The Fastest Way To Create Success in Your Life Now

Offering False Hope To a Nation?

“We’ve been asked to pause for a reality check, we’ve been warned against offering the people of this nation false hope, but in the unlikely story that is America there has never been anything false about hope.” - 44

There is nothing more powerful than finding the words that give us meaning, that give us purpose. There is nothing more powerful than the moment where things actually click in your mind and you finally get it. You finally get what you’ve been striving for, for so many years. You finally feel your inner pitch fork resonating on a frequency that reigns true in your heart. There is little that compares to understanding a message so powerful that you are moved to tears and you feel more “one” than you ever have before.

There are many messages out there of personal development and no one idea is any better than any other. The true importance is to hear a message in a way that will resonate within you, the messenger is only a conduit to bring electricity into your heart and into your actions. You may hear something a million times, and you may do something hundreds of times over, but when you finally “get it”, when you finally just get it, the power in that moment is unforgettable.

My individual mission in life is probably not very different than yours. Like you I strive to make this world a better place in the little way that I can, to touch lives and bring an inner strength to people that makes this life worth living not just for others but for ourselves as well.

After speaking at a conference in Long Beach California empowering the minds of educators, directors and youth to be proactive about this upcoming time in our lives, to not only want change but to actively pursue it and face the challenges with bravery and hope, countless people came up to me and told me that they needed that message, they told me how much meaning to their lives they received in just one hour, they told me how much more they believe that it’s possible. It was hearing people tell wholeheartedly that I was able to give them the needed inspiration, the proverbial “shot in the arm” to start being proactive instead of reactive that sparked inside of me. Something powerful that if it had a name I would share it with you, but it doesn’t or I haven’t found the words yet.

My message can be seen as common sense with uncommon wisdom. I believe where too many others go wrong is that they miss the “2 Phase Approach”. Phase 1 is The Why and Phase 2 is the How. I strive to not only provide my audiences with the Why to get them motivated and fired up but also with the How so they can take that energy and actually do something with it. Too many times we get fired up and lose momentum because we just don’t know what to do next, your mission and mine is to help lead people through the 2 phases, though both are independently and equally important in their own right.

As I sat on the Jet Blue ride back home, I listened to the “Yes We Can” song over and over again, and literally found tears rolling down my face like an avalanche of unstoppable emotion because I realized that those 3 little words, though simple and heard many times truly sums it up for me. Because I know that you and all the people I’m fortunate enough to encounter can. Can be what they want and who they want. Yes we can to opportunity and prosperity, Yes we can and Yes you can heal this nation but most importantly yes you can heal yourself. Never give up fighting for what you believe in, never.

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It is my passion and purpose to add value to people's lives. If you want an amazing Black History Month Presentation for your students? Check our Arel's newest addition Will You Be Remembered?

Could Obama’s Speech Be the Worst Ever?

As I was sitting in the airport getting ready to fly to California to speak to a group of educators and youth I was scrambling to get in front of a TV screen to watch the inauguration. Everything seemed to be not going the way I wanted. My flight was at 1pm which means I had to be in the airport for the big speech, the security line was long, and when I got to my gate the cnn.com live stream was so busy that I could not even log on. And when it finally did connect the live feed kept skipping. So far not the most ideal situation. Strike one.

Luckily in the terminal they had TVs playing the speech live but they had two TVs going in the same place with one having about a 5 second delay from the other so it was very distracting to focus in on what was saying. Strike two.

Finally I grabbed a rocking chair and placed myself right in front of the TV set to hear Obama speak. Here comes the third pitch and it was definitely NOT strike three. More like a home run. Was I disappointed? Absolutely NOT! I would be the biggest liar if I said this was one of the worst speeches ever, in fact this is probably going to go down in history as one of the most pivot and powerful public speeches of all time. Anyone who watched this speech knew that Obama kept true to his powerful and colorful language which helps paint a picture that all can see and believe.

I sat there focusing on what he was saying and as many of my fellow Americans probably felt Obama’s words were being spoken directly to me. His message was that of personal responsibility and forward movement to create the world and the life that we want. The underlying message seemed to be that we are a special people, a special nation that will allow its citizen’s to rise to the level of our individual ambition. We can build bonds amongst our brother abroad and fight those that want to destroy rather than build.

To imagine where we have come in just 60 years, from a place where someone like me could not be served in the same restaurant as my mother to becoming the president of this great nation is amazing. Think about how much can happen in such a short period of time, in as little as a year or just in one day.

What will you do to make the next phase of your life different then the last? No matter what your political post we all have one president and have witnessed history. What history will you make for yourself? What new level will you reach when you are feeling tired, upset, frustrated, feeling like hope is lost and you just don’t have what it takes to succeed. What will you choose to do? What action will you take to realize all is possible with the proper belief and the proper consistent action? What will you do to leave behind a legacy that is worth talking about. What proactive choices will you make to make your life what you feel it should be? Will you choose to look at the world with a clenched fist or an open hand?

If today proves nothing else, it is proof that anything is possible if you believe. Change will not come over night, but have resolve that it will come. Will you be a builder or a destroyer?

Do you want an amazing Black History Month Presentation for your students? Check our Arel's newest addition Will You Be Remembered?

The power practice of focus...this is tough

So I don't know if you are like me, (I'm thinking we are similar if you are reading this) but I always have about 30 billion thoughts going through my head at one time. I'm thinking about a movie I just saw or I have a song stuck in my head (currently it's Moving Mountain by Usher) or what next project I have to do or my to do list tasks, I mean the list just goes on and on.

