Daily Inspiration 2-18-20

"I would not try to motivate someone. 

I would find someone who is motivated." 

-- Alan Cohen 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 10-5-15]

I love this quote and also like how Stephen R. Covey stated it: "Motivation is a fire from within. If someone else tries to light that fire under you, chances are it will burn very briefly."

As I was reading those, my first thoughts were about hiring people to do work. There is a world--seriously, a world of difference between having someone that you feel you have to motivate and having someone who is already motivated. The first is pretty much hopeless, and if not that then helpless.

Then I focused on the words hopeless and helpless, and this caused me to think of homelessness. There have recently been several articles in our local paper about homelessness and what to do about it. The City Council has some grand plans to help these helpless, hopeless people--less because they are in need and more to rid the city of viewing the vagabonds. They call it an eyesore.

This caused me to think that there are many, many programs already in existence to help those in need to go from being homeless back to "normal" life and to help them turn their lives and fortunes around. One of those is a multi-location organization that does this full time including feeding, clothing and rescuing them from their situation.

That brought me back to the motivation quote. When someone wants the work and is interested and even eager, they are a joy to teach and train. They get it. They want it. They respond to it. They do well. When they don't, it's an uphill battle. (Jim Rohn said, "The purpose of training is to find out who you've got." I have found that to be so true!) The homeless or any other group or individuals are in that same place. When they want help, help is there all around them. They cannot miss it. When they don't want help, there is no help to be found because they aren't looking for it. It seems harsh to say they like where they are, but that is the only truth available. We can give it some other names like helplessness, despair, depression, powerlessness and more, but they are just not ready to change.

Alan Cohen says, "There are two elements to true help: Help must be given and it must be received." Somehow we blow right past that second part and put all our attention on the former.

He says, "Real change is accomplished only through a shift in consciousness. That shift can be facilitated by money or action, yet authentic transformation runs far deeper than any material element. Healing is an activity of the soul. When the soul is open and ready, the change will come, and not before. Coaxing and pressure rarely work. Creating a field of wisdom and love does.

If you are trying to help someone, be sure they are ready to be helped. Trying too hard to help someone who is not ready to be helped can delay their transformation and deplete you as a helper. . . It is kind to try to help someone. Sometimes it is kinder to give them space to help themselves." 

The truth of all truths is that we have to want to change in order for us to change. Outside forces can wail at the door, get in our face in so many ways, and tell us the right path to be on, but until they can become us, create from our perspective, their powers are worthless until we decide on our own. When we do, there will be plenty who are willing to be of assistance.


This Applies To Every Single Person On The Planet. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by realizing that all joy comes from within. It is our own choice to have and to share joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-17-20

"You're giving others too much power

as you even acknowledge how

they make you feel. 

What you've got to decide 

is how I'm going to feel." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 10-4-15]

Continuing on relationships. Being in love is a wonderful feeling, and when we leave that feeling up to the other person to create within us, well. . . this is the reason that it is so often short-lived I think. I now realize that doing that is just like how I talk about being a pinball in a pinball machine, totally dependent on the whims and desires of another.

We may often try to do the same with the other. We may try to create, or recreate situations that used to cause heightened feelings of love and now they may not work as well. This is due to the fact that we are trying to have that someone else to feel what we want them to feel and visa versa. That's a hit and miss affair (pardon the pun).

We give the other person too much power over us as we even acknowledge how they make us feel, or how we make them feel. Our feelings are our own. We create them. They are not created by others unless we really like being a pinball.

The better way I have learned is to choose to feel as I will by choosing my thoughts. If I want to feel love, all I need do is choose thoughts of appreciation. That has become my mantra so to speak. It has become my mantra because I have learned how to appreciate. I've learned to appreciate people, things, events, thoughts.

As I appreciate, I feel love. If I wanted to feel more love for someone, I simply find things to appreciate about them. If I want to feel more love within me, I simply find more things to appreciate right now, this moment. It doesn't really matter whether my eyes are open or closed. Either way, I can find things to appreciate.

When I am in that state, it doesn't matter what another or the other is feeling really, and I think you might find also, as I have, that as I am appreciating, I see only what I want to see and what I want to see exists. In other words, if you really wanted to change someone else's mood, attitude, or demeanor, by finding things to appreciate and focusing on that, they change to more match those thoughts. 

