"Joy is the echo of God’s life in us." ~Unknown

When we are centered in joy, we attain our wisdom."
Marianne Williamson

"Remember to light the candle of joy daily and all the gloom will disappear from your life."
Djwhal Khul
What I know for sure is that you feel real JOY in direct proportion to how connected you are to living your truth."
Oprah"Joy springs from within; no one makes you joyous; you choose joyfulness."
Unknown

"Thou has made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance."
Acts 2:28
"True joy results when we become aware of our connectedness to everything."
Paul Pearsall

"Winning is important to me, but what brings me real joy is the experience of being fully engaged in whatever I’m doing."

"You have to sniff out joy. Keep your nose to the joy trail."
Buffy Sainte-Marie

Watch out for this little girl

because next time , you'll just buy the damn cookies

The Talisman of Leadership - Authenticity

"I have come to realize that, for me at least, the quest for 'authenticity' is really a new spin on an age-old quest to find meaning and do the right thing. It's a journey not a destination; a process not an answer."

- Hugh Mason
Some time ago, I heard a young woman say,

"I am enough."

I was struck and intrigued by the expression, and so I set out to research it.

It originated with Carl Rogers, the psychotherapist, who was asked how he did what he did so successfully.

His response was, "Before a session with a client, I let myself know that

'I am enough.'

Not perfect – because perfect wouldn't be enough.

But I am human, and there is nothing that this client can say or do or feel that I cannot feel in myself.

I can be with them.

I am enough."
This echoes the serenity of mind, the calm spirit that characterizes a 'Mensch' –

in other words, a person of integrity, a quality that is defined in the dictionary as 'a state of being complete or undivided.'

Leaders such as these are the epitome of authenticity.

They come from the standpoint of being enough, of seeing themselves as complete human beings, providing a unique contribution to the world by giving their own brand of wisdom, ingenuity, perceptiveness, fairness, and fierce loyalty to their organizations, and to those they lead.

Here are what I call the 'leaves' of authenticity:
*Living your values as a leader every day is an important key component of authentic leadership.

However, you need to examine these values periodically to consider their validity in today's environment.

Work-life balance, for example, is no longer a perk – it may be an essential requirement for attracting the best minds to your organization.

There is a real freedom when we shed all affectation.

Are there times in your life when you see yourself being forced to put on a show to make an impression on others?

Resolve to stop that, once and for all. Watch yourself soar when you are unencumbered by the weight of pretense. Tell yourself,

"I am enough" – and mean it.

*
Straight talk, self-confidence, and simplicity

– these are the building blocks of substance; the triumph over image.

Think about how you can make these a daily habit.

Only when you free yourself from the need to have others' approval can you truly start to evolve into the authentic leader you were meant to be.
Copyright © 2009 by Bruna Martinuzzi. All Rights Reserved.

HOME

What does your KINGDOM...

HOME...EMPIRE...

PALACE mean to you?

It means so much to me......

Home should be filled with

Security,

Positive Words of Encouragement,

NO FEAR of being YOU

Laughter

Joy

Love

Passion

Excitement

PEACE

Quiet

HARMONY
GROWTH

Lesson

Learning

Communication

Patience

Safety

Our homes are a place we spend most of out time at.

We can sit down and relax and just be ourselves in our homes with no outside interference.

Our homes mean so much to us because it is a place we can spend time with our family.

And when we come home from work it is a soothing and relaxing place to be after a hard day at work.

Our home is important to us because we raise our families there and make wonderful memories.

What makes out homes so special?

It is a place that we can go to anytime and just be ourselves.

I have a peaceful feeling here at my home that i never had anywhere else i have lived.

No matter where you call home.

Whether you live in a house, a apartment or a condo.

You have the satisfaction of knowing it is your own place.

And you can fix it up the way you want to and get out in the yard if you want and plant things.

It is just a nice feeling of knowing you can change things if you want and do as you please in your home.

A home is much more then just a place to live it is your palace.

It's not only where you keep your things.

It is the only place you can go that you feel so laid back and comfortable being there.

It is because it has to be a place that you feel safe in and a place where you would like to spend alot of time.

It has to be a place that your family can grow in.

Our homes can bring such happy memories to us over our lifetime. We all remember growing up and the special times we had at our childhood homes.

We want the same for our children when they grow up and think back to where they use to live and have fond memories.

p.s. Take care of Business at HOME...

the WORLD will follow suite...

Time Management

Time Management -
Work Smarter

Take Control of Your LIFE.
Personal time management skills are essential skills for effective people. People who use these techniques routinely are the highest achievers in all walks of life, from business to sport to public service.

If you use these skills well, then you will be able to function exceptionally well, even under intense pressure.
What's more, as you master these skills, you'll find that you take control of your LIFE and say goodbye to the often intense stress of LIFE OVERLOAD.
At the heart of time management is an important shift in

FOCUS:
Concentrate on results, not on being busy
Many people spend their days in a frenzy of activity, but achieve very little, because they're not concentrating their effort on the things that matter the most.
The 80:20 Rule
This is neatly summed up in the Pareto Principle, or the 80:20 Rule'.

This says that typically 80% of unfocussed effort generates only 20% of results.

This means that the remaining 80% of results are achieved with only 20% of the effort.

