Top 10 books that change your thinking

Where do you go for knowledge?  Do you wait for someone to teach you or do you find the answers on your own time?  It has been said that those who stop studying once their formal schooling is complete will be doomed to mediocrity. 

In life, you must  learn many different types of subjects that range from health, finance, career, etiquette and the list can go on forever.  Here is my list of the books that are must haves in my library.  They are not meant to be read quickly and thrown  up on a book shelf, as I once thought.  They must be studied over and over.  Here are my favorites:

1. Think and grow rich- Napolian Hill
2.  Psycho-cybernetics- Maxwell Maltz
3.  The magic of thinking big- David J. Schwartz
4.  Who moved my cheese- Spencer Johnson
5.  The power of now- Eckhart Tolle
6.  Man's serch for meaning- Viktor E. Frankl
7.  The richest man in Babylon- George S Clason
8.  Acres of diamonds- Russell H Conwell
9.  The answer- John Assaraf & Murray Smith
10. The book of Awesome- Neil Pasricha ( This book can be purchased just to open up every now and then.  It's a treat for your mind, like candy).

I could write a small description for each book, but every time you open and study them, you can get a different take on each one.  Take the time to read at least one book from this list, take notes and learn from it.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

One way to build confidence

The good thing about doing something that makes you totally scared is coming to the realization that you can actually do it.
Very recently I did something that I over analyzed for more than a month, I thought long and hard whether I should do it or not.  Then the time came, the moment was here I had to face my fear or I could have continued fearing the unknown.  I must admit I backed out at first because the fear gripped me so tightly, I was really afraid.  My nerves and adrenal glands were in total shock the whole time.  My shirt was wet, because I was sweating so much but I  kept a smile on my face and acted totally cool to the outside world.  After I went through it all, I was still alive, I didn't lose any body parts and the best part was at the end I couldn't believe I went through with it.

What was this event?  It doesn't matter, all that matters is I faced a intense fear and got through it perfectly fine.  Now, I have all the confidence in the world that I'm able to do most anything because I got through this difficult situation.  It built my confidence.

You will need to face something you fear to get better in life.  The longer you wait, the more you may miss out on.  The key to conquering fear is to do more courageous things with your life.

If your fear is something like public speaking, talking to someone or a fear of snakes, realize all fears are the same they are only things you are afraid of.  It won't be about facing those things, it will be the realization that you can face ANYTHING once your biggest fears are out of the way. 

Now it's time to prepare yourself to face a fear.  What are you afraid of?

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Chasing two rabbits

Picture me letting two rabbits loose in your backyard.

Go ahead picture it

Now, I ask you to catch both of them.  How would you do it?  You would need to put all your focus on one rabbit at a time.  If you spend your time trying to catch both at once, you will run forever.  Like chasing two wild rabbits, many people think they must chase all kinds of dreams to get ahead. The problem when chasing too many dreams and oppritunities at once is while you chase one dream another gets away exactly like chasing two rabbits.

We are all blessed with things we love to do, and things we are excellent at.  So why not put intense focus on these things?  Myself, I love sales, motivation and goal setting.  I am choosing to put most of my focus towards these subjects.  Ultimatley, this will blossom into writting books, proffesional speaking and a  YOUTUBE channel. Now, something very interesting may be presented to me, but why abandant what I'm working so hard to achieve?
If you are working on something, get great at it, take the time to learn the ropes, make the mistakes and one day you may find yourself being the best in the world at what you do.  It sounds like a far stretch doesn't it?  Well you won't figure out how good you are going to get if you keep changing your proffesion, your interests and dreams.  Yes, you will get bored doing what you are doing...This is why you must shake things up, read something new, seek out new techniques to learn and develop the new habits.

What I'm telling you is to get extremly good at one thing.  Put forth such an intense focus towards what you love and presue your passion.

Today's action:
Ask yourself these questions:

What am I good at?
Is anyone making money doing my passion?
If not, can I?
How can I improve what I'm good at?
What can I read to get better at this?

Come to understand, it will take time to get to the top.  It will be hard, yet YOU can make it work.  Kick yourself in the ass!  Get started on your passion.  You will start at the bottom and you will need to learn everything along the way.  The payoff in the end is going to be worth it..

