Why Not Try Dancing?

Shared lovingly by Betty King

Often we merely exist in a world that was meant for living. Frequently we let the world revolve around us, when we should be part of the motion. Too many times we sit when we should be dancing. It is easy to watch from the stands, cheering for a winning team, when we could be one of the players.

Fear, lack of motivation, and anxiousness suffocates us and puts out the fire, stifling our willingness to embrace all of life that is available to us. We watch the picture play out on a real life screen, placing ourselves in the scenes merely by wishful thinking, not by motivational endeavors. Our theater seats have become too comfortable.

How many times have you watched others do what you long to do?

How many times have you desired to venture out where other people have traveled?

How many times have you wished to see more, do more, and become more than you are?

There is always risk. There are always the jitters and nervous stress that precedes anything unknown. An eagle does not fly, reaching heights of grandeur, if he does not leave the nest. No, to reach heights of grandeur, one must step forward, reach out and leave the spot that is comfortable. It is leaving the secure for the unknown that has enabled man to fly, to break the sound barrier and to walk on the moon.

It was with determination and repeated attempts after denials and rejections that great novels have been published. It is with training and hard work, after defeats, that records have been broken. After conquering an endeavor, new goals have been set for others to achieve.

Often, a step out results in the next step being a step backwards and people tend to fear regression when they experience motion. Not all falling away or pruning is failure. Sometimes it is when one has trimmed off the nonessentials, clipped the mistakes, looked at situations from other angles, that growth is speedy and branches out with a new vigor. Yes, sometimes even regression can be progression.

When we slow down and make a change we are often able to reach our goals even quicker, for it is then we are able to see more clearly. To conquer, you must risk defeat. To gain, one must risk loss. To achieve, one has to realize there is failure; defeat, loss and failure or not in and of themselves the end. No - quitting is the end. To quit, in essence, is to stop living.

To just exist in a world where there is great potential would be like dying a slow agonizing death, if life to you simply means breathing and not enthusiastically participating. Why not try dancing? Maybe you've never danced before and at first you'll miss a few steps - that's okay; you're working on forward motion, not perfection!

Great strides are not made without a few stumbles, a few missteps. A person can not dance to a song without feeling the beat; so move with the music. Make life a song! Life is ever moving; you decide the direction. Are you moving forward or is the world revolving around you? Life can not be lived to completeness when you are not part of the motion.

Forward motion does not necessarily mean vigorous activity or boisterous verbal proclamations. It can be doing big things in small ways. It can be doing significant activities in a quiet unassuming manner. It can be making great strides doing for other people and taking no credit.

Look at the way Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks lived their lives; they made a difference in this world. They were mild-mannered soft spoken people who did not seek notoriety for themselves. They did, though, take giant steps forward that made a difference in so many other people's lives, for generations to come. Mother Teresa and Rosa Parks danced to the tune of a dedicated life, in steps taken for others, to make a better life for so many people. Their music will live on in history books.

Most of us will not be recorded in history books, we will not win the Nobel Peace Prize, or perhaps even have our name recognized, but we can dance to the music of life and make a difference for ourselves and other people in this world.

Are you letting the world revolve around you, watching others make a difference?

Do you just exist in a world that is made for living?

Why not get out of your theater seats and join in the motion - try dancing to the music of life. You can make a difference; play your own special tune, dance your own special dance!

When your day on this earth has ended, let it be said "You Made a Difference," you lived life and "You Danced Your Own Special Dance!"

Betty King

Betty King is the author of two books, It Takes Two Mountains to Make a Valley, and But - It Was in the Valley's I Grew. She is also a Life Style and Devotional newspaper columnist and freelance writer and speaker. Her writings can be found in several Chicken Soup books. Her website is www.bettyking.net

Decision Versus Defeat

Shared by Andy Andrews

Have you ever noticed the power displayed when one combines a decision with a goal? I'm not talking about setting a goal. When we set a goal, that's exactly what we do: we set it—and often, we set it up for defeat. What I'm talking about is the power of a decision combined with a goal. There is a world of difference between the two. Let me explain...

