Benjamin P. Hardy's Blog, page 17

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You Don’t Need To Read Another Book. You Need A Bigger Goal.

Cliff Jump

“Reasons come first, answers second. It seems that life has a mysterious quirk of camouflaging the answers in such a way that they become apparent only to those who are inspired enough to look for them — who have reasons to look for them.” — Jim Rohn

Information consumption is on the rise. Rather than learning for the sake of doing something, people now “learn” because they think it will automatically make them successful.

Correlation doesn’t equal causation.

Reading lots of books won’t make you successful.

Reading lots of books will definitely help you become successful, if you already have a compelling reason to gain that learning. Without that reason and without a target, your learning will be distractive and directionless.

It is for this reason that Jim Rohn said, “Reasons come first, answers second.”

Which begs the question: What are you actually pursuing?

Are you pursuing something compelling enough to clarify what you need to learn and become?

Or, like most people, are you caught in the web of information-addiction? Of “ever learning” but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

In the book, Skin in the Game, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, “Things designed by people without skin in the game tend to grow in complication (before their final collapse).”

Taleb also said: “True intellect should not appear to be intellectual.”

Yet, we live in a world that prizes head-knowledge over courage and purpose. Ironically, true learning doesn’t come from acquiring information, but in reshaping how (and why) you live.

According to systems scientist and MIT professor, Peter Senge:

“It is tempting to think that just because one understands certain principles one has “learned” about the discipline. This is the familiar trap of confusing intellectual understanding with learning. Learning always involves new understandings and new behaviors, ‘thinking’ and ‘doing.’”

Similarly, Dr. Stephen Covey said, “To learn and not to do is really not to learn. To know and not to do is really not to know.”

Information and Wisdom Aren’t The Same

“Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?” — T.S. Eliot

Wisdom means you know what to pursue and why. It requires you actually live what you understand. You must be continually disrupting your own worldview by taking on bigger challenges in the real world — where the value of your thinking is put to the test.

Wisdom requires what Cal Newport calls, “Deep Work.” According to Newport, most things people pursue are shallow, rather than deep.

Shallow activities are easy to replicate. Almost anyone can do them. They require almost no bar of entry.

Reading books has become shallow work, because it is so easy to replicate. Anyone can pick up a book and read.

Few people, however, can pick up the right book at the right time and immediately test what they’ve learned for a specific purpose. Hence, Newport has, “Clarity about what matters provides clarity about what does not.”

Gathering information and “learning” for the sake of learning is a clear reflection that you do not have clarity about what truly matters to you.

Imagination Is More Important Than Knowledge

“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited, whereas imagination embraces the entire world, stimulating progress, giving birth to evolution.” — Albert Einstein

There’s a great show on Netflix called “Amazing Interiors” that I love watching with my three kids. The show is about houses that look completely normal on the outside, but once you get on the inside, these houses are ridiculous!

What’s fascinating to me about this show how much creativity and focus a person can put toward something if they know what they want.

There’s no shortage of human ability or resources. There is a shortage of imagination to actually do something with your life.

It doesn’t matter how much knowledge you have if you lack imagination to do something.

What do you actually want to do with your life?

What COULD you do?

What would be important or powerful to do?

In a recent interview, Kobe Bryant explained that the reason he was able to reach his level of success was because he was curious and imaginative.

You don’t become one of the best basketball players in history without imagination. Kobe himself admitted that when he first started, he wasn’t good. His first season playing basketball, he didn’t score a single point.

But his father instilled in him curiosity for what was possible. He helped Kobe develop an imagination that transcended what most people would tell him he could do.

According to Gold Medalist sprinter, Leroy Dixon, “Amateurs are the people who will tell you what you can’t do.”

If someone is telling you the limits of what you can pursue or strive for — they are projecting upon you their own limitations. They are amateurs and spectators.

Don’t listen to someone who doesn’t instill in you imagination for what is possible.

True Learning Is Emotional, Not Intellectual

“I’m attacking anything that I’m scared of.” — Will Smith

It’s easy to read books and look and sound smart. But what are you actually doing with your life?

What action are you actually taking?

What is the freaking point?

In reality, true learning is not even intellectual, but emotional. In order for an idea to actually mean something to you, it must strike at your deepest sides. It has to trigger an emotional response and replace your old perspectives of the world.

Your memory is your operating system to the world — it’s the lens through which you see and experience everything. All memory is tied to emotions. Core memories are based on deeply emotional experiences that then became your reason for believing and acting the way you do.

In order to shift your memories, you need to have deeply emotional experiences.

Recently, Will Smith bungee-jumped out of a helicopter over the Grand Canyon for his 50th birthday. Now, that may sound like a really bad idea. But to Smith, it reflects something much deeper.

When Smith was young, he learned about “the complete rejection of fear” when his father faced down a gang member who was parked outside their house with a gun on his dashboard, planning to shoot Will.

Hence, when Will Smith fears something, he doesn’t let it plague him. Instead, he confronts it boldly.

According to Seth Godin, we’re all mixed-up about what we should fear. Most people fear things that aren’t actually dangerous, but instead, are simply outside of our comfort zones.

The only way to truly learn something is by going beyond your comfort zone. Otherwise, there is no risk. There’s no putting your ideas or beliefs to the test.

It’s easy to believe something while sitting in your armchair. It’s a lot harder to believe something when the stakes are high. When you’re in public. When you could fail and that failure means more than that you didn’t get a few likes on your Facebook post.

Do you have skin in the game?

Are you actually confronting your fears?

Are you stepping outside of your story?

Are you pursuing something big enough that it terrifies you?

Are you pursuing something big enough that you’re required to learn and become something far more than you currently are?

How Steep Is Your Learning Curve?

“I think the ability of the average man could be doubled if it were demanded… if the situation demanded.” — Will Durant

According to learning expert and chess prodigy, Josh Waitzkin, a person’s potential is not based on their “intrinsic” abilities. But rather, a person’s potential is based on how steep their learning curve is.

Put simply, how steep is the mountain you’re currently climbing?

Are you confronting fears and challenges beyond your current skill-level daily because of what you’re pursuing?

Is your situation demanding far more of you than you’ve ever attempted before?

Are you regularly dealing with uncertainty? According to Tony Robbins, “The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably deal with.”

You can say whatever you want about Tony Robbins — but in this case, what he is saying is based completely upon scientific fact. In psychology, the concept known as “Tolerance For Ambiguity” has been shown to predict how successful a person will become.

When you have a high tolerance for ambiguity, you are fine dealing with the unknowns of trying something new. You have developed a tolerance for being outside of your comfort zone.

You’re fine being embarrassed for not knowing the answers.

You welcome imposter syndrome — knowing that if your’e feeling this thing, that you’re trying something big or new or challenging.

You’re seek awkward conversations that could lead to HUGE opportunities. As Tim Ferriss said, “A person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have.”

The greatest of all human fears is uncertainty. We really really like to be able to predict how things will turn out.

Uncertainty is the foundation of all fears. It’s what keeps people stuck. Navigating uncertainty is where true learning happens — not by sitting comfortably in your chair with a book.

Don’t get me wrong, books are great! Gaining head-knowledge is important for creativity and dealing with the mechanics of problems. But without emotional-intelligence and purpose, it doesn’t matter how much knowledge you have.

According to the Greeks, true knowledge is what they called “Gnosis,” which implies a type of knowledge that is derived from experience, and encompasses the whole of a person. That is, it is genuine knowledge of the truth. According to this definition of knowledge — reality and truth do not fit neatly into a concept, dogma, or theory. In order to have genuine Gnosis, knowledge and understanding are things that one must experience.

The steepness of your learning curve is entirely reflected in your current situation in life.

What type of goals are your currently pursuing?

What challenges are you facing on a daily basis that you’ve never had to face before?

How much are you actually learning — through human experience, not just staring at a screen or a page?

How much has your life actually changed in the past 12 months? According to the British philosopher, Alain de Botton, “Anyone who isn’t embarrassed of who they were last year probably isn’t learning enough.”

If your life isn’t radically different from where it was 12 months ago, you don’t have a steep learning curve.

You may be acquiring a lot of information, but you’re certainly not doing anything with it. You’re probably playing life more like an academic than a true practitioner and learner.

If you’re still the same person you were last year, then you’re not being put into the fire of experience. You’re not being required to show up and perform and solve problems and you’re not creating through imagination.

The reason most people stop succeeding at a certain point is that they start creating out of knowledge rather than imagination.

Conclusion: You Need Something Bigger To Work Toward

“Reasons come first, answers second. It seems that life has a mysterious quirk of camouflaging the answers in such a way that they become apparent only to those who are inspired enough to look for them — who have reasons to look for them.” — Jim Rohn

When you have a compelling reason, then you can start looking for the answers.

When you have HUGE goals that you’re pursuing, you become highly selective about what you learn. You only learn those things you can actually use and apply. You aren’t simply an armchair philosopher. You’re actually in the world trying to solve real problems.

You have skin in the game.

You’re TESTING your knowledge in the real world, not just in your head or in conversation.

You’re actually building something.

When was the last time you took MASSIVE action?

When was the last time you shocked your emotional system through exposing your fears, limitations, and weaknesses?

When was the last time you did something that might not work?

When was the last time you confronted some of the biggest fears that are currently holding you back?

At some point, you have to leave the theory behind and step outside of your comfort zone where you don’t know what will happen.

When was the last time you did that, even in a small way?

What would happen if you started facing your greatest fears in a big way?

What if you developed a tolerance for uncertainty?

What if you stopped worrying about what other people thought of you?

What if you stopped trying to look intelligent and instead tried to do something important?

What if you got extremely curious about what was possible?

What if you allowed your imagination and massive action to transform you into something far beyond what reason or logic would suggest?

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

How To Fully Commit To Goals That Terrify You

Gapingvoid Culture Wall“Nothing can resist a human will that will stake its existence on a purpose.” — Benjamin Disraeli

There’s a shift that must happen within. Something clicks-in and your brain and biology can never go back.

Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.”

Ideas can only truly catch hold if they are embedded within a deeply emotional experience that reshapes how you view your identity and purpose in life.

When an idea becomes your obsession and purpose — and it is highly personal to you — then you can take that idea and quickly turn it into a reality.

You don’t need to be defined by the norms and expectations of those around you. You don’t even have to play the same game as everyone else. You’re living in your own world and creating at will, whatever it is you want to see.

Jim Rohn said, “Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more good idea.”

You need an idea that shakes-you-up and stirs deep imagination. An idea that moves, inspires, and motivates you.

You need a splendid idea that actually embarrasses you, one in which you don’t want to share with others because you know they won’t understand.

Dan Sullivan, the founder of Strategic Coach, had such an idea. After coaching tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, and being a keen observer of life, Dan noticed that people often emotionally and mentally shut-down in their 70’s.

It’s like they expected it to happen, and it did. This led Dan to shift his emotional clock and he decided he was going to continue living in his 70’s as if he was in his 20’s. And that’s exactly what’s happening. At age 74, he’s innovating more than he ever has in his life. He’s writing 4 books annually, building out new businesses and programs regularly.

Emotionally and physically, he is operating as a person in their 20’s or 30’s. That’s where he’s chosen to live. And he expects to live far past 100. He actually expects to live to be 156 years old.

When that idea first came to his mind, it scared him. It embarrassed him. He kept it secret for 5 years. Then he started sharing it with people and it changed everything about how he and those he coaches approach their lives.

Are You Embarrassed By Your Goals? If Not, You’re Losing

If what you’re pursuing right now isn’t so big that you’d be embarrassed to share it with most of the people in your life, I challenge you to take a step back and really think about it.

Why would you play small?

Why pursue something that is seemingly logical to achieve?

Why pursue something that doesn’t require innovation and a redesign of the current system to have?

Buckminster Fuller said, “You never change things by fighting against the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.”

The traditional approach to life needs to be up-ended and replaced with something totally new.

When you replace your mental and emotional system with new ideas and new experiences, you literally can’t go back. The old system in which you were operating becomes obsolete. It actually vanishes and can no longer be re-accessed.

You can’t go back when you’ve had certain experiences and when certain ideas take hold.

The remainder of this article will break-down the process of reaching this personal point of no return — where your mind get stretched and can’t go back.

This is how you live your life on purpose. This is how you evolve by choice and how you go to the next level, over and over.

You reach your major goals and start getting bored.

“There are two tragedies in life: One is not getting your heart’s desire; The other is to get it.” — George Bernard Shaw

Whether you’re currently winning or losing in life — you will quickly adapt to your circumstances.

Human beings are highly adaptive. We can get bored very easily without having new things to pursue. The brain needs novelty to thrive, otherwise it quickly becomes stale. A sharp mind can dull quickly.

The worst thing you can do is try to keep things how they are. Growth requires offense — or what psychologists call an “approach-orientation” where you focus more on the rewards of a new future than the potential risks.

The worst thing you could do is have what psychologists call an “avoid-orientation,” where you focus most of your energy and thought on maintaining your current position or protecting your current status. You must advance, otherwise you’re going backwards.

You detach yourself from your prior success and status.

“I can’t go back to yesterday — because I was a different person then.” — Lewis Carroll

The only way to get to the next level is by letting go of who you’ve been. The longer you hold on, the smaller your thinking will be.

This is approach-oriented psychology. Don’t get stuck where you were. Be willing to banish the past — no matter how great — for a better future.

The mind and brain seek expansion and growth far more than stability and certainty. We are programmed and designed to solve complex situations and turn chaos into system.

If you’re not willing to embrace the chaos of rapid growth and change, then you’ll age physically and deteriorate mentally.

You start seeking lots of information to clarify your new vision.

“Kids should be allowed to break stuff more often. That’s a consequence of exploration. Exploration is what you do when you don’t know what you’re doing. That’s what scientists do every day.” — Neil deGrasse Tyson

Exploration and searching are key to discovering what is possible and what is out there. You don’t know what you don’t know.

You must be exposed to new universes to realize it’s possible to expand far beyond the current sphere in which you’ve found yourself.

How can you parlay what you’ve done and laterally-jump into a new world with new growth and bigger possibilities?

In the book, Smartcuts: How Hackers, Innovators, and Icons Accelerate Success, journalist Shane Snow explains that most of the United States Presidents spent less time in politics than the average congressman. Moreover, the best, and most popular Presidents, generally spent the least amount of time in politics. Rather than spending decades climbing the tedious ladder with glass ceilings, they simply jumped laterally from a different, non-political ladder.

As Snow distills, “Lateral thinking doesn’t replace hard work; it eliminates unnecessary cycles.”

You start looking at new role models to learn from and surpass.

“Wanna be a bodybuilder, compare yourself to Arnold. Wanna be an Actor, compare yourself to DiCaprio. Wanna be a musician, compare yourself to Rehman. Wanna be a dancer, compare yourself to Michael Jackson. Wanna make money, compare yourself to Musk. Wanna be a writer, compare yourself to Shakespeare. Wanna make the world a better place, compare yourself to the Mother Teresa.” — Dwija

As you begin developing new perspectives and possibilities, use your pattern recognition to develop taste. What is working in this new sphere and what is not working?

What is working extremely well?

There’s a lot of talk about how comparing yourself to others is a bad thing. It’s not. Trying to be someone else, however, is a very bad thing. Mimicry can quickly become idol-worship.

But being inspired by someone and learning from their mastery is not only a good thing, it’s essential to learning and growth.

Why not fast-track your process by holding your own to the same standards as those in the top of the industry? Actually, study the best so much and understand why it works so you can quickly innovate and evolve beyond it.

Don’t be an imitator. Be an innovator. In the book, The Lessons of History, Will and Ariel Durant explain that throughout history, most people lack the creativity and courage to innovate. They prefer to imitate what has worked, and thus never create anything original.

This makes absolute sense. Innovation requires a deep learning and sense of context — and a willingness to pursue ideas beyond that context which might not work. As Sir Ken Robinson in his important TED Talk, “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.”

Dan Sullivan explains that certain people are “Game Changers.” These people are industry transformers who don’t just work in a certain industry, they continually disrupt it.

If you’re not changing the game, then you’re playing someone else’s game. To repeat Buckminster Fuller: “You never change things by fighting against the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the old model obsolete.”

When was the last time you innovated and disrupted an entire industry?

When was the last time you innovated and disrupted your own life?

You begin to conceptualize your new ‘why.’

“Nothing can resist a human will that will stake its existence on a purpose.” — Benjamin Disraeli

As you begin to see benchmarks of what is possible in the form of various role-models from multiple domains, you begin to crystallize and clarify your personal WHY.

You’ll be able to have concrete concepts to point to in explaining what matters to you, where you’re going, and how you’re going to do it.

You go through long and deep periods of contemplation.

“To discern what is truly essential we need space to think, time to look and listen, permission to play, wisdom to sleep, and the discipline to apply highly selective criteria to the choices we make.” — Greg McKeown

As your crystallizing your WHY — and future goals and plans — you’ll be spending lots of time by yourself. You’ll be out in your own personal desert really connecting and preparing yourself for the next Everest you’re about to climb.

You’ve already mentally and emotionally disconnected from your past outcomes and identity. You’ve already emotionally-connected to your new WHY and dreams. But you just need to settle it at the biological-level, where your body and brain are prepared and expect what’s about to happen next.

You make micro-commitments to force yourself forward.

“A forcing function is any task, activity or event that forces you to take action and produce a result.” — Dan Martell

You then begin turning your vision into a reality as quickly as possible.

You begin telling people what’s next. You begin making changes to your environment and relationships that reflect the old you and old vision.

Your environment, language, behavior, and life begin to quickly reshape themselves to match the new reality you’ve spiritually and emotionally created.

You begin making investments in the new and bigger vision.

“Invest in yourself. You can afford it. Trust me.” — Rashon Carraway

Gapingvoid Culture Wall

You create a point of no return and solidify the new vision through financial investment. There’s no looking back. There’s no going back.

You couldn’t go back mentally if you wanted to. But now you’re positioning your life for the next big climb. You’ve just increased your emotional-commitment 10-fold by putting big pieces in place.

According to former Shark Tank Shark, Kevin Harrington, “Exponential thinkers do not hire who they can afford. They hire who can get the job done.”

The question is, how big are you willing to play?

Eben Pagan has a concept he calls “Inevitability Thinking,” which he defines as “Thinking and acting as if what you are doing is a forgone conclusion because you set up the conditions for it to happen.”

Are you willing to set up conditions that make success inevitable?

Are you ready to get hyper approach-oriented, where you focus on rewards over risks?

You have a new end-point that excites and inspires you.

“There are only three requirements for success. First, decide exactly what it is you want in life. Second, determine the price that you are going to have to pay to get the things you want. And third, and this is most important, resolve to pay that price.” — H.L. Hunt, billionaire

The focus on risks over rewards isn’t just a fun idea that entrepreneurs throw around. It’s actually the basis of one of the most studied theories of motivation in psychology, known as Expectancy Theory.

According to the theory, three things must be in place for a person to have extreme and uncommon levels of motivation:

You must believe the reward (the ‘WHY’) of a particular goal is important, meaningful, and compelling.You must believe that you know how (clear strategies/plans/people) to achieve your goal.You must believe that you can execute the plans, strategies, and pivoting involved in achieving the goal.

The rewards you seek must be deeply motivating and personally fulfilling. They have to mean something to you on a cosmic and existential level. They have to connect with your deepest identity and belief system about the purpose of your existence.

You must want it so badly that you have what psychologists call “pull motivation,” which is where you cannot stop pursuing what you’re after. The philosopher Rumi says it best: “What you seek is seeking you.”

You cannot compete with people who have this level of purpose. Willpower cannot compete with WHY-power. Don’t even try.

