Archives for May 2019

Persistence is a word used to describe success or the successful. It’s used so often that it has become white noise, something you tune out and ignore.

So, some people, like Angela Duckworth, offer an alternative word – Grit.

But, who cares what you call it? What does Persistence mean and why is it so critical to success?

Persistence is a very rare, unique trait that separates the successful from everybody else.

Only 5% realize financial success in life (see The Wealthy 5% – Who Are They? – http://richhabits.net/the-top-5-who-are-they/)

The other 95% choose the path or least resistance. They either pursue “safe” careers, are too afraid to pursue their dreams or they quit on their dreams when the going gets tough.

But, in order to understand Persistence, you must first understand Consistency, its close cousin.

Consistency is Repetition.

People who practice their craft day in and day out, eventually gain Mastery – they become experts or Virtuosos in what they do.

Consistency, or Repetition, results in Mastery, transforming you into a Virtuoso.

This is why I harp so much on habits. Habits force Consistency. Habits help you to become a Virtuoso in whatever you do.

Persistence, on the other hand, is the act of being Consistent when you are struggling with Adversity.

Adversity are wrenches that are thrown into your path, along your journey towards success. Those wrenches, if you allow them, can take you permanently off track.

Example

Your spouse issues an ultimatum to cease and desist from the workaholic schedule you’ve been at since you began pursuing your dream. If you don’t, it’s off to divorce court.

That’s Adversity!

Self-made millionaires ignore the ultimatum and continue to do what they’re doing. Self-made millionaires choose divorce, rather than quit on their dream.

That’s Persistence!

Persistence is continuing to do what you’re doing, NO MATTER WHAT.

The Persistent are Consistent, when everything is going wrong and all hell is breaking loose. They are Consistent when obstacle after obstacle is thrown in their way. They are Consistent when they are running out of money. They are Consistent during periods of unrelenting emotional stress.

So, what is Persistence?

It is the Consistent pursuit of success in the face of Adversity.

Or, put another way, it is the refusal to surrender to Adversity.

A lack of Persistence is why there are so few successful individuals.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

Success doesn’t happen overnight.

Oftentimes, it appears that way because many successful people explode onto the scene. They seem to manifest out of thin air.

Warren Buffet was a relatively unknown person even into his late 40’s. And then in the mid- 1980’s he was everywhere. T.V., magazines, national newspapers, in books by other authors. All of a sudden, everyone knew who Warren Buffet was.

But Warren only received recognition after decades of pursuing success. His overnight success took a long time.

Success is the byproduct of years of writing your story through your body of work, increasing the number of people in your herd, growing your brand, doing little, consistent things every day which eventually leads to success.

What makes successful people different from the rest of humanity is that they do the things they should do when they need to do them. They don’t wait until the spirit moves them. They make the pursuit of success a daily habit. Their success habits automate the pursuit of success.

If you really want to be successful you first have to become clear about what it is you want to succeed in. You need clarity.

How do you become clear about your success? There’s a process.

Take out a pad and pencil and create a script of your ideal future life. Define exactly what that future, ideal life will look like.

This exercise will spark your imagination and toggle on the creative parts of your brain. Five hundred words is all you need.

Once completed, this script becomes the blueprint of your life. In a few weeks after completing your script, the specific goals you need to accomplish will manifest seemingly out of thin air.

Once you have defined your goals, you then create specific daily habits that will help you achieve your goals.

Every day do five things that will move you forward towards achieving your goals. You do these five things even when you don’t want to. You do these five things even when you’re sick, having a bad day, tired or unmotivated. You make this Daily 5 a daily habit.

I process my Daily 5 onto my to do list. Most are exactly the same every day, and stay that way until I accomplish my goals. Then I move on to the next set of goals and design a new Daily 5 around those new goals.

Every day, rain or shine, I complete my Daily 5. I even complete my Daily 5 during tax season, when I’m working 80 hours a week, including weekends. Circumstances don’t matter.

