I was thinking the other day about my current financial situation, and how it has drastically changed in the past year. I went from making nearly $60K a year ago to probably less than $20 this year, and that is quite a drop if I do say so myself. But this is not something that is specific to me, or my career path, but is somewhat an occurrence happening all over this country right now.
The question is - what can I do about it, and how important is it in the grand scheme of things? Yes, money is important since we need it to survive. You know, putting food on the table, gas in the car, and paying the mortgage and other bills. Other than that, is it the most important thing in our lives? In some ways, we measure our success by our income. I think way too much importance is place on it myself.
Money seems to be the yardstick we measure our success with - and each other. How much do you make? What is your home worth? What kind of car do you drive? These kinds of questions may not always come out when we first meet people, but they are certainly on most people's minds. When you meet someone for the first time, questions like "what do you do?" are really just veiled inquiries about how much money you make, although an interest in your career is certainly thrown in there for good measure. It is engrained in our national psyche...
Not that we can change that any time soon, but the way our economy is going, changes are under foot. In case people haven't been noticing, we are in a long-lasting downward trend here in America, and the manufacturing jobs are nearly gone. Many companies struggle to stay profitable, and new opportunities are the only way to stay afloat for most people.
Maybe it's time we changed our focus? Instead of focusing on jobs, the economy, and our struggle to keep up with the "Jones" next door, why not focus on family, friends, and relationships instead? Instead of using money as our yardstick to measure success, how about another scaled altogether? So when you meet someone instead of asking what they do for a living, or how much they make, we may ask "how are your family members doing" or something similar. Maybe we could get back to hanging out with friends, real friends not the ones on Facebook, and try forming real bonds with people instead of struggling to move up the ladder financially all the time.
While we're at it, why not start measuring our health quotient too? How many times have you been to the gym this week, have you gotten your blood pressure back down again? It seems to me that these are much more important questions than the same old thing - did you hear so-and-so got laid off last week? The plant is laying off again...OK, we still need jobs. But we will get by, on less. Our quality of life won't suffer that much if we all make less money, but it will suffer if we don't start thinking about how important our families are to us, our friends, and the people in our communities as well. We're all in this together aren't we?
I would love to hear feedback on this, positive or negative.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
My gut-wrenching realization...the Truth
Much has happened since I last wrote in this blog - what can I say? I can't possibly catch up with one post, but I need to start being more consistent with these posts. The main reason I haven't posted anything is that I'm seriously getting to the point where money is an issue, not enough of it in other words.
How did this happen? I was totally confident that I could make my business model work, creating websites using Wordpress and monetizing them with affiliate products and Adsense banners. Yes, it did work to some degree. However I didn't see the huge gains toward the end of this year that I saw in the beginning of the year, and I can't blame anyone but myself. Google Panda may have had some hand in it, but my ability to provide useful content and products that people want is the most important issue. Building a business is easy, with the right business model. The devil, as they say, is in the details!
Over the past year since I was laid off from my job (October 8, 2010 to be exact) I haven't confidently set out to build enough web content and sites to provide myself with a replacement income. Things were going well, money was coming in steadily, and meanwhile I had my savings to live off of to pay the bills. I can do this, I told myself. I wasn't expecting to have a dropoff over the Summer in income, as it seems they case when folks are busy having barbecues and going swimming rather than sitting behind their desks on the PC all day. My income dropped, and I worked harder and harder to make up for it, researching other methods and niches, searching for that "magic bullet" to make up the difference in cash flow.
Alas, I hit a ceiling at around $1,000 per month - not bad, but not enough. As my savings ran dry, my feeling of panic and desperation grew. At this point, I started looking for a "real" job. Yes, my dreams would have to be put on hold somewhat. At least for a time, while I return to the land of the zombies that get up at the crack of dawn and shuffle off to jobs they hate every day. OK, some exaggeration I admit. But that is the way I see it! I have always believed that once you find your "true calling", or "life's purpose" or whatever you want to call it, the money would never be a problem as long as you were true to yourself and believed in your purpose. So what happened?
In actuality nothing really happened, I still believe in all of that. I still believe that I will be able to make it my life's purpose to build a business online, using my wits and words to make a living. How can I still believe in that after the past year? Easy, I still believe that because I know it's true that you never fail unless you quit. I have never quit this game, and never will! Setbacks? Sure, we all have those once in awhile, but you can't let that get you down. Everything I have learned in the past year has gotten me that much closer to realizing my dream, and I'm not about to let it go now, or ever. I'm that much more determined to stay the course as they say, and build my business while I build my dreams.
