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What Is The Best Gift You Have Ever Received?

perfect gift 247x300 What Is The Best Gift You Have Ever Received?Yesterday while searching for gift ideas for my friend I stumbled on a comment left by one of the readers (Jacinta O’Halloran ) that started simply:

“As I pulled the slender box from under the tree, my mind raced with possibilities. Ripping the paper away, I found a small box of coloring pencils. “Huh?” The attached note read “you fill my life with color, now go fill yours,” and it included a certificate to a local art class, something I’d been feeling too busy to sign up for myself. I burst into tears.”

I read it and almost felt like crying myself.
What a beautiful gift!

This story made me think of all the wonderful presents that I have received over the years and of those few that will stay in my heart forever.

I am sure that at some point, you too, have received a perfect gift that you will never forget.

What was it? Use the comment section below to share –

“What is the best gift you have ever received?”

Click here to share!


Mother Teresa: The Tiny Woman With A Big Heart

Mother Teresa 227x300 Mother Teresa: The Tiny Woman With A Big HeartEarly years and inner calling

Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu, known to most of us as Mother Teresa, was born on August 27th, 1910 in Skopje, Kosovo (now the Republic of Macedonia). Very little is known about her younger years, except that her father died when Agnes was only 8 years old, and her mother had to assume responsibility for the whole family.
When she was 18, she started to think of becoming a nun and soon left her parental home and travelled to India to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She never saw her mother or her sister again.
In 1929, after training in Dublin, she began her novitiate in Darjeeling, where two years later she took her first religious vows as a nun, choosing the name of Teresa (after  Terese of Lisieux). This was the day, when one chapter of her life closed and another one began.

A life of a nun

Shortly after taking her vows Sister Teresa was sent to St. Mary’s High School for girls in a district of Calcutta, where she taught history and geography for 15 years. However, the protective environment of the school for the daughters of the wealthy could not hide the sufferings and poverty of the ordinary people of Calcutta. Sister Teresa’s heart ached every time she glimpsed outside the convent walls, and saw that no one was doing anything for the people dying on the streets from hunger and disease.

The calling within a calling

On 10th September 1946, while travelling from Calcutta to Darjeeling for the annual retreat, Teresa experienced what she later described as “the call within the call”. She was to leave the Loreto and “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”

Values and Anti-values – The Key to Inner Peace and Lasting Harmony

harmony 203x300 Values and Anti values – The Key to Inner Peace and Lasting HarmonyIn one of my posts How To Resolve Internal Conflicts and Live In Peace With Yourself I said that a conflict between values and anti-values can be the main reason why we lose peace of mind and feel stuck or unsatisfied with our life.

We have all been there:

You really need to finish your project in time, but some part of you intentionally procrastinates. You work hard at your personal relationships, but another part of you wants to leave. You want to pursue your goals, but a little voice inside your head is telling you that you will fail. Most of us are not immune to the inner arguments, self-doubts and worries.

But what if we could resolve 90% of our inner conflicts? What if we could stop the stream of negative thoughts that often take over our mind? What if we could finally feel at peace with ourselves and the world around us?

It is not impossible! Inner harmony, joyful existence and unshakable belief that you can be successful start with your peace of mind. And peace of mind starts with getting to know your core values and anti-values and settling inner conflicts.

If you are still unconvinced here are 5 Sound Reasons why it is so important to learn your personal values and anti-values:

• It empowers you to make better decisions. If you know your values, it becomes much easier to align your choices accordingly.

• It becomes easier to find compatible places, lifestyle and people that support your way of living.

• It allows you to identify your main priorities in life and choose goals that are right for you.

• It makes you live with integrity. It does not mean that anyone who discovers their values will instantly become an honest and honorable person. I wish things could be that easy. “Living with integrity” in this case, means being true to yourself, becoming a “whole” person.

• It improves your communication with other people, because you understand their way of thinking and actions better.

What are values and anti-values?

What I am about to share with you is serious psychology stuff that is the basis of most coaching sessions, so bear with me.

