10 Critical Success Clues

10 Critical Success Clues
By Leslie Fieger

I don't need to be a gypsy fortune teller to tell your fortune. I can tell with a 95% certainty whether or not a person is (or is going to be) successful.

All I need is 20 minutes of conversation or a few email interactions and I know. It is easy to do. You can do it too. Yes! You can actually predict whether or not someone will have the success they say they want. Better yet, you can tell if you are going to be a success OR not.

The best part about checking to see if you will be a success is that you don't have to 'beat around the bush' in a conversation to discover the clues, as you would normally have to do with another person. The worst part about checking in with yourself is that you will run up against an outright liar. Yes, you will attempt to deceive yourself. Now that you are forewarned about that, you can watch out for your attempts to obscure (or divert yourself from) the truth about yourself.

So, if you want to predict the future of anyone, including yourself, here are the ten most critical clues that you will need to uncover and clarify:

1- Attitude

2- Intention

3- Purpose

4- Passion

5- Plan

6- Resolve

7- Responsibility

8- Words

9- Actions

10-Peers.

Let's take a closer look at each.

Attitude: There is a winner's attitude and there is a loser's attitude. Most people have a mix of the two.

A winner's attitude is characterized by high self-esteem, a positive outlook on life, a general feeling of gratitude, a sense of great personal destiny, a willingness to learn and the will to do what is necessary.

Losers have poor self-esteem, a negative (they say realistic) outlook on life, a general feeling of resentment about the trials and tribulations of life, a sense of impending negative fate, a stubbornness about what they 'know', and lousy will-power or self-discipline.

Intention: As a general rule, things done with intent, produce intended results and things done without specific intent produce unintended results.

It is my experience that most people think, say and do most things in life without any conscious and specific intent. I like to ask people (and especially myself) the following clarifying questions:

What is your intent in holding that belief? What is your intent in thinking that way? What is your intent in doing what you do? Most can't answer. Winners can. More importantly, winners are always asking themselves, what is my intended result for this chosen action, thought or way of being?.

Purpose: This is so simple it is almost ludicrous... a life without a defined and stated purpose is a life of no purpose and no meaning.

Winners have a purpose. Losers do not. Winners live a life of purpose and 'on purpose'. Losers live accidentally; victims of circumstance instead of creators of circumstance. The sooner you write down the succinct and true purpose of your life, the sooner you will discover success, happiness and personal fulfillment.

Important caveat: your purpose does not have to be altruistic or measure up to anyone's standards except your own. It can be entirely selfish.

Passion: Passion is that fuel that drives you. Passion is also what attracts to you the people and resources that you need to achieve your success.

Passion is magnetic. Desire is the metaphysical equivalent of gravity. It draws to you the elements that you need to succeed. Passionate people attract followers and supporters. Winners are passionate! ! ! ! !

Plan: You've heard before. You've read it many times. Every personal empowerment teacher says it... You must have specific and written goals and a step-by-step plan to enact those goals.

Every business needs a business plan. Your life needs a plan. You must create it. As Ben Franklin pointed out, Failing to plan is planning to fail. Winners have a game plan. Losers are spectators and armchair quarterbacks. Do you have written goals?

Do you have a specific game plan?

Resolve: It is persistence that creates winners. It takes resolve to reach the top.

There will be obstacles in your path and impediments to your success. Losers allow themselves to be defeated by these barriers. Winners use them to build up strength and/or to learn a better way to do something. I see it all the time... people quit just before the finish line. They lose focus and direction.

Winners persist. Losers desist.

Responsibility: Ask yourself this question, Why don't I have all the prosperity, happiness, success and fulfillment that I desire?

If you blame any condition, circumstance, event, person or external thing, then you are a loser. Winners accept responsibility. Losers assess blame.

Step up to the plate and accept responsibility for your life and you will become the winner that you desire to be in your secret heartfelt moments. The wonderful part about accepting responsibility for your failures is that you also get to accept responsibility for your successes. You don't have to say that you were lucky or blessed or had the right breaks... you can say, I did this.

