Your Inner Being As Your Greatest Resource!

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Tuesday January 13 2009

Good day there everyone and welcome to this very fine (but very chilly) Tuesday.

We're approaching the middle of the first month of the year and it begs the question, "Are you still committed to your 2009 goals and intentions?"

Believe it or not, statistics tell us that almost sixty percent (60%) of all those who make goals going into the new year have dropped them by the middle of the month. So, what does it take for you to stay focused on your desires. It's remembering what is really inside of you.

Our friend Owen nailes it down with today's offering.

Your Inner Being As Your Greatest Resource!

by Owen Waters

Your inner being - your soul or higher self - is not something that you have. It is what you are. Your complete consciousness is your inner being. All of the so-called parts of your mind - the conscious, the subconscious and the superconscious parts - are all facets of your one, complete consciousness, your inner being.

Your conscious mind is the result of your inner being focusing attention upon the outer world through your physical brain and senses. When, instead, you turn your attention from the outer world towards the inner world, you access the resources of your inner being.

Your inner being possesses all of the wisdom, understanding and strength that you will ever need. It is your ultimate, personal resource. Your inner being is also your link with the universe and with the consciousness behind all life, Infinite Being.

If you think of yourself as living your life like a performer on stage, then your inner being is like the backstage technician who makes sure that your performance has all the support that it needs to make everything happen on cue.

The amount of knowledge and wisdom available within you is unlimited. In order to access it, you only have to make an intention to go within and find it.

Your subconscious mind runs all of your biological systems without conscious effort on your part. In fact, if you think about it, the subconscious mind of an ant knows more about biology and chemistry than today's leading scientists.

Your inner being knows even more; in fact, everything about anything you want to know anything about. The trick is to ask the question and then silence your conscious mind enough to hear the answer.

When you become consciously aware of the true nature of your inner being and its resources of wisdom, understanding and strength, you begin to dissolve many of the former limitations to your growth.

The key to expressing your human potential is to know that all potential lies within you and you only have to open an external channel in order to allow that unlimited potential to flow out into the world. The power is within. To become empowered, you don't have to become something new. You only have to realize that you already have that power within, then allow that infinite inner potential to flow into your life.

Owen Waters is editor and cofounder of Infinite Being LLC. He promotes a philosophy of spiritual empowerment through inner connection to the source of your ultimate potential. For more Spiritual Words of Empowerment subscribe to his free weekly newsletter. For the full picture, read Owen's books, The Shift: The Revolution in Human Consciousness and Freedom of the Spirit: Four Powerful Steps to Spiritual Freedom.

Change You Really Can Believe In!

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Monday January 12 2009

Hello there all and welcome to a brand spanking shiny new week.

Let's get right to it and get the week off on a high note.

Our dear friend and senior contributor, Philip Humbert, in his clear, honest, and unique way, makes something that affects us all, clearer than most. You're going to apprecaite what we has to share.

Also, check in and see how our friends at Daily Insight are kicking off their week. It's bound to be special.

Change You Really Can Believe In!

by Philip Humbert

Just a few days from now we will inaugurate a new President. Barak Obama ran on the campaign slogan, Change We Can Believe In, and I've been pondering that.

For as long as I can remember, change has been the constant in life. Sometimes we long for it and sometimes we resist it. Sometimes we work to create change in our lives, other times it's imposed on us. Sometimes change is an exciting adventure--we start a new job, buy a new home, or achieve some other goal that makes everything "new." Other times, a changing economy or changes in technology or relationships are frightening and unwelcome.

Ready or not, change comes.

The good news is that positive change is the key that unlocks our potential. As a child, learning to walk, or talk or read or play sports or go on a date are positive changes that unlock a world of new possibilities for us. Refusing to change is a losing battle, but more importantly we are refusing to expand our universe. Change opens doors. Change creates wealth and adventure.

Only by embracing change can we become fully human.

Most people have heard the old joke that insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. Only by letting go of what has worked in the past can we create a new and better world for ourselves.

There's a famous quote from Albert Einstein that problems cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them. I suspect he was right, but I prefer a more homespun version: I can't learn to swim while holding firmly to the edge of the pool. At some point, swimming requires letting go of the safe and the familiar and going into the deep water.

Change almost always involves some level of fear or at the very least, a sense of clumsiness as we learn new skills or the rules of a new environment. So it's easy to understand why some of us resist change. Actually, I suspect all of us resist change at least some of the time, and that makes absolute sense.

