10 Ways to Stop Procrastinating Now!

There are tons of reasons we procrastinate in our lives. Rarely are they ever good reasons. If you don’t find ways to stop procrastinating you are going to lose precious time and energy that can be used to get one step closer to your dreams.

It happens to the best of us. No matter how far in advance that I know about a trip, I will inevitably be packing 5 minutes before we have to leave. It seems as though I am incapable of packing ahead of time. I hate every second of it, but it happens every time. I put it off and put it off and then I’m rushing around scrambling.

If it wasn’t for my wonderful fiance gathering together my clothes, I would have no shot!

Sound familiar? Do you put things off when you know you need to get it done? Do you go through the cycle? You know you have to have something done. You have plenty of time to accomplish this task, yet you put it off to do something else. You get down to the last minute and barely finish, and get extremely upset with yourself that you didn’t get it done earlier. You vow to be better about it next time.

Next time is here…and your putting it off again.

You must break the cycle! To be successful, you need to be able to focus on the little actions that will move you closer to accomplishing your goals. Procrastination is something you do to yourself. It is a mental wall that can be knocked down if you want it badly enough. Imagine how good you will feel when you break down this wall!

Here are 10 tips to help you with the demolition:

1. Set a deadline - No not the time it has to be done. Set an absolute deadline that is some time before the actual due date. Stop at nothing to reach this deadline. Eventually it will become a habit to get things done early.

2. Get some accountability - Talk to someone you trust, and tell them about the task. Explain to them that you are trying to tear down this wall and that you need their help. Have them make sure they stay on you to get it done and not stop until it is finished.

3. Break it down - Break down the task in to bite size pieces. Then start mowing through them one by one. When you have a small tasks to accomplish, the big picture doesn’t seem all that daunting and you can knock it out easier.

4. Make a list - I love lists! I make a list for just about everything I need to do. It gives me comfort. And I feel a great sense of accomplishment to see that list as it gets smaller and smaller throughout the day!

5. Reward yourself - Set up an award system. Every time you get something knocked off the list early, reward yourself. Sometimes all we need is a little motivation.

6. Do the easy ones first - Some people may disagree with me here. They say to do the longest or the hardest thing first. I think we self-motivate when we have little victories. Get a few easy ones under your belt and build some momentum!

7. Just get started - This is sometimes the hardest part. Just beginning. It’s simple, just get started. Do something, anything and you will soon find yourself rolling along. Action breeds more action!

8. Organize your life – When everything around you is a mess, you won’t want to do anything. When you are organized, you get a natural energy that just comes with everything being in its place. When the tools you need to accomplish something are where they should be, its hard not to just finish it and move on.

9, Find your WHY - Know why you are doing this task. Realize the benefits to getting it done. Understand the consequences if you don’t. A compelling reason, can solve many problems.

10. Decide to change - You can think you will follow all these tips as much as you want, but until you commit to changing, you never will. Commit to changing your life and you will. Stop at nothing!

You can beat procrastination. But you have to want to change, it won’t happen by itself. If you are serious about reaching your goals and accomplishing everything you set out to do in your life, you have to be willing to change. It’s the first step, and arguably the most important. Get started now, there is no time to waste!

You may like this article on action:  “I Will Act  Now”

Do you have any tips you can add to the list? Leave a message in the comment section – I’d love to hear from you!

How to Start Investing Now!

Many people never start investing because they just don’t know how.  It’s the not knowing that scares people in to submission.  But it doesn’t have to be scary, and overcoming this fear can change your life.

There is tons of information out there about investing, and it can seem daunting at first.  But once you know the basics, you can jump right in head first!  You can begin investing for your future right now, just start slow and take baby steps.

…But first, pump the brakes!

You need to be investing for your future.  That is a fact. But you need to make sure your ducks are lined up before you get started.   So let’s first take a quick look at where you stand today.

