Re-Create Yourself Now Stanley F. Bronstein Copyright 2007, 2009 and 2011 Smashwords Edition, License Notes Thank you for downloading this free eBook. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. This book is designed to provide the author's advice and opinions regarding the subject matter covered. The author and publisher specifically disclaim any liability or loss that is incurred as a consequence of the use and application, directly or indirectly, of any information presented in this book. Other books written by Stanley F. Bronstein can be obtained either through the author’s website at: StanleyBronstein.com or through select, online book retailers. Would you like to have Stanley Bronstein speak at your next event? Would you like to arrange private in-person or internet consultations with Stanley Bronstein? If so, contact Stanley Bronstein via email at Consult@StanleyBronstein.com Additionally, the author and publisher disclaim any liability as to the accuracy of any individual stories contained herein. To the best of our knowledge, they are accurate, but no representations or warranties are intended or are being made as to the accuracy of said stories. Chapter 1 Believe In Yourself, Your Abilities, Your Talents and Your Ideas Believe It And You Will See It It is currently 8:17 AM on Saturday, January 13, 2007. I am nearing the end (or perhaps the beginning) of my own personal re-creation project. My re-creation project began in late 1987 and I did not even realize it at the time. In late 1987, I was working as a CPA and my older brother dared me to go to law school. In the heat of the moment, I accepted the challenge. 4 years later I was not only a CPA, but a lawyer too. That combination has enabled me to accomplish all that I have accomplished up until now. One night while sitting in a law school class, I took out a piece of paper and wrote out a list of everything I wanted to accomplish over the next 20 years. I wrote down everything I believed I would accomplish, no matter how crazy it may have seemed at the time. The funny part is that 20 years later, I have accomplished virtually everything on that list, and a lot more, that I never dreamt of at the time. The next major step in my re-creation process occurred in 2001 when I, along with my wife, decided to relocate from Texas to Arizona. Moving to a different region of the country, in a place where I knew virtually no one, presented a lot of challenges. It also presented HUGE opportunities. I had the opportunity to evaluate myself, from the ground up, and decide what it was that I liked (and did not like) about myself. Upon moving, I rid myself of virtually everything in my life that I did not like and continued to work on the areas that I did like. In effect, I was re-created, from the ground up. Now, as we begin 2007, I am helping others to re-create themselves, as I have done (and am continuing to do). I believed that I would do it and now I am seeing it. The same thing is going to happen to you. Chapter 2 If You’re Going To Be A Hit, You Might As Well Be A Home Run Swing For The Fence My goal list from 20 years ago had some pretty lofty goals on it. I wanted to lose over 100 pounds; I’ve done that. I wanted to achieve certain financial goals; I’ve done that. I wanted to become a lawyer; I’ve done that. I wanted to create my own successful law and CPA practice; I’ve done that. I wanted to write at least one book; I’ve written three. In 2001, when I relocated to Arizona, I created a new goal list that had some even crazier, loftier goals on it. Some of these goals are so lofty that I even hesitate to share them with you in writing. Despite the loftiness of these goals, I’ve now achieved many of them and I’m right in the middle of achieving more of them. The point is, if you are going to bother to set goals for yourself, you might as well set BIG ones. That way, every time you do something in furtherance of your goals, you are getting one step closer to massive success, rather than just a little bit of it. If you are currently making $75,000 per year, don’t just say I want to make $100,000. Say that you want to make $500,000, or even a $1,000,000 or even more. If you want to write a book, don’t just say I want to write a book. Say that you want to write a book and for it to be a nationwide bestseller that sells thousands, or even millions of copies. If you want to get married, don’t just say you want to get married. Say that you want to marry the person of your dreams and describe them to yourself in detail. If you are going to go through the effort of re-creating yourself, then make yourself into the best you can possibly be. Don’t just settle for some improvements, make yourself all that you ever wanted to be (and more)! Chapter 3 Winning The Game Winning Starts With Beginning (Robert H. Schuller) I’m going to assume that you either are already a winner or you want to be a winner, otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this book. In order to be a winner, one must have a winning attitude. If you are already a winner, your first step is to reinforce and strengthen the winning attitude you already have. You have won before and you know what it feels like. All you have to do is remember that feeling and apply it to everything you do in the future. If you have not been a winner, IN THE PAST, you must first tell yourself that the past does not equal the future. Your past is just that, the past. It will serve to remind you from whence you came, and that is all. Just because you have not won, IN THE PAST, does not mean you will not win in the future. You must tell yourself that you are now a winner and everything you touch, from this point forward will turn to gold. At