The key is to be smart about when we resist and when dare.

Change without preparation, planning and support is bound to carry a high level of risk. Our current economic turmoil imposes change on all of us, but it's far worse for those who are unprepared, or have no plan or support for dealing with it. In contrast, those with savings or who somehow saw it coming, or have a "survival plan" may be able to handle the downturn more easily.

All of this leads to the question, What changes are you planning and preparing for yourself in 2009? What behaviors, situations, skills or activities will you change this year to make your life and our world a better place?

Change happens.

Winners in life anticipate changes that will be imposed by forces beyond their control, but they go even further. They pro-actively anticipate and create the changes they want in their lives. Losers tend to hide from change. Like the proverbial ostrich, they stick their heads in the sand. They try to hide or resist, and change over whelms them.

As the world watches President-elect Obama's inauguration next week, enjoy the spectacle. Delight in the peaceful transition of power and our celebration of democracy. Whether you voted for him or someone else, our tradition of peaceful change is a good thing!

But also take time to affirm the changes you want in your own life. Start small if you wish, but list the changes you want and will achieve in your life. Someone spent a fortune on the banners, signs and celebrations you'll see on television. As you watch, remember all that hoopla is for you!

Pretend all of Washington is affirming the change you desire and the change you believe in for yourself.

By the end of 2009, we'll see you at the top!

Does Happiness Have a Price Tag?

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Friday January 9 2009

Good day there all and welcome to the end of the first full week of the New Year.

Here at The Wealthy Attitude we are richly blessed with being able to read awesome stories from our contributors, talk to folks who are making the world a much better place in which to enjoy our life journey, and expereince technology's that broaden the human experience is amazing ways.

Yes, "rich" can come and go, but an attitude of "wealth" can endure a lifetime and enrich absolutely everything that touches our lives. The question for the weekend: "Is your attitude of wealth enriching everything and everyone you touch?" Now, give that some thought.

Here's a fun video to add yet another perspective to your own "wealthy attitude.

Does Happiness Have a Price Tag?

Have a terrific weekend.

See you on Monday.

~peter~

Laser Focus

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Thursday January 8 2009

Hello folks and welcome to Thursday.

My thanks to all who wrote to me about the impact of yesterday's message had on you. I appreciate you all.

Now, here we are heading to what is really the first weekend of the 2009 business year. So the question is "Are you on track?". Don't worry, you have 356 days left to get in all in order. And to help you, we go to our friend Thea Westra in Australia to gift you with an amazing tool.

Following is a message from Thea's latest work: "Time Abundance: How You Can Enjoy More Time Do The Things That You Want", and at the end of the message you can get this great work for free. Now that's like another holiday gift. You'll enjoy what Thea has to share with you.

Laser Focus
By Thea Westra

One of my favourite quotes about time is…
"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the
same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein"
- H. Jackson Brown, Jr. -

So how is it that these individuals accomplished such great things in their lives with the same amount of time that you have available to you?

They had focus. Their focus was a grand vision of what they wanted to create. They did not always know, nor were always clear, on the specifics of their journey to the end result. Sometimes they simply had an idea without any clue as to how they might accomplish that outcome. They began working on their dream and shared about their dream with others and then remained focused on that dream by taking action(s) every day.

Do you have a larger vision of the gift you want to provide the world with your life? It won't come at you in a flash of a lightning bolt. Such a grand vision needs to be declared by you and then you need to commit and continue taking daily action toward its accomplishment. You are the one responsible for generating the passion for your project and this is accomplished by sharing it with others at every opportunity and by visualizing the desired end result on a daily basis, getting it more clear over time.

When you set aside time every day toward the accomplishment of your vision and take deliberate actions toward its end, you will find that surprising things begin to manifest.

This leads me to another favorite quote, and you may want to read this one several times till it truly sinks in…

"Until one is committed there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffective. Concerning all acts of initiative there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills
countless ideas and endless plans. That the moment one definitely commits oneself then providence moves too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issue from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and meetings, and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come his way. Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius power and magic in it. Begin it now"
– Goethe -

Time Abundance is an online and free ebook where you can find your most sought after information about having more time in your life so that you can attain your personal goals faster and more easily!

The other great thing about sharing and hanging onto the link for this page, is that whenever we update the book, you'll immediately have the latest copy. I highly recommend using the link to this web page that you're on, as the link for sharing the book with friends.

