Consistency…

Have you ever found any of your old work or embarrassing videos that you had written and just cringed so much? It can be a perplexing task.

Going through work that you have done in the past can seem like a waste of time. But actually it will always give you something to work and improve on.

Not everything can be ‘figured out’ as quickly and effectively as possible. To understand what you want to do requires searching and researching until you know what you’re passionate about. It takes work and patience.

You can only truly appreciate something after practicing and sharing as much as you can. There needs to be more time spent doing and less time thinking.

Sitting still and doing nothing is the biggest risk anyone could ever take, and it is better for you not to experience this.

Consistency works. That does not mean your day will always go smoothly. But you will learn through your mistakes and effectively plan your day to avoid the same errors occurring.

It helps in creating interesting and innovative ways to solve your own problems; and that is what living a life is all about.

Other people’s compliments, criticism and general opinions can always have an effect on your work if you let it. You feel more offended when they criticise and can make you fish for them. Being happy does not mean to make others happy. That is their responsibility, not yours.

Being consistent with anything sounds tough to do. But really, the difficult part was actually to commit at the start and have a strong, emotive and personal reason to do so. It requires searching and trying new things everyday. Eventually it will clicked. Not been at your happiest in the past should serve as a fuel to change and take charge of your present.

Once you find the spark, consistent action to do whatever you are passionate is what it takes to reach the top.

“Success isn’t always about greatness. It’s about consistency. Consistent hard work leads to success. Greatness will come.”- Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Perfection…

“Perfection is a mindset, a mindset that exposes insecurities and leads to unhappiness and lack of action….

Forget being perfect, be you its better”- Gary Vaynerchuk

When was the last time you had a reality check with yourself? Did you ever give up on things you start?

Unfortunately, this can affect you in some way throughout your life. The realisation that ‘flawless’ doesn’t exist may be painful for you to handle.

Your tendency to want everything to be perfect can leave you in a state where you’re not willing to give anything a shot. As the quote says it leads to unhappiness and a lack of action.

Coming up with excuses why you shouldn’t do things serves no purpose and instead leaves you feeling quite unhappy later on. A lot of these ‘excuses’ are fear. Fear of being judged, mocked, ridiculed, or insulted in any way, shape and form.

It is easy to just stay safely within your comfort zone. Even though it sounds perfect in your head…. it really isn’t doing you any good at all.

Exposing your insecurities, whilst uncomfortable to face, can serve as a key to creating deep and meaningful relationships. It’s hard in the beginning, but honestly its worth it.

And its far from being perfect or attaining perfection.

But the idea of having, attaining or owning perfection or a perfect thing does sound extraordinarily tempting. The thought of ‘it has to be this way because that is flawless’ is a striking concept. And the the idea of failure is a bad thing.

Think about this objectively. It can feel confronting to face your challenges head on.

Yet it is crippling to strive for perfection. It stops you from doing and sharing your work and insights. You won’t regret the decision to share your ideas and forget the flawlessness.

Read through the quote below (sorry for the length) and think about how you can use it in your everyday life:

“Perfect does not exist. The quality of anything is subjective so what may be perfect to you is not perfect for somebody else. The truth about perfect is that it is an excuse to not do. You’re afraid of judgement so you don’t put out your work because you are waiting for it to be “perfect.” It is never going to be “perfect” so just put it out!” – Gary Vaynerchuk  

You won’t ever know what success really is like until you drop the perfectionism and “just get it done…”

“If you’re not communicating, you don’t exist…”

Verbal communication is something that people either struggle with or find it a breeze. If you have ever found it challenging to articulate yourself, it may have a lot to do with getting too emotional.

It could be because you care too much about what other people think of you. Do you ever think this way?

“If you’re not communicating, you don’t exist.”

There are several different versions of that quote. To “communicate” does not necessarily mean “to talk.” Communication can obviously be done in a written form. It is about finding out what works for you. Talking or writing, what do you prefer?

To constantly live with this worry of other people’s opinion of you is incredibly crippling. But not speaking up is very unhealthy and painful. Learn to express yourself and get that negativity out of your system.

You need to try different tactics overcome with your challenge. This could be to listen to music to cope with negativity.

But actually, producing something of your own can be immensely liberating. Start posting your work online and on social media. Leaving aside on all insecurities.

Keep on posting more and more content, despite the anxiety. The more you communicate, you will realise the enjoyment and fulfilment you get from expressing yourself as freely and creatively as you possibly can.

Try this, the process becomes very satisfying. By doing what you want in your own time means that it is your responsibility to get the work done. No excuses.

Lack of communication can result in a lot of grave mistakes that can be easily avoided when you talk to the right person at the right time.

It is quite a relief to speak your mind as freely as possible.

The more you do this, the happier you’ll be in the future. Continuously communicating with people, without worrying about anyone’s opinion is the way your life will go from good to amazing.

