Have you thought about this perspective? Everyone is our teacher. Tony Robbins once said, “Every life is either a warning or an example.” Both of those are teachers. Either teaching us what to do, or teaching us what not to do. Everyone has certain skills. When I was first starting to speak, I watched videos of speakers that I admired. Even virtually, they were my teachers. My lovely lady often teaches me the importance of taking time from a focus driven life to just relax and be silly. Some people are naturally friendly and good at making people feel good about themselves. Want to learn how to be that way? Watch and observe. Allow them to be your teacher.
I can hear you now, “Neil, what about that jerk that doesn’t use that magical device that let’s you know where they are turning? You know, a turn signal.” A personal pet peeve of mine. Yes, even these driving education impaired individuals can teach us something. That can be how important it is that we use our turn signal. It can be a lesson in how to control our rage. It can give us an unscheduled lesson in defensive driving. People who challenge us can often be our best teachers. They make us reach into our character and really strengthen some of those muscles we don’t often use. You know the ones, patience, calm, restraint?
When we view everyone we come across as our teacher, as they really are, it can be a lot easier to be accepting of others. This is true even for those who teach us in a manner that we would prefer they do not. Try it for yourself. Pick a few people each day and ask yourself, “What can I learn from this person?” You would be amazed at what you come up with. Even people who you have known your whole life. Everyone has their own skills and have made mistakes. Learn from them. Who are some of your favorite teachers?
Quite a while back, I did a video for my YouTube channel called Waking up in neutral. I will post a link at the end of this post if you would like to check that out. By the time you are done reading this, it may not be a bad idea.
What is the first thing you do in the morning? If you are like 90% of people reading this blog, you probably roll over and grab your phone. According to recent surveys, 74% of people use their phone as their alarm clock. That number jumps to 83% if you live in the United States. Here is the really scary stat. 80% of people grab their phone within 15 minutes of waking up. 62% grab it immediately after waking up. What do all of these numbers mean? It means that less than a half an hour after waking up, you are letting other people influence your day. What is the big deal about that? You never know if the influence is going to be good or bad.
Once we leave the safe confines of our humble abode, we start to relinquish control of our day. There are other drivers on the road. The road itself. How about the flow of traffic? Once we get to work, there is the mood that the boss and our coworkers are in. Could be good, could be not. The fact is that none of this is in our control and the odds that all of it will be perfect and positive are slim to none. Meaning, the start of our day is the one moment we have complete control over. Yet, as odd as this may seem, almost nobody starts their day with a purpose. They sort of ‘wake up with their gears in neutral’ and let the day happen to them.
One of the ways that we can start our day on a positive spin begins before we even get out of bed. After all, we could stub our toe on the corner of the bed and start a downward trend. Before our feet even hit the floor, we should come up with at least one thing we are grateful for. If this seems like a task that may not be possible for you first thing in the a.m., it would be a great idea to jot a few down the night before. That way, all you would have to do is read a few lines before getting out of bed.
That leads us to our second suggestion. Have a morning declaration. Declare to yourself, and any nosey neighbors, what kind of day you are determined to have. Here is one of my favorites – “Today I will foster my own inner peace and bring joy to others no matter what circumstances may arise.” or “Today I will either win or I will learn. Nothing will defeat me.” It is far more powerful if you say it out loud. It may seem silly at first, stick with it. Looking at yourself in the mirror with a smile as you repeat your morning mantra will have dramatic effects. If you are too self-conscious that your spouse will hear, run the shower. I am grateful that Margie is used to me talking to myself in the bathroom and does it not pay it much mind.
There is so much craziness and chaos in our lives, we owe it to ourselves to start our day out on a positive note. Above is two suggestions. You can start with these and develop ones that work for you. I enjoy some gratitude affirmations with my first cup of coffee in the morning. Oddly enough, Margie seems grateful after I have my first coffee in the morning as well. Please share with us your tips and tricks for starting your morning off the right way. The more suggestions we have, the more likely we are to have a great day!
Artificial Intelligence can be a rather scary thing. Elon Musk was asked what was the one thing that scared him about the future and he said it was the application of AI. Now, if something scares old Elon, that is something. He is not what I would consider a very emotional fellow. Many people think that AI is some crazy futuristic aspect that is years away. It isn’t. Have you ever used your phone to look up a certain topic and suddenly you are seeing ads for that topic popping up all over your social media? One evening Margie and I were having a conversation about a certain article of clothing I was looking at purchasing. Minutes later, as she was playing a game online, an ad for that very product popped up. This can seem creepy, and I guess it kind of is. It can also teach us about an aspect of our own intelligence and how we can make the most of it.
