Daily Inspiration 8-14-14

"To me, 

ideas are worth nothing

unless executed. 

They are just a multiplier. 

Execution is worth millions." 

-- Steve Jobs 

The late Jim Rohn was one of my early mentors in personal development. I remember the first cassette tape I got from a friend in a multi-level marketing business who was trying to get me involved gave it and a few others for me to listen to. I was mesmerized by Jim's folksy, and yet common sense approach to becoming better.

On one of his tapes that I listened to, later on, he told the short story of a guy who decided to build a building. It was going to be a skyscraper! He borrowed the money, hired some people, and set about clearing the site and bringing in supplies and building materials to build the building.

Each day, he and his team would bring more supplies and building materials. It was getting crowded on the construction site. The next day was more of the same. It got to the point that people were wondering if he was ever going to use those materials and build something. But, he just kept bringing more stuff in anticipation of getting going on the construction.

Soon the lenders were discouraged, along with the engineers and construction workers and the money stopped flowing. When the money stopped flowing, everything came to a halt. Here was a site with so much building materials and yet after many weeks of preparation, absolutely nothing got built.

Now, on the surface, it might be easy to say that this guy was just loco. But, let me ask a question. Does any of this sound familiar to you? Or, how about if not you, that you might know one or more people that resemble this scenario?

Sometimes it might look like our efforts are constructive and then again, we may need some more information. . . or help. . . or approval. . . or. . .


Like Steve Jobs Said, "Execution Is Worth Millions," Figuratively And Sometimes Literally.

Spread Some Joy Today--Let go of the preparation and simply execute on your joy. It is thought, but even more than this, it is action!

Daily Inspiration 8-13-14

"The true secret of giving advice is

after you have honestly given it, 

to be perfectly indifferent whether it is taken or not, 

and never persist in trying to set people right." 

-- Hannah Whitall Smith 

This quote is indeed great advice and I have learned it from experience. Yet, what is even more important, when we can achieve this, is to never give advice unless it is requested by the party we are giving it to.

Sometimes it is merely, or rather, blatantly, our ego run amok. Many times this advice is meaningless small talk, but that is a great place to bring awareness so we can catch ourselves before we cross into a more important territory.

The truth is as I have seen it over and over again from experience, that people generally don't want advice. They may not even want it when they ask for it, but we will let that be their problem.

A better way? Share your experience and experiences. Share what you've learned and how it benefited you. You're not then an adviser as much as an observer.


There's No Fun In Pushing A Rope Anyway. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--Where did you hide that joy button? Let's uncover it and push it often today! People might think you're breathing rarefied air. Let them think what they will!

Daily Inspiration 8-12-14

"We are subjected to many illusions

in our daily life. The greatest one is 

the one that keeps us trapped in giving 

our energy to what always has been." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

Back with Dr. Wayne Dyer and his book, There's A Spiritual Solution For Every Problem, I found a fascinating analogy that really helps me see the past in a different light, so I thought I would share it.

From the quote above, he goes on to say about what he calls The Greatest Illusion, "This illusion is characterized by the belief that "The past is the reason why I am continuing to believe in these ways." In some of my earlier writing, I have referred to the wake of a fast-moving boat. The wake is the trail that is left behind and nothing more, just a trail that is in back of the boat. You don't need to be a nuclear physicist to understand that the wake does not drive the boat. Nor does the wake of your life. It is simply the trail that is left behind."

How many times have we all let our past dictate our future by giving it far more attention that it deserves?

Wayne goes on to say, "The wake cannot drive the boat. The wake of your life does not drive you today. But the present moment energy that you put into the events and actions of your past, explaining or excusing your continuing problems does affect your life today. That is the source of those problems, and absolutely nothing more. Just like it is the present moment energy being generated by the engine that makes the boat go forward. The trail that you've left behind cannot drive your life today unless you convince yourself that this is the case, and that is why I call it the greatest illusion."

I thought that was such a powerful way to look at our past and the present and the problems that we think we have today. Excellent.


It's Just The Wake. . . It Has No Power Of Its Own. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Enjoy yourself today. Just for the fun of it.

Daily Inspiration 8-11-14

"Anything you remember 

seems to be the way it was 

because that is how 

you are choosing to remember it." 

-- Alan Cohen 

When I was in grade school around 3rd or 4th grade, I remember playing a game that we called telephone where a number of us would sit on the ground in a circle and one person would whisper something about a sentence long to the person next to them and then they would repeat that exactly to the next and the next until the last person would say it aloud. Then we would compare with the person who started it to see if it matched. It never matched. It always got morphed somewhere along the line. It seemed like we always had about 8-10 people in the game, but what came out at the end was often so funny compared to what was started down the line.

