Being an entrepreneur is very rewarding.  The challenge of pulling together a mastermind and creating something that benefits the world is life-giving in and of itself whether you accomplish your goal or not.

But sometimes, things happen that are out of your control and you just have to roll with the punches.  Having clearly defined values so that you can make split-second decisions in a crisis is an invaluable tool of extreme importance.

Last night, someone very dear to me called and did not sound good.  He has come down with the flu.  I dropped everything, including writing today’s article, (which was going to be lengthy - so you can thank him later), to take care of him.

I was able to do so and not worry about my commitment to my blog or my readers, because the health and welfare of my family and friends comes first.  Yes, this blog is important to me, but not as important as my personal relationships.

Some will be asking, “But what about your commitment to yourself?  Don’t you always say to take care of yourself first, because if you don’t, you won’t have anything to give anyone else?”

Yes.  I do say that and I still do.  So here’s how this works.  (I’m really grateful for the opportunity to explain this in this way.)

By dropping my schedule and running to his side, I was true to myself because I was true to my values.  I was, in that moment, completely selfish, because I chose my own needs, specifically, the need to be authentic, the desire to be authentic, over the need to keep someone else happy.  Taking care of those I care about is who I am, even more so than being a writer.

The best part is, I was able to come home, watch the series finale of Desperate Housewives, and then write this post, which was just as good as the one I had planned.  So staying true to myself led to an even greater lesson to share with all of you.

How was I able to make a decision so quickly?  Because I’ve identified my values and know them by heart.

If you’re not sure that you could make such a split-second decision and feel good about it, perhaps a review of your values is in order.  Determining Your Values is a post I wrote back in 2007 that will be very helpful to you whether you’re writing your first draft of your values, or simply need a review.  Or perhaps it’s time for you to update your values so that you can make better decisions in every moment.

In any case, be sure to commit your values to memory and make sure they represent you completely, so that making split-second decisions comes naturally and intuitively.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

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

I’ve had several close, personal friends come to me lately for advice.  Considering this to be a huge compliment and ultimate faith in my ability to give good advice I, naturally, want to help.  Most of these people are now avid readers of this blog and know my philosophies, so they have come to me out of a sense of, “This isn’t working for me and I can’t figure out why – can you?”

About 98 percent of the time, every desire not yet manifested, and nearly every problem, stems from four basic areas.  Whether it’s something that you’re trying to create, or a situation you’d like to change, consider these 4 questions and you’ll find your blockage almost immediately.

Have you identified your desire in detail? Have you used your imagination to picture the new car, house, people treating you better at work, etc?  Your imagination is your most useful tool in recreating your life.  Since I just wrote a post on this, Facing Reality, I’m not going to spend any more time on it here, just remember to use your imagination, as you did when you were a child, to visualize your desired outcome – whatever that is.  (Most of you are getting pretty good at this.  That’s great!)

Do your thoughts reflect your true desire? What is your internal dialogue like?  You know what I’m talking about; when you’re going about your daily routine, or just sitting and mindlessly watching television, are your thoughts positive or negative?  Are you thinking about what you want and getting excited about it?  Or are you imagining “worst case scenarios” for other areas of your life?  Read How to Conquer Persistent Negative Thoughts if you think this is an issue for you, and if internal banter is a problem, check out, How to Control Your Internal Dialogue.

Do your words reflect your desire? What do you talk about?  I’m not saying that you have to share your goals with everyone you know, in fact, I usually advise against doing so.  I’m also not advocating that you talk about your dreams all the time.  But all of that gossip, negativity, bringing other people down for no reason whatsoever, or reliving how someone hurt you - all of it lowers your vibration and keeps you from getting what you want.  This is probably the biggest room for improvement in the lives of most of my friends.  You say you want one thing, but then you talk about all of your problems, everything that’s going wrong in your life, and all in the excuse of needing to talk about it.  You would be better off spending that time alone, visualizing your ideal day, interacting with no one, than participating in the latest water cooler scandal.  When you sit down for lunch with your co-workers, do you share all the good things that are happening in each others’ lives, or do you talk about the people who aren’t there at the moment, or the boss, or the company, or about how hard it is to make a living working there, etc?  Your mother was right:  If you don’t have something good to say, say nothing at all.

Read Achieve Success by Surrounding Yourself with a Positive Environment for more on this topic.

Do your actions reflect your aspirations? Are you “acting as if,” in faith?  Or are you letting other things get in the way?  Are you doing everything you can to be the person you say you want to be right here, right now, in this very moment?  Remember, determine what you want to be and then be that; do what you feel inspired to do; and you will have everything you want to have.  If you truly believe that your desire is possible, if you believe in God and the universe, and if you believe that all things are possible, your actions will reflect that belief.  You will no longer speak unkind things and you will guide your thoughts and develop the ability to focus on your true desires.  Once you accomplish this, the world is your oyster.  Wouldn’t that be worth it?

