April 21, 2016 Why?

   Today's topic is very important, without it you can not succeed in almost anything. The topic of today is "why", this may sound like a simple topic but it is not. Why do we work in our current job, why do we try to better ourselves? So today I will briefly touch on our why statement.

   The "Why Statement" is another concept that I picked up from my time in network marketing. Yes, it is literally a statement explaining our "whys". The "whys" are mainly a person's reason for doing network marketing but it can be applied to almost all aspects of life. Our why is what motivates us to move forward, if you have a strong why you will give your all. If you have kids, then they are your reason for working hard. When you have a reason to succeed then you can not afford to fail. I want to issue you the reader a challenge. Write down a list of reasons why you can not afford to lose at life. After you make that list I want you to make another list, on this list I want you to write out why you must succeed in life. Even though both lists are  outlining your whys they have different answers. If I don't succeed in life then I will not be financially free. I need to succeed in life because if I don't then I can not inspire generations of people through the written word.

   Today's post is a bit short but it is a powerful one. You must weigh your actions against your cause. I am writing this blog to help my readers in any form that I can. So my actions must be able to satisfy my ambitions. All I really want to say is make sure you truly know why you put in all those hours in at the office.

April 19, 2016 Goal Setting

   "If you plan to fail, you are planning to fail" - Benjamin Franklin. This is a powerful quote which is the basis for today's discussion on goal setting. When most people hear the words goals they tend to associate it to dreams and aspirations. Goals and dreams are not the same at all. A dream is something that you wish for, whereas a goal is written down and has an action plan.

   Through my journey in network marketing I always heard about the importance of having a "goal statement". The "goal statement" was a paragraph on where we saw ourselves in a time span of three to five years. You would first write in detail how great everything had turned out and after that you would then describe what made that possible. In my personal opinion, I do not believe that this type of goal setting is fully effective. I prefer having my action plan set up like a chart that has two columns, one labeled 'Goal' and the other column labeled 'Actions to achieve goal'. By doing an action plan in this manner I can pin point what tasks directly affect my progression towards my goal. This in turn makes sure that I am doing the "right" things to achieve my goal (see April 3, 2016's post for "right" things). I am not saying that my way of goal setting is the one and only way to set goals. As long as you have an action plan you are already a head in the game we call Life.

   Just having a goal and/or action plan doesn't mean that you are done with goal setting. A big part of goal setting is visualizing your goals, because if you can "see" your goals it makes them more attainable. One thing that I learned in network marketing was to have a "Dream Board", which is filled with pictures of things that the maker wants to achieve. I literally hate the word dream, because dream means wishful thinking. Wishful thinking will not get you towards your goals so I am renaming the "Dream Board" to 'Goal Board'. By creating this board you are able to put as they often say a face to a name. Sounds a bit confusing but let me give you an example... " I want to be a millionaire" this is a statement that most people answer when asked what they want in life. This statement is too broad because it does not specify what they truly want from life. The Goal Board would break down this statement to something such as financial freedom, the ability to take multiple vacations per year or even owning a car collection. Other than breaking down goals to smaller attainable parts it also sets up a deadline for completing the goal. 

   By setting a deadline for your goal, you create a way to measure progression towards a goal. By measuring your progress you are able to determine if your actions are helping you succeed in obtaining your goal. This grants us the ability to adjust our actions in order to maximize our productivity towards goal attainment. Goal deadlines also create a sense of accountability. If you fail to achieve your goal then you are the only person to blame. Think about deadlines at work, your boss holds you accountable if the deadline is not met so why should it be different here.

   I now have a rather simple question to ask. After reading this post, do you have dreams or do you have goals? If you answered goals then I have one more question for you. Have you done goal setting? If you answered no then it is not a goal but rather it is a dream. But do not fret and worry because you now should know how to turn that dream into an attainable goal. If you follow your plan you will be successful.

                                                                                                        Thanks for reading,

                                                                                                                         Josh R.

April 15, 2016 Cyber Security

  Today I learned a very important lesson in life. The lesson that I learned today was that you must make sure that all your information is secure. I was recently a victim of a cyber attack in which someone tried to withdraw money from one of my accounts. I always hear about people’s information getting stolen and always thought that it couldn’t happen to me. Turns out that I was wrong, very wrong.

