12 – Follow your heart – inspired goals are the way!

BY STAN KONTOS

 

It is always a challenge working out whether a heartfelt and inspired goal is meant to be something we do on the side (such as a hobby) or is it a career we need to move into?

The one thing I do know is that you will be very good (and develop into exceptional) when you do something that is inspiring for you.

It is that time of the year where we begin to consider important questions such as “When will I sit down and set my 2016 goals?” , “How did I go last year with my 2015 goals and did I achieve 80% or more of them?”, and of course “Shall I make 2016 the year I get myself a Performance Coach so I can enjoy the journey of achieving my inspired goals?”.

It is so important to ensure that your goals are really exciting and not just a “to do list” of things that you think you better do – they must be things you really want to do. The creation of destiny requires time, energy, reflection, documentation, and constant follow up – we have all heard the wisdom, ‘what gets measured, gets managed’. All people who create a better more beautiful world for themselves and their loved ones always follow a very similar system – we humans are very predictable!

At the next Breakfast, we have our guest interviewee Peter J Daniels who is going to speak on Goal setting. Peter is an Author, Entrepreneur and International Statesman with a mighty following. Last time we had Peter at our Breakfast it sold out in just a few weeks.

Click here to book your ticket now. 

So what goals do you have this year or in the next few years? Do you want to travel to exotic destinations or historical places? Do you want to expand your income and wealth capability? Do you want to create more time and choices to do things that will bring a lot of meaning to you? Whatever it is, there is a formula to following your dream.

I urge you not to miss any of the key steps which include writing the goals down in; having  timelines for achieving the necessary steps, ensuring you associate with the right people to assist you (every goal I have ever achieved has been with the help of the right person), having someone to hold you accountable in a positive inspiring way to ensure you perform at your best (such as a performance coach), and of course continuing to set new goals in the future to keep you motivated and excited – your heart has always got more inspiration to bring into creation.

If you are passionate about achieving your goals this year, then I welcome you to register for our (complimentary) Goal Setting Platinum Preview Evening. I recommend you reserve your seat asap as there are only limited spots available. Maybe it’s your year to be personally assisted in 2016 with a performance coach – I discovered the power of this process many years ago and have never looked back.

Live with passion, stay on your life’s purpose and always be at peace

Stan Kontos 

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).

His areas of passion include:

  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

11 – Be careful what you wish for…

BY STAN KONTOS

 

You know it is true that you need to be careful what you wish for.

Your mind is a powerful instrument and is in fact a gift from the creator allowing us to have dominion over the Earth. And we must use it wisely for everything we think of that penetrates our heart (our subconscious mind) and eventually comes to pass – in other words, everything that we think of eventually appears. So the secret is that everything that you desire and are excited about or feel good about will eventually appear most often as an opportunity at which time it will be up to you to take hold or let go.

Now is the perfect time to begin thinking about 2016 and what a great year you want it to become. If you project thoughts into who you will  become, what you will have, and what you will give of yourself as service to others, then this will be the destiny that you will begin to create.

As I approach the magical age of 50 (mind you I feel, behave, and project myself many years younger!), I now fully comprehend how amazing this mind of ours is and how incredible our life can become if we learn how to use this amazing tool correctly.

I am grateful every day for my coach and mentor for they really assist me to keep my thoughts focussed in the direction of my desired results. In fact it was at 35 (the most common ages for taking on a performance coach and mentor is 35 to 50 years of age) when I had my first coach Ron and this completely transformed the way I lived within 12 months.

So what are the key thought processes we need to have in order to achieve our goals and feel fulfilled at the same time?

