Successful Living Secret #7

This is the 7th step in your Successful Living
course. Let's dive in to this one for now.


STAY ON COURSE

Think about driving. Think of a place you would like to drive
to right now. The choice is yours. Got that place in mind?
Good.

Now think about your route to get there. There is probably a
number of different ways to go. If you have been there before,
which one is your favorite or most common route?

From all the different ways to get to your destination, which
choice has the straight-line option? What I mean is - if you
get in your car right now and drive to that place you are
thinking about, which route would allow you to start the
course, hold your steering wheel as straight as an arrow and
allow you to just go straight there without any variation?

My guess is that you would have no way to get there without
turning, slowing down, speeding up or even possibly avoiding
and obstacle or two. In fact, if some of us tried to get to
that destination we chose by holding the steering wheel
straight, we may end up crashing into a wall, a building,
another person or even flying off a cliff.

The point is, we are going to run in to situations that may
keep us from getting to where we want to be - temporarily. I
say temporarily because we have the power to decide how long
the trying times and barriers keep us from succeèding. If we
wanted to, we could allow those obstacles to permanently keep
us from success.

Our inner strength is either the dominating force or the limp,
wet rag that determines our reaction. The choice is ours.

Make these words a part of your vocabulary and even more a
part of your personality.

- Perseverance: the act of continuing steadfast, especially
in the face of discouragement

- Determination: direction to a certain end

- Purpose: the end or object towards which effort is
directed

- Character: a person of remarkable individuality

- Resolution: fixed determination

With these words, definitions, concepts and, more
importantly BELIEFS being part of you, you will be a huge
success.

Success is a decision. The fruit of your success may be
just around the corner. And no matter how far away or how
long it takes, you are going to see it through. You have
already seen your outcome.

Think about and learn from other people's road to success.
Thomas Edison: Inventor of what we now know as the light bulb.
10,000 times he tried to create this object that
revolutionized the world. It was because of his success.

People thought he was crazy for trying to create something
not yet ever realized. Now he's a genius. The fact is, he
was always a genius and he was always successful. He
decided his success before his results were realized.

Abraham Lincoln: 16th President of the United States. By
some accounts, he was an utter failure in politics before
his Presidency. He started from humble beginnings and didn't
let his past keep him from achieving an ultimate
accomplishment.

He is now thought to be one of the succèssful Presidents ever.
He decided his success before his results were realized.

Success is a decision. The fruit of your success may just be
around the corner. And no matter how far away or how long it
takes, you're going to see it through. You've already seen
you're outcome.

Think about and learn from other people's road to success.
Thomas Edison: Inventor of what we know now as the light
bulb. 10,000 times he tried to create this object and
revolutionized the world because of his success.

People thought he was crazy for trying to create something
not yet ever realized. Now he's a genius. the fact is, he
was always a genius and he was always successful. He decided
his success before his results were realized.

Abraham Lincoln: 16th President of the United States. By
some accounts, he was an utter failure in politics before
his Presidency. He started from humble beginnings and didn't
let his past keep him from achieving an ultimate
accomplishment.

He is now thought to be one of the most successful Presidents
ever. He decided his success before his results were realized.

Colonel Snaders: Founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken. He started
in his 60's and didn't stop until someone said yes to his idea
of selling his chicken. He was told "No" over 900 times before
hearing that one "Yes".

But that one "Yes" was all he needed to become one of the most
successful chicken vendors in the food chain today. Colonel
Sanders teaches us that we're never too old to start an
endeavor and to never give up until you hear your "Yes".

He decided his success before his results were realized.

Don't give up!

If you accomplish all the other steps in this course and
fail to accomplish this one, it's all for nothing. Without
the determination to stay on your course, you'll fall short
of your success.

But I have a feeling if you stayed with this course this long,
you have the determination it takes to follow through with your
endeavor.

Next time we'll wrap up what we've talked about these past
couple of weeks.

