It’s important to constantly take an inventory and changing how you do things. Each time you do, it is a step towards a more simple process and therefore a more manageable and enjoyable life.

You may notice that many people stick with the norm. They don’t test the boundaries and improve the quality for their community by reviewing how many blogs should you have or looking at countless questions they could ask.

Simplifying gives you a chance to review and make changes in your life.

It promotes growth.

There are countless bloggers out there that try to satisfy their audience with long winded articles on a frequent basis. In the world of information overload, this is too much.

I try to minimize my word count. I don’t care if the search engines rank me higher or lower (well I care but not based on the size of my article).

I prefer to offer simple bits of information that you can digest and use. So I try to keep my content to under 500 words, preferably under 300.

This takes practice, which challenges your mind and improves your skills. The end result is a better and easier world for you and all those around you.

Take the time to simplify everything you do and you will notice little improvements everywhere that can make a big difference in the bigger picture to the people you touch and share your life with.

Today’s post is a short life lesson on the simplicity of perseverance and effort.

In the past few months I have had countless obstacles and barriers to make the changes in my life.

Each of them required effort to get the desired result that I wanted.

There is no easy button

Here’s a look at a few obstacles I had to overcome:

• limited internet connectivity
• selling my stuff to have a minimal and mobile life
• laptop repairs to get mobile computing
• getting a new car on the road
• learning linux “again” after a 5 year absence
• cultural and religious barriers

And dozen more time constraining, money limiting and personal beliefs or conflicts that needed to be reviewed.

Instead of running away from each of them, I had to make the effort to move forward.If I wanted it, I had to take the actions to make it happen. Nobody was going to do it for me.

My actions were the exact thing that kept me from or helped me to move forward. Without perseverance and dedication to the desired result, it would have been impossible to achieve any of it.

Everyone gets stucks sometimes. We all become stagnant.

But the choices we make and actions we take to move forward are what separate us from the pack and help us to move forward. Good things happen to those that help themselves.

I encourage all of you to take the next step and then continue on until you achieve the good things you want.

Take action!

It’s not as hard as you think. I promise

I have been absent for a couple  months…here’s why!

Some events happened that forced me to review the question “what do you want to do when you grow up?”.  I always answer “I don’t know, I never want to grow up.”And I still haven’t.

But I always grow – sideways and every way possible.

here’s the skinny

My landlord had been harassing me (a life issue nobody should put up with). It was making work impossible. The last couple years was about discovering a happy balance of mental and physical health. There were some very serious health issues to take care of. As I overcame these life obstacles, life pursuit started to come to the forefront. In fact life in general has became a priority.

Now I live on the edge in many ways. But drastic change calls for drastic measures. I am happy when I’m exploring. Perhaps I’m in my true element.

I’m generally pretty darn green and live a non consumptive lifestyle. I consider myself a minimalist and non-conformist. I often tell my friends all I need is my guitar, car and comput-ar (cooking, reading, traveling and nature are nice too). I realize the car isn’t that green but I work it into a pretty green life and Canada is a very large country.Things don’t give me a lot of satisfaction – my friends, family and blogging community do.

It’s my purpose to share my life experiences to help other’s learn and grow and to reduce suffering and struggles  – I won’t be apathetic.

So………….

• I stopped blogging
• I reduced my information intake (including reducing my feeds)
• I stopped twittering and minimized computer use
• I gave my landlord 30 days notice
• I sold the majority of my stuff (and I’m already a minimalist)
• I decided to pursue life and observe blogging from the sidelines

In short…I have various life issues that I can share with the world and I want to take the steps to put these things in place. I wanted to review how and why I blog. To take the time and focus on blog quality not quantity.

I have experienced life issues such as adoption and adoption reunion that I want to write about.It was time to take the plunge. My eBook on adoption reunion is finally in the works after 16 years (since my birth family reunion).

I am also interested in alternative living and have many ideas that will reduce our global impact. I wanted to live various alternative lifestyles and practice what I preach in a more active way, so I’ve gone mobile.

