A Harris Interactive study that found 80% of Americans are not passionate about what they do. That’s 4 out of 5 people who are just working for money, not for their passion. Everyone knows passion is the key to success, but for people who don’t know what their passion is, finding it can be a mystery.

The Passion Test is a simple, yet powerful way to get clear about things that matter most to you and then a process to make those a priority in your life. Passions are clues to your destiny. In order to Live Life on Purpose, you must first know what that means for you.

When you are clear about your desires, what you want will show up in your life, however, only to the extent of your description. It’s all about Intention, Attention, and No Tension.

Intention is consciously stating what you want. Most people don’t even take the time to put in writing what they intend for their life. You can and should make intentions for each portion of your life, such as this day, this meeting, this relationship.

Attention has to do with what you want to create in your world. Your life is a result of what you have been putting your attention on, whether you realize it or not. The good news is, if you like your life, keep putting your attention on what you have been and if you don’t like your life, switch what you are putting your attention on to something you are passionate about.

The No Tension part is accepting that whatever is happening in this moment is the absolute best thing that can happen for you. Let’s face it we are not the General Manager of the Universe. Our reality can show up in many different ways and we have a choice to either resist what is happening or accept it and know that we may not see the big picture right now. Accepting is crucial to the No Tension aspect of life. .

If you are part of the 80% of Americans who don’t love their job, you can do something about it and it doesn’t take a lot of money or time. It just takes knowing how to do it and focusing on what makes you happy.

Think about what a different world we would live in if everyone loved what they did for a living!

Join me on this journey of joy and fulfillment by finding out what matters most to you in life and then start living it! Carol Hasbrouck www.IntentionalLivingOnline.com

photo credit: chenutis

We often set goals, but don’t have a road map on effectively mapping them out. Use these 13 steps in your life and business and you will be suprised on how much more comfortable your business life will be. Enjoy!

1. Set Short & Long Goals –Have end dates. Know your obstacles and solutions to beat them. Be Specific. Write them done daily. Read them daily. Put them in present tense as if they are already real.

2. Have a Plan- Once you know your goals, it’s time to design a roadmap on how to make them come true. What you manage you can measure. Plan weekly and/or daily. Be Flexible to change along the way. Get as specific as knowing what you want to make and doing the math to make it happen. Do you know what you spend? How many calls per day do you have to make to make a sale? Make a daily Scorecard to follow and see your progress; remember you can manage what you measure.

3. Watch out for Time Wasters – Email is a great example. Set times to check it. A great example of using your time to your advantage: have a time saving “Waiting Bag.” The next time your waiting in line or in a doctor’s office grab your bag with items you can check off your list while you wait.

4.Take Action – You have your goals and your plan, but if you don’t take action it all means nothing. Take massive actions, otherwise someone else will. Don’t have the same goals in 2011.

5.Fail Forward – Don’t be too much of a perfectionist and never complete anything. Get your product & service out there; it doesn’t have to be perfect. You can make changes as you go.

6.Be Persistent – Never give up! 90% of the population gives up right before they reach their goals. Keep going no matter what! Why work so hard, to stop on the 1-yard line. Finish the game!

7. Get Out of Your Comfort Zone- Fear keeps us from getting out of our comfort zone. Feel the fear and do it anyway. You have to get out of your comfort zone to achieve great things.

8.Get a Mentor- Tiger Woods (probably not the best example at the time) and Michael Phelps have coaches. Why, because they help you make things happen. They offer accountability and feedback; it’s key to faster success.

9.Find Someone in your Field to follow- They know more, have made the mistakes already, and have achieved success. If you want to be successful hang out with success. Fly with the eagles.

10.Giver’s Gain- Give to others at all times. Don’t expect anything in return. It will come back to you in many ways – even when you don’t expect it.

11. Out Source – Make a list of everything that must get done in your business. Out source the things you don’t need to waste your time on and things you are not good at anyway. Why do your bookkeeping if you’re worth $40.00 an hour, when you can hire someone to do it for $10.00 – $15.00 an hour. Shouldn’t you be out making what your worth?

