Self Improvement Brain's Podcast

Do you believe that your belief system is what makes things work for you or against you? With your belief system you could create a life with your own values and desires which could ultimately shape your future. If your life has not been successful then you should probably change your earlier beliefs so that the new ones work for you and not against you. Here are some useful tips to change your belief system into one that could work for you. Let go of fear - do not allow past experience of pain and fear guide you about what you need to do. Fear is an obstacle to growth. Fear freezes your mental ability to think positively. You should learn to empower yourself with positive attitude and get rid of fear. Stare fear in its face and just see what you are afraid of. When you analyze the causes and reasons for your fear you would realize that most of it is just created by yourself. If you have fear in your mind, erase it right away. Face your life with boldness and look for ways to reach for your goals. Develop optimism– optimists are self-disciplined and persistent in what they want to achieve in their life. Optimists plan and take action to move forward. They constantly learn about how to get better at their skills. Their self-confidence helps them to look for solutions and lead them to success in their goals. If you are pessimistic it is time you shed your pessimistic attitude and develop optimism in its place. See change as an opportunity for growth – change leads to growth. We all go through so many changes in life. We all learn to grow through these changes. If a particular belief is making you stagnate or blocks your progress in life, just change it and follow a new belief system that would enhance your growth and development in life. Get rid of your old belief and replace it with a new one. Analyze your belief system – generally our beliefs are formed from our past experiences in life. We also adopt certain beliefs from our parents, culture, peer and environment. When you realize that your beliefs do not support you in your life, be brave and open yourself to build a new belief system. Life changes all the time and you could change your beliefs accordingly without feeling guilt or fear.  Adopt new beliefs, which you think would help you in your life. Write them down and practice them over and over consciously until they become a part of your daily routine Educate yourself about your belief system. Learn to support your beliefs. Ask yourself why you believe in something, what made you change your old belief in its place, whether you are happy with your new beliefs, etc. When you change your limiting beliefs and adopt new ones, you may see your course of life running smoothly.   I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

People are worried all the time about every little thing in life. Come to think of it, is it really worth it? If you could change things around you would. But if you could not, the best way is to accept it and move on with life. Try to be cheerful and happy and soon you would realize that life is not that bad at all. But how could one be happy? Here are some great tips that teach you to be happy. Read on but promise to pass it on to others. Understand that simple things can make you happy - such as a bird’s song, cool air, sunshine, etc. could make you happy. Mingle with happy people – mix with those who are merry and joyous. You could catch it on if you have an open mind and spread it around you. Do not dwell in self-pity – wallowing in self-pity lowers your self-esteem and self-confidence. If you could take action be quick to correct troubling situations. If it is beyond you, you may just forget it and carry on your life with a happy outlook. Who knows what is in store for you in future? Be hopeful instead of drowning yourself in self-pity.  Love yourself – if you cannot love yourself it is difficult to love others. Laugh at adversity – who does not have problems in life? When you laugh at your difficulties, you would realize they become insignificant and you feel lighter Be healthy - good health is a great factor in making you happy. Believe that you deserve happiness – believe that happiness is your birthright and you deserve to be happy. It is after all your choice and no body could take it away from you if you choose to stick on to it. Engage in different kinds of activities than your usual routine – breaking the routine sometimes makes life interesting. Look into ways of changing your routing and you may enjoy it. Choose to be happy – you have the ability to take positive or negative approach to your issues. If you choose a positive approach, happiness is easy to reach. Develop a sense of gratitude - whenever you feel that you lack something in life remember all those things that you have in your life you could be thankful for such as a roof over your head, a decent family, your physical and personal strengths, etc. This should make you happy for what you have in your life. Avoid negativism – fill yourself with positivism that would make you see life in new colors and shades. You would see life with new eyes and bubbling energy. That is happiness. Learn to laugh at yourself – this is an excellent approach to life. Everyone makes mistakes. Your errors are only bad if you take them seriously. Just laugh at yourself if you err and your