Live To Inspire » Happiness

What would it take for you to be perfectly happy?

Live To Inspire — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:16:27 +0000

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayan_jeroen

“The happiest people in the world are those who feel absolutely terrific about themselves, and this is the natural outgrowth of accepting total responsibility for every part of their life.” ~ Brian Tracy

I have been reading Success Magazine for a couple years now, and have heard the name Brian Tracy referred to frequently. He has dedicated his life to the training and development of individuals and companies, and strives to help others achieve their personal and business goals. He is the author of over 45 books, including “Maximum Achievement: Strategies and Skills That Will Unlock Your Hidden Powers to Succeed”, “The 21 Success Secrets of Self-Made Millionaires: How to Achieve Financial Independence Faster and Easier Than You Ever Thought Possible”, and “Goals!: How To Get Everything You Want—Faster Than You Ever Thought Possible”.

The latest Success Magazine issue had a great article on Mr. Tracy, and has really opened my eyes to what a great mentor he could be. It talks about being a student of success and achievement, embracing accountability, and the importance of having a clear goal. Most importantly, for me, was that the magazine article previewed an except from Brian Tracy’s newest book “No Excuses!: The Power of Self-Discipline”. In this excerpt, Mr. Tracy asks the following three questions:

1) What would it take for me to be perfectly happy?
2) In what situations in my life, and with whom, am I not perfectly happy?
3) In looking over my life, where and when have I been the happiest? Where was I, with whom was I, and what was I doing?

I recently took the time to answer these questions for myself and the exercise has helped solidify what areas of my life I want to focus more on, and what areas of my life I need to develop an “exit strategy” for so that I can move on from them. Too often we get bogged down with what we feel we “should” be doing, and don’t spend enough time on what we “want” to be doing. Sometimes one responsibility is one too many, and it ends up draining us more that anything else. We need to move away from these activities and focus on what really brings passion to our lives.

I suggest taking the time to answer these three questions for yourself. It will only really take half an hour of your time, but will help focus where you want your energies to be spent.

Also, spend more time with Brian Tracy. Here are some links that will be of some assistance:

Success Article

Wikipedia

Brian Tracy Blog

Brian Tracy on YouTube

Brian Tracy Quotes

Brian Tracy Books

Who else loves Brian Tracy? What books have you read of his? What are your thoughts?

Thank you for visiting.

Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy

Live To Inspire — Fri, 25 Jun 2010 03:46:19 +0000

Image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hobo_pd

Gratitude – a feeling of thankfulness and appreciation. How can exercising gratitude help in living a happy life? Well, from first-hand experience, I can tell you that it helps take the focus off the negative emotions you might be having. Instead of thinking ‘I wish I had this’ or ‘I wish this would happen’, it brings you back to the present moment and helps you say ‘wow, I am grateful for my feet today. I can use them to walk or to run. It’s pretty cool.’ That may seem hokey to some people, but why not be grateful for your feet, or your hands, or even the breath moving in and out of you?

Leo Babauta, the author of one of my favourite blogs Zen Habits, wrote a post on gratitude that I would like to share with you today. I take absolutely no credit for the writing that follows. All credit goes to Mr. Babauta. To read more from Zen Habits (which I recommend you do), click here.

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Why Living a Life of Gratitude Can Make You Happy
by Leo Babauta

“If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, ‘thank you,’ that would suffice.” – Meister Eckhart

Many days, I try to humble myself and hold a 2-minute gratitude session. I simply sit or kneel, with no distractions, close my eyes, and think about what I’m grateful for and who I’m grateful for.

I don’t do it every day, but let me tell you, on the days I do it, it makes me very happy.

Why should that be? Why should the simple act of thinking about who and what I’m grateful for make such a big difference in my life?

Just a few reasons:

Because it reminds you of the positive things in your life. It makes you happy about the people in your life, whether they’re loved ones or just a stranger you met who was kind to you in some ways.
Because it turns bad things into good things. Having problems at work? Be grateful you have work. Be grateful you have challenges, and that life isn’t boring. Be grateful that you can learn from these challenges. Be thankful they make you a stronger person.
Because it reminds you of what’s important. It’s hard to complain about the little things when you give thanks that your children are alive and healthy. It’s hard to get stressed out over paying bills when you are grateful there is a roof over your head.
Because it reminds you to thank others. I’ll talk about this more below, but the simple act of saying “thank you” to someone can make a big difference in that person’s life. Calling them, emailing them, stopping by to say thank you … just taking that minute out of your life to tell them why you are grateful toward them is important to them. People like being appreciated for who they are and what they do. It costs you little, but makes someone else happy. And making someone else happy will make you happy.

