Archive for September, 2012

The One Meal You Absolutely Can’t Miss

Posted: September 28, 2012 in Habits, Happiness, Life
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For years scientists and health gurus have told us that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Why is that? It is because study after study shows us the negative effects of skipping breakfast or eating a non-healthy breakfast. Starting your day with proteins, like eggs and bacon, leads to better brain function, attentiveness, and more energy. Starting the day with refined sugars and other carbohydrates, like donuts or bagels, can lead to energy depletion and mental miscues.

Today I want to talk about a different kind of breakfast. It has nothing to do with what you eat but it does have to do with what you put into your body. I’m talking about a couple of things you could do each morning that will keep you energized and focused for the rest of the day. Here they are:

1. Wake up a few hours before your first scheduled activity of the day. This guarantees you will have time to get ready for the day and do a few other things without being rushed out the door.

2. Exercise. Whether it is 30 minutes of stretching, walking, jogging, P90X, etc. This will energize your body. Nothing will give you more energy for the rest of your day than an early work-out.

3. Take 15 minutes to read something positive and uplifting. The newspaper or Facebook definitely don’t count. Find quotes, poems or religious writings to read. This will nourish and calm your soul.

4. Write down a “to do” list with the goals of what you would like to get done that day. This will focus your efforts for the rest of the day.

5. Listen to or read something motivating. Of course I would say to read something from Successify! but there are tons of great videos on YouTube if you type in “motivational”. This will get you excited to accomplish big things.

If you do these things every morning you will find that you have a better attitude, you accomplish more during your day, and you have more energy and excitement for life. Just as a healthy breakfast improves the performance of your body, a healthy dose of these success skills will improve your energy and attitude. Start your day right and you are sure to improve the quality of your life.

Kris

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The Parable of the Perfect Pearl

Posted: September 26, 2012 in Attitude, Happiness, Life
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I was at a leadership conference this past weekend where they told the following parable:

“There’s an ancient oriental legend that tells the story of a jeweler who found the perfect pearl. The pearl was so beautiful that the merchant wanted to place the pearl in the proper setting. So he conceived the idea of building a special box of the finest woods to contain the pearl. He sought these woods and had them brought to him, and they were polished to a high brilliance. He then reinforced the corners of this box with elegant brass hinges and added a blue velvet interior. Then jewels were embedded in the outside. As a final step, he scented that blue velvet with perfume, then placed in that setting this precious pearl.

The pearl was placed on display and people came from miles around to see this perfect pearl. But as people walked past, they all seemed to comment about the beauty and workmanship of the box. The pearl was barely even noticed.”

There are about a thousand ways to apply this parable but today I want to use it to talk about our value as individuals. Because we are each unique, there will never be another person exactly like us. That means there are things that we, and only we, can offer to the world. That being the case, we each hold infinite worth to this world. We are the precious pearl.

However, we often times forget to be ourselves. We spend a lot of time “beautifying the box”. What is the box? It can be a number of things. I like to think of it as anything we do to improve our social standing or how others perceive us. It could be the house, the car, the hobbies, the clothes, etc. Basically it is all the superficial stuff we bring into our lives. We surround ourselves with these things because we think they are helping to display or add value to the pearl. We are building the best possible box to show off the pearl.

But what happens when we spend so much time and focus on the box? Before long, the box is all that anybody sees. It may be all that we see. We start to define the value of the pearl by the size, beauty, or value of the box. And when we start determining our own value by the beauty of the box around us, we start to forget who we are. What’s worse, everybody around us does not see us for the pearl anymore; they only see us as the box. Our value becomes linked to the box, and boxes have a tendency to rot and decay over time.

So do you spend your time polishing the pearl or building the box? Are you adding value to yourself as a person or are you accumulating things to make yourself seem more valuable to others? I can promise you that any excessive effort or expense put into beautifying the box will lead to the neglect and tarnishing of the pearl. A precious pearl does not need a beautiful box to define it’s worth. The pearl is valuable on its own. You are the pearl.

