6 Easy Tips To Achieving Happiness

Our destiny is a result of our life choices. The things that are happening around us cannot be controlled, but the way we deal with them make all the difference.

Get use to rejection.

Some people deal with constant failure and put-downs, and yet manage to be huge successes. Some people, on the other hand, are dealt with good cards, yet fail to see the beauty behind their blessings, thus making them failures. 

There is deep correlation between happiness and life success. One without the other would be empty, and seem so worthless. Happiness is a choice, but one must remember that the results in your life are greatly affected by the degree of happiness you feel. No task is too difficult, no challenge too impossible when you feel joyous inside. So how do you achieve happiness? Are there techniques to help you realize more fulfillment in life? 

Keep your dream alive.

Adapt the best attitude. Most people are limited by their own thinking. The best way you can achieve a life goal is by thinking that you can do it, and by constantly giving it your all. It's not going to be an easy ride, but all the potholes you will encounter along the way help you be the best person you can be. If you feel your goal is too difficult to reach, stop keeping your eye on the goal (your destination) and instead set your eyes on the journey towards your goal. Sometimes, we fail to realize that the lessons life teaches us are those which are most important, and not the success at the end. 

Ignore the little man. (Negative naysayers)

Be with the right people. Don't waste your time dealing with people with a negative attitude - they will only bring you down with them. Instead, spend your life with positive, hardworking and determined people. These people will inspire you to be your best, and prod you to go on whenever you feel like giving up. The best people are those who will help you get back up when you fall, not those who will kick you to the curb.

A positive person's attitude is catching- there's always sunshine surrounding them, and they always see the silver lining behind every dark shadow. These people will hold your hand every step of your journey towards success, and hang on to you when you fall.

Stay Focused

 Focus on what you have. This is the root cause of envy. It's not true that the grass is greener on the other side - it's all a matter of perspective. Learn to appreciate what you have, and stop wishing you had what others have. Do you know what their pains are? Are you aware of what they had to give up in order to get to where you are? If you are not ready to give up everything, then stop wishing for the things which are not yours. I had a friend who told me that the price he had to pay for his success in business is losing his entire family in the process.

This is a lesson for most of us - focus on your life, not others'. If you wish to emulate other successful people's triumphs, then use them as inspiration - and work you way towards success. Envy will get you nowhere, plus it also often makes people angry and bitter.

Keep smiling

Smile more often. When you smile, people are drawn to you. You come off as pleasant and cheerful, even if you have pain. A smile makes you and everyone around you feel better. It sends a positive message to everyone. Have you noticed how lonely Mr. Scrooge is despite his wealth? It's because he is always grumpy and mad, never smiling, even when things are going well. He is alone at the top, despite sitting on bags and bags of money. After all, what good is wealth, when you don't have anyone to share it with?

A person who has little, on the other hand, but is always eternally smiling because of the very little that he has will most probably have a load of friends. These friends are actually the best treasures a happy person has in life. They are the ones who will enter his room when everyone else decides to head out to the exit. They will be there when they are needed most.

Let it go

Let go when you know you should. Too many people are unhappy and unsuccessful because they fail to realize when to quit. There are just some battles which are better left  not fought. When something (or someone) is not worth fighting for, then let go. You will not only save yourself from more pain, you will also have more time to pursue better options. There is a thin line separating persistence and being hard head. Persistence is fighting 'til you reach your goal. Hard head, on the other hand, is insisting on fighting even if you know the battle isn't worth your while. Holding on is being brave, but letting go takes more courage. You must choose your battles, because not all battles are worth pursuing. 

 In the end, it is always your choice to be happy.

My Favorite (Brian Tracy) Goal Setting Technique

Happy New Year!

How is the goal setting going?

If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed with setting goals in each area of your life, or if you are overwhelmed now that you have set goals in every area of your life and you are already wondering where you're going to get the time to do it all, then you're not alone.

I've been goal setting for years, and while I (and the rest of the world) may get pumped up by all the wonderful things I'm going to accomplish and all the changes I'm going to make, what I've learn is that there is only so much time. 

