Persistence Is Your Greatest Asset

                       "Adversity has the effect of drawing out strength and qualities 
                                of a man that would have lain dormant in its absence."

                                                             - Herodotus

The bookstores and also the internet are filled with self-help books, articles, seminars and podcasts loaded with ideas that we all can use to be more successful in our lives.

However, all the ideas, advice and wisdom in the world won't help any of us if we don't motivate ourselves to take persistent, and continuous action in the direction of our vision and our goals.

The most important quality of success is self-discipline.
Self-discipline means that you will do what you know you must do, when you need to do it, whether you feel like it or not.

Do you have the ability to follow through on a resolution after the enthusiasm with the resolution was made, has passed?

Can you discipline yourself to pay the price over and over again, until you have finally reached your goal?

Will you still be able to discipline yourself when things get tough?


Is persistence a habit that anyone can learn and increase with time?
Yes..... and each time that we persist in the face of adversity or setback, we will build up the habit of persistence. Persistence is very much like a muscle. The more we use it, the bigger it gets.

Here are some encouraging and inspirational words that will let us know why simply "hanging in there" or "press on" can make a huge difference in our lives.

"Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is dull of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent."
- Calvin Coolidge

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but rising every time we fall."
- Confucius

"You become a champion by fighting one more round. When things are tough, you fight one more round."
- James J. Corbett

"There is no failure except in no longer trying."
- Elbert Hubbard

"It's not whether you get knocked down. It's whether you get up again."
- Vince Lombardi

"Success seems to be connected with action. Successful men keep moving. They make mistakes, but they don't quit."
- Conrad Hilton

"What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he want and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it."
- Alexander Graham Bell

"You just keep pushing. You just keep pushing. I made every mistake that could be made, but I just kept pushing."
- Ren McPherson

"Before success comes in any man's life, he is sure to meet with much temporary defeat and, perhaps, some failure. When defeat overtakes a man, the easiest and most logical thing to do is quit. And that is exactly what a majority of men and women do."
- Napoleon Hill 

"Never give up then, for that is just the place and time the tide will turn."
- Harriet Beecher Stowe

"It's the constant and determined effort that breaks down all resistance, sweeps away all obstacles."
- Claude M. Bristol

"The most essential factor is persistence - the determination never to allow your energy or enthusiasm to be dampened by the discouragement that must inevitable come."
- James Whitcomb Riley


Persistence is the ability to face defeat again and again without giving up.


There is a great book called Three Feet From Gold......Have you read it?
It's written by Sharon L. Lechter and Greg S. Reid.
Check it out!!!

Here is a question for YOU!
Will you do what you have resolved to do?

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Worry Is Like A Thief That Will Steal Your Peace

                                                              Worrying is a waste of time.
                                                              It doesn't change anything.
                                                              All it does is steal your joy 
                                                  and keep you very busy doing nothing.

Ninety-five percent of what we worry about in our life, will never actually happen. 
Worrying is a waste of time.

Do you worry a lot?
What exactly is worry?
You can say that worry is an attack on our mind, or I like to say.....our mind is being hijacked.

One definition of worry is: give way to anxiety or unease; allow one's mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles.


Worrying is a learned habit and I have to admit that my mind will also get hijacked into worrying sometimes about all kinds of scary scenarios that probably will never happen. I have to work on doing away with this bad habit of worrying. But sometimes I do end up in the ditch with my mind showing me all kinds of movie clips of doom and gloom. This happens mostly when my mind is getting really tired.

Worry will prevent us from living in peace, feeling joy and happiness. Worry is like a thief that will steal our dream.

Some people might even get addicted to worrying. If they don't have something to worry about of their own, they will worry over someone else's situation or the situation of the world.

The problem with worry is that it accomplishes absolutely nothing. Instead it steals our peace because it's impossible to worry and be at peace at the same time. Feeling peaceful is a habit and so is worrying.

When we worry we give way to anxiety and unease. We allow our mind to dwell on difficulty or troubles. Worry is like a source of nagging concern. In a way we are being tormented by our own disturbing thoughts. Stinking thinking.

Worry will keep our mind so busy with our own thinking that it never gets around to do what it's actually created to do. To create a vision for our life and to grow and expand. It will hinder our own progress.

                                           "Worry is like sitting in a rocking chair.
                                                 It gives you something to do
                                              but it doesn't get you anywhere."
                                                           - English proverb

Stop wasting your precious time trying to come up with and answer or solutions to difficulties and troubles that you have no control over. They might not have happened yet, and they might never even happen.

The problem is that if we dwell long enough in our own mind, it will eventually come out of our mouth. Remember that our words are very powerful and we listen to every word that we say. Our words will confirm our beliefs and also our faith.....or lack of faith.

Worry won't help us one bit. As a matter of fact it will only slow down or even hinder our progress. It's like spending today trying to figure out tomorrow. It's impossible to figure out tomorrow or the next day and the day after that. Don't spend today, worrying about tomorrow, because you have enough things going on today and it needs your full attention.

We must to learn to be mindful and to live here and now to the fullest. I also want to remind you that we are more capable than we usually give ourselves credit for. We are well equipped to handle what must be handled today. We mustn't waste our mental energy on tomorrow, for we will be equipped for what will happen tomorrow.

