7 Principles of Lasting Satisfaction

Satisfaction is the key to success. Have you ever wondered why the rich and famous struggle so much? It's because they are not satisfied. All of the money in the world cannot offer satisfaction. I know what you're thinking...it does help. However, the happiness that money provides will not satisfy your deepest desires. Generally, your deepest desires are not having the finer things in life. Your deepest desires consist of living a life of purpose, and sharing what you have to offer with the people you love. If you consider these principles of lasting satisfaction, you are guaranteed success. You do not have to follow these principles in a particular order. The best way to apply these principles are in combination.

1. 
   
   Do your best-the most satisfying part of doing your best is knowing that there is nothing else left for you to do. After you've done all that you can do you must leave the rest to God. In God we trust...
   
   
   
2. 
   
   Know what you want-is is impossible to be satisfied with your life, if you don't know what you want out of life. Don't be one of those people who is always complaining, but unwilling to identify what's wrong. 
   
   
   
3. 
   
   Understand your purpose-when you find your purpose, you will have direction. Direction brings satisfaction because you are not wasting your time on meaningless things. You will wake up each day with an agenda to do your part in making the world a better place.
   
   
   
4. 
   
   Place a high value on family and friends- people who care about you offer the ultimate satisfaction because loving is living. Without a sense of love and acceptance, your heart grows empty and cold. In essense, you are a dead man walking.
   
   
   
5. 
   
   Give back-you can recreate or expand your greatness by helping someone become just as great if not greater than you. It is refreshing to give what you have to offer and satisfying to know that you are helping someone become better than they were before.
   
   
   
6. 
   
   Set goals-no matter how far you come, REACH for more. We have an innate need for a sense of accomplishment. Achieving goals offer a sense of satisfaction because it gives you a sense of accomplishment.
   
   
   
7. Learn how to accept your imperfections-regardless of how hard you try, you will never be perfect. Give yourself a break and learn the serenity prayer.

Note:Sometimes it helps to make a list of the things that you can change and the things that you have no control over.

As you begin to apply these principles, please understand that things will not change over night. However, as your understanding of these principles develop, your life will change. You will arrive at the destination of success, satisfied.

I will expand upon these ideas in upcoming postings. If you would like more details on a topic discussed, please leave a comment.

The Road to Success

The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called Failure, a loop called Confusion, speed bumps called Friends, red lights called Enemies, and caution lights called Family. You will have flats called Jobs; but if you have a spare called Determination, an engine called Perserverance, insurance called Faith, and a driver called Jesus, you will make it to a place called Success. (Anonymous)

Wouldn't it be so nice if we could just get on a highway, and take the exit to success? I used to wish I knew where the road to success was going to take me. I used to get so frustrated because I didn't know if I was going the right way. You know how when you get lost in a neighborhood that you are familiar with; and you are so frustrated because you can't believe you just got lost in your own city. In the past, I felt that way about life. I felt like I could deal with things so much easier if I just knew where I was going next. If I just knew what the next step was going to be, everything would be so much easier.

This quote helped me make sense of it all. Experience has taught me that things are just not that easy. The road to success is not straight so you will have some failures. At times, you will be confused, just don't stay that way. Friends will come and go. You will have haters and backstabbers. Sometimes your family may cause you to yield and slow down. Your job might seem as if it holds you back from your dream and keeps you stagnant. If you are experiencing these things, you are on the right path. All of these things are normal, so keep on moving forward.

When you feel like you're marching in place, your determination will get you moving again. Perseverance will get you past the tough spots. If you have a really bad accident that you can't seem to recover from, remember that you have insurance called Faith. All you have to do is believe that one day, you will take the exit to Success. If you believe in God, trust Him and He will get you there. If you have been driving, and you keep sliding off the road scoot over. You don't know everything. Let your creator help you out a little. He will make sure you get to your final destination.

Struggle for Success

"If you've never failed, you've never lived." I heard that by listening to a you tube video today and I had an epiphany.

My failures make me who I am. My failures give me the drive to strive for more. My failures will eventually make me great. I am the type of person, who gets very upset when I make a mistake. Well, not so much anymore. Now, I just tell myself to get over myself. On the other hand, this video motivated me to keep trying to succeed. This is not to say that I was ever planning on giving up.

