Daily Inspiration 2-29-16

On Competitiveness: 

"We helped each other. 

We never, ever tried to compete. 

I think in movies, 

you need 100% concentration 

on what you're doing. 

If you start to compete, 

you've lost 50% of your concentration, 

because 50% of it is watching the other guy." 

-- Michael Caine 

This fascinating quote came from a short documentary I watched last night, and the part that stood out for me was the 50% part. By competing, he says, we immediately lose 50% of our concentration because we have to pay attention to what the others are doing so that we can know where we are relative to them. Now, whether we agree that it is as much as 50%, no matter the number, we cannot concentrate 100% on our own work, or path. We have to give up something to pay attention to our so-called competitors.

I think that to do the best that we can with what we have to work with on the path we have chosen, doing what we enjoy doing is all that is necessary. Who gets the awards and accolades is immaterial to the doing. Who is making more or less money, making more or fewer sales, using more or less creativity is also insignificant. They have nothing to do with what we can and will do.


Unless We Choose To Pay Attention To Them And Forsake Our Own Satisfaction Of A Job Well Done. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Even though the world around me wants me to compete for joy, I know that I have a bottomless well of joy within me at my beck and call.

Daily Inspiration 2-28-16

"We don't see things as they are, 

we see them as we are." 

-- Anais Nin 

Many people don't believe that we create our own world, and I respect their beliefs. I, for one, very much believe that we do create our own world, and I have all kinds of evidence of that as I pay attention to the subtle changes that become major changes in my life.

Many people don't believe in the Law of Attraction, and I respect their beliefs. I, for one, know for sure and for certain that the Law of Attraction is not only real but that it is something that rules the entire Universe and that believing in it or not doesn't matter. It simply is. It simply and perfectly does. With or without our belief. With or without our knowledge. With or without our participation. It is in a simple way that gravity is, yet infinitely more powerful and far-reaching. Gravity doesn't care whether we believe in it or not. It simply is.

I didn't decide to change. I don't recall a decision in that way. I was searching, however, for answers, for wisdom, to have a better life. Little decisions, maybe. Like, I would buy a book or something by following my inner guidance, even though at the time, I would not have known it that way so much.

I have a book on my bookshelf by Gloria D. Benish, titled, Go Within or Go Without - A Simple Guide To Self-Healing. Many times I'll walk by my bookshelf and see that title and it reminds me where all of my answers come from. They come from inside me.

Paul Coehlo said, "What is a teacher? I'll tell you: It isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows." All of the best external teachers and mentors in my life are good for me because they lead me to my own inner knowing. How do I know this? Because their teaching resonates within me. To me, to resonate means to match vibrations creating resonance or fullness--to vibrate in unison.

But, I said I have evidence. It is this: the people that used to be in my life that seemingly caused confusion, dissonance, argument, bad feelings, anger, frustration, and a long list of other mental and physical ailments, are no longer there. They are not in my world anymore. I used to attract them because, without realizing it, I was a vibrational match to what that person was bringing to me. What I thought was their crap was indeed, my own. What was their anger, I found within myself? Though it doesn't seem logical, our vibrations were resonating or matching. The Law of Attraction is unfailing. It always matches us up with who we are at the moment, and what we have been thinking and feeling leading to that moment. I brought it on myself so to speak.

As I learned more about this and what I was doing to myself, by giving up the blaming of others, I began also to accept responsibility for my own life and those that I come in contact with. As I changed for the better, the strangest secret or the strangest thing happened: the people around me began to change for the better. Now the people around me are generally happy, kind, considerate, thoughtful, loving, inspiring, uplifting because I am those things and as the Law of Attraction matches my vibrations with like vibrations of others, I find more and more joy in my life and I create a better and more enjoyable world within and all around me.


Change Yourself And You Change Those Around You. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Stir it up, spin it like cotton candy, delight in the treat.

Daily Inspiration 2-27-16

"Don't allow your mind 

to tell your heart what to do. 

The mind gives up easily."

-- Paulo Coelho 

I immediately began to laugh when I read this quote. I think that happened because it screams the truth to me.

How many times have you, as I have, tried to use logic and reasoning in matters of the heart? Way too often here. Matters of the heart, I think, do not lend themselves to such trivia as logic and reasoning. You've probably heard that phrase, "the heart knows." What a great way to show the difference. The heart knows and the mind is trying to dissect it, analyze it, restructure it, and explore all the nooks and crannies of it. But the heart knows for sure.

So what is needed then? Trust. When we realize that the heart knows best, and the heart knows the deepest part of us and is connected to All-That-Is as we allow that, then to trust in that is not only a blessing, it is a godsend.

As we catch ourselves trying to figure things out with our thinking, we might pause from time to time and check in with our hearts. There is where the wisdom is. There is where our best interests and best directions are. There is where our real life is. There is where we can dwell as often and as luxuriously as we so choose. There is the best of us, our callings, our passions, and our fullest knowing.

From a practical, living day to day point of view, how do we separate the needs of the mind and the guidance of the heart? Well, that's the problem in a nutshell, don't you think? It is the separation. It is, after all, THE separation. What is true and truer every day from my learning is that the more we desegregate these, the better. Can one live an effective life only from the heart? Absolutely!


And What A Life It Will Be! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow freely. There is no need to save it for special occasions. Let it flow.

Daily Inspiration 2-26-16

"Endings are 

awesome new beginnings 

in disguise." 

-- Karen Salmansohn 

I am more aware of how much I smile and laugh every single day. It didn't use to be that way. I used to be much more serious, focusing on what needs to be done, what hasn't been done yet, on things I couldn't really control, and all that seriousness took a toll on my joy. I would laugh and smile, just nowhere near as much.

Now, I worry very little if at all. I am finally learning that it never ever helped at any point in my life anyway, so why even do it at all? Now, often I will just be enjoying myself sitting on the tailgate of my pickup in my carport and find myself smiling and laughing at thoughts, watching the birds in the courtyard flitting about eating and bathing. It's so interesting how my life has changed.

As I have gotten older, I find more people have passed on, and so I think about that sometimes. Yesterday I was thinking about grief while on my tailgate with a glass of Chardonnay. I recall shedding almost no tears when my wife passed nearing three years ago. Grief is at the same emotional level as depression and shame. Who wants to go there? Besides, I've come to know that everything happens for a reason. There are no such things as random events, and every cloud has a silver lining.

