Our minds are all we’ve got. They are the source of who we, both personally and professionally, are. They determine our success or failure. They are our strength and our weakness.

With the quality of our entire lives resting on our minds, it’s unbelievable that we choose to fill them with so much garbage. The amount of negativity from television, newspapers, tabloids and other media that bombards us on a daily basis is amazing. We would never think to fill our bodies with only junk food, right? Heck no. We know that if we ate nothing but French fries and ice cream we would experience negative consequences like skin blemishes, weight gain and rotting teeth.

But with mental junk food we don´t see the physical consequences right away. When our minds are constantly filled with negativity and bad news, our minds begin to decay. That´s why we need to develop a strong, Herculean-esque mind.

Developing your mental muscles will give you the power to accomplish anything you want in life. Sure, it takes some discipline on your part, but look at the world’s greatest bodybuilders. They don’t show up at the gym every once in a while. They create a workout schedule and they are at the gym every day, no matter what.

Hire yourself as your “mental manager”. Figure out how much you’re going to pay yourself and make up a job list. Here are six jobs to assign to yourself to create a stronger mind.

1. Read Right

How much good news do you see in the newspapers? Editors usually say, “If it bleeds, it leads.” Not much chance of positivity there. So, read something else. Read books – good books. Books that motivate you. Books that inspire you. Look up some of the great inspirational authors online or in your local bookstore. Read them every morning and/or every night, before you go to sleep.

2. Share Your Mind

Find someone, or a group of someone’s, who have the same desire to share positivity. This is called masterminding. Great successes are created when great minds come together and think about the same things.

3. Find A Mentor

My mentor was Buckminster Fuller and I learned more from that man about life than I ever hoped to. Who are the people you admire most, whether you know them or not? Figure out whom you’d like to emulate and study them. If they offer seminars, attend them. If they’ve written books, read them. Just a few I´d recommend are: Jim Rohn, Tony Robbins, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Zig Ziglar.

4. Listen to Motivational/Inspirational CDs and DVDs

This is one of the most important habits you can create for yourself. Find inspirational audio messages and listen to them over and over. Earl Nightingale, one of the most brilliant thinkers of our time, had this to say on the subject: “Tape listening is the most important advance in technology since the invention of the printing press.” With CDs speakers can reach 10 times as many people as the printed word ever could.

5. Sign Up and Attend Seminars

The motivational messages you hear at seminars, and the inspirational people you meet, reinforce your self-esteem and positive thinking. You can search out seminars via the internet, newspapers or local colleges and universities.

6. Turn Off the Television

On average, the television set in an American home is on over 7 hours a day. Just like any bad habit, it needs to be broken. I’m not saying that all television is bad. Heck no. I’m simply recommending that you cut back on your television viewing. Decide how long you’re going to watch television and then turn it off when you’re time is up. Try cutting back your television viewing one hour every day at first. You can use that time to read a book, listen to a motivational tape, walk your dog or spend time with your family.

After reading these six steps maybe you’re saying, “But Mark, I can´t do it. I just don´t know if I can be this dedicated to bettering myself?” Who else are you going to be dedicated to if not yourself? Because when it comes right down to it, folks, you are all that you’ve got. Jobs and relationships come and go. Children grow up, leave the nest and get lives of their own. Then there you are, alone with yourself. Why not create a “you” you can be proud of.

‘Amaze yourself; manifest your full potential.’

Mark Victor Hansen

Reproduced with permission from Your Achievement Ezine. To subscribe to Your Achievement Ezine, go to www.yoursuccessstore.com All contents Copyright © YourSuccessStore.com except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide. Duplication or reprints only with express permission or approved Credits. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Often people will ask me how I get so much done in my life. They wonder at how I am able to accomplish so many things. The answer is found not in what a great person I am, but in an equation I came up with a few years ago and remind myself of on almost a daily basis. And when I live this equation out, it produces big results. What people don’t seem to grasp is that this equation will work for anybody! Anyone can see results in their life if they will live it out!

This little equation, when it is understood, and acted upon, is perhaps the most powerful equation there is in regard to long-term achievement and accomplishment. Yet, this is not a complex equation. In fact, it is rather simple. So what is it?

