The Power Of Persistence

                                                    "A river cuts through rock,

                                                      not because of it's power,

                                                  but because of it's persistence."

                                                             - Jim Watkins

What is PERSISTENCE?

Persistence : the quality that allows someone to continue doing something or trying to do something even though it is difficult or opposed by other people : the state of occurring or existing beyond the usual, expected, or normal time.

Here is the book selection for the month of January.

Think and Grow Rich.....written by Napoleon Hill.

Have you read it?

I believe this was my fourth time reading it. Actually this time I was listening to the audio version of it.

Think and Grow Rich is a guide to success by Napoleon Hill, which was first published in 1937 following the Great Depression. It was immediately welcomed as an antidote to hard times and remained a bestseller for decades. Many people still find its philosophy of positive thinking and its specific steps for achieving wealth both relevant and life-changing. Hill contends that our thoughts become our reality, and offers a plan and principles for transforming thoughts into riches, including visualization, affirmation, creating a Master Mind group, defining a goal, and planning.

Here are a few nuggets of wisdom from chapter 9 - Persistence 

Persistence is an essential factor in the procedure of transmitting desire into its monetary equivalent. The basis of persistence is the power of will.

The majority of people are ready to throw their aims and purposes overboard, and give up at the first sign of opposition or misfortune. A few carry on despite all opposition until they attain their goal.

Lack of persistence is one of the major causes of failure. Moreover, experience with thousands of people have proved that lack of persistence is a weakness common to the majority of people. The ease with which lack of persistence may be conquered will depend entirely upon the intensity of one's desire.

The starting point of all achievements is desire. Keep this in mind. Weak desires bring weak results, just as a small amount of fire makes a small amount of heat. If you find yourself lacking in persistence, this weakness may be remedied by building a strong fire under your desires.

You may find it necessary to "snap" out of your mental inertia through a similar procedure, moving slowly at first, then increasing your speed until you gain complete control over your will. Be persistent no matter how slowly you may, at first, have to move. With persistence will come success.

There is no substitute for persistence! It cannot be supplanted by any other quality! Remember this in the beginning and it will hearten you when the going may seem difficult and slow. 

Those who can "take it" are bountiful rewarded for their persistence. They receive, as their compensation, whatever goal they are pursuing. That is not all! They receive something infinitely more important than material compensations - the knowledge that every failure brings with it the seed of an equivalent advantage.

A few people know from experience the soundness of persistence. They are the ones who have not accepted defeat as being anything more than temporary. They are the ones whose desires are so persistently applied that defeat is finally changes into victory. We who stand on the sidelines of life see the overwhelmingly large number who go down in defeat, never to rise again.

                                      "Energy and persistence conquer all things."

                                                     - Benjamin Franklin

                                         Karin Glannstam - Life Coach & Author

                                                      www.karinglannstam.com

Are You Tied To An Old Belief?

                                                        "The only limits you have 

                                                         are the limits you believe."

                                                               - Wayne Dyer

What is a belief?

A belief is a thought you keep thinking over and over and over again. 

Beliefs can be empowering or disempowering.

If you think and believe you can do a thing, or if you think and believe you can't do a thing, you are right.

                                                    "If I have the belief that I can do it,

                                                I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it

                                               even if I may not have it at the beginning."

                                                                     - Gandhi

Do you know how a circus elephant are trained? 

When an elephant is small and weak, one of his legs is tied with a rope to a wooden stake. The elephant  tries to break free but the rope is too strong and after a while the small elephant is convinced that breaking free is impossible.

Years later when the elephant has grown and become very strong, he still believes that he can't break free from the rope. Despite the enormous strength of the elephant, it is constrained by a small rope and a thin wooden stake.

The elephant leaned his limitations when he was small and weak and unfortunately he remains convinced for the rest of his life that he isn't strong enough to break free. In other words, what was once true when he was small and weak will always be true, no matter how big and strong he has gotten.

The elephant is imprisoned by his own limiting beliefs, that he isn't strong enough to break free and he will remain where he is, tied to a thin stake.

                                      "A belief system is nothing more than a thought

                                              you've thought over and over again."

                                                               - Wayne Dyer

Where in your life do you feel powerless?

In what area of your life do you feel like you are tied to some kind of limiting belief and can't break free?

