I am sure you have heard the quote by Albert Einstein, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” Ok, so maybe you have heard the quote, but are you taking different actions? This is key with any principle of personal development. ACTION! So often we read amazing books and material of how to be better, achieve more and reach higher, but are we actually taking the steps required in order to obtain these results in our own lives?

I think, just like with most things, it is quality above quantity. Let me explain….When I first started my journey of personal development and growth I became addicted with anything related to the subject. This began my crazy collection of books, audio, and online research. I wanted to get my hands on anything that I possibly could. The trouble was, I didn’t stop to implement any of the content from the books in a significant way. I was in a race to finish the book simply to move on to the next. What I found was that I was left feeling even more empty and dissatisfied from when I first started. I felt very unaccomplished and unsuccessful. I thought to myself, “How, after this much reading and knowledge, can I feel like such a failure?” Then it dawned on me. ACTION. Such a simple concept that is not implemented nearly as often as it should be. I was failing only in the sense that I wasn’t implementing any of strategies that I was learning.

So…instead of racing through as many Personal Development sources/books/audio/seminars as possible, take one concept that resounds with you and implement it in some small way in your life. If it is meditation, or focusing on a positive mindset, DO IT. Don’t move on to the next thing until you feel that you have taken some valuable away from the content. After all, there is nothing worse than putting in the effort and not reaping the rewards.

Wishing you success and fulfillment on your personal growth journey.

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My partner and I are in the midst of renovating our house once again. This time it’s the bathroom. We live in an older home built in the 1940s so it is always surprising what we find when we start tearing things down. If you have ever experienced a renovation, you will identify with me when I say it is a testing time. The noise, the mess, the disruptions, and the work all play an enormous role in completing the job. It never takes the time you allot for it. It always takes longer! However, once the renovation is complete, you are left with a beautiful new part of your home. The once falling-apart vanity is replaced with something new and in good working order. The old and faded walls are replaced with new sturdy drywall complete with a fresh new coat of paint. Though it might have been a gruelling process, once it is finished, it is hard to imagine the room or the house any other way. The end result gives us the space for gratitude.

I couldn’t help but think about how I, too, have been under renovation. I, too, was an old house needing a bit of work. The last 12 months have been filled with purposeful reading, personal development and business conferences, and understanding and implementing a new mindset and set of goals for my life. If I were a house under renovation, I would not be complete. There is still much work to be done. And, yes, it is gruelling, time-consuming and frustrating at times. But then isn’t that the case with anything that is worthwhile? I believe we all need to do a little renovating on ourselves from time to time. Whether it is simply some work on the exterior, or a complete overhaul of the interior to realign ourselves with our higher purpose, it must be done.

You certainly wouldn’t stand to live in a house with bad plumbing, siding falling off, walls in need of painting or floors in need of new tiles. So why do we allow ourselves to reside within bodies and souls that are in need of work? I suggest you start just as you would with the renovation of your house….with the end in mind. Visualize what you would like to create and take the steps to achieve it. The alternative…is to continue living in your dilapidated house.

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I recently had a conversation with myself. Strange? No, not really I do it all the time. I was debating whether or not I was ready to give up on a goal I had made for myself. I was feeling unmotivated and unenergetic towards my goal. So I asked myself the question “How long am I going to give myself to reach the goal?”

I thought about it. A lot. I wondered what length of time my goal truly deserved. After all, it’s a pretty big goal and it means a lot to me to accomplish it. Then I found my answer. “Until!” I will pursue the goal and take action towards its completion until it is realized. I decided that I would not give it to the mediocre attitude of giving up or giving myself a set timeframe in which to accomplish it.

How many times have you given up on something important and then had the realization that had you just persevered a little longer, you would have accomplished it!? Story of your life, right? Well then change your actions. Determine what a meaningful goal is for you: a new house, a home business, running a marathon. Decide that you will pursue it UNTIL it happens. Otherwise how will you ever know if you could? I will guarantee one thing, after you do this once, you will instill in yourself enough self-confidence to start approaching all of your goals and decisions this way. Do it UNTIL you get the results that you want!

