Achieving Success: Top 7 Tips For Living A More Meaningful & Fulfilling Life

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A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life~Charles Darwin

I believe it’s in our nature to want to please everyone we can, make them happy, help them. Make them proud of us. However, when we do this, our life often suffers. Our loved ones suffer. The time we are given suffers. Our work and sometimes our health suffers because of it. We need to stop pleasing everyone and start pleasing ourselves. Start living our own life. A more meaningful, fulfilling life that we can look back on and say, “I did my part for society, but I also lived a fulfilling life”. Often we get wrapped up in things that don’t matter. Time wasters if you will. As I sometimes call it, “time eaters”. Time eaters are people who have one agenda and one agenda only. Themselves. They could care less about your agenda.

There are only so many minutes and hours in a day. Before you know it, a week, a month, a year has past. You will look back and say, “what have I accomplished”, “where has all the time gone”. Before you know it, you’re sitting on a rocker at a ripe old age wondering, did I really live my life to the fullest. We don’t want to say “I didn’t live my life, others lived my life”.

I’m all for helping others and making a huge difference in others lives. Making an impact in other lives is a great feeling. Knowing that you have impacted someone for the better is an awesome feeling. Knowing that you gave back to society is a wonderful feeling. However, we only have one life to live. What’s it going to take for us to realize that we’re only on this beautiful earth for a short time. We don’t want to live with any regrets. When our time comes, we want to ask ourselves, did I make a difference, did I love passionately and did I live a fulfulling life. Our answer should be Yes to all of them.

Here are 7 Tips for living with NO regrets-Living YOUR Life:

1) Don’t Buy Happiness-If you believe money is the secret sauce to happiness, consider this: According to a University of Illinois study, the Forbes 400 (the wealthiest billionaires in America) and the Maasai tribes of East Africa (simple, pastoral herdsmen) exhibit the same levels of happiness, regardless of their monetary differences. In plain English: Money doesn’t buy happiness.

2) Get Together With Friends & Loved Ones Often-Could getting together and having fun save your life? Maybe so, when you consider that loneliness is a life-threatening condition that can raise your risk of heart disease and depression. It helps to have a close group of friends, but it’s also important to interact with people outside that circle. Every kind of positive interaction, from smiling at the waitress to chatting with a stranger can boost your mood.

3) Weekend Get Aways-Spare some time away for a weekend trip. This WILL boost your mood and productivity.

4) Make The Little Things Count-We are often on auto-pilot and don’t appreciate the small things in life. Hey, you woke up in a warm home, you have hot water, you have food in the fridge, you have someone that loves you. Stop for a moment and appreciate how blessed you truly are.

5) Pursue Your Passion-Do WHAT you LOVE. Stop living for others. Life’s too SHORT.

6) Forgive Yourself-Focus on the PRESENT, FUTURE,  NOT the past.

7) Live In The Moment-Be PRESENT in ALL you DO! Look that person in the eyes and pay attention to what they are saying. Stop looking around when someone is talking too you. Treat that person as if they were the only human being alive. Kneel down and kiss your child and tell them you love them more than life. Lay on the floor and play checkers with your best friend. Without being PRESENT you’ll lose out on 90% of your life.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Leading Authority on Peak Performance, Achieving Greater Success, Overcoming Adversity & Finding Your WHY Power, Speaker, Entrepreneur, Retired Cop and Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com for questions and Speaking Engagements.

Tips For Achieving Success Faster Than You’ve Ever Thought Possible

What does it mean to you to be successful?

Don’t worry about society’s standards for success. Just consider how you would define success — for yourself. Based on your own definition, are you successful? Are you living up to your own values and ideals? Are you fulfilling your true potential? If you’re truly successful by your own definition, there shouldn’t be any doubt or hesitation. You could answer with an easy and obvious yes. Maybe other people would consider you successful. Maybe you’d like to think of yourself as successful. But do you really believe that about yourself? Do you feel you’re living up to YOUR potential? Are you doing your BEST? Before we can grow beyond this point, we have to admit the truth to ourselves first. It’s okay if it’s an unpleasant truth, but we still need to face it. Denying the truth WILL NOT help us grow. No truth, no growth, right? The truth is that most of us actually end up living pretty mediocre lives. We know we could be doing much better, but we constantly slack off. We distract ourselves. Most of us regret tomorrow before we’ve even lived it.

