Men’s natures are alike; it is their habits that separate them.  ~Confucius

Motivation is what gets you started.  Habit is what keeps you going.  ~Jim Ryun

When you find your passion, you’ll have a boost of motivation to get started and change your life.

However, this motivation won’t last if you don’t turn it into habits.

We are creatures of habits. Our human nature always looks for ways to create patterns and do things on autopilot.

Habits are what differentiate successful people from others.

The habits that you’ve developed in the LOST phase – where you used to wander aimlessly without a clear passion or purpose – won’t help you build a life of passion.

That’s why you need to develop a new set of habits to serve you in your newly passionate pursuit.

These are 10 habits of passionate people that you can start cultivating today:

1. Wake Up Early:

The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years.  ~Thomas Jefferson

Passionate people are usually early risers. There is something magical in rising early, and preferably at dawn. This peaceful period before the rest of the world wake up can be the most productive period of your day.

When I started the habit of waking up early at 4:30 am everyday, I felt like I was not living before. The amount of progress, inner peace, and joy that I experienced all the day made me regret the years in which the sun always caught me in bed!

2. Read Vigorously

I find television to be very educating.  Every time somebody turns on the set, I go in the other room and read a book.  ~Groucho Marx

If you replace some TV time by reading a good book, you’ll be the most educated person among your friends and associates. And you’ll be a high achiever too.

My mentor Jim Cathcart changed his life after he listened to Earl Nightingale on the radio saying that if you studied a certain topic for one hour every day, you’ll become a national expert in 5 years!

There is an amazing quote attributed to Mark Twain that says, “The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”

If you don’t like reading, you can do with audio books. You’ve to find a way to READ, there are no workarounds.

3. Simplify

The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.  ~Hans Hofmann

Simplify everything is your work and life. Start by eliminating the unnecessary. Everything that has nothing to do with your passion and purpose should be eliminated. They shouldn’t occupy any space in your daily life, because they are just a waste of time, energy and money.

When you have less needs, and you learn to enjoy more with less, you’ll increase your financial independence too.

4. Slow Down

For fast-acting relief, try slowing down.  ~Lily Tomlin

You can never embrace a life of passion in the middle of a busy, stressful, and chaotic environment.

You must find some quiet time for yourself. Slow down and listen to your inner voice. Slow down and evaluate your progress. Slow down and maintain your focus on what matters most.

If you could develop the habit of waking up early, you’ll find it easier to develop this habit. You can easily find time to breathe, reflect and meditate.

Slow down and everything you are chasing will come around and catch you.  ~John De Paola

5. Workout

Lack of activity destroys the good condition of every human being, while movement and methodical physical exercise save it and preserve it.  ~Plato

Those who think they have not time for bodily exercise will sooner or later have to find time for illness.  ~Edward Stanley

Health care is very important. So many people follow their passion with great enthusiasm, but they put too much pressure on their body and ignore their overall health and well being. They think they are supposed to work really hard to fulfill their purpose and grow their passion.

These are good intentions, but you should be aware that if you don’t take care of your body, it will soon collapse and this will not serve your passion well.

Health care should be on top of your priorities to maintain a good, prosperous and passionate lifestyle.

One of the best books I’ve read on the topic of health and well-being is 8 Weeks To Optimum Health by Dr. Weil.

6. Practice Daily

The more I practice, the luckier I get.  ~Jerry Barber

It has been said that luck is where preparation meets opportunity.

You’ve to practice your passion daily. If you failed to do so, your passion will soon fade away and you’ll be drifted away from the right path by the busyness of life.

Talent can’t survive without or can’t compensate practice.

You don’t even need talent if you exert enough effort in practicing and sharpening your skills.

Practice and be always prepared, so that when the right opportunity presents itself, you are ready to seize it.

7. Network

We cannot live only for ourselves.  A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men.  ~Herman Melville

Surround yourself with passionate people. That’s the most important habit of all. It can accelerate your success like no other habit.

Connecting with passionate people forms the best support system for your passion. You’ll find the good advice, the necessary push, and the continuous encouragement.

What is the point of connecting with people who are still stuck in jobs they hate and not following their passion. What are your going to get from them except discouragement and trying hard to pull you down?

I believe the level you can reach in life is directly proportional to the level where the people you hang the most with exist.

It’s been said that your net-worth is determined by your network.

8. Keep a Gratitude Journal

If you count all your assets, you always show a profit.  ~Robert Quillen

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those which he has.  ~Epictetus

Gratitude is the best attitude.  ~Author Unknown

This one habit does wonders. Be grateful for what you already have and at the same time aim for the better. Rest assured that when you’re clear about your purpose in life, you’ll recognize better opportunities much easier. Just be patient and grateful.

Remember, when gratitude grows up, more joy shows up.

I urge you to develop the habit of having a “Gratitude Journal”. Every night before you go to sleep, write down just one thing you’re grateful for in the day. Then expect miracles to happen!

My life purpose coaching clients experience amazing results in the first week of doing this exercise.

9. Be Prolific

Over 300 banks refused and the 303rd bank agreed to give Walt Disney a fund to build Disney Land.

Over 1000 restaurants refused and the 1010th restaurant agreed to use Colonel Sanders’s chicken recipe that changed the eating habits of the whole world with KFC.

It took him over a million images spanning 35 years, before Steve McCurry’s photo of Sharbat Gula (The Afgan Girl) was globally recognized and linked to Leonardo da Vinci’s painting of the Mona Lisa.

134 publishers rejected Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen’s Chicken Soup for the Soul before it turns into a mega all-time bestseller.

Edison made 1,000 (or 10,000) unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb.

During his life time, Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting for a very small amount of money. Today, his over 800 known works bring in hundreds of millions.

Mozart died with little to his name. Today, his over 600 pieces of music are considered some of the best ever created!

Can you see a pattern here?

If you want to turn your passion into a worldwide sensation, you got to be prolific and never give up. Keep producing great work, and one may take the world by surprise and make you a globally recognized star.

Produce more work than anyone could think humanly possible. I consider this the secret habit of champions (or legends).

10.    Have a Blog

“Blogs are much more powerful than most realize. They’re a simple way to explore and share the thoughts and beliefs you’re excited about and for people to immediately see and provide feedback.” - Scott Dinsmore of Live Your Legend

A blog is a multimedia platform through which you can share your passion with the world in text, audio or video formats. People can come read, listen or watch you delivering your value. And if they like what you do, they will share it with their friends and the community will grow.

It is also a perfect way to practice and share your passion with the world on a daily basis. It ensures a constant strong bond between you and your passion.

These 10 habits will make a huge difference for you. They form a strong foundation to build and grow your passion. Like any habit, it takes time to develop and make them work. But once they are there, you’ll be on the fast track to achieve remarkable success.

Now my question to you is this: what habit has made the biggest difference for you?

Mohamed Tohami is a bestselling author and the creator of “The P.A.S. Technique: The World’s Easiest Way To Find Your Passion and Purpose In Life”. Visit his Transformational Motivation blog now to grab a free copy of his special report “4 Steps to a Life of Passion”.

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There have been many times in my life when I thought I was angry, only to discover that it was really frustration. Frustration, at its core is wanting something to be other than it is: A different time; a different place; a different color; a different job; a different feeling; a different person. It doesn’t matter what it is, you just want it to be different.

Since you probably don’t have a magic lamp with a wish-granting genie inside, I am guessing that you have probably been frustrated at one time or another.

For many us, a lot of our frustration comes from our deepest desires being constantly unmet.  If you’ve been chasing something for years, and don’t feel like you’re getting any closer, you’re going to feel frustrated.  There may be times when you feel like screaming to no one in particular, “Just give me what I want already!”  And for some of us, it’s other people who seem to be our primary source of aggravation.  They’re simply not cooperative, courteous, appreciative, or thoughtful enough for our liking, or maybe they just refuse to see things our way.

So what is it that has you pulling your hair out, swearing under your breath, and banging your head against the wall?  Who is it that has you completely mad?  Is it your boss?  Maybe it’s your rude neighbors?  Does your significant other refuse to budge on an important issue?

Do you find yourself increasingly annoyed with our elected officials?  Why can’t they deliver on their promises? Are you sick of struggling to pay the bills, or tired of dragging in your studies?  Fed up with your dead end job?  Are you exasperated that no matter how hard you try, you can’t seem to lose weight and get in shape?

All of these examples are common sources of frustration, and most of us learn to deal with and accept them.  However, some problems can get you so down, that they can negatively affect the quality of your life.  You could find yourself so overwhelmed and beat down by frustration that you start spending your days wallowing in despair.  Also, chronic frustration will eventually rob you of your motivation, and have you ready to just give up.

Unlocking yourself from feeling chronic frustration is not as hard as it might seem at first glance.  But it does require a drastic change in attitude.  You must resolve to stop giving in to feelings of hopelessness, and start finding solutions.  Here are four good tips for freeing yourself from the clutches of frustration:

Find A Way to Vent

A big part of frustration is the feeling is that nobody’s listening, nobody understands, or nobody cares.  Finding effective ways to vent and be heard can go a long way towards curbing the feeling of being totally flustered.  Annoyed with your neighbors?  Then join or create a neighborhood association to, among other things, address your issues.  Is there serious friction between you and your spouse?  Schedule a couple’s therapy session, or seek out the assistance of your local clergy.  Can’t seem to drop that extra 20lbs?  Arrange a consultation with a personal trainer or local nutritionist, and describe to them your weight loss challenges.  Heck, sometimes all it takes is the willingness to open up to a trusted friend or relative, and confide in them some of your struggles.  Although your problems won’t vanish instantly, the burden of carrying your angst in silence will be lifted considerably.

Set Goals

The most maddeningly frustrating thing about most bothersome situations is the feeling that you’re just treading water; in other words, you’re going nowhere.  However, by setting goals you’re taking definite action towards a solution, or resolution of some sort.  The knowledge that you’re actively working on the problem instead of just being frustrated about is very reassuring, and can help abate any feelings of defeatism trying to creep in.

When I felt thwarted by my sluggish weight loss, here‘s what I did:  I simply set a goal to exercise a certain number of times each week, and eat six servings of fruits and veggies every day.  That’s it.  This simple goal really helped me stay focused, and the realization that I would reach my objective, no matter how slowly, did wonders for my motivation.

