Favorite Quotes: Paulo Coelho on Dreams

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“When you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you realize your desire.” (The Alchemist – published in 1988)

“Each day’s magic moment helps us to change and sends us off in search of our dreams.” (By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept)

“Dreams nourish the soul just as food nourishes the body. The pleasure of the search and of adventure feed our dreams.” (The Pilgrimage)

“If you have a past with which you feel dissatisfied, then forget it, now. Imagine a new story for your life and believe in it. Focus only on the moments when you achieved what you desired, and that strength will help you to get what you want.” (The Fifth Mountain)

“Only one thing makes a dream impossible: the fear of failure” (The Alchemist)

“Open your heart and listen to what it is telling you. Follow your dreams, because only a man who is unashamed of himself can manifest the glory of God.” (The Valkyries)

[Photo of a painting in New Zealand Museum, Wellington] See Mush’s Page on Facebook.

5 Benefits of Rising Early!

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0906 sunrise, phuketMost people seem to start their day in a rush – rushing to get ready, rushing with the breakfast, rushing to work. These people often spend their entire day in a rush, playing catch-up with the rest of the world. This can be easily avoided by getting up a little earlier. There are many other benefits of getting up early, but I will list the five that have always worked for me:

  1. Gratefulness. It’s difficult to be grateful for the moment when you are getting late for work. But if you don’t have to rush, you can enjoy every moment. And be grateful for being alive today, for the health you have, for the comforts of your home, for the family you have, for the food you eat, for the work you do…
  2. Bonus Hour. Most of us complain of not having enough time for the things we want to do e.g. exercise, reading, or pursuing other interests and ambitions like learning a language, writing a book, starting a blog. The easiest way to achieve these is by giving yourself 30 minutes or an hour of bonus time in the morning.
  3. Quiet Time. There’s something special about the calm of the morning – no sounds from TV, kids, phones or traffic. There’s also less clutter in your mind which allows you to think and concentrate better. Any brain work that takes hours during the day can sometimes be achieved in half the time if done early morning.
  4. Beat the Rush. Your commute time will cut down if you leave home before the rush hour. You’ll spend less time queuing up for elevators. You’ll have to get used to the emptiness – at the gym or pool, on the road, in the train, at the office… everywhere.
  5. Get Ahead. Getting to work half an hour before everybody else gives you time to plan, prioritize and organize. Less distractions of the phone, email and people can allow you to focus better on the most important tasks of the day. You get more done, and leave on time, again beating the rush hour.

Even if you work from home, there’s plenty of reason to start the day before everyone else does. And if you are a housewife, who usually spend the day taking care of others, this could be your time, to do the things just for yourself!

Please share your experiences of getting up early, or late.

One Moment in Time – Whitney Houston

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An inspiring song with equally uplifting video footage:

The Power of Belief!

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The placebo effect has an evil twin: the nocebo effect, in which dummy pills and negative expectations can produce harmful effects. The term ‘nocebo’ was coined in 60’s and means ‘I will harm’ in Latin. Nocebo effect has been studied far less than the placebo effect but the results are as far-reaching.

Robert Hahn of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who has studied the nocebo effect extensively, says: “Beliefs and expectations are not only conscious, logical phenomena, they also have physical consequences.” In clinical trials, about a quarter of patients in control groups experience negative side effects, often matching in severity to those associated with real drugs. Patients undergoing chemotherapy often start feeling sick days before the treatment.

According to Hahn, surgeons are often wary of operating on people who think they will die – because such patients often do. The mere belief that one is susceptible to a heart attack is itself a risk factor. One study found that women who believed they are particularly prone to heart attack are nearly four times as likely to die from coronary conditions than other women with the same risk factors. The ultimate cause of the nocebo effect, however, is not neuro-chemistry but belief!

Sam Shoeman was diagnosed with end stage liver cancer in 1970s and given just months to live. Continue reading →

Maria Amelia Lopez – 97 years old blogger!