  Most of people have at least two locks on their doors, one regular lock and a deadbolt lock. If you feel secure with two locks why have only one “lock” for our digital accounts. The one “lock” we have on our digital accounts is a password that most do not remember. The password is fine and dandy but can easily be broken into no matter how “secure” you believe it is. My password for the account that was hacked was 15 characters long and a pass-code that I had never used before. The funny thing is that the email that I use for the account has a 2-step authorization setup. The only problem is that I never enabled it on any account other than my email accounts. If I would have taken five minutes out of time to set it up for 2-step authentication then I would have saved myself a ton of time and frustration.

  Before you bring out the pitchforks and try to burn me at the stake, just take a step back and listen for a bit more. If you have a smartphone, then you are halfway to having true security on your accounts. The app that I personally use on my phone for 2-step authentication is Google Authenticator. If for some reason you do not like Google then there are many other options from big developers such as Microsoft. I’m not trying to tell you to go out and purchase a life lock subscription or anything. All I am recommending is that you try out a 2-step authentication method. A password or a pin was sufficient in the past but so were chip-less debit and credit cards. Why wait until cyber security is fully needed, act now and save yourself the trouble. I was lucky because I was able to find out within an hour, but will the next victim be as lucky.

                                                                                                                                     Protect yourselves,

                                                                                                                                                               Josh R.

April 14, 2016 Change

  This post today is another post straight from the heart. The topic of today’s post is Change. I am not talking about change is a monetary sense, but change that happens to us throughout our lifetime. We get too comfortable in our current situations that even the slightest change can scare us.

  Doing network marketing for a couple of years there was one saying that was repeated over and over when talking about traditional businesses. The saying was simple, catchy but memorable “If you’re not a dot com,then you’re a dot gone.” The reason why I am bringing up this quote is because it pertains to a business changing from a traditional brick and mortar into a online store. Nine years ago I used to work for a big electronic store named Circuit City. If that name does not ring a bell it is because they are no longer in business. They attempted to change their ways but it was too little too late. Now you must be asking yourself what does this all have to do with you. The connection is very simple, if we fail to adapt to the changes that life puts our way we are doomed to fail.

  How can not adapting to a change in our everyday life lead to failure? Let us take a look at a smoker if they fail to change their smoking habit they are likely to contract a number of diseases including cancer. Before you start saying that the above example is too broad let us take a look at something that might hit closer to home. There are workers out there that have to change the way they work because of new management or a shift in the company. If they do not adapt to the new focus then they might not be with the company for much longer. It is hard to change, I still struggle to this day to change. If I don’t change for the better who will?

  If your current situation is not satisfying you, then you have to take a step back and look hard at it. Remember Albert Einstein’s famous quote “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” You will never grow if you don’t change with the times. If you try to fight the change you might end up like Palm, Circuit City, RadioShack or even The Wiz. Change can be good so try and embrace it.

                                                                                                                   Thanks for reading,

                                                                                                                                     Josh

Day 17 ....... April 12, 2016 Life

  Today’s post was going to be about how harmful stress could be but it’s not. Today’s post is something from the heart and it hits harder to home than my post about paying off a credit card that I had debt on for eight years. Today I will be talking a bit about the greatest obstacle in life…… Life itself.

  Sylvester Stallone said it best “Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It's a very mean and nasty place, and I don't care how tough you are, it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward; how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done!“ When we think everything is working out in our favor Life appears out of nowhere and it hits harder than Mike Tyson. At this point in time I have tangled with Life many times before but it seems that it comes back stronger with each new fight. This time Life has brought me to a fork in the road. On one side I have a road in which the outcome is predetermined, continue living life as I am now but there’s a ninety five percent chance that it will come to an end soon. On the other side we have a path full of mystery, that is truly a sink or swim situation. This path might last for a couple of months or for the rest of my life.

  To think that at age twenty six I would have to make a decision that will definitely change my future. If I choose wrong then I would have to start over from the beginning. For those of you who have had to start over should know that is is hard. There is no pillar that will hold me up if my world begins crumbling, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I have begun planning things out so if my world crumbles that I will not be stuck under the rubble. The only problem is that my projects are not able to support themselves let alone me. So what that essentially means is once Life strikes I will be going down for some time. I will get up before the 10 count no matter what it takes.

