Video Review: Who Do I Need to Become?

I'll be honest, I was planning on using a different video for Monday Motivational. I initially had an Elliott Hulse video planned, and he'll certainly be featured here soon. But that was before I came across this one, and I feel as though this one is more relevant. I also liked how the first minute of this video had me hooked with the line "who do you want to be tomorrow? The guy who quit? Or the guy that kept going?"

This video features two speakers, Freddy Fri and Chris Ross. I hadn't previously heard of either of these speakers before, but after watching this video I definitely need to listen to more of their speeches. I personally loved the unique insight this video brought. Most motivational videos I've come across have focused mainly on the present moment, and the challenges you'll have to face. This video however, focuses on tomorrow. It's not about waiting until tomorrow to get to work, but more about how you will feel about yourself in the future if you choose to act today.

Every single decision you choose to make will affect your future. You choose to go to the gym this morning? Then you'll be more inclined to do so in the future. You choose to wake up at 5AM today? Then you'll be more productive and better prepared for the future. You choose to go to a networking event? That might land you a great business opportunity in the future. 

You must realize that every opportunity you have is significant to your future. It may seem like no big deal to skip your workout, call in sick for work, or sleep in late one day. But it is a huge deal! While it may not seem that way, the decisions you make today, especially the really difficult ones, will determine who you'll be in the next month, year, and further in the future. 

I want to leave you all with this one thought before you go about your day:

Even if you have the best thoughts and ideas, but don't put them into action, you will achieve nothing. An average thought plus execution, is worth much more than a genius thought that was never put into action. Make the decision to act today. It will make you a better person tomorrow. 

Happy Monday!

Ways to Deal with Stress

Stress is what that occurs when we are exposed to uncomfortable situations in life. All of us have stress in our lives, but how do we deal with it? Some people choose to live stress-free by abandoning hard work, and having no real ambition in life. Others may use drugs and alcohol to reduce stress. But is there a healthy way to eliminate stress in my life? If you want to be very successful in life and have big goals, you will have to deal with a lot of stress regardless. However, there are ways to significantly reduce this stress to prevent the negative impact on our bodies.

1) Smile more often

Very simple, and extremely effective. Studies show that when you smile, you release endorphins that make you feel more optimistic and happy about life in general. Yet, so often you'll see people walking around every day with a depressed, angry or neutral look on their face. They're only creating their own stress, and you can make your day 10x better my remembering to smile often. And when you're enjoying your day, then you're bound to be less stressed and more productive.

2) Increase your social/speaking skills

Ironically, when I started focusing on my ability to communicate more effectively, I felt much less stressed. The reason this works is because when you are confident in your ability to communicate, you worry less about everything you're saying. And less worrying means less stress. It does take time to develop these skills if it's not your strong suit, but it will diminish your stress levels, and will make you more effective in reaching your goals. So this one is a win-win scenario. 

3) Have fun regularly

This goes along with smiling, but you need to have fun every so often. Whether it's going to a sporting event, watching a good movie, or having a fun conversation, you need to have fun if you want to reduce stress. So many of us are focused on the negative in life, that we forget to enjoy what we're doing. This is the case, because we live in such a negative society. Angry clients, demanding bosses, and upset customers that we constantly deal with create this negative environment for us. Having fun regularly can and will counteract this feeling, and make you feel more positive about life, making you less stressed. 

Remember, you're a human being with feelings, emotions and needs, and you need to treat yourself as such if you want to stay in good health and be productive.