The 3 Requirements to Level Up Your Success

For the majority of us, success doesn't come by accident. Success happens because of a chain of events. Though the word success may be a subjective thing, the words achievement and progress are not. In order to reach success, whatever it means to you, you must achieve and progress. It's easy to lose focus and motivation especially in the down times so I want to give you my trick that has helped me stay focused on my success over the years. I learned these through my martial arts training and have been applying them to my health, businesses, and relationships. I call them my 3 requirements to level up and reach success.

Motivation, drive and focus crumble when the greater vision is lost or doubt or something negative grabs your attention pulling you away from your goals. I've found this happens because the connection to your purpose was broken. The first step here is to refurbish your purpose. What are you thriving for? Be specific.

For example, this article has two main purposes. Number one, I really hope these three tips help people to get back on track toward reaching their goals and success. Secondly, it helps to get my name out there. Why is this important to me? So perhaps I could help as many people as possible in achieving their successes.

Define what your purpose is. Write it down and know it's okay if it evolves over time. As you reach levels of success, you want to adjust your purpose accordingly but, by stating your purpose and knowing it gives you a direction where to put your focus and apply your effort.

Once you have your purpose you need to get obsessed with it. Obsession is a powerful tool to keep the fuel in the tank, foot on the gas and do what you have to keep pushing through. Obsession glues you to your daily tasks.

What are you doing every day? Why is what you're doing important? Re-confirm your goals daily until you become obsessed with your goals.

Finally, you have to get committed. As a teacher of the martial arts for over 10 years I've found people have to become obsessed in order to truly get committed.

Knowing your purpose comes first. You have to know what you're committing yourself to. I hear personal development experts all the time saying you have to commit. Commit, commit, commit! Commit to your goals! But, they miss the purpose thing. How do you know if you're setting the right goals for yourself if you don't have your purpose down? Which means you may be committing to the wrong thing, that you're not obsessed about and you can't get obsessed about because you know in the back of your mind that it's not what you want to achieve.

Levelling up your game and your success isn't about creating habits. It isn't about creating goals to check off the list. It's about making success a daily requirement and knowing exactly where to aim your efforts. Know your purpose, get obsessed with your purpose and now you're going to get committed to your purpose. Now you have a real foundation to build real ideal goals for yourself.

It's easier to read the map when you already know where you're going and where you're starting from.

If you can't get obsessed with a purpose you gave yourself then it's probably not your purpose. Don't take what somebody else is doing and confuse yourself about having to or wanting to do the same thing the exact same way. Here's an exercise I do and I have my students do to find what your true purpose is.

Turn off the videos, close the books and block out any outside influences for about 2 weeks. Go somewhere secluded in a natural environment and spend 2 weeks with just yourself and your thoughts. To locate your purpose you need to break off outside influences.

Anytime you're falling off track just go reconnect with your purpose. Leveling up is not about what motivates you. Motivation wears off. Drive and obsession don't wear off. What you're obsessed with you'll be committed to.

http://ezinearticles.com/?The-3-Requirements-to-Level-Up-Your-Success&id=9848248

What Hiring Managers Really Want To Know When They Ask, ‘What Are Your Hobbies?’

            

When you're in the hot seat interviewing for a job, you're answering questions such as "What's your greatest weakness?" and "Why should we hire you?" — so a query like "What are your hobbies?" will probably seem like a piece of cake.

But before you start babbling about your lifelong obsession with horses or your new found passion for baking, consider this: The hiring manager wants to get a better sense of who you are, so it's important to think about which hobbies best showcase your strengths, passions, and skills — and then only discuss those in the interview.

"The employer is trying to determine whether you'd be a good fit, and getting insight into your interests, hobbies, and personality all help in evaluating that," says Amy Hoover, president of the job board TalentZoo. 

Lynn Taylor, a national workplace expert and the author of "Tame Your Terrible Office Tyrant: How to Manage Childish Boss Behavior and Thrive in Your Job," agrees. "By learning more about your outside interests, they can glean more about your personality, and even draw some conclusions about how you may thrive in the organization."

