John Izzo begins his book: The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die with a question we should form our entire life around: “Why do some people find wisdom and die happy?” This query is one that should sit quietly in the back of our minds from birth until death. When we sit with a question like this, we open ourselves to the endless possibilities of the answer.

John Izzo seeks to provide his audience with a roadmap to discovering our own answer to this. Through his book, he invites us to create lives of wisdom and happiness, no matter what our circumstance. Before beginning the five-step lesson, Izzo outlines the greatest challenge of all. He reminds us that time is passing. In our powelessness over that, we have huge opportunities. We can manage our priorities and our choices. We are the stars of this one-person, one-lifetime show.

This book was, in some ways, a collaboration. Four thousand people were nominated by friends or loved ones as being true pillars of wisdom and joy. The author then chose 235 of those candidates between 60 and 105 years old – the most knowledgeable section of our society. These subjects have experienced the most. They can separate the hard knocks from the great lessons. Through those subjects and their wisdom, Izzo came up with five tenets for a life worth living:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Leave no regrets
3. Become love.
4. Live in the moment.
5. Give more than you take.

Although each of these is vital and approached with great depth and focus in the book, one or two demand a moment’s inspection and are worth implementing this very moment.

· Living in the moment. If one of the five tenets to living a happy life is to live in the moment, we are literally behind the eightball before we even begin. We are taken out of the “moment” a thousand times each day through our own technology. (Can you say email?) The author recounts taking his dog for a walk one day. The dog was enjoying that walk so much more than Mr. Izzo himself. The dog paused to enthusiastically enjoy smells or the company of other dogs (friends). The author was simply busy timing himself to accomplish his daily speed walk.

· Become Love. Izzo asks us to recognize that love is not an idea, it is an action. It means choosing to spend time with friends. (Even dogs do that!) It means embodying thoughtfulness and a loving tone. We must not miss an opportunity or spend a day in human disappointment – there simply are no do-overs. You will pass through today only once, and love will sustain you.

· Leave no regrets. The author’s grandfather offered him the idea, early in his life, to judge his days by how satisfying they are. Each day will pass, it is simply the law of time and space, but how we live and how fulfilled we are, will become the foundation of great choices. Quite simply, we get this one chance to create a life that leaves no regrets. Do what thrills us.

Like all great books on positive psychology, gratitude is the prevailing thought throughout this book. To be able to rebound every day (if necessary) and choose to live a joyous and meaningful life. To create time to be still and find the timeless beauty hidden behind to do lists and ever-full inboxes. To author our own sonata, our own academy-award winning existence. That is the good life, and John Izzo wants us to know it. The rewards of each of these five principles are limitless, and amazingly, they are free. It’s the free lottery ticket – your one true life.

Is hiring the services of a life coach the key to your personal success or is it just another unneeded expense?

The purpose of a life coach is to “council” a client, ask key questions as to what they hope to achieve, and then provide the tools in which to do so.

As the field of life coach professionals continues to grow, I can’t help but wonder – Do you truly need a life coach to help make your success a reality, or are these coaches making a career telling you what you could learn on your own with a little self-study ?

“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. ” – Chinese Proverb

Students who are committed to the study of self-growth regularly strive to bring health, wealth and happiness to their world . Despite the curriculum of personal development being a never ending class, it is one that has exceptional benefit to the student. On the opposition, a life coach has already learned most self-improvement tactics. Armed with this information, they simply ask questions that will prompt an answer from you. They ask the questions – you give an answer. There is really no learning of the techniques itself. Can you expect to build your future of wealth and success if someone you pay just gives you the answers to the test?

Some things to think about before enlisting the services of a life coach – Do they know enough to actually make a decision on parts of your life? Is the life coach you work with successful in all parts of their lives as well? Are their ideas of success similar to yours? If I were looking to sink money in the stock market in hopes of a return, I would want a money manager that was successful with his own money – not one who is learning and using my money as practice. Prepare yourself with many questions to the coach and speak with some of their past clients – then make an informed decision.

It is your life and you should consider….becoming your own life coach. Educate yourself by reading, learning and applying self-improvement tips and tactics from different sources. Writing the story of your life is not a simple task. Making yourself and what you have better requires many skills. Learning more about yourself and your inner workings will pay your great dividends for years to come. Get the entire benefit by studying something you love – YOU ! Don’t leave the major decisions in your life up to someone who doesn’t know you… as well as you do!

Our minds are an incredibly powerful tool, and as you have probably heard before, we only use a small portion of it every day. Our thoughts play a significant role in how we view the world, and the positive vs negative thoughts we carry with us can be the foundation for all sorts of things in our lives, both good and bad.

