Maybe You Need a New Mirror!

Ever hear (including out of your own mouth) someone say they lack talent or ability or luck enough to do this, that or the other?

You know, when most of us were young our parents told us we could be anything we wanted to be. We felt 10 feet tall but then something happened; Life intruded on us and we were unprepared to deal with negativity because while we heard the positive message it wasn't enough information for us to understand that we could be anything we wanted to be, that we also needed focus and determination to get it. As kids we do not understand that our sense of self-worth needs to come from within and we let others tell us who we are and what we are worth. By the time we are adults we accept what manifests in our lives without understanding our connection to those things, so many of us are beaten down and afraid that good things only happen to other people. Today I want you to be crystal clear that it can be you. I want you to say to yourself right now. If he can do it so can I. If she can do it so can I. Remember that Jim Rohn says; 'why not you?'

In 1993 there was a massive flood on the Mississippi River that devastated many communities. Our family clubhouse was totaled. We saw this as our opportunity to rebuild bigger better and of course, higher. When we finished with the clubhouse we had some extra lumber left over so we decided to build a dock. Jim got busy building it and I started working on the ramp since the dock had to sit away from the shore. One of our neighbors, another weekend resident, who never built anything in his life, saw me and got inspired. He kept saying if she can do that then so can I. He went out and bought himself some power tools and materials then he built a dock of his own. Just seeing me doing something made him realize that the only thing that had stopped him from action was not understanding that he COULD do it. Once he believed he could do it that changed his whole life. He became more confident and outgoing and he was more fun to be around because that little thing made him happy. He tapped into that belief that he could do anything he wanted so why not you? If you don't realize how great you are then you need to take a personal inventory of yourself and see that you do have what it takes to be anything you want to be, to have anything you want and to live an extraordinary life. To take a personal inventory, just write down every thing you have ever accomplished; including all the small stuff; that home run, a perfect score on a test, picking the perfect gift for somebody special, anything and everything that was a personal success for you. Then you can easily see that it CAN be you! And if you take a personal inventory of your successes be sure to add it to your gratitude board and see why you too should put a picture of yourself on your board because you have high value and you need to feel grateful to yourself just for being you!

Uncomfortable Silence?

Today I thought I would bring up a subject I wrote about a long time ago; how much do you enjoy your own company? Do you need to have the television or radio on all the time? Do you need your mp3 player with you if you go for a walk or jog? Do you find reasons to call people when you are alone just so you can 'keep busy' or maybe you constantly go over mental lists of things to do? These are all indicators that you may not be comfortable with your own thoughts.

If this sounds like you then it is likely that you aren't doing a lot of thinking. Sound strange? Yes, we all do what we call thinking all day long every day but really that isn't the kind of thinking that I am referring to-that's like chatter, it's the minutia of living and it includes all the thoughts that get you up, dressed, fed and on your way every day, then drives you all day long. And, for some of you, the voice of your harshest critic, nitpicking everything, reminding you of past mistakes, of things/chores you haven't gotten done yet, bills, problems and the like.

The thinking that I am speaking of is true thinking about what you may call philosophy; how you really feel about things, including yourself, and this kind of thinking can only happen when you eliminate distractions.

And the great thing about thinking is that you realize that you have a lot of good, intelligent thoughts & ideas which leads you to see that you have talents, beliefs and unlimited potential.

So next chance you get, turn off the radio, cell phone, tv, step away from the computer and take five minutes just to think. And then do that every day until it becomes a part of your daily routine.

Source Unknown

I thought about a quote I heard but I couldn't remember where I heard it and when I researched it I found that it had been attributed to many people so I am sure it is 'source unknown'. Ever notice that some of the best quotes are anonymous or source unknown? I think it's because of the quote that started this post;

"People may not remember exactly what you did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you made them feel"

People hear things that affect them and words that have such impact that they tend to repeat them, often without citing the source so eventually the source becomes unknown. And really, that's as it should be because the words or idea is the important part not who said it.

So that, in a roundabout way is how I ask you to pay attention to the conversations that you have for the next few days. Do you leave people feeling better about themselves, about whatever subject you were talking about, about life in general? Or not?

Part of making people feel better about themselves is to really listen to what they are saying. Most people say one thing but their real meaning is not in their words. Many people don't even realize that they do this. Many people are harsh critics of themselves and a few kind words or praise or validation can go a long way for them. Praise or compliments-when they are genuine-can make such a difference for any of us. We all love the most, the people that make us feel the best.

Zig Ziglar is famous for saying that if you help enough people get what they want, you will get everything that you want. What everyone really wants is to be happy so share a bit of love and praise with people. Just try this for a few days; make a point of paying attention to how you make people feel. And then spend a few days actively trying to leave them feeling better after talking to you. Then notice that you are actually happier because you have just spent a few days looking for what is great about the people that you talk to and focused on what is good.

Fear Not....

Have you ever been talking to someone and they say that they want to do something or go somewhere but when you suggest they do that or go there, they always have a reason why they can't do that right now? It's the kids, the parents, the economy, the weather, their health, their pets, just some reason why they can just not do that right now-but someday.....

Nursing homes are full of people that would tell you that life flies by as do opportunities, and that if they had it all to do over again they would do it differently but they always had some responsibility or some obligation that prevented them from doing what they really wanted to do.

But then you look around and see that throughout history there are people that had the same sort of obligations & responsibilities yet they went after the things that they really wanted, and didn't regret it.

So what holds people back? I have to say that for most, it's fear. All that other stuff is just choices and priorities, seized on to anchor one to where life is comfortable. Fear of failure, fear of inadequacy, fear of success, fear of change, fear or whatever. Let's face it, stepping outside of what is comfortable is scary and uncomfortable. It involves risks most aren't willing to take, the biggest of which is possibly failing in front of your family and peers, all of whom see you in a certain 'mold' so if you don't conform to that mold anymore they tend to notice and may not be happy about it.

Is there a solution? Not sure if there is a one size fits all solution, but if there is one, it would certainly involve knowing what it is that you truly want to do, be and have. Not what it would be nice, what you might wish for-but what you really, really want and then asking yourself; how can I? The answers will appear when you start seeking them. But what about the fear, you say? Ask a veteran and they will tell you fear does not just go away but you ignore it and get busy or it takes over.

I am reminded of a woman that started her own business, risking everything she owned to do so. An acquaintance of hers told her that she would never do that because she had children to take care of and the woman replied her children were exactly why she started the business.

Someone recently told me that they got the concept of the 'law of attraction' but that it just didn't work for them. I can't say that is an uncommon experience. Why is that? Most of us don't just have one thing going on, one goal to shoot for, one thing to focus on all the time; we all have a life and it's jam packed with things we have to do, people, commitments, hobbies and relationships-just to name a few. And it's important to have a life but equally important to work on our goals at least a little bit every day.
But there is another reason; we don't truly understand the formula. Belief plus action equals results. An easy formula but....we may need to take more than one action to get the results we want.
Think of it like building a fire; if just one thing is off, your fire may not burn at all, it might not burn properly or it may go wildly out of control. So you build carefully, using the right materials, monitor closely and make adjustments as necessary. And it's the same for your goals; you lay the foundation, give it your attention and effort and you pay attention to the feedback (results) that you get. Then (you don't give up if it doesn't work) you adjust if you need to, and try again. If you were freezing and you needed a fire would you give up if your first attempt failed? Heck no, you need that warmth, you'd try until you succeeded! Not just because you want that heat but because you know that you can do it. It's just a fire, humans have been building fires for like, forever! And you are human so of course you can build a fire!
So when you decide that you will do something, you use the formula until you've done it, because you know you can.

It's Not What Happens.....

I hate to do back to back posts of quotes but someone told me that she had one going through her mind all day today and suggested I share it, so here goes;

"It's not what happens, it's what you do about what happens" (I have also heard the same speaker say 'It's not what happens, because what happens, happens to us all, it's what you do about what happens.'
Jim Rohn

I think that we can all appreciate what Jim is saying; we all have challenges but we don't all respond the same way to those challenges. Some step up, some step away and some step off.
I am reminded of a story I heard about an Italian immigrant named Amedeo Giannini. He started a bank in a saloon in 1904 with less than nine thousand dollars in deposits but when the great earthquake stuck in 1907 and the city of San Francisco suffered great damage from the quake and resulting fires, Amedeo acted quickly. He collected all of his cash and got it out of the city. As soon as the fires were extinguished, he brought the money back and operated his bank from a plank on a street. He saw opportunity where others did not. His business boomed. Today the name of that bank is The Bank of America.

What happened that day in San Fransisco happened to everyone there. But what Amedeo did about it is to see the opportunity and act on it.

A Simple Quote

I came across this quote and thought it would be a good one to share;

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it's always your choice.”

Dr. Wayne Dyer

Now, I could tell you how I interpret that quote but I would rather have you decide what it means to you, though I must say I am sorely tempted to add my two cents worth so I will just add that particular emphasis on the last two words would seem to be in order.

Mike Said Redux

One of my friends sent me a copy of one of my old posts and suggested I share it again so here goes;

I love quotes. Quotes inspire me, make me think, make me try again, make me laugh-you get the picture. Sometimes a great sentiment has been expressed so perfectly that there is just no way to improve it and no way to say it in other words without losing something in that ‘translation’.

I send out a quote to a number of people Monday thru Friday and it always has a picture to provoke a feeling of wonder, joy or gratitude, so I tend to ‘collect’ quotes. I came across one that actually made me laugh out loud while at the same time I was realizing that it was so true. Part of the reason this quote stuck with me isn’t just the words, it was the person that said them; Mike Tyson. Yep, that Mike Tyson-the famous boxer.

“Everybody has a plan, until they get punched in the face.”

It’s okay to laugh, like I said, I did. And yet at that same moment I knew he was right. You set a goal and figure out how to go about achieving that goal; that’s your plan. And then, BAM, a challenge comes up-like a punch in the face. Some people fall down and never get back up. Some people jump back up right away and start slugging away and some people do a combination of both. They might get back up but after that punch they just try to play it safe, they never take another chance, they settle for less.

A few people famous for getting punched in the face repeatedly yet not giving up? Thomas Edison, Harlan Sanders and Henry Ford. All had many failures before they had one success. Another example? Just about every toddler you have ever met. How many times does a baby fall before learning to walk? Even if that baby hits something and gets hurt while trying that baby will not give up. Quit is not in a baby’s vocabulary and it should not be in yours either.