Leading Up to The Summit

Well, every week can feel like a bit of a mountain climb at times.  Work is busy, life is busy and all that just to enjoy the weekend.  The climbing analogy for a work week is that its a long haul uphill to look forward to the end and for me, this analogy has been especially true venturing out to climb a few local summits in the nearby Rockies.  I wrote a few weeks ago about climbing Mr. Allan with my Unicycle and how it needed great perseverance.  I generally love to always take my uni with me, but I knew this climb was not a good fit for having it since there was a fair bit of scrambling and some bouldering to do.  Neither of which fair well with a unicycle on your back.  After doing the trip though now for the first time, I’ll go again for sure, and perhaps with the uni next time just for the fun of it and some scree downhill runs.  That would be excellent to ride on the unicycle!

Anyway, I had a shortened time frame on the weekend as I had plans to get to the lake for some wake boarding in the afternoon so I planned to pack light and move quickly to summit Mt. Yamnuska west of Calgary.  It was an absolutely perfect day and luckily I made it out early to the trail before anyone else so was fortunate to solo the entire trip up without seeing a sole.  Perfect solitude!  Sometimes I wish the hectic days at work could be started out in similar solitude, to clear the mind and get focused back on life, purpose, God and nature.  I guess that is what the weekend will have to be for when you with a lot with other people.  Don’t get me wrong, I love working with others, but sometimes I just really like time to myself and the beautiful world I find myself in.

So as usual, I had some great adventures on this climb as I don’t really do anything in my life like the masses so of course I didn’t stick to the trail, I had to venture off finding new things, getting turned off course and venturing out on slopes that really are not the best places to be.  After a few hours of climbing, some detours and a bit of backtracking I made it up to the summit to enjoy the incredible views with not a cloud in the sky.  Amazing!

Photography

Definitely one of my passions in nature is to capture it and photography, especially natural landscapes I have always had a keen eye for.  I spend a lot of time taking photos on a hike and then move quickly to the next vista to capture it as well.  Some people call me Mr. panorama since I absolutely love panorama photography and take them at every chance I have.  I’ve learned a great deal about photography through my artistic and 3D graphics business/hobby.  I have always used Canon’s digital elph series of point and shoot cameras (since I must be able to easily pack them in my active sporting / hobbies) so I really find myself always pushing the limits of such a simple camera without going all out for a DSLR or something more impressive.  Personally, I like to the challenge of taking great photos with a less than fantastic camera and it drives me crazy to see so many people with camera 10x better and worth 10x more than mine who don’t even know how to run them.  Photography is about knowing your camera in order to capture the perfect photo, its NOT about having a camera that CAN capture perfect photos yet not knowing how to use it.

The digital aspect of photography is really what I enjoy about it.  I love learning and playing with photography software tools and making the photos look their very best with some editing.  Panoramas are perfect examples of this as you just can’t do them without digital editing and the software tools now for it are simply stunning.  Please have a look through these select photos and panorama views and I really want to encourage you to look at what you capture as far as moments in life, how do you remember your adventures and is photography an element that you use to reflect on life and personal development?  I know if it for me so I wanted to share that and a few thoughts on that subject here.  I hope you enjoy it, I’d love to read your comments!

Note: If you are interested in seeing the summit panorama I created it as a full 360° view using quicktimeVR and an interactive summit panorama using Microsoft’s new HDView.  Both available free using those tools.

Posted by Mike King under Life | 8 Comments »

I’ve got a short set of resources this month for you to enjoy…

Favorite Articles

• 5 Ways to Conquer Your Fears
• Education Sucks Worse Than You Think
• An amazing human beatbox, artist, rapper, singer: DubFX. (Armen, this one is for you man!)
• Doing with Less! – A new ebook out by Daniel Richard on how to live a minimalist lifestyle.
• 40 Sites to Learn New Skills at Marc and Angel
• Ted always has fantastic talks and this one by Simon Sinek is that exactly on inspiring leaders!

100 Lists

Articles / Material on Relationships

From spending as much time on my ebook as I have, I want to include resources specifically on relationships and so this new section will highlight relationship content.

