1. Live every day on a fresh
new start. Don’t be held back
by what happened yesterday,
the day before, the week
before, the year before, and so
on.
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2. Be true to who you are. Stop
trying to please other people or
be someone else. It’s better to
be an original version of
yourself than an exact
duplicate of someone else.
3. Quit complaining. Don’t be
like the howling dog, always
howling and never doing
anything. Stop complaining
about your problems and work
on them instead.
4. Be proactive. Stop waiting for
others around you to do
something and take action
yourself instead.
5. Rather than think “what if”,
think “next time”. Don’t think
about things you can’t change
(namely what has happened
and thoughts of other people)
or unhappy things
because these are
disempowering. Instead focus
on the things you can action
upon. That’s the most
constructive thing you can do in
any situation.
6. Focus on WHAT vs. How.
Focus on WHAT you want first,
before you think about HOW to
do it. Anything is possible, as
long as you set your mind,
heart and soul to it.
7. Create your own
opportunities. You can wait for
opportunities to drop in life. Or,
you can go out there and
create your own opportunities.
The latter is definite and much
more
empowering.
8. Live more consciously each
day. Stop sleepwalking through
life. Your life is something to be
experienced, not coasted
through.
9. Be committed to your
growth. In the Map of
Consciousness, there are 17
levels of consciousness – from
Shame to Enlightenment. The
higher level of consciousness
you
are in, the richer your life
experience. Achieving higher
consciousness comes from your
commitment to growth.
10. Know your inner self. This
means knowing who you are
and what you represent. Be
clear of your personal identity.
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11. Discover your real life
purpose. Set the mission
statement for your life; one
that will drive you to life your
life to the fullest.
12. Live in alignment with your
purpose. What can you start
doing immediately that will let
you live 100% in alignment
with your purpose? How can
you live true to your purpose
within every context/situation/
environment you are in, every
second of the day?
13. Set your life
commandments. Define your
personal commandments to
live your best life. What adages
and principles do you want to
follow in your life?
14. Discover your values. Values
are the essence of what makes
you, you. Read article #11:
Discover Your Values in The
Personal Excellence Book on
the importance of values,
my values and how you can
create your own.
15. Hold yourself to the highest
conduct. Every one of us have
our own set of ethics, principles
and moral codes. Live true to
them every day. Also, live in full
alignment with your
purpose (#11), commandments
(#13) and values (#14).
16. Design your ideal life. What
is your ideal life? Design it. First,
assess your life at the moment
via the life wheel. Then, ask
yourself what it takes to live a
10/10 life (in all 10
areas – career, health, love,
social, etc…). What is the life
that will make you the best
person you can ever be? Set
your BHAGs – big, hairy and
audacious goals! There are no
limits in life – only those you set
for yourself!
17. Stop putting life on hold.
Are you putting any parts of
your life on hold? What is one
area of your life you have been
putting off/avoiding/denying?
Uncover it and start working
on it.
18. Create your life handbook.
Your life handbook is your life-
long personal manual to live
your best life – from your
mission statement, your values,
your long-term goals, short-
term goals, personal strengths,
blind spots to address, plans,
among others. Create your
book first then build on from
there.
19. Set your goals. After you
design your ideal life, set your
5-year, 3-year and 1-year goals.
The more specific your goals,
the better! Read the 10
principles on how to get
winning
goals.
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20. Take action on your goals
and dreams. Create an action
plan with your strategy, plan
and immediate next steps.
ESPER: 7-part Goal Achievement
series is a great tool to get
you started.
21. Create your bucket list, i.e.
things to do before you die.
Then, get out to achieve them.
22. Don’t do things for the sake
of doing them. Always evaluate
what you’re doing and only do
it if there is meaning behind
them. Don’t be afraid to quit
the things that don’t
serve your path.
23. Do the things you love,
because life is too precious to
spend it doing anything else. If
you don’t enjoy something,
then don’t do it. Spend your
time and energy on things that
bring you fulfillment and
happiness.
24. Discover your passion in life.
What sets you on fire? Go out
there (and explore inward) to
know what you love to do.
25. Make your passion a full-
fledged career. Then, start
pursuing it. Stop working in a
job you are passionless
towards. Quit your job when
you are ready to do it full-time.
26. Turn your passion into a
huge success. Turn your passion
into a multi-million dollar
business. Better yet, make it a
multi-billion dollar one.
27. Learn from criticism. Be
open to criticism but don’t be
affected by it. Criticism is meant
to help you be a better person.
Learn from it.
