Daily Inspiration 3-20-15

"Whose permission do you need?" 

-- Alan Cohen 

I love this quote by Alan Cohen. Indeed. Whose permission do I need?

The vast majority of the time in my life and careers, I have not asked permission. I just did it. Once I knew the basic guidelines, I would go off and do, and then often rewrite the guidelines along the way.

As I look back at all the things I did, that had I asked permission, may not have happened at all, such as:

• I never would have become a sales manager. 
• I never would have opened a successful music store. 
• I never would have created two massively successful commercial truck operations at two dealerships. 
• I never would have stocked colored trucks, which became approximately 40% of my entire upfitted truck inventory including every color the factory offered plus a couple SEO colors. 
• I never would have stocked a lot of options, different kinds of truck bodies, created our own flatbed model, and much more. 
• I wouldn't have been number one in the Pacific Coast Region, or in the top 50 nationwide. 
• I never would have gone to work for a truck body company and stayed for ten plus years loving the work and more than this, the freedom I had never known. 
• I never would have started my own business in the middle of a recession that employs now eight people and has grown every year since 2008. 
• I never would have written the book, Commercial Truck Success that is helping others across the country since 2012. 
• I never would have become a songwriter and have written a couple hundred songs. 
• I never would have opened a recording studio, or recorded an album in one. 
• I never would have been an eBay seller now since 2004. 

I never would have. . . .done so many things in my life that have made me what and who I am today. I would say that at least 75% of the things I have done, I did not ask permission for. There were a few times that I was questioned about why I made certain choices, and I always had a good answer to that question. I wasn't afraid to make the decision or to face any potential consequences. And, the interesting thing about that is that there was so little in the form of consequences that mattered, that it isn't worth discussing.

My boundaries were continually expanding. With respect, of course. I didn't act out or make decisions that I knew might harm. I was aggressive, yet considerate, bold yet focused on the betterment of the company I worked for. If I had it to do again, I would make the same decisions. As a result of my lack of permission, I have made most of those I worked for many millions.


How About You? Are You Asking Permission? Or Are You Making It Happen! 

Spread Some Joy Today--You have my permission. Nah. . . you don't need permission.

Daily Inspiration 3-19-15

"Anyone who is in a place of lack-- 

no matter how much action they offer-- 

attracts more lack. 

Any action that is offered from a place of lack

is always counterproductive. 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

In all my years of sales management, I've seen a lot of salespeople who have such a hard time making good. They try and try and try and so often come up short. In my most recent wisdom, I realize that this came from their belief in lack, or rather, more accurately, their focus on lack.

Oh sure, they would say that they wanted more sales, more income, better performance, but that is not where their focus was. Their focus was on the fact that it hasn't happened yet. It was a need much more than a desire. If they had put that same focus on the success aspect of what they wanted, they would have done better.

I've seen several movies and have even heard it from others that a salesperson in debt is a good thing because they are then more motivated to get up, get going and make good. That's a bunch of crap as far as I'm concerned. It's a bad philosophy to motivate from a position of lack. Debt can be another word for lack depending on one's point of view on the subject.

In my first situation as a young salesman, we had a guy come to work who owned a camper shell company, but that business was not doing so well at the time. He was quite good as a salesman and did very well. He carried two uncashed paychecks in his wallet at all times. Money was not such a need for him, but it was more about him doing something productive with his time and having a return based on that. If he needed the money so much, he would have cashed those checks. He turned what he was doing into fun. What do you suppose those uncashed checks meant to him? How do you imagine having them caused him to feel?

Here's a great way to look at what we want from Abraham & Esther Hicks: "Rather than saying, "I want more money," say instead, "I want to feel my financial well-being." You see, it is possible to feel an increased sense of financial well-being even before the money comes. But when you are focused upon the desire for the money and taking score of the absence of the money, you are Vibrationally defeating your own purpose."

We often think it is circumstances, or action, or heredity, or randomness, and it may seem strange and hard to believe initially, but everything we want, along with the things we do not want is all about emotion. And it is our thinking causing the emotion, so it all begins with a thought and our point of view or point of attraction.

We will struggle mightily on a diet to lose weight while we believe we are fat or overweight. It is why we buy things on credit to try to have that feeling of well-being, and then the debt from that action carries greater weight on us. However, if we begin with the thought and focusing on the feeling of well-being; the feeling of being thin or thinner; the feeling of a healthy body; the feeling of successful accomplishment; the feeling of joy; the feeling of love; the feeling of being in love; the feeling of loving ourselves; the feeling of what we want, we can get to where we want to go with ease and fun.

