When you want to do something but you’re not sure where to start, you’ve probably heard somebody tell you “Just do it and take the first step.” Perhaps this is something you’ve heard for the longest time.

However, you may be hesitant to take the first step. You may end up losing your confidence, and therefore do nothing.

Doing Something is Better than Nothing

When you want to accomplish something, merely thinking about it is not enough. You have to do something to move forward.

Suppose you are afraid of completing a task because you don’t know how it will end up. Well, doing nothing will get you nowhere near your goals.

On the other hand, those baby steps that you can take will bring you closer to completing your accomplishments– even if it takes a long time. These baby steps will slowly add up and before you know it you have reached your goal.

Baby Steps Will Take You There

Taking one small step at a time will help you to get where you want to go. Every little move you make will point you in the right direction to achieving your ultimate goals– no matter how small it is.

The most important thing is that you do something and start somewhere. Don’t waste another moment this year take that baby step now!

What Happens?

Many people in situations like this would allow their mind and imagination to take over and run wild. When we are put in a situation that is unfamiliar and our basic senses are not working, it can be very scary. We may begin to perceive the situation as best we can. However, without all the information, especially without the use of our senses, our perception can be very wrong. Yet and still we will go on living in our created reality and ideals.

Is it True?

Although what we are perceiving may not be true, it is true to us and is shown through our thoughts and actions. The Law of Attraction works the same way. If we think positively and take active steps in the right direction our thoughts  will lead us to a more productive track.

What Happens When We Think Negatively?

When we think negatively we block the pathway for anything we desire to be able to find us. We end up hindering our flow and overall life situation.

By changing the way we think we can create a venue that allows our desires to be easily accessed. This will open our minds to many of the available possibilities that can be achieved.

It’s interesting when someone says something outrageous about you, like you live in a zoo, it won’t bother you. This is because you know 100% that it isn’t true. This is ideally how you should react when someone mentions anything negative about you. Yet, many times if someone says you are good for nothing, a bum, etc. you immediately get offended and react defensively.  The moment these statements affect you is when you begin to believe in them – you begin to believe deep inside that you are these negative things.

There are usually two things that happen when people say bad things about you:

1.                You don’t mind because you know they are not true, or

2.                You get depressed and offended because a part of you believes those bad remarks

When your self-confidence falters, and you begin to believe what other people say about you, they begin to have control over you. You actually turn into a puppet who is controlled by the thoughts and views of what other people believe and say. In reality, you have the choice to not allow such things to affect you.

When you believe what other people say about you, and are bothered – that’s your choice. When you are confident, because you know who you are; there’s nothing that can change how you feel about yourself and how you react to others who may have unfavorable opinions about you.

Time to share your experiences:

• When was the last time you were affected by bad remarks from somebody?
• How would you handle it differently if it were to happen again?

Of course…

What was your response?

If you’re like most people, you probably said, “Thanks, you too…” and went about your way…not putting much thought into it.

Most people say “have a nice day” almost as if they’re wishing you “good luck”. They’re saying it as if it’s some random thing that can either happen or not happen…but have you ever stopped to think that having a nice day can be a choice?

You can choose to have a nice say no matter what’s going on that day. You don’t need any luck, you just have to choose to have a nice day – no matter what the situation.

I’m going to offer you a suggestion or a “request” today:

HAVE (choose) a nice day…

She politely declined.

Here’s what she said,

“Dear economy, I am in receipt of your invitation to the recession you’re throwing. I have decided to decline. Good luck with that!”

BRILLIANT!

This sums up what I’ve been talking about for the last few months…

The “recession” is a state of mind… and more importantly, a choice!

She is CHOOSING not to participate in the conversation of ‘recession’, therefore, her reality won’t show up that way.

Because as you know, when you think about recession, worry about recession, talk about recession… you get more recession.

There are people who are making millions…even BILLIONS – right now – in the midst of the so-called recession.

Why? They’ve chosen not to participate…

So can you.

A very smart friend of mine, referencing the state of the economy said, “Things are on sale right now…isn’t that what everyone wants…a good sale? You can buy some things cheaper than you could in the 90s…that’s a GOOD thing.”

He’s focusing on the positive aspects of what’s going on and because of that, opportunities are opening up for him that are “invisible” for those focused on doom and gloom.

Recently I bought a pair of D & G $550 eyeglasses for only $230! Just last week, I bought a set of $599 golf clubs for $199. I’m not complaining about that.

You have the power to choose how you want to view things. You can choose to attend the recession pity party or have one of your own.

Practical Application

Choose to see this as a time of never ending ‘sales’.  Houses, cars, electronics…practically EVERYTHING is on sale right now.

Isn’t that cool?

If you ever wanted the ‘stuff’ that you couldn’t get before, now is the time.  Between now and March of 2009, companies are going to be virtually giving stuff away.

