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.”

“The biggest enemies we have to overcome on the road to success are not lack of ability and lack of opportunity but fears of failure and rejection and the doubts that they trigger.”

“If you envy successful people, you create a negative force field of attraction  that repels you from ever doing the things that you need to do to be successful.  If you admire successful people, you create a positive force field of attraction  that draws you toward becoming more and more like the kinds of people that  you want to be like.”

“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.

“Committing your goals to paper increases the likelihood of your achieving them by one thousand percent.”

“Your problem is to bridge the gap between where you are now and the goals you intend to reach. EARL NIGHTINGALE”

“There's only one direction you can coast.”

“What one skill, if I developed and did it in an excellent fashion, would have the greatest positive impact on my career?”

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

“Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily; even if you had no title or position.”

“Commit yourself to lifelong learning. The most valuable asset you'll ever have is your mind and what you put into it.”

“Every hour, stop and ask: Am I really present in this moment? If not, what are my thoughts focused on? Doing this often will help you return to the present moment.”

“The first rule of frog eating is this: If you have to eat two frogs, eat the ugliest one first.”

“When everything is laid out neatly and in sequence, you will feel much more like getting on with the job.”

“Get it 80 percent right and then correct it later." Run it up the flagpole and see if anyone salutes. Don't expect perfection the first time or even the first few times. Be prepared to fail over and over before you get it right. The biggest enemies we have to overcome on the road to success are not a lack of ability and a lack of opportunity but fears of failure and rejection and the doubts that they trigger. The only way to overcome your fears is to "do the thing you fear,”