I just finished reading a great blog post by Tim Ferris (of 4-Hour Work Week fame) about a contest called Build-a-Business. Here is the full blog post.  It was a fantastic contest, “ The Shopify build-a-business competition was a financial carrot for anyone who’d dreamed of starting a business but hadn’t taken the jump. Each person had six months to build a business, and their two highest-grossing consecutive months would be matched against everyone else.” (taken from the original blog post).

It was very inspiring. Now that my life has taken a few twists and turn, I feel like it’s time to be creative, delve into my entrepreneurial spirit a bit more and re-connect with things I am passionate about.  I haven’t been blogging as much these days, mostly because I have been absorbed in baby preparations and research but also because of a lack of motivation. And she’s on her way, which adds a bit of time pressure to the whole situation !

This is a shout out to those who are reading my blog, to connect with a few of you who might be interested in a brainstorming session – others who like me might be in an interesting situation of change and may not be sure what the next 6 months to a year will bring.  I’d like to brainstorm for ideas, talk about our strengths and passions, share our challenges and possibly review what some other successful people have been doing (especially mompreneurs). I feel I have a lot to learn and am looking for a small group of 3-4 other people who might like to work together.  Should this work out, we could start meeting regularly.  I might need a break for a month or two in October though!

Message me on facebook or twitter, or leave your info in the comments.  If we can find some local people, great, and if not, we can do it virtually on Skype. If you’re looking for a group to brainstorm with, to tap into your creativity and talents and possibly find a business partner … let me know!

Have a beautiful summer afternoon!

It’s time to admit it. I’ve fallen off the wagon. Which wagon would that be, you ask? The daily self-development wagon. Yes, the author of Motivation For Your Life, has fallen off the wagon.  I thought it would be best to admit it publicly and then ask for your help to get back on!

Anyone else ever had this happen? You are fully committed to daily self-development, and one day you forget. One day turns into a week and then a month goes by and you’ve forgotten one of the most important parts of the day! We all know that 30 min of self-development to start your day is invaluable, right? So why don’t we just do it? In my case, the biggest “distraction” has been that I’m pregnant and getting ready for the baby to arrive in October. I have been filling up on birthing books, parenting books, websites, DVDs, pre-natal classes, pre-natal yoga and of course taking care of financial matters too, since school ended a few weeks ago.  As most of you know, I am so happy and grateful to be pregnant, but I am also certain that keeping up my self-development – especially now before the baby is born – is essential.

What I aim to do is to read 30 min per day of a relevant book and keep a great audio book going in the car. Lately I haven’t done either. Here’s where I could use your help.  I’m looking for book suggestions (I get my books from the local libraries) and audio books/programs as well (that I might be able to get from the library or the web easily) to help me get back on board! And for those of you, who like me, may have fallen off the wagon too – feel free to take the suggestions and get back on too!

So, to my faithful readers please include the following in your comments below:

• A book or two that falls into the self-development, inspiration or empowering category
• An audio book or audio program that would be in the same category
• A biography suggestion (i.e. Michael J. Fox’s Lucky Man)

I will be including the suggestions in my next post, so please include a link to your blog if you’ve got one!

Thanks everyone and Happy Canada Day tomorrow to my fellow Canadians!

Sure, this message is one you’ve heard before. I’ve blogged about it a few times and I’m sure you’re read many other blogs, books and seen movies about the power of gratitude.  It’s a message that doesn’t really get old though. And often, we get so caught up in being BUSY that we forget to take the time to be grateful every single day.

One of the things that I am most grateful for right now is being pregnant. It’s truly an amazing feeling to carry a new life in my belly – as much as I had read about it, heard about it, seeing about it – there is nothing that compares to the actually feeling.  It’s all very strange at the same time – because you have very little control with what is going on in your body! The whole thing is an automated process. How amazing is that? Regardless of whether you believe in God, Allah, the Universe – someone made it a truly amazing process that needs little or no help from the mom who is carrying the life.

