There's a theme we noticed from our experts who have written about life meaning, happiness and goals. It's as if they got together and decided we needed a cheat sheet or Clift Notes on practical advice to help us overcome our frustrations or mental blocks that keep us from achieving what we want.

3 Simple Truths by Pam Gilberd

Finding how to get in step with our own joie de vivre in this rapidly changing world is no secret. It comes from getting in touch with who we are—our soul. “Be real” has become the new mantra of many wildly successful people. They know that without authenticity they sacrifice satisfaction and a true sense of direction.

When Lorene Morgan, an artist in Carmel Valley, California, sought the answers to a personal dilemma on a solo road trip to Arizona, she woke up one morning and saw very clearly the following words in her mind’s eye, as if handwritten in the sky. Click here to see the words. >>

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A Mid-Life Call to Bliss by Rena M. Reese

The mid-life crisis is a term we are all familiar with. Either we have claimed to have gone through a crisis or perhaps a loved one has traveled the same road. We carry on through our days and one day we realize that there is something we need present in our daily lives. We accept the deadening of our spirit, day after day, and then wonder why one day we have a huge shift propelling us toward aliveness.

The mid-life crisis is actually quite the opposite than its name suggests. The mid-life crisis is actually a mid-life call TO BLISS! It is a soulful awakening beckoning us to joy and begging us to no longer settle! The actions of the person in so called “crisis” tell us that it is life, excitement, enjoyment and fun they are craving. I propose to you that if life is lived in this manner all along, day after day, through your twenties, thirties, and forties, the mid-life crisis will never knock on your door!  Read more>>

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14 Outstanding Qualities by Larry Lipman

We all want to be successful in some component of our lives whether that be in career, relationship or balance. It's your life; you define what success means to you.  But often, we don't know how to get there. 

Here are fourteen steps to take to get you there:

1. Mentor – Choose strong role models and be one to others.
2. Laugh – Laugh at yourself…with others…and often.
3. Empathize – Put yourself in other people's shoes.
4. Inspire – Find a hero, model them, stretch yourself, and share your gifts.

Click here for rest of the qualites.>>

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How to Get What You Want Faster by Dianne Orwig

When you find yourself longing for something that is slow to arrive or it feels as though it will never happen, it might be a good idea to examine where you are placing the majority of your attention.  Is your main focus on the vision of what you want and how amazing it will feel when it is finally yours, or is your mind constantly aimed at all of the ”Point-A-To-Point-B” mechanics of getting there? As counter intuitive as it might seem, shifting your focus off “how” and placing it squarely on “what” you want has a powerful way of putting you on the expressway to your heart’s desire.

If there is something you really want, but it seems to be taking forever to show up in your life, try taking about 10 minutes a day to sit quietly by yourself, without any distractions, and imagine the moment you are waiting for. Feel the excitement of getting what you want, imagine what it looks like, sounds like, smells like, and tastes like. Try your best to avoid any resistant thoughts of “but this has to happen first… then this… then this…” Try, instead, to simply experience the joy of that moment- as though you are merely recalling a wonderful memory that has already occurred.  Get back to what you want, forget about how it will arrive (if only for a while,) and you will be amazed at how quickly it will arrive.  Read more>>

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Here's a self-help guide to get you started on creating your profile and blogging: 

1.     Your Profile: Add your picture. After you login, you can start by clicking on the second small icon of a person's head on the far left side in the dark gray bar at the very top of your screen. Then select “Edit Profile” > Edit Profile Icon. (In the graphic below, you'll see there is a small picture of Marshall Goldsmith who has already uploaded his picture.)

2.Add your bio and links to your website/books:      Once you've gone to your profile page, click on "Edit Profile" so you can add a bio of yourself, a link to your website, your expertise, skills, interests and contact information. Make sure to create a “Brief Description” or short bio as well as a longer bio that can have links to your website. The shorter bio will show up next to all your blogs.  

To add links to your bio, take your cursor and highlight the words you want to link. For example, it could be the name of your book. When you highlight the words, you will see a small link appear in your toolbar, to the left of the little green icon in your editing toolbar. Left-click on the link and a box will open up. Paste the url of the page you are linking to in the "link url" box. Then, hit "Insert".   

Also, select "Public" or  "logged in viewers". Otherwise, the tab will automatically select "Private" and only you will see the information. Definitely add “interests,” “skills” and "locations" because people will link on those words and find all the people with similar interests, skills or hometowns. Use commas to separate words. Example: art, speaking,coaching, etc.   Make sure to “Save” when you’re finished.

3. Adding Your Twitter Feed:  After you login, click on the small picture of yourself in the upper left. Then click on “Edit Page” to the right. You will then see a list of widgets on the right. Click and drag over the widget for Twitter to the area you want it to show up on your page. “Right Widgets” is good. Click “Edit” on the Twitter widget and insert your Twitter name and how many tweets you want to show up on your page. 5-6 is a good number. Make sure to “Save” the page. The Save button is underneath the column for “Left Widgets”.

4. Writing a Blog or Commenting:  

Once you are logged in, you will be invited to "Write a Blog". You will see where to add a title, text and those very important tags. These are "key words" you use to describe the content of your story. It's how people will find your stories or comments. Separate each key word with a comma. (Example: change, leadership, management skills, etc.)  Make sure to Select  "Save to Private” so we can edit your blog before it goes public.

If you want to comment on other stories, you will see how where to comment at the bottom of the stories. You need to be logged in to comment.  Just remember to hit “Save” so everyone can see your comments.