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How do the people around you play a part in your success? Do they support you and motivate you to succeed? Or is it the opposite? Are the people around unsupportive and do not positively contribute to your success at all?
These are all questions that we must ask ourselves from time to time. Our Circle of Influence, the closest people to us, plays an important role in our level of success or lack of it. We often assume that if we, as an individual, possess enough drive and motivation that we can achieve anything. Part of this is true, however, having supportive and driven people around you will only increase your chances.
I take the example of when I was learning to ski. When I started out I was very fearful. I stuck to the green runs thinking I was not capable of anything more advanced. I would not push myself at all. That all changed when I started to ski with a group. There is a group of our friends that are avid skiers. They have all skied for year s and are all very talented. They challenge themselves and try new things. One day I was invited to ski with them. At first I was very nervous because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Out of this fear I forced myself to keep up and go faster so they wouldn’t always be waiting for me. This absolutely improved my skiing abilities dramatically. Not only was I keeping up by the end of the season, I was going faster!
By surrounding myself with people who were more talented than me I was able to achieve bigger and better results. The same is with success in any area of your life. If you continue to surround yourself with people who believe in attaining average results, then that is what you will achieve as well. Look to build friendships with people who think like you do and watch the results come to fruition.

circle of influence · friends · personal development · ski · skiing · success

“How long would you give your average baby to walk?” This was a question that the legendary Jim Rohn would ask his audiences around the world. Most answers to the question include something like “as long as it takes” or “until they are successful.” Isn’t it interesting that we will not give up on an infant’s goal of walking, but we will give up on our own goals!

Babies who begin walking are generally between the ages of 9-18 months, give or take. The parents, the family and even the baby himself has his sights set on achieving this goal. Even if it takes him months to work it all out, he WILL walk. The same thing can be said for talking, learning the alphabet and all of the other functions we expect our babies to learn in infancy and as toddlers.

 When was the last time you showed persistence like that to get the job done? When was the last time you encountered that kind of support from your friends and family for your goals? I think there is a massive lesson to be learned here with persistence and patience. So often we lack the determination and the patience to stick out our goals to the end. We so eagerly put a time limit on our dreams and their accomplishment. I think we should start approaching it like a baby learning to walk. Put in the time, the determination and the effort UNTIL you realize your goal. Do not stop yourself short. Think about if that baby had stopped before reaching his goal…we would have a lot of people crawling around!

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Fleas are pretty impressive creatures. They are capable of jumping 200 times their body length! When placed in a jar with a lid, they will jump and hit the lid of the jar. They will do this a number of times until they learn only to jump as high as the height of the lid. Eventually, even when the lid is removed from the jar, the flea’s jump will never exceed the height of the jar. They have been conditioned for so long that they no longer try to reach their jumping potential.

 Isn’t this true of humans too? Often, when we fail at something or are denied an opportunity, we never decide to try or challenge it again. We become complacent with the walls that have been built up around us. Just like the flea, we once had big dreams, but have been conditioned to accept only what we have. It is so easy for us to just put a lid on our goals or our dreams and only accomplish what is mediocre.

 Think of someone great that you admire, that achieved something extraordinary. I bet this person did not see the lid; they kept jumping higher and higher until they got what they wanted. Do you think Thomas Edison, when drawing up his plans for the light bulb, listened to people when they thought his idea was ludicrous, impossible and crazy!? No, he was clear on his vision and kept jumping. Many of the inventors and entrepreneurs that created much of the conveniences that we use on a daily basis were these types of people. They did not see a lid, a barrier…they only saw possibility.

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I had a look at my goals the other day and was a little taken aback at the mediocrity of them. I was looking to achieve small, insignificant goals that were not pushing me hard enough, nor motivating me! I often do this to myself; I set small, regular goals so that I don’t feel like a failure if I don’t accomplish them. They are not big or exciting, so achieving them doesn’t fill me with any sense of excitement or accomplishment.

 What I have also done in the past is set the bar too high. I set out to achieve these enormous goals that I know will take me way too long to accomplish. They are not measurable. This also, makes me feel like a failure because the goals themselves are so far from achievable that I no longer have confidence in myself or my actions.

 The trick is to set big enough goals to keep you driven and excited, but not too big that they are unreachable. Setting goals is great, but what is also required for them to be achieved is some sort of action plan. Take out a pen or pencil, write out your goals, but also write out the daily or weekly steps you will take in achieving them. It makes no sense to choose a destination and not know which path you will take to get there!

