achievable.html

A Helping Hand Vs. A Handout

I keep hearing complaints about people feeling entitled to living the good life but unwilling to work for it but, from where I’m sitting, I see these same people contributing to that sense of entitlement that’s permeating our society.

On the one hand, it’s understandable that you want to give your children more than you had, but on the other hand, if you do that, you will probably be contributing to their sense of entitlement.

I was just talking to a woman who is barely scraping by and she is putting her nineteen-year-old through college. I asked, what I thought was a logical question, “Why don’t you send him to a community college since it costs so much less than the college he’s attending?” Her response was that he loves the school and if she made him go to a community college, he would stop talking to her.

Whoa!! Her nineteen-year-old son would stop talking to her if she transferred him to a community college? Talk about entitlement issues. Then I asked her if he could get a part-time job and contribute some money toward his tuition and her response was that when she was young, all she had time for was studying and working; she had no time for a social life and she doesn’t want that for her son.

So then I asked her why he couldn’t have a little bit of a social life if he works fifteen hours a week, and her answer was the same. It was a catch 22. She wants a different life for herself because she’s feeling like a prisoner. She’s depressed at the thought of having no money and doesn’t see a way out of this situation but she’s not willing to make any changes.

She wasn’t even receptive to my suggestion that he go to the public library and look up the thousands of scholarships that go unclaimed every year and start making applications. She didn’t even want him to investigate the possibility of getting some grants.

This woman probably thinks I’m hard-hearted but I told her that if she’s not willing to change anything, she shouldn’t expect a different outcome. And I also told her that she’s not doing her son any favors because he’s not being given any responsibilities and he’s having everything handed to him on a silver platter. How can you become a man if you’re still being treated like a child?

If this is how we’re raising our children, can we really complain about how our society is rife with people expecting handouts? If we do nothing to remedy this travesty, can we really expect anything to change?

Article Source: https://articlebliss.com/Article/882187/A-Helping-Hand-Vs-A-Handout.html

Four Essentials To Maintaining A Healthy Mind

Our Mind is one of our most precious possessions; it's also a possession that is easy to take for granted.
Rarely as human beings do we take stock and hold inventory of our thoughts and perpetual mediations.
But this simple habit can mean the difference between a healthy productive mind, operating at optimum, a servant able to enable the manifestation of our destiny. Or a troubled storm torn vessel, unable to assist us is in the vicissitudes of life.
In this article I want to highlight four main elements I feel will be deeply useful to consider when we are endeavouring to corral our minds in the direction that will produce the most desired results.
To further lay emphasis on the opportunity we have before us, I would have you consider the fact that a healthy mind more often than not is fundamental to a healthy body. A healthy mind enables us to think creatively and circumstances will invariably bend to the upbeat attitude of a healthy mind.
A healthy mind will attract to it not only healthy circumstances, but also healthy company. It's been said bad company corrupts good habits. I charge we should choose our thoughts as carefully as we choose our friends and vice versa.
Our thoughts will either take us to our desired destination, or plunge us to our dreaded fates. Our thoughts will ennoble us to feats of courage and determination or rob us of vital energy when life requires an extra push.
Lets look together at the four things that can greatly improve our thought life and enable our minds to maintain a healthy virile tone that will infuse all of life with purpose, meaning, worth and peace.

Attitude:

Let's begin with attitude; it's been said that in all of life's happenings, the one thing we can choose is our attitude. A negative attitude is one of the surest ways to eschew destruction through our whole system, and destroy productive relations with our fellows. Even if we attract many other negative people to our pity party, the ensuing conversations will be so detrimental, we can be sure no positive thing can result. Likewise when we choose in the face of a negative appearing circumstance a positive response, the lessons in the circumstance are learnt, the pain quickly passes and we are ennobled, energised, invigorated. And by default those we come in contact with will reap the benefits.

Self Esteem:

A positive attitude is hard to maintain without a healthy self esteem. Self esteem is something so deep it affects our thoughts immensely. First please realise that who you are has tremendous value and worth. You may have been told otherwise all your life, and circumstances may have conspired together to compound this notion. But please stop and look into the mirror, tell yourself you love yourself, tell yourself you forgive yourself, tell yourself that you are the most valuable possession you have at your disposal, and invest in yourself. Allow you're self to change all the destructive self loathing thoughts; they won't help you or those around you. The moment you accept yourself and see your worth and invest in yourself the world will become a better place.

Meditation:

The next key thought I want to cover is our mediation, our constant mental fixations, what do we spend our time thinking about? Amidst the various pressures and circumstances life poses, beneath the surface can be a volcano of anxieties, concerns and misgivings. If we don't discipline our minds and choose to maintain focus our lives can become bogged down in a mire of frustration from which we long to escape. It's very important in life to have vision. Take time to really consider your aims, purpose and reasons for doing what you do. Allow the sometimes disorienting process of change to operate in your life; be prepared to jettison dead weights that are stifling your progress. Establish your destination, and as you press towards it maintain a healthy meditation on your focus. When anxieties arise meditate on your focus. When you go to bed and when you rise, meditate on your focus. And you will find your thoughts steering your mind which in turn will steer your course and you'll make it.

