A Boomer's Footprint

Category: A Successful Life

How will you know if you are living with successful? What legacy will
you leave behind? What is important to you?

These posts include many tips and techniques to become the best
person that you can, to fulfill your dreams, to succeed.

15 Minutes of Fun a Day

We have spent this month experiencing more joy and happiness in our lives.

This week’s exercise is about enjoying 15 minutes of FUN every day. A technique I learned from Shawn Achor, a Harvard positive psychology expert. (Look on youtube for Shawn’s videos.)

The 15 minutes of fun has to be active. We have to be mindful about it – meaning to really enjoy what we are doing. We can say to ourselves, I will have fun for the next 15 minutes. We simply can change the way we are thinking about our fun activity.

The challenge is to consciously include time in your life every day to play, laugh, create, enjoy, spend time doing what you enjoy, to have fun.

Sounds simple enough but it is surprising how hard it may be to purposely have fun.

Some changes in your life require creating a new habit or breaking an old one. Some say it takes 28 days to create a habit, but my
experience showed me that it takes much more – twice or three time the number of days.

This week is a perfect opportunity to create a new habit. A habit which will bring you joy and happiness for many years to come.
The practice of including focused joy in life.

Consciously committing to a 15 minute fun activity can even help you start to become healthier.

How is that possible you ask? If we exercise we start feeling better, if we start feeling better we will want to eat healthier. When we change our eating habits, we will become healthier.

When you use the fun 15 exercise, your brain says I’ve been successful in one domain, I bet I can be successful in another domain. I can try out another positive fun 15 minute habit.

To get started create a list of things that bring you joy, make you laugh, you simply enjoy doing.

Some possibilities: exercising for FUN…

Working out for life

– take walk in a park
– cook a new recipe or old favorite
– pull out the sewing machine and create something
– hit the golf links

Golf outing

– sign up for a laugh a day type web site
– see a movie
– tart a hobby
– laugh out loud

Right now go to a your day timer, cell phone, appointment book:
– schedule the fun time in your calendar
– write down the activity you will enjoy

February 28, 2013
What is JOY?

What is Joy?

Joy is an experience that exists in our heart and soul. It can be that warm and fuzzy feeling we have all over.

Joy is our natural state. Babies are naturally joyful. They don’t know any better.

Joy can be an energy of love, is one of the highest vibrations on this planet. According to the universal Law of Attraction, as we think and feel we vibrate. And as we vibrate, we attract. When we vibrate with joy and love, we attract what is for our greater good.

Sages tell us that joy is realized when the personality and soul are in harmony. Look for experiences that go beyond conditional happiness to the blissful state of joy and love. As you resonate with joy, love and happiness you automatically draw to you a more meaningful, healthy, loving life.

Why choose joy?

The experience of joy can:
– strengthen the immune system
– regenerate our whole physical system
– burn away the impurities in our emotional system
– disperse worries, anxieties, grief, greed, irritation,
– and other negative emotions
– sharpen our intellect and strengthen memory
– clarify and balance our mind
– expand our consciousness and understanding
– open us to receive higher impressions, inspirations,
– and transforming energies

Why bring more joy into our lives?

We are so weighed down with our lives. We can be over-committed, over-stimulated, stressed, out of time, frustrated, annoyed,
afraid and so many other emotions and feelings in a single day. Because of the daily grind, we have forgotten a couple of things.
First, how important it is to take time for ourselves everyday, how to laugh and how to play.

(According to “Higher Awareness.com” )

How to be joyful?

To begin to live with a joyous spirit:

– be in the moment
– take time for self
– work on self
– meditate
– be grateful
– appreciate the good
– let go of the bad
– be mindful
– stop and smell the roses

February 21, 2013
Be Happy.

What is happiness?

Happiness is not just a luxury to be pursued once we have time, we are retired, we have finally caught up our to-do list.
Living with more happiness improves the quality of individual lives and can have a positive impact of those around us.

Discovering in the study of positive psychology have found significant links between meaningful activities and happiness.

When you determine what is meaningful to you, you can focus all of your talents and skills for greater achievements and joy.

When you identify what you love to do, you can bring more happiness in your day to day life. Whatever the type of work is,
when you love it, you don’t even think of it as work.

Benefits of becoming Happy:

Happiness is motivating. It is part of a circle. When you love what you do, you feel happy, when you feel happy you are more motivated to be more productive, dedicated, creative and efficient.

Happiness improves physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health.

Laughing may be as good for you as exercises:
– It lowers stress hormones and cholesterol
– It enhances the immune system
– It releases hormones and other chemicals that make you feel good.