Do you have mountains of credit card debt?  Are the interest rates over 10%?  If they are we need to take a step back and get you out of that situation.  Remember the idea here is get your money growing for you.  So, if you are going to invest $100 per month and hope for the historical average of 10% return, but you have $30,000 in credit card debt at 27% interest, you are going to get nowhere fast.

So here are a few things you need to have done before you get started:

• You are maxing out your 401k, if your employer offers one (come on guys, it’s free money!)

• You have your credit card debt down to a manageable level

• You have some money set aside in case of an emergency (preferably 3-6 months)

If you meet these criteria, then you can keep skipping down the yellow brick road!  Otherwise, get focused and knock these things out, you’ll be happy that you did!

…Check under the couch!

Ok, so now we know we are in good shape, we need to scrape some money together to invest.  You don’t have to have much! When I got started, I had $500 bucks.  That’s all it takes.  You could theoretically start with less but it may be a better idea to save up to that amount or more in a higher interest savings account.

Time to do some planning…

Before you start buying shares of Google, you need to do some planning.  What is this for?  Are you investing to pay for college?  Is it for retirement?  How much time do you have before you need it?

You need to be very specific as far as what you are trying to accomplish here.  You don’t want to be buying stocks all willy nilly. Having a good indication of what you are trying to accomplish will help you determine how you need to get there.   So take the time, it’s very important to your success.

Well where do I put it?

There is one main thing you have to remember here.  Diversification is king. Spread it around a little bit.  Don’t put all your Dow Jones eggs in one basket so to speak.

You want to make sure if you lose some money in one area you have the potential to balance out with an increase in another area.   So if you are jumping in to stocks and mutual funds, make sure you buy some bonds too, and vice versa.  A lot of this will be determined by what your plan is for the money.

The longer time frame you have before you need the money, the riskier you can play because you have the time to make up any potential losses.  Make sure you are investing in accordance with your risk profile.

My recommendation…

Buy index funds.  That seems pretty simple.  Index funds are a mutual fund of sorts that follows the stock indexes.  So if you want the same return as the Dow Jones, you buy the Dow Jones index fund and it will be representative of the entire basket of companies that are traded there.

This takes the guess work out of investing. This goes back to what I said about diversification.  When you get in to a fund, you are buying a basket of stocks.  You have built in diversification right there.

This is a good way to get started in investing.  It gives you some returns, with a little bit less risk, and while you have the free time you can be doing more research on investing.

Research, Research, Research…

This article is a very high level look at investing.  If you really want to get in to investing wisely, you need to do your research.  There is a ton of information out there that can help you make good choices and better plans.  You have to be careful out there because it really isn’t a game.  You can lose all of your money. I’ve seen it happen.  So start with the basics and study hard on the rest and you can be very successful in  investing.

You can send your kids to college…and get that house on the beach you always wanted to retire in.  Just remember, study now…and build sand castles later…

Do you have any advice you can add to this?  Have any questions I can help you with?  Jump right in to the conversation in the comments section!

I just got done reading The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino and something stuck out to me.  It is the wisdom of the scrolls.  If you haven’t read this book, you need to read it now!  It is a life changing book with a road map to success written within its pages.  If you want success, you have to act!

I read this book at least once or twice a year.  It is that powerful.  Here is the exerpt that struck me.  It’s a mantra that I will now read daily to keep it fresh in my mind.  Take a look…

“My dreams are worthless, my plans are dust, my goals are impossible.  All are of no value unless they are followed by action.”

I will act now.

Never has there been a map, however carefully executed to detail and scale, which carried its owner over even 1 inch of ground.  Never has there been a parchment of law, however fair, which prevented one crime.  Never has there been a scroll, even such as the one I hold, which earned so much as a penny, or produced a single word of acclamation.  Action alone is the tinder which ignites the map, the parchment, this scroll, my dreams, my plans, my goals, into a living force.  Action is the food and drink which will nourish my success.

