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Monday 30 June 2014

'August Osage County': DVD Giveaway

'August Osage County' has hit DVD… you know, the flick with movie icons Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. It's a family reunion with a difference… after the death of a family member, estranged siblings meet up. And they face the tough matriarch (Streep). The dramatic flick is laced with black humour, sadness, and memorable scenes. It's must-watch drama.

Here is the trailer:



And now, you can go in the running to win a copy of the DVD:

Here's all you need to do:

- Follow me on Instagram and Twitter if you are on the social media platforms
- Share this link on your Facebook wall
- Comment below on why you'd like to win this DVD.
- Email me at josiegags@optusnet.com.au with your address so I have your details in case you are a winner!

Good luck!

Sunday 29 June 2014

'Today' Show Mini-Me Promo: VIDEO

Have you seen the latest promo for what's happening in the week ahead on 'Today'?

If you've been watching this week you will have seen the very cute and clever idea to have mini-me versions of the entire fabulous hosts; so, Karl, Lisa, Ben, Sylvia, Richard, Steve, and Richard Reid. Here's a fab pic, with the promo below:





Here is their very cute version of bringing you the news headlines on the show this week:

'What's on your mind?' - Facebook Viral Video

Published on June 2 this year and already at five million plus views on YouTube, this clip by the 'Higton Bros' is described as 'What happens when a man decides to embellish his online status?'

Says the YouTube description: "Facebook can be depressing because everyone else's lives are better than yours... But are they really?"

Watch this viral video:



The makers of this clever (and very accurate) video say:

"We are three brothers in Norway that make films together. One director, one producer and one VFX-artist. When we´re not making commercials, we make other stuff. Not like knitting socks and doing arts and crafts, but making films."

You can follow the people behind this clip on Facebook here.

And you can follow them on Instagram here: higgyt and Twitter here @therealhiggyt

Thoughts?


Thursday 26 June 2014

Turia Pitt: 'The Australian Women's Weekly' - COVER

The choice by 'The Australian Women's Weekly' to have burns survivor, author and hugely inspirational woman Turia Pitt on the cover of the July 2014 edition is admirable, joyous and triumphant to see, and demonstrates, as always, why the largest selling magazine in the country comes up trumps with exclusives and groundbreaking stories. Here is the breathtaking cover:


Turia is one of the incredible women chosen to part of a new panel of judges for the second annual 'Women of the Future', which is a scholarship competition searching for the "leaders of tomorrow (open now, winners announced in October).

Reading about Turia's story in The Australian Women's Weekly leaves you feeling that you'd love her as your close friend, the person who'd help put your life in perspective and who you'd turn to in a crisis. Read more about her in the insightful story by Bryce Corbett in the July edition.

And read an intro to her story on the AWW site here.

She's also quite mesmerising to watch on camera. Her forthrightness has you engaged from the get go.

Here is Turia's story on 60 Minutes, filmed in August of last year:


And then, these:



And this was Turia's first appearance on 60 Minutes:


What do you thick of Turia?

Tuesday 24 June 2014

Sam Smith 'How Will I Know' Whitney Houston Cover - Hits 1 SiriusXM: VIDEO

If you love Sam Smith, you'll be blown away by this.

If you're not yet a fan of the mega-singer and his beautiful song 'Stay With Me', you've been missing out on the voice of an angel, as this rendition of the late Whitney Houston classic 'How Will I Know' will show.

Watch this now viral video, posted only a few days ago:




Sunday 22 June 2014

Sandro Giordano - remmidemmi - Photographer: PHOTOS

I saw this photographer's work quite by accident on Instagram last week… and was blown away.