So focusing has always been one of my biggest challenges. It's hard for me to focus on the task at hand.

So I tried something really new to me, I tried meditating. And let me tell you, it was a HUGE challenge

I went out to a national park near my house and went to a wooded area and picked one spot on a branch of a tree and focused on it. I've been told to focus on a flame or what have you but I liked the nature feel. The goal is to stare at one spot and make that your total focus and block out all thoughts that come into your mind. Just be there with out being there, make sense?

Well for the first 30 seconds I felt like I had it, then as if of no control of my own thoughts just starting jumping at me and I had to make a huge effort to cancel them out.

The funny thing that happened was that after about 30 minutes of this I felt a calm come over me, I was able to focus for a good portion and then when I came out of it I really felt peaceful and "still".

So I challenge you to spend 20 minutes sitting in a room and trying to block out any thoughts, just think nothing. See how you feel, it's really hard to put into words but I kind of digged it a lot. I am clearly not a mediation guru but after just doing it once I can appreciate what meditation has to offer.

Use "Blocking" to Take Back Control of Your Day

Let me ask you a few questions...

Do you feel like there is never enough time in the day?

Do you feel like you have a million things running on in your head and it's stressing you out?

Do you feel like you have so much to do, but at the end of the day you feel like you haven't accomplished anything?

Well, the good news is that you are not alone and the better news is that there is a simple and EXTREMELY effective technique you can use that will get you back in the control of your life. (You're gonna show life who's boss!) I've adapted this concept from Tony Robbins, he is da' man.

Here is the 3 Step Formula
1. Change your perception from what you have to "do" to what you want your outcome to be. This alone instantly changes how you will perceive the task at hand.
2. Block similar things together
3. Block out distractions

Step 1.
When you think of all of the million of things you have to do, it will freak you out! Honestly, who likes doing research? or other tedious jobs. If you think about it as just the tedious job at hand, you'll likely want to punch yourself in the left nostril. But if you focus on what doing that tedious job will get you (finished project, more money, etc) it becomes much more exciting.

Step 2.
So this is what you do, think about ALL of the things that you need to accomplish right now. Yeah, this is probably going to be frustrating to see ALL OF THE THINGS you have to do.

But you'll probably notice multiple things that all focus under a similar category. Such as a particular topic, phone calls, emails, etc. Put all of the things that are similar together. Why? Because the first thing doing this does is that it puts everything under one block so it seems less daunting. The second thing, it allow you to focus on the main task at hand and move forward. For Example, if you had to apply for an internship, work on your resume, & send follow up emails. All of that would fall under the block of "Getting the Experience I need to get my dream job" Doesn't that sound more exciting?

Step 3.
Block out distractions. What this means is YOU MUST LOG OUT OF FACEBOOK! you must turn off your email (unless it is your task at hand), you must not have YouTube open, you must turn the TV off, you most remove all distractions while you are doing your Blocking. Trust me, nothing beats pure focus.

Try it out and let me know how it works for you :)

Arel Moodie is the founder of Arel Moodie International (AMI) which created The College Success Program, The most complete program out there to help students succeed in college and in life. Programs focusing on students of color and men of color in higher education, it's about time this was created.

The Best Peice of Advice That You Can Get...

I was on the phone with a friend from college, Adam Gilbert, and we were talking about a current project that I'm developing for my speaking company. While we were talking he said something that I've heard many times before, but I think it sunk in with me a little deeper than usual, and I probably needed to hear it again.

Here's the advice, it comes in many forms and has been at times overused but spend some time to reflect on what I'm about to say.

It's safe to say that if you are reading this you are serious about taking control of your life and reaching certain levels of success. I'm sure you read a lot of self-help books, (you've probably bought a bunch of books that you haven't opened yet and are sitting on your book shelf collecting dust, we all have done this, there's a reason people say "Shelf-help", don't feel too bad as long as you commit right now to opening one up and finishing it!) and you've probably seen movies like "The Secret".

The best piece of advice is this, you really won't ever become successful if you try to be someone you are not. Being authenticate or being yourself is the best piece of advice out there. Now before you say the four most dangerous words in the English language "I already know that" (I'll touch upon why this is the WORST sentence in the English language on a later post) think about this.

Success is a recipe, yes. This is true, to be successful you just have to do what other successful people do and you will get there. (Most of us are following habits of really unsuccessful people unknowingly). However for you to really get to that "level" that I know you want to reach, you have to let your own voice and personality shine through. I know, I've read hundreds of books and sometimes I find myself wanting to be like the people I read about so much that I start losing myself. I so badly want to "make it" that I'm willing to sacrifice, study, learn, grow, but the key, the real key to sealing the deal is to use the information you learn to be more of who you are. Not to change, but to become more of who you are.

So as you are going through this journey (it never really ends) pick up things here and there that you like from others, learn skills and habits that will propel you forward, but make sure you are being yourself. I think the true balance is when you can stretch your comfort zones, feel uncomfortable, but know you are doing it your way. There is nothing, I repeat NOTHING more freeing than spending every second of your life being who you really are and not pretending for others (read my post, "The Rule of 3", if you need more clarification on why.)

So here's your action step. For the next two minutes (we all have two minutes), do not check your email, facebook notes or anything. Just be quiet with yourself and ask yourself: "Am I living my life the way I want to, saying how I feel and feeling free, really living genuinely to my core principles?" Sometimes the answer is not as important as the question itself.

"Be Yourself, Because Everyone Else Is Taken"
Visit Arel at www.arelmoodie.com
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