A life coach provides an unbiased perspective that can help you get a clear picture of where you are now versus the life and future you want. After you’ve gotten that  figured out, he or she can help you figure out how to get there.

A life coach can help you set the right personal goals so you can focus your efforts on achieving them. So how do you know if you have the right goals? A life coach will help you identify your values and priorities in life, as well as what your inclinations and your abilities are. From there, you will be able to determine your goals and come up with an action plan on how to achieve them.

A life coach may also have some kick-ass techniques up his or her sleeve that you don’t know of to help make your goals doable. He or she can also help you overcome your fears, weaknesses, and even the plain ‘ol procrastination that is keeping you from the life you want.

A life coach can be a lot of things. He or she can be your guide, motivator, teacher, and the kick in the pants that your ass needs. But one thing a life coach is not is “you”. He or she ain’t no “cure-all” either, so don’t expect your life coach to fix your problems for you. You are still responsible for acting on your goals. It is your life, and the “doing” part is all up to you.

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You see, the secret in earning more is not in working longer, it’s in being more productive. The more you succumb to self-imposed pressure to work longer, the less productive you become. Just as lack of sleep affects our cognitive functions, being overworked affects our ability to process information resulting to less productivity. The Harvard Business Review conducted a study with the consultants of Boston Consulting Group and found that by giving them more predictable time off and limiting their working hours, they become more efficient workers. Not only that, they had higher job satisfaction which also resulted in better productivity.

Which brings us to our focus: taking time off to be able to work less and earn more. Say that again? TAKE TIME OFF! Clear your mind from the daily grind. Allow your mind to consolidate information by itself. You’ll find you are more focused and more able to come up with better ideas once your mind is rejuvenated.

During your time off, re-assess your business or career. Take stock of what you have accomplished so far and find out if you need to change your strategy to better achieve your goals. Figure out what you are really good at and focus on it. Find your niche. If you own a business, not only will you be more profitable by gaining more customers, you may even have the opportunity to raise your price. Same goes with employees. When you become more valuable to your company, hey, it won’t be too hard to ask for a raise.

It is possible to work less and earn more. You just need to work smarter.

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It appears that everyone is obliged to multitask, work extra hours and still look fresh and brilliant the following day just to impress the boss. A lot of people find themselves always on the go – chowing down food and then running for the next appointment while simultaneously sending out SMS. You may be too busy to notice but labor demands are increasing daily while management is trying to cut pay and benefits. Ouch. What about spending quality time with the kids, time for your better half or…sex? What then is the most sensible thing to do? Well, I have great news for you. There are unique opportunities out there that will allow you to literally work less and earn more.

Maybe you’ve heard about passive income streams. These are basically sources that generate income whenever you need it. You can earn passive income in several ways. One example is renting or leasing your property. The rent you earn is a form of positive income. The interest that your money earns from the bank is also another example. You can also receive royalties from publishing a book or licensing a patent from something you invented. Another thing that you can consider is to use the power of leverage, specifically the power of the World Wide Web. Perhaps you know what I am talking about unless you’ve been living under a rock the past decade. You can use the Internet to build multiple websites and make them work for you 24/7. Take advantage of auto responders to consistently put your business in front of thousands of people across the globe. Auto responders can send out your messages to prospective clients while you take a walk in the park, play with your dog or go out to a bar or club. You can market your business in different countries and leverage your time doing more important matters. By engaging in a home-based or online business, you can spend less time working and more time with your family, or having fun, while still bringing in the dough.

As you can see, there are many ways by which you can generate extra income every month. It CAN be done! My point is, the more passive income streams you create, the more cash will flow in and eventually you will no longer have to spend extra hours at work just to make ends meet. You can only free yourself from the bondage of working 8 to 12 hour days by making multiple streams of income. Just imagine yourself on vacation while your business is working for you and when you get back home to check your email, you may be surprised that you made money while you were out there somewhere having a great time!

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We got to give them credit though, it IS important to have a work-life balance. Who wants to work their butts off with little time to do the things they love, or spend time with the people in their lives? But, it is not necessarily bad to “live to work” either. Particularly, if you love what you are doing.

When your work is your passion, it ceases to be “work”. Work becomes easy and enjoyable. It is no longer a job to put a roof over your heads, work becomes the source for self-actualization. All of us have that need to express our full potential, and when your work continuously allows you to do so, you’d love to live to work.

I’ve always envied people whose hobby is their work. Like outdoor enthusiasts who run white water rafting companies; or musicians who play the whole day; or even inventors who earn gazillions on their inventions. Not everyone who lives to work and pursues their passions may have a lot of money, but they have fulfilling lives.

When you try to figure out what you are passionate about, be true to yourself. Do not be dictated by society’s idea of success which is rooted in money and prestige. You can choose to be lousy and miserable in a high paying job or you can be skillful and fulfilled in a more humble occupation.

When you’re motivated by your passion though, financial success won’t be too far off. Look for opportunities to expand on your passion. From a skillful carpenter, you may level up and start a business as a home builder. It’s a matter of finding your niche.

