How many times have you had a goal in life, but were halted in your progress towards attaining it by the little voice in your head telling you that you were not good enough, strong enough, smart enough, or fast enough? Those little gremlins living within you are your own personal demons, guarding the road to success by turning you away. In order to reach your goals and realize your dreams, you need to learn how to kill those demons dead in their tracks.

Those gremlins are the voice of your insecurities, and many of them are very deeply rooted. Some are instilled in you during childhood, when parents teach you the difference between acceptable and unacceptable behavior. Unfortunately as times change, what may have been deemed unacceptable as a child may now be absolutely necessary to succeed. Even so, the voice will remain as a reminder that the behavior is improper.

There are many other sources for such discouraging voices, and another big one is school. We are very impressionable during our earlier school years, and the voices of teachers and school kids go a long ways towards us forming our own image of ourselves. Much of what we believe about ourselves can be traced back to these early, formative years. Beliefs we acquire during that period tend to remain with us throughout our lives.

You may find yourself having to overcome many little voices inside your head in order to succeed – in business, in sports, or in relationships. With a little effort, though, you can muzzle those little demons, rendering them quiet once and for all.

How? Read Post

Click HERE for details.

It is only natural to encounter conflict or to have confrontations in relationships. As people become more familiar with each other, they also become less tolerant of quirks and odd habits. Add to those things the stresses of daily life, which can add up over time.

As stress in a relationship accumulates, it is only natural to encounter conflict. When approached sensibly and with compassion, conflict resolution can lead to greater emotional fulfillment and closer bonds with your partner. However, many people do not take the time to deal with stress or conflict in a productive manner, and instead begin to snipe at their partner out of frustration.

Rather than engage in a rational discussion regarding the issue at hand, they begin to make personal attacks against their partner’s looks, habits, ideas, and abilities. Not only does acting out in such a manner cause a great amount of emotional harm to the other person, but it erodes trust in the relationship and erects a barrier of suspicion between both partners. When this continues over time it can cause serious, and even permanent damage to the relationship.

Fortunately there are some steps you can take to ensure you continue to receive fulfillment from your relationship and prevent you from sinking into the harmful habit of waging psychological warfare against your partner. Read Post

In ancient Greek mythology, Persephone was kidnapped and held captive in Hades, the early Greek version of hell. She was eventually rescued, but only on the condition she would take the King of Hades who bore the same name as her husband, and agree to live part of the year in the Underworld. Each year Persephone would escape to sunshine and life, only to be cast back into the depths of Hades in order to fulfill her agreement.

Life is very much like the cycles of Persephone’s life. We experience periods of great joy and fulfillment, only to suffer a loss and be cast into the depths of hell. The important thing to remember is that the human spirit is resilient and strong, and when it appears that all hope has vanished, there really is a light shining at the end of the tunnel. All you have to do is open your eyes to it, and you will emerge stronger and wiser.

1. Everyone has Visited the Darkness

Think back to the most difficult time in your life. Remember that you are not alone in your experience, and everyone walking this planet has endured their darkest days. Most likely, something was learned from the experience, even if only the knowledge that you are strong in mind and spirit. Life gives us trials in order to teach us lessons we cannot learn otherwise. We are also given no cross to bear that is too great for us to handle, even if it seems so at the time. Read Post

For one time only, I’m offering the Intensive Empowerment System workshop FR.EE !!!

Do you have a personal plan for success?

Most people today are completely overwhelmed by everything that life throws at them on a daily basis. Because the boundaries between work and personal life have become so blurred, we become lost, confused and derailed from our goals.

Personal success is attained in gradual increments by setting and achieving goals.

At SlowDownFast.com, we have developed a comprehensive, customizable and highly flexible program which addresses such a need: The Slow Down Fast Intensive Empowerment System (IES).

The Slow Down FAST Intensive Empowerment System helps individuals achieve their goals.

Here’s how you can benefit from this program:

• You’ll realign yourself with your purpose.
• You’ll once again connect with your values and talents - and this will ignite your passion and drive to succeed.
• You will leverage your own, unique learning style for quicker retention and more rapid advancement.
• You will be empowered in your personal life, which in turn fuels you professionally and brings you greater commitment and dedication on the job.

For one time only, I’m offering the Intensive Empowerment System workshop FR.EE Read Post

Have you ever caught yourself daydreaming about the good times you’ve had in the past or the events you have planned for the future?

Many of us live most of our lives in the past or future, missing out entirely on the present moment. Remembering how good you felt or what fun you had in some past experience often eases the aches of current disappointments. Projecting into the future how you would like your life to be or onto some upcoming plans, offers hope and reassurance if your present is not meeting your satisfaction.

However, if you’ve ever studied the mind and the aspects of time, you would know that the present moment is all that is real, all that actually exists. The past and future only exist in the mind, while the present exists in real time. It’s true the mind is very powerful and can play tricks on us. It can pull up a memory that seems so vivid, you actually experience it through your senses and can even feel an emotional response. Similarly, you may get all excited thinking about the vacation you will be taking next summer, and almost smell the suntan lotion.

Yet, living anywhere but the present can be a form of escape or denial. It’s sticking your head in the sand instead of facing the truth–your life today sucks and you better do something about it if you want it to get better.

What are some ways you can stop time traveling and learn to enjoy living in the moment? Read Post

Sometimes it’s hard to set boundaries with others. We all want to be liked and to be considered open and friendly. However, people who fail to set and maintain boundaries in their life and work often find that it’s much harder to meet their own needs, and to prevent others from imposing their needs onto them.

Life coaches are constantly teaching their clients that setting boundaries is important to maintaining strong relationships at work and at home. After all, it does no one any good if one part of a friendship, marriage or work situation feels put upon, resentful or over-burdened. Setting boundaries prevents misunderstandings, hurt feelings, awkward situations, grudges and other interpersonal torpedoes from endangering your relationships. And it’s as simple as taking a few easy steps: Read Post

From my article Realizing Success Through Empowerment at Dumb Little Man:

“So many times when things go badly in our lives we find ourselves wondering how we ended up in such a bad situation, or who is to blame. These are self-defeating mindsets that limit our ability to recover, or to succeed.

Instead of developing a defeatist attitude when something goes awry, try to adjust to a mindset that allows you to empower yourself. Empowerment, in turn, leads to greater success. It allows you to learn from your mistakes, be thankful for your accomplishments, and move on.

The next time you find yourself in a mess and wondering how or why you got there, try looking at some of the more positive aspects of your particular situation.”

Read the rest of Realizing Success Through Empowerment.

I’m presenting tomorrow at the Biz Tech Expo in Milwaukee. Topic: Personal Development in a Professional World.

Here are the details:

Our lives are defined by our choices. But often, the choices we make don’t appear at the time to be the important crossroads that they later turn out to have been. We go merrily along our way, taking what looks like a straight and well-defined path, only to realize later how many times we made life-altering decisions without a second thought.

Personal experiences, cultural expectations, peer and family pressures - each of these plays a role in how we look at life and the lives we choose for ourselves. But all of us have a unique and personal role to play in life. For this reason, it doesn’t pay to surrender our life’s choices to the highest (or loudest) bidder.

Reclaiming your uniqueness and your individuality can be a daunting but powerfully rewarding process. The trick is to shut out the clamoring demands of those around us and find a way to listen to the voice inside, the voice of our heart and our soul. Only by doing this, and acting upon what we hear, can we once again get back on our true path and live the life we were born to fulfill. Read Post