Do Wishes Come True?

I wished upon a shooting when I was about 8 or 9 years old that I would be an all star baseball player for the Detroit Tigers.  That wish did not come true.  Wishes can in deed come true sometimes by luck.  (I’ve been wishing I won a lottery jackpot for years)  But they are not likely to come true because a wish is just a wish or a fantasy.  You make them and hope it happens.

What does come true is deep desires.  Deep desires come true if you become obsessed with acquiring the desire, make a plan and take action.  If you really have faith you can succeed in obtaining anything you truly desire.  You cannot likely obtain that  desire by just wishing or hoping.

So give it some thought what do you really desire?  Then you have to be willing to pay the price for its acquisition be that time money or whatever it takes?  If so then start making a plan and begin to take action immediately.  Remember your plan may have to be modified many times over until you get things right but as long as you keep taking action towards obtaining your desire you will eventually succeed.

Most people I talk to who tell me they would like to have their own business always have a but…  They say I have to earn a living because I have kids, or I don’t have the money or time or skill or whatever.  I tell them they don’t really want to have a business they just have a wish that they had a business.

If someone truly wants a business they must  be willing to pay the price to have whatever business they desire.  When they just make an excuse they really don’t want it unless someone gives it to them and then, if someone did give them a business, they would lose it because they didn’t value it enough to work for it, and that business would fail because they would not work hard enough to keep it profitable.

Ok so lets start with a desire.  Lets say you want to have ten million dollars in the bank.  You then think of a solution to a common problem that you can sell and scale.  Otherwise you have to take a product or service already on the market and make it better or unique in some way.  Whatever it is you decide to do there must be a demand for it so you can sell it.  Once you decide you must make a plan on how you can make it happen and take immediate ACTION on it.

Did you notice that Action is the key to this.  You must take time to think (an action) of what you really desire.  You then have to imagine a way to get (again another action) then you have to make a plan on how to do it (yet another action)  Then you have to execute the plan (definite action)  You probably will have to modify your plan too (more action)  and be persistent until you acquire what you desire (continue with action).

The key to starting a business is to continually take action towards it no matter what the obstacles might be.  You have to continue to find ways to plow through the obstacles or jump over them.  It requires tenacity but if you truly have a desire and not a mere wish you will take action and succeed.

Thanks for reading, feel free to leave comments, and please follow me.

Claude Timothy

 

Exorcism, when of the Devil Inside of You Stops You from Taking Action

You know when you really want to make something happen and you have the idea in your head then suddenly there is an excuse not to follow through.  I don’t know how to… what if… we all have made excuses before for doing things that may be out of your comfort zone.  Maybe it seems an unsurmountable challenge.  That is the Devil inside of you.  It is that little voice that disrupts your plans and causes you to fail even before you start sometimes.  It is that voice that says this is a great idea but I don’t BLANK.  You fill in the space for whatever your excuse is.  Maybe I don’t know how to build a website.  Maybe I don’t have time with the kids and everything.  Maybe you just don’t know where to begin and you feel overwhelmed.

Sometimes that Devil tells you you’re not worth it or, perhaps too stupid perhaps it just tells you forget it you’re just plain useless.   All of us have doubts at times the real challenge is to shut that Devil down and rid him from your head.  You can do it!

So what do you do to get rid of him?  Lets say you have a business idea and you’re not quite sure how to get it off the ground this is what you should do.

1.  Make a list of tasks that must be completed before you are up and running.
2. Review the list for anything that you do not know how to do.
3.  Search online to see if there is a tutorial or course that you can learn from or ask a friend or family member for help learning.
4. Start doing the tasks from the top of the list and skip the tasks moving on to the next one if you are learning to complete the task.
5. Is there an alternative to that step?  If so do it.
6. Keep going forward to the next task until you are ready to launch.

If you do this you normally will find a way but you need to start and make forward progress towards your goal everyday.  What if time is a problem?  Here is what to do.

1. Draw a grid with 24 boxes in it and number them 1-24.  (this will look like a wall calendar with 24 days)
2.  Write what you do in each hour.
3. Now where there is luxury time erase at least one hour and schedule your project.  If there isn’t any luxury time then schedule project time to coincide with your meals and work while you eat.
4. Your work days off you will be able to get several hours in on those days to work towards your goals.
5. Making a schedule for every hour of every day will show you where you can make time.

