Debra Moorhead . com

Whew – what a weekend!  I’ll give you an update in a few minutes, but first, I’m taking care of business.  (That’s on old one, huh?)

This Saturday, May 10, 2008, I will be hosting the Carnival of Healing.  If you’ve written a post or an article about holistic health, wellness, spirituality, or self empowerment, and you’re willing to share it, please use the Carnival Submission Form and I’ll check it out.  I include everything that’s positive and helpful.  The current carnival, Facing Adversity with Strength, is at A-Ha! – Daily Blog for A-Ha! TV.com; check it out for some great articles – you’ll be glad you did!

As for my weekend experience at SOBCon08, what can I say except that it was a fantastic weekend!  I could inundate you with links to people I met and now absolutely love, but I’ve decided to introduce you to them in more palatable spurts instead. 

The highlight for me was getting to finally meet Scot Herrick in person.  Isn’t it wonderful when you meet someone you’ve been corresponding with for a while and discover that they are exactly as you imagined them?  Sincere, honest, and walking his talk – that’s Scot.  If you work in a “cube,” (and if you’re not sure, you don’t), check out Scot’s Cube Rules.

I met lots of new people, too.  My table partner was a gentleman by the name of Derek Semmler.  Derek is a sweet, devoted family man, who has a sincere desire to help others:    From helping people get out of debt and achieve financial freedom, to parenting solutions for dads, to helping people make money with their blog, links to all of  Derek’s websites can be found at RedStapleMedia.com. 

Okay, I don’t want to sound like a sales pitch, but trust me, these people are worth your time. 

As for what I personally learned:  Enough to start making serious changes to this site, changes you’re going to love!  So stay tuned . . .   (Over 650 of you are regularly tuning in every day – thank you – I deeply appreciate you!)

Join me at my Personal Development Retreat on May 30.

Get control of your stuff and your life with:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

Technorati Tags: SOBCon08, Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

I attended a regional dental meeting with my husband a few weeks ago and made some curious observations I’d like to share with you today. 

As a Dental Practice Management Consultant, it is important to me to stay on top of the very latest techniques in my field.  Since I was not speaking at this event, but am very well-versed in the topics offered, I attended a few courses with a different objective than usual; pure observer.  I usually sit in the front, eagerly taking in everything the speaker has to say.  Since I’ve heard it all at this point, I chose to sit in the back, and observe the dentists and their teams, in an attempt to see how I might meet the needs of my audiences in the future.  What a different perspective!

You see, as you might suspect, I’m one of those people who believes that everything and anything is possible.  I believe that failure is to be expected and is merely a stepping stone to greatness.  I live very little of my life in fear, which tends to terrify my mother.  (How ironic is that?)

As I listened to the conversations going on all around me, I discovered that everything I’ve ever learned, and have taught to others myself, about the significance of a positive, can-do attitude, is absolutely TRUE!

Isn’t it funny how you can believe in something, but not really know it until you have the proof displayed right in front of your face?  But I guess that what faith is, isn’t it?  However, seeing evidence, first hand, is really an eye opener.  Let me explain.

I observed two key characteristics among the successful dentists, versus the ones who are struggling.  The first will not surprise you, it was attitude.  The dentists who were saying positive things about their life, their work, their practices, their teams, and just making positive statements in general, appeared to be happy, calm, at peace, enjoying their journey, and successful.  They eagerly shared their earnings, their goals, and interestingly, their tips and what they’ve learned.  Yes, they even talked about the things that they’d tried that didn’t work for them.  Like certain marketing strategies, consulting companies that made big promises but didn’t deliver, but the wording they used to describe these “negative” experiences was upbeat which reflected the general outlook of the person speaking.  For example, instead of saying, “Oh, stay away from that company.  They are bad news!  They took me for x amount of dollars and when I asked for my money back, they disappeared.”  I heard things more along the lines of, “Well, we tried that approach, but it didn’t work for us.  And I think it was probably because . . .”  The person went on to explain more or less that it was no one’s fault, it just didn’t work.  They learned from it, and moved on.

The second significant trait that I noticed among the successful entrepreneurs is that they were willing to invest in themselves and their businesses.  I know a lot of struggling dentists who believe that everything should be handed to them on a silver platter the instant they graduate from dental school.  The successful dentists I know realize that it doesn’t work that way.  You have to continue to educate yourself, upgrade your knowledge beyond what is required, and consistently put a significant amount of your earnings back into your business.  It doesn’t matter how long they’ve been in practice, successful dentists are constantly upgrading their equipment and skills.

