A Birthday to Remember

When Taj Chahal was 29 and he wanted to make his 30th birthday one that everybody would remember.

Taj decided that the best way to do this was to give back to the community.

Taj rented out an eatery called Martha's Kitchen and invited 300 homeless people from San Jose for dinner.

Taj totally transformed the restaurant, giving it tablecloths, balloons and many gourmet dishes.

In addition to this, Taj volunteered himself as a juice-pourer during the party.

We live in a society where birthdays, especially, are days when we become the center of attention. Taj, however, wanted to do the opposite and use it as an opportunity to give back to his community.

How will you spend your next birthday? What gift could you give to others on it?

A Changing World

We live in a world that is constantly changing. Countries that were at war only 50 years ago are now allies and vice versa.

Eleven years ago today, in 1993, the Maastricht Treaty came into effect. The result was a new European Union.

A Europe that had been divided through Two World Wars had now become united.

The Iron Curtain had lifted and the Berlin Wall had fallen, leaving a united future ahead for the Continent of Europe.

One of life's most important lessons is that nothing is permanent.

Your friends are not permanent and neither are your enemies.

It is our ability, through forgiveness and humility, to allows such things to happen.

As Americans begin to decide on their future, today is a significant day for Europeans that reflects how, in the early 1990's, the future of Europe was decided. The world is constantly changing around us and it is our responsibility to view our opinions and our ideals to ensure that we have some influence on how it changes. With the American Elections and referendums in several European countries imminent, now is our best chance to influence our future.

A Rich Gift

In 1969, John Lennon and Yoko Ono staged a week-long 'bed-in' at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

During this time, Gail Renard managed to sneak in to the hotel, knocked on the door and asked John and Yoko if she could interview them for the University magazine.

John and Yoko agreed. In fact, John and Yoko liked her so much that she was allowed to stay and ended up spending the rest of the week with them.

At the end of the 'bed-in' John Lennon recorded a song where he sang the lead vocals and played the piano and 50 guests came into the room to sing the backing vocals.

This song was called Give Peace a Chance.

At the end of the 'bed-in', John gave Gail the hand-written lyrics for this song and told her that some day it would be worth a lot of money.

They will soon be put on auction and are expected to be sell for $600,000.

A Simple formula for Life

Life is simply a three-step process.

The first step is finding out what we need.

The second step is attaining that which fulfills those needs.

The third step is valuing what we have achieved.

The most important step is the first step. Without knowing what we want or need, we will only find happiness and contentment by accident.

Take some time to reflect over life. In what areas are you strong and in what areas do you find unhappiness and unfulfillment.

The only reason that those areas are empty is that you do not yet know what to fill it with.

A Trick of the Mind

Baseball players use a very effective trick of the mind when they are preparing to bat.

In stead of using one bat to warm up with, they sometimes use seven or eight bats.

The reason for this is simply that when it actually comes to batting for real in the near future, their mind causes their body to swing as if it is holding seven or eight bats and therefore leads to a greater hit.

In this lies a very important lesson.

We often prepare for things with the expectation that when the real time comes we will be naturally motivated to excel.

We take our preparation casually with the expectation that the excitement and adrenalin will cause us to perform at our best.

The truth is that it is in our preparation that we need to be at our peak, in order to train our minds to consistently perform at that level.

Many people believe that natural talent is what separates an average musician and an average sportsmen. Although natural talent plays a role, the key differential is hard work. The excellent sportsmen, for example, is separated from the average sportsmen by the fact that in his preparations, he creates a higher standard by which he has to perform. The average sportsmen prepares half-heartedly at times, expecting the adrenalin and the excitement of the day to cause him to perform excellently. The excellent athlete knows that his form and performance in his preparations will carry through to the real thing. Learn to adjust your standard by consistently demanding the best from yourself. This is the key to maintained success.

Ability

Throughout life, we are faced with many large problems and challenges.

Those who struggle with these look only to the magnitude of the problem.

Those who succeed with these look only to the magnitude of their abilities.

Human beings are capable of literally anything.

What separates does who maximise this capability is simply the focus of their mind and their skill in controlling their ability.

The next time you are faced with a problem, do not look at the size of the problem. Look at the size of your abilities.

This change in perspective will teach you just how much ability you truly have.

Aborigine Doctors

In Australia, the life expectancy of Aborigines is 17 years shorter than that of other Australians.

Australian Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, has implemented a new system to resolve this issue.

He has committed $17 million to train Aborigine nurses and doctors.

For many years, unemployment and poverty amongst Aborigines has been much higher than the national average.

Most Aborigines live in Outback camps on the fringes of cities in conditions that are commonly found in developing countries. Infant mortality rates are three times above the national average.

By encouraging more Aborigine doctors and nurses, Rudd hopes to cut the gap in life expectancy by 2030.

He also hopes that those Aborigines will then become role-models for future generations of Aborigine children.

Abraham Maslow's Deficiency Needs

Abraham Maslow outlined five key human needs that must be satisfied. Today, we will look at the four needs he called "Deficiency Needs".

Maslow called these Deficiency Needs because we must satisfy them in order to survive. Unless these are not fulfilled, we cannot act unselfishly.

The first of these needs are Physiological needs. These are the most basic needs for air, food, water, warmth and sleep. Unless they are fulfilled, we cannot think of anything else.

Once we have fulfilled our Physiological needs, we must fulfill our Safety Needs. We must feel safe and secure in a chaotic world. Friends, family and religion help us to feel secure.

It is only when we feel safe that we expect to fulfill our Love needs. As human beings, we need to feel loved and to be valued. This is why so many people find life difficult when they are alone.

The final Deficiency Need that Maslow highlighted is our Esteem Need. We need to feel that we are good at what we do and we need others to recognise our skills and talents. We need to be recognised for what we have done well.

Maslow concluded that these four needs must be fulfilled, in order for us just to survive and live a normal and life.

Abraham Maslow's four Deficiency needs are 1) Physiological Needs (to have air, water, food, warmth, sleep etc). 2) Safety Needs (we must feel safe and secure). 3) Love Needs (We must feel loved and valued and feel that we belong). 4) Esteem Needs (we must feel that we are good at what we do and are recognised by others as being good at what we do). These four needs are the basic requirements in order to live a normal life.

Abraham Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs

In his 1970 book, Motivation and Personality, Abraham Maslow outlined five key human needs that must be satisfied.

Although Maslow was not the first person to examine human needs, he did so in a pioneering way.

Whereas Freud studied mentally ill patients and Skinner studied animals to reach their conclusions, Maslow studied effective and successful people such as Albert Einstein, Jane Addams, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Frederick Douglas.

It is due to this that many consider Maslow's results as more accurate and more applicable to what humans really need.

Abraham Maslow's Self-Actualisation Need

Abraham Maslow outlined five key human needs that must be satisfied. The first four needs must be fulfilled just to survive and live a normal life.

The fifth need, however, is what Maslow called the "Self-Actualization" need.

Maslow defined this as "the desire to become more and more what one is, to become everything that one is capable of becoming."

Maslow argued that once someone has everything that they need to survive, they can then look to maximise their potential.

They can, for example, seek knowledge, work on their spiritual understanding, donate their time and resources to helping causes that they believe in and spend time creating works of art, music or literature.

In today's society, it is usually people who are retired and in good health that have the time and resources to fully partake in these activities.

However, Maslow urges us all, despite our time or resource limitations, to at least fulfill this need to a minimum level if we are to grow and fulfill our own potential.

Abraham Maslow identified four needs that must be fulfilled to survive and live normally. The fifth need, he argues, is one that we must fulfill in order to grow and to maximise our potential. We must take time to learn more, contribute to others, be creative, be inquisitive, be spiritual and be aware of the beauty of life and nature if we are to fulfill our self-actualisation need and to live life at its highest level.

