The Power of Your Mind

In 1980 I was diagnosed by several doctors in Toronto, Canada with a rare illness called environment hypersensitivity disorder, also called 20th Century Disease. I had become allergic to everything I ate, touched, or breathed. For 4 years I lived in a bare room that was lined with tin foil, slept in a metal bed (no wood), aluminum blankets and at most times, I kept my hands in a glass box. I had 20 health care professionals tell me that due to my severe sensitivities, they couldn't see how I would ever be able to work again. Now, at that time, not knowing what I know now, I believed them. I was rock bottom, depressed and broke.

One afternoon in 1984, I heard Bob Proctor on CFRB radio promoting a seminar he was doing at the Triumph Hotel in Toronto. I heard him say something that changed my life. He said to the radio host, "What the mind can see - the mind can believe - the mind can achieve". It was like a light came on in my head. I started to think if my mind got my body in this situation, then maybe the mind can get me out of it. I realized I had to talk to Bob himself. I called his office and within a few minutes he called me back. We talked for a while about my situation. He suggested I come out to his Thursday evening seminar. I said, "Bob, you don't understand, I can't go out in crowds because of all the fragrances and smoke". (I was so sensitive at that time that water would make my tongue crack and bleed). Bob said, "No, you don't understand. I hope to meet you at my sem inar on Thursday". We hung up and I said to myself I have to see this man. I called his office and booked a ticket I couldn't afford, so I put it on my Visa card.

I went to the seminar; I left my oxygen in my car, walked in looking like a healthy man and sat at the back of the room, away from the crowd. Sitting and listening to Bob that evening, I realized that the body is an instrument of the mind and I could re-create my world when I started to believe it. The next day I started some serious visualization, affirmations, and wrote out a goal card I carried with me and placed 8 copies of it in different places in my home and car, where I could see it day and night. Bob said in his seminar that to change your life its simple, but it's not easy. It took a lot of re-training my mind, study and discipline, to not allow the present circumstances in my life affect the way I was feeling, thinking and acting.

Over a period of time, my health and life started to change and I was able to return back to work. I worked as the Director of Education at the private career college in Toronto for the next 17 years. I ended up having 4,000 students who travelled from over 12 countries to attend my classes. I used a lot of what Bob Proctor had taught me and shared this amazing information with my students. Now, many years later, I am retired and I'm in great health. I'm now 64 years old, I feel and act like I'm 24 years old. My wife and I spend most of our time riding around on our Harley Davidson and are enjoying our life together. I now do my own personal development-motivational seminars in the Toronto area. I work with a lot of martial arts clubs, that way I get the teenage students and their parents in my seminar together, this way I get them all on the same page at the same time.

I have thanked Bob several times for how he changed my life, He always replied back, "I show lots of people how to change their life; you took this information and applied it. You changed your life. It was always an inside job." I will always be grateful to Bob and I am thankful I attracted him into my world. To anyone who is reading this, please understand you also can re-create your world when you see it clearly in your mind and believe and expect it in your heart.

So thanks again Mr. Bob Proctor.

From my mind to your mind,

Bob Ross

A Kings Son

A great and powerful king decided to send his son to be educated in a distant land. He could have let him stay in the palace itself and brought him the best teachers and the best possible education. But the king knew that the prince will get a lot of experience when he is out of the palace. Good education plus physical distance from the palace will toughen and strengthen the confidence and independence of his son.

In that distant land, the king’s son began to study. He worked hard and experienced life differently, which made him stronger. But along with all the hard work and accomplishments, he began to enjoy the joys of life which that country offered him. He no longer felt obligated to keep all the trappings of monarchy as had to in his father's palace.
He abandoned his studies and began to neglect or postpone the execution of tasks, responsibility and duties... and all this for the parties and small pleasures that the new life offered him. Without realizing it, he began to neglect his own appearance. And people started to flinch and keep a distance from him. He had hit rock bottom!

