Author: Michele Foster

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Journaling Can Strengthen Your Self-Discipline and Routine

Strengthen Your Self-Discipline and Routine

“Journal writing, when it becomes a ritual for transformation, is not only life-changing but life-expanding.” – Jen Williamson

As a collegiate and an elite level athlete I had many ups and downs during my swimming career. I started to work with confidence coaches to help find myself, my confidence, my values  and joy in the sport that I loved so much. For some, it is pretty hard to believe that an elite swimmer struggles with confidence, values and trust. And for a long time I didn’t think anyone else was struggling with the same things I was, but let me tell you..the more I started to open up with my friends, teammates, and my confidence coaches it seemed pretty normal to feel the way I felt. It is normal to have phases of life be struggles.

Writing is important and powerful. 

One thing that I have learned from working with confidence coaches is that what I think and say to myself matters. Journaling about goals, writing down how I feel, or writing down things that I did really well that day can also change my mindset to focus on the positives. Also, using meditation and breathing techniques to calm myself down helps regulate my nervous system.

What’s the secret to being happy, finding your purpose and reaching your goals?

For me it’s living in my truths, honing into my values, and understanding that there will always be negatives in life, but it’s about allowing yourself to feel your emotions rather than brushing them off or dealing with them later. Why? Because in reality the longer you hold onto your emotions and feelings, the more they fester and one day you will just explode. I have learned to take a few minutes to understand my emotions, tell myself that this is my brain’s way of dealing with fear or doubt, (being in a fight or flight state) and use the tools in my toolbox such as journaling, meditation and breathwork to help bring myself back down to a calmer state.

You might be thinking, how can I use writing to help find meaning and better understand my purpose? When we choose to write it is a time that can be very sacred as well as being truthful to yourself- reflection without any fear, worry, or judgment from others. It is time with your own thoughts. We can write what we feel and just let it flow out onto the pages. Journaling can be creative and a safe place to document whatever you want that brings you joy. Literally anything you want. Allow yourself to be free and to process all of your emotions whether they are positive or negative.

What is my daily journal routine?

Some of the things that I enjoy journaling about are what I am grateful for. For example, I use this awesome gratitude journal called The Five Minute Journal  where I write first thing in the morning and right before I go to bed.

The Five Minute Journal has the following prompts:

    • What am I grateful for?
    • What would make today great?
    • Daily Affirmations
    • Highlights of the day
    • What did I learn today?

Writing in this journal every day is so simple, quick and easy. I really enjoy it because it forces me to look at the positive rather than the negative things that happen during my day. I feel like it has a lasting positive effect in my life and personal growth.

Another way I like to journal is after practices. Most of the time leaving swim practice I never felt confident or good that I did the work I needed to do. So I learned from a confidence coach to write down something that I did well in a journal and to keep this journal to take to competitions to read before my races. This made me realize that I am a great athlete, I have put in all of the hard work and that I was prepared to race.

Finally, I have spent a lot of time journaling about my feelings, what my goals are in life, what I want to achieve, what my values are, what my truths are, and finding my purpose outside of the pool. This has really helped me learn that I am so much more than a professional swimmer. I am great at anything that I choose to do.

All in all, journaling has helped me learn so much about myself and given me time for self-reflection. Getting my thoughts and feelings down on paper truly has been the best thing for me.

BWB Ambassador Grant House Has a Routine of His Own

Grant House is an extremely motivated, hard working, and disciplined collegiate swimmer at Arizona State University. He has been on the USA National Team and traveled to many international competitions for the US. Some of the things he does daily are: reading 10 pages of a book, journal, writing down at least five things he is grateful for, meditates for 10 minutes, focused breathing after practices, helps a friend and focuses on recovery by stretching, foam rolling, and myofascial release therapy. He loves making these things a part of his routine because he is happier, focused, determined and ready to take on anything that life throws at him. Everything else he focuses on is just being extremely disciplined, works hard, and puts in optimal efforts to be the best swimmer he can be.

Journal Prompts for reflection

    • What are you grateful for?
    • What does happiness mean and look like in your life?
    • What is something you want to achieve? Accomplish? Goals?
    • How can you take action for what you want to achieve and lean into your purpose?
    • What are your talents and abilities? How can you use them in your life or the world around you?
    • What is holding you back? How can you move forward or past what is holding you back?

