Helen Thayer & 4 Ideas to be resilient snowballs

Helen Thayer had dreams of surviving in extreme conditions. In March 1988, this then 50-year-old New Zealander ventured out from Resolute, NW Territories, Canada, to ski alone to the North Magnetic Pole, located just south of King Christian Island. She planned to pull her supplies (160 lbs.) on a sled. Three days before departure, a local hunter gave her a black husky, named Charlie, as protection against polar bears. Many people thought she was out of her mind to undertake this solitary journey. What kinds of advice would she offer to anyone considering a harrolding undertaking or facing major life change?

1) Take a companion. Thayer admits that taking a companion on a long trip gave her someone to talk to, helped her put things in perspective, and keep her sanity in check. It was a grueling journey where she and her dog fought off polar bears, barely escaped drowning, and survived storms. Yet, whenever an obstacle arose, they faced it head-on, and triumphed. They learned to believe in themselves by believing in each other. No matter who you are, you can also do this.

2) Adapt to life's curves. During her journey, Thayer found inspiration to write a book entitled, Polar Dream. She detailed how she coped with unexpected hardships by learning to anticipate, tolerate and grow from harsh conditions. She chose to nurture confidence and esteem so she felt stronger and more capable. When things don't go your way, do you bounce back or do you fall apart? Resilient people harness inner strengths and tend to rebound more quickly from a setback or challenge. Adapting won't necessarily erase problems. Yet, you can develop the ability to see past them, to savor challenges and handle future stressors better.

3) Keep faith. Close to the end of her gruelling journey, a gale blew away most of Thayer's remaining food supplies. As the result, during the final week of her journey, her daily ration was only a handful of walnuts and a pint of water. Nonetheless, she tended best she could to her own needs and feelings, both physically and emotionally. She demonstrated determination to grow. She suggests that when you're in the middle of a crisis, regardless of where, it only seems as though things will never improve. Although you can't change events, you can look hopeful toward the future. Believing things happen for a reason may also help sustain you.

4) Work toward goals. After 364 miles, 27 days, Thayer and Charlie were picked up as frozen snowballs at their destination. Being results-oriented, they endured hardship, loss and stress. They also learned to trust each other to solve problems, make sound decisions and manage situations with renewed optimism. In your case, evolve to do things daily that give you a sense of accomplishment. Recognize you change throughout your journey to a given destination. You are stronger than you think. Goal-setting and taking steps forward will invite progress and gratitude.

Steve Jobs & 4 Strategies to stay hungry & quirky

Steve Jobs never graduated from college, but he nurtured big dreams. From age 20, he build a computer career from the ground up in his parents' garage to where Apple computer has 4000 employees and continues to develop. What is it that awakens in such a person to compel extraordinary efforts and experiences that are rare for most people?What is it that leads a savvy entrepreneur to inspire a generation of innovators? Steve Jobs' life choices are a source of inspiration no matter what your life phase or job focus. Reflect why he encourages us to do what it takes to stay perpetually hungry and quirky:

1) Pursue your passions. Life experience can be ugly or even seem to whack you like a brick. Whatever happens, don't lose faith in yourself. Stay hungry to discover and build on what you love. Work and relationships will only ever be truly satisfying if you're honest with yourself and others. To do great work requires passion. If you haven't yet found that thing that gets you, keep looking. Don't settle. When it comes to love, you'll sense it when you find it. Great relationships, like good wine, simply improve as time passes. The best are worth waiting for. Life happens when you're focused on other things.

2) Do meaningful things during the time you have. don't waste time you've been given living someone else's life. Don't get trapped in other people's thinking or view of what's best. Don't let the noise of others' opinions block the advice of your own inner voice, as quirky as your ideas may seem to others. Most of all, nurture the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They already have insight into what you want to become and who would help you transform. Everything else is less important. Make the most of your time to enrich your life.

3) Don't be afraid to start again from scratch. Being successful in a team with diverging interests was stressful and burdensome. It was tough to live up to expectations balance. Steve embraced being fired and welcomed the freshness of starting from scratch again, less sure about everything. It freed him to enter one of the most creative periods of my life. Within five years, he launched a company called NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman whom he married. Pixar went on to create the world's first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and became the most successful animation studio ever. In a remarkable, unforeseen turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, Steve returned to Apple, and tech developed at NeXT became the core of Apple's comeback. Amidst positive developments, Steve had a new family. This renewed his creative energy.

4) Live Each day as if it was your last. This doesn't mean to drink and eat yourself senseless or do things you would later regret. It implies its desirable to live life to the fullest, whatever this means to you in the 'here and now'. In 2004, Steve Jobs was diagnosed with a rare pancreatic cancer and was told he had little time to live. As luck would have it, it turned out this was a rare operable cancer and Steve lived. He admits his brush with death taught him valuable lessons about appreciating each moment. No one escapes death, but the fear it triggers often leads to positive change. Clear out what's unnecessary in life to make way for essentials.

