Life is short: Here’s what’s important to you today

Life is short:

You’ll often hear people talk about the importance of money in terms of living life in the modern age.

Let’s be honest, it’s difficult to live without money today, is it not? Certainly, it’s up there with oxygen and water for sustaining life.

Nevertheless, we must also remember that life is short. And sadly for some people, it’s very short indeed.

So, while money’s important, it’s not an ideal means for measuring success, is it? Not real success in life anyway.

Misplaced priorities:

In the modern age, it’s easy to become obsessed with money.

However, the accumulation of money for its own sake should never be the underlying motive that drives us, surely? That can only lead to a life of misplaced priorities, I think.

If your approach to life includes an obsession with money, then you’ll be doomed to disappointment, and I think you’ll realise that eventually.

One day you’ll look back and wish you’d spent a bit more time with family, friends, and loved ones, of that I’m quite sure.

So what would be an ideal measure of success?

A measure of success:

For me, a better measure of success is whether we’re feeling fulfilled by what we’re doing.

If our work is something we’d do as a hobby if we couldn’t get paid for it then that’s a better way of gauging success. As the legendary investor, Warren Buffett once said, “Look for a job that you’d take if you didn’t need a job.”

A sense of purpose and work that is fulfilling and truly absorbing is a much less stressful way of living.

Enjoy what you do:

Enjoy what you do and do what you enjoy, if you possibly can.

If you enjoy what you do, you’ll do it well, and the money will follow anyway. If you do your work exceptionally well, then people will notice. And once you get noticed, you’re on your way to genuine success.

Never be driven by money alone.

Never accept a job simply because it’s well paid.

It’s nice to have a good salary, of course.

However, once you get used to the money, you still have to spend a third of your life doing the work for which you’re being paid well.

And doing work you don’t enjoy is a significant price to pay in terms of your emotions, stress levels, and the potential impact it will have on your health.

Time is precious:

If life’s short, then our time is very precious, surely?

What’s the point of working every hour you’ve got just to become rich, only to die suddenly of a heart attack having had no time to enjoy the fruits of your labour?

What a waste that would be. Being the richest man or woman in the graveyard is hardly a title worth having, is it?

So my underlying message to you today, dear reader, is to find work you enjoy doing and to make sure you leave a little time to enjoy life too. A little ‘me time‘ is essential for everyone.

No one’s life is perfect:

Don’t forget that everyone faces challenges, occasionally. No one’s life is perfect. We all have problems.

Inevitably, your life will have its ups and downs. However, make sure there are more ups than downs in your life, as far as you are able.

Take some time to smell the roses and have a laugh.

As the old Music Hall song used to say; “enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think.”

You wouldn’t want to live forever, but you should be living your life to the fullest today.

Life really is short and it’s definitely later than you think. And as we say where I come from, “you’ll be a long time dead.”

So go on, live life and live it now. And if you’ve yet to find work you enjoy doing, keep looking.

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Why enjoying yourself can never be a waste of time

Regular readers of this blog will know that I am a great believer in making the most of your time.

In particular, a constant message from me is that you should not waste your time. However, as with everything, it is important to strike a balance, of course.

As the late John Lennon reminds us in his observation above, truly enjoying yourself can never be a waste of time.

Enjoying yourself and having fun have positive benefits for your physical and mental health.

For a start, it reduces stress.

Also, what would be the point of life if you couldn’t have a little fun occasionally? All work and no play will make you a very dull person indeed.

Remember the words in that old Music Hall song, “Enjoy yourself, it’s later than you think. Enjoy yourself while you’re still in the pink.”

For any reader not familiar with the expression ‘in the pink‘, it’s British slang for being in a good state of health.

You can’t be serious all the time, dear reader.

Sometimes you’ve just got to have some fun.

So go on, and start having some fun right now. You know you want to.

Enjoying-Yourself
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40 funny puns and other corny jokes

If you’re looking for some funny puns or corny jokes then I have 40 little gems for you today, dear reader.

They may not all tickle you but I’m confident there’s enough here to put a smile on the face of even the toughest critic.

So, take a few moments, perhaps grab a coffee, and enjoy them all.

And please feel free to share them with your friends.

