The best skill - making decisions

Hello,

Are you pretty good at making decisions? How do you know if you are or aren't? Well, some people seem to make decisions pretty quickly, and others take forever. Which method is the best? In general I believe being decisive is a good thing, in other words being able to quickly weigh your options and decide what is the best choice. Look at it this way, if you are the type of person who can never seem to make up their mind, doesn't it make your decisions that much harder and painful? So what is the real deal, is it fear of making the wrong decision maybe? I believe in most cases, that's the case.

What if you make the wrong decision and it causes problems? Well that's always possible, but not making a decision in the first place is normally worse than making a bad decision. Let me explain that, because I'm sure that doesn't sound logical. Say I put off making a choice of whether I should take a new job that a friend told me about recently. He says it would be different than what I'm doing now, although some of the same skills are involved and I do qualify in many ways for this job. Ok, I'm thinking I "kind of" like my current job, so what are the benefits of the new job that would tempt me? Well, in order to make an informed decision about anything you must weigh the benefits versus that drawbacks. Make a list, take into account your personal choices and how important different aspects of each item on the list really are. As an example of the job:

1. good thing - the pay is slightly higher
2. bad thing - it's in the city and I'm not crazy about that
3. good thing - the company is doing well, my current employer isn't
4. good thing - it's something different, shake up my life a little
5. bad thing - it's different, and I may not like doing it

Ok, you see where I'm going with this right? These are all totally hypothetical reasons which I just made up, but very possibly things you may have to decide in the future. You also have to thing about the intangibles, such as what if you don't take this job and then get laid off from your current job? Are you by nature a risk-taker or do you look for the security first in any new position? If you value security and safety, perhaps staying at your current job is more prudent because at least it's a known factor. Not knowing what is going to happen is pretty scary for a lot of people and not worth the risk. I guess if you are going to lie awake at night worrying about the job situation, it might be a bad idea.

Alright, that's just a hypothetical situation. But if you have a real problem making important decisions about your future, perhaps you need to evaluate why that is true. Some people just don't like to make decisions. If that's the case, I suggest you try to change that, since making decisions in life is a very critical skill that every adult needs to have. Are you really that afraid of making the wrong decision? What's the worst that could happen, you will have to change your mind and maybe lose a little time, money, etc. in the process. Back to reality, folks. We all have made bad decisions at one time or another! We just have to learn from them, that's all. Try to figure out why it was a bad decision, what brought you to that decision, and how you would change that next time. Did you weight all the options first? Did you go with your "gut" instinct, because usually that is the best way to go, although not always. Perhaps you have a friend that is knowledgeable about the situation you're in and asking him or her would be beneficial.

Anyway, I have a decision to make here. Whether to ramble on for another 300 words, or just cut this blog short and be done with it. Ok, one more point - sometimes it's a great idea to take a chance, take advantage of an opportunity, and just go for it. If your decision is anything about that kind of situation, I say go for it. But that's just me...

To your continued success and happiness!

Visit us often at the happiness place

Try future-thinking for greater success

Hello friend,

Today I want to discuss a topic that is a little bit esoteric – not many people really know what I mean when I speak of “future-thinking”, but I wanted to explain because it has helped me so much that I feel I must. I’m not talking about literally predicting the future, although if you work your plan well enough that’s pretty much how it turns out. I really mean that you should not only plan for the future, but truly project yourself into the future, envisioning what your life will look like after you reach all of your major goals.

In order to do that you must first have a list of goals, which I assume you already do. (If not, please make that list pronto, it’s one of the most important things you’ll ever do to achieve success at all). Look at your list and then think about what it means to you – what are doing five, ten, twenty years from now? Where will you live, in a nice 5-bedroom home in a nearby gated community? Or maybe in that mansion by the edge of town where the millionaires live? Who will be with you, the woman/man of your dreams? Your family, if you have one already? How happy will you all be? What kind of routine will you have, working from the house for a few hours a day, or maybe in a high rise office building that accommodates the most prestigious firms in the state?

All of these details must be made clear in your mind, in order to make “future-thinking” work for you. Not only must you think of these things in great detail, you must emotionalize them, get excited about them, every day or even several times a day if possible. These are you dreams! Make them come alive, make them as real as possible for you. Use your imagination to believe that these things are happening now in your world. Then once you are clear on your goals in detail, the next step is to put your detailed plan into action.

This is one step many seem to forget about, the action and how important it is. You can have the most creative, detailed, well-thought out plan ever devised but if you don’t take action it is useless! So take that plan, and think about every little thing that you must do to make it work, every day. Even with my current plan I usually sit down several nights a week and review everything in my plan, and decide what is working and what isn’t. Am I on track to reach my goals? Some and not others, possibly? What do I need to do tomorrow, next week, next month to reach these goals. That is what you ought to be asking yourself every day. Make sure the actions you are taking are working, at least getting you in the right direction of your goals. If they aren’t, then make the necessary changes now, and take the next step. See if those changes work. If not, make some more alterations in your actions, then reassess again to make sure you are making progress. I’m sure you have heard the expression “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. That is how you must think, to take that long journey.

Just remember the goals that are in your future, if you can still keep those dreams alive every day they will feed your hunger for success and keep you motivated to continue. Think how fantastic your future will be! If you don’t get excited about that, you need to do some serious thinking about what your dreams mean to you, because they aren’t getting you very far.
I know you can do better! We all can, if we just look into the future and see how great it can be.

To your continued success and happiness!

Sincerely,

Doug Hart, CHO of GetPassionForLife.com

Don’t forget to visit us at the happiness place for regular updates!

Develop amnesia, if you want to be happier...

Hello again,

Many times in life, things happen that are just not exactly what we really wanted – you know, bad things. They happen to everybody, whether your short or tall, rich or poor, educated or not, and there’s not a lot you can do to stop bad things from happening. Try as we may, plan all you want and get as much preparation as you possibly can, but sometimes circumstances just don’t go the way we want them to.

So what is a person supposed to do? Well, I guess it depends on the circumstances, if it’s something unexpected like someone nearly colliding with your car in traffic it’s hard to control the emotional rush of anger. That actually happened to me just today, which is one reason I’m writing this little piece. As I was slowly backing out of a parking space at the bookstore to leave, a car that had just past me suddenly stopped, put the car in reverse, and backed up very quickly towards my car. I thought there’s not way they don’t see me, right? I had zero time to react, and the car came within inches of hitting me as I watched helplessly. The car finally stopped after passing me, I guess finding the “perfect spot” to park. The driver looked over at me in shock, realizing how close she was to slamming into my car. Ooops, sorry!

Ok, did I a) calmly put my car in drive and leave b) jump out of my car screaming and shaking my fist or c) drive away, shaking with the adrenaline due to the realization I was nearly broadsided. If you picked “C” give yourself two points, but it took a good 10 minutes before I was able to calm down completely. I have to say it is one of those things that happens to me probably once a year, and I’ve only been in one really bad accident. But bad things like this happen all the time, so how do you deal with it? Well, I’ve learned to develop amnesia just for these occasions.

That may sound a little tough to do, but stay with me. Your emotions tend to take over, at least for awhile, but once you regain control you just have to forget it. Just act like it didn’t happen! Does it always work? Not immediately, but with a little practice you can forget things like this pretty quickly. That’s the main point, you must practice this. Quickly think of something else, like where was I going and what was I doing before being so rudely interrupted by this little distraction? Then, move on. Really, it’s the best thing to do for your sanity.