Junko Tabei & 5 Tips to pick your rock

In 1975, Junko Tabei became the first woman to summit Mount Everest. This four-feet-nine-inches tall Japanese woman went on to scale the highest peaks on seven continents by 1992. Junko Tabei presently aims to climb the highest mountains of every country in the world. Is that not a daring feat? Is it not challenging goals that motivate us to become the best that can be? Her accomplishments have inspired over 100 women to summit Everest and she also teaches us all how:

1) Size can be misleading.  This woman proved she could be small yet, mighty when many people might've assumed her size wouldn't be an asset to serious climbing. Note "size isn't really everything."

2) What we do doesn't make us who we are. As a housewife, Junko Tabei was originally stereotyped. People saw her as capable of doing only what she appeared to be doing in society. History teaches us that she actually had other plans. She decided her capacities were defined within. You also define what consitututes your identity.

3) We take routes we have planned before. Whenever we look at images and nurture dreams, we give our attention to ideas and experiences before we make them happen. Tabei reminds us how we envision what we desire to perceive and then, we simply attract the attitude that makes our dreams possible. No thing or opportunity suddenly appears. You prepare for it with your mind, body and soul.

4) Everything happens in the right sequence. Each time Junko Tabei hits another climbing milestone, it prepares her for her next achievement. Each thing we do in life is also preparing us for something we don't yet foresee. You choose to see reality you're ready to see, but not before its time. We would all benefit from understanding that the continuity of learning never stops.

5) Regular words may fall short to describe your emotions. As you find courage to step outside your comfort zone, as you open yourself up to experiences that expand all you are, then words may fall short of adequately describing how you feel or what you perceive. Junko Tabei teaches us sensations are experiences that aren't always meant to be translated through words. You sense your own success.

5 Factors in a great decision

Under which conditions would you be sure you made a great decision? People will discuss this ad infinitem.  Did you base your predictions on trends? Do you ask experts all the right questions? What could you have done that you didn't do? Continual questioning may begin to drive you crazy.  Why not reflect on the points below to appease your conscience? Conclusive answers may be hard to come by, but reading your vibes will help.

1) You control processes.  Wisdom has taught you outcomes result from many variables over which you have little or no control.  To take time to reflect and base your choice on your goals is supposed to enable you to feel good about yourself.  If it doesn't do that, something's not right.  You may be startled at how much of your conclusions make perfect sense about your direction.

2) You don't second guess your decision.  The slow development of things since your key decision isn't necessarily a bad sign.  Patience is a virtue.  Do you sense reason to feel proud?  If you feel content about what you've done, you're unlikely to spark self-doubt and indecision.

3) You feel enough commitment.  Observing successful people has helped you realize you don't always have the luxury of 100% commitment before making a decision you feel good about.  Remind yourself that your commitment can grow stronger as the outcomes unfold. Are you able to detail the nature of your commitment and how you foresee it could grow?

4) You foresee increasing opportunities.  Life is full of surprises.  That is, we never know exactly where the next great opportunity will come from.  However, making certain decisions will enable us to feel as though we are on the road to expanding even more desirable choices. Could your dedication to your upcoming race potentially lead to doors opening?   

5) You grasp the implications of reality.  Optimism is only as useful as a person can ground it to real issues that require attention and consideration.  Can you afford to undertake a particular venture? Is timing appropriate given your recent health concerns? 

As it should be

You may have this nagging feeling that something is missing in your life.  You may sense a lack of confidence, humour, motivation, love, attention, money, abundance or other things. Whatever you believe you need, you can identify and claim it.  It isn't beyond reach unless you decide it is.  The process is as it should be. Simply learn to shift perspectives. Focus on accepting everything about your life and expanding.  You'll attract new circumstances from which you may also grow.

It is useful to realize circumstances that evolve and unfold will become what you make of them.  Judgment begins in the mind.  You will only be in a position to decide anything needs to improve once you are aware of what has happened and why. You need to understand the reasons behind your decisions.  What or whom motivates you? Why do you permit yoruself to be driven as such?

As you begin to recognize that you create everything about your circumstances, you can also learn to change them.  This part of the process requires that you step away from what you think you know and assume you're mistaken.  You can learn to experience your life as it is very differently.

Why is it that your co-workers may complain about how much they're paid when you manage to invest and live well on the same amount? Why is it that people will make light of not having enough energy to accomplish what they desire, and you can teach yourself to make do with what energy you have and even develop your endurance?  Why is it that people you know will belittle others in their spare time and you choose to apply yourself differently in the time you're given?

Self-improvement implies a willingness to raise awareness about things you like or dislike about yourself, as well as a willingness to do something to change that.  It requires the desire to explore your feelings and the root causes of your behavior that may cause you some discomfort.  As you work to decipher your feelings, you can move to a new level and put your body in action.