the Slight Edge

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Motivation or inspiration

What’s the best way to get results? Is it to have motivation or to have inspiration? Well, from my perspective it is definitely inspiration, but you will need some motivation as well. What is the difference then?

Motivation is good to have in order to get you going, like taking that first step. Can be to actually get to the gym, or to start writing your post or maybe to start calling your prospects.  Motivation is mostly driven by fear: I must go to the gym or I will get fat, I must write that post otherwise my followers will let me down or I must make those calls to be able to pay my bills. Motivation is great short-term, but maybe not so great longterm. It will make results, but maybe just the results you need to get by and often not for long.

Inspiration is great, and will make you see grand visions, big goals and the perfect results. Inspiration is based on feelings and make you feel alive and ready to rock the world, but it tends to stay there unfortunately.

What I suggest is that you use them both in collaboration. You start by boosting up your inspiration with a lot of Why´s. Then start to think about what it can lead to, your dreams. And last boost up your motivation by thinking about what will happen if I don´t do anything.  This will lead you to have a thoughts mixed with emotions, inspiration mixed with motivation. The best thing is off course if you write it down to make it real and publish it to make it official, if you dare :-)

Then to get results, just think about one thing that you can do that will lead you closer to your dream. It can be anything, just a small research, a sketch or to take that first call. Just do one thing.

Then start thinking about the next thing you can do and do just one thing. As you go along you will get closer and closer step by step, and it won´t be hard.

Think about it as if you would plant a tree that slowly grows to become a wonder. You won´t see anything in the beginning, as long as it is in the ground. But when it comes up through the ground and get its sunlight, then you will see the results and then you will see it grow day by day.

Often we set big goals and think we can make it just by thinking about it or by making great plans and goals. But the fact is, that it is really hard to get there by share willpower. It is so easy to think you can do it all fast and then quit before you can reap the rewards from it.

To get more understanding about how you can take baby steps to overcome mountains, read my post and the book “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olson

Take care and grow, little by little

/Peter

 

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Applying “The Slight Edge”

In December last year I wrote a post about a great book, “The Slight Edge” by Jeff Olsen. This post has recently received good feedback and even a request on a follow up post. So today I will make a follow up post to “The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson”.

What is “The Slight Edge? To summarize it down to it’s core, you can describe it as actions that affects your own life’s scale. Are you moving up or down?

Applying The Slight Edge

A picture can say more than a thousand words. The above picture can be used as a map, a map to success that speaks for itself. There are 3 things in particular that stands out in this picture:

  • First we have the 5% versus 95%, which represents the number of successful versus unsuccessful people (not becoming or attaining what they really want and dream about etc).
  • Then we have the “Easy to do” versus the “Easy not to do”, that states the reason for successful results to be the summary of all the good things you actually do.
  • And last we have the core, YOUR MIND

When I started my journey, my only focus was money. But it did not take me long to realize that without working with my mind first, I would not see any successful progress. Greed and fear was constantly fighting to be in focus and thoughts constantly switched in between, causing catastrophic results.

When I started to work on myself, instead of working on every shiny object coming in my way, I finally started to understand how to proceed and how to bring meaning into my life. I had been wondering about life’s purpose since over 15 years, and now it just hit me like a lightning.

To wander without a purpose is like traveling without a map. You see something you like and just go there without a thought, all the time. Ending up going in circles without getting anywhere. Even though I had a goal, to make money, it was very hard to get there (not to say impossible).

But after cruising around, failing and making mistakes I eventually started to get some clarity to where I was heading and how I could get there. My goal was still to make money but with purpose shifted the goals got multiplied and divided into short term and long term. If you only have a long term goal you will have to wait so long to celebrate, the chance of giving up before that is huge. And if  you only have one goal, what will you do when you reach it? Make sure you have many goals to be able to celebrate the small successes along the way. And make sure to have many goals to always keep striving, don’t you ever get comfortable.

And it is actually here that the slight edge comes in as a life saver:

theslightedge disciplines

 

When you are working towards your small goals, big goals and towards your purpose you must use a system to survive and to get progress. A system to make constant improvements and growth. The slight edge is that system. By doing the small things every day and not giving up you get forward. By being disciplined and steadfast you will grow and grow beyond your imagination. Only the sky is the limit.

How do I start then?

Well. Let’s say that you know nothing, and don’t know where to start and don’t know anyone to ask. Then instead of starting by doing mistakes, as I did, you should read. You should read at least 3 different books about personal development in order to get life purpose, strength and confidence enough.

OK, so now we have goal. Read three books! Sounds fun and easy, could be done in a couple of months or so… Not to inspiring and not a simple task, ha? But if we change it to be in alignment with the slight edge, how would we do it then?

Well, then we would need a purpose first. For example: To learn more about our selves, to grow, to gain confidence and to get inspired.

Then we would need a way to do it: Read or listen to books and speeches about personal development.

Then we need a system to make it happen: Read at least 10 pages or listen 20 minutes every day.

OK, so what would happen then. The purpose makes me understand the real reason for doing this. The planned way make it possible. The system makes it fun, measurable,  successful, consistent and the goals makes it easy and possible to accomplish.

Can you understand the difference? Just to set one goal and try to reach it is not so easy, but if you do it the “Slight Edge way” it can be both easy and inspiring.

Next step can be to start writing down your ideas like I do. By writing at least one post a week, in a year I will have written more words than i would writing a novel. Hows that for training?

Or it can be taking on a challenge to break or start a habit. That is a perfect way to build some character and confidence. Could be done as a 30 day challenge. And if you apply a little of the slight edge with purpose, celebrating small successes and everyday tasks, you will have lots of fun doing it. Se these posts as examples: “30-day challenge“, “Next 30-day challenge: 30 days without nicotine as a start of my new addiction free life“.

Oops, time flies and I need to wrap this up,

Take care and stay hungry

/Peter

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Sleep Cycle – your way to a good nights sleep

I just found out how to sleep better, just by using another great app in my Iphone. Have you heard about Sleep Cycle? It’s free (I think still) and you can find it easily in the appstore.

Do you want to improve your sleep? Then you should try Sleep Cycle.

Sleep Cycle - your way to a good nights sleep 

The capture is in Swedish (since it is from my Iphone), but you can choose language…

Their official website: http://www.sleepcycle.com/

How does it work then? Well, you put it under your sheet in bed just above your pillow and it will measure your sleep cycles by the way you move during the night. This can be very helpful, because it is not just the number of hours that determines how well you sleep and how rested you feel waking up. It can be a number of things that has influence over the quality of your nightly hours.

For me it has become a game changer in many ways. First of all, it gets your attention and make you more aware of an area in your life that affects everything else. Just by thinking about it makes you reminded of its importance. And if you take next step, it will make all the difference.

Next step is to start analyzing your sleep patterns. What makes a good nights sleep, and what makes it bad?

What i started to do was to compare the different kind of nights and see if there was any patterns. My first discovery was that I always had a better night if I got to bed at a reasonable time in the evening, no matter how I slept in the morning. My best night were always when going to bed around 11 pm. As soon as it got past midnight, the night was ruined.

Next thing I discovered was the evening habits and the effect they had on my sleeping patterns. If I were sitting in front of the computer just before getting to bed, I had a long time getting down to “deep sleep”. The same thing actually happened if I watched an interesting tv-program or read a good book just before sleep. But if I instead spent the last half hour preparing and planning for tomorrow and went over the next day in my head, clearing my thoughts, before attempting to sleep. The curve went straight down to good deep sleep in minutes.

As I have said so many times in previous posts, like the post about one of my favorite books “The slight Edge by Jeff Olsen“, it is the small things that makes the biggest result. Just try to get aware of the little things you can change in your life that really doesn’t take any much effort to do. It is just a way of changing the way you think and the way you take responsibility for your everyday life.

Another example of that is to skip added sugar in your tea or coffee every day, like I am doing in my “30 day challenge“. That sugar is so unnecessary and will only cause bigger risk for heart problems in your future.

Just to let you know, I am not bragging about my enormous life here. It is in just as much of a mess a yours. I am doing this to become a better role model for my kids, to grow more as a person so I can share more and to inspire you to do the same. You need to find a good purpose for your life. When you do that, everything will be much clearer. Try listening to Tony Robbins for inspiration, he is awesome. Here is an example:

And yet, I have saved the best part!

How do you feel waking up in the morning when your alarm starts to wake you? Not to good I guess. But now there is a solution to this. And you might have guessed where I am aiming? Yes the Sleep Cycle takes care of that too. You just set a time-frame of half an hour when you wanna wake up and the Sleep Cycle wakes you up when you are sleeping the lightest within these 30 minutes. Imagine waking up when you are half awake already instead of when your in deed sleep. It makes a huge difference. And you can set your favorite tune or song to wake you up as well. Can it get any better?

Take care and sleep well…

Sleep Cycle – your way to a good nights sleep

 

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Life is a bitch, and then you die

How nice does that sound? Sorry for being provocative, but I wanna make a point here. If you continue to blame, to get angry, to get upset and to just let your life pass by without really try to make it a good one. Then “Life is a bitch, and then you die” will be you reality. It is so easy to take fast injections of energy, stimuli, and joy just to make you feel better. But what will that do for you in the end? It will only sink you down.

