21 Days to Discipline – Part II

Day 16

 I know I said that I would comment on my progress every week or so but I found it more helpful to go through the motions before commenting.  Here is what has happened so far: 

I have missed a few goals.

During the last couple of weeks I have found that I CANNOT do everything.  In my previous posts I said that I would do ten personal goals a day and three business goals a day.  I would say on average I have done 98% of what I wrote in my planner.  This is superb as far as I am concerned.  Writing down ten things a day and getting eight of them done is a great job.  Here are a few things that have made it a little easier for me to complete my daily goal list:

1.) Do not feel bad if you miss one or two goals during the day.  You have to put this into perspective though.  If you only have three goals a day you cannot blow two of them off, but you can do so if you have ten. This is something I have applied because I realize life happens. Sometimes there are things that get in the way and this is the reason I have made this rule for myself.

2.) If you miss a goal from the list you have today, apply it to tomorrow’s list. Just be aware that if you push a goal from today to tomorrow’s list, you have to complete it. You can no longer move it forward. It has been put off for a day already, do not procrastinate on it any longer. Off to step three.

3.) Make a letter system for your most important goals. For example, for your most important goal put an “A” in front of it, for the second a “B” and so on. Only do this A-C though. The reason for this is because once you add an A,B, or C to a goal you HAVE to complete it. This does not count for the one or two goals you can give up a day. Just remember that if it has a letter next to it, COMPLETE it. No if’s, and’s or but’s about it.

 These three steps became more realistic to me once I practiced my own 21 days to discipline. I assure you that if you add these three rules to your 21 days of discipline, you will become a more productive disciplined person. Good Luck!

21 Days to Discipline

21 Days to Discipline – Day 1

21 Days to Discipline – Day 2

21 Days to Discipline

I have recently come to the conclusion that I am a very lazy person. Yes, I said it, I AM LAZY. I can blame it on the parents, I can blame it on my past, or I can just face the music and admit I am what I am because of my previous decisions. I have honestly noticed a drop in my business production as well as my personal development because of this LAZY bug I have now found in myself. I have always had this but just recently have I noticed it taking its toile on my life. So here is what I have for you. I have devised a twenty-one day detox plan for getting rid of your laziness. Below I have three steps that I am going to use starting TODAY that I believe will make me a more productive person. Let’s face it, if we have everything done that needs to get done throughout the day we feel a lot better about ourselves. We feel as if we have accomplished something and our self esteem begins to rise. Believe it or not discipline leads to good health. So follow me in these three steps that I have started practicing to see what we come up with. By the way, if you are wondering why I have chosen twenty -one days it is because it takes twenty-one days to form a habit. If you can stick with it for that long, odds are you will create a very useful tool. So let’s get started.

Step 1 – Grab the Supplies

After thinking for a bit I realized that I need a few things to get this experiment under way. I went to my nearest retailer and bought a few supplies. Here is what I got. I first bought a planner so that I could write down everything I needed to do for the day. This helped me in two ways. First I have a place that keeps my “Things to Do” organized. Second, I have visual confirmation that I have completed something. What I mean by this is that every time I COMPLETE something on the list I get to cross it off. This gives your subconscious a bit of motivation to move on to the next step. The reason I have capitalized “complete” is for this reason; if you just start something it does not count. You have to actually FINISH what ever it is you started without putting it off. Let me give you an example. Today I had to call and cancel an insurance policy I had on one of my vehicles. Under my list of things to do I had it written as, “Cancel insurance policy.” So when I called to have it cancelled they must have been in a meeting and I went straight to voicemail. I left a message for them to call me back and as of right now I am still waiting. Did I cancel it? Not yet. I will not cross it off until they have called me back and it is actually cancelled. I know this is a weird scenario but it gets my point across. The second thing’s I bought was a two small basket’s to put both important and unimportant mail. This way I know what needs to be taken care of and what can wait.

 

Step 2 – Figure out the Tasks

 

What I have decided to do was complete ten different tasks every day for twenty-one days. I have also chosen to complete three business tasks totally different from my personal day to day activities. This way Adam and I have a head start with the business as well as our personal lives. In case you were wondering, Adam is partaking in this experiment also, so feel free to read up on how he did when ever the twenty-one days are up. Just because I have chosen to pick ten different personal tasks and three business tasks does not mean that you have to do the same. Start out with what you are comfortable with. If you want to do three total tasks then go for it. This is an experiment not a homework assignment. Start small and work your way up if you have to.

 

Step 3 – Keep it Simple

 

Keep in mind that your ten tasks do not have to be huge daunting chores. You don’t have to paint the house, build a deck, change your oil, re-finish the basement and all of that in one day. Keep it small because the small things are what add up. Here is a list of the ten things I decided to do today to start this out.

 

1.) Dentist Appointment 9:00 am

2.) Write this article

3.) Write my uncle Steve

4.) Call and cancel the insurance

5.) Take a letter to grandma (She lives across the street)

6.) Read two chapters from the book I am reading

7.) Print ONE bill for a customer of mine

8.) Organize my new mail

9.) Start payment sheet for my tenant

10.) Clean my desk off.

 

Now see, this is not too bad. I finished eight out of ten of these chores within a half hour. I knew this article would take me a bit and I knew that the two chapters in the book I am reading would run me a little time. All I am saying folks are to keep it simple and easy. As you start to run out of things to do, which you will, look around, you will find stuff that you have been putting off for a while. Stick with this for the twenty-one days and you are sure to find yourself a disciplined individual.

 

21 Days to Discipline – Day 1

21 Days to Discipline – Day 2

21 Days to Discipline – Part II

How to Stop Nail Biting!

I’m not sure if many people deal with this problem but it is something that I have dealt with almost all my life. Ever since I was young I witnessed my mother biting her nails and regretfully picked up the habit. Due to my new business interactions I think of it as high importance to keep the hands clean. So this is where my new found post is coming from. Below I have three simple steps that I used to stop nail biting for good. Trust me, nail biting is a habit that was formed and can now be broken. Take a look.

Step 1 – Go Shopping

What I mean by this is to go to your local shopping center and buy some Nail Bitter. I believe that is what it’s called forgive me if I’m wrong, like I said I have broken the nail biting habit a while ago. Anyway, ask a clerk to help you find a type of nail polish that you put on your finger nails in order to help stop the nail biting. Don’t worry it’s a clear polish which by the way tastes like crap. That is the whole reason for it. You apply the polish and the next time you put your finger in your mouth a bitter taste soon follows. Let me warn you, this did not STOP me from biting my nails. Even though it was horrible tasting my need for biting was greater than the taste of that stuff. What this nail bitter did do was REMIND me of what I was doing. Remember, this is a habit that needs to be undone. Every time you put your fingers in your mouth and taste that horrible stuff you will remember what you are doing so that you can consciously stop.

Step 2 – Ask the Family

When ever you really decide to stop biting your nails ask your family to help. Talk to friends, co-workers, significant others, whoever you need to in order to get the point across that you are trying to stop your nail biting. Once you do this believe me when I say you family will have a great time yelling at you every time they see those hands go towards the mouth. This coupled with the Nail Bitter will be a sure way to stop.

Step 3 – One Nail at a Time

If all else fails start with one nail at a time. I actually went all the way and decided not to bite any of my nails except my thumbs. Your thumb nails are least visible and because of that I still received my nail biting fix all while having eight more to impress the friends.

Let’s face it, if you want to impress you have to have personal hygiene. This is a good start to ending your nail biting. If you do all three of these steps I will guarantee your long nail success. Good Luck!

http://www.mindsofwealth.com/blog 

Exercise – Method One

I believe one of the hardest things to start and stick with is exercise. There are millions of excuses as to why someone might not have the time or drive to exercise, but let’s face it, exercise is important. I have even heard people go as far as blaming their genes for the reason they do not exercise. This is malarkey. Anyone and everyone should have an exercise program of some sort in their weekly routine. Notice I said weekly? The reason for this is because people have this misconception that they have to work out seven days a week, eight hours a day to stay healthy and fit. This is not the case my friends and I personally am living proof.

By no means am I an Arnold Swartzeneger, but there was a time when I looked at myself as a physically fit person. Because of my unhealthy eating and exercise habits I have noticed a decrease in my energy as well as my physique. Honestly to tell you the truth I used my girlfriend and friends as an excuse as to why I was no longer going to the gym and for why I was eating the way I was. Since the beginning of the year I have looked back and realized that this had nothing to do with my girlfriend or friends but instead my own self talk. Constantly telling myself, “It’s O.K., you can go to the gym next week or next month.” started to really get to me. I was the only person holding me back.

This is why I finally joined a gym and started back into my workout program. Guess what? The girlfriend even decided to join with me as well as my partner Adam. This time though I have decided to do something different as to not get bored again with the work out routine. I have come up with five simple steps that I use to make sure that my workout is done throughout the week.

Step 1 – Workout 3 Days a Week

This may sound simple, but believe me you have to program yourself to realize this goal. The way I did it was to tell myself every Monday that I had seven days in which to squeeze in three, one hour workouts. This programmed that information into my subconscious and everything else fell into place. Knowing that all I had to do was work out three times in seven days was somewhat of a relief. That meant that I would still have four days worth of free time. Some exercise professionals say that you should work out every other day, well that might not be the right routine for YOU. I say do what you got to do as long as you are not working out the same muscle groups two days in a row. Remember that your muscles need at least a day to rest and rebuild. Also your heart and respiratory system need a bit of a rest if you just decide to do cardio.

Step 2 – Change It Up!

Simply put, every time you go to the gym do something different. What I did was observe other people’s work outs and copied them. I learned all kinds of new work out tricks and best of all my muscles never got used to my routine. Not sure if you know this but your muscles have memory. If you continually go to the gym and do the same work outs day in and day out your muscles will get used to it. This translates into lack of muscle growth. So every time you go switch it up a little and fool those muscle groups. You will be impressed the next morning when you are a little sore and when you start noticing significant changes in your physique.

Step 3 – Acquire a Workout Partner

Make sure you pull a friend or relative to the gym with you. Believe me you need this. When you have someone else holding you accountable for going to the gym it’s pretty hard to stay home without being convicted. You will not want to stay home because you will be worried about the other person looking better than you. This is what goes on in mind anyway. It’s a lot of fun to induce some competition during the workout. After a while both you and your friend will be thankful you started working out together. This will give you both time to catch up and do a little bonding. Oh yeah, did I mention that you will start to grow muscle? So after you read the following two steps get your butt up, find a friend and get to that gym.

Step 4 – If All Else Fails Bring Music

Believe it or not there are actually times when I have to go to the gym by myself. In the event this happens, bring some music. MP3 players and getting cheaper and cheaper by the day and they provide a lot more than just music. If you buy an MP3 player you can buy or download audio books to listen to while you work out. This is a wonderful time to learn some Spanish or catch up on a book you have always wanted to finish. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

Step 5 – Keep a Journal

Finally we have step 5. Go to the nearest store and buy a small notebook. Take this to the gym with you and write down everything you do. On top of that write down your weight AFTER you are done working out. We do this for one reason, GOAL SETTING. If you have track records to look back on you have something to measure and analyze. This will provide insight on what you did in the past and possibly things you can do to improve in the future. I usually look back at my book every month and look at how I gradually increased the amount of weight I lifted and how much weight I gained. REMEMBER: Muscle weighs more than fat so this is a good thing. By simply writing down what work out you did and how much weight you lifted you will start to see drastic improvements.

So like I said in Step 3, get off your butt and do something for the good of your health. Grab a friend and MAKE them go to the gym with you. You will both thank each other in the long run and on top of that your health will improve. Here is to your success!

Why We Write

The Reason for Our Drive

As with everything we do I usually get a hunch as to what is going to happen as well as some of the questions we will be asked. One of the questions I feel with pop up sooner or later is this; “Why is it that both of you (Adam and Matt) want to have a website about self help?”

With a question like that people might have several hundred reasons for doing something. The reason for us is that we have an enormous drive to help people. I guess it’s just in our nature. We believe that giving back will also bring good fortune towards us. I am sure that you have heard it a thousand times that the more you give back the more you will receive. Well as of right now since all we have is an abundance of knowledge this is what we are giving. When the money comes we will be sure to give that back also.

We want people to come to this site and leave a better person. Not just because we made them feel good but because we actually taught them something or gave them an idea that they could apply within their lives. We have even told people things that they needed in order to help others, so in that sense we have killed two birds with one stone. We do not aim to please everyone but we do strive to help some realize that no one person on this earth has gone without problems and worry.

