The Best Investment That You Can Ever Make Is An Investmen In Yourself

                               "Investing in yourself is the best investment you will ever make.
                                                       It will not only improve your life,
                                       it will improve the life of all those around you."
                                                             - Robin S. Sharma


                             "Energy invested in your own success can never be wasted.
                                       Energy wasted in others can never be taken back."
                                                          - Shanna Rodriguez

                       The best investment that you can ever make is an investment in yourself.


We invest our time, money and energy in a lot of people and on a lot of things. Some work out and some don't.

But there is one investment that will always work out and that is an investment in yourself.
Not only is it going to improve your own life and make you feel better. It will also help and improve the lives of the people around you.


Here are a few great investment that you can start making TODAY.
There is no risk involved and a big return is guaranteed.
Pick the ones you like the best and then start making the investments.

Invest in your health.
Most people don't even make time for their health until they start to feel bad. Don't wait on this one. Having a healthy body is very important. Your body is the only place that you've got to live. Treat it with great care and a lot of kindness.
Pay attention what you eat. Choose foods that are good for you and that will give you energy.

Invest in an exercise routine.
You don't have to spend hours at the gym or run miles and miles on the treadmill.
The exercise that will work best for you is the exercise that you will actually do. A variety of exercises might be the best. That way you won't get bored and you will also exercise all parts of your body. A brisk walk is a great way to get outdoors and get your body going.

Invest in a meditation routine.
You don't have to sit on the floor with your legs crossed chanting some strange words, unless you like doing that. You can turn on some soothing music and sit back in a chair for a few minutes and relax.
I lay down on the floor with my 2 dogs for 15 minutes every night before I go to bed. I call it "snuggle time." It's my meditation time and my dogs love it. It is very relaxing. I believe you can substitute dogs for cats or any other animal that you prefer.

Invest in your mind.
Read books and articles, listen to webinars and podcasts, join some discussion groups. Do something on a daily base that will expand your mind. Something that will make your grow. When we grow and learn new things it will actually increase our own happiness. Either we grow or we die, so get busy living by exercising your mind.

Invest in relaxation and reflection.
Take some time to just sit back and relax. Give yourself a little time to just breath. Take some time every evening and reflect back on the day. What was good and what was not so good and what can you improve on for the future. Taking time to reflect on what didn't go so well will assist you in making better decisions in the future. Same thing goes for what you did well. In the future do more of that.

Invest in feeling grateful.
A grateful mind is a happier mind. Sit down and count your blessings. Be grateful of what you've got and more things to be grateful will enter your life. There are so many things to be grateful for. Both big and small.

Invest your time in the right relationships.
We become like the people that we surround ourselves with. Who are you investing your time in?. Make sure these people are supportive and growth-minded.
So you might want to take a look at the people around you. What are they doing to you? And is that OK?
Stay in touch with friends and family. Get together in person. Call them up. Show them that you care. Don't just email and text.

Invest in your dream(s)
Always have a vision for your life. A vision that you decided was your own. Not what your parents, siblings, spouse, friends, teachers or your kids want. What do you want? What is your dream for your life? Who do you want to become? What do you want to do? Where do you want to live? Where do you want to travel to?

Invest in your hobbies.
Invest some of your time in doing things that you love to do. Maybe an art class, dance class, cooking class, learn a new language. Take some time to relax and do something that you love to do.
Very relaxing and so much fun!

Invest time in laughing and having fun.
No explanation needed. Some of us quit having fun. We have stopped doing things that are enjoyable and fun. Time to change that.
What makes you laugh and giggle? Find out and do it!

                                                         www.karinglannstam.com

Your Body Is Your Business

                                    "So many people spend their health gaining wealth,
                              and then have to spend their wealth regaining their health."
                                                         - A. J. Reb Materi


                                           "Health isn't valued until sickness comes."
                                                             - Thomas Fuller


I am sure that you have heard that your thoughts will create your reality?
I truly believe this and I  have written many blogs about this subject.
In other words..... "You Are What You Think."

It's the mind - body connection.
What you think about, you will feel in your body.

But it's also true for the opposite, the body - mind connection...…"You Are What You Eat."

What we eat will totally affect how we feel in our bodies.
It will affect our energy level, our mood and also illnesses that we attracting and are struggling with.

There is a connection between what we eat and how we feel.
Food is a powerful regulator of our biology.

