What You Believe is All That Matters
Over the last few decades the amount of information we are exposed to daily has increased drastically. But for all the abundance, we still don’t get a clear picture of what is going on in the world. Most of the news we hear is highly negative, overly dramatic, and inspires fear. So it doesn’t surprise me that so many people are afraid to take a risk and go after their big dreams. However, right now is exactly the time–yes, in the middle of this recession–when you need to jump in with both feet. You just need to believe in yourself. If you have that, all else will follow.
I started investing in real estate in 1972, in the middle of the worse recession in the US since the great depression. Fortunately, I didn’t know that and even if I did, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference because I really believed that I could succeed. And sure enough, not only did I not lose my shirt, I became a millionaire. That recession didn’t stop me and this one shouldn’t stop you. Not believing in yourself and taking immediate action is the only thing that is guaranteed to kill your dreams.
Remember, all you need to worry about is your life, what you need, what you want, and know that if you keep working at it, you will get what you are after. If your dreams are that important to you, you will want them bad enough to do whatever it takes. And no fear filled news story will get in your way.
So turn off the TV, stop reading those dramatic headlines, and unsubscribe from all those pessimistic reports. Instead, read up on all the great success stories you can find on-line, in responsible and inspiring periodicals, and among the many stories in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. The most amazing stories of success are most often accomplished by ordinary people who simply have an extraordinarily strong belief in themselves and what they want. And there is no reason why you can’t be one of them.
Riding the Goal Setting High
So, did you go ahead and get a new goal written down this past week? Did you notice that after you wrote it out and had your plan in place, you had increased energy and enthusiasm? That feeling is an actual adrenaline high, a rush you get from seeing all the potential and knowing what you want is reachable. And it can be an addictive. For some, this results in continuously setting new goals and making new plans but not necessarily completing the previous ones. If you really enjoy that goal setting high (I know I do!) you can get that on a regular basis with the same goal and use it to keep you motivated and energized every step of the way.
First, break up your bigger, long-term goals into bite-sized pieces then plan them only one or two at a time. Planning–being able to visual how you will reach your next mini-goal–is what brings on the excitement.
Secondly, bounce ideas about your plans off someone else, someone who is supportive and maybe even a little challenging or has goals of their own to share. These conversations can bring up all kinds of new ideas and possibilities that you might not have thought up on your own. It also forces you to be clear about your goals and plans and draw very concrete pictures. And the clearer you can see what you will do and what it will accomplish, the more sustained enthusiasm you will have.
And lastly, whenever you feel your enthusiasm waver, sit down and write out what you are doing, where you are at, and what you plan to do next to reach your goal. This will re-immerse you in your planning, give you a clear idea of how far you’ve come, and how easy the next steps will be. And you’ll find yourself excited all over again.
Chapter 3 of my book, “How to Ignite Your Passion for Living†speaks to the magic of goal setting and the adrenaline rush it creates. Take a look and see if just reading about this simple but fantastic technique doesn’t get you excited and maybe even a little addicted to the goal setting high.
To inspire you, I have put together a collection of my videos and interviews on YouTube. Just go to: http://www.youtube.com/user/tmassociates1
Build Your Passion for Life Through Constant Challenges
These past few weeks have been extremely busy for me. Besides working on and traveling for interviews, TV spots, and other promotions for my book, my wife Kimberly and I have been building a new home. We are at the point where we are moving in but are still in the middle of completing most of the rooms which makes life in general rather chaotic, to say the least.
There is nothing I’ve done in real estate that has been quite like the experience we’re having in building our own place. It’s both thrilling and stressful, the process is intriguing, and nearly every day presents a new, often minor, but still necessary challenge to deal with. I am very grateful that my wife has been steering most of the decision making—her great taste is turning the house into a true masterpiece—but it is still a stress and a challenge for both of us.
