There Is No Excuse For Not Living The Dream

Each one of us is related to a human who has done miraculous feats. Whether it be building the pyramids, walking on the moon or even living in caves and hunting for meat in the wild. There is no excuse for not living your dream. You can stop spending, eating or whatever stupid habit you have started and believe you can’t stop.

Just so happens that in this day and age most of us pathetically prefer to wimp out. We don’t even make the first attempt to change our life never mind follow our dreams. We watch television, surf the net, raid the fridge or find a million pitiful distractions to fill some kind of imaginary void in our mundane lives.

I don’t buy it for one second that we can’t make life changes right now. If we as humans had survived in the wilderness all those centuries and performed all those feats, then why can’t we put down that extra piece of fucking pizza? Or not even order it in the first place. People in this day and ages have gotten lazy, undisciplined, whiny and seem to find the most absurd justifications for avoiding success.

There are no excuses. And if you are thinking of one right now then keep living your cookie cutter, depressing life. No one cares.

You can stand up right now and make a pledge to yourself that you will live your dream. You can devote at least thirty minutes a day to plan or execute the life you dream about. There are no excuses. If you have found one then you are fooling yourself… again.

The choice is 100% clear. There are no more excuses.  You have run out.

Do it.

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What Is The Meaning Of Life?

I’ve placed heaps of stress on myself lately. The burning question is why? To what end is all this leading to? I have quantified most of my efforts with a quest for personal financial freedom, but what happens after that?

Then along comes a book called, Three Cups Of Tea.

This is one of the most inspirational books I’ve read. What Greg Mortenson has done to set up 61 schools in Afghanistan and Pakistan and bring radically different cultures together is more than what most governments have ever done.

This book also reinforces my philosophies that:

1. What is the meaning of life? We are all here to give something back.

2. It isn’t a God that makes this world a better place, it is people.

3. Education is the root of erasing ignorance. Once ignorance is erased whole new worlds and possibilities open up to the mind.

4. People living with just the basics can be happier than the richest people in the world.

5. Living in harmony with nature is a key to saving the earth and all its inhabitants.

There is no point to my own self induced stress.  It is completely meaningless. It doesn’t mean that I should become a monk and live in a cave. It only means that having satisfied my basic human needs my greatest satisfactions will come from building meaningful relationships with family, friends and of course nature.

Once I have reached financial freedom I will give something back.

But interestingly enough perhaps I already have financial freedom. It’s all in my mind.

So now I will choose how I will give something back.  Because that in a nutshell - is the meaning of life.

What do you think the meaning of life is?

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A Simple Strategy To Start Meditating Right Now

Here is a simple strategy to begin meditating tomorrow morning. Meditation isn’t some mystical journey whereas you are required to become a Zen or Buddhist master. Meditation is simply staying in one place quietly, eventually learning to be in the present moment until it becomes natural.

Living in the present moment is the beginning to ending the mindless clatter and worries that are constantly bombarding you. Meditation teaches you to ignore self destructive thoughts and become at peace with ones selves, warts and all.

My meditation techniques are based on the practices of Pema Chodron .

Find a quiet room away from your bedroom. Sit upright, hands on lap, legs crossed and focus on a spot 4 to 5 feet in front of you.  Concentrate on your outer breath as a way of focusing the mind. When a thought arises, label it as “thinking” and go back to concentrating on your outer breath.  Let your thoughts go over and over again by labeling them as thinking. Continue to relax and allow whatever thoughts to arise without labeling them good or bad. Return to your outer breath.

Try to perform this exercise 15 minutes a day to start. After a while you will notice that you can return to the present moment much easier. This is one of the best ways to reduce the stress caused by over thinking and worrying.

You are the master of your life.

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How I Am Getting Happier While Becoming Wealthy

Do you really want to be Happy and Wealthy?

Do you really want to take the first the first steps towards making big life changes? Do you think about a life of riches and joy but find that years pass by and nothing changes? Most people I know that are in debt, overweight, lonely or hate their jobs, don’t take any steps to make life changes. What they are talented at is bitching, complaining, avoiding and blaming everything and everyone else for their frustrating lives. They allow their egos to rule their lives and won’t even make small financial changes like investing in the company retirement plan. Instead they find themselves night after night staring at the TV. I can’t help these people. They are living in a self imposed world and are pretty much unconscious zombies plodding along day after day. The truth is that life is right outside our door. Is it a nice day outside? Why not go out and take a walk with your brain and begin to think and plan a life of meaning purpose and joy. Or just keep complaining. It’s always your choice. Maybe you like being a zombie?

Do I want to be wealthy?

Of course I want to be wealthy? Why would I not want to be? Would I live in a small shack in the woods, if I can have a modern home overlooking the beach? Of course not. I also like my iphone. I like technology. If it weren’t for technology I wouldn’t be writing this and posting it in a few minutes for you to read. But when I step out onto the deck of my new beach house I don’t want to stress about bills, cutting the lawn or any of that crap. Or else what is the point? My point here is that no matter how wealthy you are (even if you are a billionaire), if you don’t have peace of mind than you truly aren’t enjoying life to its fullest. So living a life that allows ourselves to be fully present to life’s natural wonders, from the tiniest flowers, a spectacular water fall, or even dinner with friends is what truly counts. Believe me. And every time you step away from the present moment you step away from life. So being wealthy is fabulous but learning to be fully present with the world is much, much more important. It is the most important habit to learn during your time here on earth.

How do I get to be happy and wealthy?

