This just came by on the radio and I felt compelled to share it with you:

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Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering experience… I will dispense this advice now.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind;
you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine.

Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum.
The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind;
the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday.
Do one thing everyday that scares you. Sing!
Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with people who are reckless with yours.
Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes you’re behind…
the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with yourself.
Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults;
if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements.
Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your life…
the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives,
some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don’t.
Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone.
Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe you won’t,
maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…
Whatever you do, don’t congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either –
your choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s.

Enjoy your body, use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people think of it,
it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever own.. 
Dance… even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room.
Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them.
Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly.
Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for good.
Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. 
Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you should hold on.
Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get,
the more you need the people you
knew when you were young.

Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard;
Live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft.
Travel. 
Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander,
you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable,
politicians were noble and children respected their elders.
Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you.
Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you have a wealthy spouse;
but you never know when either one might run out.
Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40,
it will look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who supply it.
Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal,
wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it’s worth.

...But trust me on the sunscreen…
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Taken from the following song: Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)

I've heard it quite some times in the past but never truely paid attention to the message it held. I'm glad I did today!

Really, why is it?
If you're anything like me you've probably seen numerous blogs and tons of articles on the subject of realising, finding, discovering, or even re-discovering your passion. Everyone is looking for happiness in their life; doing what they love surrounded by the people who's company you enjoy. And in order to achieve this goal you've at least to know what it is that you love to do, right? No wonder that so many people have written (and are still writing, like me) about this subject; Everyone is trying to figure this out, making your audience huge!
How come then, that with so many people writing about the subject most of us are still looking for it? There are tons of great tips out there, but somehow we're still looking for our passion. Every once in a while I tell myself: "It can't possibly be this hard!?! I know what I like to do right? I should know what I enjoy doing or what energizes me?!" It turns out that, for me, it doesn't seem to be that simple after all. Great, right? pff..

Mental meltdown

Back when I was a fulltime student I wasn't paying too much attention to this whole "passion-thing". I just had some classes to attend, some assignments to hand in and some house-work to manage but apart from that I was completely free to do what I wanted. Whenever I felt like going and have a beer with mates downtown, I would. When I felt like swimming, renting a canoe, go running, play world of warcraft (yes, I confess ) I would.
But now that university life is over and you have a "career" to consider, it suddenly seems to be a lot more complicated. The time of "just doing it" seems to be over and every decision tends to move towards internal conflict; "I should do it because..", "No, wait! What if this happens?", "How will that effect the future?", "Does it pay enough", "Am I not sacrificing too much?" – .... Mental meltdown….
Suddenly everything is supposed to be an exact science with fixed variables like payout, growth potential, distance from home, working hours and joy doing it.

Variable?

Did you see it happen? Joy is now nothing more then a variable in the equation of picking a carreer. A variable means exactly that, it's variable; you are allowing it to vary in relation to the other factors involved. Why on earth is joy suddenly a variable instead of a constant? Could it be that people are often dissatisfied with their work (and possibly life in general) because they let joy become a variable instead of a constant factor in their life? I think that may very well be the case!
In fact, isn't that what doing something that you're passionate about feels like? When you are working on your passion, joy is a constant not a variable. Pursuing your passion results in constant joy, con-stant.

Then what it is?

So is swimming my passion? No, I just enjoy it once in a while. Was world of warcraft my passion (I don't play anymore), no it wasn't because I didn't constant joy from it. Sometimes it even drained me and caused frustration; definitely not a passion. I should really ask myself what it is I never get bored with, what has kept me fascinated for years without boring me. Not just something I like occasionally, but something I love constantly.
My search continues,… but now with better defined terms.

I'll keep posting on the progress in this area. But I'd also like to know what's your passion, how you realised it what it was and if you have any tips for others. Please leave a comment and help others out by sharing your experiences!

Until next time, keep moving forward!

Good morning everyone. Most of you will still be asleep at the moment I’m writing this. So why on earth am I awake then? Well, to be honest, my girlfriend had to catch a train at 5:45 so I can’t pretend I didn't do this entirely on purpose. But I just felt compelled to share something with you that I’m experiencing at the moment.