By now, you're either on track to achieve the New Year's goals you sat down and etched out six months ago, or they have since been forgotten. It's our nature to want to believe that a New Year equals a New Me. But how many of us can actually say this is true?

In 1940 a man named Albert Gray addressed a room packed with Life Insurance Salesmen. Mr. Gray was one himself—a veteran of the business, having spent nearly 30 years as both a life insurance agent and instructor in sales development. Addressing a packed house at the National Association of Life Underwriters Annual Convention, Mr. Gray mesmerized the audience with his speech, The Common Denominator of Success. He stated a truth that is as relevant to you and me as it is to a salesman, a mother, a father, a CEO, an NFL Quarterback, or anyone else determined to succeed in a given endeavor. Dr. Gray stated:

"The secret of success of every man or woman who has ever been successful — lies in the fact that he formed the habit of doing things that failures don't like to do."


So what are the things that you don't like to do that you know you should be doing? The only thing that is stopping you from getting what you want out of this year is you. Are your goals "shoulds" or are they "musts?" Why are they musts? Have you taken the action to back up your claim?

Whatever it Takes

So many of us set goals but never actually decide to actually achieve those goals. Do you see the difference between the two? When you combine a decision with your goal, you'll do whatever it takes to achieve it. When you set a goal, you'll usually do only what is convenient, and rarely what is necessary. Convenience does not lead to success. In most cases it leads to mediocrity.

If you've set certain goals, what will it take for you to truly hit the mark? The difference is an authentic decision. Are you willing to become this decision? When you do, your life will change dramatically.

In The Traveler's Gift, Columbus presents David Ponder with the Fourth Decision to Determine Personal Success: "I have a decided heart." Create a decided heart within yourself and amazing things will take place in regards to the goals you have set. The magic of a decided heart is it opens doorways of possibility that half-heartedness will not.

Cultivating a Decided Heart

Here are a few questions to help you cultivate a decided heart:

• What is it that you've set out to do this year? By now, you should know in your gut whether or not your current actions will achieve them.

• What are the habits that might be standing in your way?

• What must you do to replace these old habits beginning today?

• Why is it a must, and not a "should," that you replace these habits?

• What are the actions you've been putting off that you know you need to take in order to move forward in the direction of your goals?

• When will you take them?

• If you aren't taking massive action today toward achieving your goals, when will you?

Here is my favorite quote from Dr. Billy Graham: "I'm always amazed at how many people in trouble confuse God's Will for their life with plain old bad decision making."

Substitute the words "plain old bad decision making" with the words "failure to do any decision making" and you'll discover a major source of problems. More people fail because of an undecided heart than for any other reason. Don't be one of these people.

Make an authentic, powerful decision today—and move forward accordingly—with abandonment and resolve. You are responsible. Take ownership of your goals. Do whatever is necessary to cultivate a decided heart concerning your goals... this is the first step toward their achievement.

And remember to...

Persist without exception!

Andy

What are your 60000 thoughts a day creating today?

Our thoughts create our reality. This is a simple truth known by all people involved on the spiritual path. It is one of the most taught universal principles in the personal development field. Yet it is one of the most misunderstood!

People practice visualization, affirmations, they use hypnosis, subliminal programming or countless other tools to transform their lives. However they fail to recognize one key area in their lives that hinder these wonderful techniques from being effective. They sit day after day visualizing their perfect scene and yet nothing happens. Why? They have followed all the instructions to the letter! They have chanted and imagined! They have formed a colourful, vibrant scene in their minds and affirmed that this is their reality. Then all of a sudden things get worse! What is going on?

Would you like to know the secret? Would you like to know why these people get no results? Would you like to hear one powerful statement that explains everything?

Yes?