Here is the thought process I use with every goal:

  1. What specifically is the goal I am after and what is the timeline in which I would expect to achieve it?
  2. How will I benefit from this goal and just as importantly how will other people in my world benefit as well?
  3. What are the obstacles that could possibly hold me back and how will I overcome them (or prepare myself for them)?
  4. What is the first step I must do within 24hours to show the determination and faith that I have and so ask the universe for signs that God is listening and responding to my request?
  5. What are further steps I need to plan for and what are their timeliness for achievement?
  6. What is an affirmation I can say to myself many times a day to motivate , inspire and keep my mind focussed in the direction of this goal?

I always get excited at the beginning of a new year – to start afresh, to begin something new, to set a big goal, to create a better life for myself and for all the people I love in my environment. I encourage you too not to take each day or year for granted – every day is important and will only come by once so begin today designing your life into how you want it to be, who you will become, and what you will give to the world. I invite you to join us for our (complimentary)  Goal Setting Platinum Preview Evening and dive into the new year with direction. If you would like to come along, I recommend you register soon as we do have limited spots available. One day your life will be a memory and all you will take with you are memories – let’s make each day memorable and if we do this then every year will be memorable.

Make your life a masterpiece.
P.S

If having a personal performance coach and mentor is important to you, then checkout our Platinum Program here.

 

Live with passion, stay on your life’s purpose and always work toward being at peace in all you do.

Stan Kontos 

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).

His areas of passion include:

  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

10 – Sharing is Caring

BY STAN KONTOS

For those that have been regularly coming to the Breakfast at the Next Level events each month or have attended SOL events (such as The Next Level Retreat, Real Estate Riches, or other evening events) or have been on the Platinum Program,  one thing that you may not realise is just how vast your knowledge base has become.

Sometimes we need to be reminded that the way we are living has advanced significantly over the past 5 or 10 years…many of us have adopted healthy eating and exercising practices, or accumulated wealth through real estate or shares much easier than we thought possible, or are much more aware of the power of our mind in creating our desired life, or we may have simply elevated to a higher spiritual plane.

As you reflect on the past year, consider even the past 10 years. Think of how life has advanced for you, and with this awareness, realise that joy not only comes from improving the way we live but also from being able to share this knowledge with others in our community environment. Mother Theresa once said something along the lines of, “Not everyone can go and help 100 people at a time but we can all help one person at a time”.

Once we have all addressed our basic needs in life we achieve a high level of happiness. The interesting thing is, that by getting more we do not get the quantum leap in happiness that we first acquired. The next quantum leap comes from sharing and caring for others. So it is that I recommend you become more aware of the people around you – your family, your friends, and even your work colleagues and notice what is required to assist them take their lives to the next level.

When communicating to assist others, it is best not to direct people to an outcome (such as “you need to lose weight!”) – rather the best approach is to share your story of how you benefited from adopting a change in your life. People are influenced more from stories than from being preached to. So if you have done well with your health, share your story. If you have made lots of money and wealth, share your story. If you have developed an outstanding relationship with a loved one, share the techniques that made your relationship successful. Or if you have simply mastered your emotions and are able to feel good everyday no matter what happens, share and inspire other so they can learn too.

You see, sharing is caring. People love to hear other’s testimonies – the key is to have structure to your sharing. It is a bit like “rags to riches” stories – we all love to hear them and find them inspiring. Begin sharing with how you were, and what challenges you had – people will relate to you when you show them humility.  Then share the moment of change – the belief system that changed that got you on the road to personal change. Then share with them how life is now. This 3 step process is a simple and effective way for others to listen , learn and apply. And who knows, in 5 years from now someone may come up to you and thank you for sharing with them because your story may have set them on a course that changed their life, business and lifestyle.

We have many interesting people booked into our Breakfast at the Next Level for 2016 (we have Callum Hann in December – should be great! (https://solresults.com/nextlevelbreakfasts/callum-hann/) – this is a perfect environment to bring people to hear amazing stories of personal and professional growth that will inspire, transform and educate. So come along and bring a friend for free when you become a member of the Breakfast Program.

Live with passion, stay on your life’s purpose and always work toward being at peace in all you do.

Stan Kontos 

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).

