In today’s materialistic society most of us have been conditioned to make snap judgments about a person’s level of success based on the ’status badges’ that they own and display.

These status badges include the sunglasses they own, the watch on their arm, the car they drive, the handbag they carry and the shoes they wear.

The big problem with this ‘Status Badge Game’ is that in an attempt to look successful to others, many people fall into the trap of purchasing status badges instead of managing their money wisely in order to achieve true financial independence.

One of the best decisions you can ever make for yourself and your family is to elect not to play the Status Badge Game.

Let’s take a look at an example that illustrates what this means in the real world.

Cameron was looking to purchase a new pair of sunglasses. After looking around the local shopping center he identified three options:

Cameron began his decision making process by excluding the cheap sunglasses because they did not have a UV Rating and he was not prepared to compromise his health to save a few dollars.

The Oceangear glasses were sturdy, had the highest UV Protection Rating possible and came with a 1 year guarantee. To Cameron’s way of thinking these glasses represented good value for money.

The Monage glasses were also well made and had the highest UR Protection Rating. However, they were also $210.05 more expensive than the Oceangear glasses. Cameron realized that this difference in price was the cost of the ’status badge’ associated with wearing the Monage brand.

Since Cameron and his wife had decided not to play the Status Badge Game, he bought the Oceangear glasses and kept the $210.05 cost of the status badge in his bank account.

It’s important to note that deciding not to play the Status Badge Game is not about becoming a cheap miser who refuses to spend a cent.

Instead, it is about identifying items that represent good value for money without paying the large overheads necessary to accumulate high status badges. Always remember to:

“Shop For Value Not Status”
- Dr. Anthony Fernando

By applying this simple financial philosophy to your personal items, your clothes, your car and your home you can save many thousands of dollars over your lifetime. You can then redirect this money into acquiring income producing assets and enjoying meaningful life experiences with the people you love.

So today I’d like to encourage you to see the Status Badge Game for what it really is – An elaborate conditioning process devised by savvy marketers attempting to maximize company profits.

As soon as you understand this and make the decision not to play the Status Badge Game, your whole perspective will shift. You will find yourself free of the burden of ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ and will soon be on the path to achieving true financial freedom.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream
Anthony

The large block of marble stood in the center of the open-air workshop. The officials who had purchased the block were eager to get their project underway and began looking for an artist who could transform the stone block into a work of art.

A suitable artist was identified and work began on the project, but as time passed, the artist gradually lost interest and eventually walked away from his commission.

Another artist was found and work commenced once more, however, this second artist also lost interest and the entire project came to a grinding halt.

The block of marble then sat neglected in the yard of the workshop for over 25 years!…

Then one day, a young man in his twenties heard about the marble block and visited the yard. When he gazed upon the stone, the young man did not see a weathered old block of marble. Instead, he saw an opportunity waiting to be realized.

He negotiated with the owners of the marble block and in due course received permission to try his hand where others had failed.

For three long years the young man chipped away at the block of stone and tap by tap he transformed his dream into a reality.

In January 1504, the young man whose name was Michelangelo, unveiled his statue of David.

The secret of Michelangelo’s success was that he was able to combine two seemingly conflicting virtues.

The first of these virtues was Vision. Whereas most people looked upon the marble block and saw a neglected slab of stone, Michelangelo saw a magnificent statue trapped within the rock just waiting to be released.

“I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free”
- Michelangelo

In addition to having the ability to visualize his ultimate desire, Michelangelo also developed the virtue of Patience.

He knew that long lasting success did not come quickly or easily, but rather, it was the result of patiently chipping away at his goal each and every day.

“Genius is Eternal Patience”
- Michelangelo

Today, some five hundred years later, many of us spend time to develop a grand vision for our life, but then we quickly become impatient to make our vision a reality. All too often we become frustrated with our lack of progress and eventually give up on our goal entirely.

It is a rare individual who can combine the ability to visualize their goal with the patience to take the small daily steps necessary to transform that vision into reality.

Today I’d like to encourage you to approach your own goals in the same way that Michelangelo approached the creation of the statue of David.

Even though your current reality may resemble the worn out block of marble, challenge yourself to look deeper to find the hidden opportunity that is waiting to be realized.

Once you have identified your objective, resist the urge to become impatient. Instead, develop a mindset of quiet anticipation and chip away at your goal a little each day.

By combining the power of Vision with the virtue of Patience, nothing will stop you from creating your own masterpiece.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Anthony

Today I’d like to share with you a goal setting technique that is a great way to start the New Year and also a lot of fun.

An important principle of effective goal setting is summed up by the following quote:

“Start with the end in mind”
- Stephen Covey

What this means is that whenever you set a goal, you should visualize exactly what your objective will look like when it is complete.

A good way to apply this principle to the new year, is to find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed and spend some time thinking about what you would like your life to look like on December 31st.

Some areas to consider are:

Your Health:

- How would you like to look and feel physically?
- How much would you like to weigh?
- What kind of regular exercise would you like to be doing?
- What kind of foods would you like to be eating?

Your Relationships:

- What would you like your family life to look like?
- Who would you like to be spending more time with?
- Who would you like to be spending less time with?
- Who would your circle of friends include?

Your Career:

- What kind of work would you like to be doing?
- Where would you like to be working?
- Who would you like to be working with?
- What position would you like to have?

Your Finances:

- How much money would you like to be earning?
- How much money would you like to be saving/investing?
- What items would you like to have purchased?

Your Contribution:

- How would you like to be making a contribution to the world around you?
- What groups would you like to be involved with?

Your Personal Interests:

- What personal interests would you like to be pursuing?

Visualizing what you would like your life to look like at the end of this year is a great way to develop clear, concise and realistic goals.

Now here’s the twist…

Once you have a list of specific goals that you would like to achieve over the next twelve months, visit the website www.futureme.org.

This website allows you to send an email to yourself in the future!

