12 tips for business success

What's important to the success of small-business owners and entrepreneurs? Knowledge, skill and talent.

However, many competitors have the same traits you do. The key to beating the competition and achieving success is mental, reflected in one's attitude, totally controlled by the individual and requires no cash. This holds true in most human endeavors besides business — in sports, the arts and politics.
How many times have we seen the underdog team or player win over the more talented opponent? The difference is often attitude.

These 12 attitude attributes can put you in the right mindset for achieving entrepreneurial success.


1. Have passion for your business
Work should be fun. Your passion will help you overcome difficult moments and persuade people to work for you and want to do business with you. Passion can't be taught. When it wanes, as it surely will in difficult times, take some quiet time. Whether it be an hour or a week, take inventory of all the reasons you started the business and why you like being your own boss. That should renew your passion.


2. Set an example of trustworthiness
People have confidence in trustworthy individuals and want to work for them in a culture of integrity. The same is true for customers.


3. Be flexible, except with core values
It's a given that your plans and strategies will change as time goes on. This flexibility for rapid change is an inherent advantage of small over large business. However, no matter the pressure for immediate profits, do not compromise on core values.


4. Don't let fear of failure hold you back
Failure is an opportunity to learn. All things being equal, venture capitalists would rather invest money in an individual who tried and failed founding a company than in someone who never tried.


5. Make timely decisions

It's okay to use your intuition. Planning and thought are good. But procrastination leads to missed opportunity.


6. The major company asset is you
Take care of yourself. Your health is more valuable than the most expensive machinery or computer software for the company. You don't have to choose between your family or your company, play or work. Maintain your health for balance and energy, which will, in turn, enhance your mental outlook.


7. Keep your ego under control
Don't take profits and spend them on expensive toys to impress others. Build a war chest for unexpected needs or opportunities. This also means hearing out new ideas and suggestions no matter how crazy they sound.


8. Believe

You need to believe in yourself, in your company, and that you will be successful. This confidence is contagious with your employees, customers, stakeholders, suppliers and everyone you deal with.


9. Encourage and accept criticism graciously. Admit your mistakes.
You need to constantly work on convincing your employees that it's OK — even necessary —to state their honest opinions even it if conflicts with the boss's opinion. Just stating it once or putting it in a mission statement won't cut it for most people.


10. Maintain a strong work ethic
Your employees will follow your lead. It will also help you beat your competition by outworking them, particularly when your product or service is very similar.


11. Rebound quickly from setbacks
There surely will be plenty of ups and downs as you build the business. Learn from the setbacks and move on. You can't change the past.


12. Periodically get out of your comfort zone to pursue something important
Many times you will feel uncomfortable in implementing a needed change in technology, people, mission, competing, etc. For the company and you to grow personally, you sometimes have to step out of your comfort zone.
Many organizational and leadership shortcomings can be overcome or mitigated with the good attitudes described above. All can be learned except passion, which comes from within. Take time out of your hectic schedule to periodically reflect on these attributes. You may be inspired to act.

Copyright © 2011 www.RioTunes.blogspot.com

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10 Tips for College Students

Here are 10 tips to help you create a productive and memorable college experience… and most of all, to deeply enjoy this time in your life.


1. Answer the question, “Why am I going to college?”
Many college students really don’t have a clear reason for being there other than the fact that they don’t know what else to do yet.  They inherit goals from family and peers which aren’t truly their own.  That was how I started college.  Is this you as well?
As I’ve stated previously on this blog, the three-semester deal wasn’t my first time at college.  I had previously gone to college when I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be there.  In high school I was a straight-A honors student, President of the math club, and captain of the Academic Decathlon team.  That momentum carried me forward, and without really ever deciding if it was what I wanted, I found myself with four more years of school ahead of me.  It seemed like a good idea at the time, but my heart just wasn’t in it.  Consequently, I sabotaged myself in a big way.  I blew off my classes and got an education in parties and alcohol.  Apparently some administrator was biased against students whose GPA starts with a decimal point, so I was soon expelled.
That experience sent me into a bit of a tailspin.  I was in a funk for about six months, mostly just playing video games.  Finally in an attempt to re-ground myself, I got a retail sales job and tried to stay under the radar while taking some time to “find myself.”  That was the time I began developing an interest in personal development, and boy did it pay off.  A year later I was ready to go back to college, and I started over as a freshman.  But this time I knew why I was there.  I wanted to be a programmer, and I wanted to earn my Computer Science degree (I later added the Math degree).  But it was more than that.  I knew I was capable of a lot more, and I wanted to push myself.  I wanted to create the richest experience I could.  For me that meant a really dense schedule.
Your goals for college will likely be different than mine.  What are they?  Why are you there?  If you don’t know — and I mean really know it in your gut — then you have no focal point for your experience.  You may as well not even be there.  What is it about your experience that resonates as true for you?  What are you there to learn?  What do you want to experience?


2. Imagine your ideal college experience.
Once you know why you’re going to college, imagine your ideal outcome.  Let it flow outward from the reason you’re there.  Whether you’ve already started college or not, stop and simply write down some attributes of your ideal experience.  Describe it in as much detail as you can.
Before I returned to school, I spent hours visualizing the kind of experience I wanted to have.  I saw myself being challenged but managing it easily and without stress.  I saw myself making new friends.  I saw myself having a really great time.  Most of all I imagined a very balanced experience — a blend of academics, activities, socialization, and fun.  The keyword I used was “richness.”
This was a really important step.  I didn’t understand the mechanism at the time, but I was pre-programming myself to succeed.  Whenever I encountered obstacles, my ideal vision was so much more compelling that I was always able to find a way to get what I wanted.  I became a co-creator of my experience instead of a passive victim of it.
Visualization allows you to make mistakes in advance.  If you can’t get a clear visualization, your experience is likely to be just as fuzzy.  Debug your visualization until it inspires you.
Real life will of course turn out differently than you visualize.  The point of visualization isn’t to predict the future or to restrict your freedom to decide later.  The point is to give you more clarity for making decisions right now.  Your ideal scene serves as a map that can guide you through the quagmire of options.


3. Take at least one extra class each semester.
Students are taught that 12-15 semester units (3-5 classes) is a “full” schedule.  But a schedule that light is hardly full.  A person with a full-time job will put in a good 40+ hours per week, and students enjoy every possible vacation day plus spring break, winter break, and summer vacation.  If you want to spend four or more years in college, add more degrees or get a job on the side.  Don’t feel you have to go at a snail’s pace just because everyone else does.
Now you might be thinking that 12-15 units are supposed to equate to a 40-hour week with all the outside homework and studying, but that’s only going to happen if you do things very inefficiently (which sadly is what most people do).  If you follow some of the time-saving tips later in this article, then 15 units should only require a few additional hours outside of class to complete assignments.  Obviously I couldn’t have taken 31-39 units per semester if it meant doing double those hours in outside homework.  I didn’t succeed by overworking myself.
If you’re an above average student, you can certainly handle an above average schedule.  Sometimes we don’t know what we can handle until we push ourselves a little.  If you think you can handle 15 units, take 18 or 21.  You can easily shave a year off your schedule.  Or you may be able to add a minor or a double major.
What about prerequisites?  For the most part I simply ignored them, and fortunately at my school they weren’t enforced too well.  I found that most of the time a prerequisite is listed, it’s geared towards below average students.  Don’t let pointless bureaucracy slow you down if you want to graduate sooner.  There’s always a way around it — it’s usually just a matter of getting some random form signed by someone who’s too bored to care either way.  A smile and a compliment go a long way.
By the law of forced efficiency, if you put more things on your plate, you’ll find a way to get them done with the time you have available.  So if you don’t challenge yourself a little, that extra time will slip through your fingers.
I think the real benefit to a dense schedule isn’t that you’ll graduate sooner.  The real benefit is that you’ll enjoy a richer experience.  Taking five classes instead of four means more learning, more achievement, and more friends.  And what employer wouldn’t be attracted to a student who graduated more quickly than his/her peers?  This sort of thing sure looks great on a resume.


4. Set clear goals for each class.
Decide what you want out of each specific class.  Is this a subject you’re eager to learn?  Do you want to target this teacher for a letter of recommendation?  Is this a required class you must take but which doesn’t otherwise interest you?
My goals for each class determined how often I would show up, whether I’d sit in the front or the back, how actively I’d participate, and what kind of relationship I’d seek to establish with the teacher.
For some classes I wanted to master the material.  For others I just wanted an A grade.  And for others I wanted to set myself up for glowing letters of recommendations from enthusiastic teachers whose native language was English (so the letters would be highly readable and positive).
My mom has been a college math professor for decades.  At home she’d comment about students she barely knew who’d ask her for letters of recommendation.  Many times she had to turn them down because she just didn’t have anything positive to say in the letter.  On the other hand, she was happy to support those students who put in a serious effort.  Most teachers want to help you, but you have to let them see your strengths.  Even if you don’t get an A in a particular class, you can still give a teacher plenty of material for a great letter of recommendation if you participate actively and show respect toward the teacher.
This is not about manipulating your professors into lying on your behalf.  The simple truth is that the quality of a letter of recommendation ultimately comes down to how much a teacher respects you.  Don’t put yourself in the desperate situation of having to request a letter of recommendation from a teacher who doesn’t even remember you — or worse, one who thinks poorly of you.  Set yourself up for success in advance.
One of my professors learned about my packed academic schedule and expressed interest in learning how I was managing it.  We had a very nice conversation about time management techniques.  I had several programming classes with this professor and aced them all.  I happened to think he was an excellent teacher, I had great respect for him, and I quite enjoyed his classes.  When it came time to ask him for a letter of recommendation, he wrote one of the most glowing letters imaginable (“best student I’ve encountered in my career,” etc.).
On the other hand, I had certain teachers who were downright lousy.  I ditched their classes often and learned the material from the textbook.  Obviously I didn’t seek out their assistance down the road.
Sometimes you’ll achieve your goals; sometimes you won’t.  Even if you do your best, you may still fall short.  You may encounter teachers that are unfair, lazy, sexist, racist, or otherwise incompetent.  My wife had an overtly sexist professor who would never give a female student a grade higher than a B, no matter how well she did.  He would say things like, “If you’re a male, you’ll have to work hard in this class.  If you’re a female, just come by my office after hours.”  Eventually sexual harrassment charges were filed against him.  You’ll have to pick your battles.  Some are worth fighting; others are best ignored.  Having clear goals will help you decide which is which.


