The hardest part in aiming for self-improvement is changing the way we think. Ideally, our thoughts and experiences are in a constant state of renewal. This is because we would be frequently exposed to new people and situations. However, the real world is the opposite. We would usually focus our mind to daily stressors. As we grow older and focus on our jobs, our friends are fewer and we repeat the same forms of recreation and mental stimulation. We even confine ourselves to the same social interaction.

However, this will not go on forever. We will wake up one day realizing we need to improve how we see the world. We need to change our cognitive patterns. Apparently, changing this will take a lot of effort. Below are five primary concepts to remember when we plan to change the way our minds think and the way we see the world.

First, you must do something you have never imagined doing. Get out of your comfort zone and embrace new recreational activities. If you love beach bumming, try activities that are physically straining such as bungee jumping, rock climbing, and trekking to name a few. Read books, articles, and magazines that does not interest you that much before. There is a variety of topics to choose from such as sports, politics, fashion, history, culture, music, and many others.

Second, meet new people with different perspectives, occupations and cultural backgrounds. People bring new ideas and perceptions. However, hanging out with people with the same perceptions as yours will only reinforce your own beliefs and might not help you see things in a different way. Furthermore, you might overlook your own mistakes, faults, and shortcomings. Forums and discussion rooms in the Internet may also help you expand your social circle and may provide venues for new insights.

Third, you must be aware of your thought processes, emotions, and moods. This will help you reconnect to your needs and real desires. In addition, many therapies for self-improvement have used self-awareness. Their methods have focused on personal exploration, understanding of the past, and acknowledgment of fears and mistakes. This is because you cannot change how you think without understanding why you think that way.

Fourth, stop doing the same daily routine. Insert a new activity in your calendar and schedule. By breaking your routines, your brain will open to fresh stimuli and create a new neural path. Go eat in a restaurant on day you are supposed to go to a bookstore. Go to a park and other gathering events that you do not frequently go to. If you love reading, try a different genre or an author.

Lastly, tell yourself repeatedly to think a different way. Using mantra is a popular method of self-improvement. This kind age-old method is also seen in religious practices where prayers are repeatedly recited. You may use your own customized mantra in doing this as long as it is something new. Then, try repeating your mantra whenever a situation presents itself as challenging your goal.

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Browsing the Internet using keywords such as self-improvement will lead you to several pages, articles, blogs, and sites that discuss self-help programs, giving tips on how to achieve goals, guidelines to create smooth working relationships, and many others. But what exactly is self-improvement?

Self-improvement is part of a larger system called personal development that involves programs, tools, and methods. Also known as self-help, self-improvement focuses on the level of individual which includes one’s goals, lifestyle, plans, dreams, and quality life to name a few. It is a self-guided improvement and self-help in terms of economic, intellectual and emotional aspects.

It is a continuous endeavor to improve one’s self by analyzing his actions, understanding his past, studying successful people, and taking action each day. Hence, if we say self-improvement, we mean uplifting self-esteem, developing self-awareness, skills and talents, improving self-knowledge, building or repairing identity, realizing goals and aspirations, and enhancing one’s quality of life.

An example of old self-help book is authored by Samuel Smiles in the 19th century. The book is titled “Self-help.” Another author of self-help books is Dale Carnegie who considered by many the pioneer of self-help movement. He wrote the book titled “How to Win Friends and Influence People” in the 20th century. In 1937, Napoleon Hill wrote the book “Think and Grow Rich” where he described the use of repeated positives thoughts to draw wealth.

Since then, various self-help books have been published discussing several issues such as women’s rights, marriage and wedding, religion and spirituality, leadership and goal setting, positive attitude, depression, and meditation.

A survey company estimated self-help and self-improvement materials to be worth around nine billion dollars in 2006. Infomercials, holistic institutes, books, personal coaching market, audio cassettes, and stress management programs are examples of the above mentioned materials.

Furthermore, there are different self-help movements that have varying focus, associated beliefs, proponents, leaders, techniques, and models. A common denominator to all is that they use available information from support group of people coming together because of similar experiences and interests.

An example of self-help groups is the ones for mental health such as Emotions Anonymous, Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance, and Recovery International. They are voluntary associations of people who share a common goal of overcoming mental illness or boost level of emotional being.

The self-help claims also received criticisms from scholars. One scholar called a self-help movement as ineffective in achieving its goals in 2005. Stand-up comedian George Carlin said that a person looking for help from somebody does not technically get “self” help. Following such argument, there is no such thing as self help.