The third and most shocking observation I made was that many of the participants where not dentists, but dental team employees who had come to the meeting on their own.  Not only were the not being paid to be there, but they had paid for their entire trip themselves. 

I had a client tell me not to long ago that she had purchased my collections system with her own money.  In fact, her dentist even told her that my system would not work.  But she believed it would, bought it herself, put it into practice, and was telling me how much success she had had with it.  To be honest, it really upset me at first.  I felt sorry for this woman at having to spend her own money on something her employer should have gladly purchased for her, and then to find out that he had such a negative attitude.  But it didn’t seem to be bothering her, so I didn’t say anything.  Now I realize that she’s one of those people – like me – and many of you – who believes in doing things for themselves.  I can certainly see how many people would think, “But it was his business she was investing in.”  Yes, but she was also investing in herself.  This woman paid $400 so that she could feel better about herself and have more confidence in herself while at work. (Abraham-Hicks fans, think “downstream.”)  She can now take the knowledge, practical experience, and huge success she had implementing that system and market herself very successfully to other dental practices.  Trust me, she’d be snapped up in no time flat.  Think of the leverage that gives her.  When you invest in yourself, even if it seems like it’s in the best interest of your employer, it will also ultimately benefit you.  Investing in yourself always pays huge dividends.

In summary, here are two essential traits for success:

1. Believe that anything is possible.
2. Be willing to invest in yourself and your business, regardless of whether you are the business owner, or “just” an employee. 

I guess I’ve really always had faith that a positive attitude was key to success.  I believed all the motivational speakers when they said this was so.  It certainly seems to have worked for me over the past 40 years.  (Yes – I turned the big 4-0 last Friday, April 11, 2008.)  And although I haven’t been too stingy with money, I haven’t invested as much in myself as I should have over the past three years of developing my business.  That’s going to change, starting today.

My challenge to you for today is to find a way to invest in your future.  Whether it’s going back to school, taking a continuing education course, or attending a success retreat to help you get it all sorted out, make a decision today and commit to it.  You’ll be glad you did.

I’ll be teaching other personal and business success methods I’ve learned in my Conscious Creation Retreat; I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the road to success:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

“A person with a clear purpose will make progress on even the roughest road.  A person with no purpose will make no progress on even the smoothest road.”

–Thomas Carlyle

One of the biggest obstacles to creating the life of your dreams is having no sense of purpose.  It’s great to have big dreams, but focus is the modus operandi that will bring them to you.  Let me explain.

I’m sure by now we’ve all heard, “You become what you think about most of the time.”  The two factors that determine what happens to you in life are what you think about and how you feel as you’re thinking about it.

For example, you’ll often hear someone describe a wealthy person this way:  “He loves money; always chasing the almighty dollar.  Boy, that’s not how I would want to live my life.”  In reality, the person speaking probably does not know the person they’re speaking of at all; however, they’re probably right!  Because in order to make money, you have to focus on it, and love whatever it is you’re doing that’s bringing it to you, and you have to feel good about the money you’re bringing in and accumulating. 

Money is always the easiest example to use in this scenario because it’s something nearly everyone can relate to, but any goal is the same way, whether it’s health, relationships, or a simple habit like no longer biting your nails.  Successful people spend the majority of their time thinking about their goals, taking inspired action, and feeling good about it while they’re doing it.  As a result, their goals are consistently moving toward them and they are moving toward their goals. 

Now, it’s important here to distinguish what not to do, because I think a lot of people miss this.  To be in the habit of thinking mostly about your goals and what you want to create in your life, means you can’t be chit-chatting with your co-workers about your weekend.  Oh, it’s fine to ask, “Did you have a good weekend?  Great!  So did I!”  But don’t ask that person you know is going to tell you all of the latest problems with her teenage son!  What do you do if you accidentally “step in it?”  I’ve done that before and here is what I learned to do. 

“Did you have a good weekend?”

“Oh, no.  It was horrible.  First my son and my husband got into it.  I even had to call the—“

“Great!  So did I!  Well, off to work!”

Developing the discipline to focus on what is important to you will get easier as you practice it more.  Here are 7 ways to get you on that path to a crystal clear sense of direction.

