I’ve bought more new books! I don’t watch tv or listen to the radio and am trying to avoid too much time on social media these days but I am still reading lots. Yesterdays arrivals were Drive written by Daniel H Pink and Thinking, Fast and Slow written by Daniel Kahneman. I’m reading Drive first. It’s pretty interesting so far too!
I’m still pushing ahead in life and work. I actually worked all weekend. We have had a few Sundays off recently but I did squeeze a job in at short notice this weekend. It’s all good and it’s helping to build and push the business. Next year is looking amazing too! Lots of work booked in already and a few asking about extensions and other big jobs. We’ve booked a Christmas Day lunch out for the first time ever too. Once Christmas Day is out of the way Fynn and I will be going away for a break for several days. We’re not sure if we head to the West Country or maybe even Scotland.
In life people come and they go. Often we place too much emphasis on what we believe they should be or who we believe they are. Often this is done falsely. People come and go but some stay. It’s part of life’s rich tapestry and should be celebrated. Life itself should be celebrated. The only reality there is is that none of this is truly real. It’s the blink of an eye in an alien world and we are all just playing a role for a brief period of time. I’ve been physically unwell recently and under some stress but I’ve healed and I’ve dealt with the stress head on. This morning life is back to being totally awesome again and I can see a clear path ahead again. Life really is great. There’s many lessons to learn along the way and many people who help in ways they or us will never know. I’m grateful to these people and what they gave at those times.
It’s the last day of the month which means writing out our goals for next month and checking through last months goals. I know we’ve hit most of them but not all of them. We are a few weeks into a 12 week plan and need to reassess things. A few unforeseen issues cropped up but that’s not stopped us but it could mean the lower ends targets, rather than higher end, are where we should aim for or certainly somewhere in between. It’s unusual for me not to aim for the biggest targets but sometimes reassessing and tweaking things is better than burnout. We are building an empire which takes time rather than out for a quick buck.
on Friday I got a loft from a good friend to go pick my van up. It’s great having a van that’s still quite new and it’s doing a lot more miles per gallon which will be a cost saving! It looks more professional too. Since getting it we now have had more work come in and have a refurb on a bungalow to do which will be a lovely job. They’re lovely customers too. I also think it’s time to start pushing the business even more and to look to take someone else on. Talking of which I’m reading The E Myth Revisited. Initially I didn’t like it but decided I’m not giving up on it, I don’t do that easily, and having carried on reading it it’s actually a great book for small business’ that needs to expand. I’m also reading The Magic of Thinking Big again. I read it a couple of months ago but am rereading it as I like how dynamic it is. It pushes great energy off its pages and makes one more focused on success and thinking bigger.
I’ve realised I could do with a whole weekend off. We worked Saturday morning, we’d planned to do the hood day but Fynn was tired, rested Saturday afternoon and then were out of the house shortly after 7am for a casting tournament. We got in around 5:50pm. This is where knowing that we can do more than we often think we can comes into play. Mindset. It really is everything. Fynn will only do a couple of hours at another place he works today so can rest. I’ll forge ahead and push a job on then tomorrow we can go elsewhere. It was great seeing everyone at the tournament.
Wow it’s dawned on me how mindset is everything yet again. After my van went kaput on Monday I got straight onto sorting things out and less than 24 hours later I’d bought a much newer van, this one is 5 years old. I’m picking it up tomorrow or Saturday. It’s weird because as soon as I saw the advert I knew it was already mine. I never doubted it. My mindset has shocked me because when things are going great it’s easy to feel good and cope with stuff but it’s really only when something comes at you out of the blue and could potentially cause issues that we realise how much a good mindset takes over and sorts things out. As I mentioned previously something like this would’ve sent me into depression in the past with some really deep dark thoughts but not now. I’m almost shocked at where my life has gone to in the last year and certainly the last 2 years. Almost a year ago I wrote myself a letter from the future telling myself how great things were and detailing a few things out. It’s all happened, or happening, now too!