I’m traveling across Canada in both directions, visiting my family in Moncton, New Brunswick and friends scattered all over. In the winter I will visit my daughter, friends and family in Europe while seeking out alternative lifestyles and projects along the way – I call it The Yurtopia Project and I will blog about it. This includes:

• simple living in my typical minimalist style
• visiting meditation retreats and places with humanitarian people
• couch surfing, house-sitting and various creative methods of finding lodging
• camping and sleeping in my car (one reason I kept it to keep warm and safe)
• woofing (working on organic farms) and volunteering for socially responsible projects
• visiting with friends and family

live life

It’s also important to spend your time living – sitting behind a desk and writing won’t create the kind of real experiences and stories. Anyone can read a story and research information but to live it….that’s another story.

Reading information from the web and learning ideas from the news, television, books, articles, web content and various forms of information is one directional and has a habit of creating a one way flow – information overload.

We need to stop information intake to create new experiences (or at least limit it sometimes).

a funny thing happened along the way

Guess what! As soon as I started my journey at the end of March – life happened.

And things changed. While selling my stuff, I met a very special person right away. And things changed again. Suddenly my plans needed adjustment because this connection was a life changing event. We come from two different worlds but…sparks flew and will continue to grow into an everlasting flame.

Now I needed the tools to get things going. I had to fix my laptop and car to get mobile. I needed to have a more minimal attitude. I converted my little car into a camper. I needed to make sure I could eat, sleep, blog and most importantly (wink) play guitar.

My friends needed help to fix up their house before they sold it – and I stepped up to plate. Helping them for the first half of both May and June. This delayed things. Getting my computer functioning (and converting to Linux, since I want to promote community living) was a challenge. Getting internet access has proved to be more challenging but I’m finally on top of things.

In between I visited a vipassana meditation center for an 11 day silent retreat – another life changing event and something that I highly recommend. I wanted the tools to keep a clear mind and remain calm. I met amazing people, yep even though we didn’t talk for 11 days, including a singer/songwriter and someone going through adoption reunion. What are the odds!

Then more life happened…out of the blue, my parents offered me a newer model car, well taken care of from a friend. Typically my relationship is strained and my parents let me struggle and learn on my own (a good thing most of the time), so I was very overwhelmed with the kind gesture. The newer 2002 fully loaded, standard transmission Toyota Corolla is amazing but it delayed my already challenging journey.

Finally, I’m on the road. But the first 3 months have been amazing. Now I’m living the dream. I’m in Moncton visiting my birth family and interviewing them for my eBook. I miss my soul mate back in Toronto. I am looking forward to the journey though. It will be amazing to see what transpires.

I will be writing on a frequent basis, but spreading it out across my blog network and focusing on life – green alternative living, coping with life, living on a dime, the blogging life and a few personal interests like a cribbage book (another kinda living).

I’ll share it all from simply stephen and add some tips and tools along the way. Expect to see a lot more consistency and a little less in the way of content. It will all relate to simply stephen in some way. My time will be spent living the 4 hour work week and focusing on life. Something all of us deserve to do.

Oh…and btw, I missed you guys.

Warning! My blog will challenge you to be more, give more, live fearlessly, take more chances and show up in the world unstoppable, daring and bold.

Without further ado, visit Tess for my article i’m not hungry, i’m starving and make sure to follow her on Twitter and subscribe to the feed to help you live a bold life.

Holiday season has arrived and I want to share a simple message.

A life with abundance is not a world filled with things, it is the things you fill it with that make it worthwhile.

Spend time reflecting and cherish the people and things in your life. Be grateful, not just over the holiday season but for the year to come. Be conscious and dare to make the changes that create a world you want to see. Live on your own terms and inspire others. Strive to be the best and let your unique gifts contribute to a better world.

Here’s a reminder from last year of some Simple Christmas Pleasures that can make the holiday extra special. I know each of you took the time to make some green changes this year and am thrilled to have connected and shared on our journey. Your footprint counts, the little things matter, each of you inspires me to go on.

Be safe, be warm, be happy and enjoy your time with loved ones. Enjoy your holiday! This is the last post until the New Year. Merry Christmas, Happy Holiday and a Happy New Year…to the possibilities ahead. I look forward to hearing your stories in the year to come.

Peace & love to each of you.

