This is success

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson

If you were to ask someone what would make them happiest in life, a large majority would most likely give answers like: “Spending more time with my kids”, “Having more free time to go out with friends”, “Getting the garden looking like I’ve always dreamed it would”, “Going out to camp, or fish, or travel”. These are the things that make our body, mind, and soul feel complete.

Strangely enough, the same people who gave these answers are the same ones that are working 24-7 to get the bigger house, more expensive car, and the bigger title. Which means they don’t have the time for their kids, friends, garden, camping, fishing, or traveling.

If you find that you too are stuck in this self-deceiving cycle, write down the things that would truly make you happy and post them someplace that you will see them constantly as a daily reminder to what really counts in your life. Start living true to your inner guidance for happiness.

Take control of your life

“The ancient Greek definition of happiness was the full use of your powers along lines of excellence.”
— John F. Kennedy, (1917 - 1963)

Take control of your life by finding exactly what you are passionate about and living it in excellence right this very moment. When we allow ourselves to live each day to its fullest, our appreciation and gratitude for life increases.

Find the joy in the moments of life and have passion for what you do every day. This is our only opportunity to live today and express ourselves to our fullest potential.

Don’t keep waiting, wondering, and wishing. Your life is in your hands. What do you want to do with it?

New online community Joy Path Ignited!

This is a place of inspiration for all and a great place for members to share their stories of success, ask their most important questions in money, mind, body, and soul as an extension to RealLifeChanges.com daily inspirations and money • mind • body • soul magazine.

Joy Path Ignited was also created to fill a need to have a place to post events that are specifically related to those 4 sectors. I have a lot of info being sent to me these days about great events, but they are all scattered around. And for my existing members (daily inspirations) we realized there was a need for a central location to keep everyone on track and in the loop.

I hope you will join us and keep on your true Joy Path!

Make your daily connections

“What we’re all striving for is authenticity, a spirit-to-spirit connection.”
—Oprah Winfrey (1954 - ), O Magazine

With the hectic pace of life these days we must make a conscious effort to connect. Are we just going through the paces — job, commute, shopping, laundry, dinner, paying bills, sleep — but forgetting to pause and truly connect with every aspect of our life? Did we look into the eyes of the grocery store cashier when we said “Have a good evening” or was it just on automatic polite-pilot? Are we appreciating all the wonderful things in our house or are we just cleaning them because it is on our “to-do” list?

Strive to make every connection throughout your day a spirit-to-spirit connection and you will begin to notice yourself being grateful for all the beautiful things in your life, all the wonderful people in your life. You may also notice that you have all that you need in your life to make it a joyful experience each and every day.

Keeping the Christmas spirit alive

“A good conscience is a continual Christmas.”
— Benjamin Franklin (1706 - 1790)

Turn the radio on today and I can almost bet that you will hear a song hoping to keep the feeling of Christmas alive all year long. Keeping the joy and giving spirit that comes with Christmas alive is a wonderful wish for us all throughout the year. Make it your conscious choice to spread goodwill, peace, and abundance to every aspect of your life, to everyone you meet. If we all do this small thing, we can make glorious waves of love resound around the world.

Misery is manmade

“There is no stress in the world, only people thinking stressful thoughts and then acting on them.”
— Dr. Wayne Dyer

Misery is not supposed to be the norm of life. Take out the stress and drama in your life and you will see that it is actually all good and can even be fun. Joy and love is what you are truly all about. It is the natural state of your being. Allow yourself to be the true you and see what a difference it will make everyday in every aspect of your life.

It doesn’t matter what you are doing — work, school, daily chores — have fun with it by adding a smile or laugh. Spread the joy of life around you to others who have forgotten that life is supposed to be fun. See even the most mundane of tasks for what for what it is — a stepping stone on your journey to the greatest life for you.

Is stress taking over you life?

“There’s an infinite amount of work. The big question is what do I have to do today, this week, this month, this quarter?” — Christine Comaford-Lynch

We have all most likely done it more than once in our life. We decide to sacrifice lunch with a friend or figure it’s not that important to get that sleep you so desperately needed. Or what about the classic, “Sure I can do that” when you already have a full agenda… and that new task isn’t even in line with your personal goals.

What would you gain with those choices? There will always be more work tomorrow. This doesn’t mean you should slack off. It is all about real life balance though. And what “real life” balance means, is that things don’t have to be perfect. There may have to be a slight lean on your table when one leg tends to take more attention than the other three at times. It means that you shift and adjust.

But you need to remember that it is supposed to be about joy. It’s supposed to lead you to your happiness. And if somewhere along the road that you find yourself now traveling you realize that you are no longer heading in the right direction, you need to make some real life changes.

And remember, it’s ok to say “no thanks”. It’s ok to say “Hey, this isn’t what I want to be doing now”. “This is not taking me to my joy, my goal, my passion.” Breathe, and get back on track — YOUR track.

Busy-bee syndrome

“Most people are so busy knocking themselves out trying to do everything they think they should do, they never get around to what they want to do.”
— Unknown

Do you feel happiest when you are busy, productive, or working on a project? What happens when you have quiet time? Some people use work to avoid dealing with unhappiness or challenges in their personal lives, such as an unhappy marriage.

In order for happiness to be authentic and last, it must come from more than work. Balance in joy comes when we are with our families, learning new things, helping others, and yes, even when we are in quiet solitude.

See if you are experiencing the busy-bee syndrome, avoiding all that life has to offer and resolve to bring balance in your life through joy in everything and everyone.

Focus on what is important

“The truly important things in life — love, beauty, and one’s own uniqueness — are constantly being overlooked.” — Pablo Casals

When we focus on what is important right now, we can become the best we can be even in the most challenging moments. Deciding that the activity or goal in the present moment is the most important thing we can be doing in our lives, we can begin to see things that were previously overlooked due to our distracted minds. Being in the now means that we are not experiencing an urge to be somewhere else, to do something else, or to think about something else.

To achieve this clear state of mind, you must know who you are. Trust that you will do what is right for you at the right time. Mark Twain once said, “I have worried about a great many things in my life. And a few of them actually happened.”

Experience the joy, the self-confidence, and the excellence that comes with living in the now. Let go of what you think should be happening, in order to enjoy and fully experience what is actually happening in your life.