MAKE IT A PRIORITY THIS WEEKEND 😊

It is the weekend and we deserve to relax. However, we also deserve to live a life where our dreams are accomplished. One way to make this happen is to realize that what we do is based on what we find important. Perhaps you are thinking that after working all week, you need your rest this weekend. Maybe your weekend is filled with plans with family and friends? Then getting up early could be the answer for reaching your goals. I can hear the responses now. “Get up early?” “On the weekend?” Most people say they are not morning people. If spending an hour a day could help you write that book you have always wanted to do, would you do it? What about starting that new business you dreamed of? If it is important to you, waking up early is not that difficult. If I were to tell you that you could have 5 million dollars if you met me at a coffee shop at 6am, where would you be at 5:59? Why? Because 5 million dollars would change your life.

What works even better is if you do take the weekends off. Schedule your hour first thing in the morning. That way everyone is still sleeping. You can make yourself a nice cup of coffee and focus on your goals. You might think it would not be worth it to wake up a whole hour before you actually have to. Let me give you some numbers. If you work one hour a day on your dreams and goals. If you only do it during the week and take the weekends off, how much time is that? That would be 260 extra hours a year. That is 32 and a half 8 hour days, or over 4 and a half working weeks dedicated to achieving whatever goal you are pursuing. How much further do you think you could get with that extra time?

I usually write for an hour after work as I already wake up at 4am. That still gives me the time we mentioned. In addition to the 55 hours I work at my day job, I have managed to write 2 books in the last year. I have also delivered blogs for the last 330 days straight. All from an hour a day. Try dedicating a focused hour of your day, only 5 days a week to your goals and see what happens. Do this for a month straight and see how much you can accomplish. You will be amazed!

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH THIS. 👫

There are many self-improvement aspects that seem like an obvious conclusion to me. One of those is that you tend to be like the 5 people you surround yourself with the most. Stop and take a mental inventory of the 5 people you spend the most time around. Can you see things you all have in common? The ironic thing is that this is one of the things people really seem to push back on. I am not sure why. If you surround yourself with people who are poor and struggling to manage their money, it is highly unlikely you will learn any financial skills from them. “I am going to be the difference!” I hear people say all of the time. It is true, that you could be the one who changes the group you hang out in. It is rather like swimming up stream, however.

Let us say you are trying to live a life that is more positive and inspired. Your friends, on the other hand, are a rather negative bunch. While you may be reading inspirational books, listening to some inspiring podcasts and whatever else you can think of to change your state, you are going to be surrounded by people who are pointing out what is wrong in the world, telling you about their medical problems, and generally being in a depressed state. That will make it a little more difficult for you to look on the sunny side of the street. Going back to our earlier financial example, if you are looking to get yourself on a good financial footing, but your friends constantly find themselves brook, it could be a long road. Maybe you could read books on investing, talk to a financial advisor and set up an automatic savings deposit. However, your friends will be showing your their purchases from Amazon, ordering out dinner every night, wearing the most expensive brand shoes and clothes and wondering how to pay the electric bill. Which one of them will help assure you of a happy retirement?

I am not telling you that you have to get rid of all of your friends, or even some of your friends. Merely suggesting that if you would like to improve your life and do so in an easier way, you might want to consider who you spend a good deal of time around. Think of people who embody traits you would like to have. Consider those people who you feel could teach, inspire and encourage you on your journey. Then, make a point of taking them out to dinner or for a coffee. Just soak up their energy. While doing so make sure to share yours as well. Be authentically yourself. You will shine your light and attract those who you can serve by just being you. The greatest part about this life-improving lesson is that you have total control over it. Who you choose to spend your time around, for the most part, is up to you. Make sure you make this decision wisely as it has a great impact.

HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL 🤔

This weekend make sure to take time to recharge. However, be aware we also need to put in the effort. Getting ahead means doing the little extra that others won’t. That means putting in some hours at night, and yes on weekends, to pursue that big dream or goal of ours.

The level of success that we achieve has a direct correlation with the amount of effort we put in. That is ax thought worth keeping in mind this weekend. When you feel like binge watching a show, or spending all day in bed, ask yourself how successful you really want to be. If you are not looking to be that successful, than stay in front of that television or in that bed. Since you are reading a blog about the secrets to an amazing life, I’m guessing you want more. Remember, you can only achieve more, by doing more!

1 SIMPLE GOAL WILL GIVE YOU AN AMAZING LIFE!☝️

If you make becoming the best version of yourself your goal, you will succeed in every area of your life. Let us take a second and think of this. If we become the best version of ourselves at work, that will make us one of the best employees. Become the best version of yourself in your friendship? Who wouldn’t want to have a friend who is the best listener, best conversationalist they can be?