You've done great sticking with all these steps and
following through with the course. You are definitely going
to win in life!

Until next time keep looking and living forward.

- Mark Thompson
"America's Most Insightful Guide for
Success and Inner Strength"

Successful Living Secret #6

SELL YOURSELF

Would you disagree with the statement?
"Everything we do involves selling."

It is true. We are constantly judged by the way we
present ourselves. If you never show up on time, you
may be judged as someone who is unorganized and does
not respect time. Or worse - you do not respect other
people's time.

If you dress inappropriately and are not clean, you
may not get rave reviews in the hygiene category and
will most likely not be thought of as a trustworthy
individual. There are a number of reasons for this
to be true.

But instead of getting into the psychology of it,
just know that the majority of public opinion would
be something like, "If he/she does not care enough
about him/herself to tidy up, they would not care
enough about . . . 'fill in the blank.'"

Have you ever heard the phrase, "dress for success"?

Well if, for some reason, you have escaped this saying,
please pay attention to it. Those who are successful
dress accordingly. Dressing according to your belief
of your success will directly impact the success that
you believe you will have.

Did you get that? In other words, you have a much
greater rate of success by living and believing the
part than wishing for it without any action. Action is
key.

There are also those who dress up to appear successful
and are far from it. But I would venture to say one
problem with these individuals is that they have not
identified the REAL person within themselves.

Selling yourself is a constant responsibility to the
successful person. If you are to be successful you must
remain motivated also. You must be motivated to behave
and think like a successful person. Part of that behavior
is the way you look, the way you carry yourself and the
way you interact with others.

Here is where the practice of becoming the REAL you pays
off. If you are to be a successful person in your area of
choosing then you must be sincere. Sincerity is set free
from the soul.

Deep within you, you are successful. You know it. You just
have to tap into that belief. Once you tap into it, your
sincerity will shine through and not only will you believe
it, everyone does. Not that you have anything to prove to
anyone else, but you would be surprised at the opportunities
that present themselves when others believe in you too.

You are constantly selling yourself.
You sell yourself through your presentation, through your
communication, through your beliefs in who you are. It is
an ongoing process in life. And the better you are at
selling yourself, the more successful you become.

Here is an example.

Years ago I sold cell phones and accessories over the phone
in a call center. That is a tough job in and of itself. On
the phone you do not have a captive audience, the client
did not just walk in the store because they are interested.

We called people that did not ask us to call. We interrupted
their lives. Yes... I was one of those guys.

But you know what? I was successful at it. I believed what I
said. I was successful because I believed. Sure I had people
hang up on me and even had some people who told me where I
could go (not a nice place I might add).

But the point is if I would have come to work with the
attitude that I had to get hung up on and cussed out again
at work today and that is what my job consisted of day after
day, I would not have been a success.

Because of my belief and sincerity I had the best numbers in
most markets for the company I worked for. Consequently, I
was promoted to a sales manager; given the oppòrtunity to
move and start another market from the ground floor.

It had little to do with the product I was selling and
everything to do with "WHO I AM". A guy out of a call center
being promoted to sales manager over 3 locations is unheard
of.

Or is it? Put your mind to what it is you want to accomplish
and live your life with sincere belief that it will come to
pass. Develop your strategy to get there and take action to
arrive. It is possible.

Just remember, you are selling yourself.

Until next time, keep looking and living forward.

Mark Thompson
"America's Most Insightful Guide for
Success and Inner Strength"

Successful Living Secret #5

It is time for the 5th Secret. Let us get right to it.

ENERGY FOR FORWARD-LIVING

Question: What do batteries and people have in common?
Answer: We all have positive and negative sides.

To achieve anything in life, it is imperative to have
positive energy.

No matter what happened to you in your past, you have
an obligation. If you are to be succèssful, you must
decide your primary energy is going to be positive
energy.

"But I was passed up for a promotion."

