Every so often I re-read a magical book that helps calibrate my mental attitude and makes sure that I’m fine-tuned for success. This book isn’t very long and in I talk about it in this episode of my podcast. There’s a video in the show notes that lets you listen to the book for free. But I highly recommend picking up a copy as seeing it in print is also very beneficial.

The book is called “The Magic Of Believing” by Claude Bristol. The words really tell the whole tale.

Believe you can and YOU CAN. Believe you can’t and YOU CAN’T.

 

Bristol wrote this bestseller in 1948 and died in 1951. But it has remained alive because of its readers. Phyllis Diller attributed her career success to finding and reading this book over and over. Hearing  the comedienne’s story about how people told her she couldn’t become a comedienne, is no laughing matter. Diller turned to “The Magic Of Believing” to develop her own personal strength to persevere and find success.

The principles and simplicity of the book make it the kind you can devour and within just a few pages your mental attitude takes a shift for the better.

Even if you’re the kind of person who wakes up smiling from ear to ear, this book will come in handy when things start to unravel as they do for all of us from time to time.

If you’ve set goals at the start of the year and you’re finding they’re all wrung out like a towel after a sweaty workout, then get ready to find your juice and become re-energized.

Here are 3 Tips To Keep On Keepin’ On: Your Goal Is Attainable… just take action!

Exercise every day, even when you don’t feel like it. I have found a direct correlation between exercise and my mental attitude. The numerous entrepreneurs I interview on my show seem to have the same attitude. Mental mantras like Bristol shares in his book are vital but without keeping your body fit, you’re likely to fall off the positivity wagon.

Science tells us that when our mind and body are in alignment, the world seems a better place. Exercise helps you focus. It generates ideas, relieves stress, helps you improve motor skills and, here’s the big one: STAMINA.

Your business won’t thrive without stamina and your workouts will drag without it. Thankfully, the solution is simple: exercise! Even if it’s a great day. Even if it’s a busy day. Even if it’s a bad day! In fact, the last one is all the more reason to workout.

If you want a bigger brain to power your business, consider this from a study in the British Journal of Sports Something as simple as cardiovascular exercise where your heart is pumping and you’re getting sweaty, increases the size of the hippocampus which is the brain area that’s involved in verbal memory and learning.

Make a list of empowering actions. One of the best ways to keep on keepin’ on is to remind yourself of the empowering actions you can undertake, get them done, and cross them off your list.

Sometimes getting stuck is nothing more than running out of ideas. Usually, getting stuck comes from being afraid or depressed. It’s actually the lack of activity that causes the fear and depression.  When we’re active we’re less likely to feel fear and depression.

One empowering thought can lead to many successful actions.

But it’s not just any activity. This isn’t the time to start drinking heavily at bars. Instead, it’s empowering action steps that will catapult you out of a state of being stuck and into action.

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

Bust Procrastination with this method: Think It… Voice It… Envision It… Get It Done!

I wrote about this in my book, “No Worries! 5 Steps To PEACE, even in Chaos. Using a simple model like this works hand in hand with Bristol’s belief system to power you to take action.

Here’s how it works.

If you have a proposal due and you’re procrastinating—stuck in the “dreading-to-do-this mentality—then try shifting your mindset. For just a few minutes allow yourself to fully think about the proposal.

Then say aloud what you will accomplish. Attaching words to the picture solidifies the task and helps to shed light on what needs to be done. But often fear of the unpleasant difficulty of doing it creates paralysis. So, quickly move to the next step.

Envision it DONE. See and feel the success of accomplishment. Bask in this feeling so that it fills your soul. It’s this good feeling that will spring you into action.

In order to carry a positive action we must develop here a positive vision. –Dalai Lama

Phoebe Chongchua is a multimedia Brand Journalist who loves to tell stories, craft brand strategies, and help brands gain exposure. She’s a Top 50 Podcaster to Follow.   On her Internet radio show, The Brand Journalism Advantage podcast, she shares how to gain a Competitive Advantage.  Give it a listen, you’re sure to take away some great branding tips.