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5 Steps to Declutter Your Life

5 Steps to Declutter Your Life

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It’s time to declutter your life and spend more time with the grandkids you love so much.

I found this great article att http://www.lifehack.org/390641/stop-adding-stuff-to-your-life-its-time-to-declutter-your-soul-now

Stop Adding Stuff To Your Life, It’s Time To Declutter Your Soul Now

by

We live in a society that always tells us to get more.

You may be doing this unconsciously, because you’ve always been living this way and that’s your environment.

You’re buying more stuff, which you then need to take care of and fix. You make more friends, but that doesn’t mean you spend time with quality people who lift you up. You consume a lot of information daily, but most of it has nothing to do with your life and goals, and only brings you stress and worries. You add more tasks to your to-do list all the time, but most often you’re just keeping yourself busy, and still not getting the important things done.

Such life is complex. And this complexity makes us overthink, doesn’t let us fall asleep fast, makes us anxious because we are in a rush all the time and try to stay up-to-date.

It’s time to stop doing that.

Simpler is better. Less is what you need more of and it’s the power of eliminating the unnecessary that will let you find more meaning in your days and more happiness in your soul.

Here are some little changes you can make to your lifestyle today that will help you declutter:

1. Analyze how you spend your time and remove unproductive activities.

Keep track of how you spend your time over the course of a few days. Write down everything you do. Then, review these and see what doesn’t give you any results, doesn’t make you happy or help you improve in any way. It’s just pointless to keep doing it.

You may be amazed at how many unproductive things you’re doing daily, without even realizing. That’s why you’ll need to track and review this weekly, to make sure you don’t fall into that trap again.

Soon, you’ll see less events in your calendar, less tasks on your to-do list and more time for the important things.

2. Get rid of belongings you don’t use.

Now let’s move onto the belongings you have.

Be honest with yourself and say what you haven’t used in the last 6 months or so. It doesn’t really matter how precious you think it is, it only takes up space.

If you don’t take control of such possessions, you’ll end up living in the prison of your past, feeling nostalgic every time you look at these objects, and not having the chance to let go. So be ruthless. Give away stuff, sell it, and throw away the rest.

You’re better off without all that burden. Your future self will thank you for doing that, plus it’s a big step of your spiritual journey. You’ll now have more peace of mind, will feel freer than ever and ready to actually go after your goals in life.

3. Keep negativity away.

It’s time to clear your mind now. Negative thoughts don’t have any place there, especially if you want to change yourself and turn your whole life around.

Start small. Notice the negativity in your mind and soul, recognize it, observe it and try to see what causes it. You may journal your thoughts to see some occurring themes. Maybe you’re negative after communicating with someone from your surroundings, or every day after doing a certain thing, or else.

Then, you’ll simply need to remove that or stop doing it to overcome that mental habit.

After that you can start taking charge of what goes in your mind. When you see a negative thought popping up, stop, say no and replace it with a positive one instead.

4. Keep things organized.

Find a place for everything in your home and office and keep it there. When you take it, put it back there.

A simple habit like that is the foundation of your personal organization skills. It will save you a lot of time and worries, you won’t forget where things are and will see a decluttered room and desk every time you enter.

5. Stop saying yes to everything.

Our time is limited. We only have 24 hours in a day. And if we want to work on the things we believe in, but to also have time to rest, have fun and be with our loved ones, we’ll need to prioritize. Stop accepting every proposal you get, don’t start new projects every week, don’t set many goals at once and avoid working on more than one thing at a time.

All this will improve your performance and help you exceed in life, as you’ll only be working on the things that actually matter. You’ll also be happier and will prevent burnout. Adding stuff is never the answer. To get back to your path in life, to see clearly where you’re going and to start having fun and be calm again, you’ll need to remove anything that’s not essential.

Keep only what’s important to you. There’s no time for the rest.

What else can you eliminate today to declutter your soul?

It’s worth it to feel happier.

Thanks for stopping by, John

5 Steps to Building a Tree House – Step 4 and 5

5 Steps to Building a Tree House – Step 4 and 5

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Fun-Fun-Fun
Fun-Fun-Fun

After snow and rain delays, our project has morphed into a nearly complete Tree House.

Our fourth step was to complete the building part with walls, supports to make it tight and strong and adding a ladder that anyone from toddlers to grandmas are able to use.  It’s been tested by both and declared “cool”.