That’s not to say that pregnant women shouldn’t take extra care of themselves and their bodies during this time. Truly, that is all we are really responsible for. I have been doing my best to stay healthy, continue on my healthy eating regime, remain on-the-wagon (alcohol free) and exercise regularly. The biggest challenge is getting enough rest. I’m not sure if any of the other mommies and mommies to be out there can relate, but things that I would normally recover from quickly, take a few extra days.  For example, I just flew out to Orlando for the weekend, taking an afternoon flight on Thursday and returning Sunday evening.  Normally a fairly hectic trip regardless, although this time there were no time zone changes.  Heading right back to work and Toastmasters on Monday was WAY too much for me! I was completely wiped out!! It’s taken me 3 nights and 2 full days to feel back to normal.  Here’s  a secret of pregnancy that I didn’t realize – flying at high altitudes, with greater pressure, can make it very uncomfortable.  I didn’t really understand why I felt so uncomfortable on the longer flights until a flight attendant explained that the pressure can be very uncomfortable for pregnant women.  I am glad I am staying on solid ground until after she is born.

So,what can you to do remember to be grateful every single day? Here are a few suggestions:

• • The Secret Gratitude Book – this is an excellent daily reminder to be grateful
  • Create your dream board and post it at the foot of your bed. That way you wake up and can be grateful for all of the wonderful things that are manifesting in your life.
  • Use Thoughtspots on your mirror to remind you.
  • Take a look at who you are waking up beside or who’s sleeping in the next room and be grateful that they are in your life.  This can be a partner, spouse, child, pet or another family member.
  • Smile more! It’s always easy to be grateful when you’re smiling.

What are your strategies for remembering to be grateful every day? Share with us in the comments section.  Enjoy the rest of this beautiful gift of a day that we have all been given.

Do you live on Mediocre Street or Prosperity Avenue? Are you striving to be average or are you striving for greatness? Do you just want to be comfortable or do you want to be rich? Are you happy with the status quo or would you like to live above and beyond?

These questions aren’t necessarily easy questions to answer and they don’t all have a simple response, do they?  Four years ago, these types of questions would not have even entered in my consciousness, as I didn’t even realize that there was MORE to life then becoming average. This is not to say that being average is a BAD thing – like many people – I had the dream to go to school, get my degree, get a good corporate job and work my way up to a solid 6 figure income and at the same time, meet the man of my dreams and start a family. We would live in a 3 bedroom home, most likely in Oakville or Burlington, take 2 weeks of vacation every year and live a COMFORTABLE life.  Sounds like the perfect North American dream, right?  What I started to realize though, is as I pulled back the curtain on this lifestyle, I realized that this dream wasn’t exactly what I had wanted. In fact, becoming average started to appeal less and less.

What I hadn’t realized is that all our lives we have been programmed to become average, to fit the status quo and to live in mediocrity. And living in mediocrity can be much easier than living a life of greatness.  It can be easier to go through life, working at a job or a business that pays the bills with enough left over to take a few weeks vacation every year, to live in a house that fits your needs, to drive a reasonable car and have just enough STUFF to fill that home and to keep up the status illusion. A life that becomes almost like Groundhog Day.  Anyone remember that movie with Bill Murray? He wakes up every day and repeats the same day over and over again? Sadly, this is the reality for most of us.  We go to work Monday to Friday, anticipate the weekend all week, spend the weekend doing errands, cleaning up around the house or maybe even relaxing, only to wake up again on Monday morning and do it all again. Forty years later, we retired on less money then we had when we were working, so in order to keep the house and travel, we have to go back to work.  Is this really what our lives were meant to be?

There are many amazing people worldwide who believe otherwise and I’d like to share with you how some of their philosophies have helped thousands of people just like you & I, to personally strive for a life a greatness, rather than mediocrity.

