Your thoughts lead to your feelings, your feelings become your actions and your actions become your results.

In other words…our words become actions, which eventually become your destiny.

It’s interesting how successful people are intentional about the words they speak, to themselves and to others.

The fact is, regardless of how you may define success, your words (those that you say to yourself as well as those you say out loud to other people) will help turn that vision into your reality.

Now there are many articles written on what successful people do say and don’t do, but today I’d like to share with you 6 things that successful people don’t say and don’t do…

1. “That’s impossible”
Interestingly, unsuccessful people are always pointing out what is not possible. To them the glass is always half empty, they live in a world of impossibilities; they have a can’t-do attitude, so they say: “I can’t” or “that can’t be done” or “that’s impossible.”
Not only are these words self-limiting, others perceive them as pessimistic, non-constructive, even defeatist.
Achievers know there are countless roadblocks on the road to success — barriers that may stall or stump, but never stop them.
They either remove the barrier, or figure out a way to go over, under, or around it.
So successful people say: “I have a choice,” “Here are our options,” or, “Let’s imagine all the possibilities.”

2. “I can do it all myself”
Successful people know the importance of getting a good team around them to triangulate, orientate and see through different eyes. They also recognise that if they’re the smartest person in their team they’re in trouble.

3. “It’s not fair.”
Everyone knows that life isn’t fair. Saying it’s not fair suggests that you think life is supposed to be fair and shows you don’t really have a handle on how things work.
Successful people are successful because when the odds are against them they choose to persevere despite things being unfair, rather than complaining and giving up.

4. “I’ll give it a try.”
The phrase sounds tentative and suggests you lack confidence in your ability to execute the task.
Take full ownership of your capabilities.
If you’re asked to do something, either commit to doing it or offer an alternative, but don’t say that you’ll ‘give it try’ because it sounds like you won’t try all that hard.

5. “I already know that”
This phrase is a sign of pure defensiveness — it means you’ve stopped seeking to learn and grow and have become more interested in being perceived as all knowing.
It’s one thing to speak knowledgeably about a topic and add insight; but there’s always more to learn and even if you “know it” are you using your knowledge, are you implementing it?

Remember to admit you’ve learned something new is simply to admit you’re wiser today than you were yesterday.

6. “Hey! Let me tell you what I’ve just heard about John…”
Successful will warn you about dangerous behaviours, but they don’t gossip, and they avoid words of judgment, insult and negativity.
If they can’t say something good about someone they don’t say anything

The bottom line:
Think about the things you say to yourself and to others that you need to stop saying. Then stop saying them!

Eliminating these words or phrases from your vocabulary will pay dividends.

The problem is they have a tendency to sneak up on us, so we’re going to have to speak to ourselves until we’ve solidified the habit of not saying them.

Here’s to your success! 

Ruth 

Here at Digi Life Enabled we’re committed to supporting online business start ups to be sustainable, competitive and grow. If you’re interested in how you can be successful in business online, check out these success stories to find out more: https://digilifeenabled.com/start/stories 

This week we focus on resilience-enhancing behaviours that support Personal & Business Resilience in Times of Crisis. We wanted to share these particularly in light of the pandemic Covid-19 Coronavirus. These are evidence-based activities that can benefit everyone physically, mentally and spiritually, and are principles we have found beneficial in our own lives.

Click on the video below to watch

The first of these is practicing gratitude. This can take the form, of setting aside time (a few minutes is enough) each day to reflect on a few things for which we’re thankful. And some research suggests that if we include in our lists social activities or something about relationships, the benefit is even greater. Our family tries to do this together every night before bedtime: each of us names three things we’re grateful for that happened in the past 24 hours. It shifts the focus from negative to positive and helps create perspective.

The second resilience-enhancing activity is engaging in daily physical exercise. You might first think of running or swimming, strenuous exercise, which is great but not always feasible. Walking, going up and down the stairs, lifting weights, and just moving about rather than sitting at our desks for hours on end also contribute to a healthier body, mind, and spirit. We would caution against intensive exercise at this time (you know what intense is for you) as this can lead to a reduced immunity.

Thirdly, and equally important, is eating a healthy diet. It’s not always easy to eat right in times of crisis especially if we’re eating ‘on the go’ but if we plan our meals in advance we can choose and prepare nutritious foods, rather than default to quick fix sugary foods in the moment. It does our bodies tremendous good to eat the rainbow foods (foods of different colours) every day, so plan for a rainbow meal each day.

Fourthly, one of the best boosts to our immunity is free, its an activity called sleep. Now exercise and diet can help with the promotion and onset of this, but it’s important you make specific time for quality sleep as a lack of sleep will reduce your immunity. Now we have young kids and are often up in the night with them so understand we can’t always get that perfect night, however put a schedule in place for you and your family to ensure you give yourselves the best opportunity for collective sleep. Just as you set a guard and boundaries around your cash, set a guard and some boundaries around your sleep – the reality is, it’s more valuable.

Another very useful way to build resilience is to develop competence (the skills you need to do your job) and confidence (the knowledge that you can do it). At Digi Life Enabled, we’re committed to providing educational programmes and mentoring to enable you to develop confidence and competence in online digital skills.

If you haven’t already, then check out some of our free video series to get you started by clicking here, or if you have started, and you’d like some 1-2-1 tutorials, then drop us a line at info@digilifeenabled.com to arrange a free call with us. 

In conclusion, one of the best-documented ways to enhance our resilience is to build and use social support. This means finding people in your personal and professional life whom you can talk to about what’s important to you (emotional support) and whom you can ask for help when you need it (instrumental support). We can do this through Skype, Facebook or other social media outlets, or good old phone, written, or in-person contact. Again, it’s been our pleasure to work through a number of work-life issues with our members and we want to reiterate drop us a line at info@digilifeenabled.com if you’d like to schedule a call with us at this time of crisis.

We also want to encourage our members to watch out for vulnerable members of their own communities. The elderly are some of the most vulnerable at this time, many are alone, and many don’t have ‘social media’ accounts to keep abreast of the latest developments or purchase things online. So think what you can do to check in and monitor those individuals at this time, as many will feel the isolation even more at this time.

Finally friends, we wish health and prosperity in the weeks ahead to you and those dear to you. 

This week we caught up with Phil & Pauline Sanderson who hold a number of world records in the Mountaineering world including:

• The World’s longest climb – The Dead Sea (lowest point) to Everest (highest point)

• The 1st British married couple to summit Everest – Only 2 couples have ever done this

• And the the world record for…well I explain more in the video below…

There are so many parallels between planing and executing an expedition to starting an online  business. I would suggest the most important parallel is ‘mindset’, and both Phil & Pauline admit the key success factor for them has always been taking control of the conversation that happens in their head.

They both experience doubt, they both experience ‘imposter syndrome’ (I’m not good enough to be here) and they both feel like giving up when things go wrong. Have you ever felt like that?

So why don’t they give up where others have?

Because of the conversation they have in their heads. They take control of the negative thoughts they hear.

What we also love about Phil & Pauline is how they have used their achievements to help a number of charities including: 

SOS Childrens Villages ( The world’s largest orphan charity)

What can you do?

Do what you can.

“If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk. If you can’t walk, then crawl. But whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward.”
Dr Martin Luther King Jr

Growing up, the words, but perhaps more importantly, the life of Dr Martin Luther King Jr challenged and shaped my world view. Maybe you’ve been challenged by the likes of Luther King too?

Maybe you’ve heard his popular quote above?

It teaches us that no matter where you are in your journey to success, there is always some kind of action you can take to move forward. I share something more of that perspective in this short video:

For example; if you don’t have any money to start your business right now, you can still plan your future budget, or even design a business logo or website.

If you’re stuck in a job you don’t like, you can build up your CV/resume, or network with professionals in your area to learn about job opportunities.

If you’re like me, maybe you feel that small steps don’t feel as satisfying as big leaps, but Luther King showed us that any progress is better than no progress. So do what you can do today to get closer to your goals, whether it’s fly, run, walk, or crawl… and you will get to where you want to be.

I’d like to conclude with a lesser known quote of Luther King:

“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

To me that is equally as powerful as the first quote, because many people measure success from a perspective of Return On Investment (ROI) based on our actions, but fail to consider COI – Cost Of Inaction because of our silence.

So what matters most to you?

If no one was looking, who would you really want to be?

Are you being silent about that which really matters to you?

Make time today to reflect on how you can you give greater priority to that which matters most to you in the week ahead.

Coming to you today from The Digger’s Inn, Francistown, Botswana, sharing an historic industrial lesson which has relevance to those wishing to start any new venture today.

In the late 1800s Francistown developed as a gold mining town. It had a railway bringing vital communication and transport from the South, but connectivity to the north, in particular Bulawayo (then Rhodesia now Zimbabwe) was by ox wagon only. The Rinderpest epidemic of 1896-7 had killed virtually all the cattle, so that ox wagons could no longer be used for transport of good or people. The sole means of transport therefore became donkey carts and mule drawn Zeederberg coaches making this a long slow journey requiring animal changes every 10-12miles.

Cecil Rhodes gave orders to engineer George Pauling that the rails must reach Bulawayo from Francistown before the rains started at the end of 1897, a feat which they accomplished at a mile a day for 70 days. A feat which is all the extraordinary when you consider this was all manual labour with hand tools.

Because of the urgency, much of the line was initially unballasted with sleepers resting on the ground and most of the river crossings were merely forded without bridges.

The line needed to be able to carry trains at a speed of 12 miles per hour. Stations and sidings initially had only simple tin buildings. However, once the entire line was operational and revenue coming in, appropriate bridges and stations were built.

To summarise, the engineers set to work on a ‘workable’ solution which would deliver something on time, rather than wait for a perfect solution which would be too late.

One of the lessons for all of us starting off a new project, or business, is we often procrastinate and delay because we don’t have everything perfect to start. The reality is, things never will be perfect, we just need to start from where we are, not in a careless manner, but realising that we can create ‘something’ where there was ‘nothing’. That is progress!

So, what are you waiting for?

Remember, a workable solution delivered on time is better than a perfect solution a little too late.

Francistown grew because of the gold rush. If you’re interested learning how to leverage the digital gold rush, then click here to review our complimentary video series where you can learn more about starting a profitable online business based on your values and passions.

You know, many people talk about ‘thinking big’ in business and in life to succeed, and I get that, but this week I want to encourage you to simply think small, in both your business and personal life.

In the video below I share two examples of people who are making a big difference in this world not by thinking big, but by thinking small, one of whom is a 16 year old girl who through small acts is making a huge difference…

Finally, as we all think about ways to generate wealth to make a difference in this world, I want to leave you with some of the last words Steve Jobs shared before he passed away at the age of 56 from pancreatic cancer:

“At this moment, lying on the bed, sick and remembering all my life, I realize that all my recognition and wealth that I have is meaningless in the face of imminent death.

You can hire someone to drive a car for you, make money for you – but you cannot hire someone to carry the disease for you.

One can find material things, but there is one thing that can not be found when it is lost – “LIFE”. So, love the people God sent you, one day he’ll need them back…”

May we all make a big difference in the week ahead by thinking small.

Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. So where and what is your treasure?

This video is about how an attitude of gratitude is a form of treasure, 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.

But how do we develop an attitude of gratitude?

Please click here or on the picture below to learn three steps you can take toward an attitude of gratitude that can help you in your business and personal life.