A man stopped at a flower shop to order some flowers to be wired to his mother who lived two hundred miles away. As he got out of his car he noticed a young girl sitting on the curb sobbing. He asked her what was wrong and she replied, “I wanted to buy a red rose for my mother, but I only have seventy-five cents and a rose costs two dollars.” The man smiled and said, “Come on in with me, I’ll buy you a rose.” He bought the little girl her rose and ordered his own mother’s flowers. As they were leaving he offered the girl a ride home. She said, “Yes,please ! You can take me to my mother.” She directed him to a cemetery, where she placed the rose on a freshly dug grave. The man returned to the flower shop, cancelled the wire order, picked up a bouquet and drove the two hundred miles to his mother’s home. ***************************************************** Treat your parents well while they are still healthy, do not only show your respect to them when they are in the grave. ***************************************************** Sacrifice Love ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ A little boy was told by his doctor that he could save his sister’s life by giving her some blood. The six-year-old girl was near death, a victim of disease from which the boy had made a marvelous recovery two years earlier. Her only chance for restoration was a blood transfusion from someone who had previously conquered the illness. Since the two children had the same rare blood type, the boy was the ideal donor. “Johnny, would you like to give your blood for Mary ?” the doctor asked. The boy hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then he smiled, and said, “Sure, Doc, I’ll give my blood for my sister.” Soon the two children were wheeled into the operating room - Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and the picture of health. Neither spoke, but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned. As his blood siphoned into Mary’s veins, one could almost see new life come into her tired body. The ordeal was almost over when Johnny’s brave little voice broke the silence, “Say Doc, when do I die ?” It was only then that the doctor realized what the moment of hesitation, the trembling of the lip, had meant earlier. Little Johnny actually thought that in giving his blood to his sister he was giving up his life ! And in that brief moment, the final decision that he had made was the greatest love of all……… the unconditional sacrificinglove……………. **************************************************** Sacrificing PART of what you have is human’s nature, but sacrificing all of what you have needs a lot of LOVE. Nowadays people always think of what they can get in return before giving, if the return is less than their givings, then they will be reluctant to give. **************************************************** BE………… Be understanding to your enemies, Be loyal to your friends. Be strong enough to face the world each day. Be weak enough to know you cannot do everything alone. Be generous to those who need your help. Be frugal with what you need yourself. Be wise enough to know that you do not know everything. Be foolish enough to believe in miracles. Be willing to share your joys. Be willing to share the sorrows of others. Be a leader when you see a path others have missed. Be a follower when you are shrouded by the mists of uncertainty. Be the first to congratulate an opponent who succeeds. Be the last to criticize a colleague who fails. Be sure where your next step will fall, so that you will not tumble. Be sure of your final destination, in case you are going the wrong way. Be loving to those who love you. Be loving to those who do not love you, and they may change. Above all, be yourself. ******************************************** Sometimes a simple action, or something that you think is unimportant can change another person’s life or thinking. ******************************************** THANKS for spending your precious time to read the story and hope you can gain some meaning out of the story