this point, I want to introduce you to the concept of affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements you declare to be true. You should repeat your affirmations daily, or even several times each day. Don’t just stick with the affirmations I list in this book. You can come up with your own too. Here is your first affirmation: I AM A WINNER AND EVERYTHING I TOUCH TURNS TO GOLD. You should repeat this and all other affirmations contained in this book, several times a day. Doing so will help you to remember that you are special and that you have special abilities, talents and ideas. Chapter 4 Timing When One Believes They Are Ready, They Are Ready. Belief in one’s self is one of the most important prerequisites to success. In fact, I personally believe it is THE one most important prerequisite. People who do not believe in themselves will, quite often, fail to take chances, they will fail to take risks, all because they assume they are going to fail at whatever they do. On the other hand, people who believe in themselves will, quite often, be willing to take calculated chances and to take calculated risks, all because they assume they are going to find a way to make whatever it is they attempt work. As you embark on the re-creation process in this book, you are going to need to have a willingness to take some chances and to take some risks. If you are afraid of taking calculated chances and risks (or do not think you are willing to learn to do so), then this book is not for you. If you have a demonstrated history of being willing to take calculated chances and risks (or you are willing to learn to do so), then I think you will find this book of great benefit to you. Here is your second affirmation: I AM READY FOR GOOD AND POSITIVE THINGS TO COME INTO MY LIFE AND THE LIVES OF THOSE AROUND ME. IN THAT REGARD, I AM WILLING TO TAKE SMART, CALCULATED CHANCES AND SMART, CALCULATED RISKS TO HELP ME ACHIEVE MY GOALS. NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS AS A RESULT OF TAKING THESE SMART, CALCULATED RISKS AND SMART, CALCULATED CHANCES, I AM READY TO HANDLE THOSE RESULTS. Chapter 5 Mastery To Be Master Of One’s Self, One Must Know One’s Self. Who are you? Do you know the answer to that question? If you do, wonderful. If you don’t, then you need to do some serious thinking before you move on to the later chapters in this book. In order to assist you, I am going to reprint Chapter 18 from my first book, How To Find Your Purpose In Life And Achieve It. That chapter dealt specifically with that question. My suggestion is that you take the time to read the reprint and do the exercises in said chapter. Once done, you will be ready to move on to the next chapter. Who Are You? You Are Who You Are And That's Who You Are One Navajo Native American saying is: Walk in harmony in the universe by being aware of who you are. This saying is not only incredibly beautiful, but also extremely important. It implies that you must first figure out who you are and then you must accept who you are, in order to live in peace and harmony with the universe. How do you go about defining who you are? In my experience, many people define themselves in terms of who they are not, rather than in terms of who they are. They focus on their weaknesses and the things they don't have or haven't accomplished, rather than on their strengths and the things they do have or have accomplished. You would be much better served if you would define yourself in terms of who you are, instead of who you are not. If you spend all your energy focusing on who you are not, then you will beat yourself down and have little energy or enthusiasm left over to focus on achieving your goals. Who you are is your core essence. When all else is stripped away, what is left over? Think for a few minutes and then on a blank piece of paper, write about the best way to define yourself. Who am I? Your core essence is the foundation upon which you are going to build everything else in your life. After you have figured out who you are, you should ask yourself the opposite question: Who am I not? Think about the characteristics and traits that do not describe you. Who am I not? Now that you have thought about who you are and who you are not, you will be able to realize and accept who you are at your core. Then and only then can you examine your core essence to see if there is anything you might wish to change, add or remove as you continue toward finding and accomplishing your purpose in life. Who do I want to be? Unfortunately, there is no easy, immediate way to figure out who you are. You must look inside yourself to find the answer to this question. It will take time and introspective thought before you can begin to answer this question. The information you have written here will provide invaluable insight to you as we proceed through the rest of this book. Finding out who you are is extremely important. Put down this book and think about this chapter for at least the next hour. Think about it deeply. Knowing who you are, who you are not and who you want to be, will bring you a sense of inner peace that is essential for the remainder of our journey together. Chapter 6 A Person’s Character Is Their Destiny. Sow A Thought, Reap An Action. Sow An Action, Reap A Habit. Sow A Set Of Habits, Reap A Character. Sow A Character, Reap A Destiny. (William James) As we work together toward the goal of re-creation, we need to make sure that we are creating something desirable, rather than something undesirable. Toward that end, you need to consider what aspects to your character you wish to have. For example, do you want to be an honest person or a dishonest person? Do you want to act honorably, or