Lifestyle Mastery Boxed Set

by Scott Allan

  Action Plan:

  Find a habit support buddy. Connect once per week—online, on the phone, or in person—to discuss your progress or any difficulties you’ve experienced.

  14. Throw out the all or nothing approach

  If you’ve had a slip, get back into it. We all miss a day in our routine. What matters is that you can pick it up again the next day. If you let it go too long, you risk starting over again. If that happens, and it probably could, begin again. The only time you fail is if you give up and revert back to your old habit.

  Let yourself make mistakes along the way and learn what works and what doesn’t. Changing a habit is about consistency. It’s not about how much or how many, but how often. This is the frequency with which you take action.

  If we expect perfection, we can also expect to fail. An all or nothing mindset often stops people from setting up new behaviors. I don’t know of anyone who has a perfect track record.

  Habits take time and persistence, but most of all, patience. We have to be ready to forgive ourselves again and again. I have broken several bad habits this way, but in some cases, it took years.

  Habits are the thick strands of success built upon daily patterns of consistent practice and repetition of proven successful actions. These patterns make up the daily routines that mold an unbreakable cycle of conditioning. It is the consistent repetition of these key behaviors that builds the foundation for your life—the same patterns repeated over and over again, programming you for success, failure, or a mediocre existence.

  You are the master programmer and architect of your own life. Habits are the tools you should master if you are to build the foundations of a good life.”

  Habit Conversion Formula:

  De-programming yourself for success

  The habit conversion formula is a powerful strategy for making permanent, lasting changes in your life by replacing non-constructive habits with those habits that are creative and contribute toward personal progress and development.

  Many people are still operating on old programs using worn-out techniques and outdated systems that produce poor repetitive results. Your habits need a tune-up. This chapter is going to show you how to tune up your habits so you can squeeze the most out of your daily routine.

  Your habits must support the dreams and goals you visualize for the future. If you are operating from a place of old thinking while trying to build a new way of living, you will meet incredible resistance. The habit conversion formula puts you on a new path of recovering and restoring your personal power. It focuses on lasting change, not just quick fixes, and sets you on the road to habit recovery.

  It works on the old adage that everything in nature must have a balance. When we try to alter or convert a destructive habit, the habit must be replaced by its opposite element. Nature abhors a vacuum, and that which is removed must be replaced by something else of equal or greater value.

  Balance is the key. If we change the weight on one side, we have to make it even on the other. The one reason people fail to change anything in their lives is because they don’t really change anything at all. They only think they do. They might stop doing something altogether and then suffer withdrawals from the resistance of the habit as it struggles to become active again.

  Stopping something cold turkey isn’t changing it, just as starting something new and only following through with it once doesn’t make it so. For example, people who have quit smoking and persisted didn’t just sit around thinking about not smoking anymore. Those who did eventually started again.

  Successful non-smokers became involved with life more than they ever had before, through physical exercise, eating better, using the money they would have spent on tobacco for vacations or building creative hobbies. Stopping smoking is not the reward; it is the habits you develop after you have stopped that make it worthwhile. This principal is applied to all habits that don’t suit your needs.

  A close friend of mine tried for over ten years to stop drinking. When he finally did, and someone asked him why it took so many attempts, he said, “Every time I stopped drinking I sat at home and thought about not drinking. I didn’t realize it, but I was fueling the addictive habit by doing nothing. Once I started leaving the house and making active changes in my life, I didn’t feel like a prisoner anymore. I was free.”

  The Habit Conversion Challenge Contract

  At the end of this chapter is a habit conversion challenge sheet. You are going to use this to create new habits for lasting success. Fill out the form, answering the questions as completely as possible, and carry this contract with you wherever you go. Paste it in your workbook. Tack it on the wall. Put it wherever you can see it every day, to maintain a consistent level of focus and concentration.

  How it Works

  Identify the current habit you are working on.

  Write down the habit you want to acquire. Why is this important?

  Follow this contract for a pre-determined number of days.

  If you fail, start the contract over again. You are allowed to fail as many times as necessary.

  Finally, don’t give up!

  Failure is part of the learning process. Be persistent! It is the key to succeeding. Habits build habits. Just remember, no matter what you want, no matter how impossible it may seem, there is always a way to overcome the adversity that opposes your efforts. There is always a way to succeed.

  Habit Conversion Strategy Questions

  Consider these questions when attempting to change the habits in your life:

  How does this new habit relate to your personal values and goals?

  What is the habit being converted?

  What is your plan of action? What are some simple steps you will take every day to succeed?

  What resources do you need to accomplish your goal?

  How will you reward yourself for succeeding?

  How will you feel after you succeed?

