Daily Inspiration 1-7-20

"Abundance is more than just money." 

-- Bashar 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-22-15]

Bashar has shared the best definition of abundance that I have found so far. I love it.

"Abundance: the ability to do what you need and want to do when you want to do it. Period! That is all abundance is. If it comes in a number of different ways, what do you care?--as long as you still have the ability to do what you want when you want to do it. Keep in mind that abundance is a general idea, whereas money is a tool." 

"Abundance will always express itself along the path of least resistance, just like electricity. When you broaden your definition of what you think abundance is, then you will allow all the different ways it could come to you, to come to you." 

In what ways do you already have abundance? Count the ways. Elaborate. Expand it. Enhance it. Accept it. Love it. Have joy in it. Relish it. Adore it. Praise it. Be thankful for it. Feel confident in it. Allow it fully. Be it.

As we focus on the abundance that we already have. . . As we focus on the blessings we already have. . . As we focus on the goodness that already exists in our lives. . . As we focus there, we attract more to love, more joy, more to praise, more to be thankful for, more to relish and enjoy, more to allow, and our abundance expands.


Allow More Of Your Abundance To Flow Through You. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by acknowledging the joy you already have.

Daily Inspiration 1-6-20

"Your physical reality is always the product 

of what you believe it can or will be." 

-- Bashar 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-21-15]

As much as I've studied some of this, it still amazes me how I'll read one more thing that expresses the same idea expressed differently enough that it gets through to me in a profound way. This is what I have found from Bashar. Here's a bit of what has been exciting my brain and my life for a few days: "Grant yourselves permission and grant yourselves the right to create life as you desire it to be, for you have the ability to create it that way. . . As you think, as you feel, and as you believe, so you experience the creation of the physical reality around you--always! No exceptions. 

You always have a self-regulating mechanism to allow you to know what beliefs may be buried in your unconscious minds. The self-regulating mechanism that allows you to know precisely how to bring those beliefs to the surface of your conscious minds--so you can change them if you don't like them and reinforce them if you do--is the experience of physical reality.

If you see that you are involved in situations you don't prefer, then simply recognize that the only way it could be in your lives is for you to have the belief allowing it into your lives. Therefore, now that a situation has shown you what the belief is you have been operating on, you are free. You have the opportunity to say, "Aha! Now I have the definition of the belief that has created this; it has been buried within me. It has now come to the surface because here it is all around me. Therefore, if I don't prefer it, I can understand what the definition was and I can thus change that definition to what I do prefer." 

Then use 100% of the trust--the same trust used to create the negative scenario--to now know that once you have changed the definition to a positive definition, reality will reflect that definitional belief just as strongly as it reflected the other definitional belief which you did not prefer. You have your own self-guidance system, your own built-in guidance system." 

I've read this kind of thing several times over the years, and it is interesting that only now does it make even more sense to me in a way that I can get hold of to take control instead of accepting in the way things are. The first step is to realize I am in charge of creating my own reality, however that happens to be. The second step is to be aware of how that is turning out and pay attention to how I feel about it. This will help me to understand that it is my beliefs that are causing this even though my beliefs may not be on the surface to see. Next, I look at the beliefs that I must have to cause this. There is always cause and effect, and we can look at the effect and that can lead us to the cause: the belief.

For example, what are my beliefs about my body, shape, and weight? If I believe that I eat this and I will gain weight, I will surely gain weight. What are my beliefs about money in this situation? If I believe I must work hard for money, this means the only way that money can come to me is through hard work. It is as we believe it to be and it is also that we are the ones who control our beliefs. They don't control us. I learned it somewhere. I can change my mind about it. I can develop a new belief about that, and I can change the results by changing the cause and watching the effects change.

Granting ourselves permission and the right. We have the right. We are creators, yet so often I think we are unwilling to accept that role. We've learned that others are in control perhaps, and other limiting ideas. That can change as we grant ourselves permission and accept our right to our own creations.


I'm Not Blaming Others. I'm Taking Responsibility And Direction Of My Own Creations. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing it to flow out of you.

Daily Inspiration 1-5-20

"Any action that is taken 

from a place of lack 

is always counterproductive, 

and it always leads to more 

of a feeling of lack." 

