Friday, June 29, 2012

This may sound silly but I can create magic and so can you!







“being silly is a delicious escape from the shackles of reality”





And you thought being silly was, ah…silly. The stewards of seriousness have been playing with your mind. They want you to buckle down, grow up, work hard and have no damn fun. So you were trained to believe that silly isn’t serious. Well, good thing for you that I am here to straighten out this mess. Silly is stunningly, serious stuff! Silly is greatly underrated and underappreciated. Someone has to set the record straight and I am just the guru to do it.





“if you lose the ability to be silly, you are susceptible to becoming a slave”




Ok, suspend your belief that I am bonkers for a few moments and stay with me, while I enlighten you. First, silly is misunderstood. Forget those notions about silly being a useless waste of an adults life. Silly has many benefits. It can make you happier and richer. And as I stated, the absence of silly might make you a slave.




You see when they shake the silly out of you, you become more compliant. You believe the mantra’s of the warrior’s that sign your pay check. You start to believe that ‘slow and steady’ wins the race, and hard work will be rewarded (that’s management code for, I pay you a little, you work your butt off and we the company make a lot of money). Slowly but steadily you slip into master/slave mode, all the while thinking that what you are doing for the master, is what is best for you. With silly you see the impossible as possible and the dream of the big escape is alive.





“silly is like a bonk on the head to the serious”




The word silly is derived from the German word ‘selig’ which means sacred or holy (I know…who knew). So when you are being silly, you are actually reaching a higher level of consciousness. You are closer to that place where creativity resides. Silly removes the impossible faster than a reality star can take off her clothes. With silly anything is possible. It opens the mind to all that is possible, it removes the blinders that have deceived your inner genius. Silly and her mate goofy are the parents of that beautiful child…creativity.




Through the years they have changed the word silly, to mean a useless behaviour as practised by adults. Not so bucko. Silly is incredibly useful. As I’ve explained silly enables creativity. Any brain storming session (mine is called fun-storming, but more of that later) should commence with silliness. This opens the mind to being truly creative. The sillier the better!


“silliness is a high creativity and a high energy state”




This one was a no brainer for me. It has been well documented that belly laughter is equal to a physical workout. And guess which activity gives you the best belly laughs? Right, being silly! So you get in a state perfect for developing creative ideas and you get a work out that makes you laugh at the same time. Still think that silly is silly? But wait, there’s more…





“silly is a shortcut to bonding”




Silly is most on display when children are playing. That is how they learn and bond. But this also works for big kids like us. We have all seen parents playing silly with their kids. Now, its time to dust off silly and play with your big friends. Silly is the crazy glue that bonds consenting adults (sorry saying consenting adults, just sounded funnier than saying friends).




“it’s silly to worry about past mistakes, when there is so much fun to be had making new one’s”




The thing that prevents us from making more mistakes (and subsequently learning new things) is that we fear making a fool of ourselves. Once you get comfortable with silly, you will have developed a confidence that fears no criticism. You will be free to explore and discover new possibilities. Failure will mean you are trying and having fun doing it. Doesn’t that blow your ever loving mind….having fun with failure?




“why seducers love being silly”




I’ve given you a pile of good reasons to be silly but I just love saying….but wait there is more! Yep, silly is seductive. You knew that was coming didn’t you? Silly is super seductive. It displays confidence and fun which in combination are so damn attractive, as to be irresistible. Who can resist a good belly laugh, it is highly contagious.



Ok, class is over…now go out there and make a fool of yourself, it‘s for the good of your health and your pocketbook. And no thanks necessary, you can buy me a beer later (I‘ll probably be on the beach laughing at some serious warrior type).

Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The power of positive action


"somethings are so powerfully simple that I'm amazed I was stuck on stupid for so long"

From the first time I picked up Norman Vincent Peale's book "The Power of Positive Thinking' I became a big time believer. And for most of life I have faithfully practised what the preacher preached. Through thick and thin, ups and down and surges and setbacks I've always tried to stay positive. I still do and always will. For the most part it has worked quite well. However, not as well as it could have. Something was missing?

