I was asked recently by someone posting on my self motivational blog what were the best self help books I have read. Although there are several thousand self help books published each year I have come to the conclusion that there is very little that can be added to the many words of self help wisdom that have been written over the last century and a half. From the early pioneers like Napoleon Hill to today’s monumental giants like Tony Robbins. It was said, I think by the latter of these two gurus, that we arrive on this planet without an instruction manual. I think for that reason alone there is not just a thirst for knowledge but a greater need for a guide to how to survive life which drives the market for self motivational books. You don’t need to have suffered a deep psychological trauma to want to invest in one of these guides. But for those who say you can’t deal with serious issues like depression then I disagree. Where my own doctor and a clinical psychologist were unable to help me a number of the books on my all time classic list gave me the support to get my life back on track. However its not reading self help books that gets results its taking action on the advice that is given therein. So my advice is read a small amount of self help books but take a lot of action if you want to significantly improve your life.
Can self help books bring happiness? Now there is a million dollar question! Depends on your definition of happiness of course. Many people would define it as achieving a certain amount of wealth. However as many wealthy people often say the wealth in and of itself doesn’t bring happiness. In addition have you ever noticed that wealthy people never seem satisfied with what they have got and continually seek to make more and more money. The truth is that happiness is not a destination it is more likely to be a state of continually striving to achieve goals, achieving them and setting more goals to strive to achieve. If thats your definition then I think self help books will help you and my list of all time classics have certainly helped me in that respect. There are many out there who will disagree with my choice of self motivational books and have their own favourites all I can say to them is that these are the ones that gave me the focus and the necessary poke in the ribs to take action and I still revisit them for ideas.

If you do what you’re expected to do, don’t expect an outstanding result, my friend.

Study successful people and you’ll sure to discover one thing that many of them would have in common… they live by that words of “always do more than what is expected of you.”

I don’t care. It could be sleeping an hour less everyday to have more time to build your wealth or whatsoever.

Whether you are mowing people’s lawn or someone is mowing your lawn, when you are teaching a seminar or being a participant, or when sharing your knowledge or giving advice to your people, always do or give more than what people expect. Then they will flock around you, they will line up to meet you and be happy to support you in whatever thing that you want to do next.

If you’re training to be a champion, don’t just train like an average player. Train more than you’re expected to train.

If you’re building a multi-level marketing business, increase the numbers of prospects you would like to meet everyday. If it used to be 10, now you would have at least 12. By just increasing your effort 20%, you’ll end up with 60 new prospects a month. Now, that’s what I called exponential.

Trying to win a girl’s heart? I’m not surprise that you could be “competing” with three other guys for the same girl. And you can only win if you’re giving more than all of them if everyone’s equal. I’m not saying giving more money or buying stuff’ give love, time or whatever that counts to her.

Whenever you are interacting with people or in a relationship, treat the other party extremely well.

Whatever is expected of you in that relationship, be it with your girlfriend or business partner or client, your spouse or your friend, always do or give more than what is expected of you in that relationship for that is the secret of making it a success.

It is not that you have to do or give a whole lot more; you have to do just a little bit more than the rest. That’s it. The 10mm-difference is what Anthony Robbins calls it for you to become outstanding… in any undertaking.

To do this, it’s not difficult. But most people are just too lazy to put in the effort. I’m one of them but I’ll always keep reminding myself this- winner takes all. There is no second place, my friend. I would rather strive with the extra effort to get #1 because the pay off is many times greater.

Do you remember who the second best basketball player is? Nope. You can remember Michael Jordan because he’s #1. In fact, as far as I know, there’s no such place as ‘the second best basketball player’.

Who’s the second fastest runner in the world? Who knows. I just know the #1.

Others have called this ‘more than expected attitude’ as ‘going for the extra mile’. Notice that they don’t say the extra 10 miles.

How come?

Because the average persons don’t bother to do more than what is expected of them. I know it’s sad but that’s the truth.

To most people, “always do more than what is expected of you” are mere words and they don’t put substance to it because people are greedy and they just want to do the bare minimum to make money, to make a profit or whatever.

And guess what… successful people are never your average people.

To be generous and to treat others extremely well, you must come from the perspective of abundance thinking. Then only “always doing more than what is expected of you” will come easy and naturally.

So the next time you are with somebody, or in a business negotiation, or just interacting with another person, ask how can I help you… without even expecting any return.

As the other saying goes, commonly heard in self improvement — you have to give, in order to get. In fact, if you want to gather riches you have to be as generous as you can. Touch people’s lives profoundly, in ways that they would never forget. Give it forward… help another and that person will help another. Always do more than what is expected of you. Do this and the reward will come to you 10 folds or 100 folds when you are least expecting it.

Do you think you can do more than what you’re doing today? Of course you can. The question is… DO YOU WANT OR NOT? You’ll have to decide for your own future on that.

Note: This article is written by Patric Chan who shares his experience about achieving success and wealth at his personal improvement blog. You can also join his self improvement forum for free and meet like-minded positive people.

If you are going to be successful on the internet or any home business as far as that is concerned, then, integrity must come before your financial success. Many people are financially successful on the internet, but some have forgotten the meaning of true success.

As Jim Rohn (One of the all time favorite motivational speakers) says, quite often, it is far more important of who you are becoming, then, what you are earning. Jim even goes so far as to say that you should work toward becoming a millionaire, not for the money, but because of who you will become in achieving the goal.

The stress is on becoming a better person. A person who has integrity. Integrity is being able to be counted on, to be depended upon, if you say that you are going to provide a service or product for a certain amount of money, then you do it. You are looking out for your customers, as well as yourself.

In most cases your reputation will precede you! You may think that no one is discovering your flawed business manners, but actually, the word is spreading and on the net, it spreads quite rapidly. Visit Keynote Speaker for more information

One of the universal laws of success is that financial success follows hard work with honesty. In other words, “help enough people get what they want and you will find that you receive what you want.” However, if you are just looking out for you, you are only hurting yourself in the long run. Wouldn’t the internet be so much better if we were all watching out for each other?

One important lesson I have learned when it comes to making a sale is that people buy from those whom they trust. If they trust you they will buy from you. If your integrity is guiding you as you make your presentation to others it will come across to your potential buyer. You are more likely to make that sell with your integrity guiding you, then, any other aspect in your presentation. Visit Motivational Speaker for more information

It does not matter how well you intellectually present your service or product, if they detect flaws in your character you might as well close up your brief case and go home.

Perhaps, even of a greater reward for being a man or women of integrity is that you will sleep better at night just knowing you did your best to sincerely help others achieve their dreams. What can be more rewarding, then, to help others reach their goals?

If you have children, perhaps, that would be the ultimate reason to permit integrity to lead you. Your children will have someone that they can be proud of and more importantly someone whom they can trust! Visit Speaker

Your 10 Steps - from Perspiration to Inspiration

Does everything feel like a struggle? Why not use inspiration to create energy that propels you up and over life’s inevitable speed bumps? Here are ten steps to get you started.

1. Be grateful: Create a list of the “50 Things I Am Grateful For Today.” Take a minute each morning to mentally express your gratitude for at least 5 things whether it’s the air you breathe, the clothes on your back, or those closest to you.

2. Celebrate and list every success: How would you like to have a boss who only ranted about what you did wrong or what you failed to achieve, never giving you credit for the wins? Take a look in the mirror and make sure you aren’t abusing yourself like a boss from hell. Keep a running list of your successes for the year and post it near your computer or nightstand.

3. Learn from your setbacks: Failure happens. It’s part of life and a necessary component of growth. Accept failure as something good, as proof that you are taking risks and stretching yourself. However, in addition to accepting the losses, you must go back and, like an unbiased scientist, ask yourself what went wrong. What will you do differently in the future? Mistakes are only truly valuable if you learn from them. Even if your home improvement is a problem - this is just a ride, as Bill Hicks used to say.

4. Fill your glass: Forget the debate over whether the glass is half empty or half full! Why not take a pitcher and fill it up? Tackle every situation with the perspective that you can affect the outcome. Acknowledge that you have the power to choose. Even doing absolutely nothing or feeling sorry for yourself is a choice you make.

5. Look for role models: Who inspires you? Is there someone who walked in your shoes and faced similar battles? Maybe even someone who went on to become a superstar in his or her own life? Identify her but don’t put her up on a pedestal. Remember that she is a person just like you, who overcame the odds, or struggled through extreme hardship and persevered.

6. Become a visionary: You don’t have to be a guru to have a vision of the future. All it takes is a bit of imagination and the courage to reach for something bigger than your current reality. If time and money were no object and success was guaranteed, what would you want to create for yourself, your family, or the world? Give yourself at least 30 minutes to let your thoughts dig into this one. How does this vision of the future relate to your life today?

7. Identify the milestones: Set concrete goals for yourself that can be broken down into measurable pieces or milestones. If you want to lose 20 pounds, each 5-pound increment is the next milestone you should aim for and celebrate. Instead of shooting for a distant peak, it’s much more encouraging to set your sights on the corner at the end of the block.

