12 Things You Can Do Every Day To Become Highly Successful

12 Things You Can Do Every Day To Become Highly Successful.

Success is defined many ways. Financial, relationship and philanthropic success are just a few ways we can measure success. How does someone become successful in their goals? Here are 12 things you can do to help you achieve success.

1. Plan your day the night before

Stephen Covey stated in his book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that you should review the coming day the night before. This way you have already created a mental map of how tomorrow will flow. You can make sure you have the information for your meetings and if you need to add other activities you can know where you may have time. By planning your day the night before you are being proactive and not reactive.

2. Create a “to do” list

Okay, so you have just planned your day. Any thoughts pop up? What main topic were you going to cover in that customer meeting? Make a note. Were you low on milk this morning at breakfast? Grab some on the way home from work if you forgot to already. Any calls you need to make? Write it down. If you create a list of things you want to accomplish the next day you have a greater chance of accomplishing them.

3. Get a good night sleep

This is easier to do after you have planned your day, feel comfortable with what you have to accomplish tomorrow and then can clear your mind of it. You won’t have to lay in bed trying to keep straight in your head what you have to do tomorrow because you have a list. You should also sleep no less than eight hours and make sure you go to bed about the same time every night. If you do like to read before bed do it somewhere other than your bed.

4. Get up earlier than you need to

Getting ready for work in the morning always seems to take longer than we think. Then there is traffic, weather and parking to deal with. If you give yourself extra time you will be more present in the moment when you load your car or computer bag and the chances of forgetting something is reduced. You will also be more relaxed when you reach your destination. Nothing says failure like a rushed, disorganized sweaty guy running into a meeting late.

5. Read

You have been hearing this since elementary school. It doesn’t matter what you read. You can read the Wall Street Journal for 45 minutes a day or a novel at night before you go to bed, just not in your bed. You can read business or books about hobbies. The point is that you read. Reading increases our vocabulary, makes us better spellers and exercises the muscle that is our brain… Well, the brain is an organ, but you get the point.

6. Set goals

A goal is a dream with a timeline. Not only do you need to set goals, but set different sized goals. If your goal is start your own company you need to set goals about gaining skills that will help you run a small business. Start by getting a job in the industry and then try to get promoted in the first year. Or if your goal is to write a book set a goal of having a certain number of chapters done by a certain date.

7. Measure your goals

How do you know if you are on track if you don’t measure your goals? If you are six months into that job and things are not looking like a promotion is going to happen… Why? Did you underestimate how much you needed to learn? That’s fine – adjust your timeline. If you are not doing what you need to be doing think about why you have lost interest or momentum. Maybe this line of work is not for you?

8. Reflect

Our lives are a story, not a plan. A plan is linear and a story does not follow a straight path. Your life is a story with subplots and surprise characters. It is okay to reevaluate your goals and where you think you were headed and change direction. That is how you learn and figure out what you are good at doing.

9. Get a mentor

A mentor should keep you honest. If you are not hitting your goals they should call you on it. You should have regular meetings with them and let them know what your goals are and the time frame you have given yourself to accomplish them.

10. Stay healthy

Sick people find it difficult to be successful because they are just trying to stay alive. Take care of yourself. Exercise, stretch and eat right. Exercise is a great way to keep you mind fresh by letting off stress. It can also give you time to gather your thoughts. Stretching is important because it keeps you from getting injured and then not being able to exercise. I am not talking about running a marathon – A long walk on a regular basis counts.

11. Focus

Multitasking is a lie. Successful people focus on what they are good at and leave everyone in their dust  Look at what you are interested in doing in life and see if you are good at it. If you are, you are done looking. You have found your ONE thing. See you on the other side!

12. Rinse and repeat

Consistency is what makes people successful. I’m sure you have all had that coach who told you, “what you do in practice, you do in a game.” That person is a genius, listen to them. Practice makes perfect… fake it ’till you make it. Whatever saying you want to use it all means the same thing. Once you have found your one thing keep working on getting better and better at it. How do you do that? Start with number one on this list and do all twelve steps over again, day after day until it becomes second nature. It takes 21 days to form a habit.

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Will You Choose Love Or Fear?