-- Abraham, Esther Hicks 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-20-15]

This morning I was thinking about the subject of money and looking at some of my life and my attitudes about money and my results in my relationship with money. I opened one of my top ten favorite books of all time, Money and the Law of Attraction by Esther & Jerry Hicks on the Teachings of Abraham. Only part of the book is about money, part is on careers and work, part is on health and well-being, and part is general knowledge. It is an absolute wealth of great and wise information and the most marked-up and highlighted book I own. So, I thought I would share just a few tidbits from pages 64 and 65 that resonated with me.

"The things that you have and the things that you do are all meant to enhance your state of being. In other words, it's all about how you feel, and how you feel is all about coming into alignment with who-you-really-are. When you tend to your alignment first, then the things you gather and the actions you perform only enhance your good-feeling state of being. . . but if you do not find that vibrational balance first and attempt to make yourself feel better by bringing more things into your experience or participating in more activities in order to try to make yourself feel better, you just get further out of balance."

I grew up learning about credit and debt. Credit was good, and debt was bad. And, it took me pretty much a lifetime to realize that they are one and the same thing. Debt does not exist without credit and credit has no value without debt. Having credit allowed us to get things, but the debt often was a burden. They are neither good nor bad and are actually neutral, and the only meaning given them is the meaning we apply individually and collectively. I chose to feel good about credit and bad about debt, yet that became a cycle that was not self-serving and didn't feel good really. I thought it would feel good, but it felt terrible most of the time.

They continue, "We are not guiding you away from accumulating things or from taking action. . . but when you try to move forward from an imbalanced footing, it is always uncomfortable. If you will begin by identifying how you want to feel, or be, and let your inspiration to accumulate or to do come from that centered place, then not only will you maintain your balance, but you will now enjoy the things you gather and the things that you do."

"Most people do most of their wanting from a place of lack. They want things, in many cases, simply because they do not have them, so the having of them does not really satisfy anything deep within them because there is always something else that they do not have. And so, it becomes a never-ending struggle to try to bring one more thing (one more thing that still will not be satisfying) into their experience: Because I don't have this, I want it. And they really think that getting it will fill the void. But that defies Law."

They say that the void they are feeling cannot be filled from a place of lack because that feeling is due to a "discord between their desires and their chronic habits of thought." I know in my own case, my habits of thought were in control most of the time.

Of course, they offer the solution as well: "Offering better-feeling thought, telling a different story, looking for positive aspects, Pivoting to the subject of what you really do want, looking for positive what-ifs--that is how you fill that void. And when you do, a most interesting thing will occur in your experience. The things you have wanted will begin to flood into your experience. But these things you have been wanting will flood in not to fill your void because that void no longer exists--they flow in because your void no longer exists."

What is different for me now? I no longer worship credit, nor despise debt. I'm much more neutral about them now. They don't drive my life anymore. I am focusing on feeling good, looking for positive aspects all around me, pivoting, telling myself a better story about myself and my life, learning what I really want instead of those thousands of things that I have bought that don't mean anything to me. Now I play with getting into alignment first and have let go of making decisions based on my feeling of lack. And, it feels really good. Really good. 


Thank Goodness That It Is Never Too Late To Learn. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by letting go of habits that no longer serve you.

Daily Inspiration 1-4-20

"Not only the thirsty seek the water, 

the water as well seeks the thirsty." 

-- Rumi 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-19-15]

I absolutely love this quote and it speaks many things to me. When I read it, I think of sales. As a sales manager for a lot of years, I've hired and worked with a lot of salespeople, and I can count on one hand those who excelled at it. I think that I can accurately say how they did that, and it has everything to do with this quote.

I will start that answer with another quote from Rumi: "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." First, those few love what they do. They don't just love what they do, they love the people they do it with, including the clients and their coworkers. I've heard many a salesperson say things like, "Oh, he's a flake," or, "they couldn't buy a car with cash," and silly things that are put-downs because they weren't the right prospect for them at the moment. That isn't loving the people, or those they work with. The few I'm referring to don't talk that way. They love people. People ARE their business.

Second, they know how life works instinctively. They love what they do, the products they sell, and they know for sure and for certain that there are buyers who are looking for them too. Those buyers want to feel good buying, and they want to feel taken care of and so this seller and this buyer are attracted to one another.

Third, there is no struggle. It isn't work. They don't have to work at it. They have learned to play with it. They are having fun and that's why it isn't work to them. It is the difference between putting your rowboat in a stream and rowing against the current trying hard to get upstream, and letting the current guide you to all the joy downstream. The difference is that stark with many.