Words: The words you speak and the way you speak them tell a lot about you. They tell the world what you believe, what you think, where you have been, who you hang around with and where you are likely to end up.

Below average people talk about other people; average people talk about events and circumstances. above average people (winners) talk about ideas and ideals (especially their own).

Winners say what they mean and mean what they say. Losers say what they think will please others or repeat what they have been told.

Actions: And yes, actions speak louder than words. The things you do are a reflection of your character.

Most people tend to do what most others do, in some sort of willful ignorance of the plain fact that most people live mediocre lives and never achieve the success they had idealized for themselves. Actions produces results.

If you want uncommon results, you must undertake to act uncommonly on purpose, with intent, with responsibility, with persistence, with resolve, with passion and according to your plan.

Do what you love. Do what you will.

Peers: Birds of a feather do flock together.

If you want to be a winner, hang out with winners. Create your own 'mastermind group'. Try to be involved with people who are smarter than you, more successful than you, have greater aspirations than you. If you can't do it in person, read their books or read their biographies or visit their websites.

Losers like to hang around with other losers, not just because misery loves company, but because their self-esteem is not threatened by comparison to their peers. If you can find the way to love yourself enough to always have a high level of self-esteem, then you won't need to compare yourself to others.

Winners believe in themselves. Losers believe in the world around them.

So now you know my secret to be able to predict the future. All I need to know about a person is:

1- Who they hang around with,

2- What they do day-to-day,

3- The way they speak and what they say,

4- Whether or not they assume responsibility or assess blame,

5- Whether or not they have the resolve (the stick-to-it-tive-ness) to overcome obstacles,

6- If they have a plan to live by,

7- A passion for life and their plans,

8- A self-designed purpose to live for,

9- If they act intentionally or in reaction, and,

10- What their overall attitude is to life and their part in it.

Now that you know, you don't need me, or some gypsy tea leaf reader, to predict your future.

The GREAT good news is that, if you discover, through this self-analysis, that you do not have these 10 necessary characteristics of winners, you can change the way you are and the things you do. So there it is... your destiny is yours, by design or by default. It is up to you.

Leslie Fieger. All rights reserved worldwide.

Leslie is the author of The DELFIN Knowledge System Trilogy: The Initiation, The Journey and The Quest plus many more success publications. He also the co-author of The End of the World with Hugh Jeffries and Alexandra's DragonFire with his daughter Ashley. Subscribe to his free and ad-free eZine at http://www.ProsperityParadigm.com or http://www.LeslieFieger.com.

Reprinting and republishing of this article is granted only with the above credit included. Permission to reprint or republish does not waive any copyright.

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Kindness Is A Strategy For A Happy Life

Kindness Is A Strategy For A Happy Life
By Saleem Rana

All our thoughts and feelings as we go through our day are recorded for us by the universe and then played back to us as an experience on the screen of time-space.

Because we have long since forgotten what we thought or felt about anything, when the playback unrolls it takes us by surprise, and since we are more prone to negative views on things, as our urge to fix things is usually stronger than our urge to heal them, the playback usually sets us off on another cycle of gloom and doom.

Of course in our more sunny moods and times of awareness, we determine to set things up right the next time, but as our mind speeds up with the roll of urgent events, we fall back into unawareness and create more mishap.

In general, then, the better strategy is to assume an attitude of helpfulness, both to ourselves and others, a kindness and tolerance in our view, a forgiving and giving in our actions, and a sense of poise and ease in our delivery of any dialogue.

When Albert Schweitzer wanted people to understand this value of cooperation and harmony he would tell this story:

A flock of wild geese had settled to rest on a pond. One of the flock had been captured by a gardener, who had clipped its wings before releasing it. When the geese started to resume their flight, this one tried frantically, but vainly, to lift itself into the air.