His areas of passion include:

  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

9 – Balance of Life – simple ways to achieve this important state

BY STAN KONTOS

A recent coaching client of mine was working very hard running her small business, tending to her young growing family, and struggling to find the  time to relax and enjoy life. Yes we all know it is not an easy thing  balancing many responsibilities when you have so many demands!  However, she had realised that undertaking a coaching process to assist her with “balance of life” would be crucial to her future happiness (and success).

How many times have we heard the story of someone having a health scare or going through a divorce or losing a child to drugs or questioning the meaning of life, all because they are too busy to reflect, think, and plan their life?

 Anyway, my client discovered over the course of the year (on the Platinum Coaching Program) that the secret was to focus on her health and peacefulness and everything else would fall into place. By focussing on herself, she then realised that her work was so much more enjoyable and she performed so much better. There were less “drama’s” in her life, she had more time to take on things she enjoyed. In the end she reduced the hours she devoted to work with positive effect. In her words “clean house, happy boys, green smoothies most days, walks on beach, finally there is balance in my life. I can’t thank you enough!”.

Balance of life is an ongoing quest for all of us – I too have many responsibilities and demands hence depend on my system to get me “out of the pressure cooker” so I too can bring some perspective back into the gift of life I have been given. It is so important to schedule time away from responsibilities – a daily meditation, one full day off a week (the sabbatical day), a weekend away each month,  a week off somewhere to “chill out” each 3-4 months,  and an annual holiday (2 or more weeks) somewhere away from home. We all need to have these important times of peacefulness and health restoration scheduled – they are more important than any business or work meeting could ever be. This is your life and it is a gift that we all need to cherish for one day it will pass us by.

It is always interesting to study words and question their origin. “Holiday” could easily have come from “holy-day”. How often do we take time off to increase our “holiness”?  And in doing so become a more “whole” human being? Every word has a possible historical meaning and I believe that the word holiday is derived from a meaning related to making ourselves a more whole human being. So what are you doing to increase “wholeness” in your life?  Did you know that life balance does not just miraculously happen but rather is created by effort and application of your very own personal life balance system?  I encourage you to begin scheduling time off from your busy schedule today and insert this time in your diary and do not let anyone disturb this time. This is the time that will bring back the meaning, the joy, and restore your physical, mental and spiritual health.

If you haven’t been to our Breakfast at the Next Level (https://solresults.com/nextlevelbreakfasts/), I encourage you to come along each month (significant discount available for those who become a member – ask us how). The monthly inspiration will give you a positively influenced mindset that will carry you through the month and bring forth ideas for a more successful and balanced life. We get about 10-20 new people coming each month so perhaps consider passing this email to someone you care for and come along together to the next event. I promise you will enjoy it and take away much value on the morning.

Our purpose at SOL Results is to bring cutting edge information and tools to assist you with more success, more happiness, and more balance in your life – everyone can live a more abundant life where health, money, relationships and emotional states are optimised so that our life experience is an amazing journey.

I look forward to seeing you one day soon.

Live with passion, stay on purpose, and always be at peace.

Stan Kontos 

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).
His areas of passion include:
  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

8 – I helped shift his thinking, then his world changed

BY STAN KONTOS

It never ceases to amaze me how often people come to me to let me know that the improvement in their results (whether it is in life, business or with their finances) is always around mindset.

I teach people real estate strategies, sharemarket strategies, health optimisation strategies, life balance strategies, and yet they always say the same thing “When you shifted my thinking, that is, when you helped me change the way I looked at things, then my world followed and changed”. Your success in any area of life is always at least 80% mindset and the remainder is strategy (or skillset). I had a coaching client who recently purchased a significant family home and the key thing that helped him take action and  “get it over the line” was when I helped him get past the fear (“What if I pay too much or make a mistake?” were the underlying belief systems) and now of  course he is ecstatic (yes it was a good buy in my opinion).

