Be Your Own Life Coach: Part 3

Hey guys, this is my third and final post on a three part series, “Be Your Own Life Coach.”  It is inspired by Chelsea Greenwood’s article Be Your Own Life Coach in the March 2015 issue of Success Magazine.  In part 1, we discussed identifying areas of your life to target for change and how to set manageable goals.  In part 2, we talked about how to work towards your goals and gathering a support network.  Today, we will learn how to handle setbacks and six simple steps that you can take every day so you can be your own effective life coach.

 

Be Prepared for Setbacks

So what happens when you chart your questions as discussed in Be Your Own Life Coach – Part 2 and you discover that you have made no progress towards any of your goals?  You feel pretty bad.  You feel discouraged.  In fact, the next day you simply feel like giving up on this whole self-improvement, life coach thing.

 

Let me tell you loud and clear – you CAN NOT give up.  I need to give you a powerful directive.  Do not quit because of an occasional set back.

 

Let me say that again.  DO NOT GIVE UP because of an occasional set back.  Self-searching is not always pretty.  If it were, you would not desire to change anything.  So, do not quit because you did not make progress yesterday.  Do not quit even if it seems like you moved away from your goals instead of towards them yesterday.

 

Self-improvement is a day to day process.  At times, you will take two steps forward and then one step back.  However, realize that when that happens to you, your overall path is still moving towards your goal.

 

Now, you may be saying to yourself, “Dr. Pete, in my life, I am constantly hitting obstacles that inhibit my progress.  I am not going forward at all.”  When this happens, Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, Ph.D.  recommends looking at your environment.  See if there is something in your physical environment that needs to change.  If your environment is hurdle-free, then ask yourself three hard questions that any good life coach will ask you:

• Is this what I really wanted?
• What have I learned from my failure?
• Do I want to go at it again?

If your goal is a real thing, you will want to try again.  Success is much sweeter when you have to work for it.  Learning from each setback makes you wiser which brings you closer to your goals.

 

6 Steps to Take Every Day

If you want to be your own life coach, Dr. Goldsmith recommends asking yourself the following six questions every day.  They all revolve around, “Did I do my best to …”

1. Set clear goals?
2. Make progress toward goal achievement?
3. Be happy?
4. Find meaning?
5. Build positive relationships?
6. Be fully engaged?

Research published in 79 different studies demonstrate that be repeating the above process for as little as two weeks results in improvement in 88% of people!

 

I recommend trying the process daily for at least 3 weeks.  This is the amount of time required to engrain a daily habit into your life.

 

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and a brighter tomorrow,

 

Dr. Pete

 

P.S.   If you liked this three part series on Be Your Own Life Coach, you should check out Success Magazine.  If you wish to subscribe to it too, click here: Success Magazine.

 

To subscribe to my email list and receive a free gift to kick start your day with productivity and purpose, click here.

Be Your Own Life Coach – Part 2

In my last blog post, I started a series on “Be Your Own Life Coach.”  I am happy to present part two of that series here.  This series is inspired by Chelsea Greenwood’s article Be Your Own Life Coach in the March 2015 issue of Success Magazine.  Last blog, we discussed identifying areas of your life to target for change and setting manageable goals.

 

Work Towards Your Goals

So, how do you practically accomplish working towards your goals on a day-to-day basis?  Andrew Thorn, Ph.D. recommends making a spreadsheet of 20-30 questions representing who you want to be and what you want to achieve.  These questions go in the first column.  There are then 8 other columns – one for each day of the week and one labeled total.  Each day enter a “yes” if you worked towards that goal today.  You can also get more detailed and grade how much you worked towards that goal on a 0-10 scale.  Total up the scorecard for each question at the end of the week.  This allows you to see how well your behavior lines up with the values listed in your questions.    This will provide valuable and objective insight.

 

Another way to gain insight as to how well you are working towards your goals is to journal.  I am a big fan of journaling.  At the end of the day, grade your day on a scale of 0-10.  A zero means it was absolutely miserable and a 10 means it was super happy.  Next, write down a few things that you did that day.  Look at what made you feel bad and look at what made you feel good.  Finally, try to figure out what you could do better to change how you feel.  This last part is hard at first, but I find that when I consistently do it, I am able to make the most positive change in my life.

 

Gather Support

Develop a support network.  You need people who will be your cheerleaders and but also are willing to be honest with you when you go astray.  This should be trusted family and/or friends who you can tell your goal(s) to.  This will develop accountability.  It takes swallowing your pride a little to ask for this kind of support, but I find it is the key to success.  You are much more likely to accomplish your goal if you have to follow-up with your support person two weeks after telling him/her about your goal.

