Showing posts with label personal development. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal development. Show all posts

Sunday, 22 April 2012

My Top 4 Personal Development Books to start the journey

We are all on a personal development journey whether we know it or not. Heres my top 4 books which i found very helpful and life changing at the beginning of my conscious personal development journey.

1. Don't Sweat the small stuff by Richard Carlson. This book made a lot of sense and made a huge difference to my life.

2. Feel the Fear and do it anyway by Susan Jeffers. This book helps you learn what we are afraid of and why, how to push your comfort zone to live a more creative, joyous and loving life.

3. Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander
A great book to read, its easy, quick to read and i would recommend it especially to people starting out on their personal development journey. I re read it all last night and woke up ready to charge :) Alexander's writing, although amusing and witty is also direct with a "no-nonsense" attitude that will wake you up, "slap you into shape" and fire you at your goal at light speed.

4. Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert T. Kiyosaki
"The main reason people struggle financially is because they have spent
years in school but learned nothing about money. The result is that
people learn to work for money...but never to have money work for them."
So says Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad, Poor Dad in this New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and USA Today best seller. Rich Dad, Poor Dad
will: explode the myth that you need to earn a high income to become
rich; challenge the belief that your house is an asset; show parents why
they can't rely on the school system to teach their kids about money;
define once and for all an asset and a liability; and teach you what to
teach your kids about money for their future financial success.


A quote from Gandhi "Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behaviors. Keep your behaviors positive because your behaviors become your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny."

Blog post 19 in the Ultimate Blog Challenge.

Sunday, 15 April 2012

Ultimate Blog Challenge Blog 15 Living with Cancer

Friday was supposed to be the last 3 monthly check on Garys PSA level then onto 6 monthly checks as its been a year since he had his prostate removed after being diagnosed with prostate cancer age 47 years last February.

His level has increased slightly so he is being kept on 3 mthly checks, the next one is July and believe it or not Friday 13th July just as this one was Friday 13th as well.

It has brought back the reality that we are living with Cancer, because the operation went well and the tests so far have been good I had fallen into a false sense of security and had put it out of my mind only to have it blasted back in and the same old feelings associated with the diagnosis last year coming back. I may be wrong but it seems to have made more of an impact on me than Gary or the children but i guess until we know if its a one off or if it is going to continue rising there is absolutely no point in worrying so i am calling upon all my years of personal development and my normal positive outlook to get me through. I have to be strong for Gary and for the childrens sake.

It is a good reminder that we should all live in the present and that worrying won't change anything.

Today is a gift

Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. And today? Today is a gift. That’s why we call it the present.

Worry never robs tomorrow of its sorrow, it only saps today of its joy. ~Leo Buscaglia

Thank you blog for being my online journal and helping me share my thoughts and feelings which may help someone else sometime.

Ultimate Blog Challenge Blog 13 More Quotes

Some quotes i have found very uplifting and helpful over the last few days after some newsthat has knocked me off track a little.

"Beautiful thoughts and positive emotions are the stuff miracles are made of"

"Focus on how far you have come not how far you have to go"

"Overthinking ruins you, ruins the situation,twists things around, makes you worry and just makes everything much worse than it actually is"

"Tough times don't last, tough people do"

"We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust the sails"

"positive thoughts uplift you"

"Always believe that something wonderful is about to happen"

Thursday, 12 April 2012

Best Motivational video ever Ultimate Blog Challenge no.11.

We all sometimes think we have a raw deal in life or feel sorry for ourselves or are just miserable for trival little reasons or no reason at all and we can make our own and others lives around us difficult because of how we feel. This has to be the best motivational and inspiring video i have seen. What a guy he is!!! It is one of my all time favourite videos.


Sunday, 8 April 2012

Ultimate Blog Challenge Blog 7 Little Acts of Kindess


After a lovely Easter Roast Dinner with my lovely family i started to think about the people who aren't so lucky and who don't have family to share these special times during the year and who perhaps spend most of the year very lonely and how during normal everyday life we can't tell who these people are or how little we really know about anyone we come into contact with or pass by in the street or sit next to on the bus, are in the cars that pass that and so on. We don't know what they are thinking, feeling or whats happening in their lives. If we were all to just concentrate on doing littles acts of kindness for others not only are we hopefully brightening someone elses day but by doing so we are also brightening our own day.

