The True Passion of a DJ - by Maria Stivala

I had the opportunity to sit down with one of Malta's best, DJ Duncan F. I was quite taken aback with his humble attitude. He actually invited me over to his place for the interview, the place where he produces all his work.

As a practitioner in NLP, and an aspiring coach, I am always keen to learn about how the successful people do it. Do they think differently? Are they stronger than we are? Is it simply luck? What sets Duncan apart from other Djs? That's what I'm after!

Duncan started out as a music enthusiast playing the violin at the age of 8. He moved to piano and then the drums, when he was 11. From a young age he was faced with the social stigma, claiming that he moved to drums because it was seen as “more cool” than the violin. He finally sold his drums and bought a set of turntables and started training to become a professional Dj at 14!

Soon after, he started playing at popular nightclubs such as Places in Paceville. This did not go down well with other resident Djs who were now being replaced with the young boy. However, Duncan defeated the challenges with his ever-growing passion for music. His audience was increasing, and from then on, kept aiming high. He kept his eye on the prize, rather than the competition. 

When asked what sets him apart from other Djs, he told me that he still lives by this principle. He is driven by his love for music and not by competition.

We talked about the difficulties we go through to conquer both external and internal battles. We live in a world where obstacles are everywhere. Often, it is much easier to just let things go and quit. From his thirst for knowledge about music, to the respect he craved for from his peers, from missing special family occasions due to work commitments, to lost relationships, the journey was not smooth-sailing. 

It was determination that kept him in the game. Duncan also claimed that he is now “more determined than ever” to reach his goals. This is what successful people have embedded in their soul- perseverance. Against all odds, they fight with passion.

He told me how important it is to keep other passions alive in your life. Some of his include rock-climbing, scuba diving and traveling. “These are things that inspire me” he said, “they help me become more dynamic as a person”.

His closing was what truly mesmerized me. “Do not take things for granted. Now it feels worth it, but the journey is never-ending. The moment you think you know it all, is when you stop growing. I compete only with myself. I am always trying to beat my last performance. I am grateful everyday for having the opportunity to express that side of me and to have people appreciate it.”

It takes determination, courage and strength to reach our goals. It takes commitment and passion to believe in yourself when it seems that no one else does. This is the essence of those who succeed. They persevere when the prize is nowhere in sight.

Self Improvement - The Real You - by Claude Camilleri

Self Assessment


To become the well balanced person that is in tune with ourselves we must sit down and take some time out for ourselves to self assess. Like any business, if we are not heading in the right direction, we must sit down and find ways on how to improve our system. Why don’t we do this for our personal lives?

Many of us are so busy in our every day lives that we really do not take the time to assess where we are today and were we are going tomorrow. What happens of course is life passes us by. Then we suddenly find ourselves outside our comfort zones. We know we are capable of more, we know we can achieve more, yet we are distancing ourselves from our true passions and dreams.

When I first assessed myself a few years ago I was nowhere close to were I wanted to be. There were areas in my life which needed improvement. I needed to focus on finding ways to use my energy in a better way. Today, I am in total control of my destiny. I have worked in each area of my life and I am rich in happiness. I will continue to self assess myself every so often, in order to keep in-tune with the real me.

As I studied in depth the subject of a well balanced life, I noticed a trend in most of the books I was reading, each one gave an insight on how to change your mindset and focus, to achieve results.

Since these teachings were simple, yet had a profound impact on my personal life I thought I would share an easy exercise with you. If you feel you need a positive change in any areas of your life : health, finance, career, relationship and personal growth then keep on reading. Even if you are a bit skeptic, all I ask is to have a little faith, release the skepticism in you, and just try this out.

Get a piece of paper and a pen and make two columns, on the top of the first column write “where am I today” and on the second column write “where would I like to be”. In the first column write down the following subjects : health, finance, career, relationship and personal growth. Leave enough space to write a few sentences under each heading. Now write were you are at the moment under health.

For example,

Health - (6)

I am a smoker

I eat well

I do not exercise

I walk every morning to work

etc..

After you have written everything about your health, write down a number from 1-10, 10 being the highest and 1 being the lowest on how you feel about this specific subject (write this next to the header).Do this for all the subjects.

I believe any subjects that have a score of 6 below need to have a new focus. If you have scored 7 or above that's great. Your ultimate goal would be 10 of course, your 100% satisfaction.