Randy Gage, The Millionaire Messiah of Prosperity, has a very empowering motto: “Prosperity is your birthright and your natural condition. It is all around you. There is no place on earth that Prosperity is not.”  He has spent years leading a tribe of people who want to live a life that is full of prosperity, in every way possible.  His preaches about success and prosperity on his blog and has written several books on the topic, including Why You’re Dumb, Sick and Broke and How to Get Smart Healthy and Rich. His message is simple, why live in mediocrity when you can live in prosperity? He helps us to understand how challenging it can be to overcome societal lack programming and the lack mentality that surrounds most of us. And he is a living example of someone who has overcome great challenges and poverty to become a multi-millionaire and one of the most powerful speakers on prosperity alive today.

Jim Rohn was an amazing man who also preached about greatness and prosperity.  From humble beginnings as a farm boy in Idaho, Jim Rohn went on to be become a world-reknown motivational and inspirational speaker, as well as building several multi-million dollar businesses. As he so aptly stated, “Whoever renders service to many puts himself in line for greatness – great wealth, great return, great satisfaction, great reputation, and great joy.” This is really the key that we often forget – the only way to achieve greatness is to provide great service to others.  To paraphrase Rohn, if you help a few dozen people to succeed, you’ll make a little bit of money. If you help a few hundred people to succeed, you’ll make even more money.  And if you help thousands of people to succeed, you’ll become a millionaire.  What a beautiful way to frame prosperity – help thousands of people to achieve their dreams and be successful, and you’ll become a millionaire in the process.

What both of these amazing mentors and teachers help us to really understand is that it’s ok to want to be rich and to be prosperous. In fact, it’s our right and privilege to be able to live a life of GREATNESS.  It’s up to us to rise above mediocrity and to be the best person we can be, not only for ourselves and for our families, but for the entire nation and the world.  As strange as it may sound, it will always be easier to remain on Mediocre Street, then to live on Prosperity Avenue. That is why less than 5% of people ever do make the move.

Four years ago, I started to pack up my things on Mediocre Street.  I haven’t found my home on Prosperity Avenue yet – but I am certainly on the journey every single day.  I experience set backs and challenges just like everyone else, but I also know that this journey is just as important as the destination. And as I travel along this path, I invite you to come with me. To take a little step in the direction of Prosperity Avenue every single day.  To start to think about how your life could be GREAT and how you could make a BIG difference in the world.  Together, we can be a part of the prosperity movement and lead others to join us. There is more than enough for everyone! Will you join me on the journey to GREATNESS?

This weekend was the Victoria Day holiday here in Canada, and for most people, yesterday was a day off work.  For our American friends, next Monday you will have the same with the Memorial Day holiday.  How did you spend your long weekend?

For many people, this past weekend was the official kick-off for summer and they spent it at the cottage/boat/trailer on a lake somewhere north/east of the Greater Toronto Area. Having had a few summers to enjoy a cottage years ago, I can certainly understand the draw.  And for the first time in years, we actually had great weather! Of course, there are many things I don’t understand about long weekends at the cottage.

First – the drive on a Friday before a long weekend. There is a mass exodus out of the Toronto area and tens of thousands of drivers are on the roads, trying to get out of the city.  The result is an insane amount of traffic, and a trip that would normally take 60 to 90 minutes takes double the time or sometimes even longer! It doesn’t really matter where your cottage/boat/trailer is – whether is it north or east of the city, the traffic problems are the same. And it’s always about finding the best route to get there.

Second – the bugs. This time of the year can be the worst for black flies. And soon it will be time for mosquitoes and deer flys. Now, I enjoy nature as much as the next person, but I still find bugs to be very irritating.  That’s probably why I enjoyed spending my summers in the Swiss mountains – fewer bugs.

Third – all of the work that has to be done.  Opening the cottage (unless you have a fully winterized one) can take up the entire weekend, if not several weeks.  From raking leaves to putting in the docks, there are never ending jobs to take care of.

This often means that the first long weekend of the summer is actually very stressful and involves a great deal of physical labour. So, are cottagers really getting that quality time with friends and family?Feel free to check in on the comments section.

