Everyone is looking for happiness.

Welcome back to my pages, I look forward today to helping you along our journey together. Today we’ll take a look at what it means to be happy. Whilst you read this, take time to think about your own life and how you can relate to this. I would be very happy to receive any emails about what makes you happy, or please write your comments below.

We are socialised to believe that the person with the most material possessions or highest community status is the most successful. We are taught to be “destination seekers”, defining success in terms of events that will occur or tangibles that we be acquired sometime in the future. We believe that when that which we strive for is accomplished, we will have arrived at the destination called “success”, which we hope will bring us happiness.

Everyone is looking for happiness, but happiness is not a goal or destination. It is a state of being.

Imagine spending most of your life and / or career working very hard to climb the ladder of success, and suddenly when you reach the top you realise that your ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. And then you wonder : “Is this it?”

So why does this happen?

One possible answer is that you focused on something that doesn’t truly bring you joy and fulfilment. You thought you’d be happy when you achieved a certain goal, however, you were mistaken about how you would feel when you arrived. Achievements and acquisitions are common and excellent by-products of true success. However, being happy is not becoming rich, knowing the right people, being perfect, falling in love, or succeeding in your job. Happiness is a state you have to acquire first, if you intend to have fulfilling, harmonious and lasting relationships and success.

Your own happiness will always reflect your life, and that includes your relationships.

When you are naturally and truly happy with yourself you will attract success more easily in both your business and personal life. It is one of life’s irrefutable facts that when you are not truly happy in yourself then no-one, absolutely no-one, can give you happiness.

We’ll continue looking at this subject of being happy on Monday. For the moment, have a think about what unrealistic expectations you might have of yourself and others in pursuit of happiness.

Best wishes,

Tumi

No-one ever succeeds without a clear sense of purpose.

I hope you all had a great weekend. I would like to continue on the theme that we started last week about our purpose in life.

“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction” John F.Kennedy.

Let’s first answer some questions together.

What is purpose? Purpose defines why we exist, whether that is as individuals, or as organisations or as communities.

How does purpose relate to values and vision? Values are the beliefs that you hold as an individual, organisation or community; whereas vision is your dream, it tells us where you are going. It is your overall sense of direction.

Have you ever heard of a saying “If you don’t know where you are heading, you’ll end up anywhere?” So without purpose you don’t really have a clear destination, and how then can you achieve the desired outcomes for your life?

Thomas Carlyle said “A person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the toughest road. A person with no purpose will make no progress on even the smoothest road”.

Good preparation and planning starts with a clear sense of purpose, values and vision. Living in purpose puts you in a state of ease, also referred to as your own flow, which allows for greater prosperity, success and fulfilment.

Have you ever had a moment in your life where everything fell into place?

Have you ever had a moment in your life where everything fell into place and where everything was working for you? A time when you loved your job, had a great relationship, were in great shape and feeling healthy and strong? When you were in control of your finances? Chances are you were living in your flow. And when you are in your flow you can achieve greatness!

Flow is a state that the world’s most successful people are in; people like Oprah Winfrey, Bill Gates and Richard Branson, They live according to a purpose that drives them to offer the best of their talent and passion in order to serve. And their approach to life consistently brings them wealth and fulfilment.

Purpose resides in your heart.

Purpose resides in your heart. No amount of books and seminars can reveal what your purpose is. Everyone can find their purpose by following a process that requires you to look deep within yourself. The answers are there and when you make this discovery your life changes. Your world also changes because the more connected you are to your purpose, to doing exactly what you are passionate about, the more you will be of service to others.

I’ll be back here on Thursday and we’ll talk about being happy and what that means. Meanwhile, please use the comments box to let me have your feedback about our journey so far. I am happy to receive your specific feedback about the content and frequency of the pages. Or if you would like more information about anything we have discussed so far, please ask me.

Best wishes,

Tumi

Most importantly - be You.

This week is the start of a new chapter in what we are trying to achieve for you in my organisation. The new team is coming together to plan our objectives for the rest of 2011. We’ll be looking at the strategy of how we are going to achieve that.

This year we want to spend more time helping you, which means sharing more of what we have with you through the most appropriate means for you. This will include more being available in different formats Online and some new publications. It also means more events around the world for you to come and share face to face with us. Next week we will tell you more about what we will be doing.

