“Happiness is a condition. It is not something that is achieved by pursuing it directly, but rather comes as a result of our engaging in purposeful activities.” ~~ Aristotle
DO the following every day and you’ll
DREAM BIGGER DREAMS,
ACHIEVE THEM and feel HAPPY too!
Interestingly, these are not hard to do or complicated.
Enjoy.
(This is Part 1 – success activities 1 to 5 – Here’s Part 2)
1. DON’T Be Realistic… DO Dream BIG!
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did.
So throw off the bowlines.
Sail away from the safe harbor.
Catch the trade winds in your sails.
Explore. Dream. Discover.”
~~ Mark Twain
As a child I remember my parents saying, Janet be more realistic. Huh? Most people buy into being realistic.
I was excited to discover that Will Smith considers being realistic the most commonly traveled road to mediocrity! Watch the video below.
“It always seems impossible until it’s done.”
~~ Nelson Mandela
Why would you be realistic? Nothing is UNrealistic!
And if you don’t have an exciting, worthwhile goal, you simply won’t be inspired to do the next 9 points.
Why does it help you to DREAM BIG?
When you’re dreaming big, your mind flips into a higher frequency and you start tapping into the power of your mind. When we have an exciting dream, life turns into fun. We’re motivated to take bold action and keep persisting.
How to DREAM BIG:
a. Ask yourself the following ENTICING QUESTIONS. I discovered them in Brian Tracy’s book “The Power of Self-Confidence” (great book by the way!)
“What one great thing would I dare to dream, if I knew I could not fail?”
“What if I was completely unafraid of anyone or anything and I felt completely free to act in my own best interests?”
b. Then phrase your dream as if you already have it.
Write it, read it every day from here on.
Why?
Your current unwanted, limited thoughts came from repetition.
Use REPETITION to program your mind for what you WANT.
“There’s no reason to have a Plan B – because it distracts from Plan A.”
~~ Will Smith
Read “Dream Big” if you want more help!
2. DO Make Your Own Decisions
“Living at risk is jumping off the cliff and building your wings on the way down.” ~~ Ray Bradbury
Now that you’re dreaming big, make a DECISION to have it. You’ll probably not know HOW you’re going to achieve it. Good.
Nor did the Wright brothers know HOW they’d fly.
But they made a DECISION to do it.
Why does making your own decisions help you?
You no longer WAIT for others to decide your life (or worse… allow your life). When you make your own decisions, you’re becoming a great leader of yourself.
Most people wait their entire life hoping to discover how to achieve what they want before they DECIDE to do it.
Except…
…the HOW never comes.
They never make the decision
and never get what they want.
The DECISION comes first.
Then the HOW arrives.
How to become a good DECISION MAKER:
Dream big. Why? Because then you’ll know what you want and where you’re going! When an opportunity appears, you can quickly and confidently say YES.
Now, some decisions are larger than others (or so we think). So, how do you know if a choice is right for you?
Ask yourself this simple question to find out:
“Do I want this?” If you do, say YES and let the how be revealed.
3. DO Develop Initiative
Does the idea of INITIATIVE excite or scare you? Or both!
Initiative isn’t hard; it’s simply YOU TAKING ACTION – one step at a time toward achieving what you want. The journey will unfold.
“If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” ~~ Henry David Thoreau
Life is not a spectator sport. If you want to enjoy life, start participating.
Why does INITIATIVE help you?
When you start taking the initiative and doing what you love, you’ll discover more of your hidden talents and abilities. These will help you go bigger.
Most people think other people have what it takes to go big. Yes they do, but YOU do as well. We all do.
Successful people are merely those who love giving life a go and BEING THEIR BEST.
They are not super-intelligent, they never went to the most expensive schools – some never even finished school!
4 Steps to develop INITIATIVE:
a. First ask yourself: “Am I ABLE to go for what I want?” The answer is always YES.
b. Then: “Am I WILLING to go for what I want?” Only you can answer that. Most people are NOT WILLING to put in any effort even if the rewards are BIG.