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Unconditional Love

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . Our inner world — emotional, mental space — helps determine our outer world, right? But the space we spend the majority of our time in also plays a huge role in our lives. It can influence our actions, our mood, and it can determine whether we remain stuck or achieve our dreams. I want to share with you a few strategies I’ve discovered to design your space to help your achieve your goals. I’ve been using this technique for quite some time to take advantage of my environment’s ability to help my achieve my dreams. The reason this is so effective is because when you design your space in a way that supports your dreams, you’re receiving perpetual subconscious reinforcement. So even if you design your space to reinforce a reality that does not yet exist for you, it is still effective because your environment is constantly introducing the possibility to your mind as a new reality. There are three basic categories for engineering your space to reinforce your dreams. Identity modifiers Style and energy Specific goal reinforcement Let’s start at the beginning… 1. General identity modifiers. If you want to change a part of your identity, changing your space will help introduce a new trait of behavior. Here are some examples: If you want to become a writer, reorganize your space to support your identity as a writer. Make sure there is a bookshelf near your workspace with classics novels and books on writing. Buy some nice pens or make word-processor the only icon on your desktop. Put quotes of famous writers around your workspace. Create a fictional cover for a book with your name as the author and have it framed and placed on your desk. If you want to simplify your life, remove all the clutter from your space. But don’t just remove the clutter; incorporate minimalist reinforcements in your space. This might mean getting a desk without a lot of drawers that forces you to keep it neat. Create a minimalist computer experience, a minimalist home and a minimalist workspace. The more you organize your space in a way that reinforces simplicity, the greater effect it will start to have on your inner space. If you want to become a musician, surround your space with musical instruments. Put up photos or album covers of your favorite artists. Make your space speak music. Design in it a way that if someone were to walk into your room, they would immediately think “this person is a musician.” These are just starting points. There are many other creative ways to implement this simple idea. While these examples are of specific traits, the techniques can be applied to any shift. 2. Influencing style and energy. The spaces we live in can be either creative and inspiring, or dull and suffocating. Imagine the picture of a cubicle colored in mind-numbing grays, fluorescent lighting, no plants, no photos, no personality. Not exactly electrifying, is it? Now imagine a workspace that is completely you. The desk is a beautiful, sturdy wood in your favorite color. The chair is well built and comfortable. You have photos of smiling family and friends framed on your desk. The lighting is warm and inviting. It feels much different, doesn’t it? Here are some ways you can improve the energy of your space. And in doing so, make it more inviting and likely to make you want to be there and in turn want to work there to achieve your goals. Take inventory. Take a second to close your eyes and allow your mind to be still and your body to relax. Now open your eyes and look at the room around you. How does it make you feel? Does it call you to your purpose? Does it excite you or does it bore you? Is it inviting or indifferent? Now think about way that you could change or improve your space to achieve the feeling you would most want it to impress. What could you change to make it more in harmony with who you are? Energize your space . It’s amazing the effects that a few simple changes can make in your space to increase the energy and vibration. A few easy and simple ways to do this are by bringing more plants into your space, putting fresh fruit on your table or your desk, and place photos of yourself and family or friends around where you work. What colors could you change to bring in more energy? Could the lighting be changed? Do you resonate with your space? Everyone has their own individual and unique style. Some people may feel more drawn to classical pieces, while others are drawn to a more modern style. Some prefer the thrashing chords of punk rock to work to, while others are moved by the dramatic art of opera. Your space should reflect on some level who you are as a person, what your tastes are, what your interests are, and what you care about. The more your environment speaks to you, the more of an inspiring effect it will have on you. Your imagination is your only limit. 3. Promoting specific intentions or goals. This is really where the rubber meets the road and we get down to reinforcing specific goals, rather than general space manipulation. Everyone says to write down your goals. That’s a good idea, but it’s much more effective when your goals are an element or a fixture of your surroundings. So the idea is simple, figure out what your most important intentions or goals are. Choose no more than five or six. Now place them somewhere in your space that will be constantly visible. Here are a few ways you can do this: Post it. Print them out in big type and put them on a cork board, directly in front of your field of vision where you most often work. Frame it. Print and frame your goals in a 5 x 7 inch frame. Put the frame on your nightstand or desk. Or both. Desktop it . Create an image in a simple image editor (try pixlr if you don’t have one) that’s roughly the resolution of your desktop. Now type out your intentions, save the image and select it as the background on your computer desktop. Use a digital photo frame (thanks to Steve Pavlina for this idea). Create a few images of your goals with plain text, or combine it with an inspiring image. Plug the images into your digital frame and you’re done. This has the added benefit of animation, which has a natural tendency to draw your eye to the image. I haven’t tried this, so I’m not sure how distracting it would be, but I can’t think of a better thing to be distracted by. Send yourself blank emails. When I want to remind myself to stay focused on something, I’ll send myself a blank email with the subject being whatever my reminder is. If I want to remind myself to focus on writing I’ll make the subject “You write for two hours a day this week.” This strategy has a drawback though, as its effectiveness is dependent on how often you check your email. And I don’t think obsessive email checking with the rationalization of being reminded of your goals is a good trade off, unless you make one of your reminders “Stop obsessively checking email.” Setup reminders. Use a software like Dream Wizard . Dream Wizard allows you to plug in your most important goals, add a picture and voice (if you want), and set it to remind you at certain intervals as a pop up on your computer. I think this could also be accomplished with Gcal or other application to send you email reminders. That would another option without having to pay for a piece of software to remind you. Using this method is a good strategy if the majority of your time during the day is spent on the computer. This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind .  For more unconventional ideas, grab a subscription to Illuminated Mind.