I had gotten up, showered and eaten breakfast by the time it was 5:30, in order to get my girlfriend on her way on time. And then I started realizing that I was completely wide awake and feeling energetic over 1.5 hour before I normally set my own alarm.
This is great! While the world is still sleeping I’m already up and about, able to do things! Steve Pavlina has written some great stuff about how to become an early riser, but this must be what he was actually talking about. Not so much waking up and getting yourself in motion but the actual feeling of wanting to take on the world even before you’d have normally set your alarm.

What to do with this extra time?
Off course I can’t do everything before 7AM like vacuum-cleaning, play loud music (neighbors) or go shopping for that matter. Yet, I can still get started on things I would have normally done during daytime. Or, even better; Things that I would have wanted to do during the daytime but can’t, due to the fact that I’m at work then. (Like writing this blog for example)

What would you do if you had 1.5 of extra time each morning? Shower longer or get started on work early? Go outside and run for 30 minutes or catch up on a tv-show you’ve missed? Whatever you do, it’s just great to be able to do so, right?

Will Smith on Work-Ethic: "While the other guy's sleeping,... I'm working"

Life can be a drag sometimes. There are times when you wake up uninspired, feeling like you have to kick yourself in the ass get moving. Living an inspired life can slip through your fingers and usually you don't even see it happening. You just suddenly realize that it has happened, and you're really dissatisfied with it.

And then there are those other days you wish would never end. You wake up before you set your alarm, your head is spinning with ideas and you have an uncontrollable urge to get up and move, create, inspire,.. just do things. And as has been written time and time again throughout the history of the world, this is a great feeling.
Now let me tell you how I actually went from A to B in under 7 days.

Situation A:

Let me just paint you a picture of my life until the starting point of the transformation:
I had been working on my thesis for about 9 months. It had turned into a routine that held no challenge for me anymore. I got up every day knowing what I "had to do" but my heart just wasn't in it anymore. And as you can imagine, remaining in this routine takes more energy from you then it gives back. I slept 8-9 hours every night and still felt like I was tired every morning.

Even though I had not achieved my master degree I had decided to take a chance and apply for a job that had just "suddenly appeared" into my life. It felt right to do so and I just went with it; what the h*ck right!?
About 1.5 months ago I received the final word that after two interviews I had been selected as the best candidate and that I could start on February 1st of the New Year. So up till that day I remained in my thesis-routine.
I expected a normal transition from one activity to the other but as it turned out, the universe had something else planned.

So what happened?

Five days before I was going to start my new job, I received word through twitter that a friend of mine was going to give a presentation on entrepreneurship at the university. I thought it would be nice to go and see what he had to say, since he's doing well for himself and it would be nice to see him again. And even though it wasn't rocket science that he delivered that day, it did somehow light the fuse to some invisible rocket that apparently I had strapped to my back.

I have taught myself the habit of writing down every (business) idea I have in a small moleskine notebook to make sure I don't lose that thought. And as it usually goes with ideas, most of them are great at the time but upon further examination turn out to be just "okay". That night I got another idea and instead of just writing it down, I immediately went to work on it. The rocket had been lit and had now taken off!

Having a great business venture idea while being at the point of starting my new job was clearly "not the best timing" I could have asked for. But since I also loved the idea of going to work in this new position I had gotten.

Situation B:

So here I am now, a full-time job, a thesis to write and a business venture underway. I wake up every day before my alarm, after about 6-7 hours of sleep. My head is spinning and I just want to do nothing more then get on with the day! Even when I get home after my day-job I don't feel like turning on the TV or play a video-game; I just want to do more things! I'm currently really in the state where I now have to kick my own ass in order to go to bed instead of getting out of it!

I've always been a rational guy, assessing my situation well and deciding what the best thing to do would be. This has always given me a great sense of comfort because I knew that this was "the right thing to do".
But as it is now, I have three major projects on my hands plus numerous things on the side and I have absolutely no clue how I am going to pull it all off. But here's the weird thing (to me); I feel great about it!! I don't even care that I don't have a full-proof plan this time, I just know that I'm going to make it work!

