I know what you’re saying…Another “10 List” of something. Well, you’re right except these are just 10 things we can all do to change our lives. These are not the “only” things we can do. Nor are they the “Top 10″ ways we can change our lives. Just 10 ways we can change our lives.

That being said, here we go…

1) Stop hating. I removed the word “hate” from my vocabulary. So many of us spend so much of our energy, time and thoughts on what we hate.
“I hate it when drivers cut me off.”
“I hate spinach.”
“I hate being late.”
“I hate how you talk.”

When we stop focusing so much on what, who, how, why we hate, it changes our perspective.

2) Write down what you’re thankful for. Okay, it may take some time but make a list of at least 20 things you’re thankful for. When I say ‘things” I don’t necessarily mean “things”. People, situations, GOD, start your mind thinking about what is “right” in your life.

3) Start expressing gratitude. You can start with the list you just made. BUT, don’t stop with the list you just made. Gratitude is always appreciated. Spread it around. Gratitude is an asset which you alone control in your life. You can spend as much of it as you like. Be extravagant with gratitude.

4) Every day of your life, take some time in your day to dream. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming. Larry Niven said, “Everything starts as somebody’s daydream.” Just close your eyes and dream.

5) If you’re going to dream, dream big, baby! Stretch your imagination. Enlarge your hopes and aspirations. Dream big and have hope in that dream. A life without hope is like a flower without the perfume.

6) Help someone else. Be the answer to someone else’s prayer. Do some good deed expecting nothing in return.

7) Let the wind blow on your face and smile. Smile because of the wind. Smile because you can feel it. Smile because you’re cognizant of what the wind is and the feeling of it caressing your face.Smile because Psalm 104:4 says “The winds are your messengers…”

8) Learn something new everyday.

9) Tell the people you love. Let them know every day, if possible, or as often as you see them or speak with them that you love them. The most sad thing I’ve seen at the funerals I’ve spoken at are all the “love” declarations left unsaid. Don’t be a wimp! If you love someone, tell them so.

10) LAUGH!

“But Bille, you don’t know what I’m going through.” You’re right, I don’t. Laugh anyway. Read something…watch something…listen to something…Or let your mind go back to some time in your life when you were “happy” and laughed about something and experience it all over again. Just laugh…it will change your life.

Keep Believing…

Having one of those days?…One of those weeks?…One of those years?

Hang in there!

Remember, when you hit bottom there’s no where to go but up! I know it’s hard. That’s why it’s called adversity. If it was easy it’d be called something sweet like comfort…or happiness…or health…or peace…or something like success.

But it’s called ADVERSITY. Because its adverse to comfort…its adverse to happiness…its adverse to health…its adverse to peace…its adverse to success. In fact, whatever it is that would make your life easier, adversity is adverse to.

So you’re in adversity right now. This very year. This very week. This very day. This very moment. You’re experiencing adversity. What do you do?

You go through it!

As Winston Churchill said, “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”

I’d say it like this, “If your going through hell, why stop? Why slow down? Why loiter? If you’re going through hell…RUN!!! Get through it and get out of hell!!!”

You understand that adversity cannot last forever. Adversity cannot defeat you unless you give up and quit. Adversity precedes awesomeness!

The adversity of labor pains precedes the awesomeness of a child being born.

The adversity of cramming for exams all night precedes the awesomeness of graduation.

The adversity of a broken heart precedes the awesomeness of knowing love again.

The adversity of knowing lack precedes the awesomeness of knowing how to be thankful.

I like how Oprah Winfrey put it. “Turn your wounds into wisdom.”

Learn something from the adversity and move on. Move on to AWESOMENESS!!!

Remember the MC Hammer hit “Can’t Touch This”?

Well if you don’t and you’re reading this do a Google search on it and listen to it.

Okay, so now you’ve heard it and you do remember it. Well remember in the song he keeps singing, “Can’t touch this?”

