Thinking Outside The Box

When it comes to thinking outside the box, we get so worked up in trying to be unique, out there and so focused on creating something which has never been thought of before. What if thinking outside the box, wasn't actually thinking outside the borders of the box but was actually thinking inside.

Let me explain.

Lets’ be honest… in this day in age there isn't a lot of things that haven’t been thought of. Usually the new innovative things are through the evolution of technology and what it can enable. But let’s take a step back. What if the new was actually the old? What if we take what is inside the box and put all options on the table. This isn't about trying to add new things to the box but more so, taking a look and applying these things inside the box in a whole new way. It’s all about perspective.

The problem really is; locking down exactly what is in the box and then having the patience to really have a look at what the box contains from the many possible perspectives. How we apply with what we have, will always come in shapes and sizes. Like combinations, one person could apply what’s in the box this way, compared to another doing it that way.

So if we apply this back to our own abilities, skills, passions and talents. What do you have in your box? What are you good at? What can do you do that others can’t. But more so what can you do differently that others are doing normally? How can you take all your skills, apply it to the norm and make the difference? I think this is what will make you to really be ‘outside the box’. It is just a matter of identifying what you can do and applying it.

Some great books that can help you lock down your strengths, your passions and skills are below:

·      Business Model You: A One-Page Method For Reinventing Your Career 

·  Making Ideas Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality 

·      Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion 

·      StrengthsFinder 2.0

The 7 Must Read Books!

The 7 Must Read Books! 

1.    Rich Dad Poor Dad -  Defines "Wealth"

2.   Rich Dad's CASHFLOW Quadrant - Shows you the value of passive income and cash flow.

3.   The 4-Hour Workweek - All about creating and testing an excellent source of how to live like a millionaire .. without being one. Great for anyone with an online business, or planning to start one.

4.    The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It - Beating the myths about owning your own business and helps get the ball running.

5.    Strengths Finder 2.0 - Need to find your path in life? Career? This is the best book to help you do so...

6.    Crush It!: Why NOW Is the Time to Cash In on Your Passion Learn ho to act and leverage your passion into the big world of social media!

7.      Making Ideas Happen - Helps organize and re focus!

These books are the 7 to read. If you don't believe me check out http://solopreneurhour.com/ and he will tell you how it is!

Today's thoughts and recollections:

• Love is an action and it will find us all. However, how can we love another if you don't even love ourselves? 
• I have always had a dream to make a difference in the world... But before I can put confidence in the world I need to be confident myself.
• Tomorrow you will be happy you started today... but you have to start today otherwise tomorrow will never come..
• Your future is created by what you do today... not by tomorrow.
• I am realizing more and more that in order to be rich... this comes through how much you invest into yourself. 
• We are all on a timeline. No one is better or worse. Some of us are just further on down the line... Some are still getting on it. 

A Small Self Evaluation....

Recently I made a questionnaire as part of a self-evaluation. In doing so I and opened these up publicly to the people in my life for a chance to get some anonymous feedback from my peers.  As scary as this experiment seemed, the results were actually better than I expected. The quantity wasn't as I had wished, but the quality was rich. Overall I only received 30 responses. 3 of which were negative, rude or totally irrelevant. The remaining 27 were positive. I have taken the results received and categorized the common ones to make it easier to review.

Feel free to have a look at the results below and if you are interested you can still submit to the questionnaire here.

What do you think Chris is naturally good at?
1. Awesome
2. Drums
3. Leading
4. Communicating
5. Computers
6. Friendship
7. IT
8. Organised
9. Success
10. Cheerful

When you think of Chris what do you remember?
1. Smile
2. Memories
3. Family
4. Church
5. Fun
6. Random
7. Drums
8. Entrepreneur
9. Fishing
10. Food

3 Words that sum up Chris?
1. Kind
2. Loyal
3. Positive
4. Committed
5. Dedicated
6. Happy
7. Inspiring
8. Sentimental
9. Single
10. Smart

What is Chris’s occupation?
1. Computers
2. IT
3. Analyst/Consultant
4. XYZ Company
5. Battery Shop
6. Don’t Know
7. Encouraging
8. Entrepreneur
9. Random

Question: What do you truly want to accomplish in life?

