The Success Cycle

“One way to keep momentum going is to have constantly greater goals.” The success cycle is one of the most important tools that you can identify and plug yourself into that will put you on the road to hitting your goals. It relies on 3 simple steps that can move in a positive or negative direction equally. It is up to you to identify your success cycle and use it to your advantage to breed bigger success in your life. 

The three simple steps of the success cycle are as follows: Awareness, massive action, and results. This process is ongoing in many different aspects of your life and once you identify and value its power it will unlock anything you want to achieve. Also, you must be mindful that the success cycle can move in both a positive and negative direction. 

Lets look at a few examples as we examine this further. First we will walk through the positive, and then I will show you how easy it can be to fall into a negative success cycle if you are not hyper aware of yourself and your surroundings. Say you have the desire to lose weight, or just generally improve your health, this will show you how understand the success cycle along the way and will aid your results. 

The first key element of it is awareness; the identification of the issue. When you become aware of a issue or situation that is the first vital element to changing it. How many people do you know who have goals, but do not achieve them simply because they do not know the major factors holding them back, or even the major factors that will allow them to overcome challenges.

In this example of weight loss, say you have a goal to lose 20 pounds by a certain date. You first use the success cycle to make you aware, or “hyper aware” of what you want. You become aware of the WHY behind what you want to achieve. In this first stage of awareness you must identify the major factors that will hold you back from hitting this goal. What are the key elements of what will get you to this goal faster and what will hold you back. Are you eating unhealthy food? Are you not exercising nearly as much as you know you should be? Are you associating in groups of people who are making unhealthy decisions? The first step in the success cycle is to become aware of all of these factors and use them to make a plan for success. 

Awareness may come in all forms, gradually or suddenly. Regardless of when you become aware of an issue, that is the first step in the success cycle. Awareness is a state that many people live in, but do not possess the desire to change. What I mean is that most people who are unhealthy, are aware that this is an issue, however they are not willing or able to change it at the current moment. 

In order to move forwards in the success cycle the next step is crucial. MASSIVE ACTION. We must attack this new goal will all the force possible. This action can come in many different forms. Part of this massive action could include breaking down a plan that will help achieve the goal. It could also be immediate action towards the goal. The most important thing is that action is massive and immediate. It is important that the first move toward your goal be big and exciting. Use your “Why” to fuel your mission towards success. If it is something you truly want, then do not wait for it to come to you, go attack it with massive action. 

To plug yourself into the success cycle means you need to live a life of integrity and not making excuses. If you truly want success you will be willing to take the massive action required to obtain it. Mark Cuban once said, “When you want to be successful as bad as your want to breathe, you will be.” 

Do not be afraid of “what if” situations. Take the jump towards success and learn to fly on your way down. Having a plan is great, but you must take immediate action. Don't wait to be great. Stop thinking about the thing you know should be doing and just do the thing your thinking about. It is important for the action to be ‘massive’ because without massive action the success cycle cannot be fueled into the next step. 

Get up right now and go to the gym. Turn off the TV and start working on your writing. Pick up the phone and make the call you know you should. Grab a pen and pad and start working on that project. Do whatever it is you need to do right NOW to move you closer to your goal. 

When you decide to take massive action towards your goal your create the first spark to the success cycle. The third step of this process is results. Results can be both positive and negative, but by taking MASSIVE ACTION you increase the chances that the results will breed a more positive result. Your big jump towards your goal is more likely to yield more positive results. 

These positive results are the building blocks to the next success cycle. Take these positive results and use them to feel good about the work you have put in. Say your goal was to lose 20 pounds. You may have wanted to lose 4 the first week, but only lost 2.5. This is still very positive, because you are moving in a direction closer to your goal, not further away. Also, this is great because you can use these results to feed back into another success cycle. 

After you get a result from the success cycle its is time to feed that result back into another state of awareness and start the cycle over again. Each success cycle builds off of the previous one and it creates a wave of momentum that cannot be stopped. 

Two important factors to realize about this cycle. The first is that it is constant. One cycle feeds into the next, and there is no stopping in between. One of the single biggest killers of goals is loss of momentum. The key to using and thriving in the success cycle  is to keep it going constantly. Always be hyper aware of the goals you want to achieve and the date you want to do it by. Do not allow pauses between getting results and using those results to obtain even better results. The success cycle is a feedback loop that can be your best friend or worst enemy. 

