Homelessness May Just Be One Tragedy Away...

(Image created by A.I. DALL-E)

Most of us are one tragedy away from being homeless. Perhaps one of the reasons for this is because we focus on the wrong, unimportant, things in our lives. We indulge in addiction, we buy things we can't afford to impress people we don't like, we don't take care of our bodies/minds, we don't work on our relationships...

Homelessness isn't that far away for most people. While we don't know what tomorrow will bring, we can do things today that will help make tomorrow, hopefully, better. First and foremost it's important to understand that homelessness can happen to anybody under any circumstances. You need that fire to burn inside of you to get you to move in the direction that's less likely (no guarantees) to get you off the streets.

• Educate yourself: A wise man once told me that I was worth minimum wage from the neck down and that it was what I knew, and how I would apply what I knew, that would ultimately determine how successful I would be in life. Education can't be taken away from you.
• Your Health is important: Do what is necessary for your physical and mental health as your body is the vehicle for your life. We often take it for granted until it's too late. It's easier to achieve with a good body/mindset than with a bad one.
• Relationships are important: As we get older, we come to understand that true friends are rare and it's not about quantity as much as it is about quality. Associate with people that pushes you to be better.
• Finance is important: Life isn't about getting the latest and greatest gadgets as much as it is to save for a rainy day or to use the extras to be a blessing to other people. As mentioned before, don't buy things just for the purpose of impressing other people.
• Your time is important: Use your free time wisely. You'll never get back the time you spent watching Netflix or play video games. 
• Discipline is important: Get organized, stick to your goals.
• Broaden your horizon: Get outside of your comfort zone to learn things outside of what you already know or are comfortable with.

Be kind to those less fortunate as you don't know their stories and you could be in their situations one day.

Any homeless person will tell you that once you're on the streets it's much more difficult to get back on the job market. If you have anxieties about being homeless then use that to fuel better habits into your life in an attempt (again no guarantees) to minimize the risk.

The Priorities - 2021 Edition!

Every once in a while, I write about priorities trying to figure out a universal order for it something that most can agree upon as being the correct order of things and something to thrive towards. The following is my updated list:

1. Health: If your Mental/Physical Health isn't on track then everything else on this list becomes more difficult. Regardless of how many time I review these priorities, this always comes at the top.
2. Self-Improvement: Self-Improvement goes beyond official schooling - it's a lifelong process. We're all students in the school of life and we should learn until the day we die. Education doesn't guarantee success but it does help in all areas of life.
3. Freedom: Learn about the governmental system of your country and get involved if only to give your opinion. Freedom is important and it's our responsibility to insure that it's not needlessly taken away by those in power. Without freedom, the everything on this list becomes more difficult. This comes after self-improvement because you need a knowledgeable opinion.
4. Relationship: Being successful means little if you don't have anyone to share it with.
5. Finance: It's not about being a millionaire as much as being financially stable. The financial system is all around us and it's important for all of us to know how to swim in it.
6. Fun - Why is this here? Well it's here because we seem to forget that we also need to find some enjoyment in life. While the other items on this list may also be enjoyable, this one is to set some time aside for the activities that you enjoy most.

The above are the priorities in the order I feel they should be... but if you were to look at my life today, you would probably see the priorities as follow:

1. Finance: I've been fortunate enough to be able to save and invest money during these toughs times. Budget is more important to me than ever as we never know what tomorrow will bring especially when Covid is around.
2. Fun: During Covid, I've tried to find many escape and "fun" seem to have been the focus.
3. Health: Nutritious meals, or a good workout, is a bit more difficult to come by again because of Covid. I'm one that seeks the comfort of junk food during difficult times and it's a bit difficult to control these urges.
4. Freedom: The focus of most Governments right now is on Covid and the Canadian Government has been, for the most part, an example for other Countries to follow. As I'm writing these words, a few provinces are about to go back to "Green" (normal).
5. Self-Improvement: My reading/learning time has been spent on new boardgames I'm trying to learn (Fun). While this is still "learning", it's not really learning anything useful hence why I haven't put this high on my current list.
6. Relationship: I've never been that good at keeping in touch with friends. This has become even more of a problem during Covid. 

