There are two types of people in the world. There are starters and finishers.

When you get interested quickly and then lose focus or interest, there’s a reason for that. One might be that you’re a starter.

I can hear some of you thinking, “Oh my god, I’m not a finisher!” Relax. It’s not a great thing, but it’s not the worst thing in the world, either.

The worst thing in the world is not to be a starter. If you never start, what good is that?

There are people who just like new things. They only have focus for a short period of time. They don’t like long projects or ongoing tedious work. They don’t like routine. They don’t like just one thing at a time. Their minds are very active. They like a lot of stimulation and the multitasking element. I’m one of those people.

Do I love the seventh month of writing a book? No, I don’t. I like the idea of writing outlines for a lot of books and courses, though. That’s great. A new thing here and a new thing there; that’s me.

Are you the kind of person that’s a starter or a finisher? Are you a change person? Do you like newness or do you like routine? You have to know what you’re like in order to not beat yourself up about this.

You might think, “I am obviously a new person who likes a lot of change. That’s not helping me. I’m still not finishing. I’m still not focusing.”

At least now you understand that this is against your normal personality, so how do you play within your strengths? How do you do things that embrace and take advantage of your new change-up personality?

It starts with asking what you’re doing. What are you taking on? Are you taking on routine-type projects, routine-type work? If you are, it’s going to be a problem.

You might say, “Harv, I have a business and I want to do well, so I’ve got to do all of it, right?”

That’s right, but if you have other people with you in your business or can get other people, maybe you should be the idea person and let someone else be the executor of the idea. Maybe you’re the definition of a true entrepreneur.

Know who you are and move toward your strengths. Be good at that and be okay with that.

If you want to complete things, then here are some tips for you:

  • First, make sure it’s really what you want to do.
  • Second, you’ve got to have a little bit of discipline; make it a priority and don’t move to another thing until you’ve finished the first thing.
  • Finally, if you really want to get down to the personal development side of all this, and you’re not completing what you start even though you say you want to, why are you sabotaging yourself? What fear might be behind this? Is it a fear of failure? Is it a fear of success?

It’s a lot easier not to focus, not to finish. That way you don’t have to worry about failure or success, yes?

Practice focusing one hour a day. If you can’t do an hour, do 15 minutes.

Right after you finish doing this 15 minutes, journal what it felt like for you.

Once you get some successes under your belt, you’re going to start to do more. If you can do one day, then you can do 21 days. If you can do 21 days, then you can make focusing a true habit!

Are you a starter or a finisher? What problems/ challenges have you found being one or the other? We’d love to hear from you!

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For Your Freedom,

For people who are aware of themselves enough to know what they want, how to go about getting it is often another issue. They work hard…or maybe just tell themselves that…but in spite of effort…they lack results.

They get frustrated, start beating themselves up, and you know what happens after that. Usually nothing good, but especially nothing we really want. It comes from those parts of ourselves that fight each other for attention. It’s those inner battles that distract us from what’s most important.

Problem is, most people just aren’t aware of the difference between those parts we habitually, reflexively act from and the higher Self that directs those parts toward what we really want.

People are acting and doing things all the time, but how many of us are acting consciously most of the time? Few do, but if you can do it even half of the time, you’re doing better than most.

Acting consciously is acting effectively. Not from what this part or that part of you says, but what You say. Ultimately it’s important to practice making decisions from your higher Self. You know what’s right in your heart.

How do you do this?

Like anything, it’s a practice. I’ve heard people say they hear their Voice more clear when running, or hiking, going for walks, prayer, meditation, in the shower, whatever suits you. The common denominator is breathing, though.

Take a space of time to concentrate on at least 10 deep breaths. Have a piece of paper or a journal ready. You’re going to write a letter to yourself about whatever topic you’re having a challenge with.

You might say, “Dear Heart, This is from your higher Self regarding the topic of (fill in the blank). Here’s what’s going on and what you need to do … ”

Then almost close your eyes and start to write. Don’t edit it. Write as quickly as you possibly can. Don’t think. Thinking will kill the message you’re getting. Trust is big here. You’re practicing trusting yourself.

