An Eye for An Eye

“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” -Mahatma Gandhi

Pride oh good ol’ pride. I have pride, you have pride - everyone has pride hence why the first thing that comes to our mind, even for a fraction of a second, when we’re hurt, is revenge.
The good feeling we receive, from exercising our revenge, is usually short lived. We tell ourselves that we should of been the better person and let it go.

What is revenge but a futile pursuit to get even with someone? Why does revenge sounds like the proper course of action when it truly isn’t? What usually happens, when we get back at someone, is a feeling of emptiness. When will we learn that the strongest man isn’t the one that seeks revenge but the one that can forgive?

When to Quit...

“A leader quits on ideas, not on himself.” -unknown

A leader must have resilience or a "I'm not going to quit no matter what" attitude but there are times when nothing else can be done and we have to move to something else.
After all, it would be quite difficult to be in a business of making Vinyl disk, VHS players or cameras that aren't digital when the market for them is no longer relevant.

Sometimes, “quitting” decisions, on certain projects/products, have to be made for the sake of a better future. Ask yourself “If I put wood in this fire, will it be bigger in the future?” if the answer is no, then start another fire somewhere else.

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Revision Wednesday
Blog post originally created on June 24, 2015 and can be found here.

To Forget

Knowledge is fleeting - it only stays for as long as it needs to.

Forgetting is neither good nor bad since it helps clear the mind of bad memories we might have (if we let it) - allowing us to better enjoy the present.

Forgiveness is the act of forgetting the hurt someone did to us and I sometime hear people say "I forgave but will never forget" but forgiving without forgetting isn't really forgetting at all. It's merely saying words to ease someone else's conscience without letting that person off the hook.

Forget the negative things that are holding you back.

It's Within Your Grasp

"Whether you think you can, or you think you can't-you're right." -Henry Ford

We've all heard the phrases "I'll never be successful", "I can't loose weight", etc... and sometime we tell ourselves those things and that's okay. What's not okay, however, is to keep telling ourselves these things and not doing anything about it.

The reason why someone is successful in business is because they're doing something the unsuccessful business owner isn't doing. If the unsuccessful business owner knew how to be a success - would he intentionally fail? Of course not.
The successful bodybuilder knows more, and does more, about his craft than the unsuccessful one. It starts with knowledge!

In what ever field you're trying to get good at, you won't be until you learn the ins and outs of it - either with experience or with the help of someone else's experience (mentor or books on the subject).

Sleep

Sleep is not only required to achieve anything great, by providing energy to produce, it also helps with our attitude. It is difficult to keep our negative talk in check when we're tired as it requires energy to do so.

Sleep also help reduce stress, repair the body and keeps ourselves looking young. If you don't get your 8 hours of sleep every night - try it and see if you notice an improvement in your day (or if you still need that morning coffee).

Life Can Bring You To Your Knees

"Forces beyond your control can take everything you possess except one thing, your freedom to choose how you will respond to the situation. You cannot control what happens to you in life, but you can always control what you feel and do about what happens to you." -Viktor E. Frankl

We can spend years building something and loose it all in an instant. What is there left for us to do then? Give up and die or get up and try again?

The choice is ours to make.

Is Your Past An Excuse or a Reason?

Do you use your past as an excuse for your failures or as a reason for your success? Both a prisoner and a successful person can have similar upbringing but one of them used it as an excuse to misbehave while the other one used it as a reason to succeed. What happens to you is not as important as how you react to it.

If You Want Something Done Right...

If you want something done right, do it yourself right? Not always. Sometime you have to trust other people to do things because you don't know everything. If your child has a toothache - will you not bring him to the dentist?

Learn to trust other people to take on things in your life to free your time to do what only you can do.

Enthusiasms Over Something You Don't Like

"To get enthusiastic [about something you're not usually enthusiastic about], learn more about the thing you are not enthusiastic about." -David J. Scwartz

Dopamine is the chemical responsible for that "good feeling" in our bodies and we get a dose of it from many different experiences. One of which is the sense of discovery.

How much do you really know about the thing you're not enthusiastic about? Chances are, not enough. If you want to "feel good", or be enthusiastic, about the subject - learn/discover more on the subject to get some Dopamine flowing.

Don't Give Your Anger

My patience has been tested quite a bit as of let due to car troubles and I'm glad I didn't give my anger away to someone else. Your anger is your responsibility, to give it away to someone else only increases tension and won't get you anywhere.

There are other ways to let your anger out such as the creative end or through fitness. Make the world a better place by killing the anger inside of you.

What Goes In

"You will become what you think about the most; your success or failure in anything, large or small, will depend on your programming - what you accept from others, and what you say when you talk to yourself." -Shad Helmstetter, Ph. D.

