Tag: life

Posted in Books, Inspirational, life, success

A Great Summer Read – “Thirst” by Scott Harrison

Posted on by Nadia K

Thirst is a remarkable representation of empathy, compassion and true giving. the author of the book Scott Harrison founded The charity: water back in 2006 with no funds and no experience. Through the years, his organization has raised over $300 million to bring clean drinking water to more than 8.2 million people around the globe.

Well written, the book is a memoir of the author’s life and a story of The charity: water – his vision of changing the world for the better, the purpose and the WHY of his life. Thirst is full of interesting and compassionate stories about the communities suffering from lack of water and the tireless unique & creative ways of the charity to collect funds, build trust in donors and deliver sustainable water solutions for the millions of families in need.

Everyone should read this book – there is so much that can inspire you to go out and change the world by as little as donating your birthday to a higher cause than just acquiring stuff.

Happy reading!

Posted in happiness, Inspirational, life, Quotes

Maya Angelou: “Don’t Complain.” – Inspirational Quote of the Week

Posted on by Nadia K

Happy Wednesday!

Today’s quote is really powerful, but you have to be ready to change and be emotionally mature to be able to make it work for you. 

What should you do when you are not happy with the reality? You should cultivate a “can-do” attitude and start changing the life around you one-step-at-a-time, piece by piece until you build a happier place for you and people surrounding you.

If things are out of your hands, and it’s hard to alter the reality around, you should try to change your way of thinking and make the most of the situation, keep positive and find the things that makes you happy.

Here are 10 tips to complain less and stop the negative thoughts so you can focus on finding solutions and be happier:

  1. Shift your thinking from negative to positive thoughts
  2. Be less judgmental to you and the others
  3. Make a list of things you’re grateful for
  4. Be the change you wish to see in the world
  5. Accept responsibility
  6. Keep moving forward and take care of yourself
  7. Find what makes you happy.
  8. Practice yoga
  9. Allow yourself to vent every once in a while
  10. Be more mindful and assertive

Posted in communication, life, Personality, success, TED talks

The 4 Practices to Cultivate Wholeheartedness?

Posted on by Nadia K

When you ask people about love, they’ll tell you about heartbreak. When you ask people about belonging, they’ll tell you about how they have been excluded. When you ask people about connection, the stories they’ll tell you are about disconnection.

Interesting, right? We always first recall the negative experiences in life and mute the positive memories.

Dr. Brené Brown is a research professor at the University of Houston and the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection, Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, Braving the Wilderness, and Dare to Lead.

In her TED Talk: The power of vulnerability, she outlines the following four life-changing practices that can help us live worthy, wholehearted life, stop recalling only the heartbreak, pain and disconnection, but find the joy and happiness: 

  1. Have a sense of COURAGE – when communicating with others tell the story of who you really are and accept your imperfections.
  2. Practice COMPASSION – treat yourself kindly first and then treat others with compassion.
  3. Develop CONNECTION as a result of authenticity – willingness to let go of who you think you should be in order to be who you are.
  4. Embrace VULNERABILITY – give without expecting anything in return, share anything without the fear of being judged, open yourself to people you love, because you are worthy of the same love. If we don’t allow to be vulnerable, we block the joy, gratitude and happiness, and feel worse.
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If you want to learn more how to live with courage an vulnerability, check out Dr. Brown’s book

Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead

Posted in happiness, Inspirational, life, Quotes

Helen Keller: “When one door of happiness closes” – Inspirational Quote of the Week

Posted on by Nadia K

Happy Tuesday!

I hope all of you were able to have a relaxing and happy long weekend despite the overwhelming and controversial pandemic news everywhere.

This week’s quote comes from Helen Keller – an American author, political activist, and lecturer, who was the first deaf-blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

This quote is almost 100-years old and still 100% valid.

When we have experienced happiness, we try to cherish and think of it, like it will never happen again and tend not to jump right into a new experience. Most of us are cautious when starting a new task or event and assess the success of it through the lens of already experienced success. It’s the same with happiness – we don’t see the new opportunity of being happy again, as we are comparing the new experience with the previous, and they will never be the same.

More happiness quotes from Helen Keller:

“We are never really happy until we try to brighten the lives of others.”

