LIFEBUSHIDO

Welcome to 2010! Now that we’re in a new year, it seems appropriate, and completely traditional, to ring it in with some new year resolutions. A new year brings the sense of a new beginning, while also prompting us to look back at the past. It is a natural thing to reflect on the changes we’d like to see in our lives and set some new goals (which we are always encouraging at Lifebushido!). Ever wondered what the top 10 resolutions are for many of us?

1. Spend more time with family and friends
2. Fit in fitness
3. Lose weight
4. Quit smoking and/or drinking (or any other addictive behavior)
5. Enjoy life more - slow down and be less stressed
6. Get out of debt, make better financial decisions, and/or save more money
7. Help others by volunteering or donating to those who are in need
8. Get organized and manage your time better
9. Learn something - get a better education, or learn a new hobby
10. Take a trip somewhere

While we typically have no shortage of resolutions, the problem is keeping them. Here are a few tips to help you with following through on your new year resolutions.

• Be realistic - instead of saying you will lose 30 pounds by April, plan to achieve a more attainable goal, like 10 or 15 pounds. If you end up losing 30, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised.
• Don’t overload yourself - it can be difficult to make big changes (after all, that is what resolutions are), especially if you are trying to make more than one at the same time. Instead, prioritize your resolutions and attempt tackling one at a time - starting with the one you deem most important. By the time 2011 rolls around, you may have kept yourself busy the entire year, too!
• Give yourself some accountability - many of us keep our resolutions to ourselves, but when we tell others in our lives, they are more likely to hold us accountable and cheer us on when we otherwise might give up. And, if you need it, ask for help in achieving your goals - there’s no shame in that.
• Reward yourself - if you’ve ever set and failed to achieve a new year’s resolution before, you know how hard it can be, so give yourself credit for meeting your goals. If you resolve to spend less, reward yourself with a cappuccino if you’re able to avoid buying that high ticket item you’ve been eyeing. If you resolve to quit complaining, reward yourself with a massage after a week of practicing gratitude.

Set a goal for your start date - sometimes the change of seasons is an easier time of year for new goals, instead of using the calendar. When springtime comes by May 1, the change in season will prompt you to make the change(s) you’re hoping to see in yourself.

Have you ever heard the saying, “there will be time for sleep when you’re dead”? I was thinking about this today - about the busy, crazy world we’re living in, and the unwritten, societal expectation that we all need to multitask so we can do more, and more, and more.

But, how much are we really getting done when we’re focused on at least three things at once, all the time? I, for one, feel like the more I try to do, the less I really get done, and the more overwhelmed I feel. Making even a small decision, under these circumstances, turns into a huge obstacle that breeds procrastination and mediocrity.

Stephen Covey’s seventh habit (of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) is “Sharpen the Saw: Principles of Balanced Self-Renewal.” One question he asks in this chapter is, “have you ever been so busy driving that you forgot to stop to buy gas?” I’ve always been struck by the irony of that question, which illustrates how counterproductive it is to keep pushing yourself further while failing to provide the basic fuel (or tools) required to accomplish the task that is seemingly so important.

Still not convinced that multitasking is, at the least, slowing your productivity - at most, dangerous and destructive? Consider a recent Stanford study that shows that the brains of multitaskers may be paying a big mental price. After undergoing a series of three tests designed to measure memory and attention, those who were identified as heavy media multitaskers (who regularly juggle several e-mail and instant message conversations at once, text message while watching tv, etc.), were found to be easily distracted and unable to keep things separate in their minds. This habit affects the task at hand and memory, since heavy multitaskers are constantly drawing from all the information in front of them (not utilizing or exercising their memory). Researchers are studying further whether chronic media multitaskers have an innate inability to concentrate or are causing damage to their cognitive control by taking in as much as they do at once.

If you, like most of us, think that you’re wasting time while stopped in traffic if you’re not also on your cell phone and thinking about what to pack for an upcoming trip, it may just be time to STOP. Take a break from multitasking. Challenge yourself to limit your focus to only one thing at a time, just for one hour a day, and see how you feel. My guess is that we will all feel a little more centered and a lot more productive.

For more tips and inspiration to living a simplified life, visit the blog, mnmlist: the essentials and read this article.