Wrapping up

I had heard the advice "do what feels right" many times before, and I thought I understood it. (And I guess my brain did indeed.) But I had never actually experienced it for myself. Without getting lost in "What if?!" scenario's I took on the challenges because it just felt right! There is just no "left-brain explanation" for it.

You can read all you want about productivity, inspiration, motivation and everything you "think" is going to help you get you to the next level. But I guess it's like putting on your swim shorts, even though you're wearing them you still don't know what it's like to swim.
But in all fairness, it's better to have your swim shorts on when you dive in than still being in your suit or jeans

So without being very original, I will tell you not to restrict yourself to just reading about personal development. Start doing it, start living it, start becoming it!

“Good morning garbage men!”

I was taking out my trash today (just in time) and as I opened the door I found the garbage truck right in front of me. So I asked one of the guys: “Could you still take this trash-bag off my hands”? And with a smile he answered: “Sure, take a swing and toss it in the bag of the truck. You came just in time”. I just smiled, thanked him and went on my way.

As I turned around I realized that those guys on the garbage truck were looking really happy. The radio turned up just a bit too loud, smiling, laughing and making jokes to each other. Apart from their good mood being contagious (I was still smiling) it reminded me of a conversation I had with my driving instructor years back. He told me the secret of why garbage men were so cheerful.

The secret of the garbage men

So, quite some years back I was driving around the city with my driving instructor and he pointed out a garbage truck to me. Apart from the fact that I was more occupied with driving correctly, I didn’t really see the reason for pointing such an everyday scene out. So I rolled my eyes and told him “So?! What’s up with that”?!
My driving instructor smiled at me and then told me “You know, those are probably some of the happiest people you’re going to see today”. Obviously I didn’t get it then so I just shrugged, I pointed out to my instructor that I didn’t see how a garbage man could possibly be happy, doing what he was doing for job. Apparently he started feeling more content with himself because he could now explain me something besides how to drive a car.
“Well” he said; “here’s the thing”. “You probably think of working on a garbage truck as a low-class, low paying job that couldn’t possibly have any advantages, right!?” I had no other choice but to nod and let him advance the story. So he continued: “But in reality that truck is providing those guys with something that’s very hard to find in any other job they could otherwise apply for. (Note: at that educational level) Do you know what it is?” I still had to give him a “No” since I still didn’t get it back then.

“It’s freedom! Freedom to be in charge of their own truck, driving- and sometimes even decorating it. Freedom to do their work without a boss breathing down their neck, checking on their every move."

I was astounded. I had never looked at the job like that and I can imagine I'm not the only one. Most of the time te focus seems to be on it being dirty, low-class job because you're handeling other people's waste. But obviously I had been painfully wrong about all this. The guys riding on that garbage truck have actually got a pretty good reason to be happy, don't you agree?

The garbage man in you

So (probably) taking this a bit closer to home, how does this relate to your occupation? Do you like what you do? And is so, why is that? I think chances are fair that most of you would say it's indeed the freedom to be able to express yourself in one way or another without someone breathing down your neck.
Expressing yourself creatively really is one of the quickest ways to returning to your "so called"  true self. Stop being miserable while trying to fit into somebody elses view of what the world should work function. If you don't feel it matches you, please consider to stop going along with it. Every time you follow a practice you don't feel is close to your heart, you're betraying yourself. Go and find that way in which you can creatively express who you really are, in whatever way you see fit. You'll see that you'll feel so much more content and in touch with yourself that you'll probably wondering  "why in the world did I put this off"?!

As it has been said time and time again, change does not come without courage. Breaking with things you've grown acustomed to is never easy, but nontheless it is an essential part of he growth process. It's challenging, but take comfort in the idea that if it feels right, you are heading towards a happier, more fulfulling life. And if you need help and support, there will always be friends around to commend you, support you and help you succeed at reaching your goals!

