Monday, April 29, 2013
Quote of the day
People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves, they have the first secret of success. - Norman Vincent Peale
Friday, April 26, 2013
7 Positive things to say to yourself
Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars,and see yourself running with them.―Marcus Aurelius
Your life story is an expression of who you are; the words you choose to use shape this story. Your words create the essence of your inner culture and the core of your identity and destiny.How have you written your story so far? Have you put your words to positive use? Your ability to write a happy life story hinges on your language. It is your inner and outer verbal expression that makes your joy possible and that infuses your life with purpose, meaning and vitality.
1. “I have a choice.”
It is not your talents or abilities, but your choices that ultimately decide your fate.You ARE your choices.Until you can look at yourself in the mirror and honestly say, “I have a choice. I am here now because of the choices I’ve made in the past,” you will never be able to say, “I choose differently.”
2. “Let’s get started!”
You can’t build anything wonderful with ideas of what you are going to do someday. If you want something, you have to make a little noise, declare it and then get started.A goal is far more than a mental exercise. In fact, without the intent of action a goal is nothing more than a lie. Make your decisions real and present in your life; give them the time and attention they deserve.In the end it doesn’t matter what you’re thinking, it matters what you’re doing. Whatever you want to accomplish, it’s time to get started.
3. “I have what it takes.”
The worst enemy of today is your self-doubt. The moment you doubt whether you can do something is the moment it becomes impossible for you.You have to believe in yourself. You have to trust yourself. You might be nervous, but don’t you ever let any source of negativity in the world convince you that you don’t have what it takes.Give yourself a pep talk if you need one. State some facts, some evidence of your greatness. Recall your past victories. Speak them out loud – “I aced that test.” “I earned that big raise.” “I ran that 5K without stopping.” “My best friend loved my wedding speech.” And so on and so forth… Give a positive voice to your past victories and you will find the strength to repeat history.
4. “Hello, how can I help you?”
In life, you get what you put in.Generally speaking, the unhappiest people you will ever meet will be those who are utterly self-absorbed; the happiest people you will ever meet will be those who lose themselves in the joy and challenge of helping others.Happiness is always attained by giving it away without expectation. Those who help others are eventually helped. You have two hands, one to help yourself and the other to help those around you. If you can lie down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone’s day just a little brighter, you have something to smile about. Successful People Do Differently.
5. “Look how far I’ve come.”
The way you move a mountain is by moving one stone at a time. Every stone you move, no matter how small, is progress.Sometimes it may be hard to see your progress. Sometimes it will be frustrating when the results you seek don’t appear as quickly as you had hoped. Still, you are advancing. You may be moving along slowly, but you are still moving a mountain.Achievement, after all, is an enduring process, not a single event. To achieve any worthwhile goal you must cover a lot of ground. You need to learn what works by trial and error. You must explore possibilities, many of which will only show you what doesn’t work. Just keep in mind that the mistakes and setbacks are a vital part of the process.Take a break every now and then and pat yourself on the back. Applaud yourself for doing what needs to be done. And be careful not to spend so much time looking at how far you still have to go, that you forget to appreciate how far you’ve already come.
6. “I have more than enough to be happy.”
The happiest of people aren’t the luckiest, and they usually don’t have the best of everything either. They simply make the most of everything they do have. The reason so many people are unhappy is because they tend to look at what’s missing in their life, instead of what’s present.Take a stand and flip the switch. Stop wishing you had more. Stop wishing you were somewhere else. Stop wishing you looked like someone else. Love your quirks enough to let them shine. Appreciate your body and use it to it’s full potential. Appreciate the things you have that so many others dream about. Scream it out loud if you must: “I am lucky to be alive! I am happy to be me right now! I have way more than I need and so much to be grateful for! My life isn’t perfect, it’s just pretty darn good!”
7. “ … ”
That blank space denoted by “ … ” is no mistake. That space represents silence.Silence is soothing. Silence is peace. Silence is divine.The more silent you are, the more you can hear yourself think.Have you ever heard the silence just before the sun peaks over the horizon? Or the hush of a country road at midnight? Or the peaceful calm just after a thunderstorm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence in the back of your city library, or the eager pause of an auditorium full of people when the lights dim for the main event, or, best of all, the moment just after the front door shuts and you suddenly have the whole house to yourself?Each silent moment is different, yet all are beautiful if you listen carefully. Leave enough space in your day to enjoy the space between the commotions. Say nothing, think quietly, just be and breathe.
source: marcandangel.com
Your life story is an expression of who you are; the words you choose to use shape this story. Your words create the essence of your inner culture and the core of your identity and destiny.How have you written your story so far? Have you put your words to positive use? Your ability to write a happy life story hinges on your language. It is your inner and outer verbal expression that makes your joy possible and that infuses your life with purpose, meaning and vitality.
1. “I have a choice.”
