GHOST FACTORY

Rule #1. You must grow

Growing is how you build the skills necessary to change your life. Growing is admitting you don’t have all the answers, but it’s also being prepared to search them out yourself.

“Growing is taking responsibility and getting what you want thanks to hard work”

Growing is about listening and understanding how to learn. It’s the acquisition of skills and knowledge that will take you to the next level and make you look back on your progress with a smile.

Rule #2. Define your goals and then crush them

Having a rough idea of where you’re heading and a way to measure your success is important.

Otherwise, you will feel like you haven’t achieved anything and that can kill your motivation. I don’t believe in overdoing it, though.

Aim for a few big goals and then spend the majority of your time executing them. Link your goals to daily habits that are achievable, and you’ll crush them to pieces. Ask yourself the question, “What does success look like?”

Use that as the basis for writing your goals and the specific actions you’ll take to accomplish those dreams.

Rule #3. Choose uncomfortable over comfortable

All the big changes in my life that gave me growth were uncomfortable. I didn’t want to do public speaking in front of lots of people. I hated flying. I wanted to keep eating junk food and I felt too tired to exercise.

If I chose to be comfortable, I would never have changed my life for the better.

Doing things that were a stretch gave me a sense of fulfillment that can’t be matched by sitting on the couch and watching endless TV shows. I had to get off my lazy ass and embrace the fear!

Rule #4. The answer to almost all requests of your time is

Change requires time. During the transformation period — and even now — almost all requests for my time come with a reply of NO.

Saying NO gives you space and time to think and contemplate the change. Time allows you to assess what you’ve done to date.

You have to make time to change your life for the better. Life gets better when you have time to live it your way!

Rule #5. Action will get you there faster

Overthinking, planning and talking to endless mentors and experts won’t help you change.

Taking deliberate action without having all the answers is how you make mistakes. Mistakes lead to breakthroughs and breakthroughs lead to you changing your life.

The quickest way to get the change you’ve been looking for is to execute. Success lies in the execution, and changing your life is no different.

We all want to change our life but most of us never take the action needed. We say things like “One day I will” or ‘Someday when I have time.”

One day and someday never come. Before you know it, you’re on your deathbed full of regrets and all of the hope you had for your life is gone.

I don’t want this harsh reality to come true for you. The time to take action is now!

Rule #6. Cherish what you have now because it can all be taken away

Too many people in life don’t appreciate what they have available to them. When you flip this fact on its head and become grateful, your life changes.

You think differently, and you act differently because you’ve come to grips with your mortality and the mortality of those around you.

None of us are going to live forever and any of us can be taken away at any moment through tragedy.

Don’t wake up in a hospital sitting next to your grandma wishing you spent more time with her during her final years. Cherish her now. Gratitude will make your life better and simpler.

Rule #7. You are responsible

This is a huge one! The government, your workplace, your colleagues, your family, the traffic cop who gave you a speeding ticket and the country you live in are not responsible.

The only person who’s in control is you.

When you quit the blame game and focusing on outside circumstances, you realize that it’s all up to you.

There’s immense power in this idea because the one thing you can control is yourself. So, if you have all the control, then you can change your life for the better. All you need is you.

Rule #8. Don’t lie. Ever.

There’s enough BS in the world without you adding more. Lying separates you from the rest.

Honest people get disproportionate results because they didn’t take shortcuts by lying to get there. All of us will eventually figure out the truth, so quit lying.

Turn lying into transparency. Tell people what you think. Admit your failures. Show your weakness so that you may find strength. The truth will help you find yourself.

Rule #9. Love is all that matters

Love your partner. Love your family. Love your work.

If you strip back every part of the human experience and bring it back to its core, the only thing you’ll find is love.

Love is what created you. Love is what will get you through the darkest of moments. Love is all you have when you leave this world. Love is what people will remember when you’re gone.

Rule #10. Start with death and work backwards

That’s the only motivation you’ll ever need to hear. No more picture quotes, inspiring blog posts like this and podcasts with words of wisdom.

“Your death is already pre-planned for the future and set in stone, so don’t waste another second”

Do the things you’ve always wanted to do. Quit holding back or hiding from the truth. Change your life for the better right now!