What do you want out of life? Are you 100% happy right now or do you wish you had more? Wishing it, unfortunately, will not make it happen for you, taking action and changing your approach to life will. Not all of us will be millionaires, but we can take steps to be financially and emotionally richer. By applying better levels of control over our lives, rather than expecting somebody else to do it, success and achievements are much more likely to happen. Many people will use excuses as to why they are not achieving or reaching their full potential, but excuses are not actions and will not get you anywhere. You need to do something, make changes, believe in yourself and get to where you want to be. By adopting a positive perspective, you’ll start to see things differently; good areas of your life will become great, great areas will become fantastic. Change is exciting and demanding, so you need to look after yourself, both mind and body to be able to go full throttle. Always remember, life is only as amazing as the way you choose to live it.

Step 1 - Taking control

How do you take control? A few years ago, after a visit to Egypt, I came down with a tropical disease which meant that I couldn’t work for a few months. It wasn’t a break by any means, as post fever I was left extremely lethargic having to sleep at least four times in the day. I had bought a self help book some six months previous, but had never opened it. During my time out of work I started to read it. It spoke about the power of the mind and self-healing (which I tried and believed worked, but that’s another article), and also about having a life-plan.

Now, putting together a life-plan may seem very dull, boring and controlled and in complete contrast to the unpredictability of life, but if you start one you’re on the road to changing your life. I’m not talking about day to day detail; I’m talking about what you want out of life – bigger house, better job, your own business etc. I started to look at my life and what I wanted from it. I was very happy, with an amazing husband, a great job and a nice home, but another side of me that wanted more. So following on from the advice I had read, I started to write a plan for the next year, which gave me a time frame and key goals to hit. I decided my main goal was to own four properties within twelve months, I included in my plan when and how I would purchase these properties (including utilising my current assets, borrowing from family etc).

One year later I had four properties, excluding a purchase and sale. I had decided to take control of my life, apply a positive thought process and set goals for myself, which I focused on and challenged myself to meet. I now have a life plan and know what I want to achieve out of my life. It doesn’t mean I lack any spontaneity or excitement by any means, it simply means I know what I want and have a plan of how to achieve it.

Taking control of your life is recognising that you can determine the road you take and the achievements you make. It’s about being assertive and responsible about the things you can control. You should evaluate what you like about your life and what you don’t like and take appropriate action; if you want another job go and get one. If you feel an area of your life is holding you back, confront it. In contrast if something supports what you do, embrace it and cherish it. You need to establish what you want and plan how you are going to get it. Having goals is essential, because they give you direction and focus in life. As John Wooden, the basketball coach was fond of saying, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”

Step 2 - The Confidence Trick

Many people will use lack of confidence as an excuse for why they are not successful. If you are one of those people, you need to create a new belief system, which revolves around you being confident; you’ll then start to feel different. I’m not suggesting you just need to think you’re confident and you’ll be that way, I’m talking about taking a totally different approach to how you view yourself. There are many mind-training techniques and self-help books which can help you with confidence, but key to this is your belief in yourself. Confidence is about being content and happy with who you are and what you represent; take time out to think about why you are a wonderful person, make a note of all your positive traits and focus on them, see yourself through the eyes of your loved ones, and start to feel more positive about yourself. Once you feel good about yourself and what you have to offer this world, confidence will flow. You are a unique, special person and you need to believe that now. There’s only one of you and only you can do things exactly your way.

Once you start to believe in yourself, you can start to challenge yourself to do new things (which will increase your confidence even more). Being comfortable and at ease with ourselves and our surroundings naturally makes us feel confident. If you’re at a party make a point of talking to people you do not know – it doesn’t matter if you use the same questions of topic of discussion. Try this approach at work, when you go shopping, or at your local clubs. It may seem simple, but a conversation with someone you don’t know, every time you go out will help boost your confidence.

