Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful. –Albert Schweitzer (1875 – 1965)

We are busier than we have ever been, working long hours and feeling under more and more pressure. How do you spend your days? For many people work and pleasure are seen as separate, with work being a chore that has to be done to pay the bills. It doesn’t always have to be like that. Although we don’t have to love …

This article looks at what we mean by a sense of purpose and how to utilise this as a strategy to enhance life.

I am a martial artist and black belt in aikido, a practice that continues to teach me about life, both on and off the mat. For example, at the end of each aikido practice, I express gratitude to my partners by bowing and saying: “Thank you very much.” I’ve found over the years that sometimes I have obvious reasons to say thank you – working with that person was exhilarating and fun. However, sometimes the reasons are not so obvious – my partner was stiff, rough, unconscious, or generally difficult to work with.

Your attitude determines your altitude in business and in life. You can’t change someone else’s attitude for them. But this powerful adage is a great reminder that you can put in front of anyone who needs an attitude adjustment. I want to talk about a few of the many ways each of us can develop a winning attitude every day. It’s what leaders do.

Marcus Aurelius, the great philosopher who ruled the Roman Empire, said it simply: “Our life is what our thoughts make it”.
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Most humans experience unexpected setbacks which can cause huge stress and can halt their forward progress in life. Our attitudes, beliefs and knowledge can make a big difference to how we deal with these setbacks.

What means just major stress to one person can even mean death to another. Our beliefs and knowledge affect how much stress we experience in the face of problems, traumas, ageing and the threat of death.

One way to lessen the stress of a problem is to focus on the solution.

Winning a million dollars would feel great, right? What if you could feel that way about what you already have?

Thanksgiving week is a perfect time to think about gratitude and to be thankful for the people and the events that have made our lives what they are. But gratitude, practiced daily all year through will improve anyone’s outlook on life. When we stop dwelling upon things in our lives that are not perfect or things we’d like to be different, our entire outlook on life changes. Gratitude makes each day better.

There was a wonderful song in one of the great old holiday mov…

Q. What happens when we focus on the negative side of life instead of the positive? We miss out on seeing the breadth of opportunities that would otherwise enable us to develop and strengthen our lives.

The result? We end up journeying on a downward spiral, feeling that no matter what we do, we simply won’t win. The solution? To start seeing everything in our life as an opportunity for growth; every encounter, every incident, and even every challenge.

Q. Are You?

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The Joe in question isn’t me. It’s a good friend of mine.

Born in squalor, raised in need, and oppressed by his neighbors, he fought tooth and nail to survive the slums, enter a good university- and now, runs a multitude of companies.

These aren’t your run of the mill single proprietorships. These are mid scale corporations with 100 to 500 dedicated employees. Each one radiates the zest he does.

We had a long talk over Coke Light last night (yep, beer’s no good for p…

This article views how you feel about yourself as contributing to feelings of loneliness and suggests ways of changing this position.