How to Motivate Yourself to Become More Productive

By Luke Howeth  

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Motivation

"Motivation is defined as the process that initiates, guides and maintains goal-oriented behaviors. Motivation is what causes us to act, whether it is getting a glass of water to reduce thirst or reading a book to gain knowledge."

Motivation in real-life terms, is the drive in which takes us to action and success. It is what gives us the will to work, usually the result of the enjoyment of the work itself and/or the desire to achieve success and goals. And success consequently is what such work results in.
It's essential to not only have but to maintain motivation, not only to succeed online but in life itself. Motivation is the one thing that allows us to look at failure as opportunity, motivation is the one thing that doesn't let you sleep until 2:00AM and gets you up at 5:00AM only to carry on working, it's that one thing that FORCES you to go the extra mile. But ultimately motivation is the one thing that naturally allows you to reach success!

Motivation within marketing

Motivation plays a crucial role in actually taking action and going forth in order to see results. As clear as that may sound - 9 times out of 10, people (myself included) start to connect with a company/individual, full of motivation for the soon future. But, maybe when you've been involved for 3 month, a month or even a matter of weeks and you STILL haven't made that sale, or your site STILL isn't ready to put launched or whatever it may be; your motivation begins to slowly disappear. Eventually, you'll accept the fact that 'you're just not good enough, it's too hard', or 'you haven't got enough time' or 'the Internet's just not for you'. Every single person goes through these stages, I can guarantee you that no body has every just came onto the internet and found success - it takes determination, desperation to find a better life... and above all healthy motivation.
How I motivate myself

I'm not saying that you should just work-work-work. That wouldn't probably play an even more negative affect, you need to keep y

ourself happy otherwise you'll become less efficient and the quality of your work will suffer.
One thing I do to both keep myself happy but also decrease procrastination is I make a deal with myself that I will do something/be allowed to do something after I've completed a certain amount of work. This could be anything from having a few beers or going to that party, to just having a walk in the park.
Set large goals. I'm a big believer in setting big, general goals as opposed to smaller ones. Big goals mean big effect, and big affect creates motivating images in your mind!

Always give recognition to your success, this can be a great motivation booster - keep some sort of journal of all the successful tasks or pieces of work you've done - no matter how big or small.
"Never ever fear failure - instead redefine it as feedback as a natural part of a successful life" - Michael Jordan

This is probably the biggest one for me. When working on a project or whatever it is you're doing. Don't just think of what you'll get as a result of it; perhaps money. But think of what your life will be like as a result of the work. For example, you could immigrate, buy you're dream home, provide a life a wealth for your family and friends. Retire your parents early - whatever you want.
If possible, find pictures of things that motivate you. Things that hold meaning within them! Things that really get your blood pumping! Somewhere you'd love to live or somewhere you'd love to go!
Just do it!

Make each day count! Everyday when you awake, think positively with a smile on your face, this little trick will make your day a lot more positive resulting in you taking more action. Resulting in those actions to naturally producing more success!

Thanks for reading! If you want to know more about how I implement these tricks into my daily life as an online marketer working online. Check out my site - http://lukehoweth.com/

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Do You Want Success, Or Just Avoiding Failure?

By Richard Brody  

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Although being successful and the components of success are so often discussed, doesn't it seem somewhat strange that it often appears that far more individuals expend the majority of their energies and attention in the quest to avoid failure, than in the pursuit of success? After over thirty years of offering personal development seminars and coaching to over a thousand individuals, I have come to realize that, for many, even the concept of personal success appears to be a fuzzy one, and thus many people merely try not to fail than to succeed! There are certain components that each of us must both define for ourselves, as well as clearly identify, if we truly wish to succeed. These include: 1) What's your plan?; 2) How do you balance and analyze risk versus reward?; 3) Will you procrastinate and thus stagnate, or be proactive and pursue greatness?; and 4) Do you fear failure, or are you afraid of success?

1. There is rarely any likelihood of true success unless we begin and focus on our plan! What is your plan, and why? How does that plan propel you forward towards the achievement of your goals, and are you willing to commit to taking the needed action?

2. Everything we choose to either do, or we fail to do, should be evaluated on the risk versus reward scale! Many times, we permit our fears to nearly paralyze us, and we therefore procrastinate rather than taking proactive steps. True success is potentiated when this risk/ reward concept is evaluated, and we proceed forward after weighing potential risks, and daring to do what others seem to fear. The reality is that there is rarely any possibility of success unless we commit to doing rather than avoiding, and it is the ability to take smart risks that propels us towards genuine and meaningful success.

3. When one selects procrastination rather than action, it almost always leads towards often harmful stagnation. Unless one acts, there is little possibility of meaningful success, and our greatest successes are a result of having the courage to dare to act when others are controlled and dominated by their fears.

4. So many people seem so fearful of failing that we often misconstrue this with the reason that individuals procrastinate. I believe, however, that in many more situations, it is the fear of success that creates this procrastinating. Why would someone fear success? Unfortunately, far too many people are satisfied in living up (or down) to the lowest and minimal expectations, and therefore come to become comfortable with mediocrity.

If you want to be successful, plan accordingly and take timely action on your planning. It's never enough to settle for merely avoiding failure!

Richard has owned businesses, been a COO, CEO, and Director of Development, as well as a consultant. He has professionally run events, consulted to over a thousand leaders, and conducted personal development seminars, for over 30 years. Rich has written three books and well over a thousand articles. His company, PLAN2LEAD, LLC has an informative website http://plan2lead.net and Plan2lead can also be followed on Facebook http://facebook.com/Plan2lead

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How to Deal With Stress at Work

 By Janet Wolfe 

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Did you know that a full time job from age 20 to age 65, means spending over 93,000 hours working? If you don't know how to deal with stress at work, that's a lot of unhappy hours. And job stress can spill beyond your work day as well. It is possible to handle the stress of your job, however, so it doesn't take over your life. You just need a plan.

Create a DIY job stress relief plan. In a 12 Step program for job stress, this is where I would stand up and say, "Hello, I am a workaholic." Or a recovering one at least. I used to go to bed worrying about work, dream about it, and wake up stressed again. I gave it every ounce of my effort, developed a whole host of stress related ailments, and collapsed on my days off.
So, I am here to tell you, it's not worth it. If your company starts to go under, as many of mine did, your investment of blood, sweat, and tears will mean very little. Instead, if you create a plan to deal with your stress at work today, it can also help you deal with job hazards that might appear tomorrow.

1. Acknowledge that being stressed at work does not equal doing a good job. You may think your boss has to see you stressed to understand how hard you work. But letting the job stress get to you actually keeps you from doing your best. Your mind will be sharper, and you'll get more done, with a good night's sleep.
Organize the end of each work day to be ready for the next one, and you'll feel more confident going home. Get some exercise to work off tension, or do some enjoyable activity to refresh your mind. Turn off your phone, don't check your work email, and reclaim your evenings. Clear your mind before bed, and start fresh tomorrow.

