Want to Achieve Your Goals? Build Confidence and Ambition!

We have goals and dreams, but without confidence, we won't reach them. Confidence is the belief that we can do it, and it's key to motivation. When we succeed at small things, our ambition grows, and we're more likely to achieve big things.>> Without ambition, it's hard to reach our dreams. But if we build confidence and self-esteem, we'll be more motivated to reach our goals.

Here are three exercises you can try each day to gain the self-confidence you need.

1) Start a Gratitude Journal

The OSSAAT method (One Small Step At A Time) is a great way to start a gratitude journal. Each day, write down five acts of kindness you performed for a stranger or three actions you took that helped advance your professional goals. It can be anything from helping someone carry their groceries up the stairs to giving a homeless man some change.At first, it may not seem like much, but if you keep at it, you'll start to notice patterns in your thinking. You'll see how your small acts of kindness add up to make a big difference in the world. You'll also see how your actions are helping you achieve your goals.As you continue to journal, you'll be able to look back and see how far you've come. You'll be amazed at how much you've accomplished, and you'll be inspired to keep going.

Here are some tips for journaling:

Be specific. Don't just write "I helped someone today." Write about what you did, who you helped, and how they reacted.

Be honest. Don't be afraid to write about the things you're proud of, as well as the things you're not so proud of.

Be consistent. Try to journal every day, even if it's just for a few minutes.

Have fun! Journaling should be something you enjoy. If you're not having fun, you're less likely to stick with it.

Watch this video for more tips on how to journal:

2) List Your Goals in Baby Steps:

Instead of setting a goal, then attempting to accomplish the whole thing at once, try breaking it down in tiny steps that need to meet each day. That way you can focus on the journey, rather than being stressed by the destination. If you fail to achieve your big goals, it can diminish the self-confidence you have built up, so small goals and baby steps help you gain the esteem you’re lacking. While each time you get to cross off the little steps in the goal progress section of your daily journal, you gain more confidence in yourself. 

These progressive, small wins empower you, steeling your self-belief that you will reach the next step, and before long you'll achieve your primary goal. Even then, if the goal no longer serves your long term intention, discard it without regret. Just set a new one that’s more relevant and therefore more likely to motivate your action.

If your goal is to save money for a vacation, you can plan tiny steps like placing $5 in a savings jar each day, of course some banking apps now include the ability to create unlimited savings jars. For example the ‘UP’ banking app. 

After one each week you’ll feel good knowing you’ve taken seven actions for yourself toward your holiday goal rather than simply dreaming that soon you’ll suddenly have $1,000 falling into your lap. Below is a great primer on goal setting by one of the greatest motivation speakers of all time. "How to Set Goals and Achieve Your Dreams | Jim Rohn Motivation" (A transcript is appended.)

3) Read inspirational quotes:

Find inspiring quotations online or buy a book full of them. Read one every day, choose the ones that resonate with you and your life. Develop a daily affirmation practice, reading your chosen ones to assist quell the disparaging self talk that’s been with you for, well, longer than you know. Recite them daily to reveal your latent creative power.

You can add these into your daily journal log. If the inspiring quote for the current date talks about greeting everyone you encounter that morning, even if it's with just an uplifting smile, then give it a go. At the end of each week, you can write down everything you did during the week and the effect it had on your state of mind. 

Again, if it isn't uplifting to your self confidence then wave it good bye, no regrets or beating yourself up. Just choose a more meaningful quote that fits your path and existing place. Realise that each day is a blank sheet to start again. One that worked for me back in the day I took from the late, great Og Mandino best seller 'The Greatest Salesman in the World'. 

'Greet Each Day with Love in Your Heart'.

BE UNSHAKEABLE - The Ultimate Stoic Quote Collection (Powerful Narration).

