Never never give in.

WInston Churchill as Prime Minister of Great Britain during the second world war said, in a speech that inspired the nation and at a time when Britain's back was truly against the wall; "we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender" That speech became part of legend! It is the secret to success. Napoleon Hill writes about the man who just 3 feet away from where he was digging for gold, was an absolute fortune. But the man became disillusioned and being worn out from his labours, he stopped looking. How many times in your life have you too become disheartened and thrown in the towel? Once you discover your passion, and set a goal to take action so that you can live the perfect life, the life of your dreams, you will be able to look back with satisfaction and with your head held high, be able to say "I did not give in!" You can get Napoleon Hill's inspiring books and other motivational ideas and movies here. Why not pay a visit to the Perfect Life Secrets web site and browse around? You may feel moved enough to make a purchase. You'll be glad you did!

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On Being Focussed

I was reminded about how powerful focus can be when I read a brief article on this today.
Zen practitioners understand the concept of focus.
For example, when washing the dishes, you wash the dishes - that's all you do. You don't distract yourself by thinking about other things.
Or eating a meal. Your immediate task is to eat, nothing else. You concentrate on the food, not television or a book or the computer or your smart phone.
If you have set a goal for something you wish to achieve, you will have an action plan with a timeline set up.
And so, at the appointed time, all you do is focus on the task. Nothing else is allowed to interrupt you.
All possible distractions are turned off or disabled.
By eliminating distractions and concentrating on the task at hand, several things come in to play.
Things are simplified, time goes by quickly, you begin to notice changes [ for the better],unpleasant tasks do not assume the unpleasantness they once had for you.
One small focussed action at a time.
You are being present, not worried about what might have been nor worried about what might happen at some future time.
Burdens get unloaded. A higher state of consciousness takes over. You will experience joy in all of the little things.
It is one way in which you can begin to live the perfect life, one tsk at a time, one hour at a time one day at a time.

In a Perfect World

In a perfect world there would be no war, you would have all the money and possessions you needed and no doubt enjoy excellent health, a great social life and be happy all of the time. Many of you might want to modify this list somewhat as everybody pretty much has a slightly different notion of what 'perfect' means. Of course we don't [yet] live in a perfect world. But we do experience times when things are pretty darned good. Looking back, there's often a memory of some good things happening. However, what if you changed 'perfect' to 'ideal'? Perfect means there's nowhere to go; th pinnacle has been reached and so being in a perfect world might mean that life is flat lined somewhat. However in an ideal world, not everything is ideal - it's a concept, something to aim for.
Often  your life can be better any time you choose, it's often an attitude that makes all the difference. You can choose how to respond to an event. At least, if you are willing, you can train yourself to respond to what might be an upsetting event, so that your emotions don't take over.
Remember it's not the event that causes you to be upset, but your response to it. By learning to change behaviours such as this, you can begin to live an ideal life. This is just one 'secret' key that will unlock those doors to a better life.
You can bet that there'll be a helpful book that explores this in more depth. Have a look at here for all sorts of ways to help you become successful in pretty much any area of life you choose.

Goal Setting

Anecdotal evidence suggests that the top 3% of achievers have set goals. They have a goal - an idea of what they want and they then set an action plan. What is a goal? A goal is a target if you will; something to aim for. Great goals are 'SMART.' Specific, measurable, achievable realistic and time bound. This means that SMART goals are in fact something that you believe you can realise. By putting a time or date by when you expect to complete all the actions in your plan and thus achieve your goal, you actually are making your self accountable. Add a little more commitment by making your goals public - tell somebody! Now here's a really good graphic you can use that is a useful reminder.

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Zig's formula

Some thoughts on Success

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One of My favourites

Why we do what we do is the question that got me into the personal development field in the beginning. Pay attention to Tony Robbins as shares some enlightening ideas and observations.

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For those of you looking for a powerful resource that will be of invaluable assistance to improve yourself and your life, I can recommend it. Make sure you check it out.

Life's Ups and Downs

Well, the 2012 London Olympics are pretty much over.
So far they seem to have been well run and new records have been set.
We have all seen the joy of those athletes who have succeeded; either by winning a medal or exceeding their personal best set prior to participating.
We have also witnessed the despair and sadness that comes with failure. Especially from those who were picked to be winners.
As Kiwis, we shared the disappointments of Valery Adams in the shot put. Valerie was widely expected to win, she has been a consistent winner before. Well, in many eyes she is still a winner, even though she came second and won a sliver.
Similarly 1500  metre runner Nick Willis performed well below what he is capable of.
Just as in life, elite athletes, superbly prepared and at their peak don't always win.Neither do you. Some good days, some not so good days.
Of course, the more you prepare, the more likely it is that you will have more ups than downs. At least with a plan of action and some goals in place you will be more able to get up from disappointment.
If you need some help getting started toward a better life then email me or head over to the website and get your self a motivational book or DVD that will inspire you.

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Weight Loss

Never in our history has obesity [ being over weight], become one of the major heath concerns of the western world.
Weighing more than you should can lead to all sorts of diseases including diabetes, heart disease and many others.
The foods that you regularly eat are either not very nutritious or you eat more than your body needs.
When you overload your body's systems proper digestion cannot occur and so the weight just piles on.
As one personal development expert said; we tend to eat for nuture not nature.
I have noticed on many forums that a lot of people are adopting a diet that is almost exclusively comprised of fresh fruits and vegetables and very little meat. They are noticing that after a short while they are not only feeling better but they are losing weight, getting better quality sleep and have much more energy.
Making big changes to your normal routines can be rather fraught.
I suggest that if you do want to begin to lose weight that you do it gradually. Take small steps. Set little goals that you can achieve easily and regularly.
The more you keep reaching your targets the more you build a habit that endures.
From then onwards, just add more changes and small steps to integrate those changes and before too long you ought to see and feel the results.
There's many a good book on goal setting and weight loss which you can get here.

