7 Things to do While out of Work

According to data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of May 2016, The United States had an unemployment rate of 4.7%, which correlates to over 7.4 million people who are currently unemployed.  I personally have experienced losing a job and being unemployed for nearly 6 months. If you are like me there is a good chance that you have been without work at some point, or if you haven’t there is a chance that you may experience it in the future, although I hope you don’t!  Being unemployed is certainly not a good feeling, and sometimes finding a new job is not always the easiest task and often it is easy to get discouraged during that time.  Having my own personal experiences and after speaking with others, I have composed a list of 7 things that you can do while your unemployed to stay in good spirits and help to get back on your feet as soon as possible.

READ
One the best things that you can do while you are unemployed is Read! In fact, this is something that you should do working or not.  Reading more books can have a huge impact on your life, especially if you are in search for work.  One of my favorite quotes is “the more you learn, the more you earn.” I also want to point out that Lamborghinis and Rose Royce’s do not have commercials and one reason is because wealthy and successful people don’t watch a lot of TV, however they do read early and often.  With the extra time on your hands from not working, there is no better thing to do than to pick up a book!!  Proceed with caution, depending on what books you read, you may end up starting your own business instead of going back to work.

VOLUNTEER
The next activity that I would suggest while unemployed is volunteering.  This is also something that I would encourage to do whether you are working or not.  Volunteering can have multiple benefits.  One positive effect is that you would be doing a good deed in giving back and helping others.  Being that you are unemployed you may not have extra money to give, and often giving your time can be more valuable.  The second benefit is that in volunteering there is always a good chance you could come into contact with someone who may know of some job opportunities and could possibly plug you in.  The last positive result, is the great feeling that you get from lending a helping hand.  The best rewards in life are often not of monetary value.  Being jobless does not bring too many good feelings, and volunteering can definitely uplift your spirits during that time.

Related: A Survival Guide for the Newly Unemployed

JOB SEARCH
This is probably the most obvious thing that you should be doing while you have idle time.  I can personally say that searching for work is a job in itself, especially considering the amount of time that it takes.  In a given week you could easily spend 25-30 hours searching for jobs.  If you have intentions on finding another job, it most likely wont come to your front door steps, so its imperative that you search for work.  In todays day and age, much of this can be done online on your computer or even from your phone.  In many states if you are collecting unemployment benefits it is mandatory that you spend a certain amount of time job searching, and you also have to document that activity.


EXERCISE
A great way to help you stay in a positive mindset while being jobless, is to exercise.  This is another activity that you will give you a good feeling during a down time in your life.  Exercising will give you more energy and it will also help you build confidence.  There is a quote that says, “Health is Wealth”!  There is no coincidence that a large number of successful individuals make exercising a daily habit.  With the idle time on your hands there is absolutely no excuse on why you can’t make time to work out.  It will benefit you mentally, physically, and spiritually.

Related: 50 Ways to Get a Job

NETWORK
If you want to find another job without spending multiple hours online feeling out applications, then I would highly suggest networking!  People will always be your best resource and most people find employment because of someone they knew personally.  Hiring managers and recruiters review hundreds or even thousands of resumes, so if they have a colleague or coworker refer someone directly to them, that persons resume would surely get a little more attention.  By networking in the right environment, its possible that you could come into direct contact with a person who has the ability to actually hire you.  The only way that you will encounter this person is by building relationships and meeting new people.

SELF EVALUATION
Doing a self evaluation is something that I would recommend doing often.  Self knowledge and self awareness is extremely important in reaching a high level of success.  There is no better time to evaluate yourself than when you are unemployed.  You should assess your physical health, your current mindset, and also look at areas on which you can improve.  This is also a good opportunity to evaluate your progress in life.  Are you where you want to be? What things need to change? What new things do you need to learn?  Sometimes it is difficult to evaluate yourself because there are some things that we do like to admit about ourselves, and many times we already know in the back of our head that we could doing a much better job of reaching our full potential.  Evaluate yourself and be honest in your findings, only then can you begin to improve and make the necessary changes in your life.