The other major element of the success cycle that you must learn in order to use it is that the speed and magnitude of the cycle will be a direct reflection of the massive action you take towards it. “Massive Action” can be interpreted all types of ways for all different types of people. The speed at which the cycle grows or slows is completely up to the operator. To yield the best result the best cycles are done faster. The more you can go through it the larger the momentum will build. 

Another key component is that the cycle can be both positive and negative. A negative cycle can yield as much damage as positive results. Take for example someone is aware of a weight problem they have, but they take no action towards it. This lack of action creates a negative result. This negative result has the ability to cut off any future growth of positive goals. If not corrected a negative success cycle can be catastrophic to you and your health. For so many people today are caught in negative success cycles, and seldom have a way out. 

The good news is that no matter how negative the cycle feels it can be switched by taking one positive success cycle. Even if the results are not that large, the direction of momentum has been changed. A simple state of awareness and massive action are all you need to break free of a long standing negative success cycle. 

HYPER AWARENESS

As humans it is always important for us to be aware of our current state, our environment and our status. Awareness is a built in human mechanism that allows us to regulate many aspects of our life. We are always aware of many things that reflect our health, family and lifestyle. This mechanism is built in to sustain our own integrity and keep us on track of what we want out of any given situation. 

Unfortunately, awareness is something that can be easily overcome by deterrents and distractions. We can be consciously aware that something is not good for us, but we choose to speak over that voice and follow through with the action anyway. For example, lets say you have set a goal to lose 10 pounds in the next 5 weeks. If this is your goal you are aware of it most of the time, but when it is time to go to friends BBQ party awareness might not be enough by itself. You are aware of the goal, but you make the conscious choice to ignore this awareness and let go a bit on your original goal. 

Another example would be if you have to get an assignment done by a certain date to get a passing grade in a class, but the night you are about to sit down and do it a friend of yours calls to hang out. Although you are aware of what you are supposed to do, your actions might speak otherwise, and you might not follow through on what you said you were going to do. The point is everyone has a sense of awareness, it is built into us as human beings, but awareness is something that can be overcome by a lack of integrity and vision. This is why in order to achieve your goals that you set out for you must exercise a state of HYPER AWARENESS. 

Hyper awareness is a state which super cedes a regular state of awareness. It is a necessary element in order to stay on track to hit any goal we desire in life. Without this vital tool we are destined to continue to fall of track of what we really want to achieve out of each and every day. 

The difference between being aware of something and being in a state of hyper awareness is that why you have hyper awareness it is directly linked a goal you have set. It keeps you present in every moment and creates constant urgency behind whatever goal you want.  

This elevated state of awareness in any given moment keeps us ‘in the now’ and constantly excited about the goals you want to achieve. It is as if we have bottled up the initial excitement of hitting a goal we want, and keeping it for future times when we might be faltering on our commitments. This state will bring you right back and put you back on track in no time. There are a few simple ways to achieve this state of mind easily and regularly. 

In order to achieve hyper awareness you must follow through on a few of the steps I have previously mentioned. The first being to DECIDE what you really want. Once you have made this concrete decision then it gives you the power to cut off any other alternative route which might lead you to failure. 

Once the decision have been made then you must use the power of visualization to constantly remind you of what you truly want and then ask yourself; “Is what I am doing right now moving me closer to or further away from my goal?” This one of the most powerful questions you can learn to ask yourself on a regular basis. Constantly asking yourself if this is what you truly WANT, or is it just what you want right in the moment. Take a moment to step out of the situation and check yourself. This reminder question is the backbone to strong habits of hyper awareness. 
Taking into account the example used earlier about having a weight loss goal and ending up going to a BBQ with friends to pig out. While you might be aware this is not a good decision you may still go and pig out anyways. However, if you exercise hyper awareness and step back for a moment to ask yourself, Is what I am doing right now moving me closer to or further away from my goal, or in other words; is what I am doing right this moment going to help or hurt me in pursuit of what I TRULY want. Is what I am doing right now helping me achieve a greater goal, or just giving me temporary pleasure? Is eating this massive meal of meat and fat going to make me feel good about my goal, or simply feel good for the brief moments I am enjoying it. 

Looking at our other example of staying on track with studying when you get a call from a friend to hang out. A person might be aware that studying is the right choice, but because a simple lack of the big picture they might choose to ignore it. When you are able to take yourself back from a situation and look at the big picture and the direction you are heading it give you the power of clarity. Clarity of what you really want, and then you can step back into the situation and make the best decision possible. 