• Great Relationships: Set Aside Your Prejudices About Men and Women
• 50 Body Language Secrets You Need to Succeed in Life
• The Power of Relationships in Life Training

Posted by Mike King under Life | 5 Comments »

I am pleased to introduce this guest article by a new friend John, the creator of HiLife2B, where he hopes to inspire people and to help them achieve their dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @CJAnyasor

1. Believe that even the smallest compliment can save someone’s life

2. Remember that one person can change an entire nation

3. Understand that kids are smarter than we make them out to be

4. Just because old people are old, doesn’t mean they’ve lost their youth

5. Talent can be found under the dirtiest rock or in the most hopeless slum

6. Just because someone is poor in wealth doesn’t mean they are poor in spirit

7. Poverty is the greatest gift you can give a person. It is only then that they will have a choice to either become valuable or die as a quitter

8. Let the naysayers say nay and allow the criticizers to criticize: in the end you will have found greater happiness having pursued your dream

9. If a baby can smile living off of only breast milk and a mother’s love, you can smile too

10. The prettiest people can do the ugliest things

11. You are no different than the squirrel on that branch. You both eat a lot, hibernate for the winter, and have a tendency to be curious of humankind

12. From the CEO of a major corporation to the lowly janitor who sweeps where his boss stands; they are all insecure

13. To be creative is the most valuable thing in the world; don’t let anyone tell you otherwise

14. People conform because there is strength in numbers, but true strength comes from the person brave enough to stand alone

15. Unrealistic goals are hardly ever achieved not because they are impossible, but because everyone is too scared to make them real

16. Don’t be afraid to let those go who are hindrance to your high self-esteem, the life blood of your success

17. Embarrassment is a pointless emotion that only serves to confuse and over exaggerate reality

18. The only ways to stop negativity is to avoid it completely or face it head on

19. Irrational self confidence is worth more than rational defeatism

20. To live in no one’s reality but the one you’ve created for yourself is to achieve true happiness

21. Giving is one of the most underrated tactics to getting what you want

22. Fear the person who dreams unrealistically; one day he may acquire what he desireshel

23. Everyone has a weakness

24. Live and die as your passion; to be known as anything else is an insult to your existence

25. Do not deprive yourself or others of the gift of cartoons. Their creativity, hilarity, and curiosity have made me who I am today

26. Quiet patience and adaptive persistence are the two keys to perpetual happiness

27. Never feel ashamed of your natural instincts. They are there for a reason

28. Look at the people you are following in their footsteps. Is that the person you wish to be?

29. Don’t indulge in distractions that are short-lived and derail your long term efforts

30. To create a piece of art is to exist as a God within your mental domain

31. The movers in this world are the ones who create and consume only what coincides with their ultimate vision of themselves

32. Things are never as they seem. Always dig deeper to find the gold beneath the rock

33. Stereotypes don’t come out of thin air; all that is left for you now is to disprove them

34. Any crack in your resilience will be exploited if you don’t patch it up from time to time

35. Being assertive is a sign of a steadfast will

36. Negative people don’t deserve your time; positive people crave it

37. When your beliefs are tested, bring evidence to prove them wrong (granted you actually feel the need to)

38. When you have the strength to ask for more even after being knocked down countless times, there is nothing you can’t achieve

39. To look down to the ground is a sign of weakness. Look forward to showcase your unshakable confidence

40. Even one who is deaf can produce the most beautiful music

41. How much do you want success? How far are you willing to go?

42. A true genius is one who can sit for hours intensely focused on what he loves

43. Do not screw around with your time. It is the only thing within your absolute control

44. The only sense of entitlement you should feel is toward living your passion

45. The answers are always right in front of us. Just open your eyes

46. If you do not want to put in the work to make your dreams real then you do not deserve the right to put down anyone who fails in trying

47. The human brain contains 15-33 billion neurons; do not tell yourself that you are not creative

48. Do not let yourself fall into despair; it is a massive waste of time and emotion

49. People don’t tell you to try new things because it sounds “adventurous”. They say it because it actually works

50. If today was your last day, how many of these words would you actually follow?

51. To be an authority of any kind, you must earn and emanate respect

52. When in doubt, just laugh. Find amusement in how absurd your situation is then come out of the gate with full force

53. Don’t admire those who are simply hard workers with lots of awards under their belts. Idolize the people who are successful by working hard doing what they love

54.  Life won’t let you you get by with being stupid. You have to have knowledge of some kind to live in this world

55. Don’t confuse being stupid with being stubborn. Sometimes trying harder is all it takes

56. Do NOT allow anyone to disrespect you or make you feel less than you know you are

57. Don’t blame someone else for being better than you. Blame yourself for not working harder

58. Hard work is not something we should run away from. It’s pointless work we should fear

59. Don’t carry everything on your shoulders; that’s what friends are for

60. When you’ve lost your spirit, spend some time with youth. Their thirst for life and exploration will no doubt re-invigorate you