It is not only possible, but it is also virtually certain that if we can develop the feeling of what we want without any of the feelings of what we do not want interfering, that which we want will come to pass. In other words, focusing on what we want, and paying no attention to what we do not want. It's okay to notice what we do not want because by knowing what we do not want, we know more what we do want. But to focus there kills what we do want.

In other words, to focus on the fact that I don't actually have the money I want, or the thinness that I want or the health that I want, or whatever it is that I want, keeps me away from what I do want. To get what I do want, that is where I need to focus, see it, believe it, feel it now as if it already was until it is. And the way to do this with ease instead of struggle is to constantly choose better feeling thoughts that cause me to feel good.


"Nothing Is More Important Than That You Feel Good, For When You Feel Good, You Are In Harmony With Your Greater Intent." -- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Spread Some Joy Today--by feeling what it feels like to be joyous.

Daily Inspiration 3-18-15

"It is not through struggle and effort 

and trying that resistance is released, 

but instead through distraction 

and releasing and relaxing." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

A long time ago, I was the equivalent of a journeyman level auto mechanic. I had two years of auto shop class in high school and then became an auto mechanic in the Air Force working on cars, and a lot of trucks big and small. Knowing what I know from that hands-on experience, I so appreciate a good auto mechanic today. Cars have steadily become more a combination of sophisticated electronics and even more complicated mechanical features, let alone, a plethora of options that didn't exist when I was a mechanic. My hat is off to them.

It can be a frustrating experience to diagnose a situation and then have the solution be incorrect, or insufficient. Trying to find out what the onboard diagnostics are actually saying can be a challenge for even the best of mechanics.

One thing I learned in the Air Force about frustration when it comes to finding out what the real problem is so that a solution can be given, is that frustration can become an attitude. I don't like that this thing I do not want is happening, I don't know what to do about it, and I don't want to deal with this right now. We've all been in the vicinity of that scenario, maybe even hundreds of times. And, the reality of being there causes the solution too often to get further away from us, causing, even more, frustration.

What I learned was that the attitude of the diagnostician is critical to the correctness of the diagnosis and the end result of an accurate and speedy repair. We happened to have three such people in our shop. One was the shop foreman who was a calm, confident, and knowledgeable Tech Sergeant who always seemed to have a cup of coffee in his hand. Another was an older civil service veteran, and the last was a young guy my age who came to the shop the same time I did.

This young guy seemed to be happy almost all the time. He laughed a lot and studied his stuff and became in a short time the go-to guy for diagnosis issues. I'll never forget one such issue where several of us tried to solve it, and he stepped in and found it in short order and found a very unique problem in an unanticipated area. It ended up being a piece of carbon stuck in a valve that was part of the early 70's emission system. Remove the little piece of carbon, and the problem left, and the solution came.

The thing that I remember the most about this man and this situation along with others that I watched him take charge of was the attitude with which he approached the problem. He got excited. Frustration was something he didn't even allow. He was interested and challenged in a very positive way. He went at it as if he were mastering a game. It was fun for him. He loved what he was doing, and you could tell by his demeanor that he enjoyed himself, and enjoyed the opportunity to figure it out.

That scenario is embedded in my mind. He was an inspiration to me. I wanted to emulate that attitude toward problems. And, it is also how Abraham & Esther Hicks suggests is the best way to find solutions as well. They state that frustration is a lot of resistance, and here's a quote to end this with that puts it in perspective:

"To be in your natural state of love and appreciation does not require lovable objects for you to focus your attention toward, but only an absence of resistance, which is the only thing that can hinder or mute your natural state of love and appreciation and Well-Being. In the absence of resistant thought, your Vibration returns to its natural state of power and clarity and love. 

In the absence of resistant thought, your true nature of resilience and replenishment and vitality returns. In the absence of resistant thought, your true nature of eagerness and joy and fun returns. 

It is not through struggle and effort and trying that resistance is released, but instead through distraction and releasing and relaxing. 

Over time, your appreciation for the question will become equivalent to your appreciation for the answer, and your appreciation for the problem will become equivalent to your appreciation for the solution. And in your newfound ease with what-is, you will find yourself in the state of allowing what you truly desire. And then, all manner of cooperative components will reveal themselves to you in a delicious co-creative dance of Deliberate Creation." 


My Attitude Toward Contrast Or That Which Is In Front Of Me Has Much To Do With What Happens Next. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Because it feels good. There is no better reason.

Daily Inspiration 3-17-15

"What is the definition of procrastination? 

