Recharge Your Life Through A Quote

I tend to stay away from fiction novels. I can’t visualize what’s happening. I don’t have a very active imagination.

Recently someone recommended Coelho’s The Alchemist. I haven’t been able to put it down. This novel is a masterpiece. Every single page has at least one quote that resonates with me.

How is it that Coelho can create something, where everything he writes is a quote? I don’t think anyone is quoting us anytime soon.

Quotes can be incredibly powerful for our lives. They are able to inspire, change, and challenge us.

Quotes can inspire us.

They’re able to make us garner all our energy toward a singular goal. They’re able to make us fight for something we believe in. 

“There is only one way to learn. It’s through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.”

Only through diligent consistent action can we learn and improve. Let us strive to be our best selves.

Within us lies unimaginable strength and will, if we only unlocked it. Let us have a positive unshakeable mindset, as we chase to be the strongest version of ourselves.

Quotes can change us.

They are able to alter our mindsets and allow us to view life in a different perspective.

“At a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what’s happening to us, and ours lives become controlled by fate. That’s the world’s greatest lie”

We’re told that fate and luck governs our lives. We’re told we can’t help what’s happening to us and ‘everything happens for a reason.’

However, most often than not, we can change. We can alter our lives and regain our personal freedom. We possess the ability to decide where our passion lies and which road to walk.

Quotes can challenge us.

They are able to test our strength and willpower. They are able push us to our limits. All the personal growth we’ve experienced as a human being has been a result of a real challenge.

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”

Before, 2HelpfulGuys, we’ve failed at everything. We started organizations that tanked and projects that flopped. But that fear of failure never stopped us.

Each time we failed, we’d try something else. Everyone possesses the power of perseverance – the power to push forward to the very end despite failure.

Failure is necessary.

But the fear of failure prevents us from ever starting. We foresee the future and all the horrible things before we even take our first step. We get scared and run away.

In achieving our dreams, we must overcome the fear of failure. We possess the power to look beyond failure and persevere.

It is these moments that our concentration was galvanized, our best efforts called upon, and our strength, will and courage tested.

Quotes have the ability to impact our lives. We read quotes every single day for an inspirational recharge or a motivational boost. We can place ourselves in the author’s mindset and experience their feelings.

When we allow the quote to set within us, it changes the way we perceive life. We’re more open, engaged, present and fulfilled.

I wonder if our work has impacted anyone out there yet. I doubt it. But maybe someday, someone will read something we write, and it will resonate with them as much as The Alchemist has resonated with me.

Reading this novel has made me want to delve into other fictitious works. So if anyone has any recommendations, feel free to leave a comment.

As always, my beautiful readers,

Be bold, be free and love on.

1 Effortless Tip That Will Change Your Life

There is one simple action that can instantly transform your life and the lives of the people around you. It has the power to invigorate, inspire, and include.

It’s something that costs nothing and but its’ intrinsic value is incomparable.

But most people forget about it. Or stop doing it. Or pick the negative alternative. I believe that many personal problems can be solved using this one simple action.

The simple technique isn’t hidden in Pandora’s box or shrouded in clouded mystery. It has always been there, available to you, waiting for the right moment to shine.

So what is it, you ask? I hope you’ve figured it out by now and doing it as you read this.

Of course! Eureka! The simple technique is a:

Smile.

I spend my weekday mornings commuting to school on the bus, surrounded by so many scowling faces. It seems like we’ve forgotten how to smile.

We’ve forgotten how to be happy. Forgotten how to feel happiness. Forgotten how to show happiness.

When we were children, we never needed a reason to smile. It was automatic, almost instinctual. Literally anything made us smile and it was suspended there. We giggled and played, which made us giggle more. It was an endless cycle.

But somewhere along the lines, we grew up. We forgot how to keep a suspended smile. And when it did rear its’ beautiful head, it quickly disappeared.

But your smile is eager! Your smile wants to be shown to the world. It craves your attention. It has profound effects on you and everyone else around you.

To Invigorate.

When someone smiles at you, you can’t help by smile back. Your response is automatic. It is genuine and it is heartfelt.

For a brief moment in time, you share something with another and you feel invigorated. You are happier, more satisfied, and more loved.

I invite you to be the person that invigorates. Be the first to make someone feel happier, satisfied and loved. Aim to invigorate someone’s life.

You’ll change their lives and, in turn, change yours.

To Inspire.

When someone smiles at you, you get this ‘aha’ moment. Suddenly everything appears clearly, more distinct.

Your body and mind are inspired to feel happier. When you are inspired, life seems easier. You’re suspended on top of the world. Nothing seems to break you.