That is the main reason for “MindsofWealth.” We want to share things that we both experienced and ways we overcame them. After all, that is the reason for self help right? You have a problem of some kind and you want to know what you can do to fix it or what you can do to deal with it. If there were no problems we would be writing about comedy or something that we were no good at. So please read on and help yourself with the free knowledge we have provided. It’s our gift to you!

How To Deal With Difficult People

Have you ever had to deal with a difficult person? I am sure that one time or another you have come across people that you clashed with. There are a few people that have the ability to rub me the wrong way and below will be a list of five things I did to deal with these sometime, DIFFICULT situations. Please remember to take the following suggestions in context as situations are different with certain people. Here we go.

1. Make Sure it is at the Right Time.

When ever a situation comes up make sure that you are doing your confrontation at a time when it is suitable for you. What I mean by this is that you should not try and argue a point or discuss something with someone at four o’clock in the morning when you are trying to sleep. Nor should you do it at a time when you have just got off work and are still in “Work Mode.” Allow yourself some time to come home and relax. You will just not be as effective as you would have been at say, noon on your day off. This is up to you though because you have to know when you are most alert and aware of your surroundings. For this to be really effective you should also make sure you confront a situation when the other person is at their peak time. You want for the discussion to be fair in most cases and this is the best way to start. If you start out with something as simple as step #1 your discussion will go a lot smoother.

2. Keep a Modest Tone

Did you know that 90% of discussions escalate because of your tone of voice? If you just speak with a soft gentle tone you would be amazed at how much more productive your discussions become. Next time you are arguing with someone, consciously keep your voice down and try to speak with them in a soft non-aggressive manner. To your amazement you will see the other party also start to quiet their voice. I tried this with a relative once and could not believe the results. Before I tried this all we used to do was yell back and forth until someone hung up. This was not a good way to end a conversation in my eyes, but none-the-less it happened. But after lowering my voice the conversations gradually went a lot better. REMEMBER: This is not something that will happen over night but if you remember to keep a gentle voice you will begin to see drastic changes.

3. Listen Before you Speak

Often we have a bad habit of speaking out before we hear what someone else has to say. The good lord gave us two ears and one mouth which translate into listening twice as much as we speak. Also the late Jimmy Hendricks said, “Knowledge Speaks and Wisdom Listens.” When I first read that I was honestly touched. I finally realized why my parents always told me to just keep my mouth shut and listen. Whether or not they knew it they were actually teaching me something. So when ever you find yourself speaking with one of these difficult people sit back and honestly take in what they are saying before you open your mouth. Who knows, you might learn something about your self. Not to mention you will become a better person for it and in return the other person will respect you more. Relax its not as hard as it seems.

4. Put Your Foot in One of Their Shoe’s

Contrary to what we believe we are not always right. Steven R. Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, says we should change our Paradigm in order to deal with other people. What is a Paradigm you ask? Well, it is simply the way you see the world. That is the problem with most discussions and confrontations. We are always trying to explain our side because it is all we know. Just because we KNOW something does not make it right. If you step back and look at it from the other person’s perspective you will actually start to realize this. People are unique and because of this everyone views things in different ways. This was something that was particularly hard for me. I always knew what was right and always had to be heard. This is not the case folks. Look at a situation from the other person’s side and you will make leaps towards progression instead of baby steps.

5. Do Your Homework

Difficult people all have their own set habits. If all else fails and you still cannot deal with them try and understand them. At least this will provide some closure as to why they are doing the things which irritate you so much. I searched Google and found hundreds of websites, (Like this one) that explain the different personality types and ways to address them. Some people may have had a bad childhood, or some might have been abused or neglected. Whatever the case may be there are always reasons for everything. I will be sure to elaborate more on this subject after I have done my own homework but for now this will give you something to digest.

I hope that this information will at least get you on the right track. There are millions of ways to deal with difficult people but you have to remember that you need to start somewhere. Please let me know what you think of this post and if you have any suggestions or tips that you use to deal with the difficult ones.  

How Minds of Wealth Came to be..

