The Greatest Secret To Producing Real SOLID Excellence!

By Justin Koh

One fact stubbornly stays true: while everyone desires to succeed, only those who truly COMMIT to their dreams would be able to attain success. For most people, having MORE money, MORE freedom and MORE success is nothing but a feeble desire. The reality is that they can live without it even though it is great to have it. As a result, they never (and never need to) take enough massive action to achieve their dreams when something else more 'important', 'urgent', 'realistic' or 'down-to-earth' comes to fill up their time.

Realize that you have a choice to make every single day but somehow the lesser choice almost always ranks as FIRST priority!

I cannot help but stress how important the word COMMITMENT is. When you commit to something, you would do whatever it takes to achieve it, no matter how difficult the situation is.

When you COMMIT to something, your dream becomes a MUST. When a dream becomes a MUST...You operate from a different mindset. People who truly achieve their dreams make them an absolute MUST to do so. When something becomes an absolute MUST, you would do whatever it takes to get it (within ethical and moral means). Making them a MUST also taps into your potential and unlimited resources to achieve anything you want!

Ask yourself: are your dreams and goals an absolute must or just weak desires that you can live without?

Almost everything you had ever achieved in the past—believe it or not—was an absolutely MUST. If not, you wouldn't have achieved anything till now. The problem is most of us tend to live a mediocre life based on survival and necessity, and living an exceptional life is not a MUST so long as we never make it a point NOW. The only way to achieve your dreams and live an exceptional life is when you raise your 'level of acceptance'.

You may set a dream to earn $10,000 from Internet Marketing but if you are willing to accept $2,000, then $2,000 is what you are going to get because $2,000 is your level of acceptance. Your level of acceptance is $2,000 and the moment it goes below your acceptance level, your mind hits panic mode and you would do whatever it takes to earn $2,000 again.

Raising your level of acceptance requires that you get 'dissatisfied' and 'inspired' and one of the best ways to do it is to read about or mix around with people who are much better than you. So if you are earning $2,000, kindly mix around with people who are earning X times as much as you. You are simply taking advantage of a particular environment by planting yourself in it.

When you are not mixing around with successful people and you are all by yourself, here's the great secret you can apply to produce better and greater results at all times: get 'dissatisfied' and 'inspired' by putting yourself ON THE LINE! In other words, put yourself in a situation where you have absolutely no choice but to step up to the next level.

How to put yourself on the line? Make a public declaration of your dreams and establish a commitment so that it will hurt not to do it.

When the brain is given a choice to do something or put it off, it will always gravitate towards the easier path. But when you have no choice but to do it, the inherent power of a commitment and a declaration will always help you find a way!

Do the following exercises:

1) Write down 5 goals that you MUST achieve.

2) Define your current levels of acceptance and redefine new levels for these 5 goals.

3) For these 5 goals, write at least 2 ways you can put yourself on the line for each of them.

4) Take massive action and DO IT!

Remember, in whatever you are doing, be it writing, creating a site, presenting, promoting, selling, forging new relationships etc., put in the x-factor that is Commitment in all your intentions, and all your actions will be executed at a new and higher level in one way or another. Be committed to do whatever it takes, and you will most likely get it.

Gifts Download: http://www.internetmasterycenter.com/freeload.html

Justin Koh & Nelson Tan are the architects behind Internet Mastery Center (http://www.internetmasterycenter.com) and Fresh Resources (http://www.freshresources.com).

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Action Rules - Just Get Started!

By Al Smith

'Action Rules!' in the Getting Goals Game. It is the number one most important step to achieving your greatness.

Having second thoughts? Trouble getting started? Stalled on a plateau? Spinning your wheels trying to get going again?

Just get Started. Goal Setting and Planning is necessary, but 'Action Rules' when it comes to getting what you want. Like Nike says, 'Just Do It!'

Taking action, any action is the important step. As long as you are moving, you can use the momentum to take more action. The saying that you can't steer a parked car is right on. You must get your vehicle moving before you can
steer it.

You can even change vehicles to get to where you want to go, but you must start movement in the beginning. You can even change the direction, (your destination), but getting started is all important.

No action is too small to start with. In fact the smaller the better, because it is sometimes easier to believe in doing little things, then you can move up incrementally to larger steps when you gain momentum and confidence.

