100 Years Of Solitude

For as long as I can remember I have enjoyed and totally loved reading, at first it started like a way to cope with life and avoid loneliness, it then became a passion that has helped me a great deal.

I started reading fiction or non-fiction, literature and prose; I always loved putting myself in the author’s shoes and decipher what he wanted to put across to the reader, I would get lost in those pages for hours and hours (and still do).

Later in life I switched to personal development and business, and success and every now and then I lose myself (again) in a nice fictional book.

One of the books that had a huge impact in my life was 100 years of solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez aka Gabo.

Why?

Before I tell you why I want to give you a bit of background.

My family (most of them, anyway) are of humble means, in fact my generation was the first generation to have had the privilege to have an education, our parents and grandparents didn’t, in fact my great grandmother (who is still alive) didn’t have any education whatsoever.

It is fair to say that education and personal growth weren’t the main priority in their lives, it was all about “survival”, getting a job (didn’t matter what it was!), having a roof over their head (and their children!) and paying the bills (and maybe have the luxury to do some nice things!); I know some of you would even say that that is the case with many people nowadays, and you’d be right!

So, that is the background of 3 generations in my family (we are 5 generations living side by side).

Oh, and before I forget I read this book in 2005 when I was already living in England.

The reason I loved this book is because it beautifully described many (if not most) people’s reality in Latin America.

What is that?

Doing the same things their parents have always done, repeating the same mistakes; in fact, there would be 3 (or more) generations living under the same roof!

In this book Gabriel talks about an imaginary community (Macondo), based on what he knew and had seen in Colombia growing up.

As I was reading the pages of this book it felt as if I was reading my family’s biography and friends families, it felt real and I had seen it with my own eyes.

The family in the book perpetuating that vicious circle and they weren’t even aware of it, it all seemed “normal”.

It was OK to live with your parents and their parents, and getting married and bringing your partner to live in your house and bringing a child to the world and keeping it in the same environment, not broadening its horizons.

I will not spoil the book giving you too much information, it simply is a must read.

So, what I learned from reading this book was that I was brave and courageous when I chose to sever my connection from that vicious circle, I wanted to see the world, I wanted to be “different” and I wanted to do things that no one has ever done in my family.

At first it wasn’t easy because I felt guilty, and now when I look back I know it was one of the best decisions I have ever made because I get to do things I love and I am starting something new.

I am making my own mistakes and learning from them, I am travelling and seeing the world, I am doing things I want to do and not things I am “expected” to do, I call the shots and I live a life powerfully and I love it.

You want to know something?

Many (if not most) of my family are still living in the same vicious circle, that’s what they have always known and otherwise is “odd” and “strange” and totally “alien” to them.

The connections and bonds we have to those lifestyles can be too strong to break sometimes and it may take many generations to break away from them.

Two things come to mind:

1. Einstein’s definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results. And

2. Some people believe that it takes up to seven generations to break away from a vicious circle.

Was I the “odd” one out? Was my birth the chosen one from a 7^th generation and the others weren’t? who knows?

Though, I wanted to share with you about that book and how it almost felt like I was reading my family’s biography.

If you haven’t read this book, I highly recommend you do, you might even discover something from your family in there too.

Till next time,

Jorge

3 Tips To Help You Feel More Confident – Infographic Download

I know how surreal it is to believe that one day you can stop lacking in confidence.

I have been there and if anyone EVER told me that one day I would be confident and enjoy its rewards I would have laughed and continued feeling the way used to feel.

Feeling lonely, feeling sad, feeling empty, I, too, was there. In fact, I never thought I’d stop having that empty feeling in my heart.

Wherever you are, just know there is, ALWAYS, hope and a way out.

Though, I have been there and done, I know how “challenging” it is to see other ways and even believe that that is even possible.

So, today, I want to share 3 tips that will help you to feel more confident.

Are you ready?

3 tips to help you feel more confident:

1. Know that it will soon be over: when you know that whatever is going in your life will only be there for a short while and that great things will be coming your way.

As I said I have been there and I know what it is like to feel like you will never ever be confident. Though, when is started feeling that it would soon be over, it did and 9 months after (after committing suicide and failing!), I someone who loved me for me and 2 years after meeting him I was living in a different country, my whole transformed!!!

2. Know that you are stronger than you think: this was a pivotal moment in me gaining confidence because I knew there was a strength in me that I had yet to tap into and that drove to want to experience it and have it, I learned valuable lessons about myself and how I was in control of my thoughts and therefore my life.

