As I began to love myself

Voiceover Harald Lepisk

Videoclips and montage by Armin Mitt

Text attributed to Charlie Chaplin

 

As I began to love myself I found that anguish and emotional suffering are only warning signs that I was living against my own truth.

Today, I know, this is AUTHENTICITY.

As I began to love myself I understood how much it can offend somebody as I try to force my desires on this person, even though I knew the time was not right and the person was not ready for it, and even though this person was me.

Today I call it RESPECT.

As I began to love myself I stopped craving for a different life, and I could see that everything that surrounded me was inviting me to grow.

Today I call it MATURITY.

As I began to love myself I understood that at any circumstance, I am in the right place at the right time, and everything happens at the exactly right moment, so I could be calm.

Today I call it SELF-CONFIDENCE.

As I began to love myself I quit steeling my own time, and I stopped designing huge projects for the future. Today, I only do what brings me joy and happiness, things I love to do and that make my heart cheer, and I do them in my own way and in my own rhythm.

Today I call it SIMPLICITY.

As I began to love myself I freed myself of anything that is no good for my health – food, people, things, situations, and everything the drew me down and away from myself. At first I called this attitude a healthy egoism.

Today I know it is LOVE OF ONESELF.

As I began to love myself I quit trying to always be right, and ever since I was wrong less of the time.

Today I discovered that is MODESTY.

As I began to love myself I refused to go on living in the past and worry about the future. Now, I only live for the moment, where EVERYTHING is happening.

Today I live each day, day by day, and I call it FULFILLMENT.

As I began to love myself I recognized that my mind can disturb me and it can make me sick. But As I connected it to my heart, my mind became a valuable ally.

Today I call this connection WISDOM OF THE HEART.

We no longer need to fear arguments, confrontations or any kind of problems with ourselves or others. Even stars collide, and out of their crashing new worlds are born.

Today I know THAT IS LIFE!

Thank you for today – breathtaking gratitude video

I see trees of green, red roses too
I see them bloom for me and you
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

I see skies of blue and clouds of white
The bright blessed day, the dark sacred night
And I think to myself what a wonderful world.

The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky
Are also on the faces of people going by
I see friends shaking hands saying how do you do
They’re really saying I love you.

I hear babies crying, I watch them grow
They’ll learn much more than I’ll never know
And I think to myself what a wonderful world
Yes I think to myself what a wonderful world.

(Louis Armstrong)

Do you think this is just another day in your life?
It’s not just another day.
It’s the one day that is given to you today.
It’s given to you – it’s a gift.
It’s the only gift you have right now,
And the only appropriate response is gratefulness.

If you do nothing else but to cultivate that response,
Through the great gift that this unique day is,
If you learn to respond as if it were the first day in your life,
And the very last day.
Then you will have spent this day very well.

Begin by opening your eyes, and be surprised that you have eyes you can open.
That incredible array of colours that is constantly offered to us for pure enjoyment.
Look at the sky. We so rarely look at the sky.
We so rarely note how different it is from moment to moment with clouds coming and going.
We just think of the weather and if even of the weather,
We never think of all the many nuances of the weather.
We just think of good weather and bad weather.
This day, right now has its unique weather,
Maybe a kind that will never exactly in that form come again.
The formation of clouds in the sky will never be the same that it is right now.
Open your eyes—look at that.

Look at the faces of people whom you meet.
Each one has an incredible story behind their face;
A story that you could never fully fathom—
Not only their own story, but the story of their ancestors.
We all go back so far, and in this present moment on this day,
All the people you meet—all that life from generations and from so many places all over the world
Flows together and meets you here like life-giving water,
If only you open your heart and drink.

Open your heart to the incredible gifts that civilization gives to us.
You flip a switch and there is electric light.
You turn a faucet and there warm water and cold water,
And drinkable water.
It’s a gift that millions and millions in the world will never experience.

These are just a few of an enormous number of gifts to which we can open our hearts.
And so I wish you that you will open your heart to all these blessings.
And let them flow through you,
That everyone whom you will meet on this day will be blessed by you—
Just by your eyes, by your smile, by your touch—just by your presence.
Let the gratefulness overflow into blessing all around you,

And then it will really be a good day

(Brother David Steindl-Rast)

 

This overwhelming joy and gratitude fills you up and reminds you – life is awesome, love it, live it.

Sometimes the thing you are looking finds you. Thank you for the inspiration.

It´s an amazing yourney. Enjoy.

Video: What inspires you to take action?

We made our Estonian version of 50 people 1 question – in full HD and with English subtitles (press “play” and then button “cc” on the Youtube player to enable subtitles).

 

We received many answers and left many people pondering. What would be your answer to the question “What inspires you to take action?”

Wisdom for life

An awesome composition of wisdom to start the day. Here´s some of my favorite concepts:

Give to receive

“It is more blessed to give than to receive, because in giving, although it doesn´t seem so, you receive.”

Desmond Tutu

Stay young

“You don´t stop doing things because you get old. You get old because you stop doing things.”

Rosamude Pilcher

You know who you are

“Nobody can teach me who I am. Who can describe perhaps of me. But who I am and what I need. These are things I have to find out myself.”

Chinua Achebe

You create your own success

“If I give you a recipe and I will give 5 people the same recipe, I will have 5 different dish on the table.”

Jacques Pepin

Keep learning

“One of the reasons I haven´t slipped into some sort of retirement, is that I always feel like I´m learning something new all the time. “

Clint Eastwood

Be willing to offer your life for it

“You don´t have to be rich and you don´t have to be an army. If you find yourself in a situation that needs to be changed, if you´re willing to offer your life for it, you might actually get something done.”

