Goal setting - How to Easily Set and Get Your Goals

Which of the following changes to your life do you want to make to your life this year?

• To have a slim and trim body?
• Find a stimulating job
• Take up a sport or hobby
• Buy your dream home
• Travel to an exotic destination
• Have more time with your family
• Establish your own business
• Double your income
• Become involved in the community
• Develop your creativity
• Improve your skills
• Create a plan for your financial future
• Have more fun.
• Enhance your current relationship or find a new partner.
• All of the above

To help you channel your energy into achieving this year's goals, here are some practical ways to get you started. After all, there is no reason why you shouldn't start immediately, is there?

Goalsetting - Getting Started

Write a list of what you want to achieve this year.

Make sure what you've written down is specific, measurable and attainable. Eg. Lose 5 kgs by 30th April.

Write no. 1 against the most important goal. Write no. 2 against the next most important goal.

Continue numbering the rest of the goals.

Look at the goal with no. 1 next to it. ie. Lose 5 kilos. Start a separate list with the heading Lose 5 kilos by 30th April.

Write down the action steps you need to take to achieve this goal:

• Join gym
• Decide which specific days and times you will attend
• Purchase gym gear
• See nutritionist

Enter the action steps into your diary/electronic organiser on the day/s you will do these:

• Jan 15th - join gym
• Jan 16th - book nutritionist
• Attend gym Monday/Wednesday/Friday at 6.00 a.m.

Ensure when you book time for yourself in your diary you treat it as a top priority. Unless there is an earthquake or equally devastating disaster occurring, keep that time sacred.

To ensure your goalsetting is successful, it is imperative to write your goals first and then plan the appropriate steps to take in your diary. Otherwise your goals could end up being wishful thinking!

Goal/Dream Chart

Having visual reminders is a valuable part of the goalsetting process. It's a great way to prompt and keep you motivated to follow through. Cut out a picture of the body you'd like to have from a magazine and stick a photo of your head on top of it. Alternatively if you want to recapture the way you were some time ago, find an old photo of yourself. You can place these on your desktop, car dashboard and the fridge at home.

Do this for your other goals (minus the head). In fact having a dream chart with pictures or words of the things you want to achieve is a great stimulus for your sub-conscious mind. Sticking these reminders onto green paper is even more effective. I have one of these in my office and guess what? It actually works!

Action Is The Key

Once you've identified what you want, written it down, planned when you will take action and done your goal/dream chart, nothing will happen unless you get off your butt and take action towards those goals.

Avoid the 'Too Much Too Soon' Syndrome

Often people try making many changes at once then get disillusioned because there are too many things to do and just give up. If you've done this in the past, tackle one goal at a time. If you really have difficulty going it alone, you may benefit from using the services of a life coach like myself who will keep you on track.

Dare to Fail

In Billi Lim's bestselling book "Dare to Fail" he shares the following story:

A woman once walked up to a little old man rocking in a chair on his porch.

"I couldn't help noticing how happy you look", she said. "What's the secret for a long happy life?'

"I smoke three packs of cigarettes a day', he said. "I also drink a case of whisky a week, eat fatty foods and never exercise."

"That's amazing, the woman said. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six", he said.

The Final Word On Goalsetting

You too can achieve your goals if you really want to. The goals you set must fit in with your values. For instance if you really value your health and well-being (and you should…you're no good to anyone if you're sick or even worse…dead,) then it will be easier for you to take action around this area.

Goalsetting is an ongoing process. Plan and get off your butt now to achieve what you want in your life otherwise you could get stuck in the usual rut and before you know it, another year has passed by.

Take action today!

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Lorraine Pirihi is Australia's Personal Productivity Specialist and Leading Life Coach. Her business The Office Organiser specialises in showing small business owners and managers, how to get organised at work so they can have a life! Lorraine is also a dynamic speaker and has produced many products including "How to Survive and Thrive at Work!"

To subscribe to her free ezine visit www.office-organiser.com.au

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The 80/20 Success Secret

Have you ever wondered if there was a way to apply the Pareto Principle or 80/20 Principle to success or rather becoming successful?

If you’re a reader of the Conquer Your Adversity Newsletter, then you should be familiar with this principle from my article Achievement & Happiness The 80/20 Way – www.rasheedali.com/8020.htm.

