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2015-12-09T20:20:00.005-07:00

Hello and Welcome to Path For Freedom Blog. Here you will find information that will help in personal growth, leadership, inspiration and motivation.

My name is Susan Goodknight and I'm a wife and successful work at home mom of 3 beautiful children.

I am fortunate that I am able to be home with my family and still contribute to our household income. It is my passion to help to inspire and motivate others to accomplish goals they set for themselves.

I began my work at home journey in March of 2005 after the birth of our 3rd child. I didn't know much about personal development and it is something that I have spent a lot of time on over the past five years. I have read many books and listened to many audios and I've found that the more we work on ourselves the more success in life we will have.

I hope you enjoy this blog and use it to inspire and motivate you to go after your dreams and become the person you've always wanted to be.

Susan Goodknight

800-581-3944

Susan Goodknight Inspiration & Personal Development

2010-09-09T20:28:00.000-06:00

www.SusanGoodknight.com

Planning Your Year by Brian Tracy

2010-01-12T13:07:00.001-07:00

Resolve today to make the coming year the very best year of your life. Resolve today to draw a line under your past and to focus very clearly on your future. Resolve today that you are going to set goals, make plans, take actions and achieve more in the coming year than perhaps you have ever accomplished in any one single year before.

One of the great rules for success is this: "It doesn't matter where you're coming from; all that really matters is where you're going!"

No matter what you have done or accomplished in the past, "that was then and this is now."

The very best days, weeks, months and years of your life lie ahead. The most exciting accomplishments and the greatest achievements are still to come. As Shakespeare said, "The past is merely a prelude."

As it happens, everyone has goals. But some people seem to accomplish their goals far more systematically and with greater assurance than others. Why is this? The answer is simple. People who accomplish goals at a higher rate than the average are people who use a systematic, proven method of goal setting and goal attainment.

Perhaps the two most important qualities of success are focus and concentration. Focus means knowing exactly what it is you want and concentration means having the discipline to concentrate single-mindedly on one thing, the most important thing, until it is complete.

If you have these qualities, and both of these qualities are learned through practice, you can accomplish virtually anything. There are no limits on your future if you can focus and concentrate every hour of every single day.

The starting point of setting goals for the coming year is for you to project forward and think back. Practice what we call "Back from the Future" thinking. Project forward to the end of the next twelve months and ask yourself, "If everything happens perfectly, what will it look like?"

The one quality of men and women who become leaders in their own lives and societies, throughout all of history is the quality of vision. They have the ability to visualize. They can see the future well in advance of it becoming a reality. They can then see the steps that they will need to take to get from where they are to where they want to go.

So if your next twelve months were ideal, in every respect, what would happen or, what would have happened, at the end of that twelve month period?

You need to set goals that are multi-dimensional. You need to set goals for every part of your life so that you function like a well-oiled machine, like a balanced wheel that goes around smoothly in every respect. You need goals for your health, for your career, for your finances, for your relationships, for your personal and professional development, for your community and for your spiritual growth. Nothing happens by accident. Everything happens for a reason. And you are the "primary creative force" in your own life. You are the reason. Things are happening in your life because you make them happen, not because you sit around and wait for them to happen.

Here is the basic seven-step model of goal setting. You can use this like breathing in and breathing out on a regular basis to accelerate your attainment of any goal you can imagine for yourself.

Step number one is for you to decide exactly what you want. This immediately moves you into a separate category of people because most people have no idea of what they really want. Clarity is the most important single quality of goal-setting and perhaps the most important single quality of success. Decide exactly what you want in each area of your life. Instead of fuzzy goals like more money, better health and happiness, be specific about exactly how much more money you want to earn in a specific period of time and combine that with exactly what level of health and fitness you desire.

Most people are unconsciously preoccupied with the fear of failure. It is the greatest single obstacle to success in adult life. And the fear of failure can work on you unconsciously by blocking you from setting clear specific goals. Why? Well, if you don't set clear, specific goals, then you can't fail to achieve them. So your subconscious mind is actually protecting you by helping you to avoid failure.

You must resist and overcome this tendency by having the courage to be bold and specific about exactly what you want. This is step number one.