We all get messages, some of us easier and some of us with a little more challenge, but we all get them.

When you’re conscious of your true Self, you’re going to find that the answer(s) is so freaking obvious. However, if it doesn’t appear so, it’s usually because there’re these parts of us that uses the mind to auto-react: “Yeah, but you don’t understand … There’s this, that … ” and back to that chatter that keeps people stuck and frustrated.

Compassionately acknowledge those parts, but assert your ability to ensure that things will be okay. Your higher Self will tell you what it is you want, why, and what you need to do to get there. Again, don’t edit, just write.

Somewhere in your journaling is your to-do list, actions that can be meaningful because you’re more in touch with what your higher Self is really calling for. Actions that come from clarity, not fear and self-loathing.

And when I say to-do list, not the picking-up-groceries, stopping-by-the-dry-cleaners-kind of list, but steps that come from having a clear direction; steps that are bite-sized and achievable; and most importantly, actions that excite you!

Do you need to make some phone calls or send emails to people who have the information you need? Do you need to set up some meetings? Sign up for a course? Do some research? Write your bio? Create a marketing plan?

Whatever your items, prioritize them. The bigger-ticket items get those smaller, bite-sized actions that don’t overwhelm you yet keep you moving forward. This system allows you to win and succeed. You will work smarter and better, and you will get through more things.

Sounds so simple and obvious, yet it never ceases to amaze me how many people I teach, frustrated by a lack of results, don’t prioritize their actions according to what they say they want.

To compound the problem, those desires often come from parts that are fearful, hurt, sad, angry, whatever the case may be, and it causes them to act from that place with predictable results.

When you are constantly not doing what you said you were going to do, you feel like a failure. You feel out of integrity. No wonder you don’t want to take on more things. It’s crazy. Who would want to?

But that’s usually because we’re not being clear or honest about what it is we really want, or because we’re letting our parts take over.

You know you’re acting and being from your higher Self when you’re calm, confident, creative, courageous, and clear.

Regardless of the action, what we do may or may not have the impact we’re looking for…when we’re not acting consciously from grounded awareness. This is why what we consider meditation is so universal across time and cultures. When you’re confident, you’ll start believing in the very real magic of it all.

Create that space for yourself and let that higher voice do what it wants to do…help you succeed!

Try it, see how it changes your life, and let us know what you think. Did it work for you? What were your challenges? Let us know in the comments below.

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For Your Freedom,

One of the most painful, disturbing problems in life is perfectionism.

Some people are perfectionists only at work, not in other areas of life. Still it kills positive energy and decreases efficiency. It’s exhausting and it affects mood and health.

This is a tough one because perfectionists don’t like to hear any answer that don’t paint them as perfect.

Let me speak for myself and a lot of my students, and then you see if you might fit this. A lot of my students and I got our perfectionism from a place of either over-criticism when we were young or an over-reliance on approval from others.

If you take a look at those two things that occurred when you were young, you can ask, “Did my parents, teachers, elders, brothers, sisters or whoever I respected criticize me so severely, once or often, that it still pains me to this day?”

If so, then there’s a fear that when you do something wrong something bad will happen. It’s a good reason to not want to do things wrong.

You’ve got to take a look and see where this comes from. For example, was everything cool in your life except for at school where your teacher was really harsh and you were really criticized? If you didn’t get the approval, were you ostracized at school and the kids didn’t like you?

Very often what people don’t realize is that your work life is a direct reflection today as an adult as your school life was when you were a kid, so I would look to that arena and see if there’s anything there. That will give you the why.

Once you know why you’ve got this perfectionism going on, then you have to ask, “Is it worth it and does it help me?”

There are some really positive elements about being a perfectionist, and there are really negative ones. What can possibly be good about being a perfectionist?

The obvious one is that usually perfectionists attempt to do things with excellence. The result is generally pretty decent, or at least you’re going to have pretty high quality when you’re dealing with a perfectionist versus someone who doesn’t give a sh*t, yes?

