29 Quotes that Will Inspire You to Reach Your Greatest Potential

Maximizing your potential is about doing things you never knew you could do and reaching heights that you can only dream about. It’s about pushing yourself to become a better and stronger person.

When you break down your limits and barriers, you stop holding yourself back and do more than you thought possible.

As Thomas Edison once said, “If we did all the things we were capable of, we would literally astound ourselves.”

However life can have other plans. We get caught up in our routines and find days when we’re unmotivated. Even if you work hard, staying inspired to do more can seem difficult.

That’s where this list comes in. Sometimes all you need are a few inspiring words of wisdom to keep pushing forward as you find out just what you’re made of.

1. “I am here for a purpose and that purpose is to grow into a mountain, not shrink to a grain of sand. Henceforth will I apply all my efforts to become the highest mountain of all and I will strain my potential until it cries for mercy.” – Og Mandino

2. “Think big and don’t listen to people who tell you it can’t be done. Life’s too short to think small.” – Tim Ferriss

3. “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

4. “Failure doesn’t mean you are a failure it just means you haven’t succeeded yet.” – Robert H. Schuller

5. “It’s not what you achieve, it’s what you overcome. That’s what defines your career.” – Carlton Fisk

6. “The important thing is this: to be ready at any moment to sacrifice what you are for what you could become.” – Charles Dickens

7. “Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.” – Michael Jordan

8. “Be what you are. This is the first step towards becoming better than you are.” – J. C. Hare & A. W. Hare

9. “Don’t compromise yourself. You are all you’ve got.” – Janis Joplin

10. “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” – Brian Tracy

11. “Flowers do not force their way with great strife. Flowers open to perfection slowly in the sun. Don’t be in a hurry about spiritual matters. Go step by step and be very sure.” – White Eagle

12. “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” – Christian D. Larson

13. “If you don’t go after what you want, you’ll never have it. If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. If you don’t step forward, you’re always in the same place.” – Nora Roberts

14. “‎Transformation is not five minutes from now; it’s a present activity. In this moment you can make a different choice, and it’s these small choices and successes that build up over time to help cultivate a healthy self-image and self esteem.” – Jillian Michaels

15. “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.” – Andy Rooney

16. “The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand, and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand.” – Vince Lombardi

17. “You never stop earning when you do what you love.” – Asha Tyson

18. “What is the recipe for successful achievement? To my mind there are just four essential ingredients: Choose a career you love, give it the best there is in you, seize your opportunities, and be a member of the team.” – Benjamin F. Fairless

19. “I think everyone should experience defeat at least once during their career. You learn a lot from it.” – Lou Holtz

20. “Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.” – Mark Twain

21. “Great work is done by people who are not afraid to be great.” – Fernando Flores

22. “The only person you are destined to become is the person you decide to be.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

23. “The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.” – Brian Tracy

24. “Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one’s definition of your life. Define yourself.” – Harvey Fierstein

25. “Seek out that particular mental attribute which makes you feel most deeply and vitally alive, along with which comes the inner voice which says, ‘This is the real me’, and when you have found that attitude, follow it.” – William James

26. “Flow with whatever may happen and let your mind be free. Stay centred by accepting whatever you are doing. This is the ultimate.” – Zhuangzi

27. “Every man’s work, whether it be literature or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.” – Samuel Butler

28. “Often, it’s not about becoming a new person but becoming the person you were meant to be, and already are, but don’t know how to be.” – Heath L. Buckmaster

29. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.” – Aristotle

Pickthebrian.com

Your Morning Matters: 4 Reasons Waking Up Early Can Determine Your Success In Life

We all have one thing in common: every night we all go to bed and every day we all wake up. Each day we have the opportunity to start again, seize the day and create the life we want. It is such an amazing opportunity that we should all be jumping out of bed every morning with total excitement to start our day. Alas, I know that is not the case for many people.

The truth is, many of us get up late, rush through our mornings, feel behind and play catch up most of the day while trying to accomplish 27 important tasks. Sound familiar? It’s common for people to hit snooze several times and lie in bed until the absolute last moment before getting up for their day.

