Dielli | The Sun

Albanian American Newspaper Devoted to the Intellectual and Cultural Advancement of the Albanians in America | Since 1909

The Unstoppable Resilient You

by

Anila Niklos, M.Ed, CDP/

“Where–if anywhere–do our actual limits lie?” ― Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance.

When the New Year 2020 entered our lives, it was hyped and branded as the best year ever. But did it really pan out to be exactly that?! We all know the answer to that question. As our lives seem to be on halt, overwhelming frustration, newfound challenges, and pain are all a part of our new daily experience.

One way or another, we are standing in the crossroads of chaos and feel the need to reevaluate our lives emotionally, physically, financially and spiritually to name a few aspects. We also might feel a lack of clarity for what is next and that alone creates fear. The question I have– which you might also be wondering– should we accept the fear that is looming over our horizons and transferring inside our beings or should we open our arms and welcome the beginning of a new life?

Let’s suppose we embrace the new beginning. What kind of skills, attitudes, traits and values do we need to possess in order to thrive in the new beginning? As someone who not only studied the concept of new beginnings but also underwent several of them, I feel it important to share with you what I found impactful and vital.

Elect Courage Over Fear – If you were to search the meaning of courage you would learn that courage is “the ability to do something that frightens one, or strength in the face of pain or grief.” Actually, fear supports our capacity to keep ourselves safe and it is a human prehistoric response. However, the courage I am speaking of has to do with the ability to understand what the danger is but to choose strength in the face of overwhelming change, pain and grief. In other words, utilize fear to understand what scares you, the thing that creates limitations, mental, emotional, or physical ones. Then grab your courage which equips you with strength mentally, emotionally and physically. Thus, situating you for a healthy approach towards the new beginning.

Embrace Compassionate Curiosity – Allow yourself to apply compassionate curiosity towards the new beginning. Learn more about it by being open-minded and non-judging. The moment one judges someone or something he/she/them has/have lost the ability to clearly see the new beginning in its full potential. The scope of it might become distorted, and as a result lead to an inaccurate evaluation of the new beginning. In our new life, we simply must make sure we fully understand and compassionately interact with the new beginning.

Practice Wellness Attitude – Right now, most of our daily habits are off. Someone might be experiencing days and nights becoming one. Others might be caring for loved ones who might have become ill, while others might be experiencing pain from loss of loved ones, loss of employment, loss of status, loss of themselves as they knew it. As such, it is crucial to be present and apply a wellness attitude, now more than ever. What are some of the things you need to do to stay healthy and strong, not only for yourself but also for the people who rely on you? Develop a wellness attitude based off of your answer to this question. Take care of yourself daily so you can take care of other loved ones.

Understand the Power of Positivity – It is impossible to remain unaffected under precarious circumstances. By remaining positive one can create a positive story around what happened. Make sure to minimize the negative effect of life events by practicing the power of positivity. Learn how to express the situation you might be in by giving it a positive spin. Create a new story, a story filled with positivity.

Surrender to Your Destiny – Have faith about what is happening! Be silent and listen to the whisper. There might have been signs along the way warning one of the changes coming up. Our lifestyles might have been so incredibly busy, loud and fast that the whisper could not be heard– making us feel blindsided. Surrender to your destiny. Stop. Reflect. Listen. Take a few moments to experience deep breathing. Be quiet and listen. The whisper is telling you, surrender to your destiny– I know what I am doing with you. Be courageous and surrender to it.

Lifelong Learning Is a Must – “The ability to learn faster than your competitors is the only sustainable competitive advantage.”― Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance – More than ever before, we all understand the new beginning(s) call for new skills and for new masteries. Make sure you make lifelong learning a part of your everyday life. Set aside time to learn new skills, ones that will equip you with feeling contemporary. There is no worse image than one of looking outdated based on your skills. Lifelong learning is a muscle, we must exercise it.

Create New Dreams – How many of you feel that you lost your dream(s)? How many of you stopped dreaming after your dream(s) did not come to fruition? Dare to dream a new dream. This voyage called life is made of dreams and it is in that dreaming that you enjoy what could be– for yourself and for others. Do not forget, our environment is ever changing. There is a deeper reason beyond your dream causing it to not come to fruition as you had hoped. There is a bigger dream in the works for you. Dream large and dream often. Dreaming is a form of appreciating life and what life has to offer.

