How to Create and Use Your Own GPS - Growth Plan for Success

GPS usually stands for "Global Positioning System." But it could stand for "Growth Plan for Success." You need a plan to reach any stage of success, and success usually is a result of personal growth. Here are a few things to consider for your plan.

Thinking and acting positively is part of training yourself to feel and believe you are going to be successful. It is your self-fulfilling prophecy! But it will only work if you make it work. You need to create your own GPS, not one someone else has created. Others can give you suggestions, but only you can decide what will work for you and your circumstances.

Success is no accident, you do need to make a plan. First, you need to plan our your long-term goals. Decide where you want to be, and then you need to decide on your strategy and have an action plan for things you want to achieve and target dates for reaching those goals.

Set your short-term goals after you determine your long-term goals. Review them on a regular basis. Each successive goal should be just a little harder than you think you can manage. Always make sure you are aiming higher than you think you can reasonably reach at each stage. Even if you don't quite make that higher goal, most likely you will have accomplished more than if you had set your goal lower. Dream dreams, dream big dreams!

Your GPS needs to be a highly visible part of your life every day. It should be a written plan and be somewhere you can see it every morning. You need to review your goals, and review the steps you will take to achieve them. Every day you should pick at least one thing to achieve that takes you nearer to your long-term goal. Take one step at a time, one turn in a new direction at a time, but never stop moving forward, never lose your momentum. It is much harder to start over than it is to keep following your GPS. If you fail to keep sight of your goals, you will never achieve them.

If possible, create a dream board with the things you want to do or have when you reach your "destination." Be as specific as possible. The things you put on your board should be things you get emotional about when you think about them. Don't put a picture of money up there, put a picture of what you want to buy with that money. Think about why it is you want that "thing" you can buy with that money. Then, make a chart of the steps you need to take to reach your goals so that you can cross each item off as you complete them. This will give you a great sense of accomplishment and a realization that you are in control of your success every day by taking at least one step forward.

One way to help you believe in yourself and in your ability to reach your goals is to see yourself in the future one year, two years, or five years from where you are right now. Imagine yourself doubling your current income. How would that make you feel? What would you do with the extra money? What if you tripled your income? What would you do with all of that money? Chances are you may find it difficult to spend all of that money. But now you don't have to worry about paying bills anymore. The more "real" your vision, the deeper the desire becomes and the closer to your "reality" it will become. The universe will already be in motion to give you what you request if you just keep moving forward with your plan.

Make the best use of your time as possible. If you let fear hold you back, you will put off starting on your "trip", whether it be fear of failure or fear of success. Yes, you could actually be afraid to succeed, afraid of what your friends and family will think of you. Procrastination sets in and you may find yourself looking for any excuse to not get started. Maybe you need just one more cup of coffee or you have to read your email first. This is not the way to get to the "road to success." Get focused and get started. It just needs to be progress, it does not need to be perfect.

It's OK to be fearful, that is natural. Take on a task in stages and work out short periods of time to do at least a part of a task. Think of it as stepping stones on a path that you can only see a short distance in front of you. As you step on the next stone, the path in front of you opens up a little more. You don't have to see all the way to the end of the path, you just need to see the next stepping stone and keep moving along the path. Stay focused and don't allow distractions. Allow yourself peace and quiet. Put a sign on the door if necessary to let family members know you are hard at work on your "GPS."

Learn to work the plan, live with the plan, and see the plan as your roadmap to success. Don't treat it as an enemy--actually it is your best friend. Review your progress and goals frequently. Learn from your mistakes and grow with each step of the process. You will never be the same person in the end that you were in the beginning, whether or not you reach your ultimate "destination." Every successful step you take makes you a different person, with more knowledge and skills. Each unsuccessful step you take also makes you a different person, with a different kind of knowledge that will steer you in a different direction.

Make sure your plan allows time for you to enjoy the journey, to think about where you want to go, and why. Enjoy the personal growth you have made along the way. It is the journey that is the most fun, don't miss it while you look into the future.

Plan your future with a success plan, your own "GPS" that becomes your daily routine. Keep challenging yourself to improve your knowledge and skills to succeed, not just in business, but in life as well. Keep moving forward. You will find that success you are looking for.

Best of Success,
Stephan Iscoe

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Would You Speak to Your Friends the Way You Speak to Yourself?

Very often when we speak to our friends, we shower them with compliments, praise and approval. It makes them feel proud, valued and respected and makes us feel good as well. We recognize the benefit of positive speech, we see the happiness it brings to our friends and we feel good about bringing this joy to others. So if we know all this, why is it so hard to speak this way to ourselves?

For many moms, negative self talk is a way of life. "I'm so dumb/lazy/fat" can be how we define ourselves. We place ourselves in a particular category and limit ourselves from ever expanding beyond it. It's like we're willingly putting ourselves in prison while we hold the key. It's bad enough many moms feel this way about themselves but most share these negative thoughts with their coworkers, friends, spouses and even children.

