Daily Inspiration 12-26-13

"Those who cannot remember the past

are condemned to repeat it."

 

-- George Santayana

To this quote, Kurt Vonnegut said, "I've got news for Mr. Santayana: we're doomed to repeat the past no matter what. That's what it is to be alive."

I find that I must disagree with both. The more we hang on to, remember, lament the past for whatever reason we wish to give it, we are dragging it with us as we try to move around in the present. Pleasant memories are wonderful and it may be very good to revisit them from time to time. But, let's take this just a bit closer to what I imagine these gentlemen are referring to. I think they are talking about learning from the past, not forgetting how it was so that we don't repeat the same things over and over again.

However, I still think that by doing that we are more likely to repeat the same things anyway. Out of sight, out of mind. In sight, in mind.

I was concerned about some depressing things I saw posted by a young person on facebook. I was told that they were just seeking attention, which seems beyond obvious, but then I was told that this was normal for that age. I say, not. It may very well be the past repeating itself through a new victim, but to call it normal is interesting. Why should I or anyone else accept this as normal? What the heck is normal anyway? The other answer is often, "oh, it's the hormones." OK. More thoughts of the past exhibiting themselves into the present with a new victim that we are making into a "normal" person.

Is it normal for anyone at any age to be depressed? Is it normal to have cancer? Is it normal to act a fool? Or, how about the opposite angle. Is it abnormal to do this or that or be this or that way or talk this way or that way? Is it a majority vote that wins what is normal? Isn't normal sort of average?

I guess I shouldn't be concerned at all since it is normal behavior for that age. . .


The Problem May Be That I Am Not Normal, Nor Am I Abnormal. I Do However, Allow Those To Choose As They Will And Celebrate Their Choices.

Spread Some Joy Today--It is a wonderful choice, don't you agree? Joy works. It causes my spirit to glow.

Daily Inspiration 12-25-13

"When you serve with love,

the universe finds ingenious ways to pay you."

 

-- Alan Cohen

I went out to breakfast with family this morning (Christmas eve) at a place they raved about. I had heard some of the success story of a family owned and managed establishment that seems to always be filled to capacity and beyond. As we entered, a young man (owners son) greeted us with humor and fun and passion. We sat near the front and I heard him greeting many people in that extremely confident, kind and enthusiastic way. I

 thought about how well he did that job and as I looked around I appreciated the décor and attention to detail. One greeting came in the middle of the meal that was very memorable to me. Remember. the place is packed and there are people waiting. The customer asked if he had a table for eight. With unbounded holiday spirit, he replied, "absolutely!." It came to pass that they were seated within a short time, but I was amazed at his response because under these conditions, I have heard other people hem and haw, mention how busy it is, ask if they had reservations, or any number of other not so helpful responses.

When you love what you do and you do it with this conviction, everything you do is filled with love.


Table For Eight? Absolutely! Thank You For Stopping By Today!

Spread Some Joy Today--How many ways are there to spread joy? Count the ways, or just let it flow.

Daily Inspiration 12-24-13

"You can't worry love." 

 -- Alan Cohen 

That's great news, isn't it? Although, some find a way to love worry, even thought that is an oxymoron. But, not you. You know that love is all powerful and worry hasn't got a chance when you focus on love.


I Am And I Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--It is amazing what a smile does at the mall. Simply amazing.

Daily Inspiration 12-23-13

"Refuse to give your power away 
to people and things. 

Make this season count

 in your favor." 

 -- Alan Cohen 

People ask what I'm doing for Christmas, and I've told a few that I'm going on a trip for a few days. They say, "there will probably be terrible traffic." I say, "it's not a problem if you're not in a hurry." And so it is. It's all part of the adventure when you are open to seeing it this way. I'm not fond of congested traffic, nor am I in fear of it. It is what it is or will be. I am determined to have a wonderful time the entire journey, including any and all traffic.

 Each time I said that today, the other person just looked at me as if I was strange. I'm getting used to that. And so it is. It's all part of the adventure when you're open to seeing it this way.


I Refuse To Relinquish My Power To People Or Things. 

Spread Some Joy Today--and there's truly only one way to do this: by being joyous. It spreads automatically without any effort on your part.

Daily Inspiration 12-22-13

"Some people are always grumbling 

because roses have thorns. 

I am thankful 

that thorns have roses." 

 -- Alphonse Karr 

This thoughtful quote doesn't have anything to do with roses, and yet everything to do with everything.


A Life Of Gratitude Finds Ways To Be Grateful. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Joy is not something to find. It is the result of letting go of resistance. Just like the famous Beatles song: Let it be. And, it will be.

Daily Inspiration 12-21-13

"The bad news is time flies. 

