Aggressive Success--Grab What You Want Out of Life!

After reading this article I have no more excuses. Perhaps you don't have any idea what Internet Marketing is. It doesn't matter. You can still get the concept. What this young woman is doing is nothing short of INCREDIBLE!



Be Inspired!

Congratulations! If you have made the decision to pursue aggressive success, to go after your dreams, to set goals and tirelessly work to achieve them you are on your way to succeeding.

You have a long way to go, but at least you have started your journey.

After you make that first crucial decision you need to know what to do next. Begin by answering these questions.

IMPORTANT TIP: Take the time to write down these questions and their answers. Do this in your own handwriting if possible. Actually seeing that YOU answered these questions in the way you did will trigger something in your brain that will spur you on when you want to stop your aggressive pursuit of success.

Question 1
What do I most want to accomplish in my life?

Question 2
Why do I want to accomplish this thing?

Question 3
What are the obstacles that are likely to keep me from accomplishing this thing?

Question 4
How can I overcome those obstacles?

Question 5
What is the first thing I need to do to get started on accomplishing this thing?

Answering these five questions will get you started on your way to success. Spend some time answering them. Don't just hastily write down an answer so that you can get through the exercise. Put some thought into what you write. When you are finished you will have started on YOUR roadmap to aggressive success.

Figuring out what you want can be difficult at times, but usually if you give it some thought you can come up with at least one or two goals.

But then what do you do?

First scroll up to the section titled "So, You Want to Pursue Aggressive Success" and complete that exercise. After you have hand written the answers to all five of those questions come back to this section.

Now, you should have written down the first thing you need to do to get what you want, but I want you to examine your answer.

Is that REALLY the first thing you need to do?

Is what you wrote down one step or several steps combined?

Take some time to break down your answer into what is truely just ONE step.

I can hear you. You're saying, "All I want to do is do the dishes every night before I go to bed! Why should I go to all that trouble just to accomplish something so simple?"

Let me ask you, "If what you want to accomplish--the goal you have set for yourself--is really so easy . . . then WHY HAVEN'T YOU DONE IT YET?" (Sorry for yelling. :-)

If you can learn how to break down the actions needed to succeed at even a simple task into bite size pieces, then suddenly something as challenging as climbing Mount Everest doesn't seem so difficult anymore.

Sure, you won't be leaving on your trek in the morning, but what you REALLY need to do to accomplish that goal is to take a walk around the block today.

Don't worry about tomorrow. Tomorrow you'll just do the next step.

It doesn't matter how big or how small, how difficult or how simple, how far away or how near your goals are, agggressively pursuing them
one
step
at
a
time
will cause you accomplish great things!

Breaking down goals into bite sized pieces makes sense, but it isn't all that easy to do. You know you want to lose 50 pounds or redecorate the living room, but getting from "I want to . . ." to "I did it!" requires quite a bit of effort.

The easiest way to figure out the HOW of accomplishing any goal is to make a list of ALL the steps required from beginning to end.

"But what if I forget something?" you ask. Relax, if you forget a step or two just do them when you get there.

Obviously you aren't going to redecorate your living room and forget to put the furniture back in after you paint even if you forgot to add that step to your orginal list.

Once you start a project many of the steps seem to fall into a logical order. You will quickly realize if you forgot a step. Just add it to your list and continue on with your plan.

Of course, there may be times when you forget a step that will require you to repeat part of the process. Don't worry about it. Your goal is to finish the task--even if it takes a little longer than you had planned.

To break up your huge goal into baby steps take some time to brainstorm. Make a list of EVERYTHING you can think of that needs to be done. If you can find a friend or family member to do this with it makes it easier and more fun.

Don't try to put the items in order and don't concern yourself with whether or not your ideas will actually end up in the final plan. Just write down whatever you think of as quickly as possible.

Your list for losing 50 pounds may look something like this:

• Buy a scale


• Drink 64 ounces of water a day


• Join a gym


• Buy workout clothes


• Exercise three times a week


• Buy some hand weights


• Go for a 30 minute walk every day


• Clean out cupboards/Throw away junk food


• Get a kitchen scale


• Find low fat recipes


• Shop for low fat foods


• Buy new clothes in a smaller size


• Stop drinking soda


• Drink 8 ounces of water 30 minutes before every meal


• Chew gum while cooking

This isn't a complete list, I'm sure. And it isn't in order either, but it gives us an idea of all of the variety of things that are in involved in reaching a goal of losing 50 pounds.

