Beware the Dream Stealers

Although your own internal measurements are the most
important, you will occasionally need to seek external
feedback on your progress toward your goals. When you do, be
sure it is from people who are truly interested in seeing
you succeed.

Don't seek feedback from fair-weather friends, competitive
peers, or any person who doesn't have your best interests at
heart. Neutral doesn't count. Get feedback from someone who
is on your side but will still be objective and honest with
you.

I've observed time and again that misery truly does love
company. Jealousy creates some of the most miserable people
I know. Surpass the achievements of your particular social
crowd or your business colleagues, and look out for the
slings and arrows of those who wish you were back where they
are.

You have to dodge the snide remarks and catty comments. Let
them roll right off you. Don't internalize them.

Only pay attention to feedback from those who have similar
goals or who are working actively alongside you to achieve
goals of their own.

Motives and fears run deep. Study them in others. The
sympathetic fair-weather friend who supports you and
comforts you when you're down, may like you best when you
are in just that state: down and dependent.

Ultimately, nobody else is responsible for your life but
you. Nobody else is accountable for your actions but you.
Therefore, nobody's expectations for you and opinions about
you are as important as your own. So make sure those take
precedence in your mind over all others, and if you do need
to consult with someone else, think very carefully before
you choose exactly who.

Equally important, be prepared to sell your ideas to an
indifferent world. As passionate as you are about your
business and the fact that your products and services will
have positive, life-changing benefits to everyone you meet,
you are going to find resistance every time you tell your
story.

People are most interested in their own dreams and goals.
They have difficulty believing that you have found a better
way than they have to reach them. They are suspicious and
guarded when anyone tries to sell them or change their
minds.

Rather than have others steal your dreams by raining on
them, ask questions and find out about their dreams before
you launch into your sermon. People buy what they want
first, then what they need. Find what turns them on. It may
not be what turns you on. By helping others get what they
want, you'll get what you want too! (Column By Denis Waitley)

What You SAY is What You Get: How to Speak Your Way to Success

In order to be successful, we must first define what success
means to us, and that means getting clear about what you
want, writing it down, and thinking big!

If you are going to be successful in creating the life of
your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of
making it happen. You have to believe you have the right
stuff, that you are able to pull it off.

You have to believe in yourself. Whether you call it self-
esteem, self-confidence, or self-assurance, it is a deep-
seated belief that you have what it takes - the abilities,
inner resources, talents, and skills to create your desired
results.

Ultimately, you must learn to control your self-talk,
eliminate any negative and limiting beliefs, and maintain a
constant state of positive expectations.

Control Your Self-Talk...
Researchers have found that the average person thinks as
many as 50,000 thoughts a day. Sadly, many of those thoughts
are negative - I'm not management material... I'll never
lose weight... It doesn't matter what I do, nothing ever
works out for me.

This is what psychologists call victim language. Victim
language actually keeps you in a victim state of mind. It is
a form of self-hypnosis that lulls you into a belief that
you are unlovable and incompetent.

In order to get what you want from life, you need to give up
this victim language and start talking to yourself like a
winner - I can do it... I know there is a solution... I am
smart enough and strong enough to figure this out...
Everything I eat helps me maintain my perfect body weight.

You Are Always Programming Your Subconscious Mind...
Your subconscious mind is like the crew of a ship. You are
it's captain. It is your job to give the crew orders. And
when you do this, the crew takes everything you say
literally.

The crew (your subconscious) has no sense of humor. It just
blindly follows orders. When you say, "Everything I eat goes
straight to my hips," the crew hears that as an order: Take
everything she eats, turn it into fat and put it on her
hips.

On the other hand, if you say, "Everything I eat helps me
maintain my perfect body weight," the crew will begin to
make that into reality by helping you make better food
choices, exercise, and maintain the right metabolism rate
for you body.

This power of your subconscious mind is the reason you must
become very vigilant and pay careful attention to your
spoken and internal statements.

Unfortunately, most people don't realize they are committing
negative self-talk, which is why it is best to enlist
another person - your success partner - in monitoring each
other's speaking. You can have a signal for interrupting
each other when you use victim language.

Use Affirmations to Build Self-Confidence...
One of the most powerful tools for building worthiness and
self-confidence is the repetition of positive statements
until they become a natural part of the way you think.

These "affirmations" act to crowd out and replace the
negative orders you have been sending your crew (your
subconscious mind) all these years. I suggest that you
create a list of 10 to 20 statements that affirm your belief
in your worthiness and your ability to create the life of
your dreams.

Of course, what to believe is up to you, but here are some
examples of affirmations that have worked for others in the
past:

* I am worthy of love, joy and success.
* I am smart and make wise choices.
* I am loveable and capable.
* I create anything I want.
* I am able to solve any problem that comes my way.
* I can handle anything that life hands me.
* I have all the energy I need to do everything I want to
do.
* I am attracting all the right people into my life.

