In countless hours I have invested in working with clients from all walks of life and studying the most successful people of our time, I have found that there are two primary two distinct approaches to learning.

1. Learn what unsuccessful people do and then don’t do it.

and…

2. Learn what successful people do and then do it.

Both are valuable and provide tremendous insight and I credit the lessons from both perspectives with helping me develop more of my own potential in the different areas of my life. It’s pretty simple. Avoid the behaviors and patterns of the unsuccessful and instead adopt the behaviors of that are most likely to bring a successful outcome.

In this lesson I am going to provide you with what unsuccessful goal setters do to sabotage their results. In my early days of goal setting, I have made most of these errors myself at one time or another.

Have you ever worked hard on a goal that didn’t come to fruition? I bet somewhere you did one or more of these things below. The interesting thing is that people who do not achieve their goals often invest just as much time, energy and effort (or even more time) than the people who DO go on to achieve their goals.

A flawed or incomplete approach will bring about flawed or incomplete results.

If you see yourself in any of these bad habits, don’t worry. At the end of this article, I provide the perfect solution for you to salvage any goal and you can begin applying it immediately to begin advancing and achieving your goals.

How NOT To Set a Goal: 10 Mistakes that Guarantee Failure

1. Be vague. Pick a goal, any goal. Don’t give it much thought, don’t think about it in much detail and only use generalities to describe it. Don’t think about the long term effects on your loved ones, or the long term impact on your life, just pick any bright shiny object and go for it. Don’t spend any time to develop a crystal clear vision for what you want. Just pick anything and get to work.

2. Embark upon a goal that someone else chose for you. Go after things that you don’t truly want because you’re trying to make someone else happy, or because you think it will get or keep their love.

3. Keep everything in your head. That’s right. Trust your memory. Don’t commit anything to paper or activate the most powerful unseen force in human psychology (your subconscious mind) that is only triggered when you translate your thoughts and goals with pen and paper. Just keep hoping that every day you will remember what you’re working towards and why you started it in the first place.

4. Don’t create a plan. Don’t worry about creating a timeline or mapping out the structure of carrying out what needs to be done.

5. Don’t set priorities. Only do the things you feel like doing when you feel like doing them.

6. Don’t carve out time in your daily life for working on the goal. Your life is plenty busy already, right? I guess you’ll just squeeze in your action plan around your already full life and if there’s time left over after all of those other things are done, you’ll get to your goal eventually.

7. Blame others for not achieving your goal or when something is not working. Yep. It’s not your fault that your goal is not achieved. It’s that other person. In the end if you don’t acknowledge and take 100% responsibility for the results, your goal will never be achieved and you’ll always have an excuse for why that is.

8. Try to do it all yourself. You know the saying, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.” After all, you’re a
perfectionist and even though it will take ten times longer, at least everything will be perfect. This means that you will drag out the time it takes for much longer than it needs to be and you’ll probably get very frustrated in the process. When you are frustrated enough, you will inevitably resort to the next two…

9. Worry. Why waste your time visualizing the positive outcomes you want to create when you can dwell in and stock pile all of the things you’re afraid of? Instead spend that valuable time worrying about what you don’t want until it drains your energy and you have nothing left.

10. Give up. Because you failed to take measures that ensure your goal is achieved, you got tired, frustrated and just gave up. Goal setting doesn’t work anyway.

Ooooh, that was painful to write. I know how painful it is to experience. I’ve been there.

Can you see yourself in any of those scenarios?

Have you ever sabotaged your goals?

The good news is that it’s preventable.

Practicing any one of those “NOT to do’s” is enough to derail the most magnificent, achievable goal and I would venture to say that at one time or another we have all engaged in one or more of these behaviors, myself included, that is, until I created a blueprint that guaranteed successful goal achieving.

Those saboteurs are no longer an issue because I have a goal setting blueprint that ensures success every time. Now when I set a goal, I have a guaranteed system for all of the necessary steps, from the selection of the goal to creating the action plan and seeing it through to completion. It’s amazing how much more quickly I can achieve my goals and how much more fun the process is.

“A goal properly set is halfway reached.” -Abraham Lincoln

The best way to set a goal is to follow a proven blueprint. I just released the formula for success that I use to ensure I reach and often exceed my goals. This is the same formula I teach to Fortune 500 CEOs, Olympic athletes, Entrepreneurs and everyday people who just want to get more out of life and develop more of their own potential.

http://goalguru.com/virtualgoalsettingworkshop/

I look forward to helping you achieve your goals.

Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig

PS 2012 is a leap year, which means we have one extra day February 29th. Why not utilize that extra day going through the Virtual Goal Setting Workshop and fine tuning your goals for the year

http://goalguru.com/virtualgoalsettingworkshop/

Can You Create a New Habit in 21 Days?

“Fake it ’til you make it.” We’ve all heard the cliche for approaching something that seems out of reach. There may be some method to the madness of that approach.

But have you ever given much thought to what it takes to bridge the gap between where you are now and where you want to be when it comes to eliminating old habits and forming new ones?

Success is habitual.

We have all witnessed those who seemingly achieve amazing feats over and over. Think of Tiger Woods, Michael Phelps, Michael Jordan. What allows one person to be an automatic peak performer every day without fail while others experience failure after failure? Most likely, the achievers have created and practiced success systems, habits and rituals that serve rather than detract from their goals.

If everything affects everything, which is, of course, true, then it pays to take a holistic look at the current habits and patterns in ALL areas of your life, at work, at home and at play.

You cannot change what you don’t acknowledge so it pays to get real and be brutally honest with yourself so you can finally align your habits with your dreams.

How to Create New and Empowering Habits

1. Identify your current habits, the good, the bad and the ugly. You have probably practiced many of the same habits throughout your life without realizing it. Keep a pen and paper handy throughout the day to capture habits as you become aware of them. From the moment you wake up to the moment your eyes close at night, most of your thoughts, words and actions are habitual. Write them down on paper. If you get stuck, ask others around you what habits they notice in you. This might take a few days.

2. Once you have identified your dominant habits, identify the source of those habits. Most of your habits were programmed into you at a very early age without you even realizing it. Many of your habits come from observing your dominant parent or caregiver. If you are habitually late, perhaps this trait was modeled for you by someone you admire. Not always but often enough. From the brand of car you drive to the brands of food you purchase, many of these habits were modeled for you and you practice them subconsciously.

Here are some common negative habits:
reading the newspaper first thing in the morning
vegging out, watching tv all evening
going to bed too late
hitting the snooze button every morning
cleaning obsessively
exercising excessively or not exercising at all
eating fast food frequently
saving money or not saving money
excessive credit card debt
choosing toxic relationships
not reading self-improvement books
not setting goals
procrastination
having many started projects and none finished
impulsiveness
dishonesty
infidelity
hoarding
negative self talk
criticism of others
complaining
depression
worry
blame
smoking
overeating
sugar addiction
skipping breakfast
workaholic
alcoholic
overcommitting to things because you can’t say no
etc.

Often you can look at your parents, examine their habits and see them in yourself. <gasp> I know I do on both the positive side and the negative side. They’re there alright. This exercise is not to judge others or yourself. It is simply to identify. This is especially important if you have children because your current habits are likely to be modeled by those who look up to you. What habits and traits do you want to instill in them?

3. Next to each habit you identified, decide which of these habits are empowering and which habits are disempowering. An empowering habit serves your greater good. It usually serves the greater good of the people around you too, those whom you love and care about. A disempowering habit does not serve your greater good, in fact, it likely detracts from your life.  Disempowering habits are roadblocks to your dreams.

Next to each empowering habit, draw a smiley face :)  Next to each disempowering habit, draw a frown :(   There is no neutral.
4.  The best way to eliminate an old disempowering habit is to replace it with a new more empowering one.  Next to each disempowering habit, write down a description of the opposite habit you want to replace it with. 

For example, if you come home after a long day’s work and turn on the television vegging out mindlessly for hours while your belly magically grows, perhaps an evening walk with your mate is what’s called for. Perhaps instead of reading the newspaper each morning and being bombarded with negative news and advertisements, perhaps you will opt to replace it with reading a chapter of a personal development book or listening to an audio while you prepare for the day. Instead of surfing the net, perhaps you want to write a few pages of that book you’ve been putting off. If you’ve been hoarding to the point you barely have a path to walk through, perhaps some purging and organizing is in order. If you habitually criticize your mate, perhaps you can create a new habit of focusing on what’s great about them. If you were a habitual procrastinator, you could become a habitual action taker.

5. Prioritize which habits you want to tackle first based on their importance to your life. Write #1 next to the #1 most important habit you want to focus on, #2 for the next most important habit and so on. To begin, focus your time and attention only on the habit you have determined is most important that will have the greatest positive effect on your life. I’m not going to tell you to turn your entire life upside down overnight by tackling them all at once. Some can do this successfully because they seek a complete life makeover. Others who are easily overwhelmed and lack confidence will sabotage themselves and fare much better by focusing on one habit at a time.