Fynn and I have done some amazing things this year and visited some amazing historic stately homes. we are sticking to our plans and adding more as we go along. Living a reasonably strict life really does pay off. Keeping to a routine that works keeps things working and it’s compounding day by day. It’s the compound effect in full force! And what a force it is too! I still have to question my thinking at times and adjust but the mindset I now have is becoming my default setting more and more. That default is set to success too!
Today has had quite a big WOW moment. I was driving home and about 300-400 yards from home the engine in my van got really noisy. I think it’s got serious issues and has had it. What really shocked me was my mindset about it. Initially I wondered if it was low on oil so topped it up but that’s not it. So I went online looking for a new van and then it hit me….2 years ago something like this would’ve been catastrophic for me. I would have literally been having some seriously dark thoughts…suicidal even, worrying about how I could sort it out and how I’d pay for it. Not today though. Nope. I just started looking for another van and weighed up whether to lease a brand new one or to buy one. I think I’ve found one which I might buy. It’s 5 years old now but it’s the newer version of what I have at the moment. It’s seriously shocking what mindset can do isn’t it. Having worked on myself and my mindset the last 2 years, as well as the business, stressful issues are dealt with differently now. I’ve done several online courses as well as reading lots of self help/business books and it’s paying off massively. Also my new work system and ethics mean there’s money there to buy the van too, which takes so much stress out of things. It’s said that money can’t buy happiness but being broke or in debt can’t either. I’m even more determined now to be even more successful and push things further. I was looking to get a new van later this year or early next year but it’s moved forwards. It’s accelerated just like life is accelerating. It’s all good.
On a side note I have now started reading The E Myth Revisited as well as reading The 12 Week Year and The Great Within. I finished The Millionaire Fastlane this morning and highly recommend it. Oh I’m also working through The Master Key and High Performance Habits too. I’m still getting up at 4:45am too.
Fynn and I are formulating more future plans. Each week we have a meeting to discuss where the business is heading for the future, any new investments either of us are looking at and how we have each scored the previous week. We discuss what work we have on the books and any work I am pricing up. I’ve changed how I price work and how much I price our joint day rate too. We are building better systems into everything we can and by having set formulas things move faster, work gets done quicker and also invoicing and pricing is done when due. We are also formulating prices we will sell investments at and where we will likely put any profits. For now we aren’t taking additional money from the business but are instead building funds up in it to expand it and are looking to increase work on the books and take others on. So far this year has been phenomenal. We really have exceeded our goals most months. My mindset has been on the ball mostly this year and having things written out helps massively. When goals look a little out of reach having things written down gives a good point of reference but also it’s a good motivator. Mindset really is everything. It’s the difference between success and failure. It drives the doing of things rater than the putting of things off. It makes one committed and a doer rather than someone who just talks about what they intend to do. You can’t build a reputation on what you say you’re going to do. As Henry Ford said “whether you believe you can or believe you can’t, you’ll be right”. I’d like to start helping others and I’d like to mentor others. I’ve learned a lot the past 2 years and it’s kept me very mentally stable. My change in diet and lifestyle have been huge factors too. Life really is good and this year I’ve met some amazing, driven people. People who are very inspiring and who also have changed their lives. When we change ourselves our lives change little by little but the changes compound into massive things.
Edit: One thing I’m considering doing is setting up a paid section of this blog where I’ll likely post more regularly and talk more about what I’m reading, and have read, that’s been of help to my mindset and my business. Part of the reason behind this is bot accounts commenting on posts. I get quite a few bots commenting on posts but I have settings set so that I have to manually approve or delete any comments. I’m also looking to build more of a community too. I’d likely set it at $5 a year initially to hopefully filter out the bots! I’d like to encourage others to get more involved too and take it forwards from there.
It’s been a strange week in some ways but great in others. I’ve had a few dreams that have raked up some of my past. Upon waking I felt some anger and also tiredness. What’s been surprising is how quickly I now let things go. The past really is the past. Moving on isn’t always easy, yet at the same time it really is easy. It’s all in the mind. We are all mind. In fact we all are The ALL or the I AM.