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0906 Maria Amelia LopezMaria Amelia Lopez was the oldest blogger when she died on May 20, at the age of 97. She started posting on a blog that his grandson created for her as a birthday gift two years ago. Her online journal, amis95.blogspot.com (roughly translates to ‘my 95 years’) soon became a worldwide sensation, reaching more than 1.5 million readers from the comfort of her seaside home in Spain!

Maria set an example for all those who think they are too old to use computers, Internet or blogging. She showed that the Web is not just for the young but for anyone who is interested in interacting with the world. ‘Communicating with others wakes up the brain‘, Maria wrote in one of her last entries on the blog. Read her interview here.

5 Most Popular Posts

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Following are links to the five most popular/favorite posts on this blog so far – considering the number of views, forwards and comments:

  1. How to improve the quality of life, one day at a time: Have a great day!
  2. The top three excuses for not exercising, and how to handle these: What’s your excuse?
  3. Lesson in patience, persistence and positive attitude from a uni student: Must read if you are in sales!
  4. A book recommendation with an excerpt: Make Today Count!
  5. Too much to do and too little time? Then this one’s for you: Do less, get more done!

I’ll look forward to your comments.

Make Your Day!

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One of the easiest ways to make your day is to make someone else’s day. It’s not possible to make someone else happy and not feel great about it yourself. And it doesn’t take much to make someone happy, especially strangers. Try a genuine compliment or a thank-you e.g.

  • Wow, very clean taxi!
  • You guys are really good; the queue is moving so fast! (Check-in counters at the airport)
  • Good job. Thank you! (Try that with a toilet cleaning staff and see what happens)
  • The food was nice, service was great and prices were OK too! (Ever asked to see the manager at the end of a great dining experience?)
  • Thank you so much; I really appreciate that!

Most people haven’t been complimented (or even talked to by a customer) in a long time, so it would mean the world to them. And how would you feel seeing that you have had such a positive impact on someone’s day/life? Of course, there will be some people with such low self-image that they won’t believe you or think you are being funny.

If you are fortunate enough to be in love with someone, remember the power of the three magic words. I love you! can help switch negative emotions to positive ones in a heartbeat.

Try it today. And tell us about your experience with compliments – both giving and receiving.

Twenty20 Cricket

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Sometimes I wonder how life used to be without the internet and the cell phones. Weren’t we living and enjoying our lives then as much as we do today. But somehow its unimaginable to think of it without all these things. When we don’t know about something we never miss it. I feel the same is happening to cricket today.

I enjoyed watching cricket ever since I was small. It used to be 3-4 month long tours with test matches consuming 6 days to often give a drawn result. But I loved it. Then came the limited over cricket, which in a way transformed test cricket and I loved watching those action packed games that ensured results. The batsmen would respect good bowlers and wait for the weak ones to hit. The game would still start with specialist fast bowlers who would bowl outswingers often left away by watchful batsmen. Slips were in position. The flavor of cricket was still alive. The essence survived. The basics remained the same. Then came the Twenty20 format.

Watching IPL twice and a 2020 world Cup in about 20 months  Continue reading →

Don’t Eat the Marshmallow, Yet!

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In this short talk Joachim de Posada shares a landmark experiment on delayed gratification – and how it can predict future success. With priceless video of kids trying their hardest not to eat the marshmallow.

Who/What Do You Blame?

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Ever noticed how so many people blame somebody or something for the problems in their lives? I think most commonly blamed parties are:

  1. Upbringing – parents, teachers, school, college, university…
  2. Country – lack of opportunities, education, wealth…
  3. Circumstances – not luck, no money, no resources, no connections…
  4. Age – too young, too old…
  5. At work – industry, company, products, boss, colleagues…

If you are using one of these as excuses for not living your best life, think again! If you often find yourself saying: ‘I am late because of traffic’ or ‘I am overweight because of my genes’ or ‘I don’t have the time for _ because of _’ then you are the type who likes to fix the blame or give excuses instead of accepting responsibility.

