Tag: Arts

THE POWER OF ONE…

Sometimes we may wonder if all our efforts are worth it.  After all, what difference can one person make?  How important is one voice?  Here is a little something I read off of one of my friends facebook pages.  Which is yet another advantage of having groups of friends all trying to lead more inspired, passionate lives.

ONE…

one tree can start a forest;

one smile can begin a friendship;

one hand can lift a soul;

one word can frame the goal;

one candle can wipe out the darkness;

one laugh can conquer gloom;

one hope can raise your spirits;

one touch can show you care;

one life can make a difference,

BE the ONE TODAY!

 

As you can see each of these statements by themselves ring true.  Taken as a whole it proves one can be a very powerful number indeed.  Print this poem out, if you ever find yourself doubting your self-worth read it to yourself or better yet out loud.  Remember how important one person can be, and then be that one person!

HOW GOOD IS YOUR VISION?

In yesterday’s post we spoke of vision.  Why is it important?  How do we develop it?  Why bother?  Let us tackle the first question, ‘Why is it important?’  I can best describe this by using a story I heard about two different ships.  On the first one, we pick a destination, map out a course fill it with a capable crew and an outstanding captain.  Now, keeping the destination in front of them nine times out of ten it will get where it sets out to go.  True that along the way the map might need to be adjusted and the crew may need to be replaced, but it will arrive where it was destined to.  Now let us take a second boat, but on this book we will not say where it is going, we will not give them a map.  There will be new crew and therefore no need of a captain.  We will just fire up the engine and let it go.  How far out of the dock do you think that ship will go?  Where will it end up?  This may seem like an extreme example, but ask ten people where there goal is to end up in 5 years, 10 years or even 20.  Then ask then what their plan is for getting to that destination.  Very few will have a concrete, worthwhile goal in mind and even less will have a plan to get there.  There is another, more fun reason to do this.  Rewards.  How, if we don’t know where we are going do we know if we are getting any closer?  Where is the opportunity to pat ourselves on the back for a job well done? Where is the motivation?  Where indeed.

So if this vision is so important, how do we develop one?  Well they come in many definitions.  Companies call them mission statements.  Some people call them goals.  I prefer to just say “Discover your passion and then chase it with all your might”.  If you are chasing a goal you are really passionate about two things happen.  One, it seems more like an adventure then work.  Who doesn’t like a good adventure?  We pay good money to read about them in books and to watch them on the silver screen.  The second thing is obstacles naturally turn into challenges.  We will not anything stop us!  So start your adventure now.  Write down your destination.  Begin to map it out and select your crew to assist you along the way.

A MAN AND HIS WORLD…

I would like to share a story with you that illustrates the importance of personal happiness.  This story comes from the course “Lead the Field” a great business management course I highly recommend.

One day, a man was watching a professional football game on television.  His five-year-old son kept bothering him.  So the man tore out a page of the Sunday paper.  It was a full-page airline ad that showed a picture of the world- the planet earth as seen from space.  He tore up the page into a dozen pieces and gave them to his son.  He said to him, “Here put this picture together and show daddy how smart you are”.  He then went back to watching his football game.

In a surprisingly short time, the youngster had taped the picture back together.  It wasn’t very neat, but it was a very good job, indeed, for one so young.  “Hey, that’s amazing!” the father said. “how did you put that world together so quickly?”

The little boy said “There was a picture of a man on the other side. I just put the man together and then the world was all together”

The youngster was no doubt surprised by the big, warm hug he got.  “that’s right, son.” said the father “When the man is all together, this world is all together too”

Continue reading “A MAN AND HIS WORLD…” →

SUNRISE

“There was never a night or a problem that coud defeat sunrise or hope”

-Bern Williams

This quote is almost a ‘secret weapon’ of sorts.  What does it take to keep going when the going gets tough?  What should we do when all seems hopeless and lost?  The answer can be found in this quote.  When we keep our minds, hearts and spirits full of hope, when we focus on the end result (see the post on vision boards) the obstacles and challenges that will inevitably show themselves lose a great deal of their power.  So let us keep our goals and dreams in front of us so that we may keep our drive and motivation.