Andrew Carnegie

As a child, Andrew Carnegie lived through poverty in his native Scotland.

When Andrew and his family arrived in America, Andrew started working for Pennsylvania Railroad, earning $1.20 a week. He worked his way up the ladder until he became private secretary to the CEO and was earning $35.

Whilst working for Pennsylvania Railroad, Andrew soon realised that the steel industry was starting to flourish and he soon entered it.

After considerable hard work and at the age of 64, Andrew amassed a fortune of $480 million to become the richest man in the world.

Although Andrew's story of creating wealth is similar to that of many entrepreneurs, the real message in Andrew's life is what he did with his wealth.

Andrew once said, "I propose to take an income no greater than $50,000 per annum! Beyond this I need ever earn, make no effort to increase my fortune, but spend the surplus each year for benevolent purposes!"

Indeed, this is what Andrew did. He donated millions of dollars during his lifetime to causes that helped people.

Perhaps his biggest gift was the commissioning of Napoleon Hill to write Think and Grow Rich, a book that has changed the lives of millions of people.

Take some time to think about Andrew's life lessons. What will you do with your fortune? Can you use it to help others improve their lives?

Approaching Problems

There are essentially two ways to approach a problem.

The first way is one that is established in the West. This method is simply this; If you have a problem then you must use all of your experience and knowledge in solving it.

The second way is the Eastern way, which tells us that if we have a problem we must clear our mind and approach it afresh.

In truth, we need a combination of these two methods. If we use only the first method, we will repeat our mistakes. If we use only the second method, we will not reproduce our successes.

However, awareness of these two methods is crucial as it helps you to find a suitable strategy to use.

The next time you are faced with a challenge, consciously ask yourself if the Eastern or Western method is most apt for you to use in solving it.

Just by finding the right strategy and approach, the problem is as good as solved.

The East and the West have two totally conflicting ways of dealing with problems. The Eastern way is a more reflective manner in which the problem is seen as a separate entity to deal with. The Western way sees problems as a personal issue that must be resolved by sheer effort and action, alone. The truly successful person is apt with both of these methods. Take some time to develop these two skills, by doing so you will be much more effective with any problem that you face.

Are you a First-Born?

Be a Leader

Many people assume that leaders are people who run businesses or countries.

The truth is that the true leaders are often the people that we least expect.

The Victoria Cross is an award given out for outstanding bravery. It is an award that is rarely awarded and one of the key criteria is that you have had to have been in a life or death situation when you showed outstanding bravery.

Ironically, this award is mostly won by low ranking members of the army. Furthermore, the winners of this award are mostly humble and down to earth people who simply say that they were merely doing their job when they were saving the lives of their colleagues.

The truth is that you do not need to be in a high power position to be a leader. A leader is simply someone who gives 100% commitment to all that they do. It is through their attitude and actions that they inspire others.

How can you be a leader today? In what areas of your life do you provide others with inspiration?

Bill Gates and Charity

Bill Gates is the world’s second richest man with an estimated personal wealth of $50 billion.

Although many will judge Bill Gates by how much he is worth, he should be acknowledged with what he does with his wealth.

Bill Gates has pledged $48 billion of his wealth to charity. He is keeping just $2 billion, $1 billion for himself and $1 billion for his wife, Melinda.

Furthermore, after July 2008, Bill Gates will spend the majority of his time working with the charity that he and his wife have set-up, bringing his skills and expertise to this philanthropic organisation.

Throughout history, we have seen men with great wealth do great things with their wealth. Andrew Carnegie had a simple philosophy that he would spend the first half of his life building wealth and the second half of his life giving it away to worthy causes.

As we enter another week where we work hard to earn money so that we can pay our bills and buy more material possessions, let us put our true wealth into perspective by asking how much of it we use to the betterment of humanity.

Clarity is Power

In Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill states that life is a fair employer and pays whatever wage you asked from it.

However, if you ask most people what they want from life, they will give very vague answers.

Some will say 'I want to be rich.' Others will say 'I want to be happy.' In general, most answers will be along this line.

If one looks at these answers, one sees that they are both 5 words long! What can one do with 5 words?

Imagine going into a shop and asking someone for something with just 5 words?

Would the response not be a look of confusion?

Most people however, are happy to live their lives according to a 5 word response. How then can they expect to get anything from life with just 5 words?

In life, clarity is power. When you know what you are looking for, it is much easier to find than when you merely have a vague idea of what you truly want from life.

If you have a clear idea of what you want, excellent motivation and an effective strategy, you will achieve any goal you set. If you are confused and have a very vague idea of what you want, how then will life know what to pay you? Clarity is power, get clear on what you want, channel your focus and energy towards achieving it and marvel at how easy success can be!

Communication: The Greatest Solution

The recent death of the former US President, Ronald Reagen, calls upon us to question his greatest achievement.

Reagen's greatest achievement was his involvement in ending the Cold War and to ease the frosty relationship between America and Russia.

Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet leader at the time, recalls the most important turning point in this great conflict.

It was not the signing of a treaty or an international conference, but simply the meeting of two men.

Gorbachev states that the turning point was when he met Ronald Reagan and Regan said to him that he understood how Russians perceived Americans and how Americans viewed Russians, but this does not work.

He then held out his hand and said that his name was Ron and asked Gorbachev if he could call him Mikhail.

It was through this friendship that the two men that was the first step towards resolving the Cold War and rebuilding American and Russian relations.

This story shows that no matter how large, important or threatening a problem can be, it can always be solved. Most of the problems that we face are either caused by ourselves or by others. A simple act of humility or honesty is all that is needed to resolve them. The truth is that very often, the solution is easy to find and easy to carry out, but it is merely our perceptions that make them difficult. Take some time to ponder a great issue that you resolved. How difficult was it to do so and how great would your life be if you resolved every other issue so resourcefully?

Crime Stoppers

In 1985, PC Keith Blakelock was murdered during riots in London. The police appealed for information but people were frightened of coming forward.

Michael Ashcroft, a businessman, offered to help with the search. He provided reward money and, in January 1988, set up a charity called Crime Stoppers where people could anonymously call in to help the police with either names of suspects or important information that could help to solve a crime.

Recently, Crime Stoppers received its one millionth genuine call.

The importance of Crime Stoppers cannot be underestimated. As a result of Crime Stoppers, 17 criminals are arrested and charged every day and one person is arrested and charged for murder every 5 days.

Crime Stoppers is an excellent example of how one man saw a problem and opened a charity that could help to solve it. The criminals it has caught, the victims who can now be satisfied that justice has been done and the increased security that UK citizens feel are all the result of one man's actions.

What issues in your community do you feel passionate about? Can you create a solution to help improve the situation?

Day of Light

On the 9th of March, Brazil celebrated a 'Day of Light.'

Created after a conversation between a group of dj's, video makers, advertisers and journalists, the Day of Light was created as a day in which people celebrated positivity.

One of the key objectives of the Day of Light was to encourage people to only buy newspapers or magazines which had at least one piece of good news on it.

Project Leader, Gabio K. Guimaraes, summarised the objective of the Day of Light. “Bad things do happen, and they do have to be brought to people’s attention, but there is also good news, which can inspire people and generate positive initiatives. We intend to make people aware of the fact that good news attracts good things and to propose more balance to the media."

Guimaraes also argues that many people stop watching the news and are ill-informed of global events simply because they do not want to be bombarded with negative news. By calling on the media to readdress the balance between the positive and negative news that it shows, one of the long term objectives of the Day of Light is to ultimately lead more people to be informed of what is happening in the world.

For more information on the Day Light, please click here:visit: On the 9th of March, Brazil celebrated a 'Day of Light.'