Not only does this work for things like near collisions, but it works for lots of bad things. Locked your keys in your car? Get over it, move on. The IRS is reviewing your taxes? Ok, fix it first then move on. Didn’t get a raise this year? Join the club, times are tough all around, it’s a bad thing but we just have to deal and move on. Your water heater just quit on you and there’s water all over your floor? Yep, been there too. Lot’s of things like these happen to all of us, some more often than others, but they happen. And we can do one of two things – either cry about and complain til’ we’re blue in the face, or just develop amnesia and forget it. I personally think the best way is to forget. Why? What good does it do to get angry, throw a fit, and stew all day when you have the ability to just say “whatever” and forget it?
Logically, you know I’m right. But you’re probably saying “I can’t do that!” – because of the whole emotional control thing. Like I said, it takes practice.

If it helps any, practice what psychologists call “changing state”. (No, don’t move to where things are much easier. There is no place like that). Changing state means to break out of whatever emotional state you happen to be in, and quickly change it to another one. For instance, in a situation where you experience a very bad scare, your heart-rate is raised and your breathing is very rapid. In order to quickly change this state, just take several slow, deep breaths. At the same time think of something else that is calming – like that day at the beach you spent with the family last summer, or giant pink elephants if it helps! Very soon you should be back on track, all calmed down and focused to do what you originally had planned. What was I going to do now? Oh, yeah. That amnesia can be tough to break.


To your continued success and happiness!

Don’t forget to visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for regular updates!

Develop powerful beliefs

good day again,

When I mention beliefs, most people immediately relate this in some way to religion. That’s not the belief that I’m referring to, although that is one type of belief of course. I’m talking about what you believe to be true for yourself and your future. What you believe, deep down, about yourself internally. Our beliefs about who we are can be created by many things, mostly by our environment and how we were brought up. In addition, our experiences in life have a great impact on our beliefs. What were you taught when you were young about the possibilities for your future, what occupation you should pursue, how much income you would have?

If you’re like most people, including myself, not much was ever said so you just looked around you and made your own assumptions. If you grew up in a small town where nearly everyone worked in a coal mine, then your future looked pretty dark, literally. However if you grew up in a well-to-do area where nearly everyone was college educated and had either a solid profession or a business, then you probably saw many more possibilities for yourself. Regardless, other factors have a great impact on your beliefs.

One of the most important things that effect our beliefs is the way we talk to ourselves internally. When you are presented with a task, either at school or at your job, if you tell yourself there’s no way I’m going to get this done, then chances are you won’t! When I say “tell yourself”, that’s exactly what we do, by a method known as internal dialog. We don’t of course consciously tell ourselves, but on an almost subconscious level we have mini-conversations with ourselves every minute of every day! They are constant and never ending, and cause us to make decisions that are vital to our lives. Wouldn’t it be better if we had more control over these decisions, these thoughts that are constantly bouncing around in our heads? In order to change our actions, we must learn (through habit) to control this dialog as much as possible in order to control our actions. Internal dialog is such a major force in our lives that we must learn to change, and use it to our benefit instead of our detriment. Of course, it may be impossible to control completely, because external forces are always causing us to lose our focus in so many ways. But believe me the sooner you learn to believe in what you can do in a positive way, and block out all of the negative self-talk that floods most peoples minds, the sooner you will be on your way to reaching your goals. At the end of this book I have some exercises that will help, make sure to check those out!

Most people have other beliefs that need to be changed as well, ones that cripple us every day without our even knowing it. Limiting beliefs about not only what we can or can’t do, but also what we deserve in life. Many people unfortunately have a negative self-image that limits them in life, almost like a “governor” on a large engine that only allows 50% of the power to be used! This negative image is a constant nagging reminder that says “I’m not good enough” or “I could never make a million dollars”. Don’t believe it for one minute! The only difference between the mindset of someone that makes a million dollars and one that makes $20K a year as a sales clerk is BELIEF in what they can do. You must begin right now to tell yourself every day that you are indeed capable of becoming whatever you wish to become, whether it’s a millionaire, successful at your chosen career, an actor/actress, a writer, or whatever your goals are. Remember, if anyone can do it, you can repeat that persons success by first believing that you can do it, then following their example and modeling their behavior.

There are many ways to model another persons behavior, you can find a mentor and copy their strategies for success at whatever skill you need to learn. Even learning from a book about this person, if you can’t find a mentor that can teach you directly, will suffice. The key is to learn how others perform and duplicate their process, whether you are learning to ski, trade stocks on Wall Street, or run a business successfully. The principles need to be learned from someone who is already successful, and copying someone that’s already doing what you want to be skilled at will help speed this process.

Another very important aspect of belief is a little thing called “self-esteem”, something many people are woefully short on. The problem with building self-esteem is that our belief in what we can accomplish in life is so embedded in our minds by the time we are adults, it takes a very strong process to repair if it is damaged. You see a lot of our beliefs are formed when we are quite young, by accident or by someone simply telling us we are “stupid” or we’ll “never amount to anything”, or similar words that sink into our subconscious and take hold without our knowing it. In order to change our thoughts internally and thus our beliefs, we must change that thought process. How do we do it? By talking to our subconscious mind, repeating phrases that help to strengthen our self-esteem once again. This may sound strange to some people but try this anyway; it works and has worked for thousands of people. Write several phrases down on paper, things that you want to believe in that will improve your self-esteem, and repeat them to yourself at least twice a day in the morning and before going to bed at night. Things such as “I can accomplish anything in life I desire”, or “my success is up to me, and I chose to be successful”. From now on make sure that you have a strong conviction that anything you want in life can be accomplished, because your belief will make it so. If at first you aren’t sure you really believe it with all your heart, continue to “act” as if you do anyway. In time, your beliefs will be in step with the new you. Remember that beliefs held for a long time may change slowly, but with a powerful desire and passion to change them you are destined for success and happiness. This I assure you…


To your continued success and happiness!


Don’t forget to visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for regular updates!

Your happiness and health - related?

Good day,

If you asked someone to name the most important aspects of happiness, what do you think would be the most common answers? Let’s start with maybe the top three, that should make a little bit easier. For many people a belief in God (or a higher power) is their number one source of happiness. Others who are less inclined towards religion would probably state that their close relationships are their biggest source of happiness, especially those married with children. Even those without children may say a “loving relationship” would be near the top, which can of course be defined in different ways for different types of people. After all, we all need love, right?

After those two “biggies” that would probably leave finances in the third spot most likely, at least in most polls and studies that I’ve seen. Even if you don’t care to be rich, you still need a certain level of comfort in order to maintain a level of happiness which lasts any length of time. I’m not certain that finances wouldn’t be some peoples top choice for happiness, but of course I’m trying to base my order on reality and percentages that seem more realistic, not on the basis of a small group of money-hungry individuals. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…

So what comes next on the list? Most studies and polls that I’ve read put “good health” somewhere on that list, and for good reason! No matter how great your relationships are, or how much comfort you have in life, you pretty much have to be at least somewhat healthy to enjoy them, right? Of course there are those that argue that truly enjoying life means not having to limit the food they eat, or amount of liquor they drink, because happiness for them is doing whatever they want for the joy of the moment. I don’t try to change the minds of those who express those opinions, I just don’t have the time or patience to get through to them! I do admit they have a right to their opinions.

As a nation, we are probably known for our tendency to overindulge a bit, especially when it comes to food. Are we the unhealthiest people on the planet? Possibly, quite possibly. Although the jury may be out on that one, we have to admit that we’re a little lax in this country when it comes to good health. Not everyone of course. There are those that run their marathons, trek faithfully to the gym every day, and have taken up the vegetarian or at least a healthy diet, realizing that we must take care of the only physical container for our spirit we have. Recent polls show that about half of all Americans exercise on a weekly basis or more, which isn’t all that great.

