October 29, 2016 - Happiness

“It is not how much we have but how much we enjoy that makes happiness.” – Charles Spurgeon

This will be a brief post today. I have a business meeting I need to get to and have some errands before hand. I read this quote this morning and felt it important to explore.

I see so many people that think that happiness comes when they achieve something, buy something, experience something. People waiting for happiness to come will be forever disappointed. I used to be like that but I discovered two things.

1 – Happiness is a CHOICE

2 – GRATITUDE is an attitude of success

In order to be truly happy I think you need to be grateful for everything you and choose to be happy.

I start every day and end every day by reviewing everything I am grateful for.

Be happy.

Be grateful.

October 28, 2016 - Persistence

“Energy and persistence conquer all things.” – Benjamin Franklin

We had a terrific team meeting last night. We didn’t have any guests so we still get together and talk about the business. One person presented and then we had a series of product training discussions. Todd, Rachel and I then went out for a beer.

So what does the quote about energy and persistence mean to this discussion?

Simple.

I get up most mornings at 4:50 and got through a routine of personal development. Energy. Persistence.

I was able to lead the product training portion of the evening as I have been persistent in my learning. Angel and Khadijah are both going to set the world on fire as they discover the workings of this business.

So what am I most excited about? Helping people. Helping people save money. Helping people change their life. Helping people help other people.

How will I be able to do that? With energy and persistence. I need to talk to a massive number of people to be able to build this. I am at the point where my business is about to tip over the edge.

I honestly believe that the truly great achievements I have had in my life were not because I was better than someone else or anything like that. My great achievements were simply because I did not give up. I know at one of my, if not my greatest asset is I am not a quitter.

So I have been changing how I am running my days. I work in 90 minute increments. I set a timer for 0 minutes and work on a set of specific tasks or on a project. When that timer goes off I may take a break for a few moments and then set the timer again. I work on another set of priority tasks.

My timer is about to go off, hence the abrupt post today.

Take care and be good to yourself.

One of the things I am excited to be persistent about!

October 26, 2016 - Teaching

I’ve written a lot about my ACN Business and developing my mindset there. I thought I’d let you know what I am doing with my teaching. I come down hard on the education system so giving you some examples of things the teachers and I do in class that may be contrary to the current way of teaching.

• I start each class with a small piece of philosophy. This week I was talking about how important it is to make mistakes. That making mistakes is the best way to learn
• Al has his students growing many different types of hot peppers. He is teaching aquaponics and propagation. How better to do that than by using plants the kids really want to grow.
• Conor is teaching landscape design in small segments. The kids have to have a rough drawing and finished drawing done in an hour and a bit. And the kids are loving their ability to express their creativity.
• Al has the kids researching processed food and applying their knowledge to their parents pantries. The kids are developing a very focused thought process about why there are so many chemicals in our food when all that plants need are much less complex than that.
• Conor is teaching his students how to look after a green wall. They learn how to care for plants growing in a fairly inhospitable environment. They are also researching the value of having pants in the interior environment. Cleaning the air by filtering it through their soil and releasing oxygen.
• Al is teaching his kids how to grow plants and fish through aquaponics – using fish to “feed” plants and algae to feed fish. These kids are learning leading edge horticultural technologies.
• Conor has a greenhouse and is teaching the students how to care for many different types of plants.

There are a lot of teachers doing pretty good work out there. But unfortunately there are very few great teachers. Both of the gentlemen I work with are great teachers.

Wednesday I start with a new school in Acton. I am very much looking forward to it!

Better post tomorrow! I promise!

Peace!

October 25, 2016 - Astronomy

"The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we hit it." - Michelangelo

I am working on an exercise that Brian Tracy suggested. Every morning I write down my top 10 goals without looking at the previous days goals. The goals I am writing down are pretty big. In fact they are like Darren Hardy’s B-HAG’s. Big Hairy Audacious Goals.

Brian Tracy says that if you do that (writing the goals down)  your life will change in 30 days. The purpose of this exercise, I believe, is to get your mind trained to be wealth oriented. Go get your mind purpose driven. Do get your mind’s filters focused on positive outcomes.

When I read that quote from Michelangelo I immediately thought of my goal writing exercise. I am on day 14 of 30. I have spent almost 16,425 days walking this planet WITHOUT any goals. Aiming too low and hitting. I don’t know how many days I have left BUT I am becoming goal oriented.

I’d rather have a positive, health, wealth and growth mindset rather than just wander around mindlessly. My goals are perfectly achievable if I get to work.

I refuse to live an unchallenged life. I refuse to live a life of mediocrity in any area.

I am off to teach at two high schools today. Notre Dame in Burlington and White Oaks in Oakville. I am a different sort of teacher as I start my classes off with a bit of mindset training. I am going to use that quote today to start a discussion with my students.

I think that a lot of people think they have goals but what they really have are wishes. I wish I had $150,000 in the bank. Then they get out of bed, turn the TV on and continue with their day. That isn’t a goal, that is a wish.

A goal is something like, I will have $150,000 in the bank. I will have this money as I have earned it through service to others. Then you can map out what service you will be performing and as you do this your goals will settle in your mind, all of your mind’s filters will be set over time to achieve this goal. You will then start working toward that goal.

I am sure you are asking yourself about my “success”. Am I rich? Do I have money in the bank? What I will answer is this, Earl Nightingale has the best definition of success so far, “Success is the progressive realization of a worthy ideal.” So the answer is yes. I am successful. I do not have money in the bank yet but the Universe is starting to conspire on my behalf.

Keep dreaming for sure. But start writing goals down. As your goals gel into the REAL things you want to achieve your brain will start to develop filters to help you see your goals. DO not pass down any opportunity as the pathway to where you want to get to is full of twists and turns. You may be on a detour but you may find a better view on that detour.

Keep faith in yourself and Guard Your Heart!

Peace!

October 24, 2016

"The important thing is this: to be able at any moment to sacrifice what we are for what we could become." - Charles Dubois

I am watching a movie as I write this. The movie is the “original” The Secret movie.

Here is a link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ioKU6Jue_k

They are talking about the word META as metaphysical. And they are talking about the META SECRET. It really talks about the secret from within. It talks about breaking away from society and following your instincts and build a life you want.

I teach in the community college system and am sort of seconded to the high school system. I have been observing the education system since I was in it 40 years ago. We have a system that currently is broken.  It was designed and built to develop a population of compliant cogs in an industrial complex.

As parents we develop wonderful individuals, free thinking and focused on developing a psyche of fulfillment. Then we send them to kindergarten and make them sit in rows, face the same way, say the same things, learn the same things and write the same things.

That is what the education system is supposed to do. The industrialists needed people who could count, read, and were trained to the point they did what they were told. As industry became more complex, curriculum changed to teach what the students needed to learn to become good cogs. In fact right now in our system “they” are always talking about how to adjust the school system to meet EMPLOYERS’ needs – not students’ needs.

So what I try to do is get my students to think out of their current system of beliefs. To understand that they are in control of their lives and that they should pursue whatever lights a fire in their bellies.

We have to sacrifice what we are currently to become what we want to be. Jim Rohn talks about the theory, “If you want more, you have to become more.”

That is what I am struggling with. The becoming more bit of things. I am working on myself and have to work on my business as well. This is a short note. I need to get some rest.

Peace.