Do you ever find yourself becoming annoyed with the little things that people do? Perhaps a choice in clothing or the way they always misspell the same word over and over? My husband always leaves the cabinets wide open in the kitchen, regardless of whether or not he even took anything out of them. Sometimes I think he just likes to look inside. At first this annoyed me. I would yell his name and tell him to come back and shut them. But after a while this weird habit of his became somewhat endearing. Now it makes me laugh, in fact, I almost enjoy it because his idiosyncrasy puts a smile on my face. It’s his “thing” and we all have our “things”. The world would be a boring place if we didn’t. But if you find yourself struggling to let go of certain frustrations, if they are holding you back from accomplishing the tasks you need to, here are 3 Ways In Which To Forgive With This Imperfect World.

1. Recognize the Fact that no one is perfect. The most human quality about human beings is that they make mistakes, all kinds of them.

2. Recognize the fact that everyone has a right to be different. You are NOT God, do not try to play Him. Never dislike people because their habits are different from your own, or because they have different preferences. You don’t have to approve of what someone else does, but you must not dislike him for doing it.

3. Don’t be a reformer. Try putting a little more “live and let live” into your philosophy. No one enjoys being told “You’re Wrong!” Although you are entitled to your own opinion, sometimes it is better kept to yourself.

Live The Dream,

Blake & Chelsea

It’s so easy to get jealous of our peers. We find ourselves thinking: “She’s so slim, she must have good genes, I wish they’d find their way into my body!” or “Everyone just loves him, Mr. Popular, I wonder why people don’t think of me like that?” Well, instead of moping and feeling sorry for yourself, what if you asked that person for their secrets? Then apply those secrets to inspire you to become your best. When we compare ourselves to others, and it’s inevitable that we will, we have two choices: We can let it get us down, or we can adjust our attitude and allow ourselves to be motivated.

Two neighbor children were at play, each learning how to ride their bike without training wheels. One day when the children were outside, the one said to the other, “Watch this!” and took off on their bike without training wheels. The second child got excited, “I wish I could do that! How did you do it?!” she shouted.
“I practiced ever day,” the first child replied.
“Do you think if I practice every day, I can ride without training wheels too?”
The first child chirped back, “Yup! I’ll teach you!”

In short, comparing yourself to others can be a good thing, if you use it as a source of inspiration. Avoid negative thoughts and remarks that only put a dent in your self-esteem, and focus on learning from others in order to become a better you.

Live The Dream,

Blake & Chelsea
.

THE GOLD STANDARDS ACCORDING TO COACH MIKE KRZYZEWSKI A.K.A. COACK K.

In coaching the US Men’s National Basketball Team from 2006-2008, Coach K. developed a list of 13 standards to which the team would do all the time and would hold each other accountable for as well. The 13 came from the players themselves as they spoke excitedly in their meetings prior their Olympic debut. They are as follows:

1. No Excuses.
2. Great Defense: doing the dirty work to ensure victory is key.
3. Communication: look people in the eye and speak truthfully.
4. Trust: In a team, family or group situation of any kind there must be an honest belief in each other in order to succeed.
5. Collective Responsibility: be committed to each other, win and succeed as a unit.
6. Care: Have each other’s backs and give aid to a teammate, co-worker or family member in need.
7. Respect: respect each other and show you are so by being on time and prepared.
8. Intelligence: be aware of your environment, your strengths and weaknesses and that of your competition as well.
9. Have Poise.
10. Be Flexible: this also means do not complain.
11. Unselfishness: your value is not measured by your time in the lime light, rather by your ability to help others achieve success as well.
12. Be Aggressive.
13. Enthusiasm: have fun.
14. Perform as if you have never failed.
15. Pride: be proud of what you do and who and what you represent.

Live The Dream,

Blake & Chelsea
.

Over the past few days I have been enamored by Og Mandino’s The Choice, specifically one phrase that emanates from the pages and struck a significant cord with my heart.

Memories. “I am convinced,” states Mandino, “that the greatest legacy we can leave our children are happy memories.” Although I do not know anything about having a child yet, I know many of our readers do and I hope you are inspired today to create another happy memory with your child(ren). So why write about this if I do not know anything about having a mini-me to pass good times on to yet? Simple. Because I know plenty about being one, we all do.

When I was a little girl my father used to hold me upside down, lift me way up over his head and let me walk on the ceiling. He made me feel like I was in another world that no one else was allowed into. He would call to my brother, “hey look at your sister, she can walk upside down!”
My brother would tug at our father’s jeans, “how does she do that?”
“Magic.” He would answer, and I would laugh until he swung me around, back to the ground.