5.   Adding photos or graphics to your blog

After logging in, hover your cursor over the word “Tools” in the gray horizontal nav bar at the top of your screen. Click on “Files” in the drop down menu. You will then see where to “Upload a file”. Make sure the make the "Access" "Public. The default is "Private" so you need to make the photo public so people can see it. Once you upload a picture, open it by clicking on it.  Make sure you have double-clicked on it until it is the only thing you see on your screen. Go to your browser and copy the url. (It should end in a number if you are doing this correctly).

You can also add any picture that has already been published to the web to your blog. You just need to get the url of the picture. If you are using a PC, put your cursor over the picture and right click on it. A box will open and you will see, “Properties” at the bottom. Left click on the word, “Properties”. A box will open and you’ll see,  "Address url" . Highlight the url and copy it. Then follow the instructions above explaining how to insert the picture into your blog. 

One more thing.  If you want to resize your picture, you can!  You’ll notice that when you click on the picture, little squares show up on the corners and inbetween the corners of the picture. If you left click on a corner of the picture and drag it towards the center of the picture, you can make it smaller. If you want to make it larger, click on one of the corners and drag it away from the picture.

You can also adjust the length and width of the picture by clicking on the picture and then clicking on the dots inbetween the corners of the picture and dragging them in the direction you want.

Make sure to "Publish" to "Private" and double-check that you like your blog. Once you are happy with it, notify us and we will edit your blog and cross-link it to other blogs. The cross-linking helps you and other experts to be seen when people are reading similar stories.  If you find you need to go back in an edit, just scroll down to the bottom of your blog and hit "Edit". It will open up your blog and allow you to make the changes you need. Of course, you will need to be logged in to do this.

6. Adding links to your blog

To add links to your blog, take your cursor and highlight the words you want to link. For example, it could be the name of your book. When you highlight the words, you will see a small link appear in your editing toolbar, to the left of the little green icon. Left-click on the link and a box will open up. Paste the url of the page you are linking to in the "link url" box. Then, hit "Insert".  

We suggest that you add a sentence or two about yourself and link to your website at the bottom of each blog. (Check out other experts to see how they've done this.) Once you create this "footer" about yourself, you can always copy and paste it into the bottom of your subsequent blogs.

"But how do you love when you don't love?" 

My friend, love is a verb. Love - the feeling - is a fruit of love, the verb." The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey

Spring is in the air and love is everywhere. It's perennial like the cherry blossoms. Thank God.  From the lovers smooching and holding hands everywhere you look to the extra courtesies we extend at work just because we're feeling great. But, what happens when a job loss, stress, raising children enter the mix?  It's not so easy to keep that loving feeling. 

The ever classic Stephen Covey writes about how love is a verb. "Reactive people make it a feeling. They're driven by feelings. Hollywood has generally scripted us to believe that we are not responsible, that we are a product of our feelings. ... Proactive people make love a verb. Love is something you do: the sacrifices you make, the giving of self...Love is the value that is actualized through loving actions. Love the feeling can be recaptured.

After a man complained to Covey that he and his wife no longer had loving feelings toward each other and he wanted to know what to do, Covey counseled, "Love her. My friend, love is a verb. Love - the feeling- is a fruit of love, the verb. So love her. Serve Her. Sacrifice. Listen to her. Empathize. Appreciate. Affirm her."

Watch this video of Stephen Covey on choice and its role in happiness.

Here's some more practical advice from our experts at Success Televsion for relationships at home and work:

Eight Tips Love Resolutions by Sandwiched Boomers 

Now that we're well into 2010, how are you doing with your New Year's resolutions? Setting goals in the love department is just as important as losing weight or getting your finances in shape. So even though you may already be working on other resolutions, don't put your relationship on the back burner.

Instead of accentuating the positives, the advice from couples' research often focuses on minimizing the negatives - don't nag, don't withhold sex, don't overreact, don't try to control. But why not focus your love resolutions on the do's instead of don'ts? Positive emotions can open you up to new possibilities.  So, if you want to actively enrich your love relationship, here are eight tips on how to go about it>>

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Duke Men's Basketball Coach's Secret Weapon by Michael Lee Stallard

"When he recruits a player, Duke basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski tells him, 'We're developing a relationship here, and if you are not interested, tell me sooner rather than later.' That word -- relationship -- is one he uses frequently. He tells players, 'If you come here, for however long, you're going to unpack your suitcase. We're going to form a bond, and you're going to be part of this family."

If you read coach K's books you'll see that he clearly describes a connection culture, including its three elements: vision, value and voice. Most leaders are intentional about developing task excellence but they are not intentional about developing relationship excellence. Not Coach K. Read more >>

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Divide and Conquer by Pam & Fred Gilberd

We decided the happiest way to work on our house renovation together was to divide the labor. Fred chose what he wanted to work on and I chose my own.

A surprising bonus came out of that tacit agreement: we had lots to talk about over dinner. We could report on progress/frustrations while sharing a vested interest and an enormous degree of sympathy.

Fred: I caught on to the value of this concept out of self defense. Pam has the ability to generate a steady stream of sometimes-brilliant new ideas at a rate that I can't keep up with. So I found the days proceeded more smoothly if I just let her run with her ideas and try to not get involved.

A good example was the day that she announced that she was going to paint the front door. I thought it looked fine red but she wanted "periwinkle". The color sounded odd to me and I also thought there were other more important things she could occupy herself with that day, but I was too busy with my plumbing project to give it a lot of thought.

Read more about how this couple navigates choices, communication and their relationship while remodeling their house>>

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• Stephen Covey's Success Strategies DVD
• Winning & Reinvention with Starbucks' Howard Schultz