Instead of grieving for my wife, which is more like feeling sorry for myself than anything, I celebrated my grand opportunity in life to know her a little and to share some time with her on this planet and to find joy in her choices and how she lived her life. I'm still celebrating that. She's only physically gone as a human body, but she is all around my home in so many ways. She is reflected in her children and in the lives of those that she touched while here. Why would there be grief?

People don't have to pass to move out of our lives. My first wife and I finally split for good after 16 years in 1986. Both of our lives improved so dramatically by that ending. Endings really are awesome new beginnings. I lost my last job in the car business at the height of my commercial truck success (that must be where that name came from. . .), and the list of benefits and experiences that I have had as a result, including writing a book is very long. Very long.

As I look back with my 20/20 hindsight at so many endings, I see that at the time some of them seemed traumatic, but as I allowed myself to let go of that feeling sorry for myself attitude, I could then see the benefits beginning already. Every single ending that comes to my mind has had awesome--let me repeat appropriately--AWESOME new beginnings. Understanding that this has always been the case as far back as I can remember, not only is there no reason for grief at the bottom of the emotional scale, but there is ample reason for joy at the top of the scale realizing that grand things are about to manifest.


I Find Myself Looking Forward With Anticipation At The Next Ending. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just thinking fun thoughts. It's really that easy.

Daily Inspiration 2-25-16

"When all your desires are distilled; 

You will cast just two votes: 

To love more, 

and be happy." 

-- Hafiz 

Every single thing, and every combined thing that we may want in life, we want because in the getting of it, we think we will be happier, feel better, feel more respected, feel more loved, enjoy ourselves more, enjoy those around us more, feel good about ourselves, feel valued, and a host of other like feelings. Yet, all of these seem to make obvious Hafiz's simple end result of love and joy. 

What is really cool about understanding this is that we can choose those feelings any time we want. Though getting to some point, achieving some desire, becoming something more, may bring feelings related to happiness, joy, love, peace, empowerment, we can allow them, generate them right now. 

Here's an idea: Deciding to experience joy and love on the journey we are on and whatever happens is good and whatever doesn't happen is good. Hmmm.


That Seems To Make The Journey The Real Destination. Which It Is, Of Course! 

Spread Some Joy Today--It's all good. You're soaking in it!

Daily Inspiration 2-24-16

"If in our daily life we can smile, 

if we can be peaceful and happy, 

not only we, but everyone will profit from it. 

This is the most basic kind of peace work." 

-- Thich Nhat Hanh 

Imagine that your thoughts and resultant feelings are transmitted not only around your home or work, but around the world. Imagine what a blessing you give the world by the choices you make. Imagine the power that you have to change. Imagine the joy and peace that you feel deep within yourself. Imagine the benefits leaving you like ripples in a quiet lake, while you gladly accept those similar ripples from others near and far. Imagine thoughts creating calmness, enthusiasm, peace, joy, love, acceptance, empowerment, freedom.


Imagine. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Yes. Great choice.

Daily Inspiration 2-23-16

"You cannot get--cannot get!-- 

a negative result from a positive application." 

-- Bashar, Darryl Anka 

I was re-reading a short bit from Bashar: Blueprint For Change, and this stood apart for me from page 162:

"You have created convenient compartments in which you can place things that for some reason you have been taught are dangerous to look at. . . Why? It's only a portion of you. There is absolutely nothing! you could ever! discover about yourself that cannot be applied in a positive way. Oh yes, you can discover many things and apply all of them in negative ways, but is that what you prefer? Yes or no?

If it's no, then why not assume you have just as much power to decide how to apply what you discover about yourself, just as much power to decide to do that in a positive way, as you have always had in a negative way. You can apply anything you discover in a negative or a positive way. Why not choose to understand that you only prefer to apply it in a positive way; and that you will therefore only get a positive result out of that application. You cannot get--cannot get!--a negative result from a positive application."

He adds this reinforcement: "Let me say again: you cannot experience any reality of which you are not the vibration. If you have a reality you don't prefer, then it's because you are buying into a belief system that supports that reality. It's as plain and simple as that. You have a saying for it: "What you put out is what you get back. What goes in is what comes out." You cannot get the opposite effect; you can only get an equal, corresponding reaction. If you put a positive idea out, positive preferential trust, you can only get a positive reality back. If you put a negative idea out, which you call doubt, you can only get hesitation, guilt, frustration, and all the other symbols your society has created to represent negative trust."

Wow. That is worth reading a few times. . .


What You See Is What You Get. . . . But, Embracing It Is Totally Up To Us. We Get To See As We Choose, As Long As We Choose. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by enjoying yourself. Tuesdays are such great days, don't you agree?

Daily Inspiration 2-22-16

"The realest thing in our lives 

are the stories we invent. 

We live with these stories, 

we remind ourselves of them, 

we perfect them. 

And, happily, 

if you don't like the story 

you're telling yourself, 

you can change it." 

-- Seth Godin 

I am this way because. . .

My mother taught me to. . .

I was born that way. . .

I can't win for losing. . .

I take two steps forward and one back. . .

I believe. . .

I was brought up to believe. . . 

I was the eldest child. . . the middle child. . . the last child. . .

Whatever I do never seems to work out as planned. . .

I hate taking tests. . .

I hate those. . .

I think they should just. . .

I love. . . 

I love to. . . 

There is nothing quite like. . . 

Everyday is new. . . 

Today is another opportunity for me to. . . 

I love my life. 

I love my family. 

Everything is always working out for me. . . 

The best is yet to come. . . 

I am so grateful for. . . 

I am so lucky. . . 

Look at that sky! 

I'm in awe of. . . 

I'm in love with. . . 

There are so many beautiful, wonderful people in the world. . . 

My Point Of View IS My World. I Am What I Say I Am. I See What I Choose To See. I Feel What I Want To Feel. I Love To Choose Love. I AM Love. I AM Joy. I AM. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing on purpose.

Daily Inspiration 2-21-16

"You're so full of yourself!" 

-- Common retort by a conservative soul 

My head was reeling yesterday and this morning. It's sort of a hodgepodge of things that have a common connection--that of life and of living.

Yesterday, I attended a memorial service for a woman whom I have never met, but who I knew a tiny bit about because I am friends with her husband. Her name, Cheryl Sherwood was in the headlines from an attack that led to her death, and there was an outpouring from the community. I attended because Lee is my friend, and to learn more about what to him was his soulmate of twenty-some years.

She was a nurse and worked in the oncology section for Kaiser-Permanente nearby. There were many nurses who spoke at the service and I was delighted to learn of Cheryl's personality. Many others who spoke, told of her being selfless and purpose-driven, but what I learned, and the part that really stood out for me was what I would call her self-fullness.

