Hi folks - a lot of people think that assets are things such as stocks, businesses, real estate, gold. While those are assets, and good ones, I think even greater assets are the intangibles things that have the potential to yield huge, infinite returns. So here they are:
1. Your health, energy, spirit
2. Your time
3. Your mind
4. Other people - their time, talents, resources, skills, capital
5. Friends, family
So all of the above encompass the realm of social and intellectual capital rather than financial capital, which is the subject of another post. Until then!
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Random thoughts
Here are some of my favorite quotes to keep me focused in the moment, enjoying each moment.
1. Life is short. Work hard. Play hard.
2. Savor every moment, b/c it can be taken away in an instant
3. Use your creativity, vision to make each day your masterpiece.
4. Spend 80% of your time on the 20% that yields 80% of the results.
5. Focus on activities that either: rejuvenate, recharge, refresh, change/alter, help you to grow. For example, reading, working out, watching a movie, hanging out w/ friends.
6. Choose work that when you do it, it comes naturally, you feel in the moment, you feel energized rather than drained by it.
7. Check email at 11 AM & at 5 PM. That's it.
8. Cherish each day b/c it could be your last.
9. Greatest power that we have is in the power of choice.
10. Be grateful for your health
11. Happiness is an internal state - contentment, positive self esteem, self image, optimism. Not dependent upon anyone, anything, or any circumstance.
1. Life is short. Work hard. Play hard.
2. Savor every moment, b/c it can be taken away in an instant
3. Use your creativity, vision to make each day your masterpiece.
4. Spend 80% of your time on the 20% that yields 80% of the results.
5. Focus on activities that either: rejuvenate, recharge, refresh, change/alter, help you to grow. For example, reading, working out, watching a movie, hanging out w/ friends.
6. Choose work that when you do it, it comes naturally, you feel in the moment, you feel energized rather than drained by it.
7. Check email at 11 AM & at 5 PM. That's it.
8. Cherish each day b/c it could be your last.
9. Greatest power that we have is in the power of choice.
10. Be grateful for your health
11. Happiness is an internal state - contentment, positive self esteem, self image, optimism. Not dependent upon anyone, anything, or any circumstance.
Top 7 Inventions of All Time
Wondering about the life-changing inventions, that have helped shape the world, our lives, & the way we live.
Here they are:
1. Automobile
2. Airplane
3. Computer
4. Telephone
5. Cell phones
6. Internet
7. Lightbulb
Curious as to what the next invention will be to change our lives. I'm thinking it will be along the lines regarding the environment, energy, water, or food.
Here they are:
1. Automobile
2. Airplane
3. Computer
4. Telephone
5. Cell phones
6. Internet
7. Lightbulb
Curious as to what the next invention will be to change our lives. I'm thinking it will be along the lines regarding the environment, energy, water, or food.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Role of Charity in the Information Age
I've been thinking alot lately regarding the role of charity & giving. Was at a seminar this past weekend, & played a game called, Cash Flow. In the game, the player has the option to donate 10% of their income to charity & gets the chance to roll more dice, when they do. Most of the players, when they landed on this space, did not donate. Why? Interesting. Got me to thinking.
Lots of us are conditioned to get, get, get, take, take, take. That form of mentality was common during the Industrial Age & is based on scarcity b/c resources were by definition limited during this age. That is why after the Great Depression, the way to survive was to get a good education, get a good job - safe, secure, lifelong, w/ good benefits.
However, in today's age, that notion is becoming obselete FAST. Now that we are in the Information Age - knowledge, information, ideas & what we do with them are key. Speed, volatility are becoming the norm. We can communicate with people overseas in our bedroom w/ just a computer & internet connection, in our boxers. We no longer have to fly to conduct business meetings. We can host webinars, telemeetings in our own living rooms.
We can see signs of the Industrial Age disappearing in previously corporate giants (GM, Ford, Chrysler) collapsing, facing bankruptcies, smaller/faster/smarter/efficient companies overtaking them, airlines facing financial issues, labor jobs being shipped overseas, the price of oil increasing.
