I’m Posting Twice a week in 2011!

Posted on January 19, 2011 by belief1st

I’ve decided I want to blog more. Rather than just thinking about doing it, I’m starting right now.  I will be posting on this blog twice a week for all of 2011.

I know it won’t be easy, but it might be fun, inspiring, awesome and wonderful. Therefore I’m promising to use  The Weekly Post, and the community of other bloggers with similiar goals, to help me along the way, including asking for help when I need it and encouraging others when I can.

If you already read my blog, I hope you’ll encourage me with comments and likes, and good will along the way.

Signed,

postaweek2011Paul Dunn


Posted in Motivation, Product News | Leave a comment

Inspiration

Posted on January 18, 2011 by belief1st

Where do you get your inspiration?

At this time of the year, many people are just starting back at work or they are still on their Christmas/New Year break.

We had one, had a great 12 days in Japan (brief interlude – if you haven’t been and you like to ski…do yourself a favour and book some time there it was great. If you want to find our more, leave a comment at the end)

Back to the topic.

So at this time of the year, people are still focused on; working on; thinking about; hanging onto; their New Year’s resolutions.

Did you set some?

Were they written down?

How are you going, staying on track?

Unfortunately for many people, this annual pilgrimage to the well of Resolutions ends up in the same sorry situation as last year.

We have all heard the definition of insanity, “doing the same thing over and over, expecting a different result”. The consistent merry-go-round of making resolutions that often are dashed by January 31 are played out year after year, for millions around the world.

Gym owners love it, because in this day and age with Obesity being such a problem in Western Societies, losing weight and getting fit, tops most of the New Year’s Resolution lists.

Gym owners also love it because the resolution includes signing up for a year or 6 months, and within 5 weeks, most people allow habit and life to take over and they are no longer attending the gym. The gym owner still gets the money – good deal for them. Although I am sure they would rather see the people follow through on their goals.

And this challenge applies to most New Year’s resolutions – Whether that be giving up smoking; managing the finances better; giving up gambling/drinking/ etc, etc.

So how do we fix this?

Very good question you might say…

The answer lies not in some magic panacea(pill) as we are often told time after time by various popular magazines/celebrities.

The answer lies in people taking some responsibility for themselves, and going back to the definition of insanity.

Basically, if nothing changes…nothing changes.

So what real, consistent changes are you going to make if this applies to you? I know it applies to me at some level and I would hazard a guess to most people.

One solution that I might offer is in the title to todays blog.

INSPIRATION.

What inspires you?

The motivation to start, continue, to finish and then keep up any real and significant change in reality needs to come from within. As within, so without.

What you have inside you is ultimately reflected externally. So if you are looking for the answer outside of you, go and have a look in the mirror, your solution will be staring at you. Intimidating??? Most people struggle with this realisation. However, when they overcome this the rest is quite easy.

Now for many of us we need external assistance if the change or changes are major, but as the Chinese saying goes – “the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step”.

You need to start.

As I stated earlier, the inspiration to start is what is required. If you are not sure ask someone; look on the internet; watch a favourite movie; read a favourite book; go and sit on a rock somewhere with a pen and paper and think about what your life would need to look like for you to be inspired.

Then Start.

I will talk more next time about how to keep going once you start.

The most important thing is to START (did I already mention that?).

Don’t wait for the perfect time to start. That generally doesn’t happen, so just start.

I would love to hear your comments and I know others love to read them, so if you have anything to say, please leave a comment here or at http://www.facebook.com/Belief.First.

have a great week.

Paul

Posted in Inspiration | 9 Comments

Commitment to Excellence – Long Term Success

Posted on December 20, 2010 by belief1st

Over the last week I have been fortunate to see two of the great rock acts over the last 25 years – Bon Jovi and U2. My personal favourite was U2, however, never having been an avid Bon Jovi fan prior to last night, I have to say I was very impressed.

The thing I got out of watching both of these wonderful acts was their dedication to an outstanding performance.

For Bon Jovi it was their last performance of the year (Dec 19), after kicking off the tour in Hawaii in February. That is a fairly demanding schedule.

What made last night even more meritorious was the fact that there was a major storm halfway through the performance, and the memory of Jon Bon Jovi standing out in the middle of the Sydney Football Stadium with the spotlights on him in teeming rain, (the lights made it look like he was the only one getting rained on) will probably last for a very long time. What made it even more memorable was that they performed for at least another 80 minutes past that point.

