Daily Inspiration 6-30-18

"If you fight for your limitations

you get to keep them. . . 

I promise you, 

you lift your head up, 

take a breath, 

there's a lot of great possibilities out there." 

 -- Billy McMahon, played by Vince Vaughn 

in the movie, The Internship 

[Classic post from 3-3-14]

Though I have found many lessons and inspiration from this movie, this will be the last post in this short series. And, I'll end it on the inspirational note of a promising future.

Billy and the team are talking with a pizza shop owner who is total old-school in his thinking and claiming he's happy with what he has, yet it is true that what he's been doing is just the same while the world is changing all around him. His son sees that and is happy to have the help of trying to change his dad's mind about the potential greater future of their enterprise. Billy is giving his sale-closing line in the quote above.

I've always had this analogy in my head about keeping your eyes on the horizon instead of the cracks in the sidewalk. Must have come from my home-made skateboarding days. And, it makes sense in that when we are watching the cracks in the sidewalk; e.g., watching for danger, guarding the gate, concerned about too many things, we are more likely to have a tumble, falter, fail, and have troubles. As we bring our heads up and focus on the larger picture so that we can see better where we are going, a lot of the details have a tendency to take care of themselves. This is true in our businesses, our jobs, and our personal lives.

When we spell out the things that we are allowing to hold us back, no matter how "legitimate" they are based on popular consumption or mass communications, we will often find ourselves fighting for our limitations. To me, this is, again, so much like watching the cracks in the sidewalk. As we lift our heads, and our hearts in focusing on the larger picture, so many more possibilities can be seen and considered. Not only that, but in doing so, we open ourselves up to change, when before we could not consider that option.


Change Is Not To Be Feared. It Is To Be Embraced. Life IS Change. Change Is Living. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by being the change you seek in yourself.

Daily Inspiration 6-29-18

"For whatever it's worth, 

your imagination is so wild, 

reality's gonna be a breeze, 

if not a letdown." 

 -- Nick Campbell played by Owen Wilson 

in the movie, The Internship 

[Classic post from 3-2-14]

Nick said this quote above to Neha, the young female intern who talks and acts like she has done so much for her young age, yet she admits to Nick, "I've only read about this stuff, okay?" She said she talks a good game, but hasn't actually done anything. She's just imagined it. So Nick says, "For whatever it's worth, your imagination is so wild, reality's gonna be a breeze, if not a letdown."

Consider this statement by Abraham and Esther Hicks from a workshop recorded in Houston, Texas: "We're going to give you a very powerful statement: Everything that you will someday live, in terms of life experience--and by some day, we mean as soon as right now, tomorrow, the next day, or someday--anything that you will someday live, you have first imagined. Because nothing will manifest in your experience without the imagination process happening first."

Albert Einstein said, "Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand."

I like what Pablo Picasso said about imagination: "There are painters who transform the sun to a yellow spot, but there are others who with the help of their art and their intelligence, transform a yellow spot into the sun"

Considering how stuck Nick and Billy seemed to be in their lifestyles and struggles, it was their ability and willingness to imagine that allowed them to inspire their much younger team and at the same time, become leaders instead of just doers. They understood that they could choose, then imagine it into reality.


Just Imagine It--Whatever "It" Is To You. Give It The Energy It Deserves.

Spread Some Joy Today--Inspire someone.

Daily Inspiration 6-28-18

"The future doesn't know later." 

 -- Billy McMahon, played by Vince Vaughn 

in the movie, The Internship 

[Classic post from 3-1-14]

In the movie, The Internship, Billy, and his friend Nick have lost their jobs and Nick gets a lousy go-nowhere job while Billy is seeking a transformation instead of another dead-end job. Billy's trying to convince Nick to go with him to take a shot at an Internship at Google, so Billy says, "It's our future." Nick says he's got this job and it will have to wait, and Billy says this great line, "the future doesn't know later." Nick says, "the future is later--it's nothing but later." But, is it? Is it really?

I heard this saying about a salesman: "He had twenty years experience--one year, repeated twenty times." Not much of a future there, is there? For this person, the future is nothing but later. And, yet, it isn't, is it?

The future is actually now because what is being done now is carving out the future, dictating the future, creating the future. Even in the case of the 20-year salesman, the future is being created, or maybe a better way to say it, in this case, is recreating the present over and over again. Or, doing nothing to grow.