However, is that all there is to good health? Just exercise a few days a week, and watch our diet so we don’t eat too much fattening foods? I really think it’s more than that, I would go so far as to add these to the list:

1. Get regular checkups – they can warn us of any disease before it may be too late
2. Make sure you get enough vitamins and minerals in your diet, most people don’t
3. Don’t forget to relax, get a massage, or take up meditation. Stress is a real killer!
4. Get plenty of sleep; many people have problems with this. See your doctor if you can’t sleep
5. Have lots of social connections, it’s great for long-term health
6. Drink plenty of water
7. Don’t smoke! Pretty obvious…

Anyway, these are just a few tips I like to live by. We should all make an effort to live longer, happier lives and I believe that if you are taking good care of your body you are also more likely to be happy. The mind is very much linked to the body, so if one is out of balance it isn’t very long until it affects the other. So do yourself a favor and take care of both, ok?

To your continues success and happiness!

Making money online

Hello again,

The more research I do the more ways I find to make money online - which if you haven't figured out by now is my ultimate plan, and my goal is to quit my "day job" by next year. If anybody out there is already doing it, but all means drop me a line or post your website here and I will be glad to check it out. Of course, the one of many ways to get more traffic to your site is post your web address on places like MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, etc. and let people know you exist. Upon until now, nobody knew I existed outside of my articles on many websites (go ahead, google me with "doug hart articles" and see how many you get!).
Anyway, here is my list of ways to make money online so far:

1. Write an ebook and sell it online
2. Start a blog (and write in it daily!)
3. Buy a butt-load of great domain names, and put ads on them
4. Start a website that does nothing but promote other peoples products
5. Sell products on Ebay, CraigsList, or some other auction site
6. Start a "members-only" site, using some skill that you can teach others

These are the best ways that I know of so far, after doing quite a bit of research and reading tons of newsletters, blogs, and internet marketing books. Do they all work? Yes and no. Some work better than others, but in order for ANYTHING to work you have to leverage your particular skill to make it work, and give enough time and energy to see it through. This principle is the first principle in any business, in order to make it work you have to keep at it, tweak it, see what works, drop what doesn't work and do more of what does work. Did anybody say it would be easy? Hell no, but how much would you give of yourself in order to quit your current job so you can work on your computer a few hours a day and make twice the money? Yeah, I thought so...

To your continued success and happiness!

Don't forget to visit my site at http://getpassionforlife.com and check my other products too!

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The key to long-term happiness

In order to really secure a happiness that will last beyond the immediate “rush” of whatever is making you smile at the moment, you must find a balance between all of the major areas in your life. These are easily identified by most people, but we tend to forget how important each component is in our lives until some crisis in one area brings it back into focus. Many people associate only one or two different components in their lives as bringing them happiness: money, spirituality, relationships, or health. However, research has shown unequivocally that it really takes a measure of abundance in each of these main areas to really achieve a true, lasting happiness. In addition, I would add some more to the mix myself, which I will explain later.

Do have a really terrific relationship, but never seem to have enough money to feel secure? Perhaps you suffer from the opposite situation, plenty of money but never finding happiness or satisfaction from your relationships? Everyone would love to have success in both these areas of life, but how to achieve it is the question. I think we get caught up in the “motivation trap” of chasing one dream and tend to forget about all of the other things that make us happy. There is an old saying “he who tries to catch two rabbits, usually ends up with none”. How many people (especially men, I hate to say) are very driven in their careers and make good money, but end up in the hospital due to the neglect to their health? High blood pressure, poor diet, lack of exercise, smoking, they are all problems that you cannot ignore for long if you want health happiness. You might say “where do I find the time” when it comes to getting healthy?

The truth is most of us waste far more time doing little or nothing, due to our lack of focus in life. We watch TV, talk on the phone, and spend hours surfing the web (guilty as charged!). If you find you can’t exercise due to time constraints, why not fit a 30-minute workout in while the morning before work? Maybe right after work, before going home to relax and have dinner? I have found that a workout actually brings my mental energy back into focus too, which gives me more physical energy. The point is if you want to be healthy, you must find the time to exercise and the discipline to eat better food. Being a fanatic about it isn’t necessary, but some degree of attention towards our health is certainly good, right? Somewhat of a no-brainer, really.

Ok, what about the other important areas? Let’s take spirituality for example. Many people go to church or synagogue to fulfill their needs for spirituality, but do you have to in order to find true happiness? Of course not, but you may find yourself lacking a certain peace of mind if you don’t do some soul-searching once in awhile. Like a feeling that you forgot something, it will continue to gnaw at you until you fulfill this need. We all seem to have a need to believe in a higher power, and most studies show that people that have at least a belief in a higher power feel better about their lives than those that don’t. My guess is it’s a basic human desire to feel connected to this higher power, but church is also a terrific social outlet for people as well.

This brings me to another important component of happiness – relationships. I’m not just talking about husband/wife, or even the immediate family relationship (children, parents, grandparents), although those are all important, right? What about your necessity to be around others, to get out and talk with and meet new people? This is very important to a healthy personality and to happiness itself. You may know of someone that shuns social situations, and if so think about what that person’s level of happiness is. Probably not that great, I’m guessing. We all need to socialize at least some of the time, although not all people have the need as frequently as some others do.

My last pillar of happiness would have to be freedom; we all need a measure of freedom, or independence if you will, to be able to make decisions for ourselves. To feel in control of our lives at some level is quite necessary to happiness. Just think about how hard it would be for you to be happy if you had no choice about what job you could do each day, or where you could live, or what persons you were allowed to spend time with. Let alone the freedoms we take for granted like speech, freedom to leave our homes at will, and express ourselves with music, religion, taste in clothes. The list goes on forever!
I guess my conclusion is, don’t concentrate on just one area of your life thinking it will bring happiness. Sit down and make a list of the things that may need more attention, one pillar at a time, and work on bringing more abundance in that area. Your happiness level should see a definite increase!


To your continued success and happiness!

Visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for more inspiration!

How strong is your desire?

What does it take to keep you going in the direction of your dreams? If you have a truly powerful desire to become a new person, or to accomplish something really great in your life, is that enough to get you there? Let me put it another way. We all have things in life we want, some more so than others. But true desire is not measured by mere “wishes”, is it? If you truly have desire for something, it will be on your mind nearly all the time. You cannot go one single day without thinking about it, in fact some would say you have an obsession! That is what a real desire is all about. Do you experience that on a regular basis?
I recently read a very inspirational quote relating to desire:
“Desire is the key to motivation, but it's the determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek”. The reason I like it so much is that I also find desire is only the first step in achieving anything, we must also have the unrelenting persistence to keep going no matter what the circumstances. Many people start out with a strong desire to have something, or accomplish something great, but over time lose this desire due to setbacks or lack of motivation. Why is this so? No matter how strong your desire to have something, unless you develop the strongest possible attitude of determination and persistence, you are in danger of losing what you most desire.
I think that many people also feel that they don’t deserve the things they desire most – that they are somehow not worthy of great things in life. If you have that thought for even a second, do yourself a favor and punch yourself in the face. Then repeat over and over again “I am worthy of anything I desire in life” until you never have that thought again. (I’m joking, sort of ). But seriously, you must believe that anything is possible as long as you have the desire and persistence to follow through. Anything in life that is worth having is worth fighting for, and if you desire anything strong enough your happiness depends on seeing it through. There should be no question that you can have it, if your desire is strong enough. Don’t give yourself a chance to give up, or quit, for quitting is not an option. Turn your desire into the one thing in life you cannot live without, and your desire will not let you down.

To your continued success and happiness!

Visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for more inspiration!

What direction is your life going?