Click here to download the book for free, today!

A Violinist in the Metro!

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Wednesday January 7 2009

Hello there all and welcome to the midweek point.

Here we are in the first full week of the new year and I've already chatted with some folks who have quit on their resolutions. Yes, I know the economy is in turmoil, yes in know the middle east conflict has an impact on us, and yes I also know that it doesn't really mean anything to us, unless we allow it. Leaders don't allow anything to take them from their resolve.

That's my message for the day.

Now, onto another significant note from our friend Alastair G in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He forwarded me this note and it struck a chord for me as I'm always listening for the great music of my life. I hope you are also. You'll like this.

A Violinist in the Metro

A man sat at a metro station in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents,without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of an social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people.

The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?
One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be:

If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

Think about that today.

Be Who You Really Are!

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Tuesday January 6 2009

Hello there again folks and welcome to this darned freezing Tuesday here in the midwest. One of the things that this level of chilliness brings up in me, is the feeling of aliveness I have when I'm thumping myself to get circulation going. It's a heck of a sight to be sure. :-)

Here we are on this fine day continuing some reflections on what we must have in our posture if we are to see our dreams and intentions manifest in 2009. Our contributor today shared some outstanding offerings with us last year, and his first one with of the new year certainly continues a great tradition. You'll like what he has to share.

Be Who You Really Are!

by Brad Swift

Like it or not we live in a world filled with other people, approximately 6,068,210,060 at latest count. And to a large degree the room we have to be ourselves depends on how the people around us relate to us. Not infrequently our perception of ourselves may not match with their perception. When the mismatch is significant, it can lead to discord and disharmony.

For example, if our perception of ourselves is that we are a loving, caring and compassionate person but if those around us perceive us to be a ruthless, heartless snob, then the room we have to be loving and caring is diminished. In other words we can't be who we really are -- who we're committed to being.

So to begin the process of expanding the room we have to be ourselves, it's very useful to find out how we occur for the people around us. Of course this isn't easy because many times people are reluctant to tell us the truth even when we ask for it. They may be afraid of hurting our feelings, or concerned about the repercussions. Or perhaps they learned from childhood, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all." (This is what we Southerners refer to as "Southern nice.")

Here are some guiding principles in initiating conversations to find out how you occur to others.

1. What's the point? It's helpful to start by getting clear on the purpose or intention of the conversation you are about to have. You're not trying to discover who you really are but instead how your occur for others. This is an important distinction to keep in mind. In other words, you are not looking for the capital "T" type of truth, but the person's truth, with a small "t."

2. Contextualize the conversation. As you start the conversation, be sure to give the person a clear idea of what you are doing and why. You might give them a little background as to what led up to your wanting to ask them their true perception of you.

3. Create trust and assure the person. Since you want the person to have the freedom to tell you their truth, you want to create the room for them to be able to do so. You can do this by ensuring them that you won't take offense by anything they say, nor will you use it against them in the future.

The conversation might go something like this: "I really want you to have the room to tell me the truth as you perceive it. I promise that whatever you say won't offend me, nor will I allow it to hurt me. You can also count on me to not use it against you in the future or let it interfere with our relationship. It's really important that you tell me the way it is for you."

4. Request a balanced response. It will be easier for the person to tell you their truth if you ask for a balanced response. Ask them to tell you what they think works about you; what they feel are your strong suits. Then ask them to share what doesn't work about you, your weak suits.

5. Listen openly and with a commitment to hear what the person says. One of the ways to listen openly is to listen as though they're not really talking about you, but simply talking about somebody else that's like you. In a very real sense, they are. They're talking about how you occur for them, not necessarily who you really are. Staying unattached in this way will make it easier for you to hear what they say; to contribute to your quest to be who you really are.

6. Use curiosity to explore deeper. If the person shares something that resonates with you or reveals something about you that you didn't know about yourself, you can use curiosity to dig deeper. Say something like this: "That's interesting. I'm curious about what you just said. Tell me more."

7. Authentically acknowledge the person. At the end of the conversation, thank the person for their forthrightness and honesty. If you feel they're in anyway nervous that they may have been too straight with you, reassure them once more.