  You must be asking yourself as to why I am sharing this. I am sharing this for two reasons one is to show that I also bleed and the second is for you the reader. When I say that I bleed I am talking about me being no different from the average joe. By revealing my inner conflicts I give hope to those in similar situations. Some readers out there might read this and say wow if he can power through this then I can get pass my own dilemmas. I am down in the trenches everyday just like many others, but unlike many I WILL NOT let anything stop me. No matter what Life is planning for me, I will achieve my dreams. As long as there is a breath in my lung I can get up and try again.

  For everyone reading this I just want you to know that this was written 100% from the heart. This subject is something that came to me about an hour before writing this. You are not alone with any of the problems that you are facing. Go out there and show Life that it’s a bully and that it can not keep you down.

                                                                                                                          Keep Swinging,

                                                                                                                                          Josh R.

Day 16 ......... April 11, 2016

  Stress. One word that brings only negative images to the minds of the masses. The reason why I am choosing to write about stress today is because we all deal with it daily. Stress is not always bad and sometimes can actually be beneficial.

  Before you stop reading because you think that I am making things up, just hear me out. When a person is given a deadline that seems nearly impossible, they somehow make the deadline. The reason for their achievement is the stress of failing makes them work twice as hard in order to prevent failing. I remember talking myself out of a situation that required I hand in a term paper that second. I was given three hours to write a five page paper that I had not begun or researched. The result was a six page paper that I was praised for writing.

  The above story is just showing what I was capable of when I was stressed about making a deadline. Failure was not even a thought in my head because that would result in me not being able to graduate. Stressing over uncontrollable aspects of our lives is meaningless. For weeks I was stressed over a corporate visit and it was all for nothing. The visit came and went without a an issues and will happen again next quarter. Use stress to your advantage, I was stressed about my debt so I began tackling it. Don’t let stress hurt you instead let it help you.

                                                                                                          Thanks for reading,

                                                                                                                         Josh

Day 15 ....... April 6, 2016

  Today’s blog post is going to be a bit different, because I was not planning on touching this topic at all. But now I feel obligated to blog about it because of events that have recently unfolded in my life. The topic that I am referring to it fate. Don’t confuse fate with faith because fate doesn’t have to involve religion.

  The main reason that I am starting to believe in fate is because all the pieces of the puzzle seem to fit. Just recently I posted that I had recently paid off a credit card balance of six thousand. I have had that credit card for eight years and paid it off in a little under a year. Once that card was paid off I was looking for inspirational youtube videos. I came across a youtube video featuring Jim Carrey in which he spoke of fate. He wrote a check for 10 million dollars and put it in his wallet and said he would be able to cash it in three years. Right before the deadline was up he landed a part in Dumb and Dumber with a payday of 7 million. If you want something bad enough you WILL get it.

  In my case I asked for motivation and received it, so of course I asked for more. To my surprise I received the answer I was looking for on twitter of all places. The answer this time came from Tony Robbins and his podcast that happened to come out on the same day that I asked for guidance. So at that point in time I was two for two and decided to try my luck one more time. Sent one text out and received a response that I was not expecting. That response made me three for three in asking for something and receiving exactly what I had asked for. Listen I am not saying that your results will be exactly the same. All I am saying is ask the universe for something and see if it responds.

                                                                                                                 Thanks,

                                                                                                                          Josh

Day 14 ...... April 3, 2016

  Do you sometimes find it hard to stay on topic? No matter how hard you try to accomplish a task it seems nearly impossible to succeed. How about every time you take one step forward you are forced to take three steps back. If the above statements perfectly describe you then I have one question for you….. Are you doing the “right” things to help you achieve your goal?

  Josh what do you mean by the “right” things, I’m talking about activities that propel you towards your goals. It’s actually easier for me to tell you some the “wrong” things that might be keeping you from your dreams. The internet, yes the internet is one of the biggest obstacles keeping us from our dreams. How can the internet be an obstacle, well if you don’t use it correctly it will become a distraction. Instead of using it as a tool to achieve our dreams we use it to distract ourselves and make time pass. Just think back and try to remember when you actually only watched ONE Youtube video or ONE item on Netflix. My point exactly whether it's facebook, emails or cat videos most of us are not using the internet to better ourselves.