"But I have been single for 35 years."

"But I am in debt and feel like I am being swallowed
by a financial monster."

"But I do not feel like I have anything to show for
all the hard work I have done."

"But no matter what I say, no one takes me seriously."

All of the above quotes start with a "But". You have
got to lose your "But". The "But" is negative. If the
negative "But" is discarded, all you have is an
objective fact, not necessarily negative or positive.
You can work with objective facts in a positive
nature.

If you have a negative "But" all you have are excuses
for not going forward in life. You have excuses for
not succeeding. You have excuses for not embracing
inner strength. Excuses need to be eradicated from
our behavior.

With facts, we can focus on how to accomplish anything
we want from life.

"One of the most powerful forces in the world is the
will of men and women who believe in themselves, who
dare to hope and aim high, who go confidently after
the things they want from life."
- Author Unknown

This quote emits positive energy. Not only that, it
screams determination. You can have all the
determination in the world, but without positive
energy, you will just end up in the same place with
negative energy people - or at best, you will be
with the apathetic people.

Then you will wonder why you used excuses to justify
not living your dream or accomplishing desired goals.
The above type of thinking also smells so much like
the victim mentality.

I know all about the victim mentality. I used to
live by the victim's principles. They went something
like:

- My childhood really sucked and it is impossible to
gain control of my emotions

- Never look at the bright side because you can get
more sympathy by pouting about the dark side.

- Where ever I am in life is someone else's fault
because I have been beaten down for as long as I
can remember.

- Everyone else gets all the breaks because they had
a stronger family and foundation than I ever would
dream of having.

- My life just sucks.

As you can see an imagine from reading these beliefs,
this drove my positive energy in the ground. And, as you
might imagine, I struggled with depression for years of
my life. I used to be on multiple antidepressant
medications along with their buddies the anti-anxiety
medications.

I got to the point where I did not think I could
function without them.

But no more! I DECIDED that, that is enough. No more
will I believe that my destiny and accomplishments are
unattainable - especially due to the actions or thoughts
of someone else.

There is no reason why life can not be anything I want
it. I chose to live in misery, but now my life is a
choice of accomplishments and energy - positive energy.

You can do the same thing I did. I am not saying it is
going to be easy, but I WILL tell you it is worth it.

Here are some ways to overcome negative energy:

1: Stay away from negative people.

2: If you have to be around negative people, whether
you are at work or home, try deterring the negative
comments and conversations to that of a positive nature.

For example, if you come home and your spouse starts
talking about what a miserable day he/she had, deter
that conversation when it is your turn and share all
the positive things about your day. Continue talking
about the positive things in your day and even things
you look forward to in the week.

However, in the process, do not say anything that will
negate your spouse's feelings. Stress how he/she has the
strength and power to overcome the events of their bad
day. You can energize and inspire those around you.

3: Continually focus on positive in every situation. When
negative things happen to you, and I know they already
have, always look for the positive in that particular
situation.

4: Have fun! Find something you really enjoy doing and
do it. When you have done it, talk about it. You may
love to go fishing, running, play basketball, painting or
singing. Make it a regular practice to engage in your
favorite activity.

Positive energy is happiness over sorrow, hope over
worthlessness, and success over defeat. The challenge is
to urge you to evaluate your daily primary energy. Energy
can be your life or can be your death.
The choice is yours.

Next time, we will talk about Selling Yourself for
Forward-Living Success and Inner Strength.
It's okay... it's a legal concept.

Until then, take care and keep looking and living forward.

Mark Thompson
"America's Most Insightful Guide
to Success and Inner Strength"

Successful Living Secret #4

CREATING YOUR CORE IDENTITY (Part II)

I'm curious.
Did you list out the 10 simple characteristics that you
considered to be part of you from last issue? If not, why?

If you haven't listed your 10 characteristics, do so now
before reading on.

Good. I'm glad you did that.

