Category: Health and Wellness

Child or Adult?

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, PoliticsLeave a comment

Are you an adult or a child? This topic has been discussed much in the media with regards to the current state of millennials. According to Goldman Sachs research, over 30% of millennials (born between 1980 and 2000) live with their parents. The average age of marriage for the generation is 30, compared with age 23 in 1970. Fewer millennials have licenses and cars compared to previous generations. These are all major economic changes that will affect the economy in a major way. And while the law states that a certain age makes someone an adult, in reality, I believe that most people, not just millennials, lack the maturity to be considered such. Here are 20 ways to know that you’ve graduated from childhood into adulthood.

  1. You take responsibility for everything that happens in your life. It’s the highest level of maturity.
  2. You focus on the present and future much more than the past.
  3. You have stopped blaming your parents and upbringing for where you are in life now.
  4. You no longer blame others for the emotions you allow yourself to feel.
  5. You understand that you own your own body and must take responsibility for it and what it produces.
  6. You realize that your primary responsibility is to take care of yourself. That responsibility does not belong to another individual.
  7. You understand that people have different identities and that your values are not theirs.
  8. You stop focusing on trying to change others before yourself.
  9. You realize that everyone is working in their own self-interest, but even the honeybee, which does the same, brings life to the many plants while it serves its own needs. This is a positive thing.
  10. You take care of your physical health and work to improve it daily.
  11. You avoid making excuses about why you “should” do something but “can’t”.
  12. You only associate with those who bring value to your life.
  13. You are working on refining your philosophy daily.
  14. You look for opportunities instead of problems.
  15. You never beg for anything or ask anything of another without offering something in exchange.
  16. You are constantly looking for ways to add value to others through the marketplace.
  17. You have the desire to grow yourself so you can serve the ones you love.
  18. You keep your word and pay your debts.
  19. You do what you believe is right, not because someone is telling you it is.
  20. You have decided to live a great life that you have designed because you are the architect of your life.

 

Life and Death

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, Politics, Science, UncategorizedLeave a comment

These are troubling times. Not that there haven’t always been troubling times, it’s just that more of humanity is aware of problems in various parts of the world thanks to technology. Unfortunately, there will be more troublesome events to come. It is unlikely bad things will stop happening. However, it’s important to remember that you choose where you get to live emotionally. You can live in despair and fear. You can live in gratitude and abundance. The choice is yours. Do you want change in the world? Change yourself first. Specifically, there are two things that must change for positive transformations. The first is having a productive philosophy towards life. The second is to live in harmony. If you have these two characteristics, you will thrive. These are the traits needed to maintain life. If you lack these, you will begin to break down and devolve. Life needs harmony and clear thinking. Death does not. Death must be staved off–the death of the business, the relationship, the organism. It is the natural consequence of not having a philosophy of productivity and being in harmony with those around you. Growth or death—it is all very simple.

Those who develop and maintain a positive, productive philosophy will always do well because they take responsibility for everything in their life and control their emotions and responses to the world. These people will also have a natural tendency towards harmony with others. Those who have a productive and positive philosophy understand that harmony is essential for life. Your body must work in perfect harmony to sustain energy and life. If not, it begins to decay and the damage may be irreversible. The same is true with a business culture. A relationship is perhaps the clearest example of why philosophy and harmony are necessary to life. Both people in a relationship must give 100% effort for it to work. They must each have a philosophy of love, responsibility, and compassion. Each must strive to be in harmony with the other. Yet, half of all marriages end in divorce. It’s so simple to see why. It’s the lack of harmony and maintaining a philosophy of positivity. The same goes for the violence so prevalent amongst mankind. All of it can be traced back to the lack of the fundamental characteristics needed to grow and maintain life.

I urge all of my employees to strive for harmony with each other. Most workplaces are toxic and a majority of polls taken of employees show that most have significant issues with their coworkers and managers. This is all due to a lack of harmony. There must exist a desire to be in harmony with all those in your workplace (and in your life) to realize an incredible workplace. Without that desire for harmony, the natural tendency towards problem and decay will occur. If this continues in a business, it becomes part of the workplace culture. Once it’s a part of the culture, it’s nearly impossible to stop without replacing every individual. Often, even the great employees cannot free themselves of the damage done to them by a toxic environment. It warps their philosophy to see the worst in others and seek out problems. If people only knew it was within their own power to change this. An incredible workplace, an incredible relationship—an incredible world begins with each person acting incredible and developing an incredible philosophy. Be mindful of your own personal philosophy. Is it geared towards harmony and growth? Or are you letting your mind erode with the problems of life? Are you thinking clearly—thoughts leading to positive consequences for those around you and your loved ones? If not, change it. Be the change you want to see in the world.

