People celebrating Holi, the Festival of colors!

What is Holi?

Holi, “The Festival of “Colors”, is one of the largest festivals in India. It is a day to celebrate  good over evil. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm and happiness. It’s the celebration of colors and unity, an opportunity to forget all differences and indulge in high spirited fun!

It commemorates various events in Hindu mythology, but is perhaps the least religious of the Hindu holidays. The entire holiday is associated with loosening social restrictions normally associated with caste, gender, status, and age. It bridges the social gaps and brings all people together, employees and employers, men and women, rich and poor, young, and old. A common saying during this time is “Bura Na Mano, Holi Hai” (Please don’t feel offended, it’s Holi!)

How is Holi Celebrated?

Of all of the Hindu festivals, Holi is the one that is the most fun and spans 2 days. The first day, or really the eve of the main day, huge bonfires are burnt as a representation of the festival. The fires are also created to ward off evil spirits.

The main event is celebrated when everyone wears white for the day and then by smearing bright colored powders or colored water on each other. This is meant to break down all barriers of discrimination so that everyone looks the same, a celebration of universal brotherhood. The bright colors represent energy, life, and joy.

When is Holi Celebrated?

The exact day of the festival is dependent on the moon. It is celebrated on the day after the full moon in the Hindu month of “Phalguna” (early March). It also celebrates the arrival of Spring.

Why is Holi Celebrated?

There are many legends as to the reason of celebrating ”Holi”, but the most popular has to do with an evil king named Hiranyakasipu. He was granted a boon by the Gods where he could not die. Because of this, he wanted people to worship has as a god and to no longer pray to the existing Gods. His son, Prince Prahlad however was very holy and spent a great deal of time praying, which infuriated his father. One day the evil king ordered his sister  the demon Holika (Prahlad’s aunt) to kill his son. Also granted a boon, she was immune to fire. The king demanded that his son enter a pyre to be set on fire with his aunt. The prince entered and continued praying to the gods for safety. In the end, he was safe and not burnt at all, while his aunt, Holika, burnt to ashes. The legend says that before the demon aunt died, she begged for Prince Prahlad’s forgiveness. The Prince forgave her and announced that her name would be remembered once a year, thus the festival “Holi” was created. It serves as a reminder that those who love God shall be saved and they who torture the devotees to God shall be reduced to ashes, like Holika.

The other story behind “Holi” is based on the everlasting love between Lord Krishna and Radha and it is a celebration of love between the two of them.

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1. What is the Festival of Diwali?

Businessman Overwhelmed with Paperwork

So many people these days proclaim their unhappiness with their jobs and claim that they are looking for a new job, but it’s that state of limbo that causes the unhappiness. You don’t get the satisfaction of loving your job, yet you aren’t fully committed to finding another one either, so your situation never improves.

Have you ever said any of the following:

• “I’m looking for a new job”
• “I don’t like my job”
• “This job isn’t what I thought it would be.”
• “This is isn’t what they told me it would be”
• “Working here drains the life out of me”

You can easily fall into a trap and not even realize it. You could in fact be the one behind your unpleasant experience. Feeling unmotivated, you stop putting your full effort into the job. Then, because you don’t feel right about not giving it your all, you start to gain some resentment towards yourself and the behavior. Soon just the sight of your building will stir up these negative emotions and it continues to spiral. Another dangerous area can be to spend time outside of work with coworkers and then gossiping. You can review the 5 Dangers of Spending Time with CoWorkers.

Again, living in the limbo of not being committed one way or another, get a new job or continue with this one, can cause a lot of stress and negativity. Here is a solution that I have shared with many people before and they have had great success with it. Pick a time frame from today, 3 months from now, 6 months from now, maybe a year, and mark it on a calendar.

Now here is the tough part, till that date, give your job your 100%. No complaining about how horrible your job or how much you hate it, and no looking for another job either. Miraculous things will start to change. You’ll start feeling better about yourself and your situation; your attitude will change and so will the way people treat you. New opportunities will start uncovering themselves and you might want to stay after all. If after this time your situation doesn’t improve, then actively look for a new job.

To help with your focus and the direction you want to take your life, you can review 3 Simple Steps to get your Life Back on Track. If you find yourself saying that you are tired of your job, maybe it’s time to set a date yourself. Good luck!

Rohit Rohila,
Personal Growth & Leadership Trainer

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1. 2 Simple Steps To Increase Your Productivity Now!
2. 3 Signs That You Are Too Nosy

Lit Diya lamps

What is Diwali?

