Act As If

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #12

Today, Jack asserts that if we begin to act as if we have already achieved our goals, we will fast-forward ourselves into a new lifestyle. Joe and I are discovering that this entire process is making us feel unsettled, just as Jack said it would in a previous lesson.

We have experienced this uneasiness in the past, and we both recognize now that we quickly tipped the balance back in the favor of whatever was familiar. Resuming our routine was always easier than pushing ourselves into something that made us squirm.

We are determined to stay the course and plot out something better for ourselves this time. We believe that our new life is part of God's design, and fear has no place in it. Hebrews 13:6 reads, So we say with confidence, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?

(1) Start acting as if you are already where you want to be.
Jack tells about a bank teller who always wore a suit, even though the rest of the tellers wore a shirt and tie. In no time at all, the young man got promoted to branch manager. When Jack asked him how he advanced so quickly, the former teller told him that he decided early on that he would dress like the managers did. He saw himself as a manager, even though he was beginning as a teller.

The bank teller's clothes didn't make him a manager; his positive affirmations did. However, by putting on the manager-type attire, he was acting as if he already had the job. It worked!

We can act as if we have already reached our goals, provided we actually have goals. Have you finished writing your 101 goals, your index cards, and your Goals Book? Are you saying them aloud two to three times daily?

This is not easy work. I brought home magazines yesterday so that we could cut out new pictures for our Goals Book. Joe and I made our first Goals Book a year ago, and I realized yesterday that I have achieved almost every one in mine. I need to create much bigger dreams for the coming year.

(2) Learn that like attracts like.
If we want to attract people and opportunities to help us move closer to our goals, we must act as if we have already achieved them. By doing so, we create a vibration of energy--both mentally and emotionally--that quickly propels us along our dream path.

Jack decided that he wanted to be an international consultant. He ordered a passport, bought a clock with all time zones on it, paid to have business cards made up with the title, International Consultant, under his name, and acquired travel posters from the country he wanted to visit. Within the year, he was invited to speak at a seminar in that country.

As you can see, like attracts like. Are we attracting successful people with a positive attitude? Or are we attracting energy vampires who are draining us of all hope? If we find ourselves surrounded by dysfunctional people who are sucking the life out of us, remember that like attracts like.

(3) You can progress rapidly at a Millionaire's Cocktail Party.
Jack tells about a method he uses at his workshops to help people act as if they have already achieved their goals. He asks them to pretend that they are at a party, surrounded by the most successful people in the world. For a brief time, participants mingle and talk about their successes, as if they have already achieved them. He claims that this increases everyone's confidence and fast-forwards them to take action.

Joe was recently asked to speak at a black tie dinner (a millionaire's cocktail party). In the past, I would have declined going with him, but I decided to push aside my fears and act as if I belonged there. I put on an outfit that was at least ten years old, along with a fur that my grandmother gave me three decades ago. It was the best I could come up with.

Joe had been asked to wear his church uniform (which he has never owned), so we stopped to buy a clerical collar on the way to the gig. He felt as awkward as I did.

The invitation slung us into a completely new social circle, where beautifully dressed women were dripping with diamonds, and highly successful men discussed business. I immediately ran for the ladies' room, where fears threated to make me head straight back home. But I looked in the mirror and decided that there was no reason why I couldn't play a part for one evening.

We acted as if we belonged among these highly successful people. Throughout the evening, men and women stopped us to thank Joe for his prayers and his service to God. I was pleasantly surprised when the young man seated next to me admired my coat and asked what kind of fur it was.

At the end of the evening, Joe won a very low bid on a year of life coaching. We were stunned! He had been dreaming of hiring a life coach, but we couldn't afford it. This proved to us that if we simply start acting as if we belong in a better life, God sets the wheels in motion to make it happen. In other words, like attracts like.

(4) Start now.
Jack asks us to consider how we would think, act, talk, dress, manage money, eat, and travel if we had already achieved our goals. This is difficult if we don't have goals.