"All masters were once disasters"- remember this quote when you are down.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

The list that could change everything

Have you ever needed a checklist that can get you towards your goal?

Well here it is, read it and copy it down.  Everyday when you feel you must do something but you are unsure which direction to go, look to it.  If you are unable to complete the list everyday, your daily habits towards your goal may need to be reviewed.  Take the time wasters and slowly convert them to this top 10 habit list.

1.  Read something inspirational or related towards your goal.
2.  Do something constructive that makes you feel uncomfortable.
3.  Watch something that makes you laugh.
4.  Make sure to write something in your journal.
5.  If you get the chance, make someone feel like a million bucks. (make them feel like they matter)
6.  Exercise.
7.  Drink water.
8.  Give yourself 3 things to be grateful for, and smile about them.
9.  Read or write out what your goal(s) are.
10. At the end of your day review how you can improve tomorrow.

If you have completed everything and you do not feel better, start the list over the next day.  Eventually #5 will make you feel so amazing it can change your whole way of looking at life.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

What opportunity are you saying to yourself "I'll think about it"?

I sell vitamins, weight loss miracles and all kinds of great health supplements.  Every day I see people come in telling me exactly what they want, they need a solution to their problems.  They need to increase their health, lose weight and get more energy.  I don't even ask them this, customers come in desperately wanting a solution to these problems.  I walk over to the shelf and give them the best supplement that will match their need, and the next thing that happens is I hear "I'll think about it".

I'm telling you about this because it almost seems as if some people are afraid to take the road to success in their work, health and relationships.  We all know what we want, and we all know the things we need to do yet we put it off and say: "I'll think about it".   Then we sit down and think and think and think some more.  I've learned there is a huge difference between doing and thinking.  Doing will get you much further much faster.

Think of what you are missing out on right now as you are thinking about doing something.  Eventually, you will miss out on opportunity, time or it could become too discouraging the longer you think and wait.  You must start immediately to do one thing your thinking of trying.  Don't tell yourself, I'll start Monday, do it right now in one hour get started, one small act and then add another act and another.  The next thing you will notice is that you will have reached your goals in your health, carrier and relationships.

Today's action:

Put things in prospective write down:

1.  What I'm a missing by not achieving my goal?

2.  How will I fell once I achieve my goal?

3.  What will I be able to do once my goal is reached?

Just a note- The customers that say: "I'll think about it", on average come back years later depressed more overweight and having compromised health.  Their new life could have begun with the purchase of a simple multivitamin, don't let yourself think about something when the opportunity is starring you right in the face.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Habits

What price are you willing to pay to reach your goal?

In your everyday life you have developed habits that can hold you back.  There is good news, you can also develop new habits that will propel you further than you've ever thought you could go.  Ask yourself what habits are holding you back from your ultimate goals?  Think of your daily routine, what are you doing that you know is a total waste of time?  These little tiny things may seem insignificant to you but they add up as time wasters that ultimately hold you back.

One habit I am presently working on is smiling more when speaking on the phone.  This is such a small thing to do but I often forget to do it when speaking to customers and clients.  This one tiny act can change the whole relationship I develop with people on the other end of the line.  Once I master this small habit, I will develop another and another.  It gets me out of my comfort zone.

What can you do to get out of your comfort zone?  We all think the habits we need to develop are huge changes, this is where you are wrong.  Develop habits one small act at a time, your mind will become addicted to reaching new tiny goals and habits.

Today's action:

1. What habit have you been meaning to quit? 
2.  Pick one small act that will get you on the path to changing that habit.
3.  Start small, tackling everything at once tends to lead to failure.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Hot 100 list

If you've clicked on this blog looking for your favorite 100 songs, sorry wrong blog :-)

Today's exercise is a fun one.  I like to do this once a year.  There is no work to do other than allowing yourself to dream BIG.  In your journal, or on a pad of paper.  Write out 100 goals for yourself.  There are a few rules to this game:

-Write the list using absolutely no limits, your are to write it out as if you cannot fail.

-The sky is the limit, there may be a small voice in your head telling you that you do not deserve the goals you've written down.  You are to shut that voice out.  This is about every goal you would like to achieve if you had access to all the money, time and connections in the universe.  So start writing, this is such a great exercise.  Some of the great goal setters such as Mark Victor Hansen and Brian Tracy are big endorsers of this, if you are unaware who these great men are Google their names.

