Finding Your "Why"

The purpose of finding your why is to create a passionate reason for you to accomplish whatever you are looking to achieve in your life.

You may have a number of different "whys" and over time, your direction may change. If your mission is to create wealth and have passive income, your "why" is financial security. If you want to create wealth to take care of your family, your "why" is your family.

To create your mission statement, one that is created on purpose and in alignment with you true desires, your reason for accomplishing your mission must be bigger than you.

Knowing your "why" is very important. If you goal is to create wealth but you don't have a why, at the first obstacle, hurdle or challenge, you will give up. Knowing your why, you may still stumble and even fall, but your why will keep you focused and give you the strength and determination to get up and continue on your journey. Overcoming adversity will prepare you for greatness. Your "why" will act like an invisible magnet, drawing you step by step towards your goals and dreams, until you achieve them.

Creating your mission statement:

By knowing and standing by your mission statement, you control your results. When you are faced with a decision, you will make that decision easily and without delay, because your mission statement will give you the specific directions you require and you will know exactly which actions to take to keep you on the right path to achieve your goals and dreams.

You may not enjoy every moment of the process. What is important is keeping your eyes on the outcome so you continue the process. You must focus on the results. A woman may not enjoy the pain of childbirth; she will enjoy the results - a beautiful baby! An athlete may not enjoy the pain of training; an athlete will enjoy the results - winning!

Average people compare themselves to other people. That is why they are average. You only need to compare yourself to your potential and you will not be average.

Exercise:

You may have multiple statements for different areas of your life, 1 for personal, 1 for business, 1 for physical or any other area in your life you want to change. A mission statement is only a paragraph long, has specific and measurable outcomes and a deadline to achieve that outcome. It is the best way to start your journey to success.

Food for thought for your mission statement:

List 5 positive characteristics that describe you:

1__________________________________________________
2__________________________________________________
3__________________________________________________
4__________________________________________________
5__________________________________________________

List 5 goals (personal and/or professional) you would like to accomplish 12 months from today:

1________________________________________________________________-
2________________________________________________________________
3________________________________________________________________
4________________________________________________________________
5________________________________________________________________

List 2 financial goals you would like to accomplish 12 months from today:

1________________________________________________________________
2________________________________________________________________

To Your Success.

For more information, lessons and exercises, visit our website and sign up for the FREE 7 Day Success E-Course: http://www.createyourownlife.com.au/

Finding the Right Direction Part 1

Happiness is a direction, not a place.

- Sydney J. Harris

The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction not a destination.

- Carl Rogers

In last week's post, I wrote about the importance of persistence and determination, about not giving up. I wrote about the importance of recognizing when something wasn't working and of being willing to try a different approach. That we can become so invested in the direction we've taken that it blinds us to other possibilities.

I used the image of going up a hill as a metaphor for going after a goal or an objective. I also wrote that sometimes taking a different approach might mean choosing a different hill, a different goal, or objective.

I thought a lot about that metaphor this week. After thinking about it, I'm not sure I liked it, or maybe it's I just didn't like the way I used it. It gives the impression that once you've got to the top and reached your goal, you're done. I think you will agree that's not true.

Because there is always another goal, something else you want to achieve, or there is the feeling like there is something more, something left undone, unfulfilled.

I thought back to the times when I had completed something, achieved what had been an important goal. There was the initial elation, the glow of satisfaction, and the mental high fiving that puts a snap in your step. But before long you start to feel something crowding in on your sense of satisfaction, like some small, persistent child tugging at your sleeve demanding something that eventually becomes a thought impossible to ignore: So now what do I do?

Then, if you are like me, you discover that whatever baggage you thought you had left at the bottom of the hill: the fear, the doubt, those nagging insecurities, worries, anxieties, and the rest of your particular problems, have all seemed to find their way to the top of your new hill just in time to "help" you enjoy it.

Finally, you realize that the hill you're on is surrounded by even higher hills. As one person put it, success is just a ticket to solving a more complex problem. And so off you go eventually onto the next climb.

I like the way Carl Rodgers and Sydney J. Harris describe this notion in their quotes. Success, happiness, living the good life is a process, a set of actions and tools that keep you moving in a direction of your choosing. Its not "I'll be happy after I do X, or I'll have no more worries when I make Y dollars".

For Carl and Sydney, what makes you happy, or at least should make you happy, is the process of completing X or making Y, and then going on to make or complete Z, and so on.

However, I don't know about you, but I haven't always felt so good about the "process" I was in. Clearly, you have to be moving in a direction that works for you. But when you are doing something that is right for you, it really feels good. It is the good life.

So, if happiness, the good life, success is about moving in the right direction, taking the right hill, how do you know what is the right direction or hill.

Conversely, how do you avoid taking the wrong direction, and how do you figure out when you are going in the wrong direction?

Is it even possible to really know, or is it just a roll of the dice, some kind of trial and error, hoping that we end up liking where we end up.

I believe that you can determine the direction that is right for you at any time in your life and you can determine when it is time to change direction in the future.

