Abraham Hicks 2021 ~ This Is What Source Energy Wants From You!! Your Purpose In Life Is SO CLOSE!!

The Power of Passion

There once was a man, Jack, who worked very hard in his job. He had gone to school in an area of interest and got a job working in a like industry. He found a good wife and they had 3 wonderful children. Life was good in his adult years, but he found himself feeling like he was just on the treadmill of life. He got up every morning, he went to a job that he liked but where he longed for a break, some type of long-awaited vacation. He had lost most of his hobbies, due to the time restraints of working many hours at his job, balanced with trying to take care of and spend time with his family. The dreams Jack had talked about in his youth (travel, starting his own business, becoming an armature golf player, winning fantasy football, etc.) were still in the back of his mind, but only faintly. Jack had a successful life by American standards (income, job, home, family, etc.), but he did not jump out of bed in the morning: he did not have a spring in his step and he seemed to carry a high level of stress. In general, he was happy, but not HAPPY.

This is a story of a man with a great life, but of a man who is lacking PASSION.

What is passion?

Webster defines passion as "a strong liking or desire for or devotion to some activity, object, or concept."

I define passion as an internal subconscious emotional calling that fuels the perspective, focus and actions you take as you live life and fulfill your purpose in life.

Passion is not obvious, like the ability to throw a football, being a gifted musician or a talented craftsman, or living as an amazing inventor. Passion is not on a conscious level, something that you are thinking about daily and noticing. Passion is more "energetic" in nature and therefore hard to see.

People say they are passionate about their kids, families, hobbies, etc. While these are all admirable, I would say these are interests that bring joy and pleasure. They may also be the tip of your passion or an indicator of your passion. While passion is a common word to describe an emotional state of liking something a lot, the passion we are talking about here is a much bigger concept. Here, it is about the core attributes that drive you and get you excited about life and living.

It is also important to recognize that people often confuse passion with purpose. As I see it, purpose is the vehicle that you ride because of your passion: your purpose is what you do (ex. playing sports, writing music, reading literature, or parenting.). Passion is the fuel and energy that you use to drive: passion is how you are fueled (ex. by creativity, by problem-solving, or by helping people).

Passion is the internal fire burning inside you as a result of using your natural gifts, talents, and purpose here on earth. You have passion before you use it, but it is like a match unlit. Passion gets lit when you use your gifts, talents, and purpose and results in personal fulfillment and "life in the flow," where everything works together and every area of your life is filled with joy, contentment, and synergy.

Why have passion? Is it possible that everyone has a passion or are some people just more "emotional"?

Passion is seen as you look out into the world and selflessly allow yourself to be an instrument, using your gifts and talents. As you do this, you will begin to see your reflection and therefore more readily identify your passion. After you identify your passion, by experiencing the lit fire inside, you are able to focus in and use those gifts and talents more - your purpose and passion are united and drive the most fulfilling adventure of your life!

The reward of living a life of passion is incredible! Once you have tasted it, you will crave for its return. It is an amazing overflowing of your heart, body, mind, and soul. You have energy, direction, purpose, and focus. As humans, we all want this, but sometimes it seems too hard to achieve, so we give up, and decide to just enjoy what life gives us.

"What life gives us?" I ask. Don't be fooled, we are not here on earth to be floating down a river on an inner tube, just passively taking in what life has to offer. You will not find passion in that inner tube. You might hit some rapids and get a little taste of it here and there, however, if you want to know what living a life of passion means and is, you have to go look for it.

Life can dish out some hard knocks, tough lessons, challenges, and adversity. How you handle those are up to you. You see, there is a quote that states, "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% what you do with it." The more you can look at life as a lesson, something to learn from and a gift, the happier you will be. The more you are living in your purpose and passion, the easier it is to see things from this perspective. Do you want to have this synergy in your heart, body, mind, and soul? Do you want to be content, overflowing with joy and being of value to the world?

Jack Finds Passion

Jack became tired of stumbling through life. He did some investigation and found out a few things: he enjoys the outdoors, being invigorated by the fresh air, strategic thinking, and intellection. Earlier, when he was playing golf he was engaging a few of these passions, an appreciation of nature, strategic thinking, and intellection. He had stopped playing golf because of a lack of time. The irony is that after picking the hobby back up, he seems to have more time and energy.

At work, he also noticed that his job had become dull because he was not reading the statistical reports like he did when he had first started his job. Back then, when he read the reports, it motivated him and got him excited about driving strategies that would save the company time and money. So, he started reading the reports again and found himself more engaged at work. The momentum helped him do things faster, be more positive and actually finish up on time many days so that he could get home to his kids.