What if you don’t have any money and no money Angel to help you with some funds what then?  You need to ask yourself…

1.  Is there a way I can use the assets I already have?
2. Can I start another side gig that will raise some money so I can fund it in the future?
3. Can I rent what I need so I don’t need a large amount of cash?

Okay you get the idea look for an alternative don’t just say it is impossible because if you believe that it is impossible then it most certainly is.

There are always obstacles in life for everybody and the best way I know how to get through an obstacle is to make sure you ask yourself the right questions.  What to I need? Where can I get that?  Okay I can’t afford it so what now?  Who do I know?  Where are they?  When can I talk to them?  Why can’t I try this?

Ask yourself questions and brainstorm ideas to overcome the problem.  You will be surprised that with a different strategy from the original plan you can always find a way to achieve something.  Always write down every idea when you brainstorm no matter how silly it might seem because when you review it later it just might spark something that you can use.

Always remind yourself that there is a way so let me brainstorm and write every answer down to help find a way to achieve.  If the thought of defeat or negativity comes to mind immediately tell yourself there is always another way to get this done. Then begin to brainstorm.  This will keep the positive thought on your mind and your brain will be too busy looking for a solution that the Devil shall be removed from within.

I hope you liked this and please follow me and feel free to leave comments.

Thanks for reading

Claude Timothy

Money Problems? They can be solved!

Many of us today struggle with money problems and they go far beyond just dealing with inflation or small adjustments to your budget.  It never seems that you can earn enough money to take care of your finances.  Solving money problems can become very difficult and complex.  It is not difficult to overspend and get caught up in impulsive spending habits.

The finance and banking industries have brainwashed us into thinking that all the things money can buy are symbols of success, power and, status.  The story-line says  if you’re successful you have a better car, house or whatever. This type of mentality has grown to epidemic levels.  There is a difference in what we actually need and what we want. Because, for many, their self image is now often defined by peers as to what possessions we have so the lines between what is necessity and what is luxury has become hazy.  The ability to manage a budget has become more difficult because we do not distinguish between what is a want and what is a need.      The problem, when analyzed without the emotions, is that our self image, attitude and, keeping up with the Jones’s type mentality has caused many to overspend.  Again not sitting down in the analytical non-emotional mode when making a purchase but, instead thinking about the way we feel about what we have and how we identify ourselves with our lifestyle.

The problem is not a fantasy but it is real.  The emotion has been pounded into us through advertising and other cultural influences.  Therefore, the question is how to isolate yourself from these social and cultural pressures.  I believe it can be done.  I myself have not been immune to such pressure from society.

The emotions that send us on overspending sprees are many such as boredom, loneliness, an argument with a spouse or significant other and I am sure we can all think of reasons to go out and spend because it just makes people feel better to have something new.

Lets talk about how we can change our spending behavior and come up with some suggestions.

Comparing apples to oranges:

When you have a family to feed you often go into the aisle and pass by the healthy choices because the junk food in the middle aisle are cheaper.  Then you find yourself deciding to buy Pizza when you get home because you don’t want to cook.  This happens all the time.  Or how about when you buy say a new pair of top of the line pants or a new dress for the same amount of money you could have bought a few pair of everyday jeans.  It doesn’t matter that you rarely wear the clothing you just wanted to have it, an impulse buy.

It is not wrong what you did but it is not logical when money is already a problem.  You are not comparing what you need to what you want.  When money is tight make a list of what you need and get that item not a luxury item that you would seldom use.

What this means is you have to sit down and decide where your priorities lay.  Make a list every pay period you have and stick only to that list.  Make the best choices according to your needs.  Before you buy anything not on your list give yourself a 24 hour period and go back and get it if you have to but never buy on the spot if it is not on your list.  If an item is on sale for a “short time” do not think about what you save but instead think about what you are spending and how that will effect your budget.

