Keep On Pushing: Achieving The Level Beyond Success

Success excites us!

It provides us with evidence that we are capable of achieving regardless of the obstacles we may have had to overcome. Additionally, our achievements serve as further proof that we are capable of even greater success in the future.

Needless to say, success means different things to different people.

Some think of success in terms of what they hope to get-achievement, wealth, fame, recognition, respect, feeling valued.

Others see success in terms of their ability to earn a certain income which would allow them to live in a particular neighborhood, own a particular model car and be able to take multiple vacations each year to exotic destinations.

Still for others, success represents power or status in the community.

What does success mean to you? However you may choose to define it, one thing is clear, we all clamor for it and to varying degrees, dedicate ourselves to its achievement.

Of course, that kind of success-accumulating wealth, collecting toys, enjoying prestige and status, collecting amazing experiences, etc, is incredibly rewarding but there is a different kind of success (or perhaps more accurately, a different level of success) that I would like to explore in this article. One called significance.

The great masters of the past- spiritual leaders, scientists, political leaders, titans of industry, management gurus-have all achieved significance and have spent an inordinate amount of time working to bring us to this level of success.

Significance is success which:

Takes us beyond our own imaginations of ourselves to discover our real potential.

Gives us a sense of fulfillment.

Leaves a legacy behind.

There is no doubt that in our society today, many of the people we declare to be successful have proven themselves be thoroughly horrible, repulsive individuals, who put very few things ahead of their egotistical, self-indulgent desires. Needless to say, we see them as immensely successful because they have in fact accrued tremendous wealth, built great structures or have attained other accomplishments that many of us would have loved to have under our own belts as well. Nonetheless, when you look at the rest of their lives, there is nothing about them that we would want to admire or emulate.

In essence, we have allowed success to become inextricably linked to material gain and outward appearance.

But what if we redefined success?

What if success was not just about how much you can grow your bank balances but it was also about personal growth?

What if it wasn't just about your accomplishments, status and power but also about contribution to the greater good?

What if it wasn't just about self-aggrandizement but also about warm relationships, and genuine happiness?

In other words, finding purpose in everything you do.

What I am saying is that we shouldn't just strive for success as we traditionally define it but we should also seek significance.

Success says, "I will get." Significance says, "I will give."

Our lives are meant to be given away -to significant causes, to loving families, friends in need, and to lasting relationships.

And so, your challenge is to find a way to serve others with your gifts- your time, your talent and your treasure.

Time

Only a relatively short time ago reaching 50 years old meant that we had come near the end of our lives and putting our affairs in order and perhaps having a little fun before the clock ran out became our main focus. With the advances we've made in medical science in particular, hitting the 50 year old mark still leaves many of us with another three to four decades of life to enjoy.

Most people spent the first 50 years of their life pursuing success as we traditionally define it and then spend the last few decades working on things that can uplift others.

There are some whose careers or business did not quite turn out the way they expected and are now looking for ways to make an impact during the remaining time they have left.

While that is admirable, I don't believe you have to wait until you've lived half of your life to start making a difference. The time you spend bonding at a family gathering, visiting a bedridden friend, mentoring someone, or serving those in need in your community is priceless. It cannot be measured in dollars. You will nonetheless get a huge return on your investment because life always rewards those who give away their time.

You are rewarded first in terms of your own personal satisfaction -you will simply feel good about yourself and you will also enjoy the good opinion of others. There is also fate or karma. The time may come when you need a hand, and there will be many more hands offering help than you can count.

Talent

All the tools you need to reach your full potential and live your best life is available to you in the form of your talents-the gifts you were born with. I'm sure you've already developed some of them and probably have others to be discovered and developed.

However, don't make the mistake of thinking that your talents are simply for you to use to make a lot of money, retire, and eventually die. If that is what you think, you've completely missed the point of your life.

All the masters who have gone before us achieved significance because they used their talents to benefit others. Your talents are not just for your prosperity and edification. They are for the enrichment and betterment of others as well. And just like time, the more you use your talents to help others, you more satisfaction you find for yourself.

You may have seen some of those viral videos where after a tragedy, a stranger walks up to a piano in a public place and starts playing. The reaction they get from bystanders is tremendous. You yourself might have gotten quite emotional although you are so far removed from the event. That is an example of someone using their talent for the greater good. But when I speak of talent, I am not only thinking in terms of our ability to sing, or play an instrument or something like that. I am also speaking about the aptitudes and skills you have developed over the years in your careers and businesses. They can also be put to use to bring enormous value to someone's life.

Treasure

Have you heard of the giving pledge?