It's an old story, but if you want to know how much of the goal setting (and accomplishing) really goes, just drive by your local gym's parking lot during the first week of January and compare it to the first week in March. 

I once heard Brian Tracy talk about setting goals, and he recommended a technique that not only made a lot of sense, but that turns out to be so powerful, it is life changing...

He said what you do is make a list of your top ten goals for the year. Think about what's most important to you in the different areas of your life, and write down ten things. 

Next, prioritize that list so that the most important goal is number one. The way to determine which goal is number one is to ask yourself which of the ten would have the most impact on your life if you actually reached it.

Once you have your list prioritized, throw away the other nine goals and make a commitment to making that number one goal a reality in the coming twelve months. 

And once you've made that commitment, ask yourself what one action you can take today, right now, to begin reaching that goal. And once you have identified that, do it.

Before you go to sleep tonight, identify the one action you're going to take tomorrow, and then commit to taking it.

And then do this each and every day until you have accomplished that one most important goal.

When I heard this, my first thought was, "Yeah, but what about the other nine goals? What about balance and all that?" 

And that's when he explained that despite our best intentions, most goal setting starts strong, but by March we've given up on half of them, and by the summer most - if not all - have been abandoned. 

That's why identifying one goal, the most important and most impacting goal, is a better way to go. 

Think about how much your life will change (and the lives of your family members) if you reach your number one, most important goal.

If your goal is to become a top producer in your industry and double or triple your income, think about the impact that will have on your family! Think about buying that new home, or providing for your parents, or allowing your wife or spouse to stay home.

If your goal is to finally write that novel, think about how your life will change when you finally accomplish that this year! Think about the weight off your shoulders now that it is a reality rather than just another dream.

If your goal is to lose weight, get in shape, and get off your medication and live a longer, healthier life for yourself and your family, think about the long term rewards achieving that goal will bring you! (And think of the consequence if you don't.)

Whether or not you agree with Brian, I'm here to tell you that it's more impacting for you to hit the most important goal in your life than it is to set ten and not hit any of them...

And, hey, if you reach your number one goal by July, you can get to number two!

If you've set goals for years and not been very successful at following through, then why not take the pressure off yourself and try Brian's method? Take his 14 day goal setting challenge: 

In just 14 days, gain clarity on exactly what you want to achieve in every area of your life. Create a plan of action to start reaching your goals immediately from BrianTracy.com.

How bad would it be if you actually reached your most important goal in 2017?

5 Ways to Identify Your Purpose and Unique Talent

How many of you 'get' the concept of finding your passion and building a business around it, but are

struggling to make it happen?

I get it. Being told to find your passion is like being told to cheer up when you're feeling depressed. Not only is it not helpful, it's counter-productive because it just makes you feel even more disconnected from your inner gifts.

Wherever you are on the spectrum of finding purpose and meaning through your creative expertise, everything you need is within you. It's just a matter of bringing it to light, little by little.

Here are 5 ways to help you do that:

1) Meditate (any which way you can)

As those of you who've been hanging out with me a while know, I fervently believe personal and professional development go hand-in-hand. If you don't manage your mind someone else will do it for you (and believe me, that's never going to end well!) So how do you do that? Pretty much every entrepreneurial or spiritual leader will tell you the same thing - through meditation.

I know, I know, meditation's hard. Who wants to sit still, trying (and failing) to still their monkey mind, especially when there's so much to do? If sitting still and meditating feels too challenging, try listening to a guided meditation on your iphone as you walk. Anything that stills your mind, even for a minute, is helpful. One minute a day. We can all try that, right? 

2) Look for ways to feel inspired

I can't tell you how many times I get an idea for a newsletter, talk or program by listening to an interview with someone I admire. In fact, this post was inspired by this Brené Brown talk. No matter what field you're in, there are thought-leaders and pioneers paving the way. Read their books, go to conferences where they're speaking, watch or read interviews with them. Greatness is contagious, so rub elbows with those who've got it going on.

