The Fastest Way to Succeed in Life (avoid this principle at your own peril).

Some things in life come easy, others come hard. Some surprise us with their speed, others feel like they take forever. Why is that? And how can we succeed in life fast, rather than slow (if we ever succeed of course)?

I’ve been in both camps. And I’ve found that (fast) success is dependent on small, almost undetectable decisions you make, day by day. Today I’ll explain to you an advanced principle that will hand you the fastest way to succeed in life. It’s not advanced because it’s complicated. On the contrary, it’s simple. But it’s easier said than done.

But before I get into this principle, let me describe my experience in both camps.

Take exercise as an example. In 2010 I’d exercise 0-2 times a week. I was really inconsistent. Sometimes two weeks would go by before I went back to the gym.

And then I committed. My dream? Exercise 5 times a week, consistently. By the end of 2010 I was already consistently exercising two times a week. By the mid of 2011 I was already exercising consistently 5 times a week! Dream achieved! I never looked back. It’s been more than 3 years and I’m still exercising 5x a week, now sometimes even 6!

Exercising 5 times a week is something I want to be doing for the rest of my life. It was a significant life goal that will pay huge benefits to my daily wellbeing and health for the rest of my life. I achieved this cornerstone of my life in less than a year and without struggling for it. Success!

Now compare this with starting a business. Ha! When I first started Fitness Reloaded it seemed like it took forever before I’d see any type of traction. Years passed by before I saw any glimpse of success. Things did turn around, but it was only after lots of self-torture.

In retrospect, I can see exactly why I succeeded fast and easily with exercise, but tortured myself in business. It was all because of this principle I’ll talk to you about today. Unknowingly I used this principle with exercise, but did the exact opposite in business. In business I spent years doing things the hard way (the slowest way possible), until I finally used the principle I’m describing today, and turned things around.

 Are you using the fastest way to succeed, or are you on the slow-lane?

So you want to succeed in life. You want to lose weight, find love, or start your business. Yet, there are things that get in your way and slow everything down. 

No, I’m not talking about your parents who unexpectedly came for a visit, cooked 3 meals, made you cancel your date, and took all your time to show them around. This is an unexpected, infrequent event. Just like the weather, you can hardly control those events.

Instead, I’m talking about the things you can actually control. Like what you eat every day. How you spend your time. What activities you say “yes” to vs. say “no” to.

The things you can actually control affect you the most. You do them on a daily basis. They determine whether you’ll succeed or not, and by when.

Yet, even though they sound simple, these activities are the ones that might cause us the most problems. Just like Dr. Tracy Thomas said in our Making Decisions Talk it’s those daily decisions that can make or break our success.

• Instead of waking up and doing our work, we spend 40 minutes on Facebook.
• Instead of learning how to cook at home, we keep eating frozen food.
• Instead of launching our website for our new business, we keep second-guessing our decision. “What if it doesn’t work? What will our friends think?”
• Instead of congratulating ourselves for exercising for 10 minutes (when we normally do nothing), we feel bad for not having done “enough”.
• Instead of feeling good for making that girl smile today, you feel bad because you just compared yourself to that guy who’s always surrounded by 5 girls.

What if things were different? What if:

• You woke up every day feeling unstoppable, and happily tackled your to-do list?
• Did the next step, without judging it for being too “small”?
• Felt confident that what you’re doing is the right things to do?
• Wouldn’t you feel like a productivity machine, bursting with excitement for taking the next step?
• Wouldn’t you feel immeasurably happy for getting one step closer to your dream?

Ahh, it sounds like a breeze right? And it all depends on small daily decisions that you make every day. It all depends on whether you’re using the principle I’ll describe today.

Each one of those small decisions you make every day seems small and harmless. But is it really?

• So what if you spent 40 minutes on Facebook today? No big deal right? Well, it wouldn’t be if you did it just once. But procrastinating is a pattern for you.
• So what if you eat frozen food today? It’s not just today, it’s every day that you’re feeding yourself with food that is not nutritious enough. Don’t blame your work if you feel tired easily – it might just be that you don’t fuel yourself properly.
• So what if you doubt yourself? You’re right to do so. You might fail after all. Buuuut the more you doubt yourself, the more time you’ll spend not getting started!
• So what if you don’t celebrate your small wins? Well, feeling bad for not “doing enough” actually tells your brain to stop wiring those exercise habits! No wonder you can’t stick to exercise for more than a month (and check out my book to understand how this process works).
• So what if you didn’t get happy for making that girl smile? Well, you’re less likely to try to make a girl smile. And if you don’t try to make them smile, then how are you going to find love?