A great acronym to remember when setting your goals is S.M.A.R.T:

S pecific, M easurable, A chievable, R ealistic, T imeframed

 I have a white board in my office and every Sunday evening I write out three weekly goals I would like to accomplish. Beside these goals I write my action steps. Since doing this on a weekly basis, I have been able to cross off many of the goals I have set for myself. In writing out my goals and the required action to make them happen, I am constantly reminded of my purpose and of the path that is required to get me to my destination!

 Happy goal-setting!

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Do you have a vision of yourself ten, twenty or even thirty years down the road? Are you successful or not? Are you living a life of your own design, or following someone else’s rules?

Successful people often say that they knew what their success and their abundance would look like. That is, they had envisioned their future on so many occasions that it became so solidified in their minds. Shane Krider calls this “communicating with your future self.” This means having a clear, strong vision of what it is we would like to accomplish. And when we are in moments of adversity or struggle we can look upon our future self for answers.

My future self is abundant, successful, independent and on purpose. Do you think she ever let those situations of adversity slow her down? No! No matter what obstacles she encountered on her journey, she made it. When I feel unmotivated or uninspired, I look upon my future self for answers. She let nothing get in her way. She surmounted all obstacles and adversities until she reached her destination.

Visualization is such a remarkable tool that many people fail to utilize in their daily lives. The Law of Attraction says that your thoughts are a powerful vehicle to getting what you want. Therefore, if you visualize everyday the type of person you would like to become or the life you would like to lead, chances are you will be attracting those things into your life. This is not to say, however, that you can simply think success and it will find you. Success, while encouraged through positive visualization is also a combination of determination and action. So… get clear on your future self, visualize that life/person and make some bold decisions to take you there.

Recipe for success: Visualization + Future Self = Success

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I learned a very valuable lesson the other day as I was listening to an educational cd aimed at personal development. The lesson is to finish what you start. This makes sense, but why so important? They say that people on the whole are becoming unhappier with each generation. I believe this has to do with our desire to accumulate things. In the “old days” people worked hard and were used to delayed gratification. They knew that if they worked hard for what they wanted, eventually they would get it. Now, we want everything NOW…or yesterday, for that matter. No longer are we prepared to put the hard yards in to get what we want out of life. We prematurely back out of challenges and opportunities that seem too hard, or do not give us instant gratification.

If an individual continually stops halfway through a project or a venture, then what does that say about the individual? Not only do they let others down, but they let themselves down as well. If I always give up on projects then I am really telling myself that I am incapable of finishing anything. This mindset will hinder any challenge that I decide to take on because in the back of my mind I will constantly think I am unable to finish the task. You must self-validate yourself and prove to yourself that you ARE capable of taking ANYTHING on! The more you put things off, the more unqualified you label yourself.

Furthermore, it is the longer, more challenging projects in life that bring about the most intrinsic and extrinsic reward. Delay the gratification, finish what you start and begin to feel more fulfilled and in command of your ship!

Go on, finish painting the bathroom, tiling the entryway or landscaping the yard!

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“One should view their spiritual work as learning to live life without stress, problems, fear, or melodrama. This path of using life to evolve spiritually is truly the highest path. There really is no reason for tension or problems. Stress only happens when you resist life’s events.” –Michael Singer

Humans are the only beings that expect a stress-free existence. In fact, most of us thrive only when stress is absent from our lives. Animals, plants, etc have adapted to accept periods of stress or tension. These adaptations have made them stronger and more proficient. Why haven’t we taken a clue? Instead, most humans are completely thrown off course at the first sign of stress or tension in their lives.

True transcendence happens when we can let the stress flow freely through us and experience growth and development as a result. Rather than resisting the stress and tensions, you allow yourself to keep them externalized. The moment we internalize stress is the moment it becomes destructive to our inner peace and equilibrium. This is not to say that we shouldn’t recognize stressful moments and situations in our lives. But rather than allow them to navigate our emotions and decisions, simply let them pass through us with ease, making room for the more positive and happy moments to linger within ourselves. The most empowering lesson I have ever learned was that I had a choice in every moment and in every decision I make. I cannot always decide whether or not stress will enter into my life, but I do have absolute power over the way I allow it to affect my body and my mood. Choose to let stress flow freely through you.

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