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To Make Quantum Leaps in Your Life You have to do like Thomas Edison and Act on Your Goals

  • Posted on July 2, 2009 at 2:20 pm

Chances are you’ve read countless books and articles on how to improve yourself, professionally and personally. You may have even attended a self-improvement or business enhancement workshop or two. But if you’re like the majority of people, despite all this knowledge, your professional and personal life has not changed at all. What went wrong?

As with all things in your life, you have a choice to make. In this case your choice is clear: Are you going to apply what you’ve learned in pursuit of a better life or business, or are you going to file this knowledge away and stay in your comfort zone?

Realize that action is the key to making positive changes in your life. Without action, knowledge is lost. Inaction will not result in fulfillment. There is only one thing standing in the way of achieving all that’s possible: You! If you make the conscious choice to sit back and watch the world go by without ever making an attempt at achieving your goals, you will experience profound regret in your life.

Unfortunately, many people remain idle in the face of challenges and make the decision to stay put in a life of discontent—to remain in a job that brings them no satisfaction and to remain in a world of unhappiness. These people take a passive approach to life. When opportunities present themselves, these people don’t act. They’re not prepared. It’s one thing to know what to do; it’s something entirely different to put that information to good use and turn knowledge into action. If you don’t take the necessary action, you will be left watching opportunity after opportunity pass you by, wondering what might have been.

If you’re ready to take action and make some serious changes in your life, keep the following points in mind.

1. Don’t let fear hold you back.

You cannot let the fear of the unknown or the fear of failure prevent you from taking the necessary action to succeed. You must stick with your vision even when times get tough. Napoleon Hill, author of Think and Grow Rich (Hill 1987), put it beautifully. “There is no substitute for persistence! It cannot be supplanted by any other quality! … Those who have cultivated the habit of persistence seem to enjoy insurance against failure. No matter how many times they are defeated, they finally arrive near the top of the ladder.”

So do not go on believing that the path to success will be without obstacles and challenges. You will certainly have tough times. But don’t let any misconceptions lull you into inaction and eat away at your dreams. Know that all great accomplishments come despite hardship, not in its absence. You have to be aware and prepared, and you must match your vision with action.

2. Eliminate regrets.

The regret of never trying to make the most of your potential will far outweigh any bumps you will encounter along the way. There really is no limit to what you can do with your life. It is sometimes hard to imagine what you will not get out of life if you do not take action. That is a difficult concept for people to get their head around. However, when faced with the idea of finally taking action, many people quickly create a long list of what could wrong and why they should stay in their comfort zone. In fact, most people would never run out of reasons when asked to point out all of the reasons why they shouldn’t try to do something. Yet, the moment you ask them to create a vision for what they want out of life, they suddenly lose their creative prowess.

When it comes to their approach to life, too many people don’t think about what they are losing, because they never had it. This is a flawed way of thinking. You can be whatever you want to be. It is never too late or too early. And make no mistake, by choosing to sit idly by without taking responsibility for what happens in your life, you are giving up a tremendous amount. Just because you might not be able to touch it yet doesn’t make it any less real.

3. Look at your life in totality.

If you are looking for professional and personal fulfillment, you have to look at the whole picture, your daily life in totality. You will be unable to block off ten hours of your day for work and then expect to live the rest of each day in happiness, forgetting about work completely. Work is a part of life; therefore, to live a true life of fulfillment, you must make work part of the total equation. This does not mean you can’t lead a happy life if your job isn’t ideal. It simply means that you can absolutely make your job part of the larger vision for your life where work is exciting and anticipated instead of unfulfilling and dreaded.

So make the time to learn about yourself. Find your purpose. Put in the effort to create a specific vision. Develop the goals and the plan that will turn that vision into your reality. And most of all, take action. Don’t stop with a dream. Take the action that will truly define who you are. Separate yourself from those that only talk about things. You are unique, and you have unlimited potential. These gifts can only be offered to the world if you take action. You were meant to express yourself and contribute your talents. You will make yourself happy, and this will undoubtedly be radiated to those around you.