We all love having our mindset shift to a higher and more liberated plane. When we free our mind from limitations, fears, insecurities, and negative emotions, we create a more solution oriented & opportunity focussed thinking process. We feel excited and passionate about what we do. And of course, we notice that we are getting some improved results in all we do. Our health habits are more easily adhered to, we bring in more money, our ability to relate well with people is clearly noticeable and we are more fulfilled.

Here are some popular mindset shifting wisdoms – notice what happens to your thinking, your emotions, and your general outlook.

          • Unless you change how you are, you will always have what you’ve got
          • The most important question to ask on the job is not “What am I getting?”. The most important question to ask is “What am I becoming?”
          • We don’t teach our people to be nice. We simply hire nice people.
          • It’s not what happens to us, it is what we choose to do about what happens to us that makes the difference in how our lives turn out.
          • The book you don’t read won’t help. Miss a meal if you have to, but don’t miss a book.
          • Nourish the mind like you would your body. The mind cannot survive on junk food.
          • I found it easier to get rich than I did to make excuses.

There are many ways to get mindset shifts – the most powerful are extensive immersion courses, coaching, listening to audio programs and of course, reading books. It is so important to keep feeding our mind with the nutrition of wisdom & inspiration. With the renewal of our mind comes the transformation of our life, business and world. That’s right – we have the capacity through our mind to create our own little ‘heaven on earth’ – wow!  And again, we also have the ability to create our own “living hell” here on earth – do we want a hell or a heaven as part of our life experience?  Do we want to live a life more abundantly in everything including health, wealth, relationships, and the way we feel at any given moment?

One of our programs which has been going now for over 12 years “The Next Level Retreat” (overnight retreat in Barossa Valley) has a 100% money back guarantee “If you do not go to the next level with your thinking then we will happily refund your tuition fee by lunchtime day 2”. I encourage you, if you have not attended yet, to come along and experience the (leadership) transformation.

Many years ago my mentor said to me “The mind is the gateway to the soul”. At the time I didn’t quite understand it however with time comes better understanding. You see, we cannot access the spiritual faculty called our soul unless we allow inspiration to come through the mind. Our thinking has to be flexible, with very little in the form of limiting thoughts and negative emotions before an inspirational thought can open up the mind and allow the entry of inspiration itself. And of course we all love to be inspired!  So in society, we tend to see the most loved and followed people are those that have developed their mind and are able to access their soul. I am sure we have all heard the wisdom “I don’t care how much you know until I know how much you care”.  It is very important for all of us to get the mindset and habit of showing that we care about everyone around us.’

And lastly, there are a  lot of things about the mind that we do not know. As we begin to learn more & more, we realise that the mind is vast in power and ability. I encourage everyone to bring into their environment positive progressive people (a bit like the people that attend our breakfast event). Basically, who you hang around with, is who you become. Love your family unconditionally, but you must choose your peers and environment.

The Next Level Retreat is one of the most amazing environments of nature and inspirational people you will ever experience. I encourage you to come along and perhaps bring a friend too. When I go to leadership or transformational seminars, I like to take along a family member (or two) and to invite friends along. This way we all change our lives together!

Look forward to seeing many of you soon. Remember, to live with passion, stay on your life’s purpose, and always be at peace.

Stan Kontos 

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).

His areas of passion include:

  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

7 – Put Love in all that you do and you will create Great results Every Time

Have you ever had someone cook you a meal which they have made perhaps many times before but it tasted different?  How is it that the same meal, cooked with the same ingredients, by the same person, can taste so different to the previous time?  I experience this phenomenon from time to time with my mum’s cooking (I think my mum is the best cook). I always wonder why sometimes it tastes amazingly good (and I get the same comments from my wife and kids) whereas other times it tastes just plain bland?  I have come to a resolution that the difference is whether it is an “act of love and service” or not.  I am convinced that when mum is excited in us coming over, and she has a clear mind,  she puts in lots & lots of effort and all that energy is transferred into the quality of the meal (as opposed to if she is feeling down and has problems on her mind which she cannot shake off).

