Real Fun

Here's a challenge that I found on The Sue and Steve Show:

How to play the Prosperity game:

You simply pretend that everyday you’ll receive a new sum of money. On day 1 you’ll receive $1,000; day 2, $2000; day 3, $3,000, and so on. Your job is spend all of the money delightfully every day. No roll overs. No savings. Spend every dime/ penny that day. Try it out for yourself. It’s wonderful. I love trying to figure out how to spend amounts like this. GO BIG!


Who's going to play with me?

Are You There Blogger? It's Me, THE Reader!!

My sporadic posting has resulted from working on another project that has taken up a lot of my time right now.  I will gladly unveil this project to you in about two or three weeks when it will be ready to be seen by the world! (Dant da daaa!)  But until then, I have been popping by your web pages to get inspired.  Blogging right takes a lot of time and I am so proud of the consistent examples some of you show!  Keep it up and stay tuned for the big news!!

What is Normal?

What is normal to you is enthusiasm. What is normal to you is laughing a lot. Many, many times a day. Feeling strong and secure. Feeling so much self-confidence, so sure about who you are, that when you look at others you're always in a position to uplift them.




What's normal for you is to have so much energy that at the end of the day you are still looking for things to do. Having such a passion for life that you're eager to get together with other people to hear about what they're doing, to see if it's anything you might want to turn a little of your attention to. To have so much energy at the end of the day, that you're already eagerly planning tomorrow. Feeling disappointed that the sun goes down and enthusiastic the sun comes up.



What is normal is a zest for life beyond anything that most of you, over eight years of age, have remembered or felt in a long, long time. That's what's normal.



It is our anticipation that 30 days of talking the resistance down, to feel a little better, and writing on the Universe's side of the Place Mat what you'd like the Universe to work on--will put most of you in a position 30 days from today of feeling an enthusiasm for life unlike anything that you've felt for a long time. Give that six months and people won't even recognize you as the same person, truly.



Abraham-Hicks G-7/6/95 Calendar pg. 765

Wasting Time

You know how people say, "If it's a cliche' it's because it's a truth"?  Well, sometimes that makes sense, like:  'People don't plan to fail they just fail to plan'...true and it's definitely cliche'.  But how about this one:  Wasting Time...ugh.  I don't like that one, even if it may be true.

I was thinking about a time when I was in a store just browsing at the merchandise.  I really had no intention to buy anything so I was just roaming around from one aisle to the next.  I remember the sales lady coming up to me and I got all tense (the way we do when people charge at us trying to sell us something) and as she approached me in her sing song voice she offered the ever dreaded, "Can I help you find anything?"  To which I simply replied, "No thanks, I'm just wasting time."  Guess what she did when I said that?  Nothing.  She smiled, nodded and moved right along, as if she understood.

Is it really so acceptable for us in this society to feel like we should be able to simply WASTE time?  Now, I know that time in and of itself is a pretty vague concept, but really, waste??  Think of what you consider to be waste?  Garbage.  Refuse.  Scraps.  Leftovers nobody else wanted.  Do we really want to do that with our time?

Whether it's a cliche' or not, I'd rather invest my time.  Invest it in a way that each action from here on out will yield me awesome things in the future.  Maybe even spend time a couple of moments, spend it doing something that will build me a memory.  But please, pretty please with a cherry on top, no more WASTING!

Are You Stuck?

For today's post I couldn't resist sharing this article written by Darren Hardy on Success Magazine's Blog.  Enjoy!

Are You Stuck?


By:  Darren Hardy, potential


I saw something absurd the other day. A highly engineered and specially designed high-performance race car stuck on a 35-mile-an-hour downtown street.

That is not what that car was made for. That is not what its creator (Enzo Ferrari) envisioned for it.



This 6-speed, F140 Aluminum V12, 4700cc engine with 660hp was built to go 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and race at 217 miles an hour (2010 specs). But here it is… stuck.



I see this absurdity every day.