So, longterm is the game to play then. After reading the book “The slight edge” I started to see this and suddenly became aware of the little things you do to make a difference in the end.

The only problem now is where to start? I wanna do it all, but haven´t got the time or possibility to do it. Furthermore, I should not do it all since the risk for overdoing and crashing then becomes huge.

What has happened since last post then? Well exercise is now a habit of working out 2 to 3 times a week + walking daily at almost the double distance compared to past. Sleeping is improved and under constant review. Added sugar has been removed from tea and sour milk,  with the result of at least 10 fewer bits of sugar every day. This was made through my first 30 day challenge “No added sugar”. Constant reading and listening to good motivational and educational books as well as speeches has been enlightening to say the least. And every to do list of things that should be done and that could be done pretty easily gets done right away.

The only problem here is that I constantly  add new things and search for more stuff instead of focusing on the things I should concentrate on. So, from now on I will try to make the above work in excellence and stop adding new stuff. Will need to try getting all my thoughts and ideas down in writing and put the extra energy given on my children.

I love the evenings spent with my kids doing homework and having goodies

Life is a bitch and then youd die

 

All my different projects will be discussed separately in future posts, with tips on “apps” etc.

And by listening to my new favourite Tony Robbins I have now to set new goals for my life. Ones with more specific outcomes and more why.

Will come back to that in a new post as well I guess. As said before, many things to but so little time.

What I can reveal right now is my latest and greatest app on my Iphone that has been running for a month now showing every step I take. It is a stepcounter in you Iphone that lies in the background and tracks your every move. Inspiring to say the least…

Today I woke up feeling a bit heavy since it´s monday, got this as a first message. Talk about getting strength and starting to feel happiness suddenly.

Life is a bitch and then you die

I can recommend you all to get this app, its cheap and great. Just search for Moves.

Take care out there:

/Peter

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Let us make this year even better than the last one

Happy new year to you all..

.Happy new year

Let us make this year even better than the last one!!!

For me personally, I can say that I had the best year since my kids were born.

And why is that you may ask, well it´s because I finally started to take care of myself and think ahead. It is so easy to be living in the past and just live one day at the time not caring about the future.

But what happens then? Nothing, life goes by and it feels comfortable. You may even enjoy those little extra treatments of food, candy, luxury spending and not to forget all those lovely lazy days.

But what happens then in the long run? You will not enjoy it for long when your health starts to get affected and when your bank accounts are getting emptied. Then you will get depressed and urge for more “treatments” just to keep you happy. And so the spiral goes on in a never ending drowning hole…

But what can we do instead? I don´t wanna make my life miserable just to get better later on…

Start with the little things. As someone wise said “simple is better”. Make it simple and do it small everyday instead of trying to make it all happen at once. You will never succeed is you expect results immediately. What do you think happens to all the people that wins big in the lottery? Most go broke again, some cant handle it and just a few get happy. And why is that you may wonder? Because they did not earn  it, they never had to fight for it. Did you ever as a kid steal candy? If you did, you know it just didn’t taste as good as the earned and bought one, right?

But if you have a desire to change, to make things better in life. Can you do it? Yes you can do it, and you will make it happen if you just keep on working on your dreams one day at a time. But remember, it is not the goal that is the satisfaction. It is all the little successes and victories along the way. Believe me, because I started this journey a year ago and I still haven’t got much closer to my goal even though it feels like I’m already there.

My problem was that I had no clue on where to start or how to do it. I just decided that enough is enough and it’s time to do something useful instead of wasting time and money on gaming and gambling. So I started by searching the internet and boy did I get screwed again and again. I did not know that it could be so easy so I just over complicated everything and was searching for instant results all the time. But you do not have to do the same mistakes as I did. You can just step on the right path and get going instantly without spending a lot of time and cash for nothing. Well, it was not for nothing since I now know so much more and have learnt many lessons. I also know that I will never be able to sell stuff on the Internet that everyone is trying to make you. I might still recommend stuff I like but never for the purposes of getting rich. That is not for me and I strongly advise you to stay away as well.

Oh, falling out of subject here sorry. Back to you and me, and our journey towards being better and happier…

After reading some of the books recommended below, and trying it our for myself, I can now truly say that the journey begins with a desire,  continues with a goal and takes off with daily actions.

