Are You Up For The Challenge?

Material things do not carry over with us past our grave. That's why it's important to create enriching experiences in our lives and to appreciate the true beauty that life has to offer.

Life is all a matter of perception and that is why I try to find a positive in every negative since even in death there is new life! When certain things in our lives do not go as planned then learn from those lessons and you will grow as a result. It is through our struggles in which we gain strength. Without these daily challenges our lives would lose its purpose and we would simply be living aimlessly and in misery!

Welcome life's challenges with open arms and you will soon find yourself back on your designated path!

Best Wishes to all in your journey!
-Motivator

The Answers Are in the Questions!

One is always looking for the answers to life's questions but stop and ask yourself "Am I Asking the Right Questions"?

Stop searching for answers and live your way into them...
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Have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language.

Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them.

And the point is to live everything. Live the questions now.

Perhaps then, some day far in the future, you will gradually, without event noticing it, live your way into the answer.

-- Rainer Maria Rilke

Word of Caution...Be Careful Setting Goals!!

What are you talking about Jeff? I've been told time and time again that in order to achieve success that I must be setting goals!

People have been taught and are continuously taught to set clear and concise goals, be as detailed as possible, picture yourself on July 7, 2010 driving in your 2005 red Ferrari with tan leather and pulling into your $1 Million home in the suburbs of Toronto with 4 garages and so on. These visions are great and many people may actually reach these goals just as they had imagined. The question is what happens when things aren't going right along the way?

Life is not linear with curve balls unexpectedly getting thrown at us all the time. The same holds true with our goals. If we set such rigid goals and timelines and certain curve balls are thrown at us (i.e. getting laid off, a medical crisis, company cutbacks, etc.) then we tend to get discouraged and unmotivated as a result.

When thinking about planning for your future think about setting clear objectives instead of rigid goals. An example occured recently with a friend of mine who is studying for his Masters in Business. He had initially set out to achieve a specific GPA and was becoming very stressed and discouraged as his marks were not where he wanted them to be. The problem was that he had placed so much pressure on himself to reach his goal that he had lost site of what his true objective was...to get the best education possible so that he could acquire the necessary skills to achieve his own dream. He came to realize that he was exerting too much energy in competing against his peers and was allowing the stress of underperforming to interfere with his ability to actually perform. His vision has changed now so as to not "to earn" but now "to earn".

In having a clear focus and a sound vision he will achieve his objective and so can you!

What is Success?

I figured I would start things off by defining the word Success.

Merriam Webster defines Success as:

a. degree or measure of succeeding b : favorable or desired outcome; also : the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence

What does it mean to you? Does it mean financial freedom or a wealth of assets? Could it be having the luxury of time to do the things that you always wanted to do? Or is it something as simple as having a healthy family and a partner who loves you?

Remember that there is no right or wrong answer and that success can be defined in many ways. Find out what it means to you and try not to judge others by the way that they choose to live their own lives. Don't let society tell you that you are not living the right way or that you should be doing and/or achieving certain milestones in your life at a certain age.

Set your vision on what it is that makes you feel alive and strive towards it. Live today as if it were your last and believe that you are currently living your dream! To be alive is a gift in itself and to have the ability to read these words at this particular moment makes you richer than a large portion of the world's population.

Appreciate life for the moment because in a flash it can all be taken away and the "wealth" that you thought you had will no longer have any value!!

YOU ARE SUCCESS...TODAY!!

Put The Glass Down

Here's a great little story that helps put the topic of stress management into perspective:

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A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management. He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?"

The students' answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.

"It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it.
If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.
It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

"If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier."

"What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again."

We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow!

Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can.

Pick it up again later when you have rested...

Rest and relax.

Life is short, enjoy it!!

WORDS TO LIVE BY

- Author unknown

Prepare to Reach Your Dreams

Hello all,

I have finally set up my blog for all to see. This has been an interest of mine for many many years and I have now begun my true quest to educating and inspiring the masses so that all may reach their full potential!

Finding ones internal driving force is the key to succeed...all you need is to find out how and that's why I'm here!

Stay tuned as more is soon to come!

Cheers.