Having a Successful Life

Remain future-focused.

If you only stay in the now, you run the risk of getting lost and distracted. Your actions here and now lead into the future. Tomorrow comes.

Consistently strategize (always looking forward) to achieve success. Just like strategy works to build successful businesses, the same needs to be done for your life:

How can I accomplish my goals faster?

How can I be more efficient today?

How can I create more services that people will want to purchase?

How can I be healthier?

You are programming that personal computer you carry in your head to be goal oriented, a problem solver.

Visualize your future and how you want it to be. Doodle it out on a piece of paper. Make it real. Make it solid. The more energy you put into creating Your future, the better it acts as a magnet to attract what you need. You can create a vision board, using photos and drawings that symbolize what you want in your future.

Don't get stuck on what happened in the past.
If you made a mistake, understand what happened, institute a policy so it doesn't happen again and move on. Just as you got back up when you were learning to walk.

Example:

You wind up being late for an appointment. You look at your usual routine that made you late and realize you have a tendency to leave things to the last minute and that you don't give yourself any leeway. So you make a rule for yourself - Give myself extra time and then you start acting on that rule. Ask yourself "am I giving myself enough time or do I need more?" Do this until the rule becomes a habit.

Don't get stuck on what's happening today

Don't waste precious cycles thinking about what to do throughout the day; have each day scripted the night before.

Write down your agenda (errands and tasks) the night before. Make sure everything is prioritized.

DISCIPLINE

Discipline is the defining element in your life. With it you can achieve almost anything; without it, you will struggle to exist. Those who do will have no limitations in accomplishing their wildest aspirations. Regardless of your chosen personal and professional endeavors, discipline remains the single most critical ingredient required to bring fruition to your goals and desired outcomes. To acquire discipline follow these 4 principles:

1. Focus

Establish and adhere to a maximum of 2 priorities ONLY (i.e., career and health). De-clutter the mind of everything else.

Establish minor goals with simple milestones and realistic due dates. Build in safeguards (plan for emergencies and worst case scenarios).

Treat everyday equally by focusing on your priorities first.

Be efficient by keeping every day organized. Write down your daily tasks/errands the night before.

1. Commitment

Train the mind to think with a sense of urgency by playing mind games. The method I use to play mind games is the man in the mirror (MIM) technique. You're conversing with yourself repeatedly in a negative manner. Just like a drill sergeant would mentally beat up new recruits in boot camp. Adhere to a daily routine and it will eventually become habitual.

1. Management

Manage Milestones NOT goals.

Plan your milestones for the entire week. For example, if one of your milestones is to exercise 3 times a week and you will be going on vacation Thu, Fri, Sat and Sun that week - make sure you exercise Mon-Wed.

Establish a Personal Banking System (PBS). The concept is simple. It's the same notion as depositing money in a savings account in case it's needed for an emergency. For example, If your milestone is to exercise 3 days a week then on the weeks that you feel energetic and have additional bandwidth do an extra workout and deposit it into your PBS. You never know when an emergency arises and you cannot workout. Your milestone will still be on target.

Manage time in minutes and always forecast wasted time in months/years.

Manage energy (mind and body) for peak performance. If you're a morning person then do all of your brain intensive projects in the AM - as you get tired in the late afternoon do less brain intensive tasks (i.e., administrative).

1. Control

Sacrifice. Before charging forward you must realize that you can't have it all¾if you try you will always fail. Learn to say no with grace.