Dan and I spent the weekend here at home.  We didn’t make any plans, except to organize our place to make room for the baby that’s arriving this fall. We did work hard on Saturday, but on Sunday and Monday had the opportunity to spend some great quality time together. We now share a small office and it’s very cozy when we are both in there! For some reason though, we actually enjoyed it. What we were reminded of again this weekend is how happy we can be just enjoying each others company.  Some of you might have read How to Attract Your Perfect Partner from a few months ago and even though it’s been almost three years, we are still in the honeymoon phase.

We do have dreams though, and even though we don’t have access to a cottage every weekend, we do have the chance to visit the family cottage once a summer. We both love being in nature and the fresh,clean air away from the city. We have a dream to live in a home that is in the woods, near a lake, close to the mountains to enjoy hiking, rock climbing and skiing. I’ve seen this home many times in my mind, I could draw you a picture if you like.

What are your dreams? Do you enjoying going to the cottage – would you like to be able to live up there? Do you have a vision for your dream home? Would you like to be able to spend more quality time with your family?  If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then ask yourself this, what are you doing to bring that dream closer to reality? Are you taking daily action that will allow your dreams to come true? Or are you hoping that you’ll get lucky and win the lottery?

Life is very finite, we get one chance – it’s not a dress rehearsal.  Are you on your way to making your dreams to come in this lifetime?

After not much of a winter, we are experiencing an absolutely beautiful spring here in Southern Ontario. I am constantly surprised by the beauty of nature as I walk and drive around Burlington and Oakville. As we had such a mild winter, the trees and flowers are blooming early.  Of course, for those with seasonal allergies, it’s not nearly as nice! It’s interesting isn’t it, that there is always something to complain about, even when we are surrounded by beauty.

Earlier this week, I had a very tough time getting out of bed in the morning, I hadn’t slept very well, waking up every hour and feeling restless all night. I woke up exhausted, knowing that I had a full day and full week ahead of me. Then it occurred to me. I was awake.  I had been given the gift of another day of life on earth. Whether I was tired or not, I had another beautiful day to live my life. You see, last week, a beautiful young woman who was a former business associate of mine, was killed in a tragic accident. She was about the same age as me, with a family and two children. It was a sudden and very jarring reminder that the most important thing to be grateful for is to be ALIVE.

It is possible to forget that each day is a gift (that’s why it’s called the Present!) and that our time here is not only limited, it’s actually very short. One of my favorite quotes is

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” Mahatma Gandhi

Because the truth is, none us of really know when it will be our last day. I have plans to live until I at least 90, of course, but I sure as heck want to make sure I make the best of all of those years in between. So ask yourself this, are you making the most of your days? And are you taking the time to enjoy the beauty around you?

Sometimes, we all just need a reminder to be grateful for all of the wonderful things we have in our lives. Especially when things aren’t going the way that we would really like them to. Things have actually been going really well here in Burlington, we just celebrated Dan’s birthday this weekend and it was a lot of fun. Dan had the chance to participate in a very competitive volleyball tournament and we spent the evening with his family.  Sunday night, we visited some of our closest friends and enjoyed a small birthday celebration. It’s amazing how sometimes the little things and small events can really have a positive impact in our lives.

How often do you think about what you are grateful for? I’ll admit, it’s something I often have to be reminded about. I will go through times where I am grateful every single day – and will even write down a list of things to be grateful for or create one in my head. And other times, I’m so caught up in everyday life that I forget to be grateful and need a reminder of how powerful this simple action can be in my life.

Most of you who are reading this are living in North America.  And it’s easy to take for granted all of what we have available to us every single day.  I would assume we all have a roof over our heads, running water for bathing and cleaning, clean drinking water, food in our fridges and our cupboards, a bed to sleep in and clothes in our closet. We live a peaceful country, where we don’t have to worry about living in a war zone and fearing for our lives every time we step outside our doors. We have internet connections, cable television, cell phones, cars or easy access to public transportation.  We truly live in a world of plenty.