Our mind is sometimes like a soap opera director. It will play movies on our own mental screen of doom and gloom. Time to turn of those movies and time to get rid of the soap opera direction once and for all.

Here are a few TIPS!!!!

Take one day at a time. Don't worry and be anxious about tomorrow. Be here and now.....100 percent.


When a thought of worry or anxiety enters your mind, simply say.....NO Thank You!!! 
I got this..... I can handle it..... and I don't need you.


Ask for help from a higher power. It doesn't matter what you believe in,  but sometimes we will need a little help. Because sometimes a problem is too big for us to handle and we need to hand it over to something greater than ourselves. The battle is not ours to fight. Let it go and take a rest.


Stop wasting your time worrying because you will accomplish nothing. You will only waste your precious time and you will make yourself miserable. The time you spent worrying you will never get it back and you sure can use your time more wisely, than to worry.


Worrying is a learned habit that can be un-learned with some effort on your part, some trust and faith. You can't wait for a time when you have nothing to worry about, to stop worrying.....because it will probably never happen. Learn to have peace in the midst of the storm.


Have a vision and some goals for your life. When worry and anxiety sets in you can re-direct your thoughts onto your dream. Instead of focusing on worry.... you focus on accomplishing your big dream and your goals.


Turn off the TV and the 24 hours newsfeed once in a while and give your mind a break. Don't read about all the doom and gloom in the newspaper and online. This one is an easy fix. You must give yourself a break once in a while. Also stop talking about all your worries. You are just making them bigger and bigger.

What Do You Gain By Worrying?

Worry is useless. Worry doesn't not accomplish anything good.
Worry never makes anything better....so why not give it up?

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Bad Habits To Stop And Good Habits To Adopt

                                           "We are what we repeatedly do.

                                         Success is not an action but a habit."

                                                           - Aristotle 

The strategies that I am going to share with you today, you already know about. It's not that we don't know what to do, but we forget to do what we know. This is simple but tried and true wisdom that I will share with you today.

Just a little reminder to get us all back on track.

Eat Less

Move More

Stress Less

Love More 

Simple ….but not always easy to do.

So let's go over this.

                               "It's easier ton prevent bad habits than to break them."

                                                              - Benjamin Franklin 

Eat Less.

We all know what eating healthy means. First we usually eat too much food and it's usually not the healthy food that we overindulge in. Who ever overate on celery or carrots sticks and suddenly gained 20 pounds??? Cut our SALT, SUGAR and white FLOUR as much as possible. Learn to love to eat vegetables, fruits, nuts and whole grains. Learn meat and fish is also recommended and limit your intake of processed foods. If you are allergic to something like dairy or gluten..... just to name a few....simply stay away from those kinds of food. Your body is letting you know that it doesn't want that kind of food. Be smart here....you basically already know what is good for your body. What will give your body energy and maintain your health. Stay away from always eating out at restaurant or at least limit the times you are eating out. Get in your kitchen and start cooking up some healthy meals. Do it as a family. Have fun. Get the kids involved. Cooking your own meals doesn't have to be complicated and you can use it as an activity to get everyone in the household involved. 

Move More.

Get your body moving. Nobody will benefit from being a couch potato. I recommend that you find an exercise that you enjoy doing, or chances are that you won't do it. If you love walking, then walk. If you love going to the gym, join a gym. If you love swimming, then swim. If you love to dance, then dance. Figure out what you like to do and then do it. At least 30 minutes per day, five times per week. Nobody ever got in shape by watching people exercise or doing some kind of sport on TV. You actually have to do the work yourself. Hire a personal trainer or find a work-out buddy to get you going and to keep you motivated. Get your kids involved. Get your spouse involved. Get your friends involved and maybe you can get to know some new friends? The better you feel about yourself and by increasing both your physical and mental energy, the better you will show up for your spouse, family, friends and co-workers.

I will take good care of me....for you, and you will take good care of you.....for me.

It's a win-win situation. Get off the couch and getting moving again. 

Stress Less.

Time to get a handle on your stress. Do you really need to stay so busy all the time? Are you actually doing things that are helping you, that are a benefit to YOU, your health and your wellbeing? Or are you just being busy..... being busy? This might take some soul-searching on your part. Is there some things that you can take off your busy schedule to make some time for things that will help you relax and enjoy your life more? Chronic stress will eventually make you forgetful and even stupid. It will affect your brain and your body in an unhealthy way. When we are stressing around we are usually not having empowering thoughts about ourselves and our life. Negative thoughts increases the flow of stress hormones in our bodies, which will accelerate aging, decrease the immune system, increase the risk for anxiety, blood pressure, other diseases, pains and aches in your body.

Learn to say "NO".....or you body will do it for you later......in the form of some kind of illness.

The body will always keep the score.

Love More.

