It is never too early to think about the Xmas presents, right? I personally love to give and get books for Christmas. Let me introduce a wonderful new book “An Elf Named Finley, A Christmas Story” written by Rick Junilla.  Both children and adults will benefit from the inspiring story and lessons contained in this simple, yet brilliant book!

Here is a short excerpt from the book about how the story of was created:

“Several years ago I had lost a prestigious job as a Chief of Staff for a major hospital due to changes in the health care laws. I cashed in my 401K to try and save the house I eventually lost. With the help of a personal loan from a good friend I was able to open an office in a new town. I soon found that opening a practice in a town that was unfamiliar was difficult. No one knew my name or reputation as a good doctor. The town I chose appeared like a good choice because it was growing due to the housing boom, which soon crashed and several of the few clients I had lost their houses and/or jobs. Within a year of opening the practice, I spent most of my time moving from place to place because I was basically homeless, as I was unable to make enough money to pay rent for an apartment. On several occasions I found myself sleeping in my car or in the office when I could not find a place to stay.

At my lowest point, I found myself sleeping in the bottom bunk of my son’s bed, in my ex-wife’s house with her boyfriend and his kids. I thought “Something has GOT change!” Out of sheer desperation and lack of sleep, I started meditating to calm my mind. With meditation I found that I could ask questions, and sometimes receive insightful and profound answers. And the interesting part is that my life started to change. I eventually was able to afford a small 500 square foot apartment myself and my two children.

Two years later my daughter had been told that there was no such thing as Santa. And worse yet, she believed it. Being a concerned father and not knowing how to address the issue I asked for guidance during a meditation on Christmas Eve morning, simply asking “what I should to say to her about Santa?” The answer came to me in the form of a wonderful children’s story called An Elf Named Finley. The most amazing part was that it came to me in a way of knowing, all at once, like a CD full of information. I explain it to people as being similar to how you know the story of someone who has been close to you for years, but this story came without spending any time to get to know them.

So on Christmas Eve day, with tears streaming down my face, I typed as fast as I could. I knew immediately that the story was from something larger than me because I have never written a story in my life, especially anything profound. Without different words to explain it, all I can say is… I was blown away! I brought the story to my ex-wife’s house that night and she read it aloud to my children.

The decision to publish this story was because of my ex-wife’s response after reading it. She said “Wow that was a really cool story, where did you get it?”

I said “I wrote it.”

Then with the frankness that only an ex-wife could display, and with a chuckle in her voice she said, “If it wasn’t for all the typos, I would never believe you!” – Rick Junilla

Check out this wonderful book at www.AnElfNamedFinley.com

How is your motivation going today? High as ever? Or dwindling on the low side? Are you roaring to go and accomplish your most important projects? Or are you doing anything in your power to forget about them?

It doesn’t matter if your project is to find a new job, to get your business off the ground, to begin painting or to get back into the habit of writing your morning pages. To begin and successfully finish those small or large projects, you need a fair amount of motivation racing through your veins.

Let’s face it there will be days when you question yourself about the meaning and practicality of any projects you are involved in. Even if you chose them for yourself. Even if those are important to you. Even if it is your dream.  

Some days you just wake up and ask yourself: why bother? You might feel discouraged, lacking confidence, weak, drained of energy, tired or hopeless. Or you might just simply begin to hate what needs to get done. Believe me; I am guilty of this, too.

Why is your motivation so important? Because it keeps you moving through difficulties, disappointment, challenges or hardship you might face down the road to success. Either you keep up your momentum or risk failure.

How do you get things done? You just do them … until the job gets done.

I personally love watching short motivational videos when my drive to succeed hits rock-bottom. Below is a selection of my favorites. Some of them are funny, some make my eyes well up, and some have beautiful images.  

You want something. Go get it. Period.

Have you ever tried Feng Shui? I had some amazing results using this ancient art and science that teaches us how to use Chi energy or Life Force to attract prosperity, love and health.

Here is my story: Some years ago I just joined a new company and my relationship was very difficult with my new boss from Day 1. No matter what I did or didn’t do there was always an issue. And I didn’t understand the reason why.  I was very disappointed and secretly thinking about changing jobs again. At the same time, my relationship broke up which didn’t make me happier, either. That was the time when I first read about Feng Shui. But I didn’t take its power seriously until my mentor suggested that I give it a try.

Reluctantly but with an open mind I decided to visit the best Feng Shui shop in town. As I entered the shop a whole new world opened up for me. Such peace and energy!  I was lucky to meet the owner, a high-profile Feng Shui expert and author and we began chatting about the issues I wanted remedy with this ancient Chinese art. I took her 2-day workshop to learn the basics and applied the Feng Shui principles in my apartment – all in one week’s time. Little changes began happening pretty soon. I found out why my boss resented me (he wanted to hire somebody else, but his boss preferred me). And very soon he was replaced by a new manager who finally appreciated my contribution to the company (this resulted in nice bonus payments – an added and very welcome benefit!) My broken heart was healing, too. I was happy to sing that famous song: “It’s raining men”.  Life was good!

