{"id":3897,"date":"2023-08-27T00:32:15","date_gmt":"2023-08-27T04:32:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/3-steps-to-change-your-ways-and-start-achieving-big-goals\/"},"modified":"2023-08-27T00:32:15","modified_gmt":"2023-08-27T04:32:15","slug":"3-steps-to-change-your-ways-and-start-achieving-big-goals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parmaks.com\/Resources\/3-steps-to-change-your-ways-and-start-achieving-big-goals\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Steps to Change Your Ways\u2014and Start Achieving Big Goals"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Profit<\/a>
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\u201cIn order to know virtue, we must acquaint ourselves with vice,\u201d wrote the Marquis de Sade in the 18th century. \u201cOnly then can we know the true measure of a man.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

While I would disagree that vice is necessary for virtue, there\u2019s something about this quote that rings true. I have known vice well. But for a long time in my life, virtue didn\u2019t follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

For almost a decade, I was lazy and unproductive. I spent nearly 12 years as a weekend binge-drinker and partier. Worst of all, I used to be a jerk. I had the seven deadly sins covered\u2014and then some.<\/span><\/p>\n

How did I change my ways? And what can you learn from my journey to overcome your struggles?<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

The answer is found in the <\/span>teachings of Marcus Aurelius, one of the greatest leaders in history and author of \u201cMeditations.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

First, a little background. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf a man were called to [define] the period in the history of the world during which the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed during the time of Marcus Aurelius\u2019 reign,\u201d wrote Edward Gibbons in \u201cThe Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.\u201d It was a time, Gibbons claimed, when the vast Roman Empire was governed with virtue and wisdom. <\/span><\/p>\n

How did this come to pass?<\/span><\/p>\n

During its prosperity, the great wisdom of the Stoics deeply influenced the leaders of the Roman Empire. Their sage philosophers brought a semblance of peace through reason and self-awareness to the Romans. Little surprise, then, that young Roman citizen Marcus Aurelius took to Stoicism with gusto. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Stoics \u201ctaught him to submit his body to his mind, his passions to his reason; to consider virtue as the only good, vice as the only evil, all things external as things indifferent.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

But no one, not even Marcus Aurelius, is perfect. Thankfully, however, the Stoics taught him how to manage failure, too. When he erred, he recognized his missteps as opportunities to learn and improve\u2014as should you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cEverything that happens, happens as it should, and if you observe carefully, you will find this to be so,\u201d Aurelius wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n

We all fall off track. That\u2019s okay. Our struggles make us stronger. Not quitting is what separates the winners from the losers. I\u2019m living proof that if you never give up on what is important to you, then you can overcome a great many vices and become successful.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Stoics\u2014and Aurelius\u2014knew this well. But they also knew that prosperity requires action and self-awareness. If you live these virtues, you\u2019ll know happiness.<\/span><\/p>\n

So I urge you to u<\/span>se the three steps below, inspired by the wisdom from Marcus Aurelius and the iconic Stoics, to persist and improve, changing your ways <\/span>as I did many years ago.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step #1 \u2013 Get Accountability<\/b>
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\u201cThe happiness of your life depends upon the quality of your thoughts. Therefore, guard accordingly, and take care that you entertain no notion unsuitable to virtue and reasonable nature.\u201d<\/i> \u2015Marcus Aurelius<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

When I started posting my rules, my goals, and my struggles online it gave me massive public accountability<\/a> to the world and to my clients. I could NOT disappoint you, or you\u2019d see me as a hypocrite. <\/span><\/p>\n

This accountability made me get up early and do my work, create a seven-figure fitness business, and forced me to step outside of my comfort zone every day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition, I hired coaches and recruited my best friends (Bedros Keuilian, Matt Smith, and Joel Marion) as \u201cbig brother accountability.\u201d They are men that I did not\u2014and still do not\u2014want to disappoint. If I do, they will give me the \u201clook of death,\u201d and nothing makes me feel worse! Like great coaches, they hold me to a higher standard and make me play up a level.<\/span><\/p>\n

