Why Following Your Passion Might Be Bad Advice

We’ve all heard it a thousand times, if you want to be happy in life, follow your passion. Let’s look closer at this advice. The word passion comes from the Latin root word patior, which means “to suffer.” So, when someone tells you to follow your passion, they’re saying you should do something for which you are willing to suffer.

That’s not how passion is used in today’s entrepreneurial landscape. It’s been hijacked and saddled with a new meaning tied to a financial outcome. Frankly, passion has nothing to do with earning a 10x return or building a seven-figure business. That garbage is used to peddle books and programs—it’s not truth.

Here’s the question to ask yourself to see if you’re passionate about what you’re doing: Am I willing to put in the work and never see the fruit? If the answer is no, I hate to break it to you, but that’s not your passion. 

Fear not, though. In this article, I’ll lay out an alternate starting point for whatever it is you want to achieve in life. That said, I don’t want to ignore passion, so let’s first walk down the path of following your passion to see where you might end up.

The Side Hustle Culture

Let’s start with a simple question: Why has “follow your passion” become such a popular mantra in recent years? Part of it is the misconception I mentioned that riches will come if you pursue your passion, but the other piece is employee disengagement. 

Worldwide, we’re showing up to work totally checked out. A Gallup study revealed that 85% of employees are not engaged at work, costing us $7 trillion annually in lost productivity. That’s more than the GDP of all but two countries (US and China).

If you’re showing up to a place you hate every day, one where your gifts, abilities, and potential aren’t being realized, of course you’re going to pursue your passion by starting a side hustle. It’s estimated that 37% of Americans have done just that.

Where Your Passion Might Lead

Side hustles don’t just represent extra income—they represent freedom; the chance to break away from a hated job and pursue a passion full-time. So, let’s say you do that. Statistics paint a grim picture for your chances of long-term success. According to the Small Business Administration, about half of new businesses make it past five years.

If you’ve tethered your identity to the twisted definition of passion that equates success with a certain outcome, your self-worth will take a big hit. You might see yourself as a failure, which isn’t true, but that won’t stop those thoughts from entering your mind. Instead of attaching your identity to your passion, let me suggest a different approach.

“What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” – Sheryl Sandberg

Find Your Worth Before Your “Why”

What Simon Sinek talked about in his book “Start with Why” is spot on. Before looking at the “what,” you need to figure out the “why.” But there’s a crucial step before that: You must first see yourself as worthy of having a “why.” If your self-worth has cratered after you followed your passion and failed, you might not feel very worthy. That’s why I suggest beginning here and not deferring it to the future.

Let’s keep digging. In order to see yourself as worthy, you need to answer the question: Who am I? Only once you know yourself can you see the worthiness inside you. When I set out to answer that question myself, here were three things that helped:

• Doing something challenging
• Making time for reflection and visualization
• Creating “I am” statements: I am _________________

Let’s walk through each of these steps in a little more detail.

Take Steps to Discover Who You Are

The first step in finding out who you are is doing something challenging. For me, that was CrossFit. I believe that when you do something physically challenging, it opens up the possibility that you can accomplish something mentally challenging, too.

We’re building what Dr. Albert Bandura called “self-efficacy” which is our belief in our own abilities to succeed in challenging situations or accomplish a difficult task. When I do an intense workout and don’t die, it builds my confidence that I can do other difficult things, too.

However, I can’t tap into that belief if I don’t take time to reflect on it. That’s why, after you do something challenging (it doesn’t have to be exercise), you must make time to be silent and visualize yourself achieving something difficult in the future. By doing this, you’re acknowledging and reinforcing the idea that you’re effective and capable.

From there, I find tremendous value in writing “I am” statements such as this one: I am capable of doing hard things.

When you do something challenging, you’re working through the progression that ends here. You move from “I think I can” to “I know I can” to “I can” and finally “I did.” By reflecting on your thoughts, you can recognize this progression, and by verbalizing it with an “I am” statement, you’re making a clear declaration about your identity.

“The man who achieves makes many mistakes, but he never makes the biggest mistake of all – doing nothing.” – Benjamin Franklin

Using Your Gifts to Serve Others

I can say with confidence that these three steps will help you discover who you are, why you’re worthy, and what your “why” is because it worked for me. About a decade ago I was nearly broke, had to short sell our first home, and was diagnosed with postpartum depression after the birth of our fourth child (and my wife was the one who did all the heavy lifting there). In every way, I saw myself as a failure.

As I worked through this process, I discovered new things about myself, rebuilt my self-worth, and found a new “why” which turned out to be helping people find the truth that dwells within them. Now, I’m fueled by passion because I’m rooted in purpose. Instead of focusing on an outcome, I’m focused on using my gifts to help as many people as I can. If you ask me, I’m willing to suffer for that.

What are your thoughts on the above article? Do you agree with the author or not? Share your thoughts and ideas with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/why-following-your-passion-might-be-bad-advice/

3 Unique Ways to Strengthen Your Personal and Professional Identity

When I was young professional—just getting into the workforce, I was always intrigued by and somewhat star-struck when I saw departmental Executives, Senior VPs, and company CEOs walking around the office of where I was employed at the time. When seeing them, I used to ask myself questions like: “Man, I wonder how it feels to be in a leadership role like that?” or “How and what did they do to be in such an influential seat in the company?” I would even ask myself, “Was it their schooling or did they know someone, that knew someone?”.

Never being too afraid to ask, because I was never one to assume, and I’d rather get my answers from that individual directly, versus receiving misinformation from others. While employed at a Fortune 500 banking institution, the opportunity for me to meet the higher-ups in the company had presented itself, because my departments new launch was oncoming, and the higher-ups wanted to meet the team.

Boldly, I approached the Senior VP that was over my division at that period in time, and asked him “Sir, how did you become who you are and what did you do to get there?” He looked at me, smiled and said “No one ever asked me that. Most people that I meet for the first time just say hello and shake my hand in fear, as if I’m this esoteric being that isn’t human.” Digesting his response, and reading his demeanor—I was shocked by how casual and laid back he was. He told me to have a seat, as we were standing by my cubicle. He pulled up a chair beside me and said “It’s not about how I became who I am, or what I did. Early in my career, I knew who I was, but who I was—by my lonesome, wasn’t the man that was going to get me to where I wanted to be.”

After around 15-minutes of great dialogue with the Senior VP, we concluded our conversation by him making the statement “As I excelled in status and climbed the corporate ladder, I was pretty much elected into every role that I’ve ever been in. Not because I was the most skilled, but because I always cared for people, and people always felt that from me—even if we’d just met. I was a constant student of others—no matter who they were.” I proceeded to ask him what he meant, and he said “When I learn from people, I take a piece of who they are with me, and I add the experience and information that they shared with me, to my repertoire of skills and wisdom. This has always helped me grow as an individual.”

I looked at him and just stared, because what he had said to me was beyond profound, but I understood the essence of his message without confusion. He got up from his chair, shook my hand and said “Remember—learn from everyone, but never look to become them.” I learned a great deal of information that day, so I’d like to share with you, what was shared with me.

Here are 3 unique ways you can learn from everyone that you encounter, in efforts to strengthen your professional and personal identity:

1. Listen to hear; versus to respond or react

The old saying “People don’t care about how much you know, they just want to know how much you care” is true. So, despite how knowledgeable you may be in an area that someone is expressing concern, most people honestly don’t want your advice. They simply want to feel the empathy and compassion of you caring, and sharing their burden(s)—even if it’s just for a moment.