  Don’t worry I’m not going to turn this blog post into a five page rant about how you must stay focused on your goal no matter what. We all know what is not helping us achieve our goals, yet most of us do not know what actually helps us reach our goals. You can still go on YouTube but instead of watching a cat video watch a video that will show you something beneficial. Make the best use of your resources while you still have them.

                                                           Don’t let your dreams stay dreams,

                                                                           Josh

Day 13 ....... April 2, 2016

   Today’s post is going to be a bit different than normal. I actually accomplished another one of my goals today. About ten months ago I was introduced to Dave Ramsey through a random night of web browsing. In less than a year I have finished paying off about six thousand dollars in credit card debt. The book that helped me was ‘The Total Money Makeover’.

   The info in the book is stuff that you might already know but it is said in a way that makes it easy to understand. Before you think that this is a sponsored post, it is not. This book actually changed my life and some of my friends’ life. The book does not require you to start eating ramen noodles for every meal. The book teaches about how to snowball your debt. Also it taught me about Roth IRAs, if you don’t know what that is you should really look it up.

   By taking control of your money you get to tell your money where to go. It’s a concept that a lot of financially free people talk about. I was first introduced to this concept by Robert Kiyosaki in his book ‘Rich Dad Poor Dad’. So if it works for them and worked for me and my friends it could work for you. Like I said this post is in no way sponsored but I had to write about it because it changed my life and could change someone else’s life. If you have a chance just listen to some of The Dave Ramsey Show, he might be blunt but he knows his stuff.

                                                                                                Thanks for reading,

                                                                                                                Josh

Day 12 ...... March 31, 2016

  Looking back at one's childhood can either bring up good memories or terrifying ones. One good memory that I can remember is how happy my grandparents all were. They all immigrated to the united states from other countries and were all lower class. How could they possibly be happy if they have almost no money and live in one of the most expensive cities in the world, the answer is pretty simple. My grandparents because of their upbringing knew how to cherish the little things in life.

  Since I did not grow up during the great depression or during  any world wars my views on life are a bit different than theirs. Since I have not fully learned how to cherish the little things in life, I sometimes find myself stressed out over things that should not affect me. Years ago when I had lost my job at a fortune 500 company after five years, I was in despair. Because of all the stress that I was under I developed insomnia and fell into a small state of depression. Before you go saying that my reaction was quite normal for someone who had lost their job. That in my opinion is wrong. My situation could have been worse, trust me a lot worse than it was and I should have been thankful of that.

  Listen I’m not here to tell you that you should give thanks for every little detail in your life, such as how green your lawn is or that you dodged a weekend with the inlaws. I am just saying that no matter how grim things look they could always be worse. There is one thing that I have learned from listening to audios from speakers like Tony Robbins and that is there is really only one rock bottom. Do you know what rock bottom truely is? Death, plain and simple. As long as you are still breathing you can overcome anything. If you do not believe me look at Steve Jobs he was kicked out his own company and still managed to take back control later on and make it one of the most successful company in the world. Never give up because as long as there is air in your lungs you can make it through anything.

                                                     Your neighborhood writer,

                                                                    Josh

Day 11 ...... March 30, 2016

   Don’t you love it when a person tells you time equals money. A simple saying that does not hold true, because time is worth more than any monetary value. Time is one of the most valuable resource that we have and it is very limited.

  It’s funny that the reason that I am writing about time is because of the apple commercial with Cookie Monster. If you have not seen the commercial it is just showing off SIRI (apple’s virtual assistant) by using the timer function. I find the commercial comical because he is complaining how time is moving too slow. The reason I laugh at this is because time is something that once lost it can never be recovered. Have you ever spoken to someone who has been at working at the same place for over 15 years. I am 90 percent certain that they will tell you they do not know where the time went.

  The neighborhood where I work is home to an older crowd. Whenever I ask for a small bit of advice they all tell me the same thing…. “Don’t get old.” You might think that this is just a joke that everyone older uses, but it isn’t. My interpretation of the saying is basically to cherish your youth while you have it because it doesn’t last forever. Even though it feels like I haven’t been at my current job for that long I have been here for three years. If you don’t manage your time you will be left behind, but that is a post for another day.