STAY POSITIVE
The last suggestion that I would offer, is keeping a positive attitude.  This is definitely not always the easiest
thing to do while you are out of work, especially if you were fired or laid off from your previous job.
Although it is a challenge at times to stay in a positive mind state, it definitely beats the alternative.  No one wants to get invited to a pity party, so there is no use in throwing one for yourself.  When you really look at the big picture and realize that that things could always be worst, it will become a little easier to maintain that positive mindset.  If you are able to stay optimistic, you will increase the chances of your luck changing much sooner than later.
               
Related: Positive Affirmations Video

5 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Parting Ways With Your Hard Earned Money

When it comes to making a financial investment, it is something that you definitely want to put some thought into.  There are two things that people care very much about, their children and their money. In today’s world of investing and with a frantic world economy, there is even more reason that one should do the proper due diligence prior to making an investment.  We have put together a list of 5 questions you can ask yourself prior to parting ways with your hard earned money in hopes of returning more.

WHAT IS YOUR PRIMARY GOAL? 

The very first question that you should ask yourself prior to investing your money, is what is my main goal?  You could be investing for retirement, college for your kids, a house, a car, or perhaps you have some extra cash and looking for a fairly quick return.  Whatever the case may be, your investment objective should be clearly defined so that you can find a suitable investment.

WHEN WILL YOU NEED THE MONEY?

Before making a financial investment, you definitely need to know when you will have to access those funds.  This is important because you wouldn’t want to tie up your money for a long period of time if there is a chance that you may need the money sooner rather than later.  If you are investing for the long term and your investment fluctuates or happens to go down in value, you can rest easy knowing that will not need those funds in the near future.

Related: 10 Questions to Ask Your Financial Advisor

HOW COMFORTABLE ARE YOU WITH THE RISK?

This question is one that often gets overlooked; and if you are working with a financial planner, this should be one of the first things that they discuss with you.  Most credible companies have questionnaires available that help you identify your risk tolerance.  Most people are either extremely conservative, aggressive, or somewhere in between.  Answering the first question in regards to your investment objective, can also help you assess your risk.  If you find yourself having trouble sleeping at night because your investment took a negative dip, this may be a sign that you are more on the conservative end.

Related: Things to Consider before Making an Investment Decision

WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF MONEY YOU CAN AFFORD TO RISK?

The next question to pose, is what amount of money are you comfortable investing.  I might also add, that prior to investing, it would be wise to have at least 3-6 months of living expenses already saved up.  Prior to making a financial investment, you should have clear picture of your finances so that you can make a smart decision in investing your dollars.  Perhaps your comfortable with making a one time lump sum investment, or you may prefer to invest an allocated amount each month.  Either way, make sure you find a situation that you are comfortable with.

WHAT IS YOUR EXIT STRATEGY?

Lastly, in making any financial investment, you need to have an exit strategy.  If you’re investing in stocks and you bought the stock at $20 per share, you may have decided to get out once it hits $40 per share, or when the stock hits $15 per share and you decide to cut your losses.  If you’re primary goal in investing was for retirement and you wanted to have $2,000,000 in your account, once you hit that mark you can exit.  Once you decide on your exit strategy do your best to stick to it.

Investing is a great way to build up your assets, and if done smartly, it can turn into another way to generate income.  The best way to earn money, is to have your money do the heavy lifting and work for you.  Remember to do your research and ask yourself the necessary questions prior to making a financial investment.

If you are looking for quality content in regards to Financial Education, Personal Growth, Development and Entrepreneurship you can contact us at The Alston Collab. We also help provide content and tips for Money management for millennials and Generation X 

5 Positive Steps to Build Confidence and Destroy Fear

King Solomon, considered by many to be the wisest man ever, stated, “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7).   There are many other quotes and sayings that suggest the same message, “What one thinks about, He or she becomes!”  A few months ago, I had the pleasure of reading the book, The Magic of Thinking Big by Dr. David Schwartz (1987). Dr. Schwartz goes on to explain different techniques to program your mind for success.  A major part of reaching success is having confidence and overcoming fear.  This isn’t always a simple task, so Dr. Schwartz provided some helpful and positive steps that one can take to increase confidence and overcome fear.  Below I explain the 5 tips that he provided, which I hope you find to be as helpful as I did. 

