Arvind Devalia's Blog, page 6
February 20, 2014
January 31, 2014
101 Ways to Help You Make It Happen!
How is 2014 going for you?
Is it just me or has time speeded up in 2014!?
As is traditional at this time of the year, if you are also looking to set some goals, please download this article from YogaLife magazine, featuring my goalsetting tips.
A lot has happened in the world since I last wrote a blog post. For a start, the world lost Madiba – and how amazing to watch the world coming together not only to mourn Mr Nelson Mandela’s death but also to celebrate his life – a life that transformed our world forever.
“I have worked hard enough, so I can now rest in eternity” – Nelson Mandela
Mr Mandela has left quite a legacy and do check out some of his lessons in leadership.
Around the time Mr Mandela passed away, there was a huge wave of nostalgia as we all basked in the glory of his life and his legacy. But now I feel that we have already forgotten his teachings and his message of universal brotherhood.
As you look around the world today and all the challenges we face in 2014, this is the time when the world needs all of us to be a “Nelson Mandela” too. Yes, quite a challenge, but why not?
We all have to start somewhere. We just never know what a tiny act of kindness can lead to. I remember how my own life changed after I experienced unconditional life for the first time.
So where do you even begin to follow in Mr Mandela’s footsteps? You start by first making your own life the best you can – a life based on high moral and ethical values. At the same time, you do your best for the world around you and you create our legacy.
To help you get started for my first blog post for 2014, I have created a treasure collection of some of the best life-changing articles I have written. This is an eternal anthology to help you get more out of all areas of your life.
Before you dive into my treasure trove, also remember the 7 things to finally stop doing this year.
I looked through all the almost 600 blog posts I have written over 7 years and I have picked out what I consider the best 101 articles.
It was quite a challenge to pick these out and organise them into one post but this has been a labour of love for me this week – and I sincerely hope you get a lot from the 101 articles below.
I have put them under some relevant categories but there’s clearly a lot of crossover. I suggest you read a few articles at a time and bookmark the ones that resonate with you – and of course, do share them as you wish.
I wish you all the best for 2014 and beyond. Thanks for sharing this journey with me – we have much work to do to fulfil Mr Mandela’s legacy.
1. Simplify Your Life
1. 20 Questions to Simplify your Life For Ever
2. 5 Key Lessons in Simplicity from Gandhi the Ultimate Minimalist
3. If Less is Best, Why Do I Still Want a Porsche?
4. Why Decluttering Your Friends is Good for You and Them
5. Stop Wasting Time on Petty Stuff: If I Can Do It, So Can You
6. Don’t go Through Life so Fast!
7. Find Your Path to Happiness By Saying NO
8. Why Playing Big Helps you Let Go of Small Things
9. Take off your Superman Cape and Become Human Again!
2. Take Optimum Self-Care
10. 14 Simple But Powerful Tips to Take Total Self Care of Yourself – Before It’s Too Late!
11. The Zen Mantra for Coping with Pain – “This Too Will Pass!”
12. 31 Days to Bliss and Lightness
13. How to be Positive Even If the DoomSayers Tell You to be Miserable
14. How to Suffer Excruciating Pain and Live Again
15. How to Detox in Five Days with Apple Juice
16. Green Juicing – Your Secret to Health, Vitality & Youth
17. How to Detox in Five Days and Enjoy It!
3. Strive for Excellence & Success
19. Strive for Excellence – Just Begin!
20. Warning: This Blog Post May Cure Your Fear of Success
21. How to Succeed at Anything in 15 minute Chunks
22. Warning: The #1 Secret to Success in Life Which You Ignore at Your Peril!
23. How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking – and YOU Can Too
24. How to Stop Being a Mouse in Public!
25. Top 10 Reasons Why Losers Give Up: And How Not To Be a Loser Too!
26. How Money will Reveal Your Truth… if You Can Dare to Look!
27. 9 Tips to Create an Extra Hour Every Day
28. Make It Happen in 30 Days – Just Go on an Adventure!
29. Warning: Why Facing Your Fear Doesn’t Always Work – and 4 Things to do Instead
30. How to Keep Standing No Matter What Life Throws at You!
31. How I Got My Mojo Back – and Now So Can You!
32. James McCartney Interview: Inspirational Lessons in Life from a Rising Superstar
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4. Create Great Relationships
33. Become Aware of Your Relationships
34. Love Yourself First Before Loving Anyone Else
35. Love Yourself Without Becoming Full of Yourself
36. 10 Key Secrets for Becoming Likeable
37. 9 Simple Tips To Create Energising Relationships
38. The Shocking Truth About Being a Nice Person!
39. Stop Being an Approval Seeking Machine!
40. Why Teamwork Always Begins with YOU
41. Why No One Is Ever An Ugly Duckling!
42. Stop Bending over Backwards for Other People!
43. A Powerful Yet Simple Trick to Instantly Improve All Your Relationships
44. 11 Keys to Improve ALL Your Relationships
45. Do You Believe in SoulMates?
46. Be Special to Find the Special One
47. Open Your Heart and Find the Special One
48. Make Your Relationship Even More Special
5. Find Your Vocation
49. Why YOU are the Greatest Gift you can Give the World
50. Discover Your Ultimate Life Purpose Once and For All
51. How to Make Your Dream Job Happen on Your Own Terms
52. Your Personal Brand – the Secret to Success in Life and Business
53. How to be Like the Buddha and Make It Happen Mindfully
54. Find Your Mojo Through Meditation!
55. How to be Outrageous and Change your Life For Ever!
56. Lighten Up and Light Up the World
57. Warning: Freedom Is NOT Everything
58. Find Your Fire!
6. Find Your Joy!
59. How to Live Your Life as if Everything is a Miracle
60. 17 Tips to Become Happy Right Now
61. Live with an Attitude of Gratitude
62. Why Would You Ever Want to Grow Up Anyway?
63. Find Your Bliss – Just Start Walking!
64. Stop Being a Drama Queen and Become Happy Instead!
65. The REAL Truth About Why You Suck: You Don’t!
66. How to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Even if You Don’t Want To!
67. How to See the Beauty and Greatness in Any Tragedy
68. Thank the Divine Every Day
69. Happy Thanksgiving Day Today and Every Day!
7. Strive for Personal Social Responsibility
70. Feel the Fear and Change the World Anyway
71. Personal Social Responsibility is Here to Stay
72. Why We Must All Listen to this MotorBike Crazy Mystic!
73. 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free – Book Interview
74. Why Peace Begins with ME and YOU (9/11 tenth Anniversary)
75. How to Be a Good Parent, Even if You Don’t Have Any Children!
8. Build Your Legacy
76. 6 Key Lessons in Life from a 140 year Old Man – Gandhi
77. Let Your Life Be Your Message
78. Why You Should Never Ever Underestimate the Impact of Your Kindness
79. Why the World Needs More Dreamers Like You and Me
80. Be the Change You Want to See in the World – Before it’s too Late!
81. Change Yourself First to Change the World
82. The REAL Truth About Why You Suck: You Don’t!
83. 6 Key Life Lessons from a 100 Year Old Woman – Mother Teresa
84. Make Kindness a Daily Habit From Today
85. How to Get to Your Nirvana Through Kindness
86. Follow Your Intuition and Change your Life
87. 50 Ways Coaches and YOU Can Change the World!
88. Why You Should Never Ever Feel Sorry for Yourself Again!
89. Why Death is the Great Arbitrator
9. Remember that Love is All that Matters
91. 8 Ways to Bring More Love into the World – Before it’s too Late
92. Don’t Fall in Love, Create Love
93. 10 Ways to Turn a Boring Relationship into a Party of Love!
94. The Ultimate 40 posts for Love Every Day
95. Why Love is all That Matters Beyond 21.12.12
96. Lessons in Compassion and Love from my Father
97. Why World Compassion Begins With You
98. Stop Judging, Start Loving
99. Learn to Love Unconditionally
100. Share Your Love with Your Loved Ones Everyday
101. Carry Out Random Acts of Kindness Daily
Life is a Miracle
So there you are – my 101 all time “Make It Happen” top posts to help you make 2014 your best year ever.
A friend recently asked me which one was my favourite blog post of all time on Make It Happen. That was quite a challenge but as I pondered on this a bit more, it became quite easy – my favourite has to be #59 from above:-
How to Live Your Life as if Everything is a Miracle
As you move forward in your life, if you take on just one thing from this blog post, I request you to treat everything in your life as a miracle. And watch how your life transforms.
I wish you a life full of miracles always.
Please Help Spread the Word
Please tell your friends about Make It Happen by using the share buttons below.