Our fifth step was to select the right camo netting that allows the breeze to come through, adds a place to hide, and keeps the littlest ones from falling out.   Then we ordered the slide and waited for it to be shipped.  We went with the 8ft. model to get a good slope and a good ride on the slide.  This slide comes with a hose adapter and place to drill a hole to attach a hose and turn it into a Water slide.  The kids are really excited about that.

Supply Delivery System
Supply Delivery System

Also, we installed a pulley system to deliver treats from the house into the tree house.  We’ll have an old cowboy style dinner bell (the cast iron triangle kind) for them to ring when they need something.  Yes, they’re spoiled.

Interior Decorating
Interior Decorating

Our local grand daughter has already started her interior decorating.  I’m sure every grand child will add their own touch after they arrive this summer. We bought old wooden ammo boxes to store wood scraps (for building and hammering) and they’ve filled one with different size balls (ie. golf balls, a softball).

We’ve told the kids it’s up to them to paint and decorate and add accessories.  Can’t wait to see what they come up with.

It’s been fun planning and building and adapting as it was built.  Now, let’s hope it was worth it.  Although, I’m sure it was.  I got to channel my 10 yr old fort and tree house builder.  We’ll never see it on Tree House Masters TV (that was never the intention), but it will be featured often in family photos.

Thanks for asking for the updates and photos.  Hope you enjoyed coming along with us for the ride.  Thanks, John

5 Steps to Building a Tree House – Step 3, part 1

5 Steps to Building a Tree House – Step 3, part 1

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No Grand kids allowed, yet.
No Grand kids allowed, yet.

Welcome back to our tree house building “documentary” Step 3, Part 1.

The Layout
The Layout

We’ve done all the planning and measuring, now it’s time to begin the work.  First, you want to layout the basic shape to the measurements you made.  We put the pier blocks where the corners are to be and temporarily laid the wood frame.

Pier Blocks
Pier Blocks

We set the pier blocks in sand and leveled them then screwed on our 4×4 s.

Support Posts
Support Posts

This is how we attached the 4x4s for to hold up the floor.

The Frame in Place
The Frame is in Place

Here’s a view looking down on the entire frame for the floor.

The next post will be about installing the floors, then the walls, then the steps or ladder.

Thanks for stopping by, Enjoy, John

Growing Up In The Shade of The Maple Tree

Growing Up In The Shade of The Maple Tree

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Our Family Maple Tree

When we were young lovers and just married we planted a tiny maple tree in our back yard.  Over the years, it has grown strong and tall.  Our kids have done the same.

This is a short story about our family’s connection and love for our Family Maple Tree.  Hope you feel it and enjoy it.

Maybe you will plant a Family Tree for your family.  Enjoy!

Growing Up In
 The Shade of The Maple Tree

The term Tree of Life comes to mind as I relax under our beautiful, tall and wide-spread maple tree.

It began it’s awesome life as a “start”.   It’s roots and legacy go back to grandma Ida’s yard, who knows where it was before that.

We planted it when we started having our kids some 30 years ago. It’s seen them, and us, go through all stages of life, with the good times and difficult times.  That’s why I call our maple tree The Kids’ Tree or The Family Tree.

All the kids, including our son’s best friend Jason love our tree. Somehow it just makes them happy. Just being around it gives everyone pleasure, comfort, and peace of mind.
Really, it’s given much pleasure to all.  It’s protected us from harsh summer temps. We take hot summer naps in it’s shade and dream of what could be.  There have been large family Bar BQs and plenty of games and family discussions around it.  We feel safe, protected, magical and invincible as it stands over us, so tall.  It encourages us to go outside and sit quietly while we appreciate all we have and the blessings of mother nature.

The Family Maple Tree sheds its leaves in winter, and lets in the crisp blue sky between snow storms. We watch inside from the dinning room as the cold of winter comes and lays down a white blanket of snow all around it.  The mood gets quiet and we listen to the sounds of winter. Every morning we rush to peer out the window to check if there are and animal or bird tracks in the new snow.

The tree has watched us grow into our married, adult roles and watched our babies grow up and have their babies.

It’s girth is bigger now, with yellowish green moss and other signs of aging, just like my wife and I.   I guess that makes it a Grand Tree, just like we are now Grand Parents.

As the bible says, there is a season for everything. Now is the “planting season” for the next generation of kids and Maple Trees. So, I think it’s time for our grand kids to have their own Maple Tree so they too can play in it’s shade and to grow up under it while making memories and Kodak moments of their own.

Today, I think back to seeing that scrawny start of a tree sticking out of the ground, tied to a post for support, not realizing the pleasure it would bring our family through out our lifetime.