dishonorably? Do you want to be known as trustworthy or untrustworthy? By answering, in advance, questions about your character, you laying a strong foundation for the destiny you are going to achieve. If you do not take the time to answer some of these questions, then it is possible your foundation may not be as stable as is required in order for you to achieve your goals. Dictionary.com defines “character” as: “the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing.” With that definition in mind, you need to ask yourself several questions: What are some of the main GOOD features and traits you currently have? What are some of the main BAD features and traits you currently have? What are some of the main GOOD features and traits you would like to develop as you re-create yourself? What are some of the main BAD features and traits you would like to avoid as you re-create yourself? Be sure and bookmark this chapter, as you will want to refer to it again at a later point in this process. Chapter 7 Inner Strength The True Test Of A Warrior Is Not From Without, But From Within (Star Trek: Next Generation – Episode: Heart Of Glory) In order to embark on the journey of re-creation, you are going to face many obstacles in your path. Most of these obstacles come from external sources (i.e. they come from people, places and things other than ourselves). While these obstacles will cause you difficulties, I’d like to suggest that it is your own personal demons that be the cause of the toughest problems you face along the way. For example, I have struggled, in the past, to lose weight. I would always blame the people and circumstances around me. I would resent social functions where I would be expected to eat. I would resent late night dinners that required me to eat much later in the evening or at night (which is something I do not believe is healthy, at least for me). I would resent people who looked at my diet and tried to tell me what foods I was supposed to eat and not supposed to eat. All of these were external sources. It was only when I realized that the greatest enemy was within me that I found it easier to lose weight. I stopped resenting the social functions where I would be expected to eat. I would simply either not go to them or I would go to them and not eat, or eat something small and light. I stopped resenting late night dinners that required me to eat much later in the evening. I would simply either eat earlier and not eat at the dinner, or I would eat something very light at the dinner. I stopped resenting people who tried to tell me what to eat and what not to eat. I simply started eating foods that I knew were healthy for me and helped me lose weight and if they didn’t like it, that was too bad. I stopped worrying about what others thought about me and did what I knew was the right thing to do, for me. In other words, I was finally able to conquer the external demons by conquering my own internal demons first. That is where my true test was. It was inside me, not outside me. As you move forward in your own process of personal re-creation, you need to focus upon building yourself and conquering your own personal demons. You need to constantly ask yourself what some of these demons might be. Are you a perfectionist? Are you lacking in self-confidence? Are you afraid of success? Are you afraid of failure? All of these questions (and their answers) are important. Please list below up to 5 of your biggest external demons that you face. Please list below up to 5 of your biggest internal demons that you face. Don’t be afraid to let them out. It is only by realizing what they are that we can work toward facing them and putting them to rest. How could overcoming these internal demons help you to overcome your external demons? Be sure and bookmark this chapter, as you will want to refer to it again at a later point in this process. Chapter 8 Change If You Will Change, Everything Will Change For You. (Jim Rohn) There is no way getting around it. Personal re-creation is going to require personal change. Every time I’ve taken a step along my personal re-creation process over the past 20 years, I have had to make personal changes, some of them major. When I wanted to lose weight, I had to change my eating habits and I have had to exercise. When I wanted to relocate my law and accounting practice from Texas to Arizona, I had to change many things, including moving out of a home I had lived in for 20 years and taking on major, new responsibilities, all in an environment of uncertainty as to whether or not I would be successful. Change is something most of us fear. Most people have a tendency to prefer comfortable environments where we don’t have to face the stresses that change can bring. We like to go to work every day and know that we won’t be faced with any new tasks that we may not be capable of handling. We like to get up at the same time each day and go to sleep at the same time. We like patterns. We like stability. By not having to face change, it makes us feel safe. While “being safe” is generally a good thing, “playing it safe” is not always a good thing. By “playing it safe”, I mean one’s tendency to take a course of action that they know will not lead to any problems or potential problems. I mean a course of action that will not ruffle anyone’s feathers, that will not make any waves. Such a course of action will frequently keep us out of trouble, but it will also make it much less likely that any positive changes will ever happen. For example, I was perfectly happy living in Texas. It was a tremendous risk for me to relocate my practice and my life to Arizona. For all I know, may have missed some major opportunities by not being in Houston