"You are the way you are because that's the way you want to be. If you really wanted to be any different, you would be in the process of changing right now." - Fred Smith (1)
"The longer I live, The more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing that we can do is play on the one string that we have and this string is, attitude. I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it. And so it is with you.....WE ARE IN CHARGE OF OUR ATTITUDES." - Charles Swindoll (2)
"It's amazing what happens when you recognize your good qualities, accept responsibility for your future, and take positive action to make that future even brighter." - Zig Ziglar (3)
"Whatever you're thinking about is literally like planning a future event. When you're worrying, you are planning. When you're appreciating you are planning.....What are you planning?" - Abraham-Hicks (4)
Life changing quotes from:
(1), (2), and (3) - from "Over the Top" by Zig Ziglar, pages 138, 113, and 155 respectively.
(4) - Abraham-Hicks Daily Quote of 10/28/2008.
It IS your life and you ARE in control. You are the master of your destiny - the Captain of your ship. Where you find yourself right now is the result of where you have been steering your personal ship for the last..........(insert your age) number of years.
If you don't like where your find yourself - change course for YOUR future.
Today, I will count my many blessings. Today, I will do my work honestly.
Today, I will be kind to every living creature.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Take an interest in life - develop an enquiring mind
We are so extremely lucky today. We have the Internet. We have libraries. We have bookshops. We have news agencies. TVs. Radios. Newspapers. Almost an unlimited amount of information about an almost unlimited number of topics.
One of my hobbies is an interest in archeology, ancient history, ancient civilisations, Pre-history, biblical archeology - basically anything to do with our past. I can very easily lose a couple of hours cruising relevant sites on the web and especially YouTube. I have many books on archeology and am a regular borrower from our local library.
Another interest that I pursue is our gold mining history in our state of Victoria. Along with this of course comes an interest in all the old railway lines and timber tramways in our mountain areas. We are very lucky as many old railway lines and timber tramways have been preserved either as fully working steam railways or as bike paths or walking tracks. Then there's the ghost towns, or, more accurately, where they used to be (we suffer a lot of bushfires in Australia). Lots of info available on this one too.
UFOs. What a great subject. This interest connects in nicely with the archeology one very easily! At last count I've actually seen four UFOs on different occasions (one sighting corroborated by a witness) - yes! I most definitely believe. What are they? I have my theories - wait for my book, but yes, they are most surely real.
Bodybuilding and health in general. I'll throw in my interest in professional wrestling history from the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's into this category. Again, lots of great information available.
"I'm bored, there's nothing to do" never really happens for me. I can't wait for a spare moment to go check something out. I just adore conspiracy theories too. Don't get me started here - it could be a long night.
Life is just so damn fascinating.
There is too much to learn to ever be bored or disinterested. Just pick a subject and go find out about it. A lot of stuff you learn can be life changing - and always for the better.
Empower yourself - develop an enquiring mind - take an interest in life.
"A closed mind is a dying mind." - Edna Ferber
"A mind, like a home, is furnished by it's owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself." - Louis L'amour
"Curiosity is the lust of the mind." - Thomas Hobbes
"Each day do something outrageous to stretch your mind and broaden your horizons, to change the present and help someone become something more than they were before - and that someone might be you." - Harry Quadracci
For a bit of fun: "An Underground Education" by Richard Zacks.
One of my hobbies is an interest in archeology, ancient history, ancient civilisations, Pre-history, biblical archeology - basically anything to do with our past. I can very easily lose a couple of hours cruising relevant sites on the web and especially YouTube. I have many books on archeology and am a regular borrower from our local library.
Another interest that I pursue is our gold mining history in our state of Victoria. Along with this of course comes an interest in all the old railway lines and timber tramways in our mountain areas. We are very lucky as many old railway lines and timber tramways have been preserved either as fully working steam railways or as bike paths or walking tracks. Then there's the ghost towns, or, more accurately, where they used to be (we suffer a lot of bushfires in Australia). Lots of info available on this one too.
UFOs. What a great subject. This interest connects in nicely with the archeology one very easily! At last count I've actually seen four UFOs on different occasions (one sighting corroborated by a witness) - yes! I most definitely believe. What are they? I have my theories - wait for my book, but yes, they are most surely real.
