Why You Aren’t Successful Yet?

At some point in time most of us have asked ourselves “Why am I not successful already?” Well, it’s an easy question to answer; simply because if it was we’d all be driving around in exotic cars, taking 3 month vacations to foreign countries, or exploring the open oceans on our million dollar yachts.

While this all may be; the real question you should be asking is “Have I been making the choices that will make me succeed in the future?” Being as none of us can foresee the future, the best thing to do is look at the options. What you can look at are if YOUR choices align with the choices of people that have already achieved success. Hence leading to our “5 common mistakes people are making that are preventing them from being successful.” The good news is that once you understand these mistakes, it is unbelievable how easy it is to change your mindset, and start making the same decisions many millionaires make every day!

The 5 Things Holding You Back

1) Not Setting Goals

Goal setting is something that everyone should do but most people don’t. When was the last time you wrote down your goals? I’m guessing it wasn’t recently and if it was they were probably small goals or a to do list. Goal setting is really about setting up big goals that challenge you. It’s about turning your dreams into something that is achievable.

If you are setting goals you are creating a roadmap to success. This road map will let you create big goals and big models that will push you to achieve things you couldn’t do before. Don’t go along with the crowd and ignore goal setting. Not setting goals is one of the big drivers in why you aren’t successful already.

2) Paying Yourself Last

Have you ever noticed that when you get a paycheck immediately everyone is asking for a part of it? You end up paying for taxes, food, housing, entertainment, and transportation. If there is anything left over at the end of the month you use that as you investment money if you are lucky. Most people have more month than money and that’s never a good thing. This is known as paying yourself last.

What you want to do is pay yourself first. Start off with a small percent (1-3%) and increase this until you are up to at least 10%. This is money you pay yourself first. It may be tough at first but over time you will adjust. This payment towards yourself should go into an investment that over time will pay you. It can be anything from school to real estate to stocks or even commodities. If you don’t know anything about investing find a professional that can help or if you’re more hands on you can learn yourself. Just remember that if you aren’t paying yourself no one else will. Don’t let others decide where your money is going.

3) Your Network Needs Improvement

Have you ever noticed that successful people hang out together? That’s not a coincidence. The successful people in society have learned that the people they associate with make a huge impact on their lives. This can be seen on the opposite end of the spectrum as well, unsuccessful people tend to spend most of their time with people that are also unsuccessful.

Take a look at the 5 people you spend most of your time with. Are these 5 people striving for greatness or have they accepted mediocrity? If they aren’t striving for greatness they are holding you back. This doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t talk with them. What this means is it is time to work on your network. The best way to do this is to find the type of person you want to be like and start spending time with them. One of the big goals you should be creating is finding a mentor that has already done the things you want to do. They can share advice and guide you on your way to success. If you don’t know where to find them look for clubs related to your interests. Don’t forget that you are the sum of the people you spend the most time with!

4) Lack of Education

Education is something that scares a lot of people. If someone randomly told me my lack of education was holding me back my first thought would probably be “but education is expensive”. That may be true in some cases but you don’t need formal education to create a better life for yourself.

One of the best ways to educate yourself is through reading. Books and eBooks are also a great way to get mentorship that I had mentioned before. You don’t need to meet someone to learn from them. If you read a book it gives you the opportunity to expand your mind by looking into the thoughts of someone who has experienced more. That seems like a great way to learn. You don’t even have to read now that audiobooks are easily accessible.

Another great way to learn is through online courses or certification programs. Some of the programs can cost money but others are free. Depending on what you are interested in you can Google courses and certifications and find what you are looking for.

To become successful you need to create a skill set that causes you to stand out from the crowd. These skills can be learned in many different ways. All you have to do is spend the time to educate yourself when others are wasting time.

5) Wasting Time

Wasting time is one of the biggest things holding people back. Have you ever tracked how much time you spend on social media or watching TV per day? It’s definitely something you should track because the average time on social media is up to 2 hours per day and TV is up to 5 hours. Can you imagine what you could do if you had an extra 2-7 hours per day to spend on achieving your dreams?

Instead of wasting your time, schedule out your day with time blocks. A time block is a 15+ minute time period that you set aside specifically for a task. I personally use 1 hour a day for reading. That time block is the same every day and has become a habit. Habits make things easier. Use these time blocks to create your goals/plans, expand your network, educate yourself, and learn to invest. Once you’re using your time properly you’ll be amazed at how much you can accomplish!

It’s Time to Become Successful

Success is not something that comes over night. It takes time to create habits and change your mindset. One of the best ways to go about becoming successful is to share your ideas. When you share your ideas you find people that are like you. Finding people like yourself allows you to build your network. You can even have people join in on your pursuit of excellence. These people will become your accountability partners. Teach them about how important it is to set goals. Show them how paying yourself first has allowed you to create extra income. Educate people on the topics that you’ve educated yourself on. Don’t forget to show them how much you have accomplished when you became accountable for your time. There is no limit to what you can do!

If you think you are ready to start making a difference your life and others share these concepts with your friends. Some of them may not like that you are trying to better your life but that’s ok. Find the people that want you to succeed and invite them on your journey. It’s time for you to create your own success and stop making excuses!

Using Daily Journals to Improve Your Life

Daily journaling is something that everyone should do. It is an easy task that can be done any time of day and it can really make a difference in your life. It’s sad but with all of the technology we have at our disposal people forget that expressing yourself privately can positively affect your life.

The simple act of writing down your thoughts daily can help keep you on track. You may be wondering how to journal and keep it interesting. Before we jump into tips about keeping a journal let’s talk about what makes it so important.

Why Journaling is Important

When I sat down and thought of what made journaling so important, I was able to come up with three reasons that I thought were most beneficial. These may not be the only reasons that people think journaling is important but they are a good place to start.

Solidify Ideas

It’s easy to come up with ideas but most of the time you forget them. If you take the time to write out your ideas it solidifies them in your mind. Not only that but you have a written copy of what you were thinking. This gives you the chance to explore your ideas more easily. It also gives you a chance to share those ideas with others.

Written Proof for Yourself

Depending on how you write your journal you can use the entries as proof that you accomplished something. It is a great feeling when you have a list of things to do and you can check things off. If you use your journaling to set goals for yourself you can keep track of your progress in your journal.

Making a Plan

Journals are a great place to write out your hopes and dreams. They are also a great place to turn those hopes and dreams into a plan. A dream with action becomes a plan. If you journal everyday then you will be able to make small goals for yourself everyday that will eventually lead up to the dreams you originally had. Your journal is a place to see yourself grow as a person.

These three reasons to journal are far from a complete list. You may sit down and think of ten, twenty, or even one-hundred reasons why you should journal. Each reason you come up with is just more proof that you should start today. Now you may be wondering what kinds of daily journals you can create for yourself.

What Kinds of Daily Journals Exist?

This is a very broad question to ask. There are in reality an unlimited number of journal types that you could write. The best kind of journal is going to fit into your daily life, your goals for yourself, and the writing skills that you have. Here are six journal ideas to get you started on your journey to journal everyday.

Daily Planner

A daily planner is one of the simplest types of journaling you can do. In a daily planner you will write out the things you need to get done on a certain day. The most efficient way to do a day planner is to schedule out your days either the night before or pick one day a week to write out your plans.

Dreams Journal

Dream journals are actually about the dreams you had the night before. This is an important journal because your dreams are a window into your subconscious mind. If you keep track of your dreams you can find patterns. These patterns can range from being over stressed, lack of sleep, disappointed with your job, or you could be excited about a special occasion coming up. If you track your dreams you will find patterns and you will be able to take advantage of knowing what your subconscious is thinking when your conscious mind isn’t.

Checklist

Checklists are a great way to keep track of all the tasks that you need to do. You don’t need to complete all the tasks on a checklist everyday. That being said you can use a different version of a checklist known as a priority list. This list is ordered from most important to least important. You can only do tasks in order there’s no skipping. This is a good way to keep productive. Make sure you are always working on the most important task.

Affirmation Journal

Using a journal to write positive affirmations is a great way to start and end your day. If you write down your affirmations everyday you will feel the difference instantly. Your days will feel more satisfying and you will be more productive. If you don’t know what an affirmation is check out this post.

Success Journal

A success journal will combine many aspects of the journals mentioned before. To use a success journal you are going to want to make goals, plans, checklists, affirmations and then take action. The reason for using a success journal is to get your ideas out of your head and then follow through. You want to use a success journal to give you a reason to take action. Make sure every time you use a success journal you feel inspired to do more.

Goal Setting Journal

A goal setting journal is a place for you to write down your goals. Start with the biggest goals you can think of and then break them down. You want to make goals that are hard to achieve but not impossible. The best way to do that is starting big and then taking actionable steps. If you want to be a millionaire you probably can’t go out tomorrow and make a million dollars. What you can do is go out tomorrow a make ten, fifty, or even one-hundred dollars to put towards you goal. If you don’t think making small amounts will make a difference go out and read a book about starting a business in something you are skilled at or maybe even learn to invest. A goal journal is there to help you find the next actionable step.

Build a Habit Out of Journaling

Now that we’ve mentioned a next actionable step, let’s talk about building the habit. Journaling everyday is not something that most people will be happy to jump into and do everyday. To make it easier you should build a habit. Habits are those things that you do without thinking about. How great would it be if you could journal on autopilot and get the same effect?

Creating a habit can be difficult but it is not impossible. Every time you repeat something you are training yourself to have a new habit. It takes time but eventually you can do things without thinking about it. Here are a few tips to creating your new habit of journaling daily.

1) When Will I Write My Journal?

Ask yourself when you have time to write out a journal. If you can’t think of a time to do it within your current schedule you are going to have to make changes. The best times of the day to journal are usually right when you wake up and right before you go to bed. Those are the times when you have the most new ideas or are most rested.

2) Schedule Out Writing Time 

Create a schedule for writing in your journal. By now you should know what time works best for you. Now mark it on your calendar or set a reminder on your phone telling you to journal. Make sure this is a repeating reminder. Until you can journal daily without a reminder this should always be active.

3) Accountability 

Hold yourself accountable, you are the only person that can control your life. If you want to create this habit you are going to need to be consistent. If it comes down to it take away something you enjoy every time you mess up with your new habit. You are trying to benefit your life so keep yourself accountable.

4) Reward Yourself

You managed to keep going with your new habit and stay accountable. That means you get to reward yourself for a job well done. This reward is for you so have some fun with it. Maybe you go out for a nice dinner, go out to a movie, or buying something you’ve had your eye on. Whatever it is make sure you feel like it’s a good reward for creating a habit that will improve your life.

Continue to Journal Even When it’s Tough

Journaling can be a hard thing to get started. It can even seem like an impossible task if you don’t like to write. Once you get started though you will realize the benefits almost immediately. Don’t give up on writing once you get started. Later in life you will be able to look back at all the progress you’ve made. Not only that but if you decide to write an autobiography or something writes a biography about you they will have all the information needed. You might think this is outlandish but remember you are journaling to become more successful. If you reach your goals someone will want to write about you. Never sell yourself short, especially when it comes to improving your life.

Journaling can be a hard thing to get into. If you found this post useful for getting started on your daily journal, take some time to subscribe to our newsletter. We send out weekly updates to make sure our community is ready for the next step in creating their own success. If you think others would be helped by this post don’t forget to share it on your favorite social media. Thanks for taking the time to read about journaling!