     Overspending from your shopping list

      Again this happens when we confuse wants and needs.  Just because your shopping list says buy new underwear you do not have to go out and spend $25 a pair when you can get 3 pair for $10 that will work just as well.  Be conscious of what you buy and do not buy the most expensive if there is a substitute that will work just as well.  Clip coupons or check the app on your phone that will tell you about prices.  It will all add up in the end.

Remember to buy for your needs not what you want

Try this exercise.  Inventory your home looking for things you bought and never or rarely used.  The things that made no real difference to your life.  Place them all out on the floor and take pictures with your cell phone and save them.  Then whenever you have the impulse to spend on something look at the picture from your cell phone and ask yourself, do I really need this?  When you ask yourself this question the answer will become apparent.  Always act as if you’re buying this item for an elderly person and it will be the difference between that person paying their electric bill or having that item.

I am not the best person to talk about overspending as I am guilty of this myself.  It is something that I have decided to begin to work on to better my life.  Please join as a member and feel free to make any suggestions or comments that will help.

Thank you for reading and feel free to leave any comments

Claude Timothy

Tolerance, for business

What is tolerance?  The dictionary defines it as “the ability or willingness to tolerate something, in particularly the existence of opinions or behavior that one does not necessarily agree with ”  This is according to the Google dictionary.  But the real question is why should anybody tolerate an opinion or behavior they don’t agree with.

First of all your employees views and character do matter in business as in the culture of your business.  It matters that you have a cohesive environment where team work is fostered.  However, that has more to do with personality and work ethic not the sexual orientation, race, sex, religion or age of an individual.  But it does have to do with their attitude and how the public may perceive a person in the company.  For instance if somebody is a cross-dresser that person would not be put in public view for customers to see the same would hold true for someone whose face and hands are plastered with tattoos.  If you did put this type of person as a company representative for your customers to see, some would think it was great but, many would feel very uncomfortable or think it was a joke and that the business wasn’t taking things seriously.  If someone is gay, who cares, if they are competent and gel well with the team, as long as they are not openly having to come out to every customer they meet and they keep their private life private.  Same goes with political views, I don’t want employees or agents spouting them out to customers either.

So yes I would have people with different views and backgrounds as long as they were competent and fit in with the company culture.  However tolerance would only go so far as to be sure it did not become disruptive.  So if I suddenly hired a black person to my staff and then found out that another very competent employee was in fact a white supremacist who, decides to try in someway, to sabotage the black person’s performance, the white supremacist would be fired because he would be the reason for the friction.

Therefore, what I would care about is not if a person was in line with my personal views but if they were able to do the job they were hired to do and if they could fit in to keep the environment happy and efficient.  In other words people would have to get along with other staff without pushing their views and agenda’s on others in the workplace. They would also have to be presentable to the public if they are likely to be in customers view.  That is all I would care about.

Now as far as tolerance towards customers I would be far more flexible.  I would not allow my staff to agree with or debate with a customer regarding any controversial subject or the appearance a customer, no matter how strange, even when the customer brought up a subject.  Instead I would instruct them to  either ignore it or change the conversation back to whatever issue was at hand.  However if a customer becomes abusive or insulting to a member of staff the immediate person in charge would intervene and if the customer continued in insults and inappropriate behavior they would be asked to leave and not come back.  In the future I would not do business with that customer.  Yes if my staff are being harassed and personally attacked either verbally or physically by a customer the customer would be fired.  That being said just because a customer became irate and shouted would not mean this would happen.  I would endeavor to correct the problem and have the customer leave satisfied that whatever mistake was made we fixed it.  Once they cross the line and become personal to an employee, have no doubt they would be fired.

This tolerance would not be for any reason other than to keep the business running efficiently with a good atmosphere which is essential to having a profitable business.

That is my thought today I would like to hear what you think about this.

Thank you for reading and please follow me

Claude Timothy

No Money to Start a Business!

I hear people say all the time, I want to start a business but I don’t have the money.  On its surface, because we have been conditioned to believe, that it takes money to make money but does it?  I can answer that question without a doubt in one word…NO!  There are plenty of businesses you could start with the assets that you already have in your house.  Maybe it is not your dream business but you can use what you have to make money and save for your ultimate goal.  With a lawnmower you can make money on a lawn service route that can be very lucrative.  You could find a local pizza place and have them put an advertising sheet on them and earn very good money selling the advertisement.  (Google Make money on pizza without touching a pizza).  There are so many ideas too many to list here.  The point is if you really want to start a business there is always a way to do it but you must take some type of action.  Of course you will make changes and at times improvise what you do but you must begin to take some action towards your goal.

If you do not take some action just because you don’t have money you will likely never become a business owner.  You will always find an excuse or a reason that it isn’t the right time.   Okay so you might need some funds to start the ideal business that you dreamed about but, you can start a business that will generate some money to put towards your ultimate dream.

But I don’t have any skills you say?  Then learn some that you can use.  Google or search YouTube there is so much free information out there if you can’t learn the skills you need you are not the entrepreneurial type so go find a job.  But I don’t have internet access what am I supposed to do?  Another excuse every public library in the United States now has computers you can use with internet access.  So go out and take some action you can even make money on the internet without having to interact with other people face to face.

So resolve to think outside of the proverbial box and begin to take some action today to move towards your goals.

Let me know what you think and be sure to follow me

Thanks

Claude Timothy

The Truth

Sorry it has been a while since I have written anything but my health has not been so good.  Today’s topic is What is truth?

This might seem a simple question but it is more complicated than you might think.  I guess at it’s simplest definition it is the reality of what took place.  However then it becomes a matter of perspective.  For instance if we look to the east in the morning we see the sun come up and looking to the west in the evening we see the sun go down.  That is the perspective and the truth to most however the sun neither rises or sets rather the earth is revolving and rotating creating an illusion.

One person’s invader is to the other their entitlement.  This is illustrated when the Europeans came to America with their manifest destiny.  The Native Tribes saw it as an invasion and the Europeans saw it as an entitlement, The Native Tribes saw the land as a relative and the Europeans as a commodity Neither side was necessarily wrong they just had different truths.

The only real truth is death.  It is undeniable to all of us no matter how good or bad a person no matter how famous or wealthy or impoverished no matter how smart or stupid we will all experience death.    Rarely is death spoken of except in the most negative way or with reverence or anger.  The truth is we have no reason to be frightened of death.  It comes to us all.  It comes in many ways from accidents from evil from stupidly or any other reason you could ever conceive.  We bury our dead or put them in crypts with memorials in a vain attempt to keep the illusions that they still exist in this world after death.

We naturally are apprehensive about anything unknown to us and death is the ultimately unknown to any of us.  No matter how we try to avoid it death comes to us all sooner or later.  Even if you have unwavering faith about the afterlife the truth is you don’t know what happens for sure.  It is the ultimate unknown to all of us.

The truth about death is elementary it will happen and nothing is more inevitable, no matter how much we deny it or fight it death will come to us all regardless of anything we do.  It comes to all living things.  There is no way to fight it.  We can fight to live but we cannot fight death it is coming from the moment life begins.

Death is reassuring because it is part of living and there is no other journey in life that can be certain of its end, except it will end with death of our physical body.

The most important truth is that death is the ultimately equalizer it connects all living things no form of life no matter how powerful or smart or meek for that matter will end any differently all will complete their earthly body in death.

There was a women who I new and she suddenly was diagnosed with cancer that had spread throughout her body.  She was in hospice and asked he four children to come visit her.  Before the children came the staff showered her and groomed her hair and nails sitting her in a chair.  She was in a lot of pain but when her kids came she smiled and talked and laughed with them.  When it was time for them to go she gave each one a weakened hug and kiss.  Three hours after they left she walked to the spirits.

After her funeral her children were talking about the last time they were with their mother and one said why she was in so much pain I wonder why she couldn’t be truthful with us about that.  The oldest sister said that she was because the pain wasn’t the truth to be remembered the truth to be remembered was her strength and love.

Perspective is what truth is except Death that is the ultimate and undeniable truth.

Now that I depressed you go watch the Super Bowl and enjoy the rest of the day.

Thanks for reading

Claude Timothy

When I Grow Up !

What do you want to be when you grow up?  This is a question we all asked our children and a question that we were asked.  I invite you to remember how you answered this question when your parents asked you this.  We are told as young children we can do what ever we want to do but few of us ever do.