Now, we could be letting ourselves get exceedingly frustrated and have that color our overall experience. We could also just step back and let the contractors make all the decisions and end up with something livable but not uniquely us. We could have given into easy and quick methods and had this done already. But this place will be a sanctuary for us and a place to gather and build memories with family and friends. So, even though giving this our hands on attention has been time consuming and trying, it is another great challenge and an energizing experience that we know continues to feed our passion for life.
As I talk about in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living, keeping your passion for life strong means constantly challenging yourself. This should be applied to all areas of your life. Whether you’re changing your financial situation, simply trying to improve your cooking skills, or building a home, put the greatest effort into your goal to get the most you can out of it and to grow your passion for everything you do.
Treasure Your Loved Ones
This past month my wife had a big milestone birthday so I threw a huge party for her complete with a lavish spread, entertainment, and friends from all over. It was such a joy to see her surprise and delight at walking in on such an affair. But it still seemed like such a small thing considering how much she has done for me. Not only has she stayed by my side all these years but she has been my primary support in all the many endeavors I’ve gotten into, she’s kept me in line when if I’ve gotten a little out of hand, and, most importantly, she believes in me and the life we share.
I am not sure how much I would have accomplished without her. I certainly would not have enjoyed all I’ve done nearly so much, nor pushed myself quite as hard, as I have with her by my side. But we have all seen too many remarkable people jeopardize the very relationships that give their accomplishments that greater, personal significance and satisfaction. Consider carefully who you want to have by your side when you reach your goals. Would it be your spouse who has seen you through the hard times and truly knows how important what you have done is to you, or a stranger who came around just as you were reaching your pinnacle of success?
I simply want to say that no matter what you do, no matter how hard you have to work, or how your life changes as you progress towards your goals, do not ignore or forget the people that have stood by you. Do not work so much that you don’t have time to spend with your spouse and kids or that you forget to share all your little successes with the people most important to you. Reaching a long sought after goal is a tremendous feeling, but ultimately it is an empty accomplishment if you don’t have the people you love close to you when you reach it.
If you haven’t done so already, be sure to add to your B-RAM list how your goals will improve the lives or support the dreams of the people you care about and how you will feel when they see what you have accomplished. (See Chapter 7 in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living on how to develop great B-RAM lists) And always treasure the ones you love.
The Time to Start is Now
This coming week is when you start getting asked, “What are you New Year’s resolutions?†Hopefully you have a detailed, clear, and measurable set of resolutions to answer that question with. If you’ve got that–fantastic. But now, when do you start on it? Without a start date and the first few actionable steps planned out, what chance do your dreams have of becoming real?
My first suggestion is that you make your start date TODAY. That’s right, start now. There is no reason in the world that you can’t take those first, maybe very small but necessary steps, towards your goals. If you haven’t clearly defined your goal, then that is your first step. If you know what your goal is but you haven’t written out the first steps, then your first actionable step is to make that list. And the first thing on that list should be the next step you’ll take, scheduled, if not for the same day, the very next day. You should always know what the next step is and exactly when you will take action on it. A lack of specific planning is the death knell for most dreams.
Now as I mention in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living, you don’t need to know every details of every step you will need to take to reach your dreams. Much of what you’ll need to do will only become obvious as you progress. The important thing is to keep moving forward. There will be times that you will have to take two steps back and head in another direction but the fact that you are continuously working towards your goal guarantees you will reach it! The only way you’ll fail is if you stop working towards it.
So whatever your New Year’s resolutions are, whatever goals and dreams you want to realize in 2010, don’t just talk about them, get them done. Start now, keep it going, and look forward to an amazing year.
Being Healthy: Your Umbrella Goal for Life
During the last few weeks, I’ve been talking about health and the benefits of a good diet and hopefully it’s inspired you to eat better. The question is, are you, or will you be committed to it, not just for the near future but for life?
Getting down to an ideal weight and getting off junk food are great goals but your hard efforts will be wasted if you don’t make it a modification to your lifestyle rather not just a temporary change.
As I mentioned about the CRON diet last week, these healthier eating habits can lengthen your life—an actual fountain of youth! But if you can’t keep it up, it probably won’t get you halfway near the 140 years that the CRON scientists believe a healthy person can reach.