Addicted to Our Problems

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, UncategorizedLeave a comment

We live in a therapy culture. We are taught to talk about our problems so we may find a way to resolve them. Problems, problems, problems. We have become addicted to our problems. People feed off of them. They talk about them to friends, family, and coworkers. Problems are talked about so much it would be safe to assume that people are becoming much healthier emotionally compared to our ancestors. Is this the case? I don’t think it is.

I disagree with the “professionals” that say talking about your problems is healthy. I don’t want you to think that I am a proponent of hiding issues or living in denial. I do think that acknowledging problems is important, but not as important as being focused on your desired outcome. Energy flows to where focus goes. If your focus is your problems rather than your outcome, your problems run your life. Spending too much energy on problems is not healthy—it is toxic.

I don’t talk about my problems much. I readily acknowledge that I have various health issues including spondylitis and asthma. However, I don’t focus on it or talk about it much. My problems are not a part of my identity. I do not let them control me, or the emotional states I live in. Yes, they do exist. No, I am not better talking about them to everyone. Nor is anyone else better off having heard what ails me. I do not direct my energy to what I do not want.

I believe the ancient stoic and Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius gave us sound advice for dealing with problems, “If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.” The Stoics school believed in maintaining tranquility throughout life. They did not believe this was possible if your thoughts and actions were focused on problems instead of your desired outcome. Stoicism is a philosophy worth looking into. I believe reading Seneca or Marcus Aurelius, two men of great wisdom and power, can help you navigate the road of life with a little more perspective.

Be Disgusted

On By seancovellIn Health and WellnessLeave a comment

Disgust is a negative emotion, but it can be a very positive, powerful force if used properly. The moment when “enough is enough” is evident throughout human history. Disgust has been a turning point for change since the beginning of modern man. Humans had enough of lifting heavy objects, resulting in the use of the wheel. We were disgusted with being at the mercy of the elements, resulting in shelter and the use of fire. A revolution came about by colonists being disgusted by taxes. The world would not be what it is today without people saying, “That’s it. I’ve had enough.” Disgust, like all emotions, can be useful if harnessed for positive action.

I’ve been disgusted with myself various times throughout my life. My regular use of ibuprofen to combat my pain was certainly one. I was taking so much I couldn’t function without it. Another moment of disgust was when I realized I wasn’t making nearly what I had the potential to make in income. I’ve been disgusted in how I have acted towards others. I have been disgusted in how I gave up on something or someone I cared about. Come to think of it, by writing this, I’m becoming disgusted by how I’ve often failed to live up to my potential. I’m disgusted that I may never fulfill what I’m capable of…

Moving on, I’ll ask, what are you disgusted by? When is enough going to be enough? Is it a dependency on something or someone? Is it your body?   Are you tired of being sick? Are you disgusted with being tired all the time? Are you disgusted with yourself for always being sad? Are you disgusted by how weak or frail you are? Are you disgusted in how you’ve treated others or failed in some endeavor? What are you going to do about it? When is enough, enough? Don’t be afraid of disgust. Don’t block the feeling. Harness it to learn and promote positive change.

Identify Yourself (Actually, Don’t)

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, Politics, UncategorizedLeave a comment

This article will be redundant. It is done so to drive my point home…

There are a few things in life that will significantly impact the direction and quality of your life. The first, I believe, is your personal philosophy. Your philosophy about life is the major factor in how things will play out for you. A close second, and perhaps much more relatable and relevant to people, is with what group or groups you tie your identity to. How you identify yourself reinforces the story you tell yourself and others about who you are. I’m going to suggest to you that this is a mistake. By tying your identity to a group rather than who you are as a human and an individual can significantly diminish the quality of your life. I realize this will be controversial, but in order to progress as humans, the tribe mentality of our ancestors must disappear. This will not happen until people take control of their own fate, rather than living within the expectations and ideology of another group.

My reasoning behind this argument is simple–the story that you tell yourself about who you are impacts your beliefs and values, thereby influencing a major part of life that you should take responsibility for and think critically about. For example, if your identity is tied to an extremist religious group like ISIS, your values about how you should live and act towards others are not compatible with human life and liberty. You have significantly limited yourself and your world view. Let me suggest that your religious practices, whatever they may be, are not your identity. The same goes for any political organization that you affiliate with. I would advise against it becoming tied to “who you are”. By doing so, you are hampering your potential as a human.

