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Give!

2012-01-27T15:31:00.001-08:00

I love to clean! It makes me feel good to donate old stuff that I haven't used in a while, and I love the fresh new feeling it gives in my living space after I have done this!

Also, I find that very often, after I give stuff away, that I find cool stuff that I've had for a long time that I haven't used... and I start to put it into use. It's like getting cool new stuff.

Also I find when I give away old stuff, sometimes people give me new stuff that's even better. For instance, I gave away some old sweat shirts that were a few years old, and I received two, brand-new (even better ones) for Christmas!

Not only can you help other people, but I think when you give your older stuff away, your free up space in your own life to upgrade.

So, consider going through your belongings, and if there are books, clothes, and similar that you haven't used in a long time... consider donating them!

Read!

2012-01-27T15:20:00.000-08:00

I love to read! Over the years I've read hundreds, probably thousands of books, both fiction and non-fiction. You can glean so much information and enjoyment from reading!

In addition to reading many novels, I've read lots of books about exercise, health, history, success, and more.

One of the best and most succinct books I've ever read in the area of success is called "How to Solve All Your Money Problems Forever" by Victor Boc.

Even though the title mentions money, it's actually a great book about achieving any goal.

While I would definitely encourage you to get the book, if I could summarize it, I would do so this way...

1. Write down a list of your goals.
2. Convert your goals into affirmations, in the form, "I, John, have (my goal).
3. Read your affirmations out loud twice a day, once in the morning, and last thing before going to sleep. As you read each affirmation out loud, you picture vividly in your mind your goal being true.
4. Also, once a day, you write out one (1) of your affirmations 10 to 20 times in a notebook. This can be any one of your goals, and can change from day to day.
5. Also you give 1% of your net income away.

The author goes into much greater detail in his book, but this plan, which the author calls "The Two-Pronged Method" is easy, fun, and can start to re-program your beliefs to make your goals happen!

Concentration!

2012-01-26T13:25:00.000-08:00

Another big key to success, once you've chosen your #1 goal, is to CONCENTRATE on it.

Concentration is like building up a big head of steam in a steam engine, or focusing the rays of the sun with a magnifying glass. If you focus on too many things, you won't really be able to devote much concentration to any of them. However, if you pick 1 big goal and focus on that, then it's likely you will be able to devote a lot of time, energy, work, personal development, and so on... into that area. It's a lot like picking a major in college. You can't really do everything, but you can become an expert in one thing!

So, it might be helpful to write down a big list of goals, and then pick the one that is most important to you right now. Then concentrate on that goal! Concentrate on ways that you can make it happen, and concentrate on it being true!

What's your big goal?

Picture It!

2012-01-25T10:45:00.000-08:00

Before you undertake any action, you picture it happening!

Before you do the dishes, you picture filling the sink with water, adding soap, putting the dirty dishes in the water, scrubbing them well, rinsing and drying them... and putting them away. Before you cut the grass, you picture yourself getting the lawnmower out, cutting the grass nicely, and looking with enjoyment at your nice lawn after you're done cutting it. Before you build (or have installed) a backyard deck or patio, you picture and imagine your deck there. You see yourself barbecuing, grilling out, hanging out with friends, or suntanning... all before you have your deck built or installed!

So, when it comes to money, it stands to reason that you might want to do the same thing! If you read the previous post, you may have arrived at your "Big Number." This is the dollar figure that would allow you to be/do/have all the things that you want to do. Whether this number is very small or very large, it is a real and meaningful number, to you! This represents the ability for you to accomplish the dreams and goals that you have! Thus, it is a very important number to you!

So, it stands to reason that the next step is picturing yourself having this amount of money. You do this same process for every other goal that you have, so it's logical that you should do it with money too! Money is just another goal that you have. Just as you might picture yourself having a particular shirt, or making dinner for your family, you will picture yourself with a given amount of money. Since you know your "Big Number" is the amount of money you really want to have, it's logical that you should picture your "Big Number."

How do you do this?

It's actually pretty simple. If you wanted water, you'd picture yourself drinking a glass of water. So if you want a given amount of money, you picture yourself having that given amount of money! If you wanted $20, you would picture yourself holding a $20 bill. You would picture yourself holding, having, folding, putting in your wallet/purse, a $20 bill. You would see yourself taking that $20 bill out of your wallet and purse, then putting it back in. For larger amounts of money, you would just see yourself counting multiples of this amount of money. In essence, it's really no different than cutting your grass, or barbecuing a steak, or anything else. You picture yourself doing, what you want to do!