8. Say it with pictures: Research says that 89% of what we learn is visual, 10% is auditory, and 1% comes through our other senses. Draw, photograph, or assemble a collage that represents your aim in life. Hang it on the wall or download it to your computer desktop as a reminder of what you’re working towards.

9. Play: If you feel like you’re toiling, take a break and interject some fun. Do something ridiculous. If you can’t think of anything, spend an hour or two watching 4-year olds play. To them, everything has the potential for fun. Learn to enjoy the journey even more than the destination.

10. Ride the wave of change - don’t run from it: Like death and taxes, change is inevitable. However, resistance to change is common and causes untold amounts of struggle. Become a master evolutionist—respond to change eagerly and rapidly.

We all need a push once in a while. Choose instead to latch onto inspiration as a force that pulls you forward and you’ll discover that success can be effortless.

For useful tips about emotional freedom technique training please read this publication.

When holiday seasons quickly approach, you may find that you are preparing meals, wrapping presents, getting the house prepared for guest, trimming the tree and more. Holiday seasons used to be something that would feel like it would last forever now everything is so rushed that it feels like the seasons come and go so quickly. For some people, Christmas is not so memorable and they may become depressed and feel sad and alone.

Learning to deal with depression during the holiday season is very important for everyone. We all become over-stressed and the feeling of being overwhelmed can easily creep in and may ruin the entire holiday season with sadness. Use some free meditation techniques to learn to control stress.

If depression has become severe or you feel like you cannot gain control you may need to see your medical professional for treatment. There are some things that you can do at home to prevent depression during the holiday seasons in order to prevent yourself from becoming depressed. Holidays are special and for that reason you want to be able to enjoy every minute of it.

There are several reasons you might feel depressed and sad during the holidays; loss of a loved one, little or no money, the coldness, snow or rain, and more. Because the holiday’s makes you think back to a childhood moment around that time of year you may feel happy or sad if it is a sad memory. Depression is more common today than what it was years ago. That is because today doctors are more aware of the symptoms of depression and they also have more treatments available for those who suffer from depression. When someone experiences depression they may feel tired all the time, unable to participate in anything, overwhelmed with guilt for some reason, can cry at anything, and more. Because symptoms of depression are so common, it may also be mistaken for another disorder with similar symptoms.

To avoid becoming depressed during the holiday seasons you may want to try these tips that will encourage and inspire you.

* Bake cakes and cookies to give to a nursing home or a neighbor next door. Giving warms the heart and puts a smile on your face.

* Sing Christmas carols to get into the holiday mood.

* Visit friends or family. Make this something that you do every holiday season. You can visit one person a day or over a weekend, which ever fits into your schedule. Before you leave, give your friends or family a hug. Our bodies respond to a hug in a positive way and sometimes that is all we need to feel happy.

What ever you do during the holiday seasons, remember to stay positive. It’s okay to think about the past as long as you don’t let it get you down. Making sure that you have a positive attitude will rub off and have a positive affect on everyone’s holiday season. Because the holidays are filled with mixed emotion it will be nice to end the holiday season with a smile on your face.

Beautiful is defined as having qualities that gives great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear or think about, something that is delighting to our senses or mind but most often beauty is described to be something that is pleasing in the eyes of a human being. It’s unusual to say a food that tastes good is beautiful, a news that is good to hear is beautiful but we can always say it is a beautiful view when we see something that would satisfy our eyes. Most often our visual senses can appreciate the meaning of the word beautiful.
God has given us eyes to see how beautiful the world is. Although a few people may see things differently without their Large Reading Glasses or contact lenses on we should be thankful enough that we are not blind. There are many things we could see in this world that we describe as beautiful but there is only one thing in the heart of man which he describes as the most beautiful. The most common phrases that we usually hear like how beautiful a house is, what a beautiful car you have, the sun rising early in the morning is beautiful, the stars in the night is so beautiful but in a man’s eyes a woman he loves, is much more beautiful than anything else in the world.
In reality perfection does not exist in this world. In this world Any thing becomes unreal when it becomes so perfect because even the world itself was not made perfect at all. God may have created the world in his image and likeness but he never made anything perfect in this world. A man can paint a beautiful and perfect woman using his imagination and skills but then a man cannot make them exist. A portrait of a woman is one man’s description of the most beautiful thing on earth but not all of them can appreciate it’s beauty only the man who have created it can say it is perfect. In an artist’s point of view only him can see the real beauty of his masterpiece not everyone else. No need for him to take off his Reading Glasses and rub his eyes to see things clearly. Like god for him he created the world perfect but not everyone could appreciate it. Even though there are so many things in this world that are not made perfect but in his eyes it doesn’t make a difference because everything he created he loved and for him each and everyone is perfect. For loving doesn’t count the physical aspect of a being but accepting what one is made of.

