Tag Archive for what is success

The Secret to Your Success is found in What You Do Everyday

December 17, 2012 Achieve Success Academy One comment

14327791 life style concept pixelated words secret of success on digital screen 3d render The Secret to Your Success is found in What You Do EverydayIt was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through ~ Zig Ziglar

Firstly, I want to dedicate this article to the innocent people that lost their lives on December 14, 2012 in Newtown, CT. This act of terror was senseless and horrible and my thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones during this difficult time. May God Bless you all.

Is there a Secret to Success?

You bet there is a secret to success. Keep reading on and you will find out what makes some successful and others, well not so successful.

The success that you desire is found in your daily routines and your attitude. What you do every day, what you feed your mind with will determine what you achieve in life. People that achieve extraordinary success do so because they invest in themselves every day. They take the necessary time to invest in their lives and are always learning. Because they invest into their lives, they add value to the lives of others as well.

It all starts the minute to you step out of bed until you lay your head down to sleep that night. What you do during this time, what you feed your mind will determine how successful you become.

How You Think is everything. Always be Positive. Think Success, Think Achievement not Failure. Be aware of and stay away from negative people and environments. Turn off the television. Don’t watch the news. Don’t pick up or dare open that newspaper. How you think is one of the most important things you must master. Your belief and mind-set that you can accomplish your goals must be unwavering. I’ve found that from time-to-time my attitude waivers. A mentor of mine once said “it’s ok to get down or feel sorry for yourself; however you must not stay there”. Immediately upon catching yourself in this mind-set, say to yourself, “Cancel these thoughts”. Remember positive things happen to positive people.

Take Action. Goals are nothing without action and a strategic plan. Seek out someone that is doing what you want to do. Be like Nike and “Just do it”. Every day I try to take some action towards my goals. It may be small, but it’s still an action. Have you taken action towards your goals?

Never Stop Learning. Attend a seminar, read a book, seek out a mentor or a mastermind group. Becoming a lifelong learner would benefit us all and is something we should instill in our children. Would you stick a garden hose into your cars gas tank and fill it up with water? Of course not. Then why would you put junk into your body and mind? You become what you feed your mind and body.

Never Give Up. Be Persistent. Working hard is not enough. Working hard at the wrong things will not bring you success. You must work right and hard at the right things. Success is a marathon, not a sprint. You’ve heard about the tortoise and the hare? Slow and steady wins the race.

Remain laser focused on your goals and surround yourself with positive people and environments that believe in you. Don’t get distracted by the naysayer’s or tasks that are not helping you achieve your goals. You must concentrate and stay laser focused on the goal at hand. This is what some of the most successful people in the world do. Why not follow their lead? Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Lastly, take responsibility for your daily actions and attitude. Invest your time and mind into worthwhile things. If you make a few adjustments into your daily agenda, you too can achieve whatever you set your mind too.

To read a newspaper is to refrain from reading something worthwhile. The first discipline of education must therefore be to refuse resolutely to feed the mind with canned chatter ~ Aleister Crowley

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!”

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

Copyright © 2012 Achieve Success Academy™. All Rights Reserved.

The Top Skill That Successful People Have Mastered

April 17, 2012 Achieve Success Academy No comments

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is MIND-SET?

Our mind-set is our mental attitude that has taken shape based on our life experiences, our environment, our education and the ideas and beliefs we have absorbed from those people we have interacted with the most in our lives.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we all keep a running account or self-talk of what is happening to us, what it means, and what we should do about it. Our mind-set is that inner voice conversation taking place in our heads. (You have all heard me say before, “Listen to your inner-voice”)

Our minds are meaning seeking machines and we are constantly monitoring and interpreting events and stimuli so that we can reinforce or modify our internal ‘map’ of ourselves and the world as we have come to understand them. Based on these beliefs our mind-set is responsible for how we interpret and react to what happens to us and around us.

Depending on whether your inner voice is based on a positive empowering mind-set or a negative limiting one, will largely determine how you will interpret challenges, setbacks and criticisms in life as well as contributing significantly to the actual outcomes and results you create.

