Achieving Success: The Top Skill That Successful People Have Mastered

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is MIND-SET?

Our mind-set is our mental attitude that has taken shape based on our life experiences, our environment, our education and the ideas and beliefs we have absorbed from those people we have interacted with the most in our lives.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we all keep a running account or self talk of what is happening to us, what it means, and what we should do about it. Our mind-set is that inner voice conversation taking place in our heads. (You have all heard me say before, “Listen to your inner-voice”)

Our minds are meaning seeking machines and we are constantly monitoring and interpreting events and stimuli so that we can reinforce or modify our internal ‘map’ of ourselves and the world as we have come to understand them. Based on these beliefs our mind-set is responsible for how we interpret and react to what happens to us and around us.

Depending on whether your inner voice is based on a positive empowering mind-set or a negative limiting one, will largely determine how you will interpret challenges, setbacks and criticisms in life as well as contributing significantly to the actual outcomes and results you create.

The correct mind-set is perhaps THE most important factor in human success. Above all else! The difference between successful people and non-successful people starts in their mind, with their predominant mind-set.

Often it is our predominant thoughts and feelings about ourselves and the world around us that are the key to unlocking our life’s true possibilities.

When MIND-SETS are Formed?

Mind-sets are based on our beliefs. Our beliefs about ourselves and the world. These beliefs are created in two ways. Firstly by what we are taught when we are young and easily impressed and secondly by the experiences and results we have, see and observe in everyday life.

Where MIND-SET comes into Play?

In everything we do we have some pre-conceived ideas about the possible outcomes and chances for success. No matter if it is a small or large undertaking we are constantly evaluating our results and placing them within our map of ourselves and the world. Our mind-sets affect everything we do and influence not only our view of the outcome, but also the outcome itself.

Why MIND-SET affects Behavior and Success?

Having the correct mind-set for a particular task is almost a pre-requisite for success. No one has ever been successful who has not had to overcome hurdles and obstacles to that success. The ability to have an empowering and positive outlook and mind-set allows us to not only overcome those hurdles and obstacles to success but to actually welcome them as challenges and opportunities for growth and learning.

How to change Your MIND-SET?

We all have the ability to change our mind-set – to change our core inner beliefs upon which we based our view of ourselves and the world around us. But changing our beliefs is not an easy thing to do. Most people find changing one small belief extremely difficult, let alone a whole range of self-supporting beliefs based perhaps on negative pre-conditioning. What is needed is a tool – a tool for change, that enable us to rapidly install new thought patterns and positive mind-sets, based on proven success models. A person’s core inner beliefs and thought patterns are what lead to their feelings of potentiality, action and results.

Simply by changing your mind-set it is possible to change not only your outlook in life by also the actual results you obtain in life.

Here are 3 Ways to Change Your MIND-SET!

1) Be Willing to Change: These are your thoughts so you can change them. Even though our beliefs were more than likely formed when you were young, you are an adult today and you have the power to affect change in your life. This is the essence of personal power: choice and responsibility.

2) Feed The Mind-Set You Want: The fastest way to change your mind-set is to feed your mind the one you want. Every time you feed yourself a positive mind-set, it weakens the negative ones. You will be instantly creating new neurons that form a new more positive neural network. The more you do this the stronger you new neural network will become. Feeding the positive weakens the negative.

3) Love Your Mind-Set: Allow yourself to create a passion for your new mind-set. The new mind-set you want to create. Doing this creates endorphins in your body that lead to a new sense of well being. This in turn leads to a more inspired and emotionally engaged you, having more fun in your life as you enlarge and make stronger your new neural network.

Start Today to Change Your MIND-SET for the Better and Watch Your Success Skyrocket!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Leading Authority on Peak Performance,  Overcoming Adversity, Achieving Greater Success & Finding Your WHY Power. Real Estate 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.

 

 

 

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.