It means: I can feel within my Energy sensor 

that this action is not in perfect alignment at this time." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

All this time, I thought that procrastination was a felony and according to Abraham, it isn't even a misdemeanor. In fact, it's not even a negative at all. And heretofore (that's such a fun word), I've been feeling bad about it, thinking I should, I could have, I'm lazy, afraid, and well. . . a whole pile of emotions that are not on the positive scale.

So now, "I can feel within my Energy sensor. . . (I got the feelin', the feelin' deep inside...) that this action (I've been putting off, rethinking to the max, fretting over endlessly, and more) is not in perfect alignment at this time." Hallelujah! I'm not only off the hook, but I'm also seeing a much bigger picture! It's just not the right time. My Energy isn't aligned. I'm not ready.

The next thing, now that I'm off the hook for all those negative emotions about procrastination, is to let go of it, not worry about it at all, just let it go, for now, move on to what I am ready to do, stop thinking it to death, it will all be okay.

Hey, everything is always working out for me! Don't worry, be happy!


I'm Assigning It To My Universal Manager To Deal With, While I Go Off And Enjoy My Day! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Letting go is more often a positive thing that many think.

Daily Inspiration 3-16-15

"Thinking is 

 the hardest work there is, 

which is probably the reason 

so few engage in it." 

-- Henry Ford 

Well, I'm sure that Henry was a little full of himself when he said that about thinking. What he probably meant to say was that focus is the hardest work there is, not thinking. Thinking cannot be helped. It is something we do without even paying attention. Of course, maybe he meant that so many are just not paying attention. At any rate, thinking is not hard work. It isn't even work in any way. We all do it all day long.

Matter of fact, our thoughts often wander the hallways of the planet while we may be in the other room. If we were to even pay attention to every thought we had, we would have no time to do anything else.

After reading Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now, I've started paying attention to whether or not I am in the present. I just sort of play with it because I don't want to make it any kind of work or even a need. So, I simply try to pay attention to what I am thinking and feeling.

Today, I took Charlie out for a walk. It was about a mile and during that time, I had plenty of thoughts. As I would notice a thought, I would gently try to bring myself back to the present by noticing something around me--cars, trees, leaves moving, a breeze washing over my body, and such. Back and forth I went between presence and being in the head as Eckart Tolle calls it.

In order to be in the present, I need to realize that I am there or not there. If I am there, I enjoy it. If I am not there, I want to spend more time in the present, and this is a desire, so I gently guide myself away from being in my head to the being in the present moment. I have plenty of time after the walk to think about tasks, issues, ideas, and all manner of thinking. The present is now and my true enjoyment is also now, so that is where I want to be.

I have noticed that when I am focused on nature, I feel good. In fact, I would have to say I feel joyful. As I am even feeling nature with my eyes closed, I feel the same way. Other noises going on like children playing outside, a weed whacker at work, and even the ice cream truck won't take anything away at all.

This focus is simply a choice. Everyone chooses their focus. Everyone chooses their thoughts. What it really comes down to in the end is what is your desire at this time in your life. Henry Ford was absolutely passionate about what he did and what he wanted to do. He saw things done before they were even conceived. To him, that was thinking.

Yet, we are all passionate about something, or even many things. When we are that way, time does not even exist, and we are drawn to what we want to do. Henry probably saw a lot of people around him who didn't have the same passion that he did. Their passions were somewhere else. That is perfect. Whatever draws you to focus on it with passion puts you immediately in the present. You're not distracted. You're focused. You're passionate. You're alive. You're thriving.

And, all of this comes back to your desires--the things, ideas, and situations that draw you to them, encouraging and allowing your focused attention, and your passion.

Whatever those things are in your life, you owe it to yourself and everyone you care about to love that until you don't anymore. Those things draw life to you, and make you more and engage your passion and you thrive. With this, you become more to those you care about. 


Thinking Isn't Hard Work. It's The Easiest And Most Common Thing In The World. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your passion to focus. That is power and grace.

Daily Inspiration 3-15-15

"The power of affirmations 

is telling a new story  

until it becomes your story." 

-- Albert K Strong 

Some may think affirmations are silly, and sometimes they feel that way, to begin with, but there is a real power in affirmations.

My favorite affirmation has become, "Things are always working out for me!" Or, things are always working out for us, or our business, or our family, etc."

I have to tell you that this affirmation that I accepted from Abraham, Esther Hicks has made a huge difference to me and the way things turn out.

