How Specific are your Goals

Students were asked what their goal was. Their answer was- "To Graduate."
Athletes were asked what their team goal was. Their answer was- "To win. Duh".
Sales Reps. were asked what their goal was. Their answer was- "To make money."

Coach Mike Krzyzewski is one of the most successful college coaches of all time. He has one specific goal at practice. To be the most spritied team.

He found out that when they are spirited and act themselves into having spirit, then he can teach them anything. Without spirit, the team spends most of the practice running. His players race to compliment each other.

Once they have the team, they can accomplish their dream.
"If we don't have spirit at least we'll have conditioning." ~Coach K

"Vague goals bring vague results." ~Ed Tseng

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Are you happy?

Some say that we can tell how happy you are just by your attitude when you wake up in the morning to live your life.

What lights you up? What intrigues you? Is it your job? Is it your friends? Is it your family? If the answer is none of the above, THEN GO FIND SOMETHING OR SOMEONE THAT DOES!

"Happiness is believing that your life has meaning."

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Who is releasing your hidden potential?

Muhammed Ali stated that he surrounded himself with people that charged up his batteries. All the ability you ever need is already inside you. We all possess that little spark inside us. But without a Team it douses the flame.

Take a look at the people around you. Who is charging your batteries?

"A group is a bunch of people in an elevator. A team is also a bunch of people in an elevator, but the elevator is broken." ~Bonnie Edelstein

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Get in the Game!

Stop standing on the sidelines. Did you know that students are trained in school not to respond? Why? Because they may be in fear of giving the wrong answer.

A Professor at Montclair State University tried an experiment with his class. To get his students to participate in class, he asked them questions and wanted them to shout out the wrong answers in a confident and enthusiastic voice. When asked why some of the students didn't give an answer they stated, "Because it feels weird to give wrong answers."

"You have learned more in life because of the mistakes you have made. The fear of making a mistake is the worst mistake that you can ever make."

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Don't Disrespect Me

Dedicated to one of the most influential and world changing citizens of the U.S., Dr. Martin Luther King.

How do you react when someone disrespects you? Are you responding? Or is your ego responding?

Ever hear the phrase, "Kill'em with kindness."

"In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must ever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force." ~The Great Martin Luther King

"Don't change who you are because of who they are."

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

2 Ways to Boost your Energy

1. Clear your clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new and flowing energy into your life.

2. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.

"It's not how old you are, it's how much energy you have."

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

What is you boiling point?

Do you over react? An over reaction is simply a release of tension. It's a way of venting. Every time something bothers us we might think we let it go but really we might continue to think about it. Maybe it was the person who disrespected you this morning. Or your day isn't going as smoothly as you would like. But are you waiting for that one moment to let it all out.

Once the pot has reached its boiling point we let it out on the next thing that may irritate us. The other party involved might be thinking, "This person is crazy." Or do we call our friend or mother and vent it out that way . There is another solution. Don't take anything personally. Every obstacle is a challenge not a road block.

The question is, Will you spend time complaining about it or will you spend time doing something about it? Your life is to precious to waste time on. Just for today, count how many times you are tempted to complain. Then ask yourself, "Is complaining about it, going to get me further in life, or hold me back from my destiny?
"We can thorw stones, complain about them, stumble on them, climb over them, or build with them."~William Arthur Ward

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." ~unknown

Energize Them!

Raising your like-ability factor

After someone has an interaction with you; are they going to walk away with more or less energy. Are they going to feel better or worse. You have so much enthusiasm to share. Don't keep it all to yourself. Others need what you have.

"Energy is contagious...
either you affect people...
or you infect people." ~T.Harv Eker

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

I. O. N. U.

I Observe No Unfriendliness

Unfriendliness is a weakness- every time you are unfriendly with someone= you've experienced a failure to control yourself.

Flex your friendliness muscles- challenge yourself to maintain friendliness despite your circumstances.

Warning signs- notice a bad feeling; talk yourself out of committing an unfriendly act.
Ask?- Will this fix anything? Is this how I want to be remembered?

We will talk more this week.
“Get control of your emotions before they control you."

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

What is your Like-ability Factor

Who wins American idol? Who wins the presidential election? Which waiter or waitress gets the most tips? Answer: The person who is the most likeable. It isn't the most talented it is the person that is the most likeable. How likeable are you?