I am, like a mad scientist, fanatically automating success on a daily basis.

In the beginning, you will struggle with your Daily 5. But after about two months, the habit will begin to cement. When that happens, you have made the pursuit of success a daily habit.

Let’s summarize the process of automating success:

1. Create a 500 word script of your ideal future life.
2. Define the goals that you must accomplish in order to have that ideal life.
3. Do five things every day that will move you forward in achieving each of your goals.

Success is a process. Habits are the foundation of that process.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

Your brain thinks in pictures.

You are literally visualizing everything about your life in the form of pictures. This neurological picture-making is known as the Law of Visualization.

The Law of Visualization is hard at work, every day.

For those struggling with poverty, the pictures playing inside their brains are of a dismal future. They see obstacles, worries and money problems. They visualize themselves as they currently are – poor and struggling to get by each day.

Their future is their present – a stress-filled dystopia.

Their pictures are negative, pessimistic, unhappy – leaving them feeling hopeless and helpless.

Conversely, those in pursuit of success, see a bright future. A debt-free home, a large bank account, numerous future investments, future travel to exotic places.

The vision of their future is a wonderland of never-ending opportunities and adventure – always positive and upbeat. Their pictures excite them, energize them and motivate them to pursue their dreams and their goals.

You have the power to change your present circumstances.

It begins by changing the movie that is running inside your head. Your future life is dictated by that movie.

The pictures you want to see are those that depict a future of unlimited possibilities.

Make your pictures amazing and your ever-watchful, ever-powerful, subconscious mind will slowly begin to mold a future reality that is consistent with your inner pictures.

See your future, be your future.

Is the movie playing in your head keeping you poor? If you are struggling financially and unhappy about your life, it’s time for a new movie.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

You want success to take a long time.

The longer you pursue success, the more you will learn from your mistakes and failures. You learn to pivot and become adroit at dealing with the numerous and frequent obstacles that stand between you and success.

Each obstacle you overcome, empowers you with knowledge and experience that can be used to overcome future obstacles. Overcoming obstacles cements the learning, converting the experience into long-term memory.

Those who pursue success for a long time, forge an enviable warehouse of knowledge. That warehouse of knowledge forms a very deep and solid foundation of success that becomes permanent and can withstand any assault.

Upon that foundation, they build their success empire, pivot by pivot, obstacle by obstacle. In time, their foundation of success becomes strong enough to withstand minor setbacks and failures.

Those who seek a shortcut to success forge a weak foundation. Minor setbacks and failures easily obliterate their fragile foundation, forcing them to start over or quit. Most decide to quit.

Success takes time. It’s a process. You cannot short-cut the process and realize long-term success.

When it comes to the pursuit of success, time is not your enemy. Time is your construction crew.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

You don’t have one Inner Circle. You have many.

Inherited Inner Circle

Most of the people in your Inherited Inner Circle are individuals you did not choose. They have been literally deposited into your life.

• Family Inner Circle – Everyone has an Inherited Inner Circle. Inside are the members of your immediate and extended family. You have no choice over who is in your Inherited Family Inner Circle. For good or for bad, these individuals will part of your life, from birth to death.
• Job Inner Circle – For most, who you work with are deposited into this Inherited Inner Circle. So long as you and they continue to work where you work, you will have to contend with these individuals.
• School Inner Circle – You don’t get to pick your classmates. So, they are part of this circle until you graduate and move on.
• Neighborhood Inner Circle – You can pick where you want to live, but you can’t choose your neighbors. Once you move into a neighborhood, you inherit your neighbors. These individuals will be part of your Inherited Inner Circle until you or they move out of the neighborhood
• Club/Group Inner Circle – When you join any club or become part of any group, you inherit the members of that club or group. These include Golf Clubs, Country Clubs, Gyms, Business Groups, Teams, Church/Religious Group, etc.

