Planning your life must happen if you want to win at the long game, 20 or 50 years from now. Planning your life is all about finding out who you are as a person, what makes you tick, what your values are and what deeply satisfies your soul.

After my keynote presentation a few weeks back for a sales organization, I had a lengthy conversation with one of the national sales leaders and he expressed his sincere gratitude for the wake-up call I had given him when I was on stage. At first I was unsure what he was referring to, but then he went on to say, “I have worked and planned 30 years to get where I am now and not one hour went towards planning my own life. Everyone from the outside views me as a major success, but something deep inside feels missing.”

This happens because what we think will give us instant gratification, things such as making more money, landing the big promotion, purchasing our dream cars or where we are going to go for the next big vacation means absolutely nothing if we don’t know who we are as a person, what we really want out of life and what our values and priorities are.

The belief that taking the time to plan life and get serious about what’s meaningful is a waste of time will eventually eat you alive and leave you unhappy. You have to get your inner life right before your outer life is right.

Just because you may make a lot of money, have an excellent career or drive a nice car doesn’t mean anything in the long term. It may temporarily put a smile on your face and make you feel good, but without planning your own life first, it will leave you empty and searching for the meaning that has been missing for so long as life continually goes on and the older you get.

Every single one of us needs meaning. Plan your life and then translate that over to building your career. Don’t let life pass you by.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: Pixabay

The post Why It’s Vital That You Plan Your Life appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

1. Engage in consistent action.

2. Constantly picture yourself beyond your current circumstances. Dream enormously big and hold that dream deep within your mind, body and spirit.

3. Spend time in solitude to just think and visualize.

4. Write your most important goal on a note card and look at it five times a day. Say it out loud and believe with a deep conviction that it will become a reality.

5. Drink tons of water. It’s impossible to operate to the best of your ability and tap into your full potential if you are dehydrated. Our minds and bodies need water in order to perform at an extremely high-level.

6. Eat to win. If you don’t want junk results stay away from junk food. The bottom line is that we are what we eat.

7. Get your sweat on. One of the best productivity tools that you can utilize is to get a workout in at some point throughout your day. Whether you go to the gym or at home, make the time.

8. Pick up a book for 15-20 minutes and get lost in it. Just as our bodies need physical exercise, our minds need to stay mentally fit.

9. Spend your time around those who lift you up and encourage your vision, not belittle it. We are the average of the five people we hang out with the most. Pick your company wisely.

10. Make time to grow. Carve out 30 min to an hour and find ways to personally and professionally grow.

11. Turn off the music in your car and listen to an audiobook. Utilize your commute to better yourself and stay inspired. This mindset reinforces the idea that today will be a great day full of meaningful opportunities.

12. Keep a journal. Record your thoughts, ideas and strategies. We have roughly 20,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Don’t let an idea or strategy go to waste. Never rely solely on your memory.

13. Think of five things you are grateful for right this second. It can be something as simple as how beautiful is mother nature or how wonderful your family is. Reflecting on what’s good in your life sets the foundation for believing that today will be a great day.

14. Snack on almonds. Great source of protein and other minerals and vitamins that will increase your energy levels and keep performance in peak state.

15. Say “I love you” more often. Don’t let a day go by where you don’t tell those you love how much they truly mean to you. Life is short and by simply saying the words “I love you” will bring you an immense sense of satisfaction.

16. Treat others how you want to be treated. In business and in the game of life, people matter. If you want to truly win in both, make every person you come in contact with feel important.

17. Have a green smoothie. Instead of turning to caffeine turn to the power of mother nature and blend yourself up a delicious, energizing and healthy green smoothie. One of my favorites is two handfuls of organic spinach, one apple, juice of one lemon, three stalks of celery, and ginger root. There are plenty of recipes available to you online.

18. Take a post-it-note or note-card and write down some quotes that move, inspire and empower you. Feeding your mind with motivational words helps affirm the belief that today will be a great day no matter what challenges arise.

19. Cut off all distractions. When it’s time to work, work. When it’s time to relax, relax. Discipline yourself to stay off Facebook and other social media sites when you are working on a computer. If you are in an office, hang up a “Do Not Disturb” sign if possible. Focus completely on the task at hand.

20. Take full and complete responsibility for your life. Own up to your mistakes and never fall into the trap of playing the ever-so-popular blame game.

Adopting winning habits is key to answering “how could I have made today even better?” What we do on a daily basis determines the results that we end up with. If you don’t like what you have been producing up to this point, then change what you do daily. It’s my hope that this list of 20 ideas is of extreme value to help make today utterly amazing for you.

Originally posted on Entrepreneur.com

The post 20 Ways to Make Today a Great Day appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

On the other hand, the greats make no complaints at all. They understand that consistent effort every single day eliminates the need to worry about the outcome. Their readiness to get it right or pay the price positions them for success. They fully grasp that their commitment to sacrifice is the driving force behind their achievements.

Every day, ordinary individuals are achieving extraordinary goals simply because of their relentless work ethic and ability to sacrifice.

The Cost of Achieving What Matters

Everything of value comes with a price tag. This is true for your most ambitious goals and dreams. Whether it’s a personal achievement or professional milestone, you need to ask yourself one thing—are you ready to get it right or pay the price?