But not only in the streets—in office cubicles, conference rooms, huddled behind computer screens, and dragging luggage through airports.



People who were specially engineered and designed with special talents, skills and abilities who are traveling down the wrong road, with their potential stuck in first gear; trapped and unable to race.



That is not what their creator had envisioned for them either.



Are you…



1. Stuck. Traveling down the wrong road? Are you in a job, company or business that has you boxed in on the slow lane? Is it keeping you from being able to get out of first gear and challenge your greater abilities?



Sometimes it’s not the car; it’s the road the car is on.



2. Traveling with Pintos? Are you going slow because you are keeping pace with ordinary cars, when you were designed for racing?



Sometimes it’s not the car; it’s the cars it travels with.



3. Are you even aware that you are a race car? You were specially engineered and designed for speed… to race. You were built for greatness. I’m not kidding. You are a miracle of machinery. Yes, you… the one reading this. It’s likely you have never even experienced half of what your top speed is.



Sometimes it’s not the car; it’s the one given the responsibility to drive it.



If you ever really gripped the wheel, braced your neck and punched the pedal with all your might… the awesomeness of your innate potential will shock and exhilarate you.



Punch it. NOW!



Who else do you know has greater innate potential than they might realize or be utilizing? Forward this post to them: http://darrenhardy.success.com/2010/07/are-you-stuck/



So, are you stuck? Are you on the wrong road, traveling with the wrong people, unaware of your true greatness? In the comments below share with everyone what you are going to do to “punch it” in your life, starting now.

Will Smith Actor, Singer, AND Philosopher?!?

I'm a big fan of positive thinking and such. I really believe we can change the course of our own lives and that the world is the way we perceive it to be. Half full or half empty? It's all up to each one of us. Some times you find quotes or books or people who inspire you in your pursuit of achievement.

The following is a video well worth the watch. Will Smith is an awesome actor, successful not only in career but family as well. I really like how in sync he and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith seem to be. Hey, no body's perfect, but we all have strengths. Some of us choose to work on those strengths, some of us don't. Here's how someone who chooses to work on their strength thinks...

Change

Change is a good thing.  Some times we have to convince ourselves of that, but most of the time looking back, we're all the better for it.  One client I had is a pastor of a church.  He is probably one of the most charismatic people you could ever meet and his family is incredibly genuine.  He explained to me about a custom they have in their services.

The band starts playing a familiar tune and then the pastor stands up and proclaims that it's time to walk on change!  What a great analogy, I thought.  Walk on it, like you can conquer it!  It was a great symbolic sentence.  However, they do it literally!  When he makes that statement, members of the congregation take out the change from their pockets and they begin to walk on it...literally!  He reassures those who do not have any spare change on them, by explaining that they can reach into a bin in the room full of change.  The coins they collect then become their own.  At that point they have the option to keep it, or throw it down with everyone else.  After the process is complete, he has volunteers going through the aisles scooping up the change.  That money of course is used as a charitable gift which sustains the church ministry.

Isn't that a powerful example of what it means to "own" change?  After all it is inevitable.  Things will move on and move forward.  We can fear it, or we can celebrate it.  We can try skirting the issue or we can WALK on it!  We can certainly be bigger than any obstacle in front of us.  If we don't feel like we have enough in us to change, we can borrow strength from someone else until we have our own. 

It's actually pretty exciting when you think about it!

Religion

Religion of all sorts has always fascinated me.  It's incredibly intriguing to watch a person wrapped up in faith.  It's beautiful, really.  The beliefs in and of themselves are so uniquely different and special, but each one of us is the same.  We all have a special yearning for something bigger, something higher.  It's interesting to witness that most of the time we reach up, away from our own selves to find it.  What I think is incredibly powerful is when we find what we are reaching for deeply within ourselves.

We are creatures of habit and comfort.  Finding a ritual which keeps us grounded is the basis of our peace.  One thing I believe that all religious leaders try teaching is that the peace we seek is inside.  Our guidance is what gives us the beliefs in the first place, and it can take us all the way home.