It’s silly isn’t it, but 25 years later I have numerous memories of my father playing with me, of my mother telling these elaborately beautiful, make-believe tales and sharing them with me every night before bed. In doing these acts, here is what my little mind was told:

1. I am Loved, and not only that, but they like me.
2. I am worthy of their Time.
3. They believe in me.

Part of pursuing your dream is in helping others to discover and pursue theirs. Creating positive memories is literally a sort of “gasoline” in which to fuel the dreamer. When we can pull on more positive experiences we are more likely to energize and mobilize ourselves towards our goals. What is interesting is that the vast majority of us probably take memory for granted. When in fact, our memory is involved in nearly every single task we perform each day in the world. Whether we are working, studying, solving a problem, or simply talking, we are making use of our memory.

In recent decades, the study of memory has gained immense attention and has become one of the principal pillars of a branch of science called cognitive neuroscience, an interdisciplinary link between cognitive psychology and neuroscience. Although there are a number of different kinds of memory, those revolving around emotion, how others make us feel and how we in turn make them feel, can have a heavy impact on your memory. Numerous studies have shown that the most vivid autobiographical memories tend to be of emotional events, which are likely to be recalled more often and with more clarity and detail than neutral events.

Happy memories, those precious moments we experience – like collecting shells on a white sandy beach and storing them in a jar, then tucking them away in a closet somewhere, only to one day rummage through the closet and discovering again that jar with our memories tucked inside so we spill it open and time repeats itself, the child in us now an adult. Memories truly are loves best preservative. Make the best ones you can.

Live The Dream,
Chelsea Kuhn
.

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1. Unfavorable hereditary background. – It’s not easy to correct this but with the will to win you can eliminate generational “curses” or overcome poor expectations laid out as the cause of such hereditary patterns.

2. Lack of a well-defined purpose in life. – Most people don’t have one and that is why they are average and that is why most average people fail.

3. Lack of ambition to aim above mediocrity. – People fail because they are drunk off of complacency and indifference. Ew, keep that as far away from me as possible!

4. Insufficient education. – I’m not talking specifically about formal education. I’ve met countless millionaires and successful men and women in my life and the common theme is not how much “school” they had. In fact it seems as if the most applied knowledge they gained was determined from “self-growth” or personal-development outside of the formal education arena. It’s not how much you know, it’ s how much you effectively and persistently apply that knowledge that counts.

5. Lack of self-discipline. – “If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.” It may be one of the hardest things you do, but self control the heart of avoiding and conquering failure.

6. Ill health. – You can get sick from countless things. But there are several things you can do to avoid illness that involve control and mastering your bad habits. People most often get sick from unhealthy eating, focusing on negatives, wrong use of / and indulgence in sex, lack of physical exercise, and poor association.

7. Unfavorable environmental influences during childhood. – As a tree grows, you can direct its shape most easily when it is sprouting. As with the influence of young children, most criminal tendencies are acquired during childhood from poor environment. This too can be conquered through the will of self-control and persistence.

8. Procrastination. – Stop waiting for the “perfect time” you’ll wait until you go to your grave! You must start now regardless of your income, family circumstances, where you live and what tools you have. Once you start you will quickly notice that the right tools and circumstances will come into place through time.

9. Lack of persistence. – Any one can be a strong and fast starter, but the real success is reserved for those with the will to finish-strong.

10. Negative personality. – You are a hopeless case if you subscribe to a chronic negative attitude. For success to take place you will eventually need cooperation from others. Cooperation cannot take place when there is negativity.

11. Lack of controlled sexual urge. – This is one of our strongest emotions, if you cannot control it you will be controlled by it. Learn how to funnel parts of it into other channels and watch success become yours.

12. Uncontrolled desire for "something for nothing. – There is no such thing as “get rich quick” or gambling as a source of legitimate success. Cut the lottery ticket mentality and roll up your sleeves! Anything worth keeping is hard to get.

13. Lack of a well-defined power of decision. – Procrastination and indecision are twin brothers. Learn how to be decisive, know exactly what you want and what you are trying to accomplish. Learn this and success will seem to come with more control and promptness.

14. One or more of the six basic fears. – See our blog
6 Most Common Fears

15. Wrong selection of mate in marriage. – This is the most common cause of failure. If you want to completely sap all of the energy, motivation, and happiness out of your pursuit of success then marry a person who does not want what you see in your future. This will insure a life of failure and destroy all ambition.

16. Over-caution. – Over-caution is as bad as under-caution, learn balance in this. Embrace chance and learn how to harness it to help you succeed.

