What defines you?
What is your reputation?
What will be written on your tombstone?
What memories are you leaving with those
you meet in life’s journey?
Who/What do you see when you look into the mirror?
Is the person in the mirror real or fake?
What are your guiding principles?
Do you have rules or boundaries in your life?
What values do you live by?
Everyone needs some structure or boundaries. The 
project is a different take and a different perspective on life than you may be used to. The template and 
slogan is a resource to help with that exploration, discovery and definition process. We encourage men and women; kids, teens and adults; families and corporations to discover, define and live their values everyday!!! We have chosen this slogan because it encompasses the word LOVE, which the world lacks more and more.
Love and values are closely aligned. In our view, the mission is to share Love is the most powerful and all-encompassing word in the human language. It is the very best of mankind and can form the basis of many of our values. Love is a warm and glowing light, radiating from within, the ultimate expression and beyond comprehension. Love is not only about all that is good and just, it also seeks to minimize all the behaviors and habits in our lives that are harmful and destructive to ourselves and others.
If we think about the template and slogan, our outlook, focus and attitudes about life will change, and we will have a standard that we are seeking to achieve everyday!!! We define who we are through our values and are more comfortable and confident as we go through life. Those around us do not have to question our motives or our intentions in our relationships. And isn’t life all about our relationships and the experiences we share with those we meet in life’s journey?
As our outlook, focus and attitudes change, we will be transformed, and others will notice the change taking place in our lives. We will know who we are and will be defined by the values we live. Decisions will be easier and we will be comfortable when others question us. We will know that person in the mirror, and our quality and enjoyment of life will be positively impacted. Our values, our reputation and the memories we leave others will be our life’s epitaph and will perpetuate our existence long after we are gone.
Because each one of us has a unique design, this is not a one-size-fits-all set of values. You will customize your values and share them with others. We encourage you to take some quiet time to explore, discover and define your values. All we ask is that you post them somewhere you will see them each day in order to remind yourself of who you are and strive to live them everyday!!!
Template-
Take some time away from your daily routine to think about where you are in life, who you are and how you will be remembered. Use the weekend or some vacation time.
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Think about habits and behaviors you want to stop or minimize.
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Think about the person you want to be today, tomorrow and the rest of your life and the values you want to emphasize in your life.
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Make a list of both.
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Narrow the list to your values and those that will define you, your reputation and your legacy.
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Put your values statement in a prominent place to remind yourself everyday!!!
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Read it and reflect on it everyday!!!
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Think about your words, thoughts and actions in terms of the
slogan. -
Remember that you are “what you repeatedly do.”
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Team up with a mentor, friend or small group for support and accountability.
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and share your journey with us.
Especially at first, you’ll want to see your value statement regularly.
—paste it on the mirror in your bathroom or on your refrigerator
—post it on your social networking site
—make it your screen saver on your computer or phone
—wear it on a tee shirt
—tape it to your desk at work
Remember our slogan. Everyday!!! is the key to success. Review your values and reflect upon them everyday!!! Have our slogan become part of your thought process and daily routine. We strongly believe and sincerely hope that it will make a difference in your life. We would enjoy hearing from you as you live this journey and positively affect the individuals you meet and communities you serve.
We are attempting to just like you are, so it is the same journey for us as it is for you. This exercise will not make us perfect; perfection is not the intent. The template simply serves as a reminder of who you are and the values you are striving to attain. This is the bar or standard that you are setting for yourself. We can assure you that making the effort and regularly reminding yourself of your values will lead to a better outlook, added inner peace and more positive experiences. We also think it will make your decision making process easier. Simply put,
means sharing
sharing means we
We believe that boundaries, rules and values contain both behaviors that you will strive to avoid or minimize as well as positive behaviors by which you will seek to live. In most cases, these principles have existed since the beginning of man and have been handed down through the generations by tradition, family or religious institutions. However, many of these age-old values have been compromised or ignored over the last few generations to the point that some families and children have little or no rules or boundaries. We have developed a basic list from what we have read about and observed in the world around us. You are welcome to use these or come up with your own. If you prefer to focus only on the positive ones for public publication and prefer to keep the ones you want to avoid or minimize to yourself, we understand. We all have current or past behaviors that we would rather not share with the world. However, each one of us must admit our bad habits or behaviors before we can change them. By focusing on the positive, you will automatically minimize the negative. For people in the faith-based community or for those interested in exploring that avenue, please see the LiveTheTen tab. If lists are not your style, write down one of the following for your values statement and place it in a prominent place or places so that you will see it on a daily basis.
—Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
—Love your neighbor as yourself.
—Or simply right down our slogan,
means sharing
sharing means we
Our list is as follows:
by saying…
Saying NO to certain actions or minimizing certain behaviors should be basic tenants of any society or culture. Society used to frown on many of the behaviors listed in the NO column, and we were told in no uncertain terms that we should not repeat them. When we practice or participate in one of these actions, we are damaging our reputation and writing the wrong epitaph. We all come into the world with a blank slate, and the only things we leave are memories with people we meet in life’s journey, our reputation and the values we have instilled in our children. Every time we knowingly make a false statement, curse, steal or cheat, we negatively impact society and hurt someone, including our self.
These actions are eroding the very foundation of our society. Cursing, lying, stealing and cheating have been accepted as normal behaviors in many places, even celebrated in some. Why would we want to hurt anyone? Does it make us a bigger person to spout out profanity in every other sentence? Do we really accomplish anything lasting by cheating or stealing? More importantly, are any of these behaviors associated with LOVE? Remember,
means sharing
sharing means we
It seems counterintuitive to everything society should allow, but the deterioration is evident and prevalent throughout the world.
Self-indulgence may be the biggest fault we have. Greed, keeping up with and surpassing the Jones’, material possessions, alcohol, sex, drugs, instant messaging, living in a 24/7-world and anything goes to achieve our vision of success or to feel good for a few minutes, is taking time away from us building personal relationships and leaving positive memories. This is how the world, society and culture have evolved.
Instead of tearing people down, or degrading people, we should try to encourage those around us by practicing the positive behaviors listed in the YES column. Think about these words in the context of the slogan. Love is the very best of mankind. It is a warm and glowing light, radiating from within, the ultimate expression and beyond comprehension. Here is our definition of LOVE.
Peace …Joy …Happiness
Truth …Honor …Dignity
Respect …Responsibility …Trust
Kind …Patient …Sharing
Humble …Appreciative …Generous
Caring …Serving …Healing
Uplifting …Motivating …Exhilarating
Belief …Hope …Enduring
In us, with us and around us
Does not lie, steal or cheat
Does not brag, hate or kill
Is not jealous, envious or suspicious
Is not arrogant, deceitful or malicious
Is not hurtful, degrading or harmful
Is not self-indulgent, self-centered or self-absorbed
Does not live in darkness, destruction or desolation
Doesn’t LOVE encompass honesty, truthfulness and respect as well as practicing kindness, patience and generosity? Shouldn’t we take responsibility for our words, thoughts and actions? If we focus on or emphasize these basic values, we have a positive impact on those around us, plant seeds that will blossom, earn respect and experience true joy, peace and happiness in our lives. Our decisions will be easier because we have a firm basis for making decisions. We also leave memories and a reputation that will continue to perpetuate our life when we are no longer here. The mission is to
Let’s think about this in the context of the three familiar verses we talked about earlier:
—Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
—Love your neighbor as yourself.
— means sharing
sharing means we
Don’t we want everyone we come into contact with to be honest with us in our job and personal relationships? How about others respecting our thoughts, ideas, suggestions and individuality? What about us showing respect for others? Why not try being kind and uplifting instead of putting others down and talking about them behind their backs? How about taking time to help and mentor someone who is struggling? What do we do with our time, talents and money?
At the core of our souls, we are all built with the capacity to LOVE and share positive experiences. It’s hard to understand why people have become so negative, even celebrating others’ misfortune. We are all much happier and satisfied when we treat others kindly and help those who are in need. If we think about all our words, thoughts and actions in terms of spreading , we will naturally minimize many of the negative behaviors that creep into our lives. Focusing on the slogan helps control our thoughts and tempers, reduces hurtful language and causes us to pause before we act in a malicious manner. It also helps make us more comfortable with our decisions.
Two other topics deserve discussion. The first is technology. The computer and cell phone have changed the world, both positively and negatively. We can access information and communicate with anyone in the world, allowing us a much broader network of friends and acquaintances. But these devices also allow us to hide and indulge in behaviors that used to be frowned on by society. How do you use your computer? What Web sites are you visiting? Are you e-mailing or texting comments that you would not say to someone’s face? What kind of pictures are you sending? Gambling, pornography, sexually related and hate-filled Web sites are all over the Internet. This kind of self-indulgence, self-gratification and hurtful language is harmful to society because it encourages destructive behavior and perpetuates darkness and negativity.
Alcohol and drugs are prevalent and very accessible by all demographic groups. Do people turn to these drugs and alcohol to wind down, feel better or escape from life for a while? While we do not condemn an occasional drink, beer or glass of wine, over-indulgence, binges or regularly getting drunk leads to destructive behaviors, negatively impacts relationships and takes time away from family and friends. Drugs are illegal, period. They can lead to emotional and physical damage, destructive behaviors and a myriad of money and legal problems. Using them should be unacceptable to society and to you.
Wouldn’t we be better off using the time and money we spend on our vices or bad habits to impact our family or the lives of those less fortunate than us? We can spend it on our kids or donate it to our favorite school, charity or church. The impact would be much greater than the few minutes of pleasure or escape we receive from these vices. Life itself is so precious that this should energize, stimulate and motivate us each day. We should not need anything other than the air we breathe to be excited about living everyday!!! means believing that we can
If any of these behaviors or any others on your list are taking too much of your time or consuming your life, we would like to help. Put them on the No or minimize list. We all veer off the road from time to time and pick up bad habits that we need to break. For a few, our behavior creates big problems. Sometimes breaking the habit is relatively easy, and other times it requires a lot of assistance, self discipline and encouragement from others. Contact us and we will visit with you and be a resource for you.
One of the sayings I have had taped to my desk for many years is a quote by the philosopher Aristotle:
Isn’t that true with almost everything in life? Aren’t lying, stealing, cheating and cursing just bad habits that we get into? Isn’t it the same with all our self-indulgences—our toys, petty jealousies, gambling, drinking, the places we go, the Web sites we visit and the messages we send? Let’s substitute these words for excellence
We are what we repeatedly do. Lying, therefore, is not an act, but a bad choice.
We are what we repeatedly do. Cursing, therefore, is not an act, but a bad choice.
We are what we repeatedly do. Drinking/Drugs, therefore, is not an act, but a bad choice.
We are what we repeatedly do. Self-indulgence (a few minutes of escape or pleasure) or hanging out with the wrong people, therefore, is not an act, but a bad choice and has consequences.
You get the picture. We all need to work on breaking the bad habits that take time away from our relationships, damage our reputation and diminish the memories we leave others. Let’s put our real values in the sentence, the values we are striving to live.
We are what we repeatedly do. Truth, therefore, is not an act,
but a free choice and a way of life.
We are what we repeatedly do. Respect, therefore, is not an act,
but a free choice and a way of life.
We are what we repeatedly do. Responsibility, Self Control, therefore, is not an act,
but a free choice and a way of life.
We are what we repeatedly do. Generosity, therefore, is not an act,
but a free choice and a way of life.
Regardless of the words substituted for excellence, the first sentence of the quote applies to all of us. “We are what we repeatedly do.”
We sincerely hope you take this opportunity to explore, discover, define and live your values; and we hope this exercise will have a positive impact and influence on your life. Please join us on the mission and remember
means sharing
sharing means we
with all the people we meet in life’s journey.
to connect with other adults who are on this same journey.
Template-
Take some time away from your daily routine to think about where you are in life, who you are and how you will be remembered. Use the weekend or some vacation time.
-
Think about habits and behaviors you want to stop or minimize.
-
Think about the person you want to be today, tomorrow and the rest of your life and the values you want to emphasize in your life.
-
Make a list of both.
-
Narrow the list to your values and those that will define you, your reputation and your legacy.
-
Put your values statement in a prominent place to remind yourself everyday!!!
-
Read it and reflect on it everyday!!!
-
Think about your words, thoughts and actions in terms of the
slogan. -
Remember that you are “what you repeatedly do.”
-
Team up with a mentor, friend or small group for support.
-
and share your journey with us.
