Live Awesome!
2021: Only What You Take With You
By Shazad
There is a scene in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back that I really love. It’s the one with Luke meeting Yoda for the first time and he starts training to be a Jedi. When he's done for the day, Luke notices a mysterious cave and he asks Yoda, "What's in there?"
Yoda replies, "Only what you take with you."
To achieve a better 2021 and beyond, you need to take only those tools, habits, and thoughts that can help you. Like Luke Skywalker, you must face yourself in the present and go forward with the best of your being. Take the lessons from the struggle and shortcomings of 2020 but don’t repeat the same mistakes. There’s no need to pack all of the sadness, worry, or sense of failure with you. This will weigh you down and result in destructive patterns making you reckless. and afraid.
Whenever you face a crisis, remember these wise words of Master Yoda:
“Fear is the path to the dark side…fear leads to anger… anger leads to hate… hate leads to suffering.”
Bring just the minimum amount, but the most important things with you. Your love, your courage, your wisdom, some patience, and a sense of moderation about people and events that will unfold. Don’t allow external events to blast you off into space with excessive joy or let negative people and news make you want to crawl deep into the earth due to sorrow and fear. Don’t lash out at everything that comes your way trying to deny or discredit it. Do not be the first one to take an offensive position on some information or event. You should develop your critical thinking skills more and confirm what is true versus opinion. Watch, listen, and try to understand what’s happening. Look for meaning and make it a habit to get a better perspective. Sometimes you will need to zoom in to focus on something. Other times you will need to zoom far out to get clarity and see the big picture.
Whatever happens, know that you can figure it out and manage the situation to the best of your abilities. Here comes 2021!
May the Force Be With You all!
Please share this article with anyone who could benefit from the message as we begin the new year. Here is the direct link for this post https://www.awesomelifebook.com/motivation/2020/12/30/2021-only-what-you-take-with-you
The Secret to Being Awesome is...
By Shazad
You want a simple answer like a “Magic Bullet” or a single piece of advice that will make you instantly smarter, faster, younger or richer, right? Sorry to disappoint you. There is no such thing that works for everyone. There are however, a bunch of little things done on a consistent basis that lead to success and even, being Awesome!
First, taking time to work on yourself each day. What are you thinking about? What are you doing? What are your values and goals in life or just for the new Year? Figure out and then write out these things and read them frequently. Doing so will reinforce who you are and guide you towards doing what needs to be done.
Second, ask a few trusted friends what they see as your strengths and some weak points or shortcomings to work on. Listen carefully and without interruption. Make a point to reflect on these and make the necessary changes in life to do more of the things you want to be known for and improve or stop doing things you don’t want to be part of your personality.
Third, read broadly and widely on the past. What was it like to be a leader, a business person, an inventor or just a family member in the past? How did people live and who was thriving? How did they do it and what were their challenges? Read and study the past because it offers clues about human nature, relationships, the art of living a good life and even hints at what the future can be like.
Lastly, remember A-B-C which stands for Always Be Curious. Have a sense of wonder in life and a thirst for understanding things better than you currently do. Make it a habit to read, listen and watch interesting people talk on a variety of subjects. Explore the origin stories of individuals and companies or even nations.
So there you have it. Everything I have personally used to create my Awesome Life and keep it going with 4 simple strategies. If you do all of the above, you’ll be on the road to a more Awesome version of yourself!
How To Live With Yourself
Compiled by Ahsan
The biggest problem that people face in life is they get an education in school that teaches them the rules of grammar and geometry laws, which they may never use. Unfortunately, they don't learn the most crucial subject. And that is how to handle your mental state so you can have a higher quality of life.
What do you do when life throws you a curveball? How do you mentally adjust to adversity, move on and not become crushed by life? What kind of adjustments do you make when life hands you a dirty deal?
The following is a synopsis of ten points that will help a person live with themselves and avoid major mental issues. The author is Dr. Murray Banks, who was a psychiatrist that was from New York. He passed away in 2008 at the age of 92. He was as brilliant as he was funny.
Dr. Banks referred to his ideas of mental therapy as mental hygiene. I listened to the recording and tried to capture his ten points. I hope you will benefit from it and share it far and wide. Please.
Ten Points of Mental Hygiene So You Can Live With Yourself
by Dr. Murray Banks
Are you happy? Happiness is a by-product. It's the result of effective life adjustments! It's not a destination you arrive at; it's a manner of travelling.
Do you have a zest for living? Regardless of age, are you interested in love, play and learning more? There are people 80 and 90 years of age who are getting younger every day and 18 who age every minute.
Are you socially adjusted? Do you like being with others? Sharing with others? The most telling symptom is the loss of interest. A well-adjusted person enjoys being around others.
Do you have unity and balance? If you are going to do something, you should enjoy it; that's unity. Don't wrap your life around one thing; that is about balance. Do you realize what you are doing when you identify too much with any one person or thing? You're building your whole personality on one support. If you ever lose that one person or thing, your life will be ruined?
Can you live with each problem you get in life as it arises? Don't look at regrets of the past or worries of what might happen in the future.
Do you have insight into your own conduct? You know the main underlying reasons for what you do? A psychiatrist can never fix you. All they can do is help you to help yourself. If you won't do that, you are doomed. A broken finger will heal itself without your cooperation, but not a broken personality. A nervous stomach will get cured once you understand that you have a fear and you attack that fear, not a moment before.