Actions to bring happiness into your life:

– Live every moment as if it is your last
– Dance as if no one is watching
– Share a laugh with friends
– Make dinner from scratch
– Play music or make your own
– Give somebody a massage
– Go for a walk in the wild
– Write a story about a personal experience or hero
– Read a book to a senior
– Give a friend with a child a break – cook dinner, take the kids
– Tutor a child
– Do something fun
– Gaze at stars
– Make love
– Imagine tomorrow and make it so
– Gaze at the stars, moon, ocean
– Visit a museum
– Go on a mini road trip
– Live in the moment
– Be creative
– Laugh loud and often
– Learn something on your interest list
– Spend time with positive people
– Avoid negative energy (people, places & things)
– Make a positive change
– Don’t dwell on the past
– Don’t worry about the future.

Take a chance choose, happy.

February 14, 2013
Joy and Happiness

I believe there is a fine difference between experiencing joy and happiness.Happiness comes from outside, an external sources.
It may engage thinking, using our brains. An external force or event creates the emotion of happiness for us.

To experience happiness you can do something fun, see a funny movie, read a good book, hear an hysterical joke, be creative, laugh, learn something on your interest list.

Completing the “red menace” jigsaw puzzle.

Some happiness comes from material things – the feeling when receiving an incredible gift, buying a new car or house, completing a project, finding the love of your life.

We know when we feel happy. We smile, we laugh, we generally just feel good. I often think that I experience happiness
in my head. Not only because it involves my mouth when laughing but also because my thoughts are happy.

Joy is a more personal step than happiness. Joy comes from within. It connect to the heart. It is more a feeling, a state of being,
a sense of satisfaction and well being. You feel it in your mind, body and soul.

To experience joy you can live more in the moment, live with a peaceful heart, feel gratitude, appreciate the good in life, let go of the bad, be mindful, stop and smell the roses.

Russian River Peace

To attain happiness you do, to achieve joy you be.

Joy is to experience happiness like you really mean it.

This may seem like a fine distinction but joy is usually experienced on a deeper level. It can consume more of our senses.

There is a place for both in our lives. They each provide us with a different result. This month the focus is on bringing both more
joy and happiness into our daily lives.

To get started, each day in your journal record a joyful or happy experience.

February 7, 2013
Instant Gratification – Have it Now!

We live in a society that desires immediate results. Why not, so much information is available with a click of a button. We can get directions, questions answered, recipes, photos, stories, videos and so much more.

But immediate results do not take the place of the hard work, dedication, commitment and the effort that is required to attain real lasting success and achieve long range goals.

As we review the great dream we have written down this past month, we may discover there are short and long-term dreams. The action required to make either of them come true is different.

I learned a valuable tool from my mentor, Raymond Aaron, I want to share this week. It is a way to take action right now, which
fulfills a big, long-range dream.

It is called – Instant Gratification – Have it Now.

With this technique you have your long term dream but in an abbreviated version. While doing these activities you may also be are creating a successful habit.

For example – you want to live abroad for awhile 3, 6, or 12 months. During each month until you actually move to your desired location, you choose an activity to do which fulfills your dream now.

I am overlooking a vineyard in the Loire Valley in France.

Some sample activities are: cook a national meal, learn the foreign language, see a foreign film, visit a museum. In these activities, you area able to enjoy things about this foreign land while at home.

For the complete worksheet on using this technique, sign up for the newsletter and request the downloadable version of “Instant Gratification – having it now”.

Good luck – keep dreaming.

January 31, 2013
Write down your dream.

Last week our exercise was to write down our dream life. This exercise can be daunting for many reasons –

We don’t believe we can achieve our dreams.
We don’t believe we deserve success.
We don’t believe we deserve happiness.
We don’t believe we can change.

We can each name many others obstacles real or imagined, which prohibit us from even writing down the biggest dream life we desire.

But – any obstacles can be overcome with clarity, hard work, commitment and taking action.

Continue to work on your dream life story this week.

Write from your heart and not your head.

Write your vision in as much detail as possible.

If time or money were not an object –
– What does your life look like?
– What are you doing?
– How do you spend your time?
– What are your surroundings?
– Who are you serving?
– What footprint are you leaving behind?
– What is your legacy?
– Where do you live, when do you begin, with whom do you share it?

The dream should include sensations – sounds, smells, sight, touch, tastes, colors, especially dream about the emotions you will experience in your new chosen life!

Join the mailing list to receive my “dream worksheet” to use as a guide in writing our your own life dream.

January 24, 2013
What is your Legacy?