61. The fact that nothing in life is guaranteed is both a blessing and a curse

62. There is never only one choice: you don’t have to go up after you hit rock bottom. You can also choose to stay there

63. Sometimes you have to realize when you just aren’t good at something; this is the best time to regroup

64. Using old-age methods to solve new-age problems is setting yourself up for failure

65. When you’ve been sitting in the same spot for hours, trying to get something absolutely perfect, give yourself more than just a pat on the back

66. Not many people will risk everything in order to achieve what they want; in other words, be a risk taker and you will reap the rewards

67. Even when you know you’re close to the finish line, never let up

68. The only thing you can change about people are your relationships with them

69. What’s happened in the past is done. The future does not exist yet. The only thing in your mind should be what you’re doing now

70. You may be a great writer, a doctor, a lawyer, or a banker, but at your very core, the only thing we are best at is being ourselves

John is the creator of HiLife2B, where he hopes to inspire people and to help them achieve their dreams. Follow him on Twitter: @CJAnyasor

Posted by Mike King under Life | 24 Comments »

Kaleidoscope Relationships List

I received a message from Priscilla of Priscillamcintire.com introducing me to this list and was pleased to see myself among such a great list of personal development authors.  The idea behind promoting this list is to add personal connections to bloggers who deserve to be on this list since they use relationships in their blogging.  Well, I think that is really cool and am honored to be on the list.

From Prescilla’s Site:

No one achieves success without the help and support of other people. The book “Personal Development Kaleidoscope”, is a demonstration of the power of connection in action. The Kaleidoscope Relationships List began with only a list of the authors and their web-sites. These authors were eached asked to publish the list on their site, and to add 5-10 people who they feel use or have used the principles taught in this book effectively.

In order to increase the power of our relationships, we are asking those of you who have been added to the list to continue the process. Please post this list on your own site, then add people who you feel are effectively using the power of relationships to increase their own success, as well as, the success of others. Then email Priscilla at relationships@priscillamcintire.com

My Additions to the List

These are the people I communicate often with and definitely value the relationships with that I don’t yet see on the list.  I’ve already emailed each of your sites to Priscilla so I hope to see you added to the list.

Armen Shirvanian (Timeless Information)

Bunny (BunnyGotBlog)

Dragos Roua (dragosroua.com)

Steve Borgman (Success Factors)

Stephen (Balanced Existence)

Alik Levin (PracticeThis.com)

Arswino (Inspiration & Motivation Blog)

Ian (Quantum Learning)

Daphne (Joyful Days)

Lance (Jungle of Life)

Stephen (Rat Race Trap)

The List

Abu Aremu        Positive Self Talk Guide

Adam Kayce       Monk at Work

Adebola Oni      Naija Motivation

Al Ramsey         7pproductions.com

Alex Shalman     Practical Personal Development

Angela Lord at     Angelalord.com

Arthur Hung & Jason Fonceca     Spiritentient

Cheryl Ragsdale     That Girl Is Funny

Chris Cade Think without the box

Chris Marshall     Martial Development

CK Reyes           My Coaching Works

Cinderella S Kelley Kroh   The Krohs Nest

Cindie Wilding   Answers From Within

Corrinne Edwards  Personal Growth with Corinne Edwards

Craig Harper     Motivational Speaker – Craig Harper

Crystal Silver    CrystalSilver.com

Daniel Sitter       Idea Sellers

David Rogers     How to Have Great Self Confidence

David Zinger     David Zinger Associates

Dawn Edwards     Second Hand Roses

Dawna Jones      Management-Issues

Diane Brandon     Diane Brandon.com and Diane Brandon.net

Dr. Susan R. Meyer, Ed. D.   Life Work Cafe

Dr. Venerina Conti    VenerinaConti.com

El Baugher at Thesmilingspirit.com

Ellie Walsh at     Living the Law of Attraction

Frank Butterfield     Life Unfolding Beautifully and 68 Second Videos and Re/Transformation