12. Find a Passive Income Source – When you quit a job, there is no more money. Find a business or businesses where you sell people once and continue to make money as long as they have the product or service. Donald Trump and all the successful entrepreneurs have some form of passive income. Be sure to pick one you are passionate about and know people can benefit from over time. There is nothing wrong with friends and family making a small percentage off of your purchase, would you rather give it to the big companies or people you know?

13. Keep Healthy – None of this will matter if you don’t take care of yourself. You must do things to keep your business growing, as you must keep a healthy body to keep YOU going.

You must change your ways to change your life! Good Luck in 2010; make it your best year!

photo credit: lululemon athletica

Post by Carrie Kukuda-
www.TheSomedayCoach.com
www.KettlebellChicks.com
www.TampaFitBodyBootcamp.com

photo credit: h.koppdelaney

Ya know fun spelled backwards is nuf. Who wants nuf! For most people there never is enough. Mainly there is never enough money or time. However, more than 80% of people choose to lock themselves up in a prison every day.

The only difference between someone who goes to a job they hate day in and out and an inmate in a prison, is the inmate knows where they are. Fortunately when the student is ready the teacher will appear. Hopefully this article will help you kick someone you know in the butt, because I know you already have it all figured out…

I think it goes without saying the reason most people just settle for the cards they are dealt and don’t take the risk of having the life they want is fear. That is understandable, but ask yourself this is it scarier to know that you are going do something you hate the rest of your life or take a leap of faith in yourself and maybe just maybe create a happier life?

This is not to encourage you to just jump on the next opportunity that comes your way. You still want to take calculated risks, but use a basic calculator. To identify the risks in an opportunity you wish to pursue it is simple addition and subtraction, what is attractive about this to, how will it help me get closer to my goals, and am I willing to deal with others peoples criticisms to get there. There is no obtaining the levels of success you want without opposition.

The hell with those who can’t see your vision! We still need people like that to cook, clean, and mow our yards! You are different, you are strong, you are focused, and you will stop at nothing to achieve the lifestyle you and your family deserves to live. Excuses are a thing of the past, when you find out you need to make an investment and you know you don’t have all the money accounted for you find a way!

Obstacles are going to be your excuse or your reason. Nothing worth having is ever easy. What are you willing to do, what sacrifices are you willing to make for your family to build a legacy for generation to come?

Become a student of success, turn off the TV and pick up a book. Turn your car into Drive Time University and learn from those who have achieved levels of success you aspire to. With the internet, and libraries, and the people out there willing to help you all of the resources necessary for success are at your finger tips. They have always been there people have simply chosen not to acknowledge them.

Take advantage of the infinite resources available to you and I will see YOU at the top!

photo credit: naydeeyah

Ok since we already have heard how you do anything is how you do everything, how can we make everything we do as simple as possible?

The only answer is systems. We must first master the mundane in order to create efficient systems that we can utilize. Success does not come from doing a bunch of complicated things and repeatedly changing your daily action plan to conquer new obstacles.

Success is a calculated study of the obvious. It is those who have mastered the simple things and repeated them over and over and over again that build a long lasting legacy. Those who adopted the Slight Edge principals and made the conscious decision to be true to themselves and examine what works for them.

Everyone in every business has very basic duties, in sales it is talk to more people and understand your product and the tools that will sell your product for you. In all areas of life there are rules  which are simple, basic principals or guidelines that are universal. You want to become healthy, eat good foods and exercise regularly. That is not complicated at all, but millions upon millions of people can’t even handle that!

I challenge you to examine just one area of your life this week and break it down into its most simple form. Find out exactly what needs to happen in order for you to achieve the results you desire. It is the little things compounded over time that make us who we are.

Whether you like it or not only you are responsible for your misfortune or successes, obesity or health, loneliness or love, confusion or clarity. YOU! You are the only thing standing in the way.

Change your mind, change your life. Go make it happen!

photo credit: timbrauhn

Perception is everything.

Perception in humans describes the process whereby sensory stimulation is translated into organized experience. –Encyclopedia Britannica

We are meaning making machines, each and every situation we experience throughout our day is perceived differently by each person. As the saying goes, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure. So how can we utilize our perceptions as tools, instead of the typical bias?