Living in the now is perfect. I agree with that totally. The more I live in the present now, the better I feel. The better I feel, the better my life works. The better my now is, or today is, the better my future is because I am creating it right now today.


The Future Doesn't Know Later. Indeed. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by doing what pleases you. If it pleases you, it cannot fail to please others.

Daily Inspiration 6-27-18

"You're too young 

to be so cynical." 

 -- Nick Campbell, played by Owen Wilson 

in the movie, The Internship 

[Classic post from 2-28-14]

Yeah! Cynicism should be an old-age disease, not available for young people, don't you think? Yet, maybe you've heard young people express this attitude in your presence. Truly, it isn't an age thing, but a choice in thinking--often a choice based on perceived reality all around them.

I am going to write several posts about the things that I have learned, or have been expressed so nicely by this wonderful movie called The Internship. As a sales manager for over 40 years, it is especially interesting and there are many lessons in this flick about sales, business, teams, psychology, turning things around and much more. So, I begin with this great comment from Nick.

It's easy to be cynical. It is encouraged all day every day by the media and the so-called reality all around us. I mean, the shit is hitting the fan and it is just a matter of how close you are to the fan, right? It's affecting everyone, right? It is the way it is, right? We got statistics to back it up, you know? You gotta pay attention to it and be real by living in the real world and none of that fantasy stuff, ya hear?

OK. That's a way. But, is it working for anyone? Probably not. It's not meant to. It's meant not to. It's like walking into a lighted room and turning on the dark switch.

In the case of the movie, a couple of older guys find a way to give some hope and a more positive outlook on the present and future which changes the results. Yet, it need not be older age, but there is value in looking for more hope; for looking for more love; for looking for a better answer; for looking for a way around or through. It has to start there. There must be at least an interest in considering something better. Cynicism is meant to be temporary, I think. Not permanent.


Hope Is A Universal Language. Reach Out. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Elvis Presley said it nicely: "When things go wrong, don't go with them."

Daily Inspiration 6-26-18

"Grace needs you 

as much as you need it." 

 -- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 2-26-14]

Isn't this an interesting concept? Grace needs you as much as you need Grace. I saw another quote from my favorite mentors of all my time, Abraham, and Esther Hicks: "You might say, "How do I know if I'm in a receiving mode or not?" And we say, you always feel good when you're in a receiving mode. When someone offers you a compliment, do you receive it, or do you sort of just shrug it off? There's something about believing that you must justify your existence through your effort or through your perseverance, through your struggle. And many of you just have not practiced the receiving mode."

Practicing the receiving mode. . . There is a lot said in that short phrase. How many of us practice that? I know more of us practice giving compliments more than accepting them, giving things rather than receiving them, and so on. I know I was brought up with the noble notion that to give is better than to receive. In my lifetime-learned wisdom, I now see them as equal rather than one better or more important than another. Grace needs you as much as you need it. Receiving needs you as much as you need it. Giving needs you as much as you need it.


Something To Ponder Sincerely. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing joy to be a part of your life. I know spreading it is good, but receiving is just as good. I think it is even best, to begin with, that aspect.

Daily Inspiration 6-25-18

"Remain established in your calm center, 

and everything will take care of itself 

in miraculous ways far more wonderful 

than you could manipulate." 

 -- Alan Cohen 

[Classic post from 2-27-14]

People can be worried all around you. They can speculate on all the things that could go wrong. They can try to get an "agreement rant" going counting on like-minded people to bolster their position. Yet, if you as only one, will remain in your natural calm center, everything will take care of itself and may even surprise in delight at how that may come to fruition.

It is an amazing thing to operate from this calm center place. It is magical. It feels good inside and it feels good on the outside. It is power and authority without the ego labeling. It is peace and prosperity for everything is already done.

One last thing on this. It is not serious, or stubborn. It is joyful inside and out. The joy comes mainly, I think, as a result of the peaceful feeling surrounding it. It is pure and very interesting enjoyment.


Relax. Let Go. Smile. Reassure Others. It's All Okay. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by loving yourself wherever you find yourself. Enjoy it.

Daily Inspiration 6-24-18

"If we counted our blessings 

instead of our money, 

we would all be rich." 