As I grow older my beliefs and faith mold into the things I see, learn, and come to understand.  One thing I feel completely certain of (for now anyway:o) is the common denominator in all I reach for is LOVE.  Not just giddy I-love-my-new-outfit kind of love, but deep, real, unending love that can take you through many dimensions if you let it.  That's who God is to me.  He is love.  His veins pump love throughout his divinity and it reaches to each one of us, because after all we're not separate beings.  We're all connected.

NaNoWriMo

One thing that lays on every writer's heart is to eventually actually write a book.  Many a people call themselves writers, yet feel the task of book writing to be incredibly daunting.  Well, I'm here to tell you that writing a book is no big deal.  That's "write" (wink wink) it's easy!  I can confidently say that because I, my friends, have written my first novel.

Here's the catch.  Writing a novel is easy, revising and editing is the challenge.  How do you get through the initial task of putting your story down on paper?  The most important item you would need is accountability.  You read that right.  It's not a good plot, not a computer, not even research or ideas.  Although each of those are important and can make your process much smoother.  You need someone, something, some place that will keep you going even when you don't feel like it.  Once you get your story down on paper, the editing can begin. 

I wrote my first novel thanks mainly to accountability.  Who was I accountable to?  Well, not really a person, per se, but an event.  Every November it officially becomes NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).  It's an even where you as a writer log in and create a novel, from scratch, between the days of November 1st through November 30th.  You can friend people, sort of like you can on facebook or twitter, and you can see their progress and compare it to where you're supposed to be.

This was an amazing tool in finishing my novel because I always wanted to keep pace with everyone.  Since I'm competitive it was nice to have a benchmark to work against.  I am the type of person who figures that if one person can do it, then so can I.  My dream of writing can only begin if I put pen to paper. 

So, even though we're a few months away from NaNoWriMo, start getting in gear for it.  The challenge is incredible and the rush is amazing.  Then, once you're done, once you have your entire story on paper without worrying about editing it until every word spits out of you, then you can begin to revise and start planning on what you'll wear to your first book signing.  Hmmm, what will I wear???

Day Dreaming

Currently, I am re-reading an excellent book.  This one falls within my top 10 of all time favorite books.  The title is:  "The Answer" by John Assaraf & Murray Smith.  I originally read it in a blur, trying to suck in all the good stuff and get on to my next read.  This time around I picked it up on a intuitive hunch and have breezed through the first 60 pages with much more amazing insight.

One part of the book talks about imagination.  There was a study done which discovered that by age 35 most people will loose a majority of function in the "imagination" side of their brain.  Why?  Well, what are you told to do as a child when you're caught looking out a window and not focusing?  Yep, you got it.  You get the good old, "Get your head out of the clouds" speech.  So we get programmed from a very young age to let go of our dreams and focus on what the world perceives as reality.  HOW TRAGIC!  Especially since we create our lives based on the things we imagine!

In business, it's true that I prefered working with younger people.  I know, I know, that can be viewed as discrimination, but in a sales industry you want to work with people who are hungry and motivated.  People who have lived through life a little longer have had the shine wiped clean out of their eyes.  They tend to stop hoping for great things and find it easier to settle for smaller feats.  Before you know it, if we follow these paths we can end up not caring about much other than getting to the weekend.

My hope is to inspire myself and others to constantly use the imaginations within.  There is a lot to create and the ability is ours, but nothing will happen if we first don't clearly visualize what we want.  What are some of the things you daydream about?

Creating a Mission Statement

Having a personal mission statement has been on my list of things to do since for-eva ago! I have always thought the concept of such a thing was valuable, since having direction and purpose always yields much more lasting and meaningful results. I have come up with several demos and have thought them to be pretty good, however, never truly felt connected to any of them.


I once heard the quote: "A leader makes decisions quickly but changes her mind slowly." This statement impacted me in regards to developing my mission statement. I figure it is better to begin somewhere with one and then as I progress through my life I can evaluate how it is performing for me.

