These are the tips and tricks that, if used in combination, are a nearly sure way to achieve your goals.

Achieving goals is not a matter of having “discipline”. It’s a matter of motivating yourself, and keeping your focus on your goal. Follow these hacks, or any combination of them that works for you, and you should have the motivation and focus you need.

Here they are, in reverse order (links take you to more on each):

#20: Chart Your Progress. Recently I posted about how I created a chart to track my progress with each of my goals. This chart is not just for information purposes, for me to look back and see how I’m doing. It’s to motivate me to keep up with my goals. If I’m diligent about checking my chart every day, and marking dots or “x”s, then I will want to make sure I fill it with dots. I will think to myself, “I better do this today if I want to mark a dot.” Well, that’s a small motivation, but it helps, trust me. Some people prefer to use gold stars. Others have a training log, which works just as well. Or try Joe’s Goals. However you do it, track your progress, and allow yourself a bit of pride each time you give yourself a good mark.

Now, you will have some bad marks on your chart. That’s OK. Don’t let a few bad marks stop you from continuing. Strive instead to get the good marks next time.

#19: Hold Yourself Back. When I start with a new exercise program, or any new goal really, I am rarin’ to go. I am full of excitement, and my enthusiasm knows no boundaries. Nor does my sense of self-limitation. I think I can do anything. It’s not long before I learn that I do have limitations, and my enthusiasm begins to wane.

Well, a great motivator that I’ve learned is that when you have so much energy at the beginning of a program, and want to go all out — HOLD BACK. Don’t let yourself do everything you want to do. Only let yourself do 50-75 percent of what you want to do. And plan out a course of action where you slowly increase over time. For example, if I want to go running, I might think I can run 3 miles at first. But instead of letting myself do that, I start by only running a mile. When I’m doing that mile, I’ll be telling myself that I can do more! But I don’t let myself. After that workout, I’ll be looking forward to the next workout, when I’ll let myself do 1.5 miles. I keep that energy reined in, harness it, so that I can ride it even further.

#18: Join an online (or off-line) group to help keep you focused and motivated. When I started to run, more than a year ago, I joined a few different forums, at different times, on different sites, such as Men’s Health (the Belly-Off Runner’s Club),Runner’s World, Cool Running, and the running group at About.com. I did the same when I was quitting smoking.

Each time I joined a forum, it helped keep me on track. Not only did I meet a bunch of other people who were either going through what I was going through or who had already been through it, I would report my progress (and failures) as I went along. They were there for great advice, for moral support, to help keep me going when I wanted to stop.

#17: Post a picture of your goal someplace visible — near your desk or on your refrigerator, for example. Visualizing your goal, exactly how you think it will be when you’ve achieved it, whether it’s financial goals like traveling to Rome or building a dream house, or physical goals like finishing a marathon or getting a flat stomach, is a great motivator and one of the best ways of actualizing your goals.

Find a magazine photo or a picture online and post it somewhere where you can see it not only daily, but hourly if possible. Put it as your desktop photo, or your home page. Use the power of your visual sense to keep you focused on your goal. Because that focus is what will keep you motivated over the long term — once you lose focus, you lose motivation, so having something to keep bringing your focus back to your goal will help keep that motivation.

#16: Get a workout partner or goal buddy. Staying motivated on your own is tough. But if you find someone with similar goals (running, dieting, finances, etc.), see if they’d like to partner with you. Or partner with your spouse, sibling or best friend on whatever goals they’re trying to achieve. You don’t have to be going after the same goals — as long as you are both pushing and encouraging each other to succeed.

#15: Just get started. There are some days when you don’t feel like heading out the door for a run, or figuring out your budget, or whatever it is you’re supposed to do that day for your goal. Well, instead of thinking about how hard it is, and how long it will take, tell yourself that you just have to start.

I have a rule (not an original one) that I just have to put on my running shoes and close the door behind me. After that, it all flows naturally. It’s when you’re sitting in your house, thinking about running and feeling tired, that it seems hard. Once you start, it is never as hard as you thought it would be. This tip works for me every time.

#14: Make it a pleasure. One reason we might put off something that will help us achieve our goal, such as exercise for example, is because it seems like hard work. Well, this might be true, but the key is to find a way to make it fun or pleasurable. If your goal activity becomes a treat, you actually look forward to it. And that’s a good thing.