1.     Be a Front Seater

While I was in high School and college, I always thought it was always cool to sit toward the back of the classroom.  There have been studies that show that those students who sit near or in the front of the class are likely to do much better on the test, and in turn establish more confidence.  The same concept can be applied post college; whether in meetings at your job, going to a seminar or conference, or even going to a sporting event.  The closer you are to the front, the more confidence you are likely to have, and at the same time fear starts to remove itself from the picture.

Related Video: Ted Talk on the Skill of Confidence

2.     Practice making eye contact

This is a great way to start building confidence. However, you just want to make sure not to be extreme to the point where it’s creepy.   An important lesson that I learned in reading a biography about Nelson Mandela, is that he always used great eye contact. He always held his head and shoulders high instead of slouching over or looking down.  When you walk tall and look people directly in their eyes, it gives you confidence and also lets the other person know that you are self-assured.  This definitely applies for when you encounter someone who is considered important because you don’t want to come off as shy or timid. Practice making eye contact and standing tall, and you will almost immediately feel more poised.

3.     Walk 25 percent faster

For all my people on the East Coast, you probably do this automatically.  However, those of us from the South or Midwest should probably start using this rule.  When you start to walk a little faster, from an outside perspective, it seems as if you have somewhere important to be.  On the inside you feel a little more assertive, and it makes you want to have somewhere important to be.  Science and history shows that once your mind believes something, it begins to figure out to how to make it a reality.  So, walk a little faster and start feeling more confident.

Related: More Ways to Overcome Fear

4.     Practice Speaking Up

There are plenty of opportunities where you should start practicing the act of speaking up.  For many people this may come natural, and for others it is something that takes repetition.  If you work at a job, you can begin to speak up in team meetings, in one on one sessions with your supervisor, or reaching out others in different departments to learn new things.  In social settings, begin making it a point to start a conversation with a stranger and find out something about the person.  Another great opportunity to speak up is at a seminar or conference where the speaker offers the chance to ask questions.  Each of these examples will help you begin to build confidence and start to overcome fear.

5.     Smile Big!!!

This is my personal favorite because it is one of the easiest things to do and it always gives you a pleasant feeling inside, especially when it is genuine.  The best communicators, leaders, and influencers have mastered the art of smiling.  In the biography that I read about Nelson Mandela, it said that it was his smile that won him the election in South Africa.  Smiling not only gives you self-assurance, but it also extremely contagious. Smiling puts the person that you’re speaking to at ease.

Start to implement these five steps and you will begin to build more confidence, overcome fear, and stare success directly in the eyes!!

 Related: More Benefits of Smiling

At The alston collab we provides Quality Content for financial education for millennials as well as for generation x, Download Free eBook on financial education to overcome financial stress 

The Importance of the Follow Up

In business, especially when building meaningful relationships, the act of following up is extremely important, yet often it is overlooked.  Unfortunately, in our day and age, following up with new acquaintances is becoming a lost art.  Being an entrepreneur and pursing the dream of becoming a Power Connector, I have placed an emphasis on “the act of following up”.  In studying other successful individuals, reading, and through experience, I have learned a few things in regards to the importance of the following up.

1. Lets others know you are serious

Have you ever been to a networking event or a conference and when you came home, you had a pocket full of business cards?  There have been instances I have met someone, exchanged information, with the hopes of connecting sometime in the near future, only to never speak to the person again.  In reading about power connecters and successful business men and women, I have learned that they take following up with others very seriously.  They understand that when you follow up instantly with people that you meet, it lets the other party know that you are serious about connecting. Given that many people don’t follow up at all, you can easily set yourself apart and let others know that you are serious just with a simple email, phone call, text message, or Facebook and LinkedIn request.

