I recently watched “The Pursuit of Happyness” and WOW! It’s one of the most inspirational movies I’ve ever watched. I know everyone else has watched it, but just in case you haven’t it’s a true story of a man’s battle with poverty. And like any great movie, the hero comes up triumphant (and in this case, a millionaire!) Watch the trailer:

This is part 1 of 4 of the series. Over the course of the next 4 days, I will feature videos of the real man being interviewed about his story. The videos contain great insights by themselves but just in case you need more ammunition, the series will feature the teachings of Brian Tracy from his book “21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires”. Let’s get on with business, now shall we?

1. Dream Big.

The Question: What one thing would you dare to dream if you knew you could not fail?

No big surprise here, but sometimes I wonder : What if I make my goal too big? The moment I asked myself this question, my mind directed me to a chat I had with my uncle a week or two ago.

My Uncle told me about this Interview he watched on TV with arguably one of Singapore’s most popular Entrepreneurs, Mohd. Mustafa from Mohd Mustafa & Samsudin Co. Pte Ltd. You might not be Singaporean, so I’ll explain abit of what he does.

He basically transformed one small shop in a shopping centre along this long stretch of street called “Serangoon Road” at Little India. Over the span of a few years, he now owns the whole shopping centre and the whole stretch of road in front of it. The amazing thing is that his Shopping Centre has been allegedly reported to be making more than “Robinsons”!

When asked in the Interview what he credits his success to, he answered,”You have to dream big. VERY BIG. And then you’ll get the small one.”

That wasn’t what I expected him to say and I don’t know any success Gurus who have testified to that. What do you think? Do you really only manifest a small part of your dreams? That’s a rather bleak outlook isn’t it?

Tools To Help You: In my book, I talked about this concept called “Think Like God”. No, I’m not saying you are God. But what if you could think like Him? What if you had the power to do anything you want? What worthy dream would you dream for yourself in this world?

2. Develop A Clear Sense of Direction.

The Question: What would you like to achieve over the next 12 months? Write down 10 goals and circle the one tt will make the most impact in your life. Now think, live and breathe it every second of the day until you achieve it.

I remember pasting a sticky note on my Desktop that said something like, “You can’t hit it if you can’t see it”. Honestly, it was a nice quote I wanted others to see and comment on when they use my computer.

However, I was really frustrated from studying for my “A” levels one day and I refused to study. It didn’t seem like studying was going to do me any good as nothing was really going into my head. I’m glad I did because after a while, the sticky note jumped at me.

“You can’t hit it if you can’t see it, eh?” I said to myself. So, I decided to write down the goals I had for each subject and guess what! No, I didn’t really hit the target but I was a whisker off!

Tools To Help You. Maybe you’d like to have your own sticky? No? Then I highly suggest you start writing down your goals and review them at least twice daily to get the visualisation going. Because when you visulise, you are activating your thoughts to attract like thoughts to you. And that’s how it’s done!

Hate flimsy papers? Then join Gratitude Journalists where I have my goal plastered in front of my page so that I see it everyday when I write in my online Gratitude Journal. I shall not tell you what that goal is, but I’ll show it to you! Click here. It’s somewhere in the middle!

P.S. You can think all you like about getting a Ferrari but if you don’t believe it can be done, you’re doing yourself more harm than good because you will only reaffirm the impossibility of that happening to you.

“The biggest reason why self-made millionaires are born is what they think about most frequently and how they think about it.”

3. See Yourself As Self-Employed

The Question: If you were president for a day in your company, or were completely responsible for results where you work, what one change would you enact immediately? Whatever it is, write it down, make a plan and begin on it today. This alone could change your life.

When Brian Tracy said “self-employed” what he’s really saying is to think of yourself as an independent. Don’t think of yourself as someone who works for Ernst & Young and that you have the brand name chopped all over you! Think of yourself as you working with Ernst & Young because you choose to do so.

Or if you hate your job, ask yourself the question above and start building your own company. The idea is simple. Nothing new. Nothing ground-breaking.

Just take 100% responsibilty for you life. That means no complaining and accepting whatever that happens be it good or bad as something that you are responsible for.