Your short-term actions multiplied by time equals your long-term accomplishments.

If you want to see change in your life, see big results, the first thing you must do is change your current actions. Otherwise the old saying becomes a reality: “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you always got!” But if we change our actions, we will see different results!

Most people want to accomplish a lot in their lives. Yet very few actually do. Why is this? It is because what they believe will equal their long-term accomplishments are wrong. Here are some of the things that people believe will create great accomplishments for them:
Beliefs
Vision
Big dreams
Ideas
Ideals
Values
Desire
The truth is that while these things are very important, they are not enough in and of themselves. We need to have the above underlying all that we do, but we need to actually do something! And this is where most people stop. We need to take action on our dreams and beliefs every day. Here are some examples of how this works.

Who loses weight? The one who knows all about the benefits of exercise or the one who walks 3 miles a day?

Who retires early? The one who dreams of a house on the beach, or the one who invests $300 a month?

Who writes books? The one who desires to become a best-selling author, or the one who gets up early and writes for half an hour a day?

Who has the best marital relationship? The one who knows how much spending time with their spouse can improve their relationship, or the one who sits down and talks with their spouse every night?

Who makes the most sales? The one who believes they can become a great salesperson, or the one who makes 10 sales calls a day?

I think you get the point. When it all comes down to it, we must act upon our vision, beliefs, and ideals or we won’t see them come to fruition. I see too many people who know what is right, but don’t ever do anything about it. Imagine what a difference we could make in our own lives and the lives of others if we would simply begin to act upon on our beliefs!

When I get to the end of my life, I want to know that I have done all that I can to make this world a better place and to enhance the lives of those around me. I want to know that I gave it my best shot. And I am sure that you do to. I remember reading an interview with an author who has written numerous books that have sold in the tens of millions. They asked him how he did it. His answer was that he got up every morning before anyone else in his family and wrote, long hand, with a pencil, for an hour. Then he quit and went about his day. But his short-term actions piled up. 7 hours a week. 30 hours a month. 365 hours a year. After a while, he had lots of books!

Some questions as we leave:

What long-term accomplishments do you want to see come to pass?

What short-term actions will you need to do over time to see them come to pass?

What will you do today to begin seeing your dreams come true?

What will you do this week to see them come true?

You can have an awesome future, filled with great achievements and results if you begin today to take action and make it a reality!

One more time, so you can plug it in, memorize it, and live it. Your short-term actions multiplied by time equals your long-term accomplishments.

When was the last time you complained that you had too much time on your hands? You probably cannot remember that far back. The truth is that most of us cannot squeeze into a 24-hour period all the items written on our daily planners. A common mistake most people make is to attempt to find time instead of make time!

How do you MAKE time?

FIRST, define your most important goals:

A burning desire to reach a specific goal motivates you to make time to take the required actions.

Write down specifically how you will use extra time.  Will you spend it making personal calls, three-way calls, attending training meetings, making new contacts?

SECOND, chart your time:

Note how you spend each hour. Most time is wasted, not in hours, but in minutes. A bucket with a small hole in the bottom becomes just as empty as the one that is deliberately kicked over.

THIRD, organize your time to plug the time leaks:

Assume the attitude that every minute that does not work for you, works against you.

To make the most of your time, try these proven time savers:

* Examine the usual daily interruptions. See how many you can eliminate immediately, screen out, or delegate. Set aside a specific time for phoning people on your prospect list, making presentations, keeping up with the detail part of the job, attending training meetings, reading and sending emails and phone calls. These designated time blocks do not always work; emergencies occur, demanding flexibility in scheduling. But when you have a plan for organizing and investing your time, that extra hour of time each day will be available.

* Analyze your energy cycle. Determine when you tend to be at your best physically and mentally. Schedule challenging tasks during those times of peak performance and you will accomplish more in less time. I have more energy in the morning hours than I do in the afternoon hours, so I have always made the majority of my phone calls for sales appointments first thing in the morning. For some people it is just the opposite. They are evening people and work better in the evenings.

* Think about time the way you think about money. The more wisely you invest time, the greater the yield. Before you invest time in a given activity, ask yourself, “Is there something more profitable I could be doing?” And remember, making face-to-face contacts and presentations will ALWAYS be the most profitable thing you can do!!

Make the most of your life by making the most of every minute, every hour and every day!!

This article was taken from the Attitude is Everything! Series, by Paul J Meyer.

- Robert Schuller

- Bruce Barton

If you’ve been a little down in the dumps, feeling insecure or perhaps not feeling as confident in your ability as you’d like, I have a great tip for you. My suggestion to anyone looking for a success track to run on, or to a person who is looking to get back on one, is to start capitalizing on short-term victories. That means specifically focus on tasks you can achieve daily. The principle is to start with an adversity over which you can succeed, and gradually take on more and more difficult tasks. Nothing succeeds like success.

Another technique used by many people in developing or maintaining a winning feeling is what we call the reflection method. Think back during a time where you were really successful at something… we all have times to which we can relate. It could have been a sale, a particular speech, a school play, or standing up to the town bully. Each one of us can reflect back on a moment in time to recapture that winning feeling.

Professional sports coaches often replay winning games of the past for their team prior to a big game to stimulate and create a winning feeling!

Years ago, a good friend of mine had left his job and a company that he had worked with for many years. He was one of the top VPs with his company and had done extremely well. He had left because he wanted to start his own business. I told him he could use one of our offices until such time as he was ready to open up his own office.

In any event, I happened to be in the office one afternoon and Grant, who normally was very upbeat and positive, was really having a difficult time. After a few moments of small talk, it became apparent what the problem was. Grant had hit the terror barrier and the possibility of starting his own company was overwhelming him… he just didn’t think he could do it. Here’s a man who had risen to the top of his field, made a high six-figure income for years… and yet was still having doubts as to his ability to start his own company.

I asked Grant to go home, get a notebook and start to write down all of his accomplishments, as far back as he could remember. The look on his face was priceless – I’m sure he thought I’d lost my mind. I told him that the accomplishment could be small or large… it didn’t really matter. The point was to focus on something positive. I still remember him asking, “Well, what if I only fill half a page.” I just smiled and asked him to do his best and start writing.

Monday morning came and Grant was back in the office with a notebook full of accomplishments. I smiled and said, “You must have been fairly confident, you picked up a good sized notebook!” We both had a good laugh. Grant went on to build a multi-million dollar financial planning company and later franchised the operation to extend across Canada and the US!

This is a great exercise for anyone needing a bit of a boost. What would give you a winning feeling of pride and satisfaction? Remember… a winning feeling is a confident feeling and one that forgets misses, and reinforces successful attempts.

Reproduced with permission from Your Achievement Ezine. To subscribe to Your Achievement Ezine, go to www.yoursuccessstore.com All contents Copyright © YourSuccessStore.com except where indicated otherwise. All rights reserved worldwide. Duplication or reprints only with express permission or approved Credits. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

Too Much to Do, Too Little Time
The most common form of stress that managers experience is the feeling of being overwhelmed with far too much to do and having too little time to do it in. In fact, “time poverty” is the biggest single problem facing most managers in America today. We simply do not have enough time to fulfill all our responsibilities. Because of budget limitations, staff cutbacks, downsizing, and competitive pressures, individual managers are forced to take on more and more work, all of which appears to be indispensable to the smooth functioning of our company or department.

Become An Expert
The solution to this problem of work overload is for you to become an expert on time management. There is probably no other skill that you can learn that will give you a “bigger bang for the buck” than to become extremely knowledgeable and experienced in using time management practices.

Be Open to New Ideas
The most foolish manager of all is either the manager who feels that he has no time to learn about time management or, even worse, the manager who, while being overwhelmed with work, feels that he already knows all that he needs to know about the subject.

Never Stop Learning
The fact is that you can study time management and take time management courses for your entire business life and you will still never learn everything you need to know to get the most out of yourself while doing your job in the most efficient way.

The Keys to Time Management
The two indispensable keys to time management are: 1) the ability to set priorities; and 2) the ability to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing at a time.