What does a personal mission statement have to include in order to serve its purpose effectively? Well, the deepest requirment I feel is the ability to make you think about the moves you make in life. If you have a meaningful mission statement for your own life you will always be able to move from where you are to where you want to go because of the phrased you coined to lead your life.

Also, I think it is perfectly okay to borrow another mission statement. If you hear a statement that rings very true for you then go ahead and use it as your own. The purpose is that now you have a MISSION! That you are not just a casualty walking aimlessly through this precious gift of life, but you have direction and purpose.

Finally, a mission statement shouldn't be more than one or two sentences in length. If you walk into some businesses you would see some of them with opposite thinking.   You'll see some mission statements that are paragraph lengths long and very tediously padded with huge words. What happens after you read (if you are even motivated enough to read them) a lengthy statement promising profits to the company and satisfaction to blah blah blah?  You never remember them, and you need to make sure the same mistake doesn't happen with your statement.  Mission statements need to motivate you toward them, not bore you by sentence number forty four.

So what is my mission statement? Drum roll please....

"To inspire people to move in the direction of their dreams by constantly moving in the direction of my dreams."

Is it a perfect final draft? Most likely not. However, instead of just continuously aiming for who knows what, now I can begin in a solid direction. I want to inspire people to lead fulfilling lives and help them to feel free and to love life. The best way I know to do that is by being an example of doing just that for myself. Have you created a mission statement for your life? Put one together today and live by it, remember you can always reevaluate and change it later, the important thing is to take action now.

29 on the 29th

My birthday was on the 29th.  It was my golden birthday as I turned 29.  I remember that turning 25 had a weird impact on me.  I felt then as if I was really leaving the adolescent world and entering adulthood, regardless of the fact I had been out of college and married 5 years by then.  It was all about the number.  Well, I've just turned the age that I will say I am for the rest of my life, "29" :o).  This time, I feel great about it!

Getting older today means something different for me than it did a few years ago, and surely that emotion will continue to evolve.  I'm excited about my age, I'm looking forward to the next 10 years.  There is going to be some monumental shifts in my life over the next year that will set up my third decade on this earth.  Getting older really just means getting wiser.  All the experiences that have brought me to this point in my life (though some I would never ever want to ever experience again...did I say "ever"?) have made me into the person I am today.  How can any of that be bad?

It's a good day folks!  2010 is mid way through, which means we have half the year to go.  How are you doing on your goals?  Are you excited about what you can achieve between now and New Year's Eve?  Remember, the "how" isn't as important as the "what".  Know clearly what you're aiming for and along the way you'll find the strength and skills you need to make it happen!

Leaders are Readers

Last year I set a goal to read 50 books.  I fell short with 36, but I didn't feel like a failure.  Actually, I was proud of myself for keeping a steady pace of 3 books per month.  From those books I took away a lot of wisdom and implemented several processes which I think have made my life better.  So at the beginning of 2010 I threw out a goal to read 50 books...again.  It will be June in a couple of days and I've gotten through 4 books.

This may seem like my reading effort has drastically fallen off of the face of the planet, but it hasn't.  I read A LOT.  It wouldn't be too far of a stretch for me to say I invest about 3 hours per day (MINIMUM) reading.  What do I read?  Blogs, Websites, Magazines, Essays, Articles.  I read very frequently (thanks to having a smart phone with internet access readily available).  I subscribe to SUCCESS magazine, WOMEN'S HEALTH magazine, and the O magazine, and I read about 80% of the issues each month.  I search and find many helpful Self Improvement Blogs and Websites. 

So, if I were to compare my reading activity from last year to this year so far, I would easily have to say I read MUCH MORE now than I did before...even though it hasn't been in the form of books as much.  My quest in life is to continually pursue learning, one way or another.  My goal is still 50 books, though.  I do have a special place in my heart for pages I can flip compared to a mouse I click, so I have a deep desire to fly through some and devour the knowledge and creativity available for me.  It's just great that we GET to learn and have such easy access to it.

