Is America going down the drain? Why is that even a question...

I hear all the time that “America is going down the drain” and it drives me nuts! We are blessed to have so many freedoms and live in a place where we can make our own destinies. Someone told me yesterday that they can’t even afford to go out to dinner. I asked how many credit cards do you have? He replies FIFTEEN and they are all maxed out!

We need to start changing our lives and our country starting at home. Too many of us are buying material objects that seem to be important today but are thrown in a closet tomorrow, huge mortgages that take up most of our paychecks, fancy cars that depreciate the moment we pull off the dealerships lot. If we can’t afford it then don’t buy it! It saddens me to see so many people trying to make ends meet while still spending out of control. Yes, the government is known for this and the economy is in bad shape but, that is not an excuse for us to do so too. You’ve heard the old sayings “two wrongs don’t make a right” or “you’ve bitten off more than you can chew.”

I am not going to get all political here on my blog about being happy. I am just saying that we need to stop expecting to get bailed out for our own mistakes, just because the politicians have lost the golden rule of ‘common sense’ doesn’t mean we should. God didn’t tell us that we are born with the rights to a fancy supper, the best educations, free medical care, or even a job. He said we have to earn what we want and need. “Teach a man to fish and he will always eat.”

Here is what I have been doing to gain control of my financial life which in turn makes my entire life much less stressful and much more rewarding. By changing a few habits we will make our own economies better and worry less about what others are doing.

• Work smart! It’s simple, plan your days and be the best at what you do. 80% of our success is based   on our attitudes not our intelligence (thank God!).

• Smile more! A genuine smile and thoughtful acts toward others will help you earn much more money and get you out of debt! Care about everyone you meet all of the time!

• Don’t carry your credit cards! I have one credit card for travel and emergencies locked in a safe. If I carried it, I know I would have bought that flat screen t.v. on sale today...

• Pay off one debt at a time! Budget your money and pay off the highest interest rate card first. Even if you have to pay the minimums on all the others. Knock one out at a time and you will be debt free many years sooner!

• Make dinner at home more often! You will be healthier and will know what is in it. Let your wallet get fatter not you! Eating out all of the time is unhealthy, even the fancy kitchens add a lot of preservatives and salt. What my friends and I do which is really fun and saves a lot of money is to rotate going to each of our homes for dinner each week/month. It is much more fun than going out, saves us money, and we don’t have to talk over a loud crowd. Try it... you’ll have fun and may even learn to make a mean meatloaf!

• Drive your car for at least five years after it is paid off! Once you got rid of that huge car payment why would you want to start another one a month later? Enjoy that extra savings... if you want a new car scent again go to your local gas station and pick up a “new car scent tree deodorizer” or go get it detailed for a hundred bucks.

The bottom line is we are blessed to be surrounded by so many opportunities and to live in a great country that was built on ‘free will’ and ‘freedoms to learn and grow.’ We are slowly slipping into competitions about who has more instead of concerning ourselves with becoming rich from within. Riches of love, peace, charity, kindness, and laughter are much more important than any paper money or gold. So why drown ourselves in the battle over materials which will only stay here when we are long gone. Slow down, moderate everything in life, and start enjoying the company of each other; not some fancy gadget that is putting you in debt.

The furthest thing from freedom is debt so the sooner you get out of debt the sooner you will enjoy more freedoms...

Author of the "Life in a Week" book series
http://www.lifeinaweek.com/

Don't fear death

In the morning consider for a moment the fact that you may not live to see the sunset. When the sunset comes don’t be to confident that you will see the next morning. These thoughts should not make you feel gloomy or sad, but practical. We should live our lives as if it were our last day on earth. Most of us will die suddenly and unprepared. We think that we still have plenty of time and end up wasting valuable time. Death, with all of its uncertainties, is a fact. We need to face facts and see what could be done to better our lives and our surroundings now. Thinking about death will not cause death to happen sooner, nor will it help to escape it! The key is to live in such a way that no matter when death comes, it will find us in sanctifying grace.