Even if it's looking like none of your "current" friends understand you, the personal growth community is an amazing one. I have been surprised time and time again about the amazing, inspiring people that are out there. They too are working on facing, confronting and overcoming their challenges in life and pretty much all of 'm are willing to help you. Because this community is aware that some challenges can be tough and that we all face them, so it is only natural to help people. (And in that process, also grow yourself)
So don't be affraid to reach out. Send an Email, pick up the phone if you're really courageous!

Go out and find your inner garbage man!

Until next time; There's more energy in moving things. So keep moving, never stop!

The ups:
It’s been a while since I’ve written about the progress of my 30-day fruit&nut challenge.
Originally, I thought Christmas would be the worst time in the challenge period due to all the food going around. And even though I had been occupied with the preparations for the Christmas dinner at my girlfriend’s parents I actually made it through perfectly!

I had brought a bag of nuts and some banana’s from home and I knew that there was always some other fruits lying around in the house I was going to. And indeed, I was fine; I drank fruit-smoothies and ate fruit for breakfast, followed by fruits & nuts (that I brought) for lunch. Not a single problem except for the fact I had to explain my “curious new habit” to the family and friends that were gathered that. But they took it okay and we’re pretty supportive on top of that.

The mids:
So the worst part was behind me, or so I thought. But then it turned out that we had tons of stuff to prepare for my girlfriend’s move to Brussels on December 31^st. And instead of what I had planned, she preferred to stay longer at her parents’ house to pack and sort everything out.
I didn’t prepare for more days, so I actually didn’t bring enough nuts to eat the next day. Luckily there was enough fruit in the house, so I took that instead to try and stick to the “diet” as much as I could. It’s safe to say it went pretty much downhill from here.
We were running from one place to another to arrange things, not taking the time to shop decently. So we just ate either what we still had left in the house (which was bread & fruit-juice for breakfast), or whatever her parents had when we were there. December 31^st was the day of the move as well as new-years’ eve! And again from early morning we were on the move. I did manage to get some bananas and mandarins for the road, but that was pretty much it. And at the end of the day we came back to her parents again to celebrate the new year with them…. Exhausted..

The downs:
And boy was I exhausted. I guess I really pushed myself to hard the days before. Three nights of really poor sleep due to the cold, working hard during the day and dealing with the obvious “stress” of my girl moving to a “strange” city abroad. Either way, after the move was completed and we had entered the new year all this kind of “fell off my shoulders” so to speak. I didn’t have to carry it anymore, I didn’t have to keep pushing myself because the “mission” was accomplished.
Off course there were the usual family affairs like visiting grandmothers and my uncle who’s birthday is on January 1^st (which is actually our annual family-new year’s-celebration).

The waaaay downs:
And yes, I guess I did push myself too far. I was already blowing my nose a lot and feeling extremely tired while visiting family. But the next day I really fell ill while I was escorting my girlfriend home to Brussels. I wanted to stay with her the first night in her new home in the new city so she’d feel comfortable before starting work the next week. It turned out I had to spend some more nights there then expected
And when I finally got home I spent 3 days inside, mostly tied to my bed. Resting, sneezing and resting some more. And indeed, there wasn’t a lot of eating involved during those days. So I guess those were indeed the “waaaay downs” of this process. I was without fruits or nuts and was too ill to go out and get some more. One could say it wasn’t the best start of the new year….

The getting-back-up-there’s:
Now don’t think I’m going to sign off with a negative note, haha!
No you guys, I’m pretty much back to health and actually even more committed to eating healthy. Even though I haven’t been able to get a hold of nuts and fruits at the times I set myself as goals I did notice something else in my behavior. Over the past two weeks my relationship with fruits changed quite a bit from something you eat as a supplement to your normal food and/or snacks to food itself. Whenever I’m hungry and I walk into a store or a small kiosk I find myself looking at fruits instead of heading directly for the chocolate- or greasy stuff section.
As I have described in earlier articles I have really noticed the positive effect of eating fruits (in the morning) on my energy levels, and I liked it. As such, I’m feeling I’m really making a change in habits by reaching for healthy “alternatives” without consciously having to make myself do it. I’m doing it by default which I think is great!