I find that this is true with everything we do. Whether we are in business, sales, or service, when we put love into every interaction with customers, they will sense it. People do things because it makes them feel good –  then they justify with logic – this is the sales process. We always buy something because it makes us feel a certain way, then we quickly find the logic to convince ourselves that it was a good buy! I have discovered and it goes without say that if you put love into your health/exercise program, love into your relationships and friendships, love into your career, and love into reading & learning that you will get much more out of each activity than if you did it out of  a sense of obligation.

Now we all know the emotion of love for we have felt it – the love of our spouse/partner, the love of a child, the love of a pet, the love of a parent, and even the love of a sports car!  It is an emotion we all enjoy and look for ways to activate it more often.

And here’s the secret…..when you learn to use your mind to activate this emotion anytime, you will have found the secret to lasting happiness. But not only that….when you activate this emotion as you think, write or take action steps toward your key goals, then you will bring into reality all your dreams and aspirations. Most people do not realise that the secret to effective goal setting and manifestation is to continually create positive emotions associated with each dream, goal, plan, step, and daily task! So successful goal setting and achieving is a combination of mindset (knowing how to think and feel great) and strategy (knowing how to follow a proven goal setting process).

We will be teaching this and more at The Goal Achievers Workshop on Saturday 12th September – this seminar program is free to all our Breakfast Members and Real Estate Riches participants, and otherwise only $199.00 if you wish to come along. It will be a fun and informative morning that will change lives. So if you’re free on Saturday morning, come along for a great time with Manuel and myself.

Andrew Carnegie, who is featured in the book “Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill”, was the first person I know to have this process of manifestation documented and what an amazing man he was! Going from a factory floor worker to the richest man in the world within 20 years…wow! He created so much wealth that he was giving the equivalent of millions away each day and could not give it all away by the time he passed on…an amazing story.  Mr Carnegie discovered that the secret to getting thoughts and words into one’s subconscious mind was to mix them with positive emotions, such as love. When this occurred, the subconscious mind began to guide all his unconscious behaviour and allowed him to notice (through his RAS – reticular activating system) key steps he needed to take via the law of attraction. And of course his intuition (which is also subconscious) would verify through the “gut feel” (we all have this skill) when his move would be right hence faith + quick action allowed him to escalate his progress rapidly over 2 decades.

It is very exciting when we discover the secrets to achievement and fulfilment and so I hope to see you soon at one of our events. I look forward to further sharing with you and helping you apply these wisdoms to magnify your life and success. Remember, when you make all your goals and aspirations an act of love of life, you will rise to the top of your potential dramatically.

In the interim, live life with passion, purpose, and always be at peace.

Stan Kontos 

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).

His areas of passion include:

  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

 

6 – Motivation is EVERYTHING

Over the years, I have either personally experienced or seen others experience the high levels of importance we (Western Society) give to a tertiary education, status of a fine car, brands of clothing, and the amount of money we make. Now whilst all these things are important for us to enjoy our modern life, I have found the there is something that enables us to magnify the benefit of those material things…and that is the ability to feel good. Having the skillset to feel good at any time is, I believe, one of the most valuable skillsets one could ever acquire. When you feel good, you can enjoy the money you make, the clothes you wear feel even better, the car you drive is exciting, and your career or business is fulfilling. This ability to create good feeling is what we refer to as ‘motivation’.

Motivation

You see, motivation is everything. Once you are self motivated, you do not need to drink alcohol to feel good, you drink alcohol because you like the taste (hey I like the occasional good drink myself). When you are self motivated you get to not only enjoy the gift of income & wealth but you also get inspired to make more because all your goals get bigger (my dad who I love heaps still shakes his head when I share a goal!).