 

My next post will finish this series on Be Your Own Life Coach.  I hope that you find it helpful in your journey.

 

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and a brighter tomorrow,

 

Dr. Pete

 

P.S.   I read Success Magazine every month.  If you wish to subscribe to it too, click here: Success Magazine.

 

To subscribe to my email list and receive a free gift, click here.

Be Your Own Life Coach: part 1

Today, I was reading an article in the March 2015 issue of Success Magazine by Chelsea Greenwood – Be Your Own Life Coach.  I found it very helpful and would like to share some of the highlights with you.

 

Can you be your own life coach?  Of course, you can hire one, and although they can be quite helpful, they come with a high price tag.  $500 per hour on average with some as high as $3500 per hour.

 

So if you do not have those resources readily available, I recommend doing it yourself.  But, as Chelsea points out, it will require discipline and dedication.

 

Identify Areas of Your Life to Target for Change

You have to do an honest appraisal of your current situation.  Then, identify areas of your life to target for change.  Such as …

• Career
• Health
• Finances
• Relationships
• Hobbies

 

If the above does not give you ideas, then David Rock, Ph.D. recommends examining what your recurrent thoughts are.  If you find yourself thinking, “I wish I could _________.”  Whatever you place in that blank is what you should work on.

 

If you are like most people, you probably can list several parts of your life that you would like to improve.  However, don’t try to tackle all of them at once.  Focus first on your area of least satisfaction.  The area that is most lacking has the greatest potential to create the most life improvement.  Work on that one issue for 3-12 months until you are satisfied with your progress.  Then move on to the next opportunity for improvement.

 

Set Manageable Goals

Dr. Rock recommends keeping the goals short and sweet.  Make them 3 to 7 words.  This will allow them to be easy to remember and allow them to be easily stuck in the forefront of your mind.

 

In addition, the goal must be a positive, approach goal and not an avoid goal.  Move towards a positive instead of away from a negative.  Example:

• Goal: Be more calm — (achieve goal)

                             NOT

• Goal: Be less stressed — (avoidance goal)

If your goal is to be less stressed, then stress is at the forefront of your mind.  However, if your goal is to be more calm, your focus is on calm, peace, and tranquility.  Which would you rather think about?  Studies have shown that achieve goals are accomplished in half the time.  They are also more sustainable.

 

Be sure to read my next blog post to for part 2 of this series, Be Your Own Life Coach.

 

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and a brighter tomorrow,

 

Dr. Pete

 

P.S.   I really love Success Magazine.  If you wish to subscribe to it too, click here: Success Magazine.

 

To subscribe to my email list and receive a free gift, click here.

 

10 Steps to Solve Your Personal Problems

 

I have been spending time re-reading the classic personal development book by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale, The Power of Positive Thinking. It is honestly one of my favorite books. It is full of practical personal development tips that you can immediately apply to your daily life.

 

One chapter is dedicated to teaching you 10 steps you can use to solve your personal problems. I have listed them below with my personal take on each step. Dr. Peale’s words are in italics.

 

1. Believe that for every problem there is a solution.

If you are anything like me, too often you let your problems defeat you before you even begin to attempt to solve them. You give up out of a sense of fear and hopelessness. Why? Because you believe you can’t succeed. However, if you change your beliefs – if you believe that for every problem there is a solution – then fear and hopelessness are chase away. You have the proper mindset to overcome that problem – no matter how big it seems.

 

2. Keep calm. Tension blocks the flow of thought power. Your brain cannot operate efficiently under stress. Go at your problem easy like.

Have you ever been so stressed that you can’t think? Well, that is exactly what Dr. Peale is describing in step 2. Keep calm. Getting stressed out doesn’t help you. It actually hurts you. If you take a few deep cleansing breaths, restore some calm, the flow of thought power is reopened. Then your ability to solve your difficulty is increased.

 

3. Don’t try to force an answer. Keep your mind relaxed so that the solution will open up and become clear.

If you try to force a solution, you rush the process. When you let the stress of the moment rule your mind, you often don’t make the best choices. But if you are relaxed, solutions open up right before your eyes that you would have failed to see if you tried to force the situation.

 

4. Assemble all the facts impartially, impersonally, and judicially.

With emotions under control and a sense of clam restored, objectively gather all of the facts. You must be objective. Leave your emotions out of it!

 

 

5. List these facts on paper. This clarifies your thinking, bringing the various elements into orderly system. You see as well as think. The problem becomes objective, not subjective.

I recommend after you list the facts that you speak the facts. By seeing, speaking and hearing all of the facts surrounding your situation, it enables your brain to see the solution more clearing.

