Month: June 2017

 WRAP UP…

I am calling this post “wrap up” because it will conclude the posts about the 7 day challenge we started on Monday. If you sense something is wrong, or perhaps just don’t feel like doing the math we still have a few days left. Don’t stop now! If these 7 days will show you anything it is that our control of our thoughts and what we focus on will go a long way in affecting our reality. 

Notice the changes we have made in merely focusing on one area for 7 days. Do not stop on Sunday when we reach our 7 day mark. Instead, notice the progress you have made. It is said it takes 21 days to form a new habit. Isn’t taking control of our thoughts and the power of our minds worth 5 minutes of our day each night for 21 days? 

I would love to hear your results and see us encourage each other. Keep up the great work!

MAKE IT EASIER

 

All week we have been discussing ways to help us along the great journey we began with Monday’s post. Again, if you have not had a chance to take part of this amazing 7 day transformational event it is never too late. Feel free to click the link below to see how you can get started today!

I DARE YOU….

The last two days we have looked at ways in which we can remain positive and make this journey not only more powerful, but more fun. We mentioned finding the dessert in any situation on Tuesday. Yesterday we talked about making the most of happy moments and how to use them to also help us achieve our goals.

What is the best way to find the dessert in every situation and have as many special moments as possible? Surround yourself with people doing the same! If your life is filled with Debbie downer and Negative Nancy it will be extremely hard to remain optimistic about the realization of any goal you are focusing on. The best is when you can recruit your partner to join you on the journey to having an amazing life as I have. Even if you want to keep what you are doing to yourself, surrounding yourself with people who are not only positive, but want to make the best of themselves can make all the difference.

Above is a picture of my friend Russ and I. We have been friends for…well…let us just say a really long time. Russ and myself have many different viewpoints and have taken several different paths. What is the same is our end goal. To learn how to squeeze every last drop of passion and enjoyment out of life all while learning to be the best versions of ourselves.

Because, not in spite of, the fact that we are different can we help each other so well. Trying to read every book or try every method for self-improvement yourself is just not practical. There is just not enough days in one’s life. Having a friend, or friends, who look at life differently but have the same end goal can introduce you to a world of different options than you could ever discover yourself. In addition, having someone facing the same struggles and cheering you on can get you through the toughest times. So ‘pick your posse’ carefully. This, more than anything, can make all the difference in your journey to live an amazing life.

MAKE THE MOST OF SPECIAL MOMENTS

Monday we began a special journey of putting our mind to work for us and bringing great transformations to our life by doing so. If you haven’t read Monday’s post I encourage you to click the link below and do so now.

I DARE YOU….

Each day this week we are going to discuss ways to help improve your process and make the journey easier and more enjoyable.

Today’s post focuses on special moments. Above is a picture of a litter of puppies. Seeing such a sight and being able to hold and play with them would put most people in a very joyous mood. When you are in these moods it is valuable to know how to make the most of these moments. Take a picture such as this to remember the moment by.

Another very valuable and powerful thing you can do is take a moment to repeat your affirmation and/or visualize the achievement of your goal while you are in this joyous state. Don’t worry you would only have to stop playing with the puppies for a few seconds. When we are in a happy state it is often a lot easier to picture positive solutions and to believe them as not only possible, but being created as we discussed in Monday’s post.

All the good moments you come across take a moment to pause, feel grateful and picture your goal as realized and say a quick affirmation. Telling yourself “Perfect health is now filling my body and expressing itself in me.” Sounds a lot better and is a lot easier to believe after rolling around with a group of puppies. Now, if you will excuse me as soon as my lady reads this I will be required to find a group of puppies so she can test out this theory. Be sure to come back tomorrow for even more ideas to enjoy the journey to achieving our goals.

THE CULTURE OF DESSERT 

Here is a picture of me at Greek fest. It is a festival celebrating the culture of the people of Greece. I am not Greek, although I am Armenian which is close. Last year I did a video on my YouTube channel and featured it on this blog from another cultural festival. In it I mentioned the benefits of getting to know both your own culture as well as that of others. Their food, their traditions. What I am eating here is a baklava sundae. Very delicious and is a mixture of walnuts, honey, chocolate, ice cream and some other goodness I am unaware of.

