I am in Charge of how I Feel!!

Posted on April 9, 2018 by Rod's World

Marc and Angel Chernoff’s book 1,000+ little things Happy Successful People do differently is one of the best buys I ever made. Unfortunately it is not available at the moment because it has gone for re editing. They are releasing a new book Getting Back to Happy: Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Reality, and Turn Your Trials into Triumphs: which ships 22nd May 2018. Their website http://www.marcandangel.com/ has all the details and many of their fantastic lists to help you live a great life.

I opened the book today and the page was entitled Self Love Questions to make you think. The first question is : If you had a friend who spoke to you in the same way that you sometimes speak to yourself, how long would you allow that person to be your friend? There are nine other questions just as confronting and insightful about how we relate to self-love.

So what vignettes do we release into the world regarding this often hard emotion, let’s take a journey:

1. At times we need to do this to our dear old brain. its our own worst enemy.

2. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, remember to behold yourself first and foremost: Beautiful.

3. Lalah Delia is the founder of VibrateHigherDaily.com and Vibrate Higher Daily Blog. Vibrate Higher Daily is a sacred online space for personal growth, elevation, and transformation. By creating the hashtag #VibrateHigherDaily as a personal journey mantra and reminder, a new path was born. Soon, many others also journeying towards living their highest potential took community and joined in.

4. Not taken or single – Self Loved: I’m Real.

5. Such beautiful words to remember: You can’t lose you.

6. I had a session with my mentor the other day, He asked me who was I trying to be, and that wasn’t who I really was. I have fallen in love with the fact I will never be this more available Rod, I will be kind, supporting and loving Rod: I will Survive.

7. Or your kingdom, I think all of humanity could do with this list.

8. We all abhor violence toward others , why do we insist on regularly doing it to ourselves: Self Esteem.

9. How much has the person in your mirror been through, three cheers, they are still standing!!

10. Handed out at birth, keep working on it: Superpower.

11. Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never, Never Ever.

12. Pierre was a French tragedian in the 16th century. He probably wrote this so we could avoid this other works: Alive.

13. André Gide (French: was a French author and winner of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1947 “for his comprehensive and artistically significant writings, in which human problems and conditions have been presented with a fearless love of truth and keen psychological insight”. That’s one hell of a way to say Self-Love.

14. We can see the magic in you so don’t forget that it’s there: All of Me.

And finally, remember self love can not come from another.

One more question from Marc and Angel: What’s something Nobody can ever steal from you – let’s go for Self Love.

Our music today is dominated by women. We start with Christina Aguilera, then Jennifer Lopez, travel back to the 70’s with Gloria Gaynor, then a sad number from The Offspring, to the mighty Beyonce, followed by Sia ending up with John Legend.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

There are no Traffic Jams along the Extra Mile!!

Posted on March 29, 2018 by Rod's World

Amongst Stepping Stones for March 29th is the question – How could you increase your personal effectiveness? As we all are at a different level with this our answers will differ wildly.

If we set goals in our lives or we simply go with the flow will affect our relationship to the question. A bit like Tony Robbins Vs. Eckhart Tolle. So, from what angle has the world looked at personal effectiveness, let’s have a look:

1. J.M. is not famous, no Wikipedia entry but an entry in Goodreads for this insightful quote.

2. I have dealt with many customer serivce staff who have got this dramatically the wrong way round: I Know you Care.

3. The book related to these quotes has sold 25 million copies since its first release. Covey added an 8th Habit – Find your voice and inspire others to find theirs later in his career.

4. What is the principle: 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react: Sounds Babies Love.

5. Back to the 1700’s and 1800’s for a quote from Goethe, he was a German writer and statesman. His works include epic and lyric poetry; prose and verse dramas; memoirs; an autobiography; literary and aesthetic criticism; treatises on botany, anatomy, and colour; and four novels. In addition, numerous literary and scientific fragments, more than 10,000 letters, and nearly 3,000 drawings by him exist.