Italian photographer Sandro Giordano says about his pics on his Facebook page:

__IN EXTREMIS (bodies with no regret)

__My photographs are “short stories” about a falling-down world. Each shot “tells” about worn out characters who, as if a sudden black-out of mind and body took over, let themselves crash with no attempt to save themselves, unable, because of the fatigue of the everyday “representation” of living, oppressed by “appearance” instead of simply “existing”. We live in a world of faces distorted by plastic surgery, which serves us “fixed”, “stereotyped” images, “image/object” in which personality sells itself to a preset marketing model. I believe that perfection is in imperfection, it is in strong contrasts, in frailty, and in the humanity that makes each individual different from the next. I hide the face of my characters because their BODY speaks for them, and the fall is the point of no return. There’s a saying: “you must hit rock bottom to start over”, well the “FALL” of my characters is their “HITTING ROCK BOTTOM”, they reach their “LIMIT” beyond which their “FALSE SELF” cannot go. Each of them saves an object, they hold it in their hand and it symbolizes this falsification. This pretence is represented not only by the objects but also the clothes, the hairstyles and the location! Everything that is visible in the picture represents their pretence while the smashed BODY expresses the TRUTH, which has to, in fact, crash to be told! I never use dummies in my shots; I use professional actors that are able to interpret what isn’t visible, with their bodies, because I want the invisible to be visible. Since I was a child I’ve always loved films by Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy because they made me laugh. In their films we often see terrible things happen to the characters, serious accidents… the fall... The instinctive reaction is bewilderment and awkwardness towards the unlucky fate of the character but then that same awkwardness breaks into a liberating laugh. This is the effect I want to recreate through my photographs: tell tragedy through irony. A broken down humanity that I look to with fondness and attachment and from which I myself don’t feel excluded from. It is this feeling of empathy that allows me not to judge but to share the stories I tell, in the hopes that if I manage to get a laugh out of a spectator, this be a favourable auspice, one of believing in a better and more AUTHENTIC future. That laugh, finally, is a REVELATION. 

__remmidemmi (Sandro Giordano)

Look at the wonderful madness here (reproduced with permission from Sandro). Says Sandro to Josie's Juice about the interest in his work: "Yes, something marvellous is exploding with my project. I'm very happy!"











Here is Sandro showing how he sets up a shot:




Are you a fan? I can't get enough.

Follow Sandro here on Facebook and here on Instagram.

Sandro's credo? See below. Translation: "My photos are stories of a world fallen down."



Friday 20 June 2014

Australian TV Ads I Love: VIDEOS

Ads that make me laugh, stop and watch, LOL with my kids, or discuss.

I watch a LOT of TV… it's my company while I write! And so, there's a very high likelihood I have see every ad screening on Australian TV at any one time. Really.

And so, here are some of my current faves:

Dinner time at my place (not really. At all):





Brian. Yep, I have one of those. And I'd be dancing like this woman, too:






Bonus: this ad. What… the hell! It's sensational. I hope it screens in Australia sometime soon:






And this ad. It's all such quick dialogue. And there's a hella lotta 'mate' happening:





Do you have a favourite ad? Feel free to comment and I will add it!




Coldplay - A Sky Full Of Stars: Official video

I love this!

Just in: the official video for Coldplay's 'Sky Full Of Stars', shot in Newton only two day ago.

Can you spot yourself in it?



Photo: abc.net.au - for more, click here.

Thursday 19 June 2014

Hello Flo: 'First Moon Party' - VIDEO

This new ad for Hello Flo (a US sanitary pad and tampon company) shows what happens when early-teen competition extends to one young girl trying to keep up with her friends by faking her first period.

When her mother cottons on to the game, the fun that ensues her mortified daughter is rather priceless.

Watch this soon to be viral video:





Not Sorry: #ShineStrong - Pantene VIDEO

Are you a big 'sorry' person?

Hmmm, I am sometimes. But as I get older, less so.

Of course, I say sorry where needed and appropriate, and sometimes, an unnecessary one slips out. Or a preemptive one. Or one that really should have been said, or used to explain something someone seems confused about. Or I feel I have been misunderstood and someone has taken something the wrong way. See, there's a sorry for many occasions!

But constant 'sorries' that make me feel small when I am indeed worthy? No. No interest in those anymore. I left those behind in the 20s.

