Success = Vision x Decision x Action

SUCCESS = Vision x Decision x Action

I don't have to get it right, I just have to get it going!

I love this signature I saw on an investors forum.

We know success is not just about having a vision of what we can achieve. But how many of us persist long enough at doing the necessary mundane little actions each day that bring us closer to a place of success?

I know I struggle with this, especially the Decision bit (should I? what if? let me think about it a bit more) and the Action bit (I don't feel like working today; let's do something more interesting).

Some random thoughts...

Vision is an idea of what could be. The starting point. The thing that gets you all fired up, that obliges you to sit up all night scribbling all the fantastic stuff going through your mind. It's probably the easiest thing to have because we all love to dream.

Decision is pointing yourself in a particular direction that gels with that Vision. Choosing Path A over B and C. For the risk averse, this is where one can potentially fail because it's hard to say yes to something, when that yes could turn out to be a costly mistake. We'd like to have it all.

Action is the tedious legwork that keeps you moving towards Success. Discipline. Hard work. Effort. Research. Doing your due diligence. Boring stuff.

Action Exercises To Maximize Your Chances of Success

• Keep your Vision in front of you, in a place you can see. Make it real. Use aids: visual/auditory/tangible, whatever works best for you. This keeps you focussed.
• Making a decision, even a wrong one, is better than doing nothing. You can correct yourself later. But if you make no decision at all for fear of taking a risk, you'll definitely stay in one place and stagnate. Don't be a slave to analysis paralysis. It's easy to deceive ourselves that we're doing real work when we're just inventing excuses not to make a decision.
• Take little steps each day that move you towards the place you want to be. The idea is to keep going. Momentum only comes when you've been doing something long enough. You can't build momentum by trying a new strategy for 1 week and then giving up before you see results.

A toast to your success!

What's A Good Goal To Set?

According to Joe Vitale, a good goal should SCARE you a little, and EXCITE you a lot!

Let's look at his formula more closely.

A goal should excite because, well, if you're not going to be excited enough to want to pour your heart and soul into it, what's the point? If you're not excited about something, you're hardly likely to succeed, are you?

Second point. A goal should scare you a little. It should be just out of reach, yet not impossible. Something that will stretch your resources, your imagination, your energy, your faith. A goal that scares you a little is a BIG goal, not an ordinary one. It's one that will take you outside your comfort zone. It will require more of you than you are now investing. It requires you to Think Big and Act Big.

Action Exercise:

Set yourself a Good Goal this week.

Then every day for a month, take time to imagine this goal fulfilled.

How would your life be different?
What would your day be like?
How would you spend your time?
Who would you be meeting?
What work would you be doing?
Where would you be living?

Unshakeable Peace

I was listening to an audio broadcast of a sermon by Dr. Adrian Rogers on Crosswalk.com on Sunday.

Dr. Rogers used the story of Jesus calming the storm and walking on the water to His terrified disciples to illustrate the meaning of peace.

True peace is not the absence of anxiety or stress or trouble. It is being able to remain confident despite anxiety or stress or trouble. The secret is to look at Jesus, not at the waves.

We can use the letters of the word PEACE to remind us of the following truths:

P = Providence. Nothing surprises God. He is over all things. When you are caught in a storm, say to yourself: "His purpose brought me here."

E = Entreating. Jesus prays for us when we are troubled, and we know that God always hears Jesus' prayers. Say to yourself: "His prayers protect me here."

A = Assurance. Jesus' presence is more real to me when I'm in the midst of a storm, than when things are going well. Psalm 46 says: God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. "His presence comes to me here."

C = Comfort. Comforting someone doesn't mean saying "there, there" and uttering soothing words. The word 'comfort' is derived from Come + Fort. Fort means to Build Up, to Give Strength. That is what God does. "His power sustains me here."

E = Expectation. I can expect God to take care of the problem. How He chooses to do it is none of my business. Remember: Peter sank for a while, BUT HE DIDN'T DROWN. Likewise, we can trust God to keep our heads above water. "His promise assures me here."

May the peace of GOD, the peace that surpasses all understanding, be always with you.

Thoughts Become Things

Much has been said online about The Secret and the Law of Attraction.

For those who have not heard of the Law of Attraction, it states that everything that's coming into your life, you are attracting into your life. Put another way, you are what you think.

Think "How will I ever get out of debt?" and you create more debt for yourself. Think "I want to have absolute financial freedom" and your mind will go to work dreaming up creative solutions to your present situation.

Sounds simple doesn't it?

If it's so simple, why are so many people still living in debt, not living to their fullest potential, or unhappy with their lives?

That's because we have allowed ourselves to be stuck in our current reality. We think that the problems we're facing now are all there is for us. Instead of thinking what COULD BE, we think only of what IS.

But what is can change, can't it? Why can't things dramatically improve tomorrow? We've all read of people who suddenly come into great wealth or a promotion or pay raise, or find a job they love, or have the child they've yearned for for years. Why shouldn't something wonderful happen in your life and mine too?

The key to the Law of Attraction is that if you're not happy with the way things are now, CHANGE THEM. It's not up to other people, it's not the fault of systems or the establishment or "that's just the way things are". You and I have the power to change our lives simply by changing our thoughts.

Want more abundance? Think abundance.
Want more love? Think loving thoughts.
Want more harmonious relationships? Think of the good in others and focus on creating harmony yourself.

This is The Secret:

THOUGHT + EMOTION = ATTRACTION

When your thoughts dwell on something/someone a lot of the time, you start to develop feelings about that something/someone. Those feelings fuel your thoughts and start the process of bringing what you want into your life.

Try this experiment.

Think of something you want very much. Maybe a new house with 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms and a huge rear yard for the kids and family pet to run around in.

How does that make you feel: excited? happy? Can you see yourself moving around the house? Can you picture yourself walking into each room? What do you see? What does your bedroom look like? What does the kitchen look like? What's the view from the living room? Perhaps it opens out onto the garden, or views of the lake?

How are you feeling as you visualize your dream home? Do you believe you can own a home like that someday? Maybe even in 5 years?

You might well find your mind throwing up exciting possibilities. You might think,"Maybe if I save $100 more a month, I could have a really healthy deposit in 5 years. Now, how would I do that? Could we eat out less? Buy fewer snacks?".

And so on. And because your mind is on the path of thinking what is POSSIBLE and what COULD BE, that is what you attract - all the good stuff. The stuff of dreams.