heart would lighten up. Remember, it does not cost you a penny to be happy. Your life and your choice are at your hands. Isn’t that reason enough to be happy? I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Success is not reserved only for a chosen few. Everyone has the capacity to be successful in every area of his or her life. Success results from cultivating certain habits and sticking to them. Consistency is a must. Successful persons have a certain type of personality. Successful person thinks in a particular way, talks in a particular way and acts in a particular way. Would you like to be a successful person too? Here are a few principles of success that is bound to help you if you follow these strategies: Develop a clear vision of what exactly you want to achieve in your life. Carry this vision in your mind at all times. This is the starting point to success. Believe without any doubt that you would achieve your dreams. Believe in a higher power that has been giving you whatever you needed so far. Stay away from negative influences such as negative people, books, articles, etc. Surround yourself with things that boost your belief that you would succeed. Take responsibility for your future. Do not depend on anybody and take responsibility for your life without doubting success. Make a habit of repeating positive affirmations. Speak out your affirmations in present tense as opposed to future tense. Writing down affirmations is more effective. This helps your mind to stay fixed and focused on your goal. This is also a good way to build your self-confidence and deepen your belief. Make a firm commitment to action. Once you decide to take action stay committed and never give up. Once you deter from commitment your belief becomes shaky and unstable. If you do that then your efforts would just fall off like a deck of cards. You would have wasted all your time and energy you had invested on your efforts. So stay committed. Set a specific goal. If you know what you really want to achieve you need to define it by making it a goal. Set specific goals. Your goals should be precise, measurable, realistic and timed. Work out a plan of action. Break down your plan into smaller tasks or units. Do your task in smaller steps. Take one step or two each day while reminding yourself that each step is taking you closer to your goal. Your actions should be filled with faith, determination and purpose. Consistency is vital to reach your goal. Never give up until you have achieved what you desire. Persistence is key to success. Treat every failure as a learning opportunity. But push yourself towards your goal with stronger faith. Maintain an attitude of gratitude, realizing that your dream is becoming a reality. Look around you and be grateful for things that you already have such as a home, loving family, etc. Just stay grateful. Be a giver - give your time, money and service to others. Be kind and generous to all. Now you know the principles of success. Act on it with faith and persistence.   I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

  Stress has become part of modern human life. It is here to stay unless we start making minor changes to work around it. Stress is taxing on your body and mind and has long term effects. Stress is also said to reduce life span. But have you ever wondered why we get stressed out? What is it that we’re doing wrong?  Stress is the outcome of over work, constant thinking and burdening of the mind, and lack of rest and relaxation. Your mind and body are like machines, they get heated up with over work, they shutdown when work is unusually heavy. What are we working so hard for? Isn’t it for money? Why do we need money? So that we can afford those things in life which give us pleasure. But if we don’t have the time to enjoy, then what’s the use of money? We are constantly on the look out for advice and information on reducing stress. We read up papers, browse websites, visit counselors, doctors, talk to relatives and friends. Little do we realize that the stress busters are within us! The simple solution to avoid stress is “TO BE YOUR SELF”. What we mean by this is to lead a life where you do things that you really want to. Yes, work life is important, but never let it dominate your life. You need to relax and be with family and friends. You need time to rejuvenate. You need time to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. Without them, you are only going to work more and more and increase your stress. You can take time off and do some meditation. Ask your inner self to relax when things are going way too fast.   Avoid stress by planning out your work. Unplanned style of working usually makes one less efficient and thus increases stress. Planned working improves your efficiency and keeps you prepared for any changes. Things don’t pile up on your head. Everything seems to move smoothly. Another stress buster is a good old massage. Massage can relax your body and pull out stress.  It is important to eat well and healthy. It is also important to eat at the right time. With work related stress, some may skip a meal which affects your mind and body immediately. Make sure your diet includes fruits and vegetables and that you eat well them at regular intervals. To keep the mind relaxed, you must have a good sleep. A good sleep would mean about 6-8 hours for a working adult. Meditation will rejuvenate your spirits. Just as you keep your mind relaxed, you also need to tend to your body. Regular exercises make your body look in shape, it also gets your body to jump start for the whole day. With the body and mind working in harmony, stress is the last thing that will bother you.   