Have you ever had a conversation with someone who told you they could tell you were very passionate about the subject? Passion can go two ways, negatively or positively. When used for good, it energizes people. I hope you are working in an industry that you are on fire 🔥 about!
Action Steps:
Assess where you are today. Are you happy? If not, how can you get into the industry that will make you happy and passionate about your work.
If you are already in an industry that you love, are you waking up in the morning excited about the day ahead? What can you do to make your day more exciting and enjoyable?
1. Be Intentional: Plant a seed of thought that will grow into a fruitful tree of the thing you want in your life.
“Begin with the end in mind.”
“Plan your work, then work your plan.”
Steven Covey, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)
2. Make a Public Commitment to Grow Intentionally.
Sharing your commitment publicly makes your desire to achieve it stronger.
Keep your word to yourself and to the public.
3. Identify Two or More Areas You Will Grow In.
The first area is for something personal, such as learning a new language, reading an entertaining book, learning to dance or cook, etc.
The second area is for something professional.
This week, I’m reading a book from the local library on employment practices (professional development)
4. Invest 30 Minutes per Day on Each Area.
Preparation + Opportunity = Success
5. Invest 1 Hour per Week to Reflect – personal, intrinsic observation, and professional, SWOT analysis – and Journal Your Observations.
“Examine yourselves…” (2 Corinthians 13:5)
“Know thyself.” (Socrates)
What have you learned about yourself?
What have you identified about your business strengths?
What have you identified about your business weaknesses?
Do you see any opportunities?
Do you see any potential threats?
6. Share Your Growth.
Social media can be a powerful ally when your friends and fans show you their support and encouragement, but it can also come with heckling and criticism. As such, observe the reactions of others from an emotional distance. This will help you prevent (1) gloating and (2) despair from negative criticisms.
Final thoughts: Spend time with positive, uplifting people and stay clear of negative people who display ill-will towards your progress and achievements. As the saying goes, “birds of a feather flock together.”
Source: Adapted from 15 Laws of Growth by Dr. John C. Maxwell
As part of my morning motivation ritual, after pouring a cup of coffee, I review my list of ten things that I am thankful for.
Can you think of some things you are thankful for? (How about the air you breathe? Or the ability to read this blog post?) What are some things you want, that you will be thankful for when you achieve them? Now blend them together…
Infuse Your Gratitude List With the Power of Visualization and Auto-Suggestion.
My personal gratitude list is mostly forward thinking – I visualize the goals I want to achieve and then express gratitude for having achieved them (the power of positive thinking). If you can dream it, you can achieve it! (At least that’s what I’m hoping to prove.)
My Gratitude List
10 Things I’m Thankful For:
I am thankful that I have reached the top 10% of the most successful real estate agents on earth.
I am thankful that I am wealthy in finances and have a very high quality of life. In fact, because iron over $5 million per year, I am able to give 90% of my income away in tithes and offerings, and other charitable contributions, and I live exceedingly well on the remaining 10%!
I am thankful that I have very high self-esteem and high value self-worth.
I am thankful that I have always been positively influenced by others who are excellent teachers and remodels to me.
I am thankful that I am a positive, influential role model to others and that I am making a positive lifetime impact on them.
I am thankful that I am a master in real estate investments and have an outstanding portfolio to give to my family.
I am very happy and thankful that money comes to me and increasing quantities through multiple income streams on a continual basis, such as earning income from: (1) Health supplements, (2) Real estate brokerage services, (3) Real estate investments, (4) online courses, (5) subscription coaching & group mentoring, (6) instructor work, (7) subscription VOD TV shows, (8) affiliate income, (9) JV partnerships, (10) Brand deals, (11) speaking engagements, seminars, and webinars, and (12) book sales.
I am thankful that I get to travel around the world to explore new cultures and meet new people, to participate in missionary trips, and be a light to others at speaking engagements, seminars, and retreats.
I am thankful that my son loves our Heavenly Father and is making a positive impact on the lives of others as their role model.
I am thankful that I have an amazing wife who loves our Heavenly Father with all her heart, who is intelligent, adventurous, and hard-working, who has a great sense of humor, and who accepts me fully just as I am, she really is beautiful (on the inside and out) and she is the best life partner I could ever ask for.
Do you wake up every morning feeling excited about the day ahead of you? Honestly, sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. That’s why I find it helpful to engage in a self-motivation ritual that helps me raise my energy level to start the day with a sense of optimism, hope, and joyfulness. And you can do it too!
I have several reminders set on my cell phone (41 at present) to alert me at 6am. Each reminder carries different positive messages or tasks that I must accomplish, such as rehearsing my real estate sales scripts for working with buyers and sellers.
Today, I’d like to share with you 15 self-esteem affirmations. I use these to overcome my low self-esteem (something that I have come to realize I had developed growing up in a ‘challenging and toxic’ environment, to put it nicely.
