A little sage advice...

If you feeling a little low, I have a little sage advice for you, because in the past I've been where you are and I hope you don't mind and I hope it helps...Tony Robbins is, I believe, one of the greatest motivational speakers in the world. He's always upbeat and people constantly ask how he remains so upbeat in life. His reply is; “I do get down, I just don't stay there.”

22 years ago I wrote down what I considered my ideal day. These days I'm living what I wrote all those years ago and I did it by listening to the experts, people like Tony Robbins. And occasionally I do have my down moments, but I don't stay there.

Happiness is our choice and our responsibility. At the end of the day, are you going to say - I wish I had, or I'm glad I did?

Following the experts can take 10, even 20 years off your learning processes.

Where the Bible says take every thought captive, it means "every thought." Our thoughts can run away with us, into negativity and darkness. When we're not taking our thoughts captive, it's like having horses and a carriage, where the driver has lost to control and the horses have bolted and they're heading in all directions. The carriage is going to crash, sooner or later.

When we take control of our thoughts, we take control of our destiny and can shape that destiny to be anything we want it to be. I know because I've done it.

There's no excuses either. In life we either make an effort, or make an excuse. The choice is ours to make. God gives us freedom of choice and sitting on the sidelines, won't make it happen. We can sow the seeds of what we want in life and if we stick with it, watering, fertilizing, pruning and trimming, we will eventually see the result we're after.

 

It's taken me 22 years to get where I am. It doesn't take that long for everybody. I think I was just so low when I started, that I had a longer climb ahead of me than others, plus I didn't know anyone who's done it, so I didn't know if there was truth in what I was doing and that made me double-minded at times.

If I knew then, what I know now, I'd believe more readily. At least you know someone who's done it - me - that might make it easier for you to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Hopefully these words bring some encouragement and not condemnation, because when we're feeling low, it's easy to think to ourselves; here I am, doing it wrong again. But that's not my intention. Life is a joy and a great blessing, but we can only have that, if we're willing to work for it. I want to see you live the life of your dreams, not living a life of torment.

As I said, I've been where you are. I've also broken free and love the life I have now. It may have taken me over 20 years, but I've heard of people who have done it in as little as 2 years, so don't think this will take forever...just believe, then take action and it will happen.

Work out what it is that makes you happy and go for it. Don’t ever quit, until you achieve what you set out to achieve. 

I often say to people, if I had the chance to live my life over, I would believe more readily. Anyway, I hope these few words help and perhaps lift your spirits somewhat. Sent to you with much love. 

Seasons of life...

No matter how bleak the winter, spring invariably follows. If it's tough for you today, remember seasons come and go and the sun will shine again. Be patient, be brave and keep putting one step in front of the other. You will make it!

Mountain top experiences...

There’s beauty all around us. Sometimes we just need to open our eyes to it. 

Sometimes we’ve got to climb out of the hole we’ve dug for ourselves and make the effort to get to the top of the mountain. It’s a much better vista from up there. 

If you want the mountain top experiences in life, you’re the only one who can do it. You’re the only one who can put in the effort, to reach the summit. 

There will be challenges and difficulties on the way to the top, but if you dig deep and push through, you’ll get there. 

It all happens, one step at a time. One step today and another step tomorrow and before you know it, you’ll have that mountain top experience. 

Go for it! Do it! And remember; you’re stronger than you know.

20 ways to beat procrastination.

 

Most of us procrastinate over something in our lifetime and we all have reasons and excuses for not getting tasks completed. 

Usually people procrastinate due to one of three reasons: We either don’t have time, or we don’t like the task at hand, or the task is just too hard. Sometimes we may procrastinate, due to all three reasons.

You will, however, find the most motivated people you know, usually beat procrastination. How do they do it?

Highly motivated people have methods, or tricks if you like, which they use to get themselves up and going. I’ve listed some of those methods for you, to help you get motivated and beat procrastination. In doing this, you’ll free up some valuable time and hopefully this free time will enable you get on top of some of the things you need to do, or just rest, if that's what you need. 

Here are 20 ways to beat procrastination and get the job done:

1. Delegate! If you really don’t want to do it, delegate the task to someone else. This might mean paying someone, but sometimes it’s worth it.

2. Set a timer and get up, without thinking about it and do the task you’re procrastinating over. It’s the thinking about it, in which you can talk yourself out of it.

3. Create a hand gesture that you can link to making a move – I’ve heard of people who click their thumb and middle finger, or clap their hands together, one strong clap and that’s the cue to take action. If you can get into a habit of doing something similar, this method might work for you.

4. Turn off the TV, as soon as your show finishes. Better yet, don’t even turn the TV on, until you’ve done what you need to do.

5. Set your alarm in the morning and do not hit the snooze button.

6. Put your alarm on the other side of the room. This makes you actually get up and out of bed, to turn it off.

7. Trick yourself into doing only 5 minutes of the job at hand. Most of us don’t mind doing 5 minutes of something. When the 5 minutes is up, tell yourself you’ll do just 5 more minutes. Continue until you finish. Also, sometimes once you make that start, you then continue automatically, even after the first 5 minutes are up. Sometimes once you start, that’s all you need to get yourself going.

8. Have a partner to which you are accountable. Tell them what you’re going to do and give them permission to ensure you follow through. Don’t be cranky at them, when they do give you a push. 

9. Let your family, or colleagues know that you are planning a ‘say no’ day. This way they are aware that if they ask you to do something on the planned day, you will say ‘no’ because you are focusing on a task you wish to get done. Family and colleagues are less likely to ask anything of you on this day and are less offended when you do actually say no to them, because they’re expecting it.

10. Facebook and emails can easily distract you, therefor do not turn on Facebook, or open any emails, until you’ve completed your task. There’s nothing so urgent with either of these, that can’t wait. If it’s urgent, you’ll get a phone call. 

11. Having said that, switch your phone to voice message and screen the calls that come in. You then won’t be distracted and can answer the urgent calls only. You’ll find there won’t be that many of those. Any other phone calls, you can ring the caller back later.

12. Get the hardest task done and out of the way first, then do the easy tasks. You’ll accomplish a lot more when the hardest task is done. I don’t know why, but that seems to be the way it works. 

13. Break the task into smaller chunks, or bite sized pieces. This way you will at least make a start. Once started, it’s easier to continue. If you haven’t time to do the whole job, at least you can get a little bit done each day.

14. Instead of talking yourself out of the necessary task, talk yourself into it. You’ll be surprised how effective this method is. 

15. Write a list and tick each item off, as you do it. You’ll get a great sense of satisfaction doing this and it will encourage you to continue through the list, until everything is done.

16. As you go through your day, every half hour or so, succinctly jot down what you’ve done. This might seem like excessive work; however, it does keep you on track and focused and you’ll get more done throughout the day. When you can see what you’ve accomplished, you’re more likely to continue with the task you’ve been putting off.

17. Write a list of things to do in order of importance. Put the task you’re procrastinating on the list in its order of priority. Do your list in order and don’t skip past any item on the list. 

18. Put on your favourite music. It’s much easier to face a job you don’t like, when listening to music.

19. Make it fun. Gather your friends for a working bee, dance if you have to. If it’s fun, the task will be easier to get through.

20. There’s something to be said for the story of The Little Train That Could, who said, “I think I can, I think I can.” If it’s a particularly difficult task you could repeat this phrase, as you make a start on the task and watch what happens. I know the outcome of this will surprise you. 

Whether it’s exercising, cleaning, paperwork; whatever it is that you’re putting off doing, you’ll find it much easier once you know the tricks to being motivated and beating procrastination. 

This isn’t an exhaustive list by any means and I’m sure if you look around, you’ll find other areas you can save time once you put your mind to it. Nor is it a list that you have to follow each and every point mentioned, but if you adopt a few of these strategies, I’m sure you’ll find yourself achieving greater results, throughout your busy day and climbing higher mountains than ever before. 

In 60 Seconds

 

If all you had was 60 seconds, what words of wisdom would you impart on the world?

I would tell people to love the Lord your God, with all your heart, all your soul and with all your mind. For the Lord will do what you can’t, if you seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. 

Then I would say; Set your course, your goal in life and don’t ever quit. A worthwhile goal will take a long time and we need keep our focus on the horizon, the completed goal itself, as we attempt to adjust our sails for the success we wish to see. 

There’s no straight line from point A point Z in life. It’s zig-zag all the way. We will make mistakes and we will fail at times and when we do, we need to get up, dust ourself off and look to the horizons we’ve set for ourselves, then go at it again. 

You can give way for a short time, while you recoup and regroup, but never quit until you’ve achieved what you set out to do! Remember; with risk comes failure at times, but when we win, the prize is always greater than the risk we undertake.

Keep your work, home, family and health in balance. Don’t lose sight of what’s important, as you work towards achieving your dreams.