Today’s Quote: “If, before going to bed every night, you will tear a page from the calendar, and remark, “there goes another day of my life, never to return,” you will become time conscious.” – A. B. Zu Tavern
Today’s Question: Are you truly time conscious?
My Thoughts: Are you truly aware of the amount of time you actually spend on activities? Do you have a real grasp of the time you spend actively working and the time you spend actively resting? Since time management is an misnomer, having a relatively true awareness of how much time your daily tasks require is the best bet for fixing any ‘time holes’ you may be falling into.
Today’s Quote: “It’s not whether you get knocked down; it’s whether you get back up.” – Vince Lombardi
Today’s Question: How do you reset yourself after a setback?
My Thoughts: While I had a long list of amazing accomplishments I planned on checking off one by one on January 1st of 2009, as of December 30th, this year has been a complete bust, with setback after setback having convinced me that getting out of bed is more effort that its worth. But I still keep getting out of bed and giving 100% effort after every setback (after a little bruised ego recovery). My anchor is a little love from family and friends, a little bit of spite for all my enemies and detractors, and the daily fight to prove to myself that I am not actually crazy, I have a pretty important destiny to fulfill (even if it seems crazy). How do you reset yourself after your setbacks?
Today’s Quote: “A loving person lives in a loving world. A hostile person lives in a hostile world. Everyone you meet is your mirror.” – Ken Keyes Jr.
Today’s Question: Are you the person you really want to be?
My Thoughts: If your world is truly a reflection of who you are, are you happy with the world you are living in? As we get close to the day where resolutions are made for change that is mostly destined to fail, you don’t have to get wrapped up in the shallowness of change for appearance sake. If you are ready to change your world, you can. And you can start right now.
Sometimes known as the Law of Cause and Effect, the Law of Consequences state that for every action on takes, some effect will happen. That means that every consequence you face is the result of some decision or action made. It doesn’t matter if you made the decision, it doesn’t matter if you remember making the decision.
THIS WEEK’S TIP: Respect the law of consequences. You can not treat your life like a string of random events. Every action and decision you make counts towards your end result, whatever that may be. Take time in all you actions to consider the consequences before you act.
Today’s Quote: “My pitching philosophy is simple – keep the ball way from the bat.” – Satchel Paige
Today’s Question: Are you making the process more complicated than it needs to be?
My Thoughts: When is simple too simple? When you don’t believe it should be that simple . . . so you decided you have to complicate things. And the process usually destroys the context in which simple is meant to just be . . . simple. It’s not cheating to take an easy way out if it’s supposed to be an easy way out.
A video explanation of 8 life lessons that I have personally learned over the past 12 Month, for the week ending 12/26/09:
1: THERE IS A REASON TO KEEP DOING WHAT I AM DOING – There are few things more frustrating that being stuck with busy work. Doing something just because is a useless waste of time. Now, make that something you’re doing something you want to do—for example, I want to do more work in the field of personal development and helping others help themselves—and put it out to the world, then have no one respond, and its more than just frustrating busy work. It’s like having frustrating dreams being shattered on a constant basis.
But thanks to a few friends who keep asking me for more stuff and then losing it, asking for my advice and then not taking, and my loving wife who figures at least it’s cheaper that drugs, I have a reason to keep doing this. All kidding aside, it’s because I’m getting better at this, and people are starting to respond favorably. And I am coming to terms with the true level of success that people have in this business, which is pretty slim. I will still have to have some sort of ‘real’ job to make sure I still get to eat more that Ramen, but I can see a difference being made, and actually enjoy the grind of trying to make it all happen.
2: WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU LEAVES YOU WEAK AND VULNERABLE – I had no problem dealing with the downside of this current economy year effecting my paycheck for my day job or the extra hours at the day job for less pay effecting my writing and chance to grow my side job. The frustration of watching other people given the continued chance to thrive, and then watching them continue to flounder without consequence was hard, but manageable. But one thing really shot me down like never before, and it has been hell getting back.
After 5 years of marriage and negotiation that make this current health care reform debate look more like a high school booster club raffle, my wife decide we should go ahead, despite our busy schedules and try to have a baby. The baby should have celebrated its first Christmas at about 8 weeks old. My wife lost the baby about 4 months into her pregnancy, and then spent 3 more months with weird complications. Going through all that pain and not having a baby was tough for her, and extremely tough for me. My wife is fine now, thank to a lot of love and support. I’m not so fine, and as the New Year gets closer, have never been so ready for the past to be behind me, but having no idea where to go from here.