Thanks Family Maple Tree and our to kids and their friends for enjoying each other and making a happy family and happy life.
Love, Dad

© John McFadden 2015

 

Elders, Wisedom of The Ages

Elders, Wisedom of The Ages

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We, the Boomers, have lived full lives.  We’ve “seen it all”.  It’s been a great ride.  But, be assured, it’s not over yet.  We are now continuing our life’s journey and learning every more everyday, and enjoying it.

Being the “Elders” and blessed with this vast knowledge, we have a responsibility to share it with our children and grandchildren.

Author Jack Canfield has helped a lot of people, I enjoy reading his encouraging words.  You might know him from Chicken Soup for the Soul.

Let’s share our wealth of wisdom with others.  This article is a great start.  Share Your Wisdom With Others!

Enjoy, John

7 Steps for Creating the Life YOU Want

January 16, 2013 by 28 Comments

7 Steps to creating the life you wantWe all aspire to do, be and have great things. Yet most of us simply aren’t creating the results we want. We complain that we don’t have enough money, romance, success or joy in our lives.

We point fingers and blame outside problems that “happen” to us and make life more difficult. But what we need to understand and keep at the forefront of our minds is that greatness exists in all of us. It is simply up to us to pull it out of ourselves. Regardless of personal circumstances, economic climates, and access to resources, it helps to maintain faith in the fact we each are more powerful than we think.

We all have the ability to create the life we want. We just need to learn how to do it. Is there an exact “formula”? No, but there are certain common features that successful people exhibit and that anyone can practice. They are what can jumpstart your success and attract what you want in life. You’d be hard pressed to find any high achiever who doesn’t live by the following 7 tips:

1. Take No Less than 100% Responsibility for Your Life

One of the greatest myths that is pervasive in our culture today is that you are entitled to a great life and that somehow, somewhere, someone is responsible for filling our lives with continual happiness, exciting career options, nurturing family time and blissful personal relationships simply because we exist. But the real truth is that there is only one person responsible for the quality of the life you live. That person is you.

Everything about you is a result of your doing or not doing. Income. Debt. Relationships. Health. Fitness level. Attitudes and behaviors. That person who reflects back at you in the mirror is the chief conductor in your life. Say hello!

I think everyone knows this in their hearts, but the mind can play games, tricking plenty of people into thinking external factors are the source of failure, disappointment, and unhappiness. But the truth of the matter is that external factors don’t determine how you live. You are in complete control of the quality of your life.

Successful people take full responsibility for the thoughts they think, the images they visualize, and the actions they take. They don’t waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. They evaluate their experiences and decide if they need to change them or not. They face the uncomfortable and take risks in order to create the life they want to live.

2. Be Clear Why You’re Here

I believe each of us is born with a life purpose. Identifying, acknowledging and honoring this purpose is perhaps the most important action successful people take. They take the time to understand what they’re here to do, and then they pursue that with passion and enthusiasm.

If you don’t know what you’re supposed to be doing, then just tune in to the signals around you. Looking toward others for help and guidance is helpful, but don’t forget to stay tuned in to yourself—your behavior, attitude, likes and dislikes, and life experiences. Identify what’s working and what isn’t. If you need to, write it all down. You might be surprised by what you discover.

3. Decide What You Want

It sounds so simple, but here’s the problem: I see plenty of people who are overly-busy yet who feel unsatisfied and unfulfilled. They are physically tired, spiritually drained, and far from where they’d like to be—as if they’ve been running on a treadmill going nowhere fast. Why? Because they haven’t clearly mapped out what they want and then taken the steps to get there. Rather than identifying specific goals, milestones, and dreams (and I’m talking BIG dreams and goals here), they go through the motions day in and day out tackling unimportant tasks. They end up…you guessed it…going in circles and wasting lots of energy. In the meanwhile, they grow increasingly uninspired and out of touch with their authentic selves. This, of course, sets anyone up to living a life out of balance.

One of the main reasons why most people don’t get what they want is they haven’t decided what they want. They haven’t defined their desires in clear and compelling detail. What does success look like to you? Not everybody’s definition of success is the same, nor should it be.

Don’t let your inner devil’s advocate (or that incessant but unimportant To Do list) inhibit you from dreaming big. As soon as you commit to a big dream and really go after it, your subconscious creative mind will come up with big ideas to make it happen. You’ll start attracting the people, resources, and opportunities you need into your life to make your dream come true. Big dreams not only inspire you, but they also compel others to want to play big, too.