2. Evaluate where your stress is coming from. Is it the work itself? Are you confused or feeling in over your head? If so, a good boss would rather you ask for clarification than do things wrong. Ask if extra training is available, or take classes to further your understanding. The more you know, the less apt you are to feel overwhelmed.
Look at all the other sources of job stress the same way. It could be your co-workers, your work schedule, or a non-stop pace. Dealing with each stressor individually is far more effective than trying to tackle them together.

3. Drop the gossip. Gossip in the workplace is a parasite. It constantly needs feeding, and only leaves bad feelings wherever it goes. At first, you may have just wanted to belong. But if the gossipers talk about everyone else, before long you'll begin to worry what they say about you. You'll stress about who might want your job, or whatever else someone might do to sabotage your career.
When you pull yourself away from workplace gossip, a lot of stress at work will magically disappear.


4. You are not responsible for other people's problems. Are you the person co-workers and subordinates turn to for support? It's nice to feel needed, until you are weighed down with their personal problems. A great boss reminded me once that camp counselor was not in my job description. It was a valuable lesson that helped me lose a lot of stress at work, and probably helped the other people learn to cope on their own.

5. If the job is wrong for you admit it and consider a change. Sometimes what was a great job once becomes not so great any more. Maybe the work itself changed, or the people you valued are gone. Or maybe you knew from day one.

Continue to do the best work you can, because you owe it to them and yourself to do so. But begin to plan an exit strategy from a position of strength. Studies have shown that a lot of job stress occurs when we have little control. Taking control of your future, and moving to a job that is a better fit, can make a significant change in how you feel, so you'll have far less stress at work to deal with.
What's your biggest stress at work? Let us know in the comments, and don't forget to share us on social media. We love hearing from you.

For more tips and great information on how to deal with stress, check out ClearYourStress.com. You'll also find many guided exercises and meditation methods to relieve stress, connect with your inner wisdom, and enjoy a balanced lifestyle. Visit ClearYourStress.com now to get started.

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Achieving Success: Minutes, Hours, Days, Years

 By Weldon Smith 

Photo: standard.co.uk
 
A successful life is made up of a string of successful days. A successful day is made up of successful hours. A successful hour is made up of successful minutes. What does a successful minute or hour or year look like?

We see people whom the less-wise and less-intelligent among us might think of as successful, and who are not really as successful as they are wealthy or famous. They could lose their wealth, their looks, or their fame just as fast as they gained it and there would be nothing left. We do, in fact, see that all the time. For example, professional athletes who age-out of sports and within a few years are bankrupt, in spite of having made millions of dollars per year for several years. It happens. They did well in their working lives, and they made a lot of money, but they were never successful and didn't know how to handle the downsides of life.
As we study successful people, we see that they have trials and opposition, the same as anyone else. They just deal with them much better.

We see other people who are very wealthy and lose it or a large portion of it, and they go to work and build it back. The wealth didn't make them successful. The success helped them become wealthy.
I have seen people who are extremely successful and have never been wealthy, and will probably never be, because they don't care about it.

We see people who seem to be successful by the world's standards, but who don't seem to have any sense. Politicians, CEOs, movie stars, athletes, and rock stars give in to very unsuccessful emotions and ruin their marriages and families through extra-marital affairs. They ruin their lives with alcohol and drugs. They break the law trying to get or stay rich. In today's world, people seem to adore them no less, and many of them keep their offices or the status or their wealth and work. But none of them can be thought of as successful. A successful person would not reach such a lofty position and then chance the ruination of it through any form of stupidity.

A good bit of success is remembering to stay successful. It's easy to get to a place where many other people wish they could be, and then think too much of ourselves, and become proud and cocky, and lose it all or do things that an intelligent person should never even consider.

Every minute, every hour, every day, every year are important to those of us wanting to be successful. And that should be everyone. Success is getting to the end of our lives having gotten as close as we are capable of being where and what we should be. For those who don't know where or what they should be, part of success if learning where and what they should be. Successful people know. If we never try, or if, anywhere along the way we give up, we can't be successful.

Now that we know what a successful life is, we can understand that each week, day, hour, and minute are the same. A successful minute is one where we are learning and working toward becoming what we are supposed to become. More of those than not in an hour is a successful hour, and more of those hours than not gives us a successful day.

Each year, I spend a week at a lake, boating, skiing, water boarding, tubing, eating, conversing, playing, and having a very good time. Is that a successful week? It is for me. I'm still learning. I'm still watching other people, and I know they are watching me. I'm still thinking. I'm still considering what I should be doing, and what I should be becoming. I'm still thinking about the beginning of my life and the end of my life, and all that is in between. And I am resting and recreating, which are important for a successful life. We can no more go through our entire lives without resting and recreating than we can go through our days without sleeping. We have to charge the batteries sometimes.

A successful life is made up of a string of successful days. Knowing that, we must press forward. Success is predictable. We can never arrive at success. If we think we've made it, we haven't. We can never stop trying to attain success. Only by keeping trying can we be successful.

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Is Fear Holding You Back?

 By Ben S. Solomon 

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Fear, this is something each and every one of us has to contend with, almost on a daily basis. Even the greatest athlete, the most successful business person and the seemingly courageous people out there, have to contend with their fears. The thing that separates the average people from the top performers is the fact that they find ways to deal with their fears and work on conditioning themselves to take action, in spite of the fear.
Fear is a natural response built into us. This was built in to protect us from the unknown and help us survive. But this can manifest itself now in ways that we wouldn't think of.

The next time you hesitate to write that eBook you have been thinking about or that blog post that could help a bunch of people or shy away from doing an audio or video recording of some information that you have, and think at least one other person might find useful, I urge you to take a chance. It took me a lot of courage to get off my backside and do what I'm doing. When creating content, you need to also be prepared to deal with criticism. There is always going to be a portion of the population that is going to criticize anything you do, and if you let them stop you from adding value to the world, then someone out there is missing out on valuable information that only are able to provide with your unique understanding of it.

The greatest mistake I believe we can make is dismissing ourselves. When we keep doing this constantly, either due to external input or internal self-talk. Our internal self-talk, if it is negative and self-dismissive, can be very poisonous. This can hold us back from taking action that we know we should be taking and creating content that we could be creating. One of the best things I've personally done is look at my self-talk that had been negative and self-dismissive, due to various reasons, and working on it to gain confidence.

You are worth it. Your knowledge and the information that you have to share with the world is worth every penny. So take heart, and start creating wonderful content that you alone can uniquely create. God has instilled this in each and every one of us. We need to keep exercising this skill of taking positive action, till is becomes embedded in our subconscious and becomes automatic.

Don't let fear rule over the action you can take today to provide wonderful value to others out there.

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Do I Have to Be Perfect to Be Successful?

