Category — Advice

“Don’t let someone else’s opinion of you become your reality.” ~Les Brown

I’d like to share this video with you and hope that it’s of great use to you, as it has been for me.

Enjoy!

“What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.” - Napoleon Hill

Earl Nightingale talks about the strangest secret in the world; the key to success and the key to failure.

Sit back, relax and just listen.

In Appreciate the Moment, I mention how Life is made up of memories and to always remember the good ones.  This statement came to mind when I came across “Moments of Moments”, a video about different moments in life.

It’s nice to see that the artist uses his creative talent to convey a positive outlook of life.

I share this video with you as a reminder that life is what we make of it.

Today is a beautiful day.  Go out, create and share your own moments and above all  enjoy life!

Thank you Ali.

Some people don’t know what they have until it’s gone.. Have you ever thought what life would be like for those around you if you never existed? Be sure to thank your mother for that. At one point you were carried in your mother’s womb for 9 months.. or less, if you you couldn’t wait much longer. From the beginning, our mother cared and nurtured us. A mother’s love is like no other, the least we can do is honor and cherish her till the end.

I’m not saying you should have her move in with you. Believe me, I love my mom but we are two different people (it wouldn’t work-out). It’s the little things you can do. Actions speak louder than words. Join her for breakfast, listen to her, make her laugh, hug her, call her from time to time just to tell her that you miss her cooking.

Don’t share any bad news with her, unless you really have to. She already worries wondering if you’re getting enough to eat. The point is to make your mom happy and not just on her day (Birthday & Mother’s Day) but every opportunity you get.. On that note, may this Mother’s Day be beautiful for you and that special woman in your life!

Mom, I love you.

Swine Flu.. What is it exactly?  Well, for starters it’s a flu. What can we do now to help prevent catch this virus?  Simple, get plenty of rest & exercise, eat a balanced diet, do things that make you feel good and think positive.  Thinking positive is good for the mind and body. I wouldn’t worry too much about Swine Flu due to the fact that I haven’t gotten sick.  Besides, worrying is bad for your health..

Which reminds me, I need to start exercising (I’m not getting any younger).  I’ve been spending too much time in front of a computer, at work and at home.  I was off from work today and I decided to take advantage of the great weather we were having in Chicago (you never know what to expect) so I mowed the lawn as soon as it stopped raining.  I spent the rest of the day organizing files in my computer, reading email and listening to music.. music I grew up with.  A particular song brought back memories, a 1984 classic.  I was only six years old back then and I remember watching the big kids battle at a neighbor’s garage on top of the cardboard floor.  Those were the good ol’ days.  Do you remember when Boogie Down (Bronx) played? What were you doing back then? (I know I’m old school)..

Here’s the instrumental -Enjoy!:

Appreciate the people that surround you, appreciate what you have.. because every second that passes by is lost forever.  Life is made up of memories, always remember the good ones.. and don’t forget to wash your hands!

Lately I’ve been getting a lot of compliments from friends and family about this blog.  It moves me to hear that they’re inspired or motivated by specific posts.  We ALL have problems and sometimes we just need someone to listen.  The only thing that I ask of you (the reader) is to be there for those people who come to you for help. 

“Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.  Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.”

The quote above is from a well known essay tittled “Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young”, that was written by Mary Schmich and published in the Chicago Tribune as a column in 1997.  This essay was to be the commencement speech she would give to a graduating class if she was asked to give one.  When the column was later turned into a song, Schmich’s “wish” came true when the University of Zagreb’s started to play the song “Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)” at every graduation ceremony.

I want to share this speech with you because it puts things into perspective.   I hope that the advice helps you in life.. We only live once.  Let’s make it worth it.

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99.. Wear Sunscreen.
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it.  The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists, whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience… I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never-mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.  But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.. You’re not as fat as you imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. 

Do one thing everyday that scares you.  Sing.  Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.  Floss.  Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind… the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.

Remember compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.  Stretch.  Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do withyour life.. the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.  Get plenty of calcium.  Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.

Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary.. what ever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. 

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can… don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it’s the GREATEST instrument you’ll ever own.  Dance.. even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.  Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.  Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future.  Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on.  Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.  Travel.  Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders.  Respect your elders.  Don’t expect anyone else to support you.  Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you’re 40, it will look 85.  Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.  Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth, But trust me on the sunscreen.

Be there for others when given the opportunity. 

Forward this blog address to your friends and family.  We all need some positive reinforcement from time to time.