Love Helping Others – For me helping others came natural at a very young age. Later on, I learned that helping others has great benefits for the person that is offering the help. To my surprise, I embraced the studies without any doubt. My experience with helping others has provided much contentment, happiness and a sense of achievement. Oh, and by the way, while helping others, I also expanded my network. I was asked to work for incredible companies, met outstanding role models and made a difference for different communities. I can’t endorse it enough– the process of helping others. Love what you do while helping others, and love the people you are helping.

Harnessing Your Unbreakable Spirit – How would you assess your spirit? Where do you stand? How many times have you qualified yourself as falling down and how did you pull yourself up? The very meaning of resilience stands in the ability to bounce back. As a former dancer, I recall times in which I had to have tough conversations with myself. I learned that I had to get up, pull myself together and go at it again, try again. I practiced sometimes as many as 8 hours daily. I was very critical of my moves to thrive to perfection levels. But what helped me most was my unbreakable spirit. Every time I fell, I got up again. My spirit would not break. There were days that I was sick but my spirit was so unbreakable that I practiced as though nothing was hurting. The power of one’s unbreakable spirit is undeniable. Build it with love and make it your most important trait and value. All the steps we talked about in this piece would not be possible without your unbreakable spirit.

As the new beginning is bestowed upon us, I encourage all of us to look at it with fresh eyes. Reevaluate yourself, your dreams, your desires, your wants, your loves, your traits, your values. In this slower time, many of us have had time to do things otherwise we would not have been able to do. Pay attention to the impact they have in your life.

How is it making you feel?

What is it bringing up to the surface?

Are there things you wish you would have done differently?

Knowing what you know now, what do you wish to see next?

What makes sense for your given situation?

Are you practicing positivity or are you becoming overwhelmed?

Do you have a support system at this time, someone you could talk with and confess your most inner fears, obstacles and challenges?

What do you feel can be most helpful during the time of new beginnings?

Ask yourself questions and remember not to judge. Tailor your resilience plan to meet your personal and professional needs. I will say goodbye for now by sharing the following quote:

“Scientists who study human motivation have lately learned that after basic survival needs have been met, the combination of autonomy (the desire to direct your own life), mastery (the desire to learn, explore, and be creative), and purpose (the desire to matter, to contribute to the world) are our most powerful intrinsic drivers—the three things that motivate us most. All three are deeply woven through the fabric of flow.”

― Steven Kotler, The Rise of Superman: Decoding the Science of Ultimate Human Performance.

BUILDING A BUSINESS YOU LOVE

by

Anila Nicklos, M.Ed., CDP/

Henry Ford has said, “Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!” Have you ever thought about building a business you love? Do you think you can? Do you think you can’t?  In my case, I entertained the idea of having my own business as early as the latter part of the year 2008.  Although I manifested an innate desire to build the business I loved, amassed the skills to perform at a high professional level, and possessed a clear vision, I lacked the confidence to execute my idea.  As a matter of fact, I placed the execution in the hands of someone I thought held the tools and enjoyed the talents to support that element. However, the execution waiting game tired me out and as such I did not revisit my business idea for another 9 years. 

Did my own perfectionism get in the way?  Did I allow myself to let go of my desire to build the business I love because I failed to engage in courage and depended upon someone else’s execution experience?  Knowing what I have learned by now, I ask myself how could I’ve been so inactive to not broaden my search and engage with others to help me execute my ideas? “There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them”, says Seth Godin. 

In the meantime, during those 9 long years, I enjoyed and felt inspired by others who encompassed the fortitude to execute on their idea and figured it out as it unfolded. One of my acquaintances built her own business in which she designed the office space, each of the rooms as well as picked the furniture.  She turned that space into a retreat place for working teams and their leaders.  Through team exercises held at different themed rooms, during a team’s retreat, she evaluated and made recommendations to teams whether on how to improve communication and leadership skills, or provide strategies for working together.  This retreat place and process required different skills, which she had attained at different phases of her professional life that she was able to interlace when creating the business she loved. As Walt Disney said, “The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.”  And that is what she had done.  She had a vision. She scrabbled it on a piece of paper.  Later on, she found the space and applied for a grant which she received. Once that materialized, she finalized designing the space and teams began coming, and her initial execution made her dream a reality. 

