NEVER A BETTER TIME THAN NOW

The waiting game has been played by us all. For whatever reason we fail to move ahead. For some this may be the right thing to do. For others it's just an excuse.

Some of us may be ready to really start living, but we wait! Wait until things change, until there is more time, until the kids are grown, until we get that promotion, until we settle down-until, until, until. There always seems to be some other major event that occurs which causes us to procrastinate yet one more time.

That's why many fail-because they don't get started-they don't go. They don't overcome inertia. They don't begin. (W.Clement Stone)

Whatever it is that you may want to do with your life, NOW is the time to begin. Start working on your dream five minutes a day, it will gather momentum, and you will begin to see signs of progress and accomplishment.

Don't wait until the end of your life to look back and say "I never did what I really wanted to do". Never let opportunities pass you by.

Begin to fulfill your purpose and mission in life. Start living the life you always wanted TODAY. Now is the time to seize the day and live your dreams.

There is never a better time than NOW!

There is never a better time than TODAY!

Turn On the Spotlight

How many of you have been in a pitch black room before, trying to move or walk, but cannot see what lies ahead. As a result, you move in very slow, short steps in order to avoid injury. When in the dark, you are cautious, uncertain, and unaware of the best direction to turn. You may have a sense of where you are going, but it is hit and miss and you can end up grabbing at shadows.

It is no longer necessary for you to be living in the dark. No more moving about with uncertainty. You do not have to be living a hit and miss life, or grabbing at shadows. Your life is much too important to be shuffling in the dark.

TURN ON THE SPOTLIGHT to what your current situation is. Is your life out of balance in some way? Evaluate what it is that you want to change or make different. Think of what would be your ideal scene, then make it happen. Go after it! Move toward what you want, and do it on a daily basis.

TURN ON THE SPOTLIGHT and begin to advance confidently in the direction of your dreams. Focus and zero in on your vision for life. Visualize each day as happy, productive, and fulfilling.

Keep the spotlight shining!

"The difficulties you meet will resolve themselves as you advance. Proceed, and light will dawn, and shine with increasing clearness on your path". (D'Alembert)

Keep Moving Forward

Around Here, Whatever, We don't look backwards for very long.
We keep moving forward, opening up new doors, and doing new things.
Because We're curious...
And curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.

Walt Disney

Overcoming Obstacles

Road blocks, detours, barricades, setbacks, and dilemmas are a part of our every day lives, no matter how smart, rich, or accomplished we may be. I sure try my best to avoid them, but there always seems to be some challenge or battle to overcome.

How do you deal with obstacles that cause you to wonder which way to go, or which way to turn? Ever say to yourself, "Am I on the right road or am I heading for a road block, or even a crash?"

The worst thing we can do is freeze and do nothing. Activity and the courage to keep trying are key to overcoming inertia. This is true even though we may not be 100% sure that our actions are the best.

"Everyone who achieves success in a great venture, solved each problem as they came to it. They kept going regardless of the obstacles they met (W. Clement Stone)."

"We know how rough the road will be, how heavy the load will be, we know about the barricades that wait along the track, but we have set our soul ahead upon a certain goal ahead and nothing left from hell to sky shall ever turn us back" (Vince Lombardi).

Chart your course. Stay focused on the goal. Keep going! Keep moving! Knock off each obstacle one at a time. You can do it!

Goal Examination

Some people, in working toward a goal, find themselves seized by inertia when it comes time for action.

If this should happen to you, despite the small graduated steps, then it may be time to reexamine your goal.

Consider how important it actually is and then either discard the goal (and replace it with a more suitable one) or continue the steps with a renewed sense of value of achieving it.

Build Your Self-Confidence

Confidence. It's the catch-22 of success. You need confidence in
order to achieve success; yet confidence seems to grow best in the
nurturing light of success. It's a perpetual issue. Even the
generally confident person tends to lack self-assurance in some
areas of life.

For example, some people are whizzes at business but
can't find their groove in a romantic relationship. Others are
completely comfortable engaging deeply in one-on-one conversations,
but feel self-conscious and shy in groups.

