Have you ever played a game without rules?

A game where you make up the rules as you go along?

If you watch children play, you’ll see that they make up rules for games all the time. And very often they’ll change or make new ones as they go along.

But the most interesting thing is that when they do change the rules it’s usually in their favor.

You can do the same for yourself.

You don’t have to abide by all the rules that are presented to you.

You do have choices.

Learn to challenge rules, if not physically then at least in your head. Ask yourself why this rule exists.

Rules are often made to create some form of order, but they are at times also created to benefit one group over another.

Breaking rules can have consequences, but you’ll find that at times the consequences will actually be in your favor. Often if you push hard enough, you’ll learn about exceptions to the rules, so why not be that exception?

Your life is your game to play.

Learn to make your own rules when you can, because at least then you’ll know the rules will be in your best interest.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

You hear a lot about attention deficit, but what if you could have an abundance of attention?

What if you could conjure up a laser-like focus whenever you needed to?

What if you could be fully present in all that you do?

Well, now you can with the all-new Attention Abundance Trainer 9000.

In just 10 minutes a day, you too can have a stronger, longer attention span.

The solution is all-natural and requires no additional equipment or supplements.

All you need to do is practice for 30 days, and you find yourself being able to pay attention at a whole new level.

Does it sound too good to be true?

Maybe it is.

But what if it’s not?

In all seriousness, research has shown that you can indeed increase your attention, and here are three ways that you can practice – for as little as 10 minutes a day.

Purposely stop multitasking

Focused breathing mediation

Spend quiet, uninterrupted time in nature

Increasing your attention span can help you while studying and working, but even more important is that it can make you more present in your interactions with people.  And being more present will lead to creating deeper and more meaningful relationships, especially with your loved ones.

So make working on your attention a priority, and move from having a shallow, fleeting interaction with your world to a fuller, more vibrant relationship.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What would your day look like if you agreed with everyone you interacted with?

If just for one day, all you said was, you’re right, or that’s a great idea.

And you did this by not just paying lip service but really taking the time to see the world through another person’s eyes.

I hope it’s apparent that I’m not recommending you make a drastic life-altering decision by unquestioningly agreeing with everyone you meet. What I am suggesting is being open-minded to alternative perspectives, even if just for one day.

Even if you decide not to agree, being open will give you a deeper understanding of how people around you think and what is important to them.

If you find just the thought of spending a day agreeing with others a little offensive, then that says a lot about you and perhaps even how people feel about you.

Try agreeing with people, even if not for a whole day. Look at it this way: you can always go back tomorrow and say that you gave it more thought, and if it gives you pleasure, then tell them you think they were wrong.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Are you waiting for an easier day to come along?

A day so smooth that you glide right through it without experiencing any challenges?

Well, you’ll have to keep waiting,  because that day doesn’t exist.

And if you’re wondering, I can tell you with almost complete certainty that it doesn’t exist for anyone.

It might seem at times that some have it easier than you do, and you could be right. But others are thinking the same when they see you.

Everyone is experiencing their unique set of challenges and dealing with them accordingly.

I know I said easier days don’t come along, but that doesn’t mean you can’t change how you view your challenges.

You can begin by realizing that many of the challenges you face are temporary, and although they might seem huge in the moment, you know with some rational thinking that they will pass with time.

What I’m suggesting is that you learn to change your relationship with your challenges instead of fighting against them. This does not mean you take a passive position, just that you actively engage from a different viewpoint.

The truth is that in order to make your days easier, you have to work harder on yourself and not on the challenges you face.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

If you don’t ask.

If you don’t apply.

If you don’t act.

If you don’t take the first step.

You’ll never know.

You’ll never know.

That you could have succeeded.

That you could have won.

That it was yours for the taking.

That you were the right one for the job.

You’ll never know that you have greatness inside of you.

Don’t let your life be an endless series of ‘you’ll never know.’

Somewhere inside you, you already know.

You feel the call in your mind and the tug on your heart. And just as you’re about to take the first step, you stop.

This stopping is the precipice of, you’ll never know.

It’s at this point when you stop, and you rock back and forth between knowing and not knowing.

It’s here where you decide – if you’ll ever know.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What is the realm of your reality?

Do you know that human eyes can only see a tiny spectrum of light and that a whole range of the electromagnetic spectrum is invisible to us?