Kris

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Is Your Life One of Passive Diffusion or Active Transport?

Posted: September 26, 2012 in Habits, Life, Willpower
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I was a biology and history major in college so I took a ton of science classes both in undergrad and later in dental school. One of the basic principles of biology is based around how molecules move in and out of cells in our body. There are number of different ways this happens but the two I want to focus on are called “passive diffusion” and “active transport”.

Diffusion happens without any real effort. The basic principle is this: If there is more of one kind of molecule in one area and less in another, the molecules will spread themselves out until there is an even balance. It happens without any energy being used up and really no energy is produced. It would be like pouring a glass of water into a large pan. The water doesn’t stay all in the middle of the pan. It spreads out evenly or diffuses until it is evenly distributed.

Active transport, on the other hand, take a little more work. This happens when a cell knows it needs a certain molecule and it puts a pump in place to pull that molecule into the cell. This requires energy and effort but usually results in the creation of more energy and greater health for the cell. An example of this could be drinking an energy drink. The liquid doesn’t flow through the can, into your hand, and down to your stomach. That would be diffusion. To get that drink and the energy it contains, you have to use some effort to suck it through a straw and then swallow it down to your stomach where it can be turned into an energy boost.

Why in the world am I talking biology on a blog about personal success?

The questions I would ask you are these:

  1. Do you live your life by passive diffusion or by active transport?
  2. Do you just take what comes to you or do you actively try to improve?
  3. Are you in your current profession because it is you love it or did you just take it when it came and have stayed with it?
  4. Do you look for ways to improve your character and life skills or are you content to just stay where you are?
  5. Do you consistently choose the hard right over the easy wrong?
  6. Passive diffusion or active transport?

I firmly believe that this life is about progress. If we aren’t moving forward we are getting left behind. This life is an incredible gift that we’ve been given and enormous opportunities are there for us to seize. But they won’t just come to us through diffusion. We have to actively go out and find them. And once we’ve found them we have to put in the effort necessary to benefit from them. If we don’t, we are wasting the greatest gift we will ever be given.

Challenge: Find at least one thing today that you can do to improve your life. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Go for a jog
  2. Start a new book
  3. Read other posts on this blog ;)
  4. Free up time to give your children your full attention.
  5. Research more about that side business you have been dreaming of starting.
  6. Set goals for what you want to accomplish this week.

I have learned that the happiest times in my life came when I was actively working to improve myself. I know that you will have the same feeling as you break the paradigm of passive diffusion.

Now go out and Successify your life!

Kris

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29 Ways to Simplify Your Life

Posted: September 19, 2012 in Discipline, Life, Stress
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Have you ever noticed how busy life has gotten? It seems like whenever there is available time, the world finds a way to fill it. The only way to manage it is to take an active stance against the “life clutter.” Here are some tips for simplifying your day. It is amazing how much stress you can get rid of by employing just a few of these strategies. Give it a try, you won’t be disappointed!

1. Start everyday with your most important task, leaving other ones undone
2. Do what you said you will do first
3. Say no when you are already committed and asked to take on more
4. Ask others for help whenever you need it
5. Finish things completely, don’t leave it only to have to come back again and again
6. Pick one thing at a time to do and focus on it
7. Make the most time for your passions and purposeful work
8. Leave spare time for yourself unscheduled and uncommitted
9. Prioritize your todo list
10. Keep one todo list and keep it short (only the most important things should be on it at any time)
11. Take time to be in solitude
12. Take time to pray and meditate
13. Make wasteful actions (like TV watching or pointless internet surfing) more difficult to do to help avoid them.
14. Find and eliminate other wasteful actions in your life
15. Develop habits and daily routines to practice important actions
16. Read every single day
17. Plan your week and all major tasks for that week
18. Review your accomplishments each week
19. Be grateful for what you have, what you can do, and for everything in your life
20. Turn off your cell phone
21. Turn off all notifications on your computer from IM, email or other popups
22. Eat simple meals and don’t cook things that don’t need to be cooked
23. Eat less, which lets you also prepare less and cleanup less and store less
24. Automate any bills, payments, and money transactions that you can
25. Ignore distractions from media
26. Commute by bicycle or public transit instead of the busy freeway
27. Use commuting time wisely by reading or listening to books
28. Consider a career or job change to reduce stress
29. Find and maintain routines for day to day things

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50 Lessons I Wish I Had Learned When I Was Young

Posted: September 18, 2012 in Happiness, Life
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This morning I came across this list shared by an older gentleman who had actually lived a pretty amazing life. His insights are wonderful. I hope that I can remember these and teach them to my children. Enjoy!