Do you have a confidential relationship with some other person? Every human being needs someone whom he can talk to so honestly, so freely without fear of being double-crossed.
Do you have a sense for the ridiculous? Do you have the sense of humour to laugh hard and long at what the world does to you? Can you laugh at yourself? Laughter is the sunshine of the soul. If you forget how to laugh, you are dead. Here's the hint of living longer⎯ laugh because when you laugh, you can't get angry or get ulcers.
Are you engaged in satisfying work? You won't break down if you run around too much. You break down from over worry. If you work all day at something you love, you'll be tired even with tension and tears, but you won't break down. Just adjust yourself.
Do you know how to worry effectively? There's only one thing to do if you are worried. Do something active about the cause of your worry. If you are worried about your health, go see a doctor. You have an emotional problem, go to a psychiatrist.
Here is one of many jokes Dr. Banks tells in the presentation:
A patient calls me on the phone and says, "is this the crazy Doctor? I said, yes. Well, I want to make an appointment to see you, how much do you charge? I said $20. The patient replied, well, I'm not that crazy."
The only difference between a happy person and a broken soul is never the problems; the problems are just about the same for all of us. It's the attitude towards the problems that makes us what we are.
It's like the story of the mother who takes her twin boys to see the Psychiatrist. She says one is an optimist and the other is a pessimist. Can you do something to level them out a bit? The Doctor said to put the pessimist son in a room with a large box of new toys and the optimist in a room with a large box of manure. So the mother does and comes back to report the results. What happened? Asked the Doctor? Well, the pessimist son complained about all the boring toys while the optimist son kept digging through the box and said, "you can't fool me; with all this manure, there has to be a pony somewhere!"
Dr. Banks concludes his talk by saying we are all going through life trying to climb a slippery hill. The difference between how you end up is, are you going to get up after you face a worry, frustration or disappointment and try to climb a little higher or are you going to stay lying down and have a nervous breakdown?
Happiness is like chasing a butterfly. If you try to catch it, it will just elude you. However, if you sit down, it will land softly on your shoulder.
Ladies and gentlemen, I thank you!
Listen to the recording if you are a keener:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCvZufTc9G8
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report “HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET.”
How Well Do You Know Yourself?
by Ahsan
I bet you know your favourite person quite well. You probably know a lot about them, like their favourite foods, where they grew up and how they think about life. That likely goes a long way to creating a great relationship with them where you are in tune with that person.
Now stop for a second and think about how well you know yourself?
How in tune are you with who you truly are? What makes you tick? And wouldn't you say that understanding yourself should be the most important thing before you go onward in life and try to understand others and life itself?
To know thyself is the key to successful living. This was an ancient Greek philosophy. It also governed the thinking in the East:
"He who knows others is wise. He who knows himself is enlightened." Lao-Tzu
The primary benefit to knowing yourself is that you will get along with life in a more well-adjusted way. All people on earth have to deal with others and with reality. If anything, we tend to have problems with one of the two and sometimes both. By knowing yourself, you will learn how to understand others better and the situations life presents. If you don't get to know yourself, you leave a lot of potential on the table and may reach the end of life, having lived a mechanical existence. You are just going through the motions.
If life is a gift, individual gifts were implanted in you from the beginning. Being aware of your thoughts and consciously understanding your rational thoughts compared to your random thoughts is a gift. Just remember, you are not your thoughts, so don't get too wrapped up in your head. Understand that what makes you human is that you are the one that is listening to the thoughts. In listening, you will begin to grow on the path of self-awareness. Again, all this is necessary if you want to live well with yourself, others around you like family members and co-workers and if you want to face the struggles of life like a boss!
Most people are looking for a quick fix in life. They are not willing to do the work. The deep work is akin to finding a "cure." The quick fix is useful for temporary relief. So, if you want to make the most of your life, get to know yourself. What does that mean, you ask? Simple. Know things like what makes you happy or sad. What scares you? Why do you have these feelings? What is your personality type? Are you an introvert with an analytical mind, or are you an extrovert with an undertone of creativity? Do the work. Understand yourself.
When you understand yourself and your mental inclinations and understand that they tend to rule your behaviour, you begin to create the possibility of awakening and living as you want to. You know that your higher level of self-awareness gives you greater agency over your thoughts, feelings and actions. You will have a greater understanding and empathy for others, and you will take life in stride. Not a bad outcome for a bit of hard work.
Action Steps:
Take time every day to go into self-isolation, meditation or prayer where you spend time thinking about who you are: call it self-discovery time. Here is a tip: for every one time you look at yourself, look 20 times at the Prophets: like Krishna, Confucious, Moses, Jesus and Mohammad, peace and blessing be upon them all.
Take a personality test and find out what personality type describes you best. You can also ask some friends and co-workers to offer their observations.
Pay attention to your unconscious behaviour patterns. If you get angry quickly, start to notice the trigger and, more importantly, where the quick temper is coming from? Is it a deep need to be respected? Well, maybe you can be ok if you are not respected as long as you respect yourself?
Work on your practical and spiritual life at the same time, in the midst of ordinary day to day life. There is no need to go to any extreme. No need to renounce your passions, no need to suppress your thoughts and no need to go on a retreat.