“All fear is nothing more than thoughts. If there is only one, there cannot be a second to be afraid of. If we look to our Self, as it is one, there is nothing else to be afraid of. To think that there is something outside ourselves is the cause of fear, but if we are firmly rooted in our own reality, then there will be no fear, no doubt and no undesirable qualities, as all these are centered around the ego. The state of equanimity is the state of bliss.” -Ramana Maharshi 

Will You Choose Love Or Fear?

Here’s a hypothetical situation. Suppose a terrorist has taken you and your family hostage, and this terrorist says:

“You have two choices. Choice #1: Walk away from your family and I’ll spare all your lives. The only catch is, you can never talk to them again.

Or you can take Choice #2: Go through a series of extensive challenges and tests. They’re some of the hardest in the world. The tests change as you take them. And they could take you months or even years to complete.

During your testing period, you won’t see your family at all. If you pass all of the tests, I will set you and your family free. If you don’t pass, I will kill you and torture your family for several years.”
Sure it’s a very extreme example. But it serves to answer one simple question: When faced with extreme adversity, will you choose love or fear?

It’s easy to choose love when life is good. And even during times of normal adversity, choosing love doesn't have to be difficult. However, it’s when life gets the most difficult that we have to decide if we’ll continue on the path of love or if we will identify with fear. That’s not an easy decision to make. It seems like it should be. Choose love, right? Always choose love?

Except for two things. First, we have a lot of historical programming that directs our attention towards fear. Secondly, the example above challenges the notion that we always know the best way to express love. One of those choices guarantees that everybody lives... but doesn't guarantee they live happily. Maybe they do after healing from the trauma and separation. Maybe the trauma and separation destroy their lives. You can’t be certain. That choice expresses love through a guarantee of protection. The outcome is certain. Unfortunately, the rewards are limited.

The other choice expresses love through courage. The path is uncertain. The outcome is uncertain. And the rewards are limitless. Another way of asking the “love or fear” question is this: Is the greatest risk worth the greatest reward?

Like I said, it’s an extreme example. The thing is though, it’s not so far off from reality. We are making these kinds of smaller decisions every single day.

Will you be totally authentic with your partner?

- Risk: Rejection, conflict, and pain.
- Reward: Profound intimacy and unbridled happiness.

Will you give your employer (or business) 100%?

- Risk: Going unnoticed, failure, being overworked, and more
- Reward: Increased pay, promotions, flourishing business

Will you dedicate your life to personal transformation?

- Risk: Wasted time, ineffective results, wasted money, disillusionment
- Reward: A life of peace, joy, happiness, and love

In each example, the choice is between love and fear. Most people give “just enough” to their relationships, their work, and their personal transformation efforts. It’s almost like the example above: They are identifying with just enough fear so that they protect themselves with limited rewards. They aren't choosing to giving themselves fully to the world and thereby reaping the greatest rewards possible.

We can’t always know the risks and rewards in advance. Life is too uncertain, too fluid, to mysterious for that. What we can know are our values. We can practice risk versus reward and love versus fear in smaller safe situations. Then we can work up to bigger situations.

Practice being authentic with a life coach or best friend. Practice giving 100% to a new business adventure in your spare time. Practice devoting 6 months to a single personal transformation program without distraction. For just a brief period in your life, in a safe context, simply choose love.

See if the risks are worth the rewards. See if love conquers fear. Find out what’s true for you.

Watch Your Thoughts!

“Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Being a person is frustrating, isn't it? I mean, you have many responsibilities to fill: being a good mother or father, a good son or daughter, earn money, live your passion, be healthy, and on and on the list goes. Then, not only do you have to fulfill the responsibilities for the roles you play in life, you need to manage yourself.

As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Carefully watch your thoughts, for they become your words. Manage and watch your words, for they will become your actions. Consider and judge your actions, for they have become your habits. Acknowledge and watch your habits, for they shall become your values. Understand and embrace your values, for they become your destiny”.

His quote above has many nuggets of wisdom in it. And it is true, if you carefully watch your thoughts, words, actions, habits, and values, you create tremendous amounts of choice to how you want to live.

However, ninety-nine percent of the people in the world do not want to take on the responsibility of being human. They would rather conform to past generations of beliefs, habits, and values, even if it cost them their happiness.

You see, what Gandhi points out is that happiness, success, and peace are completely under your control, if you’re willing to do the work. Gandhi even showed you the way to control your destiny in his quote.

