Success. What does that word mean to you, and has it’s meaning ever changed for you?
Today I’m joined by a special guest as we consider the secret to success in both our personal and business life:
We believe success in any aspect of our lives is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we responds to what happens to us.
No one makes us have a ‘bad day’, we choose whether we have a bad day or not, we choose how we learn from and respond to our circumstances to become a better version of ourselves.
And remember, this isn’t just about ‘us’ or ‘self’, when Sir Roger Bannister achieved what was thought humanly impossible he opened a world of possibility for others too.
In summary, we can’t control what happens to us, so don’t waste energy on trying to control the uncontrollable. Instead focus your energy on what will give you a positive ROI for you, and in doing so, you’ll not only achieve success for yourself, but open a world of possibilities for others too.
It’s interesting to look at the root of where our words come from, it gives us an understanding of what was originally intended by the use of the word.
Take the word ‘Wealth’ for example. Now, in 2020 most people associate wealth with bank balance. However, that’s a corruption of the original intent, because it’s origins are linked to our ‘well-being’ and ‘health’ not money.
Whilst having more in your bank balance can of course lead to more health and well-being through wise choices and a life of integrity, we believe true wealth is not just about your bank balance. In fact, some of the richest people we’ve ever met never even had a bank account to their name.
Where is your treasure?
We also believe where your treasure is, there your heart will be also and that in turn will impact your thoughts, behaviours and well-being. So a question we all need to ask ourselves is; where and what is our treasure?
Gratitude is Gold
We’ve found an attitude of gratitude is a form of treasure that supports well-being. Yes, gratitude really is GOLD.
Studies show that greater health and happiness is measurable in those who practice gratitude over those who focus on negative aspects, even to the extent that there is a change in the brain’s neuroplasticity, just do a google search to see. But how do we develop an attitude of gratitude especially in times of crisis?
3 Steps to GOLD
So there are some simple steps we can all take to develop an attitude of gratitude that contributes to our wealth. Please watch the short video below to learn three steps you can take right now toward an attitude of gratitude that can help you in your business, family and personal life:
I find so many in business are unsatisfied with simply selling ‘stuff’.
Sure, we need to sell ‘stuff’ to keep the bread on the table, but what if there was more to business, more to life, than just selling ‘stuff’?
What if our business, what if our life, was about living out our values so as to make a difference in this world while at the same time providing for those we are responsible for?
One of the reasons we sign post people to the business start up programmes at SFM is because, having been through the system ourselves, and having met with the founders and lead team, we’ve seen it’s not about getting people to sell stuff.
Sure, there are some ready made resources for newbies starting out with to sell if they choose to, and as newbies we found that really helpful as we had nothing to sell, but it’s not about that.
The core of the SFM programme is about helping people understand their Vision, Mission, Purpose and Values, so they can become the best version of themselves in business and in life whether they choose to sell SFM stuff or not.
There’s very few programmes that offer that support.
Take SFM student, Rob Sewell as an example. I shared something of Rob’s transformation from Drug & Alcohol abuse to six figure business owner here:
In going through the SFM programme Rob now appreciates:
1. The impact of speaking truth & empowering others
2. The hardships he’s overcome and how they’ve helped him find his true purpose
3. How the experiences you go through forge your values
4. How he’s stepped into his purpose and launched his own coaching business
Rob now seeks to serve others by acting as a guiding light that shows people a space where they feel safe and understood.
Rob’s Vision, Mission, Purpose & Values
And while no income is guaranteed by any programme, after pinpointing his purpose with SFM, Rob’s income through his online business is such that it allows him the financial freedom to take each Friday off to volunteer with those who are struggling with drug and alcohol abuse, and given him the time freedom he so longed for with his family that his corporate job never gave him.
So, in the week ahead, perhaps you can reflect on what your business is about and whether it’s aligned to your true purpose?
If you’re interested in learning how to create a sustainable business based on your values, then click here to get started with our complimentary video training series delivered straight to your inbox.
Now, if you’re getting started in setting up an online business, or are already running one, then you may be one of those statistics who use electronic devices late into the night, like we used to, until we found out the evidence that this can make it harder to settle down to sleep.
You see, using electronic devices before bedtime can be physiologically and psychologically stimulating in ways that can adversely affect your sleep.
Here’s what happens: Using TVs, tablets, smartphones, laptops, or other electronic devices before bed delays your body’s internal clock (your circadian rhythm), suppresses the release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and makes it more difficult to fall asleep.
This is largely due to the short-wavelength, artificial blue light that’s emitted by these devices, LED light in particular. The more electronic devices that a person uses in the evening, the harder it is to fall asleep or stay asleep, even if you’re physically exhausted, because of how the messaging in the brain responds to that type of light.
Besides increasing your alertness (like caffeine) at a time when you should be getting sleepy, which in turn delays your bedtime, using these devices before turning in not only delays the onset of REM sleep – the most productive part of sleep, but reduces the total amount of REM sleep too, thereby compromising your alertness the next morning. Over time, these effects can add up to a significant, chronic deficiency in sleep. Which is bad news not only for running a business, but bad news for your health and well being.
All of this is true for children and adults alike.
Sunday is a great time to pause from our work and enjoy REST with those dear to us. So this Sunday, why not try to cut out electronic devices and even dim the lights (especially LED lights) for the night. Try stopping ‘screen time’ two hours before bed, one hour before bed, or even 30 minutes before bed—the earlier in the evening, the better, but whatever is realistic in your circumstances.
We implemented this change and really felt the benefit.
One good substitution is reading an old-fashioned printed book under lamplight (as opposed to bright overhead lighting) or an e-reader (like the Kindle Paperwhite, as opposed to the Kindle Fire) is also a good idea, because it doesn’t produce the same type of blue light that a smartphone or tablet would.
Anyway try these tips for yourself, and let us know if your sleep improves.
Hope you have a restful Sunday with those dear to you!
The post A Rest From Electronic Devices first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>In fact our western society is set up to increase productivity in every area of life, so no matter where you look we’re encouraged to do more and get more.
In my late teens and early twenties, like most guys, improving my physical athletic performance was high on my list of priorities. “No pain no gain” was the given mantra. So I trained hard 6 days a week, often twice a day. Even after formal coaching sessions had finished, I did extra training on top, because ‘more was better’.
The result?
I got injured, but still trained through and with those injuries to the extent I needed multiple corrective surgeries.
Why?
Because “No pain, no gain” was my mantra, and the idea of rest was a non-productive cop out in my mind.
A Half Truth Mantra
But the problem was, my mantra was a half-truth, in that it’s true pain is involved in any kind of development, so embrace rather than reject it, but it’s only half true because pain is also a design feature signal that warns us ‘something is wrong’. You know those dashboard warning lights on your car?
Please don’t ignore them, it doesn’t matter how urgent your journey is, please check out what the manufacturers manual says about those lights, otherwise you might not make it to your destination at all.
And, that’s what happened to me athletically, I didn’t make it to my destination.
And do you know who was to blame?
Me and my half truth mantra. I thought I knew better than the design feature signal.
The Productivity of Rest
You see the evidence from the world of sport science is that ‘quality rest’ is fundamental to ‘quality growth’ and that overtraining and minimising rest, will harm you and your development. Any coach worth their salt will tell you that.
Did you know Usain Bolt sleeps in the hours before he races?
That’s even after he’s had a quality 8hrs sleep the night before by the way.
The benefit of that natural, drug free but essential reset and boost prepares his body to do what no other body has done athletically in recorded history.
So, is rest a productive, or non-productive activity?
Having worked many years in the corporate world, I know what many Execs think of ‘rest’, and I’ve witnessed their abysmal decision making as a result. (Did you realise sleep deprived individuals perform worse at ANY given task than those who have just above the legal level of alcohol in their bloodstream?) But, taking the hard lesson I learned from my teens and twenties I want to share with you a couple of parallel lessons I’ve learned when it comes to being productive, particularly as it applies to learning and investing in new activities such as starting an online business from scratch, something I did while holding down a full time job and raising a young family with very little spare time and spare cash floating around:
No.1 Set a balanced schedule which includes ‘rest’ and stick to it.
Recognise you need some outgoing time and finance (pain) to make any business a success, but balance it according to where you are right now and where you want to get to.
You need to factor in a break/rest point, and realise that break/rest point is actually necessary for you to be productive and grow.
Many people don’t get started because they’re intimidated by what seems to be the immensity of the task at hand, they know where they’d like to be, but don’t know what first step to take. So they don’t start.
So work out a time limit you’re comfortable to committing to in your current situation, recognising your current situation is not permanent, but it’s your starting point, then start from your starting point.
So, if you can only afford 30 minutes a night to study new skills or set up new platforms, set a 30 minute timer, and work at it for 30 minutes, not 31 minutes, then stop and move on. But, don’t drop off at 29, 28, 27 minutes either! Being disciplined in this aspect will focus your mind to the task at hand.
Try it, set the time limit, then move on to what you have to move onto, and that could even be ‘sleep’.
