Kahlil Gibran on Marriage, from The Prophet

The wisdom in these few words on marriage are profound, sublime and deep. Consider them well as you continue to craft a lasting and powerful relationship based in such mature and respectful love.

I put together this video using the text from Kahlil Gibran's most famous work, and timeless classic, The Prophet. He is one of my favorite authors and I love the depth, soul, sweetness and pathos of his writings. The music is a classical guitar version of Pachelbel's Canon in D Major.

You may view it on YouTube directly if you want to view it full screen: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF-HLwwX5P8

Impromptu Family Silliness: A Valentine's Day Story

Another build-a-story during church...


Dad: "The following story is true. It all started 63 years ago when...
Adam (15): I fell down the...
Emily (13): water buffalo. It was uncommon. But...
Molly (10): it was very fun.
Dad: Yet, how could I get anyone to believe such an incredible occurance? I decided that I would...
Matthew (8): go to the bathroom...
Mom: and take a shower to wash off the buffalo poop I had fallen into when I fell off the water buffalo. However...
Adam: when I got out the smell would not come off. But luckily, my wife for some odd reason liked the smell, so...
Emily: I decided to take it for granted. The way I did that was...
Molly: a princess came and...
Dad: it turned out she was a magic fairy princess and she cast a spell on me so the smell would stay on me for the rest of my life so my wife could always enjoy this new cologne. Then...
Mom: I started to attract many more water buffalo. Everywhere I went I had a herd of water buffalo following me around even when I went to...
Adam: the ball games and they wouldn't let me in so it became a curse...
Emily: Then my goldfish died.
Molly: It died because of the smell. I...
Dad: cried and cried and cried and wondered how on earth any of this had to anything to do with Valentine's Day? Then I realized...
Mom: 'Oh yeah!' I yelled. 'My wife still likes my smell.' So I went home to my wife and we decided to be Valentine's for ever!

The End.

— For more tips, strategies and resources for creating truly GREAT relationships with self and others visit http://JonathanSherman.net —

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★ GREAT QUOTES: Soul Unafraid ★

"Thus, my child, man cannot reap love until after sad and revealing separation, and bitter patience, and desperate hardship. Sleep, my little boy; sweet dreams will find your soul who is unafraid of the terrible darkness of night and the biting frost."
—From The Widow and Her Son, by Kahlil Gibran

Remember, friends, your soul is unafraid. You may be afraid now, but remember now is not always. Nor do we see or know all things now. However, and fortunately, there is a deeper and truer self that is secure and transcends present fear. It is that powerful self that we must come to know intimately and well.

Peace,
Jonathan

— For more tips, strategies and resources for creating truly GREAT relationships with self and others visit http://JonathanSherman.net —

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★ SELF-MASTERY Tip 10: Accountability Points ★

Congrats! You've set some meaningful goals for the new year. Now, how to ACTUALLY keep them? It's hard to stay focused on your own, isn' it? I'll let you in on a little secret—I accomplish nothing on my own. My success has relied greatly on the wisdom, encouragement, resources and help of others. One of the ways to leverage the benefits of other people in your life is to set up systems that hold you accountable to the changes you want to make.

Points of accountability can be anything that holds you to your goals: Positive peer pressure from a loved one, colleague or mentor you've given permission to check in with you; Deadlines; Alarms in your phone to remind you of daily tasks; 5 Daily Habits practice (I'll explain this one another time); Notes and other reminders posted everywhere and/or in key places (pockets, dashboard, mirror, briefcase or purse); vision boards; support groups; counselors/coaches; etc.

So, if you haven't set up accountability points to ensure your goals' success then now's the time. Succeed on!

.

★ SELF-MASTERY Tip 10: Accountability Points ★

Congrats! You've set some meaningful goals for the new year. Now, how to ACTUALLY keep them? It's hard to stay focused on your own, isn' it? I'll let you in on a little secret—I accomplish nothing on my own. My success has relied greatly on the wisdom, encouragement, resources and help of others. One of the ways to leverage the benefits of other people in your life is to set up systems that hold you accountable to the changes you want to make.

Points of accountability can be anything that holds you to your goals: Positive peer pressure from a loved one, colleague or mentor you've given permission to check in with you; Deadlines; Alarms in your phone to remind you of daily tasks; 5 Daily Habits practice (I'll explain this one another time); Notes and other reminders posted everywhere and/or in key places (pockets, dashboard, mirror, briefcase or purse); vision boards; support groups; counselors/coaches; etc.

So, if you haven't set up accountability points to ensure your goals' success then now's the time. Succeed on!
http://JonathanSherman.net


— For more tips, strategies and resources for creating truly GREAT relationships visit http://JonathanSherman.net —

Liked it? Want more? Get the Great Relationships eBook.

New Biz Cards and Branding

Readers: What do you think? I've been slowly re-tooling my brand from "Bardos Relationship Consulting" to both "JonathanSherman.net" and the "rel8gr8" logo. Why? Bardos is a wonderful concept but most people didn't know its meaning (Tibetan Buddhist term signifying among other amazing things "a powerful opportunity for change") and thought it was either my last name or that I worked for someone else. Obviously, JonathanSherman.net clarifies that and "rel8gr8" or "Relate Great" clarifies without confusion or "mystical" intimations what my work is all about: "Creating greatness in relationships—Nothing less."