60 SECONDS

“For every minute you are angry you lose 60 seconds of happiness”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Let’s face it, we all get angry. Even a bartender/postal worker who writes a blog on living a positive rewarding life.  In all seriousness, this quote may sound redundant or even a little bit humorous, but it is oh so true.  While pondering it before I typed this I think it is a simple way to remind us of how little we stand to gain by being angry.  First, how great does it feel to be angry?  I can safely say there has never a moment where I said to myself “boy I wish I felt more angry today”.  Our blood pressure rises, we can get headaches and generally anger leaves us feeling just plain exhausted.  Rather a waste of our time, don’t you think?  Now when you couple that with the thought of what we could be feeling and doing if we focused on joy anger seems almost like a ‘double whammy’ when it comes to our lives.  Now we are going to get angry and sometimes we have every right.  Knowing how much we lose by staying in anger, however, may help us spend less time there.  When you focus on joy and forgiveness it benefits you just as much as, if not more as the other party concerned.  So next time you and I find ourselves getting angry, let us ask “Is this really worth all I am losing by being angry?”.  I am going to guess most of the time the answer will be no.  So let us focus on joy, love and forgiveness and not let anger steal anymore of our lives.  Not even 60 seconds.

SIMPLE IS THE BEST

Often I am asked what is the easiest way to bring a more positive outlook into your life.  I stress doing little things everyday until they become a habit is one of my favorite ways to start.  To that end, a good friend brought to my attention another great thing I recommend printing out and placing on the bathroom mirror, next to the coffee maker or wherever you will see it everyday.  Try reading this simple 5 line mantra every morning.  ideally you should try to feel the emotional truth behind each statement, however even reading it will change the outlook on the day.  Again, like all of the tools offered here, I recommend reading it first thing in the morning and last thing before you fall asleep as this when the mind is most susceptible to suggestion.  This mantra is from a book by Catherine Ponder a great author I suggest looking into.

I AM health, strength, peace, happiness and prosperity

I AM strong, well, vital

I AM beautiful, peaceful, poised

I AM eternally youthful

I AM happy and free

Now try reading those five lines first thing every morning, and last thing every evening.  It should take all of 1 minute, what could be quicker and easier than that?  Try it for 21 days and notice what happens when you start to remove years of negative programing.  Trust me, you will not want to stop.

A HAPPY CD

This little project takes a few minutes, but to be honest can offer years of rewards.  Everyone, no matter how positive or enlightened has a bad day.  Just the other day I was informed my job may be eliminated.  It happens, sometimes outside circumstances throw us for a loop.  What to do then?  There are steps we can take to ‘soften the blow’ of these less than cheery days.  Working with either your gratitude journal, or vision board is far more effective when you are in a positive state of mind.  So I strongly suggest in being proactive and having several tools ready for days when we are just not on top of our game, for whatever reason.

Music has a strong influence over how we think and feel.  Everyone has different tastes.  In fact, my sister and I regularly debate the merits of different musical artists.  Weather you like rock or country, jazz or hip-hop, there are songs we all enjoy dancing to and that make us feel happy and alive.  Now I’m not talking about just songs like “Don’t worry, be happy” although if that works for you, use it.  One of my favorite is “Toes” by Zac Brown as it makes me think of a tropical vacation.  Whatever your taste, take time to compile a list of all the songs that inspire you.  This can be done in an afternoon or over several days.  Then either burn them all onto a cd, or add a playlist to your favorite mp3 player.  My only caution is to avoid songs that contain angry or negative lyrics.  Not to say that music does not have merit, I certainly find some to be great for working out to, but in this case keep it happy and uplifting.  Then when sad, angry or anxious feelings come knocking, as they do for us all, you have an hour or so of music that can alter your state.  Now I am not saying this will fix or even change whatever is the cause of your feelings, but it can but you into a better state to deal with them. Combine this with some of the other tools we have listed or that are yet to come and you will conquer whatever life will throw at you! Stay strong, stay positive my friends!