Success Made Simple

INCREASING YOUR

SUCCESS Techniques To Improve Your Life

mike Griffin

Phone: 812-987-2915

1902 Augusta Drive Jeffersonville, Indiana 47130 United States

mike@therealmikegriffin.com http://www.TheRealMikeGriffin.com

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Easy Ideas To Put Into Action

@realmikegriffin

Does your productivity ever get hampered by your desire to find the best possible solution? As you seek the easiest or fastest route to your goal, you may find yourself stopped entirely. Sometimes you may even do this on purpose, to keep from having to make a decision.

Learn to break free from such road blocks

Increasing Your Success Brought to you by: mike Griffin 812-987-2915 mike@therealmikegriffin.com

Living the law of attraction is instinctive: it is born into us but we forget it as we grow up. We are taught not to dream, not to visualize, to be practical, to play it safe.

Yet every great advancement for mankind has come from those who dreamed and visualized, who weren’t practical, and who were willing to take a chance.

The law of attraction is activated by visualization which causes idea collection and tuning in on the object of the visualization, and acting even if you don’t know exactly how to act. The tuning in on the object, on the idea being visualized will lead y

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12 RULES TO INCREASE YOUR PRODUCTIVITY 12 Rules to Increase Your Productivity

Does your productivity ever get hampered by your desire to find the best possible solution? As you seek the easiest or fastest route to your goal, you may find yourself stopped entirely. Sometimes you may even do this on purpose, to keep from having to make a decision.

However, there's a work-around. Maybe you've heard of the term, "heuristic." Heuristics are rules that allow a solution to be found more quickly. With a heuristic, a resolution can be found even when the entire path isn 't clear from the onset.

For example, if there were no roads, but you lived in New York and wanted to make your way to California, a heuristic might be: 1. Walk west as far as you can.

2. Walk around any obstacle, if possible.

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3. If faced with a mountain range, walk toward the space between 2 small peaks.

4. Repeat until reaching California.

Does this heuristic give you the most efficient solution? No; however, it will get you where you want to go, and you won't waste a lot of time trying to make up your mind.

Try these behavioral heuristics to increase your productivity: 1. Choose the right time. Nearly everyone has times of the day when they are most effective and times when they tend to drag. It’s smart to schedule the most critical tasks for your most effective time of the day.

2. Toss it. If a task doesn 't really need to be done, just get rid of it altogether.

3. Get the bad stuff out of the way. Do the unpleasant items quickly and as early in the day as possible.

4. Set a goal each day (or night). In the morning, decide what you want to accomplish that day. This can be even more effective when planned the night before. Once you have a sense of direction, you can spend all your time getting things done!

5. Eliminate all communication. While you're working, turn off the phone / cell phone, and don't check your email. Hang a sign that says, "Do not disturb," if necessary. You don 't have to do this for all your tasks, but at least do it during the more difficult items.

6. Batch similar tasks together. Do all your emailing at one time. Make all your phone calls at another. Open your snail mail during a set block of t ime. You'll waste less time by doing your work in this fashion.

7. Set a timer. Even if a task might take hours, starting will seem easier if you simply give yourself 30 minutes to get as much done as you can. A time limit seems to help many people concentrate and work better, too.

8. Set targets. For example, i f you have to make cold-calls for your sales job, tell yourself that you're not getting up for any reason until you've made at least 100 calls. Regardless of what happens, refuse to stop until you hit your target.

9. Use the Pareto Principle. This principle states that 20% of the actions you could take will provide you with 80% of the benefits. So focus on the tasks that will accomplish the most. Unfortunately, these are frequently the tasks that are not enjoyable. You might be surprised how little you really have to do if you focus on the critical 20%.

10. Delegate some of your work. Is there anyone else who can help you? The people around you are resources. When appropriate, use their time and talents wisely to get things done more quickly.

11. Set a deadline. Having a specific endpoint will really help to focus your time and energy.

If a task doesn't feel necessary, chances are that it won't get done.

12. Increase your speed. It sounds silly, but this can really help. Try doing everything a little faster. Walk faster, talk faster, type faster, and read faster.

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Implement these heuristics into your life and you'll find yourself getting more done in less time. The ultimate secret is to stay on task and not waste any time. These rules will help you do just that.

Become Happier and More Successful Through Delayed Gratification Learning to delay gratification can make you happier and more successful in both your personal and professional life. Psychological studies confirm what many traditions have long taught about the power of mental training: a little self-discipline can yield great results!

Here are some of the benefits of waiting for what you want, as well as techniques for becoming more patient.

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Benefits of Delaying Gratification 1. Improve your academic and job performance. Studies show that kids who learn to delay gratification get better grades and higher SAT scores. These gains usually continue throughout life, making them more satisfied and successful in their careers as well.

2. Enhance your relationships. As our patience increases, we become less vulnerable to anger and its tendency to drive others away from us. We learn to look at the big picture and take other's feelings into account.

