Posts Tagged ‘success’

“The Success Principles – 64 timeless principles to be successful”
“10 steps to overachieving in business and live”
“The 7 habits of highly effective people”

No wonder people are confused by the personal development industry. There are so many articles, books, recipies, secret formulas and guru advice, that its practically imposible to decide what to do or to read. Most people just give up at the mere thought of searching for good material, not even talking about really working through it and implementing it into their daily lives.

So what would be the one thing that you could do that would make a significant difference in your life?

Through all our studies of successful people and personal development material, we’ve notive a single golden thread:

Review and Adjust.

All successful people review their lives and situations constantly and frequently. AND they make the necessary changes, no matter how painful it might be!

Just think about any individual, company or organisation that you consider to be successful – how many times have they adjusted to changing circumstances? Did you notice that they always seem one step ahead of the competition? Does it seem that they never falter? Most likely when you do proper investigation you’ll notice that they falter often, but the correct and move on so quickly that its hardly noticable to outsiders.

Successful organisations are built on this principle. To stay ahead in a market companies go to enourmous lengths to obtain accurate information about their own performance but also about their competitors performance, to review and adjust their strategy accordingly.

The same is true of sport stars. They constantly compare their actions to the results obtained and make small adjustments until they find the winning formula. Parents who take a real interest in their children or who are trying to improve their relationship with their partner, will regularly review how they handle certain situations and the effect it had on their children or spouse.

The same is true for successful individuals. You’ll only be able to move forward if you are able to objectively review your situation and ascertain what worked and what didn’t. Albert Einstein said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over, but expect different results.

When last did you do a proper review of your life..? Maybe it’s time to do one now…?! Have a look at the Gears of Life Self Assessment course to help you review all areas of your life!

Upon conclusion of your review, the next steps are easy:
· Everything that works should be done more of and
· The actions that don’t work should be stopped or adjusted until it works

Usually review & adjust follows a simple four-step process:

1. Awareness. Successful people become aware of their situation. They obtain their information through reading their report cards, reflecting on their situation, watching a video of their game or speaking to people close to them.

2. Ownership. Successful people take responsibility for their actions. They assume ownership of their lives by owning their behaviour and the subsequent consequences. This means that they will not blame others for their mistakes. They accept their mistakes and work hard on improving it.

3. Adjust. After evaluating all the information and feedback, successful people decide to change and they create a plan of action.

4. Action. Successful people take action! This is the single biggest difference between those that live in “one day land” and those that live their dreams!

That’s it. Straight forward and simple. And most likely this is not news to you. Most likely you’ve heard this over and over again. You’ve read it in books, you’ve seen it on TV, you’ve heard it on the radio. So are you doing it? If not, why not?

Remember that this process takes time! You have to be patient! BUT know this: Success is a SNOWBALL! The hardest part is to start the constant rolling, and in the beginning of your journey, you’ll most likelly get stopped by every little rock or plateu… but once you’ve gained enough momentum through perservering on your review and adjust process, nothing can stop you!

Don’t wait until your situation is so painful that you’re forced to change! You have the power to review and adjust now! Realise how valuable that is!

1. Introduction

Over the next few weeks we are going to send you an email coaching series on “How to increase your Personal Performance!”

So keep a close eye on your inbox!

 

Performance has always been very important! Especially when it comes to business or our careers – we cannot afford not to perform well! This is true now more than ever before! In difficult economic times the pressure is on to stand out from the rest!

 

Naturally we all yearn to be the best, but we need something that will help us increase and sustain our performance – not just in business or our careers, but in all areas of our lives!

 

Sometimes we realise (very painfully) that we are so focused on our work, jobs or business that we do not invest enough time and energy in our families or other activities. The irony is that it’s usually these “activities” that give us the energy and motivation to perform at our peak and to carry on in the face of adversity! These are the things that give our lives purpose!

 

In short, if you want to produce top results, you need to maintain a dynamic balance in all areas of our life: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.

 

In this e-mail coaching series on performance we will show you how to increase your performance through taking a number of simple, yet profound, action steps. Easy, fun and REAL-life practical action steps!

 

These suggestions will cover all four areas of your life, to help you improve your own life balance, while increasing your performance. What is more is that you can start to implement these tips and techniques immediately. You might consider some of the suggestions as old news, but do NOT underestimate their POWER! Try it, before you judge it!

