Good Morning!

Yet another day is approaching… Has anybody seen the TV series Friends? If you do, you know what I am talking about. If you haven’t I urge you to start watching. I believe that laughter is the best medicine of all. If you laugh to feel more happy and relaxed. I usually watch at least one episode of my favorite TV comedies everyday. How can this help in your everyday life then?

Well, a few weeks ago, just before Christmas we finally got the first snow of the season. We got a lot of snow too! I was so happy about it. When the snow come it usually stay the whole winter, but not this time. Some days later I heard it raining, raining and raining… my snow was melting away. When I went from the school that day it was about 30cm snow mod around my feet. Everything was wet and I went extremely frustrated. Then I remembered a scene from Friends. Ross’ and Monica’s grandma has just past away and they are at the reception after the funeral. At the same time there is a major sport event on TV and somehow Joey has got a portable TV. All the men is watching the game. In the end the team everyone is cheering for looses. Then Ross’s dad spontaneously say; ”Now I am really depressed.” When I remembered that scene I laughed out in the snow mod. Who could do anything else? My misery was not that important anymore. Instead of feeling sad my mood switched and I felt happy. Thank you Friends!

The average 4 year old baby laughs around 300 times a day. The average adult laughs 15 times, who is the easiest to be around? We usually prefer glad people rather than sumber once, because vivid people make us feel happy too.

Hi!

It’s has been a very long time since last I wrote something. There has simple been a lot of things going on in my life lately. I’ve finished my last courses at the university. Now there are only my two master thesis left, but that it not what I am supposed to talk about here. Since last time I have read a new great book a few times. It is called “The Munk who sold his Ferrari” by Robin Sharma. He has inspired me again. In addition I’m in the middle of “17 laws of success” by Napoleon Hill.

Many books talk about the power of food. How different foods have different energy levels. For example is meat harder for the body to process than a salad. Therefore you may feel tired after finishing a steak, but sharp and alert after a light salad. I have not paid much attention to this fact before since I am a great meat lover. My New Year promise though, is to eat a vegetarian diet for 30 days. This is a real challenge for me and I am excited to see if I will feel any differently health wise. It is always good to challenge yourself to do new stuff. It is on the edge where we develop the most and to achieve small goals helps to motivate us for bigger challenges.

I will also try to rise at 5am every morning in January. I have tried it before and I felt quite good when I did it, but for different reasons I had to quit. I will give this I new try. Everything is so quite in the morning and I get two additional hours before anyone else rises. These hours I can use to develop myself and improve any of your skills. One ability I like to improve is my ability concentrate on one thing for the time it takes to finish it. This I will do by using a technique called ”the heart of the Rose”. It is very simply. All you need is a rose and some quit time. Try to focus all your thoughts on the rose for five minutes. See the forms of the leaves, the color and the smell. This is an exercise to bend your thoughts after your will. As soon as you thing of something else try and refocus on the flower. This will be very difficult in the beginning, but after some time you will be able to focus on the rose for 20 minutes without losing your concentration. The ability of focused thoughts will help you in whatever you want to do, because you can then put all your energy on the thing at hand.

Hi,

it has been a long time since my last text. Before I go to bed I need to spread some wisdom. Have you ever gotten annoyed when you get the sun in your eyes while studying or sitting indoor? I have many times, I used to think… How did it find me this time? Damn sun! How about changing the way we look at things – when the sun finds you the next time… Why get annoyed, lets smile instead and say hello. The sun only wants to shine on you because you are special…

Another very disturbing thing is noise! I have some major concentration problems when it is noisy around me… I simply can’t think of anything else. It just hit me the other day – it is just the same as with sun, just change the way we perceive things. The source of the noisy only wants your appreciation and attention to say hello. When you have done that, it is not noise anymore. When you can let it be.

Try this and see if it can help you too!

Hi,

I greatest weakness is my reading performance. I have always read extremely slow. In first, second and third grade I used to say that I have read the book in class, though I hadn’t. I have always dreaded reading aloud to. It is time to change. This first part of the semester, August to October I have to read about 2000 pages in different book and journals. In addition I like to read some newspapers and maybe a few book on my spare time. Today I read about 10-20 pages a hour depending on the literature. I would really like to increase that.

Since I listen to alot of audio programs I have come in contact with a Mr Ed Stracher. Hi is a guru within concentration and learning. I can really recommend his program ”Magical Concentration”. Hi has also developed a reading program, called the Reading Genius. For the next 30 days I will try to learn his methods. I know it will be a great challenge, but if I can comprehend at least a few think and increase my concentration and reading speed with about 5 pages an hour, that would save me a lot of time. I will set the bare high though, I would like to read 100 pages an hour. That would really increase my learning capabilities. I start today and will report my advancements.

