Distressful situations are a fact of life- a human predicament that seems hell-bent on blocking our attempts towards personal nirvana and impairing our ability to function. Though it may be unpleasant to have to stop and collect yourself in response to a personal difficulty, there may be times when you may not even have that “luxury.”

If you find yourself in an usually stressful or painful situation, yet still need to maintain some level of performance in either your personal or professional life, then keep the following four tips in mind:

1. Give yourself some slack! The very first step towards staying productive when difficulty strikes is accepting the fact that you will likely not be at your peak performance. To the best of your ability, you need to lower the bar. Otherwise, the stress of having to continue producing and performing, can just add to and prolong your hardship, not to mention sap away the strength and energy you need to cope with the situation.

2. Limit the quick pick-me-ups. When stress is high, people tend to reach for quick and easy pick-me-up’s, such as alcohol, junk food, and even antidepressant medication. This happens even though most people are aware of the negative consequences of binging on alcohol and junk foods, and the negative side effects of taking antidepressant medication over the long-term have been well-documented. While these kinds of crutches can be helpful since they provide a temporary “breather” from all the gloom and doom, they need to be used with moderation. If not, then the “side-effects” will far out-weigh any short-term benefits, disrupting your natural ability to cope and stay productive.

3. Your support system is key. The biggest and most effective tool you can have to help you deal with adversity is the network of people you choose to surround yourself with. This network can include close friends, family, mentors, a life coach, and where necessary a qualified professional, such as a psychologist. Not only can these people offer physical assistance and clarity, but they can be a source of inspiration, emotional support, and a place from which you can draw the strength to keeping going.

4. Maintain your physical balance. If you want to give yourself the best chances of staying productive then make an effort to eat and sleep properly and get some exercise. Though this may seem self-evident, often a person’s physical needs are the first to be sacrificed when difficulty strikes and this only adds to the problem. Not only should you try your best to maintain your normal, daily routine, but you should make an effort to avoid exorbitant amounts of junk food, caffeine, alcohol and refined sugars that are low in nutritional value and high in calories.

In short, though a distressful situation may slow you down, with a little care and some common sense, it doesn’t have to completely stop you in your tracks.

Gary Barzel is the manager of business development for Fastupfront. Fastupfront offers business loan alternatives for existing businesses in need of working capital.

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Here are 3 ways to awaken your inner architect!

Architects Create Vision

Vision is key!

Your vision can literally serve as your blueprint for the future. Your ability to walk into the life that you crave depends on the future you see. That’s because anything exceptional that you attempt is often birthed with a vision. It’s the vision that inspires hope when the struggle gets too hard and when calamity becomes all too familiar. That’s why it’s important to not bankrupt your future with a limited vision. It’s hard to move forward confidently without having a good idea of where you are going. Powerful motivator Zig Ziglar always says if you aim for nothing, you’ll hit the mark every time.

There are numerous reasons for lack of vision. Sometimes it’s the pain of previous failures that halts our progress. In such cases, we have to remember that missteps bring experience and provide insight; moreover, our survival is a testimony of our resilience. You can experience a do over! Other times we’re blinded by complacency with past successes. However, suppose we had stopped with the telegram or the telephone?

Our lives have been so enriched by people who dared to see beyond present circumstances and innovations. These architects changed the future by elevating our visions. According to Seth Godin, they transform our “shared interest into a passionate goal and desire for change.” Just because you are not gifted in design doesn’t mean that you can’t design your life. First, your ability to create the vision for your life necessitates your commitment to learn and look inward.

Second, when you peer into the future, make sure that you are looking with a fresh pair of eyes and perspective. Tired eyes rarely see a bright future.

Third, your vision for your future may benefit from some perspective of the past. History often repeats itself, so ironically, by looking to the past, you can better anticipate the future. Fourth, draw inspiration from what you read, hear, and feel. Then, create the plan that awakens the music inside you. Remember that prosperity and wealth are not beyond your reach. Doing these things consistently will elevate your vision to new levels and give you a sound basis to design an authentic path for your future.

Architects Create Structure

Another interesting aspect of an architect’s job is that they create or restore order. During chaos, the gifted architect is perhaps most appreciated. By creating order, the architect can enhance productivity and decrease stress. In contrast, disorder is costly! For example, how many times have you been distressed and your productivity ruined due to losing your cell phone, important file, or flash drive?