Gratitude or appreciation of what we already have is very important in the manifestation process. If we want to attract things we desire we must have feelings of gratitude, so every day when you wake up try to be thankful and think about the good things in your live you should be thankful for.

To begin using the Law of Gratitude and the Law of Attraction to work for us in positive ways, we must take control of our lives and understand how to best use this power we all have within us.

Learn More about the Law of Attraction

We cannot express true gratitude without feeling emotionally grateful. Being thankful for everything that comes to us is to accept our lives as they are, realizing that everything that has come to us is because we created it. It could be hard to accept our responsibility, but without accepting it we can’t start positively changing our lives. Although it may not have been our conscious intent, but we created our lives. It is much easier to understand for people who also know the law of karma or the law of action and reaction.

We must appreciate what we have, so let’s appreciate our jobs (even if we don’t like them). We should feel gratitude for a place to live (there are many people who don’t have a place to live). We should be grateful for some food, some friends or anything else that we possess. A lot of people don’t have enough even basic things like food, water and their own place to live.

It’s natural that you want more, that you want to improve your standard of life, but first you need to feel gratitude for what you already have.

The Law of Attraction and Gratitude

Sometimes gratitude comes in steps. Making a list of things you are thankful for being in your life helps you to create a more positive energy within you. It also helps to begin surrounding yourself with people that are upbeat and positive.

Apart of expressing gratitude, making positive affirmation statements can speed up manifestation process.

When you begin making affirmation statements to yourself, you will begin to manifest a life of happiness and abundance by being grateful. Begin telling yourself that you are grateful for having money in your life. This will affirm things that are already present in your life and create more of it. Even if you only have a dollar to your name, expressing gratitude for this money will begin to bring more of the same.

By reflecting positive affirmations of gratitude, you begin to change your inner world to one of lighter, higher vibration energy. Then the Law of Attraction will answer this by changing your outer world to reflect your inner, positive state of mind.

The Mind works in two ways, on conscious and subconscious level. When we think about something it is impressed on the subconscious mind which acts on the thought. If the thought is not concentrated it simply dissipates into energy. Thoughts like everything are energy.

However, when the thought is concentrated, which means that we focus on something for a longer period of time or often with emotions and imagination, things can really start to manifest.
This may sound corny, or too simple of an idea, but this is the way the universe works. Old thought patterns that we have established over time can be easy to slip back into again. When changing our life in positive ways, staying on course with an attitude of gratitude can seem difficult. In time, this new pattern establishes itself and becomes you.

Learn More about the Law of Attraction

Gratitude and the Law of Attraction work to create abundance in your life, even when you do not know how this principle works. Knowing how this principle works is to be using the Law of Attraction to actively create a life that is truly prosperous and in harmony with the universe. Gratitude or appreciation of what we already have is necessary to attract things we want.

Law of Attraction and Gratitude Information

The Law of Attraction is not just a metaphysical idea; it is also a theory that has been proven to work. Science has discovered through quantum physics that there is a very real law of nature, bringing back to use what we think about.

Every day when you wake up try to be thankful. Think about the good things in your live you should be thankful for.
Appreciate your job (even if you don’t like it). Feel gratitude for a place to live. If you have some food, some friends or anything else you can find to appreciate, appreciate it. A lot of people don’t have enough even basic things like food, water and their own place to live. It’s natural that you want more, that you want to improve your standard of life, but first you need to feel gratitude for what you already have.

We create our lives through our thoughts and feelings being answered. What we send out is returned back to us in kind. This is the science of manifestation at work.

People that live out their lives experiencing poverty and scarcity usually will broadcast these needy expressions in negative ways. Like attracts like, therefore, the universal consciousness that we are all a part of sends back to us more of the same. Just as positive affirmations and states of mind return to us the same. This helps to answer why some of us believe that our glass is half empty, and others experience their glass as half full.

Manifestation and Gratitude Resources

If you start your day with feelings of gratitude you will feel good and you can keep that feeling all day.

But you should also write down something like this: “I am so happy and grateful that…” and then write what you would like to have. For example: “I am very happy and grateful that I make $1 million per year; that I have wonderful and loving wife…etc.” Use the present tense, visualize the things you want, be grateful for them, and think about them as already yours. When you achieve them, you can add new things to your list. When you write about money, start first with amount you believe is possible and then increase the amount when you got the amount you’d written down. Be specific.

