We want to live up to our potential, grow, be successful, have great relationships, achieve admirable and memorable things. We want to live a life of meaning, purpose, contribution, and dignity. 

Do not become a wondering generality.

Zig Ziglar

While each person is different and unique, thus greatness and success may mean varying things to each one, in the end, we all just want to be happy.

Life, though, is like a rollercoaster; it has its ups and its downs. No one is always fortuitous, as no one is always unfortunate. 

For some time, things may be going wonderfully for us, and it may look like it will go on like that interminably; until, at some moment, suddenly, “life” turns the tables on us and gives us one blow after the other. It reminds us that things change, and that hardship is a “dish” on the menu, as is prosperity.

No one has a perfect life. Sometimes, sooner or later, “life” comes knocking on our door, and we have to answer the call and go through our distinctive challenges. 

And one needs to pause for a moment and consider, if everyone wants to live a great life, a happy life, and everyone can take certain action to achieve such a goal, why is it that most people don’t do exactly that? What holds us back? And what is it that will enable us to do that?  

In the face of this, how do we manage a great life? How do we live a life of fulfillment and happiness? 

People aiming at nothing in life end up hitting nothing dead on the head.

Les Brown

Here are 7 principles*.

• If you’re working on a job that is not going anywhere, you are not happy, and, maybe, you are not even making much money either, just enough to barely pass the month, you need to take a moment to reevaluate your life and reconsider your choices. There’s got to be more in life than that; than this boring, unfulfilling, meaningless version of it. You need to choose a different kind of future; and you need to work on it, to create it and build it. 
• You need to find your reason for being, the purpose for your life. You need to create a vision for your life; one that will inspire you and motivate you, it will get you out of you comfort zone and “push” you to take the actions necessary to be successful. When you don’t have a grip of purpose on your life, you have insecurity. Most people don’t know what their purpose is, but only subconsciously. Like birds find the north, we have an innate ability to find our purpose, our own “north”. But, we stop listening to ourselves as life goes on, and we never discover our true greatness, and capacity for creating miracles. So, find the things that will give you a sense of meaning, purpose and direction, a sense of fulfillment. Now you must go after them.
• Eyesight and mindsight: you have to release your past, your history, and use your imagination to see into the future. Give yourself a chance. As you begin to look toward the future, every time you find yourself saying that you can’t do something, putting yourself down, being negative about you and the possibilities for you, you got to literally catch yourself, and you got to affirm to yourself in the process, “I can make it. Someway, this can happen for me.” You got to remind yourself that you got powers within you, talents within you, that you haven’t even reached for yet. You’ve got to go out of your comfort zone. Once you give an opportunity to yourself, to try and to experiment, you will find that you can achieve things you couldn’t even imagine. It is practically impossible to eradicate negative thoughts; in fact, 87% of our thoughts are negative. In order to create what you want you need to change your inner conversation, and you will change the results. 
• When you are facing a difficult situation, or things in life have not turned out in the way that you’d like, you got to be willing to take action and do something about it, instead of just complaining. Life is like a grindstone, it can polish you or it can pulverize you, depending on how you position yourself. Just say “It’s possible!” That puts you in the playing field. You must look like you’re ready to give a fight for that dream, to hustle and grind. You can’t expect for everything to be perfect to go after your dream. say it’s possible and don’t let anybody turn you around, circumstances, hard times, whatever is happening, you know that this too shall pass, you have the ability and the capacity and a sense of entitlement. “I deserve to have good things happen to me”, and “it’s possible”. Once you have your dream, you inspire others to do it too. Once you’re defeated in you mind, though, it’s all over. You showed up with greatness in you, and most of us, because of the mindset we’ve been born into, and most of us, because we allow ourselves to be controlled by life, instead of being in charge of our lives, as opposed to taking charge of our lives, we are on automatic, just following the crowd. And, no matter what you do, you are going to have people criticize you. Joseph Campbell talks about the long night of the soul, you’re gonna have moments of feeling deceived and isolated, persecuted and condemned, even powerless. Long journey, long dark night of the soul, but you have to be ready, you have to endure, hold on to your dream. Don’t let anybody kill it in you, hold on to that dream, when it doesn’t make sense to anybody, including you sometimes, just hold on. Eventually help comes, in the middle of the night, help will come. And, when life knocks you down, sometimes you have to take two steps backwards to go forward. Find strength from somewhere deep down, It’s possible. When you’re facing defeat and disappointment, when everyone says you can’t do it, you don’t have what it takes, say, in spite of these odds, it’s possible, and I can do it. I can have my dream, I can have this new life, this new vision of myself. Remember, Adversity introduces a man to himself. And, wherever you find yourself, at some point and time you made an appointment to be there.
• Whatever you want, you got to focus on it, focus your thoughts. All achievement comes out of the human mind, constructive or destructive. You got to have a goal, a target to aim for. As you do that, you’re growing in conscience, and that will increase your manifesting power. You must say to yourself, “Good things are supposed to happen to me”, “It’s possible!” People are used to expect bad things to happen to them. It’s not “too good to be true”, it’s happening to the right person, you. 
• You must be grateful. You surely can think of, at least, one thing you are grateful for. And when you become negative about situations in your life, about people that you allow to push your buttons, catch yourself. That’s how you remain positive. The more energy you give, the more action you take, the more life can express through you, you are an outlet for all that life has. And as you change your mindset and believe that you have something to give, the act of giving makes you more alive and able to sustain life. “My life is good as it is and I can make a difference”. It’s important to be of service; think of what service you’re supposed to provide. “Service is the rent we pay for the space we take up on earth.” 
• Get counseling. Ask for help and don’t stop until you get it. Surround yourself with the right, positive people. There are those people who are always around when they need you, but disappear when you need them, you can not find them. You don’t want to just go through the tough times, you want to grow during the tough times. You want to determine who is it that you can count on, and who you should count out. Someone who will be there for you. Even if it’s not the ones you know now, if you ask for help, if you ask enough people, somebody will step in and help you out during the tough time. And it’s very important not to try and do it solo, not to try and go through it by yourself, there’s safety in counsel. You have to begin to surround yourself with positive people, and you want to ask for help, and find things that can encourage you. You want to become a part of a group of people that are united to “fight”, they are facing the same thing that you are facing, they come together with you, and are there to encourage and inspire each other. They are there to share the best ideas, methods and techniques. Don’t try and do this by yourself. They say misery loves company, but so does success. Surround yourself with achievement-driven people that have goals of getting on the other side of that challenge, whatever it might be (foreclosure, eviction, losing your job, sickness, etc.)

Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Rob Petula

Working on your mind is of the utmost importance, keeping your chin up, knowing and expecting that things will get better for you. Don’t just focus on the moment, hold a vision of being whole and healthy, hold a vision of being financially independent and debt-free, hold a vision of your relationships working out, hold a vision of things getting better for you. Don’t just focus on the now. Holding that vision will give you power, it will strengthen you, it will give you perseverance, it will give you patience, faith and determination. It will allow you to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Whatever the situation you may be facing in your life, you have to handle it, you have to face it, but you have to believe even if all is against you. Go into action, think of what is it you need to do, what adjustments you need to make, what is it you need to change. Maybe you need to make a radical change in your life, in your behavior, in your relationships, maybe you need to go to a new place. Maybe life is trying to tell you something and you have not been listening.

And before you do anything, you need to be still and quiet. Listen to the small voice within to give you directions. Maybe we need to ask someone to give us some direction, someone we trust, who believes in us, who maybe knows us better than ourselves, because it’s hard to see the picture when you’re in the frame.

You will always be faced with challenges in life, and series of situations that, if you don’t have enough courage and insight to know that you have outgrown that situation, and it is time to move on, then life will move on you.

I hope this post inspired you to take action and make some changes to improve your life, especially if you’re in a situation where you are unhappy.

If the idea of building an online business and making an income online matches your vision for your life, then you need look no further. This is the best program and the best community to help you realize your vision. Click the button below to learn more.

*Note: this post was inspired by material from motivational speaker Les Brown, included in the audiobook, “Breakthrough, Overcoming Obstacles and Breaking Barriers in Business and Life”.

The post How to Live a Great Life (7 Principles) first appeared on Liberation Project Online.

While all of these factors can play a role in an organization’s longevity, there’s another key aspect of true success. And it’s one that business people sometimes overlook: offering help to others.