Gamy Rachel     Mind Think Success

Gary Evans     Good To Feel Good

Gleb Reys        Personal Development Ideas

Gordie Rogers     Lifestyle Design 4U

Gregory Allen Butler     holistic-personal-development.com

Heather Bestel a little bit of me time

Henrik Edberg The Positivity Blog

Isabella Mori      MoriTherapy

Jacklyn Ker     Inspiring and Empowing Lives

Jeanette Maw     Good Vibe Coaching

Jeanne May        Goals and Aspirations

Jeff ‘Yoopersmith’ Smith    Shift-Your-Consciousness

Jennifer Mannion   JennyMannion.com

John Sadler      Bitesize Marketing NLP

Jonathan Fields    Awake At the Wheel

Jonathan Wells      Advanced Life Skills

Jordan Rosenfeld     Make a Scene

Judy Kinney      Dream and Flourish

Judy Martin       The Work/Life Monitor

Justin Wolsey Riggs     Easier Method

Kaya Singer     Awakening Business

Karen Putz     A Deaf Mom Shares Her World

Lexi Sundell     Energies of Creation

Liz Strauss     Successful Blog

Lori Painter at      Inspire2act

Lorraine Cohen     Powerfull Living

Lyman Reed     Free Personal Development Material

Lynn Solarczyk     Livingloa

Luciano Passuello     Litemind.com

M. Farouk Radwan     2knowmyself

Mel Kaye     Monday Morning Power

Melissa Goerke      Melissa Thinks Out Loud

Marelisa Fábrega     Abundance Blog at Marelisa Online

Meryl K. Evans     Meryl.net

Michele Woodward     Lifeframeworks.com

Michelle Vandepas     Conscious Destiny

Mike King Learn This

Mohammad Shafi’e     Ultimate Secrets of Success

Neil Sattin     NeilSattin.com and Natural Dog Blog

Patricia Schiavone     Thriving Together, AtoZEdit.com and Attracting The Best

Patricia Singleton     Spiritual Journey of a Lightworker

Phil Gerbyshak     PhilGerbyshak.com

Priscilla McIntire at    Personal Development Demands Success

Rachel Rofe at      Rachelrofe.com

Rahul Bhambhani    Take-20.com

Robert Henru       Reason4Smile

Robert Higginson    Robert Higginson

Robin Skeen     Robin?s Reflections

Rod Smith      Difficult Relationships

Sam Kotadia     MindSportLive.com

Scott Ginsberg     Hello, My Name Is Blog

Scott H Young    Scotthyoung.com

Sharani Robins     Sharani Girl on a Road

Sherri Joubert       Being The Change I Wish To see

Shauna Arthurs     Follow Your Path and Breathing Prosperity

Slade Roberson     Shift Your Spirits

Sonia Simone       Remarkable Communication

Steven Aitchison    Change Your Thoughts

Sugandi Iyer     Life Business Creations

Thea Westra     MyForwardsteps.com and TimeForMyLife.com

Tina Su     Think Simple Now

Todd Goldfarb     We The Change

Vincent Tan      Health Money Success
Vivienne Quek      Versa Creations

Zorka Hereford     Essential Life Skills

Zubli Zainordin     Your Wisdom of Total Happiness

Posted by Mike King under Life | 27 Comments »

Review: The Shadow Effect

with Debbie Ford

I received a free copy of The Shadow Effect to review and am actually having a tough time reviewing it. The Shadow Effect is about discovering and knowing the so called, “Shadows” in our lives which are the flaws, the bad actions, the painful things, the adversities we’ve faced which we avoid and try to keep secret from the world around us.  Some of these shadows are outlined and they include how we sabotage ourselves of our desires, our feelings, our egos and our persona’s we display.  All these things we hide and reject are buried inside us and we can’t keep them bottled up since it consumes so much energy to do so and it prevents us from allowing our brighter side to truly be revealed with our dark side together.

So, my first reaction was one of disappointment as I was really hoping for something with more of an impact to me and something that I could connect with.  However, that didn’t happen for a number of reasons.  First, the movie just seems to drag on saying the same thing without getting to many real discoveries and it has many old cliches which I found kept me out of the movie’s atmosphere over and over.  The movie presented a number of obvious biases as well.  There are certain media figures used as examples for the dark “shadows” while others are presented as great shining light examples.  I found these examples seemed to pinpoint and promote specific names with media clips while chastising others (I won’t even repeat the names used here) and that turned me off immediately.  It was completely unnecessary for the point in the movie.

Also, many of the examples are described with no real evidence or research, everything is presented as “probably” and “likely” this person that or that person must have done “this” at some time in their life.  These are not examples of the shadow in any way, it’s simply made up.  I could find those types of things in anyone’s life, especially if I am making assumptions about what they must have thought years and years ago which formed the so called shadow.  I found this just ridiculous.

