Saturday, June 30, 2012

The Art of Listening

"God gave man two ears but only one mouth that he might hear twice as much as he speaks.” -Epictetus, Greek philosopher 
Listening is a very important trait that many people believe they posses, but the reality is very few people use it effectively. Listening isn't just something you do with your ears. In order to fully hear what other people have to say you have to comprehend it as well. How good is listening to someone's ideas, thoughts, or feelings if you don't understand what they are saying? When we are young we are taught how to speak but not how to listen. That is why it doesn't really surprise me when I come across people who cannot communicate properly. The most important thing that all relationships require is communication. If you are a bad listener then you are a bad communicator, and that is not how to live an efficient life. So here are some things that I came up with in order to give you a better understanding on how to be a good, efficient listener. A lot of people are unaware of their bad listening skills, so if you see something that you don't currently do then try it the next time someone speaks to you and see if you perceive the information that they are telling you more clearly. 

  1. Have an open mind when someone walks up to you and begins to talk. You never know what they are going to say, and it's best to prepare yourself mentally before they start. It will be harder for you to get caught off guard that way, and you will be able to prepare a better response.
  2. Look at people right in the eye if you are talking to them face to face. It makes you look confident, and you can focus on their body language in order to asses if what they are saying is what they are really feeling.
  3. Don't be rude and cut someone off while they are expressing their views or feelings. You will never get the entire picture of what they are trying to convey if you don't let them finish what they're saying. It's never right to assume if you don't hear the full story.
  4. Imagine what they are telling you. This is really important if someone is giving you directions because you are able to visualize what they want you to do. When it's time for you to do the task it will be more easier because you've already thought about what you're going to do and how you're going to do it.
  5. Give them a sign that you are listening. You can do it visually, by nodding your head or verbally by saying "yes" or "ok". Once people know that you're listening, they will feel more open to divulge information to you.
  6. Asking questions is not only a good way to reconfirm that you are listening to them, but to also gain more knowledge for yourself. The more you know the better you can communicate.
  7. Confirm the information you have received to make sure that you have all of your facts right. That way if you internalized the information wrong, you can fix it then and there. That saves you from a world of miscommunication problems.
  8. Learn to stop listening. Now I didn't know this until I did research for this post, but it makes sense. Sometimes you have to know when to stop listening when it seems like people are taking advantage of you and your willingness to listen. For example, it's not wise to gossip or listen to negative things. You don't want people to think that you were taking part in spreading rumors all because you were just listening to others spread rumors. You also don't want to listen to negative things because you don't want other people to plant a seed of negativity that can affect your whole outlook on life. It's a judgement call that you have to make.
So now that you have a better idea on how to be a better listener, practice it! Every conversation is different, so take what you learned here and adjust it to the different scenarios you come across. Don't forget that listening is a skill, and as with all skills, it takes practice for you to master them. Knowing how to listen is an invaluable trait to have, and it will take you further in life and make you an better person overall. So keep your ears open Night Crawlers!



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Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers  @sleepis4suckers  and @si4s



Friday, June 29, 2012

Brand New From Sleep is 4 Suckers!

Here's your chance to get fly for the summer! Stay on your grind with these hot new shirts from Sleep is 4 Suckers.




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To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers  @sleepis4suckers  and @si4s


Thursday, June 28, 2012

Choosing to be Happy

"No situation, circumstance, relationship or thing can make you happy or unhappy.Happiness is a choice & it is now." -Deepak Chopra
Everything you do and everything you feel is a choice. You never have no choice in life because you are solely responsible for your actions and the decisions you make. You may think you can't control your emotions, and women everywhere uses that as an excuse for our irrational behavior once a month, but the truth is you can! You may not be able to help the way you feel, but you can choose what reaction you have. In any situation why not choose to be happy? There is always something positive that can can be found in any scenario. Some of those may be a little bit harder to find than others, but it's worth looking for because they change your outlook on things and help you realize things aren't as bad as they seem. I'm an optimist, and it's relatively easy for me to find the good in bad situations. I do this because I don't like to let other things effect my normally effervescent and joyful personality. Still, there are some trying times where it's very difficult for me to come up with a good outlook. When that happens I just think of the simple fact that I am still alive and able to breathe, and for some reason that always does the trick. If you always choose to be happy then no one can steal your joy,so choose wisely night crawlers!


To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Here's to The Future!

Looking ahead to your future will do much more good than looking back to your past. Looking back only distracts you and keeps you focused on past mistakes and mishaps. There's a reason why the front mirror is bigger than the rear-view mirror in a car. The more your able to focus on what's in front of you, the more you will move forward in life. If you're looking in your rear-view that means you're backing up and revisiting places you've already been. You might miss good opportunities that you could have taken advantage of had you kept onwards into your future. In order to avoid that, just keep pressing forward and moving on. The past makes us who we are, and we should be grateful for that. However, we cannot live in the past and expect to get anywhere in life. So here's to the future; May it be better than the past!