All you have to do is:

(1) Type in your email address
(2) Write a Subject such as, “Hi – Its you from the past!”
(3) Write a message to your future self
(4) Choose to make your message private or public (I made mine private)
(5) Choose a date on which to receive your email
(6) Enter a verification code
(7) Click the ‘Send this to the future’ button
(8) Check your inbox for an email containing a link that you can click on to verify your email address.

I did this exercise a few days ago and had great fun writing to my future self. I included the specific goals I would like to achieve this year and also reminded myself to be happy and thankful for all the good things in my life.

I chose to receive my email on December 31st which will allow me to compare the goals I set at the beginning of the year with my actual results on the last day of the year.

If you ever have problems forgetting what your new year goals were or you always manage to lose the piece of paper you wrote your goals on, this is the perfect solution!

So today I’d like to encourage you to ‘start with the end in mind’ and think about what you would like your life to look like by the end of this year. Once you have clarified your goals, take a moment to send an email to your future self using the www.futureme.org website.

There is no cost involved and it is a great way to motivate yourself to get started on your goals immediately.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Anthony

Do you sometimes find it hard to believe that you can really make your dream a reality? If so, then there is something very important that you need to know.

We live in a world of dreams.

Every man-made item around you at this very moment began as a thought, an idea or a dream in the mind of a single individual.

The computer on your desk, your mobile phone, your car and countless other items that you use each day are all the result of someone’s ‘dream come true’.

What this means is that throughout history, hundreds and thousands and millions of people have had an idea, worked hard, overcome problems and ultimately transformed their dream into reality.

And if hundreds and thousands and millions of people have been able to do this in the past, then it stands to reason, that you can do it too.

Often we make the mistake of thinking that dreams only come true for a small number of talented individuals who have skills or abilities that we don’t possess.

But this is simply not true.

The fact that millions of people have brought their dreams to fruition in the past demonstrates that the ability to set and achieve goals is something that is available to each and everyone of us.

Right now, millions of people around the world are taking the steps necessary to achieve the goals that are important to them. Some are studying, some are building businesses, some are writing books. What is it that you want to achieve?

In order to achieve your goals in life, the only things you really need are:

(1) A crystal clear picture of what you want

(2) An unshakeable determination to do whatever it takes to make your dream a reality

As soon as you take these two steps, anything becomes possible. If you need a new skill – you learn it. If you come up against an obstacle – you find a way around it. If you experience failure – you learn from your mistake and adopt a different approach.

And gradually, step-by-step, you bring your dream into reality to join the dreams of the countless individuals who have gone before you.

So today I’d like to encourage you to take a look at the evidence around you and appreciate the fact that you live in a world where ‘dreams do come true’.

Understand that millions of people have made their dream a reality in the past – Millions more will make their dream a reality in the future and you CAN be one of them.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Anthony

The best time management lesson you can ever learn is that you cannot manage time.

No matter how many books you read or how many seminars you attend, you will never be able to gain an extra second in a day, bring back a moment that has passed, or make time move more quickly.

Despite all our best efforts to manage it, time continues to flow with complete disregard for our complex time management techniques. Does this mean that time management is a pointless exercise?

No – not at all… What it actually means is this:

What we commonly refer to as time management is not really about managing time – It is about managing ourselves.

Here’s an example that illustrates why this is so important:

Ben was an accountant in a prestigious accounting firm who was working very long hours in order to move ahead in his career.

One night over a late dinner, his wife said, “Be careful honey, one day you’re gonna wake up and your little girl will have gone off to college and you will have missed everything.”

This comment really struck a chord with Ben. He knew he needed to spend more time at home but he didn’t know what else he could do to manage his time better. He was already utilizing his mobile phone, an electronic organizer and a calendar on his computer.

The next day, Ben chatted to his dad who advised him that effective time management was not about managing time, but rather, about managing himself.

Ben took this idea on board and instead of looking for external ways to control his time, he began to focus internally on finding better ways to manage himself.

• Instead of spending the first twenty minutes of his day chatting with his colleagues in the tea room, he picked up a coffee on the way to work and headed straight to his desk.

• Rather than spending the first hour of his day answering emails, he wrote down a list of the most important things he needed to achieve and immediately began working on the first task.

• He also closed down his Internet browser so that he would not be distracted by Facebook, Twitter, or the ebay auction he was watching.

• When printing his documents he realized he should check the print queue before walking across the office and standing around waiting for other people’s documents to be completed.

Ben was genuinely surprised by how many ways he found to improve his productivity simply by shifting his focus from managing time to managing himself. His new mantra became that he would:

Spend Quality Time at Work in Order to Spend Quantity Time at Home

With this new approach to managing himself, Ben developed the view that any time he wasted at work was time he was taking away from being with his family.

This new perspective made him more motivated and productive than ever before. By getting more done during work hours, he was able to cut down on his overtime and ultimately spend more time with his family.

So today, I’d like to encourage you to realize that while you cannot manage time – you can manage yourself.

Instead of looking for additional ways to regulate your time, turn your focus internally and look for better ways to manage yourself and your actions.

By improving the way you manage yourself, you will greatly increase your productivity. This is in turn will help you accelerate your progress towards achieving your most important life goals.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Anthony

Stress is something that we all have to deal with each and every day. There’s work related stress, relationship stress and financial stress just to name a few. If we don’t develop effective strategies for dealing with stress, it can lead to many problems including physical illness.

One of the most effective strategies for reducing your stress levels is to learn to live your life in day-tight compartments.

Let me explain…

When ship builders design passenger ships, they divide the ship into sections and between each section they place a water-tight door to create several separate compartments.

If one of the compartments is flooded, the ship’s captain can close the water-tight doors and the ship will continue to stay afloat.

Imagine for a moment that your life is a series of compartments each made up of a single day. On either side of each day is a day-tight door.

Just as the water-tight doors in a ship block out water and prevent the boat from sinking, your day-tight doors block out the past and future and prevent your outlook on life from sinking.

In your day-tight compartment, you do not have to analyze the past or worry about the future.