Courage:

And last but by no means least I hope this final thought will add the so needed Icing to the cake; Courage. We addressed anxiety which is a form of fear. Fearful thoughts seek to paralyse our best efforts and sabotage our endeavours. Whether it is a case of self doubt or the fear of people, apparently insurmountable obstacles or the great unknown. I encourage you to add courage to your arsenal of productive thoughts. Believe you can achieve and you will. Be brave enough to believe you have value despite naysayers. Press beyond the dead past and enter the yet unseen future, confident your going to make it, and life will bend to your faith.

Ultimately choose your attitude, recognise your intrinsic value. Take stock of your daily meditations and focus on your vision and purpose, and rise to life's challenges beginning in your mind, with the courage of believing thoughts and hopeful expectations. And you'll maintain a healthy mind that will serve you throughout your life.

Article Source: https://articlebliss.com/Article/674712/Four-Essentials-To-Maintaining-A-Healthy-Mind.html

Never Settle For Less Again - Video

Hunger will drive you through your challenges, setbacks, and fears by Tony Robbins.

Six Things Employers Need to Be Mindful of When Applying for the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

The highly anticipated HMRC Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme online portal is now open. Some had been sceptical about whether HMRC would be able to stick to its target release date of 20 April 2020, however, it has been achieved. It is now expected that thousands of employers will use the portal to claim back the 80% wages available for employees they have designated as ‘furloughed’.

A Step by Step guide for claiming money via the scheme is also available and points out that employers will need their Government Gateway ID and password to log in. Once logged in, it seems that employers will have to put their details in all in one go because there is no ‘save’ option available within the portal. This means employers must be fully prepared, at the start, with details they will need to input for the claim to be processed. With that in mind, here are six things employers need to be mindful of when applying for the scheme.

1. Do your research on government offerings

Make sure you know what the Government are offering and how long they are offering it for. Currently, the scheme covers the period from 1 March 2020 up until the end of June. Before deciding to rely on the scheme, consider if your company, and your staff, are eligible for it.

2. Check if your employees are eligible 

To be eligible, the individual must be PAYE and must have been on the payroll on 19 March 2020 and have been notified to HMRC through a RTI submission on or before 19 March 2020. Full time, part time, temporary and zero hours and fixed term staff can all be included as long as they are PAYE. Office holders, (including directors), salaried members of LLPs, agency workers and those who fall into the employment status category of ‘worker’ can be included.

Previous guidance had contained a cut-off date of 28 February 2020 meaning that employers could not furlough, and claim the wages of, anyone who started after this date. The guidance was updated on 15 April 2020 to provide a new cut-off date of 19 March 2020.

3. Communicate with employees about changes

You must clearly tell staff that they are being furloughed, why this is, and when this will take place. It should also be confirmed if you are willing to let them work for someone else while they are away and that you will expect them to return when the period of furlough ends.

4. Log all employee communications

Unless there is a term allowing furlough in employees’ contracts, you will need to get agreement from employees to designate them as furloughed and reduce their pay. You will need to agree on the pay reduction with employees as part of the agreement to furlough because normal employment law principles apply.

On 15 April 2020, the Government released a Treasury Direction on the scheme. It stated that employers must have an agreement in writing that the employee will cease to do all work for the duration of furlough.

5. Read the small print

Make sure you are clear on anything that could impact on your use of the scheme. For example, the guidance update on 15 April 2020, extending the scheme to staff who had been with the company on or before 19 March 2020, did not actually permit as many new individuals to benefit from it as previously thought. This was because an RTI submission will need to have been made to the HMRC first, which happens on payday, and staff who started at the beginning of March may not yet have been paid.

6. Play by the rules

Payments may be withheld or need to be repaid if claims were based on misleading or inaccurate information or found to be fraudulent. A hotline has also been set up on which employees can report employers’ abuse of the system.


Article Source: https://www.globalbankingandfinance.com/six-things-employers-need-to-be-mindful-of-when-applying-for-the-coronavirus-job-retention-scheme/

The Meaning Of Life

Do you have a great hunger to know the meaning of your life or just life in general? When I was younger I would go to the library or book store almost every day looking for a book that would tell me what life was really about, what was true and what was false. I eventually gave up because there did not seem to be an answer. Each new book seemed to contradict whatever was in the last book I had read or even itself.
I then decided maybe I could just figure it out for myself. I made up thought experiments. Here is a sample: Suppose you were selected by God to fix all the problems on earth. But God didn’t give you any power to physically force or coerce people to do your bidding. They all have free will to choose what they want to do. How could I get people to change or just do anything that was better than what they were currently doing? This did not help because I had no way of knowing whether what I thought was right or wrong. Meanwhile I was not able to run my own life in a sensible way. I gave up.