5. Triage ruthlessly.
You don’t need to put an equal amount of effort into every class.  Inject extra effort when it’s important to you, but feel free to back off a little from classes that are a low priority based on your specific goals.  For me this was an important way to conserve energy.  I couldn’t play full out in every class, or I’d burn out, so I invested my energy where it mattered most.
In every student’s schedule, some classes are critical while others are almost trivial.  In a typical week, I’d usually ditch around 40% of my classes because I just didn’t need to be there.  For some classes attendance was necessary, but for others it didn’t make much difference.  I could simply get the notes from another student if needed, or I could learn the material from the textbook.  If it wasn’t necessary for me to attend a particular class (based on my goals for that class), I usually ditched it.  That saved me a lot of time and kept me from having to sit in class all day long.  Sometimes I’d just grab some food with friends to give myself an extra break.
I would also triage individual assignments.  If I felt an assignment was lame, pointless, or unnecessarily tedious, and if it wouldn’t have too negative an impact on my grade, I would actually decline to do it.  One time I was assigned a tedious paper that represented 10% of my grade.  I really didn’t want to do it, and it required a lot more hours than I felt it was worth.  I was headed for an A in the class, and if I didn’t do this assignment, I’d drop to an A-.  So I respectfully told the professor I was declining the assignment and that I thought it was a fair trade to receive an A- in order to reinvest those hours elsewhere.  He already knew me and understood my reasons.  He gave me an A-, and I was fine with that.  It was indeed a fair trade.  In fact, looking back I wish I’d done this sort of thing more often.
Sometimes teachers get a little too homework happy and dole out assignments that really don’t justify the effort.  You’re in charge of your academic experience though, not your teachers.  Don’t feel you must do every assignment just because the teacher feels it’s a good idea.  You be the judge in accordance with your own reasons for being there.  Just be sure to consider the consequences of your decision.
By stealing time from low priority assignments, I was able to invest more time in the real gems.  Some creative assignments taught me a great deal.  I usually hated group projects with a passion, but there was one particular group project where the team really gelled.  I enjoyed it tremendously and learned a lot from it.
A cool triage technique I used was timeboxing.  I would decide how much time an assignment warranted, and then I’d do the best job I could within the allotted time.  So if I had to write a 10-page research page on European history, I might devote 8 hours to it total.  I’d slice up the 8 hours into topic selection, planning, library research, outlining, writing, and editing, and then I’d do my best to stay within those times.  This was a great way to keep me from overengineering an assignment that didn’t need it.
In a way this was my own method of academic load balancing.  Some of your assignments will be unbalanced in the sense that they seem to require an unreasonable amount of effort compared to how much of your grade they represent or how much you expect to benefit from completing them.  Sometimes I would decide that the effort to write an A-paper just wasn’t warranted.  Maybe I’d estimate it would take me 20 hours to do an A job but only 10 hours to do a B job.  And if the assignment was only 10% of my grade, perhaps I could accept a B there.  I often thought in this Machiavellian fashion back then, and often to my surprise I found that my B-quality papers would come back with As anyway.


6. Get an early start to each day.
I’ve written previously about the benefits of becoming an early riser.  I wasn’t getting up at 5am when I was in college, but I’d usually get up around 6-7am.  I found that getting an early start each day helped me get a lot more done, not just in the morning but throughout the day.  I began each day with a 25-minute run followed by a shower and breakfast.  This simple morning routine got me out the door feeling alert and energized.
I’d be lying if I said I got up early because I wanted to.  It was really out of necessity.  I had many morning classes, including 7:30am classes one semester.  But I’m glad I did that because if I didn’t have those morning classes, I just would have slept more than I needed to.  Even if you hate morning classes, you may find as I did that you’re a lot more productive if you schedule them anyway.


7. Reclaim wasted time during your classes.
Let’s face it.  Not every class is going to require your utmost concentration.  Sometimes teachers babble.  Sometimes they reiterate what you already know.  What percentage of class time requires your complete, focused attention?  For some classes it’s 90%.  For others it’s 20%.  If you aren’t actively learning during class, you’re wasting time.  If a class is really challenging, sit in the front and soak up every word.  But if a class isn’t challenging you, then sit in the back, do homework for other classes, and pop your head up every once in a while to see if there’s anything worth jotting down.  Always have a book open, so when your hippie professor goes off on yet another nostalgia trip about the 60s, you’ll have something productive to do.
This was a surprisingly great cure for boredom.  If the professor was droning on and putting everyone to sleep, I’d be working on programming assignments.  I used to write them out on paper and then go to the computer lab between classes and type them up.  That way I didn’t have to spend much time outside class in the lab, sometimes just 10-15 minutes if my program worked the first time.
You’ll be amazed at how much time you can free up using this method.  I was able to complete the bulk of my assignments in class (but usually not in the classes in which the tasks were assigned).  If you’re in school right now, I challenge you to see how much extra homework you can complete during your normal class time today.  Then estimate how many hours you’ll save every week from this practice.  It really adds up.
You can’t concentrate at peak efficiency continuously, so be sure to take breaks.  When you need a break though, take a real break.  I used to meditate or nap on the grass between classes in order to recharge myself.  I’d use my wristwatch alarm to signal when it was time to get up and go again.  Those breaks were very restorative, and I could go to the next class and work full out once again.  I never worked flat out all day long.  I worked in waves between total concentration and total relaxation, cycling many times per day.



8. Learn material the very first time it’s presented.
One of the biggest time wasters in school is having to relearn something you didn’t learn properly the first time.  When students say they’re studying, most of the time they’re making up for a previous failure to learn the material.
In software development it’s well known that bugs should be fixed as soon as possible after they’re introduced.  Waiting to fix a bug near the end of a project can take 50x as much effort as it would take to fix the bug the first time it was noticed.  Failing to learn what you’re supposedly taught each day is a serious bug.  Don’t try to pile new material on top of an unstable foundation, since it will take even more time to rebuild it later.
If you don’t understand something you were taught in class today, treat it as a bug that must be fixed ASAP.  Do not put it off.  Do not pile new material on top of it.  If you don’t understand a word, a concept, or a lesson, then drop everything and do whatever it takes to learn it before you continue on.  Ask questions in class, get a fellow student to explain it to you, read and re-read the textbook, and/or visit the professor during office hours, but learn it no matter what.
I was normally an ace in math, perhaps because my mother is a college math professor who was taking calculus classes while I was in the womb.  Plus my father was an aerospace engineer, so I’ve certainly got the genes for it.  But there were a couple topics I found incomprehensible when they were first introduced:  eigenvalues and eigenvectors.  I’m a highly visual learner, which is normally a strength academically, but I found these abstract concepts difficult to visualize.  Many of my classmates found them confusing too.  I invested the extra effort required to grasp these concepts and earned an A in the class because I treated my confusion as a bug that had to be fixed immediately.  Those students who allowed their confusion to linger found themselves becoming more and more lost as the course progressed, and cramming at the end couldn’t bestow complete comprehension.  Just like programming bugs, confusion multiplies if left untreated, so stamp it out as early as possible.  If you’re confused about anything you’re being taught, you’ve got a bug that needs fixing.  Don’t move on until you can honestly say to yourself, “Yes, I understand that… what’s next?”
Ideally there should be no need to study outside of class, at least in the sense of relearning material you didn’t learn the first time.  You can review old material to refresh your memory, but you shouldn’t have to devote a minute of your time to learning something that was taught a month or two earlier.
During finals I was probably the least-stressed student of all.  I didn’t have to study because by the time the final exam came up, in my mind the course was already over.  The test was just a formality.  While everyone else was cramming, I’d be at the arcade playing video games.  I’d already learned the material and completed all the assignments (at least the ones I was going to complete).  At most I’d just spend some time reviewing my notes to refresh the material the night before the test.  Isn’t this how academic learning is supposed to work?  Otherwise what’s the point of showing up to class for an entire semester?
During each semester ask yourself this question:  Am I ready to be tested right now on everything that has been taught up to this point?  If your answer is ever “no,” then you know you’re falling behind, and you need to catch up immediately.  Ideally you should be able to answer “yes” to this question at least once a week for every subject.
Falling behind even a little is an enormous stressor and time waster.  First, you have to go back and re-learn the old material when the rest of the class has already moved on.  Secondly, you may not learn the new material as well if it builds on the old material because you lack a solid foundation, so you just end up falling further and further behind.  Then when you come to the end of the semester, you end up having to re-learn everything you were supposed to learn.  But because you cram at the last minute, after finals you forget everything anyway.  What’s the point of that silliness?  It’s like overspending on a credit card that charges you 25% interest.  Eventually you’ll have to pay up, and it will cost you a lot more time in the long run.
Put in the effort to learn your material well enough to get As in all your classes.  It will pay off.  Much of the material you learn will build on earlier material.  If you get As in your freshman courses, you’ll be well prepared to pile on new material in your sophomore year.  But if you get Cs that first year, you’re already going into your second year with an unstable foundation, making it that much harder to bring your grades up and really master the material.  Make straight As your goal every semester.  In the long run, it’s much easier.  I found that C students tended to work a lot harder than I did, especially in their junior and senior years, because they were always playing catch up.  Despite my packed schedule, it wasn’t stressful for me because I kept on top of every subject.  Consequently, I had plenty of time for fun while other students experienced lots of stress because they constantly felt unprepared.