Every Retweet and Facebook share helps me grow my blog. I look forward to seeing you here again soon. Thank you for reading! – Arvind
Photos courtesy of peasap, US Army, MattJP and aussiegall
The post 101 Ways to Help You Make It Happen! appeared first on Make It Happen.
101 Ways to Make It Happen For You In 2014
How is 2014 going for you?
Is it just me or has time speeded up in 2014!?
A lot has happened in the world since I last wrote a blog post here. For a start, the world lost Madiba – and how amazing to watch the world coming together not only to mourn Mr Nelson Mandela’s death but also to celebrate his life – a life that transformed our world forever.
“I have worked hard enough, so I can now rest in eternity” – Nelson Mandela
Mr Mandela has left quite a legacy and do check out some of his lessons in leadership.
Around the time Mr Mandela passed away, there was a huge wave of nostalgia as we all basked in the glory of his life and his legacy. But now I feel that we have already forgotten his teachings and his message of universal brotherhood.
As you look around the world today and all the challenges we face in 2014, this is the time when the world needs all of us to be a “Nelson Mandela” too. Yes, quite a challenge, but why not?
We all have to start somewhere. We just never know what a tiny act of kindness can lead to. I remember how my own life changed after I experienced unconditional life for the first time.
So where do you even begin to follow in Mr Mandela’s footsteps? You start by first making your own life the best you can – a life based on high moral and ethical values. At the same time, you do your best for the world around you and you create our legacy.
To help you get started for my first blog post for 2014, I have created a treasure collection of some of the best life-changing articles I have written. This is an eternal anthology to help you get more out of all areas of your life.
Before you dive into the treasure trove, also remember the 7 things to finally stop doing this year.
I looked through all the almost 600 blog posts I have written over 7 years and I have picked out what I consider the best 101 articles.
It was quite a challenge to pick these out and organise them into one post but this has been a labour of love for me this week – and I sincerely hope you get a lot from the 101 articles below.
I have put them under some relevant categories but there’s clearly a lot of crossover. I suggest you read a few articles at a time and bookmark the ones that resonate with you – and of course, do share them as you wish.
I wish you all the best for 2014 and beyond. Thanks for sharing this journey with me – we have much work to do to fulfil Mr Mandela’s legacy.
1. Simplify Your Life
1. 20 Questions to Simplify your Life For Ever
2. 5 Key Lessons in Simplicity from Gandhi the Ultimate Minimalist
3. If Less is Best, Why Do I Still Want a Porsche?
4. Why Decluttering Your Friends is Good for You and Them
5. Stop Wasting Time on Petty Stuff: If I Can Do It, So Can You
6. Don’t go Through Life so Fast!
7. Find Your Path to Happiness By Saying NO
8. Why Playing Big Helps you Let Go of Small Things
9. Take off your Superman Cape and Become Human Again!
2. Take Optimum Self-Care
10. 14 Simple But Powerful Tips to Take Total Self Care of Yourself – Before It’s Too Late!
11. The Zen Mantra for Coping with Pain – “This Too Will Pass!”
12. 31 Days to Bliss and Lightness
13. How to be Positive Even If the DoomSayers Tell You to be Miserable
14. How to Suffer Excruciating Pain and Live Again
15. How to Detox in Five Days with Apple Juice
16. Green Juicing – Your Secret to Health, Vitality & Youth
17. How to Detox in Five Days and Enjoy It!
3. Strive for Excellence & Success
19. Strive for Excellence – Just Begin!
20. Warning: This Blog Post May Cure Your Fear of Success
21. How to Succeed at Anything in 15 minute Chunks
22. Warning: The #1 Secret to Success in Life Which You Ignore at Your Peril!
23. How I Overcame My Fear of Public Speaking – and YOU Can Too
24. How to Stop Being a Mouse in Public!
25. Top 10 Reasons Why Losers Give Up: And How Not To Be a Loser Too!
26. How Money will Reveal Your Truth… if You Can Dare to Look!
27. 9 Tips to Create an Extra Hour Every Day
28. Make It Happen in 30 Days – Just Go on an Adventure!
29. Warning: Why Facing Your Fear Doesn’t Always Work – and 4 Things to do Instead
30. How to Keep Standing No Matter What Life Throws at You!
31. How I Got My Mojo Back – and Now So Can You!
32. James McCartney Interview: Inspirational Lessons in Life from a Rising Superstar
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4. Create Great Relationships
33. Become Aware of Your Relationships
34. Love Yourself First Before Loving Anyone Else
35. Love Yourself Without Becoming Full of Yourself
36. 10 Key Secrets for Becoming Likeable
37. 9 Simple Tips To Create Energising Relationships
38. The Shocking Truth About Being a Nice Person!
39. Stop Being an Approval Seeking Machine!
40. Why Teamwork Always Begins with YOU
41. Why No One Is Ever An Ugly Duckling!
42. Stop Bending over Backwards for Other People!
43. A Powerful Yet Simple Trick to Instantly Improve All Your Relationships
44. 11 Keys to Improve ALL Your Relationships
45. Do You Believe in SoulMates?
46. Be Special to Find the Special One
47. Open Your Heart and Find the Special One
48. Make Your Relationship Even More Special
5. Find Your Vocation
49. Why YOU are the Greatest Gift you can Give the World
50. Discover Your Ultimate Life Purpose Once and For All
51. How to Make Your Dream Job Happen on Your Own Terms
52. Your Personal Brand – the Secret to Success in Life and Business
53. How to be Like the Buddha and Make It Happen Mindfully
54. Find Your Mojo Through Meditation!
55. How to be Outrageous and Change your Life For Ever!
56. Lighten Up and Light Up the World
57. Warning: Freedom Is NOT Everything
58. Find Your Fire!
6. Find Your Joy!
59. How to Live Your Life as if Everything is a Miracle
60. 17 Tips to Become Happy Right Now
61. Live with an Attitude of Gratitude
62. Why Would You Ever Want to Grow Up Anyway?
63. Find Your Bliss – Just Start Walking!
64. Stop Being a Drama Queen and Become Happy Instead!
65. The REAL Truth About Why You Suck: You Don’t!
66. How to Always Look on the Bright Side of Life – Even if You Don’t Want To!
67. How to See the Beauty and Greatness in Any Tragedy
68. Thank the Divine Every Day
69. Happy Thanksgiving Day Today and Every Day!
7. Strive for Personal Social Responsibility
70. Feel the Fear and Change the World Anyway
71. Personal Social Responsibility is Here to Stay
72. Why We Must All Listen to this MotorBike Crazy Mystic!
73. 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free – Book Interview
74. Why Peace Begins with ME and YOU (9/11 tenth Anniversary)
75. How to Be a Good Parent, Even if You Don’t Have Any Children!
8. Build Your Legacy
76. 6 Key Lessons in Life from a 140 year Old Man – Gandhi
77. Let Your Life Be Your Message
78. Why You Should Never Ever Underestimate the Impact of Your Kindness
79. Why the World Needs More Dreamers Like You and Me
80. Be the Change You Want to See in the World – Before it’s too Late!
81. Change Yourself First to Change the World
82. The REAL Truth About Why You Suck: You Don’t!
83. 6 Key Life Lessons from a 100 Year Old Woman – Mother Teresa
84. Make Kindness a Daily Habit From Today
85. How to Get to Your Nirvana Through Kindness
86. Follow Your Intuition and Change your Life
87. 50 Ways Coaches and YOU Can Change the World!
88. Why You Should Never Ever Feel Sorry for Yourself Again!
89. Why Death is the Great Arbitrator
9. Remember that Love is All that Matters
91. 8 Ways to Bring More Love into the World – Before it’s too Late
92. Don’t Fall in Love, Create Love
93. 10 Ways to Turn a Boring Relationship into a Party of Love!
94. The Ultimate 40 posts for Love Every Day
95. Why Love is all That Matters Beyond 21.12.12
96. Lessons in Compassion and Love from my Father
97. Why World Compassion Begins With You
98. Stop Judging, Start Loving
99. Learn to Love Unconditionally
100. Share Your Love with Your Loved Ones Everyday
101. Carry Out Random Acts of Kindness Daily
Life is a Miracle
So there you are – my 101 all time “Make It Happen” top posts to help you make 2014 your best year ever.
A friend recently asked me which one was my favourite blog post of all time on Make It Happen. That was quite a challenge but as I pondered on this a bit more, it became quite easy – my favourite has to be #59 from above:-
How to Live Your Life as if Everything is a Miracle
As you move forward in your life, if you take on just one thing from this blog post, I request you to treat everything in your life as a miracle. And watch how your life transforms.
I wish you a life full of miracles always.
Please Help Spread the Word
Please tell your friends about Make It Happen by using the share buttons below.
