Tips on how to know your Life Purpose.

“Look and you will find it – what is unsought will go undetected”. 

It’s Already Within You!

“Finding” your purpose is a misleading concept because it’s not something you have to go out and “get,” but rather something you need to turn within and claim. You’ve already got it – even if you haven’t consciously realized or chosen it yet. Of course, whether you believe it is already within you or not, you still need to “find” it in some sense. How do you do that? By looking in the most obvious places – your passions and interests.
Your purpose will always be something that:

• You feel passionate about

• You are naturally good at

• You already love to do

• Is important to you

Remember earlier I mentioned that your fears about your life purpose being unpleasant are groundless? It’s absolutely true. Why would you be given a life purpose that doesn’t match the essence of who you are?

Would the universe expect a musical prodigy to spend his life crunching numbers in an accounting firm? Would the universe expect you to wait tables when your true passion is childhood education? How would these situations serve anyone? They wouldn’t!

Your life purpose will ALWAYS utilize your greatest passions, talents and interests. No exceptions. Does that inspire a little sigh of relief for you? It should.

“Great minds have purposes, little minds have wishes”.
Irving, Washington 

hmm! what is it what I really want...

Identifying Your Passions

Before you can discover your true life purpose, you need to uncover the clues that lead to it. Namely, things you are good at, feel passionate about, love to do, and are important to you.

Exercise:

Take a piece of paper and a pencil and write a list on a few ideas for each of the following categories (listed below). You’ll be looking for the most obvious answers here – even if there are only a handful of them in each category. Focus on things that have been a major part of your life or occupied your thoughts a lot – and it’s okay to have the same answers on multiple sheets.

Categories:

1. Topics or Subjects I’m Passionate About

These would be topics or subjects you feel passionate about, like personal growth, education, arts and crafts, music, pets, spiritual development, business, charity, arts, poetry etc. Anything you think about and enjoy quite often

2. Activities I Love To Do

These would be tangible activities like sports, working out, painting, singing, writing, reading, cooking and so on.

3. Things I Am Naturally Good At

On this sheet, list all of your best talents, skills and experience. Focus on actual activities that you do easily and well, either because you’re naturally good at them or because you have a lot of training/experience with them.

4. Things That  Are Important to Me

World events, situations, groups, causes, people, animals and more that are important to you. Focus on things that impact the world in general, not just things that pertain to your own life, your own family, etc.

Putting the Pieces Together

Now that you’ve identified some of your strongest passions and interests, look again at the worksheets. Do you see any connections or patterns between the items you listed? You may not yet have a full picture but more like a handful of puzzle pieces – you see that they could fit together but you’re not sure how.

Here’s a good way to make the big picture clearer:

Imagine that you are preparing to take a journey. What do you need? First, you need to establish a clear destination. You need a map that shows you how to get to your destination. You need a method of transportation to travel there; and of course, all modes of transportation require fuel to power them.

Your life purpose is very much like a journey.

• The things you love to do are the vehicle you travel in.

• Your natural talents are the map that shows you how to get to your destination.

• The things that are important to you ARE the destination.

• Your passion is the FUEL that powers the whole operation.

With every purpose, you need:

1) A passion for it. (Your passions)

2) A commitment to it. (Important to you)

3) A tangible way to share it with the world. (Activities you love to do)

4) The ability to do it well. (Your natural talents)

When these things come together, you’ve got a virtual explosion of passion, meaning, fulfillment, empowerment – and purpose!

Do you see now why it’s important to get clear on the four lists categories? Every item you write on those lists offers a possibility and each of those possibilities contain still more possibilities!

Of course, you won’t be following all of them right away, but more likely choosing one to start with. You can always incorporate others later if you want to. For now, I strongly encourage you to start with the ONE that speaks most powerfully to you, the one that makes you feel excited and joyful.

