What Is Inspiration | John Salkowski ~ Leadership in the Line of Duty™

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Successful Entrepreneurs: The Top 7 Mistakes Successful People Avoid

March 18, 2013 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy, John R Salkowski, John Salkowski, John Salkowski International No comments

Making mistakes is part of our success journey, however successful people avoid certain ones ~ John R. Salkowski

When you dream, dream big, when you think, think big, when you love, love big. Everything we do starts with a choice and ends with a decision. Success and happiness are choices and decisions we make. There are no excuses for not getting the very best out of your life. There are no excuses for living in a way that consistently makes you unhappy and unsuccessful.

The Top 7 Mistakes Successful People Avoid:

1) Losing track of your goals and ideals – Knowing who you are is one thing, but truly believing and living as yourself is another. With all the social conditioning in our society we sometimes forget to stay true to ourselves and the people that matter most. Don’t lose yourself to everything that is out there. In this crazy world that’s trying to make you like everyone else, stay true to yourself and continue your journey anyway.

2) Using failed excuses – Life doesn’t always introduce you to the people you WANT to meet. Life puts you in touch with the people you NEED to meet; to help you, to hurt you, to leave you, to love you, and to gradually strengthen you into the person you were meant to become.

3) Changing & sacrificing who you are to satisfy others – No matter how loud their opinions are, others cannot choose who you are. The question should not be, “Why don’t they like me when I’m being me?” It should be, “Why am I wasting my time worrying what they think of me?” If you are not hurting anyone with your actions, keep moving forward with your life. Be happy. Be successful. Be YOU. If others don’t like it, who cares and move on. The quickest was to fail in life is trying to please everyone.

4) Putting up with negative people and negative thinking – Get rid of all the drama and the people who create it out of your life. Surround yourself with those who lift you higher, make you better and make you happy. Love those who treat you right and pray for the ones who don’t. Forget the negative and focus on the positive. Life is too short to be anything but successful and happy. Making mistakes and falling down is a part of life, but getting back up, wiping off your knees and elbows and moving on is what life is all about.

5) Focusing your attention on another time and place – This day will never happen again. It will be gone forever. Enjoy it. Cherish it. Spend it with those that matter. It’s often hard to tell the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory. Someday you may just discover that the small things were really the big things. Learn to appreciate what you have before time forces you to appreciate what you once had.

6) Thinking that you have already missed your chance – Your life, with all its ups and downs, has molded you to where you are today. Your life has been exactly what it needed to be. Don’t think you’ve lost time. It took each and every situation you have encountered to bring you to the current moment. Every moment of your life, including this one right now is a fresh start. If you have the courage to admit when you’re scared, the ability to admit when you’re wrong, the boldness to speak up even if your voice is shaking, the confidence to ask for help when you need it and the wisdom to take it when it’s offered, then you have everything you need to get yourself to a better place.

7) Dealing with the stress of deceiving others – If you say you’re going to do something, DO IT! If you say you’re going to be somewhere, BE THERE! If you say you feel something, MEAN IT! If you can’t, won’t, and don’t, then DON’T LIE. It’s always better to tell people the truth up front. Live in such a way that if someone decided to attack your character, no one would believe it. Live so that when the people around you think of fairness, caring and integrity, they think of you.

Successful entrepreneurs are not prisoners in their own minds. They break free from all the negative people, concepts, choices and ideas that hold them back from truly living instead of just existing. They tell the negativity committee that meets inside their heads to sit down, shut up and get out of their way ~ John R. Salkowski

About the Author

John R. Salkowski is a retired Police Officer after an impressive 15 year career who is now a Highly Sought-After Leadership and Motivational Speaker and Trainer. John has wowed audiences ranging from 20-20,000 sharing his unique Leadership strategies in his signature presentation:

Leadership in the Line of Duty™
Split-Second Decision Secrets Revealed that All Top-Performers and Self-Made Millionaires Want to Know ™

John regularly speaks for a variety of leaders (ranging from entry level to experienced executives) for corporations, business groups, associations, colleges, universities, youth groups and sports organizations. Pulling from his 15 years of real world, in-the-trenches (and even life and death) Law Enforcement experiences, John now teaches leaders one of the most important key components of leadership (that is often overlooked):

“How to make Split-Second Leadership Decisions when the Direction and Success of your Organization depends on it!”

John has received numerous distinguished awards for Bravery, Merit and Unit Citations. He has also received media attention for serving as a leader within his community, including being featured in the Philadelphia Magazine as one of the area’s Top Business Leaders.

Any organization that wants to develop their people into becoming “Extraordinary Leaders” needs to hire John for a keynote and/or workshop training.

To request John speak at your next event, please email his office at John@JohnSalkowski.com

Inspiring others to be Decisive and Take Action Now

February 18, 2013 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy, John R Salkowski, John Salkowski, John Salkowski International No comments

Make a decision, be decisive and take action. Indecisiveness breeds failure. Live by choice, not by chance. Make changes, not excuses. Get motivated, not manipulated. Work to excel, not compete ~ John R. Salkowski

This is the way to inspire people to make decisions, take action and make a positive difference in their lives. This is how you can grow into the best version of YOU! Listen to your inner voice, it’s always right and be selective on who you take advice from not the jumbled opinions of everyone out there.

Here are the Top 5 ways to Inspire Others to be Decisive and Take Action Now:

1) Care about Others – People don’t care about how much you know, until they know how much you care.

2) Challenge others to do their Best – As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” If people know we expect great things from them, they will often go to great lengths to live up to our expectations.

3) Share Personal Experiences from your Failures to your Successes – Always be a resource to those around you. If you have access to essential information, don’t hoard it, share it openly. You have more to share than you realize. Mine the rich experiences of your life and share your wisdom from your unique point of view. Be vulnerable. Be willing to share your failures as well as your successes. Others will relate to you. They’ll understand that they’re not the only ones with challenges.

4) Express your Enthusiasm – Passion is something you must be willing to express if you want to inspire others. You will gain a lot of influence just by publicly expressing that you’re excited and passionate about a topic. Expressive passion is contagious. You’ll get people inspired by having them wonder why you love what you love so much. Most will and some won’t take the time necessary to understand what it is about the topic that moves you so much.

5) Be Authentic and True to Yourself – In this crazy world that’s trying to make you like everyone else, or as I call it “PC or Political Correctness”, find the courage to keep being your awesome self. Embrace that individual inside you that has ideas, strengths, wisdom and beauty like no one else. Be the person you know yourself to be – be the person you want to be – the best version of you – on your terms. Above all, be true to YOU, and if you cannot put your heart and soul into it, take yourself out of it. No it won’t always be easy; because when it comes to living as a compassionate, empathetic, non-judgmental human being, the only challenge greater than learning to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes, is learning to walk a lifetime in your own.

About the Author

“Leadership in the Line of Duty”™
Split-Second Decision Secrets Revealed that All Top-Performers and Self-Made Millionaires Know ™

John regularly speaks for a variety of leaders (ranging from entry level to experienced executives) for corporations, business groups, associations, colleges, universities, youth groups and sports organizations. Pulling from his 15 years of real world, in-the-trenches (and even life and death) Law Enforcement situations, John now teaches leaders one of the most important key components of leadership (that is often overlooked):

“How to make Split-Second Leadership Decisions when the Direction and Success of your Organization depends on it!”

John has received numerous distinguished awards for Bravery, Merit and Unit Citations. He has also received several employee recognition awards for serving as a leader within his community, including being featured in the Philadelphia Magazine as one of the area’s Top Business Leaders.

Any organization that wants to develop their people into becoming “Extraordinary Leaders” needs to hire John for a keynote and/or workshop training.
To request John speak at your next event, please email his office at John@JohnSalkowski.com

Is Success truly found in our Struggle?

January 31, 2013 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

Sometimes you have to get knocked down lower than you’ve ever been, to stand up taller than you than you ever were ~ unknown

Did you know that one of the most famous, well-known and respected men in American history at the age of 50 had never experienced success? In fact, what he had experienced was way too many struggles and disappointments. Here are just a few of the struggles and disappointments he had faced: Being forced out of his home along with his family at age 7, losing his mother at age 9, at the age 22 he lost a job as a store clerk and while wanting to attend law school, he was unable to because his education wasn’t adequate, losing a youthful love to an untimely death and at age 28 being rejected upon asking his next love to marry him, failing the first two attempts for Congress and upon being elected on his third attempt, losing his re-election two years later, suffering a nervous breakdown, losing a young son, and making two unsuccessful attempts at earning a seat in the US Senate.

One can only say, “Wow”. Quite a laundry list of struggle would provoke one to lose hope and even doubt his own ability. Yes, this entire list of struggle and disappointment is equated with just one person. After all of this contention, at the age of 51, Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the United States, yet unfortunately, the heart-breaking moments didn’t stop there.

Why speak of such struggle? Why focus on all of the tough times? What can Lincoln’s life teach us? What lessons can each of us learn from his agonizing experiences?

Great leaders don’t just materialize as does great success, character and integrity appear out of thin air. As Lincoln’s life demonstrates, a life full of appreciation and something worth admiring occurs only after much struggle and disappointment.

True success, creating a life that achieves contentment and inspires those around you to soar as well is something that requires a person of inner strength which is fostered by persevering through challenging times. While there are many in our world who understand this, there are far too many who believe that success comes to those who put out their hand and ask politely for it, and upon being laughed at or ignored, stomp their foot and whine. But David Bly reminds us in his precise analogy, “Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.”

The truth of the matter is, whining and pleading will achieve nothing of value and possibly some pity. So instead of blaming our troubles for our inability to achieve the success we had dreamt about, why not be grateful for them and turn them into something beyond our initial imaginative desires?

Why not take it on the chin? So you were rejected, so the job you’ve desired for years isn’t hiring, so your car breaks down, so you are faced with another struggle you hadn’t planned on – look deep inside yourself, find your strength, tap into it and burn the midnight oil to make a seemingly unfortunate situation into something that will leave people inspired and with you realizing the amazing strengths you may not have known you had.

Think about this for a moment, if everything in our lives ran smoothly and not one obstacle ever presented itself, would we truly ever realize our true potential? Absolutely not!

Don’t get me wrong, times of struggle and disappointment are not something I wish for nor want, however it is in those moments when you are being tested that you can either choose to fail and remain where you are, or take it for the opportunity that it is and turn into gold.

Things worth having don’t come easy, so I leave you with a quote from the very man who faced the utmost struggle: The probability that we may fail in the struggle ought not to deter us from the support of a cause we believe to be just ~ Abraham Lincoln

About the Author

“Leadership in the Line of Duty”™
“Split-Second Decision Secrets Revealed that All Top-Performers and Self-Made Millionaires Know” ™

John regularly speaks for a variety of leaders (ranging from entry level to experienced executives) for corporations, business groups, associations, colleges, universities, youth groups and sports organizations. Pulling from his 15 years of real world, in-the-trenches (and even life and death) Law Enforcement situations, John now teaches leaders one of the most important key components of leadership (that is often overlooked):

“How to make Decisive Split-Second Leadership Decisions when the direction and success of your organization depends on it!”

Any organization that wants to develop their people into becoming “Extraordinary Leaders” needs to hire John for a keynote and/or workshop training.
To request John to speak at your next event, please email his office at John@JohnSalkowski.com

It’s Thanksgiving week: What are you most thankful for?

November 20, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

In our everyday hustle and bustle we tend to forget about what really matters in our lives. Take a moment to sit quietly to reflect on all that you are most grateful for ~ John R. Salkowski

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. It’s a week where I tend to slow down and take the time to reflect on what I am most grateful for. We tend to forget about the small things in life. The truth is, it’s the small things in our lives that matter the most.

Here are the top things that I am most thankful and grateful for in my life:

My beautiful daughter

My daughter, Alexa is a fun loving, gentle, warm soul, intelligent and beautiful 10 year old. She is funny, loves to play hide and seek and loves to scare her daddy by hiding and popping out where I least expect it. Her presence can turn a stressful day into a day where nothing seems impossible. I have her to thank for my mental well-being and for keeping me grounded. She is my “Why”. She is why I work so tirelessly to be more and too achieve more. I’ve never experienced unconditional love before in my life—someone who expects nothing more from me than what I can give. She has my back in any moment of stress or heartache. I couldn’t imagine where I’d be without her, and for that, I’m so unbelievably thankful.

