Uncategorized

Spend your time with people who are actually fun to be around. Spend time with people who you can laugh with, who are positive to be around. No one needs another coffee date or a deep chat about life. Life has enough problems as it is. Sitting around talking about your problems is not going to make them go away.

Go and do something fun to and your life will brighten up. Take your shoes off and go throw a Frisbee in a park, cook a meal with a friend, go to the pool, or host a gathering of friends. Above all, learn how to laugh. People with a sense of humour who can laugh are the people you want to be around. Don’t schedule that coffee date into your week, schedule in something fun into your week.

It’s proven that guys build bonds over shared experiences, not over coffee. If there is something legitimately pressing to discuss, coffee could be very well be suitable, but it shouldn’t’ be the ‘go to’. The best guy friends in my life are the guys I play sports with, go on trips with, or go to the gym with. Girls love to have their coffee dates and that’s cool. Girls build bonds by sharing their emotions. Guys build bonds by ‘doing’.

Let’s go throw that Frisbee

It’s crazy how much life changes as you grow up. What you used to think can change as the years go by. Here is a short list of what I used to think and now what I currently think:

1.  I used to think that dishes washed themselves, but once I moved out I found out this is false. They actually take time to wash. Along with other household chores these do not get done on their own. When I lived at home I had no idea. Thank-you, Mom.
2. I used to want a big house, now I don’t want an oversized house. The bigger your house is the more room to store stuff that you usually don’t need.
3. I used to hate reading, now I can’t get enough. Books are tremendous resources, full of knowledge
4. I used to think a university degree led to a job, now I know that often times it does not. The power of a degree is in how your character is molded and the people you meet along the way.
5. I used to think I knew a lot. Now the more I read the more I see how much I don’t know. I also think something can be learned from every person you meet.
6. I used to have a timeline for my own life, now I take it 1 day at a time. So much of life is about taking risk and opportunities that you generally cannot foresee. These opportunities are difficult if not impossible to plan for.
7. I used to think that making money is the highest priority, now I know that some people are so poor all they have is money
8. I used to think people were cool if they had a lot of Facebook friends, now I see that having a few meaningful relationships is the way to go. Quality over quantity.
9. I used to think being busy was attractive, now I would say be aware of the barrenness of a busy schedule
10. I used to run everything on a schedule. Now I leave some gaps for spontaneity to just let life happen.

One month ago I left with a backpack to explore South East Asia. I have been living on the island of Bali for the past 10 days.

Bali is an island home to over 4 million people and is a popular destination for travellers travelling to Indonesia. It doesn’t matter where you go, the Balinese people are among the most friendly I have ever met.

Fun fact: Of the 193 countries in the world Indonesia is the 4th most populous.
Because Bali is so close to the equator the sun is HOT and the sunsets are great.

This is what’s going on.. 

  1. MOTORBIKE 
For $5.00/day these are my wheels. Public transportation is non-existent in Bali, so you are either on a motorbike or hiring a taxi. Too spread out and too hot in the day to walk. A heads up: The traffic is crazy and accidents are common. 

 2. MEAL PREP 
 This is Loman. She is a very sweet Indonesia lady who cooks for me everyday,  breakfast and dinner. Her meals are amazing and she’s so positive. I love it. 

3. FOOD

 
This Indonesian meal above was $4.00. Spring rolls, chicken sate, rice, and a mango smoothie. 

4. LAUNDRY   
You don’t need a lot of clothes in Bali but once in a while is nice to have clean clothes. When you need clean clothes, go see Jenny.  Jenny does a great job and like the sign says: She takes No BS. The price is set at $4.00. No discounts.

5. BEACH  Bali has some of the best surf spots in the world. Although I’m definitely a beginner it’s a good challenge to learn a new sport. 

6. SUNSETS   
  

   The sun sets at 6:00 PM and makes for some amazing scenery. Both these images are unfiltered. 

7. GUEST HOUSE 

 
The guest house I’m staying at has a sweet pool 

8. PEOPLE

You learn so much in a foreign country and the greatest cultural experience is meeting the local people. I like to go out in the country on the scooter to see and meet people. Here are some of the beautiful people of Indonesia..
 