Every Retweet and Facebook share helps me grow my blog. I look forward to seeing you here again soon. Thank you for reading! – Arvind
Photos courtesy of peasap, US Army, MattJP and aussiegall
The post 101 Ways to Make It Happen For You In 2014 appeared first on Make It Happen.
November 29, 2013
Why You Should Never Ever Underestimate the Impact of Your Kindness
Happy Thanksgiving Week everyone!
This week, as is the tradition in the USA and other countries around the world, people are celebrating with their families and loved ones. And here in London, over the last few years, thanksgiving is being celebrated more and more. I feel it’s a truly wonderful way of getting reconnected to what really matters in our lives.
Thanksgiving Week is a reminder for us all to live with an Attitude of Gratitude
As we look back this week at our lives and be thankful for all the goodness around us, we can also remember all the little kindnesses that make our lives so wonderful and worthwhile.
At the same time, we should also look at the kindnesses we have carried out for others, whose impact though not immediately obvious can be far reaching and hugely significant.
There are so many ways to randomly make a difference to people – check out my 31 ways to carry out random acts of kindness every day.
So many times in our life, people show us great kindness and yet are not even aware of the impact they have had on us and others as a result of their kind deed.
This week I have been looking back on my own life and reflecting on all the little kindnesses that people have shown me over the years. There are a couple of life changing experiences of kindness which I’ll never forget and which continue to drive me to share more of such kindness and spread the goodness,
To start with there was the kind Mr Roy – this diminutive Indian man was instrumental in starting my real life journey and who completely changed my life and that of others 16 years ago.
He showed me how to be kind to others and get to your own Nirvana.
Please do check out the story of how in just a few hours he transformed my life and ultimately that of thousands of Nirvana School children.
Another time of life changing kindness I experienced was 6 years ago in Dec 2007, when my father passed away and I received so much love and support from strangers and friends alike.
Once particular friend invited me to her home and just let me be with food and drinks aplenty, a bunch of CDs and the space to finally grieve properly.
It is such little kindnesses that we all remember and which make such a big difference to us.
Let Kindness Underpin Your Life Mission
After my lovely friend was so good to me all those years ago, I have made a special effort to support and be with friends who have also lost a loved one.
And today I was able to do just that. Earlier this evening, I had tea with a remarkable man Doug Manuel who is on a mission to transform the delivery of education in schools around the world and especially in Africa though the power of drumming via his international organisation Sewa Beats.
I first met Doug 6 months ago literally in the street – he was on his mobile and I overheard his conversation about coaching and I handed him my business card requesting him to contact me. And since then, we have remained in touch and we finally met properly today.
I viewed Doug’s TED Talk a few months ago and was stuck by his authenticity and his passion for his world and for making a difference in the world.
Doug’s father passed away this week after a long standing illness and having lost my own father 6 years ago, I invited Doug to meet for tea and to talk about his loss and just to be with him.
Little over an hour later, I was blown away by Doug’s vision for his life and for his work – I was left inspired to create something much more and bigger the way he has!
This is Doug’s mission for his life and his work – “To be a Pioneer in Education“.
And by education he means in the true definition of the word ie to learn from within. This is opposed to most of modern schooling which is mainly about cramming information.
What’s really inspiring is that Doug and his organisation are truly living up to his mission – please check out Sewa Education.
Get Beyond Your Judgment and Let Kindness Ripple Through
Then on the way home this evening, I met one of my neighbours living in the next street, an elderly gentleman who was happily chain smoking lying down on a bench despite the bitter cold. For all anyone could see, he didn’t have a care in the world and he was just chilling.
Until recently, every time I passed him on his “smoking bench” I had all my judgments coming through about people abusing their health through heavy smoking etc etc.
Then one day, I saw him in the middle of the road, standing outside his car and seemingly talking to himself. I said hello and when he seemed to be not even aware of me, I felt something wasn’t quite right. So I stopped and asked him if he was okay.
It was then that he told me that his wife had passed away two days before and he was saying his last goodbyes to her outside their car.
He was a broken man and looked so helpless and in so much pain, my heart went out to him – and gone were all my judgments and preconceptions about his smoking habits. Turned out that she had been suffering from a fatal illness for a few years – and smoking was one of his ways of dealing with his impending loss.
And this came on top of him losing both his parents over the last 2 years. Now here he was, all alone with no partner and no parents. And having no children or siblings made him feel terribly alone in his life.
He was so grateful for my interest in his well-being and I felt that I had touched something in him whilst he was at possibly the darkest point in his life. His words of gratitude and appreciation, and the grateful look in his eyes will stay with me forever.
Tony Robbins and Basket Brigade on 23rd Dec
“One small act of generosity on the part of one caring person can transform the lives of hundreds. It takes only one light to dispel the darkness, and even just one basket, or a few could bring hope.” - Tony Robbins
Many years ago a stranger left a basket of food outside Tony Robbins’s home at Xmas time when his family was struggling for money. He was so touched and inspired that he said that one day he would do the same for others.
And now today this single stranger’s kindness has grown into the Anthony Robbins Foundation’s International Basket Brigade, with baskets of food and household items for an estimated two million people annually in countries all over the world.
The International Basket Brigade is built on a simple notion: one small act of generosity on the part of one caring person can transform the lives of hundreds.
Talk about the impact of one stranger’s kindness!
So here is YOUR opportunity to join myself and 100s of other like-minded people in London on 23rd Dec 2013. The intention is to create and anonymously deliver Xmas food baskets to a world record 3,000 families (for one city) on that day.
Please sign up here and join me – I can guarantee you a day you’ll never forget.
In the meantime, please check out these photos from Basket Brigade 2012 and find out just how much fun it can be making a contribution to others!
Never Ever Under-estimate the Power of your Kindness and Goodness
So this is the key takeaway from my special blog post for Thanksgiving week – never ever under-estimate the impact of your kindness on others.
Look to make a difference to others no matter what – you just don’t know what’s really going on for them.
And your kind deed and kind words can dramatically change forever their life and also that of others.
—————————————————————————————————–
Before you go off and start carrying out your next act of kindness, please check out my 5 special lessons for Thanksgiving Day:-)
Thanksgiving Week Lesson 1 – How To Embrace What You Already Have
Thanksgiving Week Lesson 2 – How To Let Yourself Give and Receive
Thanksgiving Week Lesson 3 – How To Add a Little Sizzle to Your Relationships
Thanksgiving Week Lesson 4 – How To Harvest the Wisdom from My Top Blogger Friends
Thanksgiving Week Lesson 5 – How to Serve Others at the Global Table
Finally, do also check out my post from a year ago about how the greatest Thanksgiving gift of all is this precious and miraculous life that we all have.
Top image courtesy of woodleywonderworks
The post Why You Should Never Ever Underestimate the Impact of Your Kindness appeared first on Make It Happen.
November 21, 2013
8 Ways to Bring More Love into the World – Before it’s too Late
Have you ever wondered what it is that every human being ultimately wants in their life?
Well, wonder no more – I can tell you what we all ultimately want to do:-
We all want to make a profound difference in the lives of others.
Deep down you already know this – but you may have not been willing to acknowledge it. Or maybe in your world, it’s not considered cool to openly declare your desire to help others.
As I look around the world today, I am so encouraged to see so many more people stepping up and wanting to create their legacy and to live a life of contribution.
You may argue that maybe that’s just the circle of people I move in. Well, that could be true but then again I seem to attract people who want to make a big difference in the world!
Right now, the world is shocked and moved by the plight of the millions of people affected in the Philippines after the most powerful typhoon recorded in human history. And this could just be the beginning of many more such massive natural catastrophes to come in the years to come.
What has been so heartening and moving is how so many people around the world have stepped up in their efforts to help the millions of people affected in the Philippines.
What is it about the human heart that so moves us in making such superhuman efforts?
Maybe it’s because the path to Nirvana lies in kindness to others
My Update from the Last Few Months
As some of you will have noticed, I have not been blogging much over the last few months. It seems a long time ago since I wrote 100 blog posts in a month and wrote 28 relationship articles in the month of February 2011!
I have been on quite a journey over the last few months – and like for so many of us, it has been a time of deep soul searching and retrenchment.
This year began for me with a wonderful Yoga experience with Sadhguru in February which really reconnected me to my true core and made me realise what’s important to me.
“A World full of love, light and laughter. It’s time has come. Let’s make it happen!”- Sadhguru
As I look back on my life over the last few years, it seems that I had moved away from my core purpose of living a life of contribution and making a difference. Then a recent personal development seminar with Landmark awoke me once again to what’s important to me and made me present to my own greatness – and also your greatness.
I am pleased to get back into integrity and once again write about matters about life from my heart.