6. Self Explanatory really: Say Something.

7. Never have enough time in the day, listen to the clock!!

8. Five very costly words, try How can I Help in their place: Poeple help the People.

9. What do you communicate with your words, do they hear what you want them to?

10. It takes 21 days ot reverse a habit, begin today and May will be an inspiring month: Don’t stop me Now.

11. Not telling people what to do!!

12. Not a lot of effective listening goes on in an argumentative situation: Don’t.

13. Is your life on the right trajectory or do you have to aim just that little bit higher?

12. We love stories from our earliest years, not much changes later in life: Ohio.

15. For some people they would call the latter the shadow of a relationship, they don’t work without it.

Effectiveness is the capability of producing a desired result or the ability to produce desired output. When something is deemed effective, it means it has an intended or expected outcome, or produces a deep, vivid impression. So the question to answer for ourselves, is how much of the time do we do this in our lives, It is something I think we will continually work on over our lifetimes.

Music comes from Ellie Goulding, Sounds Babies Love, Christine Aguilera, Birdy, and then grows in Age via Queen, Shania Twain and Neil Young.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Put on your Perspectacles!!

Posted on March 26, 2018 by Rod's World

The quote in the empowering book Time for my Life: 365 Stepping Stones by Thea Westra for today is as follows: Goals help you keep in perspective what’s really important so you do not spend all of your time doing what seems important – Nido Qubein. Nido is an American Lebanese University president and philanthropist who has donated over $10 million dollars in his lifetime to education. He has not lost sight of his goal to his seemingly important day to day urgent tasks.

How do you stay in perspective when it comes to your purpose, your goals, your why in life? Another way of asking it is How can you be more effectively making use of your time? And how has society related to it over the years, Here’s a few takes at it:

1. How many people do you have in your life who would give you everything?

This piece of wisdom is from the First Century A.D. Marcus was a Roman emperor who sought the meaning of life and wrote an excellent book called Memoirs about it: Human.

3. I think I have wasted a few years of my 63 years not doing this, worrying about things that I couldn’t at the time change or do anything effective to change my circumstances, nice one Mary.

4. Too simple: Mean.

5. Remember when we were kids and we were going to astronauts or veterinarians, why did we change our perspective and stop looking?

6. They wrote a song about this a long, long time ago: “The Impossible Dream (The Quest)” is a popular song composed by Mitch Leigh, with lyrics written by Joe Darion. It was written for the 1965 musical Man of La Mancha. It is the main song from the musical and became its most popular hit. The song is sung all the way through once in the musical by Don Quixote as he stands vigil over his armor, in response to Aldonza (Dulcinea)’s question about what he means by “following the quest”. It is reprised partially three more times – the last by prisoners in a dungeon as Miguel de Cervantes and his manservant mount the drawbridge – like prison staircase to face trial by the Spanish Inquisition. It was awarded the Contemporary Classics Award from the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame: The Impossible Dream.

7. Love and Respect for All – Everyone Included.

8. Are we all star seed, energy in different forms. If we vibrate what we want on a daily basis, the universe listens: Across the Universe.

9. This makes me think of his Holiness’s statement about If we really listen, and not just wait to reply we actually might learn something new.

10. Amazing, really: Nowhere Man.

11. We are all unique individuals, love that about yourself.

12. And it’s also one of the great medicinal plants on the planet: Dandelion.

13. I remember The Hour of Power evangelist TV show from the 70’s that Robert Schuller hosted, seems he did it for 50 years until 2010. We all have fears though, I find facing them is the most useful way of lessening their influence over my daily life.

14. How we are training our young folk more and more these days. Self love is the reverse of this: I was Here.

15. Beckett was awarded the 1969 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his writing, which—in new forms for the novel and drama—in the destitution of modern man acquires its elevation”. He was elected the first Saoi of Aosdána in 1984 by The Irish nation, the ultimate accolade a creative artist can receive in that country.

Martin Luther Kings distinction around perceptiveness Somebodiness’ which is a state of self dignity and worthiness, despite what others may think. It is a deep inner resolve that nobody can convince me that I am not somebody sums up how I feel about this subject well. Your perspective is just as valuable as anyone else’s, never forget this.

Music this blog has three song’s from the 1960’s , two pop diva’s and two people I have never heard of, that’s why I love what YouTube throws up for my requests. Rag ‘n Bone Man., Taylor Swift, Andy Williams, Rufus Wainwright, The Beatles, Tevin Campbell and Beyonce.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Why Now, Why didn’t we Know this!!