Ask yourself:

– Who am I in the world?
– What is my authentic self?
– What are my valuable gifts?
– What am I here to contribute?
– What is my carbon footprint?
– What is my true purpose?

A successful life – a legacy is not measured by the size of a bank account, a car, a house or even by friends and family… but by the amount of joy in our lives, by our dedication to helping others, by making a contribution in the world, by discovering and living our true purpose and by how we respond to the multitude of obstacles that surface on a regular basis.

Our true purpose best uses our gifts, skills, and talents. It inspires us. It touches our soul and fills our heart with joy.

When we discover our true purpose then we can create a meaningful and lasting legacy.

When we discover our true purpose we are blessed.

We can discover your true purpose by:

– Listening to our inner voice
– Drown out outside voices
– Listen to our intuition

Let’s use these three ideas as we continue to write out our biggest dream life, let’s envision our life’s legacy.

January 17, 2013
Keeping a Journal

Journaling is a powerful tool to help you achieve your dreams. You have the right to the best possible life you can lead! When you start journaling, you begin to take charge of your life, your plans and dreams.

Journaling is simply the act of writing. When you write down thoughts, it makes them real.

Our mind is so cluttered, full of thoughts and outside input. How can we believe that keeping our plans and dreams in that mix will actually make them happen?

For example, we can walk into a room and immediately forget why we went there.

So, let’s not trust our mind to be responsible to implement the vision and goals we have. A few benefits of journaling are to:

-1- Map out a dream
-2- Free your mind from replaying the same tape loops
-3- Solve problems
-4- Gain a different perspective on a issue
-5- Use a third party perspective to analyze a problem
-6- Separate statements which are emotional, rational, from reality
-7- Keep track of progress
-8- Self expression
-9- Brainstorm
-10- Tell stories
-11- Reveal your fears and doubts
-12- Acknowledge your success

To get started with your journal –

First, choose and decorate a journal, notebook, or tablet. Make it yours. Enter your name and date in it.

This is my binder cover for worksheets.

Second, set up a comfortable writing space where your journal lives.

Third, Commit to a time to write.

Fourth, remember, there is no grade, no critiquing, no correcting necessary.

Fifth, let your words and ideas flow freely in your book.

And finally, use your journaling experience on your path to achieving your dreams.

Next week, we will create our biggest dream.

January 10, 2013
What is your dream?

What is your dream? Not an unachievable fantasy or unconscious thoughts occurring during sleep but a realistic, attainable vision of how you truly want your life to be – your goals and aspirations, your desires, your accomplishments, the legacy you leave behind, the footprint you leave on the planet.

Dreams which comes from your true spirit or essence, your reason for being. A dream you identify with, embrace and commit to achieving.

The dream which is just right for our unique selves.

Is the dream of a life filled with joy, meaning, living your passion, spending quality time with loved ones, relaxed, working in service of others and absolutely feeling great? Does the dream fulfill your purpose in life?

We are all born with a true purpose. The purpose which uses our best skills, and talents. A purpose which inspires us, touches our soul and fills our heart with joy. When discover our true purpose we are blessed.

The good news is – We deserve to have our biggest dreams come true.

The sky is the limit!

Such an unusual cloud pattern

Follow along on this journey of self-discovery and inspiration to make all of your dreams come true.

January 3, 2013
New Year Resolutions

Now is the time for our annual New Year’s resolutions. Let’s be successful this year and make a change.

For many years, I began the new year with my list of resolutions. You may have done this too. Then, I proceeded to do little or
nothing to make them happen. Consequently, I ended up with a failed commitment to myself. These resolutions were commitments to a goal, which I said I really, really wanted but I took no action to reach them.

How about you? Do you make new year resolutions? What are yours? Are some of them recycled from unsuccessful attempts in the past?

The word Resolve means “to come to a definite or earnest decision about, to determine to do something. So by definition – first you decide and second you do something – take action!

But to have, be, do and feel all we want in life, resolutions are part of be an ongoing process. During the year, we call resolutions – goals.

How do we decide if your current resolutions are the best for us right now? Are they resolutions that will fulfill our purpose,
our dreams, our vision of our life ahead.

When I think about my goals on own my personal development journey, even in my writing this speech – I start with these three questions what, why, how.

What exactly do I want to accomplish?

Why – a critical questions – why is this I important, meaningful for me? The why is part of your motivation to accomplish your goal.

How includes when, where, with whom – my action plan.

These three questions are the format I use in my monthly coaching program.

Follow along each Thursday as I post a short article with helpful tips, tricks and techniques to help you achieve your resolutions and reach your goals.

Next Thursday, we will create our dream board.

December 27, 2012