We know how great it feels to receive a gift from someone. I believe however that the greatest satisfaction comes from giving to others and knowing that you have made someone feel happier or made a positive contribution in some way to their life. Think of the times when you have given to others. It may have been when you helped someone resolve a problem. You may have volunteered and given up some of your time to help out at your children’s school. You may have helped someone with directions to where they needed to go. The question I ask to you is how did you feel? I’d imagine you felt very pleased with yourself and happy inside. There is something very nourishing to our soul when we give and help others. It provides us with an intrinsic reward that far outweighs what we give. It also helps to take our mind of our own worries and challenges. When you are focused on how you can give to others you are less likely to consume your whole focus on your own concerns and challenges. It provi...

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Isn’t it interesting how we spend the time and understand the sense in making a list of what we need and want for our shopping adventures and yet very few people will invest the time to write down a list of what they need and want for their own life adventure. Why do people make shopping lists? So they will not forget things. They are a reminder. So they can keep to a budget. It helps them to stay on track with their plans. It helps them to stay focused on what they want. It helps them to make the right choices. It stops them from making rash, spontaneous & poor decisions. It avoids time being wasted. It helps to alleviate confusion. Wouldn’t it be also true to say that writing down a list of what you want and need in your life would provide similar benefits for you? How often have you gone to the shops not knowing what you really wanted and them came back with a pile of things that you really did not need? Has someone persuaded you to buy ...

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A recruiter told me the other day about a young girl (degree qualified) who had been at her job for three weeks, was asked to make tea for the boss, got the cranks, and quit! Sounds ridiculous, and just a little extreme, but would this occur at your work? If the answer is yes, then pay attention: Its reasonable to say that Generation Y in the workplace can be just a little cocky, impatient and often have short attention spans. Anyone who manages or leads these young people may find themselves struggling to keep up with their pace (ie having to constantly find work for them to do) and may also become frustrated at having someone constantly questioning your decisions. Yet at the same time, Generation Y can be very passionate about a cause, adapt easily to change and are willing to embrace new technologies. Gen Y are prepared to go out on a limb and take risks and more importantly, they believe in themselves to achieve results. So what do you do to make the most of your talent? ...

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“You can’t have what you want”. I heard this on a spirituality program I was watching last night and it puzzled me. Why would they be saying that? Then it occurred to me, it was all in the language. The sentence was presupposing that if you are ‘wanting’ something, then it is something you believe you do not have or possess in this very moment. If we want something, it means we don’t believe we already have it, or it isn’t something that we already own or possess. What is it that you want? Love, health, success? Do you believe these things have to come from someone or something else? Anything that we desire is part of us already. It has to be. Why? Because I believe that we are all connected energetically – and ultimately we are all connected to a higher power, God, universal energy, whatever you wish to call it. And surely if this higher power has it, and we are connected to this higher power, then doesn’t it mean we have access? Absolutely. However, the key is to be open to acces...

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Learn how the words you use affect the results you're going to get! As an amazingly intricate piece of work, our mind is constantly filtering and sorting for evidence that the world around us matches how we think it should be. We are constantly evaluating...thinking and analysing people, circumstances, words, actions, our environment, today, yesterday, tomorrow, and in particular what these all mean to us. If you stop to think about it long enough, we are constantly evaluating. So, since we spend most of our day doing it, should we get clearer on exactly what an evaluation is? I tried to evaluate what an evaluation is and then I realised I was asking myself a series of questions. Is it possible that evaluations are questions? Of course, that in itself is a question is it not? Can it be that thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and answering questions? Are you familiar with that little voice that pops up from time to time, that little fella that sits on your shoulder a...

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Persistence is the ability to overcome all obstacles between you and your goals. It is an important trait for you to have if you want to realise your goals. Whenever you set a goal there will be the inevitable obstacles and challenges. You need to understand and accept that. How you respond to these obstacles and how persistent you are will determine your success in achieving your goals and ultimately the level of happiness that you experience in your life. I love reading biographies of people who have achieved great things in their life. The reading of these biographies not only has inspired me, it has revealed to me some common attributes of successful people. On top of the list is persistence. Every person that has achieved success has had their share of failure and setbacks. They would have had obstacles in their way. The key to their success was their persistence and their will and desire to find a way to make their goals a reality. They have a ‘never say die’ attitude. One o...

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If you’re anything like me, you’re probably swamped with numerous things to do, all pulling you in different directions and all demanding your immediate attention. Thing is, we so often get caught up in doing the small things, or the more enjoyable things, that before we know it, time has passed us by and that big task that you say you’ll keep getting to tomorrow, still isn’t done! 2008 is drawing to an end so now’s the time to stop … take a deep breath … and jump right in! If you’re finding everything a little too overwhelming then make sure you take some time out each day (even if its only for 30mins) to just relax and recharge your mind. If its that you really can’t get motivated to do it, then change the environment you’re doing it in, alter the process or bring someone else on board to keep you company. Your time is valuable – make sure you like how you spend it. If your task is still too daunting, then look at it in a new way… We’ve all heard many times before that we need t...

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In this changing economic climate we may be faced with options that previously we did not entertain. In life there are always surprises and it is how we navigate through these turbulent times that we can get clearer on our purpose and our chosen career. If your position is being made redundant, then see this as a window of opportunities. Here are some tips to get you thinking about your options. Going back to your old company as a consultant Sometimes there is an option to continue working in the same company as a consultant. Naturally you are keen to go back and work under these new conditions. Ensure you are charging appropriately as now you have to manage your own insurances and superannuation. You can make more money this way as it gives you the flexibility to charge more per hour for your specialised skills. In addition you can find other contracts with other companies if you so wish as you are not tied to your previous employer. You are leveraging of your time t...

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How many of you are searching to find the right career for you or are in a career that you don’t really enjoy? So many people spend their whole lives in careers that they don’t enjoy and in many cases hate. Why is that? I believe that most people do not take the time for some self-exploration before they commit to a career and therefore do not understand or realise what career is best suited for them. Rather than focus on what you truly enjoy you may go into a career for the wrong reasons i.e. attractive income and perks, security, peer & family pressure etc. I am one of the victims of not taking the time for some self-exploration surrounding my career choice when I was younger. I spent 19 years in a military role that really was not suited to me and I never really felt fulfilled or satisfied in that career. I was attracted to it for the wrong reasons. When I did conduct some self-exploration and started paying attention to some signs I realised that I absolutely loved assisting...

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Have you ever wanted something so much that it doesn’t come or doesn’t happen. You’ve done everything you can think of to get this “thing”, you’ve been constantly thinking about having it and yet its still not coming your way… In desperation you finally reach frustration point and “give up”. But then guess what happens next – you get it! That’s because part of the process of positive thinking involves a certain amount of surrendering. When you’ve believe enough in an outcome and have taken every action to achieve it then you must let it go and have faith that it will occur when its meant to. When I talk about faith I’m not referring to a particular religion per se. You could be surrendering to God, Buddha, Allah or the Universe. Whatever external source you believe in is absolutely perfect, it’s the action of belief that is important, not the subject. A mentor of mine once said to me that surrendering your belief is like hot chips and seagulls. If you chase after a seagull to feed ...

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