Posted by Eric Twitty on November 12, 2008
Welcome back!
When you look around and see the situation most people are in, why would anyone want to be in a similar situation? People are stressed and looking for any way out of their situation they can find. To turn things around you must first change your mindset.
Thinking differently from the crowd and adopting the mindset of the successful will put you on track to making positive changes in your life.
Let’s take a look at the average person, then we will look at what successful people do.
What is average?
So what is average in the United States today? The statistics show that most Americans are:
- Overweight
- Have little or no savings
- Have lot’s of debt
- Completely dependent on their job for financial stability
If this is what is average in the U.S., why would you want to be average?
Do what successful people do
These are the habits of the successful:
- They exercise and eat well- eating well and exercising keeps you healthy and energetic
- They build wealth for themselves- actively save and invest a portion of your income to build financial stability
- They avoid debt- avoid debt by living frugally and not worrying about owning all the superficial things with little or no value that most Americans purchase
Take steps to better your health. Build wealth for yourself so that you can retire and enjoy life. Avoid debt. Develop other sources of income. These are things that very few people do yet everyone should strive for.
This is what successful people do. They have a different approach to life.
Be Different
Imagine living a life where you are in shape and healthy, have little or no debt, and have money invested in various asset classes that have been proven to appreciate in value over time. This is a life that anyone can have. It does take work and sacrifice though. It doesn’t come easy.
“The hardest struggle of all is to be something different from what the average man is.”
Charles Schwab
People will try to bring you down and tell you to live your life, eat what you want, and spend your money, but resist their temptations. Look at the person that’s trying to bring you down. Are they living the life they want?
Toxic people will always attempt to sabotage your productive habits but don’t let them. This is too important to you. If you are unhappy with your life then you must change it. Don’t let anything or anyone get in your way.
Don’t be like most people. Strive to be different. It will put you on the path to success.
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 7, 2008
What is rationalization? Most people do it without even realizing it. When you rationalize your negative habits, you definitely impede your progress towards your goals in life.
Basically, rationalization is creating plausible excuses to justify your negative behaviors. You are essentially lying to yourself to relieve guilt or make yourself feel better.
Here are some common examples of rationalization:
- “I had a good workout today so I can eat whatever I want.”
- “I’ll start saving money once I make more money.”
- “I’ll quit smoking after my birthday.”
- “I was drunk, so it was not my fault I cheated on my girlfriend.”
- “I’m underpaid, why should I work hard at work?”
These excuses can be the single biggest roadblock to a person’s success in any endeavor. Once you internalize the concept of rationalization, you can begin to recognize it and stop doing it.
Think about the times in the past you have rationalized your negative habits. Has anything good come from it?
Keep this concept in mind and try to recognize it in yourself and other people. Learning to recognize other people’s rationalizations is good practice for recognizing it in yourself. When you catch yourself rationalizing, recognize it for what it is and don’t let it be a roadblock to achieving your goals.
Once you stop rationalizing your negative behaviors, you will begin to achieve your goals faster than ever before. You will no longer be sabotaging your own success.
Posted by Eric Twitty on November 4, 2008
Are the people you spend your time with holding you back? Do they constantly want you to do things with them that aren’t exactly productive?
People like this are keeping you from realizing your potential. Successful people surround themselves with other successful people. We are extremely susceptible to the way of thinking of the people we are around most often.
When you spend time with a negative person with negative habits it tends to rub off on you. You begin to adopt those negative habits. These habits are counter-productive in achieving your goals.
When you spend time with a successful person the opposite occurs. You begin to adopt their successful habits. One of the best ways to become successful in anything is to mimic what a successful person in your chosen field is doing.
Successful people know that it takes hard work to achieve your goals and they will be more supportive and encouraging. They will keep you motivated and on the right path.
Avoid Toxic People
Avoid negative people that are insecure and jealous of your actions to improve your life. There is nothing to be gained by spending time with these “toxic” people. They will bring you down and sabotage your efforts in achieving your goals.