and I might be doing very well right now, had I remained there. Notwithstanding, I am tremendously happy living in Arizona and I think my life and business are much better as a result of having moved. If I had been afraid to make a change, I would probably still be living in Houston. I will never know whether or not that would have been better or worse, but I do know the results of my having moved to Arizona have been excellent. I personally believe that risking the move to Arizona “may” have been the greatest and most beneficial personal change I have ever made. It was a catalyst that opened up so many doors and so many possibilities, none of which would have existed had I remained in Houston. I believe that you too have the possibility of making personal changes that can open up so many possibilities for you. What are some things about you that you might like to change? What are some good things that might happen if you make these changes? Are you willing and ready to make these changes, or are you afraid? What are some of the best things that can happen to you if you make these changes? What are some of the worst things that can happen to you if you make these changes? If you are afraid, what is the best thing that can about you that you do NOT want to change? Be sure and bookmark this chapter, as you will want to refer to it again at a later point in this process. Chapter 9 Hesitation and Doubt Be Like The Arrow That Springs From The Bow, With No Hesitation, No Doubts And A Path That Is Clear (J. Michael Straczynski) While hesitation and doubt can often prevent us from acting rashly and foolishly, more often than not, they will instead be roadblocks to our acting upon our instincts. All too often, we fail to act upon our instincts, despite the fact they are often correct. Acting upon our instincts is a natural and pure use of our intuitive powers. They are not based upon preconceptions, misconceptions or possibly inaccurate beliefs. Instead, our instincts are based upon those beliefs and feelings we know, deep down inside, are proper. Your path will be much clearer if we use our instincts to help determine it. Your path will not be based upon false preconceptions, misconceptions and beliefs that one often believes to be true. Instead it will be based upon your innermost thoughts, feelings and beliefs, all of which are pure and good. The main reason one hesitates or has doubts is because they are afraid. It may be fear of failure; fear or success or simply fear of making a wrong decision. As you re-create yourself, you should ask yourself whether or not fear may be holding you back. If it is, you need to learn to face your fear and to overcome it. Fear is False Evidence Appearing Real. Whenever we react in a fearful manner, we all too often are letting misconceptions and incorrect beliefs determine our actions. Instead, we must learn to face our fear and act in a manner that is more consistent with our instincts. During my personal re-creation process, I have had many fears. Some of them were: Whether or not I could (and would) lose the great amount of weight I needed to lose. Whether or not I would be successful in my chosen professions. Whether or not relocating to Arizona was a wise decision. Whether or not writing my books and starting a personal re-creation program to share with others would be a success. Whether or not I could handle the success when it comes my way. Over the course of time, I’ve decided that all that matters it that my belief that I am on the proper path. Other than time traveling to the future, there is no way that I know of to be 100% certain that my path is the proper one. Consequently, I have chosen to trust my instincts. My instincts tell me that everything I have done over the past 20 years is all falling into place and everything is lining up to produce the results I want. In fact, my instincts tell me that everything will work out so well, that I will look back upon this experience 5 or 10 years from now and laugh about how well everything has worked out. I will see that my fears were groundless. They were false evidence appearing real. What are the biggest fears you are currently facing in your life and in your work? What do your instincts tell you about these fears? Do they tell you that you fear realistic or are they false evidence appearing real? Be sure and bookmark this chapter, as you will want to refer to it again at a later point in this process. Chapter 10 Setbacks You Can Not Control Your Wind, But You Can Control Your Sails (Jim Rohn) By wind, I mean external forces that act upon you. It is difficult for us to control these external forces, if we can control them at all. For example, if you were planning an outdoor wedding, you cannot control whether or not it is going to rain during the ceremony. However, there is a variety of things you can do to be prepared in case it does rain. You can schedule the outdoor wedding for a month and location where it is much less likely to rain. You can schedule the wedding for a location that has a contingency plan that lets you move the ceremony indoors if it starts raining. You could even decide to not have an outdoor wedding. Controlling your sails is deciding how you are going to react to the various ways the “wind” might blow. You cannot personally control whether or not the economy is going to be good or bad during the next 5 years. You can however have contingency plans in place that give you viable alternatives so that you are prepared in either case. The reason I bring up the points in this chapter is that I do not want you to waste your time lamenting or worrying about the fact you cannot control things that are going to happen to you. Instead, I