As a parent, there are so many things rushing through my mind:

• Is he old enough?
• Is he mature enough?
• Is he going to be safe?
• What if his car breaks down?
• What if he gets into an accident?
• Will he be smart enough not to get himself in trouble?
• Will he know what to do if he does?
• Did I do enough to prepare him for this?

Every time that little boy leaves the house it becomes an opportunity to worry about the possibilities. It’s a big world out there and I don’t want him to get swallowed up in it.  He seems so incredibly young and vulnerable.  Just a tiny little thing that can so easily get hurt.

I once heard a mother say that she wished she could just wrap her son in bubble wrap and hold him tight forever. I think I now understand what she meant.

Teen driving is very much like the mother bird pushing her little baby birds from the nest and letting them learn to fly on their own.  There is no safety net to catch them but OH how I wish there was.

I know it is what they most need at this stage in their lives.  It’s time to fly.  It’s time to grow up and be free.  It’s time to soar above and begin to find their way in the world. It’s time for me to trust the job I have done as a parent and know that he’ll be OK no matter what happens.

And don’t forget the real reason this day is so stressful for a mother.  All of this also means Mom is getting older!  I could certainly throw a temper tantrum here yelling and screaming that I don’t WANNA get old, but I’ll just let myself believe that with age, comes incredible wisdom.  Ya, that’s what I’ll believe!

I got so much more than one good thing.  The class was excellent.  Ely Delany did a wonderful job of presenting material and providing exercises that allowed the participants to come away with great content right there.  While, I’m very sure all of the tips and techniques provided are available online, how much time and effort do you really want to put into looking for all of it?   I was able to get in just two hours what would have taken me at least 5x that searching on my own, and I’m pretty good at finding what I’m looking for).  And the exercises just can’t be duplicated through the internet.

Ely’s presentation style was very relaxed and conversational.  He interacted well with the audience and was sure to respond to each person’s questions.

Your Marketing University presents classes regularly and offers membership packages to save on the investment in your marketing education.

By the way, one of the tips Ely shared was to do a review of an event or class you’ve attended!  Thanks Ely, I’ll make sure I get right on that.

I am the mom to a 15 year old, almost 16 and a bonus mom to another 15 year old.  I have nieces and nephews that range in age from 22 down to 8.  I’ve worked with chidren of all ages through various programs and careers I have held.  I see a trend in this generation of children that is rather discouraging.  It seems they lack the desire, motivation or incentive to work for what they want.  Rather, if it isn’t handed to them, they’ll just do without but whine about it none-the-less.

In consecutive generations of parents raising their children, the goal was to provide for them a life that was better than they had themselves.  My fear is that it went too far.  Our kids have more than they could ever want and that doesn’t give them a reason to go out and work for anything.

The pre-2008 economy encouraged parents to provide children as young as 5 or 6 years old with cell phones complete with data plans and laptop computers.  Shows like Sweet 16 on MTV encouraged kids to think BIG in terms of what they could and/or should expect.

This attitude carried through to the job world.  Those just graduating from high school or college expected big salaries with little work.  If something better came along, they wouldn’t think twice about leaving an employer without much notice.

Now, we have a new economy.  The Christmases of 2009 and 2010 weren’t quite as big as years past.  The job market has dried up and teens are finding it harder to find even  low paying jobs to pay for those fancy cars with high car insurance rates that their parents can’t afford any more.

All of a sudden, something for nothing doesn’t exist.  And that’s a good thing.

The economic collapse may help the United States get back to the days when the US was young and wanted to prove itself to the world.  We were willing to work hard for what we wanted and didn’t sit back with an entitlement mentality.

The Great Depression gave rise to one of the most prosperous times in US history after teaching us a valuable lesson of selfish indulgence from the 1920’s.  If we are fortunate, that is the lesson we have to learn again.  Hopefully, it will be the last time we have to learn it.

Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

I’ve been discovering a lot about intentions lately.  I always find it interesting when something comes into our awareness, it often does so either hardly at all (and we miss it altogether) or in a REALLY BIG WAY!  That’s how setting intentions has worked for me lately.

I’ve known for a while that people often talk about setting intentions.  One thing that has always made me scratch my head about the personal development industry is how you hear the same things over and over and over but somehow just keep missing the significance until something significant happens. Sometimes I get so tired of reading or hearing about the importance of this or that and really start to question the validity.  And then…

About four weeks ago, I attended an incredible personal development camp.  There were many exercises and activities to help illustrate the power of various points often made in the personal development industry.  It is a wonderful way of making the points hit home.  Each person takes away what they were truly meant to take away and nothing more or less.  My take away from one of these activities was intention.

During one particular activity, I decided to set my intention for the outcome.  Now they do tell you not to assume what is going to happen, but in this case, I set a positive intention.  For some reason, I believed this intention with all of my heart.  There was ZERO doubt.  And something truly amazing resulted.   In a very dramatic fashion, my intention came true.  It was not a subtle event but the universe was truly telling me that this @#$! works!

I have since practiced intention in other areas of my life.  While it does take a little work to truly believe with every ounce of my being, the results are absolutely incredible.

I’m learning that I must first be open to what the universe is telling me and then allow the lessons to present themselves.

Have you ever had a similar experience?

We’ve only lived in this house for 6 years but have still accumulated a lot of stuff between multiple businesses, two kids and just life in general.  We are already starting the cleansing process of going through all the stuff. Here’s how we are doing it.

1. Donation.  Goodwill is going to love us.  How many things do you own that you just don’t ever use?  We own far too many.  Even though our new home is larger (by nearly double) we don’t want to move anything that we don’t truly need.

2. Trash. Ok some of this stuff is just junk and I know that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure but there are somethings that I can’t see anyone having an interest in (unless they belong on the show Hoarders).  So out it goes.

3. Move. This is the stuff we will be taking with us.  As little as possible.  The move isn’t far but life is always better when you start fresh and clean.  Of course some things will need to be replaced along the way but we’ll make due until we make that decision.

Reflection on life.  We should all “move” once in a while.  It’s like an opportunity to start fresh and new.  Get rid of the trash, donate what works but is unwanted and take only what is necessary into your next stage of life.  How refreshing!

I do a lot of networking and make it a goal to keep in touch with people I have met at least every 4 to 6 months.  Sometimes I have a reason to call such as a referral or a question they may be able to help me answer, sometimes I just want to say hi because you never know when that interaction may pay off and sometimes I have something of value to share with them.

However, I’m amazed at the number of people that never call me back.  We are all very busy but relationships are just not something we should be wasting.  Treat every contact like gold and they will pay off that way in the end.  If you don’t call me back because you are too busy and think I’m just calling to say hi, don’t expect me to call you when I have someone that needs services such as yours.  I guarantee I have someone else in my network I can call that I know will call back.

I am a proud Arizonian and very happy to support the laws of my state.  I base my opinion on the recent SB1070 on reading the actual bill.  I take offense to individuals that talk about the bill in a negative light without having first read it or spending any time in Arizona to experience life here for a while.

Not all Mexicans are bad. I will say that again, for emphasis.   NOT ALL MEXICANS ARE BAD! I am not anti-Mexican.  I AM against individuals breaking the law and taking advantage of resources I pay for.

I know that there are some SB1070 supporters that are racist.  That doesn’t make all of us or the entire state racist.  In fact, the majority are not.  It is very easy to target a group based on a small subset of that group.  In fact, it is done on both sides and in every controversial area of life.

So next time you would like to debate an issue, please come to the table with solid facts to back your opinion.

Mr. Blow sites a study that just came out by the Pew Research Center which found that only 43 percent of Americans know all or most of their neighbors by name. Twenty-nine percent know only some, and 28 percent know none.

I have to say that my husband and I fall into the 43 percent category.  We know almost all of ours. And it is a good thing because when we were gone for 4th of July weekend a couple of years ago and the mail carrier noticed our front door had been busted open, the neighbors knew how to reach us when the police came by.  I’m not sure what the police would have done to secure our property if they hadn’t been able to reach us.

We don’t socialize with our neighbors much, but we do make it a point to say hi and chat for a minute or two when we see them.  We do invite them over for our parties, although few ever come.  We know that many people have found many other things to do than spend time with their neighbors.  Despite that, we also know that, if we want that kind of relationship, it is up to us to continue to ask for it.

One commenter on the Blow piece talked about how, rather than social media being the downfall of neighborly interactions, it actually dates back to TV.  Prior to TV, families would get together for something to do.  They’d have dinner and then play cards.  Once one neighbor purchased a tv, they’d all go there to watch the show.  Then they all got tv’s and stopped visiting one another.

