For those of you who might not be aware, I also have a podcast! It is called Living The Dream with Neil Panosian. You can find it wherever you stream content. Free on Audible, Amazon Prime, Apple Podcasts and of course Spotify.
I’ll give the Spotify link below, but feel free to follow me wherever you stream! I look forward to hearing your feedback!
So many books, movies and philosophies are concerned with the meaning of life. I guess it is good to ponder the direction one’s life is going. Do you know what is infinitely better? Creating it!
This weekend, if you haven’t already, take some time to get clear as to what the meaning of your life is going to be. This doesn’t matter if you are 18 or 80. As the saying goes, “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is today. ”
Getting clear, for the first time perhaps, as to what the purpose of your life is, will have amazing benefits! Stress will be reduced. Energy will be increased. Indecision will be a thing of the past. You will have a definite idea of what is right and wrong for your life. Most importantly, you will be able to decipher if you are going in the right direction or not. If not, you will be able to take corrective actions.
With all of these benefits, and more, isn’t spending some time deciding what the purpose of your life worth it? In fact, it is worth its weight in gold!
Everyone knows this time of year is tough for me. The Wisconsin State Fair, one of my favorite events, has ended. This also means my yearly 2 week vacation is also over. Cold weather is on its way. Every year I do my best to find inspiration.
This quote is very helpful. In life we all have those times when it feels like we are losing everything. It doesn’t have to be the end of summer. It can be when you need to go to both the dentist and the mechanic in the same week. Your relationship and your job could be falling apart at the same time.
Regardless of what the situation is, looking at the trees as they start to lose their leaves can remind us that although things can look bleak and dead, it can just be a phase of life. Just like a tree continues to grow in the winter, we can continue to grow in the winters of our life. Remember how the trees boom again and come back to life in spring. Often, we just need to hang on and make it through the season.
This is a rather silly Wednesday reminder, but a necessary one. In life, we often have plenty of reasons not to smile. We need a few that will allow us to do so. We also need to remind ourselves how absolutely awesome we are. It is a job far too important to be left entirely up to others. I thought the quote above was a good one to start with. I encourage all of us to print it out, write it on a card, put it as the screensaver on our phone or some other way in which we will see it several times a day.
Go ahead and read it to yourself right now. If you are in a public place, feel free to read it under your breath, but still read it. How do you feel? Does a quirky little grin play across your face? Maybe a little laughter bubbles up inside your soul? Don’t we all deserve that feeling, and this reminder every day? It doesn’t have to be this exact quote. In fact, I would love to see some of your favorites. Post a great Wednesday reminder you like to share with yourself in the comments below!
Today’s post may seem like a no brainer and it really is. If you want your life to change, you will have to make some changes. If you want your life to get better, you are going to have to get better. I believe Jim Rohn said something like that quite often. What are these changes that we must make? More to the point, how can way maintain the discipline to continue to make them even when the motivation to do so has long faded away? The answer to both is to think backwards. What I mean by that is to get crystal clear on the result you are after. This will make both discovering the changes that need to be made as well as sticking to them a lot easier.
Now that I have found the Jim Rohn quote, let us look at a few examples. Let us say the result is that you would like a better body by this time next year. What changes would you have to make? The clearer you are on the specifics of those changes, the better. At the very least, write the result you are seeking on the top of a piece a paper and the changes you are willing to make underneath. This could include engaging in physical activity at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes. This goal is a lot more powerful than “Move more.” How about changing your eating habits? Instead of writing “Eat better”, try not eating after 7pm. Maybe add have 3 servings of vegetables a day.
This works especially well if your life is a total dumpster fire at this point. Changing your focus on what result you would like to see in your life is a great first step in turning it all around. As you are working towards this result, you can ask yourself the thought-provoking question, “Is this action going to take me closer to, or further away from my result?” That may allow you to pause before having one of those free doughnuts in the breakroom, or telling your friend that you can’t make it to the gym. I find it is also helpful to have measurable points along the way. If your goal is to lose 30 pounds by next year, it would help you to break that down by 12 to see how much you should be losing each month. That would be 2.5 pounds a month in this case. If we only think about 30 pounds a year from now, one doughnut may not seem that big of a deal. When we know we have to lose 2.5 pounds in the next 30 days, it becomes a little more of a big deal. Same with skipping the workout.
Pick your result and write it at the top of a piece of paper. Then, list the changes you will need to make in order to reach that result. Be prepared to do what Jim Rohn said – If you want your life to be better, you must get better. If you want your life to change, you must be willing to change.
It is that time of year that students are heading back to school. This could be high school, college or any other school. I hear a lot of them praying for graduation and for “It to be all over.” What many of them fail to realize, is that if we are to be successful it is never over. That is, if we wish to rise above the hoards of average individuals and live an amazing life, learning never stops. In fact, when we do graduate it is called commencement. That word, by its very definition, means “a beginning or start”.
After two decades (wow that sounds like a long time), 2060 blog posts and 3 published books, I consider myself to be a very avid student of self-improvement. Not only are there so much material to consume, there are so many teachers to learn from. When I say so many teachers, I mean they are everywhere! Not only formal teachers, like Nicci, the favorite art teacher of Margie and me, but informal teachers as well. We are actually all teachers. I learn a lot from my friend Kurt who is currently writing a great book I can’t wait to share with all of you. I learn from my friend Nick who is a great student of life himself. Even thousands of miles away, I learn from my friend Eduardo in Italy. He has such a unique and amazing way of interpreting what I write. There are even people who teach us through their mistakes and bad behavior. I can’t count the times I have witnessed someone treat an employee rudely and am reminded how important it is to show these people appreciation.
Even some of the more negative aspects of life can be great teachers. The news, seldom inspiring, will show us what is wrong in the world. This is a great teacher of what we need to do to change the world. Life’s challenges are great teachers. They allow us to learn new ways to develop strength and prepare for things we never knew we had to prepare for! Our mistakes, as painful as they can be at times, are great teachers. They show us areas in our life that we may need to change and improve in. Those people who say and do things that anger and hurt others and boldly proclaim, “That’s just who I am. I am not changing for anybody.” Those are people who are not developing and learning. I don’t think there is a decent person alive who really wants to hurt others. Maybe it involves communicating better. It could be fostering a better understanding between the two parties.
Remember the meaning of the word ‘commencement’ and that leaving school is just the beginning of our education. Look around at your life and notice and appreciate all of the teachers that you have.
Think of all the things, and people, in your life. Are you seeking to possess them, or are you truly appreciating them? If it is the former, how can you show them more appreciation?
This is a picture my friend Phil Posted. What a great message it has on the cup. I advocate surrounding yourself with as many positive and encouraging messages as you can. This may seem hokey to some, but it really is just balancing the scales. After all, the world today exposes us to many negative messages. There are positive ones too, but they don’t seem to get as much press. Sometimes, you just have to supply your own. It is even better if you are friends with someone amazing like Phil, who will help you by posting a positive picture such as this one.
As an author, this has an even greater message to me. That is one that I do my best to tell everyone, and now I am tell you, the dear reader. That is simply what is says on the cup – there is strength in your story. It amazes me how many people think that their life has nothing to offer the world. Nothing could be further from the truth! Maybe you are a single mother who is barely making it paycheck to paycheck. Do you know how many other single mothers you could inspire and give hope and a sense of community to by sharing your story? Are you someone living with a disability? A recovering addict? A struggling addict? A school teacher? A kid who is being bullied? Sharing our stories helps us create a greater sense of community in the global neighborhood we live in.
That last line may sound a little bit like Mr. Rogers, but that is ok. I happen to be a big Mr. Rogers fan. I think he would agree that each one of us has strength in our life story. Even if your life appears to be a total dumpster fire at the moment and you are barely hanging on day to day. That, my friend, can inspire others.
I recall a couple of gentleman I used to have the honor of serving at the meal program I volunteered at. I remember one fellow lost all of his teeth and had someone steal what few belongings he had. “How do you carry on?” I inquired. He pointed at the other gentleman he came in with. This man was a homeless vet who had lost his leg in war. He could not afford proper health care or even a decent set of crutches. “If he can keep getting up every day, then so can I.” The first man informed me. Even this man who was homeless, had lost his leg and could not afford a pair of crutches was inspiring others. How? Just by getting up to face every day. How many ways to you think sharing your story, in whatever form you choose, could inspire someone who truly needs it?
