WELCOME TO GET REAL

Welcome to a website with a mission to empower and inspire each and every one of you through value packed articles and blog posts by our contributors who are real people, just like you! Get Real is creating a community of individuals who can find relatable information to suit their specific niche. 

Let's give you the tour! 

As you can see on the bar above, there are 8 different categories for articles: Actors, Business, Couples, Leaders, Parents, People, Speakers, and Teens. In addition to these 8 categories above, we are also looking for articles by Writers & Speakers. All of the articles are sorted into one of the above categories, but those same articles can also be found below, right here on the home page. 

If you've read something valuable, we do encourage you to pass it along to your network of friends and family. To wrap up the tour, please note that at the bottom of each post there is a "Share" button for Twitter, Facebook, and Email. This will send out a direct link to the article you are viewing, as opposed to copying the URL. Also, join in on the Get Real Community by adding your thoughts and comments to individual posts that you enjoyed.

And lastly..

Are you looking for an opportunity to share your advice and wisdom? Have you learned something great in your life that could help others? Are you looking for a platform to get your message out? If so, we've got a place for you! We are looking for one-time and ongoing contributors to write and submit simple articles and blog posts to Hey, Get Real. We will always include your name and website/business at the end of your article so that our readers and community will know how to find out more about you. 

Welcome, make yourself at home, and stay connected with us through facebook, twitter and subscribing to this page for all of our updates! 

Hey, GET REAL!

The Power of Questions

Questions direct our focus. Our focus directs our emotions.

Take a moment to think about all of the questions you ask yourself each and everyday. 

What's for breakfast?

Why is there so much traffic? 

When is it time to go home?

Why am I not good enough?

Why do I have to work out?

Who cares?

You get the idea. 

What you may not realize is that we ask ourselves hundreds of questions each day, and whether or not we consciously answer each question, the questions are being answered.

Questions force our mind to search for answers. It's simply our mind doing it's job, functioning as it's meant to. The quality of the questions we ask, directly affects the quality of the mental state we live in.

Knowing this, we can acknowledge that we are somewhat in control of the things our mind focuses on, right? 

Start asking yourself some empowering questions. Chose to focus on things that will give you strength, happiness, hope, joy, gratitude. 

What was great about today?

What am I grateful for?

What am I excited about this week?

Make it even more fun by reconnecting with the little kid inside of you, and ask yourself one goofy question each day.

If I could do ANYTHING, what would I do?

If I could be any animal what would I be? Why?

What would my superhero name be? 

Can you see how these questions can spark creativity, laughter, and light heartedness? Something we could really benefit from right after a stressful meeting or while stuck in rush hour traffic.

It's all about making little adjustments and being aware of the power of questions and focus. It could be the difference between a great day, and a rough day. What would you chose?

For those in business and leadership roles, the questions you ask your clients, employees, and customers also help to direct their focus. 

How can we give our guests a great experience?

What was great about that presentation?

What do you like about the product?

Something to think about...

The Truth about Laughter

Did you know....

Laughter strengthens the body's ability to fight disease.

Laughter releases endorphins.

Laughter reduces stress.

Laughter anchors positive experiences.

Laughter can lower blood pressure.

Laughter releases tension.

Laughing 100 times a day can provide the same benefits as rowing for 10 minutes. 

Laughter causes you to focus on the great things in life.

Laughter can break you out of a funk.

Laughter is infectious, pass it on.

Laughter sounds the same across all cultures.

Something to think about...

Is it time to give yourself permission to laugh today? 

Is it time to let lose and be a kid again?

 

Getting What You Want in Times of Adversity

There are some trends in our current global economic state, trends that not only effect “grown ups” but also young people and teens. Rates of unemployment are up and yet cost of living seems to keep increasing. Opportunities to pursue higher education are made more difficult with less funding and scholarships available. These can all seem rather discouraging when you’ve got a clear vision for what you want to have in life.

I have a few tips to help you work through these challenges and stay on course towards the things you want in life, whether it’s going to university, getting a job or living independently.