Pantene has launched the a “Not Sorry” video (see below) and has announced the "Global Shine Strong Fund' to celebrate strong women and enable women to overcome biases."

Today, Pantene has evolved its global 'Shine Strong' campaign by launching this new thought-provoking video that tackles a common but unconscious behaviour many women around the world engage in everyday: over-apologising.

Watch + share and feel free to comment:




For more, see: www.pantenebeautifullengths.com.au and you can follow Pantene on Facebook here www.facebook.com/PanteneANZ and on Twitter and Instagram here @PanteneANZ and use the #ShineStrong hashtag.


Wednesday 18 June 2014

'Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl': SBS Screen Date + Trailer

'Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl' will be screening on SBS tomorrow night, Thursday June 19, at 8.30pm.



Says the SBS site:

This is the untold story of how the Lebanese community overcame the odds and found their place in multicultural Australia. This is a community that has been besieged by events beyond their control. But they have emerged stronger than ever with a resilience and strength that will carry them into the future. 

After scrapping the initial screen date of January this year (with SBS acknowledging a new version from Northern Pictures has had some ‘modifications') this much anticipated doco will finally be seen.
Tony Iffland, SBS Director of TV said: “Through Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl we want to contribute to the national discourse about what it means to be Australian today and hope that these stories shine a light on a community that is resilient and a rich part of Australia’s diverse multicultural story.
“SBS has a 30 year history of presenting national and international award-winning documentary programming and we believe that Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl is a series that tells a compelling narrative about the settlement of the Lebanese community in Australia in the 1970’s and their journey in multicultural Australia. Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl gives people whose account has never been heard a place to tell their story about what it means to them to be Australian.”
Says the press info:
Following on from the national award-winning and critically acclaimed series Once Upon a Time in Cabramatta which aired in 2012, Once Upon A Time in Punchbowl is the untold story of how the Lebanese community overcame the odds and found its place in multicultural Australia.
This four-part documentary series hears from community leaders, police, families and individuals, as they combine to tell the compelling and dramatic story of a proud and resilient community, under intense pressure and scrutiny.
Respect for Australian audiences and the integrity of programming is paramount to SBS. Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl was originally slated to broadcast in January 2014 but was postponed whilst it underwent a review, which resulted in some modifications to ensure the series met with SBS and production partners Northern Pictures’ standards.
Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl begins in the 1970s when large numbers of Lebanese migrants flooded into Australia. Many were traumatised by civil war; all were desperate to build a better future. Over the coming decades, these new Australians struggled to establish a life in their adopted country. Domestic and global events were against them. The Gulf War, September 11 and the Bali bombings, all alienated them from some of their fellow Australians. The traditional Lebanese family unit was fragmenting under the pressure and a small minority turned to crime. Things reached a terrible climax when these tensions, inflamed by the media, erupted in the Cronulla Riots.
Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl is the inside story, told by those on the ground, of the succession of challenges that beset the Lebanese community, a community which is, ultimately proud and resilient.
Once Upon a Time in Punchbowl is a Northern Pictures and SBS production.
Here is the extended trailer. Compelling. Must-see TV for all Australians:

Ashley Graham: Harper's Bazaar, Addition Elle, Lane Bryant - PHOTOS + VIDEOS

I saw this photo in Harper's Bazaar Australia… and it sent me into a spin.

Who is this gorgeous woman? Where have I been?



Harper's Bazaar
It's Ashley Graham, renowned as an American plus-size model and as designer for the Addition Elle brand. She created her own lingerie range for the brand.

The shoot was styled by Carine Roitfeld and shot by Johnny Dufort. This is more from the shoot. It's part of an international Harper's Bazaar pre-fall collection and beauty editorial in the May 2014 issue.


Ashley was also the cover model for the June 2014 issue of Elle Quebec.


In 2010, Ashley appeared in a 'controversial' Lane Bryant TV commercial. The commercial received over 800,000 views on YouTube.


