Say Nothing, and doing nothing is it cool? This comes to mind when I’m sitting here thinking of topics for this blog. Several topics have come to mind, I even started some, but they didn’t feel right.

Which got me thinking about saying nothing this week. One of the contrasts between here, the UK and the Philippines is just how busy we are here. From the time of rising to the time of going to sleep we’re busy doing and at the same time we’re bombarded with messages phones, emails, and the TV. Constant noise and busyness.

Yes being busy keeps us active, and busy but maybe saying nothing and even doing nothing might be just what we need.

Compared to some I haven’t travelled hugely, but I travelled some and I lived in another culture for 14 months and that has got me to understand that there are different ways of doing things and maybe other cultures have something to teach us. Perhaps saying nothing and doing nothing.

In the Mediterranean area  an afternoon siesta is normal. Which is something that Winston Churchill, a hero of mine, was a strong proponent of. 12 benefits of power napping are identified in this blog.

In the Philippines they take a very pragmatic approach, if feeling sleepy or tired, rest. In rural areas particularly,  it’s a very common sight to see people in a string hammock, which is strung between two trees, thereby making the most of the shade and available breeze. Less breeze indoors. Hammocks aren’t too expensive at about $3 In the Philippines you don’t rest on the ground as the ants and other insects would make it very uncomfortable. The Filipina’s are on the whole very happy, which I discussin, is hapiness governed by geography.

For us ‘Westerners’ we feel we have to be  busy. But why?

Where are we heading that we have to be busy, all the time? I mean none of us  live forever. So all we have is the time that we are here. The journey the journey of life. So how about doing things that we enjoy. So instead of planning to do more on our to do list. Have doing nothing on the agenda/list.

Now I’m not proposing doing nothing all the time, just spend some time each day doing nothing, watching your thoughts, seeing what arises, from your thoughts. Perphaps your thoughts might be very ‘busy’. Think of them, these thoughts as clouds, yes they’re there but you don’t have to chase after them, or become attached to them. Just observe them going by. You  might find doing nothing uncomfortable, at first, and it might take some practice. However if you stick with it, doing five minutes a day to start with. You will probably find it enjoyable, a space, a break from being busy.

A time to recognise that we’re all human beings, not human doings. You might even find that this doing nothing gives some perspective on the life that you’re creating.

Some will call this practice of doing nothing meditation, others contemplation. But perhaps you might find those very words a bit disturbing. Hopefully doing nothing is more accessible. Have a read of 20 tips on  being happy.

For a birthday present my kids had a wooden sign that says ‘Quiet time’ and I would put it on the door so that they wouldn’t disturb. That little sign means a lot to me.

But try it, doing nothing, and let me know how you get on…

So we’ve looked at doing nothing but what about saying nothing. If you’re with someone the greatest gift you can give them is just to listen. Just be there for them. I go into more detail in how do we communicate. But often people don’t or even want ‘solutions’ for the problem to be fixed. As us men mistakenly believe. Sometimes we just need to be heard. So the other party needs to say less, even nothing.

I never did learn to speak Visyian whilst in the Philippines so often when my finacee had her friends over I would find it a little difficult not being part of the conversation, but it was amazing how much I did pick up see art of conversation… Not just the words, but how people interacted. And because I was saying nothing I think I observed more. This I explored in understanding people.

So try turning off the TV and other background noise and saying and doing nothing. By the action or non action of saying and doing nothing  will give another perspective on your life, maybe even add depth.

There you have it saying nothing and doing nothing is cool. No doubt about it.

Live the moment it’s a present

Love, greatly and unconditionally,

Laugh at Life, funny things and self

Bruce

Ps, If you would like help on doing less butwould like to accomplish more check out this amazing tool…

Value shopping, do you feel that by value shopping  you will to lose out on quality and taste?

For 5 weeks I have valued shopped at Tesco’s, Sainsbury, Co-op and Aldi. And give a comparision

And the results that I have found value shopping have really surprised me. In the post I showed that it was possible to save on the minimum wage.

In the past 5 weeks I have spent £136 on groceries and things so £27 a week on my value shopping. This has included everything, beverages, food and household things such as cleaners and toilet paper.

Value shopping has been a huge success. I stuck to a budget, well almost, budget was/is £25 a week. And I’ve found the quality good. The thing that has surprised me most,  there has been little loss of choice.

Tesco has Everday Value, Sainsbury Basics Co-Op Simply Value. At Aldi I was unable to discern if they have a value line.

So how did these supermarkets compare for value shopping

Aldi

Aldi was my first shop that I visited and their honey at under a £ is very good, as is Aldi’s peanut butter, also under £. A special mention though goes to Aldi’s luxury museli which is full of fruit and nuts and well luxury at a little over £2. By comparison Tesco’s Value Museli while getting more and being cheaper at 98p is little more than oats so is poor value by comparison.

