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His wife, Cheryl (Courtney Thorne-Smith) pointed out to him that the kids had barely looked at the presents they got the year before. In fact, one was still in its original package – it had been unwrapped but never opened and played with!

Maybe that kid was just a collector at heart!

But this show made us think … sometimes we get caught up on getting something new and not reflecting on the gifts we already have. So today we want to unwrap some of our most special gifts.

If you want to listen to us open these gifts, just click the “play” button above. Otherwise, picture each package being opened …

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Why don’t you kick it off, Mary-Lynn?

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This one is a real, real special one. It’s the gift of my Dad. He had a bit of a health scare going into the holidays. He’s fine – clean bill of health. So thank you, God. I love my gift this year! Alright George, it’s your turn.

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My gift is memories of Mom and Dad. Mom’s been gone a couple of years now so it’s still somewhat fresh, I guess. I think about the things I learned from them, the things that helped make me who I am, for better or worse – I can blame them! I had a very special Mom and Dad and I’m very thankful for that. Now, you’re up Mary-Lynn.

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Oh, yes … we’ve had a cold winter here in Illinois. There have been nights when you just hear that wind outside howling and I am inside and toasty warm! So the gift of a nice warm house is something I’m very, very grateful for this year.

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We often don’t stop to think about the basics and how many people there are who don’t even have something as simple as that.

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Exactly. Alright, George, tear into the next one.

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One of the features of our car is remote unlock. Man, as we’ve been out shopping in the cold, it’s really nice to be able to find your car quickly because it winks at us. And of course, to be able to get right in once you’re to it.

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That’s a good one. Okay, I’ll open the next one. Ah, the gifts of our kitty cats – Fifi and Fraidy. We have original cat names, don’t we? Boy, they just give us gifts all year long … loving and purring.

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Yeah, and sometimes they leave us a little something on the floor!

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We don’t like those gifts at all!

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Okay, let’s open the next one. It’s for both of us, Mary-Lynn. Let’s see what it is … ah, it’s our families. You have a great family, Mary-Lynn. Love your dad and your sister.

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You have a great family, too. Your sisters are all so fun – listening to all of the siblings laughing together. It’s just so nice!

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Yes, and the in-laws aren’t so bad either. A cool group of nephews and now, one little niece. And Mary-Lynn, while we’re on family, I have to say that I’m also very thankful for you.

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Ah, that’s so sweet. I’m thankful for you too. You’re a special man!

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It brings up the point, though. I think sometimes those closest to us are the people we most take for granted. We often don’t show them the appreciation we should.

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Yeah, I forget about you all the time, George.

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I know you do!

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George, I’ve got to tell you … I think we scored this Christmas.

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I’m with you on that – but Mary-Lynn, I just noticed something … over there in the corner, it looks like there’s another bigg present for us.

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Alright, let’s open it up … ah yes, of course. This is something we’re really grateful for.

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We’re grateful for you! The fact that you spend time with us like you do – you share your insights, you listen to our show, you read our blog posts. However you spend time with us, we’re just so thankful.

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You are the reason that we get to do what we love to do! That is such an amazing gift and we thank you so much.

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So to you we say, whatever your chosen holiday at this time of year, we wish you and yours the very best. For us, it’s Christmas … so Merry Christmas!

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
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The Best Present of All, No Matter How It’s Wrapped

(Image in today's post by orangeNess)

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Sometimes we forget how much we already have. As we get older, we put expectations on ourselves and judge ourselves based on what we have and the gifts we can give.

The cardboard box

Have you ever seen a little kid get his or her first bigg toy – the one that comes in the bigg cardboard box? Have you ever seen a kid put the real toy aside and start playing with that cardboard box? They turn it into a fort and have fun with it for hours, playing with their friends. Through the eyes of us adults, that cardboard box is extraneous. Through the eyes of a kid, the cardboard box is a valuable toy itself.

We develop our point-of-view from our experiences. Obviously, we want to learn from them, but we need to be careful not to take away the wrong lessons. So this holiday season, try looking at the world through the eyes of a child again. Look at things as if you were seeing them for the first time. Be innocent again.

Through the eyes of a child

We want to share a touching story comparing how we perceive things as adults to how we might see them through the eyes of a child. A rich dad wants to show his daughter how less fortunate people live. So he took his daughter out to the country, where they spent a couple of days and nights on a farm with a family most people considered very poor. Here’s the conversation as they drove back to the city …

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How was the trip?

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It was great, Dad.

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Did you see how poor people live?

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Oh yeah.

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So, tell me, what did you learn?

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I saw that we have one dog and they have four. We have a pool that reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end. We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night. Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon. We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight. We buy our food, but they grow theirs. We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends to protect them. We have a staff that serves us, but they serve others. Thanks Dad for showing me how poor we are.

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As you might imagine, the girl’s father was speechless. He thought he would teach his daughter a lesson … it turns out that it was he who needed to learn one.

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We really appreciate you checking in on us today. Join us next time when we talk about the best present of all. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00291-122208.mp3

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Where Are You If You Ain’t Where You Are

Back To The Future: Visualizing The Life You Want (Part 1)

(Image of the car by stOrmz,CC 2.0)

(Images of dad and daughter in today's post by stockbroke)

We often don’t think about it, but play is actually child’s work. It’s all we had to do as kids and we learned essential skills by doing it.

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Then we grew up. Work becomes work. Play is what we do after all the work is done.

We see it as a trade-off. We work at our jobs. We get home and work on our chores. Maybe we’ll get some time to just have fun this weekend … or next … or when we take a vacation … but who has the time to do that these days? Oh well. That’s life.

It doesn’t have to be that way. We have a choice. We can integrate our work and play.

We can hear the objections already …

• I need more play time. I don’t need to try to make work fun.
  Here’s where we need to learn a lesson from kids. If you can make your work feel like play, then you can play all the time.

• No way. I can’t have fun at work. It’s just a job, not my dream job.
  We all have the power to choose. When we were kids, if we got tired or bored with whatever activity we were doing, we would do something else.

• Times are tough. I’m happy just to have a job.
  This is a good point. As adults, we have responsibilities we didn’t have as kids. But just because we can’t change our situation instantly doesn’t mean we have to be stuck in it for the rest of our lives.

3 tips to make work seem like play

• Love what you do
  We hear this all the time. You should do what you’re passionate about. We agree – it’s great if you can get paid to do what you love. That’s the ideal way to integrate work and play.

But we also think that passion is overrated. Instead, you may love why you do what you do. Perhaps your job gives you the income and the time away to pursue what you’re truly passionate about. You can still love your work because it’s the means to do what you really love.

• Love who you work with
  Kids don’t play with kids they don’t like. Why should we? You may be in the right job in the right industry, but you’re in the wrong place. So change departments. Or companies. Granted you may not be able to make this happen overnight. But you can love what you do while you look for the right group to do it with.

• Love the process
  This may be the main lesson we can learn from child’s play. They’re not worried about the result. They enjoy the process. In that process, they learn. They express their creativity. They socialize. They have fun. We put so much focus on the result that we forget the journey is the part that’s fun!

If you don’t love what you do, who you do it with, and the process of doing it, then how can you ever be happy? How will you grow? Where will you find meaning in your life?

If you do love what you do, who you do it with, and the process of doing it, then your work is your play. What could be better than playing all day? Better get back to it … another kid’s eyeing your toys!

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We really appreciate you spending some time with us today. Join us next time when we’ll discuss mania in the markets and rising above the crowd. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00270-112108.mp3

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Want to Succeed Bigg? Stop Working!

(Image by DoortenJ)

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With Halloween coming up, it’s the perfect opportunity to be a bigg kid again. When you get invited to a costume party, don’t be a stick-in-the-mud. (Although, come to think of it, that would be a great costume!) Play along. Have some fun.

One of our favorite places, Boltini, is turning themselves into a speakeasy this year. Yep, that’s right … we’re going back to the roaring 20s! 

