Getting motivated is vital to happiness and success in life. The
following tips will help you to get and stay motivated.

1. WRITE YOUR STORY
Write down, in a paragraph or two, the story of your desired future.
Write down what you'll be doing, where you'll be living, and the
successes you'll be enjoying.
This will be a motivator for you in both the immediate present and
the future to come.

2. VISUALIZE INTO THE FUTURE
Close your eyes and see yourself doing whatever it is that you wish
to be doing. If you want to get in shape, picture a slim, healthy you
running or working out. If your dream is to start a small business,
see yourself on opening day, greeting customers and employees.

3. VISUALIZE BACKWARDS
When you visualize backwards, you see where you were and how far you
have come. If your goal was to get organized, and you have made
enormous improvement in that area, visualize back to when things
weren't going so well. This will keep you heading in the right
direction.

4. DREAM BIG
When you think about your future, don't be afraid to dream big. This
will make short-term failures easier to handle.
When you hit an obstacle it won't stop you because your eyes are set
on a bigger goal.

5. EDUCATE YOURSELF
Learn, read, talk about, listen, experience everything you can about
your particular goal or dream. If you wish to be an author, you can
take classes, read books, write, talk with other writers, join work-
shops, etc.

6. GET ORGANIZED
A clean, tidy, and well-organized home, office, and life is a must
for the motivated mind. Physical clutter can easily lead to mental
clutter. Keep your life organized, and you will find more energy and
clarity in every day.

7. PLACE MOTIVATORS IN YOUR HOME AND OFFICE
Place symbols, signs, notes, or objects that remind you of your goals
and dreams in your home, office, car, wallet, planner, or calendar.
These reminders will guarantee a constant stream of motivation.

8. VOLUNTEER
Volunteer your time to helping others. When you give of yourself you
will realize how much you have in your own life, and how satisfying
it is to make other people happy.

9. HELP OTHERS WITH MOTIVATION
Only when you teach others do you fully understand the subject at
hand. Help your children get motivated, help your friends set
effective goals, help your husband or wife achieve personal dreams.

10. SPEND TIME WITH CHILDREN
Spending time with children will put things in perspective for you.
You may be stressed out from work and worried about getting
everything done on time, but when you play
with your kids the worries and stress seem to melt away.
Children have a simple way of looking at things, and that is
something we could all benefit from.

11. CREATE A BUDDY SYSTEM
Do you have a close friend who is trying to accomplish something? Is
your wife or husband setting goals for improvement? If so, join them
in a buddy system. You will each serve to motivate the other,
offering words of
encouragement and helpful reminders as you both progress towards your
particular goals.

12. FIND A ROLE MODEL
Choose a role model to learn from. You won't have to reinvent the
wheel when you can follow an exemplary example of someone you respect.

13. TAKE A WALK OR DRIVE
Take a walk around the block or a short drive through the
neighborhood to relax, reflect, and enjoy some quiet time.
We all need a break now and then, and a quick walk or drive is the
perfect solution.

14. READ SUCCESS STORIES
Read the success stories of those around you. In the daily newspaper
alone there are dozens of small success stories that can serve to
motivate and inspire you to action. The
library is filled with autobiographies and biographies of ordinary
men and women who have done extraordinary things.

15. LISTEN TO MUSIC
Music can calm, excite, sadden, and even motivate.
Listening to Rocky's theme song while running is a great way to use
music as a motivator. What's your motivating song?

16. WATCH MOTIVATING MOVIES
One reason people enjoy watching movies is because of the hero's
tale. A young, unexpecting hero is called to action. After struggling
throughout the movie, he learns,
grows, and is victorious in the end. This is motivation at its best.
Make a list of movies that motivate you and build a small library to
use as your motivation station.

17. READ MOTIVATIONAL QUOTATIONS
Located on the Internet and in books are thousands of quotations that
inspire, motivate, and cause us all to think about our lives in a
different way. Search the
Internet for quotations and you will find millions of pages that
match just what you are looking for.

