"Up yer Hammers"

This post features several stunning images that you won't want to miss. You should also take a look if you're struggling to find some inspiration for your new project!



The Life of Nails - Creative Photography by Vlad Artazov

I have a growing penchant for inspirational positive quotes. It's amazing what those mere strings of words can do. Seemingly simple. Yet interestingly profound.
If you find some time to spare, I invite you to join me in this self discovery journey as we go through these wonderful inspirational positive quotes.
Indulge in the tranquil moment as you read with both your eyes and heart.
Remember, eyes may provide sight. But it's the heart which gives insight.
Enjoy.

"Think like a man of action, and act like a man of thought".
- Henri L. Bergson

"I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. And because I cannot do everything I will not refuse to do the something that I can do."
- Hellen Keller

"Half of the troubles of this life can be traced to saying yes too quickly and not saying no soon enough".
- Josh Billings

"Even if you're on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there".
- Will Rogers

"You can never cross the ocean unless you have the courage to lose sight of the shore".
- Christopher Columbus

"To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both."
- St Catherine of Siena

"We don't see the things the way they are. We see things the way WE are".
- Talmund

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change".
- Dr Wayne Dyer

"The problem is not that there are problems. The problem is expecting otherwise and thinking that having problems is a problem."
- Theodore Rubin

"Blessed are those who can give without remembering and take without forgetting."
- Elizabeth Bibesco

"When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hang on".
- Franklin D Roosevelt

"So many of our dreams at first seems impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."
- Christopher Reeve

"Hard work spotlights the character of people. Some turn up their sleeves. Some turn up their noses, and some don't turn up at all".
- Sam Ewing

"There are those who work all day. Those who dream all day. And those who spend an hour dreaming before setting to work to fulfill those dreams. Go into the third category because there's virtually no competition".
- Steven J Ross

"Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall."
- Confucious

"Many of life's failures are people who had not realized how close they were to success when they gave up".
- Thomas A Edison

"Efficiency is doing things right. Effectiveness is doing the right things."
- Peter Drucker

"Do you know what happens when you give a procrastinator a good idea? Nothing!"
- Donald Gardne

"You have to 'Be' before you can 'Do' and 'Do' before you can 'Have'."
- Zig Ziglar

"The test we must set for ourselves is not to march alone but to march in such a way that others wish to join us."
- Hubert Humphrey

"Formal education will make you a living. Self education will make you a fortune."
- Jim Rohn

"The future has several names. For the weak, it is the impossible. For the fainthearted, it is the unknown. For the thoughtful and valiant, it is the ideal."
- Victor Hugo

"There is nothing more genuine than breaking away from the chorus to learn the sound of your own voice."
- Po Bronson

"Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Waldo Emerson

"Use what talents you possess, the woods will be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best."
- Henry van Dyke

"Do not fear to be eccentric in opinion, for every opinion now accepted was once eccentric."
- Bertrand Russell

"History will be kind to me, for I intend to write it."
- Winston Churchill

"Life isn't about finding yourself. Life's about creating yourself."
- George Bernard Shaw

"Live your life each day as you would climb a mountain. An occasional glance towards the summit keeps the goal in mind, but many beautiful scenes are to be observed from each new vintage point."
- Harold B Melchart

"The tragedy of life doesn't lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goals to reach."
- Benjamin Mays

In the past, we have always been trained to be competitive, to separate emotions and our spirit from our mind and body, that love or spirituality does not fit into business and in generating wealth.

As most realize this now, that what we have been trained in the past does not fit at all into where the world is currently and where it is heading. Negative emotions envy, fear, competition and suspicion only has created disharmony, stress, loss of relationships, loss of wealth, increased debts, a sense of being trapped in a situation and depression.

The world is now going through tremendous amount of changes that shake up old belief systems regarding business, work, life balance, relationships and many aspects of our life. People are beginning to realize that many of the old practices and beliefs in business and organizational cultures, leadership,relationships, are not adding value or fulfilling the individual human purpose.

