1 Million Dollars in 365 days…

Ok, so I’m not sure if “sidewards” is actually a word, but I was trying to keep the theme flowing throughout the heading! How are we all doing today folks? Are we excited? Or are we reading this with our eyes half closed, trying to pass the time before we get to go home…where we will spend the next few hours watching mind-numbing tv?

“HELL NO” I year you say! Most excellent! Because, as a long time reader of this blog you know how lucky we are to be here today, to have another bash at life and another 24 hours in which we can do ANYTHING WE WANT! Now is that exciting or what?

So, no matter what time of the day or night you are reading this, be grateful. Be grateful that you have the ability to see this blog, that you have access to the amazing world of the internet.

You now have some decisions to make:

• What I am going to do with the next 24 hours?
• Who am I going to spend my time with?
• What am I going to contribute to?
• How I am going to feel for these next 24 hours?

Take a moment and find a pen and piece of paper and you write these 4 questions down, then spend the next 5 minutes, answering them.Be honest with yourself. How did you answer these questions? Did you answer with the normal everyday stuff, like “go to work”, feel “depressed” or “angry”. My guess is that you didn’t. I think you wrote about the things and people you feel passionate about. The things that make you feel good and empowered. Happy and successful.

As strange as it may seem, you actually ask yourself these questions everyday.

And you answer them…

• You choose what you are going to do with your time.

• You choose who you spend your time with.

• You choose what’s important to you and what you want to contribute to.

• You choose exactly how you are going to feel, every moment of every day.

It may be a bit hard to swallow, but it’s the truth. We are all responsible for what happens in our lives. I’m not saying everything is your faults, but at the end of the day - you have the choice as to how you want to handle a situation, challenge or success.

So if your written answers to those 4 questions, aren’t what you normally do every day - then maybe it’s time to take some serious action and change the things you do everyday, so you start living the life you want. It’s your choice and I know there’s lots of support for you out there.

So give it a go…

I’ve just returned from a fantastic dinner at my sister-in-law’s house. It really reminded me how important it is to be surrounded by people that you care about, and people that care about you. I truly believe that a lot of “problems” of the world could be solved by a few family meals around the dinner table, complimented with a bunch of healthy laughter and kids running around in circles!

Laughing is certainly infectious,and I think it’s even better when coming from children. I know I always go on about being grateful for what we have, and I make no apologies for it! I think we need to make more noise about the awesome stuff in our lives!

People seem to get too complacent and don’t emphasise all the great things we have going on! Everyone likes drama so they focus on dis-empowering events such as murders, assaults, abuse, poverty…the list goes on. You only have to watch the 6 o’ clock news to see what I’m talking about. (This is why I don’t watch the news anymore).

It appears that it’s more abnormal to focus on empowering events, such as eating a meal with your family around the dinner table. Again, this depends on what is important to you in your life.For the majority of people, once they lose something like “Spending time with their family”, this soon becomes the most important thing in their life and they would usually do anything to get it back. Don’t wait until you lose it. Make the most of it now.

And for all my friends abroad that don’t have their immediate families with them at the moment, or those that have lost loved ones, don’t worry as luckily the world has millions of people of all ages, ethnicity’s and geographic locations, that are looking for love and support.

“Sometimes the best way to receive something, is to give it.”

So if you’re looking for a “family” why not volunteer somewhere, get involved in a community group or visit an old-age home.

I’m sure you’ll be surprised by what you get in return for your time.

Ok folks, as you can see, I’ve stepped up to the mark and am blogging every second day - part of my 30 day program! And I’m really enjoying it

So, I posed the question “Where does happiness live?”. I thought if we could track down it’s location it may be easier to locate when we need it. Where do I start looking though? Then it hit me - that magic binary machine that is google…

As with most things, I went to the first link - the one with the highest ranking on google. Turns out it was written by a lady named Helena Aramendia:

“Probably the most important thing that I see is that happy people do not identify with their life or their situation. This is my personal definition of freedom. They do not rely on any external factor in order to feel happiness. They are happy even if, at a given moment, they feel upset, or sad. They “are” intrinsically happy even if they “feel” different emotionally at some point. That makes me think that if both feelings are possible at the same time, it is safe to conclude that happiness is not an emotional response, but a state that is generated and developed at a deeper level. Is happiness a state of the soul ?”

This is a really good article and I would suggest reading it if you have a few minutes. It gives a great perception on happiness and how we can achieve it. There are lots of ideas, from meditation, affirmations, thought patterns, through to volunteering, karma & religious beliefs.

Read the full article here....and choose to be happy

If you are looking to vote for your favourite charity in the $10,000 Marathon Challenge please click here. Right now, I have some way More exciting to talk about!

If we look carefully enough, we can find miracles happening everyday. I was lucky enough to experience one of these miracles at 4:07am on Sunday Morning. My wife gave birth to our beautiful little daughter - Sophie.

 It was without a doubt, one of the most amazing experiences of my life. More amazing than everything I have achieved so far, more amazing than walking on searing hot coals, more amazing than travelling the world. This was an experience that cannot be defined by words.

The miracle of life is something that humbles me, as no amount of money or success can actually buy life. Yet, this precious event is something that people of all ages, races, beliefs and religions, have been blessed with the ability to experience. It seems to put everything into perspective.

If believe there is no better motivator in life, than your children. What parent wouldn’t sacrifice everything for their kids? It brings another dimension to your life, one which cannot be bought or sold.

Even in their infancy, children can teach us so much about life. They can show us how precious life is. They can show us how how something so small, can change so many lives. They can show us how silence, is the most powerful sound on the earth.

For those of you that have children - remember to be grateful for them. Hug and them and tell them you love them. Remember, there are a lot of people out there that would do anything to be in your position. Next time your children are driving you up the wall, stop and focus on what’s important. They are.