My Health

I’m thankful for realizing the importance of health by living a clean lifestyle which I teach to my daughter. I’m talking about all aspects of health from what you consume, how much sleep you get, brain health, and physical exercise as well as taking time for mental health. They’re all important. Without our health, what do we really have? Over the past 6 years, my life has changed so much for the better. It has brought me places where I’ve never imagined I’d be. I’m 43 years old now and I plan on living to be 100 year old, still as active and healthy as I am today.

My Time

This year, especially, I’ve grown very fond of how important time is as well as the concept of it. Time is the one thing you will never get back. Once it’s gone, it’s gone forever. You must spend your time wisely in all you do. I’m thankful of the time I’ve spent in every moment of my life—good and bad—because I know I wouldn’t be the same without having lived every single minute. I’m thankful that I have the time to tell everyone in my life who matters most how much they mean to me. What a shame it would be to leave such a simple, yet important, gratitude left unsaid to someone you care about. Tell someone today what they mean to you. It’s the greatest feeling on the planet.

My Solitude

Taking time to actively be alone is one of the most underrated forms of self-help. If you are not happy being alone, you will not be happy with someone in your life. My daily meditations are a time to check out and allow my mind to experience a period of no thought. Before I started this completely secular form of meditation, I don’t know if I had ever truly relaxed. This simple 20-minute time period has altered my outlook on the day ahead as well as my life ahead. I can be more positive and attentive because my mind doesn’t have to work as hard. When I spend quiet time alone, everything is put into perspective. You become more rational, more grateful for who you are, what you do and for the people that matter the most in your life. Solitude is the best form of a mental health day, which we all tend to need from time to time.

My People

I was going to put friends and family; instead I titled it, “My People” as the heading for this paragraph. I wanted to include everyone that has touched my life. And it’s “my people” that I’m really thankful for this year. I’ve met so many amazing people in my lifetime who have inspired me as mentors, leaders and role models. Some of those people have no idea how inspirational they are to me. It was the little gesture of kindness or the way they stared at their significant other when they thought nobody else was watching. I give thanks for everyone who has the courage to live their own life without fear of being themselves in every possible moment. You are inspiring to me whether you know it or not.

So there you have what I am most grateful for. All I ask of you is to take the time to do the same thing, whether it is in your gratitude journal or on a piece of paper. By placing your thoughts to paper there’s something magical that happens inside you. Give it a try and I bet you experience that same magical feeling I do.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours!

About the Author

John R. Salkowski is a retired Police Officer after an impressive 15 year career who is now a Highly Sought-After Leadership and Motivational Speaker and Trainer. John can speak for crowds ranging from 20-20,000 sharing his unique leadership strategies in his signature presentation:
“Leadership in the Line of Duty”
Lessons for Making Split-Second Decisions from a Cop Who Has Been in Life and Death Situations

John regularly speaks for a variety of leaders (ranging from entry level to experienced executives) for corporations, business groups, associations, colleges, universities, youth groups and sports organizations.
Pulling from his 15 years of real world, in-the-trenches (and even life and death) Law Enforcement situations, John now teaches leaders one of the most important key components of leadership (that is often overlooked):

“How to make split-second leadership decisions when the direction and success of your organization depends on it!”

Any organization that wants to develop their people into becoming “Extraordinary Leaders” needs to hire John for a keynote and/or workshop training.

To request John to speak at your next event, please email his office at John@JohnSalkowski.com

How to Achieve Greatness through facing Adversity

October 23, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

We learn more from tough times than we do from the good times ~ John R. Salkowski

We all have bad days. We all have days where we say, “could it get any worse” or “why did I have to run into that person” or “why did this have to happen to me or “why couldn’t I be born to someone richer and smarter.” Does this sound familiar to you? We’ve all said this at one point or another.

There is a reason why everyday cannot be the best day of our lives. Think about this for a minute. If every day was a good day, what would we learn? There is a reason why we don’t have good days all the time. Don’t get me wrong, every day we wake up is a good day. If we have our health it’s a good day. We have our loved ones, it’s a good day. However, there is a reason why we face challenges and adversity in our lives. The main reason is to learn from it, overcome it and achieve what we’re aiming for.

What would we learn if we had good day’s everyday?

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit ~ Napoleon Hill

We learn so much by facing and going through tough times. We learn more from our failures and difficult times than we do from our successes. Here’s what we learn from facing adversity:

1) Resilience ~ ability to recover from or adjust easily to misfortune or change

2) Problem solving skills ~ The process of working through details of a problem to reach a solution. Engaging an individual’s critical thinking skills.

3) Being more positive & optimistic ~ The tendency to expect the best and see the best in all things

4) Greater appreciation for people & things ~ Recognition of the quality, value, significance, or magnitude of people and things.

5) Attitude of gratitude ~ The state of being grateful & thankful.

6) Your strength zones ~ The state, property, or quality of being strong, a source of power or force in an area or a region.

7) Your Big “Why” ~ For what purpose, reason, or cause; with what intention, justification, or motive

8) Who too count on during difficult times ~ The state of being a friend; to value a person’s friendship

9) Mental Toughness ~ Psychological attribute that separates greatness from mediocrity.

10) Perseverance ~ Steadfastness in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success, continuance in a state of grace leading to a state of glory.

“The strongest oak of the forest is not the one that is protected from the storm and hidden from the sun. It’s the one that stands in the open where it is compelled to struggle for its existence against the winds and rains and the scorching sun.” -Napoleon Hill (1883-1970)

As much as we love smooth waters, an Arab proverb states that smooth waters do not make skillful sailors. In this journey we call life, the question is not, “Will storms arise?” Rather, the question is, “When will the next storm arise?” And even more important than that question is, “What type of person will I be when the next storm arises?”

About the Author

John R. Salkowski is the Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com™, Retired Cop, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident, Expert on Leadership, Success, Overcoming Adversity, Fear & PTSD, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author of 3 books; Leadership in The Line of Duty™: 50 Leadership Lessons for Making Split-Second Decisions from a Cop Who Has Been in Life and Death Situations, Leadership in The Line of Duty™: Success Thoughts and Quotes for Leaders and Nothing But Net: Top Secrets to increase your bottom line, Health, Wealth & Success.

6 Essential Tips to Achieve Great Things while Living in the Moment

October 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy One comment

“Life is a journey, not a destination.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Have you ever thought, Do I live for today? Do I live for tomorrow? Do I live for yesterday? Have you ever stopped just to hear and feel your breathing? Have you ever been mindful of living in the present moment? Too often, we worry about things that don’t matter. Living in the moment involves mindfulness and being aware of which physical or mental state you are in right now.

Place Your Attention in the Now!

Too many of us are busy thinking about what has happened in the past or what is going to happen in the future instead of focusing on what is going on right now in their lives. Placing your attention in the “now” moment of time is a concept emphasized continuously in many Eastern religions and philosophies. The only time you have is right now. Trying to keep your focus on what you’re currently doing or to whom you’re currently speaking to is one way to start living in the “now” moment.

Have you ever held a conversation with someone that kept looking over your shoulder at something else, really paying you no mind? I recently had this experience. I ran into someone that I have seen in a very long time and it seemed he was more worried about what was going on around him than speaking with me. It made me feel that I wasn’t important to this person. It’s not only disrespectful but why spend time with someone that isn’t giving you the attention or the time you deserve. Does this sound familiar? Do you do this? Have you done this? If so, stop immediately and live in the present and make that person feel like they are the only person that exists at that present time.

Be Unselfconscious

Being self-conscious prevents many people from becoming successful and doing things they really want to do. They only wish they could act on their dream, but they feel unworthy, or they feel like they can’t, or someone has told them they weren’t capable–whatever the reason, they don’t try because of being self-conscious. Feelings of self-consciousness holds people back from accomplishing great things in their life. You must live in the moment; you must stop thinking about what you are doing and just go for it.

Overcome Adversity by accepting fear and pain

Acceptance is a key factor for living in the present moment. If something makes you fearful or if something is painful, you may struggle with it or try with all your might to avoid it. However, the chances may be that your struggling is only causing you more pain. Trying to accept what is in your life right now, even if it is fearful or painful will help you to live in the moment instead of struggling against it.

Stop Rushing and slow down

Your life can and will get very hectic and crazy at times, if you allow it to. It seems like everyone is always rushing around with something important to do or someone important to meet. I have close friends like this and it drives me mad. They have to feel busy or in constant motion all the time to feel productive. They never stop to smell the roses. I was once there. I used to be like that. This constant, frenzied pace of life prevents you from living in the now moment because you’re always concerned with what’s going to happen next. Don’t overbook your schedule, prioritize your schedule according to importance and make sure you take time for the things that matter most. I guarantee you that when you’re lying on your death bed, you’ll be thinking of what mattered most in your life. We all know what matters most in our lives.

Appreciate the Little Things in your life

I truly believe we must develop a feeling of gratitude for the little things that matter the most in our life. These are things you often overlook, whether it’s a smile and a hug from your husband or wife before he or she leaves for work or the smell of the flowers that have just started blooming in the garden or holding the door for someone or taking the time to say hello and thank you. Resolve today to make a list of the things you are most grateful for and try to cultivate a feeling of being mindful, aware and appreciative when you come across them.

Just forget what time it is

If you’ve ever been truly absorbed in a task, you may completely lose track of time. This may happen to you when you’re doing something you absolutely love to do. This happens to me when I’m writing, blogging, creating products for clients. In order to live in the moment, it’s important to stop worrying about the time and just engage in the activity you’re performing as fully as possible. This also applies to your loved ones. Spending time with someone that matters the most to you, simply forget the time and live in the NOW moment!

I’ll leave you with one of my all-time favorite quotes, “The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

About the Author:

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com™, Retired Cop, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident, Expert on Leadership, Success, Overcoming Adversity, Fear & PTSD, Entrepreneur, Speaker, Author of 3 books; Leadership in The Line of Duty™: 50 Leadership Lessons for Making Split-Second Decisions from a Cop Who Has Been in Life and Death Situations, Leadership in The Line of Duty™: Success Thoughts and Quotes for Leaders and Nothing But Net: Top Secrets to increase your bottom line, Health, Wealth & Success.

Local Hero, Marine Veteran and Plymouth Twp. K-9 Officer Killed in The Line of Duty on September 13th 2012

September 14, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

For those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, we are grateful that such men and women were among us. For those who continue to serve, we honor their commitment. For those who return to civilian life, we honor their service. ~Author Unknown

There was something inside me pushing and pushing to write our local hero, friend, son, husband, father and brother, which gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life in the line of duty, a farewell letter.

When I heard this tragic news, I was overcome by a sick feeling in my stomach. My mind started to race with thoughts such as, was he alone, what did he go through, what are/will his fellow officers go through, his poor family and what they are/will go through for the rest of their lives. And of course, his partner, K-9 Nick who lost his best friend. It immediately brought me back 12 years ago when I was involved in my shooting. The thousand emotions that run through your body when you hear tragic news like this. No matter where it happens, however the feeling was different knowing that he was local and only lived 15 minutes from me in Gilbertsville, Pa.

There are approximately 800,000 Full-Time uniformed Police Officers that protect our country 24/7, 365 days a year. According to the Officer down Memorial Page http://www.odmp.org/search/year, so far this year (2012) there has been 83 in The Line of Duty deaths across the United States. However, when it hits close to home, it stops you in your tracks.

Officer Bradley Fox responded to a hit and run accident in Plymouth Township, Pa. where the suspect fled from his vehicle. Officer Fox confronted the suspect on a bike trail where he was shot in the head. Officer Fox’s K-9 partner Nick was also shot. Officer Fox succumbed to his injuries a day before his 35th birthday.

Officer Bradley Fox was a decorated Staff-Sergeant with The United States Marine Corp. He served two tours in Iraq protecting our country and freedom. He lost his life serving and protecting the citizens of Plymouth Township, Pa. He leaves behind an expectant wife of 3 months and young daughter.

This tragic event can and will cause effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder or PTSD for surviving family, friends and colleagues. I would recommend that you speak to a professional about how you’re feeling. Talk about it. Get it out of your chest. Do not allow anything to fester. My effects of PTSD didn’t affect me until 1-2 years later or at least that’s how long it took me to realize it.