Yesterday we mentioned a plan for transforming your life. Each day this week we will be looking at ways to make your practice more powerful and your results more amazing. We will also look at ways that will add joy to the process and make it more fun to do.

One of these is finding the dessert in any situation. That is, what is the best of what each situation has to offer. Who doesn’t like dessert right? It doesn’t just apply for food though. No matter where you are or what you are doing, look for something you would enjoy.

Keeping your mood positive not only helps us achieve our goals faster, it makes the journey, which is where we spend most of our time, a lot more enjoyable. Make sure to check back each day this week for more tips on enjoying life and achieving your goals with ease and joy.

I DARE YOU….

Are you someone who likes to take on a challenge? Are you someone who can’t say ‘no’ to a dare? Then you are just the person I want to talk to! In the following paragraph I have a very unique 7 day challenge, or dare if you will, for anyone willing to try. This idea was inspired from one of my favorite books The Power of Your Subconscious Mind by Dr. Joseph Murphy. This book was written in 1962 but is timeless in its wisdom. What I like most about this book is that it reminds us that we do not need to learn any new or secret formulas, we do not need to rely on luck or good fortune, but that the power to change our lives lies literally between our own two ears. The real challenge is learning how to access and harness that power. What you are about to learn is the first very basic steps to doing just that.

We have all heard that we use only a small fraction of our brains. (I have heard anywhere between 2 and 10 percent) What this exercise does is allow you to access and make use of some of that hidden potential. It, in essence, puts your mind to work for you. Your brain can be likened to an iceberg. Only the top 10% of an iceberg is what we see sticking out of the water. The bulk of, or remaining 90%, is under water. Same with our mind. Our conscious, or reasoning mind. The one we use on a daily basis to decide what kind of pizza to order is only 10%. Our subconscious mind the one that keeps our heart beating, our immune system working as well as stores all of our memories is the remaining 90%.

What we will do here is begin to but that part of our brain to work for us. That is the part of our mind that is active 24/7. It never takes a break, even when we are sleeping.

How do we access this amazing storehouse of knowledge? I am going to give you and easy and fun way to do just that. I encourage, dare, challenge or whatever word would get you to try this, to do this for 7 days and astound yourself with the results. One word of caution. The method I am going to give you, which is based on the teachings of Dr Murphy, will seem almost too easy. You must remember, just because something is easy does not mean that it is not effective or powerful. In this case that couldn’t be further than the truth. Give this an honest 7 day effort. Not only will you discover a new powerful force, but you will begin to transform your life!

Here is the method. Pick one area of your life that you would like to improve. For these 7 days keep it to just this one area. If we try to do too many at once it is like getting into a taxi cab and giving the driver 6 different sets of directions. Not only will you most likely not get anywhere, you may be kicked out of the cab. So keep it to one area. This could be your job you are unhappy with. Perhaps your financial situation? Is there a relationship that could use some improvement? Actually, it doesn’t even have to be an area that is struggling, but just one you would like to improve. Maybe you love your job, but would like a raise or promotion? You and your spouse love each other but of course there is always room for more love. Trust me, even when I think I am going to explode with love, my Margie finds new ways to bring more love. This works for health challenges as well. Is there a condition you are suffering with? Maybe one you would just like to improve?

Ok, now we have picked our one area, here is where the magic begins. Every evening before bed (you can do this first thing in the morning or several other times but always do it right before you sleep) Get yourself in a very relaxed state of mind. Then begin to picture the solution to your area of concern. Do not focus at all on the problem, but solely on the solution. For example, if it is a health challenge you are working on just picture yourself in perfect health and vitality doing what you would be doing. Play a mental movie in your mind. Make it as real as you can. Feel how you would feel, hear yourself talking as you would should the situation be to your liking. If you are seeking a raise, picture your boss coming up to you with a smile, hear his voice congratulating you. When you have got this movie clear and you can really feel as if it were so repeat the following “My subconscious mind is now bringing this into being. I am so grateful to have this in my life. a river of abundant health, wealth and vitality flows through me. It is so” Feel free to tailor that to your specific desire, but affirm it is so and feel good about it.