Get writing and start your journaling routine today, you won’t regret it.

Source: beinewellnessbuilding.com ~ By: Ali De Loof ~ Image: Canva Pro

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Secrets of Self-Discipline: How to Be Disciplined in 15 Imperfect Steps

15 Imperfect Steps to Self-Discipline

Let’s be honest. For most of us, self-discipline is a work in progress wrapped in good intentions, procrastination, and feelings of failure. But it doesn’t have to be.

You know that you should put down your phone and go to sleep, but you just keep playing Candy Crush. Fortunately, you can retrain your brain to conform to your will with a few psychological tricks of your own.

Self-discipline, after all, is a practice. Not every day you practice will be perfect, but each day – with its failures and small wins – brings you closer to your goal. In this guide, we’ll cover tips and strategies to build self-discipline into your daily life.

What is self-discipline?

Self-discipline is the practice of doing what your brain knows is a good choice, even if your body wants to resist. Self-discipline often means putting off your immediate comfort or impulses in favor of long-term success. For example, if you want to read more, you might need to actively eliminate distractions like canceling your Netflix subscription.

The Benefits of Self-Discipline

Practicing self-discipline can boost your well-being and outcomes in different areas of your life, from relationships to health to your career. It’s been proven to help people.

1. You’ll achieve long-term goals.

Self-discipline allows people to stay loyal to high-impact, long-term goals and resist immediate wants to achieve them.

Author and researcher Angela Duckworth describes “passion and perseverance for long-term goals,” also known as grit, as a determining factor for whether people will succeed in competitive environments.

2. You can improve your mental health.

Studies of university student habits found that students practicing self-discipline reported higher levels of self-confidence, peace, happiness, and independence. Researchers also found self-discipline to be negatively correlated with anxiety.

3. Your physical health can benefit.

This is likely pretty obvious, but people who demonstrate regular self-discipline can engage in healthy habits and resist unhealthy ones for better physical health.

A study by Osaka University found that people who implemented five or more healthy lifestyle behaviors — even those over 80 or with chronic conditions — added to their life expectancy.

4. Your relationships will be positively impacted.

Individuals with high self-discipline experience positive effects in intimate, long-term relationships and may also see better success in dating.

5. You’ll become more resilient.

Do you bounce back easily after adversity? Self-discipline can be a predictor of resilience. The more resilient you are, the better control you have over impulses and delayed gratification.

6. You’ll feel happier.

The more productive you are, the more creative and happy you are. The more we feel in control of the origin of our behavior, the better sense of well-being we have, and that makes us happy.

How to Build Self-Discipline: 15 Strategies for Change

Self-discipline happens in our prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for focus, impulse control, and emotion. That means that it’s a psychological function connected to emotion and impulses.

That’s why it’s often inherently in conflict with the logical, rational part of our brains. In order to change our behavior, we have to tap into neuroscience-backed strategies to change. It’s not enough to rely on willpower alone.

The more you change, the easier this becomes as your brain resets to connect reward centers to disciplined behavior.

Think of a new runner. The first few times running may feel slow or make them sore afterward, but then they start to feel the endorphins and dopamine when they run and start to feel the physical benefits, making them want to run more.

Follow these steps to start working toward a goal in your life.

Screenshot 2023-03-15 at 4.42.02 PMHow to Build Self-Discipline. Identify growth areas. Choose your goal (and start small). Visualize your outcome. Set your environment. Don’t wait for it to feel right. Know how you’ll measure progress. Get an accountability partner. Take things off your plate. Build new reward associations. Fail. Take care of yourself. Use time blocking. Treat yo’self. Forgive yo’self. Set bigger goals.

1. Identify growth areas.

First, start by examining areas of your life that you’d like to improve. Perhaps you have an obvious red flag, like poor results from a health screening, a bad performance review, or a plea from a loved one to make a change.

If you’re not sure where to start, write down how you spend your time in a day. Look at your calendar or phone’s screen time report for cues. Then, reflect on what you value and ask yourself whether your behaviors uphold those values.

There are likely a few things you’re doing each day that don’t honor those values — but hey, that’s true for all of us.

Don’t worry, you won’t be tackling all these areas at once, but it’s good to get the big picture. Once you apply self-discipline in one area of your life, the skills will transfer to all other areas.

