I have never met a high achiever who lacked in their level of thinking. Our feelings, emotions, professional success and happiness levels are all affected by our thinking and what takes place on a daily basis from the neck up.

If you aren’t currently happy with where you are at in life or in your professional journey, there is great news. You can drastically alter where you are and everything around you by changing your thinking. Just like any other important habit, you can’t become an exceptional thinker if you practice it only once in awhile. Working on your mind and thinking must become a daily practice.

Here are eight things exceptional thinkers do daily.

1. They focus on the positive.

Every single day of our lives, we have a choice when we wake up in the morning whether we are going to direct our focus on the positive or negative. Exceptional thinkers know the importance of where they direct their focus. They fully understand that it impacts their energy levels and will determine how they perform. You can eliminate a lot of the worry, stress, and anxiety just by choosing to focus on the positive. Regardless of how big or small, force yourself to see the good in every situation no matter how miniscule it may be.

2. They spend time in solitude.

Exceptional thinkers know that we live in a noisy and distracting world and therefore prioritize the importance of spending time alone. If you go pick up an autobiography of your favorite inventor, president, or even athlete, you will realize that they valued alone time to reflect and think in solitude.

3. They have a long-term vision.

Exceptional thinkers have a clear vision of where they want to be in the future and all of the things that they need to do in order to make that become a reality. They rarely get discouraged and disappointed because of short-term obstacles because of this powerful long-term vision that they have for their life.

4. They have a mindset-development routine.

Whether it’s a special morning routine to jump start their day, reading positive books first thing in the morning, or listening to empowering podcasts and audiobooks while commuting, they go to work on their mind daily. Most people wait for something positive to happen throughout their day to have good thoughts, but exceptional thinkers are proactive towards positively developing their mind every chance they get.

5. They only associate with those who build them up.

There is nothing more detrimental to one’s thinking than hanging around others who are constantly negative and energy vampires. You adopt the habits and channel the energy of those around you, so make it a habit to surround yourself with positive people and remain in good company.

6. They eat clean and healthy.

A large majority of the population is oblivious as to what you put into your body on a daily basis and how that plays a role in your thinking. What you drink and eat every single day greatly impacts how you feel and how well your brain operates.

To further understand just how important what you eat is to how well you think, I highly recommend checking out Dr. Mark Hyman and Dr. Daniel Amen. Two of my favorites when it comes to brain optimization and thriving on all cylinders.

7. They find time to regularly workout.

I have talked about the benefits of working out and how it can tremendously impact productivity levels, but the same goes for brain health and increasing your current level of thinking. The endorphins released during routine exercise are packed with positivity.

8. They have an attitude of gratitude.

Your thinking and life in general is just that much better when you possess an attitude of gratitude and find ways to regularly acknowledge all that you are grateful for. It’s impossible to be truly grateful and miserable at the same time.

There are a lot of things that exceptional thinkers do on a daily basis to help them rise above, but the above eight things that I have listed have greatly impacted the way I think on a daily basis. When you understand just how important your mind is and work to constantly upgrade your level of thinking, your life will be upgraded in return.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: -DiMiTRi- | Flickr

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Each and every one of us has our own unique perspective on life, but our perspective on failure and adversity greatly determines our success or lack of it. Our happiness, and whether or not we grow as human beings, all begins with our perspective.

The pain. The suffering. The agony. The heartbreak. It’s all there to serve you and to help mold you into the person that you need to become. There is nothing easy about it, but if we can work to push ourselves to change our perspective of what failure and the tough times of life are present for, our lives take on new meaning. A big part of making this happen is learning to love the journey that we are on, and whether we are where we currently want to be or not.

As we go through life, we tend to set our eyes on the destination and where we eventually want to end up while forgetting the incredible importance of the journey that we are on. I am not telling you to avoid looking forward and creating massive and great visions for your life, but I am encouraging you to remember the importance of the journey that you are on at this moment.

Not only will you capture sincere, loving and fond memories along the journey, if you make it a point to live in the moment, but if you know its purpose, if you’re willing to learn from each and every experience, it will make you drastically better in the long run.

If we never fail, we don’t know the value of succeeding. If we never experience heartbreak, we don’t know the value of true love. If we never lose a loved one, we don’t know the value of relationships. In the middle of all of the chaos and turmoil, the last thing on our minds is remembering to value the journey that we are on.

I encourage you, no matter where you are now, in failure or success, adversity or glory, to embrace the lessons, and value having the opportunity to grow.

When I truly learned to value the journey and not just the destination, I noticed something special change in my life. I truly began to value the hardships in my life as growing opportunities to become better the next time around. Instead of beating myself up over something that went wrong, I dusted myself off and prepped myself for another round. I began to value each new and old relationship that I ever had with anyone, as I knew that every person that comes into our lives is there for a purpose.

Life’s greatest lessons are disguised in our most trying times. How we react during these times will determine if we miss the next opportunity or come back swinging with a vengeance.

Next time you experience a loss, failure, heartbreak or a setback, remember that it’s all part of the journey to help you grow, and if you embrace it as such, you will possess a perspective that is primed for success.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

The post Life’s Greatest Lessons appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

Effort isn’t the only thing needed in order for you need to be successful and get to where you want to go, but it sure is an absolute must and something that lacks in a whole lot of people who desire massive amounts of success. If you followed around 10 people who were highly dissatisfied with their station in life, I can bet their effort wouldn’t even come close to someone who is doing the exact same thing they are doing except on a much higher level. Effort is the missing link.

The fact of the matter is this, anything and everything that you want to achieve this year has a price tag on it. You must give up something in order to get something, but the rewards and fulfillment that comes from true success are well worth the effort and fight every day.

As each day passes, we pay our lives for that day. As each month passes, we pay our lives for that month. As each year passes, we pay our lives for that year. We don’t get those days, months and years back, and the only thing that we have to show for it comes down to what kind of effort we gave throughout those days, months and years.

An often-overlooked but major key to success is to give an incredible and ridiculous amount of effort — the one thing that each and every one of us controls on a daily basis over long periods of time. That’s where the confusion enters in for most. Those who complain about their lot in life and how unlucky they have been are the same ones who only give maximum effort when they feel like it or when the timing seems to be right for them.

My good friend and bestselling author Rory Vaden said, “Success is never owned; it is only rented — and the rent is due every day.” That’s one of my favorite quotes and speaks volumes on the amount of effort and work that is required to be great and separate yourself from the pack of mediocrity. You don’t only give maximum effort when you feel good or the timing feels right. Champions give maximum effort every day of their life, even when they don’t feel like it. They pay their rent over and over, year after year, regardless of how much is in their bank account or what hardship they may be currently experiencing.

You will have different seasons in your life and business, no doubt about it. There will be times where great things will happen. There will be times where bad things will happen as well. But the one constant thing that you have the opportunity to control throughout everything that happens is your effort.

I think a lot of people look at some of the greatest athletes, executives and entrepreneurs in the world and automatically think to themselves how wonderful it must be to be in their shoes. What they don’t know is the sacrifice, work, and most importantly, the insane amount of effort that was required for 20-plus years, every day of their lives to get where they currently are at.

Orison Marden summed it all up perfectly when said, “What keeps so many people back is simply unwillingness to pay the price, to make the exertion, the effort to sacrifice their ease and comfort.”

You can learn all of the latest and best strategies in the world, but if you lack in effort, you will only get so far. It may not be the sexiest word or topic to talk about, but the one thing that effort does is produce results. Without it, 2016 will be a very long and average year.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: Shutterstock

The post Effort Is an Overlooked But Major Key to Success appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

It’s disheartening when I meet men and women from all different walks of life and of wide ages who have already died inside, but just haven’t made it official yet. To hear them talking about their glory days 10 and 20 years ago while having no new hope or dreams for the future is totally depressing. The reason why it’s so depressing is because that same person has the power and ability to live their best life right this moment — now — and totally redirect where his or her life is headed.

The major reason why this becomes the point of quiet desperation for many people is because of their habit of putting important things off and living in a world of “somedays.” If you don’t believe me, try it for yourself. The next time you are having a conversation with a family member or close friend, ask them what they want out of his or her life. I can almost guarantee you that his or her response will be, “Someday, I want to lose 20 pounds and have that dream body I always wanted,” or, “I would love to someday be in business for myself and become the entrepreneur that I’ve always envisioned.”