Created after a conversation between a group of dj's, video makers, advertisers and journalists, the Day of Light was created as a day in which people celebrated positivity.

One of the key objectives of the Day of Light was to encourage people to only buy newspapers or magazines which had at least one piece of good news on it.

Project Leader, Gabio K. Guimaraes, summarised the objective of the Day of Light. “Bad things do happen, and they do have to be brought to people’s attention, but there is also good news, which can inspire people and generate positive initiatives. We intend to make people aware of the fact that good news attracts good things and to propose more balance to the media."

Guimaraes also argues that many people stop watching the news and are ill-informed of global events simply because they do not want to be bombarded with negative news. By calling on the media to readdress the balance between the positive and negative news that it shows, one of the long term objectives of the Day of Light is to ultimately lead more people to be informed of what is happening in the world.

For more information on the Day Light, please click here.

Decisions

The decisions that we make determine the quality of our life. They determine which opportunities that we capitalise on and those that pass us by.

Donald Trump has an interesting view on decisions.

Whenever he has to make an important decision, he always asks two questions.

The first question that he asks is what is the worst case scenario.

The second question that he asks is can he handle it.

The next time that you are faced with an important decision or an interesting opportunity, ask yourself the following questions.

They are the foundation behind Donald Trump's success.

Making the right decisions is the first step towards success. One of the prerequisites of life is that in order to succeed, we need to grow. In order to do this, we need to make decisions that demand slightly more from us than we have available. By doing this, we grow in confidence and belief each time we complete something successfully. The trick behind decisions is to do something that expects more from you, but not something that is totally unrealistic. Donald Trump's two questions help you to determine which is which.

Eagles and Ducks

Wayne Dyer gives us a very interesting way to look at how we live our lives.

He says that there are two types of people, ducks and eagles.

Ducks are full of excuses. Whenever something goes wrong, they always need something to blame. They merely quack their excuses at you, without trying to fully understand your problem and without taking responsibility for their actions.

Eagles, however, live by the belief that they need to sore above the rest. They take each mistake as a learning opportunity and they welcome feedback. Eagles are constantly trying to see how they can do better and when someone has a complaint, they try to take that on board to better themselves.

Wayne Dyer gives an example of a McDonald's franchise owner who had an eagle personality. He noticed that many of his customers were old age pensioners and he asked them how he could better serve them. They told him that they had difficulty lining up and also bringing food to their tables. They requested that if someone took their order at the table and bought food to them, that would be very good.

The owner realised that there were certain times of the day when many elderly people would come to the restaurant. He then arranged happy hours around this so that elderly people would be served at their table during that time. As a result, the restaurant became considerably busier, simply because the owner had an open mind to the feedback of his customers.

The McDonald's franchise owner could easily have used the duck technique and said that in a fast food restaurant, this was not common place. However, by listening, he increased sales considerably.

Take some time today to live as an eagle. Try to soar above the expectations that others have. Do not be held down by rules and beliefs of how things are. In stead, try to find a solution where everyone benefits.

Failure and Thomas Eddison

Very often in life, we judge ourselves and others too quickly.

We draw conclusions about our own abilities and bind ourselves to these misinterpretations.

The truth is that failure is an important part of our lives.

It is through failing that we know where our strengths and weaknesses lie. Failure guides us towards the path of success.

We are often under the wrong impression that life is black and white. Life is success or failure.

In life, to succeed, we do not need to succeed every day at every thing. We just need to find the path that suits us best and is best suited to our abilities.

As we enter the new year, take some time to think of what you have called failures. Did they benefit you in anyway?

If so, then learn to be easier on yourself in regards to failing and remember that it is just as important as success.

One of the greatest inventors, Thomas Eddison, was once asked about his greatest invention, the lightbulb. It took him over 1,000 attempts to get the correct design and the lightbulb to work. He called it a 1,000 step process. He once said that success is 1% inspiration and 99% persevation. Very often, the greatest successes are also the greatest failures. Try, try and try. Think, plan and take action. This is the key to unlocking your ambitions.

Finding a Mentor

Anthony Robbins says that success leaves clues.

One of the big differences between normal people and successful people is that they understand this and use a very powerful concept called mentoring.

When Richard Branson first set-up Virgin Airlines, one of the first things he did was to contact a man who had experience in what he was trying to do. This man was Freddie Laker, who also launched a similar airline only a few years before and had considerable experience and expertise in this field.

Two days after contact Freddie Laker, Richard Branson and Laker were having lunch together and Freddie was sharing his experience and expertise with Branson, especially concerning how to compete with British Airways.

If that meeting had not occurred, then there is little doubt that Virgin Airlines would not be as successful as it is today.

The world’s most successful people have all used mentors to improve their chances of success. Plato’s mentor was Socrates, Alexander the Great’s mentor was Aristotle and the list goes on.

Which areas of your life do you need to improve? Could you find a mentor to help you with this? Always remember that a mentor does not need to be someone who is the best in the world at something, just someone who is getting the types of results that you want to get.

Five Years

The speaker Charlie 'Tremendous' Jones often teaches us the following:

"Five years from now, you will be the same as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read."

Charlie's philosophy is simple and it states that there are only two factors that affect how much we grow.

Charlie urges us to do two things. Firstly, he suggests that we find a peer group of people who have similar goals and ambitions to us, so that we can grow and share together. He urges us to attend seminars and networking events where we can find mentors and learn from people who have already achieved similar goals to the ones we have set ourselves.

Secondly, he states it might sometimes be hard to find mentors who have the time to share their advice with us. In many cases, however, these mentors would have either written a book or have been featured in a book. By reading this book, we can benefit from their experience and find the motivation that we need to turn our goals in to reality.

Take sometime today to look back over the past five years. Which people and books have influenced you the most?

In addition to this, take some time to think ahead. What are your goals? Is there a group where people with similar goals meet? Are there any books that you could buy that would give you expert and authorative advice to help you towards those goals?

French Government Measures Happiness

We live in an age of statistics and, more importantly, we are governed by governments who use statistics to make decisions.

The problem has often been that these statistics do not really reflect how we feel.

The French President Nicolas Sarkozy, however, is trying to change this. He wants to make the happiness of the French people one of the statistics that he uses when making decisions.

More importantly, he wants to make it a measurement of economic growth. Nicolas believes that there is a great contradiction in France at the moment because the statistics show that the economy, and life in general, are improving, but in reality for French people, life seems to be much harder than it was previously.

Therefore, by measuring happiness, Nicolas hopes to bridge this contradiction.

We live in a world where politicians are constantly trying to give us what we want so that we vote for them at the next election. Finally, a politician has realized that all we want is to live happy and trouble-free lives, and we are hopeful that Nicolas achieves this in France and that other nations apply a similar principle.

From Homework to Business

Ruth Amos is a student in Sheffield, England.

When she was 16, Ruth was given a piece of homework in her engineering class to design a product that they thought could be useful to people.

Ruth realised that her teacher's father had just had a stroke and decided to design something that would help him to become more mobile again.

Ruth designed the 'StairSteady' a device that provides people with help getting up and down stairs.

It is simply a bar that spans the width of the stair case and moves up and down with you, so that you can hold on to it and get extra balance and support.

A couple of years later, Ruth's idea has already won her many awards and she will soon be forming a company that sells and installs these systems, that are much smaller and cheaper than stair lifts.

Try following Ruth's example and find problems that you or others that you know face. This could lead to a new business idea and, consequently, improve the lives of many people.

From Railway Stations to Work

Every year, countless Indian children run away from their homes to escape abject poverty or torture by a step mother or step father.

Most of them end up in big cities, where they squat near to the railway stations to beg whenever trains with visitors come in.

