We are now half way through the year 2008. Yes, time has flown by. This is a great time to take an inventory. Take a few moments to ponder over where you are now. How far down the road are you on your journey to achieving your goals and desires?

When you wrote your goals, you had motivation and determination to achieve them. Perhaps you even made a blueprint for action. The question here is, Are you sticking to that plan?

You see, a critical key to achieving your goals is the level of your self-confidence, motivation and persistence. For you to succeed in accomplishing your goals you need to build on your self-confidence and exercise consistent persistence no matter what happens.

There is great power in self-confidence and persistence.

Many highly successful people have succeeded despite having lacking money and having limited education. The burning belief in their goals kept them strong and alive; kept the momentum going. They persevered regardless of any lacks and setbacks.

Perseverance prevails over many, if not all, seemingly limiting reasons for not manifesting your goals.

Keep your persistence at a high level. Move forward one step at a time and keep the momentum going. Maintain focus until you reach that quarterly goal.

If you were to feel that your persistence has weakened, go back to your goals. Read them back to yourself a couple of times then close your eyes and imagine you are living that goal. That should re-ignite your perseverance and overcome any lack that stands in your way.

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

Do you want to learn how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life? Be sure to read the FREE ebook Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.

One warm afternoon, my friend’s son wanted to show off his strength to me. “I can easily lift your laptop. Look.” He lifted it off the chair, and then asked. “How heavy is it, Natalie?”

“Oh, does it matter, Jason? How long you can lift it is what really counts. Can you carry it all the way home?” I toyed with him.

“Sure, I could.”

As I watched him struggle, my wheels started to turn.

The child was excited in the first minute, his smile wide and loud. However, after five minutes his smile disappeared and his shoulder slouched to one side. Two minutes after that the boy gave in and returned the laptop to me.

“Wow, that’s really heavy,” he exhaled as he rubbed his shoulder.

The laptop was the same weight all along. Yet it seemed heavier on the boy’s shoulder as time went by. Time has made my laptop heavier on the boy’s shoulder and because of that the boy had become uncomfortable and stressed.

That’s that way many people get stressed out. They carry their ‘laptops’ within them throughout the day. Soon enough the ‘laptop’ (or their burdens) gradually gets heavier and heavier, and in time the people are not able to carry their burdens any longer.

When the ‘laptop’ or burden gets heavy on your shoulders put it down in an appropriate place and take a break. After a short while you will feel refreshed and relaxed to continue with the day. The burden will then not feel as heavy. This way you remain in control.

When you are faced with a stressful situation, do you take a break and step away from that stress, even for two or three minutes? Just enough time to regain your composure?

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

For more information on how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life, be sure to read the free ebook Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.

“I have a great job, but I just can’t seem to get on with my manager,” a young client, in her mid-twenties, finally opened up. “I love the job and the people. It’s just him. He makes me cringe. I can’t stand him.”

Did you notice how many times she said can’t?

The word can’t is a small four letter word. Many people have been using it most of their lives without consciously knowing how this small word can deeply and negatively affect their unconscious mind. They do not realise the actual implication and consequence this petty word can have on the quality of their lives.

This seemingly small and insignificant word can, in fact, have a huge impact on people’s lives. It has the power to weaken and reduce self-esteem and confidence. It has the enormous and solid strength to keep people where they are and prevent them from moving ahead in their lives.

Instead of using such a word, replace it with “I choose to…” or perhaps, “I choose not to…” This way you regain positive control over your life because you will consciously make choices along the way.

The client above had a choice that she can make. She can choose to remain employed where she is and learn to accept her manager, or she can resign and search for another job. She had the choice to do either, and it is through that choice that she can improve her life.

As it happened, the lady above chose to think about her manager in a different way by adopting the, “I choose to see (David) from a new perspective as of now.”

We all make daily choices in our lives. Let us choose ones that add value.

If you were to replace “I can’t…” with “I choose…” how much of a difference will that make on how you feel?

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

For more information on how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life, be sure to read the free ebook Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.

How many times have you said to yourself, “I’m going to be CEO of this company, someday.” Or “I’ll be managing director, someday.” Or “I’d like to learn accounting to advance in my career, someday.” Or something similar?

As the years went by, that ‘someday’ never came.

The word ‘someday’ is a form of procrastination, or delaying something that you do not feel too strongly about. Many people tell themselves that they want that promotion, want to be more successful, would like to climb the ladder, and hope that ‘someday’ will happen all by itself. And they leave it to that.

These people are afraid to go after what they want because they are afraid to take risks. They would much rather play it safe and avoid any gambles that they might have to take, thinking they are better off to cuddle up in their comfort zone and make no headway in their life, in the belief that things will work out ‘someday’.

Have you done this before?

Someday is not going to show up by itself. You have to chase it to make it happen. We all have dreams and aspirations. Too often we allow events or thoughts to hold us back from achieving our dreams.

Let your ‘someday’ be today.

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

For more information on how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life, be sure to read the free ebook Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.

One of my clients made it her three month goal to get a story published in a reputable ladies’ magazine. “So I went ahead and sent my story to a couple of magazines. The most they could say is no, and I can hopefully learn from them why my story did not get accepted,” she laughed almost spilling the coffee on her short beige skirt.

Over dinner, my mind wondered back to our conversation. I rested my chin over my clasped hands and thought in silence.

Most beginnings in anything in life start by taking small, even minute steps. The smallest action does have the potential to lead to success.

The initial, small action can be the most important first step in the development of a goal.

Everything in life has a beginning, a middle and an end. And daily action, tiny or massive, is what carries you from one phase to the next.

Large actions could have you arrive at your destination quicker, but you if you don’t feel comfortable to take that approach, as in the above client, go ahead and take smaller actions. You will still realise your goal.

What idea do you have that you can take small action on to get you closer to your goal?

By the way, she managed to publish a short story in one of the weekly publications!

Hani Al-Qasem and Natalie Dee are the co-authors of the e-book “Self-Confidence Building in 7 Steps.”

For more information on how to have self-confidence to lead a more fulfilling life, be sure to read the free ebook Self-Confidence Building In 7 Steps and achieve all that you want.