Do you know that the same applies to human hearing and sound?

Just because you can’t hear or see something doesn’t mean that it doesn’t exist. It doesn’t mean it’s not real.

So much of your reality and what you experience is not just limited to your physical limitations but is also tied to your belief system.

Now, you may not be capable of changing your physical characteristics, but you can change your beliefs.

You can learn to expand and shape your realm of reality.

Your perception of reality is malleable – some people are more aware of this than others. These people are the ones known as pioneers, visionaries, and luminaires.

If you feel constrained or limited by your current reality,  consider exploring a new version.

You don’t have to adopt all that you find but don’t forget you didn’t consciously embrace the one you have right now. It was passed on or taught to you by the environment you were born into.

Step out, hear and see what you’ve never experienced, and consider creating your own version of reality – one that exists to empower you.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Do you accept every invitation you receive?

I’m going to guess that you don’t.

You probably evaluate each invitation and then prioritize based on your desire to attend and how much time you have.

What about when it comes to your thoughts?

Your subconscious serves you with thousands of thought invitations a day. And while you don’t have control over most of them, you can choose the ones you want to engage with.

With practice, you can learn to disengage from thoughts that create clouds of negativity and cause you discomfort.

You can pursue personally empowering thoughts.

You can practice by meditating, praying, or sitting silently for a few minutes. By taking some time to monitor your thoughts, you’ll come to realize just how many are being generated automatically.

If you choose to practice, you will quickly learn that your mind is not always serving you with what’s best for you and that you don’t have to accept every thought invitation it sends you.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

If you’ve ever been to a bar or club, you’re probably familiar with the term cover charge.

Essentially, the cover charge is the amount of money you pay for the privilege to enter the establishment.

However, have you ever considered the numerous cover charges you pay in life?

Consider the following cover charges.

The amount you pay to live in a particular type of neighborhood.

The amount of money you spend on clothes and other accessories so that you look and, perhaps more importantly, feel as though you belong.

The amount of money you spend entertaining or being entertained.

The amount of money you spend getting educated.

These are just some of the more obvious cover charges you pay throughout life.

The cover charge can be both time and money. However, ultimately, you’re always paying with your time.

I’m not suggesting you don’t pay the cover charge, especially if it adds value to your life.

What I am suggesting is that just be aware of the cover charge. And if you’re not enjoying the club, then stop paying to be there.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What does the secret version of you look like?

How does it dress?

If it owned a car, what kind of car would it be?

Where would it live?

What kind of work (not job) would it be doing?

There’s a version of you inside your head that’s screaming to come to life. It’s banging on the walls of your brain at every opportunity it gets, and yet you keep silencing it.

You silence it because you don’t believe it can exist or fear what will happen if you set it free.

The secret version of you is who you were born to be.

It’s your soul’s wanting to express itself.

If you’ve been the kind of person that’s kept the secret version of yourself bottled up for a long time, then you’ll have to release it slowly into the world. Because if you make too many drastic changes at once, you’ll turn your current environment into chaos.

Do it slowly, gracefully, one small act at a time.

Write down the answers to the questions I’ve listed at the beginning of this post, and feel free to add any more that you think will help you. And then slowly start shedding this current version of you.

Let there be no more secret version of you. Let there only be you.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

When was the last time you were put in time-out?

When were you last told to stand in a corner for not behaving?

When was the last time you had your toys taken away because you misbehaved?

Are the lingering memories of the punishment you received as a child still dictating how you behave as an adult?

The tools used to control and discipline you as a child can have a lifelong impact on you if you let them. Just the fear of punishment can prevent you from fully expressing yourself.

Remember that many of the disciplinary actions taken towards you were to make life more convenient for those around you. Some of it might have been to protect you or teach you civilities for your benefit, but there was also a strong element of control.

There will always be consequences to your actions, but allowing how you were controlled in the past to cast a shadow over your future is no way to live. And don’t forget, sometimes being put in time out was an excellent price to pay for the fun you had misbehaving.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Smile.

Did you do it?

I hope you did because it’s a great way to start your day. And it’s not just me telling you that smiling is good for you. Researchers have found that smiling can improve your mood, even if it’s a fake smile.

Smiling triggers chemicals in your brain to go to work, and these chemicals give you an overall sensation of feeling good.

