1. Master Your Mind
2. Follow Your Purpose
3. Practice Kaizen
4. Live With Discipline
5. Respect Your Time
6. Selflessly Serve Others
7. Embrace The Present
   

If you care for your mind, if you nurture it and if you cultivate it just like a fertile, rich garden, it will blossom far beyond your expectations. But if you let the weeds take root, lasting peace of mind and deep inner harmony will always elude you. To live life to the fullest, you must stand guard at the gate of your garden and let only the very best information enter. You truly cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought—not even one.

When you are inspired by some great purpose, some extraordinary project, all of your thoughts break their bonds, your mind transcends limitations, your consciousness expands in every direction and you find yourself in a new, great and wonderful world. Dormant forces, faculties and talents become alive and you discover yourself to be a greater person than you ever dreamed yourself to be.

The secret of happiness is simple – find out what you truly love to do and then direct all of your energy towards doing it.

Success, like happiness, cannot be pursued. It must ensue. And it only does so as the unintended side effect of one’s personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself.

1. The Heart of the Rose – All that you need to perform this exercise is a fresh rose and a silent place. Natural surroundings are best but a quiet room will also do nicely. Start to stare at the center of the rose, its heart. Keep staring at the rose. Notice its color, texture and design. Savor its fragrance and think only about this wonderful object in front of you. At first, other thoughts will start entering your mind, distracting you from the heart of the rose. This is the mark of an untrained mind. But you need not worry, improvement will come quickly. Simply return your attention to the object of your focus. Soon your mind will grow strong and disciplined.
2. Opposition Thinking – When an undesirable thought occupies the focal point of your mind, immediately replace it with a uplifting one. It’s as if your mind is a giant slide projector, with every thought in your mind being a slide. Whenever a negative slide comes up on the screen, take swift action to replace it with a positive one. A wonderful way to ensure that your thoughts are pure and wholesome – look at yourself in the mirror and envision your dreams becoming reality. If it is the virtue of discipline you wish to cultivate within your life, picture getting up at dawn, performing rigorous physical regimen without fail and spending days in silence to enhance your will power. If it is more joy you are seeking, look into the mirror and envision yourself laughing uncontrollably or smiling each time you see anyone. If it is the courage you desire, picture acting with strength in the moment of crisis and challenge.

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. Those who are truly enlightened know what they want out of life, emotionally, materially, physically and spiritually. Clearly defined priorities and goals for every aspect of your life will serve a role similar to that played by a lighthouse, offering you guidance and refuge when the seas become rough. Anyone can revolutionize their lives once they revolutionize the direction in which they are moving. But if you don’t even know where you are going, how will you ever know when you get there?

We have all been granted a unique set of gifts and talents that will readily allow us to realize this lifework. The key is to discover them, and in doing so, discover the main objective of your life.

For anyone seeking to attain their goals and to fulfill their life’s purpose, you will never be able to hit a target that you cannot see. Goal setting will make your life magnificent. Your world will become richer, more delightful and more magical. By writing out your desires and goals on a piece of paper, you send a red flag to your subconscious mind that these thoughts are far more important than the remaining 59,999 other ones. Your mind will then start to seek out all opportunities to realize your destiny like a guided missile. It is really a very scientific process. Most of us are simply not aware of it.

1. The first step is to form a clear mental image of the outcome.
2. Create pressure for yourself – Tell everyone about your goal. Once you make your goal known to the world, there will instantly be pressure on you to work towards its fulfillment since no one likes to look like a failure.
3. Never set a goal without attaching a timeline to it. To breathe life into a goal you must attach a precise deadline to it.
4. Write your goals in a notebook. Divide your Dream Book into separate sections for goals relating to the different areas of your life. For example you might have sections for your physical fitness goals, your financial goals, your personal empowerment goals, your relationship and social goals and, perhaps most importantly, your spiritual goals. Then review this book daily, even for a few minutes. Make it your friend. The results will startle you.
5. To crystallize a new habit, perform the new activity for twenty-one days in a row.

Enjoy the process. A day without laughter or a day without love is a day without life. Remain spirited, joyful and curious. Stay focused on your lifework and on giving selfless service to others. The Universe will take care of everything else. This is one of nature’s truest laws. Find your passion and keep it at the forefront of your mind as you follow your mission and attain your goals.

This Japanese word means constant and never-ending improvement. And it’s the personal trademark of every man and woman who is living a soaring, fully awakened existence. Success on the outside begins with success on the inside. If you really want to improve your outer world, whether this means your health, your relationships or your finances, you must first improve your inner world. The most effective way to do this is through the practice of continuous self improvement. Self-mastery is the DNA of life mastery.

To improve your mind without the cultivation of your physical gifts would be a very hollow victory. Elevating your mind and body to their highest level without nurturing your soul would leave you feeling very empty and unfulfilled. But when you dedicate your energies to unlocking the full potential of all three of your human endowments, you will taste the divine ecstacy of an enlightened life.

This is the first step towards self-mastery and mastery over every other circumstance in your life. When you push beyond your limits, you unlock mental and physical reserves that you never thought you had.