Step number two is for you to write it down. Only three percent of living Americans, or adults anywhere for that matter, have written goals. Everyone else that thinks about a written goal and plans to write them down, someday. But they never get around to it. Most people spend more time making a list of groceries before they go shopping or planning a vacation than they do in planning their lives. But again, this is not for you. Success begins with a pad of paper, a pen and a few minutes of your time. One of the most important keys to success is to "think on paper."

All successful people "think on paper." And here are two important points. If you cannot write it down clearly and specifically on a piece of paper, then it means that you are not really clear about it yourself. Perhaps you don't even want it. What is worse, it may be that you are afraid that you may not attain it. Nonetheless, a goal that is written down is merely a fantasy or a wish. A goal that is clearly written and described on a piece of paper takes on a power of its own, it is now something concrete that you can touch and feel and work with.

The second principle of writing goals down is that something miraculous happens between the head and the hand. When you actually write a goal down, it is as if you are programming it into your subconscious mind and activating a whole series of mental powers that will enable you to accomplish more than you ever dreamed of. By writing it down you intensify your desire for the goal and you increase your belief that the goal is possible. You begin to expect to achieve the goal and you start to attract people and circumstances into your life that are consistent with the attainment of the goal. Writing your goal down is one of the most amazing of all goal-setting skills and it is a key to your success.

The third step is for you to set a deadline. If it is a large goal, set a series of sub-deadlines. A deadline acts as a "forcing system" on your subconscious mind and begins to move you toward your goal rapidly while it moves your goal toward you.

Sometimes people ask me, "What if I set a goal and I don't achieve it by the deadline?" The answer is simple. Set another deadline. Remember, a deadline is a guess-timate of when you will achieve it. Sometimes you will achieve your goal well in advance of your deadline. Sometimes goals will take much longer than you expect. But you must have a target time before you set off.

It is like making a reservation at a restaurant. You may be five minutes early or five minutes late, but you always have a specific time for which your dinner is reserved.

The fourth step is for you to make a list of everything you could possibly think of that you will have to do to achieve your goal. The more comprehensive your list, the more motivated you will become, the more intense will be your desire and the more you will believe it possible.

One of the things that hold people back is even if they get to the point of a written goal; they do not take the time to lay out a list of all the little things they will have to do to get there. And with additional experience, you will add new items to your list until it finally becomes complete.

The fifth step of goal setting is for you to take your list and organize it into a plan. A plan is really quite simple. It is a list organized by priority and importance. You decide what you will do first and what you will do later. You decide what is more important and what is less important. And most of all, you decide upon the one thing that is more important than anything else that you can do immediately to begin moving more rapidly towards your goal.

Step number six is for you to "take action!" This is the big killer for most people. They are procrastinators. They have great ideas combined with great hopes and dreams. They may even get to the point of writing down their goals. But when it comes to taking action, they always have a reason or excuse to procrastinate to put it off until a later time. However, as the Bible says, "Faith without deeds is dead."

It is when you launch toward your goal that you begin to feel the desire and power that goes along with goal setting. And once you have launched toward your goal, it is much easier for you to continue moving in that direction.

Step number seven is for you to do something every day to move you toward your major goal. Never let a day go by without you engaging in some action that helps you move another step in the direction of what you really, really want in life.

Remember, you can't hit a target that you can't see. And if you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there. The simple seven step act of deciding exactly what you want, writing it down, setting a deadline, making a list, organizing the list into a plan, taking action on the most important item on your list and then doing something every day towards your goal will change your life and your future in ways that you cannot even dream of today.

By Brian Tracy

http://www.briantracy.com/

A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. -Winston Churchill

2010-01-11T15:03:00.002-07:00

This is a quote that I love because it says everything of a person. Our life will be what we want of it once we open our eyes and our mind to focus on the good rather than the bad in life.

When a person is full of negative thoughts they will attract negativity in their life. Its like when you are focusing on the lack of money and all the bills that are coming in... You go to your mail box and what do you find but more bills? However, you shift your focus to begin thinking more positive and thinking of the money that will be coming in and how you can get more money coming in you soon find checks in your mail box vs all the bills.