The others, observing his struggles, flew about in obvious efforts to encourage him; but it was no use. Thereupon, the entire flock settled back on the pond and waited, even though the urge to go on was strong within them. For several days they waited until the damaged feathers had grown sufficiently to permit the goose to fly.

Meanwhile, the unethical gardener, having been converted by the ethical geese, gladly watched them as they finally rose together and all resumed their long flight.

We can learn much from this story, for it is not only about the ethics of kindness amongst the geese, but also how they were in relationship with the universe itself even when misfortune struck. The lesson was not for the geese but for the gardener.

Through our conduct, we can establish the same rapport with the universe that the geese enjoyed and that made them whole despite an unexpected adversity.

Our most important relationship, then, is with the universe for it gives us our reality, the unfolding movie of our lives. But this relationship is an indirect one for we are dealing with an invisible current that shapes our destiny from day to day by how we think and feel.

While at certain peak states of awareness we may be able to control our thoughts and feelings about things, the general tone of life is not conducive to such heightened perception, and a better general strategy for staying on good terms with the universe is by exercising the view held by the geese, a sense of love and tolerance, acceptance and patience.

Life is short but it is also a long flight and we enjoy it most when we are in the company of a universe that buoys our every effort with benediction, heals our wounds when we should fall, and leads us to higher and higher comprehension of the mystery of sentience; but to get to this place, we need to be the embodiment of benediction ourselves.

The purpose of all virtue is not to win accolades or fulfill some creed taught in some groupit is, more than anything else, a way for us to find rhythm, harmony, and peace as we walk towards the twilight of our days, preparing for journeys beyond the body; for everything, even life itself, is always a preparation for something greater.

Saleem Rana would love to share his inspiring ideas with you. Hunting everywhere for a life worth living? Discover the life of your dreams. His book Never Ever Give Up tells you how. It is offered at no cost as a way to help YOU succeed. http://www.theempoweredsoul.com/enter.htmlCopyright 2004 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass thisarticle on to your friends, or use it in your ezine ornewsletter. It's a shareware article.

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1 and Only Tip You Need to Set Yourself Up for Success

1 and Only Tip You Need to Set Yourself Up for Success
By Erik Vossman

You could spend days reading all the Anthony Robbins self improvement books, listening to all his CDs and watching all his tapes. You could sift through Amazon reading the reviews of Dr. Phil and the like. This would no doubt motivate you to become better at whatever it is you are hoping to accomplish. You would then find more information and learn how to do whatever it is you want to do. This route is good but too often it shifts focus away from your goal to the point where you don't have the drive to complete it. Sure you are motivated but you might just forget what you're motivated for.

This is why you really only need one tip to start you on the path to success:

1. Become Accountable

That seems like a pretty simple task on a really simplified list. However, as you think about what becoming accountable means you begin to realize just how difficult it can be.

Becoming accountable for your goals and actions means that other people need to know what your doing and what you plan on doing. This means you can't sit back being a gonna doer only telling yourself and a few close friends, I'm going to be rich some day, or This year I'm going to get that promotion. No, instead of telling you significant other, your dog, or maybe, just maybe your best friend, you have to tell everyone especially those you admire most.

By telling all the people around you what your plans are, what your goals are, you are creating a fan base of sorts. When you have fans you have people to encourage you. Most of all when you have fans you have people following your progress that you don't want to disappoint. Not letting someone down can be one of the biggest motivators a human being needs to strive for success.

Looking at your favorite sports team you can see an example of this first hand. Most athletes have a crowd, be it their mothers at the local pee wee baseball game to fanatics that follow pro teams all over the world, these athletes have people who want them to succeed. Sure some get payed outrageous salaries to do what they do, but all that stems from having a fan base that wants them to succeed.

You need to get the word out. Here are several tips that can help you do just that without taking your energies away from accomplishing your goal and achieving the level of success you deserve for yourself.

1. Start a blog and tell the world
2. Bring it up in the next bar room conversation
3. Put it in your Holiday Cards
4. Put it in your email closing
5. Join a club and share your goals with its members

Just trying these five suggestions has the potential to explode your fan base. Getting fans you won't want to disappoint will force you into a situation to succeed, you'll have no choice but to succeed.

By Erik Vossman
Can You Become Good at Everything

Erik Vossman over at http://www.erikvossman.com is working towards becoming good at everything he tries and shares great tips for success in whatever you are trying to do. Join him on his quest and learn how to be successful.

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Top Ten Reasons People Fail To Attain Goals

Top Ten Reasons People Fail To Attain Goals
By Terry Wisner

With the plenary of philosophers and self-improvement gurus in all forms of media, it is amazing how many times a day are we informed that all we need to do is, have a dream and go after it. Many of the clients of PARTNERING TO SUCCESS have told me that Partnering is the secret to success. Well I hate to rain on your parade, but there is no secret. Partnering simply addresses one of the Top Ten reasons for failure to reach your goals.

Although the accountability that Partners enjoy is a major key success factor, any one of the ten will lead to falling short in goal attainment.The goals can be personal; IE, Lose weight, remodel the kitchen, get our finances in order, clean up my credit. Or, your goals may be work related; IE, improve customer service skills, make more cold calls, close more sales, listen better, improve my leadership skills, et cetera. Review the listing and rate yourself on each of the items. Be honest with yourself and identify the areas in your personal planning which need improvement.

10) ILL DO IT TOMORROW: Procrastination! Too many people just keep putting of until tomorrow, that which they know they need to do today. Why? Because its easy! Short term, its always easier to do nothing. If you know you need to improve in some area, make it a priority, develop a plan, and Partner with someone to make it happen.

9) TOO MANY BALLS IN THE AIR: At times, we all feel like we are juggling too many things in our day to day lives. Many folks enjoy having things on their To Do list, simply to check them off. Select two, maybe three things that you want to work on this year. Make those your Priority.

8) DONT REALLY WANT TO: Its important to note that nobody can motivate you. Each of us can motivate ourselves, and only ourselves. If someone else tells you to go after this goal, it is not likely to give you the passion and drive you need to achieve it. The goal must be important to you and your success.

7) NOT SURE ITS IMPORTANT: Once you have established a goal, it sometimes can become secondary to other objectives in life. If the goal is not important to you, it will not be achieved. By the way, just because it is important to the boss, it may not be important to the employee.

6) DONT KNOW HOW TO DO IT! All too often people set goals for themselves, create a plan, and go after their objective. However, without the knowledge of how to do it, they ultimately fail. An essential element of your plan should be to test your knowledge and educate yourself. WARNING: Dont overeducate yourself. Some people never get things done because they try to make it perfect. As the old saying goes, dont let perfect get in the way of good.

5) CANT DO IT: Certainly every one of us has fallen into this category. We want to accomplish something specific, we make it a priority, we develop our plan, and we Partner to hold each other accountable. Unfortunately, we plainly dont possess the ability to carry it out. One can plan to hike to the top of Pikes Peak; however, without the ability to cope with the altitude, the plan will just not come together.

4) SOMETHING IS MISSING: If the right tools arent in the tool box, the job will be difficult or perhaps even impossible. No matter what the task, if the proper resources are not available, the job wont get done. Attitude and aptitude are vitally important, but without a computer, a PowerPoint presentation would be very difficult deliver.

3) CANT STICK TO IT: Every one of us gets distracted. The phone rings, a visitor stops by, something of interest enters our mind, new objectives are given to us or identified by ourselves, and the list goes on. According to a recently completed survey by NFI Research, two of the top sources of stress for managers are interruptions (47%) and conflicting responsibilities (37%). Focus, focus, focus! Post your major objectives in plain sight, put little reminders around your office or home, and remember that your Partner will help you maintain focus. If your goals are most important, then maintaining focus should not be a problem.