Now take those 10 characteristics out that you listed and
decide on which one is the most limiting to who you REALLY
are. Think back to the last issue of this course and
remember who you ARE. Who is that person deep down inside
that place where the REAL you is.

Which characteristic is keeping you from becoming that
person?

Got it?

Cross it off. That's it. Just get rid of it.

Your task for the next week, month, year and your life is to
eliminate that characteristic from your behavior. If you
want to become that person you REALLY are, you have to talk
like that person talks, walk like that person walks, act
like that person acts and always do what that person does.

It's easy to say you are _____________________________.
(fill in the blank)

But to actually become that person is quite another task.
But how rewarding to be you!

For argument sake we're going to say that the person deep
within you is a millionaire just waiting to be free. What do
you do to let this person grow, live an take root?

First you must realize and accept that this is the REAL
you. Once you've accepted the REAL you and listed the
limiting behaviors, you must eliminate them from your mind
and behavior.

This is done through repetition and practice. Change your
thought patterns. Stop using the language that you used to
use. Whatever that first characteristic is that you crossed
out physically, you must now cross out emotionally,
psychologically and behaviorally.

Here is another question.

Does the REAL person deep within you hang around the same
people that you currently hang around? This can be a touchy
subject because we are now dealing with other people's
emotions.

For some reason our (American) culture puts more value on
other's feelings than our own succèss in life. Think about
it for a minute. Do the people you spend your time with
serve your effort to become the REAL you? If not, it would
be an important challenge to change company.

If you are that millionaire, who does that person spend time
with? Negative people? Self defeating people? Limiting
people? People who keep the status quo? For some reason I
do not picture any of these qualities part of a milli0naire's
diet of life.

Here is the ultimate test.
What will you do? If a change is needed in the company you
keep, what will you do?

I am not suggesting you drop all of your friends and end all
relationships with those you have been around fo possibly
years. I merely want you to evaluate the behaviors and
beliefs of those individuals. Also, assess heavily how they
have impacted your belief about who you REALLY are.

The challenge to change is not a passing effort. You must
decided what you are going to be successful at and call the
courage from within you to do it. When you do that you are a
success. That is the first and hardest step.

Again, I ask, "Who are you REALLY?"
Is that who you are now?
Are you going to do what it takes to be YOU?

If you are still committed, stay tuned for the next issue and
we will continue.

If not, I am glad you read this far. Maybe a seed was planted
and will sprout later in your life to grow into success.

Next issue we will be talking about energy and how it can
serve you for success. Energy is a must. You can not live
without it. What energy do you attract and send out?

Until next time, keep looking and living forward.

Mark Thompson
"America's Most Insightful Guide
for Success and Inner Strength"

Successful Living Secret #3

CREATING YOUR CORE IDENTITY

Welcome back! Let's jump right in today.
A question:
Who are you?
Think before you answer that.

The truth value of who we are is often wrapped up in our
occupation, our practiced behaviors and how others see us.

Here are some examples.

Occupations:
"I'm a doctor." or "I'm a lawyer." or "I'm a mechanic."


Practiced Behaviors:
"I'm a procastinator." or "I'm an overeater." or I'm a
compulsive person."


How others see us:
"I've been told that I am helpful." or "So and so believes I
am a great judge of character."


The point is these examples may not be truly who you ARE.
They may exhibit various characteristics of your
personality, but to say they are who you ARE may be
inaccurate.

Especially in the case of limiting beliefs, they are
certainly inaccurate. List a set of behaviors that you
consider to be a part of who you are. Make it a list of 10
for simplicity sake. Review that list and pay attention to
the areas of your beliefs about yourself that are limiting.
Ask yourself if that is who you really ARE.

Your Inner Strength gets its power from who you really are.
Consequently, if you are struggling with your core identity,
your Inner Strength is not very strong. It's suffering.