For them it is a hard and unrewarding life.

The Vikas Jyot Trust, however, has decided to act to change this. Based in the city of Vadodara, this trust has so far helped more than 250 children.

The trust works to find these children work placements in local shops, restaurants and hotels. It also provides them with play areas and support.

The aim of the trust is to open doors for these children into jobs that will, ultimately, allow them to no longer need to rely on begging to make a living.

The Vikas Joyt Trust is the perfect example of visionaries trying to help the most needy part of their local society. Which part of your society needs your help the most and is there a way that you can help them?

Get Moving at Work Kits

Research by Medibank has shown that healthy employees are three times more productive than unhealthy ones.

Similar research has shown that unhealthy people take 18 days of annual sick leave, compared to just the 2 days that healthy people take.

As a result of this, the state of Tasmania in Australia has began to kit its workforce out with a 'Get Moving at Work' kit.

This kit has already proved successful for Zinifex Rosebery mine, which won an award for Best Workplace Health and Wellbeing Program.

Prior to joining this program, absenteeism cost the company 8 to 10 per cent of all labour costs. Furthermore, musco-skeletal injuries were contributing to 42 per cent of workplace injuries.

Since implementing the promotion of healthier living, these costs have been greatly lowered. Furthermore, the company has seen a transformation in its culture, specifically through increased morale and team work.

How highly does your company value your health and the health of your colleagues? How could you set about creating a healthier mentality at work?

Getting from A to Z

For many, the purpose of life is to turn their hopes and dreams into reality.

To put this into a familiar example, their aim is to get from A (hopes) to Z (reality).

Many people understand this concept. However, what they do not understand is how to get from A to Z.

Getting from A to Z is not a simple concept.

Before getting to Z, one must pass through B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X and Y first!

The reason why so few people turn their hopes (A) into reality (Z) is because they believe that this must all be accomplished in one giant and frightening step.

The truth is that it takes many smaller steps to get from A to Z. The first step is from A to B. Then comes B to C. This is followed by C to D etc.

Finally, one gets from Y to Z and the long-term objective is complete.

Take some time to look at your long-term goals. Are you expecting to achieve them in one giant step? If so, invest some time in the exercise on the right hand side.

On a sheet of paper, write the letters A to Z down the vertical axis. 1) Next to Z, write down the ultimate objective. 2) Next to A, write down where you currently are. 3) Besides B, write down the first step you need to take. 4) Next to C, write down the second step. As you work down the alphabet, you will find that there are gaps between the last action and the goal(Z). Leave this empty because as you progress, you will discover further steps that still need to be taken. 5) Once you have your list of milestones, show it to someone who has already achieved your goal or compare it to the biography of someone who is where you are. By doing this, you will be able to judge the validity of the path that you have set before you. 6) Once you have a plan with various steps, go from A to B, then B to C in smaller steps. You will find that you will reach Z with a lot more ease and satisfaction than if you would have jumped straight from A to Z!

Gray's Anatomy

This year marks the 150th anniversary of Gray's Anatomy, a text book that has been used by millions of medical students and has also been referred to in research to find cures for countless diseases.

Gray's Anatomy is a book which has detailed illustrations and descriptions of all parts of the human body. Henry Gray and his assistants spent 18 months dissecting the human body in order to create the most detailed drawings and descriptions of the human body so far.

In fact, it was these drawings that were the main reason for the success of Gray's Anatomy.

Unlike most medical text book which have small illustrations and where parts of the human body are referred to by a number system, Gray's Anatomy was the first text book to use illustrations that were large enough to have the actual names of the muscles, veins, bones and organs on there.

As a result of this, medical students found studying much easier. They no longer had to refer to the index to find what a number referred to. In stead, it was clearly illustrated for them.

Gray's Anatomy is a perfect example of progress. The revolutionary drawings are the main reason why it is still seen as an authority in the medical world and is owned by literally every medical student and doctor in the world.

The next time you or a loved one needs to visit a doctor, remember the story of Gray's Anatomy and the 18 months of detailed drawing and dissecting that went into creating the book that, ultimately, was the backbone of the course that trained your doctor.

How do you Solve Problems?

There are two ways to solve problems. The first is the Western Way and the second is the Eastern Way.

In the Western Way of solving problems, the key is to have as much information as you can.

This can be from your experience, from the experience of others and from theoretical knowledge.

In the Eastern Way of solving problems, the key is to have an empty mind.

By doing this, your decisions and actions are not affected by past mistakes and external influences.

In the Western Way of solving problems, you go and search for answers. In the Eastern Way, you let the answer find you, with your purpose being to be ready to recieve it.

Each problem and each situation is different. For some, the Western Way is best. For others, the Eastern Way is best.

How do you solve problems? Why not try a different way to solve them and see if it produces better results for you.

How much time do you waste waiting?

How much time do you spend waiting each day? Studies in America find that the average American spends between 42 to 60 minutes each day waiting, whether it is in traffic, cuing up or on hold.

Lisa Hepner, from Oregon, USA, has set up a campaign that challenges us to spend this time better. She says that we should use this to meditate and has set up a Don’t Wait – Meditate campaign that she hopes will enable people to live calmer and healthier lives.

Surveys have showed that people all over the world know the benefits ofmeditation but most people say that they do not have the time for it. Lisa hopes that by encouraging people to denote some of the idle time that they spend waiting to meditation, the benefits can be enjoyed by all.

As an experiment, why not see how much time you spend waiting each day. Could
you use this time better? Could you use it to meditate?

To find out more about Lisa Hepner’s Meditation Challenge, click here.

Human Doings

Richard Carlson used to have a phrase that is very appropriate for modern day living.

He would often say that we are no longer human beings, we have become human doings.

We have been conditioned by society to always have to be doing something, whether it is working, watching television or any one of numerous things that we fill our time with.

As a result, we have lost our ability to just be. We find it difficult to sit alone for a few minutes in peace and quiet.

Some people even get frustrated waiting a couple of minutes at the traffic lights!

Today, make a conscious effort to be a human being in stead of a human doing. There will be times when you have nothing to do. There will be times when you are waiting. In stead of trying to fill those moments finding something to do, or worse thinking of everything that you have to do, enjoy them and just be.

John Bird

The first few years of John Bird's life read like this. Homeless at five, in and out of orphanages between seven and ten and in and out of prison during his teens and twenties.

However, in his late twenties, John decided to turn his life around. He set-up a business and began to live a conventional life.

At the age of 45, John set up a magazine called The Big Issue.

This magazine is written and edited by journalists but is sold by homeless people on the street and is a way for them to have an income.

John helps homeless people change their lives by first helping them take small steps. The first step is to show up regularly to training sessions and meetings. The second step is to start taking pride in their appearance and presentation. He then encourages them to start selling the product and regularly working towards making consistent sales so that they can develop a good income and, eventually, afford a place to live.

John Bird understands that the secret to success is to start by taking small steps and building momentum. It is how he changed his life and how he encourages the homeless people that he works with to change their lives as well.

Late Achievers

Did you know that Ray Kroc, the founder of McDonalds did not sell his first hamburger until he was in his fifties? Did you know that Charles Darwin did not publish his first book until he was almost 50? Did you know that Colonel Sanders did not franchise the first KFC until he was in his sixties?

We live in a society which is youth focused. We are led to believe that only young people have the opportunities to turn their dreams into reality?

Whenever we turn to the media, we see only portrayals of either young people who are doing great things or old people who did great things when they were young. We rarely see old people who are being recognized for achieving late in life.

Due to this, many people tend to give up on their dreams as the years pass. They believe that their time has gone and that they must settle for the hand that they were dealt. They do not realize that there is still time to fulfill goals.