However  very few people realise that nothing needs to happen to feel motivated – motivation is something you do – not something you wait for. And because it is something you can do, it is like learning a new skill and therefore, you can do it anytime.  One of the key wisdoms (and there are many I teach) in self motivation is that “motion precedes emotion”. That’s right, we need to do the motion (the activity) to get the emotion (the motivation). In other words, feeling motivated is a reward for doing something motivating. For example, for many years I though to myself each morning “When I feel like going for a run, I will then go for a run” However, it took me the hard way to realise that “when I go for a run I then feel motivated” and not vice versa!  I discovered motivation was an activity rather than something that happens by chance or something that happens because I drink alcohol, eat comfort food (like sweets), wait for a positive statement from someone (like a compliment) or take a mind altering drug (no thanks).

There are many methods you can use to increase your daily motivation levels…here’s one that always works for me – change the way you move your body and/or change your breathing. Yes, if you go for a walk or run, or stand tall and feel powerful, you will create more motivation. Similarly, if you take long deep breaths as you change your body posture, you will notice yourself feeling more motivated. This is because our body is aligned to our emotions – it is the way our Creator designed us all. Everyone is the same, hence the methods that work for one person in self motivation will work for another…it is all a part of nature.  There is a biochemical reaction that also happens (many of us know this stuff) when we change our body movement – for example, when we go for a brisk walk or run, we release extra endorphins in our body (circulating in our blood including our brain) and this causes us to have a ”natural safe high”. That’s right , the body has the ability to create its own “natural drug” which is the predominant reason that once people start exercising each morning and continue for 30 days they make it a habit because it is so enjoyable – they literally cannot stop!

At the last Breakfast at the Next Level  I spoke about motivation before bringing our guest Phil Sims (the Fruchocs guy) on for our “Interviewing the Leaders” program. It was great to see that the audience enjoyed the session very much and we had many people mention how much they enjoyed it. On Tuesday August 18th 6.30pm-8.30pm, we will be presenting a session titled “Motivate Me”. Note that this is complimentary for our Annual Breakfast Members, our Platinum Coaching Clients, and our Real Estate Riches participants who have each been given priority notice – therefore we have had a large number of people already booking seats. However, the invitation is now open to all and so I encourage you to come along. In 2 packed hours you will learn the essentials in motivation which you can use on yourself, teach your family or friends, and take to your work environment.

I look forward to seeing you on the night.

In the interim, live life with passion, purpose, and always be at peace.

Stan Kontos 

Stan Kontos

As South Australia’s foremost authority on “Peak Life Performance” and “Leadership Psychology”, Stan has a passion for the development of Human Potential through the use of Rapid Change Technologies.
Stan is a prolific reader of books and material on self empowerment and has attended numerous programs around the world on personal development, management, marketing, public speaking, and wealth creation. He is a worldwide accredited NLP Trainer (Neurolinguistic Programming).

His areas of passion include:

  • Coaching: Business, Executive and Personal
  • Mentoring: Leaders, Managers and Management teams
  • Therapy for rapid improvements in stress and personal blocks
  • Leadership Development
  • Life Enhancing Seminar Programs teaching Success Strategies and Personal Empowerment

Stan is an entrepreneur with business interests in various states across Australia.

Stan focuses on continuous and never ending improvement of himself and his teams of partners and associates as well as selfless contribution to others. He is an inspiring and motivating speaker, author, coach, and entrepreneur. He desires to expand people’s lives and to expand his charitable quests.

Stan is considered to be one’s “ultimate” life and business coach.

 

5 – The Triad of Thinking – the art of responsiveness

BY STAN KONTOS

Have you ever reacted with a thought in a situation then regretted what you thought or said at the time?  Do you remember scenarios where as time went by you received different thoughts about an event or about a person’s behaviour? Welcome to the club – me too! However it need not be that way – what if we practiced a process of greater wisdom now to prevent regrets in the future? The best way to improve the elicitation of greater levels of wisdom is by developing the habit of having 3 thoughts with every critical situation or event. Einstein was famous for quoting “My goal is to think like God thinks”. Perhaps we can all have a big goal like Albert Einstein.

