Do or Don’t Do At so many different times in my life I have wondered if I was doing what I really wanted to do and should be doing. I am speaking about the everyday things I do that fill my days. I still wonder what is it I really do want to do? I
Most people want something more from their lives wouldn’t that be a fair assumption to make? They may want more free time, be able to travel more, maybe they want to improve a talent or skill. Maybe better health or to be in better shape, or at least one more pleasing to themselves or the opposite sex.
They may want a bigger house, nicer car, better boat or simply more money to live on or have saved up for future years and retirement feeling more secure about their future. They may think about helping others less fortunate and may really contemplate on how to make a difference in the world. If they are Christians, they may even think about spreading Gods word and becoming more of an evangelist. The list can go on and on.
The simple truth is that most of us can have many of these things and more if we really get serious about life and work on one internal strength each of us has and which can be made stronger, discipline.
What if? Doesn’t that little question put a little smile or smirk on your face? To just stop and think for a while…what if this or what if that? In the context of you and your life, what if can pose some big questions. It can open up access to an endless sea of possibilities and it can bring real change in your life and the lives of others. Many great inventions and businesses started with someone asking that little question, and then looking for the answers.
Each little question or challenge we face and overcome can bring with it an opportunity to take life in a new direction; to walk a path we might not yet have walked or to explore unchartered territory in our own life story and grow as a person. Everyone’s life is filled with so many unanswered questions and different possibilities, if we only learn to look for them and see them for what they are, opportunities for self-growth and become that person we want to be in our future years.
Solutions To Help Your Small Business Succeed & ProsperThere are many reasons entrepreneurs start or buy a business, and just as many reasons why that business could fail and still many more reasons why many do. We are not going to focus on the statistics stacked against your probable success, but rather focus on how you can succeed. Any Entrepreneur needs to understand what causes failures in small businesses, how they can be prevented and what can be done to properly manage their own business. Please keep in mind, that for our discussion here, a small business is defined as one that ranges from a sole individual to an organization of less than 50 or so employees. This size business usually has many of the challenges we address below and less available resources to draw from than those of larger companies. Which means that the owner really needs to manage those resources effectively if they are to beat the reported failure statistics and improve their odds for success. However, many of the things we discuss below can be used to run larger companies as well.
How prepared were U for life when U left your parents’ home and went out on your own? Maybe U went to college first, then out into the world, or maybe U went right into the workforce and started earning a living. How did U want your life story to go back then? I would guess that U have learned a lot about life and about yourself since then. Do U wish U had taken a little more time to think about your future and plan a few things before starting out? What do U tell you children about planning and about thinking and having a strategy for their lives’?
The company I founded, LifeLongU™, creates and distributes guides, workbooks and some videos which are designed to help U develop yourself into the person U want to become by helping U define who U will be as the main character in your own life story. We realize that everyone is on a path in life, but maybe not a path that includes continual self-development and improvement to becoming a better person and learning to do things they may not yet be able to do. This takes planning, usually some education or training and also some specific action.
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right”, Henry Ford
People who are self-confident tend to be admired many times by others and can inspire others with confidence. They can appear to be more of a risk taker because their confidence allows them to face many of their fears head-on, unlike those with less confidence. They typically are full of positive energy regardless of what they are going through in life. They simply see that the world is filled with options and opportunities and believe their glass is at least half full. What a great way to go through life! Having more confidence should be on everyone’s list of goals in their life plan.
Think about this: if you don’t believe in yourself, why would you expect others to? Self-confidence is a state of mind that comes from a belief in your own abilities, skills and experience. It can be improved through training, talking with other people and personal development.
PassionLiving life every day without interacting in an area that is not part of your true passion can be very monotonous. Isn’t enjoying those things you truly love, partially, what living is all about?
I have always loved being by or on the water, after all I grew up in Minnesota, the “land of 10,000 lakes”, but for various reasons I never did. So, after my divorce, I had a work opportunity on Hilton Head Island, in South Carolina. My passion for being by the water, walking on the beaches, watching the sunrise and set and feeling the wind on my face, rose to an all-time high. Within seven months, I took more than 2000 photos of what I saw there, and I still could not get enough beach time. That kind of passion might live in each of us. For me, I did not realize it was a passion, or something I simply liked, until I experienced it fully and over a long period of time. Taking so many pictures, hurrying to get through work and get back to the beach to once again experience the peace and beauty I felt there was evidence enough for me that it was one of my passions.