“Be the change you want to see!” (Mahatma Gandhi)

Favorite Quotes: Paulo Coelho

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“When every day seems the same, it is because we have stopped noticing the good things that appear in our lives.” The Alchemist

“Profound commitment to a dream does not confine or constrain: it liberates. Even a difficult, winding path can lead to your goal if you follow it to the end.” Maktub

“When there is no turning back, then we should concern ourselves only with the best way of going forward.” The Alchemist

Price of Starbucks coffee can feed many!

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povertyOn my recent visit to Manila, I stopped at a Starbucks on my way from the airport to the hotel. I bought one latte for the driver too. Besides being extremely grateful, here’s what he told me:

  • The price of that cup of coffee was equivalent to his weekly salary – USD3.5!
  • The last time he had coffee from Starbucks was over six months ago, under a similar situation. And had longed for another one ever since!

I was reminded that over 1 billion people live below the international poverty line, earning less than a dollar per day! About 25,000 people die every day due to poverty and hunger-related causes. That’s one every 3.5 seconds!

That helps put our problems in prospective, doesn’t it?

Do You Live in the Past, Present or Future?

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Most of the advice we get from experts is that we should live in the present, because ‘past is gone and nobody has seen the future’. I think thinking about all three is equally important:

Thinking of your past successes can boost your self image in times of disappointments. Reliving the happy memories of the past can provide instant happiness and shift your emotions. Going back in time and forgiving anyone who ever hurt you can be very liberating!

Living in the present allows you to notice the good things in your life, right now. It makes you grateful. Staying focused on what needs to be done right now, today, is the only way to achieve your goals. The only way to change your future is to change your present!

Dreaming of the future is vital too. That’s the only way to set and achieve meaningful goals in life. The most common success formula is still: dreams, goals, plan and action!

Where do you spend most of your thoughts: past, present or future?

John Francis’ 22 Years of Walking and 17 Years of Silence!

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Take out 20 minutes of quiet time and watch this:

Relationships Make Us Happy!

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Our poll on What Makes You Happy? has got over 200 votes so far. And ‘relationships’ has continued to be the winner, followed by health and career. Interesting, isn’t it? Question is, why most of us don’t spend most of our time, energy and money trying to enhance our relationships?

happiness-results

Hamza’s Recommendations

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I wait for, and read with great interest, Hamza’s weekly recommendation of reading material. Here, I have expanded parts of few of last week’s recommendations:

From Uncluttered Aphorisms:

  • The less you own, the less you have to clean. This applies to quantity of objects as well as square footage in your home.
  • One in, one out. If you buy something new, you need to get rid of whatever it’s replacing.
  • If you get it out, put it back. An especially great rule to implement to keep your home and office orderly.
  • Guilt is not a reason to keep something. This one is self explanatory.

From 9 Lists to keep Updated:

Gift Ideas list: If I think of something that would be a great gift for a person I might some day buy a gift, I write down something like “Mom – Rollerblades”. That way, when my Mom’s birthday comes up and I realize I haven’t been paying attention for a whole year, I’ve got some backup ideas. This one, more than all the other lists here, has come in handy over and over in my life.

Watch, Read, Listen List: Another critical one for me, as a music and movie junkie. If a movie gets suggested to me, or I’m told I absolutely have to hear a particular band, they go on the list. If I have some time, I’ll go through the bands and see if there’s anything good. If I’m in need of another book, I try to pull one from my list rather than just reading whatever is nearby. These lists are populated by friends, blogs, and any other source you can think of, and they’ve provided me with a ton of great movies, music, and books.

I dreamed a dream by Susan Boyle

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47 Year old Susan Boyle wows the judges with her performance in the auditions for Britains Got Talent, singing I dreamed a dream from Les Miserables. Watch the expressions of the judges before, during and after. Can’t embed it but you must watch it here.

Why You Should Unclutter, Play, and Keep Lists

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Here it is, your weekly fix of useful posts on everything from uncluttering (is that a word?) to the swine flu.

For the week ending Sunday, 03/05:

Enjoy.