Archive for the ‘Lifestyle’ Category

Working in Stride, how’s your workload?

Posted by Mike Schurko on January 17th, 2011

Good morning, and happy Monday to you all!  This is my first Monday being back from the rig and it feels good.  Wake up at 5:15am, have a coffee, and get to work!  While I’m at home, I’ve definitely been working on improving the efficiency of my time to ensure I get everything done that I’d like to.  Of course, we (my Fiancee Amanda and I) usually enjoy a day of indulging in order to celebrate our hard work while being apart.  Our favourites are Baileys with our coffee, and our favourite restaurant Stepho’s.

Funny, it seems to be everyone in my family’s favourite too! lol.

I do believe that we all need to relax, and unwind and let go of our “work” sometimes.  We need a way to celebrate our successes and our recent steps forward in our lives.  If we’re always go go go, we forget to step back and smell the roses if you will.  My ultimate goal for my life is to have a much time as possible to just hang out and make memories with my family and friends , and to try and assist as many people as possible in their self-developmental journeys, so that they can also have as much enjoyable time spent in their own lives.

That being said, working from home I have to create a balance between work time (or play time as I like to call it) and relax time.  I believe if your workload is overwhelming, you will begin to resent things in your life, and take away from the enjoyable experience that I think this lifetime should offer us.

So how is your workload?  Are you pounding the pavement 12, 14, or even 16 hours a days?  Please, for your own good, learn to unwind, shut off “work” mode and recharge for tomorrow.  I enjoy getting 8 hours of sleep.  Any less than 7 or more than 9 I don’t feel as energized.  Also, if you’re organizing your time well, you shouldn’t need more than 8-12 hours a day to spend on your income earning pastimes, at least in my opinion.

I know I preach action action action, but today I’d like to remind you to relax, de-stress, and recharge from time to time.

I find I am always re-fueled with zeal every time I take the time to nurture myself and even if I take an afternoon off, or one day in 2 weeks, I always find that I can get more accomplished after shutting down, than trying to push through an overwhelming workload.

How do you like to relax and celebrate your successes?  Here’s to an amazing week ahead!  We’re over halfway through our first amazing month of 2011, let’s keep our energy up, our spirits high and reach for those stars!  Thanks for your time, talk to ya soon!

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New Years Resolutions or Permanent Lifestyle Changes?

Posted by Mike Schurko on December 31st, 2010

Hello everyone!  What an amazing day!  This is a very exciting day as we sit at the cusp of a brand new year!  A new year!  What an amazing time to revisit your goals and dreams, and update your plans and actions!  The only issue I have with how some people treat, “new years resolutions”, is how superficial and short term and extreme these plans can be.  For example, resolving to become debt free, or get into shape, find your soul mate, or run your first triathlon…it’s not going to happen over night, there needs to be a plan of action, and it usually requires an entire mind and a shift in your habits.  An entire lifestyle change may be necessary for some of these goals to become accomplished…and thats a great thing, but you’re going to need to be prepared to put in some work, maybe some hard work and persistence in order to get closer to or achieve your goals.  January 1st will come and go, but if you truly want to accomplish your goals, this will only be the first day of a lifetime of self improvement, development, challenges and success!

About 3 months back I wrote a post regarding goal setting, I would like to share with you again, a very effective approach to goal setting, and “new years resolution” setting if you will.  Thank you so much for your time, and from the bottom of my heart I wish you the best in the new year!  2011 is going to be an amazing year for all of us!  I personally am resolving to blog more frequently, and begin to post audio podcasts as well as the written blogs.  What are your new years resolutions, and what do you do to bring in the new year?

“Dreams are renewable. No matter what our age or condition, there are still untapped possibilities within us and new beauty waiting to be born.”

~Dale E. Turner

7 TIPS ON GOAL SETTING

1. Set A Specific Date:

Goals are just dreams with timelines right? : )  So give yourself a date to complete your goals by so that there is a sense of urgency to complete them.  It also allows you a checkpoint to see if your set goals are actually important to you or not.  At that point, you can re-evaluate, revamp and continue setting newer and bigger goals, to create a journey in life that is fun, exciting and continuously self improving!

2. One Goal Per Goal:

One thing I frequently found myself doing when writing out goals, was writing multiple goals in one.  So for example;

- My goal is to read 4 books this month and to buy one book too.

This goal is relatively clear about my intentions, but when the goal deadline arrives, and you only read 2 books that month, but bought 5 books…you kind of achieved the goal and kind of didn’t.  To make it even more clear for yourself, write one decisive goal per goal.  There’s no limit to your goals, so write them separately;

- My goal is to read 4 books this month

- My goal is to buy a new book this month

It feels better to be able to cross 2 goals off the list as successfully completed, instead of just crossing off a goal because it didn’t really work out exactly so.

3. Phrase The Goal To Be Yes Or No:

When you write out your goals, be decisive with one goal per goal, but also, be careful of how you word it.  Ensure that all of your goals are written so that when the deadline comes, you can answer it yes or no.  Be precise with what you want.  If you wrote down, “I want to get healthier” as a goal, can you answer that yes or no when the end date has been reached?  Not really.  Instead, write something like, “I want to be able to run 10k in 40 minutes by Sept 20th”, or “I want to weigh 180 lbs by Oct 1st”.  These are goals that, when the end date arrives, can be answered yes or no.  It increases your focus and clarity when you have an actual, tangible or logically imaginable goal.  Clarity is huge in everything you do, click here to read a recent post I wrote on the power of clarity. (Ignore the new website info at the bottom of the post…this is the new website :) )

4. Write In The Positive Tense:

It’s always a good practice in life to stay positive, about everything you do.  I’m not suggesting that negative events don’t happen, but you can usually find something good and positive to take out of any situation.  The same goes for your goals.  When you write your goals down, try to write them in the positive tense and use, the terms that you want to see, not what you don’t want to see.  For example, a negative tense goal could look like this;

- I want to be debt free in a year…or

- I want to lose 15 lbs in 2 months…or

- I don’t want to read less than 2 books this month

When you include the terms that don’t necessarily encompass the meaning or result of what you truly want, you may not be sending clear signals about what you really want, so try to avoid using them in your goal writing.  Instead of using the words; debt, lose or don’t want,  just reword them slightly;

- I want to have $10,000 in savings by Jan. 1st 2011

- I want to weigh a healthy 180 lbs by Oct 3rd 2010

- I want to read 2 books by Oct. 1st

These 3 goals mean very similar things when compared to their negative version, but just by stating the positive terms which you actually want more of, you’re putting your focus on these words and meanings.  This will actually attract more of those same positive feelings and terms you’re aiming towards, back into your life, which will in turn, assist you in completing your goals.

5. Set Varied Levels To Each Goal:

In order to easily achieve every goal you set, as well as push yourself beyond what you even thought you were capable of, try setting different levels of completion for each goal.  I like to set 3 levels which I call, minimum, goal, and extreme.  For example:

My goal is increasing my income so I would write;

Minimum – I want to earn $3000 in the month of September 2010 (this should be an easily attainable level for what you are used to achieving, regardless of the amount, the minimum should be relatively easy for you to attain)

Goal – I want to earn $5000 in the month of September 2010 (this should be a bigger challenge, one that you believe you could reach, would be very impressed if you reached it, and believe you can strive towards it)

Extreme – I want to earn $10,000 in the month of September 2010 (this should be a dream level goal, something that if you achieved it, you would be absolutely astonished and blown away by your awesomeness!)

That way, you’re still feeling the gratification of successfully completing a goal, and you’re still challenging yourself to push harder and achieve more than you ever thought possible.  This works for any type of goals too, be creative!

6. Share Your Goals With Your Peers:

One way to increase the odds of successfully completing the goals you set, is to tell your friends and family your goals.  Hold yourself accountable to these peers, update them on your progress, ask for guidance if you’re struggling, and then celebrate your successes with them once they’re completed!  This alone can make a huge difference in goal completion, as for some strange reason, it can be easier to be dishonest with yourself, than with others.  Also, if your friend or family is working on a goal, offer yourself to be an accountability partner!  I’m sure they’d appreciate the support on their journey of self improvement!

7. Set Rewards

Based on the size of your goals, there should be a relative sized reward waiting for you at the finish line!  There is no better way to reinforce positive and timely action in completing your goals, than a nice juicy prize for completion.  Now I know its easy to get carried away with this so have some fun, don’t overdo it. Just let yourself relish in the successful completion of a goal you set.  For example;

- You reached your goal weight – $100 to buy a new snazzy outfit.

- You earned your financial “extreme” level goal – book a trip for you and your best friend to Las Vegas.

- You completed that huge personal project that you chose to do in your spare time – Go out for a nice dinner at your favourite restaurant, and a go to a movie.

All of these tips can help you to achieve your goals, but the most important process behind your goal setting (besides the necessity of action), from which everything in todays world started from, a dream.  Dream big dreams, set big goals!  If you want to be someone, have something, go somewhere or do something that you would never think possible for you in this lifetime….even better : ) !!  Please let me know what your goals and dreams are.  If you need an accountability partner, let me know too!  Thanks for letting me share my passion with you!  I wish you the best of luck with all your goals, and in your amazing journeys towards them!

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What value do you give your time?

Posted by Mike Schurko on December 9th, 2010

Hello everyone!  What an amazing week this has been hey?  We’re getting into the holiday season, thinking about family and friends and loved ones, and hopefully most if not all of you, get a whole bunch of time off work to just relax and enjoy each others company.  It seems to be a hot commodity…our time, the time that we spend of our relatively short lives.  How do you spend your time?  When I hear, “spend your time”, i think of money.  How do you spend both time and money?  Do you spend it on valueless past times, or useless toys you don’t need, or do you invest your time and invest your money to build on, and make the most of what you have?

I truly believe that time is the absolute most highest valued thing that we have to offer or experience as humans, next to our safety and health.  My idea of true wealth is to have the ability to do whatever we want with whomever we want when ever we want, but in our current situation of society, we have to earn money to pay for our necessities.  So adding to what I talked about last post regarding work / money association, as important as it is to, “make a living” in our society, it is also very important to invest your time as wisely into building a living (instead of just making it) so that you can enjoy as much of that time as you can.  So how can we do this?  I like to use time management.

Just like your finances, it is a great idea to manage your time, so that you can be as efficient with your time as possible and get the most from your time.  Not to the extent of micro managing time, but, plan when you work, work hard, and then plan and make sure you have the time to invest your time into yourself, your friends and your family, your passion, relaxation, or whatever you want to do, that can make you feel as though you’re growing and developing to the next level of self fulfillment. My favorite way to manage my time is through a day planner.

Amanda and I recently bought new day planners, and I love them!  Every day before I go to bed, I plan out what I want to get accomplished, and what needs to get done.  I love planners and lists, then I know I’m getting everything accomplished that I need to, and that I can remember at the time :)

So really put some thought into how you spend your time, do you invest it, or do you waste it?  Evaluate the importance of the things you spend your time on, are they investments, or expenses?  Our time in this consciousness is short, so I’ll I’m saying is that if you plan out your time in order to completed needed tasks of day to day life or continual self-development, then you can spend your time doing things you truly love.  Yes there are goals to be set and accomplished, dreams turned into goals and on-going evolution and development so that you become that person that you want to become, but life is also there to be enjoyed, so enjoy!

What is your favorite form of time management?  Have a great thursday!

time management

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Now what am I grateful for? My surroundings…

Posted by Mike Schurko on November 26th, 2010

Hi there! So I’m back from my first 2 week hitch on the rigs in Alberta, and It’s nice to be back. That was seriously the fastest 2 weeks I have experienced in a loooong time!! I was quite shocked however to see what it was like when I landed. I heard there was some snow and cold in Vancouver, but not quite this;

Landed...in Vancouver??!!

But now it’s warmed up already, and the rain came and the snow is pretty much gone!  Also, our English Bay Christmas tree lights got turned on today!!  You can’t really see the lights yet, but you can see that all of the snow is pretty much gone!

English Bay Nov. 26th 2010

We moved the rig on the coldest day of the winter so far, it was -36 degrees Celsius and with the windchill it was -40.  But when I looked up and saw the clear blue sky, amazing bright sun and white snow all around, I was still able to take something positive and supportive from the situation.

Rig move on the coldest day of winter so far. (-36c, -40c with wind!)

The beautiful winter prairies.

Rig move day - Sun still shines even though -36c

The point I am trying to make, is that even in the most extreme conditions, in the most uncomfortable and challenging environments possible, be it indoors or outdoors, you can find the beauty and appreciation in every situation, and use that supportive and positive energy to help you continue building and growing yourself and your situation to where you truly want it to be…even if in that moment, you’re in a situation that you’re not entirely happy with.  We’re alive now!  Feel it, enjoy it, and make the most of it because in the big picture, we’re not here very long living this consciousness and current reality.

So the next time you’re feeling down, upset, grumpy, frustrated or even mad…Stop yourself, and write down the things you appreciate about your current surroundings.  It could be that you get to work in a warm and dry environment all day, you really enjoy the company of the people you work with, you get to enjoy being outside and enjoying nature or even the fact that you have the ability to breathe right now, to be alive, and to create goals and achieve them!

What are you grateful for about your surroundings?  As always, I appreciate the feedback and the interaction.  We’re all in this together, growing and improving and living our lives to the fullest!  Take care, enjoy your weekend, and GOOOOOO RIDERS (CFL Grey Cup Weekend!)!

Here are a few more pictures I’ve taken over the last two weeks while on the rigs;

Sunrise at PD 193 Nov. 2010

The Moon over my Boiler

Oh that Tim's!

PD 193 and -30c NOV 2010

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The Power of Struggle.

Posted by Mike Schurko on November 15th, 2010

Hi everyone!  Hope you’re enjoying your weekend!  I’ve been in Saskatchewan for nearly a week now, and wanted to talk to you about something I’m going through these days.

Have you every thought about why we have struggle in our lives?  If it’s so uncomfortable, what’s the point of even going through it?  Well consider this;

In order to create strong and lean muscles, what do you have to do?  You have to physically lift, push or pull an object to a point of discomfort (not pain…ensure you use proper techniques).  When do you make the biggest impact on your muscles?…when you’ve lifted this object and you’ve fatigued your muscles…you do it again!  Then after more and more reps at the same weight, the struggle in lifting it becomes easier, then you can challenge yourself at a higher weight or more reps.

The same way in life, if you don’t challenge yourself, how do you expect to grow?  Practice flexing those muscles, and it will get easier and easier to lift your dreams to the sky and make them reality.

For example, I have decided to come out to Saskatchewan to work on the oil rigs for a few months.  Yes, I could have easily stayed at home and been fine, because I have made a choice to take my passion career and run with it full time, although, right now happens to be a slower time for my niche market job, wedding videos.  So I decided to hit the rigs to struggle now so I can grow in a different way than I currently have been.  I know there are several ways to try something like this, say for example you have a “9-5″ job, instead of just working your 9-5, try pursuing a passion of yours as a part time job (if you aren’t already passionate about your 9-5) so that you can do something you really love, and still be able to afford to pay the bills.


Now you may ask me, Mike…why should I bother struggling at all?  Well here’s a quote that illistrates my point;

I hated every minute of training, but I said, “Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion.”
~Muhammad Ali

My dream of being a “Champion”, is to be financially free, to beat the money game, and to do it in ways that I love and am passionate about.  I want to be able to spend my time doing what I want, when I want, with whomever I’d like to, but at a lifestyle that is very comfortable but still manageable.

So what positive struggles have you been through lately, that grow you as a person, and challenge and push you to achieve your goals?  Thanks for reading, have an amazing week!!

Really quick, here is my wedding video demo I have created from my first season of weddings, and also here is a song that I wrote about the rigs;

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

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Dealing with Self-Sabotage

Posted by Mike Schurko on November 10th, 2010

Happy Wednesday everyone!  I hope you’ve had an excellent start to your week!  What a great day to get inspired.  I’m writing this blog from Saskatchewan, which I’ll talk to you more about later this week.  Check out a few pictures from my window in the plane!

I’m very excited about todays post, so lets get started!

Today I’d like to discuss self-sabotage with you.  Now, what is self-sabotage?  Basically, it’s when you’re cruising along fine, growing in to the person you need to become , in order to achieve your goals…then you start feeling a bit uncomfortable, because you’re not used to this new-and-improved you, and all of a sudden, your sub-conscience comes along, and pulls you back down to the level that you’re most comfortable at, which unfortunately often times…is not where you wish to be. So, why does your sub conscience pull you back?  Simple…it’s your current Conditioning.

