21 tips to for a better new year

So it's finally 2013! It's time to work harder, learn more and become a better person in general. In the nick of time, here are 21 tips (from an earlier blog)  to get you in a better place in 2013.

1. Start a habit of praying and/or meditating daily – for my fellow theists out there this should be a no-brainer if all else fails at least you can pray. Studies have shown that prayers do have a positive effect but I just feel much better after praying anyway. For my friends who follow the flying spaghetti monster – that is to say my atheist and agnostic brothers and sisters - try out meditation for a spin. If you don’t meditate regularly think about the last time you’ve had the opportunity to just sit and think about nothing whatsoever without distraction. Find a comfortable, quiet and hopefully dim part of your house and give yourself at least 10-20 minutes to forget about anything stressing you out and instead either think of possible solutions or think about nothing at all. I personally do both daily.
2.  Begin getting up a little bit earlier each day – you know what they say the early bird gets the worm. The man who makes the $100 bill possible said some year's ago "Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy & wise" You can also check out the blog  How to Wake Up Early for some great tips.
3. Compliment at least 1 person a day – you will be amazed at how the world begins to give you back good energy if you just start to give it out without asking for anything back in return. I once complimented someone on the elevator about something they were wearing and this lady literally half-jumped out of her skin,  half-shouted THANK YOU! As if she’d been waiting for someone to notice all day. Compliment somebody and let karma work on receiving that compliment back.
4. Shoot for reading at least 2 books a month – knowledge is power but reading also stimulates your brain and helps you learn.I heard a rumor that the average millionaire reads 52 books a year. I also heard a rumor that Oprah - the billionaire - reads two books a week...you can handle two books a month, try and start with one a month and increase.
5. Get on a regular fitness program  - The more in shape you are, the healthier you are. Join a gym, find an aerobics class, buy some running shoes and put a "26.2" bumper sticker on your car...and start jogging or running too.
6.  Save your 2nd biggest smile of the day for a complete stranger – Think of how many frowns you meet in a day.... now think of how many smiles you tend to meet.... Believe it or not it has a lot to do with what’s on your face when you come in contact with others. Try and make that expression a smile. 
7. Save your biggest smile of the day for your significant other – Now I’m guilty of not doing this as often as I should but sometimes we smile at others all day but when we get home to our loved ones we have nothing but frowns and complaints. Give your loved ones a smile instead.
8. Call an old friend up and ask how they’re doing with no ulterior motive – call up a friend you haven’t talked to in a while just to say "hi." Find out what they are up to, how they've been, who's in their life and who isn't. You'll likely feel better and possibly have another person to talk to while you're at it. 
9. Keep a notebook to write down goals – I mentioned in a prior podcast  the Harvard study about goals. If you missed it, the study followed Harvard students who had goals and those who did not. Those who had clear written goals were earning as much as 10 times more than those with no goals whatsoever.
10. Start a blog if you’d like to share your life with the world – It’s easy just check out  blogger or wordpress to find out more.
11. Start  a journal if you feel like writing about deeply personal issues and keeping them secret – the only downfall of the blog is that once it’s posted on the Internet... it’s there forever. If you want to keep some of your life private stick to old fashioned pen & paper.
12. If you’re in line for coffee, pay for the person behind you – now I wouldn’t say do this every day but, if you notice someone is having a particularly bad day – a random act of kindness like this will probably make their day.One word - Karma.
13. Volunteer for a non-profit – soup kitchen, after school program, animal shelter whatever makes you feel good while helping others helps you both.
14. Hour to Slack -If you’re the workaholic type – like myself – set aside an hour a day or( a day a week if you can stand it ) to slack off  - This can be a hard thing to do if you’re a workaholic but if you don’t schedule time to take a break you’re cruising for a nervous break-down.
15. Save more money than you blow – Someone once said "If you’ve got 15 cents, spend the nickel but save the dime."  I’d agree. If you need help Dave Ramsey, Lynnette Khalfani and an endless array of bloggers can help.
16. Blow a least a little bit of your money - If you try and save everything you earn and spend no money. That illogical side of you that likes to have fun may just revolt, go on a shopping spree followed by a weekend binge in Vegas and then you're right back at square one. So allow yourself to splurge sometimes, just don't make it a weekly habit.
17. Learn a new joke and try it on a friend – who doesn’t like humor?
18. Learn the names of people you see all the time – neighbors, bank tellers, co-workers who work in different departments. – someone said something to the effect of the most recognized words on another's lips are the person’s own name…I agree - this tip comes from one of the greatest self help books ever - How to Win Friends And Influence People if you haven't read it yet you should -now. Tips 3, 6 & 7 came from this book too. 
19.  Visualize your day, week or month going great – give yourself a week and as you wake up remain in bed and spend about 5 -10 minutes imagining your week going great but also imagine what you will have to do to make it go great – see if things don’ t start to change.
20. Give your spare change to the homeless – unless you have aggressive panhandlers in your neighborhood it usually doesn’t hurt to give spare change to those who have less than you do.Don't sit and judge them about that they could possibly use it for drugs, alcohol or worry that they're not really homeless in the first place. Just give it, wish them the best and move on.
21. Turn off the TV! – I could talk about this for hours but TV is one of the most destructive or at least deconstructive inventions in the past 70 years in my opinion. If you think you have no time to do anything, give up TV and all your favorite TV shows for one week to see if you notice... you suddenly have ample time. I had always teetered on lowering my TV intake until I read this comic from Tom the Dancing Bug:

 The character above really spoke to me. From that day to this, I try and fill my spare time with as little TV as possible.

Let me know if any of these tips helped or if you have tips of your own. Thanks for reading.