Always repeat the following phrase in moments of contemplation: I am what I am, and I can still be better! This will give you the subliminal message to always move towards your best self and cultivate higher virtues like temperance, kindness, courage and all the other good stuff!
Here is a parting story. A Rabbi was asked by a believer why it is said that the Torah is written on the heart and not in the heart? The Rabbi replied, "because the heart has to first open for the goodness to be absorbed."
Likewise, by doing the deep work of understanding yourself, you become open and allow the positive benefits of understanding yourself, others and reality itself to create a life where everything is working in harmony.
You are not just an acorn; in you is an entire forest of Oak trees.
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report "HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET."
What is Your Attention Worth Today?
By Shazad
People put a price on their assets like their house, car, and jewelry all the time. Many people put a dollar figure on insuring a pet or person. A rare few put an actual figure on their hours in a day but more of us should be doing just that. Material objects can be re-acquired if lost but people and time cannot be. For this reason, you need to put some thought into what an hour of your attention is worth. Treat attention like gold because the moments that you give to family and friends as a fully present human being are worth more than GOLD!
I don’t just mean giving passive time to people and important projects. I mean attention where you are listening, learning, and developing yourself. The kind of attention that makes people want to be around you and makes you a better person each and every single day. With proper attention, you notice things and feel gratitude for the place you are in and simple things like the air, sunlight, water, and of course high-speed Internet access available throughout your home. You can’t help be thankful for these things and the life you are living. Attention also helps you identify and work on areas that need changing, fixing, or just plain discarding because they no longer serve your purpose in life.
In a world where every media and marketing company is vying for your eyeballs and wallet-share, change the game and put a high dollar cost to each hour of every single day. Someone is making money off you when they have your attention. Don’t let them ‘steal’ your precious attention any more! Don’t let every week just pass by with the same behaviors and passive attention of the past. Take ownership of your attention now!
Action Steps:
1) Identify how you spend your day while you are awake. Organize it by the hour.
2) Find out where you are wasting time and energy or, where things can be done by someone else. Make the appropriate adjustments for one day and see what happens.
3) Review your weekly time and attention schedule every Sunday and make the appropriate changes when you awake on Monday.
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How Does Superman Enjoy Life?
By Ahsan
“Show them their possibilities, but never choose their path for them. They must advance on their own, find their own way, make their own mistakes, conquer their fears and hatreds, and create their own history.”- Advice of Superman’s father to his son
There is a large number of restless and stressed-out people on the planet when you look around. That is putting it lightly. A concomitant pandemic of anxiety and depression has been sweeping across the globe for many decades now. Where is the vaccine against a discombobulated frame of mind? The sooner you discover this vaccine, the sooner you can enjoy life!
Although people wish to have a hero like Superman to save them, they need their own perspectives, ideas, and efforts to execute their own rescue. If we understand ourselves better, perhaps, we can create our own history.
We all want to enjoy our life, not just go through the motions of living. Superman was advised to let humankind lead their own lives and let them figure things out. This implies that the latent capabilities to become a well-adjusted and happy human being are within us. We just have to get in tune and in harmony with certain things to bring them out.
I believe that every human was designed with a fundamental urge to flourish and achieve things in life. Often, it is a simple pursuit to earn enough money to provide for ourselves and our families. Once this is achieved, our life needs much more to make it meaningful and rich. As Jesus said:
"It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Mathew 4:4
I am no religious scholar, but when I came across this piece of scripture, it made sense to me. The reference to bread is easy to understand. No doubt our lives are supported best when we eat good food and follow sound principles of living. God's word may have multiple meanings in the quote, such as religious commandments or the laws of nature created by God.
Let's use an analogy to understand creation and how to use it to solve the problem.
What is the human mind compared to a smartphone? Both are products of creation. Both are remarkable technologies, but one comes with an Owner's Manual, and the other does not. Our smartphone is more in our command than our minds!
Not understanding how our mind works is a problem, and you need to recognize it as the main issue around the pandemic I referred to.
One way to bring some control over our minds and truly enjoy life is to be in tune with the universe and be in harmony with nature's laws. The universe seems to follow a particular order. You and I are not able to influence that order. We just exist in it. Behind creation is a Creator; we are only here for a brief moment in time and may as well enjoy the experience!
Being in tune with the universe can mean understanding that it runs on a set of rules and laws, and we just need to roll with it. We cannot deny our sorrow or concern when nature causes hardship and suffering. However, in many daily events, we can let our emotions get swept away.
Why should we get angry at a driver who cuts us off on the road? Why bother getting sad when it rains? Why be surprised when our friends and family seem selfish? Why do we react to life other than with acceptance instead of trying to control people and situations? Ponder, reflect and do some inward observation.
When we take the approach mentioned above, we are more in harmony with nature's laws—understanding ourselves better, accepting reality, accepting people, and controlling our responses. This is what is meant by being in harmony with the laws of nature. In other words, we need to understand the universe, science, the laws of nature and let things happen because, to no small extent, they will happen anyway.
Unless you withdraw from society and sit in a room, you will have to interact with life, including people and situations.
