HAPPINESS TIP:How to better windsurf life's ever changing waves!

A few summers ago I learned to windsurf. AND INTERESTINGLY... the first thing I learned when learning to windsurf was NOT how to windsurf! What my windsurfing instructor, Bob, first taught me was HOW TO FALL SAFELY. Bob showed me if I must land on my face, there's a safe way to land on my face. Ditto if I were to land on my side and toosh. Bob's goal: remove my fear of falling so when I finally was up on the windsurf, I'd feel safe to move my body freely. I'd be relaxed...able to have fun...and even feel comfy about trying risky, adventurous windsurfing maneuvers BECAUSE I'D KNOW that no matter what might happen to me I'D FALL DOWN SAFELY! Well, this same metaphor also applies big time to life here on land. We all need to become confident in our abilities to deal with any crisis and/or obstacle that might surprise us so we can happily live the most courageous, risk-taking, adventurous juicy life possible. For this reason, I believe gaining trust in oneself to “land safely” in any situation is one of the MOST IMPORTANT lessons we need to self-teach ourselves if we want to pursue our passions and goals with the vigor needed to snag 'em! Do you believe in your ability to "land safely" in a relationship, a job situation, a creative venture? Today WRITE UP A LIST to bolster your self-confidence about why you KNOW FOR A FACT that no matter what happens to you this year YOU HAVE THE VIM, VIGOR, CAJONES, SMARTS, AND MINDSET TO NOT ONLY RIDE LIFE'S CRASHING WAVES...BUT FALL SAFELY IF THROWN...AND CLIMB BACK UP SWIFTLY AGAIN FOR MORE FUN AND ADVENTURE!

LIFE TIP: Dump bad patternsfor good in 2005!

Do you find yourself doing the same bad habits over and over? If so isn’t it time you said…enough, dammit! ESPECIALLY SINCE IT’S A NEW YEAR COMING UP! How? First you have to become aware of negative childhood brainwashing...or what I call BRAINDIRTYING BECAUSE YOUR LENS TO THE WORLD GETS DIRTIED WITH NEGATIVE BELIEFS THAT YOU MUST WIPE CLEAN BEFORE YOU CAN SEE CLEARLY HOW YOU CAN GET THE LIFE YOU WANT! Second, you must understand another reason why bad habits form, a theory a la Carl Jung, who believes that our lives need meaning and purpose, and if we dont have meaning/purpose we get an addiction/bad habit instead...so we can create drama/conflict...AND THEN THEREBY BELIEVE OUR LIVES HAVE EXCITEMENT/IMPORTANCE. Addictions/bad habits according to Carl Jung are "LOW LEVEL SPIRITUAL QUESTS." The good news: You can dump bad habits/addictions by developing a HIGH LEVEL DREAM QUEST...a driving force that drives you forward with excitement..so your brain has something new to obsess about in swap for that bad habit/addiction you're now about to dump! ALSO...besides swapping a low level spiritual quest for a high level Dream Quest...you need to swap some other beliefs/negative patterns. FOR EXAMPLE: You need to swap a negative/closed mind for a positive/open mind and seek alternate meaning for past pain, failure, scarcity. You need to swap blame for self-responsibility. You need to swap doubt for faith. You need to swap apathy/laziness for enthusiastic discipline that you are gonna snag everything you dream about snagging! FINALLY: YOU GOT START SAYING "ENOUGH DAMMIT" everytime you feel tempted to pursue that bad habit/addiction. INDEED: Make ENOUGH DAMMIT your new mantra for 2005!

HAPPY PRE-NEW YEAR!

Psyched for the year 2005? Write me your new years resolutions at info@notsalmon.com BEFORE JAN. 1st and I will offer you FREE helpful psyche-ology tips on how to better snag 'em! Hey...don't wait until you're drunk the night of the 31st to do this. Do it now! (Unless you're drunk now...and if you are, well....better make it a new years resolution not to get drunk in the middle of the day, dammit!)

CAREER TIP: If at first you don’t succeed, you’re doing something stupid.

Start blaming YOURSELF more, OTHERS less…and your career will surely rise. Listen with a truly OPEN MIND about what the client and marketplace is telling you about each and every failure. Don’t just seek compliments. SEEK CRITICISM. Consider each failure as a “full-ure”…full of lessons to improve your career. And even if you do succeed at a goal, study what you might have done better to EXCEED how you SUCCEED. IN SUMMARY: You must not only figure out what the client/market wants…you must also figure out what the client/market doesn’t want…then make sure you’re not stupidly doing it/supplying it/saying it.

CAREER TIP: Speed ahead of the herd!

There are "HERD IDEA" people. Then there are "UNHEARD OF IDEA" people. Always try to find and work with the "UNHEARD OF IDEA" people. These folks will always take more risks and give you more freedom to flex your talent, so you'll not only make more money you'll have MORE FUN making your money. IT'S A GIVEN: Whenever you work with "UNHEARD OF IDEA" people you're ALWAYS assured of speeding ahead of the stubborn, slowly grazing herd.

CAREER TIP: Purposefully don't finish all your work today!

Leave a beloved project a little unfinished each day -- at a specific place where you’re PSYCHED and CONFIDENT about it. Why? You’ll be MORE EXCITED to return the next day to your office and start working on it again. Basically, when you see your workload as half full of champagne, you don’t mind returning to finish off the other half!

HAPPINESS TIP: Jumpstart DO-GOOD/FEEL-GOOD FEELINGS!

There's a little something called the "FEEL-GOOD/DO-GOOD/FEEL-GOOD CYCLE." Basically, this is a psychologically proven theory that when you feel good about yourself you tend to do more good in the world for others -- which then raises your self esteem -- which MAKES YOU FEEL EVEN GOOD-ER ABOUT YOURSELF -- WHICH THEN MAKES YOU WANT TO DO EVEN MORE GOOD -- WHICH THEREBY THEN MAKES YOU FEEL EVEN MORE HAPPY-- AND ON AND ON THE CYCLE GOES! In other words, just as the rich might get richer, the happy thereby get happier. Luckily you can JUMPSTART THE FEEL-GOOD/DO-GOOD/FEEL-GOOD CYCLE, by going out there and doing some good -- even when you’re feeling bad -- and then you won’t feel bad for long!