Happy 35th Birthday to a great man who gave the ultimate sacrifice of his life in the line of duty. He was a great man, son, husband, father, Marine, Police Officer and friend . He will be sadly missed. May god bless him and his surviving family and friends.

My hope is that his name will live on forever in the hearts of his communities, fellow colleagues and Officers across this great country by changing the name of the Plymouth Township Police Department in memory of Officer Bradley Fox.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com™, Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident, Expert on Leadership, Success, Overcoming Adversity, Fear & PTSD. Entrepreneur, Professional Speaker, Author of 3 books; Leadership in The Line of Duty™: 50 Leadership Lessons for Making Split-Second Decisions from a Cop Who Has Been in Life and Death Situations, Leadership in The Line of Duty™: Success Thoughts and Quotes for Leaders and Nothing But Net: Top Secrets to increase your bottom line, Health, Wealth & Success.

To Achieve More, You Must Become More

September 10, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

“If you want to have more, you must become more” ~ Jim Rohn

Do ever feel like you are running as fast as you can yet you never feel like you’re getting anywhere? Have you ever thought about how you look at yourself and your life? Something very powerful rests at the core of all this: the lens through which we view our lives is known as our paradigms.

Old paradigm: Do so you can have so you can be. New paradigm: Be so you can do so you can have.

The old paradigm indicates that the belief we have determines who we will be. Have you ever met or even known someone that doesn’t have very much, yet they are the happiest and most fulfilled person? Have you ever met or even known someone who has an enormous amount of money and material goods, yet their life is hollow and unfulfilling. We all do.

How can someone have everything they’ve ever wanted and yet be so empty and unhappy? And how can one have so little and yet be so happy and content? Happiness and fulfillment are not created by material wealth or possessions alone but rather by whom we are being and what we are doing.

I’m not suggesting that we all take a vow to be poor. There’s nothing wrong with having things. The problems arise when we sacrifice who we are for the sake of having more. When we do that, we will never ever have enough.

The new paradigm embraces the belief that when our life choices are informed by who we are being (our values and vision), what we do (our mission) is a natural extension of this, and what we have (our possessions) is enough. When you operate under this new paradigm—be so you can do so you can have—you make a shift in your entire belief system. You are no longer willing to negotiate who you are being so you can have more.

“Everyone has a purpose in life, a unique gift or special talent to give to others. And when we blend this unique talent with service to others, we experience the ecstasy and exultation of our own spirit, which is the ultimate goal of all goals.” ~ Deepak Chopra

In November 2011-June 2012, when I began to write my first book, I ended up writing 4 books, all while operating 3 companies. I couldn’t get beyond writing the outlines. I continually tried and tried to carve out time to write my books, and yet nothing ever came of it. I was so determined to do this that it kept me up at night. I would have a note pad and pen sitting on my night stand and when I would awake with a thought, I’d write it down. I finally discovered that the reason I was having difficulty in writing my books was because of the way I was being (overwhelmed, unbalanced, poor time-manager) which was not congruent with the core message of my book. Once my life focus shifted from doing more things to being in peace, harmony and balance and aligning with my life purpose, my thoughts to keyboard started to flow so very smoothly. I blocked out every day from 5am-9am, 7 days a week until the book was complete.

Looking back, the past 4 years were huge personal development years for me and I was inspiring up a lot of my own beliefs. I was in the midst of making a huge paradigm shift. By November 2011, I felt compelled to write my book and I could not stop! I sat down at the keyboard and effortlessly downloaded the words from my brain onto my computer and I am proud to say that the one book turned into 4 books. If I can do this, so can you!

The power of making this shift applies to everyone, whether you are writing a book or building a business. Who are you being right now? If you are not currently living the life of your dreams what do you need to do right now to start?

Here’s a powerful question to ask yourself right NOW: Where do you see yourself in 5-10 years with your health, business/profession, marriage/relationship, family, finances, emotional/spiritual life etc.) If you continue to do what you are doing and being who you’re being right now?

Here are the Top Strategies to Achieve More, You Must Be More:

1) Planning Your Future- If you don’t know where you are going then any road will get you there. Your planning must be specific and measurable. You must take time to examine the details of every aspect of your life, personal and professional, to achieve unified success and happiness.

2) Decide the Who, Not the What- Decide who you want to be, not what you want to be doing. If you know who you want to be, you can detail what to do and the resources you will need.

3) Consider the Tools around You, Old and New- Every resource is important.

4) Be Honest with yourself- You’ll need to challenge yourself constantly to get to the truth of who we are and who we wish to be. Be honest with yourself.

5) Ignore the Naysayers- Constructive criticism is okay. But outside perspective that is baseless (think dissatisfied family or friends) is destructive for achievers. Put these people in a box where they can’t distract you from your ambitions. Find people who get it, and put them in your corner. Engage them in your chosen future, and help them achieve theirs.

6) Don’t Settle for Mediocrity- You should push yourself to the limits of your potential. Too many people settle for what is easy rather than engage their energy and creativity to create something different, significant and meaningful. Resolve to pursue the Awesome Experience.

Fear, Adversity Holding You Back? Stop, Look, Listen & Overcome Fear of Failure

August 26, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear. ~ Nelson Mandela

Did you ever hear the phrase, Stop, Look & Listen when you become afraid of something? Have you ever heard a noise that made you stop dead in your tracks, than made you look around to see where it was coming from, than listen to see if you could hear whatever it was that you heard again? This same phrase applies to the fear that’s holding you back from achieving your dreams, accomplishments, goals, desires & under takings.

Fear stops success dead in its tracks. It stops you from taking action. It stops your ideas and thoughts from growing larger.
The fear of failure is perhaps the strongest force holding people back from truly reaching their potential. The world we live in is full of uncertainty, a weak economy, and countless misfortunes happening all around us. It really is easy to see why most people are inclined to play it safe. But playing it safe can be deadly.

Playing it safe and failing to risk the uncertainties has enormous repercussions on success. If you never face your fear, or face whatever it is that is holding you back, your chances of succeeding are zero to none. See, what most people fail to understand is that failure is a huge part of succeeding. Failure is good. Failure makes you hungry. Failure should make you angry. Failure should keep you up at night thinking of and creating news ways to overcome it. Most people give up after their first failure. Most people underestimate their merit and ability to recover from failure, leading them to pass up on valuable opportunities. This, my fellow achievers, is the death of success. The ability to fail big and fail over and over again has been the pinnacle mark of the spectacularly successful throughout history.

These following tips will help you put risk and reward in perspective so you can overcome the fear of failure.

1) Take Action Now- The best way to reduce fear, build your confidence is by taking action. As soon as you do, you’ll gain the experience and knowledge to continue onward. Everything is hard the first time. Everyone that is a master of their field was once a rookie. No one ever started as an expert. They worked their way to mastering excellence. Start off with baby steps and you will eventually build up your confidence until the fear of failure is manageable.

2) Consider the risk of missed opportunities- The biggest risk that most people fail to consider is the benefit they lose by avoiding high risk/high reward opportunities. There is a saying, “You always miss the shot you never take”. Without taking risk, you can’t exploit any opportunities. You can live a happy, normal life, but you are unlikely to create something new, and you are most certainly unlikely to make your mark in this world.

3) Understand the benefits of failure- As Ralph Waldo Emerson said so eloquently, “What you constantly see, you stop seeing! You forget the wonders of your spouse, the reliability of your car, the warmth of your home, because you experience them too often. This is just a reminder, to stop, and marvel and the things you wouldn’t want to live without life”. Each failure is an experiment and an opportunity for growth.

4) Conquer something new daily- It has been said that if you are not doing something on a daily basis to overcome your fears you have not learned the secret of life.

I will leave you with this quote from the famous Ralph Waldo Emerson, American essayist, poet, and philosopher from the mid-19th century: Life is a battlefield; to succeed you must “divide and conquer.” Conquer your fears daily; stretch yourself daily. Do something you don’t want to do, something you’re afraid of doing because you might get rejected or you might fail. Do that thing today, and then conquer another fear tomorrow. If you can create the habit of conquering your fear, you can move from the land of impossibilities to the land of possibilities.

The 5 Most Powerful Habits for Taking Action Now

August 23, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

Action is the real measure of intelligence ~Napoleon Hill

Have you ever wondered why some people achieve success faster? Have you ever wondered why some people achieve financial abundance quicker and sometimes easier than others?

People that climb the latter of success and that are sitting on top of their profession share one distinct quality – they take action. This distinct quality supersedes intelligence, talent, and connections in determining the size of their bank account and the speed of your achievement.

Despite how simple this may sound there is an enormous shortage of people who excel at getting results. The reason why people fail at getting results is because they fail to take action. The action habit is the habit of implementing certain disciplines and ideas and putting them into action now. This is the most essential habit for achieving great success and financial abundance.

It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through ~Zig Ziglar

Here are 5 ways you can grow the action habit now:

1) Be a Doer and a Go Getter the same time: Practice walking the walk instead of talking the talk. Take action on things now rather than thinking about them. I had this very problem. I wanted to write a book and become an author so badly. So, one day I sat down, drafted an outline of the book I wanted to write. The outline sat and sat for months. Months and months had passed and no book. Why? Because I failed to take action. The longer an idea sits in your head without being acted on, the weaker it becomes. After a few days or weeks the details gets hazy. After a week it’s forgotten about completely. So, I decided to become a doer and walk the walk. So this is what I did: I blocked out every morning from 5am-9am to work on my book. I did this 5-7 days a week for over a year. My first book, “Nothing But Net” was published several weeks ago and I am proud to say it hit 5 best seller lists on Amazon. Now, I am not only an author, I am a best-selling author. Over the course of that year, I wrote 3 more books. Two of which are in the editing stage and will be published in late November of this year.

2) Taking action cures your fear: I have a saying, “Do the thing you fear and the death of fear is certain.” During my childhood, teenage and college years I was deathly afraid of public speaking. It has been said that public speaking is a greater fear than dying. I knew that if I wanted to become successful I would have to overcome my largest fear. So, what I did was put myself in situations where I had to speak in public. I am very proud to say, I love speaking in public especially when you are making a huge impact on others’ lives and success.

3) Its never the perfect time: There is no such thing as perfect timing. There are always conditions, obstacles and hurdles you will be encountered with. Go through, jump over or go around and create your own conditions because the time will never be right.

4) Success is in doing, not thinking: It has been said that the average human has over 100 ideas that could make them a millionaire. The reason there aren’t more inventors and/or millionaires is because people fail to act on their thoughts or ideas. Everyone always says, “Someone already has that idea” or “I’m sure that was already thought of” or “there must be something wrong with it if no one has bought that already”. Does this all sound too familiar?

5) Be Disciplined: There are days we just can’t get motivated. We all have these days. However, what separates the winners from the losers is the will to win attitude which takes discipline. Discipline is doing what must be done, when it needs to be done whether we feel like doing it or not. This, my fellow achievers, is what separates the successful from the unsuccessful.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Entrepreneur, Retired Cop, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident, Expert on Leadership, Success, Overcoming Adversity & PTSD, Author of 3 books; Leadership in the Line of Duty: 50 Leadership Lessons for making split-second decisions from a Cop who’s been in Life & Death situations, Leadership in the Line of Duty: Success Thoughts and Quotes for Leaders and Nothing But Net: Top Secrets to increase your bottom line, Health, Wealth & Success.

Do You Have What it Takes to Make Important Split-Second Decisions?

July 23, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

The better your skills and critical thinking are, coupled with training and quickness, the more prepared you will be to make sound split-second decisions.~John R. Salkowski

Making Split-Second Decisions, Do You Have What it takes?

Making split-second decisions in life and in business is a requirement. There are several important factors that must come together in order to accurately and quickly articulate your present situation. Your knowledge, experience, education, training, intuition, confidence and common-sense are all factors that play an important role in making split-second decisions.

When you are called upon to make a split-second decision what happens? Do you freeze? Do you panic? There are situations, such as life or death, which we may be encountered with where you cannot afford to freeze or panic. Split-second decision making requires all of the above factors to come together in order to make the right decision.

There will be times that you will be faced with an important decision where there is no room for error. You must make the right decision at the right time to avoid a catastrophe. Here are some examples: avoiding a car crash, pilots with mechanical failure, military combat, Police Officer faced with an armed and dangerous suspect or anything else requiring immediate decision making. You may think these examples are extreme but let me tell you this, if you are not prepared when that time comes, you are dead on your feet. You will be required at one time or another to make a blink of an eye split-second decision in your life.

