Just Say Yes

Everyday we are presented with an infinite amount of possibilities for what we can do. Every single second is another opportunity to take action and do something. But most of us have become so accustomed to living within our comfort zone that we rarely take advantage of these opportunities and stick with what we are familiar with. Even when these opportunities are directly presented to us we will often choose to let them pass us by because we lack that adventurous spirit that keeps things exciting.

But I say screw that. We have one life to live so we should take advantage of every single opportunity, every single second, and say yes every chance we get! You know those times when you’ve been invited to do something but refused to because you were too “tired”? Well wake up! The clock is ticking and the train of life isn’t stopping for anybody so next time you get that invite you better say yes!

Obviously there are consequences to every action we take and you need to be smart in making your decisions. And sometimes those consequences aren’t going to be the ones we were hoping for. But I’d rather be out there experiencing those consequences and going on new adventures than hiding inside my comfort zone and never really living life.

So be exciting. Take a risk. Do something you would never imagine yourself doing. Live a little. Live a LOT. Sleep when you’re dead. Have fun. Be crazy. Say yes!

You Gotta Have Faith

I never went to church as child or had any religious influence in my upbringing, but I truly understand the power of faith and know it’s a vital part to having success in life. When you completely believe in something and erase all doubt from your mind and heart, anything is possible.

When I decided to move to LA and start my career in the music industry, all odds were against me. Most major record labels were laying people off, not hiring them. I had zero job experience, I only knew one person in the whole city and on top of that, I severely broke my leg after being here for less than 3 months, requiring surgery that put me off my feet for the next 4. It was like trying to ride a bike uphill with two flat tires.

But deep down inside me I KNEW with absolute conviction that things would work out and I would succeed in my goal. I didn’t care what the odds for success were, failure was not an option. I trusted in myself and in the universe with 100% faith and removed all uncertainty from my life and I absolutely credit that mindset for getting me to where I am today. If I had ever faltered and allowed even an ounce of doubt to affect my journey then I honestly don’t think I would have come this far.

Whatever it is you’re facing, whether it’s something positive and exciting like getting a new job or achieving some goal, or whether it’s something negative and challenging like losing a job or experiencing an illness, approach it with faith. Know from the bottom of your heart that things are going to work out in the long run and that the one thing you have most control over is how much you believe in yourself. You have all of the tools and resources inside of you to create any outcome you desire. So trust yourself, trust the universe, and silence any voice inside your head that says “no”. Because the answer is “yes”. You just gotta have faith.

No Matter What

I’ve always thought of myself to be a very loving person. I have strong feelings of love for my family and friends and care about them all very much. But I learned a very powerful lesson somewhere along the way about the difference between loving conditionally and unconditionally. And while I had truly loved many people in my life I was doing so with a faulty foundation that was contaminated with judgment and expectations, loving them on the surface but fostering feelings of disapproval deep down inside. One day the reality of my conditional love exploded in front of me, forcing me to re-examine my role in the relationships I had and giving me the opportunity to commit myself to changing the way that I love people.

Nobody is perfect. People have some amazing qualities that are easy to love but they also have some not-so amazing qualities. . . and we should love them anyway! Accepting a person from head to toe, inside and out, just exactly the way they are is what it means to love someone unconditionally and it takes great maturity and a big heart to do this. Let go of any internal standards you may have created for people (including yourself) and love them for the unique individuals that they are.

Now this isn’t to say that we should all be completely content with our bad habits and character flaws. We should always push ourselves and those around us to grow and become better people. But when we do this it should come from a place of love, of genuinely wanting that person to be the best version of themselves so THEY can be the happiest they can be, not because WE think they need to change or improve.

I encourage you to make the same commitment that I have made and love everyone in your life unconditionally. From those days when everything is working great and everyone is happy to those days that everything goes wrong and emotions are distraught, love them just the same. Fill your heart with nothing but love for the people in your life and let this be the only feeling you have towards them in any situation. Love them no matter what. 

Be All You Can Be

When I was sophomore in college I took an economics course that said a college degree is merely a piece of paper that proves two things: 1. That you are at least this smart and 2. That you are at least this hard working. And in reality, that’s pretty accurate. So whether I worked as hard as I could and got straight A’s or partied as much as I could and got straight C’s I would end up with the same piece of paper. Being the wise 19 year old that I was I took the latter approach and crawled my way through college getting by with the bare minimum.

Two years later I dated a bioengineering pre-med student that was quite the opposite of me and had a very different outlook on things. She valued having a strong work ethic and believed that if you were going to do something you should do it to the best of your ability and apply yourself to reach your maximum potential. Fortunately this philosophy rubbed off onto me and completely changed my perspective.

This is an important concept that I feel defines what kind of person you are: one that “gets by” doing the bare minimum or one that holds themselves to a higher standard. I believe that if you are going to do something then you should do it the best you can! If you’re going be a babysitter for the night, be the most fun and most responsible baby sitter those kids have ever had. If you’re going be a garbage man, be an amazing garbage man that loves his job. If you’re going to be someone's friend, be a true, sincere, fun and incredible friend. Whatever it is you are facing, commit yourself to doing your absolute best and giving it everything you got!

