It’s interesting to look at the root of where our words come from, it gives us an understanding of what was originally intended by the use of the word.
Take the word ‘Wealth’ for example. Now, in 2020 most people associate wealth with bank balance. However, that’s a corruption of the original intent, because it’s origins are linked to our ‘well-being’ and ‘health’ not money.
Whilst having more in your bank balance can of course lead to more health and well-being through wise choices and a life of integrity, we believe true wealth is not just about your bank balance. In fact, some of the richest people we’ve ever met never even had a bank account to their name.
Where is your treasure?
We also believe where your treasure is, there your heart will be also and that in turn will impact your thoughts, behaviours and well-being. So a question we all need to ask ourselves is; where and what is our treasure?
Gratitude is Gold
We’ve found an attitude of gratitude is a form of treasure that supports well-being. Yes, gratitude really is GOLD.
Studies show that greater health and happiness is measurable in those who practice gratitude over those who focus on negative aspects, even to the extent that there is a change in the brain’s neuroplasticity, just do a google search to see. But how do we develop an attitude of gratitude especially in times of crisis?
3 Steps to GOLD
So there are some simple steps we can all take to develop an attitude of gratitude that contributes to our wealth. Please watch the short video below to learn three steps you can take right now toward an attitude of gratitude that can help you in your business, family and personal life:
An immunological study by University of California (Walker, M. 2017) was performed on two groups of people. With the consent of the participants, the two groups were given a dose of rhinovirus (the common cold). 50% of those in Group A went on to develop the common cold, whilst only 18% of those in Group B went on to develop the cold.
What was the immune boosting property given to Group B that enabled them to stave off the virus by such a statistically significant value?
Based on a large volume of requests for self-care related topics in this current pandemic, this week I share what that immune boosting property was, and the best thing of all is you don’t have to cue in a Pharmacy for it or even spend a single penny, it is freely available to each one of us for no cost at all.
Please click on the video below to watch
For further help with matters of personal or business resilience at this time, we’d love to hear from you at info@digilifeenabled.com.
For Ruth’s blog post on this theme, please Click Here
Reference
Walker, M. (2017) Why We Sleep. Penguin. Sleep Loss & The Immune System, p181-183
This week we focus on resilience-enhancing behaviours that support Personal & Business Resilience in Times of Crisis. We wanted to share these particularly in light of the pandemic Covid-19 Coronavirus. These are evidence-based activities that can benefit everyone physically, mentally and spiritually, and are principles we have found beneficial in our own lives.
Click on the video below to watch
The first of these is practicing gratitude. This can take the form, of setting aside time (a few minutes is enough) each day to reflect on a few things for which we’re thankful. And some research suggests that if we include in our lists social activities or something about relationships, the benefit is even greater. Our family tries to do this together every night before bedtime: each of us names three things we’re grateful for that happened in the past 24 hours. It shifts the focus from negative to positive and helps create perspective.
The second resilience-enhancing activity is engaging in daily physical exercise. You might first think of running or swimming, strenuous exercise, which is great but not always feasible. Walking, going up and down the stairs, lifting weights, and just moving about rather than sitting at our desks for hours on end also contribute to a healthier body, mind, and spirit. We would caution against intensive exercise at this time (you know what intense is for you) as this can lead to a reduced immunity.
Thirdly, and equally important, is eating a healthy diet. It’s not always easy to eat right in times of crisis especially if we’re eating ‘on the go’ but if we plan our meals in advance we can choose and prepare nutritious foods, rather than default to quick fix sugary foods in the moment. It does our bodies tremendous good to eat the rainbow foods (foods of different colours) every day, so plan for a rainbow meal each day.
Fourthly, one of the best boosts to our immunity is free, its an activity called sleep. Now exercise and diet can help with the promotion and onset of this, but it’s important you make specific time for quality sleep as a lack of sleep will reduce your immunity. Now we have young kids and are often up in the night with them so understand we can’t always get that perfect night, however put a schedule in place for you and your family to ensure you give yourselves the best opportunity for collective sleep. Just as you set a guard and boundaries around your cash, set a guard and some boundaries around your sleep – the reality is, it’s more valuable.
Another very useful way to build resilience is to develop competence (the skills you need to do your job) and confidence (the knowledge that you can do it). At Digi Life Enabled, we’re committed to providing educational programmes and mentoring to enable you to develop confidence and competence in online digital skills.
If you haven’t already, then check out some of our free video series to get you started by clicking here, or if you have started, and you’d like some 1-2-1 tutorials, then drop us a line at info@digilifeenabled.com to arrange a free call with us.
In conclusion, one of the best-documented ways to enhance our resilience is to build and use social support. This means finding people in your personal and professional life whom you can talk to about what’s important to you (emotional support) and whom you can ask for help when you need it (instrumental support). We can do this through Skype, Facebook or other social media outlets, or good old phone, written, or in-person contact. Again, it’s been our pleasure to work through a number of work-life issues with our members and we want to reiterate drop us a line at info@digilifeenabled.com if you’d like to schedule a call with us at this time of crisis.
We also want to encourage our members to watch out for vulnerable members of their own communities. The elderly are some of the most vulnerable at this time, many are alone, and many don’t have ‘social media’ accounts to keep abreast of the latest developments or purchase things online. So think what you can do to check in and monitor those individuals at this time, as many will feel the isolation even more at this time.
Finally friends, we wish health and prosperity in the weeks ahead to you and those dear to you.
I find so many in business are unsatisfied with simply selling ‘stuff’.
Sure, we need to sell ‘stuff’ to keep the bread on the table, but what if there was more to business, more to life, than just selling ‘stuff’?
What if our business, what if our life, was about living out our values so as to make a difference in this world while at the same time providing for those we are responsible for?
One of the reasons we sign post people to the business start up programmes at SFM is because, having been through the system ourselves, and having met with the founders and lead team, we’ve seen it’s not about getting people to sell stuff.
Sure, there are some ready made resources for newbies starting out with to sell if they choose to, and as newbies we found that really helpful as we had nothing to sell, but it’s not about that.
The core of the SFM programme is about helping people understand their Vision, Mission, Purpose and Values, so they can become the best version of themselves in business and in life whether they choose to sell SFM stuff or not.
There’s very few programmes that offer that support.
Take SFM student, Rob Sewell as an example. I shared something of Rob’s transformation from Drug & Alcohol abuse to six figure business owner here:
In going through the SFM programme Rob now appreciates:
1. The impact of speaking truth & empowering others
2. The hardships he’s overcome and how they’ve helped him find his true purpose
3. How the experiences you go through forge your values
4. How he’s stepped into his purpose and launched his own coaching business
Rob now seeks to serve others by acting as a guiding light that shows people a space where they feel safe and understood.
Rob’s Vision, Mission, Purpose & Values
And while no income is guaranteed by any programme, after pinpointing his purpose with SFM, Rob’s income through his online business is such that it allows him the financial freedom to take each Friday off to volunteer with those who are struggling with drug and alcohol abuse, and given him the time freedom he so longed for with his family that his corporate job never gave him.
So, in the week ahead, perhaps you can reflect on what your business is about and whether it’s aligned to your true purpose?
If you’re interested in learning how to create a sustainable business based on your values, then click here to get started with our complimentary video training series delivered straight to your inbox.
Where your treasure is, your heart will be also. So where and what is your treasure?
This video is about how an attitude of gratitude is a form of treasure, yes, gratitude really is GOLD.
Studies show that greater health and happiness is measurable in those who practice gratitude over those who focus on negative aspects, even to the extent that there is a change in the brain’s neuroplasticity.
But how do we develop an attitude of gratitude?
Please click here or on the picture below to learn three steps you can take toward an attitude of gratitude that can help you in your business and personal life.
Ruth & I have both been humbled by individuals we’ve met from around our world, refugees, orphans and others, who despite loosing everything in a material sense, still find something to be grateful for, so much so, that we are the ones who feel poor in their presence. We hope from this video you will see that even by having the capacity to watch a video on youtube, we’ve all so much to be grateful for, and that an attitude of gratitude is a treasure worth investing in.