So here I am reinvigorated and blogging once again, out to transform the world one reader at a time! It feels great to be back – and on this 50th anniversary of the death of President John F Kennedy, what better topic to write about than love and kindness?
My blog post for today is about love – and how to bring more love into the world before it’s too late.
Have you heard the story of the ugly duckling?
Well, there never was an ugly duckling – he was actually a swan whose real beauty had not been recognised by himself and nor by others.
All of us may or may not be ugly ducklings, but we are totally worthy of being loved, accepted and cherished just as we are.
Check out why no one is ever an ugly duckling
Ultimately we are all trying to do the best we can with our current knowledge of knowledge, awareness and understanding. But we lose our way and the first thing that goes is our ability to love ourselves and others.
To begin this article about love, I was going to write a few words here about how fragile our lives are and how tenuous is the fine line between life and death. But as so often happens, life illustrated my point more poignantly than I ever could myself.
I started writing this article on a train going to London and we were told by the driver over the tannoy that our train was subject to long delays. My initial reaction was something along the lines of oh no, here we go again!
Then at the next station, I got talking to an employee of the train company and he told me what a traumatic morning it had been for them. There had been a fatality with someone hit by a train at that very station. All the staff were traumatised and he was being sent home to rest.
Immediately, my heart sank for the family of the killed person – so what if I was late getting home? There was one person who was never going to get home – never mind getting home late. And the lives of his/her loved ones will never be the same again.
This was yet again another stark reminder of why we need to make the most of each day as we just don’t know what tomorrow will bring.
Yet, we all go through life as if there is always going to be a tomorrow for us. We squander our precious time and energy on things that really don’t matter at the end of the day.
We put our lives on hold and we spend so much of each day on those things that we cannot control or impact. For example, here in the UK most of us moan and groan about our unreliable weather – and yet there is not much we can do anything about it!
We try and control our relationships and how people behave around us – and yet we rarely look at how we are impacting them and what needs to change in us.
We want things done our way – and our way only. My way or no way!
Okay, maybe I am exaggerating a bit here but you get my point.
So what does really matter in our lives?
“You’re imperfect, and you’re wired for struggle, but you are worthy of love and belonging.” - Brené Brown
Yes, maybe we are all imperfect and maybe we are wired for struggle. And yes, maybe life sucks for so many of us for much of the time. But what really matters in life?
By the way “Life Sucks” is an American phrase I picked up from my US friends. Every time they say this to me, I give them a lecture about how you get back what you put out, and how they should reframe their outlook. But I am learning now to leave them be –and I am trying to love them:-)
I digress.
What really matters in life is love.
Simple.
Love is the most amazing thing in our lives. It is what makes us human, what makes life worth living. Nothing else truly matters. The size of our homes, bank balances, the beauty of our spouse, the speed of our car – all these things pale into insignificance when we face the splendour of what it is that makes us tick.
Love does not make the world go around – it simply makes the ride worthwhile!
Love is not the highly commercialised circus we see on Valentine’s Day. It is much deeper and much more profound than sending someone a dozen roses at hugely inflated prices. It is much more than candle lit dinners and fancy chocolates.
We all yearn for that deep connection with others, those moments of bliss, joy, completeness. We crave to have more of those delicious moments we may have had with a romantic partner. Such moments seem so rare and forlorn.
We all remember the blissful moments when strangers have shared their love and made a difference.
We cry when we see happy stories on our TV screens of families reuniting.
We remember the sheer joy of children playing and the love in their eyes. Our hearts skip a beat, we get goose pimples and we get teary eyed when we witness an act of sheer love, pure, unadulterated and unconditional. Such moments literally take our breath away.
I invite you to look back on your own life and remember those moments when you have been blown away by an act of love. Recall how amazing you felt and how everything in the world seemed just right.
I can look back in my life and I can still remember the wonder I felt when I saw a friend’s baby son 20 minutes after he was born. And not having any children myself, I’ll be eternally grateful for that gift.
Another time, I felt so much unconditional love and joy when visiting some orphans – indeed this first time that I experienced unconditional love changed my life forever.
At the same time, when I look back on my life, there have been so many unloving things I have done that I now regret. Such as getting angry and impatient with my young nephew and mildly smacking him. Or getting really impatient with my siblings and almost hitting my younger sister. Even getting angry with my late father for his quirky habits.
These were little things which they probably don’t even remember but which still haunt me to this day. Things I regret and wish I could undo and erase from my psyche.
(By the way, now that my father is no longer around, those “quirky habits” are now fond memories of his endearing habits)
If love is all that matters, where did the love go in those dire moments which I still regret?
The love was brushed aside by a suddenly descended fog of anger, self-centredness and greed – and any number of other negative emotions. Or so called negative emotions.
Looking back to how I was then as a person and how I am now, the key difference is I am now much more self-aware of my thoughts, words and actions.
And with greater self-awareness has come calmness and greater compassion for those around me and for the world.
This perhaps is the key to bringing more love into the world and especially in our relationships. And I would like to think that all my relationships are now love based and much more authentic and genuine that before.
If I can do it so can you!
You too can have authentic relationships which are heart-centred and full of love – and here my 8 simple tips to help you bring more love into the world:-
1. Next time you are in a potential conflict or disagreement with someone, ask yourself – does this really matter? Will I even be talking about this in the months and years to come!?
2. Take a time out – get away from the situation and let your emotions calm down. Otherwise as in my examples above, you might end up doing something you’ll regret for the rest of your life.
3. Put yourself in the other person’s place and ask how you would want to be treated if you were them. Then treat them exactly the same way if not even better.
4. See each person in your life as a young vulnerable and helpless baby – which they all were at one time – and then see if you can show them the same love and awe you would show towards a baby.
5. Look for the highest good in the other person. Everyone is doing the best they can – so help them be the best they can be!
Indeed in any transaction and dealings with other people, look for the highest good of all involved.
6. Learn from any experiences where a relationship has deteriorated and see how you can do things differently next time. What one key lesson have you learnt that you can apply next time?
7. Look for guidance from your mentors and people you look up to help you resolve any relationship issues. What would your role models say? What would Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Dr Martin Luther Kind Jr say?
8. Finally, perhaps the most important thing is to have a life mission to bring more love into the world. Ask yourself these 2 key questions anytime you are in a conflict:-
What would love do?
How can I bring more love into the world?
The Way Forward
There never was an ugly duckling – just a beautiful swan that didn’t recognise his own beauty. The ugly duckling was teased and harassed by the ducks and other birds. Yet he retained his dignity and one day woke up to his own beauty.
In the same way, we are all beautiful swans – we just have to wake up. And we wake up by awakening to all the love in us and around us, and then doing our utmost to bring more love into all our relationships.
May you continue to bring more love into the world – please do so before it’s too late!
Do you have a DREAM?
In the last few weeks, we have had some momentous events and historic anniversaries.
First it was the 50th anniversary of the famous speech from Dr Martin Luther King Jr when he spoke of his Dream.
On 28th August 1963, Dr Martin Luther King Jr made the speech at the end of a freedom march in Washington DC that was the turning point in the civil rights movements, and his words have been immortalised. So what was it all about?
If you haven’t yet heard this speech online, where have you been!?
Now thanks to YouTube. you can finally hear it please check it out here as soon as possible. The video clip is just over 17 minutes long, so click here, sit back and enjoy being inspired by one of the greatest men of the 20th century.
As you watch this clip, I invite you to think about these 3 questions:-
What is YOUR dream?
What can you do with your life to change the world forever?
When will you begin?
“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step” - Dr Martin Luther King Jr
Happy Diwali and Indian New Year!
It was the Indian festival of Diwali and the Indian New Year last week and as usual it was fabulous time to get together with family and friends.
However as so often happens, the celebrations seem to be over far too soon – but here’s how you can spread the joy of Diwali and indeed any other festival all year round:-)
10 Tips to Have the Joy of Diwali all Year Around
Graced with Orange
Talking of love and kindness, I am currently reading an amazing and inspirational story of philanthropy and compassion called “Graced with Orange” (Amazon.Com / Amazon.Co.Uk)
Author Jamie C. Amelio found the true meaning of her life after she launched a charity “Caring For Cambodia”.
And it all began with a dollar.
When Srelin, an eight-year-old Cambodian girl approached Jamie C. Amelio and asked for a dollar so she could afford to go to school, Amelio was skeptical. Was this just another beggar’s ruse?
Amelio was visiting Cambodia for the first time, and was shocked by the poverty. Entire villages lacked plumbing or electricity. And this child wanted a dollar for school?
A doubtful Amelio told Srelin that if she would take her to visit the school, she would give her the dollar. What Amelio found at that school changed her life.