Patience will help us in difficult times. It will help us to think more clearly. Humility will help us admit our weaknesses and therefore be less irritable or resentful in our difficult times. Sometimes we need to live through a storm to grow stronger. Life will have hardships and suffering but if you are brave and have faith in God you will find peace in your life and in the next. Many of us pursue an imaginary happiness with money or keeping busy. When we get what we want, we suddenly see that it doesn’t bring us the joy that we had expected. So we slowly begin to search for that happiness again and again. Don’t blame the place you are in or the people around you if you don’t have peace in your soul. Begin today to make a continual effort to strengthen the self love that is needed. Look for opportunities to practice patience, don’t fear suffering or inconvenience, virtues are never gained in easy times. We learn the most in difficult times. Life can be the happiest and most rewarding in these times, if we let it.

Are you Happy?

How are you looking at your life? Are you happy with the decisions you’ve made so far? Are you looking to change your future for the better? Well, these are great questions that we should be asking ourselves an a daily basis! We should realize that today is a gift and tomorrow is going to be a reflection of today. So, the key to true happiness is realizing that we decide what happens in our lives. Forget about bad decisions of yesterday or even of this morning; work on doing better and making today a better day.


So often we try to put blame on others for our misfortunes or shortcomings. Today is the day to buckle up and go on the fun ride which is your life. Yes, you may hit a few bumps along the way but don’t let that slow you down. Enjoy the bumps, smile, laugh, and be engaged in the moment. Your thoughts and reactions have the ability to change your life, while at the same time sharing great times and memories with the ones that you love. Life is a journey, don’t get caught up in the little dramas because you won’t be able to concentrate on the fun and happy road of life....

DAILY TRIALS

Even though we may try to plan all things and arrange everything with extreme care, we will still have a lot of opportunities to exercise the virtue of patience. We can’t eliminate the unexpected or the unavoidable. In most cases our best weapon is our intelligent patience with both ourselves as with others. We will always have daily trials that at times will even cause bodily pains. At other times it may be a simple annoyance, disappointment, or cause anxiety. We would like to be free of these trials, but that is impossible. Patience and understanding are the keys to dealing with such circumstances, the key to peace and happiness is to know that our reactions should never be surprised, resentful, or saddened when things don’t go our way. We should try to gain more control of the situations and learning to deal with the trials will teach us the most valuable lessons in this life!

Our lives will have trials every day. We are always being tested. If we live well, our acts will merit a rewarding life. But the fact is that we will face the possibilities of success or failure. In either case, the outcome of these trials is determined by our own free choice! I was told a few days ago that our sub-conscience mind will save what we write and put our writings into action quicker than if we were to simply imagine or say them aloud. This may be the case but, I feel our words that we speak to each other have much more power to change our lives. I have felt more intense pains from slaps to the face from words spoken to me than I have ever felt from a hand. We need to be careful of what we say to each other in heated moments of boiled over situations. There are no accidents. There is the law of cause and effect in every situation. Our thoughts create our words and our words create the reactions and therefore the results.

SOO FUNNY! I laughed for 20 minutes...

Patience will get you through anything...

Patience is how we react to situations with our loved ones, kindness is how we can avoid the ugly situations. No one wants to be around a grumpy monkey, but we all love being around someone who is thoughtful and KIND! Patience and kindness work hand in hand with each other, without one the other struggles. Kindness must be with us at all times, we should wear it around our necks as if it is part of us.

I took a day and wore a rubber band on my wrist, every time I was about to react to a grouchy comment I simply snapped the rubber band to remind me that words are just as dangerous as a loaded gun. At the end of the day my wrist hurt but I felt great knowing that I only spoke good words... this habit can change all of our relationships for the better. Remember to be patient, kind, helpful and willing to be flexible like that rubber band. Rather than complaining and making excuses, look for reasons to compromise and help each other!

Homemade book trailer - Youtube please Don't take away my music again... I have permission!!

Bullies or Hate? Love is the answer!

When I was a kid we would have kids teasing each other about our hair, our teeth, or maybe even a smelly belly (fat) but, in these days of the internet and computers we are faced with many more issues. As we advance in technology and instant news we would hope that we would also become or “grow” smarter? Not the case in many aspects of our lives, in fact we may be going in the opposite direction. It is sad, today alone I read about a fourteen year old boy who committed suicide just fifty miles from my home because he was physically assaulted in the hallways of school every day for “acting gay”, a twelve year old girl who was severely beaten because she is Mexican, and a teacher who was fired because he yelled at a kid in his class to “pipe down or go to the principle!”