 -- Linda Poindexter 

[Classic post from 2-23-14]

Consider this quote from Alan Cohen: "To recognize that you are bigger than any label you have been given is one of the greatest insights of a lifetime." Money is one of those labels, and often we may give some of the labels in our lives far more importance than they really deserve.

He goes on to explain, "Take some time today to consider all of the limiting attributes you usually identify with: your name, age, address, job, income, house, friends, ethnic background, skin color, genetic makeup, religion, political views, and on and on." This is just a very basic list of which another hundred could be added.

How about adding some of these: creator, enjoyer, living-in-the-moment, grateful for all that comes however it comes, lover, encourager, uplifter, lifelong learner, compassionate, respectful, allower, and blessing counter. I like these much better myself.

Becoming a blessing counter is a great place to start. Indeed, as we count our blessings, we are all rich. What a great thing to count, should we need to count anything at all.


One, Two, Three, Six, Ten, Twenty, Forty-Five. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--Can you think of a better way to expand your own joy than focusing on all of your many blessings? Once there, sharing is totally natural.

Daily Inspiration 6-23-18

"You just never know who in the crowd, 

standing beside you in line 

or passing you in the street, 

might be raised in spirit, 

or even lifted from despair, 

by the kindness in your glance 

or the comfort of your smile." 

 "But they may never forget." 

 -- The Universe, a.k.a., Mike Dooley 

[Classic post from 2-21-14]

I have subscribed to Notes from the Universe from tut.com for a long time now, and some of these are so timely and I save the ones that sparkle in my spirit so that I can share its message with a mix of my own. This one is perfect to share today.

I would add to this quote by my friend and mentor, Mike Dooley, that not just a glance or a smile, and not just in person, but via phone, text, email, or any other communication that can touch another is equally good.

I have learned that when I think I want to call someone and give them a bit of love, I need to do it right now. You just never know what they are going through at that moment and the fact that they are on your mind is an indication to reach out. And, that door swings both ways.

I had two special phone calls today. One from a client and friend and the other from my business partner. They each made my day. The first was early this morning. I was up at 5:30am and this call came at 7:00am. He said he wanted to hear my voice and get charged up, but little did he know that the opposite happened. I was charged, he was charged up and it only cost us both a few minutes of fun talking. Thanks, Gary!

Then, later I was driving to take something to a client about 70 miles away and my business partner called me to say how much he enjoyed an email I sent to another client telling them what we've done so far. I don't think he has ever done that before, but this time he was so upbeat and complimentary and I felt like I was driving on air. Thanks, Ryan!

Many times I reach out and touch someone, smile at someone, engage in light conversation with a stranger and who the heck knows what comes of that, but the lesson is how we feel not them. If it makes us feel good--really good, there is a very good possibility that they may feel even better.

I love how Mike Dooley says that they may be "raised in spirit, or even lifted from despair." People deal with all sorts of issues. Some of them may weigh heavily on them, and the light touch we may give them, or the encouraging words, loving smile might just take them away from their troubles for even a brief moment. Maybe just long enough to remember that whatever they are dealing with is far larger in their mind than it is in reality.


Reach Out And Touch Someone! You Never Know Who You May Be An Uplifter To. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by paying attention to your inner voice suggesting to you people to share your joy with--or even allow them to give you joy! It's a two-way street.

Daily Inspiration 6-22-18

"The problem with taking offense 

is that it's really hard 

 to figure out 

what to do with it

after you're done using it. 

 Better to just leave it

on the table

and walk away. 

Umbrage untaken 

quietly disappears." 

 -- Seth Godin 

[Classic post from 2-22-14]

I saw this quote from Seth Godin this morning and I was amazed at how it hit me. I absolutely agree and I particularly love the line, ". . . what to do with it after you're done using it." We all must realize how true that is. We do use it. We take offense and then we make a case about it. We use it. We make it more than it could have ever been. But, after making such a big deal out of it, what do we do with it then? Does it just go away? Or does it linger? Does it become part of our psyche? Or, are we able to let loose of it completely after we've done the deed with it?

Based on my own experience, it never seems to go away entirely until and if we come to the point that we stop taking offense. When we allow instead, we have hope.

Besides, the whole idea of things that off-end-us means that we let a thought take control of our lives. It takes on a power of its own. It gets us off-kilter--off our mark. It takes us off where we want to be.