                                          Thanks for reading,

                                                       Josh

Day 10 ...... March 29, 2016

   Following with the theme of  yesterday's post,  today will be another post on a classic saying. The saying that I want to touch on today is 'It is not what you say but how you say it.' Just so you know it is totally what you say and how you say it they are both as important. Before you go off stating that if its a saying it must have some truth to it, look at 'Sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me'. Sticks and stones is dated as are most cliche sayings. But these saying still hold some truth today.

   It is always important to stay mindful of what you say to people. If you say something offensive no amount of sugar coating can change what you said to something pleasant. If you see a heavy set person and walk up to them and say why are you fat, you might get punched in the face. Since I have been in the retail industry for almost ten years I know some of the things you are not allowed to say. Calm down is on the top of the list of what not to say to a customer. Like I said I have ten years of experience talking to people face to face in a retail environment, learning to pick the right words takes time.

   How you say it plays a big role in a bunch of different things in life. Think about that job interview you were sure that you said all the right things but didn't get the job. Now try and replay the interview in your head but take notice of how you said most of your answers. A person's tone and body language can say something different than what is actually being said. Think about when you are talking to someone and they aren't really interested in what you are saying, they are giving signs unconsciously that they want no part in the conversation. Another part of how you say something is your tone. Are you empathizing with the person or are you being condescending? Make note on if you are elevating certain parts of the sentence because that can make you seem uncertain. Just remember words when spoken take on a whole new meaning  depending who is speaking them. 

                                                                                                    Thanks for reading,

                                                                                                                    Josh

Day 9 ... Monday March 28, 2016

 Happy Easter everyone and welcome back to the best blog on this site. Do you know the saying.. "Don't judge a book by its cover"? Yes it is a cliche saying but the saying applies to a lot of things in life. Since I work in retail this is a concept that applies to my daily activities. Listen I am not talking solely on judging a person by their skin tone but rather the person as a whole. If 'How to win friends and Influence People' talks about this topic, then it must be important.

   Whenever I think of this topic an episode of The Nanny comes to mind. In this the nanny (Fran Dreshcer) is in a local park and sees someone who appears to be homeless and she gives him a bucket of chicken. Towards the end of the episode the man comes to her place of dwelling and it is revealed that the man is a millionaire investor who because of the nanny's kind heart is investing in the bosses play. Before you start saying that it all worked out at the end, think if she treated this person badly because she judged them without getting to know them. Her boss would not have had an investor for his latest play and she might have gotten reprimanded for her actions. An example of judging someone wrongly actually happens to me whenever I go to certain places. When I commute to work I am usually dressed down so sweatpants and a hooded sweater so people tend to look at me with a notion that I am lower class. I sometimes buy a couple of things in grand central terminal such as two packs of Altoids. When I buy multiple of an item they clerk makes sure that they tell me the price is a couple of dollars each and if I am sure I want both. That is the worst thing you can say in this situation because you are openly telling the consumer that you are judging them. 

   By judging a person or an item you are sending signals to your brain that the next couple of events will turn out in a negative fashion. There is an on going joke in my work place about a sandwich named the Bronx Tale. I was very adamant that I did not want the sandwich because of its contents and wanted something else for lunch. When that was the only option and I took that first bite my whole outlook did a 180. That sandwich literally brought a tear to my eye and made me eat my words. If I would have just said no and bought a slice of pizza I would have missed out on one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. So if you take anything from this post let it be this... Whenever you see something for the first time have an empty glass because a half filled cup can only take so much before over flowing. Remember the man behind the clown mask are usually the saddest people you will meet.

                                                                                                 Thanks for reading,

                                                                                                                 Josh

Day 8..... Friday March 25, 2016

Have you ever been stumped on a choice that seemed simple yet hard at the same time. Don't worry I'm not going to briefly talk today about being indecisive but rather pulling the trigger. No I am not talking about a trigger of a gun but a figurative trigger (making the important decision). Do not worry I still struggle pulling the trigger to this day, however you might learn a thing or two.

   Decision making is a quality that can be found not only in leaders but in every single one of us. Not all decisions are big but they all are important. Yes even ordering bacon on that cheeseburger for lunch today is an important decision. For many employees their decisions are often made by management, whether it is when they can take a vacation to what their job entails. Since that is the case most of us are not used to making decisions for ourselves. Have you ever had a day off from work and have done nothing productive with the day and wonder where the day went. Decision making is something that we must all learn to do if we want to have full control of our lives.

