Category: Uncategorized

CHANGE THE CONVERSATION 🗣

Last post we discussed the magic we can create in our lives when we return the childhood act of finding the beauty that is all around us. If you haven’t read that, I highly suggest you do. When we are starting to make note of all the beautiful things that we might be missing in life, it can be helpful to at least start the habit alone. Once you see how much happier you are and how much more energy you have you will want to share this with everyone you care about! It would even help, sometimes to a greater extent, those people you find it difficult to be around. That is exactly what we are going to suggest you do in this post!

As tempting as sharing your new way of going through life may be, I suggest waiting for a little bit. The reason being, that some people could resist change, especially before they see the result. What is more amusing, I speak from personal experience, is to interject some of the beautiful things you have seen into your conversations with this person. When they are filling you will information about the latest violent crime or political happenings, just throw in the anecdote about how you had a nice saying written on your coffee cup you picked up in the drive thru or about a particularly charming garden you happen to see as you were driving. Initially, these may be swept aside after a brief acknowledgement. That’s to be expected. Many people do not know, and often feel uncomfortable, carrying on a positive conversation.

This may seem deflating initially. Especially in the beginning. Remember, these people have been programed, as we all have, to notice and concentrate on the negative in life. Do not be discouraged. Notice it, have an inward chuckle, and share a little bit more of the beauty you have discovered. Slowly, maybe after several meetings, they will stop resisting the positive elements you bring to the conversation. They may even feel compelled to share one of their own. They may realize, “I am meeting Neil for coffee today. I know he will have some positive thing to share. I guess I better have something to share as well.” Before you know it, they may even bring up positive elements to discuss. In this way, they will be helping you to remember to continue to focus on the beauty and magic in life.

There is one more very important reason to develop this habit of positive conversation. That reason is that adding positivity to anyone’s life, could literally be a lifesaver! We never know how our interactions can affect someone’s life. Let us make sure that they are positive ones. Sharing one more depressing news item, or one negative thing about the world at large, can push someone over the edge. The opposite is also true. Adding some positive conversation or some beauty and magic to someone’s life may change their entire day. It may also save their life if they are on that edge. Something we may often never know. Why take that chance? Make sure what you share with the world, and those it, is positive. The best way to do that? Use the tips discussed in this, and the post before it, to transform your life to one of beauty and magic!

NEVER STOP DOING THIS! ✋️

One of the saddest things that seems to happen as we age is that we lose an appreciation for the magic and beauty of life. It is no surprise. When we are young, most of the things we are exposed to offer an encouraging motif. Think of children’s programing. Most of it is a blend of encouragement of teaching and encouraging. I recall shows like Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood when I was young. I learned a lot, but there were also positive messages about myself, others and the world around me.

What happens as we get older? What we are exposed to takes a decidedly negative shift. News, crime shows, content on the internet and even that sent to our phones. Is the answer to stop using technology? Limiting our use of it may help somewhat, but that will not save us from interacting with other people. What are these other people exposed to? That’s right. The same negative influences we just mentioned. If you even attempt to be a light in this dark world, you will often be looked at as strange, weird or delusional. People will tell you things such as “You are looking at the world through rose-colored glasses.” or my favorite, “You just have your head in the sand. Can’t you see how bad the world is?”

What can we do to remedy this malady? Start doing something we may have stopped doing in childhood. That is looking for the beauty and magic that is all around us! It may not get the press and attention, but it is there. On social media, try subscribing to positive news stories and motivational pages. On your cell phone, download apps that send you motivational quotes everyday. These things really do exist! As for the sunshine-challenged people we share the planet with? Know most of them have just lost their ability to see the magic all around them. When they give you a crazy look or attack you, pity them. There life is one stuck in the darkness. In addition, add people who have the opposite mindset. Spend as much time around them as possible!

When you are looking to improve your life, it is always easer to add the positive than to eliminate the negative. You might want to read that line again. If you are trying to eat healthier, it would be easier to add a healthy meal than to starve yourself of meals that are not so healthy. The more you fill up on healthy food, the less room you will have for junk food. The same is true with everything in life. The more time you spend reading or listening to something inspiring is that much less time you could find yourself exposed to negativity. Adding smiles? Less time frowning. One minute of laughter? 60 seconds less of anger!