Suppose you are faced with the news that your best friend has betrayed you and your friendship ended. As a result of this, you decide never to get so close to another person again. How does that end up? If you continue that way, you will ignore all the other decent and loyal people in the world that could have become your friend. And so your life goes on but without that extra joy that a good friend can bring.
Working with nature's laws and accepting reality would instead mean that you shrug off this painful episode and remain open to making new friends. You just don't get swept away with the hurt and close yourself off. You could even conclude that friends come and go and that you will not let one bad apple spoil your entire life.
Another way to control our minds is to focus on the words of scripture and the spiritual side of life, as Jesus alluded to. A person who embarks on this journey will instead be focusing on self-transformation as the essence of life. You will never attain the path to a spiritual life without work, but the goal will also have a welcomed side effect¾enjoyment of the brief life that we get to live on this planet.
Consider this to be a hint the next time you take a moment in prayer, meditation, or gaze at a purple and red sunset. The qualities that we praise in the Creator and read about in the great Holy Books are a reminder to us mere mortals of the qualities we need to include in ourselves. That we, too, can be merciful, gracious, and loving. We can have agency and control over helping others and making life enjoyable for ourselves and those around us.
This level of understanding in life is when people say they finally woke up, became aware, attained liberation or even became enlightened. For others, it opened their eyes to “spirituality." For them, life became anew and full of joy once they indeed developed this awareness.
Wake up and transform yourself! You are a Superman. You are a Superwoman. Know yourself. Understand others. Recognize reality. See what a polished mirror reflects at you. Don your cape and start enjoying life. You will arrive at your destination. Start the journey. It won't happen overnight, but then again, it could.
Action Steps:
1. Make enjoying life while you are here on the planet a goal that you put your mind and your soul into.
2. Look at ways to relax into life, the reality of life and its rules and laws of nature.
3. Study human nature, other people and most importantly, yourself.
4. Study the qualities of God as described in the Holy Books and think of incorporating divine qualities in your character and actions.
5. Know that if you are enjoying life and helping others to do so as well, you deserve the title of Superman or Superwoman.
And so dear friends, I leave with you this poem from the Muslim Saint Al-Ghazali:
“Know, O beloved, that man was not created in jest or at random,
but marvellously made and for some great end.
Although he is not form everlasting, yet he lives forever;
and though his body is mean and earthly, yet his spirit is lofty and divine.”
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report "HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET."
What One Thing Delivers Success Every Time?
By Ahsan
"The starting point of all achievement is desire." ⎯Napolean Hill
What separates the man or woman who succeeds from the one who fails?
Let's take, for example, the person who has transformed their weight and body?
Everyone wants to know how that person went from their “before” picture to the “after” picture.
“What's the secret?”", they will ask. The person asking will often feel that the person is holding back some details.
The fact is that it is not about the diet.
It is not about the workout style.
It is not about the coach
It's all about desire. Not just any desire but "burning desire." A desire that dominates your waking and sleeping thoughts. A desire that burns so hot, people feel it when they are in the town next to you!
Burning Desire Wins Every Time
A burning desire beats fear.
It beats doubt.
It topples procrastination.
It crushes all obstacles.
If you have a burning desire to reach your goal, you will beat the world, and you will shock the world!
Let's get back to basics. Let's stop looking for the magic bullet. Desire is the seed. It must be there first. Strategies and tactics come after; desire comes first. The seed must be planted first; then will the water, the soil and the sunshine produce the result. Basics. Basics. Basics.
For any goal that you have, you must check in with yourself. Do you really want it? How much desire is there? Desire is the key. The rest is commentary!
Once you have the burning desire, you will need one more thing. This is the bonus concept you get to see for this limited time offer. It will not be shown to you again. Grab it now!
What is it?
Manage your mind.
Your mind will wander, and it will face doubt. Your mind will get distracted, and you will waste time. Your mind will swing in emotion, and you will get anxious. Understand your mind and make it work for you.
Goal management, time management and emotional management are all about mind management! Handle your mind. Get it to work for you and not against you. Focus your mind and know that it is a skill that you have to cultivate. The mind has been referred to as a monkey for a reason. Still your mind and think about your burning desire; that is your goal. Focus on the plan and act on it. Be not surprised when you achieve that which you desire.
Action Steps:
Whatever BIG goal you have, it must dominate you. You must have a burning desire to achieve it. If not, you will come short of sinking that putt.
Take time out daily to look inward. Meditate or pray. Fill your mind with the desire to achieve your goal.
If you face obstacles and overcome them along the way, you should see that as a sure sign that you are on the right path. Most people quit when things get real.
So, what goals have you achieved because of your burning desire to achieve them? Drop us a line. We would love to hear from you! Remember that a Burning Desire Wins Every Time!
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report "HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET."
The Secret To An Awesome Life
By Ahsan
“Self-knowledge and developing your powers of mind make for an Awesome life.” Inspired by Bilal Ahmad
As I look out the window, the sun is peering through a grey and cloudy background. On the one hand, the weather is gloomy, and on the other, it looks like it will change for the better. To be honest, the peering sun gives me a good feeling. The weather is doing its thing, and I am giving it meaning. In other words, my way of thinking is producing the feeling in me.
Why do I do this?
Our minds produce and let in all kinds of messages. We need to develop our minds to focus on what we want: joy, ease, happiness and relaxation. When we feel the opposite emotions, we are likely thinking negatively. The problem is never external; it’s all internal.