Order also encompasses how we live our lives. An orderly life is one that is aligned with your skills and abilities, personality, dreams and passions. It is rare that someone else will create this authentic fit for you. However, by truly knowing yourself and patterning your life accordingly, you can align your actions with your heart.

Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no art. Leonardo da Vinci

Career coach Dan Miller has great advice regarding structuring your work in this manner. He recommends work where you are strongest 80% of the time, where you are learning 15% of the time, and where you are weak 5% of the time. A practical example is if you know you are soon bored after learning something new, then structure your business (or choose a job) where your desire for new challenges is a strength rather than a weakness. For all of us, there is an environment where we function best; it’s where our differences are celebrated instead of merely tolerated. If you aren’t already there, then search for or design the environment for yourself.

Architects Oversee Development

Don’t die with your music still in you!
After he or she has created the vision and developed order, much of the architect’s “hard work” is already complete. Some say 85% of the process centers on the creative aspects, but application is still required. Unexecuted great plans mean that the potential will never be manifested, nor will the design be appreciated in its full glory. For example, before Henry Ford and James Cash Penney could give us Ford Motor Company and JC Penney department stores, respectively, they had to build infrastructure and assemble their teams.
It is the architect’s role to oversee the execution of the vision. Overseers know that productivity, or lack thereof, often depends on their recruiting the right talent, incentivizing their participation, and providing adequate resources and direction to bring the vision into fruition.
The personal application is that we must oversee our own development. We must hold ourselves accountable for acting on our visions; otherwise, they may remain pipe dreams. Often this may require enlisting the assistance of others. Perhaps you may hire a bookkeeper for a business or even your household finances to stay on track financially. Alternatively, you could engage a coach to quickly raise your performance to a much higher level. You may choose an accountability partner to call foul when your actions don’t match your words. Regardless of the steps you take, the responsibility for the product is yours. You have already been empowered, but it is what you do with that power that is key.

Closing Thoughts

As an architect, you can create beauty from chaos or resurrect a structure to its former glory. It’s your blueprint of the future that inspires hope in the face of adversity and order during disarray. It’s your seasoned insights that are relied upon to ensure the safety and progress of the project. The personal takeaway is that as the architect of your life, you have substantial power. However, with this power comes great responsibility. It is no longer acceptable to rely on past excuses for lack of achievement. You already have the components and resources needed for greatness, but the key question is: are you ready to produce?

About the Author: I’m Roshawn Watson, and I write at Watson Inc on eliminating debt, investing money, and building wealth. Get my free eBook Your Foundation to Wealth by signing up for my email updates (no spam I promise). Get my RSS feed and connect with me on http://www.twitter.com/roshawnwatson too.

• Every day you will give yourself the gift of an “attitude of gratitude.”

• Visualizing how you would like your day will help release positive energy from within you and you will attract more positive energy from those around you.

• Instead of spinning your wheels in an old way of thinking, each day is a chance to reframe and re-look at things in a different way.

• You can experience each day an awe in the beauty and creation of the world – and the beauty of you who is in it!

• You find yourself shifting from an “”I can’t mindset” to an “I can” mindset.”

• With a focus on positive intentions, you feel more empowered and more like a “victor” than a “victim.”

• You are more mindful of the present, and will be more likely to live fully in the present each moment of each day. After all, the past is a great place to visit, but you don’t want to live there!

I don’t know about yourself, but I’ve lived most of my life being oblivious to the fact that if you want to get the same results as somebody else then all have to do is do the same things that they did. In other words, people who get similar results have similar habits. Therefore, if you want to start a successful business then all you need to do is copy what somebody else did to start their own successful business. If you want to become the number 1 Cup Stacker in the world then all you have to do is take the same steps as the current number 1 Cup Stacker did.

The rule really is that simple and yet I still feel like Einstein whenever I think about this.

The matter of the fact is this rule not only works in terms of success, but also in terms of failure. People who achieve nothing in life will have the same habits as the next person who has achieved nothing in life. Somebody who is in debt will typically have the same spending habits as somebody else who is in debt. This is also true of ineffective people. If you want to start reaching for the stars and realizing all your dreams you need to drop the habits that are leading to daily ineffectiveness.

