The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die, by John Izzo

John Izzo begins his book: The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die with a question we should form our entire life around: “Why do some people find wisdom and die happy?” This query is one that should sit quietly in the back of our minds from birth until death. When we sit with a question like this, we open ourselves to the endless possibilities of the answer.
John Izzo seeks to provide his audience with a roadmap to discovering our own answer to this. Through his book, he invites us to create lives of wisdom and happiness, no matter what our circumstance. Before beginning the five-step lesson, Izzo outlines the greatest challenge of all. He reminds us that time is passing. In our powelessness over that, we have huge opportunities. We can manage our priorities and our choices. We are the stars of this one-person, one-lifetime show.
This book was, in some ways, a collaboration. Four thousand people were nominated by friends or loved ones as being true pillars of wisdom and joy. The author then chose 235 of those candidates between 60 and 105 years old – the most knowledgeable section of our society. These subjects have experienced the most. They can separate the hard knocks from the great lessons. Through those subjects and their wisdom, Izzo came up with five tenets for a life worth living:

1. Be true to yourself.
2. Leave no regrets.
3. Become love.
4. Live in the moment.
5. Give more than you take.

Although each of these is vital and approached with great depth and focus in the book, one or two demand a moment’s inspection and are worth implementing this very moment.

· Living in the moment. If one of the five tenets to living a happy life is to live in the moment, we are literally behind the eightball before we even begin. We are taken out of the “moment” a thousand times each day through our own technology. (Can you say email?) The author recounts taking his dog for a walk one day. The dog was enjoying that walk so much more than Mr. Izzo himself. The dog paused to enthusiastically enjoy smells or the company of other dogs (friends). The author was simply busy timing himself to accomplish his daily speed walk.
· Become Love. Izzo asks us to recognize that love is not an idea, it is an action. It means choosing to spend time with friends. (Even dogs do that!) It means embodying thoughtfulness and a loving tone. We must not miss an opportunity or spend a day in human disappointment – there simply are no do-overs. You will pass through today only once, and love will sustain you.
· Leave no Regrets. The author’s grandfather offered him the idea, early in his life, to judge his days by how satisfying they are. Each day will pass, it is simply the law of time and space, but how we live and how fulfilled we are, will become the foundation of great choices. Quite simply, we get this one chance to create a life that leaves no regrets. Do what thrills you.
Like all great books on positive psychology, gratitude is the prevailing thought throughout this book. To be able to rebound every day (if necessary) and choose to live a joyous and meaningful life. To create time to be still and find the timeless beauty hidden behind to do lists and ever-full inboxes. To author our own sonata, our own academy-award winning existence. That is the good life, and John Izzo wants us to know it. The rewards of each of these five principles are limitless, and amazingly, they are free. It’s the free lottery ticket – your one true life.

To your success, Dr. Success (aka Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.)
http://www.servingsuccess.com/

An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love

You may or may not know the name Richard Carlson, but millions of people all over the world have read his, “Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff,” books. Dr. Carlson was considered to be one of the foremost experts on happiness around the globe. As the author of thirty popular books, he used humor and every-day life to show millions of people how to not let the small things in life get the best of them.

With more than 26 million books in print, published in 35 languages in over 130 countries, Richard Carlson became a worldwide phenomenon. He spoke to enthusiastic audiences around the world and was a popular TV and radio personality. He starred in his own PBS Special, which aired to millions, and was the host of a series called, “Don’t Sweat the Future.” What Dr. Carlson illustrated so beautifully through all of his work is the simple fact that life does not have to be as difficult as we make it. If we are not distracted by worry and self-imposed crisis, the real purpose of life is right in front of us: Live in the present moment.

Even at the height of his fame, Dr. Carlson chose to live authentically, declining many opportunities for fame and fortune. He remained devoted to normalcy and deeply understood that every-day life is where we find our most significant gifts. In 2003, on their 18th wedding anniversary, Richard presented his wife, Kristine, with a short manuscript called, “An Hour to Live.” In it, he imagined that the end of his life was imminent. He posed questions originally asked by author Stephen Levine: Who would you call? What would you say? and Why are you waiting? Uncannily, the small book foreshadowed Carlson's unexpected death three years later of a pulmonary embolism.

Following his death, Kristine published the book, adding her own responses to these questions. Titled, “An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love,” Kristine asks the audience to discover their own answers. Like John Izzo’s book, “The Five Secrets You Must Discover Before You Die,” this book suggests that we truly live right now and leave no regrets.

In a recent blog, Kristine Carlson shared a simple and yet very profound idea: Presence is a powerful thing. Living a fully-present life, based in gratitude is one of the basic tenets of positive psychology. To somehow decide to be grateful when the worst of all things is happening to us. To still be present for others and to not live in fear. To continue to move forward. These are the efforts that Richard and Kristine Carlson wish us to undertake right this second.

“All pain in life comes from wishing things were different than they are. So conversely, peace and happiness must come from accepting life as it is and breaking through the barriers of illusion to do so… All things that we label good or bad often hold in them surprises if we stay open. Each of us has choice in how we interpret life’s events and in this way we are each responsible for our own reality.” – Kristine Carlson

Richard Carlson’s loving anniversary letter to his wife became a living example of gratitude to all of us. Positive psychology is much more than a science. It is the daily application of happiness to create the most successful life possible. Finding personal reasons to be grateful is a worthwhile, daily effort. For a valuable grounding exercise in gratitude, The Gratitude Letter, by well-known author Martin Seligman, please visit: http://publishing.yudu.com/Freedom/Ankww/GratitudeExercise/.

As Richard and Kristine ask so beautifully in their book, Why are you waiting?

To your success! Dr. Success, Andrea Goeglein, Ph.D.
http://www.servingsuccess.com/

Click here to purchase your copy of, “An Hour to Live, An Hour to Love.”