3 New Ways To Improve Your Life In 2018

The Japanese word kaizen simply means “change for better.” It describes this constant desire we have for bettering our self. Who we were in 2017 does not have to be who we are in 2018. Read these 3 New Ways to Improve Your Life In 2018 to help close the gap between who you are and who you want to be.

1.      Invest In Yourself

To ensure that you can excel, you must learn to build yourself up. This speaks to every level one could invest in his/her self. Some top ways to invest in yourself in 2018 are:

-          Start invest your time in a hobby you love

o   “Don’t aim for success if you want it; just do what you love and believe in, and it will come naturally.” – David Frost

-          Clean up your diet

o   Obesity rates are up and much of our unhappiness in 2018 stems from insecurities about our body. Some helpful diet tips can be found here

-          Join a class

o   Class atmosphere helps stubborn gym-goers to feel connected and secure.

-          Start a 30-day challenge

o  Here are some 30 day challenge ideas we thought you could implement in 2018. 

-          Clean up your self-talk

o   You can either speak life or death on your life, the choice is yours.

-          Work out

o   3 or 4 times per week promotes energy levels, physical attraction, and mood.

-          Hydrate properly

o   One ounce of water per ½ pound of body weight per day.

2.      Build A Support System

Once you are not getting in your own way, you will need a support system that can help take you to another level. Steven K. Scott said in his program Proverbs Power that no one has done anything extraordinary in history without partnering. In 2018, surround yourself with the right people, here are some easy ways to do that.

-          Ditch bad friends

o   The same friends that you had the most fun with in the past may be getting in the way of your future.

-          Get a workout partner

o   We talked about fitness above, and an accountability partner is the best way to persevere.

-          Get plugged in at your church

o   Churches are some of the best communities in the world. Get in a small group, or get lunch with church friends. Church is one of the best places to find people that truly care about you and your success.

-          Spend your time with great people

o   "Don't be afraid to give up the good to go for the great." – John D. Rockefeller

-          Get a mentor

o   “There are two ways to learn things: the first is by trial and error, and the second is by getting a mentor.” – Steven K. Scott

3.      Do Something Different

“If you don’t like what people are saying, then change the conversation.” Don Draper

-          Ditch bad habits

o   You’re going to have to shake some things up to become more successful, and the momentum of the new year may be the best way to do it.

-          Read a book that could change your life

o   A list of the world’s top life-changing books can be found here: 

-          Spend less time on social media

o   One of the hundreds of studies on excessive social media making people unhappy can be found here.

-          Don’t be afraid to ask for a raise

o  A 2015 study shows that 60 percent of workers don’t ask for a raise, mainly because they felt uncomfortable asking. Go out and earn it, and then don’t be afraid to ask for it.

-          “Do to others what you want them to do to you.”

o   The golden rule can be ignored by our selfish culture in 2018, but it could just be the thing that transforms your life for the better.

If you liked the contents of this blog, consider investing in some of the books and programs mentioned above. For your convenience, we have listed them for you below:

Proverbs Power with Steven K. Scott

How To Win Friends And Influence People

Habits Of Highly Successful People

ανησυχία

Poor writing inward fighting and hiding scripts.

From her friends, from the ones she loves, those that she hates.

Embarrassed but clear.

Spending time washing down the fence for which to white wash.

She falls in this way.

In regret and hope and dishonesty.

That what she’s written is not her best.

So she feels alone and without dignity.

Like a hand knitted night gown pleaded in a rival gang’s colors.

Like an atheist in a foxhole, her heart is filled with apprehension.

Without comfort and without companionship she is left to her work.

To continue to invest time in what she has burned away from.

Like a flame internally burning itself out

But its job is to be a flame.

So it spends its time burning.

Embarrassed she remains alone in her craft.

Spending countless hours to perfect what is widowed.

To invest in what is spent.

She writes for the pleasure of others, reads for herself, and shares it all with none.

- Nick Rotola

Piece for Final Portfolio

              

               “Come on Joe, sit him down”, says the shortstop to the pitcher as there are two outs and two strikes and I am looking like prey. Relax I say to myself as I lift my bat and find my focus point. I feel a lot of time now. As if the first part of the bat was just a dream and I now have the luxury of knowing what’s going on. The pitcher looks much shorter now, he kind of looks like my younger brother. That thought makes me smile and the pitchers attitude goes from a positive one to one of slight confusion and pompous curiosity. He steps off the rubber to gather himself and it makes me glad to have a few more seconds. 

                

               For the first time in the at bat the pitcher looks like just another guy having thoughts in his head. He steps back on the rubber and I plant my right foot in first, then my left. I take one deep breath swing my bat around and get set like I have since I was a little leaguer. Come on meat, I say towards the pitcher, positive that the catcher and the umpire heard me. Throw me something I can hit. At this point my mind is finally clear. It comforts me to think about my superiority to the pitcher, because the closest thing to thinking about nothing is one. He starts his wind up now, the count is 2-2; His wind-up taking much longer than before. His eyes are looking worn out above his sloppy frame. He plants his foot and delivers the ball. The pitch is a strike. The bat is still resting comfortably on my shoulder.

Flowing Through a Forest

Bootlegging as he legged out a triple could have rested on his double, strapped up his boots and went the extra ninety. Granite pressed firmly against the backsplash pushing and hoping to escape the never ending wash and dry cycle. Allergic to liquid the granite crumbles and cloaks itself in crumbs wishing to avoid the spill. The rag is bodysurfing on its face, dancing on its grave, and forcing soapy water into its once energetic pores.

The golden violin then comes in free and without wind protected by the glass and with the wit to find it’s purpose. You first propose, but then you see its prose, and are guided by the light shining down on its nose. It stands firmly on the stand, handed from man to man, dismissing any thoughts of harm finding the next comforting stand for which it lands. The violin is heavy in its ways, eating carrots and expressing its golden blooded charm with its rosie red cheeks. 

Fisher of Men

I                                                                            Love
             fish                                            and                              I        
                                     love                                                                  fishing.
I                  think                                 of                           the                
                                      grouchiest                                                   fish
hope-                                                        fully                                              wishing.
                        He'll                                                            open                  
his                                   big                     gossiping                                             mouth,          
                  and                       give                                   his       dirty looks.
       
While his grumpy lips,
                                                                                             Wrap around my hook.      
                                             

Grumpy Cat

Cat Friend: “Hey man, what are you doing later?”

Grumpy Cat: “K.”

Ten Ways of Looking at a Chicken Sandwich

10 Ways of Looking at a Chicken Sandwich

-1-

I am more hungry than she. The sandwich is hers.

-2-

My stomach is small,

The sandwich is large.

My peers are larger than I.

-3-

The sandwich is there.

I am not.

I am with the sandwiches

disappointing son… the salad.

-4-

I am 4^th in line,

The last sandwich is 3^rd.

-5-

The sandwich looks like my bride walking down the aisle.

It had mayonnaise on it though.

I hate it.

-6-

I am the 6^th youngest son

and the first hungriest.

Sandwiches are distributed.

That as a nice snack.

-7-

The number 7 is what I order at Wendy’s.

It’s a chicken sandwich.

-8-

The chicken sandwich has been sitting for a long while

I’m pretty poor and even more so, cheap.

Upset stomach for 3 days.

-9-

I am big the sandwich is small.

I finish and am still very empty.

Everything looks like a chicken sandwich now.

-10-

Ten years old and ordering off the adult menu.

I am so mature now but my sandwich is so not finished.

I hide my shame and half my sandwich under the napkin so my dad won’t see.