In regards to today’s post, spend more time actively looking for beautiful things in life. The more time you spend doing so, the less time you will spend noticing and dwelling on the negative. That doesn’t mean you are ‘burying your head in the sand’ and pretending they don’t exist. No, you are simply choosing not to dwell on them. As an example, above is my coffee as it was served to me at the pick up window at Starbucks. Not sure which employee took the time to do this, but it added a little brightness to my day. As I was in that sunny mood, I noticed the dandelion growing through a crack in the pavement right next to a dumpster. Proof that there is always a little light in the darkness. When we are children, we don’t have to look for the magic. It seems to show up at every turn. As adults, we need to train ourselves to get back to that. This may mean a little concentrated effort searching for the beauty in life. Done enough, it will start to show up in your life everywhere.

Another great idea is to keep images around you that remind you of the beauty you have and are currently experiencing in your own life. Above is a sample of mine. Great times with the beautiful love of my life, Margie. My mom celebrating Octoberfest. There is fun times watching a pig race at the Wisconsin State Fair and a very beautiful and loving sentiment that Margie wrote in the sand while we were enjoying time away in Jamaica. This not only reminds me of the beauty and magic in my life, it adds what could be the most powerful thing to create an amazing life. That one thing is gratitude. How could I not be grateful for all of these things? Being grateful and looking for all the beauty that is around us will positively transform our lives. Next post we will learn how to take all of this information and not only help others transform their lives, but create an almost automatic way to fill our lives with these things! Please come back tomorrow to learn all of that!

WHEN LIFE TESTS YOU…😕

When doing a little research for this blog post, I came across this quote. I really like the point it makes. In life, it is never fun to run into ties that challenge you. After vacation, I was looking to get back into my fitness routine. With only two hours notice, the gym I went to decided to close. No advance notice to either their members or their employees! (Not good business Xperience Fitness) Joining a new gym is a rather trying and stressful thing for me. You have to find one relatively close, with the amenities you are looking for and at a reasonable cost. For the next several weeks, I pondered and could not make up my mind.

It was not until a chance conversation with my mother, who was also victim to this gym closer, did a solution occur to me. She mentioned finding out if my insurance had any fitness club benefits. Back story, I have had this insurance since 2002 and never thought of looking into that. It turns out that I can join two different gyms for less than the price I was paying for one. (Welcome VASA and Planet Fitness) Not only will I be back on track to be physically stronger, but the same can be said about my finances. It also gave me a sense of accomplishment to get this all sorted out.

I think another reason life tests you is to strengthen your commitment. Here I was finally all set up with not only one new gym, but two! Ready to work out. I was also looking at a little more free time and eager to start my fourth book. Then….BAM! Literally! I wacked my head into the corner of a metal shelf. There goes time at the gym and staring at a computer screen. I finally had the gym, the time and the urge to start my fourth book. Instead, I was sitting at home with blood coming out of my head and a concussion.

This could have went two ways. I could have threw my hands up in the air and said, “I guess I am not supposed to work out or write that book!” or I could have used it to increase my desire for it that much more. Like a kid who is told he has to wait to open his gift until the next morning. You can just see the desire building. Life challenges are much like a parent telling us we have to wait to open our gifts. That is the goals we are chasing. Know when life gives you a challenge, it is not a denial, it is just a delay. A chance to strengthen your character and your commitment!

DON’T FORGET THIS TOOL AT YOUR DISPOSAL 🔨🪛🛠

Music is certainly something that can change our emotional state. You put your headphones 🎧 on at the gym to get fired up. You hear a song and think of someone you love, or even someone you miss. Often these moments happen by chance. We hear a song while driving in the car. A song is playing while we are shopping or eating in a restaurant.

Don’t forget, you can use this intentionally. In my first 2 books I advocate creating a happy Playlist. That is a collection of songs that put you in a positive mental state. That way when stress comes, all you have to do is push play and you have a little help getting back to a happier place.

If you haven’t read either of my first 2 books, or this idea is new to you, I suggest getting started on it today. Create a Playlist on your phone, your iPad or wherever else you can. Music is a great tool. Let us use it to our advantage!

NO IT DOESN’T SUCK! 🍭

The other day, I had one of those days. You know the ones. A day where everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. In fact, even some things that I did not know could go wrong, went wrong! I worked for hours on a press release only to discover it was the wrong format and would not work. I wrote a really nice blog and published it only to discover I forgot to save the second half before I pushed “publish”. This means it was deleted and now I had a half-written blog out there. At the end of this day, I was finally home relaxing and about to eat dinner on the porch with Margie. I had a can of sparkling green tea. I pulled the tab and can you guess what happened? Nothing! The tab came off and the can was still closed. I stared in disbelief at the can that had added its own bit of betrayal to my already trying day. Did I scream or shout? Did I get disgusted and start to complain about one more thing going wrong? No. I laughed hard and long.