6. Imagine a role model or someone you admire. What habits and rituals do they consistently practice to achieve the results they do? Now here’s the bigger question: What beliefs underlie those habits? Model the habits of those whom you admire. Model the habits hight achievers. Focus on the beliefs underneath that support those empowering habits. Fake it ’til you make it is ok to begin but it only gets you so far. Many copy the action steps in an effort to duplicate a formula, and complain when things don’t work out. They only went through the motions. The real magic happens when you in embrace the underlying Principles, beliefs and mindset that produced the success.

Sometimes creating a new habit can lead to a new belief.
Sometimes creating a new belief can lead to a new habit.

Ultimately, they must be congruent to move you in the direction of your Goal.

7. Celebrate your existing empowering habits and the new habits you seek to create. Imagine the positive effect on your life and the people you love. Revel in the ways you will impact the people around you for the better. Imagine your life in one month, 6 months, 1 year, 5-10 years from now. What will your life be like because you adopted these new and empowering habits and beliefs. Pretty remarkable I would think.
                                                                                                                            
When your current thoughts and habits are congruent with your Goals and dreams, you will begin to move towards them more quickly and with seemingly less effort.

You know you have successfully created a new habit when the practice of it is automatic and effortless.

How long does it take to break an old habit or form a new habit? It varies. Most experts assert you it takes 21 days. I believe it could take an hour, a week, months or years. The greater your desire and commitment, the faster the change will occur. Practicing the new desired habit consecutively (every single day without fail) increases the speed in which you will see results.

When the identity shift occurs inside you, you are well on your way. When you no longer think of yourself as a smoker, but a non smoker. When you no longer view yourself as overweight, but rather a healthy vibrant person who lives a healthy lifestyle. When you no longer think of yourself as a complainer, rather an person who finds the good in every person and situtation-automatically. That is when you will have successfully created the new empowering habit.

After you have accomplished successfully creating your #1 top priority habit, move on to # 2, then #3 and son on.

When your identity is congruent with the beliefs, thoughts and actions necessary to carry out your Goal, you have become the person necessary to achieve your Goal.

Resolve to do whatever it takes to improve the quality of your life.
Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig

http://www.GoalGuru.com

Jill Koenig, The Goal Guru, is America’s Top Goal Strategist. A self-made millionaire by age 30, she has dedicated her life to teaching the principles of Goal Setting, Productivity and Self Improvement to individuals, entrepreneurs as well as Fortune 500 companies. She is a highly sought after Author, Peak Performance Coach and Motivational Speaker. To learn how to achieve your Goals at TURBO speed, visit: http://www.GoalGuru.com

Everything is easier when you have momentum

Have you ever set a Goal and in the following days, weeks,
months or even years, took little or no action towards it’s
achievement?

If so, you’re not alone.

The world moves so fast these days. Not to sound like an
old timer, but back in my day… we didn’t have cell
phones, computers, PDA’s, ipods or many of the hundreds of
devices we have become so dependent upon today.

If you were around back in the 70’s you were lucky if your
neighborhood had 5 television channels that came in from
your outside antenna. You actually had to get up off your
duff to change the channel or turn up the volume. Now we
have hundreds of cable and satellite channels and remote
controls that work every electronic device in the house!

There was no Google, there was no Ebay and phones were
attached to the wall by a chord.

Things move FAST these days. One of the greatest
advancements of the last 30 years is the ability to send
information all the way around the world via email in a
millisecond for free if you have an internet connection. I
can send an email from my phone in America to my friends in
Australia in the blink of an eye. I can download an ebook or
even watch a video that my friend 1,000 miles away made 5
minutes ago (thanks YouTube).

I wonder where in the world you are right now as you read
this.

What’s good about all of these advancements is that things
that used to take years to accomplish 20 or 30 years ago,
can now be achieved in a matter of months, weeks or even
days. You can achieve your Goals now faster than ever
before.

Yet still sometimes you set a Goal but never get it off the
ground.

I am here to remind you that there has never been a better
time in human history to go after your Goals and Dreams
than right now.

Want to learn a new skill? There are millions of tools and
resources at your fingertips within seconds. Just google
it.

Want to start a new business, learn a new language, write a
book? Thanks to the internet, you can connect with others
with similar Goals or others who have done it already
within minutes. You can publish a physical book within days
and an ebook within minutes.

You can even download my Goal Setting audio trainings to
your mp3 player and take me with you wherever you go!