Fourth, or maybe actually first, the Law of Attraction is bringing them more of what they are thinking about. It is bringing them more people to love, more rewards, more of who they are. That last sentence is worth repeating: It is bringing them more of who they are.

Yes, they are also knowledgeable because they love what they do and they like being good at it. They don't need closing tricks and strategies because their main asset is that they are loving. They are confident because they know what they want and love what they do, and love who they come in contact with. Their sales training is in their hearts.

All of this will sound 'airy-fairy' to some, but to those few that I have known from over a hundred I have worked with, they will completely agree.


Whatever You Do, Do It With Love And From Love. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by finding that joy within you and letting some of it escape.

Daily Inspiration 1-3-20

"Once you learn how to be happy, 

you won't tolerate being around people 

who make you feel anything less." 

-- from Karen Salmansohn 

The Happy, Dammit Daily 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-18-15]

This statement above is interesting and in my experience, it is true as well. I would change one word in it though. I would change the word 'learn' to the word, 'decide' and remove the word how completely. So it would then look like this:

"Once you decide to be happy, you won't tolerate being around people who make you feel anything less." So now it is even more true.

However, I think something about this idea is even more significant. The Law of Attraction states that things that are like unto itself are drawn. So, when you are happy, you will be drawing like people to you rather than people unlike you. In other words, you won't be seeing unhappy people in general. They won't come around you. You won't draw them to you. They will stay around other unhappy people. The Law of Attraction insists on it.

At the same time, if a negative or unhappy person happens to get through, or is someone you need to be around as a duty, they won't have any real effect on your happiness unless you change your mind and decide to be unhappy. It's totally in your own control, and never anyone else's.

If you want to be around happy people who help you to feel happy, all you need do is decide to be happy and then be happy. As soon as you do, those unhappy people won't be in your experience anymore. They won't be affecting you. Instead, you will be finding more and more people who are happy. You might even realize that you had no idea there were so many happy people around.


Whatever You Want, Be It. 

Spread Some Joy Today--naturally.

Daily Inspiration 1-2-20

"If I can accept that 

my understanding is incomplete, 

and if I'm able to be 

comfortable with uncertainty, 

this opens me up to 

the realm of infinite possibilities." 

-- Anita Moorjani 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-15-15]

Anita continues from her awesome book, Dying To Be Me: "I'm at my strongest when I'm able to let go when I suspend my beliefs as well as dis-beliefs and leave myself open to all possibilities. That also seems to be when I'm able to experience the most internal clarity and synchronicities. My sense is that the very act of needing certainty is a hindrance to experiencing greater levels of awareness. In contrast, the process of letting go and releasing all attachment to any belief or outcome is cathartic and healing. The dichotomy is that for true healing to occur, I must let go of the need to be healed and just enjoy and trust in the ride that is life."

It is amazing to me the power in letting go, releasing, or an even better way to express it is to allow. I read a quote by Bashar the other day that has stuck with me: "Everything is Neutral. You supply the meaning you've been taught to supply it with. . . So if you find you are anxious, you are supplying a meaning that is by definition generating anxiety. If you don't prefer that, supply a definition to what is happening that will allow you to extract only beneficial experiences from it no matter what anyone else may be experiencing in the very same event."

I love the idea that everything is neutral and that we are choosing to give everything meaning. It's so creative. It's a power that we may not recognize. It is also a perfect way to let go, or allow. To change direction, or to change what is in our lives, we can choose to supply a different definition, to refocus, to see things differently. Letting go entirely may very well be a great step toward that which we really want. 

The other idea here of becoming comfortable with uncertainty is fascinating. We seem to crave the opposite, and yet that very act closes us off to all but that which we know as possibilities. But as Anita so powerfully said, "If I can accept that my understanding is incomplete. . ." Oh my, that is seemingly difficult by admitting that we are clueless sometimes. "And, if I'm able to be comfortable with uncertainty. . ." Say what? Who in their right mind is ever comfortable with uncertainty? That's crazy! But, "This opens me up to the realm of infinite possibilities."

Now that's a place worth getting to I think. . . If I can and If I am able. It might even be easier to think of it this way: If I can let go of the rope, I will be in a position of allowing, but I can only achieve this by letting go of the rope, letting go of my judgments, beliefs, and allowing an open mind to all that is currently and seemingly beyond me now.