The good news is you're the pilot." 

 -- Michael Altshuler 

There are more books I want to read than I find time for. There are more things I want to get done than I seem to have energy or time for. I seem to be behind the curve a lot of the time--especially when I think of tasks, or things that I want to accomplish. In fact, I have a long list of things. I want to learn Spanish. I've only been saying that to myself for about 40 years or so. I would love to know how to play the piano well. But, those are things that don't really fall into the time issue. They seem to be commitment issues.

Back to the time thing. . . It also seems like the holidays make time go quicker and dates approach much faster. Heck, there's only one handful of shopping days left before Christmas.

But, that's all about the bad news, isn't it. The good news is that I'm in charge. I'm the pilot. What I do or don't do, achieve or don't achieve is totally up to me. And, that's just fine. Sometimes it might feel good to blame others or the season, or the whatever, but, in the long and short run, I'm the only source to examine.


Ready For Take-Off? 

Spread Some Joy Today--While you're focused on accomplishing the mission, don't forget to give your love to the troops.

Daily Inspiration 12-20-13

"You are uniquely qualified to be you." 

 -- Alan Cohen 

What a great quote this is. Often, we may be focused on being like someone else, or thinking perhaps that someone else is better or smarter or some other attribute that we think we might be missing. But, if you think about it, there isn't any other person in the world now or ever that is as uniquely qualified to be as you. That aspect would be worthy of some grand focus and attention. A labor of love, a joy in creation.


Be The Best That Only You And You Alone Are Qualified To Be. You ROCK! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Kind words and smiles are magic potions. Use them liberally.

Daily Inspiration 12-19-13

"You can't have everything. 

Where would you put it?" 

 -- Stephen Wright 

You know, this is sort of funny and at the same time, it is sort of true. I don't know where I would put more stuff now, let alone have everything. In fact, I've been contemplating letting things go and how I might do that.

When I was 21, I was in the Air Force, 3,000 miles from California in Dover, Delaware and was recently married. We lived in a 40' mobile home (trailer) at $85 per month and that was 30% of my income before taxes. We didn't own one piece of furniture, and had very little else. Our first official piece of furniture was a $20 unfinished wood nightstand that I painted yellow with an antique finish, which I still have possession of 43 years later.

It would seem that now I have more than enough. Until recently, I even had stuff in a storage facility. What a big business that has become. They are everywhere. The truth is that the more stuff I have, the less it seems to mean to me. As I think about things all around me, there is very little that feels important. Yet, it all must have been very important, or at least important enough to buy to begin with. Who even remembers why?

Sometimes I long for those days when I had almost nothing, but the only good reason to go back there would be to have my whole possession-oriented future ahead of me. Or, perhaps if I could go with the knowledge I have now, I might make a different choice.


Who Needs All This Stuff? Yet, It Didn't Arrive Of It's Own Free Will, Did It? 

 Spread Some Joy Today--Joy doesn't require anything except a desire to feel it.

Daily Inspiration 12-18-13

"Your greatest contribution 

to helping other people live their destiny 

is for you to live your own." 

 -- Alan Cohen 

People and children don't listen to advice very much, but they do pay attention to what people do. They become great imitators. Employees become great imitators of their supervisors and other leaders within a company. This is why I've never thought much of mission statements in general because I've been involved with companies who don't live up to their rhetoric. But, anyone can see what they do and that is what is most important.

 Like helping people? Be the best that you can be is great advice. Leading by example is a great strategy.


 "What You Do Speaks So Loudly That I Cannot Hear What You Say." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Spread Some Joy Today--Don't worry about anyone else. Just be the best you that you can be. That is pure joy.

Daily Inspiration 12-17-13

"Don't put off for tomorrow what you can do today

because if you enjoy it today,

you can do it again tomorrow."

 

-- James A Michener

I was working with a car dealership this morning and I was talking about prospecting for sales. I gave them a chart I made that demonstrates the long term results of consistent small efforts or tasks. When it comes to prospecting, so many fail because they are not having fun, and often doing work they don't want to do or dislike doing.

Part of the reason for that is that they go out with the attitude of making a sale. It's truly arrogant to think you can just walk into a place and make a sale, but more important than this is that it sucks. It makes it no fun because you will receive a lot of rejection. However, if you go out to learn about them, what they do, how they do it and hope that you may find business you can send their way with this new knowledge, it becomes interesting and fun. The sales will come naturally over time, but the important thing is to meet new people, businesses and focus on them, not you.

So, back to the daily efforts resulting in much larger success over time. This Daily Inspiration happens to be number 1,540. It's amazing to see that number because all I focus on is doing it each day, 365 days a year. Over time it grows to larger numbers. The Commercial Truck Success Blog now has 2,168 posts and it began with post number one. It began a year and a few months sooner than the Daily Inspirations.

