Most people really just settle for what life hands them. Sometimes they will work towards their goals in life but most of the time they are just working without purpose.
The ways that humans develop are called vertical and horizontal development. Vertical development is when you jump from one level to the next, when you make a big shift in how you think, act, or feel. This happens when some part of our life gets too hard to handle at the current level that we are at and we need to change, our experience demands it. Often occurrences of this are when you go to college, get married, own your own house, or any other time when you need to take more responsibility or change yourself. When you develop vertically you look at the world differently; you change your perspective to a more broader view. The more developed someone is vertically, the better.
Horizontal development is when a person stays on the same level but improves himself/herself on that level. This happens when the person decides to improve an area of their life that they have already improved on in the past. For example, an author might go back and improve part of their book, or a student will study the same way that they have been but more often. Horizontal development increases your already developed skills.
Many people just try to get their work done. Most of the time, that doesn't help them develop at all. What they need to do is push their limits, set goals that will stretch them a lot. They need to complete a goal that they previously thought impossible. If they set a goal like that, they might reach it, they might not; the important thing is that it will stretch them so much that they will probably need to develop vertically. They may need to become more organized, better at speaking publicly, or any other skill. Completing this goal will make them look at the world differently with a more open mind to what is possible. As Jamie Paolinetti said,
“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.”

Best of wishes,

Sean Golden

Rejection is a very misunderstood concept. Many people think that if they get rejected for something, that their life will actually get worse. This is not the case. Think about it: If you ask a guy or girl out and they reject you, does your life really get worse? Well, you weren't going to go on a date with her before you asked her out, and you're not going to go on a date with her after you asked her out, so your life really stayed the same. The reason why you should ask her then is because there is a possibility that your life can get better; she might accept the offer and go on a date with you. So, you might as well ask her because the only things that can happen is your life can get better or stay the same. Let's go through another example:
You apply to Harvard but get "Rejected". Your life, again, did not get worse. Your life only got worse compared to the false reality that you created in your mind. In your mind, you subconsciously created the fact that you were going to Harvard. Now that you got rejected, your fake reality got worse, but in actuality your life has not changed. You were not going to Harvard before you applied, and you're not going to Harvard now after you applied. Also, you have lived all of your life so far not going to Harvard, so you should know how to handle this.

Don't let your emotions get the best of you and make you create false realities. Try try try try try for everything that you want, even if there is a possibility for rejection. Chances are, your life will not get worse from trying; You will, however, gain experience and grow.

One last thing. As I talked about in the first example, do not let your emotions create mental barriers when you want to ask someone for something. Be aware of the mental walls and break through them. Ask for everything that you want in life, whether it be a date, money, support, advise, etc. Yes, there is a chance that you might get rejected, but in the end your asking will bring you much success.

Best of wishes,
Sean Golden

In order to achieve success, you must be willing to take 100% responsibility for your life. That means no more blaming others for your failures, or successes. If you want to create success in this life, you must take full responsibility for everything that you experience. You must realize that it is you who chose to be:

• Overweight
• Unsuccessful
• Rude
• Miserable
  

It is also you who chose:

• Your job
• Your relationship
  
• Your current financial situation
• Your happiness
• Not to say NO
• To stick with your job
• To not ask for what you want

Now, you might think that I was pretty rude to say all that mean stuff about you when I don't even know you, right? Well, no I don't know if you will apply to all of those things, all I know is that if you do apply to any of those points above, it is your fault. You are the one who allowed them and you are the only one who can change them.
In Jake Canfields' The Success Principles, he talked about this one equation that was taught to him years ago. It goes E + R = O, Event + Response = Outcome. Since you can't control the event (because it already happened) you must focus on changing your response. The response is the only thing that you can control. To put it more simply, the only two things that you can control in your whole life are your thoughts (and therefore, your feelings) and your actions. Those are the only two things that you can control. The day that you change your responses to events is the day that your life will get better.

Every part of your life right now is exactly how you made it. You might have made it intentionally or not, but either way your life is because of you. It is a reflection of all of your past thoughts and actions.

• You're the one who ate the junk food
• You're the one who did not talk to your boss
• You're the one who kept silent after finding lipstick in his car

The only way to change your life is to step out of your comfort zone. You need to do things... even if they are hard.

Hard. What is hard? If you think about it, not much is really hard. It's just doing something that you are not use to, thats why you see it as.. hard. Once you begin to transform your thoughts and actions, you will realize that changing habits only seemed hard.

Now that you realize that your life is 100% your fault or achievement, you have the power to change it! Now go out there and mold your life to your choosing.....NOW.

Best of wishes,
Sean Golden

We have all see those people. You know, the one who hate Christmas, little kids singing, and just want to sit home and watch TV. Well, i know that you are not one of them, but maybe you could use a little boost of cheerfulness after all of that shopping, wrapping, giving... I am going to show you 3 quick and easy ways to turn from a frowner to a smiler! =)

1) Slow down
Many of us get too caught up in the rush of buying, wrapping, and cleaning to actually take a breath and notice all of the love in the holiday. I think just 5 minutes of sitting down on your chair and thinking - noticing - all of the wonders around you and how happy you can be will dramatically change your view. If you find yourself slipping back to your usual way of thinking 5 hours later, then take another break. Many people rush; rushing creates stress. If you know that you are the rushing kind, then try to walk slower, breathe slower, and maybe think slower (just a little bit).

