The 5 Rules Of A Winning Daily Routine (How To Reprogram Your Mind)

You are driven in life by either fear or desire. Fear looks backwards at past problems and missed chances. Desire pulls you forward like a magnet towards your future goals. You must learn to focus on the rewards of success instead of the penalties of failure. A special thanks to the Whitley family for partnering with us to release this video exclusively on my YouTube channel. To check out more about Dennis Whitley Global, click the first link in the description below.

Positive self-motivation is that inner drive that keeps you moving in pursuit of your goals. Winners in every field in the game of life are driven by desire. There never has been a consistent winner in any profession who didn't have that burning desire to win internalized. Although Chinese philosophers and great thinkers have preached it as a basic axiom in life for centuries, this concept was first presented in an audio program by Earl Nightingale in his platinum recording of The Strangest Secret. The stranger secret is that we become what we think about most of the time. In other words, we, our team, our children, all motivated every day and moved by our current dominant thoughts. We are moved in the direction of what we dwell on. Everyone in life is self-motivated a little or a lot, positively or negatively. Even a decision to do nothing is a decision based on motivation. There's a basic distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic motivation. Having intrinsic motivation means doing something for its own sake, like playing a sport just for the joy of playing. On the other hand, extrinsic motivation pulls you by the power of some external benefit or tangible reward that you'll attain by taking action, as in the case of a professional athlete who plays primarily for money rather than for the fun or challenge of the sport. It also influences people in their business careers, especially among those who are driven fundamentally by the income they receive rather than by the love, the service they provide. Since the accomplishment of a difficult task means more to the high achievers than any external motivation, it means that motivation will remain strong throughout his or her career. Think of how much stronger and more permanent such a motivation is compared to one that is extrinsic. Suppose you choose a particular career because of the money. What happens when there is more money in doing something else? Since there is no inner drive to stay on any particular path, the journey will be arduous and motivation will tend to weaken whenever the external reward seems remote or out of sight. Some people spend their entire lives wandering from one field to another, always looking for an easier way to find that pot of gold, never achieving a significant goal worthy of their inner potential. This problem of money alone does not stimulate intrinsic motivation, and therefore it's a means, not an end. Money's like fuel for your car. It's not the destination, it's not the journey, it's only part of the transportation system. So make your why grab you by your very soul. You'll never be disappointed for very long, and you'll stay committed regardless of market conditions and setbacks. Motivation is a very emotional state, and the great physical and mental motivators in life, such as survival, hunger, and thirst, as well as love and revenge, are all charged with emotion. And the two key emotions which dominate all human motivation— with opposite but nearly equally effective results are fear and desire. Fear, of course, is the most powerful negative motivator of all. Fear is the great inhibitor that restricts, tightens, and panics, and is the red light that tells us that we can't do things because of the obstacles and risk. Fear is the great compeller that forces us to do things that we feel we have to do because of the consequences. I remember feeling those symptoms when I was 12 years old and my friends dared me to run through a farmer's pasture that had the biggest, ugliest, meanest bull that I'd ever seen corralled there. Above the fence that we were supposed to crawl through before sprinting safely to the other side was a cryptic sign that the farmer had posted for trespassers: "Don't attempt to cross this field unless you can do it in 9.9 seconds." "The bull can do it in 10 seconds flat." Well, that sign motivated several involuntary muscle spasms in me, and I had to change my jeans when I got home. You know, I'd much rather run towards something that I want, like a ripe watermelon in that farmer's field, than have to run away from something I fear, like that bull's horns. Desire, conversely, is like a strong positive magnet. It attracts, reaches, opens, directs, and encourages us toward our goals. Fear and desire are poles apart, and they lead to alternate destinies in life. Fear usually looks to the past at missed opportunities and problems, while desire looks toward the future. Fear vividly replays haunting experiences of failure, pain, disappointment, or unpleasantness and is a dogged reminder that the same experiences are likely to repeat themselves. But desire, on the other hand, triggers memory of pleasure and success. It excites the need to replay these positive memories and create new winning experiences. The consuming prison words of the fearful person are likely to be: "I have to," "I can't," "I see risk," and "I wish." Desire says, "I want to," I can, I see opportunity, and I will. Desire is that emotional state between where you are and where you want to be. So desire is a magnetic tension, like a bow pulled taut to take the arrow to the bullseye. Is tension good or bad? Yes, it's good or bad, depending on whether it is initiated by fear or desire. Negative tension induced by fear creates distress, anxiety, and hostility. Carried to extremes, it can cause psychosis and serious illness. But positive tension produced by desire is like an Olympic athlete coming out of the starting blocks or like that bow pulled taut to propel the arrow to the bullseye. Fear causes compulsion distress. Desire causes propulsion power. Fear causes inhibition distress. Desire causes ignition power. In a totally tension-free state, you're either in a deep, relaxed state of meditation, asleep, or dead. But what a person really needs in life is not a tension-free state, but the striving and struggling for a goal that's worthy of him or her. Winners have learned how to concentrate on the desired results rather than possible problems. And winners dwell on the rewards of success. Instead of the penalties of failure. To conquer your fear of rejection, you need to handle the word "no" in a constructive way. When people turn you down after a presentation, you have to interpret the "no" as "no, this is not right for me now." We also can interpret "no" as meaning "I need to know more about the opportunity or the products before I can say yes." I look at the service I offer to others as a gift that almost everyone desires. It's like a nutritious dessert. What if waiters or waitresses in a restaurant said to the customers at their tables, "Would you like our special strawberry parfait for dessert? It's the best in the world!" And they were told no by their patrons 3 out of 5 times? Would they go to their manager, throw up their hands, and quit, lamenting, "They don't like me or my strawberry parfait!" Of course they wouldn't! They'd go on about their business, thinking the patrons had missed out on something delicious. That's why you should treat the products or services that you offer as products like a gift, much more beneficial than a fruit dessert. But what is being rejected is the presentation, not the presenter. When I can separate my self-esteem from offering the products or business opportunity, I can live with rejection, and I can look for ways to get a positive response more often. When you are experiencing rejection, that's the time to network with mentors and role models. It's also the time to listen to upbeat music, to attend meetings and conference calls, and to hang around with optimists and winners. All you really need to move up to the next level is to have faith in yourself and to risk that your ideas may not be accepted by others today, but maybe tomorrow or next month. Did you know that 80% of all new sales are made after the 5th call to the same prospect? 