Strategies of Success: Thank you notes

Ok...the holidays are mostly over and most of us have received gifts from someone. Time to write our thank you notes.

What? You don't do thank you notes? I didn't either until I became best friends with Annie...the Queen of the Thank You Note! She wrote them for all sorts of things. And I'm so glad she did.

You see her thank you notes are all that I have left from her other than a few photos and of course some extra-ordinary memories. As I've written previouslly, my dear best friend Annie passed away this year.

How I cherish those thank you notes. I get to read again and again how much my friendship meant to her especially these last few years as her cancer began taking more and more of her freedoms and liberties away from her. She didn't have to write those notes but I was always thrilled to get one and now of course, they mean even more.

So when I get home from the coffee shop that I spend my afternoons in, I'm going to begin writing out my thank yous to all the people who took the time to buy me something this holiday season or who in some way add to my life.

I hope the notes make their day as much as Annie's continue to make mine.

Hope you had a great holiday!

Strategies of Success: Holiday Travel Tips

Worried about being bored while stuck traveling this holiday?
Do you get stressed and nervous when you travel and wish there was something that would take your mind off everything?
Then check out the Travel Activity Book full of great activities to keep you occupied whether you're flying, driving, taking the train or stuck somewhere!

Included with it is a bonus travel guide with links to

• track the flight of someone you're picking up at the airport
• what to pack for both plane and train trips
• track flight delays
• check weather along the trip

and much more!

Ready to download immediately so that you can print it out and take it with you!

For more information on the Travel Activity Book with bonus travel guide, click here.

Strategies of Success: Holiday Stress Part 2

THANKFULLNESS
When we are as busy as we all are this time of year, it's easy to be cranky and stressed.
Here's a list of some of the things that irritate us the most...and why if we look at things differently as my quote at the bottom of this email says, we might be more gratefulinstead of frustrated.

I received it from one of my favorite siteswhose name says it all, The Happy Guy. If youwant to link to him directly, check the end ofthe email.

I am thankful for the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me, and not out with someone else.

I am thankful for the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is homewith me and not out at the bars.

I am thankful for the teenager who is complainingabout doing dishes because it means she is at home,not on the streets.

I am thankful for the taxes I pay because it means I am employed.

I am thankful for my huge heating bill because it means I am warm.

I am thankful for the clothes that fit a little too snug because it means I have enough to eat.

I am thankful for all the complaining I hear aboutthe government because it means I have freedom of speech.

I am thankful for the lady behind me in church who sings off key because it means I can hear.

I am thankful for the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours because it means I am alive.

I am thankful for weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day because it means I have been capable of working hard.

I am thankful for my shadow that watches me workbecause it means I am out in the sunshine.

I am thankful for the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.

And finally, I am thankful for too much e-mail because it means I have friends who are thinkingof me.

So send this to someone you care about. I just did.And thanks for being part of my newsletter community!
This came from the Happy Guy . Find him at: http://hop.clickbank.net/?happynews/happysite

Strategies of Success: Holiday Shopping

What's your shopping strategy? Run around at the last minute?

Do you dread the malls? Hate trying to find the right gift for everyone?

Here's my strategy which has left me free of the shopping stress this year. I shop all year. As I go about the year, I check out interesting places and see if anything there might be the perfect thing someone on my gift giving list would like. So by the time Christmas comes or birthdays, I just go to my bag/box of goodies and pull out the appropriate gift.

This works really well for me especially since i'm not a big shopper. But I do travel around a bit and going places offers me opportunities to see unique stores. I'm a bit more interested in checking those places out because they might have things that will remind me of my time there. But usually I don't buy for me...I buy for someone else. And often there are great bargains to be found.

Even if you don't travel much in your life...and to be honest, most of my traveling is just driving trips around the New England area...expand your life a bit, see a little more of the world around and poke around in some the unusual shops/stores.

And start your holiday shopping for 2007 as soon as you've recovered from this holiday!

Strategies of Success: Holiday Strategies Part 1

The holiday season certainly presents its share of challenges. A friend of mine called and told me how disgusted she was with all the commercialism of the holidays. She was obviously stressed and focused on the negative aspects of this time ofyear. Although I certainly honor her feelings, it reminded me that this time of year is what wemake of it.

I know all the negative connections - the rushing around, the traffic, the exhaustion of trying to do everything after a busy day of work. But a few years ago, I changed the way I look at the holidays. I began to pay attention to the things that ony seem to happen during this time..things I know I miss when they're gone.

Like what you ask?

Like the lights on houses. I'm not crazy about darkness descending at 4 pm here in the NortheastUS but that means the lights come on earlier. And we have some pretty spectacular ones around.

I like that people make an extra effort to get together during the holidayas. Sure it's hectic but there's something fun about squeezing in all these visits.

I like the traditions. I like creating new ones. Here are two that I miss. When I was the drama director at my school, the members of the drama club would go Christmas caroling collecting money for a needy charity. I miss that. I tried a fewyears ago to go with some current students but only three showed up. We went anyway but we sounded pretty pathetic.

Another tradition I miss was when there were so many small children in my family that it made opening the presents at my parents house a total zoo. As the oldest sibling, I named myself Chief Elf. About 30 minutes before present opening time, I had a meeting of my elves...the children who were 5 and under. I gave them the game plan - the elf mission as it were. I would sit under the tree, they would bring me the presents. I would read the name on the tags and they would deliver each present to the proper recipient. They felt so important and it kept things a tad more sane. I miss that. The youngest elf is now a freshman in high school!

So for me, it's time to create a few new traditions.This has been a difficult year for me because I lost my best friend. But I will focus on all the great things that the season brings...the warm cozy coffee shop I'm writing in, the strategies class I created years ago in which current students are now paying good deeds forward.

So much to be grateful for and to enjoy...if we just give ourselves the chance...

Strategies of Success: Reinventing myself

Today I woke up determined to make the changes I've been wanting to make for a long time. One of the first things I did was to make a list of how I wanted each day to go and how to make the weeks fit together productively. You see I do what a lot of you would love to do - I work from home.

Now I know that sounds wonderful...and I won't kid you, most of the time it is. I set my own hours, can work in my jeans or a bathrobe if that's what I feel like wearing that day. Everything I need is close by and I never have to commute on a snowy day or get up before dawn if I don't want to.

But working from home has its challenges. I no longer can bounce ideas off and enjoy the company of my employees when I owned a flight school. I no longer have 1300 people around to absorb energy from as I did when I taught high school. I have to motivate myself on those days when all I want to do is sit in front of the TV and veg.

But mostly I have to make myself stop working. When you work from home...you're at work as soon as you put your feet down on the floor each morning. Between popping out of the office to do household chores and errands and taking my laptop around the house, I was finding that I never NOT working. No boundaries...all work...all the time....

So today the list was born. I decided when I would work...and when I would stop. I even wrote where I would work...so it wasn't always at home. So here I sit at a lovely little coffee shop...knowing that even though I'm finally gettiing back to the blogs I promised to write frequently...I can have a new perspective and a bit more say in making this new life one I truly enjoy!

My message to you....enjoy what your job has...even if you can't work from home like Ido. Find what you have that you'd miss if you were gone and enjoy it each day!

Change

How do we know when it's time to make a change? Sometimes we can feel that something isn't just right. The job...the relationship...the house we live in. While we certainly can't make major changes at a whim particularly when others are dependent on us or it's financially unwise, sometimes it pays to listen to that inner voice that's letting us know we're not where we belong.

I left teaching two years ago. I loved being the in the classroom with my students especialy since I was teaching a class I created. But I felt that rumbling within telling me it was time to move on. I didn't want to listen because although I loved what I was teaching and especially the way it was changing the lives of the teens in front of me, I was looking to new challenges again. Teaching anything 20 times in 3 years can do that to you especially after teaching 25 years before that. Should I leave or should I stay? I was lucky...I had the required 28 years of teaching to garner a minimum retirement check so I could leave if I wanted to.

Why I left became more clear cut that last year. My best friend had terminal cancer. She had been waiting for me to retire so we could travel together (her husband didn't enjoy travel). I didn't want to miss her last years being a busy classroom teacher.

I knew leaving was truly the right thing for me when my students asked me to leave. No, they weren't kicking me out but instead telling me straight out that my course was 'changing lives' and that 'every teen in America needed to take my course.'

OK...message received. It was time for me to go. Looking back now, it was the right decision although I missed the kids and my colleagues terribly. I did get to spend 2 amazing years with my best friend or as she called us "twin sisters from different mothers." We made the most of our time, adapting our adventures to whatever her treatments allowed.

This Monday confirmed I made the right decision. I had guest lectured for the day at the Strategies of Success classes in my old classroom. As much as I enjoyed it, I remembered that it no longer fit who I was. I'm someone who needs to put everything I can into whatever it is I'm working on...and then move on. It was time...

Glad I listened to that rumbling...

Losing and finding

Ok...it's been way too long since I've been on here. In some ways I've lost a lot of time but I needed that time to heal. Writing something that others would see was too hard the past few months so I gave myself the option of getting other things done that didn't involve being creative. I read a lot, watched a lot of the kind of TV where I could learn something, took notes so that I could use what I learned later. That worked for me. Doing the more mundane was manageable. I used a lot of the strategies I've learned to get through this difficult time.

So what did I learn that would be useful to others?

• Don't be too hard on yourself in tough times.
• Don't take on tasks that you don't really have to do.
• Do other smaller tasks that you know you can handle.
• Listen to your body. You'll probably need more rest. Get someone to help you if you can so that you can get the rest your body needs.
• If you're really upset, try writing out your feelings in a journal or on a piece of paper. What you write does not have to be perfect or spelled correctly. This is for you, not your old English teacher.
• For some that don't like to write, say what you need to say out loud to a trusted friend or relative, on a cassette, or to an empty room. It's the writing and the saying that seems to release the hold these feelings have on us
• If you like to read, take advantage of the many wonderful resources that are out there. I just read a wonderful book by Dr. Wayne Dyer which showed up exactly at the time that I needed it most. I had ordered it as a fill in on my Amazon order so I could get free shipping (I'd rather get a book than pay for shipping). It was perfect for where I was at that moment of time. Seems there truly are no coincidences. Maybe it's just what you need too. Here it is on Amazon
  Being In Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires

Losing someone we love is the most difficult challenge we humans face. But we do get through somehow which speaks to the resiliency of the human spirit. Finding we have ways to cope makes the journey just a bit more bearable.

Connecting with people who have lost someone close

If we haven't yet experienced the loss of someone very close to us, we will. It's inevitable. It's a very difficult time which takes months if not a lifetime to get through. While the person suffering the loss must employ strategies to help them cope with the sadness of losing someone they love, they would most like to be supported by having those around them reach out to them.

Sure everyone sends their regrets immediately upon the loss. Some call. Some connect at the wake and funeral. Some send cards. But then the contact disappears. Perhaps it's more frequent towards immediate family members but as someone who just lost an extremely close friend who was like a sister to me, I could really use a few more people checking in.

I do have a long distance friend who calls me regularly and another close local friend who has brought me dinner and supported me at the wake and funeral. Another old friend gave up his day to be with me during the funeral and I'm extremely grateful. But I'm amazed how few other people I've heard from since.

Two things I know. People are busy with their own lives and although their intentions are good, they forget. And many people just don't know what to do or say, do they do nothing. I remember hearing Nate Berkus on the "Oprah Winfrey Show" talk about how he was coping with the loss of his significant other after the horrendous tsunami in 2004. He thanked people who had sent cards or messages. He said when in doubt, send something - a card, a note, an email. Call...a quick hello. And he was right. It helps to fill the hole that the loss left. Nothing can fill it completely but it's a start.

So if you know someone who lost a friend, a relative, a co-worker - take a minute and reach out. And do it several times over the weeks and months ahead. You will be helping that person to heal more than you can ever imagine.

Need some gas saving strategies?

I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind saving a bit on the prices at the gas pump. As you know, one of my goals is to share with you secrets and strategies that I've either researched, experienced or stumbled on that I think might help you cope and thrive in this 21st century world we live in.

Today's secret was on the Today Show this morning. The list is long with some of the ideas being fairly obvious but I learned a few tips that I will use to save some pennies at the pump. Feel free to forward this to friends and family.

And remember to drive safely! We need you around!

Worried about the effect of cell phones on your brain?

I'm not the biggest cell phone user mostly because I don't like to talk on the phone. But I do worry about the fact that no one has conclusively stated whether or not having the cell phone so close to our brain is a good thing or not long term. Everyone is talking on their phones constantly. Will we find out in a few years that there is a direct link between cell phone usage and brain cancer? I certainly hope not but just in case, I'm as prepared as I can be.