Focusing on helping others, making it a priority to serve other people and make their lives better is what makes businesses successful in the first place. Once they achieve success, however, somewhere along the way many businesses forget that and instead choose to turn their focus on making more profit. I believe this is the main reason many once successful businesses fail.

If you influence other people’s lives in a positive way and contribute value to society, your business is much more likely to last and thrive.

Simply put, if you’re consistently of service, material rewards are likely to follow. The more you help, the more you will get in return. And plenty of real-world examples back up this heartwarming thesis.

The Tony Robbins Approach

When you consider the concept of gaining success by offering help, Tony Robbins might come to mind right away. This author, philanthropist, and motivational speaker, a person who never attended college, has built a global brand out of aiding others.

“Unlimited Power“, Tony’s breakthrough book, debuted in 1987. It was a publishing sensation, and it explained how to get in the right frame of mind for success — how to focus on your true goals and get rid of any fears holding you back.

Indeed, Tony knows all about overcoming fears through mental preparation. During the 1980s, he learned to firewalk, a practice that involves walking barefoot across burning hot stones or embers. And, to this day, he firewalks at his seminars.

I discovered a long time ago that if I helped enough people get what they wanted, I would always get what I wanted, and I would never have to worry.

Tony Robbins

Since his first book came out, Tony’s videos, podcasts, and other projects have been a great help to millions of people. They’ve given readers, listeners, and viewers concrete steps to take as far as reaching their full potential and attaining happiness.

Over the years, CEOs, global celebrities, and even world leaders have sought Tony’s counsel. And his profound advice is always delivered with enthusiasm, humor, and affability.

As Tony once put it : “I discovered a long time ago that if I helped enough people get what they wanted, I would always get what I wanted, and I would never have to worry.“

Other Leaders Who Focus on Service

Many other stars of business, politics, sports, and entertainment have likewise realized the power of giving back. Here are just a few of them.

1. Jeff Bezos

Let’s start with one of the wealthiest individuals of all time : Jeff Bezos.

A Princeton graduate who briefly worked on Wall Street, Jeff founded the pioneering e-commerce company Amazon in 1994. What’s made Amazon a powerhouse isn’t merely its technological innovation, however. Rather, Jeff describes its winning philosophy this way: “We are always customer based and obsessed.”

To that end, Amazon labors to satisfy its customers’ needs completely. For instance, it strives to deliver every single package on time, especially around the holidays, and its Kindle reading device was designed to please users above all other considerations. In short, in everything it does, Amazon tries to be really helpful, putting its customers, and potential customers, front and center.

We’ve had three big ideas at Amazon that we’ve stuck with for 18 years, and they’re the reason we’re successful: Put the customer first. Invent. And be patient.

Jeff Bezos

Having maintained Jeff at its helm since the beginning, Amazon has not lost its laser-focused approach toward customer service and satisfaction. That’s why Amazon not only has endured, but it has thrived and, despite already being one of the biggest and most successful companies of our time, it continues to improve and to grow.

2. Ava DuVernay

The great movie director Ava DuVernay has long prioritized mentoring and assisting budding filmmakers.

In 1999, Ava founded a public relations firm, and it was a big success. Even so, she decided to switch careers and start making movies. She began with a 12-minute short and moved on to documentaries. In 2011, Ava self-financed her first narrative feature. Called “I Will Follow,” it was inspired by her aunt’s life story. These days, she helms acclaimed studio productions with large budgets.

On top of that, Ava produces a television series on the Oprah Winfrey Network called “Queen Sugar.” It’s a compelling drama about three adult siblings in Louisiana whose father has died and left a large sugarcane farm. To direct episodes of this show, Ava often chooses women who’ve never directed TV episodes before, thus giving them broader industry experience.

Ava also inspires her fans with her wisdom and advice. As she’s put it, referring to her decision to attempt filmmaking : “If you’re doing something, and you have a desire to do something different, give it a try.“

3. Bob Wright

From 1986 to 2007, Bob Wright was the CEO of NBC, later NBCUniversal, and his programs were known for their success in the ratings. Moreover, in the early 1980s, Bob was the president of Cox Cable Communications. He served in leadership positions at General Electric as well.

Nevertheless, it’s a nonprofit that Bob may be best known for these days. He and Suzanne Wright, his late wife, founded Autism Speaks in 2005. This foundation funds research and advocates for people with autism. Furthermore, it provides expert help in passing legislation that benefits those with autism.