You can see why so many people are not getting what they want in life!
c. Look for self-development opportunities –
– Books like mine
– Decide to discover your WHY. Turn the lights on!
Read 7 Things Happen When You Don’t Know Your WHY
– Programs such as Thinking Into Results (for you and your business). This develops your initiative because you’ll start realising what you’re capable of. (incredible, amazing, magnificent things :- )
d. If you find you’re NOT taking the initiative on your own then now is the time to look at the above point… get supported and encouraged! Research shows your results are always bigger when you have someone cheering you on – and why athletes always have a coach.
4. DON’T Allow Excuses. Start DO-ING. You’ll Find a Way.
Do you make excuses? Anyone who says “no” is a rare individual.
“The people who get on in this world are the people who get up and look for the circumstances they want and if they can’t find them, they make them.” ~~ George Bernard Shaw
It’s fear that lurks beneath most excuses. Bottom line however it’s still an excuse.
Why STOP MAKING EXCUSES?
You are always “Thinking Into Results” i.e. your thinking and feelings drive your actions. And actions get results.
When you start taking ACTIONS consistent with who you want to be, it strengthens your THINKING that way too.
Therefore, when you “ACT as if” you already have a certain quality the ACTION naturally causes a mental picture to form i.e. a THOUGHT.
As William James said – “Action seems to follow feelings, but really actions and feelings go together, and by regulating the action, which is under direct control of the will, we can indirectly regulate the feeling which is not.”
Think about learning to ride a bike. You didn’t know how to ride when you started out and could have made an excuse saying, “I don’t know how to ride and may get hurt.”
Instead you chose to “act as if” you could ride and hopped on the bike. You started pedaling. That ACTION naturally developed your mental picture. With repetition, you began riding automatically… and so developed the thought of “I can ride a bike.”
How to STOP MAKING EXCUSES:
a. There’s always a reason to say NO or that you CAN’T do something. Think about how you CAN. If you have a burning desire, you WILL find a way.
b. Stop making health – intelligence – time or money an excuse (see George Bernard Shaw’s quote about circumstance above)
c. Honestly ask yourself, “Is there an excuse in this?” You may not like the answer but it’s the truth.
d. “Act as if” you’re the person who CAN DO this – no excuses. Eventually you’ll be this person for real. As in the example of riding a bike.
Watch the movie “YES MAN”. You’ll get the idea. YES is a fabulous word. No excuses!
People who do better simply don’t make excuses.
5. DON’T “Try”. Just DO It!
As Yoda said in Star Wars, “Do or do not – there is no try.”
When did you last say, “I tried…?”
As you read this, do a little experiment. Pick up a pencil and then… TRY to drop it. Interesting isn’t it? You either drop it or you don’t. There is no TRY.
Why does DOING instead of “TRYING” help you?
“Trying” immediately jeopardizes your results because it keeps the door open for an excuse.
DOING ensures NO excuses.
How to start DOING instead of only TRYING:
a. Ask a friend or your partner to gently remind you if they hear you use the word, “try”. Catching ourselves in the habit can be a challenge.
b. Move fear out of the way. The only way you conquer fear is to DO the thing you fear. It may sound counter-intuitive but take it from me who has experienced sheer terror in many of the things I’ve wanted to.
Insist on taking firm steps forward, even if they’re small. You will ultimately succeed.
Related articles:
How to Take Action to Get What You Want
7 Things Happy People Do – They Take Action (Part 5 of 7)
Finding Times Tough? How to Take Action Today to Get Your Happy Life (Part 4 of 7)
Read Part 2:
Points 6 – 10 of “7 DO’s and 3 DON’Ts! Top 10 Proven Daily Success Activities to Get Anything You Want (Part 2)”
This is Janet Poole; I believe in finding better ways to live your life and grow your business.
I believe in sharing those ideas!
Better Ways. More Freedom.
Shock yourself by achieving your dreams.
There’s NO goal, vision or dream too big for you to live.
You can BE, DO and HAVE anything you truly desire.
Anything.
Send an email to me at nowjustlikethat (@) gmail.com.
I’d love to hear about your dreams.
janetpoole.com 