Funny Puns (1-10):

  1. Yesterday, I got pulled over by a lady cop who asked me to get out of my car. She said, “You’re staggering!” I said, “You’re quite cute too!
  2. A man was admitted to the hospital today with 10 plastic toy horses inserted in his rectum. Doctors have described his condition as stable.
  3. My wife said she’d really like to go to one of those restaurants where they prepare the food right in front of you. So, I took her to Subway, but she didn’t seem to appreciate the experience.
  4. If a can opener doesn’t work properly, is it a can’t opener?
  5. I’ve been writing a pun about the wind, but right now it’s just a draft.
  6. Santa has disowned one of his elves for refusing to accept the elf rules. Does that mean the elf is a rebel without a Claus?
  7. An eight-year-old girl went to the office with her father on ‘Take Your Kid to Work Day‘. As they were walking around the office, the young girl started crying. Her father asked what was wrong. As the staff gathered around, she sobbed loudly: “Daddy, where are all the clowns that you said you worked with?
  8. Teacher: Now, children, I want you to come up with a problem where the sum equals four. Little Johnny: I guess we’ll just have to put two and two together.
  9. My aunt is a church official who organizes parishioners’ personal information. Her job title is Nun of Your Business.
  10. My hobby is breeding racing deer, but people just accuse me of trying to make a fast buck.

Funny Puns (11-20):

  1. I said to the Librarian, “Do you have Great Expectations?” She said: “I did but, as you can see, I ended up working in a library“.
  2. The developer of Sherwin-Williams paints nearly froze on an Arctic expedition. He could have used another coat.
  3. What do you call a pig that does martial arts? A karate chop.
  4. My paper airplane won’t fly. It’s just stationery
  5. The batting coach wasn’t helping me perfect my swing, so I quit the team and struck out on my own.
  6. To save on electricity, I decided to wire the electric blanket and the toaster together. Now I keep popping out of bed.
  7. Customer:This fish is very dry.” Waiter:Yes sir, naturally, we had to take it out of the water.”
  8. Santa Claus entered the chimney, but the fire was still burning brightly in the hearth. When he came out, he was Krisp Kringle.
  9. I bought a sweater, but I had to return it because it kept picking up static electricity. However, they gave me another one, free of charge.
  10. We are going to see an Elvis impersonator. I called to get tickets and had to press one for the money and two for the show.

Funny Puns (21-30):

  1. I told the chimney sweep that I’d like to do the job on my own. He said: “Soot yourself.”
  2. You can’t have a nose that is 12 inches long, otherwise, it would be a foot.
  3. I have a hunch someday I will need back surgery.
  4. Five ants rented an apartment with another five ants. So, now they’re tenants.
  5. I broke down in my car on the way to a wedding in a remote town. I had to wait about ten minutes before another car appeared and I stopped it and asked for help. The guy said, “Look buddy, I’m a chiropodist, not a mechanic.” To which I replied, “Perhaps you could give me a tow then.”
  6. I must tread carefully now, as you’re probably getting tyred of car jokes. We’ve had a clutch of them recently but now I’m exhausted and it’s time to take a brake.
  7. I saw a homeless man in the city dressed like King Henry the 8th. I thought this was a little odd because surely, beggars can’t be Tudors.
  8. I’ve been told that the man who invented the Ferris Wheel never met the man who invented the Carousel. Apparently, they moved in different circles.
  9. My wife is threatening to leave me because of my obsession with Poker but I think she’s bluffing. And anyway, when the chips are down, she’ll be back.
  10. I grew up in a large family and we always had Octopus for Christmas dinner. At least, everyone got a leg.

Funny Puns (31-40):

  1. I had a job in a factory drilling holes but it was boring. So, I moved to a new job joining steel plates together and it’s riveting.
  2. I got eczema, diarrhoea, gonorrhoea, and haemorrhoids last week. I was really pleased. It was the first time that I’d ever won a game of Scrabble.
  3. At school, the bullies used to hang me up with the coats, until I suggested another kid they should target. It was a bit mean, but it got me off the hook.
  4. My wife looked surprised when I brought home 5 packets of bread dough from the local store. Apparently, we don’t need it.
  5. Apparently, the gap between the rungs on a ladder has increased because people are getting taller. Officially, this is known as climb it change.
  6. The Police phoned and said they’d recovered my stolen sofa. I thought that was nice of them because it had been looking a bit shabby.
  7. I’m walking down Main Street and this guy asks me if could I spare some change. I told him all I had was bills. “Give me one of those!” he said. So, I gave him my electricity bill.
  8. Why does Santa never have to pay for parking? It’s on the house.
  9. The marriage counsellor said that my wife had complained that I never bought her flowers. In my defence, I explained that I didn’t even know that she sold flowers.
  10. My kids said they want a cat for Christmas. We usually have turkey but I’m always willing to try something different.