When you start doing as described above, at first you might feel strange that you are using present tense for the things you want to have in the future, but it’s important to train your mind and force your mind to think about them in present tense. After some time of playing such “mental ping pong” your mind will obey and will help you to achieve the things you want.

It is important to be consistent with expressing gratitude. Expressing the gratitude writing every day in a notebook is very helpful.

Law of Attraction and Gratitude Information

Happiness is actually found in everyone. However, as the time goes by, as a matured adult, we find it increasingly difficult to win back our happiness.

The fact is happiness has never eluded you. All along, it has been hidden deep inside you. You just failed to recognize it, that’s all. Being happy is a choice and it really depends on how we choose to be happy and the choices we make day in and day out which raises to our happiness scale.

Abraham Lincoln observed that we humans have the ability to decide how happy or how stressed, how relaxed or how troubled we want our lives to be.

Since you are reading this, your choice is already very clear. This is how we choose to be happy. You choose to be happy today!

Here are some simple choices which you can make to you stumbling upon happiness:

Stumbling Upon Happiness – Pick 1

Showing gratitude is an attitude. By sincerely demonstrating gratitude to the countless wonderful things in life, not only will you help yourself focus more on the positive events, which in turn make the Law of Attraction works in your favor.

Take some time every night to write down at least 10 things which you are grateful for today. Try to include different people you meet in the day and recall what they have done to help you better yourself. Do not write the same events as what you have written in the previous days.

Stumbling Upon Happiness – Pick 2

The truth is 99% of what we read or see is negative news. Obviously, if you choose to stay happy, you will not want to start your day filling your mind with negativity, will you?

Stumbling Upon Happiness – Pick 3

Time management is not only useful in making you more productive in your work. It can also contribute greatly to your happiness. Unlike money, time is something that we can never earned back no matter what we do. By learning how to manage your time well, you will become more productive and accomplish more in your life. In any case, your happiness does come from your accomplishments, don’t they?

Stumbling Upon Happiness – Pick 4

Put back the long lost laughter and smile back into you. Smile to other people when you see them. Thank them with a wide smile and you will be answered back with one too. After all, smiles are contiguous.

Stumbling Upon Happiness – Pick 5

Maintain good relationships with other people. Part of your happiness comes from being able to express your feelings and affections to other people. Keep an open mind when discussing difficult issues with others and try to understand others in their viewpoint. Refrain from forcing your ideas and beliefs onto others.

To stay happy, stay in love!

What’s important is not how we choose to be happy, rather we have made the choice to be happy.

P.S. Read more about kundalini yoga poses - this can help you a lot.

Contrary to popular belief, procrastination does serve a purpose in your life. And that is why this is a lesson in procrastination which you will not want to miss. You may have been fighting procrastination for as long as you can remember. However instead of offering you a miraculous cure for procrastination, let’s take a step back from your present to better understand the presence of procrastination in your life.

Like most people, you are often overstretched in areas of your life. Currently you are playing several different roles at any one time, e.g. roles of a productive employee, a filial child, an understanding partner, a caring parent, a helpful friend and many other more which you seek to do well and excel in. However, there are just too many roles for you to fit into at any one time.

The truth is regardless how well you plan your time, you only have a limited time and energy every day. There is only this much of things you can seek to accomplish daily. However, most “procrastinators” fail to realize that.

Instead, day after day, they try to accomplish all their tasks in one day. And when they fail, they beat themselves up and feel that they procrastinate in completing them.

Any time management experts will tell you that attempting to do everything within a short period of time is suicidal. Eventually, you will run of gas and burn out.

Unknown to many, we are all procrastinators in this modern world. Everything you do carry with it an opportunity cost. When you decide to invest your time and energy in playing a particular role well, you will be neglecting your other important life roles at the same time. And when you fail to meet those “shoulds” and “musts” which come along with those roles, you feel that you have not done enough.

Thus, rather than constantly beating up yourself for not doing enough and hoping for a heaven-sent cure for procrastination, why not look into yourself and determine what you truly value in your life.

By determining the priorities of the different roles in your life, you will better understand what you truly treasure. And it does make sense to allocate more time and energy in fulfilling those more important roles to your very best while giving less attention to other less crucial roles, isn’t it?

That will eliminate the need for you to want to do everything within a short period of time and along with it the misconception of procrastination.

This is a lesson in procrastination which took many people a long time to understand. By learning this it well, you will gradually learn not to get too overly troubled about the presence of procrastination in your life.

If you need extra help, please read this info about emotional freedom technique training.