Doesn't it bother us when a server in a restaurant is rude. Or a sales clerk is only concerned with making a sale and not concerned with our needs. That is how some of us may be seen by others. Your like-ability factor will allow others to just be themselves. Your presence makes an impact on others. The question is, is it positive or negative?

We will speak more this week about building your like-ability.
"I want to live a life with a family, not fight with the world." ~John Ritter

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Does money bring Happiness?

With money you can buy a house but not a home.
With money you can buy a clock but not time.

"You have not lived a perfect day, even though you have earned your money, unless you have done something for someone who will never be able to repay you." ~Ruth Smeltzer

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present." -unknown

It's Your Choice

"You are where you are today because of the choices that you have made."

Every reaction you have is a choice. How you approach people is a choice. How you choose to handle adversity is a choice. You choose to be who you are.

You might be thinking, "I'm not enthusiastic. I'm always late. I'm not a leader. I can't do that." My personal favorite, "That is just who I am." No, you choose to be that way. You can choose to act differently than how you feel. You can choose to think about those who inspire you, or you can choose to think about those things that bother you in life. Your attitude is a result of all that you have thought. You choose your thoughts. Your thoughts don't choose you.

"There are two primary choices in life; to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them." ~Denis Waitley

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

When the ball doesn't bounce your way

Hardships in life are not permanent only temporary. The pain didn't come to stay, it came to pass." ~Joel Osteen

Have you ever felt that no matter how hard you fought, that you've done everything you possibly could and it still wasn't good enough? Maybe it was that job you didn't get, or that game you didn't win. Ever say to yourself, "I have no luck."

Ever notice how some people seem to get lucky and others struggle for what they've got? Those who struggle the most will get that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Why? Because when you think your journey is over, it really has just begun.
The more we struggle= the bigger the pot of gold= the greater the feeling when it happens for you. Don't quit. No matter how much you feel like it, there are many victories for you, that have yet to be won.

"Effort only fully releases its reward after a person refuses to quit." ~Napoleon Hill

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

What are you thinking about?

"All that we are is the result of what we have thought." ~Buddha

Are you thinking about all the things that could go wrong? Or are you thinking about all the things that can go right and all the things that have already gone right in your life. Notice that when we become stressed, it's the result of thinking about what stresses us the most. Thoughts are your power. You become what you think of.

"Thought is the sculptor who can create the person you want to be." ~Henry David Thoreau

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

Who are you?

Have you ever heard the expression, "What you are shouts so loud, I can't hear what you say?" ~John C. Maxwell

You are who you are when no one is watching. Do you have that same temper that you had many years ago? We only change for the better if WE WANT TO. Ever want to know who someone really is? Hint= see how they respond when things don't go their way. How you handle adversity will determine how far you will go.

"Temper is the only thing you can't get rid of
by loosing it."

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present."

One of the Top Sports Stories of 2007

Who Will Save Sports?

Here’s my one-word review of the year 2007 in sports: “sickening.” Too strong a word? Am I overreacting? I don’t think so. Want proof? Just look at the sports pages any day of the week. They’re filled with stories of substance abuse, cheating, gambling—you name it.

It seems like many of today’s rich, famous, and talented athletes are doing everything possible to put their sport, and their antics, on page 1. You may say that these stars are laughing their way to the bank but along the way, sports is very sick and in the emergency room.

There’s no doubt that many athletes are getting very rich. The question is this: Is their despicable behavior going to kill sports as we know it? Sports is sick and getting sicker. But I believe it still can be saved. Want to know who’ll save sports?

I think it’s those who still love sports the most—the young kids. The young kids who aren’t playing for the money or the scholarship. The young kids who love to play more than they love to win. The young kids who still realize that sports are not about “me,” but about ‘we.”

Young kids like Bianca. Bianca is a third-grader who plays in a church league in central New Jersey. Early in the season, Katarina missed a practice session. Two days later, Bianca, one of Kat’s teammates, called her at home and asked if she could come over to show her what she missed at practice!

A simple phone call. A simple act of caring.

Bianca really gets it.

When’s the last time you missed a day of practice or a day of school or a day of work and somebody called you and offered to help?

More importantly, when’s the last time you did what Bianca did?

Bianca didn’t just care—she actually showed that she cared.

So as we close the book on 2007 and the steroids, and the dog fights, and the other scandals we’ve read about, let’s hope that there are lots of young athletes like Bianca out there who love sports enough to save it. Third graders who, hopefully, don’t read the sports pages.
~Dr. Gilbert

Quote of the month: "Today is a gift. That's why it is called the present"