Spectacular Magazine (July 2014) Spectacular Magazine - July 2014 | Page 24

THIS IS YOUR LIFE By Del Mattioli ‘SCANDAL’-INSPIRED CLOTHING LINE COMING TO THE LIMITED IT’S BETTER TO GIVE Helping others when we are able to benefits everyone. If you have a lot, give your wealth. If you have a little, give your heart. Just give what you can. No one has ever become poor by giving. Life is too short to argue and fight. Let’s count our blessings, value the people who matter and move on from the drama with our heads held high. When it’s all said and done, be sure you haven’t said more than you’ve done. In the end, actions always speak louder than words. Work hard in silence, and let our success be our noise of praise. The bottom line is that it’s never too late to take a step in the right direction. It’s never too late to become the person you are capable of being. It is never too late to “soul search” and help someone. Things can change if you want them to, at any age. Right now you have an opportunity to write yourself a future full of peace and free of regret. For generations, we have focused on the individual drivers of success: passion, hard work, talent, and luck. But today, success is increasingly dependent on how we interact with each other. It turns out that at work, most people operate as either takers, matchers, or givers. Whereas takers strive to get as much as possible from others and matchers aim to trade evenly, givers are the rare breed of people who contribute to others without expecting anything in return. Are we giving or taking, moving forward or stagnant, laughing or worrying, making it happen or complaining, making others feel good or discouraging, mentoring our children or ignoring bad behavior, practicing being nice to others or showing selfish tendencies? Are we born with certain skills and talents or do we learn them as we live? We are born with the ability to help someone else. Smiles and encouragement helps no matter how one may be feeling inside—a split second of happiness goes a long way. One of the most important things we can do as we work with our youth is to commit (GIVE) time to help them develop a positive self concept. It is important to: ~ Focus on the INDIVIDUAL ~ Facilitate SELF-PRAISE ~ Promote individual RESPONSIBILITY FOR CHOICES ~ Help our youth set REALISTIC GOALS ~ Emphasize the POSITIVE ~ Establish a warm, comfortable ENVIRONMENT Our teens today face choices and problems that are unique to their generation. A positive self concept does not ne