When they ask for advice or recommendations, that’s when you should express your credibility in the area of their concern. Understanding this, creates a greater tier of patience and restraint that most people on earth lack, simply because you understand that the moment isn’t about you. It’s about others, and about softening towards the world and towards all those that are in it.

2. Learn how to read body language as it’s communicating to you

Most people have to reflect on how people reacted, in the midst of a conversation—once the conversation has concluded or when it’s too late to say what they truly wanted to say. When you can assess the conformability or un-conformability of a person’s behaviors in real-time, not only will you realize the growth within yourself, but you’ll be more conscious of your delivery and approach on certain topics when engaging with others on a casual or professional level.

Become so good at reading the body language of others, that you subconsciously begin to feel like Neo from the Matrix. I reference Neo, because you’ll begin to see the in-between moments of life happening in slow motion, while the rest of the world is moving at warp speed—somewhat like how Neo experienced the slowing down of time in the infamous scene when he dodged a barrage of bullets at point blank range, on the rooftop.

3. Learn how to adopt mannerisms that impress you then, make them your own

Positive mannerisms range from strong/hearty handshakes, sitting firm and upright when in the presence of others, smiling with confidence and full transparency, with no regard to whether or not others can handle your radical openness.

Being consciously aware of these 3 simple tips, complemented with your efforts of applying them in all situations, will ensure the development of your personal and professional identity. When you have the mindset of always learning from others, you eventually become the masterful teacher that eventually passes the baton to the next student that’s watching and seeking to learn from you.

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/3-unique-ways-to-strengthen-your-personal-and-professional-identity/

54 Joe Rogan Quotes That Will Motivate You to Greatness

Joe Rogan is a stand-up comedian, a figure in the MMA space, and former host of Fear Factor.  But Rogan is more recognized his famous podcast The Joe Rogan Experience which is at the top of many iTunes charts.  Each week, Joe Rogan sits down with a public figure to have a raw conversation to discuss their story, passions, and life in general.  These people range from actors & scientists, to controversial figures in the news.  Rogan is well known for dropping knowledge bombs in his show and is respected & looked up to by people in a variety of spaces as a motivational & inspirational figure.

Here are some of Joe Rogan’s best quotes:

1. “I love a success story, but even more than a success story; I like a dude who fucks his life up and gets his life together again story.” – Joe Rogan

2. “That’s my only goal.  Surround myself with funny people, and make sure everyone has a good time and works hard.” – Joe Rogan

3. “Reality really is a theatre.  There’s no other way to describe it.  It’s all so nonsensical, ridiculous and chaotic.” – Joe Rogan

4. “Someone else’s success does not equal a failure for you.” – Joe Rogan

5. “The universe rewards calculated risk and passion.” – Joe Rogan

6. “If you can control what you eat, you can control all other aspects of your life.” – Joe Rogan

7. “Here’s the craziest thing about life, this is the thing that nobody really considers; you know as much about what life is all about as anybody who’s ever lived, ever.  That’s the craziest thing about us.  We’re all just kinda wandering through this going “‘You know what you’re doing?’ ‘Yes.’ ‘Oh, I do too.  I know what I’m doing.’ ‘Okay.  Good, then.’” But really no one has a clue.” – Joe Rogan

8. “Work for that feeling that you have accomplished something…Don’t waste your time on this earth without making a mark.” – Joe Rogan

9. “If you are the greatest, why would you go around talking about it?” – Joe Rogan

10. “When someone comes along and expresses him or herself as freely as they think, people flock to it.  They enjoy it.” – Joe Rogan

11. “There’s a direct correlation between positive energy and positive results in the physical form.” – Joe Rogan

12. “So instead of investing your time in a passion, you’ve sold your life to work for an uncaring machine that doesn’t understand you.  That’s the problem with our society.  And what’s the reward?  Go home and get a big TV.” – Joe Rogan

13. “Once you understand what excellence is all about…you see how excellence manifests itself in any discipline.” – Joe Rogan

14. “There’s only one way to get good at anything; you surround yourself with the bad motherfuckers who are doing exactly you do and you forced yourself to keep up and inspire each other.” – Joe Rogan

15. “Life is strange.  You keep moving and keep moving.  Before you know it, you look back and thing, ‘What was that?’” – Joe Rogan

16. “If you ever start taking things too seriously, just remember that we are talking monkeys on an organic spaceship flying through the universe.” – Joe Rogan

17. “Be cool to people.  Be nice to as many people as you can.  Smile to as many people as you can, and have them smile back at you.” – Joe Rogan

18. “I realized a long time ago that instead of being jealous you can be inspired and appreciative.  It carries more energy to you.  That can be an awesome and motivating force that can improve your life if you choose to be inspired and not jealous.  One has no benefit whatsoever, the other is an incredible resource for creating momentum and improvement.” – Joe Rogan

19. “To really appreciate life you got to know you’re going to die.” – Joe Rogan

20. “Live your life like you’re the hero in your own movie.” – Joe Rogan

21. “People want their 15 minutes and are willing to do anything to get it.” – Joe Rogan

22. “I had a sense of who I was before I got famous.” – Joe Rogan

23. “I think that one of the reasons why people look towards the end of humanity is that people are afraid to die alone.  If you die alone, the people you love will miss you, or if they die, you miss them – the sorrow is inevitable.  When you truly love someone, the thought of losing them forever is horrible.” – Joe Rogan

24. “One of the most fascinating lessons I’ve absorbed about life is that the struggle is good.” – Joe Rogan

25. “The time you spend hating on someone robs you of your own time.  You are literally hating on yourself and you don’t even realize it.” – Joe Rogan

26. “The key to happiness doesn’t lay in numbers in a bank account but in the way we make others feel and the way they make us feel.” – Joe Rogan

27. “I’m obsessed to extreme winners because I think there’s a madness to it.  I truly believe that in order to truly be great at something you have to give into a certain amount of madness.” – Joe Rogan

28. “There’s a never-ending ocean of techniques out there.” – Joe Rogan

29. “The quicker we all realize that we’ve been taught how to live life by the people that were operating on the momentum of an ignorant past the quicker we can move to a global ethic of community that doesn’t value invented borders or the monopolization of natural resources, but rather the goal of a happier more loving humanity.” – Joe Rogan

30. “People for the most part can smell lies.” – Joe Rogan

31. “Life is about the pursuit of excellence.  That pursuit is probably more exciting to me now more than ever.” – Joe Rogan

32. “We define ourselves far too often by our past failures.  That’s not you.  You are this person right now.  You’re the person who has learned from those failures.  Build confidence and momentum with each good decision you make from here on out and choose to be inspired.” – Joe Rogan

33. “Greatness and madness are next door neighbors and they often borrow each other’s sugar.” – Joe Rogan

34. “Haters are all failures.  It’s 100% across the board.  No one who is truly brilliant at anything is a hater.” – Joe Rogan

35. “In all my travelings, all my life adventures; I have to say I still don’t know what life is, absolutely no clue, and it is a subject that is constantly on my mind.  One thing I do know for a fact is that the nicer we are to our fellow human beings, the nicer the universe is to us.” – Joe Rogan

36. “Kindness is one of the best gifts you can bestow…We know that inherently that feels great.” – Joe Rogan

37. “Excellence in anything increases your potential in everything.” – Joe Rogan

38. “You can’t measure what’s inside a man’s heart.” – Joe Rogan

39. “I truly believe that in order to truly be great at something you have to give into a certain amount of madness.” – Joe Rogan

40. “It’s very important to help people figure out how to manage life, to help people figure out how to think, help inspire them, help show them what can be gained from setting goals and achieving them and that excellent feeling – and that becomes contagious.” – Joe Rogan