I like Bruce Lee’s philosophy towards different styles of fighting. He refused to identify himself with one or another, instead taking the best from all different styles. Bruce Lee was a dedicated learner. His desire was to be better tomorrow than yesterday or today. That should be a common belief for all humans. By limiting yourself to a certain group, I believe you are limiting your potential and also allowing group mentality to influence your world view about how to act towards others. I have been known to say that you are not your thoughts. You are the one who listens to them. Likewise, you are not your religion, political affiliation, race, gender, sexual preference. I would advise against identifying with any group. It is this tribe mentality that causes so much pain and suffering. Islam vs Christianity. Gay vs. Straight. Male vs. Female. White vs Black. Conservative vs Liberal. It’s time to stop labeling and limiting yourself. To expand as an individual you must ditch the labels you have allowed to be placed on you. You are not a group. Groups do not think–they produce a way to think about things. Groups do not have rights (although they claim to). Only individuals do. Act like an individual and identify yourself as one.

So how should one identify? What story should they tell themselves about who they are? If it is true that you become the story you tell yourself, I strongly suggest getting a better story. So who are you really? You are a being that cannot be labeled. You are a gift to the universe. You are infinite potential. You are a factory producing infinite energy, love, compassion. Want a better world? Want a better life? Get a better story…and stop identifying with a group. You are not a group. You are a unique individual. You own your body and your mind. Do your own thinking. Drop the labels.

In Liberty,
Sean

13 Mind Blowing Facts

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, Science, UncategorizedLeave a comment

13 Mind Blowing Facts

Life is incredible and the universe is truly remarkable. In case you forgot that, here are 13 facts that will blow your mind and perhaps remind you how wondrous this experience really is.

 

1.Time is not universal. The passage of time on a fast moving object has a different effect than one at rest.

2.What we call gravity is caused by the bending of space-time. The size of the Earth and the speed at which it moves causes a distortion space and time, (similar to large ball sitting on a sheet, causing the sheet to sink down. The sheet is space-time.)

  1. You are not the thoughts in your head. You are the one who listens to them and you can choose which ones to listen to.
  2. All matter is energy. The entire universe is energy that is constantly moving.
  3. Your level on consciousness and the philosophies it produces will determine your happiness in life.
  4. Humans are the only life we know of to date that can study itself.
  5. Jellyfish can live forever by reverting back to an earlier stage of life after becoming sexually mature.
  6. Your values and beliefs alter your reality of the world. That is why two different people can look at the same object and see something different.
  7. There are trillions of stars in the universe. Our sun is just one and it will burn out eventually.
  8. A new study has found the brain’s information storage capacity may be around a quadrillion bytes. We actually take in information faster than we can recall it. That’s why we “forget” things.

11.Stress and fear are the same emotion. Stressed? It’s because you’re fearful of something.

  1. The human body is comprised of 37.2 TRILLION cells.
  2. The emotion of love is driven by the release of dopamine and seretonin. You can control your emotions by changing your physiology.

 

Harmony=Success

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, PoliticsLeave a comment

“Success is the knowledge in with which to get whatever you want from life without violating the rights of others and by helping others to acquire it.” Napoleon Hill

Though it may be brief, this is likely one the most important blog post I will ever write. This realization came to me after pondering a series of questions over the last few weeks. Some of these questions were: What is the cause of the most tragedies and failures in the world? What leads to violence, stress and negative attitudes? Why do some couples stay together and stay happy while others break up? Why do some companies thrive and others fail? Why do some people love their job and others hate theirs? Why are some people able to create amazing things while others struggle with creativity? Why does the world still struggle with war?

The answer to all these questions is a lack of perfect f harmony between people. Throughout history, most of the problems we have experienced as humans can be traced back to a lack of harmony between people.   On the flip side of the coin, harmony is the reason for any major lasting success. Every enterprise, every country, government, marriage or other organization must face the reality that the determining factor in how long lasting and successful they will be is whether the people directly involved are working together in perfect harmony, or there is consistent discord between people. Harmony between people has led to every major success in history.

Once harmony exists in an organization or relationship, an alliance can be formed. No one can succeed on their own without the help of others. Alliances must be formed to achieve anything worthwhile. Every couple, every business, every nation must have a mastermind alliance. A mastermind alliance consists of two or more minds working actively together in perfect harmony toward a common definite objective. This is perhaps the most important ingredient in achievement. A star player cannot win a game on his efforts alone. An alliance between ALL team members must exist. If not, the team will crumble when problems arise… and problems will always arise. But those working together in a spirit of harmony will continue to thrive. If not, the problems will win.

