Putting things off until tomorrow or next week will almost always turn into another tomorrow or another week—or worse yet, never.

Procrastination becomes a habitual and conditioned behavior that will destroy any chance of real achievement.

There are several ways to procrastinate:

1. You can put things off by never choosing to do anything
2. You can also put things off by choosing to do something, but never starting it.
3. You can put things off by starting something, but not continuing it.
4. You can continue, continue, continue, something, but never finish it!

Those four approaches to achievement require no time-line or accountability, and offer very little in the form of reward or success.

The fifth approach—start, continue, and finish—does require you to set a time-line, hold yourself accountable, and take massive and consistent action. In the achievement process, it is vital, even though the task may eventually get done, that you do not put off until tomorrow something that you could have done today. Doing so sends a message to your unconscious mind and the universe that “maybe you’re not really that serious about your objective. Maybe there are more important things, like e-mail, TV, or hanging with your friends.” Is that the message you want to send, or are you serious about achieving your desired outcome?

There is a caveat, however: If you find at any point in the pursuit of your goal that you’re just not falling in love with the idea of achieving it, then maybe what you’re pursuing just isn’t what you really want after all. If your goal was to learn how to play golf and it turns out you hate the game, why continue? Call the goal completed, and move on to something you are passionate about. It is not a failure –only feedback. If you continue to pursue it just because you feel like you have to finish what you start – your likely hood of procrastination will go up 10 fold.  And you will ultimately feel like you actually did fail –and with good reason.

The number one way to end procrastination forever is to do only what you are passionate about and love doing. If your goal is to lose weight but you hate going to the gym, you will continue to put off going to the gym until you wind up not going at all. If your final desired outcome is to look and feel great, and losing 20 pounds will help you achieve it, find a way to achieve your sub-goal that does not involve having to go to the gym or doing something you hate.

One of my coaching clients had just that very dilemma. He absolutely hated having to work out, especially indoors when the weather outside was beautiful. We tossed around some ideas, and he finally remembered that he loved to play volleyball as a kid. I suggested that he seek out opportunities in his community to play the game for fun or sport. As it happened, there was an outdoor volleyball court in the nearby park, and a group of people would get together to play three times each week. He watched for a couple of games and then asked if there was a chance for him to join in. Sure enough, he wound up playing three days per week for almost 90 minutes each day for the next three months. Not only was he able to lose the weight and gain the energy he wanted, but he made some really great new friends along the way.

Forcing yourself to do something you don’t enjoy or flat-out hate will almost assuredly lead to procrastination and failure.

Remember: Procrastination kills achievement.

Was Arnold Schwarzenegger just lucky or did he have a strategy for success?

Recorded live during an on-line training – In this video I share some of my goal achievement insights with a tough interviewer and a live audience and answer the question “do we really have to set goals to achieve what we want in life?”

Check out this short video and share your thoughts and your strategy for success below…

Do you know, like and trust your body? In this short training video filmed during a live teleconference we talk about the importance of “body rapport” and the brutal truth about who you are at your core.  Look and listen for the parts of the message that resonates with you and please share your thoughts.

Thanks,

~ The Achievement Mentor

Every now and then you happen to meet someone, who you may not realize at that moment but will have a profound impact on your life. A few years ago when I was working with Harv Eker at Peak Potentials I had the pleasure of sharing the stage with a gentleman (and I mean that in every sense of the word) who would later become a very dear friend.

What I did  know at that time was that Stewart Welch was one of the countries most brilliant financial minds and the owner of the prestigious Welch Group Financial Services and the author of The Complete Idiots Guide To Getting Rich and several other books on the subject.

What I didn’t know was that Stewart was also a rabid fitness enthusiast and personal development trainer who had already changed the lives of millions through his practice and philosophy.

What you’ll read bellow is one of his success strategies that has had a massive impact on my life and the energy I bring to and from each day.  I hope it has the same impact on your life.

“To become a master of change and to perfect my attitude, I thought it was only necessary to look ‘inward’. And looking inward is necessary. While looking inward, I discovered that to truly become a master of oneself, you must also reach ‘outward’. In doing so I developed a strategy I call The Power of 3² (3 squared) + 3, which has transformed my life forever. My prayer is that you’ll commit to trying this for one week…and that it will transform your life as well.” ~  Stewart Welch, III

Here’s the simple Formula:

1. List 3 blessings Before rising each day, take a moment to list 3 things that you are grateful for. What you focus on in your life will expand; therefore takes some time each day to remember the things in your life you are grateful for.