 
 

It’s the people that count.

As my friend Bob Goff says: “Love is never stationary. In the end, love just doesn’t keep thinking about it or planning on it. Simply put: love does” 

Everyone wants to live successful lives, but how many of us are really living significant lives? I think it’s easier to be successful than to be significant. Being successful does not always leave an impact, but a significant life impacts all of those around. I think Francis Chan said it best as he said “Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at things in life that don’t really matter.”

It’s great to have a good income, make money, buy fashionable clothes, and achieve a certain level of social status. It’s great to have opportunities to travel the world, go to shows, and stay physically fit. However, if we anchor our lives to these things, we will ultimately feel empty inside. Don’t get me wrong. I love to travel, I love to eat out, and I love my job, but these things are not where I find my identity. My real identify is found in my relationship with Jesus Christ, in knowing Him and living for Him. This is a lasting joy, outlasting anything we can do or acquire here on earth.

A significant life is tethered to something greater than yourself. It’s a life found outside of possessions and experiences; it’s a life that is found in the service of others. Becoming genuinely interested in others and helping them achieve their goals is a significant life. Being aware of the needs of others and giving generously to them is a significant life.

It’s cool to save money and do stuff for yourself, yes. But, if this is where the story ends it might be worth stepping up to help people.

A successful life asks “What can I get?”

A significant life asks, “What can I give?”

-End

We spend their money on different things: Clothes, concerts, eating out, electronics, cars, etc. How you spend your money is entirely up to you. I would argue allocating a modest budget to spend money on books. As Charlie Jones says, “You will be the same person in 5 years except for the books you read, and the people you meet.” Reading expands your mind and allows you to learn. Through a book you can learn from leading experts/mentors about different topics. History, psychology, business, how to books, and culture are just a few of the many areas where you can educate yourself.

Further to that, reading requires self-discipline. To actually take time reading a book and not be texting or cruising the internet in today’s day is a serious skill. We are incredibly distracted and our time is always competed for. Giving just 30 minutes a day to reading over time will result in some serious gains.

For 24 years of my life I didn’t read books because I thought they were 1) boring, and 2) I didn’t have any time to read. While in school you generally don’t want to read more, I get that. However, outside of school reading is how you grow. Investing into your personal growth outside of school is vital. I buy 10 books a month online (about $5-10 each) generally second-hand because 1) I love to learn and 2) I like to stretch a dollar.

There are definitely some boring books out there. The trick is to find a book that interests you. If it doesn’t hold your attention, you’re not going to get through it. For the people who ask what books to read. My top 5 reads on my book shelf:

1.Love Does – Bob Goff
2. Promise of a Pencil – Adam Braun
3. Wooden – John Wooden
4. The Female Brain – Dr. Louann Brizendine
5. Half the Sky – Nicolas Kristof

Rather than stressing which book to exactly start with, find one that generally interests you and just get started.

Everyone is looking for that one knock-out punch, that secret sauce for success. The more I read and learn, the more I see this magic bullet for success does not exist. As Eddie Cantor said, “It takes 20 years to make an overnight success” We like to look at someone successful and ask them what they did differently in their life, as if it’s one easy answer. However, the reality is that people are rewarded in public for what they’ve practiced for years in private. People grinding it out in the gym, in their businesses, and learning skills when no one is watching are the ones who get ahead.

People with successful relationships, organizations, and endeavours have been at it for years. Malcolm Gladwell’s 10,000 hour rule demonstrates this as he argues that it takes 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to become a master, or the equivalent of 5 years of full time work. This is further shown in a study by John Hayes of Carnegie Mellon as he studied 500 masterpieces of classical music. He found that only 3 of the 500 pieces were published within the first 10 years of the composer’s career. These composers laid the groundwork for 10 years before they began creating anything great.

The goal is not to take the world by storm overnight. The best thing we can do is take consistent action steps every day and hone our skills in private. Small action steps are sustainable and over time – (5 years, 10 years etc.) the results of this practice will be incredible.

Stay hungry and keep working.

We are so busy. We are constantly on the move. We feel like we don’t have time for anything. We are in the Starbucks drive-thru on the phone while running late to an appointment.