18. CREATE A HEALTHY DIET
Energy is very important to living a happy life, but that is
dependent on eating healthy. Be sure to create a healthy diet that
includes all of the necessary nutrients,
minerals, and vitamins for your system. Following the basic food
table is a good guide for starters.

HERBALIFE!!!!!!!!!!! ;)

19. GET ENOUGH SLEEP
Some people can get by on six hours, while others require seven to
eight. Regardless of what you need in sleep, make sure you get
enough. A few nights in a row of only three or four hours a night
will takes its toll on your motivation, energy, and attitude.

20. NEVER STOP LEARNING
This is the most important lesson of all. Never stop learning about
the world around you. Read, listen, and learn about the things that
interest you. Instead of asking a question and being satisfied with
an 'I don't know answer, go out there and find the answer. Be curious.

21. USE GOALS IN YOUR LIFE
This is the most important tip about goals - use them!
Without goals you will have a difficult time improving any area of
your life. Leaving your future up to chance isn't a good way to get
what you want. Make use of goals throughout your life and enjoy the
success and happiness
they bring.

22. BRAINSTORM
Get out a clean sheet of paper and a pen. Sit in a quiet, well-lit
area, and think, think, think. Write down any ideas that pop into
your head. Financial goals, personal goals, relationship goals,
health goals, etc. Write down every idea, and when you're finished
you'll have more than enough goals to work with.

23. WRITE YOUR GOAL DOWN ON PAPER
Once you select a goal to work towards, write it out on paper. This
makes it more tangible and concrete. A goal that is left to float
around in your head may be forgotten
before you have had a chance work on it.

24. MAKE YOUR GOAL SPECIFIC
Goals must be specific in order to be effective. Improving your
relationship with your children is an important and worthwhile goal,
but it may be too broad. Instead, your plan could include a play-day
once a week, family dinner time each night from 6:00 to 7:00 and a
game night once a week.
This plan has a greater chance of success.

25. USE DEADLINES
Procrastination is deadly to your goals and objectives. A great way
to leapfrog that problem is to give your goal a deadline. As with the
goal itself, make your deadline
specific.

26. USE A START DATE
Deadlines are very important to goal setting, but we can't forget
about their counterpart - start dates. Once a goal is created you may
have many reasons for putting it off.
Give your goal a start date and stick to it.

27. MAKE YOUR GOALS CHALLENGING
In order for goals to be effective, they must be
challenging. If your goal is too easy to achieve, your motivation and
dedication will decrease. Your goals should make you reach and extend
your current abilities and skills.

28. MAKE YOUR GOALS ACHIEVABLE
Setting a goal that is out of your reach completely will cause
frustration, anger, and self-doubt. Be sure to set goals that
challenge you, but are also reasonable.

29. MAKE A DETAILED PLAN OF ACTION
Create a detailed step-by-step plan of action for each part of your
goal. One of the main reasons many goals are not accomplished is the
lack of understanding of what needs to be done. Plan your work and
work your plan.

30. DON'T OVERDO IT
Don't set too many goals at once. One to three is a good amount to
start with. Spreading yourself too thin will create a situation where
no single goal will receive the attention it requires.

31. MEASURE YOUR PROGRESS
Measure your progress as you work on your goal. You may
wish to write a 300 page novel. Don't set 300 pages as the only goal.
Break it up into 25 - 50 page increments and keep a daily tally of
the pages you complete. Measuring your progress keeps your motivation
peaking during your goal's lifecycle.

32. WISH LIST
Make a list of ten things that you must do in life.
Starting a business, running a marathon, visiting Europe,
learning French, etc. Put the list in a drawer in your
office or home.

33. QUICK REMINDERS
Post-it notes are a great tool to help you remember your
daily tasks and goals. Just don't overdo it. You don't
want so many notes taped to your computer screen that you can't read
what's on it.

