One IMAGE - - - One GOAL

Vision is perhaps our greatest strength...
it has kept us alive to the power and continuity of thoughts
through the centuries,
it makes us peer into the future and lends shape to the unknown
- - Li Ka Shing


Where there is no vision
there is no hope
- - George Washington Carver

"Visualisation - - is the act of creating compelling or vivid images in your mind"

- - Jack Canfield

Here we go: i have a couple of vision boards on my walls - -one is a compilation of my most important goals: spiritual, physical, financial, family, education & professional, social & community, fun & personal growth.

The other is a more detailed breakdown of my financial goals

It was a lot of fun putting both of them together. I did my first ones the old fashion way with pictures and images cut from magazines which represented my goals. These i glued onto a large A2 & A1 piece of paper.

Then i got adventurous and created a brand new one of all my important goals using Photoshop - and it is very kool!!

Why vision boards?
Denis Waitley said, when talking about Olympic athletes, "if you go there in the mind, you go there in the body!"

Legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus said that he visualises a shot in three distinct phases:
- - first: - - he visualises the spot where he wants the ball to land - the end in mind
- - second: - - he visualises the ball's path - - how its going to get there
- - third: - - he visualises the swing he is going to make

"I never hit a shot, not even in practice,
without having a very sharp, in-focus picture of it in my head.
First i see where i want it to finish,
nice and white and sitting high on the bright green grass.
Then the scene quickly changes,
and i see the ball going there:
its path, trajectory, and shape, even its behaviour on landing.
Then there's sort of a fade-out,
and the next scene shows me
making the kind of swing
that will turn the previous images into reality"
- - Jack Nicklaus

Last night, my kids and i reviewed our goals. In this session we had a yarn about VISION, about the images that we hold in our heads, and about projecting ourselves forward in ways that will help us create a reality for the images and visions we have in our minds.

We reviewed last week's efforts and by their reckoning, they rated themselves from a 3-6/10. So we talked about how we could clarify our goals in more specific terms, set out a list of activities that we could focus on, and do something everyday to move towards our goals

It was Brian Tracy who said:

"If you raise your children
to feel that they can accomplish any goal
or task they decide upon
you will have succeeded as a parent
and you will have given your children
the greatest of all blessings"

Mauri ora
Urban Rat

B R E A K T H R O U G H - - - ! !

"Success is what you attract

by the person you become!!"
- - Jim Rohn

My kids & i have been setting goals together for about 8 0r 9 years now - we do this on a regular basis - usually on a Sunday evening - and every year i try a new approach, in fact every week i try a new approach - over the years i have wondered whether i have done the right things by my children - - its not often that i see the fruits of all the labour that goes into raising kids.


I cant remember who said this, but i quite like it:

" Giant oaks grow from small acorns
but first you must have an acorn"

It was important that my kids had dreams!

Sometimes i see a small measure of success - and sometimes i see them grow in 'leaps & bounds'.
and when that happens - it is all worthwhile!!

Over the years we have used different methods for recording our goals - we started out using the back of our journals, then i made out a weekly goal sheet, then a goal book, then a SMART planning book, and now we use a M.A.S.T.E.R. planning book!! (I will explain M.AS.T.E.R. Planner in a following post)

Anyway, last Sunday i tried this with my kids:

I got them to set out their 'objectives' for the next 10 days (up to the end of the month) - then i said to them:

"which one of your goals
would have the most positive impact on your life
if you were to accomplish it?"

They hummed and they harred.
It took a while for them to settle on the most important goal on their list - and once they did - then i asked them another question:

"What 10 things do you have to do,
between now and the end of the month
to accomplish your goal?"

Eventually they set out their list of things to do to accomplish their goals - then i followed up with:

"everyday, i want you to do one thing from your list
that will help you move closer to your goal"

As i write this it is Saturday the 26 - tomorrow i will check in with my kids to see how they are progressing!!


These types of goals are what Jack Canfield calls BREAKTHROUGH GOALS - the type of goals that are going to change your lives significantly - the type of goals that are going to increase your comfort zone, stretch you and change the shape of your thinking!!

"Life is like a combination lock
your job is to find the right numbers
in the right order
so you can have anything you want"
- - Brian Tracy

Mauri ora!
Urban Rat

Exercise for your M I N D ! !

- - - The legendary underwater explorer Jacques-Ives Cousteau said:

"If a man for whatever reason has the opportunity
to lead an extraordinary life,
he has no right to keep it to himself"

- - - Thomas Edison said:

"If we all did the things we are capable of doing,
we would literally astound ourselves!!!
"

so, here is the first question to Ponder
--- Jim Cuthbert said:

"How would the person i'd like to be
do the things i'm about to do?"

Nice one!!

Ponder these Questions:

- - - "What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"

- - - "If you could do anything at all, in your life - what would that be??"

- - - "Are you willing to do what it takes to get what you want??"

- - - "What can you do today that will take you closer to your goals??"

and

- - - "Are your goals worthy of you???"