Remember the things you get will not make you happy, it is the challenge and the accomplishment of the things that create happiness. Too many people achieve to be happy, rather than happily achieve. The joy is in the journey, not the journey's end.

Start moving towards your dream.

Get off that couch, turn off that TV, stop daydreaming about what you would like to be or do, and start with some action that will take you in the direction that you want to go.

Maybe you have been able to fulfill most of what you want to do. Is there still something in your life that you have got to do but are feeling stuck, and just haven't been able to get it?? Well if you still want to try, then, this is the place to get unstuck!

'Don't know where to go or what to do?' Decide for now that you do know, pick that thing that keeps coming into your mind, but you brush it away when your self talk keeps telling you; 'I couldn't possibly do that.'

Do it! You can change your mind later, if need be. Just get rolling! Get started! You can do it! Be courageous! You will find that in starting anything worthwhile, you will feel some reluctance to believe that you can do it. You will sometimes feel the force of inertia.

Most of us have felt this. Just remember that many people who have achieved greatness, felt that same emotion at times.

They just refused to believe that they couldn't do it, and
went ahead on faith that it would work out. Move forward.

The reason for doing something is far more important in motivating you than the thing itself, so pump up the urgency by focusing on your outcome and how it will feel when you
achieve it, instead of whether you can or cannot do it.

Because you can at least get it started! Take the first step into the rest of your life. Isn't it awesome? The journey is where the 'juice' is.

So, get started now. Just begin! Remember 'ACTION RULES!'

Al Smith, Copyright 2005

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Al Smith writes for and publishes The Realgoalgetter Ezine. His articles deal mostly with goal setting, self improvement, motivation, and overall health and fitness. Stop by The Realgoalgetter Website and subscribe to The Realgoalgetter Ezine at
http://www.realgoalgetter.com/ezines/index.html.

Nothing More Than Feelings

By Judy Ringer

"How are you Inventing Your Life Today?" – the lead story from my last issue of Power & Presence – drew comments from several readers. Most of the comments went something like: "I wish I could have the degree of control over my life that you apparently do."

I want to say, I wish I had the degree of control over my life that it apparently looks like I have.

Earlier this summer, several of my 20-something neighbors who live in the apartments next door had a long and lively conversation in their back yard, which lies just beneath our bedroom window – wide open on this particular warmish night. The conversation included beverages of one type or another (I hazarded some guesses), the containers for which, when drained, got thrown (loudly) into a recycle container. These antics took place between 2:30 and 3:30 A.M.

I debated for a while whether I should get up, dress, go next door, and have a conversation of my own. After tossing and turning for about 15 minutes, I decided to communicate through my open window. I got up, and – I believe in a fairly centered way – called out: "Quiet, please." They heard me, I think, since their voices quieted a bit. And while the cans continued to go into the recycles, they did so with perhaps a bit less energy.

But the damage was done, the horse out of the barn. What were my chances of getting back to sleep? I tossed and turned for another half-hour but couldn't find my way back. I got up, walked the house, muttered oaths to myself, and finally began to notice light dawning and birds chirping around 4:45. I lay down again and dozed intermittently between 5 and 8, and eventually got out of bed to face the day, tired, depleted, and still angry.

I remembered my story about "Inventing Your Life," and its theme about the meta-communicator being the padding between my feelings and me. There wasn't much padding after a sleepless night. I talked to my husband. I honored my feelings. I even appreciated my neighbors' cluelessness. I mean they're young adults having a summer outdoor party. Okay, it IS the middle of the night, but I may have done similar stuff at that age. But in spite of my best efforts at reclaiming equanimity, I mostly gave myself a pretty hard time about the fact that I'd written that story. Here I was having FEELINGS. I can help others better manage their emotions, so why couldn't I manage my own? Why couldn't I make them go away?

I re-read my story. It helped. I didn't say I wasn't supposed to HAVE feelings, I said I was supposed to be able to be aware enough to notice them and ride their waves. I said I wanted to make behavior choices based on my better instincts instead of acting out the emotion in unconstructive ways. I guessed that I had done that with my partying neighbors. I hadn't been mean-spirited or behaved reactively.

"Beyond That"
Then I understood that I wasn't upset with my neighbors any more; I was mad at myself for having such strong feelings. Like somehow I was supposed to be "beyond that." Because I teach and write about centering, I should be above these tiresome emotions.

