Inner Strengths |

December 13, 2016

Your Time Trade

Take Back Your Time

One of the choices in your life you will be asking yourself is the following question:

Would you take back your time if you could trade it for the money you made when you lost the time it took to make it?

There is a book, “Take Back Your Time,” edited by John de Graff. It is a collection of essays about overwork and time poverty in our society. Where would you take back your time and reclaim it? Would you schedule activities out of a sense of abundance or out of a sense of fear?

A tight schedule based on fear depletes you and leaves your life out of balance with you spending more time in recovery and addictive behaviors. Adding to the feeling of being out of balance, there is the feeling of guilt for not sharing yourself with loved ones and your community..

To change this, make your choices with confidence that they will be the best ones for all. To help you begin with asking these questions and consider the additional information to help you with your decision.

1. How would you best know how to pick your priority time from your highest values?

Ask your heart. Your heart is where your true answers are and where your values will be considered first.

2. Does your project have to be perfect?

Consider that your best is good enough. Perfectionism makes for a very hard taskmaster and may be responsible for robbing you of that precious time that you will never regain. Ask for support for part of the tasks that maybe not making the best use of your time in those areas, that are also not where you shine anyway.

3. Why spend time doing tasks that you don’t like?

You will be pleased to know that there are people out there that do like to do them. Ahh, what a Relief! Stop doing your least favorite activity.

4. Is every material thing in your home inspiring to you?

Ponder this: Have nothing around you that is not beautiful or useful.

5. Is your technology the simplest, easy to maintain and most economical equipment you could own?

Do you really need all those bells and whistles? Think about how much you will need to
earn to pay for all the upgrades that you may or may not use.

6. What can you do to rearrange your time to be in harmony with your best needs and values?

Keep a time log for the nest week. Notice how you spend your time in working, learning,
creativity, spirituality, social and physical. Are you giving enough time in each of these categories for you to feel well balanced?

Allow yourself the time you need for sleep, eat healthy, exercise socialize and have fun.

Pondering these questions may very well be the best investment of your time and time well spent.

Turn your time traded into time well spent.

Thanks and see you next time!

Joci James, The Life Strengths Detective

Wisdom |

June 13, 2016

| by Joci James

5 Strategies to Enjoy Your Free Time

5 Strategies to Enjoy Your Free Time is Good for the Soul

Your best opportunity to re-charge your emotional batteries is to take advantage of those precious non-work hours.
Depending on how you spend it, free time allows you to truly express who you are and who you strive to be. You’ll feel at peace and content with your life when you begin to utilize
non-work time doing the activities you love.I know I had always wanted the time to create a beautiful garden. When I finally did that, the peace and contentment I felt was food for my soul.

Try these tips on how to use your free time to your best advantage

1. Ask yourself, “What do I really long to do?” Make a list. Include simple and complex projects and activities you’ve always wanted to do. * Your list might have items on it like “do yoga 3 times a week, ” “watch those DVDs I bought 6 months ago,””read at least one novel a month,” or “spend 2 hours making a scrapbook from last year’s vacation photos.” What makes your heart sing?
Not only will you receive Satisfaction from doing these activities, you will receive health benefits as well.
Projects can seem too much like work so add some fun things like going to a play or a movie.

2. Take a look at your calendar. It’s good to get a visual of how much free time you have in a given week. It can be exhilarating to realize you have 20 hours of free time each week. When does most of your free time occur?

In the evenings from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.? Or only on the weekends? Or both? * If you use a paper calendar, highlight the time blocks when your free time will happen in the
coming week. You’ll feel a little excited and happy when you do this step. It just feels great to know you’ve got some “me time” coming. Don’t be surprised if you loose track of time because you are enjoying your activity so much.

3. Plan desired activities by writing them into your schedule. It might be unusual for you to consider using your calendar to “schedule” free time. However, if it’s written in the calendar, you’re more likely to a novel. From 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. you could schedule “work on vacation scrapbook.
” From 9:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., maybe it’s “call my sister in TN.” * It’s not necessary to schedule every unscheduled bit of time you have. However, if it’s written into your
schedule, it will be a great reminder for you to begin doing many of the things you long to do. You’ll get focused and feel more fulfilled once you start doing the activities
you choose.

