Daily Inspiration 6-14-14

"A person is limited

only by the thoughts that he chooses." 

-- James Allen 

"No matter how old you are now. You are never too young or too old for success or going after what you want. Here's a short list of people who accomplished great things at different ages

1) Helen Keller, at the age of 19 months, became deaf and blind. But that didn't stop her. She was the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.
2) Mozart was already competent on keyboard and violin; he composed from the age of 5.
3) Shirley Temple was 6 when she became a movie star on "Bright Eyes."
4) Anne Frank was 12 when she wrote the diary of Anne Frank.
5) Magnus Carlsen became a chess Grandmaster at the age of 13.
6) Nadia Comăneci was a gymnast from Romania that scored seven perfect 10.0 and won three gold medals at the Olympics at age 14.
7) Tenzin Gyatso was formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama in November 1950, at the age of 15.
8) Pele, a soccer superstar, was 17 years old when he won the world cup in 1958 with Brazil.
9) Elvis was a superstar by age 19.
10) John Lennon was 20 years and Paul McCartney was 18 when the Beatles had their first concert in 1961.
11) Jesse Owens was 22 when he won 4 gold medals in Berlin 1936.
12) Beethoven was a piano virtuoso by age 23
13) Issac Newton wrote Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica at age 24
14) Roger Bannister was 25 when he broke the 4 minute mile record
15) Albert Einstein was 26 when he wrote the theory of relativity
16) Lance E. Armstrong was 27 when he won the Tour de France
17) Michelangelo created two of the greatest sculptures "David" and "Pieta" by age 28
18) Alexander the Great, by age 29, had created one of the largest empires of the ancient world
19) J.K. Rowling was 30 years old when she finished the first manuscript of Harry Potter
20) Amelia Earhart was 31 years old when she became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean
21) Oprah was 32 when she started her talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind
22) Edmund Hillary was 33 when he became the first man to reach Mount Everest
23) Martin Luther King Jr. was 34 when he wrote the speech "I Have a Dream."
24) Marie Curie was 35 years old when she got nominated for a Nobel Prize in Physics
25) The Wright brothers, Orville (32) and Wilbur (36) invented and built the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight
26) Vincent Van Gogh was 37 when he died virtually unknown, yet his paintings today are worth millions.
27) Neil Armstrong was 38 when he became the first man to set foot on the moon.
28) Mark Twain was 40 when he wrote "The Adventures of Tom Sawyer", and 49 years old when he wrote "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn"
29) Christopher Columbus was 41 when he discovered the Americas
30) Rosa Parks was 42 when she refused to obey the bus driver's order to give up her seat to make room for a white passenger
31) John F. Kennedy was 43 years old when he became President of the United States
32) Henry Ford Was 45 when the Ford T came out.
33) Suzanne Collins was 46 when she wrote "The Hunger Games"
34) Charles Darwin was 50 years old when his book On the Origin of Species came out.
35) Leonardo Da Vinci was 51 years old when he painted the Mona Lisa.
36) Abraham Lincoln was 52 when he became president.
37) Ray Kroc Was 53 when he bought the McDonalds Franchise and took it to unprecedented levels.
38) Dr. Seuss was 54 when he wrote "The Cat in the Hat".
39) Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III was 57 years old when he successfully ditched US Airways Flight 1549 in the Hudson River in 2009. All of the 155 passengers aboard the aircraft survived
40) Colonel Harland Sanders was 61 when he started the KFC Franchise
41) J.R.R Tolkien was 62 when the Lord of the Ring books came out
42) Ronald Reagan was 69 when he became President of the US
43) Jack LaLanne at age 70 handcuffed, shackled, towed 70 rowboats
44) Nelson Mandela was 76 when he became President"

 --Pablo.


Boy, I Got Off Easy On This One, But It Was So Well Said I Couldn't Resist. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by releasing those self-imposed limitations. Do it anyway. Do it for the heck of it. Do it for the joy in it.

Daily Inspiration 6-13-14

"Man needs, for his happiness,

not only the enjoyment of this or that,

but hope and enterprise and change."

-- Bertrand Russell   

Claire, a dear Daily Inspirations friend and client sent me a link to the following video, and I just had to share it because it is amazing. If you ever get to thinking that life is a big challenge and you feel things are going against you, take a pause and come back and watch this video again. The joy that is expressed in this is the most amazing part. The ear to ear grin, the best outlook. It makes any of our problems seem lame. Enjoy.

"To Live Happily Is An Inward Power Of The Soul." -- Aristotle

Spread some joy today by feeling the way the guy in the video feels about his life.