You may not realize that you are suffering from ineffectiveness but either way you’ll soon find out as below are the 5 characteristics of ineffective people:

1. Ineffective People Don’t Plan
The first characteristic of an ineffective person is their inability to plan their daily lives. The simple truth is that they have no idea what they want to achieve or where they want to go in life. For this reason they make decisions and take actions which lack any real direction or purpose. Conversely, an effective person will know precisely which tasks need to be done and this will ultimately take them closer to where they want to go.

2. Ineffective People Don’t Make Lists
Much like the point above, Ineffective people do not make to-do lists of what they need to do for the day ahead. Rather than spending time on their most valuable tasks they spend the time procrastinating on what they should be doing instead of actually doing it. Ineffective people can spend as much as 2 hours a day procrastinating. This is wasted time that could have been put to more productive use. It only takes 10 minutes to plan a day yet ineffective people are unaware of how little time it takes.

3. Ineffective People Don’t Put Things Back
You will find that the residence of a highly ineffective person will be the same as the residence of another. Ineffective people just don’t put things back in the same place and they waste valuable time trying to look for things such as their keys, wallet or their mobile phone.

Rather than having a regular place for these items, they have to constantly search around. Sometimes their car keys are by their bed, or in their pocket or sometimes it’s on the kitchen table. Effective people do not only put things back, but they set out areas where certain things should go and they save time and reduce stress by knowing where things are.

4. Ineffective People Let Chaos Build
In today’s society it’s very easy to become overwhelmed with the amount of information coming in – e-mails, text messages, bills to pay, household chores and other work that needs to be done. An ineffective person will allow all this chaos to grow without putting regular intervals aside to control the extra work that gradually comes in. An effective person will just let the tasks grow and grow until everything is out of control and becomes one big explosion of disorganized chaos similar to the big bang theory (Am I being dramatic much?) – an overload of unanswered e-mails, bills and dishes begin to pile up.

In the end a disorganized person will become so overwhelmed that even the thought of tackling the chaos is too daunting.

However, an effective person has a far different approach. They will know that there will be some build up of unattended work once in a while, and that they must set aside time to bring everything under control before it gets out of control. This is something ineffective people must learn to do.

5. Ineffective People Lack Focus
What I’ve noticed with most ineffective people is that they cannot focus their attention on one task and stick with it all the way to the end. What you’ll find is that they focus on one task then begin to allow their mind to wander onto other tasks until they are doing so many tasks that none of them are being completed. For example, have you ever noticed how you may sit down to write an important e-mail, then the next thing you know you’re checking the news, on instant messenger or checking up on Facebook? If you want to become effective you must learn to focus on one task and resist the urge to get distracted by another task. Once you fully complete task then, and only then can you move onto the next.

So there you have it; the 5 characteristics of ineffective people. With enough time and awareness anybody who currently experiences these traits can turn it around and drop these habits. It may take time, but once you drop these 5 traits you’ll definitely stop getting the same results as other ineffective people i.e. achieving nothing!

Kian Tan is a freelance blogger for PickTheBrain and the founder of Awesome Life Coach.

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Has it ever crossed your mind that you have no more room in your life? I mean, for anything – the good, the bad…nothing. Stick a fork in you. You’re done.

If you sense that you are absolutely full to the brim with too many worries, stresses, projects, friends, things to do, bills, and more…read on.

Even good stuff takes up space – so all the hopes, dreams, your health, your children, the vacation you want to take…

Everything you do, your thoughts, your relationships, the people around you, the world – it’s all a little too much sometimes.

So the question is…how can we make more space and time for the good stuff?  You know…that stuff that doesn’t weigh you down, but inspires you and makes you excited to wake up in the morning?

You need to find or make more White Space in your life.

Question Time

How would you rather feel? Drained or exhilarated? Inspired or stuck in the mud? Frazzled or anxious?

We all have times when we feel weighed down. We want to do our best at work and at home. We want our families to thrive and our homes to sparkle while we try to make more money, finish first, and live the dream.

But we push ourselves so hard that we end up having to start and restart all the time.

We shuffle pieces of our life around, but never really make any room to move or breathe.  We fill up the spaces in our brain and our homes and then find that we can’t make sense of anything!

There’s a way to get beyond these moments of too much-ness and start living again–a way to live in the moment without letting life walk all over you or floating aimlessly with nothing to do or focus on.