I invite you to be the person that inspires. Be the first to make someone feel like they are on top of the world. Give someone the ability to be formidable in the face of adversity.

You’ll change their lives and, in turn, change yours.

To Include.

When someone smiles at you, inside your own body there is a mix of incredibly complex chemicals. I don’t know the science, but you share an instant connection with that person. You instantly like that person.

That connection makes you want know that person. You want that person in your circle because he/she sheds positive light. That simple smile includes you into their world and shares their love.

I invite you to be the person that includes. Be the first to make someone feel like they are part of your life. Share your positive light and love.

You’ll change their lives and, in turn, change yours.

What if I can’t smile?

Force yourself to smile. Force yourself to hum a tune. Act as if you were already happy, and that will trick your brain into being happy.

“Action seems to follow feeling, but really action and feeling go together; and by regulating the action, which is under more direct control of the will, we can directly regulate the feeling, which is not.” – William James, Psychologist

Now is the time to smile. If you can’t, now is the time to hum or sing or dance. It is time to forget everything and simply smile.

So I invite you now to share a simple smile with me? Share a simple smile with a loved one? With a stranger? With a co-worker?

There are countless opportunities to smile and people to direct it to. Start today. You’ll change their lives and, in turn, change yours.

Be bold, be free, and love on.

4 Steps For A Successful ‘New Year, New Me’ Mentality

Tomorrow is my birthday. I’ll be hitting twenty-four. Coincidentally, it’s also the New-Year. So today, I will be reflecting on my year of life. It has been an interesting journey.

A year ago, I didn’t have anything. This blog, the YouTube channel, all the lovely readers, the confidence, the support and love, were all missing from my life. I was a wandering soul, trying to figure out my purpose.

My conscious goal was to figure out my life and in March 2014, I found solace in helping people. With each article, I felt a sense of satisfaction. My purpose became clearer, more refined.

Starting a New Year is interesting for many reasons. Among the sea of ‘New Year, New Me’ people there are a few that prosper. My goal is to increase that few from a hypothetical 10 out of 100, to a hypothetical 90 out of 100. Reaching everyone is foolhardy, but I can definitely increase that number a little bit.

Here’s what I’m going to do tomorrow.

Scratch that. I’m starting today.

1) A New Habit

Aside from the core habits – sleep, diet and exercise – there are many others you can implement. I’m solidifying an older routine into my daily practice: 10-minute meditations.

We’ve talked about meditations in the past, but humor me for a second. Your brain is the central entity responsible for all your thoughts, feelings and actions. It is responsible for everything; consciously and unconsciously in your body, yet we allow no rest.

When was the last time you did nothing – no thinking, worrying, fiddling? Your answer, like mine, is probably never. You have 10 minutes a day to dedicate to nothing.

Set a timer and focus on breathing. The hardest thing isn’t finding the time, but sitting still for 10 long minutes. It will be hard, but the more you do, the more benefits you reap and the practice becomes easier.

2) Determining Your Landmarks

I’m already one semester closer to graduating. What seemed like an eternity in September has passed and April is on the horizon. Time has a way of rapidly passing if you don’t monitor it.

Today, consciously think about where you want to be in 1 month, 3 months, 6 months and 1 year. How do you want to feel physically, mentally, spiritually, and emotionally at those landmarks?

Decide the method you’re going to implement to feel that particular way. Write them down; post them somewhere visible, somewhere significant to you, as a reminder.

3) Live Fully Through Your Landmarks

Aim to improve insignificantly each day with your landmarks in the forefront of my mind. Improving yourself by 1% each day is insignificant, but that’s all you need.

Don’t try and climb your mountains everyday. Instead, take three steps and rest. At the end of year, you’ve improved 365% and you’re at the top of the mountain, well rested, stress free, and happy.

4) Reevaluate

Businesses release their results quarterly to show their progress, strengths and weaknesses and general hiccups. Become a major business. Every three months, revaluate your life.

The questions I ask myself:

• Have I been living congruently through my landmarks?
• Am I fulfilled with all aspects of my life? If yes, continue on your path. If no:
• What can I do to reevaluate and reinvigorate to achieve my next landmark?

Take time each quarter to assess your progress, your strengths and weaknesses and your hiccups. “Where am I faltering? Where can I improve? What is the biggest thing holding me back from achieving my goals?” are all questions you can ask yourself multiple times a year.

This year, like last year, will be tremendously different, if I allow it to be. If I implement this four-step method, I know I won’t be one of the ‘new year, new me’ people that fail and ponder what went wrong at the end of 2015. I hope you implement these methods and questions. If you do, 2015 will be your year.

Be bold, be free, and love on.