I think the reason that most people don’t take this approach is because there is usually no one to hold you accountable. YOU are the only person who knows if you’re working at your full potential, no one else is looking. So stop and ask yourself this question: what kind of person do YOU want to be?

Random Acts of Kindness

I believe that happiness is contagious and a great way to spread it is through random acts of kindness. Something as simple as smiling at a stranger can really turn a person’s day around and put them in a great mood. In a society where we’ve become so disconnected from each other, living through our cell phones and the internet, it’s amazing how powerfully you can affect someone by reaching out a generous hand.

Just recently I had two close friends randomly send me letters in the mail filled with loving and thoughtful words of praise and admiration. There was no special reason for this, it wasn’t my birthday or Christmas and I hadn’t done anything nice for them. They committed these random acts of kindness out of the sincerity of their hearts and let me just say. . . the positive emotions of joy and happiness that they have aroused in me is truly incredible! With such a simple gesture they have made me feel so loved and honored and now I’ve been inspired to keep the momentum and spread this message of optimism to the rest of you :)

Sending personal, hand written letters to your loved ones is a great way to not only brighten their day but also your own. Doing nice things for other people makes them feel good and makes yourself feel good too, knowing you have positively influence that person’s life. Personally, I’ve been trying to smile and say “good morning” to every person I walk by on my way to work in the morning and while I don’t always get a response I do always feel great about my efforts. Going out of your way to give someone a compliment or helping push a broken-down car out of the road or paying the toll booth for the person behind you. . . all of these little things make the world just that much better of a place and help tip the scale towards a more positive atmosphere.

We have endless opportunities throughout our day to demonstrate kindness to others so take advantage of having the power to do so and make somebody smile!

Interrupt Your Pattern

At one point or another everyone gets stuck in a negative frame of mind. We find ourselves in a funk that’s just seemingly impossible to break out of. My friend at work and I call it wearing your “cranky pants” and it can be really hard to get them off sometimes.

What we need to do is interrupt our pattern. When we’re in these bad moods, it’s easy to focus on the fact that we’re in a bad mood and having trouble breaking out of it, which puts us in a worse mood and the cycle continues. It’s like when you can’t sleep at night and all you can think about is how you can sleep, which keeps you up even longer and on and on. We need to put our foot down eventually and say “Hey! I’m ready to be in a good mood now and I’m going to break this pattern!”

Now, however you interrupt your pattern is up to you, it just needs to be something new and different that you’re not used to doing. If you’ve been going straight home from work, in a bad mood and locking yourself in your room everyday then don’t go home after work, drive the opposite way and find a new restaurant to eat dinner at. If you’re stuck in the middle of work or school in a bad mood, go take a 10 minute break to give a homeless person a dollar. Anything that is a change to your daily routine will shift your state and give you an opportunity to start over in a better mood.

I was in a bit of a funk the past couple days after partying a little too hard in Vegas and spending a little too much money.  I felt like my life fell of course after all the great work I had been doing on my personal growth. So, instead of going straight home for another night of moping around, I stopped by the library on the way home, opened up an account and checked out a book. On the way home someone on the street commented on the book I was holding and I ended up having a great conversation with him and making a new friend. Obviously my previous routine of being in a bad mood the couple days wasn’t working so by simply changing up one course of action I opened the door to new possibilities and put myself in a much better place.

So use your imagination. The next time you find yourself in that repetitive cycle of sulking do something spontaneous and interrupt the pattern. Jog through the park, learn your favorite recipe and make it for your neighbor, jump in the pool of hotel you’re not staying at, howl at the moon, get out your old yearbooks, go on Pandora and listen to genre of music you never listen to. . . or write a blog ;) 

The Secret

You have probably heard of “The Secret”, a book and movie that came out in 2006 claiming that you can have anything you want in your life by using the law of attraction. It basically says that if we desire something, all we have to do is focus our thoughts on what we want and we will attract it into our lives. Sounds kinda cheesy huh? Well guess what, it’s true!

I completely believe in the secret because I have experienced its power first hand. When I graduated college I took a job with a financial services company, soon realizing that I had no passion for that industry and that what I really wanted to do was work in the music business. There was a one in a thousand chance that I would actually make it in the super competitive world of Hollywood but I had a concrete vision of myself accomplishing my goal and total faith that things would work out and by the end of that year I had my own office in the famous Capitol Records building. How’s that for cheesy?

Most people tend to be fearful. They sabotage their dreams and goals by thinking about what would happen if they failed and not believing in themselves. The secret is that we will attract into our lives whatever we focus our thoughts on, so if you’re predicting failure and worst case scenarios then that’s exactly what you’re going to get!

If you can clear your mind of any negative thoughts and replace them with visions of success and prosperity, truly believing that the amazing things we dream of are possible, then I guarantee that you will start to attract the things you desire most into your life. So go ahead and start using your imagination to create the most rewarding and fulfilling life possible and have complete faith that this vision will come true. . . because it will!

*if you have 30 mins, listen to this recording, he explains everything much better than I can: The Strangest Secret - Earl Nightingale (1956)