All you have to deal with is today.

When I was working 70+ hour weeks in the corporate world, I found this day-tight compartment strategy to be a useful form of stress management.

Each morning I would imagine that I was closing my day-tight doors. This helped me to stop analyzing the past and prevented me from worrying about the future. I could then simply focus on what I had to do in the next 24 hours.

Often when I talk to people about living their life in day-tight compartments someone will ask “Don’t you need to visualize your future everyday in order to make it a reality? How can I do that if I’m living in a day-tight compartment?”

This is a very good question. The answer is that you first visualize your future goal in its entirety and then determine what small step you can achieve today. Next, you bring this single step inside your day-tight compartment and shut your day-tight doors.

In this way you are not intimidated by the size of your overall goal and can just focus on what you need to do today while still moving steadily towards your achieving your long term goals.

So the next time you are under stress, try taking a deep breath and make the decision to live your life in day-tight compartments. Each morning, imagine closing your day-tight doors on the past and the future.

During the day, if you catch yourself analyzing the past or worrying about the future, remember that these thoughts do not belong in your day-tight compartment and try and let them go.

By learning to live your life in day-tight compartments, you can greatly reduce your stress levels and lead a happier and healthier life.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream
Anthony

There is a wall that separates each of us from our most important goals in life. The strange thing about this wall is that it is a barrier which we create for ourselves.

We construct this wall in our minds using bricks of doubt and fear.

Let’s take a look at how this wall is created:

When you set a new goal, it is natural to have a small amount of doubt about your ability to achieve your objective.

Initially as you start to work on your goal, you get a boost of self confidence because you are taking action and your level of doubt decreases. However, after you’ve worked on your goal for a little while, you come to the Point of Clarity.

The Point of Clarity is the point at which you first fully understand how much work and effort is actually involved with achieving your goal. It is usually at this point that the bricks of doubt and fear start to build.

The next thing that happens is that you encounter a significant problem and immediately your doubts and fears increase which adds to number of bricks in your wall.

You then become aware of another problem:

And then problems seem to come at you from every direction

With each problem you encounter, your doubts and fears increase. You start thinking things like:

“I’m not smart enough to do this”
“I’m not capable of doing this”
“I don’t have what it takes to achieve this”
“I’m too old for this”
“I’m too young for this”
etc.

If you ever catch yourself saying things like this, it’s important to remember that

“When you doubt your power, you give power to your doubts.” – Author Unknown

Unfortunately, many people give so much power to their doubts that the wall in their mind becomes insurmountable and they walk away from their dream.

However, something truly remarkable happens to the small group of people who continue to meet these problems head on and persevere in the face of adversity.

Eventually they come to realize that facing and solving these problems is an important part of the process of achieving their goal. With experience they also realize that they ARE capable of meeting and overcoming these challenges.

With this realization, they cross over to the Point of Self-Confidence

Once you reach the Point of Self Confidence, everything changes.

You continue to face problems, but now each problem you solve makes you more confident in your ability and you begin to eliminate the bricks of doubt and fear from your mind.

You solve a problem and remove a layer of bricks

Then you solve another problem

Each time you solve a problem your remove another layer of doubt and fear.

Finally you solve the last problem that stands between you and your goal – Your self confidence soars and the final bricks of doubt and fear disappear.

You then look back to find that the wall of doubt and fear is gone – In fact it never really existed at all.

So today I’d like to encourage you to never give in to the doubts and fears that stop most people from achieving their goals. Always remember that the wall that stands between you and your objective only exists in your own mind.

Instead of walking away from your dream, focus on solving one problem at a time. As you gain experience, your self confidence will grow and the wall of doubt and fear will gradually disappear.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Anthony

There is a simple formula that can you can use to analyze and improve many relationships in your life. Whether it’s your relationship with your spouse, your children, your siblings or your friends, understanding this Relationship Formula can provide you with a simple but powerful way to develop a stronger bond.

The Relationship Formula is this:

The symbol that looks a little like a fish means ‘is directly proportional to’.
Therefore, the Relationship Formula reads:

“The strength of your relationship to another person is directly proportional to the quality and quantity of your shared experiences.” – Dr. Anthony Fernando

When you see someone regularly and share high quality experiences together, your relationship will inevitably become stronger. Conversely if you do not see someone regularly or the quality of your shared experiences is poor, over time the strength of your relationship will decline.

Lets take a look at an example to see how the Relationship Formula can be applied in the real world.

Karen and her mother had always been close but after Karen moved to a different suburb for a new job they found it difficult to catch up with one another. Although they tried to stay in touch by phone, as time passed, they both realized that they were slowly drifting apart.

When Karen heard about the Relationship Formula, she immediately recognized that both the quality and the quantity of her shared experiences with her mom had decreased significantly and that their relationship had suffered as a result.

Based on this insight, Karen resolved to find a way to increase the quality and quantity of the time she spent with her mom.

As a child, Karen loved to curl up on her mother’s lap and watch the Sunday afternoon movie. So when she heard that the cinema in her old home town had started a monthly movie club, she decided that this would be the perfect experience for her and her mom to share.

Once a month, Karen drove home and picked up her mom before heading to the cinema to watch whatever movie the club had organized. They would often have a bite to eat beforehand and always stopped off for a coffee and chat after the movie.

By sharing this regular and enjoyable experience, Karen and her mom reconnected in a very special way.

Many years later when Karen’s mom passed away, Karen often looked back on these movie afternoons as one of the best things she ever did.

Today I’d like to ask if there is someone in your life who you’d like to reconnect with or with whom you’d like to build a stronger relationship. If there is, then I’d encourage you to use the Relationship Formula by following these simple steps:

(1) Identify an experience that you both enjoy. This could involve playing sport, watching a DVD or anything else that you are both interested in.

(2) Schedule a regular time to catch up and share the experience together. For example, you might decide to catch up on the first Saturday of each month to play squash.