4. Gather necessary supplies for favored activities in advance. You’ll be prepared to jump right in if you already have the supplies you need. Use shoe boxes or
plastic bins to store supplies so everything will be at the ready when free time rolls around.

5. Regularly update your list of desired activities. This is the wonderful thing about enjoying free time: you have free rein to change your mind and develop new, exciting interests at your whim. Life is incredibly enriching when you realize you can spend spare time taking part in activities you find stimulating, interesting, or just plain fun. To feel content and develop a real enjoyment of life, use spare moments to your best advantage. Do every single thing you desire. Enrich your life by enjoying your free time!

Wellness |

November 3, 2015

| by Joci James

Yoga for Feeling Younger

Share Love!

Joci James is ultimate wisdom when it comes to “Yoga For Feeling Younger”

88 Years Young with Yoga

Doing Yoga everyday is your best choice for living well ~ Joci James

“Never put an age limit on your dreams.” Dara Torres”

Here are 9 reasons why doing Yoga everyday is your best choice:

It helps you tune into yourself and tune out stress on any level.
It is a mind body connection. With the increased oxygen and blood flow to the brain and heart, this stimulates more clear thinking and body energy.
It engages you in controlled breathing which quiets the your mind and helps your body with a renewed sense of energy and calm.
It gives you stronger muscles which not only makes you look better but also contributes to your over all health. Stretching and relaxing your muscles removes tension and stress.
Doctors may soon be prescribing Downward-Facing Dog instead of pain pills. Practicing yoga everyday will help to realease your body pain as well as helping your Doctor to have proof that it is a medical protocol that will solve your medical body diagnosis. Yoga is medicine and it is time for people to start seeing it that way.
Yoga’s alchemy of breath and movement can stem desease an alleviate pain, and also change your body health down to the molecular level.
Most yoga postures are more about deep relaxing, not stretching, even though it all feels mighty good.
It pain-proofs your brain. Integrative Health has reported that yogis tolerated pain more than twice as long as nonyogis. The conscious relaxation builds connections in the brain that helps in dealing with pain.
Yoga has been a life savor for me. I discovered yoga over 3O years ago and have been practicing it almost everyday since. I had been suffering with dibilitating fibromyolgia and was searching for a relief that was not a addictive prescribed pill. It has a bucket full of healing results that not only keep my body healthy and young, it has an affect on keeping my mind young and “smart.” You might say it is my best friend. It can be yours too, all you need is a mat and that is optional depending on your environment.

Joci James is known as The Life Strength Detective. She uses her innate inner strengths to guide you to “Discover the Best of You,” She has founded The Thrive Age working with baby boomers and seniors. With over 80 years of life on this planet Joci has the wisdom and experience to help you thrive and discover your inner strengths. It’s time to thrive with choosing a new lifestyle design. It’s time to discover the best of you at any age.

Let Joci help you on your treasure hunt to discovering the best of YOU!

Retirement |

June 22, 2015

| by Joci James

Let Freedom Ring in Your Business and Your Life

With the coming around every year of celebrating the Fourth of July Holiday, it’s a good time to take inventory of what freedom means to you in your Business.

The Top Ten Freedom reasons to let Freedom Ring in Your Business:

1. The Freedom to choose the Business You love.

2 The Freedom to live an Extraordinary Life.

3. The Freedom to be Your Own Boss.

4. The Freedom to grow your business at Your Own Pace.

5 The Freedom to Work at Home.

6. The Freedom to arrange Your Vacations, Your Way.

7. We can choose To Have Financial Success.

8. The Freedom to Have Time for Fun and Family.

9. The Freedom to Create a Passive Income.

10 The Freedom to a Live Healthy, Wealthy and Wise Life.

With the busyness of life we sometimes don’t take the time to stop and be thankful for all the freedoms that we are FREE to choose.

Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.
Albert Einstein, ‘Out of My Later Years,’ 1950
US (German-born) physicist (1879 – 1955)

Inner Strengths |

June 8, 2015

| by Joci James

Clutter+Confusion=Calamity

Clarity

Winners achieve their goal because they have clarified what that goal is be before they have taken any action. Their first step is identifying the goal. Not just what it is but how it looks and feels. They create a vision with that goal clearly established. So often, confusion is what stops us from taking action.