I want to innovate, be innovative and promote success through all that I do and to the people around me. I wish to spread happiness and express life through my actions. I plan to create opportunity through my visions, dreams and inspire those around me to aspire further in their own lives. 

Your turn? #challenge

One Day at a Time

HOW I SAVE DAILY

I’ve recently become a creature of habit which lays upon me the responsibility of preparing my lunch daily. Apart from getting up a little earlier to prepare my food, this also allows for big savings…

Let me explain. 

A lot of consultants tend to have one thing in common and that is  buying lunch or surviving off coffee… However this has its flaws. 

Say you spend $10.00 on lunch and that’s including a drink. And say you buy a coffee once per day which starts to pan out to be around $4.00. 

This works out to be:

• Daily: Lunch ($10.00) & Coffee ($4.00)
• Weekly: Lunch ($50.00) & Coffee ($20.00)
• Monthly: Lunch ($215.00) & Coffee ($86.00)
• Yearly: Lunch ($2580.00) & Coffee ($1032.00)

What I do? 

I don’t usually drink coffee… 

I make my own lunch: Chicken, Cheese and Avocado Sandwich on Grain Bread. 

It costs me:

• Daily: $4.03
• Weekly: $20.15
• Monthly: $86.645
• Yearly: $1039.74

I also bring snacks everyday which include: Strawberries, Rock-melon, an apple and a date.

This costs me:

• Daily: $4.80
• Weekly: $24.00
• Monthly: $103.92
• Yearly: $1,247.00

So it costs me $8.83 a day to eat lunch and snack. 

What does this mean? 

Generally speaking if you are buying lunch and coffee each you are spending: $3,612.00.00 a year. 

Me? I am spending $2,286.78 a year on lunch and snacks. 

Still not getting it? 

Say you work for 40 years?

It will cost you: $144,480.00 for your working career.

It will cost me: $91,471.20 for my working career.

That’s a saving of $53,008.80 

And if you still haven’t clicked yet then… lets up this even more. 

If you take the average weekly saved amount: $25.85 and open a new high interest savings account and deposit that money each week you save. You won’t only save $53,008.80 but you will also gain $76,046 due to the compounding interest monthly. 

That’s a total of: $128,046.00 

See my point? 

Start tomorrow and see the difference the following day! 

Hence why Time = Money.

When I Grow Up I Want To Change The World

I have never once stopped dreaming. I’m an optimist. A pure one at that. 

What I lack is the confidence, the confidence to take a risk worth more than nothing.

I have a fear of failing. I have a fear of being worse off than I am now. I’m scared to start getting my feet wet in the big wide world.

This is going to change. 

I have an aspiration to make a difference. So far I do it daily. I make sure happiness is presented in all that I do. Inspiration and encouragement is reflected from me to the ones around me.

I aspire to inspire.

I want to change the world. 

How?

I want to innovate, I want to envision, I want empower, I want to motivate.

I want to make a change that will make an impact.

In order to do all this I need to get over myself and stop trying to be confident and be confident! 

Stop fearing the failure and actually fail to then actually succeed.

I will do this day by day.

One step at a time.

I have already started and I have already made a change. But I want to do it again and again and again. 

Until one day the change I make, will be bigger than the one before and then bigger again.

When I grow up I want to change the world. Every day I am still growing...

Every day I am changing it and I plan to do so till the day I die.

Look out world… I’m going to change you.

Reccomendations:

Check out the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
Be Awesome Motivational Poster
This Is Your Life Motivational Poster

There Is No Cheat To Life. The Only Advantage Is You.

There is no cheat to life. No easy way, no shortcut or nothing to skip a few years. The only thing there is, is you and the other billions of people.

The advantage?

You are the advantage.

No one else is you. Therefore you will be unique and can be unique in all that you do.