P.S. With the beta almost finished, expect a few changes and more frequent posts in the new year. In fact simply stephen may have a 5 day posting regiment with a very simple and effective formula designed to help you make green changes with ease. Stay tuned…

Life is a delicate balance, as is the balance of the planet. Last week’s article on  20 Simple Ways to Reduce Climate Change is a testament to that. The ripples on the pond of life are interwoven with everything.

All actions that we take have consequences. Some positive and others negative. Some large, some small. It is important to make most of our actions create a positive spreadsheet. Without these changes we will not flourish.

For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. – Sir Isaac Newton

Human Interaction

All personal actions will have an impact on someone. How we talk  and interact in general. I carry many regrets for my curt tongue and harsh words that have left my mouth. Thinking before you speak is truly a wise man’s skill. But each of us can only look forward and change the present. The actions of today will speak for tomorrow. They can’t erase the past but can balance the future.

When speaking with someone come from the heart. When doing something look at the effect it might have on others. If you have anger, resentment, distrust or any other negative feelings learn to deal with the cause and find a solution. Work at it. The results will be a positive ripple in the long term.

Lead By Example

So let’s tie this into the world. It takes a brave person to speak out or do something differently. We tend to follow the herd. It takes care and conscious effort to think about the planet. When nurturing a child, one takes the time to offer love and keep it from harm. Why not the planet?

If you take an action that benefits the planet, other people will see that action. This will have a ripple effect. Pretty soon everyone will be doing it. It will be hip. So the more actions you take, the more people you encourage, the more consciously you change your consumer habits, your sustainable choices, your humanitarian treatment of people and your general views on the planet (which we share) then the quicker we can have results.

From now on, I want each of you to think about the actions you take. Be deliberate in your choices. Find the energy to change, it’s inevitable anyway (though personally I feel too much change is unhealthy – and that’s why our planet is unhealthy too) How will you interact with the planet and people around you? Please take time to share your comments below.

The 90 Days is over. I have completed my challenge and over 25 people also participated. Though not intended, I finished the challenge on the 11th hour just this Saturday. With the support of my friend, we went out for a couple hours and both gave out free hugs. I chose The Beaches, a friendly neighbourhood in Toronto. I might go down to the business district in the future.

Let me tell you about it. The first person we saw, a family, in fact the husband first gave or is it got the first hug. Amazing. It just got better from there. I thought that I’d be shy, as I’m quite introverted but I guess I have no shame. I’m was just so excited about the experiment that I embraced it. I guess this was apparent as people jumped out of nowhere and we gave hugs, probably over 100.

I was pleasantly surprised. All my apprehensions disappeared in the first couple minutes. I was holding the sign high and asking people if they wanted a hug. Many smiled. Some laughed and loved the idea. Others looked away, to avoid contact. Some just hugged. But mostly people were accepting and it certainly brought some joy to all who witnessed. All the hugs were great. It brightened a rainy day for many.

Stay tuned for future updates. More hugging and challenges to come.

During this season the birds and animals forage, they raise young and teach them how to survive. These young explore their surroundings, frolic, play and rest. The plants grow, flower, seed and provide nutrients for the soil. It is all part of the process.

Learn and Connect

We could all take a lesson from this. We can connect with our children too – teach and play. We can also learn from them, it should not be one directional. We can share time and play with our partners.  We can learn to relax and enjoy life and our surroundings, take time to smell the roses, something we should practice all year round. We can explore and visit – friends new and old. We can rest. It’s time to release your inner tortoise.

This simple process of slowing down and taking time off allows us to continue for the long winter ahead. It connects us with the earth and with people. Every summer, I have specific events and times that I go to. It is precious to spend time with friends to enjoy the outdoors. Connection. It gives me time to reflect and realize what is really important and why I exist. It helps us get strong.