Hyper awareness is a simple tool we can all use on a daily basis that reels us back in to our goals when we are lead astray by others and distractions. It is a tool that is easily activated by one simple question: Is what I am doing right now moving me closer to or further away from my goal. My challenge to you is to ask yourself this question 10 times a day for the next 10 days and you we instantly see how easy it can make your day to day decision making.   

THE TRUE PURPOSE OF A GOAL: Brain Conditioning

One concept that is very important to grasp about setting and pursuing goals. The true purpose of setting and pursuing a goal is not necessarily to hit the goal itself, but to grow as a person in the pursuit of the goal itself. As I mentioned before, a goal is a dream with a deadline, but what is truly achieved by accomplishing this goal, even past the why itself? 

The true value of what comes from setting goals is not always necessarily the great feeling of hitting the goal itself. The true value comes from being the person who makes 100’s of ‘right’ choices in pursuit of something bigger. You become the type of person who is willing to sacrifice and fight for something you want. You become this person by making one decision at a time. 

For example if your goal is to lose 20 pounds in the next 3 months. Lets say you only made it to lose 18 pounds and did not hit your original goal. There is a silver lining on this failure, because although you did not hit your original goal of 20, you still grew as a person who made 100’s of good choices over bad choices in order to lose the 18 pounds. On many occasions you made the right decision to eat the fruit and vegetables instead of the fats and carbs. 

When you set a goal to do something and make an effort to reach it then you are training your brain that you are capable of making the right decisions. Every time you make a decision that is the right choice, not the easy choice, you condition your brain to continue to make these choices. The human brain is in some ways no different than any other muscle in the body. It can be strengthened and conditioned, but it needs to be worked on like any other muscle in the body. Every good decision you make strengthens the fibers in the brain to make that decision again. The first time is always difficult, but it will only get easier with time as you continue to grow this muscle by making the right choices.  

Turning dreams into reality

• Why having goals is important:  you cant get anywhere in life without a direction you want to go in.

Goals are just dreams with deadlines. WIthout a goal you will have no direction and just float through life and might never achieve your goals or dreams, or live up to your full potential. We all have hopes and dreams of things we would like to achieve one day, but until you put a date on which your want to achieve this dream it can not truly be called a goal. 

Setting goals in life makes anything possible. All goals are obtainable as long as they are realistic in our known world. All it takes is a clear vision of what you want, a plan to get it and a commitment, all of which we will cover later. 

Whether you realize it or not you are subconsciously setting goals for yourself all the time. Everyone has dreams,  and aspirations they would like to achieve in life. Think about it for yourself for a minute. Think of something you would like to achieve in your life. It can be anything, a career, a place to travel to, a skill, a person. 

Write it down:__________

Now think of when you would like to achieve this by. When would be an ideal date/time frame to complete this goal? Is it a day, a week, a year, 10 years, or do you want to achieve this goal right now? In order to accomplish anything in life you must have an idea of when you want to accomplish it by. A dream transitions to a goal the moment you put a deadline on when you want to achieve it by. 

WHEN would be the ideal time to achieve this goal: ______

When you put a deadline on a goal it creates urgency behind the dream. Urgency is a driving human factor that compels us to complete tasks we set for ourselves by a certain deadline. Urgency creates emotion and emotion will create action. Urgency is the underlying driving force behind the deadline. The emotion created by urgency will force you into positive actions towards hitting your goal. 

For example, if you are given an assignment for class at the beginning of the semester that is not due until the end of the semester you will undoubtedly find a few student who wait until the night before the assignment is due to even start on it. Why is that? For those people who chose to wait until the last minute it was simply a matter of having no urgency. Their emotional tie to the project was very low, until the night before when they realize that if they don’t complete the project it will mean a failing grade and much emotional problem. 

This is a situation that we all hope to avoid, but I hope you understand the example. A sense of urgency will keep you constantly focused on and excited about your goal. Once you determine what it is you want, and decide specifically when you will achieve it then your dream becomes something much more powerful, it becomes a urgent goal in life that you can achieve .

Now that you have a goal figured out and a date set you are almost ready. A goal is a finish line, the final destination, so to speak. So if you are where your at and wish to get to this goal you will need fuel to get you there. 

