How to Plan for Success in 2013

-->

First of all I'd like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and/or a Happy Holiday season. Let me ask you a question, what are you going to do next year that will make you a better person than you were this year, last year or the year before? Are you going to improve your finances, your health, your relationship with God, or hopefully, all of the above? Will your goals help to make the world a better place and benefit those around you? If so, great! Now, what's your plan?

Do you have goals that will improve your performance in the various aspects of your life (i.e. as a parent, child, employee, boss, friend or a member of a church or community organization)? Have you identified and prioritized the steps you need to take in order to achieve these goals. Also, are your goals based upon your performance only and not relying upon external circumstances and situations beyond your control?  If so, good!

Have you written down a list of definitive, easily achievable and measurable objectives that will provide feedback on your progress towards reaching each goal? Have you attempted to identify the problems you will encounter on your journey towards success? I know that attaining goals in life can be a difficult and daunting task but who said life was easy?

However if you've done these things then you are well on your way to making that success real in 2013. The Greek philosopher Aristotle states: “Well begun is half done.”

Now that you’re ready to travel down the road to success here are a few extra tidbits of information I'd like to share with you. The first is to recognize that the past is gone and should be used for educational purposes only. Next, is that things will never go as smoothly as you think they should. You will make mistakes and encounter problems that seem insurmountable and may even make you want to quit. Don't, don’t do it!

Also, remember the value of forgiveness. It’s required for your benefit and not others. It is a decision to let go of resentment and thoughts of revenge. It will improve your life and your health by assisting you to stay focused on the goals you created.

There will be many times on our path to success where you will have to forgive others as well as yourself. This doesn’t mean you are soft! Let me share with you what forgiveness is not.

Forgiveness is not:

·      Forgetting,

·      Avoiding,

·      Excusing,

·      Neglecting justice

·      Reconciliation

·      A one-time event.

Finally, as you begin living your dream by implementing your goals during the New Year, remember to begin each day with an attitude of gratitude. As stated in my previous post, this attitude will keep you humble, grounded and in the present moment. It will prepare you for each day as well as for the successes and setbacks that come along with it.

I hope you enjoyed this post. Until next time, here's hoping that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless!

Discover a New, Little Known Secret to Success

I have spent the last few posts discussing the concept of success and shared how it is applicable to anyone (corporate leaders, single-parents or individuals experiencing traumatic change in their life). I defined success as: "Gaining or attaining the desires of our heart" and concluded that it's not necessarily related to finances, material possessions, who we know or where we go.

Now, I’d like to share with you a surefire framework that will guarantee success. This framework uses a concept I call: The 3R’s.  This concept came about during a period of self-reflection and personal growth where I looked back over my life and tried to determine the infinitesimal difference between success and failure. I used this concept to write and publish my book titled: “The 3R's of Spiritual Growth”.  The 3R's are: Recognition, Reconciliation and Reconnection. This framework can be utilized by anyone to successfully address and solve any of life’s problems areas.

The first step is to Recognize the impartial forces, factors and issues that are at work in our life and influence how we respond to it. We then recognize our negative core beliefs, which hinder us from attaining our goals.

Next, we learn how to set goals that are aligned with who and what we are. Much of our stress occurs when we set goals or desire objects that have been attained or belong to someone else which are not aligned with our purpose for living. This easily happens when we allow our desires to run rampant and influence our activities. These are the times when our lives really begin to get out of whack.

The cool part about the 3R framework is that it recognizes each and every one of us has a purpose for living that only we can achieve. This framework provides us with comfort and satisfaction as we proceed towards our goals by helping us stay in touch with our 3-part nature.

Next, we Reconcile where we are in life with what we want and desire. We do this by taking responsibility for the circumstances and situations in which we find ourselves.  We then develop a plan that moves us in the direction of our desired success. Along this path we will employ our understanding of “The Law of Cause and Effect” which simply says: “We choose how we experience life”.

Finally we take what we learned and Reconnect back into every nook, cranny, circumstance and situation in our life. We apply what we've recognized and reconciled into those areas of our life that aren’t working. When we accomplish this we will find that: our stress will be reduced, our health will improve and we will be able to experience life's unspeakable joys by remaining in the present moment and trusting in our new ability to successfully respond to whatever life throws our way.

