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Please understand that you are more than you think you are. Your potential is so wide and deep, you will never reach the end of it. Don’t sell yourself short – you are not average.

Some people get tired and they stop. Others get tired and they rest, but they continue on. That’s what above average people do. Life happens and they find a way to regain their focus and persevere.

Yes, it’s hard. That’s what separates the average from those who are above average. It’s not supposed to be easy. Put in the effort and it won’t be an issue. Decide that it’s hard while you’re doing it, not before you start.

You have been given the biggest opportunity. This opportunity allows you to grow as much as you want to. Or, you could be lazy and relax as much as you want to. The opportunity for growth is offered everyday. Those that take advantage of this opportunity will likely see success, while others watch them become successful.

Technology has made many opportunities more accessible to everyone today. There are free online classes, motivational speeches, and other resources that were unimaginable twenty years ago. It’s all at our fingertips, but even some will find that it’s too much to do.

Don’t be average. Everyone else can be average, but you know that you have the power to create an incredible mindset and to use it daily. Your mindset is what differentiates you from the average person. Commit to harnessing that power every chance you get.

No matter what happens, always move forward. Eliminate the distractions and work your way towards your goals. Yes, it may take some time and figuring things out, but you have the mind to do it. Let others be passive about their goals (if they have any), but don’t let them convince you that you’re doing too much.

They will be critical of your achievements. They will talk about your level of commitment as if it is the worst thing in the world. They can’t stand the thought of you outgrowing your surroundings. They will pull you back every chance they get.

You must go on. You have to go, so you can grow. You have to increase your level of commitment in order to perform better. You have to work hard and smart to stay two steps ahead. You must embrace your opportunities and challenges on a daily basis. You must meet your success.

So no, don’t be average – average is what everybody else does. You are unique and will live your life the way you imagine it. To do this, you must continue your fight to be above average.

When you know yourself, nothing is capable of taking you down. No one can say anything to make you feel a certain way. You don’t go with the flow. You control your own mind, therefore, you control your own life.

The reason why people get caught up in doing the wrong thing or fall in with the wrong crowd, is because they don’t know themselves. They do what others do, without thinking for themselves. Getting to know yourself involves alone time and reflection.

There are people who always have to be around others to feel important. It terrifies them to be alone. Taking the time to be alone can probably solve more issues than you know.

Being alone and getting to know yourself involves more than figuring out what your favorite color is and what you like to eat. It goes deeper than that. You should think about questions like:

• What do you believe?
• How far are you willing to go morally?
• Where do you want to be in life?

When you know these things about yourself, it gives you direction. If a situation comes up that involves making a difficult decision, if you know yourself, it shouldn’t be hard to figure out.

If you want to travel the world, why are you hanging out with stick-up kids? If you want to create a new software, why are you spending time watching reality TV shows? If you want to do something different, why are you doing the same thing everyday?

It can very well go beyond those examples, but the point is, if you know what you want to do, stop wasting time NOT doing it. Don’t get comfortable and do what you’ve always done. Get up and move in the direction of your goals!

Knowing yourself also involves what you stand for.

You need to know your moral compass. If you see an adult abuse a child, why are you sitting there watching? If someone needs help, why are you recording the video and not stepping in to help? Don’t wait for someone else to do it – you can step in and help. Waiting for others to do something is lazy. If you know yourself, you would do what YOU know is right – you won’t pause to see what someone else does.

When you know yourself, you have the courage to go against the grain and swim upstream. It says something about you as a person. You become who you are and not what society has already made you out to be. Your example will encourage others to get to know themselves.

Don’t be afraid to reflect on who you are. You can only discover so much by being around other people. The other part, you have to do alone. Take the time to know yourself. It’s a process worth going through.

 

The most difficult part of a goal is starting. Starting is the challenge. It’s not the other small details within your goal’s objective, it’s taking the first step. The easiest things can be done, but you have to start.

Some things may be so easy, you don’t start. Procrastination creeps in and you begin to think, “This is so easy. I’ll do it tomorrow.” Tomorrow turns into the next day and the next day turns into next week. Before you know it, next week has slipped into next year.

Even when something is hard to do, you may put a little more thought into it, but because you think it’s hard, you put it off. Your mind goes into making excuses and complaints. “I need to do more research. I have to wait on Jane so she can show me how to do it. It rained today.” You’ll say anything to not start right now.

This happens to all of us. Once you figure out how to actually start, you’ll be able to follow through with your tasks and defeat procrastination. Here’s a few tips on how to start.