The first step is to recognize what White Space looks like.

1. You say no without guilt.

2. You make smarter decisions.

3. You feel physically and mentally healthier.

4. You are more energetic and interested in your life.

5. You are more productive.

6.  You stop putting yourself last on the to do list.

7.  You realize you don’t have to do everything on your own or by anyone else’s design.

The second step is to breathe.  Experience white space in the moments when you stop.

When you stop — literally do nothing but breathe, you’ll feel white space.  But you don’t have to stay in this state forever. Obviously, doing nothing sometimes feels really good, but who can do that for more than a few minutes a day–especially with children, work, etc.

A short cut to carving out more space in you life is to start looking for activities that give you this feeling, looking for ways to make more room for what’s important to you, you’ll get hungry for it and seek out new ways to get a shot of space.

It’s Your Turn

What areas of your life need improvement? How will you feel when you’ve accomplished that? Happy? Inspired? Empowered?

Write it down.

Pick up a pen or pencil and a piece of paper–any kind of paper. Write down how you want to feel.

I am going to feel…….

Now fold it up and gently place this piece of paper as a promise to yourself in a safe place.

Maybe you can’t see it yet, but you just made a little space for yourself.

And – If you know you want to get better at self & time management, be more productive, experience more success in your business, develop stronger relationships, and maybe even get started in a better career, you already have too much on your plate and you know you need White Space.

Anne Samoilov is a business/productivity coach and project manager who uses her background in health and fitness to teach women how to achieve their goals using Simple, Focused, Consistent Steps. Anne is the author of The White Space Solution: Make Room For Your Best Life and Work.
Check out her blog at AnneSamoilov.com where she writes articles to help you gain clarity, be more productive, feel less stressed and reach your goals in record time.

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Do you have a tough time accepting help?

A few years ago, I thought that achievements only really “counted” if I did everything alone. I was afraid that accepting help would make me look weak. But the truth is, getting help isn’t a sign of weakness – it’s a way to maximize your potential.

Getting help can cover a whole range of situations, so let’s take a look at some of the most common ones.

Public Accountability

This is the most basic level of assistance: feeling accountable to someone else. You don’t even need the other person (or people) to take any active role here.

If you tell your family and friends that you’re going to lose 30lbs in the next year, you’ve made a public commitment. As time goes by, they might ask you how you’re progressing. When you’re tempted to eat a candy bar or dig into a bag of chips, that accountability can be enough to give you the willpower boost that you need.

Accountability works on smaller goals, too. Perhaps you’ve decided that you want to spend 30 minutes writing every morning. You could tell the world on Facebook or Twitter that you’re about to get started on your daily writing – that way, you’ll feel more motivated to actually do it.

Emotional and Practical Support

While accountability helps, you’ll probably find that you need a higher level of support and encouragement in order to stay on track long-term. That means finding people who can get directly involved.

There are a couple of key ways they can help you:

• Emotional support. This might mean praising you when you’re doing well, or encouraging you to keep going when things are tough. You might need a sympathetic ear, or a pat on the back.
• Practical support. Some goals require time, energy or physical resources. Do you have family or friends who can help out in practical ways – perhaps looking after your kids while you exercise, or letting you use their home gym?

At this level of help, your friends or family don’t need any involvement in your actual goal. If you want to be a writer, it doesn’t matter that your partner has no interest in doing likewise – what does matter is that s/he accepts that your goal is important to you.

Advice from Peers

While family and friends can be a real support, they won’t always be able to give you advice that can help you towards your goal. Look around for people who can – like-minded individuals, working towards a similar goal to yours. You may need to pay a membership fee to join an organized group.

For instance, if you’re struggling to lose weight, you might want to join a local club or an online forum. Perhaps your friends all seem to be effortlessly thin, and they can’t offer you any useful tips – but the members of your weight-loss group may be able to show you where you’re going wrong.

At this level of help and support, there should be plenty of give and take. You want to find a group where you can advise other members too, sharing what you yourself have learned. This can help you too: teaching others may allow you to consolidate your own knowledge and experience.

Expert Assistance

This level of help isn’t right for everyone: it may mean a substantial commitment of money and probably of time. If you’re going for a big goal, though, you may find it’s very worthwhile to invest in expert help.