So with that said, I must get back to work. I have my list of things to accomplish today and it's a long one! So back to it, time to make the doughnuts, whatever you might say. I still believe, and that is the only thing that matters...
One of my favorite quotes:
How did this happen? I was totally confident that I could make my business model work, creating websites using Wordpress and monetizing them with affiliate products and Adsense banners. Yes, it did work to some degree. However I didn't see the huge gains toward the end of this year that I saw in the beginning of the year, and I can't blame anyone but myself. Google Panda may have had some hand in it, but my ability to provide useful content and products that people want is the most important issue. Building a business is easy, with the right business model. The devil, as they say, is in the details!
Over the past year since I was laid off from my job (October 8, 2010 to be exact) I haven't confidently set out to build enough web content and sites to provide myself with a replacement income. Things were going well, money was coming in steadily, and meanwhile I had my savings to live off of to pay the bills. I can do this, I told myself. I wasn't expecting to have a dropoff over the Summer in income, as it seems they case when folks are busy having barbecues and going swimming rather than sitting behind their desks on the PC all day. My income dropped, and I worked harder and harder to make up for it, researching other methods and niches, searching for that "magic bullet" to make up the difference in cash flow.
Alas, I hit a ceiling at around $1,000 per month - not bad, but not enough. As my savings ran dry, my feeling of panic and desperation grew. At this point, I started looking for a "real" job. Yes, my dreams would have to be put on hold somewhat. At least for a time, while I return to the land of the zombies that get up at the crack of dawn and shuffle off to jobs they hate every day. OK, some exaggeration I admit. But that is the way I see it! I have always believed that once you find your "true calling", or "life's purpose" or whatever you want to call it, the money would never be a problem as long as you were true to yourself and believed in your purpose. So what happened?
In actuality nothing really happened, I still believe in all of that. I still believe that I will be able to make it my life's purpose to build a business online, using my wits and words to make a living. How can I still believe in that after the past year? Easy, I still believe that because I know it's true that you never fail unless you quit. I have never quit this game, and never will! Setbacks? Sure, we all have those once in awhile, but you can't let that get you down. Everything I have learned in the past year has gotten me that much closer to realizing my dream, and I'm not about to let it go now, or ever. I'm that much more determined to stay the course as they say, and build my business while I build my dreams.
So with that said, I must get back to work. I have my list of things to accomplish today and it's a long one! So back to it, time to make the doughnuts, whatever you might say. I still believe, and that is the only thing that matters...
One of my favorite quotes:
“The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse”
Hope to talk again soon - until then remember, don't let anyone ever steal your dreams. Especially you!
( and you can quote me on that )
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Finding my focus (again)
Well, I'm back again....
Getting back into the "habit" of writing in a blog will be difficult but I'm doing my best. Just to let folks know what I've been up to for the past year or so, I'm working on experimenting with different ways to make money online. Passive income, multiple streams of course.
The gurus make it sounds pretty easy, and once you have a "pattern" down and a few basic skills in can be. However, learning those skills can take awhile as many of you may have found out too. Developing habits that support your business rather than hinder it is another issue, staying focused on what actually works can be a real difficult thing when you are getting several emails per day screaming about the latest technique for making money (like $10,000 in the next 2 weeks, or whatever).
I've learned to tune out the B.S. and focus on what I do best - namely put up well researched, laser-focused micro-niche sites that get traffic with little or no backlinks. This is important, because if you must spend a huge amount of time building thousands of backlinks then you lose time.
The reason I had to start doing this was out of some financial need since I lost my job in a layoff back in October 2010. I was determined to make that the best thing that ever happened to me, and turn what most would consider a "negative" into a compete and utter positive gain by becoming financially free with my own business.
Along the way, I learned a lot about marketing. I learned a lot about Google, and how fickle she can be (I say she because Google is a woman to me). I also learned a lot about myself, what I'm made of, and how far I have to go in order to make this dream of mine come true.
I never thought it would be easy, and now after about 10 months of slowly building my sites, doing more research than I've ever done before, watching countless videos on how to do every thing from Wordpress tweaks to being more productive, I'm making about $1000 a month. Not bad, but not nearly enough! So lately I've focused once again on what's working, and trying to do more of it. That is my basic philosophy, find what works and do more of it - oh, and be as productive as possible every single day.
Find your focus, take massive action, and keep track of the results! If you don't know how far you've come, you don't know how far to go, so track everything in your business. For that matter, track everything in your life! What's working? My diet program, my exercise program, when do I sleep and for how long, how much "me" time do I get every week?
These are the things I'm focusing on now, so let me get to work....