How we perceive ourselves affects how others see us. If you think you’re shy and retiring, many people will feel uncomfortable talking to you as they can sense you’re unease, or they may even think you are not interested in them. If you think you’re confident and engaging, people are likely to warm to you more as you’re likely to put them at ease talking to you. How we see ourselves is vital to how we live our lives and how we interact with others. If you want to become successful and stay successful, you need to think of yourself of someone who deserves it. Stand tall and proud and always believe in yourself and your role in this world.

Step 3 - Get Rid of the Fear

No matter how much you have struggled in the past, every new day, provides you with new opportunities.

Fear is a powerful emotion, which restricts us from doing things. Sometimes it’s useful, as it is nature’s way of telling us of danger, but a lot of the time it’s illogical and a result of irrational emotions. Many people are afraid of failing if they try something new, however failure is all down to perception and how you frame the outcome. If you do something and you’re not happy with the results, don’t reprimand or criticise yourself, what you should do is treat it as learning – try it another way. It really is a very useful technique and if you use it everyday, you’ll start to see the benefits and impact on others around you.

When Thomas Edison was asked how he felt at having had seven hundred unsuccessful attempts to invent the electric light bulb, he responded:

“I have not failed seven hundred times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those seven hundred ways will not work. I will find the way that will work”.

This is a wonderful quote and fantastic attitude to have towards life. Only by experience do we know how to do things better. If you don’t try something new, how will you ever know what it would be like? Do you want to hide in the shadows and watch others make a success of their lives, while you sit back and watch because you’re afraid it might not go your way? Are you going to let an emotion control you and prevent you from achieving what you know you are capable of? Strangely enough, many people do not believe they deserve success or great wealth or even happiness. Adopting a positive approach to your life and taking control of it will ensure you are not one of those people. If you programme yourself to be successful, you will be successful – you just need to believe in yourself and put yourself out there. Once you do, you will be able to handle what ever challenges life offers you with a sense of ease and confidence

Step 4 - Positive Thinking

You are not born a negative person or a person, although you may believe you were. Your mind has been programmed to be a certain way, by those influences you had around you growing up and even now. You may have been brought up being told that you should always be prepared for the worst, not to get your hopes up or be content with what you’re given. As such, the little voice in your head repeatedly says such things to you, so you become entrenched in a negative world. Here’s the thing, the little voice in your head is YOU and only you can control it. Your mind is powerful, but you own it! Changing your perspective on life and how you approach it will have a profound effect on both your happiness and your successes. You need to get rid of as many of the negative generalizations you have made over the years and replace them with positive ones.

It’s very easy to wallow in the negative world, most of us enjoy moaning and asking for comfort from others. Talking about someone behind their back, whingeing about the weather, moaning about your weight, money, hair or whatever are all negative acts that have no goal other than to breed negativity. If you think about the people in this world that inspire you, how do you feel they conduct themselves? Do you think they’re interesting and fun to be around, or do you think they moan, wallow and generally walk around with an air of negativity? Most people who are successful are confident, engaging happy people and those traits aren’t the result of the lifestyle they currently lead (although that no doubt helps), they’ve always been that way. Determined to succeed, building relationships with people where applicable, believing in themselves and thus remaining positive in every approach they take.

Rather than looking at life for all its downs, why not look at it for all its ups? For every bad experience you’ve had, think of a good one and then focus on that. Think about what you have, who you love, what makes you smile. If you do something and you’re not happy with the outcome, simply take a note not to repeat that action again, don’t reprimand or criticise yourself, treat it as learning – try it another way. This approach really is very useful and if you use it everyday, you’ll start to see the benefits and impact on you and others around you.

If a negative thought enters your head, control it and flip it so it takes a different angle e.g. “this doesn’t work” turn into “this could work better” or “I’m broke” turn into “I need to think of how to make more money”. When you wake up each morning, smile and appreciate everything you have. If you’re not happy about something in your life, change it (no one else will do it for you). Rather than seeing a new challenge with fear and trepidation, look upon it as exciting and something wonderful.