1. Decide what you want in each area of your life – financial, physical, emotional, spiritual, intellectual, and relational.  This process can take a while, and will develop over time.  That’s okay, just start somewhere. 
2. Write your goals down on paper.  Be as specific as you can with each one.  As you begin to focus on this list daily, you will further define each goal.  But the more specific you can be from the beginning, the closer you are to achieving it.  However, don’t worry about the non-specific desires you have.  Just write them down with the knowledge that you will work on the details later.  Life is more fun with a list of goals to go for.
3. Set a reasonable deadline for each goal.  The reason this step is important is that on bigger goals, you’ll have to break them down.  A strategic plan is critical to the thought-word-action creative process.  Things will fall into place more easily for you if you give the universe all the details you can. 
4. Create your strategic plan.  Sure, there are some things you just don’t know yet, so start with the things you do know.  I use Microsoft Excel for this process.  As the project builds, I can add rows and columns as necessary.
5. Build your plan of action by prioritizing and putting a chronological order to your strategic plan.  Not sure where to start or about a certain step in the process?  Listen to your intuitive guidance.  Take an hour of solitude.  The answer will come to you.
6. Take action on your plan immediately.  Don’t make excuses; do something now to get the ball rolling.  Action is God creating through you.  Thoughts and words alone will not bring you the success you’re seeking.  Take the action you’re inspired to, as soon as you’re inspired to do it, making sure you’re happy as you do it, and everything will fall into place in a way that seems almost effortless to you.  Others will say, “Wow.  You must really love what you’re doing!”
7. Maintain your focus by doing something every day that moves you a little closer to your most important goal.  Even if it’s just a five minute task, do it.  If a step is going to take a chunk of your time, figure out when you can work it into your schedule and commit to it.

Every day, think about your goal as often as possible.  Post it on a wall, make it your screen saver, or just keep a card with your goal written on it in your wallet or purse.  Take 15 minutes every day to brainstorm (with your spiritual guides) ways to accomplish your goals.  Be persistent.  Before long, you’ll notice your energy and creativity expanding in all directions and on many subjects.  Your potential will feel as if it has finally been released, and rightfully so, because it has!

If you’d like to take some time in a beautiful, quiet setting, to think about your future, and you’d like to have a personal coach to walk you through the creative process, sign up for my Conscious Creation/Success Retreat. 

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to a clearer sense of direction:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Peace, Happiness, Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

Are you longing for more success in your life?  Do you sometimes wonder why other people get ahead while you seem to be standing still?  Are you doing everything right yet getting nowhere?

There is a secret that high achievers seem to come by naturally that, if you implement it, will serve you just as well as it does them.  Are you ready? Here it is:  Do more.  Go the extra mile.  Find out what others (your customers/clients/boss) want and find a way to exceed their expectations.  Do this consistently and success must follow. 

First, let’s discuss why this is so because it’s a multi-faceted phenomenon. 

1. People who work harder and go that extra mile will in one way, shape, or form make more money.  Whether it’s from overtime or a raise in recognition of a job well-done or moving up the corporate ladder, if you perform extra duties with the right attitude, more cash will come your way.  Now, if that’s the be-all, end-all, of your goals, you might be set, but most people want more.  Okay, read on . . .
    
2. People who work harder often perform more, which often causes them to experience greater setbacks.  Even though it may seem like a slap in the face, overcoming obstacles develops self-esteem.  When you fail miserably and live to tell about it, you learn to take greater risks.  You become unstoppable.  High achievers are persistent.
    
3. People who work harder and focus on results become self-reliant.  After all, there aren’t many employees willing to burn the midnight oil.  An entrepreneurial spirit, (remember, We are All Self-Employed), goes a long way and most high achievers end up working for themselves, by themselves.  Get used to it; it’s worth it.�
    
4. People who work harder and exceed others’ expectations become more influential with everyone around them.  Think about it.  Proving yourself as someone who can be depended upon to deliver is one of the best “favors” you can do for people.�
    
5. People who work harder and go the extra mile develop enthusiasm.  Enthusiasm for life is one of the hallmarks of high achievers.

Now, if you’re sitting there thinking, “Well, all of those qualities are great, but if I had more self-confidence, money, and enthusiasm, I would do more,” you need to realize that high achievement is a cycle – doing more, finding your own methods if necessary, will feed into these other traits, which will then feed back into doing more.  You might have to develop a little faith at first, but if you take a look around and be honest with yourself, you’ll begin to see that what I’m saying is true.  Recall or observe the last three people who were promoted within your circle.  Why were they chosen? 

Act like the person you want to be and you will become that person.

