Day #224: Follow Your Dreams, Not The World

Don’t let your dreams be dreams. Go now. Begin. Take action.

You have a chance to make it. A chance to finally step up and take up the baton.

You don’t need no permission, you don’t need no confirmation. You just need to know that you can get out there and start making your dreams a reality.

Perspective is everything when it comes to making things happen. People will support you, but they will also be a naysayer too. Remember though… if it was easy, everyone would be doing what you are doing – making your dreams a reality. Taking the idea of something normal and making into something more.

You will have good days and you will have bad days. Some days, you just need to keep swimming. Even if you are swimming against the currents, and it feels like you are not making progress, you are in fact moving forward.

Just keep swimming.”- Dory in Finding Nemo

You might not see it now, but you can feel it. You have the feeling and the longing and urge to have your product, your service, your business or your idea to change the world.  Fuel that urge as a motivation to not stop and to never give up.

“Find a truly original idea. It is the only way I will ever distinguish myself. It is the only way I will ever matter.” – John Nash in A Beautiful Mind

As noted above if you are solving real pain for real people, you have the chance to create something long and lasting and durable that will literally change how people live their lives. 

Be a game changer!

Day #223: Find Your Solution, Solve Your Problem.

Problems, solutions and inspiration are all connected. Everywhere you look, you will see what you want to see. What do I see? I see inspiration. Everything you see, use and potentially even smell is all the result of someone’s inspiration. Someone’s idea, someone’s dreams and someone’s passion. 

Just think about it. Everything from a stitched jumper you’re wearing to the colourful arm rail down the stairs. All these things have come from the minds of people with the intention to change, to make a difference, to inspire and to aid to a problem.

Problems are what make many of the ideas reality. You have a problem, you create a solution. The solution then becomes the new inspiration of  a problem. Depending on the seriousness of the problem, the solution can be made extra creative, exciting, fun and inviting. People are attracted to new and enticing things. Especially when it is going to fix a problem.

So my question to you is. What are the problems you face? What are the problems you see everyday as you commute to work and school? What are the things that inspire you, that make your mind tick and flash into excitement. These are the things, which hold innovation and change. 

These are the things which hold the keys to something more. Next time you see a problem, write it down. Make a list and see how it can be fixed. Not only is this going to challenge your mind and grow your cognitive skills. But you may just stumble across something which could make a greater difference, a solution to a problem. 

“Vision without execution is just hallucination.” — Henry Ford

Day #222: 15 Ways You Can See How Your Life Is Tracking Well

Life will always have its ups and downs. Let’s face it, sometimes life feels like it’s falling apart. Sometime’s it just all feels too tough, too hard and that your life is going nowhere…

I get it. We all have bad days, we all want to see the results now after all the effort we put in day after day. 

Today I want to remind you why, even though you may be feeling a bit like a failure, you are most definitely not.  Here are 15 signs that show you are doing well in life and that your life really isn’t that bad.

Simply read through these and see how many are relevant to you. Then ask yourself the question… how is your life really going?

  1. You’ve lived and you have learned
  2. You have a comfy bed to sleep in
  3. You are striving to be better
  4. You have had a job, or have a job
  5. Knowledge is at your fingertips
  6. You have food to eat
  7. You have free will, the power to choose
  8. You’ve had butterflies before, or something like it
  9. You have clean water
  10. You have a dream
  11. Your happiness is real
  12. You have clothes on your back
  13. You have the ability to forgive
  14. You believe in something greater than yourself
  15. You have a chance, an opportunity to build global friendships

Strive to find things to be thankful for, and just look for the good in who you are! – Bethany Hamilton

Day #221: Mistakes Will Help You Kill It!

Have you made mistakes before? Welcome to life. You’re making progress then.
We are back here again. Another week, another chance. Monday is just that. A fresh reminder of a fresh start. A fresh way to jump up, to tackle a new week and come through bigger and stronger than the last. 

I know personally, I want to get out there and give it a better shot. Give it a greater shot. Why? Mistakes.

When it comes to mistakes, I’m afraid. I become frustrated, I become immensely overwhelmed by the horrible feeling it gives me. 

So when it comes to making mistakes and you are scared, or fearful to give it a go… I get it.

But the truth is, mistakes can be like gifts. Any successful person can tell you that without the mistakes they made on their journey, they wouldn’t be where they are today. So here are 10 reasons why you should be proud of making mistakes and the next time you feel scared to move forward due to making mistakes, just remember to embrace it and go in to conquer. If you slip up, GET BACK UP!

  1. Mistakes help us gain knowledge. If we hadn’t made the mistake we would never have learnt the new lesson. It is an opportunity to grow. Own it and make it work. 