Yesterday I wrote about being true to yourself, using William Shakespeare's famous quote, "to thine own self be true." The thing that stood out of all that I heard yesterday from a wide variety of people was that this Cheryl was. She was true to herself, to her passions (quite a list of them), to her calling as a nurse, to her joy of cooking, which was not just a passing fancy, but a full-blown studied passion.
At the end of the service, I hugged Lee and told him that the nurses gave me some insight that I was unaware of and he said, "Yes. She was a firecracker." That said it very well based on what I heard. A beautiful woman and a full-of-her-beautiful-self life. A life well-lived that touched so many in many ways.

I was also reeling from that same morning finishing an audiobook about President Eisenhower during the White House Years. Fascinating. You know, I've read many biographies about many presidents, and I am continually fascinated at how much they did, how much it mattered, and each of them had a list of critics a mile long. People, and particularly presidents are much better than so many people make them out to be. There's a certain amount of popularity or unpopularity in any of them, but there is so much that goes on in a life that remains unexposed, and when it is, I for one am amazed and delighted to have enjoyed the knowledge.

I found so many things to appreciate about this man and the tasks that he faced and how he faced them. His courage and conviction, and far-reaching insight were astounding. His personality and communication was his own unique self. He was full of duty and purpose and learned how to enjoy himself in the process.

And, yesterday, I started a new audiobook, Elephant to Hollywood by Michael Caine. It is delightful and especially since it is he who is reading it. What a fascinating life he has lived and since he is still alive at 82 today, he is still living it. The early part of his life is filled with poverty and trauma, and yet he came through. In his book he mentions that this is his success: He survived.

I went to Amazon.com and looked at the book and the reviews. I had a great laugh reading some of them, especially the one, two, and three-star reviews. I'm still laughing at what one of them said. He said, and I quote, "in my view, no one should be able to publish more than one autobiography." This was his second. Every time I read that I break out laughing.

This all ties together with joy for me in that regardless of how people may choose to live, there is always someone or even many in the case of a public persona, who find ways to say things that are interesting. This caused me to think this morning, "who am I to say something negative about how another person has lived or is living?

But, here's what I can do. I can appreciate them. I can appreciate how they have lived; how they are living, the things that they do, and the personality they exude. As I am open to learning about someone, some of the choices they have made, different things they tried, I am certain to find so many ways to love them and appreciate them for being exactly as they are or were.

One thing said at the memorial yesterday, that I have also said many times, is to tell people how you feel--tell them that you appreciate them. Tell them that you love them. Tell them now. Remind them periodically. Let them know how they have touched you and your life. There is power in the telling for you and love in the receiving for them.


I Am Appreciating All Of Those Lives That Find Their Way Into My World. It's A Cast Of Delightful Characters. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting your real self out. Let others delight in that sharing. They will, you know. . .

Daily Inspiration 2-20-16

"This above all; 

to thine own self be true." 

-- William Shakespeare 

Yesterday, I mentioned Australian author Bronnie Ware and quoted from her latest book; however, the book that put her high in popularity as a writer was her book, The Top Five Regrets of the Dying. 

For many years she worked with people in the last stages of their lives and became intimate with them and gathered their wisdom in reflecting on their lives. Some of these were regrets.

Regret number one was, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me." 

Bronnie states that she heard this same theme with so many of those she cared for and having come to the end of their life, finding that they had the ability to choose differently, and failed to exercise that authority. They went with the training they had received young in life and followed the edicts of those moralistic idealists who claimed they knew the right way to live a life.

Wayne Dyer said in his book, Your Sacred Self, "We've been taught to look outside ourselves for sustenance--to look beyond the self for power, love, prosperity, health, happiness, and spiritual fulfillment. We've been conditioned to believe we get life's bounty from somewhere outside of ourselves. But it's possible to reverse our gaze from outward to inward. And when we do, we find an energy we've sensed but not previously identified." 

He goes on to say, "There dwells within all human beings a driving energy. He said that it comes in two parts. One sort of runs the hardware of our beating heart, breath and so on, and the other is the far more vast inner universe.

He says that "when the divine light within you is experienced directly, it adds a radiance to life, unlike anything that can be described with words or pictures. When you discover your sacred self, you awaken this dormant inner energy and let it guide your life. The word most commonly used to describe this inner force is "spiritual." 

Several days ago, I wrote about accepting versus choosing. In this case, accepting a life that is dictated by others or choosing to live according to your own heart and mind. There's no need to accept, but if that be the case, it is in reality a choosing, for we always have the choice to follow our heart or follow what others think is best for us.

That statement, "I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself," says it all. Courage and change is a choice as is accepting our lot in life.

Why regret? Why be disappointed? Do it now! Life is short, and sometimes much shorter than we might have imagined. I am now imagining myself at death's door and checking on any regrets, and I see none. If a young person was nearby and I was giving my worldly advice, I would say, for them to follow their bliss or their heart, and enjoy themselves to the fullest whatever they are doing and wherever they find themselves, that it is their life and their own choice how to live it.


Be True To Yourself. It Is YOUR Life. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by following your own joys.

Daily Inspiration 2-19-16

"Things won are done, 

joy's soul lies in the doing." 

-- William Shakespeare 

Bronnie Ware, author of Your Year For Change,- 52 Reflections For Regret-Free Living, in number 24 of this book talks about someone who wrote to her pointing out a grammatical error in one of her articles and mentioning that there are some pedantic critics out there. I loved her response and thought it worth sharing.

She said, "That is the nature of human life. We will never all agree and are entitled to individual opinions." Then she added, "Do these things, like perfection and faultless grammatical correctness, truly matter in the end, though? I cannot imagine my dying thought being I wish I would have written that article differently. I do enjoy improving as a writer. I enjoy improving in any field. But in my heart I am happy by expressing myself honestly. That is all I ask of myself--that, and to enjoy the process of growth that accompanies it. The grammar police may not agree with my style, but they don't need to."

And so it is with critics. As Jim Rohn used to say, "Liars are supposed to lie. That's why they call them liars!" So critics are supposed to be critical. That's why they call them critics. Of course, that doesn't mean that we need to pay any attention to them.

It's not about them anyway. It's about us. We do the best we can and then we let it go. We begin. We publish. We make the decision. We act. At some point, we need to let go of it and let it be as it will be. Our joy comes from that doing--that act. What people will think of it is none of our affair. It is theirs. Our affair was the doing.