I tried to do things that interested me along with the mundane routines of day to day living. That kept my mind occupied with other thoughts. My mantra became the meaning of life is found by living it not by thinking about what it all means.

But I was not enjoying life. This affected my health. I was on a downward spiral. My body was getting weaker and weaker. I came across a book that said people needed a reason to live or a will to live, if they did not have it they would die. It might take a while but without something to live for they could not sustain themselves. I told my mother about this and showed her the place in the book that illustrated the downward slope to death. I said this was what was happening to me. Of course my mother did not believe this at all. She said that could not be true, just look at how I had such a good life.

By most standards I was very well off. I had a good paying job, lots of vacation days, no debt, good health and a high level of physical fitness so I could enjoy riding my bicycles long distances at high speeds. But mentally and emotionally I was very depressed.

One day I was talking to the librarian, when someone returned some physiology books. I started thumbing through one of them and found out that I had the classic sleep pattern of a person with depression. Eventually after several failed relationships and long periods of extreme sadness I had a psychiatric evaluation. Acute Depression was the diagnosis. Drugs were prescribed, but I did not like the side effects. I stopped taking the drugs because they did not seem to work besides the nausea and dizziness.

The diagnosis caused the depression to lift for a while. Just knowing what was wrong or having a label to put on it was a relief. But the depression came back. Food seemed to be the only thing the really mattered because it sustained life. But food was not able to slake the ever present hunger I felt deep down inside.

I remember asking for help. The answer I got was what you are not going to find what you are searching for in the refrigerator. It turned out that diet was a very important contributor to my depression. Now, having been on a special diet to avoid foods that do not keep my mind and body healthy, I am once again asking what is the meaning of life but from a different perspective.

Article Source: https://articlebliss.com/Article/882231/The-Meaning-Of-Life.html

How to Master Your Emotions - Video

Tony Robbins on how to master your emotions.

A Time To Be Thankful – There Are More Reasons Than You May Think

It’s all too easy to moan isn't it: about the weather, about the state of the country, about our jobs and even our general lot in life?

But there are times when something happens to make you stop and think and realise that you have a lot or (or maybe just a little) to be thankful for.

That “stop & think” moment could be the loss of someone you care about, the news that someone you know has lost their job, seeing an advert or news feature on television that reminds you what suffering is really about or just a spontaneous realisation that it could be a lot worse.

But did you know that being thankful can actually have positive outcomes for your personal and professional life?

Two Professors of Psychology, Robert Emmons (University of California) and Michael McCullough (University of Miami), found evidence that the experience of gratitude leads to positive psychological, physical and social outcomes.

In particular, participants in their 2003 study, who were asked to spend 10 minutes each day thinking about what they were grateful for, experienced greater levels of optimism, positive mood, and feelings of belongingness over the period of the study than the control participants.

So if you want to be more optimistic and positive, perhaps enjoy better health and get on better with people then be a bit more thankful (every day).

Of course, being genuinely thankful opens our eyes to just how lucky we are and perhaps how much we take for granted. It is also a perfect opportunity to take a good look at ourselves, how we are proceeding through life in all areas, and what we can pass on to others or leave behind.

** Your Self...
------------------------------------------------------------
As human beings, we all have self-awareness. Self-evaluation is the application of that self-awareness.

Truly understanding ourselves and what we want to achieve in life is something that many philosophic souls have pondered, and self-evaluation is the place to start, it does not only reveal who you are and what you want, but it can also reveal reasons you should be thankful – some you may not have even considered before.

Starting with self-evaluation shine a light inside yourself, one that highlights not only where you are and who you are but where you are headed.

** Your Journey...
------------------------------------------------------------
Working out where you are headed, or where you want to be, in the future does not necessarily result in a journey from A to B.

The self-evaluation process is a circular one of understanding your current state and past achievements through self-evaluation, which leads to self-judgment and that leads to you creating a future vision of your self and your achievements.

As you achieve these new goals and through self-evaluation see yourself changing and improving, this will lead to increased self-confidence, which leads you to want to achieve even greater things and so the process is repeated.

Of course, your own particular journey all depends on where you start from – both objectively and subjectively.

You have control over both aspects but your subjective perspective and how closely aligned it is to the objective reality will have an impact on your journey experience and final outcome.

Or you can put it like this: the level of honesty you employ during your self-evaluation will have a direct impact on the decisions you make about your future and the goals you set yourself to get there.

As the old saying goes “honesty really is the best policy”. And when all is said and done, how you proceed on your journey, what you achieve and what you leave behind will be your final statement of the day.

** Your Legacy...
------------------------------------------------------------
When you start the self-evaluation process, you are in effect creating and shaping your journey through life, both personally and professionally.

That shaping is also a continual and circular process and your journey will neither be straight nor straightforward. But as with all journeys it will have an end.

And finding out what your end will be is a process that naturally starts at the beginning.

Therefore, your self-evaluation, which started with thinking about being thankful for what you have and involves thinking about what you would like to have and ultimately achieve, should also include what you would like to give back and leave behind.

After all, there is much to be thankful for…

Not only in terms of what we have and are blessed with; what we have inside to take ourselves through our own journey and get to the finishing line – whether that be in a business career or indeed in life itself, but also with what we are able to share, impart and “pay forward” to those around us and those who come after us.

Article Source: https://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/a-time-to-be-thankful-there-are-more-reasons-than-you-may-think

Work Hard and Be Patient - Video

Watch Gary Vee's one of the best motivational videos.

Living a More Conscious Life

When you’re living a more conscious life, you’re being with yourself and for yourself deeply, moment by moment. No matter how attractive quick and easy solutions seem, lasting change can’t happen in the time it takes to deliver a pizza. It takes time, attention, and commitment to address and heal the layers of who we are and grow in consciousness.

So, what is conscious living?

To be conscious means to observe what’s present, and implies being awake or awakening to your deeper truth, an inner realization, or circum¬stance. Living a conscious life means having the willingness, curiosity, and courage to stay present to your thoughts and feelings, to the meeting point of body, emotion, mind, and spirit. It means staying present to the impact you have on others and your environment, as well as the choices available to you. To live a conscious life—to be awake and aware—is to be gloriously alive!
We experience life in degrees. You can choose where to place your attention and intention, creating a life that feels better than it does now. You can grow, change, and deepen your ability to navigate life. You can expand and illuminate your experience of consciousness. You can mature toward greater integration and wholeness.

From the deepest sense of ourselves, our inner life longs to be experienced, understood, and validated. It’s rich with nuance and complexity, and meant to be sipped and savored. It’s not meant to be swallowed a week at a time, controlled by our past programming and endless “to do” lists. Slow down, take a deep breath, and truly feel life. Every moment, even a painful one, contains gifts of wisdom and joy if we’re willing to remain conscious.

Living consciously includes uncovering, grieving, and working through your historical childhood difficulties, along with the programming they created. It’s your job to return to your blocks, those stubborn problems that keep you from experiencing your wholeness and embracing your potentials. As you identify and heal them you create change. This opens the door to the emergence of your real self.
You might be thinking, “Grieve my childhood difficulties?! Is that even pos¬sible? Won’t that take forever? Why should I go through all that effort? What problems will it solve?” To understand why it’s needed, let me ask you a few questions:

Are you living the life you’ve always dreamed of?
Often, from a young age, we have an idea of the kind of life we want to live. We have specific goals in some areas, others we paint with broader strokes, and some goals change with time. Do you feel your life expresses your deepest desire? Are you moving toward your greatest vision of life?

Are you the person you want to be?

When you reflect on who you’re being in life, you may discover you’re sup¬pressing important qualities and traits while expressing others that don’t feel like the real you. Are you being your authentic, empowered self much of the time?

Is there a persistent complaint, pain, or longing in your life you’ve yet to heal?

Sometimes, no matter how much we work on ourselves, we encounter the same inner obstacles again and again.
Are you living and feeling fulfilled by your deepest mission in life, serving others, and making a difference?

We’re here to contribute to the world in our own unique way. Sometimes that contribution makes big waves, and sometimes our expression of service is quiet, subtle, or deeply personal. Each is as important in its own way. Are you making the difference you know you can?

Are you satisfied and fulfilled in your relationships?

This is an area in which we often compromise, give in to resignation, and feel we’ve gotten the best we can get. Are you frustrated and unfulfilled in your personal and professional relationships?

Is your work aligned with your life-path, and are you satisfied with your progress?

Are you doing what you’re burning to do? Does your professional life (your job or your business) express who you authentically are in the world? Are you achieving the results you want?

Living a conscious life changes your everyday experience in measurable ways. You’ll find greater ease, resilience, contentment, and success. As you learn to be present to physical sensations, emotional feelings, and thoughts, you’ll develop ego strength, and move more comfortably with the ups and downs of life. You’ll be well on your way to walking the conscious life path, embodying greater free¬dom and happiness.

You’ll relax into the most subtle and profound realms of awareness, the inner silent still point in consciousness—the silence that feeds body and soul. Father Thomas Keating, in his book Invitation to Love, said, “Silence is God’s first lan¬guage; everything else is a poor translation. In order to hear that language, we must learn to be still and to rest in God.”

Conscious Living 2.0™ practices can lead you into wisdom and inner silence. Some might call this opening more fully to God, Wisdom, or unified consciousness. I like to call it “enlightening-ment,” meaning that for most of us enlightenment is not a destination or graduation into a permanent higher state of consciousness, but a moment-by-moment experience constantly fluctuating between degrees of wholeness and limited consciousness.

Once we’ve experienced and embodied this enlightenment, whether for a mo¬ment or more, the time spent in this impersonal state, stillness, spaciousness, silence, or wholeness leaves its mark on us forever. You probably know what I mean, and can feel it as you read. When we travel that territory, our capacity grows. We’re a little more relaxed and a little less fearful, more compassionate toward ourselves and others. We’re more attentive to our lives and the still small voice within.

In the book Buddha Standard Time, Lama Surya Das defines enlightenment as a “deep flash of awakening to the knowledge that we are much more than our time and space-bound material selves living in a material world. Some people awaken to enlightenment by Grace, seemingly without effort, but most of us stay obsessively stuck in the past or the future, running our mental trains backward and forward in that track every minute of the day.” Yet, he goes on to say, “Each moment is intersected by a realm of infinite spaciousness and timelessness, known in Tibetan as shicha, the Eternal Now.”

It’s possible to be excited about life, even on a bad day, when you’re doing what you came here to do! Fulfilling your mission—the one unique to you—is possible; I’m doing it, and I’ve helped many others do it too. You can feel happier than you ever thought possible!

Article Source: https://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/living-a-more-conscious-life

How I Take Notes and Journal | Brainstorming + Focusing + Reducing Anxiety - Video

Tim Ferriss shares how he focuses, brainstorms and reduces anxiety on taking notes and journals.

Why is Taking the First Step so Hard?

If you’re anything like I used to be, you’ve been held back by your current problems for more than a matter of months. You've wanted to be taking the first step. But... How??

We do this for several reasons. Some more evident than others.

For example, if lack of confidence is holding you back, there’s probably several by-problems affecting your entire predicament.

You might feel too tired; stressed; hurt; overwhelmed; too frightened. Or your fear might be an inner, hidden one which manifests as apparent laziness and comfortability.

Maybe you don’t know how to plan your time. Maybe you prioritize wrongly. Or maybe you don’t feel comfortable in making the right choices.

The right choices are different from everyday ones like choosing what to wear, what to eat, when to sleep, what to read, etc.. For the most part, those make but small differences in our lives.

Conversely, making the right choice is the last thing anyone does before permanently changing their life for the better.

The right choice has will and focus behind it. A will to go in a certain direction; a focus on the direction itself.

Now, those things in themselves don’t make any choice "right". (I’m sure a lot of murderers had will and focus too…) But any right choice will necessarily encompass will and focus.

Then, why is making the right choice so hard for people with low confidence?

I’d like to be able to present a simple, yet surprising reason here. But the fact is, people are different, and so are their sources of low confidence, respectively.

Some might not know what they want. Others might, but may then be too scared of failure and humiliation. - Or even of the responsibility and exposure following a successful completion.

Whatever it is, here’s the good news:
While taking the first step might seem hard, the first step matters less than you think.

So what really matters is that no matter how you feel, you go ahead and do it anyway.

Yes, it’s scary. But you can do it.

Consider how great musicians and speakers get nervous before going onstage. Hell, great artists are among the world’s most notoriously depressed people.* But they do it anyway.

I’m not making you feel bad about yourself. I’m saying, whatever you want to do CAN be done.

And if you don’t know what you want, you won’t find out by wallowing in inactivity, but by getting out and gathering new inspiration.

Remember: You can always change directions. If you’re stuck somewhere, you probably won’t evolve. But whatever new place you go, you’ll learn new things to help you further on.

All you gotta do is to be taking that first step to get going.

ACTION ITEM:

1) Write down your three biggest values, your three biggest strengths, and your three biggest interests.
2) Take the biggest one from each category, and write down three possible ways of combining the three into something you’d like to do.
3) Pick one.
4) Write down the three first things you can do to make this happen.
5) For the next three days, do one of these things.
6) Repeat point 4) to 5).

Congratulations: You're taking the first step.

Article Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051640458-1-why-is-taking-the-first-step-so-hard/

How to Create a Better Morning Routine - Video

Tim Ferriss talks about creating a better morning routine.

Building Self Confidence – A Skill You Can Train

Importance of Confidence

This article talks about the importance of confidence and how it heavily influences everything you do. I outline the fundamentals to build confidence.

Confidence is a skill. A skill you can train and learn. You probably heard about the phrase "Fake it till you make it". It is often said but not explained why it’s true.

Confidence is a skill like any other learned trait. You can’t expect to just be confident exactly like you can’t expect to speak french fluently without putting time into learning it. So why is that? Lack of confidence is the result of not having the experience of various situations in life. If I say to you, prepare a presentation and present it in front of 200 people. Most of you will be hesitant and be afraid of the task. That is because so many different unexpected situations can occur in which you mind find yourself lost. Repeating the tasks will lead to you facing every situation possible which will be hard at times and you will often fail but learn so much in the process. There is, unfortunately, no way around the failing part. But what you can do is minimizing the fail potential. So what can you do?

Confidence Building

Again, think about confidence as a learned skill. What if you have an important exam coming up? You learn for it. The more you learn the more you feel better about the exam and about your confidence concerning the task. So do what you can regarding preparation. Sometimes you can’t prepare and need to improvise. That’s where faking the confidence comes into play.

"Fake it till you make it"

The perception of others of you as a person is always vastly different from your own view of you. Walking straight, eye contact, loud and clear-talking makes you look confident. Even if you don’t feel like you are confident, others will think you are. You will notice the different looks people give you and that will boost your confidence. So just get the ball rolling, the confidence will come.

