Life in Small Bites

by MICHAEL JOSEPHSON on AUGUST 7, 2012

 The older I get the less I know, but I know some things:

I know that I’m a work in process and that there will always be a gap between who I am and who I want to be.

I know that I don’t have to be sick to get better and that every day brings opportunities to improve my life and my character.

I know that it’s easier to talk about integrity than to live it and that the true test is my willingness to do the right thing even when it costs more than I want to pay.

I know that character is more important than competence.

I know that it takes years to build up trust and only seconds to destroy it.

I know that I often judge myself by my best intentions and most noble acts, but that I’ll be judged by my last worst act.

I know that I can’t control what will happen to me but that I have a lot to say about what happens in me.

I know that pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.

I know that attitudes, both good and bad, are contagious.

I know that winning is more than coming in first and that there’s no real victory without honor.

I know that it takes a conscientious effort to be kind, but that kindness changes lives.

I know that neither gratitude nor forgiveness comes naturally; both often require acts of will.

I know that real success is being significant.

I know that happiness is deeper and more enduring than either pleasure or fun and that I’m generally as happy as I’m willing to be.

I know that the surest road to happiness is good relationships and that the best way to have good relationships is to be a good person.

This is Michael Josephson reminding you that character counts.

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH LIGHT 

by Ton Pascal

I received many great suggestions and wonderful quotations for a better living, from dear friends. I am grateful and feel blessed to have friends like this. Whether we are well, but looking for support of our convictions, or if something, or someone brought us down, it is nice to know that we have  guiding, gentle hands by our side.

I decided to publish here these beautiful thoughts for all of you to use as inspirational guidance. Feel free to send these old, wise suggestions, to anyone you care for, and are thinking about right now.

– Don’t ever take away someone’s hope; it may be all they have to hold on to.

– There is nothing good or bad in life, it is all about choices, so choose wisely.

– Don’t be afraid of saying, “I don’t know” or “I am sorry”. – Learn to say “no”, but do so with kindness and caring.

– Don’t make decisions when you are angry. – Live in the moment. Don’t rush ahead. There is much to taste of life in the “now”.

– Don’t expect life to be fair, but don’t be so hard on yourself.

– You’ve come to this life to learn all about who you are. So enjoy the experience.

– Put yourself into positively challenging situations everyday.

– Don’t be worried about losing a battle, if this helps you win the war.

– Much of your growth as a person will come through hardships and challenges. Embrace those and know you will be better, stronger and wiser because of them.

– Create magic moments for your family, friends and yourself.

– Don’t put things off. Do what needs to be done in the moment.

– Treat everyone, as you would like to be treated.

– Don’t get out of control at any time, breathe deeply, rethink what to do and say.

-Take care of your physical body.

– Love your body. It knows what you think, from your emotions spring health or illness.

– Repeat positive affirmations all the time.

– Look into the eyes of people.

– Learn to listen. It is an art.

– Don’t believe all that you hear AND don’t say all that you think.

– Always tell the truth.

– Be thoughtful and careful with what comes out of your mouth since with those words you create your own reality.

– You don’t need other people to love yourself. Loneliness is only a state of mind.

– Nurture and maintain your friendships.

– Choose your partner well, for there is derived a lot of happiness.

– Live more in your heart and less in your head.

– Surround yourself with light everyday!

– You have a right to be happy!

– Get rid of hatred and bitterness, they do you more harm.

– Life is all about energy. Try to feel it around you, through you and in you.

– Distinguish the positive from the negative.

– There are no coincidences and no accidents in life. Everything big and small is for a reason. Pay careful attention.

– Enjoy the beauty of this Earth all around you.

– There are those things in life that can never be recaptured: the spoken word, time passed and opportunities.

– Do one thing at a time and do it well.

– There are two dominant energies in life, love and fear. Love overcomes all. Stay out of fear. There is nothing to fear, it only brings chaos

– Meditate at least thirty minutes a day.

– Learn to enjoy times of rest. And have a great journey.

Much love, Ton Pascal

ABOUT THE AUTHOR 

Ton Pascal is a self-thought, self-help advocate, and author. “Being responsible for your thoughts and actions is what I call spirituality. My goal is to help as many people as possible to stop living on the periphery of life. Your thoughts and dreams will provide for you a rich, meaningful and abundant life; this is the Law of Attraction at work. It will enable you to create the map of your life’s journey. It is not just being alive that makes life worth living, but the depth and sense you bring to your life.”

A boy was watching his father write a letter.  At one point the boy asked, “Are you writing a story about what we’ve done? Is it a story about me?”
His father stopped writing and said to his child, “I am writing about you actually, but more important than the words is the pencil I’m using. I hope you will be like this pencil when you grow up.”

Intrigued, the child looked at the pencil. It didn’t seem very special. “But it’s just like every other pencil I’ve ever seen”

“That depends on how you look at things. It has five qualities which, if you manage to hang on to them, will make you a person who is always at peace with the world.

First quality: you are capable of great things, but never forget that there is a hand guiding your steps. We call that hand God, and He always guides us according to His will.

Second quality: now and then, I have to stop writing and use a sharpener.  That makes the pencil suffer a little, but afterwards, he’s much sharper. So you, too, must learn to bear certain pains and sorrows, because they will make you a better person.

Third quality: the pencil. Always allows us to use an eraser to rub out any mistakes. This means that correcting something we did is not necessarily a bad thing; it helps to keep us on the road to justice.

