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
COVID-19 has massively accelerated the growth of e-commerce, according to an Adobe Digital Economy Index (DEI) report released today.
Adobe’s DEI is a global economic measure for the 21st century that more
quickly, comprehensively, and internationally measures the increasing buying power of digital consumers — with greater detail than any other data source available. You can download the full report here.
Highlighting that total online spending in May hit $82.5 billion, up 77% year-over-year, the report states: “It would’ve taken between 4 and 6 years to get to the levels that we saw in May if the growth continued at the same levels it was at for the past few years.”
Report highlights:
E-commerce: jumped $52 billion
Memorial Day sales: jumped 75% from $2 billion last year to $3.5 billion this year
Mobile’s share of e-commerce: grew from January but not much, up just 10%
BOPIS: buy online, pick up in-store grew 195% in May
Travel: flight bookings tripled from early April to late May
Higher rates of e-commerce and BOPIS (buy online, pick up in-store) may be the new abnormal, Adobe data indicates.
“We are seeing signs that online purchasing trends formed during the pandemic may see permanent adoption,” Taylor Schreiner, Director, Adobe Digital Insights, said in a statement. “While BOPIS was a niche delivery option pre-pandemic, it is fast becoming the delivery method of choice as consumers become more familiar with the ease, convenience and experience.”
Adobe’s DEI analyzes over one trillion online transactions across 100 million product SKUs, the company says.
What people are buying is changing too, perhaps returning more to relatively normal consumption patterns. Electronics and apparel purchases were up 11% and 12%, respectively: we’re working at home, but we haven’t bought new clothes in a while. Pricing is changing though: grocery prices were up 4% in May compared to 2019.
The data is telling us that COVID-19 has simply accelerated the trend of growth in the digital economy that has already been happening for many years. I share more in this short video below:
So if you’re serious about your business, you need to listen to what the data is telling you and be agile enough to act/respond accordingly.
Many people see the advantage of an online business but fail to get started because they simply don’t know where to start, or have a fear of failure. That’s exactly the position we were in which held us back for so long until we found the right education and support network to help us get started from scratch. If you’re ready to explore proven steps with a support network that you can take right now to take advantage of the growth in the digital economy, then Click Here to learn more.
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.
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.
She was a 5 year old refugee in the Netherlands from Iraq, yet a simple act of kindness shown to her caused her to take action over 25 years later.
Please click here to watch this message.
Having worked with refugees in the past, it reminded me of a similar personal experience when, thanks to the internet, and a desire and tenacity on the part of the other party, I was contacted by a very special individual who I never thought I would ever hear from again.
It happened one Christmas, and for me, that reconnection was the best Christmas gift I received.
There’s a lot of talk in our world about how to invest our finances, and that’s fine, but let’s not forget that by investing in each other with simple acts of kindness we can create a dividend for others and our ourselves that unlike money, can’t be devalued.
If like me, you grew up before the internet age, can see its amazing benefits and potential and would like to learn how to use this tool to create a profitable business aligned to your values which you’re genuinely passionate about, but don’t know where to start, then click here to claim our complimentary video series which explains more.
Stephen
How you invest your time determines how your financial future will unfold
Many say they cannot invest because they have no money. The wise invest their time when they have no money.
Unfortunately, many people have no time to invest. Why?
All their time is spent in their place of work because they think that working harder and longer will make them financially richer. Nothing could be further from the truth. Working more doesn’t mean making more.
If you ask most people why they’re doing all this work, they’ll tell you it’s for money.
By this, they mean a steady paycheck that provides security.
Money is one of the primary reasons people take on a high-paying job that they don’t like but which they spend most of their waking hours at — all while the things they really love in life sit on the sidelines waiting for them to finish working.
The problem with this approach is that you only make money as long as you show up at your place of work. The only thing of value that you have to sell to an employer is your time. So, in order to make more money, you have to work longer hours, which is physically exhausting.
Because you only have a finite amount of time and energy, as an employee, your earning potential is finite.
You only have so many days you can sell.
Conversely, if you ask most wise people what they work for, and they’ll tell you it’s for assets.
By this they mean investments and businesses that provide steady cash flow each month with little-to-no work. Instead of spending their life working for money, the wise work to understand how to make money work for them through financial education.
Adding more assets is much different than working for a paycheck. For instance, adding assets doesn’t require working longer or harder. These assets provide passive income, even while you’re sleeping or playing.
This is not to say that the wise don’t work. They do, they just work for different outcomes.
Seeing the massive opportunity the online world offered in the form of digital assets, but growing up in the pre-internet age and not being confident in digital skills, we invested time to grow our online business (digital assets) through financial education when we had no money to speak of, and found the education and mentoring given by SFM of real clarity amongst all the noise. That’s why we choose to signpost others to their services.
How about you?
What are you working for?
What are you investing your time in?
Are you working towards making money work for you through the power of assets?
Or do you spend your days toiling away at a job you hate in order to make money?
If so, what’s holding you back?
We encourage you to put some time aside to start investing in your financial education and building for your future through the power of assets.
If you haven’t done so already, why not try the Webcast which is transforming perspectives on how to generate an income online, revealing strategies for growing your income with a business you are passionate about. Click here to get started.
Global action is required to tackle the web’s “downward plunge to a dysfunctional future”, its creator Sir Tim Berners-Lee has told the BBC this week.
He made the comments in an exclusive interview to mark 30 years since he submitted his proposal for the web.
Clearly Sir Tim created the web with his own design intent for good, so it must grieve him deeply on a personal level to see that which he created for good, be abused.
In fact, it was our own aversion and concern over the ‘dark/bad’ side of the web that made us stay clear of it for so long.
We had looked at options for starting an online business from home because of the time and financial freedom the online business model offered, in particular it would lend itself to some of our overseas charity work, enabling us to generate an income 24/7 from anywhere in the world as long as we had a laptop and wifi (the good side to the web).
But, we were very skeptical about online scams, and so didn’t know who we could really trust to start off with in a virtual world.
At the same time we realised we were actually already living in our own ‘scam’ if we thought by carrying on in the same traditional economic system things would somehow magically change by themselves for the better.
So, we realised we had to take responsibility and action to leverage the many benefits the web offered, rather than just focus on the negative aspects, and we’re so glad we did.
In our world where we live, there is use and abuse of everything that was intended to be provided for our good. There’s nothing necessarily inherently wrong in anything, it’s whether we chose to use that ‘thing’ that ‘tool’ that ‘provision’ for good or for evil, that’s what really matters.
So, is the web a force for evil or good?
That really depends on each of us and our free choice.
So what will you chose to use the web for?
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.]]>