Bella The Boxer

Think Like a Dog: 14 Life Lessons For New Graduates

As a graduate of puppy kindergarten, I know the feeling of pride that accompanies a hard-earned diploma. It didn’t matter that I lunged on my leash and chewed on my classmate’s ear during the graduation ceremony. My Mama was proud—and that’s all that mattered!

Thankfully, I’m older and wiser now. My advice for new graduates? Think like a dog. You’ll work smarter, be happier and find the success you deserve. Here are some practical tips:

1. Concentrate your time and energy on the things that you love and that you are good at—the things that make you “zoom.”
2. Practice the “law of dogtraction” with focused, constructive thoughts. Concentrate on the positive, no matter how small or inconsequential.
3. Get enough sleep—without it, you’ll be unfocused, unproductive and unhealthy. Not to mention too tired to play with your loyal, four-legged friend!
4. Run with the ball. When an opportunity comes along, gather enough information to make a decision and make a decision.
5. Become a better listener by wagging your tail more than your tongue.
6. Broadcast your own success by never speaking negatively about someone else’s.
7. Shake off setbacks like a dog shakes off water. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn.
8. Follow your own instincts. Other people’s opinions shouldn’t keep you from taking risks and pursuing your dreams.
9. Step outside your digital bubble and make real-life connections.
10. Assemble your pack. The most successful people are those who surround themselves with a network of colleagues, coaches, mentors and friends.
11. Don’t just be grateful—show it. Appreciation is gratitude in action, and it makes everyone feel good.
12. Don’t think of play as an escape from daily life, but rather an important part of learning and development. If you don’t play, you don’t grow.
13. Seize the opportunities that are under your nose right now, instead of digging around in the past or sniffing at the future.
14. Savor life with all your senses. Slow down and tune in to the wonderful world around you.

Excerpted from Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success by Bella The Boxer with Ellen Galvin and Patrick Galvin

How to Network Like a Dog: Dig Out What's Different

Want to know how to create long-lasting, meaningful connections in work and life? Take a tip from my book Secrets of a Working Dog and practice thinking like a dog. Woof, woof!

I love driving out to the country with my humans for a chance to chat with the locals...the cows, the horses and the deer (but never, ever the skunks). They don't always appreciate my efforts, but I always try.

The key to making friends like a dog is to always be curious. Never pass up an opportunity to meet someone new just because they don't walk, talk or look like you. Dogs know that mutually-beneficial partnerships come in all shapes and sizes, and they have no problem looking past (or searching out) differences that most humans would think were too big to ignore.

Have you reached out to someone new today?

For Dog’s Sake, Play! What Your Sweetie Really Wants on Valentine’s Day

When I was a puppy, I couldn’t get enough of the rosebushes in our backyard. As soon as the blooms popped up in late spring, I’d munch them off and run crazy circles around the yard with my ears flopping in the wind and the soft, velvety rose petals flying out of my mouth. Eating roses was pure, unadulterated fun — and definitely worth the occasional thorn. 

I’ve outgrown my taste for rosebuds (though a nibble now and then can’t hurt). My greatest joy these days is spending a few hours with my humans playing in the park or at the beach. Judging from their grins, I’m sure they feel the same way, too.

So why don’t more people stop and smell (or taste) the roses?

Well, part of the problem is that humans are working more than ever. “Time-saving” gadgets are getting sleeker and smarter, but they’re also piling on the pressure to get more work done. A dog on a six-foot leash has a lot more room to wiggle than a human tied to the office via an invisible digital leash. (Which, if you ask me, is a lot like the retractable kind my humans use when we go hiking in the woods. One minute you’re free, and then —whammo! — you get reeled back in.)

So this Valentine’s Day, I’d like to encourage my four-legged friends to nudge their humans off the couch and out the door for a day of play. It’s better than a box of chocolates and might be the beginning of a happy and healthy habit.

Woofs, wags and wiggles,

Bella

Loosen the Digital Leash and Work Better, Live Better

I’m a lucky dog, and I know it. Why? Because my humans know that time away from e-mail, phones and the Internet is the best way to recharge and refocus. Happily, they almost always take me along on their adventures (well, except the time they left me behind to go to Antarctica. I'm still upset at missing my chance to conquer the last continent).

Still, they spend way too much time tethered to their computers which is why they’ve resolved to do a better job of “letting go of the digital leash” in the year ahead.

This means that I, too, get to spend some quality time outside of the office. Here's a video I made to encourage all my 2-legged and 4-legged friends to enjoy the great outdoors:

 

Remember, friends: Creating a life of passion and purpose is no small feat, but the lesson for humans is that jobs come and go, relationships strengthen and weaken, businesses boom and bust, and today’s emergencies are usually meaningless tomorrow (if not, then almost certainly by the end of the week, at least if you are a Boxer).

How will you take the time to refresh, reflect and refocus on what’s really important?