If something wasn't perfect, we can fix it next time, or ignore it completely as we choose, but to wait until it everything is perfect in order to do will keep us from doing, because perfection is a never-ending task.

In January, I published the 2nd Edition of my book, Commercial Truck Success. I went through it with a fine tooth comb and made numerous corrections, taking out some small portions and adding others in. After I got the proof, I made another few corrections, and finally, I had to say, go with it. I could have nitpicked it for weeks on end. Now it's out there and an improvement from the original from 2012, and that is that.

Whatever is worth doing begs to be done. "Things won are done, joy's soul lies in the doing." 


Crossing Things Off My To-Do List. . . Now My DONE List! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of stress and worry. Once released, joy no longer has any obstacles.

Daily Inspiration 2-18-16

"There is nothing either good or bad 

but thinking makes it so." 

"There is no darkness but ignorance." 

-- William Shakespeare 

This morning I was reading on the subject of homelessness and watching a portion of a video of the Mayor of Seattle calling a state of emergency to help deal with the problems in their city surrounding this subject. Many things were itemized, and the most basic cause was ignored.

This is true in all of us to one degree or another. Maybe not to the point of causing homelessness, but certainly affecting us in other ways where we end up with less than we desire.

As I have come to see it from my armchair, the problem begins with thinking. It is nurtured and grown in thought, which becomes thought form, then manifestation. No matter how much money we may have, none of us is very far from the feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, hopelessness, despair, depression, unworthiness, guilt, insecurity, grief and fear to name a few. These might be considered the bottom of the emotional scale. Many of us have even visited these places from time to time, yet we found solace in a timely manner that led us out of despair and into hopefulness, then on to optimism, positive expectation, and even back to happiness and joy.

As in the message in Seattle, I know that in my own life, and I can see it in others I meet, I have often sought solutions that is like going to the Doctor's office where they treat the symptoms, and the cause often goes unnoticed and unaddressed. It is often not even looked at. I think this is mainly because we think that thoughts are not things, whereas the things that we treat are physical things. Nonetheless, sometimes treating the symptoms helps us to feel better and we heal even though the cause wasn't touched.

In other words, we seek and utilize action first and thinking goes along for the ride. And, even though thinking was the cause, we cannot seem to relate to its power as being real. But it is very real. Often it is so real that the symptoms come again and again though they may look different. As an example, someone gets ill, the symptoms are treated and they 'come down with' or 'catch' another illness, and another.

We're not surprised when we trust that things will not work out that they don't, but we may rarely trust that things will work out and believe it as it would be so. In both cases in this dichotomy, we believe our action will prevail if anything will. That is a statement of our belief and our trust. Paul Coelho (and many, many others) said, "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." Yet because we don't see that, or sense the action of it, we put little or no belief in it. But what if it were absolutely true?

It comes down to our focus, which is our trust. When we focus on what we want, and completely, or as completely as possible ignore what we don't want, this opens the communication line to the Universe to help bring it to us. When we continually try to address the problem, we are not focused on the solution as we think we are, but on creating more of the problem.

At the crosswalk, how many times is it necessary to press the button to engage the crosswalk light? Once. How many times need we ask for what we want to begin the process of it coming to us? Once. Pressing the crosswalk button multiple times, not only has no added effect, but it is a sure indicator of lack of trust. The same is true when we ask for what we want and then by continually asking for it, we are acknowledging a lack of trust that it is coming, and we keep starting over.

There are so many ways that we do this in our lives. We keep pressing the button without effect. We demonstrate our lack of trust. We don't believe that the Universe conspires to help us, but believe in our own will and power to make it happen. How interesting it would be to believe and trust and allow. And how much easier too. To ask once, then focus and trust by seeing it as already accomplished, finding joy in the feeling of that, is allowing all of our desire, perhaps even better than imagined to come true. 


Such Is The Power Of Thought. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow freely by trusting your joy has no shortages. It is ever flowing as it is allowed to flow.

Daily Inspiration 2-17-16

"Your living is determined 

not so much by what life brings to you 

as by the attitude you bring to life; 

not so much by what happens to you 

as by the way your mind looks at what happens." 

-- Khalil Gibran 

I don't know about your area of the country or the world, but around here, and for some years now, the grocery stores, banks, and other businesses that we may go to often are trying hard to develop a relationship with us as customers, not by actually developing a relationship, but by asking insincere questions. Some of them are, "so what are your plans for the rest of the day?" at the grocery store, "how was your weekend?" at the bank, and other such dribble. It's as if we really have the time to answer those sincerely and to get into a conversation and exchange something of value. I just want to slap the manager who went to the seminar where they said this was a good thing to do and then came back and gave it out as a task to the people on the front line. Complete silliness.

Yesterday I went to the bank and one girl had been on vacation for a couple of weeks, and I said, "welcome back! I hope you had a great time!" So she says, "Thank you, I did." Then she said, "has anything exciting been going on with you?" I didn't know how to answer that question because I don't think she would understand, so I said, "Not really." Then she said, "just same old, same old, huh?" I said, "No. Have you seen the sky today?" And we were done.

The truth for me is that every minute of every day I have been experiencing life as if I was free to enjoy it all in a special way. I'm in awe of the sky some days. Yesterday was one of those days. It was the most magnificent display of wispy, curly, high white clouds against a blue background. The air was moving slowly. The temperature was like an early Spring. My pace was leisurely. I was enjoying everything around me including traffic with all sorts of people driving all manner of moving vehicles, going wherever they were going. I was thankful that I had money to deposit, and money to withdraw, I enjoyed watching Charlie on the seat sticking his head out of the window smelling the air, then later having him take me for a short walk.

My step-daughter, whom I haven't seen in two years, came to stay for a little over a week. She whipped my place into shape, adding new plants, doing many chores around the place all because she wanted to. I was fine with the way it was, but I was also fine with the way she put things in their place, added a woman's touch long missing from this place, teaching me how to grind coffee correctly with my coffee grinder. I thought I knew how, but I was in an illusion of skill. She had just left yesterday morning, so I was enjoying looking around at all that demonstrated she had passed through.

We got a new client that took many months to come about and my business partner was doing the first interview to get their service going. I was appreciating him and all that he brings to our business. In fact, it really is his business now.

Though we would love to have more rain, the weather for the last week has been in the mid-seventies to the low eighties. Everything is green because we did receive a good deal of rain in the last couple of months. It feels like a rebirth. Hearing lawn mowers going, weed whackers whacking, is an indication of growth. One day last week I didn't go anywhere and pretty much didn't do anything except be home with windows and doors open and just soak in the delight of the weather, the sunny skies, the birds chirping, and so much more. 

