Mini sabbaticals

I prefer the term mini sabbaticals rather than mini retirements due to the fact that retirement has a connoation of finishing with one's work when we should never finish with work because there is so much to do for each of us on this earth. Perhaps we should have a short break once in a while to take stock of our life so far and how we can develop and grow spiritually. The time out gives us the space to evaluate ,reassess and forge new directions if need be and connect at a deeper level with our Creator.

Retirement is a flawed concept

I received an email today from a childhood friend of mine who is looking to create a new life for herself after the break up of her marriage. She thanked me in the email for inspiring her to go for her dreams. We spoke about starting a business and how it could really give her the financial freedom and how it is important to pursue something that one enjoys. And if one enjoys one's work then there is no question of retirement because you continue doing what you love until the end. We spoke about microfinance an area I am excited about due to its potential to change many lives by giving the poor a hand up rather than a handout.

Making the first dollar

A common mistake we tend to make when we set ourselves a goal fo example of a million dollars to make, we keep thinking about the million dollars. It is much easier to focus on making the first dollar. Once you make the first dollar , you know that you will be able to make your first million. The effort required to make the first dollar is greater than the effort required to make the leap to the millon dollar. Because once you have cracked the code the rest is easy.

The Apprentice

The best way to get started in an area that is your passion is to become an apprentice. Find someone who has already been there and who is going to guide you along the way. As a student, you can learn so much from your mentor. Once you are comfortable the next stage is to progress to become an affiliate and then a partner . View your apprenticeship as a long time worthwhile investment. An apprenticeship will help you get to your goal much faster than if you decide not to go through this route.

Philanthropy

We should all work towards accumulating wealth in order to give it away. Of course once we achieve the financial freedom , there is only so much one can consume so we need to think of ways in which we can put this wealth to use. After all the wealth is really not ours , if it is money we are talking about it is trust that has been given to us by our Creator to put into good use.

We can start working on our philanthropy straight away, and not wait until we make our millions Remember to use whatever resources you have to make a difference to the world. If your $10 a month goes to make a differerence to a family on the other side of the world this small amount would have made a huge difference in 5 years time. Cultivate your philanthropic tendencies and be oriented towards not giving a handout but a hand up. Don't give him the fish but teach him how to fish.

Stay the course

Longevity tends to make us get off course. We need to review from time to time that we are not geting off track. Its good to review the day at he end of the day for about 15 minutes and ask yourself what did I learn, what did I do that went well and how I can repeat that in the future, what did not go so well and how could I rectify it in the future.

Also spend a couple of hours on Sunday and do a weekly review. What did I achieve during the week ? Am I geeting closer to reaching my goals. If not, why not? Where do I need to take more action? Am I on track or am I allowing myself to be distracted?
Know how to distinguish between distractions and the actions that are taking you closer to your goals.

Also spend half a day doing a monthly review.

The wonder called you

Do you know how powerful you are? Can you see the magnificence within you? Do you know the limits of the human potential? Our mind is an incredible gift that our Creator has bestowed on us and we can use it to have whatever we want. The trouble is so few of us utilise this resource and for most of us we go through life , allowing it to lie dormant and thus not knowng what we could have become. Our mind is the last frontier and whatever thoughts we throw into our mind just as planting seeds on a piece of land, it will bear the fruit. So if you have good thoughts and you want to create value for the world you can bring about incredible results. Think in terms of the next twenty years and imagine what you can achieve if you start working on your goals today.

Act quickly

He who hesitates is lost. There is a lot of truth in the saying. When your instincts tell you to go for something, go for it. Don't waste time analysing it too much because the universe likes speed. If you like someone, go and tell that person how you feel about him. Don't wait until it is too late. Don't let the moment slip away. You are a wonderful human being and you deserve to be loved.If you want to start a business , don't just think about it. Start gathering information and getting to know people who can help you achieve your dream. Act today!

The power of leveraging

As human beings we are forgetful. We forget what resources we already possess and how we can leverage those resources.
Time, money,information and relationships can be leveraged to take us to a place we never could imagine. We may complain that we don't have enough time. Its an excuse. We all have the same amount of time. A millionaire doesn't have more time than someone who is not a millionaire. We all have 24 hours in a day. Its up to us how we choose to use that time that has been guven to us. Time is the most important resource and we should use it wisely because the tme that has been used up can never be recovered again. You may say that you work nine to five and is exhausted after you return from work to start working on your dream. Then why not get up a couple of hours earlier in the morning than you normally do and work on your dream then. The early hours of the morning has a lot of blessings as most people find that during these golden hours they are most effective. Experiment and find out when you work your best and reseve that time to work on your dream. If you cannot get up in the morning and you are too tired in the evening them you need to ask yourself whether you are in the right job if it tires you out. You should look for something which leaves you with excitement at the end of the day to continue working on your dream.