    “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – John Powell

  2. Mistakes will trigger our creativity. When we are trying to do something which isn’t working, we are forced to look for a new solution. This forces us to step outside our normal thinking box.

    “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” – William Connor Magee

  3. Mistakes help us learn to be more resilient. We learn to understand that adversity is required to overcome the challenges we face in life. Being flexible is important and making mistakes, can help us go from the same old to something new.

    “The more we can embrace failure, the more we will be able to open to it and the more confident and resilient we will become.” – Karen Kimsey-House

  4. Mistakes show us how to be humble. Making mistakes proves we are human, and knowing humility is what makes us beautiful.

    “If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down.” – Mary Pickford

  5. Mistakes provide us reference points, check points and bookmarks. Every time you slip up, it is a lesson. A lesson to remember, but also a lesson to teach and share with others. Use these as reminders and references.

    “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work” – Thomas Edison

  6. Mistakes help us create and find new ideas. They force us to grow and push our limits to new regions. They help us find new things and new inspiration.

    “The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no new ideas” – Albert Einstein

  7. Mistakes give us the a new courage. We become stronger each timer we accept what has happened and move on. We learn to be brave.

    “Mistakes are always forgivable, if one has the courage to admit them.”  -Bruce Lee

  8. Mistakes will make us all the more wiser. Each time we make a mistake, we will see how people react. We see new things about the people helping us or who are simply there.

    “Some people come into your life as blessings. Some come into your life as lessons.”  – Mother Teresa

  9. Mistakes teach us how to go about and experiment. Trying new things and new approaches, encourage a new way to innovate. If we continue to make mistakes we learn to innovate again and create something better.

    “Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes, It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations.” – Steve Jobs

  10. Mistakes help us understand better who we are. We get to know the worse enemies of them all. Ourselves. We learn to overcome, we learn to adapt and mould how we do and react. Without the mistakes, we would struggle to understand our complexes.

    “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” – Warren Buffett

    Just remember – Your mistakes do not define you, they help create you into the greatness you are.

Day #220: Stop Sitting Around. Get Up And Make It Happen

Will you make it happen? Today you have a choice. You can take action and finally take the steps to ignite your dreams. Or, you can continue to make up silly excuses of why you can’t or shouldn’t.

I’m serious. What is stopping you? Like really stopping you? Don’t blame time and don’t blame resources. What is it that you are really blaming? What’s holding you back?

“The critical ingredient is getting off your butt and doing something. It’s as simple as that. A lot of people have ideas, but there are few who decide to do something about them now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. But today. The true entrepreneur is a doer, not a dreamer.” – Nolan Bushnell

If you have something you are passionate about and that you enjoy. You should chase it. You should follow it. You should make it happen. 

I know it can be a little scary to chase our dreams. Look, you may even fail. But that is OK! The late and great Steve Jobs said:

“Remembering that I’ll be dead soon is the most important tool I’ve ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything – all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure – these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.”

You have limited time here and you may as well enjoy it and do what you love. Even if you do fail, everyone fails. It just depends if you will sit in it, or jump out of it and keep on keeping on.

“Do not be embarrassed by your failures, learn from them and start again.” – Richard Branson

The more you wait around, the harder it will be to make an impact, because more and more people are following and chasing their dreams and there are people out there with some neat ideas, which I am sure will give yours a run for it’s money. But if you can make and create something outspoken, brilliant, yet also simple and fun, you wont have a problem. All you need to do is put your idea into action and put some work to it. 

“Work like there is someone working 24-hours a day to take it all away from you.” – Mark Cuban

These are all valid and important inspirations for any new starter or rising entrepreneur that is looking to take their idea and turn it into something tangible.

But like I have said numerous times and so did Madam C J Walker, the first self-made female millionaire in America:

“I had to make my own living and my own opportunity! But I made it! Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them.”

Day #219: Get Rid of The Tomorrow Mindset. Take Action Today

It is time to TAKE ACTION. But before you can. Just stop.

Stop a moment and just realise that today is the mark of you now completing 60% of the year. It’s official, you have now progressed, achieved and survived 60% of the year. Now lets buckle up for the 40% to go. 

Let’s checkpoint. You’ve come this far, so what are you going to do about the rest of the year. I personally believe you can do whatever you put your mind to. The only limitation is what you say it is, or believe it is.

Don’t hold back.

If you have already conquered your new year resolution! Kudo’s to you! See how much further you can go.

If you are still in progress, well that’s just as good, because this is the whole idea of a new year resolution. To complete it by the end of the year.

If you haven’t started because you never had a goal in the first place, or maybe you have been too lazy. Well there is still time. Still time to succeed. It only requires you to start today. To take action today. If you don’t start today, you miss out on getting ahead. Yes there is always tomorrow, but with that mind-set, tomorrow will never come. You will wait and wait until tomorrow becomes today and then you do the whole cycle again. Stop waiting around for something to happen, stop waiting around for you to somehow start. Decide to start. Decide to take control. 

