Y.L.E. (Yearn, Learn, Earn)
Even though times are tough in the U.S. today, the American Dream is still alive, but following that dream is made up of 3 components every successful person must have.  Just wanting something bad enough won’t get you very far.  Being intelligent or having a good education doesn’t always get you the best job, or being the hardest worker is a great quality by itself, but isn’t enough to produce the results you’re looking for.  The person that can combine all three to the best of their ability will achieve their final goal.
Yearn-You have to want it.  I have always found that when a motivation is created, the goal becomes much more achievable.  You have to have a yearning inside of you that drives you to the next step and that is the learning.  Just wanting something isn’t enough to attain the goal.  You have to want something bad enough to begin the process of educating yourself to become better at whatever it is you want. Creating extrinsic ideals is a great way to start but can be short-term.  Creating intrinsic ideals is the more effective way to fulfill the long-term plan, but can be harder to make concrete in your everyday life.  Examples-weddings, graduations, reunions, health scare, athletics competition.
Learn-Once you have established how bad you want something, the next step is to learn everything you can in order to fulfill that desire.  Just wanting something is never enough, wanting something and acting on it allows you to reach your true potential.  First you must gather all the information you can, and keep an open mind while doing so.  One thing I have found out in all my experience is that you can use many different sources and among those sources there is a grain of truth.  Once you pull that grain of truth from many sources it becomes a nugget of knowledge.  Expanding on the nugget is the key in your growth not only to understand the principle but to master it and improve on it yourself.  Examples-Online, health magazines, food shows, loser competitions, gyms, health clubs, personal trainers.
Earn-Now the real work begins.  Establishing what you want and educating yourself now will help fuel the drive you need to really get the results you want. Once you have created the motivation to get what you want, you need to utilize the knowledge that you have found and expound upon to earn the prize.  Short-term rewards are easier to achieve, but long-term rewards will be harder but will be worth more in the long run.  Examples-losing certain goal weight, size, or dropping specific health levels (cholesterol/blood pressure), winning a sports event or competition.

       …For more information and tips, check my website, www.chadamartin.com.