The Quest for Everlasting Success

Saturday, June 06, 2009

Three Secrets to Achieving Your Goals and Never Quitting Again!

Albert Einstein once said, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.”

The art of goal setting is one of the most important skills you can develop if you want to achieve those goals and have remarkable success. Not only does goal setting give your actions meaning and purpose, it also helps you control your actions so you can stay focused on getting better results. And by using this powerful tactic, you’ll surely enjoy the journey as much as you will the achievement.

Once you know your purpose in life and the path you should follow to fulfill your heart’s desires, you need to set goals and develop a clear vision of what you want to achieve.

The problem many people face is a lack of confidence in their goal-setting skills, usually linked to bad experiences or failures in the past. Who hasn’t had the experience of setting a goal and then failing to achieve it? Or setting a goal, starting the work toward reaching that goal, and then abandoning the work in mid-stream? Perhaps we lose our motivation and quit after a few days or a couple of weeks, or we get to that last mile, see that final huge challenge at the end of the road, and just throw up our hands and run the other way.

Unfortunately, it is just at that moment—the moment when everything seems hopeless and failure looms in the distance—that we need to focus on our desires and the goals we set and forge ahead! As Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

To set your goals and make sure you see them through, you need to follow some vital guidelines:

1. Tie your goals to your major purpose in life.

If you want to find the motivation that will keep you going until the end, you must tie your goals to your major purpose in life. Doing so will fuel your heart’s desire, drive you forward, give your actions meaning, and keep you focused on the reason you’re pursuing that goal in the first place. Spontaneous goals that lack a strong desire and purpose will lose their momentum in the blink of an eye.

Consider this bit of wisdom from Earl Nightingale: “The more intensely we feel about an idea or a goal, the more assuredly the idea, buried deep in our subconscious, will direct us along the path to its fulfillment.”

You must set goals that excite you and even scare you a little. You must have a rock-solid reason for wanting to achieve that goal in the first place. If your desire doesn’t burn within you, if your desire is not stronger than your fears, then you’ll lose your focus and your fuel midway.

You need goals that keep you awake at night and immerse you in an ocean of pleasurable emotions. You need goals that stretch your capabilities and challenge you to become a stronger and more valuable person than you could ever have imagined. As Jim Rohn says, “The major reason for setting a goal is for what it makes of you to accomplish it. What it makes of you will always be the far greater value than what you get.”

2. Learn the art of goal setting and writing.

Did you know that there’s a secret magic to writing your goals down on paper? It’s true! People who write their goals on paper tend to achieve them more than those who just keep their goals in their heads. The simple, kinesthetic act of writing your goals down creates a kind of subconscious commitment to achieving them—there they are, in black and white! They exist!—and puts them at the center of your attention. And when you see and read those goals daily, you start to attract more opportunities and forces that will help you achieve them. Remember, goals that are not written down are just wishes—and keeping them in your head is the best way to quit or forget about them.

When you write your goals, you must write them in a way that propels you to act, a way that draws a picture in your mind and stimulates your enthusiasm and passion. They must be clear and vivid.

You might have heard of the goal-setting formula called SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely), which is a great formula to follow. But I know of yet another powerful strategy that can give you confidence and determine the quality of your goal setting.

When you sit down to write out your goals, imagine that you’re writing them for someone else. Put yourself in the position of being that other person’s mentor—you’re the expert on goal setting who’s there to make sure this person stays on track and achieves those goals. This person is depending on you to show him the way, so be sure to include as much detail as possible. That way, when he achieves a goal, you’ll both know it and be able to measure his progress.

Let’s look at an example. Suppose you want to lose weight. Start by putting yourself outside the process—you’re writing this goal for someone else (let’s call him Frank). Now, it’s not enough to write down “Lose weight” and expect Frank to achieve that goal. It doesn’t make any sense! He’ll never know if or when he’s been successful and you’ll never know if or when he reaches the goal. What if Frank shows up at your door five years later and says he lost one kilogram by standing on his head? Perhaps you’d be angry and think he’s making fun of you—but he’ll simply say that you never told him what the deadline was or how many kilos he was supposed to lose or how he should go about it. If you’re writing these goals for someone else—if you’re the expert—you need to be specific about the goals and the necessary steps to achieve them. So instead of “Lose weight,” you could tell Frank to “Lose five kilograms in three weeks by exercising for one hour every day.” By writing it down—and by putting yourself outside the process as the “expert”—you’ve given yourself a focused, achievable, and measurable goal.

