Some moving videos of Maria…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJIZGthwWLc

www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvrHxQ3qjAE (excerpt from her last performance)

She’s one of the only opera singers I have ever heard that I actually believed. She got me! It’s very rare that an artist has made me cry, Maria did.  

She died in 1977, at the early age of 57. I feel she died of a broken heart. I would liked to have known her. In many ways, I relate with her.

She is featured in the “Crazy Ones” video, she blows the kiss www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSEtwdAMdw4

Leave your thoughts here in my blog, I look forward to reading them.

Niko

If you see the lady turning clockwise you are using your right brain. If you see it the other way, you are using left brain.

Some people do see both ways, but most people see it only one way.

See if you can make her go one way and then the other by shifting the brain’s current.

BOTH DIRECTIONS CAN BE SEEN

Experimentation has shown that the two different sides, or hemispheres, of the brain are responsible for different manners of thinking. The following table illustrates the differences between left-brain and right-brain thinking: 

Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking. Some, however, are more whole-brained and equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while downplaying the right-brain ones. Left-brain scholastic subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis, and accuracy. Right-brained subjects, on the other hand, focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.

Interesting stuff huh?

Leave a reply so I and others can read your thoughts!!

Niko

For me, it’s love.

Please share your thoughts here in my blog. I look forward to seeing what everyone has to say!

Niko

My reply:

Although I obviously feel connected to every song I’ve ever written, I am most drawn to my darker/melancholy material. Here’s a list of the songs that are deepest to me…

Shame
The Exodus
Angel Rising
The One
Put Away The Gun
The Special One

These songs can be downloaded for free here www.nikoonline.com/free-songs
For The Special One go here www.nikoonline.com/the-special-one

Leave your thoughts about which of my songs you enjoy most. I always enjoy reading what others think and feel.

Niko

I always felt a connection with Patrick Swayze, perhaps part of it was that he was from Houston (very close to where I grew up). He died thsi week and I feel very sad. I won’t even begin to try to express all the thoughts and feelings I’m having. But I will say… May we enjoy each day for as special as it really is. May we live with no regrets. May we love, feel and give with all of our hearts. And may we be true to who we are and why we are here. Patrick, we will miss you, thank you for all that you gave to us, we will never forget you. Rest in peace.

I invite you to share your thoughts in honor of Patrick.

Niko

Other thoughts on this subject…

We live in a world where touch has become more and more rare. We’re afraid of people, germs, dirt, etc. It’s a world we’ve created for ourselves. 

I was thinking, my grandfather and I have had hours and hours of talks (more in the last 10 years than before) but the amount of time we have touched is very limited…maybe 10 minutes worth of touching in the last 10 years if I total up all the hugs that occur when we meet up and all the moments when we get close for a photo. That’s absurd! It should not be like this! Even if it’s 30 minutes or if it’s one hour, one hour of touching across 10 years of time?? What lie did we buy into on that one?!?

What if when we are together with our families we held hands more? What if we kissed each other on the cheek more often and not just out of habit but actually with feeling and meaning? What if we held each other in a hug for 1 minute solid instead of the usual quick 3 seconds? I think the reason we don’t is because of pride – fear (what they will think of us) and judgment (what we think of them).

Me and my sister Angela

Today a friend told me “A few weeks ago I was at a friend’s house and we were working out. We were both sweaty and her daughter woke up and came in a saw me and ran up and gave me a huge hug. She did not even pay any attention to the sweat, she did what she felt in that moment. When and why do we lose that!?” We have become so afraid of what people think, it controls our actions. And we have all these cultural codes. All of this makes life more and more sterile and as a result we feel less and less alive, we slowly die inside, our once warm beating hearts become like dry cold stones. 

The good news is that we have the power to change things in our life and if we are breathing then we have the gift of touch. I plan to use that gift more often than ever before.

Please share your thoughts here in my blog, I always enjoy reading them! Also, feel free to copy, forward or quote anything I have written.

Niko

What makes you feel dissatisfied, unhappy, irritated, annoyed or off-track if you are not doing it?

What do I hate NOT doing? These were some of my personal answers… 

I hate not working out / exercising.

To say I don’t have time to exercise is just stupid because the honest truth is that I don’t NOT have time to exercise. I say that because exercising is TOO important. If I lose my health then what good are so many other things? What good is a great job, a profitable company, a beautiful family – what good are these things to me if I am unhealthy and sick and if I die young simply because I did not take good care of myself. Exercise has so many benefits – energy, longevity, physical appearance, etc.

I hate not working on music.

When I get too busy with working and with “things” and do not work on music, it saddens my soul, it grieves my being. Conclusion? Don’t work on music and slowly become a miserable human being. Or, work on music and be a happy human being. Simple as that. Why is it so black and white for me? Because music is not just something I do, it’s who I am. That’s why. It is not a thing, it’s alive. For me, ignoring music is the equivalent of a man ignoring his wife that he loves with his blood. Why would a man ever do that? It can only be because he has believed a lie, he has somehow become terribly jaded. So, I have to protect myself from all the distractions/lies that take me away from my music that I love with my blood.