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Feng Shui On Steroids: Design Your Space to Achieve Your Goals

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . If you want to wake up happy on a daily basis, you have to own your own time . You have to be the one that dictates what you do and when you do it . Otherwise, you’re at the mercy of your owner boss. You may think that you should be grateful for your job, and you should. But when it comes down to it, you’re not going to hit a ceiling of happiness and purpose if you’re not working for yourself. (I know there may be a few exceptions, but let’s be honest, they are exceptions .) There’s no getting around this . But working for yourself is a scary idea, right? No one to tell you what to do every day. No one to say when you can go to the bathroom and when you can eat lunch. No one to tell you what to wear or who to talk to. Taking off the leash is frightening when you’ve worn it for so long. Here’s the clincher, here’s the real mind-blower: Most of us don’t even think we have leashes around our neck at all. Most of us think that we’re in control. But we’re not. Let’s take a look at how this typically breaks down: Steady paycheck? Check. Benefits? Check. Comfortable routine? Check Free paper clips?  Check. Meaning? Rarely. Purpose? You mean that unintelligible corporate mission statement? Security? Not really. Freedom? Asking for permission is not freedom. Do you really think you have job security? You have no control over whether your company goes under. That is not job security. So what’s the difference between a renegade and the average cubicle citizen? It’s mindset. It’s astonishing that this makes difference between the people that end up being “lifers” at a company (by default), and gives up on their dreams vs. those who steer their own course and live their dreams. What’s the gap between dreams being fantasy and reality? Obviously, it’s a matter of action. But, what makes the free man take action where the cubicle citizen recoils? This is the question that has been burning in my mind for some time. This mindset makes the difference between success and near certain failure. We all have these traits in us; it’s just a matter of cultivation and practice for them to become fully expressed. Here are the seven things you can do now. 1. Reclaim your mind. This might seem a little strange, right? Who would think that they don’t own their own mind? The truth is that most of us live with partially free minds. We act on our intentions as long as our comfort zone is not violated. We rebel when the risk is minimal. In order to reclaim ownership of your mind (and stop renting it out) you have to demand of yourself nothing short of a completely free, unadulterated mind. Underline this in your mind: “I won’t let anyone else have control or dictate the contents of my mind. Only I have that power.” 2. Put yourself on auto-response. The ability of the leader to take action, despite not having a clear course, is a highly coveted skill in the entrepreneurial world. A leader takes action while others wait around for the situation to become more favorable. He has the “auto-response” of “I’ll figure it out.” When faced with a tough decision, or unclear path, he takes action instead of waiting for orders. The more you’re able to take action despite having all the facts, the faster you’ll get results. You’ll adjust your course when you make mistakes and ultimately get there much faster than the person waiting around for the perfect plan to materialize. 3. Think holistically. All of our decisions are interconnected. A choice in our health could create an improvement in our productivity. A shift in our spiritual practice can cultivate a calm state, where your focus increases. A move toward working for yourself will dramatically impact your freedom of time and movement, and greatly improve your happiness. All of our decisions are interconnected and a smart renegade knows this. She tries to make high leverage holistic decisions that will have a ripple effect across all aspects of her life. Think holistically. See how the changes in all areas of your life impact each other, not just in business, but in the areas of health, fitness, finances, mental/emotional and spirituality. 4. Question authority. Too much skepticism will make you unbalanced, and will honestly probably turn you into a conpiracy-theory nutcase. A healthy amount of skepticism, on the other hand, is essential to working intelligently. One of the oldest living renegades, Siddhartha Gautama (also known as the Buddha) once said, “Do not believe anything that you’ve been told, unless it agrees with your own common sense.” The same advice applies 2,000 years later. Listen to yourself first, before you listen to the experts. Test before you assume. 5. Focus on interdependency. We all have certain communities of people or tribes that we naturally connect with and are attracted to. Seek out these people, help them, start conversations with them. These are the people that are most likely to identify with you, therefore the most likely to also support and promote your work. Find a way to connect with influential leaders or members of your tribe today. Whether it be through sending them a message on twitter, contacting them through their blog or emailing them directly. And if you can, try to get one of these people to mentor you. It can’t hurt to ask and you’ll be surprised at how genuinely helpful some of these people can be. 6. Defrost your passion. If you’ve been stuck in a cubicle-farm for some time, or have been in a less than ideal work situation, you’ve probably given up hope on some level. Being surrounded with people you’d rather not work with, grey walls, no windows and bad coffee tends to dampen your spirits. This dispirited condition may have progressed so far that you have trouble remembering what it’s like to be excited about your life. That’s got to change. It’s time to reconnect with what you’re truly passionate about and wake up to the possibility that you can start making your own rules. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle of paying your dues with the occasional bit of fun. Realize that you don’t have to live in the way you think is required. 7. Be ridiculous. There’s obviously a certain societal value to being practical. But what’s easily overlooked is the value of being highly impractical. You have to be willing to take risks, and keep your head in the clouds to be a successful trailblazer. You have to strike a balance between having roots (practicality) and wings (innovating). Realize that all major revolutions in the world were first seen as crazy, ridiculous and absurd. If you want to innovate, you’ll have to accept that the majority of the population will view you as a lunatic. You secretly know, though, that your level of lunacy is quite possibly your most valuable skill. Working for yourself forces you to grow One 0f the coolest things about entrepreneurship is that it’s one of the biggest catalysts for personal growth. Starting your own business is one of the most meaningful rights of passage you can go through. It will challenge you. It will make you question yourself and force you to get really clear about your purpose and what you want to contribute. It boosts your confidence and your intelligence. But most of all, it makes you feel proud of yourself at the end of the day. I feel so passionately about this that I created a manifesto called the Liberation Revolution - Time to Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord. It’s a wake up call to help you reclaim ownership of your time. To help you figure out a way to gain the courage to say Dear Boss: You’re Fired. Click here to download the FREE manifesto This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to not ruin your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated Mind.