I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Success is a goal you undeniably want to strive for in life. As with everyone else, you would like a piece of the good life. You would want to rise above your capacities and drive yourself to the best you can possibly reach. In life, there are so many ways to get to your dreams. You may want to consult Feng Shui experts. You may want to consult astrological charts. You may turn to God. You may turn to creative imagery to get what you want. However you would like to build your personal pillar of success, I believe that there are constants and absolutes. A good, solid foundation is a constant in building any sturdy edifice. Thus, it is essential that there be a strong foundation in the construction of your personal pillar of success. Integrity, no matter what your religious beliefs are, is the bedrock of all transactions. Why would you want to deal with things with integrity? Well, forming relationships is a must if you are in pursuit of success; and of course you would like to take good care of these relationships. Integrity builds trust, which is an essential relationship lubricant. One does not need studies to confirm that clients would go back to someone with whom they were able to deal with smoothly and stuck to his end of the deal. The currency of life is “Quid Pro Quo”, or “give me as I would give you”. So many business relationships have been severed because a party did not meet the end of the deal, or cheated the other of what was his due. As you sever more and more relationships through the lack of integrity, you will encourage the crumbling of your pillar of success. It helps when you would go through life with a clear conscience and the knowledge that you have given your best to your client, or with whomever you have an interpersonal relationship. The lack of moral and emotional baggage frees you to be more productive, thus allowing you to build your pillar of success faster. To cultivate integrity, start with the little things. Tell the truth in the most trivial of situations. Catch yourself when you are about to tell a white lie. Be transparent in all your transactions. Give change to your customers to the very last cent. As an adage says, “If you are faithful in little, you will be faithful in much.” Such is true in cultivating everything, even integrity. Quid Pro Quo. That is the currency of human relationships. Take care of your relationships. Fortify it with Integrity. You can never go wrong with being very honest towards everyone. I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

We all face hardships at some point in our lives. Some of us own responsibility and get on with our lives while most of us blame others. When you own responsibility for yourself you empower yourself. You are the cause and your life experiences are the results in your life. You determine the direction of your life. You are in control of your life. If you are not able to explain why your life is as it is, you are probably giving your power away to someone else, are you?  Most of us tend to blame something else or someone else or our fate for all bad experiences in our life such as abusive childhood, loss of a loved one or broken relationships. When you are not in control of yourself or your life that means you are powerless. Blaming is a disempowering emotion. If you think by blaming others for your life you are getting away from problems you are completely wrong. Your life problems would stay the same and recur again and again as long as you make someone else responsible for your life. You give others power to control you and your life. So your life problems would tend to stay the way they are until you take back your power and claim full responsibility for your emotions, actions and life as a whole. True empowerment is taking responsibility for your life so that you are free to do whatever you want to do and be anything you choose to be. Here are 4 tips to empower you: Make your own choices - Life is full of choices and you have the freedom to choose. You learn only through trial and error. Be bold and accept the outcome of your decisions. If your choice is correct, be happy. If not do not blame yourself or others. Instead, analyze where you went wrong and correct yourself. The next time around, you may be able to make the right choices. Practice deep breathing - If you make it a habit to practice deep breathing throughout the day, you would have clarity in your thoughts. You feel more relaxed to think clearly and make good judgments of your situations. Feel grateful - Gratitude is something we never show for many things we enjoy in our life. Instead of cursing your problems look around you and realize how blessed you are to have nature bestow you good health, sunshine, food, good relationships, fresh air, etc. When you feel grateful for these things you are convinced that life is not bad at all. Develop mental awareness - Observe your thoughts. Are they good or bad? Are they positive or negative? If your thoughts are positive it is good. You could act on them with positive results. What if you have negative thoughts? You could still control them if you are aware of them. Empower yourself by being aware of your good and bad thoughts. When you deal with your own pains and pleasures you are the controller of your life. Just know that no one else could take away your power to control your life and events because you are the master of your destiny.  I have just one question for you,  "What Self Improvement Question Are You Struggling With Today?" Please let me know in the comments section below so I can provide answers for you, that way you can help others as well! Please share this podcast with those you care about! Thanks, Don Weyant. SelfImprovementBrain.com

