Entries from April 2009 ↓

Just watched a great video about Barack Obama, where he shares his seven life values passed on by his mother. The ones he’s trying to pass on to his children and America’s young generation.

Obama’s a great speech giver and communicator. The list of his values below plays a major role in those qualities. I personally think that we can learn quite a lot from him.

1. Hard work
2. Honesty
3. Self-reliance
4. Respect for other people
5. A sense of empathy
6. Kindness
7. Faith

For me, faith (in the sence of trully believing in yourself), honesty and self-reliance are a must in my everyday life. I’ll be thankful if you share which values you have in common with Obama in the comments. Thanks for taking the time to read this!

No matter how many tasks or challenges you’re coming up to, always try to do what you love.

It could be something that makes you smile or you’re excited about. Or it might be something that makes you satisfied after completion. Even if it’s making a cup of great coffee in the morning, just do it if you love doing it. That’s the only way to true happiness.

Time is never a problem. If you’re not doing what you love now, that means you’re wasting your time with other tasks that don’t really make you happy. Blogging makes me happy. I’m busy, yet I always spare some time for communicating my ideas and believes.

How about you? Do you save some time regularly to do what you really love? If not, please try. The result is instant and lasting.

This week has been full of social life contrasts for me. I attended two conferences lasting 9 hours each and socialized with nearly 50 people. The rest of the time I spent alone, working or simply relaxing. It is only in such intense social situations when you understand how important speding time alone is.

That’s why I decided to share my top 10 ideas for spending some great time by yourself. Here we go…

1. Just relax – on the bed, on the couch or on the floor.
2. Find a new book to read.
3. Revise a book you already read.
4. Check out your favorite magazine – the new or an old issue.
5. Learn a new skill. You can find tutorials on everything on the internet.
6. Cook a favorite meal. Or just learn to cook.
7. Daydream – visualize something you really want to achieve.
8. Turn off and recharge your mobile devices.
9. Take a shower. Nothing more refreshing than it.
10. Make yourself an aromatic cup of coffee. My top espresso brands are Davidoff and Illy.

The days I spend by myself this week helped me get things done and relax. I collected a lot of thoughts (read about the process here) and currently feel great. I have no patience left to start the next exciting week!

Don’t give up when you’re not supposed to. Achieving success is a result of constant efforts combined with a lot of will.

Don’t give up when you’re bored. Always think of what an impact your current action will have on your future. If you’re doing it, then it will improve your life. If it won’t, then you’re free to stop.

Don’t give up when you’re tired. With time, you’ll get involved in completing what you’ve started and find the energy to succeed. But work when it’s time to work. Nights were made for sleep.

Don’t give up when others tell you to. Often, people don’t think of our best and don’t think carefully when giving advice. You should listen, however, to your family and best friend. They always know what’s best for you.

Never give up action that impacts your life positively. But never invest too much time and energy in something that will not give results.

One of my blog’s readers, Kelly, just wrote me an email about a useful list they recently created. It’s called 100 Edifying Talks for Self-Improvement and Lifehacking and it contains links to great motivational podcasts that I really recommend you check out.

The collection ranges from environmental and health talks to business, finance, wealth, relationships and even vacations.

How podcasts help us improve our lives

Unlike any article, podcasts bond us even further with the author. They helps us understand his thoughts and feelings and way of thinking simply by listening to his tone of voice and the words he uses. So when you’re listening to a good speaker on a self improvement topic, it really motivated you to do something, to make the first step called taking action.

Thanks for sharing that great list, Kelly!