4. Believe It Is Possible

Scientists used to believe that humans responded to information flowing into the brain from the outside world. But today, they’re learning that instead we respond to what the brain, based on previous experience, expects to happen next. In fact, the mind is such a powerful instrument; it can deliver literally everything you want. But you have to believe that what you want is possible.

As you commit to believing in yourself, also make a commitment to toning down the complaint department. Look at what you are complaining about. I’m fat. I’m tired. I can’t get out of debt. I won’t ever get a better job. I can’t stand the relationship I have with my father. I’ll never find a soulmate in life. Really examine your complaints. More than likely you can do something about them. They are not about other people, other things, or other events. They are about YOU.

5. Believe in Yourself

If you are going to be successful in creating the life of your dreams, you have to believe that you are capable of making it happen. Whether you call it self-esteem, self-confidence or self-assurance, it is a deep-seated belief that you have what it takes; the abilities, inner resources, talents and skills to create your desired results.

Have unwavering faith in yourself, for good and bad. Make the decision to believe that you create all your experiences. You will experience successes thanks to you, and you will experience pain, struggle, and strife thanks to you. Sounds a little strange, but accepting this level of responsibility is uniquely empowering. It means you can do, change, and be anything. Stumbling blocks become just that—little hills to hop over.

6. Become an Inverse Paranoid

This one is straightforward: Imagine how much easier it would be to succeed in life if you were constantly expecting the world to support you and bring you opportunity. Successful people do just that.

7. Unleash the Power of Goal Setting

Experts on the science of success know the brain is a goal-seeking organism. Whatever goal you give to your subconscious mind, it will work day and night to achieve. To engage you subconscious mind, a goal has to be measurable. When there aren’t any criteria for measurement, it is simply something you want, a wish, a preference, or a good idea.

Sometimes we need to make just one initial goal to get started, and that’s okay. At least it comes with a few actions to achieve. A first step simply can be making an immediate change in a single area in your life. Are you unhappy about something that is happening right now? Make requests that will make it more desirable to you, or take the steps to change it yourself. Making a change might be uncomfortable and overwhelming for you. It might mean you have to put in more time, money, and effort. It might mean that someone gets upset about it, or makes you feel bad about your decision. It might be difficult to change or leave a situation, but staying put is your choice so why continue to complain? You can either do something about it or not. It is your choice and you have responsibility for your choices.

Bear in mind that you have to be willing to change your behavior if you want a different outcome. You have to be willing to take the risks necessary to get what you want. If you’ve already taken an initial step in the right direction, now’s the time to plan more steps to keep moving you forward faster.

Isn’t it a great relief to know that you can make your life what you want it to be? Isn’t it wonderful that your successes do not depend on someone else?

So if you need just one thing to do different today than you did yesterday, make it this: Commit to taking 100% responsibility for every aspect of your life. Decide to make changes, one step at a time. Once you start the process you’ll discover it is much easier to get what you want by taking control of your thoughts, your visualizations, and your actions!

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR E-ZINE OR WEB SITE?
You can, as long as you include this complete statement with it: Jack Canfield, America’s #1 Success Coach, is founder of the billion-dollar book brand Chicken Soup for the Soul© and a leading authority on Peak Performance and Life Success. If you’re ready to jump-start your life, make more money, and have more fun and joy in all that you do, get FREE success tips from Jack Canfield now at: www.FreeSuccessStrategies.com 

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Thanks for reading my blogs, John

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Good and Evil

Good and Evil

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This is a wonderful short story or parable that all Boomers can live by.  In fact, I wish I’d heard it when I was much younger, like the little boy in the story instead of the “old man” in the story.

Another advantage to this advice, is Your Thoughts Today Create Your Reality Tomorrow.  You get what you think about, so think good thoughts and send their vibes out to the world.  They’ll come back to you in many ways.

So here it is, pass it on, especially to children in your family or know.

I found this on FinerMinds.com, a site worth checking out.

One evening an old man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside all people. He said, “My son, there is a battle between two ‘wolves’ inside us all.

“One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.

“The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith.”

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: “Which wolf wins?”

The old man simply replied, “The one you feed…”

(found via @NinaCabrera)

Hope you enjoyed it.  Stop by again, thanks, John
Boomer Opportunities Everywhere

Boomer Opportunities Everywhere

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Opportunities Are Everywhere

As a boomer, getting a little bit older every year, we step back and take a new look at our lives.  We survived our career choice in small business, government or corporate America or maybe the military. Now that we’ve raised our kids and maybe have a few beautiful grand babies, the kind you can play with then give back to their parents, our interests, needs, and our physical abilities have changed.  That’s the way life is, admit it or not.

