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3 Tips to Living the Life That You Want

3 Tips to Living the Life That You Want!

Published by Kenneth

Has your life been in a slump? Are you unsure about what you want to do or accomplish? Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired? Listen as I give you 3 quick success tips on how you can get out of your funk and begin to live the life that you were meant to live!

 

For more success principles and tips, grab your free copy of my 10 Day Blueprint series. Each day you will receive an e-mail with a success principle that you can work on and add to your success tools! This is a must for anyone who seeks to learn what all successful people know.

To Your Success!
Ken Cloutier

Two Things You Can Control

2 Things Only You Can Control

Published by Kenneth

Do you consider yourself a control freak? Do you know someone who is a control freak; who needs to be in control of everything? There are many people out there who want to control everything in their environment; both people and situations. They want to control things like: other people’s actions or feelings, whether they get the next sale at work, what other people think, etc. Throughout my years of being mentored by some very successful individuals, they have taught me that there are truly only TWO things only you can control:

Your Actions and your Attitude…

1. Actions

Actions are pretty cut and dry. You either take action or you don’t! Taking action is a necessity if you want to succeed in anything. Without action, nothing happens. Only you are in control on whether you take action or not. You may be tired, sad, angry, happy, busy, etc, but are you taking action towards your goals? Taking action does not require talent, expertise, or ability, but it does require a determination and risk. Even if you don’t know what the results of your actions are, you will never know unless you take the action needed. Are you willing to take action with unknown circumstances and face unknown risks? Can you overcome the fear and doubt and make a move towards success? Nobody has ever succeeded that didn’t take action. Action is what separates the talkers from the doers. Be a doer and take action now!

2. Attitude

Our attitude is purely our own choice. No matter what people say or do to us, we have the decision of how we will react. We can look at any situation positively or negatively. The way our attitude is (positive or negative) will determine if we take action or what sort of action we take. When you have a positive attitude, the action you take will provide results. Having a positive attitude includes a positive expectation; that when you take some sort of action, good things will happen. Some people choose to just have a bad attitude about almost everything. You buy them a cake and they complain about the frosting. They get a raise and promotion and they complain about the increase in job responsibility. They could probably find ways to complain about winning the lottery! Positive and negative life events are going to happen whether we expect them or not. Our attitude determines how those events will affect us, whether positively or negatively. When you have a positive attitude you are able to find the silver lining in any situation. At times this may seem very difficult, but they are there if you have a great attitude to find it. Being positive does not come naturally to everyone. Most people have to work on having a positive attitude since we are bombarded everyday with the media and negative news stories. The best way to develop a positive attitude is to read self help and success books. These books will help you to change your thought process and start looking and speaking the best for your life. Begin today to work on your attitude. Remember, a positive attitude is key to your success!

Knowing the two things that you can ultimately control, your actions and attitude, will make your life a whole lot simpler. You no longer have to worry about the outcomes of situations or what other people think. You can’t control those things. Understanding what you can and can not control will enable you to live a much less stressful life and be happy. Work on your attitude and take action with a positive expectation that something good is going to happen. Become a doer and not just a talker and enjoy life.

If you are a positive, ambitious person who is looking to take action on your financial future, click here and we would love to connect with you and show you a great way to make money and control your time all while making a difference in the world! 

To Your Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

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wealth

5 things wealthy people do that most others do not

Published by Kenneth

In the world, 2% of the population makes an enormous amount of money. In addition to the 2%, there is also a large percentage of the population that is very wealthy and, in many cases, financially independent. In this article I will reveal some of the things that separate the 2%’s from the rest of the population and how they are able to enjoy the kind of lifestyle and success that most people only wish they could live. My wife and I have been blessed to learn these principles from some of our own mentors who have used them to develop great wealth and lifestyle and I am excited to pass them on to you.

Here are the 5 things…

1. They educate themselves: The 2%’s continue to learn and work on their craft. The education that I am referring to is not going to a college campus to learn from a professor that has never done what they are teaching, but instead reading success self-help books and learning from other successful individuals through association. They learn how to work with people and develop great people skills. Many successful people will point to the fact that they learned how to lead people from books, audios, and seminars. They understand that they must continue to grow and learn. After all, you are either growing or dying; but never stagnant. Continued education is a key for these people.