The self-help subject also attracted the attention of parody writers making itself the topic of many parodies. An example is the book-length parody of Walker Percy, which included parodies on self-help. In addition, W.R. Morton and Nathanel Whitten authored a book titled “The Superoptimist” and introduced the term “superoptimism.” The term is a “humorous antidote to self-help book category.”

The criticism however led the field to further include the presence of scientific research and well-engineered models. As a result, the newly-established branch of self-improvement focuses analysis, design, and execution of qualitative personal growth. This branch is called personal effectiveness.

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If you’ve read any of the spiritual best sellers in print today, you’ll notice a familiar thread amongst them. They all ask us to look inside for our answers. This flies in the face of most organized religion which have exclusionary creeds and tenets which chastise us more than edify us.

Through introspection, so these books imply, we can find our purpose on the planet and begin to move toward creating a world where everyone knows and has their part and all take responsibility for it and themselves. A place where there is actually peace on earth and good will toward men. Is it a fantasy or is this not only possible but attainable in your lifetime?

The majority of people existing on this earth today, never begin to understand why they are here and what they should be doing with their lives. They continue to trade their time for money, and never receive anywhere near what their true worth is.

The answer lies in being able to determine or divine your true purpose in life. The key to finding your true purpose lies in your passions. By looking at the things in your life that you’re most passionate about, you can gain a good insight into what you life’s work might be.

Being successful is virtually guaranteed if you love what you’re doing. Long hours and grueling conditions seem to hold no significance to you if you’re completely focused on your goal and achieving it in the shortest time possible.

Look inside yourself  for your answers. You have all of the tools that you’ll ever need to be successful right within you. Take the time to get to know yourself better than you ever have and you’ll gain even more insight as to your life’s calling. Whether you love kids, teaching, fishing or collecting stamps; you can both earn money and enjoy what you’re doing at the same time.

People like Jack Canfield, Dr. Joe Rubino, Tony Robbins and many others can tell you the same thing. It’s as simple as making a choice and following through with it. When you condition yourself properly, you make winning and success a habit.

Once you realize the awesome rewards that come with successfully completing projects on time and under budget you’ll see that there’s no other way to do things and you fall into a winning, successful and profitable habit. These types of habits positively reinforce themselves thereby perpetuating the reward and gain from the effort put forth.

As the end of the year approaches, it invariably coaxes us into looking back on what we have and haven’t gotten done over the past 12 months.

Although some people make very public resolutions each January, the quiet reflection back on the dwindling year is done with either a solemn melancholy or a jaded smile. There is always so much more that we “wanted” to do.

Well, if you’re serious about moving forward into the new year and the beginning of the second decade of the new millennium, push your chair back, stand up, raise both hands in the air and shout,

“2010 IS GOING TO BE MY MOST SUCCESSFUL YEAR EVER!!”

…ok, you can sit back down now

Now, before you go making lists of resolutions about how you’re going to make your first million dollars this year, take a deep breath. Let’s look at this realistically.

Let’s say for a minute that you DO make a million bucks this year. Certain things MUST happen in order for you to see that become a reality.

Imagine, no…..BE that person that managed to make their first million in a year. How does it feel? No, really…how does it feel to have all of your bills paid?…how does it feel to be living in your dream home with NO mortgage?…how does the steering wheel of that new sports coupe feel in your hands?….how does it feel to run your business from anywhere in the world?

Once you’ve got the true sense of what that $1,000,000 would feel, smell, sound, taste and be like for you, take it to the next level. How many other people could you help with that kind of money (and more) in your accounts?

In order to get to that lifestyle that you so vehemently want and desire there are certain decisions that have to be made. There are also certain sacrifices that must take place. Are you willing to sacrifice now for the delayed gratification that seeing a successful project to fruition brings?

We’ve got to filter every decision that we make today, tomorrow and each and every day until that dream becomes reality, through our already successful mindset. Make the decisions each day that will make the difference in your tomorrows.

Please leave your own plans for the coming year in the comments section below. Share your dreams and you may find unexpected help.

Taking the time to really know yourself, to really trust what your attitudes, reactions and expectations will be in any given situation is one of the keys to being successful in anything that you do.

More and more business people are doing their own form of “restructuring”, except that it has nothing to do with the business that they’re in. Writers like Ekhart Tolle, Don Miguel Ruiz, Alberto Villoldo, Dan Millman and many others are influencing and changing the way that many business people view themselves and their lives.  Increased self knowledge will only help you make better business decisions.

Before you set out on the rising path toward success, you have to be sure that you know who you’re working with.

You are both your own best advocate and your own worst enemy. It all depends on your attitude and intent. If you allow yourself to fall into the corporate mentality that profit is the ONLY thing that you’re in business for you may be missing out on your true purpose and calling.