It's taking a lot of time and energy for Joe and me to come up with great goals, but I know it will be worth the effort in the long run. We truly believe that these principles work. God's spirit (which Jack calls vibrational energy) will spur us into action if we just pretend that we have already achieved our goals.

(5) Attend a Come As You Will Be party.
Jack once attended a Come As You Will Be party. Everyone was instructed to act how they would be five years down the road. For the entire evening, guests were asked to talk about their awards and accomplishments. Some people brought props, such as mock Oscar awards, magazine covers featuring their successes, large paychecks, and books they hoped to write. Within five years, every single person actually became what they had pretended to be that night.

When we begin to imagine our success, the subconscious mind plays that role until the dream is achieved. What are you imagining for your future?

Today's Challenge
Think about who you want to be in five years. Start today to act as if you have already become that successful person.

See What You Want, Get What You See

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #11

The brain can only search for ways to achieve the pictures that we put in it, just as a computer can only analyze information that the programmer has given it. In today's lesson, Jack teaches us how to input the right images so that our brains can get to work achieving our goals.

(1) Understand how visualization works.
When we provide our brains with images and affirmations (positive statements), our brain becomes more aware of things that will help us achieve our goals. Have you ever noticed when you're thinking of buying a new car that you suddenly see more people driving that model than ever before? The number of cars hasn't changed, but your awareness of them has.

When we tell our brains to think about the images we give it, we will suddenly find that we have lots of new ideas. We will wake up with answers to problems, ideas will just pop into our heads, and we'll surprise ourselves and others with fresh ideas that we didn't even know we had.

With all of these seemingly new opportunties and fresh ideas, we find ourselves motivated to take action. All this occurs, simply because we gave our brains something to work on. I think the brain is like an eager dog, dying to perform some new tricks for us. All we have to do is train it, and the brain will work to do whatever it takes to please us.

(2) Follow Jack's process for visualizing your future.
We must see our goals as if they are already complete. Remember, they must be written down and reviewed two to three times daily. If we work through our visualization exercises immediately after meditating, Jack tells us that we'll achieve our goals even faster.

In Jeremiah 29:11, the Lord says, For I know the plans I have for you; plans to prosper you and not to harm you; plans to give you hope and a future. If God knows the plan for our lives, and we meditate on his ability to make it happen; it stands to reason that speaking our affirmations aloud immediately after meditating will bring about quicker results. We can hope and dream for all kinds of things in our lives without God, but I am certain that our odds of achieving success are much better with God.

(3) Fuel your images with emotion.
As survivors of abuse, we can all probably say that there are certain events that we will never forget. The ugly scenes of our lives play repeatedly in our heads, as vividly as if they occurred an hour ago. This is because whenever an image or a scene is accompanied by an intense emotion, the event can be locked into our memory forever.

The challenge for us is to set aside the ugly scenes and replace them with beautiful ones. To lock new memories into our brains, we should add to our affirmations:

-inspiring music,
-pleasant smells,
-deeply felt passion, and
-spoken affirmations exaggerated with positive emotions.

Adding these emotional components to our affirmations causes the brain to work even harder to help us achieve our goals. So, if I envision myself walking onto the set of Good Morning America to be interviewed about my New York Times Bestseller, I'd better be fueling my affirmation with emotion.

I can imagine lively music playing as I enter. The scene can be enhanced with the sound of the audience clapping, the scent of hairspray that the stylist has just blasted over my head, and the thrill of finally arriving at my dream destination. If I repeat this affirmation loudly and with strong emotions, I will probably achieve this dream more quickly than I can imagine.

(4) Understand that visualization works.
Jack gives several examples of successful people who have used visualization and achieved outstanding results. I think it works far more quickly than most people believe. I once achieved results after visualizing a goal for just a few hours.

I decided one day that I wanted to attract a green canoe to give to Joe. I didn't want to pay anything for it. I picked up the mail just before we got into the car to take a drive in the country to pick strawberries.

Along the way, I kept expecting to see a green canoe. Nothing materialized on the way to the strawberry patch. On the way back, I opened the mail and discovered a $250 stimulus check, which I tucked into my wallet.

