Billion Hearts Beating

The creative team from Times of India has done it, yet again.

To draw people's attention to the rising problem of heart diseases in India, they ran a campaign starting today. It's called the Billion Hearts Beating Campaign. The paper had  lot of information and tips to avoid getting into heart related ailments.

It was amusing to read the Page1 which had all the 'O's replaced with the heart symbol. Nice technique to draw eyeballs.

Well done!

The Killer

This one is from Motivation123.com

::Routine is a killer.

Years ago, before starting the Motivation123 Web site, I had pockets full of plans and ideas. My mind was in a constant state of activity.

As for my reality, nothing ever changed. Nothing in my life went in the directions I had hoped for. It got to the point that I began to doubt whether or not a better life was even possible. Could I change?

Then, while paging through a magazine at the doctor's office, I came across a question, just a short team of words that gripped my attention.

It was simple--as most powerful truths are--but it made an immediate impact. And from that day I possessed a key to progress that has served me ever since.

Before we get to that answer, however, we need to pin down the problem.

The Killer

In a word, it's routine.

It's the pattern of living that, like molten lava, slowly crawls into adulthood, covering and consuming our hopes, dreams, and ambitions.

It's doing the same thing every day because that's what you've always done. It's a vicious circle of repeating actions and events that leads to nowhere.

The reason nothing was changing in my life was because I was stuck in a routine. Every day I followed the same basic outline of living: wake, work, sleep, repeat.

I had new ideas, to be sure, but my actions were old.

Then I was hit with the truth while waiting - for what seemed like weeks - in my doctor's waiting room.

- - -

At this point you might be thinking to yourself that the most important question to answer is 'What do I want?' If you don't yet have clearly defined goals, you're right.

For a series of insightful exercises designed to help you uncover the goals and life purpose that are right for you, visit:

http://www.motivation123.com/prd-gdc.html

The Question I Took with Me

The sad reality is that most people never realize what is happening until it's too late. That is the skill and cunning of habit and routine.

It wraps its arms around the minutes and hours of your life, distracting and luring you into autopilot, into a dazed mode of living.

All the while, the little time you have to construct your ideal experiences is being sucked away, stolen.

Routine is a murderer. It kills hope and the chance for change. It blinds us to the truth and with a scalpel cuts away our goals and ideas. Routine puts a hand in the face of growth and  improvement, leaving room for nothing but the same.

You need a way out of the routine. And for me, the way out came in the form of a question:

'If you continue to follow the same patterns, what are the chances you'll ever experience the things you want to do and ever become the person you hope to be?'

I read the sentence again. What would my chances be? Things hadn't worked out so far, so why would doing the same thing result in anything different?

My Realization

I had my answer. My chances were none.

I would never do the things I had always thought about, never grow into the character I hoped for. If I followed the same routines, the same patterns, I could expect pretty much what I had been getting.

For some, this is the perfect scenario. But for me, I wanted more. I knew how much life had to offer and I wanted to dive in head first. I wanted to experience it all and live a life worth living again.

I looked around the office, looked at the people next to me. None of us would reach that place without a change in pattern. We were all trapped in a circle of habit.

This brings us face to face with a truth that most men and women would rather avoid.

It's relieving to let our goals live in 'someday.' We don't have to worry about never attaining them.
Instead, we can put them off and fool ourselves.

'It will happen someday.' No, it won't.

The truth is, if you don't change your routine now, you will never reach those goals. You will never wake up to a life that matches the one in your mind. Never.

Don't hide from this. Accept it. Embrace it. Use it to smash through the chains of routine and drive you into a new way of life, into a new pattern of progress.

This is the first step. Realizing a change is needed is the beginning of something amazing - but it is only the beginning.

Would you like to continue the process?

If so, visit the address below. It will show you a new way to think about motivation - the key to changing your patterns and your life.

Believe it or not, inner drive (that feeling that makes you want to get up and do what it takes) is a switch that can be turned on and off at will.

All you need to know are six simple steps to make it happen. To discover what they are and to begin using them today, visit:

http://www.motivation123.com/prd-tmm.html

Routine may be a killer, but it can only work in the shadows. Now that you know it's there, you can stop the damage, stop the patterns, and start something new.

My Best,

Jason

- - -

Jason M. Gracia
Founder & President
www.motivation123.com

And then some...

A Little Extra Effort

   - Column By Zig Ziglar

When you go the extra mile, you are seldom delayed by a traffic jam.

I wonder about the many things we could do if we didn't know that we couldn't do them. Many people never make a serious effort to achieve worthwhile objectives because they assume they can't reach them.

Here's a story that demonstrates what even a little extra effort can produce. Sir Walter Raleigh attended a prestigious boarding school when he was a youngster. He was an excellent student and wanted to be number one in his class.

However, one lad always finished ahead of him, so he determined to discover the secret. Each night when he prepared for bed, he looked across the grounds that separated his room from that of his competitor and noticed that his candle was still burning.

One night he noticed that the other boy studied only about fifteen minutes longer than he did. After that, Sir Walter Raleigh studied an extra twenty minutes every night. At the end of the year he was the number one student.

I've often wondered how many students miss out on a college scholarship because they did not study an additional twenty minutes each day.

Research shows that over 98 percent of all scholarships are either academic or hardship, so some deserving students miss out not because of lack of ability, but because of lack of effort.

Many times people grow frustrated because promotions or raises don't come as fast as they think they should, so they jump ship when just around the corner the promotion awaits.

I have often used the phrase "and then some," pointing out to my audiences that you should keep every promise, and then some; give your clients or customers everything they expect, and then some; give whatever you do an honest effort, and then some.

I first learned those words from former secretary of state James Byrnes, who used that phrase when someone asked him to explain his success in life and in the political arena.

I believe that little extra effort -- that going ahead from where they are to do the best they can with what they have, and then some -- is what separates the successful from the would-be successful.
 

from Josh Hinds

http://www.GetMotivation.com

Living a Five Star Life

 

Excerpt from: Living a Five Star Life,
by Betty Mahalik

Chapter : "My Life Would be Perfect If..."

In this day and age, we are surrounded by messages that virtually scream, "Your life would be perfect if..." My life would be perfect if I had a different job, a different house, car, nose, spouse, bank account (fill in the blank). Or my life would be perfect if I could be like some celebrity whose life appears so well-ordered and perfect-o. This week I encourage you to stop playing "my life would be perfect if," and start playing "my perfect life." What's the difference? Three things: being in the present, an attitude of gratitude, taking action with what's available now.

When we're caught up in the "my life would be perfect if" trap, we've lost touch with the present. And the moment we detach from the present, we can no longer practice gratitude. Think about it:  it's difficult to be grateful for what you don't have...and what you don't have is always somewhere out in future-ville.

Look around you right now. Think of 10 things you're grateful for. Do you have a roof over your head and food to eat? I'm guessing the answer is yes. Do you have at least a few good friends or close relationships? Then appreciate them too, right now. Keep going, and practice being in the present and being grateful for what is here and now at least a couple times a day.

You're also probably sitting there thinking "yes but." Yes, but I want more money, a better relationship, more time to travel, to be thinner, happier or whatever. It's one of the great mysteries I'll never figure out. The minute you stop focusing on what you lack, start focusing on what you've already got, and add the "magic" ingredient of action, you actually begin to attract more of what you want. It's an amazing formula for really living your perfect life!

Let's say you want to lose weight or get in better shape, but you don't have an hour a day to spend exercising at the gym. Therefore, you've pretty well resigned yourself to not losing weight or getting in shape. What if you had five minutes though...just about everyone can find five minutes to exercise, stretch, walk around the block or walk the dog. Would you be willing to be grateful for five minutes and make the best possible use of it? Therein lies the beginning of your perfect life!

A simple formula may help you remember how to apply this principle:

• The present
• + an attitude of gratitude
• + positive action
• = my perfect life.

Try it for a day.

Each time you start dreaming about how perfect your life would be if...come back to this moment, give thanks for what is, and do one thing to perfect what you have and who you are right now. There's a saying that "when the student is ready, the teacher appears." If you're ready to start perfecting your life, your teachers are all around you.

from Simple Truths

The 100/0 approach

Excerpt from The 100/0 Principle, by Al Ritter

What is the most effective way to create and sustain great relationships with others? It's The 100/0 Principle: You take full responsibility (the 100) for the relationship, expecting nothing (the 0) in return.

Implementing The 100/0 Principle is not natural for most of us. It takes real commitment to the relationship and a good dose of self-discipline to think, act and give 100 percent.

The 100/0 Principle applies to those people in your life where the relationships are too important to react automatically or judgmentally. Each of us must determine the relationships to which this principle should apply. For most of us, it applies to work associates, customers, suppliers, family and friends.

STEP 1 - Determine what you can do to make the relationship work...then do it. Demonstrate respect and kindness to the other person, whether he/she deserves it or not.

STEP 2 - Do not expect anything in return. Zero, zip, nada.

STEP 3 - Do not allow anything the other person says or does (no matter how annoying!) to affect you. In other words, don't take the bait.

STEP 4 - Be persistent with your graciousness and kindness. Often we give up too soon, especially when others don't respond in kind. Remember to expect nothing in return.

At times (usually few), the relationship can remain challenging, even toxic, despite your 100 percent commitment and self-discipline. When this occurs, you need to avoid being the "Knower" and shift to being the "Learner." Avoid Knower statements/ thoughts like "that won't work," "I'm right, you are wrong," "I know it and you don't," "I'll teach you," "that's just the way it is," "I need to tell you what I know," etc.
 

Instead use Learner statements/thoughts like "Let me find out what is going on and try to understand the situation," "I could be wrong," "I wonder if there is anything of value here," "I wonder if..." etc. In other words, as a Learner, be curious!

Principle Paradox

This may strike you as strange, but here's the paradox: When you take authentic responsibility for a relationship, more often than not the other person quickly chooses to take responsibility as well. Consequently, the 100/0 relationship quickly transforms into something approaching 100/100. When that occurs, true breakthroughs happen for the individuals involved, their teams, their organizations and their families.

The Cycle of Completion

I got this from Josh Hinds, http://www.GetMotivation.com

Do you live in a state of mental and physical clutter? Do you have a bunch of unfinished business lurking around every corner?

Incomplete projects, unfinished business, and piles of cluttered messes can weigh you down and take away from the energy you have to move forward toward your goals.

Cycle of Completion...

When you don't complete tasks, you can't be fully prepared to move into the present, let alone your new future. When your brain is keeping track of all the unfinished business you still have at hand, you simply can't be effective in embracing new tasks that are in line with your vision.

Old incompletes can show up in your life in lots of different ways... like not having clarity, procrastination, emotional energy blocks and even illness. Blocked energy is wasted, and a build up of that energy can really leave you stymied!

Throw out all the clutter and feel how much easier it is to think! Make a list of areas in your life (both personal and professional) where you have incompletes and messes, then develop a plan to deal with them once and for all.

Fix and organize the things that annoy you. Take your final steps in bringing closure to outstanding projects. Make that difficult phone call. Delegate time-wasting tasks that you've let build up.

When you free yourself from the mental burden of incompletes and messes, you'll be amazed at how quickly the things you do want in life arrive.

Another area where you'll find incompletes in your life is in your emotions. Are you holding on to old hurts, resentments, and pain? Just like the physical clutter and incompletes, your energy is being drained by holding on to and reliving past pain and anger.

Remember, you'll attract whatever feelings you're experiencing. So, if you're stuck in revengeful thinking and angered in muck, you can't possibly be directing energy toward a positive future. You need to let go of the past in order to embrace the future. Letting go involves forgiveness
and moving on.

By forgiving you aren't releasing the other person from their transgression as much as you're freeing yourself from their transgression. You don't have to condone their behavior, trust them, or even maintain a relationship with them. However, you do have to free yourself from the anger,
from the pain, and from the resentment once and for all!

When learning to forgive, make sure to complete the cycle. Acknowledge your anger, your pain, and your fear. But also own up to any part you've played in allowing it to happen or
continue.

Make sure to express whatever it was that you wanted from that person, and then see the whole event from the other's point of view. Allow yourself to wonder what that person was going through and what kind of needs he/she was trying to fulfill at the time.

Finally, let go and move on. Every time you go through this process you're learning how to avoid letting it happen again!

-Jack Canfield
______________
Jack Canfield, is the founder and co-creator of book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul and a leading authority on Peak Performance. If you're ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, go to http://getmotivation.com/qk.cgi/jack-canfield