Successful people just do things differently from those who continuously suffer and don’t seem to make progress. While “Never put off until tomorrow what can be done today” is good advice to take advantage of unexpected future opportunity, successful people take it further. They “Do today what makes a better tomorrow.”

Read on to enjoy some ideas you can use to make a brighter future.

Visualize Success No Matter the Current Situation

Every successful person ignored reality to create their better world. Instead of using the excuses of their current situation, they dreamed of a better time and place, of improved circumstances, and a happier, more fulfilling life.

Instead of a diet of the passing horrors reported by mainstream media, create your own version of reality. Write a news story announcing your successful business, imagine you making president’s club, or mentally read the glowing reviews of your newly published book.

A successful future view requires that you be in the picture, that you participate in the outcome, that you feel and experience your forth-coming personal success.

Some people write a script of their perfect day and read it morning and night. Others place a vision board front and center with desired experiences and possessions; make sure your face is in that car, on that boat, in that swimsuit. Others create a chart tracking their success to a financial or physical goal.

Choose the future-pacing method that most appeals to your senses because the more you can feel it, the faster it comes.

Reward Yourself for Accomplishments, Not Participation

Unsuccessful people have faulty self-reward patterns. They’re like the old story of a deluded man negotiating with a fireplace, “Give me warmth and I’ll give you wood.”

They say, “I’ll go get a Starbucks and then I’ll get to work” forgetting to get started by getting distracted, dismayed, or distraught by social media or questionable news stories while drinking a carb bomb that fizzles 90 minutes later.

Much better to start at home with the calories your brain needs to function for the next 3-4 hours (I prefer Bulletproof Coffee) and immediately launch into revenue generation when you arrive at work.

Set a goal to accomplish in the next hour and when you hit that goal, reward yourself for your focus. Go ahead now; check social media, check the sports scores (don’t worry, they won’t change), ask your friend about their hot date. And in five minutes, get back to revenue generation.

After a few weeks of practice, you won’t even need a reward because the accomplishment feels so good. You’ve got better tomorrows coming your way.

A Stretch a Day

All of your better tomorrows lie outside of your comfort zone because all of the good stuff you really want is right now guarded by your fears

Challenge yourself to make one stretch a day. Choose one thing you haven’t done before, talk with one person you haven’t spoken to before, pick up one magazine you haven’t read before, choose a new way to go home from work, order a new food you haven’t tasted before.

Not everything will work out, yet you’ll have enough good experiences and enough practice pushing through your fears to get to what you can’t reach today. Your tomorrow will be so much richer because you choose to stretch today.

Let’s have a conversation about stretching your team and growing your business through strategic planning, marketing plans, executive coaching, and customer acquisition systems. Find a mutually agreeable time at MarksSchedule.com or contact me.