28. Be positive. Is the glass half
empty or half full? How about
neither? It’s actually all-full –
the bottom half is water, the
top half is air. It’s all a matter
of perception. Take on
empowering perceptions, not
those that bind you. If you can
see the positive sides of every
thing, you’ll be able to live a
much richer life than others.
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29. Do unto others what you
would like others to do unto
you. The law of reciprocity –
Golden Rule
30. Don’t complain or
badmouth about other people.
31. Be empathetic. If everyone
only see life from his/her own
perspective, we’ll forever be
close-minded and insular. See
things from others’ shoes.
32. Be a compassionate person.
Show compassion and kindness
to everyone around you
33. Develop 100% self-belief.
Believe in yourself and your
abilities. If you don’t believe in
yourself, how can you expect
others to believe in you?
34. Let go of unhappy past. This
means past grievances,
heartbreaks, sadness,
disappointments, etc.
35. Forgive those who may
have done you wrong in the
past. “To forgive is to set a
prisoner free and realize it was
you.” – Lewis B. Smedes
36. Let go of attachments.
Don’t fixate yourself with a
certain status, fame, wealth or
material possessions. These are
impermanent and will
ultimately disappear one day
when
you die. Focus on growing and
living life to the fullest instead.
37. Let go of relationships that
do not serve you. That means
negative people, dishonest
people, people who don’t
respect you, people who make
you feel bad about yourself
and relationships that prevent
you from growing.
38. Spend more time with
people who enable you. Hang
out with people who you
compatible with, like-minded
people, people who are
positive, successful, strong
achievers and
positive for your growth. You
are after all the average of the
5 people you spend the most
time with.
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39. Build genuine, authentic
connections with people
around you – strangers, friends,
family, colleagues, business
partners, customers/clients,
etc. Spend more time to know
them better and foster
stronger connections.
40. Connect with an old friend.
There is no end to the number
of friends you can have. Reach
out to people from the past.
41. Do a kind deed a day. What
is something you can do today
that will make the world a
better place? Go and do it.
42. Help other people who are
in need. Voluntarism is one
outlet. You can also start with
your friends and family.
43. Help people when they
least expect it, without reason.
You don’t need any reason to
help others. Do it because you
want to. Share the love with
everyone.
44. Go dating (if you’re single).
45. Fall in love ♥
46. Review your life. Set a
weekly review session to
assess how you are doing for
your goals and your life. Review
your purpose once every 3-6
months too so you know you’re
on the right path.
47. Overcome procrastination.
Procrastination is a huge waste
of your time (and your life). Get
rid of it once and for all.
48. 30 minutes a day. Set aside
at least 30 minutes every day
to work on a quadrant 2 goal
that, when you achieve it, will
bring about the biggest source
of fulfillment and
happiness in your life
49. Get out there and make
new friends – whether in your
workplace, online, friends’
friends, social groups, etc.
50. Be your advisor (from the
future). Imagine you’re the
future you, 5 years later. How
would you advise yourself?
Write it down. Now, apply
them. Check out a related
article #17:
Future Prediction Exercise in
The Personal Excellence Book,
which is about predicting your
future then learning from it.
51. Write a letter to your future
self. Actually, write 3 letters –
for yourself in 1, 3 and 5 years.
The longer the letters, the
better. Envision how you’ll be
like in the future. Make each
letter a minimum 2 pages long.
Now, seal them and put them
in a safe place. Set it in your
calendar so you’ll know to open
them when it’s time. This will
inspire you to work
your hardest and achieve your
maximum results in the time
period.
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52. Declutter. Start from your
computer, then your table, your
room, your bag/wallet, and
your home. The more you
throw the unwanted and old
stuff away, the more room
you’re
creating for new things to
enter.
53. Keep learning. There is
something to learn from
everything you see, hear and
experience. This includes your
mistakes and past misshaps (if
any). Learn to interpret each
event objectively. Focus on
what you can learn from it so
you can apply them moving
forward.
54. Keep developing yourself.
Equip yourself with a huge
breadth of knowledge. Learn
different skills, pick up different
hobbies, study different fields.
55. Keep upgrading yourself.
Equip yourself with a huge
depth of knowledge. While you
can usually only level up to 99
in video games, in real life you
can level up to infinity. Go for
further studies if need be.
Develop your skills. Level up.
Build your >10,000 hours in
each skill.
