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

If you were invisible, would you live your life differently?  Think about this for a moment.  If you were invisible and no one could see you no matter what you did, what would you be doing right now?  What would you choose to do with the rest of your life?

Let’s take it one step further, and imagine that as well as being invisible, you have no name and no identity.  Would you live your life differently if nothing that you did could ever be traced back to you?  Would you still want to write that book or record that album if you couldn’t put your name on the cover?

Taking the time to think about your answers to this question will help you find balance in your life.  How?  It will help you align with your true purpose.  Your answers will help you see where you are being of service to others, and where you are possibly wasting time trying to please your ego.   Let me give you an example.

When I completed this exercise, I came to the conclusion that if I were invisible and nothing I did mattered, I would still clean and organize my home on a regular basis.  Yeah – it’s kind of crazy, I know, but I would do that for my husband as well as for myself.  It is very important to me for him to be comfortable in his surroundings and even though he doesn’t realize how much time, effort, and energy cooking, cleaning, laundry, and organizing the house requires, I know he would be a mess without it.  (Come to think of it, I am sort of invisible in this regard – aren’t we all?  But that’s another post!)

The other thing I would do if I were invisible is go around whispering in people’s ears – “You can do it!”  I would be that voice that you sometimes hear when no one is around that motivates and inspires you to become your best.  I would encourage everyone I could.  Want to lose weight?  You can do it!  Want to go back to school?  You can do it!  Want to go for that promotion?  You can do it!  Want to start your own business?  You can do it!  Want to quit your job and stay at home with your kids?  You can do it!  Whatever your heart is calling you toward, you can do it!

So, in my daily efforts of writing books, speaking, preparing seminars, designing websites, etc., all of it falls into my passion and true purpose.  All of the organizing, cooking, cleaning, writing, speech preparing, web designing etc. – all of it, as long as it is within the guidelines of helping and motivating others, (or myself), is time well-spent.

At the end of the session my higher self reminded me that I am not invisible, and that that is on purpose – by design of a Higher Power.  I am visible so that I can motivate, educate, and inspire others to be their best and reach their full potential.  It’s a good feeling to know that I am living a life, fully visible, in line with my true self.

But now it’s your turn:  What would you do if you were invisible?  Make a list of the things you would continue to do, and then a list of what you would no longer do.  How many of the latter could you let go of now?  Think about how much more freedom letting go of those things would give you to do the things that align with your true purpose.   As you begin doing more of what your inner being calls you toward, you will find more things in that realm that please you.  Living a life full of purpose requires that we remain true to our “invisible” selves.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Inspiration, Motivation

“There is no passion to be found playing small, in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.”
Nelson Mandela, 11th President of South Africa

You get what you settle for in life.  Are you living the life of your dreams?  Are you the professional you want to be?  Are you making the money you want to make?  Are you the mother/father/sister/brother/aunt/uncle/provider/team mate/ employee/employer/leader you want to be?

Perhaps a better question to ask is, are you the best you that you’re capable of becoming?  Okay, we’re always in the process of becoming, so I’ll give you some slack on that one.  But are you on your way?  Can you feel your becoming?

Or, are you settling for what others around you and/or your upbringing or current surroundings/conditions have caused you to believe that that’s all you deserve or want?

Perhaps because I live in a rural area, I encounter numerous people with attitudes like this:  “My daddy was a farmer, and that’s all I’ll ever be.  I’m lucky to have a factory job that actually pays the bills.  I’m doing a little better than he did, so even though I’m not completely happy, I’m at least providing for my children the way my parents did for me.”  Some even go as far as to believe that if they do much better than their parents, that they are actually disgracing or demeaning their parents in some way.

In reality, nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, just the opposite it true: When you hold yourself in a position that is less than all you are capable of, not only are you disgracing yourself, but everyone who has ever invested in you. Whether your parents put you through college or just helped you with your homework in elementary school, they likely invested in you in some way.  (And if they didn’t, no big deal – get over it.  That just means you owe them nothing, let alone holding yourself back so that you don’t hurt their feelings!)

Whatever it is you’ve been holding yourself back from doing, whatever the decision is, ask yourself this question:  Which do I choose to be – a person living up to her full potential, or a person who ends up with nothing but excuses?  Then listen to your heart for the answer.

Believe whatever your heart wants to believe.  Your heart knows what you are capable of becoming.  Let your light shine and achieve all that you are capable of being.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Inspiration, Motivation

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
Paul Valery, French Poet

“My life sucks.”

“I’m a statistic.  I grew up in the inner city and everyone expects me to be on welfare or in jail.  Why should I disappoint them?”

“There’s nothing I can do; that’s just the way life is.  The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.”

“I’m stuck.  This is the career I chose when I graduated from college and it’s all I know how to do.  If my company goes under, I’m sunk as well.”

“The economy is all that is wrong with my business.  Once the government fixes it, things will pick up again – it’d better!”
———
“I am the creator of my life experience.”

“I am the luckiest person alive.  I grew up in the inner city as one of five children.  I received a scholarship because of my race and now I’m a respected professional.  My grandmother raised me and I will not disappoint her.”

“I have so many ideas they blow my mind on a good day!  I have so many options as to what to do with my life that sometimes, I get frazzled trying to implement everything I’m capable of doing.  When I’m not making money, I’m gaining knowledge and experience.  Life just keeps getting better and better.”

“Looking back, I can see now that getting laid off from my job was the best thing that ever happened to me.  I hated fighting traffic every morning to commute to a job that made me feel like a mindless drone.  I’ve started my own business, risky – for sure, but well worth it.  Even though I’m not making as much money right now, I can see the potential for an even greater income that what I had.  Other people have done it, and I can, too.”

“I don’t know where all this media hype is coming from about a bad economy.  My small business continues to grow in customers and revenue.  I’m so glad I made the investment in marketing and public relations – I definitely dodged a bullet on this one.  My company stands on it’s own – no government bailout required here – thank goodness!”
———

I truly am the luckiest person alive:  I am surrounded daily by people who have attitudes in the second set of quotes.  Now, to a certain extent, that is by design; I choose very carefully who I converse with on a regular basis.  I can always tell when I’ve spent too much time with people in the first group – my attitude begins to suffer.  If you’re the most positive person in your group, find a new group.  I’m not saying abandon the others altogether, but remember that in order to lead, you must first learn, and then lead yourself.

Any situation that you’re in right now you have created.  The moment that we call, “now,” is nothing more than a jumping off point for the future.  Everyone talks about “enjoying the now – be here now – etc.”  Today, I want to take that a little further.

If you’re living an experience that you truly enjoy, then, yes, enjoy your now.  Be present in the moment.  You’ve created every aspect of your life as you’re living it now – so enjoy it, relish it, and you’ll get more of it.

However, if what you’re currently living is not exactly to your liking, then now is the time to do something about it.  Now is where your power is.  Now is when you can do something about it.  You can’t do anything in the future because once you get to that future point, it becomes what we call “now.”  This is why personal strategic planning is so important.

I see too many people who want to live in a fantasy world – dreaming their dreams.  Visualizing their life as they want it to be.  Yes – I teach that, too.  But at some point, you have to wake up.  Stop dreaming and start acting.  Now.   I hear stories and read emails everyday from people who fail to act on inspired action.  Why?  Sometimes it’s fear, but most of the time, they chose to stay in the dream world.  It’s easy in dream land.  When you dream of things as you want them to be, you feel wonderful.  In reality, it’s easier to just blame the economy, the government, your boss – whatever.

But the power is yours and your greatest point of power is NOW.

My challenge for you today is to wake up and do something that will change your future.  You can’t do anything in the future – you’re not there and you never will be.  So stop putting it off, do it now.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

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

Have you ever given up on a project about halfway into it?  Many of us do that with our goals and dreams. Living your dream and creating the life you want is hard sometimes.  The actual work becomes so difficult, we forget about the reward at the end – living our dream - so we quit.  Then a few months down the road, we decide to start again, only to follow the same pattern.

Successful people have a way of visualizing the big dream – they focus on the result, not the work.  I can’t tell you how many times in developing this website I’ve almost given up.  I have literally had the thought, “Forget it.  This is too hard, I can’t do this.  No one should have to go through this, there’s got to be an easier way.”  Then I realized there was an easier way; I could hire someone to design the site for me.  But then I’d be at their mercy every time I needed to change it.  I want a site that I can re-design and customize on a moment’s notice.  If I give a speech and want to make materials available to that audience alone, I want to be able to do that immediately and on my own.  Luckily, I’m a very determined person who doesn’t give up easily.  I don’t like to give in and let something beat me.  More appropriately, I was able to keep my thoughts focused on the desired result instead of how complicated the process.

I’m still working on my site – constantly.  There’s a lot more I want to change and the list grows daily, but I can do it all myself and I’m constantly learning.  I also enjoy the creative side of maintaining my site myself. With each new language I learn, it seems as if there’s another that must be learned to go with it.  Then there’s the marketing side with new methods introduced daily.  There’s also the profitability side, which accounts for a lot of stress as well.  The important thing is that I’m living my dream of motivating, educating, and inspiring others to be their best through my writing, speaking and consulting.  This site is the glue that holds all of that together and to turn it over to someone else would not work for me.  So when the going gets tough, even painful at times, I let my “control freak” kick in and guide me through the process.

How to overcome the strong notion to quit

So what are some ways that you can overcome that strong notion we all get when the going gets tough to just call it quits?  I’ve put together some ideas and thoughts for you that have helped me.  First of all, take a step back and ask yourself, “What am I trying to do?  What is the desired result?”  If that desired result is strong enough, it will keep you going.  That’s what kept me going on this project and does so almost daily.  I remind myself of my unwavering desire to have complete control over my website.  That’s the most important aspect of my career right now.

Realize that it’s not really you

Those thoughts of, “I’m not smart enough to do this,” or any version of, “I can’t,” are just hogwash.  You can do it or you wouldn’t have started/been assigned the project to begin with.  More than likely, you just need to eat something, take a break, go for a walk, read something light, or get some sunlight - REFRESH!  At the very least, you need some perspective.  Refuse to give in to any negativity, wherever it’s coming from.

Make sure it’s your goal/dream

It’s common for us to get caught up in someone else’s dream.  If you’re faced with a situation where the work should be easy for you to accomplish, and you know how to do virtually everything required to accomplish it, but you’re still confronting blockages, think about whether or not this is your goal.  Or, are you being used to accomplish someone else’s dream?  When you work for someone else, it’s easy to get caught up in this, especially if you’ve chosen a field you’re not passionate about.  Assuming you can’t quit, (and I strongly recommend you not quit a project you’ve given your word to complete), think about what your individual reward is for the attainment of this goal.  Is it money?  Is it a better position within the company once this project is completed?  Find that incentive and focus on it.  As Brian Tracy puts it, “Let your vision of the future guide your present performance.”

Think of it as easy

With whatever you have to do today, think of it as easy, and it will be.  Don’t believe the voice in your head telling you that the accomplishment of a particular task is going to be difficult.  So you have to design a new website today?  Easy!  You’re on your way to an important meeting where you’re expected to a sign a $5 million account?  Easy!  You have only two hours to clean your two-story home?  Easy!   Why is it easy?  Because it’s important to you.

Anytime you concentrate on the difficulty of the work instead of its results or rewards, you are likely to become discouraged.  Dwell on it too long, and you will develop self-pity instead of self-discipline.  The next time you’re facing a must-do task and you’re thinking of giving up instead of paying the price, change your focus.  Count the benefits of doing what’s important, and then dive in.

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Related Posts:

Wake up and Create the Life You Want

How to Motivate Yourself into Action

We Are All Self-Employed

Seven Steps to Goal Accomplishment

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Weight Loss

Fanatic.  Workaholic.  Over-the-top.  Insane.  Sick.
Electrifying.  Magnetic.  Charismatic.  Enthusiastic.  Intelligent.

All of these adjectives have been used to describe someone who is passionate.

An accountant who works until 11 PM – workaholic.
A motivational speaker who gets her audience on their feet – electrifying.
A dentist with 5 times the amount of annually required CE – over-the-top.
A salesperson with customers waiting in line – magnetic.

It seems that there are some industries where it’s okay to have passion for your work, yet others where everyone assumes that if you’re in that industry, you’re there because you have to be.

The truth is, anything you do can be electrifying and profitable when it is infused with the power of passion.

Why is passion so powerful?

First of all, it makes you more informed at what you do, which typically makes you better at it.  The better you are at something, the more confident you become.  The more confident you are, the more magnetic you are, and many times, the more money you make.  So passion can mean earning more money – especially in the long run.

Secondly, having passion for a subject is a lot more fun than just tolerating it.  Imagine the cleaning woman who is enthused about her work, merrily singing and enjoying the process, compared to the one who is simply going through the motions.

Don’t be one of those people who goes through life performing only what is necessary to get through it.  Follow these 7 steps to become more passionate about your life today.

1. Imagine yourself being passionate.  Whether it’s a particular subject you want to develop, or life itself, imagine your new, passionate self.  What’s different?  Do you smile more?  Go to the gym?  Greet others with more vigor?  How does the passionate you look and feel?
2. Start with something you are already passionate about and take the time to really feel what that feels like.   I live in Kentucky where many people are passionate about our two world-renowned college basketball teams: the University of Louisville, and the University of Kentucky.  If those people could take that passion they exhibit during a big game to work on Monday morning, oh – what a world that would be!  Anything that you have fun doing will bring you that feeling that I’m talking about.  Once you’re there, try applying that feeling to whatever subject you’re wanting to develop a passion for.  Transference – in a good way!
3. Read and research your topic.  I can always get myself excited for a subject just by reading about it.  Why do you think that is?  Most writers are passionate about their subject matter.  When they’re not, it shows.  (Read – bores you to death!)
4. Develop and enhance your skills in that area.  Gardening enthusiasts can relate to this, but it applies to everyone.  Beyond just reading about the subject, get hands-on with it.  Developing your skills in an area will help you develop your passion.  Doing more with your life will help you become more enthusiastic about your life.
5. Ask, “what if?”  Once you’ve become knowledgeable and have acquired a certain level of skill, challenge the currently accepted theories in the subject area.  New inventions are created this way.
6. Share your passion – teach others.  You don’t really know something until you have to teach it.  Teaching is also selling.  When you have to stand in front of people and sell them something, you’d darn well better be passionate about it.  Just talking about the subject can ignite that little spark you need to take your passion to the next level.
7. Feed your passion by surrounding yourself with others who already have and share your zeal.  Professional organizations quite often fill the bill nicely here.  Not only are the other participants “freaks” about the topic, but these associations offer education and a chance to develop skills as well.

The most important factor in developing passion is a true desire to do so.  So being passionate about being passionate would be the first place to start!

Until next time,
Live joyfully!

Posted under Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success

I talk a lot about changing your perspective in order to maintain a positive attitude.  Today, I have a fresh perspective and even better reason for facing adversity head on.

When you face a challenge, whether it’s a financial crisis, relationship issue, or anything that causes upset, you grow in a way that means you will never face that same challenge exactly that way again.  It’s not just that dealing with issues openly makes you stronger, it gives you experience that makes you exponentially stronger than someone who has not dealt with that issue.  Let me give you an example.

This week my husband alerted me to an issue with an employee.  She has made a $1,600.00 mistake on another employee’s account.  I could fire her and/or the other employees involved.  I could scold everyone sternly and threaten them within an inch of their lives, (don’t think it hasn’t occurred to me!), but when I researched the issue with her calmly, I discovered that there was a flaw in her thinking and in her training, for which I am partly responsible.

The ultimate result will be a change in our office policy on how employee’s accounts are handled, and, rest assured, this employee will not make this mistake again.  She is a more valuable employee to me now because she will be more successful in the future.  I am a better employer because I corrected an overlooked flaw in my policy.

Every adversity is setting you up for future success.  No matter what it is.  Bo Bennett says,

“Think of success as a game of chance in which you have control over the odds. As you begin to master concepts in personal achievement, you are increasing your odds of achieving success.”

Adversity is often the greatest fuel to personal achievement.  Stack the cards in your favor and face your challenges head on.

Until next time,
Live joyfully!

I’ve added a special value to one of my upcoming presentations: everyone who signs up for my “Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life” webinar through TheSelfHelpSchool.com will receive a free copy of the e-book. Use the ad below and register today!

Posted under Inspiration, Leadership, Motivation, Success