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My 100 things that make me happy besides money

This is a challenge to do, but it has been so rewarding. I challenge you to try it; it takes time, but it is so worth it! If you run out of things take a break, even if you need a couple days or weeks. Enjoy and feel free to share your list in the comments.

100 things that make me happy besides money.

1. My family
2. my friends
3. loving others
4. being kind
5. playing games
6. working out
7. eating good food
8. drinking fine wine
9. watching funny movies
10. watching beauty in nature ( clouds, trees, sunset, stars, animals.)
11. helping someone with a good attitude
12. petting my cat
13. dancing
14. playing sports (volleyball, ultimate Frisbee, tennis, etc.)
15. learning interesting things
16. driving fast
17. amazing sounds ( engine roar, gun shot "at targets", birds, loons, waterfall, rain on metal roof.)
18. happy people
19. deep breaths
20. sharing the gospel
21. vacation
22. applause
23. giving gifts
24. receiving gifts
25. complimenting others
26. when things just work out like magic
27. having a clean space
28. being mischievous
29. long hugs
30. clean clothes
31. the smell of fresh cut grass or hay
32. smiling
33. shaking hands
34. dreaming (both awake and sleeping)
35. being goofy
36. looking at myself in the mirror
37. teaching others
38. cool breeze in summer
39. stretching
40. warm bed with lots of blankets and pillows in a cold room
41. being alone
42. hanging out with friends
43. driving or riding somewhere i haven't been or rarely go
44. riding my three wheeler
45. garden fresh veggies
46. catching fish
47. talking to my Grandmas
48. fixing things
49. building stuff
50. planning for the future
51. visiting distant relatives
52. others being happy
53. swimming
54. meeting a nice new person
55. praying
56. Listing or reading good books
57. Hearing good news
58. cute cats or dogs
59. Hanging out with really cool people
60. flying
61. listening to beautiful music
62. Winning a prize
63. Lounging around
64. swimming
65. cooking for friends
66. contemplating the universe
67. solving a problem for myself or others
68. stargazing or cloud watching
69. watching the sunrise or sunset
70. jumping on a trampoline
71. museums
72. a good shower
73. beautiful flowers
74. playing with Legos
75. finishing a piece of art
76. overhearing nice things about myself
77. Handwritten letters and cards
78. Watching someone open a present from me
79. Happy endings
80. When I feel creative (and I put it to use)
81. Holidays with family and friends
82. hosting friends in my house
83. throwing parties
84. smiling at kids
85. watching lightning
86. bubble wrap
87. taking good photos or videos
88. tons of my friends liking those photos and videos on social media
89. receiving a love note
90. people laughing at me because I say something funny
91. blasting music in the car with the windows down singing loudly
92. knowing what someones thinking before they say it
93. playing games with friends like super smash bros, Mario party, and Mario kart.
94. talking into a fan
95. finding a new tv show I really enjoy
96. Watching comedy
97. When the number on the scale is less than it was before
98. When a dreaded task doesn't take nearly as long as I thought it would
99. When someone does something nice I wasn't expecting
100. Watching other happy people

what do you live FOR?

   What do you live FOR? Can be one 's most challenging and rewarding question's you will ever answer. It also needs to be re-answered from time to time because as we slide down the hillside of life our priorities change in fact pretty much everything changes. They say the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes  but that forgets to mention change, change is inevitable in life. Good change bad change the world keeps on turning.

   So back to the main point, which is  what is the point? If you have no direction, no goal, no focus, how can you chart a course? When you set a course it is usually done using a compass, and your heading is True North but even if you are off just a few degrees just ever so slightly by the time you have traveled your full trip you could be hundreds of miles off course. To combat this you must adjust your course based on where you want to end up. The shortest distance between two points is a straight line, but what happens when there is a giant island in the middle? you need to go around it! Very rare in life will you find a straight path, in fact if you do find a straight path you're probably not going very far. All of lifes many paths and roadways are filled with twists and turns, bumps and cracks. A good friend of mine likes to say "Well if you don't know where you're going any road will do.

    " So ask yourself I mean really ask yourself: what do you live for? If you spend anything less than 30 minutes answering this question you either have all of life figured out (congrats on that) or you simply aren't trying. Check out this video I found and how hard it can be for some people to answer this question when put on the spot:
 

   So what do I live for? (insert generic answer like; well to make the world a better place...) No seriously I am a Christian and proud of that my first mission is to tell others the good news that my savior loves them and they can be saved, but God has put talents, and gifts, and resources under me to use for making a difference in other peoples lives. My specific goals and headings right now are I am building my first (of many) business. Then I will build another and another until I have enough businesses and assets to support my comfortable life style. I will by that time have the means and time to travel the world and help people I meet wherever they are at in life.


    That is my overall plan, but I just like everyone else get side tracked. When I find things that don't line up with the plan then one of two things needs to happen. 1. That thing that doesn't line up needs cut from my life; addiction, unhealthy relationships, time wasting activities, or anything else that could or does put me off course. Or 2. My plan needs to change. If your plan is to be a singer/songwriter that is awesome and a great road to take, but if you are married and with kids how will that affect your family? You see when we set our course or adjust our course it can be easy to only think about how it affects us.


   You want to do the most good so if you have kids in your life now you want to strongly consider bringing them into your plans and reevaluating what is important in your life and why. When I have kids my goals probably won't change that much, but how I go about achieving them probably will. You see now as a 20 something single guy I am pretty free to do as I please, but  when I have kids I don't want to be that guy that is to busy for his kids. I want an active roll in my kids lives, I want to be there at the fun events seeing them getting awards and cheering them on. I will still pursue my dreams, but I won't be able to spend 20 hours working on a project to squeeze it out as fast as humanly possible. I hope by the time I have kids I have been wise in how I invest my time, talents, & resources so I have the freedom to spend time with my kids and not have to choose one dream or the other.


   I hope by reading this you will take a moment to think about these questions, it will also help you to write down your answers it is much easier to hit a target you can see. Have a superb day.

My Mornings

Hi Everyone,

How is your new year going? Still keeping up on those resolutions? I can happily say I am still working on mine, I had a setback this year with about a weeks worth of illness. I am now feeling much better and have been getting so pumped for what is going on around me I have been following the advice of the many guru life coach motivational speaker types I have been listening to; and I think I am finally starting to consciously attract people and situations into my life. Now granted some days seem better than others, but honestly on a whole I am feeling fantastic! I have started a morning routine and add things as needed I have seen tremendous growth in my life as a direct result. Here is my list as it stands now:

1. wake up semi early -  I have realized anyone I admire doesn't sleep in, regardless of what time I go to bed (and yes I am a night owl) I set an alarm and only sleep for 4-9 hours the four being If I have an early event or something and 9 being the night after when I need to catch up. Also naps are not a bad thing just as long as they aren't abused.

2. shower, shave, all those personal hygiene things and a shower helps me wake up faster.

3. Eat something - I don't always put breakfast first and it is probably the easiest meal for me to skip, but it is very important for brain function and kick starting your metabolism. also pancakes drenched in syrup aren't really breakfast they are more of a burden on your body you are better off skipping if that is all you have.

4. Glass of water - I like most people don't drink enough water, it is estimated we are made up of about 50-65% H2o so no wonder most of us are dehydrated. This affects tons of things with our body and immune system; so I have made it a point to drink at least a glass of water in the morning. I have also replaced coffee with tea and honey.

5. Stretch & light exercise - This gets my body moving and feeling like I can take on anything it felt a little strange the first couple times, but I wouldn't miss it now days. If you are unsure of how to stretch properly search youtube because the last thing you want is to pull something and be out of commission for a while.

6. Quiet time  -  This could be a lot of different things for me I use this time to read my bible usually a chapter of the old testament and one of the new testament. Then I pray on what I have red asking God to apply what I have red in my life. I then proceed to pray for everything else my friends & family, my business, the rest of my day, my world & country and any political or social issues.

7. Read  -  This is an important one because I can learn a lot from the writings of men and women who spent their lives learning the lessons I am now receiving in a few hours worth or so that it takes to read a book. I am currently reading Solomon Northup's 12 years a slave. I try to read autobiographies or books that teach something I steer clear of fantasy.

8. Learn - I added this when I decided I wanted to become fluent in Italian they say learning a second language boost most of your other skills including your speaking writing and comprehension. On top of that I am of Italian descent, and I dream of visiting someday I would really like to be able to converse with ease. I also plan to learn others after I am confident in italian. I am starting out using an app called Duolingo it has been really fantastic and it is free. I could also use this time to brush up on math skills or anything else that is important to me at the time as long as it counts as learning I can check this off my list. Another great resource for this is again youtube, but more specifically the college channels. I have watched some amazing courses and lectures for "FREE" I didn't fill out forms or spend tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, but I have been able to benefit as if I had.

9. Review my day - There are a couple of sayings that apply here like: you can't hit a target you can't see, or If you don't know where your going any road will do. So what I do is sit down with a piece of paper or my tablet, and write out everything I have on my plate today (not that I expect to get it all done) everything from cleaning my house, to an important business deadline, to calling my grandma to say hi. Write it all down. I then use the abcde method; if a task is an A task (something I can't not do without serious consequences) IE missing an important business deadline that holds up the work of others.  I mark and A next to that task. Then all the B tasks are marked the same, a B task is anything that while important I can put off or skip without bad things happening. a C task is something I would like to do, but will not affect me one way or the other. The D task stands for delegate anything that I don't have to do I shouldn't my time and talent is precious and If there is someone else who CAN do it I should have them. (This would include making the kids do chores around the house even if they are little there are little things they can help with that will make a huge difference.) Now let me preface this by saying they will NEVER do it as good as you and they will sometimes not do it or worse do it wrong (they being whomever you delegate to) Just because you CAN do it better doesn't mean you should again your time is precious, more often than not they flat out won't do what you asked or they will do so altogether wrong. This IS frustrating, but try again this time explain exactly what needs done and why they must do it. Finally we have E which stands for eliminate, these are tasks that were at one time important but are no longer or things you know you do not need to be done at all.


So this is my list and how I try to start every morning it seemed daunting at first especially on days that I have morning events, but now that I am doing it I see the benefits and the costs in terms of time spent or sleep lost don't even come close to what I gain from doing this. I should also say this is not a rigid morning routine if I have a busy day I cut out a few or save them for later in my day and only do the most important steps.

I hope this post has been helpful to someone I just wanted to give an update on how I am doing and what I have been up to.

Justin

Also as a side note on the abcde method; you should never do a B task when you still have an A task on the list and like wise you should never do a C task when there is a B task on the list. Tasks can also change if you have been putting off doing the dishes because it really is inconsequential; eventually you need to face the music and do it because it will only get worse. I borrowed the method from a man named Brian Tracy you can watch him here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKOMTZ7PPLg
Most people focus most of their time on B & C tasks while avoiding the hard tasks that will make a real difference, but doing the opposite and focusing on A tasks until there are none left changes the whole game.

Moving from Change to Progress

In response to yesterdays post I found another Tony Robbins video I really like and I thought I would share:



Just a quick one today. This really helped nail things down for me when I started to analyze my patterns and make small changes. Remember to be positive your words are your reality.

Justin

Time To Get Serious

   As we approach the end of the year it feels like the perfect time to take a look back at what we have accomplished in the past year. For me personally the end of the year is the time I start planning my year end demo-reel showcasing the best of the best of my work for the past year.

   If you're like me the end of the year can be equally rewarding and sobering as I never seem to get my (ever growing) list of things to do, done. As we draw ever closer to the end of the year many of us  make new years resolutions; about everything from weight loss to debt resolution. Speaking of how are you doing with last years resolutions? If you're like most we go through an ever repeating cycle of making plans, break plans, feeling bad, and making plans. Insert redundant quote? Okay fine: insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. While normally attributed to Albert Einstein it is actually believed to come from narcotics anonymous and none less wise. Anyways lets take a moment and be honest shall we? What pattern are you stuck in? For me it is laziness I sit at home drinking my coffee expecting the phone to ring off the hook with clients begging for my video services, and I get frustrated when my bank account remains empty. (and I'm not just making this up for the sake of the article I am being honest) Now if we are also being honest we can probably agree that whatever pattern we are stuck in it is holding us back right?

   What life altering event would it take for you to: GET SERIOUS? I was going to write out the tragic story of my best friends mother passing from cancer and how hard that was on him, and how it changed his life, but as I was thinking on it (and getting a little choked up about how things played out) I realized that story wouldn't mean nearly as much to you, it isn't that you don't care you simply didn't experience it like I did. However we can all relate because we all go through hard times and the ones that will mean the most to you are the ones you experience. What was your hard times and how did it affect you? Did you change for the better? Or did you try to drown your sorrows? What would you have done differently? Hard times and tragic situations can't be avoided altogether they come for all of us, but is that what it takes for you to get serious? I know for me pain is a terrific motivator I am a creature of comfort, if something hurts I will do anything to fix it.


   If you haven't noticed this article is mostly written for myself I worded it so that it might help others, but really I hope that it will motivate me to get off my duff and get serious. The next part of this article is what to do? What is some practical advice that can help fix the problem we identified earlier?

1.Start with writing it down so you can know exactly what it is that you are dealing with. No seriously do it now, don't just think about doing it. Don't forget the why because at the core of that problem is a why? Why do I do what I do?
E.G. I avoid the hard or boring tasks in my business, because I want to be comfortable.

2. Why ask why? Why do I care? Do I want to change or am I just soul searching here?
E.G. Because what I'm doing isn't working, I want to make a change, because I want to see results I can get excited about.

3. What am I changing?
E.G. The list of things I ought to do will have check boxes that will be checked off.

4. Do it!
E.G. One of the things I struggle with is keeping up on my business blog I hate the thought of writing. Once I start it's not so bad, but thinking about correcting all my spelling mistakes, my terrible punctuation, and coming up with something someone might actually want to read is a daunting task.

  As I said I wrote this with the intention of helping myself. I figured if I didn't write this; today would just be another day to cross off the calendar going through my daily routine in the same old pattern of comfort. So in closing this has been my first step today in changing that routine let's see where the next foot goes.

Justin

want more? Check out these other articles that helped me today:
tony-robbins-how-to-change-your-life

6-powerful-questions-that-will-change-your-life-forever