Make every day count - Doug
Getting back into the "habit" of writing in a blog will be difficult but I'm doing my best. Just to let folks know what I've been up to for the past year or so, I'm working on experimenting with different ways to make money online. Passive income, multiple streams of course.
The gurus make it sounds pretty easy, and once you have a "pattern" down and a few basic skills in can be. However, learning those skills can take awhile as many of you may have found out too. Developing habits that support your business rather than hinder it is another issue, staying focused on what actually works can be a real difficult thing when you are getting several emails per day screaming about the latest technique for making money (like $10,000 in the next 2 weeks, or whatever).
I've learned to tune out the B.S. and focus on what I do best - namely put up well researched, laser-focused micro-niche sites that get traffic with little or no backlinks. This is important, because if you must spend a huge amount of time building thousands of backlinks then you lose time.
The reason I had to start doing this was out of some financial need since I lost my job in a layoff back in October 2010. I was determined to make that the best thing that ever happened to me, and turn what most would consider a "negative" into a compete and utter positive gain by becoming financially free with my own business.
Along the way, I learned a lot about marketing. I learned a lot about Google, and how fickle she can be (I say she because Google is a woman to me). I also learned a lot about myself, what I'm made of, and how far I have to go in order to make this dream of mine come true.
I never thought it would be easy, and now after about 10 months of slowly building my sites, doing more research than I've ever done before, watching countless videos on how to do every thing from Wordpress tweaks to being more productive, I'm making about $1000 a month. Not bad, but not nearly enough! So lately I've focused once again on what's working, and trying to do more of it. That is my basic philosophy, find what works and do more of it - oh, and be as productive as possible every single day.
Find your focus, take massive action, and keep track of the results! If you don't know how far you've come, you don't know how far to go, so track everything in your business. For that matter, track everything in your life! What's working? My diet program, my exercise program, when do I sleep and for how long, how much "me" time do I get every week?
These are the things I'm focusing on now, so let me get to work....
Make every day count - Doug
Friday, August 19, 2011
Where do you find motivation?
Hello again - it's been awhile and I'm really disappointed in myself for not keeping up with this blog. My intentions were to at least contribute a few posts every month, but then I was laid off from my job on October 8, 2010 and had to get REALLY serious about my business.
That's a good thing, of course. But the bad thing was, it left little time for me to do what I wanted to do including this blog. Now that nearly 10 months has passed, I'm somewhat successful at my business again and want to share what I've learned.
Not only that, I also want to start writing down my thoughts again since I have lost a bit of direction lately, focusing so much on my business that I'm quickly becoming a "drone" that only does one thing all day every day.
Anyone relate to that in the internet marketing biz? I'm sure you can - however I need to get myself re-motivated to write down my thoughts each day so STARTING TODAY I plan on doing that. Hold me to it. Or not, since nobody reads this blog anyway, but hopefully that will change soon if I make it a daily habit!
See you tomorrow, Doug
That's a good thing, of course. But the bad thing was, it left little time for me to do what I wanted to do including this blog. Now that nearly 10 months has passed, I'm somewhat successful at my business again and want to share what I've learned.
Not only that, I also want to start writing down my thoughts again since I have lost a bit of direction lately, focusing so much on my business that I'm quickly becoming a "drone" that only does one thing all day every day.
Anyone relate to that in the internet marketing biz? I'm sure you can - however I need to get myself re-motivated to write down my thoughts each day so STARTING TODAY I plan on doing that. Hold me to it. Or not, since nobody reads this blog anyway, but hopefully that will change soon if I make it a daily habit!
See you tomorrow, Doug
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Did you miss me? I'm back again
Wow, it is really hard for me to remember to write in this thing! I haven't been doing it lately, mostly because I've been busy but also I took a few days off to spend with my family. They were visiting from 2 different states, so I really was focused on spending quality time. They deserve it, and we had fun, too.
So now I'm back to building my business again, making a list of things I need to do each day, looking for more great products to create and sell for others. The main thing right now is how can I provide value for my customers? It used to be about finding a really "hot" product and just seeing how many people I could get to see it, but lately I've decided to create more products myself. This kind of changes things, so now I want to create products that really provide fantastic value and a real solution to problems people have. This is one of my goals, going forward.
After reading the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, I started thinking in longer terms about my business. In the past I would say "I'm working on my website" or something of that nature, but now I simply tell people I'm busy working on my business. You really have to look at an internet marketing business as a business, just like any other, so that it will be a long-term goal and make it a part of you. After all, you aren't really detached from your business, as it is a reflection of your personality. Your business has to contain your values, your methods of doing things, and your personal signature on every part of it. This way you are totally responsible for everything in your business, even after you hire employees and turn some of the day to day functions over to them.