Tools To Help You: Let me tell you something personal : I used to be like so many of my friends. When I do something really praise-worthy, I’d say,”Oh! I was just luck!” but if I did something wrong I’d take it really hard and blame myself over and over again.

I’ve been there. It’s not fun! I’ve learnt to really say, “Yes! I created that! (with the help of the Universe) and know that I really did. And when I do flop I’ve learnt to say,”Darn! I did that didn’t I? What can I do now to fix it.” The funny thing is, people tend to appreciate you more if you admit to your mistakes and do something about it.

Maybe you could try doing the same thing to start taking 100% responsibility for your life.

4. Do What You Love To Do

The Question: If you won a million dollars, tax free, tomorrow, would you continue to do what you are currently doing?

Now that’s a big question isn’t it? Think about it. My answer was “No” and I was shocked myself! I have dedicated half my life to personal development and have always dreamed of becoming like Anthony Robbins.

Yet, I answered “No” to this question. Why? There’s a loophole in this question. Read deeper into the question. My answer was, “No way! I’d totally enjoy myself all around the world!” If you had something close to mine although you’re deeply passionate about something, don’t worry.

I figured we both would love to have some fun right? But try asking yourself this question : If I have one million dollars deposited into my bank everyday, would I continue doing what I currently do?

I mean, no matter how lavish our lives are, it will eventually leave us to ourselves. And I believe only then could we really answer that question truthfully.

Tools To Help You: I’ve written extensively on the topic of figuring out what you are truly put here to do in in the Farrah Gray Exclusive.

5. Commit To Excellence

The Question: What one skill, if you developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on your life?

Set a goal to become the top 3% of the world by becoming the top person in the industry. Because as we both know, 96% of the world’s income is owned by 3% of the population.

I used to think that in order to become excellent at something, you have to have something extraordinary. Early this year, I discovered that’s not necessarily true.

In The E-Myth, Michael E. Gerber said something to the effect of “Excellence is not achieved through doing extraordinary things. It is achieved by ordinary people doing ordinary things in an extraordinary way.” Maybe that would give you a clue ;)

Brian Tracy said something in the book that I am obliged to share with you. He said,”Your decision to become excellent at what you do, to join the top 10% in your field, is the turning point in your life. It is the key to great success. It is also the foundation of high levels of self-esteem, selfrespect and personal pride. When you are really good at what you do, you feel wonderful about yourself. It affects your entire personality and all your relationships with other people when you know you are at the top of your field.”

Did images and feelings of happiness flow through you when you read that? It happened to me. I believe this is the standard I want to be at.

Tools To Help You: My online mentor, Mike Litman also keeps reminding not to give 10% more, but try to give 1% more. I’ve found that this has really helped me alot in becoming excellent at what I do (hopefully you think so, because if you don’t I don’t really have a point to make here!) Let me give you an example:

Everyday I type a post on this blog. The process of finding a video and an idea to link to it would take roughly an hour or so. Writing it takes another hour and a half. Normally, I would think, “Ok! Let’s publish this!” but I noticed that good bloggers always had nice headings. So, I started doing 1% more by having nice ones too.

Then I also notice complimentary photos. As I’m inspired not to waste the previous 1%, I get photos too. Now that I’ve improved my quality by 2%, I am inspired to do more. The next 1% comes in re-writing the draft, and so on and so forth. It’s all about momentum.

So, as you can see, excellence begins with a 1% improvement.

A Parting Quote From “The Pursuit of Happyness”

“You got a dream, you gotta protect it.

People can’t do something themselves, they wanna tell you you can’t do it.

If you want something, go get it. PERIOD”

Talk Back To Me:

I believe the fifth principle has been really pivotal to what I’ve accomplished so far. Thus, I want to hold you accountable to improving yourself in any way by 1% tomorrow.

If you’re committed to your success, please share your commitment with the rest of us. I’d love to read them, and who knows? Maybe you’ll inspire another reader to take one step towards accomplishing their dreams.

Because that’s what it’s all about, really.

So, let’s hear your 1% commitments for tomorrow!

To CANI,

SaiF

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Read Part 2 of “The 21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires Unveiled” Series

Read Part 3 of “The 21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires Unveiled” Series

Read Part 4 of “The 21 Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires Unveiled” Series

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