Many highly successful people start their day early because they know the advantage it gives them in their work and in life. While most people are in dreamland or savoring their last few minutes in bed, early risers are up exercising, reading, writing, meditating and working. Business icons like Starbucks CEO Howard Shultz and Apple CEO Tim Cook have been said to wake up as early as 4:30am to exercise and do their most important tasks before breakfast.

Let’s look at the reasons waking early can help increase your success in life:

1.Your willpower is strongest in the morning. Contrary to popular belief, willpower is a finite resource that runs low by the end of your day. Your willpower it is like a muscle that becomes tired with overuse. This means you have a higher chance of accomplishing something challenging or important earlier in the day.

2.Your morning rituals set the tone for the rest of your day. Rising early gives you time for reading, journaling, gratitude practice, exercise, and other rituals that set you up to feel good for the rest of the day. Creating positive energy in the morning significantly shifts the way you engage with the world throughout the day.

3.You have more focus and less distraction in the mornings. The quiet morning allows time to do top-priority things before other people’s priorities creep into your day. Once you are at work your attention and time might be pulled in several different directions. Rising early, however, gives you the morning to yourself.

4.You have time to plan, organize, and anticipate. You can use the early morning to set goals, plan the day and solve problems. This often leads to higher productivity and better achievement of goals. The early bird catches the worm, as they say, because the early bird is a step ahead of the crowd and has their day under control.

Believe it or not, if you were to start getting up one hour earlier each day you would gain 15 days a year. That is an extra 2 weeks you can gain by waking earlier! Imagine being able to spend that time on a passion project or reading books or setting yourself up for success. It’s all possible, you just have to commit to rising early.

Try these four tips to slowly shift your waking habits:

1.Set your alarm only 15 minutes earlier than your normal wake up time. Make the change incremental so your body can adjust slowly.
2.Move your alarm clock across the room so you have to get up when it goes off. This is a good way to force yourself to get out of bed.
3.Get up and brush your teeth. Moving your body helps you wake up.
4.Drink a big glass of water right away. This gets your metabolism going and is cleansing for your body.

Here is to your early morning success!

pickthebrain.com

14 Facts About Life to Keep in Mind When Feeling Hopeless

Life can get rough every now and then, and it’s no wonder that we lose hope, get discouraged and can’t figure out why we do what we do.

In moments like these, we need to remind ourselves of the great stuff around us. Because it’s there, all the time. And if we focus on it, the rest doesn’t really matter, and we can move on with our life, stronger and more positive than ever.

Here are some things to keep in mind that can always lift you up:

• Time heals everything.

Whatever it is that you’ve been through, no matter how bad you think your situation is, it will go away.
You’ll learn to live with it, and eventually you’ll forget it. You’ll get used to living without a certain person, or to a change in your lifestyle.

• Opportunities are everywhere.

With each new day the world offers you countless opportunities. Your job is to notice, be open to and make the best of them.

• There are people out there who can support you and motivate you.

Maybe you’re surrounded by toxic people, who only think about themselves, are negative, complain about life, never listen to you, don’t respect your goals and constantly make you feel down.

You don’t need them. In fact, if you keep being around them, you won’t reach your goals or feel any happier.

But don’t forget that there are others out there with the same interests, communities you can join, friends you can make. So get up and find them.

• If you don’t like something about yourself, you can always change it.

Don’t feel hopeless if you hate your body, aren’t productive, don’t have a skill, don’t like your style, aren’t confident or are too shy to talk to new people.

All that can be changed quite easily. Just know why you’re doing it and be consistent. If you have a definite desire, if you really want to improve your life and become a better version of yourself, take a small step each day towards that.

• Nothing is as bad as it looks.

We tend to overdramatize situations and often they appear worse in our minds, when actually everything is temporary, and can be changed.
Keep that in mind.

Life is simple.
So stop complicating it.