Memories are like that I think in that we may often remember things so differently than even someone who lived through an event with us. It's called perspective and we each have a unique and totally individual perspective. We may agree from time to time, and maybe even more often, but the details will most likely not match.

As memories get further in the past, they may be modified even more to where we are only remembering bits and pieces, and even combining bits and pieces differently as we speak of a memory in different situations. We might call that a memory of convenience.

One thing that I have noticed with memories of people who have passed from this physical life is that I have a pronounced tendency to remember the best, or better things about them, than the things that I didn't like or were painful in some way. Again, that means I am remembering in bits and pieces and arranging them to suit me.

I think it is especially helpful to purposely rearrange details of the past to suit how we want our lives to be today. I don't think we need to go back and find the pain and try to understand it, but rather, to soften any pain felt today by rearranging and re-membering the way things were. It's not so much blocking it out as it is making peace with it. I know some people who carry hurts from the past with them like a badge of courage, but all that is doing is making today so much less than it could be.

One of the best ways to deal with the past is to treat it by practicing your unconditional love. (You are practicing, right?) So often I have used the analogy of the tug-o-war rope and that we are warring with ourselves carrying these hurtful thoughts into the present, so a great way to deal with it quickly is just to picture ourselves physically dropping that rope. Once the rope is dropped, we can cover the whole scene by bathing it in love--even picturing a warm-colored glow descending over everything we see.

We can do the same thing with memories that create fear in us today not just things that have caused hurt. In both cases, softening and re-membering the past is one of the best things that we can do to make today a better place and a happier place.


"Never Underestimate Your Power To Change Yourself; Never Overestimate Your Power To Change Others." -- Wayne Dyer 

Spread Some Joy Today--Practice your unconditional love. You can start with likable people so it is easy, then work up to people you hate. Of course, once you do this, you won't hate anyone ever again.

Daily Inspiration 8-10-14

"Love makes no comparisons." 

-- A Course in Miracles 

One year ago today, my wife, partner and friend passed to a place without worry, sorrow, or any unhappiness. Last year, I took a few days in this format to celebrate just a few things about her life and I am still celebrating; albeit not so publicly. For the last year, I've been realizing just how blessed and lucky I was to be a part of her life for the last 26 of her 60 years. In fact, I've realized a number of things.

One of those things is that life can pass on at any time. In Nancy's case, she went through a lengthy illness, in the case of my father when I was just 13, it was in a moment. If I look back on the entire volume of arguments Nancy and I ever had, it is all now completely insignificant. Of course, therein is a powerful lesson for all that are still alive: don't let your ego rule. It's not about who is right. None of that stuff means anything, really. It's best to let go of that rope as soon as possible.

I've learned that unconditional love is the only love that makes any sense. When our egos get involved, it is always love on condition, and there are often a lot of conditions and they keep changing. But unconditional love never changes. It also takes practice and I've been practicing it earnestly for several years, and in the last several years with Nancy too. She helped challenge me to practice it.

She also helped challenge me to develop patience, which is another thing that requires practice. She helped me practice patience and I couldn't possibly be more grateful for these two gifts than if they came attached with a few million dollars. They are worth far more than money anyway.

Some things haven't changed. I still feed the birds, buying bird seed in 40 and 50 lb. packages. I make sure the bird baths are clean and water is full and fresh. The hummingbird feeders are being cared for. I water the indoor plants but they are not doing as well as when she cared for them. I'm just doing some of it because it was important to her and over the years, it became important to me too I guess.

I've been alone (except for Charlie), but not lonely. It has been a good time where I could be quiet and learn to enjoy this change. I thought seriously about moving, but decided to just stay. They say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but more often than not, it is just over there instead of here. I think having moved 43 times in my first 37 years, that living here in one place for 28 years so far has meant a lot to me.

Though I removed a lot of things from the house, there are yet hundreds of reminders and hundreds of photos reminding me of Nancy like the one I've shared here that was at a Valentine's Day Dance while we were taking a break from the dancing. It was before gray hair.

As I look at some of my favorite pictures like this one, I see the love, passion, and joy that we shared so many times over the years. Of course, as in any relationship, it is not all passion and joy; however, there was more than enough for a lifetime. 


Allow Your Loving To Be Without ANY Conditions.