However I was underwhelmed at Aldi’s shop layout, it confused me having furniture in with the fruit and vegetables.

Sainsbury

Previously Sainsbury had been my supermarket of preference as they used to  have a wonderful selection. And I was curious to see how Sainsbury would compare in the value shop.

Sainsbury’s value tomatoes at 31p are great, as good as named brands costing two and a half times as much. 400g of mushrooms at 95p was good value and Sainsbury Kidney beans at 18p also good. I was really pleased to discover that Sainsbury’s wholemeal flour at £1.10 for 1.5kg so that means homemade bread at 65p for a 2lb loaf. Brill.

Big sack of onions at 90p and 39p for a packet of digestive biscuits. The digestive biscuits looked and tasted the same as a named brand four times as much.

Sainsbury shop came to £28.39 and Sainsbury gave me a voucher for 27p as Asda would have been 27p cheaper on that shop. Now currently there isn’t an Asda anywhere close. The locals here in Weoly Castle tell me that Asda will be building a store at the bottom of my road starting in December.

Tesco

At Five Ways in Birmingham Tesco has the most individual Tesco that I’ve ever been to. Tesco at Five ways is a large store but is housed in the ground floor of an office building so instead of being rectangular  has lots of seemingly random bits, not Tesco’s usual flow. However I found it appealing.

What was particularly good value for my shopping at Tesco’s, Tuna chunks at 54p a can. 1/3 of brand price. 20p for 4 packet soups is amazing value. And Toilet cleaner at 27p named brands were up to ten times that price. Looking at the labels I couldn’t discern much difference in the active ingredients.  And Tesco’s Everyday value rice pudding at 13p a can is delicious and at that price is a winner.

I really enjoy a cup of hot chocolate. My fiancé Charito makes it from the cocao shells, in the Philippines and  cooks them, grinds them, and then puts in forms. Charito packed 1.5 kg for me to bring to the UK, which on a 20kg baggage allowance was a lot. But I can’t get the hot chocolate to taste the same as when Charitoo makes it. So I’m buying hot chocolate in powered form and Tesco’s Hot Chocolate at 48p tastes way better than Sainsbury hot chocolate at £1.30. Tesco’s tastes as good as brands which are nearly £3. Overall Tesco has been the most expensive shop at £38.12 however that did included 5 cards £6.50 and because they did have such a good selection I stocked up on things like quinoa £1.69 and pulses at £1.75

Co-Op

This is the closest supermarket for me, so I was hoping that it would do well. And how did the Co-Op fare for the value shop? For the Co-Op, the Weoly Castle is a large store and the Co-OP’s Simply Value line is good. However there wasn’t the choice compared to Sainsbury or Tesco. The Co-OP’s Soya milk at 62p is nearly there compared to Sainsbury’s at 59p Tesco is a little cheaper at 56p. The Co-Op’s soya milk is a little thicker.

One area that the Co-op did shine was  their dried pulses and beans. Better selection and much cheaper than Tesco’s. But as I had bought the previous week I didn’t buy.

Which is the cheapest Supermarket?

For your value shopping for food probably Sainsbury’s for household things like cleaners Tesco. For pulses and beans the Co-Op. For jams and  things Aldi. Also keep an lookout in the bargin shelves, I had 500g of cheese 89p and 500g of stir fry at 25p

Which is the best supermarket for quality and taste?

I am impressed with Tesco’s Everyday Value brand

Summary of Value Shopping

There is the premise with food that you get what you pay for with the inference that you pay more you get better quality. That’s not the case.

From that Uncle Ben’s rice at £2.98 for 500 grams should be much better than the basic range at 40p a kilo. The basic rice is 15 times cheaper than uncle Ben’s.

Do a taste test and discover the difference for yourself. Time wise long grained rice takes 10 minutes to cook and 5 minutes to steam and is great.

If you spend time looking at the ingredients, recommended, you will often find that the basic ranges have as much or more of the main ingredient. Not always though. Basic sausages are often made of chicken. So check.

Conclusion

With value shopping you will cut your shopping bill. Yes it takes time to compare. But you’ve worked hard for your money so you might as well get the most from it and maybe like me you can enjoy the shopping process. I’m amazed at how far £25 will go here in the UK. By spending wisely on the everyday things paves the way for your financial security in the long term

Do share this post on Value Shopping: The UK Supermarkets Compared, Price and Taste with at least one other. To get my posts on a regular basis which will help you to live the life of your dreams. Register here

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at life funny things and self

Bruce

PS Like some help to get more from your life check out Personal Alchemy Coaching.

Why plan your life now?

