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Greetings! In every interview we conduct, we learn something new--not only about the person interviewed, but also about a life lesson. Some lessons are encouraging; some are not. All lessons we learn from listening to the stories of other people are important, because they can be reminders of the impact we have on others, especially on those who are closest to us. This month's interview portrays a very successful man whose enjoyment of that success was tempered, or lessened, by the absence of one vital human relation principle--acceptance. Read closely the last two paragraphs of the interview: How many of us, despite our successes and or failures carry with us unrealized ambitions, needs, and dreams that may burden our emotions and keep us from fully realizing a complete retirement from our working lives and fully enjoying the benefits of our labors? It may be time to recognize and eliminate those things that don't allow us to enjoy those hard earned benefits completely.
I encourage you to consider your own circumstances as you determine the quality of your retirement and pursue the means available here to ensure a more complete quality of retirement. Happy May, Gail and Ed
------------------------------------------- Don't forget to check what your passion is, click here to take our FREE preliminary passion test, the test we give those who sign up for Discover Your Passion coaching with us. You may find your answers right there. If you want to go further, sign up for the 30-day Explore Your Passion course, which will be available next month. Check out our website, Retired-NextPhase.com. |
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THOUGHT FOR THE MONTH
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The trouble with retirement is that you never get a day off.
- Abe Lemons
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Roger Burnham
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His name is Roger Burnham and he says he is enjoying his retirement even more than he ever imagined. He has close friends around him with whom he and his wife spend most of their leisure time. He plays golf twice a week with those friends and tennis on at least two other days of a typical week.
He and his wife travel when and where they chose as the result of a successful career in a financial services business that he turned over to his son upon his retirement approximately five years ago.
Roger is currently seventy-four (74) years old and has had his share of physical ailments in later life, including two bouts with cancer, of which he is currently symptom-free, and a minor heart issue that appears to be resolved. He is now enjoying good health and as he indicated to me, a very active lifestyle.
If this were all there is to the interview, it would be very vanilla and not of much interest to me or to you the reader. However, as Paul Harvey, the veteran radio commentator, used to say..."Now for the rest of the story."
Roger intimated to me that his success in business was actually the end result of his deep-seated need to prove to his mother that he could be successful at something. He said he was never able to focus on his studies in school and as a result he was under constant pressure from her to achieve some kind of success anywhere. He did recognize that he had a natural talent for sales and went to work for a firm in New York City. He realized immediate financial success, but recognition of that success was still not forthcoming from his mother which continued to frustrate him terribly.
Eventually, he left the firm, opened his own successful business which grew to five (5) offices spreading from New York to Washington, D.C. Despite his now more than obvious successes in business, he never received the approval from his mother, before her death ten (10) years ago, that he credits as the motivation for his success.
To this day, he regrets and is frustrated by the fact that she never acknowledged his success despite the acclaim and financial security it provided to him and his family.
How many of us, despite our successes and or failures carry with us unrealized ambitions, needs, and dreams that may burden our emotions and keep us from fully realizing a complete retirement from our working lives and fully enjoying the benefits of our labors? It may be time to recognize and eliminate those things that don't allow us to enjoy those hard earned benefits completely.
I encourage you to consider your own circumstances as you determine the quality of your retirement and pursue the means available here to ensure a more complete quality of retirement.
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BOOK REVIEW - DOING WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVING WHAT YOU DO
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Robert Anthony's book, Doing What You Love, Loving What You Do, is one of the most influential books in my library. It was well worth the time it took to type my underlines and notes. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. Because of its length, only one part will be presented at a time. ENJOY!!
DOING WHAT YOU LOVE, LOVING WHAT YOU DO
DR. ROBERT ANTHONY
TURN ON YOUR DREAM MACHINE The first step toward getting what you really want in life is to allow yourself to dream. Every time you dream of something that you want, you are forming a part of your future. There is great power in reviewing your dreams over and over again. Your imagination is your direct link to your innermost desires. It is not bound by your habits, beliefs, or inner fears. Imagination gives you the ability to step outside of your self-imposed limitations and create new and unlimited possibilities. When you think about what you want to achieve, try to picture the best possible outcome to the situation. To increase your ability to turn your desires into reality, push yourself to imagine an even better outcome than the one you originally perceived. Every time you imagine something, see if you can make it even bigger and better.
You will start to move ahead toward your goal when you believe in it so strongly that you can see it through Creative Mental Imagery. Once you really zero in on a goal, you can focus all of your thoughts and energies on it. Zeroing in and concentrating only on it is what makes achieving it possible. Nothing will happen unless your dreams are extremely important to you. Once you master the process of creating from thought, you will no longer be imprisoned by any outside circumstance or condition. Your thoughts set up the model of what is to be created. Your emotions then energize your thoughts, which, in turn, motivate you to take action. The stronger your convictions and emotions, the more rapidly you will achieve your aims.
We move toward what we think about and VISUALIZE! Physically, emotionally, and psychologically, we create through activity and movement whatever we hold as a clear and compelling picture in our minds. As long as we hold that picture, we are drawn to it. Each day, picture something that you can accomplish in the process of working toward your goal. Picture it clearly. Imagine yourself doing it. Then, execute it faithfully. Many people find it helpful to compile a Scrapbook of Dreams. Look through magazines and newspapers for pictures, words, and sentences related to those things you wish to achieve, and cut them out. Paste a picture of the home you always wanted, etc. Your Scrapbook is a means of impressing upon your subconscious mind the pattern from which you intend to create success and harmony. The dreams are specific - and detailed. And it can never work unless there is a picture!