Figuring out the answers to those what-to-do-next questions begins with understanding what you find meaningful in your life.

Meaning in this context is composed of all the things that you value most in life. Sometimes people will describe meaning as your purpose; what you are meant to do, or what you were put on earth to do. However, I think it is much more than just things you do in the world. Meaning includes what you experience in the world, the events, and people that engage you, your interactions with your environment.

Meaning is closely aligned with inner satisfaction, the aspects of your life that give you pleasure, a deep sense of fulfillment.

Next week I'm going to further explore this concept of meaning and why linking your actions to meaning is so important in finding the right direction, the right set of hills.

Ultimately, we should not ask what the meaning of life is, but rather we must recognize that it is we who must answer what is the meaning of our life. (Paraphrased from a quote by Viktor E. Frankl)

John Golding left a successful 25+ year career as an Information Technology executive to pursue the one part of his old career that he had truly come to love: coaching people.

As a mentor and coach, John has been strongly influenced by Victor Frankel's seminal work Man's Search for Meaning. John has discovered that as important as it is for you to clearly define what you want to do, it is even more important for you to understand why. John teaches that once you understand your purpose, what gives meaning to your life, you become the driver of your actions, and not a passenger.

John often likes to quote Dale Carnegie who wrote, "Success is getting what you want. Happiness is wanting what you get."

Begin your journey to the life you want, to the life you deserve. Learn more at http://www.thesuccesstrigger.com/

Finding Happiness - How to Lead a Peaceful Life

The Idea of Cause and Effect

The dream of most people is to live a happy peaceful life, but how many people achieve this. Indeed an important starting point could be deciding the things that would allow you to be happy. The idea that we are creating everything that comes into our life could also be something that needs to be considered. It has been said that the idea of "cause and effect" may be having a profound effect on your life. This is based on the concept that the things that you do will affect the things that happen in your life. So how can you find happiness and live a peaceful life?

The Idea that Money Brings Happiness

Can money bring happiness? If you look at the lives of many people who have gain wealth in abundance you could find that their lives may not appear as happy as you would assume. The media might suggest the idea that having a beautiful home and an expensive car as the thing that will bring happiness. But could it be a fact that this could be a great illusion, It could be a fact that happiness does not come from material things. Indeed if you look at small children, they may tend to play with the box that the new toy came in instead of the box.

The Idea that the Ideal Partner Brings Happiness

Most people are looking for the Mr or Mrs Right is something else that is thought to bring happiness. But it could be a fact that the ideal partner does not exist. Also the idea of another person bringing you happiness may be an illusion. So if material things and the perfect partner will not bring you the happiness that you desire, then what can be found to bring you the happiness that you desire? The idea of perfect career or ideal job could also be thought of a pathway to finding true happiness. But this too could also be found to be an illusion that does not bring happiness.

Could Happiness Be From a State of Mind

The idea that happiness comes from external things could prove to be unfounded. If this is true then where is the source of true happiness, and where can happiness be found. Could the search for true happiness be found inside of you? Could happiness be found inside your mind? There are people who spend time in meditation, it could be said that meditation can bring you inner peace. People have commented that meditating has led to a reduction in stress. Indeed it has been associated with the development of mental abilities. So could meditation be one of the keys to finding true happiness.

M G A Brown © 11/11/11

MGA Brown is the Author of "Thoughts To Make You Think" to find out how you can benefit go to Http://www.toolsofsuccess.co.uk/

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Information And Advice About Finding Happiness

If you are keen on finding happiness then it is important to discover how to be happy within yourself. The happy people that we meet are usually happy in themselves, which is why they appear so attractive and likable to others. If you want to appear relaxed, confident, interesting and attractive to others then you need to be happy in yourself too. Below are a couple of techniques to help you achieve this.

Don't Dwell On The Past - Look To The Future:
If you have done something in the past that you are not particularly proud of then you may wish you could go back and change it. Well unfortunately life does not come with a rewind button. The best thing to do is let go of the past. Don't feel hard done by, just move on and accept what has happened. Focus on the future and making it a good one. The first step to finding happiness within yourself is to realize that you cannot change the past.

Don't Criticize Others:
Many unhappy people tend to look for faults and failures in those around them. This is usually a way to cover up their personal insecurities. Many of us are quick to criticize others about things that we actually do ourselves. The key to finding happiness is to stop judging others. Instead you should concentrate on your own life, and living it in the best possible way. In doing so, you will feel so much better and happier about yourself.

Do Something Positive For Others:
By doing something positive for someone else you can take the focus off yourself. This could be volunteering at a retirement home, dog shelter or even helping at a homeless shelter. Regardless of what you do, it will prevent you from dwelling about yourself. When you do consider yourself you will feel much happier at the type of person you have become. You will feel proud and therefore happier.

Be Aware Of Your Strengths:
We all have something that we are good at. This could be baking, music, art or gardening. It is therefore important to identify what we are good at, and incorporate it into our routines. You should try to do something you are good at once a week. This will make you feel good and also proud at your accomplishment. Acknowledgement of our achievements is a great step to finding happiness.