“The eyes are windows to our soul” say an English proverb. This world is full of people and your eyes tell them a lot about you. Your eyes tell a lot about your personality. It shows if you are aggressive, soft, inviting or loving. If you notice salesmen, politicians, teachers and public speakers you would realize how effectively they use their eyes to maintain their contact with you. Eye contact is vital to effective communication. Eye contact is a major body language factor when it comes to communication. If your eye contact is too much, you are seen as an aggressive person. On the other hand if your eye contact is too little you are seen as disinterested in the person speaking to you. How do you use eye contact in every day life and in different situations? Eye contact when talking to an individual – It is important to maintain eye contact with an individual during a conversation. But it could be uncomfortable if you stare intensely at her. In order to avoid this uncomfortable situation, it is good to break eye contact every 4 to 5 seconds while talking to the other person. You may look up or sideways as though you are noticing your surroundings or the decorations around you, etc. Looking down indicates you have ended your conversation. Eye contact while listening to the other person – It would be very rude and putting off for the speaker if you just stare too hard at him or her. You could look at that person and also look around his facial features or observe around the room etc. in order to stop staring at him. Again, it is best to shift your eye contact every 4 to 5 seconds to keep the interest in the conversation without staring at the talker. You could use your head to nod as an agreement or say ‘yes,’ ‘hmm,’ or any other expression to show that you are listening so that the other person knows that you are listening to him with interest. This keeps the conversation going in a smooth manner. Eye contact during an argument - Gazing during an argument shows strength. If you are aggressive, you wish to prove your point or your power to the opponent you gaze at him. If you look away during an argument that could mean you are not sure of your own self or about what you are saying and you give up or have lost an argument. Eye contact while expressive love – When you like the person who is talking to you, you tend to use her whole face as your focal point. You look at her eyes, listen intently to what she is saying with a smile, raise your eyebrows or dilate your pupils to show that you are enjoying the conversation. Lovers sometimes do not say anything to each other but share a prolonged gaze at each other. But if you were to look away or yawn while the other person is talking you may be telling her that you are not interested in talking to her. You could use your eyes effectively to keep your relationships in a good stand.  SelfImprovementBrain.com

You may have already gone through the process of creating a list of lifetime goals – the next step is to actually start the process of achieving them. This involves creating a list of smaller goals that you plan to achieve over the next 25 years preparatory to reaching your lifetime goals. After creating a 25-year plan, make a 5-year plan, then a 1-year plan, then a 6-month plan and then a 1-month plan. Get the picture? Each plan is founded and contributes to the lifetime plan. The 3rd step is to make a To Do List that are tasks that you should do everyday. But be realistic: you might have to do your research first by reading material that will help make your daily goals more realistic. By doing these tasks, are you living a life that is worth living or do you just exist from day to day? Stay motivated everyday by assessing your To Do List then examining your longer term plans to see if there is any need to make changes due to the experience and priorities that you have imbibed. You may find the following general guidelines useful for this purpose: Is each goal stated positively? Is it precise? This allows you to measure achievement accurately. Have you set priorities among the goals that you have listed down? Did you write down your goals? You will be surprised how much more forceful the goals become. Are the low-level goals small enough to achieve? Can you control the outcome of your goals? Are your goals realistically low? Did you make your goals high enough to pose a challenge? It is important to reward yourself somehow once you have accomplished a goal. Absorb the feelings that come with goal achievement and rank your progress among all the plans that you made earlier. What is a good way to reward yourself? It depends – some people find it sufficient