We All Have Choice in Life

2:26 AM , 0 Comments
"I just do it cos I got no choice."
This probably is the saddest story I've ever heard. Yes, the saddest. Imagine how can a person with complete set of arms, both capable legs, and five seamlessly functioning senses utter such words with full of despair, as if he can't really do anything to improve his life.

We hear this often when someone has a job he doesn't really like, or maybe someone can't get out of an unhealthy relationship. But as much as they feel that life controls them, that every decision they have is always residual, I beg to disagree!

Freewill
It's necessary for all of us to realize that the moment we we're born in this universe, we were given such a powerful gift that we call freewill. This is our birthright. It's our power to think, to say and to do anything without any constraint. What you are today is not fate. What you are speaks so much how you used your freewill.

However not everyone uses it up to its maximum capacity and still some of us settle for a worse life.

Why Some Can't Leverage Freewill
Can't is such an imaginary term. Of course everyone of us can use it but some choose not to. Here are some of the reasons:

      ✥ They don't wanna admit that they chose the worst decision. Actually, these people had other choices but it happened that they chose the worst decision. "I got no choice" is another way of saying "I had better options than this but I chose the wrong one." It's a regret in denial. And usually these people aren't too brave enough to embrace their mistakes. 

      ✥ They enjoy being a couch potato. Harsh but true, these people are lazy. They hate to persevere and to stretch their bones sometimes. A person might say "I hate my job. I just got no choice." He implies that he doesn't want to take actions to find another job which is way better, which is something he's more passionate about. Businesses are everywhere and for sure there are tons of better job opportunities. We just have to open our eyes, search and take actions.

     ✥ They might lose something/someone. Let me tell you a cliche story. There was this married man who is constantly cheating on his wife; aside from that, he beats her. He's always drunk. In other words, their marriage wasn't that successful. She always cries and suffers bruises on her face and her friends are suggesting to get out of that unhealthy relationship but she always responds "I got no choice. We have kids and I can't support them on my own." If her reason of staying is just the support for her kids and she doesn't like to find ways to make a living, good job. Yes, that's the best decision. But if she constantly complains of the emotional and physical pain she's experiencing, she has a freewill to leave her husband. She has a choice to be happy and free from violence. She can stand up and show superiority. There are women-related organizations or authorities who can help her. She couldn't see those choices because she has convinced herself that she's weak, she's inferior and she can't feed her kids.

 Embrace Your Mistake and CREATE a Choice
You might say, "Oh come on Josh, go ahead and give at least 3 alternatives and prove that I have a choice." or you might tell me "If you're on that kind of situation you'll do the same. You can say that easily because you're not in that situation." Exactly. I'm not in that situation and I wouldn't choose to be in that kind of situation. EVER. Cos I have a freewill. Or probably, if I'm really trapped in that kind of situation, I will never ever utter that I got no choice. Instead we shall learn to just embrace our mistakes, we shall stand up and seek for a solution.

I don't know  you personally but if there is someone who knows those alternatives you have, it's YOU. Whatever problem you feel cages you, always remember that you have the most powerful gift in this world. You have the freewill.

 You are the Architect of Your Own Life
I want you to know that you are the architect of your own life. You design it to be wonderful, beautiful and prosperous. There is still something that you can do to improve your life.

Some of us want a happier and better life but we have to realize that a happy life is not handed to us. We choose and create it. We create our own success. We create your own failures. But either way, life is still beautiful.

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The Power of Big Dreams

12:31 AM , 0 Comments


Many of us settle for little goals and dreams in life. When I was in the university, I was once a victim of this kind of mentality. I always told myself “Why would I dream of getting high grades if I was not born intelligent? I know my capacity, I just can’t.” I settled for little dreams because I believed before that the fall is more painful from a higher place so it’s better to set my expectations lower. The lower I dream, the less painful it is.

Do you agree?

Absolutely!

But have you thought of these?
     ► Do you think the airplane is a product of little dreams?
     ► How about the very first launched rocket?
     ► The buildings and skyscrapers around you?
     ► Microsoft and Apple?
     ► The million dollar businesses?
     ► Do you think these people dreamed little?

Absolutely not!

Everything we see around us, the technology that cures and diagnoses different ailments, and the technology that improves different industries and our way of living, they are all products of big dreams. Yes, it might be painful to dream big and fall but always remember success after failures, failures, failures and more failures is STILL the best feeling in this world.

I can’t = I don’t want to
Some people settle for little dreams and they base their dreams on their current abilities and resources. They dream what is currently attainable and possible.

Most likely, an individual who doesn’t come from a business-oriented family wouldn’t dream to build his own empire and earn six figures monthly. Why would he dream it if he doesn’t have enough capital to put up his own business? He doesn’t have business networks and connections. He doesn’t have the skills to be an entrepreneur.