I am constantly learning and being reminded of things to improve my life. Here is such a story. While organizing some of my things, I came across an item that both reminded me of something important, and gave me a new idea to write about. Before we get to the item I found, let me tell you a little bit about the idea and how they relate to each other.
One of the great things about living in the world we do, is that there is an app for just about everything. It also happens to be a little bit of a curse. I can’t begin to tell you how many I have on my phone, but it is a lot. There is an app for each gym I go to. The app for the fitbit that measures my fitness level while I am there. Starbucks to help me earn free coffee while I write these blogs. There are countless others, but I am sure you get the idea. People are often looking for the one app that will transform their lives. There are a lot of good apps that I recommend including to take a little stress out of the job of turning your life around.
Here is a screen shot of some of the apps on my phone. I use one to do my podcasts, there is one for motivational speeches I can listen to, even with a dark screen. There is even an app that sends me motivational quotes everyday! All of these apps, and more can assist you in living a more rewarding life. You can download a fitness app. You can get one that reminds you to drink more water. One that sends you the weather with a picture of a puppy. There are countless ones to make your day, and by result your life, better. Still, there is one that everyone has, that almost everyone overlooks – the alarm clock. That’s right, the good old alarm clock. The very thing that goes off every morning at 4am to remind me how much the United States Postal Service would love my company. On your phone, you can customize your alarm. You can pick a song or sound that would be the least painful to wake up to. You can even type something for your phone to say to you. This is kind of creepy, but fun. This is only scratching the surface. There is a bigger and better way to use the alarm clock to radically improve your life.
Now back to the thing that I found. I bet you forgot about that, didn’t you? I almost did and I am the one telling the story. I came across a copy of the book 3 Alarms by Eric Partaker. I read this some time ago and learned a great idea I would like to share with you. In this book, Mr. Partaker uses his alarm clock to remind himself of some very important roles he plays in his life. In fact, he used it to remind himself of what is truly important in life. I will give you the idea in a nutshell, but I HIGHLY recommend you get the book to receive the full benefit. Every day he sets 3 alarms on his phone. One to remind him to be the healthiest version of himself. One to focus on his career and lastly, one to focus on his relationships.
This is great for several reasons. The main one is that even the greatest intentions can be forgotten in a busy world. Like say this awesome book you read that you only recently found while organizing your home office. If daily your alarm clock would go off with a simple message of “Don’t forget to be the healthiest version of yourself.” and at that very moment, you are reminded of your goals to get both a smaller waistline and lower medical bills, what would that be worth to you? How about one that says “Remember to be the best spouse you can.” If it goes off on the way home, you might be tempted to swing by and pick up a surprise bunch of flowers. If it goes off in the middle of the work day, it might prompt an unprovoked loving text. Can you see how powerful this method is? Again, please get the book. I am only scratching the surface of how this can be used. You will be amazed by Eric Partaker’s story as well and the genius ways he uses a simple alarm clock to bring radical positive transformation to his life and how you can too.
As an added bonus, I suggest picking a time that is meaningful to you. It could be the time you were born. Not sure when that was for me. Even something like 11:11 or 3:33. The first picture is 12:34, which Margie and I use to celebrate…well…each other. It is an alarm clock of sorts. It reminds us to take a second out of our busy day to send each other love, if we can, or at the very least celebrate our love. What ways can you think of using the alarm clock on your phone to change your life?
Yesterday, my mother and I went for a nice 3 mile walk. It was at a park, Greenfield Park, where we have walked many times. We have discussed the benefits of walking in nature on this very blog many times. What I would like to share with you today are 2 new lessons I was reminded of on this walk.
Here is a bird we came across as we were waking. It is a Black Crowned Night Heron. A what? I hadn’t heard of it before yesterday either. Here was the first lesson. No matter how many times you have been somewhere, there is always something new to discover. We have seen many of the same animals before, but this one was new to us.
Already excited at seeing a new animal for the first time, we were in for another great surprise. We came across this young deer as we rounded the corner of the path. Approaching slowly, we watched the deer. We were able to walk on the path right passed it without the deer running away. I’m sure it sensed we meant no harm. Lesson 2 – no matter how many times you have been somewhere, there is always new magic to experience.
In life we may seem, and feel, like life does not have much in the way of new excitement and adventure to offer. Yet, even in the usual places, there is always something wonderful if you look hard enough.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 