Fear is a Game

Change is more scared of you than you are of it!

Take a moment to reminisce regarding a time in your life when you had to do something frightening. Do you have it pictured clearly in your mind? Remember starting that business and having to make your first sales pitch? How about when you gave birth to your first baby? Maybe you remember way back in high school when you were forced into giving a public speech for a club. Whatever the circumstance feel that feeling for just a minute.

Certainly feeling fear isn't the most pleasant experience anyone can face. There is a tight grip in your stomach. You get all sweaty and even have some shakes. Your voice might be unsteady and all that is running through you from head to toe is a dripping anxiety.

Now, hold on a moment. Did I just describe fear? Or did I just describe excitement? Think about it. Now that you've pictured a fearful moment in your life, I want you to reverse the channel and think about a time when you were incredibly excited about something you were about to do. Maybe on your way to ride a favorite roller coaster. Maybe it was your wedding (okay, so that one could fit in the fear category, also). Maybe it was right after a successful meeting that announced a promotion to you. Are you there? Now compare the two feelings.

If I described the latter, I could use the exact same words that described what it felt like to be afraid. There is a tight grip in your stomach. You get all sweaty and even have some shakes. Your voice might be unsteady and all that is running through you from head to toe is a dripping anxiety. Now that you associated the same exact emotion with a positive event, those feelings don't seem so bad, do they?

We feel paralyzed by fear only when WE put a negative connotation to it. The actual feelings in the pit of our stomach and so forth are just feelings that your body is producing. The meaning behind it is what our mind produces. Take this tip next time you feel the fear beginning to take over. Remind yourself that you feel exactly the same way when you are about to embark on a thrilling ride. Allow your body to let you feel those sensations but control your mind into thinking you are excited rather than fearful. The power is now yours.

Inspiration

What do you do to feel inspired?

I guess it would depend on what you need the inspiration for?  Do you need to stamp out a creative project, or do you just need inspiration that ignites you with a determination to get a move on with life?  In each case, you would merit a different response.

Inspiration feels a lot like gratitude to me.  The actual, physical feeling is very similar.  You know, that swelling in your chest that makes you want to cup your hand over your heart?  It feels just that way to me when I am truly in appreciation of something important to me as well as when I get the glimmer of spirit that fills me and moves me forward.  Here are some things I do to feel inspired (which then trigger my feelings of gratitude):

1.  Read about people who have been victorious amidst struggle.

2.  Look around, and although not perfect, see things in my life that make my existence so much sweeter.

3.  Sit.  I just sit and think and let ideas and messages just flow through me.

4.  Sit.  Now, the sitting is to be quiet.  I guide thoughts out of my mind and focus on the darkness behind my eyelids.  Meditation is second to none in inspiration, it's amazing what you receive when you open yourself up.

5.  I truly look at beautiful things.  People.  Scenery.  Art.  Just looking at an expasive ocean or noticing the brightness of the color green on a row full of trees is just about as inspiring as it gets.

Oooh, I'm all giddy just "thinking" about these things...

Atlantic City

Isn't it amazing that as soon as you put your mind to something it finds a way of crystalizing into your actual "reality"?  Well, not long ago I decided to focus on some of the goals I came up with to achieve within the awesome year of 2010.  One of my goals was to take 4 trips.  I had one down, and three to go.  One of the locations I wanted to go spend time in was Atlantic City, NJ.  Last weekend, I got to cross that one off the list.

Not only did we get to go, we got to go for FREE!  Your mind is an amazing thing!  We got a free room and free dinner and lunch, so off we went.  I dropped my babies, aka dogs, at my uncle's house and we hopped in the car for a two day adventure.  We landed at the Tropicana Hotel and checked in.  The room was gorgeous.  It was big and the bed was H-U-G-E!  Can't beat that.  We freshened up and went to play at the casino.  Oh, we're not gambling fools, but some Texas Hold'em and good ol' Black Jack is always fun.  We retired to our room at about 1:00 AM and rested up for the next day.