Aiming to Help Others: Always a Wise Plan

In sum, when you’re serving others, you’re employing a keen business strategy. Those you help, whether they’re employees you mentor or customers you spend extra time assisting, are much more likely to talk about your company in positive ways.

More than that, when you focus on providing a product or service that is truly helpful, the rewards will come, sooner or later. It may take a bit more time and effort on your part, but this is something you can’t shortcut if you desire lasting success.

Through word of mouth, glowing online reviews, and other communications, the people you’ve helped will persuade others to check out your company. Plus, you’ll probably have more success attracting repeat customers.

In addition, it will be easier to recruit idealistic, caring, and hardworking employees. Such job candidates will want to work at your company due to your reputation for helping.

Not least, you and your team members should gain more happiness and personal fulfillment from your work if it helps others. That could make you and your staff more productive and less likely to experience burnout and debilitating career regrets.

With Tony Robbins, Jeff Bezos, Ava DuVernay, Bob Wright, and other service-oriented leaders as your models, your business can thrive and make a positive impact on the world.

To quote the eloquent Tony Robbins one more time : “The secret to wealth is simple: Find a way to do more for others than anyone else does. Become more valuable. Do more. Give more. Be more. Serve more. And you will have the opportunity to earn more.“

The secret to wealth is simple: Find a way to do more for others than anyone else does. Become more valuable. Do more. Give more. Be more. Serve more. And you will have the opportunity to earn more.

Tony Robbins

Being of service to others is the one timeless rule of business success. This holds true for any business, and it is no different for an online business.

If you are considering starting a business, an online business may be your best option. You can see why here: Why you should be working for yourself online, building your own digital business.

And if you’d be interested in a FREE introduction on the different ways you can make an income online, and the types of businesses you can create online (including 2 simple business models you can start with immediately and 1 special BONUS training, How To Make Your First 10k Online) you can get started right away here.

The post The One, Often Disregarded, Sacred Rule Of Business Success: Focus On Helping Others first appeared on Liberation Project Online.

You can do work that is meaningful and fulfilling, invest in heart-warming, rewarding relationships that lift you up and bring out the best in you, and focus on hobbies and activities that fit your personality.

In a sense, you are building this new life on the foundations set from your old one. It’s as if you are reborn, like a phoenix, from the “ashes” of your previous life. Through your experiences, the good and the bad, but, maybe, mostly through the pain and the suffering, you have learned a lot about yourself, about who you really are, what your mission in life is, and how you can be your best, happiest self, not only for you but for the people around you also. This understanding of yourself is the most important part in building your new, better life.

I watched Robin Sharma in a video titled “How to be comfortable being alone”; there were a couple of interesting quotes about knowing yourself, “life’s greatest betrayal is not knowing who you truly are“, and, “if you want to rise to legendary, if you want to live a beautiful lifestyle, it starts with getting to know who you truly are“. As you can infer from the title of the video, he also talks about how spending time alone can help you know yourself better, and you can watch the whole video if that’s something that resonates with you. The point here is that armed with a better understanding of yourself and the world around you, imagine how your life would be improved if you could have a fresh start.

And in case you are thinking “I’m too old to have a fresh start“, I will say to you, that is one more of your limiting beliefs, one of the limiting beliefs that act as an excuse and keep us from achieving true greatness, that keep us from truly living, rather than just existing. I largely got this idea of a “fresh”, better start of our lives from the book “Ageless Body, Timeless Mind” from Deepak Chopra, M.D.. Dr. Chopra explains how the concept of aging is very much misunderstood in our times, and how it has a strong correlation with our mentality, our mindset and attitude. Just the intention of being youthful causes biological changes in our bodies. More or less, it’s the same concept that many other authors and speakers have pointed out, in different contexts, that what you think becomes your reality. It is a read (or listen, if you prefer audiobooks) that I recommend to anyone who has such, age-related, limiting beliefs.

If, on the other hand, your limiting belief is one related to time or money, such as “I don’t have the time“, or “I don’t have the money“, then I will say to you that if you really want to, you will find the time and/or the money to do something, or, at least, you will find a way around it (not that a lot of time or money is required to start creating change, the key is consistency and commitment).