Believing in Yourself is an Attitude...
Believing in yourself is a choice. It's an attitude you
develop over time. It's now your responsibility to take
charge of your own self-concept and your beliefs.

It might help to know that the latest brain research now
indicates that with enough positive self-talk and positive
visualization combined with the proper training, coaching,
and practice, anyone can learn to do almost anything.

You must choose to believe that you can do anything you set
your mind to - anything at all - because, in fact, you can!

Wake Up to the Life You Love

While speaking at a San Diego university recently, I was
fortunate that I was not asked to leave the stage. You see,
I chose to share with the students in my audience some
frightening statistics.

I announced that, while many would receive their degrees,
few - very few - would end up pursuing careers in their
chosen field. At this point, the faculty began giving me
dirty looks.

I went on to say that, while most students were there to
pursue a dream, the dream they were chasing was not their
own. Many students enter college to live up to the
expectations of family, friends, and society.

They've been told they should become an accountant, lawyer,
doctor or teacher because of the great future and financial
gain. In trying to do what others think they should do
rather than following their individual passions, they rarely
continue along the same path once they leave campus.

Instead, I painted a different sort of picture. Using an
off-the-wall example to illustrate my point, I asked each of
them to imagine that he or she really wanted to become a
banjo player.

I said, "What if you took the same period of time and energy
pursuing that dream, your dream, your passion? What if you
began as an apprentice at a banjo shop, and then worked hard
to learn everything about banjos?

After four to six years, the same time you would have spent
earning a degree that you would not use anyway, you would
instead have become an authority on banjos. A real banjo
aficionado. Know why?"

"Because you'd be following your passion," I continued. "You
would become captivated by the topic, and the pursuit of
this goal would no longer feel like work, as much as it
would be a part of who you are.

Staying up late reading and learning everything there is to
know about banjos, listening to old songs and then creating
new ones would not be a chore; it would become your joy,
because you'd be doing what you love."

Now here's the best part. There will always be a call for
authorities in any area. So no matter if your pursuit is
toward playing the banjo, inventing new ice cream flavors,
or discovering the latest medical breakthroughs, there will
always be a demand for your services, thus creating success
in your chosen field of endeavor.

This is where true happiness and fulfillment comes in:
getting paid to do what you enjoy most while living the life
you love. Because...

When you do what you love, and love what you do, you'll have
success your whole life through! (Column By Greg Reid)

The Two Choices We Face

Each of us has two distinct choices to make about what we
will do with our lives. The first choice we can make is to
be less than we have the capacity to be. To earn less. To
have less. To read less and think less. To try less and
discipline ourselves less.

These are the choices that lead to an empty life. These are
the choices that, once made, lead to a life of constant
apprehension instead of a life of wondrous anticipation.

And the second choice? To do it all! To become all that we
can possibly be. To read every book that we possibly can. To
earn as much as we possibly can. To give and share as much
as we possibly can. To strive and produce and accomplish as
much as we possibly can. All of us have the choice.

To do or not to do. To be or not to be. To be all or to be
less or to be nothing at all.

Like the tree, it would be a worthy challenge for us all to
stretch upward and outward to the full measure of our
capabilities. Why not do all that we can, every moment that
we can, the best that we can, for as long as we can?

Our ultimate life objective should be to create as much as
our talent and ability and desire will permit. To settle for
doing less than we could do is to fail in this worthiest of
undertakings.

Results are the best measurement of human progress. Not
conversation. Not explanation. Not justification. Results!
And if our results are less than our potential suggests that
they should be, then we must strive to become more today
than we were the day before.

The greatest rewards are always reserved for those who bring
great value to themselves and the world around them as a
result of whom and what they have become. (Column By Jim Rohn)

The Time To Start Working On That Dream Is Now!

Most of us are hesitant to start anything because we are
afraid we might make a mistake or fail. Go ahead make
mistakes! Don't wait for more experience or to be good
enough to start. You don't have to be good to start, but you
have to start to be good.

Some may tease and laugh at you. They will warn you, and
recite all the reasons why you shouldn't take the risk.
These will be the ones to wait around patiently hoping to
say, "I told you so." Brush them off. If you let these
people influence you in any way, you will never, ever be
ready to go ahead and start making your dream a reality.

You will never have enough money, enough time, enough
support, or experience to start. But once you muster up the
courage to take that giant step forward and start, the rest
will fall into place. But only you can make it happen! Start
now with whatever you know, whatever you have, and wherever
you are.