The Conditioning you exude, is based on the learning’s of your sub conscience over the years.  Whether you picked up a simple trait like;  I always brush my teeth with 55 strokes,  because my mom told me that’s all I need, or a trait that is much more serious in regards to your prosperity like; rich people are assholes, you have to work hard your whole life, or only poor people have true character.  All of these conditioning’s have been programmed into your mind, and will always create your default reaction, which leads ultimately to making you feel as comfortable as possible with what you already know and where you’ve already been…which, when you’re trying to grow, is a bad thing.  BUT, have no fear! Because you have the ability to recondition yourself!

Lets face it, you are where you are because of what you’re currently doing.  If you go through life doing the same things, and expecting different results, people, including yourself, will start to think you are crazy!  If you want to be at a different level than what you’re at, you’re going to have to change how you react in different situations.  Through processes such as reciting affirmations,  forming structures to build new positive habits, or having a mentor to help guide you into making choices and taking actions that work positively for you, you can train your sub conscience to react in default, in a way that is supportive of your current goals.

Now in a growth situation, it is unrealistic to believe that you can exponentially grow and grow and grow and never have a “pull back” or a “backslide” as I’ve known it as.  There will always be ups and down on the path of life, you simply have to be aware of when you enter this “backslide” zone, and have a plan for when it happens, so that you can minimize the pause in personal evolution.  Maybe a certain visualization, or meditation or re-writing your goals out and getting excited and re-energized about them, or whatever it takes to get you back on course.  Learn what works for you, and test it, and improve on it.  Backslides happen, but the less time you spend sliding back to your old ways, and the more time you spend growing and developing and improving, ultimately you will achieve success!

Training your sub-conscience will be one of the hardest things you do in your life, but, it will lead to the biggest changes and improvements in your un-conscience world.  How do you change it?  Small, simple, daily steps, matched with awareness, consistency and persistence.  That’s it.  Be aware of the little things; unnecessary spending, drinking and eating too much of the unhealthy things, basically succumbing to instant gratification.  Or even choosing to spend your time with people who are not supportive and empowering to you.  Mentoring I think is huge, because it can be hard to make a choice when all you have is your own experience to base it upon, and it’s easy to let your mind run wild with un-supportive and stressful self-talk.

If you take only 1 thing out of this entire post, I want you to realize that you are an amazing person.  Even if people around you are constantly negative, and pick apart your decisions and actions, just believe in yourself.  They’re simply reacting from their conditioning, lack of self-confidence and probably envy because you’re taking a risk, taking a chance, believing in yourself and making things happen in your life!  If you’re following your passion with passion, you will succeed.  Yes there will be ups and downs along the way, but that only ads to the story of your amazing lives.  Everyone is different, trust yourself and keep on going,

Thank you so much for taking the time to read my blog.  I am constantly working on improving my writing abilities to help you to get more out of the topics.  If you could improve one thing about my blog, what would you suggest? Would you enjoy audio blogs?  Shorter or long blogs?  I always appreciate the feedback, and feel free to comment publicly below, or send me an email.  Thanks so much, and continue having an amazing weekend!

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Moustache Update – Canucks Video Contest –

Posted by Mike Schurko on November 3rd, 2010

Wow, what a beautiful day! I am so excited right now, as I have lots on the go. How the heck is your week going? I know fall can be a beautiful yet depressing time as we can start to feel the winter looming, but just always remember, we’re alive, and in this moment we can live life to it’s fullest. Everyday that passes, I realize more and more how being comfortable feels like a non-investment of my time. When I feel that discomfort, that fear of judgement, I know that I am growing in ways that could not be accomplished by anything other than real life moments, stepping out on a limb, taking that risk, accepting responsibility for failure while growing and celebrating my success at every chance I get! Taking action alone is one of the greatest successes we can ever celebrate, so why not practice and get really good at taking action? You’ll find even though it’s very easy to just sit and watch TV and relax, don’t get me wrong I love to shut my brain off from time to time…but I don’t feel as energized or nearly as inspired and feeling like, “wow…I just did that”, as when I constantly take action, regardless whether its a tiny step, or MASSIVE action!

