Find Your Peak

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 30: Forgive

Sean Mathena — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 11:00:27 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Well, here we are at the end of our 30 days. Have you enjoyed it? I know I have had a wonderful time coming up with these articles, I hope you have enjoyed them as much as I have.

If you would like to see more of this type of series, please let me know in the comments.

Forgive

I have saved one of the most important ones for last. By doing this, you will improve not only your life, but another person’s as well.

There are so many people out there that feel that they have been wronged in some way and are unable to forgive the other person.

Holding on to things like this can destroy your life. While it is sometime very hard, you have to forgive these people.

If possible, you should let them know that you are forgiving them, because more often than not, they realize what they have done and are just too proud to say they are sorry.

I will bet if you start by forgiving them you will get an apology in return.

I know there are those of you that are saying that I don’t know what you went through, and you are right, but I do know that if you really look at it, you are getting no benefit from holding that grudge against that person.

So why not forgive them?

No action steps for today, but you know what you need to do, so just go and do it.

Thanks for sticking with me for the whole month, I hope you have gotten something out of the 30 days!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 29: Create Your Bucket List

Sean Mathena — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:00:14 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Create Your Bucket List

Have you ever seen the movie The Bucket List? If not, you should check it out, really funny movie!

A bucket list is basically a list of goals you want to accomplish within your lifetime. The ultimate long term goal list.

I try to tackle a couple goals from my bucket list each year, my list has about 150 goals to which I will add a couple every few years.

These can be anything, places to visit, skills to learn, experiences to have, people to meet, it is only limited by your imagination.

You should try to shoot for 100 goals initially, I know people that have over 500! Google bucket list, you will see some amazing ones out there.

Action Steps

Once again, pretty simple, get to writing!

As I said above, shoot for 100 goals initially, and go from there.

I would love to hear about some of your goals in the comments!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 28: Start a Savings Plan

Sean Mathena — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 11:00:50 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Start a Savings Plan

Even though we are getting close to the end of this series, I don’t want you to think that makes this any less important.

YOU NEED TO START SAVING TODAY!

This is so important, because none of us are getting any younger, and one day you are not going to be able to work for your money, and will have to rely on what you have saved over the years.

You really don’t think social security is going to be around then do you?

First off, you need an emergency fund. The amount of this varies depending on who you talk to, but initially, before you save for anything else, you need to have $1000 saved as an emergency fund.

The reason for this is in case you have a car break down or other such emergency, you won’t have to charge it.

After you have your emergency fund started, max out any retirement you can starting with a matching 401k. Any matching funds are free money, so take full advantage of them.

Once you have maxed out your retirement, then you can build on your emergency fund until you have at least six months of expenses saved.

After that, then start saving for other things. Be sure to check with your financial adviser on the best place to put your money in order to maximize the value!

Start saving right away, even if it is a very small amount. Once you get in the habit, it will become a lot easier to just put the money away and forget about it.

Action Steps

Open an account and start saving! Pretty simple, huh?

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 27: De-Clutter

Sean Mathena — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 11:00:31 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

De-Clutter

OK, I am a little bit late for spring cleaning, but summer cleaning always works out better at our house anyway. The kids are home to help out, and in Texas it is nice to spend some time inside during the summer.

This is all about getting rid of all the stuff we really don’t need. We tend to gather things over time that basically just take up space.

I am sure you have read some of the minimalist blogs out there, if not, just Google minimalism and check them out, they have some great advice.

One of the best ideas I have found on these blogs is how to get rid of unused clothes. Take all of the clothes in your closet, and turn the hangers around. That means reaching under the rod and hanging them on the other side.

Once you have done this with everything, then just go back to hanging things as normal once you wear something.

At the end of the season or year, take everything that is still hung backwards, and get rid of it. If you haven’t worn it all year, it is safe to say it should be donated.

Action Steps

You really have to be strong willed for today’s action steps. Go through your house, and be brutal in your decisions, and get rid of your stuff.

Have your kids stopped playing with those toys? Donate them.

Do you not listen to those old records (yes, some of you still have them in a closet) sell them on eBay.

Go in your closet and turn your clothes around.

It can be very refreshing to purge yourself of all of your old junk that you have lying around, and you might even make some money in the process!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 26: Tell Someone How Much They Mean to You

Sean Mathena — Sun, 26 Jun 2011 11:00:11 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Tell Someone How Much They Mean to You

Today is pretty simple and to the point, no reason even to separate out the action steps.

Tell someone in your life how much they mean to you. We don’t do this enough these days, and when we think about it, it is usually too late.

This will make someone’s day today, so stop reading, and let someone know how much they mean to you before it is too late!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 25: Give Back

Sean Mathena — Sat, 25 Jun 2011 11:00:59 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Give Back

We talk a lot on this site about success and making money, but one thing that should always go along with success is giving back.

I have said this before, no matter who you are, there is always someone out there that is less fortunate than you.