Now that you have your results, write down where you want to be on the second column. Your second column is the person you want to be.

Health -
Good eating habits
Want to feel Healthy and fit
Want to live a Smoke free life
Want to be Sporty and Energized

Now that you have completed both columns and given yourself a score, you have taken the first step to becoming the new you. The next step is to find the resources and tools necessary to start a positive change.

Finding Your Resources

What tools or resources do I need to make a positive change in my life ?

Now that you have written where you are today and were you want to be tomorrow, you can easily see what changes need to be done. If, for example you are scoring a low score in your health, and your true ambitions of tomorrow are nowhere close to today's, a change is imminent.

Some of us might find it hard to distinguish certain aspects in ourselves. I know I am not healthy, my score is low, but how can I become healthy, if I never have any time to work on my health. The idea is to make time, find time. I am sure if I had to observe your daily lives in a week, I would find a minimum of one hour a day for you to give to your health. Remember healthy body = healthy mind = healthy soul. You have one body, and this body will be with you all your life. You should respect your temple and your temple will respect you.

Ok, so I want to make a change. How do I start ? You have self assessed yourself and you have written that your bad traits are smoking and not exercising. There you are. These are the two areas you have to focus on to have good health. Stop smoking. Yes, I know it is not easy, nothing is. Stop making excuses, just stop this bad habit. You know what smoking can lead to. Exercise. It only takes an hour a day for your body to respect you. How great would it feel to go to the beach and feel comfortable in your own body.

Yes, that's true, maybe I can start swimming every day for a hour. When winter comes I’ll pick up my old mountain bike that has been locked in the garage for over two years. The idea is that whatever you do should be something you love.

I have a love/hate relationship with the gym. It simply does not attract me. I do not like going there, but once I am there I actually love it. Maybe the gym is not for you . Like me, maybe you are the sporty type. I much prefer playing squash with my friends. That's because it gives me a good work out and pushes me to the limits. I am very competitive and what better way to try your best to win. Winning is not everything, however trying to win is.

I have some great news for you. There are activities you can do by yourselves and sports that you can do with others. Find out what you love to do and “just do it” (quote from Nike). Maybe depending on your age you feel the gym or sports are not for you.

That's fine. My mum needed to find something that would adapt with her body and her life's philosophy. She chose Yoga. She has been practicing Yoga for a few years now. She tells me, that Yoga saved her life. She feels reenergized. She is in tune with herself and she loves it.

There are many resources we can use to achieve our goals and this goes for all the subjects we have discussed at the top of the page. If you need to find new ways to improve any areas of your lives, you need to find the tools and resources possible. We are in the internet age, a time when information is literally at our fingertips. Use the internet well, find out exactly what you can do to become the new you.

Once you know what you want and how to get it, the third and last step into becoming the new you is to take action and achieve your goals.

ACHIEVING YOU GOALS

Now that you have found what you need to do to improve your lives and to become the new you, all you need to take is ACTION. Without any action, there ain’t no satisfaction.

How can I achieve my goals? It takes small steps every day to reach your goals. Nothing can be done overnight, however a change in mindset can be done immediately. Change your mindset. I CAN, I WILL. Kick the pessimist talker in your mind away and welcome the optimist visionary.

When Arnold S set out to be the best body builder in the world. He took small steps every day to achieve his ultimate goal. He was not the champion in his first week, it took time and patience. If we start slowly, we too can be our own champions.

Pick up the phone. Call your friend. Join them in a game of tennis. Book a dancing class. Make time for yourself. If you are doing the same thing every week and weekend. A change would do no harm. Make it fun, make it happen.

If on your chart you were not happy with your finances. Seek professional help. Sometimes professional help works wonders. We always rely on family or friends for suggestions. Maybe this time you want to have a different perspective. Book an appointment with a financial adviser. It costs nothing, yet the benefits can be great.

Take action today. Your present lives will flourish into a balance of joy and gratitude. You will feel fantastic inside and outside. We only live once. Why not live it in the best way possible. Use your energy right. Make it happen.

Check your diary or calendar. Find out when you are available. Write down what you want to do and do it. If you write down specific dates and times you are most likely to do them. When you have met or done something that reflects a result on your new focus, put a smiley face or a BIG POSITIVE WORD like BEAUTIFUL or FANTASTIC. Hopefully after one or two months your diary or calendar will be full of positive images or words.

I hope you have got the picture by now. Even if you have faith in yourself you need to make the first move. All sorts of emotions will come your way, but at the end of the day, you will be proud of yourselves. I know it.

“take the first step into faith, you don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step” Martin Luther King Jr.

I do hope you have got inspired to self Assess yourselves, find out the tools and resources necessary to achieve your own wall of greatness and take positive action to succeeding.

www.successlodge.com

This is my story whats yours - by Maria Stivala

Our life is a blank canvas and we are all artists. From the day we are born, life lays down a number of choices for us. We get to choose the colour, texture and style of the paintings we want to become. How sad would it be if someone chooses the colour for us? What if that is not the painting we want to become?




I was invited to join Success Lodge via Facebook in December 2008 by someone very dear to me. To be frank, I was initially taken aback as I assumed this person had an ulterior motive for inviting me to the group. Nevertheless, my curiosity had the best of me and I accepted to form part of this online community, and weeks later I began receiving inspirational messages written by Claude Camilleri.. Life coaching was not new to me, I had looked into this in the past, but whenever I read articles from other life coaches, I always felt too distanced from the author. It almost felt as though I was obliged to pity my own life.
Somehow, these emails felt different. Claude claimed that he was not perfect; he was on a journey to becoming the person he wants to be just like the rest of us. In the first message I received he shared his newfound perspective on meditation, something I could easily relate to. I am blessed with a numerous family, but there have been times where I felt trapped, almost suffocated. Our new home was still under construction back then, and I was sharing my bedroom with my twin sister, this was something we had always done. We both craved the physical and emotional space, and I looked forward to dedicating fifteen minutes to meditation daily. I did this by standing in a comfortable position in peace and quiet, and focus entirely on my breathing. Immediately, I felt as though I was getting to know myself. After all these years, I felt at one with myself. my body, mind and soul had finally united.

As time went by, I continued following Claude’s journey. This was not a gossip blog, each message had its own inspirational significance, a hidden meaning, and snippets taken from his own personal experience. For a few minutes each time I felt as though someone was sharing his feelings with me, assuring me that I was not alone, and I came to realise that it is OK to feel lost, or to make mistakes. Above of all, that it is possible to rise from a fall.

Slowly but surely things started changing. I became aware that I could do so much more with my life. Consequently, my journey began...

I was finally getting to know who I really was. For the first time I was eager to become the person I had always wanted to become; this was not easy. My peers were used to seeing me fail, give up on my goals and eventually on myself. It was as though, the fact that I was unhealthy, sad and without direction was the way everybody perceived me. This projection was hard to beat, but as I began improving myself by making the most out of my days and analysing myself more closely, I could tell that they were proud of me.


My life was slowly getting back on track. I began to exercise often, eat healthily and most importantly, respect my body. My next goal was to regain my lost confidence. I attended a ‘Successlodge’ life coaching “Confidence” workshop by Claude Camilleri, along with my boyfriend in April 2008. It was such an amazing experience for both of us.I felt the need to boost my confidence when it came to approaching people whereas my partner felt he would have liked to strengthen his confidence in order to pursue his dreams. Claude moved us away of our comfort zone and challenged us to “get out of our shells and proudly show ourselves to the world.” I remember some of his words that are fixed in my mind: “We have every right to be here. We have every right to take pride in ourselves”. I felt as though the workshop had completely transformed me, and my confidence increased drastically; it really worked! My life improved and I noticed myself facing challenges instead of running away from them. I also felt I had the right to voice my opinions without feeling ashamed.

The next challenge was to listen to my own voice, I needed to fight back the negative thoughts and pursue my career. I had no direction; I did not know where to start and once again I turned to life coaching and booked myself a session with Claude who also specialises in career planning. Our session included brainstorming for over two hours.

I clearly remember him saying “You will not leave here until you give me an answer!” It was difficult at first, but by the end it was fun and exciting. He asked me what I liked doing most, what my hobbies were, and what my life philosophies included. Claude made things seem clearer to me. He saw the passion I have for life and my mission to pursuit a healthy lifestyle; combined the two, and convinced me that I was capable of actually doing this. The dream I had been nesting for a while, which was becoming a Nutritional Psychologist had finally spread its wings.