Sometimes people think that one should do ten a day and improve the efforts. That's good, but it isn't as good as smaller efforts over a long period of time. The two I was just talking about were one day at a time, one per day, and you can see how the numbers add up. Whatever it is we want can be attained with joy in the same manner. Changing one thought per day over time will lead to a whole rearranged life. One or two tasks completed toward your dream assures it's success.

Getting started is the beginning and then just keep doing it again and again and again. But, remember my edict about joy. It has to be fun. It has to be a labor of love. When it is work, it is often not fun and that leads the brain to find ways out, and it will surely find them.


Little By Little An Acorn Turns Into A Large Tree.

Spread Some Joy Today--Whatever you are doing today, focus on the enjoyment of what you are doing. It's a great way to live.

Daily Inspiration 12-16-13

"Never regret. 

If it's good, it's wonderful. 

If it's bad, it's experience." 

 -- Victoria Holt 

Generally speaking, I think the quote above is a healthier way of viewing things. What might be even better is, "if it's good it's experience and if it's bad it's experience." The reality is that it is just experience. How we label it is how we respond to it and how we respond to it guides us well in how to handle it. To label it good or bad is only in relation to how we feel about the experience. Of course, it's okay to label it and it is equally okay to not label it. You get to choose.


However You Label It, I Hope It Feels Good To You. 

Spread Some Joy Today--There is no more important, and no more effective goal in life than to enjoy yourself. If it isn't working out that way, stop immediately and change your mind.

Daily Inspiration 12-15-13

"Now and then it's good to pause

in our pursuit of happiness

and just be happy."

 

-- Guillaume Apollinaire

It has been said and I'm sure accurately so, that whatever we do in our lives, we do in order to feel better, feel good, be happy. Yet, we may be subject to pursuing so much that we miss the true concept that all we need to be happy is to choose to be happy. Of course, the things we do in our lives is important--at least to us, or we wouldn't do them probably; however, this is just a simple reminder to purposely choose to be happy as often as you can.


It Will Make The Pursuit All The More Fruitful.

Spread Some Joy Today--Don't let the season be your reason. Choose joy every day.

Daily Inspiration 12-14-13

"Don't get greedy.

There's only so much to go around."

 

-- My parents when I was a little kid

Today, there is more money and more opportunities than there have ever been in the history of the world. I know this is true. Because it is, that alone is support enough to consider the expansion of the "pie" that I was told we were limited to only a slice of. It appears that the pie keeps on growing and is not static. That idea is not the same idea of abundance, but it is certainly more encouraging than the world media would have us believe.

Alan Cohen said, "Your prosperity and happiness does not take away from the prosperity and happiness of others; it adds to it." He goes on to say, "Ultimately you must face and answer this question: Do we live in a universe of fixed resources in which one person's good takes away the good of another? Or is the universe capable of supplying prosperity for everyone who chooses it?"

That's a great question, don't you think? Look around. There is more now than in 2000 and more then than in 1900 and so on. There are more people, more businesses, more money, more happiness, more of everything we want if we can only believe it is true. Or we can believe there is only so much to go around and we have to try to get our fair share. The latter is an obvious belief in lack.


There Is More Than Enough. Leave Your Worries At The Doorstep And Come On In.

Spread Some Joy Today--Believe in the abundance all around you. Rest in that peace.

Daily Inspiration 12-13-13

"Trust the instinct to the end,

though you can render no reason."

 

-- Ralph Waldo Emerson

It is interesting to watch others who have an instinct about something, then find all sorts of reasons against following it. It is as if reason has some sort of magic authority to righteousness. Yet, from my own experience and that of watching others shows me that instinct is still superior in many ways.

I've been the places that I see others in where they make a decision and then through reasoning and fear, make a different decision. It's out of the norm, or it's not the way we are used to doing it, or so many rules that we have developed over time that preclude us from venturing beyond our own tightly controlled comfort zone.

Think back on any decisions that you have made in the last several years. Important decisions usually stand out. When you followed your instinct--and I hope you have--were those the best decisions or were they bad decisions? I think you will find they were the best. Then look at decisions where you used reason and allowed fear to corrupt your thinking. They were terrible ones, I might imagine.

The end result leads us back to Ralph Waldo Emerson and his advice to trust the instinct to the end regardless of any reasoning present. There is a place when we just know it deep inside and it really doesn't matter what other influences are giving advice. Our own inner advice is all we really need and it is worthy of our trust.


GO4IT!

Spread Some Joy Today--Relax. Enjoy your day. There just isn't anything more important in all of the world. Seriously.