In Your Best Life Now, the book basically talks about how one can reach its potential in life through a seven-step process. The book begins by addressing the importance of dreaming big, which was referred to as “enlarging your vision” and “raising your level of expectation”. From there the book moves on to explaining the value of a healthy self-image, the importance of a proper mindset, and how-to selectively choose your thoughts and deal with disappointment. The book offers insight on dealing with challenges, the importance of giving, and choosing to be happy.

I learnt from the book on how to find the good in almost every situation. Regardless of discouraging circumstances or challenges, there are things to be grateful for: people, relationships, opportunities and talents. The book explains that much of life is routine, we can stir up a fresh supply enthusiasm within ourselves. It’s not momentous events in our lives that ignite enthusiasm, nor even perfect situations. Rather, enthusiasm springs from choosing to look for grace and blessings in our lives. Making a habit of living with gratitude and searching for good can open one’s life to positive, life-changing opportunities. While cultivating discipline as a key attitude towards life.

In this book, the first step to living at your full potential is to enlarge your vision. To live your best life now, you must start seeing your dreams coming to pass. You must conceive it and believe it is possible if you ever hope to experience it. To “conceive” it, you must have an image on the inside, of the life you want to live on the outside. The image has to become a part of you, in your thoughts, your conversation, deep down in your subconscious mind, in your actions, in every part of your being.

An old adage purports that if you want to be successful, you must follow your dreams. While I’d never suggest that anyone should abandon his or her dreams, the truth is, your life will follow your expectations. What you expect is what you will get. If you dwell on positive thoughts, your life will move in that direction; if you continually think negative thoughts, you will live a negative life. If you expect defeat, failure or mediocrity, your subconscious mind will make sure that you lose, fail or sabotage every attempt to push above average. The key element to enlarging your vision is raising your level of expectancy. One has to change his or her thinking before one can ever change his or her living. It’s important that you program your mind for success. That won’t happen automatically. Each day, you must choose to live with an attitude that expects good things to happen to you. Start expecting doors of opportunity to open for you. Expect to excel in your career. Expect to rise above life’s challenges. How we see ourselves will make us or break us. It’s important to understand that you are already equipped with everything you need to live a prosperous life; you’re filled with possibilities, incredible potential, creative ideas and dreams.

 From the book, it shows that our mind is similar to a computer. What you program into it dictates how it will function. How foolish it would be to complain, “I hate this computer! It never gives me the right answer; it never does what I want it to do.” Think about it: you can have the most powerful computer in the world, but if you program it with the wrong software or with misinformation, it will never function as the manufacturer intended.

From the book, I discovered that happiness is a choice. You may be tempted to think that your best life is still a long way off. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. Your best life starts today! The final step to enjoying your best life now is to choose to be happy today. You don’t have to wait for everything to be perfectly straightened out in your family or with your business, or for all your problems to be solved. You don’t have to forgo happiness until you lose weight, break an unhealthy habit or accomplish all your goals. No, you can be happy right where you are. Happiness is a choice. When you get up in the morning, you can choose to be happy and enjoy that day, or you can choose to be unhappy and go around with a sour attitude.

You must learn to live one day at a time. By an act of your will, choose to start enjoying your life right now. Life is too short not to enjoy every single day. Lets all learn to enjoy our family, friends, health, work; lets enjoy everything in our lives.

An important point I took out of this book is that a relaxed attitude will not only lengthen your life, it will make it much more enjoyable.

Its winter again and Canadians heating their homes with natural gas should expect to spend slightly more this year than they did last year. On the other side consumers of electricity and heating oil are not likely to experience any sizeable increase.

The rise in demand for natural gas or during winter months is primarily driven by one key variable, the weather. Heating demand necessities usually should be average to below-average, based on normal temperature expectations in Canada, with varying temperature forecast for the West and East Coast. Below-normal temperatures for the West Coast and above-normal temperatures for the East Coast.

Prices are usually forecasted to average between $2.90 – $3.40 per Gigajoule at Alberta and US$3.25 – $3.75 per million British Thermal Units (MMBtu) at Henry Hub. This is a slight increase from last winter’s prices. In Ontario, prices are expected to be comparable to last winter, averaging between US$3.40 – $3.90 per MMBtu.

Canadians using heating oil to heat their homes this winter should expect to pay between $1.10 and $1.30 per litre, or about the same as last winter. This is due to the fact that the largest heating oil markets are on the east coast, the major factor affecting heating oil prices is the price of seaborne crude oil which is also expected to be similar to last winter.

Also, ongoing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and North Africa could impact the supply of crude oil, which could have an adverse effect in price fluctuations. Inventory levels of crude oil and petroleum products in the U.S., Europe and Japan are near 20-year lows. Such low inventories could translate to increased price volatility in the presence of supply interruptions or refinery outages or strikes.

Stability in crude oil price forecasts and consistent inventories of gasoline both suggest that Canadians will not pay much more than they did last year when filling up at the pump. The retail price for a litre of gasoline in Canada is forecast to be in the region of $1.15 and $1.35.

Alberta and Ontario wholesale electricity prices are forecast to remain close to last year’s winter levels. Prices in Alberta are expected to average between $80 and $90 per MW.h over the winter months. Residential electricity rates have been on the increase somewhat in almost all provinces in 2013 and further price increases are scheduled for 2014. This is attributed to the need to replace aging infrastructure and also the cost of new generation put upward pressure on electricity prices in Canada.

This forecast that propane prices this winter will be at a level similar to that of last year, ranging from 25 – 35 cents per litre. The increase in propane prices in comparison to last winter is primarily driven by higher WTI (West Texas Intermediate) prices this year.

Propane stocks in Canada and the U.S. were high as indicated at the end of October, as propane production in south of the border continues to grow, which is supported by rising production of liquids-rich shale gas. Though U.S. propane exports are on the increase due to the growth in U.S. supply and higher overseas propane prices versus the U.S., this likely indicates that propane stocks in North America are sufficient to cover the expected incremental winter demand.

The NEB which is the independent federal regulator of key areas of Canada’s energy industry. Part of its objectives and goals is to regulate pipelines, trade and energy development where necessary in the Canadian public interest. NEB also monitors the supply of all energy commodities in Canada.