Does your Neighbor Qualify?

We all have neighbors. They may live down the street, across the hall, across the fence, down the path or up the hill.

Near or far, we all have neighbors.

What I wanted to talk to you about today is this. If you have a life goal.... are you protecting what you are trying to do from the prying eyes and ears of unqualified neighbors? Do you feel the need to share with all your neighbors all current updates on your steps to accomplish your goals? Why?
Why do you feel obligated to tell folks anything that does not concern them?

Just because someone happens to live near you, does not mean that they are entitled to access a live stream of your life. You are in charge of your life. Your goals are set by you. You decide who has or gains access to your life.

 I hope that you test people before you give them the privilege of access. People need to qualify for your friendship. Being discerning about who you permit into your confidence is going to help you build a healthy fence around your life. Those kind of fences are necessary.....they keep the good in....and the bad out.

Please be careful and guard your heart, your ears, your mind....and yes, your mouth from those who do not qualify for access to your life.

I am not suggesting in any way, that you should be rude or unkind to your neighbors. No .
In fact, the bible advises us to live peacefully with our neighbors because they live near us.

But living peacefully with your neighbors does not mean you need to give them a key to your home or to your life. Protect your privacy. Protect your goals.

There may be seasons of life during which you need to withdraw from certain social circles, so that you can accomplish your self-set life goals. Don't lose your focus for any reason. If folks think you are a snob because of your extreme focus.....who cares? Focus is not something that you can afford to let go of.

You will only retain your focus if you protect your life from those who do not qualify to share it.

Peace out,
Carla


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Harnessing your Atmospheric Memory

When I was probably 12 years old or somewhere around that age, I recall spending a youthful moment skipping rope in my driveway with a friend. i remember what I was wearing. I remember the feeling of the weather and the sound that the skipping rope made when it hit the driveway.

It's amazing the memory power that we humans have.
Sometimes we need to harness that innate memory power and put it to work to support our life goals.

For example, let's say you have a goal to accomplish in the field of science and it would really help you to be able to recall from memory the entire periodic table of the elements , complete with the atomic number, mass etc.  Well, you could find an audio recording of the periodic table somewhere online or perhaps create your own manual recording on your smart phone of the facts and figures that you are trying to commit to memory.

Then what you do, is put that audio recording onto a loop and listen to it, as background sound throughout your day whenever possible. With today's wireless headphones, it is virtually limitless as to when and where you can listen to audio recordings. By simple "mindless" repetition of the data you want to import into your brain, you are taking full advantage of  your atomospheric memory. You will learn without any effort on your part, other than the effort of the decision it takes to press "play" on your audio device. Yes, it may also take some time to find the right recording of the data that you are trying to impart to your brain, but that is part of the cool challenge. Hack your brain.....take that part  of you which doesn't want to learn anything new, and set it on "auto pilot mode' through simple auditory repetition. Try it and  see how well it works for you.

With this method, you will commit to memory large sums of knowledge. This is one way to overcome your "monkey brain" as Tim Ferriss calls it.
May God bless your life goals, and empower you to maximize your potential to learn in this season of your life, \Peace out,
Carla


PS. By the way, Youtube also has a function through which you can easily set a video onto a loop, so that you can listen over and over to the same video through your day. Apparently this tool doesn't work on a smart phone, but it does work on a laptop or PC. Simply go to the video that you want to set on a loop, and skip through any ads that appear...and then simply right click on your mouse and a menu that contains a few choices will appear on your screen. "Loop" will be in the drop down list. Simply click on it and voila, your video is now on a loop.


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The Invention Inspired by my late Mom

My late mother used to have  a certain style of magnetic soap holders hanging in the family bathroom. I am pretty sure that she bought them in Europe. Basically, Mom's version consisted of a metal prongy thing to insert into your fave bar of bath soap, which you could then hang from a magnet that was attached via a plastic holder onto the shower wall.

So, I thought, why don't I try to make one myself? So, with only a magnet and some Gorilla brand construction adhesive and a bottle cap squished into a bar of bath soap.....Voila! I created a DIY copy of what my mom used to be able to buy somewhere across the pond.