2. They take risks: They are willing to take chances even when others think that their ideas or dreams are crazy. They observe the masses and do the opposite. 2%’s understand that in order to achieve great things, they have to be willing to go against the grain and not simply follow everybody else because it is the safe and popular thing to do. They move from failure to failure in order to help realize their goals and dreams; never quitting. They know that with each failure they will learn something that they needed to in order to move on towards their ultimate destination of success. These individuals literally fail their way to success!

3. They have clear and defined goals: If you don’t have a goal written down, you are like a rudderless ship being tossed about by the waves of the ocean. These folks know where they want to go and have a clear and concise way to get there. Once they have their goals written down, they then come up with a game plan and execute it.

4. They take action: Probably one of the most telling things that the 2%’s do is take action. This is vital as nothing is ever accomplished without taking action. You can have the best people skills, read thousands of books, have goals written down, but if you don’t take action nothing will happen. These people do not wait for everything to be perfect before they take action because there is never a perfect time to do anything. They boldly step out on faith and begin the journey. That is when things start to happen.

5. They believe in themselves: 2%’s believe in themselves and have a great, positive attitude. They see themselves having already accomplished their goals and visions before they actually do! They know that the only thing that can stop them from achieving is themselves. These individuals understand that they are far from perfect and they focus instead on their strengths and skills rather than just on their weaknesses. Because they believe in themselves so much, it is only a matter of time before they succeed!

If you begin to utilize some of these principles, you too can join the 2%’s or live the life that you desire.

To learn more about the business team that my wife and I are being mentored by click here to see how you can join a winning team and we will be in contact with you!

To Your Success,

Ken Cloutier

 

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Action Is The Key!

Published by Kenneth

Every goal, every dream, and every success that we achieve comes about by action. Most people want success and have a plan on how to achieve that success.They think about everything that they have to do and write down an action plan but fail to do the one thing that will help them get where they want to and that is take action.

The fact is, the very action that brings about success or goal achievement is usually the action that moves people out of their comfort zone. The reason why most people don’t take action is that they do not want to get out of their comfort zone. It is easier to stay put than to put themselves in a position to fail and look bad. The people who are willing to step out of their comfort zone are generally the same people who go on to achieve great success.

So how do you take action if you are somebody who likes to think and ponder before moving forward? I like to describe this as paralysis by analysis. These individuals think about the positives and negatives of their decision but never take any action to make their goals happen. If you fall into this category, here is a way that you can begin to take action but make your thoughts more productive: Have your thoughts always lean toward taking action. In other words, your thoughts should be on how can I achieve these goals rather than all of the obstacles that are in the way of achieving the goals. Take the “how can I?” approach and not the “I can’t!” attitude. 

For those of you that fall into the take action category but don’t really think too far ahead (that is me), make sure that you are not just busy trying to achieve your goals, etc, but that you are productive. We all have 24 hours in a day. Why is it that some people become so successful while others barely get by? It is not just that they are busy taking action to become successful, but they are productive. They are getting results. If your schedule is filled with all sorts of appointments but you are no further along today than you were a month ago, chances are you have just been busy and not productive. Keep this in mind as you are taking action, is your action taking you closer to accomplishing your goals or moving you further away. That is how you can tell if you are just being busy or being productive.

I hope that you are taking action and are willing to move out of your comfort zone. There is so much more outside of your comfort zone than what lies in it, and your success is so much closer to you than you think. Action is the key to making that happen. If you would like some more tips on how you can take action and what kind of actions that you can take to move closer to the success you want, then click here and I will see you on the other side.

To your successful actions!

Ken Cloutier

 

 

Don’t Sweat The Small Stuff

Published by Kenneth

As I am sitting on the floor in my living room, my 3 year old Doberman Pinscher is nuzzled up against me sleeping. I was thinking about when my wife and I first started our own home based business and how excited that we were to be our own bosses!

