Success Principle #2: Be Clear Why You Are Here

OK, week #2 and 2nd in the series “Mark & Jack: 52.4 Weeks of Living the Success Principles.”  This week we deal with purpose, significance, meaningful lives … lightweight stuff like that.

Some people drift aimlessly through life.  Others specifically state that humans (themselves included I suspect) have no purpose or that the question - what is your purpose in life - is meaningless.

I dont buy it. 

If you get into a spiritual arguement about the meaning or existence of God, free will and if you have a role as a part of God’s plan, I agree - this might make your head hurt.  However, if you are able to discover how your life has meaning and significance you are on the right track.  How do you do this?This is exactly what I teach people how to do in developing Your Inner Expert, my method of helping people to develop a niche that is willing and able to compensate you for what you do best: Be Yourself. 

The first step is to Identify Your Inner Expert - who you are, what you want and the passions and Read more

Success Principle #1: Take 100% Responsibility For Your Life

And so it begins…52.4 weeks of The Success Principles.

Taking responsibility for your life is a given.  I soooo get this one.  It is really easy to fall into a pattern where there is ALWAYS someone else you can blame for what has happened to you and where you are in your life.  And to complain about it.  You have said it yourself or you have heard it from others:

1. I had a horrible childhood (parents beat/abused you, i was raised by wolves in the forest, etc)
2. I have this … problem (fill in latest made up disease…can you even keep up with the acronyms?)
3. They (family members, kids, co-workers, Moms at the bus stop where you drop off the kids, the CIA) are out to get me.
4. Life is not fair … why do these thing always happen to me?

Get the idea?  Well then knock it off!  What we need to get is that we have the power to change just about anything in our lives.  No, you cannot grow another limb if you are an amputee.  No you cannot instantly have $1.237M in your bank account (I dont like round numbers).  But you can change your attitude about how you react to your circumstances and what you are going to do about it.  You can get a prosthesis, you can start working towards that $1.237M.

THIS principle is truly one of the secrets to success in anything: Accept responsibility for who you are RIIGHT NOW and pay attention to how you react to your reality on a daily basis … it is all you really control. 

Success Action For The Day: Think of the last time you got mad at someone for something.  Think about how you reacted and come up with at least 3 other ways you could have reacted.  Which option makes you feel better, emotionally or physically?  Which puts you closer to joy?  Is this the reaction you chose?  Think about - and commit to - how you will react differently next time.

Mark & Jack: 52.4 Weeks Living The Success Principles, pt. 2

In my last blog, I mentioned my new Crusade,  52.4 weeks of living The Success Principles as detailed by Jack Canfield in his book of the same name.   If you are someone who has done any amount of self-help type work, you know that not everything you read or someone else recommends - is going to work for you and your situation.  The purpose of this blog series is to help show other people how they can find out for themselves what really works.  

The other reasons I’m doing this?  Personal Growth.  It couldn’t hurt to set a goal of working through one of these Principles every week to integrate them into my life (there are actually 64 Principles in the bookso I will have to consolidate - or just ignore - a few to stick with my title).  I am NOT going to use much content from the book other than the title of the individual principles and how they apply, in my own words, to me.  Anything that is Jack’s … I will attribute to Jack (as I should).

I also plan on working up a process that I can use in my own coaching services (have to walk the walk) for helping people fine tune the behaviors and actions consistent with success that work in THIER lives.   I will integrate this into my system for creating wealth - The Wealth Manifesto: Training and Tools for a Thriving Life.

And finally (I’ll be honest), there is a marketing element to this.  I took about 4 months off from doing anything with my coaching and speaking business.  It’s time to get back into the fray.  This is a timely idea to play on the recent movie Julie & Julia (that’s where the 524 comes from … 524 recipes are included in the Joy of French Cooking).  Maybe I’ll even get Jack’s attention (and hopefully not that of his lawyers … hey, lighten up it’s good advertizing for Jack!).

This is a process … a work in progress.  It has a beginning - I am not sure about the end.  I’ll be getting started tomorrow with Success Principle Number 1: Take 100% responsbility for your life. 

We will see together where it takes us.