41. “Write down things you want to improve. Write down things you won’t tolerate from yourself. Write down things you never want to see yourself do again.” – Joe Rogan

42. “Live your life like there is a documentary crew following you around and you are analysing your own behavior.” – Joe Rogan

43. “One thing I do know for a fact is that the nicer we are to our fellow human beings, the nicer the universe is to us.” – Joe Rogan

44. “The people I know that have the hardest time keeping it together emotionally are people that don’t work out.” – Joe Rogan

45. “Treat everyone as if they were you. If we really are one, then I am you and you are me.” – Joe Rogan

46. “It’s very possible that everybody is exactly the same at the core.” – Joe Rogan

47. “100% of all haters in the world are unrealised potential.” – Joe Rogan

48. “Pretend that your life was a movie and it started now, what would the hero do? What would the person that you respect do? What would the person that you admire, and inspires you do? Do that.” – Joe Rogan

49. “If things aren’t going the way you want them to go, then do something about it. Quit talking about your problems and go out and do something to fix them.” – Joe Rogan

50. “All the time that you spend complaining, you could instead be hustling. You could be chasing your dream. You could be figuring out what you’re doing wrong and improving your life.” – Joe Rogan

51. “Your attitude has a giant effect not just on your life, but on other peoples lives around you.” – Joe Rogan

52. “Get better at whatever you’re doing. So what if you suck at it now. Everybody sucks at everything when they start. But if you love it, and don’t lie to yourself, then get better at it.” – Joe Rogan

53. “Do things that are difficult. It’s very important to struggle. You don’t get to know yourself without struggle. You don’t know who you are until you get tested.” – Joe Rogan

54. “Faith itself is a horrible mechanism that stunts the growth of ideas. It also stunts the act of questioning, and it does this by pushing the idea that you have to have faith – and that nothing has to be proven.” – Joe Rogan

from
https://addicted2success.com/quotes/37-joe-rogan-quotes-that-will-motivate-you-to-greatness/

3 Ways to Uncover Your Blind Spots and Live Life on Your Terms

Do you ever start to say something you know you shouldn’t, but cannot help to say it anyway? How about a specific relationship breaking down again, despite employing an array of differing strategies? I’m talking about the times where it seems no matter what you do, history has no choice but to repeat itself.

This, ladies and gentlemen, can be attributed to our blind spots. The areas where our ways of thinking hide the key to unlocking our full potential. We assert we’ve looked everywhere, but we cannot look where we cannot see. These barriers to awareness cannot be distinguished with the same thinking that got us there. A new mind and a new heart must be fashioned to break old, embedded patterns. For a life we truly love, we must take to the hills for a new vantage point.

Here are three essentials to uncovering your blind spots and living life on your terms:

1. Deal With Your Ego

Your ego, more than anything, is a protective device. Fashioned from the most primitive parts of your brain, such as the amygdala, your ego puts up a wall as you make mistakes or fall victim to your weaknesses. This component of your psyche, essentially your false self, makes it increasingly difficult for you to address your shortcomings logically and riddle them with emotion.

Because your survival and safety is paramount, responsibility is dodged and allocated elsewhere. Worse off, these areas of the brain are not accessible to our conscious awareness.

The saving grace however, is the part of the brain responsible for logic and reason. This higher-level, non-reactive consciousness can guide you in the right direction if you allow it. Understanding you have a war going on in your mind is the first step — with the second being, who you allow to win.

Your ego is insecure, underdeveloped, irrational, and painfully selfish. Calling it out when it attempts to run wild is up to you. Ironically, because it will stop at nothing to ensure your superficial needs — attention, love, praise, connection, etc. — are met, it typically jeopardizes them by being too attached. It’s a question of what you want the most versus what you want right now. You’ve got Jekyll and Hyde at odds in your head — who are you going to give the hammer to?

“The ego lives in the tension between what you are and what you want to be.” – Osho

2. Question Everything

Success is not final. What works in producing results may not work for as long as we want to believe. With certain approaches having produced results for us in the past, we’re naturally inclined to lean into a sunk-cost bias and ride them out ignorantly. No one wants to give up their beliefs. Where we are in our lives right now is because of a sum of the choices we’ve made based on those beliefs.

Of the same token, what got you here won’t get you there. This is where many people struggle to stay in the game and begin to suffer — helplessness sets in when it appears all you know won’t make any difference. The only way to keep the door open to possibility is through inquiry.

By constantly questioning the approach, the mindset, the attitude and the focus on which you employ, you sift through the options objectively until you land on what you choose to try. Even if you’re wrong the first time, you simply go back to the drawing board and try something else. It gets messy when we over-identify with what we think. You can have strong opinions, but go easy on the Kung Fu grip.

3. Seek Feedback From Thoughtful People

This step is listed last for obvious reasons — it’s the most difficult. Putting yourself out there in the open for potential harm is no easy feat. When you realize the reward far outweighs the risk however, you’ll act every time.

Find a few close confidants whose opinions you value. Maybe they’ve accomplished some success in their lives or maybe they just know how to strike a chord with you. Set up regular conversations with them to provide feedback on what you’re up to in life, assuring them your feelings are suspended throughout the sit-down. Create a safe space for them to provide honest, thoughtful feedback for you to look at from a third person perspective and make a decision on whether or not you’re going to add it to your arsenal. Remember, they can see what you cannot.

This isn’t an open forum for someone to trash you. It’s simply a training ground for you to be with the perceptions that you’ve created for yourself through your attitudes and actions. By honoring and valuing others’ opinions, you’ll be one step closer to getting in the minds and hearts of the people you wish to influence most — as well as one step further away from your ego.

“It takes humility to seek feedback. It takes wisdom to understand it, analyse it and appropriately act on it.” – Stephen Covey

People can’t appreciate what they don’t know is there. There’s more than one lens in life and you just happen to possess one of the billions. Life isn’t the way you see it, but merely the way it is. Staying grounded in situations and seeing your emotions for what they are (i.e. a cry for help) will allow you to continue to heighten your perspective and gain a panoramic view.

You don’t access your peripherals without stretching your sight. Try these three techniques today to take a break from informational learning and discover for yourself what’s been in your way this whole time.

How do you discover what’s holding you back from achieving success in your life? Do you have any techniques? If so, please let us know in the comments below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/3-ways-to-uncover-your-blind-spots-and-live-life-on-your-terms/

6 Lessons You Can Learn from The King of the Jungle

Take a Break to Break Your Cycle: 5 Unique Tips to Beat Goal Procrastination

Why are so many working professionals struggling to find the time to work on their own personal goals? Sure, we have obligations to meet the mandatory deliverables of our employers. But I’m guessing you currently have your own goals that are sitting on the shelf—and despite the many outside-of-work hours available to you, you just can’t seem to make the time for your own vision. Why do you think that is?

Whether you’re readily aware of it or not—truthfully, we all know the answer. It varies from: “I don’t have the time, because I’m burnt out after work” or “Once I’m off, I have plans and then so much to do afterwards”. Realistically, there’s never truly one answer to pinpoint. Reason being, the answer can—and typically does, change from day-to-day; being that every new day brings its unique challenges.

But wait! Here’s how the coin reads on the other side: One may say that they’re burnt out after work—but then they somehow find time to binge watch three 1- hour episodes of a great new series that they just started watching on Netflix before going to sleep. Another may say that they have plans to take care of so many personal tasks after work. Yet they get home, take a few moments to decompress from the draining day in the office, and end up doing absolutely nothing for the remainder of the night—putting their ‘plans’ on tomorrows to-do list.

