The first TIP's of a new year is always special, like the first footprints on the new snow we got this week. I want it to set the tone for everything to follow, the way the first hour of the morning sets the tone for the entire day.As long-time subscribers know, I write TIPS because I'm convinced each of us has the ability--and deserves!--to live an extraordinary life. Each of us is unique and colorful, with our own sense of hope, vision, and possibility, and we are the most intelligent beings on earth. We can go to the moon, make music, invent stuff, and love one another.And yet, too often our days are filled with stress and fatigue. We are so busy we forget to watch the dawn, we fail to smile, we don't laugh enough. Too often, we ignore our need for hugs, and for kindness. I am troubled by Henry Thoreau's observation that "most men live lives of quiet desperation." For myself, I am determined to prove that he was seriously mistaken!As we begin another year, I am re-committing to living a great life. My highest and best goals for this year are to have more fun, to get more hugs, to give more joy, to do what I can to make a positive difference on this small planet. My goal for the year is joy.Your goals and your system for attaining them may be different, but here is the most important thing I can share with you at the start of a new year.If you're ready, here it is:
Have a great day! Annie Dillard noted that, "How we live our days is how we live our lives." To make 2009 a great year, you'll want to collect approximately 365 great days, and most days begin in the morning. So it follows that to have a great year, start with a good breakfast! In all seriousness, how you begin the morning sets the tone for the day, which is the time of your life. This is important stuff! Choose the first hour of your day!
For some people, a great day begins with reading or prayer. Others begin at the gym, while others start by getting the kids dressed and off to school. Some make oatmeal, fruit and coffee; I usually walk the dog and write for a few minutes. Henry Thoreau recommended getting up early to greet the dawn. I think success requires that you start the day in the way that is right for you.
This is your life! You can't wait for "someday" to enjoy it! You can't wait for a big break, for a better economy, warmer weather or until you "feel like it." As someone wisely said, "don't wait for your ship come in, swim out to meet it!"Decide carefully and precisely exactly how you want to start your day each morning. Think carefully about what gets you going, what seems "right" and special. What empowers you, gives you confidence and energy for the day? Be intentional about the morning! Negotiate your schedule, explain to the kids, do whatever it takes, but make it happen. Your life begins fresh and new each morning. Specifically, I suggest you start your morning before going to bed the night before. Set the breakfast table, arrange your wardrobe, do what you need to do. Set the alarm clock, get a good night's sleep, wake up with a plan and activate it immediately.
To make 2009 your best year ever, arrange to have lots of extremely good days! Work hard, play often. Sing and dance, read more, hug and laugh more. Be more daring, take more naps, invent something, take a trip, have brunch with your best friend. Arrange for 365 great days and I promise, the year will take care of itself!
Quotes of the Week
"Love the moment, and the energy of that moment will spread beyond all boundaries." -- Corita Kent
"Dreams come a size too big so that we can grow into them. " -- Josie Bisset
"All successful men and women are big dreamers. They imagine what their future could be, ideal in every respect, and then they work every day toward their distant vision, that goal or purpose." -- Brian Tracy
"That it will never come again is what makes life so sweet." -- Emily Dickenson
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