Right now I'm running it by myself, so I'm doing all of the marketing, building the website, maintaining it, getting traffic, doing research and every other possible task in the business. In time this will be passed on to others so I can focus on the "E" part of my business, being an entrepreneur, a creator. After all, that's the fun part of it anyway! Creating new products, creating a vision of where you want the business to be in 5 years, 10 years, and more.
Today I'm working on getting some more Camtasia videos up on YouTube, which I'm getting better at finally. Still need some practice though, but it's a great skill to have. Let me know if anybody has any tips on Camtasia, ok? I'm always looking to learn more and make things better!
bye for now
So now I'm back to building my business again, making a list of things I need to do each day, looking for more great products to create and sell for others. The main thing right now is how can I provide value for my customers? It used to be about finding a really "hot" product and just seeing how many people I could get to see it, but lately I've decided to create more products myself. This kind of changes things, so now I want to create products that really provide fantastic value and a real solution to problems people have. This is one of my goals, going forward.
After reading the E-Myth by Michael Gerber, I started thinking in longer terms about my business. In the past I would say "I'm working on my website" or something of that nature, but now I simply tell people I'm busy working on my business. You really have to look at an internet marketing business as a business, just like any other, so that it will be a long-term goal and make it a part of you. After all, you aren't really detached from your business, as it is a reflection of your personality. Your business has to contain your values, your methods of doing things, and your personal signature on every part of it. This way you are totally responsible for everything in your business, even after you hire employees and turn some of the day to day functions over to them.
Right now I'm running it by myself, so I'm doing all of the marketing, building the website, maintaining it, getting traffic, doing research and every other possible task in the business. In time this will be passed on to others so I can focus on the "E" part of my business, being an entrepreneur, a creator. After all, that's the fun part of it anyway! Creating new products, creating a vision of where you want the business to be in 5 years, 10 years, and more.
Today I'm working on getting some more Camtasia videos up on YouTube, which I'm getting better at finally. Still need some practice though, but it's a great skill to have. Let me know if anybody has any tips on Camtasia, ok? I'm always looking to learn more and make things better!
bye for now
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Finding a way to make a business work
Hello again,
Yes, I'm at it again today, 2 days in a row. Not bad, we'll see how long it lasts. Since yesterday I have done quite a bit of reading, currently I'm reading "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber. This book was originally written in 1995, but is a rewritten version of his original book which was written a long time ago (I believe in the 1980's, not sure). Anyway it is an excellent book, really for any small business owner. I thought it was about running a "online" business, but that's not even close! The "E" in the title suggests electronic age, but it is actually to mean "entrepreneur" which is what every business owner should be at heart. Of course, most of us run our businesses like "technicians", which means we try to do everything ourselves.
Anyway, I suggest reading this book as it opens up a whole new paradigm in thinking about your small business. Not to mention, it has helped to save many thousands of businesses over the years. Besides, who wants to work 18 hour days when you can systematize your business and have it run itself with the help of a few employees? Besides the great coaching course I'm taking, my learning curve has been flattened immensely in the past week. I'm actually starting to see a way to get my business to grow, which is the absolute must for all businesses. Either grow or die, right?
Other things I'm doing now are related to networking in my business with other owners such as myself. Since my business is information marketing (aka internet marketing) I have started to reach out to others in the same business world and see if I can share some ideas with them. I'm going to a meeting of the IM'ers tonight and will hopefully gain some insight, maybe even give them a pointer or two....
Well, more things going on such as backlink building, product research, and getting statistics gathered to measure success of my websites. Very busy, and creating more ideas every day that will make the process go more smoothly in the future. That's what it's all about, building a process, or system, that can function without having to keep doing the same work over and over again....
More tomorrow!
By the way, my current "niche" website is Natural Menopause Remedies and if you like to check it out feel free. Of course, it's for women only!
Yes, I'm at it again today, 2 days in a row. Not bad, we'll see how long it lasts. Since yesterday I have done quite a bit of reading, currently I'm reading "The E-Myth Revisited" by Michael Gerber. This book was originally written in 1995, but is a rewritten version of his original book which was written a long time ago (I believe in the 1980's, not sure). Anyway it is an excellent book, really for any small business owner. I thought it was about running a "online" business, but that's not even close! The "E" in the title suggests electronic age, but it is actually to mean "entrepreneur" which is what every business owner should be at heart. Of course, most of us run our businesses like "technicians", which means we try to do everything ourselves.
