Have you ever tried to do something that you had to do over and over before you accomplished the task? At what point do you decide to give up? It probably depends on how important it is to you.

This is how life is . The importance you place on a particular task will determine how much effort you put into it. There is the saying, “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try again.” How important are your goals?

With some soul searching we might come up with other reasons why people quit. Perhaps they don’t feel that they deserve it or it is something that they “should” do. Maybe someone else wants it for them and they are trying to please that person.

As you can see there are many reason people give up before they succeed. This is the reason you should seek absolute clarity before you start the process of realizing your dreams. You want to be sure that those goals are core desires. You should be sure that you will do whatever is necessary to make those dreams come true.

There have not been many, if any, successful people who have not had to try something numerous times before they succeeded. Perhaps what they were trying to do would or could not work. Then they had the strength to realize and accept that and make adjustments so that it would work.

Remember to keep the end result in mind and not get hung up on the process. Success is not whether a step in the plan works or not, but whether you get to the destination. Persistence is the key.

Edison tried 10,000 times before he achieved success with the electric light bulb. Many people have given up when it would only have taken one more try to achieve success. How would you know that the very next attempt would be the one that worked?

In the endeavors that matter you must cultivate a burning desire to achieve. You must also strengthen and renew that burning desire along the way. Each and everyday you must remind yourself of your goals and why they are important to you.

Anytime you encounter discouragement or have someone put down your ideas remind yourself of the end result and tell yourself why it is important. If you know that people are not going to embrace your idea do not discuss it with them.

Persistence is a must have characteristic for creation of your dream reality. Do not allow anyone or anything to divert your focus and instill doubt or hopelessness in you.

When training people in the gym I would tell them, “do as many repetitions as you can and one more.” It’s that one more that does the most good.

TODAY’S TIP: When you feel like quitting tell yourself, “just one more time.” This may be the time it works.

Will you keep going?

We all control our destiny, but many of us give up that control for various reasons. It seems to be inbred in man to want to control his environment and others. Many times that person has no control over themselves.

We are controlled from our birth and through out our lives until we decide to take control of our own lives. This can be difficult because often we don’t realize what is controlling us or even that we are being controlled.

As children it was necessary that we accept control. Control from our parents, from our schools and our religious institutions. If we did not we were considered rebels and there were consequences. Often, even through we did not agree, it was just easier to go along with the program.

This attitude served us well as we grew up but it also instilled a habit and susceptibility to being controlled as adults. Depending on how rigid the restraints were often determines how hard it is to break free as adults.

The desire to please others is also a reason we let others control us. This is a part of the conditioning we went through growing up. We wanted to please our parents, our teachers, our minister. As adults we want to please our spouse and our boss.

I am not saying that we should not please others. I am saying that all interactions with others should be “for the good of all concerned.” It should not be necessary to give up something that you do not want to give up just to please someone else.

The only way you will ever succeed is to take control of your life. It is alright to be selfish as long as it does not take from someone else. There will always be people around you who knowingly or unknowingly want you to do it their way. There will always be those who think they know what is best for you more than you do.

I grew up in a family that would only tell me what I could not do. I could not sing, or dance or play football or anything else I thought I wanted to do. I realize that my parents were only trying to protect me in the only way they knew how, but it made me question my talents and abilities.

There came a time when I had to cut off all communications with my family for several years because I felt that it was the only way I could get in touch with who I really was. My family did not understand but for me it was a time of healing and growth.

TODAY’S TIP: Decide that no one knows more what is best for you than you. Take control of your life and follow your heart.

Does that not feel better?

The reason some people never achieve their goals is because they are not willing to put forth the energy and do what is necessary to complete them. Are you ready to put forth the energy?

Once you have written down your goals it is time for some soul searching. Write down the steps that you will have to take to reach your goals. Then write down the actions you must take at each step.

It is now time for honest evaluation. Ask yourself, are you willing to put the energy into the action necessary at each step. If not it is alright. This just tells you that your goals are unrealistic. You would then simply go back over your goals.

Look at the scope of your goals. Is it that they are just too grand? If you cut back on them are you then willing to put the energy into them. Are the goals you have set for yourself completely beyond what you are willing to do?

You will also want to look at your motives. Why do you want to accomplish these goals? Is it because you are trying to match someone else? Is it because someone else, like a spouse or sibling, wants it or thinks that you should have it?

It is very important that your motives be clear and selfish. The only way you will accomplish your goals is if they are what you want for you. You cannot want them for someone else or someone else want them for you.

We hear a lot about  how the best way of having abundance is by giving and helping others. In Internet marketing they say that the way to success is by helping others achieve success. While this is true it is not the whole story.