By consciously deciding who you want to spend time with and applying the Relationship Formula, you can take a positive step towards developing a strong relationship that will enrich your life for many years to come.

Until next time,
Dare To Dream!
Anthony

In order to achieve the most important goals in your life, you need to be able to answer two important questions.

Question #1: What is your long term vision?
Question #2: What is your short term focus?

Let’s take a moment to look at each of these in more detail.

Your Long Term Vision

Your long term vision is what your life would look like if you’d achieved all your goals and were living your ideal life. A great way to identify your long term vision is to imagine that when you fall asleep tonight, you pass into a magical slumber that lasts for five years.

For the sake of this exercise, imagine that when you wake up in the morning, five years have passed and all your goals and plans have come to fruition. What would this ideal life look like for you?

How would you look and feel? Where would you be? Who would you be with? What sort of work would you be doing? What would you do with your free time? The more you think and talk about your long term vision, the more clear it will become in your mind’s eye.

Your Short Term Focus

Once you have a clear picture of your long term vision, the next step is to identify your short term focus. Your short term focus is the one thing that you can do TODAY that will move you a step closer to achieving your long term vision.

Here’s an example to illustrate how this works in the real world.

Claudia’s long term vision was to own a website that generated $500 per day while she was sleeping. She imagined that she would wake up in the morning and check her email to find orders from around the world. She would then have breakfast with her family before taking her kids to school.

After dropping her kids off, she’d do a class at the gym and then go home and work on the book she was writing. She’d have lunch with her husband and then do a few more hours of writing before her kids got home.

In the evening she’d help her kids with their homework and then sit in front of the fire with her husband and watch a dvd before going to sleep.

The reality of Claudia’s current situation was very different. She and her husband were both working long hours to make ends meet and found it almost impossible to spend any time with their kids.

However, despite the difficulty of her current situation, Claudia knew what her long term vision was.

She also knew that in addition to her long term vision, she needed a short term focus which was something she could work on immediately to move her a step closer to achieving her long term vision. Claudia’s first short term focus was to discuss her business idea with her husband.

The advantage of always having a long term vision and a short term focus is that they reinforce each other.

When you are frustrated by the difficulties associated with completing your short term focus, you can look to your long term vision for motivation and inspiration.

Alternatively, when your long term vision seems impossible or unattainable, you can make the decision to just concentrate on achieving your short term focus which is much closer at hand.

In this way, your long term vision and your short term focus act in combination to pull you towards achieving your most important life goals.

So today I’d like to encourage you to take the following steps:

(1) If you haven’t already done so, find a quiet spot and write down a description of your long term vision. Describe in detail what the world would look like if you could wake up tomorrow to find that five years had passed and all your goals had come to fruition.

(2) After reviewing your long term vision, identify your short term focus and take action today to move one step closer to making your long term vision a reality.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

Here’s a great way to think about the process of figuring out what you want from life.
Imagine that I presented you with a blank canvas and asked you what it represented.

No matter how much you analyze and think about this canvas, it’s impossible to determine what it represents because you have no reference points to work with.

On the other hand, imagine that I gave you this canvas and asked you to figure out what it represented.

This time you’d be able to join the dots to reveal a star – Clearly, it is the dots that make all the difference.

The process of figuring out what you want from life is similar. Sitting in a room and trying to come up with a ‘life plan’ rarely works. It’s like staring at the blank canvas – You have no reference points to work with.

The secret to figuring out what you want from life is to gain some additional dots on your life canvas. In the real world, these dots come from experiences.

Each time you have a new experience you gain an additional dot on your life canvas, and once you have accumulated enough ‘experience dots’ you can often join the dots and identify your true passion.

Here’s an example that illustrates this process:

John had read dozens of personal development books and attended his fair share of seminars. He felt he had a good understanding of how to set goals. The only problem was – John didn’t really know what he wanted.

In an attempt to clarify his goals, John spent many hours trying to decide what he should do. However, after expending a great deal of emotional energy, he finally realized that it was impossible to sit down and ‘figure out’ life.

Instead, what he really needed to do was to get out of his room and collect some new ‘experience dots’ for his life canvas.

For John, this was the turning point.

Instead of trying to figure out his overall life plan, he made the liberating decision to just explore different things that interested him.

He joined a local film club simply because he’d always loved old movies. He also did an introductory computer course at his local library because he wanted to learn more about the Internet.

After accumulating a wide range of seemingly unrelated new experiences, John was able to look back and join the dots to discover that his true passion was to create his own Internet business focusing on classic films, actors and memorabilia.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive” – Dr. Howard Thurman

So today, if you’re not quite sure what you want from life, here is what I’d suggest:

(1) Stop trying to sit down and ‘figure out’ life – it really doesn’t work
(2) Give yourself the freedom to explore your interests and accumulate life experience and thereby gain additional dots on your life canvas.
(3) Over time, you’ll be able to look back on your life experiences and join the dots to identify your true passion.

I hope this approach releases you of the burden of having to try and ‘figure out’ life and that you enjoy finding what makes you come alive.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One of the most common questions I get asked is, “Where do I start?” To answer this question, all you need to do is to look up into the night sky.

On May 25th 1961, the American President John F. Kennedy stood up in front of the entire world and announced the dramatic and ambitious goal of sending a man to the moon before the end of the decade. Here is a brief excerpt from his speech to the Congress:

“I believe we possess all the resources and talents necessary… While we cannot guarantee that we shall one day be first, we can guarantee that any failure to make this effort will make us last. We take an additional risk by making it in full view of the world, but… this very risk enhances our stature when we are successful.”

In setting this goal, President Kennedy demonstrated an incredible amount of courage because at the time, no one knew whether it was physically or technically possible to achieve this goal. He also provided a great example of ‘how to get started’…

“In order to achieve success in any endeavor in life you must first
find the courage to believe it is possible” – Dr. Anthony Fernando

Often we become stuck in our current reality and fall into the trap of thinking that this is just the way things are and always will be. It takes courage to step away from our current situation and believe that something better is possible for our future.

