Motivation

Rough day? It feels like this is a series of long days in a really long week. It’s so hard sometimes.

We all have times where the weight of the world is on us, and it feels like it’s only getting heavier.  We start to think about how much better we would feel if we stopped, if we just threw in the towel.  Sure, it would feel good to put down this huge weight for just a moment, but then tomorrow we will encounter the pain of failure, and the pressure to start over from scratch.

We are made to succeed, but sometimes it is really hard.  How do we get over those humps, especially when everyday feels like hump day? What can we do when we feel it all starting to slip away and we KNOW we want to keep going forward, that we MUST keep going? Read more →

I’d like to make you an offer.  What if I gave your $86,400, but with a catch?  At the end of the day, the balance of your account drops down to $0.  Not to worry, the offer is valid tomorrow too.  A brand new $86,400 coming your way.  As you might have guessed, the same catch still applies.  You end the day with $0.  What would you do with such a large sum of evaporating money each day?

If you are like most people, your answer is that Read more →

As you might imagine, I am a really positive person. I like to start my day, get myself going, have a cup of coffee and believe that the world is mine for the taking.  I teach a class twice a week, and sometimes, while I am teaching a voice in my head says “These guys don’t like what you are saying. They think you are stupid and they aren’t listening.”  Then, they will ask me questions, which shows their interest to hear what I am saying, and they comeback again next week.  They DO like what I am saying, even though that silly voice in my head says otherwise.

Even though I am super positive and completely believe in my ability, I hear this voice from time to time. What should we do when that voice says something that we know isn’t true?  How can we get past those thoughts that maybe they are right? Read more →

We all have dreams.  For some of us, they are just a nice thought.  You might say, if I could live somewhere, I would live on some beautiful tropical island.  For others, it is more clear. Not only would I live in a tropical island, but I would live in a one room beach house, and stand on the sandy beach at sunset.  No matter what your dream is, it should be as detailed and defined as possible.

Have you ever learned something or heard something and it felt extremely familiar?  You don’t know where or when you heard it, but you are pretty sure you have heard it before.   Read more →

Many of us tend to look at the world in terms of absolutes. There are people who are smart, and there are people that are not.  There are people that are winners and there are people that are losers. Successful people and non-successful people.  If we find ourselves on the bottom of one of those sides what can I do?  That’s the hand I was dealt. Woe is me!

In Parashas Shelach it says: “There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, descended from the giants. In our eyes, we seemed like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes.” (Numbers 13:33). When encountering what seemed like giants, the Jewish spies that were sent into Israel perceived themselves as grasshoppers. As a direct result of their self perception, “and so we were in their eyes.” Read more →

All to often I hear people complaining about how they wish they had this, or how they wish they had that. They wish they were skinny.  They wish they could find the perfect someone.  They wish they had their dream job.  They wish they made more money. We have all heard these people.  Maybe you are one of these people.  To these people I like to ask, “what steps have you taken to get what you want?”

They usually seem baffled by the question.  It is as if they want to live the exact same life they have now, but just add on the item of their desire. “Work for it? You want me to work on being skinny?  You want me to try to get that dream job?” Warning: This might burst your bubble.   Read more →

I was in the zone. I was on fire. I was finally writing the blog posts that were bound up inside of me.  Then I got sick, twice in one week. First side blinded by a change in the weather, then I caught a stomach bug.  My progress slowed to a crawl.  All I wanted was to write, but I felt so weak.  Sometimes in our lives, we get bumped off course.

One day you are excited to go on a diet, or learn a new skill.  You get yourself up once or twice, and then, your yetzer hara (evil inclination) kicks in and says “Maybe tomorrow”.  Another great dream on pause. Read more →

I once heard a story about the Chasam Sofer.  He was once asked how he became the great talmid chacham (Torah scholar) that he was. He said “It’s easy. It only took five minutes.”  The listener could not believe his ears.  “Surely the Rav spent more than 5 minutes learning to became so great.”  The Chasam Sofer said, “Of course.  It is five minutes here and five minutes there.   Never do nothing.  You must always be doing something.”  If we take 5 minutes a day to accomplish a goal, that adds up to over 34 hours a year.  If you average work day is 8 hours, this is like taking almost 4 days off of work to accomplish a goal.  Wouldn’t you like to take 4 days off from work to make you dreams come true?  It is easier than you think. Read more →

When I was about 10 years old, I was shopping for clothing at the mall with my mom, and I saw a tshirt that said “Second place is the first loser.” This shirt was from a major brand that was always known for its be tough and win at all odds slogans. Even as a young child, I immediately understood what the shirt was trying to convey. Anything less that being the best was worthless.

As an adult, I realize that our society is pumped full of this type of attitude all the time. Read more →

It is an interesting phenomenon that a person can know something to be true and proper yet do the exact opposite. People who smoke will tell you that smoking is bad all while lighting another cigarette. We know we should eat healthy food, but why not have another piece of that yummy cake? Should I go to sleep on time? Of course. Do I go to sleep on time? Almost never. Why is it that what we know and what we do (or more correctly, the way we act) are so different.

The sages of Mussar (Jewish character development) have discussed this very point at length. They have found that there is a gap between our intellectual knowledge and our emotions. I know I should be on a diet, yet my body yearns for the cake. My actions are very much controlled by my emotions even though I know clearly how bad my actions are for me. Because of the power of the emotions, I barely flinch at doing what I know is wrong.  Read more →