Do this for 7 days and feel free to share the results you have gotten back here to help inspore others.

BEAUTY IN THE STORM

This was the sky in front of my lady and I as we walked on the trail the other day. We certainly turned around and went back to the car. As you can see, before we did that I had to take a picture of how beautiful the coming storm was.

There were people out walking like we were. Some people were jogging or on bicycles. We even saw a few golfers rushing off the golf course as the storm came in. When it did arrive it was fierce and intense. Does this make storms the ultimate party killer? Not exactly. Without the rain there would be no nature for us to enjoy as we walked. The same would hold true for those walking, jogging or biking. Even the grass on the golf course could not be there without the rain.

This got me thinking about the storms of life and how the same holds true. As I write this I am currently dealing with a terrible sinus infection. Today is also the first day of summer. A day I traditionally party and celebrate. Not today, however. I spent the whole day in bed. Still, this sickness has forced me to get some rest. It also reminded me how lucky I am to enjoy good health most of the time. Perhaps I needed that reminder not to take things for granted.

How about you? What storms in life have you recently went through or are going through? Can you see the beauty in them? What lessons are they teaching you? Feel free to share yours with our readers in the comments below.

GO BAREFOOT!!!

I learned a great secret! The other day my lady was cooking up a delicious meal and I decided to sit in the sun and read one of my favorite books. About halfway through my time reading I decided to take off my shoes and put my feet in the grass. I had not done that in years. In our busy lives we can become disconnected with some of life’s simple pleasures.

Between the good book I was reading and the feeling of the grass between my toes I felt amazing. What have you not done in a while? I suggest revisiting different aspects we have gotten away from. I also suggest getting back in touch with nature. Is there a favorite tree you like? Get out and walk up to it. Grab the kids or the one you love and go for a walk in the park. Maybe just go for a stroll yourself noticing nature. Hear the songs of the birds. Feel the wind blowing against your skin. See the trees on the horizon and notice how beautiful they are. Literally stop and smell the flowers.

Please share with us things you haven’t done in a long time that you may enjoy. Take those shoes off and walk around the grass!

BE A WORLD CHANGER

If there is one thing I have learned in my two plus decades of talking to people in all different walks of life, it is this – people want to feel significant. This does not always mean being the ‘coolest kid on the block’, but just loved and valuable. Some people like to be the ones who make the biggest impact in the lives of others, some just want to make the biggest impact in one person’s life.

When helping people find their passion in life one of the questions I often ask is “If you had a billion dollars to pursue whatever vocation you want, what would it be?” Lately I have asked individuals to think what change they would like to make that would affect a billion people. I have heard a lot of different answers. I have heard everything from ending hunger, supplying clean water, providing education and comfort to helping people improve their fashion sense.

My suggestion for today would be to answer these two questions. Once you have an idea of what kind of change you would like to make, do it for one person. If your dream is to end world hunger, try feeding one person who needs help. Want to offer comfort and inspiration? Go to your local VA hospital and try reading to, or just listening to some of the great people there.

Mother Teresa advised us to “Do small things with great love.” I can personally tell you in my own life the small things have made some of the biggest difference. With the encouragement of my friends Carmen, Alysa, and Kristina I started this blog and published my book A Happy Life for Busy People Now I am reaching people in over 100 countries. With the encouragement (or more like insistence when it comes to my stubborn brain) from my lady Margie I now have a YouTube Channel as well as offer live seminars reaching an entirely different group of people.

The point of that is these people inspired one person, me. Their inspiration has touched the lives of everyone who reads my blog or book, attends a seminar or watches one of my YouTube videos. When you change the world for one person it has a ripple effect. In essence, the easiest way to positively affect the world, is the positively affect the life of one person.