Achieving Success: Top 6 Steps in Overcoming The Fear of Success

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Fears are nothing more than a state of mind. Napoleon Hill

 

The one quote that resonates with me that has changed my mindset in overcoming fear is, “Do the thing you fear & the death of fear is certain. We all have a fear of something. The majority of the population fears success. Why? I believe people fear success because it not only takes hard work, discipline, dedication and perseverance it also takes courage to overcome the 6 Fears of Success. Below are the 6 Fears that play an intrical part in NOT achieving great things. Follow the solutions, work on them, implement the strategies and encourage failure. You will fail along the way but know that failure is a stepping stone to your success. Once you conquer the 6 Fears of Success, your success is virtually guaranteed.

 

The Six Fears of Success and How to Overcome them.

Determine which Fear is holding you back and resolve to take it back.

1. Fear of Failure. This is the greatest of all fears. Fear of failure keeps people from trying new ventures. The fear that they may fail therefore choosing not to take risk.
Solution: Do your homework, however do not over analyze to where it causes paralyzes. Once you learn more about it, be decisive in your actions. It requires a reframe that failure is a normal stage in achievement.

2. Fear of Embarrassment. People who fear embarrassment have typically experienced a time in their childhood that was humiliating in which they filed the memory and said to themselves, “I will never feel that way again or put myself in that position.” Solution: Practice self-talk, self-affirmations. “I can do this, I can accomplish this, I can achieve this”, are a few examples.

3. Fear of Rejection. People who fear rejection have experienced the feeling therefore resulting in low self-esteem. Solution: Realize that rejection is about the other person. It’s about their own insecurities. Know that you are a great person and that rejection is a part of life. Do not let rejection stop you from achieving your dreams. It takes a healthy ego to know that rejection is a normal part of life.

4. Fear of Hurting Others. There is a saying, “If you fail to plan, your plan will fail.” Solution: People who fear hurting others need to plan so that they can continue to meet the needs of others and still pursue their dreams. Make sure the people in your life know how much your Goal(s) mean to you. Do your homework.

5. Fear of Success. Some people have low self-esteem for whatever reason and may fall into the category that they aren’t worthy of success. They fear how their life will be different if they succeed. They decide to stay in the same old place to avoid their own potential for greatness. Solution: Positive Self-Affirmations, Self-Talk can do wonders in reprogramming your thoughts and mindset.

6. Fear of The Unknown. I call these people the “half empties”. There glass is always half empty as opposed as half full. People who fear the unknown usually catastrophize and fear the worst instead of counting on the best. Solution: I am a true believer of what will be, will be. Things happen for a reason. Place your fears in the hands of a higher power and understand what is meant to be will be.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Real Estate Entrepreneur, Leading Authority on Achieving Greater Success and Overcoming Adversity, 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.

 

Achieving Success: The Top 3 Qualities That Are Essential For Your Success

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In order to be successful, these three words are paramount to your success. If you don’t live and breathe by these three words, your success is virtually impossible.

Here they are: Passion, Push, Perseverance

Passion:

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you ~ Oprah Winfrey

My definition of Passion is the burning desire you have inside you to achieve more, be more and do more.  Whatever you are passionate about should keep you up at night. Whatever you are passionate about should be on your mind 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Passion is wanting success just as bad as you need the air you breathe. This is Passion.

Push:

I always wanted to be the best I could be at whatever I did. I didn’t want to be the number one golfer in the world. I just wanted to be as good as I could be. I work hard, I push myself hard, and I probably even expect too much of myself ~ Greg Norman

You must push yourself to the breaking point when you want to achieve something. If you want something so bad you must be willing to run through a brick wall to get it, achieve it, accomplish it. Sounds crazy, huh. Well guess what, if you don’t feel this way then you are leaving it all on the table for someone else to grab. If you cheat yourself one time, this will carry over into everything you do in life. For example, if you are in the gym and you have a goal of doing 30 minutes of cardio and you quit after 20 minutes, you just cheated yourself. Cheating in the smallest task will carry over in to all you do in life. To push you need discipline. By cheating yourself, you are failing to create discipline in your life. In order to succeed in anything you do, you must have the discipline to push through the feeling of giving up. It takes 21 days to create or break a habit. Over the next 21 days, push yourself to the limit in everything you do and watch and see what happens in your life.