3. Discover Khufu’s secret and the psychology of achievement

Get ready to understand what the journey looks like, so that you never quit again!

Entering the Great Pyramid of Khufu—the most magnificent and only remaining monument of the seven wonders of the world—was a strange and wonderful experience, and one of the major transformational points in my life.

The journey inside the pyramid is divided into three parts. Come along with me…

First I go through a very narrow passageway that angles up between huge stone blocks. The ceiling is very close to the floor, so I have to stoop over with my chest almost touching my knees. Tourists must move in a long line because the passageway is only wide enough for one person. The place is permeated by an ancient smell of mystery and magic. It’s dark and cramped and hot; we’re all sweating, slightly frightened, and hardly breathing. How come it’s so hot in here? It’s very cold outside—one of those freezing, windy winter days. I can almost feel the weight of these six million tons of stone.

I keep going. And then the ceiling opens up and I see another passageway that angles upwards; nothing appears on the horizon. But this passage is easier and much wider; I can climb through with my back straight.

My heart is still pounding. Then, after this long journey upwards, I find myself in front of a huge wall—and nothing else! I’m so disappointed! Where is the chamber of the king?

Just when I think the whole journey was pointless, I see a man’s head poke out from a small hole at the bottom of that huge wall. Then the entire man comes crawling out of that hole!

And I crawl into the hole—fantastic!

Of the forty or fifty people who started the journey with me, only five or six continue through the hole. It seems endless, but I am determined to go all the way!

I start crawling and crawling, and finally I reach the chamber of King Khufu. It’s an immense room with polished granite walls, high up and in the exact center of the pyramid. In the center of the room stands an empty granite box without a lid. It is supposed to be Khufu’s tomb.

I stayed there for a while to absorb the spirit and meaning of the place. I felt as if the Pharaohs were pouring their wisdom into my soul. And that was the first trigger point to writing my first book The Pharaohs’ Code.

That was an amazing journey—and when I reflected on it later, I discovered an amazing secret to goal achievement. The stages and psychology of the journey toward the chamber of King Khufu is quite similar to the three stages we pass through in our journey to achieve a goal.

At the beginning, you’re enthusiastic about the goal and ready to march toward it with high energy. But then you realize it requires hard work, so you make an enormous effort to get the ball rolling and initiate the momentum. Many people can’t afford to spend all that energy at the beginning, so they quit early. What happened to them? They weren’t motivated by a clear purpose and desire .

But you were, so you move on to the next stage. As you increase your momentum, the journey becomes easier. You take a long shot and feel that you’re getting closer. You gain more experience and confidence as you move through the process.

Then suddenly, when you’re so close to your goal you can touch it, you come face to face with a final challenge—and you’ll either meet with success or failure. This is an important challenge, like the final exam that determines your desire, commitment, and persistence. It’s the challenge that confirms whether you’re really purposeful and qualified to achieve your goal. Some people might see that challenge as an insurmountable wall; they can’t see a way out, so they simply quit and accept the failure.

But not you. You see that little hole in the bottom of the wall, and you poke your head through it. You move on to the third and final stage—success!

And that’s what it’s all about. I admit that when I got to that huge wall in the pyramid, I was very disappointed. And after expending so much energy to climb up there only to discover they’d have to crawl some more, many people just couldn’t bear to continue what seemed like an endless journey, and they fell by the wayside. These are the same feelings we have the moment we decide to quit.

If only they’d poked their heads through that hole like I did! What wonders they would have seen!