He had slumped to a low point in his life. When the situation was so bad that he could not bear it any more, then he remembered... He recalled the king, his father, who had sent him on a journey to strengthen his capacities, and he was ashamed that he had deteriorated to such lows.

The king’s son decided to act. He decided to return to his father's palace knowing that his father wouldn’t deny him.

The king’s son came to the palace gates; he wanted to go inside, but two armed guards with bayonets blocked his way.

"I am the King's son'' he said.”We are too," they replied, laughing at the man in torn clothes with overgrown unkempt hair and beard.

After several vain attempts of trying to convince the guards to let him enter the palace, the prince decided to go close to the window of his father's room to call him.

''Father! Father!'' called the king's son.

''Father! Father!'' the king’s son cried again.

The king recognized that voice as the voice of the son he had not heard for many years. The king rushed to the window and saw a strange, unkempt looking man standing. Is that the son whom he had sent to school many years ago?

''Father, I came back and I want to come home...'' said the king’s son.

The king, whose heart was filled with longing for his son, called the guards and ordered them to bring his son into the palace.

Dear Reader,

You are the king's son!

You do not need to reach low life to go home like the king's son.

Your palace, your home is within you; it is in your heart. Listen to your heart; only there you will find the answers to your destiny and your success.

Jacob Shekrel

Jacob Shekrel is a LifeSuccess Coach who lives in Spain and is building up his International Personal Improvement coaching company: Jacob's ladder to Success - lectures, seminars and master mind groups. Please feel free to visit his website at: www.jacobsladdertosuccess.com 

A Perfect Achievement In An Imperfect World

Imagine … you are a little boy or girl. You are trying to keep up with kids around you, but you can’t. Other kids are teasing you or bullying you because you have a disability. 

Why is the world so imperfect? Why are there, people with severe disabilities like Down syndrome, blindness and deafness to name but a few?

Young Frankie sustained brain damage at birth. He also had a tracheostomy tube to help him breathe.

He badly wanted to play softball with the other boys at school. Because of his motor coordination difficulties Frankie could not really play with the other boys.

But it meant a lot to him, and we asked the boys if they would like to include them in their team.

The boys hesitated for a moment before saying yes. The fact that their team was losing made the decision easier. Nothing Frankie could do was likely to affect the outcome anyway. Frankie was given a mitt, and went to stand in short centre field as his team's tenth player.

Frankie’s turn came. Frankie was handed a bat and pointed to the plate.

What happened next was nothing short of amazing.

The opposing team saw that Frankie couldn’t  even begin to play, and the pitcher moved closer to him and pitched the ball in a way Frankie could have a chance to hit it.

He missed the ball. One of Frankie’s team mates then came to help him hold the bat to help him hit. And he hit the second ball just a little way.

The pitcher then pitched the ball way to the right. Frankie’s teammates yelled: “Run Frankie! Run to first!” Two of his teammates started running with him to help him and to cheer him on.

A player on the opposing team tracked the ball, and then intentionally threw the ball out to the other direction. By this time, both teams were chanting “Run, Frankie, run!” Frankie reached second base.

Ball forgotten, all players from both teams joined Frankie on his triumphal run home, and together they hoisted the hero onto their shoulders. Frankie was beaming.

This is why the world is imperfect: To give us the chance to achieve spiritual perfection. All the boys achieved spiritual perfection that day in accepting someone who isn’t like them and who would normally never have a chance to play in a softball game. If it wasn’t for Frankie, they never would have.

The Great Challenge of Life

Here's the great challenge of life - You can have more than you've got because you can become more than you are.

I have found that income seldom will exceed your own personal development. Once in a while income takes a lucky jump, but unless you grow out to where it is, it will go back to where you are. 

Somebody once said if you took all the money in the world and divided it among everyone equally; it would soon be back in the same pockets. However, you can have more because you can become more. You see, here is how the other side of the coin reads - unless you change how you are, you will always have what you've got. 