And if, like many, you’d like to learn how to start an online business around that which you’re grateful for and passionate about, then click here to gain instant access to Digital Business System & Training Series.
Now, if you’re getting started in setting up an online business, or are already running one, then you may be one of those statistics who use electronic devices late into the night, like we used to, until we found out the evidence that this can make it harder to settle down to sleep.
You see, using electronic devices before bedtime can be physiologically and psychologically stimulating in ways that can adversely affect your sleep.
Here’s what happens: Using TVs, tablets, smartphones, laptops, or other electronic devices before bed delays your body’s internal clock (your circadian rhythm), suppresses the release of the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin, and makes it more difficult to fall asleep.
This is largely due to the short-wavelength, artificial blue light that’s emitted by these devices, LED light in particular. The more electronic devices that a person uses in the evening, the harder it is to fall asleep or stay asleep, even if you’re physically exhausted, because of how the messaging in the brain responds to that type of light.
Besides increasing your alertness (like caffeine) at a time when you should be getting sleepy, which in turn delays your bedtime, using these devices before turning in not only delays the onset of REM sleep – the most productive part of sleep, but reduces the total amount of REM sleep too, thereby compromising your alertness the next morning. Over time, these effects can add up to a significant, chronic deficiency in sleep. Which is bad news not only for running a business, but bad news for your health and well being.
All of this is true for children and adults alike.
Sunday is a great time to pause from our work and enjoy REST with those dear to us. So this Sunday, why not try to cut out electronic devices and even dim the lights (especially LED lights) for the night. Try stopping ‘screen time’ two hours before bed, one hour before bed, or even 30 minutes before bed—the earlier in the evening, the better, but whatever is realistic in your circumstances.
We implemented this change and really felt the benefit.
One good substitution is reading an old-fashioned printed book under lamplight (as opposed to bright overhead lighting) or an e-reader (like the Kindle Paperwhite, as opposed to the Kindle Fire) is also a good idea, because it doesn’t produce the same type of blue light that a smartphone or tablet would.
Anyway try these tips for yourself, and let us know if your sleep improves.
Hope you have a restful Sunday with those dear to you!
The post A Rest From Electronic Devices first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>In fact our western society is set up to increase productivity in every area of life, so no matter where you look we’re encouraged to do more and get more.
In my late teens and early twenties, like most guys, improving my physical athletic performance was high on my list of priorities. “No pain no gain” was the given mantra. So I trained hard 6 days a week, often twice a day. Even after formal coaching sessions had finished, I did extra training on top, because ‘more was better’.
The result?
I got injured, but still trained through and with those injuries to the extent I needed multiple corrective surgeries.
Why?
Because “No pain, no gain” was my mantra, and the idea of rest was a non-productive cop out in my mind.
A Half Truth Mantra
But the problem was, my mantra was a half-truth, in that it’s true pain is involved in any kind of development, so embrace rather than reject it, but it’s only half true because pain is also a design feature signal that warns us ‘something is wrong’. You know those dashboard warning lights on your car?
Please don’t ignore them, it doesn’t matter how urgent your journey is, please check out what the manufacturers manual says about those lights, otherwise you might not make it to your destination at all.
And, that’s what happened to me athletically, I didn’t make it to my destination.
And do you know who was to blame?
Me and my half truth mantra. I thought I knew better than the design feature signal.
The Productivity of Rest
You see the evidence from the world of sport science is that ‘quality rest’ is fundamental to ‘quality growth’ and that overtraining and minimising rest, will harm you and your development. Any coach worth their salt will tell you that.
Did you know Usain Bolt sleeps in the hours before he races?
That’s even after he’s had a quality 8hrs sleep the night before by the way.
The benefit of that natural, drug free but essential reset and boost prepares his body to do what no other body has done athletically in recorded history.
So, is rest a productive, or non-productive activity?