We drove on, and I stopped thinking about that green canoe. Then, out of nowhere, I spied a green canoe sitting on the side of the road with a FOR SALE sign on it. I couldn't believe it! It was exactly as I had imagined it. And guess how much the seller was asking for it? You guessed it: $250.

(5) Don't worry if you don't see anything when you visualize.
Some people see their affirmations as clearly as a photograph or a video. Others claim that they can't see a thing. Either experience is perfectly okay. If you can't see anything, just think about what you want. Your brain can still do the work.

(6) Use printed pictures to help you visualize.
Magazine pictures, photographs, or drawings can all enhance our affirmations. We can ask someone to take our picture while we sit behind the wheel of the new car that we want or stand in front of the house we hope to buy. If that's not possible, we can cut out pictures from magazines and super-impose our photographed head or image into the scene. For example, we can't exactly stop by the Eiffel Tower to get a photograph. But we can cut out a picture of the Eiffel Tower and then cut out a photograph of ourselves to paste to that picture. I'm going to get an actual New York Times Bestseller list and add my name to the #1 position.

(7) A vision board or a Goals Book can work well for you.
We talked earlier about creating a Goals Book with images and affirmations in it. If you prefer, you can create a vision board on the front of your fridge or on a bulletin board. We tried this initially last year, but we didn't feel comfortable with house guests looking at our boards and asking questions. It's not that we had anything to hide; it's just that it felt like an invasion of privacy to allow others into our innermost thoughts.

Jack gives more examples of people succeeding as a result of vision boards and Goals Books. I love it when a dream from my Goals Book finally becomes reality. It's an exciting moment when you realize that the process works.

Last year, I had cut out a picture of two women, sitting on a dock with their feet in the water. I imagined my friend and I doing that. Shortly after we bought our house at the lake, that friend came to visit, and we dangled our feet in the water. The next day, I saw that image in my Goals Book and realized what had happened. By visualizing something, I had made it become a reality. That was powerful for me.

If I can visualize small things, such as a free green canoe or dangling my feet in the water at the lake; how much more can I achieve if I expand my goals?

(8) Start today.
If you haven't gotten started on your affirmations, index cards, and Goals Book, don't put it off. Psychologists estimate that one hour of visualization is equivalent to seven hours of physical effort. We can make our lives easier by simply visualizing what we want.

Jack writes about Azim Jamal, an inspirational speaker in Canada, who uses what he calls his "Hour of Power." He spends 20 minutes every morning visualizing his goals, 20 minutes exercising, and then 20 minutes reading inspirational books. This sounds like an excellent formula for success.

Today's Challenge
Sit down with a stack of old magazines and cut out pictures of things that you would like to have or do. Cut up photos of yourself and add them to the magazine scenes. Add these to your Goals Book. Write down effective affirmations for each goal in your book. Repeat them aloud with strong emotion two or three times throughout the day. Expect results!

Release the Brakes, Part II

Jack Canfield's Success Principles #10

Today, we continue the second part of this lesson about changing our thought lives. If you missed reading Part I, please go back and read it before continuing.

As survivors of abuse, we may be living with our abuser's negative comments in our memories. If we have survived a traumatic event, our minds may be repeating a negative affirmation that keeps us trapped in chaotic emotions.

The mind is a powerful tool, and we can use it to do almost anything we want. This lesson provides an opportunity to change the way we think so that we can regain control of our lives.

(1) Use Jack's nine guidelines for creating effective affirmations.
An affirmation, if you recall, is a positive statement that we can use to change our behavior. By using new thoughts and images, we can achieve goals that once seemed impossible. The guidelines are:

a. Start with I am.
The brain hears these two small words as a command and gets busy making the statement come true. Interestingly, I am is also one of the names for God.

b. Use the present tense, not the future tense in your affirmations.
For example, I am thrilled to see my name on the New York Times Bestseller list, is a better statement than this one: I will be thrilled to see my name on the New York Times Bestseller list.