This is a very inexpensive home project you can make yourself. The only thing, is that you want to be sure that the bottle cap does not wind up in the hands or mouths of children, as it is a choking and/or scratching hazard.


All you need is the following list of simple items and soon you will be able to hang your soap up and away from the sink, so that it can dry properly between uses, instead of melting in a messy glop on your counter top or sink rim.
Items:

• magnet from the hardware store (note: the magnet doesn't need to be really strong, as it will only be holding up a bar of soap, so stick with smaller size rectangular magnets that are no more than 1-2 inches long and no more than 1 inch wide)
• metal bottle cap from your fave glass bottle.....squish the bottle cap firmly into the topside of your fave bar of soap
• some kind of adhesive that you can use to glue your magnet to the underside of a cabinet.

Note the reason why the bottle cap has green painters tape on it....is because I don't yet fully grasp copyright law when it comes to displaying branded company logos.  Note that when you actually start to hang up your soap onto the magnet, there shouldn't be anything obstructing the contact between the metal bottle cap and your magnet. Therefore, the painter's tape is coming off as soon as this blog post is complete. I hope you get a kick out of  making this DIY gadget as much as I did.\Peace out,\
Carla.

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Cut New Trails or Follow Old Paths?

I've always loved the pioneer spirit....to be the first person to do something....or the first to be something new.

However, I have begun to notice that cutting new trails is a high octane energy spending adventure.

If you want to take it easy......don't become a trail blazer. It isn't safe. It isn't predictable.

Trail blazers makes more mistakes....why? Because it's never been done before. Sometimes pioneers get it really wrong....like "mind-blowingly" wrong. But eventually....if the pioneer survives the falls and keeps getting up again and pushing through......he or she can create a miracle. This miracle is a spectacular feat of the human will and spirit and mind. Even when folks do not have the same biblical beliefs that I hold dear, I am always in awe of fresh minded bootstrappers who make a new way of being and livelihood.

Trail blazers have a huge appetite for adventure. This is true.

Yes, tis true....I do like to talk smack about the "status quo"....there is something safe and welcoming about just doing what everyone else is doing. It takes less energy to just be a horse on a path with a rope tied around your neck. Just follow the path.....walk when you're told to walk and stop and go home when you're told to go home. Not much decision making when you are a tied up horse on a very worn path.

When you are cutting a new trail ....you find that you have a gazillion decisions to make every day. Every decision can either bless your new trail, or put another obstacle in your way.

How do you feel about the career path you are on? Do you feel content to follow the pack, pay the bills and go home? Or are you craving something more challenging, unpredictable and potentially a million times more rewarding? Are you willing to fall on your face when you fail....and get up and try again tomorrow?

Does your love for adventure justify your willingness to suffer the unpredictable nature of cutting a new trail?

All things considered....everyone is different. Each of us must choose their path....with prayer and wisdom. There is no right answer or wrong answer. I would simply say that whichever path you choose you must stick to it, with decisiveness...... and wholeheartedly.

Peace out.

Carla




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What Value are your Ears?

Your ears are a gateway through which you are given feedback about your world. You get feedback almost non-stop from a billion different sources every day.

But what I wanted to mention to you today is about the kind of sounds that you have control over.

So many of us human beings spend an incredibly huge amount of time in front of tv's or other media streaming devices. Are you consciously choosing what u are watching? Why are you letting some media corporation decide what is going to enter your ear gate? Don't you know how very valuable your ear gate is?

If you want to be mediocre, then just keep floating along with what everyone else is listening to and watching. You don't want to accomplish anything significant now do you?

But, hey.... maybe you do want to accomplish something fresh and new. Maybe you have a competitive spirit and you want to win. Nothing wrong with good competition. Without competition, most of us would lapse into the status quo.

Ok, so you decide you don't want to become an average Jane or Joe Blow.
Then, it's going to become significantly crucial for you to gather sources of motivation and knowledge specific to your goals to feed into your ear gate.

Yes, you can control what you listen to. Your car commute time or your train ride or your bus ride or  sauntering walks can become a hallowed hall of profound self led education.

