Image by Brandon Christopher Warren

The process of growing as a person is fascinating and it does not matter how old you are to start this journey. I have started my journey when I was 22 and the changes that have happened in my life are tremendous! I think that the path of self improvement, spirituality and faith is what drives me through life and helps me be a better person.

OK, that was a long rant about the importance of self improvement (I am pretty sure that you agree with me if you like reading blogs ) Now, would you believe me if I said that there is a single resource that can help you achieve anything in life? This is a very strong claim! Actually when I got an email from Jason Harvey(do not forget to check out his blog) asking me if I was interested in reviewing his book Achieve Anything in Just One Year I was a little skeptical about it. I guess I agreed to look at the book more from curiosity rather than a belief that it could really do that much. Boy, was I wrong!

Even if you do not like book reviews, stick around and read Jason’s interview because he has really great tips to share with all of us. In the meantime I want to say a few words about the book. It is a really great one! The book is divided into 365 chapters (each chapter is page-long and it contains a motivational quote and a lesson). You can go day after day or you can open the book whenever you want to and read a few pages that will help you focus on important areas in your life.

I must say that I haven’t gone through 365 days yet (I am about 30 days into the book) and I am learning a lot. Jason’s approach is very balanced. You do not have to spend much time reading and you do not have to follow a particular plan. You just flow with it and incorporate his tips into your life naturally.

Who is this book good for?

• Anyone who wants to reach their goals
• People who value their time
• Anyone who is looking for meaning in their life
• Someone who is ready to make changes and grow
• Anyone looking for a more balanced approach to life.

Let’s see what Jason has to say about his book and life balance. Do not forget to ask him questions in the comments below.

1. Jason, in your book you promise that your readers can achieve anything in just one year. How is it possible? Did you have to change your life in order to reach your goals?

Great question Anastasiya. There are a few things that are involved, first you need to do a bit of self examination and figure out what it is that you want to achieve and why. For example, if you have a goal to sail around the World and the thing that brings you the most joy in your life is spending time with friends and family then I would say you really need to go back and re-examine what you want to achieve and why. Next you need to write your goals down; along with what you are going to do to reach these goals. Putting your goals and action plan to paper is a very powerful thing. Our subconscious mind is always working, and when you write things down you put these thoughts into your subconscious. Finally you will need to take action, this is the key. You must do something, you must take action. When you take action toward your goal each and every day anything is possible.

For myself: in the past one of the things that I struggled with was being consistent with my actions. I would try to fit in the actions needed to achieve my goals after I completed everything else that I thought I had to do that day. This led me to skip a lot of days due to lack of time. This lack of consistency led me to fail. When I finally realized the power of being consistent I was able to achieve so much. I know that some people reading this might think that this seems a little simplistic or even a little boring. Well maybe they are right, but achieving your goals does not have to be complicated.

2. Your book is divided into 365 chapters. If you had to give your readers advice for only one day, the most important day, what would it be?

I would have to go with Day 362, which is about remembering to enjoy the everyday experiences of life. Sometimes you can get caught up in the excitement of working to achieve a goal and not take the time to have fun along the way. For example, if you are working on a fitness goal that involves spending one hour a day in a gym, you should take the time to meet some of the people who are at the gym. This will not only make going to the gym more enjoyable but you will also make some new friends along the way.

3. What do you think about life balance? What is it in your opinion and do you have it in your life?

I feel life balance is very important, it is something I am very mindful of everyday. I define life balance as aligning your health, relationships and work life in a way that makes you happy. That said I think it is a very individual matter, you need to figure out for yourself what the perfect balance is. Fortunately I do have a life balance that brings me great joy in my life. However this was not always the case.

4. What is (was) the most difficult part of your life to bring in balance? How did you manage to do that?

I was a workaholic and this meant that my health and personal relationships came a distance second to my business. This was a difficult thing to change, I was self employed and I thoroughly enjoyed running my business. But over time I began to realize that I was not that happy doing what I was doing every day. I managed to change due to my knowledge of personal development. By this I mean that I was aware of the concept of life balance. From there I made a conscious decision to take the actions needed to rebalance my life in a way that would make me happier.

5. What are your three most successful habits in life that help you accomplish your goals?

1.) Journaling
2.) Reading
3.) Consistency

6. Jason, please, give us your advice on how to always feel inspired to reach for the dreams in life and to live every day meaningfully.

This is somewhat of a catch 22. First you need a plan on how to reach your dreams, then you need to take action. The process of taking action to accompany your dreams will in turn inspire you to get up each day and feel ready to take on the world. Of course the inverse is also true, if you have no defined plans or even dreams at all it will be very difficult to get up and feel inspired to take on the day.

Thank you, Jason!

If you are ready to check out Jason’s book and achieve anything you want in life please click the image to the left or right here.

Keep it balanced!

Image by Susanica

If you’ve been following my blog for a while you probably know that I am passionate about healthy living and exercise. I am even more passionate about telling people around me how beneficial healthy lifestyle is and how easy it is to follow it.

One of the ways to bring balance into my lifestyle is Yoga. I’ve been practicing it for a few years now (though I am not a real Yogini) together with Pilates and running. This combination of activities has proved to be the most beneficial for my body because it connects mind and body and lets me find inner serenity while giving me the body that I love. I am a certified fitness and Pilates instructor but Yoga has always been just my hobby.

Recently I have found a new way of doing Yoga. I have started using Prasara Yoga Primer – an online course with 5 Yoga flows (each flow has 3 levels of difficulty and plenty of videos demonstrating transitions and movements.) At first I didn’t know what to expect from these flows, but now I absolutely love them!

