New post at Success Mindsets on Greatness

New post at http://www.success-mindsets.com/greatness/ on the need to pursue greatness in life. Visit the site and leave comments. Share how you pursue greatness in your daily life! :)

Pursuing and Achieving Your Dreams

When it comes to pursuing and achieving goals there are generally three kinds of attitudes that people adopt. Some adopt the attitude that although the world is a good place, filled with good things – only certain people can eat from this table of abundance. They are not always able to put their finger on why these people are able to reap such wonderful rewards from life and not them and as a result they refer to this ‘special’ group of people as the “lucky ones”. They go through life accepting what’s handed to them which sadly isn’t usually very much.

The second attitude that some adopt is that of the ‘try-getter’ as opposed to that of a ‘go-getter’. The people in this category live in a world of mediocrity. They show up but they never give 100%. They go through life trying – hoping that ‘thing’s will work out’. They try to be successful, they try to be happy, and they try to improve their lives. These people never really achieve anything earth shattering. They simply tip toe through life wondering why their efforts are not producing desirable results but they never really do anything about it. They mistake movement for progress and never realise that all their lives they have just been drawing figures of eight!

The third attitude that the remainder of the average population adopts is that of identifying what they want in life, going for it, and getting it! People with this attitude actually don’t know the meaning of such words as ‘no’ and ‘can’t’. They set their eyes on their prize and they do whatever it takes for as long it takes to achieve it. This group of people see what others regard as failure and the time to throw in the towel as a need to sharpen their saw, reset their sails and keep on moving towards becoming the best version of themselves that they know they can be. Click here to read more!

Visualisation and the use of Affirmations

I’ve often wondered why affirmations and visualisation are so powerful in their ability to keep us focused on where we desire to go in life. More specifically, I’ve wondered why it is necessary for us constantly bombard ourselves with images and thoughts of our hearts desires. Why is it difficult to make a decision to do or achieve something and mange to stay focused on that mission until it is completed? What is distracting us and ultimately causing us to need constant reminders to stay focused on the task at hand? And what is so captivating about this ‘thing’ that it continues to succeed in grabbing our attention from what’s really important time after time. My realisation has been that our society focuses on the negative. Now although this in itself is not a mind blowing conclusion, it does lead one to question why what we choose to focus on, rather than the ability to focus on something in itself, is the issue preventing us from reaching higher and more liberated levels of consciousness as human beings. In staying focused on the negative and downright depressing issues, we miss learning the true lessons of enlightenment, whose knowledge and understanding of are the real reason we are alive. So not only does being a pessimist mean that you don’t enjoy your journey called life, it also means that you completely miss the purpose of the visit! I’m not sure that anyone can really put their finger on WHY we’ve come to focus on all that’s ‘wrong’ with and in our lives. That said I feel that our culture of instant gratification has lead to us developing a thirst for more which can never be quenched, because we only appreciate what we have for all of about five seconds. Nothing is ever enough to cause us lasting happiness so the feeling of emptiness inevitably creeping back in! Click here to read more!

Your Beliefs and What They Mean For Your Success

What do the beliefs you hold about yourself say about what you think of yourself? Do they shout winner, leader, and pacesetter etc or do they shout loser, failure, and procrastinator etc? It’s been said by motivational greats that what you focus on expands and if you think you can, you are right, and if you think you can’t, you are right again! So what does this mean for the average person who is working their way to greatness? Firstly that our beliefs are everything when it comes to us developing into better versions of ourselves and secondly that this decision to become more than what we presently are, is just the starting point. After that is where the real work begins. Admittedly, making that decision in itself is admirable; however it does not end there. It takes genuine belief in one’s self, hard work, commitment and dedication to become the best that you can be at whatever it is that you do. On the road to greatness there are often many challenging obstacles to overcome. There will be times when those closest to us will doubt us and times when we will doubt ourselves. This is where the beliefs that we hold about ourselves come in. It is these beliefs which will either keep us motivated and making progress or that will cause us to give up when trying times come our way.