Start by loving yourself first. If you don't have love and respect for yourself, it will be impossible to love and respect anyone else. You cannot give away what you don't have, no matter how hard you try. So start with YOU. "Stinking thinking" will increase the flow of stress hormones so we have to change our thoughts to change the flow of bad hormones to good hormones. Positive thoughts will strengthen us and negative thoughts will weaken us. We don't have control over much in life but we all have control over our own thoughts. Start by being loving and kind to yourself. Think loving and empowering thoughts about yourself. Don't say negative things about yourself, because your subconscious mind is always listening and it believes everything that you say about yourself, even if it isn't true. So watch your speech and your thoughts. Do loving things for yourself. Keep unhealthy relationships and toxic people away from you. Don't get involved in gossip, judging and criticizing others. When you feel good about yourself...... when you love yourself...... when you respect yourself, you will attract similar people into your life. So be kind and loving to yourself. Give love to others because you want to. Not because you want something back.

If you want to change, you have to be willing to be uncomfortable.

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It's All About You

                              "YOU, yourself, just as much as anyone in the entire Universe,
                                                       deserve your love and affection:"
                                                                      - Buddha

How is your relationship with yourself?
Are you taking great care of yourself when it comes to your physical, mental and emotional health?
It's not selfish to take care of yourself.

Where are you on the list of people that you are taking care of?
Are you on the top? Or are you on the very bottom of the list?

And if you are being totally honest..... are there so many people to take care of and by the time you get to finishing taking care of all of them, you seldom get around to taking care of yourself?
Does this sound like you?

Every day you might be asking yourself....."When is someone going to do something for me?" Or
"When is someone ever going to appreciate me....I do all the work around here!"
Does this sound familiar?

If you don't take care of yourself, you will finally get to a point where you won't be able to take care of other people.
You might get to a point where it will be physically impossible for you to take care of others.
Or it will be mentally or emotionally impossible for you to do it.
Or you might be so drained and worn out from taking care of others that you now have become angry and even resentful from always helping others, and maybe they secretly wish that you wouldn't help them because you constantly show up with such a bad attitude.


                                           "Self respect, self worth and self love,
                                                         all start with self.
                                      Stop looking outside for your value."
                                                         - Rob Liamo


If you don't love yourself, it will be impossible for you to love anyone else. You can't give away what you don't have.

If you have no love for yourself, how are you going to be able to love anyone?
If you don't value yourself, how will you be able to value anyone?
If you don't respect yourself, how will you be able to respect anyone else?

It's impossible for me to give you something that I don't have. It doesn't matter how hard I try. If I don't have it, I can't give it to you.

If I have an apple, I can give that apple to you. But if I don't have an apple to give you, it doesn't matter how hard I try to give you an apple, I don't have an apple to give to you. If I don't have something to give you, it doesn't matter how hard I try, I simply can't give it to you.

Are you being hard on yourself? How are threating others? Are you being hard on them?

Time to do a little soul searching and figure out what kind of relationship you have with yourself.
Take some time to yourself..... and really figure this one out.

Do you like yourself?
Do you love yourself?
Do you value yourself?
Do you respect yourself?
Do you do things for yourself?
Do you meet you valid needs without feeling guilty about it?


                           Self care is not self indulgence. Self care is self respect.

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Are You Seen? Heard? Valued?

                               "I define connection as the energy that exists between people 
                      when they feel seen, heard and valued; when they can give and receive 
                      without judgement and when they derive sustenance and strength from
                                                                  the relationship."
                                                                  - Brene Brown

Do you feel seen, heard and valued by the people closest to you?

One of the most important experiences we can give another person is visibility. I see you.  I hear you and what you say and do matters to me.

The experience of being seen is a deep human need, and it is in our closest relationships where we meet this need. The more we share these kind of moments, the stronger and more resilient our relationship become.

We want to know that the other person cares about us. That they see us, that they hear us and we want to feel and know that we matter.


                                                              "Can you see me?
                                                              Can you hear me?
                                        Does anything I say mean anything to you?"
                                                             - Oprah Winfrey 


Now, I want you to take a good look at yourself and be totally honest. Are you being present with the people closest to you? Are you making them feel seen, heard and valued?

What do you do when someone that you are close to, is talking to you? Are you looking at them and being present in the moment, 100 percent? Or are you looking at your phone, the TV or Facebook?

What do you do when you are in a meeting with someone and they are sitting opposite you at the desk. Are you looking at them and being involved in the conversation? Or are you staring at you computer screen, your cell phone or your watch?

People can sense and they can see right away if you are not paying attention to them and to the conversation. 

What do you do when you are talking to someone on the phone? Are you paying attention to what is being said? Or are your surfing the internet, doing the dishes or looking through a magazine?

Just because the other person can't see you doesn't mean that they can't sense that you are not paying attention to them and to what is being said. At this moment you are not making the other person feel seen and heard.

How are you going to act the next time someone that you care about is asking for your attention?
Are you going to be there with them 100 percent? Are you going to make them feel seen, heard and valued?

Just keep in mind that the next time someone is asking to be seen, heard and valued....it might be you. You want to feel that you matter to someone. How are you going to feel if that person is ignoring you? They are listen to you while they are staring at their phone or the TV.
At this time would you feel seen and heard? And would you feel like you matter to this other person?


               We all want to be seen. We all want to be heard. We all want to matter.

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