Since there is never enough time to do everything that needs to be done, you must be continually setting priorities on your activities. Perhaps the very best question that you can memorize and repeat, over and over, is, “what is the most valuable use of my time right now?”

The Best Question of All
This question, “what is the most valuable use of my time right now?” will do more to keep you on track, hour by hour, than any other single question in the list of time management strategies.

Start With Your Top Tasks
The natural tendency for all of us is to major in minors and to give in to the temptation to clear up small things first. After all, small things are easier and they are often more fun than the big, important things that represent the most valuable use of your time.

However, the self-discipline of organizing your work and focusing on your highest value tasks is the starting point of getting your time under control and lowering your stress levels.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to get your time under control.

First, make a decision today to become an expert on time management. Read the books, listen to the audio programs, and take a time management course. Then, practice, practice, practice every day until you master time management skills.

Second, set clear priorities on your work each day, before you begin. Then, discipline yourself to start on your most important task and stay at that until it is complete. This will relieve much of your stress immediately.

When you learn the characteristics and techniques of top ranked managers, you’ll be the one who leads your company to success! Discover the best ways to cut costs, increase sales and dramatically improve profits. You’ll also learn how to hire, keep, manage and motivate the best people and guarantee that you’ll get outstanding results from everyone on your team. This 14 DVD set will turn you into a champion manager that will lead your company to success and skyrocket your income.

If you enjoyed Jack Canfield in The Secret, you’ll thoroughly enjoy this full length seminar on peak performance. Based on Jack Canfield’s best selling book “The Success Principles”, this powerful seminar is loaded with life-changing ideas. Jack will show you how to build your self-esteem, take responsibility for everything that happens, clarify your vision, gain greater balance, find your purpose, and discover the secret to a more fulfilling life. You’ll hear several true stories about peak performance that will touch your heart and shift your consciousness to an even more positive place. As Jack Canfield demonstrates throughout this seminar, success leaves clues. The fastest way to achieve your goals is to follow a proven blueprint, and that’s exactly what he gives you. After experiencing this peak performance training program, you’ll have practical tools for creating greater success in any area of your life. Discover your greatness and take your life to the next level with this exceptional seminar on video, facilitated by one of the best success speakers in North America, Jack Canfield.

As the originator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series, Jack Canfield has been the driving force behind the development and delivery of over 100 million books sold. He is an award winning speaker and peak performance coach who has been training and inspiring people for more than 30 years. With his role as one of the experts in the hit movie The Secret, Jack Canfield continues to be a major player in the self-help arena. He has appeared on hundreds of radio and television shows, including Oprah and Larry King Live. In addition, he holds the Guinness Book World Record for having seven books simultaneously on the New York Times Bestseller List – beating out Stephen King. With his down-to-earth and humble style, you will quickly connect with Jack Canfield, as he guides you to your next level.

Opportunity Center © by {Guerrilla Futures | Jason Tester}

Someone recently asked me the question: “How can I have more opportunities come into my life?” Good question, but I think my answer surprised them a bit. I bypassed the obvious (and necessary) points about hard work, persistence and preparation. They actually were very hard workers. And they had the great attribute of being seekers, they were on the outlook. But I felt maybe they were missing this next and most valuable point – attraction.

I always thought opportunities and success were something you went after, then I found out that I needed to turn it around. Opportunities and success are not something you go after necessarily, but something you attract – by becoming an attractive person.

That’s why I teach development of skills. If you can develop your skills, keep refining all the parts of your character and yourself, your health, your relationships, etc. so that you become an attractive person to the marketplace – you’ll attract opportunity. Opportunity will probably seek you out. Your reputation will probably precede you and someone will want to do business with you. All of the possibilities are there by working on the philosophy that success is something you attract.

The key is to continue making yourself a more attractive person by the skills you have, the disciplines you have, the personality you’ve acquired, the character and reputation you have established, the language and speech you use – all of that refinement makes you more attractive to the marketplace.

Personal development – the never-ending chance to improve not only yourself, but also to attract opportunities and affect others.