 By Ellen Farquharson 

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Sometimes people wonder if they have to be perfect in order to be successful. Many of us carry with us a secret insecure side of us with painful scars from our past experiences. We 'fake it until we make it', so to speak, and just hope that nobody notices or ever sees us for who we really are.

The question is, who are you really? Are you your strengths and dreams; or are you your weaknesses and scars? I believe we are an extension of God energy, and only when we forget that fact, do we internalize negative experiences and make them part of us. Those are NOT who we are. Those are just things that happen in our around us. Things that we don't like, that do not make us feel happy. That is actually a good thing.

WHY? Because they show us vividly what we do not want. Only when we identify what does not feel good and what we do not want, can we begin for focus more strongly on what we DO want. In other words, you can't taste the sweet unless you've tasted the sour. What if we interpreted negative experiences (whether we feel they are our fault or not), as KEY indicators of what we do not want. Negative experiences are almost like a yellow traffic light saying slow down, pay attention, and don't keep moving in this direction. TURN to the left or right, but do not keep going forward in this direction.

I love the idea that our hurtful or painful experiences are here specifically to teach us, through our FEELINGS, about what we do not want. Only through feeling the negative can we say, NO, I don't like this or want this. I'm going to move in a different direction. I chose a new direction that feels good to me that leads me to a wonderful place full of health, wealth, and beautiful relationships. My past pain is not going to be my future, just because it feels familiar to me. That is NOT me.

That is something liberating. Talk about making lemonade out of lemons! Were you abandoned, neglected, or abused in your childhood? Did you like it? NO! Flashing yellow light! Now you know you will be double focused on being a devoted, loving, present parent that teaches your child a new way of living. Your children will grow up happy, secure, with their needs met. If you never say "NO, that wasn't right. I don't like that," then you will most likely repeat the painful pattern. Being a loving parent is your destiny. That's who you are!
Did you grow up without much money or stability? Good!Now you take very seriously the importance of working, of developing your skills, and living in abundance. Nothing will stop you or deter you from achieving your goals because you have been at the bottom and did not like it. So you are committed to being at the top! Living in abundance is your destiny. Thats' who you are!

Did you believe you had to be perfect to be successful? Did you learn through experience to get approval from others through your performance or attempted perfection? Were you afraid to let others down or lose their love and approval if you made a mistake? That hurts. And it is a prison of achievement with an insatiable monster eating up every accomplishment you dish up before you can even catch your breath and celebrate. Believe it or not, that's good too! Now you know that you can accomplish great things which drove you to success. But you now realize it takes the joy out of the accomplishment if you do it for someone else. It doesn't feel good when you say "tada," and wait for someone else to say great job. That's not you. That's the child in you.

Your destiny is to achieve your goals because you want to experience the joy of accomplishing them. Your destiny is to pursue your dreams so that your own adult life experience can be better with those results in it. Your destiny is to love, laugh, achieve, believe, and live each day for the joy of experiencing whatever it is that you want... just because you want it. If no one ever acknowledges anything you are doing, that's OK as long as you are feeling joy in the journey of it. It could be joy in the work or joy in the money you earn from it and what you can purchase afterwards. It doesn't matter.

Whatever and wherever your joy is, that's your destiny. That's who you are. And only you can define yourself by that and not let your negative 'guiding' experiences define you. They are just the yellow traffic lights telling you to move in another direction. Your life is the only place you get to be you, so enjoy it! And let the rest go.

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Staying Motivated For Long Term Success

 By Brett Thrailkill 

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How many times have you let pessimistic people stop you from pursuing your dreams? Do you start doubting yourself, and your abilities to make things happen? That negative friend that means well, but always shooting holes in your goals should be avoided. Training yourself to recognize it immediately, making a decision to stay on course, and pursuing your goals with all your might, is what we're after here.

If you continue to let pessimistic people drain every ounce out of your body, you will have only one person to blame: You. Pointing your finger at your spouse, child, job, or anyone (or anything) else is not allowed, nor will it help. The most motivated people in the world keep themselves on a higher level by reading, viewing, and practicing motivational acts. Reading a great book on staying focused and attaining all you want in life is terrific, but you have to keep reading it--and others just like it. Motivation has to become a part of your everyday life. Eat, breath, and live it!

Read about people like Nick Vujici. Born without limbs due to an extremely rare medical condition, he doesn't let that stop him from writing books, speaking to thousands, and even learning to surf. The old saying, "If I can do it, you can do it," certainly comes to mind. A truly remarkable individual, Mr. Vujici made a decision long ago not to let negative people stop him from being successful in life. He stays motivated no matter what!

Michael Jordan is another fine example of someone who would stay motivated at all cost. Did you know that this basketball icon was cut from his high school hoops team? Mr. Jordan decided at that moment, that he would do whatever it took to be successful. I doubt he pointed his finger, and placed blame at everyone except for the only one that could change his predicament: Michael Jordan.

What about yours truly, how do I stay consistently motivated? I think back to a failed business, and how the lack of money made me feel. I had no confidence to speak of. But I decided if things were going to turn around for me, it would take hard work and a giant dose of positivity. I made a list of reasons why I shouldn't quit, and the lives that would be improved if I got back on track. "Start a new business that will be ten times bigger and better than my old one," I told myself. If anyone got in my way, I quickly reminded myself why I was working so hard, and why it was an absolute must to remain motivated. I am now well on the way to achieving that goal.

In summary, your success or failure in life hinges on you, and your ability to keep yourself on track and motivated. Don't allow the negative rhetoric we come into contact each day to dictate how we live our lives. Break this habit today, keep yourself motivated on a regular basis, and watch your dreams take shape!

Motivational Day is the premier site for personal development. Stop by at Motivational People or Motivational Day.

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What Makes You Special?

By A Horton  

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If you want to invite success, meaning and fulfilment into your life, is to play to your core competencies. You can and never will be great at anything, which is not in your area of strength. Break the notion that you should work on your weaknesses. Your weaknesses are just that, parts of you, which are limiting and restricting you. They do not deserve the time of day. Do not waste any valuable energy or resources working on them. Rather get people with strengths in those areas where you have weaknesses, to support you. Put all you energy and effort into working on improving your strengths. If you want to deliver your best, you need to improve the areas, where you have core competencies, do what you love, love what you do and always look for ways to deliver more value, than you expect as payment or commission.

Uncovering your Strengths
The schooling system is not designed to reveal people's strengths to them at all. In fact quite the contrary is true. If you are excelling in Math, but your language mark is low. Instead of advising you to focus your efforts on improving your math mark even more, by focusing your time and energy there, you are instead encouraged to work on your weaknesses and try to improve your language mark. This sets the tone, for the rest of their life, where people believe that they should waste resources, working on areas of themselves, which are weak, at the expense of their core competencies. This wastes an incredible amount of resources and time, which is spent trying to fix the un-fixable, instead of growing in the areas, where you will easily excel.