When you build the business you love, you create your own process.  For some, being the leader of their own business means they can apply the freedom in different ways.  They build their morning routines to meet their needs and preferences.  For some others, not having to call off and planning around their kids’ school pick-up makes the idea of their own business more likeable and attractive. In either case, to make a business function, one must work.  A successful business needs a committed leader.  But the joy you experience from the success of the business you love parallels to nothing.  “Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful” says Albert Schweitzer.

It’s worth taking the time to discover what you are passionate about so that you can build a business you love around it.  You could bring your own personality and voice to it.  You could be as creative as you would like to be.  But, you could also enhance your skills in a certain area of expertise once you identify what you love doing.  Benjamin Franklin once said, “The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.”

What changed for me?  How did I build a business that I love?  I activated my courage and went for it but this time I engaged with people with the same values, aspirations, and passions as me.  People who inspire and push me to be the best I can be.  People who teach me how to successfully execute.  Once I discovered my blind spot, I actively cultivated the skills to overcome it and turn it into a strength.  Because of this, I’ve experienced joy from my work and I am grateful to the team of people supporting me and the business I love.

I invite you to spend time with yourself (there are cases that speak of people who spent two to three months identifying what they love doing) and identify what you love doing.  Surround yourself with experts as well as like minded entrepreneurs.  As Thomas Edison once said, “Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”  Do not give up.  Instead, create a plan to build the business you love and execute it impeccably.  Whether it is a product you sell online, or a program you built, there exist tools and information to successfully guide you with your business journey.

Social Media Quotes:

“Whether you think you can or whether you think you can’t, you’re right!” – Henry Ford

“There’s no shortage of remarkable ideas, what’s missing is the will to execute them.” – Seth Godin

“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” – Walt Disney

“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.” – Albert Schweitzer

“The best investment is in the tools of one’s own trade.” – Benjamin Franklin

“Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.” – Thomas Edison

Ekrem Bardha, celebrating the Life and the Contributions of an Albanian American Icon

by

Anila Nicklos, M.Ed., CDP/

05/13/2023

Throughout my life, I have considered myself abundantly blessed to have met the most incredible Albanian Icons, the ones who have influenced, directed and shifted the fate of our very own existence as a nation and as a people. And when you place the attention to learn more about their journey, you might just find out how tall the stakes were for them, how high they had to jump, how tough the obstacles to overcome, and how much pain their heart endured.

Almost 20 years ago, as fate decided, in one of the events I participated with the Albanian American community in Cleveland, the honored and the most distinguished guest, Ekrem Bardha, made his presence too. He had traveled from Detroit to support the Albanian American community of Cleveland. Ever since then, the person who walked across the room with an incredible confidence, power, vitality, and yet kindness has taught me much through his active political engagement and his own efforts for the betterment of an entire culture, people, and our homeland.

In his first book, Far Yet Near Albania, Mr. Bardha with an open heart shares his personal journey from Albania to America. I remember reading the book that he personally gifted to me and others in our community in Cleveland. To this day, I am in awe of the power of love this family had for one another and for those in need as well as the love of their hearts for their country, Albania.

Life runs so fast and we experience being busy. And if things go well, we also might become a bit selfish, value our personal lives more and withdraw from community contributions. With Mr. Bardha’s commitment no matter how far away from Albania, how successful and what achievements he enjoyed, Albania and Kosova remained forever top of mind and near his heart.

It is so fitting that his birthday today, and Mother’s Day celebration are one day apart from each other here in America. Mr. Bardha’s mother Buleja a fierce, brave and compassionate woman taught her sons well. There is no coincidence her picture is quite visible in Mr. Bardha’s office. Nene Buleja participated fully in Mr. Bardha’s life and memories of them together in different events bring beautiful loving energy and fill up his office always. What I love the most (I would highly recommend everyone to read the book) about the story that Mr. Bardha shares with us in his book is this particular moment in their life, mother and son, that I can never forget, I will never forget and I will always cherish.