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Cut the Cubicle Umbilical Cord: The Seven Traits of the Free Man

An amazing 10 min video on a truly inspiring lady, Heeah Lee, who was born with pincer-like fingers - only 2 on each hand - yet plays the most exquisite music! Be inspired again!!!

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Incredible Inspiration- The 4 Finger Pianist

Inspirational and motivational video about how Douglas Goodey found the motivation to get out of $4.5 Million Debt and went on to make $20 million! One of the most inspiring stories ever told about one mans courage and bravery and how he went from broke to multi-millionaire back to broke and back to multi-millionaire again. Inspiring thousands around the world, Douglas’s story is the story of rags to riches that will give you the motivational kick you need to realise that anything is possible. Inspiring and inspirational for anyone at any age, young or old. Making money whether online or offline, getting out of debt, or just looking for the motivation to succeed? This video is a must watch.

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Most Inspirational & Motivational Video Ever - Be Inspired!

An outstanding motivational clip full of values and based on the outstanding GLADIATOR movie

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Motivation Clip from Gladiator

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . Have you ever been annoyed by a successful person, because you thought you were more intelligent than them? Maybe it was a boss. Maybe it was a political figure or a leader. It’s especially maddening when this person is creating rules that dictate your life. I can definitely relate. I’ve had my share of bosses that I thought were less than brilliant. So what is it that makes them successful? That’s what I’ve always wondered and what has always bugged me. I mean, shouldn’t intelligence be a prerequisite to leadership? The answer… not really. It turns out the biggest reason people are successful is: consistent action, not intelligence. Then the question is, are these three words ruining your life…? The unmagical words Those words are: I don’t know. It’s not drive, it’s not motivation, it’s not lack of passion that keeps people from doing what they want. It’s not knowing where to start, or how to get from A to B. That’s the single biggest reason people don’t take action to make their dreams a reality. So how can we overcome this? How can we stop letting obscurity keep us from becoming successful? The answer is pretty simple: You have to develop the ability to stop caring about not knowing. (I’ve written about this before, where I call it “ putting yourself on auto-response .”) You have to cultivate the habit of doing before knowing. This seems like a daunting thing to do, but it’s really actually a very easy habit to create. And there are a multitude of possibilities that exist right now that you can practice it. Easiest thing in the world For example, how many time does your spouse or partner ask you “What do you want to have for dinner?” and you respond, “I don’t know.” (This happens to me all the time, and it’s maddening.) Next time, instead of using those three dirty words, just ask yourself, “What’s something I’d like to have for dinner?” and then respond. Now do this when someone asks where you’d like to hang out, or what you’d like to spend the evening doing. Instead of re-actively saying “I don’t know,” take the time to come up with a response. Even if you’re not 100% completely stoked about the idea, just come up with something you’d be satisfied with doing. Anything other than I don’t know is an improvement. Next, try asking yourself “How could I best use my time, right now?” or “What is the highest leverage use of my time, right now?” Take a minute to brainstorm and mentally prioritize. If you’re having trouble coming up with an answer, just pick whatever you think would be the most productive use of your time. Remember, anything is better than the three words we shall not speak of. Just imagine all of the possibilities for you to practice actively making decisions based on your desires, rather than re-actively defaulting to unconsciousness. There are so many little ways you can practice this skill. I think you’ll be surprised at how often you’re able to rehearse it. The difference between living and existing Okay, so you’ve mastered it with the little stuff. Now it’s time to use it on the things that really matter. Stuff like your passions and career. If you’re not doing something you love or at least like for a living, you’re selling yourself short. And I bet the reason why you’re not pursuing something better is because you don’t know what you’d rather do. Instead of allowing that not knowing to dwell in your psychic space, cast it out. Don’t tolerate it anymore. If you don’t know what you’re passionate about, move from not knowing to seeking a path that will allow you to explore what you might love to do. This might mean reading a book on different career pursuits. It might mean googling your hobbies for possible career intersections. Whatever it is, practice that until you move into a state of knowing. The reason I’m so passionate about this is because I’ve seen so many lives unfulfilled because of not knowing. It saddens me to think that such a simple phrase can have such a devastating impact. I urge you to practice moving in the direction of knowing, when you feel stuck in a state of indecision. All it takes is one little shift. It could mean the difference between making a dying and making a living. This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to not ruin your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated Mind. — If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg . I’d appreciate it.

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Are These Three Words Ruining Your Life?