Is it really true that you can't do something?

The truth is that you can do whatever you believe you can do.

You can change a limiting belief to an empowering belief at any time you decide to.

                                       "Believe you can and you're halfway there."

                                                           - Theodore Roosevelt

             

                                                          www.karinglannstam.com

 

A Wish Or A Commitment?

                                        "Most people fail, not because of lack of desire,

                                                  but because lack of commitment."

                                                               - Vince Lombardi

A New Year And A New You!

It's time to recharge ourselves. Refresh ourselves, get energized and re-commit to what is important in our lives.

Every new year a lot of people will make resolutions and decisions that they have been putting off making for a while.

Some people want to commit to losing weight. Starting to exercise on a regular basis. Live a healthier lifestyle. Get a new job. Start a new career or even start a business of their own. Move to another city or country. Leave a relationship that is longer working or maybe start a new relationship. 

Most of us are looking for something that will make us feel better about ourselves and our life.

                                          "The road to success is through commitments."

                                                                    - Will Smith

One common problem with new year's resolutions is that they are usually temporary, and after a few weeks the majority of people will go back to the same old ways and the same old life.

New year's resolutions are suppose to be a commitment, but most of the time the resolutions looks more like a preference or a wish list. 

People prefer or wish for a change, but are seldom committed to the process of getting to where they want to go. 

Anyone can wish for things to change. We all do that. But are you committed to actually make it happen this year?

                                               "If I'm committed there is always a way."

                                                                - Tony Robbins 

True and lasting change will involve that we step out of our comfort zone, and then do what is necessary to make change happen. Sitting on the sidelines simply wishing for something to happen, is not going to work. Sitting on the sidelines is a very comfortable lifestyle, and we love to be comfortable. But it won't create the new life that we are seeking.

If we want true change we must get out of our comfort zone, do things that feel uncomfortable and feel unfamiliar to us. It will require energy and it will also require that we establishing some kind of new daily rituals. Any change that we are looking for and wish for, will require a commitment, effort and energy.

                                "Commitment is what transforms a promise into reality."

                                                           - Abraham Lincoln

The majority of people are looking for temporary and short term solutions to their problems. They are not willing to create and adapt to a new way of living. In other words, long term solutions.

We can't change our life by simply wishing for change. We must be committed.

To create lasting change we must  implementing new habits and behaviors.

It's a lifestyle, not a quick fix to feel better for the moment.

Do you simply prefer or wish that things will change in your life? 

Or are you 100 percent committed to create the changes that you want to see happen in 2021?

                                                              www.karinglannstam.com

Fall In Love With Yourself First

                                         "Self-love is the air beneath the wings

                                                     of all our relationships."

                                                      - Elin Stebbins Waldal

One major issue that a lot of people struggle with is self-love. Or a lack of self-love.

It's a lot easier to improve relationships when you love yourself because you are capable of giving love and you are also capable of allowing others to love you. 

If you don't love yourself, your relationships will usually be strained. And even if someone else really does love you, you won't be able to feel it.

The truth is that you can only allow someone else to love you to the extend that you love yourself. You can only love and accept another person to the extent that you love an accept yourself.

Look around yourself and understand that everything and everyone in your environment is a reflection of your own selflove or lack of it.

If you want to change what is going on around you, here is the great news....you can!!! 

Since everything comes from you, you don't have to fix other people and the outside world. To change you can start working on your inside world.

A lot of things in your outside world will change when you start working on your inside world. And the best place to start this inner work is by loving yourself more.

When you start loving yourself a lot of things will improve. Your relationships will improve. Your health, happiness, joy and vitality will also improve. You will have more energy and you will also discover brand new opportunities showing up all around you.

                                                                 You Yourself,

                                         as much as anyone in the entire Universe 

                                                   deserve your love and affection.

                                                                     - Buddha

Today I want you to start treating yourself like the very special person that you are.

                                                             www.karinglannstam.com

Where Do You Want To Go?

                                                 "Your goals are the road maps

                                                   that guide you and show you

                                                  what is possible for your life."

                                                           - Les Brown

Person #1: Would you please tell me which way I ought to go from here?

Person #2: That depends on where you want to get to?

                                                                   Set goals.

                                                                 Make a plan.

                                                                 Go to work.

                                                                 Stick to it.