3. Know that other people are going through the same as you: one day I had the thought, what if other people feel the same way? What if they even feel worse than me? And guess what? I started to notice what was happening around me, in other peoples’ lives. So, I made the choice to help them and empower them and that helped me a great deal, simply knowing I was helping another person.

I invite you put into practice these 3 simples tips and start feeling the benefits right away, growing in confidence isn’t “difficult”, it isn’t brain surgery; it requires belief and action.

Believe that you can be confident and take the actions required to be that confident person.

If you want to read more about confidence by all means go onto www.dragonrising.com and order a copy of my book Growing Confident, where I share my journey to become a confident man what I did.

Also, share your comments in the comments box when you start seeing the results in your life.

With all my love,

Jorge

PS, if you’d like to find out about Confidence & Success Coaching feel free to download the free Infographic with all you need to know.

How to create from nothing?

Intriguing title, don’t you think?

You might be wondering what I mean by creating from nothing, right?

Just imagine you are a builder, you have what at first appears to be an empty plot of land and you are assigned the task to build a house in that space of nothing.

The idea of starting with nothing and somehow ending up with something after some work could seem almost impossible for some, terrifying for others and some, well, wouldn’t even start!

Though, the reality is that you get many more choices when you start with nothing or from nothing.

When you have nothing, what that really means is you can have anything, you get to call the shots, you get to choose what is built.

You can build the house as big as your imagination allows you to, you can use whatever materials you want to use, you can be as creative as your heart desires.

Starting with nothing gives you a clean canvas in which you get to decide what goes on it, you choose the paints you want to use, you get to choose the brushes you want to use and you also get to choose how long it will take to complete the masterpiece.

If you are struggling to grasp that concept it is ok, I am going to give you an even easier to get analogy:

We start with nothing, as nothing!

Get it?

We are all born the same, naked, vulnerable and with nothing.

It is with time we get to create the life we desire, we choose what we do or don’t do with our lives. When we are adults or even before then, we choose our friends, partners, schools, jobs, etc.

What we get, always start from nothing, with nothing.

We start with nothing and we then choose to have something.

That something could be anything we wish; though, it is our circumstances and past experiences that steer us in the direction of the things we get in life.

So, in a nutshell, you get to choose what happens next in your life.

You are the artist who gets to paint the blank canvas, you are the author of your life who gets to write on the empty page.

You start with nothing and therefore have the potential to have EVERYTHING.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s post.

Till next time,

Jorge

Aligning your thoughts with what you want

I remember many years ago when I heard of The Secret for the very first time, I was extremely excited, I could not believe we had finally found that missing bit of information that would enables to have the lives we always wanted AND most importantly effortlessly…

The reality is, it was too simple!

It was just too easy and always hard to believe that we could have anything, just by the power of our thoughts and The Law of Attraction.

So, I guess this concept put some people off (I was more cynical than put off by it – if I am being honest), and some interest was lost.

Saying this, I want to share with you how I have learned to interpret the message in The Secret and The Law of Attraction.

When we want something in life, be it a car, or a new partner, or to get that promotion at work; regardless of what it is, it ALL start as a thought, a single thought.

This thought gives birth to an idea of what life can be life when (see how I am saying when not IF!), we get that car, or meet our new partner, or get that promotion; this idea when decorated with all the different possibilities and what it will do for us is what we call a Vision.

In very simple words:

A Vision is seeing things the way they can be, not the way they are.

So, we have a thought which then becomes a vision and then what?

This is when The Law of Attraction comes in… this is the moment when we align our thoughts with that vision, we write it down as a goal or well-formed outcome that will inspire us, we get creative and make ourselves a nice vision board of what our lives will look like when we get what we want, we visualise ourselves being there, doing those things and enjoying the rewards.

However, it isn’t that easy, we have to do a few things that will help us materialise this goal or vision, these are:

1. Action: a goal without action is just a dream, and dreams do not come true if we don’t do a single thing to make them happen… So, get to work if you want that vision to become a reality.
2. Have a why: a why is the reason we do what we do, is why we get up at ridiculous o’clock to do what it takes to make that vision a reality.
3. Remind ourselves of our goal/vision: if you aren’t familiar with visualisation, affirmations, goal setting or vision boards, I would encourage you to find out more, these tools help to remind us of what it is we want and why we are doing it. So, why do we need reminding? This internal repetition of our goal/vision is what will help us find the how, which is the strategy that will get us there, the more we think about our goal, the more we will be working in ways to make it a reality. And,
4. Empowering habits: there always is a reason why we haven’t that what we want… let me explain this, if we had a way to get that car, partner or job we wouldn’t even bother thinking about it. However, the main reason we don’t have those things is because we do not have the skills or strategies to get them, so developing empowering habits is fundamental to ensure we accomplish our goals.