After you make your list then put the items in order as best you can. Obviously some of the things on this list would be done everyday and some would be done only once, but it is easy to see that the changes in eating habits and exercise would have to be done before you could buy clothes in a smaller size.

Using this method to figure out how to take baby steps will also give you the benefit of starting lifestyle changes gradually. I don't know about you, but if I change my eating habits, start exercising 3 times a week, take a 30 minutes walk everyday and stop drinking soda all from day one my weight loss efforts will last less than 24 hours. But if I plan to add one of these steps each week or even one every other week it is more likely that I will establish them as habits.

Setting goals isn't about changing your life in a day or even a weekend. Achieving your goals is a process. A step by step progression toward seeing the big picture realized in your life.

But you have to START somewhere.

If you are like the typical New Year's Resolution Setter you ended 2008 with a bang! You determined to lose 50 pounds, become a millionaire, and end world hunger in the next 365 days. And while you are at it you also plan to quit smoking and train to run a marathon.

How are you doing with those plans?

Resolving to do something is easy.

DOING IT can be very difficult!

2009 is already almost 8 days old as I write this. That is more than one of the 52 weeks you had to do all you said you would do. And yet . . .

Perhaps you are off to a slow start this year (Perhaps you get off to a slow start EVERY year, but let's not dwell on the past.) It would be easy to say to yourself, "Well, I blew it again. I might as well wait until next year and try again."

Why?

The date on the calendar makes a convenient place to start, but definitely not the only place to start to achieve your goals.

Aggressive success requires action--not timing. If you have done nothing to lose weight since deciding to lose 50 pounds why not start right now? Go fill a glass with water and drink it down over the next hour or so. Take a break from your computer and do 10 minutes of stretching exercises. When you go to lunch or get off work take the stairs instead of the elevator or walk around the block before heading home.

Yes, I know, there are at least 50 excuses you can come up with to not do any of those things. And you can use any one of them to get out of actually starting on the weight loss goal, but you have to wonder . . .

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO ACHIEVE WHAT YOU SAY YOU WANT TO ACHIEVE?

If the answer is "YES!" then start now--today.

Don't let another year go by with your resolutions dissolving into thin air because you didn't ever start.

One reason why many people don't succeed in life is that they spend much of thier time making excuses. Instead of getting aggressive with pursuing their goals they just make excuses.

Over the next few days I will give you reasons to refute these arguments.

When you say,

"I can't do that,
I can't go on,
I can't try again
I can't afford this,
or
I can't handle this"

I will show you reasons why YOU CAN!

Here is a technique that will help you to overcome the obstacles that stand in your way.

Choose one of your goals. Write it down on the top of a sheet of paper.

Under the goal, make a list of all the reasons why you can't accomplish it. List everything from, "I don't have enough money", to "I'm too out of shape", to "I don't feel good", to pick an excuse--any excuse!

Now, answer this question,
"How aggressive am I willing to be to accomplish this goal?"

If you REALLY want whatever it is you will find a way to overcome those obstacles because aggressive success requires you to be, well, aggressive!

Don't give up because something is difficult. If you carefully lay out your plans and realize at step three that you need $100 dollars that you don't have then brainstorm some ways to come up with it. Don't just scrap the whole plan because you need to backtrack or even start from scratch--again (or again and again and again!)

A RECOVERING nonachiever will succeed. You CAN!

I know how you feel! In the past year I have had two of my good friends' lose their children, my husband lost his job and was unable to find another one for 6 months, we ran out of money--literally! Then my Mom got really sick and passed away on September 18th.

I am tired!
I am sad!
I am stressed!
I need a break!

Okay. So now what?

Sometimes we feel like we can't go on. Sometimes when we feel that way we are right. But sometimes when we feel that way we are just whining.

The difference between aggressive success and giving up is knowing when to rest and when to just pull ourselves together and try harder.

I don't know your circumstances. I can't give you a list of when to take a break and when to try harder. But I can give you some tips for handling the "I Can't Go On" feeling.

If you have experienced the death of a loved one you need to give yourself some time to grieve.

I realize that you probably can't just take a few months off of work while you grieve, (if you can do that please do) but you can cut back on your regular activities.

It is tempting to drown ourselves in busyness so that we don't have to face the pain, but our hearts and minds need time to heal from the emotional pain just as we need time to heal from a physical injury.

Do what absolutely MUST be done, then REST! Sleep, cry, talk about the pain, get counseling if you need to. Allow yourself to heal.