We get caught up in life, paying bills bringing up kids and other distractions.  It is a dam shame.  I hear many people saying I want to start a business but the problem is that most people’s idea of this is really to buy a job owning some shop or office.  Yes you might be the boss but with that comes bills, payrolls and more hours than you would work if you were employed.  We are told to get a great education but that leads to student loans for most of us that take 20-30 years to pay off.  The vast majority of us simply get stuck in the rat race.

So what should we do?  I hear many people say do what you love but this is fine if what you love also has a demand in the markets but the reality is if it is something you love to do many others also love to do it and the market is saturated.  There is no good living to make in what you love to do or else you would be already doing it.

The reality is most of us sacrifice the majority of our time for a day or two to do what we want to do.  The weekend yes!!! you tell yourself.  No work until Monday.yes!!!!   The truth is time is the real commodity that is most precious in life not money.

The problem is we need money to live.  So what is the answer?  I guess it is to think of a need of many people and fill that need so you make a boat load of money and then you don’t have to work anymore.  Of course I cannot tell you what that is but there is a demand out there that will fulfill a need and can make you very wealthy.  The real thing about money is not the security that it buys us but instead the time it frees up for us to be able to do what we really love.

Since most of us will never be super rich what can we do to enjoy the free time we have?  I guess lifelong learning is the answer. Learn something different and see if you like it.  Hobbies will keep your mind sharp and give you an outlet from the reality of life.  It will also get you up from the couch wasting time watching some reality program.  Try to fulfill your life with passions who knows maybe you might stumble on something that will make you money and free up your time.

I am not saying that life sucks I am just stating that the real thing you can’t buy or steal or otherwise collect is time so don’t waste it sitting around watching mindless things on TV.  Read a book go to a museum try something different.  Involve your family and friends and have some fun.  This is the best way to escape from the rat race in your spare time.  Open your mind and try something different!!!

Many of you are probably thinking what spare time however make a journal of the amount of time you sit at home and watch the TV.  That is spare time where you could be following new interests.  Too tired?  You won’t be if you find something you become passionate about.

What do you want to be when you grow up?  I say it is never to late to dream and when you do dream large and enjoy your journey to finding new passions everyday.

Claude Timothy

Change your Habit Change your Life

We all live by our habits whether you realize it or not.  When you get up in the morning you have your routine for instance you go to the bathroom, brush your teeth put the coffee pot on and turn on the news.  You do it without even thinking the habit or routine is ingrained.  But what if you want to break the routine say you want to begin working out in the morning and stick with it it has to become a habit.

Habits are formed in three parts trigger, action, and reward are the elements.  Let me explain using the example of your morning routine.  The alarm clock goes off (the trigger) you go to the bathroom and relieve yourself (the action) you feel relief (the reward) then you notice your breath and mouth taste / smell bad which is the trigger so you brush your teeth which is the action and your mouth feels refreshed which is your reward.  You think of the things you need to do which triggers the action to put the coffee pot on and you have a cup of coffee and get the caffeine pick-me-up as your reward.  You then walk into your bedroom and see the TV this triggers you to take action and turn on the TV you get noise or information as your reward.  The cycle on most days for people is the same routine for the most part unless something unusual happens.  Even then your mind will search for the routine you use for whatever is happening.

The psychologist’s and scientist’s that study behavior state that if we want to change a habit we should keep the trigger and the reward put change the action.  Lets say you want to quit smoking you smoke throughout the day at various times and in various situations.  You first have to figure out the trigger.  You can discover the trigger by writing down what you do or feel just before you light up a cigarette.  Is it boredom, anxiety or whatever it is.  You will still get a craving for the reward which for most people at the root is psychological because the physical addiction to nicotine only lasts about 4-5 days.  Your reward might be it relaxes you.  You also need to track what relief you get from it which will be tied to your trigger somehow.  now that we know the trigger and the reward we have to replace the action of smoking with another habit and continue to reinforce it with the reward.  So after tracking for 2 weeks you discover you smoke when you’re feeling stressed out and smoking relieves the feeling of the stress.  So now we know the trigger (stress) the action (smoking) and the reward (relaxation).  So you have to replace the action because you will get the trigger and crave the reward.  You may figure out taking a deep breath or a short walk relieve stress so every time you begin to feel stress you take 3 deep breaths or have a short walk and you still get the relaxed feeling as a reward keep doing this and the action you replace smoking with will become your habit.