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Just in Case You're New to This...


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Thursday, June 14, 2012

Golf Balls?!

So as you all may have read, all last week I was doing posts that covered the different tracks on inspirational speaker Eric Thomas' mixtape, The Blueprint to Success. Since then I've had inspirations in various places, but I figure I had to write a few more about the mixtape since it was so captivating and motivational. So on one of the tracks titled "Adele", Thomas talks about singer Adele and her major success after a bad breakup, but I'm not going to talk about Adele and her story. I'm going to talk about golf balls! Ever wonder why golf balls are covered in dimples? Well originally, the golf ball was smooth, but over a period of time, after being hit by golf clubs, they became dented. Usually when you have something dented, it's useless, but in the case of the golf ball, the dimples actually allowed the ball to travel further than before. Once the company making the balls figured this out, they replaced the old golf balls with the one that we know of and play with today. Some of us have been beaten and hit so hard that we're dented and marred. We've gone through struggles in our past, and it may seem to us that we are useless. However, the reason why we have trials and are made imperfect is because it makes us stronger. We have a purpose now, and, because of that, we will go further. No one is perfect, and everyone has a story, but some people use their story to create greatness and triumph over their adversities. If you were born into poverty then that's an even better reason to be successful because you know how it feels to be poor and you don't want you or your children to feel that way. If you have been denied an opportunity, that's no excuse to give up because you've been without for this long and you have no choice but to have what you want eventually. So it's not necessarily a bad thing to have dimples and scratches from your trials. They only time it is bad is when you let those things control you and inevitably hold you back from being the best you you can be. So take advantage of your imperfections...they make you perfect.

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Inspiration From Twitter!

I'm on Twitter every single day of my life. I promote this blog, keep in touch with my friends and family, and sometimes I come across things that get me thinking. Last night I was minding my own business on Twitter (you know how that goes) when I stumbled across one of my followers' Twitpics. Now I don't know if she came up with this herself or saw it somewhere and decided to post it, but it left me inspired. I had read something of the sort years ago back in my telemarketing/sales days, and I remembered that it use to work for me all the time. It's nothing profound, just a simple thought process of imagining and visioning yourself with the things you want, but also being thankful for the things you have. Someway or another I have slipped from this mindset, and now it's time to get back to it. Try it for yourself and see, when you follow the instructions, how things change for you. You may be pleasantly surprised. The only advice I have towards this is how important it is to BELIEVE that it's going to happen. If you don't believe it then you can't achieve it. I hope this leaves you inspired...

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s


Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Hand in Hand

Success and failure. You can't have one without the other. In order to truly appreciate success, you may have to go through some things and know what it's like to fail. I swear I have failed so many times that I was starting to think that it may never happen for me, but then I realized that if it weren't for me feeling the lows I wouldn't be able to appreciate the highs. Embracing the lows of life is just as important as embracing the highs. Sometimes we want to rush to the part where we're doing well for ourselves and living our dreams, but what about the journey that it took to get there? What about the mountains we've had to climb and the rivers we've had to cross. No one enjoys a story that only depicts success because they cannot relate. They much rather hear about how you have overcome adversity in everyday life. The reality is most people know way more about failure than success. However, by creating your story and letting them know that there is morning after darkness, it will inspire them not to worry. They will see that if they just keep working hard and believing that things will happen, then it will be so.

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Monday, June 11, 2012

You can't always be the student!

"[The teacher] will always be the teacher and you will always be the student, and as long as you're the student you don't get paid...until you can teach it" - Eric Thomas, The Blueprint to Success, (Track 6)
 When it comes to being the best, being smart is everything. Sure you need determination, a good work ethic, and drive, but if you don't have knowledge then you don't have anything. As far as knowledge goes, being book smart isn't enough. You also have to be business savvy, be aware of current events, and have multiple interests. Now and days, it's not enough to just meet people's expectations anymore; you need to exceed them. You want people to be impressed with the words that come out of your mouth, and to do that requires work. You have to hustle hard in the aspect of gaining knowledge. Whenever I log online I spend hours reading just about every article that Yahoo brings up. I read them because I want to learn something new, so that I can use it in everyday life. Sometimes I'll go on a random Googling spree, where I Google random things I have in my head to make sure the information I have on them is correct. Who knows when I'll need to talk about the benefits of juicing, the color of 2012 (Tangerine Tango), or the inspiration behind Jean Paul Gaultier's Spring 2010 fashion line (Amy Winehouse). I just know that I need to be constantly learning in order to grow so that I can impart my knowledge on other people and widen their way of thinking because I don't want to be a student forever. Everyone starts out as a student, but eventually you have to graduate and become the teacher. It doesn't mean that you stop learning, but by being a teacher it allows you to help other people. Not learning more that you're required to know would be a disservice to yourself and the people you come in contact with. So pick up a book, read a blog, do something everyday that will allow you to learn something new. You never know when you're going to need that knowledge!