Just because you’ve always been an underachiever, doesn’t mean that you can’t turn those habits around and begin to trend toward choices that will provide more and better opportunities for you and your business. Begin right now to make the choices that will positively effect your tomorrows.

As they say, “Yesterday is history, tomorrow’s a mystery…today is a gift, that’s why they call it the “PRESENT”. Don’t miss the opportunities that arise each and every day. Don’t get caught up in the rhythms of the masses.

By the same token, just because you’ve always seemed to be in the right place at the right time for opportunities to “fall into your lap” doesn’t meant that the same will continually hold true. No matter what label you put on it, whether you call it karma, kismet, fate, destiny or luck, the fact is that what IS won’t necessarily always BE.

How secure can any of us feel in these trying times?

Millions of Americans are out of work right now. If you consider the scale and the value of the dollar, the chasm of this recession makes the great depression look like a golfer’s divot.

People want answers. They also want direction. Many have been in the same career positions for decades, only to find themselves now faced with a forced early retirement and a pension that won’t support them; if they were lucky enough to not lose that too.

Those same people are now having to look inside for the answers that they relied on their employers to provide. Simple questions that get taken for granted like; how will I pay for my groceries next week or how will I pay the mortgage?

What they’re discovering after looking within is that they have the strength and motivation to do whatever it takes to provide for themselves and their families.

As they re-evaluate and begin to re-structure their own lives many realize that there are things that they LOVE to do, but their corporate or factory job prevented them from ever enjoying them. That tinkering in the garage workshop or knitting afghans now becomes not only something that you love to do, but you begin to see it as a viable option for your future.

Therein lies one of the keys to success.

Make a living doing what you love and you’ll never WORK another day in your life.

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As we move into April, I’m taking the first turn in the subtle change of direction for The Rising Path Blog.

In this time of recession, more and more people have been faced with choices that they shouldn’t ever have to make. Choices that our grandparents had to make strengthened them and gave them the perseverance to see us through a Second World War. Many of us baby boomers still carry that same sense of resolve and determination with us today.

These tougher economic trends have forced people to re-evaluate what’s most important in their lives. Many are discovering that it’s not so much that shiny new BMW M3 that’s most important to them, but the freedom that being at home (or near it) affords them to be able to share and involve themselves in their family’s life.

The acronym SAHM is making a shift from “stay at home mom” to “stay at home millionaire”. Those SAHM’s and WAHM’s (work at home moms) were among the first to realize just how empowering owning your own business is and can be.

What started out as a hobby for a lot of these women very quickly became a source of extra income or “mad money”. With a bit of effort and some serendipitous meetings, many turned THAT into a viable business with tremendous profits and a duplicatable business plan.

Billionaires have been looking at many of the same businesses that the intrepid work-at-home entrepreneurs have. Warren Buffet was impressed enough with Pampered Chef that he purchased the company and it continues to be one of the top performers in the Direct Sales market.

What mom’s and entrepreneurs have known for a long time, Business Experts like Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki are beginning to see as a viable, profitable and essential part of helping to restore our economy; empowering individuals to own their own businesses in Network Marketing or Direct Sales.

It’s my sincere hope that as the changes take place here at The Rising Path, you will continue to be inspired by the writing and most especially the motivation and intent behind my writing. I truly and honestly want for each and every one of my readers to succeed on their chosen paths.

Keep an eye out for more helpful posts about how to successfully bring your own Network Marketing or Direct Sales business to the next level….and beyond.

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Success means many different things to different people.  Ultimately, success means being satisfied with your result.  Using this attitude and breaking your task down into smaller tasks can make a large job seem so much easier to handle, and assure your own sense of success.

The secret really is, to begin with your goal in mind and think backwards from there.  As an example, if my goal is to earn $250,000 this year, it may seem daunting at first, but once you break it down into bite sized little chunks it’s actually quite digestible.  In order to earn $250,000 a year, I’ll need to earn just under $21,000 per month which again breaks down to about $5,200 per week.  If we break that down even further, and base it on a 40 hour work week we need to charge an hourly rate of $130 to reach our goal of $250,000 this year.

If we translate this idea from a monetary one to one of gaining subscribers perhaps, just decide how many subscribers you would like to have on your list this year, break that goal down, backwards into bite size chunks as well.  Once you have a traffic system in place that will guarantee you visitors you can grow a list of 100,000 subscribers by breaking them down into only about 12 subscribers per hour for the whole year.  While 100,000 subscribers seems like an unreachable goal, if you look at it as trying to get to the point of 10 to 12 subscribers per hour it doesn’t seem quite so impossible does it?