The challenge when uncovering your unique talents, strengths or skills, is that they seldom, if ever show up as high grades or in your performance reviews. Your core competencies show up in the activities you simply cannot wait to perform every day. The sad reality is that these activities are often just used to perform hobbies or personal interests and not used in the profession you are employed. This means that a large majority of people are employed in professions, which do not fully utilise their natural gifts, which means that people are not performing optimally and are simply employed in careers in which they merely show-up, put in the hours and then go home to pursue and do the things they love and enjoy.

Don't accept average
One of the things, which really stands out for me, with super achievers, is that they all love what they do. You can never excel at anything, unless you truly love it and enjoy doing it.
Action Idea:

• Discover you core competencies and then find a way to earn a living using them.
• Find a vocation, which is aligned with your core competencies and is the most rewarding and interesting and then use your strengths to excel at it.
• Don't get trapped in a familiar place, where you are unhappy, doing something you hate. Have the courage to make a few career and job changes, to test and discover your core competencies, discover new talents, until you find what you love.
• Use you vocation as an integral part of your life; do not idle in a job you hate. Use your vocation to live, to love, be mega happy, to gain knowledge and to be of service to others.

You have unique Talents
I believe that you are born with a certain set of natural talents, core competencies and personality traits. Behaviour patterns, routines and habits are all learned over time, due to social and environmental modelling. The earlier in life you are able to uncover your natural talents, discover ways to improve them and then find ways to use them to earn a living, the happier and more successful you will be.
You can uncover your hidden treasures
It is never too late to conduct an audit of your life and discover your strengths or core competencies.
Use the ideas listed below to help you to do this.

• Take a test online to help you identify your strengths. The Ball foundation has an excellent online test, which is really user friendly and easy to use. The test will help you uncover 19 different competencies or innate strengths, which you possess.


• Explore your memories as a child. Find some quiet time and sit and think about all the things you loved to do as a child. Forget about your report card, think about all the extra-curricular activities or hobbies, you loved to do. These memories will help reveal your hidden talents. Think about all the things you loved doing after school, on weekends, whilst on vacation. They will reveal a plethora of information about your strengths and core competencies.


• Explore you current hobbies and interests. I know it is difficult for some people to remember what made them feel really good as a child. If you have found it difficult to discover anything useful, when exploring your childhood memories, then the next thing to do is to explore your current hobbies or interests. What really turns you on the most after working hours and on weekends? What do you think about all the time and just can't wait to do after work? If money was no object, how would you pass the time?


• You can also invest into a Winslow personality test. This can also be done online. The cost of this test is high, but the comprehensive report you will get after completing the test, is well worth the investment. The results I got when I did this test were incredibly accurate and really helped me.

Do you Really want Success?
If you have a deep rooted desire burning in your belly, driving you to be excellent, then you can expect to break out of the life you are trapped in right now. Research has shown that one of the most crucial predictors of super achievement is ones desire for excellence. All the most successful people both I and other researchers have studied, have found that super achievers, attained their greatness, because of a burning inner desire to use their talents or core competencies to the max. All great achievers are inspired by the torch, which burns from within, driving them to express the very best they have to offer

Andrew is one of the most sought after Motivational Speakers and Sales Training experts in South Africa. You can trust him to deliver a motivational message that will re-energise your team and help them to ignite the fire of inspiration in their bellies once again. Should you want to inspire or re-energise your team, visit my website for details on one of the best Motivational Speakers around.

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How to Be Confident in Your Actions

 By Daniel Kasztura 

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There is no doubt you are unable to get what you desire if you don't spend enough time to learn how to be confident in whatever actions you take.

I am sure your confidence is the measure of your success. If you want to be successful in your life and business, it is your responsibility to know how to be confident and determined in your actions that bring you nearer to achieving your goals.

Dr. Sharon Melnick is a great person who can teach you how to be confident and which way is the fastest one to build your self-confidence.

As a business psychologist, Dr. Sharon Melnick is a leading authority helping business professionals move to the next level and have success under stress. Her methods are informed by 10 years of research at Harvard Medical School, sharpened by training in cutting edge stress resilience techniques and field tested by over 7500 clients and training participants.

Ms Melnick in her work shares the secrets of her research at Harvard Medical School as to why people get in their own way. This is the best way for you to learn how to be confident in your struggle for success.
Dr. Melnick notices that the time spent on trying to be confident is probably the reason which is keeping you uncertain in your actions. That's why she is determined to teach you how to be confident as fast as possible.
In Sharon's professional opinion, there are two ways to build self-confidence. We have the direct way and the indirect way to build it. And the reality is many people do the indirect way. Melnick gives it a shot to explain the difference in a very clear and graphical way. Thanks to her brilliant explanation, you can easily understand how to be confident.

According to Sharon Melnick, the indirect behavior is when you put your energy and attention into acting towards other people. You do it in order to get other people to act towards you so that you know how to be confident enough. The indirect behaviors are your efforts to either borrow confidence or to protect what you have. This way you don't build your real self-confidence. By implementing the indirect ways into your acting you don't get it how to be confident in life.

Dr. Melnick is sure that the fast way to build your self-confidence is the direct path. And here's how to be confident by going direct. You want to take all the directions you're going in and boil them down into one main result that you desire. I mean one core vision that is the most important for you. All you have to do now is to spend most of your time to make this vision reality. It is really worth it.

When it comes to learning how to be confident and doing it in the direct way, the best technique to achieve the results you need is to spend your time on thinking what excites you and engages you about the most valuable vision of your life.

You should make the picture in your head and imagine what benefits it is going to bring to your life when you start to see the result of it.

If you want to know how to be confident, you must answer the question what strengths and talents you have to make that vision happen. You ought to choose behavior that will most contribute in that moment to your making the vision happen.

If you really want to possess the knowledge about how to be confident, you mustn't forget that the fastest way to build your real self-confidence is to go direct.

My name is Daniel Kasztura. I live in Poland. I love being myself. I like the issue of personal development. I want to add value to you by writing about how to grow as a person. I am convinced that you can be a better person if you constantly learn how to develop your personal skills. I would be honored to know you took advantage of the helpful lessons presented here. Good luck:)

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3 Benefits of Playing Memory Games

 By Micah N Manuntag 

Photo: salierose.com
 
A fun-filled and worthwhile activity that both adults and children can enjoy is playing games. Playing games do not only help us socialize and/or pass the time in a fun way, it can also give us great benefits that can enhance our overall well-being. There are many different kinds of games that can be chosen from. There are physical games that can help strengthen our bodies and make us healthy. There are also intellectual games that can increase our knowledge while there are also memory games that can help our brains become sharper.
Aside from making the brain sharp, there are also other great benefits that can be reaped from playing memory-enhancing games. Here are three of the great benefits of playing such games.

• Helps in exercising the brain.