Hello again,

Today’s topic is “what direction are you going” – is it in the direction of where you wish to go due to a predetermined thought process? Or, are you just going in the direction away from what you don’t want in life? There’s a huge difference, pick the wrong choice and you are doomed to a life of mediocrity. If you say to yourself “I just want out of this crazy job!” every day, instead of actively working on a plan to make a different path for yourself, you are focusing on the wrong thing completely.

I know we all get off track now and again, but many people I speak with aren’t really focused in any specific direction most of the time. Why is that? Either they don’t have well-defined goals, or they become too caught up in the “minutia” of daily life, the problems, and the setbacks, and lose their focus. First, you must have specific goals that you want to either accomplish in the short term, or long term (hopefully both!). If you don’t have written goals, what path are you following to get where you want to go? This is so critical, if you don’t have a list of written goals I want you to stop reading this right now and go take 20 minutes to make one. Don’t worry, I’ll wait…

Ok, glad you got that accomplished! Ok, so now that you’re focused on what you want in life, you don’t have to worry at all about the other stuff, right? Well, not exactly. When things don’t work out the way we planned due to some unexpected result or event, we have the power to either acknowledge the situation and move on, or dwell on “why this crap always happens to me”. Say I’m working on a way to get myself a promotion at work, and things are looking pretty good. I have suggested some ways to save the company money, and even implemented some plan that will accomplish it with little overhead. The boss is happy, I’m looking good. Then the plan has a setback, unexpectedly, when it looks like it may cost more to implement than I planned. Do I give up? Of course not, I’m so close I can taste it. This is just a bump in the road, and I will just put my mind to work and figure out a way to do it for less.

You see we all have problems and setbacks, but how you deal with them is the difference between success and failure in life. If you have a direction that you know in your heart is what you want, nothing can stop you except you! Dealing with the little things is a piece of cake, right? You have to get to a point where they are all “little things”, because you are so focused on what you want that nothing even slows you down from reaching your goals. Don’t ever avoid problems, become a super-hero of problem solving! After you get good at facing and solving problems, your success is that much closer since you will have so much more time and energy to focus on your goals rather than on problems. That way you will spend the majority of your time chasing dreams, rather than running away from problems!


To your continued success and happiness!


Don’t forget to visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for regular updates!

Ten Ways to Re-motivate Yourself

Good Day,


The past few weeks have been sort of unproductive for me, mostly because of certain distractions that for the most part were beyond my control (scheduling problems, personal things that needed attention, the usual). Now I look back and say “how could let myself do this?” I feel as if I accomplished very little, and it’s time to buckle down again, put nose to the grindstone, and get some serious work done! But, how do I do it?

What I need is a way to get “super-motivated”, so I came up with a list of ways to really pile on the motivation. I came up with 10 pretty good ones, most of which I already was utilizing at least some of the time. Let me know if you have some more, I’m always trying to extend this list!

#1 – Change your routine - wake up earlier and be more productive. I usually try to get up at least one hour before l must leave for work, in order to do some quick exercises, go over my plan for the day, and make sure I’m ready to rock n’ roll first thing. I like to change this routine occasionally, so I don’t get in a rut. Even making an extra 20-25 minutes to prepare can leave you in a better mood to start the day.

#2 – Listen to motivational audio on the way to work. Or, if you work at home as I do sometimes, listen as you get ready to work. There are many motivational CD recordings out there, I use ones from Brian Tracy, Tony Robbins, or Bob Proctor, but there are many good ones out there.

#3 – List to inspirational music! I don’t know about you, but nothing gets my blood pumping faster than great music that I love, such as some good Eric Clapton, Green Day, or other hard rock. But anything you have an emotional connection with will work, it’s like magic to pick up your mood.

#4 – Utilize self-talk or affirmations. I do a whole list of affirmations in the mornings, and usually at night as well. But any kind of positive self-talk can really motivate you if used correctly, it’s what you say to yourself that makes the difference.

#5 – Stay away from negative people. This may sound kind of cruel or unkind, but hey, let’s be honest. If you any friends that are really bringing you down, you must either let them know about it and hope they change, or stay away. Life is too short to hang around negative people, and don’t’ think it won’t affect you because eventually it will!

#6 – Take a positive action. Think about what you have been meaning to start, or stop recently. Something you have been putting off, maybe? Take that trip to the gym, start that new diet, finish that book you started 6 months ago, anything really. Just taking a positive direction towards something makes you feel more in control of things, which boosts your self-confidence and self-esteem.

#7 – Start an exercise routine. Ok, I kind of covered this in the last point but it’s really important. This is critical to your physical and mental health, exercise is not an option it is a mandate. If you exercise regularly you will automatically add many years to your life and improve your outlook on life.

#8 – Try zero-based thinking. This is a simple but powerful concept to change your thought process. Is there anything in your life that you would stop doing, looking at the big picture? If you had to go back and do it again, would you? This can apply to a business, a hobby, a girlfriend/boyfriend, a choice you made on something that takes your time and energy. If you wouldn’t do it again, stop doing it now!

#9 – Reevaluate your schedule. Take a serious look at every little thing you do every day for a week. Are you wasting a significant amount of time doing something of little value? Either eliminate if from your life, or drastically cut down on this task or habit. Sometimes just rearranging your schedule can save you time as well, such as doing a “high-value” task early in the day while you’re wide awake and full of energy instead of after lunch when you’re tired.

#10 – Reward yourself. Sometimes it really helps to reward yourself after making a great effort. Why? Because psychologically a reward gives us a boost of pleasure after something that takes extra effort, which will encourage us to do it again. Sounds like “psyching” yourself out, right? Yes, you can fool yourself, although don’t take it to extremes or you will be doing more rewarding than working on moving forward.

These are just a few suggestions, I’m sure you can get creative and think of more. In fact I would encourage it! The more you can get in the habit of boosting your motivation, the more you will accomplish. In turn, you will boost your confidence in reaching the goals you have set for yourself and move faster and farther than you ever thought possible!

To your continued success and happiness!

Don’t forget to visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for regular updates!

Happiness in a Relative World

Good day,


With all of the bad things happening in our country right now (the stock market crashing, the banks and mortgage companies failing, jobs being lost, you know what I mean) I was thinking how many people out there are effected negatively by this? As a people, are we generally less happy when our economy is doing badly?
My first guess would be “duh”, yeah! But when you look closer at the numbers, I can’t believe an overwhelming number of people are really that badly hurt right now by these financial catastrophes. If you work for a bank, are laid off from your job, or just lost your home to foreclosure, of course I don’t mean you. I feel very badly that so many people are going through these things. Nevertheless, statistically that is only a small number of people. If about 2 million houses went into foreclosure last year (which is a record I believe) that still only represents less than 2 percent of the total U.S. households. That is a whole lot of people affected mind you, but not anywhere near the majority of households in the country. Once again, the people that are feeling the pinch of this downturn are surely going through hard times, and I sympathize greatly.

What about the rest of us that are relatively unscathed by the housing crisis? Sure, our 401K’s have tanked. But in talking to many people the past month or so, I hear many say how depressing this stuff is. Gas prices are at record levels, groceries prices are skyrocketing, and most people aren’t getting much of a pay increase either due to business concerns. You read in the news every day about the desperation, how it is affecting our lifestyle, we have to make massive changes to cope with economic “meltdown”. Granted things are pretty bad right now, but if you have a roof over your head, your family has food every day, and you have the security of knowing a single phone call can bring the police or fire department to your door, how badly do we really have it? I’m just saying try to keep things in some perspective, that’s all.