Spread Some Joy Today--Expand your joy by loving all those you come in contact with.

Daily Inspiration 8-9-14

"If it wasn't for dogs, 

some people would never 

go for a walk." 

-- Emily Dickenson 

Well, we know that this statement isn't totally true, but we also know--at least those of us who have dogs--that looking at that energetic, waiting-by-the-door-wagging-that-cute-little-tail dog is so hard to resist being of service to them even though I would rather be in my favorite chair taking a snooze.

And, once out and about following my dog, Charlie, (a tiny specimen), it gives me nearly as much pleasure to watch him find a certain spot in the grass that has just the right smell that it causes him to want to get that smell all over his body, as it obviously does for him.

So, he scratches it, rubs his face on both sides, rolls over on his back and wiggles around down to his tail, then does it again and again and again until he has got all the pleasure out of this particular spot.

Sometimes, depending on the availability of grass on certain walks, this may happen several times. I often wonder what that smell is that is so darn good, but then, deep down, I think I already know. I have often felt that way myself, without the leash, of course.


There's Nothing Quite Like It. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Walk yourself, or take your dog. Either way, it's good. There is joy everywhere.

Daily Inspiration 8-8-14

"Stop giving energy 

to the things 

you don't believe in." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

Continuing with Wayne Dyer's book, There's A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem, the chapter 4 title is the quote above and it leaped off the page at me hitting me right between the eyes so to speak. I know that there are many things that I don't really believe in, yet I have given them far too much energy anyway, and it wasn't to my benefit in the least.

At the top of this chapter, there is a wonderful and telling quote by Michelangelo where he says, "I began to understand that the promises of the world are for the most part vain phantoms and that to have faith in oneself and become something of worth and value is the best and safest course." We so often give energy where it does us only harm and forget the true power that we have in ourselves and in our connection to God or the Universe in the process.

Wayne tells us, "keep in mind the central principle that guides your lifetime in this material universe--as you think so shall you be--seven little words that form the basis for transforming your life. Everything begins with a thought." He adds, "How you look upon the world and the images you have within you determine what you will get in your life. And make no mistake about it, all your thoughts form a bastion of energy that you radiate outward to create the circumstances of your life."

This particular post speaks to harnessing our own innate power by giving our energy to what we want rather than to what at the moment is called reality. Since everything begins in the invisible, for us to focus on the visible and use that as a determination of how we are going to feel or act, is just what Michelangelo was referring to I'm sure. He was choosing to focus on his own power, his own connection to God rather than to what he sees around him in the world.

In our "real world," we might be a salesperson who is not doing so well and is focused on the "reality" of not doing so well and creating fantasies of what the bosses are thinking and when the ax will fall and a hundred other scenarios. But, if we trust that we are in this position and that we have access to the power of God through our connection there, and we know that God is good and wants nothing but good for us, how can we possibly get so down? Only by looking at what we don't believe in. Or, is it that we do believe in that and not the connection with God or the Universe?

There are untold numbers of references I could entertain here about business and personal relationships, even International conflicts. It all comes down to what we choose to give our energy to. Truly, others only make choices for us when we relinquish control to them, otherwise, we are in full control--and in all cases, we are in full control of what we choose to think.


We Can Trust Ourselves And Our Connection To Source, Or We Can Choose Otherwise. It Is Always A Choice. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Accept your power and make your own choices.

Daily Inspiration 8-7-14

"It takes great learning 

to understand that all things, 

events, encounters, and 

circumstances are helpful." 

-- A Course In Miracles 

Wayne Dyer states in his book, There's A Spiritual Solution For Every Problem: "Great learning is an understatement! It takes great faith and courage to begin to view our lives in this way."

Later, he goes on to say, "Our conditioning is so strong that we often have far greater faith in our problems than we do in our ability to no longer have them. We often display a much greater faith in the power of cancer, heart disease, or AIDS than we do in the power to heal them."

To put it all in context, he says, "Our best thinking is exactly where all our so-called problems exist. If we couldn't think about them, they would not exist." And he adds, "You cannot send problems out of your life by attacking them or understanding them in more depth."

What I find true in many cases is that we want to attack them, or prior to attacking them, we want to fully understand them and all the ramifications that may be involved. This is particularly true of disease. I know this from experience that studying it has little or no effect on healing, but it has a huge effect on continuing along that path.

Solutions require different thinking than examining or discussing the problem. As Albert Einstein said so well long ago, "The significant problems we face cannot be solved at the same level of thinking which created them."