As I Allow, I Am Empowered, Loved And Supported. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by choosing your joy. No one else can do it for you.

Daily Inspiration 1-1-20

"An intention synchronistically 

organizes its own fulfillment." 

-- Deepak Chopra 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-7-15]

More from Deepak Chopra: "If you obsess over whether you are making the right decision, you are basically assuming that the Universe will reward you for one thing and punish you for another.

The Universe has no fixed agenda. Once you make any decision, it works around that decision. There is no right or wrong, only a series of possibilities that shift with each thought, feeling, and action that you experience.

If this sounds too mystical, refer again to the body. Every significant vital sign--body temperature, heart rate, oxygen consumption, hormone level, brain activity, and so on-- alters the moment you decide to do anything. . . decisions are signals telling your body, mind, and environment to move in a certain direction."

Speaking more about bodies, he said, "If we are creating ourselves all the time, then it is never too late to begin creating the bodies we want instead of the ones we mistakenly assume we are stuck with."

It is so easy to forget that we have been responsible for creating the body we now have. It didn't just happen. We made choices. If the way it is right now is not what we want, we only need to make a decision to change it and the Universe will help us have it be our new reality. If we get off track, we begin again from where we are now. Knowing that we created it the way it is should be sufficient evidence that we can create it differently with different thinking and different behavior.

Sometimes having success in changes is attached to old baggage, whether it is our bodies, or our work, or our home life. I like this last quote by Deepak Chopra which ties it all together: "If you focus on success, you'll have stress. But if you pursue excellence, success will be guaranteed."

Success is one of those strange words that produce a lot of definitions, but excellence is so much easier. If we forget about success, which is often a slippery thing, and instead focus on something each of us has the power to do, such as doing whatever we are doing with an attitude of doing it to the best of our ability, we cannot miss.


There's Nothing Like A Decision To Kick Things Into Gear. 

Spread Some Joy Today--Deepak Chopra says that "The healthiest response to life is joy."

Daily Inspiration 12-31-19

"Have expectancy--not expectations." 

-- Bashar

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-16-19]

Wow. This quote is so powerful to me. Here's the full quote: "Have expectancy--not expectations. Expectancy is the emotional knowingness that, a) you have changed, and therefore, b) your physical reality will follow suit. Expectations is placing upon the change that your physical reality will go through the method that your ego thinks should be the way it should change, to represent the change you have made within yourself."

This caused me to think about the difference between intentions and goals. They say that goals are dreams with a deadline and that intentions are impotent goals. I see intentions as having an expectancy, and so often goals are more like expectations. So, the difference in intentions and goals is similar.

I'm not putting down goals. There's a place for goals, but in my travels in business and sales for so long, the whole idea of goals is very convoluted causing them to be ineffective.

Another way to look at expectancy and intentions is like was described in yesterday's post about letting go in order to open ourselves up to infinite possibilities. In other words, expectations and goals are likened to the knowledge we already have or have immediate access to; whereas, expectancy and intentions is likened to allowing. Whether we look at that as help from the outside or from the inside is not important, but let's just say, by allowing, we are laying the door open and we are eager to see what the Universe will provide.

I think that the more we can open ourselves to the higher power that we possess though we may not be aware of, the easier things are, the smoother they come to us and the better our lives get. It's like the difference between making and allowing, or better yet, taking charge, and allowing. The more we struggle, the more struggle is there. The more we allow, the more ease we experience. Sometimes people think that things are hard when they could just as well be easy.


I Am Eagerly Anticipating As I Allow It To Unfold. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by allowing your joy to flow through you.

Daily Inspiration 12-30-19

"Doubt is a 100% trust

in a belief that you don't prefer. 

You are never really actually in doubt, 

you are always completely trusting in something. 

The question is what do you trust in?" 

-- Bashar 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-14-15]

It's interesting that I have always thought of trust and doubt as polar opposites, that I was either trusting or I was doubting, and if I was doubting, then I wasn't trusting. Perhaps I wanted very much to trust, but I had lingering doubts, so trust was a slippery thing to try to hold on to.

Mira Kelley, in her book, Beyond Past Lives, awakened in me a way to see this more clearly and expanded my awareness of something I have dealt with poorly most of my life. She begins, "We do not need to learn to trust; we need to learn not to doubt." As Bashar says, doubt is trusting 100% in a belief that is not in alignment with our true self. For example, if you are out of work and doubt that you'll ever find a well-paying job, you're putting all your trust into the belief in scarcity--the belief that you're not enough.