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Rod's World

In her chapter Discernment is Everything – When the negative serves the positive Danielle LaPorte pens the following piece:

My new life is Golden

After I learned how to breathe under water

I knew that my lungs had all the answers.

My skills in courage were as follows:

swallowing terror whole

making good use of disgust

boring a hole in my kitchen floor with my tears

loving like what I loved was the only child ever to be

born of the sun and the moon

changing my mind while naked

breaking vows

making a new vow (only one)

leaning back and taking deeply deep breaths of space

watching the Universe reveal all of us to me.

My reward is as follows:

I get to go wherever I want now and always,

for instance

under water or

to that golden spot that I thought was only a dream

but is now my new life breathing me.

I can read the discernment in this and love her statement about being discerning:

Being discerning is not the same as being judgemental. Discernment is big-minded and awake. Judgement is narrow-minded and operates in the dark. Discernment is our wisdom coming to life.

How do we discern, how does the world discern? Let’s have a look by taking a journey around the globe:

1. Now that would be a breakthrough for all of us to relate to our lives in that way.

2. Let’s raise our courage levels so we know when to do the latter and not spend our life suffering: Walk Away.

3. It takes going to the edge to see discernment over judgement, are you willing?

4. Is your Facebook feed chock full of events run by your friends and ones that Facebook thinks fit in with your lifestyle. Time to use your inner wisdom as to which ones you attend: Invited.

5. Four interesting definitions of discernment, choosing and acting appeal to me.

6. Often people drop the first word and never reach the stage of discernment: Sound Judgement.

7. How often is your head held high in these situations?

8. I just spent three hours in a workshop today listening to the cost of giving your power away to the deity known as the religious god and that we were above this, this quote reminds me of the power George said we give away: Embrace The Day.

9. Don’t go into your life with your eyes closed.

10. Don’t let it be such a secret in your life that it impedes your chance of success: No Secrets.

11. Why I left the home pf the original sin many years ago.

12. Andy Stanley is a pastor. First thing on his google entry is – What do you do when you’re no longer content with what you wear, drive, or live in? Followed by Character, Influence, Spiritual Growth. One could ask what these two statements have to do with the prophecy of love that Jesus Christ was spreading: Doing it Wrong.

13. Love the combination of discernment and vision. Actions that will open us up.

14. To me unrenewed is when you live your life from a poor me mentality and discernment is when you are willing to confront those parts of yourself that aren’t so nice but you hold them in your heart and see what comes from that: Suspicious Minds.

15. In other words don’t push it down someone else’s throat.

Discernment isn’t easily swayed, because it has a strong sense of self. It means you will stop falling for anything and listen to your intuition more readily, building a stronger nature.

A mixture of the feminine and the masculine in today’s music – Malcolm Brown, Drake and Fine Young Cannibals from our kingdom and Christine Aguilera, Ziona, Naomi Striemer and Missy Higgins from our queens.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Only the pure of Heart can make a good Soup!!

Posted on March 15, 2018 by Rod's World

Nothing changes without Me

Sometimes, my heart is so open

I can’t tell if it is a gaping wound

or a portal for everything that ever was and ever will be.

I’ve learned to love the beautiful terror of eternity,

and scenario planning for how shattered I could be

If the dark things got tall

and if I fell backwards in my forgetting of the light.

But you can’t fall backwards in Space,

You can only only ever unfurl.

More than anything,

I’ve wed the certainty that nothing changes without me –

not coal becoming diamonds

not fertilizing eggs

or migration patterns

or medicine dreams.

And what I thought was a net cast to me from a higher God

is actually strands of truth and filaments of desire

that I have tied together with my own two hands.

And in precious encounters, I tie what I know and want to you,

so we can ride the winds of wonder.

Yes, and

I arise in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world. This makes it hard to plan the day – E. B. White

These are the first two entries in the chapter from Danielle LaPorte’s excellent book White Hot Truth on the Soul of Service: Link to the Book.