What has happened is that living on the “Someday Island” is the new norm for many people. If you aren’t living the life that you wholeheartedly love and desire, you can change it. Don’t shut off your ability to hope and dream about the future. Right this moment can be a new beginning for you. Think about it. What would you love to do? What is your lifelong dream?

Get off the “Someday Island” and put that new idea into action for yourself. Start that business that you have been contemplating for the past 20 years. Start working and developing that new course or product that your organization has wanted to roll out into the marketplace. Start being the leader that you always wanted to be.

The fact is that you have very little to lose by going after what you desire compared to letting those same passionate things die inside of you and never unleashing them out into the world.

At the end of your life, you will ask yourself if you truly lived a purpose-driven life. Whatever that “thing” may be for you, get off the “Someday Island.” Position yourself on the “Now Island” and get busy. Your life is worth way more than living in the past or ruminating over broken dreams and wishes. It doesn’t matter if you are 25 years old or 75 years old, you have a magnificent and wonderful life ahead of you now.

One of the best decisions you can make in both your personal and professional lives is to get in the habit of living now, taking massive action and going after what you deeply desire, full steam ahead.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: Shutterstock

The post Wake Up and Get Off the ‘Someday Island’ appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

Whatever that negative experience may be for you, there is hope beyond your current state of mind. If there is one thing that I continually see that completely wipes out aspiring business owners, athletes or anyone for that matter, is the inability to turn negative experiences into positive ones.

This kind of turnaround is a vital prerequisite if you aspire to become all that you can be and achieve unlimited amounts of success. Here are three ways that have made a tremendous difference in my personal and professional life when it comes to turning the negative into a positive.

1. Value the negative experiences.

The first mistake that most people make when viewing their negative experiences is they neglect to value them. They think of everything negative that has happened up to this point in their lives as something that wasn’t supposed to happen. This is a mighty, major mistake. The reason why is because this not only instantly puts you in a bad mood with a negative outlook, but it prevents you from growing through the experience.

There are two types of people: those who grow and those who go through the negatives in their lives. In order to grow through it all, it’s imperative that you value all of the negative experiences that occur from here on out and understand that it’s an opportunity to get better.

2. Don’t rush judgment.

This is one of my personal downfalls when it comes to turning the negative into a positive. When a negative experience occurs, one of the first things that tends to happen is your mind instantly begins to create a scenario that is completely different than what’s really going on. It takes work on your part to put a positive twist to whatever it is that you are facing — it doesn’t just happen out of nowhere. The decisions that are rushed in the face of a negative experience usually don’t end well.

The next time you face a negative experience, don’t be so quick to judge or go along with the story that your mind was so fast to come up with. Start to look for the message that lies within that negative experience, as every single negative experience in our lives carries a seed of a growth lesson.

3. Take complete responsibility for your life.

It really saddens me when I see that someone has let their outside circumstances define them. It doesn’t have to be that way. As individuals, regardless of how much or how little we have, we ultimately determine our destinies. That’s why you will see men and women who grew up poor go on create an extraordinary amount of wealth and success for themselves.

On the other side of the spectrum, you have the men and women who grew up with loving parents and what would seem like a fabulous childhood go on to live beneath their full potential. No matter how tough your life has been, you have the opportunity right now to change your direction and create the life of your dreams. And that all starts with taking full responsibility for where you are and everything that has happened up to this point.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

Image credit: NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center | Flickr

The post 3 Ways to Turn Negative Experiences Around appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

To turn failure into a gift and grow through the tough times instead of just casually going through them, you must begin to start focusing on ways to actually resolve the situation. Many people let their minds wander toward the negative, which then prompts them to focus on more problems instead of searching for ways to resolve the situation and grow from it.

The individuals and companies that are able to get through tremendous setbacks and actually grow because of them are the ones who focus on solutions, not more problems. Look at Thomas Edison for a quick example. His persistence in continually searching for solutions after facing one failure after another is a prime example of the utter importance of focusing on ways to advance.

Failure is never a final end result unless you make it so. Edison used every experience to get one step closer to where he was trying to go all along. This is the same type of mindset that we need to apply to our own lives and businesses when failure and adversity strikes.

Taking the time to fully analyze your situation in solitude, while focusing on solutions instead of problems, can revitalize your mind and help you focus on where you are headed, how you feel, and more important, how you view failure from that moment on.

