Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Monday, December 26, 2011

Happy Almost New Year

Psychologically, the New Year can have power. It has whatever power you give to it. The same can be true of the 1st day of each month. Do New Year's resolutions work? Yes, but you have to give the date power.

Choose a new behavior, start it on January 1st and continue that behavior throughout the year.

Choose a new belief. See the belief as a table and give it legs by coming up with supporting beliefs for that belief. Strengthen the belief each day by reading the belief out loud.

Choose a new result you want. Create a contract with yourself by creating details for the result to give it extra shape and form. Commit to the attainment of the result. Put your signature below your written goal. Come up with beliefs and actions that will support you.

Do it. Each and every day. If you find that you have skipped a day. Commit to do it that day AND the next, etc.

Happy New Year!!!




Thursday, December 22, 2011

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Do it Now.

I am going to do something I have been putting off. Right now.


Sunday, December 04, 2011

Thursday, December 01, 2011

Results

Ask yourself. Am I unhappy with the results I'm getting in life?

If so... something needs to change. And it's most likely 1 of 3 things. You need to change your beliefs, choices, or your actions. Maybe all three.

Choose a result you want. Get clear about your beliefs regarding why that result must be a part of your life. Decide what beliefs would support you in achieving it. Commit yourself to getting that result. Make a committed choice creating certainty in yourself that it will, must happen, is already done. Write up a contract with yourself by writing the goal and sign your name indicating your commitment. Then act. Create a list of all the actions that will make that goal a reality. Put those actions onto your calendar or into your schedule. Do the first action right now.

You can create any result in life. Whether its changing the car you drive, your career, your weight, or how you feel when you get up in the morning. Just find out the beliefs, choices, and actions that will bring you what you want.

And regarding that sad muffin... it may be sad, but I still want to eat it.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Triumph

Choose to make it work. Choose to make it happen. Choose to triumph!


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Thanksgiving

It's Thanksgiving in the United States. A day to think about all the things we are grateful for. Focus on what you have and have been given. Remember that there are many blessings that come to you each day. It only requires recognizing that they are there. With the right perspective, even something simple like food and clean water becomes a small miracle to be grateful for. Be full of great. Be thankful for everything you have.


Monday, November 21, 2011

Reflect

Reflect for a moment. Are you happy with the direction you are moving in life? Are your thoughts and actions moving you towards or away from your desired outcome? What changes would help you continue to move forward? Reflect for a moment.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Set Goals

Feeling bored? Spice up your life by setting a new goal and taking a small step today to achieving it. Commit to acting every day even if the action is a small one. With consistent action, you'll accomplish your goal and move your life in a new direction!

Wednesday, November 02, 2011

Monday, October 31, 2011

Being More

Halloween is often about dressing up as someone you admire or aspire to be. Kids will choose a ballerina or superman and for one night live out a dream of a future self. Perhaps we don't need a holiday to be more than we may feel in the moment. Perhaps you can decide today, even without a costume, to develop a new talent, work on a shelved project, become more in whatever way you may choose. Happy Halloween!


Monday, October 10, 2011

Thank you Steve

I have been using products made by Apple since 1989 when I had my first desktop publishing experience using a Macintosh SE. Since then I have used many different Macs to write, edit, create, and compose with words, images, film, and sound. As tools, they've helped me to communicate my ideas, to try to make the world a better place. It seems silly to think that glass, metal, silicon, and plastic could have a soul, but something made with love can have all kinds of wonderful qualities imparted to them by their human makers. Apple has always focused on making tools with soul and they've succeed. With those ideas in mind I say... Thank you Steve. Thank you for helping me to create. Thank you for choosing to create. My life is better for your choice.


Monday, September 19, 2011

Keep Moving Forward

Take a small step today that will move you towards an important goal in your life. You'll feel great and be that much closer to success.


Monday, September 05, 2011

Wednesday, June 08, 2011

Start Today.

Is there something you have been putting off?

















Start Today.

Tuesday, April 05, 2011

How bad do you want to breathe?



Eric Thomas shares a very powerful, yet simple story that illustrates the kind of motivation it takes to succeed. I can't endorse getting less than 8 hours a night sleep though. : )

Sunday, March 27, 2011

French 101

I decided to study French this year. I studied in high school for three years and have always wanted to be fluent. I have found on many of my travels not only in Europe, but in the Middle East and Africa, that French can be very valuable in communicating with those who may have little or no experience with English. I love the way French sounds and I love French films. It's a priority.

When I decided to become fluent in Spanish, I moved to Mexico and lived there for 6 months. It would be nice if I could do the same thing this time and spend 6 months in Quebec or France, but I don't think that is very realistic. As an alternative, I have decided to study French every day this year.

I am using 3 different systems: Pimsleur, Barron's, and Rosetta Stone. I alternate between them and sometimes use one for several days in a row. Some days I will spend 10 minutes studying and other days I will spend an hour or more. One crucial difference this time has been a commitment to studying every day.

I am not sure if I will be fluent by the end of the year, but I am much more likely than if I did nothing. Doing something always makes the chance of success much greater.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Remarkable

What would be remarkable for you to achieve? You get to choose what it would be. You get to choose how you'll accomplish it. You get to decide the first and last steps. It's all up to you.
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Saturday, March 19, 2011

Small Blooms

On a January trip to the San Francisco Bay area earlier this year, I went for a hike on a trail north of San Mateo. All along the trails was a very nice succulent plant that covered the embankments. I took a cutting knowing that if I planted it at home it would grow. I was incredibly happy two months later when it bloomed. The bloom really surprised me. I have raised cacti and succulents before that have bloomed, but having grown up and always lived in areas where these plants don't exist in nature, it has been rare to see.