3) Get input from a trusted partner

The tricky thing about gifts is they come so easily to us, we think everyone possesses them. When in fact, it's precisely that gift that others need, and will pay for. Using a trusted partner as a mirror to help you identify your talents can be incredibly clarifying, so consider recruiting a great client, a supportive friend/accountability buddy, or a coach to help shine a light on it.

4) Identify the problems you are uniquely equipped to solve

The thing that makes your unique gift have value and IMPACT in the world is figuring out what problems you solve, and for whom. Knowing who your ideal client is will give you clarity, purpose and make your efforts all the more effective. Not knowing who your ideal clients are, or how you solve their biggest challenges, is often the missing piece of the puzzle for struggling entrepreneurs or freelancers, so if you could use some clarity around that's my specialty!

5) Communicate how your ideal client benefits from your gifts

As a result of working with you, will your ideal client: 

- Have a more successful brand 
- Feel healthier 
- Have more free time 
- Make more money 
- Look better

People will only hire you if they can immediately see how doing so will positively transform your life. Take the time to really get clear on these benefits and make those the center of your messaging and content. I promise, it's a game changer. 

I get that there's a lot of information here and putting it all together, in the right order and sticking with it long enough to get results is a tall order. If you're ready to get the clarity you need to align your gifts, message and services with the clients who have the burning desire and money to invest in working with you, I'd love to help you reach your goals.

Want REAL Success? 8 Proven Success Strategies.

There are 8 proven strategies to success that highly successful people have always used to overcome obstacles to their goals. 

 
1. Get Aligned 
It's important to first clearly define exactly what you are truly passionate about -- then find a way to become successful at that passion. Only passion stirs up the kind of energy you'll need when you hit those inevitable bumps in the road. An important proven effective success strategy is to set passionate goals! 

 
2. Focus on Your Priorities
Many folks try to fit their dreams into their life -- complaining there are not enough hours in the day to make it happen. If you want your dream to become a reality, make it a priority. Otherwise it will never be more than a pipe dream, and you're just setting yourself up for disappointment.

Making something important happen in your life requires more than just a goal -- it requires a REAL plan of action to get you on target! Create a realistic goal plan that fits the reality of your life. 

 
3. Don't Force It
Don't try to force something that isn't happening. Go for the type of inspired, joyful action that comes along with pursuing a goal in true alignment with your dreams. This causes things to flow along easily and without energy-consuming "effort."

Contrast this to forcing yourself to take an action you really don't want to take. Most likely this will take you twice as long, and you'll bump up against obstacles.

Whenever possible swim with the current ... not against it. And stick to your goal plan to success.

 

4. Manage your Stress
Stress throws us off balance and into an older, less productive portion of our brain. It prepares you to fight or run. But it does not prepare you to successfully achieve a goal (unless that goal is to escape a tiger.) 

 
5. Build your Strengths
Success comes easier and more quickly when you focus on your strengths, and delegate in those areas where you are less capable. Your natural talents are those things you do so easily and naturally. They contain the seeds of your greatest potential accomplishments.

It's very important to identify and work on your natural talents and abilities. This is where self knowledge pays off in big dollars and accomplishments. And don't forget to also your build your mind power! 

 
6. Disarm Your Inner Saboteur
Fear of failure is the biggest internal fear most people will ever have to face. It is why so many ideas never get beyond the idea stage -- and why most new projects are started, but never finished.

It's okay to have these feelings, but it is important to identify them for what they are.

Most fears of failure go all the way back to childhood, and are not even accurate for who you are today. Drag them up into the daylight, and take serious action to face them head on. 

 
7. Develop ResilienceThe truth is, you will have setbacks along the way. This is inevitable. The sooner you accept that, the better. Often if you look closely, you will find these setbacks are directly related to your innermost thoughts, fears and beliefs. This is because we create what we focus on, including those things we don't want.

Don't get stopped by these bumps in the road. Learn from them. As you work through them you will become the person you need to be to create your dreams. And along the way, be sure to refine your stress management skills. This is an essential key to resilience! 