Here is the ad. Controversial? Sheesh!



Ashley has also appeared on MTV's 'Made' as a coach for an aspiring plus-size models.
In 2012, she was named Full Figured Fashion Week's Model of the Year.
Here is Ashley's recent ad for her lingerie range:



She's perfection. You can follow her on Instragram here.


Here are more of her pics:







Tuesday 17 June 2014

'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' - DVD giveaway

Finally, the movie 'Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom' is on DVD.

The 2013 British-South African biographical film, directed by Justin Chadwick and starring Idris Eba and Naomie Harris, is based on the 1995 autobiographical book 'Long Walk To Freedom' by former South African president and anti-apartheid hero Nelson Mandela.

Here is a trailer for the flick:



And, lucky us, Josie's Juice has been given the opportunity to give away FIVE copies of the DVD to readers, thanks to Roadshow Australia. Here is all you need to do:

- 'Like' the Josie's Juice Facebook page
- Share this link on your Facebook wall
- Follow me on Twitter and Instagram if you're on there
- Comment below on why you'd love to win this DVD
- You MUST email me your name and address and the DVD comp you are entering so I can contact you if you are a winner
*Competition open for one month, and for Australian residents only. All steps above must be followed to be 

Monday 16 June 2014

Samantha Jade's tribute to her mother Jacquie

Australian singer Samantha Jade has posted a moving tribute to her mother Jacqueline, who died last week after battling cancer. She was only diagnosed in February this year, and sadly succumbed to a brain tumour in June.

Here is the tribute Samantha posted for her beloved mother on Facebook and Instagram:



To My Mummy 


Rachel Devine + Tamron = littleSIDEKLICK. Reader giveaway!

Recently, I had the good fortune to experience a masterclass on how to take the perfect pic. It's something I am always interested in - I have a been camera-happy for as long as I can remember (we're talking multiple rolls of those camera rolls taken to the local photo lab - all the time). I brought along my own camera to the class, and the supremely talented photographer children's and lifestyle Rachel Devine was on hand to impart tips on photo how-tos.



Rachel is an established photographer for her companies Rachel Devine and Sesame Ellis, and is an ambassador for Tamron.

With Tamron, Rachel has established a very cool concept called Little Sideklick, which is a photography project to get parents shooting with their kids instead of just taking pictures of their kids. See the Facebook page here.


Rachel is renowned on Flickr - see her page herewhere her photos have garnered more than ten million views. Rachel's images have appeared in publications such including People, Parenting, Popular Photography, and the book Photojojo. Her clients have included General Mills, Fox Studios, phil&teds and Target. The American-born photog lives in Melbourne with her husband and two young kids.

Rachel has had the publications Beyond Snapshots and an ebook Click! How to take gorgeous photos of your kids published, and with the blogger agency Nuffnang, Rachel has partnered with some of Australia's largest PR and digital agencies via a new pilot development program with 12 leading bloggers, including Rachel, aligning them with several large PR campaigns for some of Australia's biggest brands. Rachel and the other bloggers will undertake a series of master classes and discussion panels, and may also sit on discussion panels with some of the world's most popular international bloggers, sharing knowledge and applying skillsets to Australian blogs. This is the masterclass I was lucky enough to experience.

I asked Rachel some questions on getting that elusive perfect snap. Turns out, it really is not so elusive at all. Here's what she told Josie's Juice about the art of it all (read on below for a very cool, generous giveaway from Rachel and Tamron!):

What is the single best tip you can offer to first time parents wanting to capture the precious moments of their baby’s first year of life with a camera? 

Make it a habit to carry your camera with you all the time and when you are at home, have the camera out where you can easily grab it. Whether the camera you use is the one in your phone or a fancy DSLR, make sure you know how to use it well and have it handy. If your camera is too hard or a trouble to get to, you will never use it. Babies change so quickly that you will never regret taking too many photos of their first year! If you need a bit of direction or are looking for a project that really journals that time in their lives, try taking a photo of your baby with a special toy once a month. Your child’s growth will really stand out in these pictures alongside that prop.