In this chapter Danielle discusses Conscious Optimism, the next quote is from Neil deGrasse Tyson:

I am driven by two main philosophies: know more today about the world than I knew yesterday, and lessen the suffering of others. You’d be surprised how far that gets you.

Today we will discuss the second of these, how to lessen the suffering of others. To me, as demonstrated by all our great heroes and heroines it is through service this is attained.

How do we as humanity relate to this, lets have a look:

1. Although Muhammad Ali points to the other one in this quote.

2. How do we start to serve, from where we are: because From little things, big things grow: Classic Version of that song.

3. Giving from your soul turns on the love light.

4. Some beautiful words with deep insight from the master, Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī: Light a candle in your Heart.

5. A man who died freeing his beloved India but believed that the answer lied in serving the culture of his country.

6. Achieving this lets us see more and more opportunities to be of service: Wrecking Ball.

7. Erica Jong is an American novelist and poet, known particularly for her 1973 novel Fear of Flying. The book became famously controversial for its attitudes towards female sexuality and figured prominently in the development of second-wave feminism. According to Washington Post, it has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.

8. They say if you achieve this you will never work another day. A hint, look how you can serve others: Soul’s on Fire.

9. Wordy, but needs to be taken in.

10. Swami’s are meant to be very wise. This one seems to be in the area of service: Try Everything.

11. I know this is taking the piss out of Shakespeare’s more famous quote but I just had to include it.

12. Maya liberates my soul: And still I Rise.

13. You nearly need a magnifier to read this famous quote from Martin, but we all know the line anybody can serve.

14. Three beautiful gifts to give to the world: Just give me a Reason.

15. With the recent passing of Stephen Hawkings, the former president of India has a great point about the service to humanity that science provides.

And to finish some more words from Danielle that really sum service up:

Service is when spirit meets matter where it is. Service is being informed. Service is being enraged and compassionate. Service is being ruthlessly honest about the facts – then choosing to be hopeful about the future.

The music today starts with one of Australia’s preeminent Indigenous singers Archie Roach and Sarah Storer, then Paul Janz, Sarah Blackwood, Anthony Blackwood to the more well known Shakira, Maya Angelou and finishing with Pink.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.

No Grit, No Pearl!!

Posted on March 1, 2018 by Rod's World

Circumstances change and priorities change with them. Are you certain that the goals you are pursuing today are goals to which you are still committed? Alternatively, are they simply something you once thought you should pursue and you are only hanging onto them in order to ‘be right’? Remember what you wanted in your 20’s are no longer the things that matter to you in your 40’s or 50’s. So , take a little time for reflection.

One reflection to look at is Mark Twain’s quote: Do not go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first. The reflection that comes to mind from this is that it is up to me , nobody else is going to do it for me, they may assist me, bu if its my idea, its me that has to drive it.

There are a lot of quotes of the reflective nature, I hope you like the ones I have chosen:

1. Now I know what DKNY means on all those hoodies, Donna Karan comes from New York and runs a fashion label, therefore DKNY.

2. There are two choices, fix it or declare it complete and create new space for your new bold adventures: Something Better.

3. I remember being told the tale about African tribes not being able to see TV images bu my science teacher, That reminds me of this quote.

4. How did you get to know what you thought about your friends, did you ask or was it just a hunch?: Perception.

5. Also remember to hang out in the Now allowing for reflections on the past, all are needed.

6. Wise words from the man who best exemplifies this: Nelson Mandela.

7. A great mantra to reflect on Self Love.

8. A friend of mine met his life partner because he thought he had left his phone at work and went back to get it, It was in the bottom of his bag: Choice.

9. Do unto others as you wish to have happen to you, sometimes I forget!!

10. Sometimes the mind gets in the way, listen more deeply: Soul Kind of Feeling.

11. I think the new wave of entrepreneurs are part of this outlook on life.

12. I naturally think of Simon Sinek when I see a line like because we forget why we do it, here’s his inspirational TED talk on the subject: First Why and then trust.

13. There are some great quotes in the holy texts, this is one of them.

14. Proactive, not reactive is most powerful I find: The 7 Habits.

15. Trudy Symeonakis Vesotsky, what a cool name. See and be , observe and then take action. I like it!!

Some very worthwhile reflections amongst that collection, if I don’t say so myself.