You may ask yourself- What happens after the list is complete?

Focus first on the list, then your subconscious will do all the work after that :-)

Stay motivated
Shane C.

The words you speak

When you speak with people what is the usual topics?

Do you find yourself talking about your accomplishments?

Do you talk about what outcomes you want?

Do you twist the truth to make yourself sound better?

Do you talk about your problems?

Watch yourself at all times, the topics you bring up set the tone for the experience somebody will have with you.  If you've ever wondered how you come off to people in conversation put yourself in their shoes.  How would you feel if they talked to you in the same tone, with the same topic, etc....

I recently found myself having a very negative conversation about a topic that was brought up in conversation.  I had an instant sense of regret after getting off the phone...Argh!  I wish I could take back the whole conversation .  This brings me to the subject of awareness, as long as you are aware of the mistakes you make in conversations you have every opportunity to correct them in the future.

Always speak of solutions and the outcomes you would like and most importantly, listen twice as much as you speak.  The more positive the tone of the conversation the more motivated you are to accomplish anything in life.

Today's action:

Monitor the words you speak, even writing down the tone and topics of your conversations with people in your journal at the end of the day.  If you slip up, write down how you could have put a more positive spin on the conversation.  And do yourself a favor, stop asking people about negative situations in their lives.  Ask them how have they improved.  Keep things upbeat, you are the tone of the conversation at all times.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Shrink your problems

Mo' money mo' problems! - See that quote even says if you have lots of money you have even more problems.  Unfortunately, problems are a part of life whether you are a HUGE success or working your way to become a success.  With that said, there is a simple way to see past those problems and keep moving forward.
First, I want you to replace the word "problem" to temporary setback.  In reality everyday things like money, people and stress are just setbacks that last temporarily.  I know what your thinking, your "problems" are different.  This is true, but once observed closely you will realize it's only temporary and when you start to look past it, you can find happiness and motivation.
So how do you shrink your problems?  Stop starring at them all day long.  The more you look at problems the more you tend to talk to yourself and come up with angry responses.  I know you do this...You tend to dwell on your problems all day long as oppose to thinking about the solution, what you really what to accomplish?
Let me put this in terms most of you can understand, have you ever gone to the washroom and gotten upset because someone has forgotten to replace the empty roll of toilet paper?  This makes a lot of people very angry.  The blame game begins and angry thoughts rush through your mind.  Good news, you have 2 choices:
1.  You can stare at the empty roll and blame whomever for not changing it and make yourself very angry.

2.  You can recognize there is no more toilet paper and change the roll.  No more fuss!

The point I'm making is you know what you want- toilet paper, it serves you no purpose complaining about the problem, get to the solution.  Always seek out the goal and when a problem gets in your way figure out how to solve it.
Always think with a paper and pen, write down questions, answers and the solutions you think may work.  Write out every possibility you can and maybe by chance you could solve your biggest setbacks!

Now stop thinking about toilet paper and get going :-)

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Most of the time

I received an e mail the other day asking me: How can I follow your advice and not live a boring life? There is one aspect I may have forgotten to mention.

 I believe Napoleon Hill said: "You become what you think of most of the time."

That quote says it all, do the important things most of the time.  Anything that will be achieved that can be associated to greatness can be attributed to using a large chunk of one's time.  You can look at the science of losing weight.  You must eat clean, most of the time.  You must exercise routinely and you must maintain sanity by giving yourself cheat meals one day a week.  Notice the cheat meals are one day a week and not most of the time.  If you do not eat clean most of the time, the weight will not come off.

Remember your focus, efforts and thoughts need to be towards your goal most of the time to achieve what you want.  Again, using weight loss as an example, if you think you are fat most of the time...You remain fat most of the time! :-)

Today's action:

In your journal, write out all the times you are totally focused and action oriented towards your goal.  We do not want to write out the negative thinking, this will only put your focus towards the negative.  Always catch yourself doing great.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Life with blinders on

Have you ever stopped doing something you love because a friend or someone close to you criticized you?