What does it take to operate in a spirit of harmony? A change in consciousness must occur. A person must be consciously aware that harmony can exist if they seek it out. Moreover, a person must believe that when the energy created from harmony is focused into a mastermind alliance, no problem is unsolvable.   In my business, I demand that harmony exists between all associates and with customers. If a lack of harmony exists, the problems that will arise will not be solvable until there is a return to perfect harmony. Often this requires the person unwilling to be in harmony with others is removed. What the takeaway? You must be willing to be in harmony with others. A willingness must exist within every individual in an organization to act in harmony with everyone else. If that exists, anything is possible. Sound simple? It is. But simple is not always easy.

I believe that most people are, in fact, good. However, many people do not have the desire to be in harmony with those around them. They point out the flaws of others, gossip, and berate their fellow man. Humans inherently distrust others because most believe that their problems have been due to others. In reality, the lack of harmony between themselves and others is the cause of the problem. Humans need other humans. We are social creatures and we have dominated the earth and increased the standard of living because of alliances between people working in harmony. The number one cause of failure is lack of harmony between people. The number one cause of success is perfect harmony. The choice is yours.  I urge you all to choose harmony. Your life will be more fulfilling if you do.

The Right People

On By seancovellIn Health and Wellness, PoliticsLeave a comment

The most important aspect of any organization is the people in it. People build the culture. People build and operate the systems. People interact and provide value to customers. People determine the direction and speed the business travels. People spread the culture and the culture of a business (or relationship) determines how successful and long lasting it will be.

Because people are so important to any enterprise, it goes without saying that having the right people will make or break a business. Having the right people ensures harmony within the business. Having the right people will ensure the systems are being operated correctly. Having the right people will ensure sales and retention of customers is high. The right people will know what to do without being told. The right people will understand the importance of Make-You-Happy Customer Service. The right people do not need to be motivated; they already are motivated, and they will motivate others. The right people want to learn and improve to be the best at what they do. The right people want to be around the best, so they are constantly analyzing their environment to make sure they are in the best place and they are contributing enough to making it great.

Having the right people in a business will eliminate old problems and create new opportunities (also known as new problems). The right person wants to be in harmony with their environment and fellow coworkers. The right person produces incredible energy. The right person is one of good character. The right person reads everything they can on improving themselves. The right person has a positive mental attitude. Bottom line, people are the heart, the mind and the lungs of any business and society. There is one question I ask myself daily: am I the right person for this? Are you the right person?

Do You Have These Four Areas Mastered?

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The Four Areas of Your Life

            How is your life going? Are some areas good and others… not so much? Did you know there are really four aspects of life that you must master to have a truly incredible life? Right now you’re thinking, “Sure. Sounds too simple.” Indeed it is simple to have an incredible life. It’s not easy, but it’s not complicated either. Here are the four areas of life that you must acknowledge and control to truly have an incredible life.

Mental Life— The mental part of your life relates to your belief systems and the way you make meaning of the world. Your mental life is the philosophy you have about life, business, family and everything else. The mental world is how we all make meaning of what happens and how we determine what to do. The easiest way to identify your mental world is to think about the thoughts you produce daily. “He hates me.” “She thinks I’m ugly.” “I’m so smart.” “Everyday above ground is a good day.” All of these thoughts reflect what’s going on with you mentally. Your philosophy about everything in life all comes from your mental life. Mentally, you must develop a success philosophy that will produce thoughts and therefore habits which will serve you.

Emotional Life— Emotions are really just chemical reactions in the body and brain, but they have a tremendous impact on the quality of our lives. Emotions can be affected by the thoughts you produce, but emotions can also occur independently. In fact, when we think about the quality of life, what we are really talking about is how much time you spend in positive emotional states. Happiness, gratitude, ecstasy are all states of emotion that most value and wish to spend time in. The elephant in the room that few are willing to say out loud is that your emotions are in your control at any given time. You get to choose what emotional states you live in. Emotion comes from the root motion–meaning that by changing your physical state, changing the foods and drinks you consume and spending time being mindful of emotions that arise in your mind, you can have complete control over your emotions. The key is to remember that you CAN be in control of them, but to do this you must be mindful of what emotions you are experiencing and take action to shift your emotional state to one that you value.