What is the best tip to impart to your kids on how to navigate a camera they’ve just been given (maybe give separate tips on using a camera for kids of varying ages)

I feel it is very important to teach kid how to hold their camera! I am sure that seems simple and obvious, but often it is the things we take for granted that we need to ensure they learn! With little ones, if they are using an iPod, camera phone or point and shoot with an internal lens (like the waterproof kid tough cameras) make sure they know where to put their fingers. Many great shots have been ruined and little photographers disappointed with adorable chubby fingers covering half of their image. Another great tip for the little kids is teaching them how to hold the camera still. Turn the shutter sound on and make sure they know not to move the camera until the sound has finished and the preview image has come up on the screen. Kids get really excited and often times with do a happy dance after pressing the shutter button resulting in a very blurry shot as the picture is captured. As the kids get older, make sure they have a proper camera strap that fits them well and that they always use it so that the risk of dropping their gear is reduced! 

As the photographers get older, they can start to learn all the features of their cameras. Starting on auto and just focusing on composition and subject matter is the perfect way to start. When they are confident with those, show them how to change the settings. My program, littleSIDEKLICK, is a fantastic way to learn how to teach them!

One other tip for all ages (and another that seems obvious, but is often overlooked) is to keep the battery charged. I have a charging station set up in my office with all the many cords and batteries labeled and organised. There have been quite a few times where one of the kids gets excited to take pictures out of the blue and their camera battery is flat. By the time we charged it up, their interest had waned!  

Being prepared and making it easy for kids to just take pictures is a wonderful way to foster their love of this medium.

What do you make of modern technology (Instagram, iPhone cameras) and how kids AND adults can best utilise them?

This is such a huge issue for me. We are a very tech friendly family and feel like these things are not going away and to be safe online, we all have to stay familiar with things and up to date. From toddlerhood our kids have had cameras. Currently our oldest daughter has her own laptop (a hand-me-down from me when I upgraded), her own cameras (also hand-me-downs from me) and an iPad (which she saved for over a year to buy for herself). While she has her own Instagram account and YouTube channel, I control the passwords to those as well as her Apple ID. It is not that we do not trust her, but that with the control of the password, we can keep an eye on what she has access to. On YouTube (she loves posting her stop motion videos that she makes of her American Girl dolls) we have the strictest safety settings so that her search is safe and no dubious “suggested” videos pop up when she looks for something. I have turned all comments off as I do not wish to invite trolls into her little world. Gemma also has a blog and comments there are set to be moderated by me before they are published. On her blog, every single comment has been kind and encouraging so far, but you just never know.

The rules of Instagram are that you need to be at least 13 years old to have an account. We respect that, so I am technically the owner of each of their accounts while the content posted is their own imagery. The twins at five need some extra help filtering what they post, so I log them in and out when they wish to put something on their Instagram accounts. Lately they have not asked, they have just been taking pictures and videos. Gemma at nine is very responsible and if she ever has a concern, she asks me first. Because of that, she is allowed to have Instagram logged in on her iPad. We decided to keep their accounts “public” as we decided that as parents we would teach them to never post anything online that they would not share in public. They know not to share anything that identifies their schools, their home address or other personal details in their imagery. They also know that they are not allowed to post photographs of anyone else without their permission. Instead of protecting them by putting up virtual walls, we believe they are “safer” by learning good online behaviour and habits from the start.

I have never been afraid of the Internet. Knowing best practice from childhood will hopefully lead to responsible decisions of what they share in the teenage years.

Photography is such a beautiful way for children to express themselves before they have the vocabulary to tell their stories. I think that encouraging this and sharing their work with others is a decision that must be made by each individual family, but doing so publicly works for us!

