Harvey, Jason - Achieve Anything In Just One Year - Be Inspired Daily to Live Your Dreams and Accomplish Your Goals

Every time you want to quit and give up on your dreams, think about Kate’s simple advice. It’s not okay to give up. It’s perfectly fine to fail and have setbacks and even look like an idiot sometimes. It’s not okay to throw in the towel and surrender.

Read Kate’s words of wisdom out loud over and over like a mantra. Then find a quiet corner somewhere and close your eyes. Breathe deeply and let your mind roll over Kate’s words. Sit there quietly for as long as you have time. It might be five minutes or an hour. Feel the power inside you grow as you resolve to never give up.

DAY

103

“It’s good to receive compliments, and it’s even better to give them.”

— Aaron, Age 17

Aaron reminds us of another very important ingredient of success: kindness to others. You know how great it feels when someone gives you a compliment. When was the last time you gave one out? Are you stingy with praise?

Write in your journal today about how often you give out compliments to people. As you know, it is worthless to give meaningless compliments. You must be sincere. How many times this week have you given someone sincere praise? Do you remember how the person reacted when you gave them a compliment? How did you feel when you were able to brighten someone else’s day? Imagine the ripple effect that occurs when you throw a positive pebble into the pond by complimenting someone.

You don’t have to be stingy with praise. There’s plenty of it to go around. Don’t worry, you won’t run out. Find the good in people today, and let them know that you appreciate them in your life. It would be a pretty lonely world without them.

The second part of your assignment is to also spend some time writing about how good you feel when you receive compliments. What does that do to your self-esteem? How does it improve your overall day? How does it change your perception of the person who gave you the compliment? Now, remember that you have the power to make someone else feel that way. What a gift! It’s priceless, but it doesn’t cost a penny.

Give the gift of praise every day. Remember Aaron’s advice. It’s good to receive compliments, and it’s even better to give them.

DAY

104

“Enthusiasm spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment.”

— Norman Vincent Peale

This is just great. It’s not enough that you have to do stuff for other people, but now you have to turn into some kind of manic cheerleader in order to achieve success? What will be next, motivational speaking? Evangelism?

You will be exploring enthusiasm for the next few days, but have no fear. You don’t have to get out the pom-poms and hop up and down like a crazy person. Enthusiasm is a little different than that.

Let’s start with a definition of the word. Enthusiasm originally meant inspiration or being in the presence of a god. Today, having enthusiasm is defined as; being excited, motivated, having an active or lively interest in something, or a certain intensity of feeling. Enthusiasm does not have to reach the point of fanaticism. It is a heightened interest.

Think about the successful people you know. They do have a sort of intensity, don’t they? That’s why they stick out from the crowd. They are fueled to accomplish great things, because they are extremely interested in what they are doing, and they believe in their work. They are inspired.

How can you cultivate your own enthusiasm? It’s not an easy thing to fake without looking completely insane. The key to finding enthusiasm is discovering what you love to do. What excites you? What do you do really well? You can’t be enthusiastic about something that barely interests you. Find your passions and pursue them. Your assignment is to write down what excites you or motivates you. What are you enthusiastic about today?

DAY

105

“Enthusiasm is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever achieved.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

What possesses some people to make heroic efforts and accomplish what no one thought possible? How do they get the strength and stamina to perform such valiant deeds? The spark is enthusiasm.

Harriet Tubman was born a slave in Maryland in 1820. She worked as a house servant as a child and in fields when she reached her teen years. Even though Harriet Tubman was a slave, she knew deep inside that she was destined to do great things. She escaped her plantation and ran away to the north in 1849, and it was then that her destiny started to be revealed. Harriet Tubman did not stay in the safety of the northern region of the United States. Instead, she risked her life and returned to the south over and over again to help other slaves escape. She was an integral part of the Underground Railroad, which was a series of safe houses where slaves could stay on their journey to freedom.

Her enthusiasm for the antislavery movement gave her the power to succeed in extremely dangerous situations. Among hundreds of other slaves, she helped her seventy-year-old parents escape and was even a spy for the north during the Civil War. Harriet Tubman had an intense belief in freedom, and that sparked her effort to achieve the impossible. Her enthusiasm helped her to become a stunning success.

Do you want to accomplish great things in your life? Then find out what you believe in, what excites you, and what sparks your intense interest. That is where you will cultivate enthusiasm and have the opportunity to achieve success.

DAY

106

“Creativity is a natural extension of our enthusiasm.”

— Earl Nightingale

Once you begin to build enthusiasm, creativity is the natural next step. You may not think you are a creative person right now, but when you find something you are passionate about, you will be surprised at how it draws out your creativity.

When you strive for success, you are searching for that one thing that really piques your interest and makes you feel as though you have something important to contribute. Once you find it, your interest and excitement build. You start to look for ways to improve all aspects of it, and then your creativity kicks in. That is when you know you are really following your destiny. Your insides are telling you that you can add value to what you are focused on. You have an impulse to get involved and make changes for the better.

Write down the names of two or three individuals who you think are creative. What character traits do they share? What do they do that makes them creative? Is creativity a designation reserved for artistic types only, or do you know of any creative people in the business world, healthcare, construction, or other fields?

Now, take a look at your own creativity. Do you consider yourself a creative person? If not, what is stopping your creativity? Can you think of ways to make it flow more freely? What can you do to nurture your creativity?

Enthusiasm and creativity are naturally linked. When you find something you really feel enthusiastic about, you will want to study it and get involved in it. Then, your creative ability will emerge—if you let it.

DAY

107

“The sense of this word among the Greeks affords the noblest definition of it: enthusiasm signifies God in us.”

— Madame de Staël

On Day 104, we mentioned that the original Greek definition of enthusiasm is “being in the presence of a God”. We haven’t really touched much on spirituality yet, but how do you feel about that definition? Does enthusiasm feel like something bigger than just you?