Develop a Successful Mindset

When I first came interested in developing a successful mindset I came across an exercise I found by reading the book "What I Didn't Learn At School But Wish I Had" by Jamie McIntyre. I found the exercise to be very insightful, in this particular case it was related to money but I have found it easily applicable to other areas as well (for e.g. health, creativity, intelligence etc.).

According to Jamie McIntyre the exercise is designed to go beyond the conscious mind to access the subconscious files we link to money. When you first begin you will more than likely only be answering from your conscious mind, which will give you automatic conscious answers. Eventually, you will exhaust all your conscious answers and begin to call on the files of the subconscious mind.

I came up with some quite surprising results, experiences and memories from the past that I had no idea affected my feelings toward money. You can do this exercise by yourself, however I found it more effective with a partner.

Mindset Exercise
If you choose to do it with a partner then get them to ask you the three questions listed below, your partner can also write down your replies as you answer each question. Your partner will need to keep asking each question until your answers have been completely exhausted in each area. Push beyond the automatic answers so that you discover the deeper associations and emotional impacts of money in your life. Ask the first question at least 20 times until the answers are completely exhausted, then switch to the second question for 20 times, and then the third question for at least 20 times. You'll get the most out of this exercise by being true to yourself and pushing really hard.

1. What is money?
2. What is not having money?
3. What is money, really?

Once you feel you have exhausted all possible answers for the questions above you can then begin to understand your current mindset and begin to condition your nervous system for a success, using the insights you have gained. To help you do this try answering the questions below.

1. What are my most limiting beliefs about having absolute financial abundance?
2. What specific amount of money represents financial abundance to me?
3. What will I do today toward developing a financial plan?
4. What did I learn today that I can use to make progress?
5. What financial terms and aspects of personal finance do I not currently understand?
6. Why am I committed to follow through?
7. Give one or two situations from the past of when you pulled through despite difficulty.

This exercise was a great start to rewiring my subconscious association to money and other areas of life I applied it to. I hope it does the same for you, If you would like to learn more about conditioning your subconscious and not only in relation to money but also in other areas of your life, I recommend Anthony Robbins' he is a world leader in the development of a highly successful mindset. Or more recently Dean Whittingham at the Universal Success Club

After the insights obtained from yesterdays exercise we are now able to rewire our mind for success and make those changes last. We have all at one stage started something up to improve our lives whether it be a diet , study or exercise only to give up at the first sign of struggle due to the fear of failure or fear that the change will last. In order to overcome these fears we'll go through three simple steps that if applied correctly can create immediate change to improve your life and make that change last.

Step 1 - Raise your Standards
It seems as though many of us go through life accepting things that don't benefit us, don't make us happy or don't allow us to live the life we desire. An example of this was on one occasion while talking to a friend about his job, my friend said to me "I really don't enjoy my job, but I've just got to do it to survive", now as you can maybe understand from this, my friend had just accepted to live of a life of work in an unpleasant job just to get by. Now if my friend continued to accept the job and didn't aspire to raise his standards he would most probably be in the same job or similar and wouldn't be enjoying his million dollar property portfolio he now managers for a living. To make vital changes in my life and raise my standards I basically decided on what I wasn't going to accept in my life, and made clear all the things that I desired.

Step 2 - Change your Limiting Beliefs
Changing your limiting beliefs goes hand in hand with raising your standards, because if you have set a standard for yourself and don't believe you can actually achieve it then you have already sabotaged yourself, you most probably won't even try. What we belief controls our thoughts, how we act, what we feel and how we experience things. Therefore by taking control of our own beliefs and developing a sense of certainty that we can achieve unlimited results then unlimited results will eventually be the outcome. Do you think if Bill Gates believed that Microsoft would never be successful he would of put so much effort in and built into the massive success it is today?

Step 3 - Find your Strategy
Now that you've increased your values and developed the belief in yourselves we need to find a strategy that will get you where you want to go. The strategy that I found to be the most beneficial was getting a mentor, someone who you is already where you want to be. You may be wondering how do I get someone to be my mentor, and why would they want to be my mentor. Well that comes back to your limiting beliefs, you can only ask, and if in the case you are unable to get a mentor one on one, you can always get access to a mentor from reading their books, going to their seminars, watching their videos or any other media they might be on. Once you have found your mentor you will want to learn what they know, what they are doing and how they think. You can then take what you learn and apply it to suit you, possibly even make their methods better.

Ok that's all for today, tomorrow and the next few days we'll be going through ways to improve your quality of life through emotional, physical, relationship, finance and time control.

Your life is a product of what you think, it's not so much about what happens to you or what's going on around you, but how you react. John Bear aims to raise our awareness on the basic principles that govern our lives. He covers many areas that affect the quality of our lives and discusses how to become more aware of these, which then gives us the opportunity to make more informed, and therefore better, choices. Without this basic understanding and awareness regarding the reasons for many of the choices we make, and subsequently, the results of those choices cannot be understood.

What is it that governs our decisions? Why do we have to have the latest gadgets bought on credit? Buy designer clothes we can't really afford knowing they are overpriced? What are the thoughts and impulses that drive us to succeed or not? Are we driven by fear and if so, fear of what? How do our choices impact the world around us?

The subjects raised may challenge your beliefs and if you decide to read this book require an open mind willing to give consideration to the thoughts put forth.

When we rely on sources outside of ourselves for our well-being we give away our own personal power. Governments, the media and institutions rely on this for their own gain above ours. Once they have won us over with promises and policies, it remains in their interest to only give information that benefits them and strengthens their position. Expanding your knowledge base and awareness through self education, exploring private investing and always questioning the information you are given is essential if you are to stand up and accept responsibility for your own life.