In the Information Age - where we make our living by sharing information, knowledge, a new paradigm is emerging, & that is the concept of abundance. Since transitioning into the Information Age - ideas, thoughts, words, pictures, sounds, etc. are all abundant, they are all around us. Our economy is now based on the creating, packaging, & giving of things that are knowledge based. Multimillionaires, billionaires were created from this idea that information (an idea) can be created, marketed, & sold to the masses. Examples include: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jerry Yang, Larry Paige, Sergey Brin, etc. Other examples include rockstars, movie stars, athletes, businesses who have created a brand from their identity, experiences, accomplishments & have sold it to the masses in the form of endorsements, sponsorships, CD's, MP3's, movies, athletic products, franchises, licenses, businesses, partnerships, you name it.
So as we progress into the Information Age charity/giving will be more natural, easy, in my opinion. By reprogramming our minds from a scarcity to an abundance-based mentality, we set ourselves up for greater returns in every aspect of our lives. Here are a couple of reasons why I think giving, increases your returns:
1. It trains your mind to think in terms of abundance
2. You give to give, rather than give to receive (trains your subconscious that there's abundance)
3. Karma
The returns may be in the form of monetary returns, but it can also be in the form of lucky breaks, excellent relationships, good health, happiness.
So give whatever you can to a cause that you're passionate about - it can be to your local church, hospital, school, whatever, as long you give.
That's it. Stay tuned!
Lots of us are conditioned to get, get, get, take, take, take. That form of mentality was common during the Industrial Age & is based on scarcity b/c resources were by definition limited during this age. That is why after the Great Depression, the way to survive was to get a good education, get a good job - safe, secure, lifelong, w/ good benefits.
However, in today's age, that notion is becoming obselete FAST. Now that we are in the Information Age - knowledge, information, ideas & what we do with them are key. Speed, volatility are becoming the norm. We can communicate with people overseas in our bedroom w/ just a computer & internet connection, in our boxers. We no longer have to fly to conduct business meetings. We can host webinars, telemeetings in our own living rooms.
We can see signs of the Industrial Age disappearing in previously corporate giants (GM, Ford, Chrysler) collapsing, facing bankruptcies, smaller/faster/smarter/efficient companies overtaking them, airlines facing financial issues, labor jobs being shipped overseas, the price of oil increasing.
In the Information Age - where we make our living by sharing information, knowledge, a new paradigm is emerging, & that is the concept of abundance. Since transitioning into the Information Age - ideas, thoughts, words, pictures, sounds, etc. are all abundant, they are all around us. Our economy is now based on the creating, packaging, & giving of things that are knowledge based. Multimillionaires, billionaires were created from this idea that information (an idea) can be created, marketed, & sold to the masses. Examples include: Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Jerry Yang, Larry Paige, Sergey Brin, etc. Other examples include rockstars, movie stars, athletes, businesses who have created a brand from their identity, experiences, accomplishments & have sold it to the masses in the form of endorsements, sponsorships, CD's, MP3's, movies, athletic products, franchises, licenses, businesses, partnerships, you name it.
So as we progress into the Information Age charity/giving will be more natural, easy, in my opinion. By reprogramming our minds from a scarcity to an abundance-based mentality, we set ourselves up for greater returns in every aspect of our lives. Here are a couple of reasons why I think giving, increases your returns:
1. It trains your mind to think in terms of abundance
2. You give to give, rather than give to receive (trains your subconscious that there's abundance)
3. Karma
The returns may be in the form of monetary returns, but it can also be in the form of lucky breaks, excellent relationships, good health, happiness.
So give whatever you can to a cause that you're passionate about - it can be to your local church, hospital, school, whatever, as long you give.
That's it. Stay tuned!