Anyway, I suggest reading this book as it opens up a whole new paradigm in thinking about your small business. Not to mention, it has helped to save many thousands of businesses over the years. Besides, who wants to work 18 hour days when you can systematize your business and have it run itself with the help of a few employees? Besides the great coaching course I'm taking, my learning curve has been flattened immensely in the past week. I'm actually starting to see a way to get my business to grow, which is the absolute must for all businesses. Either grow or die, right?
Other things I'm doing now are related to networking in my business with other owners such as myself. Since my business is information marketing (aka internet marketing) I have started to reach out to others in the same business world and see if I can share some ideas with them. I'm going to a meeting of the IM'ers tonight and will hopefully gain some insight, maybe even give them a pointer or two....
Well, more things going on such as backlink building, product research, and getting statistics gathered to measure success of my websites. Very busy, and creating more ideas every day that will make the process go more smoothly in the future. That's what it's all about, building a process, or system, that can function without having to keep doing the same work over and over again....
More tomorrow!
By the way, my current "niche" website is Natural Menopause Remedies and if you like to check it out feel free. Of course, it's for women only!
Monday, November 1, 2010
Changes are inevitable, but good!
Hello again,
It's been a long time since I've posted on here, sorry to be such a slacker! I have been working on my business, my love-life, and my "happiness quotient" for the past year. Some things are going well, others not so much. I guess the biggest change came about 3 weeks ago (October 8, 2010) when I was laid off from my job after nearly 5 years. Yes that sounds like a bad thing, but I believe it is all for the best! Really, I'm not making that up.
You see I have been working on my business of internet marketing for some time, and only during the evenings after work. I've found this is a very tough thing to do for a long time, very draining physically and emotionally. So being without a job now I can focus full-time on my business, yeah! Good thing, right? The best part is, although I still work at least 8 hours or more each day, I have the time and energy to do other things as well. I get up each, thankful I don't have a "JOB" to do to, and get some exercise. Then eat breakfast, make a list of tasks for the day, and go off very excited to get some real work done that will make ME money, not someone else.
Another thing I recently started is a program for 30 days, specifically a coaching program. I won't mention the name of the coach but will give great details later on. One of his tasks for us is to keep a journal, so guess what? I'm going to be writing in here a lot for the next 30 days. Hopefully every day...
Today I'm going to learn Camtasia, which if you aren't familiar is a video editing software, and start posting some videos on youtube and other websites. This sounds like fun, can't wait! Besides that I will be creating a bunch of new products, and hopefully a few freebies for my list (which you could sign up for at http://www.getpassionforlife.com). This is a part of my new attitude, to give away as much as possible that has real value. So get ready for more!
ttys, Doug
It's been a long time since I've posted on here, sorry to be such a slacker! I have been working on my business, my love-life, and my "happiness quotient" for the past year. Some things are going well, others not so much. I guess the biggest change came about 3 weeks ago (October 8, 2010) when I was laid off from my job after nearly 5 years. Yes that sounds like a bad thing, but I believe it is all for the best! Really, I'm not making that up.
You see I have been working on my business of internet marketing for some time, and only during the evenings after work. I've found this is a very tough thing to do for a long time, very draining physically and emotionally. So being without a job now I can focus full-time on my business, yeah! Good thing, right? The best part is, although I still work at least 8 hours or more each day, I have the time and energy to do other things as well. I get up each, thankful I don't have a "JOB" to do to, and get some exercise. Then eat breakfast, make a list of tasks for the day, and go off very excited to get some real work done that will make ME money, not someone else.
Another thing I recently started is a program for 30 days, specifically a coaching program. I won't mention the name of the coach but will give great details later on. One of his tasks for us is to keep a journal, so guess what? I'm going to be writing in here a lot for the next 30 days. Hopefully every day...
Today I'm going to learn Camtasia, which if you aren't familiar is a video editing software, and start posting some videos on youtube and other websites. This sounds like fun, can't wait! Besides that I will be creating a bunch of new products, and hopefully a few freebies for my list (which you could sign up for at http://www.getpassionforlife.com). This is a part of my new attitude, to give away as much as possible that has real value. So get ready for more!
ttys, Doug
Friday, October 9, 2009
7 Things you can do to be happier, right now
Hello again,
I was thinking today about how I could possibly get myself into a better mood. You see it's been a tough week for me, I'm sure you have all had those at one time or another, right? Lately that has been my experience, in "spades" as they say. No, I'm not a poker player. If I was though, let's say I would be losing money fast.
Back to my point - I really wanted to cheer myself up in a way that would be easily done, while at work, without giving the least hint about my state of mind to anybody else. I'm not one to do backflips, or go around memorizing jokes to tell at work, or anything like that. Besides I had real work to do, so those were not options anyway. But how can I increase my mood?
