Archive - Positive thinking RSS Feed

What I’m Thankful for This Year

51 awesome comments

Thank You

So much has happened in 2011 and it’s not over yet. It’s going to be one of those years when I look back 10-20 years from now as a huge turning point in my life. For starters I got married in October! Then I had a week when I made $15,548! I don’t know which one I was more excited about. Let me think. I’m joking of course. Don’t tell my wife I had to think.

The plan is to not rest on what I’ve accomplished this year, but use this as a foundation for the future.

Earlier this year, I wrote about the importance of gratitude in my 30 day gratitude challenge. It shouldn’t just be done once a year at Thanksgiving, but something we do every day like showering and brushing your teeth. The power of gratitude has been scientifically proven. You can have more health, more wealth, and increase happiness. Wouldn’t we all want that?

I have lots of things to be thankful for this year, and I’m sure spending 5-10 minutes a day to be thankful has helped shape my life.

Today, I want to take a moment to share what I’m thankful for this 2011. At the end in the comments, it’d be great to share some things you’re thankful for.

Continue Reading…

5 Reasons “I Can’t” Should Be Eliminated from Your Vocabulary

50 awesome comments

About to squat 660 pounds...and he's 50 years old

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” – Henry Ford

Words can empower us or weaken us. Choosing the right words for your inner voice is very important if you want to unleash the best you that’s waiting inside.

If you want to live your life to its highest potential and achieve all of your goals, then eliminate these belittling words, “I can’t”, from your vocabulary.

Here are 5 reasons why you should never say “I can’t”.

Just thinking that you can’t do something instantly weakens you. 

Best-selling author, Jack Canfield, did an experiment at his seminars. A volunteer from the crowd would stand up, extend their arms and Jack instructed him/her to either think “I can” or “I can’t” over and over again.

When he tried to push down the arms of the people who were thinking I can, their arms did not budge. Those who were thinking, I can’t, he was able to push down almost instantly.

That’s just pushing down someone’s arm. How about using this theory to lift a car?

In 1977, a grandmother named Laura Schultz heard screaming from the driveway. Her grandson had been playing with the car and accidentally released the emergency brake. The car rolled onto his arm. She was a petite woman and said she had never lifted a thing over 50 pounds in her life. Yet she lifted the 2,000 pound car off to release her grandson’s arm.

After the incident, she was reluctant to speak about it with anyone. Finally persistence paid off for a doctor, who studied peak performers.

Laura said she didn’t like talking about the event because it challenged her beliefs about what she could and could not do. She said, “If I was able to do this when I didn’t think I could, what does that say about the rest of my life? Have I wasted it?”

The story has a happy ending. He convinced her that her life wasn’t over yet. She had a passion for geology, yet never pursued it. At sixty-three she went back to get her college degree. She later went on to teach geology at a local community college.

It can stop you from changing the world.

Henry Ford wanted to build the first V8 engine. He didn’t know how to do it, so he asked his highly qualified engineers to build it. According to them, a V8 engine was impossible, but Henry Ford wanted it. Ford would continually ask the men if they had it and they would continue to give reasons why they weren’t able to build it. This went on for many months until those same engineers, who said it couldn’t be done, built the V8 engine he wanted.

Henry Ford refused to believe it wasn’t possible even though his engineers were convinced it was impossible. He pushed them to think beyond their limits.

Continue Reading…

7 Famous People Who Found Success Starting in Their 30′s

124 awesome comments

taipei 101

Where I reflected on my 30th birthday

I remember a moment in my life like it was yesterday. I just turned 30 years old and living in Taipei. I was not looking forward to turning the big 3-0. I felt like I had wasted my 20′s. Where did the time go? I was in a four year relationship that should have lasted two. It had been years since I hated my job.

I had no direction in my life.

Leaving for Taipei was my escape. I hoped to learn more about myself, grow as a person, and come back with all the answers I was looking for.

On the night of my 30th birthday, I hiked up this short but steep hiking trail to get to my favorite view of the city (see above). I sat up there and literally right in front of me was the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101. Taipei is a busy city with lots of cars, buses, and scooters. Up there, it was so peaceful.

I could have stayed there all night.

I hadn’t done anything significant with my life yet. I hadn’t even begun to scratch the surface of my potential. I knew it was in me, but had to find the right area to put my energy into.

I looked at my 30′s at a new beginning. I had to embrace it. I wanted it to be the best years ever. I didn’t want to waste the next ten years.

If you’re about to turn 30 or are in your 30′s, it’s never too late to change careers or have your success.

The list of jobs people had below include stockbroker, carpenter, handling classified information, schoolteacher, lawyer, set designer for soft core porn, and waiter. We don’t remember them that way though.

Here are a list of famous people, who were late bloomers and didn’t find success till their 30′s.

Continue Reading…

Learn the One Sentence that Changed My Life

60 awesome comments

It feels really nice to set a goal and work on it a little bit every day and then see the final product ready to be released.

I’m so happy to finally be able to say that my first ever ebook is now available! The last time I wrote a book was probably in elementary school but it mainly had pictures in it.

This is a book I’ve been wanting to write since I started my blog. It’s a message I wanted to share with you because understanding these principles helped kicked me in the butt to do something about my life.

If you’re a regular reader, you may have noticed it in my sidebar beginning last week. No announcements, fireworks or parade, and yet many of you signed up and downloaded the ebook. Thank you so much!

Today I wanted to do a formal introduction of what I spent countless hours working on just for you.

The title of the guide is “Get a Life that Doesn’t Suck: Taking the First Step in Building a Life of Excitement”. It’s a mouthful but the ebook gets to the point in 29 pages.

Continue Reading…

What I Would Say to Myself 5 Years Ago and 5 Years from Now

47 awesome comments

This is part of the a month long project called #Trust30. On their homepage they describe it as

“…an online initiative and 30-day writing challenge that encourages you to look within and trust yourself. Use this as an opportunity to reflect on your now, and to create direction for your future. 30 prompts from inspiring thought-leaders will guide you on your writing journey.”

For today’s question, I decided to share it. I felt this could inspire you to take a look at the question and find your own answers.

What would you say to the person you were five years ago?

What will you say to the person you’ll be in five years?

Continue Reading…

Famous People Who Found Success Despite Failures

53 awesome comments

Harry Potter JK Rowling

J.K Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, spoke to the graduating class of Harvard in June 2008. She didn’t talk about success. She talked about failures. Her own in particular. I absolutely love her quote.

“You might never fail on the scale I did,” Rowling told that privileged audience. “But it is impossible to live without failing at something, unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default.

She should know. The author didn’t magically become richer than the Queen of England overnight. Penniless, recently divorced, and raising a child on her own, she wrote the first Harry Potter book on an old manual typewriter.

Twelve publishers rejected the manuscript! A year later she was given the green light by Barry Cunningham from Bloomsbury, who agreed to publish the book but insisted she get a day job cause there was no money in children’s books.

What if she stopped at the first rejection? The fifth? Or the tenth?

The measure of success can be shown by how many times someone keeps going despite hearing only no.

The following people are not the only ones who have succeeded despite failure and rejection.

I thought they would be the most interesting to you.

Continue Reading…

Real Life Changing: Join the 30-Day Gratitude Experiment

42 awesome comments

Today I’m going to share with you what the personal development gurus say is one of the most powerful way change your world to have better health, more wealth, and increase happiness.

It’s completely free and only takes 10 minutes per day. At the end, I’ll show you how to do it and join in the experiment with me.

What is it? What is it?

I’m going to give away the big secret at the beginning of the post. It’s in the post title too. I know that’s not the best way to keep readers but I’m only looking for people looking to be extraordinary to read the whole post.

The ones that find the answer to be a let down, like when you find out how to do a magic trick, won’t read all the way. That’s fine with me. Again, I’m looking for a special group of people.