Perseverance:

Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority~ Vince Lombardi

Perseverance is the steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. You must possess the mentality that failure is no option. You must encourage failure. You must persist through failure because failure is guaranteed along your journey. Learn from it, embrace it and persist through it. If you lack perseverance you will never be successful. Did you know that Thomas Edison, the worlds greatest inventor failed over 10,000 times. Where would this world be had he quit?

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Businessman, Entrepreneur, Motivational/Transformational Speaker, Real Estate Expert, Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder) and the World’s Leading Authority on Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Success.

I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com

To Your Success,

John

The Top 10 Laws to Achieve Success and Win the Game of Life

The Top 10 Laws to Achieve Success and Win the Game of Life

1) Be Decisive in all you do: The decisions you make will define your destiny

2) Stay Laser Focused: By focusing on something you want or want to achieve, it becomes like a magnet that pulls you and the resources you need to achieve them

3)Goals: This is a MUST: Write down all the goals you want to achieve each night before going to sleep. The goals must Specific, Measurable, Time Bounded.

4)Planning: Without a plan you will wander like a boat without a rudder

5)Surround Yourself with Positive Successful Influential People: Follow their lead and DO NOT Re-Invent the wheel

6)Encourage Failure: Failure is a MUST if you want to succeed. Embrace it and learn from it

7)Take Action: Do what is necessary each and everyday to get you closer to your prize. Without Action, you will remain in the same spot

8)Inspect what you Expect: Your attention toward your goals will increase Productivity

9)Reward Yourself: You MUST reward yourself once you accomplish your goal. Positive Reinforcement

10)Commitment and Perseverance: Commit yourself, hold yourself accountable, stay focused on your mission

Achievers aren’t born, they are made. They are made just like anything else, through hard work. Hard work is the price you’ll have to pay to achieve your goals/dreams you desire~John R. Salkowski

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Retired Police Officer, Speaker, Entrepreneur, America’s Leading Authority in Helping PTSD Sufferers Overcome Their Challenges and To Achieve The Success They Deserve so They Can Live The Life They Deserve!

Please leave your comments below.

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Why You Need A Mentor

PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is becoming an epidemic amongst cops and military personnel. You see it all over the news, in the newspapers by our returning heroes. This disorder is affecting hundreds of thousands of lives across this country and we as a society need to do something about it before it becomes worse than it already is.

To often when someone experiences the symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) they turn to different avenues of trying to overcome it. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean: Turning to self medicating or drug abuse: whether prescription drugs, alcohol or any other illegal drug to soothe the feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, irritability and any other feelings they are experiencing. Self medicating doesn’t help. It makes the symptoms worse which in turn leads to the person acting out. What do I mean by acting out? The self medicating or drug abuse only enhances the feelings that one is going through. This leads to the next epidemic of PTSD sufferers. Committing suicide and often homicide. Why?

Why are Police Officers, war veterans and military personnel not seeking help from the powers to be? The command staff, human resources department, mentors. Because we are trained that asking for help is weak? We are trained to act as if we have no emotions. Nothing is supposed to bother us. Who are they kidding? This thought process makes me sick. Makes me want to vomit! The machoisms, the egos in these professions need to be checked at the door. We are human beings for christ sake. Things do bother us? When they bother us, we need to be trained to seek help and not be afraid of what people will think of us. Instead, they throw you out like a bag of trash in a dumpster. They get rid of you. It’s easier to turn your back on a problem then face it head on. This mentality is for the cowards of the world. Police Officers and Military Personnel are their to help, correct? There to serve our communities and country, correct? Then why is it that when one of us needs help, they turn their back on us?

Don’t rely on help or assistance within these organizations. Why rely on them for help when they need help more than you do. My advice to you is to seek out a mentor or a mentoring program. A person or place you can go to confide in to helping you through your road bumps or adversity. Seek out a person or program that you can trust. Use your gut instinct, listen to your inner-voice when seeking out a mentor or a mentoring program. Seek out someone who has been there and done that is now in a place where you want to be. Seek out a mentoring program that has proven results. If you’re afraid of what people may think then keep it to yourselves. It takes a man to admit we need help. It takes a man to admit that you are at your breaking point. It takes a man of courage and strength to admit this. Don’t let anyone tell you different and if they do turn around and walk away. This type of person you don’t need in your life anyway.