While many equate success with owning the large home and the boat and the second home and a large SUVs, they have found very little fulfillment in those objects and until they can find personal success, they will never feel truly successful.  Take the time to work yourself, being a well-balanced individual, physically ,mentally and spiritually, and you will find your path to success in business much easier to handle.

Every aspect of our business should be a reflection of ourselves.  If you can take pride in who you are and the way you represent yourself to the world you can also take pride in your business and the way it represents itself to the world.

It is inevitable that you will be faced with failures along your rising path toward success. The way that you choose to deal with those challenges and circumstances defines who you really are. Napoleon Hill once said, “Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure.” Be sure you’re prepared to take that step.

Okay, so you’ve been giving it your all.  Well, maybe not your *all*, but a good portion of your all.  And you’re not seeing any progress.  So now what?  Are you doomed to failure and never to succeed?  No!  Keep reading.

One thing that you need to understand is that failure is an event, not a person.  It doesn’t define you as a “loser” for the rest of your life—unless you let it.  Failure happens to you—it isn’t who you are.  You’re not a victim, but it also doesn’t define you.  So when it happens (notice I didn’t say “if”), pick yourself up and get ready for the next event in your life.

You must adjust your attitude as you recuperate from a failure.  You will rise to your own expectations.  Psychologists call this a “self-fulfilling prophecy,” and we are suckers to believe our own words.  So adjust your attitude to the positive side of things.

Remember the guy who came up with the brilliant idea to change Coke?  Back in the 80s (for those of you who were mere babes during that decade), someone had a stroke of genius—or so he thought.  The Coca Cola company decided to compete more with Pepsi, and changed the formulation of their signature product—Coke.

 They called it “The New Coke.”  It bombed.  No one enjoyed the new taste and the calls were immediate to bring back “the old Coke.”  After a few months of hemming and hawing, Coca Cola executives brought back the original formula of Coke and ditched the new stuff—and its creator. 

So what happened to the guy whose idea this was?  He left Coca Cola and began to look for new work.  The trouble was, his name was well known in the business community and everyone connected him to the failure that New Coke was.  He finally landed an interview in which he got a fair shake:  the interviewer asked what he had learned through the problems the New Coke had created. 

Naturally, he indicated that he had many lessons learned from the fiasco.  He didn’t let failure define him, and he ended up landing the job for which he was interviewing.  Good for him, right?  But good for the company that hired him, too.  They were willing to take a chance on a creative risk-taker who had a very public failure on his record. 

Many of those who are considered to be “successful” have had failures dot their lives.  Rush Limbaugh, the king of daytime talk radio, was fired multiple times from different radio jobs.  He also filed for bankruptcy—twice.  So you can see how Limbaugh didn’t permit failure to define him.  Those failures were events from which he recovered and moved on.  And you should take the same tact when confronted with something that didn’t turn out like you hoped it would.

Thomas Edison failed more than 10,000 times before finally succeeding with his light bulb. Where would we be today, if it wasn’t for his persistence. The point is, we learn from our mistakes and improve upon our failures. Those that are willing to stick to their dream and see it through are the ones that will be ultimately successful. Stay on task, see your dream through and you may discover your true purpose.

When pondering the topics that surround success principles, attitude and motivation are of paramount importance. BUT, the most zealous and outwardly positive salesperson will in all likelyhood, never reach their goal without the proper success skillset and product knowledge.

It’s not necessary to have a PhD to be successful, in fact you don’t need a degree at all! I can think of at least one person with an advanced degree that has gone to waste. Education is worthless without the attitude and aptitude to do something with what we’ve learned.

Whether your choice is to be the Dean of a University or Mr. Greatwrench, there are specific educational criteria necessary in order to do that job well. That advanced degree is worthless without the desire and ability to inform, encourage and educate others. That six foot tall, stacked toolbox, full of the latest techno-gadgets is nothing but a half ton paperweight without the knowledge of how to apply the tools to the needed repairs. Without the proper education it is impossible to reach your fullest potential and be truly successful in your field.

Some career choices don’t necessarily require any form of formal education at all. Professional sports for example gives young, gifted athletes with miraculous aptitude the opportunity to forgo their education and begin a very lucrative career, sometimes right out of high school. These youngsters are loosely encouraged to get an education to fall back on, but most are blinded by the lure of dollar signs and bright lights.

On the other hand, consider the young athlete who received a degree in business management while attending and playing through their college years. This athlete is in a much better position for a secure and successful future if fate or circumstance were to deal a career ending injury. Even without injury, and heading for retirement, the second athlete is better prepared for life outside of sports.