Memory games, like other kinds of games, serve to exercise certain parts of the body - in this case the brain's memory function. When these games are played consistently, it will be equivalent to exercising the brain to make it more alert and sharp. You can do this by playing memory games 30 minutes to one hour every day. It does not matter how short or long you play the game. The important key to remember is playing it consistently. This will also harness one's concentration and focus level in such a way that it will be improved as you go along.

• Helps in preventing memory-related illnesses such as Alzheimer's.

Memory loss is a natural process that all people may go through as we age and it may prove to be a little difficult to prevent and it cannot be halted. However, it can be slowed down by properly exercising your brain and this can be done by playing memory games. When you play these games and exercise your brain consistently, you will be able to avoid illnesses and diseases which are memory-related. This is primarily because the brain is kept active often.

• Helps in enhancing other brain functions.

Others think that memory games are just all for improving the memory and others may not feel that it will be useful or beneficial in their day-to-day life. However, that is completely incorrect. When a person plays memory and brain-enhancing games regularly, he or she will not only be able to enhance the brain's memory function, but also other brain skills like concentration, focus, attention level, cognitive skills as well as reading and reasoning skills. This is because many memory games are developed to allow the brain to think strategically and critically. There are many memory games that have various levels of difficulties to holistically train and boost the brain.
Memory games are a fun way and efficient way to pass the time. On top of that, if done on a regular basis, it can also help in boosting the brain making us sharper and wiser.

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Start by Not Judging Yourself

By Lise M Durling  

Photo: meditatingmonkeys.com
 
Stop Judging Yourself

I think weaknesses are a necessity to prevent you from wasting your life's purpose. As an example, there are many things that we may be interested in, but it does not necessarily mean we should make a living with them. We know what we should and should not be concentrating on by knowing our weaknesses.
Insecurity prevents you from making informed decisions and often results in seeking the opinions of others prior to doing anything. Getting help may be a catalyst to your success; however, it is dangerous to your self-image to seek advice from unhappy people because they will provide negative and self-defeating guidance. Choose your peers wisely.

Consider the experiences of a person when seeking their advice. If they say something that is negative or discouraging, remember it is merely an opinion; furthermore, often said out of jealousy or a result of ill-temperament due to a poor self-image.
Being Critical is a Learnt Behaviour

We learn to judge ourselves as children by adopting the opinions of others. As children, our self-image is more susceptible to being infected by the negativity of others. Society demands we respect our elders by seeking their approval, even if they are wrong.
Unfortunately, many parent and caregivers control children through guilt, emotional outburst, and punishment. It is against Creation's way to tell a child he is fat, ugly, dense, stupid, pathetic, empty-headed, lost, meaningless, lazy, hopeless, a waste of energy, a waste of space, and all other degrading statements my readers have told me.

Unless encouraged otherwise, the need for approval and reassurance grows with us into adulthood, resulting in self-defeating thoughts and behaviors.
How do you deal with the opinions of others?
Perhaps you are carrying guilt from your childhood and reliving what someone has said to you. If you are, I would like you to know that no matter what has been said to you, the words were a direct result of how the other person felt about him or herself and had little to do with you. Do not allow the opinions of others stop you from achieving your destiny.

I changed my attitude about seeking approval when I realized I thought more about what was said than what they did. In fact, a person who criticizes does not usually consider the feelings of the person they judge. If they did, they would not NEED to project their insecurities onto another.
You have to ask yourself whether it is more beneficial to concentrate on their negativity than on your dreams.
The universe has given you an important role in life to fulfill if you choose to ignore the naysayers in your life. If you decide to adopt the negativity and criticism of others, than you are placing judgment upon yourself.
Their words are over the moment they are spoken, and it is your understanding of what they said that creates the truth within your mind.

Do not let anyone's opinions steal your dreams.

Remember, no one has control over your mind. No matter your situation, you have the ability and gift to visualize the life you desire. Do not underestimate the power of visualization. All great leaders, creators, authors and business owners have all used visualization to inspire their success. You are what you think yourself to be! Please take some time to enjoy my blog at http://lisedurling.com ~ Lovingly Lise

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How To Finish Strong And Endure To The End

 By Rashana Wright 

Photo:  toughmotivation.files.wordpress.com

I'm not an overly athletic person. I'm not one of those people who jump up and down excited to get a workout in. However, I do it regularly because it's not only great for my body but it's great for my emotional health as well. I just feel better in general when I know I'm taking care of myself physically.
At different times in our lives we may lose motivation in something we used to do all the time. This can be due to various reasons. And sometimes all it takes for us to get back on track is that extra push by someone else to hold us accountable.

Well that's what happened to me. I really fell off the bandwagon of exercising and being healthy to a point where I had to make some serious sacrifices and hire a personal trainer for six months straight.
It was one of the best investments I have made in myself. She held me accountable. She got me motivated again. She helped me to get back to a healthy state and now I can do it on my own without her. I remember on my last day I told her that I wasn't the same person I was the day I walked in there.
We all need that little push sometimes.
Where am I going with this?

When I first started working out with her, I was so out of shape that I could barely run 30 seconds without huffing and puffing, pains in my side and everything else. By the time my six months was over I was running 10 minutes straight with no stopping and now I'm up to 12 minutes on my own.
There was one thing she said to me in the beginning as I was struggling to run for 2 minutes and felt like I was going to fall off- she not only INCREASED my speed to push me to go beyond my comfort zone but she said, "just keep your feet moving and you won't fall off."
I was thinking OMG, just keep my feet moving?? My feet won't be moving when I fly off the back of this treadmill and hit the wall!

But she was right. As long as I kept my feet moving I stayed on that treadmill. I never fell off (I think I came close once). Do you know how many times I contemplated hitting the stop button? But I didn't. I kept repeating in my head, "just keep your feet moving, just keep your feet moving." I still do this to this day when I feel myself getting tired. I may have to slow up a bit but I always keep my feet moving and always finish to the end.

This is a life lesson.
In life you have to keep your feet moving, no matter what the situation is. You're going to get tired. You're going to get a stitch in your side. You're going to question yourself. You're going to have OTHER people question you. You're going to have strong days and then turn around and have weak days. Keep. Your. Feet. Moving. The race isn't over until you stop. Even a little movement is better than no movement at all. You can't reach the finish line if you don't keep going.
Ecclesiastes 9:11 says that the race is not given to the swift nor the strong but to those who endure to the end.

It doesn't say to those who get there the fastest, but to those who endure to the end.
Let me emphasize something important: You are not in a race with other people. You have your journey and they have theirs. Too many times we get off our own path and try to run on someone else's track. Stay in your lane. The only person you should be racing against is yourself.

Endure to the end. Sometimes you will have to push yourself. This is all a part of getting stronger so you can finish the race. Do you think I would be this much stronger today if I would have stopped running at 30 seconds months ago or never pushed myself to run longer or harder? No way. I would still be at the same place, huffing and puffing and going nowhere.