Many of us get discouraged by the people around us.  Our focus tends to be on "What will they think and say?".  This is a 100%  negative way of thinking.  We  tend to base our every move on others opinions.
Sometimes you have to go through life with "blinders" on.  If you've ever seen a race horse you will know what I mean.  Blinders keep the horse focused on what is ahead and ensures it doesn't get distracted by events or distractions that are going on around him.  It is now time to put your "blinders" on? 
Always protect yourself against the rumors, negative conversations and people that put you down.  This negativity unfortunately goes on everyday, it can paralyse you with embarrassment if you hear or even if you think you hear your name being critizied.
You should be motivated to do even better if  you overhear negativity towards you.  Crying and throwing in the towel get you no closer to your goal.  If an emotion of discouragement comes over you, recognize it and quickly go forward, put those blinders on.

Everyday work towards that goal and ask yourself: "Would my grandchildren be proud of what I am doing?"  Always have something to measure yourself up against, if you are not measure your progress against something you cannot realize how far you've come.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Simple

If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. 

This is all you need to read today

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Wishing, miracles and unicorns

Can you imagine having a dream of starting your own business, only to say to yourself: "I'll make money 9 months of the year and when the slow season hits I won't make money".- This is what many people in sales do during a slow season.

Today is another day you make choices.  Some will be good choices, others you can use in the future that you can learn from.
The lesson I want you to learn is who or what will you blame when the going gets tough. 
In my industry we always see a trend, summer comes along and our customer flow generally slows down for the next 2-3 months.  I've spoken to many employees, managers and owners of business and they just seem to say: "It is what it is".  They blame the season, people being on vacation and beautiful weather.  During the summer months the retail business is a little slower. While everybody is blaming the conditions, why are they not blaming themselves for not getting out there and looking for more business during the slow season.  This is when the real work begins.  Start looking into your old bag of tricks for drumming up more business, it's time to stop blaming low sales on "summer".

I have a confession, for the last two days I've been in a funk due to not meeting some sales goals, then I came to realize I was waiting for customers and not going to get customers.
This is what I'm getting at, I don't know what your goals are but you've got to learn at this point it's not the conditions around you that are to blame.  It's your own habits, behaviours and thinking.  Sure, things will get in the way and get hard.  This is not were you give up, or get lazy!  It's time to use persistence and more focus!  Blaming the elements around you do nothing other than keep you at a stand still.  Figuring out what YOU can do and acting on it is the only way.  Miracles and wishing will get you nowhere at the stage.

Today's action step:
Make a list of excuses you've been using as to why things are not going your way right now.  What is hard to do or overcome?  Once you have it written down.  Come up with some ideas that can get you past this rough patch.  Summer will be all about fun, but there is still hard work to do so you can reach the top.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Back to school

Today's topic will be so important to your improvement it mustn't be missed. 
I can remember when I was in school we were always told to review our notes when we didn't have any homework.  As a student, I was always looking up to the kids who excelled. They reviewed their notes, had study methods and really pushed themselves to do better.  Now that I'm out of high school, I'm not being graded by teachers and I'm not focused on passing the next grade.  I am focused on reaching the top and doing my best, but I don't have teachers anymore that tell me to do the work.  The day you turn into a grown up nobody is there to push you anymore.  You must push yourself to find "the homework" to get ahead and be better than the rest.
You have to take stock day-by-day and week-by-week of your progress.  Review your journal, see how you succeeded and where you feel short over the last week.  By doing this you are to come up with a plan to improve you short comings and how you can keep your success up all through this week.  Just like in school you must review your notes.

Todays' action:

Answer these questions
What were you really great at last week?
What day were you very lazy and why?
How can you improve this week?
What did you learn last week that you will put to use this week?

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Stop playing the lottery imediatly!

"Don't be out in the backyard looking for 4 leaf clovers when opportunity come knocking at your front door."

This is one of my favorite quotes.  What its saying is stop looking for luck, miracles or anything else other than what's right under your nose for opportunity.  Most people stop at the first sign of resistance or hardship.  And where do they go from that point?  Everywhere....They look at any opportunity that may jump at them thinking it's the next big "thing" for them.  Then, trouble hits and guess what?  They are off to another opportunity.  This can go on and on until they really examine what their life has to offer.  It could take them years of trying, when they could have started 5 years ago.  Such a waste.
Immediatly come to realize that you've got it, you may have just lost focus.  It could take time if you don't observe and listen for that opportunity.  I'm telling you, it's right under your nose.  The answer is not necessarily in new a career, country, new article of clothing or even in relationships you develop with people.