Diwali, “The Festival of Lights”, is the largest festival in India. The festival isn’t only celebrated by Hindus, but also by Jains and Sikhs for other reasons  It is a day to celebrate light over dark, good over evil. It is celebrated with great enthusiasm and happiness for 5 days, where the 3rd day is the main Diwali festival.

How is Diwali Celebrated?

On the 3rd day of this week long festival, lots of small clay lamps called “Diyas” and candles are lit and placed around houses and fireworks are lit off everywhere, giving this festival of Diwali its name “Festival of Lights.”

People also do a very thorough job of cleaning and decorating their homes, buy new clothes, eat sweets, and present each other with gifts.

When is Diwali Celebrated?

The exact day of the festival is dependent on the position of the moon. According to the Hindu calendar, “Amayasya”, or “no moon day”, is when the moon does not rise and there is complete darkness. Light, being the symbol of hope and positive energy, indicates the victory of light over dark.

Why is Diwali Celebrated?

The festival celebrates Lord Rama’s return to the kingdom of Avodyha. Rama (the 7th incarnation of Lord Vishnu, was the oldest son, and heir, of King Dasharatha. The king, however, had more than one wife. One of the wives wanted her sons, Bharata, to take the throne, so she arranged for Rama to be sent into exile in the forest, along with his wife, Sita, and brother, Lakshmana, for 14 years. During this time, the king died of grief for the loss of Rama. The younger son Bharata, whose mom arranged for Rama to leave in the first place, loved his brother Rama with all his heart, counting every single day that went by since his exile and was unwilling to rule, placed Rama’s sandals on the throne and served as a substitute king.

The evil demon King Ravana abducted Sita and forced her to marry him. After refusing, he imprisoned her. Rama gathered an army of monkeys, with Hunuman at the head, to fight Ravana. They rescued Sita and returned home to the kingdom of Ayodhya. The people welcomed their beloved King by illuminating the entire kingdom with diyas and fireworks.

What are the rituals performed on this festival:

The rituals vary from region to region, however special blessings are given to “Laxshmi”, the goddess of prosperity and wealth, and to “Ganesha”, the remover of obstacles. The Goddess Laxshmi is believed to have been created by the churning of the ocean on the main Diwali da, and that she will visit every home during Diwali, bring prosperity and good fortune with her. It is believed that she will visit the cleanest homes first, so people go out of their way to make certain their homes are spotless before lighting the Diya lamps to invite her in. Small statues of the Goddess are also worshiped in people’s homes.

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Are you too nosy?

It is very difficult to get rid of our bad habits, mostly because we are not even aware we have them. One habit that can really rub people the wrong way is when someone is being too nosy. Not only does this border on invasion of privacy, but can lead to people avoiding you.

Here are some indicators that you may be a bit too nosy:

• Listening to people on cell phones and then asking them about the conversation afterwards
• Asking who they are talking to when they are on the phone
• Reading someone’s laptop or computer screen
• Asking about private conversations

Now you may do these things just out of curiosity, but think about how this comes across to others. How would you identify if people feel that you are too nosy? Here are three signs to look out for that people might be doing to you:

1. Give very short, simple, and superficial answers to your questions.
2. Not giving you updates on their lives as often or going too in depth.
3. Avoiding personal topics all together.

There are many other ways to tell if you are being too nosy, but sometimes you just need to take a step back and evaluate your relationships with people. Do you have someone in your life that is too nosy, are you doing the same thing to others?

It’s a difficult situation when you feel that you are not knowledgeable about a topic or event. The feeling of wanting to know everything stems from a desire to always feel included as well as the feeling of knowing a little bit about everything. This desire can have a negative effect, and that is one of isolation.

Respect the privacy of others, and you will find that in time, you will be included and you will earn the trust of others. Start by listening to the thoughts between words, show a genuine interest, and remember, small steps will get you there.

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From Rohit: During my time as a Retail Field Trainer with Microsoft, I had the pleasure to meet a friendly, compassionate, and bold woman who worked for Hewlett Packard (HP). With her humor, energy, and transparency, Kristina Fulps could easily capture an audience. She has now volunteered to share her insights on motivation with us. I consider Kristina not only a positive influence in my life, but a dear friend as well.

Author: Kristina Fulps

What motivates you? There must be a reason you get up out of bed and head to work each day. Do you know why? Is it to accomplish a dream, pay the bills, because you have to, or that you aren’t sure but you just do it?

Some have started out in the workforce to accomplish a life goal or dream. Others had one but got lost in the needs of everyday life.