How often do you take the time to focus on what you’re thankful for? Daily? Weekly? Ever? Many of us spend so much time and energy focusing on what we don’t have and how to get it, instead of taking time to appreciate what we already have - often missing the blessing altogether.

There is nothing wrong with being driven to achieve - that is what likely makes you successful at what you do. Striving toward goals is what allows you to learn more and make progress. However, there is a balance to be struck between looking ahead and enjoying the present - both are critically important to success and happiness. When one becomes more important than the other, you will be out of balance and less happy, in general.

Take a gratitude pause today - spend five minutes making a list of the top 10 things in your life right now for which you’re grateful. Try to write down things that you are thankful for right now (not something from the past, or a future hope). Make it a habit to write your top 10 list at least once a week. In the beginning, it might be hard to come up with 10 items, but push yourself. In time, you’ll find that as you’re more focused on gratitude, your list will grow. As you get more accustomed to this habit, aim to spend five minutes every day focused on gratitude.

Don’t allow the stress of daily life or the struggle of a current crisis to rob you of the joy you already possess. Regardless of any trial you might be facing in the present, if you are committed to looking for the positive in your life, you will find it. Doing so makes the difference between just surviving and thriving.

So, what are you grateful for today?

In this hurried world of multitasking and doing more and more with the same amount of resources, stress is inevitable - right? So many of us subscribe to the mentality that if we simply work more, we’ll do better and gain more. What if simply working more only makes us less effective? What if all of the stress we are under was something we could control? What if stress was a choice?

Of course, we wouldn’t pose the question if we didn’t truly believe that it is. Furthermore, we assert that you have the ability to refuse to allow stress to rob you of your daily peace! "How?" you say? Read on.

First, STOP! Slow down, take a breather, clear your schedule (only temporarily) and breathe deep breaths (research shows that deep breaths reduce stress and tension and make thoughts clearer).

Next, follow these simple steps to simplify and de-stress:

Be decisive - make a decision once and follow through quickly so that unresolved decisions cannot wear you down or cause you to second guess yourself.

Determine what is important and spend more energy on those things, letting go of the things that aren’t. If it helps, make a list of all the things going on in your life and see just where your time is going - is it where you want it to be?

Don’t be afraid to say no - remember, it is impossible to do a good job if you are overextended. Typically, a highly successful person (and one who is not under tremendous stress) is also skilled at delegation.

Get rid of clutter - extra distractions are a time killer and make you less efficient. Eliminating clutter where you work, on your computer, and in your home will keep your mind focused on the task at hand. Less IS more.

Create a routine for your day and week - doing the same thing at the same time each day prevents you from spending energy thinking about what you should be doing. Make sure to spend some time on healthy living, like exercise or prayer, which will keep you strong and release tension.

Focus on only one thing at a time - resist the temptation to multitask. In the end, you’ll get two things done much more efficiently by giving each task the attention it needs.

Do your best to not overthink all of this and go for it. Once you get on top of the stressors in your life, stay on top of them. Clearing stress will bring a new brightness and vitality to your life, which will certainly affect those around you, too. Stress is a choice - choose wisely.

“We all live under the same sky, but we don’t all have the same horizon.”

~Konrad Adenauer

What comes to mind when you think of expanding your horizon? For me, it is a spin on thinking outside the box I’ve put myself and my possibilities in. Boxes are good for organizing and prioritizing (and moving!), but often the greatest and most influential ideas are found outside of them.

There is great value in specialization when it comes to the work you do every day. When we spend time learning and growing our skills in one particular area, we get good at it and it can be done with less effort and more efficiency. But specialization can carry with it a risk of getting stuck in a rut. Has that ever happened to you? Sometimes we become so comfortable with what we’re used to that we keep our heads down and get through our work quickly and efficiently, only to realize when we finally look up that our lives and those around us have passed us by.

We need to challenge ourselves to look for opportunities to expand our interests. This may be found by taking that class in stained glass you’ve put off because of time or expense, or learning a foreign language despite your fears that it may be hard. It may be as simple as listening to some of the quiet ideas of yourself or others in your own circles or industry and letting go of your predisposition to repeatedly follow the ideas of a few over and over again. Think outside the box and be willing to take the risk that comes with launching the next great idea.