We must always be alert to our thoughts and maintain a positive life. This is something that I've personally worked on for the past 4 years and I love how it makes me feel. I no longer focus on problems, my focus is now on the solutions because first of all there is a solution for every problem. It just depends on how you choose to look at it.

So, the next time something negative creeps into your thoughts, I encourage you to focus on the solution and the positive of that thought.

Don't Make New Years Resolutions, Set Goals and Take ACTION!

2010-01-04T19:09:00.002-07:00

Its the new year and its the time when many are setting themselves up for disappointment in their New Year's resolutions. Why disappointment you might ask. Well, let's face it. When you have set a New Year's Resolution for yourself in the past have you fulfilled it? Most people do not. This is because they are not set properly and there is no action steps involved other than simply saying something like... "I want to lose weight" or "I want to earn more money" or "I want to spend more quality time with my family" or "I want to get out of debt" as those are the 'norm' for New Year's Resolutions. There is nothing behind them. they are vague with lack of action thus meaning most people won't achieve their New Year's Resolutions.

There is something about the new year that encourages most people to set New Year's Resolutions. This is a fresh start and a new beginning and there is POWER in that. So when we choose to embrace this feeling of accomplishment and power and then focus on our future and the goals we wish to accomplish we really can claim VICTORY in 2010.

Focus on making a commitment to yourself in setting achievable goals and taking action in this New Year. You might find greater success and accomplishment in doing so. To help you get started on your goal setting here are some quick tips to follow.

Set Specific Goals - When setting your goals it is important for you to be as specific as possible. The more specific and measurable your goals the easier you'll be able to tell you've reached them.

For instance... If you set a goal for yourself by saying you want to "increase the amount of money you make" then how will you know you've really accomplished your goal? You can increase your income with just one sale!

If, on the other hand, your goal is to "increase you income X amount per quarter and be earning X amount by year end", you have something you actually measure, track progress against, and use to push yourself to new levels of success.

This is something you can look at on a monthly basis and see what you still need in order to accomplish your small term quarterly and year end longer term goal.

No matter the goals you set for yourself this year just keep your focus and take action to accomplish them. To help you get off to a good start in setting goals I wanted to share with you this phenomenal book on goals that has helped more than 1 million people to achieve extraordinary things in life. Author Brian Tracy explains the seven key elements of goal setting and the 12 steps necessary to set and accomplish goals of any size.

Be patient and recognize that most changes occur slowly, over an extended period of time. If you don't get immediate results, don't be surprised and DON'T QUIT! With setting your goals and having the right attitude you will accomplish them and go onto to have an amazing 2010!

Susan Goodknight

How To Get Out Of Your Own Way by Jim Allen

2009-12-15T10:26:00.008-07:00

1. Face Facts: YOU may just be the bump in the road that's slowing you down.

Often the most difficult step in getting out of one's own way is recognizing that you are indeed, in it. When you encounter problems in achieving your goals, carefully consider whether or not you are the source of those problems.

2. You can do anything you want. However, you may not be able to do everything you want.

Most of the time we get in our own ways by trying to do too much all at once. By working hard at trying to do everything we end up accomplishing very little. Concentrating on one or two projects at a time will actually increase your chances getting what you want.

3. To get a clear picture, you've got to focus.

Once you know which project(s) you will tackle, you must focus on what it will take to really do those projects. Create step-by-step plans for what you will do and when you will do them.

4. If it's on paper, it's a plan. If it's in your head, it's a dream.

Many are reluctant to actually put their plans down on paper. Putting plans to paper is the first physical step to take towards achieving one's desires. Without a written plan most people will start a project but soon be distracted by the many little things that pop up.

5. Just because you're moving doesn't mean you're getting ahead.

A sure sign of a person getting in their own way is when they are working very hard, but not getting any closer to achieving their goals. (This is also one of the most frequent effects of not having a written plan.)

To move forward you must take the proper actions at the proper times.

6. Not choosing IS choosing.

Another roadblock we create is by over-thinking our options to the point of inactivity. "I could do A, B, or C" we tell ourselves. "I better think about it." Then we proceed to ponder. . . but we never actually decide. What we're really doing, though, is deciding to do nothing.

But guess what?

If you do nothing, you get nothing.