This 3R framework can be easily taught to anyone desiring it. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and here's hoping that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless.

7 Steps to Finding and Living Out Our Purpose

What's your purpose? What reason do you have for getting up each morning and going through the day? I'm not looking for some altruistic answer such as: to make the world a better place or to get rich (which is not so altruistic). It can be as simple as: to be a better parent or get a better education or to spend more time with loved ones. The point I am making is that without an overreaching goal or purpose for living we will be at the effect of life and not at cause with it. We would be like a rudderless and powerless ship on the surface of the ocean being forced to go wherever the wind or current takes us.

7 steps to help us define and live out our purpose:

1.     Articulate it. Speak it as if your purpose has already been accomplished. For example say: “I am a great parent” or “I am educated”.  There is power in the spoken word.
2.     Write it down or place an image of it in a place where you will see it daily. This act in and of itself will signal your intellect through the use of your subconscious mind to direct the body’s actions towards your purpose.  This worked for me as a young lieutenant in the Marines when I had purposed myself to become a Naval Aviator. I placed a picture of myself, seated inside the type aircraft I wanted to fly, on my bathroom mirror. Two years later I was assigned to a squadron and flew in that type aircraft.
3.     Trust it. Here is where many of us become discouraged and afraid because we fear the unknown and cannot lay out a specific roadmap or timeframe. In these instances we must trust that our mentor will always lead us in the direction of our highest and best good.
4.     Visualize it. As many times as possible throughout the day use your imagination to see yourself as if you've already accomplished your purpose.
5.     Live it. Allow yourself to act it out in your life. No longer allow yourself to be tied to old ways and habits. Become one and at cause with life and your purpose.
6.     Review it. From time to time review whether or not the results you are receiving are in line with your purpose. Be aware that many times our intellectual nature allows certain negative core beliefs to interfere with the successful achievement of our purpose
7.     Refine it. As we find ourselves nearing our goal it may be necessary that we tweak it to fit our individual circumstances. Don’t be too concerned about this because our mentor/spiritual nature will signal us when necessary.

I hope that you find these 7 steps useful in determining and living out your purpose. Did you notice how our spiritual-intellectual-physical natures complement each other in attaining our purpose? 

Until next time here's hoping that you live today and every day passionately and with purpose. Thank you and God bless!

An Easter Message

During this Easter Season, I would like to share my reflections on the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I know that He was born into this world, experienced both good times and tough times, separated Himself from others in order to pray as well as felt physical and emotional pain.

He said that He came so that we can learn how to have a relationship with God, the father. He also said that anyone who knew the will of His father and did it was His mother, brother or sister. I think what Jesus was trying to say was: "If we know the will of God and do it, then we can treat Him (Jesus) just like family". Which means we can call on Him at any time. In my mind there is no doubt that Jesus really is the Son of God.

But do you want to know what really excites me? This Easter season is what really gets my blood boiling and recharges my faith. This is the season that reminds me of His true purpose. Yes, I know that He was falsely accused, beaten and tried in both the Jewish and Roman courts. I also know that He was convicted and sentenced to die.

When the Roman governor (who knew Jesus was innocent of these charges) offered to execute Barabbas (a known criminal) in place of Jesus, the crowd pitched such a fit that the governor went ahead and signed Jesus’ execution papers. As a result, Jesus was executed on a cross at Calvary. So far, nothing happened to Jesus that hasn't happened to many other innocent victims that were executed. However, now it’s time for the rest of the story.

I believe that the purpose of the death and resurrection was to show us that our life is more than an earthen vessel. When Jesus’ physical body expired on the cross His life force, or spirit, some say went down into hell to handle His business with the devil and show him what ‘s up. I also like to think that He also went and had a talk with His father (ABBA). Then on the 3rd day He came back and picked up that worthless lump of clay that was His body to show others that there is life after death. Didn’t Jesus say He would come back for us?

I believe that the cross was not an implement of death after all but a pedestal where Jesus was lifted up so that everyone could relate to His humanity and call on Him whenever they wish. The real purpose of the Easter Season is to teach us not to fear death, to show us that death has no sting and inform us that the devil is a liar. This is the reason that Easter excites me so much!

And oh, by the way, the Aramaic word "ABBA" is really an intimate translation for the word father. The Aramaic word "BAR" translates as “son of”. Therefore BAR-ABBAS really means son of the father. Aren’t we sons and daughters of God, the father? Jesus was substituted on the cross for us and our sins as well as to show us what’s REALLY UP.

Have a Happy Easter, I will!

Belief, Faith, Sight - Part 4 - Do Your Beliefs Work for You?

This is my final post in this series on belief; faith, sight and their importance in helping us experience a full and successful life. It's important we recognize a successful life does not necessarily mean we will experience wealth, public favor or eminence. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines success as: a favorable result or outcome. It's my assertion that a successful life is one in which we experience peace (even in the midst of chaos) and attain the desires of our heart.

As stated in earlier posts, our beliefs influence our faith. Our faith then influences what we find (see) in this physical world. It naturally follows that flawed beliefs lead to flawed conclusions. These flawed conclusions lead to illusions (which distort reality). The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines illusions as: perception of something objectively existing in such a way as to cause misinterpretation of its actual nature.

The problem is that we attribute qualities or traits to an object (person, place, or thing) that aren't part of its nature. This is why many of us become stressed while going from illusion to illusion believing that life would be better if we could just find this, that or the other thing. We don’t realize that the solution is internal and in most cases resolved by examining our core beliefs. Let me provide an example.

It’s public knowledge I have gone through 3 divorces. It was not until I was willing to face this painful area and found the courage to ask some really tough questions that I was able to take steps to resolve my issues. What I found was as a young boy I went through a very hurtful experience that left me with feelings of not being good enough, unlovable and not worthy.  This event, unbeknownst to me, left me emotionally scarred. It also left me subconsciously avoiding any area of life that included the possibility of my being rejected.

Upon examination, I was able to find the painful emotions that attached themselves to this event and determine they were value judgments that were not true and nonexistent. Now, when I find myself in similar circumstances or situations I separate my emotions from the event. I recognize that while my emotions are an indicator of how I feel at a particular point in time they do not indicate who I really am. These feelings result from my core beliefs.

Once you are able to clear up those areas of your life that aren't working you will begin to reduce the stress in your life. And as you know reducing stress in your life goes a long way to improving your health. In conclusion, a successful life begins with a belief system that consistently works.

What areas of your life aren't working? Is it your finances, relationships, health, home or work environment, etc.? If you like I will e-mail you a questionnaire that will help you to identify those areas as well as the possible emotions and value judgments attached to them.  E-mail me at Al@asapresents.com to receive this free offer.

I hope that you have enjoyed this series on belief; faith, sight and their importance in helping us experience a full and successful life. Let me know what you think. Peace and God bless!      

Belief/Faith/Sight - Part 3 - Seek & You Will Find!

This is my latest post in the series on belief, faith, sight and their importance in helping us to experience a full and successful life.

In my earlier post I discussed the relationship between belief and faith. I stated that our core beliefs are directly related to our quality of life. Core beliefs can be positive or negative and either help or hinder how we experience life. They also act as our subconscious guide to life.

Our negative core beliefs are the primary reasons we have “problem areas” in life. These problem areas are the result of hurtful or painful events that we experienced in the past. These events left us feeling not very good about ourselves and with very strong negative emotions. As a result our subconscious mind influences us to do anything possible to avoid any circumstance or situation that might even remotely remind us of these fearful events and their attached emotions.

As stated in my last post, we will continue to experience these problem areas until we have the courage to face the fears and emotions contained therein. We do this simply by recognizing that we are our own worst enemy. We attached these hurtful sentiments of not being worthy or not being good enough to ourselves. These sentiments are value judgments. They are wrong and exist only in the shadows of our mind. If we have enough courage to ask ourselves the right questions we will find out that these value judgments, just like shadows, are Paper Tigers and have no substance.

Now here is where the rubber meets the road. How many of us know that if we believe in something and seek it with all of our heart, we will find it? Our quality of life starts in our mind and manifests itself in our visible world. Norman Vincent Peale once said: “In every difficult situation is potential value. Believe this, then begin looking for it.”     