Which long-standing goals do you have that you feel you are too old to achieve? As we enter a new week, make a promise to yourself to achieve a goal that you had given up on achieving.

Walt Disney once said that it is never too late to fulfill a childhood dream. The truth is that it is never too late to fulfill any dream.

Levi Strauss and Failure

In the 1850's, Levi Strauss went to California with the dream of becoming rich in the gold rush.

Unfortunately, Levi did not find gold and could easily have abandoned his dreams of wealth.

Levi, however, changed his strategy and tried a different approach. He saw that all of the miners needed comfortable and durable clothing and started work on creating jeans.

Levi created these by initially sewing canvas together. This grew more and more popular and Levi Strauss expanded very quickly.

As a result of this, Levi Strauss was able to build a multi-national business that is still successful today.

Which areas of your life are not working out as planned? How can you change your strategy like Levi Strauss did, so that you can turn these areas into a success?

Failure is not uncommon. Studies show that, on average, we all fail 70% of the time. What is more important is how you use those failures to help you towards success.

Measuring Your Own Goals

One of the biggest reasons why people fail is because they measure their own goals and results in comparison to others.

If they have run 20 minutes, they will feel discouraged that their friend has run for 45 minutes. If they have made $500 profit, they will feel disappointed that they have not made as much as their competitor who has made $700.

We have learnt to do this in school. If someone gets 9 A's and we only get 5, we often do not measure how successful we have been in achieving 5 A's. In stead, we compare our achievement to that of the person who achieved 10 A's.

As we go on through life, the same happens. If we earn $45,000, we often see it as less than our sibling who earns more. If we have a car that is perfectly running, we often compare it to that of our neighbour who has a Mercedes.

By living your life like this, you will never find happiness as there will always be someone who is smarter, richer, quicker, fitter and more good looking than you are.

Anthony Robbins used to suffer from this. When his book would sell a million copies, he would be discouraged that it did not sell five million like Jim Rohn and Brian Tracy's books sold. He then started to look at it from a different angle and saw that Jim Rohn and Brian Tracy had been doing this for 20 years more than he had. In stead Tony started to get excited by where he could be when he had that much more experience behind him!

Only Results

Whenever we do something, we do not succeed or fail. We simply produce results.

What this means is that our actions produce results and then we decide whether or not these results are what we wanted. If they are, then we have succeeded. If they are not, then we have failed.

By understanding the fact that you decide whether a result has been a success or a failure can be enlightening.

It allows you to look back at your past and see how well you have judged the results previously.

What results did you deem to be successful at the time but now, with hindsight, realise were not really the cases. Similarly, what did you get disappointed with in the past that actually proved to do you good?

Take some time to look back and see how well you have judged success and failure in the past? By understanding how well you have judged it in the past, you can work on becoming a better judge of success and failure in the future.

Opportunities - The Difference Between Success and Failure

The difference between success and failure is simply how you interpret the result.

The chemist who invented the Post-It Notes that most people cannot live without is a prime example of this.

At the time, the chemist was working on a solvent that was so strong that once used, it would last forever and could not be pried apart.

However, once the chemist had attempted to invent this solvent, all of his results produced a weak glue that was literally the opposite of what he was aiming for.

Most people, at this point, would give up on their ambition. However, the chemist asked an intelligent question and found an interesting use for his new solvent, the glue used in Post-It notes.

Success and failure are often very hard to seperate.

The only difference is individual perspective and an intelligent question such as what is good about this?

We have very little control over what happens to us, but we have full control over how we interpret everything that happens to us. History is filled with examples of people who wanted one result but got another and, through this, found something of great importance. Whenever you are faced with a circumstance or result that is not what you expected, try asking yourself the following questions, what is good about this? How can this be of use? What can I learn from this to help me in the future?

Perception

Life is a melee of emotions and problems.

The secret to effectively handling each problem is to react with the right emotion and to the right intensity.

Abraham Maslow once said: "To the man who only has a hammer in the toolkit, every problem looks like a nail."

It is estimated that there are over 1,000 emotions that we can experience.

However, most of us only feel a handful of these on a habitual basis.

There is great wisdom in the rule that states that if you are in the right emotional state, the best solution to every problem will present itself to you.

Take some time to think of the emotions you feel consistently. Are there some that you have not felt in a long time? Are there some that you have not felt at all? If so, experience them for real.

The reason why human beings are so much more developed than animals is due to our ability to think rationally. The process of rational thought is nothing more than justifying whether we have attached the correct emotion to a certain stimulus, either on a personal or a social level. It therefore follows that to live rationally, one must implement this and react with the right emotion, to the right intensity and at the right time. To say this is easy. To do it is difficult.

Perseverance

In life, there is very little that separates those who achieve their goals and those who do not.

Colonel Sanders, the creator of the Kentucky Fried Chicken company used to own a small restaurant.

When he was 65, he was told that he could no longer keep his restaurant as a road was going to be built straight through it!

Colonel Sanders did not know what to do as he was going to lose his restaurant at such an old age. He decided that the best way forward was to sell his recipe, which his customers loved.

Colonel Sanders went around America trying to sell his recipe. In the day, he would be visiting people trying to sell. In the night, he would sleep in his car. This went on for over a year when, finally, after countless sales pitches, he finally sold his recipe and KFC was born.

What led to the Colonel's success was simply his perseverance. He kept believing that the next attempt could be the one that leads to his desired result. Finally, he achieved it.

As Ross Perot once said: "Most people give up just when they're about to achieve success. They quit on the one yard line. They give up at the last minute of the game one foot from a winning touchdown."

The greatest successes in life are not always the most able people. They are the people with the self-belief and persistence to continue on and on, until the opportunity that they need appears before them. They always believe that their next attempt could be the one that succeeds. Take some time to think about something you gave up on. Persevere to get it done. By doing so, you will find a deeper level of satisfaction.

Plan to be Surprised

In the movie Dan in Real Life, the lead character gives the following advice:

“Instead of telling our young people to plan ahead, we should tell them to plan to be surprised.”

We are often told by our parents, teachers and managers to plan ahead and schedule our time.

Although this has its advantage, it can often cause us stress and frustration when things do not go as planned.

This is because we need to take time out to sort this out and, ultimately, will need to sacrifice some of our objectives in order to do this.

Today, try to use a slightly different approach. Plan to be surprised. Schedule some time to deal with something unexpected. This way, you will be able to deal with it more effectively and have less stress.

Potential Power

We live in the Information Age. We live in an age in which we know more today than we ever did before.

Throughout history, people have believed that the only thing that is needed is knowledge. The belief has always been that any problem can be resolved with more knowledge.

The truth, however, is that knowledge is not enough. It is merely potential power.

The true power comes when you know what to do and you actually do it.

In an age where knowledge surrounds us and is accessible at the click of a button, it is no longer the greatest commodity.

Take some time to think back to when you learned something profound that could lead to potential results for you.

How much has merely knowing it actually helped you? What would happen if you actually applied what you learn?

Knowledge is only potential power. If you do not use it you are actually more ignorant than the person who does not know about it in the first place. We live in an age where the currency of success is no longer knowledge. It is simply upon acting upon what you know intelligently and with perseverance.

Putting Your Fans First

Ricky Hatton is one of the best boxers in the world.

Having one six world titles over two weight divisions, Ricky can easily be the top bill fighter at any boxing event.

Recently, however, Ricky has turned down a big money offer to fight in America. In stead, he will have his next fight in Manchester.

The reason that Ricky has done this is so that the fight is at a suitable time for his British fans to watch and support him, as opposed to being shown at 2 am where most will not.

Ricky explained his reasoning behind this by saying the following: "It's for the fans that have supported me from day one back in England, Great Britain and Manchester, who probably thought maybe they had lost the chance to see me fight again here live."