What do I give thanks for, privately, in my little gratitude session? It varies every day. I thank all the readers of this site, for the encouragement you have given me, for the donations you’ve made that have made me that much closer to realizing my dreams, for the criticism you’ve given that has made this site better … for the time you’ve given me, just reading the articles when you have the chance.

I thank my loved ones, for all they do to me. I thank strangers who’ve shown me little acts of kindness. I thank God, for the life he’s given me. I thank people around the world for the things they’ve done to make the world better. I thank myself, for things that I’ve done (it’s important to recognize your own accomplishments).

How to Live a Life of Gratitude

The thing is, simple acts of gratitude don’t cost you much (especially once you get over the initial discomfort some people feel with thanking others). But they can make a huge difference.

If you’re interested in living a life of gratitude, here are my suggestions:

Morning gratitude session. Take 2-3 minutes each morning to give thanks, to whoever or whatever you’re grateful for. You don’t have to do anything, other than close your eyes and silently give thanks. This one act can make a huge difference.
Say thank you. When someone does something nice for you, however small, try to remember to say thank you. And really mean it.
Call to say thanks. Sometimes you might think about something nice that someone did for you. Perhaps you remember during your gratitude session. When you do, pick up the phone and call the person, just to say thanks. Let them know what they did that you’re grateful for, and why you appreciate it. Takes a minute or two. If it’s too early to call, make a note to call later. Even better is telling them in person, if you happen to see them or if they’re on your route. Almost as good is a thank-you email — keep it short and sweet.
Give thanks for “negative” things in your life. There’s always two ways to look at something. Many times we think of something as negative — it’s stressful, harmful, sad, unfortunate, difficult. But that same thing can be looked at in a more positive way. Giving thanks for those things is a great way to remind yourself that there is good in just about everything. Problems can be seen as opportunities to grow, to be creative. See the prayer below for more on this.
Learn a gratitude prayer. There are many prayers, religious or not, that can remind you to be grateful. Find one you like, and print it out or make it your desktop wallpaper. You can find many prayers on the Internet, or write your own. If you’re not religious, make one that doesn’t include the concept of God. A good one is below.

Let me leave you with a prayer of gratitude that I’ve always found … well, perfect:

Be Thankful

Be thankful that you don’t already have everything you desire,
If you did, what would there be to look forward to?

Be thankful when you don’t know something
For it gives you the opportunity to learn.

Be thankful for the difficult times.
During those times you grow.

Be thankful for your limitations
Because they give you opportunities for improvement.

Be thankful for each new challenge
Because it will build your strength and character.

Be thankful for your mistakes
They will teach you valuable lessons.

Be thankful when you’re tired and weary
Because it means you’ve made a difference.

It is easy to be thankful for the good things.
A life of rich fulfillment comes to those who are
also thankful for the setbacks.

GRATITUDE can turn a negative into a positive.
Find a way to be thankful for your troubles
and they can become your blessings.

~ Author Unknown ~

Turn Your Life into Gold: 5 Lessons from ‘The Alchemist’

Live To Inspire — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:05:57 +0000

‘The Alchemist’, by Paulo Coelho, was first published in 1988. It has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries, and has been translated into 67 different languages. It is one of the bestselling books of all time, and also my favourite book of all time. It is a journey of exploration and self-discovery, as we follow the main character Santiago, a young shepherd who lives in Spain, on a journey to fulfill his personal legend and find his treasure at the Pyramids in Egypt.

Alchemy was an early, unscientific form of chemistry that sought to change base metals into gold. The novel ‘The Alchemist’ shows us how to change our lives from what they may be today into the life we have always dreamed of. ‘The Alchemist’ is full of wisdom and gentle reminders that anything is possible when we believe in ourselves.

Below I break down 5 lessons that we all can learn from ‘The Alchemist’ (note: all quotes in this post are from ‘The Alchemist’ by Paulo Coelho):

1. The fear of failure is the greatest obstacle to happiness

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

What would you attempt in your life if you knew you could not fail? So often we hide behind excuses of not being able to do this or that, but the real story (most of the time) is that we’re too afraid to take a chance. It is our fear of failing or looking foolish in front of others that keeps us from being who we want to be.

“I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream”.

In ‘The Alchemist’, Santiago was comfortable with being a shepherd. He knew how to be a shepherd, he trusted the sheep and they trusted him, but being a shepherd didn’t truly make Santiago happy. He dreamt of travel and adventures. Eventually, Santiago sold his flock of sheep and embarked on his great journey to the pyramids. He knew that by denying himself this adventure he would be denying his happiness, and so he took a leap of faith in himself and set off towards his dream.

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity. People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.”

2. The real treasure is in the journey itself

“There is only one way to learn. It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

Take a minute to think about your past successes and the moment you realized that you had achieved something great. Was that realization the defining moment of your success? Or was it all the hard work and sweat that you put into achieving your goal? As the saying goes, life is a journey, not a destination. The same could be said for success or happiness. It is in the journey where you will find your true self.

