First Chapter of the book: Keeping Your Motivation High to Get Things Done

2020-05-212020-05-21 ~ adminlife

Reach Your Goals With These 12 Strategies for Staying Motivated

You are dead in the water without motivation. Nothing get done and what is worse, you can’t even find the energy to change the situation. You really don’t want to fall into the vortex of broken dreams and lost promises. So how do you change that situation and condition? You just have to make sure that you don’t get there in the first place by using the trick of staying motivated.

Here are some methods to keep you feeling motivated.

1. Stop procrastinating. If you have stopped working there is a good chance that you are procrastinating and motivation is already slipping down to dangerous levels. You need to give yourself a sharp quick in the backside and keep going when this happens.

2. Cut out the distractions. Is there something going on around you that is taking away your attention? Until you get your momentum back, maybe it is time to start wearing headphones or isolate yourself from what is going on around you.

3. Change of scenery. You are growing stagnant and you are still having trouble staying motivated. You have been working too long and you need to clear your head. You should take a walk, go for a drive or, if you are stuck at work, take your laptop into an empty conference room, do anything to create a change.

4. Exercise. Your brain gets going again when you get some exercise since nothing stimulates the brain like exercise. It doesn’t take a long run to get your motivation back, even a short jog around the block will get your heart pumping and you brain will start to produce endorphins to put you back into high gear again.

5. Meditate. In contrast to item 4, slow down, close your eyes and breathe deeply. Relax and let go of what is going on around you and find your centre and your calm.

6. Stop worrying. This is a lot easier said than done. What you need to do here is to let go of the things that you cannot change so that you can keep looking forward without being inhibited by anything.

7. Listen to music. The genre doesn’t matter it is how the music makes you feel that counts. Use whatever gets you up and back into motion, that puts a bounce in your step and ideas into your head.

8. Make a daily to-do list. If you are overwhelmed by big goals you might be losing your motivation. You need to break down those goals and put the bite-sized pieces on a daily To-Do list. Just be careful not to overload the list with too much. You want to set yourself up for success, not failure.

9. Find someone who motivates you. Do you need a mentor? Could reading a biography of someone who motivates you be just the thing you need to inspire you back into action? You need to give yourself time to talk with your mentor or read a book on a regular basis.

10. Visualize success. The most important method of motivation is to see yourself completing the project in as much detail as possible. You tell your subconscious that you can succeed by having positive visualizations of success. Sometimes that is all that you need to get your energy level back up.

Obviously, there are many more things that are not on this list that you can try. We are all different and if something motivates you, then use that method to keep your project on track. You are the only one that knows what you need to succeed, so get out and do it.

If you liked this free chapter and would like to read the rest of the book, it is available here: Keeping Your Motivation High to Get Things Done

5 Things You Can Do Today to Handle Daily Pressure

2020-01-122020-01-09 ~ adminlife

Every day you have challenges thrown at you. More often than not, these challenges come with a certain amount of pressure. Some pressure is a good thing as it gives you that push to get things done. But other times, pressure can become uncomfortable, or even unbearable resulting in physical problems such as stress and anxiety. To help keep that kind of tension from ruling your life, read on to find some quick and easy things you can do right now, today, to help you handle daily pressure.

1. Practice ‘box breathing.’ You’ve probably already heard it a million times but taking a deep breath when feeling pressured is a great way to find your center. But did you realize that most of us are doing it all wrong? To truly come down from an anxious situation, try what’s called ‘box breathing’ which is a tactical breathing technique learned by those in law enforcement or the military. Called because boxes have four sides, this technique likewise is based on fours.

Start with taking a deep breath in, drawing air into your lungs for 4 seconds.
Hold the air in your lungs for 4 seconds without breathing out.
Then breath out slowly for 4 seconds
Then stop, holding your lungs empty of air for 4 seconds.

By repeating these steps, you will enter a place of tranquil calm. Useful in meditating, box breathing will restore your calm when you need it most.

2. Force yourself to yawn. By spending 60 seconds forcing yourself to yawn, you will not only reduce pressure, but you’ll come out more energized and alert.

3. Take a walk. Even just getting up and moving around for 5 minutes every hour is enough to have a deep and positive impact on your life. By exercising, you release endorphins that affect mood. It’s hard to feel pressure when you’re up and moving.

4. Learn to say no. A lot of pressure comes from being overextended. Carefully evaluate what you can honestly get done in a day but also realize what you want to get done. It becomes easier to say ‘no’ to those things that just don’t fit.