 
8. Use the Power of VisualizationThe muscles we use to physically take action in our lives begins in the mind. That is why all great golfers, tennis players, basketball players, dancers, etc. visualize themselves performing successfully.

6 Ways Structure Can Help You Achieve Peak Creative Performance

As a business coach for freelancers and creative professionals, I specialize in working with people who are in a place of transition in their career or creative business. While their unique circumstances vary, more often than not they share one key challenge; they're not fulfilling their creative and commercial potential. I've come to believe that a successful creative business is a blend of four things: 

(1) a great product or service 

(2) good strategy 

(3) hard work and 

(4) a willingness to be out of our comfort zone more often that not. 

Hey, if it were easy, everyone would do it, right?

But the creative business is a unique and sensitive animal. If it's all about strategy and objectives, we lose the creative magic and if it's all about creativity, nothing gets done. So, how can we find and maintain balance?

After working with creative professionals for 15 years, being business owner myself for eight and benefiting from the wisdom of mentors and coaches, I've come to the conclusion that success comes down to one thing:

Creating a solid structure, within which there is a lot of freedom.

If you're in that place of transition and don't know how to balance structure and freedom, I'd like to share 6 strategies that have worked for me: 

1) Know what you want from your business

If we don't know where we want to go, we can't create a plan to get there. Set aside some uninterrupted time to really think about what you want from your business. When we're honest with ourselves, the answer is sometimes very different from what we think we want. For example:

- Are you starting a business and want to build a roster of ideal clients? 
- Are you happy with your business and clients, but would like a few more? 
- Do you want to build a business that is flexible enough to work around your family's schedule? 
- Do you want to be known as a thought-leader in your industry? 

You can see how the strategy would be vastly different for each of these businesses, so it's important to get clear from the outset. 

2) Write down everything you need to do to achieve your goal

Doing a brain dump is a great way to get all of your ideas out of your head and into one place. I love the mind-map method. It's simple, effective and perfect for visual types. Here's how you do it:

Take a piece of paper and put your main topic, e.g. your business name, at the center. As thoughts come to mind, draw branches from the main topic and write down that thought or objective (use as few words as possible). You can create sub-branches for additional thoughts or action steps. 

I love Goggle for creating mind maps that look pretty too! 

3) Prioritize and calendarize 

(I know it's not a word, but it should be!) 
Take your mind map and number your goals by priority. Start with number one, let's use Networking as the example, and list action steps you need to take. They night be: 

 
(a) Research BNI and visit one chapter this month  

  (b) Become a member of Freelancer's Union and attend one event this month 

   (c) Research local AIGA chapter

Now enter those action steps into your calendar. Once it's in the calendar it moves from a "should" to a done deal. Now you're free to do something else. 

4) Bundle your to-do's

Have you ever ended your day feeling exhausted and frustrated because you ran around like a headless chicken, without much to show for it? I have and it sucks.
I now bundle similar tasks together and take care of them in one sitting. I set Friday aside for book keeping and general admin. Monday is dedicated to content development and marketing and I cluster my coaching sessions on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday so that I can stay in the zone and be as present as I can. Clustering your efforts also helps you balance "doing" and "creating". 

5) Work with your natural rhythms

It's no coincidence that my writing/content work is slated for Monday when I'm fresh and my boring admin is on Friday, when I'm spent. I go for an early morning run on one of my coaching days, knowing that I will benefit the most from the boost of energy and clarity it provides. 

6) Make time to play and create

Do you deny yourself downtime because you feel guilty that you're not being "productive?" I struggle with this and, while we may think of it as a noble trait, it's really not. The fact is, we need time to dream, play and create. It's what gives us the magic, the inspiration and energy we need to do all of the above steps. Down time should be as much of a priority as everything else. So put THAT in your calendar and stick to it!

How Do You Value Your Self-Worth?

Quanta Review - How Do You Value Your Self-Worth?