Living Your Passion

What are you passionate about?
Are you living your passion?
Maybe you don't have a clue!
A good way to find out is to ask your friends, people who know you well.
They will tell you what you are good at.
Perhaps you have a hobby but no idea how to turn that hobby into a business for example.
So many successful people have turned their passion into a business. They enjoy it so much that to them it does not feel like work.
And there are stories where the passion has become the business that the money just flows. In fact money really did not come into the equation until some time afterward.
Get those ideas out into the open, give them some air, maybe, just maybe they will fly!

Your Ideal Life

Have you ever dreamed what your life would be like 'if only' things were different?
I bet you have!
If only I had more money.
If I earned more money; I could.....fill in the blank.
Or maybe you dream of having a perfect relationship, or better health, or perhaps a nice holiday home in some exotic place.
Well, you are not alone. I think that deep down pretty much everybody has a wish list. And deep down you all think, even believe, that your dreams are just that; a dream. You secretly believe, that for you, such ideals are just not possible. "Other people" maybe, but not you!
But what if could be true? Imagine for a moment that you too could have everything you wanted. Impossible? Why?
The world is full of rags to riches stories; many are about people just like you who never dreamed for one minute that their lives could be transformed. Often that now realised dream was not always about material things, but was about human relationships or building a place for disadvantaged children for example.
Many live out their fantasy through books. Or they get an idea from a book, or the book inspires the reader to do something about changing their circumstances for the better. I'm sure you get the concept here.
So I invite you to write a story. The story will be about you and what your ideal life would be like. Remove all of the doubts and 'it's not possible' notions and just write as if it were possible; that nothing at all is getting in the way.
Forget about any notions about being realistic, just write.
Take your time and put it in the present tense. Keep writing until you have everything down on paper. You might like to read it through, do some editing and get it in some order - or not as the case may be.
When you read it to yourself, get engaged with the story as if you are actually living our ideal life. What are the sensations? Smell. touch, how does it look, how do you look. Really get into it.
Now, what could you do in some small way that might just start you on your journey toward your ideal life?
Nothing happens without doing.
Start today - things could get worse, they usually do if you think like that.
So think about things getting better. You'll be glad you did.

Setting Goals

The most important thing you must do before setting any goal is to get crystal clear as to what it is you want. Whether that is to lose some weight, begin eating a healthy diet, or creating a compelling CV to get a new job; you must decide firstwhat it is that you want. As Stephen Covey says: 'begin with the end in mind.' Once you have decided what it is that you want, then you cen begin to create a plan. Ideally your plan will be broken down into a series of small easily achievable steps that, when combined together will be the pathway to the end or your goal. Here's a trick that might make achieving your goal just that little bit easier: Don't worry about finishing your plan - sometimes that seems to be just too much to do; too many steps ans therefore overwhelming. Break it down into say weeks, each week has seven days, and so set up some action steps for one day only. Early on, it may be sufficient to repeat each day's set of tasks. By setting up your day into a series of small steps, you will notice that you can easily tick them off as being completed. For the next day you repeat the previous day's list of steps. At the end of the week,you realise that you have actually succeeded in doing everything you planned to do! Two things will have happened: 1. You have experienced success. 2. You have begun to believe you can do it. A third bonus is that you have begun to build a habit of reaching your goals. There are plenty of books on goal setting many of which can be quite sophisticated, however what is outlined here is all you need to get started.

Following your passion

The local paper out today has an article headed 'Taking Wildlife Global.' It is the story of a man who as a youngster loved fictional stories about wildlife in Africa. Forty years later his passion for photography has resulted in one of his photos being chosen for the cover of Wildlife Photographer of the Year - its 21st edition [ he has all issues!] It is also the first cover to be in black and white! As a result he has given up his job in order to pursue a new career around his photography. This is a great story about persistance and following your passion. Even though it's taken four decades, our photographer is now about to get closer to realising his dream. What is your dream? What are you passionate about? Will you persist until you get there? Are you prepared to do what it takes - or will you settle for less?

In the beginning

Welcome to my blog, a place where I shall share isights as to what I believe it takes to live or lead or, indeed, aspire to experiencing the 'perfect life.' As a coach, I am passionate about helping you become the best that you can possibly be, whatever that means to you. We all have different ways of looking at the world, but with decent dialogue anybody can begin to move toward their dreams. And along the way you will experience the ups and downs, the wins and losses, the highs of ectsasy and the depths of despair. With the good comes the bad goes the old cliche. Much of what I espouse came from books and their often inspirational writers. One that comes to mind is Stephen Covey the writer of 'The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.' Stephen has very recently died from complications arising from a bicycle accident a few months ago. Just as he wrote, he has left an enduring legacy. A great place to find books on self help and personal growth is here. Or you could visit my coaching blog where, if you wish you can sign up for my newsletter or arrange to have some coaching. Make sure to bookmark these pages as I continue to write some thought provoking and inspiring words.