President Kennedy believed that it was possible to send a man to the moon. This belief set off a chain of events that led over 400000 people to work for over eight years in order to transform his belief into reality.

Today I’d like to encourage you to find the courage within yourself to step up and believe that a better future is possible for you.

Once you are armed with this belief, you can then decide exactly what it is that you want to achieve and determine the steps you need to take in order to make your goal a reality.

Whether you want to send a man to the moon, achieve financial freedom, or learn to play the guitar…It all begins with belief.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

Imagine for a moment that you are walking into a huge super-store that sells every possible item under the sun. As you stroll around the aisles, you’ll notice that each item, whether it is big or small, has one thing in common – it has a price tag attached to it.

In order to purchase an item from the super-store, you need to do two things:

(1) Decide which item you want
(2) Be willing and able to pay the price listed on the price tag

One of the most important realizations you can ever have is that ‘Life’ is the ultimate super-store. Each item on offer in the super-store of life is a goal and every goal has an associated price tag that is measured not in dollars but in hours of effort.

In order to achieve any goal in life all you have to do is:

(1) Decide what goal you want to achieve
(2) Be willing and able to pay the price associated with achieving that goal

Here’s an example to illustrate how this important concept works in the real world…

Ben was interested in taking up a martial art. After exploring the options available to him, he decided that what he really wanted was to obtain a black belt in karate.

With his decision made, Ben then looked into determining the ‘price tag’ associated with making his goal a reality. He discovered that if he did two 1.5 hour training sessions each week, it would take him approximately 4 years to achieve his black belt.

The ‘price tag’ associated with achieving his goal was therefore 624 hours of effort.

Knowing the price associated with achieving his goal, Ben made a full commitment to paying this price in order to make his goal a reality.

Today I’d like to encourage you to take a stroll though the super-store of life and make a choice from the endless goals that life has to offer.

Once you have made your decision, try and identify the price in hours of effort associated with achieving your goal. You may not always be able to get an exact answer, but you can usually gauge the amount of effort required to achieve most goals.

Finally, once you have chosen your goal and identified the associated price tag, commit yourself to paying the price and get started today!

You really can have anything you want in life as long as you decide exactly what it is that you want and you are willing to pay the price required to make your goal a reality.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

Asking people for what we want can sometimes be a difficult process involving awkward discussions and potential conflict. However, it doesn’t have to be that way.

The secret to getting what you want from other people is to develop a genuine sense of reciprocity by giving before you receive.

The term ‘reciprocity’ describes the expectation that people will respond to you in the same way that you respond to them. So if you give another person something of value, they will be much more inclined to give you something in return.

Next time you want something from someone, instead of simply asking or demanding what you want, try using the following Reciprocity Formula.

The Reciprocity Formula

Step 1: Analyse the situation from the other person’s point of view and try to identify what they currently want. If you can’t figure out what they want, the best thing to do is to ask them.

Step 2: When you have identified the main thing they want, present your case by saying something like, "If I help you achieve… [what they want], could we discuss… [what you want]. Most reasonable people will be open to this approach because they are receiving before they have to give.

Step 3: Follow through and help the other person achieve their objective. The more time and effort you put in during this step, the more reciprocity you will develop.

Step 4: When you have achieved the objective you agreed upon, revisit your initial discussion and ask for what you originally wanted.

Here’s an example that shows how the Reciprocity Formula works in the real world:

Sherry worked as a Sales Rep in a software company and wanted to ask her boss for a raise. From previous experience, she knew that simply asking for a raise was rarely effective so she decided to apply the Reciprocity Formula.

Step 1: Sherry had lunch with her boss and asked him what his major goal was for the quarter. He informed her that what he really wanted was to sell 1000 copies of the companies new accounting software before the end of the financial year.

Step 2: Sherry then presented her case by saying, "If I can sell 1000 copies of the new accounting software by June 30th, would you be open to discussing a raise?" Her boss said he’d be happy to.

Step 3: Sherry got down to work and devised a viral marketing campaign on the Internet. She worked extremely hard and her boss could see that she was serious about achieving her goal.

Step 4: Sherry achieved her sales goal and arranged to have lunch with her boss again. In a three month time frame, she’d added a great deal of value to the company and in doing so, she’d also built up a genuine sense of reciprocity with her boss. Over lunch, Sherry’s boss confirmed that he would be happy to give her a raise.

Giving before you receive and developing a genuine sense of reciprocity is one of the most effective ways to get what you want from other people. So today, I’d like to encourage you to use the Reciprocity Formula to develop true WIN-WIN agreements that will help you achieve your most important life goals.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One of the most useful planning techniques I like to use on a regular basis is something I call ‘Jigsaw Analysis’. 

Imagine for a moment that you have just purchased a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and opened it for the first time. When you look into the box, all you can see is the jumbled chaos of a thousand pieces that need to be sorted out and put into place.

The first step to completing your puzzle is to carefully examine the picture on the front of the box so that you get a clear idea of what it is that you are trying to create.

As you analyse the picture, you’ll begin to notice specific areas of detail that have a readily identifiable characteristic. For example, there may be some red flowers in one area of the picture.

Once you have identified a specific focus within your picture, you can then dive into the detail and identify the puzzle pieces that you need to complete the specific area you are focusing on.

When you have identifed the appropriate pieces and completed a small section of the puzzle, you can then return to the picture on the box to identify another area to focus on.

This cycle of ‘Reviewing the big picture’ and then ‘Diving into the detail’ is a process that you can apply to many complex goals.

Here’s an example to show you how Jigsaw Analysis works in the real world:

After becoming frustrated at her 9 to 5 job, Stephanie decided to investigate the possibility of starting a music studio from home. She sat down with her husband Brian and together they sketched out a picture of what her business could look like when it was finished. Here is what they drew:

This big picture diagram became Stephanie’s visual business plan. At the beginning of each week, she would check the picture and decide which area of her business she was going to focus on, then she would dive into the detail and get to work.

