Category Archives: Positive Mindset Secrets
Train Your Brain to Be Positive
We are so surrounded by negativity and bad news these days that it seems to be increasingly difficult to remain positive. And yet negativity gets us nowhere. When we focus on what’s gone wrong, judge or criticize others, get worked up over small things, put ourselves down, doubt our abilities or expect failure, all we do is perpetuate the vicious circle of negativity, with the effect that we feel even more negative and stressed than before. This impacts upon our work, our relationships with others, our confidence, the quality of our decisions, our happiness, and our whole attitude towards life.
So, what if we could beat those negative habits and develop a healthier, more positive approach to life? It is not always easy, but by following even one of the following three steps, you will notice a dramatic improvement in your approach towards life. In fact you might be amazed at what you can achieve with your new-found upbeat and positive attitude!
1.Become aware of your thoughts
Make a conscious effort to notice what your inner voice is telling you. Every time you notice a positive or negative thought, note it down. At the end of the day, take a good look. Becoming aware of our thoughts is a powerful tool, and you may be shocked to find just how much negativity dominates your thoughts. Do you constantly criticize others, do you always put yourself down? Or do you spend your day thinking good thoughts about yourself and all those around you. If so, congratulations – keep up the good work!
2.Transform negative thoughts into positive ones
This is the fun part! Make a list of each negative thought as it pops up. Place it on the left of the page. On the right, write down how that thought could be seen differently and more positively. This is also an opportunity to go a little crazy – get your creative juices flowing, come up with some absurd ideas and have some fun. You’ll start feeling better almost immediately.
3.Focus on the positive
Once you’ve transformed your negatives into positives, decide to focus on the positives. This is simply a question of developing a new habit. Try it out for one day – then for one week, and longer. Don’t worry if the odd negative thought pops up. Just notice it, transform it into something more positive, and move on. This technique requires a conscious effort to break free from your old habits. It’s often said that it takes 21 days to form a new habit – so within just one month you could be seeing real changes to your life.
Positivity is a habit, which means you can learn to see the positive in everything, no matter what. Your subconscious mind can’t tell the difference between what is true and what is not, so it will focus on what your conscious mind tells it to. Make a decision to be positive today and you will be amazed at the difference it brings to your life.
Susan Andrewes is a leading career and confidence coach based in Brussels, Belgium. She coaches clients throughout Europe.
The Power of Positive Reinforcement
There has been much written about positive reinforcement as a psychology for changing performance. It is a technique both used in animal training and child development, which now has proven as effective for use as part of human resource management in business tool. As a business manager, how can one apply and monitor positive reinforcement?
First understand that everyone enjoys being recognized when they do good work. Only pointing out when someone does something wrong and never acknowledging what is done correctly can lead to negative results. Employees who are given praise for doing things right or for progress in performance improvement will work harder to do an even better job. Employees who are not told when they do good work and are corrected or ridiculed when they do bad work, will only do the work that is required to stay out of trouble in the future. These employees can enjoy their work, improve their attitude, or see a reason to work harder because only bad performance is acknowledged.
With this understanding of human behavior, managers must begin to modify the approach to employee recognition. Managers must notice when an employee does something right and give them simple and sincere praise for what they did. Tell the employee the specific thing they did right and how that helps the department or company. Let the employee know that management has confidence in their ability to continue to perform well and be innovative in their approach to their own tasks. This positive reinforcement of the employee’s effort should occur as soon as possible after the job well done is noticed. Frequent, sincere, and positive praise can go a long way to getting employees to perform at their best.
Giving positive reinforcement does not mean that what is done incorrectly by an employee is to be ignored. Instead, it means to recognize what portion of the work was done correctly first, then follow-up with what can be done better the next time and why the performance or work result was not quite what was expected. If this means the manager must take some of the blame for not giving detailed instructions for the desired behavior or result, they should do so in an apologetic manner and then proceed to explain how the manager personally will try to do better. This is an excellent time for the manager to let the employee know they still have faith in them but need their help and cooperation by their asking questions if the manager’s instructions are not clear. This allows both the employee and manager to get better at communication, which results in improved task completion. Remember mangers need to give positive results first, then follow-up with what improvements are needed, apologize if necessary, and then reinforce what was done right again. When working the improvement or follow-up statement do not use the word “but” as this word often negates anything said before it and the employee may stop listening as they know a negative is coming next.