Monday, June 15, 2009
Power of your environment - the key to lasting change
After studying psychology, success in various areas, I've noticed a few patterns. In the area of self help, psychology, success, there are few individuals:
1. Like the idea, toy around with it, then stop after a while
2. Hobbyists
3. Hardcore people who actively work at it, achieving success to levels
1 & 2 are propelled by different emotional mechanisms, different levels of leverage, while 3 are probably people who lacked that level of self esteem, achievement, validation, approval as kids. These are usually the people that you hear about on TV & the news -> rockstar, actor, businessman, politician, doctor, lawyer, etc. Either they were deprived, abused, neglected, didn't fit in, or constantly put down. However, sometimes you have people who are "on their paths". They are in category 3, not because of a lack, but because of abundance. They are doing exactly what they were put on this earth to do (Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Kobe Bryant, & even everyday people we don't hear about & so on).
After a while, the individual says to himself, "Enough with this bullshit. I've had enough. I know I can do it, I'm in the wrong environment, with the wrong people."
1. There must be an emotional breaking point. A point where a person says, "I've had enough. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get XYZ". Emotional leverage. Either in weight, relationships, business/finance, career, etc.
2. They'll usually go to a seminar where likeminded individuals go. Pay a lot of money for information.
3. Afterwards, they're pumped, ready to get on the path towards success.
The key to all of this is 1. Taking action, & 2. Monitoring your environment so that they sustain the emotional leverage/motivation that propelled you to make change in your life in the first place. For example, usually after summer camp, kids will come home & be excited that they got a chance to get out of their old, environment & interact with kids who have different realities, hopefully more abundant mindsets. But then they come home back to their old paradigms. If they don't consciously strive to improve their surroundings, thoughts, etc. Before you know it, they'll be back in their same patterns all over again. Spending a summer with the "A" students, I learned that they have a system for their success, so I replicated their success, took it home with me. But I had to constantly apply what I had learned from that summer, otherwise I would not be where I am today. For example, setting aside time to read every day, planning, executing.
Reasons why people don't grow, evolve
1. Complacency - achieve some level of success, but then don't continue, or are happy where they are, when they could go so much furtheer
2. Lazy - sounds great, but don't want to put in the time, or effort to achieve what they want. They don't have emotional leverage.
3. Fear/guilt - see below.
4. Misalignment - between their desires/aspirations, their beliefs about themselves, the world governed either by fear or guilt, or a combination of both.
So the key is to consciously apply these principles to your thoughts, beliefs, values, words, actions, to make sure they are in alignment, & to actively seek to surround yourself with people who share the same/better mindsets as you currently have, or would like to have.
1. Like the idea, toy around with it, then stop after a while
2. Hobbyists
3. Hardcore people who actively work at it, achieving success to levels
1 & 2 are propelled by different emotional mechanisms, different levels of leverage, while 3 are probably people who lacked that level of self esteem, achievement, validation, approval as kids. These are usually the people that you hear about on TV & the news -> rockstar, actor, businessman, politician, doctor, lawyer, etc. Either they were deprived, abused, neglected, didn't fit in, or constantly put down. However, sometimes you have people who are "on their paths". They are in category 3, not because of a lack, but because of abundance. They are doing exactly what they were put on this earth to do (Tiger Woods, Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Kobe Bryant, & even everyday people we don't hear about & so on).
After a while, the individual says to himself, "Enough with this bullshit. I've had enough. I know I can do it, I'm in the wrong environment, with the wrong people."
1. There must be an emotional breaking point. A point where a person says, "I've had enough. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get XYZ". Emotional leverage. Either in weight, relationships, business/finance, career, etc.
2. They'll usually go to a seminar where likeminded individuals go. Pay a lot of money for information.
3. Afterwards, they're pumped, ready to get on the path towards success.
The key to all of this is 1. Taking action, & 2. Monitoring your environment so that they sustain the emotional leverage/motivation that propelled you to make change in your life in the first place. For example, usually after summer camp, kids will come home & be excited that they got a chance to get out of their old, environment & interact with kids who have different realities, hopefully more abundant mindsets. But then they come home back to their old paradigms. If they don't consciously strive to improve their surroundings, thoughts, etc. Before you know it, they'll be back in their same patterns all over again. Spending a summer with the "A" students, I learned that they have a system for their success, so I replicated their success, took it home with me. But I had to constantly apply what I had learned from that summer, otherwise I would not be where I am today. For example, setting aside time to read every day, planning, executing.