Read more about values and anti-values…


How Do You Feel About How You Spend Your Time Each Day?

relaxing woman 300x198 How Do You Feel About How You Spend Your Time Each Day? A lot of people understand the value of their time. They know that time is money and that they need to make the best out of every moment that they have.

But this is theory. In practice, I look back and I realize how much of my time has been simply wasted. Do you know what I’m talking about? Letting two hours just fly by while watching videos on YouTube, or mulling over something someone said to me and then thinking of all the witty remarks that I could have said back, or complaining about being bored, or even dreaming about the weekend on Thursday!

Most of us realize that time is limited, yet we live like we have all the time in the world to take care of our health, to accomplish everything that we planned on accomplishing, to visit places that we have only read about, to make things up with people who we have hurt, and to live our life to the fullest.

But the truth is that the way you spend your day is the way you spend your life. It might sound overly simplistic, but in reality, it boils down to this: the more time you spend feeling happy, enthusiastic, grateful, and in harmony with yourself and the world around you, the happier, more harmonious, and joyful your life will be.

Therefore, I want you to think, and then answer this one question in the comment section below–

How do you feel about how you spend your time each day?

Do you go to bed with a smile, because you feel that today was a great day? Or do you feel frustrated, because it has been yet another stressful day at work?

Click here to share!


21 Keys to Energy Management to Boost Your Productivity and Life Satisfaction

energy1 300x201 21 Keys to Energy Management to Boost Your Productivity and Life SatisfactionTime management is a great theory. It helps us to get more organized, to set priorities, and to increase our productivity. Except for when it does not work…
I realized this yesterday, when I got home feeling exhausted after my 18-hour trip from Miami to Milan.
A cold shower, a nice breakfast and all the pep-talk about how much I needed to get done helped very little to overcome the sleepiness and lack of energy.
Two hours later I found myself mindlessly staring at the computer screen, without having the slightest desire to get any work done. And the monotonous sound of raindrops hitting the window and dark grey sky made me even sleepier.
When I finally took my eyes off the desktop and looked v e r y  s l o w l y at my do-to list for the day, the level of my enthusiasm and motivation dropped below zero. There was simply no way I could get it all done and no Time Management tips or tricks would have helped me to be more productive while I felt the way I felt.
Later thinking about it, I came to the conclusion that there is more to productivity than just managing 24 hours a day efficiently. Otherwise, we would all never feel overbooked, overwhelmed and underproductive. But the truth is that we do.
I believe that the main reason for this is that while we might be great at managing our time, we have not learned how to manage our levels of energy efficiently.
Here are 21 Keys to Energy management or the secrets of doing the right tasks at the right time:

1. Establish your “flow” times.

There is a certain time of day, when our energy and productivity is at its peak. I have noticed that I am most productive, focused and engaged in my work early in the morning and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. These are the times that I set aside for writing and brainstorming my ideas. Your “flow” time may be completely different from mine, but it is important that you learn it and organize tasks that you need to accomplish based on the level of energy that you have.

Read more about 21 Keys to energy management…


15 Convincing Reasons to Give Up Your TV Time For a Better Life

watching tv 300x206 15 Convincing Reasons to Give Up Your TV Time For a Better LifeWhat is it that so many people have against watching TV? After all what harm can this cute little box that looks so innocent, so relaxing and so entertaining do?
In some ways watching TV is very similar to eating sweets. It is great as long as you ‘consume’ it in small quantities. An hour in front of the TV is fun and relaxing. Two hours are still enjoyable and engaging. Three hours -and you start fidgeting on the sofa, because your body craves some activity. Four hours – and here is what happens:

1. You have less free time.

I know that spending your evening in front of a flat screen TV may be your perfect idea of entertainment, relaxation and how to spend your free time. But those 4 and a half hours daily that you watch TV add up to months and years, taking your focus away from your family, friends, health goals, and hobbies. If watching TV does not add any noticeable value to your life, it becomes a time waster.