As you go along your journey you will become a stronger person and you will look back, see the progress and say, "WOW! Look where God has brought me from!"
So you're number one tip is: Keep your feet moving.
Keep running the race and finish strong.
Be blessed.

Rashana Wright is a motivational strategist, author, speaker, coach, encourager, happy mom to three amazing kids and a proud Navy wife. She is a lover of inspiring and encouraging people and has taken her natural gifts, abilities, and talents in motivating, writing, speaking, and strategizing to empower women to reclaim their joy. She is the author of 7 Steps To Balancing Your Life So You Can Get Back To Being You, Guilt Free! A free time and life management guide for overwhelmed women. Get yours: http://www.realwomenrealchange.com

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How To Attract Women On Your Own Terms

By Ray Drake  

Photo: stumptownconfidential.com
 
As a person, you probably think that you have to follow society's normal lifestyle. Whether it be to avoid working on a specific day or not working out, these are all things most people tend to follow. In this article, you are going to learn and understand why your life is your own, and why you should begin to take control of it.

Living Your Life On Your Terms And Doing Whatever
During the holidays, you probably believe that not doing anything is the life. And while it is in reality, you should know that you can still live your life completely on your own terms. In other words, you should know that living life on your terms is pretty important. It is the key to helping you to actually living life the way you want it.

Let's just take as an example how often you work. If you own a business; online or offline, you should know that you do not have to take a break on Sunday or on Tuesday. Most people would take a break on at least one or two days. While that is good, you should know that you don't have to spend a day relaxing if you don't want to. If you want to learn more and more, or simply dedicate some of your time to developing more of your craft, it can all be done if you know what to do. If you have a free day and you want to date, go out and do it.

The key in reality is just to know how you can potentially use your day to day life. You cannot just stick around following what everybody else is doing. This is only robbing you or your potential to continue growing and learning. It is highly recommended that you do not make your life a schedule, but instead live on the go with a bit of spontaneity.

Never feel obligated to feel like you have to do something. For example, it is best to consider working out at the gym only 3 days a week. Understand that you can workout 7 days a week if you want to. It is best to take breaks, so be sure to have one but not on a specific day. Just rest if you really want to.
Living life on your terms is definitely one of the things most people take for granted. You have free will to develop yourself, to learn, and to become a better person everyday.

Do you want to change a part of who you are? Do you wish you could only be more confident or courageous enough to pursue your dreams. Walt Disney did say that those who wish to pursue their dreams can see them come to pass, provided that they do pursue their dreams.
Achieving something or changing something is all about working hard. If you personally put in the work, you will surely succeed and make a lot of money. Making your life become similar to how another person lives is not following your free will unless that is what you want and it is what makes you happy.

By the way, do you want the simple secret for approaching any woman, anywhere and know exactly what to say to get her number?

If so, download my free report here: conversation blueprint report
Or do you want to learn how I use text to attract and seduce beautiful women - and how you can too? If so, read this report here: 7 Deadly Texting Secrets

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Emotional Intelligence: Optimism Can Be Learned

 By Valencia Ray, MD 

Photo: emotional-intelligence-education.com
 
Since optimism can be learned, why is pessimism so rampant? Do we have any say in our attitude, or is it simply 'just the way we are'?

"If you think you can do a thing or you think you can't do a thing - you are right." ~Henry Ford
This now aligns in general with recent research in neuroscience. Pessimists are people who tend to see through a lens of pessimism, and optimists have a brain bias toward optimism. Reality is not objective in these types of situations, in particular. Your reality is real - to you. Life contains both, and sometimes we get what we want and sometimes we don't. The question is, what meaning or story line do you assign to the outcomes that you see?

Is it one of what can be learned? What can you change? Do you just let your emotions swing you wildly out of control? Do you focus on what is missing or 'wrong', or do you look for all the other great things in your life to be thankful for that you DO have?
You see, this choice of happiness or stress and overwhelm is within our control to a huge degree. Whether pessimism was learned or genetic, you can change it. We just have not known it is possible, and we are just now learning how to consciously do it with more ease and less effort. I'm glad I had the courage to get a head start on the science... I have so much more emotional self-mastery now. Trusting intuition can be a 

beautiful and powerful thing.
Enhanced self-awareness and more skillful self-management are the foundations of emotional intelligence and are building blocks for optimism and resiliency. They are essential for maintaining motivation and preventing burnout. Research has shown that optimism is associated with enhancing intrinsic motivation and performance. It has a tendency to inspire others instead of discourage them.

Healthy optimism is informed of what is going on in the environment, yet directs attention toward finding solutions instead toward focusing on threats or past disappointment. The way we direct our attention forms our perception of reality. Pessimists see potential negative realities and optimists see potential positive realities.

'Reality is an illusion; albeit a very persistent one'. ~Albert Einstein
It is persistent because we do not understand how to what I call 'optimally operate' our amazing brain in a way that finds new insights and connections. Most people, apparently, have generally trained their brain to fear or expect threats; hence, that is what we tend to find. How can I say 'most people?' One only need look at the sales of anti-depressants and listen to people complaining of stress and overwhelm. It's virtually epidemic. Yes, this is largely a problem of where we are placing our focus of attention.

Your energy flows, where your attention goes.
Be mindful of how you direct your focus of attention. From a wellbeing point of view, optimism provides protection from hopelessness, powerlessness, and depression. These are all things that create stress and weaken our immune system. Wouldn't it be more productive to focus on what you DO want instead of what you DON'T want?

What can you do?
Mindfulness meditation is a mind-muscle tool that allows us to access our highest level of brain evolution capacity for self-awareness. I call this brain level 'Level 3' (neo-cortex/prefrontal cortex). Once we are at that level, we can more readily apply our EQ skills and tools, develop better leadership skills, and connect with others more skillfully. There are a host of other benefits, as well.
Otherwise, you simply stay stuck in the reactive levels of your brain. Fear can easily hijack you when you are in the lower levels of your mind's evolution.

Mindfulness allows us to take back the steering wheel of our mind. This is the way to tap into new possibilities beyond old patterns... our imagination and creative ideas.
It is the foundation for changing our perception of feelings and enhancing our emotional intelligence more effectively. So think of mindfulness meditation as a tool for mind muscle that leads to a stronger mind... so that our brain is not hijacked so easily.

Valencia Ray, M.D. teaches business owners and corporate leaders how their amazing brain can actually hijack personal power -- not in the abstract, but in the context of integrating business and personal life. Dr. Ray, a board-certified eye surgeon and medical business owner for over 20 years before selling her practice, shares her own life changing process. By sharing her story, she helps others to expand their vision and learn that by living with purpose and confidence, it is possible to have a more integrated, healthier lifestyle - with less struggle, more inner peace and more abundance.