The inner dialogue that we all have needs to be coached into being positive, strong and focused. Easier said than done, you say? I agree. Important nonetheless, I say. Hopefully, you will agree.
So what is the secret? It comes from understanding that you do not have to be an amazing human being; instead, being human is an amazing thing.
The human-animal is the dominant species on earth because of one thing and one thing only: the human mind. We tend to overlook the amazing functions of our minds. Primarily that we not only think with it but can observe ourselves thinking with it. We have the ability to reflect internally on our thoughts¾provided we make a concentrated effort to do so.
In this short article, my goal is not to expound on all the miracles of the human mind but to raise your interest in it. The way to begin is from personal experience. You have a strong mind. It is capable of intense concentration. The issue, if at all, is that you may not experience this every day.
We all have days when our mind is on a mission, and we produce precisely what we want. For example, when we are planning a dinner at home for guests. Within a few hours, we tidy up the house, set up an inviting table and cook a few dishes. While we are busy and focused on preparing for our guests, we produce significant results, and time feels like it flies! This is the power of the mind at work. Thoughts that lead to action that produces results.
The secret to an awesome life is available in one word: Thinking.
Our life is a reflection of our thinking. Our thinking comes from our mind. Our mind needs to be strong.
Action Steps:
1. Your mind is meant to serve you. Fill it with good suggestions, positive affirmations and mental pictures of positive results. Talk to your mind in positive language.
2. Spend time daily to allow yourself to go inward. Inner reflection and self- dialogue should be a life-long practice if you desire an awesome life.
3. Resolve to be strong of mind. If you see yourself entertaining a weak thought, just push it away. Be your own coach. Say things like: “I have a strong mind, and I think only uplifting and positive thoughts.” In time, your way of thinking will automatically favour positive thinking.
4. If you have a limiting belief about having a strong mind, please change that. Why can’t you have a strong mind? Just work at it.
5. Practice thinking good thoughts and focus on feeling good. Prayer and meditation are the vehicles to make this happen.
6. Watch your language. Never say things like: I am screwed, this stress is killing me, or I am getting sick with worry. Instead, say something like I am resilient, and I can handle life even when it does not go my way.
The secret key to an awesome life is thinking. Get it? Got it? Good!
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report “HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET.”
How Do You Learn Without Practical Experience?
By: Shazad
How is it possible that you can learn something without personal experience? It’s not possible to learn to ride a bike or fly a plane just by reading a book. There are definitely times when you need to immerse yourself into something to learn it and perform at a high level.
Many things like leadership, photography, and nutrition can be learned through books combined with practical experience. You need some knowledge or background to start your journey but then it’s up to you. You need to actually practice what you learned and expand on it otherwise, you haven’t really learned anything useful.
It can be painful to learn by doing and making some mistakes but the impact of this kind of learning is much more profound. Nothing beings doing combined with some wisdom and notes. Don’t wait for someone to give you a job or contract to get the experience. Use your every day routine to practice some aspect of the skill you are trying to learn.
Now get out there and get some experience doing things in the classroom of daily life!
How To Use 2020 To Get Ahead
By Shazad
It’s the last quarter of 2020 as I write this. This challenging year is finally coming to a close in a few months and it feels like many years have passed by instead of just a few months. There have been many changes and new realities to deal with. Lots of people, companies, and governments were tested. Some figured out how to dance with the moment while others stumbled and fell over.
To make the most of your lockdown, do a little bit more with the spare time you do have so you can accelerate and come out ahead in 2021. Don’t sit idle or be depressed at the situation. Take advantage of the opportunities to learn from the comfort of your couch while you wear pajamas past lunchtime on a Wednesday…and then it’s really time to change your clothes because some rules of house etiquette are definitely being broken if you continue with PJs in the afternoon.
Most people won’t use this time wisely to improve their health, relationships, and wisdom. You can be the rare exception and come out ahead. You’ve always wanted an advantage in life and never backed away from a challenge before so step up and move forward while others binge-watch on Netflix for the 5’th day in a row
You are strong enough, smart enough, and are surrounded by so much useful technology. Use it to the maximum potential and demonstrate how Awesome growth is done!
Here’s some framework to get you started:
Don’t sleep in. Get up 15-30 minutes earlier and use the time to exercise for at least 15 minutes before breakfast.
Make a list of 5-10 books you are going to read before the end of the year and get started on book number 1 today. Aim for 1 completed book each week and continue to the next one.
Make your Life Resolutions by Sunday and take action on Monday to get started on taking action to achieve your resolutions. Don’t wait for the New Year.
Clean up your pantry so there is no more than one item that is a treat. Everything should be healthy and wholesome food.
Read/Watch or listen to something from a source you don’t fully agree with and try to understand their perspective.
What If You Are Supposed To Be Happy All The Time?
By Ahsan
“The person who is in a state of constant happiness and wisdom is always embracing change.”
Confucius 551-479 BC, Chinese philosopher and politician
When you observe little children who are up to 7 years old, have you noticed that they are generally happy? What can you scientifically conclude from this? Why, of course, the fundamental nature of a human being is to be happy.
That is until they get taught to become sad, fearful or angry.
Who on earth would knowingly take a perfectly happy baby and teach her to become sad, fearful and angry?