The easiest way to solve problems without losing our sanity is simply to acknowledge them as what they appear to be, bless them for what benefits they may contain, and then let go of them so that we can change our focus to solutions instead of focusing on problems. Once acknowledged and then appreciated, they become less of an issue already and this more naturally leads us toward the answers we thought we were seeking, but in truth, we were just beating the drum of the problem in lots of different ways. Hence, letting go is the best place to begin.


All Problems Are Mired In The Past. Solutions Are In The Present. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by connecting with people today and giving them your love and attention.

Daily Inspiration 8-6-14

"By recognition of its existence, 

we invite the power to be known by us." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

I was just beginning another Wayne Dyer book from 2001 called, There Is A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem, and on page 5 of the first chapter, I ran across some outstanding advice that goes way beyond just this book, but is a perfect affirmation or statement to God or the Universe for a lot of things that we perhaps know a little bit about but not much more.

Here's the quote: "For example, in this first step when you are faced with a problem, I suggest that you create a personal affirmation such as: 'I may not know exactly how to access the spiritual solution here, but I fully recognize that a spiritual solution exists.' By recognition of its existence, we invite the power to be known by us."

I don't know about you, but I know in my life that when I have a problem (and that is a very wide field), I am constantly seeking solutions through thinking, logic, comparing the past with the present, hoping for a better future, and so much more. In all respects, I am trying to solve it myself--and frankly, not doing a very good job of it either.

But with the sage advice of Dr. Wayne Dyer and others, we can simply accept that we don't have the answers, give it to God or the Universe so to speak, and allow the answers to come from a place we may not fully understand.

In real-world terms, it is like a guy (like so many of us 'guys') who is a bit lost on a trip and yet refuses to ask for help for directions. We 'guys' know of what I speak. We think we can figure it out. After all, how hard can it be? I used to be a pilot so I know north, south, east and west and I can sort of see myself from above to aid me finding things, but then, sometimes I can't. Even on a recent trip to SoCal when I got lost at around midnight, I thought I knew what to do. But, truly, I needed help.

So Wayne's advice is wonderful because it encourages us to allow for help from the source, or rather the Source of everything who has the power and the full knowledge of what we need when we need it. And, even though we get in the way and try to take charge sometimes, the real answer for us is in letting go and letting God.


I Am Open To Guidance And Support. I Recognize The Power That Exists That Is In Full Support Of Me. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by going from not feeling so good to feeling a little bit better, then a little bit more and more, until soon enough, you are in joy. So INJOY!

Daily Inspiration 8-5-14

"Hope is independent 

of the apparatus of logic." 

-- Norman Cousins 

Hope is such a turning point for so many people. It alone can make the difference between a person continuing to live or choosing to die as Viktor Frankl explained in his book, Man's Search For Meaning.

Hope is also the turning point in the scale of human emotions where it turns from negative to positive emotions. There are many emotions higher on the scale than hope and all the negative ones are below it, so it becomes the emotion of change in that respect.

Our ego loves logic to help make sense in a strange and varied world, and hope could care less about logic. Since hope and optimism are in the same vicinity of each other, I love this quote by Norman Cousins where he says, "optimism doesn't wait on facts. It deals with prospects." Neither hope nor optimism needs logic or facts, and frankly, that is their ultimate power to help us change.


"The Capacity For Hope Is The Most Significant Fact Of Life. It Provides Human Beings With A Sense Of Destination And The Energy To Get Started." -- Norman Cousins 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply appreciating everything and everyone around you today. Mentally find things to appreciate and watch what happens.

Daily Inspiration 8-4-14

"The only person 

whose respect you need 

is your own." 

-- Alan Cohen 

Once we have our own respect, it seems ridiculous we wouldn't also have that of others. It seems to me that this is the best place to start: within.


R-E-S-P-E-C-T   Y-O-U-R-S-E-L-F! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to expand and flow. Sprinkle some here, some there, a little all around today. People are craving it and don't even know it.

Daily Inspiration 8-3-14

"What you get 

is what you choose to see." 

-- Albert K Strong 

The whole idea of right and wrong has created unlimited fantasies. It also seems that it is like human nature to focus on what is wrong in a misguided attempt to make it right somehow. Another fantasy. Carl Jung put it so well a long time ago when he said, "what you resist persists." The harder we push against something, the larger it becomes. The more we fight something, the stronger it becomes. There is no percentage of success in pushing against or fighting anything in the hopes of making it something we do want instead of something we don't want.