But you’re right; learning how to watch your thoughts, words, actions, habits, and values is time consuming. And, how are you supposed to watch those things in the first place? Well, what Gandhi is communicating is that being aware of how you do your life is the key to freedom and controlling your destiny.

How the human being works

It apparently seems that your happiness and success are determined from what happens to you in life. In other words, the situations or circumstances that arise determine how you live, how happy you are, and what your destiny is to become; therefore, that would look something like this:

What happens to you —> determines how you feel —> determines your actions —> determines your results.

This model shows that you have no control over your functioning and what you create in life. However, there is a missing step that most people are not aware of: What happens to you triggers —> an internal representation —> which determines how you feel and behave —> which determines your results.

The key to focus on are the internal representations. Your internal representations are the images, self talk, and other sensory experiences that happen within you. And before your internal representations even happen, the outside experience passes through a series of filters comprised of learned beliefs, values, decisions, and categories.

So, essentially, if you change how you filter your experiences, which means change what you believe or value, then you will create internal representations that create what you want to feel and how to behave, and those feelings and behaviors will create your results.

For example, let’s say that you struggle with intimate relationships. Each time you date a new partner, he turns out to be the same as the past dead-beat boyfriends. Futhermore, the relationship never lasts longer than six months. Well, 99% of people believe that when this happens, it’s because they haven’t found the right person, and it’s the other person’s negative qualities that creates the poor relationship.

However, what’s really happening is that you are focusing on what you don’t want in a relationship. In other words, you are making internal representations of what you don’t want, thus attracting the same dead beat boyfriends.

The way out of this trap is to become aware of the internal representations that you make. Go into your various life situations knowing that a particular result is going to happen, and watch with awareness the images, feelings, and self talk that happens as you experience these life situations.

Going back to the relationship example, you know that every man you attract ends up being a dysfunctional relationship. However, this time around, you want to change that and attract a loving, intimate partner. What you do is go out on a date and have interactions with men, observe what experiences trigger your negative thoughts and emotions, and observe how you do those thoughts and emotions – your internal representations.

Do not try to change the situation or do something different. Just watch how you do your life – the internal representations - in a "date" situation. Maybe you become aware that you only talk to the best looking men. Or, maybe you become aware that you play flirtious games that give the wrong impression. Or, maybe you become aware of self talk that is sex driven. It doesn't matter what you become aware of, what’s important is that you can see how your internal representations, in the moment, are creating your feelings and behaviors.

Then, as you watch with awareness, whatever is dysfunctional and non-resourceful will automatically drop away. A more resourceful thought, feeling, and behavior will respond to what’s needed in the moment.

When you watch with awareness how you are creating your dysfunction in the moment, it’s too difficult to continue the dysfunctional behavior. Why? Because the human beings are naturally resourceful, integrated, and functioning.

To create the destiny you desire and have choice over what you attract in life, awareness over how you do your life – your internal representations – will drop the non-resourceful feelings and behaviors, and a new resourceful result will become present.

You do not need will power or constant affirmations to change your life. Watching yourself with awareness will give you choice over how you want your life to turn out.

The Power Exists!

“What this power is, I cannot say. All I know is that it exists... and it becomes available only when you are in that state of mind in which you know exactly what you want... and are fully determined not to quit until you get it.” -Alexander Graham Bell 

It’s too easy to be a victim and lack personal responsibility. And your society does not help. In fact, your society conditions you to be powerless and dependant upon the governments of society, so it can control you.

Who is to tell you what is best for you? More importantly, do you allow others to tell you what’s best for you?

Not only does society want to control you, but often times family members and loved ones want to control who you are and what you do. Family members think they know what’s best for you and want you to conform to their beliefs and habits.

This is why it’s frustrating being a person. Everyone has an opinion to what you should be and do in life, and what you want seems to not matter.

How can you succeed and become free in this unfree world?

Well, the missing element is sovereignty. If you feel victim to society, to your life situations, or to your family members, then you have not owned and embodied your power. With power comes your freedom.

But the power I’m talking about is not ruling over others and the world to get what you want. Power is not manipulating people to conform to your ideas and beliefs. True power comes from within. It is acknowledging and embodying the truth that you are CEO of your life.