Graced with Orange (Amazon.Com / Amazon.Co.Uk) is the story of how Amelio discovered 75 hungry, impoverished Cambodian children crowded into a single room with bars on the windows, waiting patiently for a teacher who never showed up. The students shared a pencil they had broken into small pieces, and had few school supplies. And this was a school that students had to pay to attend!
Overwhelming? Yes. But Amelio took it as a challenge. She established “Caring for Cambodia,” an organization which builds life-changing schools and offers opportunities to young people to learn in a safe, nurturing environment with motivated teachers. She invested herself into making lasting change in a country that cried out for it. She vowed to make a difference.
Readers will be inspired by the children of Cambodia. They will start out learning the background of how to build a charity and school system from the ground up and end up understanding how ‘giving’ and ‘getting’ can become the same thing.
As you begin to bring more love and kindness into the world, I can highly recommend “Graced with Orange” (Amazon.Com / Amazon.Co.Uk) to get you started on your own journey of contribution.
Footnote:- The core of this article first appeared on Tiny Buddha
The post 8 Ways to Bring More Love into the World – Before it’s too Late appeared first on Make It Happen.
October 7, 2013
Warning: Why Facing Your Fear Doesn’t Always Work – and 4 Things to do Instead
What are you afraid to do in your life?
Probably the most common advice you’ll get when you are afraid to do something is to “feel the fear and do it anyway”. Whether you want to talk to a person at a party, start your own business or bungee jump, you’re supposed to face your fear and do what you truly desire.
In essence, this is good advice. The principle behind it is solid. It is by pushing against your fear and challenging yourself that you build confidence. You can even overcome your fear of speaking in public, like Arvind did.
Indeed, you can feel the fear and change the world anyway.
However, based on several years of experience as a confidence coach, I believe that in practice, this guidance often doesn’t work.
This is because in practice, many times the fear someone is feeling is too strong for them to be able to just face it and do what they want. No matter how hard they try, they cannot overpower their fear.
Unfortunately, many individuals who offer self-help advice simply don’t understand this, which is why they keep repeating the same advice for people to face their fears and to try harder, as if this by itself is the universal solution to overcoming any fear.
But it’s not. Many times, just trying to face your fear doesn’t do it. I’d like to show you a few things that you can do in these situations, and genuinely become more confident. Here are 4 proven ideas that you can put into practice.
1. Take a Progressive Approach
When you fear a certain stimulus, the intensity of the fear will generally be proportional to the intensity of the stimulus. If you’re trying to face that fear but you just can’t do it, it may very likely mean that you’re trying to face it at a very high intensity, and therefore it generates a very high dose of anxiety for you.
The solution to this predicament is to find situations where you encounter the same stimulus at a lower intensity, and try to face it there. You’re much more likely to be able to do it. And as you get used to the stimulus and you build confidence, you can increase its intensity. But the whole process needs to be gradual.
For instance, let’s say you have a strong fear of public speaking and you want to overcome it. It’s not wise to try and jump in a situation where you speak in front of 100 people. It will generate too much anxiety for you. It’s best to start small, with speaking in front of 10 or 12 people, and progressively advance to bigger audiences as you fear declines. I can vouch from experience that this is by far the most effective approach.
2. Gain Knowledge First
Frequently we dread dealing with certain types of situations because we don’t know how to deal with them effectively. We lack the appropriate know-how. But if we acquire that know-how prior to attempting to deal with it, our anxiety will visibly lessen.
Here’s an example: I often coach people who are shy or socially anxious. It’s not uncommon for them to have little social experience and not really understand how to talk to people or what the basic rules of conversation are.
Fortunately, it only takes a bit of theoretical learning for them to understand the basic principles and dynamics of conversation. And once they’ve done so, they can approach social situations with a lot more confidence, because they feel they now know what to do in such situations.
It just goes to show that a bit of relevant knowledge can go a long way in calming one’s anxiety. And then it’s much easier to face whatever fear remains.
3. Use Positive Self-talk
Positive self-talk is one of the most powerful tools I know for calming anxiety. The gist of it is to deliberately talk to yourself in a constructive way and reassure your mind that everything will be okay. Kind of like a loving parent talking to a child who is afraid of the dark and helping the child quiet the nervousness.
Using this kind of self-talk will help take down your anxiety a couple of notches, which will then make it easier to push against it and do what you want to do. Or it may even eradicate your anxiety completely. It depends.
Using positive self-talk effectively is an art and science in itself, and it can take a while to master this. I will say though that persistence goes a long way in mastering it. So it’s worth practicing with persistence.
4. Get Someone to Push You As Well
There is a reason why people who work out under the supervision of a fitness instructor usually get much better, faster results than people who work out without an instructor. It’s because the instructor not only gives them feedback, but also provides some extra emotional push.
When the person feels like putting the barbell down, the instructor pushes them to do another rep or two. And it the long run that small addition makes a huge difference.
Similarly, with some external help, you can push against a higher dose of fear and be able to go through it. You can get out of your comfort zone further than you could on your own, and this makes confidence building faster.
This external help can be a supportive friend or family member, but it’s better if it’s a qualified trainer, coach or psychologist, someone who truly knows what they’re doing. Facing a fear at a high intensity can be somewhat perilous if the person pushing you doesn’t have a good grasp the mechanisms of fear; and this is something to bear in mind.
I will be the first one to say that facing and overcoming any fear is not simple. It sounds simple sometimes, but it’s not. Fear is a tricky, complex adversary to face and it’s crucial to have a good understanding of the way it works in order to face it effectively.
You can do it.
Put the advice I shared with you here into practice, and I’m certain you will see impressive results.
Eduard Ezeanu helps others build the confidence to be more talkative socially, have more initiative in life, and follow their dreams all the way. He also writes on People Skills Decoded, his specialized blog for improving social skills and social confidence.
Image courtesy of Capture Queen
The post Warning: Why Facing Your Fear Doesn’t Always Work – and 4 Things to do Instead appeared first on Make It Happen.
August 2, 2013
Special Coaching Offer for a Happy August!
Happy August everyone!
Have you noticed how quickly 2013 is slipping by? Before we know it, it’ll be Christmas time!
Firstly, thanks to the 100s of friends who attended my 12th annual “Friends and Friend’s Friends Picnic” in Regents Park last Sunday.
It was the best and biggest ever picnic with over 300+ people attending. I’ll be writing a full blog post soon about the ethos of my picnic and the lessons in life from the event in a future post, but in the meantime check out my picnic photos 
Being the beginning of the month, I want to share a couple of articles to help you get the month off to a fabulous start:-
1. 31 Days to Bliss and Lightness
2. Make It Happen in 30 Days – Just Go on an Adventure!
The beginning of a new month usually gives us new focus and energy – and my invitation to you is to embrace this period and see what new focus and zest you can bring into your life.
It’s clearly time to be more creative:-
“Be brave enough to live creatively. The creative is the place where no one else has ever been. You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. You cannot get there by bus, only by hard work, risking and by not quite knowing what you are doing. What you will discover will be wonderful: Yourself.” – Alan Alda
Special Coaching Offer for August
With so many new subscribers to my blog, some of you may not yet be aware of my coaching services so please check out my Coaching Packages.
I truly believe in the power of coaching – and I have a coaching package to suit each and every one of you.
For the month of August I am offering 10 coaching slots for my One Month KickStarter Package.
My usual price for this package is £250 but for August I am making it available for just £150.
This is the perfect option for you if you have a very specific problem that you are struggling with in your life, your career or your business that we can quickly solve together.
You will get clarity, momentum and an action plan for the way forward in your life.
And this is how we’ll work together:-
One 60-minute Skype session
Copy of the Call recording
Detailed Plan of Action
2 email correspondences after your session
To book your session and reserve one of the 10 available slots, please EMAIL ME right away.
I am here to empower you to get the life you love – I want to bring you alive!
“ I want to do for you what the spring does for the cherry trees. ” – Paulo Neruda
And always remember Nulli Secundus – Second to None!
Secrets of the Money Shaman Offer
As we head towards the end of the summer in England, it’s only a few weeks before autumn sets in and we knuckle down to the colder days to come. This is a good time to take stock of our lives and our finances.
“Would you love to experience a really powerful breakthrough in your financial situation and know how to release your fear and struggle around money?”
A while back I teamed with my friend Davide De Angelis aka “The Money Shaman” to share his ethos of abundance and financial freedom. And I am delighted to share with you his life changing online course – “Secrets of The Money Shaman”.
This is a Powerful 7-Week Money Innovation Course in Attracting Money and Opportunities without fear and struggle
Click here now to get your copy of this life changing course
My 7 Tips to Improve all your Relationships
I was interviewed recently on another radio station where I talked about rapidly improving all your relationships – and here are my 7 key tips:-
Be Authentic
Be Generous
Be in Integrity
Be Present and truly Listen
Look to Contribute and Serve Others
Empathise and Put Yourselves in Their Place
Lighten up – we all take life too seriously. Ask – does this really matter?