You begin surrounding yourself with people way beyond where you currently are.

“Don’t join an easy crowd; you won’t grow. Go where the expectations and the demands to perform are high.” — Jim Rohn

You begin doing work that matches the future vision you seek to create. It’s at a different level than has been seen before. Quickly, you learn to surround yourself with people who are operating at quantum levels above what you’ve been conditioned.

You quickly adapt to their systems of thought and emotion. Your new normal has fundamentally changed, as has the fiber of your being. Your new environment demands that you continue playing at the level you seek.

Life continually becomes more and more of a game and less of a grind. The rules are increasingly tilted in your favor because you are designing them.

You take the leap and never look back.

“There is a point at which everything becomes simple and there is no longer any question of choice, because all you have staked will be lost if you look back. Life’s point of no return.” — Dag Hammarskjold

Gapingvoid Culture Wall

Have you taken the leap?

Have you crossed your point of no return?

Is your mind stretched by new experiences and new ideas?

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

How To Fully Commit To Goals That Terrify You was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Yes!!!

Yes!!!

18 Quotes That (if applied) Will Make You More Successful

Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash

Success isn’t what you have, what you’ve accomplished, or who you are.

Being successful means that you are continually pushing new boundaries internally and externally. You’re never allowing yourself to get stuck. You never give up nor give in. You continually live life how you genuinely believe you should, regardless of what other people say and regardless of what has happened to you in the past.

Of the few who succeed, far fewer maintain success. By even living congruently and courageously for a short period of time (we’re talking a few years), you’ll quickly stand-out. You’ll quickly become an outlier.

And this is where things get really confusing. The remainder of this article provides deeply insightful quotes explaining why few people who become successful stay successful.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

You get in life what you’re willing to tolerate. Most people are fine tolerating pain and uncertainty. The world is filled with people with suppressed trauma, negative relationships, and buried dreams.

Adversity is common, and can be endured. Having power and success is not common and is rarely endured. Usually, the moment someone has some form of power, their ego inflates. They begin to exercise their authority for their own benefit rather than the benefit of those they should be serving.

“He became so powerful … the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did.” — Chancellor Palpatine

When most people find themselves in a position of power, their motivation shifts from offense to defense. They over-attach themselves to their identity and success. Their sole motivation becomes maintaining their current position and status. They then begin creating from that identity, rather than from the future they seek to create. This, of course, isn’t actually creativity — because true creativity and art require attempting something beyond what you’ve currently done that will likely fail.

You can’t do anything power solely playing defense. You can’t act in power if you’re afraid to lose what you currently have. Leadership requires courage. You have to be willing to do what is right, regardless of the outcome. Those who cling to tightly to what they think they are and have will lose it.

“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” — Robert Brault

The worst thing that could happen for most people is to succeed. Once they succeed, their focus shifts from continuing to learn and expand to replicating prior results.

They stop pursuing their real dream and get caught up trying to maintain the small morsels of success they’ve acquired. Their vision shrinks to something so much smaller and easier than they initially set out to achieve.

“We start off with such great ambition, assuming that nothing will stand in the way of us accomplishing our goals. And in this great land of opportunity, if we study and work hard, we have an excellent chance of becoming successful. We will achieve our goals. Which could be the worst thing that will ever happen to us. Because when we achieve our goals, we often arrive at the land of contentment, and never realize that if we were to take off and fly again, we could achieve so much more. As George Bernard Shaw said, ‘There are two tragedies in life: One is not getting your heart’s desire; The other is to get it.’ It is a virtue to be content with what we have, but a vice to be content with what we are. Too many people congeal at some point in their lives. They reach a point where they don’t want to change anymore. They become content with what they have become and their belief about their potential congeals like cooking fat getting cold in the bottom of a frying pan. A human mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s even more tragic when the mind is one that was successful in the past but is now congealing in contentment.” — Roger Dawson

When someone succeeds to a certain degree, their growth mindset often shifts to a fixed-mindset. They stop wanting to push themselves further. They drift into complacency and a mind that was once sharp dulls into apathy.

“Success is a catalyst for failure.” — Greg McKeown

Success becomes a catalyst for failure because “success” isn’t something you’ve accomplished. It’s something you create. And the only way you can create something of true value is by being a deep student.

Most people stop being true students after they’ve succeeded, even in small degrees. They begin to ‘rest on their laurels’ — being so satisfied with what one has already achieved that one makes no further effort.

Additionally, with increased success often follows over-confidence and lack of focus. You stop putting in the time. You stop taking risks. You over-attach yourself and look more and more to the past and what you’ve achieved. You stop focusing on the future and what you want to achieve. You start listening to other people’s ideas and comments and stop listening to your own voice.

Success is a suppressant to creativity, if you attach to it rather than use it as a vehicle to push your boundaries even further.

“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” — Condoleezza Rice

Because you’ve succeeded in the past, you become attached to what you’ve accomplished. That becomes your identity and security. You live in the past and use your prior accomplishments to get validation from others.

You become a “former” something — whether that be Olympian, entrepreneur, author, etc. Whatever it is, if you are the former anything, it means you aren’t doing anything now. You’re not pushing new boundaries. You’ve lost the spirit of adventure. You quit.

“The moment you have arrived is the perfect time to start out again.” — Dan Sullivan

The world continually changes. Evolution requires growth and change. When you succeed big at something, don’t sit there for long. You can only be new once.

The biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make is that they hold on to their company far too long before selling it. Their thick skin becomes thin skin and they don’t want to venture back out into the world of creation and the unknown.

The moment you succeed is the moment you begin something new. Take what you’ve learned and transfer it. Take your confidence and belief that you can make big things happen and continue to push your boundaries. Be willing to give up temporary rewards for something much bigger in the future.

“The way to enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Don’t linger too long at the table of success, the only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.” — Jim Rohn

Learning is intended to take you to higher levels. Strangely, though, when someone learns something and turns it to success, they stop learning. They stop being hungry. They don’t allow what they’ve learned to stimulate their imagination to bigger realms of potential.

When you’ve succeeded at something, don’t dwell their long. Nothing lasts forever, and the harder you try to hold onto something, the faster it will fade from your fingertips.

Walk away while you’re ahead. Look ahead to bigger vistas. Take what you’ve learned and acquired and direct it at something 10X or 100X bigger. Few people would be willing to walk away from what you’ll walk away from. But the again, few can see the next huge mountain you’re about to climb.

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” — Marissa Meyer

If you’re succeeding big, that probably means you’re swimming in too small of a pool. You need a bigger pool to swim in. You need to get back to being the small fish who is completely humbled by everything and everyone around you.

Don’t stay the smartest person in your room for long. Remove the ego. Walk out of that room and start over. It’s not about how smart you are. It’s about how steep your learning curve is.

“To keep up with the world of 2050, you will need to do more than merely invent new ideas and products, but above all, reinvent yourself again and again.” — Yuval Noah Harari

If you get over-attached to any outcomes you’ve had — whether good or bad — you’re stuck. If you get attached to a particular identity or role you’ve played — you’re stuck.

The world is now changing far too fast to get over-attached to anything you’ve done or anyone you’ve been. Don’t ever be the former anything. Be willing to re-invent yourself over and over.

“Always make your future bigger than your past.” — Dan Sullivan

The only way your future can be bigger than your past is if you’re willing to destroy your past for something bigger and better.

You have to continually stretch your mind for what is possible. You must be willing to fail. You must keep learning and expanding. In order for your future to be bigger than your past, your focus must be on your future, not your past.

Don’t worry about your past — whether good or bad. Use what you’ve learned, but never stop pushing your boundaries.

“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” — Susan Anthony

What other people think about you is none of your business. The worst thing you could do is care what your colleagues think of you. If you care too much about your reputation or “status,” then any success you’ve had in the past will not be replicated to higher degrees in the future.

You must be willing to throw-off your reputation. You must be willing to fail. You must be fine losing everything you’ve gained. Because for you, you’re not attached to the outcomes or identities of your past. For you, the only thing that makes sense is following the voice inside compelling you to continually learn and grow — whatever that looks like.

“What got you here won’t get you there.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

What got you to this point is not what is going to get you to the next point of success.

This is a fact.

You can’t stay where you are.

You must learn something new if you’re too get to higher and new levels.

“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” — Leonardo Dicaprio

If you’re not willing to become a new person, then you will remain where you are. Commitment to big dreams demands that you become the type of person who can create those dreams. Success is something you create and attract based on the person you become.

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — Sir Ken Robinson

Few people really want to do something original. They’d rather be comfortable and content. To them, having nice things and having “status” is more important than pushing boundaries.

most people are imitators, not innovators. It takes courage to change the game, rather then merely play it.

For the few people who are truly artists, inventors, and movers — you must be willing to be wrong. Again, this hunger and willingness to learn at whatever the cost usually goes away after some level of achievement or comfort has been reached.

“If you’re willing to do something that might not work, you’re closer to becoming an artist.” — Seth Godin

If you’ve stopped being willing to be wrong, you’re not an artist. You’re a sell-out. Being an artist doesn’t mean that you aren’t also a scientist. You certainly don’t have to starve. And you certainly don’t have to focus purely on the process and ignore outcomes — that form of ego is probably worse than those seeking success for success’ sake.

Be an artist in that you never stop giving you best and most generous and personal work. Be a scientist such that you care enough about your art to get it to into the hands of the right people.

“Beyond a certain point, there is no return. This point has to be reached.” — Franz Kafka

Wherever you are right now, in order to get where you’re going, you will need to pass a point of no return. This will take tremendous courage and commitment. Complete commitment and investment actually. In order to transcend your current identity and take on the new role of your bigger future, you’ll need to put yourself in a position where going back is no longer an option.

“Expect everything and attach to nothing!” — Carrie Campbell

Expect success. What you expect is usually what happens. The higher the expectation, the more likely the self-fulfilling prophecy. However, no matter what happens, don’t attach yourself to the outcome. Don’t attach your identity to what happens.