Learning about this perspective on trust gave me a sense of relief. I did not need to learn to trust. There was no hurdle to overcome. I already knew how to trust; in fact, I was trusting in every moment. What I needed to understand was why I would trust in thoughts of scarcity--specifically, the belief that I would not be financially supported for work that fully reflected my passion. And the answer was clear: The evil I knew was less scary than the evil I imagined."

She mentions her previous career and how demanding it was and how many hours she worked and that it became the evil that she knew. She knew how to deal with it--even comfortably, but the thought of the new venture was far more frightening and it was the evil that she imagined. "Once I saw this, the question became, how would I allow myself to trust what I want to trust? I realized it was simply a matter of refocusing."

"We hypnotize ourselves into believing certain things. We pick out a point of view--or a point of view is supplied to us--and we take it for granted without questioning it. Meantime, we exclude all opposing points of view. This is so automatic that we don't stop and ponder the different steps. I decided that I already knew how to hypnotize myself to believe in one assumption to the exclusion of all other possibilities. It worked so perfectly that I simply had to go through the same steps consciously, but this time instead focus my concentration on the things I preferred to believe in. The difference was subtle--I was simply aware and awake. But the results were profound.

I now wanted to change the definition of who I was. I trusted that in its unconditional love and adoration of me, All That Is would support that creation, too. That is what unconditional love is--love and help without any restrictions or conditions. I chose to redefine what abundance meant for me. I chose to see that I am abundant not only in money but also in opportunities, friends, possibilities, and open hearts and minds.

I chose to trust the expansion of my being. I chose to trust the direction in which I was growing. I chose to trust that I would be supported for who I am. I chose to trust that I am loved for who I am. I chose to trust that the Universe was supporting me with its infinite abundance in every thought, in every idea, in every desire, and in every plan that I had. I decided to trust that this support was and is always appropriate and always right. I created a little mantra for myself: I trust myself. I trust my life. I trust All That Is."


Our Choosing And Our Choices Are Far More Important And Powerful Than We May Realize. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just being you. You are joy. You are love. You are appreciation. So all you need to be is yourself.

Daily Inspiration 12-29-19

"Accepting personal responsibility 

is completely foreign to the ego." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-13-15]

Does what we think and say to ourselves and to others matter? Do we have no control over our own lives physically and emotionally? According to the ego, that answer would be no. To the ego, we are always a potential victim of the indiscriminate actions of other people and uncontrollable circumstances. When life is good, the ego wants all the credit, and when life is going downhill, the ego has a long list of external things and people to blame. So, accepting personal responsibility would be completely foreign to the ego. The ego could not even consider such a concept, let alone a reality. 

Here's the good news. The ego has its place. It is a minor place. It has usefulness at certain times, but by and large, it is mostly talk. And, more important than this is that the real person that we are is far larger and far smarter than the ego ever could be. It's just that we as the smarter, larger entity need to take personal responsibility in owning up to our power and to keeping that ego in its rightful place. 

We keep the ego in its place by paying attention to what we are saying silently and aloud, and the best way to do that is by simply paying attention to how we feel. If it doesn't feel good, it isn't good for us. As we hold on to negative thoughts, self-talk, images, past hurts, we create within our natural well-being a discord or dis-ease. To the degree that we hold those thoughts and feelings, the dis-ease grows.

I have always remembered and loved a quote from Wayne Dyer from his earliest book. He said, "Anxiety doesn't attack." Of course, it is the ego who is thinking of having an anxiety attack, and it is totally open to that because it comes from the outside, but Wayne knew differently.

Let me share some very wise and important information from Abraham, Esther Hicks on this subject: 

"The first indication that you are disallowing your physical well-being comes to you in the form of negative emotion. You will not see a breakdown of your physical body at the first sign of negative emotion, but focusing upon subjects that cause a prolonged feeling of negative emotion will eventually cause dis-ease.

If you are unaware that negative emotion indicates the vibrational disharmony that is hindering the level of Well-Being that you are asking for, you may be, like most people, accepting a certain level of negative emotion and feeling no need to do something about it. Most people, even when they feel alarm at the level of negative emotion or stress they are feeling, do not know what to do about it because they believe they are reacting to conditions or circumstances that are outside of their control. And so, since they cannot control those unpleasant conditions, they feel powerless to change the way they feel.