Unclutter and Unplug: A Dog’s Advice for Saving Money and Finding Sanity

First, let me acknowledge the obvious: I am a dog. I am a dog that enjoys helping humans work smarter and be happier—which, for most people, includes having a nice little nest egg to fall back upon (or, better yet, to draw upon when they wish to spoil their loyal four-legged friends!).

I am also a big believer that aside from dogs, the happiest creatures in the world are those that make it their business to be happy. These same people often live modest, moderate lives (does the name Warren Buffet ring a bell?). In other words, they don’t need to surround themselves with a lot of stuff.

Now, I admit that I like the finer things in life. Things like a fluffy dog bed and premium dog food to keep me fit and healthy. Unfortunately, too many of my human friends are drowning in their own junk. Could this explain why it’s easier to spot a self-storage facility than it is to find a fire hydrant? (I may be a dog, but I’m not making this up. The United States has more than 50,000 self-storage facilities with 2.3 billion square feet of storage space. That’s a lot of money going toward the storage of stuff…money that could surely be invested otherwise.)

Stuff doesn’t just take up physical space, it also occupies precious mindshare. Whether you want a lawn mower or a new living room sofa, humans have a dizzying number of options to choose from. Gas or electric? Leather or upholstered? Once you’ve figured that out, you have to bring the thing home, find space for it and take care of it. Then when it breaks, wears out or gets clogged with dog hair, you have to find a way to get rid of it. Just thinking about all the steps involved is exhausting—and expensive!

Do you know what else is exhausting and expensive? Negativity! The kind that newspapers, magazines, television and radio deliver into people’s lives on a daily basis (and for which they pay a premium).

Let me share a personal story. A few years ago, I started putting on the pounds. Much to my chagrin, my humans started rationing my food, and soon I slimmed back down to the svelte Boxer you see today. Similarly, when my dad discovered that his rich media diet was pumping him up with negativity, he vowed to cut back on his consumption. He stopped listening to the radio in the morning. He canceled his subscription to cable television and the local newspaper. He limited the amount of time he spent surfing the internet. As a result, he went from a self-described news junkie to a happier, more productive person with some extra change in his pocket and extra time to spend with the people (and dog) he loves.

Now, I’m all for being an informed, educated and involved citizen of the world. But too many humans like my dad gorge on a media diet that saps their time and makes it hard to maintain a positive outlook on life. An “if it bleeds, it leads” mentality guarantees that a good chunk of what you see, hear and read paints an unnecessarily grim, unbalanced view of the world. Since the media serves as one big echo chamber, we all end up hearing the same soul-sucking stories over and over again.

So what is a media-saturated human to do? Start by shaking off the salacious and sensational headlines like a dog in the bathtub shakes off water. You may not be able to avoid negativity entirely, but you don’t have to absorb it, either. It’s as easy to fill your head with positive things as it is to fill it with garbage, so focus on the positive.

My advice is this: Clean out your doghouse. Simplify, streamline and unclutter. Take a look at what you have and decide whether adding more is a wise investment of your hard-earned dollars. Cancel your subscriptions to negative news outlets.

By following these suggestions, you’ll not only save a lot of money but also gain back some time—which you can then use to spend with your happy, four-legged friend!

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By Bella the Boxer, adapted from her book Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success. 

 

Seven Secrets for Creating a Doggone Great Life

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How to Make It a Doggone Great New Year

Greetings! My name is Bella, and I’m a connoisseur of cheese, a chaser of squirrels, and an expert on happiness. I’m also a dog, and one of the greatest things about being a dog is having a free pass to give people the kind of straightforward advice that they don’t often hear from each other. (I guess there’s just something about a dog’s soulful eyes and happy, wagging tail that gets humans to sit up and pay attention.)

Since it’s the time of the year when humans make resolutions, I thought I’d share some of the wisdom that comes naturally to dogs of all shapes, sizes and pedigrees—and which everyone (even cat people!) can use to unleash their potential and create success:

Keep your eyes on the ball.

Stop multitasking and practice the art of concentration.  When I play with my little red rubber ball, I give it my full attention, energy and talent. Nothing else gives me the same sense of satisfaction!

Make happiness happen.

Focus on the positive and look for the humor in every situation. Aside from dogs, who are the happiest creatures on Earth? Those who make it their business to be happy!

Sit, stay and listen.

Talk less and listen more. When I wag my tail more than my tongue, people know that I’m listening. And after a while, I get to know something.

Shake off setbacks.

Don’t let the world “no” dissuade you. If you don’t fail, you don’t learn. Dogs aren’t perfect. We take risks and we make mistakes, but we shake off setbacks and take off running again.

Build your pack.

Surround yourself with colleagues, coaches, mentors and friends. Humans like to say that it’s ‘every man for himself.’ That’s silly. We all need a pack of supporters to succeed.