In the past what I’ve found is that most people don’t hesitate to point fingers at whom or what they think is responsible for their failures or lack of success in life. The problem is that they never look in the mirror and see that the main problem is them! At that time I believed that there were two groups of people, successful and unsuccessful.

Recently however I came across another group of people who all want to be successful and realize that they must change. When they ask me how they can achieve success, I give them all the same answer. I’ll get to that in a minute, because first I want to tell you why.

When I was a baby about two months old, my parents sent me from New York to the island of Trinidad to live with my Grandparents. During those early years, I was given love, attention and I was taught the importance of hard work. You see, my Grandfather and all of his brothers for that matter were entrepreneurs. My Grandpa was a poultry farmer. He raised chickens! Not just any chickens, but the best tasting, natural chickens around. Not just a few chickens, but anywhere from 20,000 to 40,000 at a time. Not only that but, he still worked at his job as the Pay Master at the Texaco oil refinery.

To little me, Grandpa was the strongest man in the world and he knew more than anyone!

Over the course of the years I would be taken away from my Grandparents many times by my parents, only to be sent back again. Each time I would learn something new. I learned how to run a poultry farm and business, how to handle money, how to deal with customers, how to give a quality product, the importance of learning by doing and most of all what I tell my clients and people wanting success.

No, I’m not going to tell you yet! ;-P

Fast forward to 1990-91 and I’m homeless on the streets of New York. Of course my Grandparents had no control over these events. It was my parents that left me no choice.

There I was a skinny 15 year old with big glasses, no money and nowhere to live. I had lived in fear for so long in the past that I looked like an owl on crack!

I had no clue what to do and I had already been on the streets a couple of weeks. I was hungry, cold (it was winter) and tired.

As events unfolded a severe beating by four 22 year olds, put me in the hospital near death and I would later end back up on the streets. This time I had learned of other options by listening to other peoples’ conversations. I had heard about a place called Covenant House in Manhattan. It took another week or two before I ended up there because I didn’t trust that anyone would help me.

The people at Covenant House took me in one cold night and gave me a place to stay, warm food and counseling.

There I met a 17 year old guy who would become a big brother to me for a short while. His name was Tony. He as it turned out was in New York because he was running from some very dangerous people in Florida who killed his friend. Tony was a “metal-head,” head-banger type but was a good natured person and took a liking to me. He protected me from the other kids who were in gangs and were too rough and dangerous for me to handle at the time. He taught me how to fight, how to think on the streets, and the same thing my Grandpa taught me.

No, I won’t tell yet.

That wasn’t the end of my street life but, that’s where we’ll fast forward into my twenties.

My mind had been made up since I was a child that deep down I really wanted my own business. So I went out and did what any normal kid would do. Go to college right!

Well after a few semesters, I realized that I was really in for long frustrating hours of studying things that I did not want to know. So while still in school and working full time, I started to self educate myself with self improvement books and business books.

Needless to say, I got hooked! Paycheck after paycheck I would buy and read these books, online and offline. Wow I really knew my stuff I would think. Then I would look at successful businesses and say, “Wow I still have a lot of learning to do.”

So I started out on my quest to conquer the internet. Or so I thought.

Again, I purchased and read many e-books, reports, software and services and began to build a small income online.

Thousands of dollars and some successful clients later, I had very little to show for it other than all of the money I made others and the vast library of knowledge in my head. (I do have a pretty big head -- ;-D )

Then one day through world famous internet marketer Jo Han Mok, I met Mike Litman, then Dave Lakhani & Steve Watts. Mike and Dave showed me what I was doing wrong, what I needed to know and how to apply it. Most importantly they showed me what they had learned so that I didn’t have to make the same mistakes.

If you fast forward to today you will see that I’m now helping change the lives of thousands of people around the world through my newsletter and coaching system and I’m well on my way to creating millions in revenue!

So what’s the 80/20 Success Secret?

It is….

Finding Mentors or Coaches and learning everything you can from them.

Instead of investing tons of money in books and programs, invest in a mentor and you WILL get the most results!

Remember very few actions generate the most results. Instead of taking 1,000 steps and many years to achieve your desired results, you’re only taking one step and very little time to get your results this way. You’re paying them to learn from their mistakes and successes.

No book or program can offer you that!

So when you’re ready to leap towards success and break through your obstacles, seek out your mentor(s) and be ready for anything!

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Rasheed Ali was once a homeless runaway on the streets of NY and is now helping thousands people from all walks of life reach their ultimate potential in life and business by conquering any and all obstacles through his Conquer Your Adversity Newsletter. You can subscribe at http://www.RasheedAli.com

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Three Things You Must Know to Attract Success

Three Things You Must Know to Attract Success

pursuing it, to the detriment of all else.

For others, attaining success seems impossible. They conclude that it is destined for a select few. The rest of us are to remain “content with such things as we have”. Having it all is not “in our stars”.

However, the above assumptions couldn’t be further from the truth. When you strive for success with the wrong assumptions, you will never reach it.

It’s like travelling somewhere with the wrong map.

Zig Ziglar says that, “Success is a process, not an event,” “a journey, not a destination.”

Jim Rohn describes it as “…a condition that must be attracted not pursued.”

Do you see the pattern?

“…a process, not an event.”
“…a journey, not a destination.”
“…a condition that must be attracted not pursued.”

You can’t hurry success, catch it, or find it by chance. You can’t inherit it, gate-crash on it, or take it from some one else.

Success is something you must work hard and long to earn, for yourself. It has a price, sometimes a very high one. And most people aren’t really and truly ready to pay that price, to do what success demands.

If success has eluded you so far, perhaps you should try changing your assumptions.

You need to accept that:

(1) You must go through a growing process, which will require time and patience, in order to achieve success. There are no short cuts. Anything else is a temporary illusion.

Success that will remain with you, and bring you joy rather than sorrow, requires a learning process, a time to grow out of old habits and into new ones, a time to learn what works and what doesn’t.

And you must pay your dues, in full, in advance!

So don’t be in a hurry.

(2) You will need to acquire traits and skills that attract it.

What does success mean to you? Identify, in specific terms, what you regard as success. What traits or skills will you need to achieve this goal? Set clear, written goals.

Devise plans to acquire the needed traits and skills. Learn to do what you need to do, to get where you want to go.

What kinds of people have what you want? What do they do, or not do, that helps them get and keep it?

If you do what they do and avoid what they avoid, there’s a good chance that you will end up with what they have.

Find 2 or 3 people who have what you want. Write down the habits that have made them successful and resolve to copy them.

Starting now!

This is called mentoring, learning from others who have arrived where you want to go.

Mentoring can cut out the heart-aches of trial and error. A mentor can keep you focused and on track.

Once you learn to do what it takes, you qualify. And when you qualify, success comes looking for you. You just can’t be denied!

What a relief from the days when you ran after it! You fulfill the requirements and attract success to yourself. Opportunities open up to you, and when they do, they find you ready to grasp them.

(3) You must be ready to travel the road to success, oftentimes alone. It’s been said that, “At some point in time, the pursuit of your goals becomes secondary and what you have become in the process…..is what is most important. It’s not the distance you go…so much as the going itself” (Les Brown).

Parents, remember when you tried to teach your children to crawl? You put their favourite toy in front of them and teased them forward, inch by inch. They were after the toy, which kept them motivated.

But you wanted to strengthen their muscles and teach them a new skill. When they became good at reaching the toy, they had learned to crawl. After that, they could reach any destination they wanted, without you and the toy!

The DESTINATION was less important. They became champion crawlers in the PROCESS!

That’s what the journey to success does to you. It causes you to learn habits and skills that make you “full of success”, or “successful”.

Because you have now mastered the skills and the process, you can keep on reproducing success. You now have what it takes. But if you try to “gate-crash”, you don’t get to learn the process and the skills.

You cannot reproduce success, in the same or different scenarios. You do not have the tools for acquiring it; you only have a mirage. In other words, you have not become successful.

Should calamity strike, you are back to square one, and you’ll quite likely be there a long time.

Anyone can identify what success means to them and go after it. If you don’t mind the hard work and waiting, success can be yours. You can become the kind of person who attracts what he or she wants rather than running after it.

Funny enough, when you are ready for success you attract it, with little effort.

When you are not, it runs from you, no matter how hard you chase. In other words, you repel it!

Most likely, this is the reason that success eludes people.

Now that you know how to attract success, why not get started on the journey or process that will take you where you want to go? Any one can succeed, but unfortunately not every one will. It’s your decision to choose. Fate does not foist it upon you. You can have anything you want in life, if you’re ready to pay the price. But if you consider the process too hard, too slow, or the distance too long and lonely, you have qualified your self as a looser; painful but true.

So don’t short-change yourself with short-cuts and counterfeits. You can have the real thing.

Go out there today and start attracting success.

It’s literally yours for the taking!

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Oma Edoja is a motivational speaker, writer, and infopreneur. She enjoys running inspirational programs for kids and teens, and motivational workshops for adults. Visit her web log: http://omaslounge.blogspot.com (for motivation and inspiration).

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fighting daily fatigue

FIGHTING DAILY FATIGUE

Do you feel there are not enough hours in the day to do the things you
need to? Do you find yourself feeling exhausted or lethargic much of the
time? By 3pm in the afternoon would you love to crawl into your bed?
Are there times when a friend suggests something fun and although you
know your spirit is willing your body just hasn’t the energy?

Most of us know what it's like to feel tired, sluggish and run down. That's
just part of modern-day life, isn't it? Two thirds of adults in the UK suffer
from tiredness - but it might surprise you to know that Daily Fatigue is
now a common and recognised condition.

Daily Fatigue is a feeling of tiredness and exhaustion caused by the busy
and demanding lifestyles we now lead. Many of you will be juggling your
career, relationship, friends, family and social life - and will be all too
aware how easy it is to let life control you and not the reverse. More than
one in ten people admit that they have not been to work because they are
too tired. One in four of you feel too tired to tackle everyday jobs such as
shopping and paying the bills, while one in three of you are too tired to 2
socialise and one in five people have said they are too tired for a
relationship.

Many people’s emotional energy is under attack on a daily basis from the
24/7 lifestyle of 21st
Century living coupled with the UK having the
longest working hours in Europe. Downsizing in organisations has left
less people doing more work while poor eating and lifestyle habits (no
exercise, smoking, excessive drinking, lack of sleep) play their part.
Mums know how coping with demanding children takes its toll as do life
changes such as divorce, loss of job, bereavement and family problems.
Commuting problems, crowded streets and pollution all add to the daily
grind.

Celebrity clients often look to coaching as a way of helping them cope
with their busy lifestyles. However, they often think that life coaching is
only about the practical things you can do in terms of changing your
thinking and your habits. However, life coaching looks at the whole of
your mind, body and soul and there are times when it is more pertinent to
make sure that someone is looking after his or her body. After all who
can think straight when they are tired?

Answer the following questions and see what steps you can take to help
yourself – daily fatigue is not a fact of life but something you can do
something about – your personal energy is vital to your well-being.

1. Do you feel your life is:

a) Great - more of it please
b) Good - although there are a few things I would like to change
c) Ok. - after all I can’t expect too much
d) Has little real meaning - one day is just like another

2. How much sleep do you get each night:

a) 7 or more hours
b) about 6 hours
c) about 5 hours
d) Less than 5 hours

3. Would you describe yourself as:

a) Optimistic – there’s lots to be grateful for
b) Forward looking – life’s not that bad 4
c) A realist
d) Pessimistic – expect the worst

4. Do you do something just for you:

a) 2/3 times a week
b) Once a week
c) Once every 2/3 weeks
d) Hardly ever

5. Which of the following sums up your attitude to facing new challenges at work:

a) Excited – it’s good to try something new
b) Quite pleased – what’s the worse that can happen?
c) A little nervous
d) Fed up with having to cope

6. When it comes to food:

a) My diet is pretty healthy without being faddy
b) I eat well most of the time 5
c) I don’t eat well or that regularly
d) I eat junk food and often crave sugar

Maximising personal energy is rather like a bus journey. If you are on the
right bus you get to your destination. If you are on the wrong bus the
sooner you recognise the error the shorter the journey back. Don’t let
your energy drain too far otherwise it takes longer to return to physical
and emotional well-being

Answers

Mostly A’s

You have an excellent energy bank and use what you have wisely
knowing that you need to keep your life in balance. You believe in the
saying “work, rest and play”. You eat well and sensibly, ensuring that
your physical energy boosts your emotional fitness.





Action Required:

Recognise how well balanced your life is and keep doing what you are
doing. There are always times when even the most energetic people can
be challenged with 21st
Century living and you may find that simply
taking a multivitamin provides you with all the protection you need.

