Following the rules isn’t the only path to success. These visionaries and advisors in The Oracles used unconventional tactics to accomplish massive goals. Here are their tricks for making your dreams come true.
1. Control your blood sugar
Controlling my blood sugar was the first step toward taking control of my biology. Unshakable cravings are detrimental to your flow. Most people have to stop what they’re doing to eat when their blood sugar is high or low. But when yours is steady all day, you’re not hungry all the time. You don’t crash in the afternoon, and you can focus more.
This was a problem for me until I started eating high-fat, low-carb, and low-inflammation foods, which became the basis of the Bulletproof Diet. To stay on your game, you have to be the boss of your brain and mealtimes — not the other way around.
— Dave Asprey, entrepreneur, known as the “father of biohacking”; creator of Bulletproof 360 and New York Times bestselling author of “Game Changers“; follow Dave on Facebook and Instagram
2. Throw out your calendar
Earlier in my career, my calendar was always full from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. When your life is dictated by rigid time slots, you’re constantly reacting instead of being proactive and intentional. To drive your future and create balance, you need room for creative space. Being busy isn’t the same as being productive.
So a few years ago, I stopped living by my calendar. Now I give myself a lot of time away from technology to think and gain perspective. For example, I spend time in nature doing things I like and that relax me, like fly-fishing. Then when I take action, it’s more focused and impactful. I’m always available for quick, spontaneous meetings, but I’m discerning about what’s important. Your life is a reflection of how you spend your time. Does everything in your calendar align with where you want to go in life?
— Tom Albert, cybersecurity and artificial intelligence expert and founder and CEO of MeasuredRisk, a leading enterprise risk management company; connect with Tom on LinkedIn
3. Manifest what you want
When I was homeless on the beaches of Thailand, I asked a friend for help. Instead of money, he gave me a book, “The Secret.” Disappointed and angry, I set out to prove its theories wrong. “Visualize and you will receive,” it said. So I closed my eyes and imagined drinking a cup of coffee, confident that it wouldn’t work. I felt stupid, but I kept trying. Two days later, a beach worker offered me a coffee. I couldn’t believe it! I had manifested what I saw in my mind. Skeptical but curious, I visualized getting a job — and soon after I began looking, I found one. I haven’t stopped visualizing my desires in detail since.
Visualization alters our brainwaves to connect our desires with our actions, which create our reality. If you want something, close your eyes and visualize yourself grasping it. When you open your eyes, you will already be halfway there.
— Andres Pira, award-winning real estate tycoon, founder and CEO of Blue Horizon Developments, and ForbesBooks author of “Homeless to Billionaire: The 18 Principles of Wealth Attraction and Creating Unlimited Opportunity” (available on Amazon as hardcover, Kindle, and audiobook); download a FREE chapter at AndresPira.com; follow Andres on Facebook and Instagram
4. Get specific with your visualizations
The first time Daniel, the man I would eventually marry, spent the night with me, he was brushing his teeth in my bathroom when I heard him ask, “Is this me?” He was looking at my vision board. It featured a stick figure of my future husband with a date, March 1, and two more stick figures with the dates 2015 and 2017. He peeked his head around the corner and looked at me. “Are we having babies in 2015 and 2017?” My heart skipped a beat, but then I responded with confidence: “Yes.”
I created that vision board in December 2013. Daniel and I began dating on March 1, 2014, and were married April 25, 2014. Our son was born in 2015, and our daughter was born in 2017, just as I had envisioned. I am a huge proponent of visualizing what you want, including a specific time, and centering yourself around these intentions daily. I always have a vision board in my bathroom, where I get ready for the day and night. When you are intentional about what you want to create in the world, it happens!
— Keri Shull, founder of the Keri Shull Team, which has sold over $2 billion in properties; co-founder of real estate coaching business HyperFast Agent; named one of America’s Best Real Estate Agents by REAL Trends; connect with Keri on Facebook
5. Don’t be afraid to make big changes and put yourself first
When my fiancée was laid off several years ago, I also found myself burned out at my job. We knew we couldn’t achieve the success we wanted without making a change — so we really thought about what we wanted our life to look like and took a calculated risk. Within 30 days, I quit my job, gave our landlord notice, moved across the country to temporarily move in with my wife’s parents, and got married. We didn’t have much in savings, so we paid for it all with a credit card.