2. You fall behind.

Every hour we spend dozing off in front of the TV, is an hour that other people use for studying, reading, exercising, writing a book, learning to play a musical instrument or creating something new. While they are improving their lives and achieving their goals, we are falling further and further behind on ours. I am not saying that we should use every second of our life efficiently. I am saying that we should use it to become a little bit happier, a little bit wiser and a little bit more compassionate. Watching TV accomplishes none of these.

3. You become less engaging.

Picture a typical modern family: mother in the kitchen, watching TV, while cooking dinner, dad in the living room, watching a soccer match or the 8 o’clock news, son in his room playing computer games or watching a new video on YouTube.
Instead of spending quality time together like we used to, we spend it in front of the TV. And it is not just my personal impression. A recent study found that when the TV is on — even if it is just in the background — parents interact less with their kids and between themselves.

4. You gain weight.

Think about watching a great movie and not munching on anything. Especially when you see all those mouthwatering commercials of grilled shrimp cooked to a crisp or layers of milk chocolate covering a Snicker bar? No wonder the latest studies have demonstrated that people who watch 3 hours of TV per day are twice as likely to become obese than those who watch it for just an hour a day. So if you would like to lose some extra weight, you might want to consider losing your TV first.

5. You become defenseless against the marketing messages.

Watching TV puts the viewer into a highly suggestive trance-like hypnotic state, which provides easy access to our subconscious and noticeably decreases your ability to critically analyze all the incoming information. This makes you an easy target for more than 50,000 TV commercials that you are exposed to in a year.

Read more about reasons to give up your TV time…


What Has Been The Best Decision of Your Life So Far?

choice 209x300 What Has Been The Best Decision of Your Life So Far?

I believe that our life is shaped around the choices that we make. Some of these choices could seem insignificant and could even have been forced upon us. But even these tiny, insignificant choices can sometimes change the course of our life.
For example, one of the best choices that I have made in my life was to quit my job and start my own web site. This was a big, life – changing decision for me.
But now when I think about it, I might never have made this decision, if one day (11 months before I gave in my two weeks notice) I had not stopped at Barnes and Noble’s after work to buy a new romance to read. As I was going by the self-help section, I saw another book with a catchy name “Chicken soup for the soul” by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen.
I opened it at a random page and read, “A self-fulfilling prophecy is that you get what you expect. Why not create great expectations and the highest vision possible for yourself and the whole world?” I bought the book and finished reading it in three days.
It was the first step on the way to my life-changing decision and it was followed by me making all the other little decisions that lead me to opening my own business and later finding my life purpose.
Every single moment we are faced with choices. And every single moment we adjust our life path in some way.
Now I want to ask you a question – What has been the best decision of your life so far?
Was it a spontaneous decision or a thought – through rational choice? How did it change your life?

10 Things to Eliminate From Your Life

delete button 300x207 10 Things to Eliminate From Your Life In our hectic lives the secret to finding balance and inner peace is often not about what you add to your life. It is about what you take away.

Here are 10 Mayor Things that you can eliminate from your life right now to free up your energy and noticeably reduce the amount of stress you have to deal with every day:

1. Eliminate Watching TV.

It has been estimated that an average American spends 4 hours and 45 minutes a day watching TV, which over the year adds up to over TWO MONTHS! That is two months of our life that we could have spent playing with our children, getting fit, writing a book, starting your blog, learning a new language, meditating, attending workshops, or just doing what we like to do. There is another weighty reason to reduce amount of hours we spend in front of the TV – it numbs out our emotions!
Ever-growing scientific evidence indicates that people, who watch too much TV start living their lives through the characters in the shows and movies they are watching, ignoring their own feelings, goals and problems that need to be taken care of.
Do not let TV rob you of your family time and your peace of mind. Turn it off!

2. Eliminate Worry.

This is easier said than done. There are so many things to worry about from the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico to how to finish an important work project on time. But the problem with worry is that it is useless. No matter how much of our time we spend imagining the worst or mulling over what others might say or think, it is not going to improve the situation. Unless we do something other than worrying to change it! Do not let “tomorrow steal too much of your today”! Eliminate worry and you will have so much more energy to enjoy every second of your life.

