REALIZE YOUR POWER!

Last post we spoke of what to do when feeling overwhelmed by the seemingly hopeless oppression of the masses by a few wealthy politicians. The answer was to remember you, as a small axe, can still fall the big tree of corruption. I failed to mention that this does not only go for politics. No, any large challenge in life that you face can be approached with the same mentality. One of the greatest challenges to adopting this mindset is the constant focus on the world outside of us. How can we change the hearts and minds of our leaders to care about the people without money lining their pockets? How can we only elect people who have the skills to lead us to a world of kindness and compassion?

The short, and somewhat uninspiring answer, is that we cannot. We do not have control over others, nor outside events. When we spend all of our energy focused on changing the current of the river, we get swept away in its current. That is not to say that we should shrug our shoulders and wait for life to take care of itself. What we should do is to focus on where our power really lies – in our own mind. Wish your spouse was more romantic? You can spend hours, days and years telling them that. Unless that partner is willing to change, it will not happen. It would be best to take matters into our own hand and use the power of our own mind. This could involve seeing the different ways in which our partner expresses romance that we may not see. It could be working on creating an atmosphere where being more romantic is both desired and rewarded.

We have power over our minds, not outside events. When we focus our energy on this, we realize that we can use the power of our minds to affect the outside events around us. We also come to the realization, if we haven’t already, that trying to control others and the world around us leads to frustration and resentment. Even if we manage to obtain the control in the short-term, it is fleeting and impossible to hold onto. Our real strength is in our ability to change our perception and meaning towards life. To change our approach. To understand our role in the situations that frustrate us, and if they are beyond repair, to have the moral strength to leave those situations. Use your power and focus your energy on where it will best serve you and the process of change.

BE THE SMALL AXE

Are you frustrated by the fact that out of touch politicians make decisions for the working class? It often amazes me to hear people who are so wealthy that they have never been to a grocery, some who don’t even know the meaning of the word ‘grocery’, tell me that grocery prices are not that bad. I suppose if you make millions of dollars a year, the fact that the price of coffee is up 15% and vegetables are up 40% would not phase you too much.

Looking at our own government here in the United States, I am not sure if any of them earn less than a million dollars. All of these folks are making decisions for you and I. That may all seem a bit overwhelming. It can also lead to a great deal of frustration and leave you feel like you are far too little to make much of a difference. Like walking in a forest of huge trees, you feel rather small.

As I was driving along pondering this, life provided the answer. A Bob Marley song, Small Axe, came on the radio. The chorus of which is “If you are a big tree, we are the small axe sharpened to cut you down.” No, Bob was not advocating deforestation. Jamaica, after all, is known as the land of wood and water. It is a Jamaican saying that even a small axe can take down a big tree.

In this metaphor the ‘big tree’ are established powerful oppressors and the ‘small axe’ is a united group of people working together to bring an end to that oppression. The word that jumped out at me is ‘sharpened’. Yes, a small axe can chop down a big tree. It can do so quicker and easier the sharper it is.

In this case, sharpening is being educated. It is being united in cause. It is having a strong and well-defined ‘why’. The point of this is not to feel overwhelmed when considering all the oppression in the world. No, remember the power of that small axe that is you. Remember to spend your effort sharpening that axe! Educate yourself. Unite with others and do not fear the large trees of corruption and oppression.

*no trees were harmed in the creation of this post. We do not advocate cutting down real trees

10 GOLDEN RULES FOR PEACE OF MIND

Inner peace. That is a goal I think all of us can get behind. Again, we tend to make this far more complicated and expensive than it needs to be. It would not hurt us to pick up and read a few books on the subject. All we really need to do is focus on the ten items listed above. Let us pick out just a few to see how they can positively affect our busy lives in this crazy world.

‘Respond, don’t react’ is a good place to start. With the ability to let the world know our thoughts at the push of a button, we can do a lot of damage before we even have all of the information. Even more importantly, we can do a lot of damage to ourselves. When we know we acted from emotion instead of our best nature, we lower our estimation of ourselves. Learn to pause and ask yourself empowering questions to go from reacting to responding. This will not only bring you more peace in the moment, it will give you more peace when you lay your head down that night.

