I just sent a friend a birthday greeting via Facebook.  Wanting to keep it short but meaningful, I wrote, “Happy Birthday, Brent!  Make is a great one and enjoy!”  Being pleasantly busy, I immediately hit the “Post” button and then almost as immediately wished there was an “undo” feature.  Let me explain.

When I get in my own little world of writing and preparing speeches, I forget that not everyone knows what I know or understands what I understand.  And while, yes, I am preparing material for people who usually know less than I do about the subject, there is a general tendency to believe that our friends, family, and immediate associates “get” what we teach.  In reality, they don’t.

Now, Brent might actually get what I mean by my birthday wish to him, but do you?  I thought it would make a good article today.  “Blog fodder” as I frequently call it, so here goes.

I am often amazed at how many people work so hard to create every detail and aspect of their lives, get it that way, and then don’t enjoy it.  An easy example is the wealthy person who has enough money to buy the world, but is miserable, or someone who works hard their entire life to amass a fortune, and then dies 2 days after retirement.  We have a tendency to look at those lives and very quickly dismiss them with the comment, “what a shame.”  But are you doing exactly the same thing?

For example, I can tell that the life I’m living right now is the direct result of the beliefs I’ve held, the specifics I’ve wanted, the thoughts I’ve visualized, and desires I’ve written down over the past several years, months, days, and even minutes.  Little by little, day by day, I’ve created exactly what I have in this moment.  If I don’t like it, (I do, but if I didn’t), all I have to do is choose something else.  I can think thoughts, perform actions, and take initiatives to change anything and everything about my life.  Isn’t that exciting?  I think so!

The key to living a great life is to create the life experience you think you’ll enjoy.  Isn’t joy the ultimate goal?  The reason you want all the money is because you think you will enjoy it.  You want that promotion because you think it will stimulate you and you would really enjoy that.  You want to start a family because you think nurturing another human life will add value to yours, and so on and so forth.

So what if you create it, and then you don’t like it as much as you thought you would?  Choose again.  A lot of people create circumstances for the wrong reasons, and then feel too guilty to change them.  Remember that the most important characteristic you have to offer anyone and everyone is your own happiness.  Create that first, and everything else will fall into place.

Until next time,
I Invite YOU to Live Joyfully!

Posted under Motivation

Have you ever changed your mind?  Of course you have – we all do.  Why is that?  Because things change.  Circumstances change, things happen, we get new information, we receive more or less money that we had expected from a project and that causes us to change a decision.

If you’ve been reading this blog for very long, you know that I’m a big planner.  I like to plan everything.  I wasn’t always this way, I’ve developed the habit over the past 25 or so years, and it gets stronger all the time.  Why is that?

The reason I like planning so much is because it gives me such a thrill.  Why is that?

As someone who believes in living in the moment and listening to the call of source, and as someone who knows the power of listening to your instincts and that feeling of inspiration, I still whole-heartedly believe in planning.   Here’s how I see it.

Planning is an exercise that makes me use my imagination.  I use planning as a tool to pre-pave my future with my current intentions which makes me think about and utilize the resources I have at my disposal right now.  In many cases, especially when planning a long-term goal, I know that there will be many intermediate steps along the way that I can in no way fill in right now while I’m planning.

However, the important concept to consider is, what am I doing in my now to make my dreams a reality in the future?  Since my only power is in the now, if I don’t do something now toward accomplishing my goals, they will stay forever in my future.

A lot of people confuse planning with procrastination.  You can’t allow a lack of planning to keep you from taking the next logical step, and vice versa.  When you feel inspired to do something, do it.  Don’t over-analyze it.

When you don’t feel inspired, just start planning your future reality and see if anything comes to mind.  You might be surprised – and delighted!

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Motivation, Success

I refuse to focus on problems.  I am solution-oriented instead.  You cannot be focused on something without activating the vibration of it and therefore attracting more of it.  Focus on all of the well-being in your life and you will get more of it; focus on the lack of something and you will continue to lack it.