The most ESSENTIAL part of any journey is the fuel. Imagine getting in a car with no fuel and trying to drive it across town, or anywhere for that matter. It will just be frustrating and disappointing. So what is the ‘fuel‘ to this goal machine? The driving force behind any goal is “The Why”. What do I mean by the why? The why is your true reason for obtaining a goal that you set out to achieve. It is the true underlying force of what obtaining this goal will mean to you. Maybe it is a place, a thing, a relationship, a paycheck, proving something or any other reason, it just has to be something that is more important to you than anything else. 

It can be anything. I can’t tell you what your why is, but I might be able to guide you to see it. The why is the thing that excites you most about hitting your goal. What is it going to mean to you? What will you feel like when you achieve it? It can, and should be, personal. The why will be something that resonates with your emotions. THe why is an idea that when you think about it keeps you up late at night, and wakes your body out of bed in the morning. It should be something so close to you that when you think about achieving it your heart starts to race. 

So now ask yourself, what it my why? Reflect for a moment on the goal your wrote down previously. Look at it a think about what it means to you to accomplish the goal that you wrote down? It can be more than one thing, just make sure it is something you truly want more than anything else. It should be something that you are willing to  make time for and at times sacrifice parts of your normal life to achieve something greater. 

THE POWER OF DECISION: TO CUT OFF THE OTHER OPTION

A key idea to the component of success is understanding and harnessing the power of a decision. As humans, we are faced with thousands of decisions everyday and how we approach and respond to those decisions will dictate our lives. We face small day to day decisions; such as whether to wake up or to hit the snooze button and roll back over. We make larger decisions like what to wear and where we want to eat. These choices we make constantly throughout the day are subsequently what result into our lives that we are currently living. 

When you are talking about harnessing the power of making a decision you must understand what it truly means to say you “have decided” upon something. The word ‘decide’ comes from the greek root word; "deci", which means “to cut off”. When making the decision between two choices you are essentially choosing one and ‘cutting off the other.’ When you decide upon one choice, by definition you should have cut off the option of the other instance happening. The other option has been removed and you are now committed to following through on the other option. If you have TRULY decided to do something then the idea of failure is not something that even occurs in your head. 

To harness the power of making a decision means to view the other option as no longer possible. If you make a decision to hit a goal, then there is no other way, no other option. If you make the decision to hit a goal then not hitting the goal no longer becomes and option. 

The most common question I have heard people ask me about my success in health and fitness is; How did you do it? My answer is simple; I DECIDED to not be that person anymore. I decided at one moment in my life at age 15, that I was going to make the decision to become a healthier person. The decision had been made, and other road was no longer an option. To continue on a path of unhealthy habits that would corrupt my lifestyle was no longer an option on the table. I had made the decision to become healthier and from then on there was only one way to go. 

Ask yourself, what decisions are you ready to make right now? What parts of your life are you ready and willing to cut off in order to achieve something you truly yearn for? What does it mean to you to make these decisions? What will the effect be in 5 years? 10 years? 30 years? Do you think you will regret making good decisions for your health and lifestyle, or that you will be happy that you did. 

What is ONE decision you can make right now that will change your life for the positive over the next 1-5 years?

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“I DID IT!”

 My belief is that when said together, these are the three greatest, most gratifying words in the english language. Think of a time in your life when you accomplished something you set out for. Some type of goal you worked hard on; maybe a school project, a team sport or some other life accomplishment. Being able to stand at the finish line and look back with happiness and gratitude is what life is all about. Humans are born to achieve great things, but the reality is that somewhere along the way some of us lose sight of the finish line, or we just never start the race to begin with. To do this is to rob yourself of one of life’s greatest moments; the moment when you cross the finish, look back and say; “I DID IT!”

How do I know that these are the greatest words in the english language? Well in order to appreciate the light you must also know the darkness. For the first 15 years of my life my head was filled with these dark, negative preconceptions of myself. These are thoughts that some of you might have had before, or things you have heard from other people; “I can’t do that” “Thats to hard” ““You will never make the team.” “I Will always feel this way.” “They are different than me.” 

These were all things that I would  tell myself as I was growing up. One of my main reason to post this blog is to reach out to the world’s youth who might be feeling the same way sometimes. Sadly these things became my reality and pulled me down. When I look out into the world I see so many people who have fallen into the same routine pattern of negative thinking and lacking fulfillment in their lives. I appreciate you taking a moment to read my blog and I hope I can deliver as much value to your life as possible.