‘Let go of what you cannot control’ is another one far too many people struggle with. Being filled with anger over what some politician did or worse said? Why? Sure it may affect our lives, but is it in our control to change? Telling everyone how terrible it is and walking around angry or depressed does not change the politician or what they said or did. Take actions that will help such as voting. Then work on creating change in your corner of the world. Sick of politicians that are speaking hate and division? Rather than letting it upset you, double your efforts on making others feel loved and accepted. It will not only make life more enjoyable, it will bring you greater peace.

‘Choose silence often’ is very important in a world where it seems there are things vying for our attention every minute of the day. When was the last time you just sat alone with your thoughts? With the advent of cell phones, even a few minutes alone in the restroom isn’t safe. Try turning your phone off and going for a walk in nature. Better yet, find a nice place in nature to sit in silence. You will then combine two of these tips at once. Double the peace.

‘Practice Gratitude’ is of course my favorite step to take towards inner peace. There is no more powerful emotion to develop that will change your life faster than gratitude. That should make you want to adopt this as soon as you can. Gratitude will not only increase your peace, it will increase your joy! It will turn your life into one that is magical. It may sound hard to believe for some of you unfamiliar with the attitude of gratitude. Let me assure you that this is not hype. When you learn to be grateful for everything in your life, the peaks and the valleys, life becomes a dream. We hear people say they are “Living the dream” all of the time. It is even the title of my second book! When you learn to be grateful, you will be truly living the dream.

Those are just a few of the steps listed here. Which one is your favorite? Is there another tool or strategy that you use to bring peace to your own life? I would love to hear about it!

SECRET OF HAPPINESS

Happiness is a multi-billion dollar business these days. Everyone is buying books, attending seminars and going on vacation looking to find that moment of bliss we all seek. The ironic thing about all this is that the solution, and the bliss, is a lot closer and a lot cheaper than we make it. When people look at the quote above, they mistakenly think developing a mindset like this will stifle the motivation to pursue a better life. That is not the case at all. When we appreciate what we have as we are pursuing something better, it fills our life with more joy and makes us more resilient to the challenges along the way.

Sadly, the way that most people learn to adopt this attitude is when what they have is taken away. If you are unhappy that you cannot get around as well as you used to, what happens when the ability to get around is taken away from you all together? Suddenly, you would love to have that ability back. You could be working on improving your ability to get around through exercise and stretching while reminding yourself “At least I have the ability to work on this.” Think of people who complain about going to work. On occasion I can be one of those people. One of the best ways to fall in love with your job is to face the prospect of losing it. If you lose it all together, you would be overjoyed to have to go to work again.

I do not wish that you would have to face anything being taken from your life. Although, if it does indeed make us more grateful it can be considered a blessing. To adopt this miracle mindset before that happens, use that magic and powerful word -gratitude. There are times I listen to people get truly irate over trivial things. You are consumed in anger because your neighbor’s dog uses your lawn like a public restroom. Sure, your neighbor should be more considerate, but to lose yourself in anger over it only serves to ruin your life not theirs. You think your life is tough and people treat you unfairly? Try going for a walk through a children’s cancer ward. These kids are barely starting life and are facing the prospect of it ending all too soon. Not to mention the ridiculous financial burden their families will be saddled with on top of their emotional burden. Then, tell me again how your neighbor’s dog is ruining your life.

You may think this as an extreme example, but the point is the life we live is the dream of far more than we can imagine. You have the ability to read this right now. That means you have access to the internet, not to mention the ability to read. Those two items alone would allow you to accomplish more than someone could have done in decades only a few years ago. Are you aware there are roughly 800 million people in the world who cannot read and write? Think of how much that will limit their opportunities and future?