Having worked many years in the corporate world, I know what many Execs think of ‘rest’, and I’ve witnessed their abysmal decision making as a result. (Did you realise sleep deprived individuals perform worse at ANY given task than those who have just above the legal level of alcohol in their bloodstream?) But, taking the hard lesson I learned from my teens and twenties I want to share with you a couple of parallel lessons I’ve learned when it comes to being productive, particularly as it applies to learning and investing in new activities such as starting an online business from scratch, something I did while holding down a full time job and raising a young family with very little spare time and spare cash floating around:
No.1 Set a balanced schedule which includes ‘rest’ and stick to it.
Recognise you need some outgoing time and finance (pain) to make any business a success, but balance it according to where you are right now and where you want to get to.
You need to factor in a break/rest point, and realise that break/rest point is actually necessary for you to be productive and grow.
Many people don’t get started because they’re intimidated by what seems to be the immensity of the task at hand, they know where they’d like to be, but don’t know what first step to take. So they don’t start.
So work out a time limit you’re comfortable to committing to in your current situation, recognising your current situation is not permanent, but it’s your starting point, then start from your starting point.
So, if you can only afford 30 minutes a night to study new skills or set up new platforms, set a 30 minute timer, and work at it for 30 minutes, not 31 minutes, then stop and move on. But, don’t drop off at 29, 28, 27 minutes either! Being disciplined in this aspect will focus your mind to the task at hand.
Try it, set the time limit, then move on to what you have to move onto, and that could even be ‘sleep’.
Likewise with your budget, sit down and calculate what marketing budget you can afford to commit to now based on your circumstances. If you have a marketing budget of $1,000, for a few months don’t spend $1,000 in a few weeks. Set a limit and keep to it, it will focus your mind, otherwise, your mind will be tempted to be pulled in all sorts of directions. Likewise don’t just stop marketing after a few weeks either when you’ve underspent, because you won’t have enough data after only a few weeks to make an informed decision on what is or isn’t working, you need to commit to the process.
Set an alarm to finish the task.
Set a budget for the task.
No.2 Listen and put into action advice from proven coaches
Like my half truth fitness mantra, I came to the online world with some half truths. Thankfully, I found a community of online business practitioners and mentors who challenged and corrected those half truths, and now we can run an online business based on our values of INTEGRITY, COMPASSION, & FAMILY WELL-BEING.
The truth is, we wouldn’t be running an online business today without the support and direction from those mentors. That is why we’re sign posting others who are interested in starting an online business from scratch to those very same mentors.
PROVEN PRODUCTIVE STEPS FOR RUNNING A PROFITABLE ONLINE BUSINESS
So, if you’re interested in learning proven productive steps for running a profitable online business, then join Stuart Ross as he reveals his strategies for profiting online and growing your income with a business you are passionate about … (business models and concepts that very FEW people know about)…
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBCAST
Get your FREE spot today, and get a “crash course” on profiting online with our proven out-of-the-box Digital Business System (even if this is all new to you). Learn steps that you can start using YOURSELF to begin making profits online and grow a business you are passionate about. Giving you more time to enjoy the life of real personal freedom.
Learn the same strategies Stuart personally used to:
- Start a profitable Internet business without any previous experience
- Generate sales and income without any of his own products (or ideas) working part time
- Build one of the fastest growing exclusive private online communities
- Grow Digital Experts Academy to a multiple million business in 12 months!
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE FREE WEBCAST
Here’s to your online success!
Stephen
The post Are You Being Productive? first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>Did you know it’s only since the middle ages that the mind, body and spirit have been considered separate?
Before that, we were considered whole integrated people.
Writing as I am from the UK, it’s noticeable how our Western culture has been influenced by reductionism – splitting into parts and specialisation. Each aspect is now cared for separately: surgeons for the physical, psychiatrists for the mental and clergy for the spiritual.
Matters of health tend to be viewed by many as purely physical however, it’s not that simple. For example, the Reticular Activating System connects the cortex and the sub-brain; physical stimulation affects the mind and mental stressors affect the body, generating physical responses. In other words, our physical state of health affects our mental health and vice-versa.