It is a commitment by wealthy individuals and families to give away more than half of their wealth to causes including arts and culture, criminal justice reform, education, disaster relief, global health, women's and girls' empowerment poverty alleviation, refugee aid, medical research, and environmental sustainability.

All of the individuals who sign on to the pledge are billionaires who have chosen to make their pledge public as a way of encouraging other billionaires to consider philanthropy as well. The effort is spearheaded by Bill and Melinda Gates who are joined by Warren Buffet but there is a host of other billionaires who are pursuing their own philanthropic efforts.

These billionaires are using their treasure to achieve and live a life of significance. The great news is that you don't have to be wealthy to use your treasure to benefit others. In fact, what can be a modest, even a meagre sum for you can be a fortune for others.

Eleanor Roosevelt said, "When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."

Success can be fantastic but I believe that a sense of purpose and significance lasts much longer. I encourage you to think carefully about what you are doing for the long term. Consider the impact you can make in someone else's life and know that it doesn't have to be a compromise. You don't have to go hungry or risk being a pauper to make a difference.

I personally derive a great sense of purpose from doing things that benefit other people, and hopefully in the process, I will leave a legacy that lasts way beyond me. Adding to the good of others, and experiencing the resulting satisfaction and elation that come from sharing your time, talent and treasure are simply the reason why you exist. The reason why we all exist.

Keep On Pushing!

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This Is How To Discipline Your Mind For Greater Success In Life

Nurture Your Mind

Most people's problems result from their thoughts about a situation outside of their control.

Allow me to unpack this in more detail.

Reflect on an area of life causing you frustration. What if you were to hand it to an outsider and ask them to assess it from their perspective?

Would they feel the same about it?

You might think not, because they are less invested in it than you are.

Therein lies the problem.

Your attachment to unpleasant circumstances blinds you to seeing it from another viewpoint.

What if there's a better way of taking ownership of your thoughts?

"The mind is everything. What you think, you become," Buddha wrote two millennia ago. Your self is nothing more than what you believe it to be. You must remove all the internal and external definitions of self that limit your progress in life," writes author Jay Samit in: Disrupt Yourself.

Since you cannot see your thoughts until they manifest into reality, you may question whether you contributed to your problem.

The mind is a powerful ally or foe. I liken it to the tale of the Two Wolves Within and The One You Feed. You can feed the good wolf or the bad wolf. Either way, the mind should be tamed with the right stimuli if you want to experience greater success.

It was the late American motivational speaker Zig Ziglar who said: "People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing - that's why we recommend it daily."

Nurture your mind with empowering thoughts if you want it to become a powerful asset.

Author Jay Samit believes we often hold ourselves back from the success we deserve: "The unfortunate reality is that what holds most people back is actually their own belief that they are not good enough or deserving enough to be successful."

Unconscious Thoughts

It's no secret that everything out there in your world begins at the level of the mind, as thoughts.

The Hermetic aphorism states: "As within, so without." What you hold in mind will become your reality whether you like it or not. This is empowering because it allows you to become architects of your life, not mere spectators of your destiny.

If you are unconscious to your thoughts or carrying unresolved childhood traumas, they are likely to manifest somewhere in your future.

The father of psychoanalysis Carl Jung said: "Your vision will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes."

The greatest minds in history knew that success results from mental discipline and knowing one's self at a deeper level.

It was the Indian spiritual teacher of non-duality Nisargadatta Maharaj who said: "There is nothing to practice. To know yourself, be yourself. To be yourself, stop imagining yourself to be this or that. Just be. Let your true nature emerge. Don't disturb your mind with seeking."

Many people don't know what they want until it shows up in their life, at which point it's not as they imagined it. Similarly, their reality is built around unconscious thoughts because they are unaware they exist.

They are not clear on their ambitions or dreams but are pulled along by life, hoping they will end up where they need to be. This is the person who proclaims: "There's a reason for everything," but has no clue what the reason is.

"By taking just five minutes each morning to visualize success, you train your brain to accept that you are capable of handling success. By visualizing each step of your journey, you are actually getting your mind prepared to handle the opportunity," avows Jay Samit once more.

For example, most people want to be in a healthy relationship and have a list of qualities their ideal partner should have. They might attract their romantic interest after a while since they have given it their attention and energy.

However, once the partner enters their life - if the individual has not reconciled their unconscious thoughts from the past - it is likely to cause problems in the relationship since the other person will mirror their insecurities.

Develop a Greater Sense of Self

The self-aware person draws to himself circumstances consistent with their highest self, instead of satisfying their egos' needs.

To discipline your mind, develop a greater sense of self by focusing on your self-development. You've heard it said, success is the by-product of the person you become.

The self-aware person spends years developing their strengths while controlling their weaknesses.

The late American minister and author Norman Vincent Peale wrote: "Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture... do not build up obstacles in your imagination."

In her acclaimed book Mindsight, Stanford psychologist Carol Dweck identifies a person as having either a fixed mindset or a growth mindset.

A person with a fixed mindset believes intelligence is static. They are absorbed in their problems instead of seeing them as an opportunity to be overcome.

In contrast, the person with a growth mindset considers intelligence can be developed through nurturing and discipline.

"This growth mindset is based on the belief that your basic qualities are things you can cultivate through your efforts. Although people may differ in every which way-in their initial talents and aptitudes, interests, or temperaments-everyone can change and grow through application and experience," affirms Carol Dweck in Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential.

Positive thinking does not improve your situation because it is merely a smoke screen for what is simmering below the surface.

The key to greater success is to integrate the fractured aspects of your character into the wholeness of your being.

To discipline the mind, focus on what you wish to see in your world. Hold an unrelenting commitment to make that your reality.

You will be pushed to your limits at times and your inner resolve will be tested. However, your investment in your personal growth will be of great service during these times.

"Goal Laser, the Brainpower Tool that helps you take aim at what you want out of life without allowing the static of distractions and stressors to interfere. It gives you the patience to delay gratification, often for years, without getting sidetracked along the way," state authors Jeff Brown and Mark Fenske in The Winner's Brain: 8 Strategies Great Minds Use to Achieve Success.

Success in life results from forging the mind just as a blacksmith tempers hot steel, fabricating it into a finished product.

It was the eminent theoretical physicist Albert Einstein who proclaimed a century ago: "We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them."

After all, if you wish to attain greater success, you must develop a new mind. A new paradigm in which to perceive the world around you, instead of being at the mercy of your unconscious mind.

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The Ultimate Secret to Self-Confidence!

Do you have a habit of undervaluing yourself and underestimating your own worth? Do you get stuck in fear of doing or saying the wrong thing? Do you wonder what it would be like to feel relaxed, strong, and capable in the face of any challenge? Or, do you find yourself resigned to just getting through the day because you lack the confidence to dare much more?

In this article, you'll discover the secret to where self-confidence comes from and how you can use this secret to break-through to an empowered life of greater success, meaning, and purpose.

Moments of Competence

Now, most likely, you have certain areas of your life in which you feel fairly competent and sure of yourself. You have some degree of self-confidence in these areas.

For example, you might feel confident in your personal style-knowing the clothes, food, or music you like. You may have a skill you've developed, or a specific area of knowledge or expertise. You may have family, friendship, or work relationships in which you feel comfortable and secure.

There have been times, even if they were brief, in which you felt confident in who you are, what you were doing, and your place in the world. Even if it's a fleeting memory, you can build on that.

Take a moment now, and recall a time when you felt confident in who you are, what you were doing, or your place in the world...

Go ahead and jot that down. If more than one moment comes to you-great. Write down one to three of these self-confident moments...

Notice how you feel in your body as you remember one of these high self-confidence moments...

Make note of any sensations and the location of those sensations in your body...

Moments of Failure

Now, on the other hand, you have had moments that made you doubt who you are, your worth, or your place in the world. In the extreme, you may have doubted your very reason for being. It's okay. Don't worry. We've all had those moments. It's important to learn from them, so we can move forward with greater insight about what doesn't work.

Take a moment now to bring to mind at least one moment when your self-confidence hit a low. Maybe you failed at a task, or were criticized for something you said or did. Maybe you were made to feel like an outsider-like you were strange, different, or just didn't fit in.

Go ahead now and write down one to three of those low confidence moments...

Notice how you feel in your body when you remember those low confidence moments...

Notice any sensations and the location of those sensations...

O.K. good. Now that you have a feeling for the contrasting sensations of self-confidence and self-doubt, let's use that experience to go a bit deeper.

Where Confidence Comes From

What if I told you that the secret to deeper self-confidence resides in your gut?

Does that sound crazy?

Let's try a little experiment, so you can begin to see and feel what I mean.

If you would, place your hands on your lower abdomen, focus your attention there, and take a few slow, deep breaths. Feel the gentle rise and fall of your hands in rhythm with your breathing.

Now, as you inhale, imagine that your belly is filling with Life Energy, with the Life-Force from the Source of your being. As you exhale, imagine that Life-Force is spreading outward through your whole body, infusing every cell. Go ahead and do this for ten, slow, deep breaths...