“You are what your deep driving desire is; As your deep driving desire is, so is your will;
As your will is so is your deed; As your deed is so is your destiny”.
The Upanishads

Breaking an Addiction : An introductory course

          I am so confused

Addictions manifest in many ways. Some turn a fun hobby like shopping into a financial nightmare. Other times, addictions pose health risks, especially when the addiction is drug or alcohol related. It really does not matter what you are addicted to. The only thing that matters is that you realize that you have a problem and are ready to take the steps needed to take your life back. In this fight, your mind is your biggest ally. It has all the power you need to get back on a healthy track.

You need to get to the root of your problem. Your problem is not with any substance or activity. Your problem is with what drove you to seek refuge in an addiction. Maybe it is to fight boredom. Maybe it is to get a rush. Whatever it is, you need to figure out what drives you to put your life on hold for an addiction. When you have it singled out, find healthy alternatives to receive the feelings that you crave.

Notice what is going on around you when you get an urge to partake in you addiction. If you figure out your trigger, you can plan to avoid any situation that will make you weak. In the beginning of the fight with addiction, you will need to stay away from obvious stressors and triggers in your life. Eventually, you can work up the strength to stare down the habit and walk away clean.

I am addicted to Smoking

The next step in this basic method comes in week two. Make a note every time you want to indulge in your addiction, and also make a note of what’s going on around you at the time. For example:

Cigarette craving 1:00

Just ate lunch

Smoked 1 cigarette

By keeping track of what happens when you have a craving or a need to do something, you can find your triggers, and make yourself realize what causes the urge – and then find a way around it. If you always have a cigarette after lunch, try something new in your routine for at least three weeks. For example, instead of going to a café where smoking is allowed, eat lunch at a different restaurant. Don’t give yourself time to smoke after you finish eating, either. Go right back to work. We are creatures of habit, and addictions are all about breaking these habits. Did you know that you can form a new habit in as little as 27 days? Don’t use chemical dependency as an excuse. Once the withdrawal phase is over, your road blocks are purely in your mind.

Addictive Gambling

Your new daily routines and habits should reflect your new life. Do not stay in the same patterns that you did while you were in full throws of addiction. This trap sets you up to fall back in to repeated patterns, including the ones that drove you to addiction. Vary what you do day to day. This will keep you open to better and more healthy life choices.

As you face your addiction, remember this fight will be for your life. You need to stay strong and take back control of your life. You can and will do it if you put your mind to it.

7 Steps to Sell Anything to Anyone

It’s astonishing to me when I have a discussion with most copywriters, marketers and entrepreneurs and they desperately look for the best approach to communicate or market a written message – when the most obvious tools are staring them right in the face.

What’s even more bewildering to me is that many of them have to look for the “best way” to motivate prospects to purchase their product or services – instead of first understanding what automatically actuates them to act.

If you haven’t judged what the most noticeable tools are that’s staring you right in the face, its unconscious psychological devices – more particularly, thethinking habits of every brain on the face of the planet earth.

Actually these Unconscious psychological devices are “motivations” of the mind that are engrafted deep within a person’s brain, and need only a simple “push button” trigger to set off an automatic response action from their brain in the form of placing an order, a demand for more information (generating leads), and/or a phone call or visit to the store or other place of business.

The idea of mind control has always been tempting to copywriters, salespeople, marketers and entrepreneurs. Why? Obviously, it gives the person who understands these psychological devices the privileged benefits to “push button” automatic fortunes.

If you’re a copywriter, in business or in the marketing arena who’s interested in specializing in this million dollar knowledge, you’re in luck because I’m going to share seven of them with you right here, and here they are:

1. Story– Everyone loves a good story

There’s something magical that occurs when you tell a story. The reader or listener has to become a participant in the story, in order to make sense of it. This is where you get them to FEEL, and almost realistically experience – in their imaginations, what you’re telling them. Unconsciously, this creates a memory and it is more difficult to overlook. Finally, it helps you make a bond with your prospect.