What most people do is fall into the trap of seeking power in the world. So they accomplish certain positions, titles, and possessions to look down upon others. In other words, most people seek power in the world by being king of hill and better than others. All that leads to is arrogance and resentment. It’s an illusion based power system that strengthens fear and separation.

Power that is sought in the world always ends messy. An extreme example is Hitler, who manipulated thousands, if not millions, of people to conform to an idea. That kind of power, which is power disowned, led to millions of deaths through war and famine.

On a less extreme level, seeking power in your family can lead to fear, resentment, and separation. What many families call love is actually fear. Family members compete to appease the authority figure or head of the household. And then family members compete to be the head of the household. Families set rules to what’s right and wrong, good and bad, and certain ways to act. If you don’t conform to the family’s belief system, then you are weird, an outcast, and not accepted “as being one of them”.

I know it can be painful. You want love and peace. And it looks like having power is evil or corrupt. But it’s the wrong source of power that’s causing the corruptness and evil. Find the power within you, and you’ll be your unique self. Anytime you go looking for power you move further away from your unique and powerful self. Why? Because you’re trying to be someone else, and something that’s not real.

Three Ways to Own and Embody Your Power...

1. Make a list of what you fear, and face your fears
The mis-use of power you see in the world is run by fear. People do not want to face their fears because, well, it’s fear. They think something bad will happen if they give into their fears. However, the opposite actually happens. When you face your fears, you grow your inner strengthen and power. You come to see that what you fear is not fear at all, it’s your thoughts about the situation, not the situation itself that causes fear.

2. Be the sovereign one
Huh? What? How do I be the sovereign one? Well, if all power comes from within, then all you have to do is acknowledge and be the voice of power. Simply identify with being power - I am power - and speak as power, while refering to yourself in third person. So, tell me, what is it like being you, power?
For example, “May I please speak to power?”
Power: “Yes, I am power.”
Facilitator: “Okay, tell me about you. What is it like being power?”
Power: “Well, I’m CEO of the company. I’m the one in charge of the self. I make all of the decisions and tell the self what’s good for her. Since I’m in charge, I do what I want and pursue my dreams and ambitions.”
“As power, I don’t rule over others. That’s not my job. My job is rule over the self, over you. I provide direction for you and can get what you truly desire.”
Now go ahead, and you try. Be the voice of power and use the above dialog as a guide. Then, once you have voiced what your job is as power, sit as power and embody it.

3. Be a servant
It seems that the goal in life is to climb the highest mountain and be the first one up. Many people are identified with being king of the hill and better than others. Since they have achieved success, they preach and claim that their way is the best.

Well, being on top of the mountain is looking down upon others. It’s saying, “I’m the master. I’m successful, and you are not. So you need to do what I did, and you can do that with my products”. The problem with “being at the top” is that you cannot help others - you can’t lift them up and show them the way. You can only show off your arrogance and pride, therefore, have a false sense of power. Being at the top of the mountain may have wisdom, but it lacks compassion.
Being a servant is the one who has power. A servant is at the bottom of the mountain, ready to guide and journey with others to the top. A servant is in the position to empower others because she doesn’t see herself better than or superior to other people. In fact, a servant feels equal or less than to the other person.

By becoming a servant you embody empathy and compassion. You can relate to individual’s suffering and pain. You can be the witnessing presence to what people need. Then, you can empower that individual by understanding and being kind and offering wisdom as help.
So there you have it. Those are three ways to own and embody your power: 1) Face your fears, 2) Be the sovereign one, and 3) Be a servant.


When you look within yourself for power, you embody wisdom and compassion that helps achieve your highest desires in life, and also empower others to get what they want, too. Power doesn't have
to be corrupt and evil. Power is the source for wisdom and compassion to flow.

Join With Me To Realize The Power Within YOU! 

A gratitude Journal For Abundance!

“Every day, write at least five things for which you are grateful that day. A gratitude journal teaches your subconscious to consistently look for things to be thankful for - even on bad days. In fact, especially on the not so great days! It’s important to write the journal by hand and not typing onto a computer screen.” 

