We’ve all read a self help book or two at least but have we experienced any real change as a result?

I’ve personally read hundreds and I have to admit, there was a time that I expected just the act of reading the book to change my life or change something inside of me.

I’ve also encountered people who spend thousands on personal development courses, success coaching, subliminal audios, etc. and just wonder why their lives aren’t changing.

Well, let me get a little real here…

It doesn’t matter how many times you listen to that subliminal CD or that Binaural beat CD or read that success course you paid $300 for, if you aren’t wiling to change, if you aren’t going into that training or self help aid with the attitude of “okay, I’m going to change and this is going to help me do it”, you’re in trouble.

The act of listening to a CD or taking part in some kind of training alone is worthless.

It’s in those moments after using these tools that you decide that you are going to “Act” towards the better life that you want.  Even if you know all the success strategies in the world, if you don’t commit to change, put your nose to the grindstone and move toward what it is you want, you’ll never get there.

Change isn’t easy.  If someone told you that it was, they lied.  There will always be an adjustment period when you are changing something in your life whether it be your eating habits, quitting smoking or drinking, starting an exercise routine, being more organized and results oriented in your job or your business.

The point that I’m trying to make here is that changing anything in your life can only happen if you first move toward what it is that you want.  It might be taking that first walk, completing that first task on a new project in your business, talking to your wife about rejuvenating your loving relationship, eating a salad instead of a gut burger.

Without action, it doesn’t matter what knowledge you have.  When you act on your urges to change and use the ideas you’ve learned through courses or success training to make that action easier, that’s when miracles happen.

I want you to do something very simple.  Get a 3X5 index card and a marker.  Then, in big letters, write the words “I AM TAKING ACTION” on the front of it and on the other side write “BECAUSE IT IS CHANGING MY LIFE”.

Now put that card in something you carry with you at all times such as your purse or wallet. Every time that you feel the urge to take action on something but feel that “something” holding you back, pull out that card and look at the side with “I AM TAKING ACTION” and read it out loud.

Now, without flipping over to the other side, recite what’s on the back from memory (”BECAUSE IT IS CHANGING MY LIFE”).  If you don’t have it memorized at first, turn the card around and read it aloud but try to memorize it as quickly as you can (It’s actually important to the effectiveness of this exercise).

While this might seem a bit corny, it’s actually very powerful because it’s getting you to do 4 important things…

1) Getting You To Take ACTION! - Taking out the card and reading out the message it contains alone is an action.  This creates some momentum that you can use to push you forward with the action that you need to take.

2) Instilling This Message Into Your Head - Because you are saying “BECAUSE IT IS CHANGING MY LIFE” from memory after saying “I AM TAKING ACTION” you are pulling it from memory and your sub-conscious mind to your conscious.

Your mind is like a muscle and the more times that you do this, the more vivid the reason (BECAUSE IT IS CHANGING MY LIFE) for taking action is in your mind, the more likely you are to take action.

3)  Arming You With A Tool - Just by having this little “crutch” you can feel a bit more at peace knowing that you do have this exercise that you can do to push yourself to action and moving toward what you want.

4)  Forcing You To Speak Actively - Instead of saying “I WILL TAKE ACTION” you say “I AM TAKING ACTION” because this gets you into the active mindset of taking action.  Saying “I WILL TAKE ACTION” basically tells your sub-conscious that “you will” meaning that you’ll do it later.

There are also some other things you can do to help increase the effect of this exercise if you so choose.

1)  Find small pictures that you can attach to your 3X5 card as motivators for your actions to change.  Maybe it’s a picture of a car you want or a home you want.  Maybe there’s a place you’d like to take your family on vacation.

Find pictures of these things and resize them to sticker size print them out, cut them out and then tape them around the words on the front and back of your 3X5 card.

This will create a visual impact that will further motivate you to take the action that you are moving toward.

2)  Say the things you want out loud.  When you do the exercise and say “I AM TAKING ACTION”, “BECAUSE IT IS CHANGING MY LIFE” add “AND MOVING ME TOWARD [insert item here] and [insert item here] and [insert item here], etc.”

This will further embed the fact that you are taking action for a reason and put the things that move you to action right in front of you to fire you up.

I’ll end today’s session with this…

Use this little exercise for a week and see if it helps you start moving toward your dreams, all it takes is a marker and a 3X5 index card.

Love & Peace
Chris Elliott