Convention says that we need to always need to be motivated and inspired. Although this is true, and I believe that we need to find a way to find motivation and inspiration, we also need to be encouraged by others to take the right action. We all take cues from the people who we spend the most time with. Encouragement is not always positive. For example, we may have friends who encourage us to stay out late, drink that extra glass of wine, or purchase fashions that are slightly over our budget.

According to Noah St. John, every successful person has an abundance of encouragement. In addition, Jim Rhone said that we are the average of the five people we hang out with the most. In order to become amazing, we have to seek encouragement. We also have to seek the encouragement of people who can actually help us reach our goals.

Encouragement is more than a cheerleader. Encouragement is emotional support and advice on the next steps. If you look at any addiction recovery program,...

We are all part of many conversations. We have conversations with our friends, our family, colleagues, acquaintances, and other interactions. These conversations have an influence on our mindset, the way we think about life, the way go we after our goals, and even how much success we can have. Being influenced by positive people can be empowering and can lead to amazing success.

 The problem is that, when we have new goals, we don’t engage in the conversations that are needed in order to achieve success.

When many people talk about life and moving forward, they do it with a complaining tone. They hint that life is not fair or that there are no opportunities. However, when you are around people who have achieved amazing success, they do it with a tone of empowerment and personal responsibility.

When I was 20, I decided to go to USC. When I decided to go, I wanted to meet people and have experiences. For me, this was a big risk and I thought this was a foolish rationale. I...

When you are working on your goals or you set new goals, one of the activities that you need to perform is a constant diet of information that will help you on your path.  There are several reasons why you need this diet of information.

Here are some reasons:

1. Know your next steps. When you are accomplishing your goals, it’s important to have clarity on the next steps and have the actions that you take effect your goal. One of the problems is that when people don’t have a clear vision of the steps that they need to take and when they fall short, they blame other factors or take the idea of “it was meant to be” or “it is what it is.” Also, what works at one level may not work in another level. For example, an exercise routine may work to lose the first ten pounds, but it may not work for the next ten pounds. An entrepreneur may grow a business to a certain point. However, to scale that business to the next level may take different...

Becoming amazing involves taking on challenges and as important as taking new emotional challenges. If you don’t have a positive emotional diet, you limit your chances of amazing success.

I have learned how to motivate and inspire myself. When I get down, I quickly consume more positivity, look at the blessings in my life, consume inspiring materials, and focus on my loved ones.

Since part of amazing success is taking on new challenges, you don’t want to waste your time and energy on issues that will not get you on the track to amazing.  Oftentimes, people focus on politics, the economy, and other issues rather than focusing on what it takes for them to become amazing. They might even get caught up in other’s drama.

We all have a tolerance for emotional discomfort. The goal is to divert this energy in to becoming amazing instead of focusing on the rude cashier or the rude waiter or the argument that you had with a family member.

There have been periods in my...

Last week, I wrote about the importance of a healthy emotional diet. We are influenced by the events surrounding us, and we are emotional creatures. It is also important to note that we have a natural tendency to disproportionally focus on the negative. Also, part of our process is to look at what is wrong and try to navigate our challenges. There have been periods in my life when I have been focused on my challenges as a disabled person. Here are ways that can balance out the negative and focus on the positive.

Another benefit to a healthy emotional diet is that it gives you additional ideas and strategies. It also can help with tunnel vision.

Diet Plan

1. Reading and other education: There is information out there that can help you become amazing. I categorize these into two buckets. The first bucket is personal development. This includes learning about how to have better relationships, how to get what you want out of life, how to become a better leader, how to get over a...

Emotions play a part in how you go after your goals, go about your day, and deal with challenges that come up. Human beings are naturally programmed to look at the negative rather than focus on the positive. In fact, people need three positive experiences to counterbalance one negative experience. In some cases, one negative five-minute encounter can ruin some people’s day. Even worse, some people’s days are ruined when someone cuts them off on the freeway, which only takes a few seconds. 

We also have to deal with life and the emotions that come with the everyday struggles. Some paths in life have more struggles than others. For example, being a pediatric oncologist involves being constantly bombarded with bad news and negative experiences. In addition, we may have unique circumstances that we have to deal with. Ingrained in my life are the negative messages and the psychological ramifications that my cerebral palsy presents. I am constantly reminded of everything...

Summer is a time when most people take some time off and take some sort of vacation. It’s also a time when many people have to adjust their schedules for the family. The bottom line is that routine and habits may loosen. 

 As we approach the fall, we have about three months before the holidays. Let’s make those three months as productive as possible. Here are a couple of strategies to help you make the most out of the rest of this year:

Strategy #1

Set goals for the rest of the year

Goal setting is not just for the first of the year. You want to reevaluate your goals and set intermediate goals that support your ultimate goals. Ninety-day goals are a valuable tool to get you on the path to amazing. Also, set different kinds of goals.  These can be professional, relationship, personal development, fitness, financial, and more.

Strategy #2

Make sure habits and routines are efficient

During the summer, my two boys were home. We slept in more, and...

A big part of mindset is emotional discipline. If mindset is the way we think about our lives, go after our goals, deal with challenges, deal with others, have clarity, and other factors, then having emotional discipline is a factor for amazing success.

In order to accomplish amazing success and have a good mindset, we need to take direct actions. We need the actions that get us to amazing success. A part of every decision we make is dictated by our emotions and feelings. Human beings are not rational, robotic decision makers. They are feeling machines.

Emotional discipline touches the five keys to an amazing mindset.

Rewriting Our Narrative

Part of our narrative is based on the way we feel about issues regarding where we are now and where we want to go. It takes emotional discipline to look at our narrative and see what parts need to change.  

Habits

No matter where you are in life, no matter how positive or negative, it takes emotional discipline to change or maintain your...

As I get older, I value patience more and more. Ironically, people have always remarked about my patience. They pointed to the fact that I am always willing to repeat my words, and everything takes more time, more energy, and more focus.  While this is true, I never saw myself as a patient person. I was always in a hurry.  When I am alone, I drive fast in my wheelchair.  My brain is always going at 100 miles per hour. I love the big city.

This year, one of the habits that I value more is patience. The value that I get out of patience is that time makes a situation less reliant on emotions and more reliant on logic. In order to take direct action, you need to be more considerate. 

I was working on a marketing project and I was disappointed by the results. My first instinct was to try something different right away. I had a lot of emotions and excitement invested in the project. When it didn’t go well, I was disappointed and emotional. Instead of jumping in...

The right focus is crucial for amazing success. However, it’s important to have breaks.  In our culture, the 80-hour work week or total commitment is celebrated. The problem with total commitment is that it turns into an unhealthy obsession. In order for amazing success to happen, you need time to focus on something else or you need time to let your actions take effect.

As a writer, many of my ideas for blog posts, online classes, books, and other products don’t come to me when I’m in the office. They come to me when I am playing with my kids, taking a ride in my wheelchair, on vacation, or even watching tv. I also get ideas while reading other’s work about my topic.

Noah St. John writes about goal free zones, which is the idea that ideas don’t come to you while you are working on them. They come to you in the oddest of places. They come to you in the shower. They come to you while you are working out. They come to you when you are having drinks...