Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Take the Happy Test

How Happy Are You?

I just recently purchased the book "Happy" by Dr. Ian Smith. You may be familiar with Dr. Ian Smith from the Celebrity Fit Club. In the book "Happy", Dr. Ian Smith asked the question "Where are the happiest people in the world?" Well my first response was California, Hawaii or Florida.

Maybe I am a little bit biased but for me, wherever there is the combination of sunshine and ocean there is also happiness. Well as I continued to read the book, I became aware that America is not even close to being the place where you would find the happiest people in the world.

The happiest people in the world are in Denmark. Yes, Denmark! The reason that the people who live in Denmark are considered to be the happiest is because they place more emphasis on doing things that brings them joy such as spending time with their families and other meaningful activities.

On the hand, the reason why people in the States do not fare high on the list of happiest people are because they place emphasis on chasing money and material possessions which means working long hours of work. If you are at work most of the time then you do not have any time to pursue the things that will make you happy.

Take The Happy Test

Dr. Ian Smith, also stated that  much of your happiness is genetic. Yes, genetic!He said that their is a set point  for your happiness and this point varies in people. Your set point is sorta like a weight set point. You can alter your happiness set point some, but not dramatically. How do you feel about this statement...

Your ability to experience happiness is also based on your environment and how well you are able to respond to your environment.


Take the Happiness Test and Measure Your Happiness
The "Satisfaction with Life Scale" is a test created by Psychologist Ed Drier. This test is a list of 5 questions that will help you to get an idea of you level of happiness

7-Strongly Agree

6-Agree

5- Slightly Agree

4-Neither agree nor disagree

3-Slightly disagree

2-Disagree

1-Strongly disagree

___In most ways my life is close to my ideal.
___The conditions of my life are excellent.
___ I am satisfied with my life.
___So far I have gotten the important things that I want in my life
___If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing

Add up your scores and compare the total the the table below

• 35-31 Extremely satisfied
• 26-30 Satisfied
• 21-25 Slightly satisfied
• 20 Neutral
• 15-19 Slightly dissatisfied
• 10-14 Dissatisfied
• 5-9 Extremely dissatisfied

Dr. Ian Smith "3 Step Happiness Plan"

Dr. Ian Smith offers a "Happiness Plan" to help you improve your happiness set point.

Step #1: List five things that are meaningful in your life but are not money or material possessions

1._______________________________
2._______________________________
3._______________________________
4._______________________________
5._______________________________


Step #2: Take the five items that you listed above and estimate the amount of time you spend each week doing them experiencing them, or thinking about them.


1._____________________ hrs. per week___
2._____________________ hrs. per week___
3._____________________ hrs. per week____
4. _____________________hrs. per week____
5._____________________ hrs. per week____




Step #3: Increase your happiness time
Increase your happiness time by simply reorganizing your time so that you have more time to do the things that are meaningful to you.




More Useful Tips 
Be The Best Person You Can Be

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Be Positive

Bob Marley Singing Positive Vibrations

BE POSITIVE: Your Attitude is a State of Mind


5 Reasons to Stay Positive

1. People will Gravitate Towards You- People like being around a person who is positive. So if you want to have people (family, friends, customers) to hang around or patronize your business then you need to practice being positive.
2. Improves Your Health- A smile a day helps to keep the doctor away. Positive people spend less time visiting the doctor about health related issues because they do not let their situation or circumstance stress them out.
3. Puts You in a Good Mood- Have you ever noticed that people who are perceived as being positive are always smiling? The reason why they smile is because they are always in a good mood.
4. Better Outlook on Life-When you have a positive attitude you look at the solutions instead of the problem and you believe that things will get better .
5. Makes You Look Younger- When you are happy on the inside your body will respond on the out side by knocking off some of those golden years.

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Turn Your Desires Into Gold!

Six Ways to Turn Your Desires Into Gold

by Napoleon Hill author of "Think and Grow Rich" 

#1- Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. It is not sufficient to say "I want plenty of money". You must be definite  

#2: Determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you desire. There is no such thing as something for nothing 

#3: Establish a definite date in which you intend to possess the money that you desire

#4: Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire and begin at once, whether you are ready or not to put this plan into action.

 #5 Write out a clear concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire, name the time limit of it's acquisition.  State what you intend to give in return for the money, and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

#6 Read your written statement aloud twice daily, once just before retiring at night and once after arising in the morning. As you read--See and Feel yourself already in possession of the money

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip:Create Your Vision Statement

What's Your Vision?