The marketing plan won't do it. It's a good plan but it won't work without you. You've got to work it. It is the human effort that counts. If you could send a sales manual out to recruit - wouldn't that be lovely? The major thing that makes the difference is what YOU do.

In order to have more, you need to become more. The guy says "If I had a good job I would really pour it on, but I have this lousy job so I just goof off." If that is your philosophy, you are destined to stay there. 

Some people say if I had a lot of money I would be really generous, but I don't have much so I'm not generous. See, you've got to change that philosophy or you will never have "the lots of money." Unless YOU change, IT won't change. 

Amazingly, however, when we throw out our blame list and start becoming more ourselves - the difference is everything else will begin to change around us.

Jim Rohn
1930-2009, Author and Speaker
www.jimrohn.com

You're NOT Alone On That Island!

It is a year of challenge; a year of change; a year of learning that it is time to let go!
You may feel like you’re all alone on an island; and nobody understands how you think or feel; but you are not alone!  There are more people here than you could imagine .... patiently waiting.

There are people who really do care; who want to listen, and want to actually hear you! They can help you to step out of that emotional cave that you may have retreated into.  

It's so easy to withdraw into what we think is a safe zone; but then we start to live in our heads; and not in the world around us!
We think it's safer at first; but then it starts to get very lonely and dark in there; doesn't it ... ?

It takes a lot of courage and determination to stick our heads out, and have a look around at who or what might be just outside waiting for us to re-appear .... And it takes a stack more courage to step outside and stand tall amongst the uncertainty of it all .... doesn't it ... ?

Far too often people get overwhelmed by the stigma that can be attached to 'not being a 100%' ...

If we reach out to people who we trust and feel safe with; then there is no stigma; not one tiny bit of it; and the personal empowerment that begins to take place is often stronger than we could have ever imagined.

I see it every day in my work; and I've been in some pretty dark places during my run through life too.  Lot's of us have!

I've learnt that 'a problem shared is a problem halved'; every time; not just sometimes!
The value of talking and sharing your stuff (with someone who actually does care and wants to help); is priceless; absolutely priceless!

C'mon now; reach out to that someone who does feel right; and allow yourself to be heard!

You'll be so glad that you did!

(c) Phil Evans - People Stuff TM - 2012

Phil Evans is a Motivator, Business Coach, Life Coach and Inspirational Writer specialising in Relationship Dynamics and Adoption Issues. You can visit his website at: www.peoplestuff.com.au and join his newsletter.

You Are Never Too Young Or Too Old To Be Successful

Sean Black was a kid in my class. He was 13 years old, and had a love of life. We were talking about money one day after singing the song: “Money, money, money,” by Abba and the kids were saying how they would love to have a lot of money.

Well, we started dreaming aloud about having more money, and Sean then said that he was very frustrated about the fact that he always had to ask for money; he wanted his own money. Did I know of anything he could do because he was too young to work and had to do chores in and around his house in order to earn some pocket money.

We started dreaming around what kids could do and I said: Why don’t you start a car washing or a pool cleaning business? You get a lot of people to sign up to get their car or pool washed every week. Then you either go and wash it yourself, or you get someone to do it for you. You pay them half the money, and you pocket the other half. 

Sean decided to go and give it a try. He kept us up to date for a couple of weeks. He had a lot of employment problems and discovered that other people aren’t reliable. Besides, washing cars was hard work, and took a lot of time if he couldn’t get others to help him. He was just wondering what to do about it when he spotted an ad in the paper.

The ad had nothing to do with car washing, but was about bouncing castles. He read the ad with interest, and then went to talk to his dad. He said: “Hey Dad, I have a business proposition for you.” Dad was surprised, but went to sit down seriously, and asked how he could help. Sean told his dad that he had made $200 with his car wash business, and about the problems he was having with reliability. He then told his dad about the ad and asked his dad if he would like to help him with finance of $1000 so that he could buy a bouncing castle. He offered his dad $250 as a deposit, and showed him that if he helped him, the castle could be paid off in four weeks. Then they would have pure profit.

