GOAL BUSTING Part 2 ~ Take Charge of Your Life

A man, as a general rule, owes very little to what
he is born with  a man is what he makes of himself.
(Alexander Graham Bell)

When I was 21, I was broke and living in a small one-room apartment, in the middle of a cold winter, working on a dead end job during the day. I usually couldn’t afford to go out of my apartment in the evenings, where at least it was warm, so I had a lot of time to think.

One night as I sat there at my small kitchen table, I had a great flash of awareness. It changed my life. I suddenly realized that everything that happened to me for the rest of my life was going to be up to me. No one else was ever going to help me. No one was coming to the rescue. Even my new found relationship with the Lord made me aware of my responsibility to work/labor wisely for my own benefit and example to others. I had to step up! If it was meant to be it was up to me!

I was a long way from home with no intentions of going back for a long time. I saw clearly at that moment that if anything in my life were going to change, it would have to begin with me. If I didn’t change, nothing else would change. I was responsible.

The Great Discovery

I still remember that moment. It was like a first parachute jump. It was both scary and exhilarating. There I was, standing on the edge of life. And I decided to jump. From that moment onward, I accepted that I was in charge of my life. I knew that if I wanted things to be different, I would have to be different. Everything was up to me.

I later learned that when you accept complete responsibility for your life, you take the giant step from childhood to adulthood. Sadly enough, most people never do this. I have met countless men and women in their 40s and 50s who are still grumbling and complaining about earlier unhappy experiences, and still blaming their problems on other people and circumstances. Many people are still angry about something that one of their parents did or did not do to or for them- twenty, or thirty, or even forty years ago. They are trapped in the past and they can’t get free.

Your Worst Enemy

The greatest enemies of success and happiness are negative emotions, of all kinds. It is negative emotions that hold you down, tire you out and take away all your joy in life. It is negative emotions, from the beginning of time, that have done more harm to individuals and societies than all the plagues of history. I often refer to this as “Stinkin Thinkin”

One of your most important goals, if you want to be truly happy and successful, is to free yourself from negative emotions, and fortunately, this can be done, if you learn how.

The negative emotions of fear, self-pity, envy, jealousy, feelings of inferiority, and ultimately anger, are mostly caused by four factors. Once you identify and remove these factors from your thinking, your negative emotions stop automatically. When your negative emotions stop, the positive emotions of love, peace, joy and enthusiasm flow in to replace them, and your whole life changes for the better, sometimes in a matter of minutes, or even seconds.

Stop Justifying

The first of the four root causes of negative emotions is justification. You can only be negative as long as you can justify, to yourself and others, that you are entitled to be angry or upset for some reason. This is why angry people are continually explaining and elaborating on the reasons for their negative feelings. However, if you cannot justify your negativity, you cannot be angry.

For example, a person is laid off from a job due to a change in the economy and declining sales in the company. However, the individual is angry with his boss for this decision and justifies his anger by describing all the reasons why his being laid off was unfair. He can even get himself so incensed that he decides to sue, or get even in some way. As long as he continues to justify his negative feelings toward his boss and the company, his negative emotions control him and absorb much of his life and thinking.

However, as soon as he says, “Well, I’ve been laid off. These things happen. It’s not personal. People get laid off all the time. I guess I’d better get busy finding a new job.” His negative emotions vanish. He becomes calm, clear and focused on the goal, and on the steps he can take to get back into the workforce. As soon as he stops justifying, he becomes a more positive and effective person.

Refuse to Rationalize And Make Excuses

The second cause of negative emotions is rationalization. When you rationalize, you attempt to give a “socially acceptable explanation for an otherwise socially unacceptable act.”

You rationalize to explain away or put a favorable light on something that you have done that you feel bad or unhappy about. You excuse your behavior or actions by creating an explanation that sounds good, even though you know that you were an active agent in whatever occurred. You often create complex ways of putting yourself in the right by explaining that your behavior was really quite acceptable, all things considered. This rationalizing keeps your negative emotions alive.

Rationalization and justification always require that you make someone or something else the source or cause of your problem. You cast yourself in the role of the victim, and you make the other person or organization into the oppressor, or the “bad guy.”

Rise Above the Opinions of Others

The third cause of negative emotions is an over concern or hypersensitivity to the way other people treat you. For some people, their entire self-image is determined by the way other people speak to them, talk to them or about them, or even look at them. They have little sense of personal value or self-worth apart from the opinions of others, and if those opinions are negative for any reason, real or imagined, the “victim” immediately experiences anger, embarrassment, shame, feelings of inferiority and even depression, self-pity and despair. This explains why psychologists say that almost everything we do is to earn the respect of others, or at least to avoid losing their respect.

No One Else Is Responsible

The fourth cause of negative emotions, and the worst of all, is blaming. Imagine the trunk of a tree as the propensity to blame other people for our problems. Once you cut down the trunk of the tree, all the fruits of the tree, all the other negative emotions, die immediately, just as when you jerk the plug out of the wall that lights up the Christmas lights in the tree, all the lights go out instantly.

Responsibility Is The Antidote

The antidote for negative emotions of all kinds is for you to accept complete responsibility for your situation. You cannot say the words, “I am responsible!” and still feel angry. The very act of accepting responsibility short-circuits and cancels out any negative emotions you may be experiencing.

The discovery of this simple but powerful affirmation, “I am responsible” and its instant ability to eliminate negative emotions was a turning point in my life, as it has been for many hundreds of thousands who simply ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY for THEIR OWN LIFE! Just imagine! You can free yourself from negative emotions and begin taking control of your life by simply saying, “I am responsible!” whenever you start to feel angry or upset for any reason.

It is only when you free yourself from negative emotions, by taking complete responsibility that you can begin to set and achieve goals in every area of your life. It is only when you are free, mentally and emotionally, that you can begin to channel your energies and enthusiasms in a forward direction. This is why, without the acceptance of complete personal responsibility, no progress is possible. On the other hand, once you accept total responsibility for your life, there are no limits on what you can be, do and have.

To Your Success

Steve Luxenberg

True Team Support

“If you don’t set goals for yourself, you are doomed
to work to achieve the goals of someone else.” ~ Brian Tracy

GOALS: How to get Everything You Want ~ Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible

Success is goals, and all else is commentary:

All successful people are intensely goal oriented. They know what they want and they are focused single mindedly on achieving it, every single day.

Your ability to set goals is the master skill of success. Goals unlock your positive mind and release ideas and energy for goal attainment. Without goals, you simply drift and flow on the currents of life. With goals, you fly like an arrow, straight and true to your target.

Develop A Burning Desire

The starting point of all goal attainment is desire. You must develop an intense, burning desire for your goals if you really want to achieve them. It is only when your desire becomes intense enough that you will have the energy and the internal drive to overcome all the obstacles that will arise in your path.

The good news is that almost anything that you want long enough and hard enough, you can ultimately achieve.

The great oil billionaire, H. L. Hunt, was once asked the secret of success. He replied that success required two things, and two things only. First, he said, you must know exactly what it is you want. Most people never make this decision. Second, he said, you must determine the price that you will have to pay to achieve it, and then get busy paying that price.

The Cafeteria Model of Success

Life is more like a buffet or cafeteria than it is a restaurant. In a restaurant, you eat the complete dinner and then you pay the bill. But in a buffet or cafeteria, you have to serve yourself, and pay in full before you enjoy the meal. Many people make the mistake of thinking that they will pay the price after they have experienced the success. They sit in front of the stove of life and say, First give me some heat, and then I’ll put in some wood.

As motivational speaker Zig Ziglar once said, “The elevator to success is out of service. But the stairs are always open.”

Another important observation from Aristotle was his conclusion that the ultimate purpose of all human action is the achievement of personal happiness. Whatever you do, he said, it is aimed at increasing your happiness in some way. You may or may not be successful in achieving happiness, but your happiness is always your ultimate aim.

The Key To Happiness

Setting goals, working toward them day-by-day, and ultimately achieving them is the key to happiness in life. Goal setting is so powerful that the very act of thinking about your goals makes you happy, even before you have taken the first step toward achieving them.

