Throughout my life I have always had high hopes for how things would turn out for me. I have always hoped that I would make a lot of money, have a great family life and be successful in everything I did.

Sounds like everyone else right? The problem for me (and in my opinion 99% of the rest of the world) is getting motivated enough to go out and take the things that life has to offer. There is a world of abundance all around us; we just do not always see it. In addition to a lack of motivation, many people get discouraged at the first signs of adversity. Things are harder than they expected and they give up and go back to living their lives the way they always have, getting the results they have always got.

So the question is how do you break out of that cycle? It took me the better part of 10 years to find the solution. I was constantly looking for the next get rich quick scheme and would be devastated when things did not work out the way I hoped they would. I would then lose my motivation and coast through life for a while before I would stumble upon the next scheme and the cycle would start again. It was completely by chance that I found the key to lasting motivation. It has worked fantastically well for me, I hope it does the same for you.

My secret weapon against frustration and apathy is my Personal Vision Statement. By looking into my future I was able to envision the life I wanted to be able to say I had lived. The following is the framework that I used to write mine. As I am sure you know, writing it down is the key to making it real. We all daydream constantly but getting it down in black and white crystallizes it in your mind and allows you to take action.

You will create a Personal Vision Statement that articulates your life aspirations and dreams. I suggest you begin with the sentence: In the year 20xx, when I am XX years old, I would like to look back on my life and be able to affirm that: (Ideally, XX will be a decent number of years in the future, 15 or 20 at least). The statement should include both professional as well as family/community considerations, and should also, ideally, articulate the values you expect to have guided your life. (Consider including the following phrase: I have lived my life through the following values and principles :.

Do not worry about grammar or spelling; just get your thoughts down on paper. Print it out and put it somewhere where you will see it every day. You only have one life here on Earth so get the most out of it you can! By knowing what you want to say about your life after you have lived it, you can work backwards and lay out your plan for how you are going to get there. Do this exercise and revisit it often. You may be surprised that your goals may change over time. That is OK! It is your life; you can live it however you want. Do not let laziness or apathy derail your life, take action to make a change for the better! You will live a happier life and be proud of what you have accomplished when you are old and gray!

Ted Scearcy is the owner of several internet and brick-and-mortar businesses. His mission is to share what he has learned in his experiences with others who are trying to be entrepreneurs. He welcomes any feedback and would love to hear your success stories!

http://www.thewealthyman.com