Since all of our mental and physical experiences are interpreted differently how do we even begin to communicate effectively? It is how we build relationships with others that give us the ability to relate to each others perceptions. By understanding how others interpret situations it better helps us be of service to them.

Now while helping others is always great how can we use this information to benefit ourselves? Our perceptions are what shape our reality. They influence our thoughts and emotions, and are our mental pilots. We must take the time to understand our own emotions and which situations produce which perceptions.

What gives us the ability to change our perception is our attitude. It has been tracked medically that having a positive attitude will extend life multiple years, but it goes without saying that it will significantly improve the quality of life in the mean time. By filling your mind with positive thoughts and asking the questions to yourself, what could be great about this? This thought process will drastically improve quality of life.

How you do anything is how you do everything. If you are just half interested in improving your life you will probably never experience the break through you are looking for. You must sell yourself out to yourself, and do everything in your capacity to make things the way you want them.

We must take control of our attitude which will alter our perceptions then we will be able to enjoy life more as well as be a more valuable resource to those around us.

photo credit: peruisay

Success has a degree of fear attached to it mainly because becoming successful normally requires change. If you do what you have always done you will get what you have always gotten. Defining your goals and setting up you game plan is the easy part, the consistent and persistent implementation of success principals is where the challenge begins.

Once you truly understand YOUR reasoning behind setting YOUR goals, not what is expected of you, but what YOU feel in your heart of hearts that is what will propel you through any unforeseen challenges.

Many people go through some sort of self sabotage, certainly myself included. You will see that everything is going absolutely perfectly and life just seems to get better and better then boom you  fall into the complacency trap. Complacency is the thief of ongoing success.

We are our own worst enemy. Our subconscious mind has so much magnificent power, but we so infrequently maximize its potential. Self doubt, negative or unsure thoughts and actions, talking the talk and never walking the walk, procrastination, these are all things we have 100% control over. Have you ever noticed that the things we like to do the least are what creates the results that we desire the fastest?

One factor in particular which encompasses so many of the success principals is personal development. The ability to set goals, make a game plan, put it into action, and stay focused. In a nut shell that is how to avoid self sabotage, obviously much easier said than done. That is why we must continue to read, listen to quality audio programs, attend seminars, and most importantly keep your motivating goals in front of you at all times. Read them back to yourself multiple times a day to remind yourself why you do what you do. Successful people do what unsuccessful people are not willing to do. What extra effort are you willing to make?

Take a step back and evaluate yourself to see if you can identify things you do that are pulling you farther away from your goals. Find out where you are comfortable and if that is bringing you closer to your objective. Your biggest fear of success is stepping out of your comfort zone and making the changes necessary for the acquisition of all you had ever hoped for.

Step out on faith!

There is always something else going on in life isn’t there? There is something there side tracking us, pulling us away from what we are attempting to do, slowing us down at every turn, keeping us away from loved ones.

WELL SUCK IT UP! That’s life!!

If all we were to do was coast through life without challenge or adversity there wouldn’t be any amazing stories to learn from and share. Everyone has speed bumps on their way to success; the only difference is how each challenge is perceived.

Working with so many different people I hear all kinds of stories why people “can’t” do it. This is baloney. Your current obstacle in life is either going to be the excuse why you “can’t” do it or the reason you are doing it.

Please know that I am talking about excuses people make when someone is presented with an opportunity, investment, or anything that will change their life for the better. There are just so many examples, for instance: “I have been eating so much lately and I am so busy, I “can’t” make time to go to the gym.” OR “I have been eating so much lately I AM going to go to the gym because I like being busy and I want to feel healthy.” See the difference?

Here is another: “I “can’t” invest that $100 and change what I am doing a few hours a week, I never see my family as it is.” OR “I AM investing that $100, I never see my family and I want to be a part of their lives. I will do whatever it takes to make my family financially independent.”

You see there is no legitimate excuse for anything. We all have 24 hours in a day and there are some people making billions and some people scrounging for pennies. The difference is one persons excuse became their reason and the others reason is their excuse.

What’s YOUR reason?