These Personal Traits Are More Valuable Than A Nike Endorsement Deal

I am not mentioning any names but in light of the current events surrounding us, we should all take time to examine ourselves to see if we are being all that we should be. Don't get me wrong, I am not telling you how to lead your life, what to eat or when to work out. Am telling you to be sure that your eyes are open and not to forget the things your kindergaten teacher and hopefully your parents taught you.
As we go through our days, hundreds of motivations jump in and then jump off our radars. How we react to these motivations defines us. In fact, it determines how you feel inside every morning as you take your first glance in the mirror.

There is no eraser or delete key in life. If you haven't already begun, consider incorporating the following into your life. Not whimsically, but make a real effort. In fact, do it for all of 2010 and see if you notice a difference in your life and happiness levels.

1. Being Truthful Never lie. Your words should reflect all that you say and do. If you think and do one thing, but say the opposite of those thoughts and actions, that's a lie. We've all heard the saying, "A man's word is his bond." If only that was so. Sometimes we lie to cover up an indiscretion. Sometimes we lie to make ourselves appear to be better than we are. Sometimes we lie to keep from hurting someone's feelings. I firmly believe, because it has been my experience, that eventually all lies will be exposed. Ultimately, there is no benefit to telling a lie.

2. Being Faithful Since when has it become okay to cheat on our spouses? Unfaithfulness is becoming so commonplace that many people accept it and thus do nothing about it. We turn our heads. We hide behind statements like "It's none of my business," and we do nothing.
Have you ever attended a wedding? Even if you aren't married, there is a pretty good chance that you've actually witnessed one. Maybe it was held at a church; maybe it wasn't. It doesn't matter. A man and a woman stand up in front of a crowd of people (as few as a crowd of 2; as many as hundreds -- maybe thousands), and proclaim their undying love and faithfulness to each other. Why do you think there are witnesses? It is for accountability.
When we cheat, those who witnessed our proclamation of eternal faith to our spouse should say, "Hey, what's the deal? We saw you with our own eyes -- we heard you with our own ears -- you promised to love, honor, and cherish your spouse as long as you both shall live!"If you cheat, you should have to stand up in front all those people who witnessed your wedding and explain your actions. You should have to explain why you couldn't communicate with your spouse and resolve things in a reasonable fashion.

3. Being Honorable In both your professional and personal lives, be honorable. What does that mean, exactly? To be honorable means to be highly respected or esteemed. In order for you to be highly respected or esteemed, you must be unselfish; integrity must be your middle name (if not your first). Be an honorable husband/wife. Following these guidelines, we must always put our wife's/husband's needs ahead of our own, and we must have strong moral principles. I don't feel that "strong moral principles" is a topic that is open to interpretation. To many, their God sets those standards. To others, it's common sense, or learned from books or parents. Honor is not up for discussion; it's meaning is set in stone. You have it or you don't.

4. Being Trustworthy Can you be relied upon to say and do what is right all the time? If so, then you are worthy of the trust of your peers. Others believe that you won't do wrong; nor will you tell a lie. Being trustworthy is a very big deal. You don't get to decide whether you are trustworthy, though. Others will decide that for themselves. You can have some input into their decision, though -- by actually being trustworthy.


5. Being Respectful In all that you do, be respectful of others. This could be read as another form of the "Do unto others..." saying. For the sake of this discussion, though, let's disregard any physical connotation that this may bring to mind, such as punching or slapping. Often when we are disrespectful, we hurt others far worse than if we actually had punched them. Cheating on your spouse is the ultimate form of disrespect. Our spouses always deserve our respect. No matter what! Remember the end of "Do unto others..."? It isn't "as you have had done to you" -- no, it's "as you would have them do unto you." You can't make the world a better place by reciprocating bad with bad.

Today we so often hear a phrase like "raising the bar," to indicate that a new minimum standard has been established. When it comes to these 5 traits listed above, the minimum standard should be a wall over which we must climb or leap. People can, and so often do, walk right under the bar.

What other character traits would you deem as defining? Do you feel that you have all of those traits? Does that question make you cringe?

9 Things You Can Do Today to Bring Peace and Calmness into Your Life

“May you have warmth in your igloo, oil in your lamp, and peace in your heart!” Eskimo proverb

“The simplification of life is one of the steps to inner peace. A persistent simplification will create an inner and outer well-being that places harmony in one’s life.” Peace Pilgrim

I believe a lot of people want more inner peace and calmness in their lives. But how can we find it in the busy daily life?

Here are 9 of my own favorite tips.