"Successful people are simply those
with successful habits"

- - Brian Tracy

Mauri ora
Urban Rat

Trust ur INTUITION

- - - it was ROOSEVELT who said:

"All the resources we need are in the mind"

- - - in other words,

you will find all the IDEAS you need to COMPLETE any TASK to SOLVE any PROBLEM and to ACHIEVE any GOAL

- - - so, What has INTUITION to do with this?
- - - in fact, What is INTUITION?

Well, intuition - is your INNER VOICE, it is those GUT FEELINGS you get inside

it can help you to SOLVE PROBLEMS quickly
it can unleash the CREATIVE GENIUS within you
it can help you CREATE BUSINESS PLANS & STRATEGIES

- - - it can help you to ACHIEVE anything you PUT YOUR MIND TO !!


- - - EINSTEIN said:

"the intellect has little to do on the road to discovery.
There comes a leap in consciousness,
call it intuition or whatever you will,
& the solution comes to you,
& you don't know how or why"

- - - so, How does your INTUITION speak to you?

lots of ways!!

• a vision - a dream
  
• a visual image or impression
  
• a flash out of the blue - a spurt of inspiration
  
• or a long-unfolding image - much like a movie unfolding!!
• it could be a hunch,
  
• a thought or impression pops into your head
  
• or a voice speaks to you

- - -you can sense when the answer is ---- Y E S ! !----

- - - You get goose bumps,
- - - a Feeling of warmth washes over you
- - - you Feel a sense of relief
- - - the Light bulb in your head goes off --- and just lights up your world!!!
- - - you get a sense of Clarity
- - - you get RE- Energised!!
- - - you get full of Enthusiasm!!
- - - your Passion & Excitement is increased!!


so, take time to 'listen' to your Intuition & take action immediately!!

When you act, y0u will receive more intuitive impulses

Trust yourself & go with the flow

Mauri ora
Urban Rat

Commitment - - - Never give up!!

My father taught me that:

"Integrity is the value you place on your word -
- in other words, when you say you are going to do something,
- when you PROMISE to DO SOMETHING - - - DO IT! - - -"

Anthony Robbins in one of his many interviews describes RESOLVE as:

"a PROMISE to YOURSELF that you will
- - - NEVER GIVE UP!! - - - "

Vince Lombardi describes the quality of a person's life as being in direct proportion:

"... to their commitment to excellence,
regardless of their chosen field of endeavour"

Pat Mesiti describes Commitment as part of FOCUS:

"prioritise what you need to do
make a plan to get it done
be accountable &
commit to your plan!!"

the END in MIND
Stephen Covey, in 7 Habits -- relates the story of the JAR - - - you know the one:

A professor stands before his class and whips out a large JAR and places it on the table in front of him. The he pulls out a bag with rocks in it and begins to fill up the jar. When it is full, he asks his students --

- - "is the jar full???"

They reply - - - "YES!!"

Then he pulls out a bag containing small pebbles and begins to fill the jar up. He shakes the jar as he fills it with pebbles, the pebbles fill up the gaps between the large rocks

Again he asks: - - - "is the jar full?"

The students reply - - - "YES!!!!"

Again, the professor whips out ANOTHER BAG, this time with sand in it. He proceeds to fill the JAR up with the sand, the sand finds its way into the gaps until the jar is FULL

The professor again asks "IS THE JAR FULL???"

This time, the students reply "NO!!!"

The professor smiles and pulls out a bucket of water and proceeds to fill up the JAR!!

Then, he asks his students - - - "Is the JAR FULL???"

They reply - - -Y E S ! ! !

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

What's the moral?
If the jar had been filled first with the sand, there would be no room for the rocks or pebbles or even the water - so, the moral of the story??

"FIRST - -do the things that matter most,
there will always be room for everything else!!"

In a nutshell,

• - - - develop faith & trust in your WORD - from the INSIDE- OUT!
• - - - determine what your DESTINATION is - begin with the END in MIND!
  
• - - - figure out what your PRIORITIES are - focus on LARGE ROCKS!!
  
• - - - change your DIRECTION to reflect your destination - take AIM at your TARGET!
  
• - - - map out a PLAN to get you to where you want to be - your BLUE-PRINT!
• - - - COMMIT to your plan - your RESOLVE & your PROMISE!
  

FINALLY

"Dont let the things that matter most,
become subject to the things that matter least"

Mauri ora
- - Hauiti - -

from the INSIDE-OUT

I don't know who said this, but i have been using it ever since i heard it:

"You cant draw water from an empty well"

Change for me has always been about INSIDE-OUT
Change what goes into your mind - in order to change how you view the world, how you react to circumstances, and how you perceive obstacles.

Winston Churchill said:

" to improve is to change,
to be perfect is to change often"

I wanted to change my circumstances; i wanted to find a way to create a PROSPEROUS MINDSET - so i began to change what went into my mind. I read alot - Stephen & Sean Covey, Napoleon Hill, Zig Ziglar, Anthony Robbins, Denis Waitley, Paul Zane Pilzer, Pat Mesiti, Robert Kiyosaki, W Clement Stone, Dale Carnegie, Norman Vincent Peale, Jack Canfield, Mark Hansen, Loral Langmeier, Brian Tracy, Vince Lombardi, Jamie MacIntyre and the list is endless!!