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So dear reader, was this post amusing and worth a few minutes of your time?

Did any of these funny puns or corny jokes make you smile, dear reader? I hope so. If they did, please share this post with your friends on social media.

When you share, everyone wins. It’s always a good idea to pass on the smiles.

Put a smile on someone else’s face and you’ve done your good deed for the day. So go on, please share this post now.

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Success and why you should never quit

Today I want you to consider success and why you should never quit, dear reader.

Achieving any form of success requires determination and a lot of hard work. Anything you want can be yours if you want it badly enough, but nothing’s for free.

The price you’ll pay is in blood, sweat and tears. Long days, late nights and a laser-sharp focus on your goals.

The road to success will also inevitably involve occasional setbacks. That’s the nature of the game we call success. And it is a game where the best players become the winners.

So you’ll need to be single-minded and you’ll need to push yourself very hard. It’s not easy and nor is it meant to be.

From time to time self-doubt will creep into your mind. You’ll start to imagine that maybe you’re not quite good enough. Siren voices in your head will start telling you that it’s all too difficult and that maybe it’s time to quit.

You may even start asking yourself, “Why am I putting myself through all the hard work when I could just spend my life cruising along and having fun?

The problem is, no pain, no gain. And if you quit, you’ll spend your life wondering what might have been.

So just keep your eye on the prize. Nothing worth having was ever easy to achieve. However, it can be done and people do.

You can do it too. All you need is a little self-belief and a genuine desire to make your mark on life.

Just ignore any setbacks; ignore any siren voices in your head, and refuse to give up until you get to where you want to be.

Remember this; quitters never win and winners never quit. Greatness lies within you. So go on, be a winner.

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29 interesting quotes by J.K. Rowling to inspire you

Quotes by JK Rowling

Welcome, dear reader. Today I thought it would be interesting to explore some quotes by J.K. Rowling.

Joanne Rowling, or J.K. Rowling as she’s better known, is a British author who famously wrote the Harry Potter series of books. I’m sure you know that already, dear reader.

She has written many books both as J.K. Rowling and under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith, and commercially, she must be one of the most successful authors of all time.

That said, before her writing success, she had endured a challenging life, which made her success even more impressive.

I am an admirer of J.K. Rowling, both as an author and a person. She’s very smart, and she’s always prepared to say what she thinks, regardless of whether it meets the fashionable dogma of the day.

So here are 29 interesting quotes by J.K. Rowling that I hope you will find inspiring. Enjoy them all, and feel free to share them.

Quotes by J.K. Rowling (1-20):

  1. There’s no formula.
  2. I’m not a natural joiner.
  3. I always felt an outsider.
  4. Death is just life’s next big adventure.
  5. I’m opposed to fundamentalism in any form.
  6. Anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.
  7. I think you’re working and learning until you die.
  8. I’m a writer, and I will write what I want to write.
  9. It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.
  10. I don’t think about who the audience is for my books.
  11. In a novel, you have to resist the urge to tell everything.
  12. The internet has been a boon and a curse for teenagers.
  13. It is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.
  14. I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do ever was write novels.
  15. Indifference and neglect often do much more damage than outright dislike.
  16. The moment you are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you.
  17. Never trust anything that can think for itself if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.
  18. Never be ashamed! There are some who’ll hold it against you, but they’re not worth bothering with.
  19. The truth. It is a beautiful and terrible thing and must therefore be treated with great caution.
  20. It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends.

Quotes by J.K. Rowling (21-29):

  1. The fame thing is interesting because I never wanted to be famous, and I never dreamt I would be famous.
  2. The idea of just wandering off to a cafe with a notebook and writing and seeing where that takes me for a while is just bliss.
  3. I pay a lot of tax, and I feel that one of the reasons I stay and pay – why I’m not based in Monaco – I think my country helped me.
  4. I think you have a moral responsibility when you’ve been given far more than you need, to do wise things with it and give intelligently.
  5. In fact, you couldn’t give me anything to make me go back to being a teenager. Never. No, I hated it.
  6. If you’re holding out for universal popularity, I’m afraid you will be in this cabin for a very long time.
  7. I just write what I wanted to write. I write what amuses me. It’s totally for myself. I never in my wildest dreams expected this popularity.
  8. The poor are discussed as this homogeneous mash, like porridge. The idea that they might be individuals, and be where they are for very different, diverse reasons, again seems to escape some people.
  9. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory capacity, it is the power to that enables us to empathize with humans whose experiences we have never shared.