Many discouraging people have a negative mindset and they really aren’t aware they are behaving towards you in a toxic way. Usually making them aware of their behavior is all you need to do to end it. It will be very hard for them to continue their sabotaging ways once you make them aware of what they are doing.
A great book about dealing with toxic people is “Toxic People” by Dr. Lillian Glass. It will give you specific ways of dealing with the people in your life that are holding you back.
Determine Who is Holding You Back
Write down everyone that you spend time with. Who is supportive and who is not? Do these people encourage you, or do they generally tell you that you can’t do something or you are crazy for trying? Consider each person on the list and make a decision whether they are toxic or supportive.
You should really consider spending less time with the discouraging people or make them aware of the negative effect they have on you.
Spend Your Time With the Successful
Choose to spend your time with people who are successful. Their positive way of thinking will rub off on you. By spending time with these people you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
Posted by Eric Twitty on October 17, 2008
Your daily habits greatly influence the success you achieve in life.
Focusing on productive habits while minimizing non-productive habits will go a long way in giving you the life you want.
These five habits will make you healthier, smarter, and give you more money to invest in your future. At the same time, these habits will replace non-productive habits that are holding you back.
Here they are:
Habit 1: Devote at Least an Hour a Day to Reading
Reading has so many benefits. Not only is it good exercise for the mind, but it also is a great escape from the problems you are facing in your life. It is a much more productive habit than watching television. Take at least an hour out of your television time and devote that time to reading something that will make a positive difference in your life. Read about the topics that interest you. Read about improving the areas of your life that you want to improve. Read some of the great literature out there. It doesn’t matter what you read, just read.
Habit 2: Make a Daily To-Do List
To-do lists are great at getting you to do the things you need to do but keep putting off. Making a list of things that you want to accomplish daily will make you much more productive and a more efficient person. You will be amazed at how much you get done. Take some time each night and write down the things you want to accomplish the next day. Write down enough things to keep you busy. Challenge yourself.
Habit 3: Walk an Hour a Day
Walking is a great low intensity exercise. It’s great for fat burning and even relaxing. If you need some time alone, go outside and take a walk. A daily walk will help you shed the pounds and keep them off, while at the same time give you some time to yourself.
Habit 4: Drink Lots of Water
Drinking water instead of soft drinks is about the best thing you can do for your health. Try to drink at least half a gallon of water a day. I went out and bought an aluminum water bottle. I just refill it with filtered water when I finish the bottle. This saves me money because I don’t have to buy bottled water, and its great for the environment because I have no plastic to throw away.
Habit 5: Pack your Lunch for Work
Taking your lunch to work is great because it gives you better flexibility on your food choices. It’s also much cheaper than going to a restaurant for lunch. I like to cook my meals on Sunday and pack them for the week. If you are not sure what to cook, check out my healthy recipes section and read my Only Diet You Will Ever Need article.
Incorporate These Habits
You should definitely incorporate these habits into your life as soon as possible. They replace the nonproductive habits with more productive ones. These habits are a positive step towards your health, mental, and financial goals.
Posted by Eric Twitty on October 13, 2008
Successful people are successful because of their way of thinking. Success in any area of life has little to do with luck. If there is any area of your life you would like to improve then you should follow these eight steps:
Step 1: Know What You Want and Make a Plan
Sit down and visualize being the person you want to be. What areas of your life do you want to improve? You need to know what you want to become before you can get there. Write these thoughts down. It helps you stay focused when you have them down on paper. Make a commitment to yourself to improve these areas. Make a plan.
“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Alan Lakein
Step 2: Learn, Learn, Learn
There is tons of information out there on just about any subject you can think of. After you have decided on what areas of your life you want to improve, acquire the knowledge necessary to get where you want to go. Read everything you can. Go to seminars. Do what you have to do. Learn the subject inside and out.
“Knowledge is the food of the soul.” Plato
Step 3: Think Positive
Know that you can achieve what you have set out to do. Positive thinking is a trait that all successful people have. They know they can succeed.
“For myself, I am an optimist–it does not seem to be much use being anything else.” Winston Churchill
Step 4: Take Action
Be a doer, not a thinker. This is the most important step. Anyone can spend countless hours researching the area they want to improve, but the truly successful take the knowledge they have acquired and do something with it. Read The Most Important Key to Success for more on taking action.