12 Little Acts of Kindness.

1. Say "Good morning" and smile at everyone you meet.

2. Even if you are short of time take a few moments to help someone whether its directions they need or a helping hand crossing the road or picking up a toy dropped from a pushchair

3. Say "I love you" to someone you love.

4. Let someone with less shopping than you go in front of you at the check out

5. Each time you get a new item of clothing, give away something old.

6. Say "please" and "thank you" —and really mean it.

7. When you're on a crowded train or bus, offer your seat to an elderly, disabled or pregnant person

8. Don't interrupt when someone is explaining herself/himself.

9. Let a fellow driver merge into your lane or on a busy road let someone from a side road out.

10. Encourage someone who seems despondent.

11. Ask someone "How are you really doing?"—and then really listen to her/his response.

12. Leave a generous tip for a pleasant waiter.

By doing little acts of kindness for others we also lift our spirit and makes us feel so much better inside. If we are thinking about doing kindnesses for others we are far less likely to worry or focus on negative things which may be happening to us. As you concentrate on doing these things your focus comes round to helping others and all of a sudden we find ourself receiving so many more kindnesses. We meet happier people and they will bend over backward to help us. You see, what we focus on we receive more of......try it, I guarantee it will work...........

Ultimate Blog Challenge Blog 6 New Beginnings


Easter and Spring are both about New Beginnings, a time for a spring clean, declutter, letting go of stuff that has held us back or cluttered our minds to make room for new ideas, new things to enter our lives. A great excuse to rule a line under that part of our lives and to move forward as we mean to go on. To make sure we make the most of every minute, enjoy the people in our lives, make happy memories, choose happiness whatever the situation because we have free will and even if we can't change something we can change the way we react to it.

Rishika Jains'Inspiration from facebook says "Most of the things that we desire in life are expensive...... But truth is that the things that really satisfy us are absolutely free................"

so true and the sad thing is we don't have time to experience those things that really satisfy us and are free cos we're too busy making money for the things that we think we want/need :)

Finally another story posted on facebook
Married or not you should read this...

“When I got home that night as my wife served dinner, I held her hand and said, I’ve got something to tell you. She sat down and ate quietly. Again I observed the hurt in her eyes.

Suddenly I didn’t ...know how to open my mouth. But I had to let her know what I was thinking. I want a divorce. I raised the topic calmly. She didn’t seem to be annoyed by my words, instead she asked me softly, why?

I avoided her question. This made her angry. She threw away the chopsticks and shouted at me, you are not a man! That night, we didn’t talk to each other. She was weeping. I knew she wanted to find out what had happened to our marriage. But I could hardly give her a satisfactory answer; she had lost my heart to Jane. I didn’t love her anymore. I just pitied her!

With a deep sense of guilt, I drafted a divorce agreement which stated that she could own our house, our car, and 30% stake of my company. She glanced at it and then tore it into pieces. The woman who had spent ten years of her life with me had become a stranger. I felt sorry for her wasted time, resources and energy but I could not take back what I had said for I loved Jane so dearly. Finally she cried loudly in front of me, which was what I had expected to see. To me her cry was actually a kind of release. The idea of divorce which had obsessed me for several weeks seemed to be firmer and clearer now.

The next day, I came back home very late and found her writing something at the table. I didn’t have supper but went straight to sleep and fell asleep very fast because I was tired after an eventful day with Jane. When I woke up, she was still there at the table writing. I just did not care so I turned over and was asleep again.

In the morning she presented her divorce conditions: she didn’t want anything from me, but needed a month’s notice before the divorce. She requested that in that one month we both struggle to live as normal a life as possible. Her reasons were simple: our son had his exams in a month’s time and she didn’t want to disrupt him with our broken marriage.

This was agreeable to me. But she had something more, she asked me to recall how I had carried her into out bridal room on our wedding day. She requested that every day for the month’s duration I carry her out of our bedroom to the front door ever morning. I thought she was going crazy. Just to make our last days together bearable I accepted her odd request.

I told Jane about my wife’s divorce conditions. . She laughed loudly and thought it was absurd. No matter what tricks she applies, she has to face the divorce, she said scornfully.

My wife and I hadn’t had any body contact since my divorce intention was explicitly expressed. So when I carried her out on the first day, we both appeared clumsy. Our son clapped behind us, daddy is holding mommy in his arms. His words brought me a sense of pain. From the bedroom to the sitting room, then to the door, I walked over ten meters with her in my arms. She closed her eyes and said softly; don’t tell our son about the divorce. I nodded, feeling somewhat upset. I put her down outside the door. She went to wait for the bus to work. I drove alone to the office.