U2 were AMAZING. There was one point when they sang “With or Without You”, where I got a shiver up my spine. The stage was out of this world and the performance of over 2 hours was absolute quality.

In line with the theme of this Blog, the reason that I get to talk about my fun for the week was the lessons that we can all learn from these bands, it is not just the lead singers.

They have stood the test of time; they have outlasted many of their contemporaries who have faded away; they have attracted new fans along the way (in Bon Jovi’s case – me); but the overarching reason is their commitment to excellence and their Passion for what they do.

It was obvious watching Jon Bon Jovi walk out to the cheers of around 40,000 people that he was in his element. I heard an interview later last night about their attention to detail during their sound check on Friday afternoon.

It was really interesting to hear him say that they paid the same attention to their performances as professional athletes. That every little detail was important and that you should always be looking to improve. He said that if you weren’t looking to always be your best and give the best performance possible, why should the people turn up to watch. He also said they changed their set for every performance.

It would be easy to go out and repeat the same stuff night after night. But to mix it up the way they do, is a real testimony to their level of skill and talent.

That attitude certainly showed in his performance.

In his wonderful book “Outliers”, Malcolm Gladwell talks about the 10 year / 10,000 hour rule. Whereby he stated that was the length of time someone would have to commit to achieve Mastery at their chosen endeavour. Both of these bands have definitely achieved that.

Another lesson to learn is that nothing great is ever achieved without that commitment over a period of time. In the “Microwave” Society that we live in, too many people are not prepared to put in enough effort over a period of time to get the result they are after. They expect it to happen straight away, and if that doesn’t happen, they move on to the next item.

As Vince Lombardi said, “I firmly believe that any man’s finest hour, the greatest fulfillment of all that he holds dear, is that moment when he has worked his heart out in a good cause and lies exhausted on the field of battle – victorious.”

In this day and age, too often the person who works his heart out is not doing it for the fulfillment of all he holds dear (Lack of Passion or a Goal) or he isn’t working his heart out.

Then they wonder why they don’t get the result.

Work out what it is you truly desire and work your heart out, create great wealth for you, your family and those you can help and truly enjoy the victory.

have a great Christmas and a very safe, happy and prosperous New Year.

Love
Paul

Check out http://belief1st.net.au/
Read more:http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/authors/v/vince_lombardi.html#ixzz18eay7bOt

Posted in Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Personal Growth | 2 Comments

The Gift

Posted on December 1, 2010 by belief1st

“Always forgive your enemies – nothing annoys them so much.”
~Oscar Wilde

The Gift of Abuse

By: Author Unknown

A tale is told about the Buddha, Gautama (563-483BC), the

Indian prince and spiritual leader whose teachings founded

Buddhism. This short story illustrates that every one of us

has the choice whether or not to take personal offence from

another person‘s behaviour.

It is said that on an occasion when the Buddha was teaching

a group of people, he found himself on the receiving end of

a fierce outburst of abuse from a bystander, who was for

some reason very angry.

The Buddha listened patiently while the stranger vented his

rage, and then the Buddha said to the group and to the

stranger, “If someone gives a gift to another person, who

then chooses to decline it, tell me, who would then own the

gift? The giver or the person who refuses to accept the

gift?”

“The giver,” said the group after a little thought. “Any

fool can see that,” added the angry stranger.

“Then it follows, does it not,” said the Buddha, “Whenever

a person tries to abuse us, or to unload their anger on us,

we can each choose to decline or to accept the abuse;

whether to make it ours or not. By our personal response to

the abuse from another, we can choose who owns and keeps

the bad feelings.”

This story is a great example of how we can manage our lives, our feelings and the eventual outcome of what we get in any situation, by what we CHOOSE.

Choices determine the outcomes of all events, whether we get what we are after or we settle for what someone else wants for us.

We will discuss choice more next time. Our Choices are closely linked to our beliefs and the quality and level of our thinking.

Have an awesome and joy filled week.

Posted in Inspiration, Motivation, Vision | 5 Comments

Achieve a better balance between time and efficiency

Posted on November 24, 2010 by belief1st

Achieve a better balance between time and efficiency.

Posted in Motivation, Time Management | Leave a comment

The Laws of Attraction at Work

Posted on November 21, 2010 by belief1st

By John Assaraf  – This is a copy of a Blog on John’s site from last month. I thought it tied in well to previous posts.

“Nothing can prevent your picture from coming into concrete form except the power which gave it birth—yourself.” —Genevieve Behrend

In the quantum universe, there are no accidents. There are no coincidences. Every particle and every action is accounted for. We live in a universe of absolute precision.