I don't know how long it will take--we're all different. If YOU think it is taking too long or if you seem to be feeling sadder instead of better then you may need to get professional help.

When you start to feel like you are healing make an effort to talk about the good memories. Start a journal or a blog. Do something nice for yourself. After a while you will be able to ease back into your usual routine.

Any kind of loss (loss of a job, moving to an unfamiliar city, a business failure, etc.) will cause you to experience a certain amount of sadness. While it is necessary and important to discipline our lives if we are going to succeed, it is also important to allow ourselves to recover, to rest, and to heal.

You can go on--eventually. Start making little efforts toward your goals. When you accomplish one small task, accomplish a second, then a third. When you have completed 5 or 10 small things on the way to your ultimate goal reward yourself!

Learn to know when you really need to stop (for a while!) and when you are just complaining about how tough things are.

One of the joys in achieving our goals is that they almost always make our lives easier when we do! Push yourself over the rough spots. You'll be glad you did!

When you say you can't try again do you mean, "I can't try again EVER," or "I can't try again right now?"

Giving up will not only cause you to not achieve your goals, but it will also cause physical changes in your body. Your immune system will become weak. You will be tired constantly. You will probably struggle with addictions.

Knowing this, can you try again?

What if you fail? What if you fail again, and again, and again? At least you will keep yourself occupied.

I know failure is hard. So far my husband and I have failed at over 15 business ventures. We have been through bankruptcy. We have experienced the death of a child and two miscarriages.

It would be easy to never try again. And many people would understand. Many people would say we have the "right" to, but how would that help?

I have no desire sit around for the rest of my life remembering the past. I have experienced enough sadness without wallowing in it.

I choose to try and to keep trying as often as it takes.

You can choose to try again, too.

coming soon . . .

coming soon . . .

coming soon . . .

If you are a recovering non-achiever like me you probably have your whole life planned. You know what you want to be a year from now, 10 years from now, and every other day until the day you die.

You have it all planned out, not because you have set goals, but because non-acheivers spend a lot of time thinking and dreaming and sometimes actually even planning--just never acting.

So you decided to change. Maybe it was a major life event--turning 40, the birth of your first child, the death of a spouse. Maybe it was a movie you saw or a book you read. Maybe it was this lens! But something happened to you to light a fire under your dreams and cause you to become too uncomfortable to just sit there and imagine. You HAD to ACT!

And act you did. You actually set goals. You got some education. You applied for a business loan. You decluttered your house. You got aggressive--and you started to see some success. How exciting!

That is until you came to the detour sign. You were faced with a major illness. Your elderly mother fell ill and needed full time care. You lost your job.

Do you stop achieving?

Perhaps, for a little while. But aggressive success requires you to press on.

Will you have to adjust your goals? Probably. They might take longer to achieve. You may not be able to accomplish some of them at all.

Is your successful life over?

Do you want it to be over?

It's up to you.

If you are pursuing aggressive success you will take aggressive action. You will slow down, reassess, make another plan, and set out to complete the plan.

And ultimately you will succeed!

1. Get enough sleep
2. Drink more water
3. Smile
4. Help someone
5. Read
6. Play with a child
7. Pray
8. Balance your checkbook
9. Exercise
10. Learn something new

[Edited 11/10/08--I thought if maybe I put a date on this section then it would help me to be accountable to actually achieve my weight loss goal! If you are reading this lens anytime after 11/10/08 feel free to send me an email (link is in my bio) and ask how I'm doing on this goal! I MEAN IT!]

Wow! I didn't realize how much stress, time constraints, depression, and just the basic stuff of life could influence an ENTIRE year!

Last year about this time I set a weight loss goal and then proceeded to to not meet it! Although I thought I had convinced myself that I would aggressively pursue my goals in 2007 the circumstances I found myself in convinced me otherwise.

I came to a point where I just didn't care!

Nothing much has changed in my life since then to make me want to try again--in fact, things have gotten worse. But I MUST succeed.

I am tired of being tired all the time. I don't have the money to replace my wardrobe and I am outgrowing the one I have. I don't have the energy to play with my kids. And I just don't feel good about myself. So, I am going to change!

I will reach my goal! It will take me a little longer, but pursuing Aggressive Success is about NOT GIVING UP!

Watch my progress below and leave a comment on my Blog (see below), send me an email, or leave a comment in my Guestbook to share YOUR success stories with me. I'd love to hear them!