His dad was very impressed with the deal, and decided to help his son, taking his deposit, and giving him a loan. The last time I saw Sean, he and his proud dad were both watching their bouncing castle at a school fete.  Apparently Sean was able to pay his dad back in two weeks. His dad helped him to invest the rest of the money he made. They were planning to buy a second castle. 

There are some lessons in here for all of us: 

1.       You can be successful in business at any age.
       You need to dream first, and then find a way to make that dream a reality.

3.       Don’t look at the problem. Look at the solution. You will always find one.

The Daffodil Principle

By Jaroldeen Asplund Edwards Several times my daughter had telephoned to say, "Mother, you must come and see the daffodils before they are over." I wanted to go, but it was a two-hour drive from Laguna to Lake Arrowhead. Going and coming took most of a day - and I honestly did not have a free day until the following week. "I will come next Tuesday," I promised, a little reluctantly, on her third call. Next Tuesday dawned cold and rainy. Still, I had promised, and so I drove the length of Route 91, continued on I-215, and finally turned onto Route 18 and began to drive up the mountain highway. The tops of the mountains were sheathed in clouds, and I had gone only a few miles when the road was completely covered with a wet, gray blanket of fog. I slowed to a crawl, my heart pounding. The road becomes narrow and winding toward the top of the mountain. As I executed the hazardous turns at a snail's pace, I was praying to reach the turnoff at Blue Jay that would signify I had arrived. When I finally walked into Carolyn's house and hugged and greeted my grandchildren I said, "Forget the daffodils, Carolyn! The road is invisible in the clouds and fog, and there is nothing in the world except you and these darling children that I want to see bad enough to drive another inch!" My daughter smiled calmly, "We drive in this all the time, Mother." "Well, you won't get me back on the road until it clears - and then I'm heading for home!" I assured her. "I was hoping you'd take me over to the garage to pick up my car. The mechanic just called, and they've finished repairing the engine," she answered. "How far will we have to drive?" I asked cautiously. "Just a few blocks,"Carolyn said cheerfully. So we buckled up the children and went out to my car. "I'll drive," Carolyn offered. "I'm used to this." We got into the car, and she began driving. In a few minutes I was aware that we were back on the Rim-of-the-World Road heading over the top of the mountain. "Where are we going?" I exclaimed, distressed to be back on the mountain road in the fog. "This isn't the way to the garage!" "We're going to my garage the long way," Carolyn smiled, "by way of the daffodils." "Carolyn, I said sternly, trying to sound as if I was still the mother and in charge of the situation, "please turn around. There is nothing in the world that I want to see enough to drive on this road in this weather." "It's all right, Mother," She replied with a knowing grin. "I know what I'm doing. I promise, you will never forgive yourself if you miss this experience." And so my sweet, darling daughter who had never given me a minute of difficulty in her whole life was suddenly in charge - and she was kidnapping me! I couldn't believe it. Like it or not, I was on the way to see some ridiculous daffodils - driving through the thick, gray silence of the mist-wrapped mountaintop at what I thought was risk to life and limb. I muttered all the way. After about twenty minutes we turned onto a small gravel road that branched down into an oak-filled hollow on the side of the mountain. The fog had lifted a little, but the sky was lowering, gray and heavy with clouds. We parked in a small parking lot adjoining a little stone church. From our vantage point at the top of the mountain we could see beyond us, in the mist, the crests of the San Bernardino range like the dark, humped backs of a herd of elephants. Far below us the fog-shrouded valleys, hills, and flatlands stretched away to the desert. On the far side of the church I saw a pine-needle-covered path, with towering evergreens and manzanita bushes and an inconspicuous, lettered sign "Daffodil Garden." We each took a child's hand, and I followed Carolyn down the path as it wound through the trees. The mountain sloped away from the side of the path in irregular dips, folds, and valleys, like a deeply creased skirt. Live oaks, mountain laurel, shrubs, and bushes clustered in the folds, and in the gray, drizzling air, the green foliage looked dark and monochromatic. I shivered. Then we turned a corner of the path, and I looked up and gasped. Before me lay the most glorious sight, unexpectedly and completely splendid. It looked as though someone had taken a great vat of gold and poured it down over the mountain peak and slopes where it had run into every crevice and over