2) NO WRITTEN PLAN: Have a purpose. Too many folks go through life and never understand their purpose. Things take up the hours of our lives, but in the end, many individuals look back a simply regret many things they didnt do. Once you have identified your major priorities, its time to develop a plan to achieve them. Make sure the plan is written and includes the following:

Specific objectives and milestones. The steps to reach your goal
Measures that will indicate how you are progressing
Attainable elementsthings you can do
Results oriented statements and actions
Timing of each objective so you know when you are finished

If you fail to planyou plan to fail.

1) NO ACCOUNTABILITY: The number one reason people fail to accomplish their goals is lack of accountability. Any effective seminar, class, or workshop will include an action planning segment in the program. Participants write their action plan, often share it with others at their table, sometimes read it aloud to the entire group, and fully intend to implement the planned changes in their work and/ or personal life. Come Monday, they fall right back into the same old behaviors and fail to execute the plan. Be honest, youve done it, Ive done it, everybody does it. Thats where Partnering comes into play. This process offers a simple and unique approach to accountability. Question, if we could hold ourselves accountable, wouldnt we already be doing it? Are there things in your life you know must change, but never do? You need a Partner, and by the way, they need one too.

Dont let any of these ten things keep you from achieving the success you expect. Prioritize, Plan, and Partner.

Terry Wisner, the Partnering Pro, International Speaker, Consultant, and author, shares his experience and knowledge through energetic, entertaining, and enlghtening presentations and seminars. Do you,or your company want to experience improvement in; Customer Service, Teamwork, Leadership Skills, Communication Skills, or simply Self-Improvement? Then, visit Terry at http://www.terrywisner.com or http://www.p2s.us and learn more about Partnering and how it can help you and your organization eliminate the top ten reasons for failure.

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Zen Masters Beat Pack Rats At Time Management!

Zen Masters Beat Pack Rats At Time Management!
By Dr. Gary S. Goodman

What is the difference between a Zen master and a pack rat?

A pack rat is someone who holds on to everything and uses nothing.

A Zen master is someone who uses everything and holds on to nothing.

Big difference!

One of the best time management insights is that this moment passes, as does the next, and the next.

If you can do the most with each one, thats ideal. But this means youre constantly embracing and letting go, embracing and letting go, and its not easy to do.

We get caught up in the past, dwelling on unsatisfactory experiences, and untidy conclusions. We worry about the future.

Either way, we sacrifice the present.

The key is to use everything around us, in us, and every present moment.

For example, earlier this morning, I awoke because I was thinking about a client who is late in paying his bill.

Catching myself, I realized my sleep time was over! By trying to get BACK to sleep, I was trying to go backwards in time, which is impossible.

Because it was 4:45 in the morning, it was too early to call him, and ask him whats going on. But I knew also, that it would be an utter waste to worry about whether hell stiff me on the payment.

So, I asked, what can I do, now, to address this issue in the most constructive, satisfying way?

Immediately, I turned on the computer and wrote an article: The Deal Is Not Made Until The Money Is Paid!

Doing this made me feel good, and I also felt that I addressed my problem, which is not the unpaid account. The problem is the worry about it, and the potential for wasting the present by chasing money from the past, which may or may not be paid in the future!

No moment has to be considered a waste, if we are fully in the here and now to embrace it and let it go, and keep doing whats situationally appropriate.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable, published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC's Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

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Finding Life's Candles for Dark Moments

Finding Life's Candles for Dark Moments
By Ana Tampanna

Tragedy doesnt make an appointment. It attacks! A terrifying surprise that explodes in the midst of a family. Tragedy brings with it multiple consequences as wellfinancial disaster, depression, guilt and blame. Devastating fallout! Marriages fall apart, family members commit suicide, personalities change. Yet tragedies occur daily. Tornadoes and earthquakes rip apart communities, car accidents claim thousands of lives, and children drink poisons or drown in swimming pools. People kill their friends and families, co-workers and peers. Here is what helped me make it through a horrendous time, so should it happens to you or to a close friend. You have some suggestions to fall back on.

