Having a bit of time off from your routine is always refreshing. But it can also put you in a situation that is outside if your comfort zone.
You see your work mates at least 5 days a week in working mood and working clothes. Then you are out with them for a special training weekend. Everyone is dressed up, you hear new stories from your mate, sometimes even quite personal ones.
I love to listen and watch such scenes. People are opening up, suddenly things become more clearer to you. And you also might be disappointed by others. Not everyone is walking their talk.
On the other side, what information are you giving away? Do you let yourself go? Do you reveal your darkest secrets? What do want your colleagues to know about your?

The change if environment also changes people. Therefore we never should judge people from the state we always see them in. Be open to learn more about others, you might even share an interest.

Change of environment also gives people the opportunity to maybe tell you how much they appreciate what you do and you might see your working place differently from now on.

If you get the chance to change environment and/or step outside of your comfort zone, do it. Human behavior is such so amazing and the more you know the better you will be able to benefit.

How much do you reveal?

If robotics is to succeed like computing, what matters is making practical robots that do jobs well and affordably …

… taken from a New Scientist article

The Fukushima Daiichi power plant incident in Japan in 2011 has changed the view Japan has about robots. Everyone knows about the advanced robotics skills Japanese scientists have developed in the last 30 years. We can see them in singing, running and dancing humanoid robots. But in 2011 Japan has seen the usage of robots to deal with the nuclear emergency. The military already uses robots to defuse improvised explosive devices.

How often do you waste your time by getting ready, having the perfect business card or cleaning up your desk so your phone is well positioned on it?

Does that sound familiar?

Get real .. all that doesn’t make you move forward in your business nor in your life. Yes, a clean desk gives you a clean mind, but just don’t use it as an excuse for not making phone calls or writing that particular important report. Be practical and useful, be out there and share with the world what you have to offer.

Time to get real! What are the demons you are facing? What’s preventing you to show the world what you have to offer?

Have you ever woken up in the middle of a dream and you wanted to go back to sleep immediately, because you needed to know how the dreams end? I am not a fan of open-ended stories either

Or did you try to plan your dream ahead? You are in bed thinking, wouldn’t it be nice to dream about this tonight!

I am sure science is on to it and one day all this will happening. But what to do in the meantime? Will dreams always be dreams? Are you working on living your dreams?

• Living in your dream house
• Driving your dream car
• Being with your dream partner
• Having your dream job (does that exist?)

Do or not do, there is no try!

If you can dream about things, you can think about them. And as soon as you think about them, they exist. They are reality. Thoughts => Action => Results. Just don’t let dreams just be dreams. If you like them, write them down. What are the actions you can take to make them reality? What are the skills you need to learn? Who are the people you have to meet?

Control the content of your dream in the way that dreams inspire you what is possible.
Keep dreaming, keep looking and you will find your dream house, dream car or partner.
Inspired by an article of New Scientists

Do you remember who said that? Right, Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr, aka Muhammed Ali. His famous “trash talks” before the actual fight played a very important role. The hardest part of a fight is not in the ring, it’s the time you spent before the fight.

The “trash talks” are part of the mental training. I guess the art of “trash talk” is really to “impress” the person in front of you. Unfortunately, most people use “trash talks” against themselves. It is not about being mean to someone. “Trash talks” are about showing self-confidence, showing that you are ready to win that fight or any other challenge you are confronted with.

Since the movie “The Secret” came out, I am sure everyone is aware of what affirmations are. Sentences you are saying to yourself to influence your subconsciousness. To do affirmations right, you should follow the following 5 points:

• Use positive words
• Use present tense
• Use first person (I or we)
• Be detailed
• Use emotions, tone and energy

Imagine how you can impress your opponent by saying affirmations out loud. Sounds like “trash talk? I would say so.

• I will show you how great I am.
• I am a leader and I am making it with or without you.
• I am successful.

Muhammed Ali is now a legend. Who are you right now? My trash talk for you is

I know what I am capable of, watch the space! I am ready to do what it takes to succeed.

Sounds big? It is, and for myself to putting it out like this, I have to be accountable now. The people I am working with know more details. You want to know more? Get in  contact with me now!

I am out of my comfort zone, where are you?

Social Media had made it more easy to create a network of people around you. However, I guess everyone agrees on that, the quality of the network is an important factor as well. Especially when you want to utilize the people in the network. There is a lot of sorting and filtering to do.

What if you could qualify people before they become part of your network? How can you make people like you as a human being?

I am currently testing the following 6 points, to increase my network, to maybe become more social and have the right people around me. Let’s join me on the 31 days challenge.

1. Become genuinely interested in other people.
• My first hurdle. I am more interested in books, science and technology. I haven’t realized yet the potential in knowing other people and maybe leveraging of this. Note to myself … ask people I meet and see on a daily basis, what they are actually doing, if they like what they are doing and what they are planning next weekend. Just general things, there might something come up that you have in common.
2. Smile.
• Oh man, some people are really born with the smile in their face. It comes so natural … I feel like that didn’t happen for me. Task for the next week for me is to monitor myself when I don’t smile. Create some mind snippets that make you smile. As soon when you realize you should better smile, think of this snippet.
3. Remember that a person’s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language.
• Repeating the name of a person 3 times after you’ve heard it the first time, makes you actually remember the person more easily. Maybe we can try to swap mate or buddy for the actual name of the person.
4. Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves.
• People love to talk about themselves. For a person like me, who is not that talkative, this task is easy. Just listen and acknowledge. How are you doing with this one?
5. Talk in terms of other person’s interest.
• That is a bit challenging when you have no clue what the person is talking about or you don’t have any interest in it. What to do? Don’t close down … repeat what the person said in a different way. You might learn something and the person sees that you are interested in him/her.
6. Make the other person feel important – and do it sincerely.
• Acknowledge what the person is saying. You might even add something that make the people more comfortable around you, because you “click” with them. Ask them question about their interest and you will their eyes sparkling.

I guess there is a lot we can do to learn more about the other person without asking too personal questions and make them feel uncomfortable. Let’s see how we go in the first week … feel free to comment on your progress!

P.S. I am looking for ambitious people working with me in my primary business. If that is you … please contact me!

Update: It has been pointed out several times now that the 6 points are from the book “How to win friends and influence people” by Dale Carnegie. I haven’t read this book yet, but I found the six points in an unreferenced report. I apologize, if I have offended someone. It was not my intention to make the impression that the 6 points have been “discovered” by myself.

Two magic words. How did we learn to walk? We saw people walking, actually everyone we saw was walking. We knew it was doable and achievable. Tips and tricks from our parents were not helpful, they don’t remember how it is to not be able to walk, so what? Persistence and consistency, falling back on the bump, grabbing anything that kept us upright, again, again and again. So we know what we can achieve through persistence and consistency, however when we grow up, we listen more and more to our parents, teachers and other people around us. We hear things like “You can’t do that”, “No one has done it in our family, why do you think you can do that?” or “What’s the point?”. Most of the time we give up or don’t even try to start to work on our idea.

You have to decide who you are listening to. Do you want to be like your parents and like your friends? Then listen to them. Or do you want to live like Richard Branson, Dr John F Demartini, Donald Trump and Will Smith? Then I would suggest you to listen to them. Read about them and attend their seminars. These people are sharing their experience for a reason, to show that everything is possible in life.

I just attended a seminar with Dr John F Demartini yesterday. Just listen to his story, how he achieved to live the lifestyle he has now …. your eyes will be watering and you will look at your life differently. I am quoting John here:

‎And if somebody says you can’t do it, you fucking can!

F.U.C.K. stands for Future Understanding of Conscious Knowledge!

Everyone can achieve his or her dreams, you just need to work on it, step by step. Work on it persistently and consistently. The will to change your life will make you get up on the morning. Turn it into a habit and soon you will see the change happening.

P.S. I am looking for ambitious people working with me in my primary business. If that is you … please contact me!

Wealth creation seminars have been around now for a little while. Maybe after attending 10 of them, you might have discovered a common pattern. There are good and bad ones. You might have even found the solution to your problems and you did the necessary steps to grow your business or yourself.

One word that always comes up and is highly related with becoming wealthy is Passion. If you follow your passion, the money will come. Sure, there are still some missing parts, but over all that is a fair statement. I would put it this way: If  what you do is your passion, things seems to be a bit easier.

In the last couple of years, I was looking for my passion. The question is how do you do that? How can you find your passion? There is no clear answer to it, because it will be different for everyone.

I wished sometimes I could see and hear myself. That I could step out of myself, so I can find out how I look like and how I act like when I am doing something I love to do. I have learnt a lot about myself and what I love to do in the last couple of months. It surprises me that things we got told when we were a child, still affect us 20 or 30 years later.

I slowly start to realize and accept a part in me, that has been suppressed all my life. On several occasions I discovered myself in enjoying a process. I loved sharing my knowledge. I could feel it, because I felt comfortable doing it. Sure I am still stumbling, but because I know the subject and I feel it is important to be shared, I don’t care that my English is not perfect. I might be actually passionate about it.

You also will notice the feedback you get from other people. Because passion can be heard. When something is done with heart, people will receive it there. People will listen and want more. Observe yourself and others. How comfortable do you feel when sharing your story or business? Is it your talking or someone else?

Now, when I am scheduled to talk, I am more than happy to do so. I am proud that I reached this state in my business. I expanded my comfort zone. Time now to crack the next challenge.

How did you find your passion or are you still looking?

What is it that gives you goosebumps? What is it that makes you to shut up and listen, listen carefully and you don’t want to miss a second? Who is it who makes you believing, yes, I want to be like him/her? Who is who makes you cry, because of joy and love? Who or what inspires you?

It is different for everyone. Also, don’t mix it up with motivation.

To be motivated you need a reason to act or behave in a specific way.

To be inspired you are mentally stimulated to do or feel something.

Since more than 20 years I am a huge fan of the rock band Queen. The death of Freddie is now 20 years ago as well, but gosh, the live videos of their concerts in the 70′s and 80′s? That stuff touches me. These four guys, Freddie, Brian, Roger and John, they are so passionate about what they are doing, that fascinates me. And seeing Freddie leaving the stage the last time at the 86 concert in Wembley, just don’t talk to me. That gets me.

Was it easy for them to become rock stars? No way! They struggled like everyone else who became successful. I’ve read almost all books that are out there about Queen. When you read the story about their early years … I would know plenty of people who would have given up in the first week.

Do I want to be a rock star? Hell yes! I want to become a rock star in the area I am passionate about. If I can show people that there is a better way, I would feel like a rock star!

My favourite lyrics from Queen:

So you feel that you ain’t nobody
Always needed to be somebody
Put your feet on the ground
Put your hand on your heart
Lift your head to the stars
And the world’s for your taking!

Where are you a rock star?

The Zebra got it

… but you can’t make it drink.

This is so true in many areas in life. Today I attended a meeting at the “Raw Food & Healthy Living” Community Group. Rado and his team have the right mind set and they always attract interesting people. What I like is that we see always new people attending these kind of events, but I also see familiar faces every time I go there.

We are now in the Information Age, so lack of information is definitely not a valid excuse anymore. But how can we make more people being aware of that they are responsible of their health and not the government. I guess we could put hundreds of books in front of them, give them plenty of power point presentations or show them x amount of dramatic videos … in the end they have to make the decision themselves whether they care about themselves or not.

Why is it not obvious to them? Don’t they have common sense? Again, what is obvious to me, doesn’t have to be obvious to someone else. I know, it is a big surprise and it took me a while until I understood and accepted it. Still, there are moments when I could bang my head against the wall or on the keyboard

It is great to have the Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Thoughts and all this stuff. But it is not ok, when people have to pay for other people who give a s**t about themselves. Disease is a burden not only for the person who has the disease, but also for the people who have to take care of you now.

I am really looking forward to the day, when people will finally wake up and take responsibility of their own well-being. I know, it is easy to blame others, and I am guilty of that as well. But always remember … you are what you eat.

Times have changed, haven’t they? 20 years ago, you knew exactly where the person was when you called them on the phone. I guess that was the only advantage of having a landline.

These days you call someone, and you could have no clue where they actually are … but somehow you get a connection. The waves find their way through the cloud. How cool is that?

Do you think Generation Z has ever used a rotary dial on a phone? Where I grew up, we didn’t have a phone, until the Wall came down in 1990. I am sure you can guess on which side of the Wall I grew up. If I remember right, only people with the “right” connections or with Diabetics could have a phone. (Surely, other diseases as well.) …. I guess we had plenty of invented diabetic people in the 80′s

I remember when we finally got the phone. It was exciting and cool. You felt special when the phone rang, I still do now, hehe. I actually stayed at home waiting for a phone call. The obvious disadvantage of a landline. As I said, things have changed … I don’t have a landline number anymore. Mobile is the way to go.

Looks like I have outed myself now … I am not member of Generation Z