5 Steps to Change Your Life Forever

You want to change your income, you want to change your business, you want to change the amount of impact you have, you want to change your health, you want to change your weight, or you want to change your relationship.

I see a lot of people out there talking about how they want to change. But I don’t see many who are willing to change what they’re doing now so that they can get the change that they want out of life.

Here’s the thing about change. It doesn’t matter how much you want it or how much you talk about it. Change doesn’t happen until YOU change. Until you take action, it will be business as usual.

So how can you take control and make the change you dream of?

Start by changing a few small things and big changes will follow.

Change the people you hang out with

I don’t care if it’s your best friend, your brother-in-law or a long-time client. It doesn’t matter if you have two thousand interests in common. Anyone who is an emotional drain and a negative influence has to go.

Winning people don’t have naysayers on their team. If you want to win, you can’t afford to keep losers onboard. You need to be surrounded with people who support your vision and stand by you no matter what. You want people with guts who see potential and opportunity for success, not failure

People who are skeptical of your dreams? Kiss them good-bye. If it’s a family member, good-bye may be impossible. Limit your contact and have a gameplan to thwart negative attacks when you are forced to interact.

Change the thoughts that occupy your mind

While getting rid of dead weight people goes a long way toward changing your thought process, you still have internal work to do on your own. Start by clearing your mind of the clutter.

For me, I have to be very intentional about having a right mindset. I achieve this out of the gate every day with a gratitude exercise. While most people are still fast asleep, I shoot off a text or email to someone who deserves my thanks.

This small task puts me in a positive mindset that helps me gear up for any obstacles that will come my way in the day. And if you’re trying to do big things, obstacles crop up at every turn.

You can also develop positive thinking by listening to entrepreneurs who have what you want. Watch their videos and read their books. Let their stories of disaster and triumph drive you to succeed. Let their positive thinking influence your own thinking.

Change your work ethic

If you’re going to do big things, you have to be exceptional. This doesn’t mean working 15-hour days. It means working differently.

The biggest and brightest business owners don’t go to the office to catch up on politics or to waste time talking about sports or the weather. They go to work to work.

When at work, your primary goal should be focusing on what’s doing well and making it do better. Then get laser focused on what’s not working and determine if you can make it work or if it needs to be cut.

At the end of the day, you’ll be exhausted. But you’ll be happy. Because you did what you were supposed to do: worked harder than anyone else.

Change what time you wake up in the morning

I’ve heard that everyone’s internal clock is different, but hear me out. If you want to change in your life, you need to wake up early.

Sound too painful? Don’t think you can climb out of bed one minute earlier than you already do?

Stop staying up late to watch TV. That show will not help your bottom line.

Shave 30 minutes off your wake-up time. Then in a few days, shave another 30 off. Do this until you find your sweet spot.

Once you get in the routine, you’ll actually feel better when you wake up earlier. As an added perk, you’ll be more productive all day long.

And I’ve said it before, do NOT hit the snooze button in the morning. That starts your day off with a loss. Snooze reinforces all the negative thinking you’re combatting by telling your subconscious that your day and your to-do list isn’t that important. That getting a few minutes of interrupted sleep is a good choice.

Well, it’s not. Use an alarm and bolt out of bed when it goes off.

Change what you prioritize every day

You claim that faith, family, finances, and fitness are the most important things to you, but how you spend your time says otherwise. All of us make time for the things we value, and if you really wanted to read the Bible or meditate or work out, you would. Nothing could stop you.

So what is stopping you? Laziness.

It’s laziness that makes you waste time at work so you have to work at home while your kids are begging for attention.

It’s laziness that makes it possible for you to binge watch Netflix while the self-development book sits on your bedside table.

It’s laziness that accepts a mediocre life and moderate profits.

STOP BEING LAZY! Set your priorities and then live your life by them. Period. Never let other people’s priorities determine whether you go after yours.

No one else has to live with the consequences of your actions. No one else has to live with your regrets. Live a life that serves your priorities and you won’t have regrets. You’ll have satisfaction.

Make these small changes, and you’ll dominate every aspect of your life. Hard times will still come, but they won’t make you doubt your vision. They’ll confirm it. Because nothing worth doing comes easily, especially building your business empire.