 

What could you achieve if you could increase your performance by 10%..? 20%, 50%, 100%…?

What makes successful people so successful? Talent? Hard work? Luck? Privileged circumstances…?

 

NO! It’s their ACTIONS! What they DO consistently and repeatedly! THEIR HABITS!!

 

There are many habits that separate successful people from the rest in their field. They have managed to develop certain habits of thinking, habits of being highly effective, habits of how to approach people. This is the secret ingredient to success, the one thing that can make the difference between being ordinary and being extraordinary: cultivating the right habits.

 

Habits are powerful beyond what you might realise! They can help you to change or direct your behaviour. The trick is to make them work for you, instead of you becoming a slave to your habits! Unfortunately when we think about habits, we tend to view them negatively. Usually the first thing that comes to mind is all our “bad” habits we have accumulated over the years (don’t worry, I will not ask you to tell someone what they are)! We’ve all experienced how destructive bad habits can be. You have probably seen how it can lead to addictions and other destructive behaviours. Before you realise, bad habits can send you on a downward spiral that is hard to break…

 

So, it’s safe to say: Habits are powerful, and the real power lies in the fact that it turns any behaviour into an automatic action, something you don’t have to think about, you just do it!

 

Imagine for a second that all those painful little tasks such as washing the dishes or taking out the trash or calling sales clients or writing your weekly report could happen on autopilot… Effortless, without the ever present back and forward negotiation in your head on if you really want to and should…

 

Have you ever considered how our lives could change for the better if you could manage to harness this amazing power in a positive way? What if you could use habits to put you on an upward spiral, instead of leading you down? What if you could use habits constructively instead of destructively? What if you could develop habits that will lead to success and help us to stay true to your deepest inner values?

 

This is possible! This is what all successful people do! All of us have access to this incredible resource that so many successful people use. The GOOD news is that you can also start to apply this wonderful resource right NOW! Here are three steps to take to cultivate powerful habits:

 

1. Have a clear goal

If you want to consciously create positive habits, you will first need to know what your goals are. What do you want to achieve? Where do you want to be in 5 years..?

 

Write down very clearly what you would like to achieve, be or acquire, and use all the goal setting tools you know to make it as clear as possible. Write it in the present tense, e.g. I am an airplane pilot. Make sure it is positive; this means that you state what you want instead of what you don’t want.

 

Use the SMART goal criteria to help you make your dream into a goal:

Specific: write down exactly what you want.

Measurable: how will you know when you’ve achieved it?

Achievable: is it within your control to do it?

Realistic: given your resources, can it be done?

Time-bound: when will you do it?

 

After you have established clearly what you want, ask yourself WHY you want it. This will provide the motivation and drive for you to reach your goal and create the correct new habits. Make sure you have strong reasons.

 

2. Take small steps

In order to create powerful habits, you need to know what action steps are required! Think of your goal as the first floor in your house or apartment block. Your action plan would be the steps that would take you up to the first floor. List these smaller steps in precise detail! Remember that the smaller and more exact your action steps are, the bigger the chances are that you will follow through and do them. When you are clear about your small action steps, it will be a lot easier to form powerful habits. Small steps make a BIG difference! Try it!

 

3. Establish a routine

This is where habits are created. Now that you know where you want to be, as well as how to get there, list which positive actions you could take on a daily, weekly or monthly basis to support your action steps. For instance if your goal is to build excellent contacts through networking and one of your action steps is to attend networking events, you could create several habits that would support this action step.

 

Some examples:

• Every month you could look at all the upcoming networking events and book them, every week prior to the event you could look at the profiles of other attendees and decide who you need to speak to and
• Every morning after you’ve been to the event you could follow-up on your contacts by sending them an e-mail. You thus set up strong routines to support your action plan.

 

Eventually these routines will become automatic, part of the way you operate, and thus habits are born that will help you to reach your goals.

 

Consistently ask yourself what you could do on a regular basis that will help you to achieve your action steps. These regular habits will set you apart from the rest and will lead you to the success you would like to achieve!

Read our newest publication: AUTOPILOT to Success!

This special report is the sum of 10 years worth of research and study of successful people! Don’t miss it!