For many of us life is so busy that we lose track of the days, weeks, and months.  We plan on taking action, or trying to make changes, but when it comes down to actually getting down to business, we are overcome by the events of life.

The only way to counteract this is to be organized.  There are many ways to get organized, but I find one of the best ways, is a simple weekly calendar where you can write your to do list, and scratch it off as it gets done.  Pair this up with an online calendar for those weekly or monthly reminders that you won’t do if you don’t schedule – such as “call a friend once a week”  – and you’re good to go.  (One caveat to keep in mind is that if it is on your written calendar, it should not go on your online calendar.  Nothing ever goes in two places – that would be double work!)

It really can be that simple, and if you know me, it’s all about finding the simplest way to make the greatest impact in life.

I was saddened to learn of the death of Steve Jobs as clearly he was a famous entrepreneur and innovator that we can all learn many lessons from.

Now, I know very little about Steve Jobs.  I have never really read all that much about the man. However,  it would seem that he enjoyed the thrill of running a company and enjoyed the excitement that comes from building something out of nothing – or incremental improvements – or just the challenge of man versus the world.

However, one thing that I did notice is that it looks like he pretty much worked until the very end.

So I think one of the biggest lessons we can learn from him is not to work until you die.  And since you don’t really know when you are going to die, make sure you aren’t living to work right now.

I know I kind of do.  And honestly, I’m not too sure how to change my pattern, but I know I’m going to give it some real thought before I wake up in another 10 years, and it’s been another 10 years with no real change.

So let’s learn one last lesson from Steve – perhaps the greatest one of all – don’t resign before you die.

One of the many ironies of life is that the only way for our mind to comprehend what we actually have is to lose it, which means that it is extremely hard to ever appreciate what we have when we have it.

The best way to counteract this fact, is to use the power of visualization to actively imagine your life without something.  Think about all of the touch points that an important person or item has in your life, then visualize the absence of said object.  Really think about it, and bring in your emotional side.  Bring back that imagination that used to be so useful as a child, but now sits latent in the back of your brain since we were somehow taught along the way that we shouldn’t spend time imagining as an adult.  Pretty soon, you’ll be able to fully embrace what you lose, and in doing so fully appreciate what you actually have in your life.

[In the interest of honesty I have to say, I’ve never really done this exercise to the extent I mention above, but I’ll give it a shot and report back if it doesn’t work.  But we both know it will. 🙂  ]

We are so busy with the rat race of life, and keeping up with our responsibilities that we often lose sight of the fact of all that we accomplish in life, and just take it for granted.

For example, if you have been able to save up enough money to buy a house, are you thinking about your next house, or are you appreciating the one you have?  If you finally took the plunge and bought a nice car are you now dreaming about the next one you are going to get, or appreciating the one you have now.   Typically, I am always thinking about the next one.

So why is it so hard to just sit back and appreciate what we have?  Why are we so driven to keep moving forward?  Is it just some type of evolutionary force that propels survival?  Perhaps.   Or perhaps because we aren’t focused enough on the moment, and are always focused on the fact that our glass is half empty, instead of realizing that our glass is overflowing, and we just need to take a moment and look at what we have to see it for what it is – amazingly abundant.

So starting today, schedule a time each month to appreciate all that you have in your life.  You will probably find yourself much happier, more engaged with the present, and probably will find that you don’t need as many “things” as you thought you did before.

I received a thank you note a few days ago from someone I helped recently that in all honesty was one of the nicest notes that I have received from someone in some time.  It was inspiring, and made me really appreciate the person who sent the note.

So I went online and bought some nice stationary, and wrote a few notes to some friends who have been helping me recently, and sent them thank you notes too.   I have to imagine that they really appreciated receiving them from me as well – and it made them feel like we were closer friends, which is always a good investment.

I guess the main point here is that taking some time out to say thank you to people is good for you – it makes you appreciative, which is a good attribute – and is good for your relationships, so go buy some nice cards and add it as a monthly to do item to send out one or two cards to thank those people who help you in life!