I will act now.

My procrastination which has held me back was born of fear, and now I recognize this secret mined from the depths of all courageous hearts.  Now I know that, to conquer fear, I must always act without hesitation, and the flutters in my heart will vanish.  Now I know that action reduces the lion of terror to an ant of equanimity.

I will act now.

Only action determines my value in the marketplace, and to multiply my value I will multiply my actions.  I will walk where the failure fears to walk.   I will work when the failure seeks to rest.  I will talk when the failure remains silent.  I will call on 10 who can buy my goods, while failure makes grand plans to call on one.  I will say it is done before the failure says it is too late.

I will act now.

For now is all I have.  Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labor of the lazy.  I am not lazy.  Tomorrow is the day when the evil become good.  I am not evil.  Tomorrow is the day when the weak become strong.  I am not weak.  Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed.  I am not a failure.

I will act now.

When the lion is hungry, he eats.  When the eagle has thirst, he drinks.  Lest they act, both will perish.  I hunger for success.  I thirst for happiness and peace of mind.  Lest I act, I will perish in a life of failure, misery and sleepless nights.  I will command, and I will obey my own command.

I will act now.

Success will not wait.  If I delay, she will become betrothed to another and lost to me forever.

This is the time.  This is the place.  I am the man.

I will act now.

Your homework now is to read this every morning and every night for 30 days.  Let it sink in.  Think about it.  Live it.  Make these words the default philosophy in your mind.

You won’t be sorry that you did.  If you don’t have a copy of this book you can get one here: The Greatest Salesman in the World.

Let me know what you think!

21 Ways to Have Fun for Free!

In response to my post from yesterday, I got a comment from Steve that said, “Dude, you forgot #8, cut out all the fun!” While I don’t agree with Steve that those 7 ideas are cutting out all of the fun from your life in order to save money, I think this is a great opportunity to list 21 ways you can have tons o’ fun without spending a dime!

Saving money doesn’t have to be a chore.  You shouldn’t have to hate your life because you are trying to be frugal.  Just get a little creative.

Use your imagination!

When you were a kid, you didn’t have any money to spend but you had fun all day long!  What did you do then?  Why not now?  Don’t underestimate the amount of fun you can have by just acting like a kid again.

So here they are:

1. Build a bonfire

2. Go camping

3. Grab some friends and play freeze tag (you know you want to!)

4. Have a picnic

5. Go kayaking

6. Read a good book

7. Build a fort

8.  Play beer pong

9. All night board games

10.  Go do karaoke

11. Start a blog

12. Blast your favorite cd

13. Take a ton of funny pictures

14. Go swimming

15. Create your own holiday and celebrate it

16. Go see Shakespeare in the park

17. Make someone a mixed cd

18. Watch funny movies

19. Play with your kids

20.  Go to the dog park

21. Explore downtown

Extra tip: Watch the Big Lebowski as many times in a row as possible!

See, saving money and having fun don’t have to compete, you can do them both at the same time!  Do you have any ideas to add to the list?  Let us know in the comments section!

7 Ways to Save a Little Money Now

I have been doing a little cost cutting on our wedding budget in the last couple of days. And I started thinking about ways to save a little money in our every day budget as well. So why not share the love and write a post on 7 ways to save a little extra money now.

The biggest problem we have had with our budget in the last two years has been food. We have these massive weekly grocery bills that you would think would be the majority of our food spending.

Unfortunately for us this is not the case.

We spend most of our discretionary income on eating out. We buy all this food to make at home, healthy wonderful food, and we let it sit in the fridge while we go out to dinner. I never realize how often this happens until the end of the month comes and I review the budget and bank statements.

It’s never pretty!

And every month we vow to stop eating out so much. But does it happen?

Of course not.