To win one of TEN copies of the littleSIDEKLICK book by Rachel and Tamron, here is all you need to do:


- Share this link on your Facebook wall
- Comment below on why you'd like to win a copy of this book
- Email me at josiegags@optusnet.com.au with your address so we know where to send the book to, in case you are a winner (entries are invalid without this as it's often hard to track winners down!)
(Competition open to Australian residents only and is open for one month)

Sally Eagle at Savvy Brides: Trunk Show, Sydney

If you are tying the knot soon and need some beautiful inspiration for your bridal gown, designer Sally Eagle will be in Sydney at Double Bay bridal store Savvy Brides - from her native New Zealand - this week on June 21 and 22 from 9am - 6pm - for her 'trunk show', to showcase her new 2014 collection of gowns

To book in to see Sally, email enquires@savvybrides.com.au and mention you saw this post about Sally on Josie's Juice.

Savvy Brides boutique is Sydney’s one-stop shop for designer gowns and accessories -at an affordable price. The boutique is the exclusive Australian stockist of Sally Eagle gowns. 

Sally Eagle is a young bridal designer from New Zealand, known for her feminine gowns featuring beautiful lace, beading and divine back detail. If you're thinking romantic and soft flowing gowns, Sally is your gal, as much of her inspiration comes from vintage gowns. They are priced at under $2500, so it's a label which has become very popular with budget-savvy brides to be. Here is one of Sally's beautiful gowns:


Savvy Brides boutique sells pre-loved designer gowns (how fabulous! You can still go deigned  without the price tag) as well as stocking niche international labels and sourcing new, up and coming designers. The Double Bay store boasts a beautiful and intimate experience for a bride where they can find a designer wedding dress without the huge price tag. Mandy Daddia, owner of Savvy says, “I want brides to come to our store and have a lovely experience shopping for their dream gown within beautiful surrounds without having to spend their whole life savings on one dress”.

Savvy Brides stocks gowns and accessories from great Australian designers such as Steven Khalil, Lisa Gowing and Karen Willis Holmes to name a few, alongside international names; Jenny Packham, Monique Lhuillier and Vera Wang as well as niche international brands such as Rose & Delilah, Elizabeth Dye and soon Melbourne designer, Gwendolynne.

Accessories are also available in store and now online at www.savvybrides.com.au and include veils and hand-beaded headpieces by Kristi Bonnici, Johanna Johnson as well as a selection of jewellery by Samantha Wills, Fletcher and Grace and others.

The Savvy customer comes from all over Australia to search for their dream gown; they've found that most are in their late 20s and early 30s, own their own home and well set up… but don’t want to spend a fortune on a dress they will wear once.

Mandy was inspired to start Savvy while planning her own wedding - she hunted around for her own dress and realised there where little options for stylish and elegant designer gowns to suit a budget. With a background as a commercial lawyer she has the business sense and she was also a lover of a good bargain (if there was a sale in Sydney Mandy was always the first to know).

So, as she planned her wedding she also planned her business, and it wasn’t long after she said ‘I do’ and returned from her honeymoon that Savvy Brides also opened its doors. Mandy says: "Those moments when you get goose bumps and you can see tears begin to well in the mother of the bride’s eyes when they find the right dress. We get to share one of the most special moments in a woman’s life. To help woman feel beautiful and glamorous is such an honour”.  

Saturday 14 June 2014

10 Painfully Obvious Truths Everyone Forgets Too Soon

This should be printed out and stuck on a fridge. Or thumb-tacked onto a work-space noticeboard. Or… well, you get the drift. These are words to live by, mantras to memorise, credos to adopt… and never forget.

They are hardcore - yet very simple - mindsets to adopt… for life.

Read them and see if you agree. I think it's pretty spot on.

This was written by Marc Chernoff, originally posted on this blog.