to treat themselves to a sweet treat. Others like bigger rewards. Just make sure the reward’s worth is proportionate to the magnitude of the task. You will find that assessment of your goals is an ongoing process every time you achieve a goal. If you found the goal to be much too easy to accomplish, maybe you should make the next set of goals more difficult. If the task took much too long to accomplish, maybe the goals should be a bit easier. Learning is an ongoing process as well so maybe you should change other goals too to reflect this. For example, perhaps your skills might need adjustment so this will, in turn, affect your goal setting and assessment. Should you find it difficult to meet goals or outright fail, do not think that this completely derails your plans. So long as you learned from your performance, that is what counts. Your maturity will be reflected in the changes you make in your goals. Some goals can be let go if they are not suited anymore to your short term and long term plans. Do not be a slave to the goals you have set. Maintain a degree of flexibility. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Personal Success Affirmation Demo - Relaxation Format

Business Success Affirmations Demo

Are you sick and tired of the same, old, same old you? Maybe it's time you take a step back and see yourself as a brand new "brand". All you need is a bit of repackaging here, a tad marketing there, and before you know it, you've sold yourself as the best thing that's ever happened to the free world! Ever wonder how advertisers easily lure you into buying a certain product? How they keep a brand on top of your mind every time you take a trip to the supermarket? It's all in the branding, packaging, and selling. Hey, let's face it -- in this day and age, image is everything and becoming your own "brand" is the thing. It's just as easy to brand yourself as you would products. We talk in terms of labels. We label people, places, films, food, everything. We just have to brand something so that we can contextualize it in our heads. So, what more when we look at ourselves in the mirror? Think of yourself as a product that you just have an uncanny urge to sell. The first step to self-branding is to start looking for your core -- your essential self, that inner element which makes you a unique product. Now before you start experiencing brain strain, this doesn't require knowledge of rocket science. It's easy to pinpoint your personal strengths, but you shouldn't be pressured into coming up with a new, all-original image. You're simply building from what you already have. You can borrow and refresh someone else's persona thereby making it your own, borrow bits and pieces from idols and icons to imbibe and imbue unto yourself. For instance, you can be part Condoleeza Rice, part Janet Jackson, and part Cameron Diaz. Now just imagine what a character you would become! To become your own brand, you have to have a personal flair, a signature style. Sadly, however, a great multitude of us morph into the bandwagon brigade while following the current trends. Instead of standing out, you disappear into the throng of clones cloaked in boring clothing. Self-packaging is all about personal style and attitude put together in one neat bundle. Both must work in sync. You can't brand yourself as a no-nonsense worker and then dress up in colorful, revealing clothes and expect to be taken seriously. Although it doesn't hurt to be on the constant lookout for new things, to be adventurous to show your freedom of expression, you must always make sure you're comfortable with it. You can't pull off an image if it's not really you. The bottom line is, act natural. If you're entirely comfortable with your brand self and the way you're packaged, then there's absolutely no need to act out your new image. As long as you stay real, people will automatically be comfortable with you. SelfImprovementBrain.com

You probably think that only children suffer from bullying. Wrong -- even adults are subjected to bullying. Consider this scenario: a group in your office wants to have casual drinks every Friday night but you don’t want to join. At first, you get cajoled into joining. If you refuse again, then you get the teasing for your ‘holier-than-thou’ attitude. If you stick by your decision, then you’ll probably get the cold or silent treatment. Worse is the guilt tripping where you’ll be accused of ruining the company morale! You’ll end up getting the pressure to join just to avoid any more of this treatment. That’s bullying. It happens even outside the workplace. School committees or fund raising community activities, for example, where you don’t get a choice on what you want to do. Sometimes a friend or a relative volunteer you for work without even consulting you first. In both cases, you are forced to work because the guilt trip will be worse when it comes to people you have a relationship with. That’s bullying. A bully sees opportunities to make you feel wrong by not giving into them. They love the superior feeling that they get when they can force somebody to do what they want. Former US First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt said: “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” so if you value your own self-esteem, don’t allow others to make you feel small. Do not let anybody railroad you into