Let's Talk: ...About Making Your Life Exciting, Easier, And Exceptional

Two or three times a year, set aside four days, away from work, family, and technology, to check in with yourself, gain perspective, daydream, and evaluate your life.

When we’re constantly stuck in our screens, we’re missing out on what’s happening around us and within us.

It’s fine to go offline. You won’t lose your place in the world. And once you practice it and get good at it, I predict you’ll move a step farther from thinking, “It’s fine,” to realizing, “It’s divine!” The more you log off, the more you’ll realize how fabulously freeing it truly is.

Take a few of the 1,440 minutes in your day to say thank you. Wake up and fall asleep thanking God. The universe will reward you tenfold for your gratitude, and you will have peace.

Have a nice glass of wine before you eat lunch. It will bolster your inventiveness, as wine tends to do. But more than anything, it relaxes your mind. Give yourself that midday pause. A pleasure indeed.

I am a firm believer in preordination—everything happens for a reason. Hence, the logic behind the Chinese symbol for crisis, danger and opportunity. Facing a crisis may present hazards of all kinds, but it also presents opportunities. During a crisis, you learn to survive outside the norm. When you face adversity, see it as an opportunity to learn novel ways to cope.

Having less stuff is great. You will have fewer things to clean, maintain, fix, pay for, worry about, and obsess over. Best of all, the less you have, the more space and freedom you have. The more freedom you have, the easier life becomes. And the easier life becomes, the more pleasurable it can be.

By being yourself, you fulfill your destiny. It’s your unique gifts, thoughts, and ideas that the world needs. No one else can give them to the world because they’re yours. Be yourself and bask in the power derived from self-realization.

Everyone has faults. You may think another person has it all, that they have no cares in the world, but that’s not the case. Other people may have problems you can’t even imagine.

You are unique. There’s no one else like you. Nobody can be better than you because nobody else is you. Nobody has your distinctive talents and traits.

Anything that helps you chill and unwind is a pleasure worth pursuing.

Exceptionalism means that you do things that are very, very important and grand. Showing a simple act of kindness to another person is all you need to do to be exceptional.

s far as the Law of Attraction and your power vision go, once you’ve come up with what you want to manifest, don’t worry too much about how it’s going to happen. Instead, put in regular effort doing your envisioning.

It’s completely okay to want some things and to buy some of those things, just don’t want and buy everything!

I remember seeing a sign in a bar that said, “Alcohol may not solve your problems, but neither will water or milk.” Well, that is very true. Having a drink or two takes the edge off. Happy hour is the perfect way to do so. You’ll find inspiration, and sometimes even enlightenment, during happy hour. It’s a time to make plans, to share dreams, to envision success, and to enjoy the fruits of your labor. Happy hour also helps get you through the tough times because it gives you a designated space to hash things out and put them in perspective. Conversely, you can use happy hour as a time not to hash things out, but to laugh and remember, which also gives good perspective.

One of the things that I believe defines kindness is making others feel important. And one of my big pet peeves in life is speaking badly of other people. I’m a big proponent of—“If you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.” If you want to start showing kindness, simply do not say anything negative about anyone.

When we show kindness to others, we shouldn’t be expecting anything in return. Kindness is all about giving, and it has nothing to do with getting.

I’m even a proponent of listening when you’re in prayer. Effective prayer is when you pray, you say what you want to say to God, then you sit in silence and wait for God to answer. If you allow your mind to be quiet enough, and you’re in a place that’s quiet and peaceful enough, you will hear God’s reply.

People who say that they’re too busy to have lunch have a misguided sense of their importance. Anyone can take a lunch break. Even if it’s a half-hour. Step away, have a meal, and relax. First, not doing it is counterproductive. To have your mind working nonstop for eight hours is not healthy. Even race cars take breaks. They can’t go full rev for eight hours, they need pit stops. Your mind and body are more complex than a race car, so you need pit stops also.

Gratitude is the foundation for all human virtues. Gratitude is the cornerstone of a person’s character. Gratitude begets exceptionalism. Again, don’t forget to show others appreciation. No matter their station in life, thank them for any service or kindness they may show you.

Everybody loves to hear a heartfelt thank you. There’s impressive power in saying thank you, as gratitude begets sincerity. When you acknowledge somebody, you disarm them. Positivity flows from thankfulness.

We often forget to thank ourselves for what we have accomplished. Your dedication and hard work provide for you and your loved ones. So thank yourself—pat yourself on the back. After all, it’s your hard work that allows you to live an exciting and easier life. And it’s your daily practice of gratitude that makes your life exceptional.

Being yourself is essential because we put off our dreams by thinking we’re not enough, that we don’t have what it takes, that what we’re interested in isn’t right and we ought to chase after something else. My friend, you have everything you need to fulfill your dreams. They’re your dreams, and no one else’s. Never give up on them.

For God’s sake, the Bible says drinking is okay. “Stop drinking only water, and use a little wine.” That’s straight out of the Bible, 1 Timothy 5:23. And Ecclesiastes 9:7 instructs, “Eat your food with gladness and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.” God approves and has no problem with you having a few glasses of wine.

If God blesses you with resources, be a blessing to others. Being generous is a soulful pleasure.

Showing kindness to others costs nothing, and yet it changes everything. It makes the world a better place. It makes humanity more human, and at the end of the day, in the difficult times we’re living in now, kindness is the one and only thing that will allow the human race to move forward with love, hope, and caring, instead of the hate, division, and the constant bickering that unfortunately seems to be at the forefront of daily life.

It’s more important to understand what the other person is telling you, to listen to what they’re trying to communicate, than to be in a hurry to reply.

Con calma y piensa, take your time and think, should be an adage that you apply in your entire life.

When I consider the people I admire, a quality most of them share is that they’re very good listeners. You can literally see them listening. You notice that they’re thinking too, and only after they think, do they give a reply to the person they’re talking to. Listening is an incredibly important skill, and good listening is an art. One that requires immense discipline. For many of us, we always want to get in edgewise what we feel is more important to say. Yet, if we would learn to listen more than we speak, we could have better conversations and forge deeper connections. Plus, there would be less misunderstandings in the world.

I don’t remember having ever learned anything while I was talking. Every single thing I’ve ever learned in my life, I’ve learned by listening or reading.