It's important to filter the information that goes into our brain and to learn to control our thoughts. There are so many things out there that try to steer us in the wrong direction that it's almost impossible for us to be 100% free of stupid/misleading/negative things. Removing cable T.V. from your home is a heck of a good start.

I'm Back!

2015 has been interesting to say the least. So far, I’ve learned that I’m not as disciplined as I’d like to think myself to be and that I lack some skills that would be beneficial in my career.

I’m thankful for my family, friends and the wonderful Christy for being there for me during the interesting times. :)

Money Vs Performance

"You don't get a raise on the promise of better performance; you get a raise only by demonstrating better performance. You can't harvest money unless you plant the seeds that grow money. And the seed of money is service. Put service first, and money take care of itself." -David J. Schwartz

To ask for a raise, before demonstrating better performance, is like wanting an apple from a tree we haven't yet planted. Find ways to hone your skills and do more prior to ask for a raise and you'll be more likely to get one.

Things Change

Life doesn't always go our way. Sometime, things change for the worse even when we give it our all.

"When life gives you lemons, make lemonade" -Elbert Hubbard

Having a positive attitude during those times is good but not enough, we also have to be proactive. To find solutions to our problems to move us forward. We grow the most during life's storms than we do during good days.

Thoughts Define You

"The key to winning what you want lies in thinking positively toward yourself. The only real basis other people have for judging your abilities is your actions. And you actions are controlled by your thoughts. You are what you think you are." -David J. Schwartz

Sometimes, confidence in yourself is all that is required to get the important task at work. Maybe the person who doesn't have confidence in himself could also do the task but people don't believe he can do them since he doesn't believe in himself (or talk positively to himself).

"Other people see in us what we see in ourselves." -David J. Schwartz

We all have our bad days but lets make it a goal to kill the negative thinking towards ourselves and feed the positive. Lets control our thoughts!

Now That's Self-Control In The Parking Lot

The parking space, where I work, is very limited we therefor have no choice but to report the cars that don't belong there to either have them removed or have the owner pay a fine. This towing company uses a device to lock the wheel and they attach a cord, from the driver's door to the device, in order for the person to notice something is on the wheel.
This particular lady, however, had to get in the car from the passenger door because the driver's door was broken. She never noticed something was on her wheel so she started driving off with it - completely destroying the rim and the tire on that side.

Seeing this (only too late to warn her), I got out to offer my help. A young lady, with a big smile, came out of the car and said "something is wrong isn't?" to which I said "Yes - you wheel was locked and is now broken. You'll need to replace the thing." That news, which would had the ability to wreck anyone's day, didn't phase her one bit. She took responsibility over it as if it was the littlest of things.

The amount of self-control that lady had that day is truly inspiring. If it would of happened to me, I would of been upset but she didn't let that little tragedy wreck her day. I learned a lot about attitude and self control from her that day.

Emotional Control, Energy and Exercise

Those who don't possess emotional control over their being are difficult to interact with. They either fail to express themselves properly or things said to them triggers unwanted emotional responses (like anger).

Energy has a lot to do with how much control we have over ourselves. Not only is working out help provide more energy to the body, it also help train the mind - giving us even more control over ourselves in the long run.

Let It Out!

“There is a voice inside which speaks and says: This is the real me!” -William James

Don't try to shut that voice out - Let it out! Others will respect you more if you are true to yourself. The world is filled with people who mindlessly try to become copies of who they think they should be. You don't have to be the copy of someone else for people to accept you – just be you!

The Outcast

I turned my back on cable T.V. for almost 8 years now and home internet for 2 years (I get early to work to update this blog) to give way to personal development. It pretty much made me an outcast to most of my friends as I was no longer in the loop regarding shows, news or any other things requiring a plug to the wall.
I still listen attentively to what they say but I can not actively participate to the conversation beyond my limited knowledge point regarding current shows/events. They, in return, listen to me when I speak about the principles I have learned and am currently trying to apply in my life. While we have that mutual respect, our conversation can be somewhat limited at times.

Obviously, I have lost some friends in this process, to no fault of our own, but I have made some new ones with whom I share similar interests. I understood this prior to disconnecting my life from most entertainment media and I don't regret my decision as I believe your real friends will stick with you no matter what. The friends that decide to leave were probably going to leave anyway.

If you are in this predicament, remember that it's your life and that while it can be difficult to loose some friends, there are many more out there that are just waiting for an opportunity to develop a friendship with you.

Your Attitude Says A Lot About You

While walking downtown the other day, I came across a shocking scene. A man was shouting at a homeless woman who had ask for some money.

His angriness towards this person said a lot of thing about who he was. Angry, bitter, alone - could all be heard from his voice. He was in no better place, mentally, than the person he was shouting at. I had no problem picturing him there either.

You will get the most out of life from being kind to others. Be kind to those you meet regardless of their situations. Your attitude says a lot about who you are. How would you like to be treated if the situation was reversed?