If you get a chance to read the following two books you may know what I'm talking about, ACRES OF DIAMONDS and THREE FEET FROM GOLD.

Today's action step:
Sit down, alone and a quiet area, grab a pen and your journal.  And write down some areas in your life you feel could hold opportunity. Then put some focus and work on those things daily.  Even if it gets hard, keep going it will be worth it.  I promise.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Things that make you go hmm?

It's the weekend, yahoo!

Over the next two days you will either let your guard down having to much fun, or you will work while others are at rest.  It's up to you, make your choice.

Sometimes you may think you are taking the right path towards reaching your goal without even realizing you are walking down a darker path.  Your working night and day, writing your goals down and staying focused but you often ask yourself - I'm I doing the right thing?  You may not realize the people you've been socializing with or even get advice from are wrong for you, and the acts you are doing are entirely the wrong fit for your goal.
It all comes down to this.  If you are defending your every act to people you respect, you may be doing the wrong things trying to reach your goal.
When you realize that you need to justify anything you are doing it's possibily time to make a change, you will need to make this choice it cannot be made for you.

When you are on the right path, you feel great telling mentors and role models your plans and who is helping you get to the top.  A mentor will gently guide you along, you must keep an open mind to what is being said and make a decision what you will do with their precious advice.

Today's excersice:
Look at the people you associate with and the acts you do and ask yourself- "Would I feel proud telling people I respect about who is influencing me and what I am doing?".

Only you can make your choices, it's up to you.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Which emotion are you looking to beat?

Yesterday I went over the emotions that led you towards failure, today I explain the emotions and what needs to be done to overcome them so you can get right back on track!

1.  Frustration

Frustration often hits when you set your goal to high or make it unrealistic.  It also sets in when your having low self confidence with a feeling that you are inadequate for the goal you are setting.

What should you do?Have more practical goals vs. perfectionist goals.  If your like me, you always want to be the best!  Problem is, in your head you have your own picture of what the best should be and not what "the best" means to others.  If you look to always be perfect you are sure to hit the frustration wall very quickly.  Again, when your thinking "THE BEST", you may already be the best to everybody else.

2.  Aggressiveness (misdirected)

Aggressiveness is not a strange behavior, it is 100% normal.  The issue is when it's misdirected.  If you yell at objects or people who have nothing to do with the situation that got you agitated you know it's misdirected.

What should you do?When you feel this coming on, you need to release it.  Exercise, go for a run or even rearrange the furniture in your home.  Anything that gets your body moving will release excess energy.  Go crazy but use that "crazy" in a good way and don't scare people off.  In my opinion the best way to burn up that aggression is work harder towards your goal with even more gusto!

3.  Insecurity

This is based upon an inner feeling of being inadequate, like you just don't measure up to your imagined self or against someone else.

The best way to overcome this:You need to get off your high horse and stop looking for perfection, nothing or no one is perfect.  It may seem that way at times when insecurity sets in.  This is where you need to observe what you believe to be perfection, and observe what is making you insecure.

4.  Loneliness

The feeling of loneliness is a normal emotion to experience at times, after all we are all human.  It's the feeling of chronic loneliness where you feel totally alienated by everybody around you that can be problem.

Best way to overcome this:Loneliness is a way of self protection, it guards you against being humiliated and hurt by other people.  The feeling of fear of communicating with others.  You need to start to socialize, learn something that will get you interacting with others.  Once you interact with people that fear melts away, people are not that scary!

5.  Uncertainty

This is a way of avoiding making mistakes and rarely making a decision.  It's also a way of avoiding responsibility at all costs.

What should you do?Come to the realization that you need to make mistakes!  I'm going to leave it at that.  Now get out there and start making mistakes, you can't grow without a mistake here and there.

6.  Resentment

This is one that you probably run into daily.  This personality blames everybody but themselves for all there failures.  Almost like a child that constantly wines about things not being fair.  They resent everybody else's success and happiness wanting only the worst for everyone else.
The way to get over this:
People who are resentful need to realize that it is only caused by a reaction or an emotion.  They are letting others dictate how they feel.  And until they can come to the realization that they must become master of their own emotions they cannot overcome resentment.

