Mindset

The Power of Affirmations – I CAN, I WILL, I MUST

Positive affirmations are very important in accomplishing any goals you set for yourself. Belief that you can do something is the prerequisite to accomplishing it. Like the Henry Ford quote goes, “whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right.”

So, what exactly is an affirmation?

An affirmation is a carefully formatted statement that should be repeated to one’s self and written down frequently.

If you’ve heard of the Law of Attraction, you must visualize the outcome you want and attract it into your life. If you think positively, you’ll attract positive things. Alternatively, the same goes for negative thoughts. Ever wonder why negative people you know always seem to have something new to complain about? You attract your thoughts into reality, so guard them and make sure they’re aligned with what you want in life.

In some meditations I’ve done recently, positive affirmations such as “I will smile today” or “I am content” are mentioned. You are supposed to either say the words out loud or think them in your head. There is so much power in actually following through with this exercise, as silly as you might think it seems.

I do push-ups every morning with a motivational YouTube video playing in the background. I watch some of the same videos multiple times, but I try to get fresh content and watch new videos every day.

The video below was one I watched recently. Eric Thomas repeats the phrase “I CAN, I WILL, I MUST” over and over, and in the audio you can hear the audience saying it with him. This seriously sent chills down my spine in the middle of my push-ups…. I CAN. I WILL. I MUST.

Think about how powerful that statement is:

I CAN – It is possible, it CAN be done, and I CAN do it.

I WILL – I WILL get it done. Not “I hope I can” or “I might.” WILL means it IS going to happen.

I MUST – I MUST do this. It absolutely HAS to be done, no excuses.

What excuses do you have right now as to why you aren’t living the life of your dreams? Shed those and start repeating this mantra over and over again, every single morning, or any time you feel like giving up. Believe you can and you will. Take action and have 100% belief that your dreams are on their way to reality. Then watch as they unfold before your eyes.

“I CAN. I WILL. I MUST.”  –Eric Thomas

 

Stay Connected

Chris Bello

Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook

Read More
Mindset

Abundance vs. Scarcity Mindset

This past weekend, I went to a 3 day real estate workshop here in Houston, TX. In addition to learning a ton about investing in real estate, self-directed IRAs, and more, I was very happy to get a lot of “mindset training” from the speaker on how every real estate investor (or entrepreneur in general) needs to think in order to be successful.

A lot of people in the room were getting this training for the first time; I have been getting this kind of training from the types of books I read and podcasts I listen to for awhile now. He did bring up two mindsets that I don’t think I’ve heard explained in detail until now. The two mindsets are scarcity and abundance. I’ll explain what they both are, but make sure to think of the people that surround you and impact you in your life. Ask yourself if they fall under the “scarcity” mindset or the “abundance” mindset, and then consider adjusting who you spend time with accordingly if you think you need to make a change.

What is scarcity mindset?

Scarcity mindset is believing that there will never be enough, resulting in feelings of fear, stress, and anxiety.

People with this type of thinking might think they need to do things themselves to save a couple of bucks. They often have a “lose-win” mindset. They feel that there’s only so much that can go around. These kinds of people are hesitant to part with money on coaching or learning more because the dollar sign cost is all they see. They fail to see the potential return on that investment.

These people are afraid of losing time or money when trying new things.

What is abundance mindset?

Abundance mindset flows out of a deep inner sense of personal worth and security. It is thinking that there is more than enough for everyone.

Someone with this mindset thinks there is always more of everything in life. There are limitless possibilities. Because of this, these people can attract amazing experiences and opportunities.

People with this mindset love trying new things and don’t care if they fail. Their mindset is that failing is learning and getting closer to the end goal.

 

Choose abundance

Scarcity mindset is seeing the glass half empty and hogging the rest of the drink for yourself. Abundance mindset is seeing the glass as half full and sharing with others since you know you can always get more of whatever it is that you are sharing.

One powerful quote mentioned in that workshop was: “Don’t worry about how much something COSTS, think about how much it will MAKE YOU.” This kind of ties in with my last post on expenses versus investments. Anything you spend now to accomplish a goal later down the road is an investment. Time or money put in should not be seen as a waste, but as planting seeds of success that will take time to grow.

There may be an opportunity shown to two people. One person with scarcity mentality will say “oh there’s competition, it’s saturated, it’ll be tough.” The person with abundance mentality will say “okay, the more people there are, the better. There’s more opportunities, and it’s a proven model.” See this difference? It’s black and white, a totally different mindset!

Who do you think will succeed? The person with abundance mentality will succeed every time. Think big, embrace risks, and take chances! Practice shifting your mentality from scarcity to abundance if you lean more towards scarcity mindset at this moment. There is more than enough to go around for all of us.

 

Stay Connected

Chris Bello

Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook

Read More
Motivation
Mindset

How to stay motivated

How can you stay motivated when things get tough and all odds seem to be against you? Can you think of a friend or colleague who remains positive, no matter what the circumstances? They always seem to find the good in any situation and be doing better than everyone else. A positive attitude is a huge contributor to one’s level of motivation.