It is not your talents or abilities, but your choices that ultimately decide your fate.You ARE your choices.Until you can look at yourself in the mirror and honestly say, “I have a choice. I am here now because of the choices I’ve made in the past,” you will never be able to say, “I choose differently.”
2. “Let’s get started!”
You can’t build anything wonderful with ideas of what you are going to do someday. If you want something, you have to make a little noise, declare it and then get started.A goal is far more than a mental exercise. In fact, without the intent of action a goal is nothing more than a lie. Make your decisions real and present in your life; give them the time and attention they deserve.In the end it doesn’t matter what you’re thinking, it matters what you’re doing. Whatever you want to accomplish, it’s time to get started.
3. “I have what it takes.”
The worst enemy of today is your self-doubt. The moment you doubt whether you can do something is the moment it becomes impossible for you.You have to believe in yourself. You have to trust yourself. You might be nervous, but don’t you ever let any source of negativity in the world convince you that you don’t have what it takes.Give yourself a pep talk if you need one. State some facts, some evidence of your greatness. Recall your past victories. Speak them out loud – “I aced that test.” “I earned that big raise.” “I ran that 5K without stopping.” “My best friend loved my wedding speech.” And so on and so forth… Give a positive voice to your past victories and you will find the strength to repeat history.
4. “Hello, how can I help you?”
In life, you get what you put in.Generally speaking, the unhappiest people you will ever meet will be those who are utterly self-absorbed; the happiest people you will ever meet will be those who lose themselves in the joy and challenge of helping others.Happiness is always attained by giving it away without expectation. Those who help others are eventually helped. You have two hands, one to help yourself and the other to help those around you. If you can lie down at night knowing in your heart that you made someone’s day just a little brighter, you have something to smile about. Successful People Do Differently.
5. “Look how far I’ve come.”
The way you move a mountain is by moving one stone at a time. Every stone you move, no matter how small, is progress.Sometimes it may be hard to see your progress. Sometimes it will be frustrating when the results you seek don’t appear as quickly as you had hoped. Still, you are advancing. You may be moving along slowly, but you are still moving a mountain.Achievement, after all, is an enduring process, not a single event. To achieve any worthwhile goal you must cover a lot of ground. You need to learn what works by trial and error. You must explore possibilities, many of which will only show you what doesn’t work. Just keep in mind that the mistakes and setbacks are a vital part of the process.Take a break every now and then and pat yourself on the back. Applaud yourself for doing what needs to be done. And be careful not to spend so much time looking at how far you still have to go, that you forget to appreciate how far you’ve already come.
6. “I have more than enough to be happy.”
The happiest of people aren’t the luckiest, and they usually don’t have the best of everything either. They simply make the most of everything they do have. The reason so many people are unhappy is because they tend to look at what’s missing in their life, instead of what’s present.Take a stand and flip the switch. Stop wishing you had more. Stop wishing you were somewhere else. Stop wishing you looked like someone else. Love your quirks enough to let them shine. Appreciate your body and use it to it’s full potential. Appreciate the things you have that so many others dream about. Scream it out loud if you must: “I am lucky to be alive! I am happy to be me right now! I have way more than I need and so much to be grateful for! My life isn’t perfect, it’s just pretty darn good!”
7. “ … ”
That blank space denoted by “ … ” is no mistake. That space represents silence.Silence is soothing. Silence is peace. Silence is divine.The more silent you are, the more you can hear yourself think.Have you ever heard the silence just before the sun peaks over the horizon? Or the hush of a country road at midnight? Or the peaceful calm just after a thunderstorm ends? Or perhaps you know the silence in the back of your city library, or the eager pause of an auditorium full of people when the lights dim for the main event, or, best of all, the moment just after the front door shuts and you suddenly have the whole house to yourself?Each silent moment is different, yet all are beautiful if you listen carefully. Leave enough space in your day to enjoy the space between the commotions. Say nothing, think quietly, just be and breathe.
source: marcandangel.com
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Role Models
How Parents Can Be Financial Role Models
April 22, 2013 | By Janet Bodnar
Forget the cherry blossoms. If its April, it must be financial literacy month, the time of year when we're bombarded with studies that chronicle the sorry state of our kids financial knowledge. But the studies also show some interesting -- and often positive -- results. This years theme is the important role that parents play in teaching kids about money.
SEE ALSO: Help Your Kids Establish Financial Independence
For instance, a Genworth survey found that adults ages 25 and over whose parents had set a good financial example were more likely to have a financial plan and feel confident about their financial future than respondents whose parents did not set a good example.
In fact, a report from Fidelity Investments found that adult children often put their parents on a pedestal. In Fidelitys Intra-Family Generational Finance Study, nearly half of children over 30 said their parents hadn't made any financial mistakes. Parents, however, were quick to point to three key money flubs made by their adult children: racking up credit card debt, not saving for retirement early enough and not building up a large enough emergency fund.