Over time, she continued to apply the technique of Jigsaw Analysis and gradually built up a successful music studio and home business.

Today I’d like to encourage you to make use of Jigsaw Analysis to move towards achieving your own goals.

Begin by selecting a goal and draw up a ‘Big Picture’ diagram of what you are trying to achieve. Then select a specific area of your goal to focus on and dive into the detail to transform a small part of your visual plan into reality.

This cycle of reviewing the big picture and then focusing on a specific area of detail is not only a good way to complete a jigsaw puzzle, but also a great way to accelerate your progress towards achieving your life goals.

Until next time,

Dare to Dream!

Anthony

One of the most powerful ways to increase your personal productivity is a technique I call Single-Point-Focus.

The easiest way to understand the concept of single-point-focus is to think of your mind as a desktop computer. If you use a computer regularly, you’ll know from experience that when you open ten different applications at once, your computer slows down and becomes less responsive.

The same thing happens with your mind. Just as a computer runs applications, your mind runs ‘thought processes’ and when you try and run multiple thought processes at the same time, your mind becomes less responsive.

1. The report that is due in two days time
2. The argument you had with your husband last night
3. The problems with your father’s health
4. Your son’s difficulty with making friends at school
5. Renovating the upstairs room

With all of these thought processes running concurrently, your mind slows down and becomes clouded. You’ll also find that continually running multiple thought processes also leads to mental and physical fatigue.

So what’s the answer?

Well… just as your computer becomes more efficient as you reduce the number of applications you are running, your mind becomes more efficient as you reduce the number of thought processes you are trying to run simultaneously.

This means that one of the best things you can do to increase your productivity is to learn to close down your extra thought processes until you have a single-point-focus.

In the example above, when you’re at work, your single-point-focus would become ‘The report that is due in two days’ and you would close down all the other thought processes that are clouding your mind.

Then when you go home, you can close down the thought process relating to your report and change your single-point-focus to your relationship with your husband.

As you practice having a single-point-focus, you’ll find that you gradually eliminate the fog that clouds your mind and your effectiveness and productivity will increase exponentially.

So today I’d like to encourage you to develop the habit of asking the following question:

"What should my single-point-focus be right now?"

As soon as you have an answer to this question, imagine closing down all the other thought processes running in your mind as though you were closing down applications on your computer.

Finally, direct your full and undivided attention on your single-point-focus and watch your productivity soar!

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

Generally speaking, most of us fear things which we don’t understand. Often, when something is unfamiliar, a negative part of our mind begins to imagine terrible scenarios based on our lack of understanding. However, fear can also be a valuable tool for achieving success if you learn how to use it properly.

The best way to utilise fear is to view it as a sign post to identify the areas of your life in which you need to acquire more knowledge.

Here’s an example to show you what I mean…

Sean was an electrician who was starting out in his own business. He was so busy trying to stay on top of his day-to-day appointments that he somehow never got around to understanding the Tax system properly.

Deep down, he knew that he didn’t understand how the tax system worked and this led him to constantly worry that he would receive a letter from the Tax Department demanding money.

Eventually, Sean realised that his fear of the unknown was holding him back from achieving success in his business, so he booked himself in for a weekend Tax workshop which was specifically designed for new business owners.

By the end of the weekend, Sean finally understood how the Tax system worked and had a list of simple processes that he could use to run his business effectively.

What really surprised Sean was the huge boost in confidence that this new knowledge gave him. He was no longer worried about receiving letters from the Tax department because he now knew how the system worked.

This experience taught Sean a valuable lesson that he never forgot:

"With knowledge comes confidence
and with confidence comes success"
- Anthony Fernando

Today I’d like to encourage you to treat your fear as a signpost to identify the areas of your life in which you need to acquire more knowledge.

When you take action and acquire that knowledge, you’ll find that not only will your fear disappear, but you’ll also receive a huge boost in self confidence as you move closer towards achieving your goal.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One of the most important personal characteristics necessary to achieve your goals in life is the ability to be decisive and to follow through with your decisions once they are made.

Often we become paralyzed by analyzing the possible outcomes of a decision and in doing so we waste a great deal of time and mental energy. If you have ever agonized over a decision until you were physically and mentally exhausted you will know exactly what I mean.

A useful strategy to help you make decisions is the concept of regret minimalization.

The aim of regret minimalization is to reduce the number of decisions in life that you end up looking back on with regret.

The steps to using regret minimalization are as follows:

1. Project yourself into the future and visualize yourself at the age of 80
2. Imagine that you are looking back on your life
3. Ask yourself which of the options you are trying to decide between will you be more likely to regret missing out on?

Here’s an example to show you how this works:

Liz was a newly graduated teacher who had worked hard at university and had done well in her course. While applying for jobs in her local area, she came across a program that involved teaching in Japan, which was a country she had always wanted to visit.

Three weeks later, Liz received a job offer from a local primary school which was only 5 minutes away from her home. In the same week she also received an offer from the overseas training program.

Liz was faced with the decision to either stay in her familiar surroundings and take up a position at the local school, or to venture into an unknown environment in a foreign country. After much soul searching and advice from family and friends, Liz examined the situation using the regret minimalization strategy.

When she was 80, which option would she be more likely to look back on with regret?

1. Missing out on a position at her local school
2. Missing out on the chance to visit Japan

The regret minimalization strategy helped Liz to make the decision to take the job in Japan. She knew it would not always be easy and that she would be homesick at times but she did not want to look back and regret missing the opportunity to travel and experience another culture.

The next time you’re faced with a decision, I encourage you to use the strategy of regret minimalization as an additional way to examine your options in order to make a considered and well-informed decision.

Until next time,

Dare to Dream!

Anthony

One of the surest ways to achieve success in life is to become a leader in your chosen field. Many people shy away from the thought of being a leader because they don’t feel that they have the natural confidence or ability to lead others, but there is a secret to becoming a great leader…

The secret to becoming a great leader is to understand that most leaders started out by being ‘intelligent followers’.

