Category Archives: Articles

Articles, Quotes - 2009

Command your life!

Don’t be at the mercy of events, command your thoughts instead and command the events in turn. – mp

At the Mercy of Events

Something great happens and we feel elated and happy; something bad or terrible occurs and we’re in the doldrums. Sometimes we’re in the doldrums for no apparent reason!

Why?

Why be at the mercy of events?

All in the Thoughts

The problem and the solution both lie in our thoughts and how we think. We think most thoughts in our mind, unconsciously. Because we’re not aware of most of our own thoughts we’re unaware how based on assumptions they lead us steadily into feelings of fear, despair and depression.

  1. The first step is to be aware of what we think. Notice how a chain of thoughts is directly responsible for how you feel at any moment.
  2. Catch yourself before you start thinking in this fashion. Understand that life is change and that most of our fear about life is because life doesn’t appear to follow our own expectations. So an example might be that you apply for a job and don’t get it. Now you feel fearful because you hoped and expected to get that job. Because life didn’t turn out the way you expected you think thoughts right into a funk. Here’s the key though; you often think these thoughts unconsciously, you don’t know why you feel a certain way. The job incident might be haunting you 2 months later and you may not realize it.
  3. Don’t have expectations. Ok it’s hard but a habit is built one tiny step at a time. If your end goal is to be calm, peaceful and happy then you might want to do this! Don’t expect life to go your way. Do what’s necessary and then know that you’re capable of handling whatever life throws at you!
  4. Command your thoughts! You are your own master, control the quality of thoughts you think and you directly control the quality of your life. Period.
  5. Visualize what you desire. With regular frequency visualize what you want in as much detail as possible, include the feeling of living that life.

Let’s wake up and live a conscious and meaningful life!

Recommendation: Living the Science of Mind by Ernest Holmes

Living the Science of Mind

Articles, Quotes - 2009

The purpose of life…

The purpose of life is a life of purpose. – Robert Byrne

A Life of Purpose

Simple isn’t it? Why do we still feel so unfulfilled and even scared about life? How should we define or find a purpose for our lives? Is that enough?

The Trick

Purpose, like life can be addressed at many levels. Here’s an example:

  • Highest Level: To follow God’s will while serving others in love.
  • In-between level: Be a Chiropractor helping people in pain
  • Lowest Level: I will stay happy, daily.

So go find your Life Purpose/s and forget about everything else. Live it as best you can. Taking positive action; daily, bit by bit is the sure way. This blog will continue to explore ways and means to help you discover your Life Purpose!

Martin Seligman comes to mind when talking about happiness and meaning in life. He wrote the book on it! Here’s what he says:

The pleasant life: a life that successfully pursues the positive emotions about the present, past, and future.
The good life: using your signature strengths to obtain abundant gratification in the main realms of your life.
The meaningful life: using your signature strengths and virtues in the service of something much larger than you are.

Recommendation: Authentic Happiness 

Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment

Articles, Quotes - 2009

Peace comes when…

Peace comes from feelings of satisfaction when working with joy, living with hope, loving with abandonment. – Arnold Hutschnecker

What do we seek?

Ultimately we all want to feel peace and joy! That can only happen when we:

  • Have great satisfying relationships.
  • Meaningful work that quenches the thirst of our inner-most self.
  • Have an ongoing longer term approach to be useful and of service to others.

These 3 components are essential.

Next Steps:

  1. How can we be more complete in our relationships? How can we expect less, give and love more?
  2. What’s our Life Purpose? What’s our calling?
  3. How can we be of value to others?

Lot’s to ponder; life is good, life is meaningful!

Recommendation: The Secret of Letting Go by Guy Finley

The Secret of Letting Go

Articles, Quotes - 2009

An Effective You!

YOU must be effective first…. – www.effectiveyou.com

Effective You Launches!

The central premise for this blog is that you must be effective first. You must come first. Then everything else follows. If you can be effective as a human, spouse, parent, child and citizen then the world is well along its way to a recovery. A recovery that can only begin via a personal transformation. That revolution must begin with you! So how can you be effective in all these arenas of life? It’s the goal of this blog to explore just that. We’ll explore the dimensions of personal, professional and ‘leadership’ oriented ways and means.

Personal Effectiveness:

Personal effectiveness is at the heart of all renewal, self-transformation and growth. This category will house articles that help you become more effective mentally, physically, spiritually and in all relationships.

Professional Effectiveness:

The primary focus of this category of articles will be to help you to be more effective at work and in business. This means that you’ll know how to deal with people, which is most important, know how to spend your time efficiently and focus on only that which supports your deep fulfillment as a human being.

Leadership/Management:

Leadership is all about you whether at work, home or play. Each one of us is a leader even if we don’t realize it. What is your impact at work, on colleagues, subordinates or management? What are the defining characteristics of real leaders? What is your leadership style? What is Management? Check this category out for answers to such questions.

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Articles, Quotes - 2009, Stillness

We create our own unhappiness…

Hell has three gates: lust, anger, and greed. – The Bhagavad Gita

We create it:

All these three negativities skew our thoughts. All 3 are a result of our thoughts. We create the train of thoughts that leads us in any negative direction. The opposite is also true.

Anything that rattles our minds, throws us off kilter is counter-productive. There’s actually a 4th gate to hell and it’s called Fear!

Seek equanimity:

Equanimity is what we should seek. With a steady, still and reflective mind we’re better equipped to live fully. I suggest 2 techniques in that pursuit:

  1. Free Journaling: Spend 10 minutes daily journaling your thoughts. You just type or write away without judging what comes out. You just throw out any thoughts, emotions, feelings, plans or ideas, put it down on paper or online. Do this daily. It will help you clarify your mind and help it calm down. You’ll garner many creative ideas as well.
  2. Stillness Practice: Practice what will work for you. Just sit and be. Learn to be still, peaceful and calm, look here.

Recommendation: The Essential Laws of Fearless Living by Guy Finley

The Essential Laws of Fearless Living: Find the Power to Never Feel Powerless Again

Articles, Quotes - 2009

Creativity through flexibility…

Be clear about your goal but be flexible about the process of achieving it. – Brian Tracy

We must know where we want to go. With our selves, family, our work and even our being. Why with our being? Because doing goals are different from being goals. A doing goal is like: I want to be able to do 50 pushups daily within 3 months. A being goal example is: I want to not get irritated every time my kids want my attention.

With our goals defined; we ought to stay flexible about the process, the how! Why you ask? For 2 reasons:

  1. By staying flexible, you stay open minded to other interesting ways to get to your goal. You are more likely to notice signals that Life sends your way!
  2. You allow the Universe to play its role in helping you achieve your goals. If you define the specific steps for your success the Universal Mind may not be able help because your plans don’t match with the grander plans afoot.

Your job is to create. Create in your mind first, stay flexible, notice the signs, take action, presto!

Recommendation: The Secret

The Secret

Articles, Quotes - 2009

Thinking straight…

One cannot think crooked and walk straight. – Anonymous

How do we set our inside right? That has to be the first order of business, in the business of life.

I believe it must happen on 3 levels. I call it the MBS System, the Mind, Body and Soul System.

Soul: We ought to discover our Life Purpose. The path to which is led by self-knowledge. This can be a great basis for our whole being.

Mind: Our thoughts must be congruent with our highest desires i.e. our Life Purpose. We can’t expect to think thoughts that don’t support our mental, spiritual or physical well-being and expect to be happy campers.

Body: To live a Soul purpose and be of a sound mind, our body must be in good shape.

So you see our whole being must move in tandem for us to be fulfilled. All this can be quite over-whelming because hardly anyone is living in this wholesome fashion. The secret is to take small tri-pronged steps, daily and watch your life unfold!

Recommendation: Beyond the Summit

Beyond the Summit: Setting and Surpassing Extraordinary Business Goals

Also see: www.effectiveyou.com