Make a Pledge to Slow Down and Take Time Off

So, I hope each of you will, if you haven’t already, set some time aside and do something (or perhaps don’t do anything). Here’s a simple suggestion list:

1. Spend quality time with a friend or family member
2. Learn something new
3. Go out and explore
4. Watch your children, grandchildren or friends children play (and go play with them)
5. Read a good book
6. Get off the computer and be active
7. Volunteer or help a neighbour
8. Sit out in the backyard or at the cottage and watch the world go by
9. Cook and share a good meal, hopefully fresh and local
10. Release your inner tortoise

I’m Slowing Down

For the next couple weeks, until the middle of August, I will be visiting with family and friends. My daughter is visiting, to share time and enjoy life. I generally go at a slow pace anyway, life is too short, not to enjoy it. I have however, scheduled a couple regular posts to keep you informed and share with you, but it is unlikely that I will communicate with social media and email on a regular basis, if at all. You may also have noticed less activity on the site, on Twitter and via email.

Why? Because I’ve already slowed down – my inner tortoise is in full force. I’m enjoying the garden, my guitar, good food, fruit picking, time with friends and the process of summer. I hope that all of you will slow down and take some time off too!

Please share with me what your tortoise is doing.

In general, I try to create quality over quantity. Time gets the better of me, but rather than follow the hoards, I prefer to take my time and create something worth sharing. There are lots of things that I want to get done, but my philosophy is to get it done right!

Post Something You Can Be Proud Of

There are many blogs and websites, large and small, where the postings are consistent and provide an accurate and strong measure of what they are trying to say. This is not by chance. Chris Guillebeau from The Art of Nonconformity (AONC) uses the term “Be Remarkable”. If you are not than it is not worth doing. The strong majority are simply mediocre. The same is true of products – if you buy quality, it lasts and you don’t need to keep replacing it. In the long run it saves you more (and most of those quality green products save the planet too).

This doesn’t mean that every article is going to be a viral post that everyone loves. People have different needs, they could be reading when they are tired, the topic could be something they are not interested in.

If you stick with the premise of quality, you will build loyal followers that trust your content and advice. That’s why I create all my own content. It’s my blog. I verify. I gather my info from trusted sources, including a large portion from books and the library. I also formulate my own thoughts and ideas. Independent thought can take you to the next level in your mind and creative place.

Don’t Rush It

I was recently working on a post and was hoping to put it up this month. But I stopped myself. It wasn’t ready. My message had not been formulated to a standard that I could accept. There was more to say and ideas needed to be verified and tested. It wasn’t remarkable. So I set it aside. Just like food, if you rush preparing it, it will not taste as good. I am waiting to change the message and improve the quality. Rushing will not help me and I don’t want to leave a sour taste in your mouth. It’s like the fine bottles of wine aging in the picture above.

Quality and Standards mean you care

You may have noticed that I sometimes only put up one post a week. I have not yet put an email optin, free report or eBook. There are limited forms of monetization. That is because I am concerned with the quality. I want you to benefit from it. I want to provide solutions and evoke thought. I do not want to sell to you like an internet marketer (or any marketer for that matter). I care and will do those things when I am certain they will meet your needs.

They will be different than the norm. They will be as green as possible. They may be local. They will be affordable (very affordable) in a world where everything is overpriced. They will inspire others to try the same. They will be informative, they will not carry pushy sales messages. They will be helpful. They will respect you and they will assist your goals and aspirations. I encourage each of you to do the same.

Quality of Life and Time with Loved Ones

My daughter will be visiting me at the beginning of August. I will dedicated the 2 weeks to my time with her. I will share the 90 Day Free Hugs Challenge with her. My regular Friday postings will still go up, but I will spend limited time on the computer during the first half of August. Why am I telling you this? Because it’s about quality. She lives far away, and I don’t get to spend a large quantity of time with her. But when I do, I spend quality.

I won’t be going to amusement parks and entertaining her. I’ll be sharing with her. I’ll be connecting and learning from her. I’ll be visiting friends and family. I speak with her almost every week consistently, sometimes for hours at a time – we talk, play games, sing, write, read, dream and learn. That quality beats out everything.

So before you worry about how much of something you have. Think about what standard it is. That quality matters more in the long run than anything else. Without it you have nothing.

Kreativ Blogger Award

So, what is the Kreative Blogger award? Basically, it’s a way of sharing gratitude with bloggers that make a difference in your life. The blogs you visit frequently, twitter with often, make comments and feel a connection with. It’s kinda like chain mail but without the guilt and strings attached. It gives each blogger a chance to reflect on what matters and take the time to look at why. It truly is a pay it forward type of thing.

