Seven things you need to remind yourself of when you wake up . . .

We may not always love everything about our lives, but deep down we do love and appreciate the magic of life itself. Some part of us believes that everything and anything is possible.

Sadly, though, we don’t always believe these possibilities are within our reach. But the reality is they are – we all live lives of endless possibility. The problem is we choose to believe otherwise. We choose to believe we are incapable of living our lives the way we want to live them, at our full potential. We choose to accept our reality as others have told us it has to be.

Wake up! We don’t have to do this to ourselves – none of us do. We have a choice. We don’t have to be complacent. We don’t have to fall into line. Why not stir things up a bit and live by better rules?

It’s time to remind yourself of a few key truths – right now and every morning hereafter . . .

1. Today can be a good day, but only if you make it so
– Why do we often feel so powerless? Because we convince ourselves that we are. We wait for things to be given to us – entitlements. In life, there are no true entitlements, and the reality is that if you want something then you need to make it happen for yourself. You need to work for it. Whether or not today is a good day doesn’t depend on the weather. It doesn’t depend on your “mood” (that’s also in your control). It doesn’t depend on anyone else. If you want to have a pleasant and wonderful day then choose to have one. It’s all about your perception and what you allow yourself to believe.

2. Greatness is a lifestyle, not a result
– We all want to “achieve” greatness…. but we need to remember that greatness in not a specific achievement. Greatness is not crossing over the finishing line. It’s the ability to fight the good fight day in and day out. Greatness is strength – the strength to keep pushing and to keep living your life the way you want to live it. Greatness isn’t an end result. It’s a state of being. You don’t win great. You are great every day.

3. Your life is yours to design
– There are plenty of things in life that are out of our control, but don’t let this fool you into believing that your life as a whole is out of your control. The reality is, the life you are living is almost entirely by your own design. You have made choices along the way that led you down the road you’re currently traveling. Saying that your life is out of your control is a copout – it’s what other people want you to believe so that they have an easier time getting you to do what they want you to do.

4. The fact that you haven’t given up is success in itself
–It may give you little comfort to think about how you’re still waist deep in the struggle, but the truth is that you are one of the strong people with the guts to keep at it. Most people give up before they even begin… but not you. No, you wake up every day and get things done. You crawl inch by inch against the current because you refuse to give up. You refuse to accept failure. You refuse to listen to others when they tell you that you’re not good enough. You’re still in it.

5. Bullies and energy vampires are not worth worrying about
– The fact is that most people just aren’t that important in our lives. Nevertheless, we sometimes forget this, allowing the wrong people to take up too much space in our daily lives. We meet energy vampires and bullies regularly – especially when you live in a highly populated area or work in a large company. These individuals will try to get to you, will try to influence you and become a part of your life because they find their own life to be mundane. They already poisoned their own lives and now they are looking to poison yours. Don’t let them get to you.

6. Good things in life end too soon when they aren’t appreciated
– This isn’t to say that appreciating what you have when you have it comes naturally – our minds tend to consider the possibility that the grass on the other side is greener. But we need to mindfully remind ourselves that life isn’t about doing our best to constantly upgrade things. To live a happy, fulfilling life, we have to learn to appreciate what we have and love those that we have. If you fall in love then do your sincere best to nurture your love. Don’t wait for things to end before you start appreciating them.

7. Never expect a tomorrow, but be thankful when tomorrow comes
– Think about how many people die every minute of every day and you’ll begin to realize that waking up in the morning is a blessing. We don’t live in a world of perpetual peace, but one laden with bouts of chaos. On top of this, accidents do happen and people get severely injured and die because of them. Getting another day to breathe, to experience life, and to do something meaningful is the greatest gift one can receive. Make today count!

From Marc and Angel Hack Life: http://www.marcandangel.com

Finding your “WHY”

Every single organization on the planet, even our own careers, always function on three levels. What we do, How we do it and Why we do it ” – Simon Sinek

When we know the reasons why we do certain things, it gives us a filter through which to make decisions. It provides a foundation for innovation and creativity. When we look at what we do, how we do it and why we do it, we will know who we are – we will know what we stand for.

Very few people can clearly articulate WHY they do what they do. Why is a purpose, a cause or a belief. It provides a clear answer to “WHY” we get out of bed in the morning and why that should matter to anyone else.

When we are clear about our purpose or our WHY, everyone can understand it. This clarity allows everyone who interacts with us to become champions of the cause i.e. people will be willing to help you with your life goals if they have a clear idea of where you want to go.

Do you have a vision (plan/direction) for your life? Having a vision for your life gives you focus and clarity, it helps with decision making and stops you getting side-tracked and distracted when “life” takes over.

Asking yourself these five questions will guide you through creating your personal vision and prevent “mind blank”, writer’s block and overwhelm that hits you when you’re faced with a question like “what is your vision for your life”?

1. What does success look like to you?
How will you know when you’ve “made it”? Describe your idea of success: use your imagination, instincts and/or intuition to express your “big picture”. In other words, describe what it would be like when you have reached your ultimate personal goal.

Write down what you want to become but make sure you include some big numbers that you can measure i.e. how much do you want to earn every month? Do you want to work for someone or do you want to own your own business? What business do you want to start? Why do you want this business? Who will be your clients/customers? Where will you find your clients/customers? How much will you need to charge your customers to earn what you want to earn every month? Will you charge per hour or per project? How many hours do you want to work?

Do you have a “vision board”? – more about this later.

2. Why is success important to you? Why do you do what you do?
• Are you trying to make your life and that of your family better?
• Are you trying to save the world? Trying to eliminate poverty, suffering, child abuse etc?
• Are you trying to educate yourself so you can find a job? What job? Why do you want that job? Where will you find the job? What will you do when you have the job?
• Do you want to own your own business? Why do you want to own your own business? What kind of business do you want? How will you start the business? Who will be your customers/clients? Where will you find your customers/clients? How many hours will you work? What will you charge your customers? Will you charge per hour or per project? How much money is enough? What is the driver behind having your own business?

3. What difference do you make in the world or what difference do you see yourself making in the world?
• What do you want to bring into the world? Do you want to make a difference to the environment? Do you want to eliminate poverty/suffering/child and women abuse etc?
• Do you want to make life easier for mothers or for women in general?
• Do you want to help other women fulfil their potential?
• Do you want to help women feel gorgeous and get their self confidence back?
• Do you want to help women create a beautiful home (interior decorator)?

It doesn’t have to be big and life changing but there will be a reason (or several why you will want to and can make a difference in the world.

4. Who is most likely to support your vision for your life?
• Who “gets” you?
• Who would you like to mentor/coach you? Who’s a really good fit for you?
Think about the kind of individual they are, where would you find them, what problems could they help you solve? These questions should all be easy to answer and you will definitely have an answer even if you’ve never thought about this before.

5. What are your milestones?

What are the achievements you want to reach along the way that will show you you’ve moving forward and making progress?

Milestones could be:
• Completing your studies and finding a job
• Completing your studies and starting your own business
• Completing your studies and taking a gap year travelling overseas
• Spending time working on a kibbutz for a year

There may be smaller milestones like:
• Getting some practical work experience by volunteering at an organisation
• Working part-time during school, college or university breaks to gain some practical working experience.

These milestones are personal to you and they will keep you on track when you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed. Write them down and tick them off as you achieve them WHICH YOU WILL!

Who you are, is more important than what you do. – Anonymous