Have a fabulous August everyone!
And remember to EMAIL ME right away to grab one of the 10 Coaching Slots.
The post Special Coaching Offer for a Happy August! appeared first on Make It Happen.
July 17, 2013
Warning: The #1 Secret to Success in Life Which You Ignore at Your Peril!
Do you ever wonder why some people are more successful than others?
Maybe you are even frustrated seeing how some people are doing so much better than you?
And have you wondered what it would be like to discover the #1 secret to success in life? What differentiates you from Steve Jobs or Richard Branson?
Well, in the next few minutes reading this blog post may just change your perspective on life forever. No pressure!
I had a dear friend around for lunch last week – and as we often do when we meet, we got talking about life and what the next few years will bring us.
We all come to a crossroads in our life when we face having to make some major decisions – and depending on the path we take, our life may change one way or the other. Sometimes quite dramatically.
So often a life-changing event such as say a serious health challenge or the passing of a loved one causes us to reflect and review our life. And yet so often, we do nothing to change our life as day to day commitments and challenges take up our time, focus and energy.
My friend who came for lunch shared this powerful prayer from Marianne Williamson:
Dear God/Universe/Source (insert here whatever word you prefer),
“Please impress upon me the vision of whom I am meant to be – reveal to me the bigger life you would have me live and undo the forces that keep me bound so that I might serve you more” – Marianne Williamson.
Marianne Williamson is one of my favourite teachers and I have been privileged to be the “mike-runner” at a couple of her talks.
So that’s it – the number one secret to success in life!
At the end of the day, it all comes back to being of greater service to others. As the late and great inspirational teacher Zig Ziglar said:-
“You can get everything in life you want if you will just help enough other people get what they want” – Zig Ziglar
Now you know the reason behind why Steve Jobs and Richard Branson have been so successful in the business world – they served so many people through their businesses. The products and services they created fulfilled superbly their customer’s needs again and again
One of my friends is currently recuperating after a major operation and I just get the sense that her life is now going to follow a completely different pathway. The questions she is pondering are:-
What’s next for me?
How can I be of greater service to the world?
This friend is one of the most inspirational and loving people I know and the world needs her to share her gifts much more widely.
So my point is this – what will it take for you to truly follow what you want to do? Why wait for your wake-up call from the Universe?
And the answer to this question becomes easier to arrive at if you ask yourself this key question:-
How can I serve the world more?
To help you further, I invite you to ponder on these 2 questions:-
What will you say about your life 10 years from now?
What will others say about your life 10 years from now?
I have chosen 10 years as the figure here, but I could have easily suggested 5 years or 20 years. The point is that what you do today and how you serve others will impact the rest of your life.
Regardless of what profession you are in, what country you live in, what age you are, time is slipping away. So wait no more to follow what you want to do and to serve the world!
Now when I usually talk about service, some readers mistakenly believe that I am suggesting going to another part of the world and getting involved with a charitable institution such as Nirvana School in South India. However, you can serve others from exactly where you are today, and through whatever you currently do.
So let me be clear here – I am not advocating that we all pack up our bags and go and serve others.
It’s a misconception that you need to change your life dramatically to be of service to the others.
Besides, it’s not necessarily easy for everyone to pack up their jobs and go travelling. To put things into perspective, for a lot of people in the world, finding their next meal is their biggest challenge, never mind being of service to others or seeking the perfect job or even enlightenment.
Please also be clear that I am not talking about servitude! I am advocating coming from a place of wanting to serve through choice and from a position of personal power.
The emphasis of this post is all about how you can be more successful in your life by helping others much more – and it’s not about dramatically changing the world. Though that might happen too!
True service to others is simply about bringing all of you into what you do every day! (Tweet this)
And ultimately, success in life can only come through truly serving people and serving as many people as you can.
It’s about doing what you do, whole-heartedly and with the intention of consciously making a difference to others. And you can do this, no matter what your profession is and where you are in your life.
If you are a painter and decorator, always do your best job you can!
If you are in customer service, hard as it might be at times, do it with a smile and with the intention to be of service.
If you are a writer, bring your authentic and pure self to the keyboard and pump out your best and most inspirational work:-).
I have met some very jolly and happy people performing what others would have considered jobs of drudgery and far beneath themselves. And I have also met some people in high level jobs, who moan all day to anyone who wold listen about their woes.
Remember that every human interaction is one of give and take. And each interaction is an opportunity to be of service to others. (Tweet this)
“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” – Howard Thurman
In my time, I have met some people who seemed more dead than the dodo! But this is about you – just how alive are you? And what makes you come alive!?
I have learnt that some people will rise to any challenge, others will always complain. And some people will pull out all the stops to make something happen, others will do the minimum and give up.
Just make sure that you are the one who has come alive and is hungry for grabbing success in life through serving others.
I have often written in the past about serving others and here are three of my most popular posts in this area:-
1. Feel the Fear and Change the World Any Way!
2. 6 Key Lessons in Life from a 140 Year Old Man
3. Let your Life be your Message
I invite you to read each of these articles properly – and then do not be surprised to see your approach and attitude to live shift dramatically.
To bring an attitude of service into your daily life, it’s actually quite simple but not necessarily easy. To help you get started, here are my suggestions:-
1. Always Give your 100%
No matter what job you have and where you are in your life, do it to the best of your ability – whatever you do, do it 100%. Or don’t do it!
Can you imagine the dire and serious consequences if a surgeon did shoddy work!? What life threatening damage could he or she do?
No matter what you do, YOUR work deserves to be done with the same level of care, diligence and attention.
2. Give People more Than They Expect
Most people only do the minimum they need to but YOU can always give people more than they expect. Ask yourself how can I serve more in this interaction? And then do it.
Always go the extra mile and remember – there is no traffic jam on the extra mile!
3. Connect People
One of the best ways of serving the people in your life is by connecting them with others in your life where you sense there might be mutual synergies or where one person can help the other.
I have a superb painter / decorator friend called Ricardo whom I have recommended to a number of friends over the years and he has done a sterling job for them all.
So who can you connect and serve in your community?
4. Look out for People in Distress or in Need of Help.
Do you remember how you felt the last time you helped a stranger with directions?
I bet you experienced a deep feel good factor in your body and you felt really good for the rest of the day for having helped someone.
So from now onwards, actively look out for ways of serving others around you as you go through your daily life. It’s easy right?
5. Get Involved in your Local Community
There are so many ways you can officially serve your community such as joining your local youth centre or social centre.
Just find something that you like doing and which uses your skills.
6. Enrol as a Volunteer
One of the key factors behind the success of the London Olympics 2012 was the energy and enthusiasm of the volunteers.
These selfless volunteers who gave up their time to ensure the well-being of the spectators created a superb atmosphere and contributed to what’s recognised as the best Olympic games of the modern era.
I recently volunteered at a festival in Hyde Park and it was an amazing experience. I had a ball! I made some new friends and also went 10 shades of brown darker in the hot sun!
So look for ways of how you too can volunteer your services in something much bigger than you. As always, you’ll get so much more back!
7. Remember to Smile Often
By applying this one idea alone could transform your world and that of the people around you!
Would you rather be served by someone smiling or someone miserable? By someone looking light and jolly, or someone who seems to be carrying the weight of the whole world?
Whatever job you do, bring a smile and light-heartedness to your activity – and watch the impact on those you serve.
Even if you see your job as drudgery or mundane, from now onwards remember to smile, and to smile often. Ad your job will somehow feel easier too.
People will soon start wondering what your secret of happiness is – and they’ll gravitate towards.
8. Pay It Forward with Random Acts of Kindness
This is one of my favourite ways of serving others – pay it forward.
If someone does you a kindness, you simply “pay it forward” by carrying out an act of kindness for someone else.
The key is to always forget what kindnesses you have done, and to never forget the kindnesses done for you.
Go one step further and choose one or more ideas from 31 Ways to Carry out Random Acts of Kindness
You could go the extra mile – and choose one random act of kindness for each of the next 31 days.
Let’s create a ripple of kindness and service all around us!
The Way Forward
In this blog post, it seems that I have come full circle. I started by talking about reflecting on what’s next in your life – and how to bring a greater attitude of service in your life.
And maybe it’s not even about what’s next for you – it’s about being fully present and committed to where you are now.
By making the most of what you have now and giving the best service you can, the future will sort itself out.
What the world needs today is more people committed to serve others NOW. So let’s start from where we are now and see where we go -and at the same time, see how that brings you more success in life.