Whether you like the song or not, the “Can’t touch this” part is quite catchy and stays in your head for a while.

That’s a good thing. In fact if you need to go listen to it a few more times, do it now. I want the words “Can’t touch this” to be planted in your mind.

“Bille, why on earth would I want those words to be in my mind?”

I’m so glad you asked. Thank you for asking! It’s because I want you to get it on the inside of you. A simple little reminder that your dreams, your plans, your future, your hopes, your wishes, your life, are yours, not anyone else’s.

When someone attempts to kill your dreams, turn into MC Hammer and sing, “Can’t touch this!”

When someone pooh poohs your plans…Can’t touch this!

When someone belittles your future…Can’t touch this!

When someone crushes your hopes…Can’t touch this!

When someone laughs at your wishes…Can’t touch this!

When someone wants to destroy your life…Can’t touch this!

Don’t allow it to happen…Can’t touch this!

Live your life…Wish your wishes…Hope your hopes…Create your future…Make your plans…Dream your dreams…Be who you want to be…You’re the only one who can!

Keep Believing…

What are you waiting for?

You know what I’m talking about. Most of us tend to wait until some point or time in the future to do or try to do that thing which we really wanted to do all of our life.

WHY?!?

Today is just as good as any day we have. In fact today is the only day we can be sure we have. We don’t know that we will have tomorrow or next week or next year or someday when I retire.

BUT

We do have today…don’t waste it!

Go for it!!!

Live life!

Someone smarter than me said, “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” Robert H. Schuller

Most of us are VERY SUCCESSFUL at attempting to do nothing because we’re afraid. Afraid we will fail. Big freaking deal if we fail…

Babe Ruth struck out 1,330 times.

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team.

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because “he lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

The Beatles were turned down by Decca Records and Columbia Records.

Clint Eastwood was told he squinted too much and his Adam’s Apple was too big.

Elvis Presley was fired by the manager of the Grand Ole Opry who told him “You ain’t going nowhere, son.”

Thomas Edison was “too stupid to learn anything” according to his teacher.

Henry Ford went broke 5 times.

Abraham Lincoln lost every election he entered until he was elected President.

Don’t keep waiting…live life now…GO FOR IT

Keep Believing…

Me & my brother being Authentic

In my last post I touched on your “online personality” and asked, “What personality type are you?” I promised I would tell you how to get more followers in this post.

Are you ready to learn how? Here’s one answer:

BE AUTHENTIC!

Be who you are. Find your voice and be the man or woman you truly are. This really simplifies things and takes a load of pressure off of you. When you’re trying to be something or someone you’re not, its hard work. Being you is easy.

Mark Twain put it like this, ““If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything.”

Telling the truth is part of being authentic. Now, let me say here, all the truth doesn’t always have to be told.

Bille, are you saying to lie? NO!

I’m saying some true things are better not said. For instance, let’s say you are at a friend’s home and they serve you dinner. If the meal isn’t the best in the world, do you think you have to tell them that? Are you required to “tell them the truth?”

If you want to be invited back, you might want to start your food critic career at a later time. I am not saying to lie. I am saying be positive. Is there any positive thing you can say about the meal?

If not, have you considered being quiet? A wise proverb says, “Even a fool is thought wise if he keeps silent, and discerning if he holds his tongue.”

It’s not against the law to occasionally keep your opinion to yourself.

What does this have to do with social media, your online personality, or getting more followers?

I’m glad you asked!

Most of us appreciate authenticity. In fact, it’s been said, “Achievement is not the most important thing — authenticity is.”

To get followers on Twitter or friends on Facebook or any other social platform, you have to be invited back into their home. You can’t just force your way in. You have to be invited.

So if you choose to constantly rant about one negative thing after the other, don’t be surprised if no one invites you back into their home, or reads your blog, or follows you on Twitter, or friends you on Facebook, or supports you anywhere else in cyberspace or in the brick and mortar world.