At the time of writing we’re 145 days into 2012 so there are 221 days left. Which set us free from the problems encountered by New Years resolutions. Our future stretches out in front of us.

Research has shown that people who plan their life are on average 30 times happier, more fulfilled and richer. So by planning your life you will be happier, more fulfilled, healthier and richer. Sounds good to me. So what is the easiest way to plan your life?

1.     Review where you are

There are two ways of doing this. 1) You can do a review in detail which I go into in my post Bruce’s Annual Review or here’s a very quick version. Print out the pie chart and take a crayon or pen and draw a line as to how fulfilled you feel in each area of your life. The outside represents 100% and close to the center 0%.

Here’s a picture of my life fulfillment chart.

The smoother the circle, the easier and smoother life will be for you. As you can see in 5 areas of my life I’m pretty fulfilled and things are going well.  However there is one area which is causing a few issues! Perhaps you might have an area of your life that is also causing you a few issues.

Print out your own chart Life Fulfillment Chart

2.     Gratitude

Gratitude is a very positive and powerful emotion and by fully feeling the gratitude for what we do have, makes us feel better and allow us to see more easily and clearly the benefits of what we do have. I talk about this is Turn Your Worst Day into Your Best day. Recently as I shared in When things Go Wrong Big Style my health and finances took a real and very unexpected dive. Which means that I’ve had to relook at my plans for this year. But as I say in my post Saving on the Minimum wage I’m having the opportunity to save on the minimum wage .

3.     Chose an Area to Focus on

Look at your chart and which is your weakest area. Not sure? Which area makes you cringe, which area would you prefer not to talk about to a friend. That’s the one to work on first. That is the area that needs most improvement. The good news is that by focusing on that, your weakest area will have the biggest benefit for the whole of your life.

4.     Start with the End in Mind

What is your ideal outcome? How will you be feeling. What emotions will you be experiencing? How you be walking? What attitude we you be displaying?

5.     Plan

Put a plan together, set a goal to achieve that outcome, not sure of how to set this blog will help. Want to turbo charge your goal setting and life, take a look at this amazing tool.

6.     Visualize

Visualize your desired outcome, in detail, if you want a new home, you know how many bedrooms and where it is, but what does the carpet feel like under your feet? what’s in the kitchen draws? Use all your senses to get detailed.

7.     Action

As I share in the Secret doesn’t work if you sit about thinking and awishing then things won’t change you have to take action.

8.     Review; Often

The action that you’ve taking will have either moved you towards or away from your chosen goals. A lot of new year resolutions founder because the review either doesn’t happen frequently enough or not at all. Monthly is the minimum.

9.     Mastermind group

Set up a mastermind group or buddy up with someone else who wishes to achieve a similar goal. My post on Mastermind groups will help if you’re unsure about what a mastermind group is the benefits and how to set one up.

10.Rewards

Think about the rewards you’re going to give yourself when you have taken the action. Doesn’t need to be big or cost a lot.

11.Relax

Relax knowing that your goals and plans are going to come to pass.

So now you know how to plan your life and why you should plan your life now to be happier, more fulfilled and richer. Keep me posted on your progress. I love to hear from you.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love, greatly and unconditionally,

Laugh at life, funny things and self

Bruce

PS If you want to turbo charge the achievement of you plans check this awesome tool out.

21 tips on starting your own business is written because I’m just starting a business. And you might find some of the tips helpful. Maybe  you’re one of the 80% who don’t like their job and would like to do something different or one of the young who are having

Starting Your Own Business

difficulty in getting a job.  If you do want a job this post on how to Get a Better Job Anytime will help. Or perhaps you’re looking for a new career, whatever the reason I hope that you find this informative and helpful. If so please share, use the one click sharebar,  or sign up to the RSS feed and ensure that you get my informed view on health, wealth and relationships.

1.     Start with the end in mind

When starting your own business you might have thought that the most important tip would be on starting your business, we’ll address those presently. But initially start with the end in mind. Van Gough said he dreamed the painting,  and then painted the dream. So how do you see you exiting the business? A sale ? Floating on a stock exchange? Or just closing the doors? As with all these tips and questions there is rarely a ‘right’ answer. But by asking yourself the question you will ascertain an answer that is ‘right’ for you. If you’re thinking of sale, to  whom are you likely to sell to? A competitor? Or someone else in a related/complementary business.  If so identify the likely candidates and pinpoint what benefits there would be for them. By doing so you can ensure that your business has those benefits and you will then have a ready buyer.

For my new business, sale is the preferred exit route, this will give a clean exit and some useful cash.