Confusion is the results of not having made a plan for where you want to go. Or maybe you have not yet decided where you are going, which adds more fuel to the confusion pot. How will you find the answer? It will be necessary for you to do some research into your wants bank. Not your needs but your wants. It might help for you to know the difference between your wants and your needs.
Your wants are like a wishing well, you throw wishes into the well and hope they will come true. these wants may be like a desire, they are like a nagging child, pulling on you to fulfill the desire. These wants could be a shiny new object like a new car or a more tangible one like a romantic relationship.
Either way, it will take making a plan to accomplish results on receiving the wants.

Champions achieve their vision because they know what they want. They have a vision that keeps them motivated and focused.

People you constantly succeed, have a clear, and thoughtful vision. They are clear about what they need to do and when they need to do it. They have a written plan or map so that hey can stay on course and avoid any roadblocks that hinders them from reaching their vision. They see it clearly, they feel it, and experience it in their minds and hearts.

What is your dream success? Your ticket to get there lies in your clarity. It depends on your clearly established, detailed, written plan of action to achieve your goal.

Wisdom |

January 31, 2014

| by Joci James

I Don’t Do Math

In designing the six series of blogs to follow, I was surprised with myself for creating these equations: Problem: Clutter + Confusion = Calamity Solution: Clarity + Focus + Control = Calm-anity The reason I was surprised is because I have spent a lifetime avoiding anything to do with math. When I was a child in grade school, it was my older brother that was assigned the chore of helping me with my homework. He hated the job. He would do the problem and then immediately wad the paper up and throw it away. I was expected to remember how to do it. The tears would come and my brain would freeze up. Right then and there I was certain I was dumb.

This was a belief I hung onto until I was forced to learn to multiply when I was a grown woman trying to pass a real estate exam. We were not allowed to use adding machines at that time and calculators had not been invented. However, my first thought when anything to do with math comes up still, is, “I don’t do math!” Along with the reinvention of “Joci” I learned about my inner strengths. I have long since come to believe that I am no longer dumb but that I have become a wise woman. The articles addressing Problems will be: 1. Clutter 2. Confusion 3. Calamity The articles addressing Solutions will be: 1. Clarity 2. Focus 3. Control And the sixth one called: CALM-ANITY – a word I coined to describe the Ahhhh! feeling that comes with being in the state of calm and yet be able to take action. Look for the series coming soon.

Wisdom |

December 10, 2013

| by Joci James

12 Ways to Make Your Life More Exciting

Wouldn’t it be great if your life was an exciting cornucopia of new adventures? Just imagine! No more days where you wonder if there’s something better. No more hearing yourself complain about being bored.

Life is full of chores and routines, and sometimes you might find yourself just going through the motions without even realizing that you could be seeking out some excitement instead.

3. Even though there will always be chores and other required tasks, the time you have afterwards can be a fulfilling set of exciting adventures. With a little ingenuity and action, boredom can become a faint memory of your past.

Try the following ways to add excitement to your life:

1. Challenge yourself. It doesn’t matter what you choose to do, but find something that challenges you. Push your limits. Not only will you be adding excitement to your life, you’ll also end up accomplishing more that you ever thought you could.

2. Dare yourself to do something totally different. You may find excitement by just going in a different direction than you’re used to. If you take daily walks, try a new route. If you always enjoy a certain meal at a restaurant, pick something else or even a new restaurant next time. These small variances from the norm can be just the pick-me-up you’re seeking.

3. Expand your comfort zone. Summon the courage to step out of your comfort zone. It can feel quite exciting, get your heart pumping faster, and make you feel alive again. When you step outside your comfort zone, you open up a door to a whole new world of exciting experiences.

4. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. If there’s something you’ve been meaning to try, now is the time. Go for it with all the gusto you’ve got!

5. Make adventures a priority. If necessary, schedule excitement into your daily schedule. This will force you to take it just as seriously as your other commitments, but also give you an allotted time where your focus is solely on enjoying an adventure.

6. Meet new people. Meeting new people can bring you a new variety of adventure and excitement. When you make a new friend, they may introduce you to new interests, hobbies, music, food, and more. It’s difficult to stay bored when you’re letting new people into your life.

7. Go out more. Make an extra effort to get out of the house. Whenever you walk out that door, the possibilities are endless. Make every outing a new adventure!

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” — John Muir

8. Plan a grand adventure. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to go to Hawaii or visit far away friends. You may have to spend a good amount of time saving up for the trip, but even the anticipation of the trip and planning the details can be exciting.