We can control our thoughts and therefore we can control whether our thoughts are positive or negative. Our minds control our thought processes and can be the catalyst for living a positive, happy life, or a life of doom and gloom. What choices have you made?

People make out positive thinking to be some mystical process that is only known by a few and is handed down from generation to generation. While I do believe that these types of skills are passed down from parent to child, I don’t believe that there is anything secretive about them or that only a select few have the capacity to implement in their lives.

Positive thinking is actually very simple, here are a few ways you can get started…and have a positive impact on all areas of your life:

• If you find yourself thinking a negative thought, change it to a positive thought.
• Surround your life with positive people, don’t allow negativity into your life.
• Spend your time on activities that bring you happiness.
• Invoke positive memories whenever you can.
• Cherish the simple pleasures in your life.
• Be around people that make you laugh.
• Love yourself.
• Serve others by volunteering your time to those less fortunate.

Don’t fool yourself into think that just because the above ideas are simple, that they will not work. Quite the opposite is true actually, and it has repeatedly been show the impact positive vs negative thoughts can have on your life.

If you convey a positive attitude towards others you will by surrounded by people who want to be around you and are positive themselves. These relationships will only continue to grow and bring more positive energy into your life. The opposite is true as well, so keep positive thoughts.

Have you heard of the old saying “he woke up on the wrong side of the bed?” We have all experienced this before ourselves, for some reason we wake up in a bad mood and our entire day seems to turn out bad. Did you know that you can change this?

Begin each day in a positive manner. Open the drapes to let the sun shine in, put on some of your favorite music, tell yourself a positive thought or two…whatever it takes to start your positive thinking. You will be amazed at what these simple changes can bring to your life.

ow, just because these ideas are simple…does not mean they are easy. That is probably why everyone is not walking around with a positive attitude, because it takes work, desire, and discipline to live your life in this manner. It is easier being negative! The choice is yours, you have nobody to blame but yourself, when deciding between positive vs negative thoughts.

Positive thinking is such a powerful attitude, it can help you to fulfil your dreams. It will empower you to be the very best you can be.

For those mums who feel frustrated, confused or unfulfilled with life, positive thinking can be a difficult concept to grasp. How can a method of thought possibly have an effect on your life?

The way you currently feel is a direct result of your negative thoughts and limiting beliefs. If you cannot see a way out of your current situation, your limiting beliefs are prolonging your despair. Negative thoughts are contagious – one leads to another – leaving you to live a life of unhappiness and disillusionment.

Negative thoughts and limiting beliefs, therefore, have the power to consume you with depression and misery. Conversely, positive thinking is as powerful an emotion but is optimistic, helping you attract what you really want and offering a great outlook on life!

The first steps to embracing a positive outlook, is to let go of your limiting beliefs. Assess each negative thought in turn and identify your reasons for having them. If these reasons are ill-founded, unsupported by evidence or the results of an event that happened in the past, let them go – release them. They are of absolute no use to you and only serve to hold you back from future happiness.

Doing this alone will not transform your life. Don’t expect to make a 100% transition to thinking positively overnight. Try to develop yourself to replace your negative thoughts with positive ones:

Negative: I can’t do this.

Positive: I can do this and will try different methods to ensure I succeed.

Negative: I’m worried, as I’ve never done this before.

Positive: This is a great opportunity for me to learn something new.

Negative: I never have enough time.

Positive: I am organised with all my tasks properly prioritised into my schedule.

Negative: I’m not confident enough.

Positive: I am confident and I will embrace learning as a way to grow.

Negative: I’ve done some bad things.

Positive: I forgive myself: I am doing a lot of good now.

Adopt and maintain positive disciplines in your life. Surround yourself with other optimists and if you believe the negative people in your life are seriously encroaching on your happiness and life balance distance yourself from them. Treat yourself as you would others – don’t say anything to yourself you wouldn’t say to others. Be mindful that what you think and believe about yourself will ultimately create your reality. Your thoughts affect your feelings, which in turn affect your behaviour. You attract to your life whatever you give your attention, energy and focus. Remember to smile more: it will help you to feel more positive.

Overcome your limiting beliefs by learning to put your newfound positive thinking into action. As you gradually build towards a more positive outlook, you will become less critical of yourself and the world around you: your stress will reduce, you will begin to cope better with everyday challenges and gain a sense of peace, wellbeing and ultimately happiness. The benefits are truly immense.

Challenge yourself to identify all the positive things you do in the day and don’t focus and dwell on minor challenges and setbacks that may have occurred. There is no such thing as failure; only experiences from which to learn and therefore the opportunity for personal growth and development.

Positive thinking will improve your confidence and self-esteem. Start your journey today and look forward to a life of happiness, improved health and fulfillment.