The thing that drives us to become educated in our skillset is motivation. In order to achieve success on your career path you must constantly be in pursuit of the education necessary to excel. When we stop learning, we start losing.

When the three traits of attitude, aptitude and motivation are combined with intent, there is nothing that can stand in the way of success. These are the basic tools of any success in business or in life. Apply these principles for yourself and watch your life change before your eyes.

Let’s say you’ve got your attitude correct, the right skill set honed, and the right philosophy. Great! You’re on your way – somewhere. If you don’t have the right direction planned out, you’ll simply wander aimlessly.

You don’t attempt even the smallest of construction jobs without a plan, and yet many people work in a field they just happened to “fall in to” because someone suggested it, or a friend was doing it, or even worse—they didn’t have anything else to do.

Wandering through your career can be just as deadly as wandering through a desert without a compass and canteen—in both places, you can die a slow death of thirst and exhaustion.

You must know where you want to go in order to set a direction for your life and career. You’ve probably heard the adage, “No one plans to fail, but they do fail to plan.” So determine where it is that you want to go (i.e., what you want to do) and set a course for it.

I recommend doing something you love. Not something that you can tolerate or achieve a reasonable pension from after 30 years of work (do pensions even exist anymore?), but something you are truly passionate about.

If it’s music, think about how you are gifted in that area. Do you sing? Would your singing chip paint off a house? Do you have an ear for pitch and tune? Do you play an instrument? Consider the field of professional golf for a moment. Do you love to golf? Would you be willing to commit days, weeks, months, and years to bettering your game to the point when you could hit the pro-circuit?

Do you have a means to support yourself (and your family) while you work on your dream job? Would you be happy and content doing whatever you chose—for the rest of your days, if need be? These are all questions you should ask yourself as you try to set the direction for your life, and ultimately, for your success.

Now that you know where you want to go, you must plan and prepare for your destination. As you plan and prepare, it’s fair to expect that you will achieve that goal—expectations play a large role in success, no matter what the field. If you plan well and are committed to the work involved, then and only then, can you expect to achieve the desired results in your life.

Once you’ve learned the formula for success, it’s time to consider different avenues in which that formula should be put in to action. The main one you’ll find in every area of your life is relationships.

Why relationships? Because we are human beings, designed to interact with other human beings. This, by default, entails relationships. And also by default, if you don’t have appropriate skills to manage your relationships, you will fail miserably at whatever success you’re aiming for.

The first relationship you must consider is the one you have with yourself. If you don’t like yourself, chances are great you will project that dislike to others and your lack of self-appreciation will not propel you to success in any given field. The higher your integrity is, the more you will like yourself. The more you like yourself, the better your relationships will be with others—from the inside out.

Your family relationship is the next thing to examine. The most successful Harvard Business graduates (class of 1949, by percentages) had several things in common:

They had wives who supported their work and endeavors; women who were intelligent and able to share ideas and be a sounding board
They built their personal, family, and business lives on a foundation of integrity

Family relationships are extremely important as you consider your path to success. If you fail here, you will not succeed elsewhere—we’ve already covered that in depth.

Business relationships follow closely behind family relationships. They play a major role in the security and productivity of every individual involved in them, as well as the success and growth of the company.

You must also learn to manage your frustration as you deal with relationships. Because we are all human, we all have problem-areas and “sticking points” that will irritate and inflame others. If you can manage your frustration and turn a bad situation with an individual in to something you can learn from and make profitable, you will be that much farther ahead on your road to success.

Consider also, that the next person you meet is important. He or she might look like someone who cannot help you in your field, but then again, looks are deceiving. You never know when the person you assist might be able to assist you or report back to your boss what a great job you’re doing!

You should be able to see how healthy family relationships, a willingness to go above & beyond at work, and an ability to consider the next person as important can have a monumental effect on your path to success. We cannot do it alone, and that mere fact means we must deal appropriately with people and relationships!

Without character, the puzzle of achieving success falls apart. It is most important of all pieces to life’s puzzle. Without character, you can make money. But it will be worthless to you and to those around you. Look out in the world today: drug dealers and con artists have money—but they lack character.

If you go to all the work of achieving success, you don’t want to mar it with a lack of character that will make people pity you as you age and become less than you were intended to be.

Character equals integrity. Integrity is doing the right thing all the time, even when no one else is watching. You don’t have anything to fear when your integrity is intact, because you have nothing to hide. You experience no guilt and no fear. And without those two traveling companions, it’s much easier to climb higher and farther, faster!