Related: 4 Ways to Follow Up after an Interview

2. Important step in building successful relationships

I have always been a firm believer that people are your greatest resource.  Judy Robinett, author and Power Connector may have said it best, “In business, as in life, relationships are the the real power grid that smart people use to get things done faster and more effectively”.  In building strategic relationships, it will be imperative that you learn to follow up on a consistent basis.  Many successful individuals, as well as businesses have a system for how and when they follow up with others.  It could be said that “following up” is the actual first step in creating a positive and meaningful relationship.

3. The Sooner the Better

Making it a point to follow up with people that you meet, will not only let them know that you are serious, but it will also keep you fresh on their minds.  Most successful individuals will attempt to follow up within 24-48 hours of meeting and many will follow up the same day or the very next morning.  Some people, such as power connectors, influencers, or leaders may be extremely busy and sometime it may be difficult for them to follow up immediately, however the sooner you can follow up the better.

Related: The Benefits of Being an Effective Communicator 

4. Takes 5-7 Contacts to turn prospect to client.

My first job out of college was as a Financial Advisor with Edward Jones Investment Company.  As a beginning advisor in order to build to my business, we required to make at least 25 contacts per day.  These contacts could consist of going door to door in local neighborhoods, phone calls, in person appointments or some combination of all three.  As you can probably imagine, going door to door was my least favorite approach.  One thing that they taught us, that I still remember, was that it takes between 5-7 contacts with a prospect before they became a client.  That means that in order to turn a prospect into a client, it is mandatory that you follow up not once, but multiple times.  If you want to build successful relationships, then following up is mandatory.

5. You never know who you can help or visa versa

I stated earlier about going to different networking events or conferences and leaving with a pocket full of business cards.  Many times these business cards end up getting thrown away or end up in a big box or rolodex, full of other people that you never spoke with again.  On the road to success, help or an unexpected big break often comes from the place that least expect it.  If you never follow up with the people that you encounter, you will never know who can help you, or the people that you could help as well.  You may need an Investor for your business, and one of the person’s that you met may have direct access to multiple investors but you would never know because you failed to follow up.   You want to build some bridges and connections in your life, then start the act of following up!

Why Social Skills Are Important and How to Improve Them

If you are looking for quality content in regards to Financial Education, Personal Growth, Development and Entrepreneurship you can contact us at The Alston Collab. We also help provide content and tips for Personal finance for millennials, Money management for millennials.

10 Things You Can Do to Ensure a Great Day

Perhaps you have heard of the saying, “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” and if you’re normal, you’ve probably experienced waking up not in the best of moods.  Although every day will be not be pure awesomeness, there are certain things that one can do to increase the chances of having great days more often than not.  I’ve put together a list of 10 things that you can do to ensure a great day, and broken them up into two parts.  This is the first half of the list. 

1. START YOUR DAY WITH A GRATEFUL HEART

I personally believe that you should begin each and every day with a grateful heart.  If you were given another opportunity to wake up and experience another day above ground, regardless of your circumstances, then you have a good reason to be thankful.  Expressing gratitude as soon as you start your day will set the tone for the remainder of your day, and put a spotlight on something thats positive.  

2. LITERALLY YELL THE WORDS, “TODAY WILL BE A GREAT DAY!!”

There is power in the tongue; and the words that we hear and say can have a large impact on how we view the outside world.  Why do you think some motivational speakers get paid thousands of dollars to speak??  Perhaps you have heard someone say “speak things into existence”, well this is definitely a true statement! If you want to experience a wonderful day, why not yell the words, “Today will be a great Day”!

RELATED: 7 WAYS TO MAKE THIS WEEK GREAT!