Here are 5 things that I love about Prasara Yoga Primer:

1. It is not static. I love movement and Prasara Yoga gives me just that. Each asana flows gracefully into the next one creating a continuous flow that stretches and strengthens your body.
2. It is suitable for any level. The Advanced level is still beyond the horizon for me but I am comfortable with my Beginner level flows right now. If you decide to try Prasara Yoga I would recommend that you look through the manual and learn all the asanas (poses) before trying transitions. The first time I tried transitions I felt like a cow on the skating rink because flows require good coordination (that you will develop if you keep practicing Prasara Yoga).
3. It’s good for cross-training. If you already have your favorite workout (running, cycling, weight-lifting, swimming etc.) then these Yoga flows will maximize your results. It is great to work your body from different angles and challenge it with something you are not familiar with.
4. You get help and support. When you buy Prasara Yoga primer you also get access to the forum where you can ask questions about the practice or share your progress with other members.
5. You can do it anywhere. I am not a big fan of gyms and I love workouts that do not require any equipment and can be done anywhere. All you need to do Prasara Yoga is your computer (or iPod) and a mat.

I have decided to do a short interview with the creators of Prasara Yoga primer Andy Fossett, Jarlo Ilano and Ryan Hurst. Feel free to ask them any questions in the comments below.

1. What is Prasara Yoga? What are the benefits of doing it?

Jarlo: Actually, the development of Prasara yoga is very interesting. Our teacher, Scott Sonnon, has a varied background in Russian health and movement training, as well as martial arts, yoga, and other fitness disciplines. During his explorations, he learned and adapted a variety of “biomechanical exercises” which emphasized dynamic joint and whole body mobility. The focus was less on static positional holds, and more on flowing movement to improve freedom in all degrees of motion. As he studied more yoga, he incorporated the dynamic mobility exercise with the traditional hatha postures, and developed a system that connects the asana in a free flowing, graceful manner. When you view the various flows, you can see that they are both similar and distinctly different from other vinyasa style yoga.

Each flow that is created by the various teachers has a specific focus as well as full body mobility. For example the Cricket Flow, is very good for hip opening and strength, while the Vine Flow emphasizes standing posture and balance with leg mobility. The focus on flowing movement and a specific focus on particular areas (while still maintaining whole body awareness) are two of the great benefits in Prasara.

The dynamic movement appeals to many who don’t enjoy holding the static positions of asana that much, and the specific focus of the flows allow people to choose particular flows for their current goals. With this, we believe that Prasara can help many people to enjoy the benefits of regular yoga practice.

2. What is life balance for you? Does Yoga help you find life balance?

Ryan: Life balance for me means being able to do what I want, when I want, and how I want. And that unfortunately means that I can’t say yes to everyone in my life. When you spread yourself too thin by putting too much on your plate, nothing gets done and you start hating what you are doing. Taking little bites and focusing on that, and solely on that, is much more rewarding than trying to cram it all in. Yoga can help with life balance. But just like anything, when you try to cram too much into your yoga practice you lose that balance. That is why breaking your practice down into smaller chunks and focusing on the meat of your practice will teach balance. And when you can learn to focus on the balance within your yoga practice, it carries over into life balance.

Andy: Life balance is one of those things that didn’t have a name until recently but has become a pretty hot topic. I think the biggest thing to consider is that you have to choose your level of granularity when you talk about balance. I mean, are you trying to balance everything over the course of a single day? Because that would drastically compromise the depth at which you pursued any of your responsibilities or interests. With only 24 hours in a day, the only way to really “get it all in” is to do much of it badly.

And that’s where granularity comes in. You can choose to set aside a certain amount of time for each thing, but what happens when you have to re-prioritize? I believe that real “life balance” occurs over the course of your lifetime. You have to make choices that may seem unbalanced at times. When I have friends visit from other countries, I don’t meditate every day, and I drink more than I should. But then things level off, and I return to my disciplines.

Making space for the things you love doing may mean that truly balancing your activities and time each day is impossible. But you can also balance over the course of a week, or a month, or a year. As long as you are consciously deciding how you spend your time (instead of simply reacting to external forces), you’ll be more balanced that most people. The internal focus you build with Prasara practice helps.

3. Can you remember a story of the most inspiring Yoga student that you have ever had?

Ryan: That’s a tough one because every single person I work with inspires me on a different level. But if I had to give an example it would be the student who comes day after day and never gives up on their daily practice. I’ve seen a lot of very talented people. Those who could just ‘get’ it right away. But it is always those that must work especially hard and with extra diligence on the mat that constantly reminds me of why I am doing yoga. And that inspires me. Achieving a certain pose or movement in Prasara Yoga is impressive. But it is not the pose nor the movement that is truly inspiring. It is the journey, the hard work of daily personal practice that is what inspires. That is where we truly grow and can in turn inspire others I believe.

4. Who is Prasara Yoga for? Is it a workout for regular beginners or is it an enhancement for athletes? Some of the stretches and transitions are quite difficult for a regular beginner. What are your tips to ease into the routine and to stay successful as a student?

Ryan: This might sound cliche, but Prasara Yoga really is for anyone. It is divided up into levels and within those levels broken into parts so that a person of any level can benefit. It can be a workout, a cool down, and even a restorative practice.

Like anything, you shouldn’t just jump into Prasara and expect to be able to do it all. Choose a flow and start with the beginner level. Work on the components of each breakdown and focus on your structure, breathing, and movement. Don’t look at this as a quick fix for something. Take your time getting into your practice and stick with it! Slow and steady.

