Thank you for vising my blog again, even though it’s been a long time I haven’t posted any updates here.

“So where have you been, Ladan?”

You know how Twitter and Facebook have become so popular these days. Twitter is just like a blog where you can post your latest updates, but it is even faster and easier.

You can also use Facebook to share your latest news, tips, and interesting resources in a more personal way.

That’s why for the last several months, I have been actively posting new personal development tips and resources mostly on Twitter and Facebook - not on this blog anymore. Because they are faster and I can share more helpful content with you.

So if you have enjoyed reading this blog so far, you can find more updates on my Twitter and Facebook pages here:

• Ladan Lashkari on Facebook
• Ladan Lashkari on Twitter

I update these two almost every day, so you can discover lots of cool tips and tricks about success, motivation, and personal development there.

It does NOT mean I won’t post anything new to this blog any longer. I will still keep updating this blog from time to time.

See you around!

This was written on the tomb of an Anglican bishop (1100 A.D.) among the crypts of Westminster Abbey in London. I think we all can learn something from it…

“When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.

As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable.

As I grew into my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.

And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realize: If I had only changed my self first, then by example I would have changed my family.

From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and, who knows, I may have even changed the world. “

Isn’t it amazingly true?

Today, how are we changing and growing ourselves just like how we want our world to become?

It is the first step and the most important step. After all, if everyone keeps trying to change others while he is still full of flaws… how can it ever work?

You have heard they say “Life is full of choices.” So how true is it?

Sometimes we may barely notice the important, even life changing choices we are making every day. We may think we are simply living our  life normally and going along with it - while what we’re really doing is making lots of different choices.

So how about you invest 3 minutes and answer the following questions to help you discover what choices you’re really making in your life right now and if you are aware of them…

To sleep “just” one more hour on a Saturday morning… or to wake up earlier and make the most of your weekend to have more fun and spend more time with your loved ones?

To keep watching the TV, and the next show, and the next… until you notice hours of your time have flown away in a blink without getting much done… or to take control, turn off the TV, and accomplish more important and productive tasks to help you go closer to your real goals?

To shy away from the challenges on your path to success… or to stand tall and strong in front of them, look them in the eye and declare, “I am stronger than you. You may defeat anyone BUT me.”?

To keep on being in a relationship or friendship that is holding you back, telling yourself it’s OK… or let go of that relationship and gain freedom to move on with your life and your dreams?

To keep on the habit of smoking… or to quit for good and add 10 years to your life and double your energy level and health?

To eat that tempting cookie or food, thinking “just one more won’t hurt”… or keep up your self-decipline and follow your diet for a healthier and sexier body?

To pick up the phone and get in touch with your old friend and rekindle the friendship… or keep telling yourself I’ll do it “some other time” when I’m free (aka a day that never comes.)

To choose the motto for your life, “Every man for himself” or “If I don’t take care of myself, no one else will.”… or to choose to love yourself first, but still help others, touch lives, and make our world a better place in any way you can?

To blame your life circumstances and other people for your problems… or to stop making excuses and take control of your life’s ship and sail it to any direction you want?

So how did your test go? Did it help see your power to choose in a new light? (And this was just a tiny example of the big picture.)

It’s ALL your choice.

So for a test today, how about you put your day under a magnifying glass to notice the small and big choices you make and what results they bring for you?

Once notice your power to choose and change everything, you can boost your speed to achieve your dreams. I promise you.

“Destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice; it is not a thing to be waited for, it is a thing to be achieved.”
- William Jennings Bryan

Have a great day full of choices!

I was tagged a couple of weeks ago to reveal 25 random things about myself. OK, today I finally got some time to share it here. So here you go…

#1. I am very happy, cheerful, and energetic 99% of the time. When you see me - day or night - Ladan is usually smiling and is excited about life. Some people are surprised to see it when they first get to know me. So you’ve been “warned”.

#2. I was very naughty and playful when I was a kid. I was the leader of kids in our apartment and school to do weird, playful adventures and get caught by parents or teachers.

#3. I learned Taekwondo - to get a stronger mindset and for self-defense if ever necessary.

#4. I won a gold medal in the International Painting Competition in 1995 in Japan. Several years later, I won another award in the International Digital Painting Competition done using computer graphic design programs.
So you could say I love painting and am pretty good at it.

#5. I love the rain. Unlike most people who run away when the rain starts, you’ll find me out in the rain - sometimes with an umbrella and sometimes even not. I feel it brings down lots of positive energy and life with it.

#6. I can speak English and Persian fluently, plus some French, German, Korean, Japaese, and Arabic.

#7. Here’s how I looked like when I was a kid….

(more…)

Now that we are reaching to the end of yet another year, here’s an important we should really ask ourselves…

“Am I really happy in my life?”

In a minute, you’ll see why this is THE most important question to ask yourself…

Happiness and Success, as simple as they may sound, are confusing for most of us.

When you look closely at people’s lives around you, you see most people never really feel happy. They are always on the chase for happiness… but never get it.

You may have seen many rich people who actually have a sad life, and poor people who are happy and cheerful all the time…

Healthy people who are going through life depressed, and sick people who are laughing and positive - even if they have cancer.

Sometimes we think with ourselves, “If I have that car, I’ll finally be happy.” Or “if I can grow my business to $10,000 net profits a month, then I’ll be happy.” And so on…

But guess what? Even when we get there, we still feel something missing. So then we aim for another goal “to be happy”.

So what is really Happiness? What is Success?

“There are many definitions for success, but the simplest one is: Doing what you love, being around people you love, and being who you love.”

Isn’t it so simple?

(more…)

So the year is coming to an end. Between you and me, didn’t 2008 pass so fast?