c. State it in the positive.
I realized yesterday that I have an affirmation in my Goals Book that is stated in the negative. It reads, I avoid doctors and prescription drugs. It should read, I am feeling terrific by implementing alternative medicine to maintain my health.

d. Keep it brief.
Like an advertising jingle, a catchy affirmation that includes rhymes will help us to internalize our goals. An example of this is, I am feeling fit and alive weighing 135.

e. Make it specific.
The affirmation, I am happy driving a new red car, is not as powerful as I am happy driving my new red Porsche. Putting in clear details will help our minds achieve our goals.

f. Use at least one dynamic emotion.
I was having trouble thinking of emotion words, so I looked in my thesaurus yesterday. I came up with hundreds of words for happy. Our language is so rich with specific words, such as merry, content, mirthful, and gleeful. Just reading these words made me feel happy. So, we could plug in an emotion to the statement about the red car so that it now reads, I am gleeful driving my new red Porsche.

g. Include an action word ending in -ing.
The Porsche statement includes the word driving. We could make this affirmation more specific by saying, I am gleeful tearing up the highway in my new Porsche.

h. Make affirmations for yourself, not others.
The affirmation, I am happy watching my son clean his room, will not work. It is not your behavior that you're trying to change, it's your son's. Instead, this should read, I am confident about shaping my son's behavior with clear directions and consequences.

i. Add or something better to the end of every affirmation.
The affirmation, I am happy to read my name on the New York Times Bestseller list, or something better, gives the mind room to imagine even greater possibilities. Perhaps mine will use this statement as a jumping-off point to create opportunities to speak on the radio, appear on television, or meet influential people.

(2) Create memorable affirmations.
In order for our affirmations to really sink in, there are several key points to remember:

-Visualize everything from your perspective within the affirmation.
In other words, if you're gleeful in that Porsche, put yourself behind the wheel, not standing beside it.
-Hear the sounds around you as you visualize yourself doing this.
Imagine the gurgle of the engine, the screech of the tires, the roar of the wind.
-Feel the emotions.
Think about the pounding of your heart as you shift gears and stomp on the accelerator. Feel the rush of adrenalin as you whip your Porsche around curves.
-Describe what you are experiencing as you write your affirmation.
Get into the moment and make your affirmation come alive with clear writing.
-Edit your affirmations, as needed.
Check your affirmations before committing to them to make sure that they include all of the above elements.

(3) Put your affirmations to work.
Review your affirmations when you wake up, mid-day, and again before falling asleep. If possible, read them aloud. Close your eyes and experience fully what you have written, including sounds and emotions. Repeat each affirmation twice.

(4) Make your affirmations work overtime to reach your goals faster.
If you really want to make your brain work harder, post your affirmations on index cards all around the house. Cut out magazine pictures of what you want (the red Porsche) and stick a cut-out photo of yourself in it. Repeat your affirmations when you're doing mindless things, such as waiting in line or sitting in traffic. Record your affirmations and listen to them as you are falling asleep. Put them on your screensaver. In other words, do whatever you can to bring them to the forefront of your brain as often as possible.

(5) Believe that affirmations really work.
Jack Canfield writes that he went from earning $25,000 to $100,000 in just one year's time. Ten years ago, I began visualizing and praying for God to send me a gentle husband. Joe showed up 21 days later.

Jesus said in Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." That's a powerful promise that we can believe in.

Today's Challenge
Write your top 10 goals as positive affirmations. Copy them onto
3 x 5 cards, and write them down in your Goals Book. Over the next couple of months, keep reviewing and editing your list of 101 goals until they are all stated as positive affirmations.

Release the Brakes, Part I

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #10

We will spend two days covering this principle, which addresses the issue of limiting ourselves with our thinking.

Jack begins with an explanation about what happens when we drive with the emergency brake on. Even if we give the car more gas, we don't go very fast. Many people drive through life with a psychological brake on. They may pour on the steam, striving ever harder to get ahead; but their negative thoughts hold them back.

(1) Get out of your comfort zone.
What, exactly, is our comfort zone? Jack defines it as a self-imposed prison, formed by our negative thoughts.