Making split-second decisions requires “razor sharp” skill sets. You must continually work on your skills to better prepare for the “blink of the eye” split-second decision. What better way to prepare for situations such as this is to face real problems, facing the risks, making irrevocable decisions head-on. Stop avoiding these situations. Making important, split-second decisions separates the successful from the unsuccessful, leaders from the followers, etc. You get my point. Below, I will put split-second decision making into perspective for most of you.

Most likely everyone reading this has a child or a loved-one that they cherish. What better way to teach that person to make important decisions that could possibly affect the rest of their life is by honing your skill sets on making important, critical, blink of eye split-second decisions. We, as parents cannot be with our children 24/7. There comes a time when we must allow them to spread their wings and fly solo. What better way to prepare yourself for that moment in time is to face your most important decisions head-on so you can teach from example.

The 14 Most Impactful Tips to Achieve a Millionaires Belief System

July 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen~Muhammad Ali

A Millionaires Belief System

What is your belief system on achieving what you want in life? Did you know that values and beliefs go hand in hand? Your belief system is the building blocks of all your decisions making, your behavior and actions. Your beliefs will essentially determine the actions you take or refrain from taking when faced with adversity. Your beliefs will shape and mold you as you travel through life’s experiences. Your belief system can and will strengthen you if you allow it too.

It has always been my belief that a man should do his best, regardless of how much he receives for his services, or the number of people he may be serving or the class of people served~Napoleon Hill

Here are what I believe to be The Top 14 Belief Systems you must possess in order to be successful.

1) Believes anything is possible.

2) Believes that anything and everything is negotiable.

3) Believes in leading the pack.

4) Believes in trust.

5) Believes in integrity.

6) Believes in action over hoping.

7) Believes in respect

8) Believes in doing no harm.

9) Believes that business is fun and creative.

10) Believes in mentoring people.

11) Believes in being polite and honest.

12) Believes in leverage.

13) Believes in bending the rules and regulations.

14) Believes in creating your own destiny.

There you have it, the top 14 belief systems. Do you possess these? What would your life be like if you did?

Remember to work on your inner world before you project these beliefs out into the external world.

The Most Powerful 18 Success Secrets You Must Master To Achieve Great Things!

July 10, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy One comment

If you do exactly what other successful people do, you too will get the same results-John R. Salkowski

Have you ever wondered why some people are more successful than others? Have you ever driven by a mansion and said; “Wow” I wonder what that person does for a living? I have and I’m sure you have too. The study and mastery of self-made people is among one of my top interest. Meeting new people and learning about them fascinates me. However, what really gets my juices flowing is meeting someone that has started from nothing and has built an empire. This is what “self-made” means to me.

Now don’t get me wrong. The word “self-made” has a variety of meanings but for this article we are talking about self-made millionaires, multi-millionaires and even billionaires. Many of you reading this will say, “Money is not everything” and you’re right, but keep reading.

What’s amazing to me is that there are so many variables that must come together to reach that status of “self-made.” Below, I am going to explain what I believe to be the top 18 secrets that must come together to reach the status of “self-made.” But first, let’s not forget what it takes to get to this level. The mastery of these 18 secrets must mesh together with your mission, vision, values and goals.

The Top 18 Success Secrets You Must Master To Achieve Great Things:

1) Stepping outside Your Comfort Zone- You must continually step outside your comfort zone to face different and unique challenges that test your discipline, expertise and resolve.

2) Facing Problems Head-On- When a problem arises you must immediately and aggressively face it head-on to avoid it from getting larger. You must make sure that small problems don’t turn into big problems from the get-go.

3) Open To Change- You must be constantly aware that change will occur. Change is inevitable. Therefore, you must be open to changing your perspective and viewpoints in order to attain your goal and objectives in a more efficient and effective manner.

4) Making Every Second Count- You must be aware that every moment that goes by is an opportunity to do things better, to improve a process or to take the next step towards a bigger objective. Therefore, make every second count by mixing business with pleasure.

5) Be On the Hunt for New Opportunities- You must be on the look-out for new opportunities and ideas that will give you an edge over your competitor.

6) Ask Questions- You must constantly ask solution focused questions that clarify your thinking and help you overcome the challenges that confront you on a daily basis.

7) Challenge Yourself- Whether in business or life you must constantly challenge yourself. You must see everything as an opportunity to strengthen your resolve, expertise in order to grow your empire.

8) Enjoy Life to the Fullest- You must constantly seek out new exciting endeavors, adventures and experiences. In order for life to be lived to the fullest potential you must do this.

9) Have Fun- Turn things into a game. Lighten up and have fun.

10) Meet New People- You must be a passionate networker and people person. You have to find people interesting. It’s about them, not you. Find out what makes them tick. Build relationships that are reciprocal.

11) Try New Things- Step outside your comfort zone. Try something new and exciting.

12) Enjoy Your Work- You must mix work with things that bring you pleasure. By doing this, it will lift your spirits and strengthens your motivation to work for extended hours throughout the day and night.

13) Carry a Journal/Note Pad- Carry a notepad with you in order to capture ideas for new projects, gather feedback from customers and employees, and to write your goals, thoughts and experiences on paper. This will clarify your thoughts and provides you with guidance throughout the day.

14) Surround Yourself with Great People- Surround yourself with business coaches and mentors who act as sounding boards — helping to guide your decisions. Surround yourself with reliable colleagues and co-workers who have similar goals, values and interests. In addition to this, surround yourself with supportive family and friends who believe in your mission and vision.

15) Take Calculated Risk- Take calculated risks in your business and life. You must understand where the boundaries lie and be careful not to over-extend your personal and professional capabilities and capacity to move intelligently through the emotional roller coaster.

16) Take Time to Read and Learn- You must fully understand that lessons are often learned through mistakes and experience. However, lessons can also be experienced within the pages of a book. And it is these book-experiences that will save you an ample amount of time, energy and money.

17) Take Time to Re-Energize Your Body and Dream- You must do what you need to do in order to re-energize your body and mind. Like me, I spend time on the beach daydreaming about my passions. This invigorates my creative mind and strengthens the flow of new ideas.

18) Take Time to Think- Set time aside to plan new projects and create new ideas.

If you implement and master these 18 success secrets, you too can be a “self-made” person.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Entrepreneur, Leadership/Overcoming PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Expert, Author and Speaker on Leadership, Success and Overcoming Adversity. Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident. Passionate about making a difference in the lives of others and leaving them better than I found them.

Are You Truly a Grateful Person? 10 Lessons for Living a More Grateful Life!

July 4, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 2 comments

In daily life we must see that it is not happiness that makes us grateful, but gratefulness that makes us happy ~Unknown

Are you grateful?

Have you ever sat quiet for a few moments or even a few hours to let your mind wander? To reflect on things? What do you think about? Do you wish you had a bigger home, nicer car, money in the bank, better job, being thinner, more vacation time, larger salary and the list goes on…right?

Some of my best thinking is done on the beach watching my little girl have the time of her life? Watching her make friends, running into the water, boogie boarding or body surfing. As I sit there watching I allow my mind to wander, “Wow if I only had my daughter’s life when I was growing up.” What if I did? Where would I be now? Have you ever thought about this? We always want a better life for our children than what we had. Do you ever remember being grateful for what you had instead of what you didn’t have?

I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual… O how I laugh when I think of my vague indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment ~Henry David Thoreau

We all know someone that has to keep up with the Jone’s. Is it the society we live in to always want something that someone else has? Have you ever noticed someone’s attitude change when they see someone that just may have more than them? Why do people begrudge someone that has more than them or something a little nicer? Why not be happy for someone that may be more successful, richer, better looking or all the above? Instead of begrudging someone for what they have, how about we abjure and are happy for them. Give credit where it’s due! When you show people that you are genuinely happy for them, it comes back to you in more good ways than one.

When people look back on your life, what do you want to be remembered for? This is the question you must have on the forefront of your mind at all times.

Here are 10 tips to help you live a happier, healthier and more grateful life!

1) Realize how truly blessed you are- Be happy with you. Accept yourself as you are. You’re born into this world the way you are. Be grateful for what you are and have, you will end up having so much more!

2) Surround yourself with positive people- It will be hard to be happy and grateful if you associate with negative people. So NO to the Losers and YES to the Winners!

3) Maintain a “Gratitude” journal- Take 15 minutes each night to write what you are most grateful in your life. For example, I’m most grateful for my health, my family and friends, my career, my spirituality. It’s okay if you repeat yourself over and over again.

4) Look for the good in people- We as a society are drawn to the drama and negativity of others misery. Stop that at once! The small things in life matter. Start doing them more often. Turn off the radio and television.

5) Realize the good health and prosperity you have- Our standard of living is by far the best in the world. Treat your body like the temple it is! Eat right, exercise more often, drink enormous amounts of water and get the proper sleep.

6) Realize how rich you really are- We often think that we need more money. This is one of the main reasons why we are not grateful. But do you realize how rich you are now? Just go to Global Rich List, enter your annual income, and see the result. Chances are you are richer than billions of other people. In fact, you most likely sit in the top tier of the world’s richness ranking.

7) Practice how grateful your are- In order to be really good at something you must practice, practice, practice. Take a few minutes each to think about all that is good in your life.

8) Realize you are free and live in peace- There are countries that are being bombarded with bombs. There are people that are scared to death to walk outside of their home. We are blessed that we don’t live in fear and misery.

9) Be a giver instead of a taker- By focusing on giving it just makes more sense that you will be more grateful. Your mind focuses on what you have instead of what you don’t have.

10) Commit today to be more grateful- The above 9 tips can only help you become a more grateful person but in order to be truly grateful you must commit yourself to changing. It starts with you. It starts today. No one can do this for you. If you resolve today to make a commitment on being a more grateful person, your life will change for the better forever!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Entrepreneur, Leadership/Overcoming PTSD Expert, Author and Speaker on Leadership, Success and Overcoming Adversity. Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident. Passionate about leaving people better than I found them.

Do you possess the Success Attitude? Do you have what it takes to truly be successful?

June 26, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. Thomas Jefferson

Do You Possess the Success ATTITUDE?

What is your attitude like? Is it positive or negative? Is everything a disaster in your life or is everything a success in your life? You determine what attitude you wake up with. You’re either a positive or a negative person. Being positive is so much easier. I believe being negative takes work. Let me explain: Being negative puts you in an angry mood. Think about this for a minute: negative people generally are bitterer and less successful. I can honestly say that out of all the successful people I know, not one of them looks at the glass as being half empty. It just feels good being positive. Having a positive attitude makes you happier which in turn attracts better things in your life.

I can remember back in the early 2000′s, after my shooting incident, my attitude started getting worse and worse. I became more cynical. Everything was an uphill battle. I hated being around people. I felt my life spiraling out of control. Nothing was going my way. I knew that if I wanted to crash and burn, I had to change something and I had to change it fast. So, I committed to working on my attitude. I began to slowly weed out everything that caused my attitude to be negative. Let me give you some examples of the things that gave me a negative attitude in a blink of an eye. Watching television, reading the news, watching the local/national news, being around people that were negative. Once I cut these things out of my life I started feeling better, more positive, and healthier. I consider these things that I just described like cancer. It was eating me from the inside out.

Weakness of attitude becomes weakness of character. Albert Einstein

In order to be a positive more optimistic person you must surround yourself with positive people and things. I know, you’re probably thinking easier said than done, right? Wrong! If I can do this, so can you. Below are lists of things you must do in order to change your negative, unsuccessful attitude into a positive, Successful Attitude.

1) Negativity- Whatever makes your attitude negative, stop it at once. If you feel your attitude changing for the worst, for example watching the news or hanging with a friend whose always crying about their problems, cut them out of your life immediately.

2) Do things that make your happy- Whatever makes you smile, do it more often. If it’s buying someone behind you in line at your local coffee shop a cup of coffee, do it.

3) Exercise- Just about everyone hates to exercise. Exercise is a prerequisite for a happier, healthier life. Start out slow and work up to your pace. You will see almost instantly what this does to your attitude.

4) Get 8hrs of sleep- If you want to be refreshed and feel alive you must get enough sleep. Sleep is as important to your attitude as a boat is to water.