I'm getting to the point where I say it to myself all the time, and I say it aloud quite often as well. And, you know the best part? Things are always working out for me. It's uncanny how since I started using this in earnest that things actually are working out for me.

If you have a mind to try it for yourself, please do. I think after a few weeks, or maybe a couple of months, or maybe even a few minutes, you will find that it makes a difference to you and in your life.


Enjoy The Difference That This Little Idea Contains. 

Spread Some Joy Today--How can you not be joyous when things are always working out for you?

Daily Inspiration 3-14-15

"I want to put a ding in the universe." 

-- Steve Jobs 

Absolutely! Steve Jobs did put a ding in the Universe, and in our own way, probably much different than his, we do as well, just by being you. That is how he did it too.


Enjoy Your Journey. When It Really Comes Down To The End, No One Is Better Than Another. We Are Equal In Our Contribution, But Perhaps On Different Scales Of Measurement. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply enjoying yourself today. No rules. No problems. Just Enjoyment.

Daily Inspiration 3-13-15

"We would trust the feeling 

more than the words." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

I wanted to share a fascinating quote by Abraham, Esther Hicks, recorded at a workshop in Houston, Texas on January 13th, 2001. I think it is a very important way to view people:

"If you feel drawn to someone, but you are annoyed because you think that they are telling you some lies, try to look beyond the lies and try to focus upon the feeling. People offer all kinds of words for all kinds of different reasons. Most lies are offered to try to keep things in alignment. We're not encouraging it, but the motive behind lying is usually a pretty honorable motive. In other words, when a child lies to their parents, it's usually because they want to be free to do what they want to do, and they don't want their parents to be upset about it. It's about wanting an alignment. Physical ears have a hard time hearing this. You keep talking about "We need to be honest." And we say we don't meet any of you who are honest. Even those who claim to be the most virtuous, are not honest, but your vibration always is. We would trust the feeling more than the words."

I made the last part in italics because this is the part that really jumped off the page at me. The more I allow myself to understand our vibrational world, the more this makes total sense.

Have you ever met someone (or several someones) that you liked but because of the way they talked or acted, you had no desire to be around them, associate with them, or be friends with them? I have, and now it makes sense to me why I felt that way. It was because I was sensing the vibration of something good about them.

Now in my growing wisdom, I recognize this more easily and then I bless them in my mind and do what I can to send appreciative vibrations to them.

Sometimes people are really full of it, but by sensing their vibration, you may "see" that what they are offering physically is just a smokescreen meant to impress or protect. Underneath it all, they are just like us.


We Can All Use The Benefit Of The Doubt, And We Can All Use More Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding a way to feel good today no matter what is going on around you or around the world. There is nothing more important to our health, well-being, and prosperity than feeling good.

Daily Inspiration 3-12-15

"When you are grateful-- 

when you can see what you have-- 

you unlock blessings to flow into your life." 

-- Suze Orman 

Many people just aren't ready for gratitude to be bestowed on them. Instead, they are more ready for an explanation, justification, being prepared for an attack, and apprehensive of others, their motives, their agendas, and such. And little do they know that such joy and gratitude lay just beyond the horizon of their view.

Yesterday I briefly mentioned being aware, or as Eckhart Tolle calls it, becoming awake, or having an awakening. All that means is that you open up to a much wider view than you had before. We go about our lives sometimes in oblivion. Not paying attention to anything more important than getting there quickly, getting our needs met, and getting on with it. So, who has time for gratitude? And, really, who means it when they say it anyway? That stuff is for weirdoes.

Welcome to the world of weirdo's. I am on the board of directors of this group. I rejoice in my weirdness. Weirdo's rule!

I love this quote by Jack Kornfield, who said, "Those who are awake live in a constant state of amazement." Even a year or two ago, I might have thought that this sounded good, but I wouldn't have been able to relate very well. Even though I've grown and let go and become so much more, that statement was a little hard to swallow.

No more.

I'm beginning to live my life exactly like that--in a constant state of amazement. And, I have to tell you that it is beyond wonderful, totally joyful, and extremely uplifting.

I was just driving home this afternoon from an appointment and I found myself thanking the State of California in my mind for the adjustment they made to the onramp at the Alamo Drive westbound onramp. It used to be scary and a problem, and now it is a total breeze, and way safer. Then I was thanking God for the bit of rain we had today. It wasn't much, but it helped clear the air, create strong fragrances that are so delightful just after a bit of rain, the green grass on the typically brown hillsides, the feel of the day as it was totally delighting me.

Then I was thanking the State again for this wonderful freeway that they have done so much work on to improve. It used to be so bumpy and now that is gone.