To unlock and unleash your full potential, you should make a habit of daily goal setting and achieving for the rest of your life. You should develop a laser-like focus so that you are always thinking and talking about the things you want rather than the things that you don’t want. You must resolve, from this moment on, to be a goal-seeking organism, like a guided missile, or a homing pigeon, moving unerringly toward the things that are important to you.

There is no greater guarantee of a long, happy, healthy and prosperous life than for you to be continually working on being, having and achieving more and more of the things you really want. Clear goals enable you to release your full potential for personal and professional success. Goals enable you to overcome any obstacle, and to make your future unlimited.
Unlock Your Potential:

1. Imagine that you have the inborn ability to achieve any goal you could ever set for yourself. What do you really want to be, have and do?

2. What are the activities that give you your greatest sense of meaning and purpose in life?

3. Look at your personal and work life today and identify how your own thinking has created your world. What should you, could you change?

4. What do you think and talk about most of the time, what you want, or what you don’t want?

5. What is the price you will have to pay to achieve the goals that are most important to you?

6. What one action should you take immediately as the result of your answers to the above questions?

HOME WORK: Start YOUR GOAL Journal and buy a WHITEBOARD
Get a 3 ring binder and begin to write out your Dreams, Goals and Reasons WHY!

Get a WHITEBOARD from K-mart and learn the structure needed for your next promotion.

Stay tuned to TRUE TEAM Support for GOAL BUSTING Part 2

Steve Luxenberg

Founder

True Team Inc.

This simple picture illustrates several very important points about the relationship between failure and success:

1. There is only one road to Massive Success…

2. The road to Massive Success is a Journey that always passes through Failureville.

3. One of the main reasons people never reach Massive Success is because they are so afraid of passing through Failureville that they never begin their journey.

So what does this mean in the real world?

It means that failure is not the opposite of success as many people assume. On the contrary, failure is an important part of our success journey. In fact, it is usually through the process of trying and failing that we learn the lessons we need in order to ultimately achieve our goals in life.

My favorite quote regarding the relationship between failure and success comes from the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan:

When you understand the fact that success lies on the other side of failure you will be much better prepared for the journey that leads to achieving your most important goals in life.

Steve Luxenberg
TRUE TEAM Support

Positive Thinking In A Negative World

One evening my wife and I were walking through the mall, having a casual discussion about life issues when she abruptly turned to me and said; “I want to go home! You are negative and being out with you is no fun.” That’s when it hit me: I’d become a negative thinker in a negative world. Something began to change in me that sleepless night. It was time for me to return to being a positive thinker even if the circumstances of life, politics, business or relationships weren’t as rose-colored as I’d have wished them to be… My life partner and helpmate was being repulsed by my attitude. It was a wakeup call that changed my life!

Upon honest examination it became clear to me that the difficult circumstances of life and the negative news on TV were permeating my thought life and had changed me into a negative person that was no longer fervently winning others to faith, hope and life abundantly. Examining how this happened and what could be done to expel the toxins of negative thinking in my life and others became my life mission for 2010.

All my life I have been a newsaholic but it never really brought me down until the perfect economic and political storm of 2008-2009. I’ve always believed that being an informed citizen was prudent and healthy for my intellectual growth and decision making. The default channels on my TV became NEWS when the 24 hour news cycle first hit cable in the 70′s. I first began to notice the news adversely affecting my attitude coinciding with the down turn in the economy. By the end of 2009 I found I’d become very negative about all politicians, the future of world government and especially our own nations moral direction and economic prognosis. I was losing hope in our nation’s economic recovery which began to hurt my effectiveness in business. After all, if the dollar was collapsing and the world was ending in 2012, what difference did it make what I did? I became a victim of negative thinking. My personal business set backs were fueled by self fulfilled prophecy being reinforced by the 24 hour news channels always playing on my TV delivering bad news like constant dripping of a faucet in the background of my thought life. It seemed that even the teaching and preaching of many popular bible teachers begin to reflect an end times hopelessness adversely affecting my attitude and zest for life. My right here and right now world was crumbling! That’s when I decided to turn of the news and choose carefully who I tuned my into my mind and TV. This is why I decided to become a positive thinker even if it was

a negative world: My life and future depended on it and so does yours!