Sometimes people struggle with issues between them that are weighing them down, and it feels like a separation. There may be anger, fear, disappointment, unhappiness going on and you don't know what to do to get back to love. I do now. Find things to appreciate right now and focus on those things. Then find more things to appreciate and more things and more things until you are on a rampage of appreciation even. I believe that it is then impossible to stay in that struggle, weighed down, and separation place. When we change, the world changes. When we change, others change.


And, It's All Because We Chose To Choose Our Thoughts. Amazing! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing to feel joy and then choosing to share it.

Daily Inspiration 2-16-20

"The only way you can be happy 

is to decide to be happy."

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 10-3-15]

Today, I'd like to share three paragraphs surrounding this idea of being happy and particularly as it comes to relationships from Abraham, Esther Hicks. To have learned this valuable information when I was much younger would have made such a difference in my own relationships.

"When you attempt to guide your behavior by paying attention to how someone else feels about your behavior, you are powerless because you cannot control his or her perspective, and therefore you cannot achieve any consistent improvement in your own vibration or point of attraction or how you feel."

Wow! The bold is mine because that part of the paragraph just jumped out at me. Of course. I cannot control how someone sees things, because I am not them. The only way I could control their perspective is by being them. They are in control.

"Really, there is nothing that you can do to prevent others from feeling bad because they do not feel bad because of your behavior. There is no greater entrapment in relationships or in life than to attempt to keep others happy by observing their emotions and then trying to compensate with your actions."

Again, just a little phrase jumped off the page at me. They do not feel ANYTHING because of my behavior or anyone else's behavior. Whatever they are feeling is a result of their thought either being in alignment with their inner being or inner knowing and would show up as feeling good, or being out of alignment indicating feeling bad. It isn't me. It is them. At best, it is a personal interpretation of what they think of my behavior. By this thinking and respondent emotion, they are in charge of how they feel about anything.

"The only way you can be happy is to decide to be happy. When you take upon yourself the responsibility of another's happiness, you are attempting the impossible and you are setting yourself up for a great deal of personal discord." 

As we learn how this works, we own our own feelings, and as a result of that knowledge, we are in our best position by allowing all others to own theirs. My emotions are a result of my thinking relative to my inner being, and everyone else is in that same position. This would never mean to stop communication because I think it is now on much more solid ground than it would have been before. That's a place from which to build.


Now We Can Get To The Heart Of The Matter. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by owning how you feel, and deciding to experience joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-15-20

"The rich get richer 

and the poor get poorer." 

-- Common phrase spoken often 

by my Step-Father 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 10-2-15]

Sometimes a thing is so well said, there just isn't any point in trying to say it differently. From TUT, A Note from the Universe by the famous Mike Dooley, whom I have subscribed to for so many years, comes a paragraph that inspires, enlightens, and provides understanding about that all to the common quote above:

"No matter what else you might feel or think, it's working, flawlessly, magically, and without exception. Your thoughts, beliefs, and expectations are the sole cause of the effects of your life. And while this may give you pause and have you wondering why you've not yet met with some of the successes you've sought, let it also empower you as you remember that the floodgates must fly open and the Kingdom must be revealed at the precise moment you release whatever else you might have felt or thought about it not working." 


Sing With Me: Let It Be, Let It Be, Let It Be, Let It Be. Speaking Words Of Wisdom, Let It Be. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--as you are fully enjoying yourself and your surroundings. Isn't it interesting how your surroundings change when you're feeling so good?

Daily Inspiration 2-14-20

"Let joy keep you. 

Reach out your hands

and take it when it runs by.

-- Carl Sandburg

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 10-1-15]

I've talked about joy so many times and each of these daily notes ends with the idea of spreading joy today. Still, today there was a depth of joy that I have not experienced except in very short spurts lasting minutes. Today, however, was magical.

I can't even tell you exactly what caused me to feel how I did today. It began around 9:00 am and is still with me 12 hours later. All-day long, I was in such joy. I had a wonderful lunch with a friend and client and vendor, and I found myself so focused on what he was sharing. I'm not sure I recall listening so intently before. At the same time, I was noticing everything around me. The cooks in the restaurant, the waitress who I know, and who is always so delightful to see.

Then it rained. Well, better stated, it showered. Still, walking in the rain was invigorating and fun. I was laughing all day it seems. At the grocery store, I was walking around as if I was on a cloud and everyone I passed by looked at me with a great big smile and said hi. I was amazed.

Even this morning when a problem developed and I had to be on hold for quite some time, everything flowed so perfectly and was solved with so little effort. I watched a delightful movie, Midnight In Paris again. Such great Woody Allen quips kept me smiling all the way through.

Charlie and I went for a walk and he was feeling it too. It's a bit hard to describe just how joyful this day has been. Now I want to allow more days with that depth of joy. And, I do think that this is the key: to allow. I am beginning to think that it is natural and we just allow it to take over.

I was just thinking that I didn't feel any fear whatsoever today. Not even a tiny one. Nothing. I was more myself than I usually am too. All that is interesting to consider.

The skies were grey all day. It was a cool respite from the heat of the summer all the way through last Monday. Go figure that a gray sky day could be so full of color and warmth.


I Wish For You To Experience A Day As This. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Today I didn't even try. It was impossible not to.

Daily Inspiration 2-13-20

"It may be hard to fathom, 

but in order to move ahead, 

we must let go 

of what we're holding on to." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-30-15]

You're in a situation that you like. You have a good degree of control over things that affect your results, and that is to your benefit and that of your employer. You've been given a high degree of autonomy. You've earned it. You perform. Month in. Month out. You're doing all you can with what you've got to work with. That is pretty much you. You've expanded, even excelled and you feel that you are at the top of your game. And, your game is on top of you. Generally speaking, you're there. You're at the peak. It is increasingly hard to outdo yourself. Yet, you relish the opportunity. You're a player. You're in the game to win. You're a winner, and you're winning.

Now you've demonstrated that kind of performance and profitability; now that they have a habitual taste of it, they want more. Because there is so much more to have. The truth is that no matter your stardom, there is double, triple, quadruple, quintuple that and more available. Once that vision is seen with clear eyes, the natural desire is to seek to experience it. It's time to expand, to become more. 

How is that done? It's done with a team. Adding another person isn't going to get it done. You haven't got time or energy to keep up what you do and try and train or help them get up to speed. They're on their own. They're probably destined for failure in time, or at best mediocrity. It's just the way it so often works. You've been at it for so many years, you got it down. They're new, and maybe even hungry for a time, but the newness wears off. Since you're not managing them, they're managing themselves. Good luck you say. Give it your best shot.

They want you to focus on growing the department, but here's the kicker: they don't want to lose any of your production or gross profits. No, no, no. That will not do. But, how are you going to do that? You already have a full-time job. It's not going to work. You're getting stressed and unhappy about the whole thing. Before you were a happy camper and a happy producer and now, well. . . not so much.

So what's the answer? I know the answer from many, many, many years of experience and observation. You need a team. You need to keep doing what you do and enjoy your life. You're valuable. No one wants to lose you and what you bring to the table. A manager is required. A good one. Plus a couple team members. But, here's another rub: You have to let go of some things that you control. You're going to have to let go of ordering all the inventory in the methods you've been accustomed to. You're going to have to change along with the change in the department. If it is to grow, you have to let go. If it is to grow, you have to let go. If it is to grow, you have to let go. If it is to grow, you have to let go. One more time: If it is to grow, you have to let go.

Being a star producer and an all-around wonderful person is your niche. You're so good at it, they should write a song about it. Being a manager is not your thing. You've done it, but your heart is not there. But if it is to grow, we must have a team. I repeat: We must have a team. A team can produce so much more than just adding people will do. There is no comparison. Now that you've let go, you've also freed yourself to do even better. You have no worries anymore. Someone else is managing the worries. That's what managers are good at--managing. At least good ones are.

Now you can just give advice from your many, many years of star performances. The manager listens. He's not an idiot. He would be devastated if you stopped performing. He needs you. And, you need him. Or her. Now it will grow and it will grow beyond current expectations. Now there is a team and the team will achieve the task at hand. If we want to grow it further, we add another sales team member, the manager guides them, nurtures them, trains them, and manages them. It grows.

If it is to grow, you have to let go. You have to let go of what you're holding on to. The owner has to let go of the resources needed to get this team up to speed. The owner will be amply rewarded. I can pretty much guarantee it. If you let go, it will grow.


That's How It Works. That's The Best Answer. This Is How It Is Done. Professionally. Smart. Poised For Growth. Rocking The World In Your Area. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Get ready. Joy is welling up within you and will come spilling out any second. It's okay to enjoy that alone, but infinitely better to share.

Daily Inspiration 2-12-20

"In this life, there are many value illusions." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-29-15]

It has come to my attention that there are a lot of things that are misconceptions. I'm here to say that we need to see things the way they really are instead of the way we've always thought they were. 

Teaching. Teachers are considered valuable, but teachers really can't teach anything. They can't impart it to someone. No. They can share, but not really teach, at least the way we thought they did. The real value is the learner. When the learner is actively seeking knowledge, it cannot be hidden. It will be found. The real value is learning, not teaching.

There's a lot of books. Books are valuable they say. Really popular books are more valuable because they are popular. Really good books by really smart authors are really valuable. At least that's the way it seems. But, no, that's not where the value is. The value is in the reader. If not for the reader then the book would not be needed. It is reading that is really valuable. When we want to know something, we will stumble across the books that we can add value to. Yes, we add value to the book, not the other way around.

Alan Cohen says, "Success is less about getting good, and more about letting good." In sales, a salesperson can have skills, but mostly they just need a pleasant personality and a desire to aid a buyer in finding what they want. Everyone is looking for a top salesperson, but the real value is in the buyer. No buyer and the best salesperson on the planet is useless. But a real buyer will find a way to buy regardless of the skills of a salesperson. It's the buyer that is valuable.

The speaker is cool, but it is the audience that makes the difference. In a relationship, it is not the talker but the listener. In lovemaking, it isn't the lover as much as the unbridled receptiveness. In performance, it is not the performer as much as it is the responsive crowd.

Both sides have value, but we may often forget which is the most important, where without the one the outcome would be so different. Remember also that when we go to an event, performance and such that we bring so much value in that participation.


Go Add Some Value To A Book, Lecture, Movie, Song, Show, Event. Thank You For The Value You Bring Here. 

Spread Some Joy Today--because it is Wednesday. Wednesday's need some extra joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-11-20

"Resentment is personal: 

 Personal mental punishment." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-27-15]

Resentment is an interesting emotion. It is an attempt to punish someone else for something that they did or did not do that was not in alignment with what we wanted. In other words, we didn't get our way. In other words, it's my way or the resentment highway--the highway of shame, disgust, disappointment.

But, who does it punish? Resentment punishes us. Nelson Mandela said it so well when he said, "Resentment is like drinking poison and hoping it will kill your enemies." Malachy McCourt phrased it a bit differently, and I think in a way that expresses it about most of us very well: "Resentment is like taking poison and waiting for the other person to die." I love that line, "waiting for the other person to die." One might think that will help create patience, but because resentment feeds on resentment, it maintains its own momentum.

I saw this quote from Bell Hooks yesterday: "The moment we choose to love we begin to move against domination, against oppression. The moment we choose to love we begin to move towards freedom, to act in ways that liberate ourselves and others." I know that the answer to resentment is love. In fact, love is the answer to all things because that is what we essentially are. Yet in this quote, though it made its point with me that we need to choose love, I dislike the word 'against' in there. Love is never against anything. Love is not against oppression or domination. Love is not against anything. It allows. There is a world of difference.

So, resentment is blaming others, it is disappointment with an attitude, but resentment doesn't attack. It doesn't close others off but closes us off to others. It is a self-defeating response to our own misalignment. Resentment is a tug-o-war against ourselves. The way to move away from this poisonous emotion is to first let go of the rope. Once the rope is on the ground, we have released most of the tension in our body, and now we can find relief in choosing a thought that feels just a little bit better. Then another that feels just a little bit better, and as we move in these little steps, we can eventually get back to our true selves--love.

What we all want is unconditional love. All of us. Even the meanest looking, meanest acting, meanest spirited of us wants unconditional love. That is the love of God, The Universe, All-That-Is. And yet, love is a gift we give to ourselves. Once we do this; once we experience the unconditional love of ourselves, we then attract it to ourselves. When we fail to love ourselves, even the all-powerful love of God is blocked by us. It is there and ready to flow over us as soon as we allow it in ourselves.

The answer is always, always, always, always love. Getting there from a dark place is done by letting go of the resistance within by ceasing to pull on the rope and instead, just lay it down, then turning toward relief bit by bit until we return to love from which we came.