I’ve spent a lot of time over the last 2 years seeking to know myself better and to move forwards within myself. It’s taken a lot of understanding and time but I’m where I am and I’ve read a lot and understand a lot. It’s helped enormously in turning my life, and my business, around. My business is doing amazingly well. It’s funny how changing a few small things changes into much bigger things. It’s the compound effect. Seeing it in action is amazing. So many books have added to what I’ve learned and now understand. Much contemplation has led to greater understanding and growth. There’s so much more I could write but maybe shouldn’t yet. Suffice to say we really do change our lives simply by thinking those changes into reality. The universe really is mental as is the I AM. Realising that this is all an illusion, a game, the matrix, the 3D reality or whatever you want to call it really does open so much up to us/we/I.
Monday, Tuesday and this morning, to an extent, I woke with anxiety or maybe that should be anxiety woke me up. Something happened at the weekend which was uncalled for and has set off alarm bells and red flags for me. The last year or so I’ve not really had anxiety at all but events at the weekend triggered past thought patterns, or past coping mechanisms, to crop back up and they’re not good past thought patterns either. Interestingly my thinking process had started to revert back to old default settings too. Thankfully I’ve realised this and am thinking differently again, stoically again, because of the ground work I’ve put in. However I cannot ignore the things that set it off. After ending my marriage I set out clear rules for myself and my life and those rules are now being tested, or have been tested. I’m sitting at a crossroads and now taking some time to weigh up the roads ahead that are open to me. I have to do this with logic, and my rules, rather than emotional thinking which is something I couldn’t do in the past. It’s very interesting to note it too. There’s also been a situation at work that has put stress onto me and that also triggered past thinking. A week ago I would’ve looked at it it differently to how I did yesterday but today I’m back to looking at it with my new eyes and mindset, like I would have last week. This is all very interesting because it’s shown me the power of our own minds when they’ve been trained for a year or two. A few short years ago these events, over the last few days, would likely have triggered a bipolar episode and reactions coming from emotional attachment. I’ve moved on from that though and have to continue with my new settings which I’ve programmed in so to speak. This leads me to ponder on something I’ve thought about for a while now which is mentoring others. Initially I thought about mostly business mentoring coupled with life/mindset. Maybe it’s time to start helping others who really do want to better themselves and their lives. I’d be interested in finding more people to mentor. Hmmmm. Very interesting.
We are all the I AM. We all need to realise this and understand it. Reality isn’t what most believe it to be and we each shape our own version of it. Yet it’s all the I AM. Everything is. We all create and manifest our lives and the realities attached to those lives yet it’s still all the I AM. Learn to control yourself fully. Immerse yourself in yourself, become who you are meant to become, live as the I AM. Understand that others are you but also don’t accept disrespect from those emanations of you. If something isn’t serving you in the life you have now, change it and become who you really are meant to be. Nobody is ever too old to change or to effect change in their life. Nothing is real, everything is possible.
Isn’t life a strange and wonderful thing. Autumn is setting in and the days are changing and getting shorter. I’m finding I’m a little more tired than usual, it happens this time of year, but I also know that it quickly flips into having really good energy again too. My business is really thriving and I’m putting new systems in place to help it continue. In fact those systems are helping us do more and do it faster too. Each month, week and day is planned out beforehand and a framework is built. We are currently using The 12 Week Year but I’ve realised I’ve kind of been doing it for the last year or so anyway but not as fully as their system says to. Life is so much easier this way and we will continue pushing forwards. I’ve decided to invest more into the business rather than outside of the business for now. It’ll help the business grow even more and help Fynn more too. It’s all good. It’s good to see some who I’ve been mentoring do well too and push themselves forwards in life. They’re doing amazing things and one of them is now pushing forwards with something which was a 10 year goal. She could realise that goal next year too. It’s all good. It is what it is.