5) Stay Hydrated- Drink a lot of clear fluids. No soda, coffee, tea. This is okay in moderation but you must drink plenty of water throughout the day. It will keep your brain hydrated and make you feel energetic all day which in turn will make your attitude more positive.

6) Eat Healthy- You must eat a rainbow a day. You must eat plenty of vegetables along with a protein at every meal. Eat your biggest meal in the morning. The saying goes like this, eat breakfast like a king, eat lunch like a prince and eat dinner like a pulper. Eat nothing after 6pm but do drink water.

7) Love what you do- You must love your profession. You have to wake up every day knowing that you are doing what you are passionate about. Do not choose a career for the money. Choose a career that you are so passionate about and believe me the rest will follow.

8) Read/Watch positive things- Take 30 minutes when you wake up and 30 minutes when you call it a night to read something that makes you happy.

9) Have a gratitude journal- Take 15 minutes each night to write in a composition book of all the things you are grateful for. Remember, it’s the small things in life that matter.

10) Write down your goals- Before you begin to read something positive when you awake each morning, be sure to write down your goals on the things you want to accomplish, short term and long term. By writing your goals each day, you have something to look forward too, something to work towards. By doing this, you’ll see your positive attitude and success go through the roof!

Suicide! Why is it becoming more prevalent among Pro-Athletes?

May 4, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 3 comments

The doors fly open when you’re a professional athlete~ Dennis Rodman, Retired NBA Player

As a retired defensive football player myself, you can’t help not notice such players like Lyle Alzado, Junior Seau, Ray Lewis, Jack Lambert, Dick Butkus, Brian Urlacker to name a few that play or have played professional football. Great athletes with size, speed and talent.

I played in high school and college but it wasn’t in my deck of cards to get to that level. The man upstairs had another plan for me. I dreamt about it at as a kid to play in the NFL just as so many other kids do. The fame, the fortune, the lifestyle seemed all so attractive to me. The chances of getting to that level are so slim however having a 6’3″; 250lb frame with some athletic ability does help. The only thing I didn’t have was the height. My high school coach once told me that if I was 6’2″ or taller I would have played on Sundays. Well, do I really agree with that? I’m not too sure if I do. There are some, not many, playing in the NFL at 5’11″ at the Linebacker position. Again, we are put on this earth for a reason and playing in the NFL wasn’t meant to be for me.

You’re on this beautiful planet for a short time. Nothing last forever. Enjoy every minute of it with the people that matter most to you. ~John R. Salkowski

Thinking about mortality is not what young people do. Young people feel invincible like they will live forever. Thinking about mortality hit me when I turned 40. Having a child and watching her grow up so fast. Life goes by so fast. When I hit 40, I realized that I had already lived half my life. It just amazes me what people do to their bodies. We are only on this earth a short while, so why not take care of the only one you get. It’s reported that the average life expectancy for an average adult male is 78 while the life expectancy for an NFL player is 50-55. Why is this? Is it the trauma their bodies go through, is it their lifestyle, it is the pain medication they take to get back on that field sooner? It amazes me that playing in the NFL cuts 30yrs off their lives.

With all the hype about concussions and head trauma in the NFL today, you can’t help and wonder what the long term affects are to these athletes and their long term health. I’ve had several concussions over the course of my life and I will tell you that they just get worse after each one. It takes longer to recover. I’m not sure what the average number of concussions an NFL player gets over the course of his career but I have to stop and think how the hell can a concussion in a contact sport be prevented? Tackling with your shoulder and not your head can help but how can the NFL prevent them all together? Maybe the NFL is not trying to prevent them all together but taking the necessary measures to prevent most of them.

There are two types of collisions in football. The player hitting its target and the player’s internal organs hitting their body. The latter is what causes the concussion and/or injury. Being a retired police officer and investigating hundreds if not thousands of vehicle accidents over 15yrs, the one impact that kills people the most is the internal organs slamming against their body. It’s the same premise in football.

Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle ~Napoleon Hill

With the recent headlines of the future Hall of Famer, Junior Seau committing suicide, one must wonder what’s going on with the increase in suicides amongst professional athletes. Seau had fortune, fame, 3 children, and great personality and to take his own life at the age of 43 with so much more ahead of him, simply blows my mind.

We may never know what drove Junior Seau to take his own life but there are talks about the physical trauma of pro football that leads to so many brain injuries and early deaths. Last year another retired NFL player, Dave Duerson also committed suicide in the exact same way Seau took his live. Duerson left a note behind indicating that he wanted his brain examined after his death. The examination revealed that he did in fact suffer from neuro-degeneration. The NFL is under attack from lawsuits filed by some 1,500 former players that are alleging the NFL concealed the links between concussions and permanent brain injury.

There is also talk about Seau not being able to cope with life outside the limelight. Going from being a rock star from his college days to his incredible 20yrs in the NFL with 80,000 screaming and cheering fans, getting ask over and over again for his autograph is a culture shock when that stops to say the least. When you no longer have that adrenaline rush, history tells us that the loss of that defining part of your life leads to destructive personal behavior. Thoughts and acts of suicide haunt people from all walks of life and all corners of society. Sadly, football players do not hold a monopoly on tragic lives that end early. We shouldn’t pretend that they do. Maybe Seau was haunted by issues and problems that had little to do with his career in the NFL.

I know that when I was at the peak of my suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, the thoughts of suicide and homicide often crossed my mind. The depressive state that you get into sometimes is irreversible for some. There were times I would be sitting in my patrol car, isolated and tucked away so no one could find me with my hand on my gun. The thought of ending my torment was such a great feeling. No more suffering and dealing with the everyday bullshit I was faced with. The very one thought that kept me from pulling that trigger was my daughter. That very little special beautiful girl that lite me up like a Christmas tree when I would see her made me not do it. My relationship with my daughter means more to me than anything on this planet. She is why I continue to press on-ward and up-ward, face challenges head-on, struggle through my failures, fight to overcome adversity and fear. She is my WHY power.

I wish for so many people in this world to find their why power? Everyone on this planet has a reason and a purpose to live. Our struggles are temporary not permanent. They’re only permanent if we allow them to be.

It’s the small things in life that matter most. It’s not the fame, fortune, autographs that make us who we are. It’s our WHY that makes us who we are!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Entrepreneur, Author, and Speaker on Leadership, Success and Overcoming Adversity. Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident.

A Great Leader Never, Ever Quits and Here is Why?

April 23, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy One comment

Before success comes in any man’s life, he’s sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps some failures. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and the most logical thing to do is to quit. That’s exactly what the majority of men do~Napoleon Hill

“Leaders Never Quit”

Leaders never quit. They persist through any challenge they are faced with. Great leaders have the ability to stick with a difficult task or situation and work through it. They cope with the frustration that is brought upon by challenges.

The importance of never quitting and persisting through difficult times is one of the most important qualities a great leader must possess. They take every measure to bring their challenges to fruition. We are all faced with the naysayers who tell us to give up or forget about it and move on. This can be very demotivating. We cannot allow ourselves to be faced with people like this. These are the people that do not belong in our lives. We are better than this. We must persist and never quit.

“If you live long enough, you’ll make mistakes. But if you learn from them, you’ll be a better person. It’s how you handle adversity, not how it affects you. The main thing is never quit, never quit, never quit.” — Bill Clinton

Achieving success through leadership cannot be done overnight. It takes long hours and tons of hard work. There will undoubtedly be hurdles and obstacles that we must overcome. We, as great leaders, must hold the vision of our destination in mind and inspire others by rolling up our sleeves and continue to work on making progress. Someone must lead so why not let it be us.

Never quitting and persisting through difficult times takes a positive attitude, strong belief system and the confidence to continue our fight. Great leaders realize that without these qualities one can never be a great leader.

What separates a Great leader from others is the will to never stop persisting onward and upward. Great leaders do what the others won’t. Continuing to push and fight through the difficult times will take will power. The stronger your resolve, the more you will persist and the greater chances of your success.

“Never, never, never, never give up.” “Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never – in nothing, great or small, large or petty – never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense” ~Winston Churchill

Below are some of the qualities that a Great leader should never quit or stop persisting at:

Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted because he or she never veers from inner values, even when it might be expeditious to do so. A great leader must have the trust of followers and therefore must display integrity.
Honest dealings, predictable reactions, well-controlled emotions, and an absence of tantrums and harsh outbursts are all signs of integrity. A leader who is centered in integrity will be more approachable by followers.

Dedication means spending whatever time or energy is necessary to accomplish the task at hand. A leader inspires dedication by example, doing whatever it takes to complete the next step toward the vision. By setting an excellent example, leaders can show followers that there are only opportunities to achieve something great.
Magnanimity means giving credit where it is due. A magnanimous leader ensures that credit for successes is spread as widely as possible. Conversely, a good leader takes personal responsibility for failures. This sort of reverse magnanimity helps other people feel good about them and draws the team closer together. To spread the fame and take the blame is a hallmark of effective leadership.

Leaders with humility recognize that they are no better or worse than anyone else. A humble leader is not self-effacing but rather tries to elevate everyone. Leaders with humility also understand that their status does not make them a god. Mahatma Gandhi is a role model for Indian leaders, and he pursued a “follower-centric” leadership role.

Openness means being able to listen to new ideas, even if they do not conform to the usual way of thinking. Great leaders are able to suspend judgment while listening to others’ ideas, as well as accept new ways of doing things that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and followers, and it also keeps the team well supplied with new ideas that can further its vision.

A great leader never, ever quits, however he or she must remain integral, dedicated, magnanimous, humble and open.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Entrepreneur, Author, and Speaker on Leadership, Success and Overcoming Adversity. Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Why You Need a Mentor to Improve Your Life

April 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder is becoming an epidemic amongst cops and military personnel. You see it all over the news, in the newspapers by our returning heroes. This disorder is affecting hundreds of thousands of lives across this country and we as a society need to do something about it before it becomes worse than it already is.

Too often when someone experiences the symptoms of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) they turn to different avenues of trying to overcome it. Let me give you a few examples of what I mean: Turning to self-medicating or drug abuse: whether prescription drugs, alcohol or any other illegal drug to soothe the feelings of anxiety, depression, anger, irritability and any other feelings they are experiencing. Self-medicating doesn’t help. It makes the symptoms worse which in turn leads to the person acting out. What do I mean by acting out? The self-medicating or drug abuse only enhances the feelings that one is going through. This leads to the next epidemic of PTSD sufferers. Committing suicide and often homicide. Why?

Why are Police Officers, war veterans and military personnel not seeking help from the powers to be? The command staff, human resources department, mentors. Because we are trained that asking for help is weak? We are trained to act as if we have no emotions. Nothing is supposed to bother us. Who are they kidding? This thought process makes me sick. Makes me want to vomit! The machismos, the egos in these professions need to be checked at the door. We are human beings for Christ sake. Things do bother us? When they bother us, we need to be trained to seek help and not be afraid of what people will think of us. Instead, they throw you out like a bag of trash in a dumpster. They get rid of you. It’s easier to turn your back on a problem then face it head on. This mentality is for the cowards of the world. Police Officers and Military Personnel are there to help, correct? There to serve our communities and country, correct? Then why is it that when one of us needs help, they turn their back on us?

Don’t rely on help or assistance within these organizations. Why rely on them for help when they need help more than you do. My advice to you is to seek out a mentor or a mentoring program. A person or place you can go to confide in to helping you through your road bumps or adversity. Seek out a person or program that you can trust. Use your gut instinct, listen to your inner-voice when seeking out a mentor or a mentoring program. Seek out someone who has been there and done that is now in a place where you want to be. Seek out a mentoring program that has proven results. If you’re afraid of what people may think then keep it to yourselves. It takes a man to admit we need help. It takes a man to admit that you are at your breaking point. It takes a man of courage and strength to admit this. Don’t let anyone tell you different and if they do turn around and walk away. This type of person you don’t need in your life anyway.