7.  Emptiness

Many people who reach the top often feel that it's nothing like they thought.  People have expectations that are very high and once they get where they thought they wanted to be it isn't enough, they loss all hope.  This is emptiness.

The way to get over this:
Life is not one big treadmill.  You will once day come to realize that your routine is sort of like a big treadmill.  Get up, go to work, go to bed and start over.  The weekend gets here you relax and Monday is right around the corner.  Life never needs to be like this. It is not up to me to tell you which activities are out there for you to choose, re-read this blog of you can't figure it out.

You've got the tools to get over your demon emotions.  Now get out there and take on the world!

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Master your emotions instantly

Everyday as you get closer towards your goals, I'm sure you've noticed yourself going through different emotions, some motivate you and some can make you want to quite everything.
Once you learn the simple little fact that emotions can make you do everything.  It's almost as if you are a slave to them.  Don't believe me?  Think of the last time you were feeling a little depressed, how easy was it to do anything?  Same goes for excitement, last time you were excited, the world was your canvas.  You felt like you could do anything.

Having said what I said in the above paragraph some emotions lead you towards greatness and some towards failure.  I'm going to give you a little anagram that I like to use daily to keep myself in check.

F- FRUSTRATION
A-AGGRESSIVENESS (MISDIRECTED)
I- INSECURITY
L-LONELINESS
U-UNCERTAINTY
R-RESENTMENT
E-EMPTINESS

I carry this list with me in a journal and whenever I start feeling a little off, I check the list and I am able to recognize the emotion I'm feeling.  Once I recognize it, I quickly replace it with an emotion that is much more constructive.
I need you to realize you are never the emotion you feel, do not label yourself.  Emotions are there to guide you and never categorize yourself with an emotion.  Ask yourself have I ever said the following:

"I'm so depressed"
"I'm so lonely"
"I'm so sad"

Sound familiar?  Immediately stop letting the emotion beat you down, just check yourself daily for the emotions in the FAILURE anagram.

Today's action:

Get an index card and write down the failure anagram and make sure to check it when you feel a little down.  Once you recognize that your feeling one of the emotions, quickly replace it.  It's much easier than you think.  I didn't think it would work but it did.  I think it was seeing the giant word FAILURE beside an emotion.

Tomorrow, I will go over each emotion and let you know how to beat it.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

24 hours a day

How are you doing so far with reaching your goal?  Are you getting closer, or have you given up because it feels to far away?
There may come a time in the near future when you find it a little discouraging because things seem so far away.  There is simple solution to this problem, start living in only 24 hour increments.  I'm sure you've heard of "living in the now", if not it means be where you are exactly at that moment.  Myself, I try not look any further than morning and night. 
It can make the big picture look less intimidating.  This way you look at exactly what needs to be done for today and your not always looking at what could happen three weeks from now.

When you wake up in the morning, be there!  Keep your mind focused on exactly what is happening as you wake up, not what could happen after lunch.  When your work day is finished, try to be focused on that, be done (I once struggled with this), go home to your family or whatever social event you have planned for that night.  You still plan for the future, but all you need to know is which direction your going. Every day work yourself towards that direction, the furthest I need you to plan is for the next day.  All you are doing is writing out the tasks and priorities that must be completed tomorrow, I do this before bed, if you find this stressful write it out in the morning.

All this can be compared to going on a long road trip.  When you get in the car you need to stay focused on exactly where you are at that moment, you must keep your eyes on the road ahead and be guided by your map or guess what?  You could crash if your not focusing on the road because you were focused the whole time how bad traffic is going to be in downtown Toronto  :-)
In life, keep your eyes on the road at all time, and if you stir off track you simply straighted the wheel and get back on track!

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Who do you see yourself as?

Have you been trying to achieve something for more than a year with absolutely no progress?  You seem to get ahead just a bit only to resort back to your old habits and you slowly slip back into your way of life.

I bet you are like the majority of people, you go after that goal with everything you've got, except for the secret ingredient, yourself!  Until you SEE YOURSELF as the person you need to become it will be very difficult to get where you need to be.