The truth is, there is no secret to The Secret, if there was a secret it would be:

Do what you know you have to do to create the results you want.

Rome wasn’t built in one day, it took years, decades to become the empire it did.

Can you imagine it Rome was built in one day? Surely, they wouldn’t have become the empire they did if they hadn’t built the solid foundations to support and guard their people.

The same applies to our goals, they become a reality once we have built the foundations in which they can materialise.

I hope you have enjoyed today’s read.

With all my love,

Jorge

How to have the best year yet?

Have you ever asked yourself:

What do I have to do to have the best year I’ve ever had?

Or,

What can I do to be better than last year?

If you are like me, I am sure you may have asked yourself this countless times.

So, how do we have the best year yet?

The answer is very simple:

Say no to your excuses.

Say no to what you’d normally say yes to.

Be the person who says no…

• Be the person who says no to distractions,
• Be the person who says no to tv,
• Be the person who says no to alcohol,
• Be the person who says no to procrastination.

When you start saying no it may seem uncomfortable at first, and as soon as you start seeing the results in your life it will start to become easier and easier.

What do you have to do to have the best year yet?

What is it you want?

We all know what we have to do to get from A to B, we just don’t do it. The secret here is to go above and beyond our excuses and say: I know I don’t want to do this and I am doing it anyway.

I know this is tedious and I am doing it anyway.

I want to spend some time doing nothing and I am going to get on with my work, my studies, work towards my goals, anyway.

In brief, what we have to do to have the best year yet is to do the complete opposite to what we have always done, do more of the things that have to be done, do what we know have to be done to get the results we want.

Achieving success and accomplishing our goals aren’t exclusive to “the chosen” ones, this is available to everyone, especially the ones who put in the hard work.

Do you want to have the best year yet?

Just work, work and work towards it and in the end you will reap the rewards.

Have a great day,

Jorge

How are you feeding your mind in 2017?

Hello there, I trust you are having a great day so far and that 2017 is treating you well so far (it is only day 2!).

I would like to thank you for your beautiful comments in yesterday’s post, truth be told I wanted to make people think about the year ahead and how they can ensure they have the bestest year yet.

So, today is no different.

I am sure those of you who are Entrepreneurs and/or in the Personal Development field are familiar with the saying:

“Learners are Earners”

I could not agree more with that statement.

I am very fortunate that when I was growing up I had the best Spanish and Literature professors, they taught me so much and made me fall in love with my language and reading; so the day I don’t have my hands all over a book, the day I do not caress the pages in a hardback (or paperback), I feel I am missing out.

My personal library has thousands of books that I have devoured over the years (in England alone), and it just continues to grow.

Over the festive period I read like there was no tomorrow, I wanted to enrich my mind and my being. Sadly, I ran out of books to read (yes, I was upset!!!).

Yesterday, New Year, the very first day of the year I had nothing to enrich my life, my mind and me being. So, I had this thought:

Wouldn’t it be a good idea if from now on, before the year ends I get myself 12 books – one for every month of the year –, for the year ahead?

Do you remember, me talking about my wheel of life and goal setting? One thing I just realised is that by buying books that are in alignment with our goals is a great way to ensure we achieve them!

I invite you to take a look at your goals and do some research on what books and authors could help you achieve them.

I am a great believer that in order to achieve something, we must study it first and get our hands dirty, learn and fail, fail and learn, so eventually we become the people we have to become to achieve those goals.

What are you feeding your mind with in 2017?

What books will you be reading in 2017?

Who do you have to become in 2017 to achieve your goals?

How many books are you going to read so you gain the skills to achieve your goals?

A close friend of mine says:

“I always look for a job or opportunity that challenges me and teaches me new things, because the day I am not learning I feel I start to die!

What are your goals for 2017? Feel free to share them with me, if you wish; if not, take a look at them and ask yourself these questions:

What do I have to do to achieve this goal?

Do I have to read about it?

Do I have to study it?

Be honest with yourself and find the support you need to enable you to accomplish your goals.

Remember:

• Plants need CO2, water and nutrients from the soil,
• Animals need food to survive and thrive,
• Humans need Oxygen and nutrients to survive and thrive,
• We need to exercise to remain fit and strong, and
• Our minds need knowledge to become more creative, imaginative and thrive too.

Let me ask you one last time:

What are you feeding your mind with in 2017?

Drop me a message in the comments box and let me know what books you are reading in 2017.

One of the books I am going to be reading in 2017 is The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho; although, I read this book almost 20 years ago, I feel drawn to read it once more.

Till next time,

Jorge

Just Another Year, Or Is It?

Before I get carried away writing today’s blog I want to take the opportunity to wish you all a prosperous, fabulous and above all love-filled 2017.

Some people say the year gone was but a rehearsal, others even say that this year is going to be THE year, this is the time when we claim our lives back, our power and once and for all we get to be excellent.

If you are like me, I am sure you may have even said this yourself.

The sobering and scary truth is that no single year, ever is a rehearsal, once that time is gone, once those 365 days are gone, that is it.

I used to be really good at maths, and every now and then I like to use it (just in case what they say is true, use it or lose it!!!).

Ready?

In a year, we have 365 days, 52 weeks, 12 months, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes and 31,536,000 seconds.

We are only getting started…

So, if you live in a Western country, in average you will work 40 hours (which translates into 8 hours per day, based on a 5-day working week), you will be entitled to at least 2 weeks holidays, plus any other public holidays (which I am ignoring, as they vary from country to country!).

If you are fairly “normal” you will sleep a minimum of 6 hours per night, you will spend a couple of hours eating and getting ready, a couple of hours getting to and from work (let’s not take into account traffic and other natural phenomena), you will probably also have a couple of hours of leisure where you do your own thing (to remain sane).

For those of you who are parents, I will give you 2 hours to help your children with homework and any other things you might do with your children daily, like putting them to bed, chasing them around the house, etc.

Also, let’s add 14 hours per week for house chores, shopping, etc.

Are you with me so far?

This is what we have so far, weekly

Work: 40-Hours

Sleep: 42-Hours

Eating: 14-Hours

Moving around: 14-Hours

Leisure: 14-Hours

Children: 14-Hours

Chores: 14-Hours

If we wanted to see this daily (based on 5 days) this is what I would look like:

Work: 8-Hours

Sleep: 6-Hours

Eating: 2-Hours

Moving around: 2-Hours

Leisure: 2-Hours

Children: 2-Hours

Chores: 2-Hours

If my calculations aren’t wrong this is how much time you have left at the end of each day: 0!!!

Are you surprised?

You probably aren’t and neither am I!

You might be asking what happens with the other 2 days?

You end up with 16 hours to catch up and get on with whatever didn’t get done during your working week, which very strangely these days is: more work!

If you are not at work, you are either thinking of work, that you might lose your job, thinking of changing jobs, maybe even starting your own business and next thing, it is time to go back to work.

Why did I do this morbid calculation I hear you say!

I wanted to illustrate why some people never ever get out of the hamster wheel of life.

It is really easy to have dreams and hopes and ideas of what the future may hold; however, if we don’t do something different to what we have always done, we will continue to get the same results, or worse still (if that was even possible!), we may even end up in a worse off position - it has been known, it is happening around us all the time.

Was 2016 a trial run for 2017?

Did you say the same about 2015? And 2014? And 2013? And the last 10 years?

What have you been doing with your time?

Did you know that for millennia we have done whatever we could to make ourselves look younger, to travel back in time, and simply put to have more time.

Time is the only resource that is not infinite to us, once a day has gone that is it, it is gone forever, it will not come back, it is part of our past and memories.

Also, let’s be honest, the only form in which it comes back to us is as regrets, the ‘what ifs., the it ‘could have beens’, and ‘the cowardly only ifs’!

What are you going to do differently this year?

Me, for starters, I have had a serious conversation with myself, I sat myself down and I asked myself the question: Jorge, what do you want in 2017? Really, for real, what do you want?

My question to you is what do you want to accomplish in 2017?

At this point, I want to highlight, I have not used the word “change” on purpose because I believe that in order to get what we want in life and achieve our goals, change isn’t what will get us there, it is by transforming and evolving what we already possess that will make the difference.

Let me explain this further…

When we are working towards a goal, it isn’t by changing or forcing change that we will get the results we desire.