Good. I will tell you why these people get no results or even opposite results to those they are aiming for -simply because of the following truth. Consciously controlled thoughts such as visualizations do not materialize - ALL thoughts materialize!!!

Most people believe that if they visualize for 10 minutes a day their lives will magically transform. This is not the case. You must change your core thinking. You think approx. 60,000 thoughts a day. How many of those thoughts are working against your ten-minute visualization?

You can control the thoughts that enter your mind by changing the way you view the world. You can decide which thoughts you give energy to and which thoughts you discard.

The thoughts that you follow and give energy to become more dominant than the thoughts you discard. Your subconscious mind records these as your dominant picture on the issue at hand. You then move towards this picture because your subconscious mind starts making your outside world reflect the picture that you have stored internally.

Your mind should be on whatever you want. The picture you need to have is a positive vision of you already having achieved your goal. To realize this vision you need to focus and concentrate. Remember thoughts are real, they create your reality.

Let's say you have been visualizing a new house. You spend your ten minutes in meditation picturing yourself living in your dream home. You finish your session and get up feeling positive that you will achieve your goal. Then during the day you get a heating bill through the post and exclaim, "Oh no look how expensive this is I cannot afford to heat this house". Where is your focus in the present moment? What are you affirming? You are telling your subconscious mind that you cannot deal with what you have. You are affirming that your life is not how you want it to be. If you knew without doubt that within a week you would be moving to your new home would you honestly be worried about a heating bill? Perhaps other doubts creep in like "I should be happy with what I have", or "I will never get this house looking the way I want it" and so on and so on.

These thoughts that are not aligned with your goal. You are not giving complete attention to what you want. Whilst you are dealing with these other lines of thought your attention is not on your goal.

If you are aware of your thoughts you will suddenly realize that you have spent much more energy on counter productive thoughts than on creating a dominant picture of the goal you want.

Point your focus in the direction of you're the life you want. Think about what you want NOT what you don't want. It's that simple.

Your focus determines your reality. Change your focus and you change your life.

Regulate your Thoughts.

The Prosperity in Forgiveness

Shared by Lori Hamann

I have found myself inspired to write on this topic on more than one occasion. All of us, at some point in our lives have felt the desperate inner turmoil and confusion that comes from feeling that we have been "wronged" or betrayed in some way. You fight to understand what is wrong with a person to have done such a thing, or to be such a way. You wonder what may be wrong with you …. Have I deserved such treatment? Am I just completely naive? I am too trusting. I have loved too deeply, and now I am paying for it. The list of inner chatter goes on and on as we try to make sense of our lives.

Maybe the lack of forgiving per say is not your issue – maybe it’s that you have forgiven time and time again, only to continually set yourself up for victimization. Your sense of self -esteem, your sense of trust in yourself, your personal power has been chipped away – bit by bit.

As you well know, the consequences of that inner turmoil run quite deep. On one end of the spectrum your life can become filled with resentment, paranoia, or isolation. You may begin to with hold your true self from your family and friends – as a basic survival instinct, keeping yourself safe is the priority. On the other end of the spectrum- you may sense the undercurrent of hurt only arises at times – but none the less is like a rock under the carpet of your life…waiting to be tripped over and always unsettling.

Forgiveness – whether it be forgiving yourself or others – is a major piece of the puzzle as we look at the elements necessary to create a prosperous and abundant life. It is too often over looked as one of the blocks to your success. Why? Because we think that our feelings are justified when a wrong(s) has been done to you. When we are justified, nothing needs changing right? You SHOULD feel this way. Maybe, if you want to keep your level of abundance and prosperity exactly where it is at.

Let me say that again… nothing needs changing - IF you are happy with how you feel inside. Nothing needs changing IF you are pleased with the amount of personal and financial abundance you presently experience. Nothing needs changing IF you feel that you are completely free.

