Saturday, February 28, 2015

The power of purpose: what’s yours?

Though this may not always be the case, when you’re in touch with your calling, know your life purpose, or live your life knowing that you have a mission, in general, you tend to live your life in a certain direction.

Can you guess what that direction is?

Naturally; most things in your life tend to align around your purpose in life, as long as you know what it is, live consciously, and make at least a bit of effort to move in that direction.

And did I mention how fulfilling it can be? Believe me it’s wonderful!

A few years back, I revealed what my life purpose is. Fast forward a bit, and you’ll notice that I’ve modified it a bit, so that I now feel it resonates with me.

Here’s my life purpose/mission/calling:

“To empower others to live with passion and purpose;
so they can be who they were created to be, and
do what they were called to do!”


You’ll notice that it’s right around 25 words, and very easy for me to remember.

If you don’t have a mission statement, don’t worry. They’re easier than you think to put together.

Nightingale Conant has this really simple tool that makes is a breeze called the Mission Statement Builder. Check it out. Why not do it today?

You’ll never know the true power of passion and purpose until you do!

Thursday, February 26, 2015

FUNday Monday Videos Kickoff

This weekend I was stumbling around, looking at online videos and came up with this idea:

A lot of people may struggle to get up Monday morning to face another week of work.

To combat that and help you kick your week off right, bringing a smile to your face at the beginning of your week when u need it most, I present to you:

FUNday Monday Videos

They're silly, they're fun and who knows, they might make you laugh. But they'll definitely change your frame of mind, if you let it.

This one is called "The Gummy Bear Dance." Enjoy!





Sidenote: Since beginning my new job a few months back at NEXTSTUDENT I have to say that I love it and look forward to Mondays and what I do. Honestly, my NextStudent job is the first job that I can say this about.


Sunday, February 22, 2015

Character & Integrity Prevails, In The Long Run

Hollywood portrays the successful business person as doing "whatever it takes" to succeed, with little regard for morals, honesty or integrity. Whatever shortcut, conniving scheme, manipulative trick that will get that person to the top, make them millions or achieve their goals is considered acceptable.

But is it really? Whatever happened to character? Integrity? Honesty?

Anyone ever heard of the saying, "what goes around, comes around? I think some people call it karma. Others call it the law of attraction. Whatever you call it, it "bites back," even if you don't believe it will. Now, I don't mean this in a graceless, legalistic or harsh manner. It's just a law of nature that I've seen play out many times in my own life.

Here's a really uplifting story I read the other day. You know how the movies most often portray cops as dishonest, amoral,"on the take," or more interested in racking up tickets to meet his/her monthly revenue quota than serving others?

Well, this article, "Cop who ticketed himself reaps praise" may seem a little silly or even ridiculous at first glance, but it speaks volumes when it comes to character. Here's what happened, according to the article:

"Chief Dick Knoebel drove past a stopped school bus with its lights flashing in September, then wrote himself a ticket for $235 and docked himself four points on his driving record."

Most police officers would have blown it off or outright ignored the flagrant violation. But this guy, Chief Dick Knoebel "did the right thing," even when no one was looking.

Now, in my book, that's the definition of character: what you do and how you act when no one's looking. That's the true you. If only more of us would follow his example more often, what a different world we might live in...
Oh, and here's the link for the article so you can read it yourself.

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Your Ideal Life: "You Can Do It!"

What is it that you want out of life? Here is a simple process to put you on the path to achieving your dreams. The key is imagination, repetition and perseverance.
1. Ask yourself these questions to help you figure it out:
  • What are your passions, dreams and desires?
  • What do you find yourself naturally doing, that people gravitate towards you for?
  • What do your currently do that you love? (for work, play, fun)
  • What would you do if you didn't get paid for it (ok, make that "not paid much")?
  • How can you live "your ideal life," doing what you love to do, being who you were created to be?
2. Write out the answers to these questions, then think of what your "ideal" would be in each of the following areas of your life:
  • career/work
  • health
  • financial
  • spiritual
  • relationships
  • personal growth
3. Now, focus your vision a little bit more by writing out what your "ideal" would be in each area. When you are writing up your “ideals” or dreams, write a vivid,engaging description as if it has already happened. The more details the better. Make it something that gets you really excited and motivates you to move forward. Use present tense, for example: “I am a full-time entrepreneur, doing what I love daily…” Then add specifics.
4. Select the dream/area that is most meaningful to you, and read it every day out loud. Do it first thing in the morning & then in the evening, before you go to sleep. When you read it, do so with emotion and passion. Perhaps you can close your eyes and pause after each sentence, picturing yourself living your dream.
5. Commit to doing this 5 days of the week for a month. You will find that you’re naturally getting excited about your dreams and making them a reality in your life. I’ve done this several times and have had incredible results.
One example is when I put together my vision of my ideal client when I was working in the real estate field.
When I met with my potential client, I showed him what I had been envisioning/praying for (I typed it out) and compared it to the description of what he was looking for. He was both incredulous and excited. “Talk about synchronicity,” he said. And we decided to work together on the spot.
I encourage you to get started today, and then start expecting the miraculous to come your way each day!

Friday, February 20, 2015

$50K in 2 days: figure the odds

How'd you like to make twice the median salary of an American in just two days?

It can be done. What's interesting is HOW it happened in this story.

This airline pilot didn't have anything particularly special going for him that I'm aware of. He wasn't involved in network marketing, didn't play the stock market, and it had nothing to do with gambling in the futures or options markets, or any other crazy scheme or idea.

