"Difficulties strengthen the mind, as labour does the body."

Self Improvement

<ul><li>Life's full of ups and downs. The highs drive us forward, while the lows can drag us down.</li><li>The key to successfully achieving your vision is to make the most of the impetus that the highs bring, but prepare yourself mentally for the lows, so that they don't sap your will to succeed.</li></ul>

Building resolve

<ul><li>It's easier to give up than to carry on―but to be successful you have to dig deep, maintain focus and continue with your mission.</li><li>There will also be unforeseen challenges in your way to reach the summit of your vision, and their cumulative effect will really test your resolve.</li><li>If your vision is true and your passion strong, then you will be able to cope with setbacks and return stronger and more determined to succeed.</li></ul>

Setbacks are just part of the game plan.

﻿"Pride is holding your head up when everyone around you has theirs bowed. Courage is what makes you do it."

<ul><li>If you really want it, you will have an insatiable desire and the will to succeed.</li><li>Building mental toughness ia one of the most important ingredients for success.</li><li>It is vital to condition your mind to becoming resilient. Without it, winning becomes more difficult.</li><li>From time to time reevaluate your core beliefs.</li></ul>

Cultivating mental toughness

<ul><li>When it all seems too much, reflect calmly on why you're doing this.</li><li>Remind yourself what you're striving for, that it was never going to be easy and that you have confidence in your own ability to succeed.</li><li>After all, the harder the road, the greater the feeling of achievement at the end, and the sweeter the taste.</li></ul>

Take strength from adversity.

When things are not going your way, embrace the principle of RAF to get you through:<ol><li>Rewind and go back to your mission, picture success and hold this image in you mind. This activity will move you out of the negative state and refresh your mind to get you back "on purpose".</li><li>Accept that things will not always go your way. Avoid long drawn out dissections of why things turned out the way they did. Accept and move on otherwise negative self talk will hinder progression.</li><li>Have Faith in yourself and your ability to achieve what you want out of life. Bouncing back when things go wrong is far easier.</li></ol>

Rewind, accept and have faith

HAVE YOU GOT THE SUCCESS FACTOR? Some people find life a breeze – they know what they want and have no problem getting it. Fantastic opportunities seemingly fall from the sky and they ooze confidence and success. Know someone like this? The good news is that there’s no big secret; motivation expert John Leach reveals 10 steps to guaranteed success. In fact, he asserts that with the right tools, anyone can be effortlessly successful. Perfect for dipping in and out of for daily inspiration, The Success Factor gives you a winning mindset needed to achieve ultimate success. Now it’s up to you... — Gain instant respect from your peers — Have a constant sense of fulfilment — Attract others like a magnet — Be the best you can be

Buildimg resolve

HAVE YOU GOT THE SUCCESS FACTOR? Some people find life a breeze – they know what they want and have no problem getting it. Fantastic opportunities seemingly fall from the sky and they ooze confidence and success. Know someone like this? The good news is that there’s no big secret; motivation expert John Leach reveals 10 steps to guaranteed success. In fact, he asserts that with the right tools, anyone can be effortlessly successful. Perfect for dipping in and out of for daily inspiration, The Success Factor gives you a winning mindset needed to achieve ultimate success. Now it’s up to you... — Gain instant respect from your peers — Have a constant sense of fulfilment — Attract others like a magnet — Be the best you can be

The Success Factor

"A pessimist is somebody who complains about the noise when opportunity knocks."

<ul><li>The optimist sees the donut, the pessimist sees the hole.</li><li>There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking make it so.</li><li>Put things into perspective! The closer you are to the problem and the more in front of it, the less you see. Step back and get a more global view of it.</li><li>Sometimes while driving we focus so much on the review mirror that we forget to focus on the front windshield. Relate this with your life situation.</li></ul>

Perspective is everything.

<ul><li>Experiences themselves are neutral until we start to give them meaning.</li><li>What may be a great tragedy to you could be a wake-up call for me to take my life into hands and thrive.</li><li>This is called "Reframing" to change the perspective that one has of an event.</li></ul>Take for an example:<ul><li>How do you feel if you say, " I failed terribly in my last relationship?</li><li>Now try saying, "I learned so much from my last relationship, I'm sure I will not make the same mistakes again!" Can you feel the difference?</li></ul>

"Reframing"

<ul><li>Each one of us sees the world through the lenses of their own beliefs.</li><li>We don't see the world how it is, but how we were conditioned to see it.</li><li>Beliefs are like a self-fulfilling prophecy.</li><li>Your beliefs influence your emotions, your emotions influence your actions and your actions influence your RESULTS.</li><li>I want you to realize that life doesn't just happen to you! It's a reflection of your beliefs, thoughts and expectations.</li></ul>

What do you believe?

Marc Reklau's wisdom.

The Change Your Habits, Change Your Life Series:

﻿﻿Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.

Once you have made a decision, go with it and take the consequences. If it was wrong, learn from it and forgive yourself knowing that at that point in time and with the knowledge you had, it was the best and right decision to take.

Decisiveness

<ul><li>Thoughts create emotions, which create behavior, which create actions, and those actions have consequences in your daily life.</li><li>Train your mind to concentrate on Positive, Creative and Inspiring thoughts.</li></ul>

Choose your thoughts 

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.

"Failure is a sign that points toward progress."<ul><li>Success is the result of right decisions. </li><li>Right decisions are the result of experience.</li><li>And experience is the result of wrong decisions.</li><li>We need to understand that failing is a part of the process.</li></ul>

Embrace this idea.

International bestselling author Marc Reklau presents a hands-on companion to his book 30 Days - change your habits, change your life, which has become a reference for individuals, families, and businesses around the world. 30 DAYS has helped readers find solutions to their personal and professional problems and achieve the life they want. Reklau's step-by-step approach is explored even more fully in this workbook, which leads readers through the habits that changed so many lives and shows them how to put these ideas into action everyday. This workbook helps readers further understand, appreciate, and internalize the power of Habit. The engaging, in-depth exercises allow readers to get their hands dirty as they develop a philosophy for success, set personal goals, and improve their relationships. This reference offers solutions to both personal and professional problems by working on our habits day by day. An engaging companion to the bestselling book, the 30 Days - change your habits, change your life Personal Workbook will help readers set goals, improve relationships, and create a path to life effectiveness.

30 DAYS: Habit Installation

International bestselling author Marc Reklau presents a hands-on companion to his book 30 Days - change your habits, change your life, which has become a reference for individuals, families, and businesses around the world. 30 DAYS has helped readers find solutions to their personal and professional problems and achieve the life they want. Reklau's step-by-step approach is explored even more fully in this workbook, which leads readers through the habits that changed so many lives and shows them how to put these ideas into action everyday. This workbook helps readers further understand, appreciate, and internalize the power of Habit. The engaging, in-depth exercises allow readers to get their hands dirty as they develop a philosophy for success, set personal goals, and improve their relationships. This reference offers solutions to both personal and professional problems by working on our habits day by day. An engaging companion to the bestselling book, the 30 Days - change your habits, change your life Personal Workbook will help readers set goals, improve relationships, and create a path to life effectiveness.

30 Days

What you really need is a system for doing work. A lot of people shy away from routines, systems and frameworks because they want to have "freedom."I am sorry to disappoint you: Freedom is your enemy. The fact is that, if you want to get things done you need rules.

Willpower Doesn‘t Work. Systems Do.

<ol><li>Self-imposed deadlines.</li><li>Accountability systems ( Commitment with friends, or a coach).</li><li>Working/studying in intervals.</li><li>Exercising 30 minutes a day.</li><li>A healthy diet.</li><li>Eliminating distractions.</li><li>And most importantly: Internal motivation.</li></ol>

Some effective tips to destroy procrastination

The deadlines create urgency, accountability will create responsibility, working in intervals improves your focus, exercising will give you more energy, so does a healthy diet, and eliminating distractions will take away the temptations. But there's no system that can help you if you don't have an inner drive.

Right productivity tactics.

<ul><li>Slacking is an attitude of "I don't care". But if you want to make things happen in your life, you have to care.</li><li>And what you want is to find a middle ground where your perfectionistic tendencies drive you, but you have the calm of a slacker, and you combine that with leader resourcefulness.</li></ul>

Find balance between a perfectionist and slacking mind set.

<ol><li>Focus determines the quality of your life.</li><li>No focus means no control of your attention.</li><li>And No control means Frustration.</li><li>We all know what frustration leads to.</li><li>So start managing attention. Not your time.</li></ol>

Understand the chronology.

Are you also tired of putting off your dreams until "tomorrow?" Guess what! Tomorrow never comes. Am I right? I've procrastinated and putt off my desire to write a book for a decade. I always came up with excuses like, "it's not the right time." Or, "I need to do more research." But in 2015 I got tired of this endless procrastination, and finally took action. Six months later, my first book was published. Look, we all have limited time on our hands. And we're getting closer to death every single minute. That shouldn't scare. That should motivate you! Time is limited, that's why we must do the things we want: Today. In this "best of" collection, I've handpicked 30 of my best articles that help you to overcome procrastination, improve your productivity, and achieve all the things you always wanted. Plus, I've written an extensive introduction about my life and work philosophy. And I've made many improvements and edits to the articles. So the content of this book is different from the articles on my site. In Do It Today, you'll learn: 1.Why we procrastinate and how we can overcome it 2.How to increase your productivity without being stressful 3.How to achieve more meaningful things in your life so you can enjoy it more Are you ready to start reading this book? If so: Do it today--not tomorrow.

Overcome Procastination.

Are you also tired of putting off your dreams until "tomorrow?" Guess what! Tomorrow never comes. Am I right? I've procrastinated and putt off my desire to write a book for a decade. I always came up with excuses like, "it's not the right time." Or, "I need to do more research." But in 2015 I got tired of this endless procrastination, and finally took action. Six months later, my first book was published. Look, we all have limited time on our hands. And we're getting closer to death every single minute. That shouldn't scare. That should motivate you! Time is limited, that's why we must do the things we want: Today. In this "best of" collection, I've handpicked 30 of my best articles that help you to overcome procrastination, improve your productivity, and achieve all the things you always wanted. Plus, I've written an extensive introduction about my life and work philosophy. And I've made many improvements and edits to the articles. So the content of this book is different from the articles on my site. In Do It Today, you'll learn: 1.Why we procrastinate and how we can overcome it 2.How to increase your productivity without being stressful 3.How to achieve more meaningful things in your life so you can enjoy it more Are you ready to start reading this book? If so: Do it today--not tomorrow.

Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

People who make phones and apps are smarter than us. Their only goal is to get you hooked. I think it’s good to realize that.That’s why I often try to remind myself not to depend on smartphones too much because my attention matters more than productivity.It’s time to reclaim your attention. And thereby, reclaim your life. It’s worth it.

Smart phone and reality.

Believe me, that thing you’re using to read this article is not your friend. Smartphones, laptops, iPads: How important are these devices?

Believe me, that thing you’re using to read this article is not your friend.

And even if you’re reading this on your laptop or PC, there’s one thing I want to ask you: How important is your device to you?

I was shocked when I read a weird statistic a while back. An experiment, which was conducted by the universities of Würzburg and Nottingham Trent, revealed that <a data-href="https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/2016_a-third-of-consumers-willing-to-ditch-their-friends-for-their-smartphone-psychological-study-discovers-new-era-of--digital-best-friends" dir="ltr" href="https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/2016_a-third-of-consumers-willing-to-ditch-their-friends-for-their-smartphone-psychological-study-discovers-new-era-of--digital-best-friends" rel="noopener noreferrer">37.4% of the participants </a>rated their phone as more or equally important in relation to their close friends.

Seriously, what’s wrong with people? 29.4% of those weirdoes even said their smartphone was equally important, or more important, to them than their parents.

Or is there something wrong with me? Am I just an old school person who likes to read books all day and only has a few close friends and family members that he actually values?

Look, I’m not joking around. Smartphones are dangerous. <a data-href="https://www.anxiety.org/smartphone-use-and-its-relationship-to-anxiety-and-depression" dir="ltr" href="https://www.anxiety.org/smartphone-use-and-its-relationship-to-anxiety-and-depression" rel="noopener noreferrer">Not because they may cause stress, anxiety, and even depression </a>, but because they change your behavior.

