Many people are convinced that the number seven is the perfect number. I’m not entirely sure why that is.

Whatever the reason, it seems to be quite a common belief, and as I thought on this I found it interesting that the word ‘perfect’ has seven letters.

With that in mind, I proceeded to come up with a P.E.R.F.E.C.T. acrostic for the Elements to Succeed.

Proceed

No matter who we are, and what talents we may possess, it is absolutely impossible to succeed without action. Those who succeed must do. Sure, you may make mistakes, but the successful learn from them, and proceed in taking action in spite of the failures.

Envisage

If you want to be successful, it’s necessary to know what you’re after. You must have a vision. You must have a goal. Have a goal, and keep them before you daily.

Resolve

How much do you want to succeed? How much does it mean to you? Those who succeed have a strong desire to do so. They have an intense resolve and are full of purpose. Do you match up?

Finish

Remember the story of the tortoise and the hare? The lesson? It ain’t over until the fat lady sings! There are many successful people who believe that a primary key to success isn’t ‘ability’, it’s ’stickability’. You gotta finish to win!

Energy

Lethargy is your enemy. If you’re going to succeed, you’re going to be energetic even when everything is against you. Lazy people never succeed. Are you wanting to get rich quick? That’s the attitude of the loser! Too lazy to work at what they want. Don’t be loser. Be energetic in pursuing your goals!

Consistent

We all fail sometimes, but the successful are more consistent in their successes. Or at the very least they’re most consistent in pursuing their goals. Seek to be consistent, even against the odds.

Tactics

All the above principles are to be found in YOU, and that’s not by chance. Success is all about you, the individual. Once you have yourself in the right place, pull all the resources you need together and then using tactics and strategy go and succeed!

No one is a loser because of their failures. You only lose when you give up. Have you given up? It’s time to embrace the P.E.R.F.E.C.T. Elements to Succeed, and fulfill your goals and achieve your dreams!

If you’ve been wanting to succeed (or wanting to assist others to do so) in any area - business, relationships, sports, test-taking, public speaking or any other endeavor - here are ways to accelerate your performance systematically and powerfully. You can do this  with your eyes open or closed. Let’s say you’d like to create a viable business that accelerates your income and expresses your true self. Remember that this can be an action guide for you or for you to assist someone else in performance acceleration.

What do you want to accomplish?

First take a look at what you want to accomplish. Explore it in detail. What would it look or feel like?

Find inner resources.

Next, look deeply inside and notice what resources you have inside for this, including what you’ve already done to accomplish it. Have you already taken steps or created accomplishments in this or a related arena? Do you have skills and talents that make it possible for you succeed in doing what you’d like to do? 

What’s in the way?The next step is to look at what’s in the way. What might be creating a barrier? Or what might create an obstacle in the future? If you know there’s some kind of resistance or inner roadblock, but you don’t know what it is, you can finish this sentence:

 ”I don’t want to ___________because_______.”

You keep on with the same method of inquiry until you find out what’s the culprit that’s blocking your strong intent, what’s in the way of your accomplishments.

Ask your Wise Mind.

Fourth, you can ask yourself or your client this question:

  “What would your Wise Mind tell you about this? This may be about  your business  plans and dreams or your life obstacles.”

You pose the question and let the answer come from the place of true life wisdom, the superconscious mind. You then listen to what comes forth from this place of truth and guidance.

Imagine it.Next, once again imagine yourself as you’d like to be. Explore this in as much detail as possible. See it, feel it, get an impression of it, know it. Put yourself there and be it. In this way, you put out a broadcast of what you ‘d like to see for your life in the outer visible world.

Anchor it.Next find a word, a phrase or an image that symbolizes your accomplishment.  What might it be? Then you can anchor it with your thumb and index finger together, while saying your word or  phrase. You can say this any time you like to strengthen your intention.

Map your mind.The last step is to bring out your Mind Map. A Mind Map is s diagram with a circle in the middle and spokes radiating out from all  sides. In the middle section, you write your main point, and on the spokes you write all your subpoints. You write spontaneously from your right brain, asking to be shown, for example, what precise steps need to be taken and in what order.

Worlds of possibilitiesYou may need to create more details for a plan of action or transform any further resistances. All this can be done, and when it is, you can find great success awaiting you or your clients, opening up expressions of life dreams and worlds of possibilities.

Have you ever had someone tell you they were going to do something and then they don’t? Worse yet, there’s the excuses that follow. I didn’t have time, I don’t have the money, I tried, blah, blah, blah. If you think about it, “try” is a weak term. Trying means you don’t actually have to accomplish something. It’s an attempt, but there’s no guarantee or certainty of a result. I’m not a fan of that word. If you are REALLY going to do something, there would be an outcome, right? When you say you’re going to “try”, it’s an excuse to not really get it done. If you find yourself doing this with your business, there is no time like the present to snap out of it and create a better plan so that you’re actually doing, rather than just going through the motions of trying. Trust me, your bank account will thank you.

Have you heard the term, “how you do anything is how you do everything?” Keep in mind, no one stops you from doing anything, but you. Not to say there aren’t many distractions throughout the day. Believe me, I’m the first one to admit to that and I used to place a lot of blame on others for why I couldn’t get things done. If only my husband would—, if only my daughter would take longer naps, if only my clients would— Stop worrying about what other people do, it’s what you do that counts. What in your life is stopping you from having the business and income that you say you want? Whatever the answers, stop using them as excuses to stop yourself. Some of the biggest excuses are “I don’t have the money” or “I don’t have time” or I’m too busy”. HOGWASH! You either have excuses or you have results. When it comes down to it, how badly do you want it? If you really want it, make the decision and make the time. Enough with the excuses already!! If you need more clients and you know you should be going to realtor association meetings to network with real estate agents, but you don’t because you don’t have time, you’re creating your own demise. It could be as simple as putting the weekly meetings into your calendar so it’s a scheduled appointment that you have to go to.

I’ve learned that I am solely responsible for the choices in my life - for every action and non-action. When I used to say I didn’t have enough time, I couldn’t honestly say that I spent all my time wisely. There were plenty of hours in front of the television watching mindless programs when I could have been doing more productive things. There may be a couch potato or two that can relate to that. 
Really think about what you say and what you do. If there are incongruencies there, take a minute to think about that and see where you may need to change your behavior and start doing things differently. And believe me, the biggest challenge is not lack of knowledge, it’s actually the lack of implementation and procrastination - both are self-sabotage techniques.

Are you willing to change your behavior and start doing things differently? Here are a 3 things to help you move closer to a better you.

1) Eliminate “try” from your vocabulary and replace it with DO because it’s either you DO or you DON’T. Can’t really argue with that.

2) Make a commitment to do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal - grow your business, make more money, strike a work/life balance and

3) hold yourself accountable (to someone else). That’s why coaching and masterminding are so effective. If there is someone that you respect and trust will help keep you accountable, ask them to be your accountability partner and set a schedule to talk with one another regularly. I recently implemented this practice myself. My accountability partner and I are scheduled to talk every Monday at 10am for about 30 minutes. We do a quick email confirmation on Fridays that we’re set to chat Monday and it’s been very helpful to both of us already. If you haven’t signed up for the Backstage Pass to Staging Success Mastermind, I highly recommend you do. You will meet and be around like-minded people who will push you to be a better you.

As we enter the new year, eliminate the excuses and behaviors that sabotage you. Take control of your actions and see what a difference it’ll make. You’ll thank youself.