Fourth quality: what really matters in a pencil is not its wooden exterior, but the graphite on the inside. So always pay attention to what is happening inside you.

Finally, the pencil’s fifth quality: it always leaves a mark. In just the same way, you should know that everything you do in life will leave a mark, so try to be conscious of this in your every action.”
– Paulo Coelho

1. True wisdom and insight is always free.

2. Give your power over to no one.

3. Going into the unknown is how you expand what is known.

4. Get a library card.

5. Spend more time around people that both challenge and respect you.

6. Remain skeptical forever.

7. Fight for what matters.

8. There is a method that works. Find it.

9. Join a movement.

10. Drink your coffee black.

11. Never let anyone photoshop a picture of you. It creates a false sense of self-confidence.

12. Read more. Especially things you disagree with.

13. Get used to feeling stupid. It’s a sign of growth.

14. It’s easy for people to talk a good game, so watch how they behave instead.

15. Learn something from everyone.

16. Find things that inspire you and pursue them, even if there’s no money in it.

17. Starve if you have to, for as long as you need to.

18. Survive on a little just to prove you can do it.

19. Get one big success at an early age. It’ll help build your confidence for bigger things.

20. Do what you say you’ll do. No one is reliable anymore.

21. Be comfortable with abandonment, even of parts of your identity.

22. Learn a new language.

23. Eat more protein.

24. Keep people around you that will tell you the truth.

25. Genius gets you nowhere. Execution is everything.

26. If given the choice of equity or cash, always take cash.

27. Meet new people as often as possible. Offer to help them.

28. Don’t discriminate. Connect anyone in your network to anyone else.

29. If you can’t do a pull-up, you have a problem.

30. Nobody likes a know-it-all.

31. Get a passport. Fill it up with stamps no one has ever seen.

32. Quit your horrible job.

33. Read biographies. It’s like having access to the best mentors in history.

34. Go to bed, and wake up, early. No one will bother you, letting your best work emerge.

35. Scare yourself a little bit every day. It will expand your inner map.

36. Learn to climb trees.

37. Don’t buy a lot of stuff, and only buy the stuff you really love.

38. Be humble and curious.

39. Twitter followers don’t keep you warm at night.

40. Be as useful as you can in as many circumstances as possible.

41. Show up.

42. Repeat people’s names when you meet them.

43. Turn internet access off your phone. Wifi is fine.

44. Get a deck of Oblique Strategies cards. Use them.

45. Make your home a place where you feel safe.

46. Take people up on bets. Make more bets yourself.

47. Take cold showers. They’re better than coffee.

48. Learn to enjoy hunger.

49. Make everything either shorter, or longer, than it needs to be.

50. Always remember those who helped you. Deliver two or three times as much value back.

51. But also, help people who have never helped you, and can’t.

52. When you know that pain is temporary, it affects all of your decisions.

53. Get a tattoo. Don’t worry about regret.

54. Commit to things, regularly, that are far beyond your ability.

55. Meet with friends more often than you think you have to.

56. Learn to meditate. Go on a retreat if you have to.

57. Your stories are both more and less interesting than you think.

58. Learn to really listen.

59. Walk more.

60. Ugly is just a step on the way to beautiful.

61. Get to know your neighbours.

62. Don’t take anything personally, ever.

63. Consider avoiding school. Go to lots of conferences instead.

64. As soon as you can, buy some art.

65. Apologize more than you need to.

66. Find out if there will be food there.

67. A good haircut changes everything.

68. Read Man’s Search For Meaning.

69. Say no to projects you don’t care about.

70. Do things that are uncool. Later on, they usually end up becoming cool anyway.

71. Find your voice.

72. Have some manners.

73. Learn to play chess, go, and bridge. They’ll keep you from going senile.

74. Learn about the Tetrapharmakos.

75. Find ways to cheat the system– just don’t cheat people.

76. Be like Jesus, not like his followers. (This applies to all of them.)

77. At least once, date someone that’s out of your league.

78. Examine your jealousy. You’ll learn a lot about yourself.

79. Good connections are about people, not social networks.

80. Address small problems. They will become big problems.

81. Dress like a cooler version of yourself.

82. Yes, there is such a thing as bad press.

83. Add “adventurer” to your Twitter bio. Then, become one.

84. If the internet is the best thing in your life, you have a serious problem.

85. Give away your best work for free.

86. Find mentors. Just don’t call them that.

87. Actually write on your blog. Nobody cares if it’s hard.

88. Download Freedom. Use it for an hour every day.

89. Join a gym. Lift the heaviest you can. (This applies to girls too.)

90. Do some freewriting. It helps you think things through.

91. When you’re having supper with rich people, pick up the cheque.

92. Learn how to speak in public.

93. If you see someone who needs help, stop asking yourself if they need help. Instead, just help.

94. Bring a bottle of wine.

95. The best conversations are had side by side, not one in front of the other.

96. Protect your hearing. Trust me.

97. Do what’s most important first thing in the morning, before you check email.

98. Everyone feels like they’re not good enough. It’s not just you.

99. Courage is a learned skill.

100. Go to Iceland. It’s worth it.

Compiled by Julien Smith

Motivation Tips

Despite your best efforts, passion, habits and a flow-producing environment can fail. In that case, it’s time to find whatever emotional pump-up you can use to get started. Here are a few: