All posts filed under: mind&soul

10 Best Budget-Friendly Christmas Presents for Swimmers

Published by Anna Kazakova

Swimming is like religion for those who spend more time in water than out of water. If you’re lucky to be a swimmer, and have friends who are swimmers, here are 10 solid tips for the perfect Christmas gift. 1. Medal Holder Competitive swimmers usually don’t know how to display their medals, so they usually end up siting in a box, placed on a shelf somewhere in a closet. This is a great way to display medals….and encourage more training to win more medals!    2. Swimming Towel These towels are not easy to find! They are special microfiber towels that absorb more than regular bath towels….and are extremely compact. A must have for every swimmer! 3. Remarkable Swimming Gear TYR created the special collection The Finals Funnies. This collection is true to its name—pure fun! A combination of great quality and bright colors….especially useful during those dull fall days in the pool. I bought myself that one. There are models for guys too. 4. Book Swimmers do read, but we prefer to read about …

Why do people give up?

Published by Anna Kazakova

Have you ever thought about why people give up? What makes us stop believing in ourselves? In our ideas and companies? Below are 7 possible reasons/suggestions that cause people to throw in the towel and give up. If you’re an entrepreneur—read on! 1. Unrealistic Expectations Our lives are unfortunately programmed to get fast results with just about everything we do. You post a picture on Instagram—you get likes. You post a status on Facebook—you get comments. Life has become a circus of procrastination and fast results. However, we all know that in the real world results usually come after years of trying. It’s true and nobody wants to hear it. 2. Fear of Failure We all fear the idea of failing. The more success stories we hear, the more we fear success. When I ask people what they would do if they had only two years left to live, the fear of failing is no longer an issue. Do not be afraid of failure. Ebba von Sydow, Swedish journalist and tv host says, “Every time I make a mistake, I understand that I am …

The courageous you: 10 steps to overcome fear

Published by Oxana a.k.a. Merenlin

What are you afraid of? You always wanted to make that step, to speak up for yourself in a toxic relationship, to set on the adventure of your dreams, to stop shaking in the dark and finally feel certain of yourself. But what is it exactly that you fear and how to fight and win over it? Let’s walk through the 10 steps to the courageous you together. This is a summary of what I tell my students during the swimming classes when they face their fear of deep water, but you can certainly apply it to fighting other fears as well. 1. Say hello to your fear. Say it out loud. Write it down in your journal. Don’t pity yourself, don’t avoid any more, don’t come up with excuses and reasons. Just admit it to yourself. Say hello to your fear. Say: “I am afraid of deep water”, “I am afraid of the dark”, “I’m afraid for my family alienating me forever”, “I’m afraid of…”.  Write it down. Admitting what you are afraid of to …

How to be successful? THE SELL by Fredrik Eklund

Published by Anna Kazakova

THE  SELL by Fredrik Eklund is an inspiring account of an isolated Swedish guy who takes a dream-chasing journey toward success in a big American city. Packing your bags, saying goodbye to loved ones and moving {alone} to “the city that never sleeps” (NYC) is a huge endeavor that not only requires careful planning but also a passion for the journey. This is the story of a blue-eyed Stockholmer who firsthand shares with you the pain of being a homesick, lonely stranger in a huge city where nobody cares about you. He also shares with the reader the positive side of successfully following a dream. If you are thinking about taking the plunge into the unknown world of moving abroad, or maybe you’re already there, than read this book. It will most definitely cheer you up. Eklund understands because he has walked in these shoes before. Ironically, the shoes he wore on his first day at JC De Niro Real Estate were shabby, old sneakers. Today his feet stand in the best shoes money can buy. …

Self-Crisis Management – 7 Tips to Help You Hop Out of Bed

Published by Anna Kazakova

Almost everyone has at one time or another “hit the wall.” Meaning, have had a personal or career crises. And every crisis seems to start the minute you wake up: arrogance, procrastination and suffering from as little as noticing the weather outside. There are a lot of reasons why people end up in this situation. But the good news is that there is a way to get back on track. Remember, it all starts the minute you open your eyes in the morning. The secret element of success  Some time ago Life as an Investment published an article which discussed Knowledge and Motivation. But recently, while reading biographies of successful people and analyzing my own personal experiences, I came to conclusion that one important element was missing – D I S C I P L I N E! It may sound boring – be a disciplined person, but it can pull you out of a crises and make your dreams of reaching the pinnacle of success come true.   Your perfect productive morning It sounds …

You’re Not a Turtle, You’re a Dog! – Motivational Story

Published by Anna Kazakova

Sometimes when people work, study, or even live together—they tend to examine each other and make comparisons. Eventually, if not immediately, one can find themselves battling inner conflict brought on by consciously or sub-consciously deciding that “I’m not as smart as the person next to me.” This way of thinking is a distraction and negative, and usually leads to giving-up and quitting. It is a feeling that eats from the inside and leads to nothing good or positive. As I once mentioned before in another post, Merenlin and myself teach adults how to swim (breast stroke) and how to stay calm (especially those who have had a traumatic experience) in water. We enjoy working with them the most because it is difficult for them to change old habits and easily adapt to function normally in water. Somewhere near the midpoint of the course I tell a story about a turtle and a dog. I tell this story because It helps the inner voice say “I can…I am good enough!” The voice that says the opposite …

Share Happiness Challenge

Published by Anna Kazakova

People spend years pursuing happiness… searching for it, hoping to get it one day. The truth is that we already have it inside us, around us – everywhere! We just need to learn to recognise it! Life as an investment started #100daysofhappiness challenge and already 3 days in a row posting The Happy Pics on @lifeasaninvestment Instagram account and Pinterest account   Join us in the move in discovering, realising and enjoying happiness everyday of our lives! Post and repost our pictures using hashtags #100daysofhappiness and #lifeasaninvestment to participate in this happiness challenge. Make the world a little bit nicer and kinder and happier place to live! Open your eyes! Open your heart! Share LOVE! Share JOY! Share HAPPINESS!

Wild women DO, – interview with Marie Milligan

Published by Oxana a.k.a. Merenlin

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.” ― Nelson Mandela The human beings are strange in the defining the place that we call “comfort”. We need to have stability and diversity of new possibilities. Some of us are living the life with a wish of a stable family, life in peace and when they finally reach that, – they are still not satisfied. Some of us decide to climb to the top of the career ladder while sacrificing our private lives, and the day they become the CEO/CFO/COO they do not feel happy anyway. We decided to talk to Marie Milligan – a motivational speaker and coach from London, UK, who helps women to define their goals and plan their life in balance with the their ambitious goals and wishes.   Actual Marie holds a one-day free workshop for women in tech in collaboration with PyLadies STHLM “Define your purpose & build a …

If you would have only 2 years left

If you would have only 2 years left….

Published by Anna Kazakova

Lately I’ve been asking my friends if they are happy with how they live their lives. Actually, it didn’t take long for them to become completely sick of me and   I can absolutely understand why. I kept drilling the same set of questions into their heads every time we met. Eventually I began to wonder: “If you found out that you only had two years left to live, what would you do?”  “Would you continue working at your current job or quit and pursue your dreams?” Well, it generally took me about two years to achieve what I wanted to achieve, so two years is not a long time if you consider the learning curve, which is the bulk of the two years. Then, to see results is also time consuming. So, most of them said they would quit their jobs immediately and pursue “their dream job,” but were intimidated and probably would hold off because of the amount of competition facing them—for example, the fashion industry and journalism/novelist/ communications. Some folks decided they …