1. Set limits. If your life is overfilled with stuff you may need to set some limits. You may need to stop doing some of the least important things, the things that if you are honest really don’t matter that much. Don’t hold yourself to “perfect” standards. And set a limit for how many times you will check inboxes etc. per day. Checking on stuff all the time creates a lot of stress. And say no if you really don’t have the time.
2. Find a relaxation technique that works for you. I like belly breathing and working out to release tensions and recharge during the day. What works for you? Long walks, music, yoga, meditation or going for a swim? Find out and do that.
3. Don’t make mountains out of molehills. This can create a lot of unnecessary stress. When facing what looks like a mountain then ask yourself questions like: Does someone on the planet have it worse than me? Will this matter in 5 years? These questions help you zoom out and realize that in most cases things aren’t really that bad and you can handle them.
4. Slow down. Your emotions work backwards too. If you slow down then while walking, moving your body or talking you can often start to feel less stressed (compared to if you move/talk fast).Slowing down to decrease stress goes for many other things you do in everyday life too like riding your bicycle, driving the car, working at your desk and eating.
5. Declutter your world, declutter your mind. Just take 5 minutes to declutter your workspace or the room you are in. A decluttered, simplified and ordered space around you brings clarity and order to the mind. So don’t stop at the workspace. Declutter, simplify and organize your home and life too to live in a more relaxing environment.
6. Accept and let go. Now is now. But if something negative from the past – something someone said, something someone did – is still in your mind then accept and let that feeling and thought in instead of trying to push it away. When it is there, when you accept that it is then it starts to lose power. And while the facts may still be there in your head the negative feelings are much less powerful or gone. At this point, let that thing go like you are throwing out a bag of old clothes. And direct your focus to the present moment and something better instead.
7. Escape for a while. Read a novel (I like twisty thrillers), watch your favorite TV-show or a movie. It’s simple but it works well to just release pressure and relax.
8. Do one thing at a time. Multitasking splits your focus and leaves you with mediocre results and less enjoyment while sucking the energy out of you. When you do a thing do just that. Be there. Don’t try to do something else physically or in your mind. I have found that doing this always helps me to find inner calmness again.
9. Solve a problem that is weighing down on you. Don’t procrastinate anymore. Solve your problem and release it and all the underlying stress and tension that it is creating in your life. You probably already know what to do, you are just not doing it yet. But the longer you wait the worse the tension inside becomes. So get up from your chair and get started on doing it now.

25 Inspirational Quotes on Wealth and Money

Making money and creating wealth is one of my weakest areas - knowledge wise - when it comes to self improvement.
So I thought it would be useful for me - and hopefully for you too - to put together a list of some of the best quotes on wealth and money that I have come across.
I especially like the ones by William A. Ward, Benjamin Franklin, Gandhi and the last one by Henry Ford.
Enjoy!

1. Before you speak, listen. Before you write, think. Before you spend, earn. Before you invest, investigate. Before you criticize, wait. Before you pray, forgive. Before you quit, try. Before you retire, save. Before you die, give. William A. Ward

2. It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor. Seneca

3. Money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. Ayn Rand

4. Not he who has much is rich, but he who gives much. Erich Fromm

5. Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.
Jim Rohn

6. The person who doesn’t know where his next dollar is coming from usually doesn’t know where his last dollar went. Unknown

7. I don’t pay good wages because I have a lot of money; I have a lot of money because I pay good wages. Robert Bosch

8. That man is richest whose pleasures are cheapest. Henry David Thoreau

9. Money is like love; it kills slowly and painfully the one who withholds it, and enlivens the other who turns it on his fellow man. Kahlil Gibran

10. It’s not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It’s the customer who pays the wages. Henry Ford

11. Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed. Gandhi

12. When a fellow says it ain’t the money but the principle of the thing, it’s the money. Artemus Ward

13. He who loses money, loses much; He who loses a friend, loses much more; He who loses faith, loses all. Eleanor Roosevelt

14. Money is good for nothing unless you know the value of it by experience. P.T Barnum

15. Happiness is not in the mere possession of money; it lies in the joy of achievement, in the thrill of creative effort. Franklin D. Roosevelt

16. Many people take no care of their money till they come nearly to the end of it, and others do just the same with their time. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

17. Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that.
Norman Vincent Peale

18. If you want to know what a man is really like, take notice of how he acts when he loses money. Simone Weil

19. It’s good to have money and the things that money can buy, but it’s good, too, to check up once in a while and make sure that you haven’t lost the things that money can’t buy. George Lorimer

20. Money never made a man happy yet, nor will it. There is nothing in its nature to produce happiness. The more a man has, the more he wants. Instead of filling a vacuum, it makes one. Benjamin Franklin

21. You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you. Maya Angelou

22. Don’t tell me where your priorities are. Show me where you spend your money and I’ll tell you what they are. James W. Frick

23. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune. Jim Rohn

24. Buy when everyone else is selling and hold until everyone else is buying. That’s not just a catchy slogan. It’s the very essence of successful investing. J. Paul Getty

25. If money is your hope for independence you will never have it. The only real security that a man will have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience, and ability. Henry Ford

