Success...One Day At A Time

So - Why Aren't YOU Doing It Then?

It's easy to find ways not to do things, isn't it?

One minute, you're quite happily chugging along deeply involved in what you're doing - and next minute you're staring aimlessly out to space wondering if you can be bothered to carry on.

Bet you've been there too, right?

Most people will tell you that you should be inspired and 'fired-up' all of the time.

They're wrong.

You don't HAVE to be like that if you want to live the life of your dreams.

In fact - you only need to be inspired for just a few hours at a time - and STILL succeed.

The problem is that you have been conditioned to EXPECT to work hard, work long, and let work rule your life.

Me? I much prefer to let my life rule my work!

I can do this because I know that when I'm at my best - I can create amazing amounts of work and accomplish great things.

And...when I'm not really in the mood - then I'll just sit staring at my PC and start regular trips to the fridge!

So...instead of FORCING myself to constantly 'work' - I instead I make sure that, in those times that I don't really feel inspired - I do something constructive instead.

So...instead of complaining that I'm not motivated - I just do one of these things instead...

- Read a marketing newsletter that I'm a subscriber of
- Watch the DVDs of an Internet seminar that I couldn't manage to get to
- Play around with some program code that relates to my business
- Read a self improvement or marketing book
- Listen to similar recordings on my Ipod (I even listen to it as I go grocery shopping or on the walk back from taking Katie to school.)

Occasionally - I might give myself some 'mental' time off.

I was on vacation last week - and didn't do a SINGLE thing relating to work - just focused on spending quality time with my family. (Perhaps surprisingly - when I worked in a 9-5 job - I found it extremely difficult to 'switch off' like this.)

Also recently - that good old English game of cricket has been quite exciting to watch - so I've allowed myself the odd hour here or there to get caught up in the excitement of it all.

Remember - in my line of work I still HAVE to work regularly (and creatively) in order to provide for my family as my income is certainly not guaranteed every month.

Now - you may well be different to me in that you work in a 9-5 job.

Generally - your approach shouldn't be much different - though of course you have a real boss to answer to whereas I only have my wife, Lesley to answer to!

If at all possible in your work - make sure that you do your BEST work first.

Why?

Well - for a start - it gets your momentum going...and a little bit of 'success' under your belt before you approach the other stuff is always a good thing.

Secondly - challenge yourself to 'beat' that particular task that you might not be fond of. It may be that you aim to get it done more quickly every time - or that you do more of it each time you do it.

Perhaps most importantly - whatever line of work you do...

Use the time that you are NOT at work in a way that helps you get to where you want to go.

So...

- If you love your job and want a promotion - get in earlier or stay later to accomplish more and get noticed. And, especially - watch what your boss does and his boss does. Whether you like it or not - they have been promoted in the past for a reason!

- If you don't mind your job but have a great hobby - then look at ways you can become an 'expert' in that hobby by perhaps writing down/recording your knowledge about that subject. (This topic alone is a massive one too big to cover in one go!)

- If you hate your job then find out what sort of job you would really like to do - and read up on it, become involved in it (even unpaid) so that you will be prepared to take that step.

- And, if you work for yourself like I do - make sure that you constantly acquire and apply knowledge from ONLY two areas:
+ Your field of expertise
+ Marketing

You may not believe it - but knowledge and application of the last of these two is probably more important than the first...but that's a whole new subject!

Anyway - life's too short to be feeling down about what you feel that you SHOULD be doing - when instead you can be doing something that, if done consistently, WILL allow massive change to happen in YOUR life.

So - what are YOU waiting for?

Are You Being Conditioned To Fail?

Whether you realize it or not - you've been conditioned from the moment you opened your eyes.

You've been conditioned by your parents, your schooling, the TV, your colleagues, and the people whose ezines you read online.

Most of the time - without even knowing that it's happening!

Welcome to the world we live in.

One that you live primarily based upon how OTHER people think.

Now...some of this conditioning you can trace directly back to the views your parents had (for example about food, politics, relationships, religion, and money).