                                                                Reach goal.

Do you have a VISION of where you want to go in 2021?

Do you know WHY you want  it?

Do you have a VISION of who you want to become?

Do you know WHY you want to become what you want to become?

Do you have a PLAN or some kind of a MAP of how you will get there?

                                            "A goal without a plan is only a dream."

                                                              - Brain Tracy

If you don't know where you want to go......then how will you know where you need to go from here?

Don't start 2021 without knowing where you want to go. Why you want to go there and some kind of written a plan on how you will get there.

If this sounds like you, you must get busy creating your vision for this new year.

Don't allow this year to be exactly like last year. Time to make some changes and time to make some progress in your life.

                                           "Setting goals is the first step in turning

                                                    the invisible into the visible."

                                                                 - Tony Robbins 

                 

                                                            www.karinglannstam.com

Life Truly Gets Better Once You Learn To Let Go

                                      Life truly gets better once you learn to let go.

Carrying bad and negative thoughts about anyone and anything is not doing anyone any good. Guilt and resentment are both two very destructive emotions. 

Forgiving is a very healthy concept. Learn to forgive yourself and learn to forgive others. Learn to let things go.

What you did yesterday, last week, last month, two years ago or ten years ago, you cannot change. Let it go. No amount of guilt will ever change the past. Forgive yourself. You can't change what you did. Let go of guilt completely.

If someone else has done something to you, don't hold any resentment. Let it go. It doesn't mean that you will give this person another opportunity to do it again. Move away from this person and let it go.

Forgive yourself and forgive others.

Stop holding bad thoughts and negativity in your mind. Holding these kinds of thoughts won't move you in the right direction. Wrong and negative thinking won't lead you to a happy and joyful place.

Remember that no one can cause you to think something that you don't want to think. You have complete control over your own mind.

When something eats your mind, let it go. Form the habit of not hanging on to anything that is causing you to feel bad. 

Instead start to love yourself. Start to respect yourself. Have a healthy respect of what you are capable of doing and creating in your life.

Forgiveness will allow things to grow in your life and it will cause you to be healthier and happier.

Let go completely.

                                                       www.karinglannstam.com

You Can't Create Heat By Thinking About Cold

                                                         "Focus on what you want,

                                                        not on what you don't want."

                                                                - T. Harv Eker

I think that we can agree on that our actions that we take will produce the results that we are getting in our life.

If we want to change the results in our life, we must change the actions that we are taking and have been taking.

But before we can do this, we must check on our thoughts. 

The thoughts that we think repeatedly, will eventually become fixed in our subconscious mind and those thoughts are going to determine our actions and what happens in our life.

If we are cold, we might to build a fire in the fireplace. We turn up the heat in our home, light some candles or we might drink some hot coffee, tea or chocolate. Doing this will eventually make us warm. As we become warm the cold will disappear.

To be warm, we give all our thoughts to the things that will create warmth. We ignore the cold and we think of heat.

If we are ill, we will think about things we can do to create health. We won't think about illness to create health. We will focus all our thoughts on how to create and establish health in our bodies. We don't think and talk about illness.

When it comes to our goals and the vision of our life, we must completely focus and think about what we want and not what we don't want. We can't accomplish our goals thinking about opposite things like failure, fear or loss. We must have a laser beam focus on what it is that we want to create, and learn to ignore the opposite.

Remember.....

You can't create heat by thinking about cold. 

You can't create health by thinking about illness.

You can't create solutions by thinking about problems.

You can't create wealth by thinking about poverty.

You can't experience love in your life if you constantly think of hate.

You can't accomplishing your goals by thinking about what you fear. 

Always focus your thoughts in the direction that you want to go and not on the opposite direction. 

                                                             www.karinglannstam.com

 

The Healing Power Of Love - Check Out This Amazing Book!

                                       "Love and peace of mind do protect us.

                                            They allow us to overcome the problems 

                                                             that life hands us.

                                            They teach us to survive... to live now...

                                            to have courage to confront each day."

                                                             - Bernie S. Siegel

Unconditional love is the most powerful stimulant of the immune system. 

The truth is: love heals. Miracles happen to exceptional patients every day - patients who have the courage to love, those who have the courage to participate in and influence their own recovery.

Today I want to tell you about the amazing book...