The next person may say that they have to make dinner and feed the kids, but the kids wanted fast-food, which left the parent time to work on their own goals once they got home, but instead they chose to finish the report that they were working on before they left the office to get the kids—as if their own action-items aren’t worthy of entertaining.

“The greatest gift that you can give yourself is a little bit of your own attention.” – Anthony J. D’Angelo

All of these, in fact, are excuses. Excuses that we all use to justify why we can’t seem to work toward completing the goals that we often fantasize about, while we remain on the job working toward someone else’s vision. The old saying, “If you don’t have your own goals, you’ll always work for those that do” is very true. So, do yourself a favor and TAKE A BREAK.

TAKE A BREAK from all of the excuses you come up with that keep you from starting your goals. TAKE A BREAK from all of the so-called “distractions” that you blame your inabilities on, because in reality, you give the breath of life to what you entertain—good or bad. Truthfully speaking, you should TAKE A BREAK from your current job, and allocate a little time to yourself, whether it be during lunch, on your 15-minute break, when you get up to grab a cup of coffee, or whenever is convenient for you.

It doesn’t have to necessarily be at work; it can be in or out of the office. Be deliberate in taking time out for yourself and take baby steps toward building the meaningful thing, company, or vision that will ultimately make you happy. You have to remember, goals that aren’t being worked towards will forever and only be dreams, and nothing more.

Here are 5 simple tips that can help you BREAK from all that’s happening around you, so that you can BUILD on your dreams and invest in the greatest asset that you have—YOURSELF:

1. Write on a piece of paper one daily goal

Write down one goal each day however small, that feeds into your ultimate goal and look to accomplish that one goal for the day. Take the note, put it in your purse, pants pocket, wallet or even inside your cell phone case. Place it anywhere that you’ll be forced to see it again, and it will bring attention to your consciousness. This will empower you and give you the urge to execute that one goal, because to your immediate consciousness—it will seem ‘so easy to do’ because it’s not time consuming.

2. Use a descriptive reminder for that daily goal

Put an hourly or bi-hourly reminder with a descriptive message relative to your daily goal in your cell phone. When it goes off, you’ll know to execute what you’re passively telling yourself what to do. Repeated awareness of a thing, trains the conscious mind and over time becomes a part of your subconscious belief system. You’ll begin to believe more and more that it’s worth taking out the time to execute your goals.

3. Use a picture of your loved one your goal will directly affect

Take a picture of a loved one that you care for, who will benefit from you following your dreams and chipping away at your daily/or ultimate goal. This accountability will empower you to be more conscious of what interim goals you have in place to reach…because now you’re not only doing this for yourself.

4. Take a break and repeat this affirmation

Stop what you’re doing, take 10 seconds to yourself and repeat this affirmation as often as you can: “BREAK (… inhale… exhale) BREATHE (…inhale… exhale) BUILD (… inhale… exhale)”.

5. Keep a meaningful object within reach at all times

Keep a meaningful object (big or small) within arm’s reach, so that it’s visible to your consciousness, so that when you see it—it reminds you that you have work to do, and not work relative to your current job, but work relative to your individual goals and the process of attaining what your see in your minds eye.

These 5 simple tips, through repetition and discipline, can create an entire wave of new habits that subconsciously get you closer to completing your goals. All that you have to do is believe that your goals are worth reaching and completing. You deserve to experience the life that you dream about, and having and working toward your goals on a daily basis will get you there.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/take-a-break-to-break-your-cycle-5-unique-tips-to-beat-goal-procrastination/

27 Cristiano Ronaldo Quotes That Will Sow the Seeds of Success in Your Life

Cristiano Ronaldo is inarguably, one of the greatest athletes the world has ever seen. He is currently at the top of his game but his rise to prominence was far from ease. The Portuguese star has had his fair share of struggles but his thirst for perfection kept him going and made him the greatest of all time.

Below are 27 Inspirational Quotes by Cristiano Ronaldo that will help you go the extra mile:

1. “Dreams are not what you see in your sleep, they are the things that don’t let you sleep.”

2. “We don’t want to tell our dreams, we want to show them.”

3. “Your love makes me strong, your hate makes me unstoppable.”

4. “To be the best, you need the best.”

5. “If you think you’re perfect already, then you never will be.”

6. “I don’t have to show anything to anyone, there is nothing to prove.”

7. “Look into the heavens and say, “It’s my turn to make history.”

8. “To me, being the best means proving it in different countries and championships.”

9. “I still remember when my teacher told me that football wouldn’t give me anything to eat.”

10. “My aim is to go down in history as one of the best.”

11. “Dedication, hard work all the time, and belief.”

12. “There is no harm in dreaming of becoming the best player in the world. It is all about trying to be the best, and I will keep working hard to achieve it but it is within my capabilities.”

13. “We should make the most of life, enjoy it because that’s the way it is.”

14. “I want to be remembered as part of the group of the greatest players ever.”

15. “I know I am a good professional. I know no one’s harder on me than myself and that’s not going to change under any circumstances.” 

16. “Today, there are opportunities no one knows if they will come around again in the future.”

17. “Maybe they hate me because I’m too good.”

18. “I have my flaws too, but I am a professional who doesn’t like to miss or lose.”

19. “Talent without working hard is nothing.”

20. “I was ironing my own clothes when I was 11 years old. My mental strength goes back to those days.”

21. “Winning – that’s most important to me. Simple as that.”

22. “I don’t mind people hating me because it pushes me.”

23. “My father always taught me that when you help other people, then God will give you double. And that’s what really happened to me. When I have helped other people in need, God has helped me more.”

24. “I am always motivated. I am ambitious and I always want to improve.”

25. “I have never tried to hide the fact that it is my intention to become the best.”

26. “I will never reject an autograph, hug or photo. I was also a football fan.”

27. “I am not a perfectionist but I like to feel things that are done well.”

Which of the Cristiano Ronald0 quote did you like the most and why?

from
https://addicted2success.com/quotes/27-cristiano-ronaldo-quotes-that-will-sow-the-seeds-of-success-in-your-life/

Self Sabotage is Your Biggest Hurdle to an Extraordinary Life

Self-sabotage. It’s the timeless tale of potential gone wrong and opportunities missed. It’s the hidden enemy that launches an attack when we least expect it. And it causes us to engage in all sorts of behaviours and habits that we never would logically conduct. 

From procrastination to jumping into the wrong opportunity without due diligence, from skipping the gym to not paying our taxes, from staying in a relationship laden with red flags to turning to alcohol, drugs or any other numbing activity…there is no behaviour so low that self-sabotage won’t stoop to. All these behaviours are designed with one goal in mind – to stop us from following through or reaching our full potential.

There is a misconception that our unconscious mind works against us. Despite Freud’s belief that the unconscious mind is this big, bad, dark thing that wants to see you fail, that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, our unconscious mind exists to serve us. It wants us to succeed. 

The trouble is, most people communicate ineffectively with themselves, leaving their unconscious mind to create a reality out of limiting beliefs and negative experiences. When we’re creating a reality from a negative and disempowering foundation, we can’t help but find ways to be let down, miss opportunities and sabotage ourselves.

To further add fuel to the fire, we are also wired to always be right. So even when the opportunity does arise to make more money, find more fulfilling and loving relationships, advance in our careers or grow our business – our unconscious mind pulls the proverbial handbrake before we move into unchartered (and therefore the potentially unsafe) territory of our reality not aligning with our beliefs, thereby proving them wrong. And so, like a fish out of water, we find a way to flop.