Don't let money be your handicap. You don't need money to
make the phone call, attend that networking event, or go as
a guest to an association meeting in your field. How about
volunteering a few hours a week to work for someone in the
business arena that you're thinking about? Do you see what I
mean? You have so many opportunities out there. Do
something!

Be sure to keep a good database. Record your contacts and
touch base with them every three months. And guess how much
that will cost you? Zero. Most computers already come with a
database program. All you need is a little time which you
can choose to create right now.

Your assignment: This month, write down what kind of
resources you will need and which people can help you make
your dream a reality. Be creative! Go for it.

Normal Chaos

You have probably heard it said by someone wanting you to
repeat a monotonous activity that "practice makes perfect."
As many times as you and I may have heard this, it is quite
simply not true. Practice does not make perfect. Practice
makes consistent.

If you practice something at a high level of performance, it
will reinforce that same level of performance. On the other
hand, if you practice an activity over and over in a
substandard manner, you will do little more than reinforce
this substandard level of performance.

You have probably dealt with people or organizations that
consistently perform at an unprofessional, impolite, and
substandard level. Like me, you probably wonder: How did
things ever get so bad in this organization? The answer is
simply that mediocrity has been going on for so long, and
reinforced so deeply, that it now seems normal.

Human beings always seek their own level of comfort. You
have probably heard about prisoners who are finally released
after spending many years behind bars. Then, more often than
you would think, these individuals will go out and do
something stupid, get caught, and get sent right back to
prison.

After years of counseling within the prison system,
psychologists have determined that some inmates become so
accustomed to living within prison walls, that it becomes
their comfort zone and, on a subconscious level, they prefer
it to life in society with you and me.

So much of what we do in our personal and professional lives
is done out of habit. If you will consider your morning
routine as you get ready to go to work, you will realize
that dozens of things happen in a mindless habitual fashion.

This is a powerful tool if you use it wisely, because we can
control our habits if we will simply become proactive and
choose our own course of action.

Anything we do for 21 days will begin to become a habit.
This means that, on the 22nd day, something will seem
strange or out of place if you do not follow the routine you
have established.

Excellence can become a habit. Chaos can become a habit. And
mediocrity can become a habit. The process is inert. It does
not care at what level you perform. Our minds simply want to
reproduce that with which we are familiar.

As you go through your day today, remember: You are
currently a product of yesterday's habits; but take heart,

because tomorrow will be a product of the habits you form

now. (Column By Jim Stovall)

A Commitment Creates Magic

"Resolution is the directing and impelling force in
individual progress. Without it no substantial work can be
accomplished." - Above Life's Turmoil

The esteemed philosopher Goethe wrote, "Until one is
committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back,
always ineffectiveness." There are so many opportunities
that could make our lives better if we'd only make the
decision (resolution) to pursue them.

Whether it's fear, doubt or some other insecurity that holds
us back, these missed opportunities keep us from living the
life of our dreams.

In 711 a North African warrior, whose army was backed up to
the Mediterranean Sea, gave the unthinkable order to his men
to "burn your boats," thus taking away his army's only means
of escape.

Faced with certain death unless they were victorious, his
army routed their opponents even though they were
outnumbered five to one. When we are likewise resolved, we
too can conquer all the obstacles in our path.

Don't worry about "how-to-do-it." One of my early mistakes
was trying to figure out how I was going to do something
before I'd get committed to do it. Now I think about all of
the great inventions of our time, and I wonder if we'd have
any of them if the inventor had waited to make his
commitment until he knew how he was going to do it.

Making the decision (the resolution) to do it is the most
important part of any undertaking. As W.H. Murray wrote,
"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness
has genius, power and magic in it!"

If you don't feel like you have enough information to make a
decision, then by all means, get the information. But don't
put off getting the information as a means to put off making
the decision. And don't think you have to have ALL the
information that's available - you only need ENOUGH to fully
evaluate and decide. "Paralysis by analysis" has killed many
a dream.

Any decision is almost always better than no decision as it
puts into play some powerful forces. As Goethe also told us,
"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is
one elementary truth that ignorance of which kills countless
ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely
commits oneself, then Providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never
otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues
from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of
unforeseen incidents and meetings and material assistance,
which no man could have dreamed would have come his way."
And that's worth thinking about. (Column By Vic Johnson)

Dedicate Yourself To Excellence No Matter What The Situation

Have you ever had to do something you didn't want to do at
work or at home and found yourself grumbling and pouting
through the entire thing?

It seemed as if the work would never get done. The truth is,
sometimes we all have to do things we don't want to do, all
of us. But instead of complaining and being miserable make
sure, no matter what you're doing, to have fun.

The fact is that if something has to get done, it has to get
done. And if we have to do it we have two choices - we can
be the martyr (they're always fun to be around) and huff and
puff through the whole thing asking "Why me?"- or we can
decide to make everything a fun task and make a game out of
it.