Let us kind of switch gears for a second and talk about the Law of Attraction. What is the Law of Attraction? Many people mistakenly think it is the theory that you think of something and it pops in your life. Not quite. Good thing too, because the majority of anyone’s thoughts tend to be negative. A quick definition I heard is that the Law of Attraction is the philosophy that energy precedes manifestation. It may sound like just another way of saying what we put forth earlier, but there is an important difference. One of the great tools and strategies to use in manifesting and attracting what we want in life is focus and attention. When we practice focusing on the positive things in our life and what is going right, say through gratitude, that tends to be what we notice. The more we do it, the more we notice it. That is not to say that we do not have, or notice, the negative aspects of life, we just do not focus on them. When you shift your focus, you shift what you feel. When it comes right down to it, what you feel is what you are living. This attraction thing works both ways, so be careful. What does any of this have to do with AI? Let us take a look.
There is a different type of AI to be found. Actual Intelligence. It can be found in a part of the brain called the reticular activating system, or RAS. Remember our crazy examples about the ads for things we were talking about suddenly popping up everywhere? That is kind of how the RAS works. It acts as a filter to bring to light what we focus on. If we are always telling people that our life is difficult and that things never go our way, our RAS is listening. The same way our smart phone listens to, and pays note of the things we search and do online.
I always use the example of when you buy a new car or outfit and you suddenly start seeing that car and outfit everywhere. The cars and outfits were always there, but they were not a priority to you or to your brain. Suddenly, your RAS realized that this was a priority. It was something that was ‘like’ something you now have. In the case of a new car or outfit, something we are usually emotionally charged about having. Fast forward a year. We don’t see that outfit or car as much. Why? It has become less emotionally important to us. Here is what is really important and worth considering. In both cases, reality itself did not change, but our reality changed. Again, everybody did not go out and buy the same car or outfit, but we did start seeing more of them. Why? Because that is what we focused on.
Remember, Artificial Intelligence will show us ads for want we are paying attention to, whether that is ‘good’ or ‘bad’. We can be shown ads for gym equipment and fitness routines, or candy and drug paraphernalia. Whatever we are looking up, thinking about and giving our attention to. Actual Intelligence and our Reticular Activating System will do the same thing in our life. Whether we are focused on how miserable our life is and how terrible we are being treated, or how much opportunities we have and how much we have to be grateful for.
If you think ads popping up for what you are talking about or searching online is scary, just remember the same thing is happening in your life. Both AIs are using the same principles. For reasons I cannot comprehend, it is easier for people to agree with the fact that big brother and the internet algorithm control what shows up in our life than the fact that our built in filter in our brain is doing the exact same thing. You are attracting the ads and content you see online. You are also attracting the people, circumstances, opportunities and feelings you are experiencing in life. Use the AI you have control of to create a better life for you and those you love.
Way too many of us can find ourselves in the cycle of waking up, paying bills, sleeping and repeating. We are in survival mode. I am as guilty as the next person on occasion. Life can come at you fast these days. I am working on changing that. Not only with this blog, but with my upcoming fourth book. We need to switch from surviving to thriving. Yes, that sounds like a cute self-improvement saying, but what does it really mean?
Thriving means different things to different people. What is universal is that we thrive when we are in the right environment for one. If you put an acorn in a one foot pot, it will not grow to be a huge oak tree. It doesn’t mean that there is anything wrong with the seed, it is just limited by its environment. You and I are much the same. What is the right environment? So glad you asked. First, it is being surrounded by the right people. We discussed this a few posts earlier. We need people the both encourage us as well as push us. Haven’t you just been around someone who makes you feel better about life? Spend more time with that person!
Contribution. You want to talk about feeling on top of the world? Find a way to contribute to it. By being the most authentic version of yourself and sharing that with the world. If you bring the best ‘you’ that you can to the world, everyone benefits. There are so many ways to contribute and each one not only makes the world a better place, but makes us better for it! You can contribute your time. This can be helping a cause you believe in, or just giving time to listen to your friends. You can contribute positivity to your community. This can be your online community, or your real community. Better yet, how about both? You can contribute by sharing your story and letting others know they are not alone!
Raise your hand if you have heard that love is the most powerful force in the universe? You can put your hand down now, as people may be wondering why you are reading with one hand in the air. It really is! If you want to raise your vibration, that is start feeling amazing, show someone else some love. This doesn’t have to be buying your spouse flowers for no reason, although might not be a bad move. No, love can be so much more! The great thing about love is that there is an endless amount of opportunities to show it.