Here’s how it works

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award
2. Copy the logo to your blog (that’s it, no link or anything)
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers
6. Post Links to the 7 Blogs you nominate
7. Leave a comment on each of the 7 blogs letting them know you nominated them

That’s it. Simple right! Hmm. Well, as many of you know, I don’t like to do anything halfway, so it has taken a bit of time to reflect and choose my nominations. It was certainly a good review of the websites I visit. It gave me time to think about the reasons why I am blogging. It also took a bit of time to think about 7 things I could share about myself and how to share them.

7 Interesting Facts About Simply Stephen

1. I maintain a strong relationship with my daughter from 6500 km’s away. I’ve been divorced for 10 years and my daughter lives in England. Canada is my home and other true love, my support group is here, it makes me happy to be here and more useful to my daughter in this capacity. I do everything and more that a regular father does – comfort, talk, teach, assist, share and mostly love. We talk almost every week and during this time have learned to write stories, read stories, play music, sing, discuss life, play games and share our lives.
2. Discovered my adoptive family when I was 26. Though the timing has not been perfect as we are going through our own trials and tribulations, we have a bond. I have an older sister that was also adopted and lives only 50 km’s away – we grew up in different families and yet are like two peas in a pod. My birth mother lives in Moncton, New Brunswick with her family and I have two siblings with her, a brother and sister. I learnt more about myself from witnessing the interactions and habits of these family members – now I understand and it has helped me with my daughter too. I keep in touch with all of them, casual as it may be.
3. Trained over 200 dogs when I ran my own dog walking, training and pet sitting company. I had worked for a decade in the animal industry before I started computer and writing work. Some of the roles included management of a small pet supply firm and Director of a large store.
4. Once lived out of my car for 6 months. This was partly a survival tactic and partly to defend and raise awareness on “affordable living”, something that eludes many people in the western world and larger quantities in the rest.
5. I am not a “sheep” – I follow my own path and in a good year generate big ideas and visions at an incredible rate (sometimes dozens daily). I integrate these ideas on a regular basis into my daily life and refine them so I can share the results, ideas and methods in the future (or present).
6. I once played with an orchestra in front of 5000 people when I was 14. What an experience. I was lead Viola for a two hour concert at Massey Hall in Toronto.
7. One year when I was driving from Toronto, Ontario to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory I was driven off the road by a Moose. My car, a little green Toyota Tercel, 4 speed manual was “righted” – I put the keys in the ignition and drove off to complete the trip, another 5000 km. The trip and that event inspired the song “Yukon Bound” here’s a few lines:

Well, I turned round the bend with a moose on the side

And I swerved down the road to avoid the collide

The car ended up on it’s side in a ditch

And the moose walked away without even a twitch.

Well, that was fun!

My 7 Kreative Bloggers (links included)

1. Nancy Castillo at The Zen Birdfeeder, focuses on “the birds and other nature we find in our own yards and the zen principles of attention, acceptance and responsibility.” A loyal Twitter follower, who practices green living and loving nature and mankind alike. Her messages are always uplifting.
2. Vlad Dolezal at Fun Life Development, who encourages you to be a happy more productive person. In his words “he’s on a mission to help people learn much more efficiently by explaining a few simple but profound principles of how the human mind learns stuff”“.
3. Tess Marshall at The Bold Life, who “challenges you to be more, give more, live fearlessly, take more chances and show up in the world unstoppable, daring and bold“.
4. Chris Guillebeau at The Art of Non-Conformity, who “battles conventional beliefs, demonstrating how to change the world by achieving significant, personal goals while helping others at the same time“.
5. Stacey Hoffer Weckstein at Create A Balance, who assists moms “to lead a more authentic, happy, energized, and balanced life” (no I’m not a Mom, but her stuff is poignant and relevant to everyone)
6. Colin Beaven at No Impact Man, who demonstrates “what each of us can do to end our environmental crisis, make a better place to live for ourselves and everyone else, and hopefully come up with a happier way of life along the way“.
7. Michelle Adams at Michelle Adams coincedently, one of the few internet marketers I follow and communicate with on a personal level. She teaches us how to earn “online money minus the BS” – but she makes you think about it along the way in an ethical, responsive, customer focused, sincere and pleasant manner.