5. Practice gratitude. Sometimes easing the pressure is as simple as remembering to be thankful for what you do have.

You’ll never escape daily pressure completely, but by being conscious of you how to deal with it, you can reduce it significantly. It is possible to ‘stay calm and carry on.’

Empowering Questions To Ask Yourself

2017-05-31 ~ adminlife

3 Questions To Empower You

For most people in our society, life will hold little more than a dutiful slog in the 9-5 rat race for forty years before retiring. Many will look back on their lives and wished they’d had an opportunity to have done something different. Some may have even had opportunities to do so but didn’t take them. One thought is very common: “I wish I could’ve done something else but I never really knew what I wanted to do.”
Sounds familiar, yes?

Relax. Because I can help you identify what it is you’d really like to do and I can show you how to begin. It all starts by asking yourself three very important questions and I believe these questions are the most important questions you can ask yourself. Here they are:

1. What, EXACTLY, do I want to do? This question gets straight to the heart of the matter and it requires SPECIFIC answers. Also, your answer should be something you have a passion for and are genuinely interested in and not something you think others would be impressed with. It should be something you feel so strongly about that missing out on it will make you seriously unhappy. By this, I mean IT WILL HURT YOU DEEPLY if you don’t at least give it a shot. Take the time to think seriously about this question, at least 30 minutes a day as this is the first step towards getting what you want. Be thorough. Think about how you’d like to spend each day of your life, and think about what you don’t want to do and what you’d like to change about how you spend your days right now.

2. What do I have to do to get it? This question requires answers about the practicalities required to achieve your goal. It will cover the necessary skills – what skills do you have now that you can use and what new skills will you need to develop? You’ll need to know about courses or training programs you’ll need to take and you’ll need to identify how much practice or study you’ll have to do. Other considerations will be things like location as you may have to move somewhere else, people you need to connect with, making contacts, networking, equipment anything you find that is a necessary part of achieving your goal.

3. What am I prepared to give to ensure I succeed? When you’ve identified what you want to do and what this will entail, you then need to decide what you’re going to give to make your dream happen. Success demands a price. In particular, we have the 3 kings: Time, Money and Commitment. How much time are you prepared to give? Are you prepared to sacrifice other activities to free up more time? Time is the most precious resource you have and it is a non-renewable resource. It is important you give a significant portion of your free time to the pursuit of your goal. Next comes money. You will have to be prepared to invest money in your project – IN YOURSELF – to make progress. This could mean purchasing equipment, attending seminars, courses, property, books, raw materials etc. and without such an investment, it is unlikely your project will get off the ground. Finally, how committed are you to making your dream happen? In my opinion, if you’re serious about getting the lifestyle and the success you truly want, you must be 100% committed to it. This will mean making sacrifices: friends, socializing, working long hours, working weekends in short, sacrificing many of the things you enjoy doing today so you can create a better tomorrow. If you love something and you want to achieve a high standard of success, you will have to devote lots and lots of time to it and place it above everything else. Are you prepared to do this?

You now have three empowering questions to help you get started on creating a new life for yourself. Please make the time to think seriously about the answers you want to give to them and you’ll reap the rewards.

Until next time.

To your success.

Michael W

P.S. Frustrated and feeling down because you haven’t yet reached the ultimate level of success that you know you deserve can really impact your confidence.

Let me help you to end that feeling of frustration and build your confidence level up so that you will have a powerful, high level of inner confidence that will move you steadily forward towards your goals and success.

I have set myself a goal of hitting 50 hours of coaching before mid-summer and so I am offering 2 free coaching sessions to the first 8 people that put their hand up. Only do so if you are ready to make the shifts in your life that you desire.

Simply send me an email at michael@youaresuccesslifecoach.com and we will set up a call to start to help you to develop or improve your confidence and motivation levels.

Top 5 Excuses for Not Going After Your Dreams

2017-03-10 ~ adminlife

Top 5 Excuses for Not Going After Your Dreams

What are you waiting for? You have plans and aspirations that you’ve been putting off for years. We’re great at putting things off and convincing ourselves that we’ll get them done someday soon. Eventually, we all run out of somedays and our options become more limited. If you’re not enthusiastically pursuing your goals, there’s a reason. And it might not be the reason you think.

Most excuses are actually a form of fear camouflaged as another challenge.

Identify your excuses and take action today:

A perceived lack of resources. Perhaps you need additional knowledge, education, money, or time. This is the most common excuse for not taking action. These excuses might be accurate. You might not have enough time. However, it’s up to you to make the time. It’s up to you to find the money you need.

A lack of resources can’t stop you if you’re determined. Using the lack of resources as an excuse suggests another underlying issue.
Find a way around your lack of resources. There’s a solution available to you right now if you want to find it.