When we feel that “the world” is withholding from us, our immediate reaction is to lock down generosity and focus on our own needs. We perceive a limited number of possessions, less available money, the hoarding of recognition and appreciation from the world. A lack and scarcity mentality develops and the need for more worldly things to live a happy, fulfilled, and complete life, becomes our narrow-minded focus.
Deep down inside, we know it’s a gross life, to concern ourselves with, “me, me, and more me”. We fear not having enough; we are torn between compassion, generosity or fulfilling our own neediness. It is a sickening feeling because we want both: to give and receive. Fear, lack and scarcity usually wins and it says, “Well, what about me?”

We’re honest, hard working people, deserving of abundance. We give our time to volunteering, we give generously to various causes and provide well for our family. So, why aren't we then granted the wealth and abundance we deserve? There are some people who do not care a lick about whether or not they are contributing to the world, yet they appear to live abundant lives?

Modern society tells us that in order to have happiness, fulfillment and peace, we need to work hard and accumulate possessions. It doesn't always happen like that, does it? Once one thing is achieved, such as earning a higher salary, the need for more slowly creeps in. We find ourselves with a certain level of material comfort yet seeking a higher paid salary. The merry-go-round of lack and scarcity, to achieving a few worldly comforts, to the need of more and back to the lack and scarcity, continues. Sound familiar?
What’s the way out of this trap?

Simply because someone has many possessions and money, does not mean they experience abundance. External multiplicity is one form of abundance, not all that important, however, we are conditioned to believe so. The mistake is thinking that one day when we have enough possessions, money, recognition or appreciation, we can have peace and ease in our lives. The challenges in life will disappear and never come back. Of course, this point in time of having enough is never close. It’s always out there, somewhere in the future; therefore, many of us will work hard our entire lives, to reach that destination of paradise.
Is it possible to have true abundance, feelings of prosperity and plenty, without being in the rat race of lack and scarcity? Yes. The path to true abundance is abundance within. In other words, you cannot have abundance without the feeling of abundance.

Many people believe that abundance comes from having a large number of possessions. However, that type of abundance leads to suffering. Our happiness and well-being becomes fleeting because that’s what impermanent external form is: fleeting. The only real control you have is your inner state of consciousness. You can choose a positive state of being, a negative state of being, or a neutral state of being regardless of circumstances. What’s required is a shift in attention from the challenging or displeasing circumstance, towards inner abundance.

Gratitude is the key that opens our door to abundance. The grateful mind sees the acceptance and appreciation for what is in this moment. We can turn our attention away from the world of problems and look for "what’s good" in our life. Go ahead and try it on. What are you grateful for? Look to see what’s good in your life right now?

We can express our gratitude and appreciation for our current income, food on our plate, the cup of coffee in our hand, the beautiful day, air for us to breathe, water to drink, or simply the fact that we are alive. The source of gratitude does not make a difference. What matters is authentic appreciation for what is in our range of experience.

Anyone can repeat, “thank you, thank you, thank you”, over and over again, with little meaning behind the words. We need to feel our words and thoughts of gratitude, to improve the quality of our life. That’s why we really want abundance, to improve the quality of our life. Rather than using gratitude as a means to receiving abundance, which does not work, be grateful and appreciative because the quality of our inner life and perception, immediately improves.

Over time, as we remain in this gratuitous vibration, we are in a better state to begin attracting prosperity in the form of good health, plenty of money, quality relationships and positive emotional health.
To improve our life and experience more abundance, we want to be patient and tender with ourselves. Practice is needed, to absorb the abundant mindset and expunge lack and scarcity from our life.
Imagine that your current state of being is like a glass of cranberry juice. The cranberry juice represents the old conditioning of lack and scarcity. Having discovered the abundant mindset i.e. pure clear water, we want more of this clear water. Pour the water into the cranberry juice so it is diluted. Over time, the cranberry juice will be completely replaced with pure clean water and abundance abounds.

The perfect process for diluting the cranberry juice of lack and scarcity is the gratitude journal.
The gratitude journal is a writer’s log of the things we are grateful, each day. Simply make time at the end of the day, preferable right before we go to sleep at night, then journal the good things that happened today. We can list them line by line, all the authentic things of which we are appreciative. For example: Thank you for the thirty minutes spent walking, talking, and holding my partner’s hand today. Thank you for the $100 earned today. Thank you for this moment in the sunshine. Thank you that I’m alive and healthy.