Ok, switch gears for a second. Pretend you live in a small island nation somewhere in the Pacific where there is barely enough food to eat, houses are made of tree branches with thatched roofs, and the only clothes you have are the ones your mother made for you. No stores like Walmart, or any grocery stores, no corner gas station, no car in fact since you walk everywhere. Living a simple life like this, would you imagine you would be happy? If not, then why not? Just think about it a minute. I make the case that people with this lifestyle are 10 times happier than the average U.S. citizen. For one thing, in their experience nobody in the entire village ever had television, or a cell phone, or any other of the “modern conveniences” that we take for granted, right? So their expectations of what tomorrow will bring are vastly different from ours here in America. Their whole perspective on life is so different, that their happiness must literally be measured on a different scale than ours! Their scale of happiness contains things like having their favorite fish for dinner, going for a leisurely swim in the ocean, working up a sweat while felling trees to help a neighbor build a new hut. Not only that, I would imagine their concept of community is completely different from ours as well. In a small village, you know everybody! You could have several hundred close friends, all helping each other and living for the benefit of the community rather than scratching to get their share as individuals. Are their choices limited? Of course, but that doesn’t limit their happiness. As human beings, we’re as happy as we decide to be for the most part. But everyone has a different scale of happiness depending on the circumstances provided for them at birth. Can that be changed? Sure, if someone from this small island nation moves to a large city, their whole happiness scale would change due to the expansion of their experiences and newfound host of options. Would it be a change for the better? I’m guessing not, but that would depend on how they reacted to this massive influx of sights, sounds, and just plain information overload. If that person takes the newfound changes in stride and looks at it as a positive experience, eventually they may learn to be just as happy.

That is precisely my point – happiness has nothing to do with how much money you have, or how big your house is, or what car you drive. It has to do with how you feel about your circumstances in life, which is totally dependent on your personal perspective. So next time some small inconvenience causes you to go ballistic, or you feel exasperated due to some five-cent rise in gas, stop yourself and think about how insignificant most dad to day details like this are. Don’t set a goal to be happy in the future, do your best to be happy now. It may take some practice, but believe me it’s well worth it. Strive to set goals and make your life better, but never forget to be happy now.

To your continued happiness and success!

Don’t forget to visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for regular updates!

Change your definition of failure

The other day I was watching a football game (it’s September as I write this, ok?) and I was thinking how difficult it must be for a team to do well the entire game, only to see the opposing team take the lead in the final seconds of the game. How demoralizing! How does a person, let alone a whole team, stay focused enough to try one more time to go down the field and score again to win, knowing they have only seconds to do it. After all, they have been working so hard all game, and now that they have less than a minute to go, the other team is winning! Would you have the drive to do it one more time? The odds are against the team, after all, of driving about 75 yards and even scoring a field goal. On this day, the team did it. I won’t mention what team, it doesn’t matter. The point is they “found a way”, somehow, to get it done one more time!

You may say “what does that have to do with my life?” After all, a professional athlete is paid millions to do his job. I would give it my best effort every minute too if I knew I was cashing those monster checks! However, do you really think that money is the prime motivator in life? Even if it was, you have to start at the bottom in any business or endeavor, even as a football player. You work hard, sacrifice, and hope to get to the top someday, but what role do setbacks play in your hopes for achieving success? Are you prepared for a few setbacks? Maybe you are one of those that try something new, and at the first sign of “failure” says it just isn’t going to work for you? I hope not, because that is surely teaching yourself to be a loser!If you give up after only a few tries, aren’t you programming yourself for future failure? The best way to avoid failure is to never give up, fight until you win!

Let me tell you a little story of man who never gave up. I’m sure you’ve heard these stories before, like Thomas Edison trying almost 10,000 times before he finally perfected the light bulb. But this is a story of a man most people never heard of, and never will beyond this letter. His name is Maxcy Filer and he is from California. He always wanted to be an attorney, so in the 1950’s he went to law school and eventually graduated. He was an intelligent man, and very hardworking, but just didn’t “test well” as they say. He first took the California bar exam in 1966, when his two boys were in elementary school. He didn’t pass. Therefore, he tried again, and again, and again….He eventually took the test 48 times, after spending an estimated $50,000 dollars on fees, bar review course, etc. and finally passed the test! By this time, it was 1991 and nearly 25 years later. His boys were already grown by then, and were lawyers themselves. Now this wasn’t an easy test, the test requires examinees to pass a 300-question multi-state multiple-choice section, two three-hour performance tests, and a plethora of specialized essays on state and federal law topics ranging from community property to criminal procedure. This is the most incredible example of perseverance I can personally think of and drives home the point entirely, which is you only experience failure when you admit failure! Maxcy never gave up, and kept on telling himself “next time, next time” until he finally did it. Would you have given up sooner? Next time you think about quitting anything from a diet plan, to project at work, to that goal of getting your bachelors degree or masters, think of Maxcy Filers story. What does it take to be a winner?

The courage to never give up, that’s what it takes!



To your continued success and happiness!

Don’t forget to visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com for regular updates!

Are you a rocket?

Hello again,

I’ve been thinking recently about the past year and my struggle to get where I’m at in my business, and the amount of work that’s been involved. When I think about how little I knew a year ago, not only about how websites work, how to write and publish a newsletter, how to get traffic to my website, etc. it just seems like I’ve come so far. I was just so clueless!

Of course I never had my doubts I could get this far, because I’ve been setting my goals, working my plan and doing the research to find out how others have done it. Looking back on every thing I’ve had to do, it seems like things started out very difficult and confusing. As I gained knowledge I started to make “tweaks” in my plan, cutting corners as I went along. I even took a different direction for a while, just to see if something might work better another way. It took some time to “wrap my head” around some new concepts such as internet marketing, how search engines work, and other details of the business, but I hung in there and dedicated myself to learning. The funny thing is, it’s gotten much easier – like I’ve gained speed or momentum along the way somehow. No doubt about it, it wasn’t easy.

I guess this is similar to what it takes to make a rocket ship take off and leave the earths gravity, where a huge amount of energy is expended at first to leave the ground. As the rocket tries to lift off the ground, it is burning a massive amount of fuel just to escape gravity – this phenomenon is called “inertia”. The definition from American Heritage Dictionary: Physics the tendency of a body to resist acceleration; the tendency of a body at rest to remain at rest or of a body in straight-line motion to stay in motion in a straight line unless acted on by an outside force. For me that initial energy was huge, and the more I learned and the more progress I made, the easier it became! Now that it’s been a year since I’ve been doing this, I’m at the point where I feel things are flowing so much better, I take for granted certain skills that I had no knowledge of last year. Even writing is easier, although I must say I’m not completely free of the gravitational pull on that subject!
Are you afraid to start something new, like going back to college at night, begin a new career path, undertake an exercise program, or even start a business, because you’re afraid of how long it will take to gain the skill or knowledge to get competent? Look at it this way – what are your choices? You can keep doing what you have been doing and get the same results, or you can make a decision to change direction and start that new career or business (or whatever) right now without hesitation. Will it take time? Of course it will. Will it get easier as time goes on? Of course it will! As you gain momentum, the skills you are learning will become more embedded in your brain, along with pure knowledge of this new subject you’ve undertaken. You must get take the steps to “get off the ground” first. Once you really get off the ground, you will gain speed and take off like a rocket, reaching new heights that you thought were impossible before. Confidence soars, you start to feel almost invincible! This can be such a life-changing experience, effecting other areas of your life in a positive way as well. Once you have success in one or two areas, things you have been putting off before suddenly look very much within your reach. I implore you, find your passion today – whatever it is, and take steps to get off the ground now. Don’t be like most others, sitting on the launch pad all your life. Rocket yourself to success!

To your continued success and happiness!

Visit us at http://getpassionforlife.com

Importance of reevaluating our goals

Good Day,

I've been thinking lately about the tasks I'm working on, and the path I've taken in the past few months in pursuing my goals. Goals are a wonderful thing, they keep us on track (so to speak) and allow us a method of measuring our progress. Of course, that is only if your goals come with a real plan of action attached. If you just have some generic list of goals you wish to achieve, with no time-line or plan, then that's merely a "wish-list", isn't it?