I also promised you a report of my recent US trip. I want to share with you all the amazing experiences that I had and tell you about the great people that I met and what they also have to offer you. So next week I’ll be reporting on that on these pages.

In my last few writings here on my website I have started laying the foundation of what you can do to change your life. This week I wanted to help you stop and pause for a moment. Please stop, and think about what we have shared so far. I also want to let you into a secret of mine. I believe in sometimes doing nothing!

When was the last time you too time off to just do nothing?

Too many events too often fill our days and leave us exhausted. Pause and take time to put expectations and schedules aside and just be still. It is in this stillness and empty space that life takes place, that true creativity is allowed to flourish, not in the planning, but in the repose.

Create a “Me” time at least once a week. This is the time when you focus on yourself and no one else. It is a time completely free of business and family related activities. You are not available to your clients, colleagues, boss, friends and family except in case of real emergencies.

You have to set clear boundaries for this time to occur. Stop rescuing people; you are of no good to anyone when depleted. This is your time to recharge.

This is Your time and Your moment…Live in this moment, at this time when life is taking place; not anywhere in the past or somewhere in the future. Ride the moment bravely, with passion and most importantly, be YOU.

This is Your time and Your moment…some of you will know the following words very well:

Take Time:

Take time to think – It is the source of all power.

Take time to read – it is the fountain of wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 (Holy Bible)

Best wishes, Tumi

Why are you here?

I hope you all had a great weekend, and that you feel rested and ready for the new week ahead. I hope you all did something special, either with a partner, a friend or even meeting someone new!

Why are you here? Today I would like to talk about our purpose in life. There has never been a more compelling time to commit to the process of finding your life’s purpose. For example, the kind of work that provides your reason for being and generates fulfilment. People all over the world are beginning to understand that our lives can and should be more than just a constant struggle for survival. It is possible to make a better world and you are part of it.

Too many people go through their entire lives never discovering their true purpose. Because of life’s circumstances, those inevitable “hard knocks” that everyone experiences, they forget their hopes, dreams and desires. Eventually those dreams become a distant memory, seemingly unrealistic and unattainable. But all that has happened is that they have allowed themselves to become blocked by their own set of limiting beliefs. They suppress their ability to express their unique and individual talents and passion.

Many people feel trapped, sometimes without even realising it. They feel they have to do things based on someone else’s standards or expectations, They key to reaping the rewards of the power of purpose is taking action to fulfil what you love and are passionate about doing.

It always involves an aspect of helping or enabling others.

When you’re fulfilling your purpose, success and fulfilment follows. Having a clear purpose for your life is like having a compass that guides you in the direction in which you want to go. It provides the passion and energy to enable you to achieve your goals. It is ultimately what provide you both with a sense of satisfaction in your life, and the material rewards that come with it. It is the overriding goal of your life, and is far greater than just yourself. It always involves an aspect of helping or enabling others.

The individual way you choose to fulfil your purpose can take many forms. For example, one person whose purpose is to help AIDS orphans in Africa could join an organisation that raises funds to fees these children. Another person whose purpose it is to help their elderly parents may choose to move home and live in a street close to them. Both people have the same purpose, but have different ways of expressing it.

No-one ever succeeds without a clear sense of purpose. Take a moment to think about some of the most successful people who ever lived: Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and many others. What do they all have in common? They all have a clear and definite sense of purpose. Mother Teresa’s stated purpose was “to care for and comfort the poor, sick and needy all over the world”.

We’ll continue to talking about purpose and what it is very soon. For now, take a moment to think, if you had all the money in the world, what would you do without payment? And then think about what you are passionate about that can make a difference in other people’s lives or on this Planet.

What skills have you been given that you could use to impact on others, and what is really stopping you from starting to use them. Please think about this. If it helps, write it down. If you want, please share it with others in the comments box below. If it helps, write it in an email to me tumi@tumifrazier.com as I would love to help you reflect on this, before we continue on our journey together.

Have a great week, I’ll be back here on Thursday.

Best wishes,

Tumi

What does success mean to you?