Building self-confidence is a step-by-step progress. I might get a little mathematical here, but it helps to get my point across. You have the following situation. You are new in a city and want to set up your social life but are afraid or not confident enough to approach strangers. There are 2 possibilities.

Talking to a stranger and maybe become friends. There is of course a possibility of failing because he or she might react negatively about your approach. Let’s say there is at least a 50% chance that the encounter will yield positive results and the other half of the time, the stranger won’t react nicely.

The other possibility is simply not approaching. The expected outcome here is 0% progress.

"Failure is the key to confidence."

The first option results in a better outcome since 50% of the time you will have a positive encounter. The question is now if the 50% negative encounters make you choose the second option of not talking to strangers. Are the negative encounters really negative in the long run? No. Each conversation or approach you learn more and more things. What’s the best approach to a stranger, what questions to ask and so on. If they don’t react nicely, you have valuable information and feedback about your approach.

This is very important in every kind of encounter. You choose how failing affects you. The stranger won’t think about what happened for longer than a minute. Why would you? You have to fail to succeed. If you don’t take the initiative you can not win. Even negative results have a positive side. You gain experience and can improve your approach. Take the best out of failure and see it as a positive experience in the long run.

Everything regarding confidence can be viewed with these guidelines. Speaking in public, what will happen if you fail? Will it really affect your life more negatively than not speaking in public at all? It’s all about your own perception. People just do not care if someone makes a mistake in a presentation or if you talk to them. Your audience is there to learn, not to make fun of you. If there are people laughing about something you do, those are the people with opinions you shouldn’t care about at all. In the end the human mind always exaggerates such encounters and makes you over analyze the situation.

The start is definitely the hardest part of all. Only asking someone for the way is a huge deal for some people, but after they’ve done it they are incredibly happy. It’s exactly the same with asking someone out for a date. Ask them with fake confidence, you will be surprised how often they will see your confidence and act upon it. If they say no, who cares? As I’ve said, they won’t think about it for more than a minute, why would you.

Article Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051632380-1-building-self-confidence-a-skill-you-can-train/

Changing Our Mindset To Achieve Our Highest Potential

Believe you can succeed and you will!

How to develop the power of belief? Think success, don’t think failure. At work, in your home, substitute success thinking for failure thinking. When you face a difficult situation, think, "I’ll win," not "I’ll probably lose." When you are thinking of changing habits for health, think "I can do it," never "I can’t." Let the master thought "I will succeed’ dominate your thinking process. Thinking success conditions your mind to create plans that produce success. Thinking failure done the exact opposite. Failure thinking conditions the mind to think other thoughts that produce failure.

Remind yourself regularly that you are better than you think you are. Successful people are not supermen/women. Success does not require a super intellect. Nor is there anything mystical about ordinary folks who have developed belief in themselves and what they do. Never sell yourself short.

Believe Big. The size of your success is determined by the size of your belief. Think little goals and expect little achievements. Think big goals and win big success. Big ideas and big plans are often easier – certainly no more difficult – than small ideas and small plans.

Cure yourself of excusitis, the failure disease!

"But my health isn’t good."

"I don’t feel good."

"I’ve got such-and-such wrong with me."

Refuse to talk about your health. The more you talk about an ailment, even the common cold, the worse it seems to get. Talking about bad health is like putting fertilizer on weeds. Besides, talking about your health is a bad habit. It bores people. Success-minded people defeat the natural tendency to talk about their "bad" health. One may get a little sympathy, but one doesn’t get respect and loyalty by being a chronic complainer.

Refuse to worry about your health. Dr. Walter Alvarez, consultant to the Mayo Clinic, wrote, "I always beg worriers to exercise some self-control. For instance, when I saw this man (a fellow who was convinced he had a diseased gallbladder although eight separate X-ray examinations showed that the organ was perfectly normal), I begged him to quit getting his gallbladder X-rayed. I have begged hundreds of heart-conscious men to quit getting electrocardiograms made."

Be genuinely grateful that your health is as good as it is. There’s an old saying worth repeating often: "I felt sorry for myself because I had ragged shoes until I met a man who had no feet." Instead of complaining about "not feeling good," it’s far better to be glad you are as healthy as you are. Just being grateful for the health you have is powerful vaccination against developing new aches and pains and real illness.

Remind yourself often, "It’s better to wear out than rust out." Life is yours to enjoy. Don’t waste it. Don’t pass up living by thinking yourself into a hospital bed.

Build confidence and destroy fear!

Use this two-step procedure to cure fear and win confidence:

1. Isolate your fear. Pin it down. Determine exactly what you are afraid of.

2. Then take action. There is some kind of action for any kind of fear.

In the moments when your alone with your thoughts – when you’re driving in your car or eating alone – recall pleasant, positive experiences. This boosts confidence. It gives you that "I-sure-feel-good" feeling. It helps keep your body functioning right, too.

