Life in a Week... A Book About Being Really Happy and Life in a Week... What Is Spirituality are two of my creations that I wanted to share with the world. I feel we all have a story to tell but, more importantly we feel blessed when we can put a smile on someones face! I hope my stories inspire you to do just that with the ones whom are closest to you!


THANK YOU for stopping by my blog and please let me know if your visit here put a smile on your face! My personal email is kellerslifeinaweek@gmail.com

If you like what you read here then go to the right and order a copy of each of the books today!


Have a fun day, Michael Shawn Keller

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Charity

Language is a funny thing. We can have a room filled with five people and the same word may have a different meaning to each of us! When you hear the word charity, what is it that you think of? Did you think of an organization, the fireman standing on the road with a boot, or did you think of your daily life? Charity is helping each other in our lives selflessly, it means in some form we will sacrifice because we love unconditionally. A person of charity is patient in many circumstances which would arouse others to be angry or disgusted. We need to refuse to become impatient with others, even when they have wronged us! Revenge and anger are not signs of strength but, are signs of insecurity and weakness. Kindness brings confidence and encouragement to those who are afraid. Others will never hesitate to ask for help because they will know that a person who is kind will not willingly refuse. Someone who is charitable never envies those who have more earthly goods, more success, or even more talents. He is more content with the love that he possesses. A charitable person will always be considerate and fair in every aspect of his or her life, because he or she is not over-eager for personal gain or appearing to be better than anyone else. One whose heart is filled with charity refuses to judge others rashly. Instead, prefers to believe in the good of others, even when wronged. I have learned this valuable lesson in the past few days, as I was name called by a loved one who judged me without asking about the particular circumstances. The virtue of charity makes us so honest that we can admit the truth, even when it points out our limitations and defects. It is a challenge in our daily lives to try to live with unconditional love but when we are wronged the offense is painful, but not as bad as the harm done to ones self. I have learned that when we are wronged by others it is only temporary but, when we are bitter and hold grudges we are only causing ourselves to be in that very same prison that the one who wronged us is in. Letting go of any bitter thoughts of revenge, settling the score, or anger will free ourselves from that dirty prison cell that is offered by the confused person who wronged us and in turn will help us to feel much better. Charity makes us humble enough to face all facts, even disagreeable ones.

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Life In A Week: What Is Spirituality?

I am very happy to let my friends know that the second book of the series will be available online by the end of this week! We will also be available at most of your favorite bookstores, libraries, and anywhere books are sold! Just go in and ask for it! I will post the link as soon as I get it, subscribe now (if you haven't already) so that you will get an email when I post it! This is a great book that is short and packed with some "deep" inspirational messages. Until next time, have a great day!

Saturday, September 18, 2010

Bullies! Why?

I was just at one of my friends’ blogs reading her story about 'bullies' and could not help but get a little angry! She wrote about the bullies in school and how it affects the kid getting bullied. It brought back fond memories from my school days. I was lucky to have a few older brothers who were much bigger than me, so I didn't have a problem with getting bullied, plus I like to think that I was just so easy going that no one wanted to bother me (no, I think it was my brothers). I remember sticking up and even getting into fights trying to help classmates who were getting bullied. My Dad always used to say that "if someone is picking on you they are just jealous” and it stuck with me! I truly believe that we treat others how we feel about ourselves. As kids (and even as adults) if we feel insecure or afraid we will lash out on others whom we feel are weaker! This is a sad thought, but one that we all must think about. We need to teach kids about love, respect, and friendship by showing it in our actions, teaching it in daily habits, and helping others who may be different from us. I never really cared about being “cool” or “popular” because I was lucky enough to have parents who taught me that quality doesn’t come in quantity! We are blessed to have a few true friends in this life, we are lucky to have the opportunity to teach by example, and we are required to treat each other with respect! It is our duty to be vigilant when it comes to stopping useless bullying that will scar for a lifetime. The best way to stop this behavior is to sit down and talk to kids about this issue before it becomes a problem. We must remember that we all strive for attention from one another, most times if we don’t get it we will act up in order to get attention, because bad attention is better than no attention at all (or so we think). Think about how many times while growing up that we would not bother our Moms for hours on end, BUT once she answered the phone we would start screaming or asking her questions while she was trying to have a conversation with someone on the other end; this was to get her attention because all of a sudden it wasn’t focused on us! There are to many suicides, drug addictions, alcohol abuses, and depressed people in our own towns, let alone the world that happens because of low self esteem, feeling alone, or even unacceptable. We can all make a difference just by teaching more compassion to everyone who is around us and even complementing someone when they go the extra mile for someone who may have needed that extra smile or helping hand. Try to make it a habit to focus on the good and don’t assume that your kids, family, or friends know that you love them unconditionally; remind them with a few extra hugs, a smile, and maybe even say it! “I Love You!”