I think that the one thing we are lacking as a general population is “common sense and respect.” I respected my teachers because I was taught to respect my elders, I knew that I needed to listen to them or I would have to answer to my parents when I got home! I believe we need to start discussing these issues with our kids, co-workers, friends, and family. We need to set aside political correctness, stereotypes, and prejudgements of others. We need to lead by our examples and to embrace our differences in this great world of ours. Teach others by our examples, not just boring words that are forgotten...

We are blessed to live in a time of such changes and we need to learn from each other. We will fail if we don’t start paying attention to the world around us, but we will grow if we Love and nurture the good in each other. Talk to your family and friends about these issues and express yourself as only you can and we will make a difference today. Don’t try to change the world, just your world! Changes happen from within, then it spreads to others...

Slow down, Be nice, and open your fists!

How nice are you to people? How do you respond to a co-worker who speaks harshly? How do you respond to a rude receptionist? How about a friend who ignores you when you ask a question? These are good questions that remind me that everywhere we go people are hurting, in a rush, and might be discouraged. They may have made mistakes in life or are simply having a bad day. They don’t need anyone to criticize or judge them; they need someone who will take a moment to listen to their story and are probably looking for a friend who cares, but is in such a rare mood or in a rush that they are zoned into that moment. We can turn any situation around; it is all up to the way we look at the situations and how we react! Once we start letting God judge everyone and we start to work on our own flaws it will be much easier to see the good in others.

Today is a good day to open our fists and reach for the good in others. Our personal beliefs have much more impact on our lives than anyone else’s...

Are you traveling down the wrong road?

A man was traveling for work heading toward his destination. On his way to that place he realized he was heading in the wrong direction, he was on the wrong road! But, strange to say he didn’t worry about it and kept on going believing that even though he was on the wrong road, he would end up at his destination! He didn’t worry about turning back or getting back on the right road. The poor fellow must be crazy! Lots of us are that way in regards to our thinking, we keep making the same mistakes, doing the things that hurt us the most... maybe we are the crazy ones?

We know that we might not be on the right track and that we should lead a different life, pursue a different course if we wish to reach our destinations, and still we keep right on going in the wrong direction! We are searching for worldly riches and goals, being successful in business, and attaining happiness, yet we forget that happiness is actually one of the simplest forms of Love. You don’t need success to Love; just the ability to trust and have the strength to never give up on believing in others and yourself. A true leader is one who trusts in others and doesn't look to gain fame or fortune; just the trust of others. Every day offers us many chances to change the live's of our loved ones and if we take those chances we will be changing our lives and paths as-well! Now go make someone smile and have fun!! 

In Dead Eyes

In Dead Eyes

You live for a while

Most don't know what there is after death.

We all have every answer we need inside

Sometimes you see it

If you are lucky you will be it

before it's death.

If you have seen life through dead eyes

you will know that if you do everything you have to

then dead eyes aren't so bad...

Just know you have to show love, smiles and be true to everyone now

because Dead Eyes dont make appointments to see you.... 

Be yourself...Be Real

...Trust me on this!     

I wrote this when I was thirteen years old because I was depressed but, now I realize that I was looking for some answers... I realize now that even at that young age that I was trying to answer some of lifes biggest mysteries. This little poem reminds me that we will never have all the answers but we will have the questions! Keep asking them... Life is about learning, Loving, and being True to who we are, worry about tonight and let tomorrow be out of site because the futue is ...what we make of it.

  

Pray for the dead

A few years back my aunt passed away at a young age. A couple of years later I was talking with another aunt who, told me about a dream she had that her sister, my aunt appeared in her dream asking why she had not prayed for her. As she was telling me about her dream all I could think of was my dad telling me as I grew up to always remember to pray for the lost souls when praying. So, yes I believe that, we should pray for the dead. I don’t even mean just the dead that we may have known in life or even in this century, it doesn’t even matter if they were good natured or bad. I am not talking about religion or whether the dead were religious, spiritual, or nonbelievers.

