The More You Do, The More Opportunities Open to You

“We’re here for such a short period of time. Live like you’re already dead, man. Have a good time. Do your best. Let it all come ripping right through you.” ~Jeff Bridges

Yesterday, a Chinese exchange student we hosted two years ago texted to let me know her mother would like to invite my family to visit them in Nanjing—and she would pay for our plane tickets and let us stay at their vacation home.

Of course I told everyone I know (I mean, China! C’mon!) and they all said, “You’re so lucky!” And it’s true…we are lucky.

However, there’s more to our luck than, well, luck. Receiving amazing opportunities is a function not of waiting around and wishing for good things to happen, but of going out and living life to the fullest so good things can’t help but come to you.

The China trip is one example: Since 1997 we’ve hosted fourteen exchange students for periods of time lasting from one month to the whole school year.

Our friends and relatives have always thought we were nuts to take on the inconvenience and expense. (No, you don’t get reimbursed for hosting.) But we consider hosting foreign exchange students to be part of our civic duty, a lot of fun, and a good learning opportunity for our now seven-year-old son.

Our kid has lived with students who hail from all over the globe—from South Korea to Ukraine to France—since he was one month old.

So is this free trip luck, or a natural outcome of hosting fourteen foreign teenagers over the years?

Another example: We entertain a lot, including holding weekly board game nights for ten to twelve gamers in our home. We’ve gone to great efforts to host these game nights—including managing a Meetup Group, supplying drinks, juggling our son’s bedtime routine on game night, and even having our garage converted into a board game room.

We’ve become good friends with one family we met through this group, and for my birthday last week they offered to pay for tango lessons for my husband and me.

Tango! I would never have thought of learning tango if we had not met these people and if they had not offered to get us lessons. Even though we expected nothing from our game group but some fun gaming, we have a new opportunity to do something fun and exciting that will stretch our limits—in a good way.

I started thinking about this more and more, and the concept holds: The more you do, the more opportunities open to you.

“Do More WHAT?”

Doing more means different things to different people, but at its core it’s about stretching, learning, expanding, and experiencing new things.

For some, that might mean helping at the soup kitchen or learning a new language, while for others it might mean starting a meditation practice or forming a book club. It doesn’t matter, as long as what you do is one or more of the following (the more the better!):

• A learning experience

• Something you’re passionate about

• Mind-expanding

• Helpful to others

• Exciting

• Requiring effort on your part

• Scary

Traveling, training for an athletic event, learning a new skill, volunteering, joining a new team at work, entertaining, writing, creating, launching…it’s all fair game. Just don’t fall into the trap of simply ramping up the intensity or frequency of the same-old-same-old if it’s not what lights your fire; try something new.

“How Does It Work?”

I can’t say for sure, but I can theorize. My feeling is that when you make an effort to try new things and expand your life experience, the universe—or heck, even your friends—see that you’re open and ready for more awesome opportunities, and they rush to make those opportunities happen.

After all, who would you invite to join you at a class at the local clown college, or to co-launch a business—the friend who’s ready for anything, who you’ve seen taking part in all kinds of events, competitions, and activities? Or the friend who shrinks from new experiences and who sticks to the same routine year in and year out?

“This All Sounds Expensive.”

It can be if you want it to, but it doesn’t have to be. Volunteering is free. You can start a new business or volunteer organization with a WordPress website for nothing. Starting a book club, dinner group, or running group on Meetup.com will costs only about $13 per month, and you can charge dues to make up for it. Training for a 5k or fitness competition for free.

These (and many other activities) will create bonding experiences, memories, and opportunities to do even more—all without breaking the bank.

“But Wait…Isn’t This the Opposite of Non-Attachment?”

As a reader of this blog, you’re probably interested in concepts like being present and accepting what is. If you’re making efforts to experience more, create more, and do more, doesn’t that mean you’re grasping, attaching, obsessing about the future, and generally not being satisfied with your current self?

It could mean that, but there’s a way to experience more and create new opportunities without falling prey to attaching: Go after everything you’ve ever wanted to experience and create—but enjoy the journey while you do it and try not to attach to the outcome.

Work to improve your PR for that weightlifting competition, but don’t freak out over how you’ll perform at crunch-time. Write that book, but expect and accept rejection.

Even if all your plans go awry, you still have the memories, and the results of your hard work. Write a novel and you have a novel. Pump iron for a competition and you’ll be stronger. It’s the doing that matters, not the results.

