There is a song called "I Did It My Way", made famous by singer Frank Sinatra.

When I think about this song, I think about how the mistakes I made and the failures I had were actually my greatest learning experiences.

While I am learning, I am growing. Remember, if you don’t make a mistake, you don’t make anything.

Mistakes meant I could challenge myself to be the absolute best that I could be, and that is why I can truthfully say, "I did it my way."

How about you? What are two things in your life that would make a difference to you and give you a better quality of life?

One of the key things that holds people back from success is FEAR.

Fear of failure, fear of being ostracized, fear of being laughed at, criticized and for many others, even guilt from past experiences - this leads us into the same kind of fear. 

Some of us are aware and are looking for ways to break this ongoing pattern of behavior and some of us go from new job to new job, or new idea to new idea, with the same result. We seem to think that with the grass on the other side of the fence will be greener and in many cases, it isn’t. 

This sets up further indecision inside of us, and while we need to look before we leap, we should not look for so long that we succumb to indecision. 

A great many people continue to do the same thing over and over again, and expect a different result and they are trying really hard. How about you?  It is a well known fact that if you always do what you have always done, you will only get the same result or less. The truth is, you are procrastinating - paralyzed by fear in many cases.

A strategic improvement for your success is this: you have to change the way you think. Then you can change your behavior, otherwise you will continue to go around in circles. You have to create an AWARENESS of your behavior, otherwise you are on automatic behaviors and not even conscious of what you are doing.

Once you are aware of what you are doing, the second point of strategic improvement for your success is to, Decide Clearly, Specifically and Positively/Passionately, what you want. Otherwise, if you don’t know where you are going, all roads lead to nowhere. Once you have decided clearly what you want for your life, you are already on the path to success. Then you can set yourself some goals along the path, which can be like pegs or markers in the ground.  Then develop some strategies to support your improvement and ultimately, your success.

If you are in business, one word of caution: your advantage can soon disappear if your competitor does a better job.

Keep your dream and aspirations alive and keep them evolving and unfolding. 

My best wishes for your success, in creating awareness of yourself and stepping onto the Path, deciding what it is you really want and what is of importance for your life that will bring you success, prosperity and a happy life.

Every day just do a little something.  Take another step.

All those little pieces and all those steps will add up to something and it will continue to give you momentum. 

That’s why I say “one step at a time.”

I often ask the question, "how do you walk one hundred miles?" The answer? One step at a time.

What are some of the steps you could take to move your life forward?  Please let me know. 

There is a song that says:
“Falling in love is only for make believe.”

I do not think so - the power of intention is awesome.

I’m so in love with life, and because of that I am blessed. I really believe that the thoughts we think create our reality.

For thirty years, I owned a two acre beachfront property, set in a small bay.  I called it God’s Garden and it was my dream place. I sold it about three years ago, primarily due to my concern of rising tides and coastal weather patterns, all good logical and rational thoughts. 

Last year my wife discovered that she had breast cancer. I hit my terror barrier on several occasions and my love of 34 years went to a deeper level of love and respect. I believe that God’s way of giving you a gift is wrapped inside a problem, and from the cancer, we got (believe it!) a lot of gifts. To see my wife’s happiness and joy, and her magnificent beautiful smile each morning when I came home from the gym, was a gift.

This summer holiday we looked for a new holiday retreat and we found one. We fell in love with a three bedroom apartment at a hot spring resort, 25 minutes from our main residence. My wife, being Japanese, loved the hot spring and it was very important for her recovery therapeutically.

On our third day of our holiday, the property was sold and the new owner took all the furniture out and wanted to rent the property unfurnished to a long term tenant. We are like gypsies and live in Tokyo, Shanghai and North America, and at best could only possibly rent a furnished holiday property for six months.  This saddened us greatly. Anyhow, we went back to the same hot spring complex and rented another three bedroom apartment.  It was bigger than the original and next door to the one we loved.  From what we had seen previously, we did not think that we would like it. Surprise, surprise, we loved it, much more than the first property.

We talked about how we wanted to be in this property, although we believed the owner who had sold the other property wanted to sell this one. We asked the owner, "if you have not sold the property by next summer could we rent it?" They said for tax reasons they could not sell the property for another three years.

That very morning, sitting on the balcony having breakfast and looking at the 180 degree water views, my wife had said, “this is paradise”. Now we will get to rent our piece of paradise for at least next summer if not longer.

This experience showed me, yet again, the power of positive thought.  Always be a positive thinker, even when all the signs say no.

I also say a big THANK YOU to the universe, for such a happy and joyous gift.

The Buddhists say, "find what you should be doing, and do it."

This confuses a lot of people.

Take a few moments to be aware of what you are drawn to. What type of shops do you like looking in? 

When you’re drawn to something, it is telling you something, because it is no mistake when you are drawn to a particular item or subject. 

We get people in our workshop to list the things they like - music, movies, hobbies, shopping. It’s a good indicator of the way your life should go. Then it’s not a job. I feel blessed that I have been able to make my vocation my vacation.