3: ONCE YOU GET PAST WHAT DOESN’T KILL YOU, YOU CAN GET BACK ON TRACK – I won’t say that dealing with my wife’s miscarriage by any means made me stronger. I did gain an extra appreciation for my wife herself, and am becoming a better husband for it—even if I would have probably gain the same appreciation just for reaching 5 years of marriage. But I have learned that every crisis will eventual end, and when they do, it’s up to you to evaluate where you are and what needs to be done to get you back to some sense of accomplishment.
4: EVERYTHING IS A LEARNING EXPERIENCE – You don’t have to be in the classroom to get schooled regularly. Every moment is a chance to learn and grow. Sour moments are especially good teachers, if you don’t allow yourself to get too caught up in your own bitterness.
5: YOU CAN’T DO THIS ‘LIFE’ THING ON YOUR OWN – I’ve never been very good at collecting friends. I am extremely shy when dealing with my personal life, and just don’t have the skill set necessary. But I am great with working with people, and great at picking up on the talents that they have. And I know exactly where the ends of my talents lie, and when I need to call in a co-worker or friend to help me.
6: YOU CAN RESTART AS MANY TIMES AS POSSIBLE – You probably have noticed that I was able to get two of these “8 Things I Learned This Week” videos out before production was, shall we say, put on ‘hiatus.’ I challenged myself to see how many days it would take me to walk 1000 miles, and I wasn’t even able to log 100 in two months before it stalled. Yes, I am a habitual starter, but I am also a habitual restarter, which has turned me into a fairly consistent—although delayed—finisher. And the finish is what really matters. The restarts just make the story you tell when you finally finish that much more interesting.
7: ALWAYS BE PREPARED – You never know what you will see when you turn one of life’s corners. Your next opportunity or struggle (or both) could be waiting there for you. Be prepared for whatever you find.
8: MAKE SURE THOSE YOU CARE ABOUT KNOW YOU CARE – Here locally, early evening on Christmas Eve, a man was shot and killed in a robbery attempt. Our crime is not at a level where something like this is expected, but to make the scenario bizarre, the man was a Salvation Army Major, shot outside the Salvation Army office where his wife was inside working, and was shot in front of his children he was taking inside to see their mother. As I record this it is 2 days after Christmas Day and a month after Thanksgiving, looking 4 days head to a new year, and a new decade. Do not wait until then next holiday season to make sure the ones you care about know how much you care. And don’t let them tease you for being mushy.
Today’s Quote: “I think it’s the duty of the comedian to find out where the line is drawn and cross it deliberately.” – George Carlin
Today’s Question: Are you doing your job properly?
My Thoughts: Sometimes there is no one to blame but yourself. If you are not doing your job properly, then you can’t expect those who depend on you to do their job properly. The people who you depend on to do their job properly will assume you’ll just mess things up, and will begin to stop doing their job properly. Take the blame off yourself, and always focus on getting your job done.
Today’s Quote: “If you do not wish to be prone to anger, do not feed the habit; give it nothing which may tend to its increase.” – Epictetus
Today’s Question: Why can’t you just let go of a grudge?
My Thoughts: Some people just can’t let bygones be bygones. It doesn’t matter how slight the slight, once a person have been wronged, they can never be righted as far as they are concerned. Which is sad on many counts, but especially so when you think of just how long you can hold onto a grudge, and how just holding on to those grudges does so much damage to a person. It’s pretty simple to say ‘give up your grudges.’ It’s a lot harder to actually do it.
“Christmas, children, is not a date. It is a state of mind.” – Mary Ellen Chase
“The best of all gifts around any Christmas tree: the presence of a happy family all wrapped up in each other.” – Burton Hillis
“Our hearts grow tender with childhood memories and love of kindred, and we are better throughout the year for having, in spirit, become a child again at Christmas-time.” – Laura Ingalls Wilder
“Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.” – Larry Wilde
“It is Christmas in the heart that puts Christmas in the air.” – W.T. Ellis
“He who has not Christmas in his heart will never find it under a tree.” – Roy L. Smith
“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.” – Benjamin Franklin
“At Christmas play and make good cheer, For Christmas comes but once a year.” – Thomas Tusser
Today’s Quote: “Challenges are gifts that force us to search for a new center of gravity. Don’t fight them. Just find a different way to stand.” – Oprah Winfrey
Today’s Question: What do you do with your gifts?
My Thoughts: Today is the day where Christians around the world celebrate receiving the greatest gift of all, the birth of Jesus Christ, and just about everyone in the world wakes up to discover what was left under their decorated trees from a fat man in a red suit. But each of us is given plenty of natural gifts at birth that manifest throughout various stages of our lives. And just like some a kid who doesn’t get the hot toy on Christmas day, we shove a lot of our gifts into the back of out mental closets to collect dust as they are basically forgotten. When was the last time you checked that mental closet to find the forgotten treasures that are your own personal gifts? Why aren’t you putting those gifts to good use?
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