Since Jack was getting home on time, there was a little break before dinner when he could go outside and play with the kids: he loved throwing the ball and teaching little Jake how to ride his bike! It even inspired him to equip the family to embrace Saturday morning rides on the local park trail.

As Jack realized that his passions were being outside in nature, using his intellectual abilities and creating solutions and strategies, he found that these same things showed up in every area of life. It was exciting and compelling! He was happy, fulfilled and had found a synergy in every area of his life.

You now know what passion is. You now know the benefit of inviting passion into your life. Take the time to explore your personal passions and to integrate them in your life. Passion is a phenomenal gift. If you want to LIVE life to the fullest and enjoy it along the way, take the time to discover your passions. Put them into your daily life. You will find you have time for everything you did before and more.

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A Key To Success Is Your Passion And Purpose In Life - Your True Free Will Lived

Do you have goals and objectives, and I also mean do you have a strong focus in life, or are you consumed by lacking thoughts?

Have you invested a great deal of effort, cash, and time to achieve financial freedom and yet feel you haven't made it?

For all your effort do you still feel that there is something missing in your life? I mean it is certainly crucial to set objectives in your life.

When faced with a number of options, it provides you a focus a way forward a mechanism for making choices. It can also be a jail cell.

How can having clear-cut objectives goals while having fun and focus be a prison cell, is what I'm asking you to consider?

The Course in Miracles shows us that it becomes a prison cell when you produce goals based upon your regretful past experiences, perhaps where you recall failures too hard to handle.

Simply put, then you set the future on the past.

When all the time you are stuck within the border of your previous regrets and fear of the future, it creates the illusion that you are moving forward in life.

It's like driving your life vehicle on the path to success by searching in the rear view mirror all the time.

You have a fantastic vision of exactly what took place in the past, however haven't a hint about what is coming in front of you.

The point is: whatever took place in the past is not a true indication of your full potential.

As the late Wayne Dyer mentioned, "To pull your own strings and grow, you need to be both ready and willing to let your future and present be opposite your past. Your regret of the past is not your destiny."

If you continue to do exactly what you have constantly done then you can only anticipate getting the life of what you've constantly gotten, simply put.

The unfavorable in your mind or on exactly what is missing out on in your life you have no option but to focus and produce limited goals if you continuously focus on the past.

You are back in that prison cell once again and you need to break the cycle, so how do you do it?

You change your thinking, which means a chance to create the life you want is the meaning of success and to learn to develop and then pave the road ahead.

An opportunity to create a focus and objectives that you desire to attain, means answering to, where are you now, and where you want to go, and the being committed to taking action.

- Where are you in life?

- Explain your present scenario.

- What are your top priorities in life?

- Do you like where your life is going?

- Where do you wish to go?

Exactly what is the true meaning of success to you can be answered to the question of, 'when you are on your death-bed recalling your life' exactly what would you want to think your life was about?

Check out these concerns deeply and often until you feel you actually understand where you are now and where you wish to go.

How you arrive will end up being obvious as you advance, and without rushing, because time is on your side no matter what age you are.

Keep focused within, on your true inner essence, and think of you as opening a savings account or investment portfolio of the self, so to speak.

The more time you put in, the more credit and appreciation of your equities and bonds appear on the account and therefore in time the more is offered for withdrawal.

Now the crucial question:

Previously I discussed the many law of manifestation tools available today in the form of free e-books and so much more on the web that can be quite helpful for living your true free will.

So, exactly what holds you back?

What stops you from choosing exactly what you wish to accomplish in your life?

It is not enough simply to create a focus and a plan, and you must comprehend where you are now and where you want to go.

To change something you have to DO SOMETHING NOW!

Put your focus into action, because it's your focus and you have thought it, designed it and built it, now have the desire, enthusiasm and objective to execute it.

Since, at the minute, you have no evidence of what is going to happen, and the only evidence you have is in the past.

To regret the past and fear the future is only keeping you confined to your own self-made prison cell.

There is something miracle-minded about this process called life.

If you look back over your life you will discover, like many others have, that most of the time you set out to do something you didn't have the ability prior, but you started anyhow.

All you must muster up is self-discipline, enthusiasm and guts, and being aligned to your true free will while in this world.

To give yourself a better than typical opportunity for attaining the meaning of success, each night before you go to sleep use these words I've borrowed from the Course in Miracles in prayer or meditation:

If I lose or forget my goal in life let me remember what my purpose is.

Have the nerve to drive towards your goals and objectives, the passion and purpose with strong enthusiasm to keep going and the discipline to create a new practice even when it is difficult.

Keep focused and keep moving forward in life.