1. Eliminate all distractions. This is tough, because distractions are everywhere. Control the distractions that hinder you from starting. If you have to write a report, close out all the tabs on your laptop and start with the blinking cursor. If you want to lose weight, clean out all the junk food in the house. If you want to learn a hobby, buy the necessary items to make it happen. Whatever it is, take action that will lead to doing your task.
2. Don’t start with everyone else. People always want to start something new on Monday. I don’t know why Monday is the magic day of new beginnings, but if you don’t start this Monday, you’ll tell yourself next Monday. Instead of starting on Monday, how about starting on Saturday? Get a head start on everyone else and their Monday’s. Start your New Year’s resolutions on December 1st. Give yourself an advantage, so when that day actually comes, you’ll be ahead of the game.
3. Set up a reminder on your phone. Put a reminder on your phone. Do not turn off the notification until you have started. This may not work for everyone, but for people like me, I don’t like to see that notification bubble that says I have 10 reminders left that haven’t been done. Check those items off and feel a sense of accomplishment.
4. Just start, cold turkey. If you knew how to start, cold turkey, you probably wouldn’t be reading this. Sometimes, you just have to force yourself to fall into a rhythm. It’s hard to do, but it works, if you can do it. See if you can do a ‘hard’ start on that project one day. No complaining, no excuses, no laying around, just get up and do it.

These are just a few suggestions on how to get over that hump. What you have to remember is, it’s up to you to put one foot in front of the other. Know what you want to achieve in the end. It takes smaller steps to create the bigger picture. Don’t be hard on yourself, but know that you have to start. After you make starting a habit, you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish. Let’s get started!

Who gave the word ‘fail’ such a bad reputation? All of our lives, we’ve heard that word. It’s burned into our minds. We feel less than, because of it. The word itself carries so much weight, it can bring down the strongest person.

Let’s look at the word ‘fail’ in a different light. If you replace the word ‘fail’ with the word ‘learn,’ maybe your ego won’t be so hurt. Take a look:

• I failed the test.
• I have failed you.
• You did not succeed, you failed.
• You fail to realize that one plus one equals two.

Now, let’s use the same sentences, with the new word replacement.

• I learned the test.
• I have learned you.
• You did not succeed, you learned.
• You learned to realize that one plus one equals two.

That’s not so bad, is it? See what a little word replacement and perspective can do?

When you fail at something, it feels like you didn’t do it correctly, or you did something wrong. End of story, right? No, it’s not. When that situation happens again, you know exactly what to do to so that it turns out in your favor. You’ve gone through it and you know what to do and what to expect. You’re now one step ahead.

Failure is the process of learning.

Every time you replace the word ‘fail’ with the word ‘learn,’ it may not make perfect sense, but you get it. It’s better than allowing that other heavy word to pull you and your confidence down.

If you can make that connection in your mind, you’ll be better off when you hear it or use it. Failing is not bad. As you can see, you are learning. It happens and it’s a part of life. Don’t let it get you down.

Instead of feeling like a ‘failure,’ you should feel like a ‘learner’! That’s all it is. You didn’t lose – if you’re thinking on the right track, you’ll see that you’re actually learning.  It’s like a puzzle. Some pieces don’t fit together, but if you keep going, you’ll find the right pieces to build together. Eventually, you’ll have an entire masterpiece.

So let’s all change the narrative. Use ‘failure’ as a stepping stone to finding a better way. Make it a constructive word and not a destructive word, as it has been.

Change your perspective. You don’t fail, you learn.

Routines are a good way to increase your productivity. Once you’re in the groove, it’s like clockwork. You’re able to get more done and spend your time efficiently.

We can get so set into a routine that we are afraid to change it. Things that you do everyday in a particular manner could be done in a better way.

So you’ve been doing it like this for years and it works for you. That’s great, but did you know that technology has developed a more streamlined way of doing it? You may not like it, but give it a chance. There are lots of productive ways we could be doing things because of technology. The goal is forward movement.

Also, when you give different things a chance, it juices up your brain. You’ve been on autopilot for so long, your mind probably needs a good jolt, just to keep it in shape. Something as simple as taking another route to work will do the trick. Even if you change the type of exercise you’re doing, that will force your brain and body to improve on a new level.

Adjusting your routine will also build your confidence. When you’re successful at changing your routine, it gives you that extra boost of courage, because you mastered it. It shifted your mind and you conquered that challenge. It lets you know that you can do anything. Even if it goes left, you can handle it.

Don’t allow change to scare you. People hear that word and they freeze because no one wants to go through the hassle of adjusting to something new. Change is good – it enhances your growth and can strengthen your daily productivity. All you have to do is give it a chance.

Working towards your goals can be time consuming. Those late nights and early mornings will catch up to you after a while. You may be so deep into your work, you forget to take a break, but it’s important to take some time for yourself.