Daily Inspiration 6-12-14

"Life is full

of obstacle illusions."

-- Grant Frazier

I've been reintroduced to goal setting philosophies as part of a youth mentoring program I just entered. Let's see, there are short-term and long-term goals, then there is the SMART goal system--Specific requiring precise action, Measurable and tangible so we can see it coming together, Attainable so that we aren't just dreaming, Realistic, so that we aren't pulling the wool over our eyes, and Time-Based, so that it has some sort of deadline.

These are great if someone can truly relate to them and make use of them. I have studied goal setting most of my life by reading books, going to seminars, listening to tapes and more. I've heard from and read some of the best in the world on the subject. I've tried and tried and tried with this program and that, this form and that, this philosophy and that, this success secret and that. None of them helped me a bit.

It's probably just me. I'm sure all my readers are avid goal-setters and have the system, whatever it is, down to a science and you're fulfilling all your life desires with precision, focus and accountability. You probably fill out goal setting sheets for all your goals and keep them in a notebook, checking, re-checking and updating your progress. Or not. Maybe you do. Frankly, I haven't met anyone who does this well, but it could be you. You'll have to send me an email and tell me all about your success secrets.

It's not that I don't have goals from time to time. It's just that I finally gave up on all that other stuff and just did what I found worked for me. What that was is to find my desire, focus on it, build energy upon it, execute activity with that in mind, and stay on target. We could call that the FDFBES system I suppose, but that won't really help much.

Decide what you want, and make sure it is something you want and not something you think you should want, or that someone else wants for you. You alone decide. Since you want it, focus on it. Get all the delicious details spinning around your head. Watch videos, get brochures. Build energy around it. See it, feel it, touch it in your mind, picture yourself there doing it enjoying it, drinking all the joy of it in. With those thoughts in mind, act on your inspirations. Be fearless enough to take some steps without necessarily seeing the whole picture. Step out in faith. And last, stay with it through temporary obstacles which may be many. It's just your own ego trying to keep you in place. Heck with that! You still want this, don't you? Then stick to the vision!

That works for me, and the more visual it is, the better!


What Is It That You Said You Wanted?

Spread Some Joy Today--Tomorrow is another day. There is only now. All joy is felt and created in the now. Just do it. Waiting until tomorrow will not help.

Daily Inspiration 6-11-14

"For it is in giving 

that we receive." 

-- Francis of Assisi 

I was caught over tipping the other day. I don't think most usually notice, except, of course, the waiter or waitress and me. So, to answer curiosity, I explained a little why I did that.

It's a little hard to explain, only because I have a lot of reasons for doing it and I became a good tipper in my early twenties because my first wife worked for a number of inexpensive restaurants where tips were usually in coins. We would count them each night and put them in rolls.

It wasn't much of a job when it comes to compensation and the work was hard and required a lot of patience and endurance too. Back then, if someone tipped 10% that was special and anything more was quite remarkable. I learned how to become at least a 20 percenter because I remember those days very well.

The over tipping began later, several years ago. I think my main motivation was to bring joy to the waiter or waitress. The other thing was that it caused me to feel generous and richer than I was in reality.

I remember a funny movie called, My Blue Heaven, where Vinny, the lead character played by Steve Martin over tipped everyone and even tipped people that normally don't get tips--like FBI agents. He said that he had this whole philosophy on over tipping and was going to write a book about that and his life. The movie is a bit of a romp, but I loved that philosophy about tipping.

The other day getting caught, it was an $18 bill and I tipped $10. But, you know, the food was excellent, the service was excellent, and it was a stupid bargain with all of that, and besides, I love to spread joy. Do you think the waitress was joyous about that tip? I'm certain of it, but it might be true that it brought me more joy to give it and for her to receive it.

When I see a check, I take the total times two so that I know what the absolute minimum is, then I give what is in my heart to give. Who knows? It could be anything because I have developed a wonderful habit of over tipping.


"The Wise Man Does Not Lay Up His Own Treasures. The More He Gives To Others, The More He Has For His Own." -- Lao Tzu 

Spread Some Joy Today--Follow your heart, not your head.

Daily Inspiration 6-10-14

"It's so easy to make a mistake

in language if you aren't careful. 

What if you meant to say, 

'What's troubling you?' 

and what you actually said was, 

'What's wrong with you?'" 

-- Jim Rohn 

I was thinking more about yesterday's post about positive news and negative news and how the negative stands out so much, though it is a tiny fraction of the positive things going on in the world.