I was born in NJ and brought up in a middle class family and given every opportunity that I really wanted to pursue. One major element that lacked in my life was a education of health, fitness and a whole life balance. Not that it did not exist in the world, but I neglected to utilize the resources at hand  

The negligence of my health cost me the first 15 years of my life. By the age of 15 I stood 5’7” and weighed in at just under 250 lb., putting me in the 90th percentile for weight for kids my age. I wore a size 38-40 waist at age 13. My stomach would hang over my belly so much it would dig into the top of my belt buckle and leave a mark. In many of my middle school classes I had the biggest boobs out of everyone, even the girls. To say the least I was quite a big boy. 

Everywhere I went I was labeled the fat kid. I was teased, pinched, poked, ridiculed, and beat up. I was embarrassed for so many reasons. I couldn't wear normal clothes for kids my age, I always was eating more than friends, and constantly the butt of jokes. Luckily for me I was able to laugh a lot of these instances off, but the humor was just a light way to cover up my very heavy problem. I was embarrassed at the way I felt, and probably most embarrassed that I could not control my own habits and take control of my life. I constantly doubted myself and my abilities. 

I tried every fad diet program like weight watchers, slim fast, and the Atkins diet. I popped weight loss pills behind my parents back, and I would make routine about lying about what I was eating. I could not see that these lies were doing more harm to myself, and the ones I loved than anything else. On the outside I appeared to be a jolly fat kid, but on the inside I hurt so much deep down. Sometimes I even thought about the horrible reality of just ‘ending it all.’ Thankfully I never took any action on that, and if you ever have feelings of hurting yourself it is crucial you reach out to someone. You might not understand how much people truly love and respect you if you always focus on the negative. 

I lived with this everyday and night. Looking at myself in the mirror every night, wondering if I could ever change. The lack of control of my own habits spilt over from my eating habits into to my lifestyle habits. Lack on control caused me to compulsive and I was always getting in trouble, both in and out of school. I was suspended from school multiple times and even kicked out of my high school my last day of junior year.

By age 18 I was extremely over weight, had been kicked out of high school, arrested and been in all types of trouble with my parents. It is always the darkest before dawn and for me it was no different. I had to hear the words from my own mother that changed my life forever. She had told me one morning after I had been detained by police for drug possession; “It kills me to know that my son is going to get killed or go to jail before he can get the chance to go to college.” 

It was at the moment when I heard those words come out of my mothers mouth that I made the DECISION to change. I decided that now was the time that change needed to happen because my life was at stake and the path I was walking did not lead any where that I would want to go. The power of the DECISION is one of the most significant powers you posses. Once you decide upon something, you cut off the other option and your path becomes clear. Once a decision is made then the right choices become obvious, you just have to act upon them correctly. 

Years of hard work and dedication have molded me into the person I am today. I am someone who is committed to the helping others become the ‘best version of themselves’ in any way possible. A mentor of mine once said, “Once you accept responsibility for everything in your life, then you have ability to change thing you want in your life.” Since accepting this truth I was able to move on to become a Professional Sales Leader in a quarter billion dollar marketing company, run a marathon, and design, create and live the lifestyle I desire. When we stop making excuses for our actions and live with INTEGRITY we are able to speak our lives into existence and create whatever we want out of life. 

How many people in your life have to tell you that you need to change before you start to finally listen? What will is it going to take for you to finally change? What is your rock bottom before you change? What is it worth to you to change your lifestyle? How far are you willing to push yourself to get what you want? What are you willing to sacrifice to get it?...These are all question I encourage you to think about and I will visit upon them in later posts. 

Do you live your life with doubt that you are worthy of everything you set out in life to achieve? Does lack of control of your habits cause you to fall short of what you truly want out of any area of your life? Perhaps that is the reason that you decided to check out this page today. While I cant tell you why you opened up this blog today. I can give you some insight about what it can provide for you. 

My purpose with this ongoing blog is to share ideas with other to inspire them to take action and create the life of their dreams. I will provide the tools you need to build your dreams into a reality. Please follow me and help me show you how to create the life you desire. 

These are the same ideas and concepts I used to transform my own life and I hope that they can do the same for you. It took 100’s of experiences, conversations and events, and so on for me to acquire these skills for lasting success in your own life. I have taken all the best from all of it and compiled it into a simple, quick guide for you to use to change your own life. So I invite you to take a journey with me. A journey down the road less travelled, but none the less a road that holds all your goals and desires. When was the last time you were able to say with complete conviction; “I DID IT!”..?