7. Concentrate on what will work.

Some people are very good at finding all of the reasons why something won't work. So good that they talk themselves out of even trying.

Don't compound potential negatives, compound the positives and concentrate on why things will work for you!

8. If it's not working, STOP DOING IT!

One definition of insanity reads: "Doing the same thing over and over, but expecting a different result each time." I tend to think of that more as a definition of humanity.

Whether caused by determination, pride, or mere stubbornness, many have trouble recognizing and admitting that things aren't working. If that's you, adopt a new motto: "Just don't do it!" When things stop working, stop doing them, readjust, and move on.

9. When you just don't know, get help.

We can't know everything. We can't always solve everything. When that's the case, get help. There are businesses, counselors, consultants, and coaches who can work with you on almost any trouble spot you may encounter. Use them.

10. If it doesn't make you happy, don't do it.

Working towards your goals may not always be easy. You may not have fun every moment as you wend your way but, overall, you should enjoy what you are doing because it's what you want to do. If that's not true then you definitely need to re-evaluate your goals or how you are pursuing them.

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© Jim Allen; CoachJim.com; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Jim Allen is a professional life coach, speaker, and writer. Get more great ideas in your email every week by subscribing to Jim's weekly newsletter, THE BIG IDEA, by by visiting: http://www.coachjim.com/subscribe.html

Do You Have Passion?

2009-12-11T00:02:00.000-07:00

I think its easy to agree that having passion in your life is important. Passion is what helps us to excel and become all we can. Its was really gets our hearts racing with excitement. Passion comes from deep inside each of us and its what sets us on fire. I think you'll agree that a lamp without a bulb has no purpose. Its the same as a person without passion. We all need passion in our lives because it creates enthusiasm and excitement.

We have accomplished great things in life as humans. These great things were accomplished with passion as behind every victory lies passion. This is a choice we all make in life. Its the choice to devote ourselves to a better life.

How do we build more passion in life?

Take Responsibility ~ Its your life so choose. Do you want to stay where you are? Or do you want to have passion in your life that will enable you to accomplish all you can? Everything in life is a choice and you must make the choice to better yourself. Own up to it and figure out what it is you want and then take responsibility and OWN IT!
Find What you Seek ~ When we have a positive mindset we begin to attract more positive things in life. The Law of Attraction. Its been around forever and many people have used the Law of Attraction. Successful people did not get where they are in life today by being pessimistic. No, they got where they are because they believed in something and they knew if they wanted it, it would come to them.
Have a Plan ~ Once you know what it is that you want you'll need a plan. When an architect builds something as wonderful as the Taj Mahal he doesn't just pick up and begin building. There are plans that need to be made to ensure the beauty and safety of the structure.
Take Action ~ We don't get anywhere in life without action. It takes action to get a reaction and so to accomplish great things we will need to take action on the plan we've put in place.

A football team doesn't begin the season with a Super Bowl Ring in hand. They first begin with a plan and then they take consistent action. Along their journey they will have victories and they will have setbacks. But its how we react to the setbacks that will determine the passion we have in life for our success.

Why Personal Development?

2009-12-10T23:35:00.001-07:00

Many people have often scoffed at personal development and wondered if it actually worked. I know because I was one of these people. I didn't think I needed to read a book that would tell me how to become a better person in business and life. I fought the idea at first but knew I needed something that would give me the information and tools I needed to be successful.

When we choose to continue our growth as an individual it opens us up to many possibilities. Where we once had limiting beliefs we now have new dreams and goals. Personal Development is the key to helping to change where you are and taking you to a better place in life. If we are not learning we are not growing as individuals.

When we do not have a clear focus of the things we want to accomplish we can in a way become lost. We have no deep desires to accomplish great things in life. The reason behind this is simply because our thought process is geared towards more negative nature than positive. When all we do is listen to news and read news papers we are feeding ourselves negativity. When we pay close attention to the things we read and watch and only allow the positive we'll begin to see things in a different light.

When this light is turned on we are able to see clearly the things we want. We are able to focus on the planning that will allow us to take action in our life to get where we want and need to be. Mark Twain once said: "Twenty years from now you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So, throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

So visit my favorite search engine and search for some personal development E-Books and work on yourself today. Focus on reading just 10 pages each day and you'll begin to feel better as a person. You can also see some of my recommended reading at the bottom of this blog.

