If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that you have an email account. You may well have several – perhaps separate accounts for professional and personal contacts.

It’s easy to assume that we know how to use email effectively: it’s been around for long enough. But if you find yourself struggling to communicate effectively by email, these six tips should help:

#1: Start With an Appropriate Salutation

Some people jump straight into the text of an email without so much as a “hi”. It’s polite to add a salutation, just as you would with a letter.

That might look like:

Dear Sir/Madam

Dear Mr. Johnson

Hi Sue

Hello Fred

Your salutation needs to be appropriate. If you’re writing to a prospective employer, “Dear Mr. Johnson” is probably the best way to go. “Hi Bob” is going to look unprofessional.

But don’t assume that formality is always the right answer. If you’re writing to a friend of a friend, using “Dear” plus their surname is going to seem oddly stilted.

If in doubt, “Dear [firstname]” will usually work just fine.

#2: Get Straight to the Point

Your correspondent won’t want to wade through paragraphs of waffle – so get straight to the point. If you’re writing to someone out of the blue, don’t give them your life story before you make a request.

Getting straight to the point might mean that the first line of your email (after the salutation) looks something like this:

I’m working on an article about Acme Widgets for XYZ publication, and wondered if you had a few minutes to answer the following three questions.

Could you supply me with a quote for the following project?

I’d like to discuss the revisions with you. Would Tuesday at 2pm be a good time?

I’ve attached the documents you requested at our meeting yesterday.

You may well need to include more details, but if you put the important point up front, your email is more likely to get a timely response. If your question comes too far down, the recipient may not even realise that you need a reply.

#3: Keep it Short

Try to keep your email as short as possible. Make the paragraphs short, too – long paragraphs can be difficult to read and take in.

Do make sure you give enough information for your correspondent to be able to make a decision, if that’s required. You might find that it’s best to offer this as an attachment – you’ll have more flexibility over formatting, and your correspondent can print out the attachment easily.

#4: Use Numbered Points

If you’ve got several questions or points to make, it’s very helpful to number them. This makes it easy for the other person to respond to each one, especially if some just require a yes/no response or a single word answer.

For instance:

Could you let me know:

1. 1. How much it would cost for the website design
2. 2. How much for the website design plus a tri-fold brochure
3. 3. Whether you could complete #2 by the end of April

It’s also useful to list your questions or points as bullets in this way; if you write a single paragraph, some of your questions might get missed.

#5: Re-read and Use Spell-Check

A typo or spelling mistake can turn one word into an entirely different one. If you’re using email in a professional capacity, that mistake could be embarrassing – or even offensive. It might alter the whole meaning of your email: a missing “not”, for instance, could potentially cause problems.

Spell-check should help you avoid any silly mistakes – but use your eyes and brain too. There are plenty of words that spell-check won’t pick up. If you’re emailing from a device with predictive text and an auto-correct feature, make sure you always re-read what you’ve typed.

#6: Make Your Signature Useful

Do you have an email signature? (That’s the text that appears automatically at the bottom of your email.) Some people don’t use one at all; others have a funny quote or favorite saying.

Whether you’re using email for professional or personal reasons, make your signature useful for both you and your recipient. That might mean:

• Giving the link to your website
• Including your work address and/or phone number
• Adding links to your social media accounts
• Putting in a line to promote your recent book / blog / product

If your email provider allows it, you may even want to create several signatures to use for different purposes (e.g. one for emailing friends, one for new business contacts).

Do you have any great tips to add? Or any pet hates that crop up in your inbox? Let us know in the comments…

To our friends all around the world,

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!

I look forward to continuing our journey to ‘grow ourselves’ in the New Year to come!

All the best and be well,

Erin

Success. It’s something that most of us want in our lives. We might have a hazy picture of what it looks like:

• “Lots” of money
• A jet-setting lifestyle
• A great relationship
• Achieving a particular status within a career

The problem is, none of these things are easy (or even possible) to achieve. How much money is “lots”? What counts as a “great” relationship? If you chase vague definitions of success, you’re never going to be satisfied.

Plus, you might well achieve “success” in the eyes of the world … only to find that it seems hollow and empty to you.

