Archive for Attitude

Apr
09

Motivation is the Spark

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“Motivation is the spark that lights the fire of knowledge and fuels the engine of accomplishment. It maximizes and maintains momentum” – Zig Ziglar

Well I can think of no better way to fire up this post than with that very quote. It speaks so well to the truism of motivation being the enabler of our success. As you go through that article, and any other article the causes you a moments pause about your direction, ask yourself this question: Do you merely drift along the current of life like a leaf on a stream? Pushed along the ebb and flow without choice or reason. Or do you take change of your direction? Know this, the answer to this question has a major impact on your life, (both personal and professional) because life is filled with ups and downs. The trip along life’s road is loaded with pit-fills, quick stops, blind turns and incomplete paths. Then, on occasion after our trails, we are blessed with a period where there are smooth paved avenues, lined with beautiful trees and no obstacles. However, this to shall pass and the next barrier, obstacle and challenge will offer itself up.

Motivation is a critical ingredient to our resilience and ability to get back up when we have been knocked down (or out). When you are down the right attitude and motivation can and will be the difference between responding positively or reacting negatively. This difference has many impacts personal, professional and financial.

Let me give you simple example. Some years ago I moved to the suburbs of the great city of Atlanta. This growing metropolis has the same challenges around traffic that I’m sure most of you face if you have to journey into a major metropolitan area during peak traffic periods. Even though I am about the most upbeat and positive guy that you will meet (short of Zig of course). I have to admit that occasionally I have uttered discouraging comments about the traffic. Whacked the steering wheel of my car and barked out orders to the driver in front of me. All of which was a pure waste of time. Because after all of my banter, the traffic was still there, and so was I. However, now my emotions were running on the negative side so any little thing just irritated buy cheap Pro-Erex online them all the more.

Now my typical commute can be about an hour each way. That’s two hours a day, five days a week, bringing us to about 500 hours a year with vacations etc. If I were to make this barking, whacking banter a daily routine, I would certainly be flirting with potential accidents as I challenged drivers around me in my irritated state. Let’s not forget the physical effects that these negative emotions bring about (headaches, high blood pressure etc.)

No for me the obvious thing to do is take advantage of this time to in a more positive manner. I have a full library of audio education and motivation on MP3and CD. As soon as I get in the car to start my commute I drop in my CD or put on my iPod and I’m off down the road to work, and up the road to success. I have reviewed the works of Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins, Brain Tracy, Napoleon Hill, and Dale Carnegie. I have taken 1 00s of hours in personal/professional development courses in subjects like e-commerce, goal setting, creativity, growing IQ the list goes on and on. This automobile university has served me well in numerous ways. Paying off in the motivation that has sparked ideas I have turned into actions in the real world.

FACT – the audios I listened to during these drive times never once said, “Tracy here is the solution to your problem.” Some of my audios gave me information others gave me some positive thoughts to ponder. A person, who wants to maximize their life, will schedule regular motivational input and regular educational input. This input will be about their job, about who they are or who they want to be, or even about something entirely new and unrelated to anything they do currently. These injections of new concepts, ideas, confidence-building thoughts, and opinions will energize you, building your momentum and your motivation, thus bringing you up emotionally! You learn more when you are up; you perform better when you are up and people will react to you more positively when you are up. So right now is the time to take out some motivational insurance. Take out your scheduler and schedule yourself regular intervals of motivational and educational input. Do this now – it will pay off in big rewards!

Lets take a look at the dictionary for the definition of motivation (motivate, motive)

Mo-ti-vate:
to provide with, or affect as, a motive; incite.

Mo-tive:
1 – an inner drive, impulse, etc. that causes one to act; incentive.
2 – of or causing motion

Combining your regular infusion of motivational material with your educational materials will provide the drive and impulse (motivational material) to set into motion the new concepts, ideas, confidence-building thoughts, and opinions (educational material) that will energize you. This will further build momentum and motivation, bringing you up higher! Are you seeing the pattern here?

You can not stand in front of the stove of life and say “Stove give me some heat and I’ll put some wood in you!” You will have to put some work into it first by stoking the fire that will warm your motivational soul.