So despite our best efforts to show up as our best selves and achieve our full potential, how does self-sabotage still sneak in to derail us? Let’s take a look inside the mind:

Step 1: You experience a situation that threatens to challenge one of your belief systems

It could be finding a relationship where you feel loved and supported (when you believe that you’re not good enough). In business, it could be where you have opportunities to increase your income through high paying clients, high profile opportunities or company growth (when you believe you’re unworthy of success).

Step 2: There is an incongruency between your conscious and unconscious mind as the fear of the unknown kicks in

Consciously, we enjoy the opportunities that come our way, however, our conscious mind is only 4% of our minds capacity. Our unconscious mind is 96% of the minds capacity, and it goes into panic mode because the beliefs it has long held to be true are being challenged. The amygdala, the fear center of the brain, goes on high alert from the perceived threat of this new reality that is unfolding.

“You can conquer almost any fear if you will only make up your mind to do so. For remember, fear doesn’t exist anywhere except in the mind.” – Dale Carnegie

Step 3: Course correction begins

The unconscious mind will kick into action to bring you back to the reality you’ve always known and begin taking action to undermine the new relationship or extinguish the opportunities in your business.

In the relationship, you will start misinterpreting their communication or their tone. You’ll go back into your old patterns of not being able to trust the person or not believing what they say to you. You’ll start questioning everything they say and do, and find reasons to discredit them by any means necessary. Over time, this will lead to a complete and total breakdown of a relationship that once held so much promise.

In business, you find logical reasons to justify buying unneeded items, or you overpromise and underdeliver for a client so they decline to continue working with you. You make business decisions or take risks that are unnecessary or costly. Or you procrastinate on getting important tasks done until your cash flow is scarce and the business is financially stressed. Slowly, but surely, any business success you were finding disappears – further validating that you aren’t good enough.

Step 4: Nothing changes

The reality that we’ve created for ourselves is one that never changes, because we’ve never taken the time to work on the belief systems that reside in the dark recesses of our minds. Our relationships progressively get worse and worse. In business, we experience crushing blows after any amount of success. We may even get drawn into the victim mentality cycle of “why me” and “poor me.”

The good news is, we can change! We can stop self-sabotage in its tracks and create a reality that has everything we’ve ever wanted…and more! How? It starts with recognizing that our behaviours and habits are nothing more than symptoms of our belief systems. 

When we have enough self-awareness to recognize the patterns that we continually engage in that derail our forward progression, we can begin the process of questioning them and digging deeper to find out the belief that is at play.

“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves.” – Victor Frankl

Once we know the root of the problem (the belief) we can do the work needed to revisit the circumstances in our life that created the belief in the first place. We can reframe our perceptions of these events to recreate the old belief. 

The truth is – the bulk of the belief systems we carry around in our adult years were created between the ages of 0 and 7. These beliefs are then further cemented in place in our unconscious mind by how we choose to view other events that occurred in our life.

For example, what if that significant other who cheated on you, leading to the belief that you can’t trust anyone, didn’t cheat because you weren’t good enough, rather they were demonstrating their own lack of confidence or self-worth. Or maybe they were just a jerk with no self-control. Either way, none of those realities have anything to do with your personal self-worth.

In business, what if those challenges and obstacles that popped up were designed to help you tap into the internal resources you needed to cultivate (like strength, resilience, tenacity, compassion or grit) to help you become more effective in reaching your potential? What if failure was an event and you had made the unconscious choice in the past to take it on as your identity?

Being able to see the failures of others that are considered successful by society helps reframe these beliefs quickly as well. Afterall, it’s hard to feel like a failure when one or two ventures didn’t go your way, when Thomas Edison “failed” thousands of times at creating the lightbulb!

Take the time to reflect on the habits that you continually engage in that seem to derail your progress or success. Be willing to dig in and ask the question “what is the purpose of doing this?” so that you can, like so many other successful entrepreneurs and business people have before you, say goodbye to self-sabotage and fully embrace your potential!

How do you make sure you don’t self-sabotage your potential success? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/self-sabotage-is-your-biggest-hurdle-to-an-extraordinary-life/

5 of the Best Proven Growth Hacking Strategies for Your Business

Tough competition can make growing a new brand seem near impossible, despite the hundreds of new companies that are created every day. Creative solutions offer the answer, allowing you to move in a positive direction with your brand start-up at an affordable investment. To achieve this, speed is the key. Growing your user base fast will allow profits to come in fast, too. This is what growth hacking is all about. 

Read on for 5 of the best tips in the game on growth hacking:

1. Knowing your goals

Of course, you want your business to boom – who doesn’t? But clearly, knowing you want something isn’t enough, because if it was, we would all be successful business-people. 

What’s important is being specific in what you want. When do you want your finished product to be complete by? How many subscribers do you want at the end of the month? What do you want to expand your inventory with?

Knowing your goals clearly means you will start doing what it takes to achieve them. Only one in a hundred high-achieving people actually write their goals down and visualize them regularly. 

These are the people who soar above the rest. It’s also alright to set goals that seem too big for you to complete right now. Most of your goals will be since they’re not things that will happen overnight. When setting your goals, also set out how you plan to achieve them.

“If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy and inspires your hopes.” – Andrew Carnegie

2. Self-promotion

A brilliant way to understand your customer audience is to ask them about themselves. Through blogging, you can experiment around with readers. Use questions to get them to show you things about themselves. This can be experimental, such as asking questions about scenarios to find out what really matters to them.

People like to see a balance of emotive visuals, with facts and figures. Combine the two for the most potent effect. Conduct some market research to spot trendy topics that are relevant to the product you’re selling. Base your images on factual information. Next, build accompanying stories with the images that incorporates compelling language. You’ve done great! Share your creation on as many platforms as you can.

3. Build an effective email list

Emails are by no means out-dated. It still stands tall above social media in terms of marketing strategies. Your email list will be essential to your company, so it’s important you craft useful and compelling messages that will lead potential customers to keep clicking your links.

Having been around for decades now, emails are trusted and come without some of the complicated analytics involved in social media (though, get to grips with these too). Having a subscribe button at the top of every page on your website will increase the chances that customers enter their email.

Exit intent popups appear on-screen whenever a visitor wants to click back, or navigate from your website using their bookmarked tabs. These are a highly effective strategy to implement on your website. 

Another tip to consider is asking for visitors’ names with their email addresses. This makes it easier to personalize messages later and build a better relationship with your customers.

“Why waste a sentence saying nothing?” – Seth Godin

4. Developing trust with your customers

Referrals and reviews are potentially risky and potentially brilliant keys to success. If you focus on perfecting your product, they will help your business grow rapidly. Though, if your product is mediocre, at best referrals and reviews will be few and sparse. With a good product or service, there will be a point you get to where they begin to sell themselves. This is trusting your customers. 

You can also allow your customers to grow to trust you, with a reward program. You can implement this from the moment they subscribe to your email list, by offering a special one-off discount for example. 

Once you have loyal customers, it’s an easier job to keep them with some effort. Ensure you know what it is that they like and want through research such as polls on social media. Show that you have done this by using the data you obtain directly.

5. Form partnerships with other brands

Let this be a goal you incorporate after developing your platform and email list. The other brands you build a rapport with do not have to be like your own. Instead, they must appeal to what your customers want. 

For example, if you discover through research that your customer audience like free food, but you sell headphones, try to partner with a food delivery company.

This may mean your customers get a discount for food delivery through purchasing your website’s headphones. This is a benefit to both companies through publication, purchase and peer referrals. Be inspired by online influencers – they partner with affiliate partners as part of their work.

Through guided steps and creativity, growth hacking is a cost-effective and trusted method of company enlargement. Though, applauded by many and most brands out there in the online marketplace today, ensure you give yourself time and patience. 