Sunday, September 12, 2010

"Work" (from Life In A Week - A book about being really happy!)

We all have to work, so we should make the best of it! I took the following from my first book about being really happy: The one thing that most of us have in common is that we all must work for a living. We spend a considerable amount of time at work and really need to remember not to let work take over our lives. We need to balance work and home life; this gets even more important as we get older. I’ve seen so many people devote their entire lives to their careers only to die within weeks of their retirement. The reason for that scenario could be that they put all their effort into work and forgot how to live. The only thing they focused on was their job, and they forgot how to enjoy the wonderful day without stress. I admit that I love all the challenges at work. I even love the pressure of the day at work. I sometimes need to remind myself that work doesn’t make my life important; I make work important. We sometimes think that what we do for a living or how much power we have at work decides how important we are, but this is the furthest thing from the truth. I was out to dinner the other night and was waiting for my Shirley Temple to come out when I overheard the manager screaming at my waiter that she doesn’t care what the customer wanted and that she was in charge, not the customer. I thought, “Wow! Doesn’t she know that the customers are the ones making it possible to have the work? All I was asking for was an extra cherry in my drink!” We sometimes need to be reminded that it really is how we do our work and how we treat others that is important. If we move up the ladder in the jobs we are in, we need to remember that for every step up, we will need to come back down; it’s the power of gravity. We need to find joy in our work even if it is not the choice of work that we would really like to be doing. The saying “fake it ’til you make it” is a favorite of mine because I think it is funny that we have already made it; we just might not know it. Every day that we wake up and are able to go out and earn a living and help people on the way is an exceptional day. It doesn’t matter what you are doing; you can always help someone while making a living and making money. It’s all in the way you look at it. You might ask, “Well, how is the meter maid helping anyone?” Every ticket given out is helping with the economy by helping to pay for the pavement on the streets. The guys who pave the streets are able to work. If the streets don’t have potholes, then there may be one less motorcycle accident, saving someone from getting hurt or killed. It works as a chain reaction, just like everything. Every action really does create a reaction. The bottom line is to do your job the best you can and be grateful that you are able to work. Always remember that work is an important part of our lives, and we should take pride in it, but we need to take pride in our rest, too. We are not machines, and when we take time to relax, we will end up doing a better, more efficient job in the long run. We can’t make our jobs or careers our only priority because we forget to slow down and enjoy the here and now when we do that. Money will buy luxuries but not true love. Love is bought with kind hearts, by being true to ourselves and others, by simply caring. It is key is to have patience with our coworkers and to try to help each other achieve, not compete. I have worked in many fields and found that the most successful business owners and managers were the ones who taught the employees everything that they knew, in the hopes that they would become a better employee. I have also seen the opposite, where the business owner or manager was nervous to instruct to the employees to do anything more than what was needed, out of fear that they might possibly take over his or her position or take that knowledge to the competition. That fear stalls the progress of the company and slows the ambition of the learning employee. Unnecessary fear in the workplace is a waste of energy. I think of work as a relationship. If you try to better each other and grow, you will prosper. If you treat each other with respect, that loyalty will inevitably grow. If you work smart and hard and have good work ethics, then you should be compensated for your efforts. If you have a lousy paying job and do something that you hate, then you should look inside of yourself honestly and evaluate why you are in such a situation. You should also decide to make the small changes in your daily life that are needed, but whatever you do, please don’t blame everyone else. There will always be people who will not be helpful in trying to see you succeed, but don’t let that discourage you because they are nervous about their own shortcomings. Watch and learn from the people who are happy to be at work, the people who are successful because they know how to do it. Keep going, and nothing will be able to stop you. People are judged by the company they keep, and I have always felt that a company should be judged by how they treat the employees. If everyone is rewarded for the quality of work that is done, then the company will be successful. If the company leaders are honest and caring, then the rest of the company will follow suit. If the company leaders are shallow and cheat, then why wouldn’t those traits trickle down to everyone else? This is true with every aspect of life. We lead by example not by words alone. We all need to remember that we are a team and that a team will win when its members work together and help each other along the way. Competition is healthy and beneficial, but only when individuals help others to win, too. Thanks for reading part of my first book (published in 2009)and available via links on my website or anywhere books are sold. The second book (Life In A Week - What Is Spirituality?) is in the process of being published and will be available within the next few weeks. Be sure to sign up to the RSS subscription on my site to get instant emails when I post; so you can be the first to get it directly from the publisher! "Read it and share it"

Cartoons with a positive message! I do this when I am bored (wierd)

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