What seems crazy at first glance, may contain a gem of truth - once unleashed, could change the world. Challenge yourself to capture the “crazy” thoughts and ideas you come across this week, both yours and those of others you know. Write them down and sit with them awhile. Some of them truly might be crazy, but, oh the potential of those that just might be the next great thing in your life!

For a real life example of thinking outside the box, visit www.lifebushido.com and see what we're up to!

Do you often wish you had more time in each day to get things done? Are you busy, but find at day’s end that you didn’t accomplish all that you’d hoped? If you find yourself overwhelmed with stress - you are likely in need of more effective time management skills. And, with our propensity toward multitasking and increased expectations that we get more done in the same amount of time, who isn’t?

First, it is critical for you to shift your focus and concentrate on getting results. Many people neglect to concentrate daily on the things that matter the most. Doing so, makes what we do during the day more efficient and effective. This will take work, but in the end you’ll be expending less effort and getting more done, which makes it all worth it.

Begin by completing these important steps:

Set Goals. If you know where you want to go, it is easier to do what is necessary to get there. Without goals, it is nearly impossible to focus. For expert help on this concept, visit www.goalbushido.com.

Prioritize your goals. Once you’ve set goals, you need to rate these goals in order of importance. It’s not enough to create a To-Do list, you need to organize it with the most important tasks listed first. This gives you a game plan for your day.

Minimize distractions. When you’re working on an important task, interruptions can be a huge time stealer. While all distractions cannot be eliminated, you can minimize them by planning time into your schedule for them and knowing which interruptions are necessary to attend to, and which are not.

Avoid procrastination. Procrastination can quickly lead to feeling overwhelmed -figure out when and why you procrastinate and work to avoid it. Reward yourself for completing a task on your To-Do list. This will encourage you to complete the most boring or challenging tasks without putting them off.

Schedule your time. Take the time to plan your day, organizing your tasks by importance, and planning time for interruptions and unexpected events. Make sure your schedule reflects your priorities and goals.

For more information and advice on time management, take this quiz to examine your time management skills are. Putting these principles into practice will not only increase your productivity, but minimize stress in every area of your life.

In this last installment of our Secrets of Success Series, we’ll focus on the last secret, Give More. It has often been said that there are two types of people in this world, the givers and the takers. While we all have to take at times, so that the well doesn’t run dry, we all have to give back, too. Some people are better and more intentional at this than others, but those who are happiest make giving more a priority.

Being from Colorado, where camping and hiking are favorite activities, the mantra “pack out what you pack in” is a familiar one. In other words, leave the land as you found it. The really good park rangers and teachers would go a step further and say, “leave everything better than you found it.” This is a valuable life lesson, and if practiced regularly, one that will undoubtedly grow joy and fulfillment in life.

Often, when people hear advice about giving more, they think about monetary gifts - tithing at church, charitable donations, giving money to the poor or underprivileged. These are all very helpful and necessary practices, but there are so many other ways to give. All that we have is a gift and can be given away. Money and material belongings can be a huge help to others, but so can time, skills, and simple attention to people around you.

Make the effort to spend a little more time talking with your neighbor when you’re both outside, or strike up a conversation with the elderly person sitting all alone at the table next to you at the coffee shop. Get involved in a program focused on mentoring young people who need positive role models, or volunteer to help at a local soup kitchen. Pick up that abandoned water bottle on the grass at the park and put it in the recycling bin, or take the extra time to leave a positive comment for the helpful cashier who was friendly at the store. The possibilities are endless, and many things won’t cost you a dime, but will pay you back dividends.

Imagine a world where more people (even all people!) gave more than they took. What an abundance we would all have, then. Take the time today to make giving more a part of your daily routine and see how it makes you feel.

I love the movie _Dead Poet’s Society_, and this scene is largely why. Robin William’s character tells his students to “Carpe diem, seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary!” That is the focus of our fourth secret of success, enjoy life today.

This movie captures the continuum of life, from the early years of preparation and dreaming about the future, to late years - even after death, and considering how one’s life has been lived after the fact. It makes me think about those things and how it is so easy for all of us to get stuck focusing on what will be or what has been and we forget to live in the moment and enjoy life today.

Now, we’re not saying that there is anything wrong with planning ahead or learning from past mistakes. These life lessons are highly valuable and wisely put into practice. The key is balance and recognizing that when past or future takes too much away from present, we miss out.