Ditch your great expectations, stop trying to guess what people mean and ask directly.
Throw away all the belongings you haven’t used lately and make some space in your apartment.
Let go of past and future and focus on the now. Eliminate the tasks from your to-do list that someone else can finish, or that aren’t urgent, or have nothing to do with your goals and the things you want in life.

• You don’t need to do or have anything in particular to be happy.

So many people seek happiness in outer sources – they feel a void inside them and try to fill it by loving someone and spending all their time with him, by shopping, partying, moving to another place, changing their appearance, etc.

And they feel even worse after that.

That’s because happiness can be found only on the inside. And that void is a sign that you haven’t fixed your relationship with yourself – you don’t love, appreciate, accept and listen to yourself.

Start doing that, together with appreciating what you already have, being present and enjoying the little things, and you’ll see the world from a different point of view – you’ll fill your days with gratitude and contentment, and happiness will come.

• Failures and mistakes are blessings.

Failing is the biggest proof of trying, it means you’re doing something with your life and that puts you ahead of the average person, who just sits at home, trying to figure out what he wants and how he can get it.

Trying something and not succeeding, makes you more experienced, stronger, and lets you know what you shouldn’t do next time.

And if you learn how to find the lesson in it and not give up, you’ll eventually reach success.

• Better things are coming.

That’s a fact. You just need to be open for these things, to look forward to them, to believe you deserve that.

• If it’s important, you’ll make time.

Most of the time life is all about prioritizing. If you say you don’t have time for something, then it’s just not that important to you.

Because if it was, you’d figure out a way to make time. So never say that you’re too busy to spend time with your family, do what you love or else.

If you learn how to let go, you’ll be free and peaceful.
Letting go is a beautiful process. It helps you free your mind of the burden of the past and stop worrying about what might happen tomorrow, and then lets you be right here, right now – completely present and mindful of what you’re doing.

• The universe if working in your favor, not against you.

Life may seem unfair sometimes, but it’s because you take things too personally, expect too much or aren’t doing what you’re supposed to.

The universe gives you signs all the time, you just need to listen to them, notice and choose what is right.

• Every next day is a chance to start over.

That’s a great fact and I love reminding myself of it whenever I feel bad.

It’s true. No matter how many times you failed, how bad you felt yesterday and what hardships you’ve been through, tomorrow is another day, and you decide how to start it and how to spend it.

• At any moment you can meet that one person that will make you realize why it never worked out with others.

Never think that you’ll be alone for the rest of your life, or that there’s just no one for you out there. It may not have worked out with a bunch of people, but that’s just because you made wrong choices.

Maybe they had nothing to do with you, were completely different. But they have their own paths to walk, so just follow yours.

And never stop believing that your soul mate is waiting for you somewhere. Just do what you need to do, work on your goals, your body, mind and soul. Improve yourself and your lifestyle, and that person will come.

With all that in mind, how can you ever be desperate about life again?
It’s a beautiful adventure, and surprises and opportunities are everywhere.

Pickthebrain.com

7 Powerful Truths That Can Improve Your Life

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“Pleasure can be supported by an illusion; but happiness rests upon truth.”
- Sébastien-Roch Nicolas De Chamfort

How you live is determined by your beliefs. People who change the world tend to believe in powerful truths that propel them to greatness. Here are seven such beliefs…

7. Writing your goals down gives you the best chance to reach them

The only other alternative to writing down goals is to keep track of them in your head. But have you ever tried writing everything, and I mean everything, down? When I did, I wrote down 127 things.

I couldn’t believe I had been trying to manage that much information in my head.

Studies show that the pre-frontal cortex, your brain’s manager, can hold about 2-3 things at once. In simple terms, there isn’t a single person who can manage their life in their head as well as outside their head, written down. And management is only part of the reason to write goals down.

It turns out that the act of writing something (not typing, handwriting) has a meaningful cognitive impact too. This study found that writing thoughts down on paper increases their prominence in your mind. Holding on to the paper retains that increased mental prominence while throwing the paper away seems to “discard” the thought along with it.

Writing your goals down is required!