Let me repeat Thomas Edison’s brilliant words: “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”

The way the pharaohs built the journey inside the pyramid is truly incredible, as if they understood the psychology of achievement. And they left a secret message for all of us: to achieve a worthy goal, you must go the extra mile. And when you get to the hardest stage, the point that seems insurmountable, you must believe that you’re very close.

The secret to achieving your goals is to simply never quit—especially when you’ve reached the last mile. Put that hesitation, disappointment, and loss of hope aside and give it one more shot. You’ll be surprised how close you are to your big dream.

The next time you’re ready to set new goals, make sure you tie them to your purpose so you’ll have the motivation you need to achieve them. Then write them down clearly as if you were writing them for someone else. And finally, understand that starting is the hardest part and that it will just get easier—until it gets harder, that is. Just remember that the final test you’ll face is only there to qualify you for your worthy goal. Never quit, give it your final shot, and pass that test.

Albert Einstein once said, “You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.” Now you know the rules and the art of achieving your goals. Go and play better than anyone else. And make your dreams come true.

“The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” — Michelangelo.


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© Copyright 2009 - Mohamed Tohami

Mohamed Tohami is the author of "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". He helps corporate professionals, who are dissatisfied at work and uncertain about their future, transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. For more information please visit: www.Tohami.com

Friday, May 01, 2009

The One Critical Factor That Can Transform Your Dreams Into Reality!


If you asked me about the one thing that can really make the difference in your life and make your dreams come true, I would definitely say TAKING ACTION.

All the other key factors of success are like seeds when they send their roots into the ground. But unless the seeds sprout and flourish—unless they feel the air and see the sun and turn into the expected fruit—they are of no use.

You can have brilliant ideas, think positively, know your purpose, identify your strengths, discover your passions, have an intense desire, dream big, and so on. But all these important factors are useless if you don’t start taking action.

Only ACTION creates results.

Successful people understand that action is the key to manifestation, so they know they must be responsible and accountable for their lives.

They understand that blaming, complaining, or making excuses will not change anything.


Only when they take ownership, become responsible for their outcomes, and take action to change their reality, can they make the difference.

The easiest thing to do on earth is to put the blame on the outside world. And the most dangerous thing to do is to put your life in the hands of outside circumstances or other people. Life might look unfair sometimes and things might not be as you wish them to be, but so what? What can you do? There are only two choices: you either fight for your dreams, or give up and virtually die.

Taking bold actions is the distinguishing factor between successful people and average people. The courage just to stand up and get the ball rolling is what can make the biggest difference in the course of your life.

For example, the small action I took seven years back by reading Tony Robbins’ book “Awaken the Giant Within You” totally changed my life and put me on the fast track to massive success.

As important as taking actions are, controlling those actions is just as vital. In fact, control of action is one of the greatest virtues you can possess, because taking action in the wrong direction is a waste of time and effort that will only lead to disappointment. You could be diligently climbing the ladder only to realize that it’s leaning against the wrong wall! It is crucial that you learn how to take the right action, in the right direction, and at the right time.

In that regard, time management is one of the best skills you can learn and master. It’s a great tactic to use for controlling your actions and becoming a highly effective, balanced, and productive person. Time is your most precious resource after all, and making the best use of it by controlling your actions in life will lead to impressive results.

However, you still need to understand that the number one mistake most people make is to approach time management as an absolute skill! But it’s NOT an absolute skill—it’s a RELATIVE skill. It needs to be attached to something in order to have value and lead to the desired outcomes. When you manage your time, you are managing a resource. And managing a resource means that you must have certain goals and that you use this resource, among others, to achieve that goal. That’s why time management is relative—because time management without goals is useless.

People rush to learn and master the techniques of time management only to then find themselves still weighed down, unfulfilled, unbalanced, and unhappy! That’s what happens when you manage a resource without guidance or direction. You’re like that person who wins the lottery and starts spending the money on useless stuff—then once the money is wasted, he realizes he needs to buy a home to live in!

Time is a resource; time management is the skill to manage that resource. And for time management to be effective, you need to know FOR WHAT you want to manage this resource.