Start by making a list of 10 things that you are thankful for right now. Pay attention to how tempting it can be to list something that happened in the past, or something you’re hopeful for in the future. Leave those things out of this list and only write down what you are thankful for today.

Emily Dickinson said, “That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet.” Each moment we are given is a gift that can never be recovered once it’s passed. Take time in your life today to savor the moment you’re in. Practice being present in your life today and with others. Put aside all your worries about the future and simply enjoy the moment in which you’re living. It will never come again.

If you’re like me, you may be reading this secret, Become Love, and thinking“ what does that mean?” It sounds impossible, if you really think about it - how can we become an emotion? To understand what becoming love means, we’ll have to first define love.

The word ‘love’ is grossly overused in our culture. We are often heard saying, “I love this chocolate cake,” and we refer to loving baseball and tell people we love the color purple. These are examples of love as an emotion. The love we’re referring to in this secret of success is more of a choice, an act, an intentional way of looking at the world and of being. In choosing to be a loving person, you will discover an important secret to living a happy and purposeful life - you will become love.

Living this secret requires that you first have the capacity to love yourself. Have you ever heard the expression “you can only give away what you already have yourself?” If you have no self love, or are limited in the ways you can truly love yourself, then you will be limited in the ways you can be loving to others. Please note: this self love is not about the narcissistic tendencies of putting yourself first in everything or spending hours praising yourself in front of the mirror (despite what our culture might model for us). It is fundamentally about making a choice to see ourselves as worthy, and is absolutely critical to being a spiritually healthy human being.

Do you believe you are a worthy person who has a healthy sense of love for yourself? Your thoughts will reveal what you really think - did you know that we have an average of 45,000-55,000 of them per day? Are yours predominantly positive or negative? Do you say, “I am a loser,” or, “I’ll do better next time,” when you fail at something? Do you tell yourself that you are fat or unattractive, or do you see your unique features as an asset? If you find that you are having a lot of negative thoughts, begin to retrain yourself by intentionally complimenting yourself as often as you can. Replace the negative with the positive. The change in your attitude and demeanor will be marked.

Secondly, becoming love is about making it a top priority to love others - even if there are things about them that aren’t perfect, or are even downright unloveable. We cannot control how others feel about us, or whether we will receive love from other people, but we can control whether to give love to the people in our lives.

Also, avoid placing too much value on things in your life, which can take your focus off of relationships. If we choose to create loving relationships with others and make time for deep connection with others, we will find happiness.

The final step to becoming love is showing love in all of our interactions - with ourselves, with those we love, and with all who we encounter. This includes the cashier at the grocery store, the drivers on the freeway, and the homeless man on the street that you pass on your way to a lunch date. Not all of the people you encounter during your day will be kind to you, but, nevertheless, becoming love means making a conscious choice to see everyone with kindness and worth, regardless of the way they treat you. When we look upon others with kindness, we are more likely to see it, and when we give love to others, we are likely to see it returned.

Take an inventory for yourself right now. Do you love yourself? Take steps to make this a reality. Do you make it a priority to show love to your family and friends? Find ways to give love to them every day. Do you show kindness to all of the people around you? Focus on the bigger picture, and begin becoming love.

Now that you’ve set some goals (see Follow Your Heart, Secrets of Success Series, Part 1), you have some focus, some direction. Now it is time to put aside fear and achieve your dreams. With no regrets. This means taking some risks.

It is often said that those who come to the end of their lives never say their biggest regret is that they didn’t spend more time at the office. Their biggest regret, instead, is saying, “I wish I had...” Take a moment to consider what you will wish you had done if you found yourself at the end of your life in ten years? Five years? Five weeks?

I had an experience just this week that illustrated this concept for me. I’d been suffering with an unusually chronic migraine headache that lasted for about 8 days. As the days wore on and the headache ceased to subside on its own, I began to entertain irrational ideas of what might be causing the pain, including the possibility of a bleed in my brain (can you say hypochondriac?).

On day 7, as I was getting ready for bed, the thought occurred to me, “what if I don’t wake up in the morning?” Immediately and completely instinctively, I wanted to wake up my two young daughters and spend that time with them, telling them how much I love them, just being with them and leaving loving memories of my last moments, should I not wake up. It didn’t matter that it was way past their bedtimes - nothing mattered except my desire to see them and let them see how much I care about them.