every rise. Even in the mist-filled air, the mountainside was radiant, clothed in massive drifts and waterfalls of daffodils. The flowers were planted in majestic, swirling patterns, great ribbons and swaths of deep orange, white, lemon yellow, salmon pink, saffron, and butter yellow. Each different-colored variety (I learned later that there were more than thirty-five varieties of daffodils in the vast display) was planted as a group so that it swirled and flowed like its own river with its own unique hue. In the center of this incredible and dazzling display of gold, a great cascade of purple grape hyacinth flowed down like a waterfall of blossoms framed in its own rock-lined basin, weaving through the brilliant daffodils. A charming path wound throughout the garden. There were several resting stations, paved with stone and furnished with Victorian wooden benches and great tubs of coral and carmine tulips. As though this were not magnificent enough, Mother Nature had to add her own grace note - above the daffodils, a bevy of western bluebirds flitted and darted, flashing their brilliance. These charming little birds are the color of sapphires with breasts of magenta red. As they dance in the air, their colors are truly like jewels above the blowing, glowing daffodils. The effect was spectacular. It did not matter that the sun was not shining. The brilliance of the daffodils was like the glow of the brightest sunlit day. Words, wonderful as they are, simply cannot describe the incredible beauty of that flower-bedecked mountain top. Five acres of flowers! (This too I discovered later when some of my questions were answered.) "But who has done this?" I asked Carolyn. I was overflowing with gratitude that she brought me - even against my will. This was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. "Who?" I asked again, almost speechless with wonder, "And how, and why, and when?" "It's just one woman," Carolyn answered. "She lives on the property. That's her home." Carolyn pointed to a well-kept A-frame house that looked small and modest in the midst of all that glory. We walked up to the house, my mind buzzing with questions. On the patio we saw a poster. "Answers to the Questions I Know You Are Asking" was the headline. The first answer was a simple one. "50,000 bulbs," it read. The second answer was, "One at a time, by one woman, two hands, two feet, and very little brain." The third answer was, "Began in 1958."   There it was. The Daffodil Principle. For me that moment was a life-changing experience. I thought of this woman whom I had never met, who, more than thirty-five years before, had begun - one bulb at a time - to bring her vision of beauty and joy to an obscure mountain top. One bulb at a time. There was no other way to do it. One bulb at a time. No shortcuts - simply loving the slow process of planting. Loving the work as it unfolded. Loving an achievement that grew so slowly and that bloomed for only three weeks of each year. Still, just planting one bulb at a time, year after year, had changed the world. This unknown woman had forever changed the world in which she lived. She had created something of ineffable magnificence, beauty, and inspiration. The principle her daffodil garden taught is one of the greatest principle of celebration: learning to move toward our goals and desires one step at a time - often just one baby-step at a time - learning to love the doing, learning to use the accumulation of time. When we multiply tiny pieces of time with small increments of daily effort, we too will find we can accomplish magnificent things. We can change the world. "Carolyn," I said that morning on the top of the mountain as we left the haven of daffodils, our minds and hearts still bathed and bemused by the splendors we had seen, "it's as though that remarkable woman has needle-pointed the earth! Decorated it. Just think of it, she planted every single bulb for more than thirty years. One bulb at a time! And that's the only way this garden could be created. Every individual bulb had to be planted. There was no way of short-circuiting that process. Five acres of blooms. That magnificent cascade of hyacinth! All, just one bulb at a time." The thought of it filled my mind. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the implications of what I had seen. "It makes me sad in a way," I admitted to Carolyn. "What might I have accomplished if I had thought of a wonderful goal thirty-five years ago and had worked away at it 'one bulb at a time' through all those years. Just think what I might have been able to achieve!" My wise daughter put the car into gear and summed up the message of the day in her direct way. "Start tomorrow," she said with the same knowing smile she had worn for most of the morning. Oh, profound wisdom! It is pointless to think of the lost hours of yesterdays. The way to make learning a lesson a celebration instead of a cause for regret is to only ask, "How can I put this to use tomorrow?"