Traction comes before growth, and for some this can seem like a slow process. What you need to hear is that this is the most potent time. Use that slower period of expansion to really get to understand your customers and perfect your product.

Overall, growth hacking can be split up into five important P’s:

1. Platform – Having a suitable place to market your product is the first essential.
2. Product – Allow customers to try your product. This can be paid or unpaid, or with special discounts. This is the traction stage of slowly getting bigger. 
3. Partnership – Developing long-running consumer-supplier relationships with customers is key to having constant business.
4. Promotion – This is how you get heard about beyond the limits of self-promotion. This is when your growth stage will begin; without proper foundation, your product won’t truly stand out when it becomes better known, so it is crucial that you focus on perfecting your product before the promotion stage. 
5. Permanence – Develop methods for constant self-referral. This way, your business will continue to grow effortlessly.

Have you tried growth hacking? If so, what tips and suggestions do you have for the people starting out? Let us know below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/entrepreneur-profile/5-of-the-best-proven-growth-hacking-strategies-for-your-business/

The 3 Types of Confidence You Need to Know and Understand

We’ve all heard it before, confidence is everything. Those that seem to have it, have it all. They, themselves, are not necessarily perfect human beings, but they seemingly have the charisma to attract whatever they want in life.

I remember way back in middle school during those awkward years looking at some of the popular kids questioning what they had that I didn’t. Were they just amazing at sports or were they cool since they wore the coolest designer clothes? What was it that they had that others didn’t?

I thought about it and came to the conclusion that they really weren’t any better than anyone else. They simply possessed the “I know I’ve got it” factor. They walked around with a certain swagger. For what reason you might ask? I’m not entirely sure. But, I realized people like them – that look like they have it all – all seem to have confidence.

So, I figured confidence must be the secret sauce to attracting good things in life. Look at some of the most successful people in this world – They all seemed to have confidence even when others didn’t believe in them. While some people might hypothesize confidence only comes as a result of excelling in certain areas, I decided that confidence was going to come first. I figured if I can be self-assured, I’ll simply attract good things in life.

So from then on, confidence was going to be my thing. No questions – From standing up straight to speaking with certainty, I decided I would learn everything I could about confidence so that it would become part of my very identity.

Here are the 3 types of confidence one can have:

1. Self-Centered Confidence

We’ve all seen what I like to call self-centered confidence or just straight cockiness. This level of self-praise is a bit nauseating for everyone around that person. It’s a result of self-obsession. Basically, the world revolves around this person, so when things are going well, they are cocky and when things are not going their way, they are secretly insecure. This type of confidence is unwarranted because it assumes “I’m better than you” for no reason. In my book, no one’s better than me and I’m no better than anyone else.

“At the end of the day, the king & the pawn go in the same box.” – Italian Proverb

2. Perfection-Seeking Confidence

The next type of confidence is what I like to call Perfection-seeking confidence. The thought here is that if I perform in all of these areas, then I will be confident. This is exactly what I subscribed to in middle school. I figured, if I work really hard in all these areas and simply exemplify confidence, I will in turn be unshakeable.

You see this type plastered all over the internet these days – There is so much messaging out there about independent women or guys that hustle like no other. Don’t get me wrong – I’ve always been inspired by girl power. I dreamt about becoming a career woman who made things happen.

But, what about those times when you’re stuck in a job you don’t like? Can you still label yourself as an independent, powerful woman then? How does that affect your identity? You need a different kind of confidence that will be there not only when you’re doing well, but also when you’re at your worst.

3. Faith-filled Confidence

This brings me to the last and ultimate kind of confidence. Faith-filled confidence, which is not dependent on outside circumstances, but an underlying faith that tomorrow can be better than today through hard work and grit. This is the type of confidence that brings you peace in understanding that you might not have it all together today, but you trust that you have the values to get you there.

This is the type that might say, “Hey I might currently suck at this particular skill, but I know I’ll get there eventually.” It brings you peace. It’s the type of confidence that can carry you when the going gets tough. It’s not focused on yourself, but a belief that whether through friends, family, God or the good of this world, everything will eventually be all right. It’s saying, “Like wine, I’ll get better with time.”

“It is confidence in our bodies, minds and spirits that allows us to keep looking for new adventures.” – Oprah Winfrey

In all, not all confidence is created equal. There are various types, but not all of them will take you where you need to be. So ask yourself – which type of confidence are you seeking? Are you seeking the kind that places yourself at the forefront or are you seeking an inner peace type of confidence that trusts in the good of tomorrow beyond yourself? This will make all the difference. 

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/the-3-types-of-confidence-you-need-to-know-and-understand/

3 Simple Tips to Strengthen Your Emotional Intelligence for Better Relationships

Relationships are challenging. They make you examine yourself from all angles, and that can be triggering. For example, have you ever had a friend or significant other say something that sparked an argument instantly—only to find out you misheard what they said in the first place?

Imagine what life would be like if you had the skills to completely avoid the majority of the arguments, disagreements, and confrontations you experience with the people in your life. You don’t have to run away from confrontation and bury your head in the sand in order to have peace in your relationships. There are simple steps you can take to develop your emotional awareness and intelligence to build stronger relationships that will help you navigate any communication landmines you find yourself in.

Here are three tips to get you started:

1. Check In

Even though the world is more connected than ever, feelings of loneliness are actually on the rise. UCLA conducted a study that found 76% of people exhibited serious signs of loneliness. Chances are, the people that you care about and the people who are important to you, are feeling lonely from time to time. One of the best things you can do for any relationship you have is check in to see how the other person is doing or feeling.

In a romantic relationship, this looks like putting your phone or computer down and giving your partner your undivided attention or asking them questions that give them the opportunity to open up to you. Questions like: 

• How are you doing?
• How are things going with work?
• Did you have any wins today that we can celebrate together?
• How are you doing with that thing you told me about last week?
• You’ve got that thing coming up, how are you feeling about it?
• Is there something I can do to support you better?

In a work relationship or friendship, the questions are similar, but you can initiate the conversation over the phone, text, email, or whatever way you best communicate with the other person.

Checking in gives the people in your life an opportunity to be heard, and gives you the opportunity to shift things before big problems arise. This keeps you on the same page and moving in the same direction.

2. Implement Communication Standards

Communicating isn’t something that most people consciously think about when they’re speaking or typing—it’s just something they do on autopilot. How often do you really think through how someone might perceive the emoji you just sent? Typically, not that often, which can create some miscommunications and unnecessary arguments because it puts you in responsive mode.

The most important communication standard to implement is “the benefit of doubt plus verification” process. This means that when you’re communicating with someone, you take the position of “this person cares about me and wouldn’t intentionally say something to hurt me”. This first step creates some space before responding when someone in your life says something that triggers you or hurts your feelings. When you have a moment to remember that this person wouldn’t intentionally hurt you, it reminds you to clarify what they said. This is how you do that: 

“Hey, I heard you say this. <Insert what they said>. And I took it to mean this <Insert what you believe they meant>. Is that what you were trying to get across?” More often than not, the other person will either clarify that the words you heard weren’t the actual words they said or that the meaning of the words was off the mark and they will explain.

Here’s why it’s important to keep your calm and verify: If you’re triggered and you go into why the other person is wrong or how they hurt you, it’s easy (and natural!) for the other person to get defensive. By verifying, you get to see where the communication breakdowns are happening and you get the opportunity to better understand each other. Wins all around.

3. Prioritize Growth

Growth is vital for success, especially in relationships. When things get stagnant, emotional bonds begin to break down. However, it’s important to avoid the self-help trap— that place where a lot of growth happens in your journal and you get massive “ah has!” during your reading time, but then it doesn’t translate into your actual behavior, expression, and relationships.

Here’s how to get all of your intellectual awareness implemented into your life, not just your talking points.

First, understand that patience is a non-negotiable. There are many moments where you’re going to be frustrated and you’re going to need to take a breather before actually communicating. That’s where your communication standards come in to support you.

Second, realize that your natural instinct is to defend yourself whenever your subconscious believes you’re under attack. When your emotions are triggered, it’s difficult for your mind to realize you’re not in physical danger. That’s why it’s easy to have an over-the-top reaction to something someone says to you instead of staying calm. By keeping this top of mind in your awareness, you can calm yourself down when you find yourself triggered and get out of defense mode.

Third, focus on finding solutions. Even if you end up in an argument, every conflict is an opportunity to make your relationship stronger. It’s easy to get along, play nice, and have surface relationships that don’t actually mean anything. But when you dig deeper and find places of divergence, you give yourself and the other person the opportunity to think about things differently, see other perspectives, and strengthen your love and respect for one another. How you handle conflict is more important than never getting into conflict in the first place.

These are the three foundations to strengthening your emotional awareness and intelligence so you can find more success in your relationships. It all starts with you, and when you learn the secrets to navigating your relationships with patience, understanding, and acceptance, you’ll find yourself surrounded with quality connections that truly last.

from
https://addicted2success.com/life/3-simple-tips-to-strengthen-your-emotional-intelligence-for-better-relationships/

5 Ways To Prevent Burnout & Still Be Successful

How often have you felt like time is going by so fast, and you wish it could just slow down a little so you could be more accomplished? With technology expanding faster than ever (and only increasing with speed), it can feel like a race toward success. The good news is, that is only a thought running amok in your head that’s not true. In fact, last year the United States alone added 250,000 new millionaires.

You may feel like you have to pick up the pace to accomplish your goals—that you don’t have time to slow down. But the truth is, you’ll get there much faster by taking care of yourself, and it doesn’t require a lot of time for you to put some of these success promoting exercises into your day.

Here are five simple ways for you to reach your goals and prevent burnout along the way:

1. Streamline & Prioritize Your Work

Have you ever gone through your day wondering what to do next, spending way longer than you’d like to admit trying to choose the next thing to do? Usually when this happens, you’re dealing with lost transition time and you’re going back and forth between a few projects, which can make you feel like you’re in constant reactionary mode, putting out fires. This is what a lack of systems will do. Luckily, the fix is simple and fast to implement.

The first thing to do is understand what a system is. It’s not the fancy new SaaS trending on your Instagram ads (although those are cool too!). A system is just a process you use to get things done efficiently, on repeat. Here’s a good example using a system for getting the mail, which might look like this: 

• Put on your shoes
• Walk to the mailbox
• Grab the mail
• Walk back to your house
• Come inside
• Sort the mail
• Give the mail to the right recipient in your household

Simple, straightforward, efficient, and repeatable. That’s a system. This is what you can do with your work (and life) to make things run smoother and with more efficiency so you’re kicking your productivity into overdrive, while actually giving yourself more time off. Systems kill the dead space in between activities. That time where you’re staring at the screen, stressing over how much to do, and what to do first— you get that time back.

You can create certain days of the week that are dedicated to specific activities, or have a specific progression throughout the day that lets you accomplish each thing on your list. The key here is to be conscious about the process so you can create and tweak something that works for you.

“If you spend too much time thinking about a thing, you’ll never get it done” – Bruce Lee

2. Take Reset Breaks

Staring at the screen and working hard, that’s great and all, but if that’s all you’re doing, you’re actually killing your productivity. Reset breaks are pivotal for high performance. 

According to Kansas State University, the average attention span for adults is about 50 minutes. If you’re like most business owners, executives, team leaders, or employees, your life is LARGELY sedentary. Reset breaks help you take advantage of your natural attention span limits, while mixing in activities to move your lymphatic system, resetting your mind and body.

Set your alarm for every 45-50 minutes. When your alarm goes off, push away from work and spend 5-15 minutes doing the following: 

• Deep breathing. Bring air in through your nose and let your belly expand. This helps reduce tension and move your lymphatic system.
• Take a walk or short run. 
• Meditate or use binaural beats
  Exercise. Do some squats, push ups, and or sit ups.
  Stretch. 

You don’t have to do the same thing every time your alarm goes off. Mix and match these methods or come up with your own. The most important thing is that you move and/or relax. This will help keep your mind and body invigorated so you can increase your productivity.

3. Inspiration Refills

Once a day, take time to consciously get inspired. Most people think they have to wait for inspiration to strike. But the truth is, inspiration is always at your fingertips if you know where to look. 

You can watch a video or listen to music that pumps you up. You can also go out into nature or make some art to unleash your inner muse. Getting inspired helps open your mind to new ideas. By keeping yourself open and inspired, it’s easier to solve problems, increase your productivity, and feel more connected to your work.

4. Pay Attention To Your Cycles

Everything and everyone has cycles. Seasons. Bodies. Sleep. Everything progresses in cycles that wax and wane. If you start following your individual cycles, you’ll be able to pinpoint when you’re at your best, and when you need more rest. This is mostly due to hormone shifts in your body, and it’s important to work with your body instead of against it. This will give you the inside scoop on when to buckle down and when to marathon Stranger Things. 

“I think self-awareness is probably the most important thing towards being a champion.” – Billie Jean King

5. Get Into Your Body

You know those days where you sit in front of your computer and you’re willing yourself with all your might to do something…anything? Yet no matter how hard you try, nothing seems to happen? You can’t get any work done, which only makes you feel bad about yourself. This is what happens when you’re in your head and not in your body.

This is what being ungrounded feels like. What’s happening is your mind is not connecting to your body. Luckily, there are exercises to fix that! Here are a few to try whenever you’re feeling this way: 

• Get your bare feet on the grass and breathe deeply into your belly
• Lay down and progressively relax every part of your body, breathing deeply
• Place your hands on your belly and speak into your hands, using your lower register

The goal here is to get connected with your body. Your senses should be heightened, and you should feel more of your body than normal. This helps calm the mind and direct your focus.

Play with these activities to find the special mix that works for you. The most important thing is for you to have a daily burnout prevention routine that keeps you consistently growing toward your goals, so you can have the success you desire and deserve.

How do you avoid burning out? Share your ideas with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/5-ways-to-prevent-burnout-still-be-successful/

Why Investing in Yourself Is the Best Investment You Can Make

Ambitious professionals can increase their workplace value and relevance by taking charge of their career development. Not long ago, employers helped loyal workers build their careers. Today – as it grows more common for workers to job hop – employer-provided career development is becoming increasingly difficult to find. 

Accordingly, it’s up to you to promote your success. By learning new skills and gaining new experiences, you can improve your ability to serve in your current role and set the foundation for success in the future.

Life Is About Quality – Not Just Quantity

Before you embark on your career development journey, you should take a moment to think about the big picture. Many ambitious professionals make the mistake of letting their career goals overshadow their personal lives.

Quality of life and personal successes are equally as important as career advancement. However, paying too much attention to either your personal or professional life can lead to an unsatisfying imbalance.

Today, the scales of work-life imbalance typically tip towards work, as the now digitally-connected world keeps professionals tethered to their jobs 24 hours a day. The United States, for example, ranks 30th out of 38 countries in work-life balance.

