Posts in self development tools
WHY IS IT NOT HAPPENING... THE BOOMERANG THEORY

Have you ever worked hard on something, and it is still just not happening? So, you have sought advice and shared with others what you have done and yet nobody around you understands why it is not working… You become frustrated and want to throw in the towel. You can’t understand what is going on? Every indicator suggests a positive outcome and results should have appeared. Yet still, nothing is happening… you wonder what the hell you are doing wrong!

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5 THINGS THAT I WISH I HAD KNOWN WHEN I WAS A TEENAGER, PART I

Over the past few months I have been working on a program focused on helping youth. This has encouraged me to reflect on my life, from my early childhood to now. What I am certain of is that I have learned “life” the hard way. In my teenage years I had no mentors, coaches, or role models, and I was living with neglectful and unavailable parents. I know that there are many young people out there living in similar situations. They try the best they can to figure out how life works, to make sense of what is happening to them, and to find a way to break the cycle to get the life that they want.

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THE THREE PILLARS TO GREATER WISDOM

Have you ever watched a documentary or read a book about a philosopher and asked yourself how they became so wise? Have you ever wondered if you could develop your own wisdom? Wondered what the secret ingredient is to have a greater wisdom? Through my reading, research, quests, and practical experiences, I have discovered that there are three critical factors, or more specifically three interdependent pillars that need to grow simultaneously to build true wisdom.

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HOW TO BECOME MORE PATIENT USING FIVE EFFECTIVE TOOLS

When was the last time you said or thought: “I can’t take this anymore…I am done with it…When is it going to end…This is taking too long…”? Not so long ago, right? You are not alone; we are all in the same boat. We all want things to happen faster. Our western culture and education system has ingrained in us from a young age to achieve our goals, get results, move to the next level, or climb the corporate ladder. There is nothing wrong with having ambition, except if that said ambition narrows your focus to a point of impatience.

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5 TAKEAWAYS FROM MY TRIP TO AFRICA

In July, I spent time traveling in the Kigoma leadership in Tanzania teaching youth how to create a roadmap to achieve their wildest dreams. During my trip, I met amazing people immersed in a beautiful culture. I learned a little bit of Swahili to be able to communicate and I was inspired by the kindness of the people, their traditions, and habits. I want to introduce several of these into my own life and I hope that my 5 takeaways can also inspire you.

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5 EFFECTIVE WAYS TO INCREASE YOUR COURAGE AND CONFIDENCE

Do you want to be more influential or contribute more to this world? Even if you are living your dream life, don’t you think that there is more that life could have to offer if you take bolder actions? Have you ever thought about having a bigger impact on your family, friends, community, and co-workers? What is it that is stopping you? Maybe a lack of courage and confidence? Is it fear or the hardship that is stopping you? I will share with you 5 effective ways to increase your courage and confidence so that you can experience more from life and take bolder actions.

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7 DAYS, 7 STRATEGIES FOR MORE HAPPINESS IN YOUR LIFE

Have you ever wondered why some people always look happy, even when adversity is kicking their butt? Or noticed others that are always unhappy despite living an amazing life? Maybe you know people that fluctuate between feeling happy and unhappy, without any direct correlation to what is happening in their lives? Why is that? Is there a way to increase our level of happiness despite our circumstances? The answer is yes.

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YOU ARE IN COMMAND OF YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS

The 14th and the 21st of May are special dates for me. Each represents a quintessential yin-and-yang duality where opposite or contrary forces became interconnected. These dates will always trigger thoughts and feelings that can either ruin or make my day. Nonetheless, it is my choice to decide which feelings and thoughts I want to generate and allow.

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WHEN I WAS A KID, I WAS A POACHER

It was 8 pm on a cold December night. The land was covered with a blanket of snow. The moon was full. This was the night my father was waiting for. It was the night he could teach me what he knew best. It was a beautiful, cold, crispy night where you could walk silently in the snow. The full moon lighted the landscape; you could see everything on the reflected snow. The only sound we heard was the howls in the forest. It was the perfect night for poaching.

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5 WAYS FOR GRATITUDE PRACTICE

The end of a year is the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. It is the time people envision a new start or new projects. We look at the future with hope and faith. We hope will become happier, more joyful, and enthusiastic about life. We may plan to get on a new diet, exercise, or maybe start a new sport. We plan to be more successful, get more money, and maybe get a promotion. All that is wonderful and important. Having a vision, goals, and ambitions are crucial if we want to evolve, grow as a person and contribute more in this world.