Your belief that you’ll fail. Maybe you’re not afraid of failing, but you anticipate failure. No one would waste their time taking action if they expected a negative outcome. Use every tool at your disposal to change your belief. Try using logic or convince yourself that you’ll give it a try anyway. Meditation, self-hypnosis, and visualization are other possible options.

Get expert advice or consider changing your objective to one that’s more believable.

Fear. The is the most accurate answer most of the time. Doing something significant involves change, both the change that results from success and the chance necessary to create success.

The most effective way to combat fear is to jump in with both feet. The apprehension that results from thinking about taking the first step is more severe than the apprehension that accompanies real action. Once you get started, the fear subsides considerably.
Fear has been around since the beginning of man. It’s not going away, so it’s important to build your ability to manage it.

A lack of motivation. Why aren’t you motivated? Is it due to fear or something else? A little success can create motivation. Starting a diet can be challenging, but your motivation grows after you’ve successfully lost 10 pounds.

The solution to a lack of motivation is the same as the solution to fear: take the leap. Get started and hang in there until you’ve experienced some success. At that point, you’ll find that your lack of motivation is no longer an issue.

The need for perfection. This could be the need to have ideal conditions before getting started or the need to accomplish your goal without experiencing any failure along the way. Perfectionism is just another manifestation of fear masquerading as a socially acceptable excuse.

There is no failure, provided you don’t give up. Expect that things won’t work out 100% according to plan. Accept this fact and move ahead.
Take action. Taking action is the best way to reduce your fear. You don’t need to be perfect. You only need to be “good enough.”

If you’ve been finding reasons to put off your plans to some unidentified point in the future, it’s time to examine the reasons. Fear is the biggest reason for chronic procrastination. It’s your responsibility to determine why you’ve been waiting. By finding an explanation, you can begin to take motivated action and see your dreams come true.

Practice the Pareto Principle and Reap the Results You Seek in Your Life

2017-03-09 ~ adminlife

Practice the Pareto Principle and Reap the Results You Seek in Your Life

The 80/20 Rule, or Pareto Principle, probably isn’t new to you. The Pareto Principle is the idea that 80% of your results come from 20% of your actions. You wear 20% of your clothes 80% of the time. The top 20% of sales people make 80% of the sales. It’s a powerful concept that can be used to change your life quickly.

Use the 80/20 Rule to create the life you desire:

Realize that your instinct is to focus on the 80% of your options that provide minimal results. The Pareto principle isn’t for the weak-hearted. The easy, comfortable actions we prefer are those that provide little in the way of results. The most meaningful actions are less comfortable.

For example, switching to fat-free doughnuts isn’t too hard, but it also won’t lead to a lot of weight loss. Leaving the dinner table when you’re still a little hungry each night for 6 months is more challenging, but will make a huge difference.

It can be applied to nearly any area of your life. 80% of your happiness comes from 20% of your actions. What if you arranged your life so you could spend more time on that 20%? By the same token, 80% of the grief in your life comes from 20% of the people in your life. What if you could limit or eliminate them from your life?
The 80/20 principle saves a lot of time. By focusing on the actions that make the biggest difference, you can save a tremendous amount of time.

It’s all about efficiency. Consider each part of your life and make a list of the most important actions you take. These are the vital few actions that make most of the difference.

Ask yourself the important questions, using the 80/20 principle. Then, you’ll have enough information to make a huge change in your life. You know what makes you happy, who makes you happy, and what creates your success. You also know which things and people are obstacles to these objectives.

Which 20% of my activities cause 80% of my stress?
Which 20% of my activities lead to 80% of my happiness?
Which 20% of my friends do I enjoy the most?
Which 20% of my friends cause the most pain?
Which 20% of my skills account for 80% of my success?
Which 20% of my beliefs cause 80% of my grief?

Begin to apply the principle to your life. What are you trying to accomplish? Let’s imagine that you own a business and want to apply the Pareto Principle.

20% of your employees do 80% of the work. You’d better treat them well to ensure they don’t leave!
20% of your employees cause 80% of the problems. You might want to show them the door.
20% of your customers provide 80% of your profits. Cater to these customers.
20% of your actions created 80% of your customers. Focus on those actions to gain new customers.
20% of the actions you take provide 80% of the value you’re creating at work. Spend more time on that 20%.

The 80/20 principle can be applied to any part of your life you wish to change. You’ll save a tremendous amount of time and get more accomplished. Ensure that you’re spending your time on the activities that can create the biggest impact.