This caused me to think about how often we communicate with each other and the questions that we ask and how that has a tendency to either bring up something negative or kill the communication entirely.

An extremely common question is, 'how are you?' or 'how are you today?' If it is Monday, they might say, 'did you have a good weekend?' or 'what did you do for the weekend?' and if it is Friday, they might inquire what plans you might have for the weekend and such. All of these are lame questions in my mind, and they provoke lame answers that say pretty much nothing.

So, how about changing some of that just for a few days and see what happens and pay particular attention to how different people's responses are, and what you find out about them that you never would have found.

After you ask these newer questions, make sure and listen well. We've sort of trained ourselves to not listen or pay much attention to the answers to the 'lame' questions. Here are some good questions to ask people:

What awesome (or fun, interesting, joyful, exciting, etc) thing is going on in your life?

What is going really well for you right now?

What did you learn recently that is worth sharing?

What is your favorite movie?

Ask something about what they are wearing, or about their hair. This is especially good after a compliment.

Speaking of compliments. This has become such a habit with me and it not only spreads joy to others, it brings me joy as well. I find something to compliment everyone on and quite often I speak it aloud to them. It is always sincere and I am always looking for something to compliment others on.

OK, now write out some of your own questions. The best thing is to elicit a positive, perhaps even uplifting response from the other person. You may see joy spill out of them, or enthusiasm, and most likely, they would love to tell you about whatever it is.


What A Difference You Will Make! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by bringing out the best in others.

Daily Inspiration 6-9-14

"Daily Republic seeks good news for column. . . 

Do you have some good news? 

If so, the Daily Republic would like to

include it in a column that runs on Saturday. . . 

Include your name and phone number 

and put "Good News" in the subject line." 

-- Non-Graphic Ad in the Daily Republic newspaper, 

Fairfield CA 

We're way beyond being accustomed to the definition of news as being what went wrong today, or what tragedy happened and so on. So, I looked up the definition of news, and here it is: "Newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent or important events." I don't see anything about negative or what is wrong in there, but you know that whenever you pick up a paper, check the Internet, or hear people talk and it is about negative news.

So, I found this quote above actually in the newspaper and I started laughing when I saw it. You will never see an ad like that looking for tragedies, problems, and general ills and tribulations. No, they don't need to request that because of its being in all of their newsfeeds upstream, and from national sources, etc. But, good news? Geez, we gotta run an ad to find some. How sad. Just go out and talk to some people, or some businesses and ask them what is going well for them. That's pretty easy. Or not.

It might make someone think that this is a negative world and all there is nothing but problems. And, of course, there might be some who would agree with that. It is easier to see that if all we did was pay attention to the news from whatever source. Yet, the world is also very, very positive. There are 100,000 more positive things going on to every 1 negative thing, and so the negative thing stands out. It makes sense. We just have to realize that all the media have accepted their own reporting and now that is all they see.


We Know Different, Don't We? Just Count Your Blessings And You Will See. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by counting those blessings. One, two, three, four, fifteen, thirty, sixty-seven. . .

Daily Inspiration 6-8-14

"How people treat you is their karma; 

how you react is yours." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

When people do something that isn't to your liking, there are many times an immediate reaction that may involve words and/or actions. There are so many ways that someone can push our buttons and create a reaction and sometimes people may even do it on purpose for a variety of reasons.

I have focused many years on reducing anger and especially reactive anger, and in many situations, I have succeeded very well. As each situation comes up, I notice how I am feeling, and then I make a conscious decision to let it go. Other people can be angry or have issues and that is on them and I don't have to go along. I have the power to choose for myself.

Today was a glorious day and I didn't do a bit of work and just went on a nice ride with little Charlie the dog, taking him on walks, getting a breve latte, enjoying the weather. You know, having a good time. As I'm coming over the hill from Napa back home, there are so many people in such a hurry and several of them were just riding my tail. They must watch too much NASCAR racing because being that close is dangerous, to say the least, and on a windy road to boot.

As each of the several that did that came upon me, I felt such pressure to get out of their way, but there just wasn't much opportunity based on the road. I could see in the rearview mirror that they were extremely impatient and visually upset that I was in their way even though I was going the speed limit or better.

I had several thoughts. . . How about I slam on the brakes and have you buy me a new car? Maybe I should show you how I feel with one finger! I felt my body tense up and noticing what I was feeling and thinking, I chose to let go, pull over when I could and not give it much thought.

When people are pushing you--and we all know there are lots of ways to do that--it is almost an instinctive reaction to push back. A while back I wrote about some Judo training I took as a teenager and how Judo is more the art of using your opponent's energy to foil their attacks. In other words, go with the flow, let it flow past you, only control it, don't fight it or push against the forces.

The only decision that made any sense to me now was to release the tension in my body by changing my reactive thoughts and allow them to go by when it was safe. This I did. It is only my willingness to practice that helps me to grow beyond instinctive reaction and dissolve provocation.


Awareness And A Willingness To Practice Are Key Ingredients.

Spread Some Joy Today--by showing your gratitude in some way today. You have so much to be thankful for.

Daily Inspiration 6-7-14

"What's money? 

A man is a success 

if he gets up in the morning 

and goes to bed at night 

and in between 

does what he wants to do." 

-- Bob Dylan 

One of the best two-sentence philosophies of a successful, enjoyable, and fulfilling life as I've ever seen. Bravo!


It's Always Better When It Is Simple And Straightforward. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply enjoying yourself. It's amazing what that does for your own well being and that of those around you.

Daily Inspiration 6-6-14

"Listening to both sides of a story 

will convince you that there is more 

to a story than both sides." 

-- Frank Tyger 

We are conditioned during childhood to believe that there is only one reality, and that is not even close to what is true. One person's reality is the reality to them, and another person's reality is real for them, and there can be a reality that is real for every single person on the planet. They are all real to them.

I bring this up for two reasons. One is to point out that everyone has their own reality and they are all real to them. And two, to suggest that if we were to have flexibility in the belief of our reality--just enough to allow us to see other realities--this would go far in allowing us to come together, and work together.

It is easy for us to be judgmental of others because their reality doesn't match our own. Though we may find some who we think do share our reality, it is more likely that we just share some values. This is a good way to come together, but we will never really know the other person's reality completely, yet finding some commonalities is a really good start.


This Is How Enemies Can Become Friends. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by celebrating your life and all that is around you.

Daily Inspiration 6-5-14

"As long as I have a want, 

I have a reason for living. 

Satisfaction is death." 

-- George Bernard Shaw 

I don't remember the website, but one site had some interesting security questions. One question was, 'What was your favorite activity in high school?' My answer was learning. Then a few days ago I was talking with some friends and I said, 'my favorite thing in life is learning.' So my major want in life is to learn and grow and expand and share, then do it some more.

I also have a tendency to be what I call a binge learner, where I go, go, go, then pause for a bit and then go again. It mirrors life in that there are waking and activity and then also a rest period.

I'm driven by a desire to know, and after all these years of learning and growing, I find as many answers within as from other teachers. Sometimes I think that maybe I know enough and just stop and enjoy the fruits, but I enjoy life more as I learn more, so that keeps me going.

So early this morning I was thinking about what it is that keeps me wanting to be alive and it is wanting. Esther Hicks says over and over that, 'you never get it done.' I find peace in that. There's no rush, nor is there an end other than one that we may choose. John Dewey says it nicely: "Arriving at one goal is the starting point to another."

Some people might think that we shouldn't want so much, and we should just be satisfied with what we have. Well, I agree with appreciating what we have, but without wanting more, there would be no life. Wanting is good.

The argument I heard when I was young was not to be greedy as an omen of squashing desire. I agree with the idea that being greedy is not a positive thing. Greed is fear and very limited thinking. A greedy person has a need to take from others thinking there is only so much, but the truth is that there is plenty, so wanting whatever we want is okay as long as it is not harming others.

Next time you're thinking that maybe you want too much, remember that without wanting, there would be no life. So, wanting is life-giving.


Want Away! There Is No Limit. There Is No End. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just being yourself. You are perfect just the way you are.

Daily Inspiration 6-4-14

"You cannot strive for peace. 

Striving is the opposite of peace. 

You can only choose peace." 

-- Alan Cohen 

I just got this quote a couple days ago and it spoke to me right away. Consider this: Fill in the blanks.

You cannot strive for _________.

Striving is the opposite of _________.

You can only choose ___________.


You Get To Choose. 

Spread Some Joy Today--for no good reason. The fact that it is Wednesday might be good enough. Today is good. Right now always works.

Daily Inspiration 6-3-14

"If you cannot be the poet, 

be the poem." 

-- David Carradine 

I'm fascinated by things and people I run across these days, and even more fascinated in how I feel at the time.

Today, I was out for lunch with a friend, and on the way back home, I stopped at a bank to make a deposit. I was in line and as I looked up from filling out a form, a woman came to get in line behind me and my eyes were delighted by the uniqueness of her. She was an African-American, so her skin color was medium brown, and she had what I call splotches of white skin all over her face and hands. There was no pattern to it at all, and it was quite dramatic to see.