A collection of stoic quotes powerfully narrated by Chris Lines.  This video contains wisdom from the three most notable stoic thinkers: Marcus Aurelius, Seneca and Epictetus. The trio lived during the times of ancient Rome and became avid scholars of philosophy, with stoicism being their primary focus and guide for life. Thousands of years later their teachings remain intact and still ring true, applicable to the challenges we face today.  Aurelius had the burden of managing the largest empire the world had ever seen as the emperor of Rome. He would go on to have a prosperous rule for 20 years and went down in history as one of the great rulers.   Epictetus who was born a slave asked his master for permission to study. He was granted this right and went on to teach philosophy in Rome. Seneca who was a successful financial clerk and writer found himself exiled for adultery. He was later hired to tutor a young boy called Nero who would become a tyrannical emperor of Rome. Nero later had Seneca execute himself for allegedly conspiring against him. A claim that was most likely untrue.  Each of these men faced great challenges in their lives and were able to navigate them through the philosophy of stoicism.

Journaling Video Transcript:

If you're in quarantine, and the weather is  getting colder, and your opportunities to see   real life people are quickly dwindling, why not  try journaling? Journaling is a free way to act   as if you are talking to a friend, when really,  it's just you. By yourself. All alone... All jokes   aside, journaling has helped me so much throughout  my life, and especially during this weird and   unprecedented year. While there is no wrong  way to journal, there were definitely mistakes   that I made in the beginning that prevented  me from developing a good journaling habit,   but once I fixed those mistakes, I really got  going and I have since filled up this entire big   box of journals. Quick, though, before we start,  if you want some motivation and accountability,   next week I'll be doing a daily journaling  challenge over on Instagram Stories. I'll   also be journaling live with you so go follow me  @theblissbean, there's details in the description,   it starts on Monday, okay, thank you. If you  currently don't have a journaling practice at all,   I would start with something super super simple.  You just want to build that habit. So step one:   obtain notebook. Step two: write in notebook  regularly. For the best chances at success,   try to do this at the same time each day, so after  you wake up in the morning or before you go to bed   both work really well because then journaling  is just less likely to get pushed aside by the   rest of the day's busyness. Do whatever it takes  to remind yourself, so you can set a reminder on   your phone, you can leave your notebook on your  bedside table so that you can journal as soon as   you wake up. Once you've established the habit  and you've learned to really enjoy journaling,   then you might not need as much structure, because  you'll find yourself just kind of naturally   drifting over to your journal. But it does really  help in the beginning. Speaking of notebooks,   I think a nice notebook really helps, it doesn't  have to be expensive, just something that you   wouldn't normally use for school or for work.  That way, you get a little bit of enjoyment   and you feel ~expensive~ whenever you sit down  with your journal, and your brain will start to   connect that particular special notebook with the  habit of journaling, so whenever you see it, your   brain will think 'time to journal'. This is the  journal I currently use, this is from Lavendaire's   pastel notebook series, so this is the yellow  one in lined. It's up to you whether you want to   bring your journal along with you, if you want to  journal on the go. It depends on what you write in   there, so personally, I would not feel comfortable  bringing my journal out of my house, but if it is   more of just like a daily log, and there's  nothing super private or sensitive in there,   then you might enjoy having it with you throughout  the day so that you can write whenever the mood   strikes, or you can keep it in a safe under lock  and key if you have like, state secrets, in there.   Another thing Iwould recommend when you're just  starting out is to start small and have low   expectations. When you're developing some sort of  a new habit, it can help to stop yourself before   you feel like you're done. So what i mean by that  is, for example, when you start meditating, maybe   you feel like you could meditate for five minutes,  but stop yourself at three minutes so that you're   kind of left wanting for more, you know? You don't  completely use up all of that initial enthusiasm,   and you save some of it up for the next  day. So, similarly, if you've just started   a journaling habit, try to stop before you feel  like you've gotten all of your thoughts out. This   might feel kind of counter-intuitive, but that way  you'll have a loose thread to pick back up on the   next time that you journal, and you'll feel more  excited to start writing the next day, because you   didn't quite finish the day before. You also don't  need to record everything in your journal, so my   biggest stumbling block when I tried to start  journaling when I was younger was that I tried to   write a minute by minute narration of all of my  daily actions and feelings. It just started to   feel like a chore, I started to hate it so much  because I felt like if I missed anything I was   failing at journaling somehow, I was just losing  all of these memories that actually were super   boring anyways. So what I've learned now after  many years of journaling is that if you don't   feel like writing about an event, don't. There are  probably big events that I've hardly written about   in my journals because I just didn't feel like  writing about them, and that's okay. I didn't feel   the need to relive them or to process them and  so I didn't need to write about them. Because I   didn't force myself to do that, because I only  wrote what I actually WANTED to write about,   I was able to make journaling a habit. I feel  like another common thing that trips people up   when they first start journaling is that they feel  like they're doing it wrong if they're not writing   like super deep, insightful, straight from the  soul, emotional, raw passages. You're not writing   a book here, no one's going to quote your journal.  This is purely just for you. I think journaling is   kind of like a muscle, just like meditation, so  the more you do it the better at it you become,   but also in meditation, the goal isn't  really to attain a perfectly clear mind.   Likewise, it's not the goal with journaling to  always be writing really insightful stuff, it's   the process that matters. So in the beginning,  if you're just starting out, try just writing a   couple of sentences about what you did that day,  just to build that habit and to kind of become   more aware of what you're doing and what your  thoughts are, and then deeper more introspective   writing will come naturally if you give yourself  the time and you give yourself the practice.   So then after you've laid the foundations  of the habit, let's move on to extra credit,   advanced options for you overachievers out there.  This really isn't that advanced, but I think   another fun thing to do in your journaling is  to add some structure to it, so personally in my   journal, I like to make a lot of lists. I'll tell  you about my lists and then you can tailor them   to your preferences. So in the morning, I like to  write down three things that I'm excited for that   day. Today I was excited to film this video and  put together some beautiful content for my blog,   listen to a podcast during breakfast, and go  to a dance class with my mom in the evening,   and then when I'm journaling before bed I write  down three things that I accomplished that day,   three wins, for example yesterday I wrote that  I went on an outdoor run, in the RAIN, mind you.   I took care of this accounting spreadsheet that  was a big hairy task that I was putting off for   a long time, and I ate healthfully. Finally, I  make a list of three things I was grateful for.   Yesterday, my new Kindle arrived, I had  some exciting opportunities in my email,   and a friend sent me a funny meme. So as you can  see, even if yesterday was stressful in some ways   (and it was), by focusing on all of the good  things that happen, I'm almost like editing   the snapshot of the day that I have in my brain  to be a positive one. And I just think it's a   really nice way to start the day and end the day.  You can also have some sort of a daily question   that you answer based on whatever it is that  you're working on in your life at the moment,   so for me this month, I was focusing on  feeling better and working on my mental health,   and trying to achieve that by making small good  decisions that gave me momentum, but also didn't   make me feel overwhelmed. So I already put away  my journal, but I forgot I need to do this part.   