2. Choose your goal (and start small).

Now that you’ve identified some growth areas, choose one to focus on first. Start small by choosing an area that you believe is easiest to achieve. That way, you can experience the emotional rewards of success quickly, enabling you to move on to more ambitious goals.

If you have a big goal in mind, choose a smaller version of it to accomplish first.

For instance, if you dream of doing an Ironman competition someday, start with a sprint triathlon or individual running, swimming, and biking races. If you want to lose 50 pounds, start with five.

Start by setting goals for just one week at a time.

3. Visualize your outcome.

Did you know that you’re more likely to reach your goals if you write them down? The act of writing down goals creates a link in the physical world to what’s going on in your head and serves as a reminder.

This can be as simple as a sticky note on your computer monitor or as complex as a vision board.

Visualizing yourself achieving your goals can also give you a greater chance of success. Your brain interprets imagery as real and creates new neural pathways to allow us to follow through. So, when you imagine something vividly, your brain chemistry changes as if you had actually experienced it.

Try saying affirmations out loud (“I can…”) to visualize your success and squash your feelings of inadequacy.

4. Set your environment.

Before you start, make changes to your environment to increase your chances of success. Studies show that your environment makes a difference for people trying to achieve exercise goals.

If you want to eat better, purge all the junk food from your house. If you want to read more, cancel Netflix or delete social media apps from your phone — whatever you know might distract you.

While ultimately you want to practice self-discipline in any environment, removing distractions where you spend the most time can be helpful at first.

Changing your environment also signals to you that something has changed. You aren’t just repeating your life on the same Groundhog Day-like loop.

5. Don’t wait for it to feel right.

If you wait for your schedule to clear up, your kids to get older, or your inbox to reach a manageable level, you might never get started on the work that needs to be done. Embrace every moment and try to do your best work.

6. Know how you’ll measure progress.

If you don’t know how you’ll track progress, it will be difficult to know whether you’re succeeding. Be sure to set a goal that’s measurable.

Instead of “be a better father,” you may want to set a goal like “spend two hours of 1:1 time with my daughter each week.”

In a business context, look at what goals you want to achieve and then work backward to see what activities it’ll take to get there. If you want to reach your sales quota for one month, start by identifying how many meetings you should book and set a goal for yourself for each week.

7. Get an accountability partner.

Peer pressure gets a bad rap, but it can also be used for good. Asking for accountability, particularly from someone you live with, can go a long way to build self-discipline.

You can engage in one-way accountability, where you ask someone to check in with you or hold you accountable at regular intervals. The best kind of accountability, though, is two-way accountability where two people commit to hold each other accountable for a set period.

The social pressure of knowing someone will ask you about how you’re doing is a powerful motivator and doesn’t take the self away from self-discipline.

8. Lighten your load.

Dr. Abby Medcalf explains that willpower is an exhaustible resource. You may have a full tank and full motivation at the start of the day, but by the time you hit 6 p.m., your self-control has been chipped away.

Your car broke down, your kids frazzled you, you burned dinner, and now your boss just texted asking you to work on something tonight. At this point, you just throw in the towel and pour yourself a glass of whatever you’re trying to avoid.

Set yourself up for success by taking things off your plate. Get that cleaning service or that meal service to give yourself more free time, or simply say no to some commitments you can live without.

9. Build new reward associations.

Habits are hard to break because. It feels safe to follow patterns we know, and we’ve established reward associations — for instance, the delicious taste of eating a huge bowl of ice cream.

In one study of app-based mindfulness training, participants used a craving tool to report their responses to eating different foods and amounts. After using the tool just 10 times in some cases, participants reduced their craving-based behavior by 40% just by being aware of how they felt.

By journaling or paying close attention to how you feel when you perform an old or new action, you can re-evaluate your old reward loops. This strategy also lets you form new reward associations, like a great night of sleep after cutting out alcohol.

10. Fail.

It’s not that those with self-discipline never have days where they eat all the doughnuts in the kitchen, spend 45 minutes on social media, and lose two prospects — all before 10:00 AM. They definitely have these days, but then they wake up the next morning and start over.

Self-discipline is the act of trying, failing, and trying again. Know what your plan is when you fail. Check in with your accountability partner, and be ready to try again the next day.

11. Take care of yourself.

Self-discipline is worth very little if you’re hurting yourself to achieve it. Chasing some goals can come at the expense of your overall health and create new problems.