something that you’re not comfortable doing. That is the best way to stand up to a bully. Put your foot down and say ‘no, I don’t want to do this’. You can do that and you must to do that for your own self-worth. Remember that you are your own best champion. You are worthy of respect and having respect means others should treat your stand on an issue as your own space. They shouldn’t give you grief about it. They shouldn’t force their own choices. Instead they should allow you to choose what you want and how you want it. If it involves you then you should have a say in it. Again, standing up to a bully could be as easy as firmly disagreeing and walking away from them. If you’re lucky, they’ll get the message and leave you alone. If that doesn’t work, the best advice is to get others to know about your stand on things and ask their support. You would be surprised how these bullies will back down if you show them that you have a backbone. These bullies will realize that you’re not afraid to disagree with them and whatever hold they have is lost. You will finally be free. SelfImprovementBrain.com

Addictive relationships are sometimes hard to notice. Psychologists believe that one tends to get into addictive relationships if he or she grew up in a dysfunctional home. Many times one realizes that he or she is in an addictive relationship only after understanding it by going through it. The addicted person needs the other person to fulfill all his needs. As with any other addiction, there are many issues in this type of a relationship such as control, trauma, self-worth, fear, loss of a sense of self, etc. The relationship is used as a means to attempt to resolve other deeper unidentified and unresolved problems. In an addictive relationship one person is self-centered and extremely independent. He believes that he has the sole right to do whatever he wants to do and whenever he wants it too. His partner is dependent and other-centered. She is willing to reflect whatever her partner wants. This is how addictive relationships function. Here are some common signs that characterize addictive relationships: There is no balance in addictive relationships. One dominates the other partner. Most of the time one person is the giver and the other is the receiver There is a demand for instant or immediate gratification. The dominant one expects everything to be done instantly, in the present moment. This is one of the common traits found in drug addicts and alcoholics, too There is a great deal of control, obsession and fixation on the partner. There is a tendency to ‘make the partner change’ with an idea of fixing him or her Dishonesty is present to a great extent in addictive relationships. Most of the time one partner tries to hide certain personal aspects, which the other should not find out. Sometimes one partner puts up false cover-ups to hide the real person Emotional highs and lows are present in addictive relationships. The lows last longer and goes deeper than the highs when the emotional highs are plain ecstatic Social isolation is yet another sign of addictive relationship. Nobody else – not even parents, siblings, children or close friends are allowed into their relationship. People in addictive relationships prefer to be left alone. There is no true love. All healthy boundaries that characterize a normal healthy marriage are absent in an addictive relationship Signs of an Addictive relationship also include a cycle of pleasure, pain, cynicism, blaming and reconnection. This cycle goes on and on until one partner tries to break free since the situations get out of control. How does one overcome a relationship addiction? Here are a few tips to help you overcome your relationship addiction: Make your rescue as the number one priority in your life Identify the roots of physical and emotional abuse Assure yourself that you are an independent soul who is in charge of your own life Detach yourself from the emotions that bind you to the relationship Cultivate positivism Find support groups Consider getting professional help, if need arises. If you are in an addictive relationship it is time you get out of it and find a life of your own. SelfImprovementBrain.com

It is not intended to offend. It is intended to bring forth a thought process to enhance you being successful with money. So many of us wander through life thinking we have everything together. I have a fool proof way to see if you really do have it together. You will be able to tell with one question. Are you successful with money? I don't mean are you wealthy beyond belief. I'm talking about are you drowning in debt? (You may be and not even know it.) A good way to tell if you are in over your head is to list all your debts in a column and then all your assets and/or things that actually go up in value (like a house or an investment) in another column. Now compare. Which column has the largest number after adding it all up? If we do this we may find that we are not as "together" as we appear to be? So the question again, "Are you having success with money?" The answer for most of us is... [Imagine an echo with this response.]NO! (((no no no))) Myth: If we ignore our financial responsibilities, they will either go away or take care of themselves. Fact: Most of America wander through life living day to day, paycheck to paycheck. Most of Americans are about two