Ideas: For a Successful, Less Complicated Life!

Are You Projecting Good Vibrations?

On November 10th 2008, I found this interesting & thought provoking article on: "Good, Good, Good Vibrations!", posted on: The Naked Soul  (Blog).

"A young girl was saying mean things to the dog, using hurtful language. I said, “Please don’t say mean things to the dog” to which she replied, “The dog doesn’t understand what I am saying”. I then tried to explain to her how even though the dog may not understand the words you use; the dog does understand the intent of the words. I asked her, can you tell if someone is angry with you even though they have not said anything? She said “Well, yes”. I asked, “can you let your Mom know that you are sad without saying any words to her by the way you look?” She agreed that she could. I said, “We communicate in many ways, using words is only one way of communicating, do you understand?” She then petted and apologized to the dog.

The reality is that we communicate in many ways, language, physically through are body language, the position of our eyes, our actions and we even communicate and often very strongly through silence. No matter what way we communicate it all breaks down to one way of communication and that is that we communicate through vibrations.

Every thought we have, every word we utter has a vibration and it is often that vibration which communicates the loudest. This is why it is so difficult for someone to successfully lie or to disguise their true feelings.

When we learn to tune in and trust these vibrations, we become more connected with the true intention of what is being felt and how it aligns with what is being communicated. Often people refer to “trusting their gut feeling”. This could easily be translated to say trust the vibe that you are getting. Back in the 1960’s people often referred to having a good or bad vibe about something which referred to the vibration that they were feeling. Learning to tune into vibrations which we and others emit is key to understanding each other.

We feel vibrations from people all day long. This is often how we determine if someone is being honest with us of if we can trust someone and that is how other people tune into and react to us. For instance, if we are walking down the street and a person approaches us, how they act towards us if often a reflection of the vibration we are emitting. Say for instance someone approached you with the intent of asking you for directions, however as they approached they picked up on your vibration of fear and distrust, they unconsciously may change the way they approach you and become defensive and agitated because their intent was simply to ask directions and not cause harm however the vibrations which you send out are that of fear which is not aligned with their expectation and all of a sudden other actions are manifested that were not the original intent.

Vibrations are why we intuitively trust some people when we first meet them and why we distrust others.

I have often heard that animals smell fear on us, it is not that fear has an odor, it is that fear has a distinct vibration and when the animal feels the vibration of fear, they believe there is something to fear and go into a defensive mode or a fear based mode which may tell them to attack before they are attacked.

We cannot fake it, our vibrations give us away! You may think you are hiding your true feelings behind political correctness or you may believe that you are fooling your spouse that you are not cheating or that you can put on a poker face and fool the world, however trust me, the only person you are fooling is yourself. Your vibrations of what you truly feel and what you truly think are always there and anyone who desires to tune in will learn the truth."

What does this mean to you and me, it means that we must live in love and emit vibrations of love and know that when we choose to veer from our course of overflowing love that it will be no secret to the world and that every vibration which we emit has an affect on everything and everyone, including ourselves. Knowing this, we have to know that there is only room for good, good, good vibrations!

What are your vibrations today, are you spreading the love or are you vibrating fear, distrust, anxiety, hate, etc.

You and you alone are in control of your vibrations and it is only you who can choose to make a difference by the vibrations which you emit.

The Secret of Anything, is Consciousness of That Thing!

Here is an interesting article, I found, written by: Enoch Tan, as was posted on: The Wealthy Attitude Blog

"The secret of anything is consciousness of that thing. Intention is the offspring of consciousness. When you are conscious of something, you are also intending it. What you intend is what you manifest. Wealth, health and happiness are states of being and also states of mind. Your actions are naturally guided by your thoughts. Just like focusing on a telephone pole during a skid causes you to turn your steering wheel towards the pole, your doing comes from your being, which manifests all of your having.

The secret of power is consciousness of power. When you are weak, it is because you have lost consciousness of power. The moment you are conscious of your power, you feel powerful and manifest power. In every situation you are in, be conscious of your power. Never let another person rob you of your consciousness of power, because that is the first step to rendering you powerless in their presence. All power is mental, and power to whom power exerts. No power is truly external but all power is internal.