This leads us to the area in which this succeeds the greatest. Being our best selves in our intimate relationship will catapult that relationship to new heights! It is my first advice to anyone having relationship trouble. Work harder on yourself than even on your relationship. Why? You will be bringing your best to the person you love. This will do one of two things. It will either impress them with your effort and improvement, which is what we hope. Even if the relationship ends, you will save yourself the worst emotion. That emotion is regret. There will be no “would have” or “should have”. You will know you brought the best of yourself to the relationship. You also will be setting yourself up the best for the future.

If you are overwhelmed and wondering where to start, just start with yourself. By improving yourself, you will be improving every area of your life. This one habit will improve every area of your life!

NECESSARY FOR PROGRESS 👷‍♂️

Many people forget that the weekend is a great time to make progress on their life goals. Yes,I get it. You have just worked all week and want to relax,and you should. Still, if we hope to see any progress in life,we must take action.

I work 50 hours a week at my day job. I also DJ on Sunday. Guess how I feel a good deal of the time? If your answer was “What is tired Alex?” (my nod to the show jeopardy) you would be correct. Most nights I would love nothing more than to come home and collapse in the arms of the lady I love. If I did that, I might not be as physically tired, but I would have no spiritual satisfaction.

Although writing a blog every day and working on my fourth book, to say nothing of promoting both, takes time from an already busy schedule, it also provides satisfaction. Without the action I take, my life would feel unfulfilled. Actions give us a feeling of progress. That can lead to momentum. So write a page towards that novel you dreamt of creating. Start on that painting. Work on that business plan.

It is important to get rest, but make sure you are also taking action toward reaching your goals. It will give your life a sense of meaning and you a feeling of fulfillment.

ARE YOU DOING BOTH?🤔

I love this reminder. Words you hear all over social media and in a lot of self-improvement sectors are words like ‘hustle’ and ‘grind’. Sure, working hard is important. It is what allows us to rise above the crowd and become the best version of ourselves. What makes no sense is working so hard that we sacrifice the enjoyment of life. It is true that we have to make choices in regards to our priorities. We might have to skip that shopping trip that sounds fun to make sure what we need to do around the house gets done. It may not be as enjoyable, but we will feel better long term. The key is to find a way to enjoy cleaning the house.

Whatever your goal in life is, make sure to add “enjoy the process” to the list. Not only will you enjoy chasing that goal more, but you will enjoy that part of your life more. After all, isn’t that the goal? To enjoy as much of our life as possible.

ONE SMALL STEP…🚶‍♂️

A lot of us are looking to make a great change in the world. I can appreciate that. It is my own desire to be a best-selling author who positively impacts the lives of millions. In our urgency to create drastic change, we must keep in mind that every journey starts with that first step. We look forward to the end result we are pursuing, but seldom take a hard look at those first steps. Life seldom creates change all at once. The odds I am going to wake up as a best-selling author tomorrow are fairly slim. (Oprah, you know the number. Feel free to call.)

My work as a life coach reminds me often of how to accomplish large goals. In life coaching, we take a look at where someone wants to go first. Let us take the example of wanting to be a best-selling author who positively impacts millions. Good goal. Next, we take a look at where that person is. In this case, a local author working diligently on his fourth book. Then we work backwards to develop a list of smaller goals to bridge the gap from where that person is to where they want to go. When you work backwards like this, you can begin to see the value in the smaller steps you must take.

NEIL PANOSIAN

In the case of me becoming a best-selling author, I need to take some steps to get there. One of the first steps was to write a book. That sounds like an obvious first step. What we need to do is drill down even further. We need to write the first chapter, the first line, the first word. Even before we write anything we need to consolidate our ideas and research and organize them. After we write, we must decide what route to go for publishing. Even after the book is in our hands, we need to discover the best way to get it into everyone else’s hands. If we focused on how to get our book to the masses before we even write it, that would not be very productive.

Whatever goal you are currently chasing, try using the same process we just outlined. Get clear what the goal you are working to accomplish is. Next, discover honestly where you are currently. This is a step many people struggle with. Think of a map. If you have a place you would like to get to, but you do not know where you are, how would you even know what direction to travel in? Next, break down that journey into smaller and smaller steps. The more steps you have, the more likely you are to continue to make progress. Once you begin to make progress, then you gain momentum. That will keep you going. Before long your goal will be in sight. Take that first small step. You never know where it may lead.