You practice the art of kaizen by pushing yourself daily. Work hard to improve your mind and body. Nourish your spirit. Do the things you fear. Start to live with unbridled energy and limitless enthusiasm. Watch the sun rise. Dance in a rain shower. Be the person you dream of being. Do the things you have always wanted to do but didn’t because you tricked yourself into believing that you were too young, too old, too rich or too poor. Prepare to live a soaring, fully alive life. In the East they say that luck favors the prepared mind. I believe that life favors the prepared mind.

Make a written inventory of your weaknesses. Once you have identified what your weaknesses are, the next step is to face them head on and attack your fears. When fear rears its ugly head, beat it down quickly. The best way to do that is to do the thing you fear. When you erase fear from your mind, you start to look younger and your health becomes more vibrant. What sets highly actualized people apart from those who never live inspired lives is that they do those things that less developed people don’t like doing—even though they might not like doing them either.

1. The Ritual of Solitude – This involves nothing more than ensuring that your daily schedule includes a mandatory period of peace.
2. The Ritual of Physicality – Take some time every single day to nourish the temple of your body through vigorous exercise. Get your blood circulating and your body moving.
3. The Ritual of Live Nourishment – Eat satvik food
4. The Ritual of Abundant Knowledge – Read regularly. Reading for thirty minutes a day will do wonders for you. Do not read just anything. You must be very selective about what you put into the lush garden of your mind. It must be immensely nourishing. Make it something that will improve both you and the quality of your life.
5. The Ritual of Personal Reflection – Every evening, after a full day of productive work, retire to a silent corner of your home and reflect on your day. Consider all of your actions and whether they were positive and constructive or whether they were of the negative sort, in need of repair.
6. The Ritual of Early Awakening – One of the best pieces of advice is to rise with the sun and to start the day off well. The ten-minute period before you sleep and the ten-minute period after you wake up are profoundly influential on your subconscious mind. Only the most inspiring and serene thoughts should be programmed into your mind at those times.
7. The Ritual of Music – Never forget the power of music. Spend a little time with it every day, even if it is listening to a soft piece on a cassette while you drive to work. When you feel down or weary, play some music. It is one of the finest motivators I know of.
8. The Ritual of the Spoken Word – Recite a series of mantras in the morning, noon and night. When I need to feel motivated, I might repeat, ‘I am inspired, disciplined and energized’ out loud two or three hundred times. To maintain the supreme sense of self-confidence I have cultivated, I repeat, ‘I am strong, able and calm.’
9. The Ritual of a Congruent Character – Simply stated, this ritual requires you to take daily, incremental action to build your character. Strengthening your character affects the way you see yourself and the actions you take. The actions you take come together to form your habits and, this is important, your habits lead you to your destiny. Simply stated, compassion, humility, patience, honesty and courage. When all your actions are congruent and aligned with these principles, you will feel a deep sense of inner harmony and peace. Living this way will inevitably lead you to spiritual success.
10. The Ritual of Simplicity – Focus only on your priorities, those activities which are truly meaningful. Your life will be uncluttered, rewarding and exceptionally peaceful.

Every being on this earth, every object on this earth has a soul. All souls flow into one, this is the Soul of the Universe. When you nourish your own mind and your own spirit, you are really feeding the Soul of the Universe. When you improve yourself, you are improving the lives of all those around you. And when you have the courage to advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, you begin to draw upon the power of the universe. Life gives you what you ask of it. It is always listening.

Always remember the power of self-control and discipline in building a richer, happier and more enlightened life. Through the steel of discipline, you will forge a character rich with courage and peace. Through the virtue of Will, you are destined to rise to life’s highest ideal and live within a heavenly mansion filled with all that is good, joyful and vital. Without them, you are lost like a mariner without a compass, one who eventually sinks with his ship.

This is the mantra you can repeat at least thirty times a day: ‘I am more than I appear to be, all the world’s strength and power rests inside me.’

Never forget that time spent enriching your non-work hours is never a waste. It makes you tremendously efficient during your working hours. Stop living your life in compartments and understand once and for all that all you do forms one indivisible whole. The way you act at home affects the way you act at work. The way you treat people at the office affects the way you will treat your family and friends.

But out of all of the hundreds of activities you give your time to, only twenty percent of those will yield real, lasting results. Only twenty percent of what you do will have an influence on the quality of your life. These are your ‘high-impact’ activities. For example, ten years from now, do you really think all the time you spent gossiping at the water cooler or sitting in some smoke-filled lunch room or watching television will count for anything? Enlightened people are priority driven. This is the secret of time mastery. It is a new way of looking at your life, a more empowering paradigm if you will, one that reminds you that today could be your last, so savor it to the fullest.

When you work to improve the lives of others, you indirectly elevate your own life in the process. When you take care to practice random acts of kindness daily, your own life becomes far richer and more meaningful. To cultivate the sacredness and sanctity of each day, serve others in some way. You should make it a priority to change your world view so that you stop seeing yourself purely as an individual and start seeing yourself as part of the collective. This might be in the form of giving more to those around you, whether this means your time or your energy, these truly are your two most valuable resources. Take the time to meditate every morning on the good you will do for others during your day. The sincere words of praise to those who least expect it, the gestures of warmth offered to friends in need, the small tokens of affection to members of your family for no reason at all, all add up to a much more wonderful way to live. And speaking of friendships, make sure you keep them in constant repair.

A truly joyful and rewarding life comes only through a process they called ‘living in the now.’ happiness is a journey, not a destination. Live for today, there will never be another one quite like it.