Celebrate Your Freedom to Succeed: Act as if You Can't Fail

In celebration of the freedom that the 4th of July represents, I'd like to talk about personal freedoms of a different kind.


What if I could guarantee your success?

It's all in your thinking. Here's what I mean.

• Seriously, if you knew that you absolutely, positively couldn't fail at something, what would you attempt to accomplish?
• What dreams have you kept on the back burner that you would bring out if you knew that failure simply wasn't possible?
• What outlandish things would you do or try under these conditions?

For most, the sky would be the limit.


Encouraging Words for Forgetting About Failure

"Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail." - Charles F. Kettering

“All that is necessary to break the spell of inertia and frustration is this: Act as if it were impossible to fail. That is the talisman, the formula, the command of right-about-face which turns us from failure to success.”
- Dorothea Brande

“…Act with enthusiasm and confidence – act as if it were impossible to fail. Your beliefs become your reality, and your expectations have a direct result on the outcome of any given situation. Concentrate on your strengths, your triumphs and your successes...” - Joe Lavelle

If you've never failed, you've never lived!

Success begins with action, regardless of the outcome, good or bad.

So, for 2010, resolve to act, and whatever you do, keep moving.

Next year you'll look back on your progress and be amazed.


Check out this video for encouragement:

Successful Failure: the Path to Achievement

I just love it when I find stories where someone has become enormously successful then failed.

Not that I relish someone else's bad fortune. Most of the time, these snippets provide long-term motivation and inspiration that transcends cliches and hollow platitudes. That's because so much of the time these entrepreneurs bounce back quite remarkably, having learned a huge lesson that puts them back in the game, usually more successful and profitable than ever.

Here's an article that is particularly meaningful to me: www.secretsofsuccess.com. It's the story of a guy who is involved in the field of adult education. This is an industry that is close to my heart, since I work as a copywriter at a company called NextStudent, an organization that assists students in planning for and financing their college education.

Anyway, check it out. Hope you find it as powerful as I did!

Final Jeopardy & Nerves of Steel

Last night I had my life coach final.

If successful, upon graduation I would become a Professional Certified Life Purpose & Career Coach with a Life Coach designation. Hours of preparation, studying and coaching went into this. If you're in school or have been, you know the drill.

Well, all of us were nervous and under a lot of pressure. We had to answer a series of questions orally and then coach someone "on the spot." When it came my turn to be tested, I thought I'd try a little humor and answered my first question exactly opposite of what we'd been taught. I thought it was obvious...

DEAD SILENCE. Then I said that I was just kidding. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief and started laughing. It broke the ice and put everyone at ease.

Throughout this entire process, I learned many lessons. Chief amongst these include:

• Despite how I felt physically, I could persevere, overcome and be successful.
• I had a lot more ability/capacity than I gave myself credit for when it came to accomplishing things.
• What I set my mind to I can do, in spite of appearances.
• Fears are deceptive and rarely have merit or basis in fact.
• I have the power to choose: my responses, my mindset, my thoughts and beliefs.

So, my encouragement to you is to go for your dreams and desires, persevere in the process and before you know it, you'll be past your comfort zone and into a whole new world!

EndNote: We all passed except one person and will be certified by the end of February or sooner!

Do It To It!

"Just do it!" Nike's familiar slogan sounds great in theory. However in terms of personal application, practically speaking it may not fly.

I know for me, I like to understand and know why I'm doing something, so blind action is not usually my strongpoint.

For others, its easy to just get something done by an act of sheer willpower. Still, there are others who seem defeated before they even start. And they don't understand why. On the surface, many people have great goals and desires, but when it comes right down to it, they're stuck. They have significant blocks that keep them from achieving the success they desire and living the life they want.

The reason? Subconscious beliefs. I touched on this in an earlier post. These types of beliefs aren't easy to change, though it is possible.

Dr. Norman Vincent Peale wrote the book, The Power of Positive Thinking. Honestly, it was the first thing that made sense to me in the midst of all the other self-improvement books out there. But it was incomplete. I tried thinking positively. I attempted affirmations and reading positive books--none of it really took--nor had the lasting affect I was going for.

Most everyone knows of Napolean Hill, who wrote Think and Grow Rich. He has this great quote that goes like this: "Whatever your mind can conceive and believe it can achieve." Now this makes sense to me--focus on the word believe.

If in the deepest part of who you are, you do not really believe you deserve success or money or whatever, its never going to happen for you, regardless of how hard you try.

Why?

Because your subconscious is busy making sure your circumstances match your beliefs, whether you know it or not.

So, what do you do? What works? I stumbled upon something that is a surefire method to lasting change. I'll let you in on it in my next post.