Tal Gur, a blogger, entrepreneur, and devoted adventurer, has spent a decade pursuing 100 major goals around the globe. But his journey had its challenges.

Like most people, he faced crippling self-doubt and struggled for a sense of purpose. Behind every difficulty, he discovered a life-changing gift, and now he’s passing what he learned onto others. You can connect with him and learn more at talgur.me

Favorite Success Quote

“Happiness before goals”

Key Points

1. Put Your Happiness Before Goals

Happiness should not be something that we defer until we achieve a specific goal.

It should be a state of being that we cultivate every single day. It should be an emotion that we make incredibly easy to achieve.

If you are reading this blog right now you have a lot to feel happy about. You have your sight. You have an internet connection and a device that is more powerful than the computers NASA used to put a man on the moon. You have full control of your brain and an ability to comprehend complex ideas and sentences.

You have a LOT to be happy about.

So act like it. Lower your barrier to happiness.

Make a conscious effort to cultivate more happiness in your life by making it stupid simple to feel happy.

When you wake up each morning, take a moment to feel happy for the warm sheets and cozy blankets covering your body. When you walk into work (even if you hate it) be happy that you have some sort of employment. When you come home each day, be happy that you have a roof over your head and food in your belly.

Be happy now.

Because now is all that we have.

2. Fulfillment is Dependent on Direction

So often people assume that fulfillment is dependent on achieving some goal or arriving at some arbitrary destination.

It’s not.

Fulfillment should depend on one thing and one thing only… Direction.

Sit down in a quiet place later this week and really ask yourself what direction you want to take your life.

Don’t tie this to a specific goal or outcome, simply a direction.

Do you want to move in the direction of more physical fitness? Greater financial freedom? More love and abundance?

Whatever you decide, write it down and then commit to take three actions each day that move you in that direction.

3. Pain is a Messenger

Most people try to ignore or hide from pain. This is like trying to put a bandaid on cancer.

Pain is a messenger. It’s there to tell you that something is broken and you need to fix it.

If you have a broken arm, a shot of morphine will numb the pain but it won’t solve the problem. You need to visit a hospital, get a cast, and allow your bones to heal.

Pain in your life is the same way.

If you are depressed, anxious, or feeling overwhelmed… Good.

This is a sign that something in your life isn’t working. And you have the power to fix it.

Whenever you experience pain don’t run from it. Feel it. Experience it fully and sit in it for a few hours.

Ask yourself, “What is this pain trying to tell me?”

Are you in the wrong job or relationship? Struggling to be disciplined with your finances? Overweight and unhealthy?

Before you run from the pain always try to uncover why you are experiencing pain in the first place.

Because until you solve the root cause of the problem, you will never truly overcome the pain.

4. Focus on Financial Freedom First

People will often begin their journey of self-transformation by trying to fix their relationships, their career, or pursuing more of their passions.

In most cases, this approach is completely backward.

The first step that you should take to building your dream life and achieving your biggest goals is to achieve financial freedom.

Until you have the money to do what you want, when you want, with whom you want, everything else should be secondary.

Financial freedom will revolutionize every aspect of your life.

It will allow you to travel more and pursue your passions with greater ease. It will allow you to have more choices in your relationships and care for the people you love. It will allow you to take care of your body and give yourself the care and attention you truly need.

Financial freedom opens the doors of life and allows you to pursue your dreams on your terms.

Focus on getting your money right first, and the rest will follow.

5. Pick One Thing and Stick With it to Completion

One of the most powerful ways to improve your quality of life is to master the art of single focusing on a task to completion.

Life isn’t short. We make it short by chasing too many goals at once and filling our time with unnecessary garbage.

By learning to pick a goal or project and see it through to completion, you will unlock one of the master skills of life and learn that you can accomplish anything you want with the right sequencing and a little perseverence.

Pick one goal and stick to it.

The benefits will be enormous.

Mariah Carey