34. REWARD YOURSELF
Set a reward for yourself. If you accomplish a small step
or your entire goal, celebrate. You've worked hard and you deserve
it. Go out to dinner with your family, take a
short vacation, or do anything else that makes you happy.

35. WIFM?
Why are you setting this goal? Write down 'What's In It
For Me' for each one of your goals. You must be able to
state clearly the reasons why you are setting this goal.
If you cannot, delete the goal from your list and move to
the next one.

36. USE THE RIGHT WORDS
Use statements like, 'I have a positive attitude,' or
'We'll find a solution,' in daily conversation. The words
you use on a daily basis have a major impact on your
attitude and moods.

37. STRIVE FOR OPTIMISM
I have spoken with many people who see being a pessimist
or an optimist as a 50/50 chance, believing one is just as
good as the other. That is a trap! Having a positive
attitude is something you should strive for. It isn't
something you are or are not, it is something you can
become.

38. WHAT COMPANY DO YOU KEEP?
Do your friends have negative attitudes? Does it rub off
on you? Many times the company we keep can affect our
attitudes. If your group at work or at home negatively
affects your attitude, take the necessary steps to change
the situation.

39. WHEN YOU KNOW YOU NEED A CHANGE
When you know you aren't happy, admit it to yourself and take action
to reverse it. This is a very difficult thing to do, especially when
you aren't in the mood to admit things to yourself. It may be hard,
but it is worth it.
When you are being negative, realize it and change it.

40. LISTEN TO WHAT OTHERS SAY
We may like to tell ourselves that we are positive people,
but it's not always true. Listen to what your friends and
family say about your attitude. They may say things that
you don't want to hear, but sometimes the best changes in
life come from constructive criticism.

41. LEARN WHAT MAKES YOU TICK
When you know what makes you upset, you will be able to
avoid these situations and save yourself the tension and
frustration they bring. If it is a situation that you
cannot avoid, learn how to make the best of it.

42. WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY?
This is vital to your attitude and mood. Your 'happy'
buttons will serve to improve your attitude again and
again. When I'm not in a good mood, I first ask myself if
I have eaten that day. More often than not, after getting
food into my system my attitude does a complete 180 degree turnaround.

43. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK
Give yourself a quick time out now and then when you are
becoming stressed or upset. Often a short break can help
you to put things in perspective and return to the
situation with a positive demeanor.

44. THINK TWICE BEFORE YOU ACT ONCE
Before you act, think about what your action with cause.
If an employee does something wrong that negatively
affects you, don't attack. Think about the best response
Only after you have done this twice should you take action.

45. REACT VS. RESPOND
These two words are the difference between a happy,
enthusiastic, positive person and a sad, frustrated,
negative person. When anything happens in life that affects you, both
directly and indirectly, respond to the situation.

This means you think about it, use reason to find a
solution, and take the appropriate measures. When you
react, you skip the reasoning stage and do what comes
naturally in the moment. This only serves to cause more
problems and frustration. Respond, do not react.

46. APPRECIATE THE THINGS YOU HAVE
Look around you and learn to appreciate everything you
have in your life. Your friends, family, career, home,
etc. This is enough to create a positive attitude because
no matter how bad things get in life, we still must be
thankful for everything we still have. Put things into
perspective, and enjoy the good things in your life.

47. YOU DON'T ALWAYS HAVE TO BE HAPPY
Being in a down mood is okay, sometimes. You don't always
have to be upbeat, excited, and outgoing. This could lead
to burnout or a blow-up. There are days when things aren't going
right, or we just feel a little out of it. These
days are okay, and the problems will pass.

48. THINK ABOUT IT
Look at problems logically. When you let emotion take
over, you may do things that made sense at the time but in
the end weren't the best choices.

49. DON'T JOIN THE GOSSIP
Don't join in on the negative conversations around you. If you see a
conversation heading towards that road, excuse yourself politely and
leave.

50. START IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
Wake up with a smile and with energy. You have a lot to accomplish
and enjoy today. Life is short, and you are going to make the most of
this day, and every day after that.