We want you to understand that your emotions come in response to your focus, and under all conditions, you have the power to find thoughts that feel slightly better or slightly worse--and when you consistently choose slightly better, the Law of Attraction will bring steady improvement to your experience. The key to achieving and maintaining a physical state of well-being is to notice the indicators of discord in the early stages. It is much easier to refocus your thoughts in the early, subtle stages than after the Law of Attraction has responded to chronic negative thoughts, bringing bigger negative results. 

If you could make a decision to never allow negative emotion to linger within you--and at the same time acknowledge that it is your work alone to refocus your attention in order to feel better rather than asking someone else to do something different or for some circumstance to change to make you feel better--you will not only be a very healthy person, but you will be a joyful person. Joy, appreciation, love, and health are all synonymous. Resentment, jealousy, depression, anger, and sickness are all synonymous." 


How Are You Feeling? What Stories Are Going On Inside Of You? 

Spread Some Joy Today--by just mentally letting go of all of your cares and issues. Just let them drift away like putting them in a boat in a fast-moving stream, pushing it into the stream and watching it float quickly away downriver.

Daily Inspiration 12-28-19

"True forgiveness is when you can say:

Thank you for that experience." 

-- Oprah Winfrey 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-12-15]

When we carry negative feelings about an event, and especially when it involves another person or persons, it can and often does fester and become more profound in our minds, as well as negatively affecting our bodies. The act of forgiveness, or letting go of the rope as I like to say it, brings us relief, and to the degree that we let go, that relief can change our lives in a very positive way. But, we may become willing to forgive others and then have it not be complete because we fail to forgive ourselves.

I'm reading Mira Kelley's new book, Beyond Past Lives. I absolutely love it and I am finding some real gems of wisdom and expansion. One subject she addresses is to forgive yourself and others. I'll quote a few paragraphs that are in the book:

"We all know that it's important to forgive those who have wronged us. For most of us, it's a challenge to forgive, but once we do we feel lighter and freer. It gives us peace of mind and the ability to move on in our lives, rather than remain a victim of people and circumstances.

The first reason forgiveness is a challenge for people is because we assume it needs to be difficult. This is a cultural belief: "Everyone knows it is hard to forgive, so why would it be different for me?" We elect to hold on to our hurt egos--to the sad stories we tell--because that's what everyone else is doing and we think it's the right thing to do. It does not benefit us in any way, but we continue to do it. The solution is simple: Tell yourself it's easy to forgive. It's a good belief to have, so choose to hold it as your truth. You originate from a place of Oneness, a place where you have no reason to hold yourself separate from anyone else. It's already in your essence to forgive because there is no need to punish any part of yourself.

The second reason we find it hard to forgive is that we only focus on the first step of the process--forgiving the other. We were never told how important it is to also forgive ourselves. Forgiveness is a two-sided coin. No forgiveness is complete when we only focus on forgiving others. 

Forgive not because the other person deserves to be forgiven but because you deserve to be at peace. Forgive because you love yourself more than the need to be 'right.'"

In every situation, interaction with others, and my interpretation of events, I get to choose love or fear. Which of those perspectives I view these from determines how I will feel. Forgiveness will always and only come from a perspective of love--the love of ourselves and our love for all others, and from that perspective, we become thankful for the experience because it brought us back to love--that which we truly all are.


I Forgive Myself. I Forgive you. I Release You. I Let You Go. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by making some letting go choices.

Daily Inspiration 12-27-19

"Developing rapport is a one-sided affair 

where listening and asking questions 

demonstrates the leader." 

-- Albert K. Strong 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-9-15]

There is a habit that probably the majority of us have developed wherein when we are trying to develop a rapport with someone, we hear something similar to what we've done in our lives, or having had a similar experience, and then we share it as soon as we can. Having things in common are the places that we tend to focus, and then sharing stories back and forth becomes the desired conversation and friendly outcome.

I have known better for some years now, but the old habit is easily brought back to life, as I was recently reminded of last week with a potential client. The only saving grace for me now is that I have learned to pay attention to the other person--especially when I am talking. If I detect that they are not listening, and this is pretty obvious most of the time, then I often will stop talking, sometimes even mid-sentence, letting go of my attempted control of the conversation. More often than not, they don't even realize that I didn't finish, which is the confirmation that they were not really listening. 