One - I popped in one of my favorite Cd's to start the day. You see I'm an old school rock fan, and Steely Dan is one of my favorite bands. I blasted Katy Lied on the way to work, and I'm off to a great start. It's even better than my pick of motivational CD's that I sometimes favor, too.
Two - I had to boost my energy, I was still a little under the weather I think from fighting a cold this week. That sucks but you can't curl up into a ball every time you feel a little sick, can you? Hell, no. I decided it was my chance to fight this thing, and put myself in a mental state that would create maximum positive energy, fast. How else? Create my future. When I need a fast boost of positive energy I create a vision of what my future will be in my mind in as great detail as I can muster. Let's say it involves much less work, more freedom, a nicer car, and the comfort of a large home where I can entertain my friends in style. Sound too materialistic? Maybe to some, but try it sometime. Get into the zone, where you can feel invincible. Expand your mind to make yourself believe that you can accomplish anything and everything that you dream of, and it changes the way you feel about yourself. OH, yeah.
Three - make plans for the near future, as in the weekend. Think of something that you love to do, and just do it. Drive 100 miles to your favorite getaway spot with that special someone? Just do it. Always wanted to go skydiving? Try it now, why wait until next week or next year? Tomorrow may be too late, take advantage of right now as soon as you can. Besides having something to look forward to always makes me feel better, how about you? The anticipation is worth it, right?
Four - meet some one new, and make a friend. When was the last time you just went out on the town, or out to the store, or a movie or park, and just sat down beside someone and started a conversation? It feels great, doesn't it? That is the most fun thing to do. Of course it's more fun it that person is an attractive member of the opposite sex, naturally. But whatever you feel comfortable with...no, that's not the point is it? Get out of your comfort zone for once! That's the excitement of it, believe me. Go, try it. Report back to me...
Five - do something physical that you previously thought was beyond your physical limits. I know you could get hurt, but how bad could it be? So you try roller-blading and sprain your ankle. Big deal, right? Or go find a playground and swing on the swings for awhile, looking like a large kid who may or may not be totally lucid. Or better yet, get a real workout. Go join a gym and vow to get in shape even if it kills you. Take the challenge, push yourself for once, ok? You will thank me later I promise.
Six - Ok, I'm running out here but listen up! Try putting your thoughts into words like a journal. You will find that it loosens up your brain tremendously, the experience is very freeing. Being creative after all takes us to a higher level of consciousness, which is very good for the soul.
Seven - last but not least, do something nice or helpful for someone you don't know. Well it could be someone you know too, but it's better if you don't know them, because then you likely won't ever see them again and don't "expect" any future gain from the act. Does that make sense? Helping someone just for the sake of helping them, for absolutely no other reason. Come on, if you look hard enough you will find someone. Hang in a mall parking lot for about 10 minutes, and you find some elderly person who needs help carrying something. If you are near a busy highway, drive a few miles looking for a stranded motorist to drive to the nearest gas station. Or just compliment someone, give someone an unexpected smile for no reason. Even something this small can really make someones day, give them faith in humanity again, if even for a small amount of time. And of course it's going to make you smile, too.
Think of any more? Write me!
3taky5dxme
I was thinking today about how I could possibly get myself into a better mood. You see it's been a tough week for me, I'm sure you have all had those at one time or another, right? Lately that has been my experience, in "spades" as they say. No, I'm not a poker player. If I was though, let's say I would be losing money fast.
Back to my point - I really wanted to cheer myself up in a way that would be easily done, while at work, without giving the least hint about my state of mind to anybody else. I'm not one to do backflips, or go around memorizing jokes to tell at work, or anything like that. Besides I had real work to do, so those were not options anyway. But how can I increase my mood?
One - I popped in one of my favorite Cd's to start the day. You see I'm an old school rock fan, and Steely Dan is one of my favorite bands. I blasted Katy Lied on the way to work, and I'm off to a great start. It's even better than my pick of motivational CD's that I sometimes favor, too.
Two - I had to boost my energy, I was still a little under the weather I think from fighting a cold this week. That sucks but you can't curl up into a ball every time you feel a little sick, can you? Hell, no. I decided it was my chance to fight this thing, and put myself in a mental state that would create maximum positive energy, fast. How else? Create my future. When I need a fast boost of positive energy I create a vision of what my future will be in my mind in as great detail as I can muster. Let's say it involves much less work, more freedom, a nicer car, and the comfort of a large home where I can entertain my friends in style. Sound too materialistic? Maybe to some, but try it sometime. Get into the zone, where you can feel invincible. Expand your mind to make yourself believe that you can accomplish anything and everything that you dream of, and it changes the way you feel about yourself. OH, yeah.