Change Your Perspective

Rarely can you come up with an effective solution to a problem or challenge when you’ve given into frustration about it.  One way to free yourself from this trap is to change your perspective, so that you can see the positive in your situation.  Are you frustrated over work, or one of the lucky ones to have a job?  Is your wife driving you crazy, or are you counting your blessings that you have someone?  Is a client slow to pay, or are you fortunate to have clients?  Surprisingly, when you shift your stance this way, uncanny solutions to your problems often show up right out of the blue.

Get Creative

It’s a good idea to start thinking outside the box for clever solutions, strategies, and other ways to tackle frustrating problems.  Are the pounds coming off too slowly?  Start walking or biking to work!  I’m serious!  I used to do it, and trust me; I was adjusting my belt notch every two weeks.  As an added bonus, the additional exercise was an unexpected mood booster, and I felt much less frustrated in general.

Are you frustrated that money is always tight?  Then it’s time to take a hard look at your talents.  That’s right, your talents.  Everyone has a talent at something, or expert knowledge on some subject. Brainstorm long and hard, and find a way to use the Internet to get started.  This can work full-time, or in your spare time.

Fancy yourself an expert on, say, watches or camera’s for example?  Why not start a blog?  Blogs are often the starting point to a myriad of online income-earning opportunities.  Are you a wiz in the kitchen?  Get your name out there and do some local catering.  The list can go on forever, but the aim is to tackle your money problems head on, and alleviate your frustration by bringing in some extra bucks – and doing something you’re already good at.

Let’s face it:  frustration is a part of life.  As long as we want anything, frustration is bound to follow at least some of the time.  In addition, other people have their own quirks, habits, and idiosyncrasies so frustration with them is inevitable at some point.  Regardless, we don’t have to stay down in the dumps, or get depressed when things don’t go right.  Life will always present us with challenges, problems, and difficulties to deal with.  Our job is to stand tall in the face of problems, and discover ways to solve them.  Then you’ll find your chronic frustration has been replaced by a much more welcome guest:  peace of mind!

—-

Lisa H. is a mother, blogger, runner and happiness seeker. Her blog, Getting to Zen inspires personal success through action. If you want to awaken your spirit, you can subscribe here.

In addition to blogging, Lisa is a co-author of Overcoming Fear: Sticking it to What’s Holding You Back, a unique program designed to help you get out of your own way and create the life that you want. To read more of Lisa’s articles, visit her blog. 

Photo credit: ‘Unlock‘ by Big Stock

A customer walked into McDonald’s and said, “One large fries to go, please!”

” Would you like fries with that?” John, the customer service guy, gave a quick automatic response.

“I just asked for fries only.”

“Oh, sorry about that. Would you like to upgrade?”

“But, I already ordered large fries.”

“Of course! Dine in or take-away…?”

The customer looked askance.

I find this incident funny every time I recall it. However, this story underscores something profound in the present age. Transactions happening in milliseconds, be that loading a webpage, response from ATM machines, text messages, responding to emails, staying in touch using your smart phones, have made a somewhat adverse impact on human concentration and patience.

As soon as an email hits your inbox, it is sealed with the expectation of getting a prompt response back. Plus, if the sender knows you have a blackberry, you are expected to respond back in seconds. Technological advances are not bad, they may perhaps even be necessary. They certainly do have a great upside. But, they have also robbed us off our time, time to think, time to contemplate, to cogitate, to plan. They do not give one the time to listen.

This is what I intend to cover briefly today — listening. It seems most are talking, some are hearing but only very few are listening. Listening is an art. It is easy to listen to the subject matter when you are interested in the topic. But sometimes, for example, at work, it can be a great deal more important to listen attentively even when you are not interested in the subject matter. Your performance, your decisions, your job may well depend on it.

Many people are just waiting for the speaker to finish her part so they can begin theirs. They are not actually listening, they are simply pretending they are. Good listening requires concentration. So, are you a good listener? Here is a little exercise for you to help you see where you stand, follow the steps below:

1. Put on your earphones and turn on your mp3 player.

2. Play your favorite song, ideally below five minutes in length.

3. Listen to every single word in the song, every single beat in the music.

Did you hear every word or did you find yourself wandering off into your world of thoughts after the first few lines? An overwhelming majority is unable to fully listen to a song of even three minutes.

Try the above again, promising yourself that you will listen to the whole song no matter what, that, for the whole time you will focus your attention undividedly on the song and nothing else.

Interestingly, you will find that even after your determined resolve, your mind still wanders off. However, with practice one can become an excellent listener. Those who are good at listening are often good at managing relationships, both personal and professional.

Yogic texts lay great importance on mastering the skill of listening. A while ago I wrote a post on the subject, you may want to read it.

An apt anecdote comes to my mind to end this article:

A man approached Buddha once and said, “I want to become wise. Please tell me how do I operate better in the world? What do I do to not mess my relationships?”

Buddha spoke, “It is very simple. You only have to be mindful of two things: Listen attentively to others when they are talking and even more attentively to yourself when you are talking.”

If we can listen to ourselves when we are talking, what we are talking becomes clearer. And as that gets clearer, nothing we don’t want or mean to say can come out.

Om Swami is a monk living in the Himalayan foothills. An advanced yogin, well versed in the science of mantra, sacred syllables, tantra, esoteric practices, and meditation, you can visit his blog on omswami.com.

