mastery.fm – Page 15 – caffeine for the mind & spirit

Concentration of Power

I learned to harness the principle I now call concentration of power. Most people have no idea of the giant capacity we can immediately command when we focus all our resources on mastering a single area of our lives. Controlled focus is like a laser beam that can cut through anything that seems to be stopping you. When we focus consistently on improvement in any area, we develop unique distinctions on how to make that area better. One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular. In fact, I believe most people fail in life simply because they major in minor things.

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You Are the Reason

Becca Martin:

If you think your life sucks, it probably does. If you think the world is out to get you, it probably is. If you think you deserve more, you probably do.

The only thing in the world holding you back from achieving greatness is in fact you.

If you think the world is out to get you it’s because you have a shit attitude towards life—you’re looking at everything the wrong way. You’re using the negatives to fuel you instead of the positives. You’re letting the negatives control your mind and in turn you’re allowing them control of your life. You’re letting the bad things win.

You will never amount to any form of greatness if you spend your life working some boring desk job that just drains you of your energy because you’re too lazy to get out and search for something more fulfilling—that is no one’s fault but your own.

And:

You will never be happy if you’re constantly looking at the negatives. You will never reach happiness in your life if you’re constantly surrounding yourself by people and things that drain you.

You are the reason you are unhappy, you are the reason you’re stuck in a rut and your relationships are poor and you’re constantly criticizing others and looking for more. That’s all on you.

There’s no way to sugar coat it. You are your own worst enemy; you are the only one who is standing in the way of your goals and your success.

And:

Don’t stand in the way of your own life, don’t give up when things get hard because quitting will never get you anywhere. Instead work harder and work smarter.

Believe in yourself when no one else does so you can look back and say, “I told you so.”

No one will believe you can do it until you do, so you have to want your own dreams. Others can want your dreams for you but you’re the only one who can make them happen and you’re the only one who can succeed or fail in reaching them.

Stop doing things that don’t fulfill you, stop blaming others for your problems and stop thinking life owes you something because it doesn’t. If you want your life to get better then start living like it. Start doing something positive in the right direction and don’t stop until you get there, then keep going.

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Go All the Way

Grant Cardone:

As they say in AA, “Half measures achieved us nothing.” For members, this means that you can’t get sober if you are drinking—even a little bit.

In the world of success and achievements, half measures achieve nothing in terms of results—except for tiring out the person engaging in the half measures. This is why most people refer to work as though it were an illness. Only those who go all the way and see things through until they’re done experience the rewards of the work.

Until an action is turned into a success, it is not done. Until you make the potentail client a client or the potential investor an investor, you have not gone all the way. This might seem harsh, but if you called a client 50 times and didn’t get the deal done, then you might as well have not called that person at all.

This is the point at which people become reasonable and therefore don’t make it. Commit to being completely unreasonable and going all the way. Don’t accept any excuses! No settling allowed!

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Do. Or do not. There is no try.

Andy Shaw:

Ben’s efforts are being used up in trying to make it happen and not making it happen. He cannot work diligently on making it happen, because he is working on trying to make it happen. He is trying too hard and as Yoda said, “Do. Or do not. There is no try.”

Yet the ones who succeed, they try really hard, right? No, they are detached and just working diligently. You can call it trying, but they are not trying, they are doing. Only the unsuccessful keep trying… You may wish to consider that for awhile.

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10-Year Skills

Steve Pavlina:

I encourage you to think a decade or two ahead as well, especially when it comes to skill-building. It takes years to build really strong skills. It would be a shame if your investment only has a short lifespan, and then you have to start over. It’s so nice to continue leveraging skills that took 10+ years to build, knowing that they aren’t going out of style anytime soon.

To figure out which skills to invest in, you can guess or try to predict how the future will be different, but it’s actually easier to predict how it won’t be different.

And:

What will you still love, enjoy, and appreciate in 10 years?

Your answers to this question signal another good way to decide how to invest your time and energy in the years ahead.

Your tastes and preferences will change over time, but some interests will remain stable for decades. What are those stable parts of your character?

And:

When you understand the stable parts of your character, you can invest in them more deeply. You can make much bigger bets on those areas of your life that you know you’re still going to enjoy and appreciate many years ahead.

Now if you combine the stable parts of your character and lifestyle with the stable parts of your work and skills, that’s where you can make your biggest bets of all.

For me a pattern in both areas is personal growth. It’s part of my business and my personal life, and I can predict that these patterns will remain stable for at least another 10 or 20 years. So that’s where I can justify betting bigger – a lot bigger.

And:

Investments in personal growth are very different because those investments don’t depreciate. In fact, they tend to appreciate. Due to the long-term stability of personal growth, I can recoup huge gains over time. What I spend for 2020 is likely to still be paying dividends 5 years, 10 years, 20 years out, and beyond. The payoff is just so wonderful.

And:

Are you spending more on the unchangeable parts of your life (like personal growth or communication skills) than you do on the changeable parts (like tech)? If not, consider flipping that pattern around, and watch the long-term ROI from your investments soar.

And:

To make really good investments in yourself, your knowledge, your skills, and your lifestyle, seek to identify and understand the unchangeable core within you. What about you seems stable and isn’t likely to change much in the next 10 years? These are terrific areas for making big, bold bets on yourself.