56. Try new things. What’s
something you’d normally not
do? Get out of your comfort
zone try something different. It
can be something simple like
taking a new bus route, trying a
new food item, picking up a
new hobby, or something
bigger like studying a different
field, picking a new skill,
traveling to a country you’ll
never visit, etc. You set your
own
limits.
57. Get yourself out there. This
applies for everything. (a) Get
out there geographically. Go
out, travel and explore the
world. Set sail into the sea. Go
backpacking by yourself and
visit as many countries as
possible. Get on a road trip and
visit the different places that
come out. (B) Get out there
situationally. Stop sticking to
routines and comfort zones.
Try something different. (c) Get
out there in life. Stop watching
TV and living vicariously
through the TV characters. Go
and live the life of your dreams.
58. Be the absolute best in
what you do. Go for the #1
position in what you do. If you
want to spend your time doing
something, you might as well
be the best in it. Strive for the
best – you don’t deserve
anything lesser than that.
59. Don’t settle. In the same
lines as #58, don’t settle for
less. Don’t settle for someone
you don’t like as your partner.
Don’t settle for a job you don’t
like #25). Don’t settle for
friends who make you feel like
a lesser person (#37). Don’t
settle for a weight you are
unhappy with. Go for what you
really want.
60. Stretch yourself. What are
you doing now? How can you
achieve more? Set bigger goals.
Explore your limits and break
them.
61. Embrace new ideas. Don’t
mentally limit yourself; Let your
mind be a breeding ground for
new ideas. Read: 25
Brainstorming Techniques.
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62. Create your inspirational
haven. Turn your room into a
place you love. Do the same for
your work desk. Get rid of
things that make you
unproductive. Surround it with
things
that inspire you and trigger you
to action. Read more: How To
Create An Inspiring Room
63. Behave as your ideal self
will. All of us have an ideal
vision of who we want to be.
How is your ideal self like? How
can you start to be that ideal
self now?
64. Set your role models in life.
With role models, you become
much better than you can be by
yourself. I personally am
inspired by Tyra Banks (for her
passion for helping
women build their self-esteem
and changing notions of
beauty), Ivanka Trump (for her
success, intellect and beauty),
Donald Trump (for his success
and drive in life), Oprah
(for being who she is), Lady
Gaga (for her talent and not
being afraid to be different),
and many more. Seeing them
and what they do reminds me
of what I can be and what I
can do, so they drive me on to
greater heights.
65. Get mentors and/or
coaches. There’s no faster way
to improve than to have
someone work with you on
your goals. Not only will they
drive you to achieve more for
yourself,
they’ll also share with you
important advice which you can
use to create even more
success for yourself. Many of my
clients approach me to coach
them and the net result:
they achieve significantly more
progress and results in their life
than if they had worked alone.
66. Uncover your blind spots.
The more you uncover, the
more you grow, the better you
become.
67. Increase your
consciousness. The more
conscious you are, the more
evolved you become.
68. Ask for feedback. As much
as we try to uncover our blind
spots (#66), there will be areas
we cannot identify. Asking for
feedback gives us an additional
perspective. Some
people to approach will be
friends, family, colleagues,
boss, or even acquaintances,
since they will have no preset
bias and can give their
feedback objectively.
69. Generate passive income.
Create passive income streams
so your income is not tied to
the time you spend on your
work. Of course you’ll still
continue to work, but only
because you want to and not
because you have to.
70. Help others live their best
lives. There is no better way to
grow than to help others grow.
Ultimately, the world is one.
We are all in this together.
71. Get married / Start your
family / Have kids!
72. Improve the world. There
are many things in the world
that needs your attention and
help. Poverty. Disaster
recovery. Illiteracy. Children in
need. Depleting rainforests.
Animal rescue. Endangered
species. How can you do your
part?
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73. Spearhead a humanitarian
cause/organization you are
passionate about.
74. Give more value than you
receive. There is so much
unspeakable joy that comes
from giving. And when you
keep giving, you’ll find that you
actually receive a lot more in
return, in spades.
75. Be big picture focus. You can
either set your eyes on the big
things or get hung up by the
nitty gritty details. The former
will help you get a lot more out
of life than the latter.
Focus on the big rocks in life
and put first things first
(Quadrant 2 tasks). Practice the
80/20 rule – focus on the 20%
things that give you the 80%
fulfillment in life.
76. Be clear of your end
objective. What is the end goal
you seek? Is what you’re doing
bringing you there? If not, put it
aside. As long as you keep
taking on things that meets
your end goal, you’ll eventually
reach there.
77. Go the 80/20 route. For
every goal you have, there are
different paths to achieve it.