Radanj, June 1953 – Young Ekrem decides to escape Albania. One of his brother’s Samiu already suffering in the communist jail. Nene Buleja made a tough decision, leaving one part of her heart in Albania to save her other sons. For young Ekrem, his heart cried for his brother and as much as he loved his country he could not collaborate with the regime. Both, mother and son torn with the decision embarked on the journey to not look back and cross the border. There was a moment where Nene Buleja felt exhausted walking at night. She says to young Ekrem, go ahead… I can’t walk anymore. But young Ekrem knew, if his mother stayed behind, he might never get to see her again. And Nene Buleja could have suffered awful consequences. Young Ekrem carries his mother Bule on his back until they make it to the border. As I read this story in his book, I could not stop crying. We live in times of uncertainty and times in which we might question a whole lot. One thing is very clear…the love for one another is what transports us through tough times. Mr. Bardha remembers his mother Bule emphasizing to him and his brother how they should all stay together, united and love one another always and forever. Later in life, the bond between mother and son got stronger, and fonder. Mr. Bardha saves a special place in his heart for his mother and fondly remembers how Nene Buleja’s vision positively and successfully impacted their lives.

Mr. Bardha’s example of leadership and role modeling cemented a new era in the way political engagement, lobbying and relationships are built and in the best way to positively impact Albanian causes in Albania and Kosova. There is tremendous depth in how Mr. Bardha leads his political engagement, his fierce efforts, and his balanced view to what should be the best approach for all of us and in to how to achieve the best outcome on behalf of all of us. Mr. Bardha impresses upon how his political party is Albania and how the Albanian Diaspora in the USA is the most precious treasure for the Albanian nation.

In the years, in which I have had the pleasure and the honor to meet Mr. Bardha, I have met his best friend and life partner Ms. Lumturia. We have met several times, and for different occasions. At home, she displayed the most hospitable characteristics of a classy, elegant and loving host and when at events, Lumturia still expanded her love and offered gifts. The best gift I have received was her pure love. Ms. Lumturia consistently and with devotion supported Mr. Bardha in his endeavors of Albania and Kosova. She became an inspiration in a journey that did not come without hard work and effort. She is an inspiration to me too. There is so much sunshine in her eyes and in her soul.

In closing, I could spend hours speaking about Ekrem Bardha a friend to all of the Albanians. Although, today, I wish to celebrate him, his vision, leadership, and the love for his country. In the words of Ekrem Bardha — Albanian Diaspora ought to invest in Albania. Albania is our homeland and we must love it in good moments or tough ones. We must invest there and support its economy.

Happy Birthday Ekrem and many more wonderful ones! I am most blessed to have met you!

5 BRILLIANT METHODS TO EXPONENTIALLY MULTIPLY YOUR SUCCESS CAPABILITIES 

by

Anila Niklos, M.Ed., CDP

“The limits of my language are the limits of my world.” – Ludwig Wittgenstein

What does learning your language better mean to you? How does it make you feel when someone in your circle speaks the same language as you do but it feels as if they are speaking another language? Just because you speak your language doesn’t mean you can possibly  learn all the flavors, nuances and meanings your language has to offer. It will take time and of course, dedication.  

Yesterday, while meditating (the same meditation) I became aware of the fact that the more I practice and spend time with this 27 minutes guided meditation, the more knowledgeable I grow of the meditation’s script.  But, I also realized, I was picking up words that I had crossed paths with in different areas or through the different books I had already read. It enlightened me and it made me reflect further and connect the dots — language dots.  As I connected the language dots my mediation transformed into something more than before.  The connected dots took my vision to a brighter place and gave new meaning to it, to the order of the script, to the words whispered and to the invitation to be one with God.  At that moment, I realized why the meditation’s flow and script included all these other things that I had learned separately and now they all came together. The new meaning built a platform for exponential vision and understanding.  Therefore, I couldn’t  help myself from teaching you how to dive deep into your language.  Let’s call this process the process of learning a sub-language.

“You live a new life for every language you speak. If you know only one language, you live only once.” – Czech proverb

If you are anything like me, you won’t want to live one life.  And if you are anything like me, you take pride in your consistent growth.  My personal pledge to my growth does not only connect with my business interests, but also with my personal life.  There are several generations in my family.  Growing and learning will keep me sharp and contemporary.  When I am 80 years old I would like to effectively connect, communicate and exchange ideas with my then 32 years old great niece who at the moment can teach me how to create a video.  I receive her videos frequently.:) 

The following are some of the ways to help you learn new sublanguages. 