Realizing how wonderful we truly have it will not cause us to sink into a world of lazy contentment. On the contrary. I find that when people adopt a grateful attitude and realize how many gifts they have in their life, they are more eager to develop and share them. How about you? Has this article inspired you to take a hard look at all you should be appreciating in your life? I hope it has.

YOUR MOST IMPORTANT MISSION!

This world is pretty crazy right now. What can we do to bring a little more sense and a lot more peace to it? Adopt this as our mission. That is to be a light in an often dark world. If you make your mission to lift others up and to give them hope and belief in themselves, you will have not only made their world a better place, you will have made the world a better place.

Think of how much better we could all be if someone helped remind us how worthy we are. If someone showed us our magic again. We all have it. Inside each and every one of us lies the ability to change the world for everyone we come in contact with. If that isn’t a superpower, I do not know what is. We should adopt this as our mission in life. When we do, we will not only see our world change for the better, but we will begin to see the world around us improve as well.

YOUR TRUE COMPETITION

In our journey to become the best version of ourselves we encounter what we consider a lot of competition. Today’s post comes with a little mix of good and bad news. First the bad, because we love to finish on a positive note. None of what we perceive as our competition matters as much as we believe it does. Most people are too involved in their own lives to worry much about ours. Those who are not are really not competition. Anyone who is more concerned about what is going on with the lives of others rather than their own is not going very far in life. As the picture above reminds us, what stands in our way is often what lays inside of us. If you want to become an improved version of yourself as rapidly as possible, work on what is inside you. The secret to an amazing life is that it starts with becoming an amazing version of yourself.

That is the ‘bad’ news. In reality, it is also the good news too. If our greatest challenges to becoming the best we can be are the characteristics that lay inside us, than they are completely under our control to change. We can improve our bad habits, we can eliminate our distractions. When we hear people say things like “I would get more done but I always end up binge watching Netflix.” Ask ourselves, is the problem Netflix, or the individuals inability to stay focused and limit their television time?

Sticking with this example, people would spend more time trying to change Netflix instead addressing their own inability to save television viewing until they have completed the tasks they need to. It is not Netflix fault you sit down and watch 3 hours of programing in a row. Oh, they do things that make that very easy. That is definitely true. We still have the power to discipline ourselves not to pick up the remote until our days work is done. If we work really hard, we can develop the strength to pick it up and push ‘off’ after one episode.

If you want to beat your most intense competition, do not look in the cubicle or house next to you. Your greatest competition looks back at you in the mirror every day!

IT STILL MATTERS

Today is Monday. That can be a little tough for many of us. By the end of the day all we can think about is keeping our heads above water. It can be hard to think of any personal goals and hobbies we wish to pursue. He is a little secret. Even a little progress is huge. This is true especially on the hard days. That can be writing a few words on the book you are working on. It can be going for a little walk while trying to get in shape.

It may feel like if we can only do a little, is it worth it to do anything at all? The answer is absolutely. We can’t always workout for an hour or run a marathon. We can go for a walk after dinner. This isn’t only a physical fitness analogy. Want to increase the love between you and your spouse? How about a well thought out appreciation given to the one you love? It may seem like a little action, but trust me, it matters.

There are two important things to remember about taking little actions. First, you will be proud of yourself that you did something verses nothing. Sure, it may not be the big step you would have liked to take, but it is better than not taking any step at all. The second thing to remember is that little steps add up to big results. You may not repair all of the hurt in a relationship overnight, but taking a few seconds to convey genuine appreciation is that little progress that can start to move the needle. Take steps like this every day and your relationship will grow by leaps and bounds.

Next time you are tempted to think that little progress does not matter, think of these examples. Understand that doing even a little can give you the pride and confidence to keep going. Also understand that a little progress done daily can, and will, add up to big results. If you can’t do a lot, do a little. It will be worth it in the long run.