Remain fully attached to your vision and your sense of complete integrity to yourself and what you feel inspired to do.

Will you continue forward, never stopping and growing and evolving? Or like most, will you stop at some point and shrivel?

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

18 Quotes That (if applied) Will Make You More Successful was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

18 Things You Must Know Before Becoming Successful

Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash

Success isn’t what you have, what you’ve accomplished, or who you are.

Being successful means that you are continually pushing new boundaries internally and externally. You’re never allowing yourself to get stuck. You never give up nor give in. You continually live life how you genuinely believe you should, regardless of what other people say and regardless of what has happened to you in the past.

Of the few who succeed, far fewer maintain success. By even living congruently and courageously for a short period of time (we’re talking a few years), you’ll quickly stand-out. You’ll quickly become an outlier.

And this is where things get really confusing. The remainder of this article provides deeply insightful quotes explaining why few people who become successful stay successful.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

You get in life what you’re willing to tolerate. Most people are fine tolerating pain and uncertainty. The world is filled with people with suppressed trauma, negative relationships, and buried dreams.

Adversity is common, and can be endured. Having power and success is not common and is rarely endured. Usually, the moment someone has some form of power, their ego inflates. They begin to exercise their authority for their own benefit rather than the benefit of those they should be serving.

“He became so powerful … the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did.” — Chancellor Palpatine

When most people find themselves in a position of power, their motivation shifts from offense to defense. They over-attach themselves to their identity and success. Their sole motivation becomes maintaining their current position and status. They then begin creating from that identity, rather than from the future they seek to create. This, of course, isn’t actually creativity — because true creativity and art require attempting something beyond what you’ve currently done that will likely fail.

You can’t do anything power solely playing defense. You can’t act in power if you’re afraid to lose what you currently have. Leadership requires courage. You have to be willing to do what is right, regardless of the outcome. Those who cling to tightly to what they think they are and have will lose it.

“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” — Robert Brault

The worst thing that could happen for most people is to succeed. Once they succeed, their focus shifts from continuing to learn and expand to replicating prior results.

They stop pursuing their real dream and get caught up trying to maintain the small morsels of success they’ve acquired. Their vision shrinks to something so much smaller and easier than they initially set out to achieve.

“We start off with such great ambition, assuming that nothing will stand in the way of us accomplishing our goals. And in this great land of opportunity, if we study and work hard, we have an excellent chance of becoming successful. We will achieve our goals. Which could be the worst thing that will ever happen to us. Because when we achieve our goals, we often arrive at the land of contentment, and never realize that if we were to take off and fly again, we could achieve so much more. As George Bernard Shaw said, ‘There are two tragedies in life: One is not getting your heart’s desire; The other is to get it.’ It is a virtue to be content with what we have, but a vice to be content with what we are. Too many people congeal at some point in their lives. They reach a point where they don’t want to change anymore. They become content with what they have become and their belief about their potential congeals like cooking fat getting cold in the bottom of a frying pan. A human mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s even more tragic when the mind is one that was successful in the past but is now congealing in contentment.” — Roger Dawson

When someone succeeds to a certain degree, their growth mindset often shifts to a fixed-mindset. They stop wanting to push themselves further. They drift into complacency and a mind that was once sharp dulls into apathy.

“Success is a catalyst for failure.” — Greg McKeown

Success becomes a catalyst for failure because “success” isn’t something you’ve accomplished. It’s something you create. And the only way you can create something of true value is by being a deep student.

Most people stop being true students after they’ve succeeded, even in small degrees. They begin to ‘rest on their laurels’ — being so satisfied with what one has already achieved that one makes no further effort.

Additionally, with increased success often follows over-confidence and lack of focus. You stop putting in the time. You stop taking risks. You over-attach yourself and look more and more to the past and what you’ve achieved. You stop focusing on the future and what you want to achieve. You start listening to other people’s ideas and comments and stop listening to your own voice.

Success is a suppressant to creativity, if you attach to it rather than use it as a vehicle to push your boundaries even further.

“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” — Condoleezza Rice

Because you’ve succeeded in the past, you become attached to what you’ve accomplished. That becomes your identity and security. You live in the past and use your prior accomplishments to get validation from others.

You become a “former” something — whether that be Olympian, entrepreneur, author, etc. Whatever it is, if you are the former anything, it means you aren’t doing anything now. You’re not pushing new boundaries. You’ve lost the spirit of adventure. You quit.

“The moment you have arrived is the perfect time to start out again.” — Dan Sullivan

The world continually changes. Evolution requires growth and change. When you succeed big at something, don’t sit there for long. You can only be new once.

The biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make is that they hold on to their company far too long before selling it. Their thick skin becomes thin skin and they don’t want to venture back out into the world of creation and the unknown.

The moment you succeed is the moment you begin something new. Take what you’ve learned and transfer it. Take your confidence and belief that you can make big things happen and continue to push your boundaries. Be willing to give up temporary rewards for something much bigger in the future.

“The way to enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Don’t linger too long at the table of success, the only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.” — Jim Rohn

Learning is intended to take you to higher levels. Strangely, though, when someone learns something and turns it to success, they stop learning. They stop being hungry. They don’t allow what they’ve learned to stimulate their imagination to bigger realms of potential.

When you’ve succeeded at something, don’t dwell their long. Nothing lasts forever, and the harder you try to hold onto something, the faster it will fade from your fingertips.

Walk away while you’re ahead. Look ahead to bigger vistas. Take what you’ve learned and acquired and direct it at something 10X or 100X bigger. Few people would be willing to walk away from what you’ll walk away from. But the again, few can see the next huge mountain you’re about to climb.

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” — Marissa Meyer

If you’re succeeding big, that probably means you’re swimming in too small of a pool. You need a bigger pool to swim in. You need to get back to being the small fish who is completely humbled by everything and everyone around you.

Don’t stay the smartest person in your room for long. Remove the ego. Walk out of that room and start over. It’s not about how smart you are. It’s about how steep your learning curve is.

“To keep up with the world of 2050, you will need to do more than merely invent new ideas and products, but above all, reinvent yourself again and again.” — Yuval Noah Harari

If you get over-attached to any outcomes you’ve had — whether good or bad — you’re stuck. If you get attached to a particular identity or role you’ve played — you’re stuck.

The world is now changing far too fast to get over-attached to anything you’ve done or anyone you’ve been. Don’t ever be the former anything. Be willing to re-invent yourself over and over.

“Always make your future bigger than your past.” — Dan Sullivan

The only way your future can be bigger than your past is if you’re willing to destroy your past for something bigger and better.

You have to continually stretch your mind for what is possible. You must be willing to fail. You must keep learning and expanding. In order for your future to be bigger than your past, your focus must be on your future, not your past.

Don’t worry about your past — whether good or bad. Use what you’ve learned, but never stop pushing your boundaries.

“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” — Susan Anthony

What other people think about you is none of your business. The worst thing you could do is care what your colleagues think of you. If you care too much about your reputation or “status,” then any success you’ve had in the past will not be replicated to higher degrees in the future.

You must be willing to throw-off your reputation. You must be willing to fail. You must be fine losing everything you’ve gained. Because for you, you’re not attached to the outcomes or identities of your past. For you, the only thing that makes sense is following the voice inside compelling you to continually learn and grow — whatever that looks like.

“What got you here won’t get you there.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

What got you to this point is not what is going to get you to the next point of success.

This is a fact.

You can’t stay where you are.

You must learn something new if you’re too get to higher and new levels.

“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” — Leonardo Dicaprio

If you’re not willing to become a new person, then you will remain where you are. Commitment to big dreams demands that you become the type of person who can create those dreams. Success is something you create and attract based on the person you become.

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — Sir Ken Robinson

Few people really want to do something original. They’d rather be comfortable and content. To them, having nice things and having “status” is more important than pushing boundaries.

For the few people who are truly artists, inventors, and movers — you must be willing to be wrong. Again, this hunger and willingness to learn at whatever the cost usually goes away after some level of achievement or comfort has been reached.

Don’t fall for this. Never stop learning. Never stop being willing to be wrong. Failure is feedback. Learning is the purpose of life. Creation, innovation, and evolution are what we were born for.

“If you’re willing to do something that might not work, you’re closer to becoming an artist.” — Seth Godin

If you’ve stopped being willing to be wrong, you’re not an artist. You’re a sell-out. Being an artist doesn’t mean that you aren’t also a scientist. You certainly don’t have to starve. And you certainly don’t have to focus purely on the process and ignore outcomes — that form of ego is probably worse than those seeking success for success’ sake.

Be an artist in that you never stop giving you best and most generous and personal work. Be a scientist such that you care enough about your art to get it to into the hands of the right people.

“Beyond a certain point, there is no return. This point has to be reached.” — Franz Kafka

Wherever you are right now, in order to get where you’re going, you will need to pass a point of no return. This will take tremendous courage and commitment. Complete commitment and investment actually. In order to transcend your current identity and take on the new role of your bigger future, you’ll need to put yourself in a position where going back is no longer an option.

“Expect everything and attach to nothing!” — Carrie Campbell

Expect success. What you expect is usually what happens. The higher the expectation, the more likely the self-fulfilling prophecy. However, no matter what happens, don’t attach yourself to the outcome. Don’t attach your identity to what happens.

Remain fully attached to your vision and your sense of complete integrity to yourself and what you feel inspired to do.

Will you continue forward, never stopping and growing and evolving? Or like most, will you stop at some point and shrivel?

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

18 Things You Must Know Before Becoming Successful was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How To Go From Successful To Very Successful (and why few can do it)

Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash

Success isn’t what you have, what you’ve accomplished, or who you are.

Being successful means that you are continually pushing new boundaries internally and externally. You’re never allowing yourself to get stuck. You never give up nor give in. You continually live life how you genuinely believe you should, regardless of what other people say and regardless of what has happened to you in the past.