14 Inspirational Quotes on Understanding

1. Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. Carl Jung

2. Any fool can criticize, condemn, and complain but it takes character and self control to be understanding and forgiving. Dale Carnegie

3. Never do today what you can put off till tomorrow. Delay may give clearer light as to what is best to be done. Aaron Burr

4. All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them. Galileo Galilei

5. You don’t need strength to let go of something. What you really need is understanding. Guy Finley

6. Everyone hears only what he understands. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

7. To understand the heart and mind of a person, look not at what he has already achieved, but at what he aspires to. Kahlil Gibran

8. Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. Marie Curie

9. Don’t believe what your eyes are telling you. All they show is limitation. Look with your understanding, find out what you already know, and you’ll see the way to fly. Richard Bach

10. You do not understand even life. How can you understand death? Confucius

11. Furious activity is no substitute for understanding. H.H Williams

12. If we are to live together in peace, we must come to know each other better. Lyndon Johnson

13. A matter that becomes clear ceases to concern us. Friedrich Nietzsche

14. The reality of the other person is not in what he reveals to you, but in what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you would understand him, listen not to what he says but rather what he does not say. Kahlil Gibran

10 Inspirational Quotes on Forgiveness

Here’s a small collection of quotes on forgiveness.

I especially like the quote by Catherine Ponder, it’s an accurate and useful observation of how things can work. And it’s a good reason to forgive.

1. Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future. Paul Boose

2. When you hold resentment toward another, you are bound to that person or condition by an emotional link that is stronger than steel. Forgiveness is the only way to dissolve that link and get free.Catherine Ponder

3. The remarkable thing is that we really love our neighbour as ourselves: we do unto others as we do unto ourselves. We hate others when we hate ourselves. We are tolerant toward others when we tolerate ourselves. We forgive others when we forgive ourselves. We are prone to sacrifice others when we are ready to sacrifice ourselves. Eric Hoffer

4. Always forgive your enemies - nothing annoys them so much. Oscar Wilde

5. We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends. Sir. Francis Bacon

6. The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. Mahatma Gandhi

7. Most of us can forgive and forget; we just don’t want the other person to forget that we forgave. Ivern Ball

8. To forgive is the highest, most beautiful form of love. In return, you will receive untold peace and happiness. Robert Muller

9. True forgiveness is not an action after the fact, it is an attitude with which you enter each moment. David Ridge

10. Let us forgive each other - only then will we live in peace. Leo Tolstoy

6 Quick and Powerful Tips on how to solve a problem

“The best years of your life are the ones in which you decide your problems are your own. You do not blame them on your mother, the ecology, or the president. You realize that you control your own destiny.”Albert Ellis
“Problems are to the mind what exercise is to the muscles; they toughen and make you strong.”Norman Vincent Peale
“Every problem has a gift for you in its hands.”Richard Bach

Are you having a problem in your life right now?

If so, maybe these six quick tips can help you to solve it a little bit easier.

1. First, ask yourself: is there really a problem here?
Often we create problems in our own heads – as I mentioned a bit in an earlier post things may not be as bad as we think – that aren’t really out there in reality. So relax a bit. And think about if this is really a big problem.
As yourself - Is it something that will matter in 5 years? Or even in 5 weeks? Or even in five days? Life becomes so less stressful when you stop making mountains out of molehills (or just out of thin air).

2. Accept it.
When you accept that the problem already exists and stop resisting then you also stop putting more energy into the problem and “feeding it”.
Now it just exists (well, more or less, you might still feel a bit down about it). You can use the energy you previously fed the problem with – the energy that probably made the problem look bigger than it was – to find creative solutions to the challenge.

3. Ask for help.
You can ask people for advice on what to do and what they did in similar situations. But you can also ask for more practical help. You don’t have to solve every problem on your own and sometimes it feels better to have someone by your side, even if it is just for emotional support.
If you just ask you may find that people will often be willing to help you out.

4. Use 80 percent of your time to find solutions.
And only 20 percent to complain, worry and whine. It might not always be easy but focusing your energy, time and thoughts in this way is much more beneficial for you and others than doing the opposite.

5. Break the problem down into smaller pieces.
Solving a problem can sometimes seem overwhelming and impossible. To decrease anxiety and think more clearly break the problem down. Identify the different parts it consists of. Then figure out one practical solution you can take for each of those parts. Use those solutions.
They may not solve the whole problem immediately, but these solutions can get you started and might solve a few pieces of the problem.

6. Find the opportunity and/or lesson within the problem.
I have found that there is almost always a positive side to a problem. Perhaps it alerts us of a great way to improve our business or relationships. Or teaches us how our lives perhaps aren’t as bad as we thought.
Finding this more positive part of the problem reduces its negative emotional impact. You may even start to see the situation as a great opportunity for you.

When you are faced with a problem ask yourself:
-What is the good thing about this?
-What can I learn from this?
-What hidden opportunity can I find within this problem?