Let me add another point here before I close. Being authentic means using a relatively recent picture for your avatar. Don’t use a picture from high school…1977! Be real. All of us change and mature and gain weight and lose weight. Welcome to living. Use a real picture…of you. People like to see real pictures of who they communicate with online. Plus it helps when you meet in person.

In my next post I’ll give you “10 Ways To Get Invited Back.”

Keep Believing…

I’m asked quite often, “How do I get more followers on my social sites?”

My answer is, “What personality type are you?”

I often get an “Uhhhhhm” type of answer.

If you want to develop a base of followers for your social sites or blogs, you have to develop your online personality. Your personality is like your brand. In fact many corporations are using the terms “brand” and “personality” interchangeably and/or together, bringing human characteristics to the “brand.” Developing “brand personality” is the goal of many, if not most advertising campaigns.

So back to you, if advertisers use human characteristics to give “personality” to a “brand”, and you are HUMAN, what “personality” are you branding? You see, everything you do online defines what your “online personality” actually is.

And this “online personality” is your brand, so to speak.

Are you developing an “online personality” you want to promote? Are you developing an “online personality” you can market and monetize? Are you developing an “online personality” for strictly personal use?

Whatever answers you gave, know this, it’s a lot easier to make a mistake than it is to fix one.

Here’s what I mean. Everything you do online is here for the whole world to see, read, know and remember. The next time you feel like going off on someone and giving them a “piece of your mind”:
1) make sure you have enough to share
2) you can’t ask Google to retract that
3) who are you really talking to
4) will you feel the same way, tomorrow
5) will you feel the same way in 5 years
6) will you feel the same way in 5 minutes
7) is it good for business

Well, I’m not in business” you my say. Okay, is it good for your life?

I know someone who is in the business of “coaching” others with many things, including EFT. Online, I consistently see this person fight with other people, belittle other people, complain about EVERYTHING, cuss, moan, rant, rave.

I have consulted with this person about problems they are having earning a living from their business. The problem is the personality they have created is NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE, NEGATIVE.

Please be careful not to do the same…Unless your goal is to create a negative personality. Then, by all means, be as horrible as you can. I’m sure someone will reciprocate. Maybe the EFT person I just spoke of.

So the answer to “What personality type are you?” is also the answer to “How do I get more followers on my social sites?”

I’ll explain in the next post.

Keep Believing…

P.S. Let me know if you have questions or comments…unless you’re the EFT person.

So I’m in Seattle this week for Social Media 201, an exciting, mind-blowing experience and chance to  learn from some of the best in Social Media and marketing. I am humbled and truly blessed to involved  with such great people as those putting on this event and those speaking at this event. I am truly  honored to know them and be associated with them.

This whole experience has been one of serendipitous cosmic alignment, the likes of which you would  have to be an eyewitness to fully appreciate. We have come together from all over the nation to meet at the Microsoft Executive Conference Center, many of us meeting “face-to-face” for the first time,  having an intimacy as friends and collaborators which developed because of the very Social Media we’re here to talk about.

This is totally amazing!

Tonight at dinner we met some folks who will be attending tomorrow. The level of excitement they showed made those of us who have been involved since this event’s inception fully understand what kind of demand there is for legitimate, quality help with Social Media. A demand which will only grow as new horizons quickly come into view and new products and services come to market. It’s an exciting time to experience. I’m glad to be a part of it.

Social Media 201 is being streamed live, in HD around the world. Watch for the links which will be released tomorrow morning. The entire event is being recorded and will be available in some form after the event is finished. There will be live updates, videos, pictures, interviews, and more available during the event and posted on all of our blogs and websites as quickly as we are able to update.

You can go to www.SocialMedia201.com to get the information on the links and to see some of the folks who have put this all together.

If you’re going to be here, stop by and let’s get a picture together!

Keep Believing…

I had a LONG telephone consultation tonight.

I was TIRED.

My family went to bed while I was WORKING.