Time and money are our capital and what we do with it will determine our success. Time is life, so consider what you are doing with your time and consequently your life. Don't fritter time away, it is the most important resource and you will never get it back. As for money, when people say that do not have money to start on their dream , it is another excuse. Use what you have. That is very important. Take stock of all the resouces you have in terms of time , money , informtion and relationships and put them to full use. Its amazing how we can be blind to all the resources that we have lying in front of us. Even if you have $500 , go and buy that course you have always wanted to buy. You don't know the manifold times that you will be repaid by that small investment.

As for information you will be astonished to discover how much you have stored in the powerhouse of your brain. Do a mind map to recall all the information you have gathered over the years through your work, travels, hobbies, skills and consider what you can offer to the world . Rememeber always that it is only by providing people with value that you can be whatever you want.

The last and final thing to leverage is your relationships. Always seek to build long term relationships. Think in terms of what you can do for the person rather than what the person can do for you. If you start thinking that way you will start attracting people who want to help you. Remember the joy is in the giving and God will in return give you many times over.

The Challenge

Let others lead small lives but not you
Let others argue over small things but not you
Let others cry over small hurts but not you
Let others leave their future in someone else's hand but not you.

Jim Rohn

The Simple Joys

My day started in an excellent manner with the twenty five minute walk to the tube station on a beautiful sunny April morning.

The clean air, the cool , fresh breeze on one side of my face and the gentle sun touching the other side. I breathe in the air and exhale gently. The Cafe with the black tinted floor length glass front and the chrome and wicker tables and chairs laid out on the pavement. The little charity shop, a garage , a boutique , a pizza place all standing cheek by jowl. The whish of traffic accompanies my walk to the station. The upholstery shop nextto the bus stop , the biscuit coloured clock tower with the golden dials on a bright blue background the Edwardian edifices with the shops on the ground floor , the estate agents, the banks , the Post Office , the Korean restaurant.

I enter the station as a red double decker bus moves slowly pass the station, and a crow flies in the distance.

Planning

Do you find sometimes when you visualise the coming day you have it divided into two main slots- the time you are going to be at work and the time you ae going to be at home. What about the amount of time put into planning those slots.Do you actually write down how you are going to fill those slots. To give some structure I find it useful to use the three stone , sand and jar model.

List three important things you need to do in each slot. More than three, it can become overwhelming just like if you are trying to fill the sand before the stones. The idea is to prioritise, do the most important things first. We need to get the stones into the jar followed by the sand and not the other way round.

Be the change

The world will only change when you change yourself.

Embracing change is essential for our continued personal growth . The key is to learning how to transform any perceived problem into a force for positive change. As human beings we have an inifinite capacity to dig deep and transform which most often occurs in those periods when we are feeling stuck or fearful.

Sometimes in life we have to take the long way to reach our destination but it is the long way which is often the shorter way. It is wise not to swim against the tide because it expends too much energy but instead let the tide take you where you are supposed to go and then after you have reached the bank , walk to your original destination.

Work on yourself to be the change instead of trying to change others. Only when you change the world will change.

The Secret

The new DVD and book 'The Secret' is based on the Law of Attraction which purports that thoughts are things and they become reality. Our thoughts bring about vibrations and this manifests into reality. Whatever we focus our attention towards and our intention, it manifests itself.

There are some practical tips. For example if you would like to bring someone in to your life to share your life with that person then begin by making space for that person. For example you would always lie on your side of the bed leaving the other side empty for that person. Similarly you should clear half the space in your cupboard to make room for the clothes for the person you are intending to come into your life. Hmmm!!

As regarding financial freedom, repeat affirmations such as 'money comes to me easily and frequently' . Visulaise cheques coming in through the post rather than having thoughts and stomach churning feeling thinking they are bills.

I read somewhere that when we visualise we should think of ourselves after what we wish for has happened. For example, when looking for parking space most of us visualise an empty space but instead we should have the picture in our mind of our car already parke in that space.

Doing more important than outcome

The most important thing is the doing rather than the outcome.

Arthur Ashe

Practice the law of detachment. Just keep doing what you are meant to do and don't worry about the results. Wisdom lies in the lessons you learn while you are on the journey rather than arriving at the destination.

Let go

Once there lived a village of creatures along the bottom of a great crystal river....Each creature in its own manner clung tightly to the twigs and rocks of the river bottom, for clinging was their way of life, and resisting the current was what each had learned from birth. But one creature said at last , 'I am tired of clinging. Though I cannot see it with my eyes, I trust that the current knows where it is going. I shall let go , and let it take me where it will. Clinging I shall die of boredom. ' The other creatures laughed and said 'Fool! Let go and that current you worship will throw you tumbled and smashed acrss the rocks, and you will die quicker than boredom'. But the one heeded them not, and taking a breath did let go , and at once was tumbled and smashed by the current across the rocks. Yet in time, as the creature refused to cling again , the current lifted him free from the bottom, and he was bruised and hurt no more. And the creatures downstream to whom he was a stranger, cried, 'See , a miracle! A creature like ourselves, yet he flies!'... And the one carried in the current said 'The river delights to lift us free, if only we dare let go. Our true work is this voyage, this adventure.'