Likewise with your budget, sit down and calculate what marketing budget you can afford to commit to now based on your circumstances. If you have a marketing budget of $1,000, for a few months don’t spend $1,000 in a few weeks. Set a limit and keep to it, it will focus your mind, otherwise, your mind will be tempted to be pulled in all sorts of directions. Likewise don’t just stop marketing after a few weeks either when you’ve underspent, because you won’t have enough data after only a few weeks to make an informed decision on what is or isn’t working, you need to commit to the process.
Set an alarm to finish the task.
Set a budget for the task.
No.2 Listen and put into action advice from proven coaches
Like my half truth fitness mantra, I came to the online world with some half truths. Thankfully, I found a community of online business practitioners and mentors who challenged and corrected those half truths, and now we can run an online business based on our values of INTEGRITY, COMPASSION, & FAMILY WELL-BEING.
The truth is, we wouldn’t be running an online business today without the support and direction from those mentors. That is why we’re sign posting others who are interested in starting an online business from scratch to those very same mentors.
PROVEN PRODUCTIVE STEPS FOR RUNNING A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS
So, if you’re interested in learning proven productive steps for running a profitable online business, then join Stuart Ross as he reveals his strategies for profiting online and growing your income with a business you are passionate about … (business models and concepts that very FEW people know about)…
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBCAST
Get your FREE spot today, and get a “crash course” on profiting online with our proven out-of-the-box Digital Business System (even if this is all new to you). Learn steps that you can start using YOURSELF to begin making profits online and grow a business you are passionate about. Giving you more time to enjoy the life of real personal freedom.
Learn the same strategies Stuart personally used to:
- Start a profitable Internet business without any previous experience
- Generate sales and income without any of his own products (or ideas) working part time
- Build one of the fastest growing exclusive private online communities
- Grow Digital Experts Academy to a multiple million business in 12 months!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBCAST
Here’s to your online success!
Stephen
The post Are You Being Productive? first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>So as you consider your options around which path to take on your online business journey, we’d like to share another inspiring online business start up story with you, that of Holly Barras, from here in the UK.
After dealing with the death of one child, Holly, as a single working Mum, had to contend with the issues around supporting her remaining son who had been diagnosed with cancer.
In the short video below Holly shares how she managed to quit her job to battle her son’s cancer and how her inspiring brand was born and developed from this period of personal struggle:
- What does it take to create a strong brand identity?
- What challenges did she have to overcome?
- What investment did she have to make to create her own business?
- What is the most important thing while creating your own inspiring brand?
- And, what are Holly’s vision and future plans?
Holly discusses these important questions in the inspiring interview below:
Click here to be redirected to youtube to watch this inspiring video
You know, you don’t have to hold a formal qualification to be able to educate another, in fact, my interaction with children and babes have given me many a great lesson that you can’t learn from a lecture theatre.
Specifically, it was the experience of holding abandoned dying babies that made me realise that for some people, life is just a day. Though newly born, they are fully human just like you, just like me, it’s just they never had the chance to grow old in this world like you or me. The lesson if you will, or question that remains with me from this experience is this:
If for some people, their lifetime is but a day, does that mean if I waste a day, I’m actually guilty of wasting a lifetime?
We all need to number our days, and apply ourselves to that which has lasting value, so why not create a business to add value to others based on our core values?
If you are interested creating a brand identity from your life lessons, if you’re interested in starting an online business based on your core values, if you’re interested in a no risk free trial of the very same educational and mentoring system that and Holly & I started out with with, then why not set up your own FREE TRIAL account by clicking here.
You’ll be able to explore the system at your own time and pace, have a FREE 1-2-1 with a system consultant over the phone at a time convenient to yourself, and if you feel it’s not for you, then you can cancel at any time without any additional cost to yourself.
Here’s to you being yourself, and here’s to your online success!
Stephen
The post Single Mum Quit Job To Battle Son’s Cancer first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>This week I wanted to share a thought with you about the impact of both negative and positive thinking on our physical well-being.
Did you realise negative thoughts actually impact our physical health in a negative way, and positive thoughts impact our physical health in a positive way?
Both my parents were in Medicine and they used to (in fact still do) say; “A merry heart is good medicine”, and based on that statement, I wanted to share the following fun experiment with you, but you’ll need a partner to help, so why not print this off and go and get someone and follow the instructions below:
1) Close your eyes and think for a moment of a time where you felt really down. You doubted your ability to accomplish that next step in your career move; your boss had put you down. You didn’t think you were worth anything…
The next step requires a partner!
2) Now raise your arms to your sides as if imitating an aeroplane!
3) Ask your partner to try to push your arms down to your side again.
What happens?
4) Now shut your eyes again and imagine a time when you could conquer the world! Anything was possible! That next career move, no problem!
5) Raise your arms in the air again to the side.
6) Get your partner to push your arms down.
What happens…?
See the power of positive thinking in your mind!
This demonstrates the truth of the adage: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” (Henry Ford).
I tried this at a get together with my friends the other evening and the results were amazing!
When I had negative mental thoughts I was physically weaker and my arms were easily pushed down by my friend Jackie, but when I had positive mental thoughts I was physically stronger and Jackie had to struggle to get my arms down. Our other friends watching just laughed and thought we’d planned it or were making it up, but we weren’t. How I was thinking mentally, really affected my physical strength at the same time. So why don’t you try the experiment and let us know your results?
You see, whether it’s a new business, a new skill, a new direction, you have the power within you to make a success of whatever you do by thinking positively, or to let yourself down by thinking negatively, so think positively!
I’m not saying you can think something and it happens, but there’s a principle here. If you allow something to become big in your mind, if you let it consume you, you are giving it permission to happen, so be careful what thoughts you dwell on. Don’t listen to negative thoughts or comments made about you!
You have the power within you to succeed at whatever you turn your mind to, if you tell yourself you can, you will be able to do it!
Have a positive weekend!The post The Power of Positive Thinking first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>
Last week we looked at why on a personal and business level it’s important to not only map out and prioritise our values, but also to live them out. Because the danger is, if we don’t check in with our values, and we just let the ups and downs of life happen to us, we may find ourselves off course with our true purpose.
Anyway, as I was having breakfast with my daughters one morning this week I heard over the radio the musician Joel Vaughn share the story behind his song ‘One In A Million’ which came about from a conversation he himself had with his 5yr old daughter one morning.
His story emphasises the importance of value and purpose in our lives.
I found a snippet of it on youtube which I’d like to share with you:
The point is, young or old, we all have true value and a purpose in this world.
“You don’t have to live without a purpose
Without a cause … and feeling flawed
There’s so much more beneath the surface
In every heart … a work of art
You’re made, for more
Than you could ever know
Don’t you, let go!
You’re one in a million
And you gotta know it’s true (and you gotta know it’s true)
No one else within the universe
Could ever be just like you (could ever be just like you)”
(Joel Vaughn – One In A Million)
Remember you do have a purpose in this world.
Remember you are one in a million.
The post You Are One In A Million first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>We used to dream big.
We were going to climb the highest mountain, sail the deepest sea, whatever it was, we were going to make a real difference in this world despite the risks. Then we got older, and this world told us why we couldn’t have our dreams, they didn’t belong in this world. So after a while, many of us stopped dreaming.
In this context, it’s humbling to reflect on the conversations I now have with my kids about their big dreams. I tend to point out the negative dangers of those dreams, the costs and risks involved. They smile back and simply point out the positive benefits.
I hope they don’t lose their positive perspective as they grow old in this world.
I like the story of 88-year-old Ursula Shepherd from Devon, England. It’s a story of holding onto a dream to learn which I’d like to share with you.
Even a year ago, Ursula couldn’t read, and what inspires me most about Ursula is that she didn’t let this world rob her of her dream, a dream to be able to read to a class of children.
You see, Ursula had a number of learning difficulties which weren’t recognised in the 1930s, so she didn’t have the opportunity that many of us have had to a proper education.
“I would sit with a girl and she was reading but I couldn’t read, so when she turned the pages I turned my page over because I didn’t understand.” Says Ursula. “I felt sad because I always wanted to read, you see, and they just put me in the corner. I felt like I missed out.”
Through her life, she has had to rely on others to read for her. But even at this stage of her life, she has had the courage, and perseverance to take the first step to fulfilling her dream to learn to read.
She learned as all of us have to, one letter at a time, and now at 88, Ursula has fulfilled her dream and has read to class of children.
So what about our dreams?
They may have been muted, for whatever reason, but we all still have them.
Well, Ursula shows us it doesn’t matter how old we are, if we simply focus on starting small ‘one letter at a time‘ and ignore the world’s opinion, we too will get there…
Oh, and I have to tell you this. Learning to read has inspired Ursula to try other new things too. Last year she went on an aeroplane for the first time and now she wants to skydive when she’s 90!
If you would like to learn about starting an online business from scratch, even if you’ve no idea where to start, then check out our free 7 day video series which shows you how by clicking here.