Peter Clemens, Author at Possibility Change

Actors, Astronauts, and that Thing We Call Happiness

Well Heath Ledger is dead – another young person gone in their prime. I must admit this loss hit me harder than your average death as Heath hailed from my home city of Perth, was also a father, and apparently battled depression.

Why is it that Heath Ledger and all these other celebrities we see going to rehab – Britney Spears, Lindsey Lohan, etc – are/ were seemingly so unhappy? They have the world at their fingertips, right? Well from my experience there is more to happiness then first meets the eye. The depression I mentioned at the start of the article is now long behind me, and I would like to share what I consider to be 4 key ingredients to a happy life that may help to explain all this unhappiness we see.

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What Are You Doing That’s Different?

By Peter Clemens / 26 Comments

“The successful person has the habit of doing the things failures don’t like to do. They don’t like doing them either necessarily. But their disliking is subordinated to the strength of their purpose.” — E.M. Gray

I write this having just returned from an early morning run. The local neighborhood looked beautiful covered in a thin layer of snow, but as you would expect I had the streets to myself at 5.30am.

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LASIK Eye Surgery. Have You? Would You?

By Peter Clemens / 38 Comments

If you were to ask me what one thing would dramatically improve my life, my answer would very likely be “to have perfect eyesight”.

At the same time, however, I have always been uneasy with anything to do with eyes. For example, those movie scenes where a sharp instrument comes agonizingly close to piercing the eye have always sent shivers down my spine. This probably explains why, despite wanting to have better eyesight and it being a fairly common procedure these days, I haven’t really explored the option of LASIK eye surgery up until now.

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8 Important Money Reminders

By Peter Clemens / 13 Comments

Ok, I have a confession. I went a little crazy on the spending in December. Perhaps it was the new credit card I received early in the month. Or maybe it was the new job conveniently located opposite a mall. I don’t know. What I do know, however, is that a “finance guy” such as myself should know better. That’s why I have called this article “8 Important Money Reminders”. Don’t expect to find some new revolutionary money tip here. I’m going back to basics, if not for you, then definitely for me.

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50 Tips From My Year of Change

By Peter Clemens / 39 Comments

This has been a major year of change in my life – I became a father for the first time in February, I began blogging in April, I relocated from Australia to Canada in July, and I started a new job in November. Along the way I have picked up a variety of tips that I have incorporated into my daily routine to make life happier, healthier, and more productive. Here are 50 of my favourites:

1. Start with the fundamentals: if you want to live a great life, start by getting the fundamentals right. Examples of what I consider the “fundamentals” include an open mind and a willingness to change. If you would like to read more, check out my article 30 Fundamentals of a Wonderful Life (it was one of my most popular in 2007).

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How to Live Forever

By Peter Clemens / 11 Comments

“When you were born, you cried while the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a way that when you die, the world cries while you rejoice.” – Ancient Sanskrit saying

Last week Todd, founder of We The Change, challenged me to write my own eulogy. In his words, “although morbidly sounding, this exercise can be quite powerful and help you generate a crystal clear vision of how you want your life to turn out.” So here it goes….

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What is Happiness?

By Peter Clemens / 21 Comments

Happiness. It’s something that we all want, but do we really appreciate what makes us happy? Like the concept of “success”, it is perhaps best that we understand what makes us happy, if only so that we don’t fall into the trap of chasing someone else’s version of the word.

The following are 10 quotes that each, in my opinion, give a key insight into what happiness really is.

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7 Tips to Make This A Great Week

By Peter Clemens / 11 Comments

Well Monday is here again. While this of course means the weekend is over, it also means a new week of unlimited potential lies ahead. The following are 7 ideas that will help you have a happy, productive and meaningful week.

1. Set Goals

Ideally on Sunday (but Monday is ok), I like to take some time out to think about the week ahead. I follow Dr Covey’s approach to goal-setting as outlined in The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. This involves the following:

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How to Be Annoying

By Peter Clemens / 12 Comments

“You never know just how you look through other peoples’ eyes” – this is a line from a well known song when I was growing up (Pepper by the Butthole Surfers for those interested). There is definitely a lot of truth to this. That said, there are some things that, if you do them, are guaranteed to piss people off.

Now just to be clear here, the following are things I recommend you don’t do. And one more thing: I’m certainly not perfect, and there are a few things on this list that I’m guilty of doing. If anything, writing this list has helped me identify some areas I can work on.

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How to Enjoy Life Every Day

By Peter Clemens / 38 Comments

The “Every Day Mindset” is a simple, yet extremely powerful, way in which to live your life. What is this mindset? Put simply, it is a mindset that remembers that this day you are currently living will only ever happen once, and it therefore encourages you to make the most of it.

It is not about recklessly living life as if there is no tomorrow. The future is important to plan for, but it is important not to obsess about it to the extent that you neglect the present. Remember, the only way to get to the future is through a series of todays. Since this Every Day Mindset has changed my life, I would like to share with you 3 specific ways in which I apply it.

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5 Essential Personal Development Podcasts

By Peter Clemens / 8 Comments

Podcasts are basically pre-recorded audio programs you can download. The great thing about podcasts is that you can download an episode and begin listening to it in just minutes either on your computer or portable listening device (iPod, Blackberry, etc). This means you can listen to them anytime, anywhere (eg while jogging, driving, working out or taking a walk).

Below are 5 of my favorite personal development podcasts. Enjoy!

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