Words are not necessary-- a loving presence conveys support. Initial shock and denial are numbing and intensely painful. When we received the dreadful news of our daughter-in-laws murder, we called our minister immediately. He and his wife came over and sat with us silently in the middle of the night. They made coffee, experienced our grief and comforted us with their presence.

Ask people you trust to handle immediate logistical problems. We had to cancel plane reservations, and make new ones. Airlines offer a reduced fare for situations when grieving families need to rush in an emergency. My brother, who travels a lot, made reservations for us. Caring friends wanted to keep our children and pets. Dont hesitate to ask or accept.

Keep inspirational reading with you. Ask your minister or a caring friend to loan you an inspirational book if necessary. I found the book of Psalms particularly helpful, as well as a book loaned to me from an Al-Anon friend. Our minister mailed a wonderful book he had written. Another minister had comforting words about the sweet relief experienced when dying.

Keep a journal. I purchased a thick, spiral notebook and kept it with me. In it put information as well as feelings, events, and questions. I taped business cards of police, investigators, and wrote down addresses of helpful strangers. My portable office became invaluable.

Buy thank you notes. Thank you notes help you to focus on the love and support you receive during this painful time rather than your helplessness or loneliness. Strangers brought us food and took us to dinner. Our church sent flowers to our hotel room. Friends held mass at home for our daughter-in-law. People who admired her came to see us, gave us religious pictures, and bought us sodas. I concentrated on building a new support system by writing immediate thank you notes. When we returned home, more thoughtfulness awaited us including food, vitamins, and an invitation to go cherry picking (a perfect thing to do when processing grief).

Stay connected to home. If the tragedy takes you away from home, arrange a time that you will talk with a calm, clear- headed family member daily. My brother called me at four every afternoon. I looked forward to his call and found comfort in his familiar voice. I took my laptop computer with me which enabled receiving caring messages via email. With my brothers phone calls and emails, our home community stayed informed of our trauma. They organized needed support as soon as we returned. The church casserole brigade had food ready, gift baskets, cards and prayers. A special service at our church and a prayer service with our Marriage Encounter Group provided us with loving friends who listened and cried with us as we worked through our emotional pain. One cant carry such a burden alone.

In the months that follow. Tragedies attract media, curious people, gossips, and people intrigued by dramatic life events. Sometimes people who had nothing to do with the tragedy become obsessed with the details. With our tragedy, information changed constantly upsetting our perspectives and tearing our shreds of hope. Phone calls and emails came from strange sources. Be careful not to answer media questions or give out information to the wrong people.

A year might not be enough. Grieving takes time. Any healing does. For us, ongoing legal trials fester the guilt, doubt, and confusion. Even though life has basically returned to normal, my energy level has not. I seem to accomplish far less than before. I remember having a long to do list and happily checking off task after task. Now, I check off two. (Three if I count my exercise.) My focus has become a wild animal, difficult to train. Yesterday, I had to write down take a shower. Initially, I asked friends to take me places as a distraction. Immediately after I asked, it seemed as if I lacked time to go anywhere. Time became unmanageable. I let go of my career goals, a difficult challenge for an achiever like me. Making sales and booking presentations did not seem relevant any more.

Even now, a year and a half later, I am still in the healing process only now I have a deep understanding of what other people are going through.

Let go of what you didnt do to prevent the tragedy. Focus on what you can to help others now. Both my husband and myself have felt called to serve people in new ways. A year after the tragedy occurred, my husband got laid off from his lucrative computer-consulting job. He wants to make a career change to teach high school. I took volunteer training to answer hotline phones for sexual abuse and family violence. The experience has been rewarding, Im sorry I waited until now to do this. Both of these activities stem from the helplessness we felt after our tragedy. Even our children respect us for taking them on. We know our values are changing.