“I take happiness very seriously. It is a creed, a philosophy, and an objective.”

“If we do not like our work, and do not try to get happiness out of it, we are a menace to our profession as well as to ourselves.”

Posted in Inspirational, life, Quotes

George Bernard Shaw: “Life isn’t about finding yourself.” – Inspirational Quote of the Week

Posted on by Nadia K

Happy Tuesday!

Today’s timeless quote comes from the great Irish playwriter George Bernard Shaw written in his satiric work “An Unsocial Socialist”, published at the end of XIX century.

Isn’t it an interesting point of view?

I don’t know about you, but I grew up thinking: What is my purpose in this life? What is the reason for my being? What are my talents? and When will I find myself?

And the truth is, very few people know their talents from a young age. And even if they know their talent, lots of hard work and learning is needed to master a talent i.e. to create yourself.

For the rest of us, where the talent is not defined early, we need to:

  • learn new things on a regular basis;
  • repeat what we know to master a skill,
  • connect our knowledge and build on top of it.

This is basically the process of creating ourselves. Once we start sharing our knowledge, helping others, getting a sense of accomplishment, and even feeling happy with our contribution, then we can say we created ourselves. But that’s not the end of it – lifelong learning continues and self-development never stops.

Thanks and stay safe!

Posted in Books, happiness, life

The 3 Rules For Unforgretable Experience

Posted on by Nadia K

Actress Marilu Henner is 1 of 10 known people in the world with the ability of superior autobiographical memory – an astonishing ability to recall details of every day of her life. In her book “Total Memory Makeover”, Marilu unfolds pros and cons of having autobiographical memory and illustrates them with multiple personal stories.

Part of the book is dedicated to help the readers improve their memories, enjoy and cherish every moment of the life, by keeping a memory journal to track events from the past and build personal history “track”.

What I like the most from her advice in the book is the three simple rules for unforgettable experience, which I admit is 100% true for my memories of events from my past that have left vivid imprints in my mind.

The first rule is: ANTICIPATION – Make sure to get prepared for the event. Talk to family and friends about it, reveal your plans, and show excitment. For example, if you are planning a two-week vacation, allocate time to get mentally ready, to plan fun trips and entertainment and share the plans with someone.

The second rule is PARTICIPATION – once you arrive at the event or start the trip, try to be 100% present, participate in the planned activities and have fun – enjoy the moment to the fullest, take photos, mementos and keepsakes. Don’t forget to keep a journal with notes from the journey – it will come handy later when you need to refresh the memories.

Total Memory Makeover: Uncover Your Past, Take Charge of Your Future

The third rule is RECOLLECTION, and comes after the event or activity is completed, and you are no longer part of it. This phase is the longest and can continue forever, but should start as soon as the experience is over, while the memories are still fresh. Start talking to friends and family – how photos from the places you’ve been, share stories what happened and how it felt.

Please make sure to check out the book for more entertaining, and educational advices from Marilu. The book is easy to read and her stories for sure will resonate with readers everywhere.

 

 

Posted in happiness, life, Motivation, Quotes

Albert Einstein: “There are only two ways to live your life” – Inspirational Quote of the Week

Posted on by Nadia K

Happy Tuesday!

I love this inspiration quote so much! How do you live your life?  Like it’s a miracle or not?

We are so contained in our day-to-day way of living, so we forget or don’t see the wonders of the world around us, to name just some of them:

  • the miracle of creating and growing human being;
  • the marvels of nature awakening in spring and transforming our way of living every year;
  • the powers of the Sun and the rain, and how much we depend on them;
  • the fire and it’s magical powers to transform raw plants and meat into delicious meals;
  • the surprizing ability of human brains to think and find unique solutions to a variety of problems …

and endless other examples of life miracles!

I hope you are able to stop for a second from what you are doing and appreciate the beauty of life as we know it!

Posted in happiness, Motivation, Quotes

Oprah Winfrey: “Be Thankful for what you have” – Motivational Quote of the Week

Posted on by Nadia K

Today’s quote comes from Oprah Winfrey and focuses on practising gratitude, appreciating the things in our life that we value. Being thankful for what we have and trying to see the positive side of things rather than the negative, makes us happier and richer.