If you’re burning the midnight oil for weeks or months on end to be more “self-disciplined,” you’ve missed the point.

Part of self-discipline is taking care of yourself. Breaks throughout the day, a healthy diet, time in nature, and healthy relationships will recharge you to help you stay focused on your goal. As Dr. Abby Medcalf says, your day starts when you choose to go to bed and set your alarm the night before.

12. Use time blocking.

If your biggest excuse for change is that you’re too busy, there’s a way to play yourself at your own game. Time blocking is a method of scheduling time on your calendar not just for meetings, but for rest, focus time, and dreaded activities you just keep putting off.

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Alongside meetings, there’s time blocked for workouts, focus time, end-of-day admin tasks, and lunch. For a busy executive (or any other person), this ensures that the most urgent tasks don’t nudge out important tasks that need focus time.

At first glance, this may look like there’s no white space in your schedule at all. Time blocking doesn’t mean that every hour is busy, it just means that every hour is intentional.

13. Treat yo’self.

Want your good habits to stick? Reward yourself. Too much deprivation often means we start justifying bad behaviors. This often sounds like, “I’ve earned this,” or “I deserve this.” This is often the beginning of the end of our progress.

Instead, give yourself treats throughout your self-discipline practice. These treats, whether a nice dinner or a new pair of shoes, will help you feel restored and balanced.

14. Forgive yo’self.

Just as importantly, you must forgive yourself when you slip. We talked about it already, but you will fail. It’s inevitable. What’s important is that you move forward. To do that you’ve got to forgive yourself.

Give yourself some grace. Did you fail to meet your goal? Yep. Will you have to work hard tomorrow to catch up? Probably. Will this have any effect on your long-term progress? Nope.

Once you’ve looked at the impact of your slip, you can decide how to move forward and get back on track. Step one? Make sure your alarm is set before going to bed.

15. Set bigger goals.

Once you achieve a small goal, you’ll feel a sense of reward. It won’t feel the same as finishing that bowl of delicious ice cream — it’ll feel different. Inspiring. Next, you can set a bigger goal and use the same strategies to continue or tackle a different area of your life.

Remember, self-discipline is a practice. You will not be perfect every day. What’s important is showing up each day ready to try. So, what changes are you going to make today?

Source: blog.hubspot.com ~ By: Meg Prater ~ Image: Canva Pro

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7 Daily Disciplines You Should Commit to for Sustained Joy

Disciplines to Commit to for Sustained Joy

476 A.D. the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, was overthrown by a Germanic leader, and the western half of the empire fell into ruins. Trade routes were cut off, the economy came to a screeching halt, and agricultural production plummeted. It was the beginning of what is now known as the “Dark Ages.”

As the world descended into chaos, a glimmer of hope came from Christians who were reminded that “their hope is not of this world.” Their solution was to create communities that were devoted to intentional practices that cultivated their soul. This would give them stability in a world of chaos.

These communities were called monasteries, and the intentional practices were disciplines.

As the world around them was crumbling, the disciplines of the monks kept them grounded and focused on the development of their moral and spiritual character.

Today, disciplines still function as intentional practices to shape our mental faculties and moral character. They provide stability in a world where we aren’t guaranteed anything. If committed to, disciplines can orient our minds to experience joy in an inconsistent, unstable world.

It sounds weird to link the word discipline and joy together. One sounds morose and one embodies happiness.

But in my study of joy, I discovered that joy requires intentionality. If we let the world around us determine our emotional state, it’s not joy. It’s happiness, which is just as fleeting as our circumstances. Joy is developed from the inside out, which means, we need practices to develop our inner world.

If you want to cultivate a habit of joy, consider adding these intentional disciplines into your daily life…

1. Visualization

If joy is the result of hope, then the more connected we are to our future, the more joy we’ll have. But how can we better hope in the future?

This is where the discipline of visualization comes in. Visualization is the practice of making your ideal future more concrete in your mind. You start by imagining your ideal future identity that’s not a fanciful version of who you are. This person must match your values of today, as a study from psychologist, Hal Ersner-Hershfield, found.

Start detailing the future identity of the person who achieves your life goals. The more familiar you are with that future, the more you prime your mind to create it. This gives us joy as our hope in the future becomes more concrete.