We get out of bed in the morning feeling stressed out about all the stuff we have to do that day. We go to bed feeling discouraged that we didn’t get everything done that we needed to. Does life every slow down? What’s the answer?

3 Tips:

1. EXERCISE – This should be worked into your daily routine. If you are lifting weights, going for a short run, or playing a sport, we should make it happen. 1 hour of exercise is 4% of your day. You will experience a boost of dopamine and energy. Even people who regularly exercise are not always pumped to go to the gym everyday but after they do, they are glad they went.

2. READ – Try reading for 20 minutes per day. Turn your phone upside down, ringer to silent, and dig into a book. You will learn something new. Find a topic you are interested in and read about it. Buying books is one of the best investments you can make. You expand your mind and also give yourself a break in your daily tasks. As the quote goes, “Small minds discuss people, average minds discuss events, but great minds discuss ideas.” Boom.

3. WALK – Throw on a coat and go for a 20 minute walk. Two tips with this: As you walk focus on breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. Secondly, try take note of things you would not otherwise have noticed in your day – flowers, birds, clouds, and other people.

It’s that simple. Give 1 or all of these a try this week. You’ll feel better – guaranteed.

1. Talk Less and Listen More – Successful people are constantly learning and they know that when you speak, you only say what you know, but when you listen you have the opportunity to learn something new.

2. Exercise – Finding some form of daily exercise is extremely important for health. Whether that is running, lifting weights, or playing sports, it needs to be done. Most people say, “I don’t have time to exercise” Successful people say, “I don’t have time not to exercise.”

3. They Read – There is an abundance of wisdom and knowledge found in books. Successful people read every day; they are like sponges soaking up knowledge. A day is not fully complete until some learning has happened. Successful people are more proud of their library than their big screen TV

4. Positive Outlook – No one wants to be around people who are negative. Successful people are optimistic and always looking on the bright side. They see solutions, not problems. These people are upbeat and you want to spend time with them

5. Spend Time with Like-Minded People – John Wooden said you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. Whether you realize it or not, you are becoming more and more like the people you spend time with. Successful people are extremely selective of where their time is being spent

6. Goal-Oriented – Having goals and being successful go hand-in-hand. Before going to sleep, successful people will frame up their goals for the next day. What they will do the next day is not left up to interpretation. They have a blueprint that they follow.

7. Investing Finances – People of success live within their means. Simply put: they don’t spend money that they don’t have. They have nobody to impress. They invest their money in assets and not liabilities.

8. Building Relationships – Successful people don’t go through life alone. Because they are solid individuals, people want to be around them. They are naturally relational, caring about other people and wanting to help them achieve their goals

9. They Give – They give of their time, their energy, their financial resource to help people they care about. The way to become successful is to care about helping other people

10. Sleep – People of success recognize the power of sleep. Most of us need 8 hours of sleep to function properly the next day. Successful people schedule adequate sleep into their lives to keep themselves running optimally.

Wow, what a busy year it has been! We are in August already, the sun is shining and we are dealing with all the joys and stresses of running a painting business.

In 6 years of running this painting business, I can honestly say 2015 has been the year we have had the best staff. We currently have 9 full time painters on 5-6 different teams across Langley and Surrey. Graham, Tim, Ben, Caleb, Erik, JP, Aidan, Mike, Kyle, and our Sales assistant Esther are doing excellent work.

At the time of writing this, we have completed 86 painting projects year to date. We are so pleased to be helping out homeowners in Surrey and Langley with all of their painting needs. Our most recent client Kelly wrote us, “ The individual assigned to the interior painting, Ben, was motivated, kind, highly conscientious, accommodating, and he did an outstanding job with the painting and all of the accompanying tasks. At the end of his 4.5 days of work, we went around the home to look for any possible remaining areas to touch up … tough task as the work was outstanding. Ben clearly paid careful attention as he worked in each room. We are just so pleased!”

We have 40 more projects booked in for this year and are looking to add AWESOME people to our team for full time work. IF you know of anyone interested, reach out to us:

1. elitepaintersoffice@gmail.com

2. facebook.com/elitetradepainters

We would love to talk