If you’re going through a bit of a challenging time right now, take inventory of your surroundings.  Make a list of what you’ve got – not just all of the physical things, but take stock of your relationships. You may find that once you’ve started a list, you’ve got a lot more than you ever imagined.  And sometimes all it takes to turn things around is a change of attitude.  The Universe is very responsive to what we are thinking and it tends to give you more of what you’re feeling and thinking about.

A quick example from my life – recently I was trying to decide what to do over the summer. As a part-time teacher, I don’t have the luxury of a paycheck that continues over the summer. Many of my tutoring clients were looking at lessons over the summer as well.  And I knew that I wasn’t ready to devote myself full-time with Agel, as I’m still in my first year of business building (I made that mistake once before, so at least I’ve learned). The day I made the decision to continue with French teaching and tutoring over the summer, a number of opportunities came up.  I received a phone call from a new client who wanted to start French tutoring immediately. I had an opportunity for a new job with Oxford Learning. I already have almost a dozen clients for different summer programs (if this is something you’re interested in, details on the full summer camp can be found here - there are other options too, just drop me a line). And I was given the chance to apply for yet another part-time teaching role for the summer. It is truly amazing how responsive the Universe has been, once I made up my mind.

The question for you to ponder today is, what I am truly grateful for? Even better, see if this is a question you can remember to ask yourself everyday. One of the things I am most grateful for is all of you who read and share my blog. It’s been an amazing experience so far and I value all of your feedback and comments.

This weekend I attended the District Conference for Toastmasters.  This conference included over 300 people from all over Ontario, as far east as Markham, south to Niagara Falls, north to Sudbury and West to London (excluding Toronto itself). Although I did not attend the entire weekend, I did have a chance to sample some of the events. Toastmasters is a very deep organization – there are many different levels, not only in regard to regions but also in regard to all of the awards and accomplishments that you can earn as a Toastmaster. I have actually been surprised at the true quality of the organization and the professionalism, while at the same time the kindness and friendliness of other members.

On Saturday afternoon, I attended the International Speech Contest. This is the last stage before the World Championships, which are being held in Palm Desert, CA this summer. There were 8 different speakers, from 8 different Divisions.  Each had to win at the Club, Area and Division level before reaching this stage.  One of the things I noticed was how different not only the speeches were, but how different and varied the background and ages of the participants was. It was a true representation of the multi-cultural population of Ontario.

The International Speech Contest is the most prestigious contest in Toastmasters. The requirements are fairly simple, create an original 5 – 7 minutes speech, on your choice of topic, that delivers a message and/or inspires your audience. This leaves the content wide open, and it’s very hard to judge when the topics can be so different.  I was able to pick the top 3 competitors, although not in any order. The winner, Gregory, spoke about a Genius of a Different Kind – a very powerful speech about other kinds genius in people that may not be evident in a traditional school system. Second place went to Frédérique, a colleague of mine from Oakville, who competed with me all the way to the end (I represented our division for the Evaluation Contest).  She spoke about Finding the Fun in everything you do, based on a wonderful story about an usual GO train conductor named Kevin. And third place was Annette, who taught us about finding our L.O.P. – likeness of a parent, through different stages of our lives. Gregory will now represent our District at the World Championships in August.

An early start to Sunday morning, as I had to be ready for a 7 am microphone check. I also had the chance to meet the other competitors for the Evaluation Contest, which was taking place in a few short hours. Oddly, I had been imagining that I would draw #5 speaking position – and when it came my turn to choose, I pick #5. The Law of Attraction at work again! The Evaluation Contest is a very different type of contest.  All of the contestants (and the audience) first listen to a target speaker, a Toastmaster who performs a 5-7 min speech.  Evaluation is a part of every Toastmasters meeting, so it is a skill that we get to practice. The difference is that when someone is doing a speech project at the club, there is a manual and criteria that they are trying to achieve, so you can evaluate them based on the criteria.  When you are evaluating for a competition, there is no specific criteria for the speech, so you have to look at all of the different skills and criteria for all of the speeches in the Toastmasters manual. It can be a challenge, especially when the target speaker is an excellent speaker, as was the case on Sunday.

After the speech, all of the contestants leave the room and are sequestered in another room, far enough so that we cannot hear the main stage.  We are giving 5 minutes to write our notes for the speech, and then our notes are taken away until it is our turn to speak.  One at a time, the contestants are lead into the room to deliver a 2-3:30 min impromptu evaluation speech to the target speaker and the audience. Once you have completed your speech, you can stay in the room to listen to the other competitors.  The advantage of being first is that you get to hear everyone, but you have the least preparation time. The advantage of being last is that you have the most prep time (you can practice in your head without your notes of course) but you don’t get to hear anyone else. Finally, if your speech is even 1 second over 3:30, you are disqualified (there are stop lights to help us to gauge the time – the red light comes on at 3 minutes).

It is such a fun and challenging contest, and what I really like about it is that evaluation is about the target speaker, not about you. Judging is based on the quality of your evaluation, giving positive feedback and solid suggestions on how to make it better for next time. You are judged on how the message is delivered and if you left the speaker inspired to continue to improve. There are no points for your style or mannerisms. It is really about the speaker.  This has been such a great learning experience for me, taking myself out of the equation and truly focusing on helping someone else to become a better speaker. This is one of the reasons I had originally joined Toastmasters.

And the results?  Harry from Mississauga came in first, my new friend Katherine from Markham was 2nd and I was a very proud 3rd. I was also very proud to have the largest cheering section – there were a dozen members from Trafalgar Toastmasters cheering me on.  It was a wonderful experience and I am proud to have represented our club.

The morning finished off with a brunch and a very special guest speaker. We were honoured to have last year’s World Champion of public speaking, Mark Hunter, all the way from Australia.  A very humble man, his keynote speech was not only powerful, but effective and full of suggestions on how we could make our speeches world-class as well. He performed 2 of his 5-7 min award winning speeches during the keynote.  I had encouraged members of the club to stay for this event. I believe that the best way to become the best you can be at anything, is to learn from the best.  So why not take this opportunity to learn from the best in the world?

It was a great opportunity to learn and to be inspired. I met some new friends and re-connected with others. I really value this organization, and am very proud to be a part of such a well-known and well respected club. You are welcome to join us as a guest any time! We meet on Monday nights, 7:15 pm at the Oakville Central Library in Downtown Oakville.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Ever since I started blogging about four months ago, I’ve been wondering how important it is to have a theme for my blog. One thing that I noticed is that when I met with a group of more experienced bloggers at a brunch arranged by Angela of OhSheGlows is that the first question fellow bloggers asked is what is the name of my blog. Seems like everyone has a theme or a cool name of some sort.  Now granted, a number of them had food blogs, which might make a theme a bit more natural. Here are a few of the things I considered when choosing a theme for my blog:

• Did I want to create a niche blog, that would appeal only to a small portion of people? A potential here, but a challenge since I seem to a know a lot about many different things and wouldn’t necessarily consider myself an expert in any one field.
• How about a food blog – would I be interested in writing about what I eat everyday? This idea was quick squashed – you may remember me admitting that I don’t like to cook, so it wouldn’t be that interesting.
• Or a blog that serves as a journal? Noted, some of my blog posts have had a journal-like feel to them, but I think I use this tool more as a way to open up to followers every once in a while, rather than something I am doing everyday.
• What about a travel blog? I have certainly traveled quite a bit and usually take 4-5 trips per year, and have a passion for Switzerland and Europe. Again, there are already many great travel blogs and since it’s not my career or something I do that regularly, it probably isn’t the best theme.

I finally settled on one idea that I kept coming back to after looking back at old posts and really thinking about the message that I wanted to share.  Over 7 years ago, I started my first “business” called Motivation4Life! – it was meant to be a speaking business where I would present a seminar on achieving your goals, based on the principles I learned when I overcame a few difficult physical challenges in order to complete Ironman Canada in 2003. The business never really got off the ground, I did a few seminars but didn’t invest the time, effort or marketing dollars into the business. I do still have the website, www.motivation4life.ca – but it has now disappeared as I had created it using Google Apps for your domain, back when they were free. The hosting no longer exists (it wasn’t that great either, but it served a purpose).