When a problem arises in your life, bless it.  That’s right, I said, “BLESS IT!”  Contrast from our desires helps us find solutions and achieve our desires more quickly.  When someone comes to me with a problem, (and this took a while to do consistently, by the way), I immediately ask them, “What do you want from me?”  Or, “What do you want me to do about it?”  And sometimes, I just ask, “What do you want?”

I refuse to sit and listen to problems, because, in my mind, there are no problems; there are solutions waiting to be found and they had to get your attention in some way.  Let me put that another way:  A problem is nothing more than a solution trying to get your attention.

I don’t usually write poetry.  In fact, I’ve never written a poem outside of a classroom assignment.  But during my regular writing session today, I was inspired to write the following.  I hope you enjoy it, but more importantly, I hope you embrace it.

Bless this problem, O Lord, I pray,
Bless each problem, from day to day.

I know that from contrast, I find my best,
It is in the solution, I find my zest.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success

Many people get time off this time of year.  Between Advent, Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, Las Posadas, Soya Luna, Dong Zhi, Boxing Day, Omisoka, and others I’ve left out, we should all get some days off in December.  Are you going to make the most of them?

I know, I’m making it sound like work, which is what you’re trying to get away from, but bear with me on this for a few paragraphs.

The holidays are an excellent excuse to develop one of the most important skills you can have – social.  Happiness in life, to a large degree, comes from good relationships with other people, in your family and personal life, as well as at your work.  The work on emotional intelligence by Daniel Goleman and others suggests that your social skills will have more of an impact on your success than your intellectual ability, education, and experience combined.  How are your social skills?

Fortunately, social skills are both learned and learnable.  Some of us come to them more naturally than others due to our personality types, but there is much to be said for how we were brought up as well.  If you had a parent who was naturally the “life of the party,” you either embraced their talent and easily mix with others, or you shied away from social situations and feel uncomfortable even today among family, friends, and peers.

While there are many points I could make about social skills, the biggest mistake I see people make in social settings is that they get too wrapped up in themselves.  No one joins a pity party, so never start a conversation with everything wrong that’s happened to you over the past year.

Instead, be interested, not interesting.  Ask questions.  How’s your spouse?  How old are your children now?  What colleges are they pursuing?  Be on the lookout for ways you can genuinely help someone else.  Maybe one of your employees’ teenagers is trying to get into an internship program and the person making the decision is in another one of your social groups.  A “good word” from you just might be the spark that establishes a win-win for both parties and makes you look like a hero.

Of course at some point you’ll need to share a few things about yourself, and without being untruthful, describe your life in the best light possible.  Expressing an attitude of, “I lost my job in October due to cutbacks in my company, so I’ve had a lot of time to research myself and my talents and I am eagerly awaiting the next opportunity,” will inspire others to help you in whatever way they can, while an attitude of, “I got canned and I’m waiting for MY government bailout,” will make others want to “move on.”

Spend quality and quantity time with your immediate family.  Create memories.  Plan vacations and local outings that everyone will enjoy.  Most importantly, let your intention be to have fun, then relax and let it happen.

When you dedicate yourself to creating and maintaining a wonderful personal life, the quality of every other area of your life will improve.  You will be happier, healthier, more rested, relaxed, and productive.  You will experience greater happiness and satisfaction at home, and you will be far more effective and capable when you go back to work.

Have an inspirational holiday!

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Inspiration, Motivation

An enthusiastic attitude is one of the most important aspects to a successful life.  Yet, enthusiasm is really an art – it must be practiced in order to be performed well, and enjoyed on a regular basis.

I have two friends right now who are new mothers, working full time, and starting online courses in January.  One of them came to me the other day asking for advice.  ‘”I’m beginning to wonder how I’m going to do all of this.  I know you’re a positive thinker, can you give me any words of wisdom?”

My first thought was, “how much time do you have?”   I’m a motivational speaker – I can give you weeks’ worth of profound wisdom and advice!