I missed 1/2 my dinner…OKAY that was a good thing. I can lose some/lots of weight.

I am still working 2 hours later because I got BEHIND.

Is that a BAD thing? Not really. I enjoy helping others. REALLY. I don’t think you can really be too giving  when it comes to helping others. I know that there have been times in my life when I really needed  someone to tell me “Tomorrow will be better.”

Thanks to all the friends and family who have been those “Tomorrow will be better” people in my life.  Now, I have a chance to make sure  you know, “Tomorrow will be better.”

Can you hang on just one more night? Can you believe it can get better? Can you expect things to  change…for the better?

Robert Schuller put it this way, “Press on. Obstacles are seldom the same size tomorrow as they are  today.”

Press on! Tomorrow will be better. Remember this, “Don’t worry about the world coming to an end today.  It is already tomorrow in Australia.” Charles M. Schulz

Keep Believing…

COME VISIT ME AT “SOCIAL MEDIA 201” IN SEATTLE!!!!

Taking Social Media to the NEXT LEVEL!
Your business has a presence in Social Media but how do you take it to the next level of engagement and profitability? Come learn fresh strategies for bottom-line results at the Microsoft Conference Center April 15th, 2010

http://www.socialmedia201.com/

Yeah, it’d be great to meet you. So if you’re in the area April 15, 2010, or want to come visit, here are the details.

Social Media 201 Conference
8:00 AM – 3:30 PM
April 15, 2010

Microsoft Conference Center
16070 NE 36th Way
Building 33
Redmond, WA 98052
Lunch will be provided.

When you register, use PHICONCEPTS as the Discount Code:

http://www.socialmedia201.com/register-now/

Keep Believing…

When you don’t know what to do, do something for someone else.

I know the previous sentence is not perfect grammar but I want to make a point. So many times, we find ourselves in situations where we just don’t know what to do next. I have a simple answer.

Do something for someone else.

What do you mean do something for someone else, Bille?

I mean, do something for someone else.

I’m going to let you in on a secret. Are you ready? Here it is.

Life is simple.

Really! Life is simple. We try to make it as complex as we can but life really is simple. Even scientists know and understand this principle. There is even a “rule of thumb” in science which says the most simplistic explanation tends to be the best one.

Okay that was the “Bille” interpretation of Occam’s Razor but I didn’t think “entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem” would be accepted as the easiest explanation of what I’m attempting to say.

We have a natural tendency to complicate things and even more so when we are experiencing difficulties or stressors in our life.

It is when we don’t know what to do. We don’t know how things will work out. We don’t see how we can get out of this situation. We don’t know where to find the answer that we need to be the answer for someone else.

When we turn our minds and our resources and our strengths away from all the things we are dealing with; and channel them to do something good for someone else, we actually open up a whole new world of possibilities for ourselves.

How many times have you tried to remember a name, or a movie, or a word, or a place, and the harder you tried to remember the more impossible it was to remember. Then later, when you weren’t even thinking about it, you remembered what was impossible to remember earlier, when you tried with all your might.

The same thing happens when you get your mind off all your problems and start helping someone with their problems. Your mind clears. Your stress level goes down. You get a positive feeling which begins to affect your thinking and believing.

Something else happens also. St Francis of Assisi put it like this, “For it is in giving that we receive.” As we give and do for others, we put ourselves in the position to receive.
Please hear me when I say this! DO NOT GIVE TO RECEIVE!

It doesn’t work.

You give to give. You do something for someone else because you want to do something for someone else. You don’t do it to get something in return. You do it because you want to do it. You want to be a giver. You want to be a helper. You want to be a blesser. You want to be someone else’s answer.

So back to my simple answer, when you don’t know what to do, do something for someone else.

I have two last quotes I’d like to leave you with. The Bible says, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” in Acts 20:35.

Winston Churchill said, “You make a living by what you get. You make a life by what you give.”

Just in case you don’t have any needy people in your life…
My email is listed on this blog.

Keep Believing…