Take pride in everything that you do. People will notice
your dedication to excellence, your contagious enthusiasm
and your positive attitude. And even if they don't, you will
feel better about yourself and your work.

Action Step:

In closing, I'd like to offer an exercise to complete in the
week ahead:

What tasks do you absolutely loathe doing? Is it paperwork?
Mowing the lawn? We all have jobs we don't enjoy. And if you
cannot hire someone to do it, then you'll have to step up to
the plate and get the job done. Why not put a smile on your
face while you're doing it?

For homework I want you to think of 5-10 jobs you don't
enjoy doing. That should be pretty easy. At the top of each
page write one job per page in your journal or notebook.
Under each job number 1-10.

Now, I want you to think about these tasks in a different
way. Let's say you don't want to mow the lawn: beside
numbers 1-10, list the positive results that occur once the
lawn is mowed. For example:

1. the yard looks beautiful.
2. the dog enjoys rolling in the freshly cut grass.
3. my family and I can play frisbee or toss a football.
4. the smells are wonderful.
5. my friends comment on how great the yard looks. Etc.

Looking at the positive results that come out of doing a
task will help you become more motivated to get the job
done.

Step into a new you each day. Reach out to greater health,
happiness, fitness, friendship, love and greater pride in
yourself. (Column By Mark Victor Hansen)

How To Achieve All Your Goals And Multiply Your Success

Use Your Imagination. One of the most timeless laws of
success holds that all things are created twice: first on
the picture screen of one's imagination and then in reality.

Those people that create rich, fulfilling lives regularly
flex their imaginations and visualize a better future. By
constantly holding that vision in their mind's eye and
taking action to make it a reality, they overcome their
circumstances and create the life of their dreams.

Create a 'Success Mastermind'. Just as five fingers can
achieve more than one, getting together with a group of like
minded achievers and pooling your knowledge and success
strategies will bring you to your goals much faster.

Set a time every week and meet with your success mastermind.
Share your goals and dreams. Share your frustrations as well
as techniques that have worked for you. Support each other.
Encourage each other. Celebrate even the smallest of
successes as you advance confidently towards a better life.

Love Failure. Failure is the highway to success. Every
successful person has faced endless failures and encountered
adversity. However, rather than giving up and moving on to
another easier pursuit, they persisted. They believed in
themselves and in the importance of what they were doing.
They had the wisdom to know that failure is an essential
teacher. From failure, we grow wise. Failure teaches us how
to win. Without failure, there would be no success.

Get a Coach. The Law of Duplication says that if you do the
same things that someone else did, in the same way that they
did them, you are certain to get the same results in your
life. Whether you are trying to build a great business or
grow a great family, get a mentor.

Find someone who has 'been there, done that.' Why reinvent
the wheel? Use your mentors' own experiences to shorten your
learning curve. Learn from their mistakes and let their
pasts serve you.

Mentors need not be alive. Becoming a serious student of
great people who have lived before us by reading their
biographies and analyzing their personal habits will work
just as well as any association with a living achiever.

Play the Numbers. Success is a numbers game. Smart
salespeople will tell you that the average sale is closed on
the fifth try and yet most people give up after the first.
Similarly, the more times you try to succeed, the closer you
get to success.

The more times you ask for something, the greater the
probability that you will get it. Take more chances, seize
more opportunities and take more action. Just as the farmer
who plants more seeds reaps a richer harvest, you will
attract much more success into your own life.

Work Hard. Successful people will tell you that the harder
they work, the luckier they get. In this age of the quick
fix, where people buy creams to slim their thighs and pop
pills to lose weight, one timeless truth remains, hard work
always produces its just rewards.

No undertaking can ever be successful without patience and
hard work. Have the character strength to put in the effort
required to reach your dreams. Remember, the harder you are
on yourself, the easier life will be on you.

Have Written Goals. Goals that are not written down are
impotent. By writing out your goals, they become embedded on
your subconscious mind and crystallized in your
consciousness.

Write out your goals on 3X5 cards and post them next to your
bed, on your bathroom mirror, on the dashboard in your car
and next to your computer at the office. Never lose sight of
your goals. Never let the busyness of the everyday allow you
to forget about your life goals. By thinking about them
constantly and acting on them daily, you will steadily
create the brilliant life you know in your heart you
deserve.

Master Your Moods. Just as you are not your thoughts, you
are not your moods. Effective people don't let their moods
get in the way of their progress. If they feel tired, they
keep on working. If they feel disappointed, they laugh it
off and keep chasing the dream. If they grow fearful, they
act on their fear. By overcoming their moods, the liberate
their inner power and grow stronger by the day.
(Column By Robin Sharma)

The Power of Belief

They said she would never walk again. Paralyzed from the
waist down, Beverly Kearney the Head Track and Field Coach
at the University of Texas laid in her hospital bed
recovering from 3 five hour surgeries to correct a protruded
spine, skull fracture and severe lacerations - the result of
a car crash.