Andy: Prasara is just a philosophy of movement, so I’m not sure it can really be for or not for a particular kind of person. Either that person practices with flow, or they don’t. There are definite benefits to practicing Prasara for athletes because of the emphasis on movement, but beginners can get a lot out of any the practice too as long as they don’t try to compare their own progress with what they expect others are doing.

Of course, these routines are going to be difficult for beginners. That’s what makes them effective. When you come across something you can’t do, simply look at it as a chance to learn. Approximate the movement to the degree you can without pain. Exhale. Try again. Repeat for a week and note your progress. Rivers don’t make mistakes. Just keep flowing, and eventually you’ll reach the sea.

5. What is your biggest motivation in life? What is your biggest motivation to practice Prasara Yoga?

Ryan: My biggest motivation in life is to keep moving so that I can play with my children and then their children some day! LOL!

I believe that a great teacher must be a living example. To me this means daily personal practice and working just as hard or even harder than those that I instruct. I want to share Prasara with as many people as I can and I feel the best way to do that is by training in a way that allows a person to train their whole life. Prasara is what allows me to do that.

Thank you guys for answering these questions and for creating a wonderful product!

Don’t forget to check out all the features of Prasara Yoga Primer (click here). You can even get a free sample workout to see if Prasara Yoga is for you or now. I hope that this Yoga flow will bring more balance in to your life.

Keep it balanced!

Image by Gabriela Camerotti

Have you ever seen a negatively happy person? Those people can seem happy when they do something evil but this happiness is not real and it does not last long enough even for them to enjoy it. I am sorry, but I do not believe that negative people are happy (and balanced, I won’t forget that ) If you know different examples, please share them with me.

Positive attitude is always a winning strategy in life. I know that sometimes we just do not feel very positive (we all have bad days, we get sick, and we have arguments or misunderstandings with the ones we love) and it’s okay for us to be sad for some time. It’s okay to let this negative energy flow through us and take away our frustration and pain. However, only when you start looking for positive things even in the darkest moment, only then you can get over any negative experience.

There is a person who knows a whole lot about positivity and how to use it effectively in life. This wonderful person is Zeenat Merchant Syal who writes amazing articles at Positive Provocations. Just a few weeks ago she released an eBook (an absolutely free one) of her best posts. That’s a book full of inspirations, motivation and positive energy. I really enjoyed reading all the articles and I wanted to share this book with you.

Go ahead and download Zeenat’s book for free but before you do that, please check out the interview that Zeenat gave me. She gave some priceless tips on how to be positive and happy in life and I hope that you will enjoy her writing as much as I do.

1. You start your eBook by exploring passion. What place does passion have in your life and what is your passion?

To me passion is a lifeline. There was a time when I functioned without knowing what my passion was. I can honestly say, I don’t remember ever being happy then. I lived but wasn’t Alive!

Finding my passion has been an ongoing process. After going through some personal problems with myself and with my family at a very early age, all I wanted to do was ease pain. Mine and my family’s. In time, I started helping friends and relatives with their problems, steering them in the positive direction. It’s in that phase of my life, I decided to complete my Masters in Psychology.

Life presented many opportunities for me to realize my passion, but I was too engrossed with everything else. It’s only when I started opening my heart and mind to what truly made me happy…I realized my passion for helping and healing people. Healing their worries, healing their lives and giving them the gift of a positive and happy life. Today I am very happy with my career path, because it intertwines with my life’s passion. Seeing another person smile is my greatest achievement today. I would never have appreciated this part of me, had it not been for me realizing my passion. Hence, my eBook starts with passion. Cause indeed passion is the most imperative ingredient for a happy and fulfilled life.

2. What is life balance in your opinion? Do you have it? Do you need it?

Balance is one of those rare gifts you can present yourself with. You certainly need balance in life, because without it there would be chaos in our lives. Balance in all we do, say, think and feel. Going overboard with anything can lead to disastrous effects. I do certainly strive for a life of balance, but there are times my imbalance gets the better of me. To me it’s a matter of practice. The more I practice being in balance, the more I understand me and work around my imbalances to smooth their edges.

None of us is perfect, and that’s not what we should strive for either. It’s a healthy balance in all aspects of our lives that makes us truly enjoy this beautiful life and all in it. I love how Your Site “Balance In ME” emphasizes on this very aspect and enriches our lives with wonderful tips and ways to truly bring about this balance.

(Thank you Zeenat for your warm words )

3. When do you feel that it is most difficult for you to stay positive? What are your strategies to get over those moments?

My most trying times are the ones that are the most traumatic. I used to be the first person to jump on the negative bandwagon when something went wrong, e.g. when someone is sick or something isn’t working out. I do still have those negative bugs creeping in, especially in stressful and trying times but I have learnt to ignore them and focus on the positive.

You know, there is this quote I often heard, but never liked, but it so aptly applies here to the negative thinking bugs- “Ignorance is bliss”! Ignoring those negative thoughts in my traumatic and trying times, has helped me focus more on the positives and thereby come to terms with the practicality of what is truly going on in that traumatic situation. Surprisingly that situation ceases to be such a threat once you come to terms with its reality. We humans have the habit of blowing things out of proportion in our heads.

4. Where do you find daily inspirations for your articles and your regular life?

My blog has become part of my passion for helping people attain more positive and happier lives. Hence, the articles are also focused on exactly that. Since I am writing with passion, the ideas also come from things, events, and places and just about anything that touches my heart and soul. If I can feel it, so will my readers. Sometimes I can just watch my little girl and feel inspired. Sometimes it’s something as simple as a word. Each of these almost always has a ripple effect in my heart and mind and then the words usually just pour out.

