Here are some action-oriented techniques to apply each day.

Determine your most productive time of the day and dedicate it to I time. I time is for you to do whatever you have to do that will bring you closer to achieving your goals. It may be as simple as visualizing the accomplishment of your goals or doing what you have to do just for you. The point is to dedicate the most productive time to the most important person in the world.

You have already set your goals and action plans; and have prioritized the actions. Take your annual goals and break them down into months, weeks, and finally days. Prepare in the same way for each day’s activities. Separate the large tasks into small, manageable pieces. Try to accomplish some of these smaller tasks each day. Before long, you will have accomplished a large task.

I recommend you end each day by writing a prioritized “to-do” list for the next day. Similarly, at the end of each week and each month, prepare a list for the following week and month. Plainly speaking, get organized. Learn to utilize a daily planner. You will be better organized if you write everything in your planner.

Another piece of advice, clear your mind of clutter. Solve all problems while they are small. Whatever you do, do it only once and to the best of your ability. Then, move on. Question all tasks to make sure they are worthwhile. Do the most unfavorable or hardest jobs first.

Be decisive and remove time wasters, such as interruptions, from all of your activities. Remember to take care of yourself by exercising, by watching your diet, and by maintaining a balance in your life. When evening arrives and your next day’s “to-do” list is written, then it is time to celebrate. Action that gets rewarded gets repeated. Follow these steps for 30 days and you will be transformed into an action-oriented, do-it-now person.

An action-oriented person is proactive. When you are proactive, you have initiative. You are able to see a need, to figure out how to best satisfy that need, to determine the appropriate time to take the right action, and to proceed. When you are proactive, you lead. When you lead, you take control of yourself and get the things you want out of life.

Try using the visualization technique to help yourself become action oriented. When you set your goals, you picture something that you want to have, to be or to do. Everything we have or do is preceded by an image in our mind. Visualization is seeing the end result. It is a form of mental rehearsal. Through the use of imagination, what you see is what you will get.

You must have a clear vision of your goals. There is a difference between ‘dreaming about having something in the future’ and ‘visualizing having it in the future.’ The power of believing makes all the difference. Visualizing implies a structured and disciplined view of what you are trying to accomplish. Through visualization, you picture yourself already in possession of your goal. By visualizing, you look at your goal from many different viewpoints. By examining your goal from all of the viewpoints, you see the situation clearly and can act on those aspects that will result in the greatest payback.

Go put your creed into your deed.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Make this a daily discipline. Visualize in order to actualize your goals. Forget all your inhibitions. See things as you want them to be, not as they are. Take time to sit back, close your eyes, and see yourself accomplishing your goal. You are watching a movie based on your personal success. Focus your attention on the results. See yourself at that moment. Feel the emotions. See the colors and the details, and hear the sounds.

If you form a clear and detailed picture of your future, the ways and means of getting there will be revealed to you. Keep focusing on what you want, not on how you will do it. The laws of nature will take over. The more you visualize the more resources you will attract. Your vision will act as a magnet. It will attract people, events and circumstances to it like a flame. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

And when you’re having a difficult moment during the day, take the time to visualize the accomplishment of your goal. It will help you to refocus and to relax, and the issue of the moment will matter less. The major incident of today will probably be insignificant in the future. Don’t trip over molehills.

Try visualizing right now. Project yourself six months into the future. Select one of your short-range goals. Now get comfortable and close your eyes. See yourself accomplishing your goal. You are now successfully there. You made it; you’re living and breathing it. Use your imagination. See all the details, hear the sounds, feel the emotions, and celebrate. Visualize this for the next five minutes. Focus on the success.

I recommend that you get into the habit of doing this daily. Your enthusiasm concerning your vision will not only keep you motivated, it will get others excited about your dream too.

Just as thoughts can control feelings and feelings control behavior, the reverse is also true. If you change your behavior, you can change your feelings and ultimately your thoughts. It is not how you feel that determines how you act; it is how you act that determines how you feel. For example, if you pull your shoulders back, lift your head high, force yourself to smile and greet others cheerfully, you will find your mood changing.

The same process applies to self-talk. Feed your mind negative thoughts and it will produce negative actions. Feed your mind positive, confident information and your mind will react in kind. You cannot completely control the circumstances around you, but you can control what you say to yourself and how you think.

These techniques, all easy to do, are the daily steps that will lead you to success. All success breeds success. There will be obstacles along the way, and when they get in your way, be ready for them. You must persist. You will get things done and you will meet your objectives and reach your goals. Keep in mind that often when we are ready to quit, success lies just around the corner. Don’t ever relinquish taking action. Make your dreams come true!

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