The secret of success is consciousness of success. Think and feel success, and your actions will be guided towards success by your subconscious mind. The reason of failure is not so much based on the actions that a person takes, but the consciousness behind the actions. Those who think success will cause their actions to result in success whereas those who think failure will cause their actions to result in failure. Success is in the start. You are a success the moment you see yourself as a success.

The secret of wealth is consciousness of wealth. In order to experience abundance, you have to be abundant. Abundance is your true nature, and when you think, act and live according to it, you will manifest abundance. The rich in mentality get richer while the poor in mentality get poorer. The accumulation of material wealth begins with wealth consciousness. Pursuing spiritual development before working on wealth creation is the key to attaining both inner and outer riches. The outer is reflection of inner.

The secret of health is consciousness of health. Disease is a lack of ease psychologically and physically. Conflicting thoughts and feelings in your consciousness is what causes this state of distress. When you notice yourself becoming sick, watch for conflicting thoughts that have arisen within your consciousness and resolve them. Either push them all one way or the other, or find a way to hold them in a harmonious way. External remedies only cure symptoms but dealing with consciousness cures at root.

The secret of love is consciousness of love. Even though you may love a person, you may not always be loving to that person. Sometimes in difficult moments, you have to choose whether to be loving or unloving. Being conscious of your love and choosing to be loving in those moments is what makes all the difference. You experience love for yourself when you are conscious of the love that the universe has for you. Out of the love that you feel for yourself from The Creator, you can express the love to another.

The secret of influence is consciousness of influence. Men who command greater influence over other men are those who are conscious of their own influence. They speak knowing that others would listen. Their claims are not weak and their appeals not uncertain. To be a power persuader or communicator, you must believe in yourself. It is no so much about the message you say, but the belief in what you say that moves people. What comes from the heart goes to the heart. Strong minds are world powers.

Do You Have Monthly Goals?

Check out this short thought provoking article on: "Monthly Goals!", written by: Robin Skeen, the creator of: "Robin's Reflections" (Blog).

"If you aren't a goal setter, then you probably groaned when you read this title. Setting goals is one of the best things any person can do for themselves. I'm going to explain to you why setting a single goal just isn't enough anymore, and why it is important to set monthly goals.

First, a monthly goal gives you something to work towards. Unlike a long-term goal, a monthly goal is a short-term goal. It is something that is measurable by four weeks. You should take a look at your long-term goals, then break them down and see what can be done in one months time.

Second, a monthly goal creates a sense of urgency. If you look at your long-term goal, lets say for five years from now, you probably don't feel any sense of urgency to work on it. Why? Because five years is too far down the road.

Youre likely to procrastinate and tell yourself that you have plenty of time to work on that but you don't. Monthly goals will keep your goals in the forefront of your mind, making them more likely to become accomplished.

Finally, monthly goals help to keep you on track with the bigger picture. When you reach the end of a month and can see how much you have accomplished just in one month, you will be much more likely to set even higher goals for the next month. This keeps you moving even faster towards the bigger picture, your long-term goal.

As you can see, monthly goals are great and even necessary to keep you moving in the right direction. Set your goals for this month and see how much it helps you out.

6 Tips for Getting Things Done!

Check out this interesting article, I found on: "Leonardo Da Vinci’s Top 6 Tips for Getting Things Done", written by: Henrik Edberg, the creator of: The Positivity Blog.

“When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.”

“A well-spent day brings happy sleep.”

If you want tips on how to become more productive, one good source would be Leonardo da Vinci.

He painted a whole bunch of classic paintings such as the Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. His journals contain ideas for inventions like hydraulic pumps, steam cannons, helicopters and hang gliders.

He was also, among other things, an anatomist, sculptor, botanist and musician.

Da Vinci got stuff done. A lot of stuff.

How did he do it? Well, here are six of his tips for getting things done.

1. Do.

“I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.”

“It had long since come to my attention that people of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things.”

If you want to get things done you have to do things. If you want big results you often have to take massive action. There is no way to get around taking action if you want real life results.

But it’s easy to get stuck in a mindset where you in way substitute thinking for action. You think and think and take action just once in a while.

One thing that gets you stuck in this mindset is that you may see other people doing the same thing. And so your habit of taking action once in a while gets reinforced since it feels like the “normal” thing to do. The fear of failure and what people might say if you try, fail or succeed are powerful factors too.

But to get what you want you need to break out of that. You need to take a lot of action. And if you are an overthinker or procrastinator then there is probably room for a lot more action every week.