“The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score.” – Bill Copeland

It is time to motivate your life and get you into doing something that you enjoy. Your assignment is to write down what simple incentives would motivate you. These could be a number of things: getting your hair done, close barber shave, a new shirt, favorite food/drink, massage, video game, anything.

Now that you have the incentives written down it is time to write down some short term goals that you would like to accomplish. Now remember these are short term goals and should be obtainable within a month. You want to build your motivation and be successful at it. This could be finally filing paperwork in alphabetical order, sending out thank you notes to businesses you have been working with on projects, getting those books that are stacked up in the corner on a bookshelf, and so on. Next to each short term goal write down a different incentive. Each time you complete a short term goal you will reward yourself with the incentive you wrote next to it. This will help keep you motivated in completing the other short term goals.

When you finish your list of short term goals it is time to find new goals for you to accomplish. These may be short term goals that have more meaning. You may even start working on long term goals, using short term goals as tasks to help you reach your main objective. Keep yourself motivated in being happy and successful moving forward by choosing new and interesting incentives for motivation.

KRISTINA FULPS is a District Manager in marketing, covering the Pacific Northwest. She studied Leadership/Management/Education at Charter Oak State & Pierce College. She has experience in educating and training on business relationships, growth and technology through personal, classroom and large-scale events. To contact her, please feel free to email her at: kristinafulps@gmail.com

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1. 3 Reasons You Don’t Set Goals
2. Guest Post: What is Mentorship?
3. Guest Post: Noonetime Charities

Are you like Dwight's Bobblehead?

Today while at the waiting room at the dentist’s office, I looked around to see what people were doing. I often like to people watch because it’s when people don’t know that others are observing them, that they show their real traits. If you see many people acting the same way, you can make a generalization that it is the behavior of the average person.

When I looked around, I saw many people engaged in conversation. I wanted to pay extra attention to how people were listening. Mainly, were they using the SOFTNER Listening Technique? To my amazement, almost all of the people who were listening were just nodding their head up and down, in agreement with what the person speaking was saying. Even the receptionist was nodding her head. It felt as if I was at a baseball game during Bobble Head giveaway night. Many weren’t even looking at each other, and were instead busied by their phones or magazines.

While the person who was listening may have felt that they were giving off the message that they were actively listening, this was not the message that the person speaking received. The truth is that the person who was listening could have indeed actively listened and soaked in everything that the person who was speaking was saying, but listening is also about making the other person feel as if you are listening to them, like they are the most important person in the world.

Next time you are engaged in a conversation with someone, pay attention to how you are showing that person that you are listening. Are you just nodding your head like a bobble head, or are you using the SOFTNER Listening Technique and are fully engaged. This could be the difference between an average relationship, and an exceptional one.

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From Rohit: In January 2012, I had the pleasure of meeting an amazing, bold, powerful woman at an Advanced Leadership Seminar. After a life altering trip to Kenya, Meghan Noone established Noonetime Charities in an effort to spread awareness and raise money to help empower women and children in Africa struggling with HIV/AIDS and Malaria. Meghan (actress/model/producer/author) was kind enough to share her story with us. Also, please join me in helping Meghan’s charity by making a small donation

Meghan Noone, founder Noonetime Charities

Hello friends of Rohit! My name is Meghan Noone and it’s an honor for me to share with you a little bit about my journey through this wonderful and challenging thing we call life!! I am a creative, passionate, driven, loyal, compassionate lover of life. Traveling, skydiving, exploring new places and meditating are some of my favorite things! I believe in taking risks and following my heart. I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not taken some huge risks. With risk comes reward. Without taking chances one remains stagnant. I definitely march to the beat of my own drum. I’m a little ‘out there’ but I’m perfectly ok with that.

I grew up in the suburbs of Philadelphia and have a wonderful family. After graduating from college I needed a change. I needed sunshine and freedom. I packed up my belongings and headed to the land of aloha! Hawaii was my home for the next 2 years. I taught special needs children and got involved in the entertainment industry doing print and commercial work. I eventually made my way to Los Angeles where I’ve been for 10 years.

After a profound and life altering trip to Kenya Africa in 2008 to film a documentary, my path completely shifted. It became clear to me that service was one of my callings. I spent time at an Aids orphanage in Kunya Village called Mama Na Dada and it was here I learned girls were considered too slow and too weak to play sports. I was in disbelief. I have played soccer since the age of 5 and would not be the woman I am today had I not had that opportunity. I knew I had to do something to empower these women so I asked if I could start the first girls’ soccer team there. The owners said yes if I could raise the money and spread awareness. So when I returned to LA I was on a mission!!! I prayed every day for guidance. I knew God would see me through.