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead ; follow him on twitter . Not getting enough items on your To-Do list checked off? Do you feel guilty because you’re not doing enough? I’ll be the first one to admit that I don’t always remain calm, zen and un-phased when I don’t get everything done. Sometimes I get distracted; sometimes unforeseen events happen which get in the way of my ambitions. Sometimes I have a hard time not caring about unimportant things. I want the dishes to be clean and the house spotless, all my errands to be finished and everything neat and tidy. The problem is, as I’m sure you’ve noticed, things don’t usually work like this. In fact, they almost never work like this. There’s always something to be done, always that “thing” in the back of your head that you forgot about that needs to be taken care of. There’s always something else that needs to be finished, and then you can feel happy. (Or so you think . ) But then you remember another task, and the cycle repeats. Of course, there’s only one problem… Nothing is ever complete. Not for long, at least. So if that time and place is impossible to reach, we have to stop caring about unimportant things. The constant desire to want to be done, then be happy , creates the background feeling of anxiety. If you’ve ever found yourself doing the dishes as fast as possible, when you have no reason to be in a hurry (like I have), you know what I mean. If we’re ever to get at that feeling of peace — being OK with taking things slowly — we need to start enjoying our lives. We need to start being instead of just doing . Here are a few of my (humble) suggestions on how to create more space in your life: Realize that not having everything done is a good thing . “Blasphemy!” you say. I know, I know. This sounds awfully backwards, but it’s true. Having things in your inbox means that your time is in demand. And that’s a good thing. You don’t need a two week vacation to create space . When you pull up in your driveway after work, take a minute or two to just relax and breathe. Turn off the radio, and just sit in silence for a moment. Enjoy the space. Two minutes is all you need. Now don’t tell me you don’t have time. Look for the gaps . Between your thoughts, there lives little gaps. They may not be huge, but they’re there. Start paying attention to those gaps. Allow them to grow by just letting go of thinking all the time. You might think that you need to think about things in order to work or to live. But the opposite is usually true. Most of the time, thinking is completely unnecessary. Most of the time , you’re just thinking about the same things over and over. That’s called a pattern. Or brooding, whatever label you prefer. Listen, feel, engage… be there . The reason we’re usually in such a hurry is due to a mind-created obsession with finishing things. So the way out of that is to be where you are. Listen to the ambient sounds you hear, feel your feet on the ground when you walk, feel your hands running through the water while you wash the dishes. Let go of the need to become . Sure, there will always be things you want to change about your life. There will always be goals, dreams, desires and all manner of wonderful experiences to seek out. Great, seek them. Desire them. But don’t sacrifice the present. Don’t sacrifice the place you’re in right now. There’s too much beauty. With that, I’d like to leave you with an excerpt from one of my favorite lectures by Alan Watts : “Lightning flashes, sparks shower. In one blink of your eyes, you’ve missed seeing. Why? Because here is the light. The light, the light, the light, every mystic in the world has ’seen the light.’ That brilliant, blazing energy, brighter than a thousand suns, it is locked up in everything. Now imagine this. Imagine you’re seeing it. Like you see aureoles around Buddhas. Like you see the beatific vision at the end of Dante’s ‘Paradiso.’ Vivid, vivid light, so bright that it is like the clear light of the void in the Tibetan Book of the Dead. It’s beyond light, it’s so bright. And you watch it receding from you. And on the edges, like a great star, there becomes a rim of red. And beyond that, a rim of orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet. You see this great Mandela appearing this great sun, and beyond the violet, there’s black. Black, like obsidian, not flat black, but transparent black, like lacquer. And again, blazing out of the black, as the Yang comes from the Yin, more light. Going, going, going. And along with this light, there comes sound. There is a sound so tremendous with the white light that you can’t hear it, so piercing that it seems to annihilate the ears. But then along with the colors, the sound goes down the scale in harmonic intervals, down, down, down, down, until it gets to a deep thundering base which is so vibrant that it turns into something solid, and you begin to get the similar spectrum of textures. Now all this time, you’ve been watching a kind of thing radiating out. ‘But,’ it says, ‘you know, this isn’t all I can do,’ and the rays start dancing like this, and the sound starts waving, too, as it comes out, and the textures start varying themselves, and they say, well, you’ve been looking at this as I’ve been describing it so far in a flat dimension. Let’s add a third dimension; it’s going to come right at you now. And meanwhile, it says, we’re not going to just do like this, we’re going to do little curlicues. And it says, ‘well, that’s just the beginning!’ Making squares and turns, and then suddenly you see in all the little details that become so intense, that all kinds of little sub figures are contained in what you originally thought were the main figures, and the sound starts going all different, amazing complexities if sound all over the place, and this thing’s going, going, going, and you think you’re going to go out of your mind, when suddenly it turns into… Why, us, sitting around here.” See, when we’re always in a hurry, always looking to achieve a goal, we miss out on the miracle that’s around us. Right here. Right now. This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to reclaim your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated MInd.

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How to Create Space and When You’re Always in a Rush

