The ONE STEP solution to getting MOTIVATED

Many people suffer from the habit of procrastination, even highly motivated individuals fall into the trap of postponing their important tasks that has to be done. Watching the exciting movie on DVD or reading that interesting new book always sounds much better and easier than getting started on the new project or task!

Often, the main reason why people put off doing things is that they find the task too daunting, difficult, complicated, painful or that they are just plain lazy and unmotivated. But when there are things that just need to be done, any delays will just prolong the agony of not doing it as you will just end up with tighter deadlines and less and less resources and flexibility to complete the task as time passes.

I mean you can do all sorts of other things such as planning a reward for yourself for completion of the task or breaking the task into more simpler steps to make it seem easier, but all this the planning, preparation amounts to nothing if you do not even get started! There are many ways to tackle the bad habit of procrastination, but one that I find most effective is this:

JUST GET STARTED!

Yes, it is as simple as that.

In fact, I find that putting yourself into action is the best motivator! By forcing yourself into action, the physiological change will trigger your mind to refocus on completing the task at hand, thus blocking out all other distractions, excuses and doubts that you might have. Once you pass the most difficult hurdle of getting started, everything will start falling into place and gets much easier as you build yourself both the physical and mental momentum needed to see the task to success. No kidding because I've experienced this myself many many times too as I also suffer from the bad habit of procrastination.

Therefore, since this is the time for wrapping up year 2007 and setting new goals for year 2008, the best way to making sure that you achieve your goals for 2008 is to just get started! NOW is the best time to get into ACTION!

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What is the SECRET to getting what you want?

Is there a secret to getting and achieving what you want? This is a question that I constantly ask myself which I guess any normal person constantly does as well.

Often, I set off to do things which end up in failure. However, there are also times when I end up successful. So what is the secret behind the times when I am successful and the reasons behind when I am not?

The main secret is a how we control our thought.This might seem like a very simple equation, quoting Anthony Robbins:

FOCUS leads to STATE leads to ACTIONS leads to RESULTS!

In layman terms, where we focus our thoughts will create our emotions, leading to a state of mind(whether we are raring to go or still having doubts etc) when we act on it. And then depending on our state when we execute our actions, what we do(either intendedly or unintended) will eventually give us the results.

Can you recall a time when you absolutely know that you are going to be successful ie. acing an interview, passing an exam, winning at sports etc? Now think about what you were feeling then, definitely it might be one of the following emotions: clear, delighted, ecstatic, sensational, enthused, excited, spirited, passionate, optimistic etc.

In contrast, when we do something which we are doubtful about, we'll be feeling the opposite with emotions such as hesitation, anxiety, fearful, frantic, despair, vexed etc. Guess these negative feelings were what I felt when I took my motorbike tests the first six times. I only managed to get my license on the seventh try and now I'm so glad that I persevered and got my focus right on the last attempt!

Recently, there is great hype about this book "The Secret" that sets off to unveil the most powerful law behind success. In essence, what the book reveals is the law of attraction which states that you attract into your life whatever you think about. Essentially it means the same thing as what I have mentioned earlier, your initial thoughts will already predetermine whether you are successful or not, never mind what you do in between. YES, this is the SECRET! As simply as that. Here's the video, for those who have not read. It may be an hour and a half long but definitely worth your time watching.


Hope you enjoy the video and it'll help you achieve what you want!

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Are you living the Life you love?

As the year draw to an end, I guess its a good time to review personal achievements for the year 2007. So what have been achieved or not done over the past year? Actually, come to think of it sadly, what I've achieved doesn't seem to be much.

Basically, I have this nagging feeling that I have somehow stagnated. I've been doing the same job for the past 2 yrs while trying to juggle managing a business at the same time. When people ask how I manage between the two, I find myself shrugging it off with a simple answer that I just go ahead and do it. But just "doing it" is not enough as after two years of this "work" vs "business" routine, I feel like a zombie just mindlessly going through the necessary tasks that needs to be done, while being too physically and mentally drained to challenge the status quo and make any progress or improvements.

Not that I've not made any headways at work or anything as I have in fact done a lot of good this year. The company does recognize and reward the contributions that I've made(received some shopping and food vouchers and now waiting to receive a brand new digital camera by courier as soft rewards). Somehow, these forms of recognition doesn't amount to anything if I don't find work challenging and rewarding enough but instead it seems to be draining away too much of my time and energy to do anything else that I love.

Many of us have been indoctrinated from young that we have to study hard, get good grades in order to land a well-paying cushy job and get set for life. And of course, many parents would frown if their child chooses any path other than the above as this is what their own parents have conditioned them to believe so too. But is this the right course of life for everyone? I seriously doubt so although there are still people who are perfectly comfortable and happy taking this tried and tested route.

What I've tried to do for the past 2-3 years is to take the middle path ie. maintaining a job while also trying to strike it out at creating a business. It may not be the most ideal job but it does pay all my monthly bills while giving me a safety net to fall back on. Am I successful in work and business, in my opinion, very limitedly in both.

From an investment point of view, diversification means not putting all your eggs in one basket to reduce risk of failure, but as this is what most people do, doing so may in fact cause you to generate only average returns. In the famous words of Warren Buffett, to generate exceptional returns, the key is to "Put all your eggs in ONE basket and WATCH THAT BASKET CLOSELY!"

Here's another interesting theory I've picked up in my readings:

F ollow
O ne
C ourse
U ntil
S uccessful

FOCUS definately struck a chord with me!

This is one philosophy that's going to guide me into the new year. That means a new direction and stepping out of comfort zone into virgin territory!

Hope that this provokes your own reflections as well. Are you living the life that you love? May the new year bring new accomplishments for all of us!

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Which CASHFLOW Quadrant do you want to be in?

Had been reading Robert Kiyosaki's and Donald Trump's joint effort "Why we want you to be Rich?" for the past week and was struck by the bleak reality that is painted out in the book. Although the book is mainly US-biased, it does not diminish the severity of the problems that we face in Singapore too, that being caused by the widening rice-poor income gap, with the rich becoming richer, and the poor becoming poorer.

In today's Sunday Times feature, I read with interest the various stories about families having to cut down expenses due to rising costs and having to depend on food and utilities voucher handouts from their MPs, and on the other hand, there is also a story on an entrepreneur who had just paid $435m for a condominium. What a stark contrast!

Both Robert Kiyosaki and Donald Trump points out that the root of the problem lies with the lack of financial IQ or education, coupled with the dependency mentality of the general population for the government to help them out, instead of increasing their own financial literacy to resolve their own problems. Coupled with other factors such as increased life expectancy, rising costs due to inflation, increase in prices of energy etc, their problems will just continue to snowball, and may even affect the next generation of their family members.

To break out of this poverty cycle, we may need to abandon the old education system, which does little to raise the financial literacy of its graduates, but instead churns out carbon copies of employees for the job market. With little to differentiate themselves from other job seekers, products of such old school of thought may have to settle for a job that is less than they are worth or risk having to go without an income.

The above case illustrates a person who chooses to compete in the E quadrant of the cashflow quadrant shown below



Instead of resigning to just being mediocre and to the bleak prospects of staying in the E quadrant, people should actively seek to get rid of the dependency mentality, take control of their lives to raise their financial IQ, and venture into the other quadrants in which they have the best chances of winning. Not to say that being an employee is bad(you may even follow the example of Jack Welch of GE and rise to the very top of the corporate ladder and become a millionaire in the process), but be careful to choose the quadrant which you have the best chance of excelling in.

In summary, take control of your own life! Without an defined target in mind, even a proven marksman will be unable to hit the bullseye.

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