Music and Worlds this week. The very dance-able Specials and Dynamic Hepnotics plus wisdom from Alan Watts and Simon Sinek and a mix of pop and rap.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

I love that feeling I Get!!

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Rod's World

Change your habits, change your life! Success in life needs to be deliberately managed. Replace three unproductive habits with three new ones that raise the bar. Success in any endeavour requires a lifestyle change and you could do all that at once! Not recommended, if you are someone who stops all action, when just one small thing gets in the way. A less painful and more sustainable way is to change daily habits bit by bit. You cannot change a habit by trying to get rid of it. You can replace an unwanted habit with a new one.

Remember to choose new ones that make you come alive, the world doesn’t need actions for actions sake, It needs people who have come alive/awake. What does the world have to say about this, here’s some of the things:

1. After talking to God, Neale came up with this very wise quote as to when we need to wake up in our lives.

2. There were about 200 versions of this quote in Google Images, I liked the simplicity of this one: Staying Alive.

3. Michael Morpurgo says “For me, the greater part of writing is daydreaming, dreaming the dream of my story until it hatches it out – the writing down of it I always find hard. But I love finishing it, then holding the book in my hands and sharing the dream with its readers.

4. Remarkably, anything can make us come alive at any moment in our lives, sometimes we forget this: Come Alive.

5. And when we discover them , that is when we are truly alive.

6. Love the irony of this: When you wish upon a star.

7. You can dance if you want to, I do every week.

8. And its called your passionate heart: Dreams.

9. Pursuing things make them come alive, make it your ambition in life.

10. You can choose to have it in your lives every day, Its always there: You and I.

11. Van Gogh was unsuccessful during his lifetime, and was considered a madman and a failure. He became famous after his suicide, and exists in the public imagination as the quintessential misunderstood genius, the artist “where discourses on madness and creativity converge”.

12. Primarily it should be yours you make come alive first: Come Alive 2

13. The scent of the ocean at full power is my favourite scent.

14. Smiling and happiness are outcomes from coming alive, fantastic results: Come up and make me Smile.

15. Fear and Love, a little bit of both to come alive, methinks.

There have been many days in my life, that when I woke up I definitely did not feel like I had come alive, I am getting better at it though.

Music is from the musicals, the 70’s and one you would never guess – The Bee Gees and Cockney Rebel, The Greatest Showman cast, Julie Andrews and Paris Hilton.

Namaste until next time my dear friends.

Work for a Cause, Not Applause!!

Posted on February 15, 2018 by Rod's World

I was watching TED talks this morning about the dangers of volunteer tourism in developing countries. The majority of speakers said that the major problem with their projects had been they simply did not fit in with the local communities normally through lack of knowledge as to how that community ran on a day to day basis and they ended up forcing their own ideals on the community as they knew no better.

So why is the power of community such a palpable energy, allowing for results that cannot be created by individuals but when people come together extraordinary results occur.

Community is derived from the Old French word communete and relates to several situations:

noun

a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.

“Montreal’s Italian community”

synonyms:

group, section, body, company, set, circle, clique, coterie, ring, band, faction; More

informal gang, bunch

“lesbians and gays are not one homogeneous community”

a group of people living together and practicing common ownership.

noun: community; plural noun: communities

“a community of nuns”

synonyms:

brotherhood, sisterhood, fraternity, confraternity, sorority, colony, institution, order, body, circle, association, society, league;

rare sodality

“the monastic community at Canterbury”

a particular area or place considered together with its inhabitants.

“a rural community”

synonyms:

district, region, zone, area, local area, locality, locale, neighbourhood; More

informal neck of the woods;

informal manor;

informal hood, nabe, turf

“East Durham was very much a mining community”

a body of nations or states unified by common interests.

“the European Community”

the people of a district or country considered collectively, especially in the context of social values and responsibilities; society.

noun: community; noun: the community

“preparing prisoners for life back in the community”

synonyms:

population, populace, people, citizenry, public, general public, body politic, collective; More

society, nation, state, country, realm, commonwealth, homeland, fatherland, motherland;

residents, inhabitants, citizens;

humorous denizens, burghers

“we can work together for the good of the community”

denoting a worker or resource designed to serve the people of a particular area.

modifier noun: community

“community health services”

the condition of sharing or having certain attitudes and interests in common.