Don't Quit Poem

2009-11-30T20:19:00.005-07:00

There are times when one might think about quitting what they are currently doing and you may want to share this wonderful poem with them. It's important that we all understand there will be days when we feel like quitting but we must continue moving forward in order to continue growing.

I wanted to share with you a motivational poem that has inspired many people to continue on the path they are currently on.

Don't Quit Poem

Author: Unknown

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,

When the road you're trudging seems all uphill,

When the funds are low and the debts are high,

And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,

When care is pressing you down a bit,

Rest, if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,

As every one of us sometimes learns,

And many a failure turns about,

When he might have won had he stuck it out;

Don't give up though the pace seems slow--

You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than,

It seems to a faint and faltering man,

Often the struggler has given up,

When he might have captured the victor's cup,

And he learned too late when the night slipped down,

How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out--

The silver tint of the clouds of doubt,

And you never can tell how close you are,

It may be near when it seems so far,

So stick to the fight when you're hardest hit--

It's when things seem worst that you must not quit.

- Author unknown

It is all too often that people quit before the blessing. When you go after the things you want in life you will have set backs and it will at times seem like you may never reach your destination.

There is no man that has climbed Mt Everest and said it was easy. Climbing never is and climbing is what we each do when we set a goal we wish to achieve. That is why it's easy to quit. Going downhill has always been easier than going uphill.

What ever you might be facing, no matter how difficult your journey has become, continue moving forward chasing your dreams. Should you continue climbing your mountain you will accomplish great success in your life!

Don't Quit!

Welcome Each Failure!

2009-11-23T23:46:00.001-07:00

Many times we are afraid to continue along a certain path because we are afraid of failure. What we need to understand though is the fact that each so called "failure" is what will lead us to our own certain level of success in what it is you are after. We can not let fear of something hold us back in life.

It doesn't matter if you want success working outside of the home, working from home, becoming a beautiful ice skater or pianist. What ever you want to accomplish in your life you must continue moving forward after each failure. With each little failure you are getting closer to accomplishing what it is you are seeking.

I was reading an article the other day about "Failures that Lead to Success" by Vered Neta also listed below. In her article she wrote down many names we all know today be GREAT success stories. So, I want to share her article with you today.

Failures That Lead To Success by Vered Neta

This is just a quick reminder:

Out of the first four stores F. W. Woolworth opened, three

failed. When he died, he was worth more than $20 million.

Einstein was 4 years old before he could speak.

Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school and was considered

"unpromising".

Beethoven's music teacher once said of him, "As a composer,

he is hopeless".

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper because he "lacked

imagination, and had no good ideas".

Admiral Peary tried to reach the North Pole on seven

different trips before he made it on the eighth.

Thomas Edison's teacher told him he was too stupid to learn

anything.

Later, he tried 1,600 different materials before settling on

carbon as the filament for the electric light bulb.

Willie Mays didn't get a hit in his first 26 times at bat in

the Major League, but his first hit was a home run!

Babe Ruth struck out 1300 times - a major league record.

Noah preached for 120 years and had NO converts .

When I read through her article and saw that all of these successful individuals failed before succeeding, it really made me look at failure with a different mindset. It takes a certain kind of person to not be put off after a failure. But its that kind of person we need to become if we are to be successful.

I love to use Thomas Edison's 1600 failures before the great one. I love how when he was interviewed on those failures that he didn't consider them to be "failures". He simply replied... "I have not failed 1600 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 1600 ways will not work. When I have eliminated the ways that will not work, I will find the way that will work." Simply amazing! If we all adopt this same mindset we will all accomplish great things.

After reading the above article I personally welcome each "failure" as I know that if I continue working towards what I want I will accomplish my success by failing!

What Imaginary Door Is Holding You Back?

2009-11-19T17:48:00.001-07:00

In one of Houdini's most famous and spectacular feats, he broke out of Scotland Yard. There were conditions for him to meet and one was that be allowed NO clothing at all; this was in order to keep from concealing tools or keys to help in his escape.

He was victorious in his escape. But how did he do it?

Quite simple, really. You see, Houdini cut a small slit in the heavy callus on his heal where he concealed a small piece of watch spring. Then alone he was able to use this piece of watch spring to pick the locks then simply tossed it away to walk out!

Houdini being successful in his escape from Scotland Yard was challenged by a London Bank to break out of their new, state of the art locking system. They were certain that the Great Houdini had finally met his match.

Houdini accepted the challenge that he would break out in just the 3 and a half minutes he was allotted. The press was there to see if Houdini had met his match or if was still the greatest escape artist of all time.

Did you know that Houdini had a clause in all of his contracts? In his contracts he was always allowed to kiss his wife. Not knowing if this would be the last goodbye it was always allowed with out question. What no one knew was that this kiss was more than a simple kiss goodbye. When they kissed his wife would secretly pass a small wire into his mouth. Then hidden behind the doors or curtain he'd use this wire to pick the locks and be freed.

The wire didn't do its job in this challenge to break out of this London Bank. Here is what Houdini had to say about the experience... "After one solid minute, I didn't hear any of the familiar clicking sounds. I thought, my gosh, this could ruin my career, I'm at the pinnacle of fame, and the press is all here. After two minutes, I was beginning to sweat profusely because I was not getting this lock picked. After three minutes of failure, with thirty seconds left, I reached into my pocket to get a handkerchief and dry my hands and forehead, and when I did, I leaned against the vault door and it creaked open." You see, the door was never locked, however Harry Houdini believed it to be. It was locked in his mind and he had nearly been defeated if not for that small accident of leaning against the vault door. This "accident" is what saved his career.

We must all understand that this is the same for us. The things we believe to be obstacles, and problems are just like the vault door. The only lock is in our minds, and as long as we believe that we CAN'T do something, then we can't. Once we begin to believe we CAN we'll start to give our imaginary door a push and we'll be amazed there was no locked door to begin with. Once we take a problem or obstacle we are currently facing and choose to find a solution we'll shove that door clear out of our minds because after all its just an illusion. When we choose to focus on the positive to every negative and the solution to every problem we will begin to change our mindset. We envision the outcome -- and then it becomes a reality.

"No matter how tremendous an obstruction may appear at a distance, you will find that if you continue in the certain way, it will disappear as you approach it -- or that a way over, through, or around it will appear." by Mr Wattles

I wanted to share this with you because we ALL have the potential to have massive success BUT there are some of us who seem to be caught behind one of these so called “locked doors.” We have to understand that even if we are moving slow as long as we are moving we will arrive at our destination.

The door is open, will you walk through it? What is currently holding you back? Keeping you from achieving everything you have ever wanted?

Take some time to really think about it and write it down, laminate it and keep it with you as a reminder and share that information with your loved one's so you can begin to work past it!!!!

Finish Strong

2009-11-16T16:31:00.002-07:00

Planning and Goal Setting are essential components to winning. If you don’t have goals established and on paper your plan is just another form of hoping. The economy is showing signs of recovery. And now is when we want to dig in and Finish Strong.

Finishing strong is more important than how you start because a good start will help you get to the finish line faster, but without a strong push at the end, you’ll just come up short. This is very true because many have a FAST start in a business and then there are others just like myself who have VERY SLOW start in their business and we've fallen down a time or two... Again, it doesn’t matter if you are a slow starter or not. It’s how we choose to finish.

Common knowledge says you need to make a good first impression. First impressions make a difference, right? If you were to do a Google search for advice on first impressions, you'd be sent to many sites giving you certain “rules”, “tips”, and even videos. However, if you were to TRY this same search for finishing strong you won’t find much information at all other than dealing with SPORTS…

I was happy to find a phenomenal video about Finish Strong. This was absolutely amazing. This is a video by a man named Nick Vujicic. He was born with no arms or legs, but is using his disability to inspire people and give them hope. He gives a very STRONG and MOVING speech to young kids and adults everywhere called “Are You Going To Finish Strong?” I highly suggest that everyone see his videos. Simply watching him will help you to think differently about what problems and challenges you might be currently facing in your business and life today.Albert Einstein said: "In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity."It doesn't matter where you are today. What matters the most is if you choose to change your "stars". I'm sure many of you have watched the movie "A Knights Tale" with Heath Ledger. This is a movie about a young boy who is sent away to live with a knight. As he was leaving his father told him to change his stars. He was grown and his knight had passed away and he impersonated this knight to win tournaments to get gold so he and his companions could eat. A long story short it was about him going after what he wanted the most in life and that was to become a knight himself. He was told it would never happen and yet he went out and changed his stars.