 

6. Pray about your problem, affirming that God will flash illumination into your mind.

Pray about your problem. Ask God to give you the wisdom to solve it. And guess what? He will help you. The Bible says in James 1:5 (NIV):
“If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.”

 

7. Believe in and seek God’s guidance on the promise of the 73rd Psalm, “Thou shalt guide me by thy counsel.”

That is Psalms 73:24 (KJV). If you believe you can receive from God His wise counsel, then you shall receive it.

 

8. Trust in the faculty of insight and intuition.

With the emotions removed, you can trust your gut instincts. You are better at problem solving then you realize.

 

9. Go to church and let your subconscious work on the problem as you attune to the mood of worship. Creative spiritual thinking has amazing power to give “right” answers.

I personally have experienced this. When I have gone to church and taken the focus off of my problems and instead turned my attention to worship, afterwards, I will often find the solution that I have been looking for! Try it for yourself. You will be amazed at how well it works.

 

10. If you follow these steps faithfully, then the answer that develops in your mind, or comes to pass, is the right answer to your problem.

 

Well stated Dr. Peale. Follow the steps, and you will find the answers to your problems are closer than you think.

 

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and a brighter tomorrow,

 

Dr. Pete

 

P.S. If you want to pick up a copy of Dr. Peale’s book, click here:  The Power of Positive Thinking

 

If you are interested in receiving regular emails with more inspiring information, you can sign up by clicking here.  You will receive a free gift when you do.

 

 

Review of The Millionaire’s Brain

When The Millionaire’s Brain was placed on my desk, I groaned inwardly, “Oh no, not one of THOSE again,” and I almost pulled my hair out in frustration.  I have readers who actually write in and ask how I can review such books.

 

But after going through it, The Millionaire’s Brain turned out to be one of those rare gems that actually work for once.

 

Since this is a self-help guide, the content is more or less the same, but The Millionaire’s Brain seeks to be different from other self-help guides by trying to go a step further.

 

To gain success in this very competitive world, it is just not sufficient if you have talent, or a dream.

 

If you don’t know how to work it, you won’t get it.

 

Chapter 1 “Master Your Destiny” explores the concept of responsibility. Responsibility is central to the belief of the success mindset. With responsibility, you know that your choice matters in the long run.

 

In order to kick-start the whole process, we need to begin from the brain. The brain structure is the canvas for us to work the magic of the mindset. Continuing on that analogy, one of the methods is to keep painting on it i.e. to keep telling the brain to do specific things or inculcate particular behaviors. Only with the constant painting and re-shaping, will the positive behavior be hard-wired into our brain and manifest automatically into our action.

 

One of the most doable strategies outlined here is the strategy of not watching TV programs – because they are too mindless!

 

Come to think of it, watching those mechanical and bland TV programs does nothing to infuse your own destiny into the brain. There are absolutely no benefits at all.

 

Next on the paint palette, belief and ideology are critical ingredients as the underlying foundation to the great artwork of success mindset.

 

You have to believe that the next millionaire is you.

 

Click here for the video presentation.

 

A strong and unwavering belief aligns with the powerful law of attraction and hands you the keys to infinite success.  It is really that simple.

 

In addition, to strengthen your success mindset, you may need to give up something.

 

It is something very close and intimate to the heart, something which you may have told yourself on occasions, or something which you heard from others.

 

Now, I won’t spoil it by revealing those 2 words here, but you’ll be amazed what it is when you come to that section in the ebook.  Once you know what those words are, a simple reversal spins the wheel of fortune directly to your way.

 

It’s worth mentioning fear.

 

Fear is always the stumbling stone in any ambitious plan of success.  I know.  I have been there.  It only takes one fearful step back, and everything literally comes to naught – everything from planning, to resource-gathering, to execution of the plan.

 

As authors Winter and Alvin explain, talk is cheap.  Action must be taken and fear must be tossed aside.  As compared to other products, this lesson is something lacking.  Other self-help offers usually come in an ebook, and they may just vaguely talk about this in theory.

 

Thankfully, it is not just all talk in The Millionaire’s Brain. There are exercises throughout the ebook, to reinforce your understanding.

 

A nice bonus with The Millionaire’s Brain is that there is a Brain Optimizer Workbook to further underpin what you need to do.

 

Here, the brain optimizing exercises come in handy, which include affirmations, meditations, and many other little things you can implement effectively in your daily routine.

 

Another one of the bonuses, The Money Code, is rather intriguing because it focuses on financial success.  Now it can be rather difficult for the average person to focus on financial details due to all of the technical jargon.  But thankfully, The Money Code is straightforward and easy to understand on the concepts it seeks to code into the brain.

 

Yet another bonus is The Millionaire Mindset Suite.  This is a package of brainwave entrainment audios which eases the mind and provides meditative music as you contemplate your mindset, its creation and affirmation to work to your favor.

 

As a student of personal development, I’ve read through countless self-help books, and I have to say that The Millionaire’s Brain is quite possibly one of the top personal success development products out there.

 

It is unbelievably comprehensive and in-depth, yet the concepts taught are so easy to understand and can be readily put into practice and action.

 

If you look at those “Get-Rich Quick” seminars, what they’re asking is for you to keep on pumping in the capital to play the market, which may turn out to be quite risky.  For The Millionaire’s Brain, there is no such high risk involved.  With The Millionaire’s Brain, you have an iron-clad guarantee which protects your interests – you will never lose your investment.

 

And the best thing of The Millionaire’s Brain?

 

It’s affordable for guys like you and me.  You know those same “Get Rich Quick” seminars I mentioned? Those cost you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars for a 2 day weekend event.  The Millionaire’s Brain is a mere fraction of that… and you get to learn everything in the program right from the comfort of your own home.

 

No travel required.

 

You’d be hard pressed to find any success products with such a reasonable pricing, AND with such a crystal-clear promise of a millionaire’s destiny.

 

In short, I highly recommend Winter and Alvin’s The Millionaire’s Brain to you if you are determined to change your mindset to allow success to come into your life!

 

You can see for yourself by watching the video here.

 

Wishing you peace, prosperity, and a brighter tomorrow,

 

Dr. Pete

 

Start Exercising to Increase Your Energy

Starting an Exercise Program

 

As promised in my previous post, this post is about starting an exercise program so as to improve your energy and improve your efficiency.  Writing exercise prescriptions are an everyday part of my sports medicine practice.  However, I would like to provide a few words of caution.

1. Make sure you are healthy enough to exercise.

Consult your doctor to make sure that it is safe for you to start an exercise program.  This is especially true if you have significant medical problems (e.g. diabetes, heart disease), have never exercised, or it has been a long time since you have exercised.

2. Do not go from 0 to 60 mph.

Take it slow.  If you are starting from being sedentary, you should not expect to be able to run a marathon tomorrow.  Ramping up your exercise program too rapidly is a recipe for injury.

 

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) recommends the following for healthy adults:

1. Moderate intensity cardiorespiratory exercise for 30 minutes, at least 5 days per week.
2. Resistance exercises 2-3 days per week. This should include some core and balance training.
3. Flexibility exercises at least 2 days a week.

 

I recommend starting with cardio training.  If you are currently sedentary, try a walking program.  Start at just 15 minutes a day, three times a week.  Each week, increase the total weekly time by 10%.  So week #2, instead of 45 minutes (15 minutes x 3 days), do 50 minutes (45 minutes + 4.5 minutes = 49.5 minutes).  Keep increasing your weekly time until you get to 60 minutes.  When you do, change your walking to 15 minutes four days a week.  Keep progressing until you get to 5 days a week at 15 minutes a session.  Then, add time to those 5 days.  Once you get to 5 days, continue to increase the daily amount until you get to 30 minutes per session.  After you reach that goal, let me know, and I can help you get to the next level.

 

If you are already exercising, look at the recommendations above.  If all you do is cardio, add one day a week of resistance training.  After a couple of weeks, increase it to two days per week.

 

If you already do resistance and cardio, then add session a week of stretching.  A good combo of resistance and stretching is yoga.  If you haven’t tried yoga yet, I highly recommend it.  Do it twice a week, and you have satisfied both your resistance and stretching component!

 

So, start exercising.  It will be hard at first but after a couple of weeks, you will look forward to your exercise sessions.  Why?  Because they will energize you!  With that extra energy, you will find that you can work more effectively.

 

Let me know how it works for you.

 

Good luck!

 

Dr. Pete

Improve Energy for Improved Efficiency

Improve Energy for Improved Efficiency

 

Do you feel that you are losing your productivity secondary to a lack of energy?  Believe me, we have all been there.  What is your first instinct when you hit that lull?  For most of us, it means grabbing another cup of coffee (remember, I love my coffee!) or some other kind of pick me up.  Some of us turn to snacking.  But unfortunately, these solutions aren’t necessarily your best choice.   Unless you drink your coffee black, that drink or snack means extra calories.  And extra calories mean gaining weight.  Extra weight means less energy.  And the vicious cycle goes on and on.