I'll wager that most of those parents dont feel comfortable up on that pedestal because they know they've occasionally fallen off. And in criticizing their kids, parents were speaking from personal experience, trying to warn their offspring not to make the same mistakes that they had.
Seize the opportunity. If you haven't always done a good job of managing your own money, look at this as an opportunity. Sign up for your retirement plan at work if you haven't already done so, or set up an automatic deposit from your paycheck to your vacation fund. Knowledge empowers you, so learn as much as you can about personal finance, starting with Kiplinger.com and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
Remember: No matter how little you think you know about money, you always know more than your kids. And as I wrote recently (see 4 Ways to Make Financial Literacy Work, a little knowledge goes a long way. You don't have to take time out of your busy day to explain the Fed's policy of quantitative easing. Instead, use everyday experiences to talk with your kids about how you make financial decisions -- which brand to buy at the grocery store, whether to purchase a new car or fix the old one, how you're saving for a family trip to Disney World (and how they can pitch in), or how you're setting money aside for your own retirement. Help them set up their own bank savings accounts (today's low interest rates will be an instant lesson in quantitative easing).
Talk the talk. In the latest survey of parents and their kids ages 8 to 14 from T. Rowe Price, 73% of parents reported that they talk regularly with their children about money. But the conversations generally revolve around short-term financial topics, such as back-to-school shopping (62%), rather than long-term planning, such as family savings goals (39%). And 14% of parents discourage kids from talking about money altogether.
Don't be shy. More than one-third of teens ages 14 to 18 think their parents don't talk to them enough about money and budgeting, according to a poll by Junior Achievement USA and the Allstate Foundation. And it's in your self-interest to start the conversation. Junior Achievement reports that one-fourth of teens think they won't become financially independent until ages 25 to 27. And in the T. Rowe Price survey, more kids believe they'll make a million bucks by becoming famous (24%) than by investing in stocks and bonds (21%). With those attitudes, they could be living in their old rooms for a long time.
April 22, 2013 | By Janet Bodnar
Forget the cherry blossoms. If its April, it must be financial literacy month, the time of year when we're bombarded with studies that chronicle the sorry state of our kids financial knowledge. But the studies also show some interesting -- and often positive -- results. This years theme is the important role that parents play in teaching kids about money.
SEE ALSO: Help Your Kids Establish Financial Independence
For instance, a Genworth survey found that adults ages 25 and over whose parents had set a good financial example were more likely to have a financial plan and feel confident about their financial future than respondents whose parents did not set a good example.
In fact, a report from Fidelity Investments found that adult children often put their parents on a pedestal. In Fidelitys Intra-Family Generational Finance Study, nearly half of children over 30 said their parents hadn't made any financial mistakes. Parents, however, were quick to point to three key money flubs made by their adult children: racking up credit card debt, not saving for retirement early enough and not building up a large enough emergency fund.
I'll wager that most of those parents dont feel comfortable up on that pedestal because they know they've occasionally fallen off. And in criticizing their kids, parents were speaking from personal experience, trying to warn their offspring not to make the same mistakes that they had.
Seize the opportunity. If you haven't always done a good job of managing your own money, look at this as an opportunity. Sign up for your retirement plan at work if you haven't already done so, or set up an automatic deposit from your paycheck to your vacation fund. Knowledge empowers you, so learn as much as you can about personal finance, starting with Kiplinger.com and Kiplinger's Personal Finance magazine.
Remember: No matter how little you think you know about money, you always know more than your kids. And as I wrote recently (see 4 Ways to Make Financial Literacy Work, a little knowledge goes a long way. You don't have to take time out of your busy day to explain the Fed's policy of quantitative easing. Instead, use everyday experiences to talk with your kids about how you make financial decisions -- which brand to buy at the grocery store, whether to purchase a new car or fix the old one, how you're saving for a family trip to Disney World (and how they can pitch in), or how you're setting money aside for your own retirement. Help them set up their own bank savings accounts (today's low interest rates will be an instant lesson in quantitative easing).
Talk the talk. In the latest survey of parents and their kids ages 8 to 14 from T. Rowe Price, 73% of parents reported that they talk regularly with their children about money. But the conversations generally revolve around short-term financial topics, such as back-to-school shopping (62%), rather than long-term planning, such as family savings goals (39%). And 14% of parents discourage kids from talking about money altogether.
Don't be shy. More than one-third of teens ages 14 to 18 think their parents don't talk to them enough about money and budgeting, according to a poll by Junior Achievement USA and the Allstate Foundation. And it's in your self-interest to start the conversation. Junior Achievement reports that one-fourth of teens think they won't become financially independent until ages 25 to 27. And in the T. Rowe Price survey, more kids believe they'll make a million bucks by becoming famous (24%) than by investing in stocks and bonds (21%). With those attitudes, they could be living in their old rooms for a long time.