 

One of the reasons that 'The Secret' didn't work as well as it should have for many well intentioned followers is that there wasn't enough emphasis put on 'positive action'. You may well reach enlightenment like the Buddha if you sit under a tree and contemplate something greater than you for days and weeks. However, when you get up you will still be only as wealthy as you were when you first sat down. Something has to happen, something has to change and that only happens with positive action.

It's like little Eduardo as a child. I dreamed of being a professional ball player. I could imagine what it would be like. I could hear the crowd cheering me on and the pretty girls begging for my attention. I dreamed the dream for many years but alas poor little Eduardo never became the star he wanted to be. Why? He was stuck on stupid! He didn't realize the effort, training and dedication that needed to go with that beautfiul dream.

Sometimes I think about the other dreams I've had in my life and it makes me a little sad that someone hadn't taken me aside and explained how the world works. Dreams are beautiful things, they open our eyes to possibilities. Positive thoughts are our protection against getting lost on the path to our dreams and goals. However without postive action nothing happens!

The Happy Ending to my little story!

One of my dreams was to write a book. One day I woke up and realized it wasn't ever going to happen no matter how many dreams, affirmations or positive thoughts I had. So I said to myself...'screw it, I'm going to do it'. I started taking some positive action. I started writing. Today my book is written. It has been edited, formatted and is in the book printers hands. I await it's birth in approximately 30 days. One dream is about to come true for little Eduardo!

So dream big, think bold beautiful postitive thoughts, get in vibrational harmony with your desires but never ever forget nothing happens if you don't take some positive action. Nothing moves until you do.

"There are two reasons to write a book. One is to share your great ideas and insights and the other is to brag about it"
 
 

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

A little known proverb that could help you a lot!


If at first you don't succeed remember this....



This proverb was written over 1,000 years ago by a very wise sage. It has been passed down from one generation to another and to this day it has reminded men and women to persevere and not let life's little setbacks and disappointments knock you off your path. The great proverbs are short, simple and contain a great truth. They are easy to remember because of their simplicity while still containing an important lesson.

CONFESSION TIME.....I just made that little story and the proverb up. I thought it would make my attempt to write a proverb sound wise and important. Did it work? Ok, it may not go down as one of the worlds great proverbs but I still like it anyway.

But wait it gets better....

I also re-wrote the Serenity Prayer
 
 

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Is professionalism hurthing your business?


Why professionalism is hurting your business?


"Too much professionalism is bad for business"


When you do everything by the book you end up becoming a professional. The problem is that your competition is reading the same books, going to the same seminars and copying the leaders in your field. It's great that you are good at what you do but....



Professionalism was once the path to success but in the new world the advantange you need is...personalization. Everyone tries to be professional and that's a good thing but your customers want more than that, they want a relationship. They want to feel that they matter to you. No one tells their neighbors or friends about the professional service they got. What makes you worth remarking about is when you get personal with your clients.


Your clients want to laugh, play and be amused. Business is boring when you leave out the best parts of human interaction. So lighten up and have some fun at work. Because...

"The reason you aren't making more money is because you just aren't having enough fun"

The question is.....how can you make doing business more fun for you, your staff and your customers?

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Breaking the rules for fun and profit



 


"If you've never broken a rule then you have never really lived"


Here's to those who love to break the rules! For they are the one's who cause the great changes. They are the creatives, the explorers and inventors. They are not content to follow the herd but prefer to make their own path and sometimes end up in places no one has ever been before. They don't have to think outside the box because they never lived in any damn box to start with.

Conformity is THE box! Conformity is defined by obeying all the rules. The shackles of conformity are formed by being part of the herd and dutifully being obedient to whoever made the rules to start with. Just remember this; whoever made the rules made them because they stood to benefit by your compliance.

So I say....let's have some fun and find some rules to break!

Pssst...one last piece of advice!