Make A Commitment To Learn: This is only the first step into your new life. The more we learn, the more we grow: which translates in more freedom from any sort of impediment.  As a young child, I was fascinated with movies where heroes placed their fate in their own hands.  Each day they learned more and got deeper into concepts and phenomena that were new to them.  Once they learned the new concepts and phenomena they implemented their big dreams.  A couple of days ago, I revisited an Elon Musk interview and how his dream to space came to fruition.  It is fascinating. 

There Is No Biological Clock To Learning: Have you ever talked yourself out of learning because you believed you were  too old to learn?  That your brain couldn’t  possibly learn another new thing?  Well, I grew up believing that lifelong learning is possible.  Maybe this was natural to me since I had amazing role models that had challenged themselves educationally their entire life.  One of the old time writers I learned about finished his PHD degree in Arts when he was 60 years old and wrote superlative works that even now, 100 years later, are still fresh and contemporary.  Our brains do not go bad after an undergraduate, masters or phd program.  We possess the possibility to remain mentally agile and learn new concepts  and new tricks despite our age. 

Learn New Things: In 2018 I made a pledge to myself to expand my horizons.  My career demands had kept me away from my compassionate curiosity and had focused me in one direction only.  My career!  Therefore, when 2018 began, I made sure and stayed true to that  year’s resolution.  Because of that, I had the opportunity to take a deep dive in learning about the brain and about our bodies overall.  The results were highly impressive.  I remember implementing a new morning routine, a new way of living, a new way of working out and a new way of studying.  It was easy to follow the new steps, but I studied many hours to get to that level. 

Expand Your Interests: Who can deny the power of year 2020 in transformation, reflection and new opportunities?  It proved to be an amazing therapy engaging with other people in other areas of professional development.  I took a deep dive in learning more about social media, creating accountability partnerships, volunteering and activism.  For sure, I stretched myself and I said yes to new things even if I did not know how to do something.  YouTube has step by step tutoring videos to help you with your topics or the mechanics you need to use.  

Embrace Another Sublanguage: For optimum results in life and business, as we express our desire to expand our interests and learn new things, learning the sublanguage of a particular field of interest is paramount.  Learn the sublanguage of nutrition, of health, wealth, investing, parenting, coaching, or writing.  Whatever your desire may be, mastering the sublanguage of that particular area will propel  you forward.  

Reflect on what you have experienced with a new career move.  Often, you would find yourself needing to learn the vocabulary that accompanies that particular career move.  If you are an engineer you probably use your own vocabulary to effectively communicate amongst one another.  You hire a lawyer to help you with all that legal information that you can read in your language but somehow you find it difficult to decipher.  

The varied sublanguages of our own language that spread in the different areas of life, professional development, career and growth when excelled create room for success in your life. 

Think about this…  I have learned several languages in my life and the lessons that come with each new language have served me and people who know me well.  I continue to help and support friends, family and divine clients because of my vast background, as well as the languages and sublanguages that I speak.  My gift to you is just that — be adventurous and study your own language.  Your life will change forever.  And if you care a lot, you will change the lives of the people around you also.  “One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.” – Frank Smith

How to live a marvelous life?

by

Anila Niklos, M.Ed., CDP/

While searching the dictionary for meaning to the word marvelous to marry with the word life, the explanation of the word marvelous generously layered my visual, mental and physical senses. Borrowing from the dictionary meaning and adding my own words, I enjoyed the marvelous life flowing into my veins, body and brain. And perhaps, and almost poetically, sharing what I experienced might make you join me in this journey. Let me paint for you how powerfully this image unfolded.