Monday, April 22, 2013
within us
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
www.andrewreiffenberger.com
www.andrewreiffenberger.com
Sunday, April 21, 2013
A work in progress
You are a work in progress; which means you get there a little at a time, not all at once. Today is a brand new day – a fresh start. Replace negativity with positivity. Think happy thoughts. Exercise. Drink lots of water. Fill your body with fuel. Healthy is happy. Inspire yourself. Create. Laugh. Play. Love. Learn. Give someone a compliment. Perform a random act of kindness. Take a chance on an idea you believe in. You have the opportunity to do these things every single day – to make the necessary changes and slowly become the person you want to be. You just have to decide to do it. Decide that today is the day. Say it: “This is going to be my day!”
Friday, April 19, 2013
Thought-Provoking Quotes
We are our thoughts. We cannot change anything
if we cannot change our thinking.
if we cannot change our thinking.
If you truly want to change your life, you must first change your mind. You must free it from the restrictive thinking that holds you back.
Here are 50 thought-provoking quotes.
- You are only destined to become one person – the person you decide to be.
- Do good and feel good. Do bad and feel bad. It’s that simple.
- You are what you do today, not what you say you’ll do tomorrow.
- We all make choices, but in the end our choices make us.
- Ultimately, it’s not what you do every once in a while; it’s what you dedicate yourself to on a regular basis that makes the difference.
- Stay true to yourself. Never be ashamed of doing what feels right. Decide what you think is right and stick to it.
- If you don’t stand for anything, you will remain forever on your knees.
- No amount of money will make you happy if you aren’t happy with yourself.
- You know you’ve made the right decision when there is peace in your heart.
- Don’t worry if your goals seem crazy to other people; oftentimes the crazy ideas are the ones that have the greatest impact.
- If you’re thinking like everyone else, then you aren’t thinking.
- Control your own destiny or someone else will try for you.
- Sometimes standing up to your friends can be just as difficult as standing up to your enemies.
- The unhappiest people in this world are the people who care the most about what everyone else thinks.
- When people undermine your dreams, predict your doom, or criticize you, remember, they’re telling you their story, not yours.
- There is a huge amount of freedom that comes to you when you take nothing personally.
- No one in the world was ever you before, with your particular gifts and abilities and possibilities.
- Your greatest task isn’t to find love, but to discover and destroy all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
- A loving, happy person lives in a loving, happy world. A hateful, miserable person lives in a hateful, miserable world. The world around you reflects YOU.
- Worry gives small things a big shadow.
- Focus your conscious mind on things you desire not things you fear. Doing so brings dreams to life.
- It’s not the mistakes and failures you have to worry about, it’s the opportunities you miss when you don’t even try that hurt the most.
- It is better to offer no excuse than a bad one over and over again.
- To get something you’ve never had, you must do something you’ve never done.
- The harder thing to do and the right thing to do are usually the same thing.
- Our problems are really our blessings if we use them to grow stronger.
- Anyone can run away; it’s super easy. Facing problems and working through them, that’s what makes you strong.
- When you have two good options, always go with the one that scares you the most, because that’s the one that’s going to help you grow.
- Courage is being scared to death, and then taking the next step anyway.
- Sometimes our greatest insight comes from our failure, not from our accomplishments.
- You need to screw up to learn. You need to experience it all to create greatness.
- Just because you don’t understand something now doesn’t mean the explanation doesn’t exist.
- Not knowing everything about your future is a good thing.
- Don’t worry about what you can’t control and you may liberate yourself.
- People of average ability often achieve outstanding success because they don’t know when to quit. Most people succeed simply because they are determined to.
- Temporary happiness isn’t worth long-term pain.
- Patience can be bitter, but the seeds you plant now will bear sweet fruit.
- The less you expect, the more pleasant life gets.
- The more you are in a state of gratitude, the more you will attract things to be grateful for.
- The things you take for granted, someone else is praying for.
- It usually isn’t what you have or where you are or what you’re doing that makes you happy. It’s how you think about it all.
- Do not dwell so much on creating your perfect life that you forget to live.
- You are not in competition with anybody except yourself; plan to outdo your past not other people.
- To admit that you were wrong is to declare that you are wiser now than you were before.
- Humans see what they want to see.
- If you spend too much time judging yourself, you won’t have any time to love yourself or anyone else.
- At the end of the day, you can either focus on what’s tearing you apart or what’s holding you together.
- Look through the front windshield and not the rearview mirror.
- You don’t get to choose how you are going to die, or when. But you can choose how you are going to live, right now.
- Be done with regrets; they are an excuse for people who have failed. You still have a chance.
