TAKE THE HIGH ROAD

How to Take the High Road By eHow Health Editor You may have faced moments when you want nothing more than to react loudly when somebody pushes your buttons. Taking the high road will keep the peace. It's the best way to handle conflict and maintain your own moral high  ground. If somebody is giving you flack, here are a few tips to staying zen. Step 1 Take a deep breath. In for five, out for five. Close your eyes to get the full effect. Repeat if necessary until you feel like you're back into control.   Step 2 Smile. Look the person directly in the eye and give them a knowing smile. Usually, people find this disarming and want to smile back. Sometimes, this is all it takes.   Step 3 Respond in a manner that will not escalate the situation. If somebody cuts in front of you in line, smile and say, "Oh, are you in line for the _____, too? I think it starts back there," and point to the rear of the line. Follow this up with a compliment. "Oh, I love your purse," or "Great t-shirt. That's so funny!" will generally disarm any potential hothead.   Step 4 Find some perspective, even if it's hard. If this person has the audacity to simply glare at you and not give in to the request, resist the urge to whap them upside the head. Say to yourself, "will this possibly matter to me in five years?" If it won't, then grin and bear it. Don't let a jerk ruin your day over something trivial.   Step 5 Squeeze out an ounce of compassion. Really open your eyes and look at the person who is bothering you. Maybe they're having a truly awful day, or maybe they are in a hurry for a good reason. Try to assume that these possibilities are true, and then focus on something positive.   Step 6 Shake it off and pay it forward if you still feel like exploding. Find a place in your day to do something nice for a stranger. Open a door, compliment somebody, pick up a piece of trash and throw it away. You'll get a great boost from any random act of kindness and you'll find yourself back on the high road once again.

Self -Renewal - "What do you want to be remembered for?"

This is an excerpt I just read from The Daily Drucker, by Peter Drucker.


When i was thirteen I had an inspiring teacher of religion who on eday went right through the class of boys asking each one, "What do you want to be remembered for?" None of us, of course, could give an answer. So, he chuckled and said, "I didn't expect you to be able to answer it. But if you still can't answer it by the time you're fifty, you will have wasted your life."

I'm always asking that question: "What do you want to be remembered for?" It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person - the person you can become. If you are fortunate, someone with moral authority will ask you that question early enough in your life so that you wuill continue to ask it as you go through life. It is a question that induces you to renew yourself, because it pushes you to see yourself as a different person - the person you can become.

ACTION POINT: What do you want to be remembered for?

9 Habits to Change your Life

One: Internet Ritual

I have to do a lot of work on the web. Reading blogs, answering e-mails and responding to messages can be incredibly time consuming if you let it be. Creating an internet ritual as your baseline can cut two thirds off the time you use. Better yet it discourages wasteful internet usage as you optimize how you surf.

If you want ideas for how to form an internet ritual, read this article. Basically, you can get started by prioritizing the major sites you need to visit in your browsers toolbar. Then commit for thirty days to check those sites only once or twice a day at specific times.

Two: Exercise

Exercise has been a near daily habit for myself for well over a year. Although it may appear time consuming, regular exercise gives enough energy to make up for the time it takes. Finding an exercise you love to do will keep you healthy, fit and mentally sharp throughout the day.

The few times I've been forced to stop exercising for several days, I can begin to notice the difference. My energy levels drop dramatically and I feel slow and groggy. Sure you can work hard if you aren't staying fit. But just because you can, doesn't mean it is best.

Three: Wake Early

Early rising has been an on-off habit for myself. After conditioning it about two years ago for the first time, it doesn't take much energy to resume. The deciding factor of whether to go early bird or night owl depends on when you can accomplish more. If there are a lot of activities happening later you don't want to miss, catching a few morning z's can help.

But generally, if you are working on your own schedule, waking up early can kickstart your day. You can have more quiet time to get work accomplished in the morning. Plus starting your day early gives you momentum to carry forward into your day.

Four: Reading

You could measure this in pages or minutes per day. Saving a few minutes a day to read books will add up. Just twenty to thirty minutes a day for myself leads to over seventy books a year. You can quickly become an expert in a subject if you begin reading that much.

Most University classes I've seen cover about 1-3 books worth of information. Reading 70 books a year can end up being the equivalent of 20-30 courses worth of information. If you want some tips to start the reading habit, read this article.

Five: Organization

I'm a fan of minimalist GTD. For myself that means a notepad in my pocket, a to-do list on my desk and a calendar on my desktop. Forming the habit to maintain these systems of organization has removed much of the stress in trying to hold them in your memory.

Beyond just your tasks, forming organization habits for the major parts of your life greatly reduces stress. If you haven't already read Getting Things Done by David Allen, I suggest you pick up a copy.

Six: Vegetarianism

I started a vegetarian diet about 18 months ago and the change was dramatic. Like adding exercise, cutting away meat products allowed me healthier substitutions. Almost immediately I felt like I had more energy and mental clarity.

Not eating meat is just one of many changes that makes my diet work. If you simply replace meat with junk food, you are worse off than when you started. I've also heard from others that being a "flexetarian" or someone who eats meat only occasionally has similar benefits.

You could argue how you can't give up meat or why it is better for you not to. I'm not here to debate you. All I suggest is that you read some of the scientific evidence that supports the diet and try it for yourself. Go for thirty days and then decide. If you aren't convinced, you've only wasted a month.

Seven: Daily Six

I use a modified version of this approach. What is the daily six? I think it is best summarized by this story I've mentioned before:

A young man walked into the office of a powerful executive of a steel company in the early 20th century. He told the executive he could triple his productivity. All he asked was that the executive would later pay him what he felt the idea was worth. The idea was this:

Each day you write the numbers one to six on a piece of paper. Then write out the first, second and up to the sixth most important tasks of the day. You then begin on number one. Even if you spend the entire day on that one task, there was no way you could have been more productive using any other system.

A month after his speech the young man received a check from the executive. It was worth ten thousand dollars.

Eight: Television

There are a couple ways you can handle television which are usually better than just watching whenever you feel like it:

1. Complete Blackout. Turn the television off for good. Want more time, cut it out for good. It is amazing how much time you can save simply by turning off the tube permanently.
2. Prerecorded. This is the solution I'm using now. I tape any shows I want to watch in advance. Not only does this eliminate commercial time, it prevents a lot of wasted time channel surfing.
3. No Home Television. Another solution I've used is simply to not have a home television (or have no cable if you still want to watch movies). You can watch shows you really want to see at a friends house, but otherwise you won't let television occupy your time.

Remember, the point of habits isn't to become a robot. Your habits should make your life more entertaining, not less.

Nine: Journal

I'm not interested in keeping a diary of every event that happens to me. But a good idea is to set up a journal as your problem solving platform. Any problem, plan or thought you encounter can be expressed and deconstructed if you maintain a journal.

I don't expect you have time to write for an hour each night. That's isn't the point. But starting the habit of keeping a semi-regular journal has greatly improved my thinking. My habit is to go to my journal whenever I have time or a difficult problem and simply write through it.

Pick One for Thirty Days

If any of these habits interest you, I suggest you pick one and try it for thirty days. Simply taking control of one of these habits can have a huge impact on the amount of time, energy or enjoyment you can get out of life. If you have any suggestions to add to this list, feel free to write them down in the comments.

Taken from http://www.scotthyoung.com/blog/2007/08/23/nine-habits-to-change-your-life/

Winds of Change

"Sometimes in the winds of change we find our true direction."

Average of 5 People

I read something interesting, that at any given time we are becoming the average of five people with whom we are most closely associated. Don't ever underestimate the importance of whom you choose to be with.

When you have the opportunity to learn from someone who is exceptionally smart or successful, capture the gems they send your way.

Associate with people you admire and can learn from!

Amazing Life

I just saw a quote from a friend on Facebook:

"Life is too short to settle for anything less than amazing!"

I agree, why settle for anything less!

FAMILY

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
'Oh excuse me please' was my reply.
He said, 'Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you.'
We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.
But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.
Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.
When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
'Move out of the way,' I said with a frown.
He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said,

'While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.
Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.
Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.
He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes.'
By this time, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.
I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
'Wake up, little one, wake up,' I said.
'Are these the flowers you picked for me?'
He smiled, 'I found 'em, out by the tree.
I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue.'
I said, 'Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way.'
He said, 'Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway.'

I said, 'Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue.'

FAMILY
Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days.
But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.
And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family,
an unwise investment indeed, don't you think?
So what is behind the story?

Do you know what the word FAMILY means?
FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU

Amazing Marathon feat

A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.They went on to complete the marathon together. Father and son went on tojoin other marathons, the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's requestof going through the race together.One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman together'to which, his father said 'Yes'. For those who don't know, Ironman is thetoughest triathlon ever. The race encompasses three endurance events of a2.4-mile ocean swim, followed by a 112-mile bike ride and ending with a26.2-mile marathon along the coast off the Big Island.Father and son went on to complete the race together.

Click below to view.http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=8cf08faca5dd9ea45513

Live Below Your Means

Don't let your house be more than 40% of your income Live below your means
Buy where you what to live; Invest where the numbers make sense
Your house is a liability

Got a Pen?

Never go into a meeting without a pen and something to write on!

Jerry learned this the hard way! He went into a meeting with the President of the company, without a pen and a pad. While everyone else around him was jotting notes from every comment of the president, Jerry found a scrap of paper and asked to borrow a pen from someone. His manager chewed him out!

After that, lesson learned was to never go into a meeting without a pen and paper. Especially in high power meetings with important people.

Change = Opportunity

When there is change, there is opportunity.

Call rather than email

If you have the opportunity to call someone instead of emailing them, give them a call. Personal calls are more valuable than sending an email.

Panic = Profit

When there's panic, there's profit...

Essential versus Non-Essential

Don't work on anything that isn't helping you get to where you want to be in the future.

Things we do in life are either "essential" or "non-essential". Try to focus on essential things that help you reach your goals, and to elliminate any non-essentail things or activities.

Value of Measurements

You can't improve what you can't measure.
What gets measured, gets improved.
Having metrics on key areas, will lead towards improvements.

So if you want to improve something in life, business, work, start measuring it. Put numbers behind it, and start to work improving those numbers.

What is a JOB?

JOB stands for "Just Over Broke"

Ontime is Late

Always be early! On-time is late!

Activity versus Accomplishment

Don't Confuse Activity for Accomplishment