IMPORTANCE OF CONFIDENCE

One of my guilty pleasures in old-school hip-hop music. The ones from the late 80’s and early 90’s. I enjoy the fact that you can actually understand what they are saying and the lyrical content is usually not too off the rails. In fact, one of the main subjects they include in their lyrics is how great they are. It reminds me of the boxer Muhammad Ali. He told the world he was the greatest before he even won anything. He was that confident.

Confidence is a tricky thing. It is often confused with arrogance. In reality, they have very little to do with each other. True confidence stems from a believe in yourself. This can be fostered from the knowledge of work you did to prepare, or past performance in overcoming a similar situation. It may be an inner knowing that you are going to persist no matter what challenges appear. Confidence is earned. It is never earned at the sacrifice of others. In fact, confidence doesn’t involve others. It is an inside job.

What tools and strategies do you use to boost your confidence? Have you ever thought about this? Having confidence allows us to keep going when others would quit. If we have built up enough of it, we could keep going long after we thought we would quit. It is another reason to stick with the promises that you make to yourself. Knowing that you keep your word to yourself is another way to give you confidence. I would love to hear what other ways you give yourself confidence.

LIVE YOUR VALUES

This quote could not come at a better time. It seems the world is arguing about whose values are right. Many people are doing their best to force their values on others. That never works. Why, in the year 2025, have we not figured that out is beyond me. If we truly feel our values are ones other people would benefit by adopting, there is only one way in which we can have them desire to do so. Notice I did not say convince or force them to. When we attempt to do that, it creates resentment and often negatively represents whatever value we are attempting to inspire others to adopt.

The one way in which we can demonstrate to others the benefits of adapting this value is to live it ourselves. If we are advocating a particular health lifestyle, but we are sick all of the time and lack energy, it would seem unlikely anyone would follow our advice. In my line of work it is much the same. I wrote a book titled, Living the Dream. If you ran into me and saw that I was in a constant state of depression, my health was poor and so was I, would you be likely to buy the book? I know I would not. The reality of the situation is that I have people asking me the secret of my happiness and the relationship I share with the woman I love. I guess I could tell them to “Read the book.”

It is not just what is in the book, but the fact that I live and practice the activities that I wrote in there. If you read that book, available on Amazon I might mention, you will have the very same tools and strategies that I use in my own life. Speaking of my amazing lady, there is another secret to living your values – having people in your life that call you out when you are not. It can be a bit frustrating when I am busy feeling sorry for myself and I hear my love’s sweet voice ring out, “That is not living an attitude of gratitude.” Having someone who holds you accountable is one of the best tools to living an amazing life. We all slip from time to time. Having someone remind us of the values we hold dear is worth its weight in gold.

3 WAYS HARD TIMES END

Nobody I know likes to go through hard times. Yes, it is true that they help us grow the most. Yes, it is true that we learn the most about ourselves and our character in those hard times. Still, this does not make them anymore fun to go through. We all wish they would end. Well, end they do. Above you will see the three ways it which they can. The first is the easiest. That is us giving up. There is no growth, no learning or nothing other than the pain of what we experienced. Often this course of action leaves us far worse off in the long run.

The second one is that it becomes easier. This is usually a result of perseverance. Managing to hold on despite the odds and circumstances not being in our favor. By staying in the fight, if I may use that analogy, we learn things or notice patterns that can make the challenge we are facing easier. By not giving up, we become used to the struggle and become more adaptive ourselves. This alone can make the situation feel easier.

Lastly, is the fact that we become stronger. This is a little different than just becoming more adaptable as stated above. This is putting the hard times to work for us. Once a hard time commences, we have the choice as to the attitude in which we approach it. The fact that we are going through hard times is seldom, if ever, under our control. The attitude in which we face these challenges, however, is completely under our control. Becoming stronger involves deciding we are going to use this hard time to develop some area of our character, practice a skill we are working on or maybe just learn something new. The difference is that we are actively deciding this from the onset.

Next time you are faced with a hard time, remember it will end. Most importantly, remember you have the choice as to how it will end. Going through hard times is never fun, but coming out the other side stronger makes them worthwhile.