To download your FREE personal copy of Eric Thomas' The Blueprint to Success mixtape  Click Here! You can also follow him on Twitter @ericthomasbtc

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Friday, June 8, 2012

Twenty-Four

"If you only have 24 hours in a day your success is dependent upon how you use the 24" -Eric Thomas, The Blueprint to Success (Track 5)
Everyone has the same amount of time in a day. The difference between the successful people and you is that they use their time more wisely. That's why we say sleep is 4 suckers because we have something to accomplish, and we can't accomplish it if we spend 8 hours out of 24 hours asleep and inactive. Rise & Grind! Wake up early and get a 3-5 hour head start on the rest of the world. Go to bed only after everything you have on your to-do list is checked off and completed. The more things you get done in a day, the more efficient you become. Efficiency leads to success, and success leads to rewards. Those rewards will overshadow your desire to rest. So start a new schedule. Literally sit down and write out what you will do and when you will do it. Start you day an hour earlier than normal, and after you get used to it, get up an hour before that. Eventually you will see things start to change. So wake up Night Crawlers! Sleep is 4 Suckers!


To download your FREE personal copy of Eric Thomas' The Blueprint to Success mixtape  Click Here! You can also follow him on Twitter @ericthomasbtc

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Ambition

"It's ok to lose, but you can never get comfortable with it" -Eric Thomas, The Blueprint to Success (Track 2)
At some point in time in our lives we all lose. Some people don't care and others take it to heart. Remember that bratty kid in the fourth grade who won just about every game of War and then cried or got mad if he lost just one game? Although it may not have seemed like it to us at the time, that kid had ambition. He wanted to win so badly, that when he didn't it shook him to the core, and next time he made sure to play with more strategy in order to not feel that feeling of loss again. That's how we should be now. If we want something and don't get it, we shouldn't just write it off as if it's not meant to be. On the other hand, losing is good because it makes us buckle down and work harder, but it's not something to accept or get use to. Eric Thomas uses Micheal Jordan as an example again. He recalled that his favorite memory of Jordan was when the Bulls lost to the Pistons and MJ left the court with tearful eyes, vowing to never lose to the Pistons again. That passion and ambition Jordan exuded when he left the court is one of the reasons that he was such a phenomenal basketball player. Now I'm not saying we need to literally cry and boo-hoo if something doesn't go our way. I'm just saying it should hurt you so much that you will do everything you can and work that much harder to make sure you won't have to feel defeat often. Sure you won't win every battle in life, but it sure doesn't hurt to try.


To download your FREE personal copy of Eric Thomas' The Blueprint to Success mixtape  Click Here! You can also follow him on Twitter @ericthomasbtc

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Thursday, June 7, 2012

I'm Driven!

"You will never be what you're supposed to be. You will never have what you're supposed to have. You will never ball out until you got a purpose for what you do what you do!" -Eric Thomas, The Blueprint to Success (Track 4)
Drive separates the dreamers from the doers. The people who have what you desire all had to have drive in order to get what they have. Having something as simple as drive and determination catapults you into success. After being tremendously inspired by this specific track, I was able to come up with three different types of drive that people have when it comes to life and success. The first type of drive is the sidewalk drive. You can't actually drive on a sidewalk, it's against the law. Therefore, the people who go through life on the sidewalk have to walk it. At some point they may be able to run, but they will never be able to pick up much speed or momentum because there are a lot of people walking the same narrow path. In terms of backtracking, if you want to go back simply just turn around and backtrack through life. The second type of drive is the drive down the dirt road. Now on a dirt road you can actually ride in a car from point A to point B, but you can't get there in a timely manner because the road you're on is rocky and uneven. You'd be afraid of going too fast because it feels like the wheels could get damaged over the rugged terrain. You can also backtrack on this road by making a U-turn in the middle of the road (note: both the sidewalk and dirt road come to dead ends, so eventually you will either have to make a turn around or be stuck in one spot forever). The last drive is the type of drive that you will only see successful people on. It's the drive down the one-way highway. On the one-way highway you can only drive forward, and your destination is never reached. Sure, you can get off at an exit and explore, but you reach your goals and get back on the highway because you have the desire to go further and do even greater things. That's why this particular path doesn't have an end because the possibilities out there are endless. In addition to that, you can go as fast as you want because the highway isn't too crowded--its the road less traveled.