Physical Life— We live in what we perceive to be a physical world. Everything, everyone, our bodies present in a physical form. This is easy to understand, but it’s worth noting that most people do not have control over the physical aspect of life. The current epidemics of obesity, heart disease, and prescription drug addiction suggest that mastering the physical world is far from complete for humanity. Though we have discovered secrets of the universe like electricity, gravity, radio waves and x-rays, bacteria and other planets, there are many more physical aspects to life that people have yet to discover and understand. For the purposes of this article, however, I suggest that you start by getting control over this aspect of your life first. The reason being that your physical life controls so much of how you view the world. Your health, energy level and vitality directly affects your mental and emotional world, and by changing yourself physically, you can have a positive or negative effect on the quality of your life. Start by getting fit, gaining strength and developing the capacity to produce more energy. (Energy is not something you have, it’s something you produce.)

Spiritual Life— This area of life is by far the most misunderstood. The word spiritual usually brings about thoughts of religion. However the word spirit comes from the root “spiritus” meaning breath. Spirituality really predates any religion and it’s root meaning shows how truly the important this part of life is. Spirituality deals with our consciousness and its contents. To understand spirituality, you must recognize that you are not your thoughts. You are the one who is producing them and listening to them. Your spiritual world reflects your ability to ability to separate yourself from your thoughts and feels as well as recognize there are other states of consciousness available to you through meditation and mindfulness. Some call this prayer. Some call it something else. What it really is though is the ability to recognize and connect to an infinite energy and intelligence that is apart from the thoughts your mind produces. To become spiritual then, you must first recognize that you are separate from your thoughts. You are something else entirely. You are a “spiritual” being, one that is able to change your consciousness and self reflect.

Mastering these four areas of life is so difficult that I feel it’s safe to say most never achieve it. Worse, most don’t even recognize there are different aspects to life. Some say, “There’s just life.” That mindset fails to recognize that just like a stew, life can be boiled down to it is most simple ingredients. Start by acknowledging these four areas of your life and you can begin to work towards changing them in a positive way. Every area of your life should work to serve you, not hinder you in living in an incredible state most of your life.

Here’s to your incredible life,

Sean

Be One With Another

On By seancovellIn Health and WellnessLeave a comment

Personal connection with another is perhaps the greatest, most fulfilling state we can achieve as humans. The overwhelming desire to share experiences, build empathy, trust and connection with a partner, family and friends is what drives humanity forwards. While most media push stories of violence and conflict via reality TV shows, news programs and dystopian movies, the fact remains that humans are inherently wired to connect with each other, not hate and avoid them. Connection is a human need—a biological imperative.

Many people who have divorced or faced significant struggle with another may argue the importance of connection, but studies show that married couples report a significantly higher level of happiness and fulfillment as opposed to singles. Further studies report that the higher number of strong personal connections you have with others, the happier you are in your life. Humans are social creatures. We need each other to survive. We need each other to make the free market thrive and promote overall prosperity. All humans need to contribute and give beyond themselves to achieve fulfillment. So while it may be that others can diminish our tranquility through conflict, our desire for connection overrides.

Personally, I can say without a doubt that my connection with my wife is truly what gives me the highest level of fulfillment and happiness. I am focused more on her at any given time than I am myself. Everything I do, I do with her and my children in mind. I want to see them happy. I want to see them thrive. I want to share everything with my wife (except illness). My trust and love for her gives me such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude and well-being, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this is the state that people are supposed to be in the majority of their lives. So while it’s easy to look at the history of humanity and see war, conflict, hatred, prejudice and ignorance—that is nowhere near the whole story. The real story is that humans have connected and conspired with others to create something beyond themselves. Connection is creation.

We all must strive to make a personal connection with others. To share our life experiences and stories so they may live on beyond our own lives is the real story of humanity. Yes, you must take care of yourself. In fact you owe it to yourself and others to be the best you can be, but that is not what creates happiness. Being a better you is important solely for sharing with and helping others. Working on yourself is fine, but it’s only useful if you can give.

So go out and connect. Give beyond yourself. Create an unshakable bond with someone. This doesn’t mean being naive. People can and certainly will harm you in life. You must protect yourself and be guarded when necessary. Be prepared for pain. However, do not obsess about the dark qualities of interaction with others. And don’t worry if all your connections or friendships don’t work out. Not all of them will. Just focus on the future connections you will make. Focus on the love you give and others have given you. Remember above all, whatever you focus on, you find. Focus on being closer to others. It’s the only thing that will bring you true happiness.

In Health,

Sean