Whatever you’re working on, there’ll be people who can help in the role of a teacher, mentor, tutor or coach. With some goals, these individuals are essential and their involvement is pretty much automatic (if you’re aiming to get a degree, for instance). With other goals, you may have to look around.

Experts might be consultants who can teach you how to run your small business more effectively, teachers who can give you weekly music lessons, life coaches who can give you new insights into your behavior … pretty much anyone who’s at a level above you and your peers.

If you can’t afford to pay for one-to-one time with an expert, look for opportunities to attend group sessions (such as a seminar) – or even consider buying a book that you can learn from.

——

How are other people helping you on the road towards your goals? Is there any level of support that you’re missing out on? Feel free to share your experience and thoughts in the comments below…

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We’re getting dangerously close to the end of 2011. If you made any New Years resolutions this year (and if you read this blog, I’d wager there’s a pretty good chance you did), how are those coming along?

If you’re like a lot of people out there, you might find that those hopeful thoughts in January are starting to get replaced by excuses or maybe even a sense of defeat or futility.

But why is is that people don’t achieve their goals? What keeps them stuck, unable to lose that weight, make more money, find the love they really want, or do the countless other things to make themselves happy?

Here are the 4 things that keep most people from reaching their goals.

They Don’t Have Clarity About What They Want

Maybe you know that you want more friends, you want to make more money, or you want to start a business. You probably have at least a vague idea about what you want, but have you ever sat down and painstakingly thought about exactly what you want down to the last detail?

One exercise I like to do is to take several hours (yes, several hours–not just a few minutes!) and actually write down exactly what I want my daily life to be like. To help you as you do this, consider answering questions like:

• What do you do?
• Who do you do it with?
• What do you talk about?
• What do you eat for breakfast?
• When do you wake up?
• What do you dream about?
• What are you most proud of?

When you can put yourself in the ‘future you’ shoes and start to imagine life from that point of view, you’ll have a real and concrete idea about what you’re working toward. Your goals will be clear and you’ll know exactly what you want.

They Don’t Have the Right Plan

Maybe you know what you want extremely well. However if you don’t have the right plan, you’ll likely never be able to achieve it.

Taking action is great, but if you’re just taking any old action, you won’t be making consistent and steady progress toward your goal. Somethings might take you a step closer to what you want, while the next things moves you away from it.

A common example of this is when someone tries to learn how to start an online business. Many beginners (like myself, not too long ago) end up getting seduced by the latest ‘shiny new thing’ and keep jumping from one program or course to the next, never really making any progress.

The solution to this is to study someone who is successful at what you want to achieve and follow the same plan that they used to get there. Success leaves clues, so follow those and use them as your plan to guide the way.

They Are Not in the Right Environment

Are you around negative people most of the time? Is your life just too hectic to give you a moment’s peace to get clear thinking? Maybe your workspace is too cluttered to focus on what needs to get done.

I’ll be honest, not everyone is gifted with being in the right situation, especially when they are just getting started reaching their goal.

If you don’t feel like you are in the right environment to support you, you may need to take some actions to fix the situation. Make the effort to create a tidy space to keep your creativity flowing, block off time away from cynical people to do the things you want to do without guilt or judgment, take some personal time to just hear yourself think once in a while, or do whatever it takes to get yourself into a situation that maximizes your chances of success.

They Don’t Have the Right Mindset

The last big thing that keeps many people from finding the success they want is a proper mindset. If you’re reaching for something that’s just outside your comfort zone, it’s not uncommon to go up against your limiting beliefs.

Fears that you’re not good enough, doubts that you don’t have what it takes, or even hesitations and second-guesses that what you want is really even possible are common.

Many years ago, I learned that the best way to overcome a limiting belief is to try your hardest to prove it true. Commit to giving it your best shot and move forward anyway despite the fear.

If you have a belief that you are too shy to ask someone out, then prove it! Go and force yourself to ask out ten people. If you think you just can’t lose weight, then prove it! Improve your diet and exercise routine and see if those pounds don’t budge.

This will likely make all of your fears go from a quiet whisper in the back of your mind, to screaming at you at maximum volume, but keep pushing through it. The point isn’t to back down when your limiting beliefs come up, it’s to get in the habit of barreling through that fear and taking action anyway.

Before you know it, you’ll embrace the fear and, although you may still feel afraid, you won’t use that as an excuse to not take action.