Pick Up Your Oar And Start Rowing

My boss, two co-workers and I stood behind the hard plastic seats. We were in the front section, on the first-base line at Shea Stadium, home of the New York Mets. We were so close to the infield, there was a protective net over our heads. I was new to the New York City area and had never been to Shea Stadium. These were dream seats. My heart pounded with excitement.

We stood with our umbrellas held high. The rain beat down on everything around us. It bounced off the seats and quickly formed deep puddles on the cover protecting the field.
"Steve," I asked my boss, "How did you get such great seats?"

"They came from Ed at the office. His dad is a blind sports writer and has a long- standing relationship with the Mets and Yankees."

The game was called due to rain. We left the stadium disappointed. On the long subway ride back to Jersey City, I wondered about the man behind the seats. How could a man be blind and be a sports writer?

Years have passed since that rainy night. Old friends back in Canada often ask me, "Mike, have you gone to a baseball game in New York yet?"

I say to them, "I've been to a few, but let me tell you about the best seats I ever had but couldn't use."

Whenever this happens, the memory of that night comes flashing back. I wonder about the blind sports writer. What was his story?

It had to be special.

I sat at my computer one night. An email popped into my in-box. I didn't recognize the return address. The subject line said, "Inspirational SI article about my dad, Ed Lucas." I was curious.

I opened the email. It was from a gentleman sending me a clip of a story written by Steve Rushin for Sports Illustrated. It was a wonderful read about a special man. Through the article and the man who sent it to me, I learned the full story. The following is a synopsis:
Twelve-year-old Ed Lucas ran home from his school in Jersey City. It was October 3, 1951. He arrived in time to see Bobby Thomson win the pennant for his favorite team, the New York Giants.

After the game, Ed ran out to play ball with his friends. During the game, Ed was hit between the eyes by a line drive. The force of the blow detached both retinas, leaving Ed permanently blind.

Ed became depressed. His mother, Rosanna, took matters into her own hands and took Ed to a Newark, New Jersey men's store.

There, she introduced him to Phil Rizzuto, a part-time employee of the store and a Yankee star. Phil befriended Ed.

Rosanna wasn't done yet. She wrote the Giants Manager, Leo Durocher, about her son. Leo asked her to bring Ed to, what was then called, the Polo Grounds. On June 14, 1952, young Ed sat in the clubhouse with the members of the Giants. It was the beginning of a special relationship.

Ed enrolled in St. Joseph's School for the Blind in Jersey City. The nuns were demanding. Ed learned to make his bed and match his clothes. If he whined about being blind and not being able to do what other kids could, Sister Anthony Marie was quoted saying, "Isn't that a shame? We're all in the same boat here, Ed. Pick up your oar and start rowing."
Ed enrolled in university to study communication arts. He worked hard. He knew no other way. The nuns had made sure of that.

He graduated in 1962 and became a regular in the Shea and Yankee Stadium press boxes, where he interviewed the players. Years later, a young Mets rookie, Ron Swoboda, took Ed by the hand. Together they walked the warning track around the field. Ed traced his fingers along the outfield wall. His fingers, sensitive to reading Braille, seemed to read the history of the park. Every dent, scratch and chip he touched meant something to him.
Later that year, Ed married. He and his wife had two sons - Eddie and Chris. Sadly, at a very young age, their mother left forever. Ed had to raise his two sons alone. With the strength he learned years ago at St. Joseph's, Ed took on the task. He taught his sons to be strong.