' But, But, But I don’t have what it takes…'

What does it take? Why does it take something to be something? You are something. You are you. What more could there be?

You need to define what you will be and how you will be it.

Let me ask you some questions, give you some hints, some tips, some advice, some ideas that may inspire you, may intrigue you or not. Either way, have a read and see what applies and see what doesn't. Reevaluate them, redefine them. Apply them or make them yours. Do what you got to do.

If you don't know who you are, then find it. Once found, be that person and it be it well.

Do what you want to do. Work your passion. If you’re not waking up happy ready for work, or ready to face what it is you’re doing. Maybe you’re not doing what you enjoy…

Are you doing anything which makes you and people around you happy?

Your smile can light up a whole town. So smile wherever you go.

Show love, be love and embrace love.

If happiness was a currency, how rich do you think you are?

Remember people aren’t against you, they're for themselves.

Every morning you start with 86,400 seconds. How are you spending them? How are you going to spend them?

If you could clone yourself, which of your characteristics wouldn’t you want to be cloned?

Don’t let fear stop you: use it as a learning tool to show you what you need to do in order to succeed.

If you viewed things from another person’s point of view, what new information would that perspective give you? 

Don’t feel bad if someone rejects you. People usually reject expensive things because they can’t afford them.

Live life king size!

A key tip to success is to 'stay ahead and stay active!

Budget and diet at the same time! Together they become great motivators. Make both short and long terms goals!!

The only person that can really motivate you is you. Find your goal. Ask yourself how much you want it. Then do it!

Mornings give you the opportunity to set a positive tone for the day. You set the tone for a happier and more productive day.

Want to lose weight? What's stopping you? Can't get to the gym? No motivation? Start a routine & a diet. See the results. Now repeat. Go!

Don’t work harder, work deeper. Work hard then play hard!

Always remember: You are the only person responsible for your success.

Positivity fuels productivity! Stay happy, smile boldly and supply synergy to the ones around. Be a booster!

Productivity is a key performance indicator in a personal and professional life. Find efficient and proficient ways to quicken your tasks.

How I Budget:
Monthly Pay-check = 33% Expenses, of the 67% left: 25% Long Term, 45% Savings, 15% Spending (Goals) & 15% Emergency Fund. 

“Let us so live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry.” - Mark Twain 

Like what you read? Follow me on twitter: @bigberthaboss

Success Redefined?

We are our own worst enemies. You keep asking yourself why you’re failing or why you feel like success is so far away. This is because you can't see anything good of your own. Let me explain…

Like a mirror, when people look in the mirror they see someone they don't want to be, they look and critique themselves, trying to identify what it is they need to change in order to look better, feel better or be better. When reality is you really aren’t all that bad!

When someone asks you to help them with something, in most cases it is because they trust you and you have the ability to answer the question or provide a solution that will bring peace and comfort to themselves. Our own problem is confidence of wisdom and confidence of skill. Yes maybe you're still learning the ropes or maybe you’re a pro; either way you have the opportunity to grow, to shine and learn along the way. Take on the opportunity with courage, boldness and honesty. The only way for you to go up is to start walking up the ladder of liberation! Once you have conquered some levels you will be free of inadequacy and you will be able to redefine your confidence to move on higher and higher.

Success isn’t defined by a dollar value or even an academic skill. Success is defined through personal achievement. The more you prove to yourself and achieve by yourself – this will show a true success, success in happiness, overcoming doubt and discovering confidence at its fullest.

    Quote - Motivation 

        "What the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve" - Napoleon Hill

Everyone can be successful and everyone can be good at it if they believe in who they are, know who they are and most of all prove it to themselves who they are. If you don't know who you are, then find it. Once found, be that person and it be it well. No one else can be a better you, only you can be the best. Therefore if you be the best of yourself then you will be successful.

We Aren’t So Different

"Only you can define who you are and what you can do. You just need to prove it to yourself for the world to see."