9. Volunteer your time. You may think that volunteering is only about the giving of yourself for the good of others. However, volunteering can be personally rewarding and even exciting. You may find that you genuinely enjoy helping other people, and you never know what you’ll discover in the course of volunteering.

10. Always bring positive energy to every situation. All that we see and feel is an expression of love. All positive energy is love.

11. Look for what makes you come alive. Take the path that will fulfill your greatest aspirations. Bring your entire personality to the work you are engaged in. Create a space in your workplace to elevate your ability to integrate transformational experiences.

Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because that’s what the world needs are people who have come alive. ~Howard Thurman

12. Spend time with people who stimulate you. People who you enjoy and make you laugh, stimulate you intellectually, and are part of your supportive community, those you can turn to in times of need. These are the source of nutrition for your soul.

Life can be as exciting as you want it to be. Take action to plan your time according to your priorities, and use these tips to help you take advantage of every moment you’ve got. You’ll be glad you did!

Wisdom |

November 8, 2013

| by Joci James

You Are Not Alone!

“Within your heart, keep one still, secret spot where your dreams may go.” Louise Driscoll

We spend much of our time looking for answers to our life questions, looking outside of ourselves ….. for the information we already possess and which are only found by discovering our signature inner strengths.

“What lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lives within us.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

It has been said that our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate; our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond what we already possess, which is found only by stopping and looking inside.

Quite often as an Octogenarian, I am asked how do you stay so young at heart? My answer is … Curiosity. Curiosity keeps us young in mind and heart. As a coach, it was my curiosity that led me to explore my inner strengths, even though, I was not aware that I possessed the signature strength of curiosity, when I started exploring my inner strengths at around 60 years of age. Twenty plus years later, I spend my time helping others to find their precious inner gifts.

As we rely too much on our own knowledge and opinions, we lose our ability to call on the strengths we were born with to flex our mental abilities to create new ways of accomplishing things.

We forget that we are more powerful when we call on long unused talents. We need to remember that there might be different ways of accomplishing things.

I rely on my talent as a leader to stimulate options for generating an approach that will cause my student to solve their challenges. Through examination of the results of their inner strengths assessment, they are able to activate one or more of the sleeping treasures to expedite their endeavors to success. They report new insights that ignite breakthroughs that inspire them to build solid solutions.

If you feel that you are alone in your journey to achieve your dreams, your power is within you. By uncovering your inner strengths, you will discover that your deepest fear is not that you are inadequate; your deepest fear is that you are powerful beyond what you already possess, deep within yourself. And which are only found by stopping…

And taking a good look inside…

That within your heart there is a spot…

Where your dreams lie.

To learn how you can discover your inner strengths, please contact me at:

joci@ joci james.com

Inner Strengths |

September 30, 2013

| by Joci James

Find Your Inner Ninja

Question: What is inner strength? Or should I say, “Wassup? Someone from yahoo answered; “close ur eyes n think of nethin that come to ur mind that soothes ,that wud b the picture of inner strenght” There is wisdom in this honest, from the heart, answer. Just close your eyes, breathe deeply, and think of nothing. Let your mind bring in soothing thoughts. I picture an ocean breeze with the mist of the waves, spraying my face. You might have another scene or place that soothes you. I was enlightened by some of the words from the song, “Find Your Inner Ninja” http://rapgenius.com/1420145/ Here are some of the lyrics: “Ninja? You’re a ninja? Get out of here, you’re a ninja! Yes, I am a ninja. [Bridge: David Myles] I read the rules before I broke ’em I broke the chains before they choked me out Now I pay close attention Really learn the code I learned to read the map before I hit the road” If we would learn to listen to our most honest inner voice, we would learn to read the rules, and then, if we decide to make the choice, we have the right to break them. After we have read the code and read our inner map, we are ready to hit the road. Now, rap is not my favorite choice of music and you wouldn’t find me a card carrying rapper, however, sometimes I find honesty in places that might surprise my otherwise biased opinions. As the song says: “Really learn to read the code.” I take that to mean, “Learn to read your inner code; your inner strength.” If I had a rapper card it might read:”WASSUP?” or it might say, “Are you a Ninja? I would have to answer, yes, sometimes I am a Ninja.