Notice how you feel...

Notice any sensations in your body and where they are located...

Do you feel a little more relaxed and empowered?

Now, that you have a taste of that feeling, here's that little-known secret to self-confidence.

The Ultimate Source of Self-Confidence

The deeper basis of self-confidence is knowing and Trusting in the Greater Power that dwells inside you and is the Source of your life and purpose. This Greater Power endows each of us with gifts for the good of the Whole.

Self-confidence is a feeling that comes from acknowledging and fulfilling "who you are" and "what you are here to do." It is a feeling that comes from acknowledging and fulfilling the qualities, skills, and resources that you have been given. It comes from knowing that you were sent here on purpose to fulfill certain tasks for the good of those around you. It is a feeling of opening to the Greater Life-Force flowing through you.

In our little experiment, you got a small taste of that feeling. I hope you enjoyed that.

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Relationships: Why Are Some People Only Attracted To People They Can Overshadow?

While some people end up with people who are on a similar level, there are others who end up with people who are not. As a result of this, not everyone is going to be drawn to people who are as developed as they are.

Equal

When it comes to the former, it could be said that one's relationships are likely to be fulfilling, and this is partly because the other person will be able to challenge them. Another way of looking at this is that each person will be an adult as opposed to one of them being a child and another being a parent.

Now, this doesn't mean that they will be at the same level when it comes to every area of their life, as there are likely to be certain areas where this is not the case. For example, one person could have more money than the other or greater success in their career.

Emotional Development

However, when it comes to what is taking place within them, there is likely to be less of a difference. The emotional development of one person is likely to match up with the emotional development of the other.

There could also be a match when it comes to their intellectual development, but this might not always be the case. This could then mean that one person is more creative than the other.

Attention

Along with this, one may prefer more or less attention than someone else, and it could then be said that they are either an extrovert or introvert. Yet even if one does like to spend more time around others, it doesn't mean that they will see themselves as more important or more developed than their partner.

And the same could be said if one finds that their partner needs to spend more time around others. Each person is then able to accept that the other person is different without trying to change them or make out there is something wrong with them.

Complement Each Other

In this sense, each person is there to add to the other person's life, and this will allow them to grow and develop together. In many ways, this could be seen as the ideal scenario as it will be life-affirming.

This doesn't mean that they won't argue or that they won't be conflict; what it means is that they will be together to assist in each other's evolution. When one ends up with people who are not at the same level, their experience is likely to be radically different.

Two Experiences

On one side, one could find that they are fed up with attracting people who are more like their child than their partner. On the other side, one could find that although this causes them to be frustrated from time to time, it is what feels comfortable.

If one has had enough of what is taking place, it could be a sign that they have experienced an inner shift. But if one is happy with how their life is, it could come down to the fact that their level of awareness hasn't changed.

For Example

When one is in this position, they could find that they are typically drown to people who are a lot younger than they are. It will then be normal for one to feel like the other persons parent and they can be used to giving more than they receive.

One could also be attracted to people who are not very developed, and once again they can feel like some kind of teacher. But while they will be giving lots of advice, they are not going to be getting anything in return.

Control

Still, what this will do is allow them to be the person that decides what does and what doesn't happen in the relationship. For instance, through having more money, they will be able to define where they go and where they live.

If they are more intelligent, it will allow them to be right and the other person is likely to look up to them. The feedback that they get from the other is then going to have a positive effect on how they feel about themselves.

Stunted

So the relationships they have will allow them to experience control and to feel good about themselves, but what they won't do is allow them to grow. The only thing they are likely to do is to allow them to preserve the identity they have formed.

Therefore, although one can look as though they are full of life on the outside, this is not going to match up with what is taking place within them. And until they no longer feel comfortable with this kind of dynamic, it won't be possible for them to truly grow.

Overshadow

If one was to take a look at what is taking place within them at a deeper level, they may find that they don't value themselves, and through being with people who are not at the same level, it stops them from having to face how they feel. One has then created a false-self that allows them to rise above their true feelings.

This could mean that there was a time in their life where they experienced some kind of abuse and neglect, and this then caused them to experience toxic shame. If one was to embrace how they feel they would feel worthless and it would cause them to emotionally collapse, but through disconnecting from what is taking place within them, it will allows them to experience a false sense of superiority.

Awareness

If one can relate to this and they want to attract someone who is at their level, it might be necessary for them to work with a therapist and/or a support group. This can be a time where one will need to work through the emotional pain that is trapped in their body, among other things.

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