For example, if you like to paint in your spare time, and you're interviewing for an account executive position with an advertising agency, your creative flair might be viewed as an asset when working with your creative counterparts, Taylor explains.

Or, if you're involved in orchestrating community events, where organizational skills are critical, that would translate well into a promotional or event-planning type of position.

"That said, they are also looking for well-rounded individuals, so you don't want to limit your pursuits to only those that relate directly to your career," Taylor says. 

While there are no wrong answers per se, there are some smart choices you can make when answering this question in an interview, Hoover explains.

Here's what interviewers are really looking for when they ask about your hobbies:

1. That you're team-oriented. 

"Since most jobs involve a certain level of group interaction and support — and cross functional work teams continue to thrive — any kind of activity that you do in your spare time that demonstrates your ability to be a team player, such as playing a team sport or working with a group on a volunteer project, would be well perceived by your prospective boss," Taylor says.

2. That you possess strong leadership skills.

"If you lead a group in a leisure activity, such as anything from a book or hiking club to a charitable effort or community activity, that speaks well to your ability to lead on the job," Taylor explains. Not all jobs require leadership or management talent, but those kinds of activities project the desire to make a difference. 

3. That you actively work on honing your skills.

If you stay with a particular leisure pursuit, and try to better yourself — which could relate to anything from artistic or musical talents, to bettering your communications, writing, or research skills — you will likely be viewed as having perseverance. "And that would certainly be viewed as a plus in the position at hand," says Taylor.

4. That you're well-rounded. 

Hiring managers like to know that you have an array of interests and are not just focused on the type of work you do 24/7. "It's assumed that if you engage in a diverse assortment of hobbies, you may be better equipped to manage a broader array of experiences and people on the job," Taylor says. However, be careful not to list out too many hobbies. This can imply that you're indecisive, you don't commit adequate time to each hobby, and you're stretched too thin. 

5. That you're able to set and stick to goals. 

Hiring managers like to see applicants who set goals in their leisure pursuits. "For example, they want to see that you enjoy completing a project and have the desire to reach certain milestones in your leisure activities," says Taylor. "Goal-setting is essential in any job, as managers like to see that you have a sense of purpose and determination to reach goals that you've mutually established." 

So, if you're training for a 5K run or taking a class in an area that you wish to excel, this is the time to talk about it.

6. That you're passionate.

If you're excited about your leisure pursuits, it can show a side of you that interviewers typically appreciate and value. "You're demonstrating that you are capable of enjoying what you do and being passionate about it, whether inside or outside of the office," Taylor says.

7. That you're not too passionate.

"If you talk about how passionate you are about a particular hobby to the point where it sounds as if you want to make that your primary career, that may send up a red flag," Taylor explains. For example, if you're interviewing for a sales position at a software company, it's fine to mention your interest in fashion. "But if you wax on about how invigorating it is to keep up on fashion trends and pursue fashion-related activities on the weekends, you could do yourself a disservice at the job interview," she says. "It might be perceived that you would be happier in that industry."

8. That you won't be distracted at work.

You may have a few entrepreneurial interests on the side. "Even if you claim that such endeavors have nothing to do with the job at hand, you are still raising a red flag," Taylor says. "No interviewer wants to feel as if you're just trying to gain a salary or work experience until you're ready to launch your own business."

9. That you do, in fact, have interests outside of work.

Here's a terrible response to this question: "I have no real specific outside interests. I'm just too busy."

This tells the employer that you're a workaholic (which isn't a good thing!) and that you don't take time outside of work to refuel and recharge by doing the things you enjoy.

"Overall, the best policy is to bring up leisure pursuits that speak to your team orientation, good people skills, tenacity, and thirst for knowledge in the areas in which you are passionate," Taylor says.

Also, try not to emphasize hobbies that can be construed as vices, such as wine tastings, craft beer making, or cigar clubs, says Hoover. "And finally, please do not say 'Facebook' or 'social media.' Those aren't hobbies; they're distractions — especially at work."

http://uk.businessinsider.com/why-job-interviewers-ask-about-hobbies-2014-8