  The Habit Conversion Challenge

  The habit I want to replace is:

  Example: I want to quit eating junk food.

  The priority habit I will introduce to replace this is:

  Example: I will eat more vegetables and read books about health.

  Choose one habit that will be your priority. You will replace your old habit with this one.

  The timeframe I will perform this replacement habit exercise is:

  Example: 21 days, 30 days, or 45 days.

  I recommend choosing a definite timeframe. If you are not satisfied with your results, you can reassess what you’ve done so far and try something new.

  The changes I want to see through converting this habit are:

  Improved health

  Saving money that would be spent on junk food

  Weight loss

  Feeling better about myself

  The methods (actions) I will use to convert this habit are:

  Replacing the craving for junk food with fruits and vegetables.

  Investing the money I save on junk food.

  Joining a gym and playing sports.

  Coaching others on the dangers of overeating fast food and junk meals.

  What will happen if I don’t change this habit, or if I give up changing it?

  I will suffer from obesity and digestive problems.

  I will lose all motivation to exercise and feel good about myself.

  Over the course of a decade, I will have spent well over $10,000 on junk food (calculated if I spent $3.00 a day for ten years).

  Create Your Habit Conversion Challenge Contract

  The habit I want to replace is:

  The priority habit I will introduce to replace this is:

  The time frame I will perform this replacement habit exercise is:

  21 days —28 days — 30 days — 35 days — 42 days — 60 days

  Write your answer here:

  The changes I want to see through converting this habit are:

  1.

  2.

  3.
>
  The methods (actions) I will use to convert this habit are:

  1.

  2.

  3.

  What will happen if I don’t change this habit, or I give up on changing it?

  1.

  2.

  SECTION V:

  Destiny of Wealth

  “The only way to get love is to be lovable. It's very irritating if you have a lot of money. You'd like to think you could write a check: 'I'll buy a million dollars' worth of love.' But it doesn't work that way. The more you give love away, the more you get.”

  — Warren Buffet

  Wealth is a State of Mind

  “Money is multiplied in practical value depending on the number of W’s you control in your life: what you do, when you do it, where you do it, and with whom you do it.”

  — Tim Ferriss

  Depending on the scale and depth of your ambitions, making your greatest dreams come true might require you to have access to a few thousand dollars or several million.

  Financing your lifelong dreams and objectives could involve something as simple as saving a few dollars a day or negotiating a deal with your bank or finance company to loan you a substantial amount. The ability to attract all the wealth that you will ever require is a valuable skill to making your vision and dreams a reality.

  One day, you might find yourself trying to convince the right people that your plan for success is solid, regardless of whether the plan is to create a revolutionary product, construct a new building and hire staff for a new dynamic company, or design the world’s most advanced theme park. Unfortunately, for many people, trying to come up with adequate financial resources to make the dream a definite reality poses a major obstacle.

  The good news is that you don’t have to be a financial wizard or stock market guru to obtain the cash to live the life you’re seeking to experience. There is plenty to go around for everyone; you have to focus your thoughts on becoming wealthy and you will acquire the riches for achieving anything you want.

  If you develop a rich consciousness and focus all your thoughts on gathering the necessary financial resources, all the wealth of the world is yours the moment you move from a mental state of hopelessness to developing a no-failure attitude.

  The attainment of wealth isn’t just about getting rich; it is how you attract wealth that matters most and constructing a positive mental attitude automatically brings wealth into your life.

  A man with only twenty dollars in his pocket could amass a fortune if he has the wisdom and courage to put his money to good use. With a positive attitude and unshakable conviction in what you want to accomplish, the ability to attract riches lies in your mindset towards money and not in the hand that receives it.

  Henry Ford and Andrew Carnegie are prime examples. These men amassed fortunes beyond their wildest dreams because of the power of their inner drive and a determination to see their vision become a reality. Absolute clarity about what they wanted to achieve was the secret to their fortune. The money was simply a result of that dream coming to life.

  Mapping Your Road to

  Financial Freedom

  “Some people are just stuck in their ways and have been brainwashed into believing that credit cards and debt are an unavoidable part of life.”

  — Dave Ramsey

  Take a moment to think about the following questions. Write your answers in a notebook so you can refer to them later. This isn’t a test. By answering these questions, you will be able to determine your financial situation.

  Coming up with solid answers to these kinds of questions enables you to do something about your current financial situation. It moves you into a state of wealth consciousness, which in turn empowers you to begin attracting the level of wealth that you desire.