“Write it down. Written goals have a way of transforming wishes into wants; cant’s into cans; dreams into plans; and plans into reality. Don’t just think it — ink it!”
- Unknown

6. Dancing makes you smarter

Aside from guaranteeing a smile and a good time, dancing actually makes you smarter!

Dancing shows a healthy perspective of life too. People who dance are not afraid to have fun. Life is too short to get embarrassed. 

“Each day I count wasted in which there has been no dancing.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

5. Saying affirmations to yourself in the mirror can change your mind

Perhaps it is lame to talk to yourself in the mirror. I know it wouldn’t look “cool” if someone else saw you do it. But it isn’t a waste of time when you consider the power of repetition.

The brain has a network of neural pathways that determine your habitual thoughts and behavior. When thoughts or behaviors are repeated, a neural pathway somewhere in your brain is slightly strengthened. Over time, this is how a habit forms.

Many people reading this have habitually negative thoughts about themselves. That’s not healthy and they deserve better.

If your negative belief relates to self-esteem, and you say, “I am valuable” to yourself in the mirror every morning and mean it, you’ll believe it more and more over time. Whoever you want to be, daily affirmations can bring you closer to that identity. It doesn’t work through pseudo-science or voo doo, it works through repetition.

Repetition has a powerful impact on the brain. You can’t mindlessly repeat a phrase though – you have to mean it and concentrate on it as you’re saying it.

Affirmations aren’t required for greatness, but if low confidence, negative thoughts, or limiting beliefs are holding you back, affirmations can help you get closer to where you need to be.

“It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.”
- Muhammad Ali

4. The world owes you nothing

The world doesn’t owe you a good job. It doesn’t owe you a pleasant life. It doesn’t owe you anything. You owe those things to yourself if you want them.

Society cares about what you can do for it. If you count on goodwill to get you places, you’re going to be disappointed.

The real world is fiercely competitive and it takes significant effort to make an impact. Some win and some lose. It’s a harsh truth of reality, but believing anything else is a lie that will hold you back. Knowing this can help you do what it takes to get what you want out of life.

“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”
- Mark Twain

3. You deserve greatness more than you deserve a break

Of people who have achieved greatness – whether in money, fame, or making a difference – there is a similarity. They work hard. Some of them work too hard for their own good.

This difference in mindset could be that successful people believe they deserve success more than they deserve a break.

I’m not saying that you don’t deserve a break – we all do – but I am saying that this thought could be what’s keeping you from greatness. A study by Ayelet Fishbach and Ravi Dhar suggests this idea of deserving a reward can really thwart our progress.

The study went like this: First, a group of dieters was split into two groups. Then, researchers reminded only one of the groups of their positive progress in dieting. Next, both groups were offered a reward choice – an apple or a chocolate bar. Of the group who was reminded of their progress, 85% chose the chocolate bar compared to 58% of the other group.

This shows the potential negative effects of the “I deserve a reward” mentality. A higher percentage of people who were praised chose the less healthy chocolate bar. It also shows people love chocolate, but we knew that already.

Some Americans take too many breaks. According to Neilsen, Americans watch an average of more than 5 hours of television every day, which is 1,825 hours per year!

Imagine if you focused on a hobby instead of watching five hours of television. According to the 10,000 hour rule, you could master the hobby in just six years; not be decent at something, but master something! You could become an great pianist or guitarist, dancer, or public speaker! (note: I don’t believe the 10,000 hour mark is a magical number, but it seems to be a good estimate of time to mastery.)

The mistake we often make is seeing the present day as unique, when it’s not. Oh, today is different because [excuse]. Actually, barring something dramatic happening, almost all of your days are going to be similar to today.

Today is the best indication of how the rest of your life will be. And keep in mind that most of us have less than 28,000 days to live, according to the average life span. That isn’t very many days.

If you’re burnt out, take a break, but don’t convince yourself that today is anything but the best chance you’ve got to head in the direction of your dreams. It doesn’t matter if “seize the day” is cliche. Today is a projection of the rest of your life.