I am like any other person who thinks and feels, hence if something stirs me in the right direction, I am sure it will stir my readers to be more positive and happy too. And in the process I learn to become a better and more positive person too. It’s a win-win, right?

5. What is the most positive thing that has ever happened in your life? How did it affect you?

The most positive experience I have ever had was truly finding ME. In the hustle and bustle of life and things that keep you busy and preoccupied, I had forgotten who I was. I was living a life, everybody wanted me to live. I was doing things everybody wanted me to do. All the while thinking this is what I should be doing. It’s only when the realization struck me, while I was stranded one day alone in the rain, with no money-did I realize how stupid I was. This was 11 years back. I haven’t looked back since. It’s been a beautiful journey since. I found me; I found my passion and the best part I have today created the life I truly love. My husband appreciates ME and not just some version of me. That’s what we all truly need in our lives- a sense of self. Truly knowing yourself can open up such amazing facets of this life we never thought previously existed.

Like attracts like! If we think positively…positive things WILL happen to us at just the right time. Just takes finding yourself first.

Thanks Zeenat for you amazing interview! I enjoyed getting to know you better.

Download Zeenat’s free eBook here and

Keep it balanced!

Image by pasotraspaso

There are three ways in my opinion how each of us can live their lives:

1. Living the life you love. If you love your life then you live a life of accomplishment, purpose and happiness. You know what you are doing in life and why you are doing it. You are grateful for what you have and you have a clear vision of your future goals. You are content, peaceful and accomplished.
2. Going with the flow. This is the life that you live if you are not sure what to do in life. You do what you are supposed to do (in your opinion or in the opinion of people around you) but you do not feel satisfied with your results (your work does not give you pleasure, the money you earn does not let you enjoy life as much as you would want to, your family does not bring you as much happiness as you expect.) This is not a bad life. This life reminds me of walking in a dark unfamiliar room: you never know when you are going to trip over something or when you will find an exit.
3. Unhappy life. This is the life that is completely centred on negative events, sadness, and general dissatisfaction. I really hope that none of you, my readers, live this life. This life reminds me of a prisoner in a single cell that has to stay there until he/she dies. It’s a mere existence and not a real life.

From my experience I can tell that most people today live the second type of life – going with the flow. A lot of times it is an easy life that does not require courage or risks. The only bad thing about this life is that it is not the life you love.

How do you start living the life you love? I want to present you a book by my friend Arvind Devalia that is called Get the Life You Love (and live it.) I was blown away after reading this book. Arvind gives very down-to-earth advice on how to find passion and purpose in life. His personality shines through the book and his personal experiences prove that anything can be accomplished and anyone can get the life they love.

I will let Arvind say a few words about the book and how to start living the life you love. I must also add that his approach to living is very balanced and I myself can relate to every single piece of advice that he gives in his book.

1. How did you come up with the idea for your book?

I have always been attracted to the idea of writing and in my school days I was known amongst the teachers for writing long, copious essays.

I was inspired to write the book by a desire to impact a much wider audience with my philosophy for life and also living the best life you can.

Get the Life You Love (and live it) is my version of how people can truly live the life they want and aspire to. I feel I have a unique contribution to make and what I have written in the book is my truth. Not the truth, but my truth. The book contains a lot of anecdotes and examples from my own life, making it more realistic and approachable.

All my life I seem to have been involved in helping others somehow improve themselves. It was only when I came across coaching that I found the perfect framework for doing just that. However I soon realized that through one to one or even group coaching, I could only reach a few people at a time. Through my book, I now reach a much wider audience.

Another reason for writing my book was to create something easy and effective. Like a lot of people interested in personal development, I too read many self-help books but found that any inspiration only lasted a day or two!

It was only when I started writing things down in a journal that my life began to change quickly and dramatically. So in my book each simple chapter is followed by pages in which you can start writing down your thoughts and actions.

When I say that my book will change your life from day one, it really does that!
The suggested actions in the book have been tried and tested by me, my clients and many generous and supportive friends. The ideas and suggested solutions are therefore all within easy reach of my readers.

There are 25 simple chapters of 4 pages each, with steps to cover all areas of your life. Each step builds on the previous one, but you can also skip steps if you wish. Yet the book is simple and very easy to use.

The simplicity of the book makes it very easy and approachable, and not intimidating – as I said, I wanted to create a workbook for creating the life you want – and I feel I have done just that.

2. In your book you talk a lot about how you managed to change your life and start living the life you love. What was the turning point for you?

The turning point for me was the realization that we only have one life and this was not a rehearsal.

A few years ago, nothing in my life was working and I remember feeling really down and out one Sunday evening. It was on that day that I decided to take full and complete responsibility for my life.

I was also inspired by spending a month at Nirvana School, a children’s charity school in South India where I experienced unconditional love for the first time.

I haven’t looked back since and I feel there is a lot more to come yet. Though I have further books planned, my main focus is to spread my message by writing on my blog and creating a following.

3. In my opinion the book shows a great example of balanced living. What is your idea of life balance? Do you feel that your life is in balance?

My idea of having my life in balance is being able to do all the things I enjoy with the people I love. At the same time, I would want an abundant attitude to life with ample time to enjoy the fruits of my work, whilst also making a difference to the world in some way.

I would like to feel that my life is in balance most of the time, but I still do tend to work quite hard and long hours on some days – but that’s fine since I enjoy my life like that, and I can see the bigger picture for me in the long term.

At the same time, my relaxation time is very important to me and I often go for long walks, do yoga at home, workout at the gym and meet up with friends. My favourite activity is a bit of African drumming and dancing at a local group with like minded people.

4. What are some of the steps you recommend people take to get the life they love? How can they become successful and live a balanced life? I thought maybe you could walk us through two or three of the steps from your book.

As I said, for me becoming successful and living a balanced life means doing what you really love doing. At the same time, you create the resources to live your life to the full and have great relationships with everyone in your life. Along the way, you do something that allows you to make some contribution to the world around you.

So the key for me is to have a big goal to leave a legacy for the world. By legacy, I do not mean something big or something material (even though that could be part of it) but something by which the world is a better place through you having walked on it.

For instance, if you are a musician you could set a goal to bring pleasure to a lot of people through your creativity. Based on your success, you could also build a foundation to help the needy. At the same time, your legacy could simply be about having made quite a few people happy for a short time.

Some of the necessary ingredients for success as I see them are as follows.

Have a dream – You must have a strong desire to go out and become what you want to be. Have a clear intention about what your life is going to be about and what you want to do with it. Develop a thirst and hunger to succeed, no matter what.

Believe in yourself – know who you are and focus on your strengths. Remember that there is no one else like you and never will be. You are unique!

Focus, focus and focus. Remember the acronym NOW – No Opportunity Waits, so keep going and remain focused on your current task and your long term goal. So for a musician, this may mean to keep going with his or her online marketing even though in the early days, success may be elusive.

Concentrate – this is different from focus, but just as important. Focus is where you are putting all your energies into one particular task. But it is the level and intensity of your focus i.e. concentration that will determine the quality of your output. I feel that this one quality alone i.e. the ability to concentrate on the right tasks and to keep going, will guarantee your success more than any other.

Single mindedness – doing whatever it takes to succeed. A lot of people say to me that they “tried” their best and then they simply settled for not achieving their goals and not getting the success they deserve. I now say to them – don’t just do your best, do WHATEVER it takes. Such a frame of mind and approach brings an entirely different energy and focus to the whole project.

I hope that the above makes sense to your readers. But even more important, I hope that these ingredients help them all become even more successful, no matter what “success” means to them.

5. What was the most difficult part of your life to bring in balance or in accordance with your dreams? How did you manage to do that?

My greatest challenge has been my tendency to take on a lot of projects, and being a perfectionist, I spend too much time on each one!

I have now learnt to focus on a few things and at the same time doing them as well as I possibly can, rather than aiming for perfection.

The other suggestion I have is to limit your friends and contacts to those people who inspire and energize you. In the past I had many people in my life and as I have grown in my life, a lot of these people have naturally disappeared from my life.

The learning for me has been to have around me a set of close, supportive and upbeat people. Of course every one has their occasional down days, but there is no reason why you should also be brought down too.

6. You are a coach, you enjoy spending time with people and organizing fun events, you love working with children and generally you are a very social person. What is your secret of being such a likable guy?

There is no secret!

If you like people, they will like you. By being authentic and caring about the people that I deal with, it naturally creates a wonderful connection.

The trick is to put yourself and your own stuff out of the picture. People can really sense when you are present to them and interested in their story.

People have always been my passion and I guess it shows through in my work and in my approach to life.

Smiling, and smiling often, also helps!

7. If you had to choose your three most successful habits what would they be?

1. Always be your word – do what you say you will do, and mean what you say.

   Being in integrity at all times is probably the single most important habit I have cultivated. This means being my truth at all times – doing things that are resonant with me and letting go of the rest.

2. Adopt a positive attitude and look for the good in any situation.

   So many times in my life, things have worked out for the best though initially it may not have appeared that way.

   I find that being positive and looking for the silver lining to any clouds actually helps to rapidly blow away these clouds.

3. Look for opportunities to contribute and connect.

   When I come from a place of wanting to serve and to be of assistance, then I always have something to do – and I always get so much more back.

   In my book, I have a whole chapter about “Giving and Receiving” – the more you give, the more you get back, especially when you are not expecting anything back.

8. How do you find inspiration in life to maintain your upbeat and cheerful attitude to everything?

I have always been a very positive and upbeat person. I remember being a very happy and content child and I am glad I haven’t lost that childlike approach to life.

Of course I have my ups and downs and some days I can be downright miserable and a grouch. Thankfully those days are very few and infrequent.

To keep up my spirits I often go for long walks in my local park here in London. I also meditate every morning and I find that sets me up nicely for the day.

I would recommend everyone to create a morning meditation practice which will help you for the rest of the day. Find whatever works for you and create a simple routine even if it’s only 10 minutes at the beginning of the day.

I would like to end by sharing with your readers the positive and inspiring words with which my book ends:-

“Remember that your life counts – and make it count.

You are unique. There is no one like you on this planet. Never has been and never will be.

Do not sell your self short. Do not sell the world short.

This is your life – love it, live it. One life, one chance – grab it.

Get the life you love – and live it.”

9. Finally, Arvind tell us how my readers can find out more about you and how they can get hold of your book?

Firstly, they can follow me via my blog Make It Happen which is aimed at helping people improve themselves and improve the world at the same time.

My book “Get the Life you Love” can be ordered as an ebook from here. You can also get a signed paper copy from the same website.

It is also available from Amazon.

Thank you Arvind for sharing your words of wisdom with us.

Keep it balanced!

Image by GilbertoFilho

I want to talk about something absolutely awesome today. Your life. In details.

Small, even tiny things can make the biggest difference between a bad day and a day full of awesome discoveries.

Just recently I have discovered something awesome – The Book of Awesome by Neil Pasricha. This book is a great fountain of positive thoughts. What I loved the most is that you do not have to read the whole book at once. You just open the book at any page whenever you feel that you need an additional source of positivity for the day.

You can keep this book in your bedside table, take it on a road trip, keep it in your desk at work (and read a few stories when your boss or your colleagues are giving you a hard time), or take it on a plane with you. You can never get tired of it!

