“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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Conscious Creation, Inspiration, Motivation, Success

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

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

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

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

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

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

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

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

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

“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

Everything around you is speaking to you.  Do you like what it’s saying?

Everything around you has energy.  Is it lifting you up, or dragging you down?

I am often amazed at how much mediocrity we live with on a daily basis. We surround ourselves with daily reminders that average is acceptable. Take a few minutes to assess all of the things in your life that promote your being just average. These are the things that keep you powerless to go beyond the limits you set for yourself. 
 
The first step to having what you really want is to remove everything in your 
environment that represents mediocrity. Why be average or boring?  You did not come into this world to be like everyone else, you came here to shine and radiate something new and different and delightful.

I know a lot of people who are on their way to success.  Most know, however, that it is a journey.  Some arrive at that much-desired destination faster than others.  How do they do it?  They release the self-imposed brakes that are holding them back. 
 These proverbial brakes could be:  Not getting the education you need to move your career forward; not being willing to invest in your business; not surrounding yourself with things – items – you love; allowing clutter to take over your surroundings and therefore, your mind; not allowing yourself to enjoy your spare time; taking action before getting in alignment; not making appropriate professional connections; allowing fear to control you; allowing feelings of resentment or other relationship issues weigh on your mind.

Everything around you, from the things you own to the people you spend time with, affects your happiness.  Do you love what surrounds you?

Most of us 
envision a life for ourselves that is constantly expanding and growing. When we 
release the brakes, we discover the catalytic force that will catapult us into a life 
of greater appeal, affluence, and influence. 
 
Every person is born with the potential to be powerful.  Every person is born with the potential for wealth, and every person is born with the potential for personal 
happiness. The money you are not making is your greatest expense. The power you are not experiencing is your greatest discontentment.

Most people are not willing to let go of the good in their lives for the better or best.   Don’t be one of those people.

When you experience anger, frustration, and boredom in your life, these are signs of agitation. The greater your agitation and discontentment, the greater the breakthrough you are about to experience. 
 
You already have prosperity; you just have to exercise it. Money gets its impulses from you based on the quality and passion of your thoughts and actions. When you have a 
positive attitude coupled with enthusiasm and a passion for life, your life begins to move at a faster pace. Moving into the fast lane is a process you must initiate.  Don’t expect your boss, your company, your co-workers, your spouse, or even your mentor to make that move for you. Your belief in yourself and limitless possibilities is the only difference between where you are now and where you want to be.  Being newly rich is a much better condition of living than being established poor.  If you refuse to accept anything but the best, you will get the best.

Are you willing to look and feel your best every day? Are you willing to experience the joy of 
living a life of prosperity and happiness? Set some big goals. Decide exactly what you want. Be very specific.  Think, act, and speak like you’ve already achieved it. The fact and evidence that something is really yours is always preceded by the desire to have it, and the belief that it is on its way.

When you visualize your life as you want it to be, you might notice or be informed that certain habits, things, or even relationships do not coincide with your desire.  Taking care of those issues as they come up is the path to getting what you want.  That is how you prepare for success, and that is how your success comes to you.  Decide what you want, and get everything out of the way of the path of its coming to you.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Motivation, Success

“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

Whether you’re starting a new business or taking the leap and getting an online degree, having confidence in yourself is vitally important. We all find our inspiration in different places, but here are five tips to help with almost any endeavor – and even just life in general:

1. Ignore Everyone. Whether you have a new idea or are simply starting a new phase of your life, the more original the thought, the less good advice you will be able to receive. You won’t know if your decision to go back to school is a wise one until you’ve attended classes, and you won’t know at the moment of creation if your business proposal or novel idea is any good, but neither will anyone else. Don’t ask friends for their advice, because they don’t know the inside of your brain the way you do. Don’t ask colleagues either, as they’re likely to see anything you do as competition. Listen to yourself, and make yourself your top priority.
2. Put In the Hours. Anything worthwhile takes what sometimes seems like forever, but 90% of what separates the successful people from the unsuccessful people is time and effort. If someone you work with is more successful than you are, they’re probably putting in a lot more time. If you have to balance an online course and work, or writing a novel and work, carve the time that you need out of the rest of your life, but don’t quit your day job. Just allot a couple of hours a night to writing or studying or creating art, and keep your appointment with yourself faithfully.
3. Everyone Has Their Own Mountain. Everyone has their own metaphoric mountain to climb. For the student, returning to classes after years away, it may be the concept of homework, or it may be simple fear of math. For the writer or artist, it’s the fear that whatever they create isn’t “good.”  It’s important to remember that every mountain has more than one route to the summit. You may never actually make it to the top, but that’s okay, as long as you try. Learning and creating share one truth: they are about the journey, not the destination. This does not mean you shouldn’t have a goal – it just means you have to find your own path toward it. Just by deciding to enroll in a class, start a new business, or paint a masterpiece, you’ve taken the first step.
4. Passion Can’t Be Bought. We all have a tiny piece of our psyches that make us restless and ambitious, no matter how successful we may appear to be. That spark is passion, and you can’t buy it. It doesn’t matter what your passion is for: education, language, art, business, saving the world, what does matter is that you feed your passion, challenge yourself, and keep striving for more. Never settle.
5. Do It For Yourself. The class you’re taking might lead to a better job. The art you create might lead to fame and fortune. Both are great, but anything you do should be for your own satisfaction and happiness first, and any benefit should just be a bonus. If you do anything with money, or other people, as the motivation, you may reach your goal, but you won’t be content.

Business, art, writing and education are all wonderful things, but success only comes from hard work, confidence and motivation. Put in the hours necessary, stay passionate, and never listen to naysayers, and you’ll achieve every task you set out to complete.

Until next time,
Live Joyfully!

Posted under Education, Motivation, Success

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