#13: Give it time, be patient. I know, this is easier said than done. But the problem with many of us is that we expect quick results. When you think about your goals, think long term. If you want to lose weight, you may see some quick initial losses, but it will take a long time to lose the rest. If you want to run a marathon, you won’t be able to do it overnight. If you don’t see the results you want soon, don’t give up … give it time. In the meantime, be happy with your progress so far, and with your ability to stick with your goals. The results will come if you give it time.

#12: Break it into smaller, mini goals. Sometimes large or longer-term goals can be overwhelming. After a couple weeks, we may lose motivation, because we still have several months or a year or more left to accomplish the goal. It’s hard to maintain motivation for a single goal for such a long time. Solution: have smaller goals along the way.

#11: Reward yourself. Often. And not just for longer-term goals, either. In Hack #12, I talked about breaking larger goals into smaller, mini goals. Well, each of those mini goals should have a reward attached to it. Make a list of your goals, with mini goals, and next to each, write down an appropriate reward. By appropriate, I mean 1) it’s proportionate to the size of the goal (don’t reward going on a 1-mile run with a luxury cruise in the Bahamas); and 2) it doesn’t ruin your goal — if you are trying to lose weight, don’t reward a day of healthy eating with a dessert binge. It’s self-defeating.

#10: Find inspiration, on a daily basis. Inspiration is one of the best motivators, and it can be found everywhere. Every day, seek inspiration, and it will help sustain motivation over the long term. Sources of inspiration can include: blogs, online success stories, forums, friends and family, magazines, books, quotes, music, photos, people you meet.

#9: Get a coach or take a class. These will motivate you to at least show up, and to take action. It can be applied to any goal. This might be one of the more expensive ways of motivating yourself, but it works. And if you do some research, you might find some cheap classes in your area, or you might know a friend who will provide coaching or counseling for free.

#8: Have powerful reasons. Write them down. Know your reasons. Give them some thought … and write them down. If you have loved ones, and you are doing it for them, that is more powerful than just doing it for self-interest. Doing it for yourself is good too, but you should do it for something that you REALLY REALLY want to happen, for really good reasons.

#7: Become aware of your urges to quit, and be prepared for them. We all have urges to stop, but they are mostly unconscious. One of the most powerful things you can do is to start being more conscious of those urges. A good exercise is to go through the day with a little piece of paper and put a tally mark for each time you get an urge. It simply makes you aware of the urges. Then have a plan for when those urges hit, and plan for it beforehand, and write down your plan, because once those urges hit, you will not feel like coming up with a plan.

#6: Make it a rule never to skip two days in a row.This rule takes into account our natural tendency to miss days now and then. We are not perfect. So, you missed one day … now the second day is upon you and you are feeling lazy … tell yourself NO! You will not miss two days in a row! Zen Habits says so! And just get started. You’ll thank yourself later.

#5: Visualize your goal clearly, on a daily basis, for at least 5-10 minutes. Visualize your successful outcome in great detail. Close your eyes, and think about exactly how your successful outcome will look, will feel, will smell and taste and sound like. Where are you when you become successful? How do you look? What are you wearing? Form as clear a mental picture as possible. Now here’s the next key: do it every day. For at least a few minutes each day. This is the only way to keep that motivation going over a long period of time.

#4: Keep a daily journal of your goal. If you are consistent about keeping a journal, it can be a great motivator. A journal should have not only what you did for the day, but your thoughts about how it went, how you felt, what mistakes you made, what you could do to improve. To be consistent about keeping a journal,do it right after you do your goal task each day. Make keeping a journal a sensory pleasure.

#3: Create a friendly, mutually-supportive competition.We are all competitive in nature, at least a little. Some more than others. Take advantage of this part of our human nature by using it to fuel your goals. If you have a workout partner or goal buddy, you’ve got all you need for a friendly competition. See who can log more miles, or save more dollars, each week or month. See who can do more pushups or pullups. See who can lose the most weight or have the best abs or lose the most inches on their waist. Make sure the goals are weighted so that the competition is fairly equal. And mutually support each other in your goals.

#2: Make a big public commitment. Be fully committed.This will do the trick every time. Create a blog and announce to the world that you are going to achieve a certain goal by a certain date. Commit yourself to the hilt.