If you see life as fun and a journey of learning, you’ll get so much more out of it. Laugh at yourself more and with others around you. Don’t get caught up in negative conversations about people, what does that achieve? If others engage you in negative conversation, turn the conversation around into a positive – always avoid the perpetual whiners (it’s up to them to change their life).Every encounter with a person, food, travel, any aspect of life, provides you with the knowledge of what makes you happy and what doesn’t – what works for you and what doesn’t. The more you learn and recognise how to change things to be happy, the happier you will be!

Step 5 - Look After Yourself

Regular exercise and eating healthily are important to your state of well being and mental performance. Lack of energy, due to poor diet or lack of exercise will manifest itself in your day to day life. If you want to take on a new challenge you need to look after yourself. Power Naps are a great way of refreshing your brain – just taking 15-30mins time out can help you re-boost your energy levels. You should exercise at least 3 times a week and I don’t just mean going for a walk, I mean aerobic or anaerobic exercise – pushing your body. Exercise releases endorphins which give us a natural high. You’ll definitely get a buzz each time you do it and you’ll feel better about yourself.

To be healthy human beings and to function at the peak of our potential, we need to achieve a balance of mind and body. If we serve our outer needs without allowing ourselves time for the person within, and especially if we ignore the need to slow down and take a break, we’re likely to get ill or run-down. Exercise is a great way to take a break or you could use relaxation techniques such as meditation, to control any stress levels.

Healthy eating doesn’t mean just eating salads and low fat foods, it means eating a varied diet providing all the vitamins and nutrients you needs – fish, poultry, veg, nuts, and plenty of water should be part of your diet. Please don’t think popping vitamin pill after vitamin pill will do the job, these can be part of your diet, but shouldn’t be used to replace the natural products. If you really need that chocolate fix, go for it, but try to limit the times you need it or even better think about why you actually need it? Would an apple not suffice?

By taking control of our lives, believing in ourselves, eliminating any fear of not achieving, using positive thinking and looking after ourselves we are completely set to life success. Always remember, life is only as amazing as the way you choose to live it, as Walt Disney said “If you can dream it, you can do it”. 

About the Author: Emma is the marketing director of http://www.cyberneur.com a social networking site for budding entrepreneurs to build, promote, network and grow their business.

If you do some research on the awesome hypnosis techniques done over the ages, you will be amazed to discover how long hypnosis has been around. There is multiple hypnosis techniques used in many ways by all sorts of people around the world. The following article will resume some of those techniques that were used throughout history.

One of the many awesome hypnosis techniques used by some culture was the sounds of drums. This is pretty special actually; they where able to generate a drum beat that would literally induce a state of hypnosis. This unusual hypnosis technique was mostly used during religious ceremonies.

Want to learn More Awesome Hypnosis techniques?

Let’s go back in the 1600’s where some farmers developed an amazing hypnosis technique. The technique is very basic but also very effective. Together they developed a technique to keep their chickens calm and ready to lay eggs. The technique was to attaché a piece of wood to their beaks. This sounds stupid I know but the chickens would focus on that particular piece of wood and would stay still. With this awesome hypnosis technique they were even able to have chickens sit on each others egg. The technique became so popular that at some point it became an attraction that was performed around multiple countries. Similar methods were used to completely put animals under control.

Over the years many doctors and researchers have used similar awesome hypnosis techniques using repetitive sounds or motions. Some of these doctors helped cure many people. There are even stories that some of them were able to perform surgeries with the patient having no pain at all.

The power of the mind

At the end of the century a little boy called Milton Erikson was born. This little boy was affected by polio when he was only seventeen. Being paralyzed he started to use an awesome hypnosis technique while he was trying to walk again. Milton was picturing himself in his mind running and playing outside. Some say that with very strong concentration he eventually began to be able to move his chair he was sitting on. Over time he continued to picture himself learning each step required to learn to walk until he finally did. Milton Erikson later became the father of modern hypnotherapy.

