All people say that they want to succeed in life at whatever they do but very few are willing to actually push themselves them little bit further in order to achieve their goals, and this is why some of us succeed in life and others fail. How well you succeed is all about how bad you want the success, what it means to you, are you willing to succeed a little or are you willing to go the whole way and beyond to achieve a higher status and be outstanding?

We all start out with the best of intentions when racing towards the goals we have set, we shoot out of the starting gate and run down the straight but many of us fall back at the first hurdle, we don’t push, we run out of steam when the going gets tough and don’t pause to catch our second wind but come to a halt and give up, or stumble on half heartedly and cross the line in second or third place at best.

Those who do have the winning streak in them, who know that with a little extra push and a pause to catch their breath and then a final sprint down the home straight and past the winning post a head in front of their competitors are the ones that end up with the glory and true success in life.

Of course all those who are successful don’t just rely on pushing themselves, all winners have a strategy and are willing to be flexible on their way to success because life has a way of throwing many different spanners into the works along the way. We have to be able to adapt to these unexpected happenings when they occur and not get bogged down, we have to take them in our stride, skip around them and continue in the race.

Never settle for anything less than giving it you’re all

Here are some tips to help you remember never to settle for anything but your best no matter what the project is

• It doesn’t matter how big or small the project put your all into getting it completed
• If you think you have given it your best shot, pause and ask yourself “could I improve”
• Plan our your project but always be willing to make changes and work your way around the unexpected
• It’s ok to pause but get back into the race and carry on until you pass the winning post.

The fastest way to improve your circumstances is to change yourself.  You have been born with the power to do so, use that ability! When life stinks and throws a challenge, you got three choices:

-Dive for cover and look for a scapegoat.

-Become the scapegoat.

-Act creatively.

Looking for and being the scapegoat are the options taken by the victim. You know these people- they play the martyr; the say they don’t deserve it; they refuse responsibility; they always blame others; they avoid rocking the boat. In sum, they skirt risk.

Acting proactively is the choice of Winners- folks who understand they have the power to make a drastic change. This response is not easy. Hell no. It  requires tenacity at times when all things go wrong. But stop and think. What else have YOU to do in life, if not to seize responsibility for yourselves. Your life’s choices are your own. Not jerk you live with. Not the boss who pays your salary.

I saw a slogan outside Nautica at Eastwood the other day. It goes “You can’t change the wind that blows, but you can shift your sails.”

Are you shifting sails?

How often do you have these moods? Have you ever wanted to crawl out of this depression?

Believe it or not, its easy. All it takes is standing up, really straight, puffing out your chest and simply changing your position and location. Breathe in nice and smoothly for added measure.

A simply physiological change chases the blues away faster than prozac does. Try it.

If you want a change in lifestyle, you must be prepared to pause… and take that leap of faith. Here’s how you can do it.

Never look back.

When you decide to take a new job, don’t quibble. Quit now and start applying. Want a new relationship? Cease suffering the old one. Get out there and meet new people!  Want more money? Don’t second guess opportunities. Pick one, implement it and proceed.

The decisive take a leap of faith and reach a goal almost always. Those who look back trip their own feet. Others feel your indecision and subsequently treat you with reservation.

There can be no half measures.  Take that leap of faith. Confidence in your abilities empower you to succeed.

You want a lifestyle change? Then just do it now. And Don’t look back.

There’s a way to get things done with a smile.

Our mindset governs the driving force of our action. What do you think when you’re about to accomplish something?

“I have to do this”

“I must accomplish this”

“It’s my job”

“It should be done”

Thinking in terms of  ‘shouds’ and ‘musts’ demotivate us because we feel coerced. It robs us of choice… even if there is choice (otherwise you won’t be doing it). There is, however, an elegant way of re-empowering our decision to toil. It is to think this way:

“I am glad to do this”

A simple mind shift and BAM! You’ll suddenly see rainbows in the sky.

Gotta mop the floor? Think to yourself, “I’m happy to mop this floor!”

Try it.

You’re ready to scream.

Whenever a particular sequence of unfortunate events  conspire to bring you down, how do you cope? I’m sure you’ve gone through hell like this and you’ve been farthest from sentient. Were you rational? Maybe you hit suicidal. Stress eventually leads to volcanic eruption and the poor fella you finally yell at had nothing to do with your day’s misfortunes.

Before you reach the point of no return, try the following tactic to unwind in a second:

• Seek out a quiet, private spot.
• Lock the door.
• Stretch out your mouth really wide and flex your entire body.
• Throw your fists to the heaven and scream- to your heart’s content.
• Relax.
• Rinse and Repeat.

Ah…. didn’t that feel better? Now you’re in control once again.