Understanding that everyone enjoys being acknowledged when they do good work is a typical human response should help improve performance. Business managers need to learn how and when to apply positive reinforcement when monitoring improvements to work behavior or task completion. Managers should always consider the positives rather than only mentioning when employees may be performing beneath the desired level. Positive reinforcement could be the key to better results in human resource management, which should lead to better business results as well.
Shirley Fine Lee, author of “R.A!R.A! A Meeting Wizard’s Approach”, has worked as a training and development specialist since 1986, and an independent consultant since 2000. She has extensive experience, helping organizations with their team building, training development, meeting facilitation, presentation delivery, and other communication needs. This work involves developing productivity tools, presenting workshops, and writing. For instance, she has authored numerous training manuals and guides, on a wide variety of topics. Her programs include time management, getting organized, problem solving, and team building. Sign up for Shirley’s free productivity newsletter on her website or visit her leadership blog. Find out more about her and options she provides on her website at http://www.shirleyfinelee.com.
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Choose a Positive Environment
I used to have a sign on my face that said “Fools come to me.” I can remember a time in my life when gossip was a form of entertainment for me. I would thrive on the negative gossip of who was doing what, where and how. I couldn’t wait to go to the next person and tell the story. It was like living in a constant soap opera. The more I got caught up in the gossip, the more I attracted it from other people. Eventually I realized how wrong I was to participate in this behavior and it is still hard for me at times to remove myself from it. Recently, I have lost some close friends because I no longer choose to participate in the negative talk about other people.
Many times I have been stung by gossip myself. People talking about me, telling lies and sometimes telling the hurtful truth behind my back but in the end it is a suffering pain to feel people talking negatively about you.
As the Bible states, “Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you.” This is a very true statement. When you walk with the positive, faithful people you will attract a positive faithful life and when you run with the negative, destructive people you will attract a negative life. Spend time with positive, successful people who will encourage you to reach for new heights. Make sure that people are building you up instead of tearing you down. And don’t be jealous of other people’s success and happiness. I always love to hear peoples positive stories, whether they have received a promotion, gotten their dream home or had a great event occur in their lives; whatever it may be positive, I want to hear it. It reconfirms the same positive experience can happen to me.
Although I have lost some negative people in my life, I would rather have fewer friends who are positive, loving influences than be influenced by a large group of negative friends. Everyone does have love in them, and it is not my place to judge, I just do not want to be involved in anything that could hurt someone else. Some people like my old self do not understand the repercussions of gossip and negative energy. They have not been taught or they might not be open to it in their lives at the moment. I want the best life for me and everyone else in this world! And if each of us pursues a positive life the better the world will be.
Make a difference and choose a positive pathway everyday!
Melissa Carter Brewster
http://www.livelifeblessed.com Trying to make a difference in this world one word at a time!
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The Power of Positive Feelings
The quality of your life in this moment is determined by how you feel about it.
Whether we do it consciously or unconsciously, we create our experience of life.
If you’re under the impression that the power of positive thinking is a useful skill then you’ll enjoy this insight into a more profound and essential approach to achieving sustainable positive results in your life.
If you are one of those who disregard positive thinking due to its one sidedness, superficiality or inability to affect the underlying issues that are responsible for our problems in life, then this article is most definitely for you too.
Our emotional feelings, whether we’re aware of them or not, are the foundation of our thoughts and behaviours, and therefore our results. Emotions are our signal to take action in a certain way or to abstain from inappropriate action.
Emotions are the energy associated with our beliefs. Our past experiences, especially those from the first 10 years of our life, determine our core beliefs. These beliefs become self fulfilling prophecies that when combined with powerful feelings are responsible for attracting the people and circumstances that we experience in our life.
No amount of positive thinking will do much to change a negative core belief. Therefore many people who use positive affirmations and visualizations to manifest their goals don’t experience their desired results. The reason for this is that they have beliefs that are not in alignment with their superimposed thoughts. It’s like trying to steer a train by asking someone in the last car to change the direction of the entire train. It simply won’t work.
The current state of your life – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually along with your personal and professional relationships, finances and belongings are an indication of what you believe.