Personally I've been in all three of these settings at various times in my life. I found the sidewalk was the easiest, but it left me feeling unaccomplished and empty. I wanted an extraordinary life, and this was just boring, and I couldn't obtain the life I wanted on this path.  On the dirt road I thought I was doing something, but it wasn't enough. I was never going to get where I wanted to be because I was moving too slowly. Now the highway is exhausting! Even though it seems pretty straight-forward, it's a lot of hard work. However, it is the most rewarding. Plus, once I got started, I started wanting more and more and more out of life. I could see my future and dreams ahead of me on my path, but more importantly, I saw beyond them.

At some point and time in our lives we are all going to be on one road or another, so we have to choose which path we will spend most of our life on. It takes desire to move from the sidewalk to the highway. Just don't be lazy and take the easy way out because you think that you lack the means to succeed on the highway. Hard work pays off, but you have to have the drive to push you through. You have to have something that you're living for in order to get there. Do you like the path that you're on now? Can you see yourself reaching your goals? If not, then change it. It's as simple as that. Whatever you do choose to do, choose it wisely. After all, it is your life we're talking about.


To download your FREE personal copy of Eric Thomas' The Blueprint to Success mixtape  Click Here! You can also follow him on Twitter @ericthomasbtc

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s



Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Competitive Edge

"What happens when you have that competitive edge, you take it with everything you do"-- Eric Thomas, The Blueprint to Success (track 11)
To be successful you have to have something that normal people don't. You need something to set you apart from the crowd. You need a competitive edge. There are many different ways you can set yourself apart from the rest, but the main thing to remember is a competitive edge isn't something that can be given to you, it's something that is inside of you. You have to create it. I feel like the ultimate competitive edge is a strong and positive thought process. The way you think will drive you to do things you've never done before. It will drive you to be proactive. For example, Eric Thomas describes his thought process in regards to his marriage and his wife. He believes that at any minute things can change, so he does everything that he can do to keep his relationship good and his wife happy (I personally need for every guy to think like this). He doesn't always need a reason to do something for her, sometimes he does it just because. When was the last time you did something to improve your life just because? Don't wait until things are out of control or not where you want them to be before you decide to change them. That particular competitive edge can be applied to just about every aspect of life, whether it's your career, your family, or your finances. Do everything you can possibly do in order to keep those things where you want them to be. As I stated before, you have to create your own competitive edge, something that will work for you. When you find it use it in everything that you do because it will, eventually, pay off.



To download your FREE personal copy of Eric Thomas' The Blueprint to Success mixtape  Click Here!
You can also follow him on Twitter @ericthomasbtc


To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Tuesday, June 5, 2012

The Flu

"I dare you for one time in your career...I dare you to exhaust yourself" -Eric Thomas, The Blueprint to Success (track 10)
The 1997 NBA Finals, game 5 is commonly referred to as "the flu game". Michael Jordan had some type of stomach virus, and under doctors' orders he was advised not to play. Thankfully he rebelled and played anyways, and that game became one of the most memorable games in his career and an inspiration to all. MJ made 38 points during game 5. A player getting 38 points in a game isn't something to take lightly, and the fact that Micheal Jordan did it while he was sick was amazing! I had no clue about the flu game until I heard it on Eric Thomas' mixtape The Blueprint to Success, and it really put things into perspective for me. The passion and determination and stamina it took Jordan to play in that game left me in awe. I believe that's how we should be in our everyday lives in terms of skills and work ethic. Your "flu" game should be better than anyone feeling 100%. In other words, you should always be playing at 200%. If you don't come out at the end of the day exhausted, then you haven't played to the best of your abilities. If you never exhaust yourself and your potential then you will never be at your best. Give it all until you have nothing left, and then turn around and give it some more.

To download your own personal copy of Eric Thomas' The Blueprint to Success Click Here!
You can also follow him on Twitter @ericthomasbtc

To join the Sleep is 4 Suckers movement and purchase your Sleep is 4 Suckers gear Click here.
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter @martacious and Sleep is 4 Suckers @sleepis4suckers and @si4s

Monday, June 4, 2012

This Week on The Si4S Blog...

So, we know that our devout Night Crawlers have been missing our regularly updated blog posts. After about a week and a half of searching for inspiration, I've finally found it! Self-proclaimed hip-hop preacher, Eric Thomas. Thomas talks about reaching goals like there's no tomorrow, and he does it with such passion and conviction. He also has inspired Sleep is 4 Suckers' founder David Shands immensely in his life. David turned me onto one of his mixtapes, and after hearing the first track I was hooked. It inspired me to write a series of blogs because everything that he was saying was related to the brand and what Sleep is 4 Suckers stands for. So stay logged into the Si4S blog everyday this week, and be inspired!