Positive thinking is the result of the choices and disciplines of our mind which result in our mental attitude. It is our choice what thoughts and observations we admit and entertain in our thought life. If we chose the words and images that are conductive to growth, expansion and success the result is positive thinking and positive outcome. It is our mental attitude that expects good and favorable results. A positive mind anticipates happiness, joy, health and a successful outcome of every situation and action. Whatever the mind expects, it finds. It is by raising our thoughts that we raise our potential.

The Bible says in Proverbs 3:27, “as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” You will eventually become what you think. You can’t think one thing and become something else. If you allow yourself to think negative worried, fearful thoughts, then you will become a negative, worried, fearful person. You cannot think defeat and expect victory. You can’t think poverty, and expect wealth. You can’t think the worst, and expect the best.

You’ve got to be extremely careful and extremely aware about what you allow your mind to think about. And what you choose to dwell on.

Fear is a force just like faith is a force. If you give into fear and start to dwell on that junk and start to act on it, that fear can actually bring things to pass just like faith can bring things to pass. Job said, “the thing I greatly feared came upon me.”

The Bible tells us what we should dwell on in Philippians 4:8. It’s to “think on things that are pure and honest and of a good report.” Things that build you up, not tear you down. Think on all the great things God has done for you, the bible says. In other words, you’ve got to dwell on the positive and not the negative. Quit thinking about what you don’t have and start thinking about what you do have. Quit thinking about what’s wrong with you and start thinking about what’s right with you. Quit thinking about how big your problem is and start dwelling on the fact of how big your God is.

See, we’ve got to learn to live a grateful life and we’ve got to always focus on the positive and not the negative. If you’re continually thinking about the goodness of God, you’re not going to have any time to worry and complain and get down and discouraged. If you’re always meditating on God’s promises, then you’re always going to be filled with a good report. The words that come out of your mouth are going to be faith-filled words. Excerpts from Guarding Your Thoughts — Joel Osteen

Not everyone accepts or believes in positive thinking. Some consider the subject as just nonsense, and others scoff at people who believe and accept it. Among the people who accept it, not many know how to use it effectively to get results. Yet, it seems that many are becoming attracted to this subject, as evidenced by the many books, lectures and courses about it. This is a subject that is gaining popularity.

It is quite common to hear people say: “Think positive!”, to someone who feels down and worried. Most people do not take these words seriously, as they do not know what they really mean, or do not consider them as useful and effective. How many people do you know, who stop to think what the power of positive thinking means?

The following story illustrates how this power works:

Allan applied for a new job, but as his self-esteem was low, and he considered himself as a failure and unworthy of success, he was sure that he was not going to get the job. He had a negative attitude towards himself, and believed that the other applicants were better and more qualified than him. Allan manifested this attitude, due to his negative past experiences with job interviews.

His mind was filled with negative thoughts and fears concerning the job for the whole week before the job interview. He was sure he would be rejected. On the day of the interview he got up late, and to his horror he discovered that the shirt he had planned to wear was dirty, and the other one needed ironing. As it was already too late, he went out wearing a shirt full of wrinkles.

During the interview he was tense, displayed a negative attitude, worried about his shirt, and felt hungry because he did not have enough time to eat breakfast. All this distracted his mind and made it difficult for him to focus on the interview. His overall behavior made a bad impression, and consequently he materialized his fear and did not get the job.

Jim applied for the same job too, but approached the matter in a different way. He was sure that he was going to get the job. During the week preceding the interview he often visualized himself making a good impression and getting the job.

In the evening before the interview he prepared the clothes he was going to wear, and went to sleep a little earlier. On day of the interview he woke up earlier than usual, and had ample time to eat breakfast, and then to arrive to the interview before the scheduled time.

He got the job because he made a good impression. He had also of course, the proper qualifications for the job, but so had Allan.

What do we learn from these two stories? Is there any magic employed here? No, it is all natural. When the attitude is positive we entertain pleasant feelings and constructive images, and see in our mind’s eye what we really want to happen. This brings brightness to the eyes, more energy and happiness. The whole being broadcasts good will, happiness and success. Even the health is affected in a beneficial way. We walk tall and the voice is more powerful. Our body language shows the way you feel inside.