It is not that I am delusional or like a day filled with personal inconveniences. I just knew that getting upset about being betrayed by a can of green tea would only add stress to my life. It would not even help me open the can. Which I did with the end of my fork so I would not add cutting my hand to the challenges of the day. Did my day suck? I guess you could say so. Events turned out the opposite of the way I was hoping it would.

Whenever I have a day that goes south of expectations, I am reminded of something the great Les Brown said. He said, “Never say you are having a terrible day. Say you are having a character building day.” To some of you this may sound like a positive thinking, splitting hairs way of looking at things. To some extent, it is. That is life though. Your language goes a long way to determining your attitude. The only thing we have complete control over is ourselves and our way of looking at the world. Getting upset over situations in which we have no control makes as much sense as trying to keep the sun from setting. (An event I may have tried when I was younger) If you are finding things in your life that seem to suck, remember you have complete control over how you look at your life and the things in it. With a change in your attitude, and an increase in your gratitude, life can feel a whole lot better. Even if your can of green tea doesn’t open on the first try.

AN EXCERPT FROM MY SECOND BOOK 📖

Below you will find a link to my Living the Dream with Neil Panosian podcast. If that link doesn’t work for you, feel free to find out wherever you stream your favorite podcasts. Don’t forget to subscribe so you will get the latest episodes as soon as they are released!

In this episode, you will hear a section from my second book, Living the Dream. It will be the secret to giving your life direction and accomplishing more in less time! Click below to listen right now!

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE EPISODE!

BEGIN BY MASTERING THIS 🤔

In my first two books, A Happy Life for Busy People and Living the Dream, we discussed how our inner world affects our outer world. Your mind can either be your biggest obstacle, or done right, your biggest ally. Anyone interested in the law of attraction, has heard this countless times. It is true. What we think determines what actions we will take. The actions we take, in turn, will determine, to a great extent, the quality of life we live. If our minds are positive and encouraging, we will take actions that will lead to a positive and fulfilling life. If our heads are filled with self-doubt and negative thinking, we are unlikely to put ourselves out there and take many, if any, actions at all.

Like many self-improvement actions, this is simple, but not easy. Improving your inner dialogue and thoughts is a lifetime endeavor. It is an investment that is worth its weight in gold. The time you invest on improving what happens inside your head will manifest itself as a greater sense of well-being, inner peace and increased opportunities and accomplished goals. I recommend beginning this journey right now. You can pick up either of my first two books mentioned earlier, or even search “Improving my inner dialogue on YouTube or Google. There are so many resources available.

Working on improving the workings of your mind may seem like just one more thing you do not have time for. Let me assure you that it will be the most profitable investment you make. It will also be one you cannot lose. What you gain in knowledge and confidence will be with you the rest of your life and positively impact every area of your life. As Earl Nightingale once said, “Never give up on a dreamjust because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway.” If you know of a resource that you have found especially helpful with helping you get control of your mind and thinking, please share it with the rest of us.

DOES YOUR DAY LEAVE YOU FEELING INVESTED OR DRAINED?

We have all been there. So exhausted at the end of the day that we could be knocked over with a feather. Haven’t there also been days when you feel that you could keep going and skip sleeping? Usually, our days fall somewhere in between. What is the secret to having more days that leave us inspired instead of drained? That is going to be the entire subject of my upcoming fourth book. In short, it is living a life of purpose. There are countless books dedicated to the subject. We here at Secret2anamazinglife.com like to give you quick tools and strategies to incorporate while you are researching a more in depth solution.

FIND WAYS THIS WEEKEND 🙏

One of the best, and most fulfilling things we can do is to find ways to help others. The great thing about that is the repercussions of doing so. You not only make the person you are helping feel good, you also feel good for doing so. As an effect of that, you make the world a brighter and better place for everyone. It is a no lose situation.

Even if you are too shy to help in person, there are so many things you can do virtually. From posting an encouraging comment on a friend’s social media page, to sharing a positive and inspiring post (take this one for example)

If we all do one little thing to help others, it will make a big impact. What are your ideas to help this weekend?