4. Incorporate more meaning into your life.

Everyone has moments of happiness that they experience. When you can add that extra element of meaning, you will take yourself to a higher level altogether. Think about your job. Have you ever found yourself asking, “Why am I doing this?” Well, if you are not really very interested in what you are doing, you will not truly care about your job, and it will show. But how do you behave when you are excited about something or truly care about the result? Do you act differently? You bet you do. You don’t even think about the time or effort you put into reaching your goal. You just do it. Period. No matter what.

Let’s say you are into woodworking. Is it a chore for you to build an addition to the back deck? Of course not. Why not? Because you love doing it. You are excited about planning it, getting the materials, and hey, you might even need to go to the hardware store and buy a new tool! These are not inconveniences; they are requirements, and you don’t mind a bit. Now what if you were then asked to build an addition to a wildlife rehabilitation clinic and you happened to have a passion for working with animals. Now you are talking about real fulfillment. The feeling associated with such a scenario is what you give up when you settle for a life of the mundane.

Take Action Today

You can discover your purpose, create a vision, and set your goals, but if it is not followed up by action, it is meaningless. Action is the critical component that leads you to a fulfilling life. As obvious as it might seem, taking action is the part of the equation that is most often overlooked. Nobody is going to do this for you.

There are three reasons why you need to picture the life of your dreams. One is to help clarify what it is you really want, two is to create your destination and the road map in getting there, and three is to make you realize just what you are giving up in choosing not to take action. This does not mean that the life you are currently living is any less valid than the life of anyone else. It simply means that you have the capability to make changes and create a life for yourself that is in keeping with your purpose.

Remember the words of Earl Nightingale, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” This is an ongoing process. It will take effort. Taking action is hard work, but it can be fun too. That is why it is so important to be involved in something that you believe in. Because if you feel as though you are working hard out of sheer necessity, and not by choice, you will understandably feel discouraged.

So make the decision to act. You will be glad you did.

Jan Peter Aursnes is the author of “Unlock Your Future: The Key to a Fulfilling Life,” a consultant and owner of Quantum Leaps Consulting, LLC. With a degree in management sciences from the University of Manchester, England, Jan Peter has 27 years experience in the corporate world mainly within the food and beverage industries.

His focus is on assisting people and companies in setting high goals – and reach them. Contact him at 561 868 1815 or visit http://www.quantumleapsconsulting.com

Article Source: To Make Quantum Leaps in Your Life You have to do like Thomas Edison and Act on Your Goals

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The Definitive Guide to Achieving Your Goals

  • Posted on July 1, 2009 at 9:05 pm

We all have goals that we’d like to achieve, that we’d like to attain. We all want the pleasure of knowing that we had the confidence to change ourselves through taking on and conquering difficult feats.

For example, we set goals every year on January 1st, thinking that this will be the day that everything changes. We say, “I’ll lose 15 pounds”, or “I’ll get a 4.0 this quarter”, or even “I’ll make ‘X amount of money’”. Then, not even midway through the year, we quit. We give up. We fall back in the rut that drove us to change in the first place. Suddenly the challenge that was meant to adorn us with praise is suddenly dragging us down into the depths of ‘hard work’. When we actually have to sit down and devise a plan of attack in order to reach our goals, the majority of us want to quit. Having done this before myself, I can sympathize with that. You have been living in a pattern of regularity that seemed almost effortless and it’s hard to change that pattern by just setting a goal for yourself. But realize that just wanting to change is not enough. You can tell all your friends and relatives about your new plan to backpack through Europe, but it means nothing without preparation, commitment, and enthusiasm. If you don’t have these three things, don’t bother trying to change yourself. You’ll only succeed in wasting your own time.

I created this guide in order ensure that once people set goals of any variety, they will be sure to achieve them. Some goals can take anywhere from 5 minutes to even a year to complete, but keep in mind that if you follow all of these steps without fail, there is no doubt that your goal cannot be achieved.

Let’s get started, shall we?