I have come to realise that teenagers today have this bizarre understanding that since we are older we don’t know what it feels like to be them, or in their situation, or that life isn't hard for us and that we somehow have the perfect and easiest life out there. Not only does this annoy me but it also frustrates me. Youth of today, we aren't so different from you. Not just when we were you’re age but also now. You see we also live in the same world and the same society as you. Oh yea and by the way, we are human too! So all those emotions and feelings you have sprouting and overflowing within you, we have them too. The only real difference is we have learnt to control, fuel, understand and direct these different things in our lives. However some of these and usually more present than you know and we struggle with them and we are always fighting to change them or at least wanting to.

I have recently re encountered some deep, deep emotions which I thought I had removed. However it turns out these bad boys were actually just suppressed down and hidden away. Doing this has helped at some level, but in reality nothing has changed and they are back now worse than ever. What has changed is my own passion, my own drive to take on round two of these emotions and finally overcome them. This will take time, but I have started and one day is a stepping stone to another day of success. Give it some time and I will have passed the stepping stones and be overcoming mountains at a time. The only way to really do this is to actually do it.

Like seriously, you need to get up and start to do what you want to do. If you want to lose weight, then start a routine that suits your comfort level first… then increase it. Slowly add to it and build it up so that weekly or regularly you’re achieving your goals and feeling accomplished. Don’t make it too easy but add some challenge to it. This is the same for a diet or a new habit.

If you’re sick of the world telling you who you are or what you can do. It’s time to change. You can fight them or you can prove to them who you really are or what you can do by proving it to yourself. By doing this not only do you show the world who is boss. But you accomplish something greater than anything before. You have accomplished yourself. You will overcome the fear of what you thought you were and rediscover through a metamorphic experience your true self.

Only if you want it can you do it.

It may take some time but each day is progress and without pain there shall be no gain. 

An Enjoyable Recollection of Past Events

Ever had a dream which was so detailed it was almost real? So rich in experience that it was like you were really there. When you wake, you grasp for air, shaking your head to identify if where you are is reality and what you did experience wasn’t. An experience so overwhelming that the emotions and feelings it reignites just seem too good to be true. After all it was only just a dream.

From this short anecdotal adventure, I have come to realise that the past events have been some of my best years and I didn’t even know it at the time. They were also the times were I was at my bravest, at my strongest. Reminiscing through old conversations, old pictures and past accounts of my life has made me realise that maybe I have forgotten some good old honour. Honour to stand up in what I believe, and to be known for the person I should be and have always aspired to be. My only wish now is that from these moments, memories and past events I shared with others, is that I have been able to plant seeds of encouragement, influence and foundations to greater things into those around me at the time. I hope that who I was, what I did and what I stood for (as I do today) has been able to make a difference, help, aid and produce good fruit to the very people I cherished, and even those who were “my rivals” as such. 

It’s almost 4 years since I left high school. These vibrant years in my journey were essential to how I have grown up as a man and a person in this world. I had made choices (both good and bad) that have defined who I was and am today; I also made choices which have rippled into the lives of others for the better. Well I hope so. The sad thing is, I have always aspired to be a man of integrity, a man strong in God and man who can be trusted in the rough and the easy, however the question today is: have I kept those ambitions to the ones I spent my teenage years bonding with, moulding with and growing with. In all honesty maybe I have with a minority… if I am lucky. What about the others though? Have I made an impact to them, am I talking to them today? Am I still reaching out and representing what I was then, now? No. I have failed this and have come to realise the importance of these years and what was made, shared and remembered.

I need to fix this, I need to revaluate my outreach to those around me and re-identify how and why I should be spreading my wings to those around me. Even if I can’t fix the past I can pursue fervently with the people I meet in the future.

One thing I have always attained is my ambition to help those around me, if they let me of course. No I don’t agree with a lot of things people do and I might not like those things, but this doesn’t mean I don’t want to care and love them. Just because I don’t agree doesn’t mean we can’t communicate, we can’t relate or have a meaningful conversation. Encouragement, advise, suggestions or thoughts all come from my intention to only observe, understand, look out and recommend my solution to the problems, situations, circumstances or whatever it is the person is experiencing.

