Thursday, June 16, 2011

Power of Positivity

Why positive thinking is so important
If you have been following my blogs, you may notice that I write about being positive in everyone. I do this because I can’t stress enough how important it is to stay positive.  It is essential to your success.  When you have positive thoughts, this feeling sends a signal to your brain that causes it to stimulate.  When your mind stimulates, your brain works better.  Having a negative thought is like taking a depressant.  How effective do you think you will be if you went to work after taking some sleepy medicine?  This ineffectiveness has the same effect on your dreams if you go through life having a negative mindset.
“What if” Technique
When faced with a new task or obstacle, many people get the “what if I fail mentality.”  “What if I lose all my money…What if I embarrass myself…What if I am wrong?”  Next time you hear these voices creeping into your head, replace them with the “what if I succeed mentality.”  Instead of thinking about all the things that can go wrong, think about the rewards you will reap if you succeed.  Even if you suffer a setback, you should feel proud about yourself for at least trying.  If you are persistent, you would use this experience as a learning tool and don’t make the same mistakes (if any) again.  Some of you may say…”Dre, I did everything right, but I still didn’t accomplish my goal.”  My answer to you is to keep on going.  When you have faith and take action, God takes notes.  Eventually, whatever goal or dream you are striving for will come into fruition – that is if you stay persistent.  Personally, if I strive for something and fall flat on my face, I will feel much better about myself than if I stayed idle and just daydreamed about trying.  At least I know that I strived to accomplish my goals or dreams.  I am young and I have my whole life ahead of me.  If I make a mistake now, I know eventually those mistakes will add up to something that is far greater than all the mistakes I have ever made! 
How Positive Thinking played a huge part into my life 
I read my first book on positive thinking right after I graduated from college.  I found this book really fascinating, so I dug deeper into the subject.   The more and more I studied the subject, the more I realized that I have been unconsciously using this principle all through college.  Before every test, I use to say to myself that I will get a good grade.   At the time, I didn’t know that I was using the power of positivity.  This strategy helped me graduate summa cum laude with an engineering degree.  I am not saying this to brag, but I wanted to show you an example to show that this stuff really does work!  The more and more I develop my skills of positive thinking, the more success seems to come my way. Everything I write about in my blogs works.  I apply the principles I learn from great teachers and I am seeing the results.  This is the one of the key reasons I started this blog because I would feel selfish if I haven’t shared this great knowledge with you.

Practice makes perfect
The more you practice weaving out the negative thoughts and bringing in the positive, the better you become at it.  Even though I have not mastered the power of positive thinking, I am way better than I was a couple years ago.  This has helped me cultivate the mentality to pursue my dreams of starting my real estate business.   All the great athletes will tell you that they must practice in order to be successful at their sport.  Well as Dream Chasers, we must ALWAYS practice thinking positive because living our dreams is our sport.  I assure you that your life will change for the better if you develop a “negative free” mindset.  All I ask is that you don’t forget about me when you make it to the top!
“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible.” – Anonymous
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Thursday, June 9, 2011

6 Reasons Why People Fail

For the past year, I have been avidly studying the subject of goal attainment.  I have read many books from great philosophers such as Napoleon Hill to great preachers such as Joel Osteen.  In my studying, I have noticed authors highlighting the same few reasons why people fail.  If you haven’t suffered from at least all six reasons listed below, I guarantee that you have suffered from at least one.  This blog is not to come down or belittle anyone, but it should serve as an awareness tool so you can pinpoint which areas need improving.  The only way to improve anything is to first know what the problem is and then come up with a plan to fix it. 
1.  Fear
Fear is probably the most popular reason why people fail.  “I am not smart enough…I am not pretty enough…I don’t have enough money.”  How many of us have had these belittling thoughts plague our minds before?    You have to learn to block these types of thoughts out your mind.  They are detrimental to your success.  If you desire to accomplish a goal bad enough, your desire to succeed should block these thoughts.  Positive and negative thoughts can’t be in your mind at the same time, so when striving for your dreams, which one do you think will help you out the most?  Learning how to harness your mind will take some practice, but the more and more you learn to control it the easier it becomes to manage what comes in and out.  Once you master your thoughts, there isn’t anything on God’s green earth that can stop you!
2.  Lacking Motivation
Motivation is the driving force in achieving your dreams.  If you lack motivation, the success rate of you achieving your dreams is very low.  You may have dealt with defeats in the past or had harsh upbringings.  These factors affect your motivation level.  You have to learn to overcome these barriers.  No one is perfect.   Don’t let the past tarnish your future.   The only way you can build up your motivation is to constantly visit your dream and remind yourself that you WILL accomplish it.  A great tool to use is to read motivational books or blogs to keep your passion burning.  This will help you out tremendously!  When you believe in your heart that you will succeed, your motivation level will go through the roof.
3.  Indecisive
You have to commit yourself to a specific dream or goal.  Its human nature to be indecisive from time to time, but being too indecisive will delay you accomplishing your dream.  Your dream or goal should be something that will give you great self gratitude, whether riches are involved or not.  I know you heard the saying that it’s not work if you are passionate about your job.  In order to make plans to accomplish your dream, you first need to know what you are seeking.  What is that one thing that you always think about or wish you had?  I have some good news for you; it can be yours if you commit yourself to getting it!