5 months after my return to LA I had a near death experience. This is actually what ignited the passion and drive deep within my soul to do whatever it took to make that soccer team in Kenya a reality. After a 2 week depression I finally snapped out of it and realized I have a chance to make my dreams come true. I was not dying without doing something good for mankind. I was on a mission. I wrote to some of the producers of a show Ryan Seacrest was executive producer of and told them about my journey in Kenya. I told them my vision. I showed them footage from the documentary I had been working on. I was called in for an audition and booked it! I became a contestant on “Bank of Hollywood” and won $22,000 for the girls’ soccer team and Circle of Hope Daycare to help fund the center for the orphaned children.

With persistence, prayer, and a strong will, I made this dream come to fruition. I created a nonprofit called Noonetime Charities in June of 2011 so that I can continue to help Mama Na Dada and other organizations in desperate need of funding. I realize they can’t play soccer if their daily needs are not being met. One of those needs is clean water. The goal of Noonetime Charities is to raise $50,000 by June to present Mama Na Dada with a check to fund the Kunya Water and Sanitation Project.

I also wrote and published a book on my journey through Africa and beyond! My book is called Where Faith Led Me. What I want to share with everyone reading this is ANYTHING is possible! If you believe in yourself you can do whatever you put your mind to. I also know I am nothing without God. I am on a spiritual journey and with God on my side, magical things happen! We are all connected. We are all in this together! We need to remember that it’s not every man for himself… It’s we all rise to the top together!!!!

Check out my website: www.noonetimecharities.org
Thanks for reading and God bless all of you!
Meghan Noone

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1. Guest Post: What is Mentorship?

From Rohit: Below you will find a fantastic post from Tom Haupt, America’s #1 Leadership Trainer and Mentor in Personal Development. I have had the great fortune to attend two of Tom’s weekend long seminars, and his dedication to my success has always set him apart from other mentors.

Tom Haupt: America's #1 Leadership Trainer and Mentor in Personal Development

Mentorship refers to a personal developmental relationship in which a more experienced or more knowledgeable person is a trusted adviser who trains and offers counsel to support a less experienced or less knowledgeable person. The person in receipt of mentorship is a mentee.

“Mentoring” someone is a process that involves communication, openness and trust. It’s an informal transfer of knowledge, insight and wisdom relevant to ones work, career or professional experience. Mentorship also involves patience, time and a willingness to serve another. This interaction usually takes place face-to-face and during a sustained period of time.

Having the opportunity to be mentored is a gift and it can be an extraordinary experience. Just think, what would you as a mentee pay in time and money if you knew the mentor/mentee relationship cut years off the proverbial learning curve? I’d say it would be priceless! In my lifetime, I’m up to five mentors to this point, and I’m guessing I’ll have a few more before I leave this earth.

So I have a Take a Risk Action Challenge (tm) for you. First, find a mentor who is willing to work with you and secondly, find someone to mentor to pass down your talents, insights and experience you’ve learned in your life. It will be an experience of a lifetime!

Embrace Risk, Embrace Success in 2011! – Tom Haupt

Go to www.tomhaupt.com for more information and to join my Leadership Mentoring Program. I look forward to mentoring YOU in achieving all your goals and dreams!

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Dr Seuss

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. And YOU are the one who’ll decide where to go…”
― Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!

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Driving my car

We all need some time to soul search, those moments of freedom when we are alone with out thoughts.  Once a month or so I get in my car, grab a camera (right now I am using the #1 camera on Amazon Canon PowerShot SX230HS) or journal, turn off the GPS and radio, and drive with no destination in mind. Sometimes I’ll only take left turns, or stay on a road until it ends. Amazing destinations aside, my road adventures always lead to a memorable time because it allows me to spend some quality time with someone that I don’t get enough time with, me.

Between a home life, family, work, and projects, we get less and less time with ourselves to relax and enjoy our own company, and start to define ourselves by our job titles. How many times have you met someone new and asked about them and the first response is where they work and their job title. Few people ever spend time with themselves, or if they do, they have the music going the entire time and rob themselves of the experience of getting lost in their own thoughts.

These drives have gone from something I was very nervous about doing (where do I go, what do I do, how much time will it take, do I have enough gas, etc.), to something that I enjoy doing. Right now I am typing this at a Starbucks I randomly found after driving around for 45 minutes, I don’t even know what city I am in right now, and I’m enjoying every minute of it.

I encourage you to do the same. Learn to love yourself. Drive, get lost. Journal in a strange town, write a letter to a friend from a new found park, take a picture of an amazing nature scape, but mostly, spend some quality time with you.

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