If you lose 30 pounds then gain back 20 a few months later, lose another 10, gain another 15, and keep this yo-yo dieting going, you aren’t helping your health at all. In fact you’re stressing your system. Same goes for the ‘occasional’ junk food meal. Can a coke addict get high just once in a while?
The bottom line is, you have to decide that you want to live healthy–determine the specific weight you want to reach and stay at, commit to eating healthy, minimally processed, whole foods, and keep active. Look at this commitment as a commitment for life, an umbrella goal that will support every other goal you make but giving you the health and energy to pursue all your dreams.
So be good to yourself these next few weeks and aim to eat and live healthy for the rest of your life. You can start by reading Chapter 10: An Umbrella Goal for Life in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. As I explain, 42 days is all it takes to form a new eating habit. After that it’s just a little bit of vigilance.
Use the goal planning tips in my book and you’ll certainly get there. Do this for yourself, your family, and, of course, for the success of all your dreams.
The CRON Diet: The Fountain of Youth
Alright, last week I promised to share with you the diet that I truly believe (and there are lab results to support this as well) will greatly extend your life as well as help you live better. Is this all going to come from a change in what you eat? Yes, believe it or not, it certainly is.
The diet I’m talking about is known as the CRON diet (Calorie restricted, optimum nutrition). The ideas is that you will keep your caloric intake down enough to keep lean while still giving your body all the supportive, energizing nutrition it needs to stay healthy.
Studies involving this particular diet showed significant increases in longevity and health in laboratory mice. Not only that, I can attest to the fact that ever since I’ve changed my eating habits to follow the CRON guidelines, I’ve had more energy, more ease of movement, and I just look better. All this adds up to a much younger attitude and feeling. And who wouldn’t want that?
This diet is not as difficult as the name might make it out to be. You don’t go hungry and you aren’t forever cut off from your favorite foods. You just make better regular choices and watch your portions. Here are the basic guidelines:
•   Focus on eating low calorie, high nutrient foods such as vegetables and fruits.
•   Just a couple small servings of protein in the form of fish, lean meat, nuts, beans, soy, and egg whites are enough.
•   Greatly reduce the consumption of processed foods and sugary drinks. These foods have had the nutrients processed out of them and usually have a lot of sugars and fats added back—the characteristic “empty calorie†which does nothing but add to your waistline.
•   Cut back on high calorie, minimally nutritious fats except omega 3 fatty acids found in fish and flaxseed.
•   Cut back on starches, eating whole grains and smaller portions.
•   Eat 4-6 small, balanced meals throughout the day rather then a couple large ones.
•   Learn to eat well before you try to lose weight. Once you are eating more nutritious, lower calorie foods, you can start cutting back on total calories to reach your optimum weight. Lose slowly, at a rate of 1%-2% of your present weight a month. This gives your body time to adjust which is easier on you and makes it more likely that the weight will stay off.
Now, that’s not a very scary diet, is it? No special foods or meal preparations are needed. Just your determination to be good to yourself. Go ahead and discuss this diet with your doctor. Find out what a good, lean target weight is for you and then go out and get one of the books on this diet and educate yourself.
Look over the CR (Calorie Restriction) Society website (http://www.crsociety.org) to get a list of the best books on this subject. Then take the 42 day challenge as described in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. In just six weeks you can be feeling younger than you have in years.
The ‘Fast’ Way to Great Health
Have you started thinking about your New Year’s resolutions yet? I hope your health is on the top of the list. If the chilling information about junk food and its addictive qualities from last week’s blog didn’t get you motivated, how about the wonderful news that you can boost your energy, enhance your mental acuity, decrease pain, lose weight, eliminate fatigue, and feel young again in just a few days? You can do this. I have. With fasting.
I fast for just 48 to 72 hours every 3 or 4 months to get these huge benefits and know that it is key in making me feel younger and keeping myself healthy.