The ancient Egyptians understood that concept very well. One of their greatest gifts to modern civilization was the invention of the calendar. They were the first to recognize the importance of time and time management, but we must remember that they invented the calendar and developed their amazing time management tactics in order to ACHIEVE A GOAL: namely, to improve their agricultural work, and to understand and manage the floods and cycles of the Nile.

Here’s the story…

What was more regular and important to the ancient Egyptians than the rise and fall of the River Nile? They believed the Nile flood was caused by the tears that Isis (the Great Mother of All Gods and Nature) shed after her husband Osiris was murdered by his brother Seth.

Sepdet was the cosmic appearance of Isis. Special temple priests discovered that the appearance of a star they named Sepdet (which we know as Sirius) was associated with the beginning of the Nile flood. This was the start of the world's first calendar, invented over 5000 years ago.

The Egyptians invented the calendar in order to precisely manage and synchronize their activities with the cycles of the Nile. They organized their time around their most important values and objectives, which were mainly determined by the great River Nile and the rise and fall of its waters.

So remember, the first and GREATEST time management lesson ever is:

"In order to manage your time in the most effective way possible, you need to define the major purpose and goal(s) in your life around which you want to manage your time."

Time management is not a stand-alone or absolute skill. It must be associated with a major goal or purpose in life. Time is a resource that you need to carefully allocate in order to fulfill and achieve the things that are important to you.

By controlling your actions through focused time management, you will achieve better results and feel satisfied by the sense of meaning and purpose you have in your life and work.



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© Copyright 2009 - Mohamed Tohami

Mohamed Tohami is the author of "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". He helps corporate professionals, who are dissatisfied at work and uncertain about their future, transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. For more information please visit: www.Tohami.com

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Why Your Career Promotion Doesn't Require a College Education!

In your line of work, do you feel as though you are being unfairly looked over for promotion because you do not have a college degree of high level education?

With the job market becoming ever more competitive, you may feel as though a lack of college education may be holding you back but it is a difficult time to contemplate undertaking further education.

The current financial market is tough and the vast majority of people, probably yourself included, cannot afford to walk out on a job to study the qualifications they need to return in a number of years and be a great success.

Trying to juggle a full-time job and studying for a worthwhile qualification can also be extremely tiring and hard for any person, so where does this leave you if you think you are missing out on a better job and lifestyle?

Thankfully, help and support is at hand as proof that college education is not the only way to become a huge success in the business field. You might have your own definition of success, but most people would consider being an international business speaker and best selling author to be a fair level of success! This is how Debbi Allen can be described and she knows a lot about being a success.

Allen said, "So I'm not the typical person that has gone out there and had an education to learn what I do. And I think that's a good thing to teach people. I'm not saying now you should not go to college, you should have that education. I'm not telling you not to. I'm just saying it has worked for me without having those things."

If you feel that a lack of college education is the key reason why you are not developing your career as much as you would like, you should be aware that it is possible to be a success without this level of education.

Every person is different and has their own talents, but Debbie Allen should offer you hope and confidence that it is not always necessary to have a college level education to be of value to an organization and to make a success of your life.
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Mohamed Tohami is the author of the internationally highly acclaimed book, "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". If you would like to listen to his full interview with Debbie Allen and gain powerful success insights and inspiration, please go to: http://www.Success-Avalanche.com

Tuesday, March 31, 2009

The Magical Key to Opening the Gates of Abundance and Prosperity


It’s like magic!

So what is this key and what does it do?

It opens the gates to unlimited abundance and prosperity.

It acts as a powerful transformational force.

It attracts all the good and repels all the bad.

It’s an immense energy, positive and pure.

It’s the MASTER thought-control tactic, and having it is more than a must!

What I’m going to share with you has been tested and proven by thousands of successful people. I’ve tested it myself, and it works every time!

Believe me, you’ll definitely want to put this magical key—this fantastic thought-control tactic—in your pocket and take advantage of all its hidden secrets and miracles.

This tactic is the master key to having more of what you like. Once your thoughts follow this tactic, and once you’ve succeeded in making this critical change in your attitude, then you’ll have it all. You’ll be THIS CLOSE to absolute power and unlimited abundance. There will be no words to describe your heightened abilities. People will love to be around you. You’ll become a lovely person full of inner peace and an unmatched purity of thought. You will be a source of life and love.

Now, perhaps you’re thinking that nothing like this can exist on earth!

But BELIEVE ME—this tactic is so simple, yet so unbelievably powerful.

If you’re struggling and working hard to achieve what you want, but nothing seems to work...

If you think that life is unfair or that you are unlucky and don’t deserve what you have right now...

If you want to get more of everything your heart desires and live your life with ease and peace…

Then here’s the key…

Unleash the Mighty Power of Gratitude!

Yes, my friend, I’m talking about gratitude. Gratitude is the absolute pinnacle of thought-control tactics, the best of the best. When you’re grateful for what you have, you eliminate fear and become open to receive all the gifts that are ready and waiting for you. Gratitude transforms you into love and light.

I’ll bet that if you look at your life right now, you will not be able to count the infinite number of blessings that shower down upon you. Regardless of whatever challenges you’re facing or difficulties you’re passing through, you’ll still have countless things to be grateful for.

I challenge you: try to count them! If you look at yourself and the miracles that fill your body, then you’ll know that you won’t be able to count them all.

When you believe that and develop the attitude of being thankful for everything that you have right now, you will then light your way toward a magnificent future.

On the other hand, ingratitude ruins everything! If you focus on the dark side of life, you will surely get more of it. You will move endlessly in darkness and misery.

I can confidently say that you have many more blessings than challenges, no matter where you are in your life. Even if you feel overwhelmed with problems, I can promise you that your difficulties will never override your blessings—it just won’t happen EVER! If it seems so, then that’s just because you’re not seeing the bigger picture of life.

Do your best to follow the sage advice of Khalil Gibran: “Wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.”

AND consider this:

Every day you have a new life—are you grateful for it?

Every day you have a new chance—are you grateful for it?

Every day you get closer to your dreams—are you grateful for it?

Every day you have more joy—are you grateful for it?

Every day you see more beauty—are you grateful for it?

Every day you have a home and shelter—are you grateful for it?

Every day you have food to eat—are you grateful for it?

Every day you have good health—are you grateful for it?

Every day you have family and friends—are you grateful for them?

Every day you have a job—are you grateful for it?

Even if you don’t like your job, imagine your life without it. How would you pay your bills and feed yourself and your family? Now are you grateful for it?

What else shall I count? The blessings are endless! They’re countless!

If we go back five thousand years, you’ll see how the ancient Egyptians showed their gratitude in all aspects of life, especially toward the Nile River.

Of all the great rivers, the Nile blessed its people with the most reliable and predictable cycle of seasons.

Without the Nile River and its annual flooding, Ancient Egypt would never have come into being. Its fertile valley was renewed every year with rich silt deposits laid down during the flooding. Just as the agriculture of Egypt revolved around the Nile, so did the social life of the ancient Egyptians.

As a show of gratitude, the ancient Egyptians prayed for the floodwaters of the Nile, and even created a separate god for the Nile named Hapi. The Nile was so important to them that they felt the need to base some of their religious beliefs on it. Egypt would have died without Hapi, and so he was sometimes revered even above Ra, the sun god.

In the periods of flooding, the Egyptians would throw offerings, amulets, and other sacrifices into the Nile at various places known to be sacred to Hapi. Such sacrifices were given in the hopes that the flood would not be too high, nor too low. From those ancient days till this very moment, the Nile has stood as the backbone of Egypt.

Now I’ll tell you a power habit that you need to develop that will put the magical powers of gratitude into action and help you take advantage of the unlimited goodness that this tactic can bring to your life.

Get a small notebook or journal and call it “The Gratitude Journal.” Every day before you go to sleep, write just one thing you’re grateful for that day. That’s it!

See how simple that is? And yet, once you start completing this simple action each day, you can also start expecting magic in your life! Expect new opportunities! Expect new miracles!

Because that is what gratitude does. You don’t need to know the complicated scientific details of how it all works—just do this exercise faithfully, then sit back and see, touch, and feel the “gratitude experience.”

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© Copyright 2009 - Mohamed Tohami

Mohamed Tohami is the author of "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". He helps corporate professionals, who are dissatisfied at work and uncertain about their future, transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. For more information please visit: www.Tohami.com

Sunday, March 22, 2009

Clearing This Misconception about Successful People!

Ultra successful people or top business professionals may seem as though they are acting on their own and have got to the top of their profession by their own talent alone.

There is no doubt that there has to be a determination and ability to work hard for you to be a success. But all too often, too many people try to do everything by themselves. I wonder if this is an inability to find others who have the same passion, drive or ideas as themselves or an inability to trust others!

The secret of successful people is having a select group of friends or associates around them who can help with the decisions or offer another opinion on important matters.

If you try to do everything by yourself, you can miss out on the bigger picture and you’ll have to look after so many small issues. On the other side, being able to delegate or at least share ideas can put you on the fast track to success.

During an interview I conducted with Debbie Allen, international business speaker and the author of the smash-hit Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters, she revealed how having the assistance of others has helped her gain further success.

Allen said, “Probably number one would be to stop believing that you can do it all by yourself. As an independent person all of my life, I used to fight that and think, “I have to learn it by myself. I have to do it all.” Then I discovered business alliances and mentors that were helping me move much faster and that started working. I started living a life of giving back to other people.”

With one of the best business brains being brave enough to say she could take a step back and allow others to help out when she needed it, the example of Debbie Allen should be an example for you.

Ask for help, if you want to make a mega success of your life and career.
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Mohamed Tohami is the author of the internationally highly acclaimed book "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". He helps unfulfilled professionals transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. Experience transformational motivation and receive your free empowering gifts at: http://www.Tohami.com

Saturday, March 07, 2009

Why Is Money a Key Measure of Success?

Yes, money can be a key measure of success!

Barely a news bulletin goes by without more financial bad news or job losses. With so many negative issues of money in the news these days, it is not surprising that you are seriously worried about your financial future and the affect it may have on your life.

However, it is good not put too much importance on money itself as it shouldn’t be the main aim for happiness. Instead, focusing on money should be to allow you the means with which to find true happiness or follow your intended purpose in life.

In my interview with Debbie Allen, international business speaker and the author of the smash-hit Confessions of Shameless Self Promoters, she shared an amazing perspective about money.

Allen said, “I believe that success is whatever you want it to be for you. Whether that is to be very wealthy, whether that is to have a life of balance and happiness, whatever success you achieve is determined in your mind as what’s successful.

But what I also discovered is that success is having enough money so you don’t have to worry about things. And that’s why people want to be very successful. I mean you want to get to the point where if you really want true happiness in your life, if you have financial freedom and prosperity, you cannot only have the things that you want that might make you happier, but you can give back, too.

And when you realize that you want to make more money to give back to people and give back to the universe, and you have that way of doing things, more starts coming to you.”

All too often it is easy to get caught up in chasing the wrong goals and the pursuit of money is so often involved. Money is undoubtedly important but it is the freedom and opportunities that money allows that should be the major issue, not the pursuit and obtainment of money alone.

Recognizing the level of good that can come from the opportunities that money allows should help free you from the idea that money is happiness. Money can help make your life happier. But the ability to do good for numerous people, perhaps even whole communities, with money is the thing that should make pursuing money a key objective for you and a key measure of success.

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Mohamed Tohami is the author of the internationally highly acclaimed book “The Pharaohs’ Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy”. He helps unfulfilled professionals transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. Experience transformational motivation and receive your free empowering gifts at: http://www.Tohami.com

Saturday, February 28, 2009

The Master Key to Enjoying Every Moment

Where do you live?

Wait…I’m not asking about your home address.

To be more precise, let me rephrase my question: Where in time do you live?

Your answer to this question holds one of the major keys to finding joy in your life.