My wife and I shop for clothes differently. I head for the “sale” rack, see something I like, make a quick guess at the approximate right size, and take it home. She, on the other hand, would never leave the store without having tried on every single article of clothing that might have potential. She will not buy something just because it is cheap. Nor will she spend more than she thinks something is worth. It takes her much longer to buy clothes than it does me. Much longer. On the other hand, she never has to return anything and she is usually happy with what she bought. I sometimes have to return clothes that do not fit right, or I complain about the collar being too tight, or the sleeves being too short. I have bought shirts, packed them for a trip, and then did not like the way they felt when I wore them. Trying on clothes reminds me of how some people make decisions about Jesus. They make a decision about Jesus like I shop for clothes: no thought, no examination, no evaluation, and no consideration of the true value. No wonder they sometimes end up unhappy with their decision. It is prudent for the non Christian to spend some time “shopping” for Jesus. Examine what he said, study how he lived, spend time around his followers. Find out if Jesus really does give hope, peace, joy, and purpose to life. Consider the cost. Following Jesus is not cheap. It is not easy. You are the only one who can decide if the cost is worth it. Most people will decide it is not. When he came to this earth, most people rejected him. Some because they loved the riches of this life more, some because they loved the trappings and power of the religious status quo more, and others because they cared more for their current lifestyle. Yet others saw their deepest needs met in Jesus. They found in him the answer to the emptiness of their lives. He filled a hunger and thirst that they had never been able to quench. Do some comparison shopping. What do other religions teach? How do they live? What value do they give in comparison to the cost of joining? What about life without Jesus? What are the benefits? What does it cost to choose life without Jesus? Look at the lives of those who do not believe Jesus? As a “sales clerk” for Jesus, I am excited to share what we have to offer. It is the best buy ever. Following Jesus is the best “deal” I ever made. I cannot imagine life without him. In him I am loved, provided for, and valued. I live a life that has meaning and purpose. He helps me survive the bad times and has given me more good times that I ever could deserve or achieve on my own. I have a great life. So feel free to check Jesus out for yourself. See if he is worth it. If I can help you learn more about him, write me at steve@hopeforlife.org . Or check out our blog at www.hopeforlife.org . (Expressed written consent must be obtained prior to republishing, retransmitting or otherwise reusing the content of this article. © Herald of Truth Ministries Steve Ridgell serves as the Director of Ministry for Herald of Truth Ministries in Abilene, Texas and writes for Hopeforlife.org. You can reach him by writing to sridgell@heraldoftruth.org. Website: Hope for Life!