I think the first step is just to be aware of how much action you are actually taking. To be aware how much time you are spending thinking or planning. And catch yourself when you get stuck in unproductive thought patterns. And then adjust to take more action.

How can you snap yourself into action? Three tips:

The Elusive Balance Between Work and Life!

On November 6th, 2008, I found an interesting article entitled: "How To Find That Elusive Balance Between Work and Life Life", posted on: Zen Habits.Net  (Blog).

"I have a close friend named Norm who is a great photographer and a great person in general … recently he was telling me that all he does is work.

That might sound familiar to some of you — I’ve certainly been there at different points in my life, although these days I have to say that I’ve found a pretty good balance between all the important things in my life, including work, family, and other things I’m interested in.

Norm asked me to write a post about work-life balance, because although I think Norm is pretty happy with his life, he’s interested in expanding his life beyond work. I think it’s an interesting question that most of us have to address at some point or other.

Work *Is* Life, To Some Extent

The first thing to point out is that work isn’t separate from life — it’s a part of it. For some people, it’s not a fun part of life, but for others, it’s a passion. Either way, it’s a part of our lives, good or bad.

Of course, when people talk about a work-life balance, they mean that we should find a balance between work and our personal lives, which is definitely true. But it’s important to realize that if work is really something you love, you don’t need to cut it short in order to spend more time at home in front of the television.

So the key is to remember that what we’re looking for is a balance between the things we love — not just work and the rest of life, but work and family and hobbies and chores and everything else.

What Do You Love?

What are the things you love to do? That’s the question to start with. My friend Norm loves photography, but I think he also really enjoys jiu-jitsu and spending time with close friends, among other things. For myself, my favorite things in the world include spending time with my family, writing, reading and running. What’s on your short list?

One of the things on your list might be your work — or the work you want to do (as opposed to the work you’re doing right now). But others could include your favorite hobbies or other passions, ways to relax and have fun, exercise or other outdoor activities, reading and learning, shopping or eating or entertainment, volunteering, or spending time with people who are important to you. There are as many other possibilities as there are people in the world, of course.

Create your short list now, and then continue to the next section.

Creating Space in Your Life

It’s time to take a Big Picture look at your life — how are you spending your time right now? How long do you work (and how much of that time is spent on doing what you really love about your work)? What do you do before and after work? What do you do on your days off?

Burning Your Bridges of Retreat!

Here is an interesting and thought provoking article on: "How to Burn Your Bridges of Retreat and Just Go For It", written by: Brian Kim.

"It’s one of those pieces of advice – one of those “hurrah motivational be a man and just do it sounds good in theory but people will be too scared to apply it in real life anyways” type of advice.

But the concept of burning your bridges of retreat and just going for it definitely does have its merits.

The basic logic behind it is that if you MUST do something, you WILL do it.

If you should do something, chances are, you’re probably not going to do it.

Burning your bridges implies that it’s a MUST. There’s no way back. There’s no retreat. The only option you have is to move forward.

It’s a concept that most people first hear after reading Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and the account of General Cortez burning his ships, showing his soldiers that there was no going back. They would have to fight the Aztecs and win or they would perish and of course, they won.

Fast forward to today, and you hear similar stories, although on a less dramatic scale, of people who have quit their jobs and successfully started their own businesses or stories of people who travel thousands of miles to Hollywood, burning their bridges of a normal life to become a famous actor/actress, etc., and it sounds very glamorous and all, but for every person who has “made it” when they burned their bridges and went for it, there are many others who don’t.

So what separates them?

Why do some succeed in burning their bridges and going for it while others fail?

Before we answer that question, first off how do you even do it in the first place?

How do you burn your bridges and just go for it?

It’s simple really and I’ll let Bill Cosby handle this one.

“Your desire for success must be greater than your fear of failure.”

Fear of failure keeps people in check. There’s no need to retreat if you never go for it. Fear of failure will stop people from taking that first step.

In order to cure this paralyzing disease, we need the antidote.

The antidote to fear is DESIRE. It’s the polar opposite of fear.

It can be said that everything we do in life is done out of fear or out of love, with love being obviously, the ultimate, most potent form of desire.

Who Is in Control?