You know, of course, that there are only 24 hours in any day, and how you use them is totally up to you. However, it certainly may not feel like that is the case. It is very common to wish you had more time, and in most cases that wish can be granted by simply becoming more organized and following a few simple rules regarding the management of your time. Below, we have listed several things you can do to give yourself more time or to get more done in the time that you have.
Your time is yours, and U are given only so much of it. That fact is very important to remember when U are working fervently on an activity that is not part of your life plan. Think about what you are doing. Does it add to your life long plan and story? Many of us get caught up in “ruts”, and it may take a serious life event (such as the illness or death of someone close to us) for us to recognize that things need to change. At that time, because of the event, we may be open to big changes in our lives.
A Secret for A Great LifeThe other day I was on one of my long walks enjoying the lake area I am so blessed to live by and saw a father cutting grass on a riding lawn mower, which by itself may not be so note worthy, I admit. However, helping him and maybe getting in his way a bit were two of his children; both kids where about 6 to 9 years old and each were also driving a small vehicle; one a small look-a-like riding lawnmower – kids version and the other a kids small ATV. The dad riding his mower had just come to the end of his cut with both kids following close behind and as he turned around they emerged right in his path and there the three of them sat looking , laughing and enjoying an intimate family situation.
I like seeing these types of things as they remind me of when my own son who used to walk next to me at about that age and push his own child version of a lawn mower as I walked and mowed our own lawn. Those types of intimate moments were great to share with someone special and great teaching moments although they never felt like I was a teacher.
A Family HelpsIn life, most of us will go through some very difficult times, as the world seems to present us with many different challenges to overcome. We might believe we have no control over them, and they may seem to keep happening and occurring just to us. In this life, one of the toughest challenges many of us face is the death of a parent or child.
A death of this type is a very tough event to get through, whether expected or unexpected. This event happened to me and my family in April of 2017, several weeks before I wrote this article, my father passed away, so I know from experience that it can be very trying emotionally, even for someone that has usually been emotionally strong. It’s been said that you really never miss something until it is gone, and I believe that is true in the case of people as well. When someone you love dies slowly over a period of time and you see them gradually change into something that really is almost unrecognizable from who they used to be, it gives you a new appreciation for the person they have been. When you can see the constant pain they are in daily, the discomfort and the uncertainty in their face about what is happening to them every time you visit or see them, the inevitable end might be viewed as more of a blessing; after all, part of life is death, whether it comes slowly, quickly, expected, or is a surprise.
Strive for ExcellenceWhat does it mean to be a man in today’s world? What do you think a woman thinks a man should be? If you are a man, what plan do you have for your life? Does it include your family? Are you looking for your perfect mate? Do you have a plan to make your life better? Are you striving for excellence?
Dr. Wayne Dyer writes that to attract the relationship you want you need to be that yourself. If what you are looking for in a relationship with another person is an exquisite sense of love, be that yourself. He goes on to say that”You do not attract into your life what you want. You attract what you are.” So what type of man are you exactly? What are you attracting? Is this what you want or need?
See Yourself as a Business & Life Professional?Have you ever thought of yourself as a professional in anything? A business & life professional? What do you do really well? What do you want to do really well? Do you have a passion for something specifically, an area of your life that when you are in it, you simply smile and feel good? Do you consider yourself to be a professional in it? Is your goal to become a professional in it? Business & life both need professionals. Firstly, to simply show what can be done in a certain area of life or business and how well it can be done and secondly, to work with others and help them achieve a level of professionalism in their own right.
In the book, “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell, Gladwell repeatedly claims that to become an expert at something, one needs to spend approximately 10,000 hours practicing it in the correct way. What have you done or are doing that will at some point add up to around 10,000 hours of your life (Sleeping & eating do not count by the way)? Is it in business or in life? Are you at 2,000 hours? 5,000? Closing in on your 10,000?