Each morning I have been writing - 'what are three  good decisions that I can make today?' and then   before I go to bed I review that list and I check  off everything that I actually did. So today,   this morning, I wrote: I can wash the dishes and  start the laundry, meditate after lunch, and work   on reading our book club book, at Blissful Book  Club, if you're not a member yet, which you should   be (SORRY THE BOOK CLUB IS NO LONGER RUNNING). So  maybe you decide to do a self-care focused month   and every morning you write 'what is something  that I can do for myself today?' maybe you want to   focus on some specific relationship in your life,  so you start each day by writing 'what is one   thing i can do today to improve my relationship  with this person?' - send them an encouraging   message, make a meal for them, schedule a call  with them. You might find it helpful to separate a   daily journal from more of like a 'deep thinking'  journal. So I did this because I have my daily   journal for mornings and evenings and my daily  questions, and this journal is, quite frankly,   filled with lots of repetitive, mundane rambling,  because that's just what my everyday life is like,   okay? So I wanted to create this separate special  journal that is for special journaling occasions   only. I started this after a couple of therapy  sessions and I decided that I wanted a dedicated   place where I could write more in depth about  the stuff that I discussed with my therapist.   I also think a journal like this could be a  good place to write in if you have some big   decision to make. I don't have any to make at the  moment but i-it could do that ¯_(ツ)_/¯ So just   like how we talked about a fancy notebook  can encourage you to sit down and journal,   I think that if you have a separate notebook for  those deeper thoughts, then it can inspire you to   think deeper when you're writing in it. Something  else you can do is write letters in your journal.   This is definitely a bit more time intensive,  but it can reveal some very interesting insights   and make you more empathetic and understanding.  You can write a letter to your past self, like,   how can you view your past differently now that  you have more knowledge and more self-awareness?   You can write a letter to your future self and  write about what you plan to accomplish by the   time you get there. You can even write a letter  to someone you know and you never have to send it,   maybe it's a letter of appreciation, maybe it's  a letter of anger that helps you to release   some pent-up feelings and understand the  situation better. Whatever you need to   get off your chest. Finally, a fun thing to do  that I did recently is to make a journaling jar.   You can find so, so many journaling prompts out  there, and I think it's really good to collect   ones that you especially like all in one place  for the times when you're needing inspiration.   So I had been collecting some journaling ideas  in a document and I thought making a journaling   jar out of it would be a fun way to make it kind  of more tangible. I also think it pushes you to   write more about different topics, because  if you just, like, scan a list of prompts,   you'll probably drift to ones that feel kind of  safe and comfortable to you, whereas if you draw   one at random, it's a little more spontaneous  and maybe a little bit more of a challenge.   So I hope these tips helped you. I think aside  from checking in with yourself on a daily basis   and clearing your thoughts, having this sort  of sustained conversation with yourself can be   really helpful in kind of, focusing your overall  life efforts. But when you're just starting out,   you don't have to think super long term big  picture like that, just focus on developing   that habit and see where it takes you. I'm super  excited about this journaling challenge, make sure   to follow me @theblissbean on Instagram. I'll be  posting daily journaling prompts on Stories and   you can use the hashtag #blissbeanjournaling so  that I can see what you post. I hope to have you   writing with us and let me know in the comments if  you plan on joining! I also have a free worksheet   that you can download with 70 journaling prompts,  I put the link to that in the description. You can   also cut that up and make a journaling jar out  of it. I feel like I've talked so much, thank   you for watching this video, and have an amazing  rest of your week. I will see you next week, bye!  