Of the few who succeed, far fewer maintain success. By even living congruently and courageously for a short period of time (we’re talking a few years), you’ll quickly stand-out. You’ll quickly become an outlier.

And this is where things get really confusing. The remainder of this article provides deeply insightful quotes explaining why few people who become successful stay successful.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

You get in life what you’re willing to tolerate. Most people are fine tolerating pain and uncertainty. The world is filled with people with suppressed trauma, negative relationships, and buried dreams.

Adversity is common, and can be endured. Having power and success is not common and is rarely endured. Usually, the moment someone has some form of power, their ego inflates. They begin to exercise their authority for their own benefit rather than the benefit of those they should be serving.

“He became so powerful … the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did.” — Chancellor Palpatine

When most people find themselves in a position of power, their motivation shifts from offense to defense. They over-attach themselves to their identity and success. Their sole motivation becomes maintaining their current position and status. They then begin creating from that identity, rather than from the future they seek to create. This, of course, isn’t actually creativity — because true creativity and art require attempting something beyond what you’ve currently done that will likely fail.

You can’t do anything power solely playing defense. You can’t act in power if you’re afraid to lose what you currently have. Leadership requires courage. You have to be willing to do what is right, regardless of the outcome. Those who cling to tightly to what they think they are and have will lose it.

“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” — Robert Brault

The worst thing that could happen for most people is to succeed. Once they succeed, their focus shifts from continuing to learn and expand to replicating prior results.

They stop pursuing their real dream and get caught up trying to maintain the small morsels of success they’ve acquired. Their vision shrinks to something so much smaller and easier than they initially set out to achieve.

“We start off with such great ambition, assuming that nothing will stand in the way of us accomplishing our goals. And in this great land of opportunity, if we study and work hard, we have an excellent chance of becoming successful. We will achieve our goals. Which could be the worst thing that will ever happen to us. Because when we achieve our goals, we often arrive at the land of contentment, and never realize that if we were to take off and fly again, we could achieve so much more. As George Bernard Shaw said, ‘There are two tragedies in life: One is not getting your heart’s desire; The other is to get it.’ It is a virtue to be content with what we have, but a vice to be content with what we are. Too many people congeal at some point in their lives. They reach a point where they don’t want to change anymore. They become content with what they have become and their belief about their potential congeals like cooking fat getting cold in the bottom of a frying pan. A human mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s even more tragic when the mind is one that was successful in the past but is now congealing in contentment.” — Roger Dawson

When someone succeeds to a certain degree, their growth mindset often shifts to a fixed-mindset. They stop wanting to push themselves further. They drift into complacency and a mind that was once sharp dulls into apathy.

“Success is a catalyst for failure.” — Greg McKeown

Success becomes a catalyst for failure because “success” isn’t something you’ve accomplished. It’s something you create. And the only way you can create something of true value is by being a deep student.

Most people stop being true students after they’ve succeeded, even in small degrees. They begin to ‘rest on their laurels’ — being so satisfied with what one has already achieved that one makes no further effort.

Additionally, with increased success often follows over-confidence and lack of focus. You stop putting in the time. You stop taking risks. You over-attach yourself and look more and more to the past and what you’ve achieved. You stop focusing on the future and what you want to achieve. You start listening to other people’s ideas and comments and stop listening to your own voice.

Success is a suppressant to creativity, if you attach to it rather than use it as a vehicle to push your boundaries even further.

“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” — Condoleezza Rice

Because you’ve succeeded in the past, you become attached to what you’ve accomplished. That becomes your identity and security. You live in the past and use your prior accomplishments to get validation from others.

You become a “former” something — whether that be Olympian, entrepreneur, author, etc. Whatever it is, if you are the former anything, it means you aren’t doing anything now. You’re not pushing new boundaries. You’ve lost the spirit of adventure. You quit.

“The moment you have arrived is the perfect time to start out again.” — Dan Sullivan

The world continually changes. Evolution requires growth and change. When you succeed big at something, don’t sit there for long. You can only be new once.

The biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make is that they hold on to their company far too long before selling it. Their thick skin becomes thin skin and they don’t want to venture back out into the world of creation and the unknown.

The moment you succeed is the moment you begin something new. Take what you’ve learned and transfer it. Take your confidence and belief that you can make big things happen and continue to push your boundaries. Be willing to give up temporary rewards for something much bigger in the future.

“The way to enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Don’t linger too long at the table of success, the only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.” — Jim Rohn

Learning is intended to take you to higher levels. Strangely, though, when someone learns something and turns it to success, they stop learning. They stop being hungry. They don’t allow what they’ve learned to stimulate their imagination to bigger realms of potential.

When you’ve succeeded at something, don’t dwell their long. Nothing lasts forever, and the harder you try to hold onto something, the faster it will fade from your fingertips.

Walk away while you’re ahead. Look ahead to bigger vistas. Take what you’ve learned and acquired and direct it at something 10X or 100X bigger. Few people would be willing to walk away from what you’ll walk away from. But the again, few can see the next huge mountain you’re about to climb.

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” — Marissa Meyer

If you’re succeeding big, that probably means you’re swimming in too small of a pool. You need a bigger pool to swim in. You need to get back to being the small fish who is completely humbled by everything and everyone around you.

Don’t stay the smartest person in your room for long. Remove the ego. Walk out of that room and start over. It’s not about how smart you are. It’s about how steep your learning curve is.

“To keep up with the world of 2050, you will need to do more than merely invent new ideas and products, but above all, reinvent yourself again and again.” — Yuval Noah Harari

If you get over-attached to any outcomes you’ve had — whether good or bad — you’re stuck. If you get attached to a particular identity or role you’ve played — you’re stuck.

The world is now changing far too fast to get over-attached to anything you’ve done or anyone you’ve been. Don’t ever be the former anything. Be willing to re-invent yourself over and over.

“Always make your future bigger than your past.” — Dan Sullivan

The only way your future can be bigger than your past is if you’re willing to destroy your past for something bigger and better.

You have to continually stretch your mind for what is possible. You must be willing to fail. You must keep learning and expanding. In order for your future to be bigger than your past, your focus must be on your future, not your past.

Don’t worry about your past — whether good or bad. Use what you’ve learned, but never stop pushing your boundaries.

“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” — Susan Anthony

What other people think about you is none of your business. The worst thing you could do is care what your colleagues think of you. If you care too much about your reputation or “status,” then any success you’ve had in the past will not be replicated to higher degrees in the future.

You must be willing to throw-off your reputation. You must be willing to fail. You must be fine losing everything you’ve gained. Because for you, you’re not attached to the outcomes or identities of your past. For you, the only thing that makes sense is following the voice inside compelling you to continually learn and grow — whatever that looks like.

“What got you here won’t get you there.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

What got you to this point is not what is going to get you to the next point of success.

This is a fact.

You can’t stay where you are.

You must learn something new if you’re too get to higher and new levels.

“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” — Leonardo Dicaprio

If you’re not willing to become a new person, then you will remain where you are. Commitment to big dreams demands that you become the type of person who can create those dreams. Success is something you create and attract based on the person you become.

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — Sir Ken Robinson

Few people really want to do something original. They’d rather be comfortable and content. To them, having nice things and having “status” is more important than pushing boundaries.

For the few people who are truly artists, inventors, and movers — you must be willing to be wrong. Again, this hunger and willingness to learn at whatever the cost usually goes away after some level of achievement or comfort has been reached.

Don’t fall for this. Never stop learning. Never stop being willing to be wrong. Failure is feedback. Learning is the purpose of life. Creation, innovation, and evolution are what we were born for.

“If you’re willing to do something that might not work, you’re closer to becoming an artist.” — Seth Godin

If you’ve stopped being willing to be wrong, you’re not an artist. You’re a sell-out. Being an artist doesn’t mean that you aren’t also a scientist. You certainly don’t have to starve. And you certainly don’t have to focus purely on the process and ignore outcomes — that form of ego is probably worse than those seeking success for success’ sake.

Be an artist in that you never stop giving you best and most generous and personal work. Be a scientist such that you care enough about your art to get it to into the hands of the right people.

“Beyond a certain point, there is no return. This point has to be reached.” — Franz Kafka

Wherever you are right now, in order to get where you’re going, you will need to pass a point of no return. This will take tremendous courage and commitment. Complete commitment and investment actually. In order to transcend your current identity and take on the new role of your bigger future, you’ll need to put yourself in a position where going back is no longer an option.

“Expect everything and attach to nothing!” — Carrie Campbell

Expect success. What you expect is usually what happens. The higher the expectation, the more likely the self-fulfilling prophecy. However, no matter what happens, don’t attach yourself to the outcome. Don’t attach your identity to what happens.

Remain fully attached to your vision and your sense of complete integrity to yourself and what you feel inspired to do.

Will you continue forward, never stopping and growing and evolving? Or like most, will you stop at some point and shrivel?

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

How To Go From Successful To Very Successful (and why few can do it) was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

18 Quotes Explain Why Long-Term Success Is Rare

Photo by Kent Pilcher on Unsplash

Success isn’t what you have, what you’ve accomplished, or who you are.

Being successful means that you are continually pushing new boundaries internally and externally. You’re never allowing yourself to get stuck. You never give up nor give in. You continually live life how you genuinely believe you should, regardless of what other people say and regardless of what has happened to you in the past.

Few people will truly live congruent with their deepest internal desires. As Mahatma Gandhi explained, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” Genuine happiness is rare because happiness cannot be pursued directly. Happiness is a natural byproduct of becoming completely honest with yourself — that is the true measure of success.

Courage is the starting point of a life of integrity and intention. The majority of the world take on the form of their external environment, rather than hearing and following the voice inside them. Few take the road less traveled and live by a new set of rules. Few have the creativity to develop their own rules.

However, there is another catch. Although few people live a life of true integrity to themselves and courage. There are some that do. But most of those who do embrace courage and vision get tripped-up along the way.