In the morning we packed up and loaded our stuff in the trunk of our car.  We actually had a business meeting in Atlantic City that day, and although that may seem like "work" to some people, it was actually the highlight of the trip.  We got to hear from motivated and successful leaders from the company and it totally jacked up our energy level for the rest of our stay.

We headed back to our hotel after the meeting for some late lunch/early dinner at the buffet and stayed to play a little longer.  In the interim we saw the boardwalk and enjoyed the sights of the beach and that neat town.  All I can say is that your intentions are powerful.  As soon as you can start to focus on goals, they will have to come to you because that's how life works.  It's inevitable!  So, instead of focusing on what we don't have, let's focus on what we want and enjoy an awesome life!

MY Dream Home

Ladies & Gents, allow me to introduce you.   This ^ is my dream home.  As far as I'm concerned it is already mine.  I know where it is (about 30 miles from San Diego), address and all.  It was built brand new in 2008 and was on the market for just under $6 Million.  I am not going to build a house like it, or gather some ideas about what I like about this one and build it into another house, nor am I going to build an exact replica of this house somewhere else (i.e. cheaper).  This is my very house.

If it was purchased by someone else, they are just occupying it in the meantime.  In the next several years I will be the one to answer the door to this place when you ring the bell (after you get past the security guard, of course:o)

Originally, I had cut this picture out of a dream home magazine when I saw it, because I LOVED everything about this picture.  E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G.  Even the lone palm tree standing watch right outside my front door.  It's beautiful.  I used to look at the picture often, and in the process of several moves I stashed it away in some binder.  Until...

A few nights ago I dreamed about this house.  I dreamed a dream where I was in it interacting with family.  When I awoke, I didn't have the sensation of "OH, I wish that hadn't been a dream, it was sooo nice," rather I had the sensation of, "Wow, I can't wait to move in there!"  And I tore apart my (already torn apart) closets to find where I had laid this photo.  BAM!  I found it.  Now it's on my desktop, my cell phone wall paper, and a binder.  This is my house, I'm looking forward to moving in.

Self Inflicted Injury

I am a self certified KLUTZ!  I can trip and bang my head like no one else.  In fact, I hit my head on everything on a regular basis.  Examples are:  getting out of the car, opening a door, picking something up from under the table.  You name it.  I hit my head on so many things and so many times my husband no longer offers any sympathy.  Each bang is followed by me rubbing my head and proclaiming the ever clever phrase of "OWWW" while my husband is smirking and shaking his head and rolling his eyes.  It's just a normal ocurrence around here.

One day as I was coming UP the stairs I somehow miscalculated the size of the step and tripped, causing my body to "fall" upward.  My uncoordinated hands flailed with mighty effort to no avail.  My left arm now has a new scar where I scraped a nice chunk of skin off in the motion.

Yesterday, feeling a little "un"-symmetrical I decided to now fall DOWN the stairs and I banged my right hand pretty well.  No worries, though, because now I have a matching scar on that arm.  Yes, these are my battle wounds.

Being clumsy is no longer embarrassing for me.  I fall, trip, or whatever and it hurts for a second and then I laugh.  I laugh because I'm not perfect, I have the scars to prove it, and each scar reminds me of all of that.  My life is a kaleidescope of experiences and each one has it's place.  Some are just more bodily visible than others, that's all.

Will Smith

Cannot get enough of this one.  I love, love, love his message here.

Will Smith;  The Alchemist

Innocence

A few days ago I was walking the isles of our local grocery store, which is actually an experience I look forward to weekly since I get to wander around and "think"!  I mean, really, how often do we get to just space out for about an hour and think about all the stuff that wants to pulse through our minds on a regular basis?  So I was completely oblivious to the world around me as I went up and down each lane picking out my supplies.

Turning a corner to enter a new aisle of thought I noticed a mom with two little boys at the end.  One little boy was small enough to be sitting in the cart with his chicken legs dangling about.  He was also waving ferociously.  Honestly, I didn't notice until I was almost