major financial setbacks away from bankruptcy and don't even smell the danger. Myth: The more stuff we have, the more wealthy we are. Fact: The more stuff you have the more stuff you have. In most cases, the more stuff you have, the deeper the hole is being dug to make you even more B-R-O-K-E. Myth: If my neighbors can afford it, I can too. Fact: Your neighbors are about 2 steps away from bankruptcy too. Now don't misunderstand me. I'm not cutting you down or trying to make you angry. I'm just trying to get your attention. Becoming successful with your money is easier than you think. But it's difficult at the same time. Let me explain. You have the power to pay off all your debt. You have the power to start building gobs of wealth. You have the know-how but you just may not know you have it. You see, building wealth and paying off debt is nothing more than common sense. Here's the common sense and the easy part. To pay off debt means you stop borrowing money (that includes using lines of credit). When you stop borrowing, you start paying higher amounts than the minimum payments. Much higher if possible. Here's some more common sense and the hard part. Will you actually DO it? Most everyone reading this will read it, think "nice and true" but then will go out to lunch or shopping or fill up their gas tank and use a credit card. Habits are hard to break and we are marketed to thousands of times every day. Those marketing messages work. They have been engrained in our minds so vividly and so deep that we think its okay to put our kids’ happy meal on a line of credit. See what I mean? Read that last sentence about the happy meal out loud and tell me if it registers as common sense to you. Challenge: Go one week without using any lines of credit. When you want something, pay cash. Keep the receipts. At the end of the week, add up all your receipts and see how much you REALLY spend in one week. You may be surprised. You may be even MORE surprised on what you spent your hard earned cash on. My wife and I have done this little exercise and it led to us building a nice little budget that we currently live by. Consequently that little budget has led to us paying off over $54,000 of debt in 18 months. Rowdy, huh? Living successfully can seep into every area of your life. Which areas are you holding out on? Financial? Relationships? Family? Career? Now if you're married, get with your spouse and do this stuff. Spend less. Save more. One day, you'll wake up and realize you have less money stresses and you will be in a position to do something unheard of. You'll give some away. Won't that be fun?! SelfImprovementBrain.com

What is a personal Development Plan? A personal development plan is a structured and supported process undertaken by an individual to consider and improve upon his personal, educational and professional development. The individual is in control of his own development with the opportunity to monitor and steer his growth. It is simply a tool to encourage and support lifelong learning. The process involves identifying the areas that need development, planning, executing and reviewing. We all tend to have a mental block when it comes to addressing our own problems. Many people are afraid about taking time and thinking about their problems and solutions to those problems. A PDP would help them to solve their problems in an easy manner. You could start developing your PDP anytime. Based on your present situation and role, you could draw a PDP that could help to prioritize the most important areas of your life that need immediate attention and concentration. Identify areas that need progress - This is the first step towards constructing your PDP. You need to be in tune with your current situation in life - know who you are, what you want to achieve, what you have and what you lack. You also have to be clear about what is working for you now and what is not. You need to check on what you are ignoring, too. Many people may delay in this first step if they have problem identifying the areas of their life that needs development. If you are one of them just think about those areas that are important to you – for example, you could consider the following areas: Physical and mental wellbeing, education, spiritual pursuit, finances, recreation, relationships – personal and professional, etc. You do not need to write down everything in detail but just make a list of these areas. This list would help you to prioritize your areas. After you identify your areas that need improvement, write down what improvements you prefer to make in each of these areas as it relates to your personal growth. Set a timeline on each goal - Begin with your short-term goals and then proceed to long-term goals Write down your action plan – how do you plan to go about this process? Review your plan – is this plan workable? Would you like to make a few changes or draw a new PDP? Implement your plan – stick to your plan and follow your schedule Review your progress - are you following the timeline? Are you progressing accordingly? When you develop your own PDP, follow through with action and achieve your goals you would feel like you are on top of the world. You gain more confidence that your life is in your control. You get a great satisfaction. Take one step at a time and enjoy the process. That is the key to success.  SelfImprovementBrain.com