Posts Tagged ‘New Year’s resolution’

Why I give money to strangers — Q3 New Year’s Resolution update

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Michael Angelo Caruso Rotary New Year's ResolutionThis has been the best year of my life, but not for the reasons you might think.

I am not head over heels in love.  I am not in love at all, rather I’m still holding auditions. 

I have not won the lottery.  I don’t even play the lottery.

This has been the best year of my life because on January, 2012, I committed to improving four important areas of my life.

The goal is simple, but audacious and guess what?  I’m almost there!

 

My audacious New Year’s Resolution

This year, I pledged to double my time off, double my exercise, double my philanthropy and double my income.   I’m reporting on progress in each category every three months and in this post, I’d like to tell you about my interest in philanthropy. (more…)

How I doubled my philanthropy this year

Monday, July 9th, 2012

If you’ve been reading this blog once in a while, you’re probably aware of my audacious New Year’s Resolution.

This year I promised to double my exercise, double my philanthropy, double my time off and double my income.  [Tweet this article and add your endorsement.]

I also promised to update you every three months or so on my progress. 

Doubling my exercise was easy.  I only put in about 20 to 30 minutes three times a week in 2011.  So, as I reported in my first quarter blog post, getting twice as much exercise was as simple as exercising every day.  Mission accomplished, although I returned from Thailand in May with a bruised heal.  I had a slight motorcycle accident if there is such a thing.

 

Doubling my giving through Rotary

Michael Angelo Caruso Troy Rotary president blogPhilanthropy for me is a combination of donating money and time.  I began my year as President of the Rotary Club of Troy, Michigan starting July 1 and have more than doubled my philanthropy as I got ready for the position. 

Of course, I donate money to the club, but even better, I’ve been spending time securing donations from donors and benefactors using a concept called OPM — Other People’s Money.  (more…)

Happy New You!

Monday, January 2nd, 2012

Welcome to 2012–let’s get motivated!

Pleasure before business–Happy New Year to you and your family! I hope 2011 was a fantastic year and that you have lots of good things to look forward to in 2012.

How many times have you exchanged the phrase “Happy New Year” in the last few days?

It turns out that those three words are much more than a passive wish for a good twelve months.

“Happy New Year” is really about the promise of a better future. Some people make specific promises called New Year’s resolutions. I’ve made an audacious and very public New Year’s resolution and have posted it on my blog.

Go “public” with your own resolution by leaving a comment.

Of course, the New Year is ultimately an opportunity for a new you.

Starting now, you, me, everyone has a chance to be more successful and experience even more happiness.

Take 100 seconds to watch this inspirational video.  Click the graphic below to watch the short clip below.

Let me know what you think or simply pay it forward by sharing this YouTube video on your Facebook page.

Meanwhile, Happy New You! (“Click the pic” to watch the video.)

5 Cool Ideas for New Year’s Resolutions

Sunday, January 1st, 2012

Michael Angelo Caruso blogNote:  Feel free to repurpose in your newsletter or on your newsletter/blog.  Just provide attribution and provide the following link for your readers:
From www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com

Anytime is a good time for resolutions.  The most successful resolutions offer anticipation of reward or the avoidance of pain.  Freud wrote that pleasure and pain are terrific motivators.  Here are 5 Cool Ideas for New Year’s resolutions.

1.  Be purposeful in everything you do.  
You can become much more efficient by striving for purpose in your daily activities. Do you just eat lunch or do you enrich relationships while you eat?  What purpose do those two sitcoms serve you every night?   What is the purpose of eating that bag of chips?  More importantly, what types of consequences await you now that you’ve indulged?  Be purposeful in everything you do.  Walk with purpose and people will be more likely to respect your time.

2.  Resolve not to be mediocre.
Use the freshness of the new year as an excuse for avoiding mediocrity.  This can be a challenging task because industry markets products and services to the lowest common denominator.  Junk food is marketed to the lowest common denominator.  Fast food, for example, is produced cheaply and sold cheaply.  Sitcom television is geared toward the masses.  The people who produce sitcoms even provide a laugh track so that you’ll know when most people laugh.  Give yourself an upgrade.  Resolve to distance yourself from the lowest common denominator.

3.  Schedule your exercise.
Exercise is more effective when it is regular and systematic.  It can be difficult to schedule exercise unless time is pre-committed.  I’ve inserted 40 push-ups and 100 sit-ups into my Power Hour, my first 60 minutes of consciousness.

4.  Mend fences and help others resolve issues.
The New Year is the perfect time to mend a broken relationship.  Call, or better yet, visit the person you want to make peace with.  Use this exact wording: “I feel bad about what’s happened between us and want to take responsibility for everything.  I’m sorry about the past and I’m going to be a better person for you in the future.”  Whether the other party accepts your apology, rebuffs you or otherwise tries to continue the conversation, do not pursue the topic.  Allow them to respond, then gracefully end the meeting or phone call.  Give the person time to think about what you said.  Monitor feedback and if things don’t improve after you’ve apologized, consider replacing the relationship.

5.  Service clubs are life-long resolutions.
Rotary logo michael angelo caruso blogViktor Frankl, author of Man’s Search for Meaning, wrote that life’s meaning comes from serving a cause greater than oneself.  Rotary, Optimist International and the Big Brother/Big Sister organizations have helped me achieve meaning in my life.  These types of service clubs give back to the community while helping members feel better about themselves.  If you want to feel better about yourself, do something for someone else.  Happy New Year and Happy New You!

What if these are the best of times?

Tuesday, December 30th, 2008

Composed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana-

mom and dad michael angelo caruso blog

Ruth & Mickey Caruso, circa 1957

You’d never know it from this photo of my mom and dad, but my mom was a negative person. 

Mom’s been deceased for 20 years and sometimes I reflect on her life to extract useful lessons for myself and others.

Our family talked openly about her negativity when she got into one of her frequent funks and when she had a nervous breakdown.

The truth is that mom had trouble looking at the bright side of things.  She wasn’t able to feel happy even when her life was going well. 

 

The glass really is half full

When mom contracted terminal lung cancer in 1992, she was forced to realize that those “negative” years would be the happiest days of her life.  Such a shame.

The recession of 2007-2009 was an especially tough blow to baby boomers who were never able to recoup their losses.

Most had to work many more years than they had planned and were forced to realized that they would never have more personal wealth than they did before the economy faltered.

For some, their biggest earning years were not fulfilling because they were not making “enough” money.

 

The best measure of success is happiness

Money is not a predictor of happiness.

Happiness, oddly enough, is a personal emotion that operates like a binary switch in the brain.  Simply decide to be happy and … voila!

A woman who hated her job once asked motivational speaker, Zig Ziglar, for advice. 

Zig told the woman to make a list of all the things she loved about her job.  She said, “I don’t like anything about my job!”

Zig said, “Do you like getting paid?”  The list grew quickly after that.

Maybe it’s time to resolve yourself to happiness. 

Hear that?  That’s the sound of opportunity knocking and be grateful for all the good stuff in your life.

Charles Dickens was right then and he’s right now.  These are the best of times.

 

Reprint this article free

Michael Angelo Caruso happinessYou can re-purpose this article on your social media pages, website, blog and in your newsletter.  Simply send us a message stating your intentions. 

Assume the answer is “yes,” as long as you include Michael’s website, which is www.MichaelAngeloCaruso.com.