And if you’re a little too concerned about what other people might think of you, you should get over it. Honestly, in actuality, people have their own lives and their own problems to care about, so they can’t afford the luxury to care much about what you do anyway. What matters here is your own growth and happiness; and fulfilling your own potential.

They say death is the greatest teacher, so I challenge you to think of this, if you knew you had one week to live, how would you live it? Would you spend your time the way you do now?

Finally, if your excuse is that you don’t have the skills, or you don’t have a clue as to where and how to start, or, maybe, you have tried a few things in the past but they have not worked out (maybe you even feel like you were taken for a ride), this is where I can extend a helping hand and guide you so that you will develop the skills, the mindset and the understanding that will empower you and will enable you to be successful, even more, they will enable you to see that you have all that it takes to be successful in your own unique way (let’s not forget that success has a different meaning to each one of us).

If you expect it to be a free ride though, I have to warn you, this is not the case. This is not one of those programs that promise overnight riches magically, just by copying some kind of secret strategy. If that is what you are looking for, I sincerely wish you good luck. If, on the other hand, you are ready to put in the effort, focus, and dedication, this training system, that I have been through* and I can now guide you to, virtually guarantees your success. Success, in this case, is not just measured materialistically, in how much money you can make (even though there is limitless potential in this area, in the training you will soon learn that it is not what you should be focusing on). It is of extreme importance that, with this system, you have the flexibility to choose to do work that aligns with your interests, values and personality.

Furthermore, the specific training system ensures that your efforts are not wasted, but directed in an optimized way, so that, depending on your unique situation, they will lead to optimal, and truly meaningful results for you. Your learning will be streamlined (no confusion as to what to do next), and you will have all the help, the learning material, and the support you need along the way. Not to mention space and time freedom to work where and when is most suitable for you.

The training I am “talking” about is, of course, on building your own online, digital business. It’s about digital marketing and online entrepreneurship.

In the times of the digital revolution it is, really, tantamount to a sin, it is extremely sad, at least, that anyone should stay in a job they hate, that negatively affects their life, drains their energy and maybe even, literally, makes them suffer (I can relate to this personally).

Through the power of online entrepreneurship, by suitably developing your digital skills, you can set yourself free from all this and choose to live life the way you want, the way where work is no longer a source of suffering but a source of fulfillment and joy, as it should be.

This is what the Liberation Project Online represents. Setting yourself free from that which brings you down, setting yourself free from your old self, where, like most of us, you likely made most of your choices and you lived your life the way other people expected you to (maybe you just wanted to fit in and be accepted, maybe you didn’t feel you had any other choice, or maybe you were deceived, and just didn’t know any better), out of line with who you really are and what your mission is; and to have a new beginning, from the “ashes” of your old self, harnessing the lessons you have painfully learned, through your experiences, to propel you towards a meaningful, happy life by developing your digital skills and capitalizing on the power of the digital revolution.

“Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.”

Steve Jobs

Free Training – How To Start A Successful Online Business From Scratch

I expect that you may be doubtful. It is understandable. After all, there are so many people out there, especially online, making promises, often big ones, that they can’t or don’t care to keep, just to get your money.

This is why I want to offer you a FREE training, a 4-part video series that has helped THOUSANDS of people just like you and I start an online business from scratch, often around their day jobs.

There is no trick here, you just give me your email, and I will send you the FREE training, you check it out, get the benefit, and then decide if you’d be interested in moving any further.

I am sure that you, just like me, will be pleasantly surprised by the transparency, clarity, and honesty of this training, not to mention how much you’ll get out of it.

So, go ahead, take the step, there’s nothing to lose and lots to gain. They say death is the greatest teacher, so I challenge you to think of this, if you knew you had one week to live, how would you live it? This could be the start of your new life.

*I am still a member of this training system and I am still learning. If you decide to join me you will understand why. I believe the right approach is that of a lifelong learner. You have to keep learning, you have to keep growing, evolving and getting better. And this is one more of the reasons why I recommend our system. In one place you have, concentrated, all the training and support you need to be a successful online entrepreneur, from the basics to the more advanced. These are high-quality trainings, from people who care and who have the necessary relevant experience to be able to lead you in the right direction.

The post How To Start A New and Better Life On Your Own Terms (From The “Ashes” Of Your Old One), Do Meaningful Work and Fulfill Your Mission first appeared on Liberation Project Online.