You could really turn this into a powerful opportunity for yourself if you choose to look at this situation differently.

Ask yourself, “What opportunities are available to me because of this current situation?” You’ll be surprised with what you come up with.

If you’ve been laid off, this could be the time to start that business you’ve always wanted…

If your business is slow, this could be a great time to take the well-deserved vacation that you’ve been putting off.

And this goes for ANYTHING… not just finances. i.e. if your relationship just ended, this could be a chance for you to do some growth and personal development.

I could go on and on…

Change the way you see your situation and your situation will change…

So, I admit…I’m an addict.

I’m addicted to what I do for a living…speaking, coaching, business and marketing.

I just ran across a file I use to store all my domain information.

I own over 300 websites.

A couple of years ago I had over 500, but in 2006 I decided to “cut back” to 200…but now, within a year’s time, I’m up 100 again…to over 300 now.

Why do I have so many domains?

I’m addicted to the ideas behind buying them.

For example, I was sitting here one day I had an idea about how to calculate how much a person would need to earn per hour to make their target income for a year…based on the number of hours they wanted to work… (http://www.howmuchperhour.com)

I grabbed a domain name, put the site up in about an hour and told 4 friends about it…three weeks later the site was getting 5-10 visitors per day. That’s not “a lot” of traffic, but it’s a whole lot for doing NO promotion at all. The site is making me about $50 per month with no work, so it ‘seems like it’s worth it’.

The only problem is that making money from the site is feeding the addiction.

A couple weeks ago, I went to shoot some pool… no harm there right?

Well, I noticed the pool tables were a little dirty and my mind instantly went into developing the idea of creating self-cleaning cue balls. I went in to thinking about what the balls would have to be coated with to clean the table but also keep the integrity of a standard cue ball to not negatively impact play of the game. I even started thinking of the marketing slogans and how to sell the cue balls. I thought a good name would be “Clean Shoot” or “Clean Play”… or something like that.

Now, before you ask, “Antonio… so, what’s the problem?” I’m not implying that there is any problem per se. However, based on the definition of addict, it appears I am addicted to coming up with (and acting on) business ideas.

On the surface this could be a great thing, but I can’t seem to turn it off. As the definition says, I feel I’m psychologically dependent on this activity.

I don’t label this as a “bad” thing…and I don’t compare myself to an alcoholic or drug addict. However, I do feel it can lead to life disruption.
For instance: alcohol by itself isn’t a “bad thing…neither is marijuana…it’s the addiction to these things that causes problems in most people’s lives.

So, what I’m doing now is determining what impact this addiction is having on my life to see what adjustments I may need to make.

Yes, it’s very fortunate that my ‘addiction’ makes me money instead of causing me to spend it…but addiction to ANYTHING needs to be monitored.

A client of mine discovered that she’s addicted to pain (emotional). She causes hurt for herself in almost every way possible…men choices, job choices, etc… so now she’s able to see that she is the cause of her suffering, not the people and things around her.

I asked her if she could do anything she wanted to do all day, what would it be? After a lot of cajoling and wrestling, she finally admitted that she likes sewing, traveling, creating things with her hands and a few other (personal) things that I won’t mention here.

I asked her why she was working in the profession she was and she said, “I thought that I was supposed to be doing this”. She went on to say that she thought work was supposed to hard, boring, burdensome, etc… If she was having too much fun, then she was ‘doing something bad’.

WOW

We discovered that the ‘addiction’ to pain and suffering was ‘taught’ to her by her mother. Her mom drilled into her head that “life isn’t easy” and “if you’re not working hard (and suffering) then you’re lazy and “not worthy” of anything.

So, she believed that and over the years, she became addicted to pain to the point that she (subconsciously, but purposefully) found pain to inflict on herself. She took jobs she KNEW she would hate, she dated guys she KNEW were horrible… but she couldn’t figure out why she was doing that until now.

What addictions do you have in your life?

They may be obvious…or you may have to dig deep to find them.

Find out how they’re impacting your life and decide if you want to continue with the addiction or make the change in your life. Though we sometimes don’t feel like it is…but addiction IS a choice. We choose that thing to give our power to.

If you don’t want it to have power over you anymore, CHOOSE THAT

Practical Application

Things to ask yourself about potential ‘addictions’ in your life:

Why am I doing this? (In my case I have to ask: Is this inspired action or addicted behavior?)

Do I want to be doing this or do I feel like I have to

Is this getting me closer to my life goals?

These few questions will let you know if you’re dealing with some type of addiction or not. Then you can CHOOSE what you want for your life.

Helpful tip: Find a friend you can count on to help you in your process.

Note: This post is not intended to substitute professional medical help. If you’re suffering from an addiction, please consider an addiction hotline or other professional help.