How do you value your self-worth? This is a very tough question and not so easy to understand, huh? What I mean is do you focus more on what you already have or more on what you don't have? This focus goes a long way in determining how you value your self-worth. You see, the way our mind works is we move toward what we focus on (according to the 8 rules of the subconscious mind). With one of the most important subconscious mind rules being "What's expected tends to be realized". So, I ask again, 'Do you focus on your lack or what you don't have, or more on what you do have'? So, if you focus on your lack what do you think you will create? You guessed it, more lack. What we focus on is what we create. If you focus on what you don't have, you will create more of what you don't have.

The point is, the focus on lack or what you don't have will bring you weakness and insecurity. Focusing on lack will bring you down. OK, so if you don't have what you want currently, how do you obtain millions (if that's your goal). It all starts by valuing where you are and who you are currently.


You value your situation as it exists right now, and who you are as a person right now, and moving toward what you want to have and who you want to become. The #1 secret to creating wealth (if that's your goal) is to value your self. In other words, you value your current situation, staying focused on where you want to go and placing no one above you. In your mind, you stand face to face on an equal level with everyone. You value your own life as it exists currently where you are today because you continually put forth your best. You put forth the very best you know how to do. When you value yourself and always put forth your very best your value to others increases. When your value to others increases a funny thing happens. You guessed it, as your value to others increases your income increases accordingly. When you value yourself, you create a very powerful and effective presence that is attractive to others. When this happens, other people will want to hitch their wagon to yours.



By developing and projecting an attitude of self-worth, the mind immediately eliminates any financial struggles. You see, when you focus on where you want to go, you have to let go of the lack. This is another rule of the subconscious mind which states, "The subconscious mind cannot hold two opposing thoughts at one and the same time". Take a look at all the things that make your insecure. Then simply let go of those things you cannot control, and focus on where you want to go and what you want to have.


When you feel secure and content about where you are and let go of the insecurities, you will see a shift toward what you are focused on. In other words, you will move in the direction of your focus. That is another simple a rule of the subconscious mind (we create more of what we are focused on) and has been practiced for hundreds of years by the super wealthy. In summary, learn to let go of your insecurities or what's holding you back from where you want to go and then focus on where you want to go. Amazing things will begin to happen.

The 7 Most Popular Life Goals And How You Can Achieve Them

If I were to ask you what your number one goal is right now, I bet it would be in this list.

1. I want to write a book  

2. I want to start a business  

3. I want to be healthier  

4. I want to travel  

5. I want to make money doing something I love 
6. I want to do something positive for the world/volunteer.  

7. I want to reduce my stress (money worries, relationship worries, etc) 

This is a pretty ambitious list of things to want to do. Do you see yourself here? And if so, what have you been doing to try and achieve one or more of these?

Dreaming and doing are two different things. If you've been dreaming of a goal for weeks, months or even years now, here are some simple ways to make any of your goals come true. 

Life Goal #1: I want to write a book

In order to write a 50,000 word book in 30 days, you'll have to write 1,667 words per day. Sound like a daunting task? Stretch it out into a three month or six month process, and the numbers drop to 556 or 278 words per day respectively.

The problem isn't in creating the book; its usually in finding the time to do it. When you look at it in a slightly different format - I'll write my book in six months - it gives you a new perspective. If you normally get up at 7 in the mornings, get up at 6 and dedicate that hour to writing your 278 words. While the first few days might be extremely difficult to get your 278 words out, by the time you're several weeks into the project, 278 words will fall out in a few minutes time.

You can also dedicate time to your new found craft to make things easier. There are many writing and self-publishing groups online and in your local area. Consider joining a group like National Novel Writing Month to keep you on track with your writing. Or read one of the many books on publishing your own book - try APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur - How To Publish a Book 

Life Goal #2: I want to start a business

Starting a business has never been easier. It doesn't take a lot of time. It doesn't take a lot of money. And it no longer takes a lot of resources. If you have a laptop and Internet connection, you can set up a portable business from just about anywhere. In the book Laptops Millionaire it provides many ways to turn ideas into something we can do from our kitchen table, no matter what city our kitchen table is currently located in.

The problem with setting up a new business is overwhelm. If you've been thinking about starting up your own business for a while now, what's holding you back? Chances are it's the complexity of your goals. Instead of saying "I'm starting up a business", change it to something more manageable, such as "I'm printing up business cards today". All of a sudden you can quickly see your goals fall into place, just by shrinking up the requirements you think about every day. 

Life Goal #3: I want to be healthier

Why doesn't a diet work? Because you're not going to the root of the problem. Ask anyone on a diet how they are doing, and you'll start hearing a list of "I can'ts". I can't have this. I can't do that. A brain on "can't" will never make it.

When I decided to go vegetarian, I never once thought of all the things I couldn't eat. Instead, I focused on the delicious foods I got to eat. When I reduced the amount of sugar I take in to almost nothing, I never looked at sweets longingly. Instead, I chose to eat things I knew were healthy and made me feel better both inside and out.

In order to be healthier, you have to learn to turn your can'ts into cans. Commit to something you believe in - becoming vegetarian for instance - and do everything you can to turn that into a lifestyle. Buy a vegetarian cookbook - The Happy Herbivore is one of my favorites - and pick out one recipe for every day of the week. Add those ingredients to your shopping list, and make the time to incorporate them into your meal planning. 

Life Goal #4: I want to travel

What does travel mean to you? Do you like to get away for the weekend? Or does around the world travel, 365 days of the year fit more into your plans?

One of the best ways we've found to get more out of our travel bucks is to rent apartments and homes instead of staying in a hotel. Last year we spent six weeks in Spain and Italy, and rented two bedroom apartments in every city we visited. We had beautiful kitchens and used them almost daily for breakfast, lunch and dinners. We packed picnics when we went sightseeing for the day, and only rarely took in fancy restaurants. I guarantee we saved hundreds of dollars this way (and its healthier too) - which meant we could easily boost our travel time to six weeks on the savings. HomeAway and Vacation Rentals are two great resources for you to find cute vacation rentals right in the heart of everything.

Life Goal #5: I want to make money doing something I love

Let's face it, we all get sick of "life" on occasion. But if you find yourself sick of your day job every single day, it may be time to re-evaluate what makes you happy.

If you are one of the people that exists at work because you don't know what else to do, and a "big idea" has never hit your consciousness, it may be time to focus in on what will make you happy  right now.

Looking for one great idea puts too high of expectations on your lifestyle. Instead, simplify it and look at what you enjoy today and what you can see yourself doing right now. Focus in on the present, not what is feasible a decade or more into the future. By turning to who you are today and what's possible with your knowledge right now, its easier to focus in on things that are possible.

Life is full of opportunity. You just have to focus on what's possible right now in the present.

Life Goal #6: I want to do something positive for the world/volunteer

Sometimes a change of scenery is all you need to make you look at the world a little differently. Why not volunteer? You can take the traditional road and volunteer for something right in your own community, like Habitat for Humanity. Or combine your volunteering with a travel opportunity with organizations like Heifer International.

Volunteering can quickly set you up for finding a passion in your life. From there you may decide to help others set up their own life's purpose with places like Kiva. Or fund your own ideas with a place like Kickstarter. 

Life Goal #7: I want to reduce my stress (money worries, relationship worries, etc)

Think stress has to be a part of your life? Think again. Get to the root of the problem and eliminate it.

Stress doesn't go away without working at it. Stress is simply an outward expression of your reaction to something going on in your life. And if you don't change the pattern, it will continue to fester and grow until it impacts your life and/or your health.

You can start by taking control over your health. Meditation is a great way to put everything else aside and increase the peace you feel from the inside out.

Have specific issues going on in your life right now that you want to change? Don't go it alone. Sometimes an outside perspective can help you see things in an "a-ha" way. I've helped hundreds of people through my coaching programs. Being able to see things in a new light, and change your approach can truly put you on an entirely new path.

Do you see yourself in any of the above? Quit dreaming about it and just do it.