Here are the '10 Painfully Obvious Truths Everyone Forgets Too Soon':

10 Painfully Obvious Truths Everyone Forgets Too Soon
Photo by: skoeber

The truth does not cease to exist when it is ignored.
You know how you can hear something a hundred times in a hundred different ways before it finally gets through to you?  The ten truths listed below fall firmly into that category – life lessons that many of us likely learned years ago, and have been reminded of ever since, but for whatever reason, haven’t fully grasped.
This, my friends, is my attempt at helping all of us, myself included, “get it” and “remember it” once and for all…

1.  The average human life is relatively short.

We know deep down that life is short, and that death will happen to all of us eventually, and yet we are infinitely surprised when it happens to someone we know.  It’s like walking up a flight of stairs with a distracted mind, and misjudging the final step.  You expected there to be one more stair than there is, and so you find yourself off balance for a moment, before your mind shifts back to the present moment and how the world really is.
LIVE your life TODAY!  Don’t ignore death, but don’t be afraid of it either.  Be afraid of a life you never lived because you were too afraid to take action.  Death is not the greatest loss in life.  The greatest loss is what dies inside you while you’re still alive.  Be bold.  Be courageous.  Be scared to death, and then take the next step anyway.

2.  You will only ever live the life you create for yourself.

Your life is yours alone.  Others can try to persuade you, but they can’t decide for you.  They can walk with you, but not in your shoes.  So make sure the path youdecide to walk aligns with your own intuition and desires, and don’t be scared to switch paths or pave a new one when it makes sense.
Remember, it’s always better to be at the bottom of the ladder you want to climb than the top of the one you don’t.  Be productive and patient.  And realize that patience is not about waiting, but the ability to keep a good attitude while working hard for what you believe in.  This is your life, and it is made up entirely of your choices.  May your actions speak louder than your words.  May your life preach louder than your lips.  May your success be your noise in the end.
And if life only teaches you one thing, let it be that taking a passionate leap is always worth it.  Even if you have no idea where you’re going to land, be brave enough to step up to the edge of the unknown, and listen to your heart.  (Angel and I discuss this in more detail in the “Passion and Growth” chapter of 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently.)

3.  Being busy does NOT mean being productive.

Busyness isn’t a virtue, nor is it something to respect.  Though we all have seasons of crazy schedules, very few of us have a legitimate need to be busy ALL the time.  We simply don’t know how to live within our means, prioritize properly, and say no when we should.
Being busy rarely equates to productivity these days.  Just take a quick look around.  Busy people outnumber productive people by a wide margin.  Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time.  They’re heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc.  They barely have enough free time for family get-togethers and they rarely get enough sleep.  Yet, emails are shooting out of their smart phones like machine gun bullets, and their day planners are jammed to the brim with obligations.  Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance.  But it’s all an illusion.  They’re like hamsters running on a wheel.
Though being busy can make us feel more alive than anything else for a moment, the sensation is not sustainable long term.  We will inevitably, whether tomorrow or on our deathbed, come to wish that we spent less time in the buzz of busyness and more time actually living a purposeful life.

4.  Some kind of failure always occurs before success.

Most mistakes are unavoidable.  Learn to forgive yourself.  It’s not a problem to make them.  It’s only a problem if you never learn from them.
If you’re too afraid of failure, you can’t possibly do what needs to be done to be successful.  The solution to this problem is making friends with failure.  You want to know the difference between a master and a beginner?  The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried.  Behind every great piece of art is a thousand failed attempts to make it, but these attempts are simply never shown to us.
Bottom line:  Just because it’s not happening now, doesn’t mean it never will.  Sometimes things have to go very wrong before they can be right.  (Read The Success Principles.)

5.  Thinking and doing are two very different things.

Success never comes to look for you while you wait around thinking about it.
You are what you do, not what you say you’ll do.  Knowledge is basically useless without action.  Good things don’t come to those who wait; they come to those who work on meaningful goals.  Ask yourself what’s really important and then have the courage to build your life around your answer.
And remember, if you wait until you feel 100% ready to begin, you’ll likely be waiting the rest of your life.

