Laughter Power

I guess laughter and joy is good for your health and helps a person live longer.

http://ririanproject.com/2007/10/26/10-benefits-of-laughter-and-how-to-use-it/

Confirms the scripture:"A happy heart is good medicine and a cheerful mind works healing..."(Proverbs 17)

I guess being 'grim' really isn't that good for you after all.

As the study suggests, instead eating that box of chocolates, just go ahead and smile... :) If you are going to have a box of chocolates, at least smile. :)

Have a happy, joyful day...

You are the best.

Listen To Your Intution

"The only real valuable thing is intution. " - Albert Einstein

This is a pretty cool article about listening to your intuition:

http://www.lynnrobinson.com/art_getahead.html

It seems women tend to be a little more trained or have a stronger tendency of listening to their intuition. I guess the business world is catching on, because a majority of the small businesses these days are being started by women. Anyway, pretty cool article that reminds you to trust your gut. It can open to the door to great blessing as well as save you years of grief. I think we've all experienced this first hand at some point. Thank God when you get the ‘green light’ from within and thank God when you get the ‘red light’. It’s for your benefit and gives you an ‘edge’.

You are the best...

True Career Success

One of the principles Steven Covey teaches about is the habit of personal leadership. There is a difference between "leadership"and "management". Leadership tends to be about "direction" and "vision". Management tends to be about "implementation" of that vision. You need both to be successful.

In his book, the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, he states that the manager tends to excel at climbing the ladder of success, while the leader determines if the ladder is leaning against the right wall. In this day and age, we need more then ever to determine if the "ladder is leaning against the right wall". In some case, it may just be a case of making an "adjustment", that will produce great success. This applies to the direction of our careers, as well as our lives in general.

Here are a few links that give some great ideas on enhancing you career:

http://www.48days.com/

http://www.5patterns.com/

http://lifeatwork.portfoliocms.com/Brix?pageID=9

Managing Your Career

The sites are chock full of ideas and strategies of how to pro-actively manage your career and take your career to the next level. The articles in the sites help you to think beyond the 'day-to-day grind' and think about where you are going.

Becoming A Person of Vision
A man or woman with a vision and a plan and a strategy to get there is a powerful thing...As it says in the proverbs:

"It's better to be wise than strong; intelligence outranks muscle any day. Strategic planning is the key to warfare; to win, you need a lot of good counsel." - Proverbs 24:6 (MSG)

Excercize wise, personal leadership and take an intelligent look at were you want to go, seems to be the message of this proverb. For instance, what are your dreams? What is your vision? What are your strengths and gifts? What are you innately good at...or even great at? What are you passionate about? What are you best at? How can you leverage your gifts and talents and be well compensated for it? What's pulling at your heart? What causes you to come 'alive' on the inside? What is your mission and purpose in life? What is "bearing fruit" ? These are "intelligent" questions you can ask yourself to determine the 'direction' of you career and life.

Think & Act Strategically
After taking an intelligent, prayerful look at where you want to go, utilize strategic planning where your career is concerned. Be strategic in your thinking. Implement your vision with management by objective principles. What key, pro-active strategic steps can you take to get you from where you currently are to where you want to go with your life? Perhaps it is a "timing issue" or a need for more education or developing some new thinking or attitudinal skills. Perhaps you need to 'take life by the horns', if you will, by being more aggressive about marketing yourself to not only your current employer but to the larger market in general. Perhaps it might boil down to viewing yourself in a new way and giving yourself "permission" to go after your dreams.

Jack Canfield in his book"Success Principles: How to Get From Where You are to Where You Want To Be" gives the account of how he noticed a teller at a bank who had just started. The teller wore clothes that looked more like a manager, and even though he was a teller and did his job with excellence, he "acted" more like a manger. He was "acting the part" of the job he was believing for. He began to think, act, talk, dress, plan, educate himself, and live like the leader he knew he was called to be. Later on when Jack Canfield visited the bank, the teller was no longer a teller, but a manager. He 'acted the part' and eventually literally became "the part" he was playing. He determined to see himself in a new way and over time became that person he saw in his vision. This principle could apply not only toward developing a career more in line with your God-given gifts and strengths, but also developing a side business or any dream you have.

What key qualities and qualifications will you need for the position you are believing for or the new level you are dreaming about? Take the time to "think it through" and then "follow through".

Go For It
Here's a good rule of thumb for "getting moving" after you have thought it through. It will help you transition from 'thinking it through' to 'following through' and avoid the trap of the 'paralysis of analysis':

1. Think about it
2. Pray about it
3. Talk about it
4. Make plans and due your 'due diligence'
5. Make an executive decision (on way or another).
6. Take action and adjust as you go - trusting the law of serendipity will work to your advantage.