Worried that others will read this article and beat you to it?  Don’t worry.  “It’s never crowded along the extra mile.” –Dr. Wayne Dyer

We’ll be discussing this in greater length at the Conscious Creation Retreat; I hope to see you there!

In the meantime, here are a couple of tools to help you get on the path to becoming a high achiever:

Wake Up and Create the Life You Want:  A Guide to Self-Empowerment

Eliminate Clutter and Organize Your Life E-book

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Technorati Tags: Attitude, Conscious Creation, Retreat, Coach, Success, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Law of Attraction

How many things do you do on a regular basis that you “dread” doing?  How many “obligations” do you have?  How many “chores?”  If the answer is “a lot,” then you will benefit greatly by learning how to get in alignment.  (No chiropractor necessary!)

Did you know that natural law requires that your body, mind, and spirit be united in thought, word, and action in order for the process of creation to work?   What kind of life experience do you want to create?  One filled with dreaded chores or one full of happy tasks?  If you will take the time to get in alignment with even your simplest or most dreaded responsibilities, your entire life will flow more smoothly and you’ll experience greater peace and happiness.

I recently had an experience where I turned my entire outlook and day around by getting in alignment with one of my most-dreaded obligations.  Typically, when asked to perform this task, I moan and groan and think about all the things I’d rather be doing than this particular duty.

During my morning Self MEI (Motivation, Education, and Inspiration) time, I decided that since I have to do this, there is no one else who can do this for me, I might as well get in alignment with it and enjoy the day.  (It was an all-day job.)  So I began to focus on all the things I appreciate about the other person involved.  (My mother.)  Like how much she sacrificed for me when I was growing up, all the nice things she continues to do for me, etc.  I began feeling much better.  Then I decided to focus on how lucky I am that I can do this, like, not being tied down by a “regular” job where someone else dictates my schedule, etc.  Before long, and I’m talking about maybe 5 minutes at the most, I was feeling good about my day and ready to get started. 

The result?  A wonderful day with my mother, despite the circumstances.  (Doctor’s appointment.) 

Today my challenge to you is to get in alignment with all those things you say you don’t want to do.  If you’re doing them, there has to be a reason, right?  Otherwise, you wouldn’t do them.  If there is something about your job you don’t like, perhaps you could focus on the positive aspects of your job that you do like.  Sometimes, if it weren’t for those not-so-pleasant chores, we might not appreciate the good stuff.

Until next time,

Live joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Get Inspired!  Come to the Wake Up and Create the Life You Want Retreat  May 30 - June 1 and learn the techniques for taking control of your life and achieving success, plus get free private coaching!  Click here for details.

What do you want to create? Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Guide to Self-Empowerment has helped hundreds of people create the life of their dreams.  You can read their stories here.  If you choose the downloadable version, it comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.”

***Please Note:  All transactions are processed through PayPal, but you can use Visa, MC, AMEX, or Discover.

Technorati Tags: Personal Development Retreat, Conscious Creation, Coach, Success, Quit Smoking, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Organize, Law of Attraction, Dental Practice Management, Consultant, Motivational Book, Self Help

It’s a normal day.  You get up, get dressed, and go to work.  Someone asks, “How are you?”  You’re not really sure how to answer because it really depends upon everyone else.  You’ll have to wait and see what kind of mood everyone else is in first because you’ve had it happen before – you come in to work in a good mood, but one of your co-workers is not, so your good mood is pointless.  Before long, everyone is having a difficult day.

Sure enough, one of your co-workers is in a bad mood; there’s always somebody!  You would probably be in a good mood all the time if you could live in a cocoon, but it seems like there is always someone who’s experiencing difficulty and that always brings you down.

Why is it that someone’s bad mood outweighs and overrides everyone else’s good mood?  Have you ever noticed that it only takes one?

Well, actually, there’s a little more to it than that and that’s what I want to talk about today. 

We have full creative control of our moods and feelings in every moment, no matter what is going on around or within us.  So, why, then, does it only take one person, one comment, or one “look,” to send us spiraling down the vibrational ladder?

It’s because we’ve learned to look at negativity and feel it.  Deeply.  Take the news for example.  TV reporters are taught to draw emotion out of us and the easiest way to do that is to show something negative.  They want to tug at our heart strings and make us cry.  But it’s not just news reporters.  TV shows, commercials, most advertising, including print media, and even churches use negative imagery to “get a response.”  And we typically react exactly as expected.  How could we not?