   If we are unable to make decisions for ourselves we are relinquishing our free will. Back in 1955 a woman made a decision to not give up her seat on a bus. That simple decision started a movement that would later change the world, all because Rosa Parks pulled the trigger. When we start paying attention to the actual decisions that we are making and making sure we are taking full advantage of it we will begin to evolve. No we are not turning into some swamp monster but we are actually making our mindsets evolve. Our mindsets are being changed from a simple worker bee to a super computer. Computers are not told what is or isn't logical they just take pieces of information and provide a solution.

   Pulling the trigger is not a simple task, it requires weighing the pros against the cons. Even after comparing the pros and cons the only way to know if you can pull the trigger is if you are able to follow through with the decision. Just because a simple yes could make you wealthy, if it goes against your moral code is it really worth doing? Like I said sometimes the easiest decision is often the hardest decision. So go out their and try to make your own decision instead of having someone make them for you.

                                                                                                        Keep pulling that trigger,

                                                                                                                              Josh

Day 7.... Thursday March 24, 2016

   Before we get started let me just apologize for not being able to post last night. Today everyone gets to learn a little bit about me. Today we will talk about my preference for reading books. Before you go complaining about that this post will not offer you anything useful hey I might surprise you. The three types of reading we will discuss are audio books, physical books and eBooks.

   Audio books are a great way to read books especially if you have a long commute. My commute to work is about 2.5hrs each way, yet I do not listen to audio books. "Wait Josh didn't you just say that audio books are perfect for those long commutes?", why yes I did but they actually don't work for me. I once tried to only do audio books only while I was a security guard. It is very hard for me to stay focused on something for an extended period of time. For everyone who enjoys audio books have you tried listening to the book on 2x speed?  The words are still audible and you cut your reading time in half.

   Physical books are my proffered method of reading when I'm lying in bed. I turn on my phone's flashlight and read in the dark, yes I am serious. The reason I read physical books while laying down is so that I won't get distracted from phone notifications. The reason that I son't read physical books on my commute is because I commute via the subway during rush hour in New York City. If you have never seen a crowded 4 train subway car just picture a two cans of sardines inside of one can. Physical books are good if you own them because you can write in the pages and put sticky notes on important pages. If I worked from home I would probably only read physical books.

   Last but not least we have my new favorite the eBook. What makes eBooks my new go-to solution is that it has cross platform sync. What is cross platform sync? Cross platform sync is when no matter what device I pick up as long as I am logged into my account it picks up where I left off. This is very important for me because I have many different devices that access my vast eBook library (one day I might do a post about it). Another reason is that I can easily use my phone on the train without inconveniencing the other riders. Since most of my books are on google I use my credits from Opinion Rewards to pay for some. Also notes automatically save to my google drive so I can always access them on the go. 

   Like I said this post listed some pros and cons of the different forms of book media and while you might not agree with me some people might actually learn something.

                                                                                                                                           Thanks For Reading,

                                                                                                                                                              Josh

Day 6...... Tuesday March 22, 2016

   Don't you hate when someone asks you what would you do if failing was not an option. It's a question than many motivational speakers love using in their books and speeches. I actually acted on this and did something that Timothy Ferriss preaches in the 4-Hour work week; I sent an email to someone famous that is one of the people who Influenced my life. The person I contacted was Steve Harvey.

   Don't worry this will not be a post on me trying to convince you to contact someone famous. I just wanted to actually talk about taking action despite fear. Before anyone starts saying "well Josh what do you know about fear, when have you ever experienced fear?" My answer to everyone asking the previous question my answer is everyday. We never know if today is our last day or what lies ahead, fear comes in many shapes and sizes. No matter how rational or irrational your fear is it can still affect us. Fear can be all consuming but being fearful can actually benefit you. My boss brought up a story about his nephew and how he taught him how to drive on the highway. His nephew who once feared the highway fell in love with driving once overcoming his fear.

   I am by no means an expert on helping people overcome their fears, but I am doing my best to over come my own fears. As I stated in an early post I am a shy person but yet I have sung and danced in front of over five hundred people. What made everything worth it was being able to overcome my fear even though it was only for four minutes. One day soon I will be able to have less fears than I do at this moment but until that day comes I will enjoy overcoming my fears little by little. 