“Every search begins with beginners luck and ends with the victor being severely tested.”

Santiago’s dream was to make it to the pyramids, but the adventure that he found himself on in order to get to those pyramids taught him more than he ever thought possible. By the time he reached the pyramids his life had changed forever. Through the journey he found who he truly was, and he found his true happiness.

“Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You’ve got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense. “

3. Everything is possible no matter what was said or done in the past, because today you decide it will be possible

“The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better.”

Too often we get bogged down in our past, and in memories of events that we think define us and restrict us from moving forward. The truth is, however, that we can decide today who we want to be. We may have some baggage, and we may have future dreams, but today is the only day where we can define who we are and what direction we want our lives to go.

“When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”

The only life Santiago knew was being a shepherd, but one day he made a decision that he wanted to know more. He wanted to get out of Spain and see the rest of the world, and from there the rest of the story develops. The same goes for all of us, in that the rest of our stories are based on the decisions we make today – we decide to be better, we decide to be happy, we decide to be successful. It all starts with that decision.

“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”

4. You already know what you need to know

“Intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life.”

When was the last time you asked everyone else what to do, even though you already knew what you wanted to do, but you just wanted someone else to say it? We already know most of what we need to know. Just because you consciously don’t think so doesn’t mean it’s not there. I once heard a statistic that the ratio of our unconscious knowledge to our conscious knowledge is 1,000,000,000 to 1. Yes, our unconscious mind knows 1 billion times more than our conscious mind does. All we need to do is trust ourselves and find time in our day to listen. Listen to the sound of the wind in the trees. Listen to the birds singing. Listen to what you already know, and trust yourself.

Santiago had to learn this lesson along his journey. He spent days upon days on the back of a camel, traveling across the vast emptiness of the desert. This left only time to listen to the sounds of the desert, and to listen to what was within him. We don’t all have days in a desert to do this, but taking a moment to be still could turn out to be the best part of your day.

“All you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation. Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there.”

5. It is up to you alone to live your greatest life

“To realize one’s destiny is a person’s only obligation.”

We all make choices every day about who we are and what we are going to do with our lives. Think back to your last conversation today. Did that conversation reflect who you really want to be? Was your tone kind and understanding? Or were you impatient and harsh? We make thousands of decisions in a day, why not consciously make the most important one – what can I do to ensure I am living my greatest life? No one else will provide this to you. This is something you have to own and be accountable for. You alone can live your greatest life.

“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”

Santiago made one decision to pursue his dream. He took control of what he wanted his life to look like and he followed that dream. That doesn’t mean his path was easy. In fact, it was very difficult at times, and there were moments where he even thought about buying another flock of sheep and returning to be a shepherd. But his resiliency won out, and he continued on. Hard times will come to us all. This is a fact. But if we carry on and commit to living our greatest life no matter what, at the end of the journey we will look back with no regrets.

“When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true”

So, have I convinced you to read the book yet?

How You Can Find Happiness in a Cat’s Tail

Live To Inspire — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 16:15:19 +0000

On my way to work the other day I listened to a wonderful interview by Darren Hardy (publisher of Success Magazine) and Dr. Wayne Dyer. During this interview Dr. Wayne Dyer spoke of creating your own happiness and your own success, and referenced a wonderful quote by Henry David Thoreau – “If one advances confidently in the direction of one’s dreams, and endeavors to live the life which one has imagined, one will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”

Mr. Dyer went on to explain that it is our thoughts and our imaginations that create our success and happiness. If we can imagine the life we want to live and advance confidently in that direction, success and happiness will naturally follow. This lesson is also found in a wonderful story shared by Mr. Dyer in this interview:

There was an old wise cat and a small kitten in an alleyway. The old cat saw the kitten chasing its tail and asked, “Why are you chasing your tail?”

To it the kitten replied, “I’ve been attending cat philosophy school and I have learned that the most important thing for a cat is happiness, and that happiness is located in my tail. Therefore, I am chasing it: and when I catch it, I shall have happiness forever.”

Laughing, the wise old cat replied, “My son, I wasn’t lucky enough to go to cat philosophy school, but as I’ve gone through life, I too have realized that the most important thing for a cat is happiness, and indeed that it is located in my tail. The difference I’ve found though is that whenever I chase after it, it keeps running away from me, but when I go about my business and live my life, it just seems to follow after me wherever I go.”

Take a moment to imagine the life that would bring you a sense of success and happiness. Hold that picture in your mind and soon you will find that you don’t need to chase after success and happiness, because as you live the life that you’ve imagined for yourself, those things will follow close behind.

As always, please share your thoughts on this post, and thank you for visiting.

Live To Inspire » Happiness

What would it take for you to be perfectly happy?

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