Has anything exciting been going on with me? Abso-fricken-lutely! And I gave you the short version. Same old, same old? Absolutely not. Everything was new, different, delightful, and I was in joy the entire time. Small talk is small. Stupid questions are stupid. If we are really interested in connecting with each other, let us ask better questions, and leave space for the real answer, or leave them out entirely.


Anything Exciting Going On? How About Being In Awe Every Single Day! 

Spread Some Joy Today--I will as soon as I find it. Hmmm. Where is that joy? I know it is around here somewhere. . . Oh! There it is! It's inside. Right where I left it.

Daily Inspiration 2-16-16

"Loneliness does not come 

from having no people around you, 

but from being unable to communicate 

the things that seem important to you." 

-- Carl Jung 

Many times I've been in a large room full of people and have felt alone. People are mingling, shooting the breeze, and to me, more often than not, they are saying nothing of significance. I detest small talk. It is so unsatisfying and so impersonal. Consequently, I avoid situations like that in my life now.

Yet, I love to talk to people and to listen to people when significant things are being shared. It is a sharing of a bit of who we are inside, and being increasingly fearless enough to share deeper tidbits that we all carry within.

I can readily think of some people that I could listen to for days. I might say only a handful of words or questions that keep them sharing their knowledge and insights and passions. It is a special thing indeed. Listening to someone who is sharing like that is far better than me talking about my thoughts, ideas, and feelings. I enjoy it so much that it would be great to do only that, though it is also good to be able to share.

Then also, there are a number of ways for me to share. I'm sharing in these Daily Inspirations. And occasionally, I get to share in person with someone who has enough interest to allow that to happen. Still, I don't learn as much from myself talking, and learn a great deal more from others.

This would happen more often if people were more willing to risk. The best way to encourage them to risk is to ask questions. This is true in regular conversations and it is true in sales situations. In sales, we learn almost nothing by telling them what we have to offer, so the best sales situation is asking questions and getting people to open up. It's amazing how many customers then turn out to be good friends because we allowed them to share themselves with us in the process.

This kind of communication probably doesn't happen often enough in romantic relationships and marriages too. Long ago, I remember going to a Marriage Encounter weekend, and the thing that stuck with me from that was each of us writing out our most pure thoughts and reading them without judgment. I think the thing that holds us all back is the fear of judgment. If we can let that go, the roadblocks are gone.

I hope that you allow great conversations to take place, sharing things of great significance, and even enjoying listening more than talking.


There Is Magic In That. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself the freedom to express your joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-15-16

"There is no need to accept 

when we can choose." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Rumi said, "Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn't matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again. Come, come."

No matter what our situation--no matter what--we need not accept it because we always have the ability to choose. We always, always have the ability to choose a thought, and consequently how we will feel at any given time. It doesn't matter if the world is crumbling around us, we can still choose. It doesn't matter how many times we've failed to do what we thought we wanted to do, or what someone else thought we should do. It just doesn't matter. We can choose again. And again. And again. And again.

Of course, accepting is okay. If that is what we choose, and we know many who do, it is just fine. But, we need not accept just because that situation is what it is right now. We don't have to accept illness, poverty, despair, powerlessness, depression, grief, discouragement. When we have the ability to choose, we can choose these, and we can also choose otherwise.

The world has a long list of those who have chosen again and succeeded, changed their circumstances--even dire circumstances for the better. It's all in allowing ourselves to choose again. Edison chose again 10,000 times it has been said. I smoked cigarettes for 38 years and quit thousands of times, then I chose again and it stuck at age 52 and now it has been 14 years of freedom. It just doesn't matter how many times it didn't work. The next time can. There is no good reason to accept things the way they are except one: Because that is the way you choose it to be--that you desire it, want it. Otherwise, choose again.


You're In Good Company! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Whether you're working the President's Day Sale, or having that coveted three day weekend relaxing, unwinding, having fun, your joy is within not without. Enjoy yourself!

Daily Inspiration 2-14-16

"Love is not denying ourselves 

and doing for others, 

but rather it is honestly expressing 

whatever our feelings and needs are 

and empathically receiving 

the other person's feelings and needs." 

-- Marshall B Rosenberg 

Continuing this quote, Marshall says, "To receive empathically does not mean that you must comply--just accurately receive what is expressed as a gift of life from the other person. Love is honestly expressing our own needs; that doesn't mean making demands, but just, "Here I am. Here's what I like."

Happy Valentine's Day to you. Valentine's Day, for adults, has become a day of demonstrating our affection or love for things. Flowers, candy, cards, other gifts, red hearts, champagne, special events like going out to dinner, and such. It is meant to be an expression of love from one to another. There might even be expectations of these things and not receive them can cause negative feelings.

For children, at least as I recall when I was a child in grade school, giving little Valentine's cutouts was a way to say, "I like you." It wasn't intimate generally, but a gift of acceptance. Some got a lot, others got few, and maybe even none.

In advertising, all the stars line up and everyone is getting what they want and being lavished with roses and diamonds, champagne and chocolate, generous gifts, and romantic imaginings.

Some have no partner, no lover to share these things and these ideas, none of which is really love anyway. For them, today may simply be another February 14th come and gone.

However far I've gone down the negative path here, relax in that there is an inspiration on the horizon. 

Consider the first line of the quote at the top: "Love is not denying ourselves." Moreover, "Love is not denying ourselves and doing for others." When we allow the love that is already within us, that is virtually guaranteed us, that is the love to end all love because it is the Love that is Eternity, that is God, that is All-That-Is, we need not look without for any fulfillment in the way of love. That doesn't mean that we don't welcome love from others, but that we don't seek it, that we don't need it, that we are already whole without it. It is a blessing when it is there and a blessing when it is not there, for we have all that we could ever imagine within at our Source.

I love so many quotes by Wayne Dyer, and he exuded love in all of his teachings. One that fits perfectly here is, "If you knew who walked beside you at all times, on the path that you have chosen, you could never experience fear or doubt again." That is the love that is within that is our Source, that is only figuratively walking beside us, and is constantly within us guiding our every step and thought as we allow that to be.

And, of course, my favorite all-time quote, which happens to be also from Wayne Dyer is the best definition of love I've ever seen: "Love is the ability and willingness to allow those that you care for to be what they choose for themselves without any insistence that they satisfy you."

To those whose stars are aligned and you gave and received all that the advertising suggested, along with all the romantic feelings at their hilt, enjoy. You are blessed.

To those who don't benefit from the alignment of the stars, take heed--your love is within, and all you need do is relax in it, allow it to caress you, let it treat you to the deepest, more wonderful love you could have imagined, today, and every day. And, just in case you love those 'things' too, you can buy them and give them to yourself!


As I Am Loved By God, I Love Everyone As I Love Myself. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by relaxing in the natural bounty of joy within.

Daily Inspiration 2-13-16

"When I had nothing to lose, 

I had everything." 

-- Paulo Coelho 

Tony Robbins has often said that there are only two motivations in the world: Desire for gain, and fear of loss. And it has also often been revealed that the stronger motivation of these two by far is fear of loss.

Here's a good question to answer truthfully: What are we afraid to lose? Maybe even make a list. Those are the things that dictate where we are and what we do and what we are willing to do and what we are not willing to do.

To some, it might be losing their job. For others, the divorce of a spouse or losing a family member, savings evaporating, stock market crash, and, well, this list could go on to infinity.

Here's another good question to consider: What if we feared nothing? What if we decided that it would be okay with or without--to be unattached to anything?

Paulo Coelho says that when we are unattached--more commonly stated, having nothing to lose, we are free.

When I think about the things, responsibilities, commitments, and other attachments, I can easily see how freeing it would be to be, as is commonly stated, out from under them. Though we might feel they are necessary, we may also feel them as a burden we must carry. It is not so much a physical burden as it is a mental burden. It's not the things or the responsibilities, commitments, and other attachments, it is the way we feel about them. They can have so much weight that they break us down, or they can be light as a feather.

It comes down to how attached we are. If we allow ourselves to let go of the aspect of the attachment, we can be free in our current life and current situation. We don't have to be attached to these things. We can still enjoy them, but we don't have to own them. Though many might be looking forward to a place called retirement or something like that to escape from the burdens of their attachments, we need not wait for anything. Just release the attachments now.

How about this? It is what it is for as long or short as it is and I am okay with all of that. I choose to enjoy my time and my interactions with people, places, and things. I choose to worry no more--to fear no more. I choose to love myself by releasing these attachments so that I may love more. In the process, all those around me are also benefited.


Freedom Is Not Something that Is Won. It Is Chosen By Releasing Our Attachment To Fear. Real Freedom Is The Absence Of Fear. -- Albert K. Strong

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow. Only you can choose that.

Daily Inspiration 2-12-16

"That which any of us 

has to offer of greatest value 

is the example of that which we are." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Continuing the quote above: "Our words can add to that example, our thoughts can add to that example, and certainly, our actions add to that example. But the key for any of us--in our desire to uplift this world--is to make more clear decisions about what we want to be at any point in time--and then to be that." 

In coming to terms with what others do that we may not be liking, Abraham adds, "As your actions are in harmony with your intentions, you feel joy. But as others' actions are not in harmony with your intentions, you do not feel joy. And so, what is required is that you set forth another set of intentions regarding the others. A very good set of intentions regarding others is this: They are that which they are, creators of their own life experience, attracting unto themselves while I am creator of my experience, attracting unto me. That is the Art of Allowing. . . . And as you state that to yourself again and again, soon you will come to recognize that they are not really messing up your world in the way that you might think that they are. They are creating their own world. And to them, it may not be a world that is messed up." 

Sometimes you may be as I have so many times been--way too focused on what others are doing, reacting to what I think others are thinking about, and trying (not very hard) to understand what they are thinking and doing, putting them on a pedestal in envy, and throwing them in a pit of rejection, when all I really need to do for a happier life is to focus on myself, and being the best me I can be, saying and doing what I feel is best for me, and not worrying about anyone else.

I think what has really come to me clearly now is that everyone is really creating their own world and that they draw to themselves that which they think about, believe, and act on. That is our world. We have many people in our world and they participate with us in various ways. The same is true for others. I really love the line above from Abraham: "And to them, it may not be a world that is messed up"

My mother used to call that "minding my own business." Of course, I never understood it that way back then, but it meant the same thing basically. There's always so much going on around us, but the most wonderful thing to realize is that we control that so much more than we think we do by our own thoughts about whatever is going on and how we feel about it, which determines how our own world is evolving. Our world is always changing and moving as is the physical world we think we know. Since we are the creator of that world, we can actively change it as we choose. It requires only a little awareness, and desire to use our creative spirit to mold that to that which is pleasing to us--or not as we alone will choose.


We Create Our Own World With Our Thoughts, Feelings, And Actions. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing the joy within us because we allowed it in.

Daily Inspiration 2-11-16

"When trouble arises and things look bad, 

there is always one individual 

who perceives a solution 

and is willing to take command. 

Very often, that individual is crazy." 

-- Dave Barry 

You've probably known someone like that, haven't you?!


Sometimes It Might Be Us. . . Yzklescnag! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by lightening up and letting it flow. No stress. No worries.

Daily Inspiration 2-10-16

"In any relationship 

in which two people become one, 

the end result is two half people." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

I've seen this quote many times and I didn't quite get it; that is, it didn't strike me as significant. This morning as I read it again, all of a sudden, and along with studying the teachings of Abraham, Esther Hicks, it made perfect sense to me.

In the movies and the romantic novels, and really, all around us are images of people living for the other. "I know I can make you happy," or "I know you will make me happy," and the ever-popular, "you complete me," are common phrases that are telltale signs of living for the other. And, it isn't really in service to another as much as trying to change the other, as in when she is sad, he will make her happy, or when he is angry, she will bring him back to happiness. At the wedding, they were committed to being as one. The two candles lighting the one and so on. But, what it really is would be two half people.

When we choose to come into alignment with our own inner being, our inner knowing, the God within, or whatever phrase works for us, we get to be whole. Then as we invite in that person who is also in alignment with their inner being, we can be one in a very different way. We're not trying to change the other, but enjoying ourselves and the other. We're not trying to make them happy because that isn't our job, nor is it even possible. Only I can make myself happy, by choosing to be happy. At the same time being unhappy is that same type of choice. What I can do is to be an influence by example. The others can only choose for themselves, as I can only choose for myself.

This is where the word harmony is a great way to describe a wonderful relationship. Being in harmony with each other while being in alignment with ourselves is as good a place that relationships can get I think. As we have no real power to 'make' the other into anything or to act in any particular way, we allow them to be who they are, while we do the same for ourselves. It is only our own example that has any influence toward a change in the other.