NOW, please share below in the comments section YOUR intention for service – let’s put it out there:-)
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Make It Happen Workshop this Saturday, 20th July 2013
I am pleased to announce that I am launching regular weekend workshops for the rest of the year. To start with, these will be intimate events for a small number of people in a beautiful venue in central London.
The first workshop is this Saturday, 20th July 2013 from 3pm to 6pm.
What will you get from this event?
Clarity about the single most important goal for you in 2013
Insights into what’s been holding you back and stopping you
An action plan to help you make it happen
Click here to find out more about my workshop and to secure your place
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My Radio Interviews
In the last 3 weeks, I have been interviewed on 2 radio shows – please check them out as below:-
1. Radio Enso with Arvind Devalia
2. How you can Make It Happen with Arvind Devalia
Enjoy!
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My 12th Annual Friends & Friend’s Friends Picnic!
11 years ago, I had this vision of bringing together the various people in my life for a day of celebration of life.
The result was my first ever “Friends & Friend’s Friends Picnic” in 2002. Every year since then, I have held this picnic in Regents Park central London – and this year’s event is on this coming Sunday – 21st July.
Check out more information here and join me!
Please bring all your friends, family, neighbours, work colleagues etc.
This year, the event has even been featured in TimeOut London magazine and you can read the online version here:-
TimeOut magazine has described the picnic beautifully:-
”Indian author Arvind Devalia is on a mission to ‘create a movement of people who want to make the world a better place whilst also improving their own lives’.
One of the ways he reaches out is through his annual FAFF picnic – which is in its twelfth year now – inviting people to bring their families and friends down for a day of pleasant picnicking (bring your own food), games, African drumming, dancing and guided meditation.
The picnic will take place whatever the weather. NB: Enter the park via Hanover Gate.”
I look forward to seeing you all there!
If you are not in London or you are unable to attend due to prior commitments, then please do organise your own “Friends & Friend’s Friends Picnic”.
Check out my guide to organising your own picnic!
I wish you all an amazing weekend – and a wonderful picnic wherever you are in the world.
And always remember to go the extra mile when serving others – therein lies the secret to success in your life .
The post Warning: The #1 Secret to Success in Life Which You Ignore at Your Peril! appeared first on Make It Happen.
June 16, 2013
Happy Father’s Day – and FREE Kindle Books to Celebrate!
Are you celebrating Father’s Day this weekend?
Most of the western world celebrates Father’s Day on Sunday 16th June, whereas other countries and cultures celebrate such a day at different times of the year.
Initially I found the concept of having a special day for fathers a bit strange – in my Indian culture, it’s our duty to always respect and honour our fathers and mothers. So I used to wonder why anyone would even need a specific day just for that.
However the idea of having an extra-special day with your father is a fun thing to do and I hope that where ever you are, all fathers and their families are having a fabulous day of celebration.
To me, Father’s Day will always be a time for me to remember what my father has done for me.
At the same time, do avoid all the commercial circus – I suggest you be sensible and do not succumb to all the hype around this day.
Honour, appreciate and remember your father for what he does and has done for you.
As long- term regular readers will know, I lost my father a few years ago – and incredibly it’ll be 6 years next December since he left us. He still lives on in our memories, and in my siblings and me. His essence will always be with us.
One thing that he always encouraged me to do was to write and publish more books. In the last year of his life, every time I saw him he would ask me if I had published another book – even though I had only seen him 3 weeks before!
If he was alive today in the days of kindle books, I could probably answer in the affirmative and say that yes I had just published another e-book on Amazon kindle:-).
This brings me to the point of this blog post – this weekend, my main two kindle books on Amazon – “Get the Life you Love” and “Love is all that Matters” are available free on Amazon for Father’s Day.
1. Get the Life you Love
The Kindle version of my best-selling book “Get the Life you Love” is available on Amazon for FREE, today 16th June.
As long as you are signed up on Amazon Kindle, you can get it.
You don’t even need a Kindle reader to read the book. You can download a Kindle app for your computer, IPhone, IPad or indeed most other smart phones and tablets.
You can also read the book in the Amazon Kindle Cloud Reader - this allows you to read my book in your browser!
You can download my Kindle book for FREE right now by clicking on the appropriate link below:-
If you can’s see the images above, then just click n the appropriate links – Amazon.Com / Amazon.co.uk
If you are in a country not served by Amazon.Com, then simply search on your local Amazon website under my name “Arvind Devalia” and then choose “Love is all that Matters”.
(Also, in the next 3 minutes you can see how this book was first created – just click on this link to see this inspiring video showing the paperback version of my book rolling off the printing press – every author’s dream!)
I would love you to get my book and go through the many lessons and exercises in it. I can guarantee you that life will be impacted in a positive way.
Please do let me know how you get on with my book.
And I would really appreciate it if you could write me a review on Amazon afterwards:-)
2. Love is all that Matters
Here are the links on Amazon for “Love is all that Matters”:-
If you can’s see the images above, then just click n the appropriate links - Amazon.Com / Amazon.co.uk
If you are in a country not served by Amazon.Com, then simply search on your local Amazon website under my name “Arvind Devalia” and then choose “Love is all that Matters”.
This book is a clarion call to bring more love into the world through simple yet powerful daily rituals.
So please get your copy today and bring more love into your life.
There are 9 chapters in this book and each short chapter concludes with a daily exercise – carry out these simple exercises and watch in wonder as your life magically transforms into a life filled with love, kindness and understanding.
Tribute to my Late Father
As I said, it seems only yesterday that my father was with us and we celebrated Father’s Day together. And yet it’s already 6 years since he was with us on this day of celebrating him.
No matter what, he will always be my daddy.
I have previously written at length about losing my father, my grief and my journey since then. For my many new readers, here are my key posts below.
Take your time reading these articles – I have been deeply touched by the many friends who have written to say how much reading these articles has helped with their own grief – and at the same time appreciate their own fathers more.
1. Lessons in compassion from my father
2. Lessons in life and death from my father
3. The first ever year of my life without my father
4. How to suffer excruciating pain and live again
So on this day, do take some time out to also remember what YOUR father has done for you and continues to do so.
And no matter what, just remember to honour and love your father every day not just on father’s day
Happy Father’s Day everyone – today and every day.
Top photo courtesy of babasteve
The post Happy Father’s Day – and FREE Kindle Books to Celebrate! appeared first on Make It Happen.
June 7, 2013
101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free – Book Interview
How clean and green is your life? Are you aware of the concept of “Green Living”?
Do you even have any awareness of your impact on the environment around you?
Every now and then, I meet someone who is just so passionate about what they believe in and what they stand for.
One such person is Anna Pitt whom I met a year ago at my talk at the Millionaire Author Bootcamp. That was the day I overcame my fear of public speaking on a big stage!
I vividly remember how Anna met me after my presentation saying how I had changed her life! She was really inspired to finally get her own book out there about green living and today I am proud and honoured to interview her about her first book “101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free (Amazon USA /Amazon UK).
By the way, if you also want to Make it Happen and get YOUR book out in the world, then contact me today for some Kick-Ass Make It Happen Coaching
Green Living
Green living is something I am also interested in and whilst I was composing this blog post, Anna sent me the feedback she received from one of the first people to apply the ideas in her book:-
“Reading Anna Pitt’s book has really surprised me of how much I could do to recycle and reduce waste – flicking through the pages I’ve either thought or said to myself, I either do that or I could try that. Recently I have copied some ideas in the book. It has turned a full bin in to half a bin!”
Which makes me even more excited to share Anna and her book with you and to further spread her message about green living:-
1. Anna, your book idea totally resonated with me when we first met. Please tell my readers more about your book.
101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free is about reducing waste. It gives the reader 101 simple ways in which families can be kinder to the environment without having to spend a single penny. There are tips on how to reduce food waste, how to save water, energy and fuel and how to recycle and reuse your stuff.
The really important thing is that my book takes a look at the maths and the science behind all these green efforts and shows exactly how much difference small changes of habit can make.
A few years ago I started a project to try to show the next generation exactly how and why we need to rethink our attitude to waste. I believe that we need to embrace whole-heartedly the circular economy and shun the linear economy that is destroying our planet.
However not enough people are allowing this message to sink in and then doing something about it.
So, I thought it was about time I did my bit!
I wrote 101 Ways with a very specific goal in mind: to create a resource for waste reduction workshops for secondary schools.
The tips in my book are family orientated and I hope that students will share the ideas at home. But in my workshops I’ll be helping students to create their own version of 101 Ways with tips that are entirely relevant to their own lives and their own communities.
I know from my experience as a systems analyst, that when people are involved in creating and shaping something they become far more engaged in the message.
Better than reading a book about green living is to create a book of your own about green living!