You should take that, enjoy it, embrace it and say, “That’s a great thing that I have this perfectionism. It gives me an opportunity to want to be excellent, and that is a very great trait.”

On the negative side, it hurts energy. It makes you feel like it can never be right or good enough, you never achieve enough and you’re never good enough. Because you’re never good enough and you don’t feel good about whatever you do you start to not want to take on new things, because you know you’re just going to get that bad feeling back again.

Here’s what you can do about this:

1. Locate where your perfection/imperfection comes from and accept it without judgment. 21st century Buddha says, “Sh*t happens.” Getting over it is a process, but knowledge is empowerment.
2. It’s a conditioned process. You can un-condition it.

You can say, “Thank you for sharing,” get yourself back into the game and acknowledge it, “I’m going to start fresh today. Today I’m perfect in the universe.”

This is literally true, by the way. On a spiritual level you’re perfect the way you are, with all of your flaws, good things and bad things.

If you see something is not perfect, allow yourself to play. Allow yourself to be imperfect and messy, and allow yourself to screw up once in a while. See that you’re not going to die.

Here’s one of the homework assignments we give for people in some of the courses for perfectionists: dress with your clothes backward. I want you to have your shirt half in and half out. I want your underwear to be showing, and I want your hair to be all messed up.

Allow yourself to be imperfect. Allow yourself to love yourself no matter how you are.

Love yourself unconditionally no matter what. That is the answer.

What do you think? Do you have any experiences you can share about perfectionism? We want to hear from you!

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For Your Freedom,

Personal development can sometimes get a bad rap in some intellectual circles, labeled generally as hoaxy, New Agey, feel-good cheerleading in vain.

That is how it turns out, sometimes. Like every product, there’s going to be some with better quality and some not so much. The consistent success of personal development teachers speaks for the difference.

Just taking personal development for what it is, though, how could that ever be a bad thing? If you’re not busy growing…you’re busy dying, yes?

However, as usual with life there’s still a big complication. It’s called impatience.

My students are often not newbies to the personal development space, having taken one or more courses before, whether with me or with other teachers.

This begs the question for people: “How many courses do I have to take?”

Answer: as many courses as it takes for you to do what you say you’re going to do.

It’s a progression. Where you are on the ladder will determine how many programs, how much learning, how many books, how long it’s going to take to get there.

Learning and personal development are musts. And having impatience is not an option.

In a lot of cases nothing happens after the first course. You know the info is good if you’ve chosen a proven teacher, but it’s really just the appetizer. Most people aren’t ready to take on the whole enchilada at that point.

After the second course people start getting a little hit. After the third course, you start to really get some good understanding about your life and what’s going on but still nothing major.

However, then come the doubt-devils: “I should give this up. What a waste of time all this personal development crap is. I don’t even feel good. In fact, I feel worse than I did before when I was a factory worker in the dark. What a drag. Business is hard. Life is getting harder. Relationships are harder.”

“How will I know when I’m ready?”

When you jump and the water is blissful, you’ve done it.

Now is it always going to be blissful? No.

Have you noticed even if you go into a pool and it’s pretty nice, if you stay in the pool for an hour, you get cold and you’re all wrinkled? Even that pool has to be changed a little bit.

You have to love growth. And you have to keep on growing.

If you do then one day you’re going to wake up and things are going to click for you. Your money, relationships and house are going to be there. Your life is going to be beautiful…unless you get impatient.

Don’t be looking. You’ll see it when you see it.

All of sudden you’re going to see…

Money, success, relationships and happiness are all coming my way.

My life is finally together.

Is it perfect? No. Is it together? Yes. Am I feeling great? Yes. Most days are amazing. I’m so fortunate. I am doing well financially. My relationships are good. I’m feeling good. Life is good.

How did that happen?

The best way I can describe it is through a story, maybe some of you have heard, about this boy who plants two seeds. The next spring one of the seeds becomes a corn stark, but the other doesn’t appear to sprout anything.

This happens five years in a row; the corn stalk becomes this amazing cornfield but the other seed … nothing. However, within three months of the last time the boy checks the crops, all of sudden there are 20-foot bamboo shoots that tower all over the cornfield.