To make your dream possible, you have to put in discipline, focus and a tremendous amount of time. If you have a regular job, it makes it even harder to go into that ‘hustle’ phase, after and before work each day.

Take some time for yourself. Whether it’s a vacation or a day or two around town, taking the time to decompress is just as important as working your butt off to make things happen.

When you step away from the work, you allow yourself the space to relax. You’ve been ‘on’ for so long that it’s become a habit. That’s a good habit to have when you’re working on reaching your goals, but you need to look up every once in a while and take a breather.

Your time is valuable, so when you decide to take a break, make it count.

Get a massage, go see a movie or take a long drive to nowhere. Leave your cell phone at home and take a digital vacation. Tell everyone you’re on a break and you’ll reconnect with them at a certain time.  Give your mind a rest so when you get back to your goals, you’ll be refreshed and full of new ideas.

Yes, the other gurus will tell you to never let up and keep going because there’s always someone else trying to take your spot. Trust me, even the gurus take a break. It’s not productive to continuously wear yourself down and expect awesome results. You’ll get better results by pacing your work with your down time.

The mistake a lot of people make is, they take a break and that’s it. They never go back to working on their goals. Their break is permanent. That doesn’t work, at all. You don’t want to take a permanent break, you just want to take some well deserved time to regroup and come back stronger, mentally and physically. Have a binge day on Netflix if you want, just be sure to get back to work.

When you work hard, you allow yourself the privilege to play hard. Don’t cheat yourself by constantly being in hustle mode all of the time. It doesn’t work that way. Take a break and you will be more productive than before!

You’re working hard at completing your goal. During this time, there have been setbacks, fires for you to put out almost everyday and people who haven’t been too supportive – you know, the typical process.

Once you have successfully completed your goal, it’s celebration time! You did what you set out to do and it is, by far, one of your best achievements!

All of this is good and you deserve to celebrate what you accomplished. However, don’t celebrate too long. This is where complacency kicks in.

“I’ll just take a week off – then, I’ll get back to it.” That’s what you tell yourself. Then one week turns into two weeks and you tell yourself, “I’ll start on Monday.”

It’s catching up with you slowly and it’s starting to set in – you’re getting too comfortable and complacent. Comfortably complacent.

No big deal. It happens to the best of us. You’ve achieved your goal and you feel relieved that you can slow down for a moment. Those late nights and early mornings were starting to catch up to you.

Don’t let that comfortable feeling get in the way of your next goal. I know it feels good, but don’t let it take over. Next thing you know, it’ll be this time next year and you’ll wonder what happened.

When you find yourself becoming comfortably complacent, don’t. Start the next chapter of your goals, even if it’s just writing a blueprint of what you’re going to do within a day or so. Do something to keep up your momentum, because once you lose it, it’s hard to get back.

This is why some people advocate the ’24/7, work on your goals night and day,’ lifestyle. If you get complacent easily, that may be the best strategy for you. I’ve learned to take a few days and then, get back to work – it works for me. It’s not easy, but it can be done.

So don’t let yourself get too lazy and comfortable after you’ve successfully completed that humongous goal. Have your celebration, but don’t stay away too long. Complacency awaits you.

Your mind is everything. It is the control center of your existence. No matter what you think, you have the power to make it so.

Average thoughts will get you average results. If you’re thinking, why not think on an elevated level? If someone asks you how much money you want, would you tell them $2? No, you would tell them $2 million (or more)!

It doesn’t hurt to think small. It doesn’t hurt to think big. If you have a choice, you may as well think BIG.

Just because you think it, doesn’t mean it will automatically happen. After you think it, you must put in the work. The ideas behind your thoughts have to come to life.

This is what thinking big entails – it’s the continuous process of ideas and their outcomes. Don’t be scared and stop after the first idea didn’t work. That’s just your cue to keep going until you find what works. There will be times where you’ll need to adapt and adjust until you reach your desired result.

Your brain is a tough piece of matter. It can go on and on, thinking different ideas as long as you allow it. Don’t get sensitive and stop thinking, because something didn’t work out. Think it out and see where those thoughts take you.

Patience is key. When you’re working on your ideas, some won’t work the way you envisioned it. That is totally fine, because that eliminates what doesn’t work. Now, you can come up with another idea. It may not work. That’s two ways it didn’t work. Keep going.

You are the one in control of your own thought process.

You could stop thinking whenever you feel like it, but why would you? This is how unique and creative ideas are born and brought to light. All you have to do is allow the process to move you forward.

Don’t let your thoughts guide you in a negative direction. If you think the outcome may be bad, simply think of something else that will give you a more positive outcome. Sometimes, you may have to take a risk on your choice.