Products like Activit G, a phyto-medicine, may also prove a useful daily
booster aimed at helping fit and healthy people maintain their fitness.
Phyto-medicine refers to natural products that have a careful balance of
vitamins and minerals as well as using traditional plants such as Ginseng
or Gingo Biloba. However, when choosing such products look for those
that can guarantee a laboratory controlled standardisation of approach as
not every product on the shelf does what it says it can.

Mostly B’s

Your energy levels are good but there are signs of depletion. Perhaps you
have been taking on a little more than you realised and whilst you can
function quite well, you may be lacking a certain “sparkle”. You may
well be loosing some of your emotional energy by not fully fuelling your
body with a well balanced diet and sensible activity.

Action Required:

Make some minor adjustments to your lifestyle. Perhaps you need a little
more time to yourself? Make sure you get a good laugh at least once a
day (releases brain chemicals such as Dopamine which provide a sense of
well-being). Get a little more exercise and make sure you are seeing
enough of your friends. Check that you are eating your 5 pieces of fruit
and vegetables a day and possibly top up with freshly squeezed fruit and
vegetable juices for extra vitamins. A multivitamin or some other
energy booster is definitely a must.

Mostly C’s

Your energy bank is running at about half speed and there are signs that it
would not take much to deplete you even further. You could be prone to
feeling under the weather and life may not seem as good as it once did. 8
It’s also possible you may have become a little more irritable or moody
than you once were. Your eating pattern is detracting from your well
being and your body is not receiving the vitamins you require.

Action Required:

You need to undertake a “life audit” – break down your life into major
headings such as Work, Family, Leisure, Finance, Environment, Own
Time and then list all the things you like about each area and why and
then all the things you would like to change. Once you have done this
devise an action plan and set about making those changes. Go back to
basics and make sure you get a good healthy breakfast, lunch and dinner
and include more vegetables and fruit into your diet. Watch the amount
of caffeine you are taking in and if it is more than 3 cups a day try and
drink tea and as much water as you can manage.

Your body needs a more powerful short-term boost. Amultivitamin may
not be enough. Products such as Pharmaton Capsules, a natural-based
phyto-medicine that contains a carefully balanced blend of vitamins and
minerals as well as Ginseng G115 will help you get back your energy as
this type of product is designed especially for someone who needs an
energy boost. Once your energy is back to normal you can decide 9
whether to take nothing or perhaps consider a maintenance product as for
the ‘A’s’ above.

Mostly D’s

Your energy bank is running at a low and it is likely there are many
things in your life you are unhappy about. You may be going through the
motions, pushing yourself to do what has to be done even though your
heart is not really in it. There may be things you need to do in your life
that you are neglecting and you may well be feeling irritable and unable
to cope. You are a nutritional nightmare whose body is giving off signs
of stress and you are at risk of getting anything from poor skin and
stomach upsets to extreme physical tiredness. Your blood sugar levels
are likely to be vulnerable and you need to stabilise these. You may be a
caffeine addict so cut down, drink lots of water and have a banana every
time you crave sugar.

Action

You need to take immediate action and you may need to see a Counsellor
or Life Coach to help you if you find you cannot motivate yourself. First,
make it a priority to look after yourself – take some time to relax and if 10
you have given up activities you used to like start doing them again.
Spend time with people you find fun and supportive and make sure you
see them even if you feel tired. You may well have sleeping problems
and so take the TV and mobile phone out of the bedroom, use Lavender
oil to help you relax and undertake some simple deep breathing activities.
Not only do you need to go back to basics by eating three sensible meals
a day but you also need to try and replace the vitamins you have lost by
drinking freshly squeezed fruit and vegetable drinks. It is also likely that
your system could do with some additional help and therefore some kind
of supplement or phyto-medicine is likely to be a must.

One word or warning – just because a product says it is natural does not
mean that it is safe. There are products that when taken with
conventional medicines can prove problematic. For example St John’s
Wort is an excellent natural anti-depressant but it can affect the efficiency
of the contraceptive pill. Visit sites such as www.dailyfatigue.co.uk,
www.wnas.org.uk, www.patrickholford.com for up-to-date scientifically
valid information, tips and strategies on making daily fatigue a thing of
the past.


Gladeana McMahon
www.gladeanamcmahon.com

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To Become a Winner, Change Your Environment!

Be a Winner, Change Your Environment!

If you want to be a winner and succeed in life, sometimes you may need to change your environment.