The result? More unhappiness, increased stress levels, illnesses, broken relationships, bullying, increasing debts, substance abuse, over and under-eating, poverty, bribery, slavery, environmental abuse and many other negative effects in our world and in human life. No more is the belief that business has nothing to do with personal life. Or that how we treat customers are different from the way we treat our employees.

We are all connected and in this era of awareness and change, two of the most important basic energies that we must uphold are LOVE & RESPECT. LOVE is the most powerful energy in our being and we were born with LOVE. By bringing LOVE back in all aspects of our lives, we can create positive changes in the world.

The world currently is yearning for these positive changes. The world is yearning for LOVE.

AGGGGGHHHHHH!!!!
(haven't done anything on this f*cking resolution list) Screw it, I'm going to the bar...



Each year at this time I sit down and write many drafts of my new year's resolutions. This year I'm changing it up a bit. Instead of resolutions, I'm writing intentions. Instead of making a long list (most of which I don't stick to or even remember for that matter), I'm focusing on the power of three. After all, three is a holy groovy number. Rather than burying my intentions in my journal, I'm posting them on my super-powered vision board. This way I'll be reminded of the three things I can do to uplift my life each and every day throughout the glorious new year.

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

Wait ... Hold the phone ... Did I really commit to just three? What the @%&$?
OK, after much deliberation, here are my winners ...

1. Say "Yes" more. Instead of finding reasons to keep it the same 'be open to change', to meeting new people', getting in the car, on a plane, in a boat. Say "yes" to opportunity and yes to learning along the way. Say "yes" to positive thinking and finding the diamond in the coal. You may think I say "yes" all the time, but I can be a negative hermit like everyone else in the world. More "yes" in 2011. Play big or go home!

SPOILERS! (Click to view)

But let me be clear, saying "yes" more does NOT mean overextending myself. I say hell NO
to that. It means being positive and open to the people, work and experiences that add magic to my life.

2. Refuge. I went to Omega (not as a teacher -- but as a student, on retreat, alone. It was magical. My intention is to take myself on retreat once (maybe twice) this year. To study with someone who inspires me, someone I look up to and want to emulate more, and to spend solo time reflecting and growing.

3. Expand my cooking repertoire. I have 50 cookbooks (exaggeration) and yet at home we stick to simplicity. Next year I want to wow my friends, our families and guests. Time to dust off my apron and expand my skills! My grandma would be really proud. She was a professional chef -- damn good too. Hey, maybe you'll get a cookbook out of my efforts.




I hope my intentions inspire you in someway. Share your intentions, OK? I'd sure love to read them -- you may even inspire me to make yet another round of edits before my next blog!

That's the good stuff.
That's it.
That's the ticket.
That's dope.

Cheers x

Innovators Don't Only Daze, They Remember Their Dreaming.



"If you can dream it, you can do it." - Walt Disney

Rene Descartes got the concept for the Scientific Method in a dream. Elias Howe came up with the final design for the lock stitch sewing machine in a dream. August Kekule arrived at the formulation of the Benzene molecule in a dream.

In the dream state, the subconscious mind arrives at solutions that the conscious mind is unlikely to discover during the daily grind -- no matter how much it obsesses, gathers data, or blames the "organization."

That's why Thomas Edison and Salvadore Dali used to take naps during the day. They knew they got their best ideas in dreams, so they decided to wake up more than once a day. Yes!



WHAT YOU CAN DO:

1. Before going to bed tonight, bring to mind a compelling question, challenge, or opportunity that you've been wrestling with.

2. As you fall asleep, stay focused on it.

3. When you awake, write your dream down, even if it makes no sense.

4. Stay in bed for a few minutes and reflect on each element of your dream. See if you can make any connections to the question you asked before going to sleep. If so... write them down.

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' but 'That's funny!'" - Isaac Asimov