We work so hard on our goals. We work hard on our health. If we are smart, we work very hard on our relationships. Still, there is one thing that we often skip working on. The irony is that by working on improving this one thing, we will improve on everything else in our life.
That one thing is ourselves! When was the last time you sat down and thought of ways you could improve? Better yet, when was the last time you came up with a concrete plan to do so? With New Years right around the corner, let’s do more than come up with random wishes to improve our life. Let us come up with a measurable plan to do so. It will not only improve ourselves, it will improve our life!
Today, Margie and I will be attending the “Best of Milwaukee” awards ceremony. The bakery she owns with her daughter was nominated for 3 different awards. I cannot tell you how proud I am. They work so hard and deserve the recognition. Being an unpaid employee of said bakery, I get to go along to the ceremony. Our DJ show also nominated for best in Milwaukee. We are so thankful for our supporters in every area.
Although this party will be great from a personal level, it is about so much more than that. It is a celebration of local businesses and people who make a difference in the community. Not only is that vitally important, but the votes were cast by members of that community. Where celebration and involvement come together, that leads to a closer and stronger community. Make sure you take the time to celebrate the people who have positively impacted you and your community. That can be filling out a survey for the business online, taking the time to show appreciation for an employee during the busy holiday season or maybe a positive post about the business on your social media account. All of these do not cost you a single penny, but can mean the world to a business or stressed out employee.
When we celebrate and honor each other, all of us our winners.
New month, better attitude! So many people underestimate the power they hold in their own lives. This picture above gives us three powerful things to think about. Let us take them one at a time. By the time we are done exploring and examining it, we will have some new tools, strategies and powers we can use to positively impact our lives. Sound good? Let us get to it!
The first one is one of my favorites! The power of our words. This is one area that people overlook or do not think is as powerful as it is. Do not take my word for it. This is backed by science. Dr. Masaru Emoto did some amazing experiments using the effects of words on water. He showed that when water was exposed to words such as hate, anger and the emotions behind it, the molecules became fractured and deformed. However, when exposed to words like love, peace and the emotions behind it, they formed perfect molecules. You may think, “So a guy yelling at water made it deformed. What does that have to do with me?” Your body is roughly 50 to 60% water! If you change the molecules in 60% of your body, how will could that not affect you? This can be a negative cliche’ you recite by force of habit. It can be overreacting when you are ill. Many of us focus on what is wrong and what we lack in our life. You can see, from a scientific standpoint, how this can affect our physical well-being.
Next is the power of our thoughts. According to research, the average individual thinks over 60,000 thoughts a day. Driving in the recent snow storm, it appears I live in a city with many below average people, but I digress. Further research states that over 80% of what we think on a daily basis is negative and 95% of it is repeat thoughts from the day before. Can you imagine hanging around with someone who talks negative 80% of the time? What if that same person says tells you 95% of that same stuff everyday? How long do you think you would hang out with them? Ironically, that is what is occurring in our own heads! Most of this occurs without us paying much attention. What we think will have a great impact on what do and are willing to try. That has a great impact on our life!
Lastly, is the power of our presence. How many of us tolerate being places we are not tolerated or at the very least, not appreciated? This is one I have to remind myself of often. There is something to be said for making compromise for the ones we love, but it should not come at the cost of our own peace.
For this last month of the year, take control of your words, your thoughts and your presence. See what a difference it will make in your own life. See how much power you hold to positively impact your life.
This is exactly what it was like in my neighborhood yesterday. It also nicely sums up my opinion on snow and winter. We might even want to add a word after ‘this’. The sad part was it was also what they call “Small business Saturday”. You are supposed to support locally owned businesses. It helps support those who support the community by giving them your business. It is about much more than just helping Bob or Betty with their business.
Did you know that roughly 50% of people are employed by small businesses? That means you are helping half of the people and their families by shopping at a local business. Not to mention the heart and soul that small business owners bring to a community that large corporations usually lack.
It was unfortunate that there was a terrible snow storm where I live on this day. We still have many days left before the holidays and I am sure you have one or two people you need to shop for. I encourage you to do so at a small business. You will not only get a far better gift, but your purchase will be an investment in the community. It is a win/win situation. This should not be limited to the holidays. Supporting small businesses should be a yearlong endeavor. Next time you have a purchase to make, consider doing so at a small business.
Just a quick reminder as we go through a crazy snow storm here at Secret2anamazinglife.com, that you should always remember to be safe this holiday season. We will be back tomorrow with a more complete post
We will get to why this question is indeed one of the most important questions in just a minute. First, I would like to share with you an event that got me thinking about this. A gentleman I see occasionally at my day job paid me one of the most unique, but meaningful compliments. He told me what he most admired about me was my consistency of character. How despite outside circumstances, I remain upbeat and treat everyone I meet with kindness and compassion. I would love to tell you this is true all of the time, but it is not. It is true enough that a gent would notice and compliment me on it. So what is my secret? How do I remain upbeat and always treat others kindly? How can I do this despite what my outside circumstances are? More importantly, how can you manage to do this as well?
The first step is to answer what good old Albert said was the most important question. Is the universe a friendly place? Here is the tricky answer. Whatever we decide the answer is, we can find corresponding evidence for it. If we look for examples that the universe is a terrible place with people only out for themselves, there is no shortage of that. If, however, we are brave enough to believe the universe is a wonderful place with people showing kindness and compassion towards others, we will find that too. We may have to look a little harder as that kind of news does not sell as well. They are both there. I am here to tell you life will be much more rewarding and joyous if you decide the universe is a wonderful place to be.
One good way to do this is to find a guiding quote that speaks to you in that regard. Although not an overly religious person, that quote from the bible is one of my favorites. Whether you are religious, spiritual or not, find one that speaks to you. If you decide that the universe is is a friendly place, than even when things seem to be going sideways, you will understand that it is ultimately for a good purpose. This may sound like a bunch of B.S., and it is. Belief system that is. If your belief system is that the world is generally a good place, you will understand if the dark and the challenges bring their own blessings.
Does that mean your life will suddenly be rainbows and unicorns? Of course not. You will, however, begin to see the gifts that challenges bring. You will find yourself saying things like, “Boy this person is testing my patience. By testing my patience, it will help me strengthen it.” This could be to yourself or out loud. By developing this mindset you will be able to be more consistent in how you are living your life. This not only can apply to the overall purpose of your life, but to specific areas as well.
Recently, a friend mentioned how they struggled to keep a positive attitude about the business they started. When you are excited about your business and nobody seems to come through the door, how do you stay excited? That is a challenge. If you have a firm belief in what you do and why you are doing it, view those ‘down’ times as a test of your dedication to your business and an opportunity to learn different ways to attract customers and improve on that which you are now doing. My third book did not go over nearly as well as I had hoped. Instead of viewing myself as a failed author, I took that opportunity to examine how I bring my message to people, how I promote my books and what I could do better with my upcoming fourth book.
The secret to a consistently amazing life is to decide that your universe is a friendly place, or whatever goal you are pursuing is worthwhile. If that is the case, then how could anything not be working towards your greater good? Put both the victories as well as the challenges to work for you. The more you do this, the more life will be amazing and the easier it will be to be consistent in all you do and who you are.
These three words, in this order, have become almost cliche. We see them just about everywhere. On signs, dish towels, t-shirts and numerous other locations. What we may fail to realize, is these three words, so often in front of us, are actually a formula for an amazing life. They are steps listing how to live a life of inner peace, abundance and joy. In only three words, we can learn a great way to live! Let us take a little deeper dive.
Today in the United States, we celebrate Thanksgiving. A holiday in which we are supposed to focus on all we have to be thankful for. Sadly, it seems to get lost with all of the excitement of Halloween and Christmas. In this humble holiday is the secret to an amazing life. The word ‘thankful’ is most often associated with feeling and showing appreciation for what is wonderful in our lives. That is the first step in positively transforming our lives. Change your focus from what you lack in your life to everything you have. This simple change will reduce your stress, increase your joy and help you realize how wonderful and abundant you have it. What better day to start than on a holiday that is all about being thankful?
Many people think that ‘thankful’ and ‘grateful’ are the same. They do differ in a very important way. It is this step that will put us on the path to living an amazing life. While ‘thankful’ is feeling appreciation for all the good we have in our life, ‘grateful’ is extending our appreciation for everything and everyone in our life. Even those who at first glance may not seem to be something good. When you are grateful, you appreciate both the valleys as well as the peaks of life. You understand that challenges often provide us just as much, if not more, to appreciate than the easy times. We grow more with challenges. Think of lifting weights. If you only lift easy weights, you will not get any stronger. It is in the heavy, or challenging weights, that we grow our muscles and become stronger. The same is true of our character, our inner peace and every aspect of our life. The challenges offer us a place to grow and strengthen our life. The easy and successful times allow us to celebrate, the challenges to grow. When we learn this, being grateful becomes a way of life. Either we win or we learn.
The last step in our equation is ‘blessed’. This is what happens when we learn to be both ‘thankful’ and ‘grateful’. We begin to notice how everything in life happens for us and not to us. When you learn to put both the accomplishments and challenges of life to work for you, than life is a never-ending fountain of blessings. Yes, even those moments that tear our hearts apart can end up being a blessing. It can teach us more in the pain than we could ever learn any other way. It can often teach us quicker than we care to learn. It can also provide us a credibility and ability to teach others going through similar struggles. We can use our pain and struggle to bless others. That, in itself, is a blessing.
Do you see how a simple formula can provide a dramatic shift in mindset. That, in turn, can give us a monumental shift in the trajectory of our life. It can alleviate a great deal of stress and provide us with a great deal more of hope and joy. Think of this formula as you go about your life. Not just today, but every day. Start by being thankful for all the good you have in your life. Really focus on that. Next, contemplate how you could be grateful for everything in your life. See the benefits even the pain and challenges give you. Before long you will walk around feeling blessed!
Never in my wildest dreams would I ever imagine that I would be writing a daily inspirational blog for over 13 years! What makes my heart so full of gratitude is that we seem to be growing our community and reaching more souls in more places. Still no Greenland, but we will get there. We are in over 200 countries and this year, as of this writing we have had over 28,000 views. That is the second most in 13 years! Even better is we have reached over 22,000 people. That is the most in 13 years.
My life’s mission is to leave the world a little better than I found it. Through sharing the tools and strategies I continue to learn, I believe I am doing just that. With all of your help, and lately with a lot of our friends in China, we will continue to grow and positively impact the lives of all of those we care about.
This blog was started on Thanksgiving in 2012. Gratitude is the one thing that will change not only our lives, but the world at large, quicker than anything else I know. Tomorrow we celebrate Thanksgiving here in the United States. While there are lots of things we need to improve, there are still a lot we have to be grateful for. I look forward to continuing to serve you and to increase engagement as we look forward to the coming year. With your help, 2026 can be our biggest and most impactful year yet!
The title of this sounds a bit too grand to be true. I thought so at first as well. The plan to achieve anything you want was brought to us courtesy of Earl Nightingale. One of my favorite authors and speakers. Earl was actually a lot more than that and I encourage you to explore his many works. He developed a plan that required no more than 5 hours a week, none on weekends, and can give us anything we want in a surprisingly short amount of time.
Here is the method, short and sweet. Wake up one hour earlier every morning. Yes, I know this sounds difficult. I wake up everyday at 4am, so I can understand. When I tell you what you can accomplish with this idea, you will soon see it is worth it. Make yourself a nice cup of coffee or tea. Whatever you prefer. Sit down with a pad of paper and a pen. Yes, we are going old-fashioned here. There is a reason that makes it more powerful. Write your single goal on the top of the piece of paper. Now, begin to list as many ideas as you can for reaching that goal as your sip your brew. Do not judge them and understand most of your ideas will not be very good. Write them down anyway. All you need is one good idea to succeed. Shoot for 20 ideas a day. Working 5 days a week, this will give you 100 ideas a week. Can you see how the law of averages is with you?
Another benefit of doing this is the fact that it imbeds your goal into your mind, but conscious and subconscious mind. Your mind will be working on it as you go throughout your day. The wonderful idea you are looking for may not come to you in that hour you are working, but may pop into your head on the drive to work, or while waiting in line at the grocery store. By writing with pen on paper, we create a greater mind/body connection. This will help drive our goal into our mind even more.
Bonus idea!!!! While doing this to accomplish goals certainly makes sense, there are other applications that will transform your life just as powerfully. Can you imagine waking up and trying to come up with 20 ways to add love and connection to your relationship? How about ways to show yourself some self-care and inner peace? How about leave a great legacy for those behind you? Imagine trying to come up with 100 ideas a week on any of these subjects? How would that change your life?
I love this quote from Saint Francis. It reminds us that actions speak louder than words. How about you? Do you show consistent character? Do you treat everyone kindly and did not let outside circumstances determine the way you interact with others? I would love to tell you that this is true with me all of the time, but it is not. It must, however, be true often enough for some folks to notice and compliment me on it.
How many of you have children out there? If not children, how many are parents to one of our four-legged friends? Do they always listen when you tell them something? Children go to bed as soon as you utter the words. The dog sitting nicely whenever you tell him to do something? We all know that this is not how the world works. Do they follow you around and mimic your actions? Do they repeat things you say? (the children, not the dog) Even the things that you do not mean to say around them? It is not just children and animals that are this way. When our words do not match our actions we can be thought hypocritical or even worse.
Whatever the ‘gospel’ of your life is, do your best to preach it at all times. Use your words when absolutely necessary.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 