My Top Five Daily Success Steps

This post was inspired by Joe Vitale's post which you can read here. Joe lists the top 10 things he does every day to be successful. And as you all know, I am a big big fan of Joe and his teachings. He asked his readers to post our top five and link back to him so here's my list.

1.) Gratitude
Every morning when I get up, I say thank you outloud. I thank the universe that I am alive and kicking that day! Each day is a new chance to learn, grow and create. Those are some of the best reasons to give thanks!

I also keep a gratitude journal and write a one page list of all the things I'm thankful for. My final line each day is the same: I'm so thankful for me, for the Universe (we are one and the same) and for the life I am creating. Gratitude is so powerful and it sets the tone for my day. It's a practice I learned from one of my other favorite teachers, James Ray.

2.) Write my goal and carry it with me.
Each morning before I start my work day, I write my goal on a post-it, tuck it in my pocket and keep it on my person all day. I take it out and review it at least twice a day (morning and evening)...usually more often. This is a tool I also picked up from James Ray (I think this may be a Stephen Covey technique..not sure).

I should add my goal and how I write it because that's important:

I'm so happy now that I'm creating $100,000 in profits for my business and am working with a team of 10 world class copywriters who also create the profits they desire.

You'll notice I write it in the current tense which is key. It puts me in a state of feeling the experience, not wishing or desiring it. That may sound like a slight distinction but it's very important.

3.) Get Outside!
This usually comes in the form of exercise whether training for my half-marathon or just walking the dog.

And I love the outdoors, it invigorates my soul and recharges my body. I live in the glorious state of Colorado where the sun shines over 300 days a year. I moved here roughly 3 years ago from the cold, overcast Midwest (Wisconsin to be exact) and the sun blesses me with her glory. And when I'm outside, I'm always thankful I had the courage to move across the country and settle in a place I love!!

4.) Read
Joe and I share this common daily tactic. I'm a voracious reader and am often reading 4 or 5 books at the same time (another trait Joe and I share). I've steered away from fiction of late and read most anything I can get my hands on in the realms of spirituality, psychology, copywriting, marketing and personal development. There's simply so much knowledge to be gained and explored. I honestly wish everyone read more! Go to the library people - it's good for you!! :)

5.) Holosync Daily Meditation
You can review my earlier posts about Holosync. I simply LOVE it. There aren't enough words in the English language for me to express my gratitude, joy and love for Bill Harris' amazing technology.

I have always enjoyed meditation but wasn't as disciplined as I could've been. It can be hard to sit still for an hour...especially if you don't see the results. That is not the case with Holosync. I feel so amazingly alive and vibrant. My world is clearer and more intense. Anyone who has ever had an incredible meditative or yoga session can understand what I'm expressing. Holosync is the only thing I have found that helps me create this same feeling every single day.

Not only that, it allows me to be clearer about my thoughts, feelings and intentions. I have a better grasp of me! How wonderful is that?!

And I'm only on the first level. Woo hooo!!!

I'm excited for the adventures, explorations and discoveries I'll uncover in next 11 levels!

6.) Top Six List
Yes I said I was only going to list five but I remembered a sixth step I take every day. I write down my top six items to accomplish the next day that will move me towards my goal. This was something I heard James Ray, Dan Kennedy and a few others say they do on a daily basis.

After I write the top six, I circle the one thing I fear the most and decide to conquer it first every day! That's a Robert Allen trick. Good one right?!

So there you have it, my top six daily tips.

What are yours? Link back to me and to Joe's blog..share your secrets!

Til tomorrow....

Lara

P.S. I'm also adding a 7th technique: to say I love you every single day and feel it!

Are Wishes Really Granted?

Yet again I am faced with a day full of more tasks than I accomplish! However the things I don't finish give me something to prepare for the next day so I'm not complaining.

This blog entry was going to be about how to make money as a blogger but I ran out of time yet again. That entry will appear tomorrow because I have simply more on my plate then I could completely tackle in one day (at least by myself..when my apprentices get up to speed we'll have plenty of hands on deck and hopefully a much bigger boat or fleet of boats to manage! Did you follow that analogy?!).

Instead I'm going to share a little story along with a quick recap on how I spent my day.

If you've read my previous entries you know I've discussed The Secret and the Law of Attraction (or Law of Vibration as it's also called). And I've talked about my Holosync meditation ritual.

So last night as I was meditating, I decided to send out this intention: I wanted someone to give me something for free today, Tuesday April 17th.

I didn't say what it was exactly, just something for free without a request on my part.

So I said the intention a few times and felt the happiness and joy I would feel when I received the freebie and then I let the thought and the feeling pass on and went back to meditating.