The correct mind-set is perhaps THE most important factor in human success. Above all else! The difference between successful people and non-successful people starts in their mind, with their predominant mind-set.

Often it is our predominant thoughts and feelings about ourselves and the world around us that are the key to unlocking our life’s true possibilities.

When MIND-SETS are formed?

Mind-sets are based on our beliefs. Our beliefs about ourselves and the world. These beliefs are created in two ways. Firstly by what we are taught when we are young and easily impressed and secondly by the experiences and results we have, see and observe in everyday life.

Where MIND-SET comes into Play?

In everything we do we have some pre-conceived ideas about the possible outcomes and chances for success. No matter if it is a small or large undertaking we are constantly evaluating our results and placing them within our map of ourselves and the world. Our mind-sets affect everything we do and influence not only our view of the outcome, but also the outcome itself.

Why MIND-SET affects Behavior and Success?

Having the correct mind-set for a particular task is almost a pre-requisite for success. No one has ever been successful who has not had to overcome hurdles and obstacles to that success. The ability to have an empowering and positive outlook and mind-set allows us to not only overcome those hurdles and obstacles to success but to actually welcome them as challenges and opportunities for growth and learning.

How to change Your MIND-SET?

We all have the ability to change our mind-set – to change our
core inner beliefs upon which we based our view of ourselves and the world around us. But changing our beliefs is not an easy thing to do. Most people find changing one small belief extremely difficult, let alone a whole range of self-supporting beliefs based perhaps on negative pre-conditioning. What is needed is a tool – a tool for change that enables us to rapidly install new thought patterns and positive mind-sets, based on proven success models. A person’s core inner beliefs and thought patterns are what lead to their feelings of potentiality, action and results.

Simply by changing your mind-set it is possible to change not only your outlook in life by also the actual results you obtain in life.

Here are 3 Ways to Change Your MIND-SET!

1) Be Willing to Change: These are your thoughts so you can change them. Even though our beliefs were more than likely formed when you were young, you are an adult today and you have the power to affect change in your life. This is the essence of personal power: choice and responsibility.

2) Feed the Mind-Set You Want: The fastest way to change your mind-set is to feed your mind the one you want. Every time you feed yourself a positive mind-set, it weakens the negative ones. You will be instantly creating new neurons that form a new more positive neural network. The more you do this the stronger you knew neural network will become. Feeding the positive weakens the negative.

3) Love Your Mind-Set: Allow yourself to create a passion for your new mind-set. The new mind-set you want to create. Doing this creates endorphins in your body that lead to a new sense of well-being. This in turn leads to a more inspired and emotionally engaged you, having more fun in your life as you enlarge and make stronger your new neural network.

Start Today to Change Your MIND-SET for the Better and Watch Your Success Skyrocket!

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.

Copyright 2012. Achieve Success Academy. All Rights Reserved

You Can Do anything you want if You Believe You Can

March 2, 2012 Achieve Success Academy No comments

Everything Passess At Par, Temporarily; Truth Alone Remains Permanently~Napoleon Hill

“You Can Do It If You Believe You Can”

Are you self-confident? Do you believe in yourself and your abilities? You must because no one else will. It all starts from within you. With out self-confidence no one can become an efficient leader or take the self initiative in any great undertaking without the belief in yourself.

The Power of Initiative

There is no security on this earth, there is only opportunity~General Douglas MacArthur

Initiative and Leadership go hand in hand. Leadership is essential for attaining success and Initiative is the foundation upon which Leadership is built. Initiative is as important to success as the wings to an airplane.

Initiative is that rare quality which impels a person to do what ought to be done without being told to do it. This is what Initiative is to me. Do you possess this quality? You must because it’s paramount to your success.

A powerful example of initiative is found in one of the greatess successes of all time. Founders of Microsoft Bill Gates and Paul Allen. Two individuals that were so obsessed with programming the computers we have today that they thought of nothing else.

A great philosopher once said, “Initiative is the passkey that opens the door of opportunity.”