“You cannot change your destination overnight, but you can change your direction overnight.” —Jim Rohn

2. You don’t need everyone to like you

If you’re going to be a person who impacts the world, not everyone is going to like you. At the base level, you’ll have people jealous of your success. Beyond that, some people have opposing values, and you will be unfairly labeled and judged at times.

The worst way to live life is to try to please everyone around you. If everyone likes you, it means that you’re playing it very, very safe.

I write articles to help people live better lives, and I’ll occasionally get insulted, questioned, and discouraged. It’s not a problem though, because I don’t write for them, I write from my passion to make a difference and for the people who appreciate what I do.

Other people are one of the most important aspects of an individual’s life – we’re social beings and need each other. At a basic level, however, you only need love from family and/or friends to have a fulfilling life. Beyond that, any people who like you are a bonus!

And the best news is that 99% of people won’t hate you for no reason. They’re more likely to like you for no reason! You can be yourself without worrying about what others think.

Almost all people will respect you tremendously for having the courage to be yourself in all circumstances. Let go of the need to impress everyone, and your life will surely improve.

“You can’t please everyone, nor should you seek to, because then you won’t please anyone, least of all yourself.”
- Dylan Moran

1. Nothing is more important than your habits right now

Your habits are the single most important part of your life. A Duke study found habits to comprise 45% of our behavior; amplifying that, habits are behaviors we repeat every day. If you’re not currently pursuing a good habit, you need to get on it!

The difference between a good or bad habit can be a great life or a horrible life. Invest time and energy in modifying your habits, and they will pay for themselves for years to come. This year, I made exercise a habit, and it’s been great for my health. I went from being able to do six or seven pull-ups in a row to my current record of 16!

I also read and write every day. If you’re interested to know the strategies I use to develop new healthy habits with ease, despite having weak willpower and inconsistent motivation, get my Tuesday messages. These are like extra blog posts exclusive to Deep Existence subscribers. You’ll get 40 wallpapers and 2 more gifts just for signing up.

I’m also writing a book called Mini Habits – it shows you how smaller habits can bring bigger results. The book releases later this month. To be notified and get everything mentioned, you can sign up here and I’ll talk to you this Tuesday!

Cheers,
Stephen Guise

Source : Pickthebrain.com

QUOTE OF THE DAY : Define Your Death

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Jesus Christ died a Saviour. Nelson Mandela died a Legend. Michael Jackson died a Star. If Akpeteshie and Hennessy are the top priorities on your Legacy CV, then you can define your death in advance lol.

Source : Elorm Benie

How To Reduce Stress and Improve Your Memory

If you want your memory to work the best it can, then reducing the stress in your life will help.

Reducing stress is crucial for optimal brain functioning. When you are stressed, you waste a lot of your valuable mental energy worrying, so you have less mental energy available for paying attention to the things that are important for you to remember. When your body is stressed, your muscles tense up, which causes them to use more oxygen. So when you’re stressed, your brain gets less of the oxygen that it needs in order to function well.

And to make matters worse, stress causes the body to produce the hormone cortisol. Cortisol is tolerable for brief periods, but it’s very unhealthy when your body produces it for extended periods of time. Cortisol is toxic to brain cells. Studies show that chronic stress can quadruple your chance of getting Alzheimer’s Disease.

Recent studies show that certain stress-reducing activities can benefit the brain greatly.

Dr. Sara Lazar at the Psychiatry Department of Massachusetts General Hospital studied the effects of meditation on the brain. She used an FMRI scanner, which is a machine that enables a researcher to see what’s going on inside a patient’s brain. As people get older, various parts of the brain become thinner. Dr. Lazar’s work showed that the brains of people who meditate exhibit significantly less of this age-related brain thinning. Other benefits of meditation include improvements in the ability to focus the mind, improvements in impulse control, increases in empathy, and more restful sleep.