We can too because:
Its OUR choice to get out of bed each day and work to acquire the things we want in life
Its OUR choice to commit to success or NOT to commit
Its OUR choice to overcome any and all challenges that we face
Its OUR choice to FINISH STRONG

To Finish Strong means to finish what you start and NOT stop. Being consistent over time and being committed to you. It’s more than a statement it’s an attitude of believing you can do anything and it’s about having courage and determination to see it through.

Dan Green said (author of the book Finish Strong) ~ “Regardless of what came before of what has yet to come, what matters most right now is how I choose to respond to the challenge before me. Will I lie down or will I fight? The choice is mine and I CHOOSE to finish strong!”

It Begins With a Decision

2009-11-12T08:15:00.001-07:00

You may have been looking to work from home and are currently sitting on the fence.

Your journey for work at home first begins with a decision and now is the time for you to decide if you will stay on the fence or if you will live your dreams.

Will you continue on the path you are currently on working 40+ hours a week or will you take the road that will lead you time freedom?

The decision to begin your journey for Work At Home first began with the thought of a dream for something better in your life. Think back to that initial dream of what propelled you into your search and hold it close for this dream is what will drive you to find great success in not only life but in business as well. Operating on your thoughts and not your feelings will often make you forget your dream. Dreams are important for each of us to have in life and many times we simply forget how to dream.

If you are parent I’m sure when you look at your children you play movies in your mind of their future. You are dreaming for your children because you want them to be better than you are, you want them to be successful and live their life full of dreams. We have such high hopes for our children but wouldn’t be it greater to teach our children to always go after their dreams rather than teaching them it’s ok to dream as a child but when you become an adult you stop dreaming and you go to work for 40 to 50 hours a week for the next 40 to 50 years.

We are built for so much more in our lives. When you let yourself dream, the prospect of firing your boss and gaining time freedom that will allow you to be home with your family where you belong is CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.

I forgot how to dream at one point in my life and thought I needed to just settle for what I had. WHY? WHERE did this come from? My parents raised me with the thoughts I can do anything I wanted with my life. So when was it that I stopped dreaming and began building the dreams of others? This occurred when I was 17 and began working. Someone telling me when I can and can not take work off, someone telling me what to do and when to do it.

When did I begin dreaming again? That would be on February 4, 2006 11 MONTHS after starting a home based business. You see, when I finally got off the fence with working from home 7 long months after I began my search I still didn’t know how to dream. It took me 11 months to realize there were too many successful people working from home for me to not find that same success. I learned how to dream again and now know that I don’t have to accept the status quo. Working from home has been a gift for our family and it can be for yours as well.

The only thing you need to bring to the table is a strong reason of WHY you want to work at home, willingness to be trained and coached by all the successful business owners that have gone before you and the commitment to create a change in your life.

Consistency is a GREAT Key in Success

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Things will always come up in our lives but the key is to NEVER stop. What ever obstacle you are currently facing you MUST keep going and not stop.

As long as you continue to work you’ll keep that momentum going and getting that momentum going is what will really propel our business to new levels. We must understand that building momentum will take time, however if you are consistent and persistent you will see results.

To truly enjoy your work at home business, you need to make it successful of course and there are many factors that will determine whether your business would be a success or not. Some of the most important of these factors include consistency and persistence. Yes there is a lot of similarity between these two factors, but not entirely. With consistency you are dedicated and faithfully doing something while being persistent will keep you going no matter if you fall down.

As you work your business, not everyday is going to be the same. But what you'll find is that those who are successful are the one's who stuck to their job, no matter what. Being successful is not about how smart you are, it has more to do about having the ability to keep working day in and day out with a definite target in mind and having a precise plan.