Ricky says that his ultimate goal is to become a fan's favourite and a people's champion.

By putting his fans before a lucrative offer to fight in America, he is proving that he already is.

Rewards

Napolean Hill once wrote these magical words:

"When riches begin to come they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding during all those lean years."

One of the great miracles of life is how quickly success accumulates into more success.

In terms of financial success, it is a known fact that Bill Gates, the world's richest man, became a self-made millionaire within a year. This is true of the nine other richest men alive.

Similarly, this can be applied to almost every other area in life. In sport, one great performance often leads to a rich vein of form. A creative idea often leads to a string of creativity.

Success results in success consciousness. Once you are aware that you can succeed and how good it feels to succeed, momentum develops and suddenly all of the obstacles that held you back are no longer of significance.

Take some time to look back at your life. Is this fact not true? What veins of success have you found and how can you find them again?

Throughout life, we are told that in order to succeed, all we need to do is to work long and hard. This is simply not true. All we need to do is to develop an effective strategy, an absolute and commitment and the mentality of success consciousness. If one is to study life, one key fact will be found. Those who have achieved the most have achieved it in a surprisingly short period of time. They have unleashed a power within themselves that draws the right ideas, the right situations, the right people and the right opportunities to them like a magnet.

Richard Branson and Challenges

Richard Branson is a man who has developed a habit of accepting and completing difficult challenges.

His first big challenge came when he was four years old and on a family holiday.

Richard wanted to swim but did not know how. His aunty bet him 10 shillings that he could not learn to swim during the two weeks that they had on holiday.

Richard spent a large part of the holiday in the cold sea learning to swim.

By the time that the holiday had ended and the family was preparing to head home, Richard had not yet won the bet.

On the way home, however, Richard spotted a small river and asked his parents to stop the car. He then changed into his swimming trunks and swam across it, winning the bet and the 10 shillings.

This determination to accept and complete challenges has enabled Richard Branson to be successful in almost all that he does. His attitude is simply to work at a challenge until it is done. Even if the period of time assigned to it is nearly over, Richard still works to achieve it.

How many challenges have you had in your life that you have given up on and how many are there that you have completed? The answer to your success will lie in the answer to this question.

Smile

Perhaps some of the simplest advice I have ever been given is to smile.

Smiling is much more than a simple action, it has great psychological benefit.

When you smile, you are actually using over 80 muscles in your face.

As a result of this change in physiology, almost everything about the way you feel changes.

Napolean Hill wisely said that you should smile when you least feel like doing so.

This is because your state will be changed when it most needs to be.

Just for a day, wear a smile. You will be glad that you did.

There is a simple exercise that highlights the power that the act of smiling has on your emotional state. This simple exercise goes like this. 1) Put a big, smirky, funny, eye-wide smile on your face and 2) without changing any muscles of your face or any intesnity with which you are smiling, try to think of something depressing. If you did this exercise correctly, you will find that it is physically impossible to do this. Take sollace from this fact and learn that the easiest way to be happy is to smile.

Spending Time with Youngsters

The University of Iowa recently did a study where they placed some fast aging fruit flies with young flies, whilst keeping the remaining elderly flies in a different group.

The results were striking as the fast aging flies that were placed with young ones lived twice as long as the flies in the other control group.

They also tested better for physical responses and dealing with changed environments.

The researchers concluded that the results "provide a definitive case of beneficial social interaction on lifespan and a useful entry point for analysing the underlying molecular networks and physiological mechanisms."

As we enter the weekend, schedule some time to spend with younger people. You will not only feel younger and have fun, but also live longer as a result.

Starbury

For many young people today, their heroes are sports stars. They try to look, act and behave like them.

The marketing departments of many large companies have seen this and signed multi-million dollar contracts with those sports stars to help them promote their expensive clothing lines.

Stephon Marbury, however, is an NBA star who does not agree with this.

Stephon had a difficult upbringing where money was tight. As a result of this, he often did not get the Nike Air Jordan shoes that he always wanted.

When he would ask his mother to buy him $150 shoes, she would simply reply by saying that that $150 was grocery money.

This lesson has stuck with Stephon.

Today, Stephon is one of the stars of the New York Knicks NBA team.

He has had the opportunity to sign multi-million dollar sportswear deals. However, he has not.

In stead, Stephon has set up his own sports line where the clothes that he wears are affordable to everyone. His shoes are $15 and some items are under $10.

Stephon is, in essence, a true hero. Even though he has risen to the top, he has not forgotten the lessons that he was taught when he was young. More importantly, as well as being a basketball hero to millions of people, he is also inspiring millions to value money by ensuring that it is spent the right way.

Stimulus and Response

A law of Physics states that for every action there is a reaction. This applies to life as well.

Dr. Stephen Covey, author of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, states that in between stimulus and response, there is always a vacant space.

This period of time, however minute, is created for human beings to think about their actions before actually reacting.

This is a time to evaluate and to decide and, most importantly, to choose the correct response.

However, in today's busy world, many people lose this concept. They react to everything immediately, with little thought and little consideration.

In their urgency to get more done, they forget to evaluate their response. In the fast-paced and stresssful world that we live in, they have conditioned themselves to react.

One of the most important things that anyone can do is to learn to master that short period of time between stimulus and response. To do this is to be in control of life.

How reactive are you? Do you consider the effects of your words before you say them? Do you consider the consequences of your actions before doing them? Do you have a strategy as to what you want to achieve, so that you can measure everything that happens to see if they are supporting your goals or working against them? If you have answered no to these questions, take some time to slow down. Just for one day, count to 3 before saying anything. Count to 3 before doing anything. By doing this, you will begin to train your mind to think and evaluate before it acts, a skill that will allow you to be proactive in life and not simply reactive to all that happens around you.

The Butterfly Effect and Planning

The Butterfly Effect is simply the understanding that small changes can have a dramatic effect over time.

Let us examine a few examples. What would have happened if the bullet from Lee Harvey Oswald's gun was half an inch off-target and missed John F. Kennedy in stead of killing him? What would have happened if Mark David Chapman's bullet missed John Lennon? What would have happened if the Gunpowder Plot had been stopped? How would the world be different if the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11 was stopped?

Although these are significant events from history, the same principle applies to each of our lives?

What would have happened if you sat next to someone different in school and made a different best friend? What would have happened if you were ten minutes late for your job interview and did not get your current job? There are countless questions like this for each and every one of us.

One of the greatest lessons that the Butterfly Effect can teach us is that there are too many small and subtle changes that can happen and alter our lives to allow us to make solid plans for the future.

This is one of the reasons why meteorologists cannot predict the weather more than seven days ahead, because there are so many different factors can affect the weather in the next few days.

We live in a society in which speculating, planning and worrying about the future has become second-nature. One of the key characteristics of successful people is that they have the understanding that the future can be affected by many variables and, as a result, they will never be able clearly define it. They simply have an attitude that allows them to adapt their thoughts, behavior and strategy as the future unfolds before them.

As we begin the week, make a commitment to live flexibly and with the understanding that small and subtle changes that have occurred in the past might gather the momentum to have a significant affect on the events of this week.

Similarly, also commit to realizing that you have the ability to set in to action something that might seem small now, but in a week, a month or a year, might have a significant effect on your life.

The Greatest Speech

Napoleon Hill is an author and speaker who has changed the lives of millions of people worldwide.

One night, Napoleon Hill was attending an awards banquet for the Chase National Insurance Company.

Following the meal, Napoleon Hill stood up to address the crowd.

At this point in his life, Napoleon Hill was an elderly man and the crowd could clearly notice this.

However, this would not deter Napoleon Hill.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have given this speech hundreds and hundreds of times in my life. But tonight am going to deliver it the best it has ever been given. This is going to be the best speech of my life!" Napoleon Hill explained.