Let me share with you 10 things you can do when you can’t seem to get motivated.

  1. Get some rest. One of the major de-motivators in today’s society is lack of rest. Go to bed an hour early so you catch up on your rest. Or you could take a nap instead. A good night’s sleep is essential to your level of effectiveness and motivation.
  2. Get some exercise. Take a walk, a jog, workout or whatever level of physical exercise you can partake in. Exercise gets your endorphins flowing and this will do wonders for how you feel. Not to mention you’ll be doing your body some good to. (be sure not to hurt yourself) – every day should start with your Hour of Power (more on that in another post).
  3. Tap the sap. Figure out what is sapping your energy and get rid of it.
  4. Pamper yourself. Take some time for you. This could be a mini-vacation (a few hours to a day or two) Get away from everything and enjoy yourself. Clear your head and come back refreshed.
  5. Review your goals. Review and remember why you are doing what you’re doing. If you decide now is not the time for a goal, them dump the goal. Remember you can always renew that goal again when the time is right.
  6. Play with it. Get out a calendar and leave yourself some cute notes or pictures (sticker work great here) about your goals and activities. Send yourself letters in the mail to keep you up and charged. Here is a way you can use those free things on the net. Places like Yahoo.com have free calendars that will send you notes and reminders. Make them fun!
  7. Use trusted advisers as a cheering section. You can have them send you notes (see #6 above). You want them to motivate you but don’t let them white wash the facts. Constructive criticism is key tool here. That way you are motivated to grow or keep growing.
  8. Find your song. We all have a song or songs that move us. Make yourself a Mp3 or CD full of these motivational songs. High-energy songs are best whether they are Bach or Backstreet Boys as long as they move YOU
  9. Listen to your motivational audios/CDs. Your car does not have to be the only place you go to get motivated.
  10. Hire some help. I hired a maid for my wife. I have a martial arts trainer and a personal success coach too. These coaches and trainers can help you accomplish those things you can’t handle alone.

Motivation enables you to effectively use not only recently acquired knowledge, but also it will ignite, incite and enable you put in motion, things that you thought were long ago forgotten. Science has shown us that inspirational information conveyed in an enthusiastic manner activates the pituitary gland, which releases neurotransmitters that enhances our energy, creativity, and endurance. Keep your motivation up with your regularly scheduled motivational injections (articles like this one are a good start). Keep your pool of knowledge growing so you have more wood to stoke that fire with.

“Your motivation will positively fuel your attitude. Your positive attitude builds the confidence necessary to be persistent. And of course we already know persistence pays off.” – Tracy Brinkmann

Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkman
One of Today’s Top Motivatated Coaches

Mar
24

Developing Passion

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Passion for anything you want to have, be or do occurs at the very moment you get a peek at the potential for the goal. Whether your goal is self-improvement, a project, a mission or any other worthy objective.

My mission with these blog is to give you a peek at your own potential. A fleeting look at what you are able to have, to do and to become. Once I have accomplished that goal, there will be born within you a spark of passion. When you fan that spark it will grow into a burning desire that no one can stop. Those with a burning desire have persistence and they reach their goals, every time.

How do you develop passion? Well I was recently asked that question so I sat and thought about it for a while and came up the following:

1. Know what you truly want and develop a plan to get it.

During the course of my life a number of pivotal events have developed passion deep with me. The birth of my first daughter, the death of my second daughter, the birth of my third daughter, hearing the applause of an appreciative audience for the first time, the list goes on and on. While each of these events sparked a life changing passion, most of the time my passion comes from a careful review of my dreams, desires and goals. What do I want out of life? Where do I want to be in 1, 2 or 5 years? A careful review of your goals (long and short-term), and the development of a detailed plan (a Success Atlas)to attain them will do wonders do develop the passion you need.

You check out these previous posts for more Goal Setting tips:
10 Ways to Stay Focused on Your Goals
5 Tips to Map Out Clear Goals
Value of Goals – Goals of Value
3 Tips for Goal Setting
Ways to Climb Your Mountain

2. Daily action toward your goals.

Once you have completed step one, (remember in 100% of the cases I have found that anyone that will not take step one… will never get to step two) and developed the plans to reach your goals. Take DAILY steps towards their attainment. As you take these daily steps, your goal will become increasingly closer, increasingly more real, more vivid and more enticing. This will fuel your excitement, enthusiasm and your commitment to follow through on your goals until they are attained. A bonus gift here is, with each step you complete, each little success you achieve, your self-confidence and self-esteem will increase. It is a like a river feeding itself. Complete a step, feel better, gain confidence and passion, become more committed to your goal then take the next step towards the goal. Then you complete another step, feel better, gain confidence and passion, become more committed to your goal then take the next step towards it. Are you seeing the pattern here?

3. Direct your passion.

The next time you are passing a construction site take a moment to notice the immense power of the vehicles at work buy cheap Prilosec online there, dump trucks, tractors, and cranes to name a few. Each weighing tons and able to move far more than their weight across a road, up hundreds of feet into the air or down the freeway at considerable speeds. The next time you see one of these powerful vehicles roaring down the highway, take a quick look at the driver behind the wheel. All 180-220 pounds of him (or her) are controlling all that power. What would happen if you were to remove that driver from the steering wheel? The power would be rendered useless or worse yet would roll on without regard to its surroundings wreaking havoc until it came to a crashing halt.

We need to be at the helm of our passion, making effective use of the power our passion holds, much like the driver of those massive vehicles. Effectively steering your passion synergizes all of your great qualities into a finely tuned ‘machine’. Each of these qualities working in harmony with the other. Creating an overall ‘power’ within you that is greater than each of your qualities individually. So bring your passion to focus on your goal.

History is filled with stories of average everyday men and women who have accomplished great things with little more than a passion in their hearts and a goal in their head. Apply your passion to goal, job, profession, family or to yourself and you will see the difference between just getting by and real success.

Then once you have that passion here are some post to help you keep it through all the trials and tribulations that world will throw at you:
Three More Ways to Stay Positive
Four Ways to Stay Highly Motivated

Think Successfully & Take Action.
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs

FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!

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Mar
15

Today Is

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One of the learning’s in life that I would like to share with you today is a lesson that is probably as old as the peaks of Mt. Everest and for many just as hard ascend.   It is a lesson of living in the NOW and learning of what today is.  You see, many of us look backward too much, while others look forward too much – thus missing the joy of living in the moment that today is, allowing it to pass us by.  Two very special people in my life come to mind, one of which lives in a angry past and the other lives in this dark future he has forged.  Both fall prey the disease of missing what today is, and as a result are unable (or unwilling) to get the joy that is all around them this very minute.  Do you know somehow like this?  Do you know someone like this intimately perhaps?

It would seem, these days that fear of LIFE is a quiet pandemic killing many without their knowledge.  Those inflicted by this poisonous phantom loose their happiness to the fears of yesterday and/or woes of tomorrow.   For example, those who are afraid of growing old – forget the intelligent design of Mother Nature.  More often then not, as one part of a person’s bodily vigor wanes, it gives way to the ability of their mind and spirit to be grown exponentially.  By living in the now, they can not only see that shift but are able to tap it quickly.  So rather then fret over your past or woe over your yet unrealized future, suppose you consider what today is, what it can be, what it offers you in opportunity.

You should get a note card and write on it ‘TODAY IS the best day of the year!”  Now, hang this card in a place you will see it everyday.  You see today is the day you can set that new goal, begin to wean yourself off that bad habit, meet that special person, or just do a good deed for yourself or someone else.  If you treat today as if it were the best day of the year – then today is going to back at you with a smile.  Today only looks uncaring to the thoughtless and the malicious, so do not put yourself in their company.  Realize that today is a day you can get something accomplished – not matter how small!

We should all wake up, run our entire day and go back to bed knowing that today is the same kind of day that occurred when the greatest events in history took place.  Whether today is rainy, sunny, snowy, hot or cold – some great even took place in history on a day just like this one.  Today is a single tile in the mosaic of your life.  That tile can either enhance the beauty of or detract from the finished piece – but it is your choice.   Will you choice an active colorful and attractive tile buy cheap Premature Ejaculation Cure online for the day or a dingy, dull, gray, uninteresting and unchallenged tile?

What if today’s tile was going to be your last tile?  What tile would you choose then?  I would imagine (and hope) it would be a colorful one.  So, perhaps that should be the tile you choose for each and every one of your todays.

Do not fall prey to the pandemic of hating your past or fearing your tomorrows.  But rather put you energy and your thoughts into what today is.  For all of use there is a time to be born and a time to die – it is what we do with the todays between those two points that makes all the different.

Your Success At Last Action Steps:

  1. Take a few minutes to Review and consider your past
    • Write down those things you regret
      • What would you do different
      • What did you learn from the experience
    • Write down those things that you are proud of
  2. Write down how you would like your future to look
    • Give it detail.
      • Be able to see it, feel it, even smell it
      • Use your notes from your past to avoid pitfalls of the future
  3. Create a Plan (Success Atlas) to get you from here to there
    • Break it down into bite size step
      • With your goals you can live in the NOW and choose colorful tiles everyday.
  4. REMEMBERTODAY IS, the best day of the year!

 

Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches & Author of Success Atlas Programs
http://YourSuccessAtLast.com
http://YourSuccessAtLast.com

FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!

View the Free Video and Learn More!

View the Free Video and Learn More!

Over the course of my 4 plus decades on this lovely planet I have learned something very special when it comes to relationships.  My relationships give me strength and by sharing my thoughts and feelings with others, I build character.  So the lesson is quite simply: I am able to build both character and strength via my relationships.

Do not get me wrong, there have been times when I was too scared buy cheap Prednisolone online to allow others to see the true me. I protected my hidden passions, my unconventional thoughts, my deeply held values and parts of my belief system; all because I was worried that I might not be accepted. There were even times I shelved some of my core values as a result of these fears?  Have you?

Luckily, I came to understand that this fear is normal, and I bravely moved past being overly concerned about what everyone else thought.  This has enabled me to truly experience, and enjoy who I was – so, I could grow into who I am.  But more importantly, I have come to learn that the real reward was my increased ability to more intimately experience and enjoy all those that I formed and form relationships with.

Trusting in other people means that you will have share yourself with them. Not just the good stuff, you will have to reveal some of your faults and your foibles as well.  Revealing the chinks in your armor to those that you care about will allow them to more quickly do so in return. If you want to build character and strengthen your relationships, you will have to be brave for it takes courage to honestly invite others into your life.

  • Reflection Affirmation
    True fulfillment comes from becoming connected to others and my inner self.

Each part of yourself that you share is like adding a new link in your relationship chain. With each new link you add you can extend yourself further to others.  So I urge you to constantly build that chain.

When others are in need, they know that I am there to help. Because I have extended a strong chain, they have come to know that they can reach out and grasp it. This is how I have built strong relationships in my life.  You can do the same thing, each and every day.  By sharing more of you, you invite others to open themselves up. You will feel more connected to the people in your life because you will come to see who they truly are. There in lies life’s truer reward: To feel bonded to good people.
Work hard to create fulfilling personal relationships. Extending yourself to others is worthwhile. You will deepen your character and strengthen your relationships by simply and bravely opening up to the people in your life.

Ask Yourself These Self-Reflection Questions:

 

  1. Do I bravely reveal my true self with others?
  2. How can I strengthen relationships with the people in my life?
  3. What do I love most about the close personal relationships I already have?

 
Think Successfully & Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
Today’s Top Motivated Success Coach & Author of Success Atlas Goals Programs

FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!

View the Free Video and Learn More!

View the Free Video and Learn More!

Attitude ranks high on the list of things that drive what action you take or do not take.  Your attitude is molded by the things you think about during the majority of your waking hours, as well as your deep seeded beliefs.  Your beliefs further influence your thoughts about the world around you.  So, your beliefs are one of the roots to your success.  Put simply – your thinking and your beliefs will, either fuel fear and cause you to abandon buy cheap Precose online attempts, or fuel confidence moving you to action.  Which do you believe will facilitate your desired level success, abandon or action?