It was not uncommon for the two young boys to see Billy Martin in their home. "Huge stars like Mickey Mantle would tell me my dad was their hero," Chris was quoted as saying.

Years later, a friend came to Ed and told him about a nurse, Allison Pfeifle, whose detached retina left her legally blind and unable to continue her profession. He asked Ed to speak to her.

Ed and Allison talked on the phone for many years before meeting in person. They were baseball fanatics and spent their first date at Shea Stadium.

On March 10, 2006, at Yankee Stadium, Allison walked from the dugout to home plate and became Ed's new bride.

With his two sons at his side, Ed started a new life, at the place he holds so dear, and with the woman who captured his heart.

Ed, now 68, was quoted saying, "Baseball took my sight, but it also gave me my life."

***********************
I sat in shock. Could it be? I mailed Chris back and told him about the seats we couldn't use that rainy night.

He confirmed, his father was the man who provided those unused seats. Chris told me later, "They are the first couple in the 80 year history of the stadium to have the honor of marrying there."

I finally knew the story. It was sure worth waiting for.

Michael T Smith

Michael lives in Caldwell, Idaho with his wonderful wife Ginny. He writes in his spare time and is completing a collection of his stories to be called, “From My Heart to Yours.” Michael writes inspirational stories in his spare time. To read more of Michael's stories or to contact him, go to http://ourecho.com/biography-353-Michael-Timothy-Smith.shtml#stories

Top Character Traits Of Highly Successful People

Have you ever wondered what makes some people successful and others not?

Surprisingly enough successful people have certain traits unsuccessful people do not have. Here are some of them:

Successful people make swift decisions and take immediate action. When something crosses their desk, they don’t have a “deal with it later” box. They make an immediate decision and take an action about their decision also immediately.  This also goes for business decisions: Is this good for my business? Do it. Is it too expensive, time consuming and with some risk? Forget it.

If there is a task they need to do daily, they do it daily even when they don´t feel like doing it. They do what it takes to get to their goal. Feelings are irrelevant. 

They focus on only one thing at a time. They know that if your focus is divided, it is more difficult to hit your target. Focus helps you get direction and it keeps you motivated. Every one of us has the same amount of time at our disposal. Successful people use that time more wisely by focussing more on one task and not allowing distractions to side-track them from their goal. They master time. Unsuccessful people waste it.

They have found their passion. Most people go through life just existing. People who have passion for something live life to the fullest. Passion gives you something to live for. People with passion can’t wait to get up in the mornings, full of excitement about what the day will bring. 

Successful people have a positive attitude and will not entertain a negative thought. Instead of being negative they ask questions like: How can this be improved? How can I make this work?

A positive attitude will allow you to achieve your goals, achieve success much faster, live a happier life, have inner strength and power and it will give you the ability to sail through difficulties.

Successful people don’t fear failure. Instead they realise that every failure brings them closer to success. They fail often. They know that failure is part of learning, and part of being successful.

Successful people have an open mind. They are open to changes and suggestions that will make things better. They are masters of change, and don’t fear it. Unsuccessful people usually fear change.

They are willing to learn and realise that they can’t know everything. They spend lots of time studying. They also surround themselves with advisors who have knowledge in a particular areas they need.

If you have been unsuccessful and would like things to change, don’t “fake it till you make it.” Instead, focus on developing these traits, one at a time, until you have what it takes to be successful.

If you would like to have a successful home business that pays you more than your job, visit Work At Home, sign up for our newsletter, and receive a free report: “Why YOU need a home business of your own RIGHT NOW.”

Two Choices: Which One Will You Make?

"There are two primary choices in life: to accept conditions as they exist, or accept the responsibility for changing them."