I know you have heard that giving comes back to you tenfold, and countless stories of people who have given of themselves when they didn’t have much only to come across a needed windfall right after the generosity.

All of this is great, but you need to give back because it is the right thing to do, not to get something in return. It feels good to help someone else.

Giving back also doesn’t always have to be about money, you can also give your time or your expertise. That is sometimes more valuable than just writing a check.

Try also giving anonymously, there is no need for anyone but you to know what you did.

Action Steps

Today I want you to find a cause you would like to support. As I said above, there is no need for it to be about money, there are a lot of organizations out there that would love to have some of your time.

Once you have found one or more organizations to support, I want you to set a goal of giving 10% a month.

This doesn’t have to be money once again, it could be time. 10% of your time would be about 16 hours, two workdays given that there are typically 160 work hours in a month. Of course you could just give money, but time works as well.

Once you have done this, or if you already have, leave me a comment on how it changed you. I would love to hear your stories!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 24: Create a Vision Board

Sean Mathena — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:00:03 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Create a Vision Board

Remember when you were a kid and you would cut out pictures of things from magazines that you thought were cool? It turns out that doing something similar will help you to realize your goals as an adult.

I am talking about creating a vision board.

Vision boards have been around for quite some time, but really started picking up in popularity due to the book and movie “The Secret” and the Tim Ferriss book “The Four Hour Work Week.”

A vision board is essentially a pictorial representation of your goals. The idea is to take images that represent what you want to achieve in life, create a collage of these items, and post it where you are able to see it every day.

This is supposed to activate the law of attraction and assist in your efforts to achieve your goals.

There are many examples of vision boards out there on the Internet, all you have to do is Google vision boards.

There are also several sites that will allow you to create an online vision board, you can find one of the more popular ones here.

Action Steps

Take time out and create your vision board.

Go and pick up a big poster board, and start looking through magazine and the Internet for images for your goals.

Have fun with this, and after you have it complete, put it up where you can see it every day. You never know, it just might bring you to your goals a little faster, and even if it doesn’t, it will be a fun exercise!

Image Credit: Jet Set Life

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 23: Learn Something New

Sean Mathena — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 11:00:40 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Learn Something New

The older we get the less new things we tend to learn. We get set in our ways, and don’t pick up a lot of new skills.

This is quite unfortunate.

We should constantly be learning new things no matter how old we get, not only will you do the obvious, but by learning new skills you will keep your brain young.

The act of learning new things stimulates our mind, and keeps us sharp for all the other things in life.

Action Steps

Pick something you want to learn and add it to your goal list. This could be another language, a skill such as how to cook, or simply another job at your company.

By continually learning new skills, you will always stay fresh as well as hanging on to youth just a little bit longer!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 22: Explore Your Past

Sean Mathena — Wed, 22 Jun 2011 11:00:34 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Explore Your Past

We tend to spend most of our time in the present or thinking about the future, we very seldom focus on our past.

Because of this, we also sometimes forget all that we have accomplished throughout our lives.

If you really take some time and go back through your accomplishments you will be surprised at all of the things you have done that you have completely forgotten about.

This has to be a thorough examination, and not just a greatest hits. It will do you good to call to mind all the little things you have done as well.

We oftentimes get down on ourselves because we aren’t as successful as we think we should be, but if you take some time for this exercise, you will see just how much you have achieved in your life.

Action Steps

Today I want you to go on a journey. Maybe you could do this during your meditation time.

I want you to start at the beginning of your life, yes, way back to the time you were born, and think about all you have done.

I mean everything. Start with the fact that you were actually born, and move on to when you learned to walk. That was an accomplishment!

Move up through those first years, on into your school years, and finally through your adult life. Don’t leave anything out, think about it all.

Some of the stuff might seem trivial when compared to other things, but at the time, they were just as big of accomplishments as others.

This shouldn’t be a quick exercise, take your time. At the end you will see that you have a lot more to be proud of than when you started!

30 Ways in 30 Days to Find Your Peak – Day 21: Meditate

Sean Mathena — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 11:00:29 +0000

Welcome Back! If you are just getting started, I suggest you go back and review the previous posts in the series here.

Meditate

Have you ever thought the stress of your job was too much? That you needed to get away from it all, but just didn’t have the time to take a vacation?

Try meditation. For centuries people have turned to meditation to calm themselves and get more in touch with their inner self.

Cultures around the world have turned to some form of meditation for help.

Christians meditate through prayer, Buddhist practice breath meditation, and Muslims are obliged to pray five times a day.

Meditation in all its different forms is helpful in reducing stress, and bringing you closer in your spirituality.

Action Steps

Take some time today and find a quiet place away from everyone. This might be first thing in the morning or any time during the day that you can get away.

Spend some time in silence, quieting your mind of all the stresses of the day. If you are religious, use this time to reflect on your religion and practice whatever means of meditation your religion performs.

If you are not religious, just focus on your breathing.

Try to do this on a daily basis, you will be amazed at how it will make you feel!