You determine your actions, and your actions determine you. No matter where you are or what activity you’re involved in, no matter how limited or restricted your situation may be, you can fully determine how you will act within that situation.

The actions you take determine the quality of your life. Certainly, many outside factors have an influence on you. Whether their influence is positive or negative, is completely up to you. The energy of life comes to you. You must decide what to do with it, and make the effort to use it.

You will never be able to completely control your circumstances. Yet by your actions, you can always create precisely the life you want from whatever you have to work with.

Every action you take today will either move you closer to your chosen goal or farther away from it. There’s something you intend to achieve, and the way to achieve it is through action.

There is a very real connection between the things you do and the outcomes you experience. Keep that in mind as you go through each moment of each day. Keep that in mind as you decide how to invest your time and your life. Keep that in mind as you choose your own thoughts and actions. Invest your life in the actions that will move you ahead.

It doesn’t really matter what you desire to achieve. The thing that truly makes a difference is what you’re willing to do to reach that desired achievement. Your willingness to do what is necessary makes the critical difference between merely wishing and actually making it happen. The strength of your desire matters only to the degree that it motivates you to take action.

If every wish was immediately and completely fulfilled, with no effort whatsoever, imagine how tiresome that would soon become. Think of how completely unfulfilling such a life would be.

The real value of any achievement depends on the challenges that must be overcome to reach that achievement. To shortcut the process, even if it was possible, would leave you feeling empty and cheated.

What a blessing it is that achievement requires effort, and that significant achievement requires significant, dedicated effort. The necessity of making it happen is what brings the possibility of making it great, and valuable, and truly magnificent.

Your most treasured dreams are far too valuable to be hidden away. Instead, put them into action so that they become real and vibrant contributions to your world.

If you’re working to get past a problem that you’ve had, a great way to do that is to create a bigger problem. Now, that may sound a little bit strange at first. After all, why would you want to replace one difficulty with another one? The reason is control. The challenges you create for yourself, the challenges you willingly take on, are things that you have decided to do. You are not their victim. You are their master. You have chosen a challenge because you know you are strong enough to move yourself through it. You have chosen the challenge because it is something you desire to accomplish. Replace those disappointments that come your way with challenges which will move you forward. Take control.

Each challenge will energize you and bring out the best in you. Challenge will compel you to quickly forget those disappointments of the past and to develop your skills and resourcefulness so you can move forward into a positive future. Challenge will redirect your negative energy away from the frustrations of the past and into the achievements of the present and the future. Challenge will give you a clear and positive sense of direction and purpose. When you’re bouncing back from a disappointment, you need somewhere to bounce. A good challenge will provide that space in which to move quickly away from your previous defeat.

It’s easy to tell yourself that the things holding you back are all outside of you, and that you can do nothing about them. It is true that there are many factors over which you have little or no control. Yet those things are not your true limitations. Your limitations arise from the way you see the various realities of the world. Your limitations come from how you choose to interpret and deal with the circumstances in which you find yourself.

You can absolutely be free of those limitations because you can change your story.

Imagine that you are walking on a journey of several hundred miles, from east to west. After a few weeks of good, steady progress, a massive mountain appears in the distance ahead. As you move closer and closer to the mountain, it looms ever larger in your view. Eventually, you reach the foot of the mountain. Now you have an important decision to make. Is the mountain a limitation? Do you choose to see it as something that will stop you? Will it force you to abandon the dream of reaching your destination to the west? You can view it as such, and when you do, you have created a limitation. The mountain was just a mountain until you came along. It had no intention of being anyone’s limitation. Your thoughts made it into a limitation.

There is another way to see the mountain. You can see it not as something that will destroy your dream, but rather as something that will indeed give much value to your dream. You can realize that by working your way over, under, around or through the mountain, your dream becomes that much more desirable. In fact, far from being a limitation, the mountain may very well make your dream even more magnificent. The view as you cross the top of the mountain could likely be the most beautiful and memorable part of your journey.

You did not put the mountain there, and you probably cannot move it. You can, however, successfully deal with it as it relates to your own life, just as you can successfully deal with any reality that comes your way. Whether you choose to see something as a limitation is completely up to you.

What are your mountains? What things do you consider to be limitations in your life? What if you considered them differently?

Regrets are useful in that they can help you to realize, in a personally meaningful way, the mistakes you’ve made in the past. Once a regret has served that purpose, however, it’s best to get rid of it and replace it with something more positive. For if you continue to dwell on your regrets, that focuses your mind on something negative—your mistakes—instead of on the positive steps you are committed to taking. Fortunately, there’s a simple way to take the power of your regrets and turn it in a positive direction. This is done by replacing each regret with a corresponding affirmation.