#1: Always think positive. Squash all negative thoughts.Monitor your thoughts. Be aware of your self-talk. We all talk to ourselves, a lot, but we are not always aware of these thoughts. Start listening. If you hear negative thoughts, stop them, push them out, and replace them with positive thoughts. Positive thinking can be amazingly powerful.

No matter what area of direct marketing you are in, it all boils down to:

Networking
Prospecting
Phoning
Getting Leads
Making Appointments
Opportunities for presentations
and…
The possibility of new business!

There are a lot of ATTITUDES that can come together to make this happen . . . But one of mine that I underscore again and again is to: “Live each day with a Do it Now! attitude.”

I have learned both personally and from study that success doesn’t result from luck or random chance. Success never just “happens to the fortunate few.” Instead, achievers make their own opportunities in business and in life by doing more than daydreaming or vaguely desiring.

They possess a “DO IT NOW!” attitude that motivates them to take actions required to soar above the rest and bridge the gap between their dreams and reality.

Through the ages, philosophers, heads of state, commanding generals, athletes, and businesspeople – leaders and go-getters of all types – have tried to kindle the flame of imagination and light the fire of enthusiasm so that the people can glimpse the heights they might reach, the richness of rewards they might savor, and the happiness they might enjoy.

The early Greek philosopher Plato said that if people would move the world, they must first move themselves. This statement offers one of the enduring truths of all time. To accomplish any personally meaningful and productive result, translate all of your ideas, your plans, and your decisions into immediate action.

The worst handicap any person can possess is the insidious habit of procrastination. Procrastination is responsible for missed opportunities, low productivity, and general dissatisfaction with life.

The most BRILLIANT IDEA, The most IMPORTANT DECISION, or The BIGGEST PROSPECTIVE SALE you will ever make will happen only when you TAKE ACTION and MAKE IT HAPPEN!!

Adopt a SPARK and FIRE of URGENCY, and you can turn your dreams and goals into reality!
A Do-It-Now attitude and self-generated urgency are universally available, and are the keys to success in your particular kind of business.
Anyone. . . including you. . . can become so motivated that you reach and surpass – important life goals.
The intensity of desire you develop depends on YOU; others cannot supply it for you.

I have been credited with starting the self-improvement industry. I know it inside out, forward and backward. I have written about it, and have lived it. And because I care about you, I want desperately in some way to help you achieve. . .

BUT THE TRUTH IS, the intensity of desire you develop depends on YOU and YOU ALONE – no one else can supply it for you.

You can’t be an achiever just because a family member was successful, or because your friends are successful business people. And although you can have mentors who give you guidance, they cannot succeed for you.

It is strictly in your hands. You are the only one responsible for your success.

SO. . .

Exercise initiative!
Always set goals.
Always put your plans in writing with specific deadlines.
Determine the time frames you will work.
Then not only take action, but take INTELLIGENT, RIGHT ACTION and proceed with unswerving singleness of purpose!

Adopt a DO IT NOW attitude, because: NOW IS THE TIME TO SUCCEED!!

Reprinted with permission from YourSuccessStore.com

Dream! © by Melody Campbell

What will your life be like when you’ve achieved your most deeply held dreams? Let’s take a look at how you can start living your dreams this very day.

Do you have a dream, a vision of the life you wish to live?
How specific is that dream?
How clear is that vision?
How do you intend to reach it?
What obstacles stand in your way?
Are your fears holding you back or are you using them to move you forward?

Your fears can actually lead you to success. Fear is an intense emotion. But that doesn’t mean it has to control you, or even stop you. Fear can prepare you and push you forward just as strongly as it can hold you back. Fear heightens your awareness and increases your physical strength. Fear brings your mind to sharp focus. With all that going for you, does it make sense to just run and hide? Of course not. Fear gets you in shape to take action!

Are you waiting for things to get better before moving ahead? If you’re serious about success; you need to start taking action today. If you’re waiting for things to be perfect, you’ll wait forever and nothing will ever get done. The way to achieve is to bloom where you’re planted, to do what you can, where you are, with what you have. It’s easy to think up excuses for not taking action. “If only I had more hours in the day. If only I had a better job. If only I could meet the right person.” But excuses won’t bring you anything of value. You’ve got to change your “if only” into an “I will.” “I will make better use of my time. I will work on improving my career. I will create and nurture my relationships.” Take a chance. Have faith in yourself. Your circumstances will improve when you make the effort to improve them. Start where you are right now. You have everything it takes to reach for whatever you desire. Stop wishing. Use your time, your energy, your thoughts and efforts to make it happen! You’ll be glad you did!