On a regular basis ask yourself, what did I do today to bring me closer to achieving my goals and objectives and my focus in life?

Begin right now in this instant to walk free of that self-made jail cell, because the door swings easily open.

(I suggest searching the web for further material on how to empower oneself with the power of manifestation material available today.)

To happiness and success!

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Ambition - A Passion That Motivates

Life is a competition - a daring adventure, and success usually comes to those who are ambitious. Ambition is a deep desire for achievement, and is propelled by an internal drive to fulfill one's dreams.

"Nothing can stop a man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goals; nothing on earth can help a man with the wrong attitude," says Thomas Jefferson.

Without ambition life is as insipid as a dish without salt and spices. No matter how intelligent and talented a person is, he will not be able to achieve much without ambition. Ambition gives us a purpose in life and helps to escape mediocrity. It envisages no short cuts. Sacrifices will have to be made and oppositions overcome. But nothing can compare with the joy of achieving one's goal.

There are people who are famous today because they did not abandon their ambitions. Nobody believed that a blind boy like David Hartman would become a doctor one day. He was discouraged by family and friends. His applications for admission to various medical colleges were ignored until Temple University School of Medicine in Philadelphia decided to give him a chance. The obstacles that seemed insurmountable were conquered through sheer determination and David completed his course successfully. Those who doubted a blind man's ability to complete such a rigorous course had to admit that David Hartman was 'supernormal.'

Bettina Bechgaard a 19 year old Ballet dancer who was to perform at the Sadler Wells Theatre in London, was knocked down by a car that left her with multiple fractures of her limbs and in a semi-comatose condition. But her fierce determination through grinding weeks of pain set her back on her dancing feet after a long period of recuperation. Through physiotherapy, psychotherapy and counseling, Bettina was back to dancing. Her strong ambition took control of her body and enabled her to perform pirouettes and other intricate steps. Nobody even noticed the hint of a wobble at times.

Poverty did not dampen the ambitions of many famous writers, who early in life had to struggle to survive, yet never succumbed to defeat. In his autobiography "Tell the Tale," Gabriel Garcia Marquez tells how he was desperate to write and be read. He kept scraps of paper in his pocket and kept writing through his penury and hardships. He even had to borrow a typewriter to type out his manuscripts. The world cheers at his rise to fame.

Stephen King the famous author was so poor that he had to borrow clothes for his wedding. He lived in a caravan with his wife on a hand-to-mouth existence. But poverty did not turn him away from his ambition of writing. Today he is one of the best known and richest of writers.

The story of J. K. Rowling's rise to fame is unbelievable. She had to type out the manuscript of 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' which was 90,0000 words long, on an old type writer. Each time she was rejected, she had to type the manuscript all over again, and the rejections were many. To her good luck the daughter of the CEO of Bloomsbury read the story and loved it. Since then Rowling has never looked back.

It is said that "The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight. But they, while their companions slept, were toiling upwards through the night."

Qualities of an ambitious person:

- He is the architect and builder of his life.

- He is organized, focused and self-motivated.

- He is persistent. "If at first you don't succeed, try and try again."

- He keeps his ears and eyes open for new ideas.

- He makes the best of the opportunities that come his way to enhance his personal development and growth.

How to stay true to one's ambition.

- Believe in the tremendous potential in every human being.

- Believe in yourself and be spurred on by your desire to excel.

- Define your values and goals.

- Chalk out workable plans to achieve your dreams.

- Never quit.

Some people have bad ambitions. They have a one-track mind to achieve wealth and power no matter on whose feet they trample and how many lives they destroy. This is not ambition but greed.

Joseph Conrad says "All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upwards on the miseries and credulities of mankind."

Oprah Winfrey who is now a famous superstar with her own TV Network is an example of somebody with ambition and drive. She fought her way through racism, sexual abuse, and obesity to educate herself and work her way to the top.

"Never envisage defeat," says Norman Vincent Peale, "Giving up is defeat of a personality." He encourages people to live by the principle "I can if I think I can."

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A Few Tips On The Journey To Success

For most people, there is no clarity in exactly what they are going to do today, tomorrow or for the rest of their life. The general habit is to go with the flow, find some time to eat and sleep and do whatever comes their way for the rest of the time. The reason for all this is because they are not clear about their purpose in life.

If you can determine and fix, where and what you want to get in life, the purpose of your life is defined. Have you, within your mind's eye, firmly generated an image of yourself, say about 5 years or 10 years from now? It could be anything. Could be related to your workplace, your financial or social status, or perhaps all of them.

Look around and spot successful people like businessmen, actors, sportsmen, head of organisation etc. It is easy to notice their charm, their confidence, their excitement, and enthusiasm. The body language speaks for itself.

Some tend to believe that external factors determine the cause of their happiness. Yes, to a certain extent our moods and feelings do get governed by our external situations. Yet it is important to understand that our true personal joy emanates from our character, determination, and conviction that resides within our internal self.

So, what is it that you need to have? Let us list a few of them below:

1. A Goal - Goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound.

2. Clarity of Action - create a path that determines your course of action.

3. A Burning Desire - a burning desire is your fuel to drive you forward.

4. Self Confidence - a belief in yourself that you have the ability to take up challenges and responsibilities.

5. Persistence - A never to quit attitude.

6. Focus - an ability to remain focused on your desire and the end result.

7. Create Excitement - an ability to keep the flame of excitement constantly burning.

8. Self-Recognition - an ability to recognise your achievements on the way.

Once you adopt the above process, people will start noticing you. It is possible then, that people will more likely approach and help you in some ways to meet your desired goals.

Remember however that there are no shortcuts. Work hard for all that matters to you. Once you work your way through and get familiar with the track, your journey to success will get accelerated.

In the end, we are fully responsible and accountable for our lives.

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How We Find Happiness in Life

Happiness is life's most desired goal. But we can never achieve it while we continue to look outside of ourselves, as it is an inside job.

"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude".

Throughout our evolutionary journey we have tried every strategy imaginable and searched almost everywhere in our quest for true happiness. We have had some great experiences and learnt a lot along the way, but we have never found what we are searching for. Eventually, we grow tired of searching and turn our attention to the one place we haven't looked so far; inside ourselves. True happiness is not something that can be sought and acquired; it is our soul's natural state of being, and we can only connect with by going within.

Anything we do, it is simply our inner quality that we are going to spread. We cannot do anything of tremendous value for our planet until anything of accurate value occurs within us. Thus, if we want to be connected to the world, the first thing we must do is to transform ourselves right into a happy beings.

It doesn't matter what we do in our life, whether it is business, studying or giving assistance to someone or some cause, we're doing it because deep down, it gives us satisfaction. Each activity that every individual executes on this globe rises from a desire. We were not unhappy when we were a child, as joy and happiness is a source which resides within each one of us. So all we have to do, is to go for it and take charge of that joy which is residing in us.

Everything in universe is in order. The sun comes wonderfully well up in the sky. The flowers flourish beautifully, no stars falls along, and the galaxies are functioning perfectly. Today, the whole cosmos is occurring divinely well, but just a negative thought worming up on our brain enables us to believe that today is a poor day.

Suffering occurs basically when most human beings shed perception in regards of what this life is all about. Our emotional process become far larger than the existential procedure, or our petty creation become far more critical compared to GOD's Creations, to place it bluntly. This is the way to obtain all suffering. We miss the complete sense of what this means to be alive here. An emotion within us or a thought within our mind establishes the nature of the experience right now. And our thought may have nothing to accomplish even with the restricted reality of our lifestyle. The entire creation is happening beautifully well but just one considered emotion can ruin everything.

Anything we consider as "our mind" isn't ours basically. It is merely society's empty talk. Everyone and anyone whom we encounter on a daily base put some idea or information in our head and we truly have no choice about whose idea we accept or don't accept. These information are advantageous once we learn HOW TO process them and use them. This accumulation of opinions and information that we collect is simply useful for our survival on the planet. It is not something which is related to who we are.

First thing we need to do in the morning when we get up, is to smile. At whom? No one. Since just the fact that we have woke up is not a small matter. A lot of thousands of people who slept yesterday evening didn't wake up today. Isn't it great that we woke up? So look as you wake up, look around you, if there is someone, and then smile at them. Because this morning, for numerous people, someone precious to them didn't get up. Then venture out, take a deep breath and look at the bushes. They didn't die yesterday either.

You may think this is really funny, but you won't know its reality until someone dear to you doesn't wakeup. So don't wait until you understand the value of it. Appreciate what you have, be happy that you are alive and everyone who matters to you is still around.

Of course, people who do not have food or the basic needs for living can feel physically miserable and their needs must be addressed. Our duty as a human being is to help and take care of such people when we encounter them. But most people are unhappy not as a result of what they don't have. It is because they compare their life to others. You are driving on a motorbike, you see somebody in a Mercedes and you become unhappy. But for someone who is driving a bicycle, your motorbike seems like a limousine.

Life is about learning and appreciating what GOD has created for us on this planet. It is not about twisting and distorting it. When we rely on the external situation to make us joyful and content, we could never feel true happiness. The quality of our life doesn't depend on what car we drive, how much money we have in a bank account, or how big our house is, but how content and happy we feel inside.