Kris

  1. You’re stronger than you think you are.
  2. Mistakes teach you important lessons.  Every time you make one, you’re one step closer to your goal.
  3. There is nothing to hold you back except you.
  4. You can press forward long after you can’t.  It’s a matter of wanting it bad enough.
  5. No matter how much progress you make there will always be the people who insist that whatever you’re trying to do is impossible.
  6. You are limited only by your own imagination. Let it fly.
  7. Perception is reality.
  8. Your instincts can be trusted.
  9. There is only one question to ask yourself: “What would you do if you were not afraid?”
  10. It’s often hard to tell just how close you are to success.
  11. The only mistake that can truly hurt you is choosing to do nothing simply because you’re too scared to make a mistake.
  12. Never let success get to your head, and never let failure get to your heart.
  13. You have to fight through some bad days to earn the best days of your life.
  14. Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.
  15. Do what you love, not what you think you’re supposed to do.
  16. Laughter is the best medicine for stress.  Laugh at yourself often.
  17. If you want to feel rich, just count all the great things you have that money can’t buy.
  18. Forgiving yourself is far more important than getting others to forgive you.
  19. If you awake every morning with the thought that something wonderful will happen in your life today, you’ll often find that you’re right.
  20. Be nice to yourself.
  21. For the most part, it doesn’t matter what people think.  Follow your own truth.
  22. No education is wasted. Drink in as many new experiences as you can.
  23. Making one person smile can change the world.
  24. Don’t forget to enjoy your journey!
  25. You never know how strong you really are until being strong is the only choice you have.
  26. Sometimes good things fall apart so better things can fall together.
  27. You cannot change what you refuse to confront.
  28. Crying doesn’t indicate that you’re weak.  It doesn’t always solve your problems either.
  29. No matter how many mistakes you make or how slow you progress, you are still way ahead of everyone who isn’t trying.
  30. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain.
  31. You can learn great things from your mistakes when you aren’t busy denying them.
  32. Give up worrying about what others think of you.
  33. When you stop chasing the wrong things you give the right things a chance to catch you.
  34. You have to accept that some things will never be yours, and learn to appreciate the things that are only yours.
  35. As Henry Ford put it, “Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you are right.”
  36. Don’t be afraid to move out of your comfort zone.  Some of your best life experiences and opportunities will transpire only after you dare to lose.
  37. Giving up doesn’t always mean you’re weak, sometimes it means you are strong enough and smart enough to let go.
  38. You’ll rarely be 100% sure it will work.  But you can always be 100% sure doing nothing won’t work.
  39. Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future for too long.  Right now is life.  Live it.
  40. No matter how cautiously you choose your words, someone will always twist them around and misinterpret what you say.  Just say what you need to say.
  41. Not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of good luck.
  42. If you are passionate about something, pursue it, no matter what anyone else thinks.  That’s how dreams are achieved.
  43. If you keep doing what you’re doing, you’ll keep getting what you’re getting.
  44. What lies before us and behind us are tiny matters when compared to what lies within us.
  45. Don’t pray when it rains if you don’t pray when the sun shines.
  46. It’s not about getting a chance, it’s about taking a chance.
  47. If it were easy everyone would do it.
  48. Be vulnerable.
  49. A problem is a chance for you to learn.
  50. Regardless of the situation, life goes on.

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The Law of the Harvest

Posted: September 17, 2012 in Discipline, Habits, Life
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(This is an excerpt from my book “The Law of the Harvest” which you can download for free HERE or from iBooks for your iPad.)

