I would like to take this opportunity to wish all of our readers a Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year.
2008 will be a big year for us and I hope that we may have provided you with some inspiration to chase your dreams in 2008 also.
Take care over the holiday season.
Craig and Belinda.
There have been several influences in my decision to make the most of my life instead of just ‘floating along’. One of those is David Bohl and his website and blog Slow Down Fast. David, like myself, has been-there-done-that as far as concentrating on his work life and missing out on the joys of spending time with his family but has now realised where his true hapiness lies.
David’s story is a very interesting one and his blog is full of great articles on finding what it is you want from your life and many of the articles provide a great deal of inspiration when the going gets a little tough, and it does get tough at times. Going against the ‘normal’ way of thinking - the J.O.B. mentality - certainly has it’s ups and downs.
I have thought on several occasions of dropping everything and heading down to the local J.O.B. centre and signing up but then I think how crushed I would be at having to let go of a dream. A quick read through the Slow Down Fast blog and the inspiration returns. Well worth your time to take a look.
One other resource that I have found useful both in dealing with the pressures of daily living and also useful for dealing with my back pain is Mindfulness. What the heck is Mindfulness you may ask? Mindfulness is a form of meditation that allows you to completely clear your mind and become more self aware.
Yeah I know, sounds a bit odd and I can tell you that when I found out that I was booked-in to do a course on Mindfulness with the pain management group that I attend I have to say I wasn’t impressed! Four weeks later and I have mastered Mindfulness and use it on a daily basis to kick back and get everything into perspective once again.
I found so many benefits from Mindfulness that I started a blog on the subject. Sounds like that ad from a few years ago - “I was so impressed that I bought the company!”, something like that anyway. I think it was for mens razors. Anyhow once again I digress! If your keen to see what this Mindfulness thing is all about please head over to The Mindfulness Blog. It is a little light-on content at the moment but I am working on that as we speak.
Take Care
Craig
I feel this post requires a bit of explaining as to how it came about. I wasn’t going to publish this post as I thought it was full of mushy stuff that no-one but me could understand but after talking with a man that has a great deal of wisdom when it comes to processing events in your life I decided to lay it out there and not be scared or ashamed of what I felt. That man was David Bohl from Slow Down Fast, and I will be forever grateful to him for sharing his wisdom with me.
The post came about from a particularly sad moment in my life when a good friend of mine attempted to take his own life. Thankfully he had second thoughts and thank god he was able to call an Ambulance that got him to hospital in time. I wrote this post for him and also for myself to try and re-focus my own thinking after this shock. I hope that you too can find some hope and inspiration from it. Here goes…..
There has been a long-running fued in our household regarding two conifer trees that were growing outside our lounge room balcony. Belinda insisting on letting them grow for the sake of privacy and me, well I just wanted the view back. One of the reasons we bought our house in the first place was the magnificent view that it had.
Finally today she gave in and the trees where cut down. The neighbours must think that I am a couple of sandwiches short of a picnic, getting excited over trees being cut down!
So what in god’s name does this have to do with the title of this post? Glad you asked! First take a look at the pictures of the view. Beautiful isn’t it? No, I’m not hear to gloat about the house we have, the market was very low at the time we bought and there is no way we could afford the same house in today’s market!
What I am trying to say through this example is that although sometimes our outlook on life may be distorted or even completely blocked, not by damn conifer trees I hope!, but by events in our lives that make it hard to focus on what we do have that brings us hapiness. Often times these ‘events’ are out of our control and I guess there is a certain amount of helplessness that comes with them which can make the situation seem alot worse than it may be.
From my point of view I have had a few challenges over the past twelve months, first physically which then led to financially and it is only now that I have realised the importance of looking past the conifer trees, so to speak, and to find inspiration for my life from the things that I do still have around me. When these challenges first began to become problems my outlook was very clouded and I focused on the negatives instead of looking for the great view that was still there, it was just a bit harder to see.
I have found that training your mind to think this way is no easy feat and although I knew how I should have been thinking at the time it took a long time and a lot of perseverance before I truly believed it. However I am reminded of some of the positives in my life most morning’s when there are three smiling faces looking up at me from the end of the bed when I wake up!
Although life can often throw us a few curve-balls, sometimes more than one at a time, I think that there is allways something left in our lives that can bring about positive thoughts and feelings and this is what we need to concentrate on to help us make the most of a situation we would rather not be in. Take a look at the bigger picture and focus your energy on things that help you live the life you deserve, one of happiness.
Life was never meant to be easy, as they say, but if for even one moment in a day you can focus your thoughts on something that brings about happy, positive feelings then life will be easier to handle. Also there is always someone out there who cares for you, whether you realize it or not. Unfortunately it often takes us humans a lot to admit that we care for someone and I think if we were to show our feelings more people would understand that they are not alone and that there is someone out there that wants to know if you are doing ok.
