Your First and Most Important Goals for 2010
By Michael Masterson
Before you rush into setting a bunch of goals for 2010, there is something you must do. You must identify one significant goal for each of the four most important areas of your life: 1. Your health -- without which most of the others don't matter
2. Your wealth -- which is undeniably important, so treat it as such
3. Your personal self -- your hobbies and interests
4. Your social self -- your friends, family, and community Make each of these four goals very specific. Let's say your health goal is fitness-oriented -- maybe to become measurably stronger, leaner, more flexible, and to have greater endurance. Specifically, that would mean adding three pounds of muscle to your body, taking off four pounds of fat, being able to do a proper Sun Salutation in yoga, and running a mile in seven minutes. You see how it works? Your job today is to set these four big goals. To set them and commit to them. The upcoming year can be the healthiest, wealthiest, and wisest year of your life. It starts today. -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Having Trouble Getting Motivated? - It happens to the best of us. But if procrastination becomes a habit -- you're doomed! Let success mentor Bob Cox share with you his strategies for avoiding this pitfall. And that's just a small taste of the techniques he's got on offer...
"You must take action now that will move you toward your goals. Develop a sense of urgency in your life." H. Jackson Brown Jr. I've written a lot about the importance of acting sooner rather than later, without waiting to figure out everything in advance. Human motivation certainly plays a role here. Nothing says this more succinctly than marketing guru Joe Vitale's aphorism: Money loves speed. When I mentioned this in a recent teleseminar, one of the callers asked if I could be more specific. He wanted to know why money loves speed. Before I answer that, let me say that this is not just true about money. It's true in all areas of life. I don't recall ever succeeding at something because I got there last. - If you want to buy tickets from a scalper for a big game that's sold out, get there first. Tickets love speed.
- If you want a job that you just found out about, get there first. Jobs love speed.
- If you want to win the guy or gal who has your heart pounding, get there first. Guys and gals love speed.
- If you want to get the investment property that just came on the market, get there first. Investment properties love speed.
And so on. Because success, in general, loves speed. So, why does success love speed? The answer is to be found in the dictionary. Action is defined as "the causation of change." Whatever result you want, it's a change from what you now have. By definition, then, a change has to take place for you to get from your present status to that result. Following are some of the more important reasons why I believe action begets results. 1. When you do too much planning, there's a tendency to think of one reason after another why what you're contemplating won't work. Many of the reasons you come up with may be correct. But the important thing is that it doesn't matter. Why? Because, as you move forward, circumstances continually change -- and those changes often render irrelevant many of the concerns you may have had before taking action. In other words, don't try to figure out steps two, three, and four before taking step one. The legendary Joe Karbo once told me that he ran his first ad for The Lazy Man's Way to Riches (a million-copy seller) before he even began to write the book! In fact, he told me that the ad he wrote served as an outline for the book itself. Talk about going against conventional wisdom... 2. When you procrastinate, you tend to lose your enthusiasm. Homeostasis -- the tendency to live with existing conditions and avoid change -- sets in. You get comfortable with the way things are and allow your great idea to fade into the comfort zone of oblivion. But when you take action, your creative juices flow faster, your resourcefulness kicks into high gear, and the things, people, and circumstances you need to accomplish your objectives are drawn to you almost like magic. As a result, your motivation to succeed becomes elevated. This is not hocus-pocus. I've done it enough times to be able to assure you that it really works. 3. Even though changing circumstances often negate many initial concerns you may have had, they can also place new obstacles in your path. If you wait too long before taking action, the opportunity may become less and less appealing to you as those obstacles start to make their appearance. I wrote about this danger in my book To Be or Not to Be Intimidated? under the auspices of the Fiddle Theory. The Fiddle Theory states: "The longer you fiddle around with a deal, the greater the odds that it will never close." Time is your ally when you take action, but time is a two-sided coin. If you hesitate or procrastinate, time becomes your worst enemy. As a general rule, I assume that if I take action, perceived problems will tend to disappear and that the more I hesitate, the more time there is for new obstacles to make their appearance. 4. Perhaps the most important reason of all for taking action now is that time is finite. No matter how proficient you are, you can only accomplish so much in a lifetime. Every second that's wasted reduces the totality of what you can accomplish by one second. Some people maintain that a constant feeling of urgency to accomplish more is stressful, but I find the opposite to be true. I feel more stress when I procrastinate -- when I'm not doing what I know I should be doing. There's not a worse feeling in the world than to be conscious of the fact that your finite supply of time is ticking away while you focus on straightening your desk drawer. Of course, nothing in life is perfect. There will be times when moving too fast can end up hurting you. But, on balance, the empirical evidence derived from my own experience has convinced me that what I gain from moving fast far outweighs the losses I may incur as a result of too little planning. That being the case, when you fall -- and you will fall -- simply pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and take more action. Success could care less about mistakes. Success loves action -- and human motivation leads to action. [Ed. Note: To learn how to survive and prosper during the turbulent years ahead, check out Robert Ringer's powerful audio series Succeeding in a World of Chaos. And be sure to sign up for a FREE subscription to his one-of-a-kind e-letter A Voice of Sanity in an Insane World.] -----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended ----------------------------------------------------- Ready to Get Started on Your Business? - With the Internet Money Club, you'll greatly reduce your learning curve. Even if you know nothing about doing business online, IMC will get you up to speed -- and making money -- in a matter of months. Find out more here...
How to Become Wealthier in the Next Year by Creating a Second Income
By Michael Masterson
I have a suggestion for your 2010 wealth goal: To create a second stream of income by starting your own business. This is not the only way to get rich, but it is -- far and away -- the most reliable way. It's also the way that most wealthy people got that way. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of small businesses you could start. With the Internet, there is virtually nothing you like to do that can't be turned into a business. And there is no limit to the number of new businesses the Internet, with its worldwide reach, can absorb. If you have an idea for a product or service that is needed or simply wanted, you can be successful. And you will be successful if you make a commitment to become the smartest person you know about the business you want to start. You do that by reading the industry press voraciously, taking home-study programs, seeking the advice of experts, networking, and more. Make yourself a promise to devote a good part of your time next year to starting a side business. Allocate learning time every week. Develop a business plan. Make at least one new contact every month -- a contact that can help you build your business. Set a specific financial target for your first year in business, and reach that target by figuring out what you have to accomplish every month to get there. Break those monthly targets down to weekly objectives, and the weekly objectives down to daily tasks. Get going. Choose a business you like. Learn everything you can about it. Have fun with it. And make some money. -----------------------------------------------------Advertisement----------------------------------------------------- When was the last time you slept (uninterrupted) for 8 straight hours? Dr. Jim LaValle (known as the "Doctor's Doctor" because of his packed educational lectures to physicians) has just released a report with the secrets of how to get back to sleeping straight through the night... without drugs... in just 14 days. In it, you'll discover: - How to eliminate the #1 reason why you toss and turn for hours (Your spouse will thank you, too!)
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Holiday Fun Facts: New Year Superstitions
By Michael Masterson There are many New Year superstitions with ancient origins that are still held by some today. For example: - Empty cupboards on New Year's Eve mean a year of poverty ahead.
- To drive away evil spirits, make as much noise as possible beginning at the stroke of midnight.
- Opening all the doors of the house at midnight will ensure that the old year can leave, making room for the New Year.
- A baby born on New Year's Day will bring good luck to the whole family.
- Do not let anything, even garbage, leave the house on New Year's Day.
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Another Early to Riser Writes In... "In response to your ETR article about rising early, I definitely think that early risers accomplish more. "As I write this, it's 5:17 a.m., and I've been up for over an hour. I've already eaten a healthy breakfast, reviewed my goals for today, and started on a major project. I know the phones won't start ringing for hours, and I have a jump on my day. "Most people think I'm nuts. But, let's face it. While most of them need to commute to a drab, cubicle office, deal with petty, office gossip and schedule vacation time way in advance, I work from home, set my own hours, and create the career I want -- so there must be something about working in the early morning that leads to success. "Early mornings provide a special time when all is quiet and you can hear yourself think. Now many people are just not programmed to get up early. But for those of us who are, it's a great time to be creative, finish projects fast, and get a jump on the competition. "I think the early bird not only gets the worm, but a big paycheck too!" Melanie Rembrandt
-----------------------------------------------------Highly Recommended----------------------------------------------------- So Where Do You Invest Your Money? - Making money with traditional investments is a bit haphazard these days. If you haven't noticed... But certain "off the Street" investments are booming. Why? Because they make money whether the market goes up or down. Find out more about them here.
Today's Words That Work: Empirical Empirical (em-PIR-ih-kul) -- from the Greek for "experienced" -- means firsthand, gained by experiment or observation rather than by reasoning alone. Example (as used by Robert Ringer today): "The empirical evidence derived from my own experience has convinced me that what I gain from moving fast far outweighs the losses I may incur as a result of too little planning."
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