Then it occurred to me that a large reason why we have been successful in our business is that we did not sweat the small stuff when we got our business started. In other words, we did not wait to try to figure out all of the details before we took action. We were “all in.” This thought process of being “all in” is applicable to all endeavors, not just in business. The thing that I see many people struggle with is that they feel as though they have to get everything just perfect before they take any action toward their goals. They have to get their ducks in a row. Can I give you some advice? When was the last time you saw ducks walk in a row? It doesn’t happen!

If you are looking to become a pastor for instance, don’t sit around waiting for a large church to call you to come in and preach to their congregation. Instead, you could find a youth camp that you could volunteer your time to in order to minister to young adults. You see, you can move closer to your ultimate goals, but it requires action, even if it is small steps you are heading in the right direction.

One of my mentors has always said “hesitation is devastation.” If you hesitate and don’t take action, nothing good can happen. Stop waiting for things to be perfect before you take action towards your goals. It is never the right time to do anything. The time to do something is now! We all have 24 hours in a day; every single one of us. Nobody was blessed with 25 hours in a day. So why is it that some people succeed while others are still waiting to? The people that succeed do not wait for everything to be just perfect, they take action. They are not worried that they are working and going to school and have a family to take care of, they continue to take action regardless of their circumstances.

What category do you fit into? Do you take the “all in” approach or have you been hesitating on taking action because you just “don’t have time?” You will never have time! I have noticed that the older that I get (I’m only 35, don’t rush me!) the more complicated life gets. Stop procrastinating in doing what you know you should be doing to fulfill your dreams- take action!

You can do it! Take small, simple action steps in the direction of your goals and dreams and you will get there; but you have to start!

To Your Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

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Crush Your Fears

Published by Kenneth

Fear is something every human experiences. Some fears have been ingrained in us at birth; the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. Every other fear that we have is a learned event. Even the most successful people that you can think of have certain fears and doubts. What made many of these people successful is how they overcame their fears and pressed on towards their goals.

So how do they do it? Can you think of a fear or doubt that has held you back from achieving your goals and dreams? What led you to that fear and what have you done to overcome it? The good news is that If you understand what causes fear, it is possible to overcome the fear and move forward!

Let’s start with what fear actually is. Fear is: False Evidence Appearing Real. Yes that’s right, fear is actually all in your mind. Many fears that you or I have is actually actions played out negatively in our minds. Let’s say that you are “fearful” of talking to people that you don’t know or starting a conversation. When you think about how to start a conversation, all you think about is “what if the person does not want to talk to me?” or “what if the person ignores me and I look foolish?” You play out all of the negative outcomes in your head and then do not talk to the person. In order to destroy that false thought process, you should change your thought process to “what if I talk to that person and we hit it off?…I have made a new friend, possibly a best friend!” It is all about having positive expectations that good things will happen when you take action. Whenever you are faced with a fear, the first thing to do is to change your thought process and start thinking of the positive outcomes rather than the negative ones.

So now that you have changed your thought patterns about your fear and the negative actions associated with it, the next step in overcoming your fear is taking action. I’m sure that you have heard this before that action cures fear. It’s true!

When you take action against your fear, you will find out that what you feared so much was all in your head and everything works out just fine. It is like the Wizard of Oz- there is nothing behind the curtain! Let’s re-visit the earlier example of talking to someone new or starting a conversation. If you take action and go ahead and break the ice with a stranger, more times than not, they will give you a positive response and you will realize that you had nothing to fear after all. Action cures fear!!

 Each time you take action against the very thing you fear, it will get easier and easier. Think about the first time you learned how to swim. Chances are you were a little bit afraid of the water and did not want to let go of your mom or dad for fear of drowning. However, once you began to learn how to float and swim, your fear of drowning went away. Now you are doing flips off of the diving board and have not one thought about drowning or being afraid of the water. Action cures fear!! Having fear is a natural human element. Many people let fear hold them back from becoming all that they were meant to be. Don’t let fear knock you down. Look fear right in the eyes and do the very thing that you are afraid of. When you face your fear and take action, you will begin to feel better about yourself and your confidence goes up. Who would not want to feel better about themselves and be all that they were meant to be? Destroy your fear!