Do you agree with my list? Comment below! 

It's Easy To Say "Make America Great Again"

"Anyone can steer a ship when the sea is calm."
-Publilius Syrus

It's easy to say "Make America Great Again" when you know you're going to inherit an America that's already great: All you really need to do is to maintain it.
Some things got worse ever since President Trump was elected and I'm sure some things were improved as well but one thing is certain, however, is that things aren't great anymore and everyone is looking at the President to "Make America Great Again" (again?)

America has the most Covid-19 cases, the economy is the worse it's ever been (due to the pandemic), a few weeks ago they were protesting the lock-down (that was silly) and now they are on the brink of a civil war following the death of George Floyd but this new protest, unlike its direct predecessor, is at least justified.

America is going through the perfect storm right now where they have one of the worse crisis ever faced with possibly the worse leadership it ever had.

How to "Make America Great Again"?

In order to turn any failing situation around you need strong leaders that take responsibility for the failures. A President that suggest that we ingest disinfectant to kill the virus isn't the type of leader that can turn around a Country that is on the brink of collapse.
What stand out the most to me is his golf outings. At the time of this writing, President Trump has golfed 254 times, costing Americans 134 millions in the process, during his first term. This is someone trying to get away from his responsibilities and it comes from someone that said he wouldn't have time to golf because he would be too busy working for America ... well it looks like you've found time to play golf after all.
This is also someone who said he was going to hire the best of the best people; most of which are either in jail now or in the process to be.

Hello? Can you please remind me why this guy was voted in? Perhaps America confused Narcism with genius.

Even though I'm not American, I yearned for the day where America will be great again but this ultimately falls on the American people. There's an election coming up soon - you guys know what to do. I don't want another 4 years of a President suggesting we take unproven medicine to fight off a new virus.

For Our Planet's Sake!

We know for a fact that plastic is killing our planet then why do we continue using plastic, that can't be recycled, in our products?

According to plasticoceans.org there's an estimated 8 million tons of plastic that makes their way into our oceans. Some of that are getting in fish and ultimately our food.

Let's think about that for a minute.

If you buy a bottle of water, the bottle is recyclable but not the cap. Why the heck not? How many caps makes their way into our oceans?
When you buy a box of chocolate, the box is made of cardboard but the chocolates are placed on a plastic surface, within the box, that is not recyclable. Why not?

While I understand that we won't rid ourselves entirely of plastic, we no longer can afford to make single use plastic that can't be recycled. Every new, and existing, products have to consider this and plan their next move accordingly.

We, as consumers, also need to be more mindful of this and do the necessary changes in our purchasing habits to support a healthier future for our planet. Things that we can do today:

• Stop using straws.
• Bring our own bags when we're shopping.
• Buy products that uses less single use plastic.
• Recycle what can be recycled.

Let's decrease that 8 million tons of plastic/year to 2-3 millions for 2019. What other ways can you think of that would help our planet?

Don't You Want More?

“One of life’s biggest lessons is that it’s not success that creates happiness, but what one becomes on the journey by pursuing a worthwhile goal or dream.”
-Orrin Woodward

I've been living frugally for some time now. I'm debt free, I live in a small apartment, drive a small car and I don't have many bills.

I sometime have people ask me "Don't you want more?" The answer is "yes". I do want more but, for me, It's not about better and bigger things. What I want is more freedom. I want to buy back my time.

Time is money but money is also time. If I spend my money on bigger cars, that's less money that I have to buy back my time.

I do not want to work until the day I die no matter how much I love what I do: there are other interests that I would like to fully explore.

"... You would be very upset if someone gained access to your bank account and stole all your money. Most people, though, don't blink an eye when all sorts of culprits sneak into their lives and steal their time."
-Quote from "The Ten Natural Laws" book by Hyrum Smith

Nobody Cares About Your Dreams

“One of life’s biggest lessons is that it’s not success that creates happiness, but what one becomes on the journey by pursuing a worthwhile goal or dream.”
-Orrin Woodward

I sometime hear people say "yolo" (you only live once) just before doing something stupid. We should use yolo as a reason to do something great - not as an excuse to do something stupid.

Nobody cares about your goals and dreams as much as you do and you only have this lifetime to achieve them.

I used to work with a guy who kept saying that he's going to have his own business by the time he reaches 30 years of age. Guess what? Life got in his way. He's now 34, happily married with kids but he forgot all about his dream. Yes, maybe his dream changed but what likely happened is that he became content and had no reason to work on his dream.

"Deep down inside, we don't seek the meaning of life, but the experience of being alive."
-Joseph Campbell

There's nothing more exciting than to work towards your dreams. If you feel stagnant in life, or simply going through the motions, then chances are you are not working towards a dream.

"The individual, it is said, should be free to pursue his own interests as long as he keeps the peace and does not interfere with the rights of others. He should be free to make as much money as he can and to spend it as he sees fit. There is a need for men who are industrious, resourceful, thrifty, and self-reliant, and who have initiative and a spirit of adventure."
-Harold H. Titus / Marilyn S. Smith

What we need today is more people that comes alive as a result of the pursuit of a dream.

"Don't ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive."
-Howard Thurman

Keep track of Progress

Keeping track of progress is important to those who want to achieve. Data doesn't lie and allows one to tweak their efforts as they go. A process some likes to call "PDCA" (Plan Do Check Adjust) or "PDSA" (Plan Do Study Act).
Daniel R. Castro once said that "I have come to realize that persistence simply for the sake of persistence is lunacy. Creative persistence is genius." and one can unlock this creative persistence genius through the PDCA process because it forces you to think differently about a problem.

If your goal is to loose 10lbs in a Month but don't track your progress, how will you know if you're on track? The PDCA process can help you improve constantly on your journey to the goal (as shown in above diagram).
The next time you do want to loose 10lbs, you'll already have an effective plan (that worked for you before) to get there.

For more information check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA

*Diagram by Karn G. Bulsuk (http://www.bulsuk.com).

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Revision Wednesday
Blog post originally created on December 13, 2013 and can be found here.

Dream - Struggle - Victory

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes to make them possible." -T.E. Lawrence

Dream - Struggle - Victory... I must of heard this a thousand time throughout my years of being associated with great men. I've come to realize that the struggle will come regardless if you have a dream or not. The difference is that the struggle won't be followed by a victory if there's no dream or if you work towards someone else's dream.

While a dream doesn't guarantee a victory: not having a dream guarantees no victory, of your own, is possible. You might be caught up in someone else's victory though.

Dreaming is the most important thing in life and it's also often over looked. "I don't need a dream" they say "I just go". To that I ask "but where are you going?"
Everyone has a dream but only a few actually works towards it. What is your dream?

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Revision Wednesday
Blog post originally created on December 13, 2013 and can be found here.

Have a Purpose for Spirit Sake

"Without a strong sense of values and of direction, the human spirit tends to weaken or deteriorate." -Harold H. Titus & Marilyn S. Smith

If you don't know who you are, then you probably haven't figured out your purpose. After all, you have to know the type of person you are to know what you want and don't want out of life.

If you don't have a purpose then you're probably stuck in a job you don't like. If you're stuck on a job you don't like, it affects negatively your spirit. Your smile no longer feels real and your interaction seems rushed rather than fulfilling.

You won't find your purpose by occupying your mind with mindless entertainment - set up some time to think about it.