But since this was a close, personal, friend whom I’ve come to know very well, I decided to just give her the truth about what I see.  I didn’t come right out and say it, but I had been wondering how she was going to do it all as well.  From my observation of people throughout the past 20 years, the ones who accomplish the most and are the happiest are the ones who embrace and develop enthusiasm.  Successful and happy people, the ones I know personally, are high-energy, positive thinking, very focused, and just generally upbeat people.  They always have strong faith, (although no particular denomination stands out), and usually will readily deject or at the very least get away from negative thinking and negative people.  They have boundless energy and are always smiling.

My friend, despite her good intentions and determination, does not have these qualities.  But then, I don’t know of many of us who do have them naturally.  You have to want to be enthusiastic, and then you have to focus on that desire long enough to develop habits that support it.  What I want to share with you today, are some ways I have found to develop enthusiasm.

1. Don’t sleep too much, and don’t worry about insomnia.  An enthusiastic person is a high-energy person and I’ve never met a high-energy person who sleeps a lot.  Now, we all have different requirements when it comes to sleep, so I’m not going to give you a number.  You know what your number is.  If you’re taking sleep aids to help you sleep and caffeine to help you stay awake, your sleep habits are off balance.  If you’re working on a project that you’re excited about, you can probably get by on as little as 4 hours a night for awhile.  Once the project is completed, you’ll likely go quickly back to your normal hours.  Instead of worrying about not sleeping, use that time to channel your energy into something positive.  Work if you want, relax and watch TV, read a book – use that time to chill out.  The advantage to working is that it just might help your mind relax so that you can go to sleep.  I usually look at my next day’s schedule, do a few little tasks, and then relax knowing that everything else will get done tomorrow.  Sometimes, just staying up an extra hour helps me unwind and then get a good night’s rest.
2. Work out – get on the treadmill.  Do something to get your body going.  Your body is the housing, the casing, if you will, for your mind and is the robot of your spirit.  It needs to be in good working order.  Don’t exercise to lose weight, just do it to feel good.  In time, you’ll likely look good, too, but at first, just focus on how good it makes you feel now.
3. Read more. Knowledge about what you’re doing, getting ready to do, or would like to do, is very empowering.  Empowered people are enthusiastic people.  There is nothing that builds self-esteem faster than going to work, going to class, or going to a social event and knowing that you’re going to get it right.  You have the latest information and you know it cold.  When you approach your work, school, and life with enthusiasm, learning will not feel like a chore, it will feel like passion.
4. Focus your thoughts on what you want – what will it look like and how will it feel once you’ve achieved your accomplishment?  It’s okay if you don’t know exactly, just how to you think your life will be when you’ve achieved your goal?  Don’t get too caught up in the details.  Set your thoughts on what you want and define only as many details as you can and still feel good.  Don’t get caught up in being too specific on how your desires will come to you.  The universe will take care of that.  Listen for inspiration and follow it when it comes.
5. Demonstrate the enthusiastic attitude that you’d like to create.  Pretend.  Fake it until you make it.  I know a lot of people this has worked for.  You can get a vision of who you want to become so vividly, and then play the part so well, that before long, even you believe you are that person.  Why is that?  Because your actions define you are and will become.
6. Appreciate where you are now.  Right now on a sheet of paper or word processor, list 5 things you’ve accomplished in the past week.  Look at all you’ve done and how far you’ve come.  Yes, you will always want more.  But even when you accomplish that, you’ll still want more.  That’s how we grow and become more – by wanting more.  Being satisfied with where you are while enthusiastically expecting more is the fastest way to creating anything you want.
7. Stop complaining. Stop finding fault.  Stop speaking your discord.  Eventually, as you stop saying negative things, you’ll stop thinking negative things.  Once you start speaking and thinking positively on a regular basis, your experience will get better and better.  But don’t take my word for it – try it and see for yourself.
8. Train your brain to find the positive aspects of every situation.  Do you believe that within every adversity is a blessing?  It’s true.  Every obstacle is an opportunity to discover something about yourself and become better.  See every problem from that perspective and you will never have a bad day every again.  In reality, there are no bad days, there are just some days when you grow more than others!  (Stop and think about that one for a moment.)
9. Smile.  Greet people cheerfully and genuinely.  This is the first sign I get that a person is truly enthusiastic and either is or is going to be successful in life.  When I meet someone and they divert their eyes, are distracted constantly, or have to force a smile and cheerful greeting, I know they either don’t want to be there, or are miserable on the inside in some way.  The good news is that by smiling and focusing on the other person, you will momentarily forget whatever it is that is bothering you.  This is called relief and it can have a huge impact on your thought processes.  Various studies have shown that smiling releases endorphins much the same as exercising.  Try it.  Let me know how it works for you.
10. Plan.  There’s just something soothing and energetic about a well-laid-out plan.  Now, you don’t have to stay rigidly adhered to a long-term plan.  I’m a believer in going with your gut, listening to your inner being and taking what feels like the next logical step.  But for me and many other successful people that I talk with, having a plan to start with is energizing and helps keep you motivated because it keeps you on track and helps you notice those serendipitous opportunities when they come along.
11. Get organized and simplify.  What do you really want?  Pick two or three things for now and put everything else on the back burner – you’ll get to it one day.  (If it’s meant to be.)  What’s important to you now – right now – this very moment?  One idea I shared with my friend was to focus on just the roles she’s bound to already:  Mother, wife, employee, and student.  Housekeeper, gourmet chef, landscape artist, part-time blogger, and other things that are stressing her out need to go on the back burner for now.  In the future, if she finds herself bored, she can pick back up with any of those.
12. Dale Carnegie had the best advice of all:  Stop Worrying and Start Living.  Enthusiastic people have trained themselves to focus on solutions and finding them quickly, instead of dwelling on the problems.  When something happens in your life that displeases you, make your mind go immediately to “how can I fix this?”  or “What is it that I do want? And how can I get that?”  If the answer doesn’t come immediately, go for a jog.  Clear your head.  Go dancing.  You’ve experienced situations when you dwelled on an issue for hours on end and came up with nothing.  Finally you gave up and a few hours later what happened?  The solution “came” to you.  You were probably either in the shower or taking a nap or doing something else completely unrelated.  We’ve all had that experience.  People who are successful – and by that I mean happy and satisfied with their life, but eager for more – have trained themselves to not worry about anything, but instead think about solutions using all three parts of their being - body, mind, and spirit.  In our Western culture, we tend to put all of the emphasis on our mind, leave our spirit out of things, and let our bodies suffer.  My friends, the sooner you embrace the connection of your spirit to what your mind is thinking and your body is doing, the sooner you will find the success, inner peace, and happiness that you seek.  How can you tell when you’re on the right path?  You’re enthusiastic about it.