Taking a risk is like taking a gamble on your choices. That’s why it’s called a ‘risk,’ because you’re taking a chance and you’re willing to accept the outcome, whether it’s good or bad. Taking risks is a personal choice, but whatever you choose to do, be sure that you are okay with the outcome, either way it goes. Don’t take a risk if going to jail is a possibility and you know you don’t want to go to jail. If it’s something worth going to jail for, you must be okay with that, because it is a real consequence.

So, please, don’t stop thinking. If it’s a negative thought, dump it. Act on the positive thoughts. Those ‘a-ha’ moments are telling you something. Listen to them.

 

You don’t see it. It seems like all this work isn’t making anything happen. You keep working and creating, but nothing’s changed. That’s the mess in your progress.

Please, don’t give up. Success doesn’t happen after you put forth two days worth of effort. Keep in mind, you are building. While you are building, you are (believe it or not) making progress.

Making progress looks like this:

• starting from scratch
• having ideas
• doing what works
• it didn’t work
• figuring out what went wrong
• starting over
• different ideas
• do it again
• repeat

It may look like a big mess to you, but it’s called progress.

There’s not a one-minute formula that makes you succeed every time, at everything. You fail your way to success – that’s the actual progress. Very rarely, has anyone done everything correctly the very first time and was a success. It just doesn’t happen.

Don’t be afraid to fail. Failing is learning what didn’t work, so you won’t do it again. When you fail, you’re not wasting time, you’re working on making it better. Anybody else would have stopped after the fifth attempt, but you kept going and creating and figuring the little things out. That’s what leads to success.

Imagine if we could be a success after the first attempt at everything. Success wouldn’t be success, because everybody would be successful. There would be no value in it. Everyone would be successfully average.

Do the work and see the results.

Everyone sees the results, but no one sees the process. The progress is in the process – that’s where all the blood, sweat and tears happened. That’s where late nights and early mornings happened. That’s where your mind kept going, after your body was tired. That’s where, “I can’t do this” turns into “I got this.”

Other people will talk you out of it. Don’t join them and talk yourself out of it, too. It’s not that it’s never going to work – you’re just not finished, yet. That’s it. Keep going.

Have faith in yourself and know that you are capable of achieving success. The mess in the middle is a way of pushing you towards your greatness. Work through it. Success is just on the other side and you’ll be happy you did.

 

You work hard to see your goals become reality. Everyday, you have exercised commitment, sacrifice and determination.

One day, it happens. You’ve achieved success. When it hits you, it’s an indescribable feeling. So many things and various moments have gone into getting you here.

The entire time, it’s been an internal struggle. After success, it becomes an external struggle.

The internal struggle is you. The doubts in your mind, the way some people make you feel with their indirect comments, the avoidance of failure by not doing anything at all – it’s all internal.

These are the negative thoughts you have to deal with during every waking moment. It consumes your mind. The awesome thing is, you’re strong enough to not let it hold you hostage all of your life. You’ve become better at managing those damaging thoughts.

It takes practice to get past these whispering voices of doubt. They sound so comforting and convincing. “You don’t have to prove yourself – no one else is stressing over personal success. Let’s do it some other time – see what’s on social media.”

There’s another tiny voice in your head that pushes you. “Let’s see if we can do something extraordinary – why not? Let’s not sit here and do nothing. Let’s see how much we can get into!”

That’s the voice you listened to and it carried you to success. Yes, there were times when things didn’t go right, or an outside force made things go left, but you remained focus. According to your mind, nothing was going to stop you from winning.

The external factor is your environment. Some people are genuinely happy for you and others seem a little distant. They make off the wall comments whenever your success comes into the conversation. The voice of doubt rears it’s ugly head, once again.

“Don’t talk about your accomplishment – it makes them uncomfortable. It makes you look like you’re better than them.” All of this is not true at all, but you give in and dumb down your existence, just to put them at ease.

If they were your real friends, you wouldn’t have to do that. You wouldn’t have to explain your achievement or not mention it at all, just to save their hurt little feelings. Don’t brag about your success, but don’t downplay it for the sake of someone else who may be jealous. That’s their problem.

You deserve the success that you create. You deserve a positive mindset that allows you to imagine those fantastic ideas. You deserve people around you who are supportive and happy for your wins.

You worked hard and you achieved success. OWN IT! There are people who will appreciate it and there are people who will criticize and give negative feedback. Instead of being jealous for no reason, they should figure out their own path and look upon you as inspiration.

Don’t ever cut yourself short for someone else. You are worthy of your success. Everyone has to take responsibility for their own future. Don’t let other people’s weak emotions stop you from what you want to achieve. Everyone’s path may be different, but we all have a shot at being successful.