Don’t Follow Someone Else’s Idea of “Success”

We’ve all got different values and motivations. Some people are content to work in a tedious job because it carries a good paycheck. Others would prefer to work at something creative and fulfilling (even though that means living on ramen noodles). Neither path is objectively “right” – they could each be perfect for different individuals.

It’s up to you to decide what success means in your life. Don’t get stuck following someone else’s path. For you, success could be:

• Never having to worry about money (note: this isn’t necessarily the same as “being rich”!)
• Being healthy and fit
• Playing a vital role within your family (whether that’s as a parent, sibling or child)
• Going back to college and getting a degree
• Downsizing to a home in a rural area
• Writing a book and having it published

… or almost anything!

Success doesn’t have to be about money or status.

Be Specific About Your Goals

When you’re deciding on your personal definition of success, make it as concrete as possible. If you simply want to “be rich” then you’ll struggle to ever feel like you’ve managed it. A better goal might be “make $100,000/year”.

Your success should be measurable. You might not be able to put a number to it, but look for some way to record your progress towards your goal. For instance, if your “success” means “being happy and content with my life” then you might want to journal about your thoughts and emotions regularly.

Be clear about what success means, and set specific targets to reach.

See Failure as a Step on the Path

You might be familiar with this Thomas Edison quote:

“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”

Often, failure is just part of the path to success. If you’re starting up your first business, you might fail: that’s nothing to be ashamed of. Your early failures pave the way to later success. Think back to being a child – you failed constantly while learning to walk, to talk, to read, to write… but those failures were necessary in order for you to finally succeed.

Failure is something you do, not something you are. Sure, you might fail – again and again – before you do succeed. But isn’t that better than never even trying?

What’s your personal definition of “success”? Share it with us in the comments below.

Don’t Forget To sign up for the PTB NEWSLETTER!

Related Reading:

11 Simple Ways To Be Confident Like a Rap Star

6 Tips To Writing a Successful Life Plan

Most of us who have been in the world of business know that a well-thought out business plan is the key to running a successful business. And yet, few of us take time to create a written life plan; a plan that details our vision for our life and what steps we are going to take to get there.  We call this Apex Lifestyle Design.

Just like in business, if you want to live a fulfilling life that exceeds all your wildest dreams, writing a life plan is the first step to success.

1. Knowing Yourself: With vision and self-knowledge, it’s kind of the chicken and the egg thing.  You must know yourself in order to discover your vision, but your vision could shape who you are.  In any case, to write a detailed plan of how you will achieve your vision, you must know who you are – your strengths and your weaknesses, your core values and beliefs.  Ask yourself hard-hitting questions that reveal your true nature like “Do I have a sense of purpose? If so, what is it?” or “When I am the happiest or feel most at peace?” These types of questions will help you determine what you truly want from life. For a list of thought-provoking questions visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Apex-Lifestyle-Design-by-Gary-Polsky/265993283423485

2. Vision: If you don’t know where you want to go, it’s almost impossible to get there.  Apex Lifestyle Designers grab vision by the horns.  They reflect on what they feel passionate about, how they can change the world, and then they create a far-reaching vision statement. This vision is the core philosophy of what you want to accomplish, on where you see yourself in one year, five years, ten years. It’s making a decision up front on how you see your life unfolding.

3. Outlook: Outlook is how you see things. Do you see an obstacle as something standing in the way from you getting what you want or as a challenge that invigorates you?  It’s kind of a glass half-full vs. glass half-empty mentality.  A good life plan will recognize that there will be challenges along the way and lay out a plan to meet them with enthusiasm like a good crossword puzzle.

4. Goals: Just like in a business plan you have to set goals to achieve the things you want from life; monthly goals, weekly goals, daily goals.  But unlike in business, these goals should encompass all areas of your life – mind, body and soul.  Apex Lifestyle Designers pursue their vision with a fiery sense of urgency, but they also set goals that keep balance in their lives.  They know that in order to perform at maximum velocity they must have periods of rest to rejuvenate the spirit.  So, when you write your goals, think in terms of what you will do to pursue your passionate abstraction, your vision, and what you will do to tend to your health, both physical and mental.