Hi!

It has been a while since my last text. It has been a tough time at school. I have just written my last exam for the summer. I had two economics exams, which I didn’t have time for last year. Tough times are great times though. It is an opportunity to grow and to examine yourself or your organization. It is easy to be a top manager when everything is good: the customers are loyal, the  company makes great profit and the competition is low. It’s when times get harder you really need to show what you are made of. Warren Buffert speaks of this in one of his books, Management Secrets. It a great book, in which Warren talks about how to manage firms, what firms you should choose to work for and how to treat the people around you. The person that has inspired Warren Buffert the most is Dale Carnegie program How to win friends and influence people. That book is a real masterpiece. I have read it many times and I will probably make a lot of references to that book in later texts. It was fun to see how much Dale Carnegie’s work has inspired a business leader like Warren Buffert

About change, change is something inevitable everywhere at any time. It is just foolish to try and resist it. It is better to lean into it. Embrace the change and make it a part of who you are.  Change is something that nobody really likes. As human beings we like the security of knowing what is going on. But when something changes, we don’t know exactly what is going to happen. That makes us scared and we try to avoid it.

Here is a thought, what if the changing edge is the safest place to be. Right in the middle of the change. If we don’t change and improve our performance, someone else will move ahead of us and steal our customers. Change is uncomfortable, but what if that is good. You will not develop as long as you are not a bit uncomfortable in what you are doing. The funny thing is that the more time we spend outside our comfort zone the more it will expand. I talked to a girl yesterday. She was insanely scared of snakes. To kill the fear she spend a day with a kind therapist. In the beginning of the day she cried and screamed when she saw a toy snake. As the day progressed she talked about and saw snaked in different environments. She spend time outside her comfort zone. By the end of the day she had a snake in her hand. She might not have liked it, but what an improvement in just a day. The conclusion is that being uncomfortable for a while is good. It is then we expand our limits. If you are terrified of speaking in front of an audience. It is just the place you should spend most of your time in.

Hi,

Has anyone seen the documentary ”The Corporation”? It is about business ethics. In that film they start by a few bad apples. Bad apples means companies that does not care about anything but making money. They have no ethics at all. I highly recommend you to see that documentary. http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/1371416

This blog will be about the importance of business ethics and authenticity. It has never been so important to be authentic as it is today. You have to be honest to everybody and above all you have to be honest to yourself.If you promise something, do everything you can to keep that promise. It is essential to be trustworthy. Try to always be yourself. There is few things as powerful as a leader who is confident in himself. According to Michael Jordan authenticity is about; being true to who you are, even when everybody a round you wants you to be someone else. The more leadership you will show, the more criticism you will face. Don’t worry about criticism it is just people’s fear of change. It is then you don’t get any criticism you should be worried.

In the world we live in today some companies are so called bad apples. But I believe that doing good business is very good for your business in the long run. If you trick someone today, you might make a high profit on that deal, but what happens next time you try to do business with that person. We can not afford to screw any of our customers. In marketing we learn that a customer is usually not profitable the first year and getting new customers are very expensive. Therefore it is important to do good business for both parties. One unsatisfied costumer can destroy your whole reputation, but one delighted customer can also be great free advertising for your company.

There can only be one person who is best in the world at one particular thing… Let that person be you! I believe that every one of us can be so much more than we are today. Too many set their bar too low. If don’t even dream big dreams, how are you ever suppose to reach the top in your profession? There is a famous saying; if you reach for the stars you land on the moon. For you who know me, you know that I dream the biggest dreams. I really want to do so much all the time. And to you that say that I dream too big dreams, that I should be realistic, the only thing I can say is; I will show you!

Once again, begin by doing your absolute best all the time. There is nothing so rewarding as the feeling when you have done something really good. We’re living in a global world, there companies form China compete with companies from Sweden about who can be the best supplier for that American company. The world has never before seen such competition. I am a student in my final year at the university. In 10 months I will be on the market of labour competing with all the others. The competition is fears between the mediocre once, but at the top of every profession there are only a few competing about the jobs. It is in fact easier to work on the top than on the “bottom” the competition is less intense there. With a commitment to mastery, you will not only make more money, you will also find it easier to get the job you want. I believe that everyone think it is very satisfying when your peers come to you with their questions. Aim at being the first, the most, the only and the best!