Today I would like to talk about how we define success for ourselves and how to start along the path of achieving it. To achieve success in life and rise above the majority, you need to develop qualities and disciplines that the average person lacks. These are special qualities and behaviours that are both observable and measurable. Although most people want to improve their circumstances, they are somehow unwilling to improve themselves. It is critical to realise that you do not attract that which you want, but that which you are.

What does success mean to you? Is it financial, spiritual, emotional, relational or physical? I would like to suggest that true success is a balance of all of these life areas. If you want to achieve great financial success for instance, chasing money is not the answer. Rather, it is becoming the kind of a person you have to become to attract and earn that money and most importantly, to keep it. Investors and customers look for specific qualities in your character before they will entrust you with their money or businesses no matter how good the idea is, they need to know they can trust the person with their money before they invest.

This applies to other areas of your life too, such as relationships and career. If you want to find the right man or woman, chances are if you are actively searching for love, you’ll end up with the wrong person. Instead, invest this time in yourself so as to become attractive to the man or woman of your dreams.

In the same way, if you want that dream job, success lies first and foremost in becoming the kind of employee that employers look for.

Please start to think about how to apply my first few writings in your own life. Please read again the previous postings. Next week we’ll start to look in more detail at what we feel is the purpose for our lives and also some specific areas that we can start to change. We’ll also look at what we understand self-esteem and self-worth to mean.

Please do write your comments below, I would love to have your feedback.

Have a great weekend.

Best wishes,

Tumi

Everything Begins with Preparation

A most famous quote by Sir Winston Churchill reads:

“There comes a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born.

That special opportunity, when he seizes it, will fulfil his mission, a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment, he finds greatness.

It is his finest hour”

Do you ever wonder why some people seem to receive everything they want, regardless of how far-fetched or impossible it may seem to others? These people seem to attract effortlessly whatever it is they desire, whether it be financial success, vigorous health, or fulfilling relationships.

Why is it that some people seem to flow through life with seemingly effortless ease, while others just scrape by in a constant state of struggle, barely able to make ends meet? Why is it that two people with similar backgrounds and circumstances can have two entirely different outlooks on life?

The truth is that we all have potential to do great things, to take charge of our lives and to shape our circumstances. In order to do this we have to be prepared to break out of our self-limiting mental chains. And the key to this is changing our old patterns. Please allow me how over the coming months through my blog to show you how to do just that.

People who are truly fulfilled in their lives have discovered the key to attracting the unlimited and immeasurable abundance that is available to us all. They refuse to accept the usual self-limiting thinking that most people practice and are prepared to pay the price, to do that which others are not prepared to do and as a result, experience the fullness of life which they have come to recognize and accept as their birthright.

Everything begins with preparation, whether going on a journey, writing exams, performing on stage or a business meeting. Preparation positions people correctly, and it is often the differentiating factor between losing and winning.

Sometimes the preparation process is long and slow. It may require that you invest in self-development or getting out of your comfort zone, but whatever it requires you need to be ready when your moment comes. Remember you don’t get a second chance to seize a once-in-a-life time opportunity.

Please let me share with you through my blog the principles and techniques that you can apply to achieve great success in every area of your life. Please leave any comments you wish to make in the box below. Have a great week and I’ll write more here on Thursday.

I’ll sign off today with a quote from Plutarch, the Greek historian and biographer.

“The whole of life is but a moment of time. It is our duty, therefore to use it, not to misuse it”.

Best wishes,

Tumi.

A New Week

Hi everyone, thank you for visiting my pages once again.

I invite everyone reading these pages to leave your comments and feedback in the box below. You may write just a few words or a few sentences as you please. These pages are for you. I look forward to hearing from you.

As we begin this journey together, I would like to start with the words of Charles Caleb Colton, the 19th century English cleric and writer.

"Men spend their lives in anticipations, to be determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time.

But the present time has one advantage over every other, it is our own. Past opportunities have gone, future ones have not come.

We may lay in stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age."

This is your moment. There has never been a more compelling time to commit to the process of finding your life's purpose, the kind of work that provides your reason for being and generates fulfilment. People all over the world are beginning to understand that our lives can and should be more than just a constant struggle for survival. It is possible to make a better world and you are part of it. Please think about these words as we start our journey together.

Have a great week and I look forward to sharing more with you on Thursday.

Best wishes,

Tumi