Some say this is a selfish point of view by focusing on ourselves, yet this is not arrogance or conceit, it is wholeness. Now when we come together with another interested party, there is a perfect field for harmony and joy. And, whenever the other is not seemingly in alignment with us, we allow them to be as they choose, while we demonstrate by example our own inner connection.

I've now had enough experience in relationships to see this grand difference and embrace the improved possibilities.

I've been talking about romantic relationships mainly, and guess how many other kinds of relationships this concept can be of the same benefit for? Whew! That's a lot!


Relationship Wisdom Is Looking Within And Being First, One With Ourselves. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing others to choose for themselves while you choose as you will.

Daily Inspiration 2-9-16

"It all depends on how we look at things, 

and not how they are in themselves." 

-- Carl Jung 

Yesterday was a whole bunch of errands and going to various stores to get things. There was a lot to do and I got it all done perfectly, which felt great.

In the process, I ran across several checkers or sales clerks. Their dispositions were all over the place from seeming mildly irritated that they had to be there that day to absolutely in love with life. You probably know which I gravitate toward...

Okay, it was the joyous one that really stood out. I was at Sam's Club and the checker girl looked like she was totally enjoying herself. She smiled at me, and I commented on what a great smile she had. She said, "thank you for noticing!" Then one of the bills I paid for my things was a $50 bill. She held it up in the air and asked in fun, "did you just print this one today?" I said, "no, I'm not that creative." And, as a habit, she agreed that she wasn't either. Then she stopped, looked up at me, and said, "no, that's not true, I'm pretty dang brilliant at times. Matter of fact, I surprise myself." I said, "outstanding!"

In the last week or so I've posted a couple of Daily Inspirations about affirmations. This girl wasn't going to allow the negative affirmation to remain. She killed it while it was in the air and replaced it with acknowledging her own brilliance. In the process, she killed my joking statement and sent me out of the store feeling good about myself and me sharing the experience of her joy of living.

All the other people that were not like her are a blurred memory. I think this girl realizes that what comes out of our mouth is tied to a thought, and more often than not, tied to a belief. By making a decision to acknowledge our own brilliance, we can then ensure that our mouth speaks our real mind, rather than that habitual thing we call the ego.


Today Is A Great Day To Acknowledge The Brilliance Within You! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by amazing yourself!

Daily Inspiration 2-8-16

"Thinking is difficult, 

that's why most people judge." 

-- Carl Jung 

Until I saw this quote, I had never thought about judging in this way, and it seems true to me that almost all my judging comes without any thinking. It is a more spontaneous response. Given the time and effort to really think about it, I might not have responded so quickly, and most likely not with such quick negative judgment.

My mother taught me at a very young age that when something makes you upset, count to ten before responding. I think she got it from her mother, and so on. Not a bad choice. Any delay can be helpful.

Spontaneity can be beneficial in some respects, but in anger and frustration, I think not. I like how Alan Watts says it: "He has very disciplined spontaneity." That's a good thing under the circumstances, don't you agree?

When it comes to anger-caused response, having a disciplined spontaneity will serve us all very well.


Let Us Give That Idea Some Thought. . . It Might Help. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by looking for the blessings all around you today.

Daily Inspiration 2-7-16

"The destination 

is not the reason for the journey. 

The journey 

is the reason for the destination." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Sometimes we might think that the destination is the real journey, but the real journey is the journey itself. The destination is something we just throw out there thinking it is like a carrot in front of a horse; something to drive us to endure the journey in order to arrive at the destination which is what we say we want or need. Rather, I think this makes life not worth living, and indeed, not worth enjoying. However, if we focus on enjoying the journey moment by moment then the destination is not very important in the scheme of our living our lives.

When we are focused on the destination, we have a tendency to wonder, are we there yet? How much longer before we get there? What is our daily progress and does it show that we are on track to reach our destination in the time we have allotted? What are the road blocks or potential road blocks that may slow my progress or put me off course? Am I on course? Why is it taking so long? I have to really pour it on because I am behind. The competition is on my tail, so I have to move faster. I have to work late and give up some of my family time if I'm ever going to get to this crazy big goal. I'll have to work weekends too. But once I get to the goal, the rewards will be worth the sacrifices. I want this so badly, and the prize goes to the one that is willing to do whatever is necessary to arrive a victor. I'm going to win. I will do what it takes. Nobody will work as hard as me.

That last paragraph is all destination thinking. The goal is everything. The doing or the journey is whatever it takes to get there. Whatever it takes. Consider that phrase. Whatever it takes. Hmmmm. 

Some think that success is to them being the victor, winning the prize, reaching the holy grail of the destination. There's a lot of that going on. It's okay to do and be that, of course. It's one way to live. But it is very much fear-related. Fear of not making it, having to pour it on, watching the competition, and so on.

Let's juxtapose that with a love-related approach. I love what I do. I enjoy every moment of it. I love who I work with. I love the products and services that I am involved with. I love the sky today. I love the smell of the air this morning. Those clouds are so interesting. There is magic all around me. I am loving this journey. It is fun. I get such a kick out of playing this game. I know it is a game, and it doesn't rule my life, and I do love playing. I'm such a kid in my heart and mind. I wonder what I will learn today? There is much to do, but I have time and energy, and I have help whenever I ask for it. What can I do to help make this journey more fun and rewarding for my boss and coworkers? My family? My customers? I love this so much I would do it for free (but I think I'll keep that thought to myself. . .). There is so much to see, touch, feel, smell, and enjoy along the way.

The destination is on both agendas. Which one do you suppose is aware that the journey is the reason for the destination?


Loving Our Lives Moment By Moment On The Trail To All Of Those Important Destinations. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by loving your journey all day every day.

Daily Inspiration 2-6-16

"If you feel overwhelmed by responsibility, 

you have assumed more 

than what truly belongs to you." 

-- Alan Cohen 

Overwhelmed by responsibility? Have you ever felt that before? Don't you just love this quote by Alan Cohen then? Time to let go of some of that responsibility and allow someone else to carry it. There's plenty to go around, and there's no need to take more than our own share.

Responsibility is a good thing as long as we don't feel that we need to be responsible for too much. Good question: Of the things I feel responsible for, what can I let go of or pass to someone else? Another great question: Do I really need to be responsible for this thing or situation, or can I just be interested in it and be an observer instead?

I think sometimes we want to control things more than things need to be controlled. Another great question: What would happen if I didn't try to control this? What would happen if I just let go of it? Do I really need this stress?