For more information and to contact her regarding dynamic, inspirational keynotes, trainings in collaborative leadership and team building, entrepreneurship and coaching programs, visit her website at http://www.ValenciaRay.com.

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Where Have My Ideas Gone?

 By Desmond Koh 

Photo: s3.pirillo.com
 
Ever wondered why sometimes you are filled with creative ideas and at other times, you feel like you are pretty brain-dead? Are you constantly looking for new and innovative ideas for your business or your projects? Here, I have complied ways you can get fresh and new ideas everyday.
Everybody loves ideas. Whether you implement it or not is another story. Sometimes we feel like we have a great idea. But when we try to recall it, it seems like it is gone. Some of us may have been out of new ideas for a long time. All we are merely doing is building upon past ideas we have had.
Being out of ideas is also known as having the Writer's Block. The fact is, we need to embrace and think of new ideas every time. Here are some ways where you can get new and fresh ideas.

1. Books
As simple as it sounds, reading a book can give you the idea you want or need. You may think you are using the author's idea. However, if the idea brings forth benefits and incentives, it is all that matters.Be it the fiction or non-fiction genre, you can craft out some great and innovative ideas out of it.
Unfortunately, some books can be detrimental as it constrains your thinking. I have read some books which I feel personally, is total rubbish. I barely made it through the first 2 chapters. I feel the authors are merely writing the books to earn money instead of doing it for their passion or to share their knowledge. In short, you know a great book when you read one and you will know a terrible book when you see one.

2. Breaking From Regularity
Everyday, we do things unconsciously. From brushing your teeth to taking a bus to work. From buying lunch to doing the laundry. All these things we do, we do it on a habitual basis. Fresh ideas can't flow in because we are basically using very little of our brain.
Next time you are performing the stuffs you do everyday, try doing it a little differently. If you have always brush your teeth with your left hand, try using the right for a change. If you have always ate the same few dishes during lunch time, try some new dish for a change. In that way, you will use more of your brain and tap into your creativity more easily.

3. Away From The Desk
Are you always trying to think of new or fresh ideas on your working desk? With all those piles of work waiting to be done, it is no wonder new ideas can't get in. Take the time off to go for a walk or stroll. It doesn't need to be in a fancy park. Just take about 10-15 minutes away from your work and explore your office building or around its premises.
Some of the greatest entrepreneurs and world leaders get fresh ideas every time. Wonder how they do it? Sometimes the greatest ideas strike them when they are in the air. Because when you are so many miles above ground, you feel like you are disconnected from the working world and environment. All personal communication devices are switched off and you can really have all the time to yourself.

4. Meeting New People
When you meet new people, you being to see things in the way they do. You being to have another view or perspective towards things whereas originally, you only had one view. Mingling with new souls is a great way to get fresh and new ideas because you begin to embrace things in life in a different way.
But also be extremely cautious of certain types of people. I am sure you heard of the pessimists or the energy-vampires. They could be out there with an ulterior motive. Just make sure you feel comfortable around the people you mingle with. Go with your gut feeling on how you feel about them. More often than not, your instinct will be right about them. It is always better to be safe than sorry.

5. New Pastime / Hobby
When was the last time you have tried on a new hobby or sport? Do you remember the first time you tried your favourite pastime or hobby? You probably didn't like it initially as you kept failing. However, relentless efforts to master it make you cherish the particular sport or hobby even more.
Embark on a new hobby or pastime. Struggle through the initial phase like you did before. Only then you will be able to tap into your creativity. Enhanced creativity is another way for you to get fresh and new out of the box ideas.

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Improving Your Memory for the Real-World Applications

 By Oleg F Chmelev 

Photo: jisc.ac.uk
 
Can a better memory improve your performance in an intellectual endeavor? The most obvious need for good memory is for absorbing large amounts of information, individual items of which are not always logically connected to one another. The syntax of a programming language may be a logical thing, but you still have to memorize hundreds of operators, attributes and many other things, with the same applying to the other exact sciences and even more so to the descriptive ones.

We also have to rely on memory during an early stage of a learning curve, when our [somewhat] limited knowledge of the subject-matter is still insufficient to see the logical connections.
There are great many offerings in the area of improving memory; the authors promise almost unreal things - "Never forget anything again!". But some people somehow have the concept of memory, which is removed from the needs of the real life; they think in terms of artificial tests and situations, which are of no use to the most of us. For example, I heard of a memory test, in which one listens to a sequence of numbers and then tries to repeat it in a reverse order.

Whatever are the merits of that test, an average person does not encounter such problems in real life.

Circus-like memory tricks are certainly entertaining to watch, competitors memorize "impossible" combinations of cards, as well as perform other feats. But can you get a good job with such memory? And the simple reality is that this type of memory has no practical value for those who hold normal jobs!
In the real world you need the type of memory, which is good for practical applications; and the memorization tasks in the real world can be made very manageable through organization, diligence, attention to detail, mental discipline, ability to maintain concentration, ability to merge with a productive process, as well as other aptitudes.

Imagine an engineering meeting, every member of the engineering team gets a specific task, but one engineer was thinking about something else and he missed a part of what was being said. If he starts bugging the project leader for information, that would produce a perfectly natural reaction - "Everything has been presented, how is it possible you did not get it? How can I entrust you with a part of this project if your ability to absorb information is at this level?"

The engineer, who has not been following the presentation, was unable to concentrate; maybe he was overwhelmed with some temporary problems and his mind was someplace else as a result; and even though this situation had manifested itself as a memory issue, its origins may be completely different, it could be lack of mental discipline, inability to maintain concentration, to name just two.
Demands for memory performance are different in various situations; in a static setting, something similar to when you have to remember product locations in a warehouse, the demands on performance may not be as strict, as in a dynamic one, such as monitoring an instrument panel and making decisions on the basis of readings.

A situation, where you interact with others in the process of gathering and sharing information, poses still another set of requirements on your "memory performance".

But the ability to maintain concentration is a universal aptitude, which is required for all kinds of tasks.

 It can be developed with the help of certain exercises and you will see the effect of improved memory, as well as the overall productivity of your mind.
There were a few professors in our university who had no problem with making a case if a student would present the material on an exam differently as compared to how the professor was presenting it.
What is involved here?

You can memorize how it was written in your lecture notes or you can learn the methodology of that particular formal method and produce this or that derivation by applying the process of logical reasoning.

The more "comprehension" is added to the process of learning, the more reliable that knowledge becomes.

Memorization by rote is the lowest-grade learning process, which is used by those who have difficulties understanding the subject-matter. It can be compared to the task of converting inches, yards, pounds, miles, degrees Fahrenheit into the metric values; you can try to memorize which factor to use for this or that "direction of conversion", or you can calculate it by using logical reasoning. Clear thinking here would produce much better results than blind memorization.

And overall, the only memory issues, that are worth considering are those, which are connected to the demands of the real world.

Below are a few examples, you can see for yourself if "memory-improvement" courses would be of any use to tackle those situations.

I have a permanent list of things I may need for a trip, I only need to adjust it for each occasion; without that list I would be trying to think frantically at the last moment if I took everything I need. And, of course, I always have a list of groceries with me when going to a supermarket. If I forget only one item out of ten, it is very good in terms of memory performance, but unacceptable in terms of organization.
Any productive activity requires that we take care of many things, and if we would be relying on memory to keep track of ISOLATED things, this would be planting the seeds of doubt and adding strain on the brain resources.

When I have to perform operations in logical sequence, I see no need in using "memory props", but the isolated items are a completely different story!

And overall, with bad organization, when we rely exclusively on our memory, we would be creating a situation when memorization process competes with the thought process for the brain resources. If I work on something that requires concentration and mental effort, I do not want anything allocated to my active memory, except what is related to the task on hand.

When I was working as a field service engineer, I forgot an item once, which I needed for repair; I had to come back from the customer location to the office, almost two hours out of life.
After that incident I have prepared several lists of what I need to take on a field service trip to various customers; there were no more "memory issues" on that job.
Organization is everything in such cases, that is why I am very skeptical about various schemes of memory improvement for the real-world problems.

Obviously, it is much better to have a good genetic memory, just as it is great to have high genetic intelligence, but whether or not it is worth the trouble of training your memory for the circus-like competitions, is another story.

For example, at one job I was spending about an hour on an average week putting things back to stock. It was not often enough for me to be able to memorize all those locations "naturally", and it was not worth the trouble to apply an extra effort to memorize them, it was much easier to resolve this situation through organization, to compile a list.

When I was working as a field service engineer, I was diligently making sketches of every printed circuit board (PCB) and other important parts of all instruments I was working on, there was simply too much to rely on memory.

If I replace a PCB, I have to reproduce all jumpers, positions of miniature switches, plug all connectors where they should go. I was not even trying to memorize it! What is the point? My priority is not to exercise my memory skills, but to finish the job as fast as possible and go to another customer.
By the same token, when I was taking apart the units that were coming for repair, I would put all screws and parts into a separate tray, and I check it before the final assembly. This way I could be sure I did not forget anything.

I often had to take over additional repair items from my supervisor when he was going away; he would tell me the status of various items, which were "on hold", and I was writing it all down; what is the point in relying on memory if you can make a quick note? This unit needs an approval from the customer to replace an expensive part, these ones are waiting for spare parts, another one is also waiting for a part, but we can take it from a used unit in our surplus stock.
These information items are isolated, why relying on memory if you can apply some diligence and write everything down?

I used to work for a CNC company, they use a standard procedure for checking whether or not any tools were broken during the machining cycle (six parts on a machining table). You take the LAST part and check ALL holes and ALL threads on it. If any one is not there or is not full depth, this means that the corresponding tool was broken. (obviously, the tool might break when machining the very first part, then you would have to keep checking from the last part towards the first to identify the rejects or the parts to be reworked). You then replace the broken tool(s) and continue.
And unless the operator is very disciplined about such things, he will be producing more scrap than the company needs to tolerate.
Is this a memory issue?

That CNC company was dealing with an outside consultant during the process of preparing for the ISO certification, but then he has forgotten to renew his license; (he did not fail the exams, he forgot to initiate the re-certification process with the regulatory body)
Is this a memory issue? I would call it a poor organization and a lack of responsibility.
I need two bus tokens every day, but I take five. I put them into different locations - pocket, backpack, wallet, all in small plastic bags to make sure I do not lose them. When I strictly follow this procedure, it relieves stress from my mind, leaving more brain resources for other things. If I forget tokens even once on a thousand trips, this is unacceptable performance from the point of view of organization, but very good if I would be relying on memory. I also keep one token at work, just in case.

Good organization does the trick, no memory-improvement courses are required!
When I was doing my nursing practice in a hospital, I had a patient who had to undergo a second operation to remove a surgical towel, which was left behind from the previous operation. There is a special nurse in the operating room whose only job is to count surgical towels and other items, which are temporarily placed into the operating site. That is her only responsibility, and yet she somehow managed to lose the count!
Is this a problem of memory or inability to maintain concentration?
And overall, learning the art of concentration, as well as other aptitudes, is a much better way of improving your memory.

Oleg Chmelev is the webmaster of http://tuneMind.net
That site deals with the issues of intellectual performance and how to improve it

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7 Reasons Why People Succeed

By Braydon McCarville  

Photo: meritword.com
 
Some people fail, and some people succeed. This is a fact of life. But why is it that some people seem to always hit their goals, while others work hard but can never quite get over the top? what is it that makes people successful?

There can be a lot of factors that can help to lead to success, and there are many paths to get to the top. However, there are some traits that successful people from a variety of fields always seem to possess. Here are 7 things that successful people seem to do different from those who can never quite make it.

They have the desire.

Motivational speaker Eric Thomas says, "If you want to be successful, you have to want it as bad as you want to breathe. Only then will you accomplish big things."
There are too many people out there who simply dream of success, but don't have what it takes to fully commit to achieving it. No matter what you want in life, you have to devote yourself fully to it in order to become successful. People who have already achieved great things know this, and devote themselves fully to what they do.

They have a plan.

Successful people know that it's not just enough to have the desire to do it, you have to also have a plan. Successful people don't let the day just happen, they happen to the day. They put together a plan and outline of what they need to do in order to move forward, prioritize their actions, and then carry it out.

The have a winning attitude.

If you're ever going to do big things, you have to be your own biggest cheerleader. Great people know that they need to find opportunity in every challenge, know they are capable of anything, and realize that no matter how daunting a task may be, success is always within reach. If you don't believe in yourself, nobody else will either.

They show enthusiasm.

Extraordinarily successful people almost always love what they do. Whether it's the competition, the ability to potentially change their niche, or just the love of building a business, the passion they show for what they do is often contagious. They not only love what they do, but they show the world this through their actions, and get others involved in the process.

They are continually learning.

The only thing constant in life, is change. The world is always changing and evolving, so people need to be able to adapt to those changes or get left behind. Successful people know they need to be on top of their game at all times, so self education is always a high priority for them.

They are efficient.

Successful people don't just work hard, they work hard AND smart. They know that certain actions they take are more important that others, so they either prioritize the order things get done, or they outsource the smaller less important tasks to free up their time to work on the big picture.

They give themselves time.

Nobody achieves greatness overnight. There are years of schooling and training to be the best at anything in this world. Successful people understand that great things take time, and they are willing to put in the work even if they aren't hitting their goals as fast as they'd like. They are willing to do this because they have faith in themselves, and faith in their plan.

Braydon McCarville is the chief storyteller at www.defineyourgrind.com. This website is dedicated to achieving success, making money online, staying motivated, and learning from those who've already reached the pinnacle.

Don't let the grind define you, define your grind!

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