The desire to be of service and help others must come from deep inside as an urge to do so unselfishly. It must be done without expectation of return or getting something out of it. If you are going to help others simply because you believe it will bring you wealth you will fail. Life does not work that way.

Your Universe, your soul or higher self, knows your motivation. If it is not pure it will backfire. We have heard of the rich giving to the church or charities, yet they are still not happy with their lives. Some give as a way to pay for their sins, the greed and ruthlessness that it took for them to get where they are.

So, look into your heart and find goals that are pure in motive. Use the tools you have and you will find success just around the corner.

TODAY’S TIP: Once you have decided on a course of action go forth with conviction and determination. Enjoy the journey.

Have you decided what to do?

You can have all the tools, all the knowledge, and all the desire; but if you don’t put in the energy and effort nothing will happen. This is why it is important to organize your days to get the most out of the time you spend.

Time organization and time management are difficult tasks for most of us. There are some things we can do to make it easier.

First, stay focused. You want to develop a one track mind. In doing this there is a line that you do not want to cross. That one track should be on the outcome, not the process. It should also be on the total you and not just one area of your life.

If you develop a one track mind about money you will miss out on other things that are as important or more important, such as your marriage or health. This is true of single minded focus on any one area of life.

You want to stay focused on your plan and the work that will make that plan a reality. Use whatever tools you are aware of to make that a habit. All the tools we have talked about the last few days will help you do that.

Write out your daily work schedule. To give you an idea of what I mean here is mine.

5:30 I get up, take care of my bathroom needs and have a cup of tea – 6:00 half hour meditation – 6:30 QiGong practice (about 45 minutes) – 7:30 exercise about one hour – 8:30 shower – 9:00 breakfast – 10:00 to 12:00 work on computer (blog post and emails) -12:30pm dinner (the heaviest meal of the day) – 1:30 to 3:30work on business – 4:00 eat a light meal – 5:00 to 7:00 read or listen to materials on personal and business development – 7:00 snack – 8:00 half hour meditation – 8:30 to 9:00 relax maybe personal reading. 9:00 start getting ready for bed.

This is my schedule. For me this is 6 days a week. On Sunday I do not schedule anything. I do not exercise or do QiGong This is my day to rest, after all even God rested on the seventh day. If you try to maintain your schedule seven days a week you will burn out. Also notice that their are several times during the day where I can take a break..This is not a rigid schedule, so it will vary.

You do not want to cast your schedule in stone because things will happen so you will have to adjust your schedule. If you do not you may find that you become discouraged and it will be harder to progress.

Keep a journal because it is easier to see your progress. When you accomplish a goal celebrate. Do something that makes you feel good. However when you miss a deadline do not beat up on yourself.

Take a look at the reason you did not meet your deadline and if there is anything you can do to prevent it from happening again do so. If you feel that it was unavoidable except that and move on.

TODAY’S TIP: If you have a family you will want to include some time in your daily schedule to spend time with them. This is a very important part of living in harmony.

How do you spend your day?

We have talked about the big four and now lets talk about some other tools that you may find helpful in manifesting your dreams. The more tools you have, as long as they are useful for the purpose you seek, the better you are.

The first tool I want to talk about is very helpful in strengthening your visualizations. That tool is a vision board. Find pictures to represent the things you want to accomplish. Place them on a cork board or other type of board and place the board somewhere that will be visible, like in an office or other room where you spend time.

If you do not have a space where you can put a vision board, or even if you do, place copies of those pictures around the house, like on the bathroom mirror and in your car. The more often you look at your pictures the better. When you look at them imagine how you will feel and act when you have them. This strengthens the desire which speeds up the process.

Another tool is to make a PowerPoint presentation of your pictures and create a shortcut to the file on your desktop. Every time you turn on your computer, run you presentation. Run your presentation several times during the day. Again the more the better.

Find yourself an accountability partner. It can be a spouse or friend. Keep them informed as to your plans and dreams. Meet with them at least once a week and go over your plans. Tell them what you will be accomplishing that week and at the next meeting let them know if you did or did not fulfill your plans.It would be helpful if that partner was on a similar quest. That way you could act as each others accountability partner.

Knowing that if you do not attain your weekly goals you will have to admit it to someone else gives you more incentive to keep on track. The closer this person is to you the better this works.

The last tool I want to talk about is Mastermind groups. Join a Mastermind Group that is dedicated to similar things as you are. If you cannot find such a group then start one. The value of Mastermind Groups cannot be overstated.

Not only will such groups help to keep you motivated and on track, but can offer suggestions as to how to enhance your progress. They can even help to give you more clarity and offer ways of achieving that you may not have thought of. The power of any group increases the power of each individual involved.