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You did? I hope so anyway.

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29 clever puns that’ll make you smile

If you love clever puns then you’ve come to the right place, dear reader. I’ve put together a collection of 29 witty one-line puns that will make you smile, at least a little.

Certainly, they all made me smile and I’m confident that you’ll enjoy them too.

So sit back and take a few moments to enjoy them all. And then pass them on to your friends and colleagues.

Clever puns:

  1. With great reflexes comes great response-ability.
  2. What do you do with chemists when they die? Barium!
  3. How do construction workers party? They raise the roof.
  4. An expensive laxative will give you a run for your money.
  5. I have a broken barometer that I need to sell. No pressure.
  6. Nuns wear the same outfit every day. Must be a habit, I guess.
  7. I used to work in a shoe recycling shop. It was sole destroying.
  8. I can only remember 25 letters of the alphabet. I don’t know why.
  9. Did you hear about the kidnapping at school? It’s okay. He woke up!
  10. If it’s cold, stay close to others. Otherwise, you might feel a bit ice-olated.
  11. I burnt my Hawaiian pizza last night. I should have put it on aloha setting.
  12. Why was it so hot in the stadium after the baseball game? All the fans left!
  13. I’m not sure if my ceiling is the best in the world, but it’s definitely up there.
  14. You’ll never guess who I bumped into on the way to the opticians! Everyone.
  15. To whoever stole my broken bathroom scales, you’ll never get a weigh with it.
  16. Have you ever tried blindfolded archery? You don’t know what you’re missing.
  17. I lift weights only on Saturday and Sunday because Monday to Friday are weak days.
  18. Why are fish the easiest animals to weigh? Because they come with their own scales.
  19. I started a business selling yachts in my attic. Sails have gone through the roof.
  20. I wouldn’t let my children go to see the orchestra. There’s too much sax and violins.
  21. I told my wife I felt like a deck of cards and she said she’d deal with me later.
  22. I have a weird talent where I can tell what’s inside a wrapped present. It’s a gift.
  23. Did you hear about the English teacher who went to jail? She got a full sentence.
  24. The Pentagon was originally going to be a square, but the contractor kept cutting corners.
  25. What happens if the average number of bullies at a school goes up? The mean increases.
  26. I’m a perfectionist with a procrastinator complex. Someday I’m going to be awesome.
  27. My partner’s name is David, so we named our son Harley. This way he’s Harley, David’s son.
  28. I accidentally swallowed a bunch of Scrabble tiles. My next trip to the bathroom could spell disaster.
  29. Did you hear about the thieves who robbed a theatre during a performance? They stole the spotlight.

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Does being a success really matter?

So many people are just trying to get through life with as little effort as possible.

Now that’s fair enough if that’s what you want. Then again, do nothing and you’ll get nothing and you’ll be nothing.

Again, maybe you don’t care. Maybe a stress-free life is much more important to you than being driven to achieve. And that’s a reasonable choice to make.

However, we all have enormous potential.

We can all make our mark and make a real contribution to life and the people who matter most to us.

If you want more out of life, then success really is there for the taking.

Yes, it requires a lot of hard work and you will need to hone your skills until you are one of the best at what you do. However others do it, so why not you?

Why shouldn’t you make a real difference?

If you can continually focus on your desired outcome then you can and will succeed.

Go the extra mile and you’ll reach a place worthy of the effort you’ve expended. And remember, there’s very little traffic on the extra mile.

There really is far less competition than you think. For most people, the required effort is just far too much.

So go on, go for it. You’re as good as anyone and better than most. Believe you can and you will.

Being a success does matter because you have enormous potential and the world needs all the potential it can get. The world needs people just like you to make a real difference.

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Poem for the bereaved and remembering loved ones lost

I Not long ago, I attended the funeral of a friend. This experience got me thinking about the nature of death, and so I wrote a poem for the bereaved.