There are many ways in which you can achieve happiness in your life. I really recommend trying the techniques listed above and see how you feel after them. You will soon realise that finding happiness isn't as hard as it seems.

If this article has been of interest to you, then please take a look at my website http://www.happinessandyou.com/, here you will be able to read more useful articles about finding happiness.

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Finding The New Generation Of Fuel For The Future!

The future can be as bright as we want to make it. Their are several possibilities of alternative power sources for America and the rest of the world. In this article I'm going to mention just a few of them, and define some of their uses and benefits. I will be discussing the different types of renewable energy that we have, and a brief description of each one. These will include wind power, solar power,and hydroelectric.

Wind power is the conversion of wind into a useful power source. These can range from a single wind turbine for a single house, or a wind farm which can consist of hundreds or thousands of turbines to produce electricity. With the technology of today, we can utilize switching stations, to use power lines in use now, to provide electricity or power companies will buy the power produced. Wind is a very clean source of power, compared to the fossil fuels we burn now, and maybe in the near future we can use the wind for our main power supply, with fossil fuel backup power. Wind energy continues to grow every year and in the future, we can only hope it helps solve some of our energy problems.

Solar power is the conversion of sunlight into electricity. The upfront cost of solar power is one of the drawbacks, but over time and with more research, in time we can make this a affordable option. Solar uses mirrors to attract the sun and this produces heat, which in return produces electricity. With the combination of wind power and solar power, between the two we can produce and store power year around. At this time solar power plants take up lots of land, but as we learn more, the learning curve keeps changing to make this a more useful energy. The future looks very bright as we develop more uses for this renewable energy.

Hydroelectric is the conversion of the gravitational force of flowing or falling water into electricity. We have used hydroelectric power for several years now, and it is a very effective way to produce electricity. This is produced by damming up a water way and then released to produce the pressure needed to turn generator turbines to produce the electricity. Hoover Dam is the most familiar hydroelectric dam in the U.S. Hydroelectric production is #1 as far as its effect of greenhouse gases, reason being their are no fossil fuels used at all to produce this form of energy.

This is a brief description of a few of our renewable energies. The U.S. has all the knowledge and manpower to progress these renewable energies into useful everyday sources of electricity. Hopefully as we learn more about these forms of energy, we can develop them into efficient and low cost forms of energy to the world. Simply put fossil fuels continue to soar in price with no end in sight, and our only resource is to produce the natural ones we've always had on earth. Save fossil fuels for the back up supply!

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Creating Change: Finding Something to Be Passionate About

One of the biggest differences that I notice that separate people who are really truly happy from everyone else, is that those who radiate happiness are passionate about something in their lives. Recently I went on a site visit with some clients that I work with who are interested in putting a business together. They had done a few feasibility studies but couldn't really decide which direction they wanted to head in. I had the chance to take them on a tour of a business that had some similar components to the kind of operation they were thinking of running. The group left the visit unable to decide the direction they wanted to head in.

They had three initial goals: be able to grow and sustain the organization, be able to hire people with disabilities, and be able to turn a profit. The one thing they lacked was passion. I very carefully chose the business that I took them to for the tour. The owner of that business has passion oozing from every cell of his body and his enthusiasm is highly contagious. When the group asked him what made his company so successful his response was: "That's what I do."

After listening to this gentleman for more than two hours the group walked away with this lesson: You have to have passion to be a success. You have to live, breathe, and feel your work. Without passion you are just going through the motions and you will not succeed, or your success will be short-lived. Find your passion before you invest your money, before you invest your efforts in developing a business plan, before you invest your time and energy into a business.

The group that I was working with left the tour with a few ideas. They went back to meet with their board of directors and they have narrowed down some choices that they are at least a little bit passionate about. With some more research, and site visits to various businesses hopefully they can find a business idea that they will truly be passionate about, and can implement with great success.

If you find that your happiness quotient is low and that you're lacking a bit of passion in your life, here are some steps to get back on track:

1) Make note of what excites you. Carry a small notepad or notebook around for a week. When you are feeling happy, jot down what in particular is generating that feeling of happiness.

2) Take a trip to a book store. What section do you gravitate towards?

3) Spend some time in solitude. Let your mind wander a bit. Listen to your thoughts

4) If you could spend a whole entire week doing anything that you wanted, what would it be?

5) If you told someone else "That's what I do!" what would it be in regard to?

Whether developing a business or not, we all need a certain level of happiness and passion in our lives. I am sure that on some level, we all know this but with all of the day-to-day activities in our lives we often forget this lesson.

Lori Bell is founder of Creating Powerful Change, LLC and creator of http://www.help-me-change.com/ which offers tips, tools, and techniques for implementing successful change in to your life. As your Personal Change Agent, Lori will provide you with an easy to follow step by step process that allows you to tap into your hidden potential, to grow personally and professionally, and to create a life that finally feels right and works great for you! To receive other free articles and the no cost product- "Are You Ready for Success?" visit http://www.help-me-change.com/ now.

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