A gratitude journal is a wonderful tool to open the door to abundance. Find the authentic appreciation in your current life and allow that appreciation to fill your being. Make it a habit to write in your gratitude journal, every night, for the next month. You will notice the heavy cloud of the ego being lifted and a happier and healthier person emerging.

Be concrete and specific with your words of gratitude, nothing vague. After you write each line of appreciation, sit in stillness with your appreciation. Feel the feelings of being authentically grateful. Notice how your inner state changes to a positive and healthy vibration.

A grateful mind transforms your inner state to abundance. Other people, life situations, and possessions are not necessary for abundance. As above, so below, as within, so without. The grateful mind is the abundance within and consequently attracts external abundance.

When we feel that the world is not an abundant place, it’s because we have not allowed the space for abundance in our life. Our inner world has been filled with lack and scarcity, preventing the flow of abundance to fill our life. A grateful mind removes the stones of lack and scarcity and attracts abundance. We need train our mind to appreciate what is, looking for the good in life.

A grateful mind transforms our inner state to abundance and improves the quality of our life. In only a short period of time, our external life situations will shift, to match our abundant inner state. Look for prosperity to be the way of life now.


This article is generously contributed by Nick Pfennigwerth from Big Heart Small Business, helping small business owners connect with their heart and larger vision so that they can make a difference and a healthy profit. At Big Heart Small Business, Nick applies his Buddhist, spiritual, zen teachings into growing an authentic, heart centered business without the hype and strong arm tactics.

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Winners Can Tell You!

"The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” -Denis Waitley

At some point in our lives, we want success. We want to get from point A to point B in the most effective, efficient, and in the least amount of time.

Success looks different for each of us. We might want financial success, success in attracting our soul mate or, having a healthy and fit body. We want to improve our lives in some way or form - and we wish it was easy.

Most of us have tried everything under the sun to reach our goals and achieve success. We look at the people who claim to be proven successes and adopt their strategies into our lives. More times than not, what happens? We cough up hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for a successful person’s strategies, only to find they do not work. What’s going on with that?

Applying “success strategies” might not work because we are trying to navigate the territory of success without a map. We try to do the things that successful people do, which is the territory, without a clear understanding of the destination at which we want to arrive. It is like driving from Boston to Portland without a map. We get lost, floating around like a feather in the wind hoping to land somewhere pleasant and safe.
The last time my family and I took a vacation, we had a clear destination, a date and time of arrival, and a plan of the activities we were going to do and experience while on the vacation. Imagine deciding to take a vacation without knowing where to go, knowing how to get there, and envisaging some of the things to be experienced while on the vacation? The vacation might never happen. It might be only a “nice idea” that never gets off the ground.

Most of us are good at planning vacations. Yet, when it comes to deciding upon and achieving life goals, we stay stuck in getting what we don’t want or get nowhere near our desired destination. The reason is, we put the cart before the horse. We invest in “how-tos” that do not fit in our map. That’s like picking vacation activities such as ocean kayaking, surfing, and laying on the beach - with the vacation happening in Iowa.
The people who become winners in life and achieve their highest desires know the exact destination they want to reach. That’s the biggest difference between people who continually get what they want in life and those who stay stuck; winners and successful people know where they are and where they want to be. Often, successful people never know “how” they are going to achieve their goals. The opportunities, resources, people, and “how-tos” come to them as they journey towards their desired outcome.

Defining a map of reality
Our current life circumstances didn't happen by chance. They were defined and created from a unique internal map of reality. This map of reality lies in the unconscious mind and consists of ideas, beliefs, values, etc. that navigate us through life. Depending on what kind of map is operating, determines our life circumstances.

Many of us would prefer a different map of reality. We keep trying for financial or relationship success, yet end up back in debt or attracting dysfunctional relationships. That can be very frustrating. Imagine a goal of arriving in New York and ending up in New Jersey. After we complain about how much time wasted, we are pulling out the map and tracing our route, to uncover where the wrong turn happened. Centered and bolded in 16-pt font the map title reads, “New Jersey”. “No wonder I’m here in New Jersey. Wrong map!” We can now easily put down that old map and pick up the correct map, the one that will take us to New York, our desired destination.