I hate not travelling.

When I don’t travel I feel like I’m missing out on one of the most important things in my life. Why? I feel the world in my being and have a need to be in the world. I’m not talking about taking a vacation. I’m talking about being in a place and really BEING THERE. Feeling the people, taking in the landscape, eating the food, listening to the music and  language, watching the way people drive and interact and think and speak and act. Soaking up the culture as a whole. I’m the kind of person who will visit one place and stay there for weeks and absorb everything I can. It’s a deep and intense experience for me. It always changes me. It’s broadens my perspective. It reveals mysteries to me. It inspires me – to write, to compose, to travel more, to open up my mind… to live, to love.

I hate not living closer to the people I love – family and friends.

The solution? I suppose it was mentioned in the previous paragraph, I need to travel more! : ) I need to go and see them all more often, meet up more often, create more memories with them, show them how much I love them, let them love me back.

I hate not living closer to water / being closer to water more often.

I live in mountainous area. And it’s beautiful but there is nothing to me like being near the ocean. It does something for me that I should not even try to explain. The solution? Well, I could move, sure, but I don’t feel that that is what I am suppose to do at this particular time in my life, so that means I need to…. you guessed it TRAVEL! : ) Boy, it seems that NOT travelling can  have a serious negative domino effect on my life. I better keep a very close on this or else I will one day find myself filled with regret. Nope, I’m not gonna let that happen, I bet you that!

I hate not writing. 

For this answer, I’m going to quote the man who asked me this question to start with, Derek Sivers, “There are so many things I’ve learned that I think would help other people. Things I wish someone had told me sooner. Things that have made my life better, brighter, or wiser. I want to tell everyone these things before I die, in a well-explained way so they’re not misunderstood, and easy to pass on to others. And more new ones are added every week. So I have to keep writing to get them all out. Any day I’m not writing, I’m falling further behind in this goal, which I makes me feel worse.”

The good news…

I’m working on changing all these things in my life. What good would it do me to think about them in such detail and write about them and then not have a plan in motion to change them? I have a plan and am carrying it out RIGHT NOW, not tomorrow, TODAY. Today is what I have, THIS moment.

Asking the double-negative seems to be a better indicator of what I really love doing, than asking it in the positive.

Now, I’m curious, tell me some of the things you hate not doing. Share your thoughts here in my blog, I always enjoy reading them!
 

Niko

P.S. Feel free to copy, forward or quote anything I have written. : )

   I’ve learned that no matter what happens, or how bad it seems today,

   life does go on, and it will be better tomorrow.

   I’ve learned that you can tell a lot about a person by the way he / 

   she handles these three things: a rainy day, lost luggage, and

   tangled Christmas tree lights.

   I’ve learned that regardless of your relationship with your parents,

   you’ll miss them when they’re gone from your life.

   I’ve learned that making a ‘living’ is not the same thing as ‘making a life.

   I’ve learned that life sometimes gives you a second chance.

   I’ve learned that you shouldn’t go through life with a catcher’s mitt on

   both hands; you need to be able to throw some things back.

   I’ve learned that whenever I decide something with an open heart,

   I usually make the right decision.

   I’ve learned that even when I have pains, I don’t have to be one.

   I’ve learned that every day you should reach out and touch someone.

   People love a warm hug, or just a friendly pat on the back.

   I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn.

   I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will

   forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them

   feel.

I’m not one of those people who waits to see who will remember my birthday, nope, I’m the guy who shouts from the highest rooftop "It’s my birthday, it’s my birthday don’t forget me!"

If you wanna send me wishes, please write them here in my blog, I’ll be stopping by to read them! : )  

Niko

I am going to write down everything that I don’t like about my life.

I am then going to make a list of all the things that are within my power to change.

I am then going to put them into one of five columns:
Today  |  3 months  |  6 months  |  12 months  |  Beyond

The goal is to take all the many things floating around in my soul and put them into a clear and concise document so that I can look at it all in one glance. Then I will put my plan into motion. I will begin making all the changes. And I will not stop until they are all done which of course means it will be a life long journey. But most of the things will probably fall into the Today to 12 months columns which means that by this time next year I will be quite a different man sitting in this chair. And the key is to keep it up, anytime I find something enter my life that I do not like, if it’s something I have the power to change then I will take immediate action to change it.

I would like to invite you to do the same. Sit down and make your list. Life is too short and too precious to live it with a bunch of unnecessary things weighing us down and holding us back. It’s up to us, we are our own best friend or our own worst enemy. So let’s not focus another second on negative feelings about the things in our life we don’t like, let’s focus on CHANGE starting RIGHT NOW.

This is about taking control. It’s about not letting circumstance dictate to us who and what we are going to be and do. It’s about defying that which defies us. It’s about being wise. It’s about being a person of action.

I will close this thought with something we have probably all read at some point, it’s simple but so true…
 
The Serenity Prayer: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.

Here is a template I have put together for filling in details about things you want to change in your life. You will need Microsoft Word or Word Pad (which comes with every computer that has Windows) to open this file.

RIGHT CLICK and choose Save Target As CHANGE.dot

Let me give you some examples of why I have chosen happiness: We want to be loved because it makes us happy. We give love because we know that it makes others happy. We want the right job/career because it makes us happy. We enjoy eating certain foods because they make us happy. We exercise and take care of ourselves because it makes us feel and look better which makes us happy. We listen to certain music because it makes us happy. We enjoy our pets because they make us happy! We give because it makes us happy to know that our gift has made someone else happy! We want to be with our friends and they want to be with us because it makes us all happy! The list goes on and on. It seems that all that we do is somehow in pursuit of happiness.

I would like to know what you think. Just click the “comment” button and share your thoughts. I look forward to this because I just know there’s gonna be some real interesting responses from all of you around the world!   ~ Niko

Viewing / Downloading Options

Click on the file name to download

THE EXODUS
A Story of Current Events

I recently returned from one of the most amazing journeys of my life! I was in Egypt and Greece. While in Cairo, I made an effort to go to the pyramids to film. It was an adventure getting there, riding a horse full speed across the desert while looking at 5,000 year old pyramids in the distance, I’ll never forget that moment!

When my friends and I arrived at the location, my thoughts were simply to film myself singing through a few of my songs. My goal was to get 30 seconds of good footage that would be used for a promotion. So for an hour, I filmed. The Great Pyramids were in the background and every now and then camels and horses would walk by, it was perfect! Totally unplanned, totally unrehearsed. No special lights or gear, no film crew, just a simple hand held camera and lots of passion! Every now and then people would stop at the top of the hill to look at a madman in the desert who was singing his songs with no music being played (I had in-ear headphones pumping the music to me so I could synchronize my mouth and motions to each song).

When I got back to my hotel room and looked at the footage I was in awe! I suddenly began to realize that without thinking about it I had actually just filmed the music video for The Exodus! I was flying to Greece the next day so I decided I would go to the Acropolis in Athens and film there too. Both Egypt and Greece are important to the true story that inspired the birth of The Exodus.

I completed the video edit yesterday and amazingly the headlines in the news were about “the exodus” that is literally taking place in Egypt right now! I don’t take this lightly. And also on the same day, the Greek Prime Minister made the first official visit to Turkey in 50 years! All of these things are important to me. You see, my Greek family fled for their lives from Turkey in the early 1900’s because of war, they left behind homes, businesses, everything. So for Greece to be seeking “…permanent improvement in relations…” with Turkey means much to me and to countless others! Then during WWII, my family once again fled for their lives, this time it was into the deserts of Egypt where they lived as refugees for several years. The timing of the completion of The Exodus and all these current events just amazes me.

For years I have known that God has been preparing me to go to nations to deliver a message of hope and love to their people and leaders, to sing a song that they can feel and connect with. I went to Egypt for no other reason than because I felt it in my heart to go, and after the decision was made and the ticket was booked that is when things began to unfold and happen. First, an invitation to sing on a national radio show, then in a moment of inspiration a few hours before I was leaving Cairo I shot the footage that has now became the music video of The Exodus! The same was true in Greece, after decided to go, it was then that I was invited for an interview on a national radio show and then as a result of the show I ended up doing my first live performance in Athens and also had the opprotunity to film footage at the Acropolis! Imagine having several dreams all come to pass in 48 hours. It was magical, I felt like time stood still. I feel very guided and that my trip had a purpose that cannot be put into words.

The Exodus is about pain, loss and persecution but it is also about resolution. The Exodus is the story of current events. This video is RIGHT ON TIME. There’s nothing "slick" about this music video, it’s raw and passionate. There are no words in The Exodus, only expressions and cries of deep feelings and emotions. Someone said to me today, "If a picture paints a thousand words then The Exodus paints a thousand languages." The Exodus is a story of HUMANITY and it speaks in an unknown tongue understood by all. ~ Niko

My team and I feel very strongly about this video. If it moves you, please help us spread the word about it by sharing this page with your friends and family. Help us take it around the world, we can’t do it with out you! Thanks!!!

PODCAST

Below is the high resolution "Podcast" version (42 MBs) – you have three options…

1. SUBSCRIBE TO MY PODCAST on iTunes! and receive it that way. To learn about podcasts, click here!

2. Download it (right click on "Download" then choose "Save Target As" or Save Link as")

3. View it here (click the big play button, let it buffer, then click the play button at the bottom left corner of the player)