It's mind boggling what a head on car crash and being thrown
50 feet from the car like a rag doll can do to the human
body. But what is even more amazing is the power of the
human spirit to overcome. Bev, a 5 time national champion
track star in college, never looked in the mirror after her
accident.

She never saw the lacerations or other physical affects of
the accident. She always saw herself as the person she was
before the accident. She never blamed anyone or said "why
me". When visitors came to her room all sad and crying she
kicked them out.

"It isn't a funeral she told them; it's a place of healing."
Bev didn't plan on getting worse. She planned on getting
better. She never embraced the Doctor's diagnosis when they
said she would have pain and other complications for the
rest of her life.

No, Bev was too busy and too focused on the fact that she
was going to walk again. "It's all about what you allow into
your mind," Bev told me. "And I only allowed the positive in
and kept the negative out." She even refused to get into a
wheel chair until they finally convinced her to use it only
to get to rehab to be able to walk again.

Then one day as Bev lay in her hospital bed looking at a
poster of The Texas Relays, the biggest track meet of the
year in front of 20,000 fans, she made the declaration that
she was going to stand up on her own two feet at that event.

An inconceivable notion to the average person since the
Texas Relays was only 4 months away. But inconceivable was
not in Bev's vocabulary. She believed it would be so and so
it would be.

4 Months later on a beautiful April day in front of 20,000
cheering fans Bev Kearney heard nothing but silence as time
stopped and she stood up on her own two legs. The power of
believing was on display for all to witness.

Several years later Bev is walking, and coaching and
thriving. She says she was a good coach before the accident.
But now she is a phenomenal coach. She and her team have won
two national championships since the accident and getting
ready for a third.

Her goals are to keep winning national titles, write books,
and help young women pursue their dreams through her non-
profit foundation "Pursuit of Dreams." Her message to these
girls and the world is: "Thoughts, Words, Deeds. If you can
think it and really believe it then you can do it."

I couldn't think of a better role model to share this
message than Beverly Kearney, University of Texas Head Track
and Field Coach and role model for us all. 
(Column By Jon Gordon)

Build Your DreamTeam

I believe you are only three phone calls away from just
about anyone that you need to contact. There are many
reasons why others would be interested in participating with
you. After all, you're a go-getter with a big dream!

Letting others help you is a form of generosity, because you
enable them to feel good about contributing to your success.
People love to make a difference by helping others. Allow
them to easily assist you by learning how to make powerful
requests. Get clear about what you need, and ask for what
you want.

Begin by reviewing your current resources to see who's
available to help. Your current resources include everyone
you know, every association and organization with which you
come in contact, friends of friends, anyone and everyone.

Talk to people about your dream. Tell them what it is you're
committed to and ask who else they know.

Plan to attend group meetings as a non-member, go with your
purpose in mind, and be clear about the intended result.
Decide in advance what kind of people you want to meet
there, what you want to get out of the meeting, and what you
want to communicate.

Once you're there, you have an opportunity to develop
relationships with all kinds of new people; plan to
participate and interact with them.

Speak your dream from the moment you walk into the room, and
you'll be perceived as a dynamic individual, committed to
making your dream a reality. If you notice that someone is
getting excited about your dream, ask how they would like to
participate. You start with a blank slate among new people;
capture the energy and input from those encounters.

Don't be afraid to call people. If you're not sure what you
want to say, write out a couple of points and keep them in
front of you, or practice speaking to somebody else.

You will find the task less formidable if you break it down
into individual components. First, compile a list of the
phone numbers and have them in front of you. Then commit to
making a specific number of calls each day. Get into action.

Sometimes we feel absolutely sure that we cannot get the
support we want from the people we need it from most. Look
for ways to share your dream and tie it into the other
aspects of your life.

Ask others to support you, even if it's just by believing in
you, and be unstoppable regardless of how they respond;
tenacity often yields credibility. (Column By Marcia Wieder)

Developing Your Vision to Succeed

All great leaders have two main qualities: guts and vision.
This column focuses on vision.

You become what you think about all the time. Leaders think
about the future most of the time. They think about where
they are going and about what they can do to get there.

Non-leaders focus on the present, on the past, and on their
obstacles. When you start thinking about your future, before
long, you'll start getting the results leaders get.

The number one predictor of success in life is how long term
your thinking is. If you can focus on what you want to
happen in the long term while making decisions in the
present, you'll be very successful. The further you focus
into the future, the better decisions you'll make today and
the greater chance you have of realizing your dream.

