Phil Tucker - Page 3 of 21 - The Official Blog

No Room At The Inn

Can you imagine having to traveling over 90 miles – over rough desert and mountainous terrain, most likely in a caravan of strangers? Now imagine having to make this 10+ day journey while being 9 months pregnant with your “husband-to-be”… who was a carpenter, and most likely would have owned or has access to a donkey… which you may have gotten to ride.

In all likelihood, you would be staying with your betrothed’s relatives… which I am sure would not be the most comfortable situation – being that you are not married and very very pregnant. Once you arrive at your future in-laws home, you find out that all the rooms are spoken for… with it being census – there must be lots of other relatives staying there, so you have to stay in the family “barn” and will have to put your baby in a livestock feed trough, to sleep.

Oh, and don’t forget… you are a teenager – away from your home and family.

These are just a few items to consider when you think about the actual events that took place over 2000 years ago, in the far off land of Bethlehem.

5 Secrets To Make Your Own Luck

5 Secrets To Make Your Own Luck Today is Friday The 13th, which many people associate to being a very unlucky day… but what if you could create your own luck? Is it possible and if it is, what do you need to know to start making your own luck?

Be Assertive
In the past year or so, I have seen several studies which show a direct correlation to children who are “assertive” become more successful adults vs. children that are “passive”. In this article Teaching our children “empathetic assertiveness”, talks about the important of raising children that can both understand how others are feeling – but at the same time – sticking up for themselves. Empathic assertiveness means that we respect others and can see their perspective, but at the same time we’re firm in our boundaries and are confident in how we implement them.

What if you are not a child? As adults, I think we should be always learning… and being assertive, in a positive way, can help us to be in the possible to make our own luck.

Have Goals
Clinical psychologist and child-rearing expert, Fitzhugh Dodson said “Goals that are not written down are just wishes.” Which is not to say that there is something inherently wrong with wishing for something, but we need to distinguish our wishes/dreams from goals. The key here, is to write down your goals… and review them frequently. In the book The Law of Success In Sixteen Lessons by Napoleon Hill the concept of making them into daily affirmations seems to have tons of merit.

Work Smarter, Not Harder
My Grandma use to tell me this… all the time. Some take issue with this, because they believe you should work harder. I for one think there is a huge amount of wisdom in this idea of “Working Smarter”. In the grand scheme, I think you will be more productive is you find ways to increase your overall effectiveness in the achievement of your goals.

Be positive
Easier said then done… I know. If you look around you, its easy to see all that is wrong with the world. The older I get – the more I believe happiness and joy are choices. I want to choose to be positive. One of the first things you will need to do, if you are choosing to be positive, is to limit the amount of time your interact with negative people in your life. This action step – is one of the most difficult, for most. Next, you need to work on recognizing the positive that exists all around you. Gratitude is key!

Persist
Don’t give up. Keep moving forward. The #1 trait of those how find success is: they are persistent and they believe in what they’re doing, through and through. Ultimately, the key to seizing luck is to finish what you start or to work it into a new way to try again.

I have a confession, these are not really “secrets”… and I believe if you take these action items and incorporate them into your daily life, you will begin to see that you are actually making your own luck!

What tips or secrets do you use to make luck? Please share them in the comment section below.

5 Reasons You Should Not Have A Will

There are many reasons why you shouldn’t have a will, but here is a list of the top reasons why I think you don’t need to bother having one…

#1 – You Don’t Want To Be Able To Decide How Your Estate Will Be Distributed
If you don’t have anything to leave behind, then you might think that you don’t need to leave any instructions on how you want what little you have to be distributed… which I have heard many people say. The truth is, even if you don’t have a war chest of cash – you could probably imagine your loved ones fight over your junk. If this is the case, what few wordy possessions you do have – should go where you would like them to, right?

#2 – You Don’t Care Who Will Take Care Of Your Children
Parents, this one if for you. Have you even thought about it? If you and your spouse, should have to go at the same time… where do the kiddos go? Do you want your crazy sister to be the one to raise your children? I don’t think so. Even worst, in my opinion, would be for your family to fight over who gets the kids – actually, worst yet… is for the state to decide.

#3 – You Don’t Want Your Loved Ones To Avoid Legal Challenges
You’ll be dead, so who cares about the time, expense and conflict created to legally sort out your estate. You might even be thinking that your loved ones don’t really care about what happens to your “stuff”… and they might not, but at if they do… it sure would be nice for you to leave some instructions.

#4 – You Don’t Want To Make A Difficult Time Less Difficult
When your loved ones are mourning your death… really is not the ideal time to have to make huge decisions – including what do with your remains. What kind of coffin do you want – do you even want a coffin? Where do you want your finial resting place to be? What time of send off do you want… I was talking to someone the other day, and they mentioned wanting it to be a celebration. Newsflash – put it in writing, otherwise your loved one will just be doing the best they know how.

#5 – You Don’t Plan On Dying
This is one the main reasons, I think… most people don’t want to even think about dying and live as if they aren’t going to. Plus, this is really the only reason that make sense. Why else would you not have a will? I hate to be the one to tell you this, but you are going to die. Once you recover from this shocking news… think about how much easier it will be for your loved ones, if you have all your wished expressed in a legal document… outlining the details of what is to happen to you and all your “stuff”.

All in all, I think this is one of the more loving gestures that someone can make. The pain and anguish that you will be helping your loved ones avoid could be just another way you say how much you loved them… that you didn’t want your passing to cause any more unnecessary pain or discomfort.

Oh, one more thing… don’t just write it down – make sure it is legal and tell your loved ones what it says. Don’t make it a surprise.

If you think it is too expensive, check out US Legal Forms… they have a $39 package.

Do you have anything to add to the list? Can you think of any other Reasons You Should Not Have A Will? Share them in the comment section below. If you know someone that needs to read this… feel free to share it.