Author: Heena Patel

What an amazing gift to be healthy and able, that is such a powerful thought that one can wake up with. But one too many times, human nature wants to focus on the negatives and the not so perfect parts of our lives. It is the ability to train ones mind to focus on the positives, the blessings and to build that resilient muscle to overcome the challenges and not wilt under the pressure. So the question of the day is – Will you wilt under criticism or follow your convictions? Will you use your gift of choice?

It is like asking yourself , Can you over come the pain of rejection and fall in love again? Will you be a cynic or a builder ? Will you be tough or will you quit ? Will you follow dogma or will you be unique?

While these questions all word differently are inherently asking us to focus on the same thing. There is no guaranteed recipe to happiness and success, but answering these questions guide us through life path and allow us to make choices that we can look back and be proud of. Choice is marvelous gift we are all born with and though not always easy be honored to make every choice. In the end there is only one life and we are nothing but cumulative total of our choices. Life gives us immense opportunities to make them every day. Make them wisely and you are guaranteed to build yourself a great story…

Will leave you with this thought today;  Comfort will ruin your life so whether success or failure you need to move forward. Momentum is what is critical and takes you to your next life’s cross roads and to make that next best CHOICE!! Love Live Learn, Till next time….

Be Present – lets  ponder on that for a minute. Such an important  part of our meaningful existence and impactful life. To be successful and drive results we need to  bring our whole self – we need to be present. As I raise 3 children of varied ages myself, I always wonder, worry about “Am I doing a good job raising them? Am I leaving holes in their upbringing?” More I think about this, more I realized there is no recipe, no accurate one size fits all answer. Also every child we raise, we use different methods to motivate, drive the message home, support mechanisms and  even discipline. We are trying to achieve single goal of raising respectful, successful and decent human beings but how we achieve that varies from one child to next. So as a parent, here is one thing I know I have to do all the time and that is to BE PRESENT. I have to be there every day and that Is what I owe to them – that is what I signed up for when I decided to have a child. There are days when its tough, working parents are exhausted, would be nice to take an evening to your self.. Bring your entire self to be there for them every day, be around them as much as possible, be present because that drives a very powerful message to your children – that you care about them. You will than be able to drive accountability from them and you will gain a small peace of mind for yourself that would say – I am doing my part the best I can and I share with them my most valuable resource – Time. We have limited time with our kids as they grow up, make the best of it. Be there to stop them when doing wrong, be there to support and congratulate when they do right, be there to debate/argue with your teenager, be there to deliver your purpose and accountability given by God- Just Be There..

Will leave you with what Einstein said ” Not everything that counts, can be counted and not everything that counted , truly counts”. Count your blessings, be patient as your children find their purpose in life.. Love Live Learn, Till next time !!

Persistence as defined is  the continued or prolonged existence of something. Persistence is an obstinate continuance on a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition. Consistence is more along the lines of unchanging in nature, standard, or effect over time. If you don’t really think too deeply, it sounds like same thing right? Here is how I think of these, Persistence gets you there ; Consistence keeps you there. They are both very important and play a big part in who we are and what we do in every aspect of our lives. Persistence is to believe that no matter how tough life seems, there is always something you can do / you can succeed at. Consistence is having the discipline to support that belief day in and day out ; this will take sacrifice and hard work to keep that hope alive. Same holds true for every one of us – your success (your own definition of success – it is different for every human alive) depends not on events , intensity or what you do or didn’t do but rather CONSISTENCY. Life, Dreams, Success, in some ways are a lot  like a Chinese Bamboo tree, it takes 5 years for a bamboo tree to break through the ground – you water it, nurture it and fertilize it for 5 years of dormant life before you see anything come through ground . But once it breaks through it only take 6 weeks for it to be 80 feet tall. Persistence is believing there is bamboo nut under the ground (against all the nay-sayers and doubters in your lives) and Consistence is taking care of it for 4 – 5 years of dormancy so it can make that breakthrough. Water your dreams everyday, believe in your hard work everyday, have faith and hope drive you into action every morning. Consistence process will build courage, character and Strong YOU. One day you will realize this  process is so much more important than the dream and you will become the dream.

Will leave you with this thought today; Embrace It , Love It, Dream It  but most importantly Become It!!! Love Live Learn, Till next time….

Let me start with what Gandhi said, ” I was sad I did not have shoes, then I saw a man with no feet”. Puts everything in perspective and its all about your attitude. I feel like one very important aspect of life that we must instill in our children as we raise them is”Gratitude”. It is most essential today than ever, because our children live a very different life than their ancestors or even their parents. I acquired a lot of appreciation of what I was blessed with, by observing the desolate, the needy, the poor and hungry. Growing up in India – poverty is not hidden nor is the hungry.  And exposure to those cruel realities of people – changes you / teaches you/ makes you appreciative of what you are so very blessed with. But as we raise our children in first world countries, they have very first world problems – they are not problems. Social Media  and Smart phones are truly changing who we are for good and bad. Our children have no filters and sometimes no perspective – because they live a lot of their life behind screens , they are missing out the most crucial piece of being human – Making Connections (real ones). Gratitude is the trait, that puts you everyday in right frame of mind. Gratitude allows you to  count your blessings amongst your challenges and it brings positive energy in your life. Life is not perfect except on Facebook pictures and Instagram Stories – if I can get that through my children. I will count my blessings and I strive to raise children that do the same.

I will leave you with this – Compassion is Key and Empathy is Essential!!! Love Live Learn, Till next time….

Life is one big test and it can be ruthless and graceful, it can be fulfilling and torturous, it can be failure and success.. Life is tough but you can be tougher – question is will you? You can live a life of fearless courage in face of adversity or shy away from adversity and hide under your doubts. Failures are not all that bad, they actually are the ones that teach you who you are and what you can be. It’s not until your back is against the wall you realize how much more you are capable of. I raise athletes for children and we tell them everyday – Practice is controlled failure – be brave enough to push yourself in practice and know your breaking points or hit that new level. Failing is Learning –  Fail again and again but fail better every time. So when things go wrong as they always do, you have the strength and tools to keep going and adapt. Allow your children to Fail –  let them learn one more way how to not do something. It’s a great skill to acquire if you want to be successful in every aspect of your life. Allowing them to fail at a young age, helps them to deal with adversity – the very thing you are going to run into a lot in real world. Adversity is a blessing in developmental years because you will raise individuals with right tools to write a comeback story. Face Adversity , Take Risks – Most people won’t take risks for fear of failure  – embrace it and you will give yourself the opportunity to meet a version of yourself and that is rewarding. Risk going for the life you want or guarantee living life you don’t want.

Don’t ever quit – know that your greatest character is formed in face of adversity, know that your success story is written in every failure and setback you experience.

Keep going and don’t ever quit – Give your all everyday and you will achieve success! Love Live Learn, Till next time !!

Words – Humans speak on average about 10,000 to 20,000 words per day. Females speak more words than Males – no surprise here :). We don’t really think about it, but that is enormous power we all have and we can make huge impact (both good and bad) with that kind of power. Simple choice of words can make a difference between someone accepting or denying your message. Goal is to get the message across and if you are not achieving that – choose to be quiet / find a better way. Observe more and Listen more every day – you will catch yourself Speaking Less.  Sometimes Silence is very powerful – think back to that argument, heated discussions with your teenager etc – what if you just held your peace and figure out another way to drive the message through instead  of sharing lot of words.  If you are in a position of power, influence, if you are a parent, someone who might be looking up to you – every word you utter have an enormous responsibility attached to it and  you owe to all those people. Communicate a thought process, Deliver a conceptual conversation; Don’t just speak words – because it will be heard . Words are your power – you can make or break with them! Also once spoken Words (especially the ones that come out at not our best times) can never be forgotten they can only be forgiven. How many things have we said in our lives that if we can only take back – too late they have been heard!

So here is what I leave you all with today: Argue like you are right and Listen like you are wrong ! Don’t raise your voice , better your argument – like I was told once as a little girl (these words stuck with me)!

Words have enormous power – so speak wisely!  Love Live Learn, Till next time !!

