What do you deserve in life?

“You are meant to be wherever you are” – McNabs

I love this quote. For me it emphasises the importance of being in the present and more so the importance of not beating yourself up because you are not yet where you want to be. That said I still believe that we need to set standards for ourselves in life. What do you deserve in life? Is it the best of everything or mediocrity? Have you ever stopped to ask yourself that question? I would assume that most people are quick to say the former but the reality is that the majority of us tend to settle for the latter! Make it a habit to look at where you are in relation to where you are coming from but also in relation to where you are going. Take time to figure out the life YOU want to live and then get going on accomplishing it. This is because I can guarantee that if you don’t actively pursue a life that you deserve, sadly it will not be handed to you on a platter. Happy Monday!

The power of communication...

Communication is important in order for any relationship to not only last but grow as well. Whether it’s between you and a friend, a colleague, your kids or your better half – sharing how you feel, what you think etc is paramount. Often people drift apart because communication is taken for granted. I think we are all guilty of slipping into “you should have known” territory from time to time. Things are easier to deal with when they are put out in the open and you are more relevant to each other when you keep each other updated on what’s important - It shows that you still care. The day communication ceases and you are fine with it is the day that a relationship begins to die. Also, the longer you don’t communicate the harder it becomes. In fact in some instances it can begin to feel like a chore. Stay communicating, stay relevant to those around you and never underestimate the significance and power of a few words!!

Relationships

It’s important to go through life building and maintaining good relationships. As I’ve heard it eloquently put - life is like a train track. The good and the bad run parallel. In order for one to move on this “track” called life, both need to be present. It is because of this reason that I feel it is essential to surround ourselves with people who build us up to be better people, stronger people. After all what is life if not for the relationships we build with others. On your way up don’t forget the ones who helped you because they may just be the ones to catch you on your way down! It’s true that what goes around comes around. Treat those you love well so that when karma does its thing, it’ll love and good that comes back to you!

ON “ACTUAL” COMMUNITY

ON “ACTUAL” COMMUNITY

I enjoyed reading this and thought you would too. I think all of us can benefit from reading "The Sabbath Manifesto"

Writer, Erika Kosina, suggests that a “Tech Sabbath,” a day of rest from electronic communication, will foster our wellness. An opportunity to reconnect with what really matters in our lives. Thoreau said it best: “Live deliberately, instead of mindlessly. I encourage my grandchildren to play outdoors , to detach from the phone, and less TV. So now I am working on my own unplugging (after I finish this newsletter) and avoided shopping this Black Friday.

The Coach likes . . . what San Francisco local businesses did recently; sponsored a Tech-Free Day at a picnic which banned technology.

The Sabbath Manifesto – 10 Ways to Take a Day Off (www.techFreeDay.org)

1. Avoid technology

2. Connect with loved ones

3 Nurture your health

4. Get outside

5. Avoid commerce

6. Light candles

7. Drink wine

8. Eat bread

9. Find silence

10. Give back

What's important to you?

What’s important to you? - Family, friends, your job maybe? Whatever it is, I’m realising more and more each day the importance of guarding these things that we hold so dear to us. It’s easy to get caught up in life and not realise the value of the things that may be slipping through our fingers. Take time daily to nurture the things that make YOUR life worth living. I’ve found that often these are the things we take for granted…the doting wife, the wonderful kids, the supportive parent, the caring boyfriend, health, sanity...the list goes on. Call that person to say you are sorry, tell someone how much you love them, make someone’s day TODAY!! Life is too short to spend it lamenting over what you once had – hold onto it NOW, cherish it NOW! Make a gratitude list or whatever is necessary to keep you living in the moment and appreciating what you have. Life is the most amazing thing we experience as humans – don’t waste this time because as far as I know we only get one ride on this incredible rollercoaster called life… J

The power of asking

Do you ever look at unfavourable situations that friends and family may be in and the thing that’s causing them to be stuck in a rut/the solution is blatantly obvious to you but they seem to have no idea what’s going on? This for me highlights the importance of using the support system around us – be it siblings, friends or colleagues. Part of growing up is becoming independent and self reliant however we all need advice and support from time to time. Asking those around you for their views on a situation you may be going through does not mean you are incapable of dealing with it yourself however as the old adage says – two heads are better than one! The power of asking never ceases to amaze. Next time a “problem” gets the better of you just ASK – someone closer than you think may just have the answer!