want you to focus all of your energies to determine what things might possibly happen to you and to develop contingency plans for dealing with these alternative scenarios. Worrying will hold you back. Proper advance planning will allow you to move forward; no matter what obstacles turn up along your path. I want to leave this chapter with a thought that is intended for all those people who like to worry too much: “One who worries before it is necessary worries more than is necessary.” If you are known for worrying too much, you may want to print that out on a large piece of paper and tape it to your bathroom mirror. That way you will see it several times each day and be able to think about it. Chapter 11 Style The Journey Of A Thousand Miles Begins With A Single Step (Lao Tzu) I recently saw an excellent movie called Rabbit-Proof Fence. The movie is based upon the true story of 3 young Australian aborigine girls who were removed from their families because they were of mixed heritage (their father’s were white and their mothers were aborigines). These girls were taken over a thousand miles from their home to the other side of Australia. They were to live in a camp where they would be trained, based upon the goals of a government bureaucrat who thought he knew what was best for them. These girls missed their families so much and hated the camp so much, that they ran away and walked over 1000 miles home. They had no roadmap. No GPS systems. Instead, they followed a simple barbed wire fence designed to keep out rabbits. They were told this fence ran the entire length of Australia and they knew part of the fence was in their village. Demonstrating an incredible amount of courage and cleverness, they walked home, all the way, simply by following the fence. 2 of the 3 girls were able to elude bounty hunters who were sent out to recapture them. It was an amazing story. When the government eventually recaptured these girls from their home and took them back to the camp, they walked away again and walked all the way home. These girls were incredible. The point of their story is that they never gave up. No matter how far they had to go; no matter how long their journey; they simply kept going. They followed the only roadmap they had (the fence) and they kept going. One foot after another, they kept going. If they hit a roadblock, they dealt with it and found a way around it. Eventually they reached their destination. When they hit the ultimate roadblock (being recaptured and taken back to the camp), they simply started walking again until they reached their destination. As you embark on your personal re-creation process, you are going to have to do the same thing. You are going to have to come up with your own roadmap and you are going to have to keep walking until you reach your destination. You may be able to find shortcuts along the way and you may find a way to drive a “speedy sportscar” (instead of walking), but you are still going to have to start and you are going to have to keep going until you reach your destination. By picking up this book and starting to read it, you have taken the first step upon your journey; your personal re-creation process. Now it’s time to come up with a roadmap (i.e. your “rabbit-proof fence”). Chapter 12 Clarity The Rear View Mirror Is Always Clearer Than The Windshield (Warren Buffet) As we begin working together toward creating a roadmap for your personal re-creation project, you should not be overly afraid of taking a wrong turn as you journey along your path. Wrong turns are inevitable. You can only do your best to avoid them, to minimize any negative consequences from them and to learn from them. One of the realities of life is that you will always have a clearer picture of your past, as you evaluate it, than you were able to see at the time you were living it. That is because we do not have as much information about events that are in front of us (things that have not yet happened) as we have about events that are behind us (things that have already happened). As human beings, we have a tendency to constantly examine our past actions and to look at ourselves with a “harsh” eye. We say things like: How could I have done that? How could I have been so stupid? If we want to move forward, we have to learn to overcome this tendency and to ask better questions. We should instead ask questions like: What clues were there that, had I noticed them, I might have been able to avoid this situation? What can I learn from this situation so I can minimize the change of it happening again? What positive things have come out of this situation? Remember, you will almost never have a clearer picture of what lies before you than you will have of what lies behind you. This is only natural. Do not let a fear of the future prevent you from creating one. You might as well be prepared, as the future is going to come anyway; whether you are ready or not. Chapter 13 Vision You Cannot Hit A Target That You Cannot See Another vital reason for you to have a roadmap as you embark on your personal re-creation process is that you will be unable to hit a target you are unable to see. This means that not only must you have specific goals in mind, but they must also be clear enough so you can see what success looks like and realistic enough so that you honestly believe you will achieve them. If you want to lose weight, then you need to visualize pictures of yourself being skinny. If you want to drive a nice car, then you need to visualize yourself driving the car of your dreams. If you want to live in a nice house, then you need to visualize yourself living in such a house. You should not just say I want to be skinny. You should put up pictures of