First issue: he doesn’t have the capital. Why not consider obtaining a bank loan or a “friend loan” to support his  business then leverage it eventually. After all, many successful businesses started through bank loans and even up to these days, they continue to obtain loans if necessary to finance their respective ventures.

Second issue is the business networks and connections. The question is: have they considered of stepping outside their house to find business comrades? Definitely they wouldn’t have business networks if they spend most of their times watching TV shows and scrolling their Facebook news feeds. Business networks are not handed to us. We have to voice out our dreams and start finding the right people to partner with.

The third issue is the skills to be an entrepreneur. Why not develop those skills? I’m a firm believer that skills can always be developed and acquired. Attend a seminar instead of attending night parties. Read books which are related to your niche instead of sad stories and news which only give us negative thoughts. Watch free video trainings online instead of a movie marathon. Stop spending your time with nonsense stuff. Educate yourself today. Get hungry for new skills.

You can if you want it!

Small dreams yield to small results
Way back in college, my only goal was to pass my subjects. Having this tiny goal convinced me that I always had time to chill, to use Facebook the whole day, to see movies and to live life to the fullest. And guess what, I failed three of my subjects. Only if I dreamed of getting perfect scores on our exams and challenged myself more, I wouldn’t have failed. I might not literally get perfect scores all the times but I believe I wouldn’t get a failing grade if I just dreamed bigger.

Unleash the giant in you
Dreaming high hurts and I have to agree with that. But dreaming little just to be safe from the pain doesn’t solve the problem. Avoiding the pain is like avoiding the success. Dreaming what you currently can attain will only make us mediocre people. It encourages us to stop learning and acquiring new set of skills that will make us better persons.

Dreaming little wastes our unlimited potential. We are humans, and we can be whoever we want to be only if we believe.

You have to realize that our resources and capabilities today are irrelevant to what we can be tomorrow. Never base your dreams to yourself. Base yourself to your dreams. Be hungry. Take actions and develop yourself on a continuous basis. Don’t be afraid to fall. The road to success has never become easy.

Dream Crazy Dreams!
Know the why, and the how will definitely follow. As what Steve Job said, those people who are crazy enough are the ones who do. Believe, and you’re half way there.

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What's the Sign You're Waiting For to Take Actions?

9:06 AM 0 Comments


Have you thought of doing something but you're hesitant to take actions because you're not sure how it would turn out; you're not sure of your decision's validity or you're just afraid to fail? This indecisiveness is usually resolved by some through what they call the "signs." You're waiting for something to show or to occur that will serve as a go-signal  for you to act.

But REALLY, what is that sign that you're waiting for?

The Universal Sign
Actually, there is this universal sign which fits to anyone and to any decision. Whether it is about relationship, job-related, business, anything, there is only one thing that will tell us, "Yes, you have to do it. You're on the right track."

 That sign is: the fact that you are waiting for a sign! 

Your subconscious mind tells you "take actions. Do it now, this is what's good for you. Change today for the better." But because of the germs of fears planted by someone in your mind, or maybe by a horrible experience in your life, your inner critic tells you not to do it. You're afraid to fail. You just can't afford to commit another mistake.

Why Are You Waiting for a Sign?
Simple. You're confused because a decision sounds very good, it sounds feasible but at the same time, you tend to look back at those times when you failed and then you start to connect the past to your future. The moment you recall your failures in life, whether consciously or subconsciously, you begin to weigh your options: should I do this or not?

It then branches to what ifs. You over analyze things and your kind of paralyzed. It's quite unfortunate that some tend to focus on the potential failure and dangers of a clearly possible course of action rather than focusing on its success. The more you seek perfectionism, the more your life will be confused and lost.

Never Doubt Your Decision
The moment a decision came to your mind is an evidence of its possibility and success. You wouldn't think of a decision which is illogical. I mean, would it be easy for you to take down a decision if it has so many advantages. Or think of this way, why keep a decision which is defective? Why consider a decision which surely, 100% won't work?

I repeat: the moment it came to your mind is an evidence of its possibility and success.

So why doubt yourself?

Is it because it's risky and there is no certainty that results will favor you? The reality is everything is risky. Every thing is dangerous. This world is full of uncertainties. Instead of thinking what if it fails, why not think what will I do to make this happen? It's just your mindset that pulls you back and hinders you to progress.

The Cost of Being a Risk Averse
Always remember this: there may be risk in doing something, but the cost of your security, the cost of playing it safely, is a regret for a lifetime. Yes, you're safe. Yes, you didn't fail. But you did not experience the wildest loop of life. You are too unlucky for not experiencing life's sweetest training for us. You haven't become stronger. There is no addition to your knowledge. That is the cost of being afraid to try. You lose the essence of being a human, which is to ERR.

Do it Today!
If you are planning to do something which you think is beneficial to you, just do it. Wait for no signs. Stop waiting for the perfect time because the perfect timing has come! It is today. Follow your heart. Be bold to do it and should you fail, remember you gain a great experience in life. Should you fail, remember you have become even wiser. You did not and will never lose.

Life is not all about succeeding anyways. Stop being too hard to yourself. You are a human and there is nothing to be ashamed of should you err. Follow your heart. Do it now, not later, because later becomes never.

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8 Spectacular Lessons from the Poem Desiderata

3:32 AM 4 Comments


It was in 2013, during our Speech Communication class, when I first encountered the wonderful work of Max Ehrmann called Desiderata. It is an English poem, though it's title is in Latin which literally means "desired things."  I personally believe this 8-stanza poem is the best eye-opener for everyone to see life in its brightest side. Each stanza is overflowing with hope, motivation and lessons. Each gives us pieces of advice to live in peace and in harmony. This poem impacted my life so much and I want to share the great lessons that we can learn from the poem.

#1 Be Compassionate
We love ourselves so much that sometimes we forget to show compassion to others. We always want to be heard but we don't want to listen. 
Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible without surrender
be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;
and listen to others,
even the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story. 

#2 Overcome Insecurities
Loud and noisy people distract us from following our hearts. Stay away from them. Everyone of us has different talents and capabilities. Stop comparing yourself to others. Instead of dwelling on your inadequacies, enjoy your achievements in life.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans. 

#3 Be Passionate in Your Career
Being passionate exhibits the hunger for new knowledge and continuous learning. But you need to stay humble at the same time. Sometimes, the more passionate we become at work, the more we tend to be arrogant and we think we know every thing. 
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism. 

#4 Be Genuine
Don't pretend to be somebody you are not. Be yourself. In this world full of pessimism and hatred, all we can do is to love one another. And as we start loving others, we will start experience the same love in return.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass. 

#5 We Learn as We Grow
In life, we'll encounter so many challenges. We'll fall so many times. We'll commit numerous mistakes. But it's important for us to realize that these make us even stronger.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself. 

#6 We are Capable of Everything
We are no mistakes. We may feel inferior but everything we are is God. Yes, everything! God constantly shows how much he loves you. He tells you everyday that you deserve to attain your goals in life. It's possible through Him.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. 

#7 Keep a Peaceful Heart
We may have varying concepts and beliefs about God but whether you are a believer or not, it's important for us to think good thoughts and spread kindness to the world. Do the right things and let others do the same to you.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul. 

#8 Life is Always Wonderful
The eighth stanza is the sweetest part of the poem and it summarizes everything about life. Whatever problems you are experiencing today, always remember, that is only temporary. Those failures will soon be a condiment that will give your success its flavor. It's still a wonderful life to live. You are blessed everyday.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy. 
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How was it? Desiderata is such a wonderful poem isn't it? Comment your thoughts below and share your own interpretations!

4 comments:

5 Painless Ways to Kill Insecurity Permanently

1:13 AM 0 Comments


Every person we encounter on the street, at work, or even on a social media, has his admirable characteristic that sometimes, we dream of having. To some, this serves as a tool for self-improvement however to some, this is a source of insecurity.

Same source, but different impacts in life. This has something to do with our mindset.

Why Insecurity Kills
Insecurity will bring us to nowhere. It only gives us stress, negativity, jealousy, dissatisfaction and hatred. Being an insecure person changes your perspective about yourself and your capabilities, and it drastically affects your performance. You are suspended in your fake reality that you are inferior and useless. You are being too hard, not just to yourself but to others as well.

Indeed, we need to kill insecurity before it kills us. So I wanna share with you some tips to overcome it and live a more satisfied and positive life.

#1. Celebrate small achievements 

Your boss praised you for a job well done and he recognized your skills. You got a high rating in your exam. You just finished a beautiful painting or artwork today. You learned something extraordinary. Celebrate it! Give yourself a treat or share it with your friends. Call and tell them, "Hey, I achieved something awesome today. Let's have our dinner! It'll be my treat."

One of the root causes of insecurity is overlooking your achievements in life. Even though they are small, if you constantly recognize them every time, it will form a bigger chunk of satisfaction. Why feel insecure if your boss has recognized your abilities? Why feel insecure if you can produce a beautiful artwork. You got so many abilities. You are unlimited. You just have to spend a little while with yourself, and ponder what cuts you above the rest.

#2. Be thankful for what you have.
Every morning, write on your journal at least 3 things your thankful for. It only takes 5 minutes or less to write them and to enjoy the feeling of happiness and satisfaction in life. For variation, you can write the next day what are your strengths or maybe what makes you to stand out.

It's important you give yourself few minutes everyday to feel grateful for what you have. Writing will make a huge difference not just because you think while you write, but it's visual. You see it and you can review it every time you want. Whenever you're feeling small, inferior or useless, get your journal and go back to those days when you were grateful of what you have. Review those days how positive you were and how much confidence you had for yourself. That inferior person is not you. You are positive and capable. You're confident and you're always a beautiful person! Always remember that.

#3. Develop yourself and get rid the source of insecurity.
Insecurity is a mishandled admiration. Why are you insecure? It's because there is something that others have that you currently don't  have. Probably someone is sexier than you. Someone can do that, but you, as of now, cannot.

Get up and develop yourself. If you can't do something, learn how to do it. If you feel you're fat and you want to improve your body, go to the gym or enroll in a Zumba class. If you can't travel today like your friends because of your current financial status, find ways to earn more. Remember, every inadequacy you currently have is just temporary. You have the ability to fill in your inadequacies and don't ever let them define who you are and what will you become.

#4. Surround yourself with supportive people. 
Get rid of your toxic friends. Surround yourself with people who see the best in you. Surround yourself with people who recognize your strength and what you have. Surround yourself with people who clap and cheer for you for every milestone you achieve. It's important to hear these people, who are closest to your heart, saying that you are such a capable and a beautiful creation.

#5. Never let others define who "should" you be.
Every person is different. We have different childhood, experiences, and upbringing so it's inappropriate for us to rely completely on somebody to define who should we be. Just because he can paint beautifully and at the age of 20 he has had an art gallery, it doesn't mean you have to be exactly like him. Don't be too hard to yourself, switching focus and goals every time you see something different in your eyes.

Be the best version of yourself. Not a copycat. You can definitely be more awesome than them, because you are unlimited, and talented.

 Conclusion
Dealing with your insecurities requires reprogramming of your mindset. It's important for you to realize that everything you are and everything you are not. Each of us has different talents, capabilities, and beauty, and at the same time, all of us have inadequacies and weaknesses. As what Mark Ehrmann's said in his poem called Desiderata:
"If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself."

We are created equal and the best thing we can do is to concentrate on our strength, develop it constantly and therefrom we realize the beauty of this life being perfectly imperfect. 

0 comments:

Some Friends Deserve to be Thrown Away!

10:23 AM , 0 Comments


Friends are your companions. They are your go-to persons every time you seek advice. Whenever you're feeling down, they cheer and make you motivated. However, not all of the friends, whom you consider to be, are actually "friends" enough to be a companion, an inspiration and a source of strength during your weakest moments.

Some of them are energy-drainers, pessimistic and they basically don't help you to grow as a person.

You have to be vigilant. These people who you choose to surround yourself with have a great impact in your everyday living so you should know who are to "maintain" and who are to put in an old bucket.

 Know who are your toxic friends and your growth friends.

Toxic Friends
Everyone of us has this kind of friend and we need to lessen our time or if possible, stop hanging out with a toxic friend because he is:

      ☹ An opportunist. He just knows you whenever he needs something. Yes, he hangs out with you, he's always beside you, you eat lunch together but whenever you need something from him, he has nothing. He always declines even your petty requests. A toxic friend is the baby in your friendship. Your role is just to protect and comfort him.

     ☹ Energy-drainer. Instead of pushing you through your limits, he is the very first person who will discourage you. You might misinterpret this as his way of showing his care for you or hie's just being realistic but he just teaches you how to be afraid and to be a risk-averse. He inculcates mediocrity. You will never grow with this kind of friend.

     ☹ Self-centered. He always talks about himself and he subconsciously thinks "our friendship is about me." He brags of everything and he seldom asks how are you feeling. A toxic friend never gives you the opportunity to talk something about yourself and to express your opinion about something. He shows no concern in your friendship.

     ☹ Pessimistic. Every time you meet, your topic revolves to something negative. You spend times talking about bad news. Essentially, he is also an energy drainer. Whenever you tell him someone is not so nice to you, he'll provoke you even more instead of calming you. You can't part ways without making yourselves bad, negative and full of hatred.

     ☹ Pocket-drainer. Even in those impractical times, he'll ask you to spend your money to nonsense and unnecessary stuff. The two of you would go to expensive (relatively to how much you earn) restaurants, travel so often even though traveling is not your priority, and shop like until it's the end of the world. You feel rich but deep inside you're financially distressed. With him, your bank account has zero balance. But don't worry, he's there to join you waiting until the payday.

Growth Friends
These are your friends whom you need to treasure and spend most of time with. Basically, they are the exact opposite of your toxic friends. A growth friend has the following characteristics:

     ☺ Altruist. He is concerned to your needs and he is always there whenever you need something. He may never have every thing you need but he'll do his best to be of help. He helps and supports you in every decision you make and he wants you to succeed in your endeavors in life.

     ☺ Source of Strength. He is your number one fan. Whenever you are in doubt of yourself, he's one of those persons who will make you feel you can do it. A growth friend is a motivator and he is your switch to ignite a burning desire to achieve or to do something.

     ☺ Compassionate. Sympathetic. concerned, selfless and caring. He often asks you how everything went today. He has an attitude of gratitude and he even treasures your friendship more than you do!

     ☺ Optimistic. You share the same goals and vision in life. You spend your times in dreaming of achieving them together. You think everything is possible with hard work and persistence. You choose to evade negative news and you just laugh at someone who say something not so nice about you. He calms you every time you're losing your temper. A growth friend will manage you before your temper does. With him, you have a heart clear of anger and hatred, and is full of pleasant emotions.

     ☺ Smart spender. He considers the fact that you need to enjoy life but he'll never compromise your finances to this. He'll never let you feel good today and suffer tomorrow financially. With a growth friend, you experience not just the growth in yourself but also the growth in your pocket.

Throw Away Your Toxic Friends!
You probably want to change for the better, to be happy all the times and succeed in reaching your goals in life but it'll be tough with toxic friends. Learn to minimize your time with them and reallocate it to your grow friends. 

Some of the famous sayings we need to remind ourselves always:

"Birds of the same feathers flock together."
"Eagles never fly with pigeons."
"Tell me who your friends are and I will tell you who you are."

These clearly explains why we need to get rid of our toxic friends. If you're satisfied with your life full of anger, pessimism and hatred, if you're satisfied with your current situation and you don't want to grow anymore, maintain and spend time with your toxic friends. If you want to succeed and to grow in every aspect of life, turn down your toxic friends and deepen your relationship with your growth friends. You decide. It's all up to you.

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The Sweet Rewards of Failure

1:07 AM , , 0 Comments


It's quite unfortunate how the elders taught us the concept of failure. Often, the people whom we love the most are the same people who discourage and taught us the negative connotation of failure.

"Failure hurts. Stop when you fail! You're just wasting your time and effort. You can't achieve it.  It just means that dream is not yours."

 "I told you not to try. Look what you got."

People mock us when we fail. We hear their criticisms and we're afraid to try because of what they might say. People shape our minds that life is just about winning, so if you're not sure about winning, don't try. We are restrained by that myth.

How can we not think that failure is a bad thing if in school it is also taught? We were defined by letters A-F. We need to get high grades and we often forget the learning part. We don't want to be the lowest in our exam. We feel stupid if we have the most number of mistakes in class.


The Rewards that We Can Get From Failure

It's important for us to realize that failure is necessary for us to grow. However, some people can't see it that way because they do not know the rewards of it. Here are some of the rewards that we can get that we should remember each time we fail:

     ✔ We have the opportunity to start again and we can correct the mistakes that we did.
     ✔ We become more knowledgeable and stronger. Failure is a source of knowledge and strength, it shall never be a source of disappointment and loneliness.
     ✔ Failure teaches us to be more responsible next time.
     ✔ And when we  finally succeeded, we become an inspiration to others. This is the greatest reward that we can get. We can live to inspire, to motivate and to empower and it makes us extraordinary people.

To Fail is to Succeed
The light bulb that we know is a product of failure. Thomas Edison has an incredible fighting spirit. It took him 1,000 unsuccessful attempts but he didn't give up until he succeeded lighting the first bulb. To some, 2 or 3 mistakes are serious and we should already stop, but that was his 1,000th attempt. He's unstoppable!

Jack Ma, the world's richest tech billionaire who has a net worth of $23.7 billion in 2015, was also a product of failure. According to him, when KFC came to China, there were 24 people who applied for the job and only 23 got accepted, and Jack Ma is the only one rejected. Today, he is the owner of the famous e-commerce company Alibaba.

Who wouldn't know Bill Gates? He proudly said that he failed in some subjects and his friend passed in all. He's now an engineer of Microsoft and Bill Gates is the owner of it.

These just prove us that success always starts with failure.

Imagine how successful can we be if we are bold. 


Imagine how successful can we be if we are not afraid to try over and over again. 


Imagine how successful can we be if we are unstoppable.


We are Born to Succeed
We, humans, are unlimited and we have so many potentials but we are trapped by our fear of failure. We stop from being bold. We stop from being ambitious and we settle for little dreams and guess what, we achieve little.

This world is full of negative people who will always remind us that there is no room for failure. This world is full of people who are ready to criticize everyone who will fail. It's scary but always remember that we are more superior than anyone or anything who will block our ways to success.

We'll encounter so many obstacles as we walk towards our dreams. We'll fall so many times and we are REAL LOSERS if we don't get up and continue following our dreams. Every fall is a blessing. It's a new knowledge and it's a training for us. And it can become a powerful tool to eventually realize our aspirations in life..

0 comments:

Dedicate Your Time to Develop Yourself

11:14 PM 0 Comments


Most successful entrepreneurs and businessmen don't mainly invest their time in academic education. As a matter of fact, some of them were college dropouts. Some of them didn't pursue college. Some of them were ordinary people, who just dreamed BIG and never let resources be a constraint.

Now, they are on the top of the game and they are our leaders. 

Then we wonder how did they do that? Why do they always achieve what they want in life? What sort of magic did they do?

Actually, the magic is knowing yourself better, and that is personal development. We often hear the cliche advice "Be yourself" but how well do we really know ourselves?

What is personal development and how can it help me?
Personal development entails activities of:
  • assessing your strengths and weaknesses
  • developing your talents, acquiring new set of skills
  • stabilization of emotions and enhancing quality life
Personal development contributes significantly to the realizations of our dreams and aspirations. 

These successful people have incredibly amazing optimism in life. They know themselves well. They are always motivated, up for challenges, courageous and they fight for whatever they believe in. That's because they figured out what they want to become. They have a game plan for their dreams and they have established a pretty good stability that can accommodate any challenge that they may encounter.

Where and how to start?
Stay away from negative people. Even if they are your friends, if they don't help and they constantly feed your mind with negative stuff instead of motivating you, cut your ties with them. That's harsh I know. But if they make and develop you as a cry-baby, if they develop you as an insecure person, who always sees the dark side of this life, STAY AWAY FROM THEM!

Don't regret to lose a friendship like that. Instead be happy because you're making a huge step to improve yourself, and eventually to achieve your dreams.

Also, stop reading negative stories and start reading personal development books. You can search a variety of books in your local bookstore, I'm sure they have a separate shelf for this. Watch motivational speeches everyday. There are many motivational speakers and life coaches in YouTube and they will surely help you to reprogram your mind and see once again how wonderful life is.

Change doesn't happen overnight. Even if you're watching all these stuff, reading this kind of books, there'll come a point where life will test you once again. Problems and challenges are inherent elements of life and they may shake your faith and your improving perspective about life. You may still feel disappointed and down sometimes, but the important thing to do is to keep on holding. Don't get distracted and continue developing yourself. You're doing it great!

Personal development as fuel
Our life is like a car and our mind is the tank. If we are feeling depressed or we are not functioning the way we expect, it's because we're our of fuel. Personal development acts as our fuel and when we devote our time to it, we can literally feel your our tank is full. We are up for everything.
We are ready to accomplish our goals in life and we find life more meaningful. 

So starting from now, start giving personal development 10 minutes a day and watch an inspirational video. You may say you're busy but, aren't you busy in reading those negative stories? Aren't you busy in thinking how unlucky you are? Why not cut your time in these unhelpful things and devote it to personal development?

Live life. Be happy, and always remember that you deserve to be successful. Your dreams are yours and it's only up to you if you want to achieve them.

To achieve what we want in life, we need to have a strong heart and a strong mind. It starts from knowing ourselves better, then we establish our own dreams; acquire new sets of skills, and value continuous learning.

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3 Simple Tips to Make Your Day Productive and Meaningful

6:30 AM , , , 0 Comments


All of us have 24 hours a day but only few know how to utilize our time efficiently. Some spent so many hours in Facebook or in any social media sites. Some will go to a website to check something and when they see something else interesting, they'll click it and the cycle repeats then boom, they are trapped to procrastinate. 4 hours later and they'll find themselves unproductive. Frustrated that they haven't accomplished the things that they need to accomplish.

I must know how it feels. I was once a procrastinator and I didn't have a discipline. I rotated social media sites every hour, and I'd watch funny videos in YouTube, trying to watch all related videos. But I realized that hey, I won't be spending my whole life to this BS. I have dreams and goals in life and I want to achieve them and definitely watching these crazy stuff or scrolling on my news feed the whole day won't bring me even a half way closer to my dreams!

So that is my first tip.

Get Attached to Your Dreams!
Many of us procrastinate because our day has no basis and that's because we're not attached to our dreams in life. We really don't know what we like to achieve, not just for that particular day, but in the future, in general. 