9. Master advanced memory techniques.
One of the keys to learning material the first time it’s taught is to train yourself in advanced memory techniques.  I used them often in classes that required rote memorization of certain facts, including names, dates, and mathematical formulas.  If a teacher wrote something on the board that had to be memorized verbatim for an upcoming exam, I’d memorize it then and there.  Then I wouldn’t have to go back and study it later.
I’m sure you’ve encountered simple mnemonic techniques such as using the phrase “Every good boy does fine” to memorize the musical notes E, G, B, D, and F.  Those kinds of tricks work well in certain situations, but they’re so grammar school.  There are far more efficient visual techniques.  The two I relied on most in school were chaining and pegging.
It’s beyond the scope of this article to explain these techniques in detail, but you can simply visit this site to learn all about them.  Or you can pick up a book on memory improvement, such as The Memory Book by Harry Lorayne.  I recommend learning from a book because then you’ll build a solid foundation step by step.
These techniques will allow you to memorize information very rapidly.  For example, with pegging I could usually memorize a list of 20 items in about 90 seconds with perfect recall even weeks later.  Experts at this are faster.  Anyone can do it — it’s just a matter of training yourself.
I still use these techniques today.  Chaining allows me to memorize my speeches visually.  When I give a speech, my imagination runs through the visual movie I’ve created while I select words on the fly to fit the images.  It’s like narrating a movie.  My speech isn’t memorized word for word, so it sounds natural and spontaneous and can be adapted on the fly to fit the situation.  Memorizing visually is much faster and more robust than trying to memorize words.  If you memorize a speech word for word and forget a line, it can really throw you off.  But with a series of images, it’s easier to jump ahead to the next frame if you make a mistake.  Our brains are better suited to visualize memorization than phonetic memorization.
I don’t recommend memorizing by repetition because it’s way too slow.  Pegging and chaining do not require repetition — they allow you to embed strong memories on a single pass, usually in seconds.  The downside is that pegging and chaining require a lot of up-front practice to master, but once you learn them, these are valuable skills you’ll have for life.  I also found that learning these techniques seemed to improve my memory as a whole, even when I’m not actively trying to memorize.  I think this practice trained my subconscious to store and recall information more effectively.
It’s a shame these techniques aren’t normally taught in school.  They would save students an enormous amount of time.  Do yourself a favor and learn them while you’re young.  They have a lot of practical applications, including remembering people’s names.


10. Have some serious fun!
Challenge yourself academically, but give yourself plenty of time for fun as well.  Don’t squander your leisure time hanging around doing nothing.  Go out and do something active that will blow off steam and increase your energy.
One of my favorite college leisure activities was frisbee golf (also called disc golf).  I used to play for hours at night with a couple friends, sometimes until my fingers became blistered… or until campus security gave us the boot for hitting one too many non-player students. 
While playing frisbee golf, we would often have to scavenge through bushes, wade through fountains, and climb over various hazards trying to recover errant frisbees.  It was always lots of fun, and we’d usually “play through” these obstacles.  Several hours of frisbee golf served as a delightful reward at the end of a challenging week.  I still remember an incredible “hole in one” shot I made from a second-story balcony to hit a light post at the edge of a soccer field.
My biggest regret about college is that I didn’t have a girlfriend during that time.  If I had it to do all over again, I probably would have added an extra semester and taken fewer classes to make time for that someone special.  I had the opportunity, but I had to pass it up because my schedule was too packed.  Girlfriends can be a lot of fun, but most aren’t very efficient. 
This article’s advice centers on making your college experience as rich and memorable as possible.  Get your school work done quickly and efficiently, so you have plenty of time for the variety of activities college can offer.  Join clubs.  Play frisbee golf.  Get a boyfriend or girlfriend.  The worst thing you can do is spend your time falling behind academically due to poor habits, feeling stressed and unprepared all the time, and then playing catch up.  Squeeze as much juice out of college as you can, and let it serve as a springboard to a lifetime of fulfillment.
People often assume my aggressive schedule must have been stressful and exhausting, but the irony is that it was just the opposite.  I seemed to have an easier, more enjoyable experience than my peers.  Students with lighter schedules slacked off and fell behind because they convinced themselves they could make up for it later.  But I couldn’t afford to do that because it would have been impossible for me to catch up on a dozen different classes… and way too stressful to even think about it.  If I fell even a week behind, I’d be in serious trouble.  So I was compelled to develop good habits that kept me perpetually relaxed, focused, and energized.  Many of the habits discussed above were simply the result of setting the goal to graduate in three semesters.  That goal dictated the process.  I’m very grateful for the experience because it showed me just how much more effective we can be when we push ourselves beyond our comfort zones.  It taught me to keep setting goals beyond what I feel certain I can accomplish.  Many times what we assume to be impossible just isn’t.  We only think it is.

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How to Discover Your Life Purpose in About 20 Minutes???

How do you discover your real purpose in life? I’m not talking about your job, your daily responsibilities, or even your long-term goals. I mean the real reason why you’re here at all — the very reason you exist.
Perhaps you’re a rather nihilistic person who doesn’t believe you have a purpose and that life has no meaning. Doesn’t matter. Not believing that you have a purpose won’t prevent you from discovering it, just as a lack of belief in gravity won’t prevent you from tripping. All that a lack of belief will do is make it take longer, so if you’re one of those people, just change the number 20 in the title of this blog entry to 40 (or 60 if you’re really stubborn). Most likely though if you don’t believe you have a purpose, then you probably won’t believe what I’m saying anyway, but even so, what’s the risk of investing an hour just in case?

Here’s a story about Bruce Lee which sets the stage for this little exercise. A master martial artist asked Bruce to teach him everything Bruce knew about martial arts. Bruce held up two cups, both filled with liquid. “The first cup,” said Bruce, “represents all of your knowledge about martial arts. The second cup represents all of my knowledge about martial arts. If you want to fill your cup with my knowledge, you must first empty your cup of your knowledge.”

If you want to discover your true purpose in life, you must first empty your mind of all the false purposes you’ve been taught (including the idea that you may have no purpose at all).

So how to discover your purpose in life? While there are many ways to do this, some of them fairly involved, here is one of the simplest that anyone can do. The more open you are to this process, and the more you expect it to work, the faster it will work for you. But not being open to it or having doubts about it or thinking it’s an entirely idiotic and meaningless waste of time won’t prevent it from working as long as you stick with it — again, it will just take longer to converge.
Here’s what to do:

1. Take out a blank sheet of paper or open up a word processor where you can type (I prefer the latter because it’s faster).
2. Write at the top, “What is my true purpose in life?”
3. Write an answer (any answer) that pops into your head. It doesn’t have to be a complete sentence. A short phrase is fine.
4. Repeat step 3 until you write the answer that makes you cry. This is your purpose.

That’s it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a counselor or an engineer or a bodybuilder. To some people this exercise will make perfect sense. To others it will seem utterly stupid. Usually it takes 15-20 minutes to clear your head of all the clutter and the social conditioning about what you think your purpose in life is. The false answers will come from your mind and your memories. But when the true answer finally arrives, it will feel like it’s coming to you from a different source entirely.

For those who are very entrenched in low-awareness living, it will take a lot longer to get all the false answers out, possibly more than an hour. But if you persist, after 100 or 200 or maybe even 500 answers, you’ll be struck by the answer that causes you to surge with emotion, the answer that breaks you. If you’ve never done this, it may very well sound silly to you. So let it seem silly, and do it anyway.

As you go through this process, some of your answers will be very similar. You may even re-list previous answers. Then you might head off on a new tangent and generate 10-20 more answers along some other theme. And that’s fine. You can list whatever answer pops into your head as long as you just keep writing.
At some point during the process (typically after about 50-100 answers), you may want to quit and just can’t see it converging. You may feel the urge to get up and make an excuse to do something else. That’s normal. Push past this resistance, and just keep writing. The feeling of resistance will eventually pass.

You may also discover a few answers that seem to give you a mini-surge of emotion, but they don’t quite make you cry — they’re just a bit off. Highlight those answers as you go along, so you can come back to them to generate new permutations. Each reflects a piece of your purpose, but individually they aren’t complete. When you start getting these kinds of answers, it just means you’re getting warm. Keep going.
It’s important to do this alone and with no interruptions. If you’re a nihilist, then feel free to start with the answer, “I don’t have a purpose,” or “Life is meaningless,” and take it from there. If you keep at it, you’ll still eventually converge.

When I did this exercise, it took me about 25 minutes, and I reached my final answer at step 106. Partial pieces of the answer (mini-surges) appeared at steps 17, 39, and 53, and then the bulk of it fell into place and was refined through steps 100-106. I felt the feeling of resistance (wanting to get up and do something else, expecting the process to fail, feeling very impatient and even irritated) around steps 55-60. At step 80 I took a 2-minute break to close my eyes, relax, clear my mind, and to focus on the intention for the answer to come to me — this was helpful as the answers I received after this break began to have greater clarity.

Here was my final answer: to live consciously and courageously, to resonate with love and compassion, to awaken the great spirits within others, and to leave this world in peace.
When you find your own unique answer to the question of why you’re here, you will feel it resonate with you deeply. The words will seem to have a special energy to you, and you will feel that energy whenever you read them.

Discovering your purpose is the easy part. The hard part is keeping it with you on a daily basis and working on yourself to the point where you become that purpose.
If you’re inclined to ask why this little process works, just put that question aside until after you’ve successfully completed it. Once you’ve done that, you’ll probably have your own answer to why it works. Most likely if you ask 10 different people why this works (people who’ve successfully completed it), you’ll get 10 different answers, all filtered through their individual belief systems, and each will contain its own reflection of truth.