The world of thoughts and ideas, of human ingenuity, creativity and enterprise, is not separate from the world of chemistry and gravity and fields and forests. There are no separate rules—they all come from the same rulebook. The laws that govern the movement of subatomic particles and solar systems, also govern our thoughts and feelings, families and careers.

This fundamental truth is all too easy to forget as we go about out daily routines, because we seem to live in two worlds—the seen and the unseen—the world we can touch, taste and see, and the intangible world that lies hidden away behind the curtain of our senses.

The events and circumstances of your business take place in the seen world. It is the immense, hidden portion of the iceberg that most of us are unaware of 99 percent of the time, while the tangible, material world we think of as “real” is only the miniscule tip that juts above the surface of our conscious awareness.

What sunk the Titanic was the hidden part of the iceberg that nobody saw coming, the part beneath the surface. And that is the part that sinks every business that ends up closing its doors.

The creative process through which the unseen world gives birth to the circumstances and events of our lives is the Law of Attraction. There are actually a number of distinct principles at work within the Law of Attraction. Here are six ways to put the laws to work for you:

1. Everything starts as an idea. Everything in nature, every phenomenon starts in the universe, starts as an idea. Everything you manifest in your life follows the precise same pathway, from idea to physical form. We create from the nonphysical level, turning that which we can’t see, into that which we can.
2. Realize you are at cause in your life. Science has shown us that the principle of cause and effect applies to the mechanics of everything, including our thoughts. Things don’t randomly happen to you. Realize you are making things happen or not happen. Commit to being at cause and don’t blame external factors.
3. Understand how resonance is at work. Resonance, from the Latin meaning “to sound again” is simply the transfer of vibration from one medium to another. Thoughts held clearly and strongly enough can cause events in the physical world to happen.
4. Your dream is within the seed. The seed of your business is your vision. This is the groundwork for every successful business. Your vision needs to be clear and strong.
5. Be purposeful, patient and active. These three concepts enable the Laws of Attraction, Gestation and Action to work together. You will save yourself years of trial and error, and manifest what you want in your life and business much faster than you’ve ever created anything before.
6. Get clarity. The more clarity you create around your business in every aspect, from its largest objectives to the particulars in everyday actions, the more you harness the mind-boggling power of the quantum field to do your bidding and bring that idea into reality.
More detailed explanations on how these principles work can be found in John’s book, The Answer. This can be found at Amazon.com

The Answer for you: The universe is ready and willing to give you what you want, once you are clear on what it is.

Belief First

Promote Your Page Too

Posted in Law of Attraction | Leave a comment

Train Your Brain: The Neuroscience of Financial Success

Posted on November 15, 2010 by belief1st

by John Assaraf

Mastering your brain will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams. I am going to show you the inside mental game you need to have, not the business actions you need to take in this blog series. You already know things you should be doing to make more money, but you’re not doing them. It’s not a matter of your desires, it’s a matter of your conditioned mind and the power it has over you. You need to program your brain for success—a process called brain entrainment.

If you want to know what is currently programmed about money at the non-conscious level of your brain right now, just look at your current income and financial situation.

If aren’t happy with your current financial status, think about this magical formula:

Information + Experiences x Repetition = Beliefs

Beliefs + Experiences x Repetition = Habits

Your habits cause you to do and see only that which supports the internal beliefs and habits you currently have. Our internal neural pathways seek out patterns and information that are the same and match up in the physical world. The outside world matching our internal image is our comfort zone.

Your internal mental picture—your current conditioned mind—will not see or allow you to behave for too long, in ways that support your desired financial goals unless you change the inside belief and habit first.

The biggest problem people face is that everyone tries to alter behavior instead of altering the cause of behavior, which is our internal beliefs and “mental thermostat.” You have to first change your financial thermostat.

If you do not alter your internal belief about money, and about your ability to earn more, your internal mental systems will not allow you to consistently see or act in accordance with what you want to achieve. They will force you to consistently achieve the same income year in and year out.

This is a post that I took from John’s Blog, http://www.johnassaraf.com/
John is one of the main presenters on the secret and currently has an excellent video at http://www.mindmovies.com/johnassaraf/innergame.php?14350

Posted in Neuroscience | Leave a comment

Seminar Success

Posted on November 14, 2010 by belief1st

Well it finally happened…

After nearly five years of thinking and talking about running a seminar on how to generate business by Referral Selling (generation), I did it.

