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Introduction

Over the last decade, the idea of emotional intelligence, or EQ, has become more popular throughout the world. Unfortunately, not many people understand what EQ the term is really about or why it has become so popular over the last several years. Many scientific studies have been conducted over the years and have discovered that emotional intelligence is more important in life than the average intelligence that is measured by the IQ scale.

These studies, which have been conducted by both American and European universities, have proven that the common intelligence responses account for less than 20 percent of our achievements and successes in life, while the other 80 percent depends solely on our emotional intelligence.

Everyone, from students to CEOs, is confronted by not only their own emotions but the emotions of everyone around them. How you manage these emotions has a significant impact on how other people perceive us, as well as our effectiveness to get things done. When you can increase your emotional intelligence, you can become better equipped to respond to stressful situations around you with a high degree of maturity. John Mayer, Peter Salovey, and Konstantin Vasily Peterides are renowned researchers that discovered people who have high emotional intelligence tend to become better leaders and are excellent in everything they set out to accomplish.

The first person to use the term emotional intelligence was Wayne Payne in his doctoral thesis, A Study of Emotion: Developing Emotional Intelligence. In his thesis, he compared the IQ and emotional intelligence and determined that EQ was superior because it covers a wide range of faculties and aspects of a person’s behavior. Studying your emotional intelligence will help you to understand the source and impact of your emotions better. This is important because it helps to enhance one’s self- awareness. Studying your EQ will also provide you with the opportunity to understand better the behavior of others and the underlying reasons why they act the way they do.

Emotionally intelligent people can harmoniously reconcile what their mind and reason tell them with the voice of their feelings and emotions. Thanks to this skill, emotionally smart people are self- confident, self-aware, creative, and energetic. They are also much

more capable of handling stress and knowing how to get along with others. They are more optimistically approaching their life and don’t fear change. They are the people of success.

Chapter 1 - What is Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, or EQ, refers to one’s ability to identify, understand, use, and manage emotions in a positive manner in order to enhance communication, overcome challenges, relieve stress, empathize with others and defuse conflict. The scope of emotional intelligence is extensive and covers a variety of aspects in our daily lives, like how we behave and interact with others.

When you are emotionally intelligent, you are better able to recognize your own emotional state as well as the emotional state of others. Having a clear understanding of the emotional states of those around you can help you to better relate with them, achieve greater success, form healthier relationships, and lead a more satisfying life overall.

Compared to what we know as intelligence quotient or IQ, emotional intelligence is considered more important in attaining success and happiness in both your career and your life. Your ability to read and interpret other people’s signals and respond to those signals appropriately will ultimately determine how far you will go in both your personal and professional pursuits of success. This is why it is essential that you develop a high emotional intelligence that will help you understand, negotiate, and empathize with others.

Categories of Emotional Intelligence

Researchers in the area of emotional intelligence has determined that there are five major classes of skills that are associated with emotional intelligence.

Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is your ability to recognize your emotions and the impact that they have on not only your thoughts but your behavior as well. Through self-awareness, you will start to understand your strengths and weaknesses and is a critical part of your emotional intelligence. Having self-awareness will also help you to build your self-confidence.

Self-Regulation

Self-regulation is your ability to put impulsive behaviors and feelings under control and is another critical part of emotional intelligence. While self-management doesn’t prevent you from feeling emotions, it enables you to have a say in how long a feeling lasts. Learning how to manage emotions in a healthy manner, adapting to changing circumstances, and following through on commitments are just some of the critical aspects of self-regulation.

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Introduction

There comes a time in every person’s life when they stop to wonder, “Am I doing enough?”

Sure, working a regular 9 to 5 job and spending your time working your way up in your career can be satisfying, but are sometimes the process of paying the bills can become tiresome and tedious, and you may find yourself wondering if you’ve lost sight of what is really important.

All of us have great talents and inspirations that drive us forward in life, but if we aren’t taking steps every day to help us to achieve our goals, our passion for life begins to dwindle. It can be defeating to spend our lives working toward essentially nothing, stuck in the same monotonous routine while the things we really want to do with our lives are stuck on the back burner.

That’s no way to live, and many of us begin to feel stuck and confined as we wonder about the things that might have been, were we offered better opportunities, or had been able to make more time to work on the things that we find the most important to us.

Well there is no reason to wonder “what if?” any longer. Using this book as a guide, you will begin to see that it is not only possible, but essential, to master your destiny. Every one of us has a special purpose on this planet, and a singular life that belongs to us and us alone. Each of us has a duty to honor the purpose that we were meant to serve, and we are allowed to continue to create the changes that need made in order to make those dreams a reality.

What most of us are lacking is the basic structure to get to where we want to be. Accomplishing our goals may seem obscure and idealistic, but there are steps that we can take every single day to get to where we want to be. It has never been more possible to become the best version of yourself you can possibly be, and by following the simple key steps in this book, before you know it you will be well on your way to mastering your destiny!