Beneath is word for word what I emailed Steve Harvey. Hope you enjoy.... Josh 

Steve,

 

   First of all sorry for calling you by your first name in case it offends you. Back in my senior year of high school I had the pleasure of meeting you after a variety show you put on In Brooklyn Technical high school when you were principle for a day. I was not just part of the audience but I actually managed to sneak back stage and shake your hand and ask for a piece of advice. You told me to never give up on my dream and to never quit.

   A couple of months I found myself in a bit of a slump and began reading one of your books... Act like a success, Think like a success. The amount of information that I was able to gain from your novel was tremendous. Your book inspired me to pursue one of my own dreams which is to become a writer. So I recently started my own blogging site. I'm not going to bore you with trying to self-promote, that is not what this email is about.  

   I just wanted to ask you a question or rather for a tip as I did back in 2007. The question is 'What is it that keeps you going even though you are essentially at the top?' Might sound like something that not many people would care about but it intrigues me.

   If this actually reaches you and if you make it all the way to the end, then thank you. Continue being you because you are amazing.

 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Thanks,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Josh.

Day 5....... Monday March 21, 2016

   Actors are paid lots of money to put on a facade and we all pay to see it. Hey I'm not bashing fiction ( I am a fiction writer) all I am saying is would you pay the same amount of money to see the actor just be themselves. Who am I kidding look at how many people turn into to Keeping up with the Kardashians. Today's topic for discussion has nothing to do with the entertainment industry but rather than your own individuality. 

   Most of us tend to act differently depending who we are with, don't worry I do it to. There is nothing wrong with that remember you do not talk to your grandparents as you do with your best friend. The main problem that I notice is that some people tend to change who they are because of the "social norm". But Josh everyone will treat me differently or even shun me. I'm not going to lie but there are some people in my life that I no longer associate with because of their negative views on who I truly am. If someone can not accept you for what you are then there is a problem. So many motivational speakers always bring up the dash, do you know what the dash is? The dash is what separates your date of birth from you date of death. The reason I'm bringing this up because what matters 100% is what you do in your time on this planet.

   I'm not saying to make your imprint on this earth by running for president or anything (unless that is your dream, then go for it). What I am trying to say is to make in this world we have to be who we were destined to become. None of us have immortality so why waste what little time we have catering to someone else's will. Just because that person is happy are you? Are you happier being yourself or as an actor changing who you are to make the audience laugh at you? Remember the saddest face is the one behind the clown's mask.

                                                                                                                                                     Stay true to yourself, your friend....

                                                                                                                                                                         Josh

Day 4....... Sunday March 20, 2016

   My grandparents all immigrated to the United States of America back in the sixties. Thinking back on hard it must be to pack up and everything behind , wow that must have taken a lot of courage. As you might have guessed today's topic is courage. Courage is hard to measure but it is an essential quality that we all posses. Whether its moving to a new country or choosing  a dress to wear from prom both require courage.

   I don't know about you guys but alcohol tends to give me courage to do things that I normally wouldn't. I'm not talking about going streaking but courage to do other things such as talking to groups of the opposite sex. As I have stated before I am a bit shy but sometimes I do muster up some courage, hey I sang and danced in front of over five hundred people. But a real test of courage is following a dream and making that dream a reality. When everyone is telling you that it can not  be done and you show them different. Feats of courage that that go against the majority almost always lead to great feats of achievements.

   Like always you must be asking yourselves when was the last time I was courageous about anything. The answer like always is this blog, by pouring my heart out to you the reader I am leaving myself fully exposed. Why would I do such a thing, so that I can help some readers reading this blog. So if you want to ask that person out or ask for that raise you know you deserve, I say go for it the results might surprise you.

                                                                                                   From one courageous soul to another,

                                                                                                                                      Josh

Day 3 ........ Saturday March 19, 2016

    Do you ever find yourself looking at elderly coulles and wondering how they lasted so long together? The answer is love which can be  simple yet at the same time more complex than rocket science. As human beings we tend to "love" many aspects of our lives but do we truely love everything. Before we go further in this discussion let me clarify that this is not a post on why you should consider couples theorapy. This post is touching upon something that seems like a no brainer but almost no one is really doing it. The topic for today is doing things you love to do.