The book is not just a funny collection of stories. It is a guide that will teach you to see amazing things in your daily life (at least this is how I see it). It will show you how to get inspiration from things like seeing your loved one smile in their sleep, coming home after a long day to the smell of someone cooking dinner and putting on your favorite comfy T-shirt at the end of a busy day.

I believe that seeing awesomeness in the world around you is the best strategy to always feel in balance. I’ve asked Neil Pasricha to answer a few questions about life balance and his book. His answers are absolutely awesome!

1. What is the most awesome part of your life?

Well, I’d say right now it’s certainly getting to talk to so many people about awesome things.

I honestly never imagined on that chilly spring night in 2008 that anything would amount of my tiny website 1000 Awesome Things. Honestly, it was just dark days outside – ice caps melting, wars raging, forests burning, hurricanes swirling – and I wanted to remind myself of the simple things like bubble wrap, snow days, and the cold side of the pillow.

All of a sudden the site’s won all kinds of awards, I’m in the papers, there are 10 million hits, and ten agents are approaching me for a book deal. So that’s pretty awesome.

Also, I ate a delicious tuna sandwich for lunch today. Absolutely perfect tuna to mayo ratio. And some spilled out the back so I ate it with my fingers afterwards. That’s pretty awesome too!

2. What is the most “unawesome” thing (if any) in your life?

Well, life’s not always smooth sailing. For me, for anyone.

Over the course of the site I’ve battled a lot of personal hardships. My best friend Chris took his own life and my wife told me she didn’t love me anymore. Losing the two closest people in my life at the same time wasn’t easy… and it’s taken a long time to grieve and move on. But really, it’s talking about the smell of gasoline, thinking it’s Thursday when it’s Friday, and chatting about the last day of school that’s helped me.

I feel like a lot of us – maybe all of us – have pains and tough situations. And I sorta feel like maybe focusing on the good things in life, on the awesome things, can cheer us over to the other side. There’s a lot of hope out there if we want it.

3. What is life balance in your opinion? Do you feel that you have it? How do you get it?

Well, I mean everyone would have their own definition of balance. For me there’s gotta be a swirling sense deep in your stomach and buzzing on your insides that tells you if you’re feeling settled and relaxed and at ease with yourself.

There are days I have that feeling and days I don’t. There will be weeks or months I’m in balance and probably weeks or months I’m not. For me the key is reminding myself how lucky we are to be here – reminding myself that we’re the last in a long line of survivors that had babies for hundreds of thousands of years so we could be alive. Zooming my head way out and remembering we’re spinning on the only planet in the giant, big ol’ galaxy that can actually support life. And we get to be humans! The ones with math and music and magic and mysteries.

We’re so lucky every single day. And we only have a few years to enjoy all of these tastes, smells, sights and sounds. We’ll never be as young as we are right now… so that always reminds me to appreciate when the cashier opens a new lane at the grocery store, getting called up first to the dinner buffet at a wedding, or peeling an orange in one shot!

4. How do you find awesome things in life? Do you have some technique to help all of us see “awesomeness” around?

First up, I talk about it on 1000 Awesome Things and The Book of Awesome every day. There have been times I wrote the daily entry in a crummy mood and let it, or the comments, or previous posts cheer me up.

But I will say: I don’t think it’s necessary or even ideal to be perfectly perked up every day. As long as we’re feeling ourselves, aware of our thoughts, and moving forward and pushing on… we’ll be okay.

So my technique? I suppose it’s watching for the tiny things all around us all the time. Just paying attention to the swirling clouds of cream going into coffee or the fun of slipping through a door as it’s shutting without touching it.

Anastasiya, thank you sincerely for the opportunity! I really appreciate all your support and hope you have a very AWESOME day!

Thank you Neil!

You can read more awesome things from Neil on his blog 1000 Awesome Things and of course you can order his book The Book of Awesome (affiliate link).

What is awesome about your life? Let’s share our awesome experiences in the comments below!

Keep it balanced!

For a few weeks not I’ve been working on a free eBook that I wanted to offer to you, my readers. I am very happy to say that the eBook is finally here.

If you visit my blog (versus reading my posts in the reader or via email) then you have probably already noticed some changes in the sidebar. You can now sign up for my newsletter and get your free EBook about balanced living. I am still working on the newsletter and for now you’ll be getting only blog updates if you subscribe. Later on this newsletter will be a separate resource about life balance, happiness and health that will highlight the best online resources and thoughts that in my opinion will be beneficial to the readers of Balance In Me.

Why do you need The Book of Wisdom: 50 ideas for all-around balanced living?

This book has the best articles about balanced living that I have found so far. Most of the articles are written by the author of Balance In Me (yep, by me) but there are also a lot of other amazing posts written by other bloggers. In my opinion every article that I have included in the eBook is a true pearl of wisdom as well as an interesting read. I truly hope that you will find some helpful stuff in this eBook (I want to disprove the saying “You get what you pay for” )

You can read more about the eBook here and of course you can subscribe to the newsletter and get your free copy by filling out this tiny form:

If you have any comments about the book, please leave them below or send me an email (you can find the contact form here.) Enjoy and

Keep it balanced!

Do you love your life? I really hope that you do, but if you don’t then you can always learn to love it. Loving your life, no matter what life you have, is the first step to happiness. After all your life is your journey and only you can pick the right road for this journey.

I want to ask you three questions about your life:

1. What is the ideal life that you will love?

3. How can you start living the life of your dreams today?

I would be happy if you could share your ideas about these questions because I am sure that we can all help each other.