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I went as the waitress from hell one year. I wore an old dress with one of my old aprons, and I had a tray for serving up eyeballs and all kinds of nasty things. This year, I think I’ll be the freaky flapper girl. Instead of a feather boa, I’ll wear a spider web!

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I had thought about being a gangster, but that may be a bit too obvious. We had dinner with some friends the other night. They have a friend who just got married so she’s hyphenating her name now. It’s Butts McGee. I love that name. I immediately pictured a beat reporter from the 20’s. So I’m going as Butts McGee!

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3 fun costume ideas

We found a list of great costume ideas over at the Hollywood Flakes sight. Here are our three favorites, but check out her full list for more great ideas:

Nudist on strike
This is a really simple costume that can be created at the last minute. Dress in your normal clues. Make up a picket sign that says “Nudist on strike.” Just make sure you’re home before the strike ends!

Chick magnet
This is another very simple idea, although perhaps not the cheap. Get a bunch of Barbie dolls and attach them all over your body. It’s every guys dream, right?

Miss Conception
This is the perfect costume if you’re pregnant, but it can work for anybody – just use a pillow. Get a glamorous gown. Do your hair and your make-up like you would for a beauty contest. Make a sash that says “Miss Conception”. Then just smile and wave all evening!

Use our comment box below to share your costume ideas with our community!

Play time is important. A Halloween party is a great way to spend time with friends. Little things, like creating a costume, tap into your creativity. Sometimes, it’s good to be a bigg kid!

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Next time, we’ll visit with a money expert about the emotions of money. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

Subscribe to The Bigg Success Show in iTunes. 

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Direct link to The Bigg Success Show audio file:
http://media.libsyn.com/media/biggsuccess/00250-102408.mp3

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The calendars of kids today are as busy as ours. Between school and all their extracurricular activities, they’re too busy to really play.

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I saw an interview with a little girl awhile back. She was brilliant, doing well in school and excelling at everything she did. Her one wish was that she could just have some time to play.

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Isn’t that sad?

Play pays

Don’t get us wrong – extracurricular activities are great, but it’s good to also have time to engage in activities that don’t have a goal with performance stress attached.

It’s good for kids to just play. It’s good for them physically, socially, and mentally. Play helps them develop their imagination and creativity as well as socially – all important skills in the years ahead.

Turning back the clock

Dr. Robyn cites a growing trend of kids having fitness club memberships. How many of us just love going to the gym? Do you remember playing … just good old fashioned play?  It was fun. Something you couldn’t wait to do. You got some great exercise, but you didn’t watch the clock like you do when you’re working out at the club. 

Speaking of clocks, the sad part is that we seem to be turning back the clock. Dr. Robyn’s article includes a quote that says kids are about two years behind in their development compared to sixty years ago. It seems we’re not evolving; we’re going backwards.

We need to do a 180

So let’s let the kids be kids. In fact, let’s take it a step further. Let’s do a 180 degree turn – instead of trying to turn kids into little adults, let’s become bigg kids.

Not in an immature way … just for fun and all the benefits that come with it.

We need to be more child-like. Do you remember being fascinated by bugs? Of course, we’re not talking about bugs inside the house. But isn’t it fascinating to just watch a praying mantis? How relaxing is it to see butterflies fluttering around?

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That’s one of the reasons I love going for walks. I just love seeing all the cool plants. There’s a lake close to our house so I can watch the fish. It sure beats going to the fitness center and watching TV!

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We get so busy working that we don’t have a second to spare. Sometimes we even block people out so we can get all of our work done. That’s when play time is especially important. Play time is social time. You can relax and talk with people.

And you learn … things that you might not learn any other way. Because other people have different interests. By playing – socializing – you expand our interests. That helps you look at old problems in new ways. You find solutions that you may not find if you don’t get out of your routine.

Play expands our imaginations. Our imagination leads us to be more creative, more innovative. Which is how we find those bigg ideas that lead to bigg success!

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Next time, we’ll take on Washington and Wall Street. Until then, here’s to your bigg success!

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(Image by mommyof9)