I hope the words in the poem will offer comfort to those experiencing the distress of losing a loved one. I know from personal experience, few things in life are harder to bear.

Losing a loved one leaves a hole in our lives that can never be filled. So, it’s always a shock, however much it’s expected. Suddenly that person has gone, and we’d give anything to spend a few more minutes with them, if only to say all the things we wish we’d said. 

Certainly, it takes time and a period of adjustment before we gradually learn to cope without them. 

We never get over losing someone, of course, but we do learn to live with it over time. That’s the nature of human existence. We adapt to our circumstances, and we learn to cope as best we can. 

It’s that feeling that our loved one’s gone that’s the hardest part to bear, or so it seems.

With death, naturally, we think in terms of a loved one having gone. However, as I sat there in the chapel, I realised that death is only the release of someone’s spirit, and that spirit will always be there, floating somewhere in the breeze.

If we close our eyes and think of them, they’ll always be there in our mind’s eye, smiling at us. 

Knowing we can always see them in this way is a great comfort, I believe. Certainly, it is for me.

Life’s hard, and one of the saddest things about getting older is the frequency with which we find ourselves attending funerals. However, if we’ve been lucky enough to know good people, then just knowing we have a way of seeing them again is reassuring to me.

Poem for the bereaved:

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If you liked this poem for the bereaved then please feel free to share it with your friends on social media. And please feel free to use this poem, should you need a suitable verse for a funeral. As long as it’s not being used for commercial gain, I have no problem with anyone using it.

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15 Quotes by Will Smith that’ll inspire you today

Today I thought you might find it interesting to explore some quotes by Will Smith.

Willard Carroll Smith II, better known as Will Smith, is an American actor, rapper, and producer. He’s a Hollywood A-Lister and successful by any measure.

Noted for his work in film, television, and music, he has received multiple accolades, including an Academy Award, four Grammy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award.

Anyone as successful as Will Smith is someone we can learn from. Yes, he’s made mistakes, who hasn’t? But you can’t argue with success. If it worked for him, it might work for you.

So, enjoy these 15 quotes by Will Smith. I’m confident at least some of them will inspire you.

Quotes by Will Smith (1-10):

  1. Life is lived on the edge.
  2. The first step is you have to say that you can.
  3. I want the world to be better because I was here.
  4. The things that have been most valuable to me I did not learn in school.
  5. Money and success don’t change people; they merely amplify what is already there.
  6. Whatever your dream is, every extra penny you have needs to be going to that.
  7. In my mind, I’ve always been an A-list Hollywood superstar. Y’all just didn’t know yet.
  8. And where I excel is my ridiculous, sickening, work ethic. You know, while the other guy’s sleeping? I’m working.
  9. I’m a student of world religion, so to me, it’s hugely important to have the knowledge and to understand what people are doing.
  10. I’ve always considered myself to be just average talent and what I have is a ridiculous insane obsessiveness for practice and preparation.

Quotes by Will Smith (11-15):

  1. I’ve trained myself to illuminate the things in my personality that are likeable and to hide and protect the things that are less likeable.
  2. If it was something that I really committed myself to, I don’t think there’s anything that could stop me from becoming President of the United States.
  3. Throughout life, people will make you mad, disrespect you and treat you bad. Let God deal with the things they do, cause hate in your heart will consume you too.
  4. We all want to be in love and find that person who is going to love us no matter how our feet smell, no matter how angry we get one day, no matter the things we say that we don’t mean.
  5. I know how to learn anything I want to learn. I absolutely know that I could learn how to fly the space shuttle because someone else knows how to fly it, and they put it in a book. Give me the book, and I do not need somebody to stand up in front of the class.

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Please share them with your friends on social media because when you share, everyone wins.

If you could do it now please, I’d be ever so grateful.

If you have any thoughts to share about what matters most in life then your comments would be welcome. Readers would love to read your ideas and thoughts on this topic.

Thank you.

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Poetry About Life: 4 poems reflecting life experiences

If you’re looking for poetry about life, then here are four original poems, written by me, that reflect how I see it all.

Poetry About Life:

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If you liked these poems, then please feel free to share them with your friends on social media. And please feel free to use them. As long as it’s not being used for commercial gain, I have no problem with anyone using them.

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So go on, please share this post now. If you can do that for me, I’ll be forever grateful, and you’ll be helping a keen blogger reach a wider audience.

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