Denis Waitley: American motivational speaker and writer

It is difficult for most people to accept the fact that they actually have the power to change things. They allow what happens to them, feel completely powerless to do anything to change it, and accept it without question.

There’s a story of a boy who was paralyzed in a snow mobile accident on February 14, 2010. Less than 7 months later, he was not only walking, but playing soccer with his teammates at School.

I have heard of other people who were paralysed in an accident, and then refused to believe it. Doctors said they would never walk again, but they refused to believe it. They kept trying and trying, and what happened? Yes, they walked again. “It’s a miracle!” everyone said.

In a movie, apparently a true story, a mother wouldn’t accept that her son had cancer and that it was terminal. She fought against it with everything she had, and refused to let her son believe that he was going to die. She kept concentrating on him getting better, and coached him to do the same. Everyone said that she was very unkind to him and that she should back down and allow him to die in peace. She didn’t listen. Her marriage suffered as a result. In the end she found a doctor that could help, and the son’s cancer disappeared.

In another true story told in Napoleon Hill’s book: Think and Grow Rich, a father refused to accept that his son was deaf. He treated the son like a normal person, and gave him the belief that he could hear if he wanted to. Everyone said he was unkind to his son, and that he should accept that he was deaf, and send him to attend a special school for the deaf. His son had a breakthrough and there was an apparatus that worked and helped him to be able to hear like a normal person.

Every single one of us has some kind of handicap: Either an illness, a physical disability or condition that we have to struggle with. Sometimes it is emotional rather than physical, like someone who has been abused and have the emotional scars for years after. It could be something that seems small to others but in our experience was traumatic; something that holds us back. Sometimes it is the belief system we were given as children that is holding us back.

What is holding you back? It will be something that you believe. What do you believe that limits you?

Abraham Hicks wrote: “There is nothing that you cannot be, do or have.”  And Walt Disney said: “If you can dream it, you can do it.”

What is your dream? Get up and live it!

Dare To Be Happy

"There is only one person who can ever make you happy - and that person is you." ~ David Burns

What is happiness? 

 

Many people think they will be happy if they are rich. Or they will be happy if they get that perfect husband or perfect wife. Perhaps they’ll be happy if they have a different car, or if they lose weight, or if only they can ____ (fill in the blank)\

I have spoken to many people who thought they would only be happy if they have their heart’s desire. Then they obtain it, and they are still unhappy. 

That is because happiness is a decision. If you are not happy before you have whatever it is you want, then you will not be happy after you get it. 

Happiness is a state of mind. You can be happy in the gravest of circumstances. Whatever happens to you, you have a choice how you feel about it. You can feel miserable, hard done by, victimised, upset, angry, or you can say: “That’s life” and just carry on being happy. It is your choice.

If you are a happy person committed to stay happy whatever happens, you will have a much better life. You will see opportunities others don’t see, which will make your circumstances better. Tony Robbins had an interview with a 108 year-old holocaust survivor in which he asked her how it was that she survived. She told him that she was always smiling and laughing. Even in the concentration camps. Everyone thought her weird. It helped her survive.

Here are some tips for always being happy.

1.  Fight negativity. Stop a negative thought as you start thinking it, and switch consciously to a positive thought. 
2.  Always have a smile on your face. It is difficult to be unhappy when you’re smiling. 
3.  Count your blessings every day, and be sincerely thankful for them. When you live in gratitude it is impossible to be unhappy.
4.  Go for walks or drives out in nature. If you are out in nature, it is difficult to be unhappy. 
5. Get a pet – dog or cat. They are always happy, and love to make you happy too. A dog will always wag his tail when he sees you. 
6. Do something for someone else, without expecting a reward. It is a great feeling to have someone grateful for what you’ve done for them. 
7. Read something uplifting first thing in the morning, or do something uplifting like meditating.

If you concentrate on being happy, and look for things to be happy about, happiness will follow.

If you would like to have a lifestyle that will make you happy, visit Empower today and find out how to get there.