Trust me on this please. You are important. You matter in this world. There are people who love and care about you. For all you parents out there, do it for your kids. They need you more than anyone or anything. Do it for them.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com™, Retired Cop, Survivor of PTSD stemming from a shoot and kill robbery incident, Expert on Leadership, Success, Overcoming Adversity, Fear & PTSD, Entrepreneur, Professional Speaker, Author of 3 books; Leadership in The Line of Duty™: 50 Leadership Lessons for Making Split-Second Decisions from a Cop Who Has Been in Life and Death Situations, Leadership in The Line of Duty™: Success Thoughts and Quotes for Leaders and Nothing But Net: Top Secrets to increase your bottom line, Health, Wealth & Success.
Copyright © 2012 Achieve Success Academy™. All Rights Reserved.
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Top 10 Tips to Overcome Adversity and Achieve Your Goals

April 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

You will live the rest of your life with regret if you give up on your dream, your goal, and your mission. This is what I live with every day of my life. I had a one in a million chance of playing football for the University of Alabama from 1989-1993. For those of you who know me, you know I was a walk-on under Coach Bill Curry as a Linebacker. I was one of the 5. They said that their walk-on program was one of the hardest in the country amongst Division 1 teams. I was told,” You have everything against you son, size, height, speed”. I was told.” these are men amongst boys out here”. There were 50 young men from all over the country who attempted to earn one of the 5 spots on the roster. The 5 week program was Killer to say the least. They were dropping like flies, carried out on stretchers, walking away. Quitting! Giving Up!

I gave up on my dream the second year under Coach Gene Stallings. I walked away. I went home. I Quit! I said, “I Give Up”. I regret it every single day. Don’t allow yourself to live the rest of your life with regret!

Here are 10 ways to help you achieve your dreams, your goals, and your mission:

Talk to someone you can trust in the field: Explain how important this goal is to you. Explain how you are feeling. Ask for their advice if they were faced with X. I didn’t have this. You NEED to do this before you give up.
Ask your family, friend(s) who know you and know how you are for their opinion. Stay away from the Nay-Sayers, Negative Nellies, and Jealous Jackie’s.
Take a step back: Take the time you need to think about the consequences if you stop pursuing your goal/dream. What will the outcome be if I stick with this? What will the outcome be if I walk away?
Practice Positive Talk: I can do this! I can make it! I am important! I am a great person!
Learn everything you possibly can: Seek out someone that has accomplished what you want to accomplish. Take them out to lunch and learn from them.
Commit to goals, short term and long term. Start with the end in mind – long term goal – and work backward when writing goals.
Work on your dream every day of your life. Fill all the minutes and hours you’ve allotted with serious determination one day at a time.
Give it all you can. There will be days when you don’t feel like giving it your best. Give it your best anyway for that day. Do not cheat yourself by not pursuing your dream. Give it everything you’ve got. If you have to walk away, know that you gave it your all. Live with NO Regrets!
Keep a journal. Write down what you accomplish every day. Just a few words will do, or else you will create yet another job, which you don’t need.
Celebrate your achievements! Reward yourself with pre-determined gifts. Treat yourself. For your ultimate goals, give yourself the greatest reward. And then set new goals. You CAN achieve more!

Associate with people like yourself who enjoy the same kinds of pursuits. During your friendships, offer support to your peers. They will then be there for you when you need it.

Without dreams we have nothing to look forward too~John R. Salkowski

Live your LIFE with NO Regrets!

Tips for Achieving Success Faster than You’ve Ever Thought Possible

April 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

What does it mean to you to be successful?

Don’t worry about society’s standards for success. Just consider how you would define success — for yourself. Based on your own definition, are you successful? Are you living up to your own values and ideals? Are you fulfilling your true potential? If you’re truly successful by your own definition, there shouldn’t be any doubt or hesitation. You could answer with an easy and obvious yes. Maybe other people would consider you successful. Maybe you’d like to think of yourself as successful. But do you really believe that about yourself? Do you feel you’re living up to YOUR potential? Are you doing your BEST? Before we can grow beyond this point, we have to admit the truth to ourselves first. It’s okay if it’s an unpleasant truth, but we still need to face it. Denying the truth WILL NOT help we grow. No truth, no growth, right? The truth is that most of us actually end up living pretty mediocre lives. We know we could be doing much better, but we constantly slack off. We distract ourselves. Most of us regret tomorrow before we’ve even lived it.

Barriers to Success
Success can be very rewarding, but it’s not an easy path to take. There are many obstacles and problems to confront along the way. Some of these problems are in fact getting worse.
Do you find it difficult to focus? You’re not alone. You may have noticed a major increase in distractions in your life within the last few years. There are more things clamoring for our attention than ever before. Another challenge is that we have more opportunities than ever before. We live in a time of rapid change, and change brings opportunity. From all of these possibilities, how do we pick something to focus on? How can we possibly feel confident that our decisions are correct? These challenges can be overwhelming at times. So quite often, we check out. We distract ourselves. We spin our wheels and run in circles. Life passes us by. And we wonder where all the time went. With each passing year, you may feel you’re slipping further and further behind, relative to where you’d hoped to be. There’s a gradual feeling of dread that builds over time… a sense of loss and regret — and maybe some guilt as well. If only you’d made better use of your time while you were younger… One year you have a job. The next year you’re trying to start a business. You don’t find the work very fulfilling, but it pays the bills. University students often have this problem as well. They switch majors like they’re changing their clothes. First it’s psychology, and then a year later it’s engineering, then philosophy. What’s the point of paying for school if you’re not going to finish what you start?

The 3 Key Challenges of Success

Let’s clarify the 3 critical challenges of success — challenges that everyone must face if they wish to become very successful.
Here they are:

1. You need to figure out what to do with your life.
If you don’t decide what to do with your life, chances are you’ll end up working for someone who does. You can run your own life, or you can have someone run it for you. Most people end up having their lives ran by someone else. They spend most of their lives working to achieve someone else’s goals. Is that you?

2. You need to COMMIT to being successful.
You don’t need to commit yourself to any particular path forever, but you must at least stick with your projects long enough to make serious and meaningful progress.
You can’t keep starting and stopping. You can’t keep quitting. You can’t keep distracting yourself.

3. You need to get yourself to take action repeatedly.
If you want the results of success, you’d better get used to taking a lot of action. No action, no results.
Most people fail the first challenge miserably, so they never even make it to the second and third challenges because they give up. But even those that do have a clear idea of what they want to do rarely get very far with it. Suffice it to say that mediocrity is a LOT more common than success.
Why is that?

Because Success is hard, very hard.

I think you deserve to know the truth. It’s not that easy to succeed. It can be a serious struggle at times. Very successful people know this, and they know it well. At least in the short run, it’s easier to be mediocre. If you want the easy path, you’ll have to settle for mediocrity. Trying to succeed will only frustrate you. You’ll find it too difficult. If you aren’t fully committed to success, you’ll give up too soon. I’m not here to serve the people who are okay with mediocrity. I want achievers. Achievers are people who want to better themselves. They want to grow.
But here’s the good news: It’s definitely possible to improve. Success is both learnable and teachable. You don’t have to settle for a mediocre life. Yes, success is harder than mediocrity, but it’s not impossible. Great success is achievable if you commit yourself to it. You really could be doing better. You could be succeeding much faster than you are now — and in a much bigger way.

Having vs. Being
There’s a difference between having certain results and being an achiever. Try not to get too riled about the having aspects. That isn’t a good place to root your self-esteem and self-worth. Money and possessions are nice, but they won’t fulfill you by themselves. When it comes to success, the being part is much more important. What does it mean to be successful? Success is a certain feeling you have about yourself. It’s a very positive, energetic, motivating feeling — a feeling of ambition, drive, determination, confidence, and forward momentum. You look in the mirror and feel happy and excited. You feel motivated to get going. You’re inspired to take action… lots of action. For many people, days like this are few and far between. Some people can barely recall a day when they felt inspired and motivated. That’s truly sad and disappointing. Conscious human beings can do better. When you’re at your best, life flows with passion and possibility. Your goals and projects are motivating and energizing. You take lots of action because you’re inspired to act. It wouldn’t feel as good to delay. When you end a successful day, it’s a great feeling. You barely want to go to bed because you’re enjoying such wonderful flow. When you do go to bed, you sleep restfully and peacefully. Real success is a state of being, not a collection of possessions or a number in a bank account. You can tell when you’re in the flow of success or not. If you’re not sure, then you’re not in the flow. Being in the flow is undeniable. When I’m in this successful flow state, the having part largely takes care of itself. When I do my best work, I create value for others. This can create an abundance of income for you, which makes it easy to pay your bills, meet your needs, and enjoy the experiences that make life worth living. Resolve today to commit yourself to be an achiever!

The Top 3 Qualities That Are Essential For Your Success

April 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

In order to be successful, these three words are paramount to your success. If you don’t live and breathe by these three words, your success is virtually impossible.

Here they are: Passion, Push, and Perseverance

Passion:

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you ~ Oprah Winfrey

My definition of Passion is the burning desire you have inside you to achieve more, be more and do more. Whatever you are passionate about should keep you up at night. Whatever you are passionate about should be on your mind 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Passion wants success just as bad as you need the air you breathe. This is Passion.

Push:

I always wanted to be the best I could be at whatever I did. I didn’t want to be the number one golfer in the world. I just wanted to be as good as I could be. I work hard, I push myself hard, and I probably even expect too much of myself ~ Greg Norman

You must push yourself to the breaking point when you want to achieve something. If you want something so bad you must be willing to run through a brick wall to get it, achieve it, and accomplish it. Sounds crazy, huh. Well guess what, if you don’t feel this way then you is leaving it all on the table for someone else to grab. If you cheat yourself one time, this will carry over into everything you do in life. For example, if you are in the gym and you have a goal of doing 30 minutes of cardio and you quit after 20 minutes, you just cheated yourself. Cheating in the smallest task will carry over in to all you do in life. To push you need discipline. By cheating yourself, you are failing to create discipline in your life. In order to succeed in anything you do, you must have the discipline to push through the feeling of giving up. It takes 21 days to create or break a habit. Over the next 21 days, push yourself to the limit in everything you do and watch and see what happens in your life.

Perseverance:

Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority~ Vince Lombardi

Perseverance is the steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. You must possess the mentality that failure is no option. You must encourage failure. You must persist through failure because failure is guaranteed along your journey. Learn from it, embrace it and persist through it. If you lack perseverance you will never be successful. Did you know that Thomas Edison, the world’s greatest inventor failed over 10,000 times. Where would this world be had he quit.

6 Steps in Overcoming the Fear of Success

April 17, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy One comment

Fears are nothing more than a state of mind. Napoleon Hill

The one quote that resonates with me that has changed my mindset in overcoming fear is, “Do the thing you fear & the death of fear are certain. We all have a fear of something. The majority of the population fears success. Why? I believe people fear success because it not only takes hard work, discipline, dedication and perseverance it also takes courage to overcome the 6 Fears of Success. Below are the 6 Fears that play an iatrical part in NOT achieving great things. Follow the solutions, work on them, implement the strategies and encourage failure. You will fail along the way but know that failure is a stepping stone to your success. Once you conquer the 6 Fears of Success, your success is virtually guaranteed.

The Six Fears of Success and How to overcome them.

Determine which Fear is holding you back and resolve to take it back.

1. Fear of Failure. This is the greatest of all fears. Fear of failure keeps people from trying new ventures. The fear that they may fail therefore choosing not to take risk.
Solution: Do your homework, however do not over analyze to where it causes paralyzes. Once you learn more about it, be decisive in your actions. It requires a reframe that failure is a normal stage in achievement.

2. Fear of Embarrassment. People who fear embarrassment have typically experienced a time in their childhood that was humiliating in which they filed the memory and said to themselves, “I will never feel that way again or put myself in that position.” Solution: Practice self-talk, self-affirmations. “I can do this, I can accomplish this, I can achieve this”, are a few examples.

3. Fear of Rejection. People who fear rejection have experienced the feeling therefore resulting in low self-esteem. Solution: Realize that rejection is about the other person. It’s about their own insecurities. Know that you are a great person and that rejection is a part of life. Do not let rejection stop you from achieving your dreams. It takes a healthy ego to know that rejection is a normal part of life.

4. Fear of Hurting Others. There is a saying, “If you fail to plan, your plan will fail.” Solution: People who fear hurting others need to plan so that they can continue to meet the needs of others and still pursue their dreams. Make sure the people in your life know how much your Goal(s) mean to you. Do your homework.

5. Fear of Success. Some people have low self-esteem for whatever reason and may fall into the category that they aren’t worthy of success. They fear how their life will be different if they succeed. They decide to stay in the same old place to avoid their own potential for greatness. Solution: Positive Self-Affirmations, Self-Talk can do wonders in reprogramming your thoughts and mindset.