Have you ever felt like you just want to stop struggling? As Oprah said in the Color Purple, "I've had to fight all of my life..." At some point, I accepted it as the norm. I never realized that struggling will make you stronger. My ongoing struggles have allowed me to come to a place of success and satisfaction. While struggle is not the key to success, it has been an avenue for contentment for me. I know what it means to want and not have. I understand what it means to grieve for mistakes that have caused life changes. I have experienced watching a dream die and be resuscitated back to life. Through everything, I know that if I had never struggled, I would have never lived.

I want to hear about your struggles as I share some of my own. This blog is not only to inspire but to share. Sharing with the right motive is therapeutic and will offer emotional support throughout your journey to success.

How to Overcome Your Struggle

1. Identify and clarify your issues. If you have multiple issues, choose the issue that is most important.

2. Analyze your problem. Ask yourself some tough questions. -When did you start having this problem? How have you contributed to your problem? What can you do at this moment to minimize your issue? Who can help you with your problem? etc.

3. Develop a plan. Write down your plan and revisit it to check your progress.

4. Implement the plan.

5. Eliminate any negative influences, and stay focused.

6. Find support in a way that is suitable to you.

7. Make revisions to your plan. Ask yourself: Is what I'm doing working? What can I do to make it better?

8. Pray. Some would advise you to do this first. However, I believe that you must take some responsibility by attempting to help yourself and God will do the rest. Regardless of when you pray, pray your way through it. You may need to go through this process several times before you are successful.

The order of this process may be different for you depending on personality, values, and lifestyle. As you go through this process with various issues, remember that success is at the end of your struggle.

Good Intentions

The best intentions do not produce the best results. You will never be satisfied with your life, if you don't set goals. It's okay to dream and think big. However, at some point, you have to start taking action. Usually you cannot freestyle life and get somewhere. It's fun to be daring and adventurous. In fact, sometimes you have to let your hair down and feel the summer breeze. But, imagine this: What if you stood in the middle of a beach watching the waves in the ocean and letting your hair blow in the wind for eternity? I know, I know, you're saying, "Are you serious?" That's the precise reaction that I was looking for because that's ridiculous. Let's get real and start setting some realistic goals.

This subject is really personal for me because I struggle with staying consistent with some of my goals. For instance, my ongoing struggle with weight loss is insane. I'm always talking about how I'm going to reach my goal by the age of thirty, but time is winding up. It's getting to the point where I'm tired of hearing myself talk about it, so thanks for listening. My point is that I'm going to have to shut up or get something done. I don't want to keep disappointing myself because no one really cares about it as much as I do.

I know it sounds harsh, but no one really cares about your life as much as you do. I mean most of the time when we talk to someone people aren't really listening. Generally, humans listen with approximately a 25% comprehension rate, which translates into no one knows what you're talking about. Do you even know what you're talking about? If you do, then do something with what you know.

 Do you know someone who always says that they will do something and they never do? You hear them talking about all of the things that they plan on doing, but they never follow through with it. It gets to the point that you don't even engage them in a conversation. You just pretend as if you are listening. Okay, you can be honest. It goes in one ear and out of the other. If you can't relate to this, you just might be the person that everyone thinks is a joke.

I don't mean to be too direct, but it is what it is. If you don't accomplish your goals in a reasonable amount of time, you are a joke. In other words, you're full of it. For some of you, that's a hard pill to swallow, while others are still in denial. You might want to evaluate all of the things that you have been trying to do for years and analyze why you haven't finished it yet.

We're in this together, so I'll analyze myself. My weight issue has been placed on the back burner because I really don't think that it is that important. To be honest with myself, it is not a priority when it should be. If I don't make my health a priority, then I won't make the sacrifices necessary to reach my goal. What I'm going to do first is set some short term attainable goals. When I reach my short term goal, I'll tell you more about my intermediate goals. My long-term goal is to maintain a healthy weight, but I'm going to take it one step at a time. For more information on goal setting, Click Here!. Otherwise, let's set some goals and get beyond good intentions so that we can be a success together. Feel free to share your goals with others if you're really serious. Keep it to yourself if you just have good intentions.