Put your head underwater and keep it there for a while. You’ll soon realize that you’re 100% committed to breathing. Notice that you don’t make excuses not to breathe. Notice that you don’t worry about motivating yourself to breathe. Notice that you don’t need to justify your desire to breathe. You just breathe. Commitment is [...]

The harder I work, the luckier I get. – Samuel Goldwyn Arbeit Macht Frei is a slogan on a sign above the entrance to the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland (among other concentration camps used by the Nazis). It roughly translates as, “Work sets you free.” What the Nazis expressed with cruel irony, I say seriously. [...]

While I normally write for people who are interested in improving their lives, I’m aware that many are committed to the opposite path. These people deliberately decline steps that would lead to measurable improvements. They prefer that everything goes wrong — for as long as possible. Sometimes they screw up and accidentally do something right. [...]

Even when you take the time to set clear goals, visualize success, and break big goals down into projects and action steps, it can be difficult to get yourself to take action consistently until your goal is 100% complete. Crossing the starting line is much easier than crossing the finish line. Your overall results in [...]

“The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable man persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.” – George Bernard Shaw In reading the biographies of very successful men and women, one theme frequently surfaces: such people have a strong bias for action. Those [...]

There’s a big difference between completing a project and perfecting a project. Perfectionism frequently works against the drive for completion. A final work product doesn’t have to be perfect to produce strong results. However, the project must be essentially complete. A mediocre but complete film script can still be made into a movie. A beautifully [...]

In the previous post, I mentioned that I’d share a method for achieving goals where you aren’t already a good match for the goal. For example, how do you become a millionaire if your vibe is riddled with thoughts and feelings of scarcity? I’ll share that process with you now. If you haven’t read the [...]

For years I’ve been recommending the 30-day trial as a way to install a new habit or replace a bad habit. Many people, myself included, have used this practice to successfully make behavioral changes — and have them stick. Now it’s time for the advanced version: The 30-Day Supertrial. [cue trumpets] A Quick Review When conducting [...]

Many time management experts label procrastination in strictly negative terms such as “the thief of time.” But is procrastination always such a negative experience? Is there a positive side to procrastination, one that may even encourage you to procrastinate more often? What if you could see procrastination from a more empowering perspective? What if you [...]

The past does not equal the future is a favorite saying of Tony Robbins. Unfortunately he’s dead wrong. I can understand Tony’s intent in making such a statement. Sure it’s part of his overall sales pitch, but essentially he’s telling people that they have the power to break from the past and use their power [...]