Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours
December 05, 2003
Your Success Rating
Got a nifty little thing for you to try today.
This past week I took a couple of sheets of notebook paper and found out some interesting things about myself.
On one sheet I put at the top: "Things I've accomplished I'm most proud of"....then I made a list of all the things
I could think of that I've done.....like homeschooling my son, starting an Internet business, learning to build web pages,
coaching baseball, etc.
Next page I listed all my perceived strengths.
Next page I listed all my perceived weaknesses.
Next page I rated how successful I thought I was at for
different areas of my life like:
spiritual
business
physical
relationships
financial
mental
I rated each area on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being horrible, and 10 being tops.
Next page I rated all the people I personally knew
as to how successful I perceived them to be. The most
successful people I personally knew in life had a 10 rating.
I discovered that how I rated myself was about an average of what I had rated all those people around me. I also
discovered that my annual income was really pretty close to what most of those people around me were making.
Using the above info, then I wrote down various things I
needed to do to "improve" my own success rating of myself in the various areas. And went on to make a list of the
things I wanted to do for December to improve each area.
Actually it only took me about 45 minutes to do all of that and only cost me a bit of ink from my pen, but I found that
it was quite a stimulating and motivating exercise.
It gave me some good direction on where I needed to improve and what I wanted to grow in.
You might give it a try this week and see how it works for yourself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Did you know that most people take more time planning out their vacations than they do in planning our their lives?
Really kind of strange isn't it.
While you're doing the above exercise, why not take 10
minutes and write down some things you really want to
do in your life. Believe it or not, that is the very first thing
that almost all success coachs and success experts think
a person should do in order to accomplish your desires.
And yet, so few folks do it.
If you get in your car to take a vacation, but don't have a clue where you want to go....what kind of vacation are you
going to have?
Same thing with life.
If you float around without any clear cut direction or without any definite things you want to accomplish, just what do you
think you'll end up with?
An Unwritten Goal is A Dream Not Lived!
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Looking Forward
When there's something positive you're looking forward to, it's difficult for anything to get you down. Think, for example,
how great you can feel on the day before an eagerly awaited vacation trip.
When you see yourself moving toward something desirable, the difficulties along the way become much easier to bear. When
there is something to which you can eagerly look forward, you will indeed move quickly forward.
Positive, meaningful goals are powerful in one sense because they provide a clearly defined direction to follow. Yet they're
also powerful because they provide a bright, shining light at the end of a tunnel that can often be dark and forbidding.
What are you looking forward to right now? Is there something compelling and delightful that is pulling you ahead?
It takes no money or other resources to create a meaningful, compelling dream, whether it covers a day or a lifetime. Find
something you can truly look forward to, and let it keep you moving.
Ralph Marston
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Do You Know What You Really Want?
by Joel Garfinkle
Do you know what you really want? You may have difficulty with this question because the answer is hidden deep within you
buried beneath a sea of shoulds.
Over time, this dream can become almost invisible if we let it. What is most important is to learn how to separate the should
messages from what you truly want.
If we think about it, we rarely ask for what we want. I mean what we really want. If we are being completely truthful with ourselves,
we would never doubt ourselves and would be honoring exactly what we want most to do in every moment. Instead we live a life
based on shoulds instead of wants.
Some shoulds that most people have are: I should work more than 40 hour weeks. I should exercise more. I should lose weight.
I should get an advanced degree and become a doctor, accountant, or lawyer. I should stay at this job even when I'm not fulfilled. I should, I should, I should.
You must not do something simply because someone else chose it for you. Your life is too important to live it based on a should.
How do we get from our shoulds to our authentic wants or desires? Begin to be aware whether what you are asking for is what you
really want. Next, it's important to continue practicing asking
for what you want, whether small or large wants. For example, some little things you can ask for at work are, I want to leave early from work today, I want to take a 90 minute
lunch, I want someone else to do the administrative tasks.
If you aren't clear on what you want, then your mind will be clouded with shoulds. Thus, you will have more hurdles to surmount
to get what you want.
Even when you do work that you enjoy or love, you may still have that nagging feeling that you're not doing what you should be
doing based on family, culture, community, society, peers and teachers.
When you take the time to clarify what you want, however, you're more likely to clearly ask for it and get it. In the end, the only
thing you "should" be doing is whatever gives you the greatest amount of passion!
Recognize that to be happy, you must live the life that you truly want to live. It's your life and you are the only one who can truly
determine what is right for you. There is no tragedy in shooting for your dreams; the tragedy is in looking back on your life and
saying "I wish I'd ?".
Georgia Anne Geyer said, "Follow what you love. Don't deign to ask what "they" are looking for out there. Ask what you have inside.
Follow not your interests, which change, but what you are and what you love..."
-------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2003, Joel Garfinkle, All Rights Reserved
Joel Garfinkle provides a step-by-step Dream Job process that has guided thousands of clients to find the perfect job and reach
career fulfillment.
For Career Coaching Services:
http://www.dreamjobcoaching.com/coaching.shtml
Back To Index of All
Prosperity Newsletters
Search Our Site