6.  You don’t have to wait for an apology to forgive.

Life gets much easier when you learn to accept all the apologies you never got.  The key is to be thankful for every experience – positive or negative.  It’s taking a step back and saying, “Thank you for the lesson.”  It’s realizing that grudges from the past are a perfect waste of today’s happiness, and that holding one is like letting unwanted company live rent free in your head.
Forgiveness is a promise – one you want to keep.  When you forgive someone you are making a promise not to hold the unchangeable past against your present self.  It has nothing to do with freeing a criminal of his or her crime, and everything to do with freeing yourself of the burden of being an eternal victim.

7.  Some people are simply the wrong match for you.

You will only ever be as great as the people you surround yourself with, so be brave enough to let go of those who keep bringing you down.  You shouldn’t force connections with people who constantly make you feel less than amazing.
If someone makes you feel uncomfortable and insecure every time you’re with them, for whatever reason, they’re probably not close friend material.  If they make you feel like you can’t be yourself, or if they make you “less than” in any way, don’t pursue a connection with them.  If you feel emotionally drained after hanging out with them or get a small hit of anxiety when you are reminded of them, listen to your intuition.  There are so many “right people” for you, who energize you and inspire you to be your best self.  It makes no sense to force it with people who are the wrong match for you.

8.  It’s not other people’s job to love you; it’s yours.

It’s important to be nice to others, but it’s even more important to be nice to yourself.  You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world.  So make sure you don’t start seeing yourself through the eyes of those who don’t value you.  Know your worth, even if they don’t.
Today, let someone love you just the way you are – as flawed as you might be, as unattractive as you sometimes feel, and as incomplete as you think you are.  Yes, let someone love you despite all of this, and let that someone be YOU.  (ReadLove Yourself Like Your Life Depends On It.)

9.  What you own is not who YOU are.

Stuff really is just stuff, and it has absolutely no bearing on who you are as a person.  Most of us can make do with much less than we think we need.  That’s a valuable reminder, especially in a hugely consumer-driven culture that focuses more on material things than meaningful connections and experiences.
You have to create your own culture.  Don’t watch TV, don’t read every fashion magazine, and don’t consume too much of the evening news.  Find the strength to fill your time with meaningful experiences.  The space and time you are occupying at this very moment is LIFE, and if you’re worrying about Kim Kardashian or Lebron James or some other famous face, then you are disempowered.  You’re giving your life away to marketing and media trickery, which is created by big companies to ultimately motivate you to want to dress a certain way, look a certain way, and be a certain way.  This is tragic, this kind of thinking.  It’s all just Hollywood brainwashing.  What is real is YOU and your friends and your family, your loves, your highs, your hopes, your plans, your fears, etc.
Too often we’re told that we’re not important, we’re just peripheral to what is.  “Get a degree, get a job, get a car, get a house, and keep on getting.”  And it’s sad, because someday you’ll wake up and realize you’ve been tricked.  And all you’ll want then is to reclaim your mind by getting it out of the hands of the brainwashers who want to turn you into a drone that buys everything that isn’t needed to impress everyone that isn’t important.

10.  Everything changes, every second.

Embrace change and realize it happens for a reason.  It won’t always be obvious at first, but in the end it will be worth it.
What you have today may become what you had by tomorrow.  You never know.  Things change, often spontaneously.  People and circumstances come and go.  Life doesn’t stop for anybody.  It moves rapidly and rushes from calm to chaos in a matter of seconds, and happens like this to people every day.  It’s likely happening to someone nearby right now.
Sometimes the shortest split second in time changes the direction of our lives.  A seemingly innocuous decision rattles our whole world like a meteorite striking Earth.  Entire lives have been swiveled and flipped upside down, for better or worse, on the strength of an unpredictable event.  And these events are always happening.
However good or bad a situation is now, it will change.  That’s the one thing you can count on.  So when life is good, enjoy it.  Don’t go looking for something better every second.  Happiness never comes to those who don’t appreciate what they have while they have it.

Your turn…

What else would you add to this list?  What important life lessons do you often forget?  Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.