6. Fear of the Unknown. I call these people the “half empties”. There glass is always half empty as opposed as half full. People who fear the unknown usually catastrophism and fear the worst instead of counting on the best. Solution: I am a true believer of what will be, will be. Things happen for a reason. Place your fears in the hands of a higher power and understand what is meant to be will be.

Was Captain Edward J. Smith a Natural Leader?

April 16, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy No comments

A tribute to Captain Edward John Smith that marks the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic’s Fateful Voyage.

What Makes a Natural Born Leader?

“The Olympic is unsinkable, and Titanic will be the same when she is put in commission.” He continued, “Either of these two vessels could be cut in halves and each half would remain afloat almost indefinitely. The non-sinkable vessel has been reached in these two wonderful craft.” “I venture to add,” Concluded the Captain, “that even the engines and boilers of these vessels were to fall through their bottoms, the vessels would remain afloat.” ~Captain Edward John Smith

Captain Smith was viewed as the stereotype of how a brave captain should act, working to the last to save lives before going down with his ship, yet he is also blamed by many for causing one of the worst maritime disasters of all time.

So why does the public continue to be fascinated by the captain of the Titanic, Captain Edward John Smith?

The son of a pottery presser and grocer rose to become ‘the millionaire’s captain’, the number one choice for the aristocrats of the day, many of whom chose to sail with him because of his reputation for safety and affability.

Captain Smith rose through the Edwardian social classes which was seen as an achievement in itself but he went on to captain some of the biggest ships of the day, including Titanic’s sister ship the Olympic.

Forceful Leader

“Confidence was quickly restored; all being convinced that the Titanic could not founder. Captain Smith nevertheless appeared nervous; he came down on deck chewing a toothpick. ‘Let everyone,’ he said, ‘put on a lifebelt, it is more prudent.’ Soon after midnight, Captain Smith gave the order to prepare the boats, but still no general alarm was raised.” ~Captain Edward John Smith

There were several books written about the Titanic Captain. Among the many myths surrounding the captain, the most famous and ominous is that he ignored ice warnings.

However, ice warnings were just that, simply warnings that ice was seen at X coordinates at a certain time which Smith may have registered rather than reacted to.

Captain Smith was undoubtedly a forceful leader who pushed his ships hard in conditions that may have scared other captains, it was a fact of history that the weather was calm and clear that very fateful night – it was not unusual for any captain to sail ships into ice regions at high speeds and several captains from other shipping companies testified to this.

I believe Captain Smith lived up to the stereotype, perhaps one that he himself helped to create, as to how ships’ captains should behave when disaster strikes, namely that they should stay with their vessel and either be the last man off, or go down with it.

Captain Smith’s actions were not far from the thoughts of many observers when the Costa Concordia cruise ship ran aground on January 13th off the western coast of Italy with more than 4,200 passengers and crew.

Its Captain, Francesco Schettino, now faces possible charges of manslaughter, causing a shipwreck and abandoning a ship in which 32 people were either killed or are missing.

Captain Smith’s leadership taught us all something. He left a yardstick not only for sea captains to live up to but for all leaders to live up to.

There’s no doubt that Captain Smith made mistakes. However, in the end there is one thing you cannot take away from him. He did not skirt his responsibilities or try to weasel his was out of them. He did what any great leader should do. He went down with his ship. In fact, there was witness testimonial that he dove into the frigid sea as the bridge went under water. Captain Smith paid the ultimate price as a result. How many of our leaders today would be prepared to do the same?

How Leaders Get Things Done

April 11, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 2 comments

It doesn’t matter which side of the fence you get off on sometimes. What matters most is getting off the fence. You cannot make progress without making decisions. ~Jim Rohn

Of all attributes of leadership, the one thing that leaders do more often than anything else is make decisions. Harry Truman once said, “The buck stops here.” This ultimately applies to every leader. You’re in charge, and after all is said and done, you will be judged by the decisions you make.

Analysis Paralysis

Analysis paralysis is where you can’t take any action due to over thinking about the details or over planning and is one of the best “action” killers we can possibly find. Planning definitely helps when you are starting a new project but it should not be to the extent that it overwhelms us and causes us to fail to make a decision and take action.

Vision and Goals

If art is to nourish the root of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him ~ John F. Kennedy

The best way to improve your decision making ability is to keep focused on the vision and goals that you want to accomplish. We know that things happen and plans change. Stop worrying about making perfect decisions. Stay committed to your vision and goals is the most important aspect of decision making.

Did you know that when pilots fly across the ocean, they reach something called, “the point of no return?” This is the point over the ocean where the combination of the fuel they have on board, the weather conditions, the condition of the aircraft, and other factors that play a role are such that continuing toward a destination is easier than turning back.

This same principle should apply to you when making decisions. Seize the moment. Be decisive in all you do. This is what successful leaders do. They make decisions.

During my tenure as a Police Officer, I was called upon hundreds if not thousands of times to make quick and accurate decisions. It could have been responding to a burglary in progress. Do I respond surreptitiously, potentially causing a traffic accident or do I respond with lights and sirens on risking giving myself away to the perpetrators on scene. The decision I made at the time was to use lights and siren, intermittently so I make it through traffic safely. Upon arriving on scene, do I direct Officers responding to certain locations around the perimeter of the property or do I have them take up positions at nearby intersections with hope of intercepting the perpetrators leaving the scene. The decisions I made could have potentially put Officer Safety in jeopardy. My point is, that making decisive decisions is the most important thing we do as leaders.

Making a decision and having it turn out to be the wrong one, is still better than making no decision at all.

Here are some of the top tips I have used in helping me make quick and accurate decisions:

1) Experience Counts

Experience plays a vital role in decision making. As you grow, so does your experience and knowledge. I believe life experience is the best teacher. There will be a time when you will encounter something similar or know someone that has experienced the same thing.

2) Preparation, Planning and Mentorship

Being prepared and having a plan is also vital to decision making. Ben Franklin once said, “Failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Do your homework, read and study the topic, talk with people that have been in your shoes or have made similar decisions. Seek advice from someone you trust with all your heart. If you have no one in your life that you can go to, seek out a mentor to help and guide you in the right direction. Follow your passion, vision and goals.

3) Go with Your Gut (Inner-Voice)

Use your common sense, intuition and instinct to make quick and accurate decisions. Your gut is 100% right all the time. Take it from someone that has used his gut to make life and death decisions. Your inner-voice will let you know when that something feels right or wrong. When you get that feeling, move in that direction. Do not procrastinate. Be decisive, articulate and seize the moment.

Leader’s Leave People Better Than They Found Them

March 28, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 2 comments

“Be the one who nurtures and builds. Be the one who has an understanding and a forgiving heart one who looks for the best in people. Leave people better than you found them.” ~Marvin J. Ashton

Be the One Who Inspires Others

It’s a great feeling making someone’s day. Have you ever just wanted to make someone feel good? I believe, for the most part, most people want to make other’s feel good. Making a positive impact in someone’s life inspires me beyond belief. I truly believe with all my heart and soul that I was put on this earth to make a difference in the lives of other’s.

You know the feeling you get in your gut when you love doing something so much that you would do it for free. That’s the feeling I get about leaving someone better than I found them.

So what is Inspiration?

Inspiration is about finding things that inspire us (amazing ideas, people, and nature), having that inspiration breathed into you and then taking action on it. Creating, doing, and inspiring others to ACTION.

If you’re looking for inspiration you can find it almost anywhere. The key to being inspired is to keep your eyes open. See everything around you as a possible source of inspiration. We are so busy thinking about other things that we miss out on inspiration.

You need inspiration on a regular basis as it isn’t just a one-time thing. When you practice the above method – allowing yourself to breathe in that inspiration by staying in the present and keeping your eyes open to everything – you get better at it. It becomes a skill you can use at any time, and you’ll use it often.

Here are some tips to keep you inspired:

Read daily – mix it up, from success stories, to blogs, to books and magazines of all kinds.

Go outdoors – being in nature is one of the biggest inspirations. Like seeing a rainbow after a storm, or the fiery colors of a sunset.

Get to know new people – they’ll always expose you to new ideas or interesting things, if you’re open to it.

Find time to meditate – creating time to sit and be silent can be more inspiring that you know.

Work with and spend time with inspiring people – find creative, positive, and energetic people that kick you into Action!

Break your routine – take a new route home. Go to a new coffee shop or restaurant. See things from a different perspective.

Exercise – or at least get out for a brisk walk. It helps get ideas moving around and the blood to circulate.

Inspiration isn’t a onetime thing. It’s just like bathing; you must do it every day!

Take Action!

Channel all that inspiration you get and turn it into something amazing. Take this new found inspiration to move you forward, use it, and do something to inspire others.

A Traffic Stop to Making a Difference

“The world is not interested in what we do for a living. What they are interested in is what we have to offer freely – hope strength, love and the power to make a difference!” ~Sasha Azevedo

Back in the early 2000′s, I was still patrolling the streets of Lower Merion Township. While on patrol, I was monitoring traffic at one of the busiest intersections on my beat. I was observing the flow of traffic checking vehicles for expired inspection stickers. In Pennsylvania, as in many other states, each year you have to get your vehicle inspected by a certified Inspection Station. To pass inspection, the mechanic would check your brakes; exterior lighting etc. to make sure everything was in safe working order. I noticed a black Chevrolet coupe with expired inspection stickers. The stickers expired the end of September and we were in the first week of October. Not a huge violation, but I wanted to stop the vehicle to make the driver aware.

I stopped the vehicle and approached the driver from the driver’s side door. As I approached the driver, I noticed through the driver’s side mirror that the young lady driver was crying. I reached the driver’s window and identified myself. I immediately told the young lady that she didn’t need to be upset that I was only making her aware that her inspection stickers had expired a few days.

The young lady had her driver’s license and registration card already waiting for me. I began to ask her if she was okay. The young lady told me that she was just laid off from work by her employer after almost 10yrs. She told me that she hadn’t missed a day of work in 10yrs and that she loved her job more than anything. She said that they didn’t give her a reason other than they decided to downsize. The fee ling of sadness along with a sick feeling in my stomach overcame me. I felt so bad for her.

Instead of discussing her minor violation, I began to ask her about her job and what she did for 10yrs. As she explained her job, you could see the joy on her face as she described it. You could just tell she loved her job. Not many people can say that.

I said, “May I ask you a question”. She said, “Of course Officer” in the politest and sweetest voice. I said, “Do you believe things happen for a reason”? She said, “I do”. I said, “You may not understand it at this very moment or even over the next few days but this was meant to be”. She said, “How do you mean Officer”? I said, “This chapter in your life was meant to be”. “The good Lord upstairs has something better in store for you”. “When one door closes, a much better door opens”. You could see her tears coming to an end. Her face began to brighten up and her smile began to shine. The young lady thanked me and told me that “I just made her day”. Before she went on her way, I told her, “To stay positive and to focus on the next door that’s about to open for her”. I felt deep down that something much better was in store for her. She thanked me again and began to drive off. I told her, “To drive safe and remember to stay focused and positive”. I stood there in the road for a few seconds, watching her drive away. I was very sad for her but I truly believe the short talk we had made a difference in her life.

So remember, true leaders leave that special someone or the person you just met, better than you found them.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) from a shoot and kill robbery incident, Author, Speaker on Leadership, Success and Overcoming Adversity.

Achieving Success: Is PTSD Paralyzing You? Here Are The Top 13 Tips On How To Cope More Effectively.

January 31, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy One comment

Difficulties strengthen the mind, as well as labor does the body. Seneca

What is PTSD?

Everyone is different. Therefore, everyone reacts differently to different experiences one encounters. Researchers suggest this disorder affects 5% of the U.S. population or 13 million Americans. By contrast, 3% of the population have cancer. It is expected that 8% of the U.S. population will suffer from or experience some form of PTSD in their life time.

Once associated mainly with the horrow of combat, PTSD has stretched to take in more frequent swerves along life’s road such as car crashes, house fires, sudden death of a loved one, witnessing a disaster. PTSD has broadened the model of mental illness to cover disturbances set off solely by external events, outside the mind. Anyone can be vulunerable.

PTSD has always existed, however we are hearing more and more about it with our returning heros. Hearing the experiences they are going through.