Setting a goal and picturing it in your mind is a very powerful and awesome hypnosis technique.

About the Author: If you liked this article about awesome hypnosis techniques, visit my website . We provide useful information about the various uses of hypnosis. Click here to learn self hypnosis.

Whether you’re a student, family member, employee, entrepreneur or business owner — somewhere along the way you have or will be asked to focus your interests and goals to define the direction your life will take. Many have faced this moment more than once in their lives. A change in education, marital status, job, or income can bring about real challenges in a person’s life. How to handle this change can be the beginning of understanding what is important to you, what you are meant to do, and believing what you are capable of achieving. Understanding begins with creating a personal mission statement.

“A mission statement declares why you exist” says Don Midgett, business consultant and author of Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future. “It identifies your purpose and reason for being as a personal statement that helps lead you to the work you do on your chosen path.”

Your personal vision statement will describe your desired future - what you want to become. Once you have your personal mission statement defined, you can determine your horizon for the future and create a personal vision statement that describes your desired future. Once we have these two statements defined and understood, how we are going to get there starts to make itself known.

Pablo Picasso, the famous 20th century Spanish painter was quoted as having said ‘our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success.’ The time, the effort in getting to know yourself will you create the life you want.

Joanne S. lost her job she really enjoyed with a major cell phone company. When asked what she thought her job was she replied, selling cell phones. Asked what benefit that supplied to another, Joanne understood that what she actually enjoyed doing was helping others stay connected. She had liked the job she had but now had more options. Joanne could now seek out other jobs or businesses that fulfilled a similar service for others.

Create your mission and vision statement and empower your future - start today. Begin to lay the solid foundation for your strategic plan and planning process. To see better the importance of a mission statement and vision statement, to view examples and to read what empowerment people have experienced, go to http://www.missionvisionstatement.com/. There you will learn more about creating a mission statement and the development and use of your vision statement.

About the Author:

Don Midgett is the managing partner for the GenesisGroup, helping organizations and leaders discover their full potential. Don specializes in workshops on mission and vision, strategic planning, and team building.

Don Midgett, Author
Mission and Vision Statements: Your Path to a Successful Business Future
81 pages, is available in digital format (pdf) at
http://www.missionvisionstatement.com

Don Midgett is the managing partner for the GenesisGroup, helping organizations and leaders discover their full potential. Don specializes in workshops on mission and vision, strategic planning, and team building.

To begin your path to success, write your personal mission and vision statements! You can find help at http://www.missionvisionstatement.com - visit NOW.

Stress is often referred to as the curse of modern era. Meditation is one of the proven methods for stress management. Meditation is a natural healing therapy, famous for its multifarious effects on a person. The routine practice of meditation therapy in the daily life has been seen to remove most of the ill effects of stress. The reasons of stress include busy schedules, change in working patterns and revisal of the relationship concepts. However stress management techniques are given much importance because of the serious impact of stress in the physiological, psychological and social aspect of the person. The relevance of meditation in stress management is mainly due its capability to provide alleviation to the effects of the stress.

Meditation is primarily a concentration technique, in which you focus to provide relaxation to mind. The relaxation of the mind is the basic necessity of stress management. Meditation is not a new technique; it prevails from ancient times as the method to bring tranquility to the mind. The increased acceptance of meditation in stress management is mainly because of the scientific evidence that support its effectiveness in that area. Experiments have shown that meditation will shift the brain waves from the right frontal cortex to left front cortex, which helps to change the mind from a tensed condition to a calmer state. With this practice, the body can switch the brain waves to resting alpha state or relaxing theta state and the stress inducing endocrine secretions such as cortisol and adrenal hormones can also be suppressed. The secretion of endorphins is also substantiated, which is a natural stress and pain reliever.

