The best way to succeed is to plan it! The best way to change your life, is to change how you think. How does this relate to staying focused? How should I share with you what keeps me focused... let me share with you all of the things that I know that works for myself, and a few that have worked for others…
The very first thing to do is evaluate what you want to accomplish…set a goal. Once you set that goal, decide how you are going to accomplish that goal. Write it down, make a record of your thoughts-it becomes more real. Now, you are ready fro details.
A check list...
make a list of things that you can do to start working towards your goal
make a list of daily tasks and goals
make a list of weekly tasks and goals
even monthly and yearly
make the list clear and definable
make your list reasonable for you to accomplish
make your goals measurable (how will you know that you have met your goal?)
When you re-evaluate-make sure that you make note of what you did not do but also reward yourself for what you did do. Positive reinforcement is much more effective than negative reinforcement. Think about why you did not do the things that you did not do. Were the tasks unreasonable. Did you expect too much of yourself in time or attention. Readjust your list accordingly.
What has helped is what I would like to define as a "routine" of sorts. Simple huh?
Well, this year has been a true year of tests, new experiences and changes where I have been totally out of my comfort zone. Online business was new to me. I had a huge learning curve. I had to learn what it was, how to do it and decide what was important to spend my time on. Time is valuable and one of the hardest things with online marketing is to differentiate what works and what does not work. You need to decide what to spend your time on and how much time to dedicate to it. Once you decide that….the next challenge is to FOCUS.
Well, what I have trained myself to do is control my mind. Now if I am your mentor and coach, you here me talk about this all the time, but this is a bit different than just staying positive, saying your affirmations and developing a habit or a schedule that works! It's more of a mental programming!!!
Now, let's keep this clear... how and what you think about are extremely important! But I am talking about is more about with having a "routine" - yes... but the routine is centered around What to focus on. This has truly been a true awakening for me this past year! Where do I put my energy and what do I focus on!
I have seen people over the past years have been extremely successful and people who are not. Of course, always by their definition of success!! Why? Why is that some want something so bad and so absolutely miss their goal over and over. It wasn't their work ethic or their desire or even their numbers. ?What I have found for myself - is when I am focused on what I am focusing on... I become focused. Brings my attention to the present moment and how I am dispersing my valuable energy. I know that sounds crazy, but for me it so so works! What am I putting my energy into, how am I choosing to react to a situation, an individual or a feeling! I am learning to chose the direction of where I am going.
Like one of my favorite books speaks of:
You have brains in your head. ?You have feet in your shoes. ?You can steer yourself ?any direction you choose. ?You're on your own. ?And you know what you know. ?And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go.
Oh, the Places You'll Go! Dr. Suess(1990)
Now how do I do this? Well, for me its all in my your head! When you do not even realize it, you have a negative thought and you stay there or even worse you create a story... a pretty good one. One that is so vivid and real, you even believe it!
But image this, how about you start imagining you can start to create roadways and maps, paths and trails and create speedways and even the autobahn in regards to how to focus your attention on something that is positive and life giving and makes you feel good. And then create stop signs, speed bumps and catch yourself and even give yourself a ticket when you derail or the negativity starts up again? ?It all happens with visualization.
I have been told by some that I am such a dreamer, my head is in the clouds. It's not reality, it's not what is! But I have always believed in the POWER OF INTENTION. If not, I would not be here today. It was "visualization" that has brought me to this point in my career, working with an incredible and amazing group of individuals who are passionate and hard working! It is "visualization" that gets me past my debilitating pain everyday and allows me to accomplish things that my therapists and doctors tell me not to do.
I visualize it, I focus on the intention of having a successful business... not the fact that I didn't have one. In fact, looking back, it was too scary to look at reality. There was nothing really there. Why would I spend my time and energy on that! To create more of a scarcity feeling, of inadequacy... ? I think NOT!!!! I wanted to move so far away from that reality and create a new one! And so it will come to be and I will do it. If I think about how much pain I am having, then I will not get out of bed. If I think about how hard it can be to succeed, I will not succeed. Therefore, I visualize the success I am aiming for, and it will be.
I can't say vivid visualization "creates the future" or even your day with any meaningful degree of precise accuracy, but for me it's no better than writing a To Do List! If I am not going in the right direction, why go! Writing a list is great, I do that... my point is that you must know where you are going or else It's all a big fat waste of time. But what I can tell you, is that by visualizing everyday and creating a routine with this, I was able to increase my motivation and focus.
I developed the muscle of consistency, I am not as easily distracted, I am less vulnerable to other people's emotional craziness and I am able to concentrate better. I think of it as a gift I have, that you have too! A gift that I had to work on and still do, but it pays off 10 fold. My day never turns exactly how I imagined it, I would be a sort of spooked by that, but it always turns out better than if I had not done anything. The raw and core emotion is what multiplies when you visualize what you want! And when I visualize my success boy o boy, that emotion is palpable. I can feel my stomach turning, the hair on my arms raising, an increase in my heart rate, it gives me chills... that's the emotion, that's when you know your in the zone of creation and being extremely focused. Sometimes it feels like I'm sending energy into the future, like sending a letter to be received by my future self who opens it and receives this.
Now here is the key. I do this everyday, anytime or any where. Don't put another set of rules and constraints around this... just do it! See what happens. And not for 4 days... when you are here... but for a long time. It's practice that keeps us going. You will never not practice in life... you will always do that... so get excited about the process and focus on where you are going.
You are a projection of your thoughts. Your business is a projection of your thoughts. But even more so, what you do with those thoughts. And where you focus that!
"It doesn't matter." Nothing matters except where I am going. As Dr. Suess says... Today is your day! ?Your mountain is waiting. ?So what are you waiting for... ?Get on your way!
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