Positive and negative thinking are both contagious. All of us affect, in one way or another, the people we meet. This happens instinctively and on a subconscious level, through thoughts and feelings transference, and through body language. People sense our aura and are affected by our thoughts, and vice versa. Is it any wonder that we want to be around positive people and avoid negative ones? People are more disposed to help us if we are positive, and they dislike and avoid anyone broadcasting negativity.

Negative thoughts, words and attitude bring up negative and unhappy moods and actions. When the mind is negative, poisons are released into the blood, which cause more unhappiness and negativity. This is the way to failure, frustration and disappointment.

Practical Instructions

In order to turn the mind toward the positive, inner work and training are required. Attitude and thoughts do not change overnight.

Read about this subject, think about its benefits and persuade yourself to try it. The power of thoughts is a mighty power that is always shaping our life. This shaping is usually done subconsciously, but it is possible to make the process a conscious one. Even if the idea seems strange give it a try, as you have nothing to lose, but only to gain. Ignore what others might say or think about you, if they discover that you are changing the way you think they will be attracted to follow when they see it become real in your life.

The Bible has transformed more people than any other book ever written. There is no other book that promises the renewing of your mind. God Himself will transform you by the renewing of your mind by time spent with Him though bible devotion.

Always visualize only favorable and beneficial situations. Use positive words in your inner dialogues or when talking with others. Smile a little more, as this helps to think positively. Disregard any feelings of laziness or a desire to quit. If you persevere, you will transform the way your mind thinks.

Once a negative thought enters your mind, you have to be aware of it and endeavor to replace it with a constructive one. The negative thought will try again to enter your mind, and then you have to replace it again with a positive one. It is as if there are two pictures in front of you, and you choose to look at one of them and disregard the other. Persistence will eventually teach your mind to think positively and ignore negative thoughts.

We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:5 It does not matter what your circumstances are at the present moment. Think positively, expect only favorable results and situations, and circumstances will change accordingly. It may take some time for the changes to take place, but eventually they do.

Stop before reacting to a situation and take a minute to try to rationally think it through before you speak or go off. Count to fifty if you have to or even walk out of the room or take a walk before you react to something or someone. Instead of reacting, be proactive in a situation. Try to think it through completely before tackling the situation with a bulldozer, when all you need is a small shovel.

• Consciously decide to control your attitude. This is a conscious decision since we have free will. You can choose to be negative and think everything that happens is bad or you can choose to see the positive and that there may be a good opportunity that comes from a bad situation. Some of the best ideas have been thought of in times of hard frustration, overwhelming feelings of negativity and depression. People with absolutely nothing but the clothes on their back can be extremely happy in life because of their mindset, while people who own every possible thing in the world remain miserable in a fruitless pursuit where they will never find true happiness, only fleeting moments that are really meaningless and vapid.

• Your attitude really is EVERYTHING. “Attitude determines your altitude” is a very true quote. Your attitude can shape your entire life. If you are always looking at the negative side of life, then that’s all you will see. If you are trying to see the positive then you will see the positive side of life too. If you look at the bright side you are more likely to take positive action and have a positive mindset that will ultimately make your life happier and better for you.

• Find something that will make you happy and make you laugh. Everyone needs to be silly sometimes and act like a kid again. Laughing can keep you on a positive mindset. Watch a funny movie or television show. Spend time playing with kids, making funny faces, running around outdoors and doing whatever else it is that makes you smile. Choose to be happy today. Make up your mind for once and all time to be and stay positive!

Chose your friends and associates wisely. You will become a direct reflection of those who you spend quality time with. I’m reminded of urban kids on a basketball court. When the guys start to talk smack on the court they communicate with a unique slang and lingo found only among a group of guys letting it all hang out. You can watch a naive kid with no experience in the ways of the street join a pickup game and within a few hours he will walk away with an entirely different vocabulary and swagger. We emulate those we admire and spend time with. Junk in will always result in junk out. Choosing positive relationships will always result in a positive impact on your life. You have heard it said that you are what you eat. Well, you are also going to become very much like those who you spend time with.

Positive Thinking in a Negative World begins right here and right now! Take action today and tomorrow will be a better day for you and everyone in your life.

Yours to count on,

Steve Luxenberg
TRUE TEAM
PH: (904) 400-0107