I posted a picture of the bloom on facebook and a friend of mine who grew up in the San Francisco area commented that she can remember seeing this plant everywhere growing up but never really appreciated it. The picture reminded her of how truly beautiful it was.

It made me think, if the bloom of a succuclent from Northern California that I replanted can make me happy, what other small things have I not been appreciating that could actually put me in a mood or state that is positive and grateful? It is very easy to let small things remind us of joy, beauty or truth if we will allow them to. What small thing will make you happy today?

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Four Simple Steps.

Creating exactly the life you want is possible. It doesn’t require genius or innumerable talents. It does require desire and the willingness to commit over and over again to achieving the results that matter most to you. If you want to change something in your life, if there is a result you don’t have that you want, it can be yours.

When a baby is learning to walk and falls on the first few or first hundred tries, the baby’s parents don’t give up. The baby doesn’t give up either. She tries again and again until she succeeds. The ability to achieve in life is hard wired into us. You can use this basic ability as a pattern for the present and future.
  
Four simple steps will help you to make the choices and act in ways that will lead to creating your perfect life. You can start by choosing to be successful. Choosing to be successful is not something that can be decided once. It is something that must be decided again and again. When you can commit to obtaining the results you want, you can get up when you fall, and in moving on, achieve those results that matter most to you.

These steps will also help you to discover more clarity about what ideas and actions can assist you in your journey. Use these steps anytime you identify a result you want to create in your life. The steps are simple, but incredibly powerful.

Let’s get started.

Step 1. Identify your Result.

What is the exact outcome you are looking for. Be detailed and specific when describing it to yourself. Make sure you are clear on the Who, What, When and Where of the result. You must know what the result will the look, sound, and feel like. Visualize your result and talk it through with yourself or someone else. The more clarity you can have about what you are reaching towards will increase your likelihood of achieving it.

Step 2. Create an Action plan.

What are the actions that are necessary to make your result a reality. This part of the 4 step process covers the How of your result. Create a plan with each action you will need to implement. Also, think about the resources or individuals who can help you in your plan. If the list is overwhelming, you may want to break this result into smaller ones and work on them individually. This approach can help you to focus on the short and long term results of your life more easily. Make sure one of your actions is simple and able to be accomplished every day. Set yourself up for success with an action you know you will follow through on and complete.

Step 3. Make the Choice to complete your result.

 It is crucial to have total commitment to following through and taking those actions that will create your result. Write your goal as a single sentence written in the present as though it has already happened. Writing the goal in the present (ex. I speak fluent Spanish.) creates a different kind of perspective for your mind. The goal becomes an attainable result. This sentence is a contract with yourself. Read your goal everyday. Commit to yourself to taking action and achieving the goal. Commit to someone close to you regarding accomplishing your goal. Check in regularly with them about your progress.

Step 4. Ensure your Beliefs will support you.

This step covers the Why of your result. Think about the reasons why you must achieve this goal. What strengths will support you as you work towards this result? How will it benefit you to have this result as part of who you are or part of your life? What will it cost you if you don't achieve it? What consequences will it have? It's important to have beliefs that you can and must accomplish this result. Write some of the beliefs that support you down in simple sentences. Read those beliefs each day to support you as you act and work towards your goal.

You can use these steps to accomplish any result in your life. Use them each time you have a new challenge you are working toward achieving and success will be yours.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Exercise is Key

Everyone knows exercise is crucial to the weight loss process. Watching your diet alone may not produce the kind of weight loss you are looking for (loss of fat and not muscle). Watching your diet alone will not build the muscle necessary to burn fat stores and keep the fat off long term. Exercise is key.

If you are not exercising now, choose to start today. Walk (march) in place for five minutes. Walk around your block. Walk to the next telephone pole and back on your country rode. It is simple, it is doable, and you will feel great for having done it.

Then the next step... and this is key, do it again tomorrow, and the day after that and plan on keeping it up for at least a year and probably for the rest of your life. 5 minutes a day. You can do it. It will provide results. You may choose as the days go on to increase your time to 10 and then 20 minutes or 2 blocks and then a mile or more. It is up to you. You don't have to think about running your first 5k or marathon right now, although that may be your plan, just think about walking for 5 minutes today.

The priority is to commit to your health and your future. Commit to spending 5 minutes each day exercising. See where it takes you. 5 minutes can start a process that will change your life forever.

Tuesday, March 08, 2011

The Smallest Amount

Often starting with the smallest amount is the best way to begin achieving a new goal. Wether the goal is to run a marathon or write a novel, you can begin with tiny, doable actions you know you will complete.

If the goal is to run a 5k race, you don't have to go out and run 3.1 miles all at once the first day. You don't even have to run. Go outside, or get on the treadmill and walk or run 100 yards. Less than a minute later, your done. The next day, or at least every other day, walk or run 200 yards. About a minute later, your done. Continue until your walking or running a mile and continue until your up to 3.1 miles or 5k. In a month or two, you are ready to complete your first 5k.

Writing a novel? Start with one page per day. If even that seems overwhelming, start with one sentence, but commit to doing that one sentence everyday. Work up to a paragraph and then a page. Before you know it, the first chapter is done and you are on your way.

Starting with the smallest amount you know you will do allows for instant success and insures that you will act. Choose a result. Find the smalles action you can do on a continual basis and start achieving.