Do any of these sound familiar to you? If you’re anything like me, you can probably relate a little bit to each of them. But if you recognize any of these roadblocks, you shouldn’t feel bad.

Accept that they are keeping you from success, and work on overcoming the specific obstacles that are holding you back rather than feeling stuck by vague limitations. Getting clear and identifying exactly what’s in your way is the first step to moving past the roadblocks that keep you from where you want to go.

Clay Andrews has a lot of personal, first-hand experience with dealing with obstacles. Although, he hasn’t got it all figured out yet, he likes to think he’s made some good progress. He also writes a blog on relationship advice and another on lifestyle design. Go visit one of them and say he (he doesn’t bite, and he loves meeting new people!).

When you’re working on something big, you often start off with great intentions … only to find your motivation gradually slipping away.

Whether you’re studying for a qualification, tackling a mammoth project at work, or writing a book in your spare time, you’re only going to succeed if you can stay motivated. (That’s particularly true of goals where you haven’t got a boss/parent/mentor checking up on you…)

So, here’s how to keep going:

Step #1: Break Your Project into Small Chunks

If you get a little way towards your goal then flounder, there’s a good chance that you’ve not broken your project into sensible chunks or milestones.

Sometimes, your project is already segmented for you – for instance, if you’re studying a degree program, you’ll have a certain number of classes that you need to take in order to graduate. You might want to create a list of these and put it in a prominent place, so you can cross off each one as you complete it.

Other times, you need to come up with meaningful divisions. Maybe you’re trying to write a book. Your “chunks” could be individual sections or chapters – or specific pieces of research that you need to complete.

Do it: Even if you’re not sure of all the steps to get to your goal, write down the next five major ones. You might want to add a deadline – make it a bit challenging, but realistic.

Step #2: Take the Time to Learn – and Implement

Whatever your goal is, you’ll get there faster if you spend some time learning things that can help you. And the more you learn, the more confidence (and hence motivated) you’ll be.

• If you’re writing a book, get a good “how to” guide to help you
• If you’re taking a qualification, learn about good study techniques
• If you’re preparing to deliver a big presentation, take some public speaking classes

Don’t fall into the trap of learning without doing, though. I see this a lot with would-be writers who’ll read about writing – or attend courses and seminars – but who rarely finish work on an article or a short story. Every time you learn something new, look for ways to apply it to your project.

Do it: Find one good book or website that can help you. As you read it, jot down any ideas, questions or new tasks that relate to your project.

Step #3: Keep the Big Picture in Mind …

Whatever your project is, you’re probably motivated by the end result. You’re thinking of how great it will be to see your book in stores, or to get that qualification which will help you take your career to the next level.

Don’t lose sight of that big picture. It can be hard to stay motivated when the tasks on your list seem relatively mundane – editing a chapter of your book, for instance, or memorizing some facts before an exam. Create a reminder of your ultimate goal to keep you going.

Do it: Find an image that represents your goal. Keep it somewhere visible – you could set it as the wallpaper on your computer, or put it in your wallet.

Step #4: … But Focus on One Piece While You’re Working

Once you sit down to work on your project, you need to mentally “zoom in” to look at just one piece. If you keep on thinking about the whole finished thing, it can be hard to concentrate on what you need to do right now – and you might start to get overwhelmed.

For each “chunk” of your goal, write down specific action steps, like “read article X” or “write section Y”. Focus on one of these at a time, and don’t let yourself get distracted. If you can see yourself making clear progress, you’ll stay motivated.

Do it: Write down three – five tasks that will help you meet your next project milestone.

What project(s) are you working on right now? Have you got any motivational tips to share? If so, let us know in the comments!

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Many of us want to be successful but come across a lot of challenges along the way. Most times the challenges we face can be controlled by us. Sometimes we forget that it is the simple things that are stopping us from getting the success we want in our lives. Below I have listed five things that you must not do in order to make sure that you get the success that you deserve.

Constantly criticizing people

The more you criticize people, the less attractive you will come across to others that are around you. Criticism is a sign that you are insecure and lack self-confidence. If you are jealous of other people’s success, no one is going to help you and guide you towards having the successful life that you desire.