Now, while this was a bit over the top, the underlying fear was not irrational at all. Facing what could have been the end brought up an intense need for me to strengthen my relationships. It never crossed my mind that I should get the rest of my pending work done, or clean up the kitchen before I risked going to sleep for the last time. Obviously, I did wake up the next morning, and the headache is now gone. But the lesson is lasting, and I hope to never forget it.

Put yourself in a similar scenario. What comes to mind about how you would spend your last few hours, if you knew the end was imminent? When you live your life leaving no regrets, you will find yourself facing choices - some will be life altering, some will only affect your immediate future, but you will understand that all of them matter. Leaving no regrets means taking a risk and having faith that, if you take the chance, you can achieve your dreams, all the while realizing that there is a chance that the worst case scenario could happen instead.

We suggest you practice this process as you learn to integrate this into your daily life. First, identify the choice you’re facing - what is the best possible outcome? What is the worst, and if that occurs, can you live with it? If you can, go ahead and take the risk. The key is keeping your mind focused on the best possible outcome, not the worst. Unfortunately, we tend to do just the opposite, and that is where we get stuck. The fear can be paralyzing, and we find ourselves with regret.

Try this with the “smaller” choices in your life today. As you get better at it, employ this strategy with the larger decisions. Take some risk, believe that you will achieve your dreams, and leave no regrets!

There are many things in life that will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your heart...pursue those.

In this first of a five post series focused on the secrets of success we’ve blogged about before, we are going to go a little deeper, and explore the first secret, "follow your heart." What does this mean? How do we integrate this concept into our daily lives?

First, we need to listen. Really sit still and take some time to think about your unique gifts and what your deepest desires and dreams are. Do you know? If you sat down to write a list of your top five goals for your life, could you? Goal setting is critical for success, and knowing which goals you want to attain is the first step. What are the desires of your heart?

We suggest that you begin by visualizing where you’d like to be in 12 months. What would your ideal professional life look like in a year, if you could have anything you wanted? What would your income be, if you could choose it? What about your ideal personal life? What would you accomplish, if you could? Strengthen a relationship? Learn a new hobby? Find a deeper spiritual connection?

During this step, put aside your fears and doubts. Focus solely on what you want, what you dream of, what you could achieve in a perfect world. Forget about obstacles you are facing now, or anticipate facing in the future. Forget about past failures.

Once you have clarity about what it is that your heart desires, professionally, personally, financially, relationally, and spiritually, then you can begin to head in the direction of your dreams. This involves setting goals, and intentionally setting out to meet those goals. If you haven’t already, we’d encourage you to learn more about Goalbushido, and write out your goals with our help.

Goal setting is the tangible result of learning and understanding what our dreams are - an important first step in heading in the direction of following our hearts. What are you waiting for?

Children can teach you a lot. Look at how they interact and how they seem to always be watching and learning. If we, as adults, took just one day to see the world as a child does it could be life changing.

Children are always asking questions. They are always discovering new things. They love to use their imagination. Children are always learning from others.

You should try taking a cue from children and start watching others. Start taking the opportunity to learn from other people. Do not be afraid to ask questions. Do not be afraid to strike up a conversation with a stranger.

When you keep yourself closed off and you fail to see the world around you, you are missing out on a lot. There are learning experiences at every turn. You just have to open your eyes and your mind to them.

There is a book, The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, that has been a big influence here at Lifebushido. The secrets revealed in this book are very simple concepts. You probably have heard them all before. The secrets are something anyone can do. It is so easy that it seems pretty obvious.

This books brings to light just how simple it is to be happy in your life. Most people make happiness out to be something complex. They struggle and waste away their lives trying to find happiness in all the wrong places. The one true place to find happiness is within yourself, as the book demonstrates.

The five secrets from the book are:

- Follow your heart
- Leave no regrets
- Become love
- Enjoy life today
- Give more

Simple and to the point, these five secrets are something that can change your life. Spend a week doing these things and you will see a change in your life. You will feel truly happy. It is simply amazing at how much such simple things can change your life, but they can. You do not have to take my word for it, though, try it and see what happens.