This is the kind of situation where most might avoid looking to insure no staring, and certainly no speaking, just move along in line and exit in a timely manner. So, I turned to her looking her straight in the face and said, "you have a very interesting face!" She began telling me that she has this unknown thing where the pigment in her skin disappears. She has to wear lots of sun screen to avoid sunburn even inside sometimes. She said that it even moves around, and one day her ear will be partly white and the next day not and so on. I said, "how interesting is that?"

I moved up in line, then I wanted to tell her what I thought when I first saw her, so I said, "I think you have a very attractive face." She said something about not blushing, and then said, "thank you very much. I rarely get any compliments and I appreciate what you said." I introduced myself and said it was a pleasure to meet her, then I went to the window and as I was leaving, waved to her and she waved back with a big smile.

It's amazing what we can do to make someone's day special. All it took for me today with two people is say what I thought when I looked at them. Yet, how often are we bold enough to do that? That's one aspect of these two meetings.

The other aspect is that each of us is unique and at the same time we are all the same. We're made of the same materials and energy, and we all come from the same source, yet our choices and families and circumstances have created a unique person in each of us that is worthy of knowing, which will ultimately bring us to our mutual oneness.

We often might want to hide uniqueness to mirror others and blend in, but I like unique more and more all the time. This woman with the interesting changing face really was beautiful to me. I didn't feel the slightest bit strange being with her or talking with her. In fact, I was honored and blessed to have made her acquaintance. In fact, both of them made my day, not the other way around.


Celebrate Life, Each Other, And Ourselves! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Compliment people if it's sincere. It might make their day, but I know it will make yours!

Daily Inspiration 6-2-14

"There is nothing more galling to angry people 

than the coolness of those on whom 

they wish to vent their spleen." 

-- Alexandre Dumas 

I had an interesting phone call today from a customer whom I have never talked to before. He had another party with him and they caught me at the grocery store in my car and were so angry and upset that it was sounding more like rage. One was more restrained than the other, but I wouldn't want to live on the difference.

I was very surprised by the call and very calmly tried to ascertain exactly what the issues were and after a couple of minutes, I simply hung up. It was a Sunday, and I don't need to be beaten up like that, and I couldn't seem to have them listen, so I just let it go.

Afterward, still surprised by the whole thing, I had the thought that I can't reason with anger, and especially rage. About the best possible scenario facing anger like that is finding some way to diffuse it. You just can't talk to anger and have it work out very well.

First of all, that kind of anger is not MY problem. It is theirs. Elizabeth Kenny said it so well that, "he who angers you conquers you." Calm heads prevail. Second, losing my own joy is not an option. I get to choose how I want to feel and I want joy. The other party gets to choose also. Their choice has nothing to do with me. It's all about their own interpretation.

Another thing I learned about anger, in this case, is that they were creating more anger among themselves by virtue of their openly sharing and agreeing with each other. They were trying to express how they felt I'm sure, but it just wasn't a great way to achieve the objective of convincing me to help them. They wanted something from me and found I wasn't open to their type of persuasion.

And last, if I were as enlightened as I want to be, I would have been sending these two gentlemen love thoughts while they were talking. It is easy to think about that hours later, and I would rather learn to remember it at the time that it would be beneficial. Of course, any time is a good time. Even now!


"Anger Blows Out The Lamp Of The Mind." -- Robert G Ingersoll 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting joy rule your day.

Daily Inspiration 6-1-14

"Happiness is not having what you want. 

It is wanting what you have." 

-- Rabbi Hyman Schachtel 

Of all the things we want, it makes sense that to want the things we already have is at least one of the keys to a happier life. We will never stop wanting things, nor should we. It is the discovery of what we want which is based in large part in what we don't want that leads us on all of our desirous journeys. And, it's okay to not want things we have anymore and let them go, and if they are not appreciated or wanted, letting them go is a perfect response and activity. Someone else will want those things.

Being happy with what we have is a healthy idea. It is so because it means we are wanting what we have, and wanting what we already have means that we spend less time looking for happiness in some other place, or thing, or person. Besides, happiness doesn't come from getting things, it comes from gratitude and joy and the feeling of at least a few moments of enough. It is a contented place; a comfortable place; a place to enjoy.

Whatever we have that we no longer want or need then takes up negative space. Release it and give it away so that someone else can enjoy it. This is a great way to share some joy that we once had in what we no longer care much about. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.


Cleaning Out The Negative Space. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--See joy landing on everyone you see today. Intention is a powerful sharing device.