Obviously, this process won’t work if you quit before convergence. I’d guesstimate that 80-90% of people should achieve convergence in less than an hour. If you’re really entrenched in your beliefs and resistant to the process, maybe it will take you 5 sessions and 3 hours, but I suspect that such people will simply quit early (like within the first 15 minutes) or won’t even attempt it at all. But if you’re drawn to read this blog (and haven’t been inclined to ban it from your life yet), then it’s doubtful you fall into this group.
Give it a shot! At the very least, you’ll learn one of two things: your true purpose in life -or- that you should unsubscribe from this blog.

www.RIOTUNES.blogspot.com

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10 Reasons You Should Never Get a Job

Just for fun I recently asked Erin, “Now that the kids are in summer school, don’t you think it’s about time you went out and got yourself a job?  I hate seeing you wallow in unemployment for so long.”
She smiled and said, “Wow.  I have been unemployed a really long time.  That’s weird…  I like it!”
Neither of us have had jobs since the ’90s (my only job was in 1992), so we’ve been self-employed for quite a while.  In our household it’s a running joke for one of us to say to the other, “Maybe you should get a job, derelict!”

It’s like the scene in The Three Stooges where Moe tells Curly to get a job, and Curly backs away, saying, “No, please… not that!  Anything but that!”
It’s funny that when people reach a certain age, such as after graduating college, they assume it’s time to go out and get a job.  But like many things the masses do, just because everyone does it doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.  In fact, if you’re reasonably intelligent, getting a job is one of the worst things you can do to support yourself.  There are far better ways to make a living than selling yourself into indentured servitude.
Here are some reasons you should do everything in your power to avoid getting a job:

1. Income for dummies.

Getting a job and trading your time for money may seem like a good idea.  There’s only one problem with it.  It’s stupid!  It’s the stupidest way you can possibly generate income!  This is truly income for dummies.
Why is getting a job so dumb?  Because you only get paid when you’re working.  Don’t you see a problem with that, or have you been so thoroughly brainwashed into thinking it’s reasonable and intelligent to only earn income when you’re working?  Have you never considered that it might be better to be paid even when you’re not working?  Who taught you that you could only earn income while working?  Some other brainwashed employee perhaps?
Don’t you think your life would be much easier if you got paid while you were eating, sleeping, and playing with the kids too?  Why not get paid 24/7?  Get paid whether you work or not.  Don’t your plants grow even when you aren’t tending to them?  Why not your bank account?
Who cares how many hours you work?  Only a handful of people on this entire planet care how much time you spend at the office.  Most of us won’t even notice whether you work 6 hours a week or 60.  But if you have something of value to provide that matters to us, a number of us will be happy to pull out our wallets and pay you for it.  We don’t care about your time — we only care enough to pay for the value we receive.  Do you really care how long it took me to write this article?  Would you pay me twice as much if it took me 6 hours vs. only 3?
Non-dummies often start out on the traditional income for dummies path.  So don’t feel bad if you’re just now realizing you’ve been suckered.  Non-dummies eventually realize that trading time for money is indeed extremely dumb and that there must be a better way.  And of course there is a better way.  The key is to de-couple your value from your time.
Smart people build systems that generate income 24/7, especially passive income.  This can include starting a business, building a web site, becoming an investor, or generating royalty income from creative work.  The system delivers the ongoing value to people and generates income from it, and once it’s in motion, it runs continuously whether you tend to it or not.  From that moment on, the bulk of your time can be invested in increasing your income (by refining your system or spawning new ones) instead of merely maintaining your income.
This web site is an example of such a system.  At the time of this writing, it generates about $9000 a month in income for me (update: $40,000 a month as of 10/31/06), and it isn’t my only income stream either.  I write each article just once (fixed time investment), and people can extract value from them year after year.  The web server delivers the value, and other systems (most of which I didn’t even build and don’t even understand) collect income and deposit it automatically into my bank account.  It’s not perfectly passive, but I love writing and would do it for free anyway.  But of course it cost me a lot of money to launch this business, right?  Um, yeah, $9 is an awful lot these days (to register the domain name).  Everything after that was profit.
Sure it takes some upfront time and effort to design and implement your own income-generating systems.  But you don’t have to reinvent the wheel — feel free to use existing systems like ad networks and affiliate programs.  Once you get going, you won’t have to work so many hours to support yourself.  Wouldn’t it be nice to be out having dinner with your spouse, knowing that while you’re eating, you’re earning money?  If you want to keep working long hours because you enjoy it, go right ahead.  If you want to sit around doing nothing, feel free.  As long as your system continues delivering value to others, you’ll keep getting paid whether you’re working or not.
Your local bookstore is filled with books containing workable systems others have already designed, tested, and debugged.  Nobody is born knowing how to start a business or generate investment income, but you can easily learn it.  How long it takes you to figure it out is irrelevant because the time is going to pass anyway.  You might as well emerge at some future point as the owner of income-generating systems as opposed to a lifelong wage slave.  This isn’t all or nothing.  If your system only generates a few hundred dollars a month, that’s a significant step in the right direction.

2. Limited experience.

You might think it’s important to get a job to gain experience.  But that’s like saying you should play golf to get experience playing golf.  You gain experience from living, regardless of whether you have a job or not.  A job only gives you experience at that job, but you gain ”experience” doing just about anything, so that’s no real benefit at all.  Sit around doing nothing for a couple years, and you can call yourself an experienced meditator, philosopher, or politician.
The problem with getting experience from a job is that you usually just repeat the same limited experience over and over.  You learn a lot in the beginning and then stagnate.  This forces you to miss other experiences that would be much more valuable.  And if your limited skill set ever becomes obsolete, then your experience won’t be worth squat.  In fact, ask yourself what the experience you’re gaining right now will be worth in 20-30 years.  Will your job even exist then?
Consider this.  Which experience would you rather gain?  The knowledge of how to do a specific job really well — one that you can only monetize by trading your time for money – or the knowledge of how to enjoy financial abundance for the rest of your life without ever needing a job again?  Now I don’t know about you, but I’d rather have the latter experience.  That seems a lot more useful in the real world, wouldn’t you say?

3. Lifelong domestication.

Getting a job is like enrolling in a human domestication program.  You learn how to be a good pet.
Look around you.  Really look.  What do you see?  Are these the surroundings of a free human being?  Or are you living in a cage for unconscious animals?  Have you fallen in love with the color beige?
How’s your obedience training coming along?  Does your master reward your good behavior?  Do you get disciplined if you fail to obey your master’s commands?
Is there any spark of free will left inside you?  Or has your conditioning made you a pet for life?
Humans are not meant to be raised in cages.  You poor thing…

4. Too many mouths to feed.

Employee income is the most heavily taxed there is.  In the USA you can expect that about half your salary will go to taxes.  The tax system is designed to disguise how much you’re really giving up because some of those taxes are paid by your employer, and some are deducted from your paycheck.  But you can bet that from your employer’s perspective, all of those taxes are considered part of your pay, as well as any other compensation you receive such as benefits.  Even the rent for the office space you consume is considered, so you must generate that much more value to cover it.  You might feel supported by your corporate environment, but keep in mind that you’re the one paying for it.
Another chunk of your income goes to owners and investors.  That’s a lot of mouths to feed.
It isn’t hard to understand why employees pay the most in taxes relative to their income.  After all, who has more control over the tax system?  Business owners and investors or employees?
You only get paid a fraction of the real value you generate.  Your real salary may be more than triple what you’re paid, but most of that money you’ll never see.  It goes straight into other people’s pockets.
What a generous person you are!

5. Way too risky.

Many employees believe getting a job is the safest and most secure way to support themselves.
Morons.
Social conditioning is amazing.  It’s so good it can even make people believe the exact opposite of the truth.
Does putting yourself in a position where someone else can turn off all your income just by saying two words (“You’re fired”) sound like a safe and secure situation to you?  Does having only one income stream honestly sound more secure than having 10?
The idea that a job is the most secure way to generate income is just silly.  You can’t have security if you don’t have control, and employees have the least control of anyone.  If you’re an employee, then your real job title should be professional gambler.

6. Having an evil bovine master.

When you run into an idiot in the entrepreneurial world, you can turn around and head the other way.  When you run into an idiot in the corporate world, you have to turn around and say, “Sorry, boss.”
Did you know that the word boss comes from the Dutch word baas, which historically means master?  Another meaning of the word boss is “a cow or bovine.”  And in many video games, the boss is the evil dude that you have to kill at the end of a level.
So if your boss is really your evil bovine master, then what does that make you?  Nothing but a turd in the herd.
Who’s your daddy?

7. Begging for money.

When you want to increase your income, do you have to sit up and beg your master for more money?  Does it feel good to be thrown some extra Scooby Snacks now and then?
Or are you free to decide how much you get paid without needing anyone’s permission but your own?
If you have a business and one customer says “no” to you, you simply say “next.”

8. An inbred social life.

Many people treat their jobs as their primary social outlet.  They hang out with the same people working in the same field.  Such incestuous relations are social dead ends.  An exciting day includes deep conversations about the company’s switch from Sparkletts to Arrowhead, the delay of Microsoft’s latest operating system, and the unexpected delivery of more Bic pens.  Consider what it would be like to go outside and talk to strangers.  Ooooh… scary!  Better stay inside where it’s safe.
If one of your co-slaves gets sold to another master, do you lose a friend?  If you work in a male-dominated field, does that mean you never get to talk to women above the rank of receptionist?  Why not decide for yourself whom to socialize with instead of letting your master decide for you?  Believe it or not, there are locations on this planet where free people congregate.  Just be wary of those jobless folk — they’re a crazy bunch!

