Amaze yourself

One of the secrets to getting more done is to create a master to do list and then tick the items as they are completed. You will be amazed at how much you have accomplished !

Creating space

We all need space for ideas to blossom and creativity to come into play and that is why physical surroundings are also very important. The more we declutter , the more space we make for creative thought.

My bedrooms and my living room is full of shelevs with books and magazines most of which I have not referred to during the last year. Take some large boxes label them 1,2, 3... and start putting the items away recording or writng somewhere what items you are putting in each box so if you do need to refer to it in the future you can easily retrieve it. I did this over the weekend and I feel so much lighter.

Intend your day

Start your day by saying 'I intend to have an exciting and exhilirating day' and feel the excitement and exhiliration. Even simple things like going to the park can be exhilirating if you intend it to be , so before you set off say to yourself that you intend to have an exhilirating time while at the park. You will be amazed how by the end of the day you will feel so pleased with yoursef for having a wonderful day simply by making intentions during the day before embarking on an activity.

Focus on the day at hand

Forget what happened yesterday, forget what may happen tomorrow, just focus on the tasks at hand today. Do as much as you can without overexerting yourself or being in a hurry. Do not neglect the small things and do all that needs to be done today. And then have a smile on your face because you did not waste the precious 24 hours that God has given you. Let the first part of your day be righteousness, the middle part , attainment, and the last part success.

The Source of Wealth

The source of all wealth is our Creator. The closer we are to the Source the greater our chances of having whatever we desire. That is why it is important to develop a close relationship with our Creator. The more grateful we are towards our Creator for all that He has already given us , the more he will shower us from His Bounty. If we walk towards Him , He will run towards us.

No matter what

'No matter what, never let go' the last words of Jack to Rose in Titanic as he lay in the cold waters of the Atlantic after the Titanic had sunk and had managed to get Rose onto a plank of wood.

'There is always a way out' Jack had also said when Rose is faced with despair when she is faced with having to marry someone she does not love.

'He saved me in more ways than one' says the Rose when recounting the story. Its a story of love, hope and hanging on . You go on , no matter what. In the last scene, we see Rose lying on her bed and the sepia pictures on her bedside of her as a rider , as an aviator indicating that she had lived a full life.

Titanic is a story of hope, love and new beginnings. No matter what we should never give up but carry on,. If we fall, we should dust ourselves off and get up again and the person who gets up the most times is the winner.

Spiritual Growth

Life is an empty, barren wasteland if we we do not allow ourselves to grow in the direction towards God. We should indeed consider it a blessing if we are surrounded by friends and family who aid us along this path for it is so easy to become materially inclined our direction being shaped by the subtle influences around us. At the end of the journey we would be where we began and recognise the place for the first time.

Trading Time

Time is the most important commodity and despite this knowledge sometimes we are faced with dilemmas in our lives as how we are going to treat the time allotted to us. The usual exchange that takes place is that we trade our time in return for money. There is nothing wrong in working for a regular paycheck except when it interferes with our ability to make what we ae actually capable of making which is usually far more. Alex Haley, the author of Roots, was faced with the same dilemma when he was offered to work part time at a job which would comfortably pay his expenses while he wrote his book on a part time basis. In fact he wanted to write full time and consequently turned the job offer down and subsequently went on to write the international bestseller, Roots. Okay, so you may become broke , it is a gamble you will be taking. So what , you deal with it and move on but never sell out on your dream.

Life is a journey

The past few days I have been discovering the joys of facebook having looked up a few old school friends and recognising the names and faces. Through our journey in life we meet lots of differnt people , some stay for a little while then leave,some stay for a longer period and we never see them and some we are reunited with again. Out of the seven billion people in the world God has selected certain people to be in our lives and they are all there for a reason and to teach us something valuable about life.

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.