2. Recite self-Affirmations

Although he had bouts of self-doubt and questioned the value of his efforts, he never gave up. Leonardo’s courage and persistence in the face of adversity are tremendously inspiring. He strengthened his will to continue his work through affirmations that he wrote in his notebook, such as:

‘I do not depart from my furrow.’

‘Obstacles do not bend me.’

‘Every obstacle is destroyed through rigor.’

‘I shall continue.’

‘I never tire of being useful.’

Self-affirmations are a powerful tool that help you become focused on your life goals (I wrote an article after reciting self-affirmations for the past 3 years! It's called: Self-Affirmations Bruce Lee Style and My Thoughts After 3 Years of Daily Affirmations, check it out!). Just like Leonardo himself, many leaders and entrepreneurs today are religiously following his habits of self-affirmations. Self-affirmations come in many different techniques but they all serve a single purpose; to send positive energy out to the Universe, help you stay focused and achieve goals.

I don’t believe that we can achieve our goals by simply reciting affirmations. There is a clear difference between day-dreaming (being delusional) and effectively visualising backed by action. However, I believe that self-affirmations are powerful as they help me gain clarity and focus on my values and life goals. Like mission statements, it is a succinct way of defining my purpose in life.

If you haven't developed a habit of practising self-affirmations or you're not sure where to start, I recommend listening to this podcast by Tim Ferriss: Scott Adams: The Man Behind Dilbert.