Over the years I have come across some great ideas to counter this and many other money wasting issues and here are a few:

1. Fund an eating out envelope –

This one is going to save us! Look at your budgeted amount for eating out. For us right now it is $100.00 a month. Go to the bank and pull out the $100.00 or whatever your budget is and put it in the envelope. Eat out as much as you like with the money in the envelope, but make a promise to yourselves that once it’s gone, it’s gone!

2. Back away from the Starbucks! -

This extremely difficult for me as well. I LOVE coffee! But if I went to Starbucks every morning I would be broke. I get my venti cinnamon dolce and a blueberry scone and it comes to around $7.00. If I did that every day for a year like I would like to I would be bleeding $2,555 per year. It’s good, but not that good! Make coffee at home or better yet, start to break the addiction to coffee.

3. Cut out the video rentals –

When we want to watch a movie, which is often, we usually just pay-per-view it on our cable box. This is the fastest, simplest way to get a movie going and chill out. But because that money gets charged to your cable bill, it doesn’t seem to hurt as much. $3.99 once a week for a year costs you $207 dollars a year. Watch a movie you already own or actually watch something on that HBO channel that you pay for and never watch. These things add up!

4. Quit the tobacco –

I will admit it, I am hooked on nicotine myself. I used to smoke and I chew tobacco now, and there is nothing harder that I have experienced then quitting. It is a disgusting habit and I am working hard to quit. But what is making it easier to make that decision is the cost of tobacco. I actually have it easy because smokers pay even more than me but I am paying $4.00 for a can every other day. Forgive me for being blunt but that is just stupid! When I quit for good, which will happen soon, I will save $832.00 a year! I can think of a lot of better things I would love to do with that money.

5. Buy generic –

Everything from prescription medication to toilet bowl cleaner has a generic version. Cold medicine to toilet paper, they all have a version that is exactly the same but steeply cheaper than the name brand. A lot of times they are made by the same company in the same manufacturing facility. But only one of those two products coming off the line has to pay for advertising costs. Any time you go shopping, check the generic version, if it is the same ingredients it’s the same product. Buy generic and save a boat load of money!

6. Check out your cell phone bill –

If you haven’t closely examined your cell phone bill, now is the time. I recently went through every charge on my cell phone bill and found several things that I didn’t need and several things I shouldn’t be paying for. It is very easy to get signed up for things that are already included in your package. For instance, I found that with my plan I had unlimited text messaging but that I somehow signed up for the $5.00 per month 500 text messages program. So for a year or two I had been paying for text messages that I already get for free. Awesome! So take a hard look at your statement and see what you can cut out. You might even be able to cut your minutes back and save even more.

7. Become a vegetarian –

You don’t have to be a vegetarian exclusively, although that will add years to your life, but a part time vegetarian. Cutting back on meat will save you bunches of money at the grocery store. Meat is typically one of the most expensive items in your shopping cart and you don’t need it. My mom serves meat with every meal, she never misses and her grocery bill is ridiculous, even though the food is breathtakingly good. This is a simple way to save a bunch of money right away.

These are just a few of many ideas you can use to save money now. We could all use a few extra dollars in our pocket right now. Get creative. Find any possible way you can to save a few bucks. I know sometimes it feels like saving a couple of dollars doesn’t really make that big of a difference, but it does. Those dollars add up fast.

Let me know some of your ideas, I need the help too. I’d love to hear from you!

5 Personal Development Blogs to Check Out!

It’s link day again and today I wanted to share a few personal development blogs that I have stumbled on.  I love finding new sites to read and learn from.  Some end up being great and some don’t, so I’ve started a list of sites that I think you may really enjoy and I will share some of them with you every Thursday and I hope you head over and check them out.

Today’s links are all sites related to personal development, something I value extremely high in my own life and I hope you do too.  Never stop trying to better yourself, even the greatest minds in the world have more to learn.  So without to much rambling, here are a few sites to check out…

1.) Change Your Thoughts -

This is a great personal development site!  I really appreciate that he invites guest posts which gives us a variety of voices to learn from. 

