Quote - Ralph Waldo Emerson- Change is Inevitable

The following is a sad, but true story.

About a month or so ago, something in me changed. And there is nothing I could do about it. At first, I thought it was only an isolated case but then I realized I had really changed. Why? I did not know. Will I ever come back the way I was? I do not know. Will I complain about it? No. Will I stop loving what I love? No.

All my life, I could chop onions without crying. Not even a tiny drop. Not even a small burning feeling. I felt like I could used onion juice for eye drops. Last September, I started chopping and that particular onion was determined to make me cry for all it's deceased onions friends that I chopped heartlessly. The onion prevailed. And I cried. Water was pouring out of my eyes. My eyes were on fire. All of a sudden, the onion eye drop did not seems like a very good idea! Ever since, chopping onions makes me cry.

"We change, whether we like it or not."

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Even though my example seems trivial. It happened and that I like it or not from now on onions makes me cry. Don't think about the problem, as it says in my October 29th post, think about the solution. Wear glasses, use a Slap Chop, don't cook onions, learn to chop with a 3 foot long saber. Solutions are plenty when you put your mind to it!

Year without a Summer

Some people can't wait for it, other people dread it's arrival. Snow or White S***.

I was personally thrilled when I looked out the window Saturday morning to see falling snow. I find something magical about falling snow. The magic fades away pretty quickly when it's minus 10 the next day and my bones are freezing.

One way. to teach people that things aren't as bad as they look is to witness, read about or hear of something worst. Hey, cheer up it could be worst.


A quick search on wikipedia.org and I started to feel better. Apparently, 1816 is known as the "Year without a summer". Just imagine, it's March and the snow has not even started to melt. April, it's still all there. May, some is gone but you still wear your winter boots. June, you still need earmuffs to get out. July, the electricity bill is still sky high. August, still did not use your bathing-suit. September, you're realize you never got to use your sun lotion and it's gonna expire before next year. October... do I really need to continue describing. I'd feel pretty miserable at that time.

Winter is on our doorsteps, so what? It could be worst. It could be Winter all year long!

Quote - Productivity is the key

This week's quote will target productivity. What is productivity? Wikipedia defines it as a measure to output. The more you output, do or produce the more you are productive. It's pretty simple. When you are ask to do something, focus on doing it. When you ask someone to do something for you, focus on the outcome.

I'm not sure where this quote comes from. It's written on a sticky note on my desk at work. Corners are all curled up meaning it's been there for a long time.

"What you do is infinitely more important than how you do it."

In the end it's the results that count. In business, getting things done is more important than how. You can be sitting in a cubicle reading and answering emails as productively than if you were at home, or on the beach for that matter (Why not?). You can keep a good physical shape by working out at home with no weights and no complicated machines or you can pay for a personal trainer, a gym membership and a treadmill. It doesn't really matter how, as long as you keep yourself healthy. You can read about nutrition on the Internet or attend nutrition classes. You can read the news in the newspaper, watch them on TV or hear them on the radio. You can plant and grow beautiful roses or buy them at the flower shop but what matters is that you give them to your better half in the end.

It really doesn't matter how. How did I write this message? At home? At a coffee shop? On my cellphone? Did I hire someone to do it? It doesn't really matter, it's there for you to read and I hope you enjoyed it.

Remembrance Day

92 years ago, at 11:00AM, the World War I Armistice was signed in Conpiègne Forrest, France,  and marked the end of fighting on the Western Front.

Today take a few minutes of your day to think about all those who gave up their lives to make your world better. No matter where you are and who you are, there is someone who gave his or her life to make things better, hoping for a better world.

I'm Canadian and people may not know much about our military efforts during the Great Wars where over 110,000 Canadians gave their lives. Here are a few links to Wikipedia for details about Canada's efforts. If you're Canadian and don't know the details take some time and read through those articles and if you are from another country, look up what your country did in the past. Knowing our past is a great way to mold our future.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_history_of_Canada_during_World_War_I

To finish my post, here's a video to honor Canadian Troops, close your eyes while it plays and think about all that happened and those people who played a role in bettering your world...

Rainy Days

One rainy day evokes all sorts of reactions from people. Two days in row, you can already start to feel a shift in the people's frame of mind. More than two days and all people seams to be able to focus on is water falling from the sky and the lack of sun. Of course, I'm talking generally about urban people. There are always exceptions, like you maybe or a farmer waiting for rain to juice its crops.

It's been raining for almost a week, which is a long time for this part of the world, Eastern Canada. Where am I getting at? I don't know, I just felt I had to write something. All week, I focused all my thought about what I'll be writing tomorrow for Remembrance Day or Veteran's Day depending where you live. So much that I forgot I had to write something before the 11th.

Back to the rain. As much as you will hear often that YOU are in control of you mood and the way you feel and how you react to things. There are incredible forces around us that drive our mood, like weather, traffic, people around us, the medias, your paycheck, family, friends, and this and that and the other thing... and many other things to infinity and beyond (Note to self: got to rent Toy Story 3).

With so many things bullying our mood it can get extremely difficult to stay positive. That's why the first 5 seconds of your day are so important. If you set your mind to "I'm going to have a great happy day" mode before you see the rain and all those things that could affect your mood, you set up a good foundation for your day.

How were your first 5 seconds today? What's your morning routine? Is it building a good foundation for your day? What could you change to make it better?

Quote - Cynthia Nelms - Be Happy Since No One Cares

I thought choosing a quote for the first "Quote of the week" was hard. The second week is even harder. So many quotes to chose from!

There are many things I like about quotes, one of those things is that they don't have to be deep and serious to have deliver their message. Like this week's quote:

" Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy. "

~Cynthia Nelms

Even if somebody really cares, you still might as well be happy. The bottom line is that given the choice you should choose happiness over misery. Remember that the choice is yours.

This week end, bring joy where ever you go, spread it.

I wish you all an amazingly happy weekend!

People are awesome!

Just found this video on Youtube. Sometimes pictures are better than words so just watch and be amazed at what some people have accomplished.

A word about failure

Fear of failure is something we develop as we grow up. Given two paths, people are likely to choose the safest route based on their experiences. It makes sense. To me it makes sense if both paths goes to the same place but what happen when the two choices lead to different places? The safest path may not be the best path but peoples are really clever in convincing themselves that it is. Because "What if I fail?".

What if you failed the first time tried to ride a bike? What if you failed the first time you tried to walk? What if you failed the first time you tried to throw a baseball? You tried again. And again. And again.

People who've accomplished great things in life understood that principle.

This video has been going around on Facebook lately and it's a great example why YOU should not be afraid to fail!