List Your Goals In Baby Steps Transcript:

But now let's make these notes now on setting goals. The promise of the future is an awesome force. We look back for experience, but we have to look forward now for inspiration. And what gives us inspiration to get up in the morning and do our job, learn skills, develop all that we can possibly be is the promise of the future. And it can be so powerful that it can overwhelm any adversary you might have, any difficulties you might have. Here's a key phrase: “Reasons make the difference in how your life works out”. Reasons make the difference in your appetite and zest for taking on the challenge, doing the job, becoming successful. Mr. Shoaff said, “if you have enough reasons, you can do the most incredible things”. You can get through the most difficult day, you can overcome the most unbelievable challenges if you have enough reasons. And so he said to me, “If you haven't got a list of your goals, Mr. Rohn, it's probably because you don't have enough reasons”. He said, I'm sure since I've met you, you have enough intelligence, and he said, you have enough good health, and he said, you have, you know, all of those things working for you but here's what you must work on now, is to have enough reasons. Looking into the future, developing reasons. Okay! Now here's a note to make. It's important to make sure that the greatest pull on your life is the pull of the future. Some people let the past pull them back, pull them back. The past can be like gravity if you let it to pull you back. Some people live in the past. They live in the darkness of the past. They live in the mistakes of the past. They live in the discouragement of the past. They didn't make it, you know, and that affects them for the rest of their life, living in the past. So, we don't want the past to pull us back, to live in the past. So, make this note. Dreams and goals can become magnets. Dreams and goals can become magnets. And the stronger the goal, the higher the purpose, the more powerful the objective, the stronger this magnet is that pulls you that direction. Now, not only does your goals and your objectives pull you that direction. Here's what they also do, they pull you through. They pull you through all kinds of down days. They pull you through a difficult time. It'll pull you through some winter of your life. Some people get lost in the confusion of the day simply because their goal’s not bright enough to pull them through. Next. It's goals that drive us to take advantage of the spring. Why would the farmer put the plow in the ground in the spring if he couldn't see the vision of the harvest when the summer is finished? is it possible to see the finished harvest? And the answer is yes. We do that simply by faith. Key phrase, faith is the ability to see things that don't yet exist. So, here's what we want to do in our goal setting session is to start looking into the future of what you would like to accomplish and where you would like to go, the person you would like to be, and see if you can get a better picture of the finished objective. See yourself there, see yourself in possession of. For your dreams to greatly influence you, for the future to pull you your future must be well planned. There are two ways to face the future. One is with apprehension, the other with anticipation. Guess how many people face the future with apprehension? Why? They don't have it well designed. And without really thinking about it, they have probably bought someone else's view of how to live. You will face the future with anticipation when you have planned a future you can get excited about, when you have designed your future, results in advance. In this way, the future will capture your imagination. It will exert an enormous influence on you. And to design your future you must have goals. Well defined goals are like a magnet. They pull you in their direction. And the better you have defined them, the better you have described them, the harder you work on them, the stronger they pull. And they pull you through all kinds of difficulties too. Without goals, it is easy to let life deteriorate to the point where you're just making a living. It is not difficult to get trapped by economic necessity and settle for existence rather than substance. We all have a choice, we can either make a living or design a life. Now, we're going to take some time to actually start designing the next 10 years of your life. We're going to start setting your goals. Goal setting is one of the most important skills to develop if you want to design your future. I'm going to give you enough homework, not only to keep you busy for the rest of your life, but also to help you create the kind of life you may have always dreamed about living, but never believed possible. So, let's get on with it. The sooner you exert the discipline, the sooner you will be enjoying the results. Once the results start to come, believe me, you won't mind the hard work and discipline it's going to take. Now, get a sheet of paper and at the top of it, write the words “Long Range Goals”. I'm going to ask you some questions and I want you to jot down the answers. If you don't have paper and pen handy, follow along with me now anyway, just listening. Then later, listen again when you can write down your ideas. After I've asked the questions, which is the first part of this exercise, you can stop the tape and work on your answers. Entitle this part of it now workshop. And under the workshop, I'm gonna ask a series of questions and it's gonna serve as a model so that you can teach this to your children, you can teach it in classes, you can teach it anywhere. Under the workshop now, here's the first question. What five things have you already accomplished that you're proud of? Let's take some credit before we go to work on the future. We've accomplished some things in the past, let's give ourselves credit for that. What five things have you already accomplished that you're proud of? So, I want you to make a note of that question, and then I want you to do the exercise. Make a list of five things that you can think of that you've already accomplished, that you're proud of. Next question, what do you want in the next 10 years? I want you to make a list of at least 50 items. Now, this is not what you think