So let's look at how negative self talk would affect those in each group, starting with coworkers. Maybe you said something you didn't intend to say at a meeting, submitted a report that wasn't your best or handled a situation in a way that wasn't the most effective. You berate yourself, letting others know just how terrible your actions were. What message are your coworkers receiving? Are you a valuable resource and integral part of the team or are you positioning yourself as a weak link? Is your contribution necessary and valued or would your office have been better off without your input? Those answers are determined and defined by how you portray yourself. Of course we all make mistakes, but when we magnify them we're simply making more of the mistake while making less of ourselves.

Now take a look at how you speak about yourself when you're with your friends. We teach others how to treat us. If we speak negatively about ourselves, we're setting the tone for others to do the same. It shows we don't value or respect ourselves so others learn to follow by example. For some moms however, criticizing themselves is their way of fishing for compliments. For example, one mom says how bad of a mom she is in order to receive a reassuring boost that she is in fact a good mom. The problem with this method is that friends may find it tiresome and draining. At some point, when you keep putting yourself down, your friend may simply not want the responsibility of picking you up. That's your job, not hers. She wants to be loyal and supportive, but her time and energy is limited. Does she want to spend it boosting your self esteem or enjoying your company?

Then there's the way we speak about ourselves to our spouses or significant others. For most of us, we want our relationships to bring us joy, satisfaction, enrichment and fulfillment. We want to feel loved, respected, appreciated and adored. So let's look at how we're going about this. What are we "bringing to the table" when we show that we don't love and respect ourselves by calling ourselves names? To make matters worse, why would we choose to point out all of our imperfections? No one's perfect, but by finding a way to love our uniqueness, idiosyncrasies and quirkiness others can love them too. It's "the spin" we put on ourselves; if we think we're something special, that feeling radiates to those around us.

Finally, let's examine how our negative self talk affects our children. Imagine you're getting ready to go out, you're getting dressed and your children are in your room with you. Clothes are flying everywhere as you scramble to find something that's clean, stylish and fits without cutting off your circulation. You're frustrated, angry with yourself for letting yourself go and not taking the time to buy clothes that suit your current size. While this may be a defining moment where you embark on healthier eating and exercise, it's a defining moment for your kids as well.

First of all, you are your children's greatest role model. They study you to learn how to think, feel, behave and react. So think about what you're teaching them. Is this how you want them to think, feel and act? Of course not, so why is that the lesson you're choosing to teach them? If you want them to accept, love and appreciate themselves, then why don't you give yourself that same love and appreciation? You're their mom and that's why they love you. Period. It's who you are, not how you look or what you wear.

Learning how to speak to ourselves more positively may take some practice. For some it means counteracting every negative comment with a positive comment. For others it may mean finding something they like about themselves in order to begin the process of self love. Whatever gets you there doesn't matter. What's important is to begin speaking to ourselves the way we speak to others...for everyone's sake.


Debi Silber, MS, RD, WHC is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Personal Trainer, Whole Health Coach, Lifestyle Expert just for moms and the President of Lifestyle Fitness, Inc. For nearly 20 years, Debi has been working exclusively with moms, insiring and empowering them to become physically fit and emotionally strong through gradual, lifestyle changes. For more information on the Lifestyle Fitness Program, please visit http://www.lifestylefitnessinc.com

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7 Great Questions for Discovering Your Passions

Leading a fulfilling life - a life you love and feel great about - is a matter of knowing how to put the pieces of your life together in a way that empowers you.

Your best life starts with CLARITY.

You create a fulfilling life by creatively capitalizing on your talents, passions and values. Self-knowledge is empowering. Once you have the ability to articulate your gifts you gain the power to actively use them, or leverage them, in your life.

The more you know about yourself the more power you have to create the life you most want. The more you understand, the more you have to work with.

Why is it important to discover your passions? Well, think of it this way. What do you think of when you think of "passion"? Probably something exciting, enticing and fun!

Another way to say it is passion = energy.

Energy that feels good!

Creating your best life takes energy. Your passions will give you the energy to do the work you need to do to create the life you most want.

That's because what we are passionate about is what we care deeply about. It's as if we MUST DO those things we are most passionate about.

If you're struggling in your life or career today it could be you're not involved in work you feel passionate about. In other words, you may not care deeply enough about the work you're doing to give it your all. Or, you may not have enough self-knowledge to bring YOUR BEST to everyday life.

Discovering your passions TURNS ON YOUR POWER. That's because once you discover and understand what you're most passionate about and find the words to articulate your passions, you can begin organizing your life around your passions. This will allow you to leverage THE BEST of who you are to create a life you love. That not only leads to a life that works well, it leads to a life that feels great from the inside out!

The following seven questions will assist you in discovering and articulating your passions. Be as descriptive as you'd like.

1. What do I most often give to others?

2. What do I have the most fun doing?

3. What do others look to me for?

4. What am I most often complimented on?

5. What do I do where I lose all track of time?

6. What do the people closest to me say my passions are?

7. What ideas, things, places and/or people am I most inspired by?


Copyright (c) 2007 Cari Vollmer


Cari Vollmer, founder of LifeOnTrack.com and creator of InspireYourSuccess.com, simplifies personal growth by showing you step-by-step how to create and live a life that works well and feels great! To sign up for her FREE how to articles and no-charge 5-Day Feel Great Now E-Course visit http://www.LifeOnTrack.com
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