Let us look for a moment at what we think, believe and meditate on and it’s relation to our physical state.
The belief of the mind has enormous influence over our physical abilities to the extent that sports psychology is the determining factor in many athletes physical performance.
Most people know the basic story of Roger Bannister, who, on May 6, 1954, broke the 4 minute mile with a time of 3 minutes 59 seconds. But what many people forget is that runners had been chasing the goal seriously since at least 1886 and that the challenge involved the most brilliant coaches and gifted athletes in North America, Europe, and Australia. For years runners had been striving against the clock, but the elusive four minutes had always beaten them to the extent that it had become as much a psychological barrier as a physical one.
When Bannister eventually broke the record, even his most ardent rivals breathed a sigh of relief. At last, somebody did it! And once they saw it could be done, they did it too. Only 46 days after Bannister’s feat, John Landy, an Australian runner, broke the barrier again, with an even faster time of 3 minutes 58 seconds! Then, just a year later, three runners broke the four-minute barrier in a single race. Over the last half century, more than a thousand runners have conquered a barrier that had once been considered hopelessly out of reach (the current record is 3 minutes 43 seconds).
Many studies have reviewed this phenomena of a sudden surge of success in the physical realm. They concluded that a positive mindset based on a belief of what could be possible is actually what helped those runners beat that record.
So does that mean we can all run a sub-4 minute mile if we simply believe it?
No. Because as whole integrated people there are other factors around health and fitness we also need to take into consideration. It does mean, however, that when it comes to success and wellbeing, in whatever sphere of life, what we think, believe and meditate on is key.
So, take control of those limiting thoughts that come your way; remember you have a purpose in this world that you can fulfil through a life of integrity.
If you have a dream in your heart, you don’t have to work out every detail of it before you take your first step. Instead, take one small step today and leave the other steps for tomorrow. Focus on what you can do now. Believe you will succeed and you will!
Here’s to fulfilling your dream!
Ruth
The post The Mind Body Connection first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>This week I wanted to share a thought with you about the impact of both negative and positive thinking on our physical well-being.
Did you realise negative thoughts actually impact our physical health in a negative way, and positive thoughts impact our physical health in a positive way?
Both my parents were in Medicine and they used to (in fact still do) say; “A merry heart is good medicine”, and based on that statement, I wanted to share the following fun experiment with you, but you’ll need a partner to help, so why not print this off and go and get someone and follow the instructions below:
1) Close your eyes and think for a moment of a time where you felt really down. You doubted your ability to accomplish that next step in your career move; your boss had put you down. You didn’t think you were worth anything…
The next step requires a partner!
2) Now raise your arms to your sides as if imitating an aeroplane!
3) Ask your partner to try to push your arms down to your side again.
What happens?
4) Now shut your eyes again and imagine a time when you could conquer the world! Anything was possible! That next career move, no problem!
5) Raise your arms in the air again to the side.
6) Get your partner to push your arms down.
What happens…?
See the power of positive thinking in your mind!
This demonstrates the truth of the adage: “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.” (Henry Ford).
I tried this at a get together with my friends the other evening and the results were amazing!
When I had negative mental thoughts I was physically weaker and my arms were easily pushed down by my friend Jackie, but when I had positive mental thoughts I was physically stronger and Jackie had to struggle to get my arms down. Our other friends watching just laughed and thought we’d planned it or were making it up, but we weren’t. How I was thinking mentally, really affected my physical strength at the same time. So why don’t you try the experiment and let us know your results?
You see, whether it’s a new business, a new skill, a new direction, you have the power within you to make a success of whatever you do by thinking positively, or to let yourself down by thinking negatively, so think positively!
I’m not saying you can think something and it happens, but there’s a principle here. If you allow something to become big in your mind, if you let it consume you, you are giving it permission to happen, so be careful what thoughts you dwell on. Don’t listen to negative thoughts or comments made about you!
You have the power within you to succeed at whatever you turn your mind to, if you tell yourself you can, you will be able to do it!
Have a positive weekend!The post The Power of Positive Thinking first appeared on Digi Life Enabled.]]>