This can be applied to anything say you want to start working out every morning  Well when you think of the thing you need to do for the day instead of turning on the coffee pot workout and you would still get a pick-me-up as the reward from the endorphin’s that your body will produce.

Most of us want to change something in our routine or something we do such as smoking or working out or stop overeating well the psychologist’s say that the formula I just gave you is the way.  There is a very good book called The Power of Habit and Why we do What we do in Life and in Business by Charles Duhigg which goes into this theory in more detail with great stories as examples so if you want to change something and struggle with the change get the book either buy it or borrow it from you library.

Let me know what you did to change something in your life and please like the blog on facebook and become a member.

Take care

Claude Timothy

Giving Friends a Handup!

It is Christmas time and I believe this is a time of year that we should all be thinking of others and what we can do for them to make life easier.  It would be great if this spirit could last all year long, what a better world it would be to live in.

I heard a story that I cannot verify as to its truthfulness but that doesn’t matter so much as the message of the story.  The story goes something like this.  A man (I’ll call John) had a brain aneurysm and needed to have surgery that rendered him disabled and no longer able to work.  John had three children and a wife. His wife had to take an extended unpaid leave from her job to care for John.  John applied for Social Security and of course they turned him down and he had to wait for a hearing to have their case reviewed by an Administrative Law Judge.  The wait was estimated at 18 months.  The family was sinking fast in a financial sense and did not know where to turn.

The wife posted the Family dilemma on John’s face book page to let his friends know why he was not talking to them.  There was a lady (I’ll Call her Linda) that went to college with John.  Linda had not seen John for more than 15 years but they kept in touch through face book.  Linda  always liked John and she had fond memories of good times with him and other friends during her college days.  Linda wanted to help out John and his family.

Linda was looking over a river while eating her lunch during her lunch hour and she began to think to herself that John would appreciate the scenery she was enjoying so she took a picture of it from her cell phone. Later that night she began to ponder on how she could help John and his family but she did not have much money to help out directly.  Then she went on her face book page and thought about all the mutual friends that they had on face book.  Suddenly an Idea came to her.  She asked all of their mutual friends to think about John and take a picture of whatever they saw at the time they were thinking of him and email it to her with a caption.

Linda received a few hundred pictures and then decided to go to a website where you could download pictures and captions and have a picture book produced.  She ordered 50 copies at first and put them up for sale on the face book asking for the price of the book plus $5.00.  To her amazement the first 50 books sold out in under an hour so she ordered another 100 copies and they too sold out.  People that didn’t even know John started to buy the book and she sold over 1500 copies.  She was able to send John and his family just under $8,000!

Again this is an example of friends helping a friend that is in dire straits with a little ingenuity.  As I ponder on this story it reminds me that because of the wonderful technology available with social media we have once again become a community.  When I was a kid we all went out and played together and if a neighbor had a problem often the neighbors would help out as best as they could.  Today with social media we can all keep in touch and help each other out when it is needed.

I guess the point is none of us are isolated from friends if we don’t want to be.  It doesn’t matter the distance or the time.  The other point is that when the chips are down for a friend we should do what is feasible to assist them.  I love this story and I don’t know if it is true or not but as I said I want to believe it is true.  This type of story makes me believe that Humans do care and will help those that they have relationships with.

I thank social media for keeping me in touch with people I thought I would never hear from again.  We live in a wonderful time where we can help each other out.  Please have a great Christmas and remember to reach out at any time of the year for those you care about and especially those like John in the story who have fallen on bad times, through no fault of their own, and need a hand up.

Thanks for reading

Claude Timothy

My quit smoking plan

Well here is my plan to quit smoking.  It is designed to motivate me to stop.  It works and the principals can be applied to change any behavior you wish to change.  I will fully explain this is a future post but for now I wanted you to know my plan.

My Quit Smoking plan

This is what will be if I don’t quit smoking!