Here is Mary's story.


Mary is a woman 39 years old and has simply fallen into a rut.  She was a star in school on the soccer team and everybody wanted to be her.  A beautiful girl, slim and fit she killed it everywhere she went.  In her 20's as she matured she wanted more out of life.  An amazing career, a personal trainer and a photo shoot.  Mary had it all in her mind, total success.
Fast forward to last year, Mary has now put on an extra 40lbs, without really realizing it.  The weight from snacking and months missed at the gym have finally gotten to her.
This has led Mary to yo-yo dieting, her pounds come off then they go back on.  Mary now has a goal to lose those 40lbs in exactly 6 months to the day.  And she outlined everything she will do.

1.  Hit the gym 4 days a week, along with 2 hardcore cardio classes
2.  Eat clean 6 days a week, and have the 7th day for "fun foods and wine".
3.  And dammit, she will fit into that dress that hangs in her closet.

For three weeks she hits the gym intensely only to find herself procrastinating and missing those great workouts.  It makes her so frustrated.  Everyday she looks in the mirror telling herself she's fat and the weight just won't come off.

Let's stop the story right there, read the last sentence. 
Everyday she looks in the mirror telling herself she's fat and the weight just won't come off.

As you can see she does not see herself as someone who is in great shape and losing weight.  She sees herself most of the time as fat and having difficulty losing weight. 

This story is all too common, people dedicate themselves, yet never dedicate there minds to who they need to become in the process.  You must act, breath and see who you need to become along with the goal you are trying to achieve.

If your trying to lose weight, see yourself as a person who is losing weight, act like someone who is getting in shape, feeling like someone who has lost 40lbs.  I hope this sinks in, it is vital to your progress in reaching the top of your game.

Today's action:

Write down how you will act, feel and be once you reach your goal.  Once you've got it down on paper start immediately to transform into that person. 

Stay motivated
Shane C.

A word of caution

Welcome to a new week and a new start!

There is a good thing with life and goal setting, everyday you get a brand new start.

Today's little blog is something that can make you or break you very quickly.  It's the topic of letting others around you know what your goal is.  Should you or should you not let people know what you are going after?  My take is, be cautious who you tell.  Why?  If you haven't noticed there are people in your life that don't want you to rise above where you presently are.  It takes them out of their comfort zone, they want to help you by telling you why you can't do something.  Learn to respect what they say and then carry on towards the top.
The people you should tell are mentors, role models and loved ones.  Again, be cautious.  If you tell family, they will tell you every reason why you can't, while mentors will tell you the best ways to succeed and what doesn't work.  Notice the difference, you want to tell people who will guide you towards the top and what didn't work for them. 

Learn to not argue with negative influences, it can only bring you down.  Learn to find the people who will bring you up and motivate you to do better.  An easy equation:

NEGATIVE COMMENT= FOCUS ON EVERY REASON WHY YOU WILL SUCCEED!!!

Today's action:

Go find yourself a spiral notebook or a beautiful leather bound journal.  Anything you can write in. This way you can journal every positive, strength building thought why and how to get to the top!!

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Reward your effort

How far away or how close does it feel before you achieve your goal?

We can all use a small boost every now and then to get us through the next level of our game.  Make sure along your journey you set yourself some "sub-goals".  These will be the small efforts that get you that much closer to the top.

Along with some of these smaller goals, sit down today and write yourself out the rewards you would like to give yourself each time you reach a goal.  I'm unable to let you know exactly which rewards will motivate you but here are a few examples:

- An article of clothing
-Treating yourself to dinner
-A small weekend get-away
-An ice cream cone (that you never allow yourself to have)
-A movie
-A spa day

These are only small examples, if you are not motivated by these tiny rewards make sure to find yourself some that get you more excited.

Today's action step:
Write out some small rewards you would like to give yourself and then associate them to some small goals.

Have fun with this one :-)

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Zig don't zag

Welcome to a brand new day! 

You know what this means, right?  You're getting closer to success and your goal.