The biggest single obstacle people face when setting goals
is their self-limiting beliefs. When you allow your self-
limiting beliefs to control you, you set goals far below
what you are capable of achieving.

I made that mistake. I never believed that I could win an
Olympic medal, consequently, I only set a goal to compete in
the Olympics. I made it three times, but, what if I had set
a goal to win a medal? I might have become an Olympic
medalist. At least I would have placed higher than I did.

Don't make that mistake. Aim as high as possible.

Imagine what your life would be like in 5 years if it were
perfect in every way. Focus on creating your ideal life and
you will overcome your self limiting beliefs. I constantly
imagined what it would be like to walk into the Opening
Ceremonies.

By doing that, I overcame my self-limiting beliefs that I
could not become an Olympian. If I had instead imagined what
it would be like to be a medalist, I would have overcome
those self limiting beliefs.

See how this works? If you vividly imagine it enough, you
start believing it's possible. Once you believe it's
possible, you start acting like it's possible. And if you
act like it's possible long enough, before long, you make it
a reality.

Imagine you had all the time, talent, abilities, an
resources you needed to create your perfect life. Imagine
you could not fail. Now, what would your perfect life be
like?

Don't settle for smaller dreams and goals. Go for the gold!
Big dreams have the power to inspire you to action and the
power to inspire others to help you.

Now, what would you have to do today to create your perfect
future?

Where would you be living?
What would your work look like?
Who would you associate and work with?
How much would you be earning?

What would your perfect family life look like?
What kind of relationship would you have with your loved
ones?

How would you look and feel if you were in perfect health?
How much would you weigh?
What do you need to start doing today to reach those goals?

Now, start asking yourself, "How will I do this?" Keep
asking yourself "How will I do it?" The answers will come.
And when they do, start taking massive action like there's
no tomorrow. That's what high achievers do.

What additional skills do I need to pull it off?

What do I need to do every day to acquire those skills and
to become an expert in my field in 5 years?

How will I do it?

I guarantee that once you start focusing and thinking about
the future, start asking yourself how will you do it, and
start taking massive action, you will be a lot happier.
Because happiness is a byproduct of working hard to reach
your goals and dreams.

Make a decision to start thinking about your goals and
dreams all the time. The clearer you are about your dream,
the faster you will attract people to make it a reality.
(Column By Ruben Gonzalez)

Create Dream-Team Relationships for Success

Success is not a solo project - it is something that needs to
be shared. And success is not a competition. There's plenty of
it to go around. We just have to work together - with the same
goal in mind - to ensure success. It's all about synergy - the
concept of adding one plus one and getting eleven - not two.
It's the idea that people working together can accomplish far
more than they could working separately.

Incredible power can be released when people work together.
Associating with like-minded, success-oriented, joyful indivi-
duals - or Dream Teaming - is the most amazing success tool
that exists.

Anyone who achieves great success - anyone - must have a Dream
Team. Instant solutions exist in Dream Teaming. They help you
to take your ideas and expand them into greatness. A Dream Team
will help you focus on your goals - whatever they may be.

What characteristics should your Dream Team possess? In order
to have a successful Dream Team, you'll need at least one more
person with whom you have a common purpose. You have to have a
partner to think through situations and circumstances.

These people should have limitless vision and work together for
a single goal. Both your hearts and your heads have to be in
harmony with one another. You may even have several Dream Teams
for different goals - that's okay. Always be on the lookout for
the best people and then ask them.

Also, every member should be on a three-month probation period.
If they show themselves to be selfish, negative or egotistical
they have to leave. It should be determined from the outset -
none of you in the Dream Team can allow for "energy suckers"
in your group.

This is your life you're building - don't make exceptions because
a fit may not be quite right. Attitude is everything and it can
make or break your success, as an individual and as a group.
There should be a spirit of joy and contribution to the group.
After all, that's all you should have room for in your life.

The relationships between you and your Dream Team must be
confidential. Your results should speak for themselves - they
will tell the world what you have going on with your Dream Team.
Only the team should know the goal. Only dedicated, committed,
joyful Dream Teams achieve great success.

Lastly, remember this: All of us have self-doubt, but remember
that your Dream Team sees more in you than you see in yourself.
You're there to cheer each other on, to encourage one another
when you become weary, to identify bad habits and help change
them.

The members in your Dream Team tell you the truth so that you
can be all that you can be. Together, you and your Dream Team
can master and conquer anything.

Action Step:
In closing I'd like to offer one simple exercise from "How To
Think Bigger Than You Ever Thought You Could Think" that I'd
like you to complete in the week ahead:

When you envision your dream life, with whom do you see your-
self working and associating? Who are your friends? What
characteristics do your Dream Team members possess? It is
necessary for you to visualize the kind of people you plan to
bring into your life, because these are the people you will
attract to you.