During one of my sessions in my Gmail account (lloest@gmail.com if you want to reach me), my friend popped in a message window. He is testing a new product and wanted to make sure his Paypal processing was all set up properly.

He asked for my Paypal email address and said he was going to send me some money to test his processing procedure. I gave him my email account and logged in to help him check everything out.

It went smoothly and I received a bit of money from him.

He thanked me, I thanked him and said it was my pleasure to be of assistance and we went about our days.

It wasn't until a short while later that it struck me I had received my previous night's request. I had asked for something free and I had gotten it.

When I realized and understood what had just happened, I smiled from ear to ear. And I did feel as happy and as joyful as I had imagined I would.

I'm sure many people would pass this off as a coincidence and that's fine. I prefer to believe we can create our worlds...scratch that, we DO create our worlds.

I'm aware enough to know I don't know everything about creating the world I want otherwise I'd already have everything I want. But I do know enough to sit quietly and observe..and to believe in my wishes.

The more I study and the more I learn, the stronger my belief in myself and my ability as an Infinite Creator becomes. And that's where it's fun!

I'm not naive enough (or in the least bit lazy) to believe I can sit on my couch and meditate to receive millions but I'm already doing the work behind so many great ventures that when I add belief to the equation I think it will speed up the creation process.

So that was my story for the day. :) I'm sure there are lots more where that came from!

Here's a recap of what I did today when I wasn't receiving money for free:

*Morning update call
*MSN AdCenter ads - rewrote 26 (took 20 min)
*MSN AdCenter ads - uploaded more keywords
*emailed our traffic assistant person
*called our other traffic assistant contact
*emailed 4 apprentices
(2 of these emails were welcome emails and the other 2 were for actual tasks)
*hung out in Warrior Forums...turns out I have to be a contributing member for awhile before I can post in the special offer forum (the offer I posted here yesterday)
*met with my Payroll company so I can start paying myself. YIPEE!
*reviewed material by Clayton Makepeace, Gary Bencivenga, John Carlton and Gary Halbert
*Solo ad emailed to Listdotcom.com
*Emailed friend's friend about a type of web site building program

Things to do tomorrow:
*Blog entry on making money as a blogger!!!
*Networking luncheon (FUN!)
*Check on MSN AdCenter campaigns
*Go to directresponsejobs.com

And a litany of other things I am sure!! Actually I have made a daily habit of writing down the top 6 things I will do that day to move me closer to my goal.

If I haven't told you my goal yet, here it is:

My goal is to have 10 world-class copywriters working with me by April of 2008 and to generate a 100K salary for myself in the process...and to help them create whatever salary they desire as well.

I write this goal every day on a little slip of paper..usually a Post-It and I carry it with me.

I like that goal so I review it at least twice a day but usually more often.

There you have it, my day in a nutshell. Wasn't that fun?!!

Til tomorrow...

I Believe It and So It Is

Today was one of my favorite days! I found the perfect mix of the work, play and learning. I think all 3 elements are important to every single day. Some days we have to work a lot more than others and that's fine, it goes with the territory but it's important to tip the scales in favor of play and learning when work slows down then. I'm tempted to say "balance" but I recently heard that balance is basically stagnation. When you see a perfectly balanced scale nothing is happening. And what does that mean as a human being? If you're balanced, you're dead. I like it when things are happening and moving.

The real highlight of the day has been the apprentices. Well just one apprentice actually. She's clipping along at a great speed and I'm doing everything I can to encourage that! She is definitely where I was when I began my apprenticeship and truthfully I'd never want to go back to the woman I was before. In fact, I don't think I could go back to being her if I tried. And if you've read any of my previous entries you know my mind has certainly tried to take me back there every chance it's had!!! But I won't let it and so we simply move forward.

But back to my apprentices...it's exciting!!! I want a team of 10 great copywriters and they'll be wonderful to work with. How cool will that be? I know it will present challenges as well but I like a challenge. I feel accomplished and fulfilled when I overcome an obstacle. It reflects onto my perception that I can do whatever I set out to do.

The only thing we seem to be having difficulty overcoming is the money part of things. But I think my inability to allow money into my life is being turned around. Soon it will be like the floodgates of Niagara Falls opened up!!! I will only be able to create more and more.

So I envision that and I also envision our May 1st goal. I picture myself on the beach in Cozumel (which is where I will be on May 1st) and I'm telling myself how happy I am and how proud I am of me for allowing that money into my business. Sometimes it doesn't quite feel real but I continue to do it and let Holosync do it's thing. I allow myself to feel as though I've already created it.

Did I mention I moved on to the next section of my first level of Holosync? The 2nd track is actually my favorite part. Everything gets really slow and quiet in my mind. It's so soothing.

