The one thing I want more in my life is love.

One of the most valuable personal development principles I was ever taught was:

Don’t want what you want. That will only create more want.

Instead: Give what you want. That will ignite the process of creating it.

What do you want?

Confidence? Bolster the confidence of someone else.
Courage? Encourage to someone else.
Hope? Provide hope to someone else.
Money? Give money to support someone/something else.
Belief? Instill belief in someone else.

Love? Give love to someone else.

Being raised without a mother and having Sergeant Gunnery as a father I’m a little uncomfortable expressing my love.

So I started making/giving love privately. I outlined this in The Compound Effect:
…“Second, I do something that sounds a bit odd, but I send love to someone. The way to get love is to give it, and one thing I want more of is love. I give love by thinking of one person, anyone (it could be a friend, relative, co-worker, or someone I just met in the supermarket—it doesn’t matter), and then I send them love by imagining all that I wish and hope for them. Some would call this a blessing or a prayer; I call it a mental love letter….

This process turns on my love magnets every morning. It’s amazing how the world changes around me when I turn on the magnets in the morning.

Another form of love making I do is… read more »

Texas is my dog… my other dog.

Lucy was such an inspiration to everyone I thought I would introduce you to the teachings of my other dog, Tex (for short), he is our Jack Russell Terrorist (no, not a misspelling).

I went to buy a cowboy hat before going into the rodeo in the stockyards of Fort Worth, Texas, (when in Rome!). Inside their makeshift booth they were also selling Jack Russell puppies. My wife and I had been looking for a sibling companion for Lucy. We knew nothing about Jack Russell Terriers, but the little spitfire captured our hearts and we fell in love on the spot.

Tex has a Napoleon complex. He is only 14 pounds but portrays himself as if he were a 200-pound pit bull. I’ve had to rescue him from the jaws of a German Shepherd and a Rottweiler. Fights HE picked. Tex has bitten the UPS guy (two of them), a Jehovah’s Witness, the meter reader, my mother in-law and countless friends and neighbors. I know, don’t get all “Cesar Millan” on me. It’s my fault… I haven’t been the “pack leader” good enough. I get it. read more »

Lucy is my dog. I want to be more like Lucy.

My wife’s friend Marilyn stopped by with her friend Gayle. The visit was intended to be brief as they had been at the hospital nearby all day. Gayle’s husband has had a grueling battle with throat cancer for the past 18 months. Gayle had only ever been to our house once before. The pain and stress of her dying husband was visible all over her. Her husband had recently contracted pneumonia and had been moved to full hospice. He was now unable to speak or move. His body was in its final shutting down process. His end was imminent.

Gayle’s 8-year-old twins had said their final goodbyes to their dad just earlier that day. When my wife Georgia asked how she was feeling she said, “My heart is broken into a million little pieces. I am completely lost.” And she started to cry. It was then that my dog Lucy went up to Gayle and put her chin on her thigh. After a few minutes Gayle got on her knees to pet Lucy. Lucy licked her tears, and for the first time in many months, Gayle smiled. Gayle hugged Lucy and really started to let it out. For the next hour Gayle shared the love she has for her husband and the pure anguish she has been going through. All the while Lucy never took her head off her lap. She never stopped comforting her.

Out of all of us there it was only Lucy who was willing to offer her unguarded love and comfort. Lucy showed me how I could be if I were more open to expressing and giving of my love. That day, and really most every day, my dog Lucy taught me how to be a better human.

Dog is God backwards. When I observe my Lucy or other dogs I often think this must be what God is like. Maybe that is why they are here—as our teachers.

If only we could learn to be more like dogs. Dogs are: read more »

Something Jim Rohn taught me is—it’s not the time you invest, it’s the investment you make in the time you spend with those you care about that makes the difference. You can leave creating a great time and wonderful memories to chance, or you can weave the tapestry of a wonderful experience through great design and planning.

I surveyed some of my friends and peers about how they craft wonderful holiday experiences and meaningful connections with others. I’ve listed the best five ideas from this survey —ALL of which I plan to deploy this holiday season!

IDEA 1. Capture the Memories—Take lots of digital photos during family get-togethers. Upload the photos to a family photo-sharing site (I recommend: www.DropShots.com; it’s safe and secure, and photos are not shared publicly or indexed by search engines) and send the link to everyone in attendance.

If you really want to memorialize the experience, have the photos made into a memory book and send everyone a copy as a thank-you gift (I recommend: www.qualityphotobooks.com – super easy, great quality).

Bonus idea: During the get-together have available family pictures and albums from previous holidays. They can stimulate conversations and warm memories of holidays past and important people who might no longer be in attendance.

IDEA 2. read more »