For instance:

1. If you want to become more intelligent, you go to school, a library or get a mentor.

2. If you want better health, you go to a gym, or work out at home more.

3. If you want to become more spiritual, you go to church or pray more.

4. If you want to expand your horizons, you go to a different country.

5. If you want to become more successful, you surround yourself with successful people.

An example of changing environments could be a garden. You plant a garden in the middle of the winter and it is not going to grow. You plant a garden in the middle of the desert with no water and it will not grow. A garden needs to be planted in the spring and nourished with lots of water in order to grow.

Think of yourself as the garden. Is the environment your in, stopping you from growing into being a successful person? If it is then maybe you need to change the environment your in. Maybe you need to learn more, become healthier, more spiritual or maybe even move.

What ever it is that is holding you back from the success you want, write it down, think about it and then do something about it. No one will do it for you. Change the environment around you and you will become that winner!

Julianne Rowat, the author, has other articles and videos on motivational and self improvement. She also has videos on low cost and free internet advertising to help you with your online advertising business. She is an internet marketing consultant that enjoys helping others with different types of advertising to grow their business without all the expense. If you want to know more about her, visit her blog at: http://www.juliannerowatsblog.com or her website at: http://www.ultimatewealthfromhome.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Julianne_Rowat

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Achieving Success - Are You Driving Or Are You Being Driven?

When it comes to achieving success in life some people act as though they have no control over what happens to them in life. They act like they are victims of circumstance. And, if that is their belief, then that will be their reality.

However, there is abundant evidence that this is far from the truth. You do have control over your life and therefore you have control over the level of success you achieve in your life.

To explain further allow me to take an example from Formula 1 racing.

Following the German Grand Prix, despite getting a puncture in the first corner of the race which effectively scuppered his race, Lewis Hamilton remarked:

"For the first time this year I actually felt that I had a race car under me that I could control instead of it controlling me."

The increased control translated into a sensational race win two weeks later at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

Hamilton's remark is a reminder of how many people are simply going along for the ride in life. They allow themselves to be driven instead of taking control and becoming the driver. Not that Hamilton has been any slouch this season. The initial version of his MP4-24 simply hasn't been up to the task and no amount of effort on Hamilton's part was going to change that.

Early on in the season, Eddie Jordan, founder of Jordan Grand Prix and who is now a pundit for the BBC Formula 1 coverage, said Hamilton's car was so bad it was "dangerous". And I'm sure that if you've driven different cars yourself then you too will appreciate how some cars are a dream to handle while others make you feel as though you're constantly wrestling with them. During the Hungarian Grand Prix the difference in the way Hamilton's car responded to his driving was like night and day compared to his other races.

So how do the changes made to Hamilton's car relate to you and achieving success?

A great racing car driver has to become one with his car. The driver's role to some extent (though not entirely for I certainly do not wish to diminish the skill of a racing car driver) can be likened to your conscious mind where you create your intentions.

And the car behaves like your sub-conscious mind in that, if it is not programmed synergistically with what you (the driver) wishes to accomplish, then its performance, and hence your performance, will never be up to par.

The upgrades to Hamilton's car gave him more control over the car. Upgrading Hamilton's car can be likened to the re-programming of your sub-conscious mind. The upgrades to Hamilton's car meant that the car was more in sync with the "commands" he issued it.

At the end of a race whether or not Hamilton is on the podium he always gives credit to his team and in particular those working at the McClaren factory doing the research to improve the car and creating the upgrades.

In life, there are a number of different resources you can tap into to upgrade your vehicle - your sub-conscious mind. However, you have to do the work in not only applying the upgrades but subsequently working with your upgrades to create your desired outcomes and your desired level of success. As business philosopher Jim Rohn said:

"Your can't hire someone else to do your push-ups for you."

In Formula 1 some teams, usually those who are not performing particularly well, abandon the process of upgrading the current car, preferring to concentrate on preparing for next year's season. You don't have that luxury. This is it.

Therefore, you have to work like the other teams who continually analyse their cars' performance and seek to tweak and improve the performance. And, like Lewis Hamilton, it may be many races before you start to see that actual improvement. But you can't give up and you mustn't give in. You have to be diligent and persistent in your efforts and, like Hamilton, you too will be rewarded with success.