2. List 3 daily actions Before starting your day, list the 3 most important things you need to accomplish this day. At least one of those actions must be focused on one of your predetermined intentions (goals). Don’t end your day until all 3 are done.Be clear about your intentions, and then take action. The universe rewards action.

3. Uplift 3 people Commit to encouraging 3 people in a very specific way each day. You’ll know you achieved it when you see their life ‘light up’ in their eyes.

4.Celebrate 3 successes At the end of your day, identify and celebrate three ‘wins’ (positive results) for your day.

Tip: Maintaining a log book is a great way to record your successes and will serve a powerful reminder of all the good you have done when you get a little down.   To gain access to the Power of 3² + 3 Journal and learn how…

…beginning on May 30th Stewart will apply his world  famous “9 Secrets of Success” to the areas of Nutrition, Health & Fitness to see what he can achieve within 40 days.  Discover what you can achieve when you become Laser focused on your goals.  Go to The Quest

Have you ever had the experience of holding back or not doing something because you were afraid it wouldn’t be perfect?  Or maybe you doggedly and tirelessly worked on perfecting something before revealing or releasing it -and by the time you did (if you ever did) it was to late or you completely missed the impact it might have had earlier?  Or maybe you got so caught up in making sure it was “just right” that you missed out on the fun or reward of just freaking doing it.

It happens all the time.

I can remember as a stupid kid missing out on a really cool and what should have been fun bike ride all my friends were taking just because I had to make sure my bike had the perfect spit shine… I was seriously bummed.

Case in point:

Last week I sent out an email (perhaps you received it) announcing a very special teleseminar I was doing with lifestyle strategist, John Rowley. The email started with a silly spelling error that I nor my computers spell check (which I depend on heavily) had caught.

Here was the line from that email:

“If you have ever been asked for advise or have even been given advise… you already have an idea of exactly what coaching IS NOT!”

Did you catch the errors?  Of course you did… because you can spell better than I can and maybe even better than ” word spell check.”

The error of course is that I should have used the word  ADVICE with a C not an ADVISE with an S.

What you will read next was is an actual email (one line) I received based on that spelling error along with my response to that email. None of which should suggest that we should not seek perfection and mastery of everything we do but does point out the possible ramifications when we allow such a quest to blur the bigger and sometimes much more important picture or message or even the delivery of that message.

After reading – I would love your feedback and opinion… not advice.

Received:

I suggest you coach yourself how to spell first.

Reply:

Hi ———–,

I truly appreciate your feedback, suggestion, and ADVICE and the time it took to formulate it.  On the other hand your coaching style is a little blunt… but that’s ok no one expects you to be a coach and I am sure that was not your intention in the first place. It’s interesting, don’t you think – that the subject of my less than perfect email was about coaching vs. giving advice?

Now, because I can’t help but coach if you are open to it keep reading.  If not, let’s leave it at – Thank You for the constructive feedback.

If you are still reading, please take what follows as a casual observation, feedback and yes some coaching, not advice.

I have long since understood that some people always, always, always look for what’s wrong or what’s missing instead of what is present and right. Like the improvements my spelling capabilities can clearly undergo, it might be helpful for you to recognize if you fit in the above category.  It generally reflects a “what CAN’T be done” rather than a “how CAN it be done” attitude.

It shouldn’t surprise you that at a big conference I once wrote the word magnificent on the flip chart as “MAGNIFICANT.”  When the error was less than politely pointed out to me I acknowledged my blunder and politely pointed out to the audience that if you focus on what is wrong you can easily miss out on what is right.  I also suggested that what they had been focusing on is the word CANT –and that they may also MAGNIFI–CAN’T in many other areas of their life.

If I had been focusing on “I CAN’T spell well” and had let it stop me from communicating my mission I would never have written 7 RULES of Achievement and I would not be a #1 bestseller today nor would I have had the honor and privilege of helping thousands of people manifest their potential.

If blind mountain climber, Erik Weihenmayer had focused on the what was wrong “I CAN’T see” he never would have made it to the summit of Mt. Everest.

So the question is where else in your life have you been focusing on what’s not right, what’s missing, and the word CAN’T that perhaps has held you back in the past from risking what it takes to manifest your MAGNIFI-CAN?