In today's world a lot of us are eating really "crappy" food. Some of what you eat.....I'm not sure that you can even call it food!!! 

A lot of processed foods, a diet filled with sugar, bad fats, caffeine and alcohol.

Eating these kinds of food will eventually lead to all sorts of problems down the road.

Have you ever thought  about how you are feeling can be related to what you are eating?

If you are not feeling good and if you are running low on energy, don't you want to know why?

It's not normal to walk around feeling bloated all the time. Or to have constant body aches. Or to feel sluggish and low on energy. Or to have brain fog and getting forgetful.

Do you want to feel healthier?

Your body is your business. Why are you not feeling good?

You know, the body and your brain has an amazing capacity to heal, regenerate and revitalize at any age.

Isn't it time to start optimizing your health? Start to plan your health.

Most people don't even think about what they are going to eat or how they are going to exercise.
The majority of people ignore little simple things that they can do to plan their health and wellbeing.

Unfortunately it's not an area that many people focus on.
The truth is, it's not going to happen by itself. You have design your life to create health.

It's not that much time and it won't take a lot of work, but you must build a structure and a system so that you can optimize your health and feel good all the time.

Time to remove things that are not good for you and add things that are amazing and healing.

Doing this will improve everything in your life from your personal relationships to your business.
It will make you feel better about yourself and give you tons of energy.


Today.....what are some simple things that you can start doing to create some better health for yourself and for your family?

What do you need to stop doing? 

What do you need to start doing?

                                                             www.karinglannstam.com

What You Put Up With - You End Up With

                                     "You teach people how to treat you by what you allow,
                                               what you stop and what you reinforce."
                                                               - Tony Gaskin


                                                    "If I am not good to myself,
                                       how can I expect anyone else to be good to me."
                                                             - Maya Angelou


We are never responsible for another person's behavior. We don't have control over what they say and do.

But we do have control over our own reaction.

So if a person in your life isn't treating you with the respect that you deserve, you might want to make a few decisions.

Do you want the behavior from this person to continue?
Or do you want to do something about it?

If you do want to make a change, you might first want to take a look at yourself and ask.....am I doing something to trigger this behavior in this person?
Or why am I allowing this behavior to continue without me saying STOP!

By not doing anything about the situation, says something about you.
Why are you allowing this person to continue to disrespect you?

Maybe you are afraid that if you speak your mind this person doesn't want to be friends with you anymore?

If you start saying "NO" to a person that you are romantically involved with, you might fear that the person will walk away from the relationship. So to remain in the relationship you will tolerate that he/she disrespects you.

You are afraid to speak up at work or in a meeting, because you fear that might loose your job or that your co-workers won't like you?

Or maybe you might even enjoy feeling wronged, because then you will have a story to tell everyone?

There is a payoff in everything that we do.

But if you want change...… if you want to see a different result, then you need to teach people how to treat you.

You have control over you.
This is great because now you are the one who has been allowing others to disrespect you, but now you can change that.


                                                      "I teach people how to treat me
                                                              by what I will allow."
                                                                 - Stephen Covey


Is it time to examine what you tolerate?

                                                                     www.karinglannstam.com

How To Stop Running Those Negative Tapes In Your Mind

                             "The subconscious mind is our habits and learned behavior.

                                    The conscious mind is creative and connected to our 

                                                     personal identity and to spirit."

                                                              - Dr. Bruce Lipton

We have about 50-60 thousands thoughts per day. 

Those thought are mostly negative and they are often the same thoughts that we had yesterday, the day before, last week and last year. 

We get stuck in an automatic thinking pattern and a lot of times the thoughts and the beliefs that we have adopted are not even out own. They were given to us by other people but now that are part of who we are and who we have become. 

That is why it is said that you shouldn't believe your own thoughts because they are probably not even your own thoughts. 

They might be thoughts and beliefs that your parents gave you, your siblings, teachers, society, spouses and friends.

Unfortunately we get programmed with a lot of negative thinking patters by our parents. 

They meant well but they didn't know better because they were also given programs by their parents and others.

No wonder that we sometimes wonder why we think, say and do the things that we do, because as it turns out it isn't us, and the way we think. 
It is our programming, given to us by others.

Most of our programming is negative. Almost 75%. And it was given to us before the age of seven. Great start in life!!! 

Did you ever say to yourself when you were younger that you never wanted to ever become like your mom or your dad, and later in life you discovered that you act and speak exactly just like them? 

