Ordinary Radical Life

Amazon Kindle!

Last month I had my birthday. Before my birthday my mom asked me what I wanted. She said she would go out and buy me some nice clothes. After all, the only time I get new clothes is when my mom or my wife happen to buy them for me. But this year was different. I wanted an Amazon Kindle. This is Amazon's newest electronic reader. When I first heard about this new gadget coming on the market I couldn't wait. I no longer would have to wait for the UPS man (or woman) to deliver my Amazon books. I could instantly download them in the blink of an eye. I thought my mother would freak out at the $400 price tag. But I influenced her telling her that I could recoup some of that money by the lower cost of books. Any type of sales pitch I could toss out in order to win her over. Well it worked. For over a month now I have been using my Kindle and I absolutely love it. I am hooked. My only major disappointment is that not every book in the world is out there yet, but I suspect it will be some day. For a version 1.0 product I think they have done a very good job. It is obvious that others like the Kindle as well as seeing the huge backlog that Amazon has waiting to manufacture and ship these units. If you are a book lover and you have $400 or a mother who has $400 then you should certainly consider the Kindle.

Steve Leveen and The Well Read Life

As an avid reader and lover of books, one of my favorite catalogs and places to browse on the web is Levenger's. http://www.levenger.com If you are a book lover or know somebody who is, then you have to check this out.

Last year I picked up a book by the creator and owner of Levenger, Steve Leveen. I recently got an email stating that he has jumped into the world of blogging as well. You can find his site at http://wellreadlife.typepad.com/. I plan on adding this to my favorites and checking back with Steve often. If you like books then you should add it to your favorites.

Reading the Bible

One of my new year's resolutions is to read the Bible. I have often had this goal and it never failed that about March or April things would get busy and I would miss a few days of reading and then all of a sudden I found that I had lost my motivation. Let's be real, the bible is a big book with lots of great information, but you can't exactly sit down and read it like every other book in the world. So for the new year I ordered Charles Stanley's Life Principles Daily Bible. This Bible breaks down reading into short 15 minute readings for every day of the year. I want to develop this habit and others for the new year. I hope that this year I will have the ability to make it happen. After all, 15 minutes a day with the best selling book of all time will undoubtedly lead to a more ordinary radical life!

Good Luck...

I watched a great message from Dr. Schuller on the Hour of Power. His message was both positive and powerful. A verse he referenced in the message was Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those who love God and keep His commandments."

He highlighted five areas relating to how good luck happens:

(1) God blesses us without consulting us first
(2) God blesses us without our approval
(3) God blesses us where we need it the most
(4) God blesses us by not giving us what we want, but what we need
(5) God blesses us where we need it most when the timing is right

I think of my life and I see how much of this is true. A good message and one we should always keep in mind.

Remembering Names

This last weekend I had the opportunity to attend my wife's company Christmas party. I always find it a challenge to remember an entire room of new faces and names. It reminded me of the quote which states that "The secret of a good memory is attention, and attention to a subject depends upon our interest in it. We rarely forget that which has made a deep impression on our minds." How important that we keep this in mind while meeting new people.

Here are some specific steps to helping us remember people's names.

1. Listen and pay attention to the name. MOST IMPORTANT!
2. Repeat immediately, "It is a pleasure to meet you _____."
3. Repeat often.
4. End the conversation with their name.
5. Comment on and/or ask questions about the name.
6. Review. Review their name and face in your mind several times over the next 24 hours.

Having these ideas in my mind as I walk into a new situation certainly helps me with remembering new faces and names. I sometimes fail, but I certainly give it my best shot.

Two Weeks to a Breakthrough

Yesterday I started reading a book by Lisa Haneberg, "Two Weeks to a Breakthrough". This book was recommended to me by Dwayne Melancon over at Genuine Curiosity. I have only read the first chapter and I can tell that I am going to enjoy this book. The part I liked the most and what thoroughly motivated me in the book was her discussion about "states of mind" including wonder, inquiry, abundance, exuberance, and courage. In the past I have used the state of mind of "gratitude" to help me snap out of states of depression. I now feel like I have an additional five tools to help me change my thought process. By being alert and aware of negative thoughts developing in my head, I can counter them by focussing on these areas that Lisa has brought to my attention. The other part of her books talks about how small things can lead to big changes. That is a fundamental concept of this blog and one that I constantly think about. I am eager to read more about what she has to say in that area. I am sure you will be able to find more about how this book is changing my life in the next few weeks. I hope to share these ideas and thoughts with you here.

Inspiration from Henry Ford

1. Success is age independent.
2. Success is not formal education.
3. Success is fueled by failure.
4. Success is problem solving.
5. Success is overcoming competition.
6. Success is doing what you feel in your gut is right, despite public opinion.
7. Success is seeking out those who can help you with your goals.

Who in life do you want to benefit?

Who in life do you want to benefit? What people or groups of people you want to spend your life benefiting? Obviously, my first answer is my family. My family is and will always be my first priority and I want them to be safe, secure, and happy. This is a difficult concept for me though, because I don't think you can "make" others happy. I think they have to find happiness themselves. I think we get caught in that vicious cycle sometimes of measuring our happiness based upon what and how others in our life are. I think if you define success as creating happiness for others then you will never be successful. I think that is why studying success is important.

So when I think about who I want to benefit and those reasons they include.

1. My desire is to spend time with my family so that I can strengthen our family bond.
2. I want to leave a legacy of success and security for my daughter.
3. I want to be the best parent in the world.
4. I would like to be the best spouse I can be

These are lofty goals and ambitions and ones that I often fail at, but hopefully I find more success than failure.

Using Humor

There is no doubt that humor plays a huge role in my life, especially at work. One of the greatest books I have ever read about having fun at work is "Fish". I think the principles embeded in this book are fundamental to having a life full of joy and happiness. I still remember watching the video of the Fish people in Seattle throwing big pieces of fish around in front of the customer. Now how great would that be! This is one area I feel like I have down quite well. You can see it in the emails I send out at work. I think the only challenge is when I don't feel very good about other areas in my life, I tend to not show the humor side of my personality. I sure miss it when it is not there.

Being Grateful for the Gift of Today

I subscribe to Joel Osteen's email. Today he had a wonderful message to remember especially on Thanksgiving Day. I have always noticed that when I feel my heart and mind with gratitude, life just seems better in so many ways. Joel states in his email, "When you learn how to remain grateful every day you are developing a habit of happiness in your life. There is no such thing as an ordinary day. Every one of your days is a gift from God that is unique and irreplaceable. When you train your mind to see the good and discipline yourself to focus on the positive you'll be happier, rise higher, and live the life of victory that God has in store for you." If we can fill our children's mind with gratitude as well rather than jealousy, think how the world would change.