LIVE AT FULLEST

Do you ever feel like life is spinning out of control? That the harder you try to get ahead the more you just barely get by? If so, maybe it's time for you to think about quitting life -- that elusive thing that we chase after and strive for -- and, instead, start living..

It can be a difficult distinction to understand, I know, but making the distinction can make all the difference in the world. So if you're tired of suffering through and truly want to live, here are 10 tips to get you started!

1. Recognize that life is what you get when you're born. . .

. . . Living is what you do with it!

You can sit back and wait for life to happen to you or you can make it happen yourself. As Maya Angelou once said, "Life likes to be taken by the lapel and told, "I'm with you kid. Let's go!"

2. Define life. . . It leads to the fine life.

Life is not a slogan, no matter what Nike, McDonald's, ABC, NBC, or any other media giant might have you believe. While those "Life is. . ." t-shirts are often witty, the philosophy they propose, like the shirt itself, are rarely "one size fits all." Define life and living on your own terms and you've a better chance of getting both.

3. Make up your own rules.

Many people believe that "life is a game." Maybe so, but most games have rules and clear-cut definitions of winning and losing. We didn't get rule books when we were born, and that leaves us free to make up our own rules about life, living, losing, and winning.

4. Take charge of your life.

Once you've made up your rules you can start taking charge of your life. And when you take charge of your life, as Geoffrey Abert said, "There is no longer need to ask permission of other people or society at large. When you ask permission, you give someone veto power over your life."

5. Little things mean a lot.

No matter how we live, life throws a lot of little negative things in our way that must be dealt with or else they will greatly diminish how we enjoy our days. Stephen Vincent Benet said it best: "Life is not lost by dying; life is lost minute by minute, day by dragging day, in all the thousand small uncaring ways."

6. Employ the power of positive quitting.

Most of us view quitting as a negative thing to do, but it's not. "Winners never quit," we're told. In reality, winners quit all the time by choosing to stop doing things that aren't creating the results they desire.

7. Create your personal quit list.

Examine your life closely and you'll find all sorts of things you do and/or tolerate that hold you back, slow you down, or effect you negatively in some other way. Decide which ones you really want to be rid of and write them down.

8. On your mark, get set, QUIT!

Now start quitting the things you listed. Doing so will immediately create a positive "charge" in your life as you rid yourself of these negatives and create the room in your life for new, more positive experiences.

9. Charge into your future!

As you recreate this positive force in your life, take big, massive leaps into your future. Be imaginative, bold, and brave! The results may surprise you.

10. Use everything.

You are blessed with a particular set of skills and talents that no one else has. Use every skill and talent to live your life as joyfully and abundantly as possible. Leave this life as Erma Bombeck wished to: "When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left and could say, 'I used everything you gave me.'"

THE 5 STEPS TO SUCESS IN LIFE

We all want success in life.  Whether it’s success in business or family or just success in overcoming a bad habit.  The destinations may be different but the steps to getting there are all the same.  I’ve laid out the 5 steps that I’ve found, over the years, to be essential to success in life.

1: Make the decision to stop being average.

This is one of the most important steps to success in life.  You may know about setting goals (which I will cover in a minute) but many people overlook the importance of this first step.  You need to make the decision, once and for all, to stop letting yourself be just another average Joe.  This is the time to decide if you are really serious about being successful in anything you do.  Because this kind of success requires a mindset that is not that of the rest of the heard.  It requires the ability to think and act outside the box and be willing to make the changes necessary to reaching your goals.  So it is now time to pull away from the heard and start thinking for yourself.

2: Realize Your Dreams.

If you can, close your eyes for a moment and take a deep breath and try to relax.  Try to push all the thoughts out of your mind.  Now I want you to ask yourself a question and try to be honest with yourself when you answer.  Ask yourself, “If I could change anything in my life what would it be?”  This can be anything, where you live, what you do for a living, anything.  After you’ve answered your question, paint a picture in your mind of what this changed situation would look like.  Think of the details, the sights, smells, etc…  Now that you have this image in your mind, open your eyes and write down a couple of paragraphs that describe what you’ve invisined.  This is your dream.  Now, when I say dream, I don’t mean THE DREAM, the one and only dream of your life.  I mean A DREAM.  One of many.  Each thing in your life that you want to improve on or change starts with A DREAM and this is one of them.  Every other thing that you want to change you can use this method to clarify or realize that particular dream.  But if you don’t clerify what you want it will be very hard to get it, let alone know whether or not you’ve already got it.

3: Set Goals.

We have all heard about the importance of setting goals.  Well, it’s true, but how do you go about doing this.  Let’s start by defining what a goal is.  A goal, in this case, is a set guideline of when and how to complete a task.  (It may also be the completed task itself, depending on the situation.)  So if your goal is to reach your dream than you would decide what needs to happen and how quickly you can and want it to happen.

So get that pen and paper back out and make a list of all the things that need to be done to reach your dream.  And then, under each item, decide what needs to happen or change for that particular task to be accomplished.  Finally, make a time frame for these items.  Each item is a mini goal to accomplshing the picture you’ve already painted.

4: Find Ways To Stay Motivated.

Now, the hard part.  The first three steps are very easy compared to this one.  Anybody can do what we’ve already talked about.  But what sets apart the average person from the successful one is the ability of that particular person to consistently put forth the effort to accomplishing their goals.  That is where motivation comes in.  You need to learn the skill of keeping that fire going inside you.  Without this fuel of desire and a clear resolve you’ll be dead in the water in a week.

Try to find what works and stick with it.  If reading this blog helps you stay motivated than make sure to read it on a regular basis.  If exercising keeps your confidence up and your energy high, than don’t miss a workout.  Whatever it takes, find what works and stick with it.  And, whenever you feel your drive start to fade or you start questioning why you’re doing what you’re doing, just go back to that pad of paper and re-read your description of your dream.  This will often re-kendal the fire and get you back on track.

5: Enjoy The Process!

Just as important as the first 4 steps, this one requires little effort but is often missed.  And notice that I didn’t say, enjoy yourself when you reach your dream.  You don’t want to feel like you are slaving away for the mirage in the distance.  The process should be rewarding on it’s own as you are seeking to get the most out of every day.

All throughout your life you will be working on “That Next Goal” so if you are only happy when you reach it, you will never be happy because there will be a new one right around the corner.  Success in life is not about reaching a final destination but instead it’s the process of constantly upgrading your life to a better version.  So, if you are just grazing with the heard, I won’t blame you for feeling down.  But if you are in the process of pursuing the life that you desire for yourself and your family than I hope that you find yourself satisfied RIGHT NOW as well as in the future.

THE POWER OF VISUALIZATION

YOU CAN CHANGE THE WORLD AROUND YOU,  

WHENEVER YOU LIKE TO...

THE SEVEN PRINCIPLES OF MIND

1.  THE WORLD IS WHAT YOU THINK IT IS:

 

...Depending on your point of view a glass of water can be half empty or half full... In a more subtle way, we know that thoughts of fear, worry, anger, and resentment can make us sick... Both ancient and contemporary history are full of examples of the power of thought in the form of prayer, faith, and conviction to change physical conditions, events, and circumstances... These are clear, obvious, and understandable ways in which our thinking affects our experience...

2.  THERE ARE NO LIMITS:

 

If there are no limits, then of course anything is possible... However, because you are not alone in the Universe, the degree to which something can be shared depends on the beliefs of others around you... According to Christian scripture, even Jesus had difficulty in his hometown doing miracles because the people didn't believe the carpenter's son could or should have such powers... A single thought of love or hate affects the whole Universe, but your body will probably be more affected than the star Betelgeuse... At any rate, the more people who believe that the change you want to make is possible, the easier it will be to make it...

 

3.  ENERGY FLOWS WHERE ATTENTION GOES:

 

Meditation itself simply means to think deeply and continuously; in other words, sustained focused attention... You are meditating whenever you are engaged in sustained focused attention on anything, and according to this philosophy such attention channels the energy of the universe into manifesting the physical equivalent of what you are looking at, saying, listening to, or doing. It is the equivalent of the sum total of your entire attention, including habitual expectation... This idea also provides a neat explanation of how thought can produce its physical equivalent, especially when amplified by emotion and/or confidence... [You are the fuel for your own fire...]

 

4.  NOW IS THE MOMENT OF POWER:

 

Thanks to memory we may carry over habits of body and mind from day to day, but each day is a new creation and any habit can be changed in any present moment... When our attention and awareness bring aspects of the past and future into this present moment, they are within the range of our power to change them... There are a lot of people living in the world today who aren't even here. Most of their attention is focused on memories of the past, projections into the future, or on themselves. To the degree they diminish their awareness of the present moment during such ruminations, their power and effectiveness in the present also decreases...

 

5.  TO LOVE IS TO BE HAPPY WITH: 

"Love" is a word that many people find hard to understand because its use in English has become very sloppy. It is used to denote pleasure, sexual desire, intention, addictive need, and as a measure of caring... In Hawaiian the meaning of "love" is very clear and it provides a useful guideline for loving and being loved... It means that love exists to the degree that you are happy with with the object of your love... You don't get hurt from being in love; you get hurt from anger. You don't get sweaty hands from being being in love; you get them from fear... What you get from being in love is happiness, the intensity of it depending on how deeply you are happy with the object of your love... The key to success here is simply to increase your appreciation of what you do like about your partner, event, or object, and increase your tolerance of what you don't like. Telepathic praise is more important than verbal praise, and is always a better way to begin...

 

6.  ALL POWER COMES FROM WITHIN: 

For every event that you experience you creatively attract it through your beliefs, desires, fears, and expectations, and then react to it habitually or respond to it consciously... If the power was in you to create it, then the power is in you to change it... Neither prayers nor spells nor affirmations will do much good if they are spoken with wistful hope or as if the words themselves held the magic. Confident authority is the key to conscious creation, whether used with words, visualizations, or feelings.

 

7.  EFFECTIVENESS IS THE MEASURE OF TRUTH: 

Many people have trouble with this one at first because they think it says that the end justifies the means. Actually, it says just the opposite, that the means determines the end. Violent means will produce violent results, and peaceful means will produce peaceful results... Healing is the goal and effectiveness is the criteria, not proving of a particular system or method.