So how does PTSD affect us? I know from personal experience that PTSD caused me to distance myself from everyone, family, friends, co-workers, social events, caused me to isolate myself in all situations, caused me to have nightmares, anger and irritability issues, confusion, difficulty concentrating, flashbacks, suicidal and homocidal thoughts, thoughts of relieving pain with alcohol and drugs. I stopped being the fun-loving, happy go lucky, over-achiever I was. My life stopped dead in its tracks.

Below I wish provide you with some positive and negative coping methods. You obviously want to stay away from the negative ones. I did myself a major disservice by staying quiet for over 5yrs. I internalized everything which was causing me to implode. My life was like an airplane that instantly lost its rudder and was heading for earth in a nose dive. Don’t allow this. If you follow these steps, I assure you, you will overcome the adversity you are faced with. Your life will soon ascend to greater altitudes, which in turn means greater success, happiness, loving relationships and living a more meaningful, fulfilling life that you so deserve.

Look up and not down; look forward and not back; look out and not in; and lend a hand. E. E. Hale

Positive Coping Methods

* Learn as much about PTSD as you can. Do not avoid it.

* Talk to others that you trust and admire for support.

* Talk to your Physician about PTSD.

* Practice relaxation methods and techniques. Relieve your stress with exercise.

* Increase positive activities. Do things that give you joy.

* Stay away from and stop watching negativity. Turn off the Television (News) and pick up and self-help book that will assist you in becoming a better human being.

* Set positive goals for yourself. Example: To read a book a week, to surround yourself with positive, successful people.

* Take prescribed medication to tackle PTSD. Listen to your Doctor.

* Join a PTSD support group

Negative Coping Methods-STAY AWAY From

* Use of alcohol and drugs to relieve your pain. It only enhances it!

* Social Isolation

* Continued Avoidance

* Anger-Like Isolation

Be the change you want in your life. Focus on being a positive role model for your children, support group, co-workers.

You can do this! You can accomplish anything you put your mind, heart and soul into. If I can do this, so can you.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), Leading Authority on Conquering your fear, overcoming your adversity, achieving greater success in your life, Speaker, Entrepreneur and Self-Made Man.

To contact John, email him at John@JohnSalkowski.com. To invite John to speak at your next engagement please enter speaking engagement in subject line.

Achieving Success: The Top 10 Communication Skills You Must Master For Success

January 27, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy One comment

Take advantage of every opportunity to practice your communication skills so that when important occasions arise, you will have the gift, the style, the sharpness, the clarity, and the emotions to affect other people~Jim Rohn

The Importance of Effective Communication

Communication is the most important part of our lives whether it be in business or personal. How you communicate with others will determine your success or failure. Think about this, we couldn’t accomplish very much without communicating with others.

Below, I will give you what I believe are the TOP 10 ways to Effective Communication. If you master these skills your success in all areas of your life will be virtually guaranteed. But first and most importantly, you must be adaptable to the 4 different personalities. I know we all cringe when we hear the word “Sales”. Think about this for a minute, we are all in sales in some form or fashion. Wouldn’t you agree? We are always trying to make someone do what we want them to do, right? Whether it’s asking your children to clean their rooms or asking the local coffee shop to make your coffee in a special way. They way we go about communicating what we want or don’t want will determine our success.

Personalities

We all have different personalities. Once I learned out to present to the 4 different personalities my success went through the roof and so will yours. Here they are:

1) Amiable=helpful, calm, discreet, team player, too sensitive,

2) Promoter=fun loving, charming, love people, scattered, always overbooked, speak before they think

3) Analytical=meticulous, accurate, dependable, dry humor, too critical, picky, over analyzes

4) Controller=high achiever, too bossy, natural leader, rude, blunt

When presenting to these different personalities, adapt to them. They will not adapt to you.

Top 10 Communication Skills You MUST Master

1) Be Friendly-People who communicate with a friendly tone and warm smile almost always have the edge. The reason is simple: we are subconsciously drawn to people who are friendly because they make us feel good and bring more enjoyment to our lives.

2) Think before you speak- A fanmous English Proverb is “Better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.” I find that many people say whatever goes through their minds without putting any thought into what they are saying. As a result they say things that end up reflecting poorly on themselves.

3) Be Clear- Most of us don’t have the time nor do we want to spend our emotional energy to figure out what someone else is trying to say. People who are indirect in their verbal communication and who tend to hint at things without saying what’s really on their mind are seldom respected. When there is something you want to say, ask yourself, “What is the clearest way I can communicate this point?”

4) Be Authentic- People are turned off by those people who feel the need to put on a show to make their point. Instead, people are attracted to someone who speaks from the heart and is genuine, transparent, and real.

5) Practice Humility-Humility is having a modest view of one’s own importance. It is one of the most attractive personality traits one can possess and is one of the most significant predictors of someone who is respected. People who speak with humility and genuine respect for others are almost always held in high regard.

6) Don’t talk too much-The more one talks the less impressive they are. Very few people like to be around someone who talks too much and dominates the conversation. We have too ears for a reason.

7) Speak with confidence-You don’t have to sacrifice self-confidence to practice humility. Confidence is a self-assurance arising from an appreciation of one’s true abilities, whereas humility is having a modest opinion of one’s own importance. Speaking with confidence includes the words you choose, the tone of your voice, your eye contact, and body language.

8) Pay attention to your body language-When you are engaged in face-to-face verbal communication, your body language can play as significant of a role in the message you communicate as the words you speak. Your body language communicates respect and interest. It puts real meaning behind your words.

9) Be concise and too the point-Very few things are more irritating to me than when someone can’t get to the point of what he or she is trying to say. Plan ahead. Constantly ask yourself, “How can I say what needs to be said using the fewest number of words possible while still being courteous and respectful?”

10) Be present-Being an attentive listener is more important in verbal communication than any words that can come out of your mouth. You must show a sincere interest in what is being said, ask good questions, listen for the message within the message, and avoid interrupting.

These skills are learnable. If you practice and master these skills your success in all areas of your life is virtually guaranteed.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Retired Cop, Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) Leading Authority on Overcoming Adversity & Fear, Achieving Greater Success & Finding Your WHY Power. Entrepreneur, Speaker and Self-Made Man.

I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com for questions or comments. To hire John for your next speaking engagement, please send email to this address.

Achieving Success: Top 6 Steps in Overcoming The Fear of Success

January 2, 2012 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 2 comments

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Fears are nothing more than a state of mind. Napoleon Hill

The one quote that resonates with me that has changed my mindset in overcoming fear is, “Do the thing you fear & the death of fear is certain. We all have a fear of something. The majority of the population fears success. Why? I believe people fear success because it not only takes hard work, discipline, dedication and perseverance it also takes courage to overcome the 6 Fears of Success. Below are the 6 Fears that play an intrical part in NOT achieving great things. Follow the solutions, work on them, implement the strategies and encourage failure. You will fail along the way but know that failure is a stepping stone to your success. Once you conquer the 6 Fears of Success, your success is virtually guaranteed.

The Six Fears of Success and How to Overcome them.

Determine which Fear is holding you back and resolve to take it back.

6. Fear of The Unknown. I call these people the “half empties”. There glass is always half empty as opposed as half full. People who fear the unknown usually catastrophize and fear the worst instead of counting on the best. Solution: I am a true believer of what will be, will be. Things happen for a reason. Place your fears in the hands of a higher power and understand what is meant to be will be.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Real Estate Entrepreneur, Leading Authority on Achieving Greater Success and Overcoming Adversity, Retired Cop and Survivor of PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder)

I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com for questions and Speaking Engagements.

The Top 3 Qualities That Are Essential For Your Success

December 27, 2011 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 4 comments

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In order to be successful, these three words are paramount to your success. If you don’t live and breathe by these three words, your success is virtually impossible.

Here they are: Passion, Push, Perseverance

Passion:

Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you ~ Oprah Winfrey

My definition of Passion is the burning desire you have inside you to achieve more, be more and do more. Whatever you are passionate about should keep you up at night. Whatever you are passionate about should be on your mind 24hrs a day, 7 days a week. Passion is wanting success just as bad as you need the air you breathe. This is Passion.

Push:

You must push yourself to the breaking point when you want to achieve something. If you want something so bad you must be willing to run through a brick wall to get it, achieve it, accomplish it. Sounds crazy, huh. Well guess what, if you don’t feel this way then you are leaving it all on the table for someone else to grab. If you cheat yourself one time, this will carry over into everything you do in life. For example, if you are in the gym and you have a goal of doing 30 minutes of cardio and you quit after 20 minutes, you just cheated yourself. Cheating in the smallest task will carry over in to all you do in life. To push you need discipline. By cheating yourself, you are failing to create discipline in your life. In order to succeed in anything you do, you must have the discipline to push through the feeling of giving up. It takes 21 days to create or break a habit. Over the next 21 days, push yourself to the limit in everything you do and watch and see what happens in your life.

Perseverance:

Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority~ Vince Lombardi

Perseverance is the steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement. You must possess the mentality that failure is no option. You must encourage failure. You must persist through failure because failure is guaranteed along your journey. Learn from it, embrace it and persist through it. If you lack perseverance you will never be successful. Did you know that Thomas Edison, the worlds greatest inventor failed over 10,000 times. Where would this world be had he quit?

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Businessman, Entrepreneur, Motivational/Transformational Speaker, Real Estate Expert, Retired Police Officer, Survivor of PTSD (Post traumatic Stress Disorder) and the World’s Leading Authority on Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Success.

I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com

To Your Success,

John

Top 10 Tips to Overcome Adversity and Achieve Your Goals

December 13, 2011 AchieveSuccessAcademy.com Achieve Success Academy 2 comments

You will live the rest of your life with regret if you give up on your dream, your goal, your mission. This is what I live with everyday of my life. I had a one in a million chance of playing football for the University of Alabama from 1989-1993. For those of you who know me, you know I was a walk-on under Coach Bill Curry as a Linebacker. I was one of the 5. They said that their walk-on program was one of the hardest in the country amongst Division 1 teams. I was told,” You have everything against you son, size, height, speed”. I was told.” these are men amongst boys out here”. There were 50 young men from all over the country who attempted to earn one of the 5 spots on the roster. The 5 week program was Killer to say the least. They were dropping like flies, carried out on stretchers, walking away. Quitting! Giving Up!

Here are 10 ways to help you achieve your dreams, your goals, your mission:

Talk to someone you can trust in the field: Explain how important this goal is to you. Explain how you are feeling. Ask for their advice if they were faced with X. I didn’t have this. You NEED to do this before you give up.
Ask your family, friend(s) who know you and know how you are for their opinion. Stay away from the Nay-Sayers, Negative Nellies, Jealous Jackies.
Take a step back: Take the time you need to think about the consequences if you stop pursuing your goal/dream. What will the outcome be if I stick with this? What will the outcome be if I walk away?
Practice Positive Talk: I can do this! I can make it! I am important! I am a great person!
Learn everything you possibly can: Seek out someone that has accomplished what you want to accomplish. Take them out to lunch and learn from them.
Commit to goals, short term and long term. Start with the end in mind – long term goal – and work backward when writing goals.
Work on your dream every day of your life. Fill all the minutes and hours you’ve allotted with serious determination one day at a time.
Give it all you can. There will be days when you don’t feel like giving it your best. Give it your best anyway for that day. Do not cheat yourself by not pursuing your dream. Give it everything you’ve got. If you have to walk away, know that you gave it your all. Live with NO Regrets!
Keep a journal. Write down what you accomplish every day. Just a few words will do, or else you will create yet another job, which you don’t need.
Celebrate your achievements! Reward yourself with pre-determined gifts. Treat yourself. For your ultimate goals, give yourself the greatest reward. And then set new goals. You CAN achieve more!

Associate with people like yourself who enjoy the same kinds of pursuits. During your friendships, offer support to your peers. They will then be there for you when you need it.

Without dreams we have nothing to look forward too~John R. Salkowski

Live your LIFE with NO Regrets!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Retired Police Officer, Entrepreneur, Motivational Speaker and America’s Leading Authority on Overcoming Adversity and Achieving Your Life’s Mission. I can be reached by email at John@JohnSalkowski.com

Like me on FaceBook at http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Achieve-Success-Academy/246640965374976

John Salkowski ~ Leadership in the Line of Duty™

"Split-Second Leadership Decision Breakthroughs Revealed that All Top-Performers & Self-Made Millionaires Need To Know"™

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The Top 3 Qualities That Are Essential For Your Success

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