Procrastination like spending most of your time in Facebook, in YouTube or in a television is an indication that you are lost.  Recall your goals and mission. What are your dreams in life?

I guess you already have something in your head. Okay, but I want you to be specific. If I'm gonna ask you what's your dream in life, you might say "I want to be successful in life" or maybe "I wanna be happy in life."

That's too generic. Narrow it more! Say: I wanna travel! I wanna buy a car, a house and lot! I wanna earn six figures monthly!

Some of us are unproductive because we dream too little and we don't have clarity in our dreams and vision in life. Therefore we achieve little. We spend our time to nonsense stuff because we think we don't have much something to do. We think little dreams require little work. That's what on our head. That's why we keep on doing these.

Starting today, I want you to recall your goals in life and get attached to it. But how?

Every morning, on a piece a paper write your dreams/goals. That makes us attached to our dreams not just because we think while writing them, but it's visual. And once we see our dreams written, we feel the joy, we feel the excitement, and we feel the hunger. We literally write our own dreams!

If you're a student, write "I want to be a topnotcher in our exam next week." If you're a writer, you can write "I will finish a book before September." Every thing must be specific. Every thing must have a deadline. Write your dream every day on a piece of paper; it doesn't matter if you lost it. Collecting it is not necessary. Just write it! Trust me, writing your dreams on an everyday basis does make a huge difference.

So for my second tip,

Create a schedule
I bet many of you have already created your own schedule before and still you we're not able to stick with it. Well, I hope after establishing your dreams and getting attached to it, sticking to your schedule will be easier for you.

I'm not actually a fan of smart schedules. And when I say smart, the exact time is there, the number of hours to be spent, everything is so detailed. Stop doing that kind of schedule. Just identify three to five things a day. For me, I only do three things a day. You may say, "Hey Josh, that's so unproductive."

No it's not. Here's my stand, remember the times when you wrote ten things in your schedule and you got frustrated when you weren't able to attain all of them? That's so disappointing! And that feeling of disappointment won't be a great food for our dreams.

Just think and tell this to yourself: each day, I will make 3 huge steps towards my dreams. Slowly but HUGE steps. Unlike setting 10 things a day and guess what, you're paralyzed. You're frustrated. You're pressured to attain all of them, and sometimes, you compromise the quality of the work just to say you're productive today! You skip significant steps just to finish all of them. And most of the times, we find significant lessons on those stages we skipped.

Achieving our dreams takes time. It takes mastery and we don't acquire mastery quickly. You may be a fast learner, but it won't stick to your system if you don't do it, or learn it by heart.

So stop pressuring yourself, scheduling so many tasks for a day, choosing quantity over quality. You know, when you set 3 things a day and you finish all of them, you'll feel productive. It brings you more drive to beat that productivity tomorrow, it brings you more drive to take few huge steps again. In other words, you'll feel good - and that's the most important part.

Take note, I said 3 huge steps a day. I don't consider a task that can be done in ten minutes a huge step. Maybe you can put it on your memo or sticky notes. Just don't forget to tell yourself "Everyday, I will finish three things. And each is a huge step closer to my dreams."

That's how I make a schedule. Oh, I nearly forgot, write your own schedule. There are tons of apps for smart phones or maybe you're printing your own thru spreadsheet, but remember, writing makes a difference. For me, before my day ends and I go to sleep, I will write the 3 things that I'll do for tomorrow on my journal. Make it as your unbreakable ritual. Don't wake up unless you know what you're going to do for today.

And my last tip,

Do the 1, 2, 3 technique
Whenever you encounter temptation or you get distracted of something, just count 1, 2, 3 and stop doing whatever you're doing and continue attaining your tasks for today. Say you need to go to the gym and you feel watching a movie instead or scrolling again your Facebook news feed. During these instances, just count 1, 2, 3 then stop whatever you are doing irrelevant to your tasks.

Don't tell yourself, oh I'll just check my Facebook for 10 minutes, because you wouldn't know! Those blue links, those viral videos that you'll encounter, everything that interests you will stop you from being productive.

So the moment you feel the urge to check  Facebook, or maybe watching one episode of your favorite sitcom, think again of your goals and dreams in life, think of the things that you need to accomplish today, then count 1, 2, 3. Then go, do what you need to do.

I found this 1, 2, 3 technique on YouTube and it really changed my life. I can see how it improved my discipline and my focus. And I'm pretty sure this 1, 2, 3 technique will also work for you.

Conclusion
How to be productive? It all boils down to knowing your your goals and dreams in life. After setting your goals and dreams, get attached to them. Focus. Know your priorities. Many of us want to be achievers and to be successful but are we doing our 100% effort to make a step forward everyday?