By contrast, what’s really just a whim that you aren’t likely to care about in 10 years? Steer clear of plunking money down on those areas.

And:

If you aren’t willing to spend your money on what truly matters to you, that’s a sign that you’re probably holding back due to fear, self-doubt, or some other internal misalignment. Be willing to bet bigger on yourself.

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One Thing

Derek Sivers:

I’m doing just one thing, and nothing else.

I’m finishing my unfinished book. It’s the only work that matters to me now.

I’m writing about 16 hours a day. I wake around 5am and write every hour I’m awake, only stopping for 20 minutes a few times a day to eat, and an hour to hit the gym. Then I keep writing until I fall asleep around 11pm, and do it again.

This is my favorite way to live.

A good reminder about how just doing one thing, and nothing else, can fulfill you.

What is your one thing?

What one thing would you like to complete?

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Time Is Personal

Derek Sivers:

Time is personal. Your year changes when your life changes.

A new day begins when I wake up, not at midnight. Midnight means nothing to me. It’s not a turning point. Nothing changes at that moment.

A new year begins when there’s a memorable change in my life. Not January 1st. Nothing changes on January 1st.

I can understand using moments like midnight and January 1st as coordinators, so cultures and computers can agree on how to reference time. But shouldn’t our personal markers and celebrations happen at personally meaningful times?

Your year really begins when you move to a new home, start school, quit a job, have a big breakup, have a baby, quit a bad habit, start a new project, or whatever else. Those are the real memorable turning points — where one day is very different than the day before. Those are the meaningful markers of time. Those are your real new years.

(…)

The fourth Thursday in November is not when I feel most thankful. The 14th of February is not when I celebrate my romantic relationship. To force these celebrations on universal dates disconnects them from the meaning they’re supposed to celebrate. It’s thoughtless.

Celebrate personally meaningful markers. Ignore arbitrary calendar dates.

When did this year really begin for you?

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Who Are You?

Steve Pavlina:

When you notice that some part of your life doesn’t quite feel right, I think it’s wise to pause for a moment and get in touch with your true self. But in order to do that, you may need to turn down the volume of external influences.

When I finally turned off enough of the external input that was coming at me each day, a wonderful thing happened. First, I felt relieved. After a few weeks, I began to experience much greater mental clarity about my goals and intentions. Planning ahead became significantly easier. My workflow sped up.

As the noise died down, I could clearly see which new goals and intentions were congruent with my true self and which were more like thought injections being pushed upon me from the outside in.

And:

Others expect us to behave a certain way, and they communicate their expectations to us, either directly or indirectly. Over time their expectations mesh with our dominant thoughts, and their expectations become our expectations of ourselves.

At some point it’s a good idea to back away from all these influences, clear your mind, and get to know the beautiful paradox that is your true self. The more you understand that person, the easier it is to set goals and intentions that are achievable — and enjoyable — for you.

Also:

During the shift you may want to stay focused on the new vibe until you’ve had a chance to reach the other side in physical reality and re-ground yourself there. Sometimes, but not always, it’s just a little simpler to go through these kinds of shifts without being too heavily influenced by other people.

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Massive Action

Grant Cardone, from The 10X Rule:

The highly successful take unbelievable amounts of action. Regardless of what that action looks like, these people rarely do nothing—even when they are on vacation (just ask their spouses or families!). Whether it is by way of getting others to take action for them, getting attention for their products or ideas, or just grinding it out day and night, the successful have been consistently taking high levels of action—before anyone ever heard their names.

The unsuccessful talk about a plan of action but never quite get around to doing what they claim they’re going to do—at least enough to ever get what they want. Successful people assume that their future achievements rely on investing in actions that may not pay off today but that when taken consistently and persistently over time will sooner or later bear fruit.

Massive action is the one thing I know I can depend on from myself, even when times are tough. Your ability to take action will be a major factor in determining your potential success—and is a discipline that you should spend time on daily. It’s not a gift or trait I was “lucky” enough to receive or inherit; it’s a habit that must be developed. Laziness and lack of action are ethical issues for me. I don’t think it’s right or acceptable for me to be lazy. It is not a “character flaw” that’s caused by some invented disease, any more than a highly active person is somehow “blessed.”

No one is born to sprint or run a marathon any more than some people are born to take more action than others. Action is necessary in order to create success and can be the single defining quality that will enable you to make the list of successful people. No matter who you are or what you’ve done in life so far, you can develop this habit in order to enhance your success.

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Commitment

Steve Pavlina:

Consider what happens if you always keep your options open, especially when it comes to your work, relationships, and personal growth. Keeping your options open means you don’t really commit and invest. This is fine if you want to play it safe, play the field, or explore for a while. There’s tremendous value in exploration. But at some point you’re likely to want to plant your flag and more deeply explore a meaningful commitment. Commitment-free exploration has its limits.

Have you run into such limits yet? Is keeping your options open starting to feel stale, boring, frustrating, unsatisfying, or just plain blah?

Do you honestly expect to wake up each morning feeling excited about a commitment to nothing in particular?

A spicier commitment could be a long-term relationship, a business or career path, a skill set, a core area of self-development, or really anything that you consider investment-worthy. What makes you want to shove all your chips into the pot and say, “I’m all in”? If nothing comes to mind, I’d say you have an inner stature problem, and that’s likely to hurt your social life as well.

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