We’re thinking about retirement, downing sizing the house you raised your kids in or maybe even moving to a warmer climate.  We might even be thinking about giving back to the community or starting your own business.  To do that we need to find the right opportunity.  So, here’s a good article of Finding and Creating Opportunities.  Hope you enjoy it.

Here we go………………..It’s by a young man by the name of Ryan P. Allis.

“How, in your own lives can you find and more importantly create opportunities?

In the Chinese language, you have the character representing crisis and the character representing change. When these are combined you have the character representing opportunity. Now why is that? Why is it that when crisis and change merge you have opportunity?

Because when crisis and change merge you have disequilibria. You have changing laws or changing conditions. New needs and problems are created and often it is up to the entrepreneurs to fill those needs.

Whenever you experience new things or the world around is changing, there will always be lots of opportunities. Here are some tips for finding, creating, and taking advantage of opportunities.

  • You must live your life wholly and fully as an entrepreneur. Your job isn’t being an entrepreneur. You ARE an entrepreneur. You must keep your eyes open at all times.
  • The more you travel to other regions and countries, the more opportunities you will see. Often in other places things are done differently or there are good products that haven’t yet reached your country.
  • You must be a networker. The more people you talk to the more opportunities you will find out about. It is not just what you know but also who you know and how well you know them that counts.
  • You must be in it for the long run. You cannot be discouraged by setbacks or mistakes. You must have perseverance, learn from your mistakes, and keep going. As you learn more and gain more experience you’ll be able to see and be prepared for more and more opportunities.
  • The world is filled with opportunities just waiting to be found by an energetic and intelligent person.
  • Too many people wait for opportunities to come to them. Don’t. Don’t wait for the opportunities to come to you. Create the opportunity for yourself. This is what entrepreneurs do. We see a need or a problem and from that derive an idea. Then, through doing all those steps I listed a few minutes ago we create an opportunity that hopefully will be validated in the marketplace.
  • You must have the opportunity mindset. You must be looking for and evaluating opportunities constantly. You must make time to talk to others about what opportunities they are pursuing. You must become magnetized towards opportunity.

Let me conclude this section with a quote from one of my favorite authors. His name is Napoleon Hill and the quote is “Every adversity comes with it a seed of equal or greater benefit.” “Every adversity comes with it a seed of equal or greater benefit.” Another good quote is, “There is no person worth remembering that lived a life of ease.”

You will be discovering many many opportunities for learning, for partnership, for collaboration during your lives. From the adversity of life there will come many benefits and opportunities. Take advantage of every one of them.”

By, Ryan P. Allis, 20, is the author of Zero to One Million, a guide to building a company to $1 million in sales, and the founder of zeromillion.com. Ryan is also the CEO of Broadwick Corp., a provider of the permission-based email marketing software and CEO of Virante, Inc., a web marketing and search engine optimization firm. Ryan is an economics major at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he is a Blanchard Scholar.

I hope you enjoyed this post. If you liked it let me know.

Thanks for dropping by today, John

New blog for Baby Boomer Grandpas and Grandmas

New blog for Baby Boomer Grandpas and Grandmas

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The other day I woke up and realized I currently have 7 grand kids! Wow, when did that happen? Was I too busy working to notice or what. The “what” is I am truly blessed to be a Boomer Grandpa.

Like it or not, the rebel, activist, forward thinking, “we can change the world” generation have had their kids and are now blessed with grand kids. They are the greatest. They are the future of our world and Universe. Besides that, they’re fun to play with.

This blog is about how life changes when you are a Baby Boomer and when you turn into a Boomer Grandpa (or Grandma). It’s about new, unwanted physical changes, about how to retire, how to travel, where to travel, new or improved products for us, how to have the most fun with your kids and grand kids.

I’ll review travel destinations, products, movies, arthritis medicine (ha) and anything else that comes into the Boomer Grandpa’s life.

Basically, as I live my new life as Grandpa, I’ll give you stories, ideas, tips, reviews about anything and everything that happens to me and my family. I figure my family is pretty typical so hopefully, you’ll learn with me how do be the best aging Boomer and Grandparent we can be.

So, as I start this daunting task, be patient with me, check back often, and if you have ideas for the blog send them my way.

Thanks, Boomer Grandpa John