Settling for less

Do you often find yourself settling for less or putting yourself last? Do regularly short-change yourself in favour of others yet no one seems to do the same for you? I’m as much a supporter of helping others and being considerate as the next guy, however recent experiences have really got me thinking about how often we take care of number one. I’ve heard it said before that you cannot give what you don’t have and I think that is so true.  Unless you care for and love yourself you cannot do the same for others. Many of us give into guilt and see doing one thing for ourselves as being selfish. Caregivers (especially mothers!) tend to be the worst culprits! Take time to do the things that bring balance to your life, even if that’s just taking 10 minutes to put your feet up!! As always I emphasise the power of now so make that time TODAY!!

Associations

Who do you associate with? Are the people that you spend most of your time with people of character and substance? Do they inspire you to do better things and become a better person? It’s been said that “we emulate those with whom we associate most closely”. Looking at the people around you – do you like the person whom you are becoming? Commit to associating yourself with greatness. Commit to improving yourself spiritually, financially, and intellectually. Commit to being someone who others look to for inspiration and motivation. Commit to being someone who others are proud to emulate. Commit to being the best that YOU can be.

Your higher self

You know that version of you which is confident, happy and inspired? The you that is afraid of nothing and is brave enough to do anything? How often are you this person? How often are you in touch with God and sure of yourself? Don’t wait for anyone to validate you. Validate yourself now…today! Embrace life and be the kind of person who inspires others to be the best version of themselves that they can be. Live life like it’s golden, because it is. Being scared, worried and lacking in confidence will help no one. Leave your mark on the world – be amazing…today…Embrace the power of now!

Quotes

Today’s post consists of ten powerful quotes (in no particular order) which I have come across over time. I hope each of you will find one that speaks to you in whatever situation you are in. Enjoy:

1. “Opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor.” - Jackson Brown

2. “The person who never makes a mistake probably isn’t doing anything.” - Rita Emmett

3. “Everything you need you already have. You are complete right now; you are a whole, total person, not an apprentice person on the way to someplace else. Your completeness must be understood by you and experienced in your thoughts as your own personal reality”. - Dr Wayne Dyer

4. “If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.” - Anonymous

5. “You grow up the day you have your first real laugh -- at yourself.” - Ethel Barrymore

6. “Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true” - Leon J. Suenes

7. “Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the privilege to do so, too” - Voltaire

8. "Don't stress about the dramas that happen in life - consider them the things that spice life up and make it interesting” - Michélle Zimvu

 

9.      “Listen to yourself, moment by moment, are you operating from fear or love? The vibrations of growth and decay are available in each moment, you get to choose.” - Douglas Pittman

10. “With success and achievement comes great responsibility…Could it be your fear of responsibility that's holding you back from going for and achieving great things?...” - Anonymous

Hurdles

It’s difficult to come into His marvellous light when you know that you are clothed in darkness. We’ve all heard it said before – light and darkness don’t mix. We all have hurdles in certain areas of our lives which we can’t get over once and for all. For some it’s telling the truth, for others it’s being faithful or maybe keeping those promises. My plan…even when I’m battling with such issues I’ll stay close to Him because there is just no other way. How do you deal with the ugly monsters that keep coming up time and again??? Feel free to leave some feedback and your name!

Start living, loving and enjoying life NOW!!!