8. Don't get stuck with anything. Try on everything that the person said to see what fits for you and what is useful. Once you begin trying it on, if parts don't fit, let them go. If you hear similar input from more than one source, pay attention to it, even if it didn't seem to fit the first time.The insights that can be gleaned from conversations of this kind are nuggets of gold that you can apply in your life to help you grow and develop yourself.

Remember this equation: Insight + Action = Growth and Development

Dr. W. Bradford Swift is Founder of the Life On Purpose Institute, and author of Life On Purpose: 6 Passages to an Inspired Life. The Institute's vision is: a world on purpose, with people living lives of purposeful, passionate and playful service, of mindful abundance balanced with simplicity, and spiritual serenity.

You Deserve 365 Great Days in 2009!

A note from peter@thewealthyattitude.com for Monday January 5 2009

Well hello there everyone and let me bid you welcome to 2009.

It is my expectation that you've all had an awesome holiday season, and now looking forward to what is bound to be an incredible year. We've been having a great time here at this desk as we determine what we are going to have manifest for us in the coming seasons.

If you are like us, you are planning on taking full advantage of every single tool that comes you way to assist you in navigating a world where all of the typical rules are changing. On that note, we are re-launching our website www.thewealthyattitude.com as a resource center for all home-based business entrepreneurs.

We'll be adding tools and techniques that will assist you regardless of your business. You can be a networker, a lawyer, an accountant, a day-care nursery, or any of the myriad of amazing home-based enterprises, and you'll find information that will help you in your endeavors.

So to get us off on a grand note for 2009, we turn to one of our most requested contributors as he sets a tone that you'll enjoy.

You Deserve 365 Great Days in 2009!

by Philip Humbert

The first Daily Reader of a new year is always special, like the first footprints on the new snow we got this week. I want it to set the tone for everything to follow, the way the first hour of the morning sets the tone for the entire day.

As long-time subscribers know, I write TIPS because I'm convinced each of us has the ability--and deserves!--to live an extraordinary life. Each of us is unique and colorful, with our own sense of hope, vision, and possibility, and we are the most intelligent beings on earth. We can go to the moon, make music, invent stuff, and love one another.

And yet, too often our days are filled with stress and fatigue. We are so busy we forget to watch the dawn, we fail to smile, we don't laugh enough. Too often, we ignore our need for hugs, and for kindness. I am troubled by Henry Thoreau's observation that "most men live lives of quiet desperation." For myself, I am determined to prove that he was seriously mistaken!

As we begin another year, I am re-committing to living a great life. My highest and best goals for this year are to have more fun, to get more hugs, to give more joy, to do what I can to make a positive difference on this small planet.

Mary and I have our annual list of specific goals. We have nine categories this year, ranging from family finances to travel and work, but the over-all theme for the year is joy.

Your goals and your system for attaining them may be different, but here is the most important thing I can share with you at the start of a new year.

If you're ready, here it is: Have a great day!

Annie Dillard noted that, "How we live our days is how we live our lives." To make 2009 a great year, you'll want to collect approximately 365 great days, and most days begin in the morning. So it follows that to have a great year, start with a good breakfast!

In all seriousness, how you begin the morning sets the tone for the day, which is the time of your life. This is important stuff! Choose the first hour of your day!

For some people, a great day begins with reading or prayer. Others begin at the gym, while others start by getting the kids dressed and off to school. Some make oatmeal, fruit and coffee; I usually walk the dog and write for a few minutes. Henry Thoreau recommended getting up early to greet the dawn. I think success requires that you start the day in the way that is right for you.

This is your life! You can't wait for "someday" to enjoy it! You can't wait for a big break, for a better economy, warmer weather or until you "feel like it." As someone wisely said, "don't wait for your ship come in, swim out to meet it!"

Decide carefully and precisely exactly how you want to start your day each morning. Think carefully about what gets you going, what seems "right" and special. What empowers you, gives you confidence and energy for the day? Be intentional about the morning! Negotiate your schedule, explain to the kids, do whatever it takes, but make it happen. Your life begins fresh and new each morning.

Specifically, I suggest you start your morning before going to bed the night before. Set the breakfast table, arrange your wardrobe, do what you need to do. Set the alarm clock, get a good night's sleep, wake up with a plan and activate it immediately.

To make 2009 your best year ever, arrange to have lots of extremely good days! Work hard, play often. Sing and dance, read more, hug and laugh more. Be more daring, take more naps, invent something, take a trip, have brunch with your best friend. Arrange for 365 great days and I promise, the year will take care of itself!