While the ratio is not always 80:20, this broad pattern of a small proportion of activity generating non-scalar returns recurs so frequently that it is the norm in many situations.

developing time management skills is a journeythat may begin with this Guide, but needs practice and other guidance along the way.
One goal is to help yourself become aware of how you use your time as one resource in organizing, prioritizing, and succeeding in your studies in the context of competing activities of friends, work, family, etc.
First: try our exercise in time management
Strategies on using time:
Develop blocks of study timeAbout 50 minutes? How long does it take for you to become restless?Some learners need more frequent breaks for a variety of reasons More difficult material may also require more frequent breaks
Schedule weekly reviews and updates
Prioritize assignments When studying, get in the habit of beginning with the most difficult subject or task
Develop alternative study places free from distractionsto maximize concentration
Got "dead time"?Think of using time walking, riding, etc. for studying “bits”
Review studies and readings just before class
Review lecture material immediately after class(Forgetting is greatest within 24 hours without review)
Schedule time for critical course eventsPapers, presentations, tests, etc.
Try the University of Minnesota's Assignment Calculator
Develop criteria for adjusting your scheduleto meet both your academic and non-academic needs
Effective aids:
"To Do" listWrite down things you have to do, then decide what to do at the moment, what to schedule for later, what to get someone else to do, and what to put off for a later time period
Daily/weekly planner Write down appointments, classes, and meetings on a chronological log book or chart. If you are more visual, sketch out your schedule First thing in the morning, check what's ahead for the day always go to sleep knowing you're prepared for tomorrow
Long term planner Use a monthly chart so that you can plan ahead.

Long term planners will also serve as a reminder to constructively plan time for yourself ..

Understanding Women?

A man was riding his Harley along a California beach when suddenly the sky clouded above his head and in a booming

voice the Lord said,

"Because you have tried to be faithful to me in all ways, I will grant you one wish."

The biker pulled over and said,

'Build a bridge to Hawaii ' so I can ride over anytime I want.' The Lord said,

'Your request is materialistic,

think of the enormous challenges for that kind of undertaking; the supports required reaching the bottom of the Pacific and think of the concrete and steel it would take!

It will nearly exhaust several natural resources.

I can do it, but it is hard for me to justify your desire for worldly things.

Take a little more time and think of something that could possibly help mankind.

'The biker thought about it for a long time.

Finally, he said,

'Lord, I wish that I and all men could understand women;

I want to know how she feels inside, what she's thinking when she gives me the silent treatment,

why she cries, what she means when she says nothing's wrong, why she snaps and complains when I try to help, and how I can make a woman truly happy....'

The Lord replied,

'You want two lanes or four on that bridge?

almost there...

Specialty Definition: Serendipity
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Serendipity

is finding something unexpected and useful while searching for something else entirely.

YOU are ACCEPTED, VALUABLE & LOVED!

Self

ACCEPTANCE
“Some people find fault like there's a reward for it.”
- Zig Ziglar

Self ACCEPTANCE is being loving and happy with who you are NOW.

Some call it self-esteem, others self-love, but whatever you call it, you'll know when your ACCEPTING yourself cause it feels great.

Its an agreement with yourself to

appreciate, validate, accept and support who you are at this very moment, even those parts you’d like to eventually change.

This is important...even those parts you'd eventually like to change.

Yes, you can ACCEPT (be okay with) those parts of yourself you want to change.
The Motivation Behind Your Lack of Acceptance

If ACCEPTANCE feels so good and is so good for us, then why don’t we ACCEPT ourselves? The answer is motivation.

We use our lack of ACCEPTANCE (punishment - cause it feels bad) as motivation to get us to do, not do, be, and not be what we think we should. Many people believe that if they ACCEPTED

themselves as they are, they wouldn’t change or that they wouldn’t work on becoming more of who they want to be.
Typically, we judge ourselves unfavorably with the hope it will motivate us to change. We hope if we feel bad enough about ourselves, that maybe that will motivate us to change. Does this work? Sometimes, but only short term. Most times all it does is cause us to feel bad which saps the energy you might have used to make changes. It can be a vicious cycle.

It works exactly counter to what you wanted to do.
“ACCEPTANCE allows change.

The 'ACCEPTANCE MODE

' includes everything, even my judgments.

It allows me to be okay NOW, even before I reach my goals.”
“When you begin to ACCEPT yourself the way you are right now, you begin a new life with new possibilities that did not exist before because you were so caught up in the struggle against reality that that was all you could do.”
So if it doesn’t work, why do we keep doing it?

Because we hope it will work.

And if you don’t know any other way to change, what options do you have?

We’ve been trained to believe that in order to change, we need to first feel bad about it.

That if we’re ACCEPTING and loving of that particular quality, that we won’t do anything to change the situation, which is not true!

You don’t have to be unhappy with yourself to know and actively change those things you’d like to change about yourself.

ACCEPTANCE

is actually the very first step in the process of change.
Think of acceptance of yourself like being okay with where you live now.

You may want a bigger house one day.

You may dream about that new home.

But there ARE advantages to living in a smaller home if you only took the time to think about it. It is possible to be happy with the home you're in now, while still dreaming and working to make your new home a reality.
Process Of ACCEPTANCE
ACCEPTANCE

exists at the core of your being.

It is your default status.

In order to reach this base level of ACCEPTANCE, you need only remove the items laying on top. To do this, you must first identify all the things you do not ACCEPT about yourself.

Then, one by one, eliminate them by examinging and questioning your beliefs around that issue.
Know yourself and your beliefs
Take a good hard look at your honesty level
Know you are doing the best you can
Relax your value judgments
Examine guilt
Understand your motivations
Ask yourself questions about what you don't accept