Always with much respect and love,

Tom

Consumer Reports recently tested 12 of the top selling brands of sunscreen products and found that the spray-on type of sunscreens tested best.

The top four performing spray-on formulas:

Consumer Reports says all four products worked well even after a person soaked in water for 80 minutes. (Google: Consumer Reports sunscreen for a direct link)

This all sounds great… until you take it one step further and consider what you are actually putting on your skin. The most common ingredients in non-mineral sunscreens are oxybenzone, octisalate and avobenzone, found in 60, 58, and 50 percent of all sunscreens on the market, respectively. The most common, oxybenzone, can trigger allergic reactions, is a potential hormone disruptor and penetrates the skin in relatively large amounts. Some experts caution that it should not be used on children. Three of every five sunscreens rated by EWG (Environmental Working Group) are non-mineral, and one in five sunscreens combines both mineral and non-mineral active ingredients.

I have had bouts with skin cancer — I take this stuff very seriously.  Type in your products including makeups. lipbalms and  lotions that contain sunscreens and find out how stable the formulation is, how safe it may be for your child and to what degree it can enter your body.  Shockingly amazing isn’t it?????????

–Looking out for the health of your body and mind!

Be sure to join me and master coach, John Rowley on tomorrow’s (Thursday, May 27) Achievement Masters Teleseminar series. Listen to the show live, we will be taking one audience member, coaching him/her for free and tracking the life changing results on the show over 90 days!!

John is also giving away as part of his Lifestyle Transformation Coaching launch two 30 day lifestyle coaching  jumpstart packages plus by being on the call live your hear some of the best coaching tips you can get this side of the equator.

Make sure you join us.

Click the link for details and to listen to the replay —–> http://tinyurl.com/RowleyOne

There may be several motivators for wanting change in your life. Not all goals and desires are driven by the same thing.  Some may be driven by your conscious desires or wants and likely go beyond your survival needs for food, shelter, a sense of security and, I dare say, sex. Our conscious desires are the things we want, the things that add joy, pride, or fun to our lives. They are the things that better us or keep us from getting any worse off -the new car, new home, abundant bank account, and our soul mate.

On the other hand, one of the great motivators for many of us may be a distain, or dissatisfaction for what we are already experiencing in our life – a painful relationship, lousy job, or the feeling of scarcity.  Assuming you are just standing still – You are always either moving toward something you desire or moving away from something you no longer want in your life. Quite often, which direction you are moving is only a matter of perspective or how we frame it.  The goal of finding a new job or pursuing a new career, for example, could be based on one of two perspectives:

1. You can be moving toward a new job with better pay and more benefits.
2. Or you can be moving away from a crappy, dead-end job with little pay and no bennies.

Sometimes you can even do both. You can simultaneously be moving toward something you want or desire and, at the same time, be moving away from something you fear or dislike. Too often, however you’re not moving at all.

So the question is are you living in the energy of scarcity while struggling to move away from something you can no longer tolerate in your life.

Or have you clearly identified what you do want – not just what you don’t and are you moving towards it with a sense of abundance and certainty.

The answer to that question will in many respects determine your outcome and how much you enjoy and appreciate the result.

What are your thoughts?

The Achievement Mentor

I am preparing for releasing my first published book, 7 RULES of Achievement! Please join us for this exciting occasion on MAY 12, 2010.

Our goal  reach #1 bestseller on Amazon. Go to this page –> 7 RULES Book Launch <– on Wednesday and with a purchase of a book (or books) on May 12 you will also get some very useful and very cool bonuses.

During a recent coaching call I was asked by someone who was facing a challenge that would require her to turn what she perceived to be a weakness into a strength. If she was not able to do so, it would likely lead to the inability to achieve her objective. I shared with her a story about a young Judo champion who was able to turn adversity and a perceived weakness into a gold medal strength. And since we are all faced with those challenges from time to time I thought I would share the story with you.

It’s the story of one 10-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. The boy was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn’t I be learning more moves?” “This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” the sensei replied.

Not quite understanding, but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training. Several months later, the sensei entered the boy in his first tournament. Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy artfully used his one move to win the match.

Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals. This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

“No,” the sensei insisted, “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, his opponent made a critical mistake: he dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and sensei reviewed every move in each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the sensei answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. Second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

TT