2.     Why?

Why do you want to start you’re own business? A new challenge? For an income? For something to do? Many home based businesses are started for this reason. Or perhaps you want to make a difference? To help people? I intend on helping local business owners to promote themselves on the web and social media Local business owners know that they want to be on page 1 of Google. But have no idea of how to get there. They have been approached by some wiz kid who suggests that they have a web site and they spent on one only to find it’s at page 20 and doesn’t do much for them.

3.     Enjoyment.

When starting a new business it is really important that you enjoy what you’re doing. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing the business won’t flourish. And the business will be a drag, so do what you enjoy. If you’d like tips on How to Enjoy Life More, Click the Link. I love helping people and learning new things, and thing the web and technology is totally awesome..

4.     Talent

Do you have the skill or the talent to do what you want to do? How do you know? Do other people feel the same. If you listen to USA or Britain’s Got Talent. All the contenders enjoy what their performances but a lot I don’t feel have ever played to an audience or they would know that not everyone shares their opinion!!

But if your one of the many who doesn’t really like themselves this blog  Amazing Benefits of Being You will point to some of the wonders of being you.

5.     Shadow

One way you can get a good idea of whether you have the talent is by shadowing someone who is already doing what you want. Say you wanted to open a McDonalds franchise go and work in one and get the experience of the environment.

6.     Interview.

Or go and interview the people who have been successful and see what lessons they learnt and what they would do differently. How to Communicate will help on communicating and understanding with people.

7.     Identify Your USP

What is your USP, Your Unique Selling Proposition. Why would customers want to come to you rather than your competition. If you say that there is no competition for your business, then it could well be that there is no competition, because there is no market. My USP is that most  by dint of being more mature I will be able to relate to business  owners who find it difficult to relate to You Tube, SEO & Social Networking which is on the whole the territory of the young.

8.     Get a Business Plan

When getting started it is very important to put together a business plan.You won’t get external financing, should you need it, without a business plan. And if you don’t need external finance, you still have to have a business plan.

9.     Cashflow

Cashflow will form part of your business plan. But I make it a separate point , because without a healthy positive cashflow your business will fail. I’ve had two businesses fail due to not having enough cash. Dealing with Failure: 1o tips on Failing your way to Success

10.Target Market

Identify your target market. Anyone is a recipe for disaster. How old, are they employed? Self employed? Unemployed? What is the household income? What are their hobbies? Where do they live? Do they have children? What car do they drive? Where do they shop? What movies do they like, What are their interests?  What colour are their eyes.  Get specific.

11.Marketing

Having identified your target market, before you start your own business you need to establish how you’re going to reach that target market. Going to use the internet what are your keywords/phrases? What is the competition for those keywords/phrases. If Wikipedia, Amazon or Google take the top 3 slots you need to be thinking of different keywords, which might put a different slant or approach on your business.

12.Business Partners

No business is an island so we all need business partners which might be internal or external. And if internal might be hands on in the business or a silent partner. Whatever skills they bring there needs to be a lot of common ground and a similar outlook with a common goal.

13.Optimism

To start your own business you need to be optimistic. Realism is good, but by nature you need to be optimistic to start.

14.Perseverance

To build a success business takes work. Lot’s of it. Want to know what is needed to cultivate Perseverance The Power of Perseverance will enlighten.

15.Time

It takes time to build a successful business. A good time in which to have built a successful business is five years. But if your enjoying the process, having fun this doesn’t matter. If you struggle with time management this post will help Importance of Time Management

16.Consistency

A successful business needs to be consistent. Provide the same service/pricing all the time

17.Customer Service

Businesses that thrive are those that provide the customer with a great experience. Customer support and care are the primary concern to your customer. So when you start your own business give due thought to the service and support you’ll be providing.

18.Purpose

When starting your own business ask how does this fit into my life’s purpose? Not sure what your life’s purpose is and would like to find out. Register for this free course that will help you establish your life’s purpose.

19.Courage.

To start your own business you need to have courage. If that’s not a strong suit for you. Your partner(s) need to have it in spades.

20.Start

A hero of mine Winston Churchill said. “You don’t have to be great to start; but you do have to start to be great”.

So there you have 21 tips  on starting Your Own Business. Share with your friends. Thanks. And know that if you follow these tips the chances of being successful multiply.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at life funny things and self

Bruce

Ps. The 21^st tip is goal setting. Break setting your own business down into small and easy to do steps. And your business will be a success. Check out this tool and see how it can help.

We all seek a state of Happiness from I’m Ok and meaning it. To I’m feeling totally awesome and feeling amazing. But is our Happiness Governed by where we live in the world?

One thing that has really struck me having just returned from the Philippines, 14 months in paradise, to England is the state of happiness.

In the Philippines the state of happiness is set at a high level. The Filipino default setting is happy. Big smiles nearly everywhere and laughter. Lots of laughter, from the children playing in the dirt to parents cooking. Even when working the Filipino laughs. There are many smiles when something has gone wrong or right and often accompanied by the sound of laughter.

Why is the Filipino so happy this when the Filipino has so little in comparison. The average wage is $6 a day. And the Filipino has to work harder for basic necessities as I show in my post of Two Stories . For a gallon of gas the Filipino has to work 10 hours. While the US worker,  on the minimum wage ,needs to work just 30 minutes.

And there is no welfare state to look after you or Medicare or health service.

So why is the Filipino’s state of happiness happy and the average British guy pretty miserable?

Looking around here in Birmingham there are few smiles and laughter is a rarity, when hear laughter, people turn to see where it’s coming from.

It’s possible that our state of happiness is predominantly governed by two factors.

Posture.

When walking the British personposture whether male or female looks at the pavement, head down, and the shoulders are slumped, and the expression is glum or perhaps dour. The breathing is shallow. The walk is more of a shuffle.

Try it. How do you feel? Oh and while walking like that, think of what is going wrong in you life and all the possible problems that might be heading your way.

You feel pretty glum maybe even dour don’t you.

The Filipino by contrast walks with their head up, thus allowing for deeper breathing and allows the walk to be open relaxed and easy.

When walking be grateful for the foods you have recently eaten and for the friends you have.

Go on try it.

What a difference. The Filipino way of walking feels much better doesn’t it?

Attitude

Attitude also has a big part to play in our state of Happiness. Generally the Filipino lives  more day to day. If he/they don’t work they go hungry. If working and they have a good job they have 250 pesos coming in ($6) of which 60 pesos ¼ will go on rice. So they are grateful for when they do have a job and money for rice.

Also the Filipino is very conscious that while in life death is never far away. Fall ill and no money for medicine then you will die. (If the illness is severe enough) And they accept that. On 31^st October and 1^st November  Halloween or in teh Philippines All Staints day. The Filipino goes and has dinner and often breakfast with their dead ancestors at the crypt. Sounds morbid, but is a very joyous feast. They, the Filipino is giving thanks for their ancestors for their friendship and for life, which they are sharing with family and friends. This video gives you a feeling of what the occasion looks like.

So be happy or grateful for what we do have. Knowing that we’re all on life’s journey and we have the choice to enjoy the journey.

So a state of happiness is down to two things our posture. Walk tall with our head held high and breathing deeply and we feel better. And have an attitude of gratitude for what we do have and for our friends our family and our ancestors

Like some more tips on How to be happy visit 20 Tips to Be Happy

The Art of Allowing

The Amazing Benefits of Being You

And How to Enjoy Life More.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at Life, funny things and self.

Bruce

Ps. If you’re going through tough times, keep going. Want help to live the life of your dreams…

How to save on a minimum wage was written because for a long time I felt I didn’t earn enough to save.  Perhaps you can relate to that. In which case read on and be enlightened as it is not only possible to save on a minimum wage but it is also possible to become a millionaire on a minimum wage.

In my post When things go wrong Big Style I recount the story of how I got here. But as a brief re-cap. I was holidaying in the Philippines, 14 months in Paradise and I got ill which resulted in having to have a pacemaker fitted. Which should have been paid for by the insurance company, however so far they have declined to pay and cancelled the insurance. Which left me with a big bill and no insurance. So back home to the UK.

I’ve been really blessed with friends and family which have made it possible.

The minimum wage in the USA is $7.25 an hour, so working 40 hours a week gives an income of $1,072 per month.

Now that income is very similar to the income which I receive from my MLM business The great news for me is that I don’t have to work for that money, which leaves me free to do what I desire.

It only operates in the UK but if you would like to know more click the link to make money.

So how do you save on the minimum wage.

The most important thing is mindset.

To save our mindset has to be positive. If you say to yourself as I did ‘I don’t earn enough to save’ Then even if you earn more than the president that will be your experience as it was mine. You won’t earn enough to save.

If however you think. I’m Saving for my future. So I can have what I desire. Save you will, and it will be easy too.

I’m saving because I have an amazing finacee in the Philippines and we want to be together again

To save put saving first

A great target to be aiming for is 25% or more so of your $1,072 put $300 into a saving account first. That leaves you $772 to spend as you want.

Accommodation

Allow 25 to 30% of your income for the accommodation. That figure needs to include Rent, rates, Taxes, Heating, Water etc. Here in the UK $300 per month is quite a small  budget for accommodation. A flat/condo would likely to cost $750 of which taxes heat, light water would be nearly half. However with a good bit of searching I have been able to locate a couple of rooms with a shared kitchen in a good area of Birmingham, next to two parks which is awesome.

Insurance

I have good life and critical illness cover which cost $63. In the Uk we have the NHS which covers medical expenses and dentistry.

Broadband and phone

My supplier Utility Warehouse does mobile Broadband with a phone for just $17.93 a month, including all local and national calls.

Kids

As I have been out of the UK for the past 14 months my relations with the kids is not as strong as it was. And they live currently either with their Mum or at University. However I still support 2 with phones which costs. $57 a month.

Cell/Mobile

I have just bought a Nokia 100 which makes calls and texts and cost me $20. I am then getting 500 minutes of calls and unlimited texts cost me $16 a month with Utility Warehouse.

Food and Household goods

Food is much more expensive in the UK than the US, it costs about the same in £ as it does you in $. So my budget for that is $163 a month plus laundry at $25

Transport

Car ownership is n’t environmentally friendly and not economically wise on a minimum wage, especially when you’re trying to save. Broadly it costs $400 a month to run a small car and a further $300 either in depreciation or finance so $700 a month in total. I can get a bus pass to allow me unlimited travel throughout the midlands for $100 a month. Which is what I’m doing.

Entertainment

I have $65 a month for entertainment. I’m looking forward to catching a few movies which I didn’t see in the Philippines. And the occassional meal out.

Investment

That gives me $326 a month to save and invest. 1/3 of this $100 a month I’m investing in two of my business to boost my income so I can save more.

How to save on a minimum wage shows how I’m saving on the minimum wage and has given you insights as to how you can too can save on the minimum wage.

If you like to see other ways you can save money check out Save a Lot of Money

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love Greatly and Unconditionally

Laugh at Life, funny things and Self.

Bruce

Ps. If you have a dream and would like to give it life check this tool out and live the life of your dreams.

How can I be happy is a frequent question for a lot of people so to answer the question  How Can I Be Happy here are 20 tips on How to Be Happy.

This is very necessary for me at this moment as I’m leaving for England this week leaving my beloved finance here in the Philippines.

1.     Focus on what is good in your life

We get by the law of attraction, see The Law of Attraction doesn’t work, more of what we focus on. Ergo if we focus on the good and great things in our life we get more of that.

2.     PMA.

Have a Positive Mental attitude, be optimistic.Having a Positive Mental Attitude won’t change the facts, but it will help you to feel better

3.     Perspective

Keep things in perspective, When things Have Gone wrong Big Style, there’s usually something to be gained.

4.     Life’s Purpose

By having and keeping your focus on your life’s purpose helps to keep things in perspective. Like to explore your life’s purpose. This free mini course will help.

5.     Smile

Smiling will help you feel happier 17 Reasons to Smile gives you 16 other reasons why smiling is good for you.

6.     Acceptance

Accept yourself just as you are will help you feel happier

7.     Enjoy Your Job

Most people, that’s 85% of people don’t like their job. That makes it rather difficult to be joyful. Recapture Enthusiasm for Your Job and Life.

8.     Courage

Be courageous when facing a new challenge. Not sure how. How to Transcend Fear and Really Live will be of assistance.

9.     Make Money

Not having enough or feeling that there’s not enough funds to pay the bills and pay for food can be a pretty debilitating feeling, as I know only too well. Save a Lot of Money: Become a Millionaire shows you how you can save a lot and well become a millionaire.

10. Try Something New

Maybe a food, or an activity.

11. Get Inspiration

Inspiration is much better than motivation as Do You Want to Be Inspired or Motivated looks into. Or watch an inspiring film.

12. Play

Take time to play and have fun.

13. DMC

Have a Deep Meaningful Conversation. I’ve no idea why this works, but if I’m feeling down having a Deep Meaning Conversation with another always lifts my spirits. Like help communicating. How to Communicate will do just that.

14. Support

Have a support structure of family and friends in place and if things to do go Wrong Big Style you have a ready made support structure.

15. Accept

Earlier we talked about accepting self as a key component as to our happiness. Well so to is accepting others just as they are is too.

16. Seek out people and situations that you enjoy

17. Do things that you Love

And less of things that you don’t love or like.

18. Keep away from Negative people

Keeping away from negative people and situations is a great way of ensuring that your happiness is not unnecessarily diminished.

19. Choose

Happiness is a choice. So make that choice and decide to be happy

Happiness Getter

20. Plan

Have a plan of what makes you happy and action steps you can take to achieve that goal. This planner and task manager will really help you achieve your goal of being happy and all your other goals too. Have a peak at this video to see how.

So there you have 20 tips showing you how you can be happy. If you have found that helpful I would love to hear from you.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love Greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at Funny things, Life and Self

Bruce

If you feel I’ve missed and important tip on how to be happy let me know through the comments below.

What do you do when things go wrong, especially when things have gone wrong “Big Style”

I had 2012 all planned out as I outlined in ‘What are your plans for 2012’ I planned to save for and set up home with my new finacee and become a published author and improve still further my great health and to help some locals. All 6 areas of my life had been mapped out to have a fun filled and great year.

On the 4^th of February 2012 I passed out while sitting at my desk. Off to hospital I went, were after a lot of tests I was diagnosed with sick sinus syndrome, a poorly heart. Because of the rate of my deterioration and because I wasn’t fit to fly back to the UK I was admitted into the Chong Hua Hospital in Cebu. Who have been brilliant and Dr Chio fitted a pacemaker and that’s working great.

If that was all it would have been a set back to my goals and plans. With not more than a hiccup. Albeit a big hiccup.But the insurance company having initially given the go-ahead declined to pay. Which was a bummer.

Heart surgery is expensive and paying for it with no insurance is challenging and the chap who has commissioned me to write his autobiography is having challenges too. So there’s a delay on that cheque.

Things have gone wrong big style

What to do when thing go wrong Big Style.

Relax.

Have compassion on yourself and others who are involved, you are doing the best that you know how.

Evaluate

Evaluate the size of the problem. Assess where you are now the likelihood of further problems and the consequences of that furrther problems.

Specialist health care is very expensive. And if something goes wrong with your heart you need specialist health care fast.

Make a Plan

Having a ‘master plan’ of how to achieve your life’s goals is wonderful and gives you a great start. Not sure how to set goals look at ‘How to Set Great Goals and Achieve Them‘ Does the event cause for a small alteration of your plan, a major rework. Or does ‘the event’ call for a total rework?

In the UK the brilliant NHS, National Health Service, will provide excellent health care and for free. So it seems eminently sensible to get back to the UK to be looked after there. A pacemaker needs regular and to start with frequent visits to specialists.

Explore Alternatives

What alternatives are open to you? They don’t have to be sensible or practical just explore as many possibilities as possible.

Get Help

Ask for help. From friends from family. Some will be only to pleased to help. Others not only will decline, especially if money is involved but will use ‘the event’ to break the relationship. But the support and encouragement from those who do will be a massive blessing. Or turn to a professional coach

Why

Ask yourself why did the event happen. Was there anything that you could do to have avoided ‘the event’

Lessons learnt

Make a list of the lessons learnt from ‘the event’. I had reserves both in financial and for help in place, which I thought would cover. But they got used for another emergency. With hindsight, when the first emergency happened that would have been a good time to have made new plans and not merely adjust the old one.

By nature I’m an optimist and have bags of perseverance so often I put a comma, when a full stop would serve better.

Make a Plan: The Big Picuture

Put a plan together. Are you living your life on purpose? Do you have a life’s purpose, if not and you like one, sign up for this free course which will help you explore your unique lifes purpose. Having got your life’s purpose it’s much easier then to set goals as milestones to achieve that. Like help in setting goals. Take a look at this amazing planner and task manager which will do most of the work for you.

Gratitude

Be grateful that you’re still alive. On my way to the hospital I was passing in and out of consciousness. Doing yoga as the sun rose this morning was just awesome. It was especially poignant doing the ‘Sun Salutation’ called Vinyasa. There are a lot of Benefits in doing Yoga

Grateful for friends. A Filipino friend of mine was prepared to mortgage her business, her livelihood, to help me when I was in hospital.

Grateful for family.

Grateful for help, whether from books the internet.

I’m grateful for another chance.

If things have gone wrong; Big Style you now have some useful tools to help. Had major traumatic event. Turn your Worst day into Your Best Day will help.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at funny things life and self.

Bruce

PS Sometimes shit happens, and when it does pick yourself up have a wash and get on. Want help getting on? Check Personal Coaching Alchemy

Getting Fit is a top goal for most people.

But how do you get fit and stay fit with a busy schedule? If you’re looking to run a marathon or across mountain ranges like my son this post isn’t for you.

The average person is sedentary,

Sedentary meaning that they take fewer  than 5,000 steps a day. The average person takes 3-5,000 steps a  day. There’s a lot of talk that we ‘should’ do 10,000 steps a day. But there is no research to support the validity of this. However raising the number of steps that you take by 2,000, has been proved to improve health and reducing illness.

Get fit by Increasing the number of steps by 2,000

So get fit by increasing the number of steps by 2,000. 2,000 steps is a mile for most. A normal walking pace is 100 steps per minute.  When in the army 120 steps per minutes was a fast march. Look to increase the amount of exercise by 20 minutes per day. This can be broken down into small actions, baby steps. So that it’s easy to do.

Take stock of how many steps you take now.

The best and easiest way of counting how many steps you take is to get a pedometer. The Japanese have 3.1 pedometers each. Once we have a note on how many steps we take now we know how many we need to aim for.

Get fit with Rest

Make sure you have plenty of rest is a fundamental pillar of being fit. As the ‘Benefits of Sleep’ explains. Also  the 12 Benefits of Power Napping expounds the reasons as to why that most of use would be feel better and be fitter if we took regular power naps.

Have Fun

We all want to have fun in our life, so ensure the ways that we take more exercise are fun.

Track Progress

If you keep wearing a pedometer then you can keep track of your progress in getting fit.

It might also be useful to have this in a note book or on a spread sheet, so you can monitor your progress over the weeks and months.

Take Breaks

Human beings aren’t designed to sit for long periods of time. So when in the office, gaming or watching TV ensure that you get up and move. If you 10 push ups during the break you will have a toned stomach.

Walk up a flight of stairs.

Each time you take a lift stop the floor below you’re chosen destination and walk up the flight of stairs. Not much but over time it makes a difference. If you enjoy walking up stairs you might want to do more. Go for it 2 flights

Get Fit through your Diet

Getting fit through diet is deserving of a blog in it’s own right. Until I do here’s a good blog by Leo Babauta of Zen Habits The Slimpest Diet for Lean Fitness

Parking

To help get fit instead of parking as you can to a building that you wish to visit park 50 paces away.

Workout  Partner

Get a workout partner(S) to help you get fit. Will make getting and staying fit much more fun and I explain in Mastermindgroup: How a Mastermind Group can propel you to Your Goals really works.

Take some exercise

Take a walk, cycle or swim or run 20 to 30 minutes at least 3 times a week. If you don’t like those, Yoga, fencing, badminton, tennis or golf or kettlebells or dancing are all alternatives but all will get you moving .

So there we have 12 tips of how to get fit with baby steps. Nothing huge, just baby steps that will if taken help you be a lot fitter than most people. And will help give you better health.

Like help setting goals check out this amazing tool and helper.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at life, funny things and self

Bruce

PS If you’ve liked the post please share.

Self Discipline, Steve Pavlina uses the acronym AWHIP as many people associate self-discipline with whipping themselves into shape and Steve did a six part

AWHIP Self Discipline

blog on this. Steve is a hero of mine and this blog is a great example, but Steve Pavlina’s basic premise is off.

As a dyslexic I learnt early the necessity of self discipline. Self discipline meaning the ability to get yourself to take action regardless of your emotional state. My teachers thought I was thick, as being dyslexic wasn’t recognised. But due to willpower, hard work industry and discipline I was able to achieve  reasonable results. So I finished schooling with 4 ‘A’ Levels and a place to university.

By applying self discipline,

following through on my best intentions to achieve my gaols,  to my career I rose from trainee estimator to Managing Director and multimillionaire with a large house and a place in the country.

Then came a recession and I had to make a  lot of staff redundant and one guy committed suicide and left a note blaming me. This got me questioning the meaning of my life and life itself and the assumption that more material things was good, does the person with the most toys win? And if so what does s/he get as a prize? To feel better richer more superior than our fellows?

Before embracing self discipline get really clear on your life’s purpose. Not sure, this free course will help.

But perhaps your lifes purpose might encompass, growing personally, making a difference/helping others and having FUN.

Once you have discovered your lifes purpose and passion you can then set great goals to achieve that. Like help in achieving your Goals then register for this free Goal setting course or try this amazing planner and task manager.

And you can then transmute hard work for fun.

Look at kids playing is that hard work or fun? Kids play for hours and so called ‘lazy’ adolescents can spend vast amount of time either on their x-boxes or social media platform without any cajoling. That’s an epitome of perseverance.

So yes self discipline, with acceptance of where you are now, Willpower to provide the initial burst of enthusiasm, hard work, Industry and persistence. It takes 10 to 14,000 hours to gain mastery of a subject or activity are all useful tools.

But please, please harness these tools of self discipline to your life’s purpose, whatever that is, but maybe your life’s purpose might encompass personal growth, helping others or making a difference. Whatever it is it should be fun and bring pleasure.

How much self discipline do you need to have fun.

Bruce & Charito Having Fun

What would your life look like if one of your top goals was to have fun.

I get a lot of pleasure seeing the erratic flight of a butterfly and I see beauty as the sun arises and reaches out cradles this amazing planet and the lingering embrace as it rays light up the clouds as it’s saying goodnight. And what is more fun and more adorable than friends and/or lovers laughing at something.

Live in the moment it’s a present

Love greatly and unconditionally

Laugh at life, funny things and self

Bruce

PS. Want help unearthing your life’s purpose and living it? Your personal life coach can help you, but this life coach will only help if you want more fun. And then I can help you live a life on purpose and have more FUN.