5. Collaboration: True Apex Lifestyle Designers know that reaching a purpose-driven vision of their life can’t be done alone.  You need to make connections within the world around you.  Leaders have the ability to inspire great things from those around them and part of a good life plan will include who you want to spend your time with and how you will inspire them.   For each element of your plan, you will need to attract a certain person, or group of people; we call these specialty muses.  These muses can help you take your vision to the next level.

6. Evaluation: A great life plan, just like a great business plan, will have built-in evaluation processes.  How will you know if you are on the right track to fulfilling your vision, if you don’t take time to stop and reflect on what you have accomplished? Celebrate the successes along the way and make sure that you are always driving towards that ultimate vision of your life.

Utilizing these elements be sure to take time to write a plan for your life. Only when it is written out will you be on your way to living life the way you always dreamed it.

With decades of experience in executive level health care, Gary Polsky offers inspiration for designing your life and living your passion. His dedicated work in end-of-life care has enlightened him with thought-provoking inspirations from patients and committed professional relationships on what quality-of-life truly means.  It was this experience that sparked the concept of Apex Lifestyle Design and his first book, SuperEagle. More information at http://www.apexlifestyledesign.com

Don’t Forget To sign up for the PTB NEWSLETTER!

Related Articles:

7 Concrete Steps To Reaching Your Full Potential

Mental Super Powers: How To Unleash The Full Potential Of Your Mind

People tend to forget that no man is ever born successful; rather success is the fruit of a man’s (or woman’s!) work.

So if you want success you are going to have to work for it, and you are going to have to bring some changes in your life.

These 5 tips will guide you in the right direction to mold yourself into the person you want to be.1. Change your Perspective

I can’t make you successful and neither can your family and friends. Success starts with you and this is a fundamental thing that every man and women should understand.

If you are looking from inspiration from those around you, you have to stop relying on others. You must find the persistance within in order to become self-sufficient. You alone must be accountable for all your actions – your successes, your failures and everything in between.

2. Trust Yourself  ( Self-Confidence)

The root of success comes from self-confidence. So if you can’t trust yourself and you can’t believe in yourself then you can’t achieve anything. Self-confidence is your ability to know that you are capable to do something and that you will not “mess up”.

Take pains to create this trust in yourself as this is the foundation to everything in life.

3. Passion

To be successful you must have a strong drive and hunger to get what you need. If you don’t have this perception you don’t have what it takes to be successful.

Become eager and enthusiastic to reach your goals.

4. Always be Ready to Learn

If you want to be successful, you need to always be ready to adapt and change to your surroundings. Understand that you don’t know everything and that you have weaknesses.

This is the only way that you will grow.

5. Become Proactive

Stop waiting for success to come to you, because if you continue to wait it won’t. Create your own success by going out there and taking it.

This is the only way you will have an edge over others and this is the only way you will have success.

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.”  – Abraham Lincoln

Good Luck in becoming Successful!

-

Osman Hameed writes about self-improvement and shares effective tips for living better life on his website www.codeofliving.com. CodeofLiving is a juicy mix of tips, tutorials and articles that are guaranteed to make your life better.

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

10 Secrets To Success

The Language of Success

With economic and personal financial worries becoming part of many individuals’ daily lives, dealing with a major life transition can become overwhelming.

Whether you have prepared for it, like getting married or having children, or it came unexpectedly, like a sudden illness, job loss or family member death, it is important to prepare emotionally and mentally in advance when possible. For some, the stress from these changes can be crippling and lead to a downward spiral of negativity that can impact professional and personal lives over time.

The first step to avoid the common pitfalls is to be aware of life’s five major transitions, which are:

• Marriage/Having children
• Changes in career (loss of job, retirement, etc.)
• Mid-life crisis
• Divorce or family death
• Personal health issues

Almost all of us will experience a few of these during our lifetime, so being able to manage these situations in a healthy manner is crucial.

Napoleon Hill, one of the greatest philosophers of the 20^th century and author of all-time bestselling success book “Think and Grow Rich,” addressed how our mindset can make or break our ability to conquer life’s greatest challenges in his 1938 manuscript, “Outwitting the Devil.” The work was finally released this summer and provides insights on how each of us can overcome personal challenges.