This exercise is simple. Sit in your favorite chair, in a quiet
room with your favorite inspirational music playing. Have a pen
and notebook handy. Now sit back, close your eyes and see your
life as you want it to be.

Who's there with you at work and at play? Who are the people
in your industry that you admire most? Who do you want to
learn from? Who do you want to laugh with? Who do you want
to call "friend?" What attributes would these people have?
Would they be joyful, funny, talented, positive, unselfish,
energetic?

Make a list of 200 prestigious, influential, and powerful
people, with whom you want to work, play, grow and do business.
This may take a while, but it is one of the most important
stepping-stones to achieving the life you envision.
-Mark Victor Hansen-

Learn From All: Share Your Dream with Few

According to a close friend of mine, she keeps sharing her
dream (in this case we are defining a dream as an ultimate
business success goal) with people who call her "silly" and
otherwise put her down for having that dream.

I asked her, "why put yourself through that?"

"After all" I suggested, "If you're going to share your dream,
share it with those who will encourage and support you; not
insult you."

That's not to say, of course, that you shouldn't seek counsel
from people; even if those people might be negative. If they
are "thinking people" whom you respect, you can use their
thoughts to see where you might or might not need to adjust
your planning.

Roy Disney was notorious as the person who always told his
brother, Walt why something "couldn't" be done. Of course, Walt
typically did it anyway, and quite often his projects succeeded,
but he respected his brother's wisdom enough to take counsel in
what he said.

That's fine. I also have a "Negative Nellie" - type person I
seek out to run ideas past because I know that, if he tells me
it's a winner; it probably is. But, if he tells me it's a loser;
even if I don't agree with him and decide to go ahead anyway,
I'll usually learn a couple good points in which I need to
re-think my plans. That's different from what my friend is doing.

You see, if you're sharing your dream with those you feel close
to and being flat-out insulted or put-down because of this,
you're not doing yourself (or your dream) a service, but instead
doing something most likely very counter productive to achieving
your goals.

"Joan" said this person called her "silly." To me, that's not
a critique worth taking seriously. Had he said, "here's why I
don't think it will work" and then went on to list some reasons,
then it gives her something to consider and think through. That
doesn't mean she has to agree or act upon any or all of his
suggestions.

However, it might be a good idea to consider the source. If that
erson has a track record of accomplishment, it certainly would
be worthwhile for her to seriously weigh that advice.

However, "it's silly" does not sound like that is the case.
That kind of "critique" typically comes from people who call
themselves "realists."

And, remember what Jim Cathcart (www.jimcathcart.com) says,
"....a realist is simply a pessimist who doesn't want to admit
it. I've never heard a 'realist' take an optimistic posture on
any topic. They always say, 'Let's be realistic,' and then go
on to explain why your idea can't be done. Imagine a realist
saying, 'Realistically, we don't yet know what the possibilities
are. This could be easier than we think!'"

I like Jim's take. And, I think it's important - not only that
we seek out people who, at best, support our dreams and, at
worst, critique with "consideration and thoughtfulness"
(meaning they are truly considering their suggestions and are
filled with thought) - that we do the same when someone runs
an idea past us.

This doesn't mean we should tell someone that we think their
idea is terrific if we think it's a "turkey." What it does
mean is that, if we don't feel it's going to be the next big
success, we consider it carefully, and explain why. And, it
goes without saying, that we do so with "consideration and
thoughtfulness" (in this case, meaning we consider their
feelings and filled with thought on how we phrase our critique).

Remember, most people are not interested in your dream. And,
half of those who are interested, are only interested because
it gives them a chance to say something negative about it; thus
making themselves feel temporarily better.

So, choose wisely those with whom you share your dream.
Learn  from everyone, but share your dream with few.
(Written by Bob Burg)

The Power to Dream with Faith

Like many people, I am finding myself at a point in life where
I just don't have the same willpower I once did. I tell myself
to do things like eat healthier or get more exercise, but I'm
just not motivated the way I used to be.

When giving up is not an option, but motivation isn't working,
where else can you turn? Consider faith. Getting in touch with
what you believe or hold to be true is one of the most powerful
forces in the universe.

Many of us have deep faith but have forgotten how to tap into
it personally. I have been doing a great deal of exploration on
this and have found that I often have to remember to believe,
to literally and consciously choose to believe and then act on
what I believe to prove that I actually do.

I recently attended a convention that I have gone to for many
years and I caught myself having negative thoughts and beliefs.
I believed that everyone had already hired me and therefore
there  were no more opportunities there for me.

Those negative beliefs quickly took me into feelings of despair
as I began to shrink and withdraw. As I disappeared into my fear
and doubt, soon no one was talking to me.