I stumbled onto the Q-Link several years ago at a seminar. It is something that is worn around the neck and has the power to strengthen our immunity to the electromagnetic fields emitted by cell phones, computers, and other electronic devices. It also strengthens our resistance to the effects of stress, it increases energy and enhances mental performance especially under stress. I really like the way I feel when I wear mine which I try to do on a regular basis. They're not cheap but at what price the peaceful feeling and the protection when around cell phones and computers?

For sports professionals, these effects help through increased play management, better focus and concentration. The result is enhanced performance, fewer bad shots, quicker recovery and lower golf scores. I can't attest to this because I'm not athletically inclined (other than being a fanatic baseball fan but I don't think that counts). Check out the site. Some of the top sucessful people in the world wear one of these around their neck. The most successful people have access to people and products that the rest of us don't usually have access to. I'm glad I got to find out about this one.

Humor as a strategy in these times of high gas prices

Ok...no one is happy with the price of gas these days no matter where you are in the world. Now is the time to come up with a coping strategy so that we don't lose our cool as the days get warmer. It's time to get proactive rather than reactive.

So what can we do? Other than buying a new tiny car, this is the time to think about how we can make best use of the gallons in the tank. Here are few which may seem obvious but who can say? What's obvious to some might not be to others.

• Car pool if you can. Might be a great time to catch up on the news with friends we don't get to see often enough as it is.
• Combine your errands so that you don't go out several times. I just did a round trip around the bay we have here in Rhode Island and got as many things done as I could along the way.
• Keep lists where everyone in the family can get to them so that trips to the store can happen less frequently and everyone's requests can be honored
• Walk when you can. It's good for the body and good for the wallet. Besides the weather is getting much nicer so we can't use that as an excuse!
• If you have a business...and these days almost anyone can run a small business from home...combine the business errand with the personal one and the miles can be deducted for taxes. Keep track and record those miles daily as that is what is required by the IRS. (Looking at some ideas for a small business? I've been an entrepreneur at heart and in practice forever it seems and I have a few suggestions for you. Just email me and I'll give you a few ideas.)
• And most of all, keep your sense of humor! Losing your temper over things you have no control over not only stresses you but sets a bad example to those little ones who do what we do, not what we say to do

National High Five Day

All of you who were in my Strategies for Success classes know that we started each class with a high five. It was fun, it cheered us up, it help us feel connected, it put our bodies into a positive physiology, and it general it just made us feel good. Not a bad way to start a class every day to be sure. A simple high five can be used to congratulate someone, to show enthusiasm, to celebrate success.

It actually is National High Five Day today. Take a moment today and high five someone to tell them how great they're doing. If high-fiving is a bit to energetic, just share with someone that they're doing a great job. Your words will mean a great deal.

This email is my high five to you...to wish you a great day, to thank you for being part of my life, to celebrate that although there will always be challenges in our lives, there are many successes that we deserve to pay attention to.

So consider yourself high-fived. And pass it on!

My favorite strategy

I'm going to share one of my favorite strategies first. I'm going to guess that you like the rest of us have found yourself complaining about things you don't like in your life. It's human nature to do so but it sure doesn't make any of us feel too great. I used to teach in a classroom that was used by everyone (detention, driver's ed, night school) and all the shelves in the room were full of stuff that didn't belong to me or my students.

Every day I'd walk in, look at the shelf and say something like, "What a mess!" Then there was the day that instead of my usual comment, I asked myself a question. "What could I do to improve that way that looks?" All of a sudden my brain was flooded with possibilities. And I was able to change those shelves so that they were much improved.

Is it that easy? Instead of making a negative statement about something, turn it into a question. Statements are dead ends. Negative dead ends feel lousy. Questions are possibilities and the amazing thing is that when you ask yourself a good question, your brain comes up with all sorts of answers!

More on this next time....

What makes people successful?

I created this blog to share some of the strategies I've found that work for me and others. Some are about how to handle stress. Others are about great products I've found to improve health. Others are just simple online strategies.

Why me? I've been on a journey to find what makes people have succesful lives for a long time. I am the author of an award winning success curriculum for teens. I now work from home writing success books on a variety of topics. Because of that I've got the time to read, research and test many different techniques and products.

When I find something that seems to be helping a wide range of people, I'll provide a link for you to check it out. We can make this a great community if you share some of your success secrets with me and others. We're all in this journey called life together. Let's help make it a smooth trip for as many as possible.