you can get, this is what you want. If everything fell into place and you could have anything you wanted in the next 10 years, what would that list be? Not something you think you can earn. Not something you think you can buy, not something you think you can, you know, finally be so successful you can get. This is, what would really do it for you the next 10 years? I want you to make this list. And here's the deal now, I want you to put each item one under the other, not side by side, but one under the other. Just let your dreams, okay, run free here. Not what you think you can get, but what you want If everything fell into place and you could have whatever you wanted the next 10 years, what would that be? Little things, major things, insignificant things. Doesn't matter. Just make the list. To help you get started with your list, consider these questions. What do I want to do? What do I want to see? What do I want to be? What do I want to have? Where do I want to go? And what would I like to share? Now with these thoughts, starter questions in mind, answer the basic question, what do I want within the next one to 10 years? See how many things you can write down. At this point don't take the time to describe in detail everything you want. This is the time for you to let your thoughts pour, to write fast and to abbreviate. Make the list as long as you possibly can. Try to write down at least 50 items, 50 things you want within the next 1 to 10 years. These are long range goals. Spend about 12 to 15 minutes on this. The key is to put everything on your list. Now, the key is to take it out of your head and put it on paper. You know, you can dream about what you want, but when you start committing it to paper now, it more formalizes. Information now starts to make a composite of an idea, and ideas can turn into hotels, ideas can turn into enterprises, ideas can turn into a fabulous career. We need the information, we need the stimulation. What experiences would you like to have in the next 10 years? Parachute out of an airplane. Star in a movie. Start a new family. Learn to play a musical instrument. Try a new sport. What do you want for your children? That's a whole list in itself. Education, places you want to take them. Some changes you'd like to make. Some habits you'd like to drop. Some new ones you'd like to acquire. You might make a list of the people you wanna meet over the next 10 years. Benevolence goals. Maybe you've got a long list of projects you'd like to support. Now, this is not what you think you can do, this is what you'd really like to do. How about your investments? Properties. Make a list of your health goals. Got to have a good physical support system over the next 10 years. How healthy do you want to be? Some goals for your career, your business. Some productivity goals. A hobby you'd like to start. New car. Become a race driver. What classes would you like to teach? Some of your goals should be personal development. The person you wish to become. Develop skills that make you attractive to the marketplace. Develop the temperament and the attitude that makes you attractive to the business world. Because here's what's important. It's not what you get that makes you valuable. It's what you become that makes you valuable. Okay, now we're going to do some things with this list. Here's the next exercise. I want you to look at each item on this list you've made and give each item a number. The number being a 1, 3, 5 or 10. And this is why, I want you to look at an item and say, I think that would take about one year. Another item you say, I think that would take about three years. Another item, I think that would take five. And another item, looks like that's gonna take 10. Give each item now a number of what you think it might take to achieve that goal, a one, a three, a five or a ten. Just somewhere close doesn't have to be exact. That's about a one, that's about a three year goal, that's about a five year goal, that's about a 10 year goal. Now, as soon as you've given each item a number I want you to now go through and count them, how many ones, how many threes, how many fives, how many tens? And then just make a little list of those numbers. How many Ones, Threes. Fives, Tens? When you're finished entering your time frames, there should be a fairly balanced distribution of all your goals. If there are many one and three year objectives, but only a few in the 10 year category, maybe you need to think more about what you really want your life to add up to. What kind of life you really want to build over the long run? But if there's a preponderance of 10 year goals and relatively few of the shorter term variety, this may be an indication that you're putting things off, that you're focused too much on where you'll be at the end of the day and not enough on what you can accomplish right now. Keep working on your list, adding and subtracting goals with various time frames until you've created a more or less even distribution. Now comes the really challenging and interesting part. So far, you've just been adding things to the list, but now it's time to start making some selections. Now, you're going to start asking yourself, what's really important compared to what might just be sort of fun. Choose four goals from each of the four time frames one year, three year, five year and ten year. Now you have 16 separate goals. So far, you've only referred to them in shorthand fashion. But now you're going to start seeing them very, very clearly in your mind's eye. You're going to see each goal just as if it were being realized this very minute. And you're going to write down a detailed description of exactly what you see. Do you intend to open a handmade furniture store in three years? What will the store look like from the street out front? Will there be gold leaf lettering on the windows or will there be a sign hanging over the door instead? How many square feet will the store contain? Will there be a showroom area for the furniture in front, and a workspace in back? Or will the furniture be built at a different location? Do you intend to have any employees or will you run the business entirely by yourself? Think of all the questions that need to be answered in order to see your goal with absolute clarity. And then write the information