3. TAKE A COLD SHOWER

Maybe you have heard of this technique before, and if not, I would highly recommend giving it a try.  This will definitely be uncomfortable, but the benefits are well worth it.  Taking a cold shower has been proving to: relieve stress, stimulate weight loss, increase alertness, speed up muscle soreness and recovery, and give you more energy!  Want to start your day off on the right foot, try taking a cold shower!

4. EAT CLEAN

Many experts have said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  There is also no secret that the foods that we put into our body determine a great deal of how we feel mentally and physically.  Eating healthy in the morning time will give us more energy and also help us move into a more positive state.

5.     SMILE

It is extremely difficult and perhaps impossible to have negative thoughts and feelings when you smile, especially if it is genuine.  When you smile, you almost immediately feel good and you tend to think about things that make you happy.  Smiling not only has a positive impact on yourself, but it can also brighten up someone else’s day.  Smiling is contagious, so why not start the morning with a big happy smile!

6. EXERCISE

For anyone who does their exercise routine in the morning, they will quickly tell you that this is one of the best ways to start your day.  I’ve read about several successful individuals and a large majority of them start they day with a morning jog or lifting some weights.  Starting your day by exercising with put you in a positive mind state and also make you feel more confident.

7. SPEND TIME OUTSIDE

They have been studies that show that people who spend at least 30 minutes outside tend to be happier than those who don’t.  Start your day by jogging for 30-45 minutes outside and you can kill two birds with one stone; exercising and time spent outdoors.  Try taking a moment in the middle of your day or even a night to take a brief walk outside, and you will be surprised at the positive impact it will have.  A side note, if you want to burn some extra calories, try taking that walk after you eat lunch or dinner.  Your body will appreciate it. 

RELATED: 11 REASONS TO SPEND TIME OUTSIDE THE OFFICE

8. LISTEN OR WATCH SOMETHING MOTIVATIONAL

This a great way to get your day started off in the right direction.  I personally like to do this at the start and end of my days.  Hearing a positive message in the morning will subsequently put you in a positive mind state.  When you hear a motivational message, it encourages you to be productive, make the most of your day, and allows your energy to move in the right direction.

RELATED: MOTIVATIONAL VIDEO!! 

9. LEND A HELPING HAND

If you want to have a great day, do something nice for someone and not expect anything in return.  One day on my way to work (when I worked a regular job) I stopped to get a couple of donuts, and the gentlemen in front of me was with his young daughter and had forgotten his wallet at home.  I bought the guy and and his daughter’s breakfast and they both smiled and thanked me.  This must have been a couple of years ago and I can still remember till this day how I felt afterward, and went on to have an amazing and blessed day.

10. LISTEN TO YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC AND DO A DANCE!

One last way to have a great day, is simply to listen to your favorite music and dance!  I don’t believe I ever saw someone who was dancing, and they weren’t happy and having a good time, regardless if they could dance or not.  Music is good for the soul, and dancing is good for the body, not to mention its Universal! This is something that has been done for ages, all across the world in different cultures.  You want to have a great day, sing and a do a dance!

If you are looking for quality content in regards to Financial Education, Personal Growth, Development and Entrepreneurship you can contact us at The Alston Collab. We also help provide content and tips for Personal finance for millennials

Accounting 101: The Balance Sheet

Financial Literacy can be defined as the ability to make judgements based on good information.  It is also the ability to understand how money works in the world; how someone earns or makes money, how that person manages it, how he/she invest it (turn it into more) and how that person donates it to help others.  Before you begin to accumulate wealth, it is extremely important that you try to fully understand money and how it operates. Learning the basic accounting principles would be a great start.  In college, I was required to take 12 hours of accounting and I was not fond of the subject, but now I certainly understand the importance of the subject.  In this blog will take a look at the Balance Sheet, which is one the very first things you learn about in the exciting topic of accounting. 

Related: The Importance of Accounting

Assets

Assets are things that have a lasting value.  An asset can include: a home (real estate), investments (stocks, bonds, mutual funds, cd’s, pension/retirement plans), a business, jewelry, professional paintings, antique cars, and of course cash money.