My major goal right now is to make enough money at my business to leave my full-time job, and I have other peripheral goals as well. Do they stay static? No, as I contemplate each goal and work on them, strange things happen sometimes. Like I will be reading a new book that points to a specific way of reaching people, or getting more people to link to my site, or a new marketing plan of some kind. All of sudden I'm changing things on my website, my blog, and in my plan of action. Is that a good thing? I think so, absolutely. If you have a specific list of action items in your plan, and all of a sudden you realize you can cut out several steps, why not do it? Of course that's only logical.

OK, in another way, how about if something on your goals list is suddenly not so important anymore? I don't know about you, but I sometimes have these revelations where this giant light bulb goes off. Suddenly you're thinking, "what was I thinking? I don't need to have that"! Strike it from the list, pronto. Is this a major change in beliefs, or values, or a paradigm shift in your life pattern? No, probably not. Reevaluating is a regular routine, I think we all do it. It's a growth process, if you will. And after all this is about growth, isn't it? If you're learning something new every day, your subconscious is probably doing some reevaluating for you even if you're not aware of it. Isn't that how it works? We make our list of goals, strike out to pursue them, and in the process end up with something slightly different after the process is in motion.

The flip side of this, is when some folks change their minds like the wind. This is something totally different! If you completely change your major goals on a regular basis, maybe that's because you haven't really given them enough thought to begin with. I know some people that go to college, take a year or two of "general" courses, then change their major. That can be a good thing, especially with the amount of money you are investing in it. But if you can't quite figure out what you really want to do with your life, even a direction to get started, then by all means take some serious soul-searching time and find out. Lock yourself away in a cabin in the woods for a few days, get away from everybody that may influence your decision. No one can help you with this one, it's all you! It sounds amazing, but I think many people truly don't know what would make them happy. That's why sitting down, making a list, and even recreating that list every few days, is a great idea. I like to review my list occasionally, and sometimes a change is necessary. That reminds me, I think I need to check my list later. It's been awhile...how about you? If you don't even have one, just for kicks sit down and make one. You may be shocked at how little your brain really knows what you want in life!

To your continued success and happiness!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

Is being rich bad or good?

Hello again,

Ok, what a stunningly controversial question that is - is it good or bad to be rich? I guess that depends on which side of the coin you currently reside, right? If you're rich, it's a good thing. If you're middle-class (admittedly tougher to define these days) it's either good or bad depending on 1) how you were raised or 2) what your political beliefs are, or 3) whether you are currently hell-bent on being rich.
But if you're struggling to feed your family, or losing you home to foreclosure, you would think being at least somewhat rich(er) would help right? I've found that even some of the worst poor in this country still hate rich people, I guess because they believe their ship will never come in anyway. Does that make sense?

Now I'm not going to try and moralize either way, but if you truly think having a large sum of money makes you bad, you are basically saying you would never, ever want to be rich. Right? Because that's bad. Since when is wealth a bad thing? Can't you actually do good things with money? I always thought so. However, in this country there seems to be a dichotomy in thinking about the subject - we all would like to be rich, but many people still take jabs at the rich for some reason. Is it jealousy? Perhaps, but even some rich people seem to want to not discuss how rich they are.

Case in point (and I'm not picking on John) - recently John McCain was asked how many houses he owns. He kind of danced around the answer, deferring to his "people" for an answer so he wouldn't look too, well, rich. I think he was caught off guard, and didn't want to come out with an answer because he obviously has several houses. Is that bad? Of course not, but for a politician to admit he is wealthy on camera is almost political suicide! Why? Does he feel guilty? Should he feel guilty? Guilty of owning something that probably 90% of Americans wish they owned, namely some rental property or investment property to help stave off inflation? How sad, that we can't just be honest about what we want. What is going on here...

Are you that way? In private wishing that you had stockpiles of cash, a nice new car, and perhaps some investment property to help with your financial situation. But telling everybody publicly that you think "rich people are so greedy!" or "don't those people have enough money already, now they want a tax break too?". I hope you don't think that way, because first of all if that is what you truly believe then you should stop and get a grip on your values and beliefs. Are you truly acting in harmony with your deepest beliefs, or are you acting as if you wish to be more wealthy while (subconsciously) thinking that all rich people are bad or greedy?

Let's get one thing straight, being rich doesn't make you bad any more than being poor makes you good. Does that make sense? If your financial situation alone was the most significant indicator of your moral compass, what a crazy mixed-up world we would live in! Think about it, you must know people that have great wealth that give away millions to charity every year, right? If not, email me and I'll send you a list. By the same token, we probably have known or met people of less than "stellar" morals and behaviours that are poor, no doubt. Please stop thinking these two are related in any way, and just get on with your purpose in life. Which by now I hope you've discovered is to be the best person you possibly can be, give as much of yourself to the world around as you possibly can, and love everyone in your life every day. Oh, and be happy...almost forgot that one!

To your continued success and happiness!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

Spiritual Growth vs. Monetary Growth?

Hello again,

Today I’d like to discuss some things that may be on your mind already, the concept of spiritual growth and how it is related to (or in some peoples minds in conflict with) financial growth. Can the two coexist? Is it possible to strive for both simultaneously? Before you jump to any conclusions, read on. I've found that most people have a lot of "pre-concieved" notions of what it takes to get wealthy, that it just can't be done in a way that allows you to retain morality, integrity, etc.
If you're one of those, I ask you to open your mind.

For many people, this is simply not possible. Citing passages from the Bible such as “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God”. Ok, I’m not going to diss the Bible, but I truly believe that quote was taken out of context, or was directed at some really baaaad people. I think of all the wealthy people I know of that contribute large sums of money and time to helping others, and I know this is not always true. Are there rich people who do bad things? You betcha! Are there also very financially distressed people who do bad things? Again, of course there are. Having money in and of itself doesn’t make a person moral or immoral. I say there are many more wealthy folks who do many good things, but I digress…

Back to the message for today – is it possible to be spiritual and seek financial gain? I say that we can create any good that we wish in the world, or even any evil if that is what we seek. So if a person wishes to be seek spiritual peace, a loving and giving attitude towards everything that lives, why is not also possible to be successful financially at the same time? Let’s say I invented a cure for cancer (very hypothetical, I know but bear with me!). It would no doubt save many thousands, even millions of lives every year. Correct? So if I put a patent on this cure, and had it distributed around the world even at a very low price, I would be insanely rich in short order. I would also be helping millions of people in the process, right? So would that not be a favorable way to make money and help others at the same time?


Ok, you say, that’s NOT how most people make money. Fair enough, but even if I were to make money as a real estate investor I could still help many people, couldn’t I?
Not likely you say? Ok, you’ve never heard of Frank McKinney then. He’s a builder of multi-million dollar mansions right her in Florida where I currently reside. Yes, he makes millions selling huge 10, 15, 20 thousand square foot mansions. Did you know he also has been helping low-income people for many years? Yes, in fact that’s how he got started in the business! Renovating homes in “marginal” neighborhoods was his original way to make money, and after awhile he started renting them to the homeless for 1$ per month. He also donates his time to other charitable organizations, not for publicity but to give back to the community. There are many people like this that give back to help others, search for them and you will find out. Better yet, become one of them!

PS - I urge you to read Frank McKinney's book "Make It Big - 49 Secrets For Building a Life of Extreme Success". It is indeed eye-opening and inspirational.


To your continued success and happiness!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

Get ahead - be psychic!