These types of books contain endless information and techniques for personal development and changing your mindset BUT, here's the rider:

"The KEY is in the person,
NOT the tools
- change must occur from the INSIDE-OUT!!"

In a nutshell, a person who does well has an inner set of beliefs - something called a mindset that helps them to achieve anything they set their minds to!! It does not matter what tools you give them, they will hone those tools using their mindset!!

So when i discovered that the key to success was INTERNAL rather than external - - - and that it is the person not the tools that determines a person's level of success ---- i began to look forward to change --- i began to look forward to developing a PROSPEROUS MINDSET - - - - A MILLIONAIRE MINDSET!!!

M I N D S E T
Pat Mesiti describes mindset as the capacity for thinking - in his book: The Millioniare Mindset, he quotes William Arthur Ward who says ----

"Nothing limits achievement like small thinking
and nothing expands possibilities like unleashed thinking"

A millionaire mindset is not about the money - it is about increasing the capacity of your thinking

James Arthur Ray talks about M I N D S E T

Henry Ford said:

"Thinking is the hardest work there is to do,
which is why so few people do it"

Charles Handy said:

"new ways of thinking about familiar things
can release new energies and make all manner of things possible"

Charles Simmons said:

“when things aren’t working right on the inside,

when our thinking and our feelings are wrong,

then we make it absolutely impossible for things to work correctly on the outside.”

- - - CHANGE YOUR THINKING! - - -

Try these:

• Read good books that renew & fill your mind up with POSITIVE THOUGHTS
  
• Surround yourself with positive minded people
• Set goals that challenge your mind
• Commit yourself to your goals
  

"Your choice of people to associate with both personally & business-wise
is one of the most important choices you make.
if you associate with turkeys you will never fly with the eagles"
- - -Brian Tracy

Charles Kettering said:

"Believe & act as if it were impossible to fail"

Thats is in a nutshell

Hauiti

If u fail to PLAN, u Plan 2 FAIL

"If you don't design your own life plan
chances are you'll fall into someone else's plan.
and guess what they may have planned for you?
NOT MUCH"
- Jim Rohn





Jack Canfield talks about PLANNING!!

Journals, Goals & Planners
8 years ago in 2001, my two big children came to live with me - they were 13 (daughter) & 11 (son) years old. A year later, my other son came to live with me - he was 10.

I began to consider what was important for me to teach my children - and of course i wanted them to have the tools, skills and attitudes necessary for them to be successful in their lives!! I wanted them to believe in themselves. I wanted them to not fear trying anything!! I wanted them to have full lives!!

So, i decided on journals, goals & planners!!

"Its about doing something different
to attract different results"
--Unknown

With Journals - I wanted them to keep a record of their 'lives' - i wanted them to record their ups and downs, their triumphs and trials - a record that they could reflect upon & use to evaluate their lives - a treasure to hand down to their children; a tool they could measure their growth & progress!

"You cant change your destination overnight
but you can change your direction"
--Jim Rohn

With Goals - i wanted to open up their minds, to expand their world and to plan for success. I wanted them to develop the skill to design their blueprint for success - and goals is one way of doing that!

"Plan your work and work your plan. Decide in advance
exactly how you are going to get from where you are to
where you want to go."
-- Brian Tracy

With Planners - i wanted them to have a tool to manage their goals, aspirations, dreams & blueprints. Planners serve as a method for planning, scheduling & evaluation of your goals - thats it in a NUTSHELL!!

hauiti

Its about ATTRACTING different RESULTS

It was Michelangelo who said:

"The greater danger for most of us
is not that our aim is too high and we miss it
but that it is too low
and we reach it!"

2006: a great year but something was missing

My cousin sends me a copy of the SECRET - yep the SECRET - absolutely amazing!! If you havent already watched the DVD, it is a must - it helped me to appreciate how to change my mindset and look at my life differently! This is where i first took notice of Jack Canfield of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series of books.

His story was amazing, one which i began to reflect upon as i contemplated 'jumping off the edge'!!

Anyway... back to October 2006

I began to watch the SECRET on a regular basis - daily. I gave copies to all my friends and encouraged them to watch it - which they did - they all appreciated it!!

I wrote many of the quotes that i enjoyed onto coloured cards and posted them all over the house!!

The SECRET and many other resources that i was devouring was responsible for helping me to change and improve my mindset

THE SECRET

What else did i do?
I read Anthony Robbins, Pat Mesiti, Denis Waitley, Covey, Kiyosaki and many others. The lesson i learnt from the secret was gratitude - so, daily power questions became a feature of my life(I got that from Robbins!!)

Did anything change? i am not sure - but one thing changed - ME - i changed the way i looked at my life, my day, & everything i did!! - I changed --- from the inside-out!! thats it, in a NUTSHELL!!

That was 2 years ago!! And life couldnt be better!!

Hauiti