Oh, and did I mention, Action cures fear!

For more of my success strategies, check out my FREE 10 Day Blueprint video series.

To you Success!

Ken Cloutier

 

Look good and feel confident

How to Have the Self-Image of a Rockstar

Published by Kenneth

Self-Image is the single most important aspect of our lives. The best analogy for this is that our Self-Image is like our central nervous system to our body. It controls everything about us. To know the importance of this is critical because your business, career, relationships, and anything else in your life will never outgrow your Self-Image!  I am going to outline 12 different points on how you can have the Self-Image of a Rockstar!

1. Appearance: When you look good, you feel good! Put on that sharp shirt with dress pants and look in the mirror and you feel like a million bucks don’t you? We have all done that before. When you feel good about how you look, your Self-Image will go up and you will walk and talk with greater confidence.

This can also translate over to your vehicle or home. Keeping a dirty car where you have old french fries from two months ago or a messy house is a very good indicator on how you perceive yourself. Don’t you get a great feeling when you get into your clean car regardless of  how old it is or walk into your clean fresh smelling house? Clean up and feel good!

2. Posture: You can increase your Self-Image simply by how you carry yourself. Walk with your chest out and your chin up; like you own the room. Sit upright and uncross your arms. These are all ways in which you can not only raise your Self-Image, but also show others and attract people to you because you have that air of confidence. Study the way successful people you know carry themselves. When was the last time you saw a successful person walking with their shoulders slumped and looking down at their shoes? They all have a posture about them; usually a brisk walk like they are going somewhere- which they are!

Another key aspect of posture is looking people in their eyes. I don’t mean the type of stare where you don’t blink, but looking at people in the eyes when you are talking to them or listening. It amazes me how many people that do not look me in the eyes when I speak with them. Instantly I know that they have a bit of a Self-Image issue.

Speak with confidence. Doesn’t it drive you nuts when you are trying to converse with somebody who has no confidence and they are speaking with little more than a slight mumble? You have to keep asking them to re-state what they just said until you get so sick of it you start nodding your head as if you actually are hearing them. Speak loud and bold so that others can hear you. You may ask “What if I say something wrong?” Who cares!! At least you said it with confidence!

3. Be on time: Nothing shows more disrespect for somebody’s time than showing up late. It also has a negative impact on your Self-Image. It may not seem like a big deal, but you know the feeling that I am talking about; you arrive at a meeting late and open the door and all of the heads turn to you and you reply- “I’m sorry that I am late.” Your Self-Image just took a hit. Be accountable. Leave for your appointment a few minutes early and arrive 5-10 minutes before- even family events. By your actions you are saying “I feel good about myself and care about our appointment.”

4. Manage your money well: This can be tied back into #3 about being accountable. Make sure you are aware of your money and paying your bills, etc. on time. When all of your bills are paid for and you are accountable, you will feel better about yourself. I can remember getting call after call from bill collectors about money that I owed. Needless to say when I got off the phone I didn’t exactly feel good. I felt lower than a pregnant ant! If you have made a commitment to pay for something or give money to someone for an event or tickets, etc- pay them. Guilt will lower your Self-Image.

5. Do what you are supposed to do consistently: We all have responsibilities in our lives and are being pulled in a thousand different directions from our family to careers to friends. Many times we do not want to do what we know we should or have to do. Resisting the temptation to put these things off and doing them even when we don’t feel like it will enhance your Self-Image. Have you started a work out regimen or gone on a diet recently? The first couple of weeks when you work out you feel tired and sore; not really the combination that screams to go to the gym! After a couple of weeks of consistently going to the gym, you actually change your perspective on working out. You feel as though you can’t go a day without working out! The same is true with dieting or cutting out sugar. The first few days/weeks are miserable but then you get to the point where you don’t even crave or want sugar. If you don’t do the things you should do or are not overcoming obstacles, your Self-Image will go backward. Remember, Success = Right Habits!