Dream - Struggle - Victory

"All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act out their dream with open eyes to make them possible." -T.E. Lawrence

Dream - Struggle - Victory... I must of heard this a thousand time throughout my years of being associated with great men. I've come to realize that the struggle will come regardless if you have a dream or not. The difference is that the struggle won't be followed by a victory if there's no dream.

While a dream doesn't guarantee a victory: not having a dream guarantees no victory is possible. After all, how could someone win if the rules on how to keep score hasn't been defined?

Dreaming is the most important thing in life and it's also often over looked. "I don't need a dream" they say "I just go". To that I ask "but where are you going?"
Everyone has a dream but only a few actually works towards it. What is your dream?

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Revision Wednesday
Blog post edited/re-posted on March 4, 2015

Keep track of Progress

Keeping track of progress is important to those who want to achieve. Data doesn't lie and allows one to tweak their efforts as they go. A process some likes to call "PDCA" (Plan Do Check Adjust) or "PDSA" (Plan Do Study Act).

If your goal is to loose 10lbs in a Month but don't track your progress, how will you know if you're on track? The PDCA process can help you improve constantly on your journey to the goal (as shown in above diagram).
The next time you do want to loose 10lbs, you'll already have an effective plan (that worked for you before) to get there.

For more information check out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDCA

*Diagram by Karn G. Bulsuk (http://www.bulsuk.com).

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Revision Wednesday
Blog post edited/re-posted on April 8, 2015

People are like planes

Some stay where they are, some fly but don’t know where to land. Only those with a destination will ever get anywhere.
If you take the plane, without a destination, and land in Alaska. How do you know where you are? If you have to ask around to know where you’re at, that’s not really being in control of your life.

If you want to go to Hawaii, and land in Alaska, you know you’re not in the right place. Why? Because even if you’ve never been to Hawaii, you did research that gave you an idea of how the destination should look like.

The same principle can be apply with your goals.

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Originally posted - November 2010

Do this, do that ... Now set a goal for yourself

It is common practice for a business to request their employees to set goals for themselves and it's often source of headache from both the employee, who struggle with goals, and the business that doesn't know how to inspire their employees.
The reason why people struggle with setting goals for themselves is because they're thought what to do and not how to think. If you train a dog how to fetch a ball, you can't just suddenly ask of him to fetch the newspaper. He needs to be thought how to fetch the newspaper as well.

While humans aren't dogs, the same principle applies. If you tell someone what to do all the time, you can't just suddenly ask of him to "think of a goal"... He hasn't been thought how to.

Many business have libraries with many books that will help the employee improve his technical skills but what most of those libraries lacks are books on how to think.

If a business want their employees to think then they have to provide some tools to teach them how to.

Going nowhere fast

"Do not live as though you have a thousand years." -Marcus Aurelius

If you don't have a dream or a goal then you'll be more likely to let anyone else instill their own schedule into your life.

"It is not enough to be busy, so too are the ants. The question is, 'What are you busy about?'" -Henry David Thoreau

For a leader to be a leader he needs to know where he's going and that's done with a dream. What is it that you want to accomplish with the time that's been given to you?

"Decisions are easy to make if you know what your purpose is." -Coach Lou Holtz

Wrong definition of Mastery of Self

I read something recently that made me re-think my philosophy on feelings and the mastery of self. I used to believe that Mastery of Self meant to control how we feel, which implied not only suppressing feelings on the spot but creating new ones as well.

Chuck Goetschel in his “Simon Says” book stated:

“...Part of the process of discovering your Life Purpose has to do with being in touch with your feelings. Your feelings are clue to what your life purpose is all about. By noticing how you feel about things, you’ll discover what you value and what you don’t. Things that don’t trigger much emotion probably aren’t tied to your purpose or the application of it - at least for now....”

If there would be a way for us to control our feelings, we would never discover our life purpose. The Mastery of Self isn’t about controlling our feelings, it’s about controlling our actions. Doing things because it’s the right thing to do despite of how we feel about it. We go to the gym even if we don’t feel like it because it’s the right thing to do. We eat a salad instead of a pizza because it’s the right thing to do …

Simply put, the mastery of self is the discipline to do the right things despite of how we feel about them.