To sit back and complain about the state of your life, the economy or world has no effect except to leave you more exposed to the events that will happen. Remember it's not about what happens to you, but how you respond that determines the outcome, at the time and in the future. John Bear looks deeply into how the governing bodies of politics, religions and the media use their power to manipulate our thinking, so that they will profit and be secure in their positions, whilst we flounder with no choice but to reach out to them for help.

'Mastering our Minds' Manipulators' is an eye opening exploration into who we are, and what responsibilities we carry by being here. It encourages self education and awareness that allows you to make decisions in your life based on reaching out for the truth. You don't have to accept everything you're told, or believe that only one way is right. You will empower yourself by deciding you are no longer a victim of circumstance, 'For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.' Prov.23.7.

Everyone wants to achieve something in life, often though we don't allow ourselves to be all we can be. We may have had experiences throughout our lives that have led us to believe we can't do certain things. These feelings cause us to live our lives with much less than we want or could have. You were born and you have as much right as anyone to be here and achieve great things in your life. So decide today that your thoughts will change to ones of great expectations, grateful for whatever you have then set some goals and work your way towards them.

Don't get disheartened by Shortcomings
Every now and then you may get disheartened when you've set a goal and the deadline is coming up and you're nowhere near it or you've fallen short of what you wanted to achieve. For example if you set a goal of making $1,000,000 in 2 years and you find that you've only earned $200,000 after 1 year then you may need to re-evaluate your strategy but you shouldn't lose sight of your ultimate goal if anything you should raise your standard.

Even if you feel that you can't work any harder you probably can, but be honest when you make this assessment. Increase your efforts slightly and see what difference it makes, it may not always be possible to maintain it continually, but attempt to always improve your effort.

It has been scientifically determined that as adults we probably sleep a lot more than we really need to. If you find that you just can't seem to get everything done in a day try waking up earlier each day. Go to bed at the same time but gradually increase your waking up time by 5 mins until you find yourself with an extra 15, 30 or even 60 minutes a day. Think of what you could do with that time, go for a run, meditate, read or anything that would improve your life. Time is not negotiable we all get the same amount each day it's what we do with it that makes a difference.
Don't get bogged down by negativity

Keeping your expectations high even when things don't look so great certainly puts you on the right side of success. If you allow yourself to get bogged down by negative thoughts regarding your progress you will slow yourself down even more. Always know a solution can be found are you using all your resources, have you developed a network of people you can go to for information and advice? Have you remained open to learning and researching new methods to achieve your goal, could you do any further training that would help?

Maybe you do need a day off, take one, project yourself into the future promising yourself that once a certain task is completed you will reward yourself. Stay on your path to your goal, keep your expectations high no matter what, even if you don't quite make it you are certainly closer than if you did nothing and you have learned a lot. You know a lot more about what it's going to take to achieve your goal and if you never give up you're already a winner.

Probably some of the best advice I was given, was to give it your all and never give up. We are all very much capable of getting the things we want in life, and if we are determined enough we will get it. Determination and persistence are two very commonly found traits in the world's most successful people. The determination to reach a goal and the persistence to power through those temporary setbacks we all face. Unless you're truly brilliant it is very unlikely that you'll get your perfect result the first time around, plus what is the fun in getting everything right the first time. As painful as it may be sometimes, we learn from our challenges and it is through some of these that our greatest strengths become known. So whatever you do don't think because something isn't the way you thought it would be or should be that you should give up.

Most People Give Up Moments Before Success
It is common for people to give up moments before they are about to succeed. One example of this is a story about a young boy and his father. The father had a strong passion in life to succeed, he wanted to have the money and the time to live the life he desired. He worked hard for many years, growing his knowledge and wisdom learning from the wealthy. His family also shared his passion and his son grew up with the mentality of obtaining the same which his father desired. The father wasn't at all hesitant about sharing his wisdom and knowledge with his son, and the son took it on board fascinated by the ideas and possibilities. Using the knowledge and wisdom he had gained the father managed to acquire a number of investment properties that appeared to be light at the end of the tunnel. The properties weren't yet paying for themselves however and the income coming in was only just enough to cover all the properties, he started losing hope and gave up. If only he had put in the hard yards a little bit longer it would have been ok, but the pressure was enough to stop him in his tracks, he had to sell all his properties, he lost his passion and sight of his dreams and desires. But that is definitely not the end of the story, his son still with the passion carried on with the dream. The father may have been disheartened but all this did was fuel the son's desires. The son worked hard using the knowledge he had learnt from his father and some he had picked up along the way and managed to create a substantial amount of wealth that allowed him to fulfil his and his father's desires for both of them.

Often just before success we are tired stressed and it is possible to lose hope as we begin to feel all our hard work may not pay off or maybe things seem to be getting harder instead of easier. We need to be aware that these things happen they can be a part of the journey. Take the Olympics for example, if you are in a race wouldn't the last few meters be harder and more taxing than the first few but then you cross the finish line and you're there. It's a little harder in life when you may not be able to see just when you will cross that line but at times when it all seems a bit much remind yourself why you started, check if it's still what you want, then take a little time out to gather your strength and then carry on or pass the torch to a team mate so that what you started can still be achieved and either way you have been successful.

Know its the right thing to do?
Sometimes it can be hard to know when something isn't working out whether you should keep going or if it is time to move on. A method I found that works for me is to determine if what you're doing is for the benefit of others as well as yourself, 'Is it the right thing to do?' If it is then don't give up, give it all you've got, but consider changing the way you are approaching the situation. It might just mean you need to do things differently, what might seem impossible one day may become simple the next. So give it your all, and never give up.