Want to open yourself up to positive, amazing opportunities today? Think of something you’ve always wanted to do—whether it’s taking drum lessons, completing a sprint-distance triathlon, or hosting a gigantic family reunion—and take the first step toward that goal right now, before your “logical” mind steps in and tells you all the reasons it’s not possible.

Once you do that, please post your experiences in the comments below. Here’s to great experiences!

Happy traveler image via Shutterstock

Linda Formichelli

http://tinybuddha.com/blog/the-more-you-do-the-more-opportunities-open-to-you/

5 Mind Tricks To Help Keep More Money In Your Pockets

Money, it’s a gas. Or, at least, it runs out as fast as gas does. If you’re living paycheck to paycheck, it can be incredibly hard to start up the nest egg you’ve been planning for years. But it’s not impossible. With a few tweaks to your daily spending habits, you’ll find you have more than just spare change in your pockets by Friday evening. If you want to save money, read on.

1. Think of hourly worth

When I was a young adult working at a summer camp, I was always amazed when most of my coworkers would come in with a fresh deli-made bagel, bottle of orange juice, and cup of coffee every morning. We only made around $10 an hour, so those that made this a daily habit had already spent the money they would make in their first hour of every workday before they even got to work.

If you want to save money, quit the impulse purchases. Every time you want to buy something, think to yourself “How much time would I need to work to pay for this?” If the amount of time absolutely appalls you, put the item back on the shelf and move on.

2. Savor things and experiences

If you add up your daily $3 Starbucks coffee habit over the course of a year, you might be shocked to realize you’re spending anywhere from $700 to $1000 yearly on a drink that lasts you twenty minutes. Your first impulse would be to stop buying the coffee altogether. But what’s the point of living if you can’t enjoy yourself every once in a while? Instead of making it a habit, cut down to once or twice a week. Save your “coffee day” for the rough mornings, rather than getting it all the time because it’s what you normally do. You’ll end up enjoying every sip you take just that much more, knowing you won’t be allowing yourself to have another one until the following week.

3. Think of time off as lost money

If your boss offers overtime, take it. Chances are you just wanted to go home and relax on the couch for the evening anyway. If you make $15 an hour and get double-time for working longer hours, and your boss offers you two extra hours of work, is it really worth losing $60 to catch the Seinfeld reruns you’ve seen a hundred times? You might not have technically lost any money, but you lost potential money. It’s one thing to have missed opportunities in the past, but to disregard future opportunities that you still have the chance to take advantage of is a complete waste.

4. Spend where it matters

Money is essentially meaningless until you give it meaning. If you have a million dollars in the bank but refuse to touch it, it’s just a number on the computer. But if you have $100 in your pocket and spend it on a romantic dinner with your wife, you’ve spent $100 not just on dinner, but on making a memory that will last long after you finish dessert. A dollar might not go as far as it used to, but since you are free to do with your money as you please, make the most of every penny you earn.

5. Think of money saved as money earned

Going back to the idea of not spending habitually and splurging on unnecessary items, change the way you think of money saved. It’s one thing to say you “saved” $500 this year by not buying a donut every morning, but you could also look at it as you “earned” $500 this year by not buying a donut every morning. It might not seem like it, but didn’t it take effort to give up that sweet pick-me-up? You were working to give up the habit you had formed, and for your troubles, you earned some extra money in your pocket. Think of how much money smokers could earn if they gave up the disgusting habit! Once you earn this money by giving up something fairly inconsequential, you’ll be free to spend it on the things in your life that actually matter.

Featured photo credit: Flickr via farm8.staticflickr.com

BY MATT DUCZEMINSKI

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http://www.lifehack.org/303076/5-mind-tricks-help-keep-more-money-your-pockets

6 Things You Notice When You Look In The Mirror

When you wake up and look in the mirror, do you smile at yourself?

Do you inhale confidence and exhale beauty?

Or, do you sigh, and look at the monotonous life around you and allow it to influence how you look at yourself?

Mirrors are tricky. Not only do they reflect the things standing before them, but they do so while constructing false realities—not necessarily good ones.

That said, what if we chose to speak differently and think differently? What if our expectations circled on something different, other than imperfections we wish were nonexistent? Here are six things that we should notice when looking in mirrors if we want to have a better day.

What You Should Notice About Your Reflection

1. Your eyes.

Before looking into the mirror, close your eyes. And as you open them, look directly into them. Do not waver. Do look at your hopes and dreams and passions.