Then I realized, I was creating my reality. Based on what I
wanted, I asked myself what I could believe. I could believe
there were countless opportunities there for me, not just for
business, but also that for making new friends and having fun.

I chose to believe this was the perfect place for me to be.
Then I set an intention to easily meet great people. Suddenly,
it was like I entered a different reality. Within minutes I
shifted who I was and my world transformed with me. Within an
hour, two people I had never met before hired me! And that
evening I had a real blast, including dancing.

Here's a personal example of how I used this with my family.
I was long overdue in seeing a close relative. In my memory,
this person was difficult to be with, so I assumed it was going
to be an unpleasant visit. Again, I caught myself in the act
and  chose to believe that we loved each other. Sure enough,
our time  together was beautiful and when it was time to leave,
I actually wanted to stay longer.

In both examples, it wasn't my will that caused the change. It
was my belief, my deep faith in miracles and my knowledge that
miracles can occur anytime and anyplace if we can just get
willing. And that's when I realized this is the ideal use of
will.

We can use our will to make choices, to choose to believe and
to change our mindset. There is nothing as powerful as our
faith and through our personal beliefs we have the ability to
deepen our faith and trust. (Written by Marcia Wieder)

5 Dynamite Ways to Live Your Dream NOW!

"I'm a big fan of dreams. Unfortunately, dreams are our first
casualty in life -people seem to give them up, quicker than
anything, for a 'reality'." - Kevin Costner

Did you ever say to yourself, "Someday, I'm going to..." and
yet "someday" never seems to arrive?

Dreams really are the first casualty in life because we give
them up based on some past "reality". What do you really want?
Do you want to learn how to play a musical instrument,take an
acting class, make more money, improve a skill or finish a
book you've been putting off?

We all have dreams, even if they seem buried within us and we
don't notice the flame any more. Too often we allow our
failures and near failures from the past to become our current
reality and it seems our dreams are out of reach. They're not.

We know we've allowed the past to dictate our present when we
think or say things like, "I don't know if this will work" or
"I can't really do this, I've tried before and it didn't work".
These are the so-called past "realities" we've allowed to
interfere with our present and our future.

If Jim Carrey believed his past was the measuring stick, he
would have never been paid $15 million to act in a film.
If Sylvester Stallone believed in his past"reality", Rocky
would have never been made.

Look at anyone you believe is successful and you will find
that their dreams were not based on some past "reality" or they
would have been dropped long ago.

Here are 5 great strategies to turn your dreams into a reality!

1. Be Clear - Any dream requires that we are crystal clear in
our vision. What do you really want? Clear visions lead to clear
choices and the majority of my clients are not clear about what
they want. They think they are but soon discover they are not.

2. See it as an established Fact - My clients find this step
to be somewhat challenging. Their logical minds step in and
think,"How can I see it as real if it hasn't happened yet?"
Dreams are the ultimate use of human imagination at its best. 
See your dream as an established fact even though it has not
materialized yet. The body does not know the difference between
imagination and reality and if you imagine your dream as already
accomplished, your body will experience it that way and it will
propel you to think, say and do things in accordance with it.
Jim Carrey wrote himself a 10 million dollar check for "acting
services rendered" months before he was actually offered that
amount. Jack Nicklaus saw every shot before hehit it and
Donald Trump sees a casino on a plot of land before it
actually exists.

3. Feel the Passion - This is a crucial element in the process.
Feelings are stronger than the intellect and when you add
"feeling power" to your images you add a tremendous force
toward the accomplishment of your dream. Can you feel how good
it feels to accomplish your dream? Imagine yourself earning
the money you desire, running a successful business, seeing how
your product or service helps customers, traveling, being
healthy and happy, building relationships, etc. Generate the
warm, powerful feelings that your dream triggers within you and
feel it.

4. Bounce Forward - "Bad times have a scientific value. These
are occasions a good learner would not miss." – Ralph Waldo
Emerson
It is inevitable that the path toward your dream will be
filled with ups and downs.You will encounter disappointments
and nay-sayers along the way. However, these are all
opportunities to clarify and enhance your dream. As Emerson
writes, "These are occasions a good learner would not miss".
Use these moments as lessons and indicators that will help you
bolster your dream even more.

5. Act Every Day - "My results today aren't as important as
the seeds I cultivate for tomorrow" - Anon.
Dreams require daily cultivation. Nurture your dream by
paying attention to it and nourishing it every day. This means
going through steps 1 - 4 each day and follow-up with action.
Make contact with those who can help support your dream.
Make the call, take the action and follow through every day.
In addition, allow others to support you on your journey.
As you envision and see your dream accomplished you will draw
the people and situations to you who can support it.
(Written by David Breslow)