Even those who exude self-confidence in virtually all aspects of
life, often encounter significant self-doubt and unease in the
context of a big change or a risky new challenge (personal or
professional).

The fact is that confidence is a challenge for everyone. Even those
people who seem cool and collected 24/7 inevitably deal with
confidence issues somewhere, sometime in their lives. Self-doubt,
negative thinking, fear of failure – these are universal elements of
the human condition; part of the struggle that all of us face.

BUT – you don't have to be a victim. You don't have to dwell in self-
doubt or be plagued by negative thinking. You CAN develop true
confidence in yourself --even in completely new situations where you
have no evidence of prior success.

True confidence is not about having the security of prior
accomplishment as a promise of future success. It's about leaning
forward into the future and believing in your own abilities and
skills. It's about having perspective and knowing your value. It's
about focusing on who and what you ARE, not worrying about who or
what you AREN'T.

Not sure what I mean by that? Try this exercise. Take a minute to
think about the last time you experienced feelings of self-doubt.
Can you recall the specific thoughts that went through your head at
the time? Where was your focus? Take a minute to recognize the
negative self-talk that contributed to your anxiety and self-doubt.
Consider the labels you used for yourself – words
like "inexperienced" "clumsy" "stupid" "slow" "incompetent."

It's amazing how negative labels can quietly weave their way into
our internal dialogues, coloring our self-image and powerfully
affecting the way we interact with the external world. My
grandfather used to say, "If you call someone a pig enough times,
they will start to `oink'." If you call yourself lazy or stupid or
inadequate enough times, you will be.

Now imagine for a moment that same situation… and turn your
attention to the person you really are. Who are you when you're at
your best? What are you capable of in those perfect moments? How
would your best friend describe you? What would they say are your
unique gifts? Grab a sheet of paper and write these things down.
Really look at them; absorb them. How does this picture of you
differ from the one you created in your moment of self-doubt?

If this were the picture that you held of yourself at all times –
this snapshot of you at your very best – would it give you
confidence? Doesn't this image feel better than the negative,
doubting one you assumed earlier? The fact is, YOU CHOOSE where to
focus your attention. Choose wisely.

The beliefs you hold about yourself and your abilities directly
affect your level of success. Your results simply cannot exceed your
own expectations. If you expect to fail, you will. Self-confidence
helps steer you in a positive direction – toward the goals you wish
to attain rather than toward the failure that you fear.

Look at it this way: the evidence of the past is always insufficient
to prove the success of the future. You have to have something
called "precursive faith;" faith that runs ahead of the available
evidence. Think about Olympic champions, for example. They are
constantly acting on precursive faith, anticipating success, doing
what no one could have proved they could do, and what many may have
suggested that they could never do.

If we all waited for evidence of our future success before trying
something new, nothing new would ever be accomplished. No new
discoveries. No new world records. Just the status quo.

Confidence involves leaning forward into the future and believing in
your own abilities and skills. Having confidence means having faith
in a successful outcome. It means focusing entirely on a vision of
your success and ignoring any fear or doubt that threatens it.
Confidence – like happiness – is a choice.

So forget the negative self-talk. There will ALWAYS be somebody
better than you (and I don't mean that to be discouraging). So stop
worrying about them. Stop comparing yourself. Appreciate who you
ARE.

BELIEVE IN YOURSELF.

Live your life on purpose.

Vision

Vision is the gift of being able to see clearly what may be. Vision has the power to expand our horizons. The more we develop our vision, the better we will be able to achieve our goals.

Many of us have never really spent much time developing our vision, yet it can be one of the most powerful elements that will lead to future success, happiness, and fulfillment.

This month as we explore the concepts and truths of developing a vision, you will begin to gain a better sense of what really motivates you. Moving forward with much more confidence and assurance, you will have a definite purpose for each day.

It is my hope that when this month is over, you will have a clear vision of what you would like to achieve, and your vision will be the driving force to your success and accomplishment. Get Ready!

Live your Vision

Vision is being able to see clearly what you would like to achieve in the future.

Your vision must be practical, detailed, and stated in specific actions.

If you spend time developing your vision, it will give you a roadmap to follow.

Your vision will help you to discern the future.