You can manage your stress through meditation effectively by including it in your daily routine. There are many different types of meditation techniques such as mindfulness meditation, concentrative meditation and transcendental meditation. Meditation practice is simple irrespective of the technique and requires only 15-20 minutes daily. It will be an effortless procedure and does not require any other probes to perform the meditation. To begin your meditation, simply sit or lie down and concentrate on a particular object or your breath.

Meditation is actually referred to as a fourth state of consciousness and regular attainment of the state will reflect in your outlook about the life positively. Not only your mind, but the body is also well maintained by the meditation. Meditation will reduce the psychological symptoms of stress such as depression, anxiety and panic attacks. This will provide behavioral and social changes, which will make you more creative and boost the talents to increase productivity.

The regular practice of meditation will help to manage stress as well as to avoid stress inducing situations. The natural enhancement of talents and mental capability will help for better planning, time utilization and proper management of the situation.

Regardless of which method or belief system about personal development that you subscribe to, the fact that your state of mind is the primary fuel for your success is a foregone conclusion.

However, knowing that fact and putting it into action are two different things. In order to maximize your personal development results, make this simple method a part of your conscious efforts.

For this exercise, we will use the example of weight loss, but you can do this exercise with anything in your life that you want to improve, including finances, relationships, etc.

Step 1 – Think of someone who has what you consider to be a “nice body”. Get a clear picture of that person in your head using as many details as possible.

Step 2 – Now consider what you think that person has as a result of having that nice body.

Do they have a very attractive partner? Do they have more opportunities in life because they are more physically appealing? Do they have more friends? Do they command more respect? Are they going to live longer because of their level of health?

Step 3 – Think of the top 3 benefits in life that you think that person has, but you don’t. There are likely several things that you can think of, but for this exercise just think of the 3 things that you feel most strongly about.

Step 4 – Recognizing 100% that this is not real and that it is just a mental fantasy, visualize what it would be like if you had the body this person has, and how those top 3 things would play out in your life.

If one of the items you chose was having an attractive mate, then picture yourself with someone you find so appealing that you can hardly keep your mind off of them.

If you think this other person has a lot of opportunities in life, then visualize yourself having those opportunities. Picture yourself using each of those opportunities to the fullest, and getting the most possible benefit out of them.

If one of your top three things was that this person has a lot of friends, then visualize yourself with that many friends, and more. Think of all of the activities that you and your friends will engage in, and how much fun you will have.

Step 5 – How do you feel?

No, really. How do you feel?

Step 5 is actually not part of this process, but rather the reason for doing this exercise to begin with.

You see, it isn’t the nice body that you are after. It is the way that having that nice body would make you feel that matters.

This is a common mistake that almost everyone makes when they are trying to maximize their personal development and self improvement efforts. They think that it is the attainment of a goal that is the driving force for their success, when in all actuality, the attainment of the goal is all but irrelevant.

It is the feeling that the attainment of the goal will evoke and sustain in the person setting the goal that matters.

Cars and houses do not make people happy. Maximum health and physical fitness do not make people happy. Massive financial success does not make people happy. Successful careers do not make people happy.

People become happy because of the way that each of those circumstances makes them feel. Focusing only on the attainment of a material possession, a state of wellness, a level of career success, or great wealth will not generate sufficient emotional fuel to keep you motivated long enough to attain your goals.

The thought of having things that you do not presently have is almost completely powerless unless it is backed up by having a very strong emotional attachment to attaining those things.

As Napoleon Hill says in the book ‘Think and Grow Rich’, weak desires bring weak results, just as a small fire brings a small amount of heat.

If you want to super-charge your personal development in order to attain incredible results, you must first create a burning desire to attain your goals by creating the feeling of what it will be like to realize them.

You can visualize your life as if all of your dreams have already come true, but if you cannot generate the emotional response that will be attached to actually living those dreams, you run the risk of running out of fuel long before you achieve success.