As I’m writing this I’m riding the train on my way back from Belgium where I had a great meeting with Daan Buckinx. We spent a great afternoon together discussing so much different things and probably tons more for next times! I’m going drop by the store on my way home and stock up again so I can pick up where I left off.

Until next post… Enjoy life, and share that joy with others!

Related posts:
[Day 3]: "No, you can't have that"
[Day 2]: Saying no to habits and temptations
[Day 1] Kicking off the challenge
New 30 day challenge coming up

I expect this to be the most ironic article I'll be posting for a long time to come. I've been thinking about doing an article about procrastination for quite a while. But for all sorts of reasons I made up, I kept putting it off... and off...  and.. well, you get the idea.

So, procrastination... We've all encountered it at a certain point in time. But what does it really mean? Webster defines it as "to put off intentionally and habitually".
Not only does this definition suggest that procrastination is done "intentionally", but also "habitually". The thing here is that once something becomes a habit, there's not so much thought involved anymore in the process of doing it. You do things a certain way because you always do. As with other habits like smoking, drinking, gambling, etc... these can prove hard to get rid of.

Beware of your thoughts, they become your words.
Beware of your words, they become your actions.
Beware of your actions, they become your habits.
Beware of your habits, they become your character.
Beware of your character, it becomes your destiny.
- Unknown
 

If procrastinating is your habit, what would your destiny look like?
(Or... would you even have one if you just keep "putting it off"?!)

But no worries! I imagine that since you are reading this, you are already aware that any procrastination habits you may have are not helping you. Even though you once thought it was a "relaxing" and "hang loose" kind of lifestyle in the end you got frustrated with accomplishing very little.
I guess the trigger for most people to become bored with their procrastination habit is the fact that they start to develop new thoughts and interests which start to develop into ambition and maybe even lead up to a passion for something. Once you have a vision of something that would be great to do(or experience) and realize that you actually could make this a reality things start cooking. So you have a vision as well as the belief you could make that vision become a reality. But then one of the most common human reactions kick in,... Fear.

Yes, you read it correctly, F-E-A-R.

All sorts of doubt start creeping into your mind, originating from the fact that you are about to do something you are not yet familiar with. You know you want to, and you could do it, but "what if..." Those two words are actually the problem that feeds your procrastination.
You put off things till later because can't predict the exact outcome of your actions. Off course this is natural, since you are at least partially unfamiliar with your new venture. And because you can not predict the outcome you feel insecure about it.
Although there are tons of fears that could be underlying your procrastination, by far the most common is the Fear of Failure. We don't like to fail because it makes us think we are "failures". And if we're failures, our friends and family will look down on us making us feel even worse!

STOP.... right there!
This is where we break the cycle.

• The self-sabotage started the moment you started seeing the chance of failure as a certainty of failure! Did you think about the fact that, where there's a chance of failure, there is also a chance of success? And how awesome would you feel if you started seeing every chance of success as a certainty of success? That's quite a different way to look at it, isn't it?
• Secondly, the assumption that if you fail, you are a failure. This is also fundamentally wrong, and you can prove it to yourself quickly and easily. Remember the last time you failed at something, and then remember what you learned from that experience. Are you going to make the same mistake again? No! You can even help other people by teaching them about your experiences. See where I'm going with this? Having failed that time did not turn you into a failure, it actually gave you a valuable experience for life and turned you into a teacher for others!
• Finally, your friends and family will supposedly think you are a failure. Just read that sentence again and realize how weird that sounds. These are the people closest to you, that love & respect you either way. No failed try at something is going to change that. And what's more, they will probably look up to you! Not for failing at something, but for taking that chance of success!

So don't be afraid, don't put things off till later that you could be doing now. Realize that the real chance of success is in front of your nose and you only have to reach out and grab it.

I'd like to close with a quote from "KB" (Twitter) / (website)
Instead of thinking  "what could go wrong", I prefer "how good can it get"!