Of the few who succeed, far fewer maintain success. By even living congruently and courageously for a short period of time (we’re talking a few years), you’ll quickly stand-out. You’ll quickly become an outlier.

And this is where things get really confusing. The remainder of this article provides deeply insightful quotes explaining why few people who become successful stay successful. The hardest part is maintaining that same honesty and integrity within yourself that you had when you had nothing to lose and nothing to prove.

Here’s the reality: you never have anything to lose. No matter how high you believe you’ve flown or how great your current status is.

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln

You get in life what you’re willing to tolerate. Most people are fine tolerating pain and uncertainty. The world is filled with people with suppressed trauma, negative relationships, and buried dreams.

Adversity is common, and can be endured. Having power and success is not common and is rarely endured. Usually, the moment someone has some form of power, their ego inflates. They begin to exercise their authority for their own benefit rather than the benefit of those they should be serving.

“He became so powerful … the only thing he was afraid of was losing his power, which eventually, of course, he did.” — Chancellor Palpatine

When most people find themselves in a position of power, their motivation shifts from offense to defense. They over-attach themselves to their identity and success. Their sole motivation becomes maintaining their current position and status. They then begin creating from that identity, rather than from the future they seek to create. This, of course, isn’t actually creativity — because true creativity and art require attempting something beyond what you’ve currently done that will likely fail.

You can’t do anything power solely playing defense. You can’t act in power if you’re afraid to lose what you currently have. Leadership requires courage. You have to be willing to do what is right, regardless of the outcome. Those who cling to tightly to what they think they are and have will lose it.

“We are kept from our goal not by obstacles but by a clear path to a lesser goal.” — Robert Brault

The worst thing that could happen for most people is to succeed. Once they succeed, their focus shifts from continuing to learn and expand to replicating prior results.

They stop pursuing their real dream and get caught up trying to maintain the small morsels of success they’ve acquired. Their vision shrinks to something so much smaller and easier than they initially set out to achieve.

“We start off with such great ambition, assuming that nothing will stand in the way of us accomplishing our goals. And in this great land of opportunity, if we study and work hard, we have an excellent chance of becoming successful. We will achieve our goals. Which could be the worst thing that will ever happen to us. Because when we achieve our goals, we often arrive at the land of contentment, and never realize that if we were to take off and fly again, we could achieve so much more. As George Bernard Shaw said, ‘There are two tragedies in life: One is not getting your heart’s desire; The other is to get it.’ It is a virtue to be content with what we have, but a vice to be content with what we are. Too many people congeal at some point in their lives. They reach a point where they don’t want to change anymore. They become content with what they have become and their belief about their potential congeals like cooking fat getting cold in the bottom of a frying pan. A human mind is a terrible thing to waste. It’s even more tragic when the mind is one that was successful in the past but is now congealing in contentment.” — Roger Dawson

When someone succeeds to a certain degree, their growth mindset often shifts to a fixed-mindset. They stop wanting to push themselves further. They drift into complacency and a mind that was once sharp dulls into apathy.

“Success is a catalyst for failure.” — Greg McKeown

Success becomes a catalyst for failure because “success” isn’t something you’ve accomplished. It’s something you create. And the only way you can create something of true value is by being a deep student.

Most people stop being true students after they’ve succeeded, even in small degrees. They begin to ‘rest on their laurels’ — being so satisfied with what one has already achieved that one makes no further effort.

Additionally, with increased success often follows over-confidence and lack of focus. You stop putting in the time. You stop taking risks. You over-attach yourself and look more and more to the past and what you’ve achieved. You stop focusing on the future and what you want to achieve. You start listening to other people’s ideas and comments and stop listening to your own voice.

Success is a suppressant to creativity, if you attach to it rather than use it as a vehicle to push your boundaries even further.

“I firmly believe you never should spend your time being the former anything.” — Condoleezza Rice

Because you’ve succeeded in the past, you become attached to what you’ve accomplished. That becomes your identity and security. You live in the past and use your prior accomplishments to get validation from others.

You become a “former” something — whether that be Olympian, entrepreneur, author, etc. Whatever it is, if you are the former anything, it means you aren’t doing anything now. You’re not pushing new boundaries. You’ve lost the spirit of adventure. You quit.

“The moment you have arrived is the perfect time to start out again.” — Dan Sullivan

The world continually changes. Evolution requires growth and change. When you succeed big at something, don’t sit there for long. You can only be new once.

The biggest mistake most entrepreneurs make is that they hold on to their company far too long before selling it. Their thick skin becomes thin skin and they don’t want to venture back out into the world of creation and the unknown.

The moment you succeed is the moment you begin something new. Take what you’ve learned and transfer it. Take your confidence and belief that you can make big things happen and continue to push your boundaries. Be willing to give up temporary rewards for something much bigger in the future.

“The way to enjoy life best is to wrap up one goal and start right on the next one. Don’t linger too long at the table of success, the only way to enjoy another meal is to get hungry.” — Jim Rohn

Learning is intended to take you to higher levels. Strangely, though, when someone learns something and turns it to success, they stop learning. They stop being hungry. They don’t allow what they’ve learned to stimulate their imagination to bigger realms of potential.

When you’ve succeeded at something, don’t dwell their long. Nothing lasts forever, and the harder you try to hold onto something, the faster it will fade from your fingertips.

Walk away while you’re ahead. Look ahead to bigger vistas. Take what you’ve learned and acquired and direct it at something 10X or 100X bigger. Few people would be willing to walk away from what you’ll walk away from. But the again, few can see the next huge mountain you’re about to climb.

“If you’re the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room.” — Marissa Meyer

If you’re succeeding big, that probably means you’re swimming in too small of a pool. You need a bigger pool to swim in. You need to get back to being the small fish who is completely humbled by everything and everyone around you.

Don’t stay the smartest person in your room for long. Remove the ego. Walk out of that room and start over. It’s not about how smart you are. It’s about how steep your learning curve is.

“To keep up with the world of 2050, you will need to do more than merely invent new ideas and products, but above all, reinvent yourself again and again.” — Yuval Noah Harari

If you get over-attached to any outcomes you’ve had — whether good or bad — you’re stuck. If you get attached to a particular identity or role you’ve played — you’re stuck.

The world is now changing far too fast to get over-attached to anything you’ve done or anyone you’ve been. Don’t ever be the former anything. Be willing to re-invent yourself over and over.

“Always make your future bigger than your past.” — Dan Sullivan

The only way your future can be bigger than your past is if you’re willing to destroy your past for something bigger and better.

You have to continually stretch your mind for what is possible. You must be willing to fail. You must keep learning and expanding. In order for your future to be bigger than your past, your focus must be on your future, not your past.

Don’t worry about your past — whether good or bad. Use what you’ve learned, but never stop pushing your boundaries.

“Cautious, careful people, always casting about to preserve their reputations can never effect a reform.” — Susan Anthony

What other people think about you is none of your business. The worst thing you could do is care what your colleagues think of you. If you care too much about your reputation or “status,” then any success you’ve had in the past will not be replicated to higher degrees in the future.

You must be willing to throw-off your reputation. You must be willing to fail. You must be fine losing everything you’ve gained. Because for you, you’re not attached to the outcomes or identities of your past. For you, the only thing that makes sense is following the voice inside compelling you to continually learn and grow — whatever that looks like.

“What got you here won’t get you there.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

What got you to this point is not what is going to get you to the next point of success.

This is a fact.

You can’t stay where you are.

You must learn something new if you’re too get to higher and new levels.

“Every next level of your life will demand a different you.” — Leonardo Dicaprio

If you’re not willing to become a new person, then you will remain where you are. Commitment to big dreams demands that you become the type of person who can create those dreams. Success is something you create and attract based on the person you become.

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” — Sir Ken Robinson

Few people really want to do something original. They’d rather be comfortable and content. To them, having nice things and having “status” is more important than pushing boundaries.

For the few people who are truly artists, inventors, and movers — you must be willing to be wrong. Again, this hunger and willingness to learn at whatever the cost usually goes away after some level of achievement or comfort has been reached.

Don’t fall for this. Never stop learning. Never stop being willing to be wrong. Failure is feedback. Learning is the purpose of life. Creation, innovation, and evolution are what we were born for.

“If you’re willing to do something that might not work, you’re closer to becoming an artist.” — Seth Godin

If you’ve stopped being willing to be wrong, you’re not an artist. You’re a sell-out. Being an artist doesn’t mean that you aren’t also a scientist. You certainly don’t have to starve. And you certainly don’t have to focus purely on the process and ignore outcomes — that form of ego is probably worse than those seeking success for success’ sake.

Be an artist in that you never stop giving you best and most generous and personal work. Be a scientist such that you care enough about your art to get it to into the hands of the right people.

“Beyond a certain point, there is no return. This point has to be reached.” — Franz Kafka

Wherever you are right now, in order to get where you’re going, you will need to pass a point of no return. This will take tremendous courage and commitment. Complete commitment and investment actually. In order to transcend your current identity and take on the new role of your bigger future, you’ll need to put yourself in a position where going back is no longer an option.

“Expect everything and attach to nothing!” — Carrie Campbell

Expect success. What you expect is usually what happens. The higher the expectation, the more likely the self-fulfilling prophecy. However, no matter what happens, don’t attach yourself to the outcome. Don’t attach your identity to what happens.

Remain fully attached to your vision and your sense of complete integrity to yourself and what you feel inspired to do.

Will you continue forward, never stopping and growing and evolving? Or like most, will you stop at some point and shrivel?

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

18 Quotes Explain Why Long-Term Success Is Rare was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

How To Feel Amazing Before 8AM

Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash

In the first 60–120 minutes of your day, you can change your entire life.

You can routinely get yourself into a “peak” or heightened state of mind and then operate from that state for the remainder of your day.

It’s strange, though, that most people won’t do this. Most people are content pulling themselves out of bed and then dragging themselves through their day. Most people begin with negative momentum and continue with negative momentum.

