Your Love Coins

 

I'll never forget this pizza joint my parents used to take me and my sisters to when I was a little kid. I still remember the name. Primo's Pizza. It was a big deal for us to go there on a Friday or Saturday night as a family. It was just something fun for us all to do. Something we looked forward to. Sometimes it was used as a reward for making good grades at school. We freaking loved the place. Funny thing is, the pizza had nothing to do with it. I could have cared less. The true appeal for me was this little arcade area they used to have in the far back of the restaurant. I was a child of the 80's. If you weren't around for this era, this probably wont mean much to you, but for any of you out there that can relate, you know the feeling when your parents would give you a handful of quarters so you could go back there and knock yourself out playing games or doing whatever. These coins. They had an immense value. You knew you had to spend them wisely...

Do Challenges Really Suck?

 

I think for many of us, we have a way of attaching a negative connotation when we hear the word "challenge". We often think of hardship, adversity, opposition, and all sorts of other similar words that make us "think" that we hate the challenges in life. But...do we really? Do you really, sincerely think that deep down in your soul? Do challenges really suck? I want to contort your way of thinking a little bit today...

Impersonating Bob Ross

 

 

I want you to think about something as I begin this post. The universe? It's infinite. It is limitless. It had no beginning and it has no end. It is vast and expansive. It's freaking gigantic beyond your wildest belief. Your human brain isn't capable of really fully understanding this. But...it's large. Now consider this...there is ONLY ONE YOU. That's right. There has never been another you before and there will never be another. Your soul is completely unique. There is only ONE OF YOU in this whole insanely huge universe we all play in. Can you imagine? IDK about you...but this just blows my mind. Give that a second to sink in....

Now then, let's begin. Emulating vs Impersonating. There is a big difference, and I wanted to talk about that a little today.

A Keel for Your Mind

 

 

I've always struggled a small bit in finding the motivations to get my ass in the gym. I've certainly wavered over the years. I've had my ups and downs, my periods of hyper activity, and my periods of sloth-ism. The way I view the gym and working out has really evolved. For some reason, once I finally arrived at my current state of thinking about it, staying regular with it has become much more easy. As strange as this sounds, where as I used to dread going into the gym some days, today I truthfully look forward to it. I never thought I could be a guy that talked on those terms and actually meant it. If you can arrive at that sort of place, I know that it will do nothing but good things for you in your life. Wouldn't that make you feel perpetually just...better?

The Manipulation Detector

 

A sense that is vital for you to cultivate in life is to get good at recognizing when people are trying to manipulate you. It's not always so cut and dry, is it? We've all had our fair share of times where we've been duped, conned, tricked, swayed...whatever...into doing things we might not have otherwise done. It sucks. You realize it on the back end. But if you can get good at this recognition skill, you can watch out for yourself all the more readily, and not have to be the victim of the world's master manipulators.

You really have to sit back and consider how you get manipulated in the first place. I want to lay out a couple things for your consideration. Maybe this will help you moving forward.

The Wood Burning Success Stove

 

 

I heard a great analogy the other day that provoked some thought within me. Simple message, but I liked it and wanted to pass it along.

Much like the heat emitted from a wood burning stove, so emanates the warmth of our great successes in life. But how many of us practice a bit of myopia in our pursuits? We sit there, staring in wonder at the stove, wishing, hoping, wanting to feel the heat. We don't want to do any work though. We just want the thing to throw off heat. How ridiculous is this? You sit there and ponder. Why haven't I found success? Why isn't this stove making any heat? You stand up, kick the thing, and walk off muttering a few obscenities cursing God or your dog or whoever. 

Exploit Your Productivity Window

 

 

One thing that I have noticed about myself, is the fact that there are definitive time windows during the day when I am at my most creative. A time when things just seem to fall out of my soul in an effortless fashion. I am almost able to think more readily with an alternative part of my brain. The part of my brain where all the gold resides. Anytime I am trying to create something new, it is just a well accepted personal fact that I do my best work during this identified time period. I want to get that gold out of there. But not just any gold, I want the best of the best. The best gold that I can possibly mine outta there. I want that stuff, and lots of it. And I don't wanna have to feel like I'm working that hard for it either. In fact, I want to have fun while I'm doing it, and I want to do it because it is something that I enjoy. I don't want it to be a forced action. I want this for you too. Here is one thing to know that might help you out a little if you work like me.

Christmas Morning Excitement

 

I want you to think back to your childhood for a moment. Do you remember the way you felt on Christmas Eve night? The butterflies in your stomach. Looking forward to the next day with a deep felt longing for it to come already? You literally COULD NOT WAIT to wake up in the morning you were so excited. You could barely contain yourself. God damn...when was the last time you were that excited about something in your life? Be honest with yourself. What was the last thing that made you feel like a little kid again in such regard? Or how about this, if you can't recall the last instance in which you felt that way, what sort of thing could you experience in your life if you were able to wave a magic wand and have it tomorrow, that would bring on such emotion?

Ration Through the Eyes of Your Hero

 

One profound tool that I have learned to implore in my life is the power to remove my mind from my own body and place it into the noggin of my hero's. Once there, I am quickly able to ration my way through the toughest of times and make some REALLY good decisions about my life. I want to describe this a little more to you, and perhaps you'll be able to use this in your life one day. It's some powerful stuff.

I want you to think deeply. I want you to try to identify someone in your life who you believe is a true blue, thoroughbred, unquestionably pure...HERO. 

Next, I want you to try to think about their attributes. I want you to think in specifics. What is it exactly about them that makes you look up to them. What are the things that make you perceive them in this light?

Using Your Influence for Good

 

 

Something that I have observed about life is that when they were handing out the "goods" up in heaven before you came down here, they didn't dole them out equally. I have NO IDEA why this is but I can guarantee you there is some reason for this. Whatever it is, that's way above my head and something that I can't even fashion a guess other than to speculate that they are a result of your performance in a past life time? Anyways, I digress...

A plain fact of life on the Earth is the reality that we were not all created equal, as non PC as that's gonna sound. All women were not naturally granted the same type of intoxicating beauty, and all men were not naturally bestowed the same power of tongue to deliver their charisma. The good news is that even if we weren't given these gifts when you were born, you certainly can develop them over the course of your life. Whatever the means you've had to acquire them, the point is something further than this.