9. Loss of freedom.

It takes a lot of effort to tame a human being into an employee.  The first thing you have to do is break the human’s independent will.  A good way to do this is to give them a weighty policy manual filled with nonsensical rules and regulations.  This leads the new employee to become more obedient, fearing that s/he could be disciplined at any minute for something incomprehensible.  Thus, the employee will likely conclude it’s safest to simply obey the master’s commands without question.  Stir in some office politics for good measure, and we’ve got a freshly minted mind slave.
As part of their obedience training, employees must be taught how to dress, talk, move, and so on.  We can’t very well have employees thinking for themselves, now can we?  That would ruin everything.
God forbid you should put a plant on your desk when it’s against the company policy.  Oh no, it’s the end of the world!  Cindy has a plant on her desk!  Summon the enforcers!  Send Cindy back for another round of sterility training!
Free human beings think such rules and regulations are silly of course.  The only policy they need is:  “Be smart.  Be nice.  Do what you love.  Have fun.”

10. Becoming a coward.

Have you noticed that employed people have an almost endless capacity to whine about problems at their companies?  But they don’t really want solutions – they just want to vent and make excuses why it’s all someone else’s fault.  It’s as if getting a job somehow drains all the free will out of people and turns them into spineless cowards.  If you can’t call your boss a jerk now and then without fear of getting fired, you’re no longer free.  You’ve become your master’s property.
When you work around cowards all day long, don’t you think it’s going to rub off on you?  Of course it will.  It’s only a matter of time before you sacrifice the noblest parts of your humanity on the altar of fear:  first courage… then honesty… then honor and integrity… and finally your independent will.  You sold your humanity for nothing but an illusion.  And now your greatest fear is discovering the truth of what you’ve become.
I don’t care how badly you’ve been beaten down.  It is never too late to regain your courage.  Never!

Still want a job?

If you’re currently a well-conditioned, well-behaved employee, your most likely reaction to the above will be defensiveness.  It’s all part of the conditioning.  But consider that if the above didn’t have a grain of truth to it, you wouldn’t have an emotional reaction at all.  This is only a reminder of what you already know.  You can deny your cage all you want, but the cage is still there.  Perhaps this all happened so gradually that you never noticed it until now… like a lobster enjoying a nice warm bath.
If any of this makes you mad, that’s a step in the right direction.  Anger is a higher level of consciousness than apathy, so it’s a lot better than being numb all the time.  Any emotion — even confusion — is better than apathy.  If you work through your feelings instead of repressing them, you’ll soon emerge on the doorstep of courage.  And when that happens, you’ll have the will to actually do something about your situation and start living like the powerful human being you were meant to be instead of the domesticated pet you’ve been trained to be.

Happily jobless

What’s the alternative to getting a job?  The alternative is to remain happily jobless for life and to generate income through other means.  Realize that you earn income by providing value — not time – so find a way to provide your best value to others, and charge a fair price for it.  One of the simplest and most accessible ways is to start your own business.  Whatever work you’d otherwise do via employment, find a way to provide that same value directly to those who will benefit most from it.  It takes a bit more time to get going, but your freedom is easily worth the initial investment of time and energy.  Then you can buy your own Scooby Snacks for a change.
And of course everything you learn along the way, you can share with others to generate even more value.  So even your mistakes can be monetized.
)

One of the greatest fears you’ll confront is that you may not have any real value to offer others.  Maybe being an employee and getting paid by the hour is the best you can do.  Maybe you just aren’t worth that much.  That line of thinking is all just part of your conditioning.  It’s absolute nonsense.  As you begin to dump such brainwashing, you’ll soon recognize that you have the ability to provide enormous value to others and that people will gladly pay you for it.  There’s only one thing that prevents you from seeing this truth — fear.
All you really need is the courage to be yourself.  Your real value is rooted in who you are, not what you do.  The only thing you need actually do is express your real self to the world.  You’ve been told all sort of lies as to why you can’t do that.  But you’ll never know true happiness and fulfillment until you summon the courage to do it anyway.
The next time someone says to you, “Get a job,” I suggest you reply as Curly did:  ”No, please… not that!  Anything but that!”  Then poke him right in the eyes.
You already know deep down that getting a job isn’t what you want.  So don’t let anyone try to tell you otherwise.  Learn to trust your inner wisdom, even if the whole world says you’re wrong and foolish for doing so.  Years from now you’ll look back and realize it was one of the best decisions you ever made.

Final thoughts

While I wouldn’t recommend starting an online business for everyone, for many people it’s one of the best ways to generate income without a job. It has certainly worked disgustingly well for me. If you’re interested in learning more about this option, please check out Build Your Own Successful Online Business for details.

www.RIOtunes.blogspot.com 

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42 Practical Ways To Improve Yourself

Are you someone who likes to grow? Do you constantly seek to improve yourself and become better?
If you do, then we have something in common. I’m very passionate about personal growth. It was just 4 years ago when I discovered my passion for growing and helping others grow. At that time, I was 22 and in my final year of university. As I thought about the meaning of life, I realized there was nothing more meaningful than to pursue a life of development and betterment. It is through improving ourselves that we get the most out of life.
After 1.5 years of actively pursuing growth and helping others to grow through my personal development blog, I realize there is never an end to the journey of self improvement. The more I grow, the more I realize there is so much out there I don’t know, so much that I have to learn. For sure, there is always something about ourselves we can improve on. The human potential is limitless, so it’s impossible to reach a point of no growth. Whenever we think we are good, we can be even better.


As a passionate advocate of growth, I’m continuously looking for ways to self-improve. I’ve compiled 42 of my best tips which might be helpful in your personal growth journey. Some of them are simple steps which you can engage in immediately. Some are bigger steps which takes conscious effort to act on. Here they are:

1. Read a book every day. Books are concentrated sources of wisdom. The more books you read, the more wisdom you expose yourself to. What are some books you can start reading to enrich yourself? Some books I’ve read and found useful are Think and Grow Rich, Who Moved My Cheese, 7 Habits, The Science of Getting Rich and Living the 80/20 Way. I’ve heard positive reviews for The Tipping Point, Outliers and The Difference Maker, so I’ll be checking them out soon.
2. Learn a new language. As a Singaporean Chinese, my main languages are English, Mandarin and Hokkien (a Chinese dialect). Out of interest, I took up language courses in the past few years such as Japanese and Bahasa Indonesian. I realized learning a language is a whole new skill altogether and the process of acquainting with a new language and culture is a totally a mind-opening experience.
3. Pick up a new hobby. Beyond just your usual favorite hobbies, is there something new you can pick up? Any new sport you can learn? Examples are fencing, golf, rock climbing, football, canoeing, or ice skating. Your new hobby can also be a recreational hobby. For example, pottery, Italian cooking, dancing, wine appreciation, web design, etc.  Learning something new requires you to stretch yourself in different aspects, whether physically, mentally or emotionally.
4. Take up a new course. Is there any new course you can join? Courses are a great way to gain new knowledge and skills. It doesn’t have to be a long-term course – seminars or workshops serve their purpose too. I’ve been to a few workshops and they have helped me gain new insights which I had not considered before.
5. Create an inspirational room. Your environment sets the mood and tone for you. If you are living in an inspirational environment, you are going to be inspired every day. In the past, I didn’t like my room at all because I thought it was messy and dull. A few years ago, I decided this was the end of it – I started on a “Mega Room Revamp” project and overhauled my room. The end result? A room I totally relish being in and inspires me to be at my peak every day.
6. Overcome your fears. All of us have fears. Fear of uncertainty, fear of public speaking, fear of risk… All our fears  keep us in the same position and prevent us from growing. Recognize that your fears reflect areas where you can grow. I always think of fears as the compass for growth. If I have a fear about something, it represents something I’ve yet to address, and addressing it helps me to grow.
7. Level up your skills. If you have played video games before especially RPGs, you’ll know the concept of leveling up – gaining experience so you can be better and stronger. As a blogger, I’m constantly leveling up my writing skills. As a speaker, I’m constantly leveling up my public engagement abilities. What skills can you level up?
8. Wake up early. Waking up early (say, 5-6am) has been acknowledged by many (Anthony Robbins, Robin Sharma, among other self-help gurus) to improve your productivity and your quality of life. I feel it’s because when you wake up early, your mindset is already set to continue the momentum and proactively live out the day. Seth recently wrote a waking up early series which you should check out to help cultivate this habit.
9. Have a weekly exercise routine. A better you starts with being in better physical shape. I personally make it a point to jog at least 3 times a week, at least 30 minutes each time. You may want to mix it up with jogging, gym lessons and swimming for variation.
10. Start your life handbook. A life handbook is an idea I started 3 years ago. Basically, it’s a book which contains the essentials on how you can live your life to the fullest, such as your purpose, your values and goals. Sort of like your manual for your life. I started my life handbook since 2007 and it’s been a crucial enabler in my progress.
11. Write a letter to your future self. What do you see yourself as 5 years from now? Will you be the same? Different?  What kind of person will you be? Write a letter to your future self – 1 year from now will be a good start – and seal it. Make a date in your calendar to open it 1 year from now. Then start working to become the person you want to open that letter.
12. Get out of your comfort zone. Real growth comes with hard work and sweat. Being too comfortable doesn’t help us grow – it makes us stagnate. What is your comfort zone? Do you stay in most of the time? Do you keep to your own space when out with other people? Shake your routine up. Do something different. By exposing yourself to a new context, you’re literally growing as you learn to act in new circumstances.
13. Put someone up to a challenge. Competition is one of the best ways to grow. Set a challenge (weight loss, exercise, financial challenge, etc) and compete with an interested friend to see who achieves the target first. Through the process, both of you will gain more than if you were to set off on the target alone.
14. Identify your blind spots. Scientifically, blind spots refer to areas our eyes are not capable of seeing. In personal development terms, blind spots are things about ourselves we are unaware of. Discovering our blind spots help us discover our areas of improvement. One exercise I use to discover my blind spots is to identify all the things/events/people that trigger me in a day – trigger meaning making me feel annoyed/weird/affected. These represent my blind spots. It’s always fun to do the exercise because I discover new things about myself, even if I may already think I know my own blind spots (but then they wouldn’t be blind spots would they?). After that, I work on steps to address them.
15. Ask for feedback. As much as we try to improve, we will always have blind spots. Asking for feedback gives us an additional perspective. Some people to approach will be friends, family, colleagues, boss, or even acquaintances, since they will have no preset bias and can give their feedback objectively.
16. Stay focused with to-do lists. I start my day with a list of tasks I want to complete and this helps make me stay focused. In comparison, the days when I don’t do this end up being extremely unproductive. For example, part of my to-do list for today is to write a guest post at LifeHack.Org, and this is why I’m writing this now! Since my work requires me to use my computer all the time, I use Free Sticky Notes to manage my to-do lists. It’s really simple to use and it’s a freeware, so I recommend you check it out.
17. Set Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAGs). I’m a big fan of setting BHAGs. BHAGs stretch you beyond your normal capacity since they are big and audacious – you wouldn’t think of attempting them normally. What are BHAGs you can embark on, which you’ll feel absolutely on top of the world once you complete them? Set them and start working on them.
18. Acknowledge your flaws. Everyone has flaws. What’s most important is to understand them, acknowledge them, and address them. What do you think are your flaws? What are the flaws you can work on now? How do you want to address them?
19. Get into action. The best way to learn and improve is to take action. What is something you have been meaning to do? How can you take action on it immediately? Waiting doesn’t get anything done. Taking action gives you immediate results to learn from.
20. Learn from people who inspire you. Think about people you admire. People who inspire you. These people reflect certain qualities you want to have for yourself too. What are the qualities in them you want to have for yourself? How can you acquire these qualities?
21. Quit a bad habit. Are there any bad habits you can lose? Oversleeping? Not exercising? Being late? Slouching? Nail biting? Smoking? Here’s some help on how you can quit a bad habit.
22. Cultivate a new habit. Some good new habits to cultivate include reading books (#1), waking up early (#8), exercising (#9), reading a new personal development article a day (#40) and meditating. Is there any other new habit you can cultivate to improve yourself?
23. Avoid negative people. As Jim Rohn says, “You are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with”. Wherever we go, there are bound to be negative people. Don’t spend too much of your time around them if you feel they drag you down.
24. Learn to deal with difficult people. There are times when there are difficult people you can’t avoid, such as at your workplace, or when the person is part of your inner circle of contacts. Learn how to deal with them. These people management skills will go a long way in working with people in the future.
25. Learn from your friends. Everyone has amazing qualities in them. It’s up to how we want to tap into them. With all the friends who surround you, they are going to have things you can learn from. Try thinking of a good friend right now. Think about just one quality they have which you want to adopt. How can you learn from them and adopt this skill for yourself? Speak to them if you need to – for sure, they will be more than happy to help!
26. Start a journal. Journaling is a great way to gain better self-awareness. It’s a self-reflection process. As you write, clarify your thought process and read what you wrote from a third person’s perspective, you gain more insights about yourself. Your journal can be private or an online blog. I use my personal development blog as a personal journal too and I’ve learned a lot about myself through the past year of blogging.
27. Start a blog about personal development. To help others grow, you need to first be walking the talk. There are expectations of you, both from yourself and from others, which you have to uphold. I run The Personal Excellence Blog, where I share my personal journey and insights on how to live a better life. Readers look toward my articles to improve themselves, which enforces to me that I need to keep improving, for myself and for the people I’m reaching out to.
28. Get a mentor or coach. There’s no faster way to improve than to have someone work with you on your goals. Many of my clients approach me to coach them in their goals and they achieve significantly more results than if they had worked alone.
29. Reduce the time you spend on chat programs. I realized having chat programs open at default result in a lot of wasted time. This time can be much better spent on other activities. The days when I don’t get on chat, I get a lot more done. I usually disable the auto start-up option in the chat programs and launch them when I do want to chat and really have the time for it.
30. Learn chess (or any strategy game). I found chess is a terrific game to learn strategy and hone your brainpower. Not only do you have fun, you also get to exercise your analytical skills. You can also learn strategy from other board games or computer games, such as Othello, Chinese Chess, WarCraft, and so on.
31. Stop watching TV. I’ve not been watching TV for pretty much 4 years and it’s been a very liberating experience. I realized most of the programs and advertisements on mainstream TV are usually of a lower consciousness and not very empowering. In return, the time I’ve freed up from not watching TV is now constructively used for other purposes, such as connecting with close friends, doing work I enjoy, exercising, etc.
32. Start a 30-day challenge. Set a goal and give yourself 30 days to achieve this. Your goal can be to stick with a new habit or something you’ve always wanted to do but have not. 30 days is just enough time to strategize, plan, get into action, review and nail the goal.
33. Meditate. Meditation helps to calm you and be more conscious. I also realized that during the nights when I meditate (before I sleep), I need lesser sleep. The clutter clearing process is very liberating.
34. Join Toastmasters (Learn public speaking). Interestingly, public speaking is the #1 fear in the world, with #2 being death. After I started public speaking as a personal development speaker/trainer, I’ve learned a lot about how to communicate better, present myself and engage people. Toastmasters is an international organization that trains people in public speaking. Check out the Toastmaster clubs nearest to you here.
35. Befriend top people in their fields. These people have achieved their results because they have the right attitudes, skill sets and know-how. How better to learn than from the people who have been there and done that? Gain new insights from them on how you can improve and achieve the same results for yourself.
36. Let go of the past. Is there any grievance or unhappiness from the past which you have been holding on? If so, it’s time to let it go. Holding on to them prevents you from moving on and becoming a better person. Break away from the past, forgive yourself, and move on. Just recently, I finally moved on from a past heartbreak of 5 years ago. The effect was liberating and very empowering, and I have never been happier.
37. Start a business venture. Is there anything you have an interest in? Why not turn it into a venture and make money while learning at the same time? Starting a new venture requires you to be learn business management skills, develop business acumen and have a competitive edge. The process of starting and developing my personal development business has equipped me with many skills, such as self-discipline, leadership, organization and management.
38. Show kindness to people around you. You can never be too kind to someone. In fact, most of us don’t show enough kindness to people around us. Being kind helps us to cultivate other qualities such as compassion, patience, and love. As you get back to your day after reading this article later on, start exuding more kindness to the people around you, and see how they react. Not only that, notice how you feel as you behave kindly to others. Chances are, you will feel even better than yourself.
39. Reach out to the people who hate you. If you ever stand for something, you are going to get haters. It’s easy to hate the people who hate us. It’s much more challenging to love them back. Being able to forgive, let go and show love to these people requires magnanimity and an open heart. Is there anyone who dislikes or hates you in your life? If so, reach out to them. Show them love. Seek a resolution and get closure on past grievances. Even if they refuses to reciprocate, love them all the same. It’s much more liberating than to hate them back.
40. Take a break. Have you been working too hard? Self-improvement is also about recognizing our need to take a break to walk the longer mile ahead. You can’t be driving a car if it has no petrol. Take some time off for yourself every week. Relax, rejuvenate and charge yourself up for what’s up ahead.
41. Read at least 1 personal development article a day. Some of my readers make it a point to read at least one personal development article every day, which I think is a great habit. There are many terrific personal development blogs out there, some of which you can check here.
42. Commit to your personal growth. I can be writing list articles with 10 ways, 25 ways, 42 ways or even 1,000 ways to improve yourself, but if you’ve no intention to commit to your personal growth, it doesn’t matter what I write. Nothing is going to get through. We are responsible for our personal growth – not anyone else. Not your mom, your dad, your friend, me or LifeHack. Make the decision to commit to your personal growth and embrace yourself to a life-long journey of growth and change. Kick off your growth by picking a few of the steps above and working on them. The results may not be immediate, but I promise you that as long as you keep to it, you’ll start seeing positive changes in yourself and your life.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this article or anything about personal growth. Feel free to share your thoughts in a comment below and I’ll get back to you! If you have any other suggestions to add to the list, please share with us too!

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121 Ways to Dramatically Improve Your Life, Be Happier, And More Fulfilled

Do you want to improve your life? Do you want to be more awesome, but just don’t know how to go about peeling off the unnecessary layers?

You’re lucky, because I’ve put together a list of 121 ways you can improve your life.

You don’t have to settle with what you’ve got. Who told you that anyway? How awesome were they?

Most people are afraid. They want to stop you from feeling the pain they feel because they never had the courage to do what they wanted in life.

Follow your heart and do what feels right for you, because that’s living. Everything else is dying.

Life..................................
 1. Care
If you want to be awesome, you have to care. Care about the people around you and even people you’ve never met. This is especially true if you’re blogging or a public figure. Care about your fans and they will care even more about you.

2. Give Value
We all have something to share. Always focus on what you can do for others. What do you love and what are you good at (or want to become good at)?


3. Be honest
Honesty feels good and is the right thing to do. But why do many choose to lie instead? Most often it’s because it makes their life easier, or does it? It usually might seem like it in the short-term, but in the long-term, honesty always wins.

4. Be honorable
Be honorable and respectable. This means doing the right things, keeping promises and in general, being someone who does the right thing. Look at our world leaders today and do the opposite.

5. Integrity
Having integrity for me means being ethical and following a moral code that is both practical and benefits all of humanity. It’s idealistic, but it is certainly worth striving for, isn’t it?

6. Follow your passion
Find your passion and follow it. Never give up. There is always a way to make a living doing what you love. It may not come in the form you think, so be open-minded .

7. Take responsibility
You are responsible for your life. There is no one to blame. If you’re not happy with your life or with your circumstances, you are the only one that can take responsibility and start changing it. What are you waiting for?