Just before you go to sleep, focus on good thoughts. Count your blessings. Recall the many good things you have to be thankful for: your wife or husband, your children, your friends, your health. Recall the good things you saw people do today. Recall your little victories and accomplishments, go over the reasons why you are glad to be alive.

Use big, positive, cheerful words and phrases to describe how you feel. When someone asks, "How do you feel today?" and you respond with an "I’m tired (I have a headache, I don’t feel so good), "you actually make yourself feel worse. Practice responding like this: "Just wonderful! Thanks, and you?" or say "Great" or "Fine"

Believe!! When you believe, your mind finds ways to do. Belief releases creative powers. Disbelief puts the brakes on.

Give yourself a pep talk several times daily. Build a "sell-yourself-to-yourself" commercial. Remind yourself at every opportunity that you’re healthy, energetic, and fit person.

Make your environment make you successful!

Be environmental-conscious. Just a body diet makes the body, mind diet makes the mind. Make your environment work for you, not against you.

Don’t let suppressive forces – the negative, you-can’t-do-it people – make you think defeat. Don’t let small-thinking people gold you back. Jealous people want to see you stumble. Don’t give them that satisfaction. Get your advice form successful people. Your future is important. Never risk it with freelance advisors who are living failure. Throw thought poison out of your environment. Avoid gossip. Talk about people, but stay on the positive side.

Get plenty of psychological sunshine. Circulate in new groups. Discover new and stimulating things to do.

Get the action habit!

Use the mechanical way to accomplish simple but sometimes unpleasant business and household chores. Rather than think about the unpleasant features of the task, jump right in and get going without a lot of deliberation.

Next, use the mechanical way to create ideas, map out plans, solve problems, and do other work that requires top mental performance. Rather than wait for the spirit to move you, sit down and move your spirit. Don’t wait until conditions are perfect. They never will be. Expect future obstacles and difficulties and solve them as they arise.

Remember, ideas alone won’t bring success. Ideas have value only when you act upon them! Use action to cure fear and gain confidence. Do what you fear, and fear disappears. Just try it and see. Think in terms of NOW. Tomorrow, next week, later, and similar words often are synonymous with the failure word, NEVER. Be an "I’ll start right now" kind of person.

Article Source: http://www.articlebiz.com/article/1051650048-1-changing-our-mindset-to-achieve-our-highest-potential/

The Secret to Better Decision Making - Video

The secret to better decision making by Jim Rohn

Saving Money When You’re Working From Home

I’ve been working from my home office since I went self-employed nearly two years now, and the pros definitely outweigh the cons.

I’ll deal with the latter first – and it’s pretty much just missing having colleagues. There are things I do to mitigate this, such as weekly video chats with other members of my money blogging community, though it’s not quite the same.

However, the freedom I’ve had over my hours and the ability to go off to the cinema or play tennis in the afternoon more than makeup for it.

It can also be a bit of a money saver, as those normal day-to-day expenses like travel and lunches go out of the window. And though there will be some extra costs, there’s plenty you can do to bring those down.

So if you are based at home, here are the things I’d recommend you look into how to make sure you’re getting the most from your money.

Make sure your internet is up to the job

If you get frustrated with internet speeds at the best of times then you are going to find it worse if you’re at home all day too.

I made the decision to move to Virgin Media’s high-speed network when I went fully freelance to make sure I could quickly upload my videos and podcasts, but you’ll probably be fine on a standard fiber line from the likes of BT.

But don’t pay too much for this. If you’re out of contract, this is your chance to shop around and look for the best prices. Always check what extras you can get from cashback sites – it could well be more than £100.

You should also haggle with your existing network to see if they’ll give you a free or cheap upgrade. If they think you’re genuine about leaving they do tend to magically find extra savings.

Get back-up broadband

If your internet goes down it’s likely you won’t be able to work. I’d certainly struggle to run this blog! Fortunately, my mobile network allows me to “tether” by computer to my phone’s personal hotspot and use the included data allowance.

It’s a great back-up, but it’s also been really useful in the past when I’ve not been able to get wifi on trains, hotels or in cafes.

I’m with Three, which lets you do this in the UK, Europe and even some countries across the world. , but most networks also allow you to do this. However, if you use more than your data allowance you could get hit with extra charges – and these can be very expensive.

Personally I’d ask my network to give me a warning when I’m close to my allowance and shut data off when it’s gone rather than get a massive bill.

If you do tether to your phone’s data, make sure you turn off auto-updates on your computer. As I discovered this can wipe out all your data very quickly. Fortunately, Three were good about adding some more data onto my account for free to help me get to the end of the month.

But having your phone as back up doesn’t mean you should suddenly sign up for unlimited data. Remember you’ll be able to connect to your home wifi throughout the day so you won’t need huge data allowances. In normal times most people are fine with less than 5GB or so. Here’s more on how to find out just how much data you need.