Yes, it is true your beliefs have that much power.  What you believe about relationships, risk, goal-setting, success and failure will either push you towards your dreams and goals or push them away from you.  It has been said that the basic success formula is:

                                      Belief + Time = Success.

As with any formula – the more of one addend you have, then the less the other addend you will need.  In other words, the more positive belief you have, the less time you will need.  The more positive belief you have regarding your success the more action you will take.  Thus, the less time you will need in order to reach your desired goal.  Remember though, the opposite will be true as well.  The more negative belief you have about one or more aspects of your success, the more time it will take to reach your goal.

So, how can we ensure that our beliefs are empowering us to the level of success that we desire?  Here are three tips that you can put into action right away to positively impact your thoughts, beliefs and everything they will bring into your world.

  • Define your ‘Success Atlas’ for every area of your life; your business, your relationship(s), your finances, etc.  Your ‘Success Atlas’ is your vision of your future and a set of goals that are designed to bring that vision into your reality.  If you do not know how to define your success atlas here are a few previous posts that will get you headed in the right direction:
    http://www.yoursuccessatlast.com/wp/2009/12/11/goal-setting-for-success-5-tips-to-map-out-crystal-clear-goals/

    http://www.yoursuccessatlast.com/wp/2010/01/04/three-tips-for-new-years-resolution-and-goal-setting-success/

    http://www.yoursuccessatlast.com/wp/2010/01/05/2-more-tips-for-new-years-resolution-and-goal-setting-success/

    and here is a Blog Talk Radio Show that I did on creating your success atlas (Goal Plan)
    http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tracybrinkmann/2009/04/18/Goal-Setting-101

    Having your ‘Success Atlas’ defined will give you something to wake up to each day.  This well defined set of goals will push you to take action and even put a smile on your face as you think about the compelling future that you are creating for yourself and those you love.

  • Remove negative inputs from your day.  All around you are various negative inputs that are slowly whittling away at your desire and passion to reach your goal.  These inputs range from the television, newspapers, new broadcasts, some movies and music.  Even some of the people in your life (yourself included) can be donating negative input.  They may even be well meaning in what they have to share, but could be the source of negative inputs none the less.  Not all of any one of these categories is 100% negative, but, many are and you need to deter as much negative input from your mind as possible. You need to make it a passion to eliminate as many of these negative donators as you can – ban them from your day.

    The universe is an interesting thing in that as you pull out the negative inputs, they leave a vacuum.  The universe does not like a vacuum and will look to fill that vacuum with something.  If you keep pulling out the negative – all that it left to put into that vacuum is positive input.  So remove negative inputs from your world and replace them with positive inputs.

  • Dig, Uncover, and substitute the negative beliefs you have.  What negative behaviors do you have?  What negative things do you say to yourself and others?  In and of themselves these behaviors and words may not be negative.  But, given your vision and your goals they could promote behaviors and thoughts that are holding you back.  Be totally honest with yourself in searching for these negative values and bad habits.  Once again create that vacuum – remove them from your daily routine – and replace them with empowering words, values and habits.  Ones that will push you towards your goals and dreams. 

 

In defining ‘Success Atlas’ you need to create a powerful why.  Creating a powerful ‘why’ for why you want to accomplish a goal or a dream builds up energy like an electric power plant.  Much like that plant, the ‘why’ will pump energy through the ‘power lines’ of your mind.  Energy just waiting to be released.  Your beliefs have the power to flick the switch and brighten your entire life – or leave you in the dark.   So, sit down, define your own personal Success Atlas, remove the negatives from your world, and replace your harmful beliefs, words and habits with empowering ones.  As you mold your beliefs, they will flick on the switch; releasing your power plant of energy and brighten your life and the lives of those you care about.

Empowered Beliefs produces empowered action;
Empowered Action produces an empowered life!
 

Think Successfully and Take Action!
Tracy Brinkmann
One of Today’s Top Motivated Coaches

FREE Video reveals how I went from the
Streets of LA to running my own company!

View the Free Video and Learn More!

View the Free Video and Learn More!

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