Check out this interesting and thought provoking article, I found, written by: Tom Stine

"To continue my recent theme about control, let’s take a look at the real heart of the issue. In previous posts, I discussed how the idea of being in control is pretty much illusory and how you can’t even control what your next thought is going to be. In this little essay, I want to look at the controller, the you that has no control over anything.

From the beginning, the idea of control over one’s life, one’s thoughts, one’s actions, anything and everything, presupposes that there is a someone who is in control. That stands to reason, doesn’t it? If there is control, there must be a controller.

So, find him or her. Right now, see if you can find the controller, the one who has control over this thing called “your life.” Is it your body? Does it have control over your life? Is it your mind? Does it have control over your life? Do its wishes, desires, thoughts and even intentions have control? Given that thoughts have a crazy way of “just arising spontaneously” then the mind being in control seems iffy.

Look inside and see if you can find this controller. Is it the thinker of your thoughts? Where is this thinker? Can you find him or her? Is it the soul? While some of my readers are very convinced of the reality of the soul, I would ask you to do a very simple thing: look inside and find it. I mean, if the soul is you, then shouldn’t you be able to find it? It seems reasonable. And yet, when you look inside, what do you find?

If you are like me (and basically everyone else who does this very simple exercise), you come to the most interesting realization: there is nothing there. You look inside and you find nothing. In this context, you look inside for the controller, for the ultimate you that does things, decides things, chooses things, and you do not find anything. You find a whole lot of nothing.

I will leave you with a few questions: is this a bad thing, finding nothing? What if this nothing that you find is what you are? What if everyone is the same nothing? How much control, then, do you have over your life? Every time you look inside, you can’t find the you that you always thought you were, and instead find nothing. Isn’t that interesting?

Can You Live A Purposeful Life In Poverty?

Check out this thought provoking article, I found, written by: Michelle Vandepas, one of the creators of: "Divine Purpose Unleashed" (Blog).

"Imagine if:

Your life purpose was getting clean water for your children to drink that day.
Living with abundance meant having a plate of food and not just scraps.
Manifesting your dreams included having a roof over your head.

What if you had nothing,  and had to scrape by every day, worried about necessities like food and water and housing?  Most people in extreme poverty do  not have the luxury to think about a life purpose -  other than how to stay alive.  That is their purpose. Food, Water, Shelter.

Imagine if you were without even a drop of water to drink or food to eat that day. What if you had to haul water for miles every morning?

Last summer when I was in a drought we conserved water.  I didn’t run the dishwasher unless it was packed full, and we took quick showers every other day and never let the water run while brushing teeth.  Our family was very aware that even in our conservation mode we are the luckiest people on earth to have the option to turn the faucet on when we are thirsty.

How would you motivate yourself to live a better life; think about personal growth, self development, growing your business or your blog when your stomach is empty?

Heifer, a great organization that teaches people to farm, grow food and create a sustainable lifestyle helps people get out of extreme poverty by teaching and mentoring. And it seems to work. Many who have been through their program can now dream a bit bigger and ask themselves what a next step might be:

Perhaps I can sell a few eggs
Maybe my child can go to school
I could start a small business in my village

Today, millions of people who were once hungry will be nourished by milk, eggs and fresh vegetables.

Families who for generations knew only poverty will be building new homes and starting businesses.

And people who never thought they’d be in a position to help someone else will be experiencing the joy of charitable giving.

How is this possible?

With Heifer’s proven approach – almost 60 years in the making – to helping people obtain a sustainable source of food and income.

Children who were once scavenging trash can now focus on their strengths.

Children who once headed out to the fields to do backbreaking work will be heading into schoolrooms to learn to read.

Happiness boosters that do more harm than good!

Check out this short article on "Finding happiness: 5 happiness boosters that actually do more harm than good", written by: Gretchen Rubin, the creator of: The Happiness Project (Blog).

