My final selection for Music May is “The World’s Greatest” by R. Kelley. The message is clear to me – think of yourself as the greatest. A lot of people put themselves down or don’t think of themselves at all. Take the time to think about how you impact those around you in a good way. Everyone does this for at least one person; most people impact many daily.
Thanks for joining me for Music May 2014!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgcovIu3k9o&w=480&h=360]
This is a song that can get you re-motivated when it feels like an obstacle is standing in your way. The opening lyrics speak for themselves. I hope this song can give you some inspiration and insight that we all have to deal with mountains but just think of what you can see when you climb and reach the peak!
I can almost see it.
That dream I’m dreaming, but
There’s a voice inside my head saying
You’ll never reach it
Every step I’m takin’
Every move I make
Feels lost with no direction,
My faith is shakin’
But I, I gotta keep tryin’
Gotta keep my head held highThere’s always gonna be another mountain
I’m always gonna wanna make it move
Always gonna be an uphill battle
Sometimes I’m gonna have to lose
Ain’t about how fast I get there
Ain’t about what’s waitin’ on the other side
It’s the climb
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG2zyeVRcbs&w=480&h=360]
The music we listen to is the soundtrack of our lives. The music on our devices can tell how we are feeling at any given moment. I have a playlist called “Motivational and Upbeat” that gives me easy access to the music that helps to get me going. For the month of May I am going to do “Music May” and I will share with you a few songs that generally stay on this playlist.
The first selection:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGJuMBdaqIw&w=480&h=360]
I have talked about journaling in the past and I think it is an excellent thing to do for many reasons. It gets your ideas and opinions out in the open for you to mess with and it also gives a chance for your family to have a recorded history from you well into the future.
But, have you ever thought about really documenting your life to leave a legacy? Not just putting down a few words about your day but really have a full “scrapbook” of what went on in your life from day to day. While this can be time consuming while you are starting it I think this would be a great gift to your future self and family as well as being just as therapeutic as journaling alone.
You can get apps and software to help you do this. I personally use Evernote but there are several other out there such as Google Keep that you can use.
All you need to do is create a notebook within the program such as “A Day In My Life.” You can create one note for each day with the date as the title. Post pictures taken throughout the day (or as you take them), thoughts, maps of where you have been, and audio recordings of your surroundings. All of this can be stored, searchable, and exported allowing you to have a detailed document of your day. What a great way to share decades down the road what was going on in your life at that time.
By documenting your life you can see where you were and where you are now. The road that was traveled. What worked and didn’t work.
Doing this project should be in addition to your journaling with pen and paper. I believe there still isn’t an adequate replacement for the connection you get while writing your own words. But, what a great thing to have for later in life.
If you want a bit more information and to join the 30 Day Challenge check out http://www.DocumentALegacy.com
Photo Courtesy of James Russo
The new beginning starts today. Hopefully you have already set your goals for 2014 and are ready to bring them to life. I hope you make 2014 your best year yet!
Photo Courtesy of NASA.
One small step. We all know those words. From science class in school to soundbites on TV, most of us have heard those three words dozens of times. Although we have heard them I do not think enough people live them.
Each step you take to your ultimate dream should be celebrated. It is a victory that puts you just a little closer to where you want to be. Even something most people would deem as a failure should be celebrated if it made you go in another direction. Why? It gave you a directional change which helps lead you to your goals. You cannot reach your goal if you are going down the wrong path and “failures” are what tell us something isn’t right.
Take some time at the end of every day and celebrate every victory you had that day. Doesn’t matter how small you think they are – they all count.
One small step to change your life. One small step to live your dreams. One small step is all it takes to begin. One small step.
It may seem early to you that I am already talking about resolutions. However, right now is the time you should be setting your goals for at least the first three months of 2014 and have a pretty good idea of what your major goals are for the year.
That being said I think it is time a lot of people give up a big habit. It isn’t smoking or dieting. I believe it is time to give up the resolutions and move on to creating breakthroughs and goals. You have heard but it’s time to really start setting goals and letting the resolutions fall by the wayside.
Studies show that 88% of people drop their resolutions by the end of January. These big plans we have for ourselves and they only survive for four weeks? I think there is something going on here. That something is no real plan or target.
In order to succeed at something you have to have a specific measurable goal to shoot for. Zig Ziglar said it best when he talked about the best archer in the world can’t hit the target blind folded. In order to accomplish anything you have to know exactly what you are trying to accomplish. Once you get this anything is truly possible!
*******************************************************
If you haven’t heard yet you can check out my new program called New Year New Me! It is to help out with turning your resolutions into goals and doing it with liked minded people through teleseminars, one on one coaching, and group mastermind calls. For more information you can visit http://www.newyearnew.me
Photo Courtesy of Marcin Wichary.
There are very few things that you have to do in life. You have to eat, drink, and take care of yourself in order to survive but other than that there really isn’t anything that you have to do.
With that, why do you go to work? Is it because you enjoy it or because you need a pay check? If the answer is because you need a check I think you might need to look a little deeper as to the reason you go.
I am an advocate of doing work that you love. There really needs to be more of a reason to go to work than just to trade your time for money. You should enjoy what you do and find deeper meaning in going to work. If you don’t then it may be time to look for another line of work.
“If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Martin Luther King Jr.
You have the choice to go to a job you hate tomorrow or to look for another job. If you do not enjoy your current employment then come up with an exit plan over the next 60 days. Put in applications, make phone calls and once you secure a job doing something you find meaning put in your notice and go do good work that matters to you.
Question: What is something that gives your current job meaning?
Photo Courtesy of Walt Stoneburner
Sometimes life can bury you under trials and tribulations (or Tribbles if you are a Trekker). You feel like there is no direction you can turn where a problem doesn’t sit in the middle of your path. What can you do when this happens? Redraw your map.
When a lot of stuff is going on first thing you need to do is breathe. Sit back and relax. This might be a real good time to learn how to meditate if you don’t already do it. You have to do this first and get a grip on your emotions. Until this happens you can’t go any further.
Once you have gotten a bit relaxed determine what your elephant is. What is the biggest out of all the problems? Once you have decided what this is for you write down what you can do today to take steps to getting that elephant back into the wild. While you may not be able to fix this problem on day one taking at least a small step will allow you a bit more breathing room. Each time you get closer to eliminating it the better you will feel.
Once you have done at least one step towards the big problem do the same thing with all of the smaller ones. Anything you can eliminate today, such as calling and making that apology you know you need to offer, making that doctor’s appointment for the physical you dread, or making a big financial decision, just go ahead and get it over with. You will feel better, have one less thing that you need to deal with, and can focus your energy on everything else.
Now that you have taken some steps make it a point to make small steps each day until the overwhelming feeling is gone. If you really put some effort forward it shouldn’t take long for you to have a bit more wiggle room. And while this is a simplistic process that will not work for everyone, most people can eliminate quite a bit by doing this. Give it a shot and see how it works for you.