Although each one of us is unique, and what works for one may not for other, but there are simply areas that tend to make a big difference to people's happiness in life; and crucially they are all areas that are within our control:

1 - Care for others genuinely: Caring genuinely for others around us is essential to our happiness. Being caring means wishing the best for others, and acknowledging in them the same wants, needs, aspirations, and even fears that we have too. It means providing a listening ear, noticing when someone needs help, and helping our community without asking for a reward. Being caring allows us to have empathy for others and to live a life based on affection, love, and compassion for the people around us.

2 - Connect with people: "Happiness is influenced not only by the people you know, but by the people they know". This means that by surrounding ourselves with happier people we become happier, we make the people close to us happier, and make the people close to them happier. People with strong and vast social relationships are happier, healthier and live longer. Close relationship with family and friends brings love, compassion, meaning and belonging into our lives and grow our sense of self-worth. "To touch the soul of another human being is to walk on holy ground" ~ Stephen Covey

3 - Notice the world around you: Taking Notice is about observing those things that we find beautiful and being mindful of them in our daily life. It can be easy to rush through life without stopping to notice much. Paying more attention to the present moment, to our own thoughts and feelings, and to the world around us; can improve our wellbeing. Becoming more aware of the present moment not only help us to enjoy the world around us more and understand ourselves better, but also recognize anew things that we have been taking for granted.

4 - Have something to look forward to: Happiness in anticipation is the key here. By having something to look forward to, no matter how our situations, bring happiness into our life, well before the circumstance happen. If your life is series of undesirable duties, commitments, and unpleasant tasks, take some time to find out something that YOU would find enjoyable. And make time to do it. "Happiness is the anticipation and the realization of the fulfilment of a dream".

5 - Avoid false beliefs and expectations: "Our authentic happiness is blocked by our false belief that life should be how we want it to be. The expectation that accompanies this false belief sets us up for disappointment, frustration, anger and unhappiness". Our expectations create our reality and they change our lives emotionally and physically. Unreasonable expectations can make life extremely hard and unhappy. These expectations are actually designed by our ego, as nothing give our ego a stronger sense of self-identity as an experience that supports our sad life-story. "In other words, we unconsciously create expectations so we can feel sad and disappointed when they are not met. Our ego is addicted to sadness and painful emotions". Master to drop all expectations and open your heart, begin to love yourself, and move beyond your ego. Embrace freedom from your ego.

6 - Be comfortable with who you are: Finding ourselves, our authenticity will help us to feel our beauty. When we endeavour to be who we are, to be true to ourselves, and accept ourselves with all our flaws and imperfections, we will automatically feel attractive and unique. Beauty is never dependent upon the approval of others. Quite the contrary, beauty is very much self-defined and self-created. "To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself." ~Thich Nhat Hanh. By accepting ourselves and becoming kinder to ourselves we will be able to see our shortcomings as opportunities to learn and grow.

7 - Find a purpose in life: We all have intact potential, perhaps even areas of intelligence, to become something entirely different, or somehow more than what we appear to be right now. People who find meaning and purpose in their lives are happier, feel more in control and get more out of what they do. They become less stressed, anxious, or depressed. But how do we find meaning and purpose in life? We're all wired differently. Some of us feel more connected to nature, others find meaning by employing in nurturing. The key is to know what works for us. Learning to live our purpose is essentially a spiritual exercise, and an inside job. Search how and what give you that sense of fulfilment and deep connection; and then peruse it in all that you do.

8 - Train yourself to be more positive: There is the positive aspect in everything, in every person, in every situation. Sometimes it's not obvious and we have to look hard. Even when we are faced with a difficult situation we can think to ourselves "What is good about this?" No matter how unpleasant the circumstance might look, we always can find something good if we take the time to think about it. Everything, good or bad is a learning experience. And there is always lesson to be gained from every bad experience. "There are moments when troubles enter our lives and we can do nothing to avoid them. But they are there for a reason. Only when we have overcome them will we understand why they were there" ~ Paulo Coelho

9 - Live Mindfully: "Life is not what it's supposed to be. It's what it is. The way you cope with it is what makes the difference" ~ Virginia Satir. Life is full of challenges. The way we manage them, can make a difference between whether we let them to control our lives, or we find a way to embrace every challenge as it arises. By practicing mindfulness we can find a more empowering way to react to the challenges life brings us. It also helps us to train our mind, manage our thoughts and feelings, and reduce stress and anxiety.