Insider’s Club

Who you surround yourself with in life will directly and indirectly impact your success. Those who become very successful in life, choose to spend the majority of their time with individuals who lift them up. These are upbeat, optimistic, enthusiastic, positive, success-minded people. They possess the habits, the thinking, the work ethic and the emotional balance you desire.

You want your Insider’s Club to be made up of people with a common purpose and who share your desire to succeed.

Some of those invited into this prestigious club may be people you inherited. Some may be outside your Inherited Inner Circle. The people you invite in, must be individuals who will help you become the person you need to be in order for success to visit you.

Once you’ve created a clear vision of your future, ideal self, that is the time to create your own Insider’s Club. Knowing who you want to be will help you choose the right like-minded people to become part of your Insider’s Club. These individuals will share with you a common vision of the future life you desire.

Members of your Insider’s Club will help pull your cart. They will open doors for you. They will participate in your journey towards success.

Everyone who succeeds in life, has a select group of individuals who participate in their success. If you want to succeed, you need to create your own Insider’s Club. It’s an invitation-only group.

Start your Insider’s Club today. And choose wisely.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

If you ask ten people what it means to be wealthy, you’ll get ten different answers.

Wealth means different things to different people.

I’ve been trying to peel the onion of wealth and poverty since I began my Rich Habits study in 2004.

I’ve written often about need income and want income, as these two things relate to wealth. But one of my financial planning associates had a different spin on what it means to be wealthy.

His argument is that you are truly wealthy when the assets you own generate two types of income:

Paycheck Income

This is income that provides for everything you NEED.

It covers all of your basic expenses, and meets your cost of living needs. This category includes:

• Shelter Costs – Mortgage or Rent, Real Estate Taxes, Utilities, etc.
• Automobile Costs – Loan or Lease Payments, Car Insurance, Gas, Repairs & Maintenance, etc.
• Medical/Dental Expenses – Medical/Dental Insurance, Out of Pocket Costs, Emergency Costs, etc.
• Other Basics – Food, Clothing, etc.

Playcheck Income

This is income that provides for everything you WANT.

This category includes:

• Vacations
• Family Support/Gifts
• Charity
• Travel Dreams – Wimbledon, Europe, Cruises, etc.
• Club Costs – Golf Club, Country Club, Yacht Club, etc.
• 2nd Home Costs
• Hobbies/Recreation – Skiing, Boating, Fishing, etc.

Your Paycheck income is driven by your standard of living. Some people have a different standard of living than others.

Your Playcheck income is driven by our wants and your wants are dictated by what your definition of an abundant life is. An abundant life is different for each person.

This is why it is impossible to numerically define wealth – everyone’s life is different.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

Victims have a negative mindset fueled by anger.

Anger at fate, anger at the company they work for, anger at their boss, anger at society, anger at government, anger at politicians, anger at anyone who is wealthy and successful.

Victims see themselves as powerless to change their lives.

To medicate their anger by engaging in bad habits that perpetuate the life they despise.

They drink in excess, they take drugs, they defile their bodies through a lack of exercise and unhealthy eating, they spend hours living in the fantasy world TV provides them, and they engage in wasteful brain-numbing activities.

Victims point their finger at everyone but themselves.

When you are a victim, you see nothing good in your future. This negative, pessimistic outlook on life fortifies the circumstances in which they live.

To a large extent, this is most people. To one degree or another, most have a victim mindset.

The exceptional few, that magical 5% I constantly refer to, are able to break free from the limiting belief of blame and victimhood.

This 5% forge Rich Habits that weaken the chains that bind them to their current unhappy circumstances.

These Rich Habits, over many years, eventually break those chains, rewarding them with a happy, healthy and wealthy life.

This 5% are able to break free because they create a very clear, future vision of themselves that is so powerful, it is able to force them to alter their habits, change their thinking, pursue dreams and pursue the goals that make those dreams possible.

When you alter the vision of your future life, you no longer play the victim card.

When you are clear on who you desire to be, you begin to chart a course for your life that completely changes the current circumstances of your life.

