Remember that you do not have to reach the finish line with the first step. You can start wherever you are and build from there. It is the little victories along the way the will provide us with excitement and motivation to continue.
I would love to hear everyone’s definition of what makes their life a masterpiece. There is, of course, no right or wrong answer. Each one of us, much like works of art, are special in their own way.
How about you? What makes your life a masterpiece? Each day we can add to that masterpiece in small and unique ways.
This simple phrase has unlocked an entirely different life for me. This is not an exaggeration. It is not hyperbole. Wherever you are reading this, take a look at the people around you. If you are by yourself, imagine the people in your life. Most of them do not operate on this principle.
The majority of the world spends their time focused on influencing outside circumstances. How much control do you have over other people, places and things in your life? Limited at best. Energy spent on these endeavors is not well spent. Conversely, how much control do you have over you?
The man who wrote this spent part of his life in a concentration camp. In there, he had zero control of outside circumstances. He realized what he did have control of was his mind. It is the same with you and I. Our circumstances are not anywhere near as dire.
Think of it like this. You are driving in your car and you want to go to Walmart. Would you just keep driving straight and hope someone builds a Walmart in front of your car? As asinine as that sounds, that is what we are doing when we are wishing the boss would become better, our spouse would be more loving, the economy would get better.
Here’s a thought. Grab the steering wheel and drive to a Walmart. What I mean by that is to take control of your life and direct it where you want it to go. Your boss sucks? Maybe they are motivating you to find a better job? Your spouse not as loving as you would like? They are providing you an opportunity to brush up on your own courting skills. The economy is a little tough? Work on creative spending and savings plans.
It is about the choice from going from a victim mentality to a victory mentality. Don’t wait for the waves to change direction. Adjust your rudder and sail and get there no matter what the waves are like. Conquer the ocean of life!
We often make life more complicated than we need to. Incorporating as many of these 7 rules into our life on a daily basis will go a long way to living an amazing life. Things like making a point to smile more. Not only does it have a great effect on those around you, but studies show the simple act of smiling releases chemicals in your brain that make you happy as well!
How many of these 7 rules do you do in a daily basis? Which ones can you add to your daily routine to make your life more amazing?
In a world that often seeks 15 minutes of fame, there is nothing better than to be universally well thought of. How can you do that when everyone speaks a different language? Everyone has different realities and experiences. Wouldn’t it be great if there was a language that everyone here could easily understand?
Great news! There is! It is called kindness. I don’t care what country you are from, or what dialect you speak, do a kind act and you will be well regarded. Doing selfless and kind acts is something that everyone can understand. Better yet, it is something everyone can do!
Today is the first day back to work after my 2 week vacation. The trick is to keep vacation in your head and heart while returning to work. It was my motivation to start writing. How can we live like we are on vacation?
I have not completely answered that vexing question. What I have come to understand is that detachment from our problems and the ability to compartmentalize our life is a valuable key. I’m not telling you to ignore your problems. That will not solve anything. The point is, neither will obsessing over them. Taking a required break is not only necessary, it is helpful.
Gratitude is another great tool to turn the life you have into the life you love. Realizing that you have more than you know can have you feeling like your life is a vacation.
I would love to hear your tools and strategies for keeping vacation with you after you return to work. Not only as a benefit of our readers, but I could use it on a personal level as well.
What do you want to improve in?
Today is one of my last days of vacation. I’m looking to get the maximum amount of feeling good out of the time I have left. I’m going to use these for brain chemicals, and the behaviors that go with them, to accomplish that.
Looking at this list, I would love to know what your favorite is.
Those of you who follow this blog for any amount of time are aware of the affinity I have for the location of Krautland. It is located inside of the Wisconsin State Fair Park, which is one of my favorite places to be. In addition to this, I have been visiting there a very long time. If you would like to learn more of that story, check out the story I did on Krautland for Chow Down in Milwaukee or click the link at the end of this post to read a previous story I have shared about this amazing place.
Today is less about the amazing food and service you will receive at Krautland and more about the owners, Ron and Karla. This year they are celebrating 20 years of owning and running this stand. There are many folks, like myself, who are indebted to these two wonderful souls for doing such an amazing job. When they took the business over from the previous owner, there were concerns as to how the business would continue. Not only were those concerns completely unfounded, but under their guidance, business has only improved!
A new generation is working on continuing this amazing legacy and doing wonderfully. Still, we take a second to recognize what a great job Ron and Karla have done in the last two decades. They have faced so many challenges and continued to rise above them. It does Margie and I good to see two people we respect and admire so much doing so well. If you see friends in your life achieving success, make sure to celebrate with them! Speaking of celebrating, enjoy this picture of the delicious treats Margie made to mark two decades of stewardship Ron and Karla have given Krautland.
CLICK HERE TO READ MY STORY ABOUT KRAUTLAND
This may strike some as an odd topic for a self-improvement blog. Money, or having enough of it, is really a secret to an amazing life. Lack of money can cause us to make questionable decisions or prevent us from being the wonderful giving beings we were created to be. Today we are all facing rising prices and inflation. The causes of these can be endlessly debated, and to be honest, does little to help us navigate the present situation. What we need is some concrete tools and strategies to help us make the most of what money we have.
Recently, I was interviewed by Madison Alworth of Fox Business News. She asked some very thought-provoking questions that are on the minds of most of us in this economy. One of them was what financial challenges I was facing. Like many of you the answer is not the price of any one item. It seems the price of most items has seen an increase. Some of them may be significant, but most are slight. The issue becomes when all of those slight increases are added together, the strain on our budget is anything but slight.
The two avenues I suggest we employ to tackle these challenges are planning and focus. One issue that Madison brought up was credit card debt. This is a huge strain on many budgets. Setting the focus on paying off, and discontinuing the use of, high interest cards should be a priority. Store credit cards can have interest rates as high as 25%. That would amount to paying $25 for a $20 item. Imagine doing that over and over again. Most of us are carrying a balance well over $20. Reducing the principal on these cards as soon as possible will save us considerably in the long-term.
This brings us to the planning aspect. Incurring a little pain in the short-term, such as making a coffee at home instead of stopping at the local coffee shop, at least not as often, and applying that money to paying off our credit cards. This may not seem fun at the moment, but it will help keep our heads above water. The more ways we can get creative with our spending and our saving, the better position we will be to make it through the tough economy. Once through, these tools and strategies will position us to get ahead in the future.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 