Tip 1 to a More Joyful Life

It's another glorious day here in my paradise - Mt Maunganui, New Zealand. It's hard not to be joyful on a beautiful day like today. Helping people find more joy in their life is my passion - and unfortunately - even though the day is magnificent - there are a lot of people out there that are far from joyful. Over the next few blogs I thought I might share some of my personal tips on how to live a more joyful life.... The first is "know yourself and what makes you joyful". I know many of you are saying "how basic is that" - but believe it or not - most people don't really know themselves. Do you know your own strengths? Do you know your top values? Do you really know what things make your heart/soul sing? To help you answer these questions it often helps to look at the opposite - what do you hate? By knowing who you are and what things bring you joy it's easy to put these things into your life on a daily basis - thus increasing your joy every day!

What's Life All About?

This weekend we interred my dad's ashes into the beautiful Schnapper Rock Road cemetery in Albany Auckland. For dad it was his final earthly journey - the end of his road. One of my brother's commented that who would have guessed that when he was born in Indonesia in 1921 (then a Dutch colony) that he would finally be laid to rest in New Zealand. Putting a small box of ashes into the soil makes you appreciate how insignificant our lives on earth are. It's true we start with nothing and leave with nothing. The value of our lives is what we do with our time here or "our dash" - the dash being the little symbol that always appears between the birth and death date of a person. My Dad's "dash" was all about FAITH and FAMILY. He wouldn't have been judged a "success" in business or financial terms but as a caring human being he would have won the top award. One shirt on his back was all he needed - the rest he would give away to anyone and everyone who needed it more! My dad taught me about the power of faith (believing and trusting in a power greater than myself), and family (knowing I belong to a family unit where I am loved and can love in return). His legacy is a beautiful wife, still going strong at 85, 8 children, 7 sons and daughters in law, 20 grandchildren and 3 great-grandchildren.
This weekend it was a good time for me to reflect on what I want my "dash" to mean to the loved ones I leave behind. Maybe it's a good time for you to have a think too! Are you happy with your "dash" to date? Rest in Peace Dad. Thank You - I've been truly blessed to have you as my dad! Koen Kavermann 17/03/1921 - 17/10/2009.

Life is a Journey

Well, I've taken the plunge and become a blogger! I hear it can be lonely to start with, so there maybe no one that will read this first one, but hey, everyone has to start somewhere! Why am I blogging - well I want to link up with like-minded positive people who are following their dreams and passions and living joyful lives! I believe that's the clue for a joyful life - knowing that life is a JOURNEY - not a destination. So many people believe they're going to be happy when.... they change jobs, get a pay increase, find the perfect partner, win a sports event, etc. etc. etc.... but from what I've seen - that's just not reality! Joy comes from within and the joyful people I've met are the people who have gratitude for where they are today and excitement about what the future holds for them. Do you have a dream? I do - and becoming a blogger is just one small step towards it's fulfillment!