Maybe it's time to find things that on-end-us. Things that inspire, enlighten, enliven us. Perhaps it's time to let go of the idea of what might be wrong and consider all that is right. Maybe it's time to align with the flow of the river of life rather than swim upstream against the current.


Or Not. . . 

Spread Some Joy Today--because, after all, it is a personal choice. Why in the world would anyone choose not joy? Only those who know no joy. Share it so they know it.

Daily Inspiration 6-21-18

"You can't teach an old dog new tricks." 

 -- Common phrase 

[Classic post from 2-20-14]

I was talking with a sales manager friend today about a sales team that has some old dogs on it. In fact, they are past typical retirement age. We were talking about training and the company was hoping to get them to become motivated.

I started my sales management career with old dogs. In fact, I had just turned 25, and the youngest on my sales staff was 36 and the oldest was 64. Then along the way on my travels, I found other old dogs on the staff that I inherited, and I learned a lot about old dogs, motivation, and performance.

Here are some things I've learned about this subject:

Old dogs can learn new tricks. The key ingredient here is not capability or capacity, but desire. If they want to learn new tricks, they will learn as fast as any other age, although on certain things such as current technology they may be behind the curve a bit, but they will make up for it in the long run.

Trying to motivate old dogs or anyone else for that matter, is a waste of valuable time and energy. The only motivation that holds any value besides a short burst from fear is self-motivation. Motivation comes from within, not from without. I learned this valuable lesson early in my sales management career, and though I may have had temporary amnesia from time to time, I came to my senses soon enough. Any motivation that will be helpful will come from desire, not fear.

Old dogs will test the new guy in charge until they arrive at mutual respect and trust. I got better with the old dogs when I didn't try to force feed them but developed a respect for the value they brought to the table, and the experience compounded over time.

Old dogs can be your best advocate. In time and with some of the above, old dogs can be your best advocate and help bring along others to the overall goal.

The new broom sweeps the cleanest. I never much liked this phrase which I learned from the wise old first dealer I worked for, but there is more than some truth to the phrase. There comes a time when if we are to move ahead at a reasonable pace, we need to lighten our load from the dead weight of people who refuse or are otherwise unwilling to change.

Holding on to people who are dragging the rest of the team or the organization down is counterproductive. Sure, they make some sales and have a bunch of accounts, but everyone is dying because there are so few new ones. Growth is life. Life is growth. We, our team, or our organization is growing or it is not. When it is not, this is a clue. Perhaps it is time for a change. I have been here and once we finally decide to pull the trigger, there seems to be a release of energy that feeds everyone positively, including the one who is leaving, because it is not doing them any good staying around either.


Some Old Dogs Never Quit Growing Until They Fall Over Dead. That's My Personal Plan!

Spread Some Joy Today--Are you growing? Are you having more joy in your life than before? It's okay to ask for more! There is a never-ending supply.

Daily Inspiration 6-20-18

"You are the only one 

 who creates in your experience--no one else. 

Everything that comes to you

comes by the power of your thought. 

If there are changes you would like to make,

 it will be of great value 

to begin telling a different story-- 

not only about your body, 

 but about all subjects 

 that have been troubling to you." 

 -- Abraham & Esther Hicks 

[Classic post from 2-4-14]

This post is about self-talk mainly and how the only way to make changes you would like to make is to tell a different story in your head and to others too. It is so a part of becoming a grateful person. I'll give you a couple examples.

Since my wife died just less than 6 months ago, I've been living a lot of memories in my head and in my sight too. I've gone through thousands of photographs, chosen a strong number of them and have pasted them on my cabinets in my office. It has been all part of coming to terms with the last few years of our lives together. I remember similar situations in the past whenever there was a change from something that has been for a good period of time.

There was a tendency for me to think of things I should have or could have done to make things better. What could I have done differently that would have changed things? You probably know the drill. It's not feeling sorry for myself, but thinking that somehow I wasn't enough.

So, I began telling a different story on purpose. I began thinking how good a husband and provider I was. I began thinking about all the good things I did; the positive things; the important things. I began talking this out as if I were talking to her about how I did this and that and how much this meant to me and that and so on. It was perfect and it turned me around toward such gratitude--not only more gratitude for her and all that she brought to the relationship but gratitude for all that I did as well. When I might think of something she was upset, angry or unhappy with about me or something I did or failed to do, I would mentally speak back of what I did do and that I did what I knew and was capable of and so on. In other words, I rejected the idea that I had failed in any way.

It's about experience. We can't grow forward ten years and then take that wisdom back in time with us to make better decisions. It was what it was. If we are doing the best we can with what we have to work with, then that is exactly what it was. What I would do today is of zero importance. It is not possible to merge the two, but what I can do is praise her for her choices and me for mine. I can see the love that was the foundation under it all. And, last, I am the only one in charge of me and I can choose to change, grow, become a grateful person even if she may have chosen otherwise.

These kinds of things happen not just with losses of loved ones but in business with old bosses, old friends that may not be in favor today and so on.

The tendency was for me to find myself blameless by affixing blame on my boss, my wife or some other person. My self-talk was always justifying what I did or didn't do and how the other parties were the ones to blame for anything off kilter. Now, my self-talk is finding what they did right and well and how much I appreciated them for all that they brought, and equally important, that I appreciated myself in the same way. I began seeing scenarios working perfectly instead of previously being problems or ugly situations. As I focused on appreciation and gratitude, all the other things faded away.

In this process, I have found more love and respect and admiration for Nancy and for the other important people in my life. I have at the same time found love enough for me to be enough.


Gratitude Changes Everything. It May Require Practice. No. It Does Require Practice. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by changing your self-talk to appreciate yourself and all those on your path.

Daily Inspiration 6-19-18

"I have never let my schooling 

interfere with my education." 

 -- Mark Twain 

[Classic post from 2-9-14]

And, neither have I.


Here's To All The Life-Long Learners Out There! 

Spread Some Joy Today--Have a wonderful time today. On purpose!

Daily Inspiration 6-18-18

"Wherever you are, is just fine. . . 

You can get to wherever you want to be

from wherever you are. . . 

It's time to stop measuring where you are

in relationship to where anybody else is. 

The only factor that has anything to do with you 

is where you are in relationship

with where you want to be." 

 -- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

[Classic post from 1-12-14]

After I read this again today, it struck me that I have arrived at being okay with where I am and who I am. In looking back, I can see that I was always not enough. I didn't measure up to the people I put on pedestals. Oh, I was successful enough I guess, but never made it the way I wanted to--or thought I wanted to. It was always going to be better tomorrow somehow. It was in the future.

Now in reading this again, it is some of the best advice I can think of. Fully accepting where we are and realizing that wherever we want to go we can get there from here is profound and peaceful. It is not giving up on goals or desires. Frankly, it has been my own personal experience that in lightening up, the desires show themselves more clearly and I can achieve them with far less stress than I used to put myself and my family through.

Another way to say it is to make peace with where we are. Allow it to be. Allow ourselves to taste it right now, and feel the presence of that peace that comes from a certain contentment, however temporary.

One of the best ways to say it is that we are enough. We have enough. We are enough. Having more is okay. Yet, right now it's all good.


The Horizon Is Much Brighter From Here. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Love yourself, what you have, and where you are in your life travels.

Daily Inspiration 6-17-18

"It makes no sense to worry about 

 things you have no control over

because there's nothing you can do about them, 

and why worry about things you do control? 

The activity of worrying keeps you immobilized." 

 -- Wayne Dyer 

[Classic post from 1-22-14]

Here's another quote to go along nicely with this great quote from Wayne Dyer by Esther Hicks and Abraham: "Hard work is not the path to Well-Being. Feeling good is the path to Well-Being. You don't create through action; you create through vibration. And then, your vibration calls action from you."

I think that many times we worry because we feel that we should be doing something and though we cannot actually do something at the moment, we worry about it which indicates we are giving it importance and that helps us to feel as if we actually are doing something about the problem. But the reality is often that we only perpetuate the problem and/or increase the size or importance of it in our lives.

In considering this topic, I have gone backward in time to many of the times I was worrying--even worrying with great stress, and I cannot think of one single time where the act of worrying did anything at all to improve the situation.

The hard work of worrying (and we all must know it is hard work), is not the path to Well-Being or the solution even. Feeling good is the path. From that vantage point, any action we are inspired to take will work perfectly.


By Choosing Good Feeling Thoughts, We Clear The Path To Our Well-Being. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Let go of the rope. Love yourself enough to do so.