Before you can build a vision of your future, you first must have a vision.

1. Do you know what it is that you want out of life?
2. Are  you able to state  what you want  clearly in two sentences or less  if you were asked?  

If  you are not able to clearly state what you want, then you should take some time right now and figure out exactly what it is that you desire for your life. Make sure that you  are able to concisely state your objectives in two or less sentences.

What Are Your Burning Desires?

Creating your vision requires that you spend time with yourself. Make sure that your vision is what you want for your life and not what other people desire for you.

A great way that you can get started writing out your vision statement is by asking yourself, "What burning desires do you have?" Your burning desires could be for a new house, taking a vacation, going to college, a new career, marriage and children etc. Your burning desire can be a long term goal or a short term goal.

You can use this space to figure out what you want out of  life.

Create Your Vision Worksheet

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

After you are able to concretely figure out what your desires are the next thing that you should do is summarize each desire into one or two sentences.

Your Vision Statement

________________________________________________________________________________________

Here is an example of my Vision Statement, "I want to be financially Independent by (x) date. I want to earn (x) amount of dollars annually as an investor."

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Start a Daily Plan to Improve Your Self

YOUR DAILY SELF-IMPROVEMENT PLANNER

I want to stress to you that you are not going to just wake up one morning and see changes in your life without any effort on your part. The truth is, change is gradual and requires a lot of work but it is the best pay out that you will ever receive.

Improving Yourself Must Be a Priority

Decide today to commit to a schedule of at least a half hour every day to work on improving yourself. You can make the time by waking up a half hour earlier or going to bed thirty minutes later. There are numerous things that you can do to work on improving your self, the following list will help get you started.

1. Meditate
2. Scripture or Inspirational reading
3. Read self-improvement books 
4. Listen to self improvement audios
5. Exercise
6. Attend a seminar  
7. Take a class

 The most important thing is to take action Today!

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Being Positive is Your Choice

We Each Have The Power To Be Positive or Negative

In my previous post, I introduced you to a Super Hero who was similar to the Marvel comic character Shazam. Shazam is the Marvel Super Hero who wears the lightening bolt on his chest.  I explained that this Super Hero is somewhat different because 1) He has a dual personality; he is both positive and negative. When he is in his positive mode he is a Super Hero and when he is in his negative mode he is a Villain  2) His superpowers lies in ability to choose to be Positive or Negative.

I also introduced you to the Super Hero's  weapons which are the negative energy bolt that is used to strike down his victims and the positive energy balls which he uses to uplift everyone who enters his path.

The Villain is Negative

Negative Energy Can Be Deadly

I also explained that when the Super Hero is in negative mode, he turns in to a Villain and he tortures people by using his energy bolts to strike down his victims. He prefers to strike down people instead of building up their character. The three types of negative energy bolts that the Villain uses to strike down his victims are 1) Bad Attitude 2) Complaining and 3) Dream Killer

Deadly Weapon # 1 "Bad Attitude"

The Villain uses his "Bad Attitude" as weapon  to destroy your "Positive Attitude". The Villain knows that being positive is a crucial part of being successful and if you can remain negative you will be blinded by your negativity and instead of focusing on your dreams you vision will be clouded.

Deadly Weapon #2 "Complaining"

The Villain uses his "Complaining" weapon to strike at you as well. The Villain complains because he knows very well that misery loves company and if he can draw you in to listening to his complaining and get you to complain with him you will be in his company.very smart and he knows that as long as he keeps you in a complaining mode, you will not focus

Deadly Weapon #3 "Dream Killer"

The Villain also has a weapon called "Dream Killer" that he uses to cripple you from soaring. The Villain knows that if he can discourage you from believing in yourself, it will minimize your chances from becoming a Super Hero yourself.

The Hero is Positive

The Hero Uses His Positive Energy To Uplift People

I can remember growing up watching cartoons on Saturday mornings with my sisters. I was always fascinated with the Hero because the hero always found a way to save people. My Super heroes were Superman, Batman and Robin, Spider Man, Wonder Woman and The Wonder Twins. These heroes would leap beyond bounds to save their victims from the Villain.