To overcome the unconscious programming that prevents you from being successful, you may want to update any limiting beliefs to new appropriate ones that are aligned with the results that you want to experience.
Experiencing the external results that we want in life begins by changing our inner model of the world to match this. This means that when we take control of our beliefs and feelings, we will then be in control of our results.
You can predict your outer life tomorrow by looking at your inner self today. You can change what’s in front of you by changing what’s inside you.
Question the perspectives, attitudes and behaviours that don’t serve you in achieving your desires: How have these adopted beliefs benefited you in some way? Where do they come from? What is the constructive lesson, or what can you become aware of now that changes everything?
No matter what you’ve ever been told about yourself, and no matter what you think you are – You Are More Than That. Believe it and you will experience it!
Thinking that only through some kind of achievement or acquisition we can feel a certain way is the cause of hardship and disappointment for many. The reason for this is because nothing outside of us can ever provide us with what’s most important to us. Only you are responsible for your feelings.
Become the conscious creator of your results by answering this question: What do I need to believe about myself and my capabilities in order to enjoy this moment and create a bright future?
Appropriate beliefs and lifestyle choices will assist you to achieve the feelings which cultivate thoughts and actions that lead to positive results. Begin today – it’s never too late to become who you are meant to be.
Those who fail to think, speak and behave resourcefully are the ones who wait to first feel that way. It is true that we can induce a feeling by thinking, speaking and behaving in a way that matches the emotional state that we desire, however there is another way to more rapidly elicit a positive state.
Since our mind and body is ultimately the same thing, what we do physically influences our mental and emotional state. Therefore a healthy and fit physiology assists in experiencing a positive state of mind. Similarly a physiology that resembles the state that you wish to be in is the expediency to achieving it.
There are no un-resourceful people, there are only un-resourceful states.
The quickest way to change your state is to change your physiology. An effective way of achieving this is to either take a few deep breaths or get up and move about. For this reason Breathwork and/or exercise are prescribed as natural ways to overcome depression and negative emotions.
Have you noticed how a distressed or depressed person holds their body? To switch from depression to happiness; lift your chin, look slightly upwards, relax your shoulders, take a deep breath into your belly and let it out slowly while imagining yourself smiling and thinking a positive thought.
This skill is a useful way to break distressing or depressing patterns of thought and behaviour.
Become attractive from the inside by asking yourself: “Who do I need to become in order to attract the people and circumstances that I want in my life”?
How will you feel when you’ve become this person? Imagine fully becoming this person for a moment. Now adjust your physiology and expression to that of the person you have become. And now, in this resourceful state ask yourself: “What’s the most important and productive thing I can do right now”?
Go with your first impulse and follow your bliss!
Always make sure that any action or goal setting is done in a resourceful state. The energy of your present state is the feeling that stimulates resourceful thinking and behaviour.
Finally, take some time each day to count your blessings. Feel sincere gratitude for what you’ve got, as this is a powerful way of accessing the feeling that attracts more of the good stuff.
Remember, you create your experience of life, so make it a fantastic one!
Written by Jevon Dängeli – NLP / HNLP Trainer & Wellness Coach – http://www.neuro-linguistics.net
Positive Attitude and Entrepreneurs
If you are an entrepreneur, then you need to keep a positive attitude. This is a must for you. You will never be able to achieve your goals as an entrepreneur if you don’t own a positive outlook towards life, no matter how much technical skills and qualification do you posses. At the time of the start of a business, every entrepreneur has the motivation and the passion to achieve his goals. But the real test of your attitude comes when there are any troubles or problems in the business. If you are a person with a weak will power then you will take these obstacles as a personal failure. You will feel that the problems cannot be solved and it is better to quit as you cannot overcome them. But this is the wrong attitude to have. Rather, this is the time when you as an entrepreneur must keep a positive attitude towards life.
Because a positive look on the circumstances will tell you that it is very natural for any entrepreneur to make mistakes. You should rather treat your mistakes as an opportunity to learn and gain from this experience. You should try to learn from your mistakes and not lose hope. Instead of losing heart and quitting the business, you should try to face the problems and find a solution. If you keep a positive attitude then you will show extraordinary potency and temperament for working towards your goals till the end. You will be able to see things and situations with a positive point of view and have the power to pick yourself up on your feet. Doesn’t matter how hard you fell.