Remember that it's what you learn in the process of going after your dreams and the person you become as a result of pursuing your dreams, that has the most value. As the saying goes: success isn't just a destination, but a journey. Receive the 'call' and embark on your 'heroes journey'.

Good Counsel - Hangin' With Eagles
As the proverb states, to win, you need alot of 'good counsel'. Choose your friends, advisors and counsel wisely. You will notice the proverbs says "good counsel". There is good counsel and there is bad counsel. Choose good counsel. Don't tell your dreams to non-dreamers. Surround yourself with people who believe in your dreams, as well as people who are operating at a higher level then yourself. Enlist the help of 'experienced champions' in your field of endevour who believe in you and your dreams and can help mentor you to the next level. The power of "associates" is in incredible - for good or bad. Don't hang out with "crabs" who will keep you in the bucket of mediocrity. Hang out with eagles, who will help you soar to new heights of excellence. This principle not only applies in terms of your career, but every area of your life.

This doesn't mean surround yourself with 'yes' men. But surround yourself with credible, wise men and women who not only encourage you to follow your dreams, but have wisdom and experience of how to get there. Your associates and 'counsel of adviosrs' could include people you know, as well as resources such as books, tapes, videos, magazines, and online learning. For instance, as I sought to learn more about leadership, I bought a number of John C. Maxwell books. I've never met him, personally, but his books and tapes have provided awesome counsel and insights that would have otherwise taken me years to learn on my own. In the area of leadership, I consider him part of my 'counsel of advisors', even though I've never met him before. It's been a story of accelerated learning and "increase by association".

There is, indeed, safety in a 'multitude of counsel'.

Words to think about and live by.

You are the best. :)

Emotional Maturity

This is a Criteria of Emotional Maturity that came out a number of years ago by William C. Menninger, MD. It still holds up. Gives you something to shoot for and a sense of how you are progressing.

The Criteria of Emotional Maturity

• The ability to deal constructively with reality


• The capacity to adapt to change


• A relative freedom from symptoms that are produced by tensions and anxieties


• The capacity to find more satisfaction in giving than receiving


• The capacity to relate to other people in a consistent manner with mutual satisfaction and helpfulness


• The capacity to sublimate, to redirect one's instinctive hostile energy into creative and constructive outlets


• The capacity to love
  

Pretty amazing list. Worth thinking about and meditating on.

Jesus said:

"Be peferfect, therefore, as your Father is perfect". - Matthew 5:48

He wasn't necessarily refering to being a 'perfect' person in the way we may define perfection. In other words, He wasn't referring to being 'flaweless". He was refering to being 'mature and complete' as the Father is mature and complete. One of the draws of Jesus (and still is) is His emotional maturity and wholeness and His willingness to accept you as you are, recognizing your flaws, while helping you to continue to improve and grow on your journey of life. He is "Mr. EQ", if you will. He came that you: "...may have and enjoy life and have it in abundance, to the full - till it overflows". (John 10:10)

There is a beauty and joy that comes with growth and maturity, even though it's a process. You may have to 'get up one more time' and 'go to the well one more time' and 'keep on keeping on' - but it's worth the effort.

Remember, the glory isn't in the falling, it's in the rising. :) Be a Micah 7:8 person:

"Though I have fallen, I will rise". - Micah 7:8

If you fall down, get back up and keep moving forward in faith. Your victory is ahead of you, not behind you.

Enjoy the journey of growth and maturity and becoming a "true" adult.

"...He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:6

There truly is a "pearl of great price" within you that is waiting to be revealed.

You are the best.

Power of Written Goals

“In my practice as a psychiatrist, I have found that helping people develop personal goals has proved to be the most effective way to help them to cope with problems.”

- Ari Kiev, MD, author of “A Strategy for Daily Living.”

This is a neat link about the power of written goals:

http://www.thinkarete.com/wisdom/works/notes/1434/

The thinkarete.com sight is also pretty cool. I've always enjoyed philosophical-type people, with a bent toward action. I read a book recently by John C. Maxwell called "Thinking For A Change". He said "Think like a man of action" and "act like a man of thought". In other words, "think it through and then follow through." I thought that was great advice. Be a "thinking man's action hero". And that applies to both men and women.

Writing Goals: A Big Key To Sucess
Writing your goals down is a huge key to success. Writing your goals downs helps to clarify and develop your vision, as well as unleash commitment. It also helps to keep you focused on the path you have CHOSEN.