As an adult, I now realize that each person has the power within themselves to be a hero by being positive and uplifting the Spirits of everyone who they come in contact with. In fact the character's name is "You" because you have a dual personality. At will, you can choose to be a Villain and walk around negative all day long, finding fault in everybody and everything  or  you can choose to be a Super Hero. If you choose to be a Super Hero then you choose to be 1) Positive 2) Solution Orientated and 3) Motivating. You are believe in your ability to achieve your goals and you are willing to help others achieve theirs goals by encouraging and them inspiring them to Be The Best Possible Person That They Can Be.

Stay Tuned For More Marvels of the Super Hero "You".....

Until Then,
Peace, Joy and Blessings,
Tonie Tate

Inner Peace and Joy Daily Tip: Be Positive

Imagine a Super hero, someone like the marvel comic character Shazam. Shazam is the super hero who wears the Lightening Bolt on his chest.

This Super hero that I want you to imagine is somewhat different from the marvel comic Shazam because this Super hero has dual sides to his personality; one side is a Hero and the other side is a Villain. When this character is operating as a hero he is very positive. When this character is operating as a Villain he is very negative. What makes this character so powerful is that he has the power to chooses to be Super hero and be positive or he can choose to be a Villain and be negative.

When the character is in his dynamic positive mode he is capable of throwing positive energy balls. These positive energy can positively effect the recipient by building that person up.

On the other hand, when this character is in his dynamic negative mode he has the power of throwing negative energy bolts which can tear down the souls of numerous of people. These negative energy bolts are his most powerful weapon because he can use his negative energy bolts to tear down people versus building them up.

3 Types of Negative Energy Bolts

The three types of negative energy bolts that the Villain uses to destroy the lives of others are:

1. Bad Attitude
2. Complain All of the Time
3. Shoot Down Your Dreams

#1 "Bad Attitude"
The Bad Attitude energy bolt is the Villain most powerful weapon because when the Villain is negative mode then that that means that his source of energy is coming from within and the only way to put out his negative energy source is to change what he is thinking about, respond better to his situation or work on making positive changes instead of dwelling on the negative aspects of his life. When the Villain is in negative mode then that means that he feels hopeless about his situation and instead of trying to work positively on changing what is going wrong in his life, he chooses to project his negativity on to you.

#2 "Complaining"
The Villain can also throw negative energy bolts by complaining all of the time. When he is in complaining mode he throws several energy bolts at one time. He aims his bolts at you by using this weapon to find fault in every thing you do no matter how big or how small. When the Villain is throwing the negative energy bolt "complaining" you have to really watch out because more than likely he feels helpless due to the fact that he is not happy with who he is and what he has accomplished in life. The Villain complains because it is easier to complain verses working on solutions.

#3 "Shoot Down Your Dreams"

Never tell the Villain your dreams or your plans for success because the Villain will take his lighten bolt and shoot down your dreams. Instead of sharing your dreams with the Villain keep your dreams to yourself until you believe you are strong enough to handle the rejection of others.

Stay Tuned....In my next posts I will share with you more adventures of the Negative Villain and the Positive Hero. 

Until then,

Peace, Blessings and Joy

Tonie Tate

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Make Your Money Work For You

You Don't Work For Money

Money Works For You!

How To Make Your Money Work For You

Growing up, no one never set me down and said to me "You are not supposed to work for money. Money is suppose to work for you." I first heard this saying after reading Robert Kiyosaki's book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad".

In his book "Rich Dad, Poor Dad", Robert Kiyosaki explains how he had two great Dads. His birth dad instilled in him that he should grow up and  get a great job. His rich dad, who is his best friend's dad and the man who he credits with pointing him in the right direction for Financial Freedom, explained that rich people do not work for money.

Well, you may be saying, "If I do not work for money then how am I going to support myself, my family and do all of the things that I enjoy doing?"

The answer is simple; in fact I can answer this question in one word. Are you ready? Okay here it is..."Investing".

What is Passive Income?

When you invest your money in a business opportunity that pays you a high interest for your investment what you are actually doing is creating passive income. For example, If you invest $30,000.00  in  a business opportunity that pays you 10 percent  for your investment, you would earn $3,000.00 every month in interest based on your investment.

Now, I do not know about you but  the only thing that I was aware of when it came to being knowledgeable about interests rates is that I was being charged high interest rates on purchases such as cars, recreational vehicles and my home. I also know that you could be charged really high  interest rates if you make credit card purchases.