Reasons why people don't grow, evolve
1. Complacency - achieve some level of success, but then don't continue, or are happy where they are, when they could go so much furtheer
2. Lazy - sounds great, but don't want to put in the time, or effort to achieve what they want. They don't have emotional leverage.
3. Fear/guilt - see below.
4. Misalignment - between their desires/aspirations, their beliefs about themselves, the world governed either by fear or guilt, or a combination of both.
So the key is to consciously apply these principles to your thoughts, beliefs, values, words, actions, to make sure they are in alignment, & to actively seek to surround yourself with people who share the same/better mindsets as you currently have, or would like to have.
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Preparing for the Day
Hey guys - today I want to talk about preparation. There's a saying that winners - plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win. So, in order to make the most out of each day - making each day your masterpiece - here's what I personally do.
Night before 1. Think about all the things I want to accomplish tomorrow & rank them in order of priority
2. Write it down, to the tiniest detail. What time you're going to wake up, eat, work, workout, relax, hangout, etc.
Day of (1st hour): 1. Wake up energetic, feeling like something good is going to happen today. Expect it.
2. Breathe
3. Drink water
4. Light workout
5. Good breakfast
6. Read something spiritual
7. Create something of value to someone else - article, post, blog, etc.
8. Choose to make the day a masterpiece regardless of what happens.
Then I go about my day - keep up w/ the financials, writing, creating, brainstorming, etc. I usually work for 1-2 hours, take a break - food/exercise/random errands, & then get back to work. I also take some time to meditate, reflect/think on my past/current/future situation, & make plans accordingly.
Things I do when I'm down & out.
1. Recognize it immediately & get myself out of it, into a higher state.
2. Take a deep breath - accept it, then let it go
3. Visualize the outcome I want, reaffirm that this is the right way, the path.
4. Trust in myself, and in a Higher Source.
5. Get back to my path/purpose, source.
6. Understand that the pressures/expectations are self-imposed, & constructs of society. I take what works from these constructs & apply them in my daily life, but I don't let them dictate how I view myself, the world, etc.
Night before 1. Think about all the things I want to accomplish tomorrow & rank them in order of priority
2. Write it down, to the tiniest detail. What time you're going to wake up, eat, work, workout, relax, hangout, etc.
Day of (1st hour): 1. Wake up energetic, feeling like something good is going to happen today. Expect it.
2. Breathe
3. Drink water
4. Light workout
5. Good breakfast
6. Read something spiritual
7. Create something of value to someone else - article, post, blog, etc.
8. Choose to make the day a masterpiece regardless of what happens.
Then I go about my day - keep up w/ the financials, writing, creating, brainstorming, etc. I usually work for 1-2 hours, take a break - food/exercise/random errands, & then get back to work. I also take some time to meditate, reflect/think on my past/current/future situation, & make plans accordingly.
Things I do when I'm down & out.
1. Recognize it immediately & get myself out of it, into a higher state.
2. Take a deep breath - accept it, then let it go
3. Visualize the outcome I want, reaffirm that this is the right way, the path.
4. Trust in myself, and in a Higher Source.
5. Get back to my path/purpose, source.
6. Understand that the pressures/expectations are self-imposed, & constructs of society. I take what works from these constructs & apply them in my daily life, but I don't let them dictate how I view myself, the world, etc.
Friday, June 5, 2009
Take up a swimming workout during the summer
Hey guys - it's hot down here where I live, reaches 100+ degrees F in the summer. I'm used to running in cooler temperatures, & for the past few months have literally had to wait until 7 pm, for everything to cool down to start my run. However, was driving the other day & drove past a pool in the neighborhood. Not one that's for kids to play, but an actual Olympic-sized pool to workout in. So I signed up & now my workouts consist of swimming, running, & weight lifting during the summers. It's a lot cooler, a lot more refreshing, more bearable, & a better workout (from what I hear) for your joints, calorie expenditure, etc. So give it a try. If it's too hot, go to your local swimming pool & work out there. That's the beauty of adaptability & flexibility.
Until next time!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