I was being thankful for the great car I was driving, how reliable and comfortable it has been and it still runs like the day I bought it. I looked over at Charlie totally enjoying the smell of the air and the breeze flowing over him in the seat next to me.

Some might think I've become silly, and they are right. I am. I'm silly with joy much of the time in almost every circumstance.

Yesterday, we signed up an auto dealer for our Trend Setter Package to be of service helping expand their relatively new commercial truck department. I was telling the main contact how grateful and excited I was to have them join us because I have wanted this for a long time. It is in the same city I live in and the same city where years ago I built a huge and massively successful commercial truck department, but it fell to ashes and no one ever picked up the ball. Now, this is the right dealer to do that and I am more than thrilled to be of service toward a very successful end.

I am almost in constant gratitude as I drive around, as I sit at my computer, which I do a lot, looking out the window at the sky, looking around the room at my things and how grateful I am to have had them, as well as grateful to let them go.

I think about my wife now passed a year and a half or so and am so grateful to have been a part of her life. I full well know that she is still with me, though just not physically. She is also in a far better place now. She too is in constant joy and love and I delight in that fact. She left me her dog, Charlie to take care of, and Charlie and I have become inseparable. He is a delight to me and my wife knew that he would be, even though it seemed like he hated me when she was here. So protective, he was. (Yoda talk).

Well, I could go on for days with what I am grateful for. The world is chock full of delight when you see that way. Are you growing in gratitude? Are you seeing the miraculous in the everyday? Toilet paper, towels, hot showers, running water, ice without opening the refrigerator, microwave ovens, concrete, clouds, rain, snow, weather, sunshine, a light breeze, music. OMG! It's everywhere. And, most of it is free or costs little. Just look around with eyes of gratitude and you will be amazed.


It Was All There Before, But Now It Has Changed. Or, Was It Me? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by seeing the joy that surrounds and fills your life just waiting for you to acknowledge it.

Daily Inspiration 3-11-15

"No one experiences freedom

until they stop pushing against others. 

The only thing that binds you 

is the pushing against that which is unwanted." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

Sometimes I see people who are sort of hung up with the past. They would love to go back and fix whatever it is that is still bothering them here today, regardless of how long ago it was. I used to do a lot of that myself. "I wish I would have. . . . It would be better if only. . . . and well, you get the drill probably.

Lewis Carroll said, "I can't go back to yesterday--because I was a different person then." And, I like how Robert Tew relates to the past: "No matter how much you revisit the past there's nothing new to see." Both well stated.

So, back to the quote, I began with about experiencing freedom. Pushing against others who have differing opinions, or even strong beliefs, or pushing against something in the past creating regret today, or pushing against an ideology, or an entity I might disagree with in their intentions or philosophy or operating practices--all of that keeps us bound in negative emotion, and held voluntarily; albeit, perhaps unknowingly from our joy, which is our ultimate state along with that feeling of love, empowerment, and of course, freedom.

Eckhart Tolle calls it awakening and becoming conscious, and others have somewhat different terms for it, but I call it awareness. In any case, it is as seeing all that is around us with new eyes. It's also interesting that I have found that place and have been increasingly there now for several years.

That quote by Lewis Carroll is so wonderful and so true for me in that I cannot even go back as short a distance as yesterday because I was a different person then. And, as such, I have learned to stop pushing against anything in my past, and instead, celebrate it as it was perfect for me at the time with what I knew and who I was then. It's like looking back at a path that has led me here and it is good. In other words, there is not anything in the past any more that is out of place. It is all good now regardless of how I used to view it.

As I go through my day, I might find things that I don't like. This is perfect. Life is contrast helping to guide me to what I really want and in knowing what I don't want, this causes me to know what I do want, so that thing that I don't like, is perfect guidance, and therefore, there is no reason at all to push against it, but rather just accept it gladly knowing its presence is actually helpful for me. 

I'm aware, and more important to me, is that I am practicing. I practice noticing what I'm feeling. I practice paying attention to something that I don't like. I practice seeking what I do like. I practice being freer by experiencing and celebrating more joy in my life. Conversations are totally different than they used to be. I listen more with less judgment and instead find things to appreciate. Instead of focusing on what is wrong, I look for things that are right. I see now with different eyes and I am awake to all that is going on around me and within me. And, this freedom is so fantastic that I revel in this change in me.