Others can be traced back to your own experiences - like the fears you may have about heights, spiders, snakes, success, and failure etc.

But...it may surprise you to find out that some of the most powerful beliefs you have were probably put into your mind without you having the faintest clue about how they got there!

This is the realm of unconscious (or what most people call subliminal) conditioning.

- Do you read a newspaper?
- Watch the news on TV?
- Catch the occasional Oprah or perhaps the Jerry Springer-type 'chat' show?
- Read books?
- Visit the shopping mall or grocery store?

Unless you're a hermit then I bet that you may do a few of these things.

Which means that your world is partly defined by the opinions and views of OTHER people based on their OWN experiences.

Of course...most of it (if purposely done) might well be with good intentions - but that can often be just as bad as being influenced in a 'negative' way.

Let me illustrate a point so you see what I mean...

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You read a novel about an ex-government hero who finds out about a plot by the director of the CIA to cause an explosion on a train, blame the terrorists, whom are then caught with a great fanfare thanks to the knowledge of the director of the CIA and his team, and sentenced to life in Guantanamo Bay without a trial.

The director becomes a public figure - and this PR enables him to leapfrog the political ladder and become a close allay of the president, and favorite to become the next president of the current terrorism-fearing country.

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Bet you've now got an opinion about the director of the CIA now, right? Well...even if you don't consciously have - your little brain is ticking away there - weighing up the injustice of the story and perhaps adding to your distrust of the government etc etc.

The trouble with all this is that your brain hasn't got a CLUE what is 'real' or not!

If the story is exciting, involving, and well-written - then you can't help to involve your FEELINGS about what you are reading.

And...once your feelings get involved - then a stronger connection is made to similar (based on real experiences) feelings you already have on a particular topic.

The result?

You now have some other 'truth' to back up what you already believe.

Now...perhaps you may not agree with that example - so let me give you another one based on MY own 'actual' experiences...

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The Internet's culture is U.S. based. It's currency is the $. The vast majority of (English language) users live in the U.S. You automatically expect ME to be American - that's just the way it is.

I live in the UK...but I have been to a number of seminars in the U.S. over the last couple of years, and have many friends from 'over the pond' because of it. I even write in U.S. English!

So...I'd like to think that I have some experience of how us 'entrepreneurs' are viewed.

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Here's my take on the cultural (and therefore conditioning) differences between how most people view entrepreneurs and self-starters in the UK and U.S. -

U.S.

- Respected for what they have done.
- Admired for the amount of money they earn.
- Being bankrupt in the past is often part of making them a success.
- People whom do a great service to the economy.

(Remember - this is MY take from the outside looking in)

UK

- Grudgingly respected for what they have done.
- Disgust shown at the amount of money they earn.
- Being made bankrupt in the past means they were lucky this time.
- Should be taxed more so that the less fortunate can benefit more.

These opinions, of course, aren't totally across the board - though you would be surprised at the sheer numbers of people who share them.

So can you see from this how much more 'difficult' is to be seen to be successful here in the UK than in the U.S.?

Of course - we are gradually getting more into the 'celebrity' model of success like our U.S. cousins i.e. famous for being a sportsman, famous for being famous, famous for not actually having a job but for having photographs taken - that sort of thing.

What this ultimately means is that my 12-year-old daughter is conditioned at an early age (unless I teach her differently) that the best way to earn your fortune is not to become an entrepreneur - but to be seen with the latest soccer player on her arm!

So what does this mean for YOU?

Well...for a start - a lot of your beliefs are someone else's put upon you.

Secondly - a lot of what you ASSUME about how your life 'will' turn out is based very little on actual fact.

Thirdly - what you think about yourself and your capabilities is a product primarily based upon parents, friends, colleagues, and even advertising.

And lastly - you don't have to become bankrupt first before you can lead the life of your dreams!

Remember - just because someone else tells you something it doesn't mean that it's a FACT!

In fact, where your ability to be successful is concerned - when you really think about it - there are very few 'facts' out there that are exactly that.

Unless you choose to believe them, of course.