10 - Take care of your body: "Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care." ~Buddha. There is a powerful mind-body connection through which emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioural factors can directly affect our health. Being active makes us happier as well as healthier. By spending time outdoors, eating healthy foods, and getting enough sleep, we can improve our wellbeing. A serene mind really is nothing without a healthy body to carry it, so show your body the same compassion that you show everyone, by taking care of it.

It is positively time now that we look inside of ourselves and see HOW TO produce personal wellbeing. From our own experience of life we can clearly observe that wellbeing will come to us when we change our perception on life. We need to realize, if we are determined to create our happiness and wellbeing by the outside factors it will never happens. As nothing will be %100 the way we want them to be. When we accept this fact, then we will be able to work on ourselves as an individual to become the person we want to be. And happiness will be our only choice which has been our authentic nature by creation in the first place. "Focus on the journey, not the destination. Joy is found not in finishing an activity but in doing it." ~ Greg Anderson

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16 Rich Habits

 


Your autopilot mode can make you wealthy or poor.

Intelligence, talent and charm are great, but more often than not these aren’t what separate the wealthiest among us from the poorest.

Instead, the differences are in our daily habits. Do you realize that these subconscious, second-nature activities make up 40 percent of our waking hours? That means that two out of every five minutes, all day and every day, we operate on autopilot. It’s true: Habits are neural pathways stored in the basal ganglia, a golf ball-size mass of tissue right in the center of our brains, in the limbic system.

This neural fast lane is meant to save the brain energy: When a habit is formed and stored in this region, the parts of the brain involved in deeper decision-making cease to fully participate in the activity. However, we all know there are good habits and bad habits.

I spent years studying the difference between the habits of our country’s rich and poor, questioning hundreds of individuals. On the rich side, these were people with annual gross income north of $160,000 and net liquid assets of $3.2 million or more. I defined the lesser-off as those with gross income of $35,000 or less and no more than $5,000 in liquid assets. When I was done, I analyzed the results of my research and boiled down the responses to create a picture of what allows the wealthy to prosper where others do not. My ensuing book became a sort of instruction manual for how to become wealthy.

The gulf between Rich Habits and Poverty Habits is staggering. If you’re well off already, chances are you already adhere to most of these Rich Habits. Integrating the ones you’ve neglected will push you further. But be assured: If you’re doing fine now without minding these principles, it’ll catch up to you.

Some of the differences between rich and poor are obvious, while others are a little more surprising. Here are the most important Rich Habits you can take up to reach and maintain your wealth potential.

1. Live within your means.

Wealthy people avoid overspending by paying their future selves first. They save 20 percent of their net income and live on the remaining 80 percent.

Among those who are struggling financially, almost all are living above their means. They spend more than they earn, and their debt is overwhelming them. If you want to end your financial struggles, you need to make a habit of saving and budgeting what you spend. Here are some sensible ways to budget your monthly net pay:

• Spend no more than 25 percent on housing, no matter if you own or rent.
• Spend no more than 15 percent on food.
• Limit entertainment—bars, movies, miniature golf, whatever—to no more than 10  percent of your spending. Vacations should account for no more than 5 percent of your annual net pay.
• Spend no more than 5 percent on auto loans, and never lease. Ninety-four percent of the wealthy buy instead of leasing. These folks keep their cars until the wheels fall off, taking great care along the way so that they save money in the long run.
• Stay away from accumulating credit card debt. If you are doing this, it’s a clear sign that you need to cut back somewhere.
• Think of savings and investments as two completely different things. You should never lose money on your savings. Try to stash six months of living expenses in an emergency fund in case you lose your job or your business goes belly-up.
• Contribute as much as you can afford to a retirement plan. If you work for a company that matches your contributions up to a certain percentage, great. Always take that free money when you can get it.

2. Don’t gamble.

Talk about a sucker bet: Every week, 77 percent of those who struggle financially play the lottery. Hardly anyone who is wealthy plays the numbers. Wealthy people do not rely on random good luck for their wealth. They create their own good luck. If you still want to bet after knowing the risk, use money from your entertainment budget.

3. Read every day.

Reading information that will increase your knowledge about your business or career will make you more valuable to colleagues, customers or clients. Among wealthy people, 88 percent read 30 minutes or more every day. Just as important, they make good use of their reading time:

• 63 percent listen to audiobooks during their commute.
• 79 percent read educational career-related material.
• 55 percent read for personal development.
• 58 percent read biographies of successful people.
• 94 percent read current events.
• 51 percent read about history.
• 11 percent—only 11 percent—read purely for entertainment purposes.

The reason successful people read is to improve themselves. This separates them from the competition. By increasing their knowledge, they are able to see more opportunities, which translate into more money. Comparatively speaking, only one in 50 of those struggling financially engages in this daily self-improvement reading, and as a result the poor don’t grow professionally and are among the first to be fired or downsized.