The key component here is LUCK. You see, Mr. Raymond Snouffer Jr. won the lottery. Twice. Two days in a row. According to lottery officials, the odds of that happening were "incalcuable." I'd say.

Congratulations, Mr. Snouffer! We don't know how you pulled it off.

I guess this remarkable feat just goes to show you that no matter what your situation, you can always have hope in the miraculous and get it.

Now, I'm not advocating that everyone invest their life savings in the "big one" (lottery that is) and hope that they will somehow make millions.

I'm simply pointing out that whatever your dreams and desires are , however unlikely it may seem that you will achieve them, move forward with hope and faith. Someday, you will see them fulfilled. As with the man who won the lottery two days in a row, stranger things have happened!

I found this story, "‘Virtually incalculable’ odds: Minnesota man wins $25,000 lottery two days in a row," on the MSNBC site, www.msnbc.com.

Loving Your Mistakes: Are You Nuts?

I know, I know, everyone makes mistakes and "failure" is part of life's experience.

What follows is an article I found that is really powerful, for the simple lesson it contains: its about loving your mistakes and accepting yourself and others in the process. And yes, its pretty transparent, even personal...

Anyway, It hit home for me.
As difficult as this is to say, I can be very judgmental of myself and others, in particular with my wonderful wife. Granted, we all make mistakes and have faults, but some tend to let these things slide while others are more like me (as embarrassing as this is) and can sometimes not be too forgiving.

The article really touched my heart and got through to me. Here are some key things I learned:
  1. When my wife forgets or makes mistakes, whatever, I can simply accept it, realizing that she's only human, and that's part of the special someone that she is.
  2. I can recognize that forgetfulness or follow-through is not her strength and love her for who she is and not judge her for who she's not (more like me).
  3. As I am more compassionate and understanding of others, their actions and who they are, things seem to occur naturally when I don't force it. Things fall into place in an almost miraculous manner.
  4. When I "go with the flow," accepting all that comes my way instead of fighting it, I am more peaceful, happy and content.
Here's the article (it's a bit long, but I think worth the read):

"Can You Love Those 'Mistakes'?"

Judith Sherven, Ph.D. & Jim Sniechowski, Ph.D

It's so easy to feel embarrassed and humiliated by the dumb stuff we all do. You've no doubt tried to hide the evidence that would expose you. And every one of us has lied to cover up our mishaps.

But what about turning moments that might be thought of as mistakes into just another aspect of your ability to be fabulous at accepting all of who you are . . . who you really are . . .and incorporating your ditzy, addle-brained professor stuff into your intimate family history?

The other day Judith decided she would make lamb stew. But she didn't have any flour to thicken her concoction. So she thought by mashing up some of the cooked potatoes and putting that into the mix it would do the job.

Well, it didn't. So what she ended up with was a pretty runny mix.

She told Jim about her experiment and then served him what was kind of like stew and sort of like soup.

Jim started calling it "stoup." Lamb stoup.

Now "stoup" is part of our intimate history and an endearment that will be with us for a
long time.

And then another time Jim used an antique piano stool he'd bought for Judith as a step stool
to fix a window blind. Oops! The mahogany seat cracked and it now wobbled when Judith
sat on it to do her make-up.

At first she couldn't understand what had caused the damage, but then she put two and
two together -- and voila! -- she'd solved the puzzle.

Now, she had to reconcile her anger at the broken piano stool with her compassion for Jim's naivete about how delicate some things can be.

The answer -- to remember that it all came from love -- both the gift of the stool and the crack that happened while Jim was lovingly fixing the blind. So she decided to get it fixed so it won't wobble anymore but keep the crack -- because every time she sees the crack she sees how
much Jim's behavior is motivated by love.

And, just like with "stoup," the cracked piano stool is also part of our family's romantic lore.

How can you see your foibles as simply human, sometimes pretty funny, sometimes a lot of aggravation, but just human . . .

AND love your humanity while you fix the problem as well as you can?

On the other hand, how can you get creatively generous . . .and make the most loving tribute out of your sweetheart's mistakes?

After all, they're just "mistakes."

And you can be so wonderfully fabulous when you open your heart.

Just remember that even you can be a goof up from time to time . . . and then you can give
the gift of your heartfelt humor and understanding!

So love those mistakes!

******************
NOTE: Reprinting of this article in newspapers, newsletters,
ezines, and blogs is allowed as long as proper author
credits and, if published online, a link is provided back to
http://www.fearofbeingfabulous.com
******************

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Sunday, February 1, 2015

$75,000 a Minute? I'd Say You're Doing Well

Earlier today I came across this article on CNNmoney.com.

Earning $75,000 a minute f just seems plain wrong. Or maybe unfair. Perhaps something I'd like to do--tomorrow maybe. And no, it's not The Donald. But if I was making that much, I think I'd be set for life--at least for the next several months or so.

Who's making that kind of bank? The billion dollar Exxon Corp. Apparently, they set the record for U.S. corporations last year. Incredible!

But really, how much money does any one person need? Though money doesn't buy happiness, it certainly helps for living life right.

I found this other article on the www.secretsofsuccess.com website the other day. I hesitated to share it only because it gives quite a different perspective on money than I'm used to. But with an open mind I read on. Of particular interest was the 5 tips the author had on distributing your wealth.

Check it out, you might learn something. I know I did.