1. Understand why you’re setting goals

Goals that you set for yourself should be just that; for yourself. Don’t set goals to impress others or to compete with someone who has achieved more than you. Setting goals is about personal growth. The fact that you are taking the steps to achieve your goals is admirable in my opinion, but it doesn’t matter what I or anyone else thinks. In the end, you will receive the most benefit from achieving your goals. It doesn’t matter how many people acknowledge you, or how many people like your goal. If you like it, that’s all that matters.

2. Set a realistic goal

Okay, you know you want to change or improve something, but what? Do you want to go out more, or do you want to get good grades. Or do you want to do both? These are all great ideas for goals, but remember to be realistic. Don’t set goals you know you won’t reach or you aren’t 100% sure you will fully commit to. Also keep in mind that you should set about one or two goals. The problem with setting a lot of difficult goals is that you get so overwhelmed by the time that has to be invested into each one that you begin to start slacking off on all of them. Setting one or two is easier to manage and you’ll certainly be more effective in accomplishing them.

3. Make a ‘top goals’ list and narrow it down to two

Write down the best things you wish to accomplish in as much detail as possible. This is important, so put a lot of time and effort into this. Fleshing out your goals will allow you decide which ones are most reasonable to start immediately. A long term goal like “being a movie star” could definitely take a back seat to an immediate short-term one like “get a driver’s license”. Of course, your list can be as long as desired, but remember to pick the ones that are the easiest to get started on.

4. With your one or two goals, make a plan

Make a plan of how you’re going to achieve your goals. What works best for me is to start with steps that are relatively simple, but get more intricate as my progress grows. Let’s say I have set a goal to learn a new language. I can’t just buy a lot of language books and try to read all of them at once, right? I’m going to have to approach this logically. The first step would be to buy comprehensive language texts and audio CD’s for me to study with. Then I would take a class to get direct practice with a presumably native speaker. I would then try and make new friends so we could possibly study outside of the classroom together. It really is that simple to make a plan of action. And if you don’t know how to start your plan, surf the internet and learn how people with similar goals have achieved them.

5. Enthusiasm is the key

Without enthusiasm, no desire can long endure. While you’re in the process of achieving your goal, never stop being excited about it. Whenever you think about it, get happy and get energized. Isn’t the thought of improving yourself enough to bring a smile to your face? Sure, there will be times when you get bored of the steps you are taking in achieving your goals. But that should be an indicator for you to change things up in your plan. Do you eat the same nutritious foods everyday if you want to be healthy? Do you exercise with the same weight if you want to get stronger? Of course not. As time goes on, it’s natural to get used to the plans you have set in motion for yourself. You can remedy this by adding new steps to your plan. Always remember to keep things fresh so your goals don’t get stale.

6. Make time for your goals

Set aside a decent amount of time for each goal. For the best results, do not spend less than 30 minutes on each goal everyday. There will be times when you start to slack off in this area, but it’s actually not that bad. As long as you plan accordingly to account for the time you lost advancing your goals, you’ll be fine. Remember that consistency is crucial to achieving your goals, so slacking off too much will end up being counterproductive.

7. Never give up

This is my favorite step. There are few reasons to give up on achieving your goal, but difficulty is not one of them. For some, working towards an end is natural. For others, it may not be that simple. But no matter how hard it is, no matter how long it seems to take, do not give up. If necessary, incorporate a support group of your family and friends. Let them know you are serious about tackling this goal and no put downs will be tolerated. There’s no point including anyone in your support group who will hinder your progress by criticizing your efforts. The people who care for you will encourage you, push you forward, and try to help any way necessary.

Goals are very important to have, but setting them is just half the battle. To truly take control of what you want in life, you must condition yourself right now by trying my tips for a time period that you think is reasonable. Keep in mind that you can’t possibly complete these steps in only one day; give it time. If you don’t see any notable changes in yourself or advances in your goals, then try adding a little of your own flavor to these steps.

Be prepared for the trials and tribulations that stand in your way, for they are there to help you succeed and not to deter your progress. And if you do nothing else, repeat this phrase daily:

“I will succeed.”

Article Source: The Definitive Guide to Achieving Your Goals

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