There is an “old wisdom from antiquity” which says “Ask and ye shall receive”.  Now this can have many meanings – one of those meanings I have discovered is around the use of questions. If you ask a better question , you will get a better answer. There are 3 powerful techniques available to create 3 thoughts and I will share each of them with you – you can then choose which one you feel more comfortable with using (if you need some coaching into how to develop this skillset, please ask our office team to line you up with a coach).

Amazing Technique 1 : Me, You and the Mentor.

Whenever I have a thought about someone or something or an event, I come up with 3 meanings as follows:

How do I see the situation?

How does the other person most likely see the situation (see it from their perspective)?

How would my mentor looking down upon us see the situation?

Once you have 3 meanings, you can then pick the one that resonates best with your intuition (gut feel, heart) as this is most likely the best one.

Simple and amazing Technique 2: What else could this mean?

I could use this technique such that I ask the question “What else could this mean?” three times and hence once again select the best answer that resonates with my intuition (gut feel, heart).

Confirmation Technique 3: Ask two other people whose views you respect

I would come up with my view. I would also ring two other key people in my life who I regard as very wise and explain the situation to them. Then I would carefully listen to their recommendation. From there I select the best viewpoint to move forth with (always the one that resonates with my gut feel/intuition).

I encourage you to practice becoming more responsive and less reactive. It takes much practice to get to a point of having three thoughts with every situation. However here are some of the changes you will develop as you become better at it:

  1. Increased levels of peace
  2. Growing compassion for others
  3. Better decisions

Our mind is much more elastic than we realise. It is also has many characteristics of muscle whereby the more we use it the stronger it becomes.

And one final checkpoint to assist you with accessing your gut feel/intuition with every thought selection – if you find yourself feeling a strong surge of love, compassion, peace or joy toward the other person or toward the event, then you know that you have selected the correct thought.

If you live in the city of Adelaide (including suburbs), I welcome you to come along to Breakfast at the Next Level –  www.nextlevelbreakfasts.com.au – it would be great to see you. I encourage you to spend time with like-minded people to assist you with furthering your personal and leadership development.

Blessings to you – live with passion, purpose and always stay at peace,

4 – Positivity is created from within

BY STAN KONTOS

We all have challenges from time to time in maintaining our “can do” positive attitude – yes that self-empowering enthusiasm that stimulates us to set big goals, handle life’s issues, and to continually have a zest & passion for life.  One of the most positive people I have ever studied is the great St Francis of Assisi. In fact, I admired him so much that only a few years ago  I visited the town of Assisi (in Italy) to  receive a more complete understanding of his essence.

Now the reason Francis was so positive was because he spent a lot of time developing his inner self (inner world) – plenty of time for meditation and prayer every day. He knew that being positive doesn’t just happen – one has to put in the effort of conditioning the inner world and tapping into this inner source of enthusiasm before it is transmitted into what we know as our physical (external) world.

One of the psychological techniques Francis was famous for was the power of forgiveness. He would not hold grudges no matter what because he knew that if he held onto a grudge (this is a form of personal block), then this block would stop the flow of positive energy that radiated to & through him. So, effectively, he knew that by forgiving others, he would free himself from the bondage caused by negative thinking like anger, hatred and discord toward others.

So, if your energy levels are not right, or you are feeling down or anxious, then consider adopting the techniques and strategies that Francis himself used. He wanted to prove so much that his methodology worked that he gave up all his material belongings (he came from a wealth family) and lived as a pauper on the street but proved to his followers that you could be incredibly happy if you know how to condition your inner world. Now, I am not saying that you  or I need to give up any of our creature comforts , but what Francis teaches us is that nothing in this world can make us happy except ourselves. We need to know the strategies used by all happiness experts including forgiveness, gratitude and selfless contribution, just to name a few.