Life is way too short to leave your feelings buried inside you and quite possibly expressing to someone that you care about them may bring them to see that it isn’t all doom and gloom and potentially may even save their life! Don’t worry about whether or not you think they want to hear it, let them know anyway because as I found out you never know how someone is feeling deep down inside and it may be all they need to hear to make their life a bit easier. If you can help anyone see the good things around them they will be better off for it.
I guess what I am trying to say and what I have learnt is that no-matter how bad things are for you at the moment if you try your hardest to look at the positive aspects of your life, the great view, the positive view will come into focus again. Sure it takes a lot of work and you need a lot of self-talk to make it happen, but take it from me once you get there you will never want to go back! The view is too good!
Craig
“Your Life in Balance” is an excellent e-book written by David Bohl from Slow Down Fast. It is very well thought-out and written and I recommend it to anyone who wants to make the most out of their life.
I have had the pleasure of reading and now writing a review of David Bohl’s insightful ebook entitled “Your Life in Balance”. David’s ebook takes you on a journey that examines every aspect of your life and has great methods for digging deep and finding what it is that YOU need to change to achieve a balanced, enjoyable life.
David Bohl is not just another ‘trained’ life coach. David draws on his own life experiences as the basis of his teaching. He has been there, done that as far as an unbalanced work/home life is concerned and has made positive changes to achieve a balanced life and you can learn from his real world experience through this ebook. This unique perspective makes for an enjoyable and thought-provoking read.
David has done well to squeeze so much into 68 pages, everything from explaining what life balance means, how to find what life balance is for you, finding what you want out of life and practical ways to overcome obstacles and achieve the life you have always wanted but weren’t sure how to go about it. The last chapter focuses on why a support system is important and makes you realize that you don’t have to struggle on by yourself.
At the end of every chapter there is a review of the key points and practical exercises for the reader to complete. I found the exercises very good for plotting out how my life is going at the moment and it is very easy to see where changes need to be made, particularly with regards to where my time is spent. I thought I was spending a reasonable amount of time with my family but when I wrote it all down I realized I still spent way too much time chasing the elusive dollar. Now I know what Belinda is complaining about!
Stress is a huge part of modern day living and David has a whole chapter devoted to addressing this issue. There is an explanation of what stress is from a physical and emotional point of view and the difference between negative and positive stress in your life and my favorite, The Stress Test. Do you think you are handling the stress in your life? Take the Stress Test to see how you are really doing.
I could rave on for hours about the content in this ebook, it really is a comprehensive guide to improving your life and achieving life balance. David has done a fantastic job of addressing and thoroughly explaining every step of the process and I highly recommend this ebook to anyone that is looking to get the most out of their lives. Even if you think you are doing fine, grab a copy and read it with an open mind and I guarantee you will see things from a different perspective and find areas of your life that you can improve to increase your happiness and your ‘life balance’.
Craig Wilson.
*This is not a paid review, this is an honest opinion of a top quality ebook!*
With the anniversary of Steve Irwin’s passing coming up on September 4th it has got me thinking again at what a truly remarkable human being he was and what lessons we all can learn from his life. I can remember the shock and sadness that I felt when I heard of his death and to be honest it made me angry to think that such an extrordinary person could be taken from us at the young age of 44.
If you don’t know who Steve Irwin was (and seriously who doesn’t!) he was better known as the Crocodile Hunter. The khaki-wearing, hyperactive man that was so deeply passionate about animal conservation that he made it his job to educate people around the world about looking after mother nature. Through his tv documentaries and the world famous Australia Zoo he bought attention to the plight of our wildlife in a unique and sometimes crazy way.
I think the biggest thing that we can learn from Steve, apart from his message about wildlife conservation, is what can be achieved when the passion and the goal is strong enough and he is a perfect example of someone living their dream. In 1991 Steve took over the reptile park from his parents and transformed it something that is a tribute to one man’s (and one woman’s - I’m sure Terri had a lot to do with it as well) vision. We are lucky enough to live not far from the Australia Zoo and have been there a number of times and if you haven’t been there it is truly a sight to see. There is no doubt that Steve had a lot of good people around him every step of the way but I think it would have been Steve that had the grand-plan firmly implanted in his mind.
A lot of people have critised Steve over the years for making Australians look like a bunch of looney’s. When you look at footage of behind the scenes action you realise that this man had a huge personality. He was larger than life. It’s a shame that some people see this as a bad thing and scorn someone having a great time and thoroughly enjoying life. I think Steve would have had a strong enough character to see that what other people thought of him was none of his business and to hell with the knockers! Obviously many people around the world liked what he did judging by the huge audience that his documentaries attracted.
People like Steve Irwin don’t come along everyday and it may be hard for you and I to remain so focused and committed to one thing when the chores of everyday life take up most of our time, but take a step back for a moment and see what other people have achieved and you know, they are no different from you and I, they just have a goal that they are willing to chase without letting anything get in their way.
Steve Irwin 22/2/1962 - 4/9/2006
May He Rest In Peace.
Craig Wilson