50 Life Booster Questions

Developed by Thea Westra, Senior Thought Leader
http://www.forwardsteps.com.au

1. What would you love to do or accomplish, before you die?

2. If you were to begin to achieve that/these, what is the first change you would start to make?

3. What would you need to include MORE of in your life?

4. What would you need to have LESS of in your life?

5. Rewrite your goal(s) so it is ‘moving towards’ something, rather than ‘moving away’ from something?

6. What is YOUR personal definition of success?

7. If you had to guess your life purpose, what would it be?

8. What daily habits could you replace with a better daily habit? List these.

9. What would a massive action ‘look like’ for you?

10. What action would you take, if you knew you could not possibly fail?

11. What has worked for you when accomplishing past personal goals?

12. What can you see about any past setbacks, which may actually benefit you?

13. What are you tolerating/putting up with?

14. What will you do, to completely erase petty things that are bothering you?

15. For what will you take 100% responsibility, from now?

16. If you were your own coach, what coaching would you give yourself right now?

17. Who and what are you listening to, most of the time?
How will you change that, if it needs changing?

18. What do you keep saying to yourself that usually thwarts your progress?

19. What could you now keep saying to yourself, to empower you?

20. What could you get done this week that you know needs doing?

21. For that task, what is the first step and the next step?

22. What could you put in your environment to remind you of your promises to yourself?

23. What could you include in each day to create and hold your vision for your future?

24. What have you 100%, decided to achieve?

25. What ways do you benefit by NOT deliberately moving toward what you want?

26. What activities and new habits will you deposit into your future, this month?

27. On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited to you feel about taking these actions?

28. What could increase that score?

29. What are your highest aspirations for this year?

30. What are the greatest lessons you have learned in life?

31. What is life asking you to do differently?

32. What are you now willing to do that you’ve been unwilling to step into?

33. What non-negotiable decision are you willing to make for your life, and stick to?

34. What in your life needs immediate attention?

35. What strategies could you use to better manage your daily priorities?

36. What is perfect about where you are in your life right now?

37. Describe in detail, your feelings once all your goals are achieved?

38. Which books could you read, people could you call and websites could you visit, to support your goals?

39. In what way are you a better person this year than last year?
What will be your answer, next year?

40. Where will you fine-tune your use of time in the next 24-hours?

41. Is there anything you are ignoring, to which you should be paying attention? Be honest!

42. What are you most excited about now? What are you looking forward to?

43. What ways will you will get more energy into your life?

44. What newly created, personal standard(s) will you abide by; hail, rain or shine?

45. What are your greatest strengths and how will you leverage those?

46. What would you most like to be acknowledged for, so far in your life?

47. What do you need to give to yourself so that you can give more to others?

48. What new belief could you take on to speed up your personal decision-making processes?

49. What do you already know for certain? Is that the truth?

50. List all the benefits that you got from completing this exercise, and what are your next Forward Steps?

An Online Version can be found at: http://www.forwardsteps.com.au/50-Power-Questions.htm

The Magic of Enthusiasm

By John Carpenter Dealey

Norman Vincent Peale often taught that "There is real magic in enthusiasm. It spells the difference between mediocrity and accomplishment. Those who are fired with an enthusiastic idea and who allow it to take hold and dominate their thoughts find that new worlds open for them. As long as enthusiasm holds out, so will new opportunities"

When One Door Closes…

One day, many years ago, Frank Bettger, a young and ambitious professional baseball player got the biggest shock of his life. He was fired!

He had thought he was on his way to the top and being fired came as a total surprise. As it turned out, he was actually nervous and afraid. In order to hide that fear, he was trying to "taking it easy" and act like he was cool, calm and collected. It didn't work.

Lemons to Lemonade.

When Frank went up to the boss and asked why. The manager told him that "taking it easy will never work. That's what is holding you down. Whatever you do, after you leave here, wake yourself up and put some life and enthusiasm into your work!"

Frank made a decision that completely changed his life forever. He set out to establish a reputation (and live up to it!) for being the most enthusiastic ball player ever seen.

He realized that he could turn his life around by acting enthusiastic even when he was not. In spite of things not being what he wanted, he began to act enthusiastic. He put a smile on his face, a spring into his step, energy into his actions.

Did it work? Absolutely!

He became known as "Pep" Bettger and within 10 days got a new job that increased his income 700%. Here‟s what Frank Bettger has to say in his best selling book: "It worked like Magic! My enthusiasm overcame my fear. I played far better than I ever thought I was capable of playing. My enthusiasm affected the other players on the team, and they too became enthusiastic. I felt better than I had ever felt before."

Life is Choices

One of the great things about life is that we can choose a "new beginning" any time we want to. If today has not gone according to plan, no problem. Simply stop, close your eyes, take a deep breath and make a decision to take a new course of action beginning right now!

Dale Carnegie said: "Today is life - the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto."

Enthusiasm - What’s That?

Enthusiasm is a source of energy. The dictionary defines "enthusiasm" as strong excitement of feeling, something inspiring zeal or passion, an intense emotion compelling action. Combine energy with action and all kinds of wonderful things will begin to happen in your world.

Let’s Get Energized.

Many studies have shown our minds cannot tell the difference between something vividly imagined and something that really happened. So, let's take advantage of this convenient feature and vividly imagine a "new you" that is all enthusiastic and energized.

First, think about something that you really enjoy. What idea or activity quickens your pulse, opens your eyes, causes you to sit a little straighter? That‟s the one! Spend a few minutes with that. Visualize yourself involved in that. Notice how you feel, what your thoughts are, how others react to you. Capture that feeling of energy.

Like Nike said, ‘Just Do It!’

Now, make a decision to act enthusiastic. Don't feel like it? Do it anyway. Continue to visualize that favorite activity… see it, hear it, feel it, smell it, taste it. Build on that energy.

Jump up and down, wave your arms, shout "Terrific" to the world! Put a smile on your face, a spring in your step. Act as if today is the best day of your life and before you know it, it will be.

Yes, You Can!

Norman Vincent Peale wrote: "you can if you think you can". We encourage you to act enthusiastic today. It‟s a vital element of success. Do it now. The rewards will be many. Get excited about something!

Enthusiasm is contagious and builds upon itself. The more energy and enthusiasm you put out, the more you will have returned to you. Make a point to be around energetic and excited people. By doing this, you will attract even more energy and success into your life.

Enthusiasm is Free!

This marvelous tool for success is yours to embrace and enjoy. There is only one simple rule: To be enthusiastic, all you have to do is act enthusiastic. Try it for 30 days - you will be astonished at the results.

Be enthusiastic, take action and success is yours.

About the books:
How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling, by Frank Bettger
Enthusiasm Makes the Difference by Norman Vincent Peale

Bettger‟s book changed my life when I was a teenager. Prior to that, my father had been on Dr. Peale‟s staff and Dr. Peale‟s enthusiasm also has had a huge impact on my life.

These wonderful books have been best sellers for many years. In these books, you gain a wide variety of easy to use tools to bring more enthusiasm, success and joy into your everyday life.

The Source of True Happiness

By Gangaji

I have discovered that it is actually impossible to find happiness. As long as you are seeking to find happiness somewhere, you are overlooking where happiness is. Since I have stopped searching for fulfillment in the mind or in external circumstances, my life is now lived on a ground of joy. There are moments of unhappiness, anger, and distress - moods that pass through- yet all is occurring on a ground of joy. No mood needs to be feared, no moment needs to be avoided. Finally, I see that all moods, all states of mind, all feelings, anything that is truly investigated, points back to the same source - that pristine sky of fulfilled consciousness that is the truth of who I am, and the truth of who you are.

As long as you are seeking to find Spirit someplace else, you are overlooking the essential truth of Spirit, which is omnipresence. And, when you seek to find happiness someplace else, you are overlooking your true nature, which is happiness. You are overlooking yourself.

I would like to offer you the invitation and the challenge to stop overlooking yourself, to simply, radically, and absolutely be still-to put aside, at least for a moment, all of your ideas of where Spirit is, or where truth is, or where you are. I am asking you to be still in pure presence. Not to create that, not even to invite it, but simply to recognize what is always here, who you always are, where Spirit always is.

Ignorance is the root of suffering. When I use the word "ignorance," I am speaking about ignoring the truth of who you are in favor of some problem or identification with suffering. Ignoring the limitless truth of yourself, ignoring the eternal presence of divinity, of being-ness itself, is the very source of continued suffering. Continued suffering occurs when your concepts of happiness, truth and freedom are seen as separate from who you already are.

I am not speaking of the compassionate suffering experienced when one witnesses the anguish in the world. In the acknowledgment of that anguish, suffering can be experienced.

This is part of the texture of life, and it is appropriate. By continued suffering, I am referring to what could be called "unnecessary" suffering, when you are wrapped up in replaying your own or the world's dramatic stories over and over in your mind. Unnecessary suffering can be dropped in an instant, yet it is usually perpetuated through cycles of mental and emotional activity as an attempt to escape the direct experience of emotional pain.

To be finished with suffering does not mean to ignore suffering. To be true to the eternal truth of who you are is not to ignore anything. It means recognizing that you have the capacity to realize yourself as not separate from the totality of life. The degree to which you are willing to stop ignoring is the degree to which you are willing to truly know yourself.

Whether you are searching for peace and happiness in a relationship, in a better job, or even in world peace, just for one moment, stop absolutely. There is nothing wrong with these pursuits, but if you are engaging in them to get peace or to get happiness, you are overlooking what is already here. If you will simply be utterly still, even for one instant, you will recognize the inherent spaciousness of your being that is already happy and at peace with itself.

Once you discover this ground of peace, whatever pursuits you then engage in will be informed by your discovery. You will naturally bring what you have discovered to the world, to politics, to all your relationships. Because of our conditioning, we normally dismiss this ground of peace with an immediate, "Yes, but what about my life? I have responsibilities. I need to keep busy.

The absolute doesn't relate to my world, my existence." These conditioned thoughts just reinforce further conditioning. But, if you will take a moment to recognize the peace that is already alive within you, you then actually have the choice to trust it in all your endeavors.

This doesn't mean that your life will be swept clean of conflicts, challenges, or pain. It means that you will have recognized a sanctuary where the truth of yourself is present, where the truth of Spirit is present, regardless of the physical, mental, or emotional circumstances of your life. We cannot possess truth; that would be the mind's idea. But truth can claim its possession, which is us - each soul, each being.

This is an invitation into the core of your being. It is not about religion or lack of religion. It is not even about enlightenment or ignorance. It is about the truth of who you are, which is closer and deeper than anything that can be named or imagined. What we imagine as fulfillment has to do with less pain, less conflict, more pleasure, more peace, more acknowledgment, more love.

But, true fulfillment cannot be imagined; it can only be realized.

Do you want to be right - or be happy?

By Hilda Carroll, Life Coach

Sometimes life really sucks. And other times it's just not too great, or could be better. But that is absolutely no reason to despair. Really! Whether or not you are in a place right now where you can accept this, the truth is that there's always an opportunity in every challenging experience to learn and grow. And it's always in our best interests to actively seek that lesson. What a waste to go through a rough patch and take nothing out of it that will help carry you onwards and upwards in the present and future.

And how do we do seek that lesson? By asking ourselves "what is this here to teach me?" And by asking more than once. Because the more you ask yourself, the deeper your enquiry goes, and the more you learn. The answers may not come to you straight away, in fact they probably won't. And there could be many layers of lessons for you that come through bit by bit. But the more open you are to learning them, the quicker they will come.

Your answers may come to you through something you read, something someone says to you (maybe even a throw away comment), or the lyrics of a song that is divinely played in your earshot. There will be all sorts of magical coincidences and you'll come across stuff that will resonate deeply with you and stop you in your tracks. We call them light-bulb moments, and if we pay attention to them they can radically alter our path in life.

Life keeps throwing us the same lessons, over and over in different guises, until we finally get them. Do you find yourself wondering on a regular basis why you keep finding yourself with a difficult boss, an abusive partner or selfish friends? If there's a pattern of similar circumstances occurring in your life, look for the common denominator. Please don't be offended by this, as I say it non- judgmentally, but it really is likely to be you. If you can accept this, then all you need to do is ask what do you need to learn about yourself - not other people - to put an end to the cycle.

This is not to pick up a stick to beat yourself with. It is just about increasing your self awareness, so that you can approach life differently going forwards. You and I are a work in progress, and it is never done.

All through our lives we are meant to be learning and growing. And we learn the most from our challenging experiences. During those times, be prepared to accept something uncomfortable about yourself, for when you accept it (and forgive yourself) you can easily move past it. But what you resist persists. If you deny something about yourself, self-righteously insisting the problem lies with others, you are not done with it.

If you allow yourself to be really open to what the true reason is for this difficult experience, you will ultimately discover some kind of fear at the root of it. Once you identify your fear, you can start to let go of it. If you aren't aware of it, you'll continue to carry it around subconsciously. That is an energy you are putting out into the Universe and it will attract more experiences into your life that match that energy.