2) Be grateful
Easier said than done right? How can you be grateful when you dropped one of the presents and it broke, the dog drooled on the book, your out of wrapping paper, you have 20 more presents to wrap, and... your late for the party? I'll tell you how. Like a said earlier, relax, and while you are sitting down in your chair remember that you could be way worse off. You could have gotten a call that your husband or wife is in the emergency room from a car crash, or your dog just died. There could be many worse positions that you could be in. think of how lucky you are and that everything really isn't that bad. Also remember that your emotions come from the thoughts you think about the event, not the event itself.

3) Act with joy - if you can't do it, fake it!
The third way to be merry for the holiday is to act with joy. Put a smile on your face. It has been scientifically proven that having a smile on your face increases your happiness. Sing Christmas songs. Greet everyone you see with joy. Even if you still are not happy by doing the first two points, fake it. If you fake being happy long enough, it will eventually turn into a reality.

After you utilize all of these points, you will feel so much better! Think of life as an exciting adventure, because it is! Now that you have this information, get out there and astonish everyone with your joy!

There are times when you might feel lazy, not wanting to work. Well these 6 easy ways to increase motivation will boost your motivation and help you stay concentrated with what you need to get done. Once you begin to practice these techniques, you will find that you can get more done in a shorter amount of time and be more productive.

There are numerous reasons why you might want to increase your motivation:

• You will get more done

• You will be able to take control of your life

• You will get better grades and pass tests with flying colors in school

• You will have much more free time

• The list goes on and on...

With all of these reasons to not procrastinate and have great motivation, then why don't we? There are many reasons for this as well. Some of these include:

• Waiting to feel in the mood or the right time to start

• A fear of failing the task or succeeding

• Underdeveloped decision making skills

• Poor organizational skills

• Perfectionism - You have to do the talk perfect

Many times, we may feel that the task is too large and overwhelming, so we procrastinate and later wind up cramming all of what we need to know into a one-night study session for instance. Although the vast majority of the population suffers from these problems almost daily, there are easy ways to correct this problem.
(As you read the following, do not just skim through it as you might with other articles. Actually read the entire thing and then make sure that you Put These Techniques Into Your Life Daily or else reading this article will not benefit you.)

Now, onto the 6 techniques for self motivation:

1) Recognize that You are Procrastinating
Many times we just go through our day on autopilot and we just jump from thought to thought, not really realizing that we are loosing a lot of precious work time. The next time that you are not on the task that you know you should be doing, break away from the computer, television, or Ipod, go to your favorite chair, and sit down with your eyes closed. Then think to yourself what the best way that you can be using your time right now is and ponder upon that for a few minutes. In your head, see yourself doing that task and feel how good it feels that you are going to get all your work done so that you will have a lot of time later on to do whatever you want to do. Recognizing that you are procrastinating is the first step towards increasing your motivation.

2) Break up the Task
Whatever that task that you need to complete is, break it up into small chunks that you can easily handle. Don't say to yourself, "I need to write this 1000 word paper." Instead say, "I need to write my Intro of 200 words now, and then figure out when I am going to write my first body..." When you break up the task, it clears up your mind and allows you to eat up the work one bite at a time. You don't need to do the whole task in one interval either. Just starting the assignment is all that is needed to significantly increase your motivation.

3) Arouse curiosity in yourself
If you sit down and think of reasons why you want to do the task, you will be more inclined to do it. Think of the outcomes and the benefits of you preforming the task. To even help yourself further, go sit down in your favorite chair with your eyes closed and imagine yourself starting, preforming, and finishing the task. Then feel how good it feels to complete it.

4) Just start it!
The problem with procrastination is not actually doing the task, but starting it. If you just tell yourself that you do not have to finish it now, you just have to start it, you will be able to get a lot more done in a shorter period of time.

5) Set a goal
If you set a time limit or a goal on when you would like to get this task done (and make it a little challenging) you will not be able to procrastinate because you have no time to! Just make a time limit.

6) Reward yourself with treats and breaks
Unless it is urgent, in which case you would not be procrastinating anyway, let yourself have a short 5 minute break every 45 minutes. At the end of 45 min. your brain will start to wonder anyway, so get up and stretch, move around, or do something fun. Make sure you don't let the break go longer than 10 min. though as you might not feel like doing the task again. 5 min. will keep your subconscious on the task still.

I love comments and I like to know that I am helping someone, so please leave a comment and tell me what you think about my page!

Self-discipline is the ability to get something done or take some action no matter what emotional state you are currently in. I am going to explain to you how to build up your self-discipline the way that Steve Pavlina does.