If we concentrate on what we don’t have or don’t know, we will end up feeling miserable and unhappy, and will never have enough.

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy!

Posted in Books, life, Personality, success

Book: The Algebra of Happiness by Scott Galloway

Posted on by Nadia K

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This book should be on everybody’s nightstand! It contains so much wisdom and truth, extracted from the author’s experience and knowledge, accumulated through the years and written with a fantastic sense of humor. 

Reading this book made me feel a lot better about myself and my life journey, accomplishments, and my perception of being happy. 

Scott Galloway is the New York Times bestselling author of The Four: The Hidden DNA of Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google and a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business.

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The curve of Happiness thought the life journey

Just some of Scott Gallaway’s pieces of advice for Living a Happy Life:

  • If you find you are stressed, recognize this is a normal part of the journey and just keep on keeping on.
  • Lack of balance in the twenties and thirties, sweat and work translate into balance later. Get busy while you are young.
  • The definition of “rich” is income greater than your burn rate.
  • In 50s married couples have 3x the assets of their single peers. Why? Sharing expenses, streamlining decisions, buying assets that increase in value instead of things that rust, rot, or depreciate.
  • Career advice: A less sexy job equals more professional fulfillment. A sexy job equals less fulfillment. A boring company equals a good investment. An exciting company equals a bad investment.
  • Serendipity is a function of courage. Nothing wonderful will happen without taking a risk and subjecting yourself to rejection.
  • Drink less, think long term (compound interest), and spend money on social and experiences.
  • Give somebody a good death. Provide comfort to a loved one that is terminally ill.
  • Get the easy stuff right: show up early, have good manners and follow up.
  • Things vs Experiences – Studies show people overestimate the happiness that things will bring them, and underestimate the long-term positive effect of experiences. Invest in experiences over things.

Posted in Books, Management, success, Workplace

The 10 Rules to Fuel Your Life, Work, and Team with Positive Energy

Posted on by Nadia K

 

  • Rule #1 – “You’re the driver of your bus”  – We are each responsible for the direction of our lives. And the direction of our lives is 81107shaped by each day. If we are complacent in our lives we let others drive for us. Have you ever felt out of control? Well, it’s time to take charge and drive your own bus.
  • Rule #2 – “Desire, Vision, and Focus Move Your Bus in the Right Direction” – You have to want it! You have to have a vision, have an compelling reason to keep you moving and the focus to keep to it. Each action must be in the direction of your goal and you must have the persistence to overcome the obstacles that can easily get you off track.
  • Rule #3 – “Fuel Your Ride with Positive Energy” – Positive energy is the fuel that allows you to overcome the obstacles. Positive energy is high octane fuel and negative energy is gas from the bottom of last years can. Positive energy builds momentum and a negative attitude seems to find roadblocks and excuses.
  • Rule #4 – “Invite People on Your Bus and Share Your Vision for the Road Ahead” – Associating with people who push you forward is one of the smartest things you can do. You are either moving forward or moving back. If the people you work with or associate with are stagnant, then you need to break free. If you don’t you’re wearing an invisible rubber belt, eventually you will snap back to the pack and lose your momentum. Having negative, going nowhere friends is like having a weekly weight watchers meeting at The Country Buffet.
  • Rule #7 – “Enthusiasm Attracts More Passengers and Energizes Them During the Ride” – People want to associate with a winner. In professiona land college  sports it seems that the same teams are at or near the top year after year. Players recognize a good culture and want to be a part of it. The same can be said of work teams and companies. It’s not all about the money.
  • Rule #8 – “Love Your Passengers” – You can’t fake it. In order to lead people or attract people to your cause you have to care for them. And not in an ambivalent way. You must really be tied to the well being of your team. Love cannot be selfish. As a leader you must want the best for your team members. Back to sports: time and time again you see a team of superior athletes being beat by a true team made up of individuals who would do anything for their team and teammates. The trick is to cultivate that love.
  • Rule #10 – “Have Fun and Enjoy the Ride” – When work is fun you don’t get tired. Do you ever remember getting tired when you were playing as a kid? I don’t either. It never even came to mind. The same is true when you are energized by doing work that matters with people you like.

The Energy Bus By: Jon Gordon