Trust me on this please. You are important. You matter in this world. There are people who love and care about you. For all you parents out there, do it for your kids. They need you more than anyone or anything. Do it for them.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy and survivor of PTSD, Businessman, Speaker and Self Made Man. If I can overcome PTSD and achieve the success I have accomplished so can you. Believe in yourself because no one else will.

Please leave your comments below and let’s start making a difference in this world by helping our Hero’s live happy, healthy, successful lives.

The Hunger For Success: Are You Hungry? Then You Need To Stay Hungry?

Are you hungry for what you want in life? Do you wake up everyday starving to accomplish great things? Ask yourself this question: What is my Why? If you can answer this question then you’ll wake up every morning hungry. Starting each and everyday on an empty stomach knowing you have to find your next meal. Of course I mean the success you want in life.

Staying HUNGRY

If you’re not hungry than you don’t want to be the best you can be. You don’t want to be the best in your field, no matter what profession you’re in. If you don’t want to be the best you can be rest assured there is someone out there that does. If you want to be the best that you can be day in and day out then you need to start everyday wondering where your next meal will come from. Think about this: According to the University of Michigan back in 2005, there were 11.5 million entrepreneurs in the U.S. Some of these entrepreneurs didn’t know where their next pay check, customer, prospect was coming from. This can be very stressful for a lot of people. This is not just directed to the business owners of the world. This is directed to the employees that want that promotion or raise. You can sell someone a plate of food but you can’t make them eat if their NOT hungry.

Success doesn’t come easy. If it were easy there would be a hell of a lot more successful people in the world. Success is a choice. It’s a mind set. You must want it as much as you want the air you breathe. This might sound crazy but it’s the truth. Look at some of the most successful people in the world. Most of them don’t have MBA‘s from Harvard. Some never even graduated from college. Some never went to college. But the difference was that they were hungry for success. They wanted it just as much as they needed the air they breathe.

Hard Work

We bust our asses for the things we want, right? We work extra hours for the vacation we so desperately need, the car we want, the shoes we want to buy and so forth. Anything worthwhile having requires hard work. It requires getting up every morning starting from ground zero. Having the mentality that you are starting each day with NOTHING! You must hustle to get want you want. You must figure out a way on how to attain what you want. Are you busting your ass for the success you deserve?

It all boils down to how bad you want something. Are you willing to do whatever it takes to make it? What are you willing to sacrifice to get it? I think back when I was a cop knowing that my career was coming to an end. I had to ask myself do I have what it takes to make it out in the world without an employer. I had to ask myself over and over again was I willing to do whatever it took to be successful. Thinking of all the adversity that I was about to face. The truth is that you will only be as hungry as you want to be. If you want success as bad as you need the air you breathe, you will stay hungry.

Tips for Overcoming PTSD by Founder of Achieve Success Academy

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PTSD: Officer Involved Shooting to 100% Statistic

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Incident leading up to being diagnosed with PTSD

Hello, my name is John Salkowski and I am a retired Police Officer of 15yrs who  suffered PTSD for many years before being diagnosed. While on-duty I was working the 11pm-7am shift on January 10, 2000. I was on patrol working a beat that was relatively busy as far as crime was concerned. The events that will unfold this cold night will forever change my life.

Approximately 3:55am, the police dispatcher reported an armed robbery just occurred at the A Plus mini mart. The actor was described a black male wearing army fatigues last seen getting into a white Hyundai sedan last seen traveling east towards my location. The dispatcher reported that the actor beat the clerk over the head with a club and reached into the cash register till and stole money.

I was located east of that location so I started to head up to an intersection that I thought he may approach. With-in minutes, I radio to the dispatcher reporting my observations of the white Hyundai sedan now traveling north. I activated my emergency devices on the car (lights/Sirens) and began to pursue the vehicle while reporting my location, direction of travel to radio dispatch. The suspect eventually stopped the vehicle moments later. The events that unfolded shortly after were life changing.