  1. If you had access to $10,000 right now, how would you use it? How about $100,000? How about $10,000,000?

  2. How important is money for you? What value do you place on having personal wealth?

  3. How much of your salary do you actually save? How much could you save in five years if you put away $300.00 a month?

  4. How many sources of income do you have? (Two part-time jobs/one full-time job/side business)

  5. How much debt do you have? How does this restrict your current lifestyle? Are you limited or strapped down because of the amount of debt you owe? (Credit cards, financial loans to banks)

  6. What investments do you have right now? Are these investments growing with each passing year? Do you know how much you made last year on your investments?

  7. How much money will you need to finance your ultimate dream?

  8. If you don’t have this money right now, what is your plan for obtaining these funds? In case you don’t have a plan for obtaining this money, what could you do to attract more money? Brainstorm this right now.

  9. What beliefs do you hold about money? Do you believe that you are worthy of attaining financial freedom?

  10. How old do you want to be when you can start living life in your own way? In other words, when do you want to retire from making a living to making a life? Are you living that way right now?

  11. What actions could you take today to get your mind focused on attracting and gaining more wealth?

  12. How could having more money add value and quality to your life, community, and home?

  13. If you could create your own business or develop a new product or brand, what would it be? What is the first step you could take right now to start moving in this direction?

  14. How much money do you donate to charity? If you are not donating anything now, is there a charity you’d like to support? How much would you be willing to give right now? What is stopping you from doing this?

  15. Do you have a fear of not having enough money? Does this fear stop you from taking risks or moving on new opportunities?

  16. If your answer to question 15 is “yes,” how would your life be different if you didn’t have this fear holding you back?

  17. How did you learn about saving and investing money? Who taught you?

  18. Based on your current knowledge regarding money, what would you have done differently if you could?

  19. What action could you take right now to increase your wealth and improve your current financial situation?

  Almost everything in life costs money. We need money to fuel our quality of life. Whether you want to become self-employed, take a vacation, or purchase a dream house in Hawaii, the one thing I know for certain is that people who are able to finance their dreams enjoy a quality of life that is far superior to that of the average person working to make ends meet.

  The process of building up your financial resources begins with creating a plan to enhance your level of financial awareness. The time and effort you spend today on planning your financial success for tomorrow will pay huge dividends in the future. Even if you do not become extremely wealthy, you will be far better off in ten to twenty years than if you were to do nothing and just coast along for the rest of your life.

  A design for financial success doesn’t just happen—you make it happen! Instead of being a slave to your money, you can become its master. Rather than feel helpless or hopeless, you can obtain financial freedom by developing a rich thought attitude. Once you believe you can have anything, you are ready to receive it.

  Six Power Tips for

  Building Wealth

  “Many speak the truth when they say that they despise riches, but they mean the riches possessed by others.”

  — Charles Caleb Colton

  1. Look out for the little stuff; it could be costing you a fortune

  People are in the habit of spending their hard-earned money every day on stuff that seems trivial—candy, soft drinks, snacks, a new phone app, or coffee. This little stuff seemingly goes unnoticed because of the menial impact it has on our financial resources at the moment. After all, who really misses a dollar or two here and there?

  Over a period of time, however, like the slow
dripping faucet that goes unnoticed until it eventually creates a flood, this little stuff adds up to big dollars that you could be putting toward living your dreams. You may not notice the significance of throwing away a dollar today, but the amount of cash spent over the course of the next ten to twenty years could actually take you around the world and back.

  Imagine that you’re in the habit of buying coffee and a snack on the way to the office every day. This has been your routine for the past few years. This simple, harmless habit has been costing you approximately $3.00 per day, and because the amount is just “pocket change,” you probably haven’t noticed the difference. Assuming that it’s only a few dollars a day, here’s what it looks like when projected on a larger scale.

  $3.00 × 1 day = $3.00

  $3.00 × 365 days = $1,095 per year

  At this point, I would like you to think about what you could do with $1,095. How much of a difference would it make if you had this amount in your savings account? Let’s look at the next ten years:

  $3.00 × 365 × 10 = $10,950

  This is the cost of spending $3.00 per day over the course of ten years. Whether it is on snacks, lottery tickets, the newspaper, bottled water, or coffee, the little stuff really does add up to big cash.

  Now, what could you do if you had $10,950? I can think of many things. You can either have your cake today and eat it, or discipline yourself to live without it and reap the benefits later. It’s all up to you.

  The purpose of this is not to make you feel guilty for stopping for coffee every morning or for treating yourself to a daily dose of ice cream. This is to show you the big picture over an extended period of time and how much money you could have if you managed to save it instead of spending $3.00 per day.

  I know that $3.00 per day isn’t much on the small scale of everyday life, but when it’s put under a magnifying glass, you are actually spending a fortune every day. This is assuming that the amount spent on knickknacks is only $3.00. Many people spend an average of $10.00 per day.