All of the assets listed above, are things that are tangible or something that you can touch and feel.  An Asset can also be something that you possess that could potentially earn income for you or put money inside your pocket.  That type of asset can include, education & knowledge, or a particular skill, such as: comedian, hair stylist or barber, tax preparer, chef, surgeon, athlete, or an artist.  All of these individuals have potential to earn money off of their skill and/or talent, and some will earn more than others based on how well they perform their skill.

The more ASSETS you have, the better! In Robert Kiyoski’s “Rich Dad, Poor Dad”, he said you can be considerded Financially Independent, when your total assets combined are able to continue to pay for your monthly living expenses on an ongoing basis.  Wealthy individuals are able to do this consistently while continuing to increase their asset column and minimize their expenses (liabilities) column.

Related: The 7 Rules to Acquiring Money

Liabilities

Liabilities is something in which an individual is responsible for, especially a DEBT or a Financial Obligation.  Good examples of liabilities would include: car notes, credit card debt, student loans, mortgage loans (if you are the borrower), payday advance loans, health care bills, business loans, or any other outstanding debt.  Whether you’re an individual or a business, you typically would like to decrease your liabilities and increase the amount of your assets. 

Liabilities in most cases take money out of your pocket, while assets put money back into your pocket.  If you are a business owner or an investor, there are certain situations where a liability could essentially put money into your pocket.  A perfect example, would be an investor taking a mortgage out for a second home.  However, since the investor is knowledgeable, he knows that he will get a great interest rate on his loan and that due the size of the house and neighborhood, he could easily rent the home out to a small family.  Based on the market value of the home, the rent would end up more than the investor’s monthly mortgage payment, meaning that every month the home would pay the investor income, although the home shows as a liability on his books. 

Related: The Cash Flow Quadrant

If you are looking for Quality Content in regards to the financial domain, you can contact The Alston Collab. We develop specific content by market (financial education, self-improvement, and entrepreneurship ) to increase the level of engagement by channel. 

What You Will Learn from Adversity

In life, no matter your background, ethnicity, location, gender, rich, poor, democrat or republican, you will most likely at some point in your life face adversity, hard times, or have challenges at the very least.  You could experience financial trouble, physical ailments, emotional stress, marriage issues, problems with your children, or a long list of other unfortunate things.  My point is, is that no one is immune to facing problems on this earth.  A quote that I have used before and will do so again, is that “Life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you react.  Successful individuals understand that when adversity hits, learning opportunities also present themselves.  It can also be said that highly successful people reach their status because of their ability to handle to difficult situations. I have put together a list of 7 things that you can learn from facing and overcoming adversity.

1.      Humility

According to Merriam-Webster’s online dictionary, humility can be defined as the quality or state of not thinking you are better than other people: the quality or state of being humble.  I have personally been in different situations faced a lot of adversity and to be honest, as I type these words I am going through a bit of adversity and I can assure you that it is a very humbling experience.  When you face difficult challenges, obstacles, or hardships, it is hard, maybe even impossible at that particular time to think of yourself as better or higher than other people.  In fact, it may be the complete opposite, you may even feel lesser than people around you; this is especially true when one faces financial challenges.  One thing is for sure and two things are for certain, when you face adversity you will also confront humility. 

2.      Perseverance

Perseverance can be defined as the quality that allows someone to continue trying to do something even though it is difficult.  Anyone who has reached the top of the mountain will quickly tell you that there were many trials and that it was by no means easy.  They will also tell you that the view from the top of the mountain is spectacular.  In fact, often the road to success, is the road less traveled.  When you are able to face and overcome adversity, the experiences in themselves will teach how to persevere and continue fighting and moving forward even when the going gets tough. 