Your assignment for today is to follow the calling of your inner being.  While reading this article, you have felt inspired to do something.  Do it.  Trust me, you’ll be glad you did!

Related Articles:
My Intuition Saves a Child’s Life
7 Ways in Increase Your Enthusiasm
The Power of Momentum
The Power of a Smile

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success

It’s the time of year again where we all take on more than we probably should:  Extra parties, extra chores, extra shopping, extra expense, extra devotion of our personal time, and extra of just about everything.  All of that “extra”vaganza can leave us feeling overwhelmed and burned out.  Today I want to share with you a couple of ways I’ve learned to chill out during the holiday season.

Pace yourself. This might require a little forethought and planning, but will be well worth it.  For example, in decorating the house and the office for the Christmas holiday, I started early, and spread the projects out over 2 weeks.  I’ve found that if I try to do everything in 2-3 days, I end up physically exhausted for two weeks anyway.  By spreading things out, I have more time to think about how I’m going to decorate, making my projects better in the long run.   I have time to shop for additional items to make everything truly special.  I enjoy the process instead of dreading it.

Meditate. Have you heard about this?  It’s not just for metaphysical, new age, positive-thinking junkies anymore.  More and more studies at top research facilities around the world are documenting scientific evidence of the health and longevity benefits of meditation.  In fact, it’s become a widely acknowledged fact that daily meditation is not just good for you, but has been proven to actually extend your life.