There you have it. That was tough. I had to eliminate so many good bloggers that I enjoy on a regular basis. But that made me think. We are all about community here. What do communities do? They help each other, they promote each other, they pitch in. So, on a regular basis, perhaps once a week (I haven’t decided yet), I’m going to do a Spotlight on Simplicity and choose a favourite Twitter Follower or Fellow Blogger and highlight them with a positive review (along with constructive feedback of what would be nice to see).

Sounds a bit crazy! Well, yes and no.

I’d like to share with you my thoughts about the benefits of giving free hugs. Why would one consider this?

1. First and foremost, the challenge is about having fun
2. Building a more compassionate world (peace and harmony)
3. It’s about change and outlook
4. Putting a smile on someone’s face
5. Spreading joy (and maybe even stopping negative feelings with bad results)
6. Acceptance and awareness of the people around us
7. Personal growth – helping heal the hugger or huggee
8. It’s about action – doing something, anything with focus and passion
9. Building courage, self-confidence and esteem (valuable tools in all walks of life)

These are just a few benefits. I encourage everyone to consider the challenge. If you find it difficult, dig a little deeper or instead just think about the warmth of a hug and offer them more freely to your family and friends. A hug is special and something special should be shared with the ones you care about.

For those of you with a Twitter Account please help and retweet by clicking the badge below:

Please add your comments on other relevant benefits to build upon an already solid reason to participate in the 90 Day Free Hugs Challenge and don’t forget to join the challenge and spread the word. A big hug goes out to all of you for visiting.

It all started last week when Vlad Dolezal of Fun Life Development Blog (formerly an amazing mind), put a posting up on how he had finally mustered up the courage to go out and give free hugs. But that is not where it originated. Here is some info on the Free Hugs origins (Go to Wikipedia).

Now Vlad is an amazing guy with very inspirational posts. He has a unique way of looking at the world and making it a better place. I have been following him for a while now and decided to shoot him an email asking if he wanted to do a challenge. His response was so great from his posting that we decided to create a challenge – The 90 Day Free Hugs Challenge.

What better way to to start the week with a challenge about peace and love, especially in the recent setting both economic and political (something I stay away from). A serious challenge.

Starting on July 1, 2009, we are trying to get as many people as possible to go out on just one day, to offer as many hugs as possible – for free! Ya have to do it in a public place with strangers. Pretty scary…probably for most of us. You can do this any time over the 90 days. Let’s get thousands of people to sign up and give out millions of hugs.

There are a group of avid mountain climbers that set a goal to climb the 7 summits, the tallest mountain on each of the 7 continents.  Climbing the summit is about reaching your goals and dreams. Each of us can reach our 7 summits, you can climb any mountain and you get a view that you have never seen anywhere else!  I apologize in advance if this post is filled with too many analogies and cliches, but they are designed to encourage and motive.

So what motivates these people? Why do they do it? Though the obvious answer is a love for mountain climbing, a more truthful one, a drive and desire to challenge and achieve. To push boundaries and barriers. To achieve greatness. To try new things and learn new skills. Though seemingly self serving each of these individuals have lessons to teach. In climbing they inspire and can share the secrets of each climb – quite unselfish.

Each of us has a mountain that we want to climb

Some of us are at the bottom of the mountain, while others are close to the peak. Without first making the decision to climb our mountain, we will never reach the summit, let alone 7. This posting is meant to be poignant in the hopes each of you chooses a life goal and discovers value in doing so. Invoke your change and define your summit. When you have completed your peak, share the results and move on to the next challenge. Big or small, don’t be afraid to set lofty goals and attain them one baby step at a time. So reach for the sky, but don’t forget to keep your feet on the ground.

I encourage you all to share this posting with not only the ones you love and cherish but with everyone to create a dominoe effect and spawn excellence. I also request that you share your story and goal with everyone and comment below…then pass it on.

Are you climbing your Mount Everest?