Blaming other people for your failures

If you start pointing fingers at other people for your failures in life, you will not get anywhere. Many of us have a habit of blaming our family and/or other people for the things that have occurred to us in the past. If you keep doing this you will see opportunities fly by you and see others get ahead in life while you sit there feeling frustrated.

Dreaming about other successful people

It is always great to hear stories of other people that have achieved great success. However many people make a habit of living and dreaming about someone else’s life rather than focusing on their own goals. When we do this our perception of reality gets distorted and we don’t pay attention to the things that are important to us in the present moment. There is nothing wrong with reading autobiographies and going to motivational seminars, but many people make the mistake of trying to follow the exact same path as someone else took. Each individual that you look up to achieved their success following their own path. Remember that you have your own unique story to tell.

Not taking the extra step to get closer to your goal

You may have talent, but if you are not willing to put in the extra hours to get what you want out of your life then you are going to have a hard time excelling. If you own a business and your client needs some extra servicing, sometimes you may need to go out of your way or stay at work after hours to help them. If you feel annoyed and frustrated working after hours, it is going to show a lack of enthusiasm and you will not get any referrals. If you need to work on improving your dating life, you may be required to put in the extra time to meet different members of the opposite sex. However if you don’t put in the extra time, you are not going to improve your dating life.

Letting other people make decisions for you

Lack of leadership can have a huge impact on your success in all areas of your life. Many people don’t take the step to make their own decisions and they have no control over their lives at all. When other people see that you lack leadership skills they will start pushing you in different direction and make choices for you. You need to spend time thinking about what is important to you and what your core values are so that you can start making your own decisions.

Nabil Gulamani is in sales and helps businesses nationwide with their Direct Marketing. During his free time he blogs about self-improvement and personal growth to help people improve their overall lifestyle. You can visit his Self-Improvement blog www.successatreach.com

As people who are interested in personal development, we’re all seeking out ways to improve ourselves. And there is definitely a ton of information out there to meet that demand. In fact, there’s so much that it can be hard to process it all. Ironically, this information overload is often most responsible for people’s lack of progress.

If you think that having a wealth of information at your fingertips full of wonderful, new, engaging ideas 24/7 (like the internet) is always a good thing, think again.

Why Information Overload Will Kill Your Progress

We all know that too much of a good thing turns into a bad thing. And it’s no exception with information. There are literally thousands of books and blogs out there devoted solely to bettering the people who read them. And the truth is, most of them have something good to say. The problem comes in when we, as consumers, are faced with this gluttony of information.

Let’s say you wake up in the morning and come across a new post from your favorite self help blog. “That sounds great!” you think after reading it, and you feel a little boost in your mood. An hour later, you decide to sit down and read some productivity tips from a book you’ve been glancing through lately. “Hmm, interesting,” you say, and then you get ready for work.

At work the same process continues. You have a meeting on time management where you learn some more cool tips. That’s great and all, but the problem is that you don’t have nearly enough time to actually implement any of these ideas. All you’re doing is collecting ideas, day in and day out. They’re going in one ear and right out the other.

It just doesn’t work. Here’s how to solve the problem.

How to Eliminate Information Overload and Create Real Progress

One of the best ways to eliminate information overload is to stop soaking up so much information. It sounds simple, but it’s true. Try to limit yourself to one specific product/blog post/whatever for each thing you want to develop.

For example, if you want to learn some time management tricks, then get a good related book and sit down and study it. Don’t read anything else while you read that book, especially other nonfiction books. It’s okay to get your daily dose of inspiration from pickthebrain.com, but limit yourself in the time management department only that book. This will give you time to really absorb the new ideas that you’re learning.

The second thing to do is to specifically focus only on that idea. Even though we receive so many different great ideas from lots of sources each day, we rarely turn those ideas into new habits. Even one minor habit change a month is enough to significantly change your life in a relatively short period of time. Therefore, focus on the one subject that you want to learn and work on making it a habit in your life.

As you can see, information overload is rampant. We need to combat this by simplifying and eliminating the information we receive a daily basis. We can do this by focusing strictly on only that which we want to learn. After that, we should focus on turning our new understanding into real habit changes.

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Fred Tracy runs a personal development website where he shares his insights and quirky stories. He is practical and eclectic, borrowing ideas from psychology, spirituality, and common sense, among many other sources. All of this information is distilled into articles that help his readers. He also runs an awesome Twitter page.

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