2.) Pick The Brain -

I particularly enjoyed the section on productivity…

3.) Positivity Blog -

I was very surprised by this one.  Make sure you check the archives…Tons of great info here!

4.) The Simple Dollar -

So in my day job I’m an accountant.  Not my dream but it pays the bills.  I can tell you with some authority that this is one of the best blogs I’ve seen out there on personal finance.  There are TONS of tips on this site that you should be following right now!  Get over there and make sure you are making the best financial decisions you can.

5.) Illuminated Mind -

 A lot of the posts on this blog will make you think.  What more can you ask for from a personal development blog? 

These sites come highly recommend from me.  I’m a new reader of these sites too, so tell me what you like and don’t like down in the comments section.  Either way I do hope you check some of these out and you find something valuable for yourself there!

4 Ways to Discover Your Life’s Purpose Now

Over the course of my young life, I’ve read a lot of books on finding your life’s purpose.  Constantly searching for the inspiration that will lead me to what I am meant to do.  Everyone always says, “just do what you love”, but I find that to be a little vague.  I love many things, but there isn’t a lot there that I would say is my purpose in life.   How do you find what you are meant to do?  What should I be doing with my life that won’t leave me empty and regretful at the end of my journey here?

Some people know from a very young age what they are meant to do.  They love it whole heartedly and are passionate about their careers.  I have had a different experience.

When I was younger, I had one passion and one passion only: sports.  My goal in life was to make my dad proud by all the athletic accomplishments I could rack up.  Unfortunately, after high school it became quite evident that I was not born with the gifts to take that love of the game any further.

So I did what I was supposed to do, I went to college.  I’m very grateful I was told that I had no choice but to go to college now.  I think it was worth every second.  However, I did not give much thought to what I wanted to do with my life while I was there.  I picked finance as a major and entered the business world.  While this path does have some updsides, I’ve gained knowledge that has proven to be very beneficial to me.  But I’m not passionate about it.  Honestly, I’m pretty miserable with my career.

The good news is, I’m willing to take a risk.  I’m willing to search out what my purpose is for this life, and then go and get it.  You should be willing to as well.  I know it’s scary sometimes, thinking about leaving your livelihood to try something else, but the pure happiness and joy you will attain by living your passion and following your dreams will leave you more grateful then you have ever been before.

Life is short!  Go for it!

But how do we figure out what our purpose is?  Here are 4 methods that you can try to discover your life’s purpose.  If you don’t get there from these, don’t give up.  Keep searching!

4 Methods for Discovering Your Life’s Purpose

1)      Write your life story as if it were perfect –

Take out a sheet of paper and start writing.  Write about every aspect of your life to be absolutely perfect in your eyes.  Your house, your job, your family, everything in a utopia that you construct.  What does it look like?  What do you do with your time?  What gives you that feeling of happiness?  What activities do you do?  When you have completed this exercise, and it may take many revisions and several days to complete, if you are completely happy with this life you created, start writing what you would need to do to create this life.  It may be difficult but it can be done!  Go get it!

2)      Thoughts Map –

Get a piece of paper and at the top write “This is my true purpose in life”.  Now comes the fun part.  Start making a list of the first things that come to your mind.  It can be a question, one word, happy, sad, or crazy.  Just keep writing.  Don’t stop, don’t think, just write.  Keep writing words one line at a time until something hits you.  Keep going until something just feels so right and you are filled with feelings you haven’t felt in a long time, if at all.  When that happens, you may have found your purpose.

3)      What makes you cry? –

That’s right you are making another list.  Get ready.  This time you are going to list every single thing that makes you cry.  They can be happy things that make you cry tears of joy, or terrible things that make you terribly sad.  These are going to be things you are passionate about one way or another.  Is there a problem in the world you could work to fix?  Is there something that makes you so happy you would want to experience it every single day?  These are excellent places to start!