Allowing Is The Art Of Finding Our True Selves, Which Is Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing yourself to move toward expressing more joy in your life.

Daily Inspiration 2-10-20

"When you let it be the way it is, 

that is when it has the greatest opportunity 

to change into something else." 

-- Bashar 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-26-15]

Let me share the context from which this quote came which came from a question, "What phrases could I use that would be more beneficial to me?":

"How does this serve me--exactly the way it is? Exactly the way it is: how does it serve me? What can I learn? How can I positively learn something from this?" When you let it be the way it is, that is when it has the greatest opportunity to change into something else. If you deny the form in which it comes, then you are not allowing yourself to see what is inherent within it. You are not allowing it to present itself in the way you have created it to present itself. You are denying your own creation. 

Everything is just fine. In what you used to consider the most dire circumstances, let yourself realize everything is just fine. "I'm in control of this; look at how much control I have, to have created such an absolutely exciting scenario. Everything seems to be wild and hither and thither and all over the place, and seemingly wild and unconnected and out of control. But since I know I'm controlling that, look how much power I have." 

Get used to knowing and believing there is a positive manifestation that can occur from every scenario. With no exceptions!.... None. Trust that when [seemingly negative] things occur in your life--if you know you are doing the best you can do at that moment, and those things still occur, then assume it's for a good reason, and let yourself see how it is for a good reason. 

[When you're focused on the negative side], you can't see the positive side of the coin. You can't see it until you choose to look at it. You have to decide consciously that you will look at the positive side of the coin in every single circumstance, or you will not be able to see positive manifestation. If that's the way you choose to look at it, that's the way you'll experience your reality." 

That was shortened from two full pages of text, and yet now that you've read that, let me shorten it further. It comes down to two things:

1. Learn to accept that we all create our own reality, even when it doesn't appear to be the reality we think we want. Awareness and acceptance is critical to our functional well-being.

2. Learn to flow with the go. Yes, I said that backward from the way it is normally said. When we learn to relax and flow with what is happening, we can then learn from it and change it as we will. 

Last Monday, my hard drive on my main computer crashed and burned. The mirror hard drive was useless. For someone who runs an Internet business, this could easily be considered a disaster. That scenario is still unfolding, and won't even be resolved for many more days. You don't want to hear all the details. Trust me. Yet, because I have learned to flow with the go, and that I am in control of my own reality, I am finding the positives that are in this whole affair. I have found some, and I am certain because of the extent of the issue, there are more nuggets to find.

I am not even upset, whereas in the past I would have been ranting, raving, flailing about, blaming everyone and everything I could, demanding things be done, and generally being an unhappy camper. In the meantime, I'm making do with what I have to work with. You don't know the peace this brings me to flow with this go. I am actually appreciative that it happened to demonstrate how I've learned to do this. That's just one of the nuggets, and I look forward to the others as they arrive.


Sometimes Shit Happens, And I Accept Responsibility For That As I Adjust Myself To Flow With The Go. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply being. You are joy. Though you may not always see it or spread it, you are joy. Let it be.

Daily Inspiration 2-9-20

"That's why you have to

let your creativity out

because it has you as a project. 

It's building you, 

creating you." 

-- Elizabeth Gilbert 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-25-15]

Yesterday, I watched a 47-minute interview by Marie Forleo with Elizabeth Gilbert, the author of Eat, Pray, Love, and many other books. They were discussing her latest release, Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. While watching this, I immediately bought the book.

This interview is absolutely delightful. I can't remember the last time I enjoyed an interview as much, and it was full of creative wisdom and Marie's questions seemed so perfect to get the most out of discussing the book and the values therein. To say I highly recommend watching it is saying it conservatively.

What always fascinates me in learning is that I will see or hear many things that are of value to me, or that help to enlighten me, and yet there may be just a sentence or two in all that time that resonates so much that I just have to write it down. This is the case with the quote at the top.

What fascinates me about that quote is the idea that by exercising our own creativity, it is creativity itself that is having its way with us, or as she says, "it has you as a project." We think of creative projects and that we are exercising creativity on those projects, but to turn that around and have creativity having us as a project is very interesting.

The fact that what we do, what we act on, how we think molds us every day is not a new idea, but how this one was expressed by Elizabeth Gilbert gave me a way to have all of that make more sense somehow. The idea that these things have me as a project is a fascinating twist and it is also interesting how that excites me even more than simply exercising creativity. It opens up vistas in inspiration for me, and my desire is ignited by it.