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When I was five years old, my parents asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I told them I wanted to be a butterfly. It did not seem to be the answer they were looking for.

But I quickly caught on. The next time they asked me that question, in junior high, I knew what I wanted to be– a crusading investigative reporter ala Woodward and Bernstein, or a humor columnist like Art Buchwald, or a theater critic such as John Simon. They told me those jobs were already taken and that journalism was a dead end.

When they asked what I wanted to be when I was in college, I told them what I knew they yearned to hear— that I wanted to be a lawyer. But then I decided I would rather kill myself than go to law school, which resulted in a clinical depression, followed by a one month’s stay in a comforting place that taught life reassessment skills. My parents were so frightened by the experience that they dropped the whole J.D. thing for the time being.

My newfound shrink thought it would be nice for me to be a risk taker. So, after college, on an adventurous whim, I lit out for Los Angeles to study screenwriting. I was fortunate enough to sell a script to the hit sitcom, “Family Ties,” starring Michael J. Fox, while out there. I made a lot of money and met some super-rich people doing it, so everyone told me that it would be cool to be a wealthy television writer. After all, who could live in L.A. and not want to be one?

But then, I didn’t sell anymore television scripts and had another severe attack of the blues. My parents whisked me back to New York and were soon at their wits end about what I was going to be now that I was a directionless semi-adult. So, they sent me to a new mental health professional that gave me a battery of psychological tests and told me I should be a gym teacher. That nightmare didn’t last much longer than student teaching.

Left to my on devices for a moment, I went out and got a job as a trade magazine reporter (turned out, there were openings in the journalism field) and started to freelance for a number of print publications. When print began to dry up, I slowly adapted to the digital realm, a process that continues to this day.

My dad passed away many years ago, still concerned about what I was going to be, and my mom has since convinced herself that not only did I go back to school and get that law degree, but that I am now a member of the Supreme Court and finally have that sense of job security that only comes with being “a true professional.” I don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise.

But today, when people ask me what I really want to be, I tell them: “All I ever really wanted to be was who I am.” And I leave it at that.

Wendy Aron is the author of Hide & Seek: How I Laughed at Depression, Conquered My Fears and Found Happiness and the founder of WendyAron.com

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Did you know that most modern hunter-gatherers spend only 20 or so hours a week working? The Zhun people of Africa, for example, spend most of their time hanging out, socializing and generally enjoying life, while those of us running the rat race in industrialized nations work an average of 44 hours a week. Granted, it’s an extreme, but it does make you think about how living a sustainable or “green” life can be more fulfilling. While you might not want to drop your job and ditch your family to join a nomadic tribe, there are other ways to incorporate green practices into the life you lead. Try these tips to give yourself a dose of green and re-energize your life from the inside out.

Get Growing

From pink slime to pesticides, there’s some scary stuff lurking in the food we eat. What’s the best way to ensure that your food is full of nutrients instead of chemical sludge? Grow it yourself! Not only will you save hundreds of dollars on groceries every year, you’ll also get time to recharge and reconnect with nature. You might even find yourself getting inspired. Take it from Etta Britt, a blues music recording artist who just released her first solo album on Wrinkled Records. A musician’s life is a busy one, but Etta still finds time to manage and enjoy her family’s farm.

“Working on my farm is one of the most relaxing things I do,” Etta says. “There’s nothing better than going out and planting a garden or flowers, working with my roses, cutting fresh herbs to cook with or just sitting on my porch and enjoying a sudden, cool breeze in 85-degree weather. Almost every day, I head out to the chicken coop to see my baby chicks, and I sing to them. Or I visit with Mater the donkey, or Cowboy and Warrior, the two horses on our farm. A stroll around the property with my dogs and cats brings on inspiration for songs.”

Not all of us have space for livestock, but do what you can with the space you have. Even planting a few potted herbs on your apartment balcony is a step in the right direction.

The Whole Picture

If your great-great-great grandmother took a look at your lunchbox, would she recognize a single thing inside? If you answered no, you’re not alone. Most of us eat more from the factory than we do from the farm, and the more processed our foods are, the less true fuel they contain. It’s the equivalent of filling your car with used fry grease instead of motor oil – it might seem to do the job for a few miles, but sooner or later you’ll regret it. Taking a hint from Etta Britt and growing your own produce is a cost-effective way to improve your diet, but what else can you do?

When you go to the store, buy whole foods. What exactly are whole foods? You know those chicken nuggets that are pressed into dinosaur shapes? Whole foods are the opposite of that. In short, they’re foods that haven’t been processed. Stack your diet with things like fresh fruit and veggies, nuts and organic eggs and meats. You’ll be amazed at how much better your body runs when you fill it with real, usable energy and nutrients. And don’t forget that your brain is, of course, a part of your body. Feed it right and you’ll see improvements in your energy levels, your sleep, your mood and even your love life.

Waste Less

Ever wonder why charity organizers and Girl Scout leaders smile so much? That happy feeling begins with the knowledge that they’re making a difference. They smile, and then others then smile back at them, and on it goes. You might not have the wherewithal to host a public radio pledge drive or spend a weekend in the woods with a pack of tweens, but you can score some good karma by greening up and wasting less. One of the easiest ways to do this is to invest in a few reusable shopping bags. You can also shop at local farmers markets and select foods that aren’t cocooned in a metric ton of plastic. Your small choices can make a big difference for the planet – and for your peace of mind. 