If you do what’s easy, your life will be hard. If you do what’s hard, your life will be easy.

This applies to basically everything that we do. What’s easy is to focus on the negative when tough times occur. What’s easy is to focus on the problems in our lives instead of directing every bit of our energy towards the solutions.

We have to remember that what we focus on expands. If we focus on problems, we will get more problems. If we focus on solutions, we will get more solutions.

The next time failure, adversity or a setback knocks you down, make a list of possible solutions for the problem at hand. You don’t have to know the ins and outs of every single thing, but right when a solution of some sort comes to mind, immediately write it down.

The essence of capturing solutions and then putting them to paper activates our brains. We start to think of more ways to overcome our current hardships and how we can grow from the situation at hand. Once we have a list of 20 to 30 solutions, the next objective is to decide which solution is best and getting to work on putting that solution into play.

If you think long and hard enough, regardless of how bad your situation may be, the solutions are there. This type of thinking can be a total game changer for you and your business.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

The post When Faced With Adversity, Focus on Solutions appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

There is a major difference between hoping to be successful and expecting to be successful. When we hope to be successful, we are basically saying we are unsure if it will ever happen. To an extent, this attitude dictates our level of belief in ourselves and the way we work. When we expect to be successful, that means we know deep down that regardless of how hard times will get throughout our journey, that we will eventually get to where we want to go.

There are a lot of reasons why most people just hope for great things from themselves or to reach a certain level of success. One of the main reasons is because they have let where they are at right now in life dictate their ways of thinking. Just because you aren’t where you want to be in life doesn’t mean you can’t expect greatness from yourself. Just because you don’t have the resources and money to back your idea doesn’t mean you can’t expect yourself to build and start an incredibly successful business.

You must stop this way of thinking. Don’t let all of your misfortunes prevent you from expecting great and wonderful things from yourself.

I know you want to be great and somewhere deep within you have the desire to achieve extraordinary things in your lifetime. You read Entrepreneur searching for ways to grow and learn. Or maybe you already are a major success and just love reading ways you can enhance your game. Whatever it may be for you, start expecting greatness in every area of your life instead of just hoping and wishing one day it will all come together for you.

Moving forward, increase your expectations in every area of your life. Don’t wish to be great — expect to be great. Don’t wish to become a successful entrepreneur — expect to be one. Don’t wish to change the world — expect to.

Ultimately, the difference between being average and being extraordinary will all come down to you executing your expectations.

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

The post Don’t Wish to Be Successful. Expect to Be. appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

This is something that I have struggled with for quite some time. It really took a while for me to be positive, think positive and expect positive when everything seemed to be falling apart in my life.

We have a choice whether we direct our focus on the negative or positive, and whichever one we decide to focus on greatly determines where we are headed. A key point that we can never lose sight of is what we focus on expands. If we give in and decide to play the victim card, negativity will eat us up and provide us with virtually no choice to move forward.

The absolute worst thing that we can do to hinder our ability to perform at a high level and be successful is to be negative, or worse, be negative in the middle of adversity or failure.

Being positive extends how long people live on this earth. Being positive creates thriving relationships. Being positive can turn very dark times into incredible blessings.

Here are three areas where you should be more positive.

1. In your thinking

Being a former athlete, I know firsthand just how powerful the mind truly is. Everything we are and everything we are not is a direct correlation to the quality of our thoughts. You can’t be great without thinking that you are great. You must already be in your mind before you become that in reality.

The same goes for when adversity strikes. The quality of our thoughts matter, and not only do they matter but they will lead us to victory or continual defeat over and over again. Start today to increase your thought patterns. Constantly talk to yourself in a positive and uplifting way. Direct your attention towards the good in your life, not the bad. Do everything in your power to make sure your thoughts are building you up instead of tearing you down.

One of the main reasons why positive thinking has caught a bad rap over the years is because some people will tell you to just think positive and stop there. But that’s foolishness. However, when the positive thinking is paired with massive action, phenomenal things begin to happen. Don’t just think positive, be and act positive as well.

2. In your relationships

We all currently have or know of those certain individuals that completely strip us of any little bit of positive energy that we may have had left in the tank. These individuals must be shown the exit immediately.