4. Forget the boob tube and spend less time surfing the Internet.

How much of your valuable time do you lose parked in front of a screen? Two-thirds of wealthy people watch less than an hour of TV a day and almost that many—63  percent—spend less than an hour a day on the Internet unless it is job-related.

Instead, these successful people use their free time engaged in personal development, networking, volunteering, working side jobs or side businesses, or pursuing some goal that will lead to rewards down the road. But 77 percent of those struggling financially spend an hour or more a day watching TV, and 74 percent spend an hour or more a day using the Internet recreationally.

5. Control your emotions.

Not every thought needs to come out of your mouth. Not every emotion needs to be expressed. When you say whatever is on your mind, you risk hurting others. Loose lips are a habit for 69 percent of those who struggle financially. Conversely, 94 percent of wealthy people filter their emotions. They understand that letting emotions control them can destroy relationships at work and at home. Wait to say what’s on your mind until you’re calm and have had time to look at the situation objectively.

Fear is perhaps the most important negative emotion to control. Any change, even positive changes such as marriage or a promotion, can prompt feelings of fear. Wealthy people have conditioned their minds to overcome these thoughts, while those who struggle financially give in to fear and allow it to hold them back.

Whether you fear change, making mistakes, taking risks or simply failure, conquering these emotions is about leaning in just a little until you build up confidence. It’s amazing how much confidence helps.

6. Network and volunteer regularly.

You’ll build valuable relationships that can result in more customers or clients, or help you land a better job if you spend time pressing the flesh and giving back in your community. Almost three-quarters of wealthy people network and volunteer a minimum of five hours a month. Among those struggling financially, only one in 10 does this.

One perk of volunteering is the company you’ll keep. Very often the boards and committees of nonprofits are made up of wealthy, successful people. Developing personal relationships with these folks will often result in future business relationships.

7. Go above and beyond in work and business.

Unsuccessful people have “it’s not in my job description” syndrome. Consequently, they are never given more responsibility, and their wages grow very little from year to year—if they keep their jobs at all. Wealthy individuals, on the other hand, make themselves invaluable to their employers or customers, writing articles related to their industry, speaking at industry events and networking. Successful people work hard to achieve the mutual goals of their employers or their businesses.

8. Set goals, not wishes.

You cannot control the outcome of a wish, but you can control the outcome of a goal.

Every year, 70 percent of the wealthy pursue at least one major goal. Only 3 percent of those struggling to make ends meet do this.

9. Avoid procrastination.

Successful people understand that procrastination impairs quality; creates dissatisfied employers, customers or clients; and damages other nonbusiness relationships. Here are five strategies that will help you avoid procrastination:

•  Create daily “to-do” lists. These are your daily goals. You want to complete 70 percent or more of your “to-do” items every day.
•  Have a “daily five.” These activities represent the crucial things that will help you get closer to realizing some major purpose or goal.
•  Set and communicate artificial deadlines. There’s nothing wrong with finishing early.
•  Have accountability partners. These are people you team with to pursue a big goal. Communicate with them at least every week, and make sure they hold your feet to the fire.
• Say a “do it now” affirmation. This is a self-nagging technique. Repeat the words “do it now” over and over again until you begin a task or project.

10. Talk less and listen more.

A 5-to-1 ratio is about right: You should listen to others five minutes for every one minute that you speak. Wealthy people are good communicators because they are good listeners. They understand that you can learn and educate yourself only by listening to what other people have to say. The more you learn about your relationships, the more you can help them.

11. Avoid toxic people.

We are only as successful as the people we spend the most time with. Of wealthy, successful people, 86 percent associate with other successful people. But 96 percent of those struggling financially stick with others struggling financially.

If you want to end your financial struggles, you need to evaluate each of your relationships and determine if they are a Rich Relationship (with someone who can help you up) or a Poverty Relationship (with someone holding you back). Start spending more and more time on your Rich Relationships and less on your Poverty Relationships. Rich Relationships can help you find a better job, refer new business to you or open doors of opportunity.

12. Don’t give up.

Those who are successful in life have three things in common: focus, persistence and patience. They simply do not quit chasing their big goals. Those who struggle financially stop short.

13. Set aside the self-limiting beliefs holding you back.

If you’re hurting financially, you’ve probably told yourself some of these untruths before: Poor people can’t become rich. Rich people have good luck and poor people have bad luck. I’m not smart. I can’t do anything right. I fail at everything I try.