My interest in Feng Shui never faded so I was excited to read “One Minute Feng Shui For Prosperity” from Grace Ho. She created a comprehensive guide on how to use Feng Shui to welcome great relationships, prosperity and health into your life.

Here are the chapter highlights from the book:

• What is Feng Shui (風水, Fu-Sui)?
• Feng Shui Wisdom For Relationships
• How to Deal With Difficult People
• How Can Feng Shui Help Wellness?
• Feng Shui For a Good Night’s Sleep
• Take Advantage of Chi Energy For Prosperity
• Feng Shui For a Clear Mind
• and many interesting lessons in how using Feng Shui has the potential to change your life for the better!

This book covers all the topics I learned about in that 2-day workshop I took years ago.  

“One Minute Feng Shui For Prosperity” is easy to read and keeps the promise in the title: in one minute you can get valuable tips concerning the areas you would like to transform in life.

My major A-ha moment from reading this book was the realization that Feng Shui is actually much more than just using clever decoration, changing the position of your desk or rearranging your bedroom. It is really about shifting your mind and energy to re-program your life for serious abundance everywhere. My favorite chapter is about how to use Feng Shui to achieve success through your mind.

The only thing I missed is having more illustrations on how to put the tips into practice.

I recommend that you not only read this book but put the principles into practice in your life. If you decide to buy Grace Ho’s book , do it today and get  tons of complimentary gifts as an extra bonus! Check out the book page here:  http://1minutefengshui4prosperity.com/

What is your experience with transforming your life using Feng Shui? Feel free to share your story here!

 There are so many common misconceptions about creativity. You might have heard these from your parents, in school, from friends and in your workplace.  Let's look at 3 of the most widespread and lethal myths:

Creativity Myth #1

Creativity is the domain for artists – and only for artists. And if you are not an artist, you don't need creative thinking.

What about Einstein, Edison, Ford and all those inventors who shaped how we live today? What about plain old problem solving at an everyday level? Just think about all the challenges you solve at home, in your job or business every day. Without a pinch of creativity, it would be difficult to hold an off-the-cuff speech, to deal with an emergency, to cook from scratch or to come up with play ideas for bored kids. And what about the ability to come up with a strong argument about why you need  yet another new gadget that just hit the market? Or another handbag or a new pair of shoes?

Creativity Myth #2

You need to be born with a special set of skills to be creative.

You are born creative. The challenge is to stay creative while growing up.

Howard Gardner, a Professor of cognition and education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education (the psychologist who first laid out the theory of multiple intelligences) developed intelligence tests for babies and for older children.

Their shocking discovery: almost every single child is born a genius across multiple intelligences. By the age of 20, the percentage of geniuses within a population drops down to 10%. Over the age of twenty, a mere 2% retained their genius ability.

So let's entertain the thought that you have a sparkle of creativity still burning away in your system somewhere deep down. Even if you are 26, or 43 or 67 or… 85 years old. 

The challenge is to find and nurture that spark of creative ability in you. To believe that from that tiny spark a small fire can develop. A fire bursting with creative energy burning its way through your deep seated beliefs. So you can finally give yourself permission to enjoy a creative life with all its perks.

Creativity Myth #3

Creativity has no practical use in your business and personal life.

Let me differ. Creativity is the most important leadership quality, according to CEOs interviewed for IBM's 2010 CEO study. This reflects the opinion of more than 1500 CEOs and general managers in 60 countries of the world. Chances are that the CEO of the company you work for has the same opinion. Why don't you show your creative abilities at work to stand out from the crowd?

Which creativity myths are you subscribing to?

Let’s give New Year’s resolutions a chance to survive this year. Here are 5 easy tips to make sure that your goals “happen” this year.

·         Get an accountability partner and send each other daily or weekly updates about your progress on your goal.  Your accountability partner can be your best friend, a trusted colleague, a family member or a coach. It is not necessary that you and your partner work towards the same goals – although this might provide some friendly competition for added motivation.

·         Failing at your New Year’s resolution after only a few days? Now is the time to recommit yourself to your goal. The first 10 days are crucially important in new habit creation. You might face a lot of resistance in the first month. Don’t despair! It is a natural part of adjusting to your new way of action. Make a new commitment to stick with your 2011 resolutions for 30 days as an experiment. The beginning of February is the moment of truth then. Did your resolution add to the quality of your life? Did it help you super track your success? What can you learn from your experience?

·         Do you feel no resistance at all? Either you are super committed (congratulations to you!) Or maybe your goals are not challenging enough for you. Are your 2011 resolutions outrageous enough to propel you into action?

·         Don’t give up too early! Many times we turn back just before arriving at our destination. Have a bit of patience, please. Everything needs its time. Your mind, body and soul have to adjust and it might take more time than you hoped for. If your goals involve others, give them ample time to adjust, too.

·         Use your past experiences as guidance. Have you been successful in a similar situation before? How would you coach yourself on the basis of that experience? If you ventured into unchartered territory with your New Year’s resolution, use somebody else’s experience. Ask for some” tried and true” tips from your mentors, family or friends. There are great online communities virtually for every topic under the sun. What if you visited some of them?

Wishing you outrageous success in reaching your goals this year!

Anything you want. Just take action.Today.