When you’re living in an industrialized nation, it’s not easy being green. And as tempting as it might seem, flouncing off to South America to start a new life in the jungle isn’t always an option. But that doesn’t mean you have to resign yourself to a stressful and unsustainable life.  Make a change today. Start small. Take a single small step, then take another and another. Before you know it, you’ll be reaping the restorative rewards green living has to offer.

Nic Pennington Smyth is a freelancer from Pittsburgh. When he’s not writing, he enjoys fly fishing, backpacking and blues music. 

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Krishna Kantha, Thailand’s living saint, gently placed his hands on top of my head. I could feel an icy coldness penetrating my skull.

A lovely golden ball of liquid energy soon formed in the center of my brain.

“Go meditate. No talking, cell phones or TV. Be quiet. Walk in the grass. Observe Nature,” came instructions from best meditation teacher I ever had.

My head felt like it had been stuffed with cotton wool for the next few days. Any attempt to talk or do any intellectual activity brought a headache.

But meditation was great!

My mind could see inside the golden ball in my brain. Millions of sparks flew about in it. These sparks were busy rebuilding my brain cells. All my old patterns of intellectual thinking were disappearing. Awareness was growing along with the golden ball.

The ball of sparks became bigger and bigger until it encompassed my entire brain before proceeding down my spinal cord to work on it too.

After three days, I could walk about performing the daily chores of life while holding the empty mind state. No thoughts at all arose while doing physical activities. Buddhist monks practice Vipassana meditation all day every day for many years to achieve this.

I had it in just three days!

After three weeks, I had also experienced oneness and emptiness, two of the most advanced states of meditation.

Thank you Krishna Kantha!

In the years since my experiences on retreat at Krishna’s, I had often wondered if my visions of the golden sparks rebuilding my brain were imagination or reality.

Then I read a study by the University of Massachusetts Center for Mindfulness.

The study shows that meditation actually grows grey matter in the hippocampus. This area of the brain is already known as being associated with learning and memory, and with structures related to compassion, self-awareness and introspection.

Compassion, self-awareness, and introspection. Those are exactly the areas that we target in meditation.

For thousands of years, metta meditation has focused on growing loving compassion for all living beings. Does growth in compassion come as a direct result of growing more brain cells in the brain’s structures associated with compassion?

After reading this report, it seems highly likely. What’s even more interesting is the fact that meditating caused those brain cells to grow.

Wait a minute. I thought that new nerve cells didn’t grow in adults. Can the brain actually grow new cells?

This study by a highly respected American medical institution definitely shows increases in grey matter after only eight weeks of meditation.

Further contemplation led to me remembering another experience regarding my brain function. In the years after I left Krishna’s center, I kept seeking out Masters all over Asia to receive more brain changing energy from. Krishna had told me that receiving from different people was necessary to ensure as broad an experience as possible.

After about two years, another interesting change occurred. It felt like the two halves of my brain actually grew together. Investigating this phenomenon led me to the writings of Sri Aurobindo, one of India’s great philosopher/saints who died in 1950.

He writes that at a certain stage in meditation, the awareness and intellectual functions of the human brain combine into one. It’s no longer necessary to switch back and forth from being either in awareness or in the intellect.

The brain goes into an entirely new state that Sri Aurobindo termed Super Consciousness.

In Super Consciousness, you’re completely aware in the present moment and able to engage in cognitive functions at the same time.

It’s like having an empty brain in overdrive while being totally calm and relaxed with exactly the right thoughts popping up out of that emptiness. Liner thinking becomes obsolete. There’s no distracting mind chatter. This is what I was experiencing.

I was able to have a conversation about it with a Dasa at AmmaBhagavan’s Oneness University in India.

“It felt like the two halves of my brain grew together. Like I don’t have two halves anymore. I’ve just got a whole brain. Did this really happen? I asked him.

“That’s what happens,” he said.

Meditation opens up an entire new vista of mental abilities directly associated with changes and new physical growth in our brains. Western medical science is only now validating what Eastern meditation practitioners have known for millennia.

Meditation makes you smarter in ways that you can’t begin to imagine in your present state.

Try it and see for yourself.

Richard Crown blogs and teaches meditation and healing at Shaktipat-meditation.org.

Photo credit: ‘Lake Meditation‘ by Big Stock Photo

I was controlled by an eating disorder, anorexia nervosa, for over a decade. During this time, I postponed eating and living always to the future. I didn’t want to “waste” calories today if I could eat tomorrow when there might be better food, a nicer atmosphere or better circumstances. I didn’t want to let myself go today if I might be able to do that tomorrow. I didn’t skip harming workouts to go out and have fun because of the chance that tomorrow would be a better opportunity.

Unsurprisingly, tomorrow never came around. At least, the “right” tomorrow on which I could finally start taking care of myself was seemingly elusive and the result was me walking down a very dangerous path.

Now that I am in recovery and have my eating disorder under control, I’ve noticed the same things happening in different areas of my life. Whether it relates to work or to my relationships, important things are way too often put off until tomorrow.

I am sure I am not the only one experiencing this kind of procrastination, but I am fed up with this nonsense.