Tomorrow when you’re at your job, ask yourself; what would, the person who is best in the world at what I do, do right now? We will not reach excellence over a night. Mastery takes time. It’ll take about 10 000h before you reach world class at what you do, 10 000h of focus on the most important things. It seems like an eternity, but remember that even the longest trip most begin with a first step. It is usually the first step that is the hardest to take. It takes both courage and discipline to do that. “Focus married to time, creates Mastery” (LTW) 

Hi,

Today is an excellent day to live. I am in a great mood and the sun is shining outside my window. What is the difference between a victim and a leader? I have sad it before, the leaders takes responsibility for everything around them. Everyone can be a leader even though you do not have a fancy title like CEO or FEO. You can influence others by setting a great example! Work at your absolute best every day and you inspire them to do a better job too. If you want others to be helpful, start by being extremely helpful yourself.

Being creative is very important in business and in life in general today. Customers expect you to find new solutions to their problems. If you not steadily improve your performance even if you are the best today, some else will eventually be better than you. Without innovation you will soon understand what meritocracy mean. What does innovation mean than? Is it about finding totally revolutionary solutions everyday? No, innovation is more about small steps to excellence; it’s about evolution, not revolution. Start your day by asking questions like;

• What can I improve today?
• What would my costumer think of this solution?
• What can I do to work faster?
• How can I boost my productivity?

Hi,

the sun rose late today… I overslept! I have another week to my economics exam and I am some what ahead of schedule, so I am taking a few hours off. Today I will talk a little about the importance of your health. I few days ago I talked about goals. One of your prime goals should be an excellent health! Being healthy is something we take your granted every day. But the day we become ill we do anything to become well again. Healthy is our prime state. This is something we should strive for every day! Take some time off to do some kind of exercise every day often week. Workout does not only make you more fit. It also give you more energy and better concentration.

When I set up my health goals I divided them into three groups.

1. Nutrition – The food I eat

2. Workout – Different kinds of exercises

3. General – Relationships, friends, dress warmly

I have around 50 goals to increase my health. What I did was to rate each factor the day I wrote the goal on the scale 1-10 (10 best). That day I had 4,7 in average. That is something I intend to improve significantly. Nothing less than 8,5 is okay from my point of view,even though it very hard to get a 10.

What I have done so far is to improve my nutrition a great deal. I need to say that I am one of those people who loves candy… I am addicted to sugar!  The first thing I have done is to minimize the amount of sugar in my diet. I don’t buy candy in more than very small packages and I don’t drink anything like coke. I have realized that I can’t eat little candy once a week. I have to stop eating it at all. At the moment I eat maybe 2 small small pieces a day. What I also have realized is that 50 pieces in 60 minutes are not better than 10, eaten slowly in the same time! When I eat, I try to eat it very slowly so it last longer. Try that!

In addition to less sugar, I have begun eating vegetables like tomatoes, salad and cucumbers. I have also added nuts and more fruit to my diet. I have not stopped eating meat though, because I think meat is a really important source of protein and I like it to much. I will try though to add a few vegetarian meals per week.

When it comes to exercising, I so workout at least 5 times a week. Since I came back to Lulea I have started I now fitness program called ”Nordic crossfit”. It is very intense workout, not really like lifting some weights at the gym every 5 minutes or so. I think it is fun too. No day look the same, but it is tough in the beginning. I don’t know how to do all the exercises yet. I recommend you to try it, but give it at least a month before you decide whether to continue or give up. I intend to increase the number of sessions in a few weeks.

To the last group of health goals, the general. I believe that with you a great personal relationship life, your health will not improve what every you do. You need to have a good relationship to your family and your friends. There are so much positive energy in this area, that you can’t live without. At least you can’t be happy unless you have some friendly people around you. You will be depressed and I think health is a state of mind. I state of happiness. So if you’re not happy at home, you will not feel healthy. Some other general health goals are leisure time, sleep, relaxation, not get cold when you’re outside and have a good time at work.

I urge you to set your own health goals and make them a part of your life. You will see improvements fast, that I can promise you!

Hi,
Today I will emphasize the importance of goals again. The point with your daily 5 is to start working towards your goals. The first thing you need to do is to sit down for an afternoon or so and write down your goals in life. It can be anything from financial independence to a healthy body. My top 10 goals are mostly about learning, health and what I would like to do in the future. My number one goal is health. I want to be healthy on each level of my life. Being ill is the worst state I know! When you have written down all your goals, the next thing to do is to rank the goals and when set subgoals for each main goal. When you have done all the subgoals you will have finished your prime goal. Back to me, to increase my health today I will do three things in my daily 5: Find a vegetarian recipe, eat a vegetarian dish and try to relax for 20 minutes.

My daily 5:
1. Review goals
2. Rootedness, try to create a happy place.
3. Find a vegetarian recipe
4. Eat a vegetarian dish
5. Relax for 20 minutes.