Barriers to Success

Success can be very rewarding, but it’s not an easy path to take. There are many obstacles and problems to confront along the way. Some of these problems are in fact getting worse.
Do you find it difficult to focus? You’re not alone. You may have noticed a major increase in distractions in your life within the last few years. There are more things clamoring for our attention than ever before. Another challenge is that we have more opportunities than ever before. We live in a time of rapid change, and change brings opportunity. From all of these possibilities, how do we pick something to focus on? How can we possibly feel confident that our decisions are correct? These challenges can be overwhelming at times. So quite often, we check out. We distract ourselves. We spin our wheels and run in circles. Life passes us by. And we wonder where all the time went. With each passing year, you may feel you’re slipping further and further behind, relative to where you’d hoped to be. There’s a gradual feeling of dread that builds over time… a sense of loss and regret — and maybe some guilt as well. If only you’d made better use of your time while you were younger… One year you have a job. The next year you’re trying to start a business. You don’t find the work very fulfilling, but it pays the bills. University students often have this problem as well. They switch majors like they’re changing their clothes. First it’s psychology, then a year later it’s engineering, then philosophy. What’s the point of paying for school if you’re not going to finish what you start?

The 3 Key Challenges of Success

Let’s clarify the 3 critical challenges of success — challenges that everyone must face if they wish to become very successful.
Here they are:
1. You need to figure out what to do with your life.
If you don’t decide what to do with your life, chances are you’ll end up working for someone who does. You can run your own life, or you can have someone run it for you. Most people end up having their lives ran by someone else. They spend most of their lives working to achieve someone else’s goals. Is that you?
2. You need to COMMIT to being successful.
You don’t need to commit yourself to any particular path forever, but you must at least stick with your projects long enough to make serious and meaningful progress.
You can’t keep starting and stopping. You can’t keep quitting. You can’t keep distracting yourself.
3. You need to get yourself to take action repeatedly.
If you want the results of success, you’d better get used to taking a lot of action. No action, no results.
Most people fail the first challenge miserably, so they never even make it to the second and third challenges because they give up. But even those that do have a clear idea of what they want to do rarely get very far with it. Suffice it to say that mediocrity is a LOT more common than success.
Why is that?

Because Success is hard, very hard.

I think you deserve to know the truth. It’s not that easy to succeed. It can be a serious struggle at times. Very successful people know this, and they know it well. At least in the short run, it’s easier to be mediocre. If you want the easy path, you’ll have to settle for mediocrity. Trying to succeed will only frustrate you. You’ll find it too difficult. If you aren’t fully committed to success, you’ll give up too soon. I’m not here to serve the people who are okay with mediocrity. I want achievers. Achievers are people who want to better themselves. They want to grow.
But here’s the good news: It’s definitely possible to improve. Success is both learnable and teachable. You don’t have to settle for a mediocre life. Yes, success is harder than mediocrity, but it’s not impossible. Great success is achievable if you commit yourself to it. You really could be doing better. You could be succeeding much faster than you are now — and in a much bigger way.

Having vs. Being

There’s a difference between having certain results and being an achiever. Try not to get too riled about about the having aspects. That isn’t a good place to root your self-esteem and self-worth. Money and possessions are nice, but they won’t fulfill you by themselves. When it comes to success, the being part is much more important. What does it mean to be successful? Success is a certain feeling you have about yourself. It’s a very positive, energetic, motivating feeling — a feeling of ambition, drive, determination, confidence, and forward momentum. You look in the mirror and feel happy and excited. You feel motivated to get going. You’re inspired to take action… lots of action. For many people, days like this are few and far between. Some people can barely recall a day when they felt inspired and motivated. That’s truly sad and disappointing. Conscious human beings can do better. When you’re at your best, life flows with passion and possibility. Your goals and projects are motivating and energizing. You take lots of action because you’re inspired to act. It wouldn’t feel as good to delay. When you end a successful day, it’s a great feeling. You barely want to go to bed because you’re enjoying such wonderful flow. When you do go to bed, you sleep restfully and peacefully. Real success is a state of being, not a collection of possessions or a number in a bank account. You can tell when you’re in the flow of success or not. If you’re not sure, then you’re not in the flow. Being in the flow is undeniable. When I’m in this successful flow state, the having part largely takes care of itself. When I do my best work, I create value for others. This can create an abundance of income for you, which makes it easy to pay your bills, meet your needs, and enjoy the experiences that make life worth living. Resolve today to commit yourself to be an achiever!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker, Retired Police Officer and Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com I would love to hear your feedback, thoughts, questions.

Top 10 Tips to Overcome Adversity and Achieve Your Goals

You will live the rest of your life with regret if you give up on your dream, your goal, your mission. This is what I live with everyday of my life. I had a one in a million chance of playing football for the University of Alabama from 1989-1993. For those of you who know me, you know I was a walk-on under Coach Bill Curry as a Linebacker. I was one of the 5. They said that their walk-on program was one of the hardest in the country amongst Division 1 teams. I was told,” You have everything against you son, size, height, speed”. I was told.” these are men amongst boys out here”. There were 50 young men from all over the country who attempted to earn one of the 5 spots on the roster. The 5 week program was Killer to say the least. They were dropping like flies, carried out on stretchers, walking away. Quitting! Giving Up!

I gave up on my dream the second year under Coach Gene Stallings. I walked away. I went home. I Quit! I said, “I Give Up”. I regret it every single day. Don’t allow yourself to live the rest of your life with regret!

Here are 10 ways to help you achieve your dreams, your goals, your mission:

1. Talk to someone you can trust in the field: Explain how important this goal is to you. Explain how you are feeling. Ask for their advice if they were faced with X. I didn’t have this. You NEED to do this before you give up.
2. Ask your family, friend(s) who know you and know how you are for their opinion. Stay away from the Nay-Sayers, Negative Nellies, Jealous Jackies.
3. Take a step back: Take the time you need to think about the consequences if you stop pursuing your goal/dream. What will the outcome be if I stick with this? What will the outcome be if I walk away?
4. Practice Positive Talk: I can do this! I can make it! I am important! I am a great person!
5. Learn everything you possibly can: Seek out someone that has accomplished what you want to accomplish. Take them out to lunch and learn from them.
6. Commit to goals, short term and long term. Start with the end in mind – long term goal – and work backward when writing goals.
7. Work on your dream every day of your life. Fill all the minutes and hours you’ve allotted with serious determination one day at a time.
8. Give it all you can.  There will be days when you don’t feel like giving it your best. Give it your best anyway for that day. Do not cheat yourself by not pursuing your dream. Give it everything you’ve got. If you have to walk away, know that you gave it your all. Live with NO Regrets!
9. Keep a journal. Write down what you accomplish every day. Just a few words will do, or else you will create yet another job, which you don’t need.
10. Celebrate your achievements! Reward yourself with pre-determined gifts. Treat yourself.  For your ultimate goals, give yourself the greatest reward. And then set new goals. You CAN achieve more!

Associate with people like yourself who enjoy the same kinds of pursuits. During your friendships, offer support to your peers. They will then be there for you when you need it.

Without dreams we have nothing to look forward too~John R. Salkowski

Live your LIFE with NO Regrets!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Retired Police Officer, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker and America’s Leading Authority on Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Your Life’s Mission. I can be reached by email at John@JohnSalkowski.com

Like me on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Achieve-Success-Academy/246640965374976