Oh, just so you know, there are so many mountains I want to climb. My immediate mountain is to create & grow a sustainable network of green, ethical and motivational websites that will fulfil my life purpose of sharing knowledge and experiences along the way. My loftier goal is to implement an idea that I know will provide affordable, sustainable, green housing (and living) to the masses. Let me know what your summit is!

Comments are welcome and encouraged. If you liked this post, please to subscribe to the RSS Feed so we can keep you up to date. Our next post – How do you Eat an Elephant? Peaked (sorry) your interest.

People don’t change – what a false statement! Most people really don’t change – but we have a habit of scrutinizing every detail and when we look at other people we only look at yesterday. You need to look at each day and thousands of days at that to see the real change. It’s not easy to do. Sometimes it happens so slowly we just don’t notice. So what do you want, the life you live or the life within.

Another overlooked view on change is what many refer to as the brick wall theory. You know, how do stop yourself from hitting a brick wall – stop doing it! Sounds obvious, but day after day, we hit brick walls, over and over. We are all guilty. We do the same thing. We make excuses and blame it on the circumstances – “oh, if that brick wall wasn’t there I wouldn’t keep hitting it!”. Reality check – it is not the circumstances that need changing, it’s your actions. Learn what the correct actions are and you will get the correct results.

A few years ago, I read a book called Soar with Your Strengths by Donald O. Clifton (Often thought of as the father of “strengths psychology”) & Paula Nelson (well known commentator on CNN & Today). This book was a gem and I still preach it to this day. One of the main premises “if you develop your strengths to the maximum, it becomes so great it overwhelms the weakness”. In other words, if you want to change your life, work on the things that you are good at, the ones you enjoy. You will find that you become so good at those things that the other skills are “overwhelmed” and of no consequence. It really does work.

One example in the book is a fable of 6 animals going to school – a duck, fish, eagle, owl, squirrel and a rabbit. The first day they go running….the rabbit is the stars and loves school. Next day they go swimming…and the rabbit sinks like a stone and almost drowns. So they double up on his swimming courses and take him out of running (imagine if they put him in flying class). He begins to resent school and is not doing the one thing he loves – running and jumping. The moral, to concentrate on what we do best – that is how we can change our lives and optimize the results.

Often, we are scared of the results, maybe even the success and joy we might achieve. Sometimes the things we desire, don’t fit into our partner’s lives. But not all changes have to be dramatic, however, if you don”t like the world you exist in, then a change is a good thing. And, it’s up to you to change it.

So remember not to sit there thinking change is impossible, but rather endless with ample chances if we remove the obstacles and focus. Learning how to focus and make those changes is a whole other step. But that’s another story…Change Your Life – Part II.

no good deed goes unpunished

Remember that expression? Hopefully it’s something we can all keep with us forever. What does this have to do with green, simple, living in Toronto (or anywhere)? One thing  – socially conscious? An act of kindness is something that is humanitarian, it evokes positive living and is not hard to achieve. Truly this is green, simple, living at it’s optimal level. Now that’s what green is all about.

It’s winter in Toronto and like last year, the most snow in 75 years, it’s hit us hard. In fact we surpassed last years monstrous dumpings of the white fluffy stuff. And many of the days have been cold too (by Toronto standards) Deep freezes, slushy roads, ice patches, stranded travelers, stalled cars and mile high snowbanks. The sun has only greeted us for a fleeting moment and the days are shorter. Winter blues are upon us.

But there is a cure and Toronto can rise above Old Man Winter and keep Jack Frost away. How? Do tell, you say. Acts of kindness. Help your neighbour, help a stranger, pitch in anyway you can. That frozen statue standing outside, might need a warm pick me up. The car stuck in snow – go give em’ a push! It could be you! Help someone across the street. Slow down in your driving and let people cross the road. Help shovel an elderly neighbours walkway and while your at it, make sure they are safe, warm and fed. Offer them a ride to the store or pick up their food. That might save them from a fall on the ice.

An endless list. Use your imagination or follow what you know is right. Helping someone can spread a lot of that sunshine around and brighten everyone’s day, including your own. So do your good deed and make it a habit. Remember it doesn’t have to end just because the winter does. Keep our communities warm all year round and lend a hand.