In many of Bill Harris' interviews he talks about how he had an addictive personality before creating Holosync so throughout the process he would take his listening to extremes. There were times he would listen for an entire day!

Based on the fantastic feelings I get from using Holosync, I can see where he could get addicted to it. I practiced meditation before but I wasn't always disciplined about it so my results reflected that. Anyway, I love my meditation hour every night ! No more lack of discipline on my part...it is so calming that I will continue doing it!

That's enough from me...I'm getting up early to run tomorrow morning. I'm excited to see what my apprentices have for me tomorrow!

Til tomorrow...

Why Do We Do What We Do?

Today I made a mistake or what I now prefer to call a learning experience. The phrase learning experience doesn't have the same connotations attached to it as does the word mistake (or so it goes in my mind).

I sent out an email without prior approval and didn't include all the information necessary. I wondered why I did this since I have been waiting to release several other emails for a few days. After pondering I came up with a few options. I sent it because I wanted to stay on top of my tasks (true). I sent the email because I thought I could do it myself (doubtful). I sent it because I thought I should send it myself (true).

My main reason appears to be that I wanted to prove to myself that I still needed someone to check me out for the best possible copy. That's a good reason really...it's much easier to work as a team than it is to work on your own. Things get done faster, better and smoother. So I perhaps I simply wanted to reassure myself that the team approach is best. And it is!

That wasn't my only learning experience today. I admit I had another struggle in some respects. I'm still learning to release negative thoughts and emotions...especially when it comes to money. It (money) was definitely on mind today. Through experience I've seen that the less I worry about my finances, the easier things are. So why worry? Not sure...but today I got hung up in those thoughts.

So I practice letting it go of those feelings and get back to my center. It will come in time. I'm also considering buying a Holosync CD designed for money and wealth creation. The level one program is working well so I'm pretty sure this CD would be good too.

Holosync has a terrific program! The customer service is pretty good but the best part is they go out of their way to take care of me. :) On Tuesday I received Bill Harris' latest book called "Thresholds of the Mind" and on Wednesday I received more free stuff...some CDs! They sent me a 6 disc set of Bill Harris speaking at a past Holosync retreat and a disc called "Making Change Easy".

If you recall from my post yesterday...I make change difficult. I've improved markedly in that area but my mind still fights it for awhile. Despite the struggle, I do end up going through that wall and the resistance either lessens or sometimes disappears completely. But I believe this CD will make things even easier. Perhaps the wealth CD will help in the financial arena. I could use it about now.

Back to today, I rewrote that mistake email (which took about 20 minutes), sent our apprenticeship email to the Listdotcom.com crew and updated my new laptop.

Tomorrow I'm going to get the details worked out for the apprenticeship program fees, edit the OTO one last time and see what other tasks I've got to take care of. Fun stuff!

Til tomorrow...

Downward Spiral

There are two ways your emotions can go..up or down. They run along a continuum or a spiral. At the top are love, joy and appreciation and at the very bottom is fear and despair.

Each day..each moment we have a choice to operate out of love, joy and appreciation or out of fear and despair. Usually we fall somewhere along that spiral and it's up to each individual person to recognize an upward spiral or a downward spiral.

Today I took myself on a downward spiral. I'm curious about why that happened but after an afternoon of feeling anxious, sad, and worried I realized I was heading down, down and down.

So I chose to go up. I was stressing about a few emails I was crafting and was feeling panicky and anxious about whether or not I was on the right track. And after getting tired of those "bad" feelings I decided to go up.

I wasn't sure how to spiral upward and I stayed in that thought for awhile. Eventually the idea came to me that my worry was ridiculous. It wasn't the end of the world if I wrote the copy incorrectly or went down the "wrong" path. I was working myself into a tizzy for nothing! And it was silly. My actions were silly.

What do you do when something is silly? You laugh. So I chuckled and then I laughed til my tummy hurt. It picked me right up and I was heading on the upward spiral again.

The nosedive down came on easier than it had in the past so I pondered that for awhile too. It may related to Holosync. I am experimenting with using it at different times in the day. Today I listened first thing in the morning. I felt invigorated and rejuvenated but I do wonder if the Holosync opened me up emotionally. I'll try it in the morning tomorrow and see if the downward spiral happens again. If it does I'll switch to late afternoon or just before bed. Experimenting is fun. Learning every day is fun!

So in addition to the emails I was telling you about, I listened to a few calls several times, contacted two potential apprentices, sent out an email to Listdotcom.com and did this entry. I'm going to finish up my handwriting and listen to one more call before bed.

Til tomorrow...