Most people live in one of two time zones. Many live in the past amid the pain, grief, anger, and regret of missed opportunities and bad life experiences.

Still others live amid the illusions of the future, believing that they will never find happiness unless a particular set of circumstances are fulfilled.

You might think that losing a certain job is the end of the world, that you’ll enter a dark side of your life and never see the light again. Or you might think that unless you get promoted to a certain position, you’ll never rise to the top of your profession.

But when you allow yourself to live in these two time zones, you are literally dead!

Yes, that’s right—living in the past or the future means that you’re not living at all. You take your thoughts, your emotions, and your soul to a place that you have no control over and that you cannot change.

You lose your life simply because you do not live in the only time zone available to you—the PRESENT. What a tragedy it is to witness so many people surrender their precious present to their past (which can no longer be changed) or their future (which doesn’t even exist)!

The present is all you have. Of course the past can provide you with valuable lessons and the future can give you hope—but living your life with full joy can only be accomplished in the present…in the NOW.

It has been said that the present is a present, a gift that you can use to create your future. If you lose it, then there’s no way that you can have a bright future. The present is the bridge that you must cross in order to arrive in your future. If you don’t proactively pass over it with your own choices, then you will find yourself living in a disappointing future.

If you really want to find true joy and happiness, then living in the present is a key thought control tactic you need to employ.

The ancient Egyptian Ptah-Hotep has a great piece of advice that will help you apply this concept.

Ptah-Hotep was the first minister during the reign of the Pharaoh Djedkare (Jed-Ka-Ra) in the Fifth Dynasty. He is credited with authoring “The Instruction of Ptahhotep,” an early piece of Egyptian wisdom literature meant to instruct young men in appropriate behavior.

In his instructions, Ptah-Hotep wrote: “Be active during the time of your existence; do no more than is commanded. Do not spoil the time of your activity; he is a blameworthy person who makes a bad use of his moments. Do not lose the daily opportunity of increasing that which your house possesses. Activity produces riches, and riches do not endure when it slackens.”

Brilliant piece of ancient wisdom!

The first step to living in the present is to become aware of where your mind is traveling now. Does it dwell in the past or jump to the future? Whenever you catch yourself living in another time zone, stop and get yourself back to the present moment!

Awareness is key. You might consider setting an alarm that rings every hour; each time it rings, examine where you are living in that moment—and then, if you find yourself in another time zone, do whatever it takes to get back to the present moment! Do this for a month and you’ll get used to controlling your thoughts and living in the moment.

Get involved in the present with all your senses. Feel the taste of the food, the drop of water, the beauty of the scenery, and the sound of the music. Engage in the present activity and give it all you’ve got. If you suffer from a past experience, sit quietly and learn the lessons that will help you move forward. If you’re impatient and can’t wait to live a better future, then sit down and plan for it—but be aware that all of your actions for the future can only take place in the present. Live it fully!

Leonardo da Vinci once said, “In rivers, the water that you touch is the last of what has passed and the first of that which comes; so with present time.”

The present is the bridge we all live on between the past and the future. You have no control over anything else and, therefore, you cannot fully live anywhere else.

Remember, your future is not determined by the quality of your past, but by the mastery of your present.

I created The Success Avalanche to help you master your present, learn proven success strategies and continuously feed your mind with positive empowering thoughts. For this project, I interviewed over one hundred top success and business experts who revealed their secrets of success. As a result, you can now access an avalanche of success ideas that can instantly transform your life from making a living to making a difference.

I strongly urge you to take advantage of this great tool and start leveraging the wisdom of these gurus to master your present, accelerate your professional growth and live your ultimate lifestyle.

Find out more at: http://www.Success-Avalanche.com

Live in the present and love your PRESENT!

To be continued…


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© Copyright 2009 - Mohamed Tohami

Mohamed Tohami is the author of "The Pharaohs' Code: Creating a Joyful Life and a Lasting Legacy". He helps corporate professionals, who are dissatisfied at work and uncertain about their future, transform their lives from making a living to making a difference. For more information please visit: www.Tohami.com