Responsibility Is A Choice, So We Get To Choose What And How Much. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of the excessive baggage we all tend to gather on our journey. Freedom is release and release is joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-5-16

"Impatience is an illusion of benefit, 

for it knows not success." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

Once again the other day, I saw a guy at an intersection pushing the crosswalk button 14 times. He would most likely have pushed it and heard it beep a hundred times, but he was very close to the sequence and the light changed for him. I asked the question one time before, what is the optimal number of times to press the crosswalk button? Well, I think I know the answer. It is once. That is all that is required. All the rest have zero added value.

It occurred to me yesterday that when we want something, as in a desire, or a goal, what is the optimal number of times to ask for it? I think the answer is the same: once. Yet some people will continually ask, write them down, carry them around with them and so on. But wanting impatiently has a tendency to work in a way we didn't anticipate. It keeps us on track for wanting. Not for getting. Once we know what we want, we only need ask once, and then turn toward receiving.

According to Abraham, Esther Hicks, when we ask, it is always given, and that Source Energy begins the process of helping that wanted thing to come to you, but they also say that we get what we think about, and even more appropriately, what we feel about.

"You get what you think about, whether you want it or not. By the powerful Universal Law of Attraction, you draw to you the essence of whatever you are predominantly thinking about." When we are thinking that we are wanting this thing or situation over and over again, the Law of Attraction will keep reinforcing the concept of wanting. Continual wanting is an affirmation of continually not having. Not having is reinforcing the wanting and it goes in a circle around and around and around like an endless loop.

I realized yesterday, that once we ask, we stop asking and turn away from the idea of wanting something that we do not have toward belief by seeing it in our minds eye as already accomplished. Another way to say that is to trust that Source Energy, The Universe, God, is true to always saying yes to a request, and knowing there is always some kind of time delay to it's actually showing up, we turn toward what is our job of focusing on receiving.

Think of it like the crosswalk button. How many times do we need to push that button for the crosswalk light to say 'walk'? The optimal number is once. It is the same with our desires or wants. Continually asking is purely impatience, but it is also an affirmation of not having, and continual thoughts of not having attracts more not having. Simple.

So yesterday, I sat down and wrote out a long list of things and situations that I want, many I have wanted for a long time. Then I burned it. Then I let it go. Now I am focused on receiving and seeing in my minds eye those things as if they are already accomplished. As I was out for a walk with Charlie, I was laughing with joy of all the images of those things flashing in my brain. It was delightful. And it feels so much better than wanting.


Trust Is An Amazing Tool. 

Spread Some Joy Today--I'll bet you find a lot of joy in seeing those things that you want as if they are already here. I know I am.

Daily Inspiration 2-4-16

"The difficulty with worry 

is that it does not disappear 

with argument." 

-- William Howard Taft 

I love this gem of a quote because in my life I have known myself to argue with worry, talk to worry, analyze my worries, regurgitate my worries, and contemplate my worries, and all to no avail. In fact, all that seemed to do was to make the worry or worries more pronounced. Then, sometimes we don't even realize that we are worrying about something, and so, our inner turmoil just feels like we're busy.

I watched a very good movie yesterday titled, Bridge of Spies with Tom Hanks. He defended an accused Soviet spy and asked him at least three times during the movie, "aren't you worried?" and the spy so very calmly asked, "would it help?"

What a perfect question. Would it help? If I worry, will I be served in that? Will it solve the problem? Will it change the situation or the outcome?

Here's a great question: When has it ever?

I'm sitting here laughing at all of this because I so see the absurdity of worry as a repair tool for positive change. It's silliness is laughable, and I very much loved the calm spy and his perfect questions in the face of very serious problems.

Just imagine the relief when our problems are mostly insignificant on the scale of problems. . .


Would It Help? 

Spread Some Joy Today--Here's a great question: Why the heck not?

Daily Inspiration 2-3-16

"To affirm is to accept. 

To accept is to affirm." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

You've heard of the idea of affirmations even if you've never consciously used any of them. I remember first learning about affirmations in my thirties and I was taught by some motivational teacher to write out something positive about what I wanted on cards, then read them aloud, and do my best to imagine that statement as having already happened in my life. And, I have heard of people who have been very successful doing this, but for me, I would have to say that it was unsuccessful. Most likely that was because I stopped doing it instead of turning it into a habitual thing.

But, affirmations are in use all the time, every day, by people who haven't got a clue that they are doing it, nor realizing the power those affirmations contain.

I know a guy who likes to play golf, and every time he hits the ball, he can feel and see that the ball is not doing as he wished it would, so he curses himself, putting himself down because he failed again and again, many times with a great deal of emotion in the form of anger, frustration, and unhappiness. For me, it was hard to even be within earshot of that violent display. And, guess what? Each and every one of those statements that he would make are affirmations, and they are also affirmations coming true, which is what affirmations are intended to do.

Even though we may think that we want a positive result, what comes out of our mouth may be telling a different story.

Short, one-take video is part of our service in our Internet business service. I've done so many of them that I think I've gotten pretty good at directing people. Most people are nervous about doing them, so I try to help them work through that and achieve a good result. Messing up is part of the learning process, yet so often in the majority of cases, when they mess up, they will beat up on themselves for messing it up over and over and over again. I tell them that these are affirmations, and when they keep saying it negatively, they will get more of it. I suggest that they laugh, let it go, say something positive like, "Great! Now I'm closer to perfection than I was before." Eventually, they relax and get into it and we come away with good videos.

If what we say and what we want are in harmony, our life gets better and better.

Try it for yourself. If you've ever been aware of the things you say that are self-defeating, or feel negative, try changing them to positive statements. Think like Thomas Edison who is said to have tried to create the incandescent light bulb over 10,000 times before he got it to work. Each effort was one step closer to success.

Make positive statements about your progress, and each time it was not perfect, is one more step toward the perfect result. Love yourself, rather than beating yourself up. Life is too short to go around berating yourself. Life is meant to be enjoyable, so help make it more enjoyable by making positive statements of affirmation.

I am getting so much better at catching myself when I say negative things that I no longer want to say. For example, we have a vendor who helps us find new clients who called me the other day and suggested two potential clients that he is working on to get us an appointment with. My business partner and I have had personal history with both of those potential clients, so I said to the vendor, "I don't hold much hope in these two prospects, but I am willing to talk." After we hung up and I thought about that, which is a true enough statement, I realized that I was sabotaging the potential appointments before they even had a chance at being made. I immediate restated to myself that I would love nothing more than to be of service to these two great companies.

Sometimes we just say silly things, and some of those silly things have far more power than we might imagine.


Affirm What Is Wanted, Not What Is Not Wanted. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself to feel the joy that is within you.