Each one of those small, harmless decisions, actually keeps from doing the one thing you really want: succeed in life.

Here’s why:

A. The more you doubt yourself or your choices, the more likely you are to do nothing and stay stagnant.

What’s the point of doing a lazy 10-minute workout? You won’t lose weight. Your arms will keep being flabby. Why bother?

So you do nothing. And by doing nothing, you’re making sure that yes, your arms will keep being flabby. And you’re missing out on the opportunity to rewire your brain that you are the type of person who actually works out! The more you teach your brain, the more you’d go from 10 minutes, to 15 minutes, to 30 minutes, to 60 minutes.

But wait a second. You didn’t even do the lazy workout because “there was no point”. Hmm…

B. The more you feel that something is “BIG”, the more likely you are to do “busywork” rather than actually effective work.

Doing “just 10 minutes” of exercise seemed pointless to you. Instead you wanted to go big. You wanted to do 60 minutes, four times a week.

It seemed too big, so you let two years go by before you actually joined a gym. You researched your options, learned more about exercise, but didn’t actually exercise. For two years, you were distracting yourself with busywork. Had you started with 10 minutes a day two years ago, where would you be now?

And then after you joined a gym you quit in the first 6 months. Why? Because it was “hard”. Of course, it’s hard! Tackling such an aggressive goal without the necessary ammunition is really hard. It’s not your fault, it’s not because you’re lazy, it’s just because you didn’t know any better and also because you chose to forgo small steps in favor of going BIG.

I’m not saying all this to blame you. Hey, I’ve been there and I still do this. Just today, I thought that writing this article was “BIG”. So I let 60 minutes go by before I started writing.

In those 60 minutes, I washed some clothes, did the dishes, browsed on the web, I did anything I could do to feel “productive” while not doing the thing that mattered: Writing this article. I then realized what I was doing and got back into action.

Now this is not the fastest way to succeed in life, this is the slowest way. If you want to go slow, or if you want to never make your dream come true, then here’s what you need to do:

1. Aim to do something that seems too big.
2. Remind yourself that it’s pointless to even try.
3. Even when you succeed in something, compare it with something “better” and make yourself feel bad about not doing “enough”.

Ha! As simple as 1-2-3!

Introducing the Christmas Principle: The fastest way to succeed in life and make any dream come true!

Now if you want to go fast…If you don’t want to “waste time” but make things happen instead…Then, watch this video to learn about the powerful Principle I have been raving about all along!

That’s exactly how potent this principle is. If you master using it, then nothing will be able to stand in your way, because you’ll always be performing at your optimum levels.

No more pity parties here – just a big surge of excitement for getting to the next thing and enjoying life!

Avoid using the Christmas Principle at your own peril.

If you want to lose weight fast, if you want to find love fast, or if you want to succeed in life fast, then you cannot afford NOT using the Christmas Principle! If you don’t use it, then you’ll end up doing the “small, daily, seemingly harmless” activities I described at the beginning: procrastination, busywork, staying stagnant.

If you don’t use it, then you’re putting your dream at risk. But how does it really work? This video from Exercise Bliss explains exactly that (and yes, it’s the secret behind the Exercise Bliss success stories).

Ok so now you know exactly how it works.

“Buut” you might say, “as a kid you KNOW that you’ll get a present, as an adult success is not guaranteed. Plus, how do you stop doubting yourself? How do you gain clarity about your next step?”

Let me discuss “knowing” first. As a kid you trust your parents will deliver a present (or maybe it’s Santa Claus). It’s not 100% certain. It’s just that your belief in Santa Claus is that strong. That’s why things seem so certain and secure.

As an adult you’re the one making things happen. It’s not luck, it’s you. And you can have the same feeling of certainty about your success, just like the feeling of certainty you had when you were a kid.

“But” you might say, “how can I really trust I’ll find the way?”

Perfect, let’s talk self-doubt, self-judgement, and all that good stuff that get you on the slow-lane.