Good Day,

I do hope my blog is reaching somebody, after all I'm not doing this for fun. Oh, yeah, this is fun. Alright, I'm doing it for that reason too! But it's also my hobby and passion, so hopefully as ideas flood my brain this will be a more regular thing. Feedback is appreciated - if you likey, say so ok? If not, tell me what it is that offends you or bores you, or whatever. Just keep reading!


Did you know that every person in the world has the ability to become psychic? It’s true! You may not think it’s within your power, but trust me it truly is. Let me explain. We all have the power to make changes in our lives, right? The more changes you make in your attitude, your habits, and actions on a daily basis, the more your future changes. You are in control of your future! Realize that fully – take a few minutes to let it sink in. I said a few minutes, not seconds...

Ok, stay with me now. If you have the power to change your future, what would happen if you sat down, wrote all your “dreams” on paper, and envisioned your future just the way you wanted it to be? This is called “future thinking” by some, but I like to refer to it as being psychic (because that sounds much cooler!) Don’t be afraid to dream big, write down every detail of your life in the future, say 5 years from now, if every dream you had came true. What does it look like? Do you live by the ocean in your dream house? Do you and your (spouse, partner, etc) have a beautiful relationship now that all the stress is gone? Maybe you vacation in France twice a year now, and take friends along to enjoy the experience even more. I want you to really think about it, and write down every detail. Plan your future with genuine emotion, get psyched about it!

Ok, I hear you naysayers already. "That's the crap from that stupid movie the Secret, where they tell you to ask for anything and you'll get it". No, I saw that movie too. It doesn't take into consideration the "actions" neccessary to make those dreams materialize! Of course you must take action, any fool knows that dreaming without action to achieve those dreams is just wishful thinking. So I say to you, stop doing what you've always been doing, and start taking major action towards those dreams. Develop the habits you need to succeed, the movitation to keep going despite small setbacks, and the desire and passion to go for it!

This is the power of dreaming big, acting as if anything you dream of is within your control. Once you have a vision and can truly get every detail of how you want your future to be, you are predicting your own future. See yourself in the storybook life you dream of and it will come true, all you need is the desire! Most people have too many limiting beliefs that hold them back, don’t let that happen to you!

To your continued happiness and success!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

No-Fault Living?

I hope you’re staying on track, getting everything you want in life, and finding happiness beyond what you ever thought possible! If not, what’s holding you back? Have you ever thought about it? If you are making progress and moving towards your goals, then you probably are doing everything that you can do. If you seem to take 2 steps forward and then 3 steps back, maybe it’s time we examine what is really going on.


Being in control of one’s life and actions is the ultimate goal. After all, you should be the person making decisions that affect your life, correct? If you follow that logic, then taking responsibility for everything that happens in your life is of utmost importance. This concept was described by a psychologist named Julian Rotter back in 1954, and is called the “locus of control”. Julian said that people tend to think that either events in their lives are mostly of our own control (internal locus) or for the most part outside of our
control (external locus). The word locus just means “center or source of something”.

So the question begs, are you in control? Is your “locus of control” internal? Do you believe that if you work hard and make the right decisions in life that good things will inevitably happen to you? Or do think that your current situation is based on “bad luck” from your past, or just circumstances that are beyond your control? I’m not saying that we all don’t experience some unfortunate events in life occasionally. I’ve never met anyone that drives a car and never, ever had a flat tire! Of course, things that you can control in life are: your relationships with other people, your job, your health, and most of all your attitude. Are there things you can’t control? Sure, I
believe the weather is still one of those things. But even in the case of weather, luck has nothing to do with it. There is a cause and effect in nearly every event in this universe.

So tell me – have you ever met someone that thinks “whatever happens, happens”. In other words I’m not in control, so I just take life as it hits me! Well I’ve only met a few people like that and I can tell you they weren’t really happy people. If you don’t believe, deep down, that you have control over most events in your life, what does that do to your self-confidence? It destroys it. Don’t wait for things to happen to you, be aware of what you want in life and go out to make it happen for you. If something doesn’t go the way you want, take it as a learning experience. Take it as a challenge to do more the next time so that won’t happen again! Don’t play the blame game either, it’s nobody’s fault but your own if you don’t have what you want in life. The sooner you realize that concept, and own up to it, the better.

Power of habits make your success faster

Good Day,

I was thinking about how our habits seem to shape our lives, whether it's the habit of getting up on time (or late) every day, the habit of being healthy and eating right, or habits like getting really ticked off when someone cuts you off in traffic. Do you have bad habits? I guess we all do, right? Maybe that's a hard thing to admit, but take a few minutes to think about it...I'll wait.

Did you write down 1 or 2, or a whole list of bad habits? What is the cost of those bad habits, I wonder. We all try our best to avoid bad habits, at least that's what we tell ourselves. And every year on January 1st we make our resolutions that maybe this year we can eliminate another bad habit or two. What do you think would happen if we suddenly decided to make a list of "good" habits that we wanted to start or maintain, instead of focusing on those bad habits and how to quit them? Wow, what a concept. Focusing on what we want, instead of what we don't want? I know, you don't do that. But you would be amazed at how often people do, without realizing it, they are focusing so much on what they don't want that they seem to get more of the same. That is, of course, the Law of Attraction, which basically states that you get what you think about most. So if you're trying to lose weight, don't think about how fat you are, think and focus on becoming more fit every day.

I'm getting off track here though. What I really wanted to discuss is the many good habits we could all be focusing on, not just losing weight. My list looks something like this:

1. Be unrelentingly positive at all times
2. Be focused on the bright future you have
3. Develop the habit of good moral values
4. Make discipline your daily habit
5. Make it a habit to help others, every day
6. Have gratitude for the wonderful life you have

This list is for me, I'm not saying it fits with anybody else plans for the near future. But if you really want to be a better person, reach your goals, and make the most positive and successful life you can imagine, filled with happiness not only for yourself but others around you, make a list too. Think about what you need to do in order to fulfill your life with the best you can possibly have, whatever that may be. Make your habits live up to the kind of person you know you need to be, but don't think of the "bad" ones you already have. Think of the good habits you wish to develop, the bad ones will take care of themselves soon enough when you realize you are too good to keep them. Soon, your personal power and your self-esteem will be so high that any bad habits you have will disgust you and they will be stopped. Just make sure you take action on this, as everyone the time we have is limited! So make haste and get busy....

Visit us at the happiness place for more inspiration.

What, me worry?

Good Day,

I occasionally hear about how worried people are these days - about the economy, the war in Iraq, the presidential race, name your poison I guess. To people who do that much worrying I ask "what does it get you?" I must admit I used to worry about a lot of things myself, especially when I was younger. I was a regular worry-wart, as my mother used to say.

What does it accomplish? What changes when you continuously worry about a certain event? Nothing, nada, zip, zilch, that's what. All it does is add stress to your life, put you in a bad mood, and in the grand scheme of things probably incurs great damage to your health as well. So why do we do it? I guess we're programmed from an early age to worry, most likely passed down from our parents (thanks, mom & dad!). If we pick up something like that when we're young, how hard do you think it is to stop doing as you get older? Yes, it's a habit by now. A habit that is probably pretty hard to break, too. Do you have the classic "stress lines" in your forehead? Yeah, you know what I mean. If you do, it's high time you started taking action to reverse the trend!

I know, "where do I start?" you say...well, next time you catch yourself worrying about something unnecessarily (as opposed to necessarily?) you must do something to break the state that you're in. Ask yourself why your are really worrying about this topic - say the bad economy just to make a point. What's the worst that could happen? Well, yes you could lose your job. If you're an auto worker or some industry that is already cutting back on workers, that could be a legitimate concern. If that's the case, why not take action in advance to try and diffuse that situation? Start looking for other options, either another job, or at least start to network so you are ready for the worst and can find out what the alternatives are. The thing about worry is, you can lessen it to a great extent just by being prepared, and eliminating the unknowns. That's what you're really worried about, right? The unknown situations in life, like how high is gas gonna go? Will I get laid off next month? Taking steps to proactively lessen the pain will automatically take away some of the unknowns, and hopefully make you worry less.