Another activity that has been shown to be good for brain health is Tai Chi. Tai Chi is a gentle Chinese martial art, which consists of a formal series of graceful, flowing movements. A recent 8-month study done at the University of South Florida shows that doing Tai Chi causes similar results. Seniors who practiced Tai Chi three times a week had significant increase in brain volume and scored better on tests of their memory and thinking abilities. Other benefits of Tai Chi include improvements in strength, agility, flexibility, balance and posture.

Both meditation and Tai Chi can be used to “re-program” your mind so that it becomes less anxious and more relaxed. These new patterns of calmness and concentrated awareness can become habitual, so that they remain even if you have to take a break from your meditation or Tai Chi practice. You may want to try learning meditation or Tai Chi. In many cities, you can find meditation or Tai Chi teachers who offer classes for beginners. There are a number of excellent videos on Youtube that teach the basics as well.

Learning either of these techniques can help you improve your memory, concentration, and emotional state. They can also help you lower your level of stress. Lower stress levels have a positive effect on all your brain functions and enable your memory to work optimally.

Source : pickthebrain.com

Motivation : The Need To Say 'NO' And How to D0 That

 Those who find it difficult to say no....this is for you,you need to read and read again.

Do you ever find yourself saying “Yes” – only to immediately experience a sinking feeling inside?
Many of us take on too many commitments, because we have a hard time saying “no”. We’re constantly busy – perhaps without the time to exercise regularly or pursue our own goals – and yet we often bend over backwards to accommodate other people’s requests.
Of course, there’ll be times when you want to help out a friend, college, or family member. There’ll also be times when you think you don’t have any choice about saying “yes” or “no” – like when your boss asks if you can work late, again. But if you run yourself ragged trying to help out everyone else, you’re never going to achieve the things that you want.
You need to say “no” more often if:

• You always tell yourself that you’ll be less busy in a few months … but you seem to get busier and busier.
• You feel resentful about some of the tasks that you’d taken on, and wish you hadn’t.
• You’re stressed out trying to find time to do everything.
• You’re neglecting some of your basic needs, like exercise and healthy meals.

People won’t stop liking you just because you say “no” to a request (though they might well develop more respect for you). And the world won’t fall apart if you say “no”, even in situations where you feel like someone really needs your help.

Get Better at Saying No

Try to make “no” your default. It’s all too easy to say “Sure, that’s no problem” when, in truth, you’re already feeling anxious, even panicked, about how you’ll possibly find time.
Next time someone makes a request, think carefully before saying “yes”. If at all possible, delay giving a response so that you have time to think it through – for instance, you could say “I’ll need to think about that” or “Let me get back to you tomorrow once I’ve checked my diary.”
If you feel guilty about saying “no”, then you might want to journal about your feelings. You may also find it helpful to write a list of the pros and cons of saying “no”, to help you make a good decision for you.

Focus on What’s Important

It’s easier to say “no” when you’ve got a clear focus on what’s truly important in your life. That could be:

• Your family
• Your career
• Your health

It could also be a specific goal, like getting out of debt, or writing a book.
When you have a key area of life or an important goal in mind, it’s easier to say “no” and feel justified. After all, isn’t spending time with your kids more important than chairing meetings of that local community group?

Learn Ways to Say No

Some people won’t take no for an answer. Others may get a little huffy or annoyed about being told “no” – especially if they’re used to you helping them out constantly.
Some good ways to say “no” are:

• Being direct. Say “No, I can’t do that” and keep saying it.
• Offering a compromise. If a straight “no” really isn’t going to work, how about “I’m afraid I can’t take that on, but I could help you out with …”
• Explaining your priorities. “I’m afraid I don’t have time to help, because I’m in the middle of a career change.”
• Writing down your “no”. If you get easily intimidated in conversations – and end up backing down from your position – then you might try responding by email or even in a written letter instead. This gives you more time to formulate responses.

Stay flexible, and use different methods depending on the situation. If you find a particular way of saying “no” that works well for you, try using it again in future.
Ultimately, you only have one life to live – and you want to make the most of it. If your life is full of unwanted commitments, or if you dread being phoned by that particular person who always wants something from you, then learn to say “no”, today.

Source : pickthebrain.com