My Goal Setting business was started with very little
investment. GoalGuru.com’s first web presence was a $ 10 do
it yourself web site. That’s a couple of lattes at the
coffee shop. You can’t even buy a pizza with $10 anymore
but you can launch a business. It was all I needed to start
my blog, a newsletter and begin to share my knowledge and
coaching experience on a global level… immediately. I had
clear Goals, a compelling mission and an enormous amount of
energy and determination. I would let nothing stop me. And
now you are reading this.

At the same time I launched GoalGuru.com, I had friends and
acquaintances who wanted to start a businesses too. It’s
been two years and they haven’t started anything yet.

Do you want to know the biggest difference between them and
me?

I would love to tell you that I am so much brighter or more
attractive or had better connections or that I had some
other advantage that they didn’t. But that is not the
case.

What I had (and still have) that they don’t is very
simple.

Momentum.

I set my Goals, took immediate massive action, started the
journey and have taken action every single day since then.

What I lacked in technical knowledge, I made up for with
massive action. Momentum.

What I lacked in financial backing, I made up for with
massive action. Momentum.

What I lacked in skill, I made up for with massive action.
Momentum.

Massive action = Momentum

Everything you ever do is much easier when you have
momentum.

I didn’t wait for everything to be perfect, for the economy
to be just right, for every circumstance to line up in my
favor- I just got started and took massive action.

I can assure you, whatever you want to do, whatever Goals
you aspire to achieve, whatever Dreams you yearn for, you
can have them. But not if you don’t ever begin and not if
you don’t commit to taking massive action right now today.

The ball is in your court. Always has been, always will
be.

You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get it
going.

Whatever you lack, make can up for with massive action.

What can you do today to advance your most cherished Goal?

Take the first step and revise your plan as you go.

Do it.

Do it NOW.

Got Momentum?

Live Your Dreams

Jill Koenig

Jill Koenig, the “Goal Guru” is America’s Top Goal
Strategist. A best selling Author, Peak Performance Coach
and Speaker, she is an expert on the subjects of Goal
Setting, Time Management and Business Success. Her Goal in
life is to help you UNLEASH your untapped potential. http://www.GoalGuru.com
Media Requests: Jill Koenig is a dynamic high energy tv and
radio guest available for interviews and corporate speaking
engagements.

An inspiring video about gratitude, perseverance, faith and courage.

Nick Vujicic was born with no arms and no legs, but was an otherwise healthy baby.

Try to imagine for a moment the challenges of going through daily life without arms or legs.

Nick said, “School was really enjoyable for me and I really tried to live life like everyone else. But, it was in my early years of school where I encountered uncomfortable times of feeling rejected, weird and bullied because of my physical difference. It was very hard for me to get used to. In spite of this, with the support of my parents, I started to develop attitudes and values which helped me overcome these challenging times. Though I knew I was different, on the inside, I was just like everyone else. There were many times when I felt so low that I wouldn’t go to school in order to avoid all the negative attention. With encouragement from my parents, I began to ignore the bullies and tried to start making friends by just talking with some of the kids. Soon the students realized that I was just like them.

Many times I felt depressed and angry because I couldn’t change the way I was, or blame anyone for that matter. In Sunday school, I learned that God loves us all and that He cares for us deeply. At that stage in my childhood, I could understand His love to a point. But, as you can imagine, I still got hung up on that fact that if he really loved me, why did He make me like this? I wondered if I’d done something wrong and began to feel certain that this must be true. Otherwise, I thought, God wouldn’t have made me the only weird one out of all the kids at school. Feeling I was a burden to those around me, I sensed the sooner Ipd just go away altogether, the better it would be for everyone. So, at a young age, I wanted to end my pain and my life. But I am thankful, once again, for my parents and my family who were always there to comfort me and lend me their strength. Thankfully, a real turning point arrived!

Due to the emotional struggles I had experienced with bullying, self-esteem and loneliness, God began to instill a passion of sharing my story and experiences to help others cope with whatever challenge they might have in their lives. Turning my struggles into something that would glorify God and bless others, I realized my purpose! The Lord was going to use me to encourage and inspire others to live to their fullest potential and not let anything get in the way of accomplishing their hopes and dreams.

As I grew older, God continued to prepare my heart and teach me to seek Him. One of the first lessons that I have learned was not to take things for granted. With a wake-up call around the age of twelve, I realized just how much God had blessed me. My foot, what I’ve termed my little chicken bone.  I had been taking for granted. But it serves me well. God had freely given to me and so much with my loving family, and so many other blessings, I realized Why should I still complain?