6. Progressive Goals: Another way to increase your Self-Image is to have progressive goals. These are goals that you increase every month. For example, if you are in sales your progressive goals may be to increase your monthly sales by X%. It may be that you are able to run for 2 miles before you get tired and your goal for next month would be to run 4 miles. These continual goals helps you to move forward and develop the habit of winning which will raise your Self-Image!

7. Pay the full price not the minimum price: Paying a price and overcoming obstacles will raise your Self-Image. Going through struggles will help you to see what you are made of. Too many people look to take the short cut or the paved road of simplicity only to find out that the reward was little to nothing. See how productive you can be- test yourself and you will be surprised how far you can go. Keep in mind that your reward is directly proportioned to the price you pay. The bigger the price, the bigger the reward. Increase your price and you will increase your Self-Image!

8. Don’t speak negative about yourself: Do you cringe like me whenever you hear someone say I can’t do this or I’m not good at that? I hate it! Never speak negative about yourself. Our brains are the greatest computer ever created. It can formulate ideas and solve problems in fractions of a second. However, it is easily programmed to listen to and accept any negative things we say about ourself. Our brain can not decipher whether or not you mean what you say but it takes everything we say to it literally. When you say things like “I am not good with people” or “I can’t remember names” you are programming yourself to do just that. It is just as easy to say that you are good with people or you are good at remembering names. Take the lid off of your capabilities and believe in yourself; this will raise your Self-Image. Speak positive about yourself and your brain will have nothing else to do but have you feeling good about you.

9. Spend time with people that have better Self-Images than you: Get around other individuals who have a high Self-Image. It may be a little bit intimidating at first, but the results will be well worth it. By getting around confident people, you can study how they dress, walk, speak, carry themselves, hear what they talk about, and most importantly, see what they don’t talk about. If you model people with a higher Self-Image than you, your Self-Image will go up as you start adopting their habits and attitudes.

10. Realize that action is the only thing that cures fear: Do what you fear a lot and you will get good at it. You may say that “I can’t talk in front of people.” Well for starters, refer back to topic #8, but how do you know you can’t unless you try it and work at it. Many people were raised to think that if it hurts or feels uncomfortable, stop doing it. My mentor has always said that pain is weakness leaving the body. If you start taking action on what you fear, your Self-Image will rise.Change is taking deliberate, proactive action outside of your comfort zone. Make the changes today and watch your Self-Image soar!

11.  Self-education: Self improvement education goes a long way to increasing and maintaining your Self-Image. I recommend reading positive books and listening to positive audios. Books change you from the inside out. It is like having a personal conversation with the author on how great you are and how you can improve yourself. Audios on the other hand, can help to program your thoughts and attitudes. Be careful what you allow into your mind. Lyrics to songs can be a hindrance to your Self-Image. The beat may be good, but if the song is speaking of negative things or when you sing along with the song, you are putting yourself down, your Self-Image will go down as well. Remember, your brain can not tell the difference- it only acts on the words that you tell it.

12. Build other people’s Self-Image: Build the Self-Image of others around your daily. Notice the little things about someone such as a nice shirt that they are wearing, or maybe they spoke up and made a good point in a meeting that you admired. Your Self-Image will go up when you look for positive qualities in others because you will work to look for the positive in yourself; it becomes a habit! When you serve others, your Self-Image goes up. So take your eyes off of yourself and put it on others.

It is with sincere hope that this article has helped you in some way. Whether you had a very low Self-Image before you read this post, or you were just trying to see how you can improve the good Self-Image you currently have, you must continue to work on yourself on a daily basis.

You may be overwhelmed and thinking how can I possibly do all 12 of these things to improve my Self-Image. My recommendation to you is to start with 1 or 2 topics at a time and work on them for several days until you feel that you have made progress. Then move on to another set. Your Self-Image did not form over night and therefore, will not change over night either. Take it a day at a time and bit by bit you will feel better about yourself.

I do not claim to be the Self-Image guru and, like everyone else, I battle and have to continually work on my Self-Image. When you understand and implement the tools and strategies that I have spelled out above, it is a battle you can be confident of winning!

Please share with me strategies and/or stories of how you have raised your Self-Image! I would love your feedback.

To your Success!

Kenneth Cloutier