Did you ever wonder? Do you want to know?
Well, the culprits are mainly parents who innocently project their behaviour that the child starts to imitate, society with its customs and norms and the media that overdramatizes with their movies, tv shows and commercials.
It’s all programming and conditioning. Agree? If you don’t, perhaps you have been conditioned so well that you think this theory is bunk. Hey, maybe and maybe not?
The evidence of this parental, cultural and societal programming and conditioning is easy to see in your own life. Who else in your family is anxious? What attitudes have you picked up from teachers, your culture and favourite movies? Think for a few minutes and come back to the article.
What’s more, when people or situations “cause” us to feel sad, fearful or angry, we think it’s only natural and normal to do so!
Why, of course, you should be mad when someone stabs you in the back at work, metaphorically. Why, of course, you should feel sad when your friends did not invite you out, and who wouldn’t get angry at that slow driver staying in the passing lane? Sheesh!
You can avoid all this, I tell you. It will take a bit of commitment and de-programming. If you want to get out of the “Cult” that says you should punish yourself with unhappy feelings when people and situations don’t go your way, you will do no worse if you consider these following actions:
1. Understand that life is not in your control, and neither are people. The true definition of insanity is to think they are. Let life unfold and enjoy it moment to moment as it unfolds. Just as you would a beautiful piece of music, let each note happen and be with the music.
2. Make a list of where you got your conditioned attitudes, preconceived notions and in-depth programming.
3. Become self-aware. Start noticing that feeling of negative emotion as it comes up the second it does and then immediately let it go. You will need to practice this—a lot.
4. Own the problem. The problem is you. Not reality and not people. When you change, you will suddenly notice that the world does not need to change, and the people in it do not need to change.
Perhaps this knowledge will reach you in time. What would really be sad is if you were a 74-year-old person who complains that whenever things are going well in life, it seems like something comes along to ruin it. This is one way to live, and it is a bitter way. The better way is to drop your illusions and embrace change by changing yourself. This is what Confucius so prophetically taught 2500 years ago.
Be happy today! May you be happy always! Amen.
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How To Avoid The Easy Road To Misery
By Ahsan
“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.” Mike Tyson, Heavy Weight Champion Boxer
Our life is most enjoyed when things go exactly as we want them to.
We want certain things in life and want them to be as precise as planned. For instance, take the way you like to drink your coffee: freshly ground French roast beans, made in a French press, brewed for 4 minutes with two tablespoons of heavy cream and hot. When we get something different from what we want, like your favourite coffee but cold, our enjoyment is not the same.
The same goes for how we want people to be and things in life to go.
However, something is lurking around the corner that we cannot see.
That thing is CHANGE.
Everything is changing. Nothing stays the same. When things change, and we have difficulty accepting it, we begin the easy road to misery.
The proverbial punch in the mouth is unpleasant. The feelings of disappointment and pain need to be felt and processed. They should not be ignored or resisted, but they too end up changing. When we are lucky, change brings growth. Change can beget happiness. Change can lead to resilience.
You can prove this to yourself if you go into that great library and read the book My Life Experience. No one needs to prove this to you.
Indeed, the happiest among us are those who understand that life is full of changes. In their understanding is acceptance of change and not fearing it. Acceptance helps to elevate your outlook and directly affects how you come out of the change: resilient or fragile. Strong or broken. Scared or Brave.
As the Chinese proverb goes, “when the winds of change blow, some people build walls and others build windmills.”
Ok, so now we understand what boxers and philosophers mean about the effect of a change on our lives. We still don’t like change. In fact, we may never have been shown how to truly handle change.
Today, you will:
Action Steps:
1) Make a list of all the things that are going well for you: relationships, health, finances, work, fame, success, reputation, etc.
2) Anticipate how they could change and see yourself adapting and, most importantly, accepting it.
3) Consider how much you cling to and crave these things you identified in step one.
4) Resolve to cling less and crave less
5) Remind yourself that if anything on the list changes, you will be ready to deal with it. The ways and means will reveal themselves then, and you do not need to fret now.
6) Consider adding the life lesson of anticipating change, accepting change and adapting to change so that you live an Awesome Life!
May your life be full of happiness even when it changes.
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report “HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET.”
Are You A Mental Weakling?
By Ahsan
When an archer is shooting for nothing, he has all his skill. If he shoots for a brass buckle, he is already nervous. If he shoots for a prize of gold, he goes blind or sees two targets; he is out of his mind, his skill has not changed. But the prize divides him. He cares. He thinks more of winning than of shooting, and the need to win drains him of power. ¾ Chuang Tzu: Chinese Philosopher who lived 400 years before Christ.
Do you know that the source of all human misery is the same all over? What is it, you ask? I’m talking about the thing that is with you all day. It follows you around like a shadow, and it cannot be ignored.
It’s that voice you hear in your head.
We all start our day hearing the voice, and off it goes keeping us company until we conk out at night.
It would be fine if that voice gave us logical and lucid commentary, but 80% of its blather is nonsense. Not only is it nonsense, but it’s also random and mostly negative. And you and I get so caught up in it that we identify ourselves and our daily levels of happiness with it.
Here is what I think. Most of us are unaware of the power our mental chit chat has on us and need to become aware of it. Aware of what? Aware of our thoughts that only we can hear. This is what is meant by your thoughts determine your reality.