It definitely isn’t a Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood anymore, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t still have beneficial relationships with our neighbors.  Don’t get hung up on what it is “supposed to” look like.  Create new types of relationships with your neighbors, even including social media in that mix.  Innovate and be open to new things and those relationships can continue to be valuable.

Photo Courtesy of krischall

Positive thinking is the solution to all our problems right?  If we just control our thoughts and make sure we are always thinking positively we’ll get everything we want, right?  WRONG!

I knew this guy one time that attended several of the same networking groups I did.  He was always extremely positive and upbeat.  Nothing could go wrong, it seemed, for this guy.  He regularly challenged others he met to shift their thinking so that it was more positive.  He definitely radiated the positive thoughts!

But then I stopped seeing him at the events.  He wasn’t around anymore.  I wondered what he was up to and had a need to contact him so I gave him a call.  He didn’t give me the warmest reception.  His attitude was anything but positive.  Why was someone who had been incredibly positive and upbeat become so negative?

Controlling our thoughts is like building a temporary damn and using it to hold back a river of water.  It will work for a short period of time but eventually the prevailing thoughts will break through pulling us right back down to where we started.

Thought control is temporary.  Forcing yourself to cancel negative thoughts and replace them with positive thoughts will not last long unless you can understand what caused the negative thoughts in the first place and acknowledge that the thoughts are not relevant to you or the way you want to live your life.

Lasting change only comes from understanding the beliefs that created the thoughts.  Positive thinking and controlling our own thoughts has a place in our success but only when we look deep to what created the original thoughts in the first place.

Photo Courtesy of red5standingby

All of us need a pick me up now and again.  Things may not go our way or something negative may bring us down.  It can be a challenge to stay positive among the ongoing challenges we face.  Therefore, here are some tips to improve your attitude and be a more positive person – RIGHT NOW!  These are steps you CAN take to create an immediate shift in your attitude.  And if you practice some or all of these regularly, that positive attitude will begin to come more and more naturally to you.

1. Gratitude – Write a list of all of the things you are grateful for right now.  This isn’t always an easy task when we have been depressed or negative for so long but there are always things to be grateful for whether it is that you have food to eat or limbs to move.  For more lasting results, decide that everyday, you will make a note of at least one thing you are grateful for.  Writing these down will have the added impact of providing a reference to look back on when your attitude needs a boost.
2. Everything Happens for a Reason – Everything, I mean EVERYTHING that happens, happens for a reason.  If you begin to evaluate every situation that challenges you and look at how it could be a benefit rather than a detriment to you, you will begin to change your attitude.  If you are stuck in traffic, perhaps it is because it is causing you to avoid an accident you may otherwise have had.  If you lost a job, maybe it is because you couldn’t have a new opportunity present itself until you did, or maybe there is a valuable lesson you need to learn from that job loss.  Every situation can be looked at from two perspectives, the positive and the negative.  If you practice finding the positive reason for everything, you will change your attitude about everything.
3. RAKS – Random Acts of Kindness.  When we take time away from our own crappy negative attitude to do something nice for someone else, it can really improve our attitude immediately.  Buy someone you don’t know a cup of coffee,  smile to a stranger in line, send a complement to someone you care about, send a thank you card for excellent service received.
4. Exercise - I know this one sucks but it honestly has a major immediate response to a negative attitude.  By getting our body to move, it releases chemicals in our brains that are much needed mood enhances.  Even dancing counts so have some fun with it and dance to some great music right away!
5. Celebrate your successes – Think of all of the things you have been successful doing in your life.  Just like the gratitude, you can start small, however, this is not the time to “ya, but” yourself.  Take full credit for everything you have done and then celebrate!  Really celebrate.  Put on some great music, jump up and down, party like you just won the lottery!  Success can come in many shapes and sizes from graduating from school, buying a house, starting a business to exercising today, eating healthy today, getting up on time today.
6. Watch, read or listen to someone inspiring – Seeing where others have come from helps us to realize that our lives aren’t so bad or that we can do it too.  Find a favorite video or source of inspiration and watch it now for immediate attitude shift and regularly for permanent attitude shift.
7. Humor - Humor, much like exercise can cause the release of chemicals within our brains and help us to focus on something other than our negative attitude.  Even the most humorless people can get benefit from laughing out loud.

We are all amazing individuals and have every right to have a positive attitude.  These tips are easy to implement and can result in immediate benefits as well as foster lasting change.  If more of us can have a positive attitude, the world will be a better place!