Desserts…

Are you a sweet tooth? Well, one thing you ought to know about sweets and desserts is abundance of creativity you can apply as you make them.

Dessert making is an art and can be a productive use of your time. And it can unlock a whole world of creativity if you let it.

However, pursuing creativity can also involve self -criticism at times.  Although, expecting yourself to be an expert after a few tries is silly.

Pursuing creativity does not always mean following recipes to the bone. It means to try new things, making mistakes, and understanding that this is part of learning.

As well as this, baking also requires precision and accuracy by measuring certain ingredients in specific quantities.

Dessert-making is fascinating as you learn new recipes and become comfortable with certain baking techniques. That could be in the form of decorating a cake or pastry; adding a few extra ingredients or changing up the textures of it.

Dessert making requires a lot of practice to balance out the sweetness.

It is a great way to use any fruit or leftover foods that you may find difficult to consumer on its own.

So being able to utilise these and other ingredients make sure that no food is wasted. They even taste better when putting a variety of fruits.

Being creative is something you should strive for, and desserts are one way your creativity can really be expressed in its fullest form!.

Aotearoa…

The weather has always been a classic conversation starter, that’s for sure.

Whether it is its unpredictability or its beauty.

There are times when it goes from super gloomy one day, to literally the brightest, hottest sunshine. Not to mention the frostbites that you get during a ‘winter’ is chilling to the bone.

As you know, this differs from city to city. For example, in New Zealand the coldness is not much of a problem because it is consistent. You get to curl up in your blankets and eat their local apple pies baked nice and fresh…..

Going to the beach  in the summertime is always very special. The times spent watching the sunset at the beach with family and friends can easily be one of the best memories of New Zealand for you.

It gives you the opportunity to appreciate the beauty and naturalness of this country. One of the most magical experiences you’ll ever have.

A future in NZ is something you should definitely consider. It is the perfect place to retire and enjoy the simplicity of your surroundings.

The cafes, restaurants, shops, beaches, oceans and the countryside is gorgeous. If you get an opportunity to go to New Zealand, I think you’d be foolish not to.

NZ is stunning and is full of great history, tradition and culture as well.

Aotearoa is the Maori name for New Zealand and it means ‘the land of the long, white cloud.’

The place, the accents, the scenery, the food are just some of these blessings that make New Zealand unforgettable.

The emotional rollercoster…

You are a human being. And whether you agree with it or not, every human is an emotional being. Sometimes it feels like a rollercoster; and other times you may feel like your in control.

Emotions is the way people like you get influenced, motivated and even manipulated by a lot of advertising and marketing that is happening all around us.

But at times, you may have noticed that like your head just might explode from all of that negativity bottled up inside.

This negativity is quite unhealthy, and if you don’t get a hold of yourself your day can go from bad to worse quite quickly.

But it is crucial to start embracing it, because this can help you control these emotions. There are so many activities that you can do to clear your head from all the negativity. Listen to a podcast, go for a walk, sing (seriously it can do you some good).

Its easy to get arrogant and cocky. Get out of that rut. Soak up positivity that is around you. You know that you’re the person in control. So start taking charge.

Because you’re in control, you can consciously select what emotions to portray. And this is important for you to keep a balance mentally and emotionally.

There is always a practical solution that you would be able to implement and apply all the time. The ball is in your court. You’re the only person that can get rid of the excuses and just make things work.

Another way to tackle this feeling is that you should audit your rules of success in order to.

Look at your goals. Are they realistic? Are you trying to be the best in the game whilst keeping your parents happy?

Maybe you are feeling pathetic because you expect too much out of yourself in a short amount of time. Think about it. Write it down.

But most importantly,  give it 100. Every single day  you need to work towards your goals to keep yourself emotionally stable.

Its in your hands now. No more excuses. Get going.

Action…

Let’s be honest, doing two things at a time may not be the most intelligent way of doing any kind of work. What do you say?

But in order to create creative and intelligent work it may be wise for you to find something that you might enjoy.

The internet provides an ample of opportunities and options to explore and see what appeals to you. But I’m sure your procrastination has taken over every single time. You know I ain’t lying…

Before you try to ‘figure out’ your hobbies, be clear on what you do not want to do. This can eliminate a lot of options and the process becomes a little less overwhelming.

One thing is for sure, consistency is key to gaining exposure into any industry.

It is now simply a matter of doing. Consistently.

Creating a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly plan can allow you to directly go after what you want.

Learning any passion on your own is a great first step to getting into the industry you want to in the future. Self efficacy is key to improving in your area of interest.

In saying this, the essential element is to start. This will become a lot easier as the days go by.  You will find that the more action you take, the more enjoyable it becomes for you.

You may think that you lack the experience that employers all look for in resumes.