3. Become more physically fit. Studies also show that those less practiced at delayed gratification, or "low delayers," tend to have higher body fat. If you appreciate the long term benefits of nutritious food and regular exercise, you're less likely to overindulge in junk food.

4. Lower your risk of substance abuse. Drug addiction can be one of the most painful consequences of seeking immediate pleasure. Even legal activities like shopping or watching TV can be destructive if we take them to extremes and allow them to crowd out more meaningful endeavors.

5. Enjoy more contentment. Self control enables us to set goals and focus our energies on reaching them. We can make better choices, accomplish more and handle setbacks better.

Techniques for Delaying Gratification 1. Recognize the complexity of your mind. Many mental health experts now speak in terms of interactions rather than fixed personality traits. Try to identify the circumstances where you have trouble resisting temptation rather than labeling yourself as being weak. This can be helpful in making constructive changes in your life.

2. Divert your attention. Just turning your attention away from the cheesecake or the remark you find annoying will instantly make you a little happier and better behaved. The more you learn to control your thinking, the wiser you will become.

3. Take a pause. Pausing for a second can help you avoid reflexive responses that run against your best interests. Decide if it's more important to see your kids or spend another hour at the office. Take that morning run rather than sleeping for another half hour if the exercise gives you more energy and keeps you healthier.

4. Think ahead. You can live in the moment and still be responsible about planning for the future. Find the balance that works for you.

5. Experiment with visualization. When you've fallen in love with a pair of shoes that are too much for your budget, picture them as just a picture lacking any real substance. They'll be easier to forget.

6. Contemplate impermanence. If such visualizations sound artificial, think about impermanence. Those $400 shoes could get scuffed the first time you wear them, but

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setting that money aside for retirement could give you a much better future.

7. Seek out good role models. Child psychologists find peer modeling to be a highly effective tool for character education. Whatever your age, pick up some valuable lessons by observing someone whose patience you admire.

8. Reinforce your new habits. Self control grows stronger the more we practice. Have fun finding the strategies that work best for you. Look for daily opportunities to delay gratification, whether it's a monthly savings plan or transforming those late night snacks into a more nutritious breakfast.

Throughout your life, you're likely to spend a lot of your time waiting, so you might as well become good at it. Being able to delay gratification is one of the most important qualities you need to reach your goals. Fortunately, this is a skill that improves with practice!

Create a Vision for Your Life Today You've probably heard that you can only get where you want to be if you know where you're going. This pithy statement is as true now as the first time it was said. So how do you come to know where you're going, so you can get where you want to be?

To start with, goals are crucial. When we set goals, what we're really trying to do is to bring each piece of our lives in line with our overall vision for ourselves. Using a powerful vision-setting process can help you set more effective goals, since you can chart a course that will take you toward and support your vision.

Do you have a vision for each segment of your life? Do you know where you're headed spiritually,

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socially, relationally, physically, financially, and more?

Use this process to help you create a vision that works for you: 1. Write down your vision for a particular aspect of your life. Write a couple of paragraphs describing what you'd like to have or be. There's no right or wrong. In fact, you probably won't precisely articulate your dreams the very first time you try the exercise. A reasonable guess is a good place to start.

In writing your vision, avoid focusing on what you don’t want , because this will only bring about more of that. Turn your back on negativity and focus on what you do want to bring about.

For example, if you want more money: Avoid wording your statement like: “I don’t want to be poor anymore.” Instead, envision what it would be like to be rich, which is what you want, and write about what that would be like for you.

Although you may feel challenged when first learning to focus on what you want, it gets easier. Plus , the rewards are spectacular when you can do it consistently. You'll start to notice that your life seems as if you can change it at will, which you can.

2. Visualize. Read your vision statement 2-3 times a day and i magine that aspect of your life matches your vision perfectly. How does your vision make you feel? Are you really excited and enthusiastic? Is it appealing to you on all levels? This shouldn't take more than 60 seconds to do each time.

3. Refine. If you feel really good about your vision, that's great. If not, now is the time to make some alterations. Continue refining the image of your dream life until doing your visualization feels spectacular. Re-write each new version.

At this point, you may be wondering when this process ever ends. Fortunately, it never ends. Your vision will forever be changing slightly throughout your life, which is good, since your desires will also change over time.

4. Review your vision daily and ensure that it continues to attract you. This will rapidly usher change into your life. In turn, these changes will demonstrate that you're actually moving towards that vision.

5. Create separate vision statements for all the areas of your life. Consider your finances, relationships, adventure, health, social life, and spirituality. If you can get all these visions to look just the way you want, imagine what your life will look like!

Why Spend Time On This Process?

Consider all the things you do every day. Everything you do is either helping you reach your vision or helping someone else reach theirs. Wouldn’t you rather help yourself reach yours?

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Creating a vision is the first step to creating the life you desire. Tweak your visions a couple of times a day and really focus on the experience of living that vision. This gets easier all the time, because imagining something enjoyable is pleasurable in itself.

Don't hesitate; create your visions today. Then, start reviewing and improving them immediately. Your life will change rapidly for the better. You'll then be spending your time making your own visions a reality instead of making someone else's dream come true.

Five Ways to Increase Your Motivation Motivation and drive propel us forward toward the realization of our goals, but some of us seem to have more of this driving force than others.

If you feel like you have less of these traits than you'd like, the good news is there are ways to increase your motivation and happily start trekking down the path of achievement.

These suggestions may not be for the faint of heart, but if you really want results, try some of these ideas: 1. Burn your other options. If you want to find another job or start your own business in a hurry, write a letter of resignation, postdate it a month, address it and give it to a friend. Tell him to mail it in 30 days.

If there's an easy way out, most people will take it. Don't give yourself the luxury of being able to fail without a lot of pain.

Even so, it’s wise to create a Plan B. Just make one that moves you forward instead of backward.

2. Focus on the positive people in your life. If you don't feel like you have enough, find some new ones. Only share your goals with those that are most supportive of you.

For example, if you want to lose weight, join a gym and hang out with the healthy people. They're positive and supportive. Likely, there's someone at the gym who has lost 100 lbs. That's the person you want to associate with!

This idea also means getting negativity out of your life. If your friends don't support you, why are they there? Take an inventory of the people in your life. Add some who have what you want, and move on from the ones who aren't supportive.

3. Feed your brain with positive information daily. Inspirational books and audio seem silly to many, but the results can be profound. The key is to use them on a daily basis. They're like exercise for your motivation and drive. You can't just work out just one time and expect to see significant results.

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Set a schedule and stick to it. Even if you just do 15 minutes a day, the payoff will be huge.

4. Act immediately. Once you've set a new goal, do something! Your first task can be as simple as making a phone call or laying out a plan. If you don't take immediate action, you risk falling permanently into analysis mode where there's a lot of thinking going on, but nothing is actually happening.

Frequently, motivation will come after action. Making a little bit of progress can be the inspiration behind additional progress. So do something as soon as you 've decided what you want to accomplish.

5. Look the part. Take a look at yourself in the mirror. Do you look like the kind of person that would accomplish your goal on a regular basis?

If your goal is to make $200,000 a year as a real estate investor, you shouldn't be wearing an Aerosmith t-shirt and ripped jean shorts. Your identity should fit your goal. This may seem like a trivial matter, but it can make a difference.

Once you truly commit to your goal, your drive and motivation will see you to success. Take some action daily and remove your conscious safety nets that allow you to fail too easily ; you'll be amazed at the results.

How to Banish Negative Thoughts Who doesn't have negative thoughts now and then? But what if you had a negative thought

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which was pervasive and constant? Would you know how to get rid of it? Fortunately, there are many methods available to get rid of incessant negative chatter in our heads.

Here is an effective step-by-step process that will work if you use it regularly. As our ongoing example in this process, we’ll use the negative thought, “I'm too dumb to do anything right.”

1. Turn the thought into a mental image. Imagine looking and acting completely silly. Create the most exaggerated image of yourself you can. Start by envisioning yourself in ridiculous clothes that don't match.

Maybe you're also banging your head against the wall or doing other foolish things.

You could also be shouting silly phrases that don't make any sense. The image should be clearly visible on your mental screen. Include sounds, smells, and physical sensations as well. Keep at this until the original thought brings up this new image.

2. Choose an alternative thought. For our example, a good replacement thought would be, “I'm so intelligent I can do anything.” Choose something that is the opposite of the original negative thought. Select a phrase that feels right to you, through your whole body.

3. Turn the new, positive thought into a mental image. You might imagine yourself dressed like Albert Einstein, shouting, “I'm brilliant. I can do anything.” Again, make the image outrageous. Keep at it until the positive thought automatically brings up that image.

4. Link the two images together. Now, imagine a way to get from your negative image to your positive image. This is almost like you're the director of a movie; you want to find a way to connect the opening and the closing scenes.

Perhaps in the first scene, you could imagine the image of the “dumb” version of yourself being struck by lightning and catching on fire. Then the new, Albert Einstein version of you rises from the ashes and goes into his “I'm brilliant. I can do anything” routine.

Keep practicing until you run the entire scene in your mind quickly, with no hitches.

This should take fewer than 2 seconds from start to finish.

5. Test out your new mental connections. When you think the original negative thought, the entire scene should flash through your mind. Your mental process should end with the moment where you're thinking, “I'm so brilliant. I can do anything.” If you're not there yet, repeat Step 4 until you are.

Although this may seem silly to you, this is a common mnemonic technique. The imagery must be outrageous. This makes your memory's work much easier.

Also, play around with the perspective. Most people find it helpful to view everything in the third person, as if they were spectators watching themselves in a movie. But you may prefer imagining things from a first-person perspective, in which everything happens to you, as it would in everyday life. Try both perspectives to determine which works better for you.

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If you systematically deal with all your negative thoughts, you’ll eventually find that you have very few left. Imagine how your life could change! What might you do that you've always been too afraid to try? Now you'll have the courage to do just that.

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