With this all said, my point is; we live in a world with rights and wrongs, ups and downs and yay’s and nay’s. I understand that and I get it. We all have problems, we all have skills some seem cooler some seem less, but we are all the same and we all have things we go through. I may have experienced less than you or maybe more. Regardless, I want to be there for others and I hope I have been. I’m sorry if we have parted ways in the past but I still I hope something of the better is left standing whether it is of past memories or words shared. All I can do now is aspire to uplift, be there and encourage those around me and who I meet. 

“Take care of all your memories. For you cannot relive them” – Bob Dylan

“Memories of our lives, of our works and our deeds will continue in others” – Rosa Parks

How to Make a Million Bucks

Recently I posted a tip on Facebook on how to make money quick and easy. Well I have now turned that into a quick little video which once again sums up how to make a million bucks!

Enjoy. Feel free to subscribe, like or leave a comment.

GOOD LUCK!

Also I highly recommend this little application to make some easy YouTube videos: EZVID

Life & Cupcakes

LIFE

It consumes us.

It takes piece, by piece, by piece.

It BITES us.

Life sucks, I get it.

It’s tough, I get it.

It’s hard, I get it.

People are mean, I get it.

People fuss, I get it.

People leave, I get it.

People don’t care, I get it.

People hurt, I get it.

People, people, people.

I get it.

Let me explain to you why life is tough and people are mean. We live in a world that consumes us. Each day a piece is taken, piece by piece as the days prolong. It takes so much of us; it feels like we have been bitten, bitten by society of the world that has so very much consumed us. By this point in time, we feel that everything is tough, everything is hard. People are mean and are selfish; they don’t seem to give a concern for anyone. People give up and leave, people get in trouble and leave. People don’t seem to show any care, when all the care is shown to them. People hurt others and people are always hurting.

Seems a little blunt…

BUT WAIT

- There is hope yet!

What if life was like a cupcake?

The cupcake, being your favourite of course, it has all the colours you like, the flavours you dream for and the texture which is easy on the eyes. The taste is better than you could ever imagine. This cupcake is unlimited, forever bottomless and is always fresh. Cupcakes will always bring smiles to people regardless if they are eating them or not, because they are pretty, they are fulfilling and are most definitely sweet and enjoyable! Whether they have icing or not, the inside is where it is all fluffy, it is where the best is found and where memories are made. The outside could be covered in icing or covered in paper, but the inside will always be awesome! Whether they are full of colour or a single bland, these cupcakes will still be the best because each one is unique!

So how can life be like a cupcake? How can life be like all these things?

Simple! The cupcake is you. You’re the cupcake. Now if everyone could see how awesome it is to be a cupcake do you really think that people would still think life stinks?

Also don’t forget that we can all thank the creator of the cupcakes for who we are. We just need to realize that we are these unique cupcakes and are all special and take on the positivity like when you eat a cupcake.

Thoughts, questions or concerns. Let me know.

- Technically Sentimental

Also please feel free to checkout this Blog:
ShopWithMe - http://bit.ly/16SDEW3

Some Good Buys!

Heya All,

This is a quick blog to say a few things and to give you all a chance to pick up a nice bargain!

1. I am still working on the requested blogs! Stress less, as I will have them out as soon as possible. (I haven't forgotten).

2. In the mean time please find some items below which I highly recommend for anyone on a BUDGET and are quite good on the $$ side too!

Product Recommendation #1 

SanDisk Cruzer Fit 32GB USB Flash Drive

This nifty little USB is so small you could loose it, but also it is so small you can leave in you laptop/pc and never have to worry again! I have used this guy to transfer and carry TV Shows, DVD's and other large files from A to B. If you're a gamer, then this could store some LAN games or more. Great for on the Go!

Product Recommendation #2

Apple iPhone USB Cable (iPhone - iPhone 4s)

Need some spares for your iPad, iPhone's, iTouch, or iDevices? This cable being the CHEAPER alternative to Apple will give you the best for buck. For this price you can buy about 12 for the price of what Apple would sell one at. I know I have always needed a spare at work, in the car, my office, in the living room, simply for on the go or for a lend out. With this you cant go wrong!!

Until next time :)

Blog Request: Personal Relationship with Jesus

Request: When you say you have a personal relationship with Jesus, what do you mean? I guess I find it hard to understand how someone can have a personal relationship with Jesus when he died, and then if he rose again went into the sky? I can't think of anything less personal, let alone relational.

When you talk to a family member a friend or someone close to you, you initiate a personal communication with that person. You are in a relationship of some value whether it is deep, intimate or close or merely friends. Regardless there is a relationship. When Jesus died he rose again and when he ascended into the sky he ascended into heaven. He bade His followers good-by, ascended visibly into heaven and disappeared from their sight. He didn’t leave us but merely rose to the heavens in the flesh.

If you believe in God, which you must in some essence judging by your question, a personal relationship with Jesus is like one between two people. He loves us all unconditionally but expresses this love in different ways to our own understanding. Each person’s experience is different with him. Like any relationship we need to get closer with him. How you ask? We meditate, which means to learn, read and read over his word (The Bible), it means to speak to him in prayer as you would speak to anyone else. We get to know him through a daily interaction. This may not be warm and cuddly and of course you can become angry, you may sin, you may forget to pray but regardless, he has died for our sins and is capable of infinite love, mercy and justice and this is forever unchanging.

In order to fully understand this, one must simply get to know him and grow daily and experience him. Every day is a new day like all days, we can experience life in a different way and we can interact with others to learn, grow and simply live life. We can do this with our Lord and Saviour. I pray, I talk to him, I vent, I read my bible, I ponder, meditate and try to understand the bible… he answers, he comforts me, he gives me peace, he calms me, he helps me, he loves me, he helps me understand, he gives me clarity, he reveals to me what the word means, what I am to be doing, what I should be doing and challenges me daily. If you believe in God/Jesus than you can know him more and you can also experience his love.

To summarise this and provide a scriptural understanding (external source):

What many people do not know, realize, or care about, is that Jesus gave us the most amazing gift—the opportunity to spend eternity with God if we trust in Him. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23). God became a human being in the Person of Jesus Christ to take on our sin, be killed, and then be raised to life again, proving His victory over sin and death. “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). If we accept this gift, we have become acceptable to God and can have a relationship with Him.
Having a personal relationship with God means we should include God in our daily lives. We should pray to Him, read His word, and meditate on verses in an effort to get to know Him better. We should pray for wisdom (James 1:5), which is the most valuable asset we could ever have. We should take our requests to Him, asking in Jesus' name (John 15:16). Jesus is the one who loves us enough to give His life for us (Romans 5:8), and He is the one who bridged the gap between us and God.
The Holy Spirit has been given to us as our Counselor. “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you” (John 14:15-17). Jesus said this before He died, and after He died, the Holy Spirit became available to all who earnestly seek to receive Him. He is the one who lives in the hearts of believers and never leaves. He counsels us, teaches us truths, and changes our hearts. Without this divine Holy Spirit, we would not have the ability to fight against evil and temptations. But since we do have Him, we begin to produce the fruit that comes from allowing the Spirit to control us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

This personal relationship with God is not as hard to find as we might think, and there is no mysterious formula for getting it. As soon as we become children of God, we receive the Holy Spirit, who will begin to work on our hearts. We should pray without ceasing, read the Bible, and join a Bible-believing church; all these things will help us to grow spiritually. Trusting in God to get us through each day and believing that He is our sustainer is the way to have a relationship with Him. Although we may not see changes immediately, we will begin to see them over time, and all the truths will become clear.

If you have further questions, concerns or comments please feel free to leave a reply or contact me directly below. I know all this can be a little confronting, overwhelming and confusing at start, but I have known him as my lord and Saviour for 16 years and I can honestly and humbly say that without him (God/Jesus) I would not be where I am today.

Email me at:
technically.sentimental.blog@gmail.com