So is it any wonder, then, that when we go to work we are inclined to not only share our problems, but to become emotionally involved with the crises of others?  No.  We’ve been conditioned to do just that.  Some have become so conditioned to it that they thrive on the drama of it, to the point that, if there isn’t something going on, they will create a problem just to satisfy that desire for drama.  Have you ever known someone who isn’t happy unless they’re miserable?  Have you ever witnessed someone put someone else in a bad mood just so they could console them?

Well, that’s one way to be a deliberate creator!

Most of you though, especially if you’re reading this, would prefer to create a reality that is truly pleasing and for the highest good of all involved.  So how do we do that?  First, we need to understand what is going on and how we got to be the way we are.   

In our technologically advanced society we’ve become reactors instead of creators.  We react to our computers, televisions, blackberries, games, news, and other people, leaving us with a feeling of very little control over our own lives and wondering what went wrong.  We spend most of our time putting out fires and worrying about those we can’t put out.  But there is an alternative.

In order to become the deliberate, conscious creator you wish to be, it is vital to take time out, I recommend every day, away from all those outside influences and distractions, to think about your ideal life and exactly what it is you want to create.  Turn off the TV and get away from everyone.  You might have to get up early before everyone else in your household, or stay up later, in order to do this, but trust me, it will be worth it. One hour every day would be wonderful, but 15 minutes will do.  What do you do during this time? 

This is not a time of meditation or even prayer, although those are both good practices as well.  What you do during this time is visualize, or write out, your desires.  How do you want to be as you go about your day?  How do you want your day to go?  What would you do if you could do anything you want?  You might want to keep a special journal just for this purpose if you choose to write.  (When I’m on the road traveling I find that my laptop works just as well as a notebook and I don’t have the added bulk.)  Every day, add to the details of your desired reality.  Perhaps you saw something yesterday that you’d like to have – how does it fit into your life?  How would you use it? 

It’s not just on action exercise, either.  If you have trouble determining how you would change a daily activity, decide how you want to feel, and then imagine feeling that way.  You’ll start to notice opportunities to feel exactly how you want to feel.  For example, if you’d like to laugh more, it might occur to you that you could watch re-runs of sitcoms you used to love instead of dramas that cause you to experience negative emotion.  Use your TV for your benefit instead of detriment.

What you are trying to do, and will be successful at it if you give it long enough, is activate a thought process that is in alignment with how you really want your life to go.  If you don’t picture it, or feel it the way you want it, you’ll likely never get it that way.  And the stronger the outside influences, the harder it will be to create what you want “by accident” or default.  So it’s really important to spend deliberate time doing this.

With just a little time, you will begin to see results.  Every time you deliberately focus on your desires, you add power to your thought processes.  The more you do this, the stronger your attraction becomes to the things you want.  Just keep designing your improved version of your life in your mind. Gradually, this new vision of yourself becomes your normal way of thinking.  In other words, it becomes who you think you are – who you believe you are.  And once you start believing that who you want to become is who you really are, (because it is – even right now), everything in your life will begin to change.  You’ll be inspired to new ideas, new ways of doing things, new friends, new associates, new co-workers, and new manifestations of all kinds.

You are who you think you are.  Isn’t it wonderful that to change who we are all we have to do is change the person we think that is!  It is so simple, most people don’t believe it – and there’s the rub!

I have become a Conscious Creation Coach.  I teach people how to create the life of their dreams.  I’d be happy to speak with you by phone or e-mail to see if we would be a good fit and could work together.  My coaching fees are $75 per half-hour.  If you’d like to get a jump-start on creating the life of your dreams, come to my Conscious Creation Retreat.

Until next time,

Live Joyfully!

You can subscribe to this blog here.

Get Inspired!  Come to the Wake Up and Create the Life You Want Retreat  May 30 - June 1 and learn the techniques for taking control of your life and achieving success, plus get free private coaching!  Click here for details.

What do you want to create? Wake Up and Create the Life You Want: A Guide to Self-Empowerment has helped hundreds of people create the life of their dreams.  You can read their stories here.  If you choose the downloadable version, it comes with my free report on “The Science of Getting Rich.”

***Please Note:  All transactions are processed through PayPal, but you can use Visa, MC, AMEX, or Discover.

Technorati Tags: Personal Development Retreat, Conscious Creation, Coach, Success, Quit Smoking, Motivational Speaker, Retreat Leader, Motivation, Organize, Law of Attraction, Dental Practice Management, Consultant, Motivational Book, Self Help