When ideas are internalized, they become beliefs. Through time and repetition, beliefs evolve into core philosophies. These philosophies become the concepts by which we live our lives.

I was thinking about some of my core philosophies. Three quotes came to my mind that I wanted to share in this article.

“Success is not something you pursue.

It’s something you ATTRACT by the person you become.”

It’s important to be consistently focused on personal development. Through personal development, our skills grow, our motivation grows, our discipline grows, our influence grows, and our results grow. Everything in our lives tends to get better when WE get better.

Ask yourself right now, “What am I doing to learn more and improve my skills?” Are you better at your job today than you were last year? How about in your relationships? As a parent?

There are a number of ways that we can continue learning. First, network within your business to be consistently reminded of best practices or new innovations. Seek out top achievers and ask them simple, easy-to-answer questions. You’ll hear some new ideas, and a lot of things you already know, but perhaps don’t consistently execute. The repetition will reinforce these ideas so that you are more likely to internalize them and execute on them.

Second, read. All the top people that I’ve met are consistent readers. They might not inhale a book per week like some do, but they are consistently gaining new insights by absorbing books that are recommended to them by others they respect.

Some of my favorite books recently have been:

• The Undoing Project by Michael Lewis
• The Front Row Factor by Jon Vroman
• Ubuntu by Steven Lundin
• Conversations Worth Having by Stavros & Torres
• The 12-Week Year by Moran & Lennington

Third, use your drive-time for some audio learning. There are so many great podcasts nowadays. Download a few and give them a shot. I have gained some absolutely brilliant ideas from listening to guests of Tim Ferris (The Tim Ferris Show & Tribe of Mentors) or Lewis Howes (School of Greatness) in recent months. Take advantage of this amazing resource for ongoing personal growth!

“It’s not what happens, it’s what you DO that makes the difference.”

So many people blame circumstances for why they don’t achieve what they set out to do. What’s important to remember is that most of those same circumstances and adversities confront just about everyone. Life is tough for all of us! Successful people simply look at these obstacles in a more constructive way, and ultimately, they don’t allow some of the normal, day-to-day challenges to prevent them from still reaching their goals.

We gain so much power in life when we realize that we can choose the meaning for anything that happens to us. Learn to choose empowering meanings that INCREASE your motivation, and keep looking for the ways to achieve what you want. If you look for answers, you will find them. The opposite, unfortunately, is also true. Be an optimist!

“Without a sense of urgency, desire loses its value.”

A few years ago, a guy who worked with me for 12 years told me that the most important thing he had ever learned from me was the concept of a sense of urgency. I have always embraced the value of every day. Also, I intuitively realized that any goal seems easier to achieve when you break it into its parts, and bringing intensity to each of those parts would eventually lead to the completion of the bigger goal.

Year after year in my business, we achieved significant objectives, often by a small margin right at the deadline. Had we allowed significant time to pass without urgency and intensity, we would probably have fallen just short on many of those goals.

And that’s what happens with most people. If they do even set their goals, they don’t take the time to break them down and consider what needs to be achieved this month or this week or TODAY in order to stay on target. Once the deadline looms, they get really motivated, but by then, there’s too much left to do, and they wind up falling short.

Sound familiar? If so, ramping up your sense of urgency could be a crucial piece of your longer-term success.

Remember the 3 core philosophies:

• Consistent personal growth and ongoing learning
• Viewing what happens to us in a more constructive way
• The sense of urgency to maximize each day, each week

Use these 3 ideas to accomplish all that you want this year!

If these ideas resonate with you, please help me impact others by sharing the link for this blog post in your social media.

If you have an experience or tip to add, I’d love to hear from you! Simply make a comment below!