You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life you are excited about.

Recently my book STUFF for Business has been selling very well and a lot of happy people that have bought it have signed up to my regular blog with my favourite tips for business and life.

Here are seven tips to help you along! Come on don’t be shy, let me know what you think, and remember, social media is about engagement!

Here we go then;

Monday… Stop expecting other people to agree with you. You deserve to be happy. You deserve to live a life you are excited about. Don’t let the opinions of others make you forget that. You are not in this world to live up to the expectations of others, and neither should you feel that others are here to live up to your expectations. In fact, the more you approve of your own decisions in life, the less approval you need from everyone else. You have to be yourself, and follow your own intuition, however scary that may feel or prove to be. Don’t compare yourself to others. Don’t get discouraged by their progress or success. Follow your own path and stay true to your own purpose. Success is ultimately about spending your life happily in your own way.

Tuesday… Stop expecting them to suddenly change. If there’s a specific behaviour someone you care about has that you’re hoping disappears over time, it probably won’t. If you really need them to change something, be honest and put all the cards on the table so this person knows how you feel and what you need them to do. For the most part though, you can’t change people and you shouldn’t try. Either you accept who they are or you choose to live without them. It might sound harsh, but it’s not. When you try to change people, they often remain the same, but when you don’t try to change them – when you support them and allow them the freedom to be as they are – they will gradually change and in the most beautiful way. Because what really changes is the way you see them.

Wednesday… Try one new thing every day. – Variety truly is the spice of life. You can see or do something a million times, but you can only see or do it for the first time once. As a result, first time experiences often leave reflective marks in our minds for the rest of our lives. Make an effort to try something new every day for the next rest of the month. It can be a whole new activity or just a small experience, such as talking to a stranger. Once you get the ball rolling many of these new experiences will open doors to life changing opportunities.

Thursday… Concentrate on being positive at all times. – The real winners in life cultivate optimism. They have the ability to manufacture their own happiness and inner drive. No matter what the situation, the successful person will always find a way to put an optimistic spin on it. They know that failure is only an opportunity to grow and learn a new lesson from life. People who think optimistically see the world as a place packed with endless opportunities, especially in trying times.

Friday… Get uncomfortable and face a fear every day. – With a strategy of continuous small steps into uncomfortable territory we are often able to sidestep the biggest barrier to positive change: Fear. Sometimes we’re afraid that we will fail. Sometimes we’re subconsciously afraid we’ll succeed and then we’d have to deal with all the disruption, growth and change that follows success. Other times it’s our fear of rejection or simply our fear of looking like a idiot. The best way to defeat fear is to face it. Connect to your fear, feel it in your body, realise it and steadily address it. Greet it by name if you have to: “Welcome, fear.” Fear can be a guiding friend if you learn how to swallow it, and listen to it only when it serves its true purpose of warning you when you are in danger. Spend an hour every day for the next 7 days addressing a fear that is holding you back. Beyond your greatest fear you will find your greatest success.

Saturday… Stop playing the blame game.– Either you own your present situation or it will own you. Either you take responsibility for your life, or someone else will. Blame is an excuse – it’s an easy way out of taking responsibility for your own outcomes. It’s a lot easier to point a finger at someone or something else instead of looking within yourself. Blame is not constructive; it does not help you or anyone else – nobody wins in the blame game. The amount of energy and stress it takes to place blame elsewhere takes away from your power to move forward and find a real solution. It’s time to care more; it’s time to take more responsibility, it’s time to lead from within, it’s time for a change, it’s time to stop blaming others and grab life by the horns! No one is coming to save you so take responsibility for your results!

Sunday… Know what you know, what you don’t know and who knows what you don’t.
No one knows everything, so don’t come off as a know-it-all. Surround yourself with advisors and mentors who will nurture you to become a better leader and businessman. Find successful, knowledgeable individuals with whom you share common interests and mutual business goals that see value in working with you for the long-term.