But why does it only at the end of the year? What about looking at it every month, every week, every day, and reflect on all the good things that have happened in our life.

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3 EASY STEPS TO GAIN INFLUENCE

Emotion is what makes the difference between action and non-action. I can acknowledge the person and paint the perfect dream picture. If there is no emotion attached, people will not take action. Emotion will amplify recognition and ambition. It is why it is in exponential (E). The more emotion you bring into the conversation, the more action the person will take. The best way to do that is to share a story, if possible a personal story. Describe the feelings, the excitement and the magic. Make the person want to experience the same feelings.

With my student, I shared my story about being afraid to swim in a lake when was a child. I explained my journey and how I overcame my fear. Not only I overcame this fear but now water is my happy place. I love being in the water, the sensation of weightlessness and peace. Now, I teach scuba diving and share my passion with people like her who want new and exciting experiences in their life.

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BUILDING AN IGLOO FOR MY DAD. THE 5 LESSONS LEARNED

I ran to his car: “daddy, daddy, come with me! I want to show you what I did for you this morning”. I grabbed his hand and pulled him to the back yard. As a proud architect/contractor/builder, I showed him my giant igloo. I couldn’t wait to bring him inside to see if he could stand up without touching the ceiling.

My father dropped my hand. He looked at the igloo. At first, he didn’t say a word until he looked at my door header and said: “you could have done better by not using this piece of wood”. Then he looked down, turned around, and walked toward the house to get his lunch, leaving me behind. That was it!

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5 POWERFUL TOOLS TO ELIMINATE YOUR SELF-DOUBTS AND INSECURITIES

For many years, I held back and didn’t make a move. I didn’t write much on social media, I didn’t step up in the community and I was afraid to start my own business. My self-doubt and insecurity pushed me to isolate myself. Then, one day, I realized I didn’t want to live like this. I decided to go full in and work on getting those skills to build my new career. Today, I will share with you 5 tools that really helped me to move forward and create the life I wanted.

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HACKING YOUR NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

According to U.S. News & World Report, the failure rate for New Year's resolutions is about 80 percent. Most people lose their good intentions by mid-February.

I don’t want you to be part of this statistic. I want you to be part of the 20% successful “resolutioners”!

I will share with you how to hack your New Year’s resolutions with five simple strategies that will bring you confidence, excitement, and fun; five strategies that will make you successful.

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WHAT IS YOUR NORTH STAR?

What is so different between the North Star and the other stars. We all heard about the North Star when we were at school. Then, we learned the metaphor of the North Star… having a North Star in our life that guides us in our journey. But, why don’t we use another star? Why this one?

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5 SECRETS THAT KEEP YOU MOTIVATED

Do you ask yourself this question… When will this damn pandemic end? I am exhausted; done with it! I cannot take it anymore…

Does it sound familiar? Have you heard people sharing these same thoughts? That is normal. We all want some security and more certainty in our future. Living in this state is exhausting and sometimes we struggle to stay strong.

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STAYING ON COURSE

Flying and landing with a crosswind are super tough. Each aircraft landing gear is designed to be able to land with crosswind. However, they all have speed limits. Landing above this limit will just break the gear and you crash. Now, what is the analogy between that damn crosswind, coaching, and life.

Life comes with its own terms. We can plan, we can execute what we planned but rarely does it go as smooth as we thought. There is always something in the way, there is always some crosswind.

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SOMETIMES MISSING A GOAL CAN BE YOUR WAY TO GREATNESS

Then, I had a breakthrough. I came to the realization that what my mind was telling me was the reflection of the “old” me, the fighter pilot, the person who needed to prove something, the achiever, and the short term goal thinker. My intuition was the “new” me, the one who thinks long term, the one who sees health over the years, the one who has no ego, nothing to prove, the one who wants to achieve long term gratification instead of short term satisfaction. When I came to that realization, I laughed my head off.

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LESS STRESS AND ANXIETY

As you may know, I spent 25 years in the Swiss military as a fighter pilot. Flying fighter jets really forced me to think ahead. When I flew 700 mph, I had to project into the future. We have a saying between pilots, “if you see the shadow of your vertical stabilizer, you are in trouble”. You are behind the aircraft and not ahead, in the cockpit. At those kinds of speed, we have to think miles ahead in order to get the right tactic in place.

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KEEP THE MOMENTUM GOING

RESOLUTIONS are mostly generated by the mind. We are going to be talking about how to keep the momentum going to be able to accomplish your goals and resolutions.

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