For a FREE ebook on how to achieve greater success in your life along with weekly success tips and resources simply send a blank email to Success Achievers' Club.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Nickolove_Lovemore

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How To Make Time Your Friend

How To Make Time Your Friend
By
Gladeana MeMahon
Everyone needs to know how to manage time. If you are unable to use your time effectively you will not follow through on the promises you make yourself to improve your life. There are many conflicting demands on your time such as balancing work, day-to-day activities, home and social life.
There are 168 hours in a week and 8,760 hours in a 365 day year and if you sleep for eight hours a night that only leaves you 6,840 hours to do all the things you need to do from working to housework, childcare and having fun. With a finite amount of time it is important that you make the most of what you have.
Time management is as much about attitude and organisation as it is about diaries and finding information. Effective time management means thinking about what you do, how you do it and how you can make the most of this finite resource. Time cannot be stored for future use and
passes whether you like it or not so you need to decide how best to put this precious commodity to good use.
If you want to be a successful time manager then you need to take four factors into account:
• Using checklists there is nothing better than seeing all your tasks ticked off a list as this gives you a real sense of having achieved something with your time
• Diaries and organisers for planning ahead — the more you can plan the more you can fit in
• The need to focus on short, medium and long-term goal setting — when you know what you want to achieve and what you have to do to get there then breaking things down into a series of achievable goals really helps you manage the time you need to get wherever you want to go
• Balancing time between work and leisure activities — if you simply leave things to chance you may well find you have no work-life balance and can miss out on life.

The following six tips will help you claim back wasted time.
Step 1: Clear the clutter!
Whether at home or at work organisation is the key to freeing up time.
If you can’t bear to throw anything out then:
Get someone to help you or ask an organised friend to share their system with you. Throw out your junk mail as soon as it anives and file paperwork on a regular basis so you can find it when you need it. Remember to repeat the de-cluttering exercise on a quarterly basis
Step 2 Manage Telephone Calls
When you are bombarded with telephone calls, particularly at work, you need to ask yourself if you are efficient with dealing with these as you would like to be. If not then:

• Keep a clock nearby and allocate an amount of time to deal with the call. Many people waste time talking about nothing at all
and then wonder where the time has gone. If you find you tend to get side-tracked by conversations then allocate 3-5 minutes for general chit-chat and then move on to the business in hand.
• Summarise the conversation with the action points to be taken and by whom — this ensures you have both understood and will save you time as it will help stop people misunderstanding what they have to do
Step 3 Managing Interruptions
Very often you may find yourself being diverted from a task you wish to complete and intenuptions can steal time if you allow them to. To avoid this happening:
• Visit other people - you can control the amount of time you spend with them.

• Lean to say ‘No’ —if you don’t you’ll end up using your time to do things that you do not need to or which are not your problem.
Where possible, allow your voicemail to take calls for you or have calls diverted to enable you to deal with the project in hand.
Step 4 Diaries and Personal Organisers
To manage your time effectively you will need to have a systematic way of recording what you need to do and a diary or personal organiser will help you keep track of appointments and to planning ahead. If you use an electronic organiser you must backup the data on a regular basis. You will waste time if you do not and end up losing all your data.
Step 5 To do lists
Record the tasks you need to do by using a simple system A, B, C system that will help you decide how urgent the item is. Without such a system you are likely to end up wasting time on non-essential items while more urgent ones get left.

A = Urgent items for immediate attention
B = Important items which require attention in the near future C = Non-essential or non-urgent items
Step 6: Post-it notes
Place post-it notes in full view to remind you to cany out urgent tasks. This is particularly helpful for those working on improving their time- management skills! If you are a poor time manager you will not change overnight and will therefore find you can do with all the help you can get to keep your mind focussed.
Step 7 : Home/work balance
No one is going to say that achieving a home/work time balance will be easy. However, you can help yourself by:
Using dead time such as travelling time to tidy your handbag and check your organiser so you can start to think about what you need to do. Deciding on your personal priorities and making sure these get entered in your diary: the busier your work life the more you need to plan ahead.

Make sure you take short breaks during the day so that your brain and body have a chance to relax — a five minute break never hurt anyone.
Useful Reading
Covey, 5, The 7Habits (fHighiyfJfectivePecple, 1989, Simon & Schuster UK Ltd.
Gutmann, J, The Stress Workbook, 1998, Sheldon Press, London
Gladeana McMahon
www.gladeanamcmahon.com
Listed as one of the UK’s Top Coaches by the Indcpendent on Sundoy.
Author of a range of self help books and TV Coach/Therapist.

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