So go ahead and live to work — but only if you love it!

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It is so easy giving in to the conditioning we have received, completely forgetting who we truly are at the heart of our being.  Being honest with yourself at this moment, can you say that are you still in touch with the person who is you? Or have you taken on the personality of the mask you have been wearing for so long?  We need to start realizing that our opinion about ourselves is only opinion that truly matters.  We have to stop looking outside ourselves for approval, and start taking pride in the person who we are, lifting our heads and being ourselves.  I have this saying that I live by: Fuck the world, we are the world!  So let’s stop looking outside ourselves for approval, and start worrying more about what we think about ourselves.

What we think of ourselves, now that is truly an important matter.  I understand not everyone is blessed with the same amount of self confidence, but if we work at finding ourselves again and being comfortable and accepting the person we truly are, then the world is our playground. So what if you are a little overweight, or if you aren’t good with numbers, or whatever flaw you keep bashing your confidence with.  Not everyone can be good at everything, and it is also impossible for someone to be good at nothing.  You just need to find what you good at and focus on that instead.  The way we look at ourselves, is also the way others will be looking at you.  Turn your focus inside and unleash the magnificent being that is hiding underneath that mask you wear.

Again I will say: Fuck the people, We are the people; Fuck the world, We are the world!  Stop focusing on what others think, and start celebrating the unique person who defines you!

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As I see it, this conundrum can be approached from many different angles.  We can start practicing better time management skills, use the golden 80/20 rule, and use new technology to make our lives easier, more efficient.  But all of these techniques and gadgets mean nothing if you don’t have specific goals you are working towards, or the needed passion for what you do.

When you for example, believe that working less and playing more is just an unrealistic dream, which will never come true, then it will never realize in your life, as you won’t work towards achieving that for yourself, you will never have focused your energy in attaining it, making it a reality.  If we don’t set goals for ourselves, we will hardly ever achieve anything as we have nothing we are working towards; we are then like lose flying balloons, with no direction or anchor, just going wherever the wind blows us.

Passion is the other major ingredient in the recipe for achieving any goal.  It will help absolutely nothing if we set these grand goals for ourselves, but we don’t have the needed passion to drive ourselves forward to turn them into reality.  Without passion, turning your goals into reality will feel something like running a marathon, instead of just a simple stroll in the park.

The moral of the story?  Don’t ever stop dreaming, and continuously set goals for yourself.  Don’t be shy about those dreams either, dream BIG, and put everything into achieving that dream.  One of my goals, which I set for myself many moons ago, was to work less and play more, I’ve long since achieved it, and so can you!

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It’s 1:00am, and my girlfriend Joy and I, are sitting on the windowsill looking down on to the street.  Some guys have been out there yelling and screaming for 15 minutes, going on about how he’s such a victim, how his life has done him so wrong.  He is literally having a mental meltdown in the middle of my street, with people shouting out their windows, hoping to shut him up.

As you can imagine, it wasn’t long before the police arrived, after which, there was a whole big power struggle between this hopeless “victim”, and the police.  Long story short, the police, who most probably felt like the rest of us and wanted to get this little scene over as fast as possible, let the guy go with only a warning. To show his appreciation, the whining “victim” walked away, still shouting about how shitty his life his, and how unfair everything about his situation is.

As I was sitting on my windowsill, watching this whole scene unfold below me, I was yet again intrigued by this guy’s way of thinking, which is not uncommon within our human race, it in actual fact, is a great example of humanity at its “best”.  As humans, we are in general very quick to assume the role of the victim when we find that life throws a curveball or two our way.   We are quick to stand with our hands stretched out, demanding the world give to us what we think we are owed.  We oh so much enjoy playing the victim that we, in the process of self-pity, miss important life altering opportunities.

Assuming the role of the victim is like wearing a blindfold while going on a treasure hunt, you have a faint idea of which way to go, but because of the blindfold we are wearing, we miss all the important landmarks, which would have led us to the treasure.  And then, when we miss our fortune, and our neighbour next door discovers his part of the treasure, we become jealous and yet again start pitying ourselves, returning to vicious cycle of being the victim and losing out on all life’s pleasures.

If we truly want to become great in our own right, we are going to have to get over the victim mentality we so often like to nurture.  When you view yourself as victim, you are actually surrendering to your current circumstances, unconsciously prohibiting yourself from doing better, blocking yourself from even trying to attain greater heights within your personal and business life.  When we assume the role of the victim, we assume the role of helplessness, rendering yourself powerless, meaning that you will continue on the same depressing path, until some “hero” or “angel” shows up to rescue you from your unfair circumstances.  Unfortunately, we live in the real world and no “hero” or “angel” is going to show up to rescue you from your unfair life circumstances, you are going to have to be your own “hero” or “angel”.

Assuming the role of the victim is only a state of mind.  You have the power to turn those thoughts around, and in doing so, turning your life around to becoming the happy, successful, and wealthy person that you have always longed to be.  Our perception of ourselves, along with the thoughts we entertain about our lives, and ourselves, has an enormous impact on how our lives unfolds.  Stop the constant self-pity and victim attitude right this minute, and instead start owning your situation, while opening yourself up to new opportunities and experiences.  You have the power to reach greatness, now start using it.

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Here we are at the conference, a group of business owners that controls billions of dollars in the global economy, and my friend John Chen, of Big Kid, shows up in slippers.  I was totally shocked!!

John I say, “What are doing running around this 5 star hotel in your bathrobe & slippers?”

His answer, “I’m tired, and I was out until very late last night.  I just feel like wearing a robe all day.  I’ve got a massage at noon; I’ll catch up with you at the dinner event.”

Low and behold, he went from the white bathrobe he was wearing during the day, to a red bathrobe for the dinner event!  John just didn’t care.

John this is your big kudos for having an F-You Fashion Sense, which will be a chapter in my new book coming out soon.  I really appreciated you holding your middle finger up in the air at the fashion industry.

Crazy you might think…  I think not.  While attending this event, whenever someone heard I was from Seattle, 90% of them responded, “there are a bunch of you Seattle people here.”  I met John Chen, he’s great, I really loved that guy!

Be bold…  Get Noticed…  Stick out like a sore thumb…  Just do everything with style and confidence.

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As business owners or even employees, we are in constant competition with others, either competing against rival companies for contracts, or as an employee competing against fellow employees for that raise or promotion.  Now most of you will agree that in order to stay on top of your game, you constantly have to come up with new ideas or bring new life to old ones, and in doing so, you will need creativity to keep those ideas popping.  However, creativity is like a muscle, if you don’t exercise it, it will stay underdeveloped and go unnoticed.  Plenty of times during my motivational seminars I ask the question, how many of them believe they are creative, and every time I am surprised by the small amount of people who believe they are creative.

Creativity is NOT a gift; it is my belief that everyone has the ability to be exceptionally creative.  The problem is that in most people their creative ability is underdeveloped because of lack of exercise, and it is on that matter that I want to focus today.  I want to help you get your creative juices flowing, and therefore help you attain & maintain that cutting edge, which will keep you ahead of your competitors.  I am not saying that creativity is the sole ingredient that’s going to keep your business “cooking”, but in combination with your other business skills, you could use creativity to keep your clients mesmerized and happy.

When it comes to exercising your creativity, there is plenty of websites giving you tips, and telling you to do this or that.  However, through the years I’ve picked up on some key elements to successfully help me through the creative process, especially during those times when I experience a creativity blockage.  I have found that the lack of inspiration or motivation can be a huge damper on the creative process, so before you even start on your “project”, so before you even start on your project, you need to get your head in a “good” place.  Go on vacation or do something you really love, just get some space between yourself and the pending project. In other words RELAX…

This formula has successfully proven itself to me over & over again, working some relaxation and fun into your schedule will help your creative juices flow abundantly, as well as saving your sanity.  For me to stay on top of my game, I ensure I have balance between business & fun in my life, in addition to keeping my mind and body in top physical condition.  You can’t expect to attain peak performance if you don’t take care of every aspect of your being.

Don’t get discouraged if you struggle to come up with mind blowing ideas straight away, remember that even the most creative thinking person had to start at one point or another.  Practice makes perfect, the more you focus on developing your creativity, the easier it’s going to become.  Paris Hilton is a no talent ass clown, with nothing more than spoiled brat skills, and if she can be creative and write songs, I am sure YOU can come up with amazing ideas yourself.

But through everything always remember to have FUN.

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Being one to take opportunity when i see it, I hopped on the chance to meet yet another cartoon avatar. In the past I’ve met Marge Simpson, Bart Simpson, and Apu when i lived in LA, thanks to my friend Shelia E. who was singing at their yellow carpet event. This however was BIG  the Uptight Seattleite…  the written manifestation of all that i find unholy about Seattle and its passive agressive ways.

Upon meeting this avatar I found him quite pleasant  and it was immediate he wasn’t just words on paper but, a real human and I took an instant liking to him.  The conversation was good until, (insert dat dah nah nah music).. Without prompt in the middle of a compliment he wanted me to know that his article was just a persona and not really him…(insert dat dah nah nah music) respect over….

AHHH.. really? WTF?  why would you spend so much time branding yourself something your not.. its sounds pretty wimpy to me to be so spineless as to deny your public persona.. even if true.. really dude.. roll with it and be what you speak. I hate to break the news to you and in on a blog no less but, Such a spineless position on your own hard work and positioning for your articles is proof positive you are in fact..the poster child Uptight Seattleite.

There is always a market for every position.There is a need and audience for all points of views no matter how weird or obscure .

The lesson out of this is “Own Your Shit” and “Be True to Yourself” regardless of what people might think. If they don’t like you because of it, whatever, they can kiss your uptight ass!

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