Challenge yourself everyday

I find this inspiration very inspiring.

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Oprah wants you to see the best of yourself

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There's no question Oprah's a major virtual mentor for me. She's got so much wisdom and I always learn something new from her, specially with her latest projects (Life Class, Visionaries, Next Chapter and Master Class). If you're not tuning in, you're missing out on yourself.

Anyway, I wanted to share this hour-long video with you from Facebook. This time, Oprah's the interviewee, which you don't see too often. She's definitely creating quite a legacy and at the same time it's amazing to see that at the end of the day she's just a normal human being, just like you and me. Did you catch the end when she asks Sheryl if she did okay? I thought that was very cute.

Anyway, if you don't have time to listen to the whole thing right now, here are some of the quotes I took away from this interview, hopefully it inspires you too to be all that you can be. It's certainly helping me and I can already see some changes in my own life. Enjoy! 

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Good Karma for 2012

I've always considered the new year as an opportunity to start over and do better than the previous year. I tend to reflect on my accomplishments and experiences to see what I can learn from them in order to grow and become a better person every year. This year, my resolutions include spreading more good Karma around me in the hopes that it will be passed on a bit like in the video above. It could be anything from taking the time to saying Thank you to paying a stranger's meal.  

Happy New Year to all of you who read this blog and wishing you lots of good Karma.

Beyonce motivates and inspires

Beyonce motivates and inspires me. Not only is she a moving and talented artist, she's got loads of insights she shares on a constant basis. I recently came across an excerpt of an interview she did for  Complex that inspired me yet again, especially the following quote:

" Whenever I feel bad, I use that feeling to motivate me to work harder. I only allow myself one day to feel sorry for myself. People who complain really get on my nerves. When I’m not feeling my best I ask myself, ‘What are you gonna do about it?’ I use the negativity to fuel the transformation into a better me. " [Photo]

Genius! Talk about turning lemons into lemonade. Aside from her art, I really feel this is the kind of stuff people should really be paying attention to. In any case, this is the kind of info, I'm like to pay attention to.  No more complaining from me! (Not that I complain a lot) It's a waste of time energy really.

"Inspiration is all around us every second of the day" [Photo]

The second quote that also grabbed my attention was : "Inspiration is all around us every second of the day". Basically telling me "Pay attention to your surroundings, you're missing things!"Love it!  Thank Beyonce for all your great the insights and inspirations.

Don't do what you love, love what you do

Great inspirational speech from Ben Chestnut, co-founder and CEO of mailchimp during a CreativeMornings session in Atlanta.

Motivated by Earl Nightigale

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I came across this recording (see video below) of Earl Nightingale recently and I've had a paradigm shift. I discovered are so many great insights and advices in this 30 minute audio that I'm starting to see life in a new light and I feel even more inspired. Everyone should hear this. I had to share. Enjoy.

Ludacris' wise words

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I recently saw the movie Bling Ring, based on a true story, of some teens in LA who essentially stole various fashion items and cash directly from the homes of celebrities such as Paris Hilton in order to basically live in their shoes. I hadn't heard that story before, but according to Wikipedia, this happened back in 2008-2009.  I was pretty shocked to see this how far people go to live the "American Dream". Or more the "American Illusion". I was trying to wrap my head around how someone could do something like this and think it's okay to do this. Then I saw this quote from Ludacris's twitter earlier today that basically answered my question:

"Too many people spend money they haven't earned, to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like."

Sad but true. These teens are an extreme case, but they also emulate what a lot of people are doing nowadays (e.g. buying houses, clothing and weddings they can't afford). It's probably one of the reasons many people end up with serious financial problems. A lot of people want all the glitz and glamour but are unwilling to do the work it takes to get there. It's important to remember that none of the celebrities with staying power got to where they are without patience, sacrifices and/or a lot of hard work. 

Alan Watt view on life

I love this little speech by Alan Watts. The first time I heard this, it really got me thinking : Am I really living fully or am I chasing the elusive carrot on a stick? It seems like our culture has created this mundane life journey that all of us must blindly follow even though it's not really what makes all of us happy. And as soon as one of us is brave enough to create our own path, others will start persecuting us for not doing the "right" thing (a.k.a what everybody else is doing). As a result, those of us who decide to follow our own path end up successful and happy and are often hated and criticized the sheep who end up wasting their own lives and not living to their full potential. 

Every so often, when I need a little reminder of how important it is to live life to the fullest, I like to watch and listen to this clip. There's also a great like by Drake Moment for life :  "I’m really tryn'a make it more than what it is, cause everybody dies but not everybody lives". 

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kelly rowland's wise words

I like Kelly Rowland. There's a lot to learn from someone like her. She's very talented but always seemed to come second back when Destiny's Child was out. When the members of Destiny's Child decided to go solo, it must have been nerve racking. But she's come a long way and it's great to see her blossom into a successful independent woman: Very inspiring. She recently did an interview with Stylist Magazine and there are two great quotes that resonated with me: 

1. If you pay attention to what somebody else is doing then you could be missing out on something you could be doing yourself. To me, it’s like watching a sprinter. They’re looking straight ahead because if they look from side to side, they will fall and fail. It’s important to look straight ahead.

That is so true!I guess there is a difference between looking up to people as an inspiration and looking at what other people do and what they have, wishing you had something similar. It's a waste of time. Not an easy thing to do as I think you can also end up admiring people and never doing something for yourself. I guess the important thing is to take action and do your own thing. I think that's basically what she did after Destiny's Child. Looks like it worked :). 

2. The world would be boring as hell if everybody looked alike, dressed alike, with the same body type.

Accepting that we are all different and that it's okay seem hard for a lot of people. Sometime I feel like everything around us is trying to mold us into an "ideal" homogenous mold. Going against the grain is not easy. As I'm getting older, I'm more and more comfortable being different and following my own dreams without worrying about what others think... most of the time. lol. Still working on it. 

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life lesson from Calvin and Hobbes

I'm a big fan of Calvin and Hobbes. I used to read the comic books all the time. As I kid, reading them was just fun. Reading them as an adult, like the one above, brings new meaning. I find this one particularly inspiring : Wanting to have "the strength to change what [you] can, the inability to accept what [you] can't and the incapacity to tell the difference". To me that's the mind of someone who want to make a difference.

Those are great words to live by as opposed to the dictum where it was derived from saying "Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference". To me these are the words of someone who always has an excuse and don't accomplish as much as he or she can. I imagined this and many other quotes from Bill Watterson (the author) probably helped shaped the person I am today. I do have a tendency to want to change things and not let the naysayers stop me from doing what I think is right. (just realized this as I'm writing this post). I'm very grateful to Bill Watterson for this, and the great snowmen ideas :)  

Isn't it fascinating and amazing that something as simple as a comic strip can influence someone's life?  


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