"Everyone has a few tricks for beating the blues – things you do when you’re feeling down to try to boost your mood. It turns out, however, that several of the most popular strategies don’t actually work very well in the long term. Beware if you are tempted to try any of the following:

1. Comforting yourself with a “treat.” Often, the things we choose as “treats” aren’t good for us. The pleasure lasts a minute, but then feelings of guilt, loss of control, and other negative consequences just deepen the lousiness of the day. So when you find yourself thinking, “I’ll feel better after I have a few beers…a pint of ice cream…a cigarette…a new pair of jeans,” ask yourself – will it REALLY make you feel better? It might make you feel worse. In particular, beware of…

2. Letting yourself off the hook. I’ve found that I sometimes get a real happiness boost from giving something up, quitting something, or breaking a bad habit. For example, I feel very happy about having given up fake food. When you’re feeling down, you might be tempted to let yourself off the hook, to think, “I’ll allow myself to skip my run today, I need a break.” In fact, sticking to a resolution will boost your sense of self-esteem and self-control. So NOT letting yourself off the hook might do more to boost your happiness.

3. Turning off your phone. Studies show that extroverts and introverts alike get a mood boost from connecting with other people. Although it can be tempting to isolate yourself when you’re feeling unhappy, you’re better off making plans with friends or family.

4. Expressing your negative emotions. Many people believe in the “catharsis hypothesis” and think that expressing anger is healthy-minded and relieves their feelings. Not so. Studies show that expressing anger only aggravates it; as Plutarch observed, “Anger, while in its beginning, often can be ended by silence, or neglect.” I’ve certainly found this to be true; once I get going, I can whip myself into a fury. It’s better to stay calm.

5. Staying in your pajamas all day. One of the most helpful things I’ve learned in my happiness research is that although we think that we act because of the way we feel, in fact, we often feel act. As improbable as this sounds, it really works. Sometimes it can be fun to hang out in your sweats all day, but if you’re feeling lethargic, powerless, or directionless, not getting dressed is going to make you feel worse. Put on your clothes—including your shoes—so you feel prepared for whatever the day might offer. While you’re at it, make your bed. because of the way we

Have you ever tried to cheer yourself up using a strategy that just made you feel worse, in the end? Or what are more effective ways to beat the blues?

5 Simple Ways To Avoid Regret!

Here is a thought provoking article, I found, written by Mike Salara, as was posted on: Alex Shalman.com.

"One of the worst things in the world is regret. You feel bad you pushed that old lady out of the way to catch that cab in the rain, don’t you? Well then don’t do it. Easier said than done. Sometimes people act in a way that they think is best at the time, but upon further reflection they really wish they could take it back. Here is a simple list of ways you can avoid the dreaded regret and have a clear conscience.

1. Think Before You Act

You need to know yourself pretty well before this tip can become effective. Look at a situation and the possible outcomes before you take action. If you do option #1, this will be the likely result and you will feel a certain way. If you do option #2, there will be a different result and you will correspondingly feel different.

It is hard to predict exactly what the result will be when you act in a certain way. However, in most situations, people can make an educated guess about their action will impact others and themselves. For example, you are paying for your items and the cashier give you change for a $20, even though you only paid with a $10. What do you do? A lot of people would just walk out of the store and count themselves lucky for the extra $10. They reason that it is a big store with plenty of money, they will never miss $10, and I spend enough money in there anyway. Well did you think about the cashier getting paid some paltry hourly wage that may get fired because his/her drawer was $10 off? I’ll bet that job is much more important to that person than $10 is to you. Besides, don’t make bogus excuses to make yourself feel better for knowingly pocketing money that did not belong to you. You will regret it later.

I have personally been on both sides of this scenario and I will tell you that I always regretted walking out with the money, even if it was a few dollars. I do not do it anymore and I feel a whole lot better. I even go back to the store to return the money if I do not realize it until later. It is a small price to pay for a clear conscience.

2. Do What You Love

How many people are out there going to a job they hate, staying in a relationship in which they are unhappy, or doing things for some reason other than because that is what they want to be doing. Most people do this to some degree because we cannot ALWAYS do what we love. This is more of a general recommendation. If love to write, you should start a blog or a journal. If you love to snow board, volunteer at a ski lift in exchange for a pass. Money is no excuse for not doing what you love. There are ways to do what you love and feel fulfilled, you just have to summon the motivation.

If you spend your time doing things you do not like, you will look back after some time and realize you are unhappy and regret that you did not do more of the things you loved.

3. Spend Time With Important People

I have never heard of someone declaring on their death bed “I wish I spent more time at work.” People who look back on their lives with regret, usually wish they spent more time with their families. It sounds corny, but life really is about spending as much time with your loved ones as possible. If it makes you happy to spend time with your friends, carve out some time to do that often enough so that you do not lose those ties that bind.