I’m excited because these goals are completely aligned with the life I want to create, and I know that I’m actively designing my results.

I’m apprehensive because:

1. Some of the goals are bigger than anything I’ve done before. I can’t yet rely on the familiarity of “been there done that” because it’s new territory for me. In some cases I don’t have a clue what the next (or first) step ought to be, never mind have the whole action plan drafted with steps, due dates, etc.
2. I have a lot on my plate. I’m testing my sanity by taking on as much as I have in the hopper right now.

Nonetheless, I’m confident that this will be a great year and I’ll maintain the “work/life” balance I want and still achieve the goals I’ve set. Why? Here’s what I know:

• I’m more bought-in to my vision than my current reality.
• I have capable resources on my team to help drive more progress faster than I could as a one-person company.
• There are a number of proven daily practices I follow that I trust will lead the way for me.

I’m particularly excited about the daily practices I’m following, so let me share some of them with you now.

• Start each day with gratitude. I write a couple lines in my “Gratitude Journal” each day to keep me grounded about all the good I already have.
• Meditate. I find that meditation quiets my often overactive mind and helps me focus on the things that will be the highest impact.
• Eat well, sleep well, and exercise. I have shifted my diet to include lots of fruits and vegetables and nothing that is (or will become) refined sugars. I monitor the hours I sleep to get at least eight hours more frequently than I used to. I lift weights, burst, or do other exercises every day. This has given me much greater mental focus and energy all day long.
• Visualize and affirm your goals as already complete. For each goal I have, I know exactly what success looks like. In fact, I’ve written out my “success criteria” in a Dear God Letter for each goal, and review what I’ve written. I’ve also written affirmations for each goal – a present tense statement about me enjoying the success of the goal – and say my affirmations out loud.
• Commit to 3-5 actions toward your goals. I have an accountability partner call where I share my steps I commit to take prior to the next call, and report my success from the previous day’s commitment.

Because I follow a set of daily routines, I am confident that I will figure out what needs to be done to achieve my goals and get great results this year. See why I’m thrilled this will be my best year ever?

* * *

Want to jump in with both feet? Do ALL the above daily practices. Not sure which one to try? Pick one of the daily practices above and do it every day this week, and continue until you’ve turned it into a habit.

To your highest success,

Pete Winiarski

High Intention, Low Attachment.

This is an easy concept to grasp – until you’re in a situation where nothing seems to be working.  Then, it’s not so easy at all – until you actually have a couple successes using this principle.  Let me show you what I mean.

The basic idea is to set your goals and go after them with “high intention”.  This means that you have clarity what you want, you visualize the goals as already complete, you program your subconscious mind to work toward helping find creative ways to achieve the goals using what’s called affirmations and positive self-talk.  When you do all this you put out the intent to the universe that you will successfully achieve this goal.

So far, so good, right?

Low attachment means to relax and let resources line up to help you.  If you’re open and relaxed, then it’s easy to recognize opportunities, even the most subtle signals, as they present themselves to you.  This is also known as the idea of “letting go”.

To see how this works, let’s review the opposite.  Imagine a situation when you’re intense about your goals to the point that they are beginning to stress you out.  You obsess, staying up late thinking about that which you want.  Because you’re tired and stressed out, things seem to spiral in the wrong direction and get worse, not better.   (Raise your hand if this has ever happened to you.)

One example of this might be the girl (or guy) in her late 20s who is single and sees all her friends getting married.  She desperately decides she needs to meet Mr. Right, but can’t land a lasting relationship.  Contrast this with the time when she’s completely at peace with her independence and confident in her being whom she is, and then happens to meet the man of her dreams.  Perhaps you’ve heard someone’s story that found their spouse when they were not looking for a relationship?

To illustrate further, here’s my recent situation.  In my business, I have service lines where I have revenue in exchange for my actual time, and I have those service lines that are products and services that will yield sizable future revenue.  In the recent past, I had focused on these future business lines (including a book I’m writing) and allowed my working capital to drop below comfortable levels.  I was OK with this because I had a project lined up that would replenish my bank account that was starting shortly.

Well, that project was delayed, followed by reduction in scope, and finally the client having internal issues and postponing indefinitely.  I suddenly found that the income I had planned was no longer going to arrive on time to keep me comfortable.  My immediate reaction?  PANIC!  Honestly, it was only for about 24 hours, but during that time I had been thrown into the pit of despair (I think that was in a movie) and suddenly I wasn’t sure how I would pay the next set of bills.

The next morning I decided that the “how” didn’t matter (a key principle of high intention and low attachment), only that I had the clear intent to replace the income with a new client.  I was genuinely relaxed about this and simply “let go”.  As I completed a work out and then my daily meditation (which cleared my mind and relaxed me), I visualized the perfect client situation and then thought of a few people in my network to send emails to, and let them know that I had space on my calendar free up.

The next morning, I had in my email a request looking for my help on a multiple month assignment that would begin immediately.  Not that’s more like it!

What happened?  By letting go and not being so attached to “how” I would achieve this, I had changed my vibrational state to align with that which I was trying to create, which then allowed it to show up.  In the panic state I was previously in, there was no way that I would have attracted anything other than more reason to panic.

Now this takes practice, patience, and coaching (I have had all three of these).  It also helps to trust that it works, and to journal about these stories when they do occur.  I share my personal story because I want to demonstrate that even though we all go through these vicissitudes, there is a way out, even if the way is not clear to us at that time.

Practice high intention, then let go of needing to know exactly how your intent will be realized, and take the actions that seem right to you.  And as you have wins, please write to tell me about them.

To your highest success,

Pete Winiarski