If we believe we will find peace in the midst of chaos we will find it. If we believe we will find love in the midst of hate we will find it

The key is that belief precedes faith and faith initiates action. Our actions then lead to results.  It’s a process and the output of every process is a conclusion or result. The circumstance or situation in which we find ourselves does not matter. What matters is that our core beliefs be grounded in a sound belief system that activates our faith to obtain consistent, positive results.

This is why we must continually review our belief system to be certain that it leads us in the direction of our highest and best good because “A successful life is nothing more than a state of mind.”

In my next and final post in this series, I will provide practical examples on how to implement this concept into our daily life. Thanks for your interest.

Peace & God Bless.  

Sixty Seconds

What is it that you fear most and what great thing is this fear preventing you from accomplishing?  You will not be able to be all that you are created to be until you can embrace your fear and determine its root cause.  Let me provide an example of what I’m talking about.

In the past I have felt that there was always something preventing me from giving 100% to every project which I have worked.  It seemed that it was easy for me to provide 80 to 85% of my effort but I could never go all out.  However, without sounding too arrogant, 80 to 85% of my effort is equal to the best that most can offer.  The problem is that 80 to 85% of my effort is no longer good enough for me and I wanted to determine what was holding me back.  Here is what I found.

I found that the reason I could not give 100% was due to my fear of failure and the emotions attached to this fear.  What I had to do was to separate my fear from my emotions.  In order to do this I had to look at each component separately.  What a wonderful experience!  I learned that my fear stemmed from emotions related to my childhood experiences of “not being good enough.”  This knowledge is truly life-changing.

I now know that what ever I attempt in the future will get 100% of my effort.  I know that I will be running “flat out” and that the world “ain’t seen nothing yet”. This knowledge brings to mind the words of the English poet Rudyard Kipling from the final verse of his famous poem entitled “If.”  The words are as follows:

……

If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

Are you looking for someone to provide you with a step by step guide to help you fill the unforgiving minute with 60 seconds worth of distance run?  If so, I suggest you attend my “Straight Talk about Success and Spiritual Growth” public seminar on May 15, in Houston, Texas.  In this seminar, we will discuss how to overcome the obstacles that stand in the way to having success in every facet of our life.    You will learn how to identify and nourish the spiritual part of your being that feeds the success mechanism which lies deep within you.

We will also provide a CD set via the Internet which will discuss in greater detail the information provided in this seminar.  For more information about the seminar and how to register, you may go to the following website: www.asapresents.com/Seminars.html.

"Would of, Could of, Should of"

Have you ever had a good idea that’s been on your mind for quite some time? You believe that this idea could improve a process at work or improve an area of your life or the lives of others. You have researched this idea and have given it considerable thought yet something is holding you back. Maybe you are concerned with what others might think or maybe you are afraid that you may get stuck in the midst of the process and fail.

Let me share with you a quotation from Dr. Maxwell Maltz, the author of a book titled “Psycho Cybernetics”. Dr. Maltz says: "Often the difference between a successful man and a failure is not one's better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on his ideas, to take a calculated risk and to act.”

In my opinion, some of the worst thoughts a person can have while performing a periodic review of their life are the thoughts of: “Would of, Could of, and Should of”. Let me explain. What if we only thought about our earlier idea but never implemented it? At some point in our life we might look back and say: “1. I wonder what would of happened if I had implemented that idea, 2. That idea really could of saved me lots of problems. 3. It was a good idea, I should of continued on and done it anyway.”

You see, if we had the courage to bet on our idea and it was successful then we need not say anything else. On the other hand, if we gave the idea our best effort and failed, then we will regret nothing. Additionally, it is often in the midst of failure when leaders learn the most and apply what they learned not to do to their next effort or idea. I do not know of any leader that has not suffered setback on the way to their success.

Remember that it is never too late! If you have a good idea that has been researched and on your mind for quite some time I suggest that you be strong and courageous. Be strong in your idea and your faith in yourself and your God-given abilities. Be courageous enough to listen to the beat of your drummer and not that of your neighbor.