All you need to do is make some progress each day, little by little. Every little step adds up to big results.

Do your self a favor. Start today, otherwise…

A year from now you may wish you had started today – Karen Lamb

So what will you do? Will you take action?

Day #218: Your Time Is Limited – Spend It Wisely

Do you spend your time doing the things you love, the things that make you happy? Or do you spend your time pleasing others, without enabling yourself to grow? We have nearly passed the 60% mark of the year. I felt like it was just the other day we were discussing the mid year checkpoint.

But that’s just it! Time flies when you’re having fun! Time also flies when you are active, productive and working your magic!

I may be a workaholic and I can admit it can have it’s cons. But one thing I can always say is I AM NEVER TOO BUSY TO HAVE A LAUGH!

We can get so tied up with trying to do life, that we forget to stop and enjoy the little things. Don’t waste life trying to rush through it. Time can never be replaced, so tread carefully. Spend it wisely.

The irony is that we are busy doing many things that don’t matter and we have no time for things that do. Shouldn’t we reverse it? – Unknown

If you do what you love, you will always love what you do! Go, be passionate and today I dare you to laugh!

Day #217: How You Can Believe In Yourself More Today

To believe and know you are capable are the qualities that will help you aspire further than you can know. Likewise, self belief is just as important quality of a happy and successful person.

You can be best looking person, you can be the smartest kid on the block, you could be the fastest athlete out there or even a clever entrepreneur. But without self belief these qualities and attributes may never show at their full extent.

Below are some ways to help you believe in yourself: 

Volunteer work

In any society there are always people in need and helping someone else will always improve your self-esteem and self-respect which will further lead to you realising you ain’t that bad. 

Make a list of your achievements

Do you bang your head against a brick wall being ready to give up in despair? Try to make a list of your personal winnings. Don’t be all tall poppy syndrome either. Even if it is a small win, be proud of it. Making such a list will be a great psychological motivation that will help you believe in yourself.

Surround yourself with people who believe in you

Negative people, wont bring a positive effect on your life. You should try to find friends with similar interests and values who will support you and essentially make you a better you.

Accept yourself

To believe in yourself, you first need to accept you for who you are. How can you believe in something you don’t fully accept? Accept your good qualities, acknowledge your flaws and maybe work on them. To believe in yourself, you have no other choice but to love yourself with all of your good and bad sides.

Change your perspective

Stop focusing on negative things in your life. Concentrate on everything that is good and positive around you and be grateful for that.  Like yesterdays post – when life gives you lemons, you need to make a decision. (See blog post)

Have your own goals

Set some goals. Some short-term ones, and some long terms ones. Set them and complete them. The more you complete, the more confidence will grow on you and of course self belief will become a bigger part of your life.

Stop comparing yourself to other people

Your appearance, achievements, salary and other things should not be compared to other people’s ones. Everyone has his or her own way, goals and results. Don’t waste your time, emotions and energy to compete with everyone around. Do what you do and be the best version of yourself. Believing in yourself is what every person needs.

Follow your dreams, believe in yourself and don’t give up. – Rachel Corrie

Day #216: When Life Gives You Lemons – Make A Decision

There is an old saying;

When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

This proverbial phrase suggests the encouragement of optimism and a can-do attitude in the face of adversity or misfortune. Lemons suggest bitterness, while lemonade is a sweet drink.

So when life does give you lemons (and it will), what will you do? You have a decision to make. Here they be:

When life gives you lemons,

  • throw them back
  • keep them, they are free lemons
  • make lemonade
  • throw them at someone
  • grab some tequila & salt
  • unless life also gives you some sugar and some water, your lemonade is going to suck
  • say thank you
  • plant a lemon tree
  • spice up your meals
  • learn to juggle
  • sell them
  • share them

The point is; life will give you lemons. Sometimes you will be able to use the opportunity and surprise the world, sometimes the lemons will have limited options and sometimes you may feel like there is no options and throw them away. But reality is (as shown above), there are a number of choices you can make and even more than the ones listed. You need to decide whether you will take hold of the opportunity and make it work somehow. Or you can simply throw them away or right back at someone. But how you handle this, will define you in that very moment.

Three things define you. Your words, your actions and your attitude. – Anil Sinha

So what words will you choose, what action will you take. What will your attitude be?

Day #215: The Power Of Lists

I have always been one to have information summed up into a quick and clear form, so I can gather and take the information quickly while also knowing it is reliable. That’s what lists are all about.

Keeping track of crucial elements in your life through the utilization of lists, is a perfect way to help you also grow your memory, or feeble recollection.