2. What’s special about your book? How is it different from other books out there?
There are lots of books about reducing carbon footprint, but so many of them can put you off in the first few pages, because the tips and suggestions require financial investment and we don’t all have that available to us.
So I wanted to focus on things we can do for free.
‘Waste’ is just what it says it is – a waste – something unnecessary and undesirable. We’re the generation of the throw-away society; we are surrounded by the ‘built in obsolescence’ culture. But we are seeing now that we can’t go on like that. So there’s a green economy popping up, building on our fears and concerns and charging a premium to those of us who feel it is important to go green.
My book, 101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free is, I suppose, a reaction against that.
Besides, it is the perfect time for a book like this, because so many of us have to tighten our belts at the moment. And so many of the things we can do for free are not just free but they actually save us money.
Most importantly, though, I wanted to create something that would engage teens. I looked long and hard for books and resources that I could use for my workshops, before I thought about actually creating a book in my workshops and I was amazed to find that there was nothing out there, specifically on green living, specifically for teens.
I thought, maybe, this was because people thought teens didn’t read books, but that doesn’t explain the plethora of titles out there on maths, history, even quantum physics, so why not a book on the environment and green living?
3. What inspired you to write your book about green living?
Well, it was you, Arvind!
I was in the audience, at your first public speaking engagement. You asked a very powerful question: “What is your legacy?”
Your question made me reflect on me and my life. I looked at what I had done and what I have achieved and accumulated.
I live a nice life in my lovely village in West Oxfordshire. I have two children, who are both wonderful. I have a kind, caring husband who is a fantastic cook. We have fun. Working as a systems analyst, designing and writing computer systems for businesses has proved to be a flexible career that allows me enough income to live comfortably, yet be there for my children. I never had to miss out on the school plays or sports day or when parents were invited in for assemblies to share the children’s learning.
There’re plenty of things I’ve done that I’m glad to have had the opportunity to do. I helped out on school trips, I ran a French club for 5 to 11 year olds at my children’s primary school. I helped out with IT classes. I became part of our Parish Council with responsibility for the play areas in our village and along with help from the village Primary school children I was able to oversee the design, and implementation of new play equipment that will provide good quality play opportunities for the children of our village for the next thirty to forty years.
But legacy? What’s my legacy? That, I couldn’t say!
I suppose the journey started several years ago, when I was looking at creative ways to engage young people in debate about waste reduction using the power of story. I write two blogs, one for teens and one for mums, to write about ways to reduce carbon footprint without it costing money. I also set up a web page where people could share eco-tips.
Although I’d planned to gather these ideas together into a book about green living, life just kept getting in the way, I suppose. In particular, I had a grandmother with whom I’d always had a fantastic relationship who began to suffer from dementia.
Dementia is a cruel and demanding illness. It started with the phone calls. 10, 15, 20 times a day. It would usually be the same question. I’d explain, and I’d explain again and I’d explain yet again. I’d try to keep the edge of exasperation out of my voice, but she knew and I knew that it was immensely frustrating.
As Nan’s dementia gradually worsened, so did her sense of loneliness. She had lots of visits from family and friends, but she couldn’t remember having seen anyone from the moment they’d walked out of the door.
Whenever I went – which was most days and sometimes several times a day – Nan would generally complain about how she hadn’t seen a soul. I knew she was lying to me. Several times I’d have passed my Dad or my sister on their way from her house, not thirty seconds before I got there. I felt as though she was pressuring me to be there all of the time, but there was something in me that wouldn’t allow that to happen. I spent a lot of time with her, but resisted being there 24/7.
When my grandmother died, I really felt a sense of guilt, wondering whether I’d actually done my best for her. It was in dealing with that question that made me start to ask myself whether I had really put my best into anything.
So, this is the thing I have to do before I die, I guess. This is my legacy. This book and my workshops about green living is me making sure that I give of my best.
4. What drives you to do the work you do?
My passionate belief that being green is actually so much easier than we think, coupled with a burning desire to see the circular economy flourish and the linear economy die a death to the extent that our grandchildren will laugh at the idea that we once thought it was okay to plunder the earth’s resources to make something that didn’t last very long, and to throw it away on a trash heap and just forget about it.
I mean, really, it is laughable isn’t it that we think that?
It has to change and I want people to demand that it changes soon and in the right way, for the social and environmental good.
5. How do you see your book’s message about green living getting out there?
Through an army of students who have fun taking my message on board and turning it into their own message and then shouting it from the rooftops, in a way that I could never do. I want them to have fun finding out that green is the coolest, best thing ever and the only way to be.
I piloted my first workshop in May 2013 with 180 Year 8 students in their PSHE (Personal, Social and Health Education) course, and my second course will be working with 60 Year 9 geography students. We’ll learn from those courses and make the workshops stronger and stronger as we learn more about what encourages behaviour change.
I plan to engage the army of green bloggers to help spread the word, and I hope that local bookshops will be a key resource, supporting students by selling their books and I hope that students will go out and talk about their experience and will share their book at home with family and friends.
6. What’s next for you?
Workshops, workshops and more workshops, I hope. I want to get to speak to as many groups of students as possible, and ultimately to bring together a team of people, passionate about reducing waste, to help me spread that passion and that knowledge.
The workshops are going really well. It is great to see an idea come to fruition. The students are so much more receptive than I expected to the idea that we can reduce waste.
After the second session, I gave them a ‘post box’ for them to post their ideas for tips. When I opened the box it was like delving into a goldmine. There were over seventy-five contributions, some of which included several tips – and there was some great cartoon artwork.
The students really impressed me, how they engaged with the project and I can’t wait to see all their ideas in a book of their own!
‘Reading Anna Pitt’s book has really surprised me of how much I could do to recycle and reduce waste – flicking through the pages I’ve either thought or said to myself, I either do that or I could try that. Recently I have copied some ideas in the book. It has turned a full bin to half a bin!’
‘After reading the book I think that it has many good and unique ideas. Some of the ideas are already used throughout our class but others are really original and we all aim to try them out. One idea I was particularly inspired by was tip number 31: “If you use an electric cooker you can turn the heat off just before it has finished.” I have decided to use it at home and it is very good.
I also thought the workshop with Anna Pitt was very useful and helped me generate ideas of my own. She obviously feels passionate about this subject and her enthusiasm has really inspired us to save energy, water and fuel and to help us live cleaner and greener for free.’
When I read the reviews they had written for me it really did bring a tear to my eye. It is really hard work setting up a project like this on your own, with no big business backing, no funding (other than my own!) and only your own passion that is telling that what you are doing is a good thing. But now my workshops have started I can really see that this is a project worth persevering with.
It will make a difference. That is quite an overwhelming feeling.
I’m also busily researching and writing my next book, which I hope will be available by November.
7. How can my readers support you and your cause? How can they make a difference in practical ways in their daily life?
Please do take a look at some of the tips in my book and talk to me about it! Tell me if there are lots of things you are already doing. Tell me if there’s something in there which you’d never thought of that you might now try. Or even what you think isn’t for you and why! Share your own eco-tips on my website.
I hope people will find that by following one simple tip that makes a small difference to the environment will lead to a slight shift in thinking towards reducing waste. And I strongly believe it has a mushroom effect. Do just one small thing, or one more small thing, and the desire to do more will follow. It’s infectious – you get the bug!
But there are many, many other ways you can help too.
Everyone has friends and family who may know of a school in need of a “Dustbin Diet” workshop. Tell people about the book and the workshop. Pass on the links. Watch the videos the students create and click ‘Like’ if you think they are good.
Support the circular economy, yourselves. Think before you buy. Are you perpetuating the problem or are you voting with your feet in the right direction, giving your custom to companies who are better and kinder by design?
If you know of companies who are great examples of circular economy good practice, please let me know – the easiest way is by tweeting me a link to @AnnaPitt. The more we can shout about good practice, the better.
You can sign up to my newsletter for news about my workshops, details of my next book and I’m also searching for companies I can help and promote, so I’ll share what I find in my newsletter too.
If you think you’d like to reduce your waste then get in touch with me and we can tell others about your experience on my blog.
Whatever small steps you take towards living cleaner and greener for free, I promise you, you’ll feel good about it.
You will be making a difference – and that’s awesome!
Thanks Anna for sharing with us your journey and your amazing book.
More about Anna - Anna Pitt is a writer a speaker on green living and the circular economy. She is passionate about waste reduction and is currently researching the ins and out of recycling in the UK for a book series. She writes two eco-themed blogs:- Rosie’s EcoBlog & Gizmo the Geek and runs the Dustbin Diet Workshops for secondary schools.
Get Anna’s book “101 Ways to Live Cleaner and Greener for Free” from Amazon USA /Amazon UK.
Make It Happen Coaching
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