One of the major reasons that individuals struggle so much with life’s transitions is they let fear control their thoughts, causing them to either get caught in a hypnotic rhythm or stall from moving forward. For example, a woman getting a divorce after 30 years of marriage can be paralyzed at the thought of having to be the sole income provider or manage her own finances. Instead of finding solutions to her fears, she could be in danger of letting that worry become completely consuming.

The key to overcoming fear is to commit yourself to be purposeful and successful in life, even with your emotional well being. Below are seven guidelines to squash fear and “outwit the devil” in your own life, no matter what life scenario you find yourself in:

1.     Definiteness of Purpose. When faced with a life transition, look deep within yourself to find what makes you passionate. Is it your career? Your family or children? By identifying your purpose in life and the things that fulfill you, it will be easier to move past major stressful situations and have confidence in knowing you can and will move forward.

2. Mastery Over Self. You may not be able to control outside stressors, but you can control your own mindset and physical well being. Stay away from addicting habits, like smoking, excessive drinking and unhealthy dietary habits. Maintaining your personal health goes hand in hand with maintaining your emotional and mental health.

3. Learn from Adversity. Every life transition provides a learning opportunity that can be so profound it changes your perspective on life after you have moved through it. For many individuals faced with adversity, they convince themselves that an experience is a huge failure rather than recognizing it may just be a temporary defeat. Although it may be difficult in the thick of a crisis, think about how it may help create fresh opportunities. We have seen hundreds of success stories of professionals who have lost their jobs and found after the shock wore off that it gave them the flexibility to become an entrepreneur, travel or try something they otherwise wouldn’t if they were still employed.

4. Controlling Environmental Influences. Stay away from negative presences and surround yourself with positive and friendly associations. This is often easier said than done, but when faced with a life-changing situation, it can make a huge difference in how you deal with your new life.  For example, a recently married man with dozens of single friends who don’t believe in marriage will influence him negatively if he does not have a strong sense of definiteness of purpose (sustaining a healthy marriage).  He could help control this situation by eliminating those negative influences and finding supportive, like-minded friends.

5. Time. Avoid reflecting on whatever changes may be happening in your life that are not in your control and focus on positive thinking and developing wisdom on how to deal with those changes. Spend your time and energy on creating a positive future. Hill writes, “People are not born with wisdom, but they are born with the capacity to think, and they may, through the lapse of time, think their way into wisdom.” By using our ability to think and analyze our experiences in life, whether successes or failures, we can gain wisdom.

6. Harmony- Act with definiteness of purpose to become the dominating influence in your own mental, spiritual and physical environment.

7. Caution. Think through your coping plan of action before you act. Especially if you are in a fragile emotional state, avoiding rash decisions will keep your stress level at a minimum. Remember, there is no such thing as “do-over.”

If you feel alone in your quest to banish fear from your life when preparing for potential high-stress situations, remember that Napoleon Hill faced a great amount of adversity before achieving his high level of success. Inspiration for “Outwitting the Devil” was a result of the adversity he faced and the rut he found himself in after several business failures and even a time when the mafia was looking to kill him. After fearing for his life for more than a year, he had an epiphany that pulled him out of his depression, which lead him to record his advice in “Outwitting the Devil.”

Remember the seven principles that Hill used to “outwit the devil” in his life, and you too will be prepared for whatever life changes come your way.  Armed with this seasoned wisdom, you will reach the success you so richly deserve!

Sharon Lechter is the annotator for Hill’s “Outwitting the Devil,” which was released in June 2011 and is available on Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble nationwide. This book outlines the factors that keep each of us from achieving our true purpose and offers seven principles to overcome fear and outwit the devil. Lechter is also the co-author of bestseller “Three Feet from Gold” and co-author of the international bestseller “Rich Dad Poor Dad.” For more information, visit www.outwittingthedevil.com or www.slechter.com.

Don’t Forget To Follow Us On Twitter!

Related Articles:

How To Increase Self Discipline

How To Motivate Yourself

‘Think, believe, dream and dare.’ Walt Disney

There is an attitude that sets apart the mediocre from the majestic. It is called the success attitude.

Did you know that when Walt headed west to pursue his dream, that he sold his possessions – even his camera, to purchase a First Class train ticket, because he wanted to arrive first class? Now that is success attitude exemplified.

Success attitudes don’t arrive once you’ve achieved success. Success attitudes must be present in the midst of your failure or your disaster.

These are the attitudes that will sustain you, and equip you to handle success when it suddenly appears, seemingly out of nowhere, for all to see.

So let’s have a closer look at the 4 success attitudes.

1. Think

To think is to drink from the very depths of your soul. To think is hard work and that is why so few do it. To think is to sink your dream-teeth into the depths of your imagination.

This is where plans are made. This is where dreams are laid. This is where visions are displayed.

Blueprints of your future are forged during these times of focused thinking.

To pinpoint that thinking I have always found it essential to thrust those thoughts into the page. For there they are captured and held prisoner for future reflection and initiation.

The recording of your thoughts forges a foundation for the creation of future edifices that will be formed by applying massive action.

2. Believe

My old friend Napoleon Hill summed up these first two concepts when he wrote ‘What the mind of man can conceive (think) and believe, he can achieve.’

Believe your thoughts. Be convinced by your ideas.

Before being a published author or a successful entrepreneur I had to believe in myself long before anyone else did.

Belief saves you from grief and gives you relief – protecting you from the thief of unbelief.

When you believe you can receive.

Belief beneath – to the depths of your inner man – will sustain you and carry you past all the naysayers and the dream stealers who say it can never be done and it will never happen.

Don’t believe what you hear. Believe what you have already buried deep within your heart.

3. Dream

While you’re dreaming, don’t dream miniscule dreams. Dream dreams that are of maxiscule proportions.

Go on dream the impossible and the improbably dream!

Don’t dream ordinary. Dream extraordinary Dream beyond. Dream above. Dream while you’re wide-awake. Write your dream. Speak your dream/ Do your dream. Align your dream with your passion and watch a love affair ignite.

Even though I have entered my fifth decade on planet earth I still ask myself the question, ‘what do I dream of doing when I grow up?’

Never lose the wonder of a child, nor the dynamo of a dream in your heart.

4. Dare

I dare you. I dare you to be magnificent, magnanimous and marvelous all wrapped up into one.

Go on. I dare you. I dare you to learn that foreign language. I dare you to run that marathon. I dare you to travel to every nation on the planet. I dare you to be a best-selling author. I dare you to create a musical played on Broadway. I dare you to write the most popular blog on the planet in your niche.

I dare you to be a leader and not just a follower. I dare you to do the unattainable, the unachievable, and the not yet done.

I dare you. I double dare you. I triple dare you to dream a HUMUNGOUS  dream.

I dare you to surround yourself with a team of people much smarter than yourself and take notes furiously. I dare you to – in the words of Disney – ‘to wish upon a star’, and watch what wonderful things will come your way throughout the rest of your days.

So here’s a question for you – How are you using these 4 success attitudes to set yourself up for stupendous success?

Motivational Memo: The word success has your name written all over it – so go get it.

Peter G. James Sinclair is in the ‘heart to heart’ resuscitation business and inspires, motivates and equips others to be all that they’ve been created to become. Receive your free copy of his latest eBook Personal Success Blueprint at – http://www.motivationalmemo.com and add him on Twitter @PeterGJSinclair – today!

Related Posts:

3 Proven Ways To Once & For All Defeat Procrastination

The 4 Positive Price Points of Leadership

Have you ever struggled with trying to figure out how to “make it” and achieve massive success?

If so, you might be interested to read what Steve Martin says about it:

“When people ask me, ‘how do you make it in show business,’ or whatever, what I always tell them — and nobody ever takes note of it ‘cuz it’s not the answer they wanted to hear…but I always say, ‘Be so good they can’t ignore you.’”

That’s it. Seven simple words that make up the entirety of Steve Martin’s “advice on how to be successful.”

“Be so good they can’t ignore you.”

It’s an idea I have been applying to my own life lately, and, while I still have a ways to go, I can honestly say it has already made a huge difference.

As with many ideas, Martin’s words are simple but not necessarily easy. Here are five tips to help you make this idea work for you:

1) Define Who “They” Are

For Steve Martin, “they” were club owners and booking agents. For you, it may be the clients you serve, the readers you are trying to attract to your blog, the audience for your performances, or the potential investors for your new venture. It may also be someone completely different; each person and each dream has a different “they.”

“They” are the people whose attention you need to make your dream a reality. To find out who “they” are, ask yourself, “Who exactly am I trying to impress? Who will hire me, buy my product, or like what I do so much they’ll help me on my path?”

In short, whose attention are you trying to get?

The more clearly you can define who “they,” are, the easier your path to success will be.

2) Define What “Good” Is

For Steve Martin, “being good” meant being so funny that audiences laughed hysterically and came out in droves to see him. For me, as a motivational humorist, I need to be very funny while still passing along great, implementable content to my audiences. What is “good” for you?

Keep in mind that what you consider good may be meaningless. What’s important here is what “they” consider good. This is a point that frustrates the heck out of some people; they get really good at something that no one cares about and then wonder why they struggle.

Figure out what ‘good,” really means, and be open to the possibility that you have been focusing on the wrong thing.

3) Honestly Assess How Good Your Are

You may find this to be the hardest step of all. If you are pursuing a dream, then chances are you already think you’re pretty good at it. You may think that your biggest problem is that you just haven’t met the right people yet.

But are you really good enough? If they’re still ignoring you, maybe you could be a lot better. In fact, everyone can be better. And while it may hurt your ego to admit you can improve, getting better can only help your chances of success.

4) Get Help

You don’t have to do it all on your own. In fact, you may be making your life much, harder than it needs to be by trying to fly solo.

We’re often too close to ourselves to make an objective assessment of our strengths, weaknesses, and ability level. An outside observer can often see things that have eluded us for years (both good and bad).

Outside help could come in the form of a paid professional, a mentor, or just a friend who really knows what they are talking about (this part is critical – bad help could be worse than no help at all). You don’t need to go broke getting better, but an investment of time and/or money to get better will pay big dividends.

5) Create Your Plan to Get Good (and Follow It!)

Once you’ve gone through the first four steps, you have the foundation to get good. Now all you need to do is create a plan to get good and follow it.

What will you do? Take a class? Work on your craft every day? Go out and get great feedback?

Whatever steps you take, make sure you create a plan that

1. Will make you so good they can’t ignore you
2. Is realistic enough that you will follow it long enough to see those results

There’s no point in creating an unrealistic plan that you give up on three weeks in. Slow and steady is better than fast and overwhelming.

In Conclusion

Does being good mean that you can avoid all forms of sales and marketing and just sit back and let success come to you? No, of course not. You still have to get your name out there. But sales and marketing are easy things to measure and assess. It’s a lot harder to take an honest assessment of yourself and then implement a plan to get amazingly good.

It’s also well worth it. In the months after adopting Steve Martin’s mentality, I saw my referrals and follow-up-business significantly increase.

It’s not an easy or short journey. It takes hard work and time. When you start to looking for shortcuts or thinking about giving up, remember another great Steve Martin quote:

“Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent.”

Stay persistent, keep working at getting better, and eventually, you too will be “so good they can’t ignore you.”

***
Avish Parashar is the Motivational Smart Ass. As a speaker and on his blog, Avish makes people laugh while sharing with them simple ideas to make their lives easier and more successful. Visit his site now to download the free E-Book,  “Smart Ass Success! Learn the 7 Steps to Getting What You Really Want – Even If You Have No Idea What That Is! “

Photo Credit: Paul Natkin/WireImage

‘There is no chance, no destiny, no fate, that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.’ ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

You want to lose weight, but you keep eating poorly.

You know you need to exercise, but you just can’t seem to get moving.

You’d like to start that project, but maybe you’ll do it tomorrow when you aren’t so tired.

Our dreams and good intentions are powerful, real, and hold the promise of a happier life, a better you, a sense of pride and accomplishment. But when the rubber meets the road, when it’s time to take action, it feels like you are wading waist-high in water with weights tied to your feet. Your heart is willing, but your mind and body resist. The mental difficulty of even the smallest actions can be shocking and immensely disappointing.

If you have intended with all of your heart to create a good habit, drop a bad one, fulfill a goal, or complete a project, and you have failed at it, you are not alone. Nearly everyone has difficulty maintaining resolve and following through. Even those who are self-disciplined weren’t born that way. It is a learned skill — one that takes practice and the specific knowledge of how to go about it.

When you become a master at launching but a failure at completion, self-esteem inevitably plummets.

Thoughts like, “I’m weak, I’m lazy, this is too hard for me,” often creep in to poison your confidence and further weaken your resolve. To save face, perhaps you create excuses — you’re too busy, you aren’t feeling well, you don’t really need to change. All of this behavior is smoke and mirrors, an attempt by your psyche to keep you comfortably ensconced in inertia and the status quo.

It is as thought there are two people inside of you. There’s the one who wants things comfortable, easy, uncomplicated, immediately satisfying, and unchanging. But then there’s the other you — the one who won’t allow the first to be satisfied with the status quo. It’s the “potential you” who continues to attempt positive change, growth, and life betterment. These two are in a constant battle, with the “status quo you” coming out on top more often that not.

So how does one strengthen the “potential you” with the resolve to conquer the status quo? How does one get over the hump of resistance, inertia, and discomfort that is the standard response to anything new and hard?

You know it can be done, because you’ve seen others do it. Unless you have a mental or physical handicap, your circumstances and difficulties are no different that anyone’s.

If you aren’t following through to create a habit, accomplish a goal, and complete a task, there are really only three things standing in your way.

1. Lack of desire. You may say you want something, but you don’t want it badly enough to deal with the discomforts and inconvenience of getting it.

2. Lack of honesty. You are not being real with yourself about your desire for this accomplishment. You aren’t accepting 100% personal responsibility for making this happen. Everything is a choice — your choice.

3. Lack of information. You don’t have the practical information or skills to overcome resistance and follow through consistently.

Each of these roadblocks can be overcome, allowing you to strengthen your resolve to accomplish just about anything your mind and body are capable of accomplishing. Here are 12 strategies for doing just that:

1. Do your research. Before you begin any new habit or goal, give yourself several days to know exactly what’s involved in making this change happen. How much time will it take? How will you insert it into your day? Who else will it impact and how will you deal with them? What special equipment or information will you need? What preparation is necessary? What must you give up to make this happen? How will it impact your life once you’ve accomplished it?

2. Make an honest decision. Armed with the knowledge from your research, make an informed and honest choice. Are you willing to do the work involved in making this thing happen? Will the outcome be worth the effort? It’s hard to know for sure until you start taking action, but you should have some idea of what to expect before you charge ahead.

3. Reduce overwhelm. If the goal or habit seems daunting, it will quash your desire to work hard for it. Break it down into small, simple, and brief actions or tasks. Make it so easy to do that it doesn’t feel like a chore. With a new habit, start with five minutes a day, every day — slowly increasing your time over several weeks.

4. Make a public promise. Tell people what you are doing. Announce it to friends, family, on Facebook and Twitter. When you go public with your intentions, it immediately strengthens your resolve. A public commitment shifts your own thinking about your seriousness. No one wants to be embarrassed in front of others.

5. Set up regular accountability. Create a system of accountability so that you can report your actions, successes and failures, every day. This may be a friend or it could be on Facebook or in a forum of some kind. Don’t just announce it once and then disappear. Let the world know about your progress.

6. Expect difficulties. There will be life situations that might try to get in the way of your efforts. And it is so easy to allow them to undermine your work. Think in advance of possible problems that might arise and decide how you will deal with these situations. Decide in advance what you will allow to interrupt your work and stick to the plan.

7. Use positive self-talk. When you want to quit, your mind starts reaching for excuses and reasons to give you an exit ramp from the work you are doing. Be aware of your mind’s efforts to sabotage you, and intentionally begin saying supportive and positive things to yourself the minute you feel mental resistance.

8. Visualize the outcome. Visualization has an incredibly powerful effect on the brain. It can actually rewire neural pathways in your brain to support the physical efforts you are making. Take a few minutes prior to taking action on your habit or goal to visualize yourself accomplishing it.

9. Move past failure. It takes practice to strengthen resolve and follow through on just about any endeavor. And if you tackle something hard, like diet or exercise, chances are good you will fail a few times before you are successful. Failure doesn’t mean it can’t be done. It might mean you started too big or didn’t plan ahead. Learn from the failure and start again, correcting what you think caused you to give up. Be kind to yourself and know that building resolve is a work in progress.