It has been said that our tragedies make us who we are. We would agree with Corita Kent, Flowers grow out of dark moments.

Ana Tampanna, The Alligator Queen, is author or the The Womanly Art of Alligator Wrestling. To learn more about her books in addition to her speaking and coaching services, visit her site at http://www.alligatorcoach.com/index.html

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Self Improvement Ideas: The Power of Decisions

Self Improvement Ideas: The Power of Decisions
By Deon Du Plessis

Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth that the moment one commits oneself, then providence moves, too. - Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe

Change is a sign of life. Everything in this world, including every person, is in a continual state of change. Life is dynamic and always moving in a direction and every direction has an ultimate destination or what we call a destiny. The most powerful way to shape our lives is for us to take action, to just do it. The difference in people comes down to what they have done differently from others in the same situations.

Those people who live life to the full, who are happy, fulfilled and have it all are the people who are in control of their minds and their emotions. In doing so their conditioned response is to make decisions. And once they have made their decisions there is NO looking back. They consistently seek out self improvement ideas and realize that no matter how good they are, they can always improve. Not because they got bored or unhappy, but because they realize that the only way to be truly happy and fulfilled is to consistently grow and contribution through seeking out self improvement ideas. It is ironic that only the most successful people in the world have life coaches.

Consciously we all want to have more money, better relationships or a fitter healthier body, but most of us have no clear idea of where we want our lives to ultimate be. One of the most important self improvement ideas to utilize is to learn the power of a truly committed decision. We shape and direct our destiny by the actions we take daily. Unfortunately it is not as simple as that. Most of us struggle to do the things we know we must do to change our lives and direct it to where we ultimately want it.

One of the easiest ways to take control of your actions is to take control of your decisions. Decisions are what precede all of our actions. A truly committed decision is one where you release all the possibilities from your mind, except for the outcome that you are absolutely committed to. According to Anthony Robbins, a truly committed decision is the force that changes your life and is one of the main self improvement ideas he teaches in almost all his seminars and audio programs.

The challenge is that most of us have weak decision making muscles mainly because we tend to say I will give it a go and see if it works. A truly committed decision is like a laser beam that is so focussed on its target that nothing can get in its way. In its latin form the word decide means to cut off and that is what a truly committed decision calls us to do. Cut off all other possibilities to the extent that you will not even consider any other result. Now this might sound easier said than done and I have to agree. BUT once you realize that making decisions is a skill and that the more you practise it the better you get at it, you will begin to powerfully direct and shape your life towards your ultimate destination.

Decisions are ideas acted upon. Therefore a real decision is always followed by some action and is maintained by consistent action towards a desired result. Consistent and committed action is a self improvement idea that is taught by leaders from all walks of life. The power of it's effectiveness is that it builds momentum in our lives that allows us to blast obstacles out of the way and having momentum in the desired direction is trademark of a successful life.

The challenge that lies before all of us is that even after making a truly committed decision things happen to us that discourage us. Events and circumstances distract us from our goals and it challenges the strength of our resolve to stay committed to our decisions. The important thing is to stay committed to your decisions no matter what.

Every challenge on the strength of your resolve will strengthen your decision and commitment but only if you stay true to your commitment. When you learn to consciously use your will to resist the temptations to just go with the flow of life you, start to build emotional muscle. Just like working out in the gym, the more resistance you have stronger you get.

Let me therefore offer you this self improvement idea: Start by taking a different look at problems and challenges. Commit yourself to seeing them as the necessary weights to build enough strength to reach your goals. Learn to welcome problems as an opportunity to grow and soon you will habitually turn challenges into opportunity.

This article is published with the permission of The Self Improvement Gym, a network of website dedicated to helping ordinary people create extraordinary lives and turning their dreams into reality. For more information please visit http://www.TonyRobbinsAudiobooks.com for free e-books, e-zines and other recourses.

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