For example, if I constantly tell myself that I can't play the piano in front of an audience without getting nervous, I will keep myself in that place. Because the minute I get on a stage, that message will begin playing in my head, and I'll choke.

If we want to get out of our comfort zone, which you can see is really not where God wants us, then we have to change our thoughts.

(2) Don't be as dumb as an elephant.
When elephants are young, their trainers tie a thick rope around one of their hind legs and drive a sturdy stake into the ground. The elephant repeatedly tries to get away, but he soon learns that he is limited to a small area. When the elephant grows into a 5-ton adult, the trainer only needs to tie a light rope around his leg to keep him in that same amount of space. The elephant could easily charge away, but he believes that he can't.

We can shift out of our comfort zones by:

-using positive self-talk to affirm that we already have what we want;
-creating powerful new images of what we want; and
-simply changing our behavior.

In the case of the elephant, if he could say, "I am thrilled to be running free wherever I want to go," he would be able to escape his self-imposed prison. By envisioning the joys of roaming the jungle and tasting delicious plants, he would escape even more quickly. If he simply changed his behavior and gave that rope a yank, he would be surprised how easily the change would come.

We are surely smarter than elephants, so why do we remain stuck in undesirable situations?

(3) Stop re-creating the same experience over and over.
Jack points out that, like the elephant, we are never really stuck. We only think we are. Our thoughts and words keep us where we don't want to be.

Let's say that we find ourselves in an abusive marriage. The pain of our relationship is the same as the elephant's rope. Our abuser, like the elephant trainer, has taught us not to move outside of his circle of influence.

Our thoughts, based on memories of pain, cause us to see images in our heads of what we think will happen if we try to escape. We imagine ourselves alone, broke, and frightened in a place that is unknown to us. We think of eviction notices and overdue bills coming in the mail. We envision our children being ripped from our arms, screaming for us as our abuser drags them away.

These negative thoughts keep us from moving out of our abuser's circle and into a place of safety. And the more we repeat our behavior of cowering under our abuser's power, the more these thoughts are reinforced.

Then, he hurts us again and tells us we're incapable of managing our own lives. As a result, we tell ourselves, "Look, he is always right. I am a mess. I have to stay with him, because if I left, I'd be..." This leads to a downward spiral, keeping us trapped in a hopeless situation.

If we want to get out of situations like this, we must stop re-creating it with our thoughts and actions.

(4) Take your temperature.
Jack writes that no matter how much money we have, we will re-create whatever we see ourselves earning. For instance, if we earn $30,000 a year, and we win the lottery, we will spend all of our winnings so that we can get back into our comfort zone of only having $30,000 a year in income.

If we feel comfortable with $1,000 in the bank, we will make sure that we save and work extra to maintain that amount. If, however, we believe that we must have $50,000 in savings, we will work equally hard to make sure we maintain that balance.

I think we could check our psychological temperature in the same way that Jack checked his financial temp. Are we socially bankrupt, or are we rich in our relationships? Are we overdrawn emotionally or bubbling over with joy? Do our friendships bring us satisfaction, or are they draining us?

(5) Change your behavior.
Jack tells about going with his wealthy boss to go shopping. He had never spent more than $35 on a department store shirt. But on that day, he bought a $95 shirt imported from Italy. He sweated, and he felt miserably uncomfortable spending that much; but he forced himself to do it.

Jack did not want to see himself as a mediocre earner. He wore the $95 shirt often and felt so good about himself that he earned more money. Then he bought more of those Italian shirts until he felt comfortable in his new lifestyle, earning more than ever before.

If we see ourselves as trapped in an endless cycle of abuse, it's the same concept as Jack wearing only $35 shirts. God wants us to have an abundant life, and not just in the area of our finances.

Through Jeremiah, the prophet, God promised: Then this city will bring me renown, joy, praise, and honor before all nations on earth that hear of all the good things I do for it; and they will be in awe and will tremble at the abundant prosperity and peace I provide for it.(Jer 33:9)

(6) Change your self-talk with affirmations.
Jack teaches us how to stretch our comfort zone with affirmations. We can bombard our minds with new thoughts and images of things such as a big bank account, a trim body, exciting work, interesting friends, memorable vacations, and the like. We must create positive statements that describe our goals as if they have already come true.