Think of someone you know who always has something negative to say. No matter what the situation, they’re always complaining. Maybe when you go out to eat at a restaurant, this person mention that the food is “too hot,” “too cold,” or “took too long,” even if the restaurant has 5 stars on Yelp and everyone was impressed.

Negative

Nobody likes a “Negative Nancy”

If you’re a positive person, keep up the good work! If you’re more like the negative character mentioned above, you have some improvements to make in your mindset. Try to re-frame your thinking from negative to positive. Let’s look at a few examples and how we can re-frame our thinking from negative to positive.

Scenario A: You are laid off from your oil & gas job due to the industry downturn

Negative thinker: “This stinks, I can’t believe they laid me off. I’ve been loyal for all these years and they didn’t appreciate anything I did. Now I’m going to have to find another job, learn everything all over again, and build my network from scratch.”

Positive thinker: “Well, I was fortunate to have gotten laid off later in the game. Others weren’t so lucky. Fortunately, I’ll get a few weeks’ pay with my severance package and can file for unemployment until I get back on my feet. This might be a great opportunity to finally make some career changes I’ve been wanting to make and network with new people.”

Scenario B: A car accident is blocking all lanes on the freeway and your commute home will now take an hour longer.

Negative thinker: “Wow, this is so annoying. I was going to try to watch today’s episode of The Walking Dead. Now I’m going to have to watch it tomorrow.”

Positive thinker: “Geez, I feel sorry for the people involved in the wreck. I hope that they’re okay. I’m fortunate to be healthy and unharmed. I can always use this extra hour to catch up on a few podcasts I haven’t had time to listen to lately.”

Ever notice how positive people are much more fun to be around? They are not buzzkills like their Negative Nancy counterparts.

I was extremely inspired by a video I came across recently. In this video, Randy Pausch talks about the fact that he is going to die soon and there is nothing he can do about it. He chooses to remain positive. He says “I can’t control the cards I’m dealt, just how I play the hands.” He goes on to say that “the brick walls that are in our way are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. They are there to give us a way to show how much we want it.”

Don’t complain; just work harder.

You can purchase a copy of Randy’s book, The Last Lecture, by clicking here.

Last Lecture

 

Stay Connected

Chris Bello

Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook

Read More
New Year
Mindset

Why You Shouldn’t Set 2018 New Year Resolutions

Are you setting New Year Resolutions? Don’t.

“But Chris, it’s important to set goals! You always say so yourself!” Yes, goals are critical to translating dreams to reality. But if you are waiting for the New Year to set goals, you’ll see them fall through like most do year after year.

When you set goals for an entire year, you end up setting unrealistic goals without specific deadlines. That is simply a recipe for failure.

You should constantly have goals that you’re conquering and replacing with new ones. It’s good to set deadlines of when you’d like to achieve certain goals and then break your goals into steps to really get into specifics.

If you want to lose 10 pounds, don’t say “I’m going to lose 10 pounds in 2018.” That’s too generic. Say “I’m going to lose 10 pounds in the next 5 months.” That’s only 2 pounds you need to lose a month, which seems more realistic, right? Now that you’ve reframed the daunting task of losing 10 WHOLE POUNDS into losing 2 pounds a month, it doesn’t seem that hard.

Take it a step further.

To continue with the weight loss example, come up with a meal plan or find one online to hold yourself to. Meal prep on the weekend to make sure you always have a fridge full of healthy meals and don’t get tempted to order pizza twice a week.

I personally use a white board to keep track of everything I’m working on as well as the steps I need to accomplish to push each thing forward. I recommend getting one like this on Amazon or checking sales locally through platforms like Facebook Marketplace or Letgo to snag for a good deal.

I got the below whiteboard with markers and all for just $10! It was brand new and only had a slight ding on it, hence the great price. I plan on setting up an office in my house with this board on the wall so I can constantly see my goals, cross them off the list once complete, and add new ones as needed.

My Constant Goals

A good planner can also be helpful in keeping tabs on all your to-do’s on a certain day. There’s just nothing quite like physically crossing things off a list. I have used apps such as Wunderlist which can work great, but as you know, a message pops up at the top of your screen and quickly distracts you. Then you forget what you were on your phone to do to begin with. For this reason I think a separate, pen and paper method can be useful. Here’s a 2018 planner to consider getting.

Planner

What’s the point of my post?

So the point of this post is to tell you that you shouldn’t set New Year Resolutions. You should constantly set goals and update your list as you crush them. Like Matthew McConaughey says in his Best Actor speech, “My hero is me in 10 years.” Always strive to be better. Push yourself every day to be a better you. Now go out there, and start crushing your goals. Don’t wait “until the New Year.” Start TODAY.

Best Actor speech

 

Stay Connected

Chris Bello

Entrepreneur Motivation Podcast on Facebook

Read More