Building up your SD (self-discipline) is like building up a muscle. You have to train yourself little by little to keep growing. Everyone has a little bit of SD (like occasionally working out or going for a walk) but that is the same as lifting 3 pounds.. it will not make you any stronger. If you want to develop more SD then you need to push yourself to the limit, just like you build muscle by working out until you are sore. The more frequently you work out, the faster you will build muscle too. If you can train yourself to make SD a habit, you will see far greater changes than if you train yourself only every once in a while.

The way you train yourself is with goals. Think of smaller goal as lesser weight and larger goals as heavier weight. If you start to lift 700 pounds on the first day of working out, you will surely fail. However, if you lift maybe 30 pounds or even 10 pounds if that's as much as you can, then you will keep getting better and better. You cannot set 20 goals right after reading this and expect to follow through with all of them tomorrow. You need to set high goals, but ones that you know you can manage.

Another thing you must do to enhance your SD is to only set goals when you know that you are going to completely follow through with them. One way to do this is to write down the only goals you are sure you are going to accomplish, maybe on a special notebook or pad. This way, you can condition yourself to know that you must complete any goal that you write down in that notebook.

Lastly, you should make the goals definite and precise. Set specifically what you want to archive and when. Also know how you will know when you achieve it. For example, instead of saying: I will start to work more, say I will work 8 complete hours without distraction for 30 days. Then you can work on what else you want after that.

Self-disciplining yourself is the first step toward self-improvement, since our natural way to behave is to be lazy and not change. SD requires constant change, and after you form it into a habit, you will wonder how you every managed to live life being so lazy. =)

To your development,
Sean Golden

This post is going to be about success. There are so many people today searching for ways to find success in their life whether it be through their job, body, relationships, or anything else. However, not many people really know how to be successful; most people really just run most of their life on autopilot. Well, Earl Nightingale has found the secret to becoming successful. Although it may not really be a secret (because most successful people know what it is and use it), it is a way to live your life so that you can achieve anything and everything that you want. Of course, it is not magical, so you do have to put in some work. Yet, when you establish this "secret" into a daily habit, you will begin to see wonders in your life that you never thought possible. Here is some more information about Earl from Mark Victor Hansen's website

"As a Depression-era child, Earl Nightingale was hungry for knowledge. From the time he was a young boy, he would frequent the Long Beach Public Library in California, searching for the answer to the question, "How can a person, starting from scratch, who has no particular advantage in the world, reach the goals that he feels are important to him, and by so doing, make a major contribution to others?" His desire to find an answer, coupled with his natural curiosity about the world and its workings spurred him to become one of the world's foremost experts on success and what makes people successful.


Earl Nightingale's early career began when, as a member of the Marine Corps, he volunteered to work at a local radio station as an announcer. The Marines also gave him a chance to travel, although he only got as far as Hawaii when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. Earl managed to be one of the few survivors aboard the battleship Arizona. After five more years in the service, Earl and his wife moved first to Phoenix then Chicago to build what was to be a very fruitful career in network radio.


As the host of his own daily commentary program on WGN, Earl Nightingale arranged a deal that also gave him a commission on his own advertising sales. By 1957, he was so successful; he decided to retire at the age of 35. In the meantime, Earl had bought his own insurance company and had spent many hours motivating its sales force to greater accomplishments. When he decided to go on vacation for an extended period of time, his sales manager begged him to put his inspirational words on record. The result later became the recording entitled The Strangest Secret, the first spoken word message to win a Gold Record by selling over a million copies.


In The Strangest Secret, Earl had found an answer to the question that had inspired him as a youth and, in turn, found a way to leave a lasting legacy for others About this time, Earl met a successful businessman by the name of Lloyd Conant and together they began an "electronic publishing" company which eventually grew to become a multi-million dollar giant in the self-improvement field. They also developed a syndicated, 5-minute daily radio program, Our Changing World, which became the longest-running, most widely syndicated show in radio.



When Earl Nightingale died on March 28, 1989, Paul Harvey broke the news to the country on his radio program with the words, 'The sonorous voice of the nightingale was stilled.' In the words of his good friend and commercial announcer, Steve King, 'Earl Nightingale never let a day go by that he didn't learn something new and, in turn, pass it on to others. It was his consuming passion.'"


Here is the audio also from Mark Victor Hansen's website

The Strangest Secret - right click and choose save as to download.

Improve your mind? What is this site? This is the best blog out there one how to change your life, mind, and increase your happiness to its peak! I will try to post as often as possible, but I will not have a fixed schedule as I want to post only top notch content, not stuff that will bore you. In this blog, I will try to give you lists of ways to improve your life overall. This blog will cover many topics including: Brainpower, memory, success, some psychology, happiness, and more! Basically, all these topics can be summed up into Personal Development.
One way that you can view this amazing content is through this blog, and rss feed, or subscribe to my newsletter (which will be coming shortly). One thing I need from you though is to post comments!!! This is vitally important so that I can know what your guys like/dislike. Also, the most comments you post, the more motivation you'll give me to keep uncovering fantastic content to share with you!
But now all you have to do is sit back, relax, and learn! (which actually might not sound like too much fun, but trust me on this one..)

To your fantastic adventure of life,
Sean Golden