When I was a junior in high school, I made a bold decision. I declared that I wanted to earn a Division I scholarship. However, I was coming off an unremarkable junior season, and not a single college football program had noticed my potential. The first step in my process was asking myself one important question—“Am I willing to pay the price?”

From that moment, I devoted everything I had to making sacrifices. Instead of going to parties with friends or relaxing on weekends, I spent every day training and refining my football skills. No days off, no distractions. By the time my senior season arrived, my hard work started to pay off. When it was all over, I accomplished my goal and received nineteen Division I scholarship offers. My willingness to get it right or pay the price made all the difference.

This Principle Applies Everywhere

Athletics introduced me to the unbelievable power of sacrifice, but this principle applies to all areas of life. Your goals, whether it’s financial independence, losing weight, starting a successful business, or building a thriving relationship, all come with a cost. Success demands commitment. It doesn’t happen by luck—it happens by choice, by dedication, and by a willingness to sacrifice.

Take a moment to reflect on your aspirations. Are you prepared to make the required sacrifices? Think about the true price of success—time, effort, and maybe even comfort. Then, commit to paying it daily. Remember, those who achieve greatness are those who are willing to consistently get it right or pay the price.

Visualize The Rewards

Want to stay motivated? Visualize the benefits of your success in vivid detail. Picture what it would feel like to hit a major goal of yours. Imagine the emotions and rewards when your efforts finally pay off. This type of visualization will fuel your determination and make the sacrifices seem worth it. The clearer the vision, the stronger your drive will be to do whatever it takes.

Excuses are the biggest roadblock in the path to greatness. If you focus on why you can’t, you’ll never unlock your full potential. But when you start to shift your energy to giving your best effort, everything changes. You stop allowing obstacles to dictate your life, and you start achieving milestones that once seemed impossible.

The next time you face a challenge, remember this principle. True success requires you to show up consistently and give everything you’ve got.

Are you truly willing to pay the price?

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I don’t care who you are or what you have accomplished, we all go through disappointments in life and struggle from time to time with coming to the realization just how special we truly are. Think about it, let’s say you have a goal that you want to achieve so badly in life, but three months down the road  you come to find out that you didn’t reach your mark.

What happens? You quickly rush to start blaming yourself and question your abilities and talents. You start to listen to the negative voices that keep rolling in and out of your head. Feeling powerless. Feeling like a victim instead of a victor.

What you have to understand and never lose sight of is that you have more power and control inside of you than you think you do. Some people get hit so hard from the outcomes of life that they lose complete sight of their uniqueness and wonderful talents they have been blessed with.

Failures and disappointments aren’t present to degrade our confidence and love for ourselves. It is one of the hardest things I have ever had to do in life.  Learning how to make it “ok” to fail and mess up every now and then.

Understanding that it all is apart of the process to reach and achieve my goals and dreams in life. To become the best version of myself.  You can experience so much more in life when you don’t look at disappointments and failures as some terrible mishap in life.

Just for a second, look at Abraham Lincoln. How many times did he fail over and over again before he actually was elected President Of The United States?  Look at Steve Jobs.  A remarkable man who went through disappointment after disappointment before he actually achieved success.  And then when he achieved success, he was hit again with being fired from the company he founded!

Look at Albert Einstein. How many times did he fail over and over again before once and for all breaking through?  These are three remarkable men who achieved remarkable success who all went through very difficult and tough times. What they didn’t do though is let the hits they took from life keep them down. When things went wrong, they didn’t go with them!

They never forgot how powerful and special they truly were. If you make the decision to tell yourself daily how special you are, start listing all of your unique qualities, no setback or failure will ever be able to hold you back.

Here are five ways you can start to remind yourself daily on how powerful you really are.

1.)  Get in the habit of writing in a gratitude journal. When things go wrong in life and being able to sit down and start listing all you are thankful for, your happiness will be rekindled and you soon will feel a sense of accomplishment.  Even small successes will keep you reminded that you have been successful in the past and that you will be successful in the present and future.

2.)  Continually review and look at your long term goals. Short term disappointments are less likely to derail your well being when you pay mind to all you wish to accomplish in the future.

3.) Striving and working to dig deeper in your spirituality journey. We all have different beliefs, but working to strengthen your spirit will help reinforce how powerful you are.  Whether that is going to church every Sunday, reading scripture throughout your day, or tapping into the power of meditation can help paint the positive picture of yourself.

4.) Find time to read 10-15 pages of something motivational, inspirational, or uplifting to help renew your mind and enlighten your day.  Just spending 10-15 minutes a day reading uplifting material can alone take your life to the next level.

5.) A habit that has positively impacted my life is keeping a notecard filled with powerful and moving quotes to help pick me up throughout the day.  Whenever I felt down or upset about something, I would take my notecard out and repeat over and over to myself the positive quotes that were written down.  This habit helps to interrupt all of the negative thoughts that are trying to take control of your thinking.

You are powerful. Don’t ever lose sight of how powerful you really are. Life will knock you down and derail your path, but you don’t have to give in! Don’t let the tough times demoralize your beauty. You have a unique skill set that no one else possesses.

You are here to make a difference and make this world a better place. Just remember, you are far greater than any problem or circumstance that stands in your way!

The post You Are Powerful! appeared first on Matt Mayberry.