   Before everyone comes screaming at me that theres no way that my current job is my dream job and how can I love working over 60hrs a week... hold your horses. I never said anything about dream jobs thatis a post for another day, but yes I do enjoy what I currently do for a living. When you like or love what you do you feel like you have a purpose whereas I have gone to some of these stores and the employees are real life zombies. One of the cool perks of my job is that I'm able to meet someone new everyday and I've met former CEOs, proffesional atheletes, coaches and even a rocket scientist. I have some friends that make lots of money but hate what they do. I'm not trying to tell you to quit your job and join the circus, what I am recommending is finding something that you do love. It doesn't have to be a new profession, just something to look foward to at the end of the day.

   I used to work security and would do the graveyard shift midnight to eight am and sometimes I would have to do a double shift. Time truely dragged onand I was unhappy sitting in that seat waiting for my shift to end. I I would have been doing something that I love (writing), it might have saved me from binge watching friends, cheers and fraiser. When my work day starts coming to an end, I begin to think of what to write about and even though I am exhausted from working I actually have more energy writing this than I do first thing int

Day 2 ....... Friday March 18,2016

   Today makes roughly two weeks that I haven't consumed any energy drinks. Wait, before you think this blog is about to turn into a rant about having a healthy life style.... never that. The energy drink represents a routine that I have been doing since around 2009. Back then I would go out and get a red-bull to kill time because smokers in the fortune 500 company that I worked for were entitled to smoking breaks. For the employees that did not smoke there was no breaks offered. Since I worked in Manhattan I had to walk to a news stand to get my much "needed" energy drink.

   Fast forward to 2016 and I was still drinking a couple of red-bulls a day. Just bear in mind that these are the twenty ounce red-bulls and they cost $5 each. Don't worry readers, I am not about to go off on a tangent on how cutting back on certain things can save you money. What I want to talk about a bit today is breaking a routine. Do you ever find yourself seeing the same people on your way to work every day, or do you sometimes think you could commute to work with your eyes closed? If you answered yes to any of the previous questions you are stuck in a routine. I'm not saying all routines are bad but by being locked down in one routine you tend to miss the world around you. "Josh, what do you mean that I miss the world, I know exactly how to get from point a to b."- current readers. Have you ever left home 15 minutes early to commute to work, or have you ever gotten off one exit before your job and taken side streets to work? You never know what might happen, hey you could find that restaurant that you always said you would try or you might just meet a new friend. Because I stopped drinking red-bulls I saved enough money in one day to pay for this site.

   I'm not telling you to break your routine by quitting your job or by asking the barista that hands you your coffee everyday to marry you. All I am saying is to take baby steps into making sure that you do not end up another brick in the wall. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Instead of binge watching a show on Netflix why not pick up a book and see how fast you can finish it. Instead of dining out every night why not take that cooking class that you always wanted to do. Some people reading this might be saying I don't have enough time to do these activities, well that's fine and dandy but I want you to do one thing for me. I want you when you get a chance to look at the floor by your door way at home, is it worn out more than the flooring in any other part of the house? The answer is yes because you use it to enter and leave your house each day. Now for a second imagine the route you take to work every day, you footprints/tire-marks must be buried at least a foot in the pavement by now. If you did not understand what that sentence means it's simple, By doing the same routine over years you end up building a ditch that becomes harder to get out as time goes on. 

   Just so you do not think that I am a hypocrite I have changed my routine a lot these past couple of days. Almost everyone reading this post do not know that I am a shy person by nature. This blog is a way for me to break out my shell and start a new routine. My old routine was to commute two to three hours to work and then from work after a nine hours shift. I would be so exhausted after work that I would eat and either play some games or watch television. But now with this site I am able to set a new routine that I truthfully enjoy. Hopefully some of you reading this get to experience the excitement I get each time that I post on this site. Today's post actually took me an extra hour and a half because my original post did not save and I had to start from scratch. I think that it was actually for the best as I was able to put all my feelings into re writing it. Just remember: If you want change it has to start with you.

                                                                                                                                    Your friend and neighborhood blogger,

                                                                                                                                                                                 Josh