Tip: Begin 2021 with a book that I have been reading: Tools of Titans By Tim Ferriss who has a basic premise built around actions steps that include the right belief system.

• Success, however you define it, is achievable if you collect the right field-tested beliefs and habits.

• The superheroes you have in your mind (idols, icons, titans, billionaires, etc.) are nearly all walking flaws who’ve maximized 1 or 2 strengths.

In Perfect Day style, he writes, “Humans are imperfect creatures. You don’t ‘succeed’ because you have no weaknesses; you succeed because you find your unique strengths and focus on developing habits around them.”

BJ Miller, who is a triple amputee, says, “I have no fear of death. I have a fear of not living my life fully before I die.” A foolish stunt led to an accident that ended with the removal of three of his limbs.

On Nov. 27, 1990, he came very close to dying. Miller was out with friends from his college crew team at Princeton University. Around 3 a.m., as they walked to a convenience store, BJ decided to climb an electrified shuttle train parked on campus.

“I jumped on top,” he recalled. “I had a metal watch on, and I was very close to the power source. The electricity just arced to the watch. As a result of my encounter with 11,000 volts of electricity, my left arm was amputated below the elbow and my legs below the knees.

Initially, the accident had a devasting effect on BJ’s life, but he was determined to have more perfect days regardless of how imperfect his life appeared on the surface.  

Each one of us face our own trials and difficulties. What is holding you back from being all that you can be? What do you keep telling yourself that you can’t do? (See my post on Mountains Lie.)

Are you brave enough to admit it? We don’t often allow ourselves to go to that place where we are 100 percent honest. But in private: what does the little voice inside of you tell you that you can’t do?

I want to tell you that the lies you are hearing are just that—lies. You can do anything that you set your mind on doing. It is a matter of growing strong in your core—mentally and physically—and being determined, like BJ, to achieve and live.

So, choose something, regardless of how small or large it seems—something that you would say, “There’s no way I can do that!” And do it! It may be something in your stack of to-do’s that has been there for a very long time.

Remember: Shifts to greatness are usually found in small things not necessarily in the large moments or accomplishments.

Most of you know that I have a goal to climb the seven highest mountain summits in the world. Due to the Covid-19 crisis, my attempt to summit Mt. Everest was stopped in 2020.

This is a huge goal that requires months of training. I know how to schedule my physical training routine that would get me way past the mountain’s base camp but it’s the small things—the internal whispers of potential failure—that cause the most personal havoc!

What are you telling yourself that is holding you back from summitting the mountain in front of you? I have touched the top of five different summits and none of them are easy to reach. But greater still is to touch the summit of my work here and the time I have with my loved ones is even tougher.

It requires complete devotion, sacrifice without much praise, but by far more important and lasting than tagging the summit of the highest mountain in the world.

Mt. Everest is still in my future; but right now, right this minute, celebrating my family is where the greatest payoff is. What I do at home has eternal value and like BJ Miller: “I have no fear of death. I have a fear of not living my life fully before I die.”

Living life well is a matter of perspective. Whatever has your focus has you! Make sure that the goals you set for 2021 are not solely defined from a material perspective. Yes, your financial future is important, but more important is how you spend your life each day. I tell clients that if they get what is important right, the money will follow.

I can show you how you can set up a pathway to success. Don’t allow that mountain of debt, sorrow, or loss lie to you! Take the first step to victory and freedom: If you are facing a financial decision, download my latest edition of the Liberated Investor or schedule a free 15-minute consultation with me.