Let’s get started.

Chapter 1: Know Yourself

The advice may seem tired, but the fact of the matter is that knowing yourself is a tried and true way of mastering your destiny. A person who doesn’t know themselves, inside and out, will not be capable of growing and changing in the ways that will help them to evolve as a person, because that person will likely be a slave to their vices without even knowing it!

Most of us have a hard time admitting our flaws and faults, even to ourselves. That gives them free reign over our lives, and a season pass to sabotage anything that we are working on. It is a sneaky way for us to get in our own ways without really being able to see the problem for what it is; an act of self-sabotage!

The most effective strategy in combating self-sabotage is to get to know yourself inside and out. This may seem simple, but it is probably going to be a lot more complex than you might think. It’s more than just sitting down and listing the things you think you know about yourself, which is a good start. This is a time-intensive process that you will need to do with the help of friends and family whom you can trust to tell you the truth, whether it hurts your feelings or not.

But before we involve anyone else in the process of getting to know yourself, first you have to figure out just what it is that you already have covered. One thing that may really help you is to take the Meyers-Briggs Personality test. Upon taking this test, you will find yourself placed in one of sixteen categories, and these categories each have a detailed profile that can help you understand more about yourself and the way you respond to certain situations and stimuli. This can also be useful in learning more about how you conduct yourself in relationships and as a part of a peer group, without having to rely on the feedback of your trusted friends and family.

These types of personality tests are also very insightful when it comes to the way one approaches their goals and whether or not they are realistic in the manner in which they attempt to achieve their dreams. Knowing your personality type may provide you with the insight you have been waiting for when it comes to which approach might work best for you in furthering your career or tackling the to-do list that has been put on the back burner for far too long.

Once you have a basic understanding of your personality type, you can begin to narrow your focus down onto what it is that you truly believe in. Each of us have core values that provide us with the drive that spurns us onward. If we don’t know what it is that we truly believe in, then it can be hard for us to feel fulfilled and our lives can lack in passion and motivation. But once we latch onto a core value that we truly feel passionate about, everything then begins to change. We can begin building a foundation for our lives and experiences based on these values; in a way that makes even the most mundane task begin to feel rewarding.

How might that be? Because we know that even the smallest task can accumulate to a major accomplishment. And when you are living a life that is true to your core values and beliefs, these major accomplishments are sure to be things that truly serve your life’s purpose. It is one of the most effective ways to make yourself feel like the master of your own destiny!

Many people simply don’t know themselves well enough to live a satisfying life, and this can be very sad. Whether it is a traumatic past that keeps you stuck, or it is simply a lack of self-knowledge or discipline, we all have to know who we are at the most fundamental level. Many people are so disconnected from themselves that they don’t even know what it is they like or don’t like. Now is the time to find these things out.

If you have a hard time with this, now is the time to trust your friends and family to help you see yourself objectively. Ask them what they think your biggest pet peeves are, what you truly care about, and what it is you enjoy doing the most. Consider their opinions on your flaws and weaknesses, and vices that you might need to keep in check. Remember that the fastest way to empowerment is in knowing your own weaknesses. Honesty about these weaknesses helps you to develop them so that they are no longer holding you back. Keep it up until you have been able to build them into strengths!

Goal: Start a journal. In this journal, outline the things that make you who you are. Write down your self-perception in as much detail as possible. Take a test online to find out your Meyers-Briggs Personality type, and journal about any insights you might have learned from taking this test.

Every day, write about a strength in yourself you have used recently and how it is positively impacting your life. Also, write about a weakness in yourself that you have pinpointed, and what you are doing to address it and balance it out so that you are taking control over your vices and turning them into strengths! A person with power over their own faults is a true master of their own destiny.

Chapter 2 – Do Not Break, Just Bend Up to Your Capacity

One thing that most people use as an excuse in giving up the control they need in their lives is other people. Other people get in the way. Other people make demands on their time so that they aren’t able to achieve the things that they want to accomplish. Other people are responsible for the fact that they aren’t able to get their lives organized and really take the reins.

While it can be true that other people may pose interesting challenges when it comes to achieving our goals, the fact is that there is a difference between accommodating others and having healthy relationships versus bending over backwards to be a people pleaser and spending way too much time in doing so. People who master their destinies don’t do it by kissing ass. They do it by putting their goals as their top priority and achieving them by any means necessary!

This doesn’t necessarily mean putting other people on the back burner. The fact of the matter is that humans are social animals, and we survive and thrive in communities where we help each other to evolve and learn. We work with people who rely on us, and if they find that we are willing to compromise ourselves for them, they will put us to work until we reach our limits.