Most people’s days are highly reflective of their past. As people age, they become increasing past-oriented. Children are almost entirely future-oriented. If you ask them their age, they will say, “I’m almost 6!” or “I’m 5 and 3/4!”.

At some point or another, you probably became past-oriented. You may have goals you’re pursuing. But if you look at your actual daily behavior, does it mostly look like what happened yesterday?

If so, then you’re past-oriented.

If asked the question, “Why are you doing what you’re doing?” when speaking of your job and other activities, is your response based on experiences and events of the past, or desires for your future?

Most people are doing what they are doing because of an event in the past.

Most people’s lives are highly predictable — because they are living from the past. Their body and environment have become the controlling influences in their lives. Their body is the record of their past, which has become used to experiencing the same emotions every day. Stepping out of those emotions — their comfort zone — isn’t fun and so it happens rarely. And their environment keeps them in check and holds their self-image together.

If you want to change your life, you can do it very quickly.

You can put yourself into a peak mental state every single morning and then operate from that state of mind throughout your day.

You can create a wildly imaginative future and strive for that future with joy. As Neville Goddard put it, “Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.”

That’s what living in a peak-state is all about. It’s about having the imagination and possibility of a child and then creating the emotional experience of actualizing that future in the here-and-now.

Art by GapingvoidTraining Your Brain To Get What You Want

As you act from the future of your deepest desires, your behaviors change dramatically. You act with gusto, enthusiasm, and interest. You see potential where others see nothing.

As Dan Sullivan has said, “Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for.” Similarly, Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer said, “If something is presented as an accepted truth, alternative ways of thinking do not even come up for consideration.”

These two quotes encompass the psychological concept — “Selective Attention” — which means we only pay attention to things from our environment that are meaningful to us or that we are looking for. We selectively attend, and the rest of everything in the field outside of us goes unnoticed.

Every morning, you can put yourself into a zone where you see incredible opportunities and experiences. Your perspective comes from your emotional lens. How you feel about the world determines how you see it.

When you act from your desired future — you see things you couldn’t see before. You act far more powerfully. You also begin acting with the foreknowledge (i.e., pre-cognition) that when you act powerfully, positive emotions will ensue.

The following list is a simple way to put yourself into a peak-state every single day. This isn’t complicated stuff. It’s actually very basic and doable. But as Jim Rohn put it, “What is easy to do is easy not to do.”

Here’s how it works:

Set yourself up for success the night before (30–60 minutes)Sleep 7+ hoursWake up immediately when you said you wouldGet into a new environment (5–10 minutes)Meditation and prayer with emotion and writing (5–10 minutes)Listen to high-quality information while you exercise (20–40 minutes)Eat brain food (3–5 minutes)Work on a creative project while in a peak-state (30–90 minutes)

This list may seem lame to you.

You may be one of those people who feel you are above something like this. And that’s fine if you are. But without fail, every time I purposefully create a solid morning routine, I feel better.

Dr. Jerome Bruner, a Harvard psychologist said, “You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling than feeling yourself into action.”

With this morning routine, you actually enhance your emotional-state from two angles. You act intentionally and powerfully, which immediately shifts your emotional state as Dr. Bruner says. But you also take the time to visualize and emotionally generate your desired future in the here as now, as Neville Goddard says.

You act your way into feeling powerful. And you also feel your way into action.

You then operate the rest of your day from your future, not your past.

Set yourself up for success the night before.

“Stressful activities have no place before bedtime. They can induce your body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which can make you feel more alert. Chill out and steer clear of anything non-chilled out.” — Kimberly Snyder

This is very simple.

Don’t look at screens 60+ minutes before bedPut your phone on airplane modeAllow yourself to “psychologically detach” from work — which means you stop thinking about itBe present with your loved ones“Wherever you are, make sure you are there.” — Dan SullivanOnly 16% of creative ideas happen while you’re working — most of them will come when your mind is in a relaxed stateCreate an environment where sleep can happenSleep 7+ hours.

“Treat yourself as well as you treat your smartphone, making sure to sleep until fully recharged.” — Arianna Huffington

According to research done by The National Sleep Foundation, getting a healthy amount of sleep is linked to:

increased memory;longer life;decreased inflammation;increased creativity;increased attention and focus;decreased fat and increased muscle mass with exercise;lower stress;decreased dependence on stimulants like caffeine;decreased risk of getting into accidents;decreased risk of depression

If you sleep well and treat your body right, you won’t need caffeine and other stimulants.

We live in an addiction culture. In the Ted Talk, “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong,” Johann Hari explains that addiction is an “environmental adaptation.”

Research has shown that caffeine use is due, in large part, to the industrial model of working from 9–5. It’s also clearly due to people’s poor sleeping and technology habits.

Don’t start your day with caffeine. Instead, follow the advice of the people who consistently live the longest. In the book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Dan Buettner explains that people who live to be over 100 usually start their day with a purpose.

They rarely rely on stimulants to get through their day. They are intentional. They are focused on longevity and purpose, not on quick-fixes like caffeine.

Wake up immediately when you said you would.

“Self-trust is the first secret of success.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Confidence is a byproduct of doing what you say you will do. If you don’t trust yourself, you can’t have confidence.

Confidence is something that has to be earned every single day. The first decision you make, the one to wake up, starts your momentum in either a positive or negative direction.

Get into a new environment.

“If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

Every environment has energy. In order to get yourself moving and going, get yourself into a fresh environment. Even if that’s just outside.

Shifting environments shifts your energy. When you get up and immediately change your environment, you actually boost your energy levels. Research done by Ellen Langer has found that by simply changing context, people’s energy levels increase because the brain loves novelty and newness.

Meditation and prayer with emotion and writing.

“Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” — Neville Goddard

Also, when you begin to meditate, visualize, and write about your goals, you want to be in an environment conducive to getting clarity and insights.

In order to live from your desired future, you want to think about it while your mind is creative first thing in the morning. A creative mind is essential to being a creator of your future and life.

Imagination is highly linked to learning, joy, and creativity. How imaginative are you?

How imaginative is the future you’re striving for?

Is it “realistic”?

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Dr. Stephen Covey said, “Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

Here’s where you’re at so far:

You set yourself up for success the night beforeYou woke up when you said you would (which boosts confidence)You shifted your environment (which boosts energy and flow)You’re now imagining the future you want in a creative environment

As Neville Goddard explains, “Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.”

As your visualizing and writing down your goals, do so with feeling. Assume the feeling of having achieved your dreams. Assume what it would be like to have what you want.

Realize that the moment you begin feeling different, then you can create a different future than you did your past.

Most people feel the same way today as they felt yesterday. And their body seeks desperately to recreate the same emotional state — which has become your homeostasis.

In order to become a new person and create a new future — you need to act in ways that produce new emotions, and strategically generate the emotions you seek to feel.

Write down your goals and a deadline in which they will be complete. Write down the price that needs to be paid in order to achieve the goal. Commit to acting and being such that you will pay the price. As the billionaire H.L. Hunt said:

“There are only three requirements for success. First, decide exactly what it is you want in life. Second, determine the price that you are going to have to pay to get the things you want. And third, and this is most important, resolve to pay that price.”

Listen to high-quality information while you exercise.

“Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output, and your output determines your future.” — Zig Ziglar

Workout in the morning, whether that means walking or going to the gym. Whatever you want. But grab yourself a pair of cordless headphones — you can find some for as little as $20.

Workout while you listen to audiobooks or podcasts or inspirational music. By moving and pushing your body, you’ll also be lighting-up your brain. In the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, John Ratey and Eric Hagerman show that fitness charges your brain up and gets you into a learning and heightened state.

Eat brain food.

“It is easier to change a man’s religion than to change his diet.”― Margaret Mead

The food you put into your body directly influences how well your brain, body, mind, and emotions work. Eat foods that light your brain up and get you energized to think and work.

According to Dr. Axe, the follow is a list of some of the best brain foods in the morning:

Nuts and seeds — higher levels of vitamin E correspond with less cognitive decline as you get older.Avocados — a monounsaturated fat, which contributes to healthy blood flow, which means a healthy brain. Avocados also lower blood pressure, and as hypertension is a risk factor for the decline in cognitive abilities, a lower blood pressure should promote brain health.Beets — they reduce inflammation, are high in cancer-protecting antioxidants and help rid your blood of toxins. The natural nitrates in beets actually boost blood flow to the brain, helping with mental performance.Blueberries — it’s one of the highest antioxidant-rich foods in the world, including vitamin C and vitamin K and fiber. Because of their high levels of gallic acid, blueberries are especially good at protecting our brains from degeneration and stress. Bone Broth  — the ultimate food for healing your gut and, in turn, healing your brain. Its high levels of collagen help reduce intestinal inflammation, and healing amino acids like proline and glycine keep your immune system functioning properly and help improve memory.Coconut Oil — works as a natural anti-inflammatory, suppressing cells responsible for inflammation. It can help with memory loss as you age and destroy bad bacteria that hangs out in your gut.Egg Yolks — contain large amounts of choline, which helps in fetal brain development for pregnant women. It also breaks down bethane, a chemical that produces hormones related to happiness.Turmeric — helps boost antioxidant levels and keep your immune system healthy, while also improving your brain’s oxygen intake, keeping you alert and able to process information.Work on a creative project while in a peak state.

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” — Mark Twain

Crush the day while everyone else is in a daze.

If you want to become successful, you must create success.

Wealth is not something you earn, it’s something you create. And you can create success every single day. You can get into a creative state and produce incredible works.

You can build companies. Write music. Come up with creative solutions.

You can be a highly creative, imaginative, and innovative person. But creativity is a verb. It’s like love. It’s something you do and embody.

So do it.

Get your most important stuff done first. Or else, as you’ve seen before, it likely won’t get done.

ConclusionArt by Gapingvoid

Want to live in a peak state? Then produce amazing mornings.

You make or break your life before 8AM.

Assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled.

Act and live from the future you want to create, not from your past.

Ready to Upgrade?

I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

Get the cheat sheet here!