If you’re a Fitness Reloaded Insider (if not then sign-up at the bottom of this article), then you already know the BUT Technique. For those of you who are not familiar with this powerful technique, read on. It’ll get you on the fast-lane before you know it!

Introducing “The But Technique”: Ditch doubt and self-judgement and propel yourself to productivity, happiness, and success!

How much time are you already spending judging yourself or worrying?

Two hours every day? Maybe 50% of your work-day and 80% of your free time?

Once you start practicing this technique, this time will be instead spent on things that actually make you productive. Why?

Because negativity, or just aimless worrying, will no longer stop you! You’ll be unleashed! A force of nature!

So here’s how “The BUT Technique” works…
“I’m so unfit, I will never become as good as they are.”

BUT…

• Today I worked out more than yesterday
• It’s unfair to compare my own first day to other people’s 1000th day
• My body no longer feels rusty, and people in the class seemed supportive not judgy
• Other people used to be in exactly the same unfit situation as mine, but they did find a way to get fitter. If they did it, I should be able to do it too.
• The walk to the yoga studio was enjoyable as today’s sunshine was precious
• I’ve been in other unfavorable situations in the past, and I managed to turn them around. I should be able to do that with fitness as well.
• Maybe this class was advanced and I should try something easier at first, so that I get to focus more on getting the poses right, and less on how clumsy I look in the mirror.

Please notice:

• With every new “but”, you’ll feel better and better. You’ll feel relief. The more “buts” you include, the more positive mental action you take and the happier you’ll be by the end of the exercise.
• By taking positive mental action, you stop discouraging yourself from pursuing your dreams. Instead, you encourage yourself to keep going. You might even make yourself feel excited about the delightful life that is in front of you! Now that’s how you become 20, 50, or 100% happier!
• Make practicing this Master Technique a habit, and you’ll become the happiest person you know! You’ll become unstoppable!

Why this technique is SO powerful

The “But” Technique doesn’t fight with your negative, discouraging thoughts. Doing so would leave you feeling worse than before. Instead, it accepts them, and then it moves you forward.

So yes you are unfit…BUT….BUT…BUT…BUT…BUT…

And then with every BUT you feel better, until you’re able to say “Everything is alright” and actually believe it. And that’s exactly how you go from doubting you’ll ever succeed in life, lose weight, or find love, and actually believe you’re on your way. If the Christmas Principle represents the theory behind success, then the BUT Technique is your Nr. #1 tool to make it happen!

Powerful, but it’s only the start. There’s more.

Making your dreams come true fast is a BIG subject. And that’s exactly why I have created lots of material on this topic.

Here are more “make your dreams happen” resources that I recommend:

• Why your thoughts determine your results.
• What if you’re super anxious – e.g., you just went to an interview, or you pitched an important person and really want to know what happened. What is anxiety doing to you, and most importantly, how can you feel better?
• So you’re not already fit, or rich. So what?
• What should your next step be?

Are you ready to turn things around in 30 days?

Are you ready to stop wishful thinking and instead make things happen in your life? If you too feel like your mind is standing against you, bringing obstacles in your way, then imagine if only you made it your friend.

If your mind was encouraging, giving your the fuel you need to be unstoppable, immensely productive, and excited about the good things that are coming in your life…

• How much more would you get done every day?
• How much happier would you be, and how much more would you enjoy living THIS life right now?
• How much faster would you reach success?
• How much “busywork” would you drop in favor of effective work?

The BUT Technique is only the beginning – and only one of the tools presented in my 30-day course Dream Life. Dream Life includes 10 mental shifts that will guarantee your spot on the fastest lane to succeed in life. It only takes 10 minutes a day to complete, and it will completely turn your life.

Check out what Cassandra Richaud from Canada said after her first week in the program:

“In my first week of Dream Life, I finally register online so I can finish my course of Fashion Merchandising & Design from Strathford Institute.

The reason I let it go was: I am too old for that but with DREAM LIFE, you gave me the right approach to finish it! Thank you Maria, I am one habit closer to my dream!”

Dreams you thought were impossible, will now become possible. You’ll fill with excitement to make them happen.

Where will you be in 30 days?

Seriously, what’s your progress in the last 30 days? Now imagine how things will turn around in the next 30. If you want to shift your negative thinking and learn the fastest way to succeed in life, then join Dream Life here.