Now, like many of you, I find it very difficult to find the time and/or patience to sit down, quiet my mind, and let go of all those thoughts racing around in my head.  I know I should, I believe in the benefits, but getting even 15 minutes of uninterrupted time during a workday can be tough, and if I can make it happen, I feel like I should do something with those precious moments!

So what I do instead, is schedule time during my lunch break where I listen to either my favorite classical music CD, or my Immrama Institute CDs.   Fifteen to twenty minutes is all it takes to feel both physically and mentally refreshed.

If you have the patience and discipline to meditate without these aids, you probably don’t need me to give you any advice and you already know the benefits.  I have one friend who uses music for the first five minutes, and then meditates without it after that – what a great idea!

Your assignment for today is to start pacing yourself a little more this holiday season, and make some time to meditate.  If necessary, make your meditation time an appointment on your calendar and combine it with a treat, like a bubble bath, cup of hot cocoa, or reading a few pages in a favorite book – whatever would help you get the process started.  Gradually add your ritual to your daily routine and enjoy the benefits of a less stressful, happier life.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Motivation

December 1st marks the beginning of the Christmas season in our house and this year, I have a new dental office to decorate – FUN!  Since I like to mix things up a bit every year, I’ve decided to take the tree that is normally at the house and put it up in the new office.  (I don’t have a real tree because I’m allergic to pine.  Please don’t email me.)

Over the years I’ve learned a few tricks to keep the decorating process tidy, and this year my overly anal-retentive tendencies are paying off!  Here are a few tips I want to share with you today.

1. First things first – take inventory.  It’s best if you do this at the end of the season, but if you didn’t make a list of all your holiday decorations last year, do it now.  I like to use what I have first, then buy only what I need.  It seems to make even more sense this year.
2. Take time to think about existing themes.  I have a Thomas Kinkade print of a winter scene that has blue matting.  It’s gorgeous!  I’ve always wanted to do the entire house in blue, white, and purple (to match the dining room).   However, I always end up with red on the tree just because I have so many red ornaments.  This year, I’m moving the red to the new office, and will get to try the blue, white, and purple I’ve been dreaming of.  (I’ll post pictures in a few days.)
3. Use an automated card-sending service to mail holiday cheer to those friends and family members you don’t get to spend as much time with as you’d like.  I know that a lot of people have stopped sending cards, but even more a reason to do so – it is so appreciated!  It’s not so much that the card itself matters, but knowing that you remembered them means a lot.  FYI–USPS has suggested that holiday cards be sent BEFORE December 15, 2008, in order for them to arrive in your recipients’ mailboxes by December 25.
4. Relax, give yourself plenty of time, and enjoy the decorating process.  It takes me a full 8 hours just to put up my Christmas tree.  This year, I plan to spend a minimum of 5 days on the office and house combined, possibly more.  But it will be worth it.  There’s nothing better than a warmly lit, sparkling house on a cold night.  (And it’s sleeting here as I write this – I’ve got my work cut out for me!)
5. Show off (and enjoy) your hard work by inviting friends over.  I don’t do all of this for myself, although it would be fine if I did since I enjoy it so much.  There are many people who don’t have the time, energy, or wherewithal to decorate, so share your creativity and abundance with them.  Throw a cookie party, invite guests you haven’t seen in a while, or have the entire (extended) family over for a meal.  Just be sure that you take some time before the event to sit, relax, and take in the beauty.

Of course, there’s more to the season than just decorating and organizing, but that’s another post, and I’ve got to get back to work!

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Inspiration, Motivation

“There is nothing that is a more certain sign of insanity than to do the same thing over and over and expect the results to be different.”
–Albert Einstein

So you want a different life?  What are you going to do about it?  Today?

Even one small change in your routine can make a huge impact on your results.  Change your habits, and you change your life.  Don’t change your habits, and your life remains the same.  There is nothing wrong with a small change, one tiny step forward, but it must be there or you’ll continue to get what you already have.  Which is fine, if that’s what you want.  What do you want?  What are you going to do about it?

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Motivation, Success