Smart Living 4 Smart People

Make a plan, Take action, Take action, Take action September 23, 2006

Me not posting every single day stops now.

My life is becoming fast pace now, because of all the goals I have initiated. Now I must relentlessly stick to my list of “next steps” and work only on those things.

You must know clearly, where you want to end up. This is monumental because there are hundreds of places that others want you to end up. Thus without your own true vision to direct you, you cannot differentiate advice and ideas that accelerates towards your goals from advice and ideas that come from those with their own agenda in mind.

For example, I am currently not attending the local University anymore after two years, because I do not want to work within the field of science, and my GPA does not allow me to enter specialties that I have an interest in. Thus, I am transferring to a technical school for a Bachelors of Nursing, it does require me to restart, but it has the best nursing program out there.

I am also seeking to learn how to trade the Forex (Knowing that it takes at least 2 years to become profitable consistently) and working full time right now so I can be a bartending in the years to come.

However, some do not see this as me taking control and responsibility of my life, and would rather I simply finish a Bsc. Of course, those individuals are now largely ignored because they do not provide me any positive/ helpful comments and ideas nor do they help my already lower energy levels.

You know what you want. Once you decide on what you want, work tirelessly towards it, do not be discouraged by naysayers. Because it takes no courage nor effort on their parts to deny you your dreams.

But you must WORK TIRELESSLY towards those visions. Without consistent effort on your part, your visions are nothing but pipe dreams. Do this on a daily basis, no matter how small a step it is towards that ultimate vision.

Make a plan, Take action, Take action, Take action

A plan for achieving your goals is no good if it sits on paper collecting dust.

I will take steps everyday; I hope you do the same with your life.

“The journey of a thousand miles starts with one single step.”

“Take the first step, you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step”

Don’t wait until it hurts September 11, 2006

Do you know why people in their twenties don’t quit smoking, and why people in their dead end jobs don’t quit? And why people don’t set goals unless they hit a new low? It’s because it is not painful in that very moment of their lives.

Pain causes average people to change their ways, but only enough to get rid of the pain but not enough to get anywhere. This of course is an ineffective system. This is the system of New Year resolutions, midnight fat loss advertisements, and those who swear to work harder after receiving their poor grades in school.

Of course we were all once guilty of such foolish ways, but not a moment more! This grey area between “par performance” and “pain causing performance” is what the average people are trapped in. Their performance slowly lowers to “pain causing” status where they swear to themselves that it will be different from now. However, they do not change their habits or the way they go about things, so things simply return to “par performance” due to their newly found motivation and extra efforts. Then that pain of the poor performance subsides, and their performance slowly returns to “sub par”. This is the oscillating pattern that the majority of the population is suffering from.

“How do I change and get out of this never ending pattern of below par performance?” It is very simple. Set clear goals, and don’t wait until a part of your life becomes “sup par” for you to act on improving it. For example, say my resume is adequate. It’s not full of spelling errors and lack of work experience; however needs blustering in volunteer work. Instead of waiting for that perfect job offer to come along and botching the interview due to lack of volunteer work, I make a couple phone calls and set up some volunteer work before the opportunity. Thus, when the opportunity presents it self, I am prepared; instead of starting to volunteer after the interviewer rejects me because of a lack of volunteer experience.

Set goals in every aspect of your life, and work towards them daily. This will make sure your life never becomes stagnant, and it will bring you great joy when a successful interview is due to how you learned about body language, or when a job promotion allows you to expand your social circle.

No one can be truly successful in life without health, relationships, wealth, and peace of mind. So work on all those aspects of your life because who knows where you will meet your boy/girlfriend, how new career options will come about, or who will come to your aid when you are in financial/legal/personal trouble.

Simple instructions for jump starting your Dreams September 5, 2006

1.) Write down your ultimate goal. (Become CEO of a company, Spend 3 hours of quality time with kids, etc.)

2.) Break down all the little bits and pieces of the steps that you need to take to get there.

(Get a certain position, Commute less, watch less TV, exercise for 30 minutes every other day, etc.)

3.) Determine what you are willing to sacrifice everyday to attain this goal. (1 hour everyday, watching TV, Eating hoho’s, eating out everyday, sleep, quality of relationships, etc) (And if you aren’t willing to sacrifice everyday, it’s not a serious goal.)

Ultimately you sacrifice time, money, and/or effort. (Credit to Howard Lee) So pick your combination of poisons and go with it. I personally prefer time and effort because I’ve got nil in the bank right now.

4.) Make a final copy of all this in a nice chart. (I am not blowing smoke up your bum, I have done this myself)

Should look something like this:

5.) Put this puppy up somewhere you will see at least twice a day. This for many of you means your bedroom, near your bed, where you sleep, in your nightie. (I have mine on my closet door)

6.) Now as much as you possibly can, take a step towards your goals almost daily. Don’t feel guilty if you skip a day when you were absolutely strapped for time. It is at least in your face, so you’re aware the next step in your “journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step.” (Wow. I ended with a quote. I actually learned something from English 10 enriched.)

Heck, all joking around aside, DO THIS. It should be a big paper thing. Right in your face and making it painfully obvious what you could do to get that dream car, job, or even life you’ve dreamed of for so long.

What have you got to lose? 2 minutes of your life? 5 dollars from the store? Seriously, if you read this blog post and choose to do nothing to get your life going in the direction where YOU want it to go, I am truly saddened. Don’t choose to brush this off like other things. I am not selling you a product! I do not make money whether you achieve happiness or not! This leads to something else I will probably blog about – The area between sub-par and painful that average people are trapped in.

Don’t make me sad. I believe all of us can achieve extraordinary things. Yuck. Mushy~ Ok, never mind, Writer-Audience moment over, back to your chairs and stop crying and hugging each other.

Ok back to the Steps…

7.) Next, work tirelessly towards taking a step in that right direction everyday. And when you lose sight of why you are making the sacrifices you are making, just close your eyes and imagine your life now that you have accomplished that goal. Whether it be driving that sexy car, with the new car smell or standing on the podium waving to the people, JUST ENJOY THAT MOMENT. And then you shall regain your focus.

I will cut it off here because this is the backbone of what I am using currently. It will make more sense as I elaborate more on the philosophical, emotional, and factual sides of goal achievement. You may not be able to remotivate yourself very well at this point, however, I will elaborate more on how to do that in the days to come. Don’t worry so much about that bump in the road that you have not even started down yet. 🙂

Another article I will soon write as well – Motivation – It is much like showering.

Cheers

the Kev

Statistics – Its irrelevance in most of life’s decisions, for “If it is to be it is up to me” September 4, 2006

How many times have you heard someone say “95% of forex traders lose all their base within 3 months of starting?” or “Chances are you’re not going to make it into medicine” or

“Statistically saying, you’re not going to be able to ________________”

That is a load of garbage. Inform the person that “Statistically, you as a sperm never had a snowball’s chance in hell of fertilizing that egg! But you’re here are you not?” Then tell yourself (In your head of course, unless you talk to yourself out loud like me. Then go right ahead) “I am not a statistic; for I am not dead, and I either am or I am not. I cannot be a percentage, fraction nor a statistic.” It’s like on a job application when it asks “Are you bondable.” You can only check a YES or a NO, not a box that says “Statistically 2% of my city is not bondable” You are not and never will be a statistic. Because you can never be that 32% or 83% of the population, for you cannot be divided into a hundred pieces to make up a percentage. You can only be on one side or the other of the yes/no statistic. You are. Or you are not. It’s head or tails, not be a percentage; therefore you should not care what the statistic dictates you to be.

From a pure goal accomplishment and encouragement point of view, statistics generally serve as an excuse for those who waste their lives away by watching television, and not becoming the truly accomplished person they were born to become.

Statistics are for Gambling and Insurance… amongst other things, but not for achieving your dreams!

I’m not saying not be realistic, I’m simply saying the apparent “statistics” should not be holding you back from embarking on your journey towards your goals.

My personal favorite quote is “If it is to be it is up to me”. Those are the 10 most powerful two-letter words in the English language.