8. Be positive
Being just a little bit more positive can mean a lot of things. Reading a good book, checking out positive quotations or even watching a movie that you enjoy. The possibilities are endless. Even though being positive is cliché and kind of irritating, it is still useful.

9. Take action
You can dream and you can wonder, but nothing happens without taking action consistently. You don’t have to be perfect. Learn as much as you need to know the next step and take action!

10. Be radical
Sometimes it’s good to be radical, if it’s you. Radical means different things to different people, so I’ll leave it up to you to interpret it.

11. Focus on your strengths
Stop trying to fix your weaknesses. You can’t be perfect. Focus on your strength and let other people do what you’re bad at.

12. Do less
You can do less and live more. You don’t need more stuff. Release your cravings for materialism. It will lead to less debt, less work and less stress.

13. Be authentic
Whatever you do, be authentic. Be yourself. I’ve always been a bit of an introvert, so this is another one of those points that I’m constantly working on.

14. Enjoy the process
When you’re doing something you love, you will automatically enjoy the process. Goals don’t even matter at this point. Sure, they give you a direction, but you’re loving life and feeling awesome.

15. Be practical
You don’t have to quit your job to do what you love. You can slowly start phasing it out by working on your passion project after you get home from work. Be practical and realistic. Don’t just jump into your passion when you don’t have a plan.

16. Lose arguments
Why do we insist on being right all the time? Try losing arguments. It’s great fun and interrupts patterns in people. Seeing people get confused is a lot of fun.

17. Let someone pass you in line at the supermarket
Everyone’s in a rush to get home, but what if you took a deep breathe and let someone pass you? It’s unexpected and it makes people smile.

18. Quit your job
If you’re ready for it, just quit your job. There’s no need to hang onto something that you don’t need. For the rest of you, stay put.

19. Give away stuff
How much stuff do you have that you haven’t used in the last 12 months? What about giving it all away? I know a lot of people that have their houses full of stuff.

20. Focus
Be aware of where your focus is. Where focus goes, energy flows. If you’re constantly thinking about how you will fail, you will feel bad and maybe even fail. Think about how you will succeed and you might just succeed. If at first you don’t succeed, try again.

21. Tidy up
Keep your apartment or house clean. Not saying that I’m a master of cleanliness or anything, but it sure does feel good to have everything looking good, doesn’t it?

22. Embrace challenges
Most people avoid challenges, or as they like to call them: problems. What would life be without challenges? Incredibly boring. We would never grow – at least not as fast – and everything would be smooth sailing.

23. Live with power
Live with power and certainty. Power goes hand in hand with responsibility. Take action, be confident, be yourself and trust that your intuition will guide you wherever you need to be.

24. Practice courage
We all have our fears. By practicing courage and doing something even though you’re afraid, you grow. New stuff is scary. I know that. You know that. Let’s do it anyway, shall we?

25. Surround yourself with awesome people
The people you choose as friends have a big impact on how you think and act. Do not accept just anyone into your life. Choose your friends wisely.

26. Go with the flow
You know, the universe is constantly giving you hints and trying to pull you in one direction. Are you noticing those hints? From now on, think about the signs you’re getting and follow them.

27. Release expectations
Release all expectations after you’ve set your goal. You never know what the universe might deliver to your doorstep. That’s why you want to have an open-mind, because what if the universe has something better in store for you?

28. Experiment
Dare to experiment. Embrace failure, because that is how you learn and how you grow. Being awesome means looking ridiculous and making tons of mistakes. Why? Because it helps you become better and provide even more value.

29. Live within your means
Do you really need a car? Do you need cable T.V? We can live a lot cheaper when we realize that we do not need a lot of the stuff we think we need. This allows you to work less and have more free time to do what you want.

30. Slow down
Life is busy. Try to be conscious as much as possible. Breathe and slow down. Enjoy the fact that you’re alive. Be grateful for the little things. Be grateful for the big things.

31. Use money as a tool
Money doesn’t have to enslave you. How much money do you really need? How about having enough to do what you want, when you want to do it? Why would anyone need more than that?

32. Dream
Let yourself dream. All my childhood I’ve been told that things can’t be done, but I have come to realize just the opposite, so let yourself dream and ignore the people that don’t know what they’re talking about.

33. Have a kid
I don’t have a kid, yet. But I’ve heard it is a life changing event, especially if you plan it and stay conscious during the whole journey. It will be an interesting experience once I have a kid or ten of my own.

34. Learn a new language
How many times have you heard or even said “I want to learn a new language”? Stop wishing and start doing. Just 10-15 minutes a day will give you results.

35. Be ridiculous
Don’t be afraid of being ridiculous or silly. In other words, just be yourself. We keep hearing that every market is saturated nowadays. Millions of blogs are born all the time. In this day and age you have to stand out. How do you do that? By being ridiculous. By being yourself.

36. Enjoy nature
How long has it been since you took a walk in nature? What about sitting down in the forest and just listening to the wildlife? Be careful if you have bears in your area though, they can easily sneak up on you .

37. Self-discipline
Having and exercising discipline comes in handy more often than you think. We all have weak moments in our lives when we are just about to give up.

38. Plan your day
Before you get out of bed, visualize how your perfect day would look like. How do you want that day to go?

39. Excuses
Have you been putting off doing what you love because you’re afraid? It’s time to throw out all the excuses and just do it. You will see that the fear and excuses fall away once you realize that they really do not hold as much power as you think.

40. Travel
When I finished school at 18, I went to Spain a few months after that. I lived there for almost a year. It enhanced my growth and I learned so much. I enjoy slow traveling, just picking one country, seeing if it’s nice and then staying there.

41. Get a pet
Get a cat, dog, duck, parrot, mouse or even a panda. They’re all awesome. I like animals. Unfortunately, I am allergic to them, but I still find ways to hangout with them without dying. There are a lot of shelter pets that need your help!

42. Clothes
Do you really buy the clothes you want? Or do you buy the clothes you think people like to see? I’m by no means a fashion expert, but I’ve noticed this pattern in myself many times.

43. Backpack
Have you ever traveled with just a backpack? I did this for a month in Thailand. It wasn’t exactly in the form I would have liked, but it was pretty interesting.

44. Couchsurf
Sleep on a couch or share a couch. It’s called couchsurfing. People all around the world are giving strangers a couch to sleep on.

45. Attend a concert
Sure, surround sound sounds awesome, but there’s nothing like attending a concert and hearing music live.

46. Recycle
Everyone is talking about how the earth is dying, but are we actually doing anything about it? Are you recycling and making sure everything ends up in the right place?

47. Re-use
Can you re-use old bottles, bags or anything in your house instead of throwing it out and buying it again?

48. Social media
If you’re not already involved in social media, get involved. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and so on. They are tools to help you connect with the right people. Use them.

49. Blog
Starting a blog doesn’t mean you have to make money. You can start a blog just to have a home on the internet. Share your thoughts and build a community. You might even discover your passion in the process.

50. Talk to a dolphin
I’ve talked to dolphins in my sleep, but never in real life. I just have this feeling. You have to talk to a dolphin at least once in your life. I’m going to do it soon enough, you can quote me on that.

51. Yoda
If yoda you have not seen, then see him you must. I’ve been in love with the whole Star Wars thing ever since I saw the first movie as a child. Granted, I do not dress up as a wookie, but I still enjoy the whole series, because somewhere out there, it actually exists.


Health..............................................

 52. Relax
Stress is killing all of us slowly. Take time out of your day to relax. Meditate, be mindful, walk, hangout with your loved ones or pet. Take a hot bath or a sauna (I love saunas)!

53. Listen to your body
What is your body telling you? Are you working too hard? Not eating enough nutrient-dense foods? By keeping your body happy, you can keep your mind happy, which will allow you to unleash your creativity.

54. Eat fruits
Fruits are easily digested by the human body. They also contain vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, flavonoids and all kinds of nutrients that help keep your body alive. It’s not about surviving, it’s about thriving!

55. Eat vegetables
I don’t like vegetables that much. But I’ve discovered that broccoli soup is quite delicious. I also juice my vegetables with oranges. That way I get my nutrition without it tasting horrible.

56. Drink pure water
The amount of chemicals in our tap water today is frightening. Choose spring water or use a high quality water filtration system to ensure the purest possible drinking water. We are made up out of mostly water, after all.

57. Sleep
Even a little bit of sleep deprivation can alter your mood and cognitive abilities. I know I have to get my 8-9 hours of sleep otherwise I’m not going to feel like myself. I also hear that it promotes healthy skin.

58. Exercise
You and I both know that exercise rocks, it’s just that we tend not to do it that much. When you exercise, your brain releases endorphins, adrenaline, dopamine and serotonin. These are chemicals that work behind the scenes to make you feel good.

59. Build muscle
Gain muscle and start looking better, feeling healthier, and boosting your confidence. Muscle is underrated. There are huge benefits to having more lean muscle mass. The most common myth preventing most people from lifting some weights – or kettlebells – is that they will suddenly become huge. Not true!

60. Eat light meals
Eat meals that satisfy you and nothing more. Eat slowly and listen to your body. I tend to gorge myself, so this is another one I’m integrating into my life. It’s funny because it’s almost as if it is happening naturally.

61. Drink green smoothies
Smoothies are great nutritional bombs that are full of flavor, but green smoothies are even better. You get energy without crashing. You give your body the nutrients it needs without even tasting the vegetables in the smoothie.

62. Stop alcohol
I don’t like alcohol and I don’t enjoy being around people who are drunk. Having a sip of wine or champagne is cool though. Studies show that moderate consumption is O.K and even beneficial.

63. Throw away processed foods
Your body has trouble with processed foods such as sugar, sodas, candy, pasta and practically anything that comes in a box. Eat whole, natural, fresh foods instead and take control of your health.