Coming back to Chuang Tzu, on one level, it seems he is talking about performance jitters on game day, but if you know a thing or two about philosophers, it’s probably a lot deeper than that.
Here is what I have in terms of a commentary on his allegory. The venerable Philosopher is talking about life and enjoying it.
How is that, you say? Simple. When your thoughts take you towards forcing people, circumstances or the weather to behave as you need them, you begin your journey to unhappiness, fear, anger and other such negative mental states.
On the other hand, if you use your archery skills and stay on target and not focus on hitting the target, you often hit the mark.
In other words, just allow your life to unfold and don’t force outcomes. You can certainly try, but you may find that you enjoy life instead of reacting to it like a victim if you drop this illusion.
How do you do this?
Try these action steps:
1. Take at least five times a day to reflect on how you feel and take over your mental chit chat by spending a few minutes in prayer or meditation. The best times will be waking up, just before sleeping and the other three spaced in between. During those few minutes, the technique will be to talk to God if you are praying and talk to yourself if you are meditating.
2. During your prayer or meditation, become aware of your thoughts. Knowing that the vast majority of them are random and malicious, ignore them and try instead to think logically about your feelings and lucidly. Relax your body, focus on your breathing and all that good stuff but most importantly, interrupt your galloping thoughts and make the horse slow down and pull the reign right as needed.
3. Become aware of yourself in a self-observational way. That is, notice your thoughts and notice your surroundings as though you are observing someone else.
4. Practice this daily. In the next seven days, you will get 35 opportunities to hone your new skills!
So, can it be said that you are a mental weakling if you become more aware of your thoughts? If you care to enjoy life more fully, live fearlessly, be more of your true self, have more mental poise and peace…re-read this article and verbally explain the concepts to at least one person you care about.
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report “HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET.”
Why Leaders Need to Thank the Parents
By Shazad
Indra Nooyi, is the CEO of PepsiCo and she inspired this blog post. Nooyi writes more than 400 letters each year to the parents of her senior executives. I think all leaders need to be doing the same thing to drive better team results and a deeper connection with their leadership. It doesn’t matter if you manage a small team of rising stars or you are a C-level leader of seasoned executives. If your current team is doing well with each member contributing their best to their individual career, you can appreciate their efforts and reward them accordingly as well as mentioning their achievements to their parents.
You should consider all the efforts of the parents of the people under your command and how it shaped them. It’s most likely that your team and you yourself have been significantly impacted by the kinds of parents you had. Their struggles and sacrifices to raise, educate, and motivate kids are powerful in creating a great human being. Isn't this worth acknowledging?
By spending some time appreciating the parents of each successful member of your team, you are validating the power and influence of elders in creating the awesome person you hired and manage today. In most cases, it won’t replace a bonus or pay raise for the best employees but it will definitely create a stronger bond of respect with leaders who make that habit of reaching out to and praising the parents. This can result in a more cohesive and engaged team which is very critical to everyone's success.
It’s not just an Eastern culture courtesy to consider the parents or elders and teachers in our lives. It is a very human quality of gratitude and appreciation. Every leader should also take the time to personally acknowledge their own parents and other elders who helped you become the person they are today. You could not have done this without them and they deserve to know this!
Time for A Gut Check
By Shazad
When something feels wrong, people often say they have a gut feeling about it being so. The human gut is indeed like a second brain and where most of our immune system lives. A healthy digestive system means overall wellbeing. The opposite is also true so if things don’t feel right in the stomach for whatever reason, get things checked out. It could be an early warning sign that you need to make some small or big changes.
Time for everyone to listen to their gut on a regular basis. It knows a few things that the rest of the body can benefit from.
Dare to Dream Again
By Shazad
Remember how you used to dream about life and what you would become when you grew up? How many of you actually reached your dream job or dream life? What stopped you? Have you stopped dreaming altogether?
Revisit your past and what you said you wanted to accomplish. Now look at where you are at today and how things compare. Is it better, worse or the same as what you imagined your life would be like?
If it’s not where it should be for you - change it! Start dreaming again and write things down. Draw ideas and pictures of what it’s supposed to look like so it’s out of your head and in your hands to see every day. Make dreams come true by taking action on pursuing the dream that you have written down. If it’s important and still relevant to your life today, you’ll find a way to make it happen.
Will you dare to dream of the possibilities?
Are You Sailing Through Life?
By Ahsan
“It’s not death that man should fear, but he should fear never beginning to live.” Marcus Aurelius
May I ask you a question? Is life easy, or is it hard?
Please consider this one-word answer: NO.
So, if life is not easy and also not hard, are you sailing through life?
Your answer is likely to be sometimes I do, and at other times I don’t. However, my mate, as your Skipper, allow me to give you some lessons from the world of sailing so that you start to sail through life always!
I have had the fantastic privilege of reading Michael Singer’s book, The Untethered Soul. This book is a must-read. The author uses many analogies and among them is the analogy of living life with a sense of ease and sailing.
Think about this for a second. To sail, all you need is some wind, and off you go. Correct?
Well, actually, as Michael Singer points out, you can have wind, but if your sail is not up, you go nowhere. The same goes if your sail is up, but there is no wind.