down in a notebook or on a piece of paper. That will become one of your most important personal possessions. But that's not all. Any goal is a powerful motivator, only if there's a powerful reason behind it. Write down your reasons for wanting each goal in the same degree of detail that you use to write your descriptions. If you can't find a clear and convincing reason for each of your 16 goals, do some serious re-evaluating. You may have more wims or pipe dreams than real goals. And now is the time to make that discovery. Keep working on your list until you have 16 clearly envisioned, strongly motivating long term goals. When the why gets big, powerful, strong, how seems to be so much easier. Without a strong enough why, the how seems to be too difficult almost to accomplish. So how do you manage your time? Hey, if you had strong and powerful enough goals, you'd figure out how to manage your time. You'd get a book on the subject. You know, you'd do something to manage your time, if it was worth it. If it's not worth it, you know, why would you bother studying the art of managing your time, if it really doesn't matter? But if it really mattered in the accomplishment of your goals and why you wish to accomplish them, see, you can do anything. You can get up any hour, read any book, take any class, make any change, develop any skill, do any discipline. I mean, you can do it all. When this how and the why or when the why starts to grow, the how gets simple. Maybe one of your goals was to have a million dollar home on the hill overlooking Snake River Valley. Okay. That'd be a good goal. A million dollar home. Here's the next question. What for? What for? I mean, a house is a house is a house with bricks and wood and walls and roof. The key, yes, million dollar home that'd be wonderful. But what for? So now jot this down. Purpose is stronger than object. The object would be the house, and that'll pull. That's a worthy goal to go for the object of the house. But here's a stronger goal. The purpose for the million dollar home. So we got that line. It's one of my best for the whole day. Purpose is stronger than object. It's okay to have plenty of objects to go for on your goal list, but always keep asking yourself the question and sometimes it's good to just write it out, here's why I want this money. Here's why I want this place. Here's why. And you start developing those reasons. And I'm telling you now, this starts to become incredibly powerful. Okay! Now, here's the next exercise. I want you to look now at the whole list that you've written and the exercises we've done. Now I want you to answer this question. What kind of person must I become to achieve all I want? Now, we've got two things working. What you become helps you to achieve, and what you achieve helps you to become. And the more you become, the more you can achieve. And the more you achieve, the more you can become. Who knows which affects the other the most? Your concept of the person you think you must become to achieve what you want. This is time for a little truth here. Maybe you need to become much wiser than you are at the moment. You need to become stronger. You need to have better health. Maybe you need a little coaching. To really become the person I wanna become I'm gonna have to have some coaching. Physical coaching, spiritual coaching, developing skills coaching. To be the influence you wanna be, you got to build an incredible reputation. What kind of person must I be to attract all that I want in my life and the people that I want and the opportunities that I want? You may find that some of your goals you thought at first glance were important are not important after all. Do some reflecting, refining and revising. The point is right now try to have approximately 4 one year, three year, five year and ten year goals that you truly believe in, that inspire you, that you've sold yourself on. When these goals and the reasons you want to obtain them are each clearly described in a brief paragraph, transfer this information to a journal or some type of notebook that you can carry with you easily and refer to often. It's essential to set aside some time every week to review all of your goals, to rearrange them, redo them, restructure them to add goals or to tear up the whole list and start over. Goal setting is not something you do just once. It's a continual process. Also, you must constantly check your progress toward your goals. You don't want to fall too far behind on or worse, lose sight of your important goals. Now, just as important as your long range goals are your short range goals, your goals for tomorrow, next week, next month, six months from now. These are goals you can accomplish within the next year, the immediate future. We call these goals confidence builders. When you work hard, burn the midnight oil and accomplish these little things, it builds your confidence to go for your long range goals. Right down in your notebook or journal, all the little things you would like to have or accomplish in the next year. How you set up this list is up to you. You might want to break it down by week or by month. Set it up in whatever way works well for you. Part of the fun of having a list is being able to check off something as obtained or completed. Every week try to check off at least one thing on your list of short term goals. And when you are able to check off something major, something on your list of long range goals, Celebrate. Make winning joyful, congratulate yourself. It is very important to celebrate progress. We grow from two experiences, one is the joy of winning and the other is the pain of losing. Here's what that also means, make losing painful. Put it on yourself. If you set something up, fooled around, didn't pull it off, put it on yourself. And get around people who will help in this area. Hey, don't join an easy crowd. Go where the expectations are high, where the pressure to perform is high. It's how we grow. Review what you've written at times and keep track of your progress toward these objectives. Above all, persevere. Goal setting is a very important first step, but goal achievement is a continuous lifelong process. That's what makes it so challenging. That's also why it's so extremely rewarding to finally attain your long term goals. 