skinny people and say, “I look exactly like that.” Better yet, if you have pictures of yourself when you were younger and skinnier, put those up. That’s what I did and it certainly helped remind me of where I have been and where I want to be. You should not just say you want to drive a nice car. You should say, “I WILL to drive a Mercedes S-500, and it WILL be black with a special sound system, satellite radio, leather seats, and a large, powerful engine!” Put a picture of that car on your mirror or computer monitor where you will see it every day. That’s what I did until I went out and actually bought one. You should not just say you want to live in a nice house. Picture what your house looks like and what each of your special rooms look like. Set up at least one room in that house that belongs to you and to you alone. For me, that “special” room was to build a dry sauna in my garage. The sauna has a computer system in it and it is isolated from the rest of the house. I can go in there and meditate, write, work, watch movies or do whatever else it is I wish to do. Visualization works wonders in helping us achieve our goals. The more vivid your visualizations are, the better they will work for you. Chapter 14 Push Yourself To The Max One Can Only Go As Far As They Push Lately, push has become one of my most favorite words. Push, push, push, it never stops. We must always push. If we don’t push ourselves, we have a tendency to stop and become complacent. Every morning when I get on the treadmill, I tell myself, push, push, push. If I don’t push myself, I won’t want to get on the treadmill. If I don’t get on the treadmill, I won’t get my exercise done. If I don’t get my exercise done, I won’t lose any more weight. If I don’t lose any more weight, I won’t take another step forward in my personal re-creation process. I’m not saying you have to constantly push. In any long-term project, such as the process of re-creation, there will come moments when you have to rest. If you constantly push, you will burn yourself out, long before you reach your destination. For example, I had to take it a little easier in my exercise routine the past week. Instead of exercising for 2 hours daily, I cut it back and I exercised for only 1 hour each day. I still got my vital exercise done, but I gave myself a change to recharge, both mentally and physically. My mind and body were simply too tired to continue on my “blistering” pace. After the week of taking it a little easier, I suddenly realized that I felt much more refreshed. I was not only ready to resume my vigorous daily workouts , but to even increase the intensity of them. However, one thing you need to be aware of is that you do not want to stop your momentum. Had I simply taken the entire week off from exercising, it is possible I may not have ever wanted to get started again. By simply cutting back on my daily exercise, I gave my body a chance to rest, while still forcing myself to continue making exercise a part of my daily routine. That’s the funny thing about pushing yourself. If you push yourself constantly and never rest, you will wear yourself out. If you push yourself constantly and then totally stop to rest, you risk never getting started again. The trick is to push yourself constantly, but to vary the intensity of the pushing from time to time. This gives your mind, body and spirit a chance to rest, yet you avoid the risk of not getting started again. Athletes do this all the time. They push themselves harder one or two days a week and then a little bit less during the remaining days of the week. In other words, it’s not okay to stop pushing yourself, but it is okay to take it a little easier from time to time. Your heart does the same thing. It constantly pushes each time it beats, but it still manages to rest, between the beats. You must do the same thing. Push when you have to and rest when you can. Chapter 15 Attraction It’s Easier To Push When You Are Being Pulled My personal re-creation goals pull me forward daily. As part of my re-creation process, I need to complete this third book, well in advance of my upcoming seminar series on the subject of personal re-creation. As a result, I am having to push myself daily to get it finished on schedule. Pushing myself daily takes effort, but pushing myself becomes much easier whenever I think about my seminar series. The nearness of my upcoming seminar series is pulling me forward, ever closer to my goal. My goal is drawing me toward it. As you create your own personal path toward re-creation, you need to make sure your path contains elements that will draw you toward them. You need to make sure that you are going to be constantly drawn forward toward the completion of your goals. Doing so will make it much easier for you to keep pushing yourself forward. Another example I’m reminded of involved my graduating from law school. When I first entered law school, I knew it was going to be a 3 to 4 year process. It would involve 3 to 4 years of constantly pushing myself toward the finish line. In order to motivate myself, I used my computer to create calendars for the next 4 years. On one of the calendars, I marked down my projected finish date. I then placed an “X” on each and every day, and also kept a countdown as I moved ever closer to the finish line. Instead of just looking at it as a long journey from start to finish, I looked at it as a finish line that was constantly getting closer. I truly believe this helped make the process a little easier. You need to do the same thing. If you create goals that will pull you toward them, you will find that it is much easier to push yourself toward those goals. Keep this in mind as you go forward in your life.