Isn't it amazing when a spark ignites something within you? Isn't it interesting how something in an interview--just two sentences in fact--can make a huge difference in your life? This is what I love about learning. Taking the time to watch an interview, a TED talk, and a thousand other things keep me wanting more. Some are interesting and I could just as easily have missed it, and others simply rock my world. Yet, they are all valuable. Why? Because I am their project. . .


As I Am A Creative Project, I Expand And Become More. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just letting loose. Blow the cobwebs out. Dance around the room. Have some fun. Share some joy.

Daily Inspiration 2-8-20

"Emotions will either serve or master, 

depending on who is in charge." 

-- Jim Rohn 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-24-15]

Who's really in charge of our emotions? It is an inside job. So often; however, we may find them controlling us from the outside via circumstances, events, and so on. That's just a mirage. Emotions are always from inside us, and always demonstrate our alignment or misalignment with our inner being. Alignment would be feeling good, and misalignment would be feeling bad, with various grades of emotion based on the intensity of those feelings.

Let me share an interesting bit from The Astonishing Power of Emotions by Esther and Jerry Hicks and Abraham's teachings (By the way, I highly recommend this book!):

"The Law of Attraction says, "The essence of that which is like unto itself, is drawn." And what that means is: If I feel unappreciated because of circumstances that have recently occurred in my experience, the Law of Attraction cannot now surround me with people who appreciate me. That would defy the Law of Attraction. 

If I feel fat and unhappy about the way my body looks and feels, I cannot discover the process or state of mind that is necessary to achieve a good-feeling, good-looking body. That would defy the Law of Attraction. 

If I feel discouraged about my financial situation, it cannot improve. Improvement in the face of discouragement would defy the Law of Attraction. 

If I am angry because people have been taking advantage of me, lying to me, dishonoring me, and even defacing my property, no action that I can take can stop those unpleasant things from happening, for that would defy the Law of Attraction. 

The Law of Attraction simply and accurately reflects back to you in a myriad of ways an accurate response to your vibrational output. In short, whatever is happening to you is a perfect Vibrational Match to the current vibration of your Being--and the emotions that are present within you indicate that vibrational state of being." 

As we learn this, and then pay attention to how we feel, this leads us to what we are thinking which is the root cause. This is how it is when we are in control: We become aware of the cause and effect of our thinking and how things come into our lives. When we are not in control, it only means that we are not paying attention and we are simply allowing whatever is going on around us to control how we feel.

The inevitable result of that is to blame. These things are happening to me. I did not ask for them. They are just coming out of the blue. I did not create them. I am innocent. Being caught unaware is a really good way to express that, but not a very satisfying place to be.

By recognizing that we must be a vibrational match to what we want, just as we have been for what we don't want, we have our control back where it belongs. This is the awareness that we actually do control circumstances instead of the other way around.


Once I Am Aware, I See A Different World. It's One That I LOVE! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by being aware of what joy is. It is a vibrational match with your inner being. That is so worth sharing!

Daily Inspiration 2-7-20

"You wouldn't choose to dress 

for yesterday's rain 

if it's sunny skies today." 

-- Karen Salmansohn 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-23-15]

Early this month I received my The Happy, dammit Daily from Karen Salmonsohn and the quote above leaped off the page at me. Here was her whole short message:

"Don't allow yesterday's bad times or bad feelings to influence the thoughts and mood you choose today. You wouldn't choose to dress for yesterday's rain if it's sunny skies today. Well, yesterday's passed. Today is a brand new sunshiny day. Enjoy!"

Why would we prepare for yesterday's pain today? Today is a brand new day. It has never been experienced before. It knows nothing of yesterday or tomorrow. Let's at least see what comes without us giving it a foreign agenda.


Enjoy Your Brand New Day Today! 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting today evolve on its own.

Daily Inspiration 2-6-20

"People will try to tell you

that all the great opportunities

have been snapped up. 

In reality, 

the world changes every second, 

blowing new opportunities in all directions, 

including yours." 

-- Ken Hakuta 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-22-15]

A few days ago, I watched a great TEDx video by Scott Dinsmore titled, How To Find and Do Work You Love. It is well worth watching in my opinion because he did and now he runs a business teaching the world how to do the same.