There are thousands if not millions of blogs on the internet. Steve Pavlina peaked my partner Matt’s interest. Within several hours he called me about this blog, and the idea was born: We can make a blog, its the perfect idea. Use our minds to create knowledge, share knowledge, help others and show others that wealth comes in many forms. We are the students of many wealthy teachers. Now you can benefit by learning about our adventures.

Our blogging creed will be to:

Present the realistic application of usable knowledge.

We are not selfishness enough to avoid giving credit to the great minds that have shown us the path to Wealth. Our blog will be full of links to these masters of information. Our hope is that the interpretations, adaptations and applications by us will give you the reader a better understanding of how to achieve Wealth in all forms.

Thank you for stopping by and please enjoy our site!

A.D.

How to Stop Worrying

I cannot tell you the amount of sleep and peace I have lost because of worry. I have worried about my job, my business, my family, my girlfriend, my dog , my car, my health, you name it. No matter what I did I could not stop worrying about STUPID things. And believe me most of it was stupid. Well like I always do I started to look for ways to rid myself of this nasty mind ridden infection. I found a book written by none other than Dale Carnegie called How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. This book has helped me as well as my girlfriend with several things we used to worry about. We are surely on the way to eliminating most of the worry from our life. Now I will share some of the information I found helpful from the book so that you too can begin the journey to a worry free life.

1. Write it Down – Define the Problem

How exactly do you know what you are worrying about until you write it down? I used to think that all I had to do was think a problem out and it would come to me on how to fix it. This was so far from the truth it was sick. When I started writing the problems down they began to appear clear and defined for me. I was actually able to look at the problem for what it was instead of what I thought it was. Your mind creates so much mess that you can rarely sift through what is real and what is not. That is why after writing something down I soon found myself in progress mode looking for the RIGHT solution. So in the future make sure you write your problems down. This will eliminate a lot of worry and allow you to see what’s really going on. (Use the next step to jump start this process.)

2. Ask Yourself Two Questions

What am I really worried about?AndWhat can I do to fix this problem?This step ties directly into the first one. Write your problem down and then go from there stating what can be done to fix it. If you write down all the solutions to a problem you will be surprised at the options you have before you. When you look at your problems in this way you will actually see how small they are. You will sometimes smack yourself for letting your mind dwell upon these situations. All you have to do is write them down and the rest will open itself up to you.

3. Live in a Day Tight Compartment

Living in a day tight compartment is exactly what it says. Do not focus on tomorrow or yesterday but instead on TODAY. Shut everything else out and do what you can today. There is nothing you can do about yesterday and tomorrow is uncertain. After doing this you will also be amazed at what gets done. Chores, homework, business, you name it, it gets done sooner. This also helps to rid your self of the procrastination flu, which we will talk about in a later post. But for now just deal with the only thing you have power over: TODAY.

4. Keep Yourself Busy

Did you know that your mind can only focus on one thought at a time? So whether you think of something positive or negative is entirely up to you. One way to make sure you keep the negative junk out of your head is to keep busy. The simple act of doing something to keep your mind occupied has been proven over and over again. One instance I remember was a man that lost two of his three children in a car accident. He thought that he would never be able to live with the pain of loosing his two children until his last remaining son came up to him and asked if he would help him build a kite. Despite the fathers lack of interest he gave in and helped his son build the kite. Surprising to him he noticed that with keeping his mind focused on building the kite nothing else crept in. He soon went around the house and was looking for stuff to do to keep himself busy and his mind free from anger and guilt. My point is when ever you find that you cannot get something out of your mind, venture off and find something to do. It works trust me, I use it all the time.  

5. Cooperate With Life

Let’s face it. There are some things that we can deal with and others we cannot. When problem arise make sure it is something worth worrying about. If you look outside tomorrow and it is raining, let it be. There is nothing on this green earth that will allow you to stop the rain. Just cooperate and look at it positively. If tomorrow you find out that gas has gone up again to $70.00 a gallon, don’t worry. What will worrying about it take care of? Yes it sucks that gas is so high but do you know who you can talk to to lower it? More than likely not. Just ride your bike to work and fir that long needed exercise you have been putting off. Cooperate with the things you can change and use the previous four steps to deal with the things you can. Odds are you will soon see some long needed changes that have been way overdue.