Although we’d only discussed our business idea once before, after the wedding we needed a new job and decided to give it a shot. We read and learned about e-commerce and manufacturing, soaking up as much knowledge as we could to get things off the ground. Then one day Manly Bands sold one ring, then another, and it grew from there. We were excited and passionate, and perhaps most importantly, we had confidence that we would figure it out. At some point in life, when you’re pushed up against a wall, failure just isn’t an option. We put ourselves first, and everyone benefited.
— Johnathan Ruggiero, founder and CEO of Manly Bands; connect with Johnathan on LinkedIn
6. Become the architect of your life
I used to keep a photo on my desk of a beautiful home with lots of land. Every morning before I got out of bed, I visualized hosting dinners at the table in the garden. Even though I wasn’t married and didn’t have kids yet, I saw children running around and my husband making everyone laugh. The dream of owning a home like that kept me motivated to work hard.
Now I own an 86-acre farm with my husband and our twin boys. We entertain friends and family at the table in the garden, just like I visualized. Visualization prepares your mindset for your ideal future. What’s in your mind can become your reality; so become the architect of your life.
— Holly Parker, founder and CEO of The Holly Parker Team at Douglas Elliman; award-winning broker who has made over $8 billion in sales; connect with Holly on LinkedIn and Instagram
7. Mentally rehearse the feeling of success
When I wrote my first book, “The All-Day Energy Diet,” my mission was to reach No. 1 on the New York Times bestseller list. So about nine months before it was published, I found an image of the list on Google and photoshopped my book into the top spot.
I kept this image on my vision board, my wall, and my phone. I looked at it every day for nine months, mentally rehearsing the feeling of success so I felt like it had already happened. This gave me belief and confidence and fueled everything behind my book launch. I was jumping with joy when my agent told me I reached the No. 2 spot. While that wasn’t No. 1, it was pretty exhilarating for a first-time author. That’s just one example of how visualization has made my dreams come true.
— Yuri Elkaim, founder and CEO of Healthpreneur, former professional athlete, and New York Times bestselling author; connect with Yuri on Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube
8. Use psychodrama to prepare for real events
Psychodrama uses role-playing to gain insight and self-awareness. Practicing a scenario in advance, such as a business negotiation, makes you feel comfortable when the real event occurs.
Arrange your space to represent the real event and assemble enough people to play yourself, supporting roles, and the audience. Play each role yourself first, then have your team model after you so you can stand back and watch. Afterward, gather feedback from the group and adjust your plan as needed. By walking in others’ shoes, you will see their strengths, weaknesses, motivations, and fears, so that you can allay those fears and offer solutions.
— James Daily, founding partner of Daily Law Group, which helps high-profile clients with fiduciary abuse litigation, including fraud, crisis management, and business and family disputes; connect with James on LinkedIn
9. Write to your subconscious
I write down everything I want to happen, with a bucket list and a three-year plan. Then I work hard to make it happen and look for divine serendipity along the way. Almost everything I write down comes true — including meeting Richard Branson, members of The Beatles, and the Dalai Lama.
Your brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS) serves as a filter that passes instructions from your conscious mind to your subconscious. Setting an intention and writing something down tells your RAS that it’s important. It sends the message that you are “expecting” it to happen, so your brain starts preparing.
— Craig Handley, co-founder of ListenTrust and author of “Hired to Quit, Inspired to Stay“; read more about Handley: Why These Founders Train Their Employees to Quit
10. Visualize, pray, and repeat affirmations
Every great accomplishment begins as an idea. Wherever you apply your attention and effort becomes your reality. There can be no second-guessing. Absolute faith and self-belief are critical. The key for me is relentless focus, which requires discipline and a routine. My four-step process starts with visualizing the desired result so I embed the idea into my subconscious and it’s always in the back of my mind. Next, I pray that it is the right and best idea; then I lock in the dream or vision by repeating affirmations during my morning routine. Finally, I place vision boards or road maps somewhere visible so my team and I have a constant reminder of our goals, which creates alignment and singularity of purpose.
— Peter Hernandez, president of the Western Region at Douglas Elliman; founder and president of Teles Properties
Originally published on Business Insider.
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