It is very easy to get wrapped up in the day to day grind. Too many things to do and not enough hours in the day to do them. Everyone feels that way at one point or another. Sometimes all it takes is a moment to recoup and you can get back into working on those things that need to be done.

One simple trick you can use to help you relax and to help you get refocused is to picture your perfect day. Take a minute to just think about what your perfect day would look like.

What would you do?

Who would you spend the day with?

What would you eat?

What would the weather be like?

Define everything about your perfect day in great detail. Get a picture in your mind. Know what you would do from the minute you woke up until your head hit the pillow at night.

After you have your perfect day planned out and clear in your mind go ahead and live it.

Take one day to just live out your perfect day. If that is not possible, then simple focus on your perfect day and imagine yourself living it.

You would not believe how amazing it feels to experience your perfect day. It can calm you in an instant. It will help you to focus better and to get back in the swing of things. The next time you are feeling like you have too much to do, just take some time to reflect on your perfect day.

As you know by now, goals are the key to your success. You have learned many ways to harness those goals and focus in on them. Now it is time to talk about things that can distract from your goals.

Your habits can interfere with and possibly even destroy your chances to reach your goals. Start by taking a look at your habits. Seek out those that will get in your way. Stomp out the bad habits. Learn new habits that are beneficial to you and that can replace the bad ones.

To learn a new habit you should do it 20 times and do it daily. Watch how you change and how your attitude changes as you start to develop these good, healthy habits. You will see the positive changes spill into ever aspect of your life.

Have a positive outlook and a good attitude is a great start on your path to reaching your goals. Dumping bad habits and getting new, good ones, is going to take you right down that path and you will start to see your goals within easy reach.

One of the top skills you must possess to be a success is the ability to focus. You have to have the ability to stay focused on your goals or you will never get closer to reaching them. For some people focus comes naturally and for others it can be difficult.

To help you learn how to focus, take time everyday to focus in on your goals. Think about how you are working to reach them. Use this time to make plans on which steps you will take next.

When you are working on a goal, stay on track. Focus on what you need to do and do not let yourself get side tracked.

By having a strong focus on what you wish to achieve, you will find it easier to get to where you want to be.

Creative projects play a role at Lifebushido because creativity is an important aspect of business. By becoming a part of a creative project, you are able to challenge yourself and your mind. You grow and learn. Creative projects allow you to make yourself a better worker and a better person.

Creative thinking is an asset. When you have the opportunity to expand your creative talents, take it. Try out creative projects to help your mind learn to think in a different way. Do not be afraid to give something new a try.

Creativity is something many employers look for in employees. Creative thinkers are more likely to try new things, take risks, and bounce back from failures. So, be creative and try something new. It can take you far in your career.

If you want to get ahead in business then you need to learn to be a leader. You have to be able to take a challenge and make things happen. One great way to build the skills needed to be a good leader is to get involved in charitable projects.

Charitable projects are a part of Lifebushido. Two projects that the company is involved in are Save the Children and Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Both projects are important and foster a feeling of caring and compassion within a person.

Getting involved in charitable projects allows you to be creative, give back, and share your skills to promote a good cause. Find a charitable project that means a lot to you and invest some of your time into it. You will immediately see the impact it has on you.

When you have a bad week, it can sometimes help to just take a minute and reflect on how you got to this point. You can often find solutions to problems when you look over the things that have happened in the past week.

Take a moment to stop and think about how you got to the point you are at now. What could you have done differently that would have prevented your current situation? Are there solutions that you haven’t tried yet to solve the problem?

Taking time to think about what has happened and how you could have changed it will lead you to a solution or at least give you better insight into what happened. So, the next time your week seems crummy, stop and reflect.

Goals are a big topic around here, but that is because they are so very important. Goals keep you on track and give you something to work for. Without goals you can easily lose sight of where you are going.

Most people like to set long term goals. They often neglect short term goals, though. It is a good idea to try setting monthly goals.

Monthly goals allow you something to work towards in the short term. They help you along and keep motivation up.Your monthly goals can be directly related to your long term goals. They can work as a stepping stone to reach those long term goals. Monthly goals can also just be something you need to accomplish now that is unrelated to your long term goals.

The bottom line is that you should be setting goals every month. Goal setting is the first step towards success in business and in life.