Love, Medicine & Miracles... written by Bernie S. Siegel 

Bernie Siegel is an American writer and retired pediatric surgeon, who writes on the relationship between the patient and the healing process.

Many people, especially cancer patients, grow to believing there is some terrible flaw at the center of their being, a defect they must hide if they are to have any chance for love. Feeling unlovable and condemned to loneliness if their true selves become known, such individuals set up defenses against sharing their innermost feelings with anyone. 

They feel their ability to love shriveling up, which leads to further despair. Because such people feel a profound emptiness inside, they come to see all relationships and transactions in terms of getting something to fill the vaguely understood void within. They give love only on condition that they get something for it, whether comfort, security, praise, or a similar love. 

This "if" love is exhausting and prevents you from expressing your authentic self. It leads to an even deeper sense of emptiness, which keeps the vicious cycle going. I feel that all disease is ultimately related to lack of love, or to love that is only conditional, for the exhaustion and depression of the immune system thus created leads to physical vulnerability. 

I also feel that all healing is related to the ability to give and accept unconditional love.

From the book... Love, Medicine & Miracles

 Karin Glannstam - Life Coach & Author

www.karinglannstam.com

                                         

                                         

We Will Pay If We Can See

                                                 "Happy are those who dream

                                                  dreams and are ready to pay

                                              the price to make them come true."

                                                      - Leon Joseph Suenens

We are all greatly affected by how we feel about our past. 

Most people look at the past as something they had to endure instead of looking at the past as a school and learn from it and then take those lessons with them to make their future better.

We are also greatly affected by how we feel about the future.

Now,  if we have a clear vision of how we want our future to look like and we are assured with great probability how it would turn out, none of us would have the problem of paying the price to get there. 

We would be willing to do almost anything to get there. We would endured the disciplines required to be able to make our vision into reality.

                                                               To be successful,

                                you must decide exactly what you want to accomplish,

                                              then resolve to pay the price to get it.

So we must all create a crystal clear vision of the future we want for ourselves and then we must be willing to pay the price to get there.

The majority of people will pay, if they can see.

Are you willing to pay the price if the vision isn't clear?

Everyone hates to pay if the future isn't clear.

                                           "Victory is reserved for those who are 

                                                        willing to pay its price."

                                                                - Sun Tzu

My question to you is... 

If you could see an amazing future for yourself and you knew with certainty that it will happen... would you learn, grow and engage in all the disciplines it would take to create this amazing future for yourself?

                                                           www.karinglannstam.com

Check Out This Book... The School Of Greatness!

Today I want to mention a book that I read almost 2 years ago.

Great book!!!

It's written by Lewis Howes and the name of the book is...

The School of Greatness - A real world guide to living bigger, loving deeper, and leaving a legacy.

The School of Greatness IS an effective book and has lots of great advice, coupled with the context and stories of people Lewis has interviewed. There are exercises to complete at the end of each chapter.

"Anything and everything is possible with a plan. If this  (healthy body) is what I am interested in right now, what am I willing to give up? " If you want to make a change, then something need to actually be different in order to get better results. Meaning, that vices in your life would you need to remove to improve your health and your body and gain all that is possible with a mindful lifestyle?

From the book... The School of Greatness.

About the author... Lewis Howes

When a career-ending injury left elite athlete and professional football player Lewis Howes out of work and living on his sister's couch, he decided he needed to make a change for the better. He started by reaching out to people he admired, searching for mentors, and applying his past coaches' advice from sports to life off the field. Lewis did more than bounce back: He built a multimillion-dollar online business and is now a sought-after business coach, speaker, and podcast host.

Karin Glannstam - Life Coach & Author

                                www.karinglannstam.com

12 Simple Things You Can Start Doing Right Now To Feel Better

                             "If you change the way you look at things,

                                      the things you look at change."

                                                    - Wayne Dyer

I don't know about you, but I feel like I have lost some of my inspiration and motivation during these past months.
I believe that a lot of people feel fatigued, a sense of burnout, overwhelm and stress right now due to the conditions around them.

There are a lot of things going on everywhere. Sometimes it feels like the world is spinning out of control. 

But if we start focusing on everything that is going on around us, the news the media and what we can't control, after a while we will most likely feel like our own world is spinning out of control.

We can choose to get involved in all the drama and chaos around us or we can simply decide to start focusing on what we have control over.

It feels that we have control over very little right now. But there is always one thing we have control over and that is ourselves and how we choose to react to what is going on around us.

So today we are only going to focus on what we have control over so that we can make our own lives a little bit better at this moment and also in the future.

Now if we continue to focus on the drama and chaos around us, we have nobody to blame but ourselves, if we continue to feel bad and stressed out. 

Here are 12 things we can focus on and start doing today to feel better right away.

1 - Move Our Body Every Day.

We are now sitting still way too much and that will lower our energy. Get up move around. Go outside for a walk or a jog. Do yoga in your living room. Attend exercise classes online. Most of us can go outside for a walk. Do it every day and make it a habit. It will make you feel better right away. I have been doing yoga in my living room for many years and it's a great habit that I do 30 minutes 3 times per week. I also walk twice a day with my dog Lady.

2 - Create A Morning Routine

A morning routine will set you up for success for the rest of the day. Instead of reading the paper or watching the news, do something that will inspire, empower and uplift you. I started my "Power Hour" almost 10 years ago and I seldom go a day without it. I listen to something inspiring and educational for one hour every morning. It can be a audio-book or a seminar on YouTube. You can exercise, do yoga, meditate, read or write in your journal. Do whatever works for you, but the important thing is that you do something to start your day off right. It can only be a 10 minute morning routine, as long as you start one and then do it daily.

3 - Eat Healthy Foods

I am like you I love sugar and I enjoy a glass of wine once in a while but it's important that we nourish our bodies and our brains by eating healthy. Make sure you include a lot of vegetables and fruits in your diet and try to stay away from processed food, fast food and sugar. Treat you body as a temple, because it's the only place you have to live.

4 - Stay Hydrated

Drink plenty of water. Since it's colder weather right now, I don't feel as thirsty as I do during the summer months, so I have to pay extra attention to how much water I drink . Stay away from too much coffee, sodas, fruit juices (a lot of sugar) and alcohol.

5 - Get Your ZZZZ'sssss

Make sure that you get plenty of sleep. Sleep is healing for the body and the brain. 6 - 8 hours of sleep should be enough to make you feel energized again. Make sure you shut down all electronics at least 1-2 hours before bedtime. Try to have a sleep schedule where you go to bed and get up the same time, all the time. I get up every morning around 5 and I try to be in bed no later than 9.30pm. I do this almost every day of the week.

6 - Listen To Motivational Voices

Listen to positive podcasts, online seminars, read books, listen to audio books.
Listen to messages of faith and hope by your favorite pastor.
Listening to positive messages will rewire your brain and it will silence the voices of anxiety, worry and fear.
It will make you more positive and it will create a more positive mindset. I have a lot of people that I listen to virtually right now to stay upbeat and inspired. I am also spending more time listening to positive things online right now to offset all the negativity coming from everywhere. 

7 - Connect With Our Dream

Take a least 30 minutes every morning to connect with your vision or dream.
Visualize your ideal future.
Look at your goals every single day. Write them down. Think about them.
Get obsessed with your dream instead of what is going on in the news and social media. Do some brainstorming. Visualize your ideal future. Create a vision board. Write down some action steps for you to take. Take action on a few steps every single day.

8 - Spend Time With Happy People

Spend time with people and friends that are positive. You might not be able to spend time with them in person but Zoom, Skype and FaceTime is always an option.
If you have someone close to you that is very negative you might want to make them aware of this.
You don't have to blame them you can simply make them aware of the fact.

Today, pick up the phone and connect with someone that you haven't talked to in a while. 

9 - Gratitude

Be grateful for what you have and who you have in your life right now. If you look around I am sure you can find quite a few things to be grateful for. Start a gratitude journal.  

10 - Have A Bedtime Routine 

I have a morning routine and I also have a bedtime routine. I usually spend some time listening to a spiritual message before I go to sleep. I enjoy listening to Joel Osteen at Lakewood Church in Houston. Find someone that you enjoy listening to and make it a habit. I enjoy Joel's messages because they are always around 25-28 minutes long and his messages are always inspiring, uplifting filled and with hope and faith.

11 - Smile

You will be surprised how much a smile will raise your own energy. Give others a smile but you can smile anytime to raise your own vibration.

