"True Happiness"

***WARNING***

This blog post in NOT about Fitness.

Now, please continue to read!

This past weekend was labeled as a “mini-vacation” for me, but had truly turned into something that I never expected.

    My fiancé and I were headed to Miami to celebrate a wedding for two of her close friends, Drew and Rory. We left on Friday and it happens that every night before I leave for a trip, there is not a chance that I can go to sleep. So as I watched episodes of “Dog…The Bounty Hunter” (P.S. If you haven’t seen that show, what are you waiting for, it’s Great American TV! lol), I signed up for the Todd Durkin Institute. 

    After being accepted into the Institute, Larry had sent me a couple of emails that helped me catch up with the rest of the group. In these emails contained a lot of homework that I needed to do to not only improve my business, but more importantly, myself.

    One of the emails contained a message from one of the Coach’s in the group, Frenchy from Aspen, Colorado.  The message is as follows:

“This New Year gives us the gift of more than 525,600 minutes. Many of us say we "don't have enough time", but for this next year, as with all other ones, we all get the same amount of time- about 525,600 minutes. What we do with the gift of these minutes determines the quality of our life, the level of our happiness, the value of the memories we create and the difference we can make in the world.

Our lives are determined by how we choose to live our 525,600 minutes each year. Minutes spent stressed or worrying is wasted. Fear not only kills our dreams, it also diminishes our minutes without providing productive results. None of our unused minutes can be saved as "rollover" minutes for the next year. None can be given to others and unused ones will be lost forever. When we look at our minutes from this perspective, it helps us realize the gift we've been given.”

    After reading this, all I was capable of saying was, WOW. I am one of those people that are always saying that there is not enough time in the day, but is there really?  I think by reading this short message from Coach Frenchy, we all should be able to take notice that there is plenty of time for the important things. 

What are the important things in life? Well, I can’t tell you what is important to you, but what I can do is give you a couple of tips that will help you decide for yourself:

1.             Be Positive:                                                                                                        It is important to take notice and realize that in everything we do, we have a choice. Take notice that nobody has the power to put you down or have the power to make you make decisions that you are not happy or comfortable with. We are our own person and have the ability and potential to create our own pathway of life.

2.             Let Go Of The Past:                                                                                          Why are you wasting your precious time in the present with time in the past that you do not have any control over anymore? Get over it and move past it.  Everything in this world happens for a reason. If something happens to not go your way, move on and learn from it. It can only make you stronger and prepare you for the challenges of what’s to come.

3.             Baby Steps…Small And Consistent Steps Forward:                               You must have faith and trust in what you are doing. That faith and trust will carry over with your intuition that you are doing the right thing for your future. If your not getting that gut feeling that what you are doing is something beneficial or helping you take another leap forward, rethink it. If your plan does not work on the first try, keep moving forward. Don’t keep over analyzing and dwelling on your mistake(s). You will come to realize that you have just wasted so much time on this one problem. Stop holding yourself back and making excuses. Move forward.

4.             Laugh:                                                                                                     Remember, that life is short. Look back at the past years. How fast did they go by? When our time is over on this earth, we are not judged by what is in our bank accounts or how many boats we own. We are judged by the quality of our life. Take time to enjoy the people around you. Stop stressing for a couple of minutes a day and take the time to smile and laugh. Do this tip alone for a week and I promise that your life will take a turn for the better. Positive energy only attracts more positive happenings. Who wants to be around a “Debbie Downer?”.

5.             Spend Time With The People You Love:                                                                 This brings me back to Drew and Rory’s Wedding. I got the chance to witness people that have been in each other’s lives since the beginning of college, who all come together for the unity of two people in their circle of friends. 

Now the “Real World” has separated them for the time being, but you know just watching them come together that different states or countries cannot separate their love for each other.

We need to learn to appreciate and cherish the people that are close to us. If they happen to get away, do what you have to do to get them back into your life.  We only live once. Be responsible for how your life turns out in the long run.

These tips will not only help your personal life, but will also you’re your business succeed. We cannot be “SUCCESSFUL” if we are not happy.  Happiness comes from within and is not captured through material things.

Thank you Drew, Rory, Rachel, Brownlee, Heather, Lindz Ryan C., Lauren L., and anyone that I have not mentioned from this past weekend. These people showed me what life is truly about. BEING HAPPY AND WITH FRIENDS.

I am going to end this article with a song that I would like everyone to listen to. ”Home” by Edward Sharp and The Magnetic Zeros. This is the song that Drew and Rory ended their wedding to. I have never heard of the song before, but I just sat and listened to the words. I watched all of their friends come together for one last dance.

Remember, I am not asking you to like the kind of music of which it is, but I am asking you to truly listen to the meaning and the depth of where it is coming from.

Thank you.