Show genuine appreciation.

Don’t just be grateful—show it! Kick up your paws and celebrate. Appreciation is gratitude in action. It’s something you feel from the tip of your tongue to the end of your tail—and it makes everyone feel good.

Get out and play!

Put down the gadgets and gizmos, step away from the computer, and learn how to play. Play is a dog’s way of connecting with real people, real dogs and real tennis balls. You know—the things in life that are most important.

How Will YOU Tap Into Your Inner Dog in the New Year?!

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Adapted from Secrets of a Working Dog: Unleash Your Potential and Create Success by Bella The Boxer with co-authors Ellen Galvin and Patrick Galvin available at Amazon.com and www.BellaTheBoxer.com (use discount code 'friends' to save $5 on a pawtographed copy).

Take a Gratitude Walk: It Does a Body, Mind (and Dog) Good!

The month of November is winding down, but giving thanks is one of my favorite year-round topics (hey, I’m a dog—giving thanks is what we’re good at!) so let me ask you this:

Have you taken a gratitude walk lately?

Some humans keep daily “gratitude journals” to write down the things they are grateful for every day. This seems like a pretty good idea, because humans who are grateful for what they have are a lot like dogs: They are more alert, have higher levels of energy, exercise more and sleep better. They are also more likely to achieve their personal and professional goals than people who are less grateful in their daily lives.

Of course, if my own humans are any example, most gratitude journals probably end up in drawers and behind nightstands, where they collect dust bunnies. (Why are they called dust bunnies, anyway? They don’t have whiskers and they don’t put up a chase.)

I prefer to live my gratitude by dragging my own two-leggeds out for a daily “gratitude walk” around the neighborhood. While I sniff around bushes and stare down squirrels, they get some quality time to reflect on all the things they are grateful for. 

In fact, I suggest that all humans take their dogs out on daily gratitude walks. And, if you don’t live with a dog of your own, then volunteer as a dog walker at your local shelter, walk with a friend or walk yourself.

While you are walking, think about everything you are grateful for, even if you can’t think of anything beyond the basics like food and shelter. Nothing’s too small, or too elemental, to be taken for granted.

Drop me a line and tell me about YOUR latest gratitude walk!

Woofs, wags and walks -- 

Bella

Developing an Attitude of Gratitude: A Dog's Perspective

I’m grateful for every day with my humans, but some days are easier than others. When I have a stomachache because I’ve eaten something I wasn’t supposed to, or my plans to go to the beach get scrapped because my humans have to work, I need to take a few seconds to think about all the other things that I am grateful for.

Fortunately, I don’t have to think very long. Here’s my starter list of things to be grateful for:

• My four-legged pals at dog day care
• A brand-spanking-new tennis ball
• A dog collar that doesn’t itch
• A fluffy dog pillow in every room of the house
• Crumbs on the floor
• Getting a clean bill of health from the vet
• A water bowl that’s always full
• Sun puddles
• Dad letting me jump on the furniture
• Mom not catching me jump on the furniture

What are YOU grateful for today?

Shake It Like You Mean It: A Dog's Take On the Art of Appreciation

November is one of my favorite months. Why? Because the focus is on giving thanks, something that we dogs excel at. Oh, yeah—there’s also the Thanksgiving turkey to look forward to!

In fact, just thinking about the taste of a Thanksgiving turkey is reason enough for me to wind myself into a half-moon and wiggle my stub tail while dancing sideways across the floor like a crab. In Boxer-speak, this is called “doing the kidney bean.” It’s a Boxer’s own silly way of showing both gratitude and appreciation for even the most basic things in life—shelter, food, water and belly rubs.

Humans tend to lump gratitude and appreciation together, but a dog will tell you that there is a difference. Think of it this way: Appreciation is gratitude in action. It’s something you feel throughout your entire body, from the tip of your tongue to the end of your tail. If gratitude is good, appreciation is better.

The mantra that happy dogs live by is said best by writer G.B. Stern: “Silent gratitude isn’t much use to anyone.”

The beauty of appreciation is that it makes everyone feel good, whether they are showing appreciation or receiving it. It turns everyday, ordinary events into special occasions. (A liver snap? For little old me? Oh, thank you! Thank you! Thank you!)

Appreciation is also contagious, like a smile or a sneeze. If you’ve had a bad day at work, it’s impossible to stay grumpy when your dog greets you at the door, bouncing up and down with appreciation for your safe return. Things don’t look so bad all of a sudden, do they?

Lastly, appreciation has an uncanny way of breaking down barriers. Whenever I score a piece of cheese, I do a little dance of happiness that charms my two-legged humans and weakens their resolve to give me “just this one little piece.”

Take my advice: A wee bit of appreciation will always get you more than just one little piece of cheese (or turkey, depending on the time of year)!

How do YOU show your appreciation throughout the year?