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Try It On First

Article by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead , follow him on twitter . We all get stuck in ruts from time to time. We get off track and lose sight of the life we meant to live . I know I’m probably not the only one who has wished that I could find a reset button for life. While we can’t exactly travel back in time ( flux capacitor or not), there’s certain ways we can “reboot” our lives. With the New Year right around the corner, it’s a perfect time to get a fresh start on an area of your life you’ve been meaning to overhaul. The New Year is an exciting time. It symbolized transformation and starting new. It’s a time when you can let go of the old, shed your past and begin again. The problem is a lot of the time we get super excited about these new goals, but we lose focus. A few months later December rolls around and we wondered what happened. Where did we go wrong? The most important thing we need to keep in mind is not necessarily being disciplined, but setting the right type of goals. If we’re just setting socially conditioned goals (like making more money or upgrading the things we own), we’ll likely lose interest, because our heart is not in it. So there first step is to set aspirations that come from your heart and what you value most. Then just take it one day at a time. Think small, act big . NOTE: Read the notice at the bottom of this post for info about The Power of Less New Year’s Challenge! Here are some suggestions for ways you can reboot your life: Health: 30 Days to Health . Use the month of January to start new eating habits. Maybe you want to become vegetarian, vegan or completely raw. Or maybe you just want to eliminate processed foods like; frozen food, chips, soft drinks, candy and essential junk foods. Go on the Master Cleanse : a 10 day mono-diet fast that will help you reboot your health and eating habits. I’ve personally done this 3 times. It helps you rejuvenate your body and your mind. When you’re not spending your energy on digestion, your body can use its energy to heal itself. It’s amazing when you’re fasting how much time you realize you spend thinking about eating and making food. Simplicity: Reassess your mess . Go through out all your junk and make 3 piles: toss/recycle, donate, and keep. Throw out or donate or sell anything you haven’t used in over a year. The same rule applies with your closet, garage and wardrobe. For a more detailed guide see here and here . Unwind your mind . We spend a lot of time trying to organize and create more functional living spaces. But we often neglect the most important space we live in: our mind. Take advantage of the New Year to reboot your mind. Drop disempowering beliefs, drop negativity. Cull and remove what’s not working for you. Stop caring so much, kill your (ego-driven) goals and give up . Here’s another great resource: How to Organize Mental Clutter . Relationships: Reconnect . Most of our ambitions for the New Years are centered around ourselves, but they don’t all have to be. Maybe you want to make your resolution to spend more time with your partner or your kids. Maybe you want to create a better relationship with your parents. Or perhaps you just want to dissolve a grudge you’ve been holding against someone.  Now is a good time to forgive and forget. Be more romantic . With all our goals surrounding our careers, productivity, and health, it’s easy to put romance on the back burner. Too easy, if you ask me. A few ways to jump start your ideas for rekindling romance might be: giving your lover love coupons , spending more quality time together and dating your partner more often. Even if it just means going out for coffee or watching a movie on the couch together. Here are some more great ideas to get you started . Finance: Reboot your bank account. During the holidays are spending can spiral out of control. It’s easy to get caught up in wanting to buy really