I think the points being made about how our thoughts and emotions can cause later problems in our lives when they are not dealt with are great but the movie talks only about how rejecting these feelings is a problem without providing any really guidance to in fact deal with them instead.  The movie tries to drive you into your own mind of suppressed emotions and does nothing but stir those up and talk as if this “shadow” can be resolved to then “let our light in our awareness” to begin processing them.  Those are the words in the movie, not mine.  That really doesn’t mean anything to me and I’m not sure how it can help anyone.  I realize there are lessons to be learned in any dark experience and that they can lead to being a better person.  The way this is outlined as the shadow with dark and light seems off base to me.  The movie references a few spiritual aspects in terms of the shadow and this is where I really disconnected.  I can’t connect to something that is describes so strongly as spiritual yet they refuse to say anything about right and wrong, or good and evil, or God for that matter.  They use light and dark instead.  It’s just a way of hiding what the shadow really is if you ask me, which contradicts the whole point of the movie. The whole movie is based on revealing those hidden truths inside ourselves that we hide from the rest of the world. The light and brilliance of hope, grace and love by God versus the dark, evil, and tempting ways of Satan.  It seemed to me they want the viewer to feel like they have exposed something great and that there is a “divine recipe”, while they don’t even bring God into the picture of dealing with these types of evils inside of us.  The movie goes into some great points on forgiveness and how it is required to move forward to shield our spirits but I just can’t believe God again, was left out of this.  Sorry, forgiveness is not in ourselves, it’s by the grace of God and his Son, Jesus.  They dared not touch any of this subject in “The Shadow Effect” though, its all left quite universal.

Another area I absolutely disagree with were the points about how you can’t hate something that you don’t deeply desire yourself.  The movie says that anything you show that you hate or detest in others is really because you deeply desire it yourself.  This is ridiculous!  I can hate evil, murder and other horrific things without that desire or even a glimmer of desire inside me.  There isn’t a perfect balance of the so called “light and dark” in every person, like the movie claims.  These balances might exist in the universe, but they certainly shifts inside individual cultures, generations, amongst turmoil and absolutely in individuals.  Can people change? Yes. Does it require outside help and intervention?  Yes.  I’ll put my faith for that in God, not myself thanks.

The movie ends without giving you any tools to change, instead its feels like an infomercial for enticing you to buy the interactive DVDs and attend “The Shadow Effect” seminar processes.  There are many inspirational messages about light and references for brilliance and happiness and while the movie is motivational, it’s not something I feel can make any lasting change for someone.  It still requires more of the process (whatever that is) to allow any change to occur.  The movie reminds me very mush like, “The Secret” for its repetitive strong message without really telling you how or what is necessary to make any the movie’s promise actually happen.  Personally, I’d say not to bother with this movie, as it just doesn’t give any real things to learn or change from.  I haven’t read the book but if its anything like this movie, I’ll save myself the time and avoid it as well.

I’d encourage you to still go check out the trailer and decide for yourself.  I truly watched this movie with an open mind and wanted to learn what was so transformational, but I personally didn’t see that and the style in which the movie teased with no real actions disappointed me throughout.

Posted by Mike King under Life | 8 Comments »

Top Articles and Favorite Posts

Armen (at Timeless Information) inspired me to build my own 100 lists ( 100 ways to be a leader and 100 Ways to Simplify Your Life and Mind ).  A few people have continued with the trend. Here were some new ones and a few I came across while browsing.

• 85 Ways to Motivate Yourself by Arswino.
• Not continued from the 100 lists, but this is a great one as well.  88 Important Truths I’ve Learned About Life
• 100 Clevel Ways to Change Your Habits and Improve Your Life – I found this stumbling and even though its not new, its a great article.
• 100 Ways to Birth your Entrepreneurial Dream at Divine Purpose Unleashed
• 100 Ways to Improve Your Blog and 100 Ways to Live a Better Life by Dragos

A few additional articles I’ve come across and really enjoyed are here:

• Sharpen Your Conversation Skills by Brian Tracy
• How to Achieve the Impossible
• The productivity magazine is a superb free resource and issue #3 is now out.
• 11 Traits of Highly Creative People

I don’t normally include videos in my content or much of my stumbling but I watched this advertisement and it is truly an amazing one.

Posted by Mike King under Life | 10 Comments »