An intelligent follower is someone who:

1. Chooses the right leader to follow

2. Listens and learns from the person they are following

3. Takes actions and applies the things they learn

Once you start using this process you will discover that leadership is a skill like any other and that you can learn to be a great leader.

So today I’d like to encourage you to make the decision to become a leader in your chosen field.

Start by identifying someone in your area who has achieved the position you want to achieve and who conducts themselves with integrity. Next, learn as much as you can by observing and listening to the person you have chosen to follow. If you don’t have personal access to them, subscribe to their blog and follow them on Twitter to gain an insight into the way they think.

Finally, the most important step of all is to apply the ideas and strategies that you learn. One of my favourite quotes of all time is this:  

By being an intelligent follower, you will rapidly gain the skills and experience that you need to become a great leader in your own right.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

In order to achieve your most important goals in life, you will need to confront and solve a number of problems. Some of these problems will be small and easy to solve while others may at times appear insurmountable. One of the most powerful strategies you can use to overcome these problems is Subconscious Incubation.

As you may know, your mind has a conscious component which contains the thoughts you actively think and a subconscious component that regulates the processes that occur automatically such as breathing and blinking.

Here’s how the process of Subconscious Incubation works:

Step 1: Fill Your Conscious Mind

The first step to solving problems using Subconscious Incubation is to fill your conscious mind with all the details of the problem you are facing. The way I like to do this is to read, analyze, discuss, brainstorm, mind-map, and draw pictures to examine the problem from every possible angle. The best time to do this is a few hours before you go to bed.

Step 2: Switch Off Your Conscious Mind

Having filled your conscious mind with the details of your problem, the next step is to switch off your conscious mind so that it doesn’t get in the way. If you don’t switch off your conscious mind you will probably find that you keep thinking about your problem and toss and turn all night.

My favorite way to switch off my conscious mind is to shut down my computer, close the door to my study and go for a walk on the beach. A change of scenery, fresh air and exercise is a great way to relax and switch off your conscious mind. If you don’t have a beach nearby, try a park or even a stroll around the block.

As you turn off your conscious mind, the details of your problem pass down into your subconscious mind for processing.

Step 3: Incubate

When you come home from your walk, have a warm glass of milk or tea and go straight to bed. Don’t watch television or do anything else to reactivate your conscious mind.

Step 4: Revisit The Problem

When you first become conscious in the morning, don’t rush to get out of bed. Instead, take a moment to keep your eyes closed and revisit the problem you are trying to solve. Often in that magical place between sleep and consciousness you will find a sense of clarity and discover new insights into solving your problem.

So there you have it!

The process of Subconscious Incubation takes a little bit of practice but it is a very effective way to confront and overcome the problems that stand between you and achieving your most important life goals.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One of the most important steps to achieving your goals in life is to develop a strong sense of self confidence. This does not however involve becoming loud or arrogant. On the contrary, people with genuine self confidence are usually calm and self assured and do not need to ‘big note’ themselves.

Here are my top ten tips for building your self confidence:

1. Visualise Yourself As The Person You Want To Be

Each morning spend a few minutes visualising yourself as the person you want to be. Think about the way you dress, the way you carry yourself and the way you interact with other people. Seeing yourself as the person you want to become is the first step towards building self confidence.

2. Self Confidence Statement

After visualising yourself as the person you want to be, read the following statement out loud:

"I know I have the ability to achieve my major goal in life. Therefore today,
I demand of myself persistent and continuous action towards achieving my goal"

Reading this statement out loud is a great way to start your day in a confident state of mind.

3. Dress Well

One of the most effective ways to instantly improve your level of self confidence is to dress well and to make the decision to always be well groomed. This does not mean you have to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe. Instead, just focus on gradually building up a small collection of good quality clothes. Also remember that simple accessories such as a tie clip or necklace can make a big difference to the way you look and feel.

4. Positive Posture

Another powerful way to build your sense of self confidence is to stand up straight and lose the slouch that many of us have acquired over the years. While you may be able to make a change to your posture by simply becoming aware of it, the best way to make a long lasting change to your posture is to practice yoga or pilates.

5. Move With Purpose

A simple but effective tip for increasing your levels of self confidence is to always move with a sense of purpose. In his book ‘The Magic of Thinking Big’, David Schwartz recommends walking 25% faster than normal. Having a spring in your step lets people know that you have important things to do and actually makes you feel more confident as you go about your daily business.

6. Become A Participant

Have you ever noticed that in most meetings or groups, people immediately head towards the back of the room so that they can remain as inconspicuous as possible? A great way to increase your visibility and sense of self confidence is to make the decision to always sit towards the front of the room and be a participant. When you have something to say – don’t be afraid to say it.

7. Connect With Confidence

Another way to quickly improve your self confidence is to practice making a strong first impression. When you meet someone face-to-face, look them directly in the eye, smile broadly, shake hands firmly and say, "Hi Jim, nice to meet you".

Similarly, you can sound more confident on the phone by answering, "Good morning Carol Jones speaking" instead of simply saying "Hello…"

8. Build Your Success File

Occasionally your self confidence will take a hit when something doesn’t work out the way you hoped. One of the best ways to repair your self confidence in this situation is to keep a folder outlining your past achievements and successes. You should also include any positive feedback that you’ve received from others.

As you review your success file and fill your mind with positive comments, your doubts and insecurities will quickly disappear and your self confidence will be restored.

9. Preparation

The BIG secret to being self confident that people rarely talk about is – preparation. The more you prepare and practice for an event, the more self confident you will become.

If you are worried about an upcoming event, use your apprehension as a stimulus to take action and practice, practice, practice. The simple but powerful truth is that self confidence grows through repetition and experience.

10. Toastmasters

My final tip for developing self confidence is to join a Toastmasters group.

Toastmasters is a non-profit organisation that helps people from all walks of life to develop their public speaking and leadership skills. In my experience Toastmasters offers a safe and relaxed environment to step out of your comfort zone and develop the invaluable skills of being able to think on your feet and speak in public.