Oftentimes, in ways you never expected.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

When the body is running low on fuel (glucose), the brain will send a signal to the stomach, via the vagus nerve, that it requires fuel.

The vagus nerve will then trigger hunger pains in the stomach, in the hope that you will eat something. Once you eat enough, the vagus nerve sends a signal to the brain – “mission accomplished”. The brain will respond by sending a cease and desist order back down the vagus nerve to put an end to your hunger pains, in the hope you will stop eating.

As a rule, each person has their own genetically predetermined metabolic “weight” set point.

A “weight” set point is the level of weight each person’s body seeks to maintain.

For example, if my metabolic “weight” set point is 190 pounds, my body will do what it can to maintain that “weight” set point.

If I were to go on a diet and exercise regimen, my body’s metabolism will slow down, in an effort to maintain my 190 pounds.

If I decide to eat more and exercise less, my body’s metabolism will speed up, in an effort to maintain my 190 pounds.

So, we’re all screwed then, when it comes to weight loss?

Yes. Unless you know how to change your metabolic “weight” set point.

Since 2004 I have been studying habits. I wrote four books about my findings.

The good news, I learned from my research, is that you can lower your metabolic “weight” set point with just two good habits:

#1 Eating Healthy Nutritious Food

The food you eat generates the fuel (primarily glucose – sometimes ketones) you need in order to provide the energy to get through each day.

If the food you’re eating is unhealthy, meaning not nutritious (junk food/processed food), your brain will continue to send signals to your stomach to eat more, in order to obtain the fuel it requires. This additional excess eating leads to weight gain.

If the food you eat is highly nutritious, however, you will not need to eat as much food and your brain will stop sending hunger signals to your stomach.

#2 Sleeping 7 – 8 Hours a Day

Sleep also affects your metabolic “weight” set point. Those sleeping less than 4 hours a night are 73% more likely to be obese. Sleep deprivation lowers leptin (fat) levels and raises gherlin (a hormone that stimulates appetite) levels. When you don’t get enough sleep, your body increases the level of fat storage and increases your appetite.

Researchers have concluded that the best way to maintain sustained weight loss and permanently lower your body’s “weight” set point is through a lifelong process of eating healthy foods and getting a good night’s sleep (7-8 hours for adults).

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!

The recent hit job on Tony Robbins by Buzz Feed really took him to task for certain inappropriate behaviors. I won’t get into much of the specifics of that hit piece, but suffice it to say – Tony Robbins ain’t perfect.

No mentors are perfect.

But the good ones, like Tony Robbins, have a powerful message that is so profound, it casts a shadow over their faults, no matter how egregious.

One of the repeat charges in the Buzz Feed article was Tony’s inability to control his sexual urges.

I’ve been giving this Tony Robbins Buzz Feed hit job thing some thought and I believe Tony suffers from something I’ll call Emotions Gone Wild.

I’ve never been to one of Tony’s week-long events but I know quite a few people who have. And they all agree on one thing – the entire week they are exposed to a a highly emotional experience, with Tony leading the emotional charge.

The idea is that by tapping into your emotions during these events, Tony can exorcise your inner demons, allowing you to escape the limiting beliefs that are holding you back.

Because Tony does many events during any given year, his emotions are constantly amped up.

This effectively takes his Pre-Frontal Cortex offline for long periods of time, which, I believe, has led to behavior that, according to the Buzz Feed article, is inappropriate.

Emotions are very powerful and, if left unchecked, can be very destructive. You must be constantly vigilant in checking your emotions.

Given too much freedom, emotions will take control of your Prefrontal Cortex – your executive command and control center and the place where logic reigns supreme.

When you are controlled by your emotions, it never ends well. Eventually, those emotions will pull you down into a cesspool of poor behavior, your logical brain would never otherwise permit.

This is why controlling your emotions is a Rich Habit.

My mission is to share my unique research in order to help others realize their dreams and achieve their goals. If you find value in these articles, please share them with your inner circle and encourage them to Subscribe. Thank You!