Thank you,
Andrew Reiffenberger
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Beliefs
Tip of the Day from Tony Robbins: Beliefs have the power to create and the power to destroy. Because of their amazing influence on our lives, we must understand these three challenges:
1. Most of us do not consciously decide what we're going to believe.
2. Often our beliefs are based on a misinterpretation of the past.
3. Once we adopt a belief, we tend to consider it gospel and forget that it's only one perspective.
www.andrewreiffenberger.com
1. Most of us do not consciously decide what we're going to believe.
2. Often our beliefs are based on a misinterpretation of the past.
3. Once we adopt a belief, we tend to consider it gospel and forget that it's only one perspective.
www.andrewreiffenberger.com
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Monday, April 15, 2013
8 Things You Can't Learn in a Classroom
1. Unimagined, real world life experiences.
The most prolific experience is not in achieving something, but in seeking it. It is the journey towards an endless horizon that matters – goals that move forward with you as you chase them. It’s all about the pursuit and what you learn along the way – the ‘moving.’The most important reason for moving from one place to another is to see what’s in between. In between is where passions are realized, love is found, strength is gained, and memories are made. You can’t get any of that without firsthand living.
2. True love and vulnerability.
You are subconsciously hardwired to connect with others – friendship, love, intimacy, etc. – and your willingness to be vulnerable is the gateway to the affection you crave from them. But it takes serious courage to push the limits of your vulnerability, to dig deeper and deeper into the core of who you are as a unique individual and not only love and accept the imperfect parts of yourself but also expose them to someone else, trusting that this person will hold them considerately.Ultimately, to love is to be vulnerable, and to be willingly vulnerable is to show your greatest strength and your truest self. Finding and nurturing the right relationships that make this kind of love possible is a beautiful, lifelong process. Read 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.
3. Actually staying positive when times get tough.
You are allowed to have bad days. Even the happiest people in the world have bad days. The reason they are able to maintain their happiness is that they know bad times are short-lived. The weight of mistakes, the pain of rejection, the frustration of failure, and the aches of injuries fuel the happy instead of dragging them down. They know these events are making them wiser and stronger. Happiness isn’t a temporary state of mind. Happiness is an enduring faith that what goes around comes around. It’s a lifestyle that requires acknowledging that you are willing to do the work to make tomorrow a better day.In any situation, it’s not your specific circumstances that shape you, it’s how you react to your circumstances. You can’t direct the wind, but you can always adjust your sails. When it rains look for rainbows, when it’s dark out, look for stars. Making a habit of this takes time and practice, but the positive effects will change the trajectory of your life.
4. Coping with betrayal.
As William Blake so eloquently said, “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.”Betrayal is a double-edged sword. Not only do you feel betrayed by someone you trusted, you feel like you betrayed yourself for trusting this person in the first place. You blame them and then you blame yourself. Learning to cope and let go enough to think clearly is something that can’t be fully understood in a conceptual setting; it must be realized and enforced as it happens.If you feel betrayed, it’s important to release any feelings of hate at once. By doing so the bitterness has no time to take root. Only then can you begin the process of evaluating the real situation – perhaps a frightening possibility such as: “My beloved doesn’t love me,” or perhaps a more innocuous realization: “This was an honest mistake that deserves to be forgiven.”
5. The reality of death and the beauty of life.
There is only one thing in this world more disheartening than dying before you think it’s time, and that’s having a loved one who is dying before you think it’s time. Depression is a primary side effect of dying, especially when the fatally ill is someone dear to your heart, or you yourself. It’s a kind of aching pain and confusion that can’t be adequately portrayed in words. Dealing with it is something all together different than an abstract discussion about it.You honestly never fully grasp how much someone means to you until the reality of their existence becomes an uncertain, immanent matter of life and death. You never truly appreciate what you have in every little moment until you are faced with the possibility of not having another. Read The Last Lecture.
6. Adjusting to life’s ever-changing obstacles.
What is true today may not be tomorrow. Life is a series of natural and continuous changes – everything is a moving target. What’s truly important is to embrace these changes as they happen. To let the reality be the reality. To let life’s happenings flow naturally forward, and to swim proficiently with the current.Your body, after all, is over 60% water. You must learn to flow like the water that’s already a major part of who you are. Water never resists. Water’s strength is in its patience, persistence and adaptability. It can’t stop everything that’s thrown at it, but it always goes around obstacles and through them. Very few things in the end can reliably stand against it. In time, even a small, slow, steady drip can wear away the face of a massive bolder.So keep this in mind always as you deal with life’s ever-changing obstacles. Practice your patience and persistence and remember what you’re made of. Like water, if you can’t go through an obstacle, flow around it.
7. Self-forgiveness after a big mistake.
There’s a significant difference between knowing that you should forgive yourself and actually doing it. Conceptually, it’s easy to say, “I forgive you.” Sincerely believing it after you make a mistake, on the other hand, is a totally different practice – it takes discipline, strength and lots of self-love. But that’s exactly what you must learn to do.When you initially forgive yourself, it’s hard. It’s like pouring alcohol on an infected wound. There’s a sharp initial pain and your scar becomes inflamed, but then it begins to heal so you can start living a healthy life again. It’s all about getting used to dealing with pain upfront – getting it over with before it festers.Because the truth is, unless you let go, unless you pardon yourself, you can’t move forward. You must love yourself enough to accept your humanness. You have to sincerely forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, or realize you’ve made another mistake. You have to tell yourself, “It’s OK. You’re doing OK.” Take it as a lesson learned and forge toward the future without looking back.
8. Maintaining a healthy balance.
Life is an endless balancing act. There will always be more than one option and more than one obligation competing for your time. Your power ultimately lies in your small daily choices, one after another, that you use to balance these demands, which gradually create eternal ripples of a life well lived.You must find the happy medium that works best for you in your unique situation – the right balance between activity and rest, work and family, passion and money, short-term and long-term goals, getting things done and leaving them undone, etc. Without balance everything falls out of whack. For instance, when you let your work life, or social life, or family life consume you, and 100% of your energy is focused in that one area 100% of the time, every other area of your life suffers.If you’re going to get things done right, be successful with your endeavors, and find lasting happiness, you need to balance the various dimensions of your life in a way that makes sense to you and your priorities. Over time, and with enough experience, you will be able to evaluate any situation and find a happy, healthy equilibrium
from marcandangel.com
http://andrewreiffenbergeronline.com
The most prolific experience is not in achieving something, but in seeking it. It is the journey towards an endless horizon that matters – goals that move forward with you as you chase them. It’s all about the pursuit and what you learn along the way – the ‘moving.’The most important reason for moving from one place to another is to see what’s in between. In between is where passions are realized, love is found, strength is gained, and memories are made. You can’t get any of that without firsthand living.
2. True love and vulnerability.
You are subconsciously hardwired to connect with others – friendship, love, intimacy, etc. – and your willingness to be vulnerable is the gateway to the affection you crave from them. But it takes serious courage to push the limits of your vulnerability, to dig deeper and deeper into the core of who you are as a unique individual and not only love and accept the imperfect parts of yourself but also expose them to someone else, trusting that this person will hold them considerately.Ultimately, to love is to be vulnerable, and to be willingly vulnerable is to show your greatest strength and your truest self. Finding and nurturing the right relationships that make this kind of love possible is a beautiful, lifelong process. Read 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.
3. Actually staying positive when times get tough.
You are allowed to have bad days. Even the happiest people in the world have bad days. The reason they are able to maintain their happiness is that they know bad times are short-lived. The weight of mistakes, the pain of rejection, the frustration of failure, and the aches of injuries fuel the happy instead of dragging them down. They know these events are making them wiser and stronger. Happiness isn’t a temporary state of mind. Happiness is an enduring faith that what goes around comes around. It’s a lifestyle that requires acknowledging that you are willing to do the work to make tomorrow a better day.In any situation, it’s not your specific circumstances that shape you, it’s how you react to your circumstances. You can’t direct the wind, but you can always adjust your sails. When it rains look for rainbows, when it’s dark out, look for stars. Making a habit of this takes time and practice, but the positive effects will change the trajectory of your life.
4. Coping with betrayal.
As William Blake so eloquently said, “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.”Betrayal is a double-edged sword. Not only do you feel betrayed by someone you trusted, you feel like you betrayed yourself for trusting this person in the first place. You blame them and then you blame yourself. Learning to cope and let go enough to think clearly is something that can’t be fully understood in a conceptual setting; it must be realized and enforced as it happens.If you feel betrayed, it’s important to release any feelings of hate at once. By doing so the bitterness has no time to take root. Only then can you begin the process of evaluating the real situation – perhaps a frightening possibility such as: “My beloved doesn’t love me,” or perhaps a more innocuous realization: “This was an honest mistake that deserves to be forgiven.”
5. The reality of death and the beauty of life.
There is only one thing in this world more disheartening than dying before you think it’s time, and that’s having a loved one who is dying before you think it’s time. Depression is a primary side effect of dying, especially when the fatally ill is someone dear to your heart, or you yourself. It’s a kind of aching pain and confusion that can’t be adequately portrayed in words. Dealing with it is something all together different than an abstract discussion about it.You honestly never fully grasp how much someone means to you until the reality of their existence becomes an uncertain, immanent matter of life and death. You never truly appreciate what you have in every little moment until you are faced with the possibility of not having another. Read The Last Lecture.
6. Adjusting to life’s ever-changing obstacles.
What is true today may not be tomorrow. Life is a series of natural and continuous changes – everything is a moving target. What’s truly important is to embrace these changes as they happen. To let the reality be the reality. To let life’s happenings flow naturally forward, and to swim proficiently with the current.Your body, after all, is over 60% water. You must learn to flow like the water that’s already a major part of who you are. Water never resists. Water’s strength is in its patience, persistence and adaptability. It can’t stop everything that’s thrown at it, but it always goes around obstacles and through them. Very few things in the end can reliably stand against it. In time, even a small, slow, steady drip can wear away the face of a massive bolder.So keep this in mind always as you deal with life’s ever-changing obstacles. Practice your patience and persistence and remember what you’re made of. Like water, if you can’t go through an obstacle, flow around it.
7. Self-forgiveness after a big mistake.
There’s a significant difference between knowing that you should forgive yourself and actually doing it. Conceptually, it’s easy to say, “I forgive you.” Sincerely believing it after you make a mistake, on the other hand, is a totally different practice – it takes discipline, strength and lots of self-love. But that’s exactly what you must learn to do.When you initially forgive yourself, it’s hard. It’s like pouring alcohol on an infected wound. There’s a sharp initial pain and your scar becomes inflamed, but then it begins to heal so you can start living a healthy life again. It’s all about getting used to dealing with pain upfront – getting it over with before it festers.Because the truth is, unless you let go, unless you pardon yourself, you can’t move forward. You must love yourself enough to accept your humanness. You have to sincerely forgive yourself, everyday, whenever you remember a shortcoming, or realize you’ve made another mistake. You have to tell yourself, “It’s OK. You’re doing OK.” Take it as a lesson learned and forge toward the future without looking back.
8. Maintaining a healthy balance.
Life is an endless balancing act. There will always be more than one option and more than one obligation competing for your time. Your power ultimately lies in your small daily choices, one after another, that you use to balance these demands, which gradually create eternal ripples of a life well lived.You must find the happy medium that works best for you in your unique situation – the right balance between activity and rest, work and family, passion and money, short-term and long-term goals, getting things done and leaving them undone, etc. Without balance everything falls out of whack. For instance, when you let your work life, or social life, or family life consume you, and 100% of your energy is focused in that one area 100% of the time, every other area of your life suffers.If you’re going to get things done right, be successful with your endeavors, and find lasting happiness, you need to balance the various dimensions of your life in a way that makes sense to you and your priorities. Over time, and with enough experience, you will be able to evaluate any situation and find a happy, healthy equilibrium
from marcandangel.com
http://andrewreiffenbergeronline.com
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Excellence
"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit."
- Will Durant
- Will Durant
Love
1 Corinthians 13: 4-6 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Saturday, April 13, 2013
Get back up
Getting knocked down in life is a given. Getting back up a nd moving foward i s a choice. -Zig Ziglar
http://andrewreiffenbergeronline.com
http://andrewreiffenbergeronline.com
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Accomplish
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream, not only plan, but also believe.
Sunday, April 7, 2013
Saturday, April 6, 2013
Uncomplicate your life
- Leonardo Da Vinci- Life is actually pretty simple, but we insist on making it complicated.
Here are a few easy ways to uncomplicate it:
Learn from the past, and then get the heck out of there! – Past mistakes should teach you to create a wonderful future; not cause you to be afraid of it. Don’t carry your mistakes around with you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones. Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience. Success is not about where you are standing at any given point in time; it’s about how much you’ve learned and how far you’ve come to get there.
Focus on what’s truly important. – Identify what’s most important to you. Eliminate as much as you possibly can of everything else. No wasted time, no fluff, no regrets.
Focus on being productive, not being busy. – Don’t just get things done; get the right things done. Results are always more important than the time it takes to achieve them. Stop and ask yourself if what you’re working on is worth the effort. Is it bringing you in the same direction as your goals? Don’t get caught up in odd jobs, even those that seem urgent, unless they are also important.
Give what you want to receive. – You get the best out of others, and every situation, when you give the best of yourself. Start practicing the golden rule. If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It works. It really is this simple.
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Don’t try to be friends with everyone. Cultivate closer relationships with fewer people. Start focusing on being everything to someone. Helping or pleasing everyone is impossible. But making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus and be yourself.
Do what you know in your heart is right. – Stop doing immoral things simply because you can. Start being honest with yourself and everyone else. Don’t cheat. Be faithful. Be kind. Do the right thing! It is a less complicated way to live. Integrity is the essence of everything successful. When you break the rules of integrity you invite serious complications into your life. Keep life simple and enjoyable by doing what you know in your heart is right.
Organize your space. – Start clearing clutter. Get rid of stuff you don’t use and then organize what’s left. Keeping both your living and working areas organized is crucial. If you have a cluttered space, it can be distracting and stressful. A clear space is like a blank canvas, available to be used to create something great.Be efficient. – Stop being inefficient simply because you’ve always done it that way. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Many times we live with unplanned, complex systems in our lives simply because we haven’t given them much thought. Instead, streamline your life by finding better ways of handling common tasks. Focus on one system at a time (your cleaning system, your errands system, your paperwork system, your email system, etc.) and try to make it simplified, efficient, and logical. Then, once you have it perfected, stick to it.
Let things be less than perfect. – Smile every chance you get; not because life has been easy, perfect, or exactly as you had anticipated, but because you choose to be happy and grateful for all the good things you do have, and all the problems I know you don’t have. You must accept the fact that life is not perfect, that people are not perfect, and that you are not perfect. And that’s okay, because the real world doesn’t reward perfection. It rewards people who get GOOD things done. And the only way to get GOOD things done is to be imperfect 99% of the time.
Let go of needless drama and those who create it. – Never create unnecessary drama, and don’t surround yourself with those who do. Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it. Don’t walk away from negative people, RUN! Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.
Forget what everyone else thinks and wants for you. – One of the greatest freedoms is simply not caring what everyone else thinks of you. Sometimes you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and what you want to be. The best thing you can do is follow your heart. Take risks. Don’t just accept the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what others will think, or afraid of what might happen. If you do, nothing will ever happen. Don’t let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big. They aren’t.
Souce:marcandangel.com
Here are a few easy ways to uncomplicate it:
Learn from the past, and then get the heck out of there! – Past mistakes should teach you to create a wonderful future; not cause you to be afraid of it. Don’t carry your mistakes around with you. Instead, place them under your feet and use them as stepping stones. Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience. Success is not about where you are standing at any given point in time; it’s about how much you’ve learned and how far you’ve come to get there.
Focus on what’s truly important. – Identify what’s most important to you. Eliminate as much as you possibly can of everything else. No wasted time, no fluff, no regrets.
Focus on being productive, not being busy. – Don’t just get things done; get the right things done. Results are always more important than the time it takes to achieve them. Stop and ask yourself if what you’re working on is worth the effort. Is it bringing you in the same direction as your goals? Don’t get caught up in odd jobs, even those that seem urgent, unless they are also important.
Give what you want to receive. – You get the best out of others, and every situation, when you give the best of yourself. Start practicing the golden rule. If you want love, give love. If you want friends, be friendly. If you want money, provide value. It works. It really is this simple.
Stop trying to be everything to everyone. – Don’t try to be friends with everyone. Cultivate closer relationships with fewer people. Start focusing on being everything to someone. Helping or pleasing everyone is impossible. But making one person smile can change the world. Maybe not the whole world, but their world. So narrow your focus and be yourself.
Do what you know in your heart is right. – Stop doing immoral things simply because you can. Start being honest with yourself and everyone else. Don’t cheat. Be faithful. Be kind. Do the right thing! It is a less complicated way to live. Integrity is the essence of everything successful. When you break the rules of integrity you invite serious complications into your life. Keep life simple and enjoyable by doing what you know in your heart is right.
Organize your space. – Start clearing clutter. Get rid of stuff you don’t use and then organize what’s left. Keeping both your living and working areas organized is crucial. If you have a cluttered space, it can be distracting and stressful. A clear space is like a blank canvas, available to be used to create something great.Be efficient. – Stop being inefficient simply because you’ve always done it that way. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting. Many times we live with unplanned, complex systems in our lives simply because we haven’t given them much thought. Instead, streamline your life by finding better ways of handling common tasks. Focus on one system at a time (your cleaning system, your errands system, your paperwork system, your email system, etc.) and try to make it simplified, efficient, and logical. Then, once you have it perfected, stick to it.
Let things be less than perfect. – Smile every chance you get; not because life has been easy, perfect, or exactly as you had anticipated, but because you choose to be happy and grateful for all the good things you do have, and all the problems I know you don’t have. You must accept the fact that life is not perfect, that people are not perfect, and that you are not perfect. And that’s okay, because the real world doesn’t reward perfection. It rewards people who get GOOD things done. And the only way to get GOOD things done is to be imperfect 99% of the time.
Let go of needless drama and those who create it. – Never create unnecessary drama, and don’t surround yourself with those who do. Choose friends who you are proud to know, people you admire, who love and respect you – people who make your day a little brighter simply by being in it. Don’t walk away from negative people, RUN! Life is too short to spend time with people who suck the happiness out of you.
Forget what everyone else thinks and wants for you. – One of the greatest freedoms is simply not caring what everyone else thinks of you. Sometimes you need to step outside, get some air, and remind yourself of who you are and what you want to be. The best thing you can do is follow your heart. Take risks. Don’t just accept the safe and easy choices because you’re afraid of what others will think, or afraid of what might happen. If you do, nothing will ever happen. Don’t let small minds convince you that your dreams are too big. They aren’t.
Souce:marcandangel.com
Friday, April 5, 2013
Opportunity
“What is the difference between an obstacle and an opportunity? Our attitude toward it. Every opportunity has a difficulty, and every difficulty has an opportunity.”
―J. Sidlow Baxter
Andrew Reiffenberger
―J. Sidlow Baxter
Andrew Reiffenberger
Happiness
“Happiness, not in another place but this place…not for another hour, but this hour.”
―Walt Whitman
―Walt Whitman
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