So you are a chronic worryer? Just stop it! Alright, that's easier said than done. All the planning and preparation in the world won't stop some people from worrying constantly. However, next time you catch yourself worrying do something, anything, to break your state of mind and say to yourself something like "this is pointless - worrying is stupid. I'm not going to think about this anymore" - and just move on. Think of something else, occupy your mind with good thoughts, like what's the best thing that might happen? They will discover a new source of energy that is nearly inexhaustible and cheap to replace gas, or that opportunity to start a new business and quit the rat-race is now a reality! Wishful thinking? You bet it is! I engage in it daily, and hardly ever worry. Try it sometime, you may find that breaking the worry habit is the first step in taking some measure of control in your life and happiness...


To your continued happiness and success!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

Off the wall.

Good Day,

Ok, so I wanted to change things up a little bit today. I'm working from my home and there's nothing really to do, so I'm going to blog while getting paid! Oh, snap I love this country...Anyway I thought it would also be a good day to change the subject alittle bit, and now I'm contemplating several topics - one of which is "how does time fly by so frickin fast!". I just noticed that May 08' is almost over, and summer is nearly here. Since I'm in Florida, it's hot as hell (literally) already so it may as well be summer. It (time flying, not summer) hasn't always been this way though, I remember growing up and wondering why time was so slow. I guess when you're bored silly, and your little mind can't stop running 150 MPH then time seems to go much slower, right?

Fast forward to 2008 and I'm 50 years old - now I feel like time is going so fast I should soon be choosing burial plots and a suitable coffin. What is suitable these days? I'm thinking it's easier to creamate and go with a vase...never mind! I don't need to get on that subject. I have way too much living to do! That is the real focus of my blog, my life. Not only to document it but to help me to track progress, and see where my thoughts are at any given time. So what am I doing with my time? Well, right now I'm in the middle of an ebook training class that will teach me how to not only create but also market and sell ebooks. It seems that the marketing end of things is what I need to learn most, so I'm concentrating on that first and foremost. I've already written an ebook, and have my website up and running at www.getpassionforlife.com. Yes, it's crude, but it's meant to be only a sales pitch/marketing page and nothing more. Nothing fancy for me, not neccessary to sell ebooks. So while working on this project, I'm also looking at other ways of making money either online or by means that don't involve driving to work each day and spending life in a cubicle. Sounds familiar probably to some of you! Yes, that is the goal, to be free of the 9 to 5 forever...

Sorry, I got off track there a little bit. No matter - time is flying for me since I'm so busy. Besides the new business, going to the gym religously several times a week and working out at home, playing guitar to improve that skill, and trying to have a social life, my entire schedule is pretty packed. Of course sleep is in there too, along with eating. Spending time with my daughter is also of great importance, and communicating with my son in Iraq is also very high on the priority list. The thing is I don't get to pick the amount of time I spend with my kids, since one is grown and living halfway around the world and the other lives in another county with her mother. Which only means I have to maximize my time with them when possible, which will happen with my daughter this summer. She is coming here to live with me and go to summer camp in town, so that will be a very positive thing for both of us. I realize my time is limited since she is growing up fast as well, so I plan on making the most of that month with her. I will of course write about it here! Anyway, the point is (I think) that time flies when you're busy, when you're sitting around picking your nose or scratchin' your ass it goes by like molasses. Or whatever snappy analogy you may use...anyway hope your day flies by, until next time, I'm out of here.

To your continued happiness and success!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

What gets you up in the morning?

Good Day,

Today I'd really like to discuss - motivation? I guess that's what it is called, in other words what is the motivating factor that gets you up every morning? Is it your job? Or is it the fact that you know if you don't go to your job today and every day, you won't have one pretty soon to go to?

I'm sure we fool ourselves into thinking that we like our jobs well enough to get up and do it every day, but I'm not so sure. If you had your way, what would you rather be doing? Parasailing off the coast of some island in the Caribbean? Maybe tooling around in your new Porsche in Manhattan somewhere? Or maybe the thought of just doing nothing would be good enough, sleeping late and staying at the house all day to relax? I guess the bottom line is we crave "choice", no matter what the choice is! If I had my "druthers" what would I be doing? I like a challenge, so I'd be running my own online business, making money in my sleep. Ok, you say. So why aren't you doing it then? Well, I'm taking steps toward doing exactly that, and by the end of the year I will be. Will that make me happy? You bet your ass it will...oh, wait. That was a trick question wasn't it? It would for awhile anyway, I'm sure. Would I be able to stop worrying completely about money, forgetting all my other responsibilities and living in a dream-like state of Nirvana? Ok, not really. But it would take care of several problems: 1) I would have more free time, 2) I wouldn't have to deal with driving to work, 3) I wouldn't have a boss to make me do stuff I'm not fond of doing. Would there still be things I don't like to do? Of course, and I'd have to still make myself do them! The motivation however would be to make money for myself, not for some company or to impress some boss.

So what would my motivation be to get up in the morning? Ahh, good question...
Being someone who pretty much enjoys life anyway, it doesn't take too much to make me get up in the morning now. If I knew I could do anything I wanted as long as I got my "work" done for the day, it would be that much better! I could go to the gym and get a good workout, or get out one of my guitars and play for awhile, do some work around the house (which I'm doing anyway remodeling and such), or go to the beach for awhile. Sounds like a Saturday for me anyway, only it would be every day! The only thing is, I'd have to make new friends since mine all work "grunt" jobs like me, so that would take some time. Anyone know where you go to find people that don't work real jobs? Ah, I guess they're all over the place from Monday through Friday, out and about, going to the shopping center or the mall, or hanging out at the beach. How long would that last though? what would you do if you had enough money to not work again? Would you still work at something? I'm thinking most people would just retire, whatever that means anymore. Retire to me means travelling around the world, meeting new people, doing whatever the hell I want to do. But would I still work too, sure. I think I would, if for no other reason than to feel a sense of accomplishment. How about you? Give it some thought, get back to me ok? I really want to know!

To your continued happiness and success!

visit my website at: http://getpassionforlife.com

The Beginning of a new chapter

Good Day,

This is the first of many ramblings I hope to make, most likely on many subjects dear to me and some more than likely made out of desperation and/or lack of planning on my part. I am not a professional writer, so suffice it to say mistakes will be made. Of course the main goal in starting this blog is to get practice in writing, which I'm sure is the goal of many blogsters in the beginning. Are they called "blogsters" or what? I'll google that term later, no matter. Anyway, since I plan to make a living eventually as a writer of sorts, this will be a real test to see whether I can keep anyones interest for very long.
What topics can you expect to see on this particular blog? I will probably start with the current chapter of my life which is creating a website in order to sell my ebooks. What ebooks, you say? Glad you asked. Not only the one I wrote myself, but also the ones I'm generously giving away for free when purchasing my self-written ebook. The topic is basically how to accomplish more in life, which I have been exploring myself for about a year or so. Up to now I'm guessing I've wasted a good bit of my life, or at least have not done nearly as much as I'd like to have done with it. My goal then is to see if I can remedy that situation and do much more with the "second half" of my life. You see I'm now 50 years old, so I think I (being rather healthy) will probably live to be at least 100 years old, so simple math...you get the picture. I will have to change many things about myself in order to accomplish my goal though, becoming much more willing to stretch myself and do more, learn more, and work harder to accomplish more in my time that is left. Wish me luck, I will need it...