Bernice Johnson Reagon

I´ll take both, thanks

“Life is not perfect, it never will be. You just have to make the very best of it. You have to open your heart for what the world can show you. Sometimes it´s terrifying, sometimes it´s incredibly beautiful. And I`ll take both, thanks.”

Graham Nash

Which ones were the most insightful for you?

Make this year worth remembering!

Knowing what you want makes it easier to get it. Pursue your passion and dream big time for this stirs your blood and makes you feel alive.

“The tragedy of life doesn’t lie in not reaching your goal. The tragedy lies in having no goal to reach for.

It isn’t a calamity to die with dreams unfilled, but it is a calamity not to dream.

It is not a disgrace to not reach the stars, but it is a disgrace to have no stars to reach for.

Not failure, but low aim, is a sin.”

Dr. Benjamin Elijah Mays

This is your decade, make it rock. Here´s some practical instructions and a printable worksheet to get it started.

 1. Find yourself a peaceful and calming place to be with yourself.
Grab some paper and pencils, switch off your phone. Put your favorite music on and take in a comfortable position.

 2. Visualize your past events.
Close your eyes, breathe deeply and let your imagination flow. Imagine all the great moments you have experienced. Live them again in your minds eye. Make those great moments brighter, bigger and bring them closer to yourself.

 3. Note down the best moments.
Write or draw down the keywords that describe the best moments, events, activities and quotes from the past years. All the good stuff your are proud of and what made those years really great.

 4. Select the important areas in your life.
These areas can be for example: personal development, relationships, education, career, material needs, health and vacation (feel free to add or replace some of these areas of life).

 5. Think of your big goals and think of your needs for this year.
Print out the worksheet (the link is in the end of this article), mark your big goals for each area and your goals for the upcoming year. The yearly goals help you achieve the big goals.

Visualize yourself achieving those goals very brightly and feel how it feels when you have achieved them. To spark ideas for setting your goals I will provide you with some helping questions for each area of life.

Relax, take your time.

Personal development – What do you want to be as a person? What do you want to be remembered by? What is your talent? What kind of skills and abilities would you want to develop further?

 What would you consider as your ideal daily regime – how early do you want to wake up, what kind of habits do you need to get rid off and what kind of new habits you need to develop?

Relationships – What is your ideal partner (someone to grow old with)? How many kids you want to have and when do you want to have them? What can you do to make your relationship truly enjoyable? What kind of friends do you want to have around you? What do you prefer to do with them?

Are you satisfied with the depth of your current relationships? Do you want to have more friends and to devote your time for being with them? What do you need to change or do this year to create these circumstances?

Education – Do you need to get a degree or extensive training in some field? Should you go to study in a university, take part in some specific courses or trainings? How are you going to freshen up your knowledge in your key areas?

Career – Imagine your dream job (or business). What kind of positive impact does your work have to pose on the society? Do you need to take your focus on some specific fields or perhaps even to switch your current job to do that?

Material needs – How much do you need to earn each month to live your life with the quality you deserve? What kind of devices, services or facilities do you need to achieve that quality of life? How to make your assets produce those financial means.

Health – Perhaps you want to play football with your grand children when you turn 70? Do you need to change your habits for eating, thinking, resting and physical exercise to make it possible? If yes, then what kind of actions do you need to take?

Vacation – How do you want to spend (invest) your free time? What kind of hobbies you want to take up? Where do you want to travel and what to experience?

 
Some websites for finding inspiration to make your needs-lists: Reaper List :  Barefoot List : 43things.com

 6. Make sure that your goals are:
1) Specific – good goal clearly describes what needs to happen, what is the expected outcome. 
2) Measurable – good goal can be objectively evaluated – was it or was it not achieved. 
3) Time bound – good goal has specific dates as deadlines (“in 1 year”  is bad, “achieved by 14th of April 2011” is better).
4) Realistic, yet exciting – good goal is something you believe that you are able to do. Better goal is something that also stretches you by taking you out from your comfort zone.

Ask yourself:

  • Why is this goal important for me?
  • What am I willing to do to achieve that goal?
  • Who could help me to achieve that goal?
  • What happens if I do not achieve that goal?
  • What do I need to change in myself to achieve that goal?

The more action you take towards achieving your goals, the more likely they are achieved. Achievement comes from taking action.

Some questions to stimulate your ideation:

  • If you only had one year to live, what would you do?
  • If you won a lottery, how would you invest the money?
  • What was it that you wanted to do when you were a child?
  • What kind of stories do you want to tell to your grand children about your life?

 7. Once you have finished goal-setting, then thank yourself and take action.
Give yourself recognition – praise yourself by doing something you really enjoy (eat some chocolate, listen to some good music, dance, call a friend). Do some specific step (even if it is a small one)  immediately towards your goals.

“What this power is I cannot say; all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it. ”
Alexander Graham Bell – scientist, inventor, teacher.

Simplicity is awesome – that´s why I prepared a printable worksheet for you:

download_balanced_goals_worksheet
Are you a creative person who wants to customize the worksheet? Download the worksheet as MS Word document. I personally love mindmapping technique for systematizing my goals – you can test out the Free Mind mindmapping software. Another option that I also love is writing my ideas down on big flip-chart papers. Find the one that suits you the best and enjoy the process.

I wish you great inspiration and moments of flow for the fresh year. Enjoy making your dreams come true!

Cheers!

Harald

How to find your passionate purpose?

One of the biggest question in life: what is my purpose in life? What am I passionate about? Here´s a simple framework that will help you to bring clarity in those questions:

You can download a worksheet for writing down the things you´re good at, things you love and what the world needs. By combining these elements you will be able to develop the understanding of what your purpose is.

It’s never too late to be who you might have been.

George Eliot