Go through your list of regrets one last time. For each regret, devise a positive, empowering affirmation. From that point on, whenever you feel a particular regret coming on, make the conscious decision to substitute the affirmation that has grown out of that regret. It will take you a little while to get into the habit of doing so. If you keep at it, though, the affirmations will soon just automatically take over.

For example, you may have a regret such as “I regret that I never went to college.” You can choose to replace this regret with “I will take advantage of the enormous opportunities to learn that are available to me every day.” Another example: “I regret getting so deeply in debt” can be replaced with “I find new ways to create value each day.” You don’t need to speak the affirmations out loud or write them down (though that would certainly not hurt). Simply use them in the thoughts you think to yourself to replace your regrets with positive alternatives.

Though the positive affirmations may seem uncomfortable and unnatural at first, just step back and think about what you’re doing. Instead of filling your mind with negativity, you’re choosing to focus upon thoughts of how you can move positively forward. And whatever you focus upon, you act upon. So turning your regrets into affirmations can provide you with a continuing source of drive and determination to get things done.

When was the last time you stopped to consider the purpose of your life? It’s not something most people spend a lot of time and effort to understand. And yet it can be a powerful and lasting experience. A clearly understood sense of purpose will keep you going when all else fails. Knowing your purpose can keep you motivated and full of energy. Your purpose is your vision. It is a goal that’s bigger than you are. It is the fundamental basis for your motivation.

Think of a time when you have been extremely satisfied with life and with your place in it. That was a time when you were closely connected to your purpose. Recall the times when you have seemed to flow effortlessly and joyfully through the world, letting go of all concerns and able to focus on the task at hand. It is at those times that you are in touch with your purpose.

Think of the positive and valuable things that people can truly depend upon you to do. Consider the activities you would engage in and the challenging work you would do if you did not have to work to make a living. That will help you to know your purpose.

All of your desires stem from your deep-down, fundamental values and purpose. The way to discover and understand them is to look for clues in the things that give you a sense of satisfaction, fulfillment and accomplishment. Knowing your purpose will help you to get motivated, energized and focused on all of life’s wonderful possibilities.

Perhaps you’ve now been beaten down so often by the challenges that you see no way around them. But the past does not equal the future. Just because you’ve never before been able to get over the mountain does not prevent you from finding a new and successful approach that will get you over that mountain.

There is always another way. The dreams you have are yours because you are the person who can make them real. Those dreams do not exist to tease you or to frustrate you. Their purpose is to inspire and motivate you to more fully express your most authentic purpose. Connect yourself to that purpose. Explore the reasons behind the desires you feel.

Perhaps a specific expression of your dream is simply not possible. But that fact in no way diminishes your dream or prevents you from reaching it. You simply must create a different expression for that dream. Consider, for example, that your dream is to live in a cabin beside a mountain lake. You search for and find the perfect cabin beside a beautiful mountain lake. But it is not for sale and probably never will be. That’s no reason to abandon your dream. For there are other lakes and other cabins. You just have to put some more effort into finding and achieving another expression of the same dream.

You’ll often find that by the time your dreams get to the surface of your awareness, they’ve taken on many arbitrary qualities that don’t matter one way or another. So it’s important to explore beneath the surface. Ask yourself why you want what you want. The specific expressions of your dream are important, because they give you something tangible to move toward. But the underlying dream itself is even more important, for that is what will drive you to do whatever is necessary to reach it.

Just as it is good to know your assets and your strengths, it’s equally useful to know your weaknesses and vulnerable spots. When you’re aware of your weaknesses, when you’re willing to admit them and face them, you’ve identified a powerful path for personal growth.

Take a look at yourself. What is holding you back? What is keeping you from living the life you want to live? What part of yourself is constantly disappointing you? Be honest with yourself. What is your greatest weakness?

When you know your weakness, you know where to put your effort. After all, if you’re great with managing your money, but a lousy public speaker, wouldn’t it pay you to put your effort into improving your speaking skills, rather than improving your money managing skills?

We have a tendency to want to do the things we’re good at. And, indeed, we must make full use of our gifts. But we also must grow. And that means identifying our weaknesses and working on them.

When you look right at your greatest weakness, and decide to do something about it, suddenly it goes from a liability to an asset. Suddenly you have found a way to be highly effective, to make a major difference in your life.

Identify your weaknesses. Look closely at them. Just pretending they don’t exist will only make them more powerful. Instead, get them out in the open where you can go to work on them.