 

So, what should you do to improve your energy to improve your efficiency?  It is pretty simple – one word à exercise.  Now, I know what you are thinking.  “Hold up just a minute Dr. Pete.  How is exercising going to increase my production?  It takes time to exercise, and time is one thing I don’t have!”  Believe me; I understand where you are coming from.  So let me explain how exercise will improve your work efficiency.

 

Exercise is proven to have many benefits.  I am bet that you know some of them.   Here are just a few of the benefits.

• Build muscle
• Weight loss
• Improve fitness
• Lower blood pressure
• Lower blood sugar
• Lower cholesterol
• Improved sleep

 

But, the benefit of exercise that will help you to become more productive is that exercise improves your energy.  If you have more energy, you will be more productive in life.  You won’t feel wiped out at work or even after you get home from work.

 

If you don’t feel wiped out at work, you will work more efficiently.  You will get more stuff done in less time.

 

If you don’t feel exhausted when you get home from work, you will have more quality time with your family.  Your personal life/family life will have more vigor.  You will enjoy your loved ones even more, thereby strengthening your relationships.  I bet you hadn’t heard that one before.  Exercise can strengthen your relationship with your spouse and children!

 

If you haven’t started an exercise program and don’t know how to, be sure to read my next post.  I will give you tips to start your exercise, improve your energy, and improve your efficiency!

 

Talk to you later!

 

Dr. Pete

Kick Start Your Day

Hey guys, Dr. Pete here.

 

Are you a morning person?  Well, let me tell you, I am certainly not.  Just ask my wife!  It takes me a bit to get moving in the morning, which makes it really hard to start my day with purpose and with efficiency.  I would like to share with you a few things that I have gleaned from people who I really admire in the field of Personal Development: Norman Peale, Jim Rohn, Jeff Olsen, and Darren Hardy.

 

You really need to start off your day with the right mental and emotional attitude.  You need to start it with a sense of purpose and a desire to succeed.  So, grab your coffee and get started!  I wish that all it took was coffee.  But honestly, it doesn’t take much more than that.  Follow these few simple steps, and you will find your day more driven by purpose, efficiency, satisfaction, and joy.  It has really worked for me.  Try it for yourself and let me know if it helps you too.

 

Step 1.  Turn on the Coffee Pot

Seriously, it’s what I do.  I am a coffee guy.  This may be one of my true vices.  I love my coffee.

 

Step 2.  Start Your Day Thankful

While your coffee is brewing, think about (or better yet, write down in a journal) three things that you are thankful for today.  Starting your day with a mindset of thanksgiving chases away negativity and gets your mind focused on accomplishing things with a positive attitude.  It sets your day up for success.

 

Step 3.  Make a To Do List for Today

You might as well make your To Do List for the day.  The coffee is probably not even done brewing yet.  Or if you are blessed with a super-fast coffee maker, you can sip on that delicious cup of Joe while writing the list.  You can make it a paper list.  You can use your task function on your smart-phone.  You can use a computer program like One Note.  Just write it down with a box next to it for making your check.  Trust me, it is very important to do this.  There is great satisfaction in checking something off of the list.

 

Make categories for your To Do List.  I suggest these four – work, home/family, health, and hobbies.  You can adjust these as you like.  But I feel that these four categories are important.  If you don’t write it down, during the business of the day, stuff just plain won’t happen.  This helps you approach your day with purpose and direction.  It sets you up for success.

 

Step 4.  Make Someone Else’s Day

When you get to work, the first thing you should do is encourage someone.  Send someone an encouraging email or text.  Stop by a co-worker and give an encouraging word.  This is too rarely done in our lives.  We get tons of negative feedback but very little positive.  Be the one who gives the positive – the encouragement.  It will have remarkable results.  Your morale will improve.  The morale of your entire work environment will blossom.  This will help create an atmosphere where collaboration will flourish.

 

Step 5.  Daily Reflection

This is part requires some self-reflection.  What I want you to do is at the end of your day, sit down for about ten minutes and think about your day.  I prefer to use a journal for this.  I write down the following:

– What went well today?  What were my successes?

– What could have gone better today?

– What are the things that did not go according to my plan and how could I have handled the situation differently?

– Who did I have a positive impact on today?

 

Step 6.  Make Tomorrow’s To Do List

If you have time, I recommend making tomorrow’s To Do List before you go to bed tonight.  Why?  It’s one less thing that you have to do in the morning.  It gives you a head start on tomorrow.  If you already have the To Do List done, then you only have to review it the next morning.  It allows you to start the day extra pumped up and supercharged!

 

Those are my daily steps for success.  Let me know if it works for you.

 

Wishing you success and a brighter tomorrow,

 

Dr. Pete