Furthermore, to keep your ship sailing to its destination, you need to not only adjust your sails, but you also need to do it just right. If your sail is too stiff and tight, a hard wind can tip your boat over. If, on the other hand, it is too loose, you won't catch the wind.
And this becomes the analogy for life. You and I do not control life, nor do we control the wind and how hard it blows.
What we do control is how we adjust the sails. And this is exciting if you think about it. How fun is life when you understand that you can sail through it by controlling what you can.
If you want to sail through life, you need to lean into the wind and not resist the weather but rather work with it. Come rain or shine, blustering winds or terrifying tempests, your best action is to react appropriately and avoid getting all caught up in the moment.
If your life, like mine and other people, is great one day and not so great the next, you will like this analogy and will probably not forget it soon. The more you share the sailing analogy, the more you will remember it and ingrain its beautiful message.
What’s more, I am going to share three action steps to make sailing through life a breeze. No pun intended!
Action Steps:
1) Life is full of stress. Accept it and if you like, in moments of stress, say to yourself that you are having fun. This will convert a moment of frustration into a feeling of exhilaration. Walk into the room, feeling your best.
2) Keep a mindset of letting life happen and not resisting it or trying to make it go your way. Over time, you will feel more joy at allowing life to happen and playing your role as an active and willing participant.
3) Stick with this idea of adjusting your sails as life gets windy. Going with flow and adjusting to the wind will lead to a more comfortable life even when it is hard one.
If you liked this article and know someone who is goal-oriented and should read this, please share it on your social media and suggest they visit www.awesomelifebook.com to subscribe to our email list. As a bonus, they will get our free report “HOW TO DEVELOP A DIAMOND HARD MINDSET.”
Education vs. Learning
By Shazad
You may have heard this before but it’s worth a review. Education is not the same thing as learning. The former is part of life and a requirement to advance in life. The latter is what makes life fulfilling and enables a person to excel in life.
Education is about attending a school or some program to achieve a desired outcome like a diploma, degree or a certificate. Some of these may expire and others are good for the lifespan of the student who completed the education. It’s important but it’s just a foundational skill we need to have to build a life on top of the many things school teaches us.
Learning is the act of formal and informal acquisition of knowledge which is applied. When you learn something in an authentic way, you are not just listening to data or facts and making notes about something. You are actually processing the information and making sense of this. You are forming an opinion or point of view about the knowledge. It should inspire you to make some life changes based on the learning. These can be very profound and will definitely have a lasting impression on the rest of your life starting with the day you learn something.
The most Awesome thing about Learning is that anyone can do it. You don’t need a formal classroom, tuition fees or even a world class professor. You just need to be willing to observe, think and make decisions about the world around you. Every day is a learning opportunity because there is something going on every day in our home and the community. You just need to pay attention, learn how to look up relevant information in books or online and possess critical thinking skills to sort through what is relevant vs what is incorrect or unnecessary info.
Your formal education may have ended 20 years ago when you finished that Bachelors or Masters degree. Your learning never stops as long as you are alive. I personally believe my University experience was the training ground to lifelong learning. I’m grateful I had an opportunity for formal education at 2 Universities and a Community College. I’m even more grateful for the passion I have learning many more things, correcting my thinking, and being a better person every year. Never stop learning!
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Crisis As A Gift
By Shazad
We can take the current moment or any other time of disruption and confusion as a tragedy to be avoided or something else. I challenge you all to see it as a time of opportunity to help others get back to business, work, and life in general. There are at least 3 tools to employ if you want to make the most of a crisis and I’ll share describe each of them below.
The first thing that should come to mind is Creativity. How can you do more with less? How can you get around the obstacles and challenges of the current moment? Make a list of all the new business opportunities or just simple ideas to solve problems that come to mind each day.
The second thing is your inner strength and Resolve to succeed despite the odds. How committed are you to what you believe is your mission at work, business, and life? Write out your mission statement by hand on paper and review it when you start your day or a new project for work. Your actions will be tempered with your mission statement and you will likely find more inner strength each day to keep going.
The third tool related to both of the above is Personal Growth. This is a theme of Awesome Life and our overall mission with all like-minded followers of our content. See the current moment as an opportunity to stretch and grow even more than you could if everything was ‘normal’ or running as expected in the work, at school, or in society in general. Take the challenge to grow yourself by treating the crisis as a gym for your mind, body, and soul where you go each day to work out and develop the muscles you need for tomorrow and the next day. Humans have always risen to the challenges of their times and become smarter, better, and more self-aware when they chose to grow through the circumstances rather than shrink and give up.
So, how are you going to use these tools to make sure you come out of 2020 a more creative, resilient, and stronger person than you ever thought you could be? The time for Awesome is now!
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Define What Awesome Looks Like
By Shazad
We all want to have something awesome or be part of something awesome, but what does that mean?
The truth is that it’s going to be different for different people. It will likely change for you depending on your age and life circumstances. So what can you do if you really want more awesomeness in your life?
First and foremost, you need to define what that Awesome is for you in as much detail as possible. Next, explain why it’s so Awesome for you with 3-5 qualifying statements. Third, what are you going to do about it now that you know what it is and why it matters to you? This is where you get to plan your next steps to make your definition of Awesome come into reality.
Now get out there and make Awesome happen for you!