CLARITY: Having a vision and having goals is a vital first step in this process of overcoming adversity. Having clarity in your vision and goals is what will set you apart from every other person that simply says “I want a job.” It’s about knowing exactly what you want, for example, having that laser focus on what universities you want to attend and what degrees you want to pursue.  Clarity causes a ripple effect of success. Clarity creates certainty. Once you know exactly what you want, you are Certain you will make it happen, it has become a MUST. Once you have that certainty that you can make it happen, you gain Confidence to move forward and take a proactive step in your progress.

Clarity --> Certainty --> Confidence

What can you do today to move yourself closer to being accepted into that university or towards saving up more money to pay for your courses? There is always a way, it’s about living In Action, rather than in Reaction.

ACTION: Once you’ve gotten that amazing vision and certainty that it will happen and the confidence to make it happen, it’s time to take Action! Often times people fall victim to the adversities they are faced with. Have you ever heard someone say, “There are no jobs available, I might as well not even apply or look for a job.” That’s simply an excuse to have low standards. And if you are here visiting this website, then you are not a low standard kind of person! 

If you want a job, no matter how bad the economy is, you must take action. Set mini-goals to get you to that ultimate outcome. How many places will you apply to this weekend? How will you set yourself apart from the other applicants? Will you seek a mentor to help you with interviews and your resume? Will you start networking with the people you know to see what opportunities are available? These are all steps that you can take that most people won’t. If you have the clarity about what you want, you will stop at nothing to make it a reality. 

COMMITMENT: When things aren’t handed to us, but instead demand hard work, we are tested on how much we really want to achieve something. This is when you are called upon to be committed to your vision. Things may not always come easy, things may take time and there may be situations of rejection. But what sets you apart from other people who are seeking opportunities is your level of commitment. It’s about growth and movement, not stagnancy. You will continue to try, you will continue to act, you will continue to believe. If you are committed to getting into that top university, you will do what it takes to make it happen. Commitment is what sets that people with clarity apart from those with doubt. Which path do you want to be on? The one headed somewhere you want to go, or the one headed nowhere in particular?

In the end, when you have a vision, a really exciting vision, you will stop at nothing to make it happen.  Step up and Stand out! 

How will you be the shining star? How will you achieve your goals? How will you live your life with the highest standards? 

Present Wisdom for Present Success

Photo Cred: Brittany Scales Studios

We've all seen the question asked before, "What would you tell your teenage self if you could go back in time?" I've sometimes thought this was a counter productive question, we all know hindsight is 20/20 and I'd hate to ask a question that stirs up regret. However, what I've come to realize is this question also has the power to offer our present selves that same advice, simply in now knowing what would have been best for us in the past. Wouldn't those same things apply today? So I decided to ask some of my friends on Twitter & Facebook to get some insight onto what they would tell their teenage self. Here are some of those responses:

"To TRY. Failure isn't as horrible as I made it to be, it shouldn't have prevented me from trying new things."

"Be yourself."

"You will make mistakes, and you will get into trouble, but you will also get past them and learn from them."

"You deserve the best, quit sabotaging yourself."

"Life is only as hard as you imagine it to be."

"Be true to what you feel, believe and you'll be just fine."

"The exact same thing my parents told me."

"Don't be shy of girls. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Don't wait to pursue your dreams and don't let anyone or anything get in the way of them.. EVER."

I made sure not to specify, "what advice would you give yourself," instead I left it broad and asked what they would tell themselves, and even still the majority of replies were advice, or even the wisdom gained over time. Why is this? Because it all comes down to the fact that our lives are evolving, always. We are always learning new things, growing, and adapting to life's changes. Next week we will probably have advice we can offer this week's self, something really valuable that we learned in the past seven days that would have benefited us had we been aware of it then. 

It's made me realize that all we've got to do is be aware. Aware of all of the lessons in our life, each and every day. Through the toughest moments, the boring moments, the simple moments, there are things we can appreciate and embrace that will allow us to move into even better moments. 

So what would YOU tell your teenage self? Why not tell your present self those things?