The great thing was that the attendees comments were 99% positive and the only comments not to have me clapping and cheering were technical in nature and easily rectified for future events.

This event is something that ties in closely with what has been discussed on this blog for the last 4 months.

I had a Reason and a good one to get it done. The WHY was much more important than the HOW.

Although I had a strong WHY, what I had to do to get it done was work with someone else. I needed some external accountability to ensure that even though this was something I had dreamt about, I was still held back from achieving the ultimate result.

However, the fact that I shared my dream and vision with someone else who brought into that dream and vision enabled me to achieve something, that until now I had managed not to do.

So if there are things that you want to achieve or you are afraid to start/Finish or even think about – for whatever reason – then maybe you need some assistance or support.

This support can take the form of a spouse / partner; mentor; paid coach (As in my case); valued friend, or even in some cases a random person that might trigger something in a conversation that leads you to start and ultimately achieve your result.

The funny thing about most major achievements – even if the credit is given to an individual – are never done by an individual in isolation.

Some of the major feats throughout history – Hillary’s ascent of Everest (Done with a Team), Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile (Done with the help of a “Rabbit”), Columbus finding the New World (He had 3 boats and the Crew on each) – none of these were done in isolation.

So if there is something that you need to get done and you haven’t been able to complete it (Or even start), for whatever reason, seek out some support – whether paid or not. It could be the answer.

Anyway I am now planning the growth of this portion of my business as I see a real opportunity in Australasia to help many more people and businesses to understand a “True Referral Selling Process” and how to implement it into their business.

The funny thing about this method of doing business, is that most people agree it is the best way to generate new business leads, yet not many people are able to do it on a consistent, proactive basis.

The thing is they don’t have a SYSTEM and even if they do, it is not predictable.

If you are interested in How Belief First can deliver a steady stream of Referrals ideal for your business, please leave a comment and we will contact you.

Have and awesome week.

One quote to leave you with “Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to my potential.” Andy Andrews

Why not be your Best? It is your Life, make it the best life Possible.

Paul

PS If you like this blog, subscribe with the button on the right and you will be notified of each new blog.

Posted in Product News | 1 Comment

How to Harness the Power of Momentum

Posted on November 11, 2010 by belief1st

This was taken from Zen Habits the Blog of Leo Babauta. This is one of my favourite Blogs.  Posted: 09 Nov 2010 06:14 AM PST

‘It’s like the wind at my back, the sun in my face. It’s like running down a grass-covered hill.’ ~Leo Babauta

Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Katie Tallo of Momentum Gathering,

It can carry you like a strong current carries a fallen leaf. It can ground you like an early morning walk through the woods. It can move you like wind moves a cloud across the summer sky. It can ignite your spirit and make you feel like you can do anything.

It is momentum – that invisible, universal force that can saturate your every choice, your every step, your every breath, your every moment of resolve with vibrant, joyful energy. Momentum can surge you forward and it can pull you under. It goes with your flow, follows your lead and enhances your trajectory.

It can be harnessed, gathered and used as an incredibly transformational tool.

How do I know this to be true? I’ve been actively gathering momentum for almost six years now, ever since I quit smoking. That one simple yet meaningful change shifted my direction just enough to spark momentum. I triggered it without even knowing it. All I knew at the time was that if I could quit smoking after twenty years of trying, I could do anything. That’s what momentum feels like. It seeps into your pores and tingles the back of your neck.

It feels like possibility.

That one success of quitting smoking led to another success … and then another. I took up running and yoga after years of sedentary living. I became a mindful eater and adopted a vegetarian diet after a lifetime as a meat-eater. I felt like I was waking up. I became aware for the first time in my life that I could make different choices from the ones I’d been taught – from the ones that had become habits. I let go long held beliefs, pounds and lethargy.

Momentum was helping to shape a new me, inside and out.

I found inner strength after years of feeling like someone who repeatedly started a new exercise regime or eating regime only to quit a few weeks in. I now knew I was capable of profound and lasting change.

I gave up the haze of red wine soaked evenings and instead wrote the first draft of a novel I’d been talking about for a decade.Momentum was gathering all around me.Even the word, momentum, kept popping up everywhere like red cars do after you buy a red car. I was seeing the word in books, hearing it in random conversations, feeling it as I ran and waking up with it on the tip of my tongue.