2. Journaling

Journaling every day has quickly become my go-to practice for daily joy. And it’s proven by science to be effective. Several studies reveals journaling helps heal trauma, reduce stress, increase health, and much more.

To journal effectively, you can ask yourself how you’re feeling, record learning lessons and gratitudes, or just write about your daily experience. But the act of writing about life is proven to increase your joy.

3. Meditation

Meditation is also an important practice for joy. In a busy world, meditation can help us slow down and center ourselves. And again, it’s proven by science to be effective. Studies show that meditation reduces stress and anxiety and also improves our quality of life.

Slowing down for just a few moments and be mindful of the present moment can help you calm your brain down so you live a more joyful life, focused on the positive.

4. Solitude

In their book, Lead Yourself First, authors Raymond Kethledge and Michael Erwin, define solitude as isolating your mind from the input of other minds. In this sense, solitude is not about a physical isolation where you shut yourself away in a cabin. You can practice solitude by pursuing your own thoughts in the middle of a coffee shop.

In today’s busy and information-heavy world, we are constantly surrounded by input. We have social media, texts, podcasts, news, and several other sources to keep our minds busy. This deadens our ability to listen to our own minds, find what we have to say.

With solitude, we can reclaim alignment with ourselves and the contribution we can make, which increases our inner joy.

5. Flow

Have you ever been in a state where you were completely absorbed in what you were doing? You might’ve experience what psychologist, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, defines as flow. Flow is a mental state where you are totally immersed in an activity.

In his book, Flow, Csikszentmihalyi says that flow is the result of an optimal experience, a time where our mind and/or body experiences deep enjoyment by being stretched to its limit. This experience is something we can make happen. We can pursue activities that give us flow, and thus, increase our joy and happiness in the present moment.

You can enter a state of flow by finding an activity that gives you that optimal experience, and commit to doing it every day.

6. Movement

Physical exercise has long been noted as being one of the best ways to increase happiness. But exercise does not have to be strenuous to give you benefits. Studies show that just going on a small walk can make you happier.

This is important to note because conventional wisdom would say that exercising about 3 times a week would counter the effects of sitting all day, every day. But studies reveal that exercise like this is not the antidote to the harmful effects of sitting. Consistent movement is.

Our bodies were made to move, even if just a little. But today’s society forces us to sit in the same position every day. Instead of guilting yourself to go to the gym more often, just make it a discipline to move your body.

7. Mindful Eating

Mindful eating is about paying attention to what you are putting in your body. It is not a practice of restriction or diet-culture, but mainly choosing to be conscious and aware of what food you are eating and how you are eating it.

In his book, Mindless Eating, Brian Wansink reveals that when people eat alone they are more likely to have a large binge feeding. There are also several studies that find a link to eating alone and poor diets. One reason is, when we are alone, we’re more likely to eat for emotional comfort rather than finding foods that are more nutritious for us. As we deprive our bodies of the necessary nutrients, we fall more prone to impaired mental health.

Mindless eating only hurts us. Mindful eating helps us become aware of what we are putting in our bodies and how. And as we take care of our bodies, we also take care of our minds and help them find joy.

The discipline of joy

Joy itself is a discipline. The world around us, as uncertain and unstable as it is, can produce an anxiety in our spirits. If we want to live a healthier, more joyful life, we must be intentional about it. To do this, it’s best we pursue practices that orient our minds toward happiness.

This list of practices is only scratching the surface. There are several disciplines that make joy easier in the present. The best way to start incorporating these in your daily life is not to start doing all of them, but find the ones that correlate with your values.

Choose a handful of disciplines to intentionally practice every day, and your mind will start to lean in a more positive direction.

Source: medium.com ~ By: Neal Samudre ~ Image: Canva Pro

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Achieving Happiness Through Self-Discipline

Achieving Happiness Through Self-Discipline

Self-discipline and happiness seem to be two contradicting concepts, and using them in the same sentence is unacceptable. Self-discipline brings to mind the idea of “work and effort”, while happiness is usually associated with “pleasure” and the absence work.

For most, self-discipline can never be the source of what makes them happy because the relationship with what it means to be happy is misplaced.

Happiness is not the absence of work, it is the absence of guilt, shame, regret, anger, resentment, frustration, sadness, self-doubt, fear, boredom, stress, anxiety, loneliness, and all negative emotions.