Maybe you cannot tell whether you are a suspect of the case of the constant postponing quite yet. Don’t worry, here are a few telltale signs and what you can do to stop them from getting in your way of achieving your goals.

1. You keep waiting for the perfect opportunity.

Here’s a newsflash: There’s never going to be the perfect moment or opportunity. You have to create it and the best way to do that is to act. Now. The longer you put something off the less likely you will actually do it. I know that from first-hand experience and the feeling of regret of having missed a chance is no fun. If any opportunity presents itself, then jump on it and do the best with it. An opportunity can be little things like reading this post and noticing that your life doesn’t have to be on pause and can be lived proactively.

2. You keep saying that you don’t have time.

The truth is that we all have the same amount of time, the only difference is in how we use it. I used to spend days only watching TV. Granted I was fighting a depression and anorexia, but still, I wasted so much precious time on mindless and useless stuff like Private Practice. Make an assessment, look where your time goes and how you could use it better. You’ll soon see that there are many areas you can carve out great amounts of time. I was almost shocked to notice how long a day could be when I stopped watching TV altogether. My productivity increased tremendously by simply eradicating this toxic habit from my life.

3. You keep giving in to fear.

Make no mistake, everybody has fears. It’s normal. It’s human. We just have to deal with them. When I sit down to start writing on a new blog post, I am always scared of failing to come up with words. Yet, I push through them every day and the reward of doing so is awesome. The best way of acting despite being scared or insecure is to make an emotional connection with the outcome. Imagine how relieved, excited or proud you’ll be after you have tried something new or fulfilled one of your dreams.

4. You keep educating yourself, but never act on it.

I am guilty of this one a lot. I love to educate myself on all kinds of things and with the internet, there are so many resources to choose from. It’s never been as easy to learn more about a topic or an area of interest as it is today. Yet, with these new opportunities, there also comes a problem. The more resources you have, the less you tend to act. There’s not enough time in a lifetime to learn everything about every subject. But the reality is that you don’t have to know every minute detail to be an expert at something, or at least not right away. I wasn’t an expert on anorexia and recovery when I started writing about it, but I didn’t let this stop me from producing something. I also didn’t know everything about improving your body image when I wrote my guide, but I have learned as much as I could and I put out the best work I could possibly do at that point in time. This doesn’t say that it was perfect, but it’s definitely helped many people since. Don’t hide behind books and education, but use it to ship, as Seth Godin would say.

5. You keep waiting for the right relationship.

This can apply to any kind of relationship, whether it’s of a romantic or purely friendly nature. Waiting for the right relationship to travel the world, enjoy food, move to a different country or whatever it is you want to do is deathly for those dreams. Sure, it’s nice to have a partner when making a big change, but you shouldn’t rely on that as a catalyst for living your life in the now.

6. You keep saying you don’t have enough money.

Money is pretty tight in our household right now. Worryingly so. And yet, we make it work. If you’re in a similar situation, then start thinking creatively. Ask others for help, for ideas or possible ways to get out of that hole. Be proactive about it. Where can you carve out some money? Where are you spending more than you should? Do you really need certain aspects of your life or could you redistribute your money to an area that is going to help you living fully to your values?

7. You keep claiming you don’t have enough self-confidence.

That’s the worst and yet such a wide-spread problem. Almost everybody seems to have problems with being self-confident, but there’s an easy way of changing it. Start thinking more positive and fill yourself with kind words and thoughts. Start smiling at yourself more often. Start walking tall and sitting straight. Start speaking up and put yourself first more often. If you are persistent, your self-confidence will go through the roof before you know it.

8. You keep telling yourself that there will always be a tomorrow.

Well, there may or may not be. You never know. I wouldn’t take the chances. Life is so much more exciting and fun if you do what’s exciting you right now. Who says that you’ll still enjoy traveling the world after you retire? Maybe your hips will hurt or your health will be shaky or your energy levels will be extremely low, which makes traveling not only exhausting, but also painful. You never know if you’ll have another chance at taking up that hobby or eating that specialty. So, use every day to its fullest and live in the here and now in order to create the best life possible for you.

There is nothing worse than looking back at life with regret. But if we keep walking the road of constant procrastination, this outcome is guaranteed.

It’s not too late to make the necessary changes.

Start living now.

—

Anne – Sophie Reinhardt is a world traveler, an anorexia survivor, a positive body image advocate, podcaster, blogger, digital entrepreneur, speaker, wive, lover of books, aspiring yogi and social media enthusiast. Her blogs My Intercontinental Life and Fighting Anorexia are focused on living a purposeful, free, healthy and passionate life.

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If you’ve read much time management advice, you’ll know that the ability to say “no” is an important one. Lots of productive, busy people have a tendency to take on too much because they never want to turn down a request for a favor, or even a new client who they know is going to be a pain to work with.

But friends, colleagues, and clients aren’t the only people who you need to learn to say “no” to. There’s one other person who can wreak havoc in your life … and that’s you.

Saying “No” to Achieve Financial Security

We’re all bombarded with advertisements: on television, in newspapers, on the subway, and especially on the internet. And the newest gadgets, DVDs, clothes, and so on are easily accessible, from stores open long hours, or online.

If your finances aren’t as good as you’d like them to be, perhaps you need to pay more attention to your impulse to buy new things. It’s all too easy for a few small purchases to add up to several hundred dollars a month in unnecessary spending.