Now twenty-five years old, I’ve completed a Bachelor’s Degree in both Financial Planning and Accounting. Also, I’m active as a motivational speaker. Again, my number one passion is for souls. I just love to go out and share my story and testimony wherever opportunities become available. Over time, I’ve developed messages that relate to and encourage students through topics that challenge today’s teenagers.

Achieving goals and pursuing dreams is something I’m  actively pursuing on a regular basis.

Some of these include becoming the best witness I can be of God’s love and hope, to become an international inspirational speaker and to be used as a vessel in both Christian and non-Christian venues. These goals are, even now, being realized. Other aspirations of mine yet to be realized is my desire to modify a car that I can drive, to be interviewed on the “Oprah Winfrey Show” and share my story, and to write several books. With anticipation, I look forward to starting on the first of these this year. Not surprisingly, the title will be, “No Arms, No Legs, No Worries!”

Many would think these goals were too far-fetched. However, I believe that if you have the desire and passion to do something, and it’s within God’s will, you will achieve it in good time. As humans, we continually put limits on ourselves for no reason at all!”

When you fall down, just get back up.

By Jill Koenig
Although I had a busy travel schedule this past week, just
like millions of people around the world, I was glued to the
television every time Michael Phelps took to the water in
the Olympics. Because success leaves clues, I study the
best of the best in every sport, business or craft I
possibly can, and you should too.

Sometimes in life what separates first place from second
place is one point, a fraction of an inch or even a tiny
millisecond that requires the most sophisticated technology
to measure. Those small gaps define who wears the Gold Medal
around their neck, who breaks a world record, who earns
millions of dollars in endorsements and who graces the top
magazine covers.

You may feel you have nothing in common with Michael Phelps
but the fact is that there is a Champion inside you.

There is a Champion inside you.

Perhaps your area of passion is being a parent or an
entrepreneur or a weekend athlete or a singer or writer…
whatever your Goal, you don’t have to be a swimmer to unleash
it. All you have to do is apply a few simple strategies to
your own pursuits and practice them consistently everyday.

Here are Five Things You Can Do Today to Be a Champion Like
Michael Phelps

1. Improve on the Small Things that Make a Big Difference

Phelps was asked how he can break world records, sometimes
by a whopping one or two seconds (in swimming this is
huge). His answer was simple and something you can apply
to your own life starting today: Phelps said, “In swimming
there are so many little things you can change that really
do make a big difference in the end. We’re able to go back
to the drawing board and work on the small things that can
make a big difference.”

What areas of your life can you change some small things
that will make a big difference? Perhaps it is something
as simple as going to bed a little earlier, eating
healthier, exercising smarter, reading more, advancing
your education by taking a class, scheduling regular dates
with your spouse and children or getting a Coach to help
you improve your efficiency, proficiency and stay on track
with your Goals. Whatever it is, identify those areas and
make the change.

2. Study Other Champions

Phelps was asked what separates those who are gifted from
those who performed in clutch moments and won. Phelps
said, “For me when I watch other sports, when I watch
Tiger Woods, when I watch Roger Federer, when I watch
Rafael Nadal, the best athletes can compete under any
circumstances. No matter what it is, no matter what the
pressure, you can always overcome whatever is put in your
way.”

I have studied top athletes long enough to know that there
is an inner game and an outer game that must be harnessed
for one to achieve absolute Mastery of a thing. There are
many long hours of practice as well as having the attitude
that you will overcome anything that comes your way. Work
on both your inner game and your outer game simultaneously.
Phelps studies Champions in other sports and you should
too. There are always lessons to be learned and applied to
your life.

3. Put Blinders on to Focus Your Energy When it’s Time to
Perform

Did you notice that prior to entering the water for each
race, Michael Phelps was wearing headphones and covered his
head with a hoodie? This was to block out the outer noise
and distractions and stay focused on his own predetermined
priorities. He was in his own world, he was in the zone.

We all have those moments when we must perform at our very
best. This could be during a sales call, a workout, a
meeting with your boss, a presentation in front of a live
audience, etc. During those times it is important to get
yourself into a peak state of focused concentration. You
can do this to begin your day, prepare for a race, get
psyched for a workout or any occasion anytime you want.
Phelps listened to Young Jeezy during the World
Championships which he dominated. Choose the music that
gets you revved up and visualize yourself succeeding in the
activity. Practice positive self talk. You’re the best at
what you do. See it. Go there. Be it.

4. Do what you love

Phelps was asked how it feels to be the worlds fastest
swimmer. He said, “I don’t think about it like that. I
think of it as something I love to do and I am having fun
with it.”