4)      Post-It reduction –

Grab a partner for this one.  Start writing the things that are most important to you in the whole world on post it notes, one per post-it.  Keep going until you can’t think of anything else to put down.  Now line them all up and sit back for a second.  Here is where it gets interesting.  Pick one thing that you can do without, that you can give up and hand that post it to your buddy.  When you get down to only a few post-its you are getting close to your purpose in life.  When you get down to the one thing you can’t live without in this world you have found your purpose.  If what you are doing in your life is not directly related to this post-it note you are headed in the wrong direction.  Do this several times, you’ll find that your answers will change over time.

Try one or try them all, but keep trying!  Life is too short to live a life without passion.  To not discover what you were put on this earth to do seems like a waste of the gift.   Do you have any ideas for how to find your purpose in life?  Leave them in the comments section so we can all give it a shot!

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Be Grateful!

Be grateful.  If you have the ability to read, you have an amazing gift.  If you have a computer, an internet connection, freedom, you are blessed more than you can imagine.  Be grateful for what you have.

I have been spending a lot of time on what I don’t have lately.  As I start to find my purpose in life and pursue my goals and dreams, I am constantly thinking about all the things that I wish I had that would make my pursuits easier or more financially rewarding.

I’ve realized that if I spend my time dwelling on my shortcomings, and all the things I don’t have, I tend to simply get more of that in my life.  And those thoughts breed more thoughts just like it and soon enough I’m stuck. Riding this never ending wave of self doubt and envy.

But if you think about it, if you are grateful for what you have, and you spend time consciously focusing on the abundance in your life right now; there is no room for self doubt or envy.  If you are intensely focused on how grateful and blessed you are to have the car that you drive, it is impossible to be jealous of your neighbor’s car at the same time.

When you appreciate the things in your life for what they are, and you are truly happy that you have them you can eliminate all of the negative thoughts that keep you from the life that you desire, the life you deserve.

“You simply will not be the same person two months from now after consciously giving thanks each day for the abundance that exists in your life. And you will have set in motion an ancient spiritual law: the more you have and are grateful for, the more will be given you.”
~ Sarah Ban Breathnach ~

Here are 4 ways to include thankfulness in to your life:

1.)    Gratitude journal -

I am a HUGE Patrick Combs fan, and one of the very first things I learned from Patrick is to have a gratitude journal.   Every night before you go to sleep, open up your journal and write down every possible thing you can think of to be grateful for.   Then when you wake up, read back through it, realize all the great things you have in your life.  You will attract more wonderful things in to your life this way.  And in a year or two, you can look back through this journal and just smile.  You’ve had so much your whole life and you didn’t even realize it!

2.)    Picture wall –

Take pictures of all the things you are grateful for.  If you can’t take a picture of it, take a picture of something that reminds you of it.  Then create a big collage of all the things you are thankful for.  I hope you have a big wall to use because you will see it start to grow very quickly.  Make this something you see every single day.  Gazing at this wall can bring an amazing feeling of peace.

3.)    Write a thank you –

Don’t be greedy with all that gratitude you have.  Spread it around.  Write a nice handwritten thank you as often as possible.  It means so much more when you write it yourself too, although an email can be nice as well.  Do this as often as you can, the person who receives it will appreciate it more than you know.

4.)    Thankful Post-It Notes –

Carry some post-it notes around with you wherever you go.  Be aware of your thoughts.  When a thought of jealousy pops up, acknowledge it, and then pull out your post-its and write something you are thankful for on it.  Then stick it right in front of you.  This is a very easy way to break that cycle of wanting and then feeling bad about not having it.  When you appreciate what you have, you will attract more good things your way.

Having an attitude of gratitude will change your life.  It is something that is so simple, yet will make a difference almost immediately.  Take one of these 4 ideas and give it a shot, try it for a few weeks or a month and see what a difference it makes.