Three - make plans for the near future, as in the weekend. Think of something that you love to do, and just do it. Drive 100 miles to your favorite getaway spot with that special someone? Just do it. Always wanted to go skydiving? Try it now, why wait until next week or next year? Tomorrow may be too late, take advantage of right now as soon as you can. Besides having something to look forward to always makes me feel better, how about you? The anticipation is worth it, right?
Four - meet some one new, and make a friend. When was the last time you just went out on the town, or out to the store, or a movie or park, and just sat down beside someone and started a conversation? It feels great, doesn't it? That is the most fun thing to do. Of course it's more fun it that person is an attractive member of the opposite sex, naturally. But whatever you feel comfortable with...no, that's not the point is it? Get out of your comfort zone for once! That's the excitement of it, believe me. Go, try it. Report back to me...
Five - do something physical that you previously thought was beyond your physical limits. I know you could get hurt, but how bad could it be? So you try roller-blading and sprain your ankle. Big deal, right? Or go find a playground and swing on the swings for awhile, looking like a large kid who may or may not be totally lucid. Or better yet, get a real workout. Go join a gym and vow to get in shape even if it kills you. Take the challenge, push yourself for once, ok? You will thank me later I promise.
Six - Ok, I'm running out here but listen up! Try putting your thoughts into words like a journal. You will find that it loosens up your brain tremendously, the experience is very freeing. Being creative after all takes us to a higher level of consciousness, which is very good for the soul.
Seven - last but not least, do something nice or helpful for someone you don't know. Well it could be someone you know too, but it's better if you don't know them, because then you likely won't ever see them again and don't "expect" any future gain from the act. Does that make sense? Helping someone just for the sake of helping them, for absolutely no other reason. Come on, if you look hard enough you will find someone. Hang in a mall parking lot for about 10 minutes, and you find some elderly person who needs help carrying something. If you are near a busy highway, drive a few miles looking for a stranded motorist to drive to the nearest gas station. Or just compliment someone, give someone an unexpected smile for no reason. Even something this small can really make someones day, give them faith in humanity again, if even for a small amount of time. And of course it's going to make you smile, too.
Think of any more? Write me!
3taky5dxme
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
My Purposely Selfish Squidoo Post
Hello again,
Well it's come down to this I'm afraid, that I need post some info on Squidoo.com (one of my favorite places for free web pages) and say a few words. Why? Because I believe many of you still don't know about this site. It is a great way to get your message out there, whether you want to show off pictures of your hobby, your family, advertise for your business, tell a great story about your school or what's happening there, it's endless.
So this brings me to the "selfish" part of my post here- my links to my Squidoo pages. No, if you don't want to check them out I won't be hurt (but please, do!). They aren't all that great, anyway. Ok some are pretty good. So here they are, without further ado.
Find Health and Happiness
Make your goals do-or-die!
Happiness is a journey
The Road to Happiness
Get the power of habits
How to find more happiness
How to stay focused and achieve more
Spiritual growth and happiness
How to find success and motivation
well, there's a start for you. Hope you enjoy reading them! By the way, leave some feedback ok?
Thanks!
Don't forget to visit us at Finding happiness and success in life is easy!
Well it's come down to this I'm afraid, that I need post some info on Squidoo.com (one of my favorite places for free web pages) and say a few words. Why? Because I believe many of you still don't know about this site. It is a great way to get your message out there, whether you want to show off pictures of your hobby, your family, advertise for your business, tell a great story about your school or what's happening there, it's endless.
So this brings me to the "selfish" part of my post here- my links to my Squidoo pages. No, if you don't want to check them out I won't be hurt (but please, do!). They aren't all that great, anyway. Ok some are pretty good. So here they are, without further ado.
Find Health and Happiness
Make your goals do-or-die!
Happiness is a journey
The Road to Happiness
Get the power of habits
How to find more happiness
How to stay focused and achieve more
Spiritual growth and happiness
How to find success and motivation
well, there's a start for you. Hope you enjoy reading them! By the way, leave some feedback ok?
Thanks!
Don't forget to visit us at Finding happiness and success in life is easy!
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
References for Success? It's not what you think
Hey,
I know, it's been awhile since I've written anything at all. Shame on me! But I have been taking a break from it, working on other things. And just taking some vacation time of course, too. Of course I never stop learning, one of the things I always keep in mind is that if you aren't learning anything new your mind is probably turning to mush. And we can't let that happen, can we?
Recently I was listening to an old Tony Robbins MP3 file, something I forgot I even downloaded probably. He was talking about "creating references" in order to achieve more, something that got me thinking how much that is really true. In order to make something come true, we really have to envision it first in our minds, right? After that, we need to really believe that we can accomplish whatever it is we want to do, and imagine ourselves doing this task with complete confidence and certainty.