Becoming a Person of Initiative and Leadership

What helped you over the great obstacles of life was asked of a highly successful man? The other obstacles, he replied.

Are you a procrastinator? The habit of putting off until tomorrow what should have been done yesterday, last week, last month, last year will hold you back from true success. You will not accomplish anything until you eliminate this deadly disease of procrastination.

Would you like to know how to overcome procrastination? This, well-known and scientifically tested principle is called Auto-Suggestion. I want you to copy this formula, put it in a conspicious place in a room where you will see it upon retiring for the evening and arising in the morning.

If you do this, this will start forming a habit of you taking action each day that will carry you one step closer to attaining your Definite Chief Passion or DCP.

Here is it: The Lesson for Eliminating Procrastination

I know that procrastination is a deadly disease of all who want to become leaders in any undertaking and I will eliminate this very bad habit from my personal being.

1-Doing that one thing each day, that very something that ought to be done without anyone telling me to do it.

2-Finding that one thing that I can do each and everyday that I have not beeen doing that will bring value to others without exceptation of reward or payback.

3-Sharing this habit with at least someone in your life that you trust of the value of practicing this habit of doing something that ought to be done without being told to do it.

The muscles of the body become strong with repeated use. Understand that the habit of Initiative also becomes strong with repeated use. It takes only 21 days to make or break a habit. You CAN DO THIS!

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

I can reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com

Copyright 2012 Achieve Success Academy All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Leadership In The Line of “Duty”

February 27, 2012 Achieve Success Academy 9 comments

Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be. Ralph Waldo Emerson

D=Desire, Drive, Determination & Dedication

Desire

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential. These are the keys that will unlock the doors to personal excellence~Confucius

Drive

We herd sheep, we drive cattle, we lead people. Lead me, follow me, or get out of my way~George S. Patton

Determination

The price of success is hard work, dedication to the job at hand and the determination that whether we win or lose, we have applied the best of ourselves to the task at hand~Vince Lombardi

If you possess these 4 words, there are no limits for what you can achieve. You must believe in yourself because if you don’t no one else will.

U=Understanding Others Through Mastery of Personalities

Peace can not be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding~Albert Einstein

Understanding the personalities of those you influence is a huge component of how successful you will become. It will dramatically increase how you present and how they receive. I would suggest you study the DISC Personality chart to get a better understanding of how one’s personality works. If you master this skill, your success is virtually guaranteed.

T=Trust Your Training & Talent

Excellence is an art won by training and habituation. We do not act rightly because we have virtue or excellence, but we rather have those because we have acted rightly. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit~Aristotle

My mother once told me that I have two ears and one mouth for a reason. She told me to listen more and talk less.

If you want to be a successful leader and/or entrepreneur it all starts by trusting your training and talent. Morale starts at the top. Allow your people to work independant without looking over their shoulders. Leaders should manage the systems they have in place, not their people.

Y=You Matter

I want you to be everything that’s you, deep at the center of your being~Confucius

The only one that will look out for you is You! No one else can be depended on for your success. My saying is this, “I’ll see you at the top or from the top”. The only one that will get you there is You. You have to commit yourself to wanting success more than you want the air you breathe. If you are not willing to sacrifice this, you will stay in the same position in the same location. Resolve today to want success more than you want the air you breathe. Your success will be virtually guaranteed if you live your life with this in mind.

I hope you enjoyed this blog on Leadership In The Line of Duty. Duty=Desire, Drive, Determination & Dedication, Understanding Others Through Mastery of Personalities, Trust Your Training & Talent and You Matter. My goal is to inspire the talent with-in you, to assist you in bringing out your WHY power, bringing you to the next level so you too can experience the success you so truly deserve.

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of AchieveSuccessAcademy.com, Leadership Expert, Author, Speaker, Retired Police Officer, Survivior of PTSD and Self-Made Man.

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

Copyright 2012 Achieve Success Academy All Rights Reserved

 

 

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Top 5 Ways To Stop Feeling Like Your in Prison Monday Through Friday!