What I am talking about is about TAKING CONTROL of what you are listening to throughout your day. I am talking about hunting down some "high octane" audio books to listen to through your day.

You  can download them to your smart phone or listen to them on an old fashioned CD player. I am talking about getting downright aggressive about finding good  powerful stuff that is geared towards your goals. Non-fiction audio books. Real paper books. Valuable media that is going to help you move forward intelligently towards your written and spoken goals. Some of it you may find for free online or at your local college or public library. Some of it, you may have to pay some good money for. But every single time I have spent good money on a high quality audio book or paper book, it has always MORE than paid me back with good advice and information.  High quality media is worth every single penny!

By the way....you are reading out your goals for this year aren't you? If you don't have a goal....you aren't likely to move toward anything of substance.

Successful people make a point out of seeking out high value resources with which to feed their decisions. Quality resources produce higher quality decisions.

Well, that's all for now. You are powerful. You are so intelligent. Stay focused on your goals and feed them with the right resources. It isn't really possible to turn your ears off....so you might as well take advantage of your own powerful ear gate and steer the good stuff toward it.....every day....all day....all year.

Peace out,
Carla






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Dear Mr. Napoleon Hill

Dear Mr. Napoleon Hill,

Hello Sir,

Yes, yes,, i do know that you are not in this earthly realm any longer. But I have learned about the power of gratitude and i thought it would be proper to write you a short note. Perhaps the angels can show you a copy of it?

Well, as I said, i need to keep this short. But  i wanted just to say thank you for sharing what you learned from the best of the best who were living in your lifetime. Thank you for patiently pondering their words and organizing that knowledge into books that we could consume. You took the time to write these ideas in  a style which is accessible even to those of us, and yes us women included, who
are not necessarily graduates with Master's degrees.

I know that your work is still being talked about and studied by thousands of motivational speakers and self help coaches around the globe. They are still inspired by your words and your work.

I wonder, dear Mr. Hill, while you were alive, if you ever had a vision of how many human lives you would impact with the simple  words your wrote? I dare say ....i don't think there are many truly successful billionaires alive today who have not read your words. Many of them have discussed your your concepts with their colleagues and their own children and grandchildren.

Your legendary book "Think and Grow Rich" is still being sent as a cherished gift to many human beings. So many parts of that book, still ring true in today's quickly changing economy. Cultural norms flex and change, but good solid ideas have staying power through multiple generations.

Well, that's all for now. Thank you from this chubby mom of four, who has conquered so many mountains.....while being inspired by your words.

Peace,
Carla.



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The Right Friends

I quote Warren Buffett when he says ""It's Enormously Important that you Have the Right Friends"....


Yes, I am middle aged now. One would think that by this age, i would have figured this whole thing out.....but alas I find myself frequently at the same crossroads.

What do you do when someone you have known for so many years turns out not to respect who you have chosen to be? You have to walk away....slowly. Somehow figure out how to back away slowly from that person, so that you can continue towards your goals. Because at the end of the day....my goals matter more to me and my family, than my friendship with that particular human being. It isn't that I am going to cut the friendship completely off, but that I will drastically reduce the amount of access this person has to my life.

We choose which friendships to feed and which ones to starve. The good ones you feed,....the bad friendships you starve by ignoring.. You try your best to do this the Canadian way....by not getting confrontational about the dying of the friendship. You just permit the friendship to slowly lose steam.

One would also think that it gets easier to let go of people as you get older....but it doesn't. I find that I love sticking to the same people, in  much the same way that I still pretty frequently choose the same brand of dishwashing liquid that i've used for decades. I am a creature of habit....and fiercely loyal.

But when you work this long and hard to gain the territory to actually begin to see some good fruit from the goal setting you've done over the past few years, you become more adamant than ever to protect that personal progress.

I won't allow anyone to undermine my speed and progress toward the fulfillment of any of my goals.

Goals are everything you think they can be. Life transforming, ...motivating, challenging, compelling, taunting, and the best ride i've been on ......ever.


Would you let go of a "problem friendship" to stay on track to accomplish your goals?

Do share.....
Peace out,
Carla.





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