As an Entrepreneur, you more often than not will have to work with a team. In order to keep your team motivated, you must have a positive attitude. This is because if the team works with it then it functions well and becomes more efficient in their work. Therefore, you should keep it towards your work and also try to keep the work atmosphere as positive as you can because it will help you in achieving your goals faster. Therefore, if you are an entrepreneur and want to achieve your goals fast, then you should adopt a positive attitude immediately.
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Positive Camping Holiday Experiences
Camping trips allow a wonderful way for you to spend time. But that’s not to say that they don’t occasionally go wrong. Some of us have probably experienced the more negative aspects that can be associated with such holidays.
It’s clearly the case that most of us would wish to avoid any problems. If you’re looking to create a very positive experience then it can certainly pay to spend time doing a little preparation. This needn’t be hard work, but it can make sure that everything is in place for you to succeed.
As a starting point, it makes sense to think about the particular needs of your family. This is suggested as the starting point because we all have different requirements. Some people like their camping trips to be very relaxing, while others take a more active approach.
Consider what is best your family. Will you be wanting to spend time walking and may be taking part in outdoor pursuits? Maybe this isn’t your idea of fun. It may be that you don’t have definite ideas on what you are aiming for. Some people simply like the idea of spending time as a family.
Planning can help you to focus on achieving what you really want. It can also help you to avoid disasters. In particular, planning in advance should ensure that you don’t forget to pack vital pieces of camping equipment. It is even worth drawing up a list of individual items.
Why risk the potential effects that failing to plan can lead to? If you want to have a really positive experience then it is clearly important to focus on the key aspects and to ensure that you have all of the camping accessories that you need. It’s always sad to see people who don’t take this approach.
The reality is that it’s quite easy to have a great holiday. The complete failure to plan could lead to problems.
Investigate buying camping toilets and other camping accessories with this author’s other camping articles online. This article may be used by any website publisher, though this resource box must always be included in full.
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The Pure Power Of Positive Conflict
Sad but true – life inside the cube is often characterized by strife. Negative conflict, whether based on interpersonal differences or political maneuvering, abounds. Ironically, for organizations to step up and reach their potential they need more conflict, not less. Here’s the hook – we need more positive conflict and less negative conflict. Negative conflict is overly emotional, usually unnecessarily personal, and based on opinions and bad assumptions. Negative conflict, not surprisingly, is almost never associated with positive outcomes at work. Positive conflict is more honestly rational than emotional, usually based on real issues not interpersonal differences, and rooted in objective facts. Want real innovation and improvement? You need three things: more positive conflict (and less negative conflict), better conflict management skills in the organization, and a solid “no jerk” rule.
More positive and less negative conflict
These are separate but closely related ideas. Let’s start with the negative. If you’re a leader and you genuinely care about improving your group and organization, from now on you personally shoulder the burden to call out – in real time, on the fly – all clear instances of unproductive negative conflict. See it, step in and discuss it, and clearly state to those involved why this is an example of unproductive negative conflict that cannot be a part of our work culture moving forward. Be kind, be positive, be helpful – yes, but do it. If you see the instances of ugly negative conflict pop up and you do nothing to deal with it, you will not have a work environment capable of capitalizing on positive conflict. Assuming negative examples are in check, positive conflict is principled debating, questioning of assumptions, fact based sparring. As a leader, you encourage and facilitate this positive and aggressive form of dialogue. Don’t forget – you need to be questioned too, your comments are not off limits when it’s time to get into debate mode.
Hone those conflict management skills
If the goal is to maximize the contribution of positive conflict, you have to arm your team to correctly deal with positive conflict. There are many internal and external approaches, but the point is simple: most people are not naturally wired to effectively navigate conflict filled situations. The good news is that these are skills that can be quickly acquired. Training of this sort will improve your team’s ability to keep conversations positive and fact-based, to call out unacceptable emotional levels, to correctly identify and prioritize whether a given issue is worth the effort needed for positive conflict, to get the correct people involved in the conversation, specify tactics for safely asserting one’s point and for honestly validating others’ points, etc. For well chosen employees, a few days spent working through these tactics via reading, discussions and experiential activities can pay huge dividends for your team.