Minds of Wealth

Welcome to Minds Of Wealth. The future site of the newest most comprehensive blog on wealth. It will include mental wealth, spiritual wealth, monetary wealth, and physical wealth. We are starting with two minds: Matt and Adam. But the information will come from the many brilliant minds in this world including ourselves. This will be the one stop shop for information.

Mindsofwealth.com/blog

Mack Newton’s 3-2 Eating Plan

As with most personal development, people soon turn to their eating habits to gain energy and spunk to deal with their sometimes harsh day to day activities. Mack Newton an acclaimed health expert has come up with the 3-2 eating plan that includes all of the natural fruits, vegetables and meats that your body needs. The reason the name of the plan is called 3-2 is because you can only eat three things and drink two, which I will explain in a minute. But for now let me warn you, this eating plan is a rough one. The reasons for this are many including eliminating salt, sugar, and sodas which have probably been a part of your daily routine since you can remember. I can assure you though that if you apply this eating plan into your diet you will experience amazing results with energy, awareness, and almost everything else that would be beneficial to your health. So follow me for the following four sections as we indulge in some healthy eating.

1. Water – Fruit Juice

You can only drink two things with this plan, fruit juice and water. You can drink all the fruit juice you want but it has to be the real stuff. A 100% juice is what you need, no more no less. As before, you can drink all the fruit juice you want but you have to drink 120oz of water a day, no if’s, and’s, or but’s about it. The easiest way to do this is to get a gallon jug and fill it up. Drink this during the day and this takes care of your 120oz. Believe me, drinking the water will cleanse you out and the fruit juice will add a little variety to your day, not to mention the health benefits.

2. Fruits and Vegetables

Next we have the fruits and the vegetables. Newton recommends five super veggies that you should implement into your diet on a day to day basis. These include broccoli, brussel sprouts, spinach, greens, and asparagus. Broccoli is by far the best veggie because of the array of vitamins and minerals it adds to your health, but the others are just as good. We also have a vitamin and mineral food chart that you can check out just to see exactly what you are getting when you eat these veggies and others. You can eat other vegetables but he advises you stick mainly with the fab five. As far as fruits are concerned, go for it. Eat all the fresh fruits that you want and have fun doing it. The fruits contain a lot of simple sugars that are actually good for you and provide an energy boost at the same time.

3. Meats

Then we have our meats. With this plan you can eat all the meats you want but you have to follow a few rules. You have to eat real meat, no compressed preservative junk. This means that you have to stay away from bacon, sausage, and ham just to name a few. These meats are often so packed with salt and preservatives that it takes away from what the plan is all about. You can however eat AS MUCH of the following as you like; steak, chicken, lamb, fish, and ground beef. Mack Newton’s web site has plenty of tips and recipes that you can use to make some delicious meals. Check it out for yourself and see what you come up with. Remember to stay away from the salt additives.

4. Breakfast

Finally I saved the best for last; breakfast. This is my personal favorite because of the energy it provides first thing in the morning. What you do is simple, you take 1/2 an apple, 1/2 a pear, a whole banana and 16oz of orange juice and blend them in a blender. Drink this down and there you have it, the breakfast of champions. This is a wonderful pick-me-up with out the downing that occurs when you drink coffee and other caffeinated beverages. As a bonus this constitutes 80% of your recommended fruit intake, so after your morning meal you are almost done with the fruit you need for the day.

As a summary let’s keep a few things in mind. Stay away from salt and unnatural sugars. These things do more harm than good anyway. Be sure to drink your 120oz of water and drink that fruit juice. Also fruits and veggies are a must. Broccoli, spinach, greens, asparagus, and brussel sprouts are the top five for veggies so be sure to keep that in mind. Go crazy on the fruits and experiment with different kinds to see what you like and what you don’t. Eat all the meats you want but make sure you stay away from the fake stuff. Eat real, lean, protein packed meats. And finally, going on this plan with actually make you loose weight if that is the desired effect your after. These foods work naturally with your body’s chemistry to give you all the right pieces you need to solve the weight loss puzzle.

So stick with it for a few weeks to see for yourself what it can do for you. If you like it, great stick with it. If not just do what you’re comfortable with. Either way I wish you the best.