One last tidbit from Abraham & Esther Hicks: "Be excited about what is. Speak appreciation about what is, without justifying what is by pushing against everything else, then in all of the differences, you find exactly what you are reaching for." [slightly paraphrased]


My Own Awareness Has Been A Complete Game Changer. Plus, Now It Truly Is More Of A Game. 

Spread Some Joy Today--in your appreciation of that joy within you.

Daily Inspiration 3-10-15

"If you're going to say 

 what you want to say, 

you're going to hear 

what you don't want to hear." 

-- Roberto Bolano 

Feedback has become such a big deal--way bigger in most cases than it deserves. Some call it C.S.I. (Customer Satisfaction Index), some a feedback number, or rating, and some it is a star rating such as eBay, and such. Then there are other companies that began just to create a feedback rating such as Yelp.

Since our business deals with the Internet, Yelp is seen as one who can help or hurt depending on the whims of those who give feedback. Auto dealerships rise and fall based on C.S.I. ratings, and many of them have a whole department just to deal with creating the best ratings possible.

Trouble comes from many angles in this idea of feedback ratings. One is that it is always a limited number who respond. and everyone except the respondent hopes that it is positive feedback. Another angle is that some people never give a perfect rating because they don't believe that is possible, and they want to leave an opening for the business they rate to step into this holy ground. Then some are hung up totally on the idea of being honest, and of course, their definition of that is subject for discussion. Then there are those who like to slam others as a way of acting out revenge knowing full well that their rating will harm the business, at least a little.

So this whole idea of rating has questionable value and is certainly fraught with issues and idiosyncrasies.

I've done a lot of business on eBay in the past and as of today have a star rating of 11,401. But, I actually have received 12,008 feedback, but some are not included in my rating. Next, I have left 16,174 feedback ratings for others. This means that there is almost 5,000 missing on my rating. So, not all leave feedback. Next, I've received only less than 10 negative feedback, and not a single one is deserved. My eBay policy is to go so far out of my way to fix any issue that it would be impossible for a reasonable person to give me anything but great feedback. But, that isn't always how the world works out.

I have given a number of Yelp ratings of businesses, a very big number on eBay as I just shared, along with all kinds of feedback on Facebook and elsewhere. But, there's only one rule I have about giving feedback like this: It is always positive.

So, now I get to the real message. What is the value of you giving a business, or anyone else any kind of negative feedback? You think it might help them? Not. You think they might get better as a result? Not. You think you are getting back at them for some disservice to you? Not.

Here's what I believe about giving others feedback, and this is admittedly a very selfish point of view: Always give positive feedback. Or, give none. Why? It has nothing whatsoever to do with the business or the other person, etc. It has to do with me. Here's what I mean. When I give negative feedback, it harms no one except me. Whatever I push against grows in me. If I allow my negative feelings about anything to flourish, I grow more negative. And, if I keep it positive, then I become more positive.

This idea is an old proverb about if you can't say anything nice, say nothing at all, and that is a whole lot of up to date wisdom.

Of course, we find things we don't like. Maybe someone was not courteous, or they botched the job, or you name it. But, again, what real value is our complaint? It's only value is that it keeps that discordance within ourselves longer, and that is not a positive value. We always have the choice to simply do business elsewhere. In fact, a lot of feedback never comes because that is what happened. 

So, here is my advice (not that you asked. . .). Find something positive. Maybe their bathroom was clean and everything else was a bust. If so, focus on the bathroom. It can never be all bad. There has to be something. Maybe the sun was out today and it hasn't been in a while. Whatever you can focus on to find something positive, is of sheer and bright benefit to YOU. It really doesn't matter about the rest. That is because feeling good is among the most important things you could desire. Trying to give them what they deserve is of no value to you. And, it is of no value to them as well.

What is the value of negative feedback to your children? How about your spouse? I would say nil. However, positive feedback will always delight no matter who it is.

If you have to ask people for feedback, do it this way: What did you like or enjoy about our interaction? What did we do well? What do you think we could improve to give you even better service? Don't say, "how did we do?" That is too open. Keep it closer to you. Keep it focused on what was right, done well, and what they would like to see more of or done differently to satisfy them, but we do not want to hear their unsatisfactory story. It has no value to them, and no value to us.


Feedback Is Of The Most Value To Each Party When It Is Positive In Nature. 

Spread Some Joy Today--because it is Tuesday, March 10th, 2015. No better reason is necessary.

Daily Inspiration 3-9-15

"Won't you come into the garden? 

I would like my roses to see you." 