The word CHOSEN is a big word, because to many people spend there lives "reacting" rather then being pro-active. Ultimately, the path to living a life of destiny, if you will, is to live an "intentional" pro-active life based on your choices. When you begin to establish goals, it forces you to think out what you want in life. When you begin to determine "what you want" for your life and the person you truly want to become and then begin taking steps in that direction, things begin to happen. You're life begins to have a "life of it's own" and the manifestation of the dream has the potential to be bigger then the dream itself.

Becoming A Person Of Fulfilled Destiny
If you don't have established goals for your life (and established plans), you could end up living out somebody else's goals, as nothing happens in a vacuum. There is nothing wrong with helping other to achieve there goals, but you need to also establish your own goals and be determined to fulfill your God-given destiny and live your dreams.

When you begin to put down your dreams on paper and then develop plans, you have taken a huge step in the direction of being a person of fulfilled destiny and vision.

A Few Ideas
Here are a few areas you can establish goals this coming year:

1) Spiritual
2) Family
3) Health
4) Relationship
5) Academic
6) Career/Business
7) Financial
8) Investing
9) Fun & Recreational

Some examples of goals could be as wide and varied as:

* taking a continuing education course
* set up a savings account or a retirement account
* learning a new computer application
* buying some land or real estate
* be debt-free
* lose 10 pounds
* keeping in a greater contact with family
* turning a hobby into a side-business
* spending more time in prayer
* listen to leadership tapes
* take a trip to Hawaii
* read a chapter a day in the bible
* etc....

There More You Put Into It, The More You Get Out Of It
Whether your goals are big or small, the key is to start. As it says in the scriptures: “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you–and even more." (Mark 4) Another way of putting it, is the more you put into something, the more you'll get out of it...and more will be added to you. That's a picture of the exponential curve. You'll find as you're faithful to but your vision down on paper and start moving in the direction of your dreams, more will be added to you and a wonderful thing called "momentum" will kick into operation. Like the development of a muscle, your vision and goals will expand and increase over time and you're life will have greater focus and impact.

God bless you as you pursue your God-given dreams and vision. You are the best...

Stick To Your Guns, Trust Your Gut

"The intellect has little to do on the road to discovery. There comes a leap in consciousness, call it intuition or what you will, and the solution comes to you, and you don't know how or why." - Albert Einstein

This is an interesting article on how simplifying an issue can help you make better decisions:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,1711859,00.html

I think when you listen to the voice of your spirit (or your intuition) it helps to identify key issues in a decision.

We sometimes over-complicate issues which leads to "paralysis of analysis".

This doesn't mean to not evaluate the facts and your options. However, I believe the article suggesting take a 'gut check' along with using conscious decision making.

I read this account of Michael Jordan taking a cruise on Warren Buffet's yacht. Warren Buffett at the time was the richest man on the planet and considered the greatest investor who ever lived. Basically you had on board the greatest basketball player who ever lived with the greatest investor. Michael Jordan asked Warren Buffet what was the key to his success as an investor and businessman. Waren said to "trust your gut". Michael said he thought that was a good idea.

Pretty intriguing interaction!

Both have obviously been extraordinarily diligent at their crafts and have majored on and developed their unique God-given gifts and strengths. They do what they love. However, that extra dimension of listening to their intuition has also helped to catupult them to the "top of the top" of their respected fields.

Enjoy the article and along with doing your "due diligence"...trust your gut.

Be open to listening to that "still, small voice" . Don't be surprised if it takes you to a higher level in life.

You are the best..

25 Breakout Jobs

Here is a list of 25 breakout jobs:

breakoutjobs

Be open to thinking "outside the box" where your career is concerned. For instance, a fitness trainer may make around $25,000 a year working at a gym, but may be able to charge a $100 an hour as a consultant. This type of dynamic may not always be in play, but you can evaluate your options thinking creatively and in faith. In some cases you may have a better "fit" in a large corporate context. In other cases, you may be better suited as an "intrapenuer":

http://www.intrapreneur.com/

Intrapreneuship
An "intrapreneur" is somebody with an entraprenuerial spirit in a corporate context. If you are a "creative-type" and have a knack for business you may fall under this category. Companies like 3M and Nordstroms are basically "intrapreneurial" driven companies. They put a high emphasis on you thinking like an entrepreneur while working at their companies and reward you accordingly. There are companies that function that way. When your values and gifts match the company you are working it, you will tend to "thrive" rathen then just survive. It helps when you have found "your people". :)

monster.com
http://www.creativehotlist.com/index.asp
http://www.dice.com/
http://www.salary.com/
http://www.careerbuilder.com/

If you are an "intraprenuer" you are extremely valuable to your company as you will tend to add enormous value. As Ryamond Smith of Bell Atlantic Corporation once remarked:

"Taking the safe road, doing your job, and not making any waves may not get you fired (right away, at least), but it sure won't do much for your career or your company over the long haul. We're not dumb. We know that administrators are easy to find and cheap to keep. Leaders - risk takers - are in very short supply. And ones with vision are pure gold."

