Whose Life are You Living?

I have met too many people that are only going through the motions, only existing, living like zombies doing the same things day after day without really living. They mask their emotions with motions of busyness only to wake up one day wishing things were different. They find themselves saying I guess this is the way life really is and they settle. They settle in unsatisfying relationships, unsatisfying careers and in unhealthy bodies. What if they didn’t have to?

What if you discovered that you settled for a life that someone else gave you instead of the life God wanted you to have?

What if you found out that you had gifts and talents trying to burst out of you but you kept pushing them down by conforming to the standards and desires of others?

7 Steps to a Better Relationship

1. Understand that most people don’t intentionally want to upset you. Your loved ones don’t stay awake at night thinking of ways to tick you off. They are human and therefore will say things they don’t mean, not phrase their words properly, forget to do things you’ve asked and even act selfishly from time to time. It doesn’t mean they WANT to give you headache. Sometimes it is our responsibility to understand their weaknesses and help them by holding them accountable, reminding them, improving our communication skills and more importantly forgiving them.

Your Life is Your Fault!

Achieving success may be simple but it is rarely easy. One of the best but most difficult traits a person can develop is one of personal responsibility. Think of how much you fault other people or circumstances for keeping you from achieving the level of success, health and happiness you desire.

Unless you are willing to stop blaming others for your lack of success you will never achieve it. Blame does nothing to help you move forward and everything to justify staying in your present condition.
You may not have been responsible for some of the events you have experienced, but how you respond during and especially after the event is entirely on your shoulders.

12 Steps for the Workaholic (part2)

If you haven’t read Steps 1-6 Read this first.

Step 7: Become an expert at managing your time. Always do the most important tasks first; these are the ones that would make you stay late if you didn’t get them done. Getting them out of the way first will improve your chances of being able to leave on time.
Step 8: Become a master at delegating your work and training others. You WANT to make sure you are not the only one with the skills and knowledge or you will be the only one that gets called upon to handle those things. Also, know when to keep your mouth shut. The more people know what you can do, the more they will call on you. A know-it-all can quickly become a do it all.

12 Steps for the Workaholic (part1)

Before I begin sharing steps to help workaholics let’s define what a workaholic is.

If you stay late finishing up a task because you want to, not because you have to and in doing so you miss your child’s birthday party; You might be a workaholic

If you go on vacation and can’t enjoy the sunset without checking your blackberry. You might be a workaholic.

If you check your email during your child’s ball game, in the middle of the night or during meals. You might be a workaholic.

If you take your cell phone, PDA and Laptop on vacation; You might be a workaholic.

If you call the office even though you left your number for emergencies just to see if everything is OK on your days off; You might be a workaholic.

Collect Friends and Memories, Not Stuff!

This is a repost from an earlier blog that I felt was worth sharing to all of my new subscribers. Enjoy.

I have moved quite a bit in my 51 years; at last count it was 16 times. The last few years have been getting a little easier because with each move comes another yard sale and a trip to Goodwill where we sell or give away all of the excess stuff we have accumulated. If we didn’t clear out the excess we would need a 4,000 square foot house with a three car garage by now. Lately though I have been trying to live a simpler life and recommend everyone try it. Not only does it leave you with a lot more money in your pocket at the end of the month, it is easier on your mind and it gives you the time to do what you really love. It is amazing how much better one feels when they get rid of the clutter in their life. Remember that feel you get right after cleaning up the yard, house, car or workbench? Imagine how it would feel if your entire life was clean and organized. Here are a few tips to get started.

My name is Bob and I’m a Workaholic

It didn’t happen overnight. As a matter of fact I didn’t even see it coming but in my quest to live a more fulfilling life I have come to find out that I am indeed an addict. Like most addicts, the drug of choice is usually not very harmful if consumed in moderation. However when the product takes control of your life and you begin to sacrifice other more important things to get another fix, then you have a problem.

My drug of choice was work.

I’m a Bad Husband? You have got to be kidding me!

That was the first thing that ran through my mind when I found the phone book open to divorce attorneys. I was home every night, my wife didn’t have to work, she drove a Lincoln Town Car, could shop whenever and wherever she wanted, I didn’t cheat on her, wasn’t a drunk and never abused her physically. Mentally? Well that was another lesson I had yet to learn. I didn’t understand what she wanted from a husband. I thought I was doing the right thing by being the provider I was supposed to be. It never dawned on me that without me by her side those things were just that; things. They were a lousy substitute for me.