Setting goals is the first key to attaining them. In addition to writing goals for every area of our life, including career, relationships, finances and health, Canfield recommends choosing a “breakthrough goal,” which is something that would provide a quantum leap and change our life dramatically. It could be writing a bestselling book, tripling our income or losing 50 pounds.
Once we have it set, we can apply what he calls the “Rule of 5,” meaning we commit to doing five things each day to move us closer to that goal. This not only allows us to focus on the goal, but also to take action steps.
“It gives you a multiple approach to any problem. By doing five things a day, you have a much better shot at getting any goal you want to achieve,” Canfield explains in the September 2013 issue cover story, using the example of losing weight. “A lot of people just follow a diet, but what if they applied the ‘rule of 5?’”
As an example, here are five things someone could do each day to achieve weight loss, according to Canfield:
1. Cut back on carbs in the diet
2. Drink 10 glasses of water each day to help detox and flush out toxins
3. Deep breathing exercises to raise your metabolism
4. Take a walk each night after dinner
5. Read something inspirational about weight loss
He also shared what he calls his “Big 5,” which he created for his daily business life:
1. Write for at least one hour
2. Read for at least one hour
3. Appreciate at least five people on his staff every day
4. File anything that comes across his desk, or delete it if it’s an email so he doesn’t have clutter building up
5. Manage his staff by walking around and checking in to see how their work is going, and if they need anything such as resources or help
At home, he has a list of five personal actions to do each day. These include:
1. Exercise
2. Meditate
3. Visualizations and affirmations
4. A gratitude exercise
5. Perform a daily review at the end of every day
“The daily review is for whatever I’m working on improving. So if I’m working on having more patience, I will close my eyes and ask myself where I could have been more patient during the day,” he says. “Invariably one, two or three events will come up, and what I do is visualize how they would have gone if I had been more patient.”
Whether we are working on patience, perseverance, assertiveness, being more effective or even a discipline of returning phone calls, we can use this visualization exercise to “lay a blueprint for the next day in the subconscious mind,” and we will see it improve over time, he says.
Additionally, to bring more gratitude into his daily life, he now spends at least five minutes writing in a journal to list all of the things he is grateful for in his life – from the carpet in the house and the person who wove it, to the plants in his office and his wife for watering them.
“Rarely do we actually stop and express that gratitude to God, source energy or the universe,” he notes. “There is so much we have because of other people’s efforts. Just the fact that the sun came up and we didn’t have an earthquake in California today. The more I have done this, the more magical life seems to get.”
For more from Canfield, see the September 2013 issue cover story, where you will learn:
— The spirituality and synchronicity behind much of his success, including Kundalini yoga and meditation
— 4 techniques for overcoming fear and limiting beliefs
— Book recommendations from his personal reading list
— The 30-Day Principle to creating lasting change