64. Ride your bike
Do you even have one? I love riding those really old bikes that are made for old people. They are super comfortable and so simple with one gear.

65. Take the stairs
Are you in love with the elevator? Skip it next time and run up the stairs. Why? Because it’s harder and therefore infinitely more awesome.

66. Grow your own food
The ideal choice would be to grow all of your own food, but for most people that just isn’t possible. You can still grow indoors if you want, but that takes resources and space. Growing your own food will give you access to fresh produce that is extremely high in enzymes and nutrients.

67. Eat sprouts
Sprouts are awesome and extremely easy to make. The only thing you need are dry seeds, water and a bag. There are a lot of resources out there that show you how to sprout seeds, so check them out.

68. Try martial arts
Martial arts aren’t for everyone, but if you can find something you like, it can uplift your spirit and give you an outlet for your creativity, while keeping you fit and looking good.

69. Try yoga

Yoga is an ancient practice that connects the mind, body and spirit. It helps with blood pressure, circulation, balance, body awareness, core strength and mood, just to throw a few benefits out there.

70. Lift weights
Many have the notion that if they lift weights, they’ll wake up the next morning looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger. It’s a nice myth. Weight lifting is beneficial, but can become boring if you don’t throw some variation in there.

71. Detoxify
The food we eat, air we breathe and water we drink is filled with pollutants, chemicals and toxins. Cleansing and going through a herbal detoxification regimen can help your body eliminate these toxins and improve your health.

72. Massage
Get a massage and give a massage. Getting a massage will help you release tension, relax and be a little bit more of who you really are. I tried shiatsu a few years ago and it was awesome.

73. Juices
Freshly-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices are nature’s multivitamins. They are digested extremely fast and put minimal strain on your body.

74. Fast
Juice fasting and water fasting have both been proven by people all around the world to improve health and wellbeing. If you’re planning a water fast, you might want to contact someone that knows their stuff, it can get rough.

75. Take an omega-3 supplement
The benefits of fish oil have been proven over and over again. You can eat fatty fish and get your omega-3′s that way, but for those that do not like fish or can’t eat enough, supplementation might be an option.

76. Take a natural multivitamin
The nutrition in our food has been slowly declining over the decades, because of the use of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and other chemicals. A natural multivitamin will keep your bases covered.


Spiritual....................

77. Breathe
Remind yourself to breathe deeply through your nose and into your abdomen. Breathe out through your mouth, slowly. This relaxes and releases stress. Focus on your breath and notice your body and mind saying goodbye to tension.

78. Meditate
Taking time off from your busy schedule to meditate. It enhances your brain power, mood and reduces pain sensitivity. Learning how to meditate is easy, so make time for it. No, not someday. Now. Schedule 10 minutes right now and try it.

79. Release the how
We’re always trying to figure out how something is going to happen. Release the how. Our brains aren’t meant to know how things are going to happen. It causes anxiety, worry and other mental problems.

80. Volunteer
Almost every city has somewhere where you can volunteer. Go check it out and try it for one day. You might like it.

81. Be open minded
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Be open to everything, because you never know where it may lead. What if you tried an origami class today where you met someone that will help you 13 years from now? You can never know.

82. Grow
Grow as a human being, a spiritual being and a conscious soul. If you aren’t growing, you’re slowly withering away. There is no middle ground. Always push yourself. Live uncomfortably and evolve.

83. Be grateful
Write down and think about the positive things in your life. Practice gratitude every night before sleep. It may feel weird, but enjoying the little things you are grateful for will have an impact on you.

84. Make connections
One of the most important things in life is making connections. My life has significantly shifted towards making more connections and giving value, from just being someone who does something for money. This has had a huge impact on my life.

85. Accept
Do you constantly want to change they way things are? What if you had done that one thing differently in the past? Stop it. You’re putting yourself in mental hell. Accept what is. Ironically, that is the first step to change.

86. Forgive
Forgive yourself and others. It will take a huge load off your back. You don’t have to hold grudges against anyone. You are only causing anguish to yourself.

87. Patience
Nothing happens fast. I learned this the hard way. In the small amount of behind-the-scenes coaching that I’ve done I keep seeing this over and over again. People want to make it online and they want fast results, but the truth is that you have to work hard for 6-12-24 months before anything happens.

88. Create
We all like to do something. We are made to create. Whether it is writing, painting or singing doesn’t matter. Creating gives birth to serenity. When you’re in the flow of creating in a form you enjoy, you will see what I am talking about. My favorite form is writing at the moment.

89. Say hi
Just saying hi and shooting a smile at people you pass on the street can have a huge impact on their day, and in your own life. Spreading the joy feels good.

90. Hug people
What about taking it to the next level and hugging people on the street? Start your own free hugs campaign. That video is awesome.

91. Be aware of your beliefs
Your beliefs control what you see, what you believe and where you’re heading. If you don’t believe that you’re awesome, then you won’t accomplish awesome things.

92. Thank as many people as you can
Go out of your way to thank as many people as you can. If you have a blog, thank your visitors in any way you can. Give them free stuff. Send them personal e-mails. Help them out.

93. Intuition
Take chances. Don’t be afraid to trust your intuition. For me, intuition is that feeling I get in my heart. I feel drawn to something and it feels good. It’s not correct 100% of the time (because I misinterpret), but it’s fun following it and seeing what happens.

94. Learn to say no
Saying no is liberating and powerful. You do not have to accept every request that your friends or loved ones make. You control your time. If you’re afraid that your friends will un-like you for not doing stuff, then they aren’t really your friends.

95. Release labels
When we look at someone we automatically put a label on them and often we’re wrong. Think about all those times you analyzed someone and thought you were right. When you met them and talked to them you realized how wrong you were.

96. Imagine
Imagine how you would like to be. Confident, charismatic, funny and whatever else you fancy. Now think of how that version of you acts and lives their everyday life. Then imitate them.

97. Be present
There’s no need to dwell on the past or the future. Take your awareness and plant it in the now. Be aware of your body, thoughts and feelings. Just observe them and allow them to be.

98. Embrace Imperfection
We have to be perfect. Never fail. Failure was frowned upon when I was a kid, so I grew up thinking I had to be perfect. Took me a long time to realize that it wasn’t necessarily so. It’s okay to be imperfect. It’s human.

99. Ask for help
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you have trouble, reach out to someone and ask for their assistance. We can’t always do things on our own.

100. Respect people
Show people respect. This is a big one. I wasn’t good at showing others respect just a few years ago. I’m learning though and doing my best.

101. Trust
Trust others. There are a lot of good people out there that will help you. I’m not saying you should trust anyone blindly though. But I think you know what I mean.

102. Release negative people
You don’t have to hang around negative people, you know? They are there to teach you that. Let them go and say good bye.

103. Listen to others
Listen to what people have to say. Don’t you feel appreciated when someone has 100% of their attention on you? Do the same.

104. There is no spoon
You create your reality. Realize that you have the power to create what you want. If you don’t agree then you have a few beliefs to let go of.

105. Ego
The ego has its tasks, but it has taken the population of Earth hostage. You can free yourself by breathing and allowing it to be as it is.

106. Release negativity
There are a lot of good tools to release negative emotions, beliefs and thoughts. Two of my favorites are Emotional Freedom Technique and the Sedona Method.

107. Use NLP
Ever heard of Neuro-Linguistic Programming? It’s basically taking control of your brains operating system. It’s another tool that you might find useful.


Clarity..................................

108. Journal
Writing down your thoughts will help you gain clarity. Since I started writing my decision-making has been sharper and more awesome. By journaling you can learn more about yourself and therefore improve your life and at the same time affect those around you in a positive way.

109. Simplify your life
Throw out superfluous goals, things and stuff in general. External purging affects your internal state. Don’t you just feel better when you give or even throw old stuff away? I know I do. You do too, you just can’t admit it, can you?

110. Have goals
Write down your goals. They don’t have to be incredibly meticulous. Just having them in writing gives them more power. You’ve heard the stories, someone writes down a goal and forgets about it, then they find it 10 years later and you know the story .

111. Read
Reading teaches you things. Secret things. Did you know that most people don’t read? That means you’ll know many secrets that they don’t, just by reading books. Two of my favorite books are the Power of Now and Way of the Peaceful Warrior.

112. Throw out your T.V
How much time do you spend watching T.V? I haven’t watched television regularly for a very long time. It frees up amazing amounts of time. If you watch 2 hours a day, that’s 730 hours per year, or 4.34 weeks per year. It’s time to kill your T.V.

113. Stop reading the news
How often have you felt happy after reading the news? It’s filled with propaganda, manipulated stories and bombs. Why read it? It doesn’t do you any good.

114. Don’t multitask
I’m a huge multi-tasker and addicted to it. I don’t really want to change that habit right now, but I have noticed that whenever I focus on one thing, magic happens more often than not.

115. Enjoy music
I tend to only listen to music while I do other things. One day I put on music and sat with my eyes closed. It was as if another world had opened up. Everything seemed different.

116. Turn off your phone
I’ve had my phone turned off a lot. I’ve even stopped answering the phone when it rings. I guess that’s one of the reasons why people don’t call me anymore. But on a more serious note, it’s relaxing .

117. Turn off your IM
Did you think I was going to let you have your Instant Messenger on? Shut it down! In fact, I’m going to shut mine off right now. There, it’s done. Try it.

118. Learn your values
What are your true values in life? Do you value integrity? Honesty? What about love? How about money? Which one is #1?

119. Prioritize
People say they don’t have time, when in reality they’re saying they lack priorities. If you don’t have time to follow your passion, you don’t really care about feeling fulfilled and awesome. Learn how to eliminate and discriminate.

120. Keep it simple
Keep things as simple as necessary, but no simpler.

121. Death
Remind yourself that you are going to die. This will melt away any obstacles that are preventing you from living your life to the fullest. 

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