Your Mastermind group should meet regularly. Try to meet on the same day each week or every other week. You may not want to meet more often than weekly. Your group may become unproductive and dissolve.

TODAY’S TIP: Organize your activities and days to take advantage of as many of the tools presented as possible.

Do you keep your eye on the prize?

Have you heard the saying that you are your thoughts? Everyone hold a running conversation with themselves. It is only when you start talking out loud that you run into problems. What do you talk about?

Unfortunately most people’s conversations with themselves are, for the most part, negative. I suggest to my clients that they do a little experiment. I tell them to get a 3 x 5 notebook and take it with them at all times for two weeks. Then when ever they think about it to write down what they are thinking about at that time.

At the end of the two weeks they are to review their book. Most find that the great majority of their thoughts were non productive and negative. I then tell them to begin to make a conscious effort to direct their thoughts in a positive direction.

I recommend that you do the same thing. Keep a log of thoughts for two weeks and then begin to direct your thoughts in the direction you want them to go. One of the tools to do this is self talk.

We talked about Mohamed Ali talking to himself in front of the mirror as a young teen. He was engaged in using three of the tools we have talked about. He was using visualization because he saw himself in his mind. He was using affirmations because he repeated his phrases over and over. He was also using self talk because he talked to himself in front of the mirror and when he wasn’t in front of a mirror.

Affirmations are a form of self talk, but it is not all there is. You can go beyond affirmations by holding conversations with yourself to enforce and strengthen your future visions of where you want to go and be.

Tell yourself how much you love yourself. We are taught that self love is somehow wrong. It is not self love that is wrong, it is self conceit that is a problem. You must love yourself or you cannot love another.

Keep telling yourself how your life will be when you have achieved your dreams. The more you tell yourself, the more vivid your visualizations will become and the sooner your dreams will be achieved.

Spent as much time as possible holding these conversations with yourself. Just don’t start talking out loud in public. However speaking out loud when you are alone increases the effectiveness.

TODAY’S TIP: Don’t pass a mirror without looking into it and into your eyes and saying something nice about you.

What are you going to tell yourself?

To truly enjoy the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle you will have to come out of your comfort zone. You must risk and set your intention to enjoy life. As the saying goes, “if you do what you have always done, you will get what you have always gotten.” This means you must change.

The Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle is a disciplined lifestyle. You must become a disciple of life and put forth the energy and discipline to make your life work for you. Discipline can be difficult at first but becomes easier as you maintain it.

Today we will discuss some of the tools you can use to make it easier. The most important ones are what I call the big four. They are meditation, visualization, affirmations, and positive self talk. With these four you not only establish a pattern of daily discipline, but you also establish a rhythm of progress towards the life of your dreams.

With meditation you gain control over your thoughts and body. Set aside time for meditation at least once, preferably twice, a day. Try to do it at the same time and same place each day. It does not matter what discipline of meditation you practice, only that you be consistent. Commit to six months practice because it will take several months before you feel that you are accomplishing anything. In six months you will begin to experience miracles in your life.

You can incorporate visualization into your meditation settings. However you do not want to spend all the time you have set aside for meditation for visualization. If you have set aside 30 minutes you may want to meditation for 20 minutes then visualize the last 10 minutes.

Use affirmations through out your day. Your affirmations should be in present tense as if they were already true. The most powerful beginning of any affirmation is, “I Am.” The most important times to repeat your affirmations is when you first get up in the morning and just before you go to bed. Repeat them as often as you can during the day.

Positive self talk is a very powerful way to change your reality by conditioning your mind to except the things you want for yourself. Talk to yourself about how you want to be as though you already were that way. Tell yourself you love you and appreciate you. You always talk to yourself so why not make it productive?

TODAY’S TIP: Meditate outdoors when possible, in as natural a setting as you can. Pine trees give off the most positive energy of all trees.

Does this help?

Today we will start taking a slightly different direction. To date my posts have been rather general. I will now attempt to become more specific and deliver more detailed information concerning the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle.

What is the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle? It is a lifestyle that covers all the bases in pursuit of the ideal life. A healthy lifestyle can only be concerned with one’s physical health. However this could ignore other areas of one’s life just as important.

While it is true that without physical health you would probably not be a very happy person. It is also true that you can be in perfect health physically and still not be happy.

Therefore the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle seeks balance in all areas of life. Those areas are, physical, mental, emotional, financial, social and spiritual. One is not truly happy if any one of these areas are out of balance.

It is up to each of us to determine for ourselves exactly what that balance is in each area. It does not take the same things to make everyone happy. Everyone does not want to be a millionaire. It is not important to everyone that they have the perfect body.