Pick up a new map of reality!
A new map of reality is possible when we “dare to dream big”. The limitations and reasons we hang onto, for why our dreams cannot happen, are hemorrhaging success. What if, for a moment, anything was possible? Who do you want to be, what do you want to do and have? I recommend writing for five minutes in a journal about the person you have always wanted to become, the things you have always wanted to do, and the possessions you desire to have. Th following are a few guidelines:

• Write your new map of reality in the present tense, as if it is happening now. For example, “I am an inspiring writer who has helped many people become more conscious. I am a best selling author”.
• Start the first sentence with: “I am happy and excited now that I am ....”
• Include in your new map of reality who you want to be, what you want to do and have; cover all areas of life: financial, relational, spiritual and health

Write for five minutes. Yes, why not right now? Once the task is completed, read your new map of reality out loud. How does it make you feel? Allow the positive emotions to flow - this will fuel your desire and spark motivation. For seven straight days, carry in your pocket that new map of reality. Three times during each day, read out loud your new map of reality. Feel the emotions. Visualize yourself living that map of reality.

Take an action now (even if seemingly small)

Possessing a new map of reality doesn't magically guarantee the accomplishments of our dreams. Referring back to our example of mistakenly landing in New Jersey, we had the wrong map, hence the reason for being where we didn't want to be. To correct the problem, we picked up the map of New York. Yet, simply “having” a map of New York doesn't do anything unless we take action by physically moving towards New York. I know it is blatantly obvious that movement needs to happen in order to arrive in New York. As obvious as it may be, it is surprising how often we believe our dreams might magically manifest without any effort on our part.

Having our new map of reality might start us already wondering about how to get there. Often, this can be our reason for not taking any action. Get moving forward, regardless! Many of us start without knowing “how”. If we knew exactly how our goals were going to be accomplished, they would not feel worth pursuing. The fun and adventure would be missing! The truth is, hardly any of us know exactly “how”, or all the facts, until we set out on the journey. The secret to success is focusing and visualizing ourselves already at our intended destination, then taking any available action right now.

By focusing on the desired destination, the resources, people, and opportunities will become available because our unconscious mind is being directed to notice the path towards the destination. The “key” is to take action - no matter how small or clumsy it may be. For example, the destination is to become an inspiring author. An idea comes to mind and it says to write in a journal. Okay, makes sense, doesn't it? We have to write to become an author. So we write in our journal everyday, work on developing a style, and brush up on grammar. After a few months, our writing becomes pretty darn good. Our friends seem to like it, so do our family. With that surge of confidence, we have a new idea for creating and writing in a blog. Everyday we write a blog post and express our creativity. Turns out, thousands of people love the topic and our style of writing. A publisher makes contact and asks you to write a book. Goal complete.

If action is not taken, then nothing will ever happen. The goal will remain a thought. Take any available action right now, evaluate the accuracy of the action, and repeat the action if it contributes to reaching the destination. If the action step results in taking you off course, the positive outcome is learning “what not to do next time”. Decide on another action step and get started. Wobbling towards our goals, in a zig zag pattern, can be expected. Not many, if any of us, reach our goals in a straight line. Those who do reach their goals and become successful are the people who persevere, right to the end.

Take a moment and write five possible action steps that will move you towards one desired destination, not necessarily in order:
Action step:
Action step:
Action step:
Action step:
Action step:

Do one action step at a time. Once each action is complete, evaluate the results. Did the action contribute towards the destination? What worked? What didn't work? What can you do better next time? If the action contributed towards the destination, the next best action step will become visible. That’s how the process works: do one action step and the next action step reveals itself in the appropriate moment.

Successful people reach their goals because they have an ideal destination mapped out. They know exactly where they are (point A) and where they want to be (point B). Successful people become, well, successful because they write the numerous outcomes they desire to experience in life. The outcomes are written on paper and vividly held in their imagination. Successful people have already completed the goal in their imagination before the actual reality of the goal has manifested.

Successful people take any, small action available, right now. They take the action, see what worked or didn't, evaluate their plan, and take more action. Successful people and goal achievers never quit moving towards their intended target. They persevere and mostly develop their skills along the journey.

Take Your small Action Here


This article is generously contributed by Nick Pfennig from Big Heart Small Business, helping small business owners connect with their heart and larger vision so that they can make a difference and a healthy profit. At Big Heart Small Business, Nick applies his Buddhist, spiritual, zen teachings into growing an authentic, heart centered business without the hype and strong arm tactics.