Our beliefs that we hold about ourselves essentially make or break us, which is why it is crucial to commit to developing a stellar set of beliefs. Using affirmations and the visualisation technique helps to develop a clear picture in your mind’s eye of what you are working toward. Taking into consideration that humans are visual creatures – these mental images of what you want to become then play a key role in boosting your beliefs about where you are headed to versus where you currently are. All too often people get so bogged down in their current situation that it can be hard to see beyond that unpleasant, unsuccessful and uninspired stage in their lives.

Commit to believing in yourself because no matter who else believes in you, if you do not genuinely believe that you have in you the potential to become the best, the greatest and the most, sadly their belief in you counts for nothing! Commit to being the best version of yourself that you can be. See yourself as that person TODAY! See yourself as a leader in your field who brings about positive change and inspires others to dare to reach for their greatness. As you do this and as you work tirelessly at your plan of action, you will begin to see results because as Robin Sharma so inspiringly puts it in his book The Leader Who Had No Title “excellent actions in negative conditions must eventually yield excellent effects”.

The gift of those around us....

As we strive toward perfection in our personal lives, it’s essential not to forget those around us. It’s all so easy to take for granted those that are nearest to us and in so doing, we ultimately neglect our relationships with them. Everyday is an opportunity to enrich the lives of those who we come into contact with. Everyday is an opportunity to pass on love, wisdom, kindness and positive energy, however this is only possible if we take the time to not only get to know those around us but to nurture our relationships with them. Commit to building deeper, more meaningful relationships, even with those who don’t seem all that significant in your life. We are all so diverse that to believe that only certain individuals can add value to our lives is detrimental to our growth as people. We can all learn something even from the people we ‘think’ are nobody’s because regardless of one’s profession, race, gender, likes and dislikes, ‘everybody knows a lesson worth learning’. Commit to being an individual who makes others feel like the most important person in the room and as you start to appreciate those around you, they too will begin to appreciate what you have to offer as a fellow amazing human being!

The Pursuit of the Worthwhile

The pursuit of the worthwhile either makes or breaks you. Not only does achieving success require one to realise that they will most definitely be obstacles along the way, it goes a step further and asks what these challenges will make of you. Will they break you and leave you a wounded soldier for life, in this game called life, or will they create in you an empowered individual, dedicated to becoming so much more than you presently are? Most of us settle for the former, completely unaware of the fact that we have a choice in the matter. The real question is, do we choose to immobilise ourselves during times of great change and challenges or do we choose to see obstacles as a measure of how badly we want success. Today, I choose the latter. I commit to keep going through any challenges that will present themselves on my road to success. I choose to believe that I truly can be ‘that which we can glimpse in our most perfect moments’. I choose to be a leader who orchestrates great change rather than waiting and hoping that greatness will come knocking at my door in search of me!

Adjusting the sail in times of change....

I now realise that I have been getting it wrong all this time. I’ve always viewed ‘difficult times’, be it in business or in life in general, as times to step back. When the going would get tough it was my understanding that one had to take a few steps back to avoid getting burnt by the roaring flames of unfavourable change. I now realise that when one is determined to achieve something it should be regardless of external circumstances. If one commits to being successful or great at anything only for as long as the conditions are favourable, they will not last five minutes! I’ve heard it said before that successful people are willing to do what unsuccessful people aren’t. I now appreciate a deeper meaning of that saying in the sense that these things that the successful people are willing to do don’t just refer to staying up later of waking up earlier. They refer to venturing into the unknown, the scary and the downright dangerous with ones head held high – determined to make it out the other end better, stronger and faster. Staying focused on the prize ahead now means that regardless of what I may encounter on the road to my success, I’ll keep going. The changes and obstacles which may present themselves simply mean that I should adjust my sail rather than throw in the towel. All the latter ensures is that my prize goes up for grabs for any and everyone! What a loss!