We’ve all been told since we were small children that money can’t buy happiness. And many of us rely on this maxim throughout our lives, but perhaps not in the way we should.

Too often, we use this as a reminder. We buy, for instance, new furniture. We love our new furniture, but after a while we’re no longer in love with it, and wish we hadn’t bought it because, “After all, money can’t buy happiness.”

To really understand whether money can buy happiness, it’s necessary to define what we mean by “happiness.” In this sense, what most people mean by happiness is lasting fulfillment and joy in life.

I find it fascinating that most people plan their vacations with better care than they plan their lives. Perhaps that is because escape is easier than change. - Jim Rohn

If you have reached a point in your life where having a break to get away from it all is your only oasis, it is probably worth looking closer to home for a break in the clouds. A break from old thinking or old habits or old lifestyle can be more exhilarating than flying off to Barbados with the same old baggage. Because the trouble with old baggage is that it invariably sags - especially on the way home. So, how can you go nowhere and yet still get away from it all - permanently?

An interesting phenomenon is that of someone who enjoys goal setting but shies away from charting their progress. In my coaching experience the clients who regularly take a reality check on where they are with their goals, have an advantage of being able to adjust their approach based on relevant and up-to-date feedback. This article takes a look at how a goal setting chart can be an effective structure in moving you productively toward your goal.

Most people think they know themselves pretty well, but how well do you really know yourself? Do you know exactly how you feel about certain things and why, or do you tend to judge how you feel by how you think you should feel? Are you comfortable with your feelings and the “inner you,” or is that uncomfortable?

Getting to know yourself may be a little different from getting to know the new neighbor or that attractive blond in your building, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be harder to really get acquainted with you.

How are you standing in the way of your dreams and goals?

It’s time to stop telling yourself lies, stop making excuses and (gulp) take a long hard look at what role you are playing in your current situation.

If you’re willing to ask yourself the hard questions now, you can save yourself from facing them as even bigger roadblocks in the future. But if you skip this step, you’ll keep coming up against these same issues over and over again, no matter how hard you work.

If you can:

“If I could only figure this out, I think I could find
happiness.” That was the comment a close friend made during
a recent conversation. This is not the first time, nor will
it be the last that I hear this statement.

Many people believe that finding happiness is based on
finding something else they want. In my experience as a
personal coach, no one has ever found long term happiness
by achieving another goal. Ultimately, to find happiness is
to look within.

Perhaps “goal setting for a kid” hits you with the bizarre picture in your mind’s eye of a first grader drawing up “smart” goals in a day planner or on their PlayStation PDA?

Relax! Put your grownup concepts of goal setting on the back burner and start to see possibilities in the world with childlike eyes. This article looks at how goal setting for a kid of junior school age can be woven into the natural fabric of their daily living — and be fun too!

I have never had a client who has not had time issues. I have them myself. Life seems to be going much faster, with more things crowding the day. And there are more and more things waiting in the wings; things we want to get to or hope to get to and some things we will never get to. This seems to be the case whether or not we have taken courses in time management, whether or not we have a PDA, whether or not we are ‘good’ about scheduling.

What do we mean when you say, “I don’t have enough time?” Probably, we mean one of these things:

The quickest way from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you want to be, your goal or dream) is in a straight line.

And the most efficient way to stay on the straight line is to focus your energy, and attention, and to practice a consistent set of actions.

What that means, is you choose thoughts, feelings, and actions that will move you closer to that goal.

As a coach, one of the main ways that I add value for my clients is assisting them in navigating around, and sometimes through, the barriers that prevent them from getting what it is they truly want. The biggest obstacle that we all face is our own internal fear. Here is a four step process that can help you turn your fear into power!

1. Focus on the outcome

When you focus on something, you are in essence closing yourself off from other inputs. By focusing on the outcome you want to generate, you prevent your mind from being overcome with fear. Often times, we instead focus on our fear, and it consumes us to the point of not being able to move forward and take action.