On the second day, both of us acted much more easily. She leaned on my chest. I could smell the fragrance of her blouse. I realized that I hadn’t looked at this woman carefully for a long time. I realized she was not young any more. There were fine wrinkles on her face, her hair was graying! Our marriage had taken its toll on her. For a minute I wondered what I had done to her.

On the fourth day, when I lifted her up, I felt a sense of intimacy returning. This was the woman who had given ten years of her life to me. On the fifth and sixth day, I realized that our sense of intimacy was growing again. I didn’t tell Jane about this. It became easier to carry her as the month slipped by. Perhaps the everyday workout made me stronger.

She was choosing what to wear one morning. She tried on quite a few dresses but could not find a suitable one. Then she sighed, all my dresses have grown bigger. I suddenly realized that she had grown so thin, that was the reason why I could carry her more easily.

Suddenly it hit me… she had buried so much pain and bitterness in her heart. Subconsciously I reached out and touched her head.

Our son came in at the moment and said, Dad, it’s time to carry mom out. To him, seeing his father carrying his mother out had become an essential part of his life. My wife gestured to our son to come closer and hugged him tightly. I turned my face away because I was afraid I might change my mind at this last minute. I then held her in my arms, walking from the bedroom, through the sitting room, to the hallway. Her hand surrounded my neck softly and naturally. I held her body tightly; it was just like our wedding day.

But her much lighter weight made me sad. On the last day, when I held her in my arms I could hardly move a step. Our son had gone to school. I held her tightly and said, I hadn’t noticed that our life lacked intimacy. I drove to office…. jumped out of the car swiftly without locking the door. I was afraid any delay would make me change my mind…I walked upstairs. Jane opened the door and I said to her, Sorry, Jane, I do not want the divorce anymore.

She looked at me, astonished, and then touched my forehead. Do you have a fever? She said. I moved her hand off my head. Sorry, Jane, I said, I won’t divorce. My marriage life was boring probably because she and I didn’t value the details of our lives, not because we didn’t love each other anymore. Now I realize that since I carried her into my home on our wedding day I am supposed to hold her until death do us apart. Jane seemed to suddenly wake up. She gave me a loud slap and then slammed the door and burst into tears. I walked downstairs and drove away. At the floral shop on the way, I ordered a bouquet of flowers for my wife. The salesgirl asked me what to write on the card. I smiled and wrote, I’ll carry you out every morning until death do us apart.

That evening I arrived home, flowers in my hands, a smile on my face, I run up stairs, only to find my wife in the bed -dead. My wife had been fighting CANCER for months and I was so busy with Jane to even notice. She knew that she would die soon and she wanted to save me from the whatever negative reaction from our son, in case we push through with the divorce.— At least, in the eyes of our son—- I’m a loving husband….

The small details of your lives are what really matter in a relationship. It is not the mansion, the car, property, the money in the bank. These create an environment conducive for happiness but cannot give happiness in themselves.

So find time to be your spouse’s friend and do those little things for each other that build intimacy. Do have a real happy marriage!

If you don’t share this, nothing will happen to you.

If you do, you just might save a marriage. Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

Friday, 6 April 2012

Ultimate Blog Challenge Blog 5 Personal Development Quotes


Some of my favourite personal development quotes, there are too many to list but i have just taken a few in no particular order. I believe Personal development should be an ongoing process and the lack of it amongst other things such as goal setting is what holds people back in their journey to get to their dreams. I find quotes are a great way to aid development especially if you don't have time to read a book or you just need a quick "pick me up" or something positive to focus on.

“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you always got.”
Mark Twain

"The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it,
but that it is too low and we reach it" Michelangelo

When one door closes another door opens; but we so often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door, that we do not see the ones which open for us.
- Alexander Graham Bell

Life is 10% of what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.

Often people attempt to live their lives backwards.
They try to have more things, or more money,
in order to do more of what they want so they will be happier.
The way it actually works is the reverse.
You must first be who you really are, then do what you need to do,
in order to have what you want.
~ Margaret Young ~

"Rule #1 is: DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFFF.
Rule #2 is: IT'S ALL SMALL STUFF." - Robert Eliot

"Everyone takes a shower to get rid of the dirt on their physical bodies. So, doesn't it only make sense to clean your mind from all of the negative garbage from the outside world?" - John Di Lemme

The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
Winston Churchill