Have you ever said “I’ll be happy once I….” or “Only when I accomplish this or that will I be happy”? I have on many occasions. It’s my belief that at some point in our lives all of us have put our happiness on hold – until we start earning this much, until we own that car, until we find that husband or wife – the list goes on. I’m all for people having big dreams and aspirations but what I’m “against” is people believing that these things will somehow validate them and make their lives worth living. I have found that even once we have accomplished these things there is often a sense of...now what? That’s because life is something that is intrinsically amazing and a blessing. Start living life NOW. Start being grateful NOW. Start being happy NOW and the rest will follow.

When we hear of people with terminal illnesses we feel sorry for them because their lives will end soon. Often times these are the happiest people alive!! They choose to make the most of the time they have left and they live everyday as if it’s their last. The surprising thing is that we are all going to die – but we seem to forget this. That terminally ill cancer patient who has been given six months may have more time left that you!!!! So as crazy as it sounds I urge all of us to live as though we have terminal illnesses or what ever it will take to make us enjoy everyday of our lives NOW!!!

What is "normal"?

I’m not entirely sure how we came up with the concept of “normal”. Over the past few months it’s been my experience that nothing is the same for everyone. Normal to me seems to be behaviour which is considered least controversial, offensive etc but is not necessarily a reality for anyone. I can understand how some people may choose to reject God yet others cling to Him for dear life. I can understand how one can commit suicide because they really can’t see the glass as half full or the light at the end of the tunnel. Nothing is a given in life and each person’s reality is just a reflection of their experience of this thing we call life. I feel that if more people became aware of this, we would be a less judgemental race – we would appreciate each other more and we would get to see life from six billion points of view! Try it – the next time someone does or says something you consider outrageous, step into their shoes for a moment and your eyes may just be opened up to a whole new world…

How to Speak with E’s

Found this post informative and interesting.Thought you might too.Info on how to subscribe can be found at the bottom of the article. Enjoy

How to Speak with E’s

Speak with E’s. Be a speaker of influence not control or guilt. With the privilege of the platform comes the awesome responsibility of motivating and influencing your audience to feel/think/act differently.

1. Educate provide your audience with extensive information on your topic. This will empower attendees to feel competent and knowledgeable. Support your points with stories. Stories help us see through the eyes of other people. Adults delineate their thoughts visually.

2. Entertain give them the facts laced with a good dose of humor. Adults learn better when they are lightening up! Here’s the place for some magic tricks, handwriting analysis or a song.

3. Experience get the audience involved. When they interact, they get it better and retain it longer. Group exercises, simple questions and answers, role-plays.

4. Enthusiasm vary your tone of voice, smile often, and show passion for your subject matter. Make your body language reflect your comments.

5. Example be the speaker/person who motivates the audience to admire and respect you. You have succeeded when people say, I want to be like him/her.

6. Encourage be supportive to your audience believe in them. Acknowledge them Say, I did it and so can you

7. Excellence hold yourself accountable for excellence. And then help your audience be accountable and live up to its potential. Speakers need to give audiences what they need, not what they want.

8. Expertise demonstrate that you know your stuff. Speak about what you know from your business background, personal experiences and research. Be perceived as an expert on your topic.

9. Eloquence deliver your speech with high energy, sincerity, inspiration, and a sense of humor. Are you one of a kind? What makes you different from your competitors?

10. End result you want to energize your audience to take some risks, some action, go to the edge and execute . . .make their dreams come true, or get the job done. Your information should be useful and immediately applicable to their lives.

SPEAKING

To deliver a speech with ease:

1. Move when you are telling funny stories.
2. Stand still when delivering drama.
3. Keep your punch line for the end of your speech.

Take your passion with you everywhere you go and that will put money in your pocket!