Your action step: <\/b>Get accountability from someone that you deeply do not want to disappoint\u2014AND make sure there are consequences for not following through on your commitments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step #2 \u2013 Take the First Step<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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\u201cThe happiness of those who want to be popular depends on others; the happiness of those who seek pleasure fluctuates with moods outside their control; but the happiness of the wise grows out of their own free acts.\u201d \u2015<\/i>Marcus Aurelius<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

All of the planning, advice, and information in the world is useless without action. <\/span><\/p>\n

We know what to do, we know where to start, and we know the resistance we face.<\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s all there in plain sight, and it demands that we overcome the inertia of the moment.<\/span><\/p>\n

So, move past it. Identify the first steps that move you ahead to your big goals in 2018, and then\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/span>do something about it right now<\/b><\/span>. <\/span><\/p>\n

Immediately. Go!<\/span><\/p>\n

This article will still be here for you when you come back.<\/span><\/p>\n

Go. Now! Do something. Make a call. Finish a workout. Write a headline. Record a podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Good job.<\/span><\/p>\n

And I\u2019m still here. Told you I would be. <\/span><\/p>\n

Now, doesn\u2019t that feel better?<\/span><\/p>\n

Action beats anxiety. Motion beats meditation. <\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Implement every day, preferably first thing in morning.<\/span><\/p>\n

And if you constantly hit the snooze button and struggle to get out of your warm bed? No surprise, Marcus Aurelius has a prodding question for you: <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAt dawn, when you have trouble getting out of bed, tell yourself: \u2018I have to go to work\u2014as a human being. What do I have to complain of, if I\u2019m going to do what I was born for\u2014the things I was brought into the world to do? Or is\u00a0this<\/i>\u00a0what I was created for? To huddle under the blankets and stay warm?\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

How you answer determines your legacy in life. So\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Your action step:<\/strong> Put a plan in place right now to build better habits, to get out of your comfort zone, and to do the necessary work to grow personally and professionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

Step #3 \u2013 Be Consistent<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n
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\u201cEverything is created for some duty. For what task, then, were you yourself created<\/i>?\u201d \u2014Marcus Aurelius<\/span><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Bedros Keuilian, friend and old business partner, said that one of the best things about me is that I\u2019m the most consistent and reliable person he knows. <\/span><\/p>\n

I was a little surprised to hear that. I thought that everyone showed up on time, did what they said they were going to do, and worked hard every day. Perhaps I\u2019m just a na\u00efve farm boy. <\/span><\/p>\n

I learned the virtue of consistency from my father. Every morning, whether it was in the bitter cold of January or the unshakeable humidity of July, he fed his cattle at 6:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. sharp.<\/span><\/p>\n

Cows don\u2019t take a day off from eating, and you can\u2019t take a day off from what fuels you\u2014becoming the best person you can be.<\/p>\n

So take action\u2014and do it consistently. This deep work is how you improve your entire self, while mastering your life.<\/span><\/p>\n

Remember: Small steps, performed repeatedly, will take you up the tallest mountains. It just takes time.<\/span><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re struggling, you\u2019re human. But you must remember that you don\u2019t get better going backwards.<\/span><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t overcome obstacles by giving up. <\/span><\/p>\n

You get out of the funk one step at a time.<\/span><\/p>\n

Say it with me again\u2014and put this on a sticky note on your laptop: <\/span><\/p>\n

Action beats anxiety. Motion beats meditation.<\/i><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s never too early to start getting better. And it\u2019s never too late to fix the problem.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we do now echoes in eternity,\u201d Marcus Aurelius wrote. So\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Action step:<\/strong> Lay down your vices, take up your virtues, and change your ways. <\/span><\/p>\n

It\u2019s made all the difference for me, and will for you too.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Craig Ballantyne<\/a><\/h3>\n
\"Craig<\/div>\n

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If you want to double your income, work less, and become the ambitious millionaire you’ve always wanted to be… Craig Ballantyne is the coach who will help you do it. With more than 20-years of experience as an entrepreneur and five 7-figure businesses under his belt, he specializes in helping “struckling” entrepreneurs get out of the mud and build the business of their dreams. To see if you qualify for Craig’s “Millionaire Coaching Program” send an email to support@earlytorise.com with the subject line “Millionaire”.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n