A positive affirmation for me would be, "I am celebrating the joy of seeing my name on the New York Times Bestsellers list."

Today's Challenge
Take a look at your self-imposed comfort zone. Are you dumb as an elephant? Are you re-creating the same chaotic or meaningless life over and over? Take your financial or psychological temperature. Are you sick because of the life you're leading? Start thinking about what you would like to change. Imagine your life in a new way. You have the power to change everything by what you think about and envision for yourself. Prepare your mind and heart for tomorrow's lesson, when we will discover how to create affirmations and apply them to our lives.

Success Leaves Clues

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #9

Today's lesson from Jack Canfield's book, Success Principles, teaches us to look for the clues around us that someone else has already done what we're hoping to achieve.

(1) Figure out who has already accomplished what you want to do.
If we pay attention, we can model ourselves after others who have already achieved what we want. They are:

-teachers
-facilitators
-advisors
-coaches
-consultants

One of the most effective ways to learn from successful people is to simply ask them for advice. This summer, I met with a well-known author and former college instructor to ask her for guidance in getting my book published. It took a little nerve to do this, but I was pleasantly surprised. She was very happy to share her thoughts with me about how to improve my novel for publication.

Most successful people leave clues about their work in the form of:

-books
-manuals
-audio programs
-online classes

Jesus is the greatest teacher of all time. If we want to grow in our faith, all we have to do is ask him for advice. He has also left us with an exhaustive manual that is filled with wisdom. Through Scripture, we can discover some of the greatest secrets of the universe.

Reading the Bible can help us to grow spiritually, and so can other Christians who have been traveling along the same path for longer than we have. Proverbs 13:10 reads, Wisdom is found in those who take advice.

(2) Think about why you haven't been seeking out clues.

-It never occurs to us.
-It's inconvenient.
-We're afraid of rejection.
-Change is uncomfortable.
-It's hard work.

I think that I've fizzled out on achieving some dreams, because I get sidetracked by other dreams. While some people never dream of doing anything, I dream of doing too much. I get so many irons in the fire that I eventually feel so overwhelmed that I give up.

Writing down my 101 life goals, putting the most pressing ones on 3 x 5 cards, and narrowing the focus of my Goals Book really helps me to keep my eye on the one or two prizes I'm working toward at the moment.

Right now, I've got three major projects going: writing, quilting, and healing touch training. Keeping all of these balls in the air is a challenge, but Jack's success principles are helping me to remain balanced.

Today's Challenge
Seek out a teacher, mentor, coach, manual, or book to help you learn more about one of your goals. Set up a 30- to 60-minute meeting with someone successful and ask them what they did to achieve their dream. If possible, make arrangements to shadow someone, volunteer, or intern in a position that moves you closer to your goal.

Chunk It Down

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #8

Breaking our big goals down into smaller, achievable tasks is something that Jack calls chunking it down. We certainly need this, after the overwhelming process of writing down those 101 goals from #7!

(1) Take the action steps to chunk it down.
Jack gives us three pieces of advice for chunking down our goals into smaller steps. They include:

-Consult successful people who have already done what you want to do and ask what steps they took.
-Read a book or manual that outlines the process.
-Start from the end and look backward. Think of the last thing you would need to do, then the step before that, and so on.

(2) Use mind mapping to break down your goals into achievable steps.
A mind map is a diagram that illustrates how we can get from an idea to the measurable outcome we're looking for. You really need to look at page 64 of Success Principles to fully understand it.

Basically, you start by drawing a circle on a paper and writing your goal inside. For me, this would read as, Publish Among the Ashes, the novel that I finished earlier this year.

Next, we draw lines from the center circle to smaller circles around the page. Each circle breaks down the big project into smaller tasks. For me, this would include Editing, Proposal, Query Letters, Contacts, Contract, Publicity.