They also found that smiling can make you look younger and even more attractive. 

Now, that’s not bad for just turning up the corners of your mouth.

Okay.

So now you’ve smiled by yourself and made yourself feel good, but now you can do it for other people too.

Smile at people while you’re out and about today.

You’ll make them feel good, too, because a smile is almost always greeted with a smile back. And yes, like anything else, there’s always a case when it doesn’t work, but let’s not focus on that.

Think of your smile as one of your superpowers. Use it generously on yourself and for the benefit of others too.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

When was the last time you played hide and seek?

How about we play it now?

This version is a little different.

It’s only between you and me, so make sure you’re alone.

Ready?

Ok.

Please close your eyes and count to 30.

Now I will trust that you will close your eyes for 30 seconds.

When you open your eyes, I want you to do something.

I want you to be your most honest, genuine, raw version of yourself.

I want you to remove every layer of political correctness.

I want you to remove every ounce of concern and fear.

Now, speak out loud about anything and everything you’re feeling at this moment.

It doesn’t matter what you say as long as you express every emotion you’re experiencing.

You can also cry, laugh, yell, or whatever you choose to do.

Just take this brief opportunity to be 100% you.

How did it feel?

You see, so much of your day is spent with you being constrained.

You, like others, hold back how you really feel just so that you can navigate and protect your personal and professional relationships.

Think of this exercise as seeking and releasing your hiding self.

Use it as a mental shower.

A quick refreshing moment in your day that allows you to be genuinely you before you step into all the other roles you have to play.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

How do you deal with disappointment?

Do you try to ignore the feeling?

Or are you able to process it in a healthy way?

Everyone experiences disappointment, so you’re definitely not alone.

At its root, the cause of disappointment is a misalignment between what you want and expect and what occurs, aka, reality. And this gap can be any area of your life.

It also stems from the belief that you can only be happy when things go how you want them to.

Disappointment can be used as an opportunity for self-reflection, improvement, and perhaps even a realization.

Disappointment can also teach you to recognize that almost every situation is temporary, although it might not feel that way at the time.

Learn that being disappointed is okay; it’s just part of being human, and as long as you don’t continuously focus on it and wallow in the feeling, it’ll pass as quickly as you let it.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

When was the last time you took inventory of everything you own?

If you’re like most people, you’ve probably never taken a complete inventory of all your possessions.

You might know essential items like cars and furniture, but you rarely properly understand everything you own.

A close friend had the unfortunate experience of having a fire in her house some time ago. Although the fire didn’t destroy everything, the smoke and water damage wiped out almost everything she owned.

During a recent conversation, she mentioned a realization about how much of her stuff she didn’t need. And, in the future, she feels she can live with even less than she had before.

Another insight she had was about the people in her life.  

Individuals who stepped up and offered her clothes, furniture, and a temporary place to live, but most of all, their willingness to be there for her.

Her community is strong because of the kind of person she has been. And although she was in a position where she had to take inventory of all her possessions due to insurance procedures, she realized that her most crucial inventory was the people that surrounded her and were willing to support her.

Taking inventory of everything you own can be a very emotional and yet practical exercise because it’ll give you a sense of how fortunate you are. It could also serve you should the need ever arise.

So can taking inventory of your relationships.

You can nurture those flourishing, forgive the ones that have floundered, and look for opportunities to create new ones.

Because, in the end, your inventory of what you have will never be as important as whom you have.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Wait! Don’t move.

You’ll only hear them when you move.

They’re just waiting to pounce.

They’re waiting for you to take that first step.

Mostly they hunt alone, but sometimes the whole pack shows up.

You know who I’m talking about.

The critic.

Their job is to scare you before you even attempt to try.

They’ll have you wondering what they think before you’ve even done anything.

They’ll make you freeze in your tracks.

And they even have friends on the inside.

Yes, they planted a mole a long time ago.

A pal, a buddy that will do the dirty work for them, just in case they don’t get to you fast enough.

And their friend, their buddy,

The one in your head.

The one they often rely on to do the job for them.

Your inner critic.

This tag team of external and internal critics will have you questioning your every dream and idea if you let them.

Or you can learn to ignore them.

And if you ignore them long enough, they might quiet down for a bit, but they’ll never go away.

