Turnaround School Academy Drawing

idontstink.com is attending Region 10’s Turnaround School Academy Conference in Garland, TX this week as a vendor. We are also having a drawing for our BRAND SPANKING NEW school curriculum that includes Unit 1 with 3 lessons and STINKIN’ THINKIN’ STINKS books! So stop by our booth and be sure to sign up.

If you have any questions whatsoever, please send us an email or simply comment to this post. We look forward to providing educators with top quality resources that will help our kids.

With gratitude,
Bill

Daily Positive Points

Today’s Message

I always ask kids what they would do if someone laughed at them because they have purple hair. Inevitably, they giggle as their hand goes to their hair, and they say, “But I don’t have purple hair!” Exactly. It’s not what people say that hurts. It’s what we say to ourselves when they’re done talking that hurts.

Today’s Quote

“Negative thoughts stick around because we believe them, not because we want them or choose them.” ~ Andrew J. Bernstein

Top 10 Kindness Quotes

Kindness1Since we have officially kicked off the Summer Kindness Challenge, I thought it would be a good idea to follow up with some powerful and inspirational kindness quotes.  Below are a few of my favorites.

  1. “You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late.” Ralph Waldo Emerson
  2. “Kindness is a language the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” Mark Twain
  3. “No Kindness of Kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” Aesop
  4. “When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.” Abraham Joshua Heschel
  5. “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.” Henry James
  6. “When you are kind to others, it not only changes you, it changes the world.” Harold Kushner
  7. “Be kind whenever possible.  It is always possible.” Dalai Lama
  8. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.” Dr. Seuss
  9. “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” Leo Buscaglia
  10. “That best portion of a man’s life, his little, nameless, unremembered acts of kindness and love.” William Wordsworth

With peace and gratitude,
Bill

Be Authentic!

We all have values and when we are not our true selves, we can get ourselves in trouble.  The main thing to remember is that most people can see through when we are not being authentic.  Even if they do not, we still do not feel good about ourselves.  When we do not feel good, we introduce another wave of negative STINKIN’ THINKIN’!

Our values drive us to be the best we can be.  When we are not being true, we are certainly not showing the world our best.  In fact, we are showing them an ugly side of us.  The next time you recognize that you are violating your true values, step back and ask yourself, “Where is this coming from? and What could I learn from this situation?”

That is the first step to getting rid of the negativity that comes with not being our true selves.  Be authentic!  You deserve it and the world does too!
With Gratitude,
Bill

Summer Kindness Challenge

banner_3Summer has finally arrived and the kiddos are all around looking for things to do.  How about making a difference in their lives by practicing kindness?  This teaches our kids that they too can make a difference in the world.  We all may not change the world in minute but by practicing kindness with our children, we are having a positive impact in the world.

Starting on Monday, June 15th through July 31st, join me and all the ‘lil Stinkers from idontstink.com and make kindness a daily routine. We challenge you to practice at least one kind deed per day.  You can do that, right?

To learn more and to get involved in the Summer Kindness Challenge, go to the Kindness Challenge page on our site. Want to participate but not sure how? Go to homepage and click on the Kindness Meter. Create an account for FREE and you will have your very own Kindness Meter! Your meter feeds the public one that now has OVER 10,000 kind deeds logged! Whoa! There are over 200 kind deed suggestions in 8 categories.

Enjoy your summer and enjoy doing kind deeds daily!
With gratitude,
Bill

Daily Positive Points – Friday 6/12

Today’s Messagehappy_face1

Attitude is everything. A positive one uplifts others and encourages us to continue.  A negative one entices the opposite.

Today’s Quote

“A negative attitude attracts negative people, events, and energy—just as a positive attitude attracts positive people, events, and energy into our lives.” ~STINKIN’ THINKIN’ STINKS

3 Steps for Overcoming Fears – Instantly

LakePontchartrainCausewayThis week I am focusing my Daily Positive Points emails to be on overcoming fears so I thought it would be a good idea to post a few ways to eliminate them. These techniques worked for me and might offer you some ideas to help eliminate yours.

Step 1: Focus on What you Want & Why– When I was younger and just starting to work on self improvement, I decided I was going to conquer my lifelong fear of bridges. Without going into where and when it started, all I can say is that it was an extremely powerful fear over my life. For years and years I avoided them at all cost in the car and NEVER, EVER would I attempt to cross by foot. I knew I needed to do something about it so on a business trip to New Orleans, I saw an exit to the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway bridge. Yea, that one. You know, the longest bridge in the world over water. I will post an article on that event later this week on my blog but the bottom line was that I failed miserably. I also put other people at risk for my unprepared attempt to eliminate that fear. Before you start to attempt to overcome a fear, focus one what you want to accomplish and why. Don’t just jump into it without proper preparation. They come in steps 2 & 3 below.

Step 2: Visualize a Positive Outcome – Before embarking upon eliminate one of your fears, take a few minutes beforehand to visualize the outcome you desire. Actually, take as much time as you need to actually see in your mind’s eye overcoming the result. This would have worked for me by visualizing me with my fists in the air at the other end of the bridge screaming out, “YES!” If we can’t even visualize it, you can be that we cannot do it. So spend the necessary preparation ahead of time to visualize success.  P.S. This techniques works at school, preparing for the standardized tests, work, and anytime you want to achieve a goal.