So there you have it!

If you implement some or all of these 10 techniques you’ll gradually develop a greater sense of self confidence which in turn will help you to pursue and achieve your most important life goals.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One important strategy for achieving your goals is to identify role models who have already achieved the success that you aspire to. Our role models inspire us and give us a glimpse of what is possible in life. However, there is one important point relating to role models that is often overlooked…

When you find a role model that you admire, it can be very tempting to want to be ‘just like them’. This can lead to the mistake of thinking that in order to be successful you need to be more like your mentor and less like yourself.

The reality however is that pretending to be someone you are not never leads to long term success.

One of the most valuable success lessons I’ve ever learned is this:

Learn from others but be yourself

Here’s an example to show you what I mean:

Alison was studying to be a teacher. As part of her training she visited a school where she was assigned a mentor who was an experienced teacher named Mr. Holden.

The first thing Alison noticed when she sat in on Mr. Holden’s class was that he started each lesson with a brain teaser which was a great strategy for gaining the student’s attention. Alison was also very impressed with Mr. Holden’s teaching style. He was naturally entertaining and constantly had his students laughing during class.

When Alison started teaching she used Mr. Holden’s strategy of beginning each class with a brain teaser and found it to be very effective. However, when she tried to be funny and entertaining she did not get the response she was hoping for.

Over time, Alison came to realise that she should not try to be ‘another Mr. Holden’. She discovered that the best way to improve her teaching was to incorporate the tips, strategies and techniques from her mentors in a way that suited her own personality.

Whatever goal you are currently pursuing, it is very important to realise that the best way to obtain success is to learn from others but always remain true to yourself. Instead of trying to become someone you are not, focus on being more of who you really are.

When you combine the tips and strategies of your role models with your own unique personality you will have a powerful recipe for achieving success. So always remember to learn from others but be yourself.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One of the best things you can have on your desk at work or on your kitchen table is a pot plant. Not only does it look great but, believe it or not, it can also be a valuable tool for achieving success in every area of your life.

So how can a simple pot plant help you achieve success?

One of the fundamental laws of nature is this:

Anything that does not receive regular
attention will deteriorate over time.

If you think about this for a moment, you’ll see that this law holds true not only for a pot plant but also for every area of your life:

• If you do not pay regular attention to your health, it will deteriorate over time.
• If you do not pay regular attention to your relationships, they will deteriorate over time.
• If you do not pay regular attention to your finances, they will deteriorate over time

Having a pot plant on your desk is a great visual reminder of this fundamental law because if you don’t water it regularly it too will deteriorate.

As you water your plant every few days, use this action as a trigger to remind yourself to review your health, relationships and finances on a regular basis.

A good way to reinforce this idea is to place something like the following on the base of your pot.

Sometimes as you water your pot plant you might realise that you haven’t done any exercise for a few weeks.

At other times your may become aware that its been two months since you and your wife/husband have had some quiet time together.

Alternatively, your pot plant may also remind you that you need to review your finances.

As you can see, a simple pot plant sitting on your desk or kitchen table can be a great reminder to pay regular attention to the things that are most important to you.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

One of the most important lessons you can learn on your road to success is that failure is not a final destination, but rather a place you pass through on your way to achieving your goals.

Here is a picture to show you what I mean:

This simple picture illustrates a number of very important points about the relationship between failure and success:

1. There is only one road to Success City

2. The road to Success City passes through Failureville

3. One of the main reasons people never reach Success City is because they are so afraid of driving through Failureville that they never begin their journey.

So what does this mean in the real world?

It means that failure is not the opposite of success as many people assume. On the contrary, failure is an important part of achieving success. In fact, it is usually through the process of trying and failing that we learn the lessons we need in order to ultimately achieve our goals in life.

My favourite quote regarding the relationship between failure and success comes from the legendary basketball player Michael Jordan:

When you understand the fact that success lies on the other side of failure you will be much better prepared for the journey that leads to achieving your most important life goals.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony

In difficult times it can sometimes help to adopt a new perspective. Be sure to watch the entire video.

If for some reason you cannot see the video above, please CLICK HERE to watch the original clip on YouTube.

When I was 9 years old, one of my favourite meals was sausages and mash potato. The only problem with this meal was that it usually came with…brocolli.

Each time I was faced with this meal, I would enjoy my sausages and mash potato and then toy with my brocolli in the hope that it would eventually get cold and I wouldn’t have to finish it. This approach transformed dinner into a long and drawn out process.

Then one day, my best friend whose name was Sean Sullivan came over to my house for the day to play. When it came time for dinner, Mum made us sausages, mash potato and… brocolli.

As I stated eating my sausages and mash potato, my friend Sean did something that completely amazed me:

– He ate all his brocolli first without touching his sausages or mash potato.

I couldn’t believe it!

I thought he was crazy until I got to the point where I was toying with my brocolli and realised that he was now enjoying his sausages and mash potato.

On that day I learnt a lesson that I have never forgotten and that I still use every day. The lesson was this:

When faced with a list of things to do, always do the hardest task first.

Here’s what this means in the real world:

Each morning when you check your daily To Do list, you will notice that some of the items on your list will be easy to do but will only have a relatively small impact on achieving your goals. Other items which are usually more difficult to do will have a much bigger impact on moving you forward.

One of the most effective ways to increase your overall productivity is to start your day by working on the difficult tasks that will make a real difference to your progress.

To do this, you must resist the temptation to "Just do the easy things first " because often this means that you keep putting off the high impact tasks that will really make a difference to achieving your goals.

Another advantage of ‘eating your brocolli first’ is that when you are feeling less productive at the end of the day, you are often still able to complete the easy tasks on your To Do list.

So today, I’d like to encourage you to prioritise your To Do list based on the impact each item will have on achieving your goals and follow the example of my 9 year old friend and learn to eat your brocolli first.

Until next time,

Dare To Dream!

Anthony