Fighting cancer is made to sound like a fight worth fighting, yet cancer is now one of the largest enterprises in the history of the world. Billions of dollars are involved. Wars have been fought since the dawn of time and somehow we fantasize that "right" won out over "wrong," or good over evil and so on. George Bernard Shaw put it well by saying, "war does not decide who is right but who is left." The war against drugs has actually increased drugs, rather than decreasing it. In fact, there are so many laws against things that have just made them more.

None of these attempted remedies work and will never work because they are pointed in the opposite direction. They are focused on what is not wanted instead of simply turning and focusing on what is wanted instead. Cancer is not cured by fighting it, promoting it, studying it. Cancer is cured by focusing on health, not the illness. We don't win wars by having bigger and better weapons of mass destruction. There are no winners in war. All are winners in peace.

The other thing to remember, or realize is that there are certain benefits to fighting against things. Most of those benefits are economically focused. If there were no benefits, there would be nothing to fight over.

In any case, it is never what is outside, but what is inside that counts. It doesn't matter what we may perceive others doing to us, or circumstances or things happening to us or catching or contracting this or that, and it doesn't matter who's fault it is because blame is also on the outside. What matters is only how we think about those things and then choose to believe or do by what we choose to focus on.

In my own life, like most others probably, I have found it so much easier to find fault, persecute and inflict who is wrong, speak about eradicating all the evils in the world, and generally becoming more aware and spreading awareness about things we don't really want. I've often grown weary of pushing against things and especially noticing what is not right, or not right yet. With this attitude, it seemed like it never would get right.

Now, I am turning. I have been playing with turning for some time now and have been practicing it, wanting it to become natural in me. It's not how I was taught, but it is what I have now learned, and it feels so much better. The value of my emotions is telling me in which direction I am focused. This helps me to realize I am in total control of my choices of focus. I am now regularly making better choices for me. I will let the rest of the world do as they please.


It's Not Hocus-Pocus. It's Focus-Focus. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by focusing on what you want rather than what you do not want.

Daily Inspiration 8-2-14

"There is no passion 

 to be found playing small-- 

in settling for a life that is less than 

 the one you are capable of living." 

-- Nelson Mandela 

In taking a few minutes to look back on my life, I can see that I have done a lot of things, learned to do things I didn't know how to do, took risks, often followed my passion, and in the rear view mirror, it all came out perfectly, although, at the time, it may not have appeared that way.

Yes, I have done a lot of things, a lot of different kinds of jobs, except. . .

Except for those things that I couldn't figure out how to do. Except for those things that I didn't feel qualified, or even worthy of doing. Except for those things I was afraid of.

One list may look long but it is really short in comparison to the other. . .


I Wonder What That Other List Would Have Been Like. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by reaching out to at least one person you haven't talked to in a while. Since you're on a roll, you might try two. . .

Daily Inspiration 8-1-14

"Judgments prevent us from seeing 

the good that lies beyond appearances." 

-- Wayne Dyer 

The ego is very strong and often taken for granted in our lives. Because the ego wants to be number one and everyone else is secondary, judgment of others is a given, and often those judgments are based on assumptions and poor information. Yet, allowing the ego to control us is our own choice. We can choose to let it rule or we can rule.

Today, I went downtown and on the way back I had the passenger window down for Charlie to hang his nose out in the air. At a stoplight, the car behind the car beside me had a lady yelling with anger about this and that and that and this. I thought maybe she was on the phone with someone but I could not see her from my vantage point. She went on for the length of the entire red light.

As the light turned green and we began moving, I was curious to see the person in the car, but they got in behind the person behind me and I did get a glimpse from my mirror as they got in the turn lane to turn left. It was a man and a woman and the woman was on the passenger side. At first, I thought how loud it must have been in his ear for me to hear it two cars up! It was obvious that she was extremely upset and in disagreement with someone.

It would have been normal for me to think what a loudmouth she was and fantasize about why she might have been upset, or to think she is just crazy or something else. At that moment, I thought about loving everyone else on the planet, and I decided to send her love mentally and spiritually. I was lifting her up to her highest self and pictured her bathed in the glow of the love of the Universe, encouraging her to accept it and benefit from that better feeling perspective. I did that for about a mile or two after they turned.

Then I realized that rather than making up judgments about others where ever they find themselves in their travels, that I would simply offer loving thoughts and uplifting thoughts just in case it helps in some mystical way. Who knows if it works or not? I'm not sure that even matters. What matters most is that it works for me.


The Power Of Love Is Undeniable. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by sending your loving thoughts vocally or silently.