Speakers are generally perceived as follows:

• 7% by your words
• 38% by your voice, pitch, volume
• 55% by your body language (speaks louder than words)

Welcome to my collection of lists. You may use this List as long as you include the following contact information:

“Written by Coach Sandra Schrift – a career telecoach to emerging and experienced speakers who want to get to the next level in their profession. Visit her on the web at: schrift.com to learn more about her Speakers University teleclasses. And, be sure to sign up for her great newsletter – Monday Morning Mindfulness!” Phone: 619-688-9467 or email Sandra@schrift.com

Know what you want

A lot of people go through life envying and in some cases resenting those who are successful. They claim that they never had a chance to achieve their dreams and that life isn’t fair. Although I do agree that life is not fair (and nobody said it would be), I don’t think that this is the only reason why some people never reach their goals. It’s been my experience that those people who are not “successful” do not know what they really want to achieve in life however they can readily tell you what they don’t want. As a result this is all they ever focus on and attract to become their reality. The law of attraction is VERY REAL and what you think about you truly do bring about. Be careful what you focus on and spend some time thinking about what you really want.

I recommend: “The Secret” - Rhonda Byrne and “Think and Grow Rich” - Napoleon Hill

Have you taken your daily trip?

Are you one of those people who take themselves on a daily guilt trip? I was…I would abuse myself emotionally (which is essentially what it is!) over things I had done, things I hadn’t done and things I should have done! My day was never complete without my daily trip. As weird as it may sound I would actually feel good afterwards because as far as my mind was concerned I had “dealt” with those issues (well at least until the following day’s session!). It was only when I learnt that guilt is the minds way of tricking you into thinking you have resolved an issue that I knew things had to change. As we all know old habits die hard but I’m doing very well. I now choose to act from a place of love. I love myself over things I have done, over those I haven’t done and over those I should have done, then I actually deal with the “issues” at hand. From time to time the guilt tries to creep back in – when that does happen, I remind it and myself that it doesn’t live here anymore!

Let go of guilt – It’s nothing more than useless excess baggage.

Staying inspired

What do you do to stay inspired? What gets you going on a morning when you wake up feeling lousy and you have no motivation to keep going for those big dreams? Actively seeking inspiration gives me the pick me up that I need on such days. A few words of wisdom such as “It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time” remind me to stay focused on the now and not over load myself with the stresses of tomorrow. Each day brings along its own baggage hence the need for fresh inspiration everyday.

 Subscribe at www.mcnabs.biz or visit www.greatday.com for your daily pick me up!

The importance of following your heart

Most of us have had it drummed into us that if you ever find yourself following your heart over your head you have truly lost it. Choosing what your head says over your heart has always been the “better” option. I have to disagree. Of late I have found it to be the complete opposite. My heart has led me to make decisions that allow me to sleep well at night!! When I listen to my heart I know that it’s my higher self guiding me and that I can’t go wrong. I’m at a stage in my life where I want to respect what my heart wants and not just shut it out! I want to listen to the still, small voice inside me. The best part is that when you do listen to your heart and what it really wants, your head quietly whispers “I too think that’s the best decision” – Try it for a few days. See how it feels to let go and let God…

Anthony Robbins

Tony is a breakthrough coach who specialises in helping people improve the quality of their lives. He urges us all to imagine being the best that we can be and then actively pursue achieving that. His first mentor Jim Rohn taught him about happiness, success and how to achieve these two things through the way in which one lives their life. He focuses on the importance of positive mental and emotional behaviour as well as the power of NOW in effecting change in ones life.

I recommend: Awaken the Giant Within and Get the Edge (audio book)

Jim Rohn

Jim Rohn - entrepreneur, philosopher and motivational speaker. His personal development material is second to none. Everyone can do with some words of wisdom from the man who says "Don’t wish it was easier; wish you were better. Don’t wish for less problems; wish for more skills. Don’t wish for less challenges; wish for more wisdom." Jim Rohn tells it as it is not to dishearten you but to motivate you to take responsibility of your life and how it turns out. Visit jimrohn.com to subscribe for the weekly newsletter.

I recommend: Twelve Pillars, The Treasury of Quotes and The Five Major Pieces to the Life Puzzle.