I am smiling as I am writing this blog. Makes me feel happier right away.

12 - Sing & Dance

Turn on some music and start singing and dancing. Jump around, clap your hands and shout out empowering affirmations. Doing this will make you feel awesome and it is contagious so others will automatically catch you energy and awesomeness and then they will feel awesome.

We must be aware of what we consume because some of it will  make us tired, sluggish and less focused. It will also lower our inspiration, motivation and our hope and faith for the future.
The wrong foods, too much alcohol, lack of exercise and not enough sleep, might leave us with an hangover the next day.

If we consume a lot of news and social media especially during the evening hours, the harder it will be for us to get a good nights sleep and we might wake up with a hang-over the next day and then we will experience a loss of motivation, inspiration, focus and it will slow us down.

Stop talking about what is not working in the world. Stop talking about all the negative things going on. Stop spreading the negativity.

Everything that I have suggested above is something that we all have control over. Now it's up to each and everyone of us to put in the effort and start doing it.

Are you willing?

Let me know which strategies you are willing to try?

Do you have some of your own? Please let me know!

                                              www.karinglannstam.com

You Got To Read This Book! Millionaire Women Next Door...The Many Journeys of Successful American Businesswomen

                                       If you want to catch a cold, hang out with sick people. 

                                              If you want to lose, associate with losers. 

                                                 But if you want to become successful, 

                                    go out of your way to associate with successful people.

Have you read the book... The Millionaire Next Door... Written by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko?

If you haven't I highly recommend reading it.

But today I want to mention another amazing book also written by Thomas J. Stanley... 

Millionaire Women Next Door.

Often, women in their thirties and forties tell me they are reluctant to start a business because they are too old. To all of them I say, "Read the cases." Some women profiled herein were in their forties or fifties before they went out on their own. As a millionaire woman, Florence, put it so aptly:

Follow your dream no matter what age... I didn't follow mine until I was fifty-two years old (eight years ago).

I started my own business because no one would hire me... they said I was too old.

Now I have two offices and sixty employees... My regret is that I should have started sooner.

Don't be afraid to go at it alone!... Don't think you don't know enough to start a business. Most start in a garage or a small building. It only takes and idea, a plan, and an overwhelming desire to make it work.

"Most Americans are not free. They are chained to their paychecks... The women profiled herein will not tolerate such as an existence. They are a different breed. They are free. They are cultivators of wealth and satisfied with life. They are in control of their own destiny."

From Millionaire Women Next Door.

Work hard, play hard, and keep life fun! Love yourself, and you will always love others.

                                              Karin Glannstam - Life Coach & Author

                                                           www.karinglannstam.com

Energy Is The Ultimate Power

                         "The higher your energy level, the more efficient your body.

                                  The more efficient your body, the better you feel 

                and the more you will use your talents to produce outstanding results."

                                                                  - Tony Robbins 

What is your energy level on a scale from 1 to 10?

When you are taking a good look at yourself and your life... Be honest... Do you have high energy or do you sit around a lot and don't move your body?

Unfortunately the majority of people have pretty low energy levels. 

Would you date a person with an energy level of 5?

Would you do business with a person with an energy level of  5?

Would you like to be around friends with an energy level of 5?

I believe the answer to all those questions is... NO.

It's time to start measuring your energy. 

Where do you fall on the scale of 1 to 10? 

If you already are at level 10, you can ignore the rest of this BLOG. 

If you are not... Keep on reading.

Energy is the most important ingredient an any relationship. 

Energy is also a habit. And since having high energy is a habit you can increase it or decrease it. 

It's an inside job.

Always remember that you are going to get back the same energy as you put into something.

If you bring low energy into a relationship, that is exactly what you will receive back from the other person. You are responsible for the energy that you bring to any relationship.

Don't expect to attract high level energy from others, if you can barely get off the couch. The majority of people... I would imagine would love to have high energy... But why is it that most people don't have it?

I believe the simple answer to this questions is that it takes effort and willingness to work on increasing your own energy level. Most people want to have a high energy level, but few are willing to do the work required.

How can you increase your energy level?

Here is something really simple... MOVE YOUR BODY.

How are you showing up in the world? As a 2, 5, 8 or a 10?

                                                          www.karinglannstam.com