Do you feel like you’re not in control of your life? You feel like you have to rely on others for something good to happen. You wait for a potential employer to accept your job application, or you wait for your current employer to raise your salary so you can afford things, or you wait for a publisher to accept your book and publish it. Like you’re just going through the motions, day after day? If so, you’re not alone. Many people feel this way at some point in their lives. But it doesn’t have to be this way. You can take control of your life and start living the way you want to live.

In his book, Choose Yourself, James Altucher argues that the old rules of success are dead. He says that we are now in a “winner-take-all” economy and that the only way to succeed is to “choose yourself.”

Read the extensive summary of Choose Yourself on Blinkist

Altucher starts by Talking about the old rules of success. He says that these rules were based on the idea that you needed to get a good job, work hard, and save your money. However, he says that these rules are no longer relevant in the 21st century.

Altucher then talks about the importance of choosing yourself. He says that the only way to succeed is to take control of your own life and stop relying on others to make you happy. He says that you need to choose yourself and make your own happiness a priority.

Altucher then outlines the four steps to choosing yourself. These steps are:

1. Know your worth. You need to know your worth and believe in yourself.
2. Set goals. You need to set goals and to work towards them.
3. Take action. You need to take action and stop waiting for things to happen to you.
4. Don’t give up. You need to be persistent and never give up on your dreams.

So in this blog post, we will dive into these four steps and give you some idea of how to adapt them to your own life.

Know your worth

Identify your strengths and weaknesses. What are you good at? What do you enjoy doing? What are you passionate about? When you know your strengths and weaknesses, you can start to build on your strengths and improve your weaknesses.

Acknowledge your accomplishments. When you Achieve a goal, take the time to acknowledge your accomplishment. This will help you build confidence and self-esteem. I am not just talking about going out and splashing out the cash to celebrate. You can do very small and effective things to acknowledge your small wins. You can write about and reflect on your accomplishments. You can talk to others and share your success. Of course, if you can afford it, you can go out and celebrate. But keep one thing in mind: It’s important to be proud of your accomplishments, no matter how small they may seem. When you acknowledge your accomplishments, you’re sending a message to yourself that you’re worthy of praise and success.

Surround yourself with positive people. And I am not talking about people who praise you all the time. I am talking about people, who genuinely listen to you; I am talking about people, who give you genuine feedback; and I am talking about people who are genuinely happy about your accomplishment. If you always choose people who constantly complain and drag you down, then you won’t be able to go far in life. 

Look after yourself. This means taking care of your physical and emotional health. Make sure you’re eating healthy, exercising, and getting enough sleep. You should also make time for activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good.

Believe in yourself. This is the most important tip of all. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. So start believing in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals. Also, believe that you may have some limitations, but you are capable of overcoming those limitations.

Set boundaries. This means learning to say no to things that you don’t want to do and protecting your time and energy. When you set boundaries, you’re showing others that you value yourself and your time.

Set Goals

Setting goals is an important part of choosing yourself. When you Set Goals, you are giving yourself something to strive for and work towards. Goals can help you stay motivated and focused, and they can also help you achieve your dreams.

Here are some tips for setting goals:

• Make sure your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART).
• Write your goals down and put them in a place where you will see them often.
• Break down your goals into smaller, more manageable steps.
• Set deadlines for yourself and track your progress.
• Celebrate your successes along the way.
• Don’t give up on your goals, even when things get tough.

Take Action

When you take action, you are showing yourself that you believe in yourself and that you are committed to achieving your goals.

Here are some tips for taking action:

• Don’t wait for the perfect moment. The perfect moment will never come. Just start taking action, even if it’s just a small step.
• Break down your goals into smaller, more manageable steps. This will make them seem less daunting and more achievable.
• Set deadlines for yourself and track your progress. This will help you stay motivated and on track.
• Don’t be afraid to ask for help. There are people who want to help you succeed. Don’t be afraid to reach out to them.
• Don’t give up. There will be times when you want to give up. But don’t. Keep taking action and eventually, you will achieve your goals.

Never Give Up

It is important to be persistent and never give up on your dreams. There will be times when you want to give up, but if you keep going, you will eventually achieve your goals. Here are a few people, who never gave up on their dreams.

• Walt Disney. Walt Disney was fired from his job at a newspaper because he was told he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.” He went on to create the Walt Disney Company, which is now one of the most successful entertainment companies in the world.
• Stephen Hawking. Stephen Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) at the age of 21. ALS is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. Hawking was given only a few years to live, but he defied the odds and went on to become one of the most famous physicists in the world.
• J.K. Rowling. J.K. Rowling was a single mother living on welfare when she wrote the first Harry Potter book. She was rejected by 12 publishers before Bloomsbury finally agreed to publish her book. The Harry Potter series went on to become one of the most successful book series in history.

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The post The Power of Taking Control: How to Take Charge of Your Life and Achieve Success appeared first on Dad With Purpose.