Of course, I’m not saying that you should never treat yourself – but by resisting the urge to snap up every new goody that comes your way, you’ll truly appreciate the things that you do buy. You might want to set yourself a budget for discretionary spending, or keep a spending log for a few weeks to become more conscious of your choices.

Do it now: If there are particular stores (online or offline) that always tempt you to spend on things you don’t need, make a commitment not to visit them for the next month.

Saying “No” to Keep Your Schedule Sane

If you’re someone who gets excited by ideas and new projects – and most of us do – then you might struggle to fit everything into your days. Maybe you’ve taken on too many new tasks at work, or you’re juggling a bunch of different hobbies and interest in your personal life.

By saying “no” to some of those new project ideas (however good or interesting they might be), you give yourself a much better chance of succeeding at everything else. You’ll get existing tasks done faster – freeing you up to take on interesting opportunities that come your way in future.

You could try keeping a “someday/maybe” list of ideas, as recommended by David Allen in Getting Things Done. These projects aren’t ones that you’re giving up on forever – they’re just things that you know you can’t fully commit to right now.

Do it now: Look at all the projects that you have going on right now. Which one(s) could you put on hold for few months?

Saying “No” to Live Up to Your Values

The final area where you might need to say “no” is when a particular action would conflict with your values. This could be something small, like turning off the TV to spend quality time with your family, even though you’re feeling tired. It could be something huge, like refusing to have an affair because you’re committed to your marriage.

We’re all tempted to take the easy path at times – but that’s often not where real happiness lies. (And something that looks easy right now might create all sorts of problems in a few days, weeks, or months.) By saying “no” to yourself, you strengthen your will-power, meaning that you’ll be more likely to stick to your values and be the person you want to be in the future.

Do it now: What do you need to do (or to avoid) today, in order to live up to your own values?

Where in your life have you successfully said “no” to yourself recently? Share your experiences – and your tips – in the comments below.

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We usually think of the word belief as similar to thought, so if you ask me what I believe, I can tell you. However, we actually believe things in two different ways.

We believe them intellectually or rationally, and we believe them subconsciously or emotionally. When the two types of belief are in alignment, it’s easy to take action and move towards our goals. However, when there is disagreement between the two types of belief, we feel stuck and unmotivated, we procrastinate, and feel uncomfortable and stressed.

For example, suppose that you’d like to make more money, but you have a conscious belief that making over $200,000 is wrong, and that no one needs that much money. In order to change that, you’d first go to work on the intellectual belief ‘It’s wrong to make over $200,000.’ Many transformational books and workshops are designed to help you shift your intellectual beliefs by giving you new perspectives. Once you shift your intellectual belief, your emotional beliefs may shift as well, but often they do not.

A more likely scenario is that you believe intellectually that it’s fine to make over $200,000, but you have a subconscious or emotional belief that it’s wrong to do so. This might be because early childhood lessons included messages about wealthy people being mean, greedy, or evil. It might be the result of religious teachings. Or what if it was because you didn’t believe that you could ever be worthy of that much money, even if another person might deserve it? The thought of receiving that much money would cause you to feel like you would be getting something you didn’t deserve, and you may feel guilty or nervous about earning that much.

Unfortunately, emotional beliefs like this often sabotage us in ways that aren’t clear. All you may see is that your efforts to enhance your business or career just aren’t going anywhere. When given an opportunity to pursue a potentially profitable avenue, you may find excuses why it’s not a good idea or take half-hearted action.

You’ll need to use techniques that enable you to change the emotional reaction you have to a thought; in essence, you’ll need to change your emotional belief. Science has shown that the conscious mind only controls about 5% of what we do on a daily basis, whereas the subconscious mind – the home of the emotional response – controls 95% of what we do. If your emotions aren’t supporting your conscious goals, you’re proceeding with very little power.

One technique that can help with this is tapping, sometimes known as EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques.) Simply tapping on electrically sensitive spots on the face and body, called acupoints, has been shown to calm the amygdala, which is the fear center of the brain. Tapping even reduces the levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

The theory is simple: when you think about something that causes you emotional upset, and tap, you’re re-programming your brain not to have that emotional reaction. This means that when you tap, fears at taking risks, fear of failure and rejection, irritation with colleagues, co-workers, or vendors, and a host of other potentially success-threatening reactions just aren’t triggered any more.

It may seem strange that simply tapping on oneself can bring out emotional change and greater success, and it’s not quite that simple. You also need to have an empowering belief that you’re working to incorporate into your emotional belief structure, or know how to create that type of empowering belief once the fear, upset, or other negative emotion has been reduced. But if you’re tired of feeling like your fighting that critical little inner voice all the time, or constantly struggling to overcome fears and upsets in order to move forward, learning to use tapping can skyrocket your results.

Pamela Bruner is the co-author (with Jack Canfield) of ‘Tapping into Ultimate Success – Overcome Any Obstacle and Skyrocket Your Results’ available from major book retailers. For a free ‘Ultimate Success Tapping Kit’, please visit www.TappingintoUltimateSuccess.com.

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“Your perception of yourself has an enormous impact on how others perceive you.” – Erin Falconer of Pick the Brain.