Here’s what I came up with: I have been told before that I am really good at inspiring people to make changes in their lives, or to take on new challenges. I am a positive and enthusiastic person, for the most part, and am striving everyday to live a life of greatness. A good news story is always welcome in a world where what we mostly hear is negative and brings us down.

Motivation For Your Life (www.motivationforyourlife.com coming soon!)

Your Daily Dose of Motivation, Inspiration and Good News.

This also fits with my personal philosophy, which is the banner at the top of my blog: To lead a life full of passion and purpose, to rise above mediocrity, to achieve greatness and to personally inspire others to find greatness in themselves.

There are a few technical issues that I still have to workout, and I don’t plan on removing what has been built here at julieboyer.com so stay tuned to see what comes of these new changes! I am open to your feedback or input, if you’ve got some ideas.

For those who have your own blog, how did you come up with your theme?

Have a wonderful spring day everyone!

What would you do if I shared the secret of success? What if I told you it only took 30 minutes a day? Would you be willing to change your daily habits?

I’d like to share with you the gift of personal development. One of the biggest gifts I have been given through my network marketing business has been adopting the habit of beginning each day with 30 minutes of personal development. Over the past four years,  my life has totally changed. From The Secret, to Think and Grow Rich and the Magic of Thinking BIG – 30 minutes of daily personal development has been a wonderful gift and helped me to become to person I am today.

Jim Rohn was an accomplished speaker, entrepreneur and millionaire who, in his 35 year career has spoken to over 4 million people, committed helping others achieve all they are capable of in life and business. I have been drawn to Jim Rohn’s work since I was introduced to him 4 years ago.

There are many lessons I have learned from Jim Rohn, and I’d like to share with you the three I have found the most powerful and life changing for me.

“Time is more valuable than money, You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.”

Once you spend an hour, you can’t get it back.  Sometimes in the rush of our busy lives, we forget the value of each hour we live upon this earth. Not even the richest man in the world has ever been able to buy more time on his death bed.  So ask yourself this, do you live your day on purpose? Does everyday have a goal, a plan and a desired outcome? Or is everyday like groundhog day, until the weekend comes and you relax and escape til Monday morning?

“Profits are better than wages. Wages will make you a living, profits can make you a fortune.”

What if you could work part-time on your fortune, and keep your day job to pay the bills? Commit to working part-time, 10-15 hours per week on your fortune and within 2 -5 years, you may be able to quit your full-time job and just stick to part-time! There is an excitement of creating a fortune in your spare time and being able to retire with more money than you had when you were working.

“Success is not to be pursued; it is to be attracted by the person you become. Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.”

The journey is what it’s about, the person you become in order to be successful. In order to become wealthy and successful, you have to become the person who is rich and successful, because if you were already the person you needed to be in order to be a success, you’d be a success! Thirty minutes of daily personal development is a great start, finding a mentor is one of the next steps.  I’ll talk more about this is a later post this week.

There are many reasons why we might not have 30 minutes a day for personal development, but isn’t worth giving it a try for 30 days to see where you end up? I have personally learned so much about myself, my habits, my challenges and my goals and dreams over the past 3 years. And I know that I am on the path to success, 30 minutes at a time.  I’d like to leave you with this, one on my favourite Jim Rohn quotes:

My challenge to you begins today.  For the next thirty days, begin each and every day with 30 minutes of personal development. If you’re not sure what to read, start with Think and Grow Rich, or visit your local library and look up self development. I will be checking in on a weekly basis to see how everyone is doing – so let me know in the comments if you’ll be taking part.  We’ll be doing this together! I’ll share the books I’m reading as well.  Right now, I have been reading a collection of books by Robin Sharma.

To your success!