As Napoleon Hill gave his speech, his audience remained captivated and inspired.

Napoleon Hill set himself up to win in this situation. Due to his commitment and his attitude, he did.

If you approach something with an attitude that it will fail, it most likely will. If you approach it with the attitude that it will succeed, it probably will. Now, imagine going into something with the attitude that you will do something better than it has ever been done before. Will this not unlock deeper powers of commitment, energy, concentration and thought that will lead to it being completed brilliantly. For today, adopt this attitude. Commit to making today the best day of your life and live the best day of your life. Live better than you ever had before. Just see how this change in attitude affects your day.

The Past and the Future

Since the Second World War, Japan has become one of the most modern hi-tech countries in the world.

However, what is more surprising is how Japan holds on to its strong heritage and its past.

One way that Japan does this is by rebuilding some of its temples every 20 years.

This process fully uses traditional skills and methods that were used when the temples were first constructed, with the simple objective of ensuring that those skills are passed down through generations.

In a globalised world where cultures and people are becoming more uniform, it is important that each culture retains its identity.

Japan, for example, is one of the countries that champion this cause. More importantly, it is proof that one can be economically successful and retain elements of its traditional heritage and identity.

We are living in a globalised world. No matter which country we go to, we see the same restaurants, the same television shows, the same shops and, more importantly, surprisingly similar characteristics in people of all races. The truth is that we are losing are cultural identity in a globalised world. The amazing part of this equation is that the cultural identity that was so important that it led to so many wars in the past is now being so easily handed over to the alluring temptation of uniformality. This is something that simply cannot happen.

The Peace Sign

On Friday, the Peace Sign celebrated its 50th birthday.

The Peace Sign was designed by artist Gerald Holtom in London, for an anti-war protest that he was attending.

The symbol was printed on clothing and signs and just 10 days later, a photo in Life magazine made this is a famous sign.

Although Gerald could have trademarked this symbol, he deliberately did not so that it could be used by people all over the world.

Throughout history, several symbols have become famous for various different things. The swastika has been associated with Nazi Germany, the V-Sign with victory and the peace sign with the struggle for peace.

What symbols play a significant part in your life? If you were to symbolise yourself as a symbol, what would it be?

The Power of Ideas

As Ralph Waldo Emerson once wrote, "One single idea may have greater weight than the labour of all men, animals and engines for a century."

Similarly, there is a proverb that says:

If you would plant for day, plant flowers. If you would plant for years, plant trees. If you would plant for eternity, plant ideas.

The power of ideas cannot be understated. In the past, history has been changed by single ideas. Similarly, the future will be changed by ideas.

An idea is an awakening that strives to improve the current situation. It is born through a combination of wisdom, experience, ideals and beliefs.

A powerful idea is such that when it is heard, seen or read, it can literally change another person by changing the way they see themselves or the world.

History is full of brilliant men who have produced brilliant ideas. It is our duty to find them and to apply them to our situation.

Similarly, just discovering one new idea and applying it can have a similar effect on an individual.

Ideas are the currency of the mind. However, unlike money, they increase with value each time they are shared and rediscovered. The power of an idea is such that in an instant it can change the way we have looked at the past or the way in which we anticipate the future. It can change our relationship with everything and our attitude to almost anything that exists. Take some time to learn new ideas. This can be done in countless ways, from watching a documentary to attending a seminar. By doing so, you may find an idea that changes everything for you.

The Power of the Team

Lee Iacocca once said, "Motivation is everything. You can do the work of two people, but you can't be two people. Instead, you have to inspire the next guy down the line and get him to inspire his people."

In life, no matter who we are and no matter how motivated we are, we can only do one person's work.

We all have 24 hours in a day and share the limitations that all human beings share.

Successful people understand their limitations and that they only have limited resources. They spend their time motivating others to help achieve their own goals.

No team is successful without Motivation. No leader is successful unless he inspires others. No manager is successful unless he motivates those below him.

It is through the power of teams that organisations and individuals achieve remarkable results in short periods of time.

The secret of successful teams is simple, everyone motivates everyone else.

Alone we have limited time and limited resources. As a team, our time and resources are literally infinite. Which one do you think has more chance of success? Throughout history, teams united in their purpose have achieved more than individuals on their own. The secret to successful teams, however, is motivation and that everyone motivates everyone else.

The Power of Words

By choosing the right word, we can effectively communicate our needs, goals, fears and problems.

The problem is that most people have a vocabulary of a few thousand words.

When one considers that in the English Language there are between one and half to one and three quarter million words, we can see that there is a problem here.

Most adults know only 2 per cent of the language.

Take some time to look up three new words in the dictionary.

When someone asks you how you are feeling, why not respond by saying veracious? When someone asks you if you understand this, tell them that you are perplexed.

By enhancing your vocabulary you are literally opening up yourself to experience life in many different ways.

Imagine that there are three men who have all heard some bad news. The first man is furious. The second man is outraged. The third man is peeved. Which of the three would you rather be. Most people would want to be 'peeved'. The words that we use have a direct influence on the emotions that we feel. By improving your vocabulary and filling it with empowering words, you will see an immediate effect on how you live your life.

The Successful Charity

There are very few charities that actually stop taking donations because they have fulfilled their objectives.

Recently, a charity called Kiva announced that it had done just that.

Kiva helps people make micro-loans to budding entrepreneurs in developing countries.

Recently, Kiva announced that all of the businesses and budding entrepreneurs that were asking for funding had received the funding that they required. This, for example, included a Nigerian restaurateur who required $450 to buy new equipment and a Samoan farmer who required $330 for livestock.

In total, Kiva raised over $19.5 million to help 220,000 businesses and individuals.

In a world where the gulf between the richest nations and the poorest nations is growing rapidly, it is refreshing to see that we have finally, in one small way, succeeding in everybody that needs helping.

The Value of Honesty

Reggie Damone is a low-income worker who receives government-issued food stamps and works in a McDonald's restaurant.

One morning, he was searching for a piece of paper to write a phone number on and came across an envelope that had a cheque for $185,000 in it.

For Reggie, this amount of money could easily have paid his bills for many years and would have changed his life. However, Reggie did not cash this cheque, he simply remembered the wise words his mother had taught him as a child: If you take something, you lose three times that amount —and if you do something good, something good comes back to you.

In stead of cashing the cheque, Reggie went by bus to the lady that the cheque was for, his landlord’s niece, and handed it to her. The lady rewarded Reggie with a $50 note.

Throughout the entire incident, Reggie did not once think about gaining from this situation. In fact, even if the value of the cheque was for a million dollars, Reggie would have still done the same thing.

We live in an age where we judge a person’s worth by what he or she has. However, the true value of a person is, and always will be, the amount that they are willing to give up just to be true to their core beliefs.

Thomas Edison and Starting Anew

We are all aware of the fact that it took Thomas Edison over 1,000 failures to succeed in inventing the light bulb. What is more amazing is an incident that took place later on in his life.

At the age of 67, his ‘fireproof’ factory burned down. As the factory was burning down, Thomas Edison’s son, Charles, was frantically searching for his father.

When Charles found his father, he expected to see an upset man who had lost the work of many years. However, Charles later recalls the following of when he first found his father.

"Here he was, 67 years old, and everything he had worked for was going up in flames. When he saw me, he shouted, 'Charles! Where's your mother?' When I told him I didn't know, he said, 'Find her! Bring her here! She'll never see anything like this as long as she lives.'"

The next morning, Thomas spoke to his son Charles and taught him the following lesson. Thomas said that "there's value in disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God, we can start anew."

What situations in your life have given you the chance to start anew?