When you make purchases with high interests instead of being a master over your money what you are actually doing is becoming a slave to the creditor. In fact the debt cycle goes something like this...1) You work 2) You make the purchase with the high interest rate and 3) You work even harder to earn enough money to pay for the purchase + the interest that you incurred because it takes you a few years to pay off the purchase.

What is Money?

Money is a tool/ symbol that should be used to purchase the services and goods that you desire. Money was created to be a servant to people. If money is the servant, then that means that you are the master. Your job as the master of your money is to successfully manage your money and to make wise investments.

The educational system has instilled in our minds that we should 1) Go to college 2) Get a great paying job. Our educational system should also teach financial literacy and wealth building principles in their .

You Do Not Work For Money

When you are financially free you will have the freedom to do what you love such as spending quality time with your family, traveling and crafting your Art. I enjoy reading and sharing what I learn. Reading and Learning is my work because it is what I love to do. I do not depend on my work to finance me. I depend on my investments to finance my work and give me the freedom to do what I love to do. I earn my money by making wise investments.

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Accumulate Wealth

Wealth Principle: Either You Control Your Money or it Will Control You - T. Harv Eker

Why so Much Emphasis on "Money?"

."What does money have to do with inner peace and joy?" I have one word "EVERYTHING!"
Money is a divine tool that is used to be exchanged to get the goods and services that you need and desire in order for  you to live a full and productive life.

If you do not know how to accumulate money and manage the money that you have accumulated, then you are not going to be in a position to live your best possibly life. Living your best life possible is being in a position to live in your dream home, drive your dream car, be financially independent, eat the foods of your choice, travel to your desired destination etc. 

I bet you already know that Inner Peace and Joy are both mindsets but did you know that prosperity and poverty are both mindsets as well?

Prosperity is Your Divine Right!

I have been reading and studying several books on how to develop a "Prosperity Consciousness". These books include Catherine Ponder's book "The Dynamic Laws of Prosperity", Robert Kiyosaki's book  "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" and T. Harv Eker's book "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind:Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth". Each of these books reveal that in order to start accumulating wealth you must first be open to the concept that being prosperous is your Divine Right!

The principles  that I am going to be sharing with you about  learning how to manage your money comes from T. Harv Eker's book "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth" pages 153-155.

Accumulating Money is a Mindset!

DECLARATION: Place you head on your heart and say...."I am an excellent money manager." Touch your head and say...."I have a millionaire mind."- T. Harv Eker "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth"

T. Harv Eker states that if you are programmed to earn a dollar and then spend a dollar, you will continue spending every dollar that you earn, unless you change how you are programmed. I am going to share with you three tips that T. Harv Eker offers to help you to reprogram your thinking in order to start accumulating wealth.

3 Tips To Help You To Start Managing Your Money Today

1. Start Generating Passive Income:  You are going to start generating passive income by  creating a Financial Freedom bank account Your financial freedom bank account is your account that you are going to open and place 10 percent of every dollar that you earn after taxes in order to produce passive income for your retirement. The money that you place in your Financial Freedom account is going to be used  for investment purposes only. You are not going to touch this money unless you are investing it.
2. Get in The Habit of Saving: You are going to get in the habit of saving by creating a Financial Freedom Jar: Your financial freedom jar is a jar, piggy bank or container that you will have at your home. Everyday you are going to place money in your financial freedom jar.This money can be any amount even one cent. The point is that by placing money in your Financial Freedom jar daily, you will get in the habit of saving.
3. Saving is Fun: You should place 10 percent of all of your income into your Play Account. Your play account should be spent at the end of each month on something fun such as going out to eat at your favorite restaurant, going to the movies or to a play. The reason that you want to create a Play account is because if you do not balance saving with play then you are going to feel like you do not have any money to do what you want to do and instead of joyfully planning for building wealth you will feel like you are being forced to do something that you do not want to do.

These are just a few tips to get you started. T. Harv Eker offered  more tips in his book "Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth". The idea is to get started today with what you have and start managing the money that you have.

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Press On

Press On

Someday I hope to enjoy enough of what the world calls success so that someone will ask me, "What's the secret of it?" I shall say simply this: "I get up when I fall down" - Paul Harvey

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Start Your Own Money Club

How Would You Like to Receive $100 in Your Bank Account Every Month?

 Money is Suppose To Circulate

You can receive $100 in your bank account every month by starting your very own Savings Club! If you have four friends you guys/gals can get together and form a club. The way that it  work is that each person puts $25.00 into a savings account every month. That is a total of $100.00.