Since 2006, I’ve read a handful of personal development books. It started when I realized my life wasn’t going the way I wanted it to go. I felt stuck, depressed, and upset. I turned to these books to find answers to how to make my life happier and more fulfilling.

In some books that I’ve read, there’s one thing the authors kept mentioning that we can do to drastically change our lives.

This thing can:

  • Bring wealth
  • Increase health
  • Unlock your potential
  • Deepen relationships
  • Increase your overall well being

The one thing they advise is the power of gratitude. That’s the secret to the magic trick. Thanks for coming.

Are you still with me? For those still here, let’s keep going.

Continue Reading…

Charlie Sheen: The Ultimate Life Coach for Winning

6 awesome comments

Unless you don’t watch television or read the news, then you know well the story of Charlie Sheen being fired from his show Two and a Half Men and his journey from just a television actor/tabloid headliner to Twitter sensation.

He was the highest paid sitcom actor on television ($1.8 million per episode) and made CBS and Warner Bros a plethora of money but drugs, booze, and violent outbursts led to his eventual firing.

Most celebrities would go hiding in their mansion and let their publicists clean up the mess. Instead he says he feels awaken and embracing his life. Charlie has been shot out of canon with so much force that no one expected.

Since then he’s become even more famous. He was the fastest person to ever amass one million followers on Twitter, spawned a series of unforgettable quotes that have gone viral such as “Duh, Winning”. His tour, “Violent Torpedo” is selling out everywhere including Canada. He’s full of tiger blood and making everyone wonder what the hell is tiger blood?

His honesty and free spirited nature is infectious. Some say he’s a train wreck. Others love the attitude of winning and loving life. He talks with the energy of a motivational speaker who’s banged seven gram rocks. Oh wait..he has.

Forget the drugs and the booze. Forget what violent things he’s done in the past. Take away the part of his life you shouldn’t be doing. He’s definitely not a role model. Behind all that and he turns into an unexpected life coach. Charlie Sheen? Yes. Here is a guy who’s high on life and loving it despite the bad press.

Acting wacky makes people wonder if he is still on drugs. He answers by saying:

“I am on a drug. It’s called Charlie Sheen. It’s not available because if you try it you will die. Your face will melt off and your children will be weeping over your exploded body.”

Well thank you Charlie for putting it ever so gently. As far as drug tests are concerned, he’s drug free.

I took all the Charlie Sheen quotes, sorted through the wacky ones, and there are some nuggets of wisdom in there. If you could harness a little bit of that Sheen attitude in a positive way, you could start living a “bitchin life” (his words. Not mine. You’ll see).

Here are Charlie Sheen, the ultimate life coach, giving tips on living your best life. Seriously.

 

“The only thing I’m addicted to right now is winning.”


This is something we all should be addicted to. Who doesn’t want to be a winner in life?  He’s spreading that attitude. He’s made #winning so popular on Twitter and in pop culture and fans love it.

Just had the best home cooked meal? Winning. Found $10 in the parking lot? Winning. Had a great night? Winning. Asked a girl for her phone number and got it? Winning. Got an empty seat next to you on the plane? Winning.

Think about things in your daily life that are winning moments. Everyday is full of those moments but too often neglected. Be happy and thankful for the little things in life. It’s like stopping to smell the roses as said Charlie Sheen style.

 

“Can’t is the cancer of can’t happen.”


I love this one. Just say that a few times to really let it soak in your mind. Charlie’s crazy but he’s absolutely right this time. Can’t is one word that you should never use. Using it brings you down instantly. As Edgar Albert Guest said,

“Can’t is the word that is foe to ambition.”

Some people hear they can’t do something and believe it. Others hear it and it motivates them. Don’t let anyone say you can’t do something. If you believe you can’t do something, then you’ve already lost.

 

“You make a choice to win and you win.”

 

Everything you want is attainable if you put your mind to it. Isn’t that what we tell kids? What happened when we got older? Oh you’re taught to think realistically.