Fasting is simply a period in which you abstain from food but drink fluids in sufficient quantity to take care of your thirst and physiologic requirements. With no food coming in, the body no longer has to focus on digestion and getting rid of the toxins that come in with the food.
Instead, the body will turn to breaking down malignant substances, repairing damaged tissue, and cleansing itself of the toxins that have built up in your tissues over time. As damage is repaired and the toxic load is reduced, your cells are able to function at more efficient and beneficial levels. This optimal functioning at the cellular level is the source of the many benefits of fasting.
Keep in mind, there is a right way and a wrong way to fast and it’s not for everyone. Before you try fasting, get your doctor’s okay and then get his or her recommendation for a fasting regimen or a reputable book on the subject that can guide you.
Next week, I’ll let you in on the one diet that can actually help you live longer as well as better. And don’t forget, I talk about many of these things in my book, How to Ignite Your Passion for Living. If you don’t have your own copy, get it now to help you focus your New Year’s resolution. If you do have it, give a copy or two to friends and family and help them grow their passion for living.
Kicking the Junk Food Habit
Last week I talked about keeping focused on your health during the holidays. But why make this just a holiday focus? We are faced with poor food choices all day long. We’re grabbing trans-fat laden pastries for breakfast, dashing through drive-up windows for lunch, and are lulled into the eating out of boxes for dinner by their ease and convenience.
The thing is these empty, processed foods have a cumulative and addictive effect that gets harder to kick the longer we allow them to persist in our diet. Fats and sugars are primary culprits. There have been studies that show that sugar triggers the production of the brain’s natural opioids which we respond to in the same way as other addictive narcotics—with a craving that just increases each time we have some. Significant fat intake, on the other hand, has the affect of increasing our resistance to leptin, the chemical that signals us to stop eating. Now put the two together … it’s no wonder we crave everything super sized!
The end result is we gain weight, the empty calories actually drain us of vital nutrients, we lose energy and the unhealthy feeling we end up with saps our motivation to push forward with our goals and dreams. It’s no way to live.
So if you haven’t already, kick the addiction and start paying attention to what you are putting into your body. Just take a moment to assess your healthiest option when you are out to eat and plan to keep fresh, lean, and whole foods available at home and at work so you don’t feel forced to succumb to that easily accessible junk food. You will feel so much better and get so much more done.
Next week I’ll talk about some specific healthy habits that have not only helped to kept me healthy but have increase my zest for life. And while planning your gift giving this season, keep my book, “How To Ignite Your Passion for Living†in mind. There is nothing better than giving a gift that will help improve the lives of your friends and family.
Keeping on Track During the Holiday Season
Next week is Thanksgiving. Soon after that there’s Christmas and then New Years. It’s that dreaded holiday time when we are faced with many a temptation and sticking to goals, especially healthy diets, is very difficult. It doesn’t take much to regain that hard won weight loss or bring your health down and it can be infinitely harder to get back to a where you want to be.
So for the next few weeks I thought I’d focus on healthy eating in this time of endless traps. Staying healthy is important to keeping up your energy and motivation in order to accomplish all the great things you have planned. So don’t let a little too much pumpkin pie spoil it for you.
Keep in mind, staying healthy during the holidays doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy yourself. In fact, you should go out there and celebrate with gusto. Just be discerning about what and how much you eat or drink. To do so, just follow a few simple rules:
–Go ahead and enjoy a rum ball or two but not too much. And don’t fall into the “I’ve already been bad, I might as well not worry about it now†mentality and overindulge or tell yourself you’ll do better after the holidays. Let yourself have the occasional treat then get back to your healthy diet.
–At the parties stay active to keep your metabolism up and keep you too busy to visit the buffet table. Dance, participate in all the games, wander the room, and mingle.
–Keep your eye on the big picture. Review your goals and what you want out of your life daily so it’s at the forefront of you mind when the cookies get passed around the office.
Use any other tricks you know to keep you on track for your specific health and diet goals. You can also read more about the importance of health and great things you can do to improve it in Chapter Ten of my book, How To Ignite Your Passion for Living.
