Believe In Yourself

"It is the decisions you make, when you have no time to make them, that define who you are. Believing in yourself is one of the first steps to success.”

It really is important to believe in yourself, isn’t it? Believe in yourself no matter what other people think. We should all decide that we can do, be and have whatever we want in this world and the only person who can get you there is YOU!

It is in your thoughts; it is in your actions that you can make your dreams come true.

Some simple steps that may help include:

1. Set goals. When you set goals you know where you are heading. 
2. Acknowledge when you achieve any small goal. It helps to build your confidence in your own success. 
3. Have realistic expectations of what you can achieve and then aim a little higher. We can always achieve more than we think we can. 
4. Listen to feedback, and remember, some people will try to tear you down while others will provide golden tips to support you on your journey. 
5. Contribute to those around you. When you contribute, you will receive positive feedback and respect from others that helps build yourself belief and self confidence. 
6. Always, always work towards your dreams. 
7. Believe in yourself. It is the key to success in life.

Focus on You

For you to be your best and look after and support others, you need to look after yourself first.

I have a friend who recently was doing everything - working a number of jobs, getting up at 4:30 am to start her day, not eating properly because she was too busy, no time to exercise, no time for a chat with friends and not enough time with her family.

Guess what happened? She ‘hit the wall’. Her body had given her a few warnings to slow down, take some time for herself, but she didn’t listen. She was just trying to do it all for everyone. She became quite unwell and then she couldn’t do anything for anyone for a period of time.

It really doesn’t take a lot to look after your well being, but you do have to look after yourself. Take time to sleep well, eat well and exercise. Take time for you ... you need it. You are the most important person around. To be the very best for everyone around you, it is important to take some time for you. Otherwise, you can get burned out, you can get sick and be forced to take time out.

Listen to your body. It does give you alerts and warning signs.

What Are You Afraid To Do?

“One of the greatest discoveries a man makes,

one of his great surprises,

is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn't do."

Henry Ford

Have you realised that most of the barriers that are challenging us have been put there by us in the first place? Logic would tell us then if we put them there then we can take them down.

One of the great discoveries you and I can make is to find that we really can do something we were afraid we couldn't do.

The barrier is something we have put up inside ourselves and we really can take it down.

What barrier will you take down this week? Have a go, what have you got to lose? If you are successful, much is to be gained. If you aren’t successful, you haven’t gone backwards at all.

The Ant Philosophy

Have you ever taken the time to watch ants? I know it’s a strange question. My brother-in-law, as a child, had a fascination with ants. He refers to them as his ‘friends’ because they were always waiting for him every time he arrived home!

Jim Rohn teaches about “The Ant Philosophy”. Jim recommends that we should study ants. Jim has been teaching children about a simple but powerful concept - The Ant Philosophy. Jim believes that ants have an amazing four-part philosophy.

Part 1 - Ants never quit.

That's a good philosophy. If they're headed somewhere and you try to stop them, they'll look for another way. They'll climb over, they'll climb under, and they’ll climb around. They keep looking for another way. Perhaps a good philosophy to embrace; to never quit looking for a way to get where you're supposed to go.

Part 2 - Ants think winter all summer.

That's an important perspective. You can't be so naive as to think summer will last forever. So ants gather their winter food in the middle of summer.

An ancient story says, “Don't build your house on the sand in the summer.” Why do we need that advice? Because it’s important to think ahead. In the summer, you've got to think storm. You've got to think rocks as you enjoy the sand and sun.

Part 3 - Ants think summer all winter.

During the winter, ants remind themselves, “This won't last long; we'll soon be out of here.” And the first warm day, the ants are out. If it turns cold again, they'll dive back down, but then they come out the first warm day. They can't wait to get out.

Part 4 - How much will an ant gather during the summer to prepare for the winter?

All he possibly can. What an incredible philosophy, the “all-you-possibly-can” philosophy.

Wow! What a great philosophy to have - The Ant Philosophy. Never give up, look ahead, stay positive and do all you can.

Making Mistakes

I don’t know about you, but for a period of time, I just didn’t want to get anything wrong or make a mistake. Boy, how that one desire restricted my life. It restricted what I could achieve, how far I stretched and kept me in my safety and comfort zone.

Then one day I had a mind switch and realised the more mistakes I make, the more I learn, the bigger my comfort zone, the more I can achieve. I started to look at mistakes and failures as part of my expansion, as part of being able to achieve everything that I wanted to achieve.

You may have heard the story of this famous figure before. However, I would love to share it again.

• Failed in business, 1831
• Defeated for legislature, 1832
• Second failure in business, 1833
• Defeated for speaker, 1838
• Defeated for elector, 1840
• Defeated for congress, 1843
• Defeated for congress again, 1848
• Defeated for senate, 1855
• Defeated for vice president, 1856
• Defeated for senate again, 1858
• Elected President of the United States of America, 1860

It is Abraham Lincoln. What if Abraham Lincoln just gave up at some point in his journey? This journey was nearly 30 years in the making. What kept him persisting, never giving up, and seeing every step as part of the journey?

Perhaps we should just keep trying more often. Never underestimate your power to achieve what you desire. Take a chance; life is there for you to design. What is it you want to achieve? Embrace and be very proud of all your mistakes, it is from here you learn your greatest lessons and grow.