Go back to thinking like a kid. You want success? Make a choice to have success. You want happiness? Make a choice to be happy. Want to travel the world? Make a choice to travel the world.

Forget for a moment how you will accomplish those things. They will come. Make up your mind to win and you will win. You must believe in yourself. There’s going to be people stopping you but if your why reason is so strong, you will always win at the end.

 

“I have one speed. I have one gear. Go”

 

 

Rick Vaughn


Ok sure he said this when he was talking about how he parties. However it’s a slogan you can use in life when it comes to getting things done.

Right now he’s living life as if it were his last day. That is how you’re taught to live life. It’s Rick “Wild Thing” Vaughn throwing 100 mph fastballs. He could bottle some of that up attitude and sell it along with his t-shirts.

Since being fired, he seems more busy. He’s got a sold out comedy tour. He’s doing web video chats. He’s selling t-shirts. He’s on Twitter. He’s kissing Jimmy Kimmel. It’s go, go, go for him right now.

 

“Sorry my life has been more bitchin than yours. I planned it that way”


Any successful person could say the exact same thing. However they would have said it in a nicer way. This is just how some with tiger blood says it.

You have the power and resources to create the life you want. Your life isn’t predetermined. Life isn’t about sitting around and waiting for something to happen. As Charlie said, it’s about deliberately making your life how you want it to be. Successful people don’t achieve success because they are lucky. They are lucky because they have been preparing and working at what they want to achieve.

You want to plan a bitchin life? Go ahead. Who says you cannot. You want to plan a boring life? Fine by us too. No one lives in your shoes but you. Decide how bitchin you want your life to be.

 

“Faith is for winners. Hope is for losers.”

 

If you keep hoping for something to happen, it will never happen. Reminds me of a quote that I love by Oscar winner James Cameron:

“Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not an option. Fear is not a factor.”

Said from a successful man we’d listen to more than Charlie Sheen but both men are correct. Hoping alone will never get you anywhere. It takes action as well. Hoping for something without action will leading to your life being stagnant. You will never get what you hope for.

It’s like the man who prays everyday hoping to win the lottery. After a month of praying, God finally replies back and tells him to at least buy a lotto ticket!

 

“I’m still alive, which is pretty cool.”

 

Yes that is pretty damn cool considering how he has lived life. We all take life for granted sometimes. Moaning about problems large and small. Also thinking about what you don’t have and want you wish you had so you could be happy. How about just being thankful for being alive? That’s a huge gift.

 

 

If you’re stuck in a rut or need a little kick in your life,  you could just take some of the Charlie Sheen wisdom and attitude and harness it for yourself. Again, don’t lead his lifestyle of drugs and booze but take feel free to take some winning attitude with you.

If you’ve read this far then you deserve to be a #winner in my book.

 

 

 

Learn to Live in the Moment

4 awesome comments

We’ve all heard of the saying “Stop and smell the roses” but when was the last time you did that? When was the last time you were “living in the moment”? Don’t feel bad if you don’t remember. It’s a simple gift that we tend to overlook. However starting after this post, you can be different than most. Let me explain how to boost your well being and happiness in less than 10 seconds.

 

How do you typically go through a day? Lots of things on your mind right? Too often you are worried about what happened in the past or what’s going to happen tomorrow. There are so many things in one day that consume your attention.

 

Stop thinking about how a busy day feels. Just think about how fortunate you are. I’ve talked about how important gratitude is in your mindset. You are given the great sense of smell, taste, touch, sight, hearing, and feeling. What other creature on earth can do this? You have those things but you don’t use them to enjoy life enough.

 

It’s like we’re superheroes and need to decide how we want to use our super powers. Unlike the comic books where there can be only one Spiderman and one Superman, we as human beings are all super heroes. It’s a gift we’re born. These gifts can be used to lift you up or bring you down. How do you want to use your powers?

