Matt Clark Unplugged

Unplug, Less Stress and More Success

// May 29th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Success Tips

In the last few months I have gotten involved with something that I have always wanted to do. Have a wilderness retreat that I could go and hike and bike and spend time outdoors and unplugged. I was up this past week and began to see how this time in nature and unplugged from the noise of the city was incredible for my continued personal growth and also reducing stress.

Two years ago I unplugged the tv, and that was amazing. This freed up some much time in my daily life I was able to get more things done in less time. However, did I clear all the noise in our surroundings? No, this is almost impossiable these days.  I still had wi-fi flying around, lights on, fridge humming in the background etc. Wow, when I think about all the noise that goes on when you live in a urban environment it seems overwhelming.

For most of us we can filter the noise out and focus on the important stuff. It is important to remember that the unconscious mind does not filter it out, it takes it all in. This can tie up our mind, which can limit your ability to focus on things that matter most.

The benefits of unplugging once in awhile can be compared to a physical fitness program. It provides a time for us to calm the  mind and think, gives us more energy, reduces stress and allows us to be at peace with the moment instead of feeding our senses with future and past events.

I polled my Twitter followers and Facebook friends and was somewhat shocked at the results. Most people said they don’t unplug, or if they do it is only once or twice a year for a few days. You can follow some of the comments on Kwippy

Benefits of Unplugging

• Time to think, meditate, and free your mind. Less stress
• Building relationships and connecting with friends and loved ones through socialising and shared activities in the real world.
• A healthy body. Instead of slouching in front of the TV, unplugging encourages you to get active. Go for a walk or a run. Get outside and breathe in the beauty of nature, get out and play.
• Being able to focus on your goals and dreams, rather than using TV as an anesthetic to numb your mind into settling for less than you long for.
• Time to be creative – do something you have always wanted to do.

Create a “Unplug From it All Day”

With the proven benifits of unplugging it seems that if success is something we seek then we should take some time to unplug. Don’t get me wrong I love technology, however we should take time at least once a week to unplug and reset.  I put together some tips on how to setup a “Unplug From it All Day” and some suggestions for what to do with yourself in this free unplugged world.

1. Unplug, that is right, unplug the tv, computer, phone, anything that will distract you. This will help when the temptation hits you to maybe just check the email, answer that call or when bordem sets in because you not used to all this silence.
2. Leave the cell phone at home, yes unplugging means no cell phone!
3. Go for a hike, get out in nature. This is truly the best place to be when unplugged. Reconnect with the peace and calmness and abundance of nature.
4. Join a friend for coffee, beer whatever just make sure you are face to face and with real people.
5. Meditate, this will recharge and clear your mind. If you have never meditated before, this is a goodtime to start I have some tips on learning how to meditate here»
6. Get out and play! Go play at the park, play in the sandbox with your kids whatever just go play.

Setup a day when you can do this at least once a week and you will be recharged and cleared of stress and tension.

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Do You Want or Desire?

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Personal Development, Success Tips

How many of you know what you want? Now how many of you can remember when you got something that you wanted? For most of us, wanting something invokes a feeling of lack, not having something. This feeling can keep our goals in a place of great distance from us.

Let me explain, you see wanting is a word that communicates to the universe that you do not have something. As we continue to focus on the want we begin to expand our awareness of the lack of that want. Of course the universe likes to give us what we focus on, now we are finding ourselves focusing on the lack of something, guess what we keep getting?

How can we move past this and shift our focus on achieving what we set out for ourselves. You see the universe seeks precision. What is the subtle difference we can make to allow all or our desires to flow to us?

Desire, this is the word that carries much more emotion in its meaning. The advantage of the word “desire” is when you have that what you desire you still desire it. No feeling of not having or lack of what you seek. It is an internal knowing that you already have it even if it has not yet appeared in the physical world. Desire will bring to you powerful emotions and images in your mind. These emotions attach a huge amount of creative energy and precision to your goals. The universe will respond to this increased vibration, and you will begin to manifest your desires at a rapid pace.

Try it, Desire…Be grateful and Desire!

101 Things to do in 09!

// January 6th, 2009 // 5 Comments » // Success Tips

If you could do a 101 things that do not involve ground beef!

The other night I was working on a list on 101 things I wanted to do this year, I posted question on twitter and facebook and was amazed at the response that this little question received. Now I am still working on my list and it seems like it would be easy, I have hit about 48 things and slowing down…

I also wanted to see what my readers are wanting to do, post some ideas in the comments and check back as I will post a list of 101 things to do in 09 submitted by people reading my blog. What is it you want to do in 2009, let’s inspire each other for action and adventure this year. Life is a playground and we all can choose how we play!

Here is some of the ideas so far, the first one is mine:

1. Disney world with my kids target date: March 09…
2. Take my family on a holiday
3. Be myself and make a difference to somebody.
4. Get a new job!
5. Buy a submarine
6. Make more money, spend more time with my family, cherish every single day, get more sleep, help those who are less fortunate in my community, travel, read, learn, love, eat healthier, exercise, explore, create…
7. your comment goes here…

Let’s hear your ideas what do you want to do in 2009? Submit a comment and I will post it on the list! I want to build a list of 101 and we can follow up on the progress of completion as the year goes.

Goals: Setting and Achieving

// January 5th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Personal Development, Success Tips

It is that time of year again, we can reflect back on the goals we have achieved in the year closing, and we now can turn our sites on the goals for the new year beginning. However, so many of us sometimes set ourselves up for disappointment because the goals we set are not what we really want. The following Goal Setting and Achieving tips will assist you in setting and accomplishing your loftiest goals. A goal that you can believe and achieve! You can download the worksheets at the end of the post.

Set your goal, because your own goal will give you the thoughts and ideas you need to grow in awareness. For you all things are possible.- Bob Proctor

Before we begin
Make sure you have at least one hour free. This is going to take some work and you need to invest the time it deserves. Remember what you ask for you will get so let’s be real clear.

Step One: Take Pen to Paper

Take a piece of paper and write down 30 things that you want. At this stage of the exercise have some fun and just write 30 things you want. Go for it and stretch yourself and write down anything you want. The universe is your catalog so go for it what do you want, let those inner desires come free and put them on paper. The main thing is just write, do not think about it, just write what ever comes to your mind.

Step Two: Let’s Clean it Up

You now have a list of 30 things you want! That was fun right? Now what we are going to do is break these down into groups of 10. Take a sheet of paper and put 3 columns on it. Label one column A, another one B, and the third one will be C. Now go to your list and read through it and prioritize the goals with A being the most important and C being the least. Remember, only 10 in each column so this is the time to think about what you wrote in the first step. Start to dig and see what is really important to you right now!

Step Three: We are getting Clear Now!

Now comes the fun, we are getting close to our goal. At this point you will have 3 lists of 10 wants, prioritized from most important to least important goals. Now we are going to go a little further and prioritize each list from 1 to 10. So in column C you will have a C1 all the way to a C10 and you will do this for each column. Now you have an A1 Goal. This is what is really important to you right now, this is what you want! The process we just went through brought you to this point and now you know what you really want to achieve first.

Step Four: Set up the action!

Now you have a A1 goal and we need to start to feel and move towards the goal. Decide when you want to achieve this goal, an exact date! Now write down the goal in present tense as if we have already achieved it. Write it on a small card and keep it with you all the time, read it as often as possible. Put, a little card beside your bed with you goal, read it when you go to bed, read it when you wake up. Picture yourself already achieving the A1, feel what that is going to feel like! Live it in your minds eye!

That is your goal, now you must take action towards it. I have included some worksheets to help with that. Do some action towards your goal each and everyday, the best way to do this is to Plan your day every night and include 6 action steps each day to take you to your goal.

Now some things to remember, this A1 Goal should be scaring you a little right about now. If it doesn’t go through the exercise again and push yourself a little more. Take action everyday toward it, that will move you towards the goal. Visualize the goal as if you have already achieved it. Next week, I will give you some exercises to help you with that process. For now just take a few minutes 2-3 times a day to sit and be silent and picture the goal in your minds eye with as much detail as possible.

Download your ABC Goal Achievement Workbook

What are you plans for 2009, how do you set goals?

Plan for your success

// September 9th, 2008 // No Comments » // Home Business Systems, Success Tips

The house is a mess, the kids need a ride somewhere, you haven’t sat down in hours, and you have 10 minutes to eat something.

It’s 1 p.m., you’ve been working non-stop to finish a project because your boss is breathing down your neck, and it’s time for a quick, 20-minute lunch before getting back to the grind.

We often face situations similar to these two. Normally, we choose to think one step ahead. “I am tired, hungry and stressed out. I need to eat something quick. I don’t care what it is!” Unfortunately, those decisions come back to haunt us in the future, only adding to the stress already in our lives.

Many people come to me to learn about running a home business in these situations. They take the first action step to change the life they are living to move towards the life they want to live. However, most only think of that one step they look at what could be the solution they are looking for. Only looking one step ahead, it only gets you to one place-one step ahead. You get what you focus on and if you only look one step ahead you will always get that step.

Before you look into getting into a home business, you must look at why you are looking. What do you want to create? Do you want more time freedom? Do you want more money, both? Ask yourself these simple questions and write down what you want, plan ahead plan two steps ahead, maybe three. Live with intent, make a decision of want you want then make a plan to get it.

After a long day at the office, a longer commute, doing laundry, reading books, and working on night school homework, you might have to decide between the life you want and a couch that is screaming your name. Another difficult decision we face on a regular basis, and once again we often choose to think one step ahead. “I need to rest – I’m so drained!”

The difference between one step ahead and two steps ahead can mean the difference between achieving your goals, creating the lifestyle you want. Starting a business part-time and moving to that second step which is the freedom you seek. Two steps ahead, we are still tired, stressed and cranky, BUT also determined, committed and able to see the big picture.

What is the BIG PICTURE? It’s different for everyone. Having a few thoughts that motivate and inspire you will help fight through step one and see that vision. Here are a few:

• “My self-confidence is going to be so much higher because I’ve struggled through a difficult situation and found a way to conquer it!”
• “I’ve had to find a way to deal with things during a very stressful time in my life. I can’t wait to see what I can do without all the stress!”
• “I’m going to be able to keep up with my kids and be a part of their lives for a long time!”
• “Why shouldn’t my health be the most important thing in my life – it doesn’t make me selfish, just smart!”
• “If there is one thing I have complete control over, it’s my health and wealth. I am going to do whatever it takes to figure out a way because I have pride in who I am!”

“Step Two” reminds us how important consistency is in reaching our goals and helps us envision that beautiful feeling you get when you work hard to achieve something. What would it be like if you could have a home business that you put 10-15 hours a week into while working your other job and by the end of your first year you are able to walk away from the Boss breathing down your neck, the commute in traffic and live the life you planned, that second step! Where will you go now?

Start practicing now. Step One – “Oh, what a great idea. I should try that sometime, but I really have to go clean my oven.” Step Two – “What a great idea. I’m going to come up with three things that will motivate and inspire me each time I have to choose between a healthy and unhealthy decision, and I’m going to write them down so I see them on a regular basis! Now, I’m going to go clean my oven!”