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

Karrie could have easily been characterized as a “mean girl” in high school. She only associated with the most popular students, and she often put down the teens that she considered to be nerds or geeks. She maliciously ruined the reputations of girls who didn’t deserve it just because she considered them the competition, and she carried on as if she had no regrets.

The mistakes of her past caught up to Karrie. When she grew up a little, she realized that she didn’t like the person she was in high school. Karrie wanted to change, but she felt as though her past defined her. She was a “mean girl,” and that was it. Karrie continued to treat people poorly as an adult, because she couldn’t let go of her high school image.

Your past is very useful as a teacher, but that’s it. You are not your past. You have the opportunity to be anybody you want to be from this point forward. If you want to be kind, all you have to do is change your actions. Leave the past behind. Drop that heavy burden, and step into your true potential.

DAY

290

“There is no room in your mind for negative thoughts. The busier you keep yourself with the particulars of shot assessment and execution, the less chance your mind has to dwell on the emotional. This is sheer intensity.”

— Jack Nicklaus

The routines that sports figures follow provide great examples of ways to achieve success. If you don’t do the work and follow through, then you will lose. Even more importantly, if you don’t believe you’ll win the game, chances are you won’t. If you believe against all odds that you can beat your opponent, you have a pretty good chance of making it happen. The worst player in the league has the potential to beat the number-one person if they believe they can do it. That’s not a fairy tale. It has been done.

Many sports psychologists work with athletes in professional sports, the Olympics, and other high-profile venues, and they ask them to visualize sinking the perfect shot or getting the fastest time. They put the athlete’s imagination to work and couple that with their training. If they can see it, then they have a chance of accomplishing it.

The exercise of visualization works across all areas where one is striving for success. You have to see your dreams in your mind’s eye before you can make them a reality. If you don’t believe you can be a success, there is no way it will happen. On the other hand, if you imagine success and visualize how it would look on you, then you start to believe it is not an unattainable goal. When you believe, you have a chance to achieve.

Do you believe you are capable of achieving your dreams? Close your eyes and visualize how it will happen. See your success—then achieve it.

DAY

291

“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.”

— Jim Rohn

Craig felt completely hopeless. He was buried under a pile of credit-card debt, was two months behind on his mortgage, and to top it off, he had recently been laid off from his job. Success did not look probable. Instead, Craig was on a train headed straight for bankruptcy.

Ever since he lost his job, Craig was frozen in fear. He was afraid to answer his phone, because he was sure it was creditors calling. He didn’t want to hang out with his friends. They would see he was a complete failure. In addition, Craig had no idea where to start to look for a new job. He had been with the same company for twenty years and had never even considered looking for a new position elsewhere. The future looked grim.

Sometimes the outlook is pretty scary. It seems as though you are headed for disaster, and there is no way out. Remember that no matter what you are facing, you always have options. You might be teetering on the edge of a cliff, but you can change your direction at any time.

Take a look at your current situation. If you were on a train, where would you be headed? Is it really where you want to go? If not, what can you do to get off at the next station and change direction? In Craig’s case, he could alter his route immediately by choosing some positive actions. He could make an appointment with an employment agency or call his creditors and explain his situation. Craig was not out of options. He could choose to continue to live in fear, or he could change direction overnight.

DAY

292

“Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.”

— Thomas A. Edison

Would you recognize opportunity if it knocked? What do you think it looks like? Unfortunately, opportunity does not look like a shiny new car or a million-dollar house. It looks like work. In other words, an opportunity might come in the form of a friend who needs you to help them with a catering job, an appliance that needs fixing in your own home, or even a local radio contest.

You never know when opportunity is going to show up, but if you are willing to put in a little extra effort—especially when you don’t have to—then you might be inviting opportunity in. You can’t predict where these seemingly minor tasks will lead you. You might meet a future employer on the night you help your friend with a catering job. You could very well discover a new invention when you’re trying to fix a broken appliance. A radio contest might give your new brainstorm just the exposure it needs.

Your assignment today is to actively search for new opportunities. Opportunity almost never looks like a winning lottery ticket or an unexpected inheritance. It is more likely to come to you in the form of something you don’t have the time or energy to take on. Nevertheless, seize that opportunity. Do the right thing when someone requires your help or a better solution needs to be worked out. Take the time, and you will reap the benefits.

DAY

293

“Work is either fun or drudgery. It depends on your attitude. I like fun.”

— Colleen C. Barrett

You’ve read several times in this book that achieving success will require some work on your part. Do you sigh and roll your eyes every time the idea of work comes up? Work sounds like, well, work. It doesn’t sound like fun. Success sounds like fun! Work sounds boring.

That does not have to be the case. Today you have an opportunity to change your concept of work. It does not have to be drudgery. Work is exhilarating if you’re doing something that inspires you and makes you think and grow.

Your assignment is to adopt a new definition of work. Start with your old beliefs. Write down words that describe work that you dislike. You might begin with “boring” and “hard.” Next, create a new description of work and start with words like “fun” and “exhilarating.” If you dislike work now, change your definition of it so that it is more appealing. Then look for work that fits your new concept.

Now, if you are currently earning a living in a job you intensely dislike, you may associate work with negative concepts. But wait a minute! You chose that job you hate. You can change direction and work at finding a more interesting and fulfilling position. In that case, the word “work” might be a new and exciting opportunity.

You can systematically exchange negative work that you are currently engaged in for more promising work that might help you reach success. Both of them require effort, but one is a whole lot more fun than the other.