Think about what matters to you in this day, in this moment. Think about the things you love. And try to see all of the emotion and compassion that sums up your inner beauty come to the surface. Give yourself a chance to see your own humanity before looking anywhere else.

Related: 5 Facts About Eye Health That You Need To Know

2. Your breathing.

Let your eyes then drift—see the rise and fall of your eyes and shoulders as you slowly breathe in and out. Look at the tangible signs of your existence. Breathe in hope and optimism, and exhale them in your own image, for all to see.

Allow yourself to find peace in knowing and seeing that you are alive, and allow yourself opportunity to enjoy this fact.

2. Your heart.

Look to your chest and put a hand over your heart. Feel the constant beating. As long as blood is flowing through your veins and air is in your lungs, you can be and do whatever you please.

Imagine what you would like your life to be like, and feel that flowing through your body before you go out and work to achieve it. As long as there is a beating heart within you, keep dreams and keep these dreams close to that heart.

3. Your hair.

Take your hand and bring it up towards your head, run it through your hair, and marvel at how your body continually grows and reproduces itself. Your body, no matter how it looks, what color, or what anything, is a near indestructible vessel for your hopes and dreams and things you love.

What is beautiful is what your body holds, but never forget that your body continually produces opportunities for you to grow and change and progress through this life.

Related: 6 Ways To Have Body Confidence

4. Your feet.

Look downwards towards your feet. Normally escaping your gaze in mirrors, they stand rooted to the ground they brought you to. You are capable of going anywhere in this world you want. Your feet are symbolic of such a fact.

Appreciate their stability, strength, and message of hope. Take a moment to build faith that they will carry you without fail and without complaint.

5. Your smile.

Returning to your face, the last thing to look at should be your smile. While looking in a mirror, your smile dictates how you will leave that mirror. Smiling to yourself allows you the opportunity to affirm the beautiful parts of yourself that no one else sees as often as you do—the ones you just spent time focusing on.

The Takeaway

It is easy to blame mirrors for what we see, but truthfully, mirrors are unbiased. It is humans that carry the bias. With varying levels of negativity and defeat, humans often approach mirrors with hopes to see something different from what they know is there, but lose this when opening their eyes in front of one. Love your reflection, because you are amazing.

by Conn Beaulieu

http://inspiyr.com/mirror/

10 Truths Wise People Know (But Don’t Talk About)

Do you ever wonder how some people seem to have life figured out? Their lives flow, they seem happy and at peace with themselves and the world. Meanwhile, many others struggle to make ends meet, their dreams aren't coming true and they feel stuck.

Life doesn't have to be so hard, yet so many people feel trapped by their circumstances.

So-called "wise" people, or "old souls," seem to have a handle on life, and they reflect a positive presence that many people aspire to. Learning how to navigate the shady sides of life is a process that can be learned.

We may think we should be further along than we are, have more money, have a different body or a different income, but it all comes back to growth. The truth about life is that learning will never stop. Looking at all situations in your life as opportunities to grow will help you feel more relaxed and enjoy the flow of life.

In doing research for my next book, Adventures for Your Soul, I dove deep into the top habits that hold us back from reaching our full potential.

What I discovered is that life is like a big classroom. We enroll in classes and learn daily lessons that can help us grow. We can resist the lessons, but until we learn them, we will repeat the patterns. This is why we end up in the same relationships, the same soul-sucking jobs, or the same ridiculous situations again and again. We say things like, "How did I get here?" "Why is this happening to me?" or "Why can't I get a break," but shifting our perspective could help us break free.

You can't run away from your problems. But you can adopt the wise person's mindset and learn from them.

By looking at all facets of our life with an objective lens and a focus on opportunity for growth, we can reduce the burden of feeling as if we're off track.

Here are 10 life lessons wise people have figured out but most likely won't talk about:

1. There are no mistakes, only growth.

2. You will keep repeating the same patterns until you get the lesson.

3. Whatever you believe about yourself on the inside is manifested on the outside.

4. The more you approve of yourself, the less you need others' approval.

5. All situations are pathways instead of problems.

6. Things don't happen to you — they happen for you.

7. There is no "there" to get to — it never ends.

8. Where you are today is preparing you for tomorrow. Everything is connected.

9. You will always get what you need. It might not be what you want, but it is always exactly what you need.

10. What you make of your life is up to you.

To make your own wise list grab this FREE Love Your Life to The Fullest Guide.

Photo Credit: Getty Images

http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-18091/10-truths-wise-people-know-but-dont-talk-about.html