4.  Inaction
“I am going to work out next week…I will write my business plan tomorrow…I will go back to school when I free up some time.”  We all are aware of these statements. I wish procrastination was a word that was never invented.  Tomorrow turns into next week, next week turns into next month, next month turns into next year, and the ball keeps rolling.  Have you ever heard the phrase…”Party like there is no tomorrow.”  Well think about your dreams the same way.  Take action like there is no tomorrow.  If you want to go back to school, make a decision to go back to school NOW because tomorrow isn’t promise.  I live my life with the end in mind.  At my funeral, I want my loves ones to share how I was an ambition individual who always sought after living an abundant life.  Get some action behind that dream and make it happen!
5.  Lacking Persistence
When face with obstacles, typically we want to throw in the towel and give up.  Well as Dream Chasers, this is against our values.  We will NEVER give up.  We will hold our head up through the ups and downs.  If I was to ask if you wanted a $100 bill, would you want it?  What if I crumpled up the $100 and threw it on the ground, would you still want it?  If you are like me the answer is probably yes.  The value of the $100 hasn’t changed has it?  So why when we make mistakes or when we TEMPORARILY get defeated we think our value has changed?  We think we aren’t smart enough or we aren’t strong enough. The good thing about being God’s children is that our inner potential will never be taken away.  Our value hasn’t change a tad bit if we make a mistake or get defeated.  You should be grateful for mistakes.  Experience is your best teacher.  When you make a mistake or suffer a setback, don’t get discouraged but learn from the experience and create a solution so next time you will succeed. I don’t care how many setbacks you have had in life.  If you continue to strive for excellence, eventually your life of abundance will come!
6.  No Plans
When the Empire State Building was built, do you think the construction workers just started the construction with no architectural plans?  Imagine the catastrophe if they had.   When going for a dream, ALWAYS have a plan.  Initially, a lot of people get bogged down because they get overwhelmed thinking they have to put together a 30 page business plan.  This is far from the truth.  You initial plan can be however long you wish.  By putting together ANY plan, you are taking the first step of faith.  This makes God smile.  With God smiling, how much do you think your chances of accomplishing your dream increases?  As you follow your plan diligently, all the blanks will be filled.  I want to build a multi-million dollar real estate empire.  Do you think I am worried about every single detail involved with accomplishing such a feat?  My business partner and I have created a plan in which we used our scope of knowledge.  We know as we continue to educate ourselves and gain more experience everything else will fall into play.  Take that first step of faith and put a WRITTEN plan together.
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Friday, June 3, 2011

Why having a burning desire is so essential for you success

What does a burning desire mean to you?
To me it means having a feeling so strong that it becomes an obsession.  Some of you may attach a negative connotation to the word obsession, but this assumption is anything but far from the truth.  In this case, I am referring to an obsession of accomplishing your dreams.  Your desire to achieve your dreams has to be implanted into your mind so that all you do is eat, breath, and sleep your dream.  You have to picture yourself already in possession of your dream. 
The benefits of having a burning desire
This burning desire is going to give you that extra courage to keep you going when you suffer setbacks.  This burning desire is going to give you that extra strength to workout everyday to get you physically fit.   This burning desire is that stimulus that is going to help you come up with those creative ideas.   This burning desire is going to allow you to say YES when the rest of the world is saying NO!  When you have a burning desire, every obstacle you face becomes inferior.  Having a burning desire to achieve your dream is the ONLY way you will ever see it come to realization.
How to create a burning desire
I have covered in greater detail the methods you can use to help build a burning desire in my blog Desire+Faith+Action=Success, but I will give you the following example. 
Imagine if you wrote down in your daily planner some upcoming activities that HAVE to be completed by the end of the day.   If you have any self discipline, I guarantee that these tasks would be completed in a promptly matter because they were instilled in your brain that they were doable.  Well your dreams are the same way.  The only way you will ever achieve your dream is to first convince yourself that they are achievable.

Traveling with no destination
Not writing down your dreams is like going on a road trip with no destination.  You and your spouse start driving and your wife will ask…”Honey, where are we going?”  You shrug your shoulders because you don’t have a clue!  You don’t know how to get there and you don’t know how long it will take to get there because you don’t know where you are going.  First, figure out what your definite purpose in life is.  What is that one thing you wish to accomplish that would make you proudest?   Once you figure it out, write it down and visit it regularly.  This will implant in your mind your desired dream and help you come up with the plans to achieve them.   
Goal Attainment
I keep mentioning dreams, but this technique can be used for any goal you want to accomplish.  For instance, I have an issue dealing with how other people feel towards me.  To help with this mental flaw, I recite the following statement every day…”It will be a great personal achievement if I wasn’t so sensitive to how people feel about me.”  Since I started this, I have seen a big improvement in this area.    
Just Write It
I hear some of you saying…”Dre, I don’t need to write them down because I think about them all the time.”   Maybe you do think about them all the time, but it’s a difference when you write them down.  If you commit to writing them down and reciting them each day, you would be amazed how your faith in achieving them grows.   Once your faith starts to grow, then your will to take action grows.  Taking the first step is the hardest.  Once you take it, you are on the stairway to accomplishing your dreams.  Stay persistent and don’t fall off the stairway.  You may trip up a couple times, but don’t fall.   I was skeptical at first, but the more and more I use this technique, the more and more I noticed my dreams coming into fruition. 
WRITE IT, BELIEVE IT, DO IT, REAP the BENEFITS
To illustrate how this technique works, I will share with you what famous comedian Jim Carrey said on the Oprah Winfrey show… “I wrote myself a check for ten million dollars for acting services rendered and dated it Thanksgiving 1995. I put it in my wallet and it deteriorated. And then, just before Thanksgiving 1995, I found out I was going to make ten million dollars for Dumb & Dumber. I put that check in the casket with my father because it was our dream together.”