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Letter From The Editor

I love the holiday season. I love shopping as a family for our family’s Christmas tree. I love the parties and finding new places to hide Susan’s present. I love being with my family, opening presents, and the childlike fun we adults allow ourselves to have. I love the honest and heartfelt gestures that so naturally come through each and every one of us, and if I could bottle all of the warm feelings that the holidays create, I would!

The warm spirit of the holiday season isn’t something we can touch. It isn’t a chunk of matter that we can point at and say, “Ah, so that’s what it looks like!” Nope, the spirit of the holiday season is a warmth and happiness that lives in us, and it is a spirit we can choose to live by and embrace the other 11 months out of the year too! (What a concept!!)

Remember: You are the only person who has a say in how your life turns out.

I choose love and family. I choose giving and sharing. What do you choose?

Wishing you peace, love, friendship, and hugs this holiday season…

Clay S. Nelson

The Clay Nelson Life Balance Audio CD sets are here… and all three are available for immediate delivery!

Getting Started Series Now shipping! More information »	Taking Care of Me Series Now shipping! More information »	Building Your Future Series Now shipping! More information »

Tis the Season to Make You and Your Family a Priority

We’ve all seen the commercials that show families being with each other… smiling… relaxed… and without a care in the world. And, a good majority of us watch those commercials wanting to have the picture perfect family holiday, but we are often at a loss as to how to make it happen.

So, how do we shove all the things we have going on in our lives aside and make being with our family and taking care of ourselves the top priority?

First of all, what we are really talking about is Life Balance, and for those of you struggling to balance the life you live (you and your family) with the work you do, join the club, and know that you aren’t a bad person if your work life scale is tipped. Our default way of being is to work-work-work, and when work-work-work gets the best of us, our families and our own personal well-being gets the short end of the stick. So to get you and your family back in top priority:

1. Get committed! In order to have the life and relationships you want to have, you have to really want to have them. You have to be 1000% committed to you and your family in order to have the relationships you say you want to have and the life and relationships that you and your loved ones deserve to have!
2. Have a plan and ask to be held accountable. As an example, give yourself permission to enjoy the holidays and write on your calendar the things you are going to do and when you are going to do them.
   • Eat your favorite cookies
   • Go fishing in between Christmas and the New Year
   • Make snow angels in the front yard
   • Dare to put the toys your kids or grandchildren receive together without looking at the directions
   • And take time to be a kid yourself!
3. Build a team that supports you in the work you do so that you can balance the work you do with your priority to you and your family. Give up the Only I Can Do It Syndrome and ask for the help you need!

Being committed, giving yourself permission to have fun, having a plan for taking the time to be fully involved in everything that the holidays represent, keeping that plan on your refrigerator for all to see, and asking for help will provide you with the energy and passion to take care of the practical side of your life… you know, the side of life that the warm-fuzzy holiday commercials don’t show us (grocery shopping, bill paying, business planning, financial planning, and working off those holiday cookies at the gym!)

Making yourself and your family a top priority are the best gifts you can give your loved ones this holiday season! Use the holiday season of togetherness as an opportunity to practice your commitment to your new priorities and then carry them on through the New Year!

Being Generous

“There is a wonderful mythical law of nature that the three things we crave most in life—happiness, freedom, and peace of mind—are always attained by giving them to someone else.”

     —Peyton Conway March

What do you think of when you hear the word “generosity”? You might first remember being a kid. As kids, we were taught by adults to “share” and we often did so resentfully because we were “told to” or were “supposed to”. Instead of being a self-nurturing or fun act, selfish “sharing” probably left you feeling ashamed, cheated or even resentful. Sharing, like generosity, doesn’t exist in the same space as “obligation” does.

Generosity is seen in giving time or money, but it is about more. It is about generosity of spirit. As adults, from time to time, we all act in less than generous ways—cutting people off in traffic or blaming the airline reservations clerk when the plane is late because of a thunderstorm. We later regret our behavior.

Choosing to be generous, instead, can lighten, brighten and enhance your whole day. True generosity comes from the heart, willingly and bountifully, with no expectations for a particular personal reward in mind. Not only that, it’s FUN!

Practice having fun by being generous. Give someone a break. Don’t bad mouth the next person who treats you with disregard or disrespect. Generosity of spirit means being open to another’s goodness instead of looking for what’s wrong.

Do some good, completely anonymously. In fact, plan with others… create a sort of “generosity conspiracy” with your friends or your team. Share helpful ideas and information without being asked. Have an attitude of service to others.

If you have money, spread it around—like fertilizer on a lawn, it will help others grow. It’s not so much about giving a lot, it’s about when you give. It’s about trusting another and investing in them.

And, generosity is not just about being generous with others. It’s about being generous enough with yourself to open up and be contributed to by others…to accept what others have to give you…and have been wanting to give to you for some time now.

Being generous is just plain smart. It’s always a win-win experience. What are you waiting for?

“ Give the world the best you have and you may get hurt. Give the best anyway.”

     —Mother Teresa

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