Thursday, February 17, 2011

Where Are You Going?

By Hannah du Plessis

“Setting and achieving goals is not REALLY about what you get as much as it is what you become during the process of attaining your goal.  When you ARE more, you'll get more automatically now and in the future.” – Mike Brescia

Did you know … Only 3% of the population set goals? 

And … did you know that those are the people who are successful? 

If you don’t have a goal what do you live for? And if you don’t set goals, don’t you just exist? Just keeping yourself comfortable, not risking anything? 

And why don’t you want to risk anything … scared that you will fail? Avoiding pain? 

How many times did you want something and didn’t get it? Did you keep it in front of you all the time? Did you think about it often? Did you imagine it, Did you see it in your mind? Did you feel it? Did you write it down? Or did you let yourself get distracted by other wants or other thoughts?

People say the opposite of pain is pleasure, but I disagree: I think the opposite of pain is comfort. Pleasure is what you get if you set a goal and achieve it. When you are not setting goals you are in a state of comfort. You are not growing, but staying the same. 

Our purpose is to grow… to better ourselves. 

So don’t just exist. Don’t be one of the 97%. Set a goal: Dream it, believe it, achieve it. You will grow to be a better person in the process.

You can achieve anything you set your mind to. 


Books on Goal Setting:

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

How Do You See The World?


Hannah du Plessis

"And how will I speak? I will laud my enemies and they will become friends; I will encourage my friends and they will become brothers.  Always will I look for reasons to applaud; never will I scratch for excuses to gossip. When I am tempted to criticize, I will bite my tongue; when I am moved to praise, I will shout from the roofs. If I have no other qualities, I can succeed with love alone.  Without it I will fail though I possess all the knowledge and skills in the world." - Og Mandino

When you meet someone for the first time do you look for things to judge or criticise or do you see things you can admire or compliment?

You can be sure that you'll find what you're looking for.

Whatever it is that you are looking for, that will reflect right back at you. If you look at others negatively, you will in turn be viewed negatively by others. 

This is why you should view others with love in your heart, and deliberately look for the good in them. You will make friends that will trust you and do business with you.

So instead of doing things with dollar signs in your eyes, just focus on the friends you are making. When your new friends feel valued by you, guess who they will do business with? Would you rather do business with someone who just wants your money, or would you prefer doing business with a friend who values you?

You can't do any business effectively if you have contempt and dislike for other people or if your own best interests come first. 

Focus today on another person. And see how that person responds to you.

And remember what the Good Book says: “Love others as you love yourself” – for if you can’t look for and acknowledge the good in yourself, how can you look for it in others?

Take this lesson to heart, and be all you can be!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

The Secret To Success is to Master Yourself


By Hannah du Plessis

Many people have the ambition to succeed; they may even have special aptitude for their job. And yet they do not move ahead. Why? Perhaps they think that since they can master the job, there is no need to master themselves.” - John Stevenson

Statistically, most self-help and how-to books stay unopened on the shelf, or read once and then forgotten. 

The reason for this is that most people are just not disciplined enough to study these books bit by bit or one section at a time and master it before moving onto the next level. 

That is why musicians are among the most successful because they have to learn one skill at a time and then practice it until they master it before going on to the next skill. 

That is also why schools and universities are so effective because they also teach skills bit by bit until their students master it.

What is the secret to success? 

1.    Mastering different skills
2.    Practicing them often
3.    Try and fail until you succeed 

You can only do this if you are self-disciplined.

If you have mastered yourself.

Bit by bit

Little by little

Piece by piece

Those who are successful have learned to master themselves.

So, what are you going to do today? Are you going to make some more excuses, or are you going to knuckle down and master yourself so you can do what it takes?

Daily inspiration may help you.

A boost in self-confidence may help you.

But in the end, it is up to you.

Be all you can be! 

To Your Success!

Hannah


Books on Success:


The Success Principles(TM): How to Get from Where You Are to Where You Want to Be 
Succeed: How We Can Reach Our Goals 

Success Is Not an Accident: Change Your Choices; Change Your Life 

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Why Are You Not Fulfilling Your Potential?

“The only way to discover the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible.” - Arthur C Clarke  

“Continuous effort - not strength or intelligence - is the key to unlocking our potential.” - Liane Cordes 

“Questions provide the key to unlocking our unlimited potential.” - Anthony Robbins

Very few people can claim that they have achieved all that they are capable of. Do you have a nagging feeling that you could do much, much more with your life and career?

What is that is stopping you right now from making a much greater contribution to society? What is that is preventing you from fulfilling your potential?

1. You do not have enough belief in yourself. 

All successful people have enormous self-belief. This does not mean that they are arrogant, narcissistic or complacent -- on the contrary, they are self critical and push themselves hard because they know that they can achieve more.

What is it that is special about you?

2. You do not measure yourself against written goals. 

It is hard to make progress if you have no clear goals for your life. Set yourself targets in the areas that are important to you. You can be flexible and adjust how you move forward but you must keep moving.

Do you have written objectives that you track regularly?

3. You are too comfortable where you are. 

It is easy and natural to settle into a rut. High achievers take risks. They move out of their comfort zones.

Where are you right now -- inside your comfort zone or taking risks?

4. You are lazy.
 

Either that or you waste a lot of time every day on low value activities.  If you have clear goals but are not making progress towards them, look at your activity level. Persistence pays dividends.

How high is your work rate?

5. You are not mixing with high achievers. 

Let’s face it -- your friends and family are really nice people but they are not challenging you to achieve more. Spend more time with high flyers and positive thinkers who understand ambition and achievement. They will encourage you and give you the direct advice you need.

How much time are you spending with really successful people?