The main reason I mention it is because a lot of people don't think that it is possible. Even well-meaning parents and friends will sometimes say, "you can't make a living at that! Just take the job that's available and stop dreaming." However well-meaning they may be, and I'm sure they think they are, they are also blinded by their own prejudices and beliefs.

It is possible. People are doing it every second of every day. The only thing stopping any of us from doing the same would be our own prejudices, beliefs and taking the advice of people who are not doing it themselves.

Consider this wonderful statement from Bashar: "For everyone who wishes to be on a particular stage, there is always an audience to appreciate what you have to say." I'll come back to him in a moment. . .

Last night I re-watched an old movie, EDtv. It wasn't just to see and delight in Jenna Elfman again (okay, maybe it was), but it's just goofy fun and also a nice love story. In one scene, Woody Harrelson is talking about his sister and her live-in boyfriend and that he is a lounge singer and he is really bad at it. In fact, he went on about it until no one was laughing anymore. It was pure cruelty. He was trying to be funny and trying to be a taller building by tearing the other down. Now, reread the previous paragraph. There is an audience for everyone. Woody was not one of them, but there are people who would love to listen.

Let me share a bit more from Bashar about following your excitement:

"Follow your excitement! Get out into the world, doing what you most love doing, and know that the world will shape itself to what you need. It will do so for everyone, and there is no conflict in it. No one loses because you are winning! You all win because there is enough for everyone. 

Be bold, for no one will turn you away. There is always an appropriate audience for everything you truly need to say, and you will find that audience. For everyone who wishes to be on a particular stage, there is always an audience to appreciate what you have to say--once again because everything fits. Everything belongs; and there is never!!--never-never-never-never!!--an actor who is born without an audience being born at the same time for that actor. 

NEVER!! It all works perfectly!! Flawlessly!! Believe it; act like you believe it, and you'll see the results--guaranteed. 

Do!.... Think is wonderful. Believe is wonderful. Feel is wonderful. However, doing is what creates the reality you wish to experience." 


All The Possibilities Exist For Whatever You Would Love To Do.

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply considering the possibility that you are a magnificent person and that you have an abundance of joy to share with others.

Daily Inspiration 2-5-20

"The beginning is the most important part of the work." 

-- Plato 

"I have never started a poem yet whose end I knew. 

Writing a poem is discovering. 

-- Robert Frost 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 9-21-15]

Why is the beginning the most important part of the work? I think Robert Frost said it so well: Discovery. Without a beginning, there is no discovery.

Some people fear beginnings because they cannot see the end. Some fear the end. They seek exit strategies ahead of time just in case once they are in, they may not like it as much as they think and want to protect themselves as much as possible when they decide to quit. But, they don't get to experience as much as they could with that frame of mind at the beginning.

What's going to happen when I marry? It will be the beginning. Along the way, will be discovery. But, when we project the end as a prenuptial does, we're saying that we only want to see what we already know. Predictability is safe but boring. Allowing the discovery to excite you is the path to a great and wonderful relationship.

What's going to happen when I start this business? It will be the beginning. Along the way, will be discovery. Lots and lots of discoveries. In my opinion, getting excited about that discovery is what success is all about. As long as the end is not predicted by an exit strategy, creativity can thrive. 

Whatever it is that we are beginning, that is a great thing. It is great because nothing happens until we begin. Once begun, we must allow ourselves to experience the unknown, and as we do that with enthusiasm, and wonder, our journey is a delight. It is not necessarily all fun and games, as there will always be the contrast of what some call obstacles or problems, but how we choose to view that contrast will always determine how much further down the path we will travel.

I was talking on the phone with my stepdaughter on Saturday, and I said to her that she sounded cheery, enthusiastic, happy, excited, positive, and engaged. She said that she was, but she wasn't positive all the time. I said, who is? I don't think anyone is positive 100% of the time. There is sufficient contrast on planet Earth to divert us often enough. It is more about resilience I said, and she agreed.

Resilience is about getting back on the path, coming back to your joy, after visiting with contrast for a brief time. How we view that contrast lifts us or defeats us. That causes it to be brief or long-term. Resilience is measured by how soon we come back to the path, our joy, our goal, our delight, our enthusiasm. 

Now, look at all that we are learning because we decided to begin!


Living Is Discovery. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by following it wherever it takes you.