My personal marvelous life experience matched a meditation appointment, in which while relaxing and melting the stress away, I envisioned my marvelous self and my marvelous life. With my eyes closed, I watched myself prance around and about my marvelous life filled with the musical sensational life sounds. Extraordinaire soul songs caressed my ears. I felt tuned in with the spectacular rhythm of the day. Sunshine vibes shined brightly over me and my lips, face and soul smiled. I felt breathtaking love of being myself and sharing it with the rest of the world. Through my divine powers I changed other people’s lives. Strength combined with brilliant attitude towards the people I lead showered my being. All of a sudden my mind blowing talents were admired by many. Dresing felt quite empowered. Now, I looked magnificent with superb patterns of my dress, flawless hair style and makeup. Everything about me screamed confidence, amazing, awesome, splendid, wonderful, glorious, heavenly, jaw-dropping, out of this world, smashing and dreaming.

Today, I am one of those individuals who calls myself marvelous and who has created a marvelous life. But it takes commitment, courage, time and focus to transform a life to such caliber. Focusing on myself and reflecting on how someone lives a marvelous life pushed me to dream, design and now lead a fulfilling marvelous life. A life designed after deep reflection of where I have been, where am I right now and where would I like to be in the future. It does not matter what phase of my life I focus on and or what aspect of it, knowing I am marvelous and deserving of a marvelous life provides a roadmap for success.

One of the most beneficial steps of believing and living my marvelous life was something we always hear about and might agree it is imperative but somehow we make no time for. My approach to being marvelous called for reflection time. Our lives and responsibilities that come along lack the room for reflection. To this day, I remember my professor sharing with me how challenged he felt during his Ph.D., program due to the stop and think action he was charged with. Thinking and reflecting proved tough but he had to for 30 minutes daily.

On a personal outcome as a result of thinking and reflecting I now posses the capability of being free from being busy. As a matter of fact, being busy hinders our ability to remain focused but rather helps with becoming distracted and unfocused. Although, it creates a sense of self-achievement because of the personal drive and movement mode all day long, it actually distracts us from focusing on ourselves. But mastering thinking and reflecting requires serious commitment. My mother’s unexpected accident taught me an invaluable lesson which transformed my life.

Extremely driven and with a high focus on my career, my departure from family and friends felt normal initially. Further, it did not bother me. Working on my success measured, justified and classified under my belief that nothing gets achieved without sacrifice and hard work. A memory from the days of no reflection includes my relationship with my mother. I called my mother everyday and sometimes a few calls a day making sure she felt alright. Growing in my career translated in less contact not only with my family and friends but with my mother also. With time, it became fine and normal not to call and stay in touch with her. There was no timeframe for which this pattern could have lasted if it were not for my mother’s car accident. Now, I was faced with a new reality. However, my mother’s car accident changed my life for the better.

During the Intensive Unit Care days, my mother and I were inseparable. Even with my lack of calling once my responsibilities expanded I qualified my relationship with my mother to be strong. When she received medical attention as well as during rehabilitation phase, clarity of an enormous disconnection presented and manifested itself. With each passing moment and as we spent numerous hours together our bond grew fonder and this strange emotion called love I had folded into a drawer far away from my day to day business reality started filling my heart. I felt the love of my mother knock strongly into my veins and heart. I felt alive and happy too. My mother simultaneously with me experienced the same. The cold wall of being busy started melting away. What had happened to me? Why did it happen? How did it happen? When did I become alright with it? Was it worth it? It took time to answer each one of those questions. But I did answer each one of them.

Suddenly, I had made a full stop. Even if I wished to refuse thinking I had plenty of time in my hands as I sat quietly by my mother’s bedside. Realizing my fortune I identified the silver lining from the bad accident with an immediate full break to exponentially transform my life. I asked myself tough questions and played devil’s advocate too. I analyzed, reflected and thought situations, people and things over and over again. In the process, I discovered I was not happy or satisfied with my current career and life no matter how glamorous it was. I took a deep dive into my core and started envisioning a life filled with passion, glory, jaw-dropping moments, amazing, awesome, brave, lush, stylish, happy, healthy and loving. My voice became melodious and contagious. People loved me and I resonated love and aliveness in return. Time and love navigated me to reality and build me up for legacy. Looking into my new path to success filled with divine powers, love and compassion while leading the way and singing songs with the many women who join me.

We must create our marvelous lives and uplift other women along in our journey. Sometimes we need a small stop and sometimes a longer one. As long as we practice taking a break, 15 minutes or longer and think and reflect with intention, a healthier and marvelous life might be achievable. Therefore, taking time to think and reflect becomes the first step to building a marvelous life blueprint.