On the other hand, if we look at what we have and ways in which we could move things around, shift things (and this includes our thoughts), evolve things to be more effective and efficient we will be motivated to move in the direction of our goal, rather than fighting it because it is something we don’t want to “change”.

Have you set aside some time to plan the year ahead?

For the last few years I have taken the very first day of the year to set my goals for the year ahead, I do my wheel of life and look at the areas of my life that need improving and write my goals around them.

I look at my fitness and wellbeing, my relationships, my spirituality and finances and compare them to the previous year.

Then I ask myself the following questions:

What went well?

What worked?

What didn’t work?

What can I do to make it better next year?

And this gives birth to the strategies I will use to execute these goals.

Do you set aside some time to reflect on the year gone? To ask yourself what do I have to do to get my s - - t done?

Is there an aspect of your life that doesn’t satisfy you?

What is it?

What can you do this year to transform it?

When I look around, especially today, many people will have wasted the most important day of the year. They will be in bed (most of the day) with a sore head and “trying” to figure out what they left behind in the “old” year!

Today is the day when you set your intention for the year.

What will I achieve in January?

What will I accomplish in February (the shortest month of the year)?

What will I have got done in the first quarter of the month (end of March)?

I remember one of Tony Robbins famous quotes:

“The quality of your life depends and it’s based on the quality of the questions you ask yourself.”

What do I want to?

Where do I want to be?

When will I have accomplished my goal by?

How can I ensure I get my s - - t done?

How much money will I have in my bank account by the end of the year?

Who do I need to speak to to help me with my dreams?

Why do I want to do this?

What questions are you asking yourself that will empower you to move forward?

Here are some other questions I will be asking myself in 2017

Is that next glass of wine going to help me move forward?

How long will I have to exercise to burn the calories in that kebab?

Will I regret it tomorrow?

What would my mother say?

What will my 90 years old self say about this?

Will I be using this in 10 years time?

Is this enriching my life in some shape or form?

Will I need this money tomorrow?

Who can I help with this?

Do I really want this?

Who am I really wanting to impress with this?

2017 doesn’t have to be the same as the previous years

I believe we all know what we have to do to fulfil our dreams and create the lives we desire.

We all know we don’t have to eat too much or drink till we lose consciousness.

We know we have to exercise, especially as we get older for mobility, flexibility and weight reasons.

We all understand the importance of education and learning. Those who are self-taught and self-educated are the ones who can vouch for it.

If what we did and tried in previous years didn’t work, is there any point in wasting our time, money and energy doing the same? Really!!!

The answer is NO!

Be smart, be savvy, do not rob yourself of the magnificent life that belongs to you.

When I was working out how many hours we have left at the end of each day I was somewhat upset.

I will tell you why I was upset because some people waste the most valuable days and years of their lives hoping that someday everything will be better, that someday that rich man or woman will show up.

They hope that someday they will win the lottery (without even buying any tickets!!!), they dream of someday waking up and realising it was all a dream.

That someday they will be slimmer, that someday they will be X or Y or Z.

Dear friends, I have got news for you…

There is NO someday!!!

Someday is a make-believe messed up idea we created to excuse ourselves. To absolve ourselves for doing nothing,,,

The time to get s - - t done is now, today, this very second.

We go through live hoping that someday it will all be better, and then when it comes to our last breath on this planet we spend it regretting all the things we didn’t do, because the penny finally drops that there is no someday.

Do you want to wake up at some point in 2017 regretting you didn’t take action when you could have?

Do you want to end 2017 the same way you did with 2016 and 2015… and 2008… and 2000… and 1995?

Someday is TODAY.

Today is THE day.

Today is the day when you say:

You know what I am good enough and I deserve the best in life. Let’s just wake up and grab the bull by the horns.

Do you want to have your own business?

Brilliant. What are you going to do about it?

Do you want to have a salary raise?

Excellent! How are you going to “convince” your boss you deserve it?

Do you want a new job?

Marvellous… What job is it you want?

You get the idea…

At this point I want to stress:

The quality of your life depends on the quality of the questions you ask yourself!!!

2017 isn’t a trial run. 2017 isn’t about change. 2017 isn’t about the same old.

2017 is about action. 2017 is about NOW. 2017 is about exploiting your excellence. 2017 is all about YOU.

Start asking yourself some powerful questions that will help you head in the right direction.

Have a fantastic day.

May 2017 be the best year in your life yet.

With all my love,

Jorge