One of the best things we can always do at the end of the year, is to look back how we spent our past year… and plan about our goals in the coming new year.

Because without looking back and learning from our valuable experiences, we can never grow and succeed more. Because we end up making the same mistakes that took our time last year.

You see the secret here?

So let’s a take a pen and a piece of paper right now, and write down in short simple words…

1. What major things did you accomplish this year?
2. What major goals do you want to achieve this new year?

For more exact results, you can look at your each month and remember what you did and the results you got.

Then write down what you learned from it - any lesson that you can use next time for faster, better results.

By learning from your results in 2008, you make sure your 2009 will be much more successful and not just the same, as it is for most people.

This is a secret that top successful people always use.

They never let one valuable experience go unnoticed. That’s how you keep growing and succeeding more.

Now it’s turn for planning for your next year. Because without knowing where we are going, we can never possibly get there.

It’s just like you meet someone in the plane and ask him where he is traveling to. He replies…

“Umm, I don’t really know. Hawaii would be nice. Sydney might be inetersting too. Ummm, and I’ve heard a lot about Tokyo. And… So I’m going around for now to see what happens next. “

Won’t you feel it is rediculous then? Does it make any sense?

The same is with your life and planing for your next year. Without knowing where you’re aiming for, you can’t get there. Period.

So make a list of major goals you want to accomplish in 2009. Right now.

Congratulations!

These two steps that you took just now, are going to help you tremendously in achieving your dreams this coming year. You’ll see it very soon!

To your bigger success in 2009!

P.S. Stay tuned for the Christmas Idea #3 coming in the next couple of days.

I just finished watching the movie, The Butterfly Effect. It had an interesting story and theory behind it.

It is about a man who after an accident when he loses his girlfriend who really loved, discovers his power to turn back time by looking at a picture.

Excited about his ability, he keeps using it to save his girlfriend and achieve big succeed and wealth in his job.

It must be pretty amazing to be able to turn back time anytime you want to fix and improve things and use lose opportunities, right?

Well, that’s what I thought first too, but his journey is not as perfect as we may think…

(more…)

“We have flown the air like birds and swum the sea like fishes, but have yet to learn the simple act of walking the earth like brothers.”  - Martin Luther King, Jr.

It really says it all.

What else can I say?

As much as there is glory in every new step we take to a more modern, advanced world, there is still one thing we seem to need to learn more…

As Martin Luther King says it perfectly above, it’s the “simple act of walking the earth like brothers”.

Once we do figure that out as well, do you think there will be any war, but peace? Any racism, but understanding and respecting one another despite of our small differences?

This reminds me of a beautiful song in the cartoon, Pocahontas. Have you ever seen it?

As you may remember, there is this part of the movie where the woman is singing a song for the white soldier who has come to their land and called her people savages. I love this part of the song…

“You think the only people who are people,
Are the people who look and think like you…
But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger,
You’ll learn things you never knew, you never knew.”

After traveling to various countries and getting to know the most different cultures and people, I realized something…

The truth is, we are all like brothers and sisters in this world together. We may look different or speak in different languages, but on the inside, we are really following the same hopes and dreams.

We sometimes judge others without really knowing them, and realize how they are different from it once we get to know them later.

Hasn’t it ever happened to you that you were judged by mistake too?

There is this other part of the Pocahontas song I like that goes…

“We are all connected to each other…
In a circle, in a hoop that never ends.”

Isn’t it another amazing secret in life?

Whatever one of us does, it affects the rest of us in the world in a way.

And today, with the Internet, the ease of traveling anywhere, and the nations becoming closer, this loop effect is true more than ever.

So how are YOU affecting the world today?

How about we pause for a second today and try to see our other fellow human beings as our brothers and sisters?

What changes would we make in how we treat others if we see us as a big connected family?

Isn’t it what we really are, after all?

…

To realize the value of a brother, Ask someone who has recently lost one.

To realize the value of a lifetime, Ask someone who has been given life sentence and sees his life years passing him by.

To realize the value of ten years, Ask a newly divorced couple.

To realize the value of four years, Ask a graduate.

To realize the value of one year, Ask a student who has failed a final exam.

To realize the value of nine months, Ask a mother who just gave birth to a baby.

To realize the value of one month, Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize the value of one week, Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize the value of one hour, Ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.

To realize the value of one minute, Ask a person who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize the value of one second, Ask a person who has survived an accident.

To realize the value of one millisecond, Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

What is the value of YOUR time?

You are the only person who can make it count…

“People are often unreasonable, illogical and self centered.
Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives.
Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you may win some false friends and true enemies.
Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and frank, people will likely cheat you.
Be honest and frank anyway.

What you spend years building, someone may destroy overnight.
Build anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, they may be jealous.
Be happy anyway.

Give the world the best you have and it may never be enough.
Give the world the best you have anyway.

You see, in the final analysis, it was always between you and God.
It was never between you and them, anyway.”

- Mother Theresa

She has mentioned some good points here about us always doing what we think is Right, no matter what others may do or think.

This is a fact in this world that it is NOT always fair. Not always the good wins and not always the innocent wins the war.

But should it keep us from doing what we believe is Right?

When doing something good, sometime we may get a reward from that person and sometimes not. But what else can be higher reward when you have your inner satisfaction, your sense of pride for yourself with you all the time?

Even if you are not much religious, as I am not either, you still can enjoy the happiness you get every time you find yourself doing something great. Something that proves once more you have such a BIG, kind heart.

No matter if the person appreciates it or not, what you does will go to grow your heart and should… And this is the most precious thing.

Let’s try our best and live to our fullest. People may or may not notice all of it. But let’s do it anyway!
- Ladan

You can do it for your own heart, and it will be the best reward.

Let’s Wow!