So, when you catch yourself woefully asking why this is happening to you, stop and change that enquiry into a genuinely curious one. And then start to pay attention to what your intuition is trying to tell you. Pay attention to each and every coincidence you notice. This is how you cross the bridge between knowing a thing intellectually and really, truly getting it. And that "penny dropping" experience is the kind of moment that influences an effortless change in your outlook and behavior, and as a consequence your coping mechanism strengthens.

But even better than that, because you've now got the lesson, the Universe no longer needs to send it to you in different disguises. You become free of it. Free to move on and learn and grow and stretch some more.

The Fickle Science of Network Marketing

peter@thewealthyattitude.com

What a weekend it has been! I decided that, as a home- based business person in the network marketing industry, and it being what appears to be a fairly busy season in our industry, I would spend time returning calls to people who had responded to some online advertisements we are currently running.

Our ads are very clear, we seek to interview people who want to be in a home-based enterprise as a “business”, not a “j.o.b”.

Here was my conundrum: The people I was calling back had responded to ads on the Internet, which means they have access to the technology. They filled in a form that asked for their name, telephone number, e-mail address, and time zone in which they live. When they pressed “submit”, they were given a message that we would be in touch within forty eight hours. All pretty simple so far, yes?

Now something must happen to many people when they complete the process. The cave-dwelling Neanderthal must arise within them. The one that is rude, ignorant, and frankly, stupid.

I’ll not bore you with the gory details of some of these calls, other than to express the following to those folks out there currently pushing buttons on keyboards without a clue about what they are doing.

A. The networking marketing industry is a viable multi-BILLION dollar industry that is almost sixty years old.

B. The network marketing industry is singularly responsible for developing an entire generation of new millionaires.

C. Network marketing opportunities are not pyramid schemes.

D. Pyramid schemes are illegal in any country with paved roads and glass for windows.

E. Network marketing professionals are not “cult” members. In fact, when I think of a huge group of people who get up when it is dark, get into a single file formation to go to the work zone, shop, desk etc. Then after putting out 8 – 10 hours of their labor helping create someone else’s dream, go out in the dark again, get back into single file formation to go back to their home. After eating, they settle into the recliner and watch a whole category of mind numbing programs called “reality television” that are entirely based on “rejection”. Then they go to bed dreaming of winning the lottery, only to awaken the next day to do the exact same thing all over again. I say “that’s a cult”.

F. Home-based entrepreneurs are not folks who can’t get a “real” J.O.B (just over broke).

G. There is not a huge great big bucket of money out there just waiting to pour all over you just because you decide to play on the computer and fill in forms.

H. True network marketing professionals are interviewing you to determine if they want to work with you. They are not out there to save your butt.

I. No, I mean none, nada, zilch, zero, businesses can be started and built without some investment of money, time, energy, and attitude. Anything that can be created without these things is called a “JOB”.

J. True network marketing professionals would much rather you stay off of the Internet and leave it to people who have clearly made a decision to better their lives. Those people who emerged from the cave a long time ago and learned how to learn and study. Study how to plan a life, do the research, investigate the real opportunities, and conduct themselves with dignity.

K. The Network Marketing industry is built and maintained by people with pride and dignity, who serve their networks with care and integrity. And because of the impact they have in the market and economy, deserve to be treated with respect.

Now I have that off of my chest, you probably have an idea of what my day was like. I was inspired to dig back into my files and resurrect an article “Shame On You” that I wrote some time ago.

Women and Wealth - Sex and Money

From The Economist print edition

Heads up ladies:

By 2020 over half of Britain's wealthy millionaire's may be women. Why?

IN APRIL of 2007, 92 females graced the Sunday Times Rich List, an annual round-up of Britain's 1,000 wealthiest people. Ten years ago there were 64. And rich women are getting richer, too: over the decade the average worth of female millionaires has grown by more than half. Today Britain's wealthiest woman has £4.9 billion ($9.6 billion) to her name, compared with the paltry £1.5 billion her counterpart had in 1997. The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) reckons female millionaires will outnumber male ones by 2020, and by 2025 women will control 60% of the nation's private wealth. They do better at school and in higher education, and they live longer. Girl power, it seems, never had it so good.

Is this wave of affluence a chimera or does it have solid underpinnings? A report this week by the Economist Intelligence Unit, our sister company, for Barclays Wealth, a financial-management firm, claims that the historical sources of women's wealth—marriage, inheritance and divorce—have been replaced by independent income, business ownership and investments. More than 80% of women now derive their riches from personal earnings, it says, particularly from their own businesses. Divorce, long the engine that propelled women into prosperity, is cited by only 2.9% of those questioned as the main source of their wealth.