What does this mean in a practical sense? It means that you will put the right philosophy (the golden rule) into practice in all that you do. You will not step on someone else to climb the corporate ladder; you will not stack bodies in order to reach the CEO position that you desire. You will treat people with respect, honesty, and trust. You will behave towards others how you want (and expect) them to behave towards you.

You will be the model of “doing the right thing” in your office, even if it isn’t appreciated or understood. Chances are very good that if you’re the only one doing the right thing, you won’t last where you are, but you will find something better where your integrity is appreciated and applauded.

Character realizes that the most important things in life are not office or work based. They are more likely family and a sense of responsibility to that family. Character will not sacrifice your family on the altar of “I’ve got to finish this project,” nor will it tell you children, “Maybe next time, hon,” when asked to play catch or drive to cheering practice.

Your character will shine through as you put your family before your work, as you purposefully schedule time with them (and then keep those appointments you put in your planner), as you “date” your spouse and remember why it is you got married in the first place, and as you set an example that your spouse and children can be proud of.

The most important thing to remember as you consider character is that your children will grow up to be just like you. John Maxwell once said, “We teach what we know; we reproduce who we are.” So as a person who is full of integrity and character, you will reproduce those same traits in your children as you climb towards success in your life. And isn’t that really what it’s all about, after all?

In his book The Winning Attitude, John C. Maxwell, noted author and speaker tells us that attitude is:

The “advance man” of our true selves
Has inward roots but outward fruits
Is our best friend or worst enemy
Is more honest and more consistent than our words
Is an outward look based on past experiences
Is a think which draws people to us or repels them
Is never content until it is expressed
Is the librarian of our past
Is the speaker of our present
Is the prophet of our future

Your attitude, or your willingness to think positively, affects many people—from your family to the stranger you smile at in the grocery store. An optimist will see opportunity in difficulties, while a pessimist will see difficulty in opportunities.

You must choose which you will focus on: if you choose poorly, you will doom yourself to never achieving your goals and being successful. Count on that.

So how do you begin to think positively if you’re a natural pessimist? I don’t really believe there ARE natural pessimists, just people who have been taught how to consider the darkest side of every cloud.

You cannot change the fact that a problem exists, but you can do a lot to determine what opportunity is within that problem. Begin to see that problems are a fact of life and that your job is to find a way over, around, under, or through them—as quickly as possible. When you’re upbeat and consider how quickly a problem will be behind you, it’s easy to be optimistic.

Cynicism is another killer when it comes to attitude. It’s a cousin of pessimism—it considers everything suspect and everyone as having an ulterior motive. It never looks at someone handing you a piece of candy just to be nice, it always considers that there is a reason you’re being handed the candy and the motivation of the person who’s giving it.

Cynicism comes from having unrealistic expectations. Many people expect great and wonderful things to happen to them with little-to-no work on their parts. They expect things to fall from the sky in to their laps. When it doesn’t happen as they expect, they become suspicious of others who have achieved success and ultimately, cynical.

You must harness the power of your thoughts and words when setting your course for success. Use positive affirmations daily: remind yourself that a stumbling block is temporary and that you will overcome it; admit to yourself that you are courageous and able to move on when others cannot; agree with your vision for your life and your goals.

As you discipline yourself to do this, you will find optimism and positive thinking chasing you down the street. And who couldn’t use these two friends when we’re aiming for success?

What makes you tick?

There are many choices one can make as far as a life/career path. The key to success lies in choosing one that is in alignment with who you are and what you truly believe. You can spend your whole life doing something that provides a decent wage and a comfortable existence. Just because there is no specific job description out there yet to match what it is that you love to do doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t be doing it. In this ever changing universe that we live in, it is our adaptability to change and the willingness to do so that keeps us moving forward. If your dream job doesn’t exist yet…CREATE IT !!

Why are you here?

Each of us is here, existing on this planet for a reason. Although sometimes it seems that certain people exist more to suck up energy than to contribute it, the fact is that we are all here to contribute to the betterment of mankind. If you don’t know exactly what you’re called to do, perhaps now is a good time to consider it. If you look back at your life you can certainly point to times when you felt “completely alive”, as though everything were happening on a stage and it was the performance of your life. That sense of purpose, that sense of direction, that sense of fulfillment all came from doing something that you LOVE to do.

As impractical as it may seem to you right now reading this, if you put forth the intent to move your life in a direction more in line with the highest and best purpose for your life, changes WILL occur. Once you begin to move in the direction of your true reason for being alive here and now, all of the synchronicity and circumstance will collaborate to reassure you that you are doing the right thing at the right time.

What do I do now?

In order to find the direction that you need to move outwardly, you must look inward. Examine your life. Look at the circumstances and lessons that brought you to who and where you are today. Let go of preconceived notions of what you should be doing and start to follow your heart to your life’s true vision and calling.