Five years with nothing and all of a sudden, explosion. Why was that bamboo able to grow so fast and so strong?

Because for those five years, it was growing its roots, its foundation. It was setting the structure for huge, sustainable growth in its life.

Some people are corn seeds. You give them a little bit and they sprout. But when people grow really quickly and have big success really fast, they usually don’t have the structure underneath to sustain it. The first wind that comes, it’s over.

Realize that like the bamboo, you are growing, developing, and learning for that day and in time you too will tower over the field, you will tower over your own doubt in yourself.

Everyone has a story of sudden growth or realization that changed life for the better after a period of stagnation. Be patient my friends.

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What’s your story? We’d love to hear from you!

For Your Freedom,

I’ve talked with a few beginning and even some veteran entrepreneurs who threw themselves into their businesses recently, got off to a great start, and achieved some initial success. However, the strategies that were working when they started are now starting to fall off.

Business is an ongoing process. It’s not a one-time idea. “Hey, this works. I’m going to do this forever.” No my friends, that’s not how it works.

I’m what many people call a marketing expert. Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. Who cares what they call it? I’ve done fairly well marketing myself and anything that I’ve touched, so people feel that I understand marketing a little bit.

One thing I do understand is that it’s an ever-changing formula. If you think you’re going into something with the formula forever, you’re crazy. No formula works forever. You always have to keep adjusting, testing and changing. People get tired of the same thing.

Here’s the thing that happens to many start-ups: they’ve creamed the top of their market. When you start a certain type of business in a certain niche, there’s a group of people who have that problem and are waiting for you to come solve it.

You may have taken those people who were just waiting for you, and they’ve done what you’ve got. Now there’s a secondary group of people that aren’t waiting, and you actually have to market and sell to them. That’s a whole different world.

Take the seminar business, for example. The first time we go to Singapore with the Millionaire Mind Intensive, they say, “T. Harv Eker’s coming to town. Wow! He’s a big author, number one on The New York Times bestseller list and number one on the Singapore list. I’ve got to go see this guy.” All the business and finance people say, “Wow! Let’s go see Harv,” and 5,000 people show up.

The next time I come to town, 4,000 people show up. The next time after that, 3,000. It’s harder. I think our last event had 2,500 people, and it took six months to fill. Why is that? Because we’re not doing as good? No. Is our marketing not as good? No, it’s not that.

The people who were the cream of the crop in the market waiting for me have already taken the course. The next group has to be more convinced. That’s how it goes. How do you do that? You have to find people in different nooks and crannies in different niches.

Another thing that happens with a new business is your own energy is different. You go in and think, “I’ve got to make this work.” You’re putting in 18 hours a day, and your energy is high. It’s like you’re running in a marathon, but you sprinted the first mile, and now you’re panting.

You still think you’re putting out as much effort, but it isn’t resulting in as much. You’re running just as hard but not going as fast because you’re tired. You don’t have the energy you had.

Either way, marketing in business is a flowing situation. You always have to be innovating, changing, revising and testing new marketing and sale methods and new products. If you’re not flowing and growing with your market, and getting better at what you do, you’re dying.

You have to get some new strategies in there. Whatever they are, they must include these basic principles:

1) Who is your target market?
2) What is your message – Is it clear and unique?
3) What’s your medium – How do you reach these people? Are you reaching the right people in an effective way?
4) What’s your backend system? Once you have the people in the door, how do you continue to make money with them and support them?

Write down MMMB: Market, Message, Medium and Backend.

If you’re not using those principles, you’re a wonderful person and I love you very much, but you suck at marketing and business, and I want you to be successful and happy and financially free.

Even if you’re just reading this and not thinking seriously about starting a business, imagine you had a specific problem that you could solve for a specific group of people. What would it be? What’s your MMMB?

Do this creative exercise just to challenge yourself and tell us what you think! You might find great ideas inside that you didn’t know were there if you take time to focus.

Also, yesterday I taught my newest signature Class: Zero To MultiMillionaire. You can watch the replay for up to 72 hours! Enjoy!

For Your Freedom,
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