10. Attempt one at a time. You may have many goals and many things you want to accomplish, but until you strengthen your resolve with one effort, don’t attempt to tackle several at a time. Begin the process of strengthening your resolve with something easy. When you accomplish that, move on to another, slightly harder effort. Build up to difficult goals or tasks so that you know what to expect and how to cope with interferences or problems.

11. Practice resolve in small ways daily. Without judging your success or failure, attempt to resist small temptations during your day (ie: snacking, surfing the internet too long, gossiping). Prove to yourself that you are capable of small acts of self-discipline. These little successes will support your larger efforts at strengthening resolve.

12. Accept full responsibility for your actions. Most of what happens to us in life is a result of our own choices. Yes, there are some things that are out of our control, but even then, we can choose how to react to them. We are not victims. We have an endless array of choices that can change the quality of our lives. There is tremendous power in that.

You have the gift of a powerful brain, but it sometimes has a mind of its own! Fortunately, you also have the ability to harness that power and apply it to a fixed purpose that can enhance your life, your health, and your happiness. If you exercise your mental muscle of resolve, over time, you will develop the mental strength and confidence to accomplish whatever you set out to do.

Barrie Davenport is a personal and career coach and founder of Live Bold and Bloom, a blog about bold and fearless living. She is also the creator of Discover Your Passion: A Step-by-Step Course for Creating the Life of Your Dreams.

“A Spirited Debate Will Strengthen Your Resolve” Art by: Daryl Vocat

Don’t Forget To Follow PickTheBrain on Twitter!

Related Articles:

20 Ways To Stretch Yourself

Words That Heal and Empower

Success is an interesting concept, one I have studied for many years while working with some very successful people.

While watching these people I have seen that their success always followed the same, general, path. I have broken that path down into 8 simple steps that you can follow and make your success a reality.

1. Goal Setting
If you have read my blog or the articles I have written here on pick the brain you can see that I discuss goal setting a lot. It is because I don’t think you can succeed if you haven’t decided what you consider success, first.

You need to have a target to aim for, you need to know why you are working.

2. Planning
Without a roadmap success is impossible. Many studies have been made to why some entrepreneurs succeed while others don’t. In most cases, it all comes down to planning.

Successful entrepreneurs have made complete plans for how they are going to succeed and what they plan on doing. Often they end up doing something completely different, but the act of planning moves you to a long term mindset and it gives you a frame of reference when you evaluate opportunities and something to update when it is time to change.

Read about how to create Your Master Plan.

3. Acting
A perfect plan cannot do anything until acted on. All the successful people I have worked with have developed the habit of acting. When they get an idea they take action at once.

When they see an opportunity they don’t wait until tomorrow, they act. Once you have completed your plan, act on it.

4. Fail/learn
Every successful person I have met have failed at least once, by failed I don’t mean you have to go bankrupt, but at least once their plans didn’t go as they thought. They didn’t know everything before they started. There were things they needed to learn.

When you start towards your success you will hit at least one bump on the road, learn from it, learn how to avoid it and then get back on the horse.

5. Planning
With the new lesson you have learned you will need to update your plan, it might not be any major changes but you will need to do something. You will need to make some adjustments so that you take the quickest way towards your goals.

6. Acting
Strangely this is the most common part people miss. They try once, they fail, they make new plans and then they stop. They don’t have the courage to try again.

It feels almost ridiculous when you see the steps one after another, taking action on the plan you just made should be obvious, but everyone doesn’t do it.

Your chances of success are infinitely higher now that you have failed once, use the knowledge you have paid for and succeed. If you do you will be one of the chosen few who live their dreams.

7. Learning
After going through the first crushing setback you learn a lot, but as you continue and get nearer and nearer your success you will see that you constantly need to learn more. Successful people seek out knowledge and never believe that they know everything. They continue improving themselves all the time.

8. Succeeding
After your struggles are complete and you have learned enough you will succeed. This step is mostly about recognizing it. Once you have succeeded make sure to take pleasure in it, don’t blindly continue working and toiling. Live your dream life, the one you have deserved.

I hope you liked this article and found it useful.
Learn more Tips on Time Management and about The Success Principles from Daniel M. Wood at his blog lookingtobusiness.com join his free email course and start making Personal Developments and moving towards your success today.