What I want to make clear in this discussion is that, yes, you certainly are "justified" in feeling the way you do – always – whether we are talking about forgiveness or any other issue. Your feelings are always valid. They are always your experience. They are always right, and you have the right to choose how you will feel. You are at choice, and your choices work for you – they protect you. I am not here to tell you that your feelings are wrong. But it is important to acknowledge that you have the power to choose your feelings...and if they are not in alignment with what you want for your life...prosperity - then you get to choose something different.

So, as it relates to your sense or experience of prosperity – forgiveness is a must. You need to know that the state that is created within you is not one that moves you toward peace and abundance in your life.

The consequences of that state mostly hurt you. Anger, inability to trust others, inappropriate setting of boundaries, perceived sense of righteousness, development of extreme or high expectations of self or others, inability to move toward intimacy, pain, hurt, anxiety, depression, and fear – just to name a few. Simply put, all of these are states of feeling bad and negative, are states of scarcity consciousness.

What I know to be true, is that our outer world is a direct reflection of our inner world. If you feel and live in a state of prosperity consciousness and love, your outer world will be an expression of many riches.

If you live in scarcity consciousness, fear, and lack and negativity– that is what will manifest in your outer world. If you come from a place of prosperity consciousness, which is all about feeling good, bliss, appreciation, and connection to your higher self, you will begin to attract more prosperity that you ever thought possible.

How has scarcity manifested in your own life? Can you identify areas in your life lack forgiveness, that carry the undercurrent of negativity and jam up your flow of prosperity?

Here is the hard part. HOW do I forgive? Although each person is different – here is a basic recipe for forgiveness. And by that I mean true forgiveness – not the kind of forgiveness that you just pretend that you have forgiven. It's a true letting go.

8 Principles of Forgiving (and Freeing Your Flow of Prosperity)

1. Know that forgiveness is a skill. You weren’t born unforgiving and you shouldn’t beat yourself up about where you are in your abilities to forgive at this point. Be good to yourself and honor where you are.

2. Start with a forgiveness inventory. Have you ever gone through the process of consciously forgiving? What worked for you? What didn’t? Think about who you need to forgive today. Start with your parents and go down the list. Ask yourself what you get out of keeping the pain, hurt or estrangement. Like it or not, there is a payoff. Journal about these things.

3. Become very clear about the fact that forgiveness is about moving from fear (scarcity consciousness) to love (prosperity consciousness). What do you think fear, anger and resentment can accomplish? What do you think love can accomplish? How does this resonate within you? What choice are you going to make about this?

4. Accept the fact that you can not change others – only yourself. Within that, accept that you can change yourself at any moments time. Its called a "shift". Practice shifting into love and away from fear, resentment, and negativity. Note that when you practice or pretend it becomes easier in real life after awhile.

5. Know that forgiveness is not about minimizing your pain or others actions. It’s about a conscious choice to let go – it’s the absolution of past mistakes. It’s the absence of resentment, anger, blame, and judgment. It's the choice to focus on the positive aspects of a person or of a situation, or of yourself.

6. Design a forgiveness ritual – one that feels good to you. Burn a candle. Write unsent letters. Vent in writing, and literally put your feelings on the page. Choose to shift and focus on what you are appreciating. Move forward in "lightness" and love. You are in charge of how much you will let yourself spin and vent. Keep perspective here. Know that what you focus on grows, so don't spend to much time on the negativity of it all. If you think you have forgiven and you still feel anger, hurt or resentment, then you have not forgiven. Choose a better thought and appreciate a bit more.

7. Know that you can not heal your own pain by refusing to forgive others. Honor yourself by starting to forgive and let go. It’s good for your body and soul. Carolyn Myss says, "Your biography becomes biology..." Come to understand that most of the time people are not out to intentionally hurt you - but it is usually about their own fears and issues, or perceptions of. It helps to…

8. See people for the perfect loving souls they are. We all have a perfect soul, and we choose to come here to learn to learn to create, and love, and grow. Forgiveness is just about learning to love. Its major lesson in loving.