I mentioned last issue that belief is a powerful thing. No
truer is it than the area of your identity. Let's rephrase
the original question now.

Who do you BELIEVE you are?
The answer to this question is going to be FACT no matter
what your answer is.

The reason it is FACT is because you BELIEVE it to be so.

There's a place deep within each of us that can remain
untouched. This place is a true belief of who we REALLY are.
It's who we know we can become, but through behaviors of
habit and conformity, most of us suppress our true identity.

The challenge is to tap into the true identity of who you
are. Are you someone who needs to lose a few pounds?
Or are you a fat person?

Are you someone who doesn't do well in school because you
do not study or apply yourself enough?
Or are you stupid?

If you are in need of more money, are you rich and broke? Or
are you poor and broke?
Poor is a state of mind. If you believe you are poor, you
will be.

The difference in the above questions are extreme opposites.
And how you identify yourself to each one defines who you are.
Take time each day to ask yourself one of the most important
questions you can ever ask.

This question is vital to your succèss and inner strength.

The question is, "Who am I?"

This topic is SO important we are going to continue next
issue. We will carry on talking about who you are and how
to leave who you are not. Sounds easy but it usually isn't.
We will talk about why next time.

Until next time, keep looking and living forward.

Mark Thompson
"America's Most Insightful Guide
for Success and Inner Strength"

Successful Living Secret #2

Welcome back!
How is going with that first secret?

Did you do what we talked about? If not, why not?
Go ahead and reread the fist secret and complete the
challenge before moving on to this secret.

If you have already completed the challenge/exercise from
secret #1, then let's dive in right now to the second secret.


UNLEARN

Now that you have identified your passion and you are starting
to fill your mind with every piece of information you can to
guarantee your success, you need to unlearn.

By the way, if you are still confirming what it is your are
going to be succèssful at, take your time. There is no sense
starting something you are not sure you want to do. When you
have it, you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt. Then start.

You will better your success chance multiple times over. If
that is not your passion, like I said before, you are almost
certain to not succeed. Find your passion, not your chore.

Anyway, unlearning is a crucial and very valuable part of
success and inner strength. What do I mean by "unlearning"?
Great question!

Unlearning is the process of subtracting the negative
programming you have taken in and have eventually believed
simply by repetition. If you were told that the best way to
be successful is to go to college, get a steady job with
good benefits - and you were told that from the time you
were in high school until you graduated from college - I
would guess that you believe it. And for some that's true.

But for some it is not.

If your goal is to succeèd in that area of life - the
corporate world - that's great. You can and will if you
continue to apply these principles. That's the great thing
about success. You apply it.

For others who are born to pave their own way, they feel
held down and fairly unhappy in the rat race of getting up,
going to work in a cubical, collecting a check
weekly (or every other week), then going home only to wake
up the next day and do it again x 4.

I say all that to say you must unlearn the programming that
doesn't fit your succèss goals. Right now you need to
evaluate the messages that you have been given throughout
your life and decide if that is what you truly believe or
not.

Belief is extremely powerful. If you believe something that
contradicts you desire or goal, that goal will not be met.
Nothing will sour your inner strength more than flopping
through life trying to grab a hold of things that do not
support you convictions, values or even your personality.

For example, if you believe a past bankruptcy will hinder
you from becoming wealthy, you will not be wealthy and
you will always fall back on that bankruptcy and allow it to
keep you from success. There are many people who have
succeeded in spite of past failures. Do not let past mistakes
oppress your success.

Do not own failure. It is the killer of Inner Strength.
Learn from it. But don not own it.

Unlearn the negative programming of others too.
Don't listen to those who tell you "it can't be done".

Unlearn what you've always heard that doesn't serve your
purpose.

Don't listen to the scripts that have been programmed that
say "it can't be done".

Unlearn the fear of past mistakes.
Do not listen to them. They have nothing to do with your
future except serving as a reference point to stay away
from.

