Whether you plan to climb Mount Everest, lose 10 pounds or break a new sales record, your journey to your next goal will contain moments – maybe days – where you lack motivation. Motivation is not the same as inspiration, which is what caused you to create and commit to the goal in the first place. Motivation is the driving force that keeps you going, long after the initial excitement of the decision has passed, and when the pain or monotony of the daily grind of progressing towards accomplishment seems to outweigh the finish line in the distance.

Many a goal has been laid aside by people who lost their sense of commitment when it came to performing the day-to-day tasks involved in reaching the goal. Consistency is not easy; it IS, however, what makes the difference between those who reach their goals and those who don’t. With this in mind, we have put together the following list of suggestions to help build your consistency and commitment muscles, which will keep you motivated to reach your goals and pursue your dreams!

* Change Your Mind: This is another way of saying JUST DO IT. Do whatever it takes to give yourself the perspective you had when you began your quest. Look around you at others who do not have what you want, and remind yourself how you never want to be that way. Ask yourself the tough questions such as ‘what will happen if I carry on this way and NEVER get to this goal?’ ‘What will I think of myself in 10 years if things are basically the same as they are now?’…etc.. Human beings have been shown to act to avoid pain far more often and consistently than to gain pleasure, so if scaring yourself a little is what it takes to stay on track, then DO IT.

* Get a Partner: Two people reaching for the same dream can make for a powerful motivator. If you know your partner is going to show up at the gym each morning and expect you to be there, will it not be easier to drag yourself out of bed on those few mornings when you’d really rather not? Also, having someone to share your ideas, victories and little benchmarks along the way can be really motivating.

* Tell Someone: Better yet, tell everyone! The more people you tell about your goals, the more you will feel like carrying on with them when the going gets a little tough. Many people keep such things quiet, but for some people it is far easier to justify breaking a promise to themselves – sad, but true – than it is to let someone else down who is expecting great things of you.

* Imprint Your Vision: Find some pictures of people accomplishing your goals, or looking as you picture yourself when you’re making it happen. For example, collect pictures of the exact way you want your body to look; a climber at the mountain peak throwing their hands in the air in triumph; a salesperson happily accepting the Number One award. Use these images on a daily basis to train your subconscious mind as to what you want your life to look like. You may create a vision board or just tape the pictures up where you will see them every day – on your bathroom mirror, your fridge, or beside your computer.

* Review and re-commit: Each morning when you wake up and/or every evening, take a few moments to remember what is important to you. You made your goals for a reason, in a moment when you had your ‘bigger picture’ clearly in mind. By re-focusing each day and re-committing to your goals, you will ensure that you spend your daily time working on what is ultimately important to you, rather than getting caught up in the small stuff and finding in a few years’ time that we have wasted our moments.With these tips in mind, you will progress slowly and surely toward that which you dream of. You can enjoy even more motivation and goalsetting tips at Breathing Prosperity (see author bio).

About the Author

Shauna Arthurs is a writer, and founder of a network of websites dedicated to helping people consciously create the lives of their dreams, including the popular Personal Development website BreathingProsperity.com. She also writes about a variety of topics, including Cancun Travel Deals for her sites and those of her website design and content creation clients.

Author: Jim Francis

Dream Big. All the millionaires I interview have big dreams. They believe that they are worth more than a 9-to-5 job and that there is more to life than working forty (or more) hours a week for forty years only to take a forty percent pay cut once they’ve reach retirement. These big dreamers are also prepared to risk money and time ( reasonable risk) and just go for it. A number of them have even risked the farm a few times. Now don’t get me wrong; I’m not asking you to do this, and I’m not asking you to put all your eggs in one basket and hope. However, you may consider taking a few of those hard-earned bucks and trying something new, maybe just part-time at first. Try building a small business, optioning a stock, or flipping some real estate for cash. You never know, I might be interviewing you next!

Get Out of your Comfort Zone. We all operate within a comfort zone, a specific way of living that we have become used to over time. Unfortunately, these comfort zones often hold us back from what we really want. For years, I believed I was worth about $50,000 a year, and during this time, $50,000 is what I was paid. I didn’t know any better, so I kept working for another person and making less than I deserved. Then, I experienced an awakening and came to believe I was worth $250K a year. I quit my job and started my own business. Well, I did not hit the $250K that first year – but I did earn $245K that year! You must attack your comfort zone. You must get outside of it; push yourself to do things that you don’t like; push yourself to try new things; push your-self to break your poor habits and to discard your limiting beliefs. Push yourself past FEAR! All successful people ac-knowledge the undiscovered planet, the realm of the unknown and unfamiliar. Now, it’s your turn to join the ranks of these successful people.

Work Smart, not Hard. Millionaires tend to work smarter, not harder. Don’t get me wrong; they are still prone to working 16-hour days, but they use their time much more effectively than others. They have a better plan for making money and a better plan for cashing in on their labor. And if they are going to work a sixteen hour day, they want to reap the fruit of their labor personally. Their time is worth way too much to waste on making money for someone else. Here are some intelligent strategies: Invest in real estate. Own a small business. Let your money make money. Invest in stocks. Manage, but do not do. Be unique in the marketplace. Find models and mentors who are successful, and pattern yourself after them. Trade money for time, not time for money!

The Quick and the Dead. One of the major rules for successful people is “Take Action!” While you are sitting their thinking, someone else is taking action. People are starting a new business, taking control of their credit, starting online companies, buying new homes or investing in property, cutting their taxes by 50%. Stop analyzing things to death and make a judgment. It’s time to take fast action.

Take Emotions out of Decisions. Confront FEAR! In our culture, we are taught to weigh both sides of a decision. For the most part, that’s good advice. It only becomes a problem once people get caught up in the weighing. They spend all their time searching for one more piece of information. They review it to death – “Should we? Shouldn’t we?” By the time they make a decision, the opportunity is gone. For most people, there is only one reason why they miss opportunities – FEAR! You might experience fear of loss, fear of failure, or maybe fear of rejection. This fear is holding you back. It is costing you financially and emotionally. In contrast with this mentality, millionaires learn to conquer their fears, to push past them and concentrate on three simple things: first, the investment; second, the return; third, the probability of success. If an investment offers a good return, go for it! Even when you are petrified with fear, you just need to take that first step forward.

Total Commitment Successful people give everything that they have and never say the words, “I tried.” Either they get the result they are looking for or they don’t. They never hold back on a project. It keeps them up late and gets them up early. They work their regular jobs for 40 hours a week and then put in another 20 hours buying real estate or starting a small business-even when they’re tired. Let it not be said of you when you are old and gray that you “missed your dreams because you were watching TV.” All that you need to do is schedule some time for success. This can be as little as eight hours a week to start, Maybe, every Saturday morning or Mon-day night (Well, maybe Tuesday night during football season). Schedule the time and the results will follow.

Mentors. Mentors are worth their weight in gold. Take my word for it; this has been proven time and time again! Mentors will teach you things that you could never learn from a book, a self-study manual, a video, or a website. When I first learned to golf, I already had experience playing hockey, but I found that swinging a golf club as if it was a hockey stick resulted in a terrible slice to the right. I bought every magazine, book, and video on golfing to correct the problem. I was cheap and didn’t want to spend the money for lessons. After much strife, I decided that I was not the problem – it was the clubs! So, I bought new clubs (Fire sticks). Alas, those new clubs merely helped me drive the ball deeper into the trees. Finally, I broke down and bought some lessons and in the very first lesson the problem was corrected! Immediate feedback, a coach, or a mentor can get you on the path to success quickly.

Student of Success. Millionaires never stop learning. They continually study success. They study money, real estate, business, and asset-building. They have a thirst for new knowledge and they are the first to buy tapes, books, and manuals, or to seek further training. Several years ago, I documented purchases of over $81,000 for seminars, training, and self-study materials to improve my education. I couldn’t have gotten to where I am now without this. Continuing education is a key to my success and to that of countless others as well. Invest in yourself first!

Bounce Back Well. Millionaires are by no means exempt from failures. They have losses, but they keep a positive attitude. They tell themselves, “I will get them next time. I just have to work a little harder or smarter to get a better result.” They know that all they need is a better plan and they remember that a flat ball doesn’t bounce – so they keep it pumped up.

Selective Memory. There are no failures, only learning experiences. When successful people swing at a baseball, they do not remember the 66% of the time they miss; they remember the 34% of the time they get hits. They hold their success close and let go of their failures. The problem for most people is that they refuse to forget the last time they failed. It’s no wonder they stop swinging the bat. Selective memory is a key to success.

Don’t Quit. The character of men and women is not measured in the number of their failures but in the number of times they shake off those failures and try again. Ask Sylvester Stallone whose screenplay for Rocky was rejected over 300 times! Ask Edison who made more than 10,000 (no, that’s not a typo – TEN THOUSAND) attempts to invent the light bulb. Ask Lincoln who experienced failure a dozen times as he strove to acquire a political office. Success is just a decision and one step away! Never give up, and you will stay on the path to prosperity.

Jim Francis http://www.jimfrancis.com http://www.m2spread.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_J_Francis