Each one of these self-limiting beliefs alters your behavior in a negative way. Almost four out of five wealthy people attribute their success in life to their beliefs. Change your negative beliefs into positive affirmations by reading lessons from the greats of personal development, like Napoleon Hill, Dale Carnegie and Jim Rohn.

14. Get a mentor.

Among the wealthy, 93 percent who had a mentor attributed their success to that person. Mentors regularly and actively participate in your growth by teaching you what to do and what not to do. Finding such a teacher is one of the best and least painful ways to become rich.

If you know your goals, find someone who has already achieved them. You’ll be amazed by how many people want to lend a helping hand.

15. Eliminate “bad luck” from your vocabulary.

Those struggling financially in life have a way of creating bad luck for themselves. It’s a byproduct of their habits. Poverty Habits, repeated over and over are like snowflakes on a mountainside. In time, these snowflakes build up until the inevitable avalanche—a preventable medical problem, a lost job, a failed marriage, a broken business relationship or a bankruptcy.

Conversely, successful people create their own unique type of good luck. Their positive habits lead to opportunities such as promotions, bonuses, new business and good health.

16. Know your main purpose.

It’s the last Rich Habit, but it might be the most important. Those people who pursue a dream or a main purpose in life are by far the wealthiest and happiest among us. Because they love what they do for a living, they are happy to devote more hours each day driving toward their purpose.

Odds are, if you are not making sufficient income at your job, it is because you are doing something you do not particularly like. When you can earn a sufficient income doing something you enjoy, you have found your main purpose.

Believe it or not, finding this purpose is easy. Here’s the process:

1. Make a list of everything you can remember that made you happy.

2. Highlight those items on your list that involve a skill, and identify that skill.

3. Rank the top 10 highlighted items in the order of joy they bring to you. Whatever makes you happiest of all gets 10 big points.

4. Now rank the top 10 highlighted items in terms of their income potential. The most lucrative skill of all is worth 10 points.

5. Total the two ranked columns. The highest score represents a potential main purpose in your life. Presto!

http://www.success.com/article/16-rich-habits

I Successfully Manage Challenges in Life

As some of you may have found out already, life can be tough and at times it is hard to go on. It might just last for a short period of time, or seemingly forever. Do we quit? Do we give up? Definitely not! If you have a strong purpose in life, a big WHY you do what you do, you will never be defeated! Don't forget, and keep in mind, you are not the first person to face a challenge, and it also won't be the last time you will be challenged. Hope will carry you through, and hope will never let you give up. With hope in your heart you will see better days ahead, and look at the hardships you are facing, as a means to elevate yourself to a higher plateau. Look at a person enjoying a great mountaintop view, they did not fall up the mountain. They went through the challenges of climbing up the mountain, finally reaching the summit.

As we go through life, discouragements and nasty storms may hit us so hard, that we consider throwing in the towel. Life is never easy, and you may not know how courageous you really are, until you are in a situation, where the only thing that will save you is your courage. Your inner strength not only has the ability to persist through hardship, but also the ability to wait out the storm. Learn from a palm tree, when the winds are blowing hard it will just bend, and after the storm passes, it stands tall once again. As with the palm tree, nothing can get you down, if you build on your inner strength, and take charge of your thoughts.

Never let the negative winds from well-meaning friends turn into a storm by feeding on their input. Remember, garbage in - garbage out! Feed your mind with positive things. Surround yourself with positive people, who support you when life gets rough. Keep in mind, as a man thinkest in his heart and mind, so is he. With a positive mindset, and a positive support system, you can overcome any challenge in life. It all depends on you. You can turn any obstacle you face, into a testimonial of your courage. Life's challenges are the gateway to greater possibilities!

It all starts with a goal

Setting Goals to Keep Yourself Motivated.

Some of us look at the achievements of successful people in awe, and think that you have to be some kind of a god to elevate yourself to such high standards, but the truth behind their success is that they take all of the emotions that come their way, whether good or bad, and direct them towards achieving their goals. We are all human, and as humans we are prone to ups and downs. You will undoubtedly find setbacks along the way. This is just the way life is. What keeps successful people going, is that they react to these setbacks by picking themselves up, and keeping their minds focused.

Making Your Mind Work for You

Successful people always have "success" on their minds. This is why, wherever they are, or whatever they do, the one thing on their minds is how best to achieve the goals that they have set

When you understand how your brain works, it becomes easier to achieve the goals you set out for yourself. The first step is, of course, setting goals. Next you want to visualize yourself having achieved these goals, and how great you will feel about yourself once you have achieved them, and how much you will enjoy the process of getting there.

http://ezinearticles.com/?I-Successfully-Manage-Challenges-in-Life&id=9312608