February 13, 2012 Achieve Success Academy One comment

America is the land of the second chance – and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life~George W. Bush
Feeling Like Your in Prison

 

Do you feel your anxiety level going up before your work week starts? Do you sleep really sound on Sunday night knowing that Monday morning is just hours away? Do you stress all week wishing it were Friday?
I know exactly how you feel. I’ve been where you are. I, too was a slave to the clock. I, too was trading time for dollars. It came a time that my anxiety level was so high that I had to make an urgent decision whether to stay or leave. It was affecting all aspects of my life.
My mind was like directing traffic in a busy intersection in downtown New York City in rush hour. It kept me up at night. I was bombarded by different thoughts such as what will I do, will I make it, can I earn the same amount, will I be happier, will I lose everything that I worked so hard for.
If you know me or have read my previous blogs then you know that I am a huge proponent of listening to your inner-voice. It is spot on every time. Period. If you choose to listen to it. Some people choose to ignore it. Some choose to over-ride it. I choose to listen to it.
A fear of the unknown keeps a lot of people from leaving bad situations~Kathie Lee Gifford

 

Scared to Death
The fear of the unknown is the scariest of all. Not knowing how things will turn out. Not knowing where you’ll end up. Will you lose everything? Who will I let down? People want to see you fail. It’s a fact of life. People love negativity. They love to hear gossip of others. Mostly negative gossip. Very seldom will you hear of anyone talking about your successes. Face it, it’s a fact of life that negativity sells. So what! You don’t have to be a part of it. Who cares what others think. No one is paying your bills. No one is putting food on your table. No one is providing you shelter. So who cares about what people have to say.  You must do what’s best for you and only you.

The only real failure in life is not to be true to the best one knows~Buddha
Failure Is No Option
I made a conscious decision to leave a secure job with health benefits and 5 weeks of vacation after 15yrs. So many people ask me Why are you doing this? How can you do this? Isn’t it scary leaving security?
They are all valid questions. However, I personally believe security breeds comfort. Security breeds not fully living up to your true potential. You see, I am driven by success. I push myself to unbelievable limits. I am extremely discliplined. It’s the way I am made. Everyone is different. Everyone has their own opinion about security. There is no right or wrong answer. It’s truly based on ones personal ideologies.
Your personality must be conducive with leaving security. If you long for the security of having a solid job, making a living, having health benefits and vacation than this blog isn’t for you. Again, there is nothing wrong with wanting these things. Frankly, I believe the general population is brought up this way. It boils down to what makes you happy. Period!
Here are the Top 5 Ways to Overcome Your Prison Sentence:
1) Do What You Love
It is hard to argue with this one.  Have you ever found anyone that is successful doing something they hate?  I guess you can take the definition of success to any extreme, but I have a hard time accepting that anyone living in misery doing something they hate can be called successful.  Naturally, doing what you love gets you the motivation and the excitement required to achieve success.  In fact, for many, doing what you love is success in and of itself.
2) Follow Your Passion & Perfect Your Game
If your definition of success is being great at something then studies have shown that the secret to success is to practice at perfecting your game and following your passion. These studies even argue that natural talent is irrelevant and that it’s all about practice and passion.
3) Be Unique
It’s hard to imagine a clone being a symbol of success. Success is about bringing your own unique ways into the world, adding diversity and value. Most experts will agree that if you want to be successful you have to find your niche, you have to find ways to leverage your own unique gifts.
4) Believe in Yourself
I have yet to find a successful man or woman who does not believe in themselves. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will? Studies have shown that success is influenced by your mindset. If you want to be successful, start believing in yourself at once.
5) Never Ever Give Up
Last but not least, you must never ever give up. Every successful guru will tell you this. To be successful you must persist through your failures, criticisms, rejections and all the other negative things in life. Success is a journey, not a destination. In your journey of success, the only time you can say you are not a success is when you give up on your journey.
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.
I can be reached via email at John@JohnSalkowski.com.
Copyright 2012 Achieve Success Academy All Rights Reserved

 

 

 

Achieving Success: The Top Skill That Successful People Have Mastered

January 14, 2012 Achieve Success Academy One comment

“What lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters, compared to what lies within us.” ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

What is MIND-SET?

