Stop Hitting The SNOOZE Button!

When I was in college I would set my alarm clock across the room, on a desk, so that I would not "hit the snooze button" and fall back asleep. Now, to be honest, there was no "snooze" button because it was a wind-up clock along the lines of what you see pictured above. However, the idea was the same - turn it off and get up in a few more minutes. 

I'll be honest, I have never quite understood why someone sets an alarm knowing that they will hit the snooze button 3, 4 or maybe even 5 times before getting up. They know that, they plan their time (initial alarm) accordingly. Me? Why not just set the alarm for whatever time it will be when you finally get up? Why not sleep through the interruptions that come with that alarm going off again and again and again?

For many, it's a very misleading statement when they say, "Yeah, I have my alarm set for 5:30 a.m. everyday!" while, by the time they get done hitting the snooze button, it's 6:15 a.m. before they finally get out of bed!

New Year's Resolutions are much the same Oh sure, the "snooze button" setting is in months instead of minutes, but the result is the same. 

"Starting tomorrow I"m going to _________________ (you fill in the blank)!"

Maybe that person WILL actually follow through with that resolution for a few days or even a month. According to an article on this very thing, "only 64 percent last longer than the first month, and only 46 percent last longer than six months."

And yet, after hitting the "snooze button" on whatever the resolution was for eleven months (for some) they will do it all over again the following year.

A couple of weeks ago I began a series on the importance and necessity of TAKING ACTION. You can start with the first article in that series by CLICKING HERE.  Then, last week, I started another series on how important for each of us to be the very best that we can be - to live OUR purpose. You can CLICK HERE for that beginning article.

After hopefully agreeing that we MUST have DAILY ACTION as a part of our lives and, after also hopefully understanding that we MUST live our lives to our full potential, then the only question that remains is - WHEN?

My guess is that, most of us, if not all of us, can all look back and see evidence of times when we had "planned to start but never did" or "got started but never finished".  And, though it is painful to take a look at those situations, we must do so for TWO main reasons.

1. Acknowledge these failures but don't continue to dwell on them. LEARN and MOVE ON!

2. Use them as a "fire" that serves as fuel for an ignited flame of DETERMINATION to NEVER  REPEAT those failed actions! 

Hitting the "snooze button" is easy...TAKING ACTION is not always so easy.  

So, as Mel Robbins said in the quote in the above graphic, "THE TIME IS NOW".  

Join me in my next article as we consider the topic, "Growing or Rotting?" and, until then, whatever you do, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

Future You University   FYU on Facebook!   Podcast on iTunes   Podcast RSS feed

YouTube     Future You Travel

Xcelerate Your Efforts! (Part 2)

Xcelerate Your Efforts! (Part 2)

In today's podcast I really encourage each of you to "brainstorm" ideas on how YOU can accelerate your efforts on your way to reaching your goals and dreams!

It's always nice (and easy) when someone points out specific things for us to do but, sometimes - if we are not careful - we get dependent on such things and fail to make any moves unless someone tells us to do so specifically. If we follow such a path, that path will never lead us to success.

Why? Because it is not OUR path! We must all understand that suggestions and guidelines are just that ---- SUGGESTIONS and GUIDELINES! Get the point? They are suggestions for us to consider and apply to our own situations. Guidelines are the same way.

So, yes, take them into consideration and adapt them to your own situation, personality and plans --- but YOU must follow the path to YOUR dreams!

So (may I get blunt here?) - don't get lazy! THINK, DREAM and PLAN!

If you go back to the classic book, "Think & Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hill (you can get your free copy - just pay S/H - from my "products" tab on my website) you will find that he talks several times about the importance of a "Mastermind Group". This is a group of like-minded people that get together to share their thoughts and to brainstorm together.

This is one way to LEVERAGE yourself - as we talked about in yesterday's podcast and blog. When you get open minds together and they begin to share ideas without fear -- great things can happen! Instead of YOU thinking alone and trying to come up with ideas, etc. you have the benefit of OTHERS doing the same with you -- this is LEVERAGE! It's how you are able to "Xcelerate Your Efforts".

Mel Robbins, in a November article in Success magazine also discusses another way that I believe is a way to accelerate our efforts. In this particular article she discusses how she is open and aware to everyone around her and how she greets and talks to all of these people. From the moment that she drives into the parking garage at her work all the way through her day she talks to each of these people. (This is very similar to what I talk about each Thursday with the "Thankful Thursday" tag).

She is "accelerating" her efforts by including these people in her life and by being genuinely interested in their lives and what is going on in their lives. She is also using the principle of leverage!

Anytime that you expand your circle of contacts and influence, you have accelerated your efforts and have put the principle of leverage into place.

Here's a promise - you will NEVER go wrong by opening your life up with others in this way. We ALL need people! This is not talking about "using" people just so you can get ahead....but, again, being genuinely interested in others. This will always come back to you in powerful ways, wouldn't you agree?

So, get with a group of like-minded people (your own "Mastermind Group") and begin to share thoughts and brainstorm. The energy that is shared and released will lift you up and encourage you (as well as all the others involved) to keep moving toward your goals and dreams. Ideas and thoughts will be shared that you may have never even thought about as well as having thoughts coming to mind simply due to the shared energy of the group.

Yes, YOU can accelerate your efforts and put the principle of leverage to work in your life!

This can be one of the most exciting things that you have ever experienced in this journey -- check it out and see if this is not true for you.

And, as always....

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike