Words to live by: Celebration

This was the most-visited post that I’ve ever had on my blog– I posted it over a year ago. Let’s celebrate!

(This is one of a part of a series of WORDS TO LIVE BY. This series grew out of a workbook I first made for my young daughters and discussed at the dinner table. These Words include values, good ideas, and Words to aspire to….and learn from….enjoy!)

I know right away some people may question why or what I mean by celebration and why it is a Word To Live By.

I think we all need to celebrate more often.

Yes, I said we. As I’ve mentioned before, I am naturally a low-key guy. I think part of me tries to downplay things. I notice that especially with friends, with my sisters, and relatives – those with which I grew up – when something good happens or when I’m excited about something – I try to act cool, calm, and un-excited when I tell them about it.

The other day I was excited about a project at work. I was telling a relative and I noticed that right way, I downplayed the whole thing. It came off like I was actually down about it. He tried to give me some encouragement. I was actually excited. I needed and wanted to celebrate with him. We both would have enjoyed it and benefited, right?

In any case, celebrating is something I believe to be a key issue in life, here’s why:

• We need to celebrate things each day, even the little things – we paid the bills, we have good health, we took some kind of action and had some kind of success, we did something good for someone else, etc.
• So many times we actually did something good, accomplished something, took action and we don’t take a moment to celebrate.
• Celebrating in the present moment allows us and helps us to focus on the now, what is going on – whether it be with our family, friends, work, or fun things.
• We can benefit greatly from celebrating future events – here’s what I mean – if you act as if what you want in life is already a reality, celebrating “IT” as already being reality brings in all kinds of good emotions, eliminates thoughts of conditions, limitations. Your brain doesn’t know that the difference between the imagination and reality of it all – so Celebration for something as if it has already happened is very powerful.

Imagine that you already have “it” or that you’ve already accomplished “it” – then celebrate! Wayne Dyer says “Highly realized people learn to think from the end- that is, they experience what they wish to intend before it shows up in the material form.” Celebrate that car, that job, that improved relationship, that newly thinner, leaner body. Enjoy it.

I practice money coming in and I get the feeling like I’m winning the lottery. I hold my arms up like Rocky on the top of the Philly steps and I jump around. I visualize and celebrate. I enjoy it.

How would you react if you won the lottery? Got a perfect job? Had that perfect car/house/relationship/health? OK, now go ahead and practice celebrating it so that when it arrives, you’ll be ready. In the meantime, you’ll feel great.

I’ll be honest, I don’t know if it will always work, but EVERYTIME I feel really great afterwards! I’m smiling, happier, energized, and guess what? I’m now looking for good things to come, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Celebrate what you’ve accomplished in your life! Too many of us don’t give ourselves enough credit. Look into the past, briefly, get those good references and celebrate them. You endured hurdles and mistakes and you are now the person you are because you kept moving. Celebrate it!

Celebrate the present – your family, friends, work, life, health – even if it isn’t perfect. Sure you can want to improve something but hell, if you didn’t have your situation now, you wouldn’t have the perspective, wisdom, and knowledge to make it better, right? Guess what, you can help yourself now, you can even help others, you have choices, that’s great, celebrate! Celebrate your health and life – would you prefer the alternative?

I know that there are some days when you don’t feel like celebrating. Use Tony Robbins’ method “What could I celebrate today? (then even if you can’t think of something ask:) If I could think of something to celebrate, what would it be?”

“The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” — Oprah Winfrey

Celebrate the future as if it is already happened! Celebrate the person you want to be, the thing you want to have, the issue you want to resolve, the situation that you want to improve! Enjoy it! Feel the fun!

Celebrate what you want to see more of. – Tom Peters (author of In Search of Excellence and other books)

Feeling happy/celebratory/abundant/whatever surpasses the money in your bank account, the report from the doctor, the whatever – and transcends what others may think of you. Genuinely feeling a certain way is possible when you detach yourself from the things you desire and then celebrating it.

Dream on it. Let your mind take you to places you would like to go, and then think about it and plan it and celebrate the possibilities. And don’t listen to anyone who doesn’t know how to dream.
Liza Minnelli

Don’t you think that you’re more attractive to others when you’re thinking celebrating rather than the “ho-hum” you? Wouldn’t your career be a little different if you approached it in a ‘celebrating-way’ rather that complaining, whining and doing the minimum as so many people do? (not you of course)

Celebrating sends a message to others around you, even to the Universe (if you believe in such)

“Don’t forget to CELEBRATE!!! Anchor the experience of doing something truly extraordinary with an awesome celebration.”- Tony Robbins

Celebrating brings smiles and laughter. It brings joy and happiness. Enough said.

Make THE decision in the right state of mind

Here is a great video that can help anyone with a tough decision, a tough situation, facing a situation or challenge that brings fear.

We all have to go outside a comfort level, we need to handle things without fear.

Our story can empower us or limit us.

http://getrmt.com/v1.php

Why the heck are you doing it?

Why the heck are you doing it?

Why are you doing “IT”? Seriously why?

Why are you working at your job or pursuing the education or chasing that dream?

Why are you there?

Did you ever think about that?

Are you at your job so that you can bring peace and joy to your family?

Are you there so that someday you can save up and start your own business?
Why are you chasing that goal?

Seriously, take a moment and write it down. Spell out why you are doing something or why you are taking action.

(Also congrats for taking action and working or whatever you’re doing).

Why do you want a goal?

Spell it out.

Some people really benefit from writing it out in story form. “I am investing in this rental property so that it will be enough extra income so that I can take my family away to the cabin each year for 2 weeks, where we can get unplugged, enjoy time alone, connect with nature, and exercise in the wilderness.” (Just an example, make your own) Others benefit from some bullet points.

• Make sure that you include powerful, positive emotions and experiences, words, images, and ideas. Don’t just write anything down, make it powerful and emotional – to you!

Don’t worry much about the “How”. That will take care of itself later. Our brains will work that out. Too many people get caught in ‘how’ they will do something and don’t focus enough on the why.

“If the Why is big enough, the How doesn’t matter?” Unknown.

For instance, I work hard and strive for extra income so that I can spend more time with my wife and daughters, so that we can go on trips or long weekends together, and enjoy fun, memory making events. I also do what I do so that I can save for retirement so that my wife and I can save and invest enough to have the option to slow down a little, if we chose to do so, after we reach a certain age. (I probably will still work but I prefer to have it be a choice rather than a necessity). Your “WHY” may be completely different. Maybe you do something for charity, or for a dream or hobby.

Knowing why you have to go through something, why you have to show up, why you have to do something helps you ‘show up’ in a better state of mind, to feel better about it, and to try harder at it. Think about a task that you have to do but don’t always enjoy.

Meaning is everything.

If you assign a good ‘why’ to it – a good meaning – you will probably approach it better and enjoy it, at least a little more right?

You can choose to ‘just go through the motions’ or you can actually do things with feeling, passion, enthusiasm. The latter is more fun and you’ll probably do a better job.

Spend time writing out your “WHY’s” as soon as you can.

My “why” for writing this blog many days a week is that I enjoy writing and pulling thoughts out of nothing, sharing great ideas from others, and for possibly helping just one person.

Please leave a comment and share your “WHY”.

http://www.onewebstrategy.com

Simple Stuff – action, work, opportunity

(Simple Stuff is simply a bunch of inspirational, motivational and other quotes meant to make you think, reflect, smile, even laugh a bit. Hopefully helpful, useful stuff….)

I hope the millions of people I’ve touched have the optimism and desire to share their goals and hard work and persevere with a positive attitude. – Michael Jordan

I don’t pity any man who does hard work worth doing. I admire him. I pity the creature who does not work, at whichever end of the social scale he may regard himself as being. –Theodore Roosevelt

Talent in cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. – Stephen King 

Usually, the best way to find the yellow brick road of your life, is to start out on the dusty, dirt one. And then let yourself become so preoccupied in making the best of it, having fun, and challenging yourself that you actually stop paying attention to the path. Until, one day, not so long from now, with a new best friend, wearing cool clothes, feeling awesome, a teeny tiny bit taller, fresh from a WOW vacation, looking for the path you just left, you’ll notice that it’s 24 carats… baby. And you’ll wonder for a long, long time, sipping on some exotic fruit drink, when the transformation actually took place… – Michael Dooley – The Universe

 

Young people are threatened… by the evil use of advertising techniques that stimulate the natural inclination to avoid hard work by promising the immediate satisfaction of every desire. –Pope John Paul II

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.  –Thomas A. Edison

 

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. – Thomas Jefferson

Action is the foundational key to all success.- Pablo Picasso

Feeling stressed, tense, worried?

You know, we’ve all been there in one way or another: we’ve been tense and focused on money, maybe stressed, maybe short with our spouse, maybe short with our kids….and in that moment when we’re stressing about money, we’re missing the world around us.

You know what I mean when I say “That awful feeling in the pit of your stomach because you feel like you have to worry about running out of money at the end of the month.”

I’ve been there, then back on “top”, then stressed again, a few times in my life.

I heard a funny thing the other day; someone was saying how they thought ‘rich people’ always think about money and ‘rich people’ are all shallow.

Maybe some are shallow, but in my experience and from what I read, when you had enough money to pay the bills and to live in a decent way, you’re NOT thinking about money much at all. When you have enough to cover the bills, you can think about fun things, about things that you WANT to do in your job and career, and things that you can do for or contribute to others – you can choose to enjoy life a little more.

When I was struggling with income and bills, and when I observe others that have the same struggle to pay bills and meet their obligations, they think about money all day long.

There is a great book that I highly recommend called “Bridges out of Poverty”. It helps explain how people struggling in poverty are constantly thinking about how they are paying the bills, food on the table, tires on the car, utility bills, etc.

Even if we aren’t at the poverty level, we can sometimes have some traits of the poverty mindset……we worry about money, about paying the mortgage, about our jobs, etc. This never creates a good feeling inside, does it?

Again, as someone that has been back and forth, here is some wisdom that I’ve learned from a few others and I believe that it really can help:

• Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want – instead of focusing on the bills and lack of cash, focus on the things that you really want, the freedom, peace of mind, better health, better relationships, enjoying life, security for your family, etc.

• Watch your self-talk- we all talk to ourselves and ask ourselves questions throughout the day. There is enough negativity in the world, don’t add to it by bringing yourself down. I was someone who beat myself up for many things and once in a while still do – if you do also, STOP. Reflect on accomplishments, look for references why you’re good at something, ask yourself questions like “Why do I deserve this?” and “Why am I so lucky?” instead of things like “Why can’t I earn more money” or ‘why is this such a struggle’ or ‘why don’t I ever win anything?”

• Have a vision – ok maybe your life isn’t where you want it to be now and you want to improve – almost everyone does….create a vision. It doesn’t have to be a major complicated thing – something as simple as some bullet points or a paragraph or two is fine – create a simple story of you as you want to be – make the story in present tense as if you already have it – as if you are already “THERE” and you’re looking back on today, when you are struggling. Make sure that in the story you talk about how you’re proud of the steps you took, the hard work, the good attitude, and how you changed for the better. Remember, tell the ideal story of your life as if it is already done!

• Enjoy the present, live in the moment – when we worry about the future or fret over the past, we miss moments and experiences right in front of us. I recall a time when my wife and I had time alone and I sat there worrrying about something that never even happened. Another time I recall worrying about something and basically ignoring my daughters when I had a free day with them. We all lost and nothing was gained. Take a moment to look around, be aware, and live today’s life. Things can happen in a moment. Look for miracles. You gotta celebrate life’s moments no matter what. There is no rehearsal.

• Here’s something that can be the toughest for any of us – do the above each and everyday. We can all do things for a while or on occasion, or here and there. We have to ask the right questions, focus on the good stuff, reflect on our vision, and enjoy the present every day! We all must take action – even if they are just baby steps each day. Ask, ‘what thing, regardless how big or small, can I do today?” You don’t have to spend long on it – but at least 5 -10 minutes. Can you turn off the TV, put down the phone, or walk away from the computer or ipad for 10 minutes if it makes you better?

Remember, people with much less smarts, ability, education, opportunity have done great things, contributed, made money, helped others, and been successful , you have the ability, you have the power inside, you just need to take action.

http://www.onewebstrategy.com

😉

Simple Stuff – Enthusiasm

(Simple Stuff  is simply a bunch of inspirational, motivational and other quotes meant to make you think, reflect, smile, even laugh a bit. Hopefully helpful, useful stuff….)

I  play to win, whether during practice or a real game. And I will not let anything  get in the way of me and my competitive enthusiasm to win.
Michael  Jordan

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Enthusiasm  is the mother of effort, and without it nothing great was ever  achieved.-Ralph  Waldo Emerson

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Indeed,  there is an eloquence in true enthusiasm that is not to be  doubted. -Edgar  Allan Poe

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“First of all, I want to make one thing clear: The quality of your life is the quality of where you live emotionally,” “But we all have a home. Angry people find a way to get angry even if their life doesn’t have anything to be angry about. We can always find it. Sad people find a way to be sad. Caring people find a way to care for other people. Enthusiastic people are enthusiastic – and fun to be around!…..So one thing to identify is where are you living? What’s your home? What’s your habit? And then the way to change it.” – Tony Robbins

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I  prefer the folly of enthusiasm to the indifference of  wisdom. -Anatole  France

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Winners  must learn to relish change with the same enthusiasm and energy that we have  resisted it in the past. -Tom Peters

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A man can succeed at almost anything for which he has unlimited enthusiasm. -Charles Schwab

www.onewebstrategy.com

This is a very good blog….

This is a very good blog from author Noah St. John www.noahstjohn.com

Your life is a reflection of your thoughts – what I call the thought-seeds you plant and give energy to.

More precisely, your life is a reflection of the unconscious assumptions you make about life and your relationship to it.

For example, if you grew up in an environment where there wasn’t much money, you would probably assume that making money is hard, and that’s just the way it is.

And because you made this assumptionunconsciously, you probably wouldn’t even realize that you’re holding on to it in the first place.

If you could find a mechanism that could record the thought-seeds you’re planting on the inside and play them back to you on the outside, it might sound something like this…

• Why am I so broke?
• Why don’t I have enough money?
• How come I’m not more successful?
• How come I can never get ahead?
• Why do other people have so much more money than I do?

Well, a mechanism does exist that records and reflects your subconscious thought-seeds.

That mechanism is called your life!

So here you are, unknowingly asking yourself these negative questions, which lead to disempowering assumptions, which lead to you not believing you can reach your goals.

What do you think the answers would be to the negative questions in the example I just gave you?

The answers would be things showing up in your life that reflect the disempowering questions you’ve been unconsciously asking.

For example, if you’ve been unknowingly asking, Why am I so unhappy?…

The answers will show up as you being unhappy, no matter how many good things happen to you.

If you’ve been unconsciously asking, Why don’t I have enough money?…

The answers will show up as your lack of money, no matter how hard or how long you work.

And if you’ve been unwittingly asking, Why can’t I lose weight?…

The answer will show up as your not being able to lose weight, no matter how many diet and exercise programs you try.

I call these dassumptions—a portmanteau of disempowering and assumptions.

When you carry around these dassumptions,your life becomes a reflection of them.

That’s why all of the goal-setting in the world won’t work when this is the case—because you simply don’t believe that you can reach your goals in the first place.

Take Action Challenge:

Stop assuming you can’t. Start assuming you can.

Turn it around!

THERE ARE LOTS OF TURN – AROUNDS…..

OK in business, there is a turnaround where someone steps in/buys it/whatever and takes a failing business, turns it around and makes it profitable  and successful again.

A movie star or rock star might turn around their career that’s been dormant or on the shelf. They can go from ‘has-been’ to overnight sensation in one movie or one album.

Those are more dramatic types of turn-arounds. However, more important turn-arounds are those in our every day lives.

A turn around that you make on your thoughts, on the self-talk you use, on the questions you ask yourself, and on the simple, daily habits you do each and everyday.

Those small things you do or say (or don’t do or say) are sometimes more important than the big turnarounds a celebrity or business person might make.

If you use the compound word “turn around” in a different way, I believe you’ll also have good results.

Here’s what I mean:

if you don’t like something, turn it around. For instance, you might say: “I hate my job.” Not empowering in any way, plus you’re focusing on what you don’t want instead of what you do want, you’re focusing on what isn’t working instead of what works. INSTEAD, say “I want a job that allows me to be creative, work as a team, and collaborate with others to help people…” (or whatever kind of job you want)

Now, when you say that, you’re focusing on what you want and a little more on what works.

To make it even better, turn it around into a question; “Why do I find jobs that make me feel fulfilled?” “Why do I find team members at work that collaborate and allow me to be me?” Why do I find great opportunities that allow me to be creative and productive?” (or whatever you want) This way you’re asking your brain why you have what you want, and it will search for it.

If you ask, “Why do I eat so much junk food?” or “Why can’t I lose any weight?” you can’t turn around your life.

If you ask INSTEAD “Why do I eat healthy?” (and try to come up with at least one answer, then let your brain think about it), You’ll get a better result. You can also ask “Why do I lose weight and still enjoy it?” it might even be fun.

“Why do I find ways each day to lose weight, feel sexy, and have lots of fun?” Is even a better question that will lead to a turn around……

If you ask yourself bad questions, like “Why do I always get the short end of the stick?” or “Why is my boss such a jerk?” Your brain will search for an answer for those questions and also you’ll be focusing on what isn’t working. Turn it around with “Why am I so lucky?” “Why do things always work out for me?” “Why is my boss so understanding and supportive?” – then take a moment and try to find at least one little thing to answer it and leave yourself open for other answers. It gets better and easier.

Turn around the negative things into a positive question?
Turn around sayings what you don’t want into what you do want. Let’s face it, “I hate my job” is just an affirmation that makes life more miserable. If you ask “Why do I like my job?” you’ll focus on the good stuff. Maybe your boss won’t change but when you ask ,’why do I like my job’ your brain will look for what you like about it – maybe you like the desk, maybe you like the one guy in support, maybe you like other things you took for granted.

Turn around your life one little step at a time and incrementally you’ll build momentum.

Here are some other suggestions from Wayne Dyer http://www.waynedyer.com

TAKE THIS PHRASE       and               TURN IT AROUND INTO TO THIS ONE

It will be difficult …. into.…I have the ability to accomplish any task I set my mind to with ease and comfort. (then ask the same thing in a “why” question)

It will take a long time.… into… I have infinite patience when it comes to fulfilling my destiny.

There will be drama…..into….I would rather be loathed for who I am than be loved for who I am not.

I don’t deserve it…..into… I am a Divine creation, a piece of God, therefore I cannot be undeserving.

I can’t afford it…..into…….I am connected to an unlimited source of abundance.

No one will help me…..into …..The right circumstances and the right people are already here and are showing up on time as needed.

I am not smart enough……into …..I am a creation of the Divine mind, all is perfect an I am a genius in my own right.

I’m too old (or not old enough)…..into ….I am an infinite being. The age of my body has no bearing on what I do or who I am.

I don’t have the energy….into…..I feel passionately about my life and this passion fills me with excitement and energy.

It’s my personal history (or my family history)….into…I live in the present moment by being grateful for all of my life experiences as a child until this day.

I’m too busy…..into….. As I unclutter my life, I free myself to answer the callings of my soul.

I am too scared…..into…..I can accomplish anything I put my mind to because I know that I am never alone.

(Remember to ask the same thing in a “why” question)

A small turn around will result in a tsunami of positive changes.

http://www.onewebstrategy.com

Feel Important !

When you’re with a group of people, how do you want to feel?
Think about it….whether it is at work or socially…..

….in most cases people want to feel important (among other things)!

When someone in your past has treated you as an important person, or someone listens to you and your thoughts, or you’re a client and they treat you like a VIP – you feel important and that feels good.

Maybe you have a friend, a teacher, a mentor – someone that truly thinks you are important and they treat you that way.

You feel pretty good right?

You feel like you’re special, like you can do things and you have more confidence.

Do you make or let others feel important?

I know a gentleman, I don’t get a chance to see him much anymore, but he always made me feel special. He listened to me and I could tell he valued what I said.

I know that he was much smarter than I was and I probably didn’t have much new to say or much to add to his knowledge on things, but he never acted that way.

I had the chance to see him out in public somewhere – a group of us had to go to the supermarket to buy food for an activity.

It was amazing, he asked a clerk where something was and he made that clerk feel special! The guy left smiling and had a spring in his step!

Later at the cashier, he made her feel special, too! She smiled to herself and looked happy doing her job.

I wish I noticed more what he said – it wasn’t much….it was a few passing words, a smile, a question or two perhaps – but the ‘special’ part was no more than 2 minutes – probably 1 minute.

Some people are born with the gift, like he was, but we all can develop it.

Think of ways that you can make others feel special each day.

At work – your boss, co-workers, your clients, your support team, etc.

At home – your spouse, your children, neighbors

In life – friends, mentors, protégés, community members

It doesn’t matter what your job or career is – whether you’re in sales, teaching, medicine, art – making others feel important will help you and help them – and help you accomplish your mission – whatever that is.

Here’s a set of good Questions of Power:

1. How can I make others feel important each day?
2. What things can I say or to make others feel important?
3. What makes me feel important?
4. Why do I feel important?

Everyone  has an invisible sign hanging from their neck saying, ‘Make me feel important.’  Never forget this message when working with people. – Mary Kay  Ash
Thanks!
www.onewebstrategy.com

Simple Stuff

(Simple Stuff is simply a bunch of inspirational, motivational and other quotes meant to make you think, reflect, smile, even laugh a bit. Hopefully helpful, useful stuff….)

Being in the right place at the right time, isn’t something you can force. It just happens when you keep busy. Effortlessly.  Imagine that,      The Universe (www.tut.com)

“Everything that happens in your life— both what you’re thrilled with and what you’re challenged by— began with a decision. I believe that it’s in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped. The decisions that you’re making right now, every day, will shape how you feel today as well as who you’re going to become in the nineties and beyond.” —Anthony Robbins, Awaken the Giant Within, p. 32-33

Thousands of candles can be lighted from a single candle, and the life of the candle will not be shortened. Happiness never decreases by being shared. Buddha

“A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.” – Nelson Mandela

“If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea how other people should lead their lives but none about his or her own.” – The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

It’s not the dazzling voice that makes a singer. Or clever stories that make a writer. And it’s not piles of money that make a tycoon.
It’s having a dream and wanting to live it so greatly that one would rather move with it and “fail” than succeed in another realm.  Michael Dooley