But Philip Beresford, who compiles the Rich List, dismisses the idea that women are breaking into its ranks independently of men. “There is no evidence, yet, of seriously rich female entrepreneurs coming in huge numbers,” he says. The woman who tops the list is in fact Lady Green, whose husband made them both a fortune in retailing. If the CEBR is correct, Mr Beresford thinks most British millionairesses will still be wives, daughters and divorcees.

A glance at the number of women in the top ranks of business suggests he is right. Women make up only a tenth of the directors of FTSE-100 firms. They are also under-represented in the upper echelons of management. In a report in March, PricewaterhouseCoopers, an accountancy firm, said that the number of female senior managers in FTSE-350 firms had fallen by 40% since 2002. This may be due to a prevailing macho culture at the top; or it may reflect the costs of child care, which have risen by 27% in the same period.

If things look sticky at the top, women at the bottom find the relative going far tougher. Although the gap between men's and women's earnings has shrunk for those at all income levels, it remains far bigger among the poorest tenth than in any other group. The latest annual report from the Equal Opportunities Commission shows why: men still dominate highly paid work, and the proportion of female graduates in low-level jobs has rocketed in the past decade, along with the number of people going to university.

It will take another 60 years before there is equality between the sexes in British business (and 200 to achieve the same in Parliament), the commission calculates. Progress, it moans, is “painfully slow and at risk of going into reverse”. It's still hard to be a woman.

From The Wealthy Attitude: Ladies, we thought this article important enough to share with you as the situation is exactly the same in North America --Women's wealth will driven by their own personal earnings. From this desk we see it all as a level playing field. Go make a fortune, then change the rules.

How To Know If This Is The Year To Start Your Home Based Business

By Des Walsh of http://www.thinkinghomebusiness.com/

Someone told me they read somewhere that at this time of the year a lot of people do searches on the web to help them study options for establishing themselves in a home based business.

As a long-established - as in 20 years - home based professional, part of me says that’s a really smart move. There is also part of me that says I hope they know what they are doing.

Moving from a regular job, with bosses, bureaucracy, regulations, and all the challenges of working in organizations, can be very liberating. By the same token, giving up regular paychecks, office support and the pleasure of working with other people you like and respect can mean that establishing your home based business is not a totally positive experience.

In fact, it can be rather scary.

What if it doesn’t work? What if your new business doesn’t take off?

Negative thinking? Or just being practical?

In making the move I probably followed my heart more than my head. I believe that was right for me. Doesn’t mean it’s the right thing for everyone.

In fact, the “hesitation” questions are quite practical. The concerns are reasonable. In business, dealing with such questions is called doing due diligence.

And you can do due diligence without giving up your day job. Take a gradual approach: explore the possibilities without burning your bridges.

In other words, don’t walk into the office next week and announce your resignation as a prelude to your new, free, glorious career as a self-employed, home based business owner.

Of course, you can if you wish. My suggestion, especially if you have family responsibilities and are not a totally independent, free agent, is to take the gradual approach.

That way, you can maintain the security of your current job while building your home based business to a point where it makes good economic sense, good business sense, to fire your boss and become fully independent.

And even though I followed my heart and did not do real due diligence in the sense I understand that process today, I did not make the move overnight. Physically I was still working for other people and going to the office, but I had made the move from being an employee to being a consultant, had negotiated a five day a week, long term consultancy, had set up my home office as a place for serious work and negotiated a couple of smaller contracts I could do “after hours”. I’d spent a lot more money than I would have to these days on a computer, printer and fax machine (fax machine, what’s that? :)).

After all this time I have to admit that sometimes, when the cashflow isn’t what I want it to be, or I’m having a challenge drumming up business, there is a moment when a little voice says “you had a good job, a nice office, four weeks annual paid leave, why did you give it up?”. Well, partly because the job I had was not what I wanted to keep doing and anyway it was not forever: I’d given that up when I left the public service several years earlier.

And the negative thoughts don’t last long.

I have no desire to ever go back to being an employee. And I love the daily challenge of making my own way, creating my own future.

For anyone thinking about these issues for their own situation right now, Wendy Piersall provides a great checklist with her 10 Signs that You Should Quit Your Job to Work at Home.

Whatever you decide, be fair to your family and true to yourself. Which of those comes first? I don’t know for anyone else, but I suggest that while you have to balance both, you won’t be much use to anyone in the long term, including your family, if you are not, sooner or later, true to yourself and committed to realizing your dreams.