You must determine what is important to you, no one can do that for you. This can be diffircult because of the constraints placed on us by society and by peer pressure.

We are all conditioned as we grow up. That conditioning is determined by things such as; our parents, the friends we grow up with, our church, school and our environment. We are also influenced by the laws of our community and government.

The society as a whole only cares about molding us into worthwhile citizens of our country. It cares very little about individuality. This is why we see so much coercion to get us to believe and act as others do.

What kind of world do you think it would be if everyone thought the same way and acted the same way? If everyone liked the same car and the same clothes? I don’t know about you but I would not like to live in such a world.

In order to live the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle it is necessary that you tap into your individuality and often go against the grain. This can be hard, for sometimes this means going against family and friends. Sometimes it means being thought strange as you start your quest.

I was called ” that weird nice guy” by my peers as a young adult. I have been called a health nut and even just a nut. Being in a place where you are at peace with yourself and can mostly enjoy life makes it all worth it. I say mostly because the quest never ends. If you ever realize that perfect life then there is no reason for living any longer.

Stay tuned as we go deeper into what the Ultimate Healthy Lifestyle is and how we can live it.

TODAY’S TIP: Keep moving forward in your life. Strive to make each day better that the last one and you a better person today than you where yesterday.

Are you ready to start?

How did your new year start? Have you turned over a new leaf? I hope you are not one of those who made New Year’s Resolutions and can feel them start to weaken.

I hope you enjoyed your holidays. We look forward to them, but sometimes we are glad when they are over. Anyway, it is time to get back to work. Are you ready?

Today I would like to talk about action. After the movie “The Secret” came out some people were talking about the missing piece. The Secret discussed the Law of Attraction but some felt that it did not cover all of the parts. They felt that something was left out.

That something was action. In other words you can go through all the steps of the Law of Attraction and have nothing happen. Because of the way the material was presented, many thought that they only had to ask and it would be given to them as if by magic.

They thought that they did not have to do anything. That their desires would materialize out of thin air or fall from the sky. Well as the bible says, “God helps those who help themselves.” This requires action.

Action may take many forms.The main action may be clearing your mind to be more receptive to the laws of the Universe. This plays to the other law that goes hand in hand with the Law of Attraction.

The law of allowing must be practiced along with attraction in order for manifestation to happen. Opening up to allowing means, as it has sometimes been stated, “becoming one with the universe.”

Remember that everything is energy and energy travels as vibrations. For anything to happen energy must travel in a circle and it must flow smoothly. We put obstacles in the way of that happening with our states of consciousness.

When we feel unworthy or undeserving; when we harbor guilt or anger, jealousy or hate, these feeling get in the way of the flow of Universal energy. This is because the foundation of Universal Energy is love.

To truly be able to practice the Law of Attraction you must have come to terms with life and your place in it. You are here to experience and enjoy your physical journey through life. To do this you must love life, love self and love everything in life. You must be grateful for having the opportunity to live and appreciate each day.

Love is the highest vibration available to us and will allow all other vibrations to move freely through our personal Universe. It is with love that we can attract anything that we desire in our lives.

TODAY’S TIP: Do it today. Practice love and compassion. Have the courage to open up to the goodness of life.

How much do you appreciate?

The purpose of a healthy lifestyle is to structure life so as to utilize every moment to raise awareness and improve the quality of one’s life. This is done by directing the flow of one’s life towards a more positive tomorrow.

As the quote says, Life is change, It is up to each and every one of us to direct that change. We can consciously direct it to make each day better that the one before or we can allow the winds of chance to do it for us. When chance controls our change we will never know what the next day will bring and more often than not we remain stuck in the ruts of life.

If however we start each day with a grateful heart and expectation of a wonderful and productive day, we will be surprised at how often it will be so. Think back and you will see that on the days you have gotten up dreading the day it usually turned out to be an awful day. The days you got up happy and anticipating the day it turned out good.

I will say this over and over in my posts; you create your own reality. Make the choice to create it as you would like it to be. Before you get out of bed lay there and think of all the things you have to be grateful for. Then get up and do some deep breathing. This will feed oxygen to your body and you will feel energized and alive.

Set your intent to have a good day, see it happening. If you have tasks for that day see yourself performing those tasks with confidence and skill. See the positive ending and feel as you will when they are successfully completed.

Visualizing is one way to practice the game of life. What you can see in your minds eye can become reality, if you believe it.

TODAY’S TIP: Meditation and visualization are two of the most important practices that will lead to a more satisfying and joyful life. We will talk more about each later but if you do not already practice them, start now!

Can you see your future?