# 1 “Thoughts Are Power”
Always be positive, focus on what you want to create, what you want to be. Create contingency plans, have backups, realistically assess risk, be prepared to pivot BUT do not spend one millisecond longer on the negative than absolutely necessary. Avoid energy vampires, negative, pessimistic people/situations.
# 2 “Pick Your Priorities”
You can’t do or have it all, at least not all at once or right away. DECIDE what things are most important to you; WRITE your goals down. Pick at least one goal for every major role/area of your life. Career/Financial, Family/Friends, Physical/Health, Community, Mental/Education, Spiritual/Emotional. Think about the WHY of each goal: what motivates you to choose this particular achievement? How will you feel, act or be different? Make your goals as detailed as possible; some folks create “Dream Boards” with collages of pictures in order to focus their energies, deepen their motivation, and help them keep the eye on the prize.
# 3 “Create Action Plans”
Create your personal treasure map i.e. the specific steps you will take to make your dreams come true. Create timelines and intermediate check points. Deadlines motivate and provide accountability. Focus your time and energy! Dive into the Details! Too many people try to “just get by” with a minimum amount of work, never truly mastering their subject matter. A decision without focused action is merely musings!
# 4 “Intelligently Persist; Put in the Hours”
Work Hard, Work Smart. Long hours are a given if you want above average success. If your heart is not in most of what you do, if you do not frequently hit “flow”, consider switching to something that fires your passion. Do what you love and the time will fly. Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out.
# 5 “Lust for Learning”
Be intensely curious about everything and anything remotely connected with your goals. Knowledge is always applicable in some form or fashion! The world will never stop changing, you must never stop learning and evolving.
# 6 “Elevate Your EQ”
Emotional Intelligence is evermore the key in the Information Age, this era of hyper connectivity. Your ability to influence, persuade, and lead others is vital to your success. EQ is the ability to understand your emotions AND those of others. Great leaders do not do great things, they inspire multitudes of others to do great things. The good news is that your EQ is like a mental muscle: with directed, coached practice/exercise, quantum leaps are within your capacity.
As always, I share what I most want/need to learn. – Nathan S. Collier