You might not recognize it yourself, but your friends see it and they tell you. Of course you don't believe them because you swore that you would never become like your dad. But after paying a little more attention to what you say, do and think, you realize that you are just like your dad.

95% of our day is our automatic programming (subconscious mind). It is running the show in our life. And the rest of the day only 5% our conscious mind is in charge.

So 95% of the time old programming or old tapes are running our lives. Programming that has been done basically by others.

What can we do about this?

First we must become aware of our programming. Take an inventory of what tapes we are playing.

If you are constantly telling yourself that you are a loser, that you will never have healthy relationships, be happy in life, be able to make enough money, find the right person to marry, have friends that are supportive..... these recording won't you help accomplish great things on the outside. 

If the inside is running old and negative tapes, the outside will follow. 

The wrong recordings or programming might keep you from shining in life.

People that have said things to you often have their own issues. If you believe what they are saying and doing, their issues now have become, your issues.

Stop believing what certain people say and what that have said. 

Stop planting lies in your mind.

As an adult we can decide what we want to believe is the truth and what isn't. As children up to the age of seven, we didn't. 

We accepted everything as the truth.

Stand guard at the door of our own mind. Only let things in that you believe and think is true. Questions things. Just because a certain person said it was true, doesn't mean that it is true. Decide for yourself.

Instead of running old negative programs, you have to deliberately change that programming to something that will empower you.

Make some declaration that will support you, encourage you and help you succeed in life.

Work on your inner parts. 
Start in the morning. When you get dressed, brush your teeth, put on make-up....add a little inner work to your morning routine. 

Decide on some declarations that you find encouraging and powerful. 
Repeat throughout the day.

Keep on doing this and you will discover that your old programming and those old tapes are changing.

But you can't just do it once in a while. Every day is recommended. 

If you think it's too hard..... just remember how much you run those negative tapes all day long, with no effort. 

Just change out the content of those thoughts. Make them positive instead of negative. 

The effort is the same.

We don't have control over much in our lives, but we do have control over our own thoughts.

Start today and challenge your own thoughts and beliefs.

Awareness is key. 

Pay attention to your thoughts. 

Write some of them down on a piece of paper and then ask yourself.....

Is this my belief? 

Do I really believe this?

Is this my own thought or someone else's thought?

                                                           www.karinglannstam.com

  

Break Free From A Painful Past

                                         Let go of the past, let go of the painful memories.
                                                    Don't miss your chance of creating 
                                                     beautiful memories for tomorrow.



Why do a lot of us have a tendency to hold on to the past?

Why do we allow painful experiences not only to influence us but also to control our future?

What would life look like if we were able to make peace with those painful experiences and let them go?

Isn't it time to shed some of those old stories that are weighing us down and often wreck havoc in our lives?

Isn't it time to let go?


                                                       "Pain is inevitable.
                                                     Suffering is optional."
                                                       M. Kathleen Casey


So take some time to ponder on these questions...……

What would my life look like if I let go of the old stories and the pain from my past? 

What would happen if I let go of things that has been holding me back for years, maybe even decades?

What would happen if I believe that what is in front of me is bigger and better than what is behind me?

The painful memories from the past will continue to have power over us, if you are not able to let it go. 
We will stay attached to the pain with energetic chords.
And sometimes those painful experiences might even become part of our identity.


Are you living in a story of pain and suffering?

Is it time to break free from the past so that you can have a beautiful life?


                                        Pain makes you stronger, tears make you braver
                                                   and heartbreak makes you wiser,
                                                 so thank the past for a better future.

                                                             www.karinglannstam.com

What Is Success To You?

                                                 "The secret of success is this:
                                                  there is no secret to success."
                                                         - Elbert Hubbard



What does success look like to you?

What exactly is success?

Is there a model for success?

I believe that success is the progress of you and your own personal goals.
Goals that were designed by YOU.
Not goals that were imposed on you by society, your parents, your spouse, friends or anyone else.

Success is not an amount of money, living in a certain kind of house in a certain neighborhood, wearing the latest designer clothes, driving the latest model car, taking expensive vacations to foreign destinations around the world.
This doesn't have anything to do with success.

Success is the steady progress of you and toward your goals.

The person you want to be.

Your business goals, personal goals, family goals, health goals and spiritual goals.

The goal that gives you satisfaction.

The goal that gives you purpose, meaning and joy.

My definition of success can be very different from yours.

So there is no one definition of success.

No one size fits all.

Can't defines success by the latest #1 book on the best seller list.


"Success is not in what you have,
but who you are."
- Bo Bennet

"The path to success is to take massive, determined action."
- Anthony Robbins

"Success is finding meaning in what you do."
- Anonymous

"Success is liking yourself, liking what you do,
and liking how you do it."
- Maya Angelou


Success is not some kind of stereotype. 
There is no one model.
There is no one set way.
There is no one size fits all.
There is only YOUR way.


What is success to you?
Take some time to think about this question.

Leave me a comment in the box below and let me know what success is to you.

                                                            www.karinglannstam.com

Every Act Counts No Matter How Small

                                                "There is no giant step that does it.
                                                        It's a lot of little steps."
                                                             - Peter A Cohen


                                                   "Great things are done by a
                                           series of small things brought together."
                                                         - Vincent Van Gogh



As I look as those quotes I reflect back on my own life and especially my own coaching business that I started back in 2012.

These quotes make a lot of sense to me..... and now I will tell you why

Today I am writing blog number 500. Wow....pretty amazing!!!

If you would have told me back in 2014 that I would write blogs for my business and 500 during the next four years....I would have told you that you were insane and that it was no way that I could do that. 
At that time I had only written some short post on FB and a few newsletters…..
what would I write about?

Come to find out.....  I really enjoy writing, and I have a lot of things to write about and share with others.

And not only have I written all these blogs I have now also written three books. Two are already published and the third will be published this month.

No giant step will ever do it, but a lot of small steps will.

Nothing worthwhile is happening overnight. There is no overnight success. No quick fixes will ever accomplish something important in our life.
It takes a lot of work on a daily base if we want to accomplish our goals.

I talk to a lot of people that would like to write a book but they feel overwhelmed by the whole idea, because they don't know where to start. They feel overwhelmed by having to write a lot.

I always suggest to them to start small.
Write a few things on FB or other social media. Then start a blog. Once you have written for a while it will be a lot easier to tackle a larger goal, like writing a book.

A little bit of writing will eventually lead to bigger writing. Nothing happens overnight. You must practice and practice and practice.

Most people want the end result but they seldom want to prepare for it.
Or they feel so overwhelmed by the enormity of the project that they don't even take the first step.

Every journey starts with one single step.

You must start or nothing will happen.

Then you must practice.....practice.....practice.

Eventually you will get to where you want to go and when you do..... you must celebrate your accomplishment.

So today I pat myself on the back and say......Well Done, Karin!!!

                                                       www.karinglannstam.com

You Don't Have To Be Happy All The Time

                                              "Be who you are and say what you feel,
                                                 because those who mind don't matter
                                                   and those who matter don't mind."



You don't have to be positive and happy all the time.

There is so much pressure to be happy and positive, no matter what.

It's perfectly okay to feel sad, angry, stressed, disappointed, annoyed, frustrated, scared and anxious sometimes.

Having theses kinds of feelings doesn't make you a "negative" person. 

It makes you human.

Feel those feelings.

Recognize that these feelings are important.

And remember......that you are not alone in having these kind of feelings.

                                      When you start suppressing feelings at an early age,
                                                       it hurts you down the road.


A couple of months ago I was watching and interesting interview on TV. Two financial coaches were talking to a 31-year old man that had gotten himself into a big mess. He was in deep debt. Almost two hundred and fifty thousand dollars in debt, to be exact.
Of course one of the first questions that was asked was.....how could this have happened?
Come to find out that this man had trouble dealing with his emotions. When he didn't feel happy and positive, he shopped. He bought things left and right. Online and off line. He had things everywhere in his small apartment and he had a storage unit filled with stuff that was still in their boxes.
This guy couldn't handle not feeling happy and positive all the time so he used shopping as a "quick fix" to feel better. And now he was deep in debt.

Some people shop to avoid their feelings. Some people gamble. Others engage in relationship-hopping and sex. Others drink and some do drugs. Another group of people work all the time.

There is also a group of people that are always trying to be nice and likable.
Do you know someone that no matter what, they are always smiling and they always say that they are doing great?

Suppressing your emotions can cause you to have health problems later in life.


                                                  Never suppress your emotions. 
                                             Emotions are like water - let them flow. 
                    If you suppress them they will become stagnant and will cause disease, 
                                                       like stagnant water does.

                                                            www.karinglannstam.com