Do you know what you want?

If you read most of the books on the subject of self-help, the majority of them deal with helping you to get what you want. The problem is that most adults don't know what they want. We used to know when we were growing up. If you ask a young child what he or she wants to do when they grow up, most likely they will tell you two or three choices. So what went wrong? I think that in the process of growing up we heard millions of negative comments from our own parents, teachers, siblings, friends and the media.

If you are one of those who had parents or mentors who encouraged you to experiment and follow your dreams, I envy you. Most of my experiences came from trying different approaches, some worked, some failed. It would have been much easier if I had a tested and successful road map. Well, my parents did the best they could with the experience they had.

The cartoon character Pogo said: "I don't know what I want, but I know I haven't got enough." And that's the problem. We are bombarded with tons of information and ideas, but we don't focus on what we want. Nowadays we are plugged in, whether is TV, headphones or the cellular phone. I think that we know what we would like to do, but it is buried in the deep recess of our mind. We are afraid to try, after all, we were told that it wouldn't work, remember?

I just came back from Chicago where I used to live. I love to observe people and couldn't help but to see that most people are in a world of their own, when it's not the headphones, it is the cellular phone. And another thing, it seems that most people are on their way to a non existent fire. Can you spell STRESS?

I can't tell you what to do with your life, but I will tell to find out real quick, life is short. Be happy, live your life like there is no tomorrow, and above all, be awake. Be in the moment.

Doctor, My Doctor, Where Art Thou?

Have you been to a doctor lately? Have you tried to make an appointment with a specialist? I have.

Two weeks ago I had the need to the see the specialist who treated me in 2005. The person in charge of appointments told me that my doctor could see me in the early part of January 2008. What?

I should mention that my doctor is one of the physician associates in this LLC. I figured that one of the other physicians could see me before January. I brought this to the attention of the "person in control" and she replied that they don't swap patients.

I am not a doctor. But I have been in business before. I can say that most professionals who give appointments are lousy businessmen. You can't expect a patient to wait 4-5 months for a consultation. I figure that they have become victims of their own success. That's not the way to run a business, or is it?

January, come on down. Please, pretty please.

Random acts of kindness

I always wonder if people are nice to me because that's the way they are or is it because I present myself with a positive and friendly attitude.

I frequent a small restaurant near my home on a daily basis. It never fails that people already there greet me with affection and a string of hellos, good morning, how are you and so forth. When I run out of coffee one of the customers will call the waitress and ask her to refill my cup. Sometimes she forgets ketchup for my fries and someone will get up and get a bottle for me. Is this great or what?

I see a gentleman from time to time with a tiny rose next to his plate. When he gets up to pay his bill, he will give this beautiful little flower to the lady cook or sometimes to his waitress. The first time I saw the rose next to his plate I couldn't understand the meaning of that. Now, I know. He is kind to the people taking care of him.

It might also be that people living in the south are more relaxed and friendly. I didn't experience that when I lived in the Chicago area. Sorry, just my personal opinion.

When a person is kind to another, how many people get affected by the random act of kindness? If you say two, you are missing the third one. Let's say you see a lady with groceries trying to open the door and you volunteer to open it. Well, she is very appreciative of that and you feel good by helping her. But here comes the third person - the observer, that person who witnessed the event and also feels good without doing anything, except seeing the random act of kindness.

So why don't you be nice to someone and share your act of kindness with two other people? Who knows, someday you might be interested in politics and two other people will remember you.

Do you want to be a Millionaire? Why?

I just finished reading a book entitled "The 4-Hour Workweek" by Timothy Ferriss. And guess what, he is telling his personal philosophy about why being a millionaire is not it, but rather experiencing what a a million dollars can provide. Well, I know that, unfortunately for me, he discovered this concept much sooner than I did.

The great majority of people follow the trend of working very hard all their lives hoping to retire when they grow old and then enjoy life. Wrong! Life should be enjoyed now and not when we become old and ridden with all kinds of maladies. In addition to these problems, we face the possibility of not having enough wealth to enjoy the expected happiness at the end of our lives.

Some enlightened entrepreneurs have discovered a new way to live like millionaires without having the million dollars. You might say: Are you sure you took your medication this morning? Yes, I did. What I am saying is that it is possible to do it. But not the traditional way, where you work 40+ hours a week for ever until you retire to "enjoy the fruits of your labor".

You can't enjoy life if you are tied to your desk. You need two things: Time and mobility. When you have these two elements you have achieved the main ingredients to experience life as a millionaire, without the millions.

So, who are these people? The employee who negotiates with his employer to do the work outside of premises and achieve the same results or close to it in one tenth of the time. You don't believe me? Talk to some folks at IBM, I know two for sure. When you have time and mobility, then you can ski, fly, volunteer, and the list goes on.

The owner of a business who gets rid of the unprofitable and problematic client and focus on providing the best possible service to the client who brings the bacon over and over. Outsourcing the business operation (hiring other people on contract only), this way she can travel whenever she pleases and runs her business remotely on a website to showcase her beautiful landscape designs.

I always promoted the concept of having "Pillars of wealth". This concept depends on several streams of passive income where your presence is not required. I have two already, looking for five more.

I know this might shock your brain a little. But believe me, you can destroy the shackles holding you tied to the old ideas. Enjoy life now!