Blog Goal

There’s an average of 200 user visiting my blog each month. I want to triple that by this time next year.

The plan

• After some study, I’ve noticed that there’s a significant difference of page views when doing reviews and relationship blogs. I will do more of those without loosing focus of “Learning is living”. I still want to tap in the many various learn-able subjects that is life.
• I’ll be my own best promoter. With the help of twitter and Facebook, I’ve gathered a small community that I know is reading my blog from time to time. I will promote my new blogs on those social sites more.
• Reading more books will help me develop blogs with more/better information.
• Since I’m continually growing, the things I write may not be true to me anymore. I will do searches, on my blog, for the subjects I want to write about and update those blogs if needed. This will help keep my post up to date.
• The template I have does the job but it’s something that many have seen before on other blogspot blogs. I want one of my own so that it stands out more.
• I want to put some ads up and see how that goes. It may help keep people on my site longer and help them find value in it. (Better chance of them returning)
• Add links to other blogs that’s mentioning a similar subject than what I’ve posted. This will help my readers to have a different view than my own and may help them value my information more.
• I have a crazy idea of doing contest where my readers could win prizes.
• Posting comments on other blogs will help get my name out there more. I’ve set myself a goal to post at least 1 comment a day to someone else’s blog.
• Adding more video/pictures that support the subject of the blog.

If you have anything you would like to add that you think could help me reach my 600/month goal, let me know :)

Short Term Entrepreneurs

Most people, including me, stress about money all the time and it will be like that until a few minutes before we die.

If you ask a billionaire, or someone who lives on the streets, on their death bed “Do you want an extra 10 million dollars or an extra 10 years to live?” What is the answer they’ll more likely say?

What good is money if you don’t have time to enjoy it?

I love entrepreneurs, I look for them all the time to ask them questions. Some say that they’re going to start their own business in the “Near future”. When I ask them what’s stops them from doing it now, they usually come with 2 answers. The most popular one is “Debt” the second is “There’s some things I have to do first”.

What will change in 5 years? Do they think that they’ll be out of debt? That the “things they have to do first” won’t get more complicated?

The same person who said he couldn’t start a business because of debt bought a big flat screen TV. How is that going to get you out of debt?

In a way, it’s like they’re lying without even noticing it!

What I learn from all of this is that I shouldn’t listen to what they say, I should look for what they do. If someone tells me he wants to get out of debt before getting in business and I see him pay his debt there’s more chance I’ll see him start a business than someone who bought a TV.

The Million Dollar Dream

Getting a million dollar seems to be a popular goal. The worse thing that can happen is giving money to someone who doesn’t have discipline financially. How many times do we hear stories about people who won a million dollars and went bankrupt a few years later?
It’s rare for an employee to actually get there but it’s possible if they’re discipline enough with their money (I know of one who did it over a 20 + year period).

I’m not a millionaire, but being in network marketing, I’m two phone call away to one and have the opportunity to speak to millionaires on a monthly basis. I was told, by one of them, that if I can’t save money with what I have now, it doesn’t matter how much I make; I’m going to be broke.

My thinking needs to change. The only way I can do so is by associating myself with people that have the result that I want, by shutting off television and opening a Robert Kiyosaki book instead.

Be careful who you listen to for financial advice, you may end up with the result that they have.

How to eat an Elephant

We live in a microwave society where everything needs to be done fast and people seem to bring that mentality into the skills that they’re trying to learn or the goals that they’re trying to achieve.

Brian Roy, a great artist and friend of mine, said “The fastest way to become a good artist is to work a little bit at it daily. 10 minutes a day for a week is better than 70 min in one day. The more you work on something the better you will master it.”

Becoming good at something is like eating an Elephant. How do you eat an elephant? You first need one. Then you eat it one bite at a time, a little bit every day until it’s gone.