The past year has been a rollercoaster ride for me; highs and lows and dealing with twists and turns along the way. In retrospect however, I would not change a thing. My experiences have taught me immensely, and I am finally becoming the person I once dreamt of becoming.

Nowadays, I am a very energetic person. I try to make the best out of my time because I want to enjoy life by learning from my own mistakes, surrounding myself with good people, and having no regrets to look back on. I believe being positive in life attracts more positive energy. A few weeks ago, Claude Camilleri approached me and asked if I would join the SuccessLodge team. I gladly accepted, to me this was a dream come true. I was once helpless; I am now part of a community whose mission is to help people. Who would have ever thought that this was possible? My mission is to help SuccessLodge expand because I truly believe that we can make a difference and improve people’s lifestyles in the same way I improved my own.

Let us not waste any more time worrying about irrelevant things, but rather, focus on self improvement. Let us grow together and help one another in finding our own inner happiness. Let us work hand-in-hand to make our world a better place, It is never too late. Our life is a journey of learning and teaching; of creating art.

5 biblical keys to changing your life

written by Maria Stivala for the Successlodge Community
www.successlodge.com

Stress Management - Dealing With Stress At The Office

Let’s be honest - life can be stressful if we make it. An accumulation of little flaws over a day, a week, or a longer period of time, can build up and erupt in anger and anxiety. This can have a negative emotional and physical impact on you.
How can we prevent stress?
The key formula is preparation, which can give you the tranquility that you want. If you are having stressful days at the office, the first thing to do is to Analise your daily routine.

What exactly are you doing?
What is working and what isn’t?
What trends need to be changed and what should
remain the same?
First, check your sleeping, eating and drinking patterns. If you sleep very late at night and wake up as soon as the sun is up, that might need a change. Try sleeping earlier at night and set your alarm for an hour before you leave home. These small changes could be the answer to your stressful day.
Maybe it is your eating and drinking patterns that are fueling your stress.

What do you eat on a regular day?
Are you eating healthy and nutritious food?
Do you over- or under-eat?
Are you drinking enough water?
Are you addicted to caffeine?
You are what you eat - your eating and drinking patterns could be causing you stress.

 There are many great resources out there to help you find the perfect nutritious balance.
What about exercise?

Many of us overlook exercise, yet it is essential for our body to work right.
The only tangible thing we have till the last day we are alive is our body. Our body works like a car - the more you take care of it, the better it will work. Exercise is a great way to keep your body working well.

Once you master your sleeping, eating and exercise routines, stress would be the last thing on your mind. Still, other unforeseen circumstances can lead to discomfort.

What about dealing with stress at the office?
What can you do to avoid stress?

The most important thing is to find a job that you love. From personal experience, I can tell you that there is nothing worse then doing a job that you hate.
Another tip is to get to work 15 minutes early. This gives you ample time to settle down and to prepare your mind for the day ahead. Learn to take deep and long breaths on the hour and every hour. Once you start this routine you will notice that you are calmer and more focused.

If you spend most of your day sitting down, make sure that your chair is comfortable. There is nothing worse than sitting for hours on end on a bad chair. Also, do leg and feet exercises. Circular exercises like the ones previewed on long haul flights are necessary to keep blood circulation.

Every once in a while make sure you get up and have a walk - this is good for your circulation and gives your mind a rest too.
Also, if your job entails hours on the phone, ask for a hands free set - this is light, easy to use and gives you full movement access.

If there is something bothering you at work, make sure you bring it to your superior’s attention. Always choose the best time to bring up the subject and do this courteously.
Is your office well organized? If your office looks like a jungle of paper and files and nothing is in order, it would be a wise suggestion to take a morning off to get a proper system in place.

My final recommendation is to enjoy yourself. Have fun and learn to smile more. Laugh when you can.
Some of the Successlodge community have given me recommendations on how to control your stress at your workplace, including playing some background music, lighting up aromatherapy oils,taking up yoga, meditating, having a stress ball to release unwanted energy, and playing relaxing music when driving to work.

How should your life be?
Picture yourself smiling, happy that you feel good with yourself, and satisfied that you are taking care of your body, mind and soul. You are nourishing your temple with good food and plenty of water.

You exercise frequently.
You feel great.
You hear the sounds of success.
Your new found balance makes you calmer, more focused and above all happier. It’s your turn to share this wisdom with your peers.

400 Breakthrough Stress Elimination Strategies

www.successlodge.com