Whatever dream you decide to go after, whether it is a family, or a career goal, you must consciously decide that it is your life’s mission. Benjamin Disraeli said, “The secret of success is constancy to purpose.” You must go at it obsessively and set high standards for yourself along the way. There is no room for compromise when you are charting a course for your life or your career.

I spoke to a group of sharp young people not long ago, and when I finished, some of the fellows came up and said they were interested in becoming professional speakers. They invited me to go out with them that evening to have a good time. These fellows looked as though they knew how to have a serious good time.

I had planned to work on my delivery that night by listening to my tape of my speech. I tape my speeches and listen to them later so I can study what works and what does not work with a particular audience. In effect, I listen to the audience listening to me.

I was tempted to go with these fellows, and back when I was their age I probably would have given in to that temptation and gone. But I have become more disciplined and more committed to my craft. A friend of mine, Wes Smith, wrote a humor book called Welcome to the Real World, and in it he offered advice to fresh high-school and college graduates. He had a line in the book that pertains to the situation I faced that night. It said, “Having a drink with the boys after work every night is a bad idea. Notice that the boss doesn’t do it. That is why he is the boss and they are still the boys.”

Wes told me that he wrote that line with one particular group of hard-partying young businessmen in mind, and five years after the book came out, he ran into one of them. The guy volunteered that he’d read that line in Wes’s book and decided never to go drinking after work again. It paid off, he said. He had risen to a vice-presidency at a savings and loan.

In my drive to become a public speaker, I developed that kind of focus, too. There is not a lot of time for hard partying if you are pursuing greatness. It was not that these young fellows were not serious about their interest in professional speaking, but they were just as serious about having a good time. I don’t believe they were focused on their goals. They were seeking a profession but they were not on a mission to make a dramatic difference in the world. I am. You should be too.

Rather than the party crowd, I prefer to seek out people with knowledge that might be useful. I like to find out what books successful and intelligent people are reading. I want access to the information that contributes to their success and intelligence.

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.

Les Brown is an explosive motivational speaker, and this performance is one of his best ever! He brings a passion to the platform that is unparalleled by any other motivational speaker, and it is 100% from the heart. In this compelling motivational video, Les Brown shares the importance of living your dreams now, and not waiting for “some day” to go after your biggest aspirations. He will help you to expand your vision of what’s possible, and boost your belief in your goals and vision. Research has shown that most people go to their graves with their music still in them, and the majority of their dreams left unfulfilled. Don’t be a victim of this common destiny that only leads to regrets. From powerful success principles to captivating stories, Les Brown’s energy as a motivational speaker will inspire you to leap towards your new, expanded vision with more enthusiasm than ever before. Discover for yourself why Les Brown is in high demand as a motivational speaker.

As a world-renowned motivational speaker, Les Brown delivers a powerful message which helps people live up to their full potential. He and his twin brother were born in an abandoned building in the Liberty City section of Miami. They were both adopted at the age of six weeks by Mrs. Mamie Brown, a single woman with a low income and little education, but a very big heart. In elementary school, Les Brown was labeled educable mentally retarded. This stigma stayed with him for many years, damaging his self-esteem and his self-image through his entire adolescence. With the help of a mentor, Les shook off this label and began to take charge of his life. Although Les Brown never went to college, his persistence and determination initiated a process of unending self-education, which today, distinguishes him as a top motivational speaker worldwide. His “heart-felt” style and tremendous passion for speaking and training leaves audiences with a larger vision for their lives and the motivation to take immediate action.

When prioritizing and planning your time, consider the following points:

• Key questions.
What is the highest value-added action I can do?
What can I, and only I, do that I’ve done well before to make a difference?
Why am I on the payroll?
The answers to these questions help identify all that needs to be done and in what order. That, in turn, will bolster personal productivity.

• Values.
Decide what’s important to you, and in what order. Make sure your values don’t conflict with work. Energy spent worrying diminishes your abilities.

• Consequences.
Every action has consequences – good and bad. Consider what rewards you’d reap by completing a task. Then, compare those rewards with the consequences of putting it aside. This process makes it easier to see which goals have a higher value.

