Valuing Yourself and Your Needs (As a Parent): This is about taking care of your OWN needs as a parent because when you consistently put yourself last to be taken care of and habitually continue to sacrifice your basic necessities to make everyone else happy…Essentially, what you’re teaching your children is that they’re here to be of service to others, then themselves. In other words, you’re teaching them to take advantage of you and use you as they please, which in turn communicates to them that they’re most likely to be used. To prevent this from happening, you need to set consistent limits that protect you from demands that could be overbearing and unfair. That way, you’re communicating that your basic needs are just as important as theirs. It’s true…often times parents that are constantly sacrificing themselves are idealized and praised by other parents. You know… the ones that have no hobbies, no friends and no avenue of enjoyment. Is this really desirable? Parents constantly stressed about the needs of others in the family are usually irritable, and unmotivated to try anything new, fun or exciting. How can parents do this long term with no outlet? Instead, us parents need to enjoy ourselves and focus on being re-energized. When you take good care of yourself, you provide the means to take better care of your children. Going out to dinner or cocktails, trips to the gym 3 or 4 times a week, date night with your spouse or even some alone time reading or going for a walk allows you to be a more productive, interested and patient parent.”

“Everyone procrastinates. The difference between high performers and low performers is largely determined by what they choose to procrastinate on.”

“knowing how to deal with change effectively is a primary requirement for living successfully in perhaps the most exciting time in all of human history ”

“It is impossible to succeed without failing.” 

“The very act of accepting responsibility short-circuits and cancels out any negative emotions you may be experiencing.”

“Goals are the fuel in the furnace of achievement.”

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.  Unsuccessful people are always asking, "What's in it for me?”

“Successful, effective people are those who launch directly into their major tasks and then discipline themselves to work steadily and single-mindedly until those tasks are complete.

“There is a special way that you can accelerate your progress toward becoming the highly productive, effective, efficient person that you want to be.”

“The hardest part of any important task is getting started on it in the first place. Once you actually begin work on a valuable task, you seem to be naturally motivated to continue.”

“You can get your time and your life under control only to the degree to which you discontinue lower-value activities.”