Change the world today. Begin with the life of just one person and watch it grow. Feel free to share your ideas of ways we can positively affect the lives of others in the comments below to help give other readers some great ideas.

TREAT YOUR FRIENDS LIKE YOU TREAT YOUR PLANTS

Yesterday we talked about being a living angel to someone.

IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS 

 

I encourage you to click the link above and read that one. Today we are going to talk about people we surround ourselves with. Everyone, including ourselves, needs a little improvement in some area. The true definition of success is a “progressive realization of a worthy ideal ” according to Earl Nightingale, the dean of personal development. According to Tony Robbins the secret to happiness is progress and growth.

How can we encourage growth? Look at the above example of plants. People know talking to their plants help them grow. Can you imagine speaking nothing but encouraging words to all of the friends we know?

IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS 

Angels, what exactly are they? If you look up the definition online it will tell you they are “spiritual beings superior to humans in power and intelligence.” Where do angels come from? You can often hear people say when someone has passed away that they have become their guardian angel. I’m not 100% sure that this is true as I am still alive, but it is something that certainly sounds wonderful.

This post is not about death, what happens after we pass away or even angels in the biblical sense. It is about our daily angels. Daily angels are the people I truly believe bless this world. When you see a young person open the door for an elderly or physically challenged person, to me that person in acting angelic. There will be a section in my upcoming book filled with examples of these people and what we can learn from them. I’m going to include a few of them here as well, both specifically and the kind of people in general that I believe qualify as angels.

The other night I was out with my lady at a friend’s birthday party. A gentleman I have known since I was very young, grade school age, came up to talk to me. Not only was he effusive in his praise, but let me know that he was proud of the life I was living and the accomplishments of both my lady and I. He shared a lot of the good memories he had of us and left me feeling very happy and good about myself. Someone who brings only joy and positivity to others and helps them feel good about themselves fits my definition of an angel. Therefore I would say Scott is a living angel

My aunt has never really had a high paying job, lived in a glamorous house or even driven a car. On top of this she has had five different kinds of cancer and beat them all. How does she manage to do this? A great (although strange at times) sense of humor. She makes herself and others around her laugh. She never gave in to any of her health challenges, and continues to live on the ‘sunny side of the street’. Maintaining and sharing a positive attitude in the face of such personal challenges fits my definition of an angel. Therefore I would say my aunt Virginia is a living angel.

One final personal example. Sometimes doing the simplest acts with the certain attention to detail and compassion and love for your fellow human beings makes you an angel in my book. There are two gentleman I routinely run into at coffee shops I frequent. They serve delicious drinks and they do so quickly. If you love coffee as much as I do that can mean the world, but it does not make them an angel. What does is their attention and care for their customers. They get to know you, care about you and are not afraid to show it. When you can make customers feel like friends and bring people joy while you are merely doing your job that fits my definition of an angel. Therefore, Curtis and Kyle are living angels.

Whether you bring light into the world with a smile for those you meet, listen to a friend who is sharing their troubles or a host of other selfless acts I believe that is what makes an angel. Let us recognize all of the people in our lives who fill our souls with love and hope on a daily basis. We are daily in the company of angels.

This post would not be complete without the mention of two very important things. First, my own personal little angel, my love, my Margie. I could tell you all the hard work she puts in around our house in terms of keeping it clean and full of love. I could tell you the countless smiles she has brought with all the effort she puts into her cakes that bring joy to the lives of everyone who orders one, but I need to let you in on something else. Currently I have been going through a lot of personal challenges in my own life. Some that must also make life very difficult for her as well. The more love, patience and understanding she shows me on a daily basis the more I see I am blessed to have my own little angel next to me every day.

The final piece of information I am going to leave you with is this. The world never has enough angels. If you can’t seem to find all that many in your life I encourage you to really begin to look for them. If you are overwhelmed with gratitude for all the angels you see, let them know. Whether you fall into either category, or somewhere in between, do yourself and the world a favor, become an angel. Look for ways you can serve your fellow human beings with love, compassion and joy.

Feel free to recognize some living angels you know in the comments below or by sharing this post with them.