Consistency means that you work day after day without taking huge breaks. For example, working every day for an hour is more effective than working one day for 5 hours and then not working for 4 days, then working another 2 hours, and not working for 3 days. Even though you might have put in the same amount of hours that week, you will probably see more results be doing something EVERY DAY, rather than working in big chunks and then taking a lot of time off. I bring this up simply because that is how I started out in my first 11 months. I worked my business maybe 5 times a month. I wasn't consistent in any way.

Did you know that Mt. Everest is not considered to be the most difficult mountain to climb? Technically speaking anyway, it's the huge distance and great heights that make it such a hard mountain. But those who stick around and climb it are the one's on top of the world'. In other words, those with survival instincts and those who live to see another day are the most successful climbers.

The same is the case in a work at home business. You need a plan and a long term focus, but your immediate concern should be to keep doing your job day in and day out, and you will see that one milestone after another will be accomplished. And finally you will be able to reach your goal.

That is what consistency and persistence can help you achieve. I know that we are all our own boss and we set our own schedule. Just because you set your own days and hours you work, doesn’t mean you WANT to work! I didn’t when I first started and that is why I didn’t go too far in the beginning. However, if you take a stand and you work your business like it’s a JOB where you have a boss that will FIRE you if you don’t work then you WILL see success.

I want you to think about it this way. You are the boss and employee yet still 2 different people. Being the boss looking at how you are or are not working your business would you fire yourself? That's a powerful question that I was asked once while taking a teleconference class hosted by Dani Johnson. Her asking that ONE question is what really helped me and got my thought process to change quite significantly.

In the exact moment you set a goal for yourself, don’t you feel exulted and accomplished and convinced of your ability to achieve that goal?

Aren’t you excited of the outcome accomplishing that goal will provide? Most of us are.

But then what happens? Life happens. We are asked to do this and that, the kids are sick, your tired – you can fill in the blank from your own life. When we finally recover from the many twists and turns that life throws at us, we realize that hours, days or weeks have passed since we paid any attention to our goals. More importantly, we may end up working so hard at life that we either don’t have the energy to put toward our business goals, or we feel justified in "taking a break" and not doing any more work.

Also, many of us have the "all or nothing" syndrome. We might hold such high expectations about how much we will accomplish, and then if we don't meet the high standards we set, we might decide that it isn’t worth doing at all.

In the moment we create the goal, we many times have a strong desire that allows us to see the accomplished goal visually. It allows us to imagine all the things we might accomplish. Being able to see this vision is a wonderful asset but we have to always remember that seeing something and DOING something are two complete different things.

Now many of us rely on fear, anger, anxiety or other forms of outer motivation to set and accomplish goals and this can be why some do not meet their own expectations they have set. The reason being is, we are not taught to "command" ourselves to do something. The inner motivation is what is powerful and is what will help us to get on the path for freedom.

Studies have shown that it takes 30 to break a habit and create a new one in its place. One thing that I have said in the past is that the work we do or do NOT do today we’ll see that outcome in 30 days. What I mean by that is... if I decide to make 10 extra calls today I'll see the outcome of the extra work in 30 days, or if I decide to take the day off I'll see that outcome in 30 days.

The whole point of consistency is not so that we can say that we have worked REALLY hard for X amount of days, but so that we can gain momentum and continue building our business.

One of the best things we can do in the beginning is to practice consistency. One way that you can practice this is by doing the consistency exercise. For example, I might decide to get online and post ads for a SOLID 30 minutes everyday at Noon for 30 days. IF I MISS A DAY OR MISS MY CHOSEN TIME, I MUST START AGAIN AT DAY 1. The key is to keep the task very simple and basic, and to do it consistently. The point is that you want to choose one thing that will help you build your business and you want to do it every single day for 30 days straight. When we miss a day, we must start again from day 1. What this is going to do is build not only consistency but also persistency as well!

The consistency exercise can help you gain momentum in 30 days to accomplish a lot in your business. As a result of using this exercise, many have achieved significant results, ranging from promotions to signing up more business and also accomplishing new income levels.

This exercise is so simple. What could you lose by trying it? Now think of what you have to gain? Well, you have everything to gain!