When you look to increase the positive relationships in your life, it serves as a springboard to thinking positively. It benefits you in more ways than just one. Don’t wait any longer to get rid of the energy drainers that make it nearly impossible to envision a brighter future for yourself or a way to overcome this hardship that you are experiencing.

3. In your expectations

Failure brings out the negative that ultimately changes our expectations. It’s hard to expect anything good to come out of a situation when all you know is struggle. It’s hard to expect the best when you have been knocked to the ground so hard that you don’t even know how you are going to get back up.

For some, they even decide to give up and quit completely by taking their own life. That’s what the tough times of life can do. That’s what failure can do.

Nothing is ever that serious to make you give up on yourself. Your destiny is a whole lot bigger than what you are currently going through. I have seen time and time again what happens to the people that let their problems and the unfortunate twists and turns of life define them — it’s not a pretty sight.

Every bad situation, failure or adversity is only present in your life to help you, not hurt you. Remember that!

When you increase the positive thinking, relationships and expectations that you have for your life and your business when all seems lost, failure will not get the best of you. As a matter of fact, you will actually get the best of it as you have decided to grow through challenges, not just go through them.

It’s certainly not an easy task to be positive in bad times, but is there anything worthwhile that is easy?

Originally posted on Entrepreneur.com

The post When Failure Strikes Focus on These 3 Areas appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

“Obviously, there is something more than facilities and competence that makes for accomplishment,” says Erwin Schell, one of America’s most respected authorities on leadership. “I have come to believe that this linkage factor, this catalyst if you will, can be defined in a single word: attitude. When our attitude is right, our abilities reach a maximum of effectiveness and good results inevitably follow.”

The right mental attitude can take you to the top of your profession. The right mental attitude can create extraordinary businesses. The right mental attitude can build an everlasting legacy. The right mental attitude can bring out the best in others. The right mental attitude can spark hope in those who are in need.

Some of the biggest achievements in history were made by men and women who understood the importance of attitude. A good portion of the population will look at these accomplishments and think, “Wow, how in the world did they do that?” We tend to believe these men and women have been blessed with a special gift over the rest of us, that there is no way we could ever do something that remarkable.

It’s that type of mental attitude that will leave you searching and wishing for more in life, never creating and leaving a legacy of your own.

You have ultimate control over your mental attitude. You aren’t any different from the next person. You have the ability to live your dream and create whatever it is you desire. It all comes down to your attitude.

Why is it that some can earn an extraordinary amount of money with very little education? Why can some defeat such odds and go on to be some of the world’s greatest achievers? Simple. The attitude they chose.

You have two options: Choose a positive and resilient attitude despite any hardship you encounter along the way, or to allow life’s minor mishaps negatively shape your attitude. What you choose will greatly determine the quality of your life.

When you choose a positive attitude, no goal or dream is out of reach. If it has been done before, then you darn well know you can do the same. Someone with a negative attitude loves to play the blame game. The economy limits their financial goals. Circumstances limit their vision for what they can accomplish.

As an ambitious entrepreneur, tough times will come head on with you at some point or another, if they haven’t already. To thrive and create everlasting success when most businesses struggle, it’s imperative that you have a great attitude. Take advantage of your power and the ability to choose whatever attitude it is you desire.

But just know that such a little thing makes such a major difference!

Originally Posted on Entrepreneur.com

The post Mental Attitude Makes All the Difference appeared first on Matt Mayberry.

Maybe you just got out of a really long relationship.

Maybe you visited the doctor for a routine checkup to find out you have cancer.

Maybe a loved one recently passed away.

Maybe you’re in financial trouble.

Whatever it is you are facing right now, please understand this: The more you focus on and discuss something, the greater its significance in your mind. The more it dominates your mind, the more it dominates your entire life.

Instead of focusing on the negative and telling ourselves how bad things are, we have to make a strong stand and say, “No, this challenging situation is not going to bring me down. I am not going to let fear override all of the beauty that surrounds me. I am blessed and highly favored. I am a victor, not a victim.”

Even if we can’t see how things will play out, we have to start speaking victory over our lives, not defeat. Tough times don’t last forever, but tough people endure the test of time.

The post Do This One Thing During Tough Times appeared first on Matt Mayberry.