Step 3: Take Action, Stay Focused, & Celebrate the Success – Now that you have prepared the mind, the time has come to take action and face the fear head on. Don’t focus on your nervousness, that will go away AS LONG AS you stay focused on the outcome. Keep seeing in your mind’s eye the ultimate goal and success.  When you achieve the success, it is important to celebrate. Overcoming fears is one of the most powerful tools we have to create an amazing life.  However, please do not worry if you did not face the fear with a success today, make up your mind to face it again when you are ready.

These techniques worked for me and maybe they will work for you. Just remember that jumping into eliminating a fear without the proper prep can be dangerous. Even though I did eventually get to the other side of the bridge that day, it was absolutely one of the worst experiences I have ever had.  I also put others in danger in the process. Don’t hesitate to seek guidance from counselors to help guide you to eliminate your deepest fears too.

With gratitude and peace,
Bill

Tony Robbins Top Quotes on Beliefs

TR_Beliefs1This week we have been covering the power of beliefs in our Daily Positive Points emails.  I thought it would be a good idea to share with you some of my most powerful Tony Robbins quotes on beliefs. Most are from his book I am reading, Unlimited Power but also from his new book, MONEY Master the Game.

Enjoy!
With Peace and Gratitude,
Bill

“The best strategy to get around your belief system is to develop a new belief!”
“Beliefs are the compass and maps that guide us toward our goals and give us surety to know we’ll get there.”
“Without beliefs or the ability to tap into them, people can be totally disempowered.”
Why are beliefs so important? @tonyrobbins says it best: “Beliefs can turn on or shut off the flow of ideas.”
“Belief is nothing but a state, an internal representation that governs behavior”
“It [beliefs] can be an empowering belief in possibility-a belief that we will succeed in something or achieve something else.”
“It [beliefs] can be a disempowering belief-a belief that we can’t succeed, that our limitations are clear, intractable and overwhelming.”
“If you believe in success, you’ll be empowered to achieve it.”
“The birth of excellence begins with our awareness that our beliefs are a choice.”
“You can choose beliefs that limit you, or you can choose beliefs that support you. The trick is to choose from beliefs that are conducive to success and the results you want and to discard the ones that hold you back.”
“Belief is the doorway to excellence precisely because there’s nothing divorced or static about it.”
“It is our belief that determines how much of our potential we’ll be able to tap.
“…there’s no more powerful directing force in the human behavior than belief.”
“…human history is the history of human belief.”
“The people who have changed history – whether Christ, Mohammed, Copernicus, Columbus, Edision, or Einstein – have been the people who have changed our own beliefs.”
“To change our own behaviors, we have to start with our own beliefs.”
“If we want to model excellence, we need to learn to model the beliefs of those who have achieved excellence.”
“…even at the level of physiology, beliefs (congruent internal representations) control reality.”

Goals = Success

bonus_2Setting goals are not just a great idea, they are a must!  When you set goals, break them up into smaller steps, and actively work them, you will be successful.  So often people opt out of their goal shortly after identifying them.

It takes tenacity!

It is at times when you feel like doing something that you need to do it even more.  This week I was traveling to Ann Arbor, MI and then to Tampa, FL and was gone Sunday through Friday.   I set a goal on January 1st to complete 30 days where I meet my step goal on my Vivofit device.  The cool thing about the Vivofit is that if you meet your goal, it inches up higher each day.  This means that by the end of 30 days, it will be quite large.  I had achieved 14 days straight and after a long day and a late dinner, I found myself seriously way short of my goal.  I could have quit.  But instead I put on some warm clothes and walked the streets for quite a brisk walk.  I got back to my room only to see that I was still short.  What to do?

After 11:00 PM, I had a decision, just let the goal go.  Heck, I was seriously worn out anyway.  Instead, I decided to do stairs for a couple of rounds – up an down over and over again.  I finally met my goal and went back to my room.  The issue was that I was probably about 3 miles short of my goal and it was after 1o:00 PM.

This is just one of many goals I have set for myself.  I believe one of the biggest goals that I have for myself is to simply be a better me than the day before.  Sometimes I fail miserably but most of the time I feel like I am progressing.  By setting a clear and measurable goal for steps, I am experiencing a success EVERY DA Y!   I have to say it does feel good.

Take time to jot down a few goals and create a positive habit of success.

“Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.” ~ Nathaniel Emmons

With gratitude and peace,
Bill

Stick To It

Today I was in meetings all day and night. I looked down at my fitness tracker only to see I had a serious amount of steps to complete.  Last year I would have chalked it up to the fact that I wasn’t going to be able to meet my target.  That was so 2014!  Not in 2015!  This year, I have set a goal to meet my daily steps every day for a minimum of 30 days.  It is the Jan 14th and I have been successful the previous 13 days.

I got back to my room near 9:00 PM and decided I would simply take a walk.  It ended up being a very long walk.  Every time I looked down, I saw that I was inching closer to my target.  I went even further than I expected.  I got back to the hotel and still had a little bit to go.  I then decided to take the stairs instead of the elevator.  Boy, now that was tough.  After a brisk walk I was already sweating even though it is not that cold outside.  Then climbing the stairs was pretty tough.

A little more walking and I looked down and I had met my goal.  Sweet!  The main thing is to set a goal, keep if focused on your mind, and do whatever it takes to achieve it.

With peace and gratitude,
Bill