                        If I continue to smoke I will have trouble breathing and I will cough until I pass out. Phlegm will clog my throat and eventually I will either have a severe heart attack or contract cancer. Either one would be debilitating and will result in a slow and painful death. I will not be healthy enough to pursue any dreams because of the lack of energy and the lack of oxygen from the phlegm that is clogging my throat. I will wheeze and cough to the point that I will be isolated from everyone except healthcare professional. I will be very lonely.

 

Game that will motivate me

                        Smoking costs me $11.00 daily, $77.00 weekly, $ 335.00 monthly, $4015.00 annually. I will put $11.00 per day into the jar. I will have the money banked for each week I am successful. Any week that I smoke the money that week will go to the MADD. I will have Rose monitor this for me and pay out the money if I don’t succeed.   This will apply for one year.

 

Motivation statement

                        Remember choking on your own phlegm when you have dairy products or soda. Remember coughing until you passed out. Remember the acid re-flux you suffered. You will get sick from smoking and you will die gurgling on your own body fluids. This will be painful and it will hurt your loved ones who see this. It will be an indignant way to die.

Stop smoking although you can’t

 

            Crucial moments need to be recognized.  These are moments when you are likely to go off the plan.

                        The crucial moments are:

When alone at the office

After a meal

While driving

When going into a store that sells cigarettes

Vital Behaviors

                                    Do not buy cigarettes before going into a store that sells cigarettes read Motivation statement.

After a meal read motivation statement, sit in a different seat when I have breakfast outside.

No smoking in the car.

Completely clean the inside of the car on first weekend.

No smoking in the office.

Get rid of ashtrays in the office.

Monitor and look at the no smoking app on smart phone.

Tell everyone you quit.

If I smoke pay up to MADD and start again that week

The most tempting time is when I am alone when alone and I feel the urge I will read motivation statement and look at no smoking app and the jar when available.

Do work or practice magic to distract myself.

            Turn accomplices into friends this gives you support for weak moments.

Accomplices are people who don’t know me that smoke with me and people that smoke.

The people that influence my life are, my wife, the kids and friends.

I will talk to those I regularly associate with and ask them not to smoke around me. They should not let me go outside with them when they smoke and never give me a cigarette. If they do not comply I will have to stop seeing them for at least 6 months until I have controlled the addiction.

I will ask for encouragement and monitoring from those I see regularly.

I will ask the people I don’t see as often to at least ask if I still quit and cheer me on or say nothing and do not encourage if I have a week moment.

I will cut out of my life anyone, except for particular times that business must be conducted, that will not comply.

True picture of the world even though it may seem most smoke it is because I tend to associate with the smokers when I socialize.

It is the minority of people that smoke regardless of how it may seem to me given the many who I associate with. It is not normal for an animal of any kind especially humans to smoke.

            I want to able to breath and not choke on my own phlegm. I want to be able to feel free to be in any social situation without people thinking I stink and without having to excuse myself to go smoke.

Invert the economy reward myself as an insentive.

            I will be able to spend a week’s money saved after the second week of not smoking that way there is always money in the jar if I slip. After the first week I can buy a, believe and dream, disk to carry with me at all times as a reminder. This game will continue for one year. I will open a separate savings account for the not smoking fund that each week’s money will go into on Friday. If I mess up the money will be taken from the jar. The money goes into the jar at each days beginning which means midnight.

The first week I can have a daily reward by looking on the computer for fun purposes for one hour if I choose to. If I smoke I do not get fun time on the computer that day.

Control your environment around you to minimize the temptation

            I will not buy cigarettes and read the motivation statement before going into any place that sells cigarettes and whenever I am tempted.

I will get rid of all ashtrays in the office. That does not mean put them away I will throw them away.

I will not allow smoking in my office.

I will sit in a different seat when I sit in the backyard.

I will always carry the motivation statement with my tab.

I will track on habit factor app

I will look at quit smoking app

I will open account for not smoking

I will save in jar for not smoking.

I will not allow smoking in my car.

I will clean my car out

I will read this entire plan every day after exercise or as soon thereafter as plausible.

 If something is not working adapt and improvise

Adjust plan as needed