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 future belongs to the competent. It belongs to those who are very, very good at what they do. It does not belong to the well-meaning.”

“Your subject should always answer the question “What is the problem to be solved?” or “What is the job to be done?” A”

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

“Communicating is like that, because the way we communicate with our children shows how we feel about ourselves.”

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

“Courage is a habit that is learned by acting courageously whenever the quality of courage is required.”

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

Galileo once wrote, "You cannot teach a man anything; you can only help him find it within himself.”

“An average person who develops the habit of setting clear priorities and getting important tasks completed quickly will run circles around a genius who talks a lot and makes wonderful plans but gets very little done.”

“The law of correspondence says your outer world is a mirror of your inner world. Your outer world corresponds to your inner world. Your outer world of your relationships—especially with your children and spouse—simply corresponds to how you feel about yourself, how you’re doing”

“Ideas are a mode of transportation, a vehicle that you can use to take yourself from wherever you are to wherever you want to go.”

“The only way to overcome your fears is to "do the thing you fear," as Emerson wrote, "and the death of fear is certain.”

“When you set more goals, try more things, engage in more activities, and explore more opportunities, your probabilities of success increase dramatically.”

“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 ”