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.
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?
The Attitude – The Passion – The MotivationIn the business world and also in life, there are three words that can ultimately define who you are, what you will actually do and how successful you may be at accomplishing it. Those words are Attitude, Passion and Motivation. Each has its own unique meaning for each of us, however the simple dictionary meaning is:
Stress, Rest & RelaxationWe have all had those days where your job or maybe those individuals you work with might be causing you stress. Maybe something you are dealing with in your personal life has caused you an immense amount of stress. In either case it might be an acute short-term thing or it may be more chronic and simply be part of your life, in any case, you need to deal with the situation and the stress it is causing you.
Epictetus, a Greek philosopher (A.D. 55-135) once said, “People are disturbed not by a thing, but by their perception of a thing.” A person’s perception or view of what they believe they are dealing with can cause them a huge amount of stress in their life. The American Institute of Stress states that one definition of stress is, “a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.”
Online Dating ExperienceIf you have not yet been blessed with a significant other, are not in a relationship or have not found the one person you believe the Lord has created just for you, you may have had some experience with the online dating scene, or may be thinking of trying it. It is surreal to say the least!
When you first think of it, you feel very hopeful, after all, there are thousands of men and women online at any given time of the day. Your hopefulness might fade some when you start answering the specific questions that are required. Trying to say the right thing in the right way, not too little, not too much; then figuring out which pictures to upload which show the “REAL” you. When you finally complete your profile, you are left with an accomplished feeling of “ok, I am out there”. Now what does the opposite sex think of me? Of course, there is really no way for them to get the “REAL” you from the couple of pictures and paragraphs of text you just put out there, but you do have hope that a connection will happen. After all, what is your alternative?