 

Maybe it’s been awhile since you’ve really stopped to enjoy each moment and realizing that your moment and experiences make up your life. There’s too much worrying and thinking. You may think “When I get a new job I can enjoy life more.” or “When I have a girlfriend/boyfriend/spouse, I will feel so much happier.” or “When I make more money, life will be great”. Maybe you can’t remember the last time  you had your moment. Don’t feel bad.

 

You can change today. Right now.

 

If you need some examples of living in the moment, let me share mine. Here are some recent experiences where I let myself just enjoy that moment and that moment only.

 

- Walking on a cool evening in Taipei and feel a nice cool breeze on my face. Every breath I felt the cool air enter my body. Next to me was my girlfriend who’s soft hands I was holding while walking home.

- While sleeping in my villa in Bali on a recent trip, I enjoyed the sounds of insects and frogs outside the room. No cars. No people. Just nature. Oh and the bed was so comfortable I wanted to take it home.

- Biking along the river bank on a sunny Sunday afternoon and taking a moment to enjoy the breeze in my face while looking at the blue skies, scenery, and families having fun.

- Watching my fiancé’s little 2 year old niece laughing hysterically as she tries jumping up and down on a trampoline.

- Eating strawberry ice cream and savoring all the flavor in my mouth with each bite.

 

All these moments could have been doing without any thought or thinking about the wrong things.

Here is how I easily could have been at those moments.

 

- My feet are tired! I’m feeling sleepy and ready to just get home away from the sound of loud buses, scooters and inhaling exhaust fumes.

- I wish those frogs would just shut up!! Why are they around our room?? Every night they croak!! I hope this mosquito net is keeping out all the mosquitos while we sleep.

- Holy crap there are so many people biking today?!?! It’s like half the city here here. I can hardly move on my bike and my butt hurts.

- Why is that little boy crying so loud on the other side of the room? That kid licking the floors. Gross. Gosh there are so many kids and they’re so loud here.

- Blah Blah Blah (eat) blah blah blah (eat) blah blah blah (eat). Then all of a sudden I realize I have no more ice cream!! I forgot how it tasted already.

 

Which Benny do you like better? Six months ago I would have reacted more in the latter group. Don’t I just sound like I’m whining? Don’t I sound so stressed out? Don’t I sound so unhappy? Would you want to be next to me? I wouldn’t either. (sidenote: If you have many friends like this, you need to get away from them)


All these things were actually going on around me. Yes Taipei city is full of buses and loud scooters. Yes our villa in Bali was surrounded by loud insects and mosquitos. Yes there were so many people biking that some places I had to walk my bike and the bike seat wasn’t all that comfortable. Yes there were tons of kids playing at the same time and we know kids will be kids. Yes I was talking and eating in spurts. However that was not how I decided to focus my attention on. 

 

In the first group I sound like I am really enjoying life. I sound happy. You can imagine every moment I had a smile on my face. I felt happy. Those were life’s little moments and I took the time to enjoy them. That’s what savoring the moment you will do for you. It will change your mood, outlook, physiology, stress level and so many other factors for your well being.

 

I don’t walk around smiling with a spring in my step because it may sound like I’m forever in this happy trance. That is being honest. I have my ups and down during the days. I just make sure I have more up moments in my day. In a single day there are so many moment to be savored. Just start to be more aware of those opportunities.

 

These aren’t huge drastic changes. It doesn’t require a huge amount of time and effort. It just happens in your mind and can happen instantly. No extra effort is needed. Actually it takes the same amount of effort to feel crappy as it does to feel happy. How would you rather feel since you do have a choice?

 

So if you want to improve your happiness, savor and celebrate the good things. Taste, touch, feel, smell, look at and embrace each sight, meal, walk, and every activity you do. If you do that, you’ll be living your life NOW.

 

Do you agree with me? Is this something you do? Are you willing to try it?

 

Photo by Sunkato Debnath and Xurble

 

If you enjoyed this post, I would appreciate it if you spread the word!

 

 

Page 1 of 212»