Today I want to present to you a book by Sherri Kruger (a great blogger who gives indispensable advice about happy living at Serene Journey and Zen Family Habits). The book is called Your Life. Live it. Love it so if you have trouble answering the third question then I definitely recommend it to you.

What I loved the most about the book is how Sherri combines her personal experience with life lessons that all of us can relate to. I think it is much better to let Sheri talk about her book and answer a few life balance questions that you might be interested in. Enjoy!

1. How can you simply describe Your life that You love? What are the main components that you cannot live without?

I love my life right now. I’m doing what I think I was meant to be doing all along and that’s helping people. I love hearing people’s stories, challenges, hopes and dreams and being able to help them in any way I can get them closer to where they want to be.

I have a phenomenal family and extended family. I’m very fortunate and grateful that they’ve loved and supported me through everything. They’ve provided encouragement, gentle nudges, and full out pushes when I needed it.

I don’t think there is anything that I can’t live without. Over the last few years I’ve been focusing on not getting too attached to specific things and ideas. I am finding the less I think of how things “should” work out, the more I’m able to just go with the flow and take things as they come. I’m so much happier for it. It’s been one of the best life lessons I’ve learned so far.

2. What is life balance to you? Do you have it? If yes, how do you maintain it?

To me life balance is incorporating family, activities, and passions into your life everyday in just the right amounts. There is no one combination that will work for everyone. It’s such a personal thing and it takes a lot of work to get it just right. Some days I think I have my life in perfect balance but that quickly changes. I think there’s a natural ebb and flow to life. As long as you can identify when you’re off balance and bring yourself back into line I think you’ll be okay. Nobody has it together 100% of the time.

3. In your book you use a lot of examples from your family life. What are some secrets of a balanced (happy) family?

Patience, acceptance, communication, gratitude, and love. These are what I feel are the secrets to a balanced family. It’s always been my goal to create a home where everyone is welcome just as they are without judgment and not taken for granted. When everyone feels valued, that they have a meaningful place in their family and their thoughts and opinions matter, everyone is naturally happier.

4. In one of the chapters of your book you talk about the importance of a gratitude journal. Can you name top 5 things in life from your gratitude journal?

Oh that’s a tough one. I don’t repeat entries so I’ll tell you 5 things I’m grateful for today. I hope that’s alright.

a) The fact that my kids ask for fruit when they want a snack during the day.
b) My physical strength
c) Spontaneous dance parties with my kids in the middle of the afternoon
d) Vanilla – good to bake with and when used in air fresheners
e) The funny faces my husband pulls – they always make me laugh

5. How do you find inspirations for a daily happy life that you love?

My top sources of inspiration are:

• My family and seeing them happy.
• The beauty in the little things in life.
• Reading people’s stories or recalling personal stories from those who have overcome great adversity to become incredibly successful.
• Seeing people genuinely happy and enjoying life – this one really keeps me going.

Thank you Sherri for sharing these answers with us and good luck with your book!

Do not forget to check out Sherri’s book Your Life. Live it. Love it and

Keep your life balanced!

P.S. Links in this post are affiliate links so I will get a small commission if you decide to order Sherri’s amazing and useful book

Image by PhotograTree

Being a parent is one of the most important tasks that we have in life. It is the time when you stop living for yourself and start giving all your energy to the most wonderful precious sweet adorable smart beautiful and the most loved person in this world – your child. It is especially true for mothers because we tend to give everything we’ve got to our babies. It does not matter if this baby is 2 months old or 22 years old. It is still the baby that we love more than anything else in this world.

When you start giving all you’ve got to your child you drain the well inside of you. If you do not take care of the creek that supplies water for this well then very soon you will realize that your well is dry and there is nothing you can give.

This is a mother’s burnout. The time when we feel that the whole world has stopped and there is nothing we can accomplish in it. It is the time when we realize that somebody has disappeared. That somebody is the true you, the person you’ve been before you started giving everything to your kids and before you gave up your life.

I do not want my girls to remember me as a stressed out always busy mom. I want them to remember me as a person, an example that they want to follow in life. (My mom is always the best example for me. I appreciate very much the fact that she is my best girlfriend and that I can share everything with her.)

How do you avoid mother’s burnout? How do you balance mommy duties and the time that you can devote to yourself?

Recently I came across a very interesting book The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal by Renee Trudeau. This book is one of the best that I have read in the past few months. At first I thought that it will be one of these books that talk a lot about theory but never give you any practical advice. It is definitely quite the opposite. The book is filled with stories of moms of different ages and you feel that you are actually talking to them. You hear about their experiences and how they find balance in their lives.

Here are a few strategies from the book that I found most helpful in avoiding mother’s burnout:

1. Go on a date with YOU. You need YOUR time as much as your children or your partner do. Take this time and try to connect with the person inside of you. Do not think about shopping, cooking, work or any other routines. Do something amazing and unexpected. Try a new workout, go to the park and just sit under the tree, have a glass of wine at a wine bar or do anything else that your soul is craving. Deep down each of us knows what we really want. Use this knowledge to explore that part of you that you’ve been hiding from the entire world.
2. Use the “Good is Good Enough” Principle. There is no point to be general managers of the universe. You do not have to be the best in everything and you do not need everybody around you to be the best. Just enjoy who you are and who your children are. Every time that you are trying too hard to be the best mama just stop and repeat this mantra “Good Is Good Enough.”
3. Take time for your self-care. Self care on all levels (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) is not just pampering, it is a vital necessity that will keep your inner well full at all times. Do not think that you are not worth it, because YOU ARE. You are a person with needs and desires as well as your children and your partner are. Even though you want to give more to your family you are still an equal part of this family. You need to care about yourself as much as you do about your children and your partner.
4. Let yourself be creative. Creativity expresses our inner world. Through creativity we can solve the problems that are boiling inside of us, we can accomplish something in this world and we can show our close ones how much we love them. Some of us find writing or painting creative while others can express themselves by solving difficult puzzles or writing computer programs. What are your creative ways?
5. Do not be afraid to use support. Do not try to be self-reliant and independent at all times. If your family members offer to babysit for you or to bring a supper then go for it. If you need emotional support then call your best friends and talk to them. You do not have to look strong at all times; moms are just humans after all.
6. Be adventurous and try something new as often as possible. New experiences open your mind and help you see ordinary thing in a new light. You can go sky-diving or try a Thai restaurant and you will notice the difference in you.
7. Set your priorities. There is only so much we can do and there is only so much we can accomplish no matter how hard we try. If you want to be a good mom, have a great career and still experience deep life balance then it is probably not possible. You always have to choose one over another. If you set your life priorities then you will be able to make the right choices without the feeling of guilt.
8. Nurture your relationship. You and your husband are partners in this world and in the difficult process of raising kids. If you want to feel balanced and happy then you have to take care of your relationship. Your marriage is a living organism that needs time, space, love and attention. Just because you have kids you do not have to forget about your marriage.
9. Breathe. Sometimes we can feel that we do everything right but sometimes we feel like we are flying by the seat of our pants. This is just part of the journey of motherhood. Accept it and breathe.

There is much more than these 9 strategies in the The Mother’s Guide to Self-Renewal. My book has bookmarks and post-its on every other page because I found so many inspiring quotes, stories and pieces of advice there.

I also believe that this is not just a book for Moms. It is a book for Dads and for people who want to bring more balance into their lives. It is an inspiring book that can change the way you look at the world and the way you see yourself in this world. You can read this book and start sharing your knowledge with the people around you, people who you care about and who also want to live a balanced life.

You can read more about the book and about Renee Trudeau on her website ReneeTrudeau.com If you want to dig deeper into the book then you can buy it here. I hope that this book will help you get closer to your personal inner balance.

Keep it balanced!

Image by Zelig

How would it feel to be a CEO of a big company? Or maybe own your own company that brings in a million or two every year? Sounds tempting, right? The corner office life has become the ultimate goal of people all around the world and millions would kill to be in such a position.

Why is the corner office life so appealing? Probably your first thought will be money.

“Security, the good life, respect from others mostly. Money is the scoreboard. Making and having money is the way people win, and I want to be a winner.”

It is natural for us to have a desire to be rich. Some of us might dream about winning a lottery and never do anything to get rich while others will use every chance they have to make every extra penny they can. The first group of people will go with the flow of the current and probably never reach anything in life (after all, “even a dead fish can flow with the current” ). The second group is the people who want to be in that corner office. The question is how much will they sacrifice for the corner office and what they are going to gain in return.

Being career minded has become the motto and the curse of our society. We forget about our health, about our family and friends as well as about our spiritual values because we want to be promoted, we want to earn more money and we want to be successful. Some of these career driven people will get to the top of the corporate ladder while some of them won’t but all of them will eventually lose. They will lose joy in life, they will lose family, they will lose health and they will be left with nothing. It is of no wonder that last year we heard so much in the news about CEOs committing suicide because they had lost their jobs and their money. They didn’t have anything else left in their lives to live for or so it seemed to them.

There is nothing wrong with having money and having a successful career and this is the main idea of Lamar Smiths’ book “There Is More to Life than the Corner Office.” However, there is more to life than just a job and material values. You can experience deep joy and fulfillment only if you are a balanced person. Where does your career take you?

“Nowhere by itself. In the end, it’s not what matters most. It’s part of the picture and is a means to an end for some of the other components of a fulfilling life.”

Our life has 5 key areas and if you develop all of them then you will enjoy a joyful and fulfilling life. These key areas are:

• Physical
• Emotional
• Intellectual
• Financial
• Spiritual

In his book Lamar Smith shows why these areas are so important and how you can develop them. Concentrating on just one area will eventually push your life out of balance and out of control. Being career oriented and being a “killer” in the office is not the only way to live a successful life.

I loved the way Lamar Smith and Tammy Kling wrote their book. It is not an ordinary self help book with dry advice and emotionless explanations. It is a fascinating story that teaches you without lecturing and gives you advice without touting. It was one of those books that I read in one breath and that caught my attention from the first few lines. This book will help you set priorities in your life and see the long-term results of your decisions (“roll the video”, according to the main character Al Crafton). I can definitely call it an easy read with heavy artillery:-). Here are some of my favorite quotations from “There is More to Life Than the Corner Office”:

“Each and every person is incalculably valuable. Each person we meet is as valuable and deserving of our respect as every other.”

“No human is perfect. We all fail at times and disappoint each other and ourselves. I do find, however, a very large difference between those who thoughtfully try to choose and follow the better path and those who either have not thought about it or find the apparent shortcuts too tempting.”

“The followers decide who the leader is. If they are willing to follow and to bring more and more of what they have to offer to the team, greater things will happen.”

“We can live some weeks without food. Days without water and minutes without air. But if we lose hope, we’re done.”

“Marriage is somewhat like a garden, and has to be tended all the time, watered, and weeded… but there is no success away from the family that will fully compensate for failure at home.”

I hope that if you decide to buy “There is More to Life Than the Corner Office” then you will enjoy it as much as I did.

You can read more about the authors Lamar Smith and Tammy Kling and about their approach to balanced living at Improving Your Balance.

Keep it balanced!