Peak Pathway Magazine's Blog : career development forum

  1.   Begin with gratitude. Always start with thanksgiving;   be thankful   for what you already have and see the miracles that come from this one simple act. Next, you’ve got to challenge yourself to produce. Produce more ideas than you need for yourself so you can share and give your ideas away. That is called fruitfulness and abundance—it means working on producing more than you need for yourself so you can begin   blessing others, blessing your nation and blessing your enterprise. Once abundance starts to come, once someone becomes incredibly productive, it’s amazing what the numbers turn out to be. 2.   Dream it. Everything begins in the heart and mind. Every great achievement began in the mind of one person.   They dared to dream, to believe that it was possible. Take some time to allow yourself to ask,   What if?   Think big. Don’t let negative thinking discourage you. You want to be a “dreamer.” Dream of the possibilitie...

1. Age Age really is   just a number . Successful people don’t let their age define who they are and what they are capable of. Just ask Betty White or any young, thriving entrepreneur. I remember a professor in graduate school who told our class that we were all too young and inexperienced to do consulting work. He said we had to go work for another company for several years before we could hope to succeed as independent consultants. I was the youngest person in the class, and I sat there doing work for my consulting clients while he droned on. Without fail, people feel compelled to tell you what you should and shouldn’t do because of your age. Don’t listen to them. Successful people certainly don’t.   They follow their heart   and allow their passion—not the body they’re living in—to be their guide. 2. What Other People Think When your sense of pleasure and satisfaction are derived from comparing yourself to others, you are no longer the master of your own ...

1. Stick to your mission. In a startup especially, it is vital that every big decision you make is within the scope of your mission. You don’t have the mental or physical resources to spread your net too wide and still succeed. So always ask yourself which option best moves you toward your mission’s goal, and then the choice should be simple. 2. Set a time limit. Give yourself a timer   that helps you focus on the decision rather than having your mind wander and get distracted. With the pressure of a time limit, you’ll need to get to the heart of the matter faster and collect the pros and cons quickly, which you might not otherwise do. 3. Avoid decision fatigue. Decision fatigue saps focus and reduces mental energy. Hundreds of trivial daily decisions degrade our ability to focus. I try to systematize small decisions   so I don’t have to sweat the small stuff—task lists and mindful habit cultivation are key. When an important decision needs making, I’m ready ...

  Q: I tend to overthink certain decisions while I make others too quickly. Is there a formula for effective thinking? A: Yes, there is. Every problem is a thinking problem at its core. If you’re not getting the results you want or need, it probably has to do with your thought process. To change your results,   you need to be willing to change your ways. There are three kinds of thinking I suggest you adopt: no-excuses thinking, solution-oriented thinking and long-term thinking.   Avoid negative thinking—it takes up the same mental real estate as positive thoughts and pollutes your brain. Expand your thinking by asking four questions: 1. How can I? 2. Who else is doing it? (Can I benchmark and/or model it?) 3. What resources might I bring in or add to help me think more effectively? 4. What roadblocks do I need to eliminate beforehand? SOURCE:success.com

  1. Evaluate and reflect. The only way we can reasonably decide what we want in the future and how we’ll get there is to know where we are   right now   and what our current level of satisfaction is. So first, take some time to think through and write down your current situation; then ask this question on each key point:   Is that OK? The purpose of evaluation is twofold. First, it gives you an objective way to look at your accomplishments and your pursuit of the vision you have for life. Secondly, it shows you where you are so you can   determine where you need to go. Evaluation gives you a baseline to work from. Take a couple of hours this week to evaluate and reflect. See where you are and write it down so that as the months progress and you continue a regular time of evaluation and reflection, you will see just how much ground you’re gaining—and that will be exciting! Here’s how to evaluate and reflect. 2. Define your dreams and goals. One o...

Over the years, I’ve developed some ideas about effective goal setting, and I’d like to share those with you. I also want to point out some traps of goal-directed behavior that aren’t usually talked about but certainly ought to be. When I was a kid, I used to dream what it would be like to buy a ticket on a train and just go someplace. I didn’t really think about where I’d be going or how long it would take to get there. I just loved the idea of getting on the train and letting it take me somewhere. I guess there’s still something appealing about that idea, but it’s not really the way you should live your life as a mature human being. When you grow up, you buy a ticket on a train or a plane because you want to go someplace, and you know exactly where you’re going. You might have to change planes in a different city; your flight might be canceled; you might have to switch to another flight; you might not feel like talking to the person seated next to you. But you will persi...