Champions do what they love and love what they do. The
amount of time it takes to achieve the level where you’re
competing against the best of the best and come out on top
means you must be extraordinary. To be extraordinary,
sometimes you have to give up some of the things normal
people do like hanging out with friends, eating fatty fast
foods, staying up late and vegging out for hours in front
of the tv. Instead you use those hours to practice and
with the hours in between, you treat your mind/body like
the fine tuned, high performing machine that it is.

Phelps recognized he had the opportunity of a lifetime.
When asked what scarifies he had to make for swimming, he
said, “Doing normal high school kid things was something I
was willing to give up. I know I won’t have opportunities
like this in the sport for the rest of my life.”

What areas of your life could you rearrange or re prioritize
in order to raise another certain area of your life to new
levels? What could you let go of to make room for the
Goals and Dreams you truly desire?

5. Finish Strong

The race that absolutely left me speechless was the
“Miracle Finish” in the race between Phelps and Serbia’s
Milorad Cavic. In the final seconds, it appeared Phelps
would come in second. In the last few feet at the finish,
Cavic coasted to the end while Phelps fought for it with
everything he had. Even when Cavic had the lead, Phelps
never gave up. He fought to the finish.

I wondered how many times in life we go 90% of the way
there only to fizzle out or coast at the end. Regardless
of whether you think you have it won or not, give it your
all right up to the very end. That’s what Champions do.

I learned in working with my Trainers Darin and Cordell, that
your greatest growth comes when your muscles burn and fatigue
and every sensation is telling you to quit. At first it seems
like that’s all you have left. But those one or two extra reps
AFTER that point are the key.

That extra effort is where the real growth and magic happens.

These few lessons are just some of what I extracted from
watching Michael Phelps become the greatest Olympian of all
time. They are things that you and I can easily do every
single day if we simply apply them to our lives.

Unleash your inner Champion.

Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig

http://www.goalguru.com

Jill Koenig, the “Goal Guru” is America’s Top Goal Strategist.
A best selling Author, Coach and Motivational Speaker, she is
an expert on the subjects of Goal Setting, Time Management and
Business Success. Her Goal in life is to help you UNLEASH
your untapped potential. Learn cutting edge Goal Strategies at
http://www.GoalGuru.com

Media Requests: Jill Koenig is a dynamic high energy tv and
radio guest available for interviews and corporate speaking
engagements.

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Join me in living the Fat Loss Lifestyle and achieve your
health and fitness Goals:

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Does it make sense to await motivation from an outside
source and “hope” it arrives or does it make more sense to
learn a few key strategies for motivating yourself week
after week consistently?  After all, we are given 52
Mondays each year.  What if you could turn them into the
springboard for creating a great week guaranteed every
time?

Creating a great week is not something that happens by
accident, in fact, you have the power to create momentum
anytime you desire.  This lesson focuses on empowering ways
to approach Mondays so you can create unstoppable momentum
and create the best week of your life every week.

10 Steps to Creating Monday Momentum:

1.  Decide in advance that you are going to have a great
week. Your attitude determines your altitude and it starts
right here with the decision. Expect success, expect the
best, and be prepared to invest the very best of yourself
in everything you do. 

2.  Define Success more clearly. Envision exactly what it
means to have a great week.  Does success mean
productivity?  Fun?  Speed?  Quality?  Progress?
Completion? What elements do you need to
create in order to realize your vision this week?

3.  Map out your week on Sunday evening. At first this may
seem challenging but after a few tries, you will be in awe
of how easy it is to set yourself up for success.  Here are
some questions to get you started: What are your priorities
for the week?  What are the essentials you absolutely must
accomplish and in what order of importance?  What do you
need to do this week to meet your Goals for the month, for
the year?

4. Schedule your actions and priorities into your calendar
so that you know when you will do them.

5. Create measures of accountability.  Are you motivated by
pain or pleasure?  Does it light a fire under your posterior
to know there is a fun reward at the finish line for doing
what you promised or are you more motivated by the pain of
having to pay for NOT doing it?  Determine your own
personal rewards you will enjoy for following through on
your commitments and what penalties can you impose on
yourself if you don’t? Bring in a friend or peers for extra
reinforcement.  Having someone to hold you accountable will
keep you honest and give you an extra edge.  There is
nothing like succeeding or failing in front of an audience.
You can raise the bar on this as high as you need to.