Every month one person on the list will be the recipient of the $100.00.

Each person  in the Savings Club group will have the opportunity to receive $100.00 three times in the calendar year!

How it Works
 The four  people in the Savings Club group are:
1a= the First Person
2b= the Second Person
3c= the Third Person
4d= the Fourth Person

Each of the four people in the Savings Club group will contributes $25.00  every month, which is a total of $100.00 in your Club's savings account.

The Months in the Year Chart
January  =  1a (the First Person) will receive $100.00
February  = 2b (the Second Person) will receive $100.00
March = 3c (the Third Person) will receive $100.00
April = 4d (the Fourth Person) will receive $100.00

May = 1a (the First Person) will receive $100.00
June = 2b (the Second Person) will receive $100.00
July   = 3c (the Third Person) will receive $100.00
August = 4d (the Fourth Person) will receive $100.00

September = 1a (the First Person) will receive $100.00
October  = 2b (the Second Person) will receive $100.00
November = 3c (the Third Person) will receive $100.00
December = 4d (the Fourth Person) will receive $100.00


Each person will have contributed $300.00 during the course of the year but each person would have also received $300.00 during the course of the year in the form of a check of $100.00 three times a year.


The concept is that you will keep the money circulating within your group. How awesome will it be to receive a $100.00 check in the mail three times a year?

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Pay Yourself First

Pay Yourself First

Money and Joy

Money is a crucial part of  living a joyful life. The reason why I say that money is a crucial part of living your life full of joy is because if you do not have enough money or the resources to take care of yourself and/or your  family then you will not be able to live comfortably, travel, eat healthy or receive proper medical treatment. 

Let's be honest, would you be able to live every day of your life full of joy if you did not know where your next meal was coming from, if you did not have a roof over your head or if you did not have all the amenities that come with living a comfortable life? 

Well, if  you answered no, then you can agree with me when I say that money is a necessary component to living your life to the fullest.

The Best Financial Advice That I Have Ever Received!

One of the best ways to accumulate money is by paying yourself a minimal of 10 percent of  everything that you earn. You may be saying how can I possibly pay myself 10 percent of everything that I earn  when every dime that I earn goes towards paying my debtors.

To be honest with you, I use to say the same thing. My inner voice went more like this "I will pay myself  but first I need to pay everybody that I owe. What usually happened after I paid all of my debtors was that I had very little left over to pay myself. I reasoned that I could always  pay myself the next pay period but it never happened and the cycle just repeated itself. The end result was  I never payed myself 10 percent and I was unable to accumulate any money.

Pay Yourself 10%

Two books were influential in me understanding the concept of paying yourself first. The first book is "The Richest Man in Babylon" by George S. Clason and the second book is "You Were Born Rich" by Bob Proctor.

In "The Richest Man in Babylon" I was introduced to concept of paying yourself first but it was not until I read "You Were Born Rich" that I was able to fully incorporate the concept of paying yourself first into my everyday life style.

What stood out for me after reading "You Were Born Rich" by Bob Proctor was "Pay Yourself First" really means that you are suppose to "Pay Yourself First". Now, instead of paying my debtors first and then paying myself with what I have left over, I take my money off of the top. Whenever I get paid, I immediately pay myself 10 percent of my income after taxes and the result is that I am now able to accumulate money.

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

LET SLEEPING DOGS LIE

When working on developing a "Positive Mindset" is going to be important that you  remember the concept "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie". What I mean by letting sleeping dogs lie is... "There are going to be times in your life that  you will encounter people who may not be on the same positive path that you are on.

These people may  see you as "too happy" or "too positive" and because they have not developed a positive way to respond to life's challenges they may try to shoot you down with their words just to get you to get you on their level.

When you find yourself in such a situation you can do one of two things.
#1 You can try to convince them to see life from your perspective or
#2 You can just accept the fact that the person is not traveling the same mental journey that you are on and instead of arguing with that person or taking their remarks personal you can "let sleeping dogs lie"

Tips To Help You "Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"
1. Pick your battles
2. Stop taking things so personal
3. Don't allow people to defer their problems on you
4. Release and Let Go
5. Forgive others and yourself

Inner Peace and Joy Tip: You Were Born Rich

Every Human Being Has Been Born Rich...

It's just that most people are temporarily a little short on Money- Bob Proctor "You Were Born Rich"