But many of us have a tendency to want to make everybody around us happy, and sometimes that means putting our own happiness on the line. It can seem impossible at times to please everybody around us, and the person who wants to focus on mastering their own destiny should take this as a lesson. It is impossible to make everybody happy. That is why it is most important to make sure that we are focusing on ourselves.

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Introduction

“One isn't necessarily born with courage, but one is born with potential. Without courage, we cannot practice any other virtue with consistency. We can't be kind, true, merciful, generous, or honest.”-- Maya Angelou

Not all people have the courage to face every challenge in life. Lucky are those who surpass all the obstacles by taking risks bravely. Courage, as others said, is not innate. But, everyone is equipped with a certain amount of this, which allows them to face their fears and take risks without losing faith and try to continue living even if it is tough.

Courage is what everybody wants. It is an attribute of good character that makes anyone worthy of respect. In this book, you will learn everything about developing courage and how you can use it to face challenges in life. So, grab this chance to know more about courage and discover the perks of developing enough courage to win any battle.

Chapter 1:

An Overview of Courage

Synopsis

Everyone is afraid of something. But, being courageous can let you face or overcome your fears in life even if it means you should sacrifice or take risks. If you think you don’t have the courage to surpass all the challenges in life, well you are wrong. Life will never run out of challenges. They are already part of anyone’s lives. That is the reason why each one of you is equipped with courage to win any battles in life. You may know about the existence of courage in your system, but think about how you face every fear in your life since you were just a little- Isn’t it courage or just your instinct?

Courage Defined

Courage is one’s ability to confront pain, fear, uncertainty, intimidation or danger. There are different types of courage, which may range from endurance and physical strength to mental stamina and innovation. Some of the types of courage are:

- Physical Courage

This is the courage when facing hardship, physical pain, threat of death or death.

- Moral Courage

This is the ability of a person to act rightly when facing popular opposition, scandal, discouragement or shame.

In several traditions, courage has the same meaning as fortitude. In Western tradition, the notable thoughts on courage came from philosophers including Aquinas, Aristotle, and Kierkegaard. In Eastern tradition, several thoughts on courage were provided by Tao Te Ching. Recently, courage was explored by the psychology’s discipline.

6 Attributes of Courage

Courage is what everybody wants. Most of you have heard or seen it in numerous stories or even movies. In fact, history books have taught everyone how to be brave and courageous. There may different types of courage. But, you should develop more of it as this can give you an edge and may lead you to success. If you think you don’t have enough courage, then spend some time knowing the different attributes of courage. These include:

Feeling Fear Yet You Choose to Act

Many people are afraid of something yet most of you choose to act instead of letting fear eat you. Courage is not actually the absence of fear. But, it is overcoming your fears. Keep in mind that true courage facing danger whenever you are afraid.

- Following Your Heart

Achieving all of your dreams may be impossible. But, in this world, your time is limited and you need to follow your heart and this is what you call courage.
- Standing Up For What Is Right

Not all have the courage to speak against injustice. That is why it takes a lot of courage to stand up and speak for what is right. Courage will also taught you when is the right time to sit and listen.

There are other attributes of courage. If you want to be more courageous, then you start today. Everyone has the power to level up their courage. You too can develop courage, which you can use as your greatest tool when beating your enemies and other things that block your way.

Chapter 2:

Identify Your Strengths

Synopsis

For you to accomplish or succeed at anything, you need to have strengths. If you don’t know your strengths, you might not be able to have courage to face the challenges in this life. Strengths are not the things you think you are good at. Just because you are good at a particular think, this does not mean that it is your strength. For it to be your strength, it should your passion too. This is what qualifies for it to be considered as your strength. But, what are the ways to know your strengths?

Ways to Know Your Strengths

Your strengths will serve as your fuel to develop courage. Strength will let you feel strong. If you are confused between your strengths and weaknesses, then here are some of the ways you may consider:

- List Down What You Think You Are Good At

Listing down the things you think you are good at can help you determine your strengths. Even if you hate doing it yet you excel at it, this can be your strength. So, make sure to list down everything that you are good at because this will help you in the long run.

- When Knowing Your Strengths, Don’t Ask Opinions from Other People

When knowing your strengths, it is not a good idea to ask opinions from other people. Even if others have clues about your strengths, you are the one who knows yourself better. Therefore, don’t let others influenced you when you are discovering your strengths because your real strength lies deep in you. That’s why you should be the one to know your strengths not others.

There are many reasons why you should not ask opinions from other people. One of these is that others may just see that you are good at something physically. But, they don’t have any clue about what you feel when you are doing it.

- What Makes You Excited

Everyone has his or her excitements in life. So, what makes you excited- Being excited at something you plan to do can be your strengths. You have to take note that you should have passion with what you do for it to be a strength. If you like what you are doing and you excel at it, then it is your strength.