One of the biggest blessings in life is happiness. I wrote my first book released July 13, 1999 entitled "Seven Steps to Lasting Happiness". Even though the book is 11 years old, the messages are timeless!!

Life is Perfect!

I went for a walk this morning after my meditation, followed by some stretching . It felt terrific!

I felt that life is perfect if you make it so. Yes, there are always things to do and goals to accomplish; These will never go away. However, the precious moment will! I am savoring the moment and eternally grateful for it!

We should be grateful for the small moments in our lives, especially when we're too busy to recognise their presence.  They are the fuel to our very busy lives.

A while ago, I was getting ready to travel for some speaking arrangements.  After much planning and preparation, my flight to London was cancelled due to landing problems at the destination airport. I had checked my bags in and was at the airport for a few hours. It meant going through the process of getting my bags - even more strenuous than normal arrival from overseas. Nonetheless the extra time I got with the family far outweighed the inconveniences.

List all the problems and challenges you are facing right now.

Review them and ask yourself if any of them are life and death issues or so critical to your happiness.

It's important to realise that we will always have something on our lists that cause us stress, and that we may not be able to get rid of them.  If we ever manage, others will appear.

 My colleague the late Dr. Richard Carlson was so right: "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff"!

Instead, write down what you are grateful for and see how energized you feel!

"I have never cried so much from reading a book! Every page was filled with deep emotion and I cried on every page I read! As a father of two children, I felt my heart tear out as I read about the pain the mother felt on losing a child. Swarn Lamba has expressed her feelings from her innermost being as she takes you from varieties of emotions - of love, of loss, of agony. Her closeness to her charming child is evident in every word she has written. I am convinced that every parent reading this book will experience part of her pain.

My very close friend Robin Sharma has written a great book entitled "The Leader Who Had No Title: A Modern Fable On Real Success In Business and In Life" (Simon & Schuster).

In this wonderful fable, Robin takes you in a journey with a powerful mentor and four teachers. The teachers encompass a hotel room cleaner, a Ski shop owner, a gardener and massage therapist thereby confirming that you do not have to carry a big title or a 'worldly regarded' top notch profession to be a leader or a teacher.

Having a ritual makes my life easier and I don't forget the important things.

Meditation, exercise, 4 glasses of water and blogging get me off to a great start to the morning! If I miss this ritual in the early morning then I don't get round to it.

This ritual is followed up by dropping my son Tawfiq to school, reading, writing, client work, media work and speech preparation.

Even though giving comes natural to me, I make it a point to do at least one good act early in the day.

My former boss, partner, friend, mentor Mr. Karro (Harold Karro) passed away peacefully recently. He is survived by his wife, 3 children, 2 grandchildren and 1 great grand child.

Mr. Karro was a loving and honorable family man who played his part as a grand father, father, husband, businessman and human being with devotion and diligence.

I have fond memories of Mr. Karro and his favorite statements:

- do not dilly dally (diddle and daddle as he would put it)
- what you can do today, don't leave it for tomorrow

When you are called to give, you will rationalize to give or not to give.

You might say, 'the economy is bad', 'my circumstances are not good', 'the time is not right', 'I gave a lot in the past', etc, and you might pass this time.

Alternatively, you will rationalize: 'I am healthy, enjoy peace, breathe fresh air, have support from my family, am blessed. Therefore I must give something.'

You can rationalize either way and justify your actions. I hope you will rationalize to give instead of not to give.

I spoke at a seniors' function on giving last week as part of a fundraiser. Our target was $50,000, which was matched by a donor for a total of $100,000. It was a difficult environment. I spoke with my heart; however, I was not sure if my message resonated with the audience.

I had to leave soon after to pick my son up from school so was not sure how we did. While driving to pick up my son, I was feeling a bit disappointed that I was not as convincing and moving as I could have been.