Typically, the path toward an excessive workload begins with taking on too many responsibilities. Reclaiming your personal life begins with learning how to say “no.” Also, it’s easy to get caught up in perfectionism. By relinquishing the need for everything to be just so, you can relieve some of the burden involved with your work.

Outside of the office, you can promote work-life balance by learning to unplug. Time away from incessant work reminders will allow you to live in the moment and enjoy what life has to offer. Finally, take time to care for yourself. Exercise can give you a natural influx of endorphins. Endorphins help you to relax and maintain a positive demeanor.

“Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.” – Hillary Clinton

Planning for Success!

Counterintuitive as it may seem, career advancement begins with personal development. If you’re new to career development, start by getting in the habit of stepping outside of your comfort zone regularly. You should aim to expand your skill set beyond your current role. You can start by taking online classes to gain skills that are in high demand by your employer.

Despite your learning vehicle, clearly define your goals. Commit them to a written plan. Figure out the skills that you intend to learn every year, and plan to complete a substantial course every quarter.

Choose your lessons carefully. It’s important to choose courses that will offer tangible opportunities. Your manager or a human resources representative can help you figure out what new skills can increase your value in the workplace. As you work through your career development plan, remain open to change. Make sure that your plans align with the evolving demands of your career. 

Also, stay informed about how your commitment to continued learning will help you reach your goals. This way, you’ll build a mental buttress that will shore up your resolve as you work to advance your career.

The Writing’s on the Wall

Companies such as Facebook, Google and Microsoft, influence millions of people around the world. However, no leading organization is content in its current role. The world’s leading organizations are always striving to surpass previous successes. Facebook estimates its value at $600 billion. The social media giant reports 1 billion users per month. Google is valued even higher at $830 billion.

Despite this kind of phenomenal success, these organizations want to do more. Facebook, for instance, is exploring the idea of expanding its social media platform using augmented reality. The company hopes to deliver remarkable experiences to users around the world.

Meanwhile, Google is working with artificial intelligence to promote the global adoption of computer-assisted technology in consumer homes. Similarly, Amazon is branching out from retail into commercial finance. All organizations desire growth. You can increase your value to employers by learning skills that will help your organization to achieve its goals.

“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” – Lao Tzu

Figuring Out Your Desires

Sometimes, career planning is easier said than done. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is an excellent tool for assessing your personal and professional goals. The bottom and widest part of Maslow’s hierarchy begins with survival needs, such as food and water.

The next level up focuses on the human need for security and safety – whether physical or financial. Next, Maslow’s hierarchy emphasizes the need for love and belonging. Another level up, the pyramid concentrates on self-esteem, self-worth and self-empowerment.

Moving up Maslow’s hierarchy, the pyramid focuses on the need to be understood by others. This section encompasses curiosity, purpose and understanding. The next level of the hierarchy highlights the need for symmetry and order. The top of Maslow’s pyramid culminates in self-actualization.

By thinking about how Maslow’s theory applies to your personal and professional desires, you can develop a satisfying career plan while simultaneously finding personal fulfillment.

How have you invested in yourself already this year? Share your story below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/why-investing-in-yourself-is-the-best-investment-you-can-make/

3 Time-Effective Strategies That Twitter’s CEO Jack Dorsey Uses to Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

Time is scarce when you’re running an enterprise. However, being healthy is essential to withstand the pressure a CEO experiences. When you’re running against the clock, it is not always easy to make time for healthy eating and exercise.

A recent Harvard study shows that most CEOs work an average of 9.7 hours per weekday, and also that they work 79 percent of their weekends and holidays. With such a schedule, you may be wondering when do they spend time on their health? Another Harvard study shows that most successful CEOs make of time-management real art, even when it comes to healthy habits. One great example is Twitter’s CEO, Jack Dorsey.

Despite his crazy schedule, Dorsey is meticulous when it comes to health. He uses all the tricks he has up his sleeve to make health practices as time-effective as possible. 

Below are three health practices Jack Dorsey religiously follows: 

1. Intermittent fasting

The press has marked Dorsey as one of the top Silicon Valley’s health freaks because of his passion for intermittent fasting. He claims only to eat one single meal each weeknight, followed by a weekend-long fast. This fasting style is a peculiar variation of two of the most popular and well-researched fasting protocols around: the 5:2 and the intermittent fasting diet.

The 5:2 diet is trendy amongst city professionals around the world for its practicality. It merely involves fasting for two days each week (usually Mondays and Wednesdays). This fast is used by most to create a calorie deficit and detoxify from boozy weekends.

The intermittent fasting usually consists of a 16-20 hours fasting period, followed by a 4-8h feeding window. This diet is renowned in the fitness world for its many benefits, including fat loss, improved blood pressure, and improved heart health. 

What makes intermittent fasting so appealing to busy professionals and leaders is its practicality. Not having to spend time making and eating food for most of the workday is indeed efficient.

Although Dorsey’s approach may seem a bit drastic, science shows that intermittent fasting may be the holy grail of diets for busy and stressed out people. The fact that numerous other CEOs practice fasting proves that.

Fasting has been related to improved mental performance, improved willpower, improved memory, and even to relieve depression. Despite what one may think, fasting can give you more energy and help you think clearer. Also, several religious texts like the Bible, The Coran, and many Buddhist teachings mention fasting as a way to improve one’s mind and spirit.

An excellent place to start an intermittent fasting protocol is the 16:8, where you stop eating around 8 pm and have your first meal at lunchtime. This practice can save you time in the morning, prevent you from consuming calories too late at night, and also make you experience all the other health-related benefits of fasting.

“Expect the unexpected. And whenever possible, be the unexpected.” – Jack Dorsey

2. Fast walking to work

Despite having the resources to afford a dozen race cars, Dorsey walks a five-mile commute to work every morning. Not only is walking an excellent form of exercise, but, in Dorsey’s case, walking fasted has even more health benefits. Science shows us that fasted exercise helps improve blood glucose, improve overall energy balance and also makes you less likely to skip your next exercise sessions (walking in this case).

For people short on time, walking or cycling to work can prove a very time effective strategy to get their body moving. Whether you like to get ahead with your to do list by making phone calls, or you prefer to clear your mind, walking to work is definitely one health habit worth implementing.

3. Cold showers

Only the bravest can face cold, and Jack is one of them. He claims to “have forgotten what a hot shower feels like,” but he doesn’t just stop there. Dorsey goes all in and takes three ice baths before work.

Despite this being a very extreme measure, there is a lot of science backing the health benefits of cold showers and baths. On top of various ones like fat loss and improved circulation, taking cold showers has been related to enhanced willpower.

In the bestselling book “The Willpower Instinct”, Dr. Kelly McGonigal explains how, each time we do something uncomfortable (like taking a cold shower), we build neural-connections that makes us more resilient, therefore improving our overall willpower.

Since you will have to shower anyway, taking cold showers may be a great way to catch many birds with one stone. An easy way to begin would be to have a hot shower first, then gradually turn the heating down until reaching an unpleasant temperature. At that point, you can let the cold water hit your nape (this is the spot related to improved fat loss), and stay there for a couple of minutes.

“You don’t have to start from scratch to do something interesting.” – Jack Dorsey

Jack Dorsey proved once more to be the eccentric type, and not everyone would like to torture themselves as much he does in the name of health. Despite that, there is value in his rituals, and a more moderate version of them could be highly beneficial for those busy people that are looking to improve their health.

Which one of the above time-effective strategies to maintain a healthy lifestyle resonated most with you and why? Share your thoughts with us below!

from
https://addicted2success.com/success-advice/3-time-effective-strategies-that-twitters-ceo-jack-dorsey-uses-to-maintain-a-healthy-lifestyle/