“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.” Henry David Thoreau
Step 5: Be Willing to Take Risks
Successful people know they are not perfect. They know they will make mistakes. The key is to control your risk. As long as you are able to try again, no risk is too great. Don’t let the fear of failure keep you from trying.
“Our doubts are traitors,And make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt.” William Shakespeare
Step 6: Be Persistent
Never give up. The only true failure is when you stop trying. They say it took Thomas Edison 1,000 tries before he invented the light bulb. Now that is persistence.
“Continuous effort–not strength or intelligence–is the key to unlocking our potential.”
Winston Churchill
Step 7: Network
Get out there and make some contacts. Find people that are good at what you want to be good at. Surround yourself with successful people. I’m sure you have heard the saying “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” I disagree. It should be “It’s what you know, and who you know.”
“Position yourself as a center of influence - the one who knows the movers and shakers. People will respond to that, and you’ll soon become what you project.” Bob Burg
Step 8: Be Patient
Patience is important. No one becomes successful at anything overnight. As long as you strive to make a positive step towards your goals everyday, success will come. Enjoy the journey.
“The value of achievement lies in the achieving.” Albert Einstein
Follow the Path
This is the path to success. It has been laid out for you. Now it is up to you to take these steps and achieve the things you always wanted. Don’t accept failure. If you follow these steps you will become successful in any area you want to improve.
Posted by Eric Twitty on October 2, 2008
What is success? The dictionary defines success as “the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.” I think most people would agree with this definition that wealth is what success is about. Sure, making money is an element of success, but I think it’s more than that. Success is more about happiness. I don’t care how much money you make, if you are not happy with your life, then in my opinion you have not achieved true success.
Most people think that if they just had a lot of money that all of their problems would vanish. That is just not the case. Don’t get me wrong, financial freedom does have many advantages. You should definitely take action to secure your financial future, but there are many more areas in your life in which to achieve happiness.
Health and fitness are areas to strive to be successful. You see very few fit people out there. Just think about how you would feel if you had the body of your dreams. It takes alot of hard work and sacrifice but it is achievable. Trust me, the effort is worth it.
How about relationship success? Not just with members of the opposite sex but in making friends also. Success in relationships will be a major source of enjoyment and happiness in your life.
Ultimately I think happiness is what success is all about. Maybe you don’t have much money but you have alot of friends and a loving spouse. Life is not perfect but you are happy with your situation. Maybe you do have alot of money but you are lonely and overweight.
No matter what your situation is, you should strive to achieve success in all areas of your life. You will be much happier with yourself and in my opinion that is the true meaning of success!
The goal of this website is to help you achieve success in four key areas:
Emotional- Conquer your emotions and start living the life of your dreams.
Physical- Build the body you always wanted but never knew how to obtain.
Mental- Stimulate your mind and give yourself the mental clarity to think through life’s problems.
Financial- Learn sound financial strategies to achieve financial independence.
Your daily habits greatly influence the success that you achieve in these four areas. This site is about developing productive habits that push you closer towards your goals in life. There are tons of self-help books and programs out there that in reality do little or nothing to help you achieve your dreams. This site only deals with straightforward strategies that have been proven to work time and time again.
How to use this site
This site will focus on various topics concerning personal growth and achieving success. You can use the category links on the side of the page to access the articles that are most applicable to your life and what you want to accomplish.
There is a motivational quotes page that will inspire and motivate you to take action. Reading some of your favorite quotes everyday will keep you focused.
There is a recommended reading list that includes books covering many topics such as wealth creation, relationships, health, and literature.
I occasionally test different ideas and give a daily account of my experiences with that particular idea. This will give you a first hand account of what to expect should you decide to try that idea or program yourself.
My committment to you is to give you a one-stop source for all of your self-help needs. I am confident that I can help you improve any area in your life that you feel you need to improve.
Be sure to add this site to your favorites so you can return to it again and again. Spending 30 minutes a day here can help get in the proper mindset to achieve success!