Our mind-set is our mental attitude that has taken shape based on our life experiences, our environment, our education and the ideas and beliefs we have absorbed from those people we have interacted with the most in our lives.

Whether we are aware of it or not, we all keep a running account or self talk of what is happening to us, what it means, and what we should do about it. Our mind-set is that inner voice conversation taking place in our heads. (You have all heard me say before, “Listen to your inner-voice”)

Our minds are meaning seeking machines and we are constantly monitoring and interpreting events and stimuli so that we can reinforce or modify our internal ‘map’ of ourselves and the world as we have come to understand them. Based on these beliefs our mind-set is responsible for how we interpret and react to what happens to us and around us.

Depending on whether your inner voice is based on a positive empowering mind-set or a negative limiting one, will largely determine how you will interpret challenges, setbacks and criticisms in life as well as contributing significantly to the actual outcomes and results you create.

The correct mind-set is perhaps THE most important factor in human success. Above all else! The difference between successful people and non-successful people starts in their mind, with their predominant mind-set.

Often it is our predominant thoughts and feelings about ourselves and the world around us that are the key to unlocking our life’s true possibilities.

When MIND-SETS are Formed?

Mind-sets are based on our beliefs. Our beliefs about ourselves and the world. These beliefs are created in two ways. Firstly by what we are taught when we are young and easily impressed and secondly by the experiences and results we have, see and observe in everyday life.

Where MIND-SET comes into Play?

In everything we do we have some pre-conceived ideas about the possible outcomes and chances for success. No matter if it is a small or large undertaking we are constantly evaluating our results and placing them within our map of ourselves and the world. Our mind-sets affect everything we do and influence not only our view of the outcome, but also the outcome itself.

Why MIND-SET affects Behavior and Success?

Having the correct mind-set for a particular task is almost a pre-requisite for success. No one has ever been successful who has not had to overcome hurdles and obstacles to that success. The ability to have an empowering and positive outlook and mind-set allows us to not only overcome those hurdles and obstacles to success but to actually welcome them as challenges and opportunities for growth and learning.

How to change Your MIND-SET?

We all have the ability to change our mind-set – to change our core inner beliefs upon which we based our view of ourselves and the world around us. But changing our beliefs is not an easy thing to do. Most people find changing one small belief extremely difficult, let alone a whole range of self-supporting beliefs based perhaps on negative pre-conditioning. What is needed is a tool – a tool for change, that enable us to rapidly install new thought patterns and positive mind-sets, based on proven success models. A person’s core inner beliefs and thought patterns are what lead to their feelings of potentiality, action and results.

Simply by changing your mind-set it is possible to change not only your outlook in life by also the actual results you obtain in life.

Here are 3 Ways to Change Your MIND-SET!

1) Be Willing to Change: These are your thoughts so you can change them. Even though our beliefs were more than likely formed when you were young, you are an adult today and you have the power to affect change in your life. This is the essence of personal power: choice and responsibility.

2) Feed The Mind-Set You Want: The fastest way to change your mind-set is to feed your mind the one you want. Every time you feed yourself a positive mind-set, it weakens the negative ones. You will be instantly creating new neurons that form a new more positive neural network. The more you do this the stronger you new neural network will become. Feeding the positive weakens the negative.

3) Love Your Mind-Set: Allow yourself to create a passion for your new mind-set. The new mind-set you want to create. Doing this creates endorphins in your body that lead to a new sense of well being. This in turn leads to a more inspired and emotionally engaged you, having more fun in your life as you enlarge and make stronger your new neural network.

Start Today to Change Your MIND-SET for the Better and Watch Your Success Skyrocket!

I’m John R. Salkowski, Founder of Achieve Success Academy, Leading Authority on Peak Performance,  Overcoming Adversity, Achieving Greater Success & Finding Your WHY Power. Real Estate Entrepreneur, 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.