Inspirational Quotes Video Transcript:

"When you arise in the morning think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive, to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love."

"The happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts."

"Look well into thyself, there is a source of strength which will always spring up if though wilt just look."

"Do not indulge in dreams of having what you have not but I reckon up the chief of the blessings you do possess and then thankfully remember I would crave them if they were not yours."

"the object of life is not to be on the side of the majority but to escape finding oneself in the ranks of the insane." here is a rule to remember in future when anything tempts you to feel bitter not this is misfortune but to bear this worthily is good fortune accept whatever comes to you woven in the pattern of your destiny for what could more aptly fit your needs you don't have to turn this into something it doesn't have to upset you to live a good life we all have the potential for it if we learn to be indifferent to what makes no difference think of yourself as dead you have lived your life now take what's left and live it properly death smiles at us all but all a man can do is smile back the best revenge is not to be like your enemy your mind will take the shape of what you frequently hold in thought of the human spirit is colored by such impressions the impediment to action advances action what stands in the way becomes the way you have power of your mind not outside events realize this and you will find strength it is not death that a man should fear but he should fear never beginning to live never let the future disturb you you will meet it if you have to with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present very little is needed to make a happy life it is all within yourself in your way of thinking loss is nothing else but change and change is nature's delight no man's true delight is to do the things he was made for true happiness is to enjoy the present without anxious dependence upon the future not to amuse ourselves we either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have which is sufficient for he that is so wants nothing begin at once to live count each separate day as a separate life it is not because things are difficult that we do not dare it is because we do not dare that things are difficult we all sorely complain of the shortness of time and yet have much more than we know what to do with our lives are either spent in doing nothing at all or in doing nothing to the purpose or in doing nothing that we ought to do we are always complaining that our days are few and acting as though there would be no end of them a gem cannot be polished without friction nor a man defected without trials the bravest sight in the world is to see a great man struggling against adversity every night before going to sleep we must ask ourselves what weakness did I overcome today what virtue did i acquire throw me to the wolves and I will return leading the pack life is never incomplete if it is an honorable one at whatever point you leave life if you leave it in the right way it is home we suffer more often in imagination than in reality you want to live but do you know how to live you are scared of dying but tell me is the kind of life you lead really any different to being dead the greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach a wise man is contented with his lot whatever it may be man is affected not by events but by the view he takes of them as is a tail so his life not how long it is but how good it is is what matters sometimes even to live is an act of courage if you really want to escape the things that Harris you what you're needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person until we have begun to go without them we fail to realize how unnecessary many things are we've been using them not because we needed them but because we had them he suffers more than necessary who suffers before it is necessary hang on do your youthful enthusiasms you'll be able to use them better when you are older it is not the man who has too little but the man who craves more that is poor if a man knows not to which court he sails no wind is favorable luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity from this instant on vowed to stop disappointing yourself separate yourself from the mob decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to do now what odd one to say then as each hardship comes I was practicing for this I was training for this fortify yourself with moderation for this is an impenetrable fortress if you want to improve be content to be thought foolish and stupid no great thing is created suddenly any more than a bunch of grapes or a fade if you tell me that you desire a fig I will answer that there must be time let it first blossom then bear fruit then ripen first say to yourself what you would be and then do what you have to do when you are offended at any man's fault turn to yourself and study your own failings then you will forget your anger the trials you encounter will introduce you to your strengths remain steadfast and one day you will build something that endures something worthy of your potential the world turns aside to let any man pass who knows where he is going attach yourself to what is spiritually superior regardless of what other people think or do hold to your true aspirations no matter what is going on around you you may fare to my leg but Zeus himself cannot get the better of my free will seek not the good in external things seek it in yourselves on the occasion of every accident that befalls you remember to turn to yourself and inquire what power you have for turning it to use it is the nature of the wise to resist pleasures but the foolish to be a slave to them care take this moment immerse yourself in its particulars respond to this person this challenge this deed quit evasions stop giving yourself needless trouble it's time to really live if you want to be a writer write the key is to keep company only with people who uplift you whose presence calls false your best be discriminating about what images and ideas you permit into your mind no man is free who is not a master of himself if anyone tells you that a certain person speaks ill of you do not make excuses about what is said of you but answer he was ignorant of my other faults else he would not have mentioned these alone it is impossible to begin to learn that which one thinks one already knows do not seek to have events happen as you wish but wish them to happen as they do happen and all will be well with you never depend on the admiration of others there is no strength in it personal merit cannot be derived from an external source you