Words to think about and live by! Be a leader, where ever you are!

Others are more at peace being an entrepreneur and building their own business. Even in that case, it worth evaluating what type of busines you would want to build.

http://emyth.com/
http://www.liveoutloud.com/
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/

Do you have a "business system" or are you "the system"? Things to consider. :)

Many "entrepreneurs" got their starts as "intrapreneurs" and then eventually branched out into their own business. They were faithful over another man's business and eventually got their own. (Luke 16) That was there natural progression and flow.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intrapreneur

Do Your Own Thinking
In the information age, I believe you have to think a little more like a "free agent", and do your own thinking. This doesn't mean be a "rebel". Definantly be thankful for whatever job you currently have, be loyal and add-value, but be open to thinking creatively and never let go of your dreams.

The Quite Revolution
Evaluate your options. Perhaps there is a calling there to work at a job and have a side biz. Or have a job and start learning about investing. Embrace the genius of the "And". :) You may be the type where both do "equally well" and you have the best of both worlds.

"Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well." (Ecclesiastes 11:6)

If the dream of having your own business burns inside you, you can start a side business while you still have your day job with the intent of turning it into a full-time business. By using this strategy - called 'straddling' - you can 'learning to earn' and develop the requisite business skills and mindset while you have your current job. Once you've built your side business up to the point where it supports you financially, you can then transition to doing the side biz full-time. This is one strategy to consider if you're not quit ready to make the plunge to a full-time business, but sense you're called to have your own business. This strategy could also apply in the arena of investing or any other dream you may have. Like a catipillar transforming into a butterfly, you can embark on a "quite revolution" that eventually transitions into a full-time thing.

Be Savvy and Creative
With this in mind, learn to be "savvy", in a positive sense, where your life and career are concerned and give yourself "permission" to succeed and go after your dreams. Jesus talked about this positive "savviness" in the parable of the shrewd manager (Luke 16:1). Jesus didn't praise the manager for being "crooked", but for being "shrewd" and thinking creatively:

"Now here's a surprise: The master praised the crooked manager! And why? Because he knew how to look after himself. Streetwise people are smarter in this regard than law-abiding citizens. They are on constant alert, looking for angles, surviving by their wits. I want you to be smart in the same way--but for what is right--using every adversity to stimulate you to creative survival, to concentrate your attention on the bare essentials, so you'll live, really live, and not complacently just get by on good behavior." (Luke 16: 8 - 10 MSG)

With this in mind, be savvy, use your imagination and embrace an innovative spirit. Discover your particular God-given 'edge' and 'niche' and be open to orthodox and unorthodox strategies in the pursuit of your God-given destiny. (2 Samuel 5:17-25) Be "opportunity-minded" and look for 'angles' and have some God-given 'wits' about you to see and seize opportunities. Who knows? You're adversity might actually be an opportunity. Your 'crazy idea' might be the door to a huge breakthrough. You might be closer to 'breaking out' then you realize.

Write The Vision
Did you know that Brian Tracey says that the average person receives three to four million-dollar ideas a year? Imagine that...With that in mind, here is a 'street-smart' idea, 'free of charge': carry a notepad around with you to capture your ideas. Writing one's ideas down is a timeless principle that does wonders in a person life and future. When you write down your goals, ideas, dreams, visions and plans you are actually 'documenting your future'.

"Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what's coming. It aches for the coming—it can hardly wait! And it doesn't lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It's on its way. It will come right on time." (Habakkuk 2:2-3 MSG)

It's Time To Live Again
Make a commitment today to 'live, really live' and not complacently get by on good behavior.

This is the right time. Indeed, we may well be transitioning over to an "age of creativity":

"Increasingly, the new core competence is creativity -- the right-brain stuff that smart companies are now harnessing to generate top-line growth. The game is changing. It isn't just about math and science anymore. It's about creativity, imagination, and, above all, innovation." (Get Creative! How to build innovative companies, Business Week Online)

It's time to innovate and upgrade! :)

innovate

Keep growing, learning and loving life!

You are the best....