“the sense of community that organized religion can provide”

a similarity or identity.

“the law presupposes a community of interest between an employer and employees”

synonyms:

similarity, similar nature, likeness, sameness, comparability, correspondence, agreement, alignment, parallel, parallelism, closeness, affinity;

archaic semblance

“they had a harmonious union based on a community of interests”

antonyms:

difference, incompatibility

joint ownership or liability.

“the community of goods”

synonyms: joint ownership, common ownership, shared possession; More

joint liability, joint participation

“the community of goods”

3.

Ecology

a group of interdependent plants or animals growing or living together in natural conditions or occupying a specified habitat.

“communities of insectivorous birds”

So how do you relate to community? I belong to the Williams family community, the Warriors of Love community, the Melbourne dance community, the Sunday Assembly community and the Tai Chi community. I have different reasons for belonging to each one, but value each one for what they provide in my life.

So what have we said about the power of community over the years, some prominent people have had their say, let’s have a look:

1. Mark Hyman, MD, believes that we all deserve a life of vitality—and that we have the potential to create it for ourselves. That’s why he is dedicated to tackling the root causes of chronic disease by harnessing the power of Functional Medicine to transform healthcare. Dr. Hyman and his team work every day to empower people, organizations, and communities to heal their bodies and minds, and improve our social and economic resilience. He clearly believes in the power of community to prevent illnesses vs. the after cure of the medical system.

2. Mitch doesn’t say create more money, he says something that gives you purpose and meaning. Do you have that in your life: On Purpose.

3. The practice of community takes us out of our cocoon into areas of action that call on us to be bigger than we think we can be for the sake of others.

4. Moving from successful Hollywood film director to a seeker of the truth after a serious pushbike accident then creating the doco I Am The film asks the question: “What is wrong with the world, and what can we do about it?”, and explores Shadyac’s personal journey after the accident in 2007 that led him to seek the answers to “the nature of humanity”, “the world’s ever-growing addiction to materialism”, and “human connections” . The quote sums up where the journey took him.: Loving Kindness.

5. Something a lot of foreign aid projects get wrong, its not about changing cultures.

6. Did you fill your heart when you had the conversation with your career guidance counselor at High School, when you chose your major at Uni, when you got that promotion at work. To live in service to humanity, your community gives you the opportunity to do this: Focus on Humanity.

7. The curly headed one, Albert was awarded the Nobel Prize for his service to others.

8. This made me think of Gordon Gekko’s Greed is Good speech for some reason. How much do you hold in your heart?: Big Spender.

9. The remainder of this lengthy quote by Joe Biden is as follows – For too long as a nation, we have been lulled by the anthem of self-interest. For a decade, led by Ronald Reagan, self-aggrandizement has been the full-throated cry of this society: ‘I’ve got mine, so why don’t you get yours’ and ‘What’s in it for me?’

10. Life is a boomerang. What you give, you get. If you are always throwing out negativity then you should not be surprised when this is what you get in return. On the other hand if you are always positive then this is what you will receive as well. Be kind and compassionate to others because you never know when you may need kindness or compassion as well. Don’t judge or you could find others judging you. Some people spend their whole lives miserable and complaining, and they wonder why their life is so negative but they refuse to make an effort to change things or alter their outlook and attitude. If you want to get positive people and emotions in your life then you have to be positive in your dealings with others. If you are not willing to do this then you can not expect others to treat you this way in return. Always remember that fate can be fickle, and you should expect to receive what you give so make sure you give what you want to get. Boomerang.

11. There are many terms for community, here are some of them.

12. My friend Chris was responsible for a community building program in the culturally diverse public housing estates in my home city of Melbourne. How did he do it, creating community gardens: The Garden.

13. There is no I in Community.

14. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said the world will be saved by western women and most successful aid projects make sure that women are involved. This statements points as to why: Can’t hold us Down.

15. Steve Maraboli was selected by Inc. Magazine as a, “Top Leader to Follow”, while dubbing him as, “The Most Quoted Man Alive” (2016).

From the Pope, to the Dalai Lama, to Grammy Winners, to World Champions, to Oscar Winners, to Presidents and Prime Ministers… Steve’s life-changing words are shared and published throughout the world by media, global leaders, athletes, celebrities, and individuals across a wide-range of platforms.

Google Facts has Steve Maraboli referenced or quoted in over 2,000 books in their database.

What communities do you claim as your own, we all have them. Now the more relevant question, what do you contribute and give back to them.

Music is dominated by female artists today. Sabrina Carpenter, Ashana, The Sweet Charity dancers, JoJo Siwa, Kari Jobe and Christine Aquilera. The one male contribution is from Jim Carrey and his cohorts.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Doubt kills more dreams than Failure!!

Posted on February 8, 2018 by Rod's World

You with either look back in life and say “I wish I had” or “I’m glad I did”. These prophetic words were spoken by Zig Ziglar, a preeminent American motivational speaker. The way of doing this is to become a champion at knowing what you want. Keep focusing on the “do not wants” and that is 100% what you will get more of! Make it a primary focus to keep on homing in on what you do want. It is the first thing to work on. The one thing that makes the biggest difference in your life.

Keith Abraham asks the following question to people in presentations, workshops and in general conversation. “What do you want to Achieve?” Only to have the reply come back to him ” I don’t know “. Which them prompts to ask the annoying question, “Yes, but if you did what would you like to achieve?” When that fails, as it often does, I ask the fool proof question, “What don’t you want?”

So setting our sights on goals and dreams is an inherently important part of our life. Has society much to say about this? Here’s what I have chosen to comment on today:

1. Your intentions steer you towards your goals. Lack of intention leads to lack of completing any goals in life.

2. Barnsley’s culture is rooted in its industrial heritage and it has a tradition of brass bands, originally created as social clubs by its mining communities. Virginia Woolf was born in an affluent household in Kensington, London, attended the Ladies’ Department of King’s College and was acquainted with the early reformers of women’s higher education. To become part of the society Ms. Woolf inhabited would truly take something from the mining background of Barnsley: Virginia Woolf.

3. Remember when we were all going to be astronauts, firemen, doctors or vets, what happens to these lofty ideals?

4. Penned by the worlds most famous philosopher, Ms. Unknown this makes me think of when we reach our goals and forget to set new ones: Stand in the Light.

5. With a rap career spanning 30 years LL Cool J can definitely claim to having stayed focused over this time.

6. They are not just the good bits, you need to put in the hard yards: Unconditionally.

7. Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī , also known as Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī , Mevlânâ/Mawlānā ( “our master”), Mevlevî/Mawlawī ( “my master”), and more popularly simply as Rumi , was a 13th-century Persian, Sunni, Muslim poet, jurist, Islamic scholar, theologian, and Sufi mystic. Rumi’s influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions: Iranians, Tajiks, Turks, Greeks, Pashtuns, other Central Asian Muslims, and the Muslims of South Asia have greatly appreciated his spiritual legacy for the past seven centuries. His poems have been widely translated into many of the world’s languages and transposed into various formats. Rumi has been described as the “most popular poet” and the “best selling poet” in the United States.

8. Studies show that right now we are actually living in the most peaceful time in human history…by far. Use this to your advantage and set yourself some awesome goals: If you want it, It can Happen.

9. it all starts with a dream. You need to clarify an achievable realistic goal that has a timeline attached to it. Then you need to mentally confirm what it is you want to achieve.

10. Does your goal live in your heart or your head. Purpose likes hanging around in the former: Mark my Words.

11. The bit the Secret left out, you actually have to take action.

12. What word do you use to describe it, I use Gaia, the power of the Universe: Mama Gaia.

13. Agree with this totally, It’s going on in my life.

14. Tenzin Gyatso, His Holiness, The Prince of Peace, whatever name we know him by the Dalai Lama is worth listening too: Purpose of Life.

15. As a politician this man should know what he is talking about where the affairs of most countries are run on a short term basis to ensure the retaining of power not a vision to make the country a better place.

A definition I read recently of Setting our sights that stuck with me was as follows – Pursuing your Passion is not about being interested or involved. It’s about having a burning desire to live your dream everyday.