I hope if any of you out there have any ideas on how to develop a more thankful attitude you would visit the comment section and let us know.  There are so many different ways to be thankful every day, so let’s hear some more ideas.

My first set of links comes from a blog carnival called “Cultivate Posivity” and it features blog posts that are motivational and inspirational.  Here are 5 that I enjoyed and I think you might as well.

1.  How to Boost Your Self-Esteem (and Happiness!)  - Everyone seems to have an opinion on the importance of self-esteem. And yet, the general understanding of the meaning of self-esteem in the public arena is slippery at best.

2. Brian presents Think Positive & Fight Depression posted at How To Live a Longer Life, saying, “Thinking positive can can help improve mortality rates and assist in disease prevention and recovery but only in cases where the positive thinking is genuine. How then do you think genuinely positive thoughts when you’re fighting depression?”

3. Pay Yourself First - Anything you do requires energy. And everything you do creates energy. Anything. Even reading this article. You’re spending energy by focusing on the text, processing the info in your brain and matching it against what you already know. At the end of this process, you get some energy back in the form of new ideas, new approaches or possibly some answers. Hopefully, you’ll get some positive energy by reading this.

4.  Celes presents Cultivate Good Habits in 21 Days posted at Celestine, saying, “Have you ever thought of introducing a good habit into your life, but never got around to doing it? Perhaps you tried it for 1-2 days, but then lacked the discipline to continue afterward. This is a 21-day program which will help you cultivate good habits into your life

5.  Ali Hale presents Life: Choose Your Own Adventure posted at Aliventures, saying, “Do you feel like life’s boring, tedious or a struggle? Do you get stuck because you’re scared of making choices that might have negative consequences? Take back your life, and start choosing your own adventure!”

Listen!

Life is short.  It moves quickly.  During the course of our daily lives we are running around so much that there is so much that we miss.  I can go days going through the daily routine of work, exercise, bills, eat, work…and pretty soon I get to the end of the week and have no idea what happened.  How much am I missing?  You need to stop and look around once and awhile.  Listen to what’s going on around you.  If you do you might just hear something.

 Just recently I really started thinking about this.  Most of us were blessed with 6 senses at our disposal.  While we are constantly using them, we are not constantly aware of what those senses are telling us. 

 I have been focused on listening lately.  And not just listening to other people.

 Listen to what’s happening around you

 On a typical day, I go to work in the morning and count down the time until lunch.  At lunch, I get in the car, turn up the radio, and speed home to let my dog out and grab something to eat.  It typically takes me about 15 minutes to get to or from work.  I usually don’t really think about it.  I just go.  I listen to the music and just hurry along to follow my routine.

 Last week however, I was thinking about what could possibly be happening while I was going through my routine.  So at first I just turned off the radio and put the windows down and just listened.  I listened hard! 

 It was amazing!

 All these days have gone by and I had no idea all of the things that were happening in my world.  When I really tried I could hear everything!

 I heard children playing.  I heard birds chirping.  I heard traffic stopping and starting and stopping.  I heard construction workers yelling instructions to each other.  It was too much!  I had to pull over.  Little did I know there was a park right down the street from my office.

 So I got out and sat on a bench.  It was beautiful.  I heard kids playing in the fountain, and dogs chasing each other, having the time of their lives.  And all of this was happening, every day, while I was speeding by on my way to lunch.  Sitting there I realized that this is all a gift.  What a blessing just to be able to hear all of these things.

What do you hear? 

Take a break once in a while.  Listen to what’s going on around you.  You’ll be shocked at what you’ll hear.  Listen to the wind playing with the leaves.  Listen to the rain hitting the roof.  These are the things that are beautiful in the world.  The things we miss in the hustle and bustle of our everyday lives. 

 When life gets complicated, pull off to the side of the road.  Go for a walk and just listen.  Let life slow down.  Experience every moment.  Once they are gone, they are gone forever.