Practical application: Relate to your prospect and come up with a story that gives them imaginative reasons to use your product or service.

2. Time Distortion – “Pretending They Already Are”

Here’s the posture: “You already wish for and own this product and let me explain you what it’s like to.” Actually, what you’re doing is future
pacing their thinkings as if they are holding your product or service in
their hands. Employ simple descriptive phrases that enlighten a “sense” or “touch” response, and it instills in the mind of your prospects that they already own it. They will embark on to visualize the benefits of doing so all on their own.

Practical application: If you sell books, they are flipping through the pages. Electronics, they are applying this neat gizmo (pushing the buttons, twisting knobs etc). Cars, boats, anything – get in and drive it, grab the wheel.

3. Credibility – To Project Authority

Make what you say credible, and nothing hideous. Who is endorsing
your message? Do you have satisfied buyers of your products or services? What do they have to declare? Express that in your message. Show them experts approve your products. If it’s not authentic, your prospects are going to “pick up” on that. Reliability instills what you’re asserting is true, period. Just provide evidence.

Practical application: Request your clients for testimonials, even if you have to decently bribe them for one. Offer a discount, free sample, bonus, or report. In a sentence, the more credibility you create for you and your product or service, the more authentic the message becomes, and the less resistance they have when it comes to make a buying choice.

4. Urgency – To Act Now

Even if your sales message is expressively driven and potent — making
them feel like they want to buy, put a sense of urgency to emphasize
them to buy it now, and to not wait, period. Limited time offers, discounts won’t last, this deal won’t last long. No matter how commanding your sales message is, if they get away – after so long, the feeling and their buying decision erodes away their desire to buy now, until it’s gone.


Practical application: Bring forth a forceful reason to get your prospect to feel so compelled it’s totally necessary they must buy it now, because it’s urgent. Maybe employ “fear of loss.”

5. I Gave It To You Free, You’re Guilty – To Create The Return Effect

Ever found an offer in the mail of a free sample of a product? Ever visited a website and got 3 free chapters of a book? Giving away something to someone for free produces guilt, the feeling to return. If your friend buys you dinner, you might feel you should pay for the next time. It’s a natural instinct. When something’s given, the desire to give back is produced.


Practical application: Give away a free sample or freebie – anything for free. Make sure it is something of real value. After, suggest that you’ve given them something and how they’re one tuff nut to crack, because you’ve provided them something for free, and you haven’t heard back from them. Sit back, and watch them purchase…

6. Commit then remain Consistent – To Create Long-Term Friendships/Action

Here’s the posture: “If you’re purchasing from me now, we’re friends;
you’ll order more from me too.” You’ve acquired the customers’ confidence once you’ve laid down the first sale, and once they’re happy; make them happy again, and again. Buy something from the television and you’re almost always expected to buy more, it’s easy. Then, two months later, another offer from that same company rings on your phone in the other room, or the offer is waiting in your mail box when you get home. Normally, being a much higher priced product or service. Why not ask? You’re obviously qualified.


Practical application: If they buy once, get them to buy again and again. If you sell information memberships, sell all the tools and products that the membership consists of (improving your golf game membership website – sell golf clubs, balls, clothing, shoes etc.) If you sell them a book, sell them a home study course that’s more expensive.

7. Curiosity – To Keep Your Prospect Tuned In

Early in your sales presentation, promise what will happen when they
finish and complete your sales presentation, and keep them curious.
Curiosity is a powerful tool you can use to keep your prospect in suspense, and to search out the answers to satisfy that strong desire to “fill in” the missing information. Leave out certain information in your benefits that “trigger” the thought “What will happen if?”