Six months ago, while reading one of my favourite blogs, Leo’s blog, Zen Habits, I linked to another called Write to Done which carried me to yet another called The A-List Blogging Club. That’s when I decided to write a blog about momentum as a means to express it, sustain it, understand it, embrace it, share it, inspire it in others and live it completely.

Momentum has propelled me and supported me.

It has been like a coach, mentor and teammate, and it has been my constant companion for the past six years of incredible life change and over the past six months of my new venture. It has ushered into my life the unexpected gifts of friendship, community, passion and life purpose. I have harnessed momentum and I never want to let it go. How can you begin to gather momentum in your own life and make it work for you? How can you harness it’s power to create lasting and joyful life change? Simply let it.

Let momentum carry you

Dip into the warm waters of momentum by trying, experimenting, taking a first step, forgiving yourself for slip-ups and then trying again. Plunge into whatever you’ve been putting off for “some day” and make today the day you begin. Imagine how incredible it will feel to let the current of momentum carry you from this one success towards another. Each can be a wave you ride to the next.

Let momentum ground you

Feel the earth beneath your feet as you step in a direction that makes sense to you – just you. Ground yourself in the feeling that comes from reflecting upon what you believe in, doing what feels right to you and living by your own convictions, counsel and sense of right and wrong. Get solid about who you are and then feel the power and ease with which your choices come to you.

Let momentum move you

Take that first step in a direction of your own choosing, then with each bold statement, each strong stride, each clear-thinking choice let momentum joyously lift you higher and farther. Exceed your own expectations and strengthen your resolve to be who you were meant to be and nothing less. Don’t strive and stress – instead simplify and find success on your terms. Let momentum ignite you Once you feel it growing, let momentum fan the fire inside you – a fire that may have been burnt out or smoldering under the surface for a long time. Let yourself feel love and passion towards yourself, your life and everything you do then begin to recover, uncover or discover your true potential. If often leaps out of the flames.

Momentum thrives on you.

It is the water, the earth, the wind and the fire of your being. It embodies the elements of a life lived fully and on your own terms. It can fill your heart, sooth your soul, propel your body forward and, if you let it, momentum just might make you feel like you can do anything – and then likely, you can and will.

Katie Tallo seeks to inspire simple, joyful life change at Momentum Gathering. Her new book is The 7-Week Life Cleanse: A Simple Guide to Infusing Your Life With Momentum.
Posted in Goal Setting, Motivation | 9 Comments

The Reason…

Posted on November 2, 2010 by belief1st

What is your Reason?

That is a question that could have the following meanings:

Your Goal; Your Purpose: Your Why; Your Desire; Your Plan; Your Focus…

Essentially it is all about WHY YOU DO WHAT YOU DO!

Unfortunately, when asked this type of question a lot of people are not clear about the answer. They can come up with a few things they rattle off, however, they tend to incorporate a lot of generalisations, they are vague or they toss-up a few concepts or ideas that they think you want to hear.

You get what you Focus on.

Therefore, a lot of people have vague, generalisation types of lives. Very Vanilla. They look like the people across the street, down the road and in the next town or suburb.

This is especially common in the middle class suburbs in Westernised economies, where it is not the thing to do to be different. So we all go through the motions, working away, dismissing our dreams and aspirations as things that someone else does, because we can’t find the time in our BUSY lives, to spend a few hours planning out what we really want in life.

Napoleon Hill talked about it in “Think and Grow Rich”, Bob Proctor speaks about it in his “Born Rich” program, Wallace D. Wattles wrote a whole book, “The Science of Getting Rich”, etc.

What they spoke about was working out what you want, very clearly, then focusing on that (with action), till it was achieved.

The funny thing is that when you or I do this it works. The funny thing is we don’t do it. I mean funny till you get too old to do something about it.

Jeff Olsen spoke about the concept of the “Slight Edge”. This was the minute difference between what it took to succeed and not succeed. “If something was easy to do, it was also easy not to do”.

Quite often the things that were easy to do were things like exercise regularly, eat a nutritious healthy diet, save a regular amount of your income. All things that are easy to do…or not.

This brings me back to the first question that I asked.

If you have a strong enough Reason/Why/Goal/Focus, then the things that are easy to do are supported with self-discipline that magically appears when there is some Desire to achieve a defined outcome.

If you are unhappy with your lot in life, or you want more than you now have, sit down with a pad and a pen and start designing the life of your dreams.

If you are not sure what to do, or you need a hand, contact me via the comments and we will get you started.

Have an awesome week.

Paul

Posted in Dreams, Inspiration, Leadership, Vision | Tagged | 2 Comments