Align yourself with other positive thinkers. Begin to create the environment that will allow your vision to flourish. Nurture your vision and see it to fruition. You have something to contribute that no other person on this planet can bring in the manner and fashion that you can. Prepare to receive all that the world has for you as well. When you move in the flow of life that was meant for you there is abundance and prosperity. Know that you deserve it and that it is meant for you to have and to enjoy.

Life is Good !!

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Everything that you will ever succeed at begins in the next moment. When you take the time to think about what you will do, you have already begun to tread the rising path toward enlightenment. Take each moment that comes as a gift. With every gift that you receive, you become more grateful. When you exist in this aura of gratitude and enlightenment you begin to perceive life in a whole different manner.

Every chance that you have to interact with another creature is a reason to be grateful. Whether it be a hawk soaring above you in a cloudless sky or your dog gently curling up around your feet as you sit, a flower in your yard that bloomed in the time it took for you to fix breakfast or your loving spouse, partner or child hugging you and sharing their love, you should be grateful for the lesson brought, the energy shared and the knowledge passed. To interact is to learn. When we stop learning, we begin dying.

Our souls chose the body that we inhabit for a reason. You and I are here for a purpose. Do you know what your purpose is? The quest for that somewhat elusive purpose is the holy grail for some people. It is a thing that they strive for but can never really grasp the essence of, and can therefore never find.

Therein lies one of the keys to discovering your own purpose. Once you can appreciate the “essence” of a thing, you can begin to manifest it into your life. Now in this modern age, what most people want most is that shiny new sports car or the twelve thousand square foot home on x-hundred acres of land. There is nothing wrong with wanting those things in your life, but they are more easily attained if you understand the essence of success.

The essence of owning that “thing” comes from gratitude. Don’t imagine the feel of the steering wheel under your hands (though that is a thrilling thought), don’t even imagine the luxury and opulence of the rolling acres of your new estate. Instead focus on the immense sense of gratitude that comes from knowing that in order for you to own those things, you have helped many, many people and that your success is a shared one. The opportunity that you have in each moment, the energy and potential contained in each and every moment, can ultimately lead to your success.

Once we begin to understand success from this or a similar perspective it makes the small choices that we make moment to moment all that much easier. When we cherish the very essence of life itself, whatever your essence may be, we are already successful. Follow your small choices to your big successes. Make each moment count knowing that the more people that you help along the way, the more people that you can assist in their own success, the fuller and more complete your own sense of gratitude and accomplishment will be.

The Correct Philosophy = Success

Don’t you find that life seems to always come back to ageless truths? I believe it’s because, that which holds truth is ageless. Truth is not prone to change like the weather or the wind. The “Correct Philosophy“ will be spoken of differently by different speakers, but it always tends to come back to the “Golden Rule“, the same message conveyed in unique ways, so that the many different types of people in this world might understand it.

Anything at all that you would like to have in your life is completely available to you and the easiest way to manifest that into your life is to continually assist others in achieving what THEY most want to achieve.

Don’t get the idea that this is only some ethereal, spiritual mumbo-jumbo. This is solid practical advice that you will see manifesting in all aspects of your life, business and personal, because they are tied together. You will see personal growth and financial success.

Most people really want the same things in life; happiness, health, the comfort and security of a home and family, good friends, abundance and prosperity all of which bring about the ability to have hope and peace in their life.

We all need our basic needs met before we are able to flourish. After our basic physiological needs are met, A.H. Maslow describes how we then move on to our needs for safety, love, self-esteem and ultimately “Self-Actualization“ in his “Hierarchy of Needs“. His text is really just another fancy way of saying what I said in the first sentence of this paragraph,“We all need our basic needs met before we are able to flourish.“ This is the first realization on the road to success.

The “Golden Rule“ exists in one descriptive form or another across all of the world’s religions. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.“ Some may put it this way, “Treat people as you would want to be treated.“, but my personal take on this is, “ Treat people the way that THEY want to be treated.“ The last is the most difficult to understand and put into practice, but when you do you will realize the key it holds to your success.

As you realize these things and put them into practice you not only set yourself up to have the necessary help around you when you require it, but you learn that through helping others achieve success, you too achieve success. Surround yourself in an aura of gratitude for all that you have and present yourself with a servant’s heart and an entrepreneurial spirit.

Having the correct philosophy will equal success for you and all of those that you help.

by: John Melanson

http://therisingpath.com

john[@]therisingpath.com

© 2008

The Science of Getting Rich Teachers:

Bob Proctor

Bob Proctor is an author, lecturer, counselor, business consultant, entrepreneur, and teacher preaching the gospel of positive thinking, self-motivation and maximizing human potential. In that endeavor, he follows in the footsteps of such motivational giants as Napoleon Hill, Earl Nightingale and Wallace D. Wattles.

His extraordinary teaching ability has won Proctor acclaim around the globe and has carried the Canadian-born motivator to the far reaches of the earth. He is as well known in Australia and Malaysia as he is in Alberta and Mississippi.

Born in a little town in northern Ontario, Canada with the low self-esteem that often befalls a family’s middle child, he performed poorly in school, dropped out and did a hitch in the navy. Afterward he drifted from one dead-end job to another until a friend introduced Bob to the concept of self-development through Napoleon Hill’s classic Think and Grow Rich.

With the spark generated by Hill’s words, Proctor found the initiative to start an office cleaning business which he grew to international scope in his first year of operation. From that experience – after seeing what he had been able to accomplish with just a rudimentary knowledge of personal motivation and goal-setting – he hungered for more information.

His quest took him to the Nightingale-Conant organization to study under his mentor, Earl Nightingale. Once on board, he rose swiftly through the ranks. Eventually, while the Nightingale-Conant organization assumed the forefront in wide-scale distribution of personal development programs, Bob felt the need to take his ideas and methods directly to the individual, to the one-on-one level which had proved so successful for himself.

In the mid 1970’s, Proctor established his own seminar company and secured a contract to work with a few hundred agents of Prudential Life Insurance Co. of America in Chicago. During his first seminar Bob made the suggestion that any agent present could write $5 million in business that year if the agent made a decision to do so.

The fact that the seminar took place in July with the year half over and that no agent in that region had ever written so much business in the 100-year history of the company made Bob’s suggestion appear to be outrageous. However, when the performance level of the entire division increased substantially with more than one agent actually accomplishing the deed, Bob’s reputation as a motivator was established.

Over the ensuing years, Proctor has shared his special message and expertise with hundreds of business entities worldwide and, through a program of live seminars, with thousands of people of all ages in all walks of life.

Meanwhile, in addition to his international best-seller You Were Born Rich, he found time to author other works as well, including Mission in Commission, The Winner’s Image, The Goal Achiever, The Success Series, The Success Puzzle, The Recruiting Puzzle, and Being Your Very Best.

Jack Canfield

Jack Canfield is an American motivational speaker, trainer and author. He is best known as the founder and co-creator of The New York Times No. 1 best-selling “Chicken Soup for the Soul” book series, which currently has over 65 titles and 80 million copies in print in over 37 languages. According to USA Today, Canfield and his writing partner, Mark Victor Hansen, were the top-selling authors in the United States in 1997.

With a BA from Harvard University, a Masters from University of Massachusetts, and an honorary doctorate from the University of Santa Monica, Canfield has been a high school and university teacher, a workshop facilitator, a psychotherapist, and for the past 30 years, a leading authority in the area of self-esteem and personal development.

Canfield is the founder of “Self Esteem Seminars” in Santa Barbara, and “The Foundation for Self Esteem” in Culver City, California. Self Esteem Seminars trains entrepreneurs, educators, corporate leaders and employees on how to accelerate the achievement of their personal and professional goals, while The Foundation for Self Esteem provides self-esteem resources and trainings to social workers, welfare recipients and human resource professionals. Canfield is also the President of Souperspeakers.com, a speaking resource service that provides inspirational speakers for event planners worldwide.

Canfield has traveled to over 21 countries, delivering hundreds of keynote speeches, workshops and trainings each year. As part of his presentation style, he always uses inspirational, motivational and uplifting stories to help his audiences discover, experience and retain key concepts and approaches. After each session, audiences everywhere had encouraged him to put his stories into a single book.

In 1990, while on an airplane home, he felt that it was time. He shared his idea with author Mark Victor Hansen during breakfast one day. Hansen liked the idea, and so began the Chicken Soup for the Soul phenomenon. But with their busy schedules, translating what worked on the podium onto the written page proved more challenging than either of them had anticipated. After three long years, the two had compiled just sixty-eight stories — a far cry from the 101 they believed was the magic number for a successful book. Nonetheless, their successful partnership has spawned many other titles that have made them enormously famous.

Canfield has appeared on numerous television shows, including Good Morning America, 20/20, Eye to Eye, CNN’s Talk Back Live, PBS and the BBC. Today, he speaks shares his success strategies with companies and associations worldwide.

The most recent book Canfield has written was the 2005 publication of The Success Principles. In it Canfield shares 64 principles that he and other people have utilized to achieve great levels of success.