Choosing forgiveness is the first step. You need not rush the process, for learning how to forgive and using that in your life is a key prosperity, peace, and spiritual growth.

Friday's (Fun) Video Offering!

As is our practice on Friday's, we end the week with a video offering. Our theme of this week was "self-discipline" and it came with its own degree of intensity for each of us. So let's end the week with a little fun.

A fellow Scot, Edward Reid became an instant celebrity recently when he brought down the house on "Britain's Got Talent" -- with nursery rhymes! The crowd laughed and jeered when 35-year-old school teacher opened with "Old MacDonald." But his undulating voice won them over as he moved into "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star." By the time he concluded with "If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands," every pair of hands in the room was, indeed, applauding wildly.

So, wrap up your week with a huge smile as you remember the nursery rhymes of your very young days......done in a wonderful way. Just try not grinning.

Video from KarmaTube

Have an outstanding first weekend of Summer.

See you on Monday.

I appreciate you.

~peter~

The Person Responsible For Your Success

It’s time to meet the person who has been responsible for the life you live right now.

This person has created your income, your debt, your relationships, your health, your fitness level, your weight, your attitudes and your behaviors. Who is it? To introduce yourself, just walk to the closest mirror and say hello! This person is you!

Although one of the popular myths out there is that "external factors" determine how you live, the truth of the matter is that you are in complete control of the quality of your life.

It’s time to look at the life you’ve created and determine what is working and what is not. Certainly there are wonderful things happening in your life, whether it’s your job, your spouse, your grades, your children, your friends, or your income level.

Congratulate yourself on these successes; you are creating them for yourself! And then take a look at what isn’t working out so well. What are you doing or not doing to create those experiences?

It’s time to stop blaming outside factors for your unhappiness.

When you realize that you create your experiences, you’ll realize that you can un-create them and create new experiences whenever you want. But you must take responsibility for your happiness and your unhappiness, your successes and your failures, your good times and your bad times. When you stop blaming, you can take that energy and redirect to focus on creating a better situation for yourself. Blaming only ties up your energy.

It’s also time to stop complaining.

Look at what you are complaining about. Really examine it. More than likely it is something that you can do something about.

Are you unhappy about something that is happening? Make requests that will make it more desirable to you, or take the steps to change it yourself. Making a change might be uncomfortable to you. It might mean you have to put in more time, money, and effort. It might mean that someone gets upset about it. It might be difficult to change or leave a situation, but staying put is your choice so why continue to complain? Face the facts that you can either do something about it or not. It is your choice and you have responsibility for your choices.

Successful people take 100% responsibility for the life they live, the thoughts they think, the images that visualize, and the actions they take.

They don't waste their time and energy blaming and complaining. They evaluate their experiences and decide if they need to change them or not. They face the uncomfortable and take risks in order to create the life they want to live.

So, the question is: "Are you living the life you want to live"?

Take a look in the mirror!

End Procrastination Now!

Posted by Philip HUmbert

People ask me how to over-come procrastination to achieve their goals and create the life they truly want. I believe there are two essential steps for dealing with procrastination and taking action to make your dreams come true.

The situation is familiar: We have a vision or goal, and know it is within our reach. It may not be simple or easy, but we know it's possible - if only we would get started. But we don't. We procrastinate. We plan and dream and talk, but we don't take the essential actions that move us forward. Time passes, things don't change and we berate ourselves in frustration!

That is no way to live your life! Let's look at solutions.

Step One: Power comes from Purpose!

Last week I talked with three people who have big dreams and wonderful ideas, but they've taken no action. As we talked, I realized they did not have powerful, passionate REASONS to succeed. No rational person works long and hard without a good reason!

They each claimed they had good reasons to pursue their dreams. Their dreams will make them rich if they succeed. Their families support them, and they thought their "reasons to succeed" were compelling, but they were really just clichés, and clichés have no power in them!