48% of all salespersons make one call and then cross off the prospect. 25% quit after the second call. 12% of all sales reps call three times and then quit. 10% keep calling and networking until they succeed. The sales reps in what I call the Top 10% Club are among the highest paid professionals in all industries in the country and in the world. The 10% who persist get the real payoff. To win, you must continuously motivate yourself toward your goals, and you must be willing to do this yourself. Be willing to say to yourself, "I'm on the right road. I'm doing okay. I'm succeeding." We too frequently become adept at identifying our flaws and failures. Become equally adept at recognizing your achievements. What are you doing now that you weren't doing one month ago, 6 months ago, a year ago? What habits have changed? Chart your progress. Doing well once or twice is relatively easy. Real winning is continuously moving ahead. Winning is tough in part because it's so easy to revert to the old habits and former lifestyles. Over the long run, you need to give yourself regular feedback and monitor your performance. Reinforce yourself positively. To stay on track. And don't wait for an award ceremony, a promotion, or a friend or a mentor to show appreciation for your work. Do it yourself. Do it now. Take pride in your own efforts on a daily basis. Set up a dynamic daily routine. Getting into a positive routine or groove instead of a negative rut will help you become more effective. Why is the subway the most energy-efficient means of transportation? Because it runs on a track. So think of order in your day instead of the routine, and don't worry about sameness, neatness, or everything exactly in its place. Order is being able to do what you really choose and not taking on more than you can manage. Order frees you up. Get into the swing of a healthy daily routine and discover how much more control that you gain in your life. Here are 5 keys to adding order to a winning routine. Simplify. Challenge complicated plans or processes. Don't spend a lot of time searching for things. You probably don't need them anyway. Do what you promise to do and promise only what you can do. Set effective agendas with others ahead of time so neither of you are disappointed. Monitor yourself in order to make sure that you accomplish what you set out to do. To keep people feeling like winners in today's turbulent environment is a significant leadership challenge. Hectic schedules, changing goals, and constantly shifting priorities oftentimes make it hard for people to see the significance of their work. An essential leadership skill is always keeping the big picture, the ultimate goal, in front of the people that you're working with. People also need to be reminded of the benefits that come from their work. During World War II, parachutes were being constructed by the thousands. From the workers' point of view, the job was tedious and repetitive. It involved crouching over a sewing machine 8 to 10 hours a day, stitching endless lengths of colorless fabric. The result was a seamless heap of cloth. But every morning the workers were reminded that each stitch was part of a lifesaving operation. As they sewed, they were asked to think that this might be the parachute worn by their husband, brother, or son. And although the work was hard and the hours long, the women and men on the assembly line understood their contribution to the larger picture. The same should be true for any work. As a leader, make sure that people know what they do benefits the health and well-being of others—not just generally but specifically. These are the visions that drive us through tedious details, to the top. Here are a few action reminders to develop this winning action quality of self-motivation to keep the inner fires of desire burning intensely. In your daily speech, make a conscious effort to replace "I can't" with "I can" and "I'll try" with "I will." You'll find that "I can" applies to about 95% of the challenges that you encounter every day. These simple semantic changes will establish your new positive attitude, dwelling on things you can do and will do. And remember, we become what we think about. So focus all your attention and energy on the achievement of the objectives that you're involved in right now. Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change of direction to set you straight for your next success. The person interested in success has to learn to view failure as a healthy, inevitable part of the process of getting to the top. So make a pact with yourself. We suggest that you write an agreement with yourself. Promise that you won't allow a failure to be more than a learning experience that allows you to move more quickly to the place you want to be. To stay motivated, keep your self-talk affirmative. Whether you're at work, at home, or on the tennis court, your subconscious is recording every word. Instead of "should have," say "will do." Instead of "if only," say "next time." Instead of "yes, but," say "why not?" Instead of "problem," say "opportunity." Instead of "difficult," say "challenging." Instead of "I'll try," say "I will." Instead of "could have," say "my goal." Instead of "someday," say "today." Forget perfection. Only the Saints are perfect, and sainthood is acceptable only in Saints. Accept the flaws and failures in yourself and consider them challenges and learning experiences. They are the seeds of growth. Declare a moratorium on negatives—negative thoughts, negative people, negative forms of entertainment. Keep your desire to succeed strong by erasing thoughts of the downside. Whatever you do, never allow your goals and their benefits to you to get lost in the back of your subconscious. Bring them out in the sunlight and shine them every day, and there's no way you can fail. A fear is a goal in reverse. Dwell on the problem and it grows. Dwell on finding the solution and the mind moves toward that dominant thought. Losers dwell on the penalties of failure. Winners and change masters dwell on the rewards of success. Your expectation is what drives your motivation.

And congratulations, you're one video closer to who you're meant to be. Believe. For some more incredible Dennis Waitley motivation, check the video right there next to me. I think you'll love it. Continue to believe, and I'll see you there.

A simple motto hung on the wall of our grandparents' small frame house where many seeds of our development were planted. Grandma and Granddad didn't talk much about those lines, but they lived them.