Time Management

Charles Schwab was one of the greatest entrepeneurs of the 20th century.

One day, however, he was taught a lesson that even he found impressive.

A consultant by the name of Ivy Lee approached Schwab and said that he had an idea that would literally transform both his life and that of his company, Bethlehem Steel.

Ivy told Schwab that he did not have to pay for this idea. If he found it useful, then he could pay Ivy the sum that he thought warranted the idea. Schwab agreed to this deal.

Ivy Lee's idea was simple. Everyday, take six tasks that need to be done. Place them on an Index card and try your best to complete these tasks during the day.

More importantly, place these six tasks in an order according to importance and start by trying to complete the first task and then move on to the second and so on.

This idea proved effective for both Schwab and his business. He paid Ivy Lee one million dollars for it.

Time is our most valuable asset. If you learn to master just one area of your life, master Time Management because by doing so you will create opportunities to soon master other things as well. One of the main reasons that people fail with time management is that they focus on doing tasks that are not beneficial and do not take them to where they want to go. Follow Ivy Lee's advice and focus on completing the six key tasks that you need to do most. Once that is done, the rest of the day is simply your reward for being so productive!

Tithing

The world-famous investor, Sir John Templeton, is a strong believer in tithing.

He once said that he does not know anybody who had consistently given away 10% of their income to charity for at least 10 years to have received this much back, ten-fold.

Templeton believes that when you reach out to help others financially, you invariably get back much more than you put in.

Templeton advises us all to give away at least 10 per cent of our income to charity and to helping people that we value.

He states that many people say that they will start to give when they have a bigger income. Templeton argues that if you cannot give a small amount from a small income, how will you be able to give a bigger amount from a bigger income?

Today, make a decision to tithe. Give a small amount of money away to a charity that is close to your heart. See how rich it makes you feel. More importantly, see how this positive energy helps you to gain more in the near future.

True Wealth

True wealth has nothing to do how much you have. It concerns only that which you value.

The Chinese Philosopher, Lao Tzu, once said, "Be content with what you have, rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."

We live in a world in which we are constantly told that our purpose is to gain and achieve more.

In truth, this is not true. To live according to this will only result in feelings of insufficiency.

True wealth does not come from increasing your lot. It comes from appreciating what you have.

As the Ancient Jewish text, the Talmud, tells us, "Who is rich? He who rejoices in his portion."

Imagine what this world would be like if everyone was content with they had, in stead of upset at what they lack?

One of the most difficult things that any one can do is to go a full day without saying that they want to get something or another when, in truth, it is not really important if they had it. Count how many times a day you desire something that is not crucial to your life. It will surprise you and, more importantly, it will spur you on to try surviving on only what you have for one single day and appreciating just how many resources are at your command.

Victim Society

We live in a society where being has a victim has become the latest trend.

To see evidence of this, simply look at the television schedule and see how many programs there are that are similar to Jerry Springer, in which people compete to tell everyone how bad their lives are.

Unfortunately, this victim culture is spreading beyond our televisions and into our lives. Politicians, marketers and celebrities are seeing this as a way to win votes, influence and business. Tony Blair, for example, once announced how he had to sleep on the streets of London for one night when he was trying to get a record contract with his band when he was young. We hear similar stories daily about how celebrities are struggling to lose that extra pound of fat etc.

By seeing that successful people are victims, we have conditioned ourselves to believe that it is acceptable and, in some ways, cool to be a victim. As a result, we spend more and more time complaining to others about how difficult our life is to our friends and family.

More importantly, we spend more and more time convincing ourselves that we have more problems than, in reality, we do have.

Make it a habit to try and reduce the amount of victim shows that you watch. In stead, count all of the blessings and the success that you have. By doing this, you will be amazed by how quickly some of the problems that you have conditioned yourself to believe are true, will disappear.

Wealth - The Indian Way

The Ancient Indian text, the Upanishads, speaks wisely of wealth:

"He took abundance, from abundance and abundance remained."

Whereas economics in the West is ruled by a zero-sum rule, where money lost is forever lost and every penny has to be hard-earned, the Eastern perspective is different.

Whilst Western Economics is based on financial value, Eastern Economics is based on a deeper sense of value.

Furthermore, Western perspectives on wealth are based on financial acquisition, whilst Eastern values are based on contribution.

It is often beneficial to redefine our core-beliefs. We need to realise that there is enough in the world for us all and to shift our focus onto giving and not acquiring.

This realization of abundance is the foundation to feeling truly wealthy. It teaches you to focus on the real values of life.

When were you happiest in your life?

The CEO of Google, Eric Schmidt, was once asked the following question:

When were you most happiest in your life?

Schmidt's answer was very simple. He said 'tomorrow'.

Some of us live with the belief that the happiest days of our lives have passed. As a result of this, we lose our joy for living and often spend time reflecting on the past.

Schmidt's answer is one of hope and anticipation. He believes that his happiest time has not passed. Similarly, it is not years away. It is, quite simply, around the corner.

Try adapting Schmidt's philosophy and see how it immediately adds joy to your life.

Women in the Workplace

One of the most significant events of the last century was the First World War, where millions of soldiers were called to war.

As a result of labour shortages, a large amount of women went into full-time employment to fill the empty factories and shops and strengthen a depleted labour force.

In the UK alone, a staggering 2 million women went into full-time employment.

As a result of this exdous, the workplace has changed forever.

Whereas the Pre First World War workplace was a man's world that was organised, rigid and strict, the impact of such a large number of women in the workplace meant that it had to adapt to this.

The workplace, today, has become flexible, understanding and tolerable. All of this is the result of the larger and larger number of women in the workplace.

As we begin to live in a globalised world in which transport is easy and people are willing to relocate, we are seeing a new evolution in the workplace, whereby different nationalities and cultures are influencing the way in which we all work today.

We are often at work so long and so regularly that we fail to see how the workplace is changing. The truth, however, is that it is chaning at a dramatic rate. Different influences are affecting the workplace to a greater degree than ever before. Take a few moments to contemplate how your working environment has evolved and reflect on its evolution. What would your working environment be like five years from now?

Your Legacy

In his book, the Eighth Habit, Stephen Covey says that there are four key parts to love.

These are to live, to love, to learn and to leave a legacy.

Throughout the last few years, many leading social figures have started to contemplate leaving a legacy.

Bill Gates, for example, has pledge $48 billion of his $50 billion fortune to charity. Similarly, Simon Cowell has pledged to donate $180 million of his $200 million fortune to charity after his death.

As we enter the weekend, take some time to contemplate what legacy you will leave this world. It may not be a financial legacy, but might be a great piece of art, a beautiful garden, a website that you have donated a lot of time and care to or, quite simply, some beautiful children who will go on to add happiness to many lives.

Once you have decided what your legacy will be, take some time to imagine how much benefit the world will get from it. This, ultimately, will make you realise just how important you are in the grand scheme of life.

Zero Emission City

Plans are in place to build the world's first zero emissions city near Abu Dhabi, UAE.

The goal is that this city, which will be named Masdar City and will have 50,000 residents, will be fully run on solar energy and will have no cars. The goal is to not add a single extra molecule of carbon dioxide.

The city will be based on ten key principles which are: zero carbon, zero waste, sustainable transport, sustainable materials, sustainable food sources, sustainable water, respect for habitat and local wildlife, respect for local heritage and culture, fair trade products in shops and events to promote healthy living for all residents.

The concept behind the city has already won several awards and construction will hopefully begin in the next few months.

2008 has already seen many great efforts towards climate change with both Australia and China severely limiting the number of plastic bags that they use through large government initiatives to limit the production and distribution of plastic bags. With the news of the world's first zero emissions city, 2008 promises to be our most successful year in dealing with climate change.