No jerks allowed
It is, however, not just about your team – it’s about you. Any time you allow one or more people to significantly and/or persistently deviate from a major behavioral norm (such as shunning negative conflict in order to build positive conflict), you have wasted your entire effort. When principled members of your team watch you allow one or two individuals continue to engage in negative conflict with no consequences, you’re toast. If you want to be serious, you can’t play favorites or turn your back on conflict. The rule must be clear and respected by all – no jerks allowed. Negative emotions spread like a virus at work. One lone jerk, allowed to be a jerk at will, will spoil the morale in a group quickly.
In short, if you will strongly encourage your direct reports to begin enforcing the ban on negative conflict, find some resources to help the entire group build some tried and true conflict management skills, and if you personally will model the correct behaviors by not allowing any jerks to flourish, you will have made great strides towards realizing the pure power of positive conflict for your organization.
Dr. Dewett is a nationally recognized leadership expert, professor, author, professional speaker and consultant specializing in all aspects of organizational life. As quoted in the New York Times, BusinessWeek, CNN, the Chicago Tribune, MSNBC and elsewhere. He is the author of Leadership Redefined. Podcasts, blog, free newsletter and more at http://www.drdewett.com Copyright 2009 TVA Inc.
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Keep a Positive Balance
A Teachable Moment
If there was ever a teachable moment around your relationship with money, this is it.
Markets go up and obviously, down, leaving very little room these days for Magical Thinking. You can’t control the economy and you can’t always predict the market, so why not use this time to practice creating a richer life right now?
As a cellist I learned that no matter how accomplished you are, you still need to practice every day (some days are better than others). And so it is with creating a positive balance with your money. As a musician’s state of being determines what kind of music comes out of their instrument, it is no different with money. Most of your results around money, good and not so good, are a reflection of what is happening in your inner world.
Who do you choose to be with money?
When you look at the structure of how anything is built, you start with the foundation. In the case of you and money, that foundation is based on who you are around it, as money itself is an inanimate object. Its power comes from what ever meaning you choose to imbue it with. Notice the word “choose”, which is very important to recognize as you always have a choice as to how you are going to feel and act with money.
While the economy finds its equilibrium, it’s imperative you stay focused on your own goals and maintain a positive balance. Are you living your life based on your values? And how well do you use your time, energy and money to reflect them?
I Need…. I Want
Take a look at your spending plan again. Ask yourself which expenses are “needs” and which are “wants”. Need = Must Have and Want = Would Like to Have. I never recommend that people live a “needs-based” lifestyle, as feelings of deprivation can be the root cause behind certain money issues that don’t serve you well; from Overshopping and Debting to Underspending.
When you feel deprived you may look to cover up feelings of emptiness inside yourself with such behaviors, locking yourself into a vicious cycle of overspending, debting and probably, overworking. When sitting on the fence as to whether something is a “want” or “need”, ask yourself these questions; “Is this just fillling a void in my life?” “Can I wait to purchase this?” While certain “things” might elevate you into a better state of feeling for a while, it might not have the same lasting effect as putting that money towards your retirement account, a project that holds importance for you or a shared experience with friends and family.
These days are particularly stressful so try to remain mindful of how you spend your time and energy. Be clear with yourself about what and who matters in your life and remember that maintaining a positive balance comes with daily practice.
About The Author: Helen Kim is a Money Mentor. Her Free Ezine gives articles and tips as to how you can gain clarity around your relationship to money and start making conscious financial decisions, allowing you to grow not only your bank account, but your self. Subscribe for FREE by sending a blank email to: info@YourMoneyRelationship.com or at http://www.YourMoneyRelationship.com
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Think Positive All the Time
Sometimes you may feel like the world is against you and no matter what you seem to do nothing ever comes out the way you want it to. With all the stresses and strains of life during what are now difficult times it is understandable that you might find it difficult to feel positive about things but why don’t you opt for a change and see what happens.
Bringing a little bit of positivity into your life is a good thing and can help get you out of your depressed state. If you think negatively the chances are that only negative things will happen to you. It’s very important that you make sure that you have time to yourself. Try to get yourself organized at home and make a list of the things that you have always wanted to do but have never got around to doing.