Until next time,
Live joyfully!

Technorati Tags: Motivation, Success

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

In 1897, an Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto observed a pattern in the distribution of wealth among citizens no matter the country or time period concerned.  He found that the distribution was extremely skewed toward one end:  A small minority of earners always accounted for a large majority of the total wealth.  Pareto’s theory was tested, forgotten, revived, proven, and eventually adopted in the United States and Europe during the 1960’s as the “80/20 rule.”

The 80/20 principle has been applied to many disciplines and basically states this:  80 percent of results come from 20 percent of effort.  While the formula is not 100 percent accurate, it is amazingly close and I have read many examples where it was dead on.  In dentistry, I often talk about “Top 20 patients.”  This refers to that 20 percent or so of patients who are responsible for approximately 80 percent of the practice’s revenue for a given year.   Any business can apply this principle to just about any area of that business.  Eighty percent of the work is completed by twenty percent of the workers.  Eighty percent of your inventory comes from twenty percent of your suppliers. As an average individual, 80% of your productivity, comes from 20% of your time.  Take a minute to think about that.  The average worker, 80% of us, spends 8 hours per day on the job, but less than two hours of that is productive time!   You’d be surprised at how many small business owners I share that statistic with and get the response, “Tell me something I don’t know!”

So how can you become one of the 20% of individuals who accounts for 80% of all success?  Identify what you do best, what makes you the most productive, and what provides the greatest value to you and/or your organization.  What are those tasks?  Now identify the tasks you do that could be performed, probably even better, by someone else.  Are there some things that could be eliminated completely?

I find that a lot of companies have employees doing things just because “we’ve always done it that way.”  We maintain the status quo when we could be setting records because our people are spinning their wheels in low productivity, time-consuming, practically worthless tasks.  When we allow people to focus on their top 20 contributions, their creativity is spurred and we start innovating in our industry.  A company is only as strong as it’s people.  This is true whether you are a small business owner working alone, or a Fortune 500 company.

For an in-depth study on how to become more effective and productive, check out Richard Koch’s Living the 80/20 Way.

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

Recently a client was complaining that he had a difficult time getting his staff to follow check-off lists for important systems that need to be completed in a certain way at specific times throughout the day.

I must say that I am right there with him in his perplexity of what the issue is.  I love lists.  I have a list for just about everything.  I could retire if I had $1 for every time I’ve heard, “Now that’s a shopping list,” at the grocery store.

I have a packing list that I use and keep updated for items I need when traveling.  Everything is on that list.  Being able to follow that list and knowing that absolutely everything I need is on it keeps me calm while I’m packing and helps me get the job completed faster.

The real power of lists, however, comes from what happens in our subconscious minds when we create a list or follow one routinely.  Have you ever had the experience of forgetting your shopping list and yet you remembered everything on it?  Most people just think, “Wow.  I’m good.  See, I didn’t need that list after all.”  So you stop making the list.  Then what happens?  You don’t remember things as well.

Many people, including some psychologists, believe that when we write things down, we’re writing them on our subconscious minds.  Can you think of all the implications this could have?

I, for one, am a firm believer that “writing it down makes it happen.”  And there many other people out there who share my view.  See Write It Down Make It Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser.

In some ways, lists are like pets:  Feed them and they will give you lots of adoration and unconditional love.  (But I can’t remember the last time my cat spouted back to me my top 20 career successes.)

In writing this article, I found 18 reasons to love keeping lists and was inspired to write a poem.  (Elizabeth Barrett Browning, please forgive me.)

Ode to My List

By Debra Moorhead

Oh, list. How do I love thee?  Let me count the ways.

I love how you help me remember my important goals in life and yet, at the same time, how you’re not too full of yourself to remind me of the little things, too.

I love how you always want to go everywhere with me and never complain about how much I put on you.

I love how you sit quietly and patiently until I am ready for you.

I love how you clear my head and organize my thoughts.

I love how you help me make my dreams come true.

I love how you can retrieve so much information at my every whim.

I love how you keep me calm by always making yourself available during trying times – like packing a suitcase – and through thick or thin.

I love how you know my hopes, desires, dreams, likes, dislikes, and accomplishments, and yet you never judge me.

I love how your only concern is with me and my needs.

I love how you are always available to me, morning, noon, night, every day, week, month, season, year and beyond.

I love how the only time you fail me, is when I forget you.  But then you always forgive me, and are willing to stay by my side at all times.

I love how you keep track of all my ideas and never laugh at them.

I love your versatility; you can be personal and professional, static or dynamic.

I love how you can mingle my business and personal lives and yet, at the same time, keep them separate.

I love how you help me create systems that lead to my success.

I love how you always come through for me.

I love how you never get jealous of other lists.

I know there are many other ways that I am leaving out.  Ah, but alas, you will eventually remind me!

Okay, so my poetry writing needs a little work. Other than that, what do you think?  In what ways have lists helped you?  What kind of lists do you keep?  (I am always looking for new lists to try.)

Until next time,

Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Dental Practice Management, Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, Leadership, Motivation, Success, Weight Loss

It is a well-known fact that whatever you dwell upon grows in your reality. You create your entire world by the things you choose to think about and how you choose to think about them.

It just so happens that wealthy, successful people fill their minds with thoughts, words, pictures and images of wealth, affluence, success, productivity and solutions to problems in the marketplace, most of the time. These thoughts trigger the reticular activating cortex, the part of the brain that makes you more alert and sensitive to things that you have decided are important to you.

Today I’d like to share with you four key ways I have found to turn my thoughts consistently toward wealth.

1. Activate Your Reticular Cortex For example, if you decide to invest in a mutual fund, you will start to see news and information about mutual funds everywhere. Mentions in newspapers and magazines will jump out at you. These notices have always been there but now you have sensitized your brain to pick them up and draw them to your attention with far greater frequency and vividness. This is the function and power of your reticular cortex.
2. Avoid Poverty Thinking On the other hand, what do poor people think about most of the time? Unfortunately, poor people fill their minds with thoughts of scarcity, lack, poverty, being unable to afford things. They are always thinking and talking about how little money they have, how much things cost and how they wish things could be better financially. What they think about most of the time is how little money they have.
3. Think Like Wealthy People Think Wealthy people from an early age think about how much they have, how much they want and all the different things they can do to acquire and earn the money and things they desire.
4. Find Out How Rich People Think Here’s a rule for you. If you want to become successful, find out what failures do and don’t do it. If you want to be wealthy, find out what poor people think about, and avoid thinking in those ways. Instead, find out how wealthy people think. Find out what they read. Find out how they spend their time. Study their lives, read their stories and autobiographies and listen to their words when they are interviewed and on tape. The more you find out what financially successful people think and talk about most of the time, and do the same things, the more rapidly you will enjoy the same rewards that they do.  You’ll find this much more interesting than watching the daily news!

Action Exercises
Here are three things you can do to put these concepts into action:

1. Make a decision today that from now on you will think and talk only about the financial success that you desire. At the same time, you will refuse to talk about or dwell upon your financial problems.
2. Instead of saying, “I can’t afford it,” instead ask the question, “How can I afford it?” When you think of something that you want or need that you don’t have the money for at the time, the only question you ask is, “How?” How can you get it? What can you do to achieve it? What are your options? How can you get from where you are to where you want to go? This type of attitude will change your life.
3. Sign up for my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich,” which discusses in further detail how wealthy people think and control their thoughts.  It comes with the original text, written by Wallace D. Wattles, and my 10 best success “secrets.”
   

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Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Law of Attraction, Motivation

Every bit of planning, prioritizing and organizing comes down to this simple concept:  select your most important task and then concentrate on it single-mindedly until it is complete.  This means no multi-tasking, and no tolerance for interruptions.  The most successful people I know apply this key concept routinely, and I know that when I apply it, I always get more done on my most important projects.  Here are some additional concepts to consider.

The Requirement for Every Great Achievement?
Every great achievement of mankind has been preceded by a long period of hard, concentrated work until the job was done. “Single handling” requires that once you begin, you keep working at the task, without diversion or distraction, until the job is 100% complete. You keep urging yourself onward by repeating the words “Back to work!” over and over whenever you are tempted to stop or do something else.

Reduce Your Time By 50%
By concentrating single-mindedly on your most important task, you can reduce the time required to complete it by 50% or more.

It has been estimated that the tendency to start and stop a task, to pick it up, put it down and come back to it can increase the time necessary to complete the task by as much as 500%.

Each time you return to the task, you have to familiarize yourself with where you were when you stopped and what you still have to do. You have to overcome inertia and get yourself going again. You have to develop momentum and get into a productive work rhythm.
Develop Energy and Enthusiasm
But when you prepare thoroughly and then begin, refusing to stop or turn aside until the job is done, you develop energy, enthusiasm and motivation. You get better and better and more productive. You work faster and more effectively.  The Law of Attraction works with you because your attention to any subject draws more of it to you.

Why Waste Your Time?
The truth is that once you have decided on your number one task, anything else that you do other than that is a relative waste of time. Any other activity is just not as valuable or as important as this job, based on your own priorities.  Once you label something a priority, doing something else means that you’re not ready for success.

Action Exercises
Take action! Resolve today to select the most important task or project that you could complete and then launch into it immediately.

Once you start your most important task, discipline yourself to persevere without diversion or distraction until it is 100% complete. See it as a “test” to determine whether you are the kind of person who can make a decision to complete something and then carry it out. Once you begin, refuse to stop until the job is finished.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

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

“Confidence and enthusiasm are the greatest sales producers in any kind of economy.”

–O.B. Smith, Author

There have never been so many opportunities to build a successful business than there are today.  As many as 80 percent of all the products and services in common use today at home, in business and in organizations large and small, will be obsolete in five years; they will be replaced by new and better products and services. The rapid development of new technology and the desire of people for new or better or cheaper products or services means that you can build your fortune easier today than at any other time in history.

However, we know that 80 to 90 percent of new businesses fail in the first three years due to a variety of factors. One of those factors is managerial incompetence. It is an inability to sell the product or an inability to control costs or both. Another major reason for failure is offering the wrong product at the wrong price to the wrong market at the wrong time, or a combination of these. In which case, even the best marketing efforts and cost controls won’t help you.  I’m going to explore these issues in great depth over the next few months, as I start yet another business with my husband.  In the meantime, here are three factors to consider in ensuring your business success.

1. Determine the Need. The first principle with regard to selecting any new product or service is to determine that it fills a genuine, existing need, that it solves a problem of some kind for the customer, or that it makes the life or work of the customer better in some way. You must be very clear about this.
2. Sell a Quality Product or Service. The second principle for success with a new product or service is that it must be of good quality at a fair price. And if it is in competition with other similar products or services, it must have what is called a unique selling proposition. It must have some beneficial feature or attraction that makes it different from and superior to its competitors.
3. Determine Your Area of Uniqueness. No product or service can succeed unless it is somehow unique and superior to any other product or service like it. There is seldom any real opportunity in what is called a “me too” product - one that is just the same as all the others. At the same time, the safest business strategy is to start off with an accepted product that you can improve. In other words, instead of trying to invent a whole new business or industry, start off with something that people are already doing, people are already buying and using, and find some way to improve it.

What is my big business idea?  I’m tackling one of the toughest problems in dental offices worldwide.  While that in and of itself might not be of any interest to you, (and I don’t expect it to be), how I achieve my success from start to finish is what I’ll be blogging about.  If you own your own business, you’ll definitely want to follow this blog over the next year.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

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

“On the eighth day of Christmas my true love gave to me . . . .”

Okay, I might not be your true love, but I do have 8 gifts for you–

Happy New Year everyone!

In honor of the 8th day of Christmas, I have 8 freebies for you today.  If you’ve been a follower of this blog for a long time, you have likely downloaded these already.  However, in an attempt to get everyone on the same page for 2009, I’m offering all of my free downloads in one fell swoop today.  Who knows – maybe you missed one somewhere along the way!

Here’s the list, once you enter your email address below, you will receive the download links.  (Be sure to check your junk folder because I am sending 8 separate links in one email.)  You can download one or all, depending upon what you want.  Enjoy!

My Top 10 Success Secrets report is my latest offering and includes the beliefs I hold, along with the things I do, that have contributed the most to my success and happiness.  These are the things that motivate me and keep me on track with who I want to become.

My Special Report on “The Science of Getting Rich,” by Wallace Wattles is a summary of the book with my personal approach to Mr. Wattles’ work.  If you like summaries without having to wade through cumbersome material, you’ll like this report.

“The Science of Getting Rich,” download is next, made available by Rebecca Fine.  For those of you who prefer the full-blown version and the original language – here it is!

The 30-Day Food Diary was created by a reader after inspiration from, “How I Lost 25 Pounds in One Month.”  She was so excited about her weight-loss, she shared this with the rest of us!

My Caloric Worksheet is what I used when I was on my diet several years ago and highly recommend to those who are struggling with taking the time to create their own tracking system.  It’s simple, but effective.

My Housekeeping list keeps me sane and clutter-free with a home that sparkles.  I love keeping house and working full-time, but if I didn’t have my list things would get out of hand very quickly.

Speaking of lists, my regular readers know how much I love them – lists that is – oh – and my readers, too – HA!  So for my final two gifts today, I’ve included my Master Packing List, which helps keep me calm and organized even when packing for a big trip, and my Master Shopping List, which helps me have a joyful experience at the super market.

Simply enter your name and email address below and all of these will be in your inbox shortly.  I have many exciting motivational, educational, and inspirational ideas to share with you in the upcoming year, so stay tuned!

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Education, Inspiration, Law of Attraction, 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

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