Absence of work may give you momentary gratification, but the absence of self-discipline and wasting time with momentary gratifications ultimately results in un-ending negative feelings.

Importance of Self-Discipline

It is an established fact that without discipline, success becomes merely an untranslatable dream. Self-discipline allows you to develop problem solving skills, and helps you make the right choices. It also helps you cultivate strong relationships, and gives you the ability to manage debts, make use of opportunities, and develop a positive attitude towards your health.

This ability to make the right choices at the right time leads to a successful personal and professional life. No one can negate the fact that being blessed in your personal life and having success in your professional life guarantees a certain level of happiness.

Another aspect of being disciplined and happy at the same time is that self-control can help you avoid indulging in problematic situations, distractions, and poor habits. This can help you avoid making rash decisions that can cause regret, discontentment, stress, and resentments.

“When you proactively avoid tension by being disciplined, you are definitely earning happiness.”

As a disciplined person you are more likely to achieve what you want from life. Victory in life brings confidence and ultimately enables you to embrace the fact that you can achieve anything you want. Furthermore you become proud by the fact that you have achieved success through your own efforts.

“Being in control of the way you lead your life makes you more content, satisfied, and confident, and this creates happiness.”

A high disposition towards self-discipline enables people to experience fewer problematic desires, and set goals in favor of more virtuous outcomes, which in turn result in a happier life.

How to Become Self-Disciplined

The most tested and proven way to become self-disciplined is to remove distractions and temptations from your environment. If you want to eat healthy, unsubscribe from those fast-food promotional texts you get at lunch from the visiting food truck.

If you want to focus on your project, turn off your cell phone or at least turn off the notifications when it’s time to get things done. Keeping your work desk clean and your files organized will also go a long away to help you become more focused. The fewer distractions you face the easier it becomes to stay focused on your goals and tasks.

The other step towards becoming more self-disciplined, is to have set goals and a clear plan to achieve them. By having an action plan that guides you daily towards your goals, you will never get side-tracked. A clear plan that outlines each step towards your goal, will help you stay focused. You can also keep a journal to keep tabs on your plans and use it as a way to check in with yourself on an ongoing basis.

“Your will-power is determined by your beliefs. If you believe that you have limited willpower, you are more likely to become exhausted.”

Will-power plays an important role in developing self-discipline. Will-power is elastic and can be stretched to infinity. You can train yourself to control your actions, rather than being on autopilot.

Improving your self-discipline means changing your not so great habits, which at first can be uncomfortable and feel awkward.

“When a good behavior becomes a habit, your decision-making power embraces it.”

Changing habits takes time. Neuroscience says that it usually requires 90 days of repetitive brain-hacking of your beliefs. This is why mantras work so well as a way to re-program your mind to become more disciplined.

Constantly self-regulating, according to morals, standards, and social expectations can result in living a dull, mundane, and joyless life.

The fact is, self-disciplined people start feeling joy in doing things because they create a controlled environment. They are less driven by the need for immediate gratification, or pleasure. They have trained their minds to associate pleasure with the journey life offers.

“By balancing desires and goals with discipline, you have more good moods and higher levels of satisfaction, and this leads to sustainable happiness.”

Contrary to what most believe, disciplined people are not self-denying or unhappy, rather they are happier than many because they have mastered restricting impulses, and temporary pleasures. They have picked virtue over vice.

Self-discipline is about choosing virtues that deliver sustainable joy in your life, and embracing the journey as the adventure instead of the distractions.

Source: medium.com ~ By: Tullio Siragusa ~ Image: Canva Pro

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7 Tips to Becoming a Millionaire

Becoming a millionaire is easier than it’s ever been.

Many people have been writing me with the notion that it’s an impossible task. They say, “It’s pure luck. You have to be born into a rich family. You’ll have to win the Lotto. Your parents have to help you out a lot.”

A single mother with five children wrote the following, “Daniel, I read your article and I believe in what you’re saying. However, I’m 50 years old and work long hours at two dead-end jobs. It’s Christmas time and I barely have enough money to buy gifts for my children. What should I do?”

Another man wrote, “Well, if you work for the government or a non-profit, you cannot expect to become a millionaire. After all, you’re on a fixed salary and there’s little time for anything else. By the time you get home, you’ve got to play with the kids and entertain yourself.”