Pick out the 80/20 path, i.e. the
most effective path that brings
you there the fastest with least
amount of effort.
78. Prioritize (80/20 actions). As
you embark on the 80/20 path
for your goals, focus on the
important tasks and cut out the
less important ones. That
means do the 20% actions
that give you the 80% results.
79. Live in the moment. Are
your thoughts wandering
around all the time? Calm your
mind down. Be present. The
only time you’re ever living is in
this moment. Meditation helps
to remove mental clutter.
80. Relish in the little moments.
Snuggling under warm covers
on a rainy day. Ice cream on a
hot day. A kiss with your loved
one. Being with your best
friend. A walk by the park.
The breeze on your face. Quiet,
alone time. Watching the sun
rise/set. Soak in all these little
moments of life. They are what
make up your life.
81. Take a break. Being the
best also requires you to take
breaks when needed. Make
sure you rest when needed.
Doing so lets you walk the
longer mile ahead.
82. Stop wanting things a
certain way. I wrote a 3-part
series before on the downsides
of perfectionism and how to
overcome them. Be firm on
your end goals and your ideals,
but let go of the fixation that
things have to be a certain
way. You’ll realize it’s by doing
that that you achieve what you
want.
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83. Focus on creation.
84. Don’t criticize or judge
others. Respect others for who
they are.
85. The only person you can
change is yourself. Stop
expecting others to behave in a
certain way. Rather than
demand that others around you
change, focus on changing
yourself. You’ll be happier and
live a more fulfilling life this
way.
86. Embrace gratitude. Be
grateful for everything you
have today, and everything you
will get in the future.
87. Express gratitude. Let the
people who’ve touched you
know of your gratitude towards
them. You’ll be surprised what
a little act like this can do. If
you don’t tell them, they’ll
never know.
88. Let loose and have fun. Sing
at the top of your lungs. Dance
in the rain :D. Run barefoot and
feel the ground underneath
your feet. Release of your self-
imposed shackles and
be free :D.
89. Get into nature. Many of us
live in concrete jungles. Soak in
the beauty of nature.
90. You have a choice.
Recognize you always have a
choice in how to live your life.
91. Laugh more :D. Are you
reading this with a straight
face? Smile and have fun :D.
92. Embrace change. The only
thing that’s constant is change.
Change means growth. Rather
than resist change, learn to
versatile such that you can
make the best out of the
changes that come. In fact,
become an agent of change.
93. Be more risk-inclined. Don’t
be afraid to take risks. The
bigger your risks, the bigger
your return.
94. Embrace mistakes. The
more mistakes you make, the
faster you learn. Make sure to
draw lessons so you can build
on them. (#53)
95. Embrace disappointments.
Many people try to avoid
feeling disappointed. They
develop a resistant relationship
with disappointment. However,
disappointment is part and
parcel of being human – it
reflects your real passions.
Don’t resist it – instead,
embrace it. Understand it, then
channel into it to create more
in life. Read: How To Overcome
Disappointment (4-part series)
96. Challenge your fears. All of
us have fears. Fear of
uncertainty, fear of public
speaking, fear of risk… All our
fears keep us in the same
position and prevent us from
growing.
Rather than avoid your fears,
recognize they are the compass
for growth. Address and
overcome them. Read: How To
Overcome Fear (3-Part Series).
97. Maximize your mind, body,
heart and soul. Living your best
life requires you to maximize
yourself mentally, physically,
emotionally and spiritually. If
you’re highly successful,
very materially abundant, have
a big circle of friends, very
spiritually aware but you
neglect your physical health,
that’s not living your life to the
fullest. The same for other
scenarios where a part of you is
blocked off. Maximize all 4
aspects of you.
98. Be your best self. Essentially
all the articles here at The
Personal Excellence Blog are
about being your best self and
achieving your highest
potential. It’s only through
being
the best we can be that we live
our life to the fullest. This is
why the motto of the site is “Be
your best self, Live your best
life“.
99. Love yourself. You are the
person you have to live with for
the rest with your life. Treasure
and love yourself.
00. Love others. Be grateful for
all the people around you
because they help you to grow.
They enrich your life
experience. Without them, your
life would not have been the
same.
01. Last but not least: Love life.
I always find living to be a
fascinating experience. How
we’re all on earth, with millions
of species, 30,000 different life
forms, over 7 billion people,
and all thriving in its own way,
existing, co-existing and in co-
creation mode. There’s so much
we don’t know out there, so
much to be experienced in life,
that it’s just
wonderful.
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