Avoid pricey conference call numbers

I’ve always hated having to call into conference lines which required an 0845 or 0870 type number – really expensive. So if this ever comes my way I always take a look at Say No to 0870.

You simply type in the number you have to call and it’ll let you know if there is a normal (01, 02 or 03) or freephone number you can call instead.

Alternatively, there are lots of video conferencing options that won’t cost much money. Facetime, What’s App and Facebook Messenger all allow you to talk to your contacts but can be limited.

I tend to use Zoom and the free option lets you talk for 40 minutes. That should be more than enough for a meeting. If you need longer then you can just start a new meeting.

Use free software

You might be used to Microsoft Word or Excel in the office, but there are free cloud-based alternatives which will be just as good for most people.

I use Google Docs for everything, and I can access them from any computer or device as long as I log in with a Gmail account.

Reduce your energy use

The obvious change for gas and electricity is to switch your supplier to the cheapest fixed deal. Easy, quick and a big money saver. You absolutely should do this.

But there’s more you can do too in terms of making your home more efficient, from easy fixes such as using draft excluders through to longer-term measures like loft insulation. Here’s a good list of quick wins to reduce how much you use via the energy saving trust.

Personally, I make sure I’ve always got a warm hoodie in my office, and for winter I’ve got a pair of fingerless gloves to allow me to keep typing away.

Find out what you can claim

If you are working for a company, check to see if they will fund extra costs you have as a result of being at home. That could be contributing to your phone or broadband bills, supplying an ergonomic chair or even buying a laptop.

If you’re self-employed then talk to your accountant about any allowable expenses you can use to lower your tax bill.

Shelling out now can save more money later

If you have to buy everything yourself you might be tempted to just blag it with what you’ve already got. If that’s a laptop and a sofa then you could be asking for trouble.

Hunching over a laptop and slouching on the sofa all day is likely to cause you all sorts of problems with your back and shoulders, which could eventually lead you to pay for massages and physiotherapy.

To reduce the chances of this I got a stand-up desk from Ikea, but even just a standard desk will help. Make sure your chair has decent back support.

I also use a desktop computer so I’m looking straight at a screen rather than down, but if you can’t afford a new computer you could look at buying a monitor instead and connecting your laptop.

Don’t forget to go via cashback sites for anything you do buy to maximize your savings.

Have some self-control in the kitchen

Ok, so if you don’t have to buy your lunch each day you will save some money. Great. I find that I don’t have the time to make a proper lunch so I tend to make sure I cook more the night before and have the leftovers.

When you know you’ve got a fridge or cupboard with snacks and treats it’s really easy to just pop to the kitchen and grab a bite to eat. This isn’t just bad for your waistline, it’s not great for your bank balance either.

I also try to make sure there’s fruit available so I don’t resort to chocolate and crisps.

Save your savings

Despite the odd extra cost, you’ll ultimately be paying less – particularly as you won’t have commuting costs and there’s less need to buy new clothing that’s office-friendly.

So what do you do with that spare cash? Save it. Don’t make the mistake of just leaving it in your current account. Do that and you’ll just spend it elsewhere.

You need to set up a separate savings account and move any surplus to it. This should be somewhere that pays the best possible interest.

Article Source: https://becleverwithyourcash.com/money-saving-when-youre-working-from-home/

Jim Rohn teaches how to master your mind.

Making Good Choices

Daily, our choices make us who we are. What, where and who we are is the sum of all those choices added together to right now. Now is such an important concept. Now is the only time that you have the chance to go out and get exactly what you are looking to achieve. There is no promise of tomorrow. To do this you must realize you have everything you need right now. Stop waiting for that something to happen because it never will until you make it happen.

Goals are meant to be achieved. This fruit that we bear because someone has dreamt. The way to achieve the goal is by going after the challenges. Decide that you are going to start today. The best way to do this is to build your mind. The best way to build your mind is to learn. Books, mentors, seminars, conferences and everyday life has a beautiful offering of ways to learn.

We are all given challenges. Those challenges are meant to be overcome. Know in your heart of hearts that you can achieve. These obstacles are the hard parts of life that become beautiful memories. Even in death. Think to someone you knew. When you think of them bring to the surface the great memories you have of them. Know those people that have come before wanting us to move forward in the best fashion. That means to live your life fully no matter what. Do not let their passing go unnoticed. You are perfect to know the lesson those people wanted to share with the world. Share their message.

Our actions will prove what direction that we want to go. Act. Think. Act again. Be the best that you can be. There are no more excuses to be sitting around. Are people calling you insane by your actions? Then you aren't succeeding unless that answer is yes. I enjoy acting. You will enjoy acting. We must put in the work together to become the person we know is inside.

Your dreams? Do you have dreams? Guess what? That dream is yours. Stop coming up with excuses. Write that book. Make that music. Build that company. Network until you make it happen. Invest everything you must become the person you want to become. Time, money and effort are only human thoughts. Do what you must to make your dream come into this life and humanity will thank you for it.


Article Source: https://ezinearticles.com/?Making-Good-Choices&id=9825603