cool gifts (well, except for this gift ) for everyone you love. So after the season ends, it’s a great time to reevaluate where your money is going. Here are a few ideas to get you started: create a debt snowball , create an emergency fund , or develop the habit of being frugal . Cash-in your passion. Here’s a great exercise to start off the new year: Take out a paper and draw a line down the middle. Mark the first side as column a, mark the other side column b. Look over your bank account for the past 30 days and write down all your non-essential purchases in column a. This includes things like unneeded spending on clothes, lattes, junk food, renting movies, entertainment, gadgets, CDs, etc. Don’t include things such as rent/mortgage, utility and phone bills. Now in column b write down all the things you’d like to have money for to pursue things you’re passionate about. This might be thing like dance lessons, tai chi or yoga classes, a pottery workshop, an industry conference, a mountain bike, you get the idea. Try to see what you can remove from column a to make more room for the things in column b. Fitness: Maintain the chain. There are so many fitness goals and programs you can get into. If you live anywhere like I do, the guys from 24 Hour Fitness are on the corner downtown recruiting people like gangbusters. With all these fitness routines and exercises you can find, it’s hard to see through the noise. A simplified resolution is to create an exercise chain and all you need is a calendar. Now for the month of January make a pact to exercise every day. Each day you exercise, you put an X through that day on calendar. Your job is to not break the chain. I’ve personally found this to be an awesome motivator because you can see all the progress you’ve made and it would hurt too much to break the chain. Tap the troupe . It’s easy to fall off the wagon when you’re going it alone. If you join a local fitness group, you’ll have others that will hold you accountable. Meetup.com is a really awesome place to find local meetups in your area. It’s super easy to join and most of the groups are free. Just sign up and search for fitness groups in your neck of the woods. Bonus tips: Automate your answer . A lot of the time we hold ourselves back because we don’t have enough information, or we don’t know where to start. Instead of letting “I don’t know” hold you back, put yourself on the auto-response “I’ll figure it out.” Imagine what you could do if you did this. You might be able to have the guts to start that business you’ve been dreaming about. You could write that novel you’ve been planning. Or could you take that trip around the world you’ve been dying for. Make your resolution to not let not knowing where to start keep your from taking action. Vaporize virtual living. In the age of email, twitter, social media, instant messaging, text messaging and screen to face, it’s hard not to get caught up in living virtually . While there’s nothing necessarily harmful or wrong with these things, it’s easy to forget the value of real live interaction. You know, actually talking to someone in person. Whatever method you choose to connect, a good New Years resolution might be to simply connect more. Not in quantity, but quality. What are your plans for the 09? Do you have any good tips for starting off the New Year right? This article was written by Zen Habits contributor Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind . To learn more about how to reclaim your life, grab a subscription to Illuminated MInd . — NOTICE: Tomorrow we will announce THE POWER OF LESS NEW YEAR’S CHALLENGE! It’s a free 30-day challenge where you will form a new habit in just 10 minutes a day. The Challenge will help motivate you and keep you accountable, so you can start the New Year off right! — If you liked this article, please share it on del.icio.us, StumbleUpon or Digg . I’d appreciate it.

Originally posted here:
How to Press the Reset Button On Your Life