In those moments of upset, I comprehended experientially that centering doesn't take emotions away. On the mat of life, as in aikido, the attack will come. It may come from the outside (my noisy neighbors) or the inside (strong feelings). How will I manage the energy? Will I freeze, fight, fall over, or move in toward the energy and use it wisely? I can be centered and upset. I hope, in fact, I am centered when I'm upset. When I'm centered I will hold the emotional energy differently.

In time, as they always do, the feelings died down and transformed, much like the thunderstorm that also passed through that night. By afternoon I was on the actual aikido mat and back to feelings I enjoy having in my body. "Inventing Your Life" is pretty accurate. The option to have or not have feelings is not under my control (at least not yet). The ones I had that night and early morning were not pleasant or wanted, and I could not MAKE them go away. All I could do was sit with them, watch them move through body, mind, and spirit, talk about them to caring friends, and care for myself while I was having them.

Soon I will be laughing about that night. (I already am.)

And soon I will have a longer conversation with my neighbors – in the daylight, when we're all centered, open to dialogue, and able to talk about how we want to live next door to one another.

Center does not equal an absence of emotion. Center equals presence with emotion. I am not a bad person because I have strong feelings. Feelings just are; they can in fact control us, or with some watching, waiting and positive intention, we can engage and direct their energy with awareness and purpose.

© 2005 Judy Ringer, Power & Presence Training

About the Author: Judy Ringer is Founder of Power & Presence Training, specializing in unique workshops on conflict, communication, and creating a more positive work environment. Judy is also a black belt in aikido, and is writing her first book on the connection between aikido, conflict, and living a more purposeful life. To sign up for more free tips and articles like these, visit http://www.JudyRinger.com

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Wisdom Comes to the Inquisitive Mind

By Willie Jones

Throughout my life I have observed many things and I am often amazed (but shouldn’t be) at how Wisdom is demonstrated in all ages. It is not reserved just for the elders. Although I think most people as they get older often seem to get a little more psychic or more in tuned to life and are not easily fooled.

I personally feel like I didn’t really understand life that much until I was about 40 years old. It is an odd sensation when you wake up one day and find 5 or 10 years have gone by and you suddenly realize that all this time has passed and not much has changed. You are still at the same job, same problems at home or work and you start to wonder, “what has been accomplished in all this time”. Have goals been met? Are you in the same rut? These are important questions to ask yourself because your future depends on being honest with yourself.

Children are absolutely wonderful because they are so inquisitive and ask a million questions and that is as it should be. After all, how does one learn if you don’t ask? Children ask why, why, why! They want to know. If you deny them knowledge then their lives are stifled and they really don’t have much chance for success in life. The more knowledge they have the more they will be able to deal with life’s problems. You are doing a disservice to a child if you do not answer their questions honestly. All through their lives growing up they will have questions and education is the answer and I am not just talking about school. They will ask you as parents, questions. They will ask friends even strangers in their quest for knowledge. “How do you…. what about…is this really true…” They need to know! Just tell them everything they want to know honestly because what they learn early in life will define them later in life.

Young children have, it seems, this amazing perception about people. They are constantly observing because that is what a child does. It is survival for them to observe life around them because they need this data to for their future life. Children closely scrutinize even the simplest things like table manners, and they will mimic you! So set the right example at all times if you can because believe me, they are watching you!

If you are an adult and you realize that you have been asleep for most of your life and you wake up one day and think, oh my God, what have I been doing all these years? Take heart. It is definitely not to late no matter how old you are! That’s the beauty of life; you are never too old to change things. How do you go about this? It goes back to education, and I don’t just mean school. We are always learning through out our lives and our life’s experience can teach us much. Look at what worked for you and do more of the same. What did not work for you, discard. You do not need to do more of the same if it did not work for you.

From the time you are born, life is a learning adventure and the more you know and the more data you can collect, the more successful you can be in life. After all, knowledge is power. Don’t you think?

Willie Jones

Willie is a freelance writer, researcher, floral designer, and artist. Thanks very much for reading this far. Please come and visit us at: http://www.artinspires.com/ for an inspirational poster or two

“Make sure you enroll in the free motivational poster drawing. All winners receive a free framed print.”

Face Your Fears

By Jim Donovan

Yes, that's me up there! Interestingly enough, I used to be deathly afraid of heights. I'm not suggesting para sailing is the best way to overcome a fear of heights but it worked for me. Sometimes, the only way through a fear is to meet it head on. That's what I did in this case.

My wife, Georgia, and I were vacationing on Marco Island, Florida several years ago and I was sitting on the beach watching people flying in parachutes over the water. I thought to myself, "That looks like a lot of fun." Then, the little voice inside reminded me that I had a lifelong fear of unsecured heights. Sure, I was fine in airplanes but to hang out in a parachute was more than I could imagine.

After a few days of anxiously watching people having fun I decided to face one of my worst fears. I walked over to the man at the rental booth and asked him if it was safe to do this. Dumb question. Like he was going to say no:-) He said, "It's so safe we have young children doing it and I even have an 80 year old woman who comes every few weeks to do it. What a closer:-) Now, what am I supposed to say? That this big macho guy is too scared to do it? No way! I said sure and paid the man.

I will admit that I was frightened half to death when I got up there. I figured since I was a good swimmer I would not worry. Once I saw how high I was going, I realized it did not matter. If I fell, I would splatter - good swimmer or not.

After a while, I loosened my painfully tight grip on the parachute lines and actually began to enjoy the ride. What a sight from several hundred feet above the island. By the time I got back down, I had next to no fear of high places.

Sometimes we just have to look our fears right in the eye and do it anyway.

© 2004 Jim Donovan — PO Box 1147, Buckingham, PA 18912 — (215) 794-3826

Jim Donovan is the author of "Handbook to a Happier Life, a motivational speaker and coach. For a no cost bonus product & more, visit http://www.JimDonovan.com

If you had all the information and tools you needed to live your dream life, would you use them? Yes?
Click here ==> http://www.jimdonovan.com/ebookoffer.html

Motivation: The Cure for Complacency

By Jeff Herring

Q. I've always tried to work hard enough to provide for my family and be content. The problem is, when I'm content, I get complacent, and everything starts to fall apart. How do I keep going and avoid getting complacent?

A. There's nothing wrong with feeling content. It's something that we all strive for in life.

The problem comes, as you have so well stated, when we drift from contentment into complacency. Let me give you an example of the results of complacency, and then how to overcome it.

I recently heard Clay Shiver, former FSU All-American center and former center for the NFL Dallas Cowboys, speak about complacency.

When he got to the NFL, Shiver, who played center, was the only starter on the offense who wasn't an All-Pro player. The team also had won three out of the last four Super Bowls.

The year he started, the Cowboys posted a record of 6 wins and 10 losses. Shiver said he thought the reason for such a bad season was that the team had gotten complacent, had lost its hunger. He remembered being in the huddle where two All-Pro Super Bowl champions talked about how they couldn't wait until the season was over so they could go on a fancy trip. They lost the next five games.

That's the best example of complacency I think I could offer you.

I can sum up the cure in just one word. Ready?

Ants.

That's right, a-n-t-s, ants. One of the benefits of having kids is you get to watch their favorite videos hundreds of times. In the movie "Bug's Life" the ants teach us at least five strategies for dealing with complacency.

1. Ants never, ever give up

Put something in front of them, and they will get around it, over it, under it or through it. If one way doesn't work, they will try another. If that way does not work, they will try still another way. And so on until they find a way around the obstacle.

There's nothing wrong with feeling content. It's something that we all strive for in life.

2. Ants are always getting ready for what's next

They don't ever rest on their laurels. In the summer, they are thinking about the winter and getting ready for it.

3. Ants are creatively industrious and resourceful

Ants don't complain about not having the right tools to do what needs to be done. They take what is available right in front of them and find a way to make it work.

4. Ants are always hopeful

In the winter, when they are holed up in their little ant mound, they are using what they stored up all summer and know that as cold as it is, summer is coming, and they are getting ready for it.

5. Ants don't seem to believe in the concept of enough

They store up all that they can for the winter. You have seen the acronym on restaurant signs AYCE. I used to think that must be some kind of special brand of food. It took me forever to figure out that it stands for All You Can Eat.

Instead of focusing on All You Can Eat, I think we would do better to focus on what the ants do, AYCD, which stands for All You Can Do.

If you constantly follow these five tips, you will consistently beat complacency. Think of it as being content and always hungry to make things better.

Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.