Below I have a number of lists which have been found perfect to track achievements and ambition.

A List Of Goals

These should consist of all the items that you deem are necessary to truly respect yourself. They will be the list of things that you will want to complete in order to feel truly accomplished. Without such a list, you lose direction of where your life is heading, and we all need some inner guidance to focus on.

What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals. —Zig Ziglar

A List Of Tasks

Tasks are all those milestones that lead up to a specific goal and completing these tasks would mean you have completed your goal. Depending on the size of your goal, you may have daily task lists, weekly tasks lists or a range of task lists.

Happiness does not come from doing easy work but from the afterglow of satisfaction that comes after the achievement of a difficult task that demanded our best. —Theodore Isaac Rubin

A List Of Contacts

If you think you can do it all and this journey we call life all by yourself. You are wrong. However at the same time a flawed relationship can result in some unwanted outcomes as well. Finding friends and a partner can prove to be a challenge in this world. What I can guarantee you is; you will meet people who may inspire you. Truth be told, it can be arduous to forge strong friendship bonds, but having important acquaintances and becoming an important acquaintance is very much possible. This is where your list of contacts comes in. Having a list of your friends and family is important, but expected. Having a list of people you meet with skills and talents you may require assistance from, these should be in your contact list for future reference. You never know when you may need a lawyer, a programmer or a handyman. Make’s sense right?

Wishing to be friends is quick work, but friendship is a slow ripening fruit. — Aristotle

A List Of Expenses

Money comes in and goes out. Knowing the in’s and out’s and understanding how and what you are spending your dollars on is one way to ensure you are being financially healthy. There are two types of expenses: those that are necessary, (bills, taxes, food) and those expenditures used for indulging some personal cravings.  By making lists of all the monthly expenses we are obligated to pay, we’ll have a clear overview with how much resources are there at our disposal. Without the list and self-control, we can lead ourselves into a state of financial suicide. Financial success is measured by the amount of wealth and without adequate spending tactics, you prevent its accumulation.

A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart. — Jonathan Swift

A List Of Useful Tools

Society today vastly depends on technology which are usually the vessels of our details and information. Having these just stored plainly on your technology such as a phone or computer, means they can be lost. Useful tools can help avoid this problem and they also make the job easier when it comes to storing information. Using the right apps and tools can make up for our lack of skills in a particular area, or simply help us manage our daily life and work life in a more timely manner. The only problem is… there are so many tools and if you use them all you will forget which tool has what information. The key here is to have a list of your tools that you are using.

If you’re the type of person who has to fulfill your dreams, you’ve got to be resourceful to make sure you can do it. —Vin Diesel

A List Of Self Improvements

This is an important and personal one. We all have things we want to improve about ourselves and this is ok. With a healthy goal we can overcome and grow into greater success. Think about yourself, make a list of all the things you would like to improve or change, (these are some examples) then consider how to implement those changes. But I am sure you will have your own. The list is there simply to remind you which improvement to prioritize, and build up your confidence after each completion. Refusing to change can either result in lack of confidence and depression, or becoming an overconfident and self-absorbed person that no one will tolerate for long; both of these traits will have impacts to your quest for a successful future.

The minute that you’re not learning I believe you’re dead. — Jack Nicholson

A List Of Creative Ideas

Some of my best ideas come to me in the shower – these are important to write down and save to your list of creative ideas. You may not know how to complete this item at this point of time, but having it written down, will allow you to pick up the details and run when the time is right. Not sure what it is a creative idea? For an idea to be classified as creative, it needs to be new, it needs to make sense, and it needs to have some sort of use. Letting your good ideas slide is only a wasted potential that will put your progress in a halt.

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail. – Waldo Emerson

A List Of Future Plans

Similar to your first list of goals – having a list of future plans which can be both personal or just important things that are to occur in the future. These can all range from stating you want to get married, to stating you want to keep up with the current trends of technology. This list can and will grow, so be flexible with it.

The future is uncertain but the end is always near. – Jim Morrison

A List Of Contingency Plans

Be ready for when things don’t go as planned. This is all about developing a good plan B. To elaborate on this more you can read some further details and examples here: being prepared for the aftermath is always a good and necessary thing. Whether the contingency is for work, finances, life, medical or family related – these should be thought about and listed.

You pray for rain, you gotta deal with the mud too. That’s a part of it. — Denzel Washington

The Bucket List

Like your goals – your bucket list should be the list which ultimately should cover your life from end to end of what you want to do, experience or encounter. Now, these wont necessarily require a task list, but this list should grow and be reflected upon regularly. It may change due to circumstances, but ticking these items off will vary through time and in seasons. 

The bitterest tears shed over graves are for words left unsaid and for deeds left undone. — Harriet Beecher Stowe