If you can’t stand clutter and feel that this is draining your positivity then make an effort to tackle this head on and rid yourself of things that you don’t really use anymore. At the office do the same with your desk and have a sort out of your inbox at work. A clearer mind will help you think positively.
Surrounding yourself with positivity will be great for your well-being so get out the photos that make you smile, frame them and hang them up where you will see them. If flowers or plants make you happy buy some or dedicate some time to your garden so that you can see them through your bedroom or kitchen window. If the rooms in your home are a little drab then why not invest in some brightly colored throws to cheer the place up?
Do you wake you wake up on a Monday morning dreading to go to work? Is there anything you can do to cheer up your routine? Why don’t you set your alarm so you can wake up to your favorite song? When your alarm goes off why don’t you try jumping out of bed on the first ring and don’t press snooze. Have your breakfast and spend a little more time on your appearance. You will feel a lot better about yourself if you do.
Have a clear out of your closet and take a look at things that you don’t really like or feel comfortable wearing and throw them out. Try to smarten up the way you dress if you think this will make you feel more confident and positive. Spend more time ironing your shirts and why not try wearing cufflinks to make a statement about yourself. Cufflinks are great accessories that can turn even the dullest suit into a success. Take a look at your ties, do you think wearing a brightly colored tie might make you feel more positive?
If it’s a rainy day try not to let it get you down, instead tackle it head on and invest in a fun and colorful umbrella that will brighten up your day as well as passersby. If you enjoy listening to music and it makes you feel happy they why not invest in an Ipod or another Mp3 player that you can listen to on your way to work.
Adam English invites you to take a look at the latest wedding cufflinks offered at Cufflinks.co.uk. Specialists in novelty cufflinks, men’s unique gifts and accessories – you’re certain to find something to your liking.
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Become a Millionaire by Developing a Millionaire Mindset
Aside from those who are born with inherited riches, successful individuals did dream and strive hard to achieve their present status in life. To become a millionaire is a dream everyone kept nourishing in the deepest recesses of their heart. Nevertheless, how to become a millionaire is another matter that is not so easy to accomplish. It is not enough that you dream of it and try to devise ways. A millionaire mindset does not just focus on the dream itself but on how to create wealth effectively. Creating wealth can be done in numerous ways, however; it will succeed only if you have the motivation integrated with a positive outlook in life.
There is no way you can become a millionaire in a day or in so short a time. Everything that is big can only be achieved through constant accumulation. This applies to any attempts of becoming a millionaire. Online or offline, there are various opportunities anyone can adopt to answer the quest on how to become a millionaire. As long as you exercise the millionaire mindset, it is not impossible to create wealth regardless of your age. So many young individuals online were able to achieve their dreams of having millions right before their retirement. While the mind is still capable of pushing the body to work harder, there is always the opportunity waiting to be grabbed.
Developing the millionaire mindset is very important to become a millionaire. Once your mind is set, the rest of your being follows suit. A millionaire is not motivated by money but by its desire. A desire born from a positive attitude in life shapes your mentality as well as you emotions and health. This attitude will always produce a pleasant and successful relationship with people and business acquaintance. Instead of questioning how to become a millionaire, you end up growing millions in the process. Your mindset on becoming a millionaire leads you through the many ways on how to create wealth.
You can stop dreaming to become a millionaire instead start processing your attitude to become one. Stop following the various opinions and views on how to become a millionaire because their process might be on some level helpful, but not altogether. Certain process applies to distinct people, however; it does not mean that their path is your path as well. Develop your own millionaire mindset and from there create wealth. Always be happy, appreciate your own, and never compare yourself with others through the number of their achievements. You are a unique individual with your own talents and skills.
Simply work on developing a positing mindset and you will end up a happy and successful individual. You become a millionaire once you discover within yourself the attitude that gives you the drive on how to become a millionaire. It is only a matter of loving yourself, accepting your faults, correcting your mistakes, acting responsively, optimism, loving your work, and above all loving yourself. Appreciate even your smallest success for therein lies the beginning of the greater achievements. Only by having a millionaire mindset will you be able to create wealth.
To read more about become wealthy the smart way over time and obtain a Millionaire Mindset, just visit Become a Millionaire
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