Practical application: Instill and arouse curiosity early in your sales
presentation to cause your prospect to want to complete your message (i.e. tell them there’s a misspelled word in your sales copy, and if they can find it – they get a special deal. Ask them if they want to compelling benefit, and tell them they’ll find the answer as they continue to read, or pay attention to you.
As you’ve probably noticed, it’s infinitely more powerful to apply
these psychological devices in your presentation when you realize they all open the flood gates of a person’s brain, and deliver compelling emotions and complex thoughts and meaning. Anyone who comes across one of these seven applications will “undergo” the spell of this covert influence because it sparks response below a person’s surface awareness.

So, the only question to ask yourself is: “Are *you* going to use them?
To find out, simply go through the following checklist, and count the
number of items that apply to you.

1. You want more sales
2. You’re willing to look through your sales presentation making sure
each of these devices are applied
3. You prefer to *use* powerful knowledge over just “knowing it”
4. You want more power in your ability to influence others on
undetectable brain levels
5. You are curious and interested in creating more powerful
“unconscious” influence
6. Covert persuasion and influence doesn’t scare you and you’ll use it
to your advantage in ethical and judicious ways
7. You are willing to sit down and brainstorm how you can apply these
psychological devices to your sales presentations, even if only applying one device a day, because you know it’ll bring your more sales, and consequently, profits.

If at least 5 of the 7 above statements are true for you, then you’re
ready to use the most powerful form of undetectable communication that exists today. This is the best time to break into the covert persuasion and influence segment of communication.

17 Tips To Wake Up Early

Whether you are a consistent morning person, or a person who would normally wake up at a later time but are trying to train yourself to get going earlier in the day, there are certain tried and true tips that will get you moving in the morning. Here are 17 tips that will help you become the morning person you truly want to be!

1. Make sure that you have a really good reason to wake up early.This is the most important thing when it comes to rising at an early hour. If there is no motivating factor, you would probably just stay in bed. Make sure your reason is a good one. It helps to make a list.

2. Get stuff done in the AM. Make sure that you give yourself specific tasks to accomplish. If you don’t accomplish your tasks, you will be less likely to get up early next time. Make sure that you use your time effectively.




3. Make sure that you catch enough ZZZ’s the night before. If you are tired during the day, then getting up early may be causing more problems than it is fixing. Make sure that you get a full night’s rest. Go to sleep earlier, so then you can wake up early and feel rested!

4. Calculate how much sleep you will need. Make sure that you give yourself enough time to begin to get ready for bed so that you can wind down properly and still get enough sleep. Everyone needs a different amount of sleep, find what works for you!




5. Sleep Better. Many people need to sleep “better,” not just longer. Make sure that you have a high quality pillow and a relaxing environment.

6. Don’t hit snooze! Make sure that you put your clock far enough away so you have to get up. Don’t listen to the voice in your head that tells you to sleep in! Get up when you plan on to.

7. Get straight out of bed! When that alarm sounds, get a move on! The longer you stay in bed, the more likely it is that you will sleep in.

8. Use an alarm clock. Make your alarm loud, annoying and hard to turn off!

9. Get yourself on a good routine. Get your morning routine down pat. Make sure that you stick to early rising, even on the weekends.




10. Reward yourself.  
Give yourself a small incentive in the morning. Some time to relax or have a cup of coffee and have a quiet moment is always a good place to start.

11. Know what you lose by sleeping late. Make sure you understand why you are waking up early and what will happen negatively (less personal time, staying late at the office) if you sleep in.


12. Don’t allow yourself to sleep in. Schedule important things early in the morning so you have to be up and at ‘em.




13. Have an early wake up buddy. Develop a friend support system. If all of you vow to wake up early, you can help each other stick to the goal.

14. Create a reward for achieving this goal. A reward creates confidence and motivation.

15. Keep records. Mark down how many times you choose to sleep in to help you realize that it’s not “just this one time”.

16. Applaud yourself for everything you got done. You deserve it!

17. Try to avoid the stimulants that affect your sleep schedule, namely caffeine and alcohol, which completely destroys your sleep and quality of your sleep, which actually touches on your waking time.