Practice visualizing. As you read the paper, envision the events you are reading about. It is the emotion attached to the picture that makes the scene so real. Once you are able to form a clear picture of what you want, your emotions come into play. They begin to react to the dream as if it were a full-blown reality. Your sub-conscious mind does not know the difference!
NEXT MONTH: YOUR LIFE IS THE RESULT OF HOW YOU SEE LIFE Read more book summaries on our website. |
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Two Ways to Find Your Passion
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Living your passion can change your life. Being excited when you get up in the morning is one change you will experience when you do what you love every day. The old adage, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life" leads to the question, "Why not make today even better than yesterday? Why not direct your future toward the end goal of doing what you love and loving what you do?
Here are two recommendations that will give you ways to start becoming more aware of what it is you do love to do.
1. Start keeping a journal. In it write ideas you get at odd moments. Include your reactions to a movie, a book, a letter, a conversation--anything that is meaningful to you.
Record what you are grateful for each day. Include your reactions to the various exercises as you complete them in this program. And, most important, write down your plans as they begin to form in your mind. Start keeping track of what you like about each segment of the day. Are you an early riser? Do you like to work late? Are there certain types of people who motivate you, make you feel good about yourself? Analyze them. Analyze why you react to them as you do.
Eventually your journal will contain a myriad of information, which, as you reread, may begin to form a pattern. Certain ideas, topics, people keep reoccurring. All of that is significant. Make it a point to write every day, even if only for a few minutes. Your journal is a reminder that you are on the path toward your passion. It is a visual reminder to keep you on target, to remind you to stay focused.
2. Take control of your thoughts and your attitude. Keep in mind a very important fact: We become what we think about all day long. Norman Vincent Peale stated, "You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are." You have to really think about that.
Along the same line, Aurelious said, "A man's life is what his thoughts make of it." Emerson said, "A man is what he thinks about all day long." Thoughts are very important, and you are the only one who can control them.
If you have negative thoughts, negative pictures in your mind, in all likelihood, you are headed in a negative direction with negative results. On the other hand, positive thinking is productive and fulfilling. In The Millionaire's Secrets, Mark Fisher said, "Extraordinary people know that ideas are very real entities, that every idea we emit tends to concretize, attracting the people and circumstances that can help make it a reality. And it doesn't matter if the idea is positive or negative."
You can train yourself to think more positively by training yourself to choose what you pay attention to and what you say about it, both to yourself and others. "We know what we are but know not what we may be." - Shakespeare.
* Who chooses your thoughts? You do.
* Who chooses your attitude? You do.
There is so much power in being able to internalize the fact that we are in charge of our thoughts, feelings, and reactions. We can't control what happens to us, but we are always in charge of our reactions to it.
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WHAT YEAR IS IT ?
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WHAT YEAR WAS IT?
* U.S. - North Vietnam signed cease-fire agreement officially ending the
Vietnam War
* Marlon Brando wins Oscar for "The Godfather"
* Secretariat wins the Triple Crown of horseracing
* N.J. becomes the first state to allow girls to play Little League baseball
* U.S. sets 55mph speed limit
* American Psychiatric Association declares homosexuality not a mental illness
* Average cost of a new house $32,500
* Average cost of a gallon of gas $.40
* Barcode availability announced
* The Bahamas gain independence from Great Britain
Answer found following "Take a break, and laugh about it...."
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LOOKING BACKHeadline
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What memories come to mind as you listen??
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TAKE A BREAK AND LAUGH ABOUT IT.....
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A little silver-haired lady calls her neighbor and says, "Please come over here and help me. I have a killer jigsaw puzzle, and I can't figure out how to get started." Her neighbor asks, "What is it supposed to be when it's finished?" The little silver haired lady says, "According to the picture on the box, it's a rooster." Her neighbor decides to go over and help with the puzzle. She lets him in and shows him where she has the puzzle spread all over the table. He studies the pieces for a moment, then looks at the box, then turns to her and says, "First of all, no matter what we do, we're not going to be able to assemble these pieces into anything resembling a rooster." He takes her hand and says, "Secondly, I want you to relax. Let's have a nice cup of tea, and then," he said with a deep sigh ............ (scroll down)"Let's put all the Corn Flakes back in the box."
_____________________________________________________________________ANSWER TO THE QUIZ ABOVE....
1973
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Profit From Your Passion - a thirty-day E-course
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Retire to Your Passion!! Treat yourself to a thorough review of all of your likes, dislikes, successes, challenges, and everything that has made you who you are today. Find not only what most interests you but also what your purpose in life is. In thirty lessons, you will unlock the secrets of who you really are. To learn more, visit our website.
Introductory Price: $97 - AVAILABLE NOW!
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Rightsizing Your Life
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Gail Cassidy, gail@coachability.com; (908) 654-5216
http://www.Coachability.com
Ed Topar, edtopar@gmail.com |  |
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