However, it is so much better to create your own experience and content instead of looking for a job. It improves your self-efficacy and your ability to overcome your challenges. Read this article if you want to learn more:

https://positivepsychology.com/self-efficacy/

Instead of focusing trying to “find” the experience outside, dare to create your own.

Now that you have hopefully understood the step of doing things and putting your thoughts into action, the next stage is to make these ideas public without fear and hesitation. Posting these blogs up will be a bit of a challenge if you constantly worry about what people will think of you.

I dare you to start posting. Because once you get over the anxiety of starting, it gets a lot easier.

You need to put that “what if” and any another BS aside and just get it done.

Malcolm X…

“The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses. The press is so powerful in its image-making role, it can make the criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. This is the press, an irresponsible press. It will make the criminal look like he’s the victim and make the victim look like he’s the criminal. If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.”

—Malcolm X

Malcolm X

 ‘Malcolm X’, the movie is 3 hours long. It was based on the Afro American human rights activist, Malcolm X, who had advocated for the rights of African Americans during the civil rights movement in the United States.

It sounds heavy. And it is. But it is worth every minute.

The movie had highlighted some of the major aspects of Malcolm’s life like his criminal activities, the flashbacks to his childhood, his incarceration, his conversion to Islam, his pilgrimage to Mecca Saudi Arabia, marriage and assassination (not in that order though…)

There were no parts where you would think ‘meh this is alright’ whatsoever. Every single scene and every shot from the beginning till the end looked purposeful and brilliant.

The acting was done incredibly well. Everyone’s role in the film was very clear and it helped push the narrative forward… if that makes sense.

When and if you watch it, you realise the effectiveness of camera work. Different shots gave specific connotations to the scene. There were several close ups for when something important was being said, and long shots to give the viewer some perspective.

This film is based on Malcolm X’s autobiography, and after some primary research on Google was done, the quote you read at the start was found.

Media does have a significant amount of power and it is evident in the movie. There are some forms of media outlets that at least attempt to control the minds of their viewers. Interviews filmed in the movie is an example of the power media had at that time.

Malcolm emphasised that regardless of what kind of media people consume, everyone is encouraged to think for themselves and question what is being said. It helps gain a better understanding and make the appropriate and valuable decisions for ourselves.

Malcolm X is a gorgeous film. It makes you think, challenges you preconceived ideas and really broadens you perspective about religion and race.

Give it watch and come up with your own opinion: https://123moviesme.online/malcolm-x-1992/?sv=1

It’s easy to say “no” when there is a deep “yes” burning inside…

I encourage you to read Stephen Covey’s ‘First Things First.’ There are many jewels and gems you can get out of it. The quote above is an example of the was by far my favourite and the most profound.

The quote may seem straightforward and obvious. But it can be confusing if you let it. So stop confusing yourself….

In case you haven’t figured it out, the quote refers to the fact that when you have a strong drive and a passion for something, it becomes a hell of a lot easier to say no to everything else.

Does it remind you of the times you were unable to say ‘no’; or to say it without feeling guilty, awkward or scared?

Most people are afraid of the criticism they might receive for their decision; encouraging them to give it up in such a short amount of time. Without knowing if the decision made had paid off.

That is probably why it is hard for you to say no.

One of the problems was that there were far too many conversations and planning going on, with honestly not a whole lot of action involved.

Make sure everything you do always has sense of purpose and a deep, clear ‘why.’

It is something you need can keep on doing, chasing, and becoming a better version of myself no matter what people say….

That’s that Mamba Mentality! 💪 💪 💪

(R.I.P. Alyssa Altobelli, John Altobelli, Keri Altobelli, Payton Chester, Sarah Chester, Christina Mauser, Ara Zobayan, Gianna Bryant, Kobe Bryant) ❤️❤️❤️

Happiness…

Let’s make one thing clear. Happiness is a conscious decision you need to make each and every day.

It makes you realise that you don’t need anyone else to make you happy.

Obviously there are times when you would get angry and frustrated. But at the end of the day, it really isn’t your job to impress other people. Be honest and real than impressive or fake.

Anyone can change their mood for the better if you wanted to. It is easy if you want it to be.

It is understandable to have a lot of anger and negativity bottled up inside. Its important to those unhealthy feelings and emotions out of your system in a safe and harmless way.

There are so many things and activities out there that you can do to keep yourself happy; there really is no excuse under the sun to blame, lament, complain and gossip about anything.

Sometimes, it can be hard to describe why you feel a certain way; whether it’s a positive feeling or a negative one. But learning to stick with it is in your control.

Think about how you feel when someone else has to go through an even tougher time. And be grateful for the good things you have. Learn to fully support the another person in whatever way they need.

If you want to be happy, you must have the courage to to spread happiness around you. Doing what you love, being happy and sharing your happiness would always be the best use of your time.