Over time, the conscious activity of repeating positive affirmations will transfer the information from your conscious mind to your subconscious mind, also known as “auto-suggestion,” and will morph from thoughts to words, to actions, to habits, to character, to a new destiny. So, without further delay…
15 Self-Esteem Affirmations
I add quality and value to my life and to the lives of others.
I do what makes me feel alive.
I enjoy spending time in quiet places.
I have the courage to map out my own life.
I believe in myself, even when no one else does.
I am gifted in unique ways.
I feel accepted and loved.
I am independent.
I accept myself completely.
I embrace myself fully and joyfully.
I am superior to my old self.
I never underestimate my abilities.
I embrace self-acceptance.
I have the right mental attitude for success.
I enjoy helping other people.
I hope you find these affirmations useful. To get the most out of them, I recommend that you read them three times a day for 21 days (morning, midday, and before bedtime.)
I was listening to Dr. John Maxwell talk about “Do Overs” during this morning’s Minute With Maxwell motivational video message, a weekday morning ritual I have become accustomed to participating in for about six years now. The key takeaway is this: if you didn’t make the mistake, then you couldn’t learn from it and be who you are today.
The problems you experienced and the bad decisions you’ve made in the past guide you to become a better person. If you learn from your regrets, those difficult life lessons often called “the school of hard knocks,” then you should be able to avoid repeating those same bad choices because you know from your personal experiences how they will end.
Image Courtesy of Cotton bro from Pexels
When you come to a fork in the road where you have two choices, pause for a moment to reflect on where each road will take you, then make a choice.
Be mindful of the choice you’re making and take notes of the consequences that follow, good or bad, so as to learn from them.
Image Courtesy of Engin Akyurt from Pexels
As I think about my own life journey and the recent choices I’ve made, I think about my decision to move to The Woodlands (north of Houston), Texas last July. As a person of faith, I believe God answered my prayer in enabling me to move to Texas in 2020, even though it wasn’t the right place for me to be.
By that October, I was right back in Jacksonville, Florida where I belonged. I realized that we have to be careful what we ask for when I heard a biblical story about an ancient King who received a prophecy that he would die within a year.
He prayed fervently for life – and God answered his prayer (to the detriment of his people.) During his extended 15 years of life, he had opened the city doors to an enemy that eventually robbed the city of its gold and enslaved their people. It would have been better for Israel if their King had died as was originally planned.
Moving to Texas last year cost me about $10,000 and a lot of loneliness. I contracted shingles in my first month there and I was all alone with no friends or family to care for me. I spent my birthday alone with no cake, no company, and no birthday gifts. And even though I tried, I didn’t make any new friends. It was a beautiful location, but not the right fit for me.
This biblical story, and my own recent life experience, taught me to “be careful what you ask for.”
Self-discipline is not about refraining from making bad choices, in and of itself, but about being a good student of yourself (disciple means student). In the end, you’ll look back at your entire life and realize that your own self-discipline was the roadmap to a better life.
Image Courtesy of Snapwire from Pexels
Let your bad decisions propel you to make good decisions going forward. We are all on a journey and we can strive to live 1% better with every choice we make.
Years ago, I adopted Dr. Steven Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Successful People, then I learned Tom Hopkin’s “golden twelve”words. In the past couple months I added Brendan Burchard’s 6 High Performance Habits. Here’s my adaptation of HP2…
HP2. Generate Energy: Release stress and tension, then get intentional; bring the joy & positive energy; and optimize health. I intend to start my next activity stress-free, positive, eager, alert, flexible, and thankful for the gift of life today. I intend to ”be proactive” in building success in my business. I will bring more joy into my life by observing my daily blessings. I will raise my energy by exercising 5 times weekly, getting 7-8 hours of sleep nightly, eating healthy, and maintaining positive emotions!
Too many times we put off what is good for us, including proper nutrition (healthy eating), adequate sleep (7-8 hours), and regular exercise.
The consequences for such failure are fatigue, neuroticism, and memory apathy.
…if the demands of your job or life require you to learn fast, deal with stress, be alert, pay attention, remember important things, and keep a positive mood, then you must take exercise more seriously. –Brendon Burchard
We all have two choices when it comes down to having a healthy lifestyle: (a) we fit fitness into our daily schedule, or (b) we make excuses why we didn’t. Today is a new day and the first day of the rest of your life. How do you want it to go? Will you choose something fit for you or will you make another excuse?
🥁Here’s a tip: start with a 5 minute stretch today. Tomorrow, make it ten. Slow and steady win the race. But you’ll never win if you never begin. 🏆
There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a new order of things”
Niccolo Machiavelli, The Prince (1513)
John W. Tanner, J.D., M.S. 