Prayer can be defined as many things, some believe you must be in a house of worship to truly pray, I do not. I was raised as a Roman Catholic and have many pieces of my spiritual life invested in my faith. I do not attend church as often as I would like but, I love the connection that I feel when I am there. I believe that church is a wonderful asset for both believers and nonbelievers alike. They are places of worship, love, beauty, and a sense of community. This book is not a book about religion, but, these are my thoughts about finding ourselves and how I try to live a spiritual, loving, and happy life. I feel strongly that our walk with God, is a daily effort and that we should all strive to do better with those who, surround us.

Prayer in my opinion is sending positive messages to God, regarding the universe, or anything that we truly believe in on behalf of our loved ones, others in need, and to those who, have passed on before us. Prayer is passing on positive and meaningful thoughts with sincere conviction. We all have prayed without even knowing it, even atheists! A good example; is a guy who passes by a sick person or a homeless person and feels a sincere deep sorrow or pity for them. The thoughts going through this person’s mind may be “my God, how sad, I hope they are okay.” Through those simple thoughts a positive message was extended for that person, therefore, there was a prayer being sent out for the betterment of someone else’s life. We all have different belief systems and we live in a very diverse world, especially today!

Growing up I found praying repetitive and exhausting, I admit it took me a really long time to remember the prayers being taught in Sunday school. I now love to pray at night before I go to sleep, even if it is just a brief prayer. Most nights my prayers consist of a lot of thanking God, for the good in my life and asking for me to live with the Light of Love. When it comes to praying for the dead however, one thing is for sure they have lost the earthly ability to pray for themselves. “The Purgatorian Manual” says “one who, is infinitely holy, not yet worthy to take possession of my dwelling - a place in heaven, is the greatest sorrow of the suffering soul.” If we no longer have the ability to pray for ourselves after death, what was the “Purgatorian Manual” saying? We need to be sincere in our prayers and not just repeating words that, have no meaning to you, this would defeat the purpose of praying which, is to send positive energies into the universe and heaven. I truly believe, that our beliefs have a lot to do with where we are and where we are going. It doesn’t matter if you pray to God, Ala, or another higher power, or whatever name you have for your belief, what matters is that, you have a belief in something which, will make your life truly meaningful.

Bullies...

I have found that when people enjoy picking on others it's simply because they have low self esteem. They are picking constantly to feel better about themselves and their own shortcomings. When I was a kid my Dad would say "he or she does it because he or she is jeolous, don't let it bother you." We all know someone like this; they're usually the bullies. Someone who is confident and self loving will never have to raise his or her voice, let alone a fist. Knowing this makes it easier to forgive someone who has wronged us and helps us to understand why a person acts in such a negative way. Don't just walk away from the negativity, but run! My whole point here is that negativity is contagous, just as happiness is. When someone is acting mean spirited to you or being a bully it comes from within. Be there for your family and friends but don't feed the negative vibes, show your love by being happy from within and maybe that smile or hug will help the negative thinking persons outlook for the better!     (I posted this back in 2009 and it hit home to me today, so why not re-post it again!) 

We are made of Energy so enjoy TODAY!

The energy you exude is the energy you will attract. The vibes we put out from our thoughts and aura are what we are going to attract to us, if we are putting happy and positive vibes out there, we will attract those same kinds of vibes from the people around us. This is really important to remember as we go along through our days. If we put out insecure or negative vibes we will attract the same from those people around us, and we will end up having a lousy day. I actually get bad headaches when I am around negative situations and tense people. That negativity is what causes my tension headaches. If I walk away from the situation, the headache goes away within minutes! I always say happiness is contagious, so why not embrace everyone around who you love.

Signed copy of "Life in a Week - What is Spirituality?" book give-away contest!

I Love doing these contests! All you need to do to enter to win a signed copy of my second book is to "subscribe" to my weekly E-Zine! Look to your left and there it is! Put your first name and email address into the box and you are done. This is the eleventh book give-away contest this year and you are automatically entered into all of them when you subscribe! Have a really fun week everyone, Mike Keller