These queries got me thinking of the true possibilities of wealth all over the world, particularly in America. I’ve seen people come to America who speak little to no English, have no connections, no money, or formal education, but have still been able to create fortunes for themselves and others.

The truth is that all of us can become as wealthy as we decide to be. None of us is excluded from wealth. If you have the desire to receive money, whatever the amount, you have all of the rights to do so. There’s no limit to how much you can earn for yourself.

Money is like the sun. It does not discriminate. It doesn’t say, “I will not give light and warmth to this flower, tree, or person because I don’t like them.” Like the sun, money is abundantly available to all of us who truly believe that it is for us. No one is excluded.

Here are 7 tips to becoming a millionaire:

1. Change Your Thinking

You have to see the bigger picture. When most people see just trees, you need to look at the entire forest. This way, you’ll be able to chart your own course and get to where you want to be. By having a vision and the goals to attain that vision, your possibilities are endless.

You’ll have to go through plenty of self-discovery before you earn your first million. Knowing the truth about yourself isn’t always the easiest task. Sometimes, you’ll find that you’re your biggest enemy and best friend — even in the same day! Nonetheless, changing your thinking is a requirement for wealth.

2. Save Relentlessly

This will address the queries that I’ve recently received. For many individuals, there’s too much month at the end of the money. However, you’ll have to make your best effort to save as much as you can, even if it’s a ridiculously low number.

There are many techniques for saving money. You need to find your own system and start building your wealth. Even if you’re on a fixed income, you need to find the discipline necessary to save. Whether you start out with saving $50 or $500 per month, do the best you can and invest this money in the best way possible.

3. Learn from Millionaires

Most people are surrounded by what I like to call “Default Friends.” These friends are acquaintances that we see at the grocery store, gym, school, work, and other places. We naturally befriend these people as trust grows. However, in most cases, these people aren’t millionaires and cannot help you become one either.

If you truly desire and aspire to be a millionaire, these people may tell you that it’s impossible. They’ll tell you that you’re living in a fantasy world and why you’ll never be able to make it happen. Instead, learn from millionaires. Let go of these relationships and seek new ones that can help you get to the next level.

4. Indulge in Wealth

To become wealthy, you must first learn about wealth. This means that you’ll have to put yourself in situations that you’ve never been before. For instance, you can test drive a new car, get a realtor to show you an expensive home, or get a brownie from the finest bakery in town.

Most of this will not break your bank. In fact, some of it is free. You’ll have to go where 97 percent of people aren’t willing to go if you want to make your financial dreams happen. Are there luxury golf courses, spas, or museums in your area that will allow you to indulge in wealth? If so, take advantage.

5. Believe It’s Possible

If you believe that it’s possible to become a millionaire, you can make it happen. However, if you’ve excluded yourself from this possibility and think that it’s for other people, you’ll never have money. Also, be sure to bless rich people when you can. Haters of money aren’t likely to receiving any of it either.

The best way to do this is to learn relentlessly about yourself and money. You can do this by reading books that have been written by millionaires themselves. By gaining a well-rounded education and staying inspired, you’ll be able to get the wealth you’ve been looking for.

6. Enlarge Your Service

Your material wealth is the sum of your total contribution to society. If you know my famous question, “How do I deliver more value to more people in less time?” then you’ll know that you can always increase your quality and quantity of service. People are waiting to be served.

Enlarging your service is also about “going the extra mile.” When it comes to helping others, you must give it everything you have. Don’t think about if the people you serve will appreciate it or not. You just plant the seeds and nature will take care of the rest.

7. Seize ALL Opportunities

In every neighborhood, no matter where you are, there are always opportunities to do good. Your community desperately needs your help. If you would only open your mind and heart to these opportunities, you’ll find that they will be ready to reward you in due time.

Furthermore, you cannot say “no” to opportunities and expect to become a millionaire. You must seize every opportunity that has your name on it. Sometimes the monetary reward will not come immediately, but if you keep planting seeds, eventually you’ll grow your fruitful crop.

Money is the harvest of your production. Everything that you have is in direct proportion to your actions. If you’ve done everything that you can do and have a purpose leading your life, you can expect to become wealthy. You must desire wealth and eventually the money will come when you are ready for it.

The more seeds (service) you plant, the more plants (money) you’ll have

Source: entrepreneur.com ~ By: Daniel Ally

 

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