Here is what you have to think about. Happiness comes from living in the moment. How can you be happy not living in the moment? How can you be truly happy thinking about the future or reliving the past? As you think about the future or past, your real life, or you may call it your present life, is passing you by. You just lost a few moments of your life. Life truly starts right now. Sink into the now and you will experience an enlightenment you never thought possible. Just go take a walk and pay attention to the ground under your feet. Feel the sun. Inhale nature’s scents. Don’t think, just be. This way of thinking will open many new doors to you including a world of wealth if you decide that is your goal. You become more focuses, calm, creative and content, clearing your mind for bigger and better things. I can’t explain it better than that. Now it is your choice. Continue down the same path or feel everything life has to offer you each and every moment. Which path did you choose?

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How To Break A Bad Habit

What I have found works best for me is taken from the saying – out of sight, out of mind. I also find it important to remember that a good habit (or ridding an old habit) usually takes about thirty days to take hold. So don’t fret so much about using sheer willpower, concentrate on the thirty day time period and take pride in your accomplishments as each day passes.

It is also important not to try and break too many bad habits at the same time. Pick a couple of habits, set some goals, write them down and track them.

Breaking bad eating habits

The simplest way to avoid eating unhealthy foods is to not keep unhealthy foods in the house. Next time you go grocery shopping don’t buy those cookies, cakes or whatever food which adds unhealthy calories to you. I usually zip down the cookie isle, ignoring them as they call my name.

Breaking bad money habits.

There are plenty of people who have no willpower if money is readily available. These days it’s far too easy to extract money from an ATM machine. So what do you do? Hide it. What I mean is lock it away in a 401K plan or RRSP. That way it is much harder to get at it and you will pay penalties for early withdrawal. Once again like the unhealthy foods - out of sight out of mind. Just make your money extremely difficult to access. You will also find that you end up paying yourself first instead of everyone else.

Breaking the worry habit

Worrying about something usually take us away from the present moment. And the present moment is always the most important moment in our lives. Once we lose the present moment we stop experiencing life at its best. Living in the now means enjoying life to its fullest, letting go of the past, letting go of past conditioning and being our most authentic self. So bring yourself to experience the immediacy of each moment in life and let go of your worries. Come back to the now of yourself as much as possible. You will discover a whole new world around you.

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Facebook Uses Your Pictures On Their Advertisements Without Your Permission

I’ve written a few times about how we are mercilessly pounded by advertisements and they can be like a horrifying virus, sucking our brain cells out of our heads. Next thing you know you own a chia pet.

Facebook now allows third part advertisers to use your posted pictures without your permission. Do I want my picture beside Facebook advertisements in my friend’s Facebook pages? No ….fucking …way! I I can see it now - Terry loves Hummers that use rare Spotted Owls as fuel.

Here is how to remove your picture from being used for Facebook advertising.

Click on SETTINGS up at the top where you see the Log out link. Select Privacy. Then select NEWSFEEDS and WALL. Next select the tab that reads FACEBOOK ADS. There is a drop down box, select NO ONE. Then SAVE your changes.

Now you can relax and not worry about your friends seeing your face beside a Paris Hilton doll advertisement.

My 10 Most Useful and Fun iphone Apps

I’m taking advice from Tim Ferris and writing about something off topic from happiness or consciousness. I still painstakingly research the hell out of everything. Here are the 10 iphone apps that rock my boat. From free to $9.99.

Instapaper - I love to research the web for stimulating articles or news. If I don’t have time to read a webpage I click on the convenient Instapaper “Read later” icon and presto, it saves it on my iphone for later reading. Next time I’m stuck in a line up I’m enjoying that particular web page.

Download Instapaper from iTunes

LocalPicks - Need to find a restaurant from your current location? Just let this app show all of them, map them and give you reviews. I’ve already found a few wonderful ones which I never knew existed. So sweet!

Download LocalPicks from iTunes

Pingpong - Yes it’s simple and almost lame, but as a long time gamer I prefer a non-thinking game these days. I spend most of my time on my website, so a friendly (or not) ping-pong game against Russia is just the ticket to relax. One day I’ll try to win the world tournament. Really.

Download World Cup Table Tennis

i-c-LiveCams - Want to see live steaming of cute elephants or furry polar bears? Ready to sneak a peek at a sunny beach or see the weather around the Eiffel Tower? This terrific app lets you lose yourself in another world and see what is going on at that very moment. Very, very cool.

Download Live Cams from iTunes

Things – A simple and well-designed task manager. I use it to plan day to day activities and projects if required. I’m a firm believer that a task manager should be simple and easy to use. This one doesn’t disappoint.

Download Things from iTunes

TED – TED brings together some of the most fascinating thinkers and doers of our time and puts them on video for free. For free. Who wouldn’t want to experience this? Did I say for free?

Download TED from iTunes

Koi Pond – Perfectly natural looking pond of water with Koi fish swimming about to give you the Zen time out you need every day. You can even ripple the water with your finger.

Download Koi Pond from iTunes

USA Today - The latest news and what I love the most is the picture section. Sometimes a picture says a thousand words and here you can choose to include captions or not.

Download USA Today from iTunes

Pocket Tunes –Thousands of Web based radio stations at your finger tips. Terrific quality and you can save your favourites. I plug my iphone into my car lighter and have all the radio I would want and more.

Download Pocket Tunes from iTunes

Epicurious – I have been using the fabulous Epicurious for years on the Internet to easily cook 5 star meals. Now I have it available on my iphone. I would recommend searching for easy, 5 star recipes on the Epicurious Internet site on your PC or laptop and then saving them on your iphone.

Download Epicurious from iTunes

Next time I’ll write about how I use my iphone itself and haven’t missed lugging around a phone, iPod or camera (amongst other things).

Enjoy!

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