Today's topic is hard for some people to swallow.  It's choosing to zig when everybody else is choosing to zag.  It boils down to not following the crowd.  To get what you want you need to be different, why?  Well ask yourself with everything you've done up to this point do you have exactly what you want?  If you answered yes, good for you.
It's about choosing to react differently than everybody else, picking different habits than your friends and breaking away from the crowd.  Let me give you some simple examples of what I mean:

Reaction

-When everybody is choosing to be angry, you can always smile.

- When everybody is complaining about things they cannot change, you choose to talk and focus on the things you are able to change.

Habits

-When your friends go out every weekend, you can decide every now and then to stay in to catch up on the latest books and articles associated with your goals or industry.



-While people are talking about the latest episode of "SURVIVOR", your talking to a different crowd about something more constructive.

-When everybody takes a lunch breaks for 45-60 minutes, you break for 10 min. and work right through lunch.

I need you to come to the realization today that your habits are not written in stone.  Look at a habit you are doing today and ask yourself,  "is this a lazy habit?".  Could this be replaced with something more constructive?
I know this may not make you very popular with your friends and co-workers, but when you hit your goal and get to the top EVERYBODY WILL THINK OF YOU.  Your doing this to be successful!!!

Today can be your test

Go out and buy THINK AND GROW RICH, this book is about $12
And while everybody is going out tonight getting ready for tomorrows hangover, you start reading this book.

Have a good weekend!  :-)


Stay motivated
Shane C.

Discouraged?

Welcome to Friday!!

So if you've been reading since Wednesday and putting into practice your goal setting, this is the test..the weekend.
Keep up with trying to achieve that goal all weekend so you can keep up your momentum right through to Monday morning. 
Today's topic is something I've been through many times when trying to achieve a new goal...DISCOURAGEMENT.  It can be so hard on your ego to prepare day and night only to fall flat on your face the first time out.  You write out your goal and do everything you are suppose to and the first time out  you don't even come close to your target.  It can seem so impossible at times to attain what you want.

This is exactly what  needs to happen.  If everything goes exactly perfect the first time out...It wouldn't be worth trying in the first place.  I want you to learn the law of substitution.  You are now going to program yourself, whenever discouragement sets in to substitute discouragement with PRACTICE and persistence.  When desire truly sets in and you want something with all your heart the more you need to practice.  I know you've heard the saying "practice makes perfect", that because it's true.

Today's action step is to fail at something new and get right back on your feet and try it again and again.  This is easier said that done but hang in there.  The feeling that something is impossible should be a HUGE motivator for you to want to go after it more, because once you achieve your goal the the glory will be yours.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Doubting your own abilities

Now that you have written your goal down, this is the goal I want you to go after. Unfortunatly, if your new to any of these techniques or even if your a seasoned goal setter, the first thing that will happen is you doubt your ability to reach the goal that you wrote.
The mind automatically rejects anything out of it's comfort zone, yet to be successful and achieve things you have never achieved before you will need to experience some change.  Panicking won't help, just taking it step-by-step is the easiest way to get what you want.  Believe me before you know it, a whole new set of habits will be developed and they will lead you towards your goal. 

Your goal must be written down some place that you can see it morning and night (preferably right before bed).  Today's small action step, is for you to develop the habit of looking at your goal, first thing every morning and night. Sounds easy, doesn't it.  That because it is easy.  We are going to get to your goal one small step at a time.

Stay motivated
Shane C.

Getting to the basics

I wanted to create a small blog on motivating you and others around you.  Seems like a simple task, post some motivational quotes and add a famous persons name beside it then I would get the credit for that quote.
Well the sad truth is this is used over and over again.  I've used it and the people I look up to use it.  It's used and abused.  It works great, don't get me wrong you read it and an hour later you forget about it.  I don't want to use this anymore, I want to show you more practical ways to use your time. 
Here is my basic concept, I will let you know daily how I'm using ways in my life and with others to motivate.

Today's basic motivator is setting a goal for yourself.  We all need to set goals for ourselves yet we put it off or we get discouraged much too soon.  Well no more!  I'm going to make this simple for you.

Today, write down a goal.  Be specific, exactly the one thing you want and when you want it by.  This way your mind will be more focused on the task.  Please, for your own sanity, make it something attainable.

Example:  My sales will be $80 000 for the month of June 2011.

This is very simple to do.  Go ahead and get it done.  I'll write out your next step tomorrow. 

Stay motivated
Shane C.