Sometimes the habit is strong enough that I may inject two or three anecdotes, but it is rare that I get that far. What I've found that works best is to listen closely to them, participate by agreeing, nodding, or speaking really short quips of encouragement or confirmation. Then, I find an interesting question to ask from what I've learned, and ask it. This keeps them talking more, and rapport comes much faster, and more smoothly.

Larry King says it nicely: "The first rule of my speaking is: listen! I never learned anything while I was talking." He adds the secret to gaining more rapport: "You gotta ask 'why' questions. 'Why did you do this?' A 'why' question you can't answer with one word." 

Try it yourself. Pay attention to a conversation you are having going back and forth with stories or comments. Does it seem like they are listening or are they thinking about what they're going to say next? One way to tell is to stop in the middle of your story. If they ask you to continue, great. If they didn't notice, it's time to really listen to what they are saying, and start asking good questions.


"I Never Use The Word 'I' When I Interview Someone. I Think It's Irrelevant." -- Larry King 

Spread Some Joy Today--Go have some fun.

Daily Inspiration 12-26-19

"The defining factor is never resources; 

it's resourcefulness."

-- Tony Robbins 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-6-15]

I just watched a TED talk by Tony Robbins from 2006 again. I love this talk and highly recommend taking the 20 minutes it requires to watch it. It is called, Why We Do What We Do and you can see it here. You can also access the transcript if you like.

In the early portion of the talk, he says, "We've got to remind ourselves that decision is the ultimate power. When you ask people, have you failed to achieve something significant in your life? [They will say, yes.] But if you ask people, why didn't you achieve something? Somebody who's working for you, or a partner, or even yourself. When you fail to achieve, what's the reason people say? What do they tell you? "Didn't have the knowledge, didn't have the money, didn't have the time, didn't have the technology. I didn't have the right manager."

He continues, "What do all these have in common? They are a claim of missing resources, and they may be accurate. You may not have the money, but that is not the defining factor. The defining factor is never resources; it's resourcefulness."

That is such a fascinatingly true line. It is never the fault of not having the resources, it is the lack of resourcefulness.

This caused me to think of my father-in-law who just passed in the last few months at 90 or 91, I can't remember. I heard all sorts of stories about him growing up during the depression in the '30s and how they lived and how he was able to do so many things because of his resourcefulness. All his life, from that early time of needing to be creative, he found ways to get what he wanted and needed for himself and his large extended family. He found a way. He never sat around complaining about resources. Instead, he created the resources out of his head.

I know in my business, Upward Trend, it is not the resources that have helped us make it this far, it is our resourcefulness. The resources we needed were created out of thin air much of the time. There are tens of thousands of businesses that are only here for the same reason.

The idea of having all you need to get a job done exactly the way you want it done is a fantasy. I certainly agree that it would be nice; however, I know from personal experience that this may not be the best thing for the growth of the business anyway.

In the talk, Tony talks about what he calls, six human needs. The first he says is certainty. We all need certainty. We know what causes what, we know what to do, we know what to expect. Certainty is something we need in our lives. Then, he says that the second need is uncertainty. Yes, we need pluses and minuses both. We need to count on things and we also need to experience the unknown. It is the uncertainty that causes us to know what we want.

It is never the resources; it is resourcefulness. It is nice to have certainty and we need it, but we equally need uncertainty. Interesting points of view, don't you think?

Watch the talk and let him fill in all the spaces, but even without that, these thoughts might get the juices flowing.


There's Always A Way For Those Who Know Lots Of Ways. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by simply enjoying yourself. Practice it often.

Daily Inspiration 12-25-19

"Being compassionate 

means being able to see 

beauty, greatness, and potential 

where everyone else sees 

lack and limitations." 

-- Mira Kelley 

New: Audio version

[Classic post from 8-11-15]

A week or so ago, I gave what I thought was a better definition of compassion. Then, I began reading a new book by Mira Kelley and she offered something that jumped off the page at me.

Here's a better part of her quote on compassion: "We need not look to save anyone, or to feel responsible. Nor do we need to feel guilty that we're better attuned to abundance and support. Instead, we can find the possibility of being truly compassionate. Being compassionate means being able to see beauty, greatness, and potential where everyone else sees lack and limitations. We can see behind the masks of failure, sickness, and not-enough-ness to the true strength underneath." 


What A Perfect Vision Of Compassion. 

Spread Some Joy Today--by demonstrating your compassion for others.