"If you could go out every day to a very large tree and take five swings at it with a very sharp axe, eventually, no matter how large the tree, it will have to come down.
~Ron Scolastico

This advice was shared with Jack Canfield when he was in the process of publishing his first Chicken Soup for the Soul book ... the book that quantum leaped his career. Out of this advice, Jack developed the success principle known as The Rule of Five.

Jack recommends thinking about your breakthrough goal or any goal you wish to accomplish, breaking it down to bite sized pieces and committing to taking five action steps every day toward accomplishing the goal.

Jack also uses the mantra, "Yard by yard, it is hard, but inch by inch, it's a cinch." He also teaches a corresponding success principle and called "The Swiss Cheese Method" where he recommends chunking down large goals into smaller, bite sized pieces that can easily be broken down into specific action steps. One of the tools he uses is a Mind Map.

After attending Breakthrough to Success last year, I set a goal to write a book by January 1, 2012. I've always known I would write a book, but have never had clarity around what I'd write about. Two weeks ago, I had a profound life altering experience. It came out of the blue and literally rocked my world. It provided clarity on a six year relationship saga and answered some questions that needed to be resolved. The timing was perfect. And the experience is helping to resolve some things that needed to be resolved so I can move on to fully experience what's ahead.

I woke up early the next morning with a book title in my head ... followed by an urgent inspiration to write. Some call that Divine Inspiration. An that morning, I would have agreed. I had to write. Not later ... now! And so at 4:17am on October 6, 2011 I got my laptop, propped up the pillows behind me and started to write my book. I didn't even get out of bed to get coffee. I just wrote. I took inspired action. My book is well underway.

That night I shared the experience with my accountability partner. She suggested I Mind Map the content and told me that she would work with me to do something she called a Heart Map. She is a Heartmath practitioner and told me that the combination of Mind Mapping and Heart Mapping produces some pretty powerful results. And she was right. I am on fire. The process has me vibrating high. The words are flowing and all the pieces are coming together.

I've been finding that my mind is still writing when I'm not able to be at the keyboard. At times I feel overwhelmed and distracted. I am already worried about finishing this project as I am famous for starting things I don't finish. I am running out of printer ink and paper. I am getting ready for a trip to San Diego.Once November 6th hits, my weeks are filled up with meetings and classes and committments.

Slow down, get focused and ask for help. I presented the project to my Mastermind Group. As always, they offered their support and suggestions to keep me on track. I love the support of my accountability partner and my mastermind group.

Practice the Rule of Five. It's so simple and so effective for moving huge goals forward. And once I'm in action, Divine intervention is guaranteed and I'm guided to take inspired action that quantum leaps the process.

My 5 action steps for today:

~write 2000 words
~get a voice recording device I can carry with me to document my thoughts
~get a number 21 printer cartridge
~get paper
~meet with my hypnosis mentor for a session on staying focused

How can you apply The Rule of Five to your goals? How can you break down your big goals into 5 action steps? Perhaps making 5 phone calls or sending 5 emails or mailing out 5 proposals to advance that business goal? Perhaps doing 5 small things to connect with your kids or your partner throughout the day to support that relationship goal? A step could be a simple phone call, an email, having lunch with a colleague, doing online research, random acts of kindness to help raise your vibration and thus give you more energy to do another 5 things,

Just 5 simple action steps.

The extra added benefit that cannot be underestimated is that when I am in action, cool things begin to happen. It's as if the Universe is conspiring to support me in my efforts by bringing me insights, opportunities, connections and creative ideas. Focused action creates flow and brings forth impulses towards inspired action.

To learn more about the Success Principles, visit

https://ctg.infusionsoft.com/go/TSP/Patricia

To get some coaching and support to help you achieve your goals and explore your life purpose, email me at [email protected] or call 603-452-7350 to set up a free,  no obligation sample session that will get you into action!

I've heard it said that if you want to make a change, do it for thirty days and it's more likely to stick and become a new habit. My mentor, Jack Canfield is a strong advocate of the thirty day rule.

On a subconscious level, this makes good sense. The subconscious mind loves repetition. Repetition helps to build new neuronal pathways in the brain. Depending on what the change is, it is even more powerful is to do it before you go to sleep to give your subconscious mind something positive to focus on while you sleep.

So now all I have to do is decide what I'm going to do for the next thirty days. Perhaps no more white sugar? Perhaps start a yoga practice? Perhaps commit to visualization with my mind movies? Perhaps incorporate Jack's Rule of Five Action Plan every day for the next thirty days to get over the end of school year lull and get going on my summer goals. For an explanation of the Rule of Five view this short video clip at:  http://youtu.be/pG7q05cjpY4

Perhaps committing some of my potential 30 day challenges to writing here will prompt the beginning of more than one change. However, in the interest of accountability, I'm going to commit to the Daily Rule of Five Action Plan in order to finally get some momentum behind that big goal I've been procrastinating on for the past few months.

If you need some inspiration for your own thirty day commitment, check out this video:

Many of us set goals with all good intentions of reaching them. Often life gets in the way or something else grabs our attention and, before we realize it, we've lost our focus and direction. Sometimes we stay focused on the goal, but get overwhelmed by how big it seems or by the effort it will take to achieve it. In both cases, the results are often the same, we simply give up.
 
Success expert, Jack Canfield, in his book The Success Principles: How to Get From Where You Are to Where You Want to Be, outlines 6 Daily Disciplines to Create Effortless Success in reaching the goals we set for ourselves and achieving the results we want. The Six Daily Disciplines are based on the science of success and the subconscious mind, the power of intention and visualization, our personal energy field, the power of gratitude and taking both planned and inspired action on a daily and ongoing basis.

I've always been one of those people who got easily overwhelmed by big goals and overwhelming to do lists! Great ideas have turned into inaction and a sense of personal failure and disappointment. No more!

The Success Principles have helped me stay focused and avoid getting overwhelmed while keeping me in action mode and achieving desired results ... or often, something even better!

Success principles like " Chunk It Down Using the Swiss Cheese Method" and "Practice the Rule of Five" help to break big goals into smaller parts and even smaller, manageable "to do lists", while creating the flow necessary to activate the Law of Attraction. Really cool stuff!

To complement the Success Principles, I've created a user friendly and fun Success System that we can use to help stay focused while creating solutions and achieving desired results with business and career goals as well as financial, relationship, health, recreation and personal goals.

If you have something you'd like to change, something you've been secretly dreaming about, or a goal that's been begging for your attention, perhaps it's time to give the Success Principles a try.