Related: Positive Approaches for Overcoming Obstacles

3.       Learn New Things about yourself

Aristotle may have said it best, “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom”.  One of the best ways to learn things about yourself, is for you to be challenged and face some difficult tasks.  I love college football and enjoy those tough, hard fought games. The games where nothing seems to be going right for one team, making some early mistakes or maybe suffering some injuries from key players, but ultimately the team is able to persevere and win the ball game.  I particularly like hearing from the head coach of the winning team after they win a game of that nature, and one question that the reporters often ask, is “What did you learn about your team from this win”?  The reason they ask that question, is because had the team won the game easily with no challenges or hiccups, there probably wouldn’t be much that the coaching staff could take away from the game.  Often the coaches will tell the reporters that they learn that their team had mental toughness, their young players have matured, that their team has perseverance, or maybe that one of their unexpected players is not afraid of the big stage.  In any difficult situation, there is also a chance to learn new things about yourself.

4.      Who your true friends are

I think this is something that may get overlooked in the face of adversity, although it shouldn’t.  It is amazing how when a person is reaching high levels of success (especially financial success) they have all the friends in the world and seems as if they could do no wrong.  But the moment that person hits some difficult times, or Lord forbid they loose all of their money, then things begin to change and that person is likely to find themselves with a shortage of friends.  We all love a rags to riches story, but the other end of that spectrum, is someone being rich and wealthy only to lose everything.  I heard that many people would prefer to poor or middle income verse having it all and losing it.  I could only imagine the feeling.  People who experience this or something similar will quickly find out who their real and true friends are.  This is also a time to say that you should always try to treat those close to you with love and respect, because when tough times come calling, hopefully they will be the ones who stick with you and offer a shoulder to lean on.  When adversity knocks, you can be sure that you will immediately know who your real friends are.

5.      Personal Growth

One of the main things that The Alston Collaborative focuses on, is personal growth and development.  One of the best ways to grow as a person, is to face adversity.  Flowers need water to grow, and it has to rain in order for those flowers to get the water.  Two phrases directly related is, “there is no joy without pain” and “no pain, no gain”.  That means that you must endure some type of struggle in order to enjoy the sweet taste of success and victory.  The football team in my earlier example, not only learned new things about themselves, but they also are experienced growth from going through tough football games.  When teams win Championships, they often reflect back on the hard work they put in and also the times that there were able to face hardships and overcome them.  They didn’t enjoy going through the adversity at the time that it occurred, but once they achieved their ultimate goal, they were actually able to be appreciative of the tough times, because it essentially made them better and who they are.  I can testify that I have grown from past troubling experiences and it has made me a better version of myself.

Related: 5 Ingredients You Need in Your Life

6.      Problems aren’t always big as they seem at first

This is slightly a follow up from the previous example.  When you have difficulties, at the time that they occur it can make for an unpleasant experience.  However, once you are able to move on and put the challenge behind you, the problem in a sense shrinks in size and looses its magnitude.  It helps a great deal if and when you face adversity and a slue of problems, if you are able to keep things in perspective and look at the big picture.  I can attest that is much easier said than done. Often we will face challenges and don’t understand how we will move on or survive.  A great example is when you’re in love and experience your first heartbreak.  It seems as if the world is over and you wonder if the bad feeling will ever go away.  You could still have shelter, food, clothes, and maybe even doing well financially, but still feel distraught.  When you look at the big picture, you may have your heart broken, but all things considered you have a lot of good things going for yourself.  After you have had your share of challenges and tough times, you will realize that your problems aren’t always as big as they seem. 

7.      Laugh at Life

One quote says that “when life gives you a hundred reasons to cry, show life that you have a thousand reasons to smile.”  I believe that it is important to try and not take life too seriously.  We all have to leave this place at some point, so you might as well try to enjoy life and laugh as much as you can.  Laughter is good for the soul and some even believe that laughter can be a cure for diseases.  I understand why, being that many diseases arrive due to some form of stress.  When you are laughing, enjoying life, and expressing gratitude, it makes it extremely difficult to be stressed or worried.  If you can learn to laugh at life, laugh at yourself and have a sense of humor about things especially when facing tough times, you will find out that adversity will lose some of its grip when you begin to start laughing and finding things to be thankful for. 

Related:  Benefits of Personal Development