Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.

— Steve Jobs

I posted this today because I've been getting emails about this topic and I'm actually hearing a lot about it from random people, some I know personally, others I don't but no matter I felt it was worth posting this message.

So I have come to realize that there are far more people willing to just follow the crowd rather than to break free and be an individual. To me this is horribly sad because I'm not a follower and never have been and to see so many people willing to sacrifice themselves and who they really are to be what someone else wants them to be is basically giving up your life, your dreams, your passions and everything else God gave you when he gave humans free will!

Drastic, no, I think not! I see it so often and there is nothing I can do but watch these people self-destruct. I'm a firm believer in doing what makes one happy regardless of what others think and say because no matter what you do someone, somewhere is going to have an opinion! For me it's really like "Who cares what you think of me". This attitude is not for everyone, it works for me because I honestly don't care but if your a person who needs and seeks approval from others, I don't suggest trying this because like Eminem said, you will have enemies.

People see me doing things all the time that they want to do but just don't have the nerve to try and they whisper and talk and give me their unwarranted opinions and I really just look at how miserable they are in their sad little existence and  for a split second I feel sorry for them but then I snap back to reality and  realize that their life was their choice and they chose to be a follower.

You may have already found that not many people truly like to see other succeed, they may either prevent to be happy for you, attempt to sway you away from doing positive things by pointing out what you can not do or they may just flat out tell you not to do it. Why? Well, 95% of people want to think they are better than someone else and when you start to surpass them they don't like it yet they won't get up and do the things you want to do. 

REMEMBER: no one's opinion will effect you more than your own.

So take this challenge if you can otherwise, see you at life's finish line!

The Four Step Program for finding Your Eudemonia (Happiness):

Eudemonia (Happiness)is a Greek word commonly translated as happiness, however "human flourishing" is a more accurate translation. Eudemonia has links between virtue of character and happiness (eudaimonia) and is one of the central preoccupations of ancient ethics.

1.) Rewiring your emotions and your reactions: Get to the core of your issues or problems - Our lives consist of daily and sometimes long term, ongoing issues and problems. From the smallest to the biggest things it can really bring us down. No matter what problem we fix, there is always going to be a new one right around the horizon. Some issues are so big that they enable us to enter a fight or flight response. In this state we seem to disassociate ourselves and other things can emerge like rage, anger and hate… The very things I want you all to stay away from. What we must do is learn to rebuild the capacity to regulate our emotions. Our brains have to learn to rewire itself and this takes time.

2.) Realize that your vices are not a weakness: Reality is a state of being but the way we actually feel about is a completely different story. Most people are trying to escape their reality and their feelings associated with how their reality makes them feel. Pleas stop doing this and realize that we can change our realities by facing it and conquering it. When you allow your vices or reality to take control and alter the balance of what your life should be or your mental or physical well being, this is when we allow our vices/reality to become problematic. This is not exactly weakness but more of a frailty. Over come and face your reality, change it and become strong again. This is enables you to be the person you were meant to be.

3.) Find ways to be of service: As humans we have a wonderful ability called empathy. We use our bodies to absorb and tune into another persons feelings. This is truly an intimacy that we should utilize to connect with others ultimately to help ourselves by helping others. Unfortunately this is also a virtue that is becoming extinct in the modern age of technology and the culture of our world today. We need to start reconnecting to those around us, listening and caring. The simplest act of giving and gratitude makes our souls and our bodies healthy.

4.) Aristotle believed that real happiness is achieved by living a good life and by good life I don’t mean one of riches and fame. No, what I’m referring to is a life filled with nurturing, filled with substance and that is real. Since Aristotle also believed that everything progresses towards its greater goal, like rocks fall and fire goes up. However, our society is consumed with the falsity that we must be filled with happiness at all times, but think about this, a heroin addict feels this way when they take their first hit and then tends to believe this to be true thus making them an addict. Real happiness is about feeling nourished, fulfilled, and creating your life to mean something real, that you believe in.

Today I wanted to focus on love and not love in the sense that makes you think of Romeo and Juliet or Valentines Day, roses or even hot dates…  Nope, today I want to talk about a love for things or moments that make your life so much better. Yes, the love we have for family and friends makes our life great but I’m talking about the category of love for the small things that speak to your heart, that some how makes your day so much better and that can it worth getting out of bed for…

Our lives are broken up into small moments and when put together; they all sort of make the bigger picture. There are some moments that are epic and some not so much but in the midst of everything, we find pleasure in the smaller things, some that we absolutely love! For me, watching a sunset on the beach or hearing the rain beat against my window seal on a Sunday afternoon is like no other pleasure in this world…

I am one of those people who actually stops to smell the roses and notice the birds nest in the tree in my front yard.  Or takes the time to small the wind as it blows on my face. I love life and it’s because I take notice to these free gifts that I am such a joyous person!

When the weather first started to change, I remember seeing the very first flower of the season and feeling a wonderful sense of joy! It was purple and so tiny but to me it represented something so much bigger and held so much beauty. These are the things I refer to when I say “the love of things that make our lives so much better”.

If you’re a person who rarely finds time for the little things of life maybe it’s about time you did.  Doing this not only opens your eyes to new experiences but it also makes your day so much better.

Challenge for today: Find at least one thing that you love, one small thing that made you smile, maybe you heard a bird sing in the morning or perhaps it was a rainbow after a storm. Maybe it was the smell of flowers or some other small thing…  It doesn’t matter what it is, but it matters that you take notice.

Just start to pay attention and you will discover a world that you have been too busy to be a part of! Smile when you have this experience and enjoy the moment while you can!