Let us take a look at a few. Asking someone to text you and let you know they got home safe, that is love. Going for coffee or a stroll with someone and doing nothing but actively listening to what they have to share. That is love. Sending someone an encouraging text, or card. That is love. Posting encouraging or motivational content online to bring hope to those who may need it, that is love. I can tell you that being an independent author, when someone promotes my books, or leaves a positive review on Amazon, I feel the love. You can show love to friends, your family, your spouse, you coworkers or even complete strangers. Buying a coffee for the person behind you, letting someone go ahead of you in line or even just sharing a smile, these are examples of love.
Living your authentic self, contributing and showing love. These things will not only make you shine, they will make the world a better place for all of us. If you are reading a blog like this, you already know how to do many of these things. Let us be the light for others. In turn, it will help to feed our soul. Please share ideas how you go from striving to thriving so that we may all take advantage of them. Just another way of both contributing and showing love! Leave them in the comments below.
Here is a topic that I seem to be discussing with just about everybody lately. From those here online, to those at my seminars, book signings, DJ shows and even friends and family. That is cell phones and social media – are they good or bad? The general consensus is that they are destroying the fabric of human communications and personal relation. To a point, that may be true. Look at any line you see, whether that is for a bathroom, the grocery store or the coffee shop and it will look a lot like the picture above. Everyone with their face buried in their phones. We are becoming a world that lives in distraction.
What are all of these people looking at? It could be assumed a great percentage would be viewing some sort of social media site. This could range from Facebook, Twitter (now known as ‘X’), Tik Tok, or many others. When people start to venture into the world of self-improvement, one of the first things they do, or at least share with me, is that they have given up social media. If the reason to do so is that you have become too addicted to that and are trying to live more in the moment, than good on you. That, however, is not the reason most people give for making this change. When I ask them why they gave up their social media, they tell me the same thing, “It is just too negative.” I certainly advocate eliminating or at the very least, limiting our exposure to negative influences.
Here are two uncomfortable truths about social media. This was brought to my attention by one of my friends on LinkedIn. First of all, they are nothing but tools. Tools for connection. Tools for promotion, if you are in business. Tools for entertainment. She mentioned that people were complaining about TikTok specifically. How all they saw were videos of people lip-syncing to songs. I have heard this said about many different social media sights. People say all they see on Facebook are people yelling about politics or whatever social issue they feel like discussing. I couldn’t agree more that this happens a lot. Here is the interesting thing. If you want to promote anything online, you are aware there is an algorithm that they use to bring your material in front of others. What is that? You see more of what you react too. Let that sink in for a second.
Here is the second uncomfortable truth, along with an easy and fun solution to turn social media into a tool to work for you, instead of against you, if you so choose. Here is the truth. Who controls what you see on social media? Before you go back to the algorithm, and blame it on Elon Musk, Meta or some great unknown person behind the curtain, let me give you the answer. It is you. Whatever you subscribe to and react with, you will see more of. If you want social media to be a more positive experience, make it happen!
How do you do this? Much like many of the other areas of improvement, use the principle of addition instead of subtraction. What does that mean? Put these algorithms to use for you. Begin to subscribe to pages and people who bring you joy or inspire you. This will accomplish two amazing things at the same time. First, it will obviously add positive content to your social media. Second, by doing so, it will naturally dilute the negative content. The more space is taken up by positive, inspirational and motivational material, the less space is left for negative, soul-sucking content.
We are still going to run into some negative comments, posts and such. What are we to do then? Above are a few suggestions. If you find yourself feeling emotionally drained or upset by what you are seeing online, my first suggestion would be to step away. Go for a walk in nature. Get a cup of coffee with a friend. Watch a funny movie. Then, next time you are online, make sure to add at least one more positive influence to your sphere of social media influence. The last suggestion is one I really like as well. If you see a lot of negative comments, begin leaving positive ones. A good rule of thumb, for every negative comment you see, leave two positive ones. It doesn’t even have to be on the same post. Just go around leaving a little positive and encouraging feedback here and there. You will not only be helping yourself deal with the negativity, you will be making the internet a little more positive for the rest of us.
Remember, social media and cell phones are merely tools. They can be used for good or for bad. During the pandemic, it was social media that allowed us to stay connected. Being able to pick up a phone and call a loved one we missed seeing. Maybe even a Facetime or video call. As with everything in life, we are the ones in charge of how much we use these items, and how we use them. It is also our responsibility to make sure they do not prevent us from eliminating personal contact as well. Let us make the tools work for us, instead of the other way around.
I had the pleasure of taking my beautiful lady out to lunch the other day and she inspired an interesting thought I would like to share with you. Right now, she is on a health and fitness journey. She has really been working hard changing her diet and making physical fitness a regular part of her life. Recently, her gym had her fill out a goal sheet for her immediate future. We were discussing what she wrote down, when she paused, took a deep breath, sighed and confessed, “I just do not want to be the least fit person in a group of people anymore.”
I admired her bravery and really getting in touch with her ‘why’. This, I am sure, will allow her to reach the goals she has set for herself. It reminded me of a joke. “If you want to look thinner, hang around people who are less thin than you.” Although this joke is old, and quite dated as you can see, it made me think how many of us do this. We tend to surround ourselves with people who are in our comfort zone. This is good for keeping the stress level low, but does not really push us to grow to a better version of ourselves, and can even stunt the growth when we do attempt it.
When you start to work on improving yourself, I notice there are people who get intimidated. There are many reasons for why this might be. If you suddenly go back to school, or start studying a certain subject you may hear things such as “Oh, trying to show off now?” If your friends like to binge watch Netflicks and eat pizza everyday and you start getting in shape, they may either tell you that you are spending too much time and the gym, or even make you feel guilty for being so. I think they do this because your improvement makes them uncomfortable about their own lack of improvement. There are also those who worry that if you improve too much, you might end up leaving them behind. This leaves them two choices. They can either level up their life, or try to pull you back to level down yours. I don’t have to tell you which choice most people make, even if it is subconsciously.
It is like the boiling crabs in a bucket story. If one crab is about to escape, the others pull them back in. does it help them? No. It certainly does not help our friendly crustation who almost had their freedom. Instead, you want to be part of a group that is constantly lifting each other up and helping each other reach new levels. Sometimes you might be the one doing the lifting, sometimes you might be the one being lifted. This includes both the emotional aspect, like in the first picture. As well as physically. Remember our example of getting in shape? As ironic as it sounds, our haters can often be of more help than our friends. If one of them see you slipping on your diet or workout routine, they will not only make sure to let you know about it, but everyone else as well. That is a good motivation to stay on track. It is also a good way to put your haters to work for you. Our well-meaning friends, on the other hand, might be more reassuring. Telling us things like, “It is ok if you just missed one workout.” or “Don’t be so hard on yourself for eating badly today.”
Take some time and think about the people you surround yourself with. Are they helping you become the best version of yourself? This can be supportive or motivating. We need both. Just make sure they are not holding you back from growing into the amazing person you know you can be. Look, self-improvement can occasionally be tough journey. We need all the help we can get. We certainly cannot have anyone making our journey more difficult.
I love this picture! I stole it from my friend Caroline’s social media page. I think it is one that we should save to use ourselves. Shutting ourselves down to work on our own spiritual maintenance is not only helpful, it is essential. If our spirit is tired or hurting, it will affect every other aspect of our lives. This includes our energy level, the way we treat others, our productivity, and a million other areas of our lives. Seeing how much neglecting our spirit affects our life, imagine what shutting things down to do a little maintenance on it would do? It would positively affect all of the areas we just mentioned above.
This week shut yourself down for a while. Put in that effort to help yourself heal from whatever challenges you are facing. Your life and your spirit will thank you. Feel free to save this picture to put on your social media profile. Heck, print it out and hang it on the front door. Bring one to the office to let people know what is going on. You don’t really need a sign, but you do need to maintain the spirit of yours.
Have you ever had a day where you feel like this? Not quite like a murdering doll, but where if how you felt on the inside could be seen, you might resemble this lovely character? I know I have. With many responsibilities, even enjoyable ones, comes much stress. When I have to fit in the day job, the gym and writing in one day , that can be rather stressful. I barely have enough energy to show my lovely lady how important she is to me. That only adds further stress.
What do you do when you feel burned out? Another reason why working on self-improvement and self-care is so important to start, and start now. If you get to the point of feeling burned out, the last thing you are going to want to do is spend mental energy on how to rid yourself of those feelings. What I can suggest is to start a self-care book. This is an activity that will be featured in my upcoming fourth book. In your self-care book, you can list everything that brings you feelings of peace, health and happiness. In other words, everything that refreshes your spirit. This can be songs that inspire you. Movies that make you laugh or energize you. It can be places you like to go, whether that is a park, a coffee shop or some place to eat. This self-care book can be updated as you discover new items to add. For me, who struggles during the long cold winter, this can be a life-saver. Place this book somewhere it can easily be accessed.
