From Our Family to Your’s…

…we would like to wish all of you a happy holiday season!

Regardless of where you are in the world…or what your beliefs may be…we appreciate every one of you and wish you a happy and prosperous 2012!

Over the past 3 years we have shared quite a bit of ourselves with you, our subscribers and friends. So, from the subscribers of Puggle Place to those of The Ultimate Internet Image, we appreciate each and every one of you.

Once again, from The Entire Zajaros Family:

• Merry Christmas
• Happy Hanukkah
• Happy Kwanzaa
• Joyeux Noel
• Feliz Navidad
• Feliz Natal
• Frohe Weihnachten

And, above all, Peace on Earth in the New Year!

The Zajaros Family — Jack Sr, Connie, Allie, Kayleigh, Emily, Kailyn (Purdy), Brynn (Purdy)…and “The Boys!” Bart & TuffGuy…in the shades!

From our family to your's, we wish you a very happy holiday season and the happiest new year!

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Are You Happy? 3 Paragraphs Will Put You on the Path to Happiness!

Happy Valentines Day to You and Your’s from The Zajaros Family!

I was reading a book this morning, something I try to do every day.

Yes, some of us still read!

While I don’t always succeed, my reading program is really about a commitment I made to myself in graduate school.

During my time as a lowly doctoral student, making my way through the hollowed halls of academia, I was required to read anywhere from 2-5 books a week. I was also required to read a staggering number of journal articles and miscellaneous technical readings, both as part of my course work and as needed to support my ongoing research. As I struggled to make sense of dense and often tedious material, I promised myself that if I survived higher education, I would read as much for enjoyment as for self-education for the rest of my days.

Believe it or not, I have been able to stay true to that pledge!

Interestingly, reading has remained both enjoyable and educational for me. Conversely, almost all of my students, male and female, would argue former and curse the latter. Sadly, many young people do not read at all, ever! When the youth of today (i.e., middle school and high school students) do read, they do so only when required to in order to complete their school assignments. Most students only read long enough to finish the assignment, feeling lucky to have survived the experience!

Back to the point of this article.

I know, I stray a lot!

This morning’s reading matched head-on with the celebration of St. Valentine’s Day, now abbreviated into the more generic, and more universally appealing, Valentine’s Day. The change is probably responsible for greater greeting card, flowers, and candy sales.

Cupid is probably a happy camper too!

Or am I being facetious?

Probably!

Anyway, I was reading from a book by Richard Wiseman entitled 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot. Wiseman has taken happiness apart, exploring and analyzing it based on the work of academics around the world.

I know, I know…BORING!

Right?

Well, not really! In fact, it is an intriguing exercise that looks at the emotional and physiological responses to happiness based on certain practices and behaviors, usually performed on a regular basis. The most interesting thing about the findings cited in 59 Seconds, at least to another scientist?

It appears that the effects of many of the happiness strategies cited by Wiseman are powerful, long lasting, and replicable!

Meaning, not only do the various strategies and exercises work? They have a positive impact your overall health…and you can replicate them. Replication thus ensures lasting happiness and good health!

The Secret:

As long as you work at it, you can be as happy as a clam for as long as you want to be.

Happy as a clam has always been interesting to me!

Where in the world did that one come from?

As I was reading today, 3 exercises jumped off the page.

The happiness exercises seemed to apply specifically to the tone of the day, Valentine’s Day.

The tone?

Love!

Richard Wiseman talks about three types of writing:

1) Expressing gratitude
2) Thinking about a perfect future
3) Affectionate writing

Wiseman maintains that all three have been scientifically proven to work, and all that is required is a pen, a piece of paper, and a few moments of your time. (pg. 22)

While Wiseman introduces the three writing exercises separately, it does not take a rocket scientist to see how applying the three strategies, perhaps as part of a daily journal exercise, would have a lasting impact on one’s happiness.

Taking just a little time each day to write three short paragraphs:

One expressing gratitude, perhaps expressing gratitude for the people (and pets) you love.
The second envisioning a perfect future, a future together with those you love and care about.
Finally, the third dealing with those people most important to you, writing affectionately about friends and family (and pets!) you love.

See those people, and yes pets, you love each and every day as you journal and you will be happier and healthier than you have been in years…perhaps since childhood!

What do you have to lose?

Nothing!

What do you have to gain?

Everything!

What are you waiting for?

It works…I am living proof!

If you are at a loss for a Valentine’s Day gift, perhaps a Kindle copy of Richard Wiseman’s book 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot and a Romance Refillable Leather Journal with an Embossed Heart? Talk about perfect! And don’t forget the Kindle! A Kindle Wireless Reading Device, Wi-Fi, Graphite, 6″ Display with New E Ink Pearl Technology would be perfect!

To You and Your’s, Happy Valentine’s Day!

The Zajaros Family

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July 3, 2010 The Moody Blues at Nautica Stage!

Happy Independence Day from The Zajaros Family

It’s been an amazing year, a year that has transformed my life! I want to thank my subscribers for being a huge part of my life over the past two years. I look forward to continuing to get to know each and every one of you.

This is my treat!

Times sure have changed, we used to get frisked before concerts to make sure we didn’t bring in cameras and recording devices, among other things.

Now?

With the Internet and the realization that a video can go “viral” and promote a product like nothing else can, and yes, music is a product, the game is on and even rock groups understand the power of the Internet marketing. Heck, The Moody Blues had their web address superimposed on the screen behind them during the intermission!

We live in a different world!

Great music will always touch us in a way few other mediums can. Memories flood back in an instant, whether it’s memories past, the memories of an ex-GI who listened to The Moody Blues from overseas (yours truly) or the 7 year old who was introduced to great music last night, creating new memories that will last a lifetime, with his parents in tow.

If anyone doubts the video quality possible with a Flip MinoHD, the video is worth a thousand words! The sound quality of the Flip MinoHD, always a point of contention with reviewers, isn’t bad at all! My one regret? That I didn’t upgrade to Flip MinoHD Generation II. The 60 minutes available with the Flip MinoHD was extremely disappointing…there was so much great music and I just couldn’t capture it all.

Darn!

Anyway, forgive the tremors here and there, I didn’t have a monopod or a decent tripod and my arms got tired after a while. All-in-all, it is a decent video and I hope you enjoy it. If you love The Moody Blues, you’ll love it! If you don’t know who they are? Well, give them a listen…they were and remain one of the best rock bands of all-time!

Again, Happy Independence Day to one and all from:

The Zajaros Family!

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Daughters and Granddaughters: God's Gift to Fathers and Grandfathers!

In Your Eyes! Unconditional Love and Grandchildren

The greatest heartbreak in life is watching your children and grandchildren struggle, regardless of their age! We still see them as little boys full of dreams and wonder and little girls with ponytails flying behind them as the chase puppies, butterflies, and later soccer balls and boys!

“Ugh, boys!”

I remember that one…they all said it!

Our children give so much, more than we ever give them. Their love is unconditional, which makes stepping back and allowing them to grow on their own all the more difficult!

We want to shelter them, protect them, and love them.

Unfortunately, in protecting them we may not be helping them.

As parents and even as grandparents we are torn. Love sometimes means pushing them out of the nest. Other times it means allowing them to fall towards the earth until they learn to flap their wings…all the time dreading the thought that perhaps they won’t flap hard enough or in time!

Life, parenting, and even grandparenting can be very difficult…and quite wonderful!

Life is amazing!

John

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Happy Holidays from My Family to Yours: Treasure the Moments – They are Gone in a Instant!

There are moments in everyone’s life, particularly when raising children, moments that last a lifetime. Whether it is a moment like this or the moment Marc Warnke refers to with his son, Jaken, climbing a rock in his wonderful book ONO: Options not Obligations or myriad others parents carry with them through life, the moments remain treasures, the gems that keep us going…all of us!

This was one of those moments, a blink and it was gone, and yet here it is, my daughter’s Facebook profile picture. The magic I felt so long ago and feel to this day is magic shared. The profound affect and impact the moment had on me was shared by 4 that day…a jewel throughout our collective lives!

Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, and Happy Kwanzaa!

Celebrate life in each and every moment, because it is the moments taken collectively that define us and remain our legacy, as evidenced by a profile picture taken 17 years ago, a moment that remained in a 6 year old’s heart all these years!

John

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Pay it Forward this Holiday Season: Help a Family in Need Today!

Every year for years for years we would get the name of a family in peril, a family who sought help from the system just a bit too late…and the system had nothing for them.

We always sought out families who contacted United Way or the Salvation Army but were unable to be helped because they were too late and the cupboards were bare, so we would step in.

And then we became one of those families, at risk of homelessness, and worse. It was terrible!

The empathy and compassion I feel is real and you can experience it too, it will rip your heart out and reward you all in the same moment!

It is not too late to do the right thing this holiday season, to Pay it Forward, to help a family struggling, with nowhere else to turn!

ACT TODAY!

Call your local church, Salvation Army location or United Way Hotline at once and get the name of a family with children, a family that may not have a Christmas if it were not for your intervention…and help them!

Thank you in advance…for them!

Merry Christmas and God Bless You!

From my family to yours, Happy Holidays!

John

Professor John P. J. Zajaros, Sr.
216-712-6526 (home)
216-539-7412 (bus)
Skype: johnzajaros1
excellencepaidforward@gmail.com
johnz@johnzajaros.com

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Allie, Chris, Kailyn (2 years old), and Brynn Elizabeth (7 1/2 months) Purdy…my kids and grandkids!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

John

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From The Zajaros Family to Yours: Across the USA and Around the World!

John Zajaros and Family

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Family First Entrepreneurship Isn’t Just a Catchy Phrase, It’s A Commitment to a Way of Life that Provides so Much!

Today I share what is possible when your family comes first, in all things!

The remarkable thing is that a year ago, had someone told me I would have had the kind of day I had today? I would have questioned whether they had been into my pain medication…or worse!

I hope you enjoy the video as much as I enjoyed making it. Well, most of it. Connie helped with the ravine stuff, I was kind of busy! I thought I would give the ravine a shot. It looked a lot more precarious than it was. The sack of potatoes, Kailyn, loves being thrown around and has complete confidence in my ability to keep here safe. I don’t know the same was true of Connie?

Once again, and I can’t state this forcefully enough, Family First Entrepreneurship isn’t just a catchy slogan, it’s a life commitment, and a way of life, every day!

This is just a short note to mention we took Sunday off and spent the day with our two little granddaughters, Kailyn and Brynn, and it was wonderful!

If you would like to share a moment with the Zajaros/Purdy Family, there are other moments on my YouTube Channel and I am currently building my channel at isofa.tv, a really cool video platform.

Ultimately, the rewards of a Family First lifestyle are myriad!

If you haven’t read the book ONO: Options not Obligations pick up a copy today, you can find it at bookstores or there’s a link to it on many of my blogs! It is a fast read but you will want to read it more than once. It will change your life!

Another great book, along the lines of accumulating wealth in a responsible manner and not through any of these new wave, hyped methods being espoused of late, is The Millionaire Next Door, while a bit dated the principle and concepts are as robust today as they were in the mid-1990s.

Apply the above works to your life and you will have charted a course to a life of successes. Apply the Family First Entrepreneurship ideal and you will be a complete success!

Contact me anytime!

John Zajaros
216-712-6526 (HOME)
216-539-7412 (BUS)
johnz@johnzajaros.com (contact me anytime)

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