Creating references to our success is really about setting the stage for the picture of how our new reality will look. In order to create your future, you need to know how it's going to look, right? So why not make as many details to that picture as you can now? It's like putting together a puzzle, the more pieces of the puzzle you have in place the more that the puzzle looks like the box it came in. After awhile you really recognize things, and that makes it much easier to finish the puzzle, right? Same thing with your picture of reality - the more pieces of the "puzzle" you are trying to create, the more you will recognize your future and this will give you immense confidence that your future is really taking shape. As you get closer to the finish it just keeps getting easier and easier!
Let's put this into real life form so it's easier to understand. I knew this friend of mine who wanted to be a veterinarian, and she spoke about it night and day. How much she really wanted to work with animals, because she loved them and knew it was her "dream" job. So of course she finally made the leap and went to veterinarian school, which is really tough to get into. It took awhile, but she was very persistent and finally got in. This was the first step in her plan, because although she was around animals all her life she didn't have any formal training yet. She knew what she wanted, but wasn't totally convinced yet that she could really accomplish it. Once she finished vet school, she knew that it would take her closer to her goal of being a vet. She had to create strong references though in order to get through all of this training, because doing something this difficult was going to take a very long time to accomplish. Once she got through vet school, she had built up a huge reference that gave her more confidence in her ability to realize that dream, but she knew she still had a long way to go before the dream became her reality. After that, she had to go through an internship, and then pass a board examination to become licenses in her state. Yes, she knew what the eventual goal was and how to get it, but each step along the way was like another huge piece in the puzzle of her dream. She kept adding piece after piece, and finally it was really becoming clear that she was going to be a board certified vet, and have her own practice! When she first started, she wasn't convinced that it would happen. But as she got closer and closer, the picture was very clear.
This is just one example of how references build our confidence and create our reality, by reinforcing the picture each step of the way. Yes, it takes time to create a new reality for yourself. But that's what dreams are for, aren't they?
I know, it's been awhile since I've written anything at all. Shame on me! But I have been taking a break from it, working on other things. And just taking some vacation time of course, too. Of course I never stop learning, one of the things I always keep in mind is that if you aren't learning anything new your mind is probably turning to mush. And we can't let that happen, can we?
Recently I was listening to an old Tony Robbins MP3 file, something I forgot I even downloaded probably. He was talking about "creating references" in order to achieve more, something that got me thinking how much that is really true. In order to make something come true, we really have to envision it first in our minds, right? After that, we need to really believe that we can accomplish whatever it is we want to do, and imagine ourselves doing this task with complete confidence and certainty.
Creating references to our success is really about setting the stage for the picture of how our new reality will look. In order to create your future, you need to know how it's going to look, right? So why not make as many details to that picture as you can now? It's like putting together a puzzle, the more pieces of the puzzle you have in place the more that the puzzle looks like the box it came in. After awhile you really recognize things, and that makes it much easier to finish the puzzle, right? Same thing with your picture of reality - the more pieces of the "puzzle" you are trying to create, the more you will recognize your future and this will give you immense confidence that your future is really taking shape. As you get closer to the finish it just keeps getting easier and easier!
Let's put this into real life form so it's easier to understand. I knew this friend of mine who wanted to be a veterinarian, and she spoke about it night and day. How much she really wanted to work with animals, because she loved them and knew it was her "dream" job. So of course she finally made the leap and went to veterinarian school, which is really tough to get into. It took awhile, but she was very persistent and finally got in. This was the first step in her plan, because although she was around animals all her life she didn't have any formal training yet. She knew what she wanted, but wasn't totally convinced yet that she could really accomplish it. Once she finished vet school, she knew that it would take her closer to her goal of being a vet. She had to create strong references though in order to get through all of this training, because doing something this difficult was going to take a very long time to accomplish. Once she got through vet school, she had built up a huge reference that gave her more confidence in her ability to realize that dream, but she knew she still had a long way to go before the dream became her reality. After that, she had to go through an internship, and then pass a board examination to become licenses in her state. Yes, she knew what the eventual goal was and how to get it, but each step along the way was like another huge piece in the puzzle of her dream. She kept adding piece after piece, and finally it was really becoming clear that she was going to be a board certified vet, and have her own practice! When she first started, she wasn't convinced that it would happen. But as she got closer and closer, the picture was very clear.
This is just one example of how references build our confidence and create our reality, by reinforcing the picture each step of the way. Yes, it takes time to create a new reality for yourself. But that's what dreams are for, aren't they?
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