Think of the way you would pamper your baby. First, you would hug her when she were crying. You’d feed her when her tummy growls. You’d encourage her after her attempts to walk fail. You defend her from attacks and criticisms. You’d point out to her that mistakes aren’t to be ashamed of- but to be learned from. You’d spend a whole day just bonding in silence- simplye enjoying the beauty of the skies floating by.

Okay. Now, do you have an idea how to pamper yourself? Pampering need not be costly. Simply treat yourself the same way you treat a baby! Take time out to spend a day just by yourself. Encourage your self to achieve more and comfort yourself when goals aren’t reached. Save them for the next day. Learn to forgive yourself of mistakes. Pick up from the pieces and learn to do things better next time.

Remember: You deserve love and care. And only you can give yourself unconditional affection.

Ready?

I want you to write down 20 words that best describe you. Don’t stop until you finish writing. Take as long as you need, but don’t let anything distract you from this.

Done? Look at your answers one at a time and decide which beliefs are empowering and have positive implications. Place a check next to these words.

Next, look at which beliefs are disempowering and damage your self-esteem. Place an X next to these words.

Now scan the list and look at all the X answers. Consider very intensely why you believe these things to be true. Some of them may be unsupported assumptions. DISCARD THEM!

Always challenge disempowering beliefs. Does it serve you well to believe something that doesn’t work for you?

Yogis like to teach that to attract prosperity, we myst first create room to allow the new abundance. It’s this principle that drives the success of runaway bestseller The Secret. Realize now that by grasping at redundant and useless baggage that surround us, we spiritually tie ourselves to old limiting beliefs and past limitations. My mom long hammered this fact into me; it’s done wonders for my personal growth.

 To work! Peek into your garage. Is it full of old tools and parts you no longer need? What about your wardrobe. Are there clothes that have gotten mothballed? Take an inventory of the sentimental attachments you have to these mere physical objects. Each time you look at clothes that no longer fit or love letters that remind of heart wrenching moments, you start reaching for the ice cream and get fat.

Release the hold of the past. Trash them. Then you can move forward.

Flashback 2001. While I didn’t look as bouncy as Mr. Canine here, I certainly felt just as  bloated as he looked.  The reason? I was about 10 pounds overweight. My dietician blamed a slow metabolism. I simply blamed Ronald McDonald for setting up shop next door.

I felt lousy when guys in muscle shirts strode past. Here I was, clad in flashy Prada but my physique made me sag like a duck next to these lean dudes in tattered Levis. Something had to be done. So I did what every fat slob was doing: popped the Hydroxycut, did the Atkins and hit the iron. It didn’t work.

Six months and 8 bottles of Hydroxycut later, I dropped a whopping two pounds, landed in the hospital twice and still felt like that same fat  dog- only lazier. My grand fatloss scheme certainly wasn’t working. So I consulted a few more diet experts. Their advice were suspicious carbon copies of each other. The general suggestion was that I  can boost my metabolism by eating enough (not too little, like most slobs on a diet), chowing more frequently (5-6 small meals a day), and slapping more protein and fiber to the  diet. Throw in weight-training, and high-intensity cardiovascular exercise and I should theoretically reach a lean ripped mass.

Yeah right. I’ve been on an ephedrine high, bland water diet and bone jarring exercise regimen six months… and all I had to show for it was a lightened wallet from gym membership and a GNC recurring bill. Plus, I was cranky as a cop without his doughnuts. There had to be something else.

There was.

By accident I heard of a queer practice called solarhealing invented by Mr. Hira Ratan Manek. This fine fellow claimed that by gazing into the sun a few seconds at sunrise and a few seconds at sunset ultimately eliminates the need for physical nourishment. He likened the human body to a solar battery. The act of gazing this way for 40 days ultimately charged the human body with energy and liberated anyone from the need to eat. Check out the fantastical documentaion on this guy. Allegedly, he’s stopped eating since 1995 and US Universities appear to back up his claims.

That was good enough for me…so I tried this sungazing thing. Armed with light tinted shades and an alarm clock, I gazed into the sun as prescribed. The exercise exhilarated me! I literally felt electrified with new found energy.

Day ten into the regimen, I abruptly noticed that cravings for fatty foods had permanently stopped. My gym workouts extended up to 3 hours without winding me. Weight dropped about one pound. No Hydroxycut included.

Woah… I was on to something.

I kept it up for six months straight. Either the sungazing rewired my actual need for chemical nourishment or it effected a constant psychological satiation becauseI found myself eating a quarter of what I used to per meal. That’s a far cry from Hira Ratan Manek’s claims that eating will be totally eliminated. I was still eating, period. But, miraculously, I was eating very little and feeling explosively powerful.

I don’t know if sungazing or my workouts or my recent immersion in hatha yoga affected my metabolism, but I do know this: I no longer looked like the droopy dog. My schedule forced me to abandon sungazing after six months, but the benefits persist till today.

And I have a muscle shirt to show for it.