The Dalai Lama has made today’s music videos, along with the Indigo Girls, Jordan Smith, Kate Perry. Justin Bieber and Lindie Lila.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends.

Invest in People who Invest in You!!

Posted on February 5, 2018 by Rod's World

I have 4,,828 friends on Facebook. I use the principle if we have 100 mutual friends and we have not met that we eventually will. This means I have a lot of the Melbourne Conscious Movement, musicians and female American life coaches as friends. I write a Facebook birthday card for each and everyone of them. Today one of the people was my friend from Landmark Education Thea Westra. As I wrote it I started to think about her remarkable book Time for My Life, 365 Stepping Stones, 2843 Life Power Boosters at your fingertips.

Thea wrote a book that has a page for every day of the year that has a stepping stone, action, challenge, quote, clearing, question and affirmation for you to contemplate. As an example her is today’s page.

Stepping Stone – Be willing to accept. A gift given and received requires two parties. The person who is giving the gift and the person who is receiving the gift. You must be open to receiving after you ask something to happen or to come your way.

Action – Today is the birthday of the author of this book. Send Thea Westra a hello birthday greeting. Just use the Contact Form at http://www.myforwardsteps.com . Your message will go directly to Thea’s inbox and she will reply.

Challenge – Be patient and focus on daily changes, rather than waiting for revelations.

Quote – Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non- essentials….Lin Yutang

Clearing – Check chair/table legs to see if they need new protective caps.

Question – Can you distinguish essential from non-essential?

Affirmation – I choose to be debt free.

So, do you allow time for your life? How does society relate to this noble practice, lets have a look:

1. The one time this happened to me was in a motorcycle accident and memories of people who were special to me filled my heart and mind.

2. I didn’t know Marilyn was a fan of Eckhart Tolle: Teach me Tiger.

3. The problem with this is that if the person you are talking about departs, it leaves a huge gap. Working on self love as the driver might be more useful then it can’t be taken away when someone leaves.

4. As we make more and more time for our life, we learn to stop doing the things that do not come from our passions: Lights.

5. They say the magic is in the silence not the small talk.

6. So many of the business gurus I read say it isn’t about the money, It’s about the time and to stop wasting time doing things you regret later or do not enjoy. It’s probably because of the second sentence above: No Regrets.

7. Seems a bit contrary, If you are in the Now why would you also be living life as I can’t wait to get to the future?

8. The 27 Club is a list of popular musicians, artists, or actors who died at age twenty-seven. It originated with an unsupported claim of a “statistical spike” for the death of musicians at that age, but this has been repeatedly disproved by research. Members are Jimi , Janis Joplin, Jim Morrison and Brian Jones in the 1970’s and recently Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse: “27”.

9. At what age did you stop doing this with your friends, It’s supposedly when we grow up.

10. They say we meet a few people in our lives who we can be separate from for years but when we get back together it feels like five minutes, I think that’s because they have placed themselves in our hearts: You’re in my Heart.

11. I love the last line, sometimes I get stuck in the belief its a permanent fixture.

12. Don’t forget the people who teach you the hard lessons: Difficult.

13. It’s like the saying, if the door doesn’t open for you – It’s not meant to at that time in your life.

14. What if, why did that happen to me, etc. etc. Turn around and walk towards to your dreams: Mr. Brightside.

15. Rabindranath Tagore, also written Ravīndranātha Thākura, was a Bengali polymath who reshaped Bengali literature and music, as well as Indian art with Contextual Modernism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Author of Gitanjali and its “profoundly sensitive, fresh and beautiful verse”, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Tagore’s poetic songs were viewed as spiritual and mercurial; however, his “elegant prose and magical poetry” remain largely unknown outside Bengal. He is sometimes referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”.

You can contact Thea via http://www.forwardstepsblog.com, it seems these days you receive a free 179 page eBook and for a paltry $10 Australian you can purchase the eBook of the book I am talking about in this blog.

Music is from Marilyn Monroe, Ellie Goulding, The Walker Brothers, the unknown Maria Stoian , Rod Stewart, Eminem and the Killers.

Namaste until next time, my dear friends