Why Do You Get Up On Monday Morning?

 A great question isn't it? And since I first heard it, I have been thinking about the kind of answers you and I might give. A great answer would be to live the dream that you had since you were a child, and now you are bring it to reality. That desire in your heart that still, today, tugs on a string as you remember how much you longed to be doing it.

Sadly, sometimes it does not quite work out like that. You might never have had a driving desire as a child, or maybe something prevented you from making it happen, or you may have had to give it up for some reason. I know a young man who longed to be an airline pilot, and the first chance he got, he trained and flew airbuses commercially for ten years until he was grounded by ill-health. I had always wanted to be a doctor, but was not able to achieve the marks necessary to be accepted into medical school. Even today, I carry a sadness that I could not do what I longed to do and in the process make a difference in people's lives.

I often meet people who have no idea what they want to do, or have not been able to 'make it happen' for themselves and I like to encourage them to take responsibility for seeking out that 'fire in the belly', that hidden desire or dream that will have them getting up on Monday morning and living the life that they were created for.

For myself personally, I had to dig a bit deeper to find out what I wanted to achieve as a doctor, and create new outlets for those dreams. My love of all things medical has always stayed with me and I love learning about diseases, treatments and ground-breaking discoveries that affect the human body. I have always marvelled at the way we are created, and how amazing our body is at healing itself. This has prompted me to understand the effect of healthy eating, gourmet food, and supplementation to maintain, and improve health.

I am a problem solver and I love to come up with solutions. That can work well in medicine, and in so many different areas of life. It is the ability to believe there is an answer out there, and I long to find it. I have discovered over the years that people don't always want someone else solving their problems, and the right solution for me is not necessarily the right solution for you. I have also discovered that I can help people as a business coach by encouraging them to find their own solutions, and I am always amazed at how often people come up with a solution I had not imagined.

And most important to me is my desire to make a positive difference in other people's lives through the use of my strengths and abilities. That can be achieved through medicine, and also through coaching; listening; encouraging others; donating time, money and knowledge to projects that I consider important; and by living my life in the best way I can.

So what about you? Are you living your dream? Or waiting for it to happen? Or even trying to figure out what your dream is? Do you bounce out of bed on Monday morning? Or do you wonder why you bother?

Have a wonder-filled day.

New Year's Resolutions -Worksheet for Kids

New Year's Resolutions are not only for the grownups. Children are capable of setting goals, and learning the skills needed to do this. I have written a Squidoo lens to assist parents to help their children to create their own New year's Resolutions. You can find this article at New Year's Resolutions -Worksheet For Kids.

You can also check out my blog entry for more ideas about writing and achieving resolutions for adults. You could use these ideas when working with your child, or pass the article on to your child if they are in their teens.

To pull it all together I have put together FREE worksheet for children to plan their New Year's Resolutions.

Whoever is doing the “resoluting” come and share your stories, successes and failures, and other ideas with us all.

And to all my readers,

Have a Wonderful New Year.

New Years Resolutions - How to Get Results.

The New Year has long been considered a time to turn over a new leaf, make changes and set goals. I remember deciding at the beginning of every school year in early February that I was going to do all my homework, keep my books tidy and pay attention in class. Well that worked until about March and then it was downhill all the way from there.

Fortunately, I have learned that there is a process and a mindset in achieving dreams. Knowing how to do this enabled Warren Buffet to make his billions, Oprah to become Oprah, and Tony Robbins to be able to empower the whole world to find their passion, and YOU to succeed in your New Year's Resolutions.

Even if you do not sit down and write a list each year, you have probably muttered something about quitting smoking, or getting fit. When you choose a resolution, do you expect it to work, or hope it works this time? Or wonder why you even bother? If you have not had any success before now, it makes sense that you would not have any faith in writing a list, or your ability to make changes. But maybe the problem is not with your will power, or your ability, but in the process, and by making some changes, you could have a very different result. Tony Robbins talks about his experience learning golf. He became very frustrated as he kept hitting the ball in the wrong direction, but was amazed when his instructor said that he was only millimetres away from hitting the ball correctly. Tony took this idea, and realized that the difference between success and failure can be very small and require only tiny adjustments to get the result you want.

So how do you get results from your New Year Resolutions?

Start by writing a list of changes, dreams or goals that you would like to achieve. Don't worry too much about reality at this point, but include some big, and small items.

Next, go through this list and say the following “I want to (name your first resolution) because (give your reason why). Go through the whole list, and record your reasons why.

When you have finished, go back through the list, and cross off every item where your reason is, or is similar to, “because I should”, or “I have to”.

Hopefully, you will still have one or two items left on your list to work with! :)

If your “because...” is “I should” that reason would not be powerful enough to motivate you to stick with the resolution until you have succeeded. Your reasons need to be clear, very important to you, and to have strong emotional content for why you want to succeed. “I should” would give you a 1 on an 1-10 emotional scale. So now you need to look at your remaining items, and find out how many of them have reasons that would score a 10. An example of a 10 for a person who wants to buy a house, could be “ I have met the girl of my dreams and we are getting married. We both want to have children, and I want to provide a secure home in a safe environment. I do not want to have to move because the landlord has sold the house. As it will be harder to save money after the children are born I want to buy now while we have fewer financial commitments.” That beats “I should” any day.

At this point, you need to close your eyes and “see” your resolution completed and successful. Picture it being 31 December, 2010. Note where you are, what the weather is like, see your successful resolution. What does it look like? What does it smell like? What does it feel like? What does it sound like? Remember the reasons why you have chosen to achieve it. Know that those reasons will have been assisted or satisfied also.

Write out a clear description of your resolution. How will you know you have succeeded? What had to be done to be successful? For example, if you wanted to save up a deposit for a house, how much would you like to have in the bank in one year? How will you know you have succeeded?

Think about the last thing you did to complete your resolution. Write it down, and plan what you would have to do every week to reach your goal. If you use the deposit example, you would divide the amount by 52 to work out how much you need to bank each week. Do you have that amount of money available already, or what is it being spent on? Write a budget, and understand where your money is currently going. What could go wrong, and stop you achieving your goal? How can you prevent that happening?

Come back to the present, and take an action that starts the process to achieving your goal. For example, if you were saving a deposit, you could open a high interest savings account and start an automatic payment. As the year goes on, you will face challenges to your resolution. Most, if not all your challenges, will probably not score a 10, so your list of reasons, can be used to overcome obstacles which will occur along the way.

When you face an obstacle, review your reasons and remind yourself why this resolution is so important. Congratulate yourself on your success so far, accept that everyone faces challenges and that you will survive. Do not criticize yourself as it weakens your resolve. We all get things wrong sometimes, and that only matters if you give yourself permission to quit. Instead bring your focus back to your success. The skills you learn overcoming the difficulties, prepare you for bigger achievements.

You will face obstacles, but with planning, you could find that the whole process becomes smooth sailing. Your commitment and pride in your success, could encourage you to make this the first of many successful projects in the future.

I would like to wish you the very best in 2010. I would love to hear from you with any questions, or resolutions you have chosen. Come back during the year and give us an update, and encourage others to keep going.

From my family to yours, have a wonderful New Year.

Skydiving From A Wheelchair

Todays blog entry is a little different. I am going to introduce you to someone I know personally. She may not be a person that you would necessarily think of as extraordinary at first glance, even though you would certainly recognize that her life is more difficult than yours on a daily basis.

Gail was found to have cerebral palsy at a very young age, and has been confined to a wheelchair since the age of eleven. When she was young it was still common practice to be put into a home for disabled and left there.

Through determination, she has been able to live in her own home, and have her own personal space, where she has her favorite possessions and lifestyle. Her disability does mean that she does not have the dexterity that we have, and she is very reliant on the help of other people to take part in many of the activities that we take for granted.

Gail is one of many people who need the assistance through physical help, financial help, and the use of technology, not to mention support and understanding, to access the world in so many ways that we take for granted. Gail is also one of many people who make me thank God for my health and lack of barriers to participating fully in society.

I have written a story about one of Gail's expeditions, and would like to share it with you. You can find this story at http://tinyurl.com/y8nwsm2  Please read the story. If you feel inspired, please consider making a donation, even if it is only a few dollars. Every little bit counts. 

The link I have given above offers a secure site to donate.

Have a wonderful day.

"Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile".-Pierre Coneille

You could be tempted to skip this article. Maybe you don't believe in God. You certainly don't want me to start a religious discussion. And I do not want to start one either. So why have I chosen to include spiritual health as an important part of an extraordinary life?

I consider we all have a spiritual component to our lives. That component could be renamed as our own unique “essence”. It is the part of us that gives us faith and hope. The part that requires that we have meaning and purpose in our own life. It explains why you can have both a missionary and a humanitarian with no belief in God, going to a third-world country to provide aid.

Whatever your belief in a Higher Power consists of, there is a need within yourself to justify your existence, or make your mark, make a difference, have your say, or get the best out of your life. Some people try to find the meaning by become a follower of Christ, or Buddha and receive guidance and support through this membership. Others declare themselves Atheists, but consider that the world will only survive if we all work for the greater good.

Your spiritual self also guides you through your conscience, and your moral values. Instead of becoming preachy, I prefer to explain it in terms of whether your actions help or hinder your progress to becoming the person you want to be, or doing the things you want to achieve. An example of this is the urge to point out that downloading movies on internet is illegal and that it is stealing. But it might make better sense to some people to remind them that their internet provider could have a system in place to recognize who is downloading movies, and that movie makers are now starting to charge people who are downloading movies. Can you achieve the life you dream of, if you are fined or even imprisoned? If you avoid paying tax, will you have peace of mind, or will you spend your life waiting for the Tax Department to knock on your door?

I have found that if I am working within my strengths, having a balanced life, finding and living the purpose of my life, and not sabotaging it through unwise actions, I have a real sense of fulfilment in my day to day living, and I run on a feeling of satisfaction that could be described as a pilot light that energises my activities. I use that feeling as a guide that I am on track, and I also use it to provide the energy to achieve more great results.

Something else to consider is having fun and enjoyment in your life. You may not be a person who can party every Friday and Saturday night, but you do need to have some light relief and pleasurable activities in your life. If you are constantly using your brain for similar activities you can find you become stressed and less productive. One piece of advice that I have come across a number of times is to regularly take breaks, have time out, have short holidays. There are two reasons for having breaks. The first is the fact that if you are not focused on your daily work and activities, you use your mind differently, and get away from the repetitive activities. This can allow for creative thinking, and you could come back home with new ideas, or solutions for problems. The second benefit is how much more energised you feel when you come back to your daily work, especially if you are doing a job you love.

I want to introduce you to some ladies who have created something very special by sharing their talent with the world. These ladies found their calling and the world loved them.  Watch and enjoy.

Have a wonder-filled day.