When you are feeling burned out, sad, uninspired or any of the other unpleasant emotions, pull out your self-care book and engage in one, or several, of the activities. When you find something that really brings joy, or inner peace, to your heart, pull out the book and add it. Having this resource available takes the thinking out of helping yourself. Composing the book is actually a fun activity. You can even ask your friends, family and spouse for ideas. You can do it together as a couple or as a family.
This past Monday was a bit crazy for me. Margie and I ran our DJ show Sunday night until early Monday morning. My alarm for work went off at 4am. When that happened, I had only had a little over 2 hours of sleep. I put in a 9 hour day at my day job. It was an unusually nice day out, weather wise. On the way home, I spoke with my mother who inquired if I would like to go for a little hike. Deciding to take advantage of the sunshine and good weather while it was here, I agreed. We hiked for 2.3 miles. After that, I knew I had to create some content for this site. (Hearing this may help you understand some of my typos that can be found.) I stopped at the local coffee shop with barely enough strength to open my laptop.
How on earth was I going to be able to create anything worthwhile? That was the million-dollar question. There was an idea I had been looking forward to writing about. Several in this case. As I began to write, the strangest thing began to happen. As I related personal examples of the tools and strategies I was conveying, things began to click. Not just for the post itself, but my writing and my life in general. The more I wrote, the more clarity seemed to come. While it is true I drank a medium coffee, my energy began to climb through the roof! I had promised Margie I would be home in time to joy the amazing Jerk Chicken she had prepared for us, so I closed my laptop and called it a night.
On the way to the car, I think I actually floated. As I drove home, the Michael Franti songs I were listening to also seemed to make more sense. Everything had a sense of clarity I had not had in a great deal of time. I sang along to the music at the top of my lungs. Thankfully for the other motorists, the weather had cooled off by this point and my car windows were closed. I arrived home and felt sorry for the love of my life. I was keyed up! Bouncing around at the prospect of finally knowing how my fourth book was going to come together. I had a lot more confidence on the message I would deliver at my next speaking engagement. Life seemed to all make sense.
I am not advocating sleeping 2 hours, working 9 and then hiking 2.3 miles. When it comes to my life, I would not recommend following my sleeping habits at all. What I cannot recommend strongly enough is to make sure you devote a portion of your life to your goals and dreams. Do not only do it when you find yourself with ‘extra time’. Do not wait until you are well rested. Do not wait until you have a day off, or finally take your vacation. Like the picture above says, do not work 8 hours for a company and then go home and not work on your goals. You will be amazed at the energy working on something that feeds your passion will give you. Plus, who would want to argue with The Rock?
With so many crazy events in our world, and more to the point in our life, we can often be left with feeling that we have a lack of control. To a certain extent that is true. Realizing a lot of what we worry about, and get upset about, is beyond our control. We cannot worry about what politicians do. We cannot worry about what criminals do. In fact, we cannot even worry about what other people do. Even the ones closest to us. Right now, I have grave concern about what the weather does. Do you know what I do not have? Any control over it.
Here is two things we do have control of. We control our attitude and our efforts. I am not a fan of cold and snow. What I should be focused on in not only my attitude during this tough stretch of weather, but my efforts in keeping my spirits up. In many places where this blog is read, there are far greater concerns. There are wars going on. There is corrupt government. There is extreme heat and extreme poverty. We have to be concerned about these things. We also have to be concerned about our fellow humans going through them.
In the midst of all this craziness, we must fully understand that we cannot control them. We must check in and ask ourselves, “How is my attitude? Am I determining it, or am I letting outside circumstances and people do it for me?” Then, focus on the other side of the coin. Ask yourself, “How are my efforts?” Are you just complaining the boss isn’t letting you get ahead, or are you studying and pursuing other opportunities on the side? Are you complaining about the corrupt politicians or are you doing something to change that? It could be as simple as voting, or as complex as running for office yourself.
A quick note. Complaining about things without taking any action to correct them does not count. Not only is it really a lack of effort, but it shows a bad attitude as well. Our attitude is often the most important factor in any situation. Our attitude at the beginning of a task goes a long way into determining the outcome of the situation. Do you know what else it will affect? Our effort. That is why Earl Nightingale called ‘attitude’ the most important word. They are both under our complete control. If there is an area of your life that feels like it could use some work, make sure to check on your attitude and efforts first. Only you can change them.
SECRET 2 AN AMAZING LIFE 