• The Pareto Principle.
Vilfredo Pareto, a 19th-century engineer, argued that 20% of what you do accounts for 80% of the value. When considering the importance of a task, ask yourself whether it’s among the 20% that creates the most value.

• Urgency vs. Importance.
An unexpected phone call or a drop-in visitor may be urgent, but the consequences of dealing with either may not be important in the long run.
The urgent is other-oriented, it’s caused by someone else. Important things are self-directed and have the greatest value for you.

• The Limiting Step.
Standing between you and what you want to achieve is the limiting step. That’s the bottleneck that determines how quickly you can reach your goal. It’s important to identify that step and focus single-mindedly on getting that one thing done.

• A Written Plan.
Lists of goals, tasks and objectives are of no help unless they’re written. Putting your plans on paper makes a seemingly elusive goal more concrete. There’s a connection that takes place between the brain and the hand. When you don’t write it down, it’s fuzzy, but as you write it and revise it, it becomes clear.

• Visualization.
See yourself doing what you need to get done. Visualization trains the subconscious to focus on completing tasks. Say, for example, that you want to begin each morning by exercising. Visualizing yourself doing sit-ups and push-ups the night before conditions the mind to do those the next day. When you prime you mind, it wakes you up even before the alarm clock goes off.

Remember you are a winner and preparation goes a long way in helping you achieve all your goals.

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
- Proverbs 29:18

Happy New Year to you! A new year, a new beginning. If you’re like most people, you’ve probably flirted around with New Year’s resolutions:  You’ve said, “THIS is the year I’m gonna lose weight and get in shape. Starting January 1st, no more snacking. I’m joining the health club and I’m gonna work out daily. I may even do my first marathon.” What happens? By February 1st (the latest …) you’re back on the junk food regimen, you’ve been to the club a total of five times (you’re “just too busy to get there”), and you’ve filed that marathon application in the trash. And you’ve concluded, “Resolutions don’t work for me.” (You’ve got a lot of company on that one …)

Maybe you need a better approach. Instead of making a mental resolution, create a Mission Statement. The difference?

A Mission Statement is:

• a handwritten or typed-out paragraph
• posted someplace you can see it regularly
• committed to memory
• has specific, measurable outcomes
• has a deadline — in this case, December 31st

Here’s a process you can use right now to create a Mission Statement for personal success in your career or business. Get out a pen and some paper, or if you’d like to do this online, go to MISSION SELECT LINK.

Step A. Write down five positive personality characteristics you like about yourself in your career/business. For example: willingness to learn, persistence, creativity, friendliness, sense of humor, etc.

Step B. For the items you listed above, describe the way you express each positive characteristic on a regular basis in your career, using the word “by” to begin each phrase. For example, if you listed “willingness to learn” above, you might write “by being committed to ongoing professional development” below. Another example: If you wrote “persistence” above, you might write “by making sure the job always gets done” below.

Step C. Write down five goals you’d like to achieve by one year from today. Be sure to list a specific financial goal separate from these five goals.

Step D. Look back over Steps A, B, and C, and circle the three most important items in each column.

Step E. Now fill in the blanks of the following paragraph:

My purpose is to express my ____________________, , _______________________, ____________________ (write in the three items you circled in Step A) by ____________________ , by ____________________, and by ____________________ (write in the three items you circled in Step B) to create ____________________, ____________________, and ____________________, (write in the three items you circled in Step C) and at least ____________________ (write in your financial goal) by ____________________ (write in the date one year
from today).”

When finished, you will have a short paragraph that reads something like:

“My purpose is to express my intelligence, creativity, and people skills by continually learning and applying new ideas, by finding unique solutions to my clients’ problems, and by building a powerful network of contacts to create 15 new corporate accounts, a steady flow of referral and renewal business, and full technological competence, and at least $125,000 in gross commissions by this date one year from today.”

I hope you give this deceptively simple exercise a try, and I encourage you to follow the guidelines above of posting it where you can review it, committing it to memory and reciting it daily. Then you won’t need to make any more fruitless resolutions — you’ll be like The Blues Brothers … you’ll be on “a Mission from God.”

Success Skills Coach Jim Rohrbach, “The Personal Fitness Trainer for Your Business,” coaches business owners, entrepreneurs and sales professionals on growing their clientele. He has helped hundreds of individuals to achieve their goals since he developed his first coaching program in 1982. You can visit Jim on the web at http://www.SuccessSkills.com