Let’s all adopt Francis’ positive mindset in everything we do – let’s bring this enthusiasm in our careers, in our business(es) and amongst our family and friends. Our results will improve in everything we do, we will attract good things, and we will go to bed each night feeling more content.

I hope to see many of you at Breakfast at the Next Level whereby we will be getting enthused about investing in the property market and learning from those who are incredibly successful in this space so we too can enjoy the abundant life. Take a look at the next event.

I’ll leave you with a few lines from one of Francis’ more famous affirmations (prayers):

Where there is hatred, let me sow love

Where there is discord, let me sow unity

Where there is doubt, let me sow faith

Where there is despair, let me sow hope

Where there is sadness, let me sow joy

For it  is in giving that we receive.

Live with passion, stay on your life’s purpose, and always be at peace.

3 – Creating healthy habits that enrich your soul

BY STAN KONTOS

As a child coming from a lower socioeconomic background, I grew up noticing that the few people my family knew at the time who were what I perceived as “successful” all had one common trait; they were generally more peaceful and they were all “readers” (I noticed they had home libraries and always had books lying around that they were reading).

It was later, while I was a university student, that I realised that studying and reading had an impact on one’s soul. I learnt that education of the mind is one of the many gateways to the soul. Most educators (tutors, lecturers and professors) were generally great thinkers and very peaceful people when compared to other professions that did not involve education… interesting. This was my very first discovery into soul nourishment.

It was in later years that I discovered other ways, and many of them far more effective ways, to nourish one’s soul such as meditation, prayer, travelling, conversation in ideal settings (I enjoy meetings in amazing locations and in fact only buy businesses in locations I find inspiring) and exercise.

Thus, if we want to be peaceful and happy, we must incorporate many of these activities into our lives each day, otherwise we may inadvertently fall into the “stress trap” (also called “the rut”).  Soul nourishment is a habit like anything else that we bring into our lives so we need to know how to create a new habit (it can take up to 30 days to do this).

As we move into the upcoming New Year, consider the new habits through which you will enrich your life.

Then, I encourage you to follow the system that I have found to be the most effective when creating a new habit:

  1. Decide on the habit I want to bring into my daily life and make a commitment to someone (for example;  my wife or my coach);
  1. Take action. I like to write down the habit on my desk so I can see it many times a day; I also like to write it in my diary to remind me (many a time I’ll schedule it in a particular time slot);
  1. Do this every day for at least 21 to 30 days consciously. It is at this stage it becomes unconscious. Whilst doing this, I raise my awareness to the benefits of this new habit, so I attach pleasure to this new activity to reinforce this new behaviour; and
  1. I share with others what I am now doing – this creates further commitment to myself to continue.

So, how about starting one of the below soul enriching habits each month for the next 6 months? Think about where your quality of life would be.

  1. Reading for 30 minutes per day – a book that contains great thinking (motivational author, biography, wealth creation, spiritual);
  1. Meditating  for 10-20 minutes twice a day (especially with a background of relaxing music such as nature sounds);
  1. Pray for 10-20 minutes- perhaps incorporated with your meditation;
  1. Meetings in inspirational locations with interesting people creating stimulating conversations  – overlooking the beach or parklands;
  1. Exercise – creating a daily routine of jogging or walking or sprinting or team sports activities.

Rest assured that we live in amazing times and in a great country where the opportunity for personal and professional development is available to all. Accept the challenge that you can progress in your career, business, and wealth creation and at the same time, enjoy the journey of developing your mind and soul. Remember the famous words of Henry Ford “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, either way you are right”.

On behalf of SOL Results, I wish you a very merry Christmas and an enjoyable and prosperous New Year.

We look forward to seeing you in 2015!

Live with passion, purpose and always be at peace.

Stan Kontos