There are many “Natural Laws” in existence that help us describe or explain why certain events occur. You may have heard of the Law of Attraction, the Law of Relativity, or the Law of Cause and Effect. One of the most basic and essential natural laws is called the Law of the Harvest.

The Law of the Harvest has been around for as long as man has been on the earth. It has been taught in various forms by religious, cultural and business leaders around the world.

Simply put, the Law of the Harvest says that you reap what you sow; you only harvest what you have planted; your results are the product of your actions. It is the most basic of principles and probably seems pretty obvious.

However, this law is at the root of every accomplishment and every failure in your life; be it at home, at work, at school, or in your personal life.

Every action you perform is like a seed you have planted in the ground. You decide if it is a good seed or a bad seed. At some point, it will grow and produce fruit. Whether the fruit is good or bad, depends on the seed you initially planted. Combined, these fruits are what determine the quality of your life today.

Learning how to make Law of the Harvest work for you will help you have more accomplished and fulfilling life. It is a law that can work for you or against you. You decide the seeds you plant and therefore it is your decision as to the type of harvest you will have.

Remember, in everything you do and everywhere you go you are planting seeds. Plant a smile, gain a friendship. Plant procrastination and get poor results. Plant good study habits, get good grades. The list is infinitely long.

Challenge: Take inventory of your daily actions and look for a way to add a couple of extra “good seeds” to what you are already doing. If you do this, you will begin to feel happier and more accomplished in no time.

Happy harvesting!

Kris

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Wake Up

Posted: September 14, 2012 in Attitude, Discipline, Goals, Happiness, Hope, Life, Perspective, Vision
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Last night someone asked me why I started Successify! I have always had different answers to this question but none of them ever seemed to describe why I really started it or what it’s purpose is.

As I thought more about it on the drive home, these words came to mind:

“I look out and see a world full of promise and opportunity…and it is waiting.

I look around and see people full of promise and potential…but they are sleeping.”

And I realized that it was a great way to describe what I’m trying to do. I feel like we live in an amazing world where it has been proven time and time again that ANYBODY can rise up and create a fabulous and successful life.

But I think most of us don’t ever do it. Sometimes it is because of self-doubt. Sometimes it is because we let life get in the way. For whatever reason, we give up our greatest dreams about the time we hit college. We stop thinking big and start thinking practical. We put our ambitions into hibernation. And by the time we realize it, we feel like it is too late. Or that we just don’t know how to get a jump start.

The vision I have for this website and company is to help people “wake up” from their proverbial slumber. To tell people that it is time to start living the life they always dreamed of living and show them how to do it. I want to form a community of like-minded people who want to work together and support one another in adding the elements of success into the family, their business, their relationships, and their personal lives. I don’t want anyone to get to the end of their life and say, “I really wish I would have…”

I hope you find this blog helpful. If it ever becomes dull or boring, please let me know. If it is of no value to you, then I need to improve it.

Now wake up and get to work!

Kris

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Describing an Idiot

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Life
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I had a baffling experience with a sales person this morning. I won’t go into to details but I’m sure you have had the same experience before. You are trying to explain something to them in 13 different ways and they just don’t seem to have a clue what you are talking about. After the phone call I  Googled the word “idiot” just for fun. Here is the list of terms I found to describe an idiot.

Needless to say, these amusing comments are not recommended for use in real appraisals.

“He is depriving a village somewhere of their idiot..”

“Not a born leader yet..”

“A well balanced person, has a chip on both shoulders..”

“Takes him two hours to watch sixty minutes..”

“Gargled from the fountain of knowledge..”

“If you stand close enough to him you can hear the oceans..”

“If you gave him a penny for his thoughts you’d get change..”

“If he were any more stupid he’d have to be watered twice a week..”

“Has two brains: one is lost and the other is out looking for it..”

“Gates are down, the lights are flashing, but the train isn’t coming..”

“Donated his brain to science before he was done using it..”

“A prime candidate for natural deselection..”

“A photographic memory but with the lens cover glued on..”

“If you see two people talking and one looks bored, he’s the other one..”

“When his IQ reaches 50 he should sell..”

“He has a knack for making strangers immediately..”

“He would argue with a signpost..”

“I would like to go hunting with him sometime..”

“He doesn’t have ulcers but he’s a carrier..”

“Got a full six-pack but lacks the plastic thingy to hold it all together..”

“I would not allow this employee to breed..”

“His men would follow him anywhere, but only out of morbid curiosity..”

“This person has delusions of adequacy..”

“Since my last report, he has reached rockbottom, and has started to dig..”

“Sets low standards and consistently fails to achieve them..”

“Has the wisdom of youth and the energy of old age..”

“Works well under constant supervision and when cornered like a rat in a trap..”

“You are on the crest of a slump.”

“The lights are on but nobody’s at home..”

“The wheel is turning but the hamster is dead..”

I hope you enjoyed these! If you’d like to see more posts like this you can help us by “liking” us below or sharing with your friends! Thank you!

Kris

45 Instructions for Life

Posted: September 13, 2012 in Happiness, Life
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     Everybody has advice to give about life. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don’t. The advice we give comes from our own personal experiences. One of your friends may tell you to try a certain restaurant because the service is amazing, while another friend may tell you to avoid the same restaurant because the food is bad. Either way, the restaurant is what it is, but different people experience in a different way.

I found this list through StumbleUpon this morning and thought it had some good advice. I’m not saying that these are the definitive instructions for a good life but I think anyone who incorporated these would be the type of person we would all love to be around. Enjoy!

  1. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.
  2. Memorize your favorite poem.
  3. Don’t believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.
  4. When you say, “I love you,” mean it.
  5. When you say, “I’m sorry,” look the person in the eye.
  6. Be engaged at least six months before you get married.
  7. Believe in love at first sight.
  8. Never laugh at anyone’s dreams.
  9. Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it’s the only way to live life completely.
  10. In disagreements, fight fairly. No name calling.
  11. Don’t judge people by their relatives.
  12. Talk slow but think quick.
  13. When someone asks you a question you don’t want to answer, smile and ask, “Why do you want to know?”
  14. Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.
  15. Call your mom.
  16. Say “bless you” when you hear someone sneeze.
  17. When you lose, don’t lose the lesson.
  18. Remember the three R’s: Respect for self; Respect for others; Responsibility for all your actions.
  19. Don’t let a little dispute injure a great friendship.
  20. When you realize you’ve made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.
  21. Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.
  22. Marry a man you love to talk to. As you get older, his conversational skills will be as important as any other.
  23. Spend some time alone.
  24. Open your arms to change, but don’t let go of your values.
  25. Remember that silence is sometimes the best answer.
  26. Read more books and watch less TV.
  27. Live a good, honorable life. Then when you get older and think back, you’ll get to enjoy it a second time.
  28. Trust in God but lock your car.
  29. A loving atmosphere in your home is so important. Do all you can to create a tranquil harmonious home.
  30. In disagreements with loved ones, deal with the current situation. Don’t bring up the past.
  31. Read between the lines.
  32. Share your knowledge. It’s a way to achieve immortality.
  33. Be gentle with the earth.
  34. Pray — there’s immeasurable power in it.
  35. Never interrupt when you are being flattered.
  36. Mind your own business.
  37. Don’t trust a man who doesn’t close his eyes when you kiss him.
  38. Once a year, go someplace you’ve never been before.
  39. If you make a lot of money, put it to use helping others while you are living. That is wealth’s greatest satisfaction.
  40. Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of luck.
  41. Learn the rules then break some.
  42. Remember that the best relationship is one where your love for each other is greater than your need for each other.
  43. Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.
  44. Remember that your character is your destiny.
  45. Approach love and cooking with reckless abandon.

If you enjoyed this post and would like to see more like it, you can help us grow by “liking” us on Facebook or sharing our blog with your friends! Thanks!

Kris

I Challenge Myself

Posted: September 12, 2012 in Life, Perspective
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