So, if you want to live out any of your dreams, you must learn to act, perform and proceed in the face of the critics and don’t spend any energy attempting to avoid them because that will be impossible.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What’s your favorite music?

How does it move you?

What do the words say?

Does the music you like inspire and motivate you?

Listening to music can be a beautiful experience, but music also has the power to influence your thoughts.

Music is like a subliminal drug; it can penetrate your brain and dance with your subconscious.

In fact, let me share with you an ancient Persian tale I once heard about how music came to be.

The day after making man, God created the soul. And God asked the soul to enter the man’s body. But, just as the soul was about to move into the man’s body, it turned back.

God asked the soul, “What happened? Why did you turn back?”

The soul said, “It’s dark in there, and I’m scared.”

This got God thinking.

And then God had an idea.

He created music and put it inside man.

Once he did this, the soul was no longer afraid and happily entered the man.

Now obviously, this is just a tale. However, if you do listen to music, you know how deeply it can affect your mood.

This is also the reason, because of its power; music has been used as propaganda for years.

So, pay careful attention to the music you choose to listen to. Choose it not just to entertain you, but to also empower you and influence you on your own terms.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What would you do if you had more time?

Where would you be if you had more time?

How would your life look if you had more time?

You might disagree with me, but…

I’ll venture to guess that your life would look the same.

Now before you get upset with me, hear me out.

Rarely is the solution more time.

In fact, just having more hours only gives you more time to do exactly what you’re doing right now. There’s a name for this phenomenon, and it’s called Parkinson’s Law. In a nutshell, it says, “Work expands to fill the time available for its completion.”

So, more time is not the answer.

The answer is getting more out of the time you have.

There’s an attention grabber behind every corner and keystroke just waiting to rob you of your time, ready to entice you into thinking what they have to say is more important than your time.

These time thieves will do all they can to lure you away from your time.

Stop taking the bait.

The best way to stop is to prioritize and then protect your time.

Prioritize so that you can allot the time needed to work on what is important to you. And then protect that time. Don’t let outside influences cannibalize your time.

Nobody has ever had more time. They’ve just been able to do more with their time. And if you’re diligent about your time, you’ll realize you can do more with your time too.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

What happens after you’re a success?

After you’ve climbed the highest mountain?

After you’ve won the championship?

After you’ve made all the money you desired?

After you received all the accolades?

What do you do next?

It’s not uncommon to hear ‘successful’ people speak about being depressed or unfulfilled even though they’ve reached specific goals in their life.

They thought reaching the goal would fill a void or perhaps make them feel complete.

But it didn’t.

So while you’re pursuing your goals, realize that you shouldn’t use your goal to fill a hole in yourself. Because if that’s your view, then essentially, you’re saying that without the external goal, you are incomplete. And that’s where the feelings of being unfulfilled come from.

Realize that you are already complete, and learn to pursue your goals for the sheer pleasure of the pursuit.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Did you see what he was wearing?

What was he thinking?

Why doesn’t she say hello?

Does she think she’s too good for me?

Why is he always happy?

He must have it so easy.

You are judging people all day long because it’s your nature.

Humans are constantly filtering for – is this person in the tribe or not?

You’re always thinking, asking if you can trust them or not.

And the judgment happens within a blink of an eye. The moment you see a person or hear them speak, your brain goes on autopilot and starts judging.

This auto-judging doesn’t give you the opportunity to get to know a person since you’ve already made decisions about them.

Not auto-judging is challenging because it takes time and effort.

It takes self-awareness.

Allow yourself to occasionally practice not judging and not jumping to conclusions about a person based on a moment’s interaction. You might be pleasantly surprised to find that your initial judgment about them was totally wrong, and they might even feel the same about you too.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.

Who’s going to be the lucky person in your day today?

The one person you’ll help today.

The one person you’ll be present for today.

The one person you’ll send good thoughts to today.

The one person you’ll forgive today.

The one person you’ll love without restraint or expectations.

The one person whose life might change because of their interaction with you today.

As you start your day today, set an intention of improving just one person’s life, and you’ll be surprised by the opportunities that will present themselves to you that will allow you to make someone feel special.

Just imagine the difference we could make in the world if we all set our daily intention to improve just one person’s life.

P.S. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it, please share it with one person you love.