Bodybuilding and health in general. I'll throw in my interest in professional wrestling history from the 1950's, 60's, 70's, 80's, and 90's into this category. Again, lots of great information available.
"I'm bored, there's nothing to do" never really happens for me. I can't wait for a spare moment to go check something out. I just adore conspiracy theories too. Don't get me started here - it could be a long night.
Life is just so damn fascinating.
There is too much to learn to ever be bored or disinterested. Just pick a subject and go find out about it. A lot of stuff you learn can be life changing - and always for the better.
Empower yourself - develop an enquiring mind - take an interest in life.
"A closed mind is a dying mind." - Edna Ferber
"A mind, like a home, is furnished by it's owner, so if one's life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself." - Louis L'amour
"Curiosity is the lust of the mind." - Thomas Hobbes
"Each day do something outrageous to stretch your mind and broaden your horizons, to change the present and help someone become something more than they were before - and that someone might be you." - Harry Quadracci
For a bit of fun: "An Underground Education" by Richard Zacks.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
No matter what the price
Never sell you soul. Many times throughout your life you will be asked to do or to perform tasks that will go completely against you moral stance. It will be a test of your personal integrity.
Wikipedia tells me that: "Integrity is consistency of actions, values, methods, measures and principles........People are said to have integrity to the extent that they behave according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold."
What are your personal values, beliefs and principles? It's an interesting question. Do you run yours on a type of sliding scale according to the situation at hand or are yours absolute? Have you ever taken the time to list yours? That's right! Take a pen and paper and actually list your personal values, beliefs and principles. It's a good exercise - could be quite confronting.
Most religions would have a commandment of respecting life. Thou shalt not kill. It's an interesting observation that in times of war conscientious objectors are dealt with very harshly in all countries; yet perhaps these people should be looked upon as having great integrity in not wanting to break their personal moral or religious codes. I guess it's just the way you look at it.
For what it's worth my advice to you is to know your values, beliefs and principles. Never sell out. No matter what price is offered to break them. As long as your values, beliefs and principles do no harm to others, but only good - be proud that you hold them.
Proudly be a person of integrity.
"Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity." - W. Clement Stone
"Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching." - Jim Stovall
"Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.
"Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat, then you know he never will." - John D. MacDonald
This book will help: "Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality" by Henry Cloud
If you like to think outside the square, here's a great YouTube to watch - just click here.
Wikipedia tells me that: "Integrity is consistency of actions, values, methods, measures and principles........People are said to have integrity to the extent that they behave according to the values, beliefs and principles they claim to hold."
What are your personal values, beliefs and principles? It's an interesting question. Do you run yours on a type of sliding scale according to the situation at hand or are yours absolute? Have you ever taken the time to list yours? That's right! Take a pen and paper and actually list your personal values, beliefs and principles. It's a good exercise - could be quite confronting.
Most religions would have a commandment of respecting life. Thou shalt not kill. It's an interesting observation that in times of war conscientious objectors are dealt with very harshly in all countries; yet perhaps these people should be looked upon as having great integrity in not wanting to break their personal moral or religious codes. I guess it's just the way you look at it.
For what it's worth my advice to you is to know your values, beliefs and principles. Never sell out. No matter what price is offered to break them. As long as your values, beliefs and principles do no harm to others, but only good - be proud that you hold them.
Proudly be a person of integrity.
"Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity." - W. Clement Stone
"Integrity is doing the right thing, even if nobody is watching." - Jim Stovall
"Live so that when your children think of fairness and integrity, they think of you." - H. Jackson Brown Jr.
"Integrity is not a conditional word. It doesn't blow in the wind or change with the weather. It is your inner image of yourself, and if you look in there and see a man who won't cheat, then you know he never will." - John D. MacDonald
This book will help: "Integrity: The Courage to Meet the Demands of Reality" by Henry Cloud
If you like to think outside the square, here's a great YouTube to watch - just click here.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Delete impulse spending from your life.
Time to fess up:
1. Do you, your spouse or partner continually spend more than you earn. in other words - does your household expenses always exceed your household income?
2. Month after month when your credit card bill/s arrives in your letterbox are you afraid to open the envelope because you know in your heart the message it carries is not good? Did I really spend that much?
3. When you open your wardrobe do you find yourself wondering if you really need enough outfits and shoes to supply a small town?
4. Are you a victim of gadget-itis? Do you constantly rush out to grab the latest gadget on the retailer's shelf before it even collects a speck of dust?
5. Do you window shop often and end up bringing home a purchase of something you never knew you needed until you saw it displayed in the shop window?
A "yes" to any of the above means you are a victim of impulse spending - or should I say - you have allowed yourself to become a victim of impulse spending. Another very inaccurate description is "retail therapy". It's an action that for a small amount of time makes you feel better upon purchase of the new "thing". It can be much more accurately described as "self harm" or a form of self abuse.
When you are indulging in this sort of spending you are putting on hold so many far more important matters. Think in terms of retirement, a long needed vacation, a new car, financial security, the dream home. Overcome this by the formulating of medium and long term goals. Write them down. Read them every day. Pull out your goals list and read over them when you find yourself looking longingly into the shop window at the latest "must have or die".
Advertisers blitz us 24/7/365. You will never escape the pressure to buy. If you are not careful your relationships with loved ones will also suffer as your finances dwindle. You will feel miserable and they will know something is wrong.
A great solution is to always sleep on it. One night minimum. A week is best. The gloss of the "must have" usually goes by then.
Always shop from a prepared list. This automatically narrows your options down and will help enormously to keep you on the right path. As far as possible always pay cash - deliberately leave your credit cards at home. This limits the amount you can spend at one time.
Empower yourself towards a much simpler lifestyle. There are so many rewards for doing so.
"We are ruined, not by what we really want, but by what we think we do: therefore never go abroad in search of your wants. If they be real wants, they will come home in search of you; for he that buys what he does not want, will soon want what he cannot buy." - Charles Caleb Colton
"If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone." - Benjamin Franklin
A must read - "The True Cost of Happiness" by Stacey Tisdale
1. Do you, your spouse or partner continually spend more than you earn. in other words - does your household expenses always exceed your household income?
2. Month after month when your credit card bill/s arrives in your letterbox are you afraid to open the envelope because you know in your heart the message it carries is not good? Did I really spend that much?
3. When you open your wardrobe do you find yourself wondering if you really need enough outfits and shoes to supply a small town?
4. Are you a victim of gadget-itis? Do you constantly rush out to grab the latest gadget on the retailer's shelf before it even collects a speck of dust?
5. Do you window shop often and end up bringing home a purchase of something you never knew you needed until you saw it displayed in the shop window?
A "yes" to any of the above means you are a victim of impulse spending - or should I say - you have allowed yourself to become a victim of impulse spending. Another very inaccurate description is "retail therapy". It's an action that for a small amount of time makes you feel better upon purchase of the new "thing". It can be much more accurately described as "self harm" or a form of self abuse.
When you are indulging in this sort of spending you are putting on hold so many far more important matters. Think in terms of retirement, a long needed vacation, a new car, financial security, the dream home. Overcome this by the formulating of medium and long term goals. Write them down. Read them every day. Pull out your goals list and read over them when you find yourself looking longingly into the shop window at the latest "must have or die".
Advertisers blitz us 24/7/365. You will never escape the pressure to buy. If you are not careful your relationships with loved ones will also suffer as your finances dwindle. You will feel miserable and they will know something is wrong.
A great solution is to always sleep on it. One night minimum. A week is best. The gloss of the "must have" usually goes by then.
Always shop from a prepared list. This automatically narrows your options down and will help enormously to keep you on the right path. As far as possible always pay cash - deliberately leave your credit cards at home. This limits the amount you can spend at one time.
Empower yourself towards a much simpler lifestyle. There are so many rewards for doing so.
"We are ruined, not by what we really want, but by what we think we do: therefore never go abroad in search of your wants. If they be real wants, they will come home in search of you; for he that buys what he does not want, will soon want what he cannot buy." - Charles Caleb Colton
"If you know how to spend less than you get, you have the philosopher's stone." - Benjamin Franklin
A must read - "The True Cost of Happiness" by Stacey Tisdale
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