Your weaknesses are lessons waiting to be learned. Acknowledge them and begin to benefit from them. Acknowledge them, and then transform them into strengths.

Persistence is not an all-or-nothing endeavor. Just because your persistence breaks down one day, or in one situation, does not mean that all is lost. You’re allowed to have bad days. Just make sure you get back on track as soon as possible.

It is natural to become discouraged and to consider giving up. When that happens, go ahead and experience those feelings. Of course you have doubts. Of course you get weary. Take some time to give consideration to those negative thoughts. They’ve been nagging you, so it is best that you deal with them. Consider their validity. Consider what they’re trying to tell you. Look objectively and realistically at what you’re doing. Maybe a course correction is in order. Maybe you even need to change the destination. Or maybe not.

Then, once you’ve given appropriate consideration to your doubts and discouragement, make the commitment to get yourself back on track. You’ve gotten the discouragement out of your system. Now it is time to move on. You may very well change your approach a bit, yet the key is to keep going. Look at your doubts and discouragements as ways to make you more effective, rather than as reasons to stop.

You will get knocked off track on a regular basis. The key to persistence is in how fast you get yourself going again. Fortunately the value of persistence is cumulative. You can pick up right about where you left off.

Responsibility begins on a personal level and grows outward. The basis for all your responsibility is an abiding sense of responsibility for yourself. This includes responsibility for your thoughts, your goals, your actions and the results they bring. As your responsibility expands beyond yourself, so does your influence. When you make the community your responsibility, you become a leader. Take responsibility for your work, and you become a respected professional. Develop a sense of responsibility for the society in which you live, and you become a visionary.

Other people can put you in charge of things, but no one can give you responsibility. You really don’t need for anyone to give you responsibility. It doesn’t take any credentials or experience. It is there for you to assume any time you wish to do so. You become responsible simply by deciding to be, and then by living out your commitment with your attitude and your actions.

Great achievements begin when someone decides to take responsibility for making them happen. Have you ever driven through a large city and marveled at the tall buildings? Each one of them was built with responsibility. Have you ever read an exciting thriller that kept you captivated from the first page until the last? That book was written because someone took responsibility for telling the story.

What do you want to do with your life? Where would you like to go? What kinds of things would you like to own? What do you wish to avoid? How do you want to feel? What people do you want around you?

Whatever it is you want, take responsibility for it. You can own your dreams. Indeed, if they’re to come true you must own them. The world is yours to the extent that you take responsibility for it.

Yes, there are always circumstances to blame. Yes, there are those who would hold you back. Yes, there are things beyond your control. Take responsibility anyway. People who achieve greatness believe that whatever happens to them, they are responsible for it. It may seem unfair, yet it is ultimately liberating. Those things for which you are responsible are the things that will propel your life forward.

You have a choice. You can always find someone, or something, to blame, and thereby allow circumstances and other people to control your life. Or, you can step up and take responsibility, no matter what. That puts you firmly in control, and gives you the power to live your life the way you choose. How much responsibility can you handle? That is precisely how successful you will be.

Think of a time in the past when you were highly effective. Think of a time when you were able to reach a maximum level of performance. Think of a time when the results you desired came to you naturally. How did the world look to you? What shapes and colors were around you? What did it sound like? Was the temperature cool or warm or just right? How did you feel? What did you think about yourself? In your mind, put yourself and all your senses, as completely and clearly and specifically as possible, into a time in the past when you were in that zone, when you were highly effective, when it came easily and naturally.

Then take that intensely positive and effective experience and project it into your life right now. Visualize in your mind how it will be to experience that same level of effectiveness in your current life. What will it look like? What actions do you clearly see yourself taking? What will it sound like? How will it feel? See yourself, clearly and in specific detail, easily and naturally transcending the obstacles that stand in your way and achieving the goals you’ve set for yourself.

Visualize in specific detail what you’re going to accomplish. See yourself hitting the golf ball straight down the fairway. Visualize yourself typing in that report with the words and concepts coming easily to you. Hear yourself speaking with confidence and persuasiveness to your potential client. Know that you’ve reached that level of performance before. Experience once again in your mind how great that can be. And know with confidence that you can do it again.

You’re fully and completely capable of reaching a mental state in which you can enjoy maximum effectiveness. Reach it in your mind by visualizing the experience. Reach it in your mind and you’ve indeed reached it in reality.

You’ve been effective your whole life. Look back and consider all the things you’ve accomplished so far. Just staying around for this long is a major accomplishment. And you’re capable of so much more. So don’t just try. Get results. Don’t merely stay busy. Take effective action. When you learn to be effective, anything is within your reach.