So really quickly I want to give you an update on my moustache for kids. For a little background information (which I forgot to post when I started it) check out the Moustaches for Kids home page.  I’ve been growing it for over 2 weeks now…what do you think?

I’ve been able to raise about $25 so far which is great, but if anyone is interested in donating to the cause, there’s a link that says “Donate” on the right side bar.  Much thanks to everyone who has pitched in what they can already!

Another fun event going on in my life right now, is a contest for the Vancouver Canucks.  Amanda and myself have made a video to a song we wrote for the Canucks and the BCAA Booster search contest.  If you’d like to help us out with that, simply sign into your Facebook, “like” BCAA and then “like” the actual video it’s self.   Also please share it, and get as many other people to share it as you can.  Very easy, and I appreciate all of your support!

So what I’d like to talk about today is persistence and results.  I know I’ve talked about it a lot in the past, but honestly, it’s had one of the largest impacts in my life.  When you find you’ve been pushing and pushing and being persistent, and working so so hard towards your goal or goals, and yet you haven’t seen any substantial results, or you’ve seen a huge influx of success and then it peters out shortly after, you have to know at that very moment, that it is more important than ever to keep pushing.  I know it’s easy to get down when you invest all of your time and effort into something, and feeling like you’re not getting anywhere.  Here are some words of advice I learned.

When I was 19, I participated in a Texas Hold’em poker tournament at the Casino…my first live event ever.  I was nervous yes, but I wanted to show these guys up.  After every break during the tournament, I would call my sister and we’d go over the rules we had come up with, and the 2  rules were;

1. People can’t take chips from you, you can only give them away,

2. And the most important by far, play every hand like it’s your first.  Just like in life…learn from yes, but forget about the past, the future doesn’t exist, so NOW is the time to be your best!  You could be playing for 1 hour or 10 hours, no matter what, just keep playing taking action, and treat every action like its your first…always inspired and motivated.

Now, imagine this;  You’re sitting in your nice big hot tub, and you’re holding a small balloon underwater.  You start out by pulling it all the way to the bottom.  Then let the balloon float upwards, all the way up, till its just below the surface level…notice how the water on top looks the exact same.  Just like success…you can be starting at the bottom and work your way all the way to just below the surface, and yet you don’t see any results.  Just know that you could very well be one small action away from blasting out of that water, and experiencing the results that you’ve been working towards!  So keep pushing, with passion, and you will achieve your goals!!

Thanks for letting me share my passion with you!  Hope you’re having a great week!  Do you have any success stories regarding persistence?  Please share!  Now I’ll leave you with some pictures from walking around the Sea Wall yesterday, enjoy!

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3 components to applying the Law of Least Effort into your life.

Posted by Mike Schurko on November 1st, 2010

Happy Monday to everyone!  I hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend.  I got the chance to go see my home town, The Saskatchewan Rough-riders battle it out with the B.C. Lions.  Unfortunately, the Riders just couldn’t quite come back at the end, even though there were some spectacular plays!  At least we have secured a spot in the playoffs, unlike the Lions.  All in all it was a really fun time!

The latest book I’ve been reading is called, “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success”, by Deepak Chopra.  In the 4th chapter now, I’ve come across a really interesting concept, the Law of least effort.  Now at first read of the title I thought to myself…that sounds kind of lazy, BUT, I realized that it does not apply to the amount and quality of action you take in your life, but rather being guided by Infinite Wisdom to allow what’s happening in your life, be the easiest path, with least resistance towards your goals.

If you’ve learned and practice clarity (click here to read more about clarity), by being very specific about what life experiences you want to achieve, then to begin or continue on the path of least resistance can be a very powerful thing.  Sometimes, when you dream big and you set an incredible goal, you don’t always know how you’re going to get there, and at times it only feels natural that the next step should always involve more and more struggle.  Well when you let the power of the universe flow through you, you can begin to experience the “miracle” of nature’s law of least effort.  Think about it, does the grass struggle to grow, do flowers struggle to bloom, do weather patterns struggle to exist, no, they just do, and yet its an absolutely amazing thing.

So how can you put this principle into action in your life?  Here are 3 components, that you can take action on today, and begin to participate in this amazing law;

1. Acceptance

First, make a commitment, “Today I will accept people, situations, circumstances, and events as they occur”.  Basically, I know that this moment is exactly as it should be, to as you wish it to be, but just as it currently is.  You can plan and wish and believe in the future to come, but in this moment, accept things as they are.

2. Responsibility

Next, take responsibility for your situation.  Don’t blame anyone or anything, including yourself for where you are in this moment.  By accepting responsibility, you then have the ability for creative response to whatever is happening right now.  Therefore you can, continually transform the moment to a better and better situation.

3. Defenselessness I personally found this component to be the most profound, as I had never really practiced this before.  When a situation arises where you feel the need to persuade or convince others of your opinion, you are expelling massive amounts of energy towards a useless cause.  Yes, your ego will be the first to lead you into battle, but that’s where you have to tame yourself, avoid unnecessary resistance, and realize that no matter what others think about your choices and actions, it is only what you think of your choices and actions that should most affect them.  Definitely create and experience your own matters of opinion, but always remain open to all points of view and avoid becoming attached to any one of them.

Thank you very much for reading today.  I hope you all have a wonderful week!  If there is a topic you would like me to discuss, please send me a message by going to the contact link page!

Posted in Just for Fun, Lifestyle Tags: , , No Comments »

Do you meditate? Connect with Infinite Intellect! 4 Benefits of Meditation.

Posted by Mike Schurko on October 26th, 2010

Hi there!  How is your week going so far?  I have been working hard on completing my latest video projects, starting to take bookings for next years wedding season, and also, trying to grow a bad ass Moustache for Kids!  What do you think?!

Not bad for just over a week on a guy who can’t grow facial hair to begin with eh?  What am I saying…ya it’s bad! LOL!  Again, if you’d like to donate to the cause, it’s for childrens’ Special Olympics.  To make my personal embarrassment worthwhile, you can click below;

So my question for you today is, have you ever meditated?  Have you ever thought about why do some people meditate, what do you actually do during a meditation, and does it work?  This past Saturday, I went for another visit to the International Buddhist Temple in Richmond.  Every time I go, I always come away feeling refreshed, re-energized, and inspired.

To answer the first question, “why do some people meditate?”, I find that at times in my life, I can easily go from focusing on achieving my goals and dreams, to getting caught up in the day to day process of executing my plan of action to get to those goals and dreams.  Also, I find myself becoming disconnected with the present moment, and the power that the present moment holds as opposed to the past or the future, and losing motivation and inspiration.  Obviously everyone has a different motive for meditation, my reason is to reconnect with this moment of power, clear my mind of the day to day  thought clutter that accumulates over time, and to let in the infinite intellect of the universe.  I believe that we are all geniuses, and truly know the answer to all of life’s questions inside, to guide us to the life we want.  Sometimes can  find the answers inside by just quieting our own thoughts, and allowing inspiration and insight to influence our actions.

What do you actually do during a meditation?  Well how I’ve come to understand and practice it (as there are many processes you can use during meditation) is as so;

- relax your body, and position yourself in a way that you will be able to stay completely still for extended amounts of time, try 10 – 20 minutes to start.  I was taught that, as a beginner, it’s easiest to sit with your feet on the floor, hands on your legs and back straight, but not too straight so that it starts to get sore.

If you’re more flexible, you can sit in more advanced positions like the Lotus, but the point of meditation is immobilize the body so that you can focus on the mind.  Definitely not there yet!

- ensure that you are in a relatively distraction free location, so that you have less external things hounding you for your attention, on top of just your inner thought distractions.  Also I prefer to meditate in complete silence as well, as music can also be a distraction.  I do believe music can be good for relaxation, but for true meditation, I crave silence.- keeping your eyes close, focus on you your breathing,  in and out, also known as Anapana sati. Simply observe your breath, the cool dry air coming in, and the warm moist air going out, and when any thoughts besides breathing come to your attention, just allow them the drift away and focus back on your breath.  It can be difficult at first, as you may not realize how many thoughts you actually think and how fast your mind goes when it’s not being controlled.  Just like anything however, the more you practice, the better you will get at it.  Eventually, my goal in meditation is to completely clear my mind of any thoughts including my breath, and just allow me the ability to completely control my mind, and to make room to receive inspiration, motivation, and clarity in my life.

As a beginner, or a seasoned expert, here are 4 benefits of meditation;

1. Reduce  Stress

- When you worry about what has happened in the past, or what you think the future may hold, you add stress into your life, and that can effect your decision making.  Allow yourself the chance to release any and all stress you may be feeling, through meditation, by connecting with this moment, and realizing that you have the power now, to improve, change or continue doing the things that empower you.

2. Control your Mind and Reactions

– Why do you get mad if someone cuts you off in traffic, why do you get irritated when you hear a baby cry, If something doesn’t go exactly as planned, why do you yell and swear?  If we react in a way that is anything other than empowering and supportive to ourselves and others, we do not have full control over our minds.  When that is so, we allow our conditioning to control our reactions, thereby keeping us at the same level we’re currently at.  We are where we are in life because of what we’ve done, so if you want to improve aspects of your life, you need to recondition yourself.  Through meditation, you can regain control of your mind and improve your reactions, so that you can maintain clarity and grow the way you want to.

3. Improve Creativity and Inspiration

- Through meditation, you can clear your mind of energy consuming thought clutter.  When thought noise is at a minimum, you allow space for thoughts of creativity, and often become inspired by unknown causes which I like to call Infinite Intellect.  When creativity and inspiration strike, take action, you’ll be amazed at the results of your actions when acting on inspired thought!

4. Increase Concentration

– For work or play, concentration is always necessary to do your best work.  We all have the ability to create massive power with concentrated energy.   So through meditation, you can gradually improve concentration so you can have a greater impact with your time when meditating, working, or having fun!

Do you have any tips or tricks for meditation?  Do you have any stories about inspired thought or action due to meditation?  Thanks very much for your time, stay inspired and have a great week!

Posted in Lifestyle Tags: , , , , 1 Comment »

How to Develop Persistence

Posted by Mike Schurko on October 6th, 2010

Persistence…the catalyst of achievement. When invoking the awesome power of persistence, you discover the energy that fuels the fires of success. With persistence, success is a sure thing! If you can go out there, and plant your field full with seeds of success, continually water them, weed them and nurture them…and even when a massive storm hits your field and wipes out a quarter, half, or even ALL of your crop, and you go right back out there and plant new ones and continue to nurture their growth until your crop is fully grown and ready to harvest…you would be displaying MASSIVE persistence, and you will be successful! Persistence is where most people fail.  They try something new like; a new diet, exercise routine, or business idea for a week…maybe 2 weeks, and then at the first sign of struggle, or discomfort or fear….that’s it, back to the planning stage (you can read more about “the planning stage” here) where you can relax, be comfortable, and think up more ideas without taking any risk.


There are attributes to creating and having persistence, that you may already possess, or, that can be easily learned. Here are 4 simple steps to develop the habit of persistence;

1. A definite purpose backed by burning desire for its fulfillment

2. A definite plan, expressed in continuous action

3. A mind closed tightly against all negativity and discouraging influences including negative suggestions of relatives, friends and acquaintances.

4. A friendly alliance with one more more persons who will encourage one to follow through with both plan and purpose.

These 4 steps;

- are essential for success in all walks of life.

- are the steps by which one may control one’s economic destiny

- are steps that lead to riches, in small or great quantities

- lead the way to power, fame and worldly recognition

- guarantee favourable “breaks” in life

- lead to the mastery of fear, discouragement and indifference

If we create positive structures, we can create positive habits.  Why are habits habits?  Because they’re habits…you just do them, and how awesome would it be to have a habit of health, wealth, persistence and success?!  You can acquire those habits…anyone can!!  And you will, if you truly want to!

So if you’ve been trying something for a while…not sure if it’s working…haven’t seen many results, or fruits of your labour…DON’T GIVE UP!  Try it for an extended amount of time, I’m talking months and months.  Enough time where you can improve on your original plan, and get good at whatever it is you’re trying to do.  If at that point there has been no improvement, try something different.

What does persistence mean to you?!

Thanks for visiting me and taking part in my passion!  Have a beautiful day!


Posted in Lifestyle, Wealth Tags: , , , , , , No Comments »
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