The final step involves drawing spokes that project out from each of the smaller circles. Each spoke represents a step in the process. For my project, my Editing spoke would include Improve Pacing, Insert Comparisons, Eliminate Unnessary Characters, Delete Common Adjectives, Strengthen Verbs, Check Spelling.

(3) Make a daily to-do list.
From the results of the mind mapping exercise, the next step involves making a daily to-do list. Each item must include a completion date, otherwise we just let time slip by, and the project never gets finished. Do whatever it takes to stay on schedule.

(4) Do first things first.
We put things off, because we perceive that they're doing to be unpleasant or difficult. If we have a list of five things to do, we usually put off the hardest thing for last. Inevitably, it doesn't get done.

Brian Tracy wrote a book titled, Eat That Frog! I love his method for helping us to visualize how to quit procrastinating. He asks us to think of our most ardous task as a frog that we must eat. Yuk! If that hung over our heads all day, we'd be miserable, anticipating what was to come. But if we could just gulp down that slippery little critter, the rest of the day would be a breeze. After all, if we can swallow a frog, we can do anything!

(5) Plan your day the night before.
Scientists tell us that if we make a list of tasks to accomplish the night before, our minds will work out how we're going to do things while we're sleeping. If we plan our day's work before we sleep, we can start the day off running, chomping down that ugly frog before anyone else has rubbed the sleep from their eyes.

(6) Use the achievers focusing system.
You can find a helpful worksheet at www.thesuccessprinciples.com. It was designed by Les Heweitt of the Achievers Coaching Program and can be used to help you plan and hold yourself accountable as you accomplish the steps needed for 13 weeks of goals.

Today's Challenge
My frog is a pile of bookkeeping that I keep putting off. It's now on my list of things to do first thing tomorrow morning. I'd much rather get it off my desk than to continue listening to that ugly frog croaking from the corner of my desk. What's your frog? How are you going to eat him?

Unleash the Power of Goal Setting, Day 3

Jack Canfield's Success Principle #3

Joe and I spent the last two days taking a trip to Michigan. We talked for nearly eight hours during our journey about this lesson. The trip was a lot of fun, and we hashed over lots of great ideas. We arrived home late, worn out from the brainstorming, but satisfied with the results.

As I suspected when this principle was introduced on Sunday, it was far too much information to digest in a short time span. I tried to come up with my 101 goals, and I began to feel completely overwhelmed. I would need to live to be about 500 years old to finish everything on my list.

Two problems became apparent. First, I set too many goals that were extremely difficult. Whenever I do something, I want to master it. I'm not satisfied to just try out a new interest and then move on. So, the more goals I set, the more burdened I felt. One of my goals is to be less perfectionistic.

Second, I don't think that anyone can work on 101 goals at one time. Interestingly, we were listening to Jack Canfield's book, Self-Esteem and Peak Performance on the way home. He suggested focusing on no more than 10 goals at a time. Ideally, he felt that 3 goals would be manageable for most people.

So why did Jack tell us to write 101 goals in this lesson? I think the method behind this madness was to force us to think bigger and to think long-term. All too often, we can't see the forest for the trees. We're focused on goals, such as getting all the laundry done or paying off a car loan. Jack wants to push us to think of bigger dreams, such as visiting the Eiffel Tower or publishing a book.

I didn't get my goals onto 3 x 5 cards, because I was so confused by my 101-item list. However, the process did spawn some really great conversations for both Joe and me about our goals. I narrowed down my top three pursuits for 2011, and I'll be writing them on my cards tomorrow.

I already had my Goals Book finished from working on this last year, but in many places, I found that it is missing measurable outcomes and deadlines. I'm going to add those and continue to use the book to keep myself focused on my purpose.

Today's Challenge
I would recommend writing out 3 x 5 cards for your most pressing 10 goals. Then, I would focus on one to three of those goals at a time. Keep your list of 101 goals in your Goals Book, and alter it as you have time. As life moves on, you may find that some goals need to be altered, and others become less important to you.