Monday, December 31, 2007

Looking Back on the Past Year

What is it that you achieved in the past year?
What did you not finish in the past year?
What books did you read?
Who are the new people you met or reconnected with?
What did you buy?
What were your proudest moments?
What was your lowest moment?

Answer these questions and go forward into the New Year being the best you possibly can with the talents you have been given.

Sunday, December 23, 2007

10 days till the New Year - what are you going to do with your life?

As the year is coming to a close it is a time for reflection of the year that is soon to pass, the things we have done, the things we should have done, the things we could have done.

How many of us can look back on the year and say 'Boy, was I on fire!' and be satisfied that they gave the year all his or her best and no matter what the results have shown on the 31st December ( 10 days is still sufficent time for major breakthroughs to occur), what matters is giving one hunderd and ten percent to the year so that no days have been wasted.

As we get older we realise that there are less days left in our lives and therefore how important it is to make each day valuable.

If we have accomplished something of importance to us during this year we should celebrate the achievements and thank God for making it come to fruition.

If we keep in mind that anything is possible we can truly look forward to the coming year with anticipation that change is coming our way and be ready for it.

Another wonderful 365 days that God is going to bless us with. How we choose to fill our days is up to us. Unlike other resources such as money, time is of limited supply and we should guard it well.

I smile as I think of my list of things to do for the coming year :

1. Meet my soulmate and marry him

2. Take my business to another level

3. Travel all over the world to conferences, seminars and meet interesting people who are involved in exciting projects

4. Take care of my parents and spend more time with my daughter

5. Spiritually grow and become closer to God

What is your list of things to do for the coming year? Does the list include things which will bring you closer to the things you want to do with your life? For example if you have always thought of starting your own business , why not make a plan in these last ten days left of the year of the series of actions you need to take .

1.Identify your goals, for example starting a business or becoming the chief executive of an organisation

2.Ask yourself why it is important for you to achieve that goal. Make sure your reasons are not for pleasing other people eg you want to become the chief executive of a certain organisation because you want to make your father proud, ask yourself do you really , really want to be a chief executive? Too often we confuse what other people want for us as something we want for ourselves.

3. Draw up an action plan. If you are starting a business think of all the resources you need and how to get them , for example people whose help you need to enlist, arranging finance, knowledge and expertise. It is important not to dwell too long in drawing up this action plan but to get moving as soon as the basics are in place.

4. Break down each action into a series of tasks and put them in your diary , ticking the tasks off as they are accomplished. Remember you can eat an elephant one bite at a time.

5. Keep a log of your progress on a daily basis. If things are working do more of it, if it is not then change and see what happens. Test and tweak all the time.

6. Keep your eye firmly on the ball that is marked 'This is where the money is' . Activity does not equal productivity. Make sure you know which activities bring you the money and do more of it. Of course you should enjoy this activity which brings you the money, otherwise leave it. You should feel alive when you are engaged in this pursuit which not only makes money but adds value to ther peoples' lives.

So get going today ! Make your list of things to do, followed by your action plan and start filling in next year's diary with all the tasks tha are part of the action plan. At the end of next year, ten days before the year end you can look through your diary and amaze yourself that you are far more capable than you ever thought youself to be!

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Digital Natives

Digital natives don't just use technology differently, they live their lives differently because of what they can do with technology.

These were the words of the speaker in one of the seminars held at the online information Conference yesterday. The words rang so true in my ears especially after this week's momentous events where I defied my own expectations by accomplishing what I thought was merely a dream. My screen had started showing the dollar signs which I could not believe. It was truly magic.

When a technology is sufficiently advanced it is akin to magic as Arthur C Clarke said.

I imagined all the little angels sitting on the shoulders of the surfers in the US and the litle cherubs telling them to click and they click. All I know is that it is from God.

God gives to whom He wills without stint says the Quran when Zachariah enters Mary's room and finds that food has magically appeared next to her. I read this passage in Surah Imran this morning.

The world is full of money. Some of it has your name written on it. All you have to do is collect it. Felix Dennis writes.

If we start thinking of money like oxygen something which is in abundant supply and will never run out , and is merely an exchange of energy, we will start looking at money differently.

We will start attracting money into our life when we start thinking it is in plentiful supply and God will give to whom He wills.

Friday, December 07, 2007

60 Minutes to Live

I came across Dan Gilbert's book Stumbling Upon Happiness in which he asks the question what you would do if you had ten minutes to live. There isn't much you can do in ten minutes but if you have 60 minutes to live you can do something meaningful with that time. Most people I gather would say they would get together with their family. I would jump into my car , pick my daughter from school assuming I am given this sudden news while working at home during the day and rush to my parents place 20 minutes drive away which is aso near where my other siblings and their families are. When we ask ourselves this question it brings home to us what is the most thing important thing in your life. Its your family and your loved ones and some close friends that you want to be close by when it is time to say goodbye. The last hour would also be time to reflect on the journey one would be taking to the next stage and whether during the brief time on this earth whether one reminded oneself sufficient times that this place is a temporary abode for a very short time and the time had come for one's return to his Creator.
If we remind ourselves every day that the last hour for each of us is inevitable, then it would puts everythinh we need to do that day and whatever we may be experiencing during that day into a new perspective. The new perspective is that we should stop sweating the small stuff and its all small stuff.

Sunday, December 02, 2007

Today is a Gift

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift from God and that is why it is called the present. Bill Keane

Quite a long break !

Gosh, I can't believe I have been away for so long from my blog. Three and a half months to be precise. In mitigation I have to say that during this time I have written an e book on all things about how to lead your life, something I can leave behind for my daughter some of the principles that she would know that her mother tried to apply in her life.

Personal development is an interest I seem to be returning again and again. I am almost hooked to it. I must admit that sometimes I need to take time away from it and return with a refreshed mind with new ideas. Instead of blogging I have kept a journal noting down thoughts that have come fleetingly, stayed for a while, some incubated, perhaps fodder for some future writing and rumination.

Writing is something I love to do . When it is a daily exercise, no matter how many brick walls I have to tackle it somehow makes me smile and a sense of calmness permeates my being with the knowledge that everything is going to be alright.

Its after ten at night, on a Sunday, my mac is on my lap , I am reclined on my comfy sofa with the quilt covering me and a hot mug of tea on the coffeee table next to me. What could be more bliss than this. And I am doing what I love to do. The joy that fills every cell of my body makes me realise what little it takes to be so happy. When we make time to do the things we love there is no greater joy.

I am glad that I took the road to self employment three and a half years ago but those who are working at a 9 to 5 job, instead of feeling 'oh no tomorrow is Monday again' it is just as easy to say that tomorrow after work when I return home I will do the thing that gives me joy instead of sitting in front of the TV for three hours. When we make time for what makes our heart sing life holds a new meaning. We are in flow and we lose sense of time and space. Whether it be painting, composing a piece of music, writing or building something, this act of creative effort triggers something within us which touches the core of our being and we are at one with something greater than ourselves. The creative forces within us makes us create something which in itself becomes an act of worship guided by the divine hand. I have come to this place I do not know how but what I do know is that where I am now is perfect . Everything is unfolding as it should and it is an ongoing journey that I am relishing. Its never too late to be what you wanted to be, said George Eliot, and we should heed her words .

What is it that you love doing? Even if it is for half an hour do it now and say to yourself that you will do it every day and see what a difference it makes to your life.