Also, I've always appreciated minimalist design for it's cleanness and ability to stand well on it's own with little to no explanation (i.e., Apple and Target are two favorite brands that do this well.) So, I wanted a logo that explained all that I do in bold but simple and eye-catching way. Rel8Gr8 is more of a tagline than the name of my business, but it's simple to remember as will the corresponding rel8gr8.com website be easy to remember and thus find.

Why do I care about all of this? Well, I love design, marketing, branding and advertising and am always impressed when it's done right and cringe when it's not. My brand, and related aspects (ie., this blog and websites), have needed both restructuring and face-lifts for some time.

Note to potential printer: Here's the idea for new biz card and the die cut that would be needed. It would be same size of standard biz card with the top area cut out. Make sense? Thanks. J

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"So..." Simple Impromptu Family Silliness

Great relationships are more often created by lots of small moments rather than a few big ones. For example, last week in church I started the following "build-a-story" titled "So...". As you can see, I just began the story and passed it (quietly and discretely since we were in church) around and this silliness is what ensued.

Dad: "So, the other day I...
Adam (15): ...went to the bathroom and found a...
Molly (10): ...unicorn that turned into a...
Emily (13): ...pickle. I have no idea why it did that. But I have an idea to get it back, which is...
Matthew (8): ...get a gun and point it at its head and tell him to "Turn me back!" and if he says...
Mom: ..."Poop de loops" then he will turn into a beautiful...
Hannah (12, friend): ...caterpiller that can turn in to an evil goblin.
Dad: So, after all of that, as you I'm sure you can understand I got quite confused, so I...
Em: ...went and ate an apple. But then...
Mol: ...before I ate it, it came alive and...
Ad: ...ate me in one bite so now I'm sitting here writing this story. But wait, what is this?
Matthew: ...It's the pony that turned me into a pickle!
Mom: ..."Mr. Pony? Will you turn me into a unicorn? I want to...
Hannah: ...frolic in the mist of the Magic Waterfall...
Matthew: ...and then I want to go to the top and jump off...
Dad: ...and land in a pile of fluffy, toasted coconut marshmallows."
The End.

I encourage you to try this with your family. It's simple, silly, creative, easy and can quickly create some fun bonding that can then be thrown in a scrapbook for a good memory later on.

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— For more tips, strategies and resources for creating truly GREAT relationships visit http://JonathanSherman.net —

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Busting Holiday Stress

It's the most wonderful time of the year! And it can be the most stressful.

In 2004, The American Psychological Association conducted a holiday stress survey and identified the top six stressors as follows:

1. Money
2. Gift-giving
3. Lack of time
4. Families
5. Diet
6. Children’s issues

This guide addresses each of these stressors in depth, as well as many others, with a focus on providing many more solutions than there are problems. That’s the way it should be.

This guide covers hundreds of ways to bust, cool, chill, deal and cope with all the various stresses of the holidays.

Here's what you'll get:

• Hundreds and hundreds of practical, useful and effective stress-busting tips, strategies, mindsets, and techniques for dealing with every aspect of holiday stress.
• Worksheets to help you put the concepts into action.
• The 30-Day Stress Tracker and the 31-60-Day "Overlearning!" Stress-Tracker

Pick yours up today at bardos.net/HolidayStressBusters

Just take a peek at the Table of Contents:

INTRODUCTION

• THE HOLIDAYS ARE NOT THE SAME FOR EVERYONE
• STRESS 101
• SIGNS & SYMPTOMS OF STRESS
• ASSESS YOUR STRESS

WELL-BEING: PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, & MENTAL STRESS-BUSTERS

• PHYSICAL HEALTH STRESS-BUSTERS
• SIMPLE PHYSICAL & MENTAL WORKOUTS WORK
• RELAXATION & MINDFULNESS
• STRESS-BUSTING ATTITUDES & MINDSETS
• MOOD STRESS-BUSTERS
• MENTAL ILLNESS STRESS BUSTERS
• GET HELP WHEN YOU NEED IT

RELATIONSHIP & FAMILY STRESS-BUSTERS

• RELATIONSHIP & FAMILY CONFLICT STRESS-BUSTERS
• BUSTING STRESS WITH THE CHILDREN
• CONNECTING WITH YOUR KIDS OVER THE HOLIDAYS
• SEPARATION & DIVORCE STRESS-BUSTERS
• STEP-FAMILY STRESS-BUSTERS
• BEREAVEMENT & GRIEVING OVER THE HOLIDAYS
• MOURNING THE LOSS OF THE PAST YEAR
• LONELINESS & ISOLATION STRESS-BUSTERS
• USING SOCIAL SUPPORTS AS STRESS-BUSTERS

TIME & MONEY STRESS-BUSTERS

• FINANCIAL STRESS-BUSTERS
• TIME PRESSURE STRESS-BUSTERS
• GIFT-GIVING STRESS-BUSTERS
• SHOPPING STRESS-BUSTERS
• HOLIDAY MEAL STRESS-BUSTERS

ADDITIONAL STRESS-BUSTERS

• COUNTER COMMERCIALISM
• EXAMINE YOUR TRADITIONS
• TRAVELING STRESS-BUSTERS
• SOME ADDITIONAL STRESS BUSTERS
• DO ONE THING DIFFERENT
• HOLIDAY STRESS-BUSTING RESOURCE GUIDE
• SHARE YOUR STRESS BUSTING TIPS!
  

Pick yours up today at bardos.net/HolidayStressBusters


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