8 Things Every Person Should Do Before 8AM

Photo by Emma Simpson on Unsplash

In the first 60–120 minutes of your day, you can change your entire life.

You can routinely get yourself into a “peak” or heightened state of mind and then operate from that state for the remainder of your day.

It’s strange, though, that most people won’t do this. Most people are content pulling themselves out of bed and then dragging themselves through their day. Most people begin with negative momentum and continue with negative momentum.

Most people’s days are highly reflective of their past. As people age, they become increasing past-oriented. Children are almost entirely future-oriented. If you ask them their age, they will say, “I’m almost 6!” or “I’m 5 and 3/4!”.

At some point or another, you probably became past-oriented. You may have goals you’re pursuing. But if you look at your actual daily behavior, does it mostly look like what happened yesterday?

If so, then you’re past-oriented.

If asked the question, “Why are you doing what you’re doing?” when speaking of your job and other activities, is your response based on experiences and events of the past, or desires for your future?

Most people are doing what they are doing because of an event in the past.

Most people’s lives are highly predictable — because they are living from the past. Their body and environment have become the controlling influences in their lives. Their body is the record of their past, which has become used to experiences the same emotions every day. Stepping out of those emotions — their comfort zone — isn’t fun and so it happens rarely. And their environment keeps them in check and holds their self-image together.

If you want to change your life, you can do it very quickly.

You can put yourself into a peak mental state every single morning and then operate from that state of mind throughout your day.

You can create a wildly imaginative future and strive for that future with joy. As Neville Goddard put it, “Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.”

That’s what living in a peak-state is all about. It’s about having the imagination and possibility of a child and then creating the emotional experience of actualizing that future in the here-and-now.

Training Your Brain To Get What You Want

As you act from the future of your deepest desires, your behaviors change dramatically. You act with gusto, enthusiasm, and interest. You see potential where others see nothing.

As Dan Sullivan has said, “Our eyes only see and our ears only hear what our brain is looking for.” Similarly, Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer said, “If something is presented as an accepted truth, alternative ways of thinking do not even come up for consideration.”

These two quotes encompass the psychological concept — “Selective Attention” — which means we only pay attention to things from our environment that are meaningful to us or that we are looking for. We selectively attend, and the rest of everything in the field outside of us goes unnoticed.

Every morning, you can put yourself into a zone where you see incredible opportunities and experiences. Your perspective comes from your emotional lens. How you feel about the world determines how you see it.

When you act from your desired future — you see things you couldn’t see before. You act far more powerfully. You also begin acting with the foreknowledge (i.e., pre-cognition) that when you act powerfully, positive emotions will ensue.

The following list is a simple way to put yourself into a peak-state every single day. This isn’t complicated stuff. It’s actually very basic and doable. But as Jim Rohn put it, “What is easy to do is easy not to do.”

Here’s how it works:

Set yourself up for success the night before (30–60 minutes)Sleep 7+ hoursWake up immediately when you said you wouldGet into a new environment (5–10 minutes)Meditation and prayer with emotion and writing (5–10 minutes)Listen to high-quality information while you exercise (20–40 minutes)Take a cold shower (3–5 minutes)Work on a creative project while in a peak-state (30–90 minutes)

This list may seem lame to you.

You may be one of those people who feel you are above something like this. And that’s fine if you are. But without fail, every time I purposefully create a solid morning routine, I feel better.

Dr. Jerome Bruner, a Harvard psychologist said, “You’re more likely to act yourself into feeling than feeling yourself into action.”

With this morning routine, you actually enhance your emotional-state from two angles. You act intentionally and powerfully, which immediately shifts your emotional state as Dr. Bruner says. But you also take the time to visualize and emotionally generate your desired future in the here as now, as Neville Goddard says.

You act your way into feeling powerful. And you also feel your way into action.

You then operate the rest of your day from your future, not your past.

Set yourself up for success the night before.

“Stressful activities have no place before bedtime. They can induce your body to secrete the stress hormone cortisol, which can make you feel more alert. Chill out and steer clear of anything non-chilled out.” — Kimberly Snyder

This is very simple.

Don’t look at screens 60+ minutes before bedPut your phone on airplane modeAllow yourself to “psychologically detach” from work — which means you stop thinking about itBe present with your loved ones“Wherever you are, make sure you are there.” — Dan SullivanOnly 16% of creative ideas happen while you’re working — most of them will come when your mind is in a relaxed stateCreate an environment where sleep can happenSleep 7+ hours.

“Treat yourself as well as you treat your smartphone, making sure to sleep until fully recharged.” — Arianna Huffington

According to research done by The National Sleep Foundation, getting a healthy amount of sleep is linked to:

increased memory;longer life;decreased inflammation;increased creativity;increased attention and focus;decreased fat and increased muscle mass with exercise;lower stress;decreased dependence on stimulants like caffeine;decreased risk of getting into accidents;decreased risk of depression

If you sleep well and treat your body right, you won’t need caffeine and other stimulants.

We live in an addiction culture. In the Ted Talk, “Everything you think you know about addiction is wrong,” Johann Hari explains that addiction is an “environmental adaptation.”

Research has shown that caffeine use is due, in large part, to the industrial model of working from 9–5. It’s also clearly due to people’s poor sleeping and technology habits.

Don’t start your day with caffeine. Instead, follow the advice of the people who consistently live the longest. In the book The Blue Zones: Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest, Dan Buettner explains that people who live to be over 100 usually start their day with a purpose.

They rarely rely on stimulants to get through their day. They are intentional. They are focused on longevity and purpose, not on quick-fixes like caffeine.

Wake up immediately when you said you would.

“Self-trust is the first secret of success.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson

Confidence is a byproduct of doing what you say you will do. If you don’t trust yourself, you can’t have confidence.

Confidence is something that has to be earned every single day. The first decision you make, the one to wake up, starts your momentum in either a positive or negative direction.

Get into a new environment.

“If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.” — Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

Every environment has energy. In order to get yourself moving and going, get yourself into a fresh environment. Even if that’s just outside.

Shifting environments shifts your energy. When you get up and immediately change your environment, you actually boost your energy levels. Research done by Ellen Langer has found that by simply changing context, people’s energy levels increase because the brain loves novelty and newness.

Meditation and prayer with emotion and writing.

“Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.” — Neville Goddard

Also, when you begin to meditate, visualize, and write about your goals, you want to be in an environment conducive to getting clarity and insights.

In order to live from your desired future, you want to think about it while your mind is creative first thing in the morning. A creative mind is essential to being a creator of your future and life.

Imagination is highly linked to learning, joy, and creativity. How imaginative are you?

How imaginative is the future you’re striving for?

Is it “realistic”?

Albert Einstein said, “Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.”

Dr. Stephen Covey said, “Live out of your imagination, not your history.”

Here’s where you’re at so far:

You set yourself up for success the night beforeYou woke up when you said you would (which boosts confidence)You shifted your environment (which boosts energy and flow)You’re now imagining the future you want in a creative environment

As Neville Goddard explains, “Assume the feeling of the wish fulfilled.”

As your visualizing and writing down your goals, do so with feeling. Assume the feeling of having achieved your dreams. Assume what it would be like to have what you want.

Realize that the moment you begin feeling different, then you can create a different future than you did your past.

Most people feel the same way today as they felt yesterday. And their body seeks desperately to recreate the same emotional state — which has become your homeostasis.

In order to become a new person and create a new future — you need to act in ways that produce new emotions, and strategically generate the emotions you seek to feel.

Write down your goals and a deadline in which they will be complete. Write down the price that needs to be paid in order to achieve the goal. Commit to acting and being such that you will pay the price. As the billionaire H.L. Hunt said:

“There are only three requirements for success. First, decide exactly what it is you want in life. Second, determine the price that you are going to have to pay to get the things you want. And third, and this is most important, resolve to pay that price.”

Listen to high-quality information while you exercise.

“Your input determines your outlook. Your outlook determines your output, and your output determines your future.” — Zig Ziglar

Workout in the morning, whether that means walking or going to the gym. Whatever you want. But grab yourself a pair of cordless headphones — you can find some for as little as $20.

Workout while you listen to audiobooks or podcasts or inspirational music. By moving and pushing your body, you’ll also be lighting-up your brain. In the book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, John Ratey and Eric Hagerman show that fitness charges your brain up and gets you into a learning and heightened state.

Take a cold shower.

“It is concluded that the evidence base for the different claims made for Cold Water Immersion (CWI) are varied, and although in most instances there seems to be a credible rationale for the benefits or otherwise of CWI, in some instances the supporting data remain at the level of anecdotal speculation.” — Experimental Psychology, 2017

The science is pretty wishy-washy when it comes to cold water immersion. A 2007 study found that routinely taking cold showers can help treat depression symptoms, often more effectively than medications. That’s because cold water triggers a wave of mood-boosting neurochemicals that make you feel happy.

This is one of those ones where you act before you think.

If you think too long about it, you probably won’t do it.

Turn the cold water on, immerse yourself. You’ll feel great and energized. Then be done.

Not a big deal.

Work on a creative project while in a peak state.

“Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day.” — Mark Twain

Crush the day while everyone else is in a daze.

If you want to become successful, you must create success.

Wealth is not something you earn, it’s something you create. And you can create success every single day. You can get into a creative state and produce incredible works.

You can build companies. Write music. Come up with creative solutions.

You can be a highly creative, imaginative, and innovative person. But creativity is a verb. It’s like love. It’s something you do and embody.

So do it.

Get your most important stuff done first. Or else, as you’ve seen before, it likely won’t get done.

Conclusion

Want to live in a peak state? Then produce amazing mornings.

You make or break your life before 8AM.

Assume the feeling of your wish fulfilled.

Act and live from the future you want to create, not from your past.

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I’ve created a cheat sheet for putting yourself into a PEAK-STATE, immediately. You follow this daily, your life will change quickly.

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8 Things Every Person Should Do Before 8AM was originally published in Thrive Global on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.