3. Eliminate Perfectionism.

The main idea behind our desire to ‘be perfect’ and ‘do perfect’ is a good one. It is based on our desire to become better, push our limits and improve our skills. It is the execution of the idea that is wrong. Ironically, our belief that what we do is not good enough becomes the biggest block to our growth. The first step to becoming better at something is to let go of perfectionism and allow  ourselves to experiment, make mistakes and learn from them!

Read more about things to eliminate from your life…


What is your dream job?

dream work 217x300 What is your dream job?When we were little, we dreamed about becoming an astronaut, a doctor, a famous singer, a football player, a pilot or, in my case, the owner of an ice cream store.
Now when we think about the job, the first thing that comes to our mind is the necessity to provide for our family.
But I want to offer you something – let’s forget about bad economy, mortgage, and credit card bills for a second and think about what we would really like to do, if nothing were off the table. Is it becoming a professional tennis player? Or finding the cure for a currently incurable disease? Opening your own business, or travelling around the world and writing a book about your adventures? Or maybe you would love to become a stay-at-home parent to devote more time to your children?
Dream BIG!
What is your dream job today? What makes it meaningful and worth doing?
I’m truly interested in your answers, so please take two minutes to write down your answer in a comment section below!

Zen Productivity Principles to Regain Balance and Simplicity

zen productivity1 300x230 Zen Productivity Principles to Regain Balance and SimplicityWe live in a society built on efficiency and productivity. We stay busy, invent new time management strategies, and learn how to fill every second with some kind of activity so that we can “save” more time and fill it up with even more activities. But the question is – What’s the point?

What is the point of working hard and checking off all these numerous tasks on our to-do lists when we misbalance other areas of our life like health or relationships, for one single idea – the idea that we must be efficient. Efficient at what? Work? Relationships? Life?
My friend recently came back from his family trip to Europe. And when I asked him how did it go, his first response was, “Oh it was very productive! We saw everything that we had planned to see and I even met possible business partners for my new project!”
Am I the only one, who does not understand the concept of a “productive vacation”?  Vacations can be unforgettable, fun, great, amazing or terrible at worst, but not productive. Because if this is the case, a vacation loses its essence and becomes a business trip.
This got me thinking that maybe we have taken the productivity concept too far after all?
Maybe we need to take a little break from all the new fad time management strategies and turn to ancient knowledge for guidance?
Here is what ancient wisdom teaches us:

1. “What you are doing does not matter so much as what you are learning from doing it.” - Egyptian Proverb

Most of us are familiar with the concept of prioritizing – you should always start with the most important and urgent task on our to-do list, leaving less important ones for later. But what if we look at it from a different perspective and instead of concentrating our efforts on the tasks that are supposed to bring us maximum result in the short run; we make learning our priority?
When you evaluate any activity from “What can I learn?” perspective, you are continuously expanding your experience, improving your skills, as a result becoming more efficient.
Action step: Look at the tasks on your to-do list. Often the most beneficial activity is not the one that seems the most important or urgent. It is the one that you learn the most while doing it!

2. “We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” – Aristotle

Our present is a direct result of choices and actions that we have made in the past. And most of those choices and actions are mainly influenced by our habits. It is no different with work. Each of us has developed our own rituals like checking emails, answering friends on facebook, looking for the latest updates on the soccer world cup or eating lunch at our desk.
What we do not realize is that we perfect what we repeatedly do. We become more efficient at answering emails, we learn to carry on conversations with 5 different friends on facebook, and we become much faster at searching for the latest news on-line.
Action step: Become aware of your work “rituals” during the day. What do you repeatedly do? What are you getting better at? And is it worth excelling at these tasks? Or maybe it would be better to invest your time in something else that has a greater impact on your career and professionalism?

Read more about Zen productivity principles…