17. Wrong selection of associates in business. – You will be greatly influenced by those you spend most of your day with. When choosing those you work with be cognizant of this cause of failure. Pick people that you would like to emulate.

18. Suberstition and prejudice. – Superstition is a form of fear. It is also a sign of ignorance. Men who succeed keep open minds are afraid of nothing. (EXAMPLE; I know a man who is a CEO of a very well known and large company in the U.S., he makes multiple multiple millions of dollars a year. The downside is that he is extremely superstitious and as a results cannot sleep at night due to and overwhelming amount of fear.)

19. Wrong selection of a vocation. – News flash, it’s not called work if you enjoy it. If you are “working” then you are in the wrong field. Pursue something that you can call your “labor of love.” If you are in the field you like but aren’t enjoying it, try having fun first!

20. Lack of concentration of effort. – Have a laser focus, this is what will insure success. The jack-of-all-trades mentality will just leave you spread thin and empty handed.

21. The habit of indiscriminate spending. – Put aside money to use for business. Those who don’t will constantly fear poverty. When you truly learn how to think like a millionaire you will never be broke again. I guarantee that if you stripped Bill Gates of his fortune he would be a millionaire again within 5 years or less.

22. Lack of enthusiasm. – Proper use of controlled enthusiasm will allow you to be accepted into virtually any group of people. Enthusiasm is contagious and more-so very convincing.

23. Intolerance. – Our minds are like a parachute, they don’t work unless they are open. People with closed minds might as well dig their grave to their future. The sign of a closed mind is someone who has stopped acquiring knowledge.

24. Intemperance. – Over-indulgence is cancer to success. Too much drinking, partying, sex, eating, sleep etc.

25. Inability to cooperate with others. Anyone with experience in business or management has zero tolerance for people who cannot cooperate with their peers. A good way to avoid this is to have the “refuse to see the bad in people” mentality. Forget your differences and focus on the end goal before you miss your big opportunity or loose your job.

26. Possession of power that was not acquired through self-effort. – (Kids of wealthy whom inherit money they didn’t work for.) Quick riches is more dangerous than poverty if there is no thought process on how to handle it. The best way to keep, maintain and grow your wealth is to acquire it gradually.

27. Intentional dishonesty. – Liars are ultimately losers. Little lies my show no immediate harm but one who lies and thinks it won’t catch up with them are wrong. You are gambling your reputation and even your freedom if you lie. Next time you think about it, think twice.

28. Egotism and vanity. – There is nothing that will keep people away from you like a big sandwich board over your shoulders reading “Look at me! Look at me! I’m Better than all of you!”

29. Guessing instead of thinking. – Failures are people who make decisions off of their opinion or worse, the opinion of others. Get the facts! Especially now that the internet has become the “bathroom wall of society” more people have become expert researches and are spoon-fed false information in which they make fatal decisions from. Don’t be too indifferent or lazy to go the extra mile in thinking before deciding.

30. Lack of capital. – This is a common cause of failure among those who start out in business for the first time, there must be a sufficient reserve of capital to absorb the shock of their mistakes, and carry them over until they have established a reputation.

31. List your own. Any tragedy in life will do. Everyone has suffered in different ways that could define them as a “failure”. Remember failure isn’t final unless you QUIT! There are millions of successful people out there who have dealt with more than the 30 reasons of failure listed here. The difference between them and those who are unsuccessful is that they made a quality decision backed up by commitment not to quit on their dream. Anyone who tries something will fail, learn how to overcome failures and you will have a story people will want to hear. Go and write yours, live your dream!

List of 31 failures inspired and learned from Napoleon Hills book Think & Grow Rich.

Live The Dream,
Blake Kuhn
.

Courage is the mental and moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty.

1. Everyone was born with the capacity to be courageous.

2. You will perform better when you are working courageously.

3. Courage is a learnable and teachable skill.

4. The key for activating courage is what you do to prepare yourself before challenging circumstances.

5. Others around you are inspired when you display courage.

6. You will see life from a brighter perspective as a result of having courage.

7. Courage builds integrity.

8. Showing courage will allow you to have more influence and stronger bonds with others around you.

9. Successful people are proven to have more courage than those who are not successful.

10. People who live courageously have fewer regrets in life.

Related Blogs:
6 Most Common Fears
How Sylvester Stallone Fought for His Dream.
Uncommon Courage

Live The Dream!
Blake & Chelsea Kuhn
.

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In the book Beyond Basketball by Mike Krzyzewski, a.k.a. Coach K, he writes:“In all forms of leadership, whether you are a coach, a CEO, or a parent, there are four words that, when said, can bring out the best in your team, your employees, and your family…I BELIEVE IN YOU. These four words can mean the difference between a fear of failure and the courage to try.” -Coach K.

I BELIEVE IN YOU. A simple statement, but I think we all know the value and the power in those 4 little words. We have all been shaped, for the better or worse, by them at some point in our lives. Although we do not usually have control over what others say to us (but associating with a positive crowd will help), we do have control over our own tongue and in shaping the future of others around us for the better, through these words.

When you say it, say it with sincerity. If spoken without care, these words can be more detrimental than if they were said with the utmost sincerity. As powerful as belief is, it is also very fragile. Take care of it.

“I BELIEVE IN YOU” – What We Also Hear:

“I’m not going to let you take this journey alone. I am here for you to.”

“There is no need to feel anxious, you can do this.”

“I have confidence in you, and I know you have that confidence as well.”

“You are strong.”

Think of the people in your life who need encouragement and to whom you can share those words with. Maybe it is an entire team that needs to hear it? In doing so you will aid in fortifying the entire group as a whole. But remember that in saying and receive belief that it does not occur naturally, and you have to work for it, earn it and continue to deserve it. But when you do…it can carry with it powerful motivation.

Live The Dream,
Blake & Chelsea Kuhn
.

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It goes without saying that no on likes a complainer. But let’s look at 3 specific reasons why complaints work against us and why it is much better to be positive:

1. No one wants to hear negative news.

2. Complaining reinforces your own pain and discomfort.

3. Complaining accomplishes nothing and diverts you from the constructive actions you could be taking to improve your situation.

We can all cut down on our complaining. Make conversations uplifting. People who do not complain and speak positively are a joy to be around. When people complain they are simply lacking perspective. I think we could all learn from Eddie Rickenbacker, who drifted in a life raft for 21 days, hopelessly lost in the Pacific. After surviving the ordeal, Rickenbacker said, “If you have all the fresh water you want to drink and all the food you want to eat, you ought never complain about anything.”

Two ways to keep perspective is to help others in need and surround yourself with positive people. See The Power of Association for further insight on this topic.

*References from Attitude Is Everything by Jeff Keller. ©2007, INTI Publishing, Tampa, FL.

Live The Dream,
Blake & Chelsea Kuhn
.

Remember when we were children and Reading Rainbow as “all the rage”? It used to open with an animated butterfly transforming the children’s surroundings into these fantasy lands. And did you know the show received 26 Emmy Awards? Now why do you think that is? Maybe it’s because it’s true, you can discover yourself in a book. They have a way of putting into words the things we only dream of and then teaching us that they can be reached.

Let’s jog our memories a bit and recall the theme song that sent our imaginations into another world. I believe the song went something like this:

Butterfly in the sky
I can go twice as high.
Take a look,
It’s in a book,
A reading rainbow.
I can go anywhere,
Friends to know,
And ways to grow,
A reading rainbow.
I can be anything,
Take a look,
It’s in a a book,
A reading rainbow.

So when is it that we stop watching shows like this one and replace them with trashy day time tv? When is it that we forget that we can “go anywhere” or “be anything” as the song lyrics remind us? To adopt a childlike faith and imagination we were once so encouraged to have is a courageous thing to do. And if you need a little encouragement, then pick up a book.

Pick up a book that will motivate you, one that is one step ahead of where you want to be so when you turn over the last page you find yourself one step ahead of where you were.

Might it be that there truly is power and and infinite knowledge, even endless dreams to be discovered inside the pages of a book? As adults we should never forget that to read is power. A friend of mine reminded me that if you read just 10 pages a day, that’s over 3,000 pages and countless books your mind is fed in the course of just one year! Imagine the person you could be 365 days from now.

Blake and I would like to share with you some books that have influences our lives over the course of the past year and brought us to where we are today….and we still have so many more to go!

1. Think And Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill

2. The Magic Of Thinking Big by David Joseph Schwartz

3. Bringing Out The Best In People by Alan Loy McGinnis

4. Go For No by Richard Fenton & Andrea Waltz

5. Warrior Chicks by Holly Wagner

6. The Choice by Og Mandino

7. 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell

8. Finishing Strong by Steve Farrar

9. Attitude Is Everything by Jeff Keller

10. The Slight Edge by Jeff Olson

Live The Dream,
Chelsea Kuhn
.

1. Associate with successful/positive people.

2. Monitor carefully the ideas entering your mind.

3. Take advantage of the wealth information available on motivational CD’s and books.

4. Attend motivational classes and seminars.

5. Keep a journal of your dreams, goals and your journey.

Live The Dream!
Blake & Chelsea Kuhn
.