It will keep you from straying to the left or right, keeping the focus on what is most important.

As you think about your vision, you will turn on the power of your imagination.

As you imagine the future and what it would be like, you will trigger an emotional reaction that creates excitement and enthusiasm.

With the power of your vision behind you, and the emotional excitement that you have created, you will begin to move forward. You will begin to take action on your vision.

Begin to live your vision!

Negative thinking leads to negative assumptions

Most people aim at nothing and hit it accurately. Manypeople who do plan, plan, and plan some more, never reach their goals. Others plan, take action, and seem to succeed without much struggle. Why do some people fail while others succeed?

Success is achieved by planning action and taking action. However, before defining goals and putting together an action plan, it is important to do a self-evaluation. This evaluation must extend deep in one's attitude.

Now I am not saying that having a good attitude will bring you success. What I am saying is that your attitude must be in line with the results you want to achieve. you must examine your inner self and know why you are striving for the goals you say you want to achieve.

Build your attitude positively from the inside out. Begin by building a sustainable motivating attitude. Plan your goals around your strengths and build on your personal confidence in all you do. Over time, you will find yourself achieving more.

TIP - Do not internally focus on the negative, focus on what you can achieve. When one focuses on what can go wrong or what is going wrong, they tend to dig themselves deeper in a pool of negativity and non-accomplishment. Positive thinking and positive doing will nurture you toward success.

Life

"Be happy while you're living, for you're a long time dead." - Scottish Proverb

Everyone says, "How the time flies." The days go by and they are years, and the years finally become our whole life. Each daily portion can be wasted, or it can be a pleasure, before it is gone forever. If a bedtime review of the day concludes that we were too stressed, too busy, didn't accomplish anything, didn't have any fun, then it has been another lost piece of precious life.

Perhaps we are putting off our enjoyment until we have more time, or money, or some other improved condition. The trouble with that is that it might never happen, or it may be too long in coming. It's so important to accept this time, this very minute, as something of tremendous value that will very soon be gone forever. There are many ways to ensure that we make the best of our time here on earth.

In our daily routine let's include time to enjoy others and thus ourselves. Look and wonder at the trees, fields and mountains, smell the flowers, hear the birds, and watch the clouds in the sky.

"This world, after all our science and sciences, is still a miracle; wonderful, magical and more, to whosoever will think of it." - Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881)

Face your problems bravely, confidently, and improve on your situation, no matter what state it be in. Be good to feel good. Be active and improve your mind. Laugh, relax, and sleep well.

Life is mostly froth and bubble; Two things stand like stone: Kindness in another's trouble, Courage in our own. - Adam Gordon (1833-1870)

WORRY

 

The harm that worry causes in our lives has been well documented by health professionals and others. Worry can weaken and sicken us, and make our days unbearable. At the very least, it prevents us from living fully and happily the only life that we will ever have. At its worse, it can destroy us.

"A god, invisible but omnipotent. It steals the bloom from the cheek and lightness from the pulse; it takes away the appetite and turns the hair gray." - Benjamin Disraeli (1804-1881)

It does a lot more than that, Benjamin!

But the worry disease can be cured and it certainly can be reduced. Of course it requires a change in our thinking - how to view and react to situations. Worrying over things that 'might' happen can waste large portions of our lives, considering that so often it is for nothing, and almost certainly does no good.

"If you can solve your problem, then what is the need of worrying? If you cannot solve it, then what is the use of worrying?" - Shantideva

Worrying about things that have happened will not turn back the hands of time to give you another try at doing it right. So that is a waste of time too. So many of our anxieties and fears are for nothing. Most of the rest can simply be discarded because worrying just isn't going to do any good. So let's spend our time thinking about the good and pleasant things in our lives, and move on in a peaceful and contented state of mind.

"I think these difficult times have helped me to understand better than before how infinitely rich and beautiful life is in every way and that so many things that one goes around worrying about are of no importance whatsoever." - Isak Dinesen

A program to become knowledgeable on the subject of worry, through reading and other instruction, can help in turning our lives around. A life filled with contentment and lacking stress and worry are the goals to be achieved.

It's never too late to start eliminating worry.