Whenever you will do something, always remember your goals in life and ask yourself, is this relevant to my goals? Will it bring me closer to my dream? And with that, you'll start seeing yourself progressing, making each day productive and soon, you're already the person that you've dreamed of becoming.

That's all for today. I hope you like this post. And I wish you all the best to attain your goals in life. If you have comments, just put it on the comment section below. I'd appreciate it so much.

Again, this is Josh and always remember, do it now. Not later. Because later becomes never. Have a great day!

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Project Positive: The Story Behind

7:56 AM , 4 Comments



The Dark Days of Mine

I'm just like anybody else, I've fallen so many times. Bruised. Wounded. And I considered so often to just stay on the ground and watch people, stepping on the same ground where I fell, walk towards their dreams. I once perceived that life was so unfair. Well, many of us think that way. Don't we? Some had great and amazing experiences in life. No worries and problems. It seemed like they're the blessed and I'm not. I liked to blame everyone around me for the mistakes I committed. I didn't like to take accountability for myself. That's all I did, blame, blame and blame!

I was also sensitive before. Some of my friends told me I was a war-freak. I probably had the shortest temper in this world. I interpreted what people were telling me differently - assuming they're always against me.

I was confused with my life. I didn't even know myself. I can draw, but never had a portfolio of my artworks. I created 50+ plus blogs but never maintained even a single one. I write but never had a collection of poems or prose. My passion for music was there but as soon as I learned the basics I quit learning. Languages also appealed to me but I'm not fluent to anything except of my two native languages.

Life brought so much distractions which I thought of "opportunities." And I was so wrong grabbing all of them.

It all started with the Orange Book
My life had no directions before. No focus. Full of noises. Overwhelmed with ideas.

But there was this moment when my Mom asked me to read the humble book of Ardy Roberto called "Perang Hindi Bitin" which translates to "Never Get Short on Money." It's not just an ordinary personal finance book. It's life-changing and inspiring. This particular book of Mister Ardy ripped off my consciousness to reading more personal development literature.

As soon as I got extra money, I would buy motivational and business books.

Robert Kiyosaki, Chinkee Tan, John Rodica, Francis Colayco, and Larry Gamboa are some of my favorite authors. I read them all diligently and as the days passed by, I felt the yearn for more books like these. I couldn't believe how they transformed and reprogrammed my mind. They are bunch of amazing people who are good in giving hope and motivation to people like me. And they started to be my torch. They helped me to know myself better and to change my perception about life.

The Reality About Life
I realized that life is not unfair. Life is just not free. To get the juiciest rewards of it, we need to pay first in the form of diligence. Life doesn't accept bank financing or any deferred modes of payments. We need to pay upfront.

Life has no limits. We are unlimited. We are the architects of our lives and we have the sole control to make it magical. If we become successful, that's because of our hard work. If we have tons of problems, it's because we chose to have those. What we are today speaks so much of the decisions we made yesterday.

In life we will encounter only one enemy: ourselves. My mantra has become "I'm the only problem I will only have and I'm the only solution." I'm not sure who said this but I guess it's Les Brown. I realized that there's no reason for blaming. Everything is just me. I'm accountable for myself. Nothing and nobody else.

Project Positive
If I was a cancer patient, I can say that I'm already cancer-free. Done with those days when my cancerous thinking killed my creative and healthy mind. But of course, cancer is recurring and I accept the fact that I need to continuously feed my mind with positive things.

And as a cancer survivor, I like to spread the message of hope and to emulate those who helped me, who empowered me and who cheered me to stand up. I wanna share my humble learning in life which I hope can be of help to your situation right now.

I know life is not easy. You probably are depressed today. You probably have given up in life. But I wanna tell you that it's not yet the end of the world. You can change your current situation. You can give hues to your colorless life if you're determined. You can achieve all the things you want if you believe. Because you are unlimited. You have so many potentials and I'm so excited to help you see them.

So basically, Project Positive is a personal development blog. I created this to be the platform to inspire, to empower and to motivate others. This blog will pepper you some inspirational articles and contents to sustain positivity in your life.

Today, I like to congratulate you that you landed in a website like this. Actually there are other more amazing websites online. You can watch motivational videos in YouTube, those are my favorites. Searching something about personal development is such a huge step to change your life. I congratulate you cos despite your problems in life, criticisms, failures and other external factors, you choose to find ways to evade them. You make a move to be happy and I can feel your determination to change for the better and for a more beautiful life.

I hope you enjoy my contents. If you have questions or want to message me, you can email me at projectpositivebyjosh@gmail.com. Don't also forget to like our page on Facebook. It's facebook.com/projectpositivebyjosh

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