A closeness which can only be felt by people sharing each other’s life journey, it’s rewards, it’s challenges, it’s ups and downs so to speak. A community where you can build your future and help someone else build theirs.

There are many good people and good to great forums concerning all manner of things, forums as varied as there are people on this planet. However, for goal setting and successful living, one forum heads my list as number one.

At time of this writing I have found only one place which qualifies in all of above. Total Life Success Forum at http://success-forum.com . Forum owner and Life Coach, Mark Farmer and his team of mentors successfully draw you out and support your success every step of way.

Just so you know, I receive no financial consideration for this, this is not an affiliate link. I love what they have done with place!

You’ll be amazed at results as you gain clarity, write out your goals and action plans with support of Total Life Success community.

As you focus and take action on one specific target goal you will create empowering habit patterns and routines which will serve you for life. Enter a 21 day challenge. It will call upon best in you, to move you past old behaviors, create a new start for developing and achieving that which you hold most dear.

You’ll be supported by leadership and mentors who are interested in helping you find your way. Commited to investing time and efforts into people. Commited to regularly asking enlightening questions, and answering questions posted by community. A caring which enables them to know what to say and when to say it, at those times when you need it most.

I make it a point to regularly visit, ask for help, and maybe contribute a little bit. It has been a Class 1 experience for me and I’m sure it will be well into my future. I urge you to check it out and give it a test drive. You will be amazed at depth of knowledge and experience available for asking. Oh, and it is all free.

So, go see Mark at http://success-forum.com , and look around. Ask some questions, make some posts, get feel of place. You will be glad you did!

Copyright 2004 Al Smith, All Rights Reserved

I felt tremendous urgency. I felt better then than at any other time in my life. My mind was clear on objective. Sure there were distractions, but my purpose was enough to get me through and manage them.

In 1988, I led my team at work to a company wide contest win, great recognition for me. And I took my wife Anne on her dream trip, a trip for 2 weeks to Hawaii. We took everything in we could, and took 33 rolls of film to sit together and look at later.

I journalled my thoughts and feelings at that time, but alas, I did not journal in a hard bound book, just a three ring binder. The pages tossed away sometime ago. Therefore, I have only my memory to serve me. (Journalling regularly is a great way to measure how much one has grown. I recommend it heartily.)

What really pulled me out was realization that, not only was I completely fouling up my life and my family's, but that I was not creating anything for them or myself. I was not being who I was supposed to me. My idea of who I am, was completely in direct contradiction to what I was acting out.

Now. Back to Present.

So, how do you set your mind to it? How do you make what you want, most important thing in your life for time period needed to achieve?

How do you give it importance over those things you most value already?

Connect them up. Use what is already important in your life and connect it to what you want to have, with stronger, more powerful reasons associating fact that one gets stronger and more potent with other.

How do you take something you have doing for years and stop ‘cold turkey’, and turn it around to give you terrific momentum for positive?

How do you take something that you have been trying to do for years, and failing, and turn it around so that you are successful at it immediately?

You must make it most important thing to do in your life for time period necessary to ingrain it into your life. And you must make it a MUST! Just like in story of mother saving her child. There is no other acceptable alternative other than total and complete success.

Connect it to something you feel is already critically important and merge them. Make one depend on other and you will be pulled to success. Look forward to your new future!

My guess is that at some time in your life you have ‘set your mind’ to something and cruised to victory. This is feeling you want to remember and practice.

Think back, pull memories of successful changes you have already made and you will have your own personal strategy that you know works for you. You just have to consciously remember and practice it.

There are many ways to change. You probably already know these but are you using them? I have found them absolutely critical to habit development and change. The degree of success you have will be directly proportionate to degree you apply these principles.

They create a 'pull' instead of you having to 'push'. Logical reasons will help, but emotional reasons have most power. Here are 5 strategies that I feel are critical.

1. Decision to Commit - Pure resolve that I am doing it. No matter what, whatever it takes. There is no option acceptable other than to do it. 2. Great Reasons that move me to ACTION! Strong Empowering Emotional Reasons WHY I must do this. 3. Connection to what's already important. Anchoring positive thoughts over negative to control focus. Look forward to your new future. 4. Associating with people who have done it or are doing it. Immerse myself. 5. Change My Identity, to a Self Image that is consistent with what I want.

I use these strategies in conjunction with each other. It does however depend on habit you want to create or replace.

More later at another time, this will give you a great place to start. Go for it!

Copyright 2004 Al Smith, All Rights Reserved