Matt Morris

As promised - here's some info on the authors I have found useful on my journey to greatness: 

In his book “The Unemployed Millionaire” Matt Morris shares ideas on how to “escape the rat race, fire your boss and live life on your terms!”. He mainly focuses on internet marketing but also covers, network marketing and property investing as ways to generate a passive income. A good book to read if you are starting out on your journey as an entrepreneur and are looking for some ideas. Also visit mattmorris.com for some weekly motivational blog posts which I think are fantastic!

Persistence

We all have dreams growing up – amazing dreams of things we want to accomplish, achieve and do. Dreams of how we will “be the change that’s needed in the world”. Sadly as we grow older some of us get ‘watered down’ by reality and gradually those dreams begin to fade away into a distant memory. This is why it is important to surround yourself with people who have vision and aspirations - people who can inspire you to keep the fire in your belly burning for as long as it takes to achieve those dreams.   Don’t let anyone or anything steal your dreams! Guard them with all that you are. Dreams are what make life worth living and are what drive people to achieve greatness.

Be persistent in achieving your dreams. Be willing to do whatever it takes for as long as it takes to achieve those dreams. Put a plan in place and work it and as Winston Churchill put it “Never, never, never give up” – After all if you give up on the race of your life no one can continue it for you!

Fear...

One thing that successful and unsuccessful people have in common is fear. Fear of rejection; fear of failure and in some cases fear of success. The presence of fear is not the issue – rather what one does with the fear. We all know what happens when the adrenaline kicks in: fight or flight. Choose to be someone who fights for their dreams and beliefs. Choose to be someone who has a say in how their life turns out. Choose to be someone who refuses to live a life of quiet desperation. Choose to be someone who “feels the fear and does it anyway”. The alternative, letting fear cripple you, doesn’t bare thinking about. There is no reward in life for people who spend their time thinking “what if…?”

I recommend: “Feel the fear and do it anyway” by Susan Jeffers 

Self Trust

It is so important to be in charge of your emotions and not to allow how you feel be dictated by the actions of others. There comes a point when you have to start looking within and stop relying on others – a time when you form your own opinions about what will and will not stand in your life. Getting to this stage in life has everything to do with self trust. When I was growing up I battled a lot with feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem and as a result I looked for outside reassurance that I was good enough, pretty enough etc. The problem with this was that the person to do this didn’t always show up!! So I had to learn to depend on myself. This like many aspects of growing up took time and is still something I make a conscious effort about on a daily basis. I’m not against getting reassurance from loved ones when challenges come our way and we have moments where we doubt ourselves. What I am against is waiting around for someone to encourage, motivate and reassure you about every decision you will have to make in life. You may begin to find (as I did) that you don’t hold the same values as the people ‘advising’ you and this will cause you to question the relevance of their advice. As you begin to develop your self trust you will become more comfortable with the choices you make and their possible consequences for your life. You accept responsibility for all the things that go right and wrong in your life – this is a fundamental part of growing up and so is decision making. Granted some decisions will be easier to make than others. When it does come to making the tough ones I have found that once one has weighed the pro’s and con’s the most difficult thing is often actually deciding what to do. As one grows older one has to make decisions about a lot of things! The key is to actually make a decision. It’s better to make a wrong decision than to make no decision at all. Don’t be rash…..but don’t develop an indecisive nature. Sometimes it really is better to leap and then look!

Get Started!!

Most of us put achieving our biggest dreams on hold. We often say “when I’m older I’ll….”Considering that Rome wasn’t built in a day, we should all really get started now!! Success is a journey, one which moulds us to ultimately become better people. In some cases it can take years. So why wait? Start now! Regardless of your age, background or any of that, start now!! My journey to success has been helped by personal development because I’ve come to learn that until YOU believe in yourself no one else can. The likes of Jim Rohn, Matt Morris, Tony Robbins and Jerry Clark (to name a few) have been particularly helpful. I’ll talk about them in detail in the next couple of posts.

Welcome!!

This blog is for anyone who has ever wondered what they could be if they allowed themselves to dream big and realise their true potential. I hope you will be able to draw inspiration, knowledge, and wisdom from the posts on your journey to becoming all that you can be!