It seems like we can’t focus on one thing for more than 5 seconds. Why? Well, we can’t  because our smartphone is constantly going off.

Not because people are calling you (it seems like people are afraid of calling these days, but that’s another topic), but because you’re constantly getting notifications about THINGS THAT DON’T MATTER.

The same study I mentioned above also<a data-href="https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/2016_kaspersky-lab-study-proves-smartphones-distract-us-and-make-us-less-efficient-at-work" dir="ltr" href="https://www.kaspersky.com/about/press-releases/2016_kaspersky-lab-study-proves-smartphones-distract-us-and-make-us-less-efficient-at-work" rel="noopener noreferrer">found something else </a>:

“Researchers asked participants to perform a concentration test under four different circumstances: with their smartphone in their pocket, at their desk, locked in a drawer and removed from the room completely.”

The results are significant — test results were lowest when the smartphone was on the desk, but with every additional layer of distance between participants and their smartphones, test performance increased. Overall, test results were 26% higher when phones were removed from the room.”

Sure, it’s just a study. And you don’t have to believe everything you read. But this is something I can personally attest. For the past two years, I’ve significantly changed my smartphone behavior. Namely:

<ul><li>I have turned off ALL my notifications except messages and calls </li><li>I’ve removed myself from all Whatsapp groups except for one with my closest friends </li><li>I’ve removed all news apps (if something important happens, you’ll hear it from the people around you) </li><li>I only consume music, paid journalism, articles from specific authors I follow, podcasts, YouTube videos (mostly to learn, but also for entertainment because I’m not a robot), books, and audiobooks on it </li><li>For the rest, I use my phone to call, text, and to take notes, photos, and videos </li> </ul>

Also, I’ve stopped immediately responding to notifications. That doesn’t mean I don’t value other people who try to reach me. It means that I refuse to be a slave to my phone. I control my phone.

For most of us, it’s the other way around. In the past, Facebook, Instagram, Apple, Google, etc, all controlled my mind.

Obviously, they still do because the only way to escape those idiots is to cut yourself off and run to the woods. That’s not realistic.

The results have been great since I started using my smartphone in the above way. During the past two years, I got more things done than ever.

And, I still have time to work out daily, hang out with my friends, have dinner with my family, and spend time with my lady friend. You and I both have the same 24 hours at our disposal.

The difference-maker is how you spend those 1440 minutes each day. To be honest, I think I still have much to improve my effectiveness. No one reaches peak productivity. Nor is it important to be the most productive person in the world.

How you want to spend your time is your business. But please don’t tell me you don’t want to be 26% more productive by just changing one unimportant thing in your life: Your smartphone behavior.

And if you wonder why not more people telling you to get rid of that thing, realize that they are trying to get to your wallet.

Also, social media people who claim that they run their business with their smartphone are doing the exact same thing. They need you to consume their content, on you guessed it, your smartphone.

Apple will also never tell us, “don’t mind buying the new iPhone because it’s going to destroy your productivity.” Of course not, they try to tell you the opposite. And without a doubt, smartphones also improve productivity.

You probably found my articles on your phone. Thar’s awesome. And, I also read a lot of articles and books on my phone. But you and I use the device to learn something, which is always a good thing.

People who make phones and apps are smarter than us. Their only goal is to get you hooked. I think it’s good to realize that.

That’s why I often try to remind myself not to depend on smartphones too much because my attention matters more than productivity.

It’s time to reclaim your attention. And thereby, reclaim your life. It’s worth it.

I'm continually researching ways we can effectively optimize our lives and careers. Join my insiders list to get my latest and most exclusive tips. I’ll also send you my Growth Kit , a bundle of 6 useful resources.

KIRAN MAGDUM

SENECA

The Success Factor

OSCAR WILDE

The Change Your Habits, Change Your Life Series:

RALPH WALDO EMERSON

30 Days

Willpower Doesn‘t Work. Systems Do.

Do It Today: Overcome Procrastination, Improve Productivity, and Achieve More Meaningful Things

Smart phone and reality.

Smartphones Harm Your Productivity More Than You Think - Darius Foroux