-- Richard Brinsley Sheridan 

In today's world, some businesses are so much bigger, more powerful, and generate dollar sales and profits at unprecedented numbers than those in the past. It might be really easy for us to focus on that aspect of companies such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Amazon, Walmart, eBay, General Electric, Ford, GM, and the list goes on. They certainly do bring in an amount of money that we would find very hard to count or relate to.

How big they are and how much money they bring in is a popular view, and some may even find reasons based on that to push against them, make them into the big bad wolf, talk about them negatively, complain and give all sorts of the little guy versus the big bully kinds of comparisons.

Yet there are many ways to look at this in addition to that perspective.

Do you have any idea how much money other people make from the platform that Facebook built? Or Amazon? Or others? It is in the tens, and hundreds of millions of dollars, even into the billions depending on the company and time measurement. So here's this huge company with huge income that creates huge income for others that they are not even part of, except in that they built something that helps others indirectly, or directly to thrive.

Let's just take Facebook as an example. Try to consider how many people sell services on how to be more effective on Facebook. My own company, for example, uses Facebook as part of our services and is part of how we have any income at all. In addition to that, I pay others to help us on Facebook, from platforms that integrate with Facebook, to paying Facebook directly to boost posts, help create traffic to my client's sites, to sell my book, and much more. The companies who use Facebook as their platform to sell their services on how to improve your business through Facebook are so plentiful and I'm sure you see many trying to get your business in that way.

At the same time, Facebook is a social platform for individuals who may have no interest in doing business on Facebook, yet they enjoy being able to communicate, share words, photos, video, create networks, stay in touch with people and so much more. It is valuable, and it is also value-added.

In other words, Facebook isn't just a big company with a billion or so users, it is an opportunity for tens, hundreds of thousands, even millions. And, they are always changing, expanding, trying to be more of service, making things easier and better, creating greater visual interest, more functionality, and so much more.

There is a similar scenario at Amazon, eBay, Walmart, GM, General Electric, Ford, Twitter, LinkedIn. Some are doing things differently, yet each and everyone is not only in business for themselves, but they are in business for others who do business with them that creates the opportunity to do business at all. So, they serve a very wide spectrum of people and businesses just by having created that business in the first place. And, as they have grown, the opportunities that they have created for customers, suppliers, and other businesses has risen exponentially.

Sometimes people lament the big bad wolf has run the mom and pop businesses out of business, but what is more the reality having lived 65 years and seen lots of mom and pop businesses, shopped at them, and seen much larger businesses that also didn't survive, is that people developed different needs and desires. They wanted more, whether it was more selection, more convenience, or more for their money.

Then businesses were created to meet and exceed those needs and desires, and they thrived as a result of that. This, in turn, created lots of opportunities for others to do business with them and partner in business with them. When those needs and desires are no longer being served by that business, they will soon enough be gone. We have all seen that as well, and even very large ones like F.W. Woolworth, Emporium-Capwell, B. Dalton, K-Mart, Kresge, White Front, Builders Emporium, and more.

It is a good thing to see beyond the surface, to find the "hidden" value, and to find ways to appreciate how some businesses have come to serve millions of people very effectively and efficiently. It might help us to appreciate more things, more people, more businesses, more of life in general, along with appreciating change, how things work out, along with how many different ways we can view a thing or situation.


My Roses Think You're Pretty Special. You've Got A Lot Of Great Qualities. They Can See Deeper Than Most. Thanks So Much For The Opportunity!

Spread Some Joy Today--by looking beyond and seeing more perspectives.

Daily Inspiration 3-8-15

"For everything that falls through, 

something equal or better comes through." 

-- Alan Cohen 

I've come to believe that we often get a little bit crazy about this idea of right and wrong, good and bad, success and failure. If anything would be truer, I think it would be the idea that there is the thing and the lack of the thing; as an example, there would be well-being and the lack of well-being, that we so often call health and sickness.

By looking at the thing and the lack of it, it is easier to see what the real cause of our results in life are--on which of these we focus our thoughts and energies. If we focus on the thing, we will have the thing, and equally, when we focus on the lack of the thing, we will have more of the lack of the thing. That is expanded even more by the help of the Law of Attraction adding more thoughts, circumstances, events to the point of our focus.

As we have a thought or create an action, we will have results. Sometimes the way things might work out, we say that it fell through, or didn't work out. We might think that we made a bad decision, a poor choice, didn't put enough into it, things were happening beyond our control, and a long list of other ways to explain it, and most of them are usually of a negative nature.

However, what if we believed that everything worked out for us? 

Maybe we were looking for The Perfect Decision. Maybe we even asked for opinions and advice of others. Yet, I've come to believe that every decision is a perfect decision and that there is no such thing as The Perfect Decision.