 “If you really put a small value upon yourself, rest assured that the world will not raise your price.”  ~Author Unknown

I believe the best way to build self confidence is by broadening your life experiences. When you work hard to increase your knowledge, skills and experiences, you’ll automatically become a confident person.

Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.  ~Anaïs Nin, Diary, 1969

As you constantly increasing your exposure to life, you’ll build your confidence in mastering or doing anything.

Confidence is something that you have to workout like a muscle.

You can’t be confident at everything. We all lack confidence in some areas of life that we are not familiar with. However, those with healthy self esteem will feel OK with not having enough skills, knowledge or experience in a given situation. Because, they are confident in their ability to learn or do something, if it is a MUST – Specially, if you’re passionate about.

With passion you can do wonders.

Here are 7 smart (and may be uncommon) ways to build self confidence:

1. Travel:

“I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya

Explore the world and get out of your comfort zone.

When I tried camping in the desert for the first time in my life, it was a scary, yet very exciting, experience. I returned back home with a big self confidence boost. I was so proud of myself that I could do something that most people don’t dare to do.

Having dinner around fire in desert and watching the foxes playing around you is a super confidence booster.

2. Walk on Fire

Have you heard of Firewalking?

It is the act of walking barefoot over a bed of hot embers or stones. Walking on fire has existed for several thousand years, with records dating back to 1200 B.C.

It is probably one of the ultimate tests of a person’s courage and strength.

If you can walk on fire, what else can you do?

Ask around and you might find a place in your country that holds Firewalking events. It is an amazing way to conquer your fears and give your self confidence a BIG boost.

3. Express Yourself

It’s been said that the things that are hard to say are usually the most important.

Try saying something you believe important but you’ve been holding for a while. Choose a friend or a family member and talk out your mind.

When you feel the relief of expressing yourself, you’ll have a confidence booster. Express yourself without expecting a certain response from the person listening to you. Talk and don’t expect comments. Whether the feedback is positive or negative, the only thing you should care about is your ability to say what you want to say and feel important.

As you practice expressing yourself and your ideas, you’ll gain more & more confidence.

4. Join a Toastmasters Chapter

One of the best places to build your self confidence is Toastmasters.

It was started by Dr. Ralph Smedly in 1920s and grew to become the world’s largest non-profit organization for public speaking and leadership development, with over quarter a million active members worldwide.

You’ll build your ability to confidently speak in public in a very safe, friendly and empowering environment.

Go to Toastmasters.org and check a club in your city and most probably you will find one.

5. Learn one new skill every year (at least)

Increase your skill set regularly. Every year you should at least have acquired a new skill. With a powerful skill-set under your belt, you will be confident in your ability to get things done.

You’ll have more experience and you’ll gain more confidence in your ability to deal with different life situations.

You’ll feel that you can accomplish more and that you’re becoming more than average people who stop learning and growing after college!

Moreover, you’ll impress your friends and family with your newly acquired skills and have a good reputation among your peers as someone who cares about his own personal growth.

6. Break a record!

I once read this story about Bruce Lee {source}

Here’s the quote:

“Bruce had me up to three miles a day, really at a good pace. We’d run the three miles in twenty-one or twenty-two minutes. Just under eight minutes a mile [Note: when running on his own in 1968, Lee would get his time down to six-and-a half minutes per mile].

So this morning he said to me “We’re going to go five.” I said, “Bruce, I can’t go five. I’m a helluva lot older than you are, and I can’t do five.” He said, “When we get to three, we’ll shift gears and it’s only two more and you’ll do it.” I said “Okay, hell, I’ll go for it.” So we get to three, we go into the fourth mile and I’m okay for three or four minutes, and then I really begin to give out. I’m tired, my heart’s pounding, I can’t go any more and so I say to him, “Bruce if I run any more,” –and we’re still running-”if I run any more I’m liable to have a heart attack and die.” He said, “Then die.”

It made me so mad that I went the full five miles. Afterward I went to the shower and then I wanted to talk to him about it. I said, you know, “Why did you say that?” He said, “Because you might as well be dead. Seriously, if you always put limits on what you can do, physical or anything else, it’ll spread over into the rest of your life. It’ll spread into your work, into your morality, into your entire being.

There are no limits. There are plateaus, but you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. If it kills you, it kills you. A man must constantly exceed his level.”

What record can you break today? May be you should try something you thought impossible!

7. Study Self Confidence

When you study the science behind anything, you can deal with it more intelligently, make smart decisions and take smart actions accordingly.

Self confidence is no exception.

Study self confidence and you’ll be smarter in dealing with this subject and incorporating it in your life.

Check out the Simple Self Confidence Course by Erin Falconer and Barry Davenport. I know Erin and Barrie personally and I trust that you’re going to get tremendous value out of their course.

This course might not be available now, but you can join the waiting list for the next round.

Finally, I would like to leave you with an inspiring quote that you’ll need to ponder upon a little bit. It says, “Lighthouses don’t go running all over an island looking for boats to save; they just stand there shining”.

Let your confidence shine!

Mohamed Tohami is a bestselling author and the creator of “The P.A.S. Technique: The World’s Easiest Way To Find Your Passion and Purpose In Life”. Visit his Transformational Motivation blog now to grab a free copy of his special report “4 Steps to a Life of Passion”.

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