6. Go to bed early Sunday evening.  Stretch or meditate
prior to bedtime. You will feel more rested when you wake
up and you will have energy, vigor and enthusiasm to begin
your day.  There’s nothing as energizing and momentum
building as arising with clarity, getting a jump on the day
and being ahead of schedule, rather than feeling like you’re
behind schedule or playing catch up.

7. On Monday morning rise a little earlier, get in a quick
workout, even if it’s just a 15 minute walk or ride on the
exercise bike. Wake up your brain and get those endorphins
flowing.  You will burn more fat, feel GREAT and get it out
of the way so you’re free to move on to other things.

8.  Eat a healthy breakfast.  This will provide you with
the fuel to tackle your top priorities. (planning your week
in advance means planning your meals in advance if you want
to be super productive, energized and stay away from fast
foods, which are a huge energy drain)  What you put into
your mouth has a direct effect on your productivity,
efficiency and mental clarity.

9.  Listen to one hour of an empowering audio program while
you’re working out and eating breakfast.  This will help you
with the mental motivation and get you going with the right
attitude.  I recommend http://www.TheTimeCommandments.com

10. At the end of each day and the end of each week, review
what you did or didn’t do.  Make adjustments where necessary
and keep building on your strengths and celebrating your
successes.  Have fun and remember that small improvements
add up over time.  Imagine how much more clarity,
motivation and achievement you will experience after
growing and improving consistently for 52 weeks!

Momentum breeds momentum.

Unleashing these powerful strategies will condition you to
seize the day every day.  You will condition yourself to
know where you are going, get moving and you will have all
the motivation and Momentum you need to carry you through
the week.

Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig

Gas prices, the unemployment rate, foreclosures, consumer
debt and bankruptcies are on the rise.

Now more than ever, I encourage you to address the most
important economy of all.

Your own internal economy, (gasp) the one between your
ears,  the economy of your mind.  It is the only element
you have 100% control over and it affects everything around
you.

Few people realize that the thoughts you think and the way
you approach your own economics right now will directly
affect how well you fare during this climate and in the
future.

When someone approaches me coming from a place of financial
crisis, the first question I ask them is:

What are you reading?

I usually get a response of disbelief like, “I just told
you I’m drowning in debt, I just got laid off, I’m going to
lose my house, I can’t fill my gas tank and you want to know
what am I READING?”

Yep.  Hang in there with me, what are you reading?

Always the answer is “the newspaper or nothing or I don’t
have time to read.” 

I know all too well what it means to struggle financially.
I did for the first 25 years of my life.

Back then I read a lot of books, but I was not reading or
inputting into my mind any constructive strategic
philosophies about wealth, abundance or prosperity.  There
is a difference between studying “money” and studying “wealth
principles” that challenge and expand your belief systems.

I talk often about my own personal and professional turning
point at the age of 25.  That is when I made the decision
that regardless of my previous circumstances and
conditioning, regardless of my upbringing, regardless of my
lack of cash flow, I would become a LIFELONG student of
personal development.  This included studying the foremost
authorities on wealth and prosperity. 

Since that time, I experienced a drastic transformation,
became a millionaire, expanded my understanding of
universal abundance and I have been consistently studying
“wealth consciousness” ever since. Every single day.

For the past week I have been reading “21 Distinctions of
Wealth, Attract the Abundance You Deserve” gifted to me by
my friend, New York Times Best Selling Author Peggy McColl
and I have devoured every page. I love it so much, I am re
reading it again.   I wanted to tell you about it because
it was released to the public today and it is the most
important book you should be reading right now on the
subject of wealth.

There are people who will thrive in this economy and I want
you to be one of them.

Go get this book.

http://www.goalguru.com/recommends/21distinctions

Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig

Quote of the day:

“I never do anything out of my comfort zone.”

Driving ludicrous speeds, one-inch from someone’s
bumper?

“That’s MY comfort zone.”  -Danica Patrick

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Five Things You Can Learn from Danica Patrick
By Jill Koenig

Danica Patrick’s first racing season was in 2005 at
Homestead-Miami.  That year, she became the first woman to
lead the Indy 500 for 19 laps and finished the race in
fourth place.  It was the best finish by a woman at Indy,
and she took Rookie of the Year honors.

On April 20th, 2008, the twenty-six year old Patrick made
history again by becoming the first woman to WIN an Indy
race with a victory in the Indy 300 at Twin Ring Motegi,
Japan.

In a sport where races are won and lost by fractions of a
second, here are a few keys to being a winner at Indy and a
winner in in life.

1.  You can be the greatest driver in the world but you
need a great team around you to win.  Patrcick’s team
members each have a specific job to do and they practice,
practice, practice to master it.  The mechanics who
assemble the car, the pit crew, the technicians who monitor
the stats and gauges and so on.  Every single individual on
the team makes a critical contribution to the results of
every race.

2. You must believe in yourself.  When asked if she doubted
she could win a race, she said, “No doubt, just a matter of
when.”  If you believe winning is inevitable, then it will
be for you.

3.  Learn how to deal with your critics. Patrick says, “I
expect people to think that I can’t drive still because I’m
different,” she said. “I’m in a boys sport, so you get the
good old boys and people that aren’t open to change. You
get people that don’t want to embrace it. As far as being a
woman, my car doesn’t know the difference.”

4.  Never say never. Patrick is clear about keeping her
options open, saying, “I’ve learned too well over the last
six to eight years, you can’t say anything is a never.
Saying never is a very strong word, and if you say that
word, it really lives.  You have to go where you feel you
have the best chance to win and the most opportunities and
where you feel your heart is.”  This same spirit that
allowed her to leave the comfort of her home in the USA and
move to England as a teenager in order to give herself every
opportunity to become a leader in the sport.

5.  You must maintain your focus. In a race where you’re
driving 220 miles per hour, a single mental error can
result in a catastrophic crash or injury, wiping out
thousands of hours of work and millions of dollars
invested. Determine your critical areas that demand the
greatest focus and master those areas.  In the race Patrick
won, one of the main factors was fuel.  Seven of her
competitors ran out of gas, thus allowing her to pass the
leader when he struggled with fuel issues, thus ensuring
her victory.

Every Goal has specific elements that are more crucial than
others.  Identify the areas that are most critical.

Focus on those.

Invest your time and energy in the areas that will make the
greatest difference.

Think of one Goal you are working on.

In what components of this Goal must you pay precise
attention to in order to succeed in it’s advancement or
achievement?

Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig

March Forth!
By Jill Koenig

You were born with infinite potential
A strong and powerful force
May your light shine ever so brightly
And may you always March Forth

A body and soul forever growing
Right before our eyes
A life rich with possibility
As endless as the sky

There are many lessons you will learn
As you go through your days
May your heart overflow with love
For you this I pray

We ll be near supporting you
In awe of your transformation
What may lie ahead for you
Is as infinite as your imagination

May you welcome all in friendship
Of every color and race
We are all someone’s son or daughter
On Earth here to share this space

May you always live in harmony
With every living thing
We are all the same in God s eyes
With many gifts to bring

You were born with gifts to share
In time you will soon uncover
You’ll make mistakes through trial and error
This is how you will discover

The sooner that you get this lesson
The easier life will be
The greatest treasures don t require money
The best things in life are free

A smile from a friend, a hand to hold
A hug, or a song to sing
A pat on the back, a kiss on the cheek
They’ll never cost a thing

Don t overlook the simple things
Like the meaning of true wealth
Love, happiness, peace of mind,
Your spirit and your health

And when you re blessed to make a new friend
Love them with all of your might
Love can conquer anything
If you keep your dreams in sight

For a dream would not be inside you
If it wasn t yours to keep
May you always believe in yourself
And have the courage to seek

May you learn and be bold in challenges
And be strong in the face of fear
Things that first seem impossible
Are not always what they appear

The answers are always inside you
To find them just be still
Always hold tight to your heart’s desires
Your dreams will come true, they will

For you were a dream once held in the heart
And now you are real, you are here
You’re living proof, dreams do come true
And that God is always near

You were born with infinite potential
A strong and powerful force
May your light shine ever so brightly
And may you always MARCH FORTH!

Copyright Jill Koenig  http://www.GoalGuru.com

Napoleon Hill speaks of how he was surprised why Andrew Carnegie would select him to work with because of his own percieved limitations- youth, lack of education and finances.

I was also struck by his vision that he came to understand the power of his efforts would benefit others in the future. In fact, he says it would change the lives of millions of people… some of them not even born yet. I am one of those who was not yet born at the time of his creation, yet my life has been positively affected by him. Even today. And now you life will be affected too and perhaps your children and their children…

I got goosebumps thinking that many of you right now are in a similar position that Napoleon Hill was back then. You see yourself as having similar limitations. But look what he did.

You can change the world just like Napoleon Hill did. You don’t need to wait for an invitation from a Millionaire to get started. You can go find someone to help you. Just ask.

I read Think and Grow Rich at least twice a year.

You can create a monument that will serve the world long after you are gone.

What will your legacy be?