Excerpt from Richard Bach's Illusions.

No man is an island

We write not to inform but to connect. No man is an island, we do all need each other. A hundred years from now most of now on this earth will pass on to the next world and it will be our children to whom we pass on the mantle. While we are here , should we not just give out some of our love we hold within us to our fellow human beings. Show kindness and be gentle for there is nothing greater than gentleness.

Come and play

When you put your trust in your Creator and know that everything is unfolding as it should you learn to enjoy the present moment. You start to find joy in the ordinary things, the sound of children playing outside, the hum of the cars in the distance , the comforting glow of a declining spring day and the knowledge that you spent your hours just the way you wished. You give thanks that you had three glorious days of sunshine to mitigate the low temperatures felt before.

When you shut out all the chatter in your head, stop all thinking and access the stillness within you, and hold on to it as long as you can , then there is no greater joy. You are a part of this world yet you are not. You take part in this world but you are also of another world.

The daffodils are in bloom , a blackbird flies past, the grass feels alive, the skeletal branches of the trees are no more but a mass of bottle green baby leaves and pink flowers. The wispy clouds sail through the cerulean sky and the warm sun smiles benignly on the children below.

I want to join with their play. Why is it that we do not let the child within us come out more often?

Play rejuvenates and revitalises us and the best by product of play is laughter. Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, our body's natural painkillers and results in a general sense of well being.

Laughter is inner jogging. Norman Cousins

Radiate happiness and joy

You can be, do, have anything you want. Give love to everyone you meet , only do what gives you joy, and things and people wil become attracted towards you like a magnet all conspiring to make your dreams a reality. Whatever you ask for is already there , you just need to manifest it and that is through your actions. Thoughts are things. Your thoughts create your feelings which in turn will translate into action. So be mindful of what you are thinking. Monitor your thoughts constantly and shun any trace of negativity. When you focus on what you want and not on what you don't want all the forces will be unleashed to make your dream a reality.

Whether it is your dream home, or you dream partner, or your children getting top grades , or earning a fantastic living doing what you love to do, or being radiantly healthy you can have it all. You just need to make the decision and then committ yourself to action. Small steps on a daily basis working towards your life goals will eventually get you there. Think what you can accomplish in five years, ten years, twenty years or even thirty years. The sky is your limit and the world really is your oyster. This magnificent universe is full of abundance so claim your share in it. Remember that God wants you to have what your heart desires.

The first step you can take is to express your gratitude to your Creator who has already given you so much. You are already wealthy except that you do not know it and God wants to shower you with more blessings , wealth , health and happiness.

The secret is in being , being the person that God wants you to be . We tend to look at life in the wrong order. We think that if we had lots of money then we can do whatever we want and then we will be happy. In fact it works the other way round. You have to be first , then do, then have . If you work on being the wonderful human being that you really are and cast off all the grime that has gathered around you over the years through limiitng beliefs and needless baggage you can now shed it to reveal the true diamond that you really are. Or think of yourself as the perfect sculpture like Michaelangelo whom David sculpted to bring to the world the beautiful piece of art that was always there in the stone.

Act as if. If you want the perfect relationship , then imagine that you are already in the perfect relationship and he or she is already in your life. If you want financial freedom act as if you already have enormous wealth. Never use phrases such as 'I can't afford...'

Set yourself a goal that YOU believe you can achieve. The motivational speaker, Jack Canfield set himself a goal of earning $100,000 by the end of the year after attending seminar given by W. Stone. He was onl earning $8000 per annum as a teacher but he set himeself this huge goal to see if it works. After four weeks he got his first idea to make the $100,000 . He had written a book and he thought to himself that if he could sell it to enough people he could reach his target. At the end of the year he made $92,000 and combined with his teacher's salary it amounted to $100,000.

Seek and you shall find. Ask and it will be given.

Live your life form the future backwards.

Food and books

Two things you should never skimp on. Good food and good books are nourishment for the body and mind respectively. That is why I spend more on food which is healthy and wholesome and organic although it may cost slightly more. Also in terms of books, whenever I visit a bookshop or am browsing through Amazon, anything that catches my interest I do not hesitate to buy. Your intuition has guided you to that book, perhaps it contains a valuable piece of information which could have a huge impact on you life. Is the $10 or £10 you may decide not to spend worth giving up the possibility of that information that could have been so useful? That is why I now read voraciously and continuously buy books such that in every room in my place there are shelves of books. I derive great joy being surrounded by these books which have provided me with many delightful hours of good companionship.