If we were steering a vehicle or vessel through an area of hazards that could harm the vehicle or vessel, would we not be glad to steer clear of them? To find a better way? To see a different path? To adjust to the environment?

In this way, every outcome is a positive outcome. It's not that one outcome is bad and one is good, thereby indicating one choice was right and one was wrong, or that it was a good decision or a poor decision. It is the outcome that guides us, and that is always a positive thing. Even deeper and more important than that, it is our emotions that indicate how we feel about the outcome, and our emotions are our ultimate guidance.

We usually think of this in that when we are feeling good, it was a good decision or good outcome, and when we feel bad or negative about it, then it was a bad decision or poor outcome. Do you think it is possible to feel good about any way the outcome is, or how it turns out? Do you think you could even get excited about the guidance that came from that decision and outcome? I think we can.

It's not about being positive all the time. It's about believing that everything works out for us. In other words, what happened helped us to find a way to thrive, to expand, to become more, and then it actually did turn out perfectly. You have to feel good about that, so there is that good feeling emotion from something that we could have, or probably did in other times, look at with disdain and harsh judgment.

If we believe that everything works out for us, we will know that regardless of what happens, something better is on the way to us; that the next decision will achieve even better good feelings, and we find more and more joy in our travels, making decision after decision knowing full well that every decision is going to work out perfectly for us. 


Everything Is Always Working Out For Me! 

Spread Some Joy Today--because when you really get hold of joy, you will find almost nothing to not be joyful about in one way or another. Joy is a perfect decision.

Daily Inspiration 3-7-15

"I always appreciate beauty, 

and sometimes I get 

to see more beyond that." 

-- Albert K Strong 

Today, I had a brief business meeting at a Starbucks. It's such a convenient place to meet people.

As I was waiting because I was early, I sat over by the wall, playing with my cell phone a bit and watching people come in and out. It was 4pm and it was 77 degrees outside. Such a beautiful day. Then two young women pulled up and came inside. They were very pretty, thin, attractive, both had blond hair, tight jeans, summer type top. Nice bodies, great looking, and even though they were at least 40 years younger, I am not blind to attractive women of any age. So I briefly enjoyed the view.

However, I didn't spend much time thinking about the physical attractiveness of these young women, because something else came through much more strongly. What I saw in them was their joy. They spent time getting ready. The day was gorgeous. They were just out and about enjoying the day, stopping for something at Starbucks. And, they were loving themselves, loving the day, loving the movement, loving the way they looked, enjoying totally how they felt and how the environment felt. They were in joy. And, I was appreciating their joy and the ability to see that in them. There is nothing quite so special as how that feeling that they were experiencing feels, and I was appreciating that feeling I've had before by seeing it in them.

Throughout my little jaunt today, I saw all kinds of people. Some in Starbucks, like a guy who was filling some sacks with sugar packets, putting water into a used water bottle, had a cup of coffee, packed everything up so neatly with two plastic bags and a backpack, and was on his way. He too was enjoying himself. He had a refreshing stop and got some things that pleased him, took care to pack well and back on his way he went. Maybe he was traveling a long distance on a bicycle, or maybe he was an upper scale homeless person. Whatever his story, he appeared to be enjoying himself--as was I noticing that and appreciating him.

My appointment arrived. I've never met him. We talked for a while and found some common things. It could have been very short as he was bringing me something, but we chatted, and I was enjoying it. I could tell that he wanted to talk more, so I relaxed and shared back and forth with him. What a nice guy. I was appreciating him, what he does for his job, how he likes to do things in his business, and much more. It was a great time well spent.

I was only out and about for one and a half hours, and I could write about all the things and people that I appreciated for several pages. I'm sure you don't want to read that far. I will just say that everywhere I went today, stopping at the grocery store, the meeting at Starbucks, stopping for fuel, walking Charlie for a bit, driving in the car looking in the mirrors, watching others in cars, it was all so wonderful. I got home with such a great feeling that is lasting still two hours later writing this.

If you want to feel good, start appreciating what is in your field of view. Then find something else to appreciate. Try to see beyond the surface of what is there. Try to see the feelings under the talk. Pay attention to how you are feeling. Look for people enjoying themselves. See their joy. See their happiness. See their frown and picture it a smile. Praise them with your mind. Uplift them. See beyond the exterior shell that we all have. See and appreciate the human being in the other. Love them the way they are and for who they are inside.


It's A Whole New View Of Your World. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by seeing the joy in others and joining in the party.