Power comes from purpose! The power to get up early, stay late, and work hard must come from the heart. Powerful action comes from knowing your purpose, your REASONS for doing it!

When a teenager wants to make the basketball team, or a mother wants a doctor for her sick child, or we NEED a college education, human beings will find a way. But "nice" goals are not enough. Intellectual arguments are not enough.

The power to over-come procrastination, find solutions and keep going comes from living your life on PURPOSE! When you know WHY, you'll find the HOW!

Step Two: Become a Player!

This is simple: are you an amateur, or a pro? Are you serious, or are you dabbling? Are you committed, or merely interested? The answers make all the difference.

Again, I've recently talked with several people who claim to have a sense of purpose behind their goals, but I don't think they truly mean it. They "dabble" and leave no tracks in the sand.

They tell a great story, and they seem committed, but their actions speak louder than their words. Inside, they know that dabbling rarely brings major results, and so they procrastinate. Action that has no weight or substance to it is rarely worth while, so they understandably do nothing at all.

Don't be a lightweight! The ancient general, Hannibal, is famous for taking his troops through impossible mountains and is remembered for saying, "We will find a way, or make one." He found a way!

To over-come procrastination, be a player! Put some weight and time and money and skill behind your dreams. Take risks and make stuff happen! Life is not a rehearsal! If you have dreams, be certain you have enough REASONS to justify the effort, and if you do, then go all out!

Put yourself on the line!

Make the investment.

Procrastination cannot survive in the face of a committed, determined human will!

A Creed For Self-Discipline!

Good day all and welcome to the start of a brand spanking new week. The theme this week is "self-discipline".

Just so you know, your "discipline" is entirely your responsibility. No other person has any control whatsoever over the way you discipline yourself.

Today's offering is excerpted from a great work by Napoleon Hill, and is an ideal way to set the week in motion. Print it out and get it on your wall.

A Creed For Self-Discipline

Willpower: Recognizing that the power of will is the supreme court over all other departments of my mind, I will exercise it daily, when I need the urge to action for any purpose; and I will form habits designed to bring the power of my will into action at least once daily.

Emotions: Realizing that my emotions are both positive and negative I will form daily habits which will encourage the development of the positive emotions, and aid me in converting the negative emotions into some form of useful action.

Reason: Recognizing that both my positive emotions and my negative emotions may be dangerous if they are not controlled and guided to desirable ends, I will submit all my desires, aims and purposes to my faculty of reason, and I will be guided by it in giving expression to these.

Imagination: Recognizing the need for sound plans and ideas for the attainment of my desires, I will develop my imagination by calling upon it daily for help in the formation of my plans.

Conscience: Recognizing that my emotions often err in their over-enthusiasm, and my faculty of reason often is without the warmth of feeling that is necessary to enable me to combine justice with mercy in my judgments, I will encourage my conscience to guide me as to what is right and what is wrong, but I will never set aside the verdicts it renders, no matter what may be the cost of carrying them out.

Memory: Recognizing the value of an alert memory, I will encourage mine to become alert by taking care to impress it clearly with all thoughts I wish to recall, and by associating those thoughts with related subjects which I may call to mind frequently.

Subconscious Mind: Recognizing the influence of my subconscious mind over my power of will, I shall take care to submit to it a clear and definite picture of my major purpose in life and all minor purposes leading to my major purpose, and I shall keep this picture constantly before my subconscious mind by repeating it daily.

Signed_____________________________

Discipline over the mind is gained, little by little, by the formation of habits which one may control. Habits begin in the mind; therefore, a daily repetition of this creed will make one habit-conscious in connection with the particular kind of habits which are needed to develop and control the six departments of the mind.

The mere act of repeating the names of these departments has an important effect. It makes one conscious that these departments exist; that they are important; that they can be controlled by the formation of thought-habits; that the nature of these habits determines one's success or failure in the matter of self-discipline

Napoleon Hill Excerpt from The Master-Key To Riches