Take health for example. The most important and the easiest to start with, since it is so easy and so important to get results. A couple of daily/weekly suggestions:

  • Sleep regularly. Try to go to sleep the same time every night and try to get up at the same time every morning. Measure how much sleep you need to feel rested and have that as a goal. Will probably decrease if you work on the following suggestions…
  • Exercise daily, start with sit ups and push ups. Just a couple to start with and then increase slowly.
  • Make a decision every time you start to eat or drink. Is this good for me, or is it just instant gratification?
  • If/when you are up to it: Workout or run 2-3 times a week. Start slowly and enhance as you get stronger

Next area is your personal development:

  • Start reading books every day. Books about personal development or books that show you how to reach your goals. If you just read 10 pages every day you will have read several books by the end of your first year.
  • Listen to inspiring audios or watch inspiring videos every day on you downtime, going to work, out walking, doing house cleaning etc. Available on YouTube or Ted.com for example.
  • Stop wasting to much time watching television, gaming or gambling. It is not good for you.

The last but not least area is off course finances:

  • Start by putting aside a small amount from your paycheck every month and see if you can spare it. Then increase that amount every month until you find your limit. Put it on a separate savings account with good interest rate and you will see it grow.  I might come up with some investment suggestions later on…
  • Make a decision every time you buy something, is this really useful or is it just for instant gratification (same as for food or drink)
  • Keep an open mind for Ideas. Maybe you can come up with something unique?

Then there are the social area which I will not go into today because it will come naturally once the others are being worked on, and because it will be talked upon in other ways and in other posts. Like “is anger you worst enemy” , “useful little phrases” , “quality time” etc.

So how to start then? Well, start with your desires. Write them down and make some goals out of them. The goals need to be precise and measurable. Two of my goals as examples:

  • By June I’m going to the beach without a t-shirt, and feel good about it.
  • In five years I will have the choice to work as an employed or not, because my income on the side will be as big or bigger than my paycheck.

I also have a desire to become a personal coach of some kind but have not been able to formalize the goal for that yet. And then there is the retirement desire. How will my life be when I retire? Yet to come…

Well, I think that sums it up for today.

Please write me a comment and join me on Facebook or Google+

Take care and burn with desire for the better

/Peter

Books to read that I recommend:

The slight edge

Think and grow rich

Secret of the Millionaires mind

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The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Last week a dear friend of mine gave me a tip on a great book she was currently reading. She encouraged me to read the Slight Edge by Jeff Olson, because it might change it all…

It did not take long before I started to read, and boy did I get stuck or what! The best reading I had encountered this year by far.

The Slight Edge is all about how to approach you own life. We are actually living it, so why not make it good? By daily doing the easy little things that makes you move forward in life you can accomplish great things in the long run. For example, read 10 pages of a “good” book every day and you will have the knowledge from 10 “good” books in just a year. Start making 10 push-ups every day, and then increase a little every week. How many pushups do you think can be made then in a year? And how do you think that will affect your body? Imagine that you just add some sit ups and stretching as well, and when feeling stronger maybe add some regular outdoor exercise. What would happen to your body then? The possibilities are endless.

There is a lot of discussions about doing what 95% of all people would not do, because there are only 5% that succeeds in fulfilling their goals and live a successful life. Most people quit, because they want to see the results instantly. But the trick is to endure and be patient enough to understand and see the long term goal and benefits.

The Slight Edge was actually perfect for me because it wraps up everything I have been doing this year and gives me the strenght and courage to continue. Last year  in december I decided to quit gaming and gambling, as well as nicotine. To start doing some good with life again, to start moving forward again. For over 10 years everything had been about the kids and about work. It had been so easy just to flee reality with games or tv…

So last year I decided to start over and began by searching the internet for information about trading and making money online. It turned out that I was not the only one. Everyone seemed to be on the same hunt and everyone seemed to be fooled in one way or another. All kind of trading was tried out, but emotions made it too hard. A better way to begin seemed to be by joining Empower Network, which I did. There I found a lot of good educations and there I started blogging. Unfortunately everything was about sales, and that was  both a disappointment as well as “not for me”.

So far I have only found two good things, but the Tube Cash Code is also about sales and that seems to be against my philosophy so there is only Better Living left. But if I can keep up the good work and continue to explore and learn I might find more. If I could only find one good thing every year, then my retirement would become a dream.

Join me in my struggle and share your visions. What are you aiming at and what works for you? Do you have any suggestions for me?

Next thing I am wondering about is if there is any possibility of getting a robot working for you in trading forex or stocks? Is there anyone out there actually working. Is “Fap Turbo 2”  working? How do I manage my virtual server?

Hmm, there are a lot of questions to get answers on and this is what I will dedicate next year to. By taking babysteps everyday and learn it all piece by piece.

Please make comments and join me here or at Facebook, Google+ etc.

Take care and carry on,

/Peter

Cover of "The Slight Edge"

Cover of The Slight Edge