Take a few minutes to list all the negative messages that
you have heard and maybe have believed throughout your life.
Make two columns on your page. Entitle the first column
"Negative Program" and on the second column, entitle it
"Unlearn Message".

In the first column list as many negative, self-limiting
messages you have learned over the years. In the second
column, and coinciding row, write your newly programmed message.
Write the message that will now serve your purpose.

Do this with your entire list.
When you are done with this exercise, tear your list in half
so that you have two separate list - self-limiting list and
purpose-serving list.

Now destroy the self-limiting list. You can burn it, throw
it away, rip it up. Destroy it in a way that will stick in
your memory. (Just be careful with the fire. =])

Unlearn how not to succeed.
Don't listen to anyone or anything that says your are silly
for even trying.

Continue on this course and learn significant steps to help
make strides in your life of forward-living. We call it
forward-living because it is about moving forward. Do not
get too hung up on your past.

Until next time, keep looking and living forward.

Mark Thompson
http://www.forward-living.com
"America's Most Insightful Guide
To Success and Inner Strength"

Successful Living Secret #1

Congratulations on signing up for the 8 Success Secrets! In the next couple of weeks, we're going to be talking about some steps you can take to create dramatic improvements in your life.

If you find something challenging. . . good. Meet that challenge. If you have any questions, please feel free to shoot me an email.

Let's get started with the first secret of successful-living.

SETTING YOURSELF UP

How do you set yourself up for success? A great question. And a rather simple but profound answer follows.

You first have to ask yourself what it is you want to do to be successful.
That may sound extremely elementary but you'd be surprised at the number of people who walk around stating they want To be successful and have no idea what they want to be successful doing.

So, first define the area you are passionate about and want to succeed in.
Do not continue through this course until you have identified this vital piece of information. Without it, it is impossible to become successful.

For some, success will be an instantaneous idea they have always known in their heart and mind. For others, it will take a little thought and meditation. But for all it should be something they have passion doing. Without passion, success is difficult. Passion is the motivator. Motivation is the fuel. Fuel feeds the future successful.

Once you've identified the "what" you are going to be successful at, you must develop a plan. This requires research. Research can be tedious and tiring. Those with the motivation (passion) to press on will make it. Motivation is so important in this step. Without it, many will drop off the success path. Many don't make it. Many don't have passion.

You must master what you research. Your research is your knowledge that will tell you how to do what you are to be successful in. Your knowledge will help you overcome and avoid obstacles. Without knowledge of your future accomplishment, you'll still be wandering around wondering what to do next. Stick to your plan. Don't wander and wonder. There are too many of those kind of "successful" people.

You must have these first steps to start any endeavor if it is to be successful. You can write these items down on a card or type it out and hang it up. Revise it so it's worded nicely and make it your vision. A vision is a great way to motivate your every step.

Create your vision. There's a quote, "Without vision, the people will surely perish." I would suggest that without vision, success is almost impossible.

One way you can gather your thoughts, create a plan and manifest a vision is to fill your mind with positive and motivational information. If you are harboring thoughts and ideas of negativity, you are certainly sabotaging your success. It's hard to be motivated with your head full of negativity and ill memories.

If you focus on the negative and allow the blessings of life to pass you by without even recognizing what you have been given, you should check out "Success and Inner Strength". It's a great read and offers you a way to put that baggage of your past behind you. It also helps you to focus on your goal and succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

Stay here for the rest of the valuable success secrets.

TIP: Most people do NOT finish a task (any given task) they set out to accomplish.

HINT: To be successful you must follow through.

Let me challenge you to complete this entire course on success. Consider it your first conscious decision to be successful.

Until next time, keep looking and living forward.
Mark Thompson
"America's Most Insightful Guide To Success and Inner Strength"

P.S. If you know someone who would benefit from one or more of these Successful Living Secrets, don't hesitate to forward it to them. Or they can sign up at
http://www.forward-living.com