It is a daunting task and you may ask “Where do I begin” or “What does it mean” or “Where do I even start”? And the beautiful thing about all these questions is there is no one answer that anyone can give you – it is something you need to find for yourself. But first believe that you are strong and a defiant soul  equipped with all tools necessary for job. We all have shortcomings and fears and weaknesses but we also have strengths, courage and wisdom. Life is a precious God-given gift that we all have, now it is up to us to take the gift and use it as a vehicle to give back, to help and to love our  fellow humans. But first we must love ourselves – we must free ourself of pain that we might have (and we all have our pains) and accept where we are in our lives. Only than can we look at the future with a positive frame of mind and make a difference in your life and others. Something inside of you says Don’t Stop – listen to that voice and do not stop. Our bodies might be limited, but it is our Spirit that is Unstoppable. Defiant human spirit remains steadfast and what you believe you can do , you will be able to do. When you choose Courage in face of Fear, you defy the things that hold you back. I challenge myself and each of my readers to just take that one tiny thing that scares you – no matter how little that is and look it in the eye and face your fears . Overcome your fears, where ever they live  – Mental, Physical, Emotional.. You are responsible for your happiness and your sorrows – Unleash the potential that you are born with and break all those barriers that only you have created for yourself.

Just build a better you and in there you own your tomorrow !!! Love Live Learn..  Till next time !

Single most important aspect that influences Success/Mastery — is Mindset  Mastery of anything comes from repeated actions around these 5 major rituals :

• Keen Perspective  
• Optimize and Revise
• Self reflecting Change Agent
• Will and Desire
• Having fun

We live in world of hacks, microwave dinners and shortcuts – we actually have lost all appreciation for due diligence and consistent perspective . We want instant gratification in everything we do and that allows no time for optimization or revision. Mastery requires engaging in sustained efforts over time. Mastery  requires hours of focussed practice, willingness to learn, desire to adopt , tweak, break it apart and rebuild. Mastery is a mindset, desire  to put in what it takes to be good/great at something, Mastery takes Sacrifice and Resilience. Though seems like a real small thing, possessing Strong and Positive Mindset accounts for fundamental distinction between  those who will succeed and  those who do not. Loving what you do , having fun, embracing the challenge  is the glue that keeps the process together. Discipline to perform daily rituals ,  constant drive to achieve, do what is boring are all very important ingredients to achieve Mastery.

Leonardo da Vinci said “One can have no smaller or greater mastery than mastery of oneself.” We can all start there. Love Live Learn.. Till next time!

Feedback or Criticism is a gift! If you are at the receiving end of criticism in your life – you are ruffling some feathers, you stand for something, you are alive !  But what we do with that criticism defines who we become in our lives. Winner is that loser who tried  one more time , but  is also that loser that did not go away after his/her failures, criticism and lack of success. Consistency is immensely underrated but it is one of the keys to greatness in anything we do.  I respect Consistent people because they are Committed. Tennis is a great sport, like all sports – I have kids that compete at a high level in Tennis so i know a thing or two about it. It’s a lonely sport – the only sport where you are not allowed to communicate with anyone but yourself in a match situation.  But its everything like life – your challenges are just that YOURS.  On a Tennis court or  Life court – you are your biggest asset and your biggest adversary. Will you dig yourself out of that hole that you dug yourself into or you were put in by no doing of yours – Will you follow your Convictions? or Will  you lick your wound and delve into Self-pity and Blame – Will you Wilt under Criticism. Invest in your kids future of becoming Strong, Successful, Tough individuals – make them play sports and let them taste failure. Failure is where learning begins, yet we are so scared to Fail as a society.  Too scared to separate out the Winners from Losers in Elementary school – God forbid we might hurt someone’s feelings. Sports or Life are not that forgiving  and we best prepare ourselves and our children to stomach our failures and  learn from them.

Follow your convictions today and everyday. Love Live Learn.. Till next time !

Comfort will ruin your life – think about that for a moment. If you are comfortable you are happy , rested , pretty and relaxed. But you are not tired, not growing , not challenged, not excelling instead  you have a boat load of friends. These are the kind of friends you have on your social feed / your Instagram likes – I call them fleeting friends – not real. If you are striving for something important, making a difference you do not make a lot of friends in the process – and that is A-okay. As Oliver Emberton said ” The only way to avoid pissing people off is to do nothing important”. So remember standing for something , working towards anything important  calls for you to be not comfortable. Remember those butterflies in your belly when you took a test at elementary school or getting on the bus for the first time in kindergarten – that is what I am talking about. Embrace that feeling ,  its okay to not know for sure and feel vulnerable – you will figure it out . Whether Success or Failure you need to move forward – Momentum is whats critical. If you stop you die , if you get too comfortable you die too.

Growth only occurs in state of discomfort. Love Live Learn.. Till next time!