A number of authors (Genevieve Behrend, Neville Goddard, Wallace Wattles) have described this process. So for instance, let's say you wanted $100. You would just see yourself counting out ten $10 bills, in your mind. Most people are familiar with a $10 bill, so they would have no problem picturing/seeing/imagining holding a $10 bill. You feel exactly what it's like to have a $10 bill... this is probably a feeling you are very familiar with. Then you would count out, in your mind, ten of these. This is "what it would feel like" to have $100. You picture cutting your grass, and then you do it. You picture having $100... and then over time you will get a job, get work opportunities, create products or services, perhaps receive a gift (or what have you) and then you will find yourself with ten $10 bills, or $100!

For larger amounts of money, the process is exactly the same. Let's say your "Big Number" was $5,376,806. This would represent the amount of money that would let you do everything that you wanted to do over the course of the rest of your life! You could start by counting out $6 (the last figure in your Big Number.). That would just a $5 bill and a $1 bill. Most people are very familiar with this amount of money. You would just count in your mind, a $5 bill and a $1 bill. You would do this over and over again until it felt very realistic, until it felt that you had that $6. Then you could move on to the next amount... the $800. I have been fortunate enough to have a couple $100 bills over the course of my life (for instance I won a $100 bill in a science fair in high school). I would feel exactly what it's like to hold a real $100 bill in my hand. Then I would count out eight of them, in my mind. I would do this over and over again, until I felt what it is like to have the $800. I could then add this to my "imaginary pile" and I am now up to $806, the last 3 digits in my Big Number.

For the larger amounts, you could use larger increments. The next figure in my Big Number would be the $6,000. Here, I would just count out 60 $100 bills, over and over again in my mind. The first ten would be $1,000... and as I repeated this six times, I could feel what it's like to have $6,000. Again, it doesn't matter if you have this money now, or if you have ever had this money. All you have to do is take the largest denomination you are familiar with (it could be a $100 bill, $50, $20, $10, or what have you...) and just imagine counting this out until you reach your total. For much bigger figures, like the $10,000, $100,000 and $1,000,000 category... you could imagine bundles of $10,000 or $50,000, and then count these out. One hundred $100's equals $10,000, and you can find pictures of these on the internet. Also, five of these $10,000 stacks are sometimes bundled together into $50,000 stacks.

If you wonder why any of this is necessary, or whether any of this does any good, I think the simple answer could be: you do this same process for absolutely every other goal you accomplish. When you go to the store, you picture yourself getting in your car, driving to the store, choosing your groceries, purchasing them, driving home and putting the groceries away. You picture EVERYTHING you do, before you actually do it. It stands to reason that money is no different.

I'm not saying that you will necessarily win the lottery, or receive a large inheritance, or become a world-famous rock star, and miraculously receive tens of millions of dollars over-night. In fact, that probably WON'T happen. But what might happen, is that as you condition your beliefs to believe that this amount of money actually could be something that you could experience, you might just start to take actions, which, over time, could start to bring this financial goal to be a reality. Maybe you will take on more responsiblities at work. Maybe you will have new ideas which will save your company money, and you get a raise. Maybe you will have ideas for a business/invention/book/song/movie/investments etc. that could bring money in to you. Maybe you will have other ideas of giving and service that over time could increase your income. The point is, by reconditioning your beliefs, you open yourself to taking actions which, over time, really could make this goal happen.

Another thing to keep in mind, is that almost any number you come up with, has been achieved by someone, and more than likely, by many people. Even if it's your goal to have several million dollars... keep in mind that MILLIONS of people have accomplished this goal. If your goal is less than this, then even more people than that have already done it.

So, after you identify your "Big Number" start picturing yourself with this amount of money. Just count out (in your mind) this amount of money. Do it first thing in the morning, throughout your day, and as you fall asleep.

I'm going to try it and I will see what happens!

What's Your "Big Number"!

2012-01-25T10:25:00.000-08:00

When it comes to money, most people would want to have more money... even a lot of money. But I wonder how many people ever actually put a real number to it!

When you go on a trip... you don't say, "I just want to go somewhere." Rather, you say, "I want to take the family to Florida for a week, spend 3 days at the theme parks, 3 days at the beach, and 1 day touring historical sites." From there, you make a specific plan with dates and locations, and a clear picture of your trip materializes in your mind.

However, when it comes to money, many people might just say, "I want more money, or a lot of money... or a zillion dollars..." but this is very much like saying, "I want to go somewhere for vacation." It's not really specific and more than likely, no real clear picture comes to mind.

Another option might be to write down a list of everything that you want to do, be, or have in the next 5, 10, 20 years... or even over the course of the rest of your life. Then, once you have this list, you can put an estimated dollar figure next to each item. Then, you can add all these figures up. The number you arrive at is your "Big Number." This is the financial number that would allow you to be/do/have all the things that you want to do!

Having a real, actual number (even if it is a very large one), I think is preferable to just saying "I want a lot of money, or a zillion dollars." It can start to focus your actions (both conscious and subconscious) toward achieving your goal. Maybe you will try new things that will start you down the road of accomplishing this financial goal.

I think having a real, meaningful number- even if it is a very big figure- is an important step toward achieving your financial goal. Whether your number is five dollars or five million dollars, it is a number that has real meaning to you. This may encourage you to take action, perhaps more than a vague (or no) financial goal would!

What's your "Big Number"???

Think Positive!

2012-01-23T19:13:00.000-08:00

One of the most important things you can do, to succeed in any area... is to keep on thinking positive.

What does this mean exactly? Well, for any given area, you could put together a list of all the things that make you feel good in this given area. Then, you could put together a list of all the things that make you feel bad in this area. Then, what you need to do is to focus on what makes you feel good!

For instance, if you think about winter... the things that make you feel good are the holidays, the beautiful white snow, the chance to wear hats, gloves and mittens, drinking hot cocoa, sitting by fireplaces, making snowmen, and similar! The things that might make a person feel bad are cold weather, cold fingers, shoveling snow, long dark nights, and similar!

The point of positive thinking is to focus on the good aspects! The first description of winter makes it seem like a Winter Wonderland! It almost makes you look forward to winter. The second list could make a person just want to stay in bed and pull up the covers.

The bigger point though, is to find the good in any situation. When you focus on the positive aspects of a situation, they tend to grow. You tend to find more ways to make them happen. You look forward to them. Eventually they can expand and grow and crowd out the negative aspects, like flowers taking over a garden. They can become one's entire experience in that area, making it a very positive area. Conversely, if a person focuses only on the negative aspects, then those can crowd out the positive aspects, until that area seems (only) pessimistic.

So if there is an area that you would like to try to improve, consider making a list of everything in that given area that makes you feel good. Then make a list of everything in that area that might make you feel bad. Then, focus only on what makes you feel good. See if those positive aspects expand, take over, and make this area a very positive one!

Getting Back in Shape

2012-01-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Well, the holiday season was a lot of fun, but with the cold weather and all the good food... I probably ate a little bit more than I normally do!

However, this winter we're lucky because we've been having, overall, pretty warm weather. It didn't even snow till mid-January, and even now temps are in the 30's and close to 40. So today I was able to go running several miles in shorts.

Also, I have been ramping my weightlighting back up now that the holidays are over. I have a weight bench and weights right in my bedroom so I can lift weights without even leaving the house. This is especially nice when the weather is very cold. I am increasing my workouts to a higher level... and in the next few months I'd like to see myself A) back in summer shape, and B) in the best shape I've ever been in!

The other key component is eating right. Basically, this consists of 6 small (300-400 cal) meals spread out over the day... so you get your whole day's eating steadily throughout the day. Meals consist primarily of healthy proteins and carbs (lean meats, fruits, veggies).

Also of course, I use my handy 32 oz. Nalgene water bottle!

So in a month or two I'd like to be back to lean, and then take it from there!

Running!

2012-01-06T20:47:00.000-08:00

Had a great holiday season and hope you all did too!

Had a fun time today... ran about 4-5 miles in shorts today, in addition to doing my weight lifting. Especially around 4:30-5pm it was quite warm and the air had a nice, mild Spring-like woody aroma to it.

The only thing that made it somewhat unsual.... was the fact that it was Jan. 6, and I was running in Milwaukee, Wisconsin!

Yes, that's right. Like much of the country, we have been experiencing a very nice warm winter this year. We have had basically no snow, and today the temperature reached almost 50. Temps are supposed to remain in the 40's for the next few days, so we are guaranteed to get halfway through winter with basically no cold or snow!!!

This is coming on the heels (no pun intended) of three pretty snowy winters. In fact, 2008 and 2009 were some of the snowiest winters ever! (since records were kept). So I have to be honest, I love the fact that I don't have to shovel or drive around in snow. It makes it so much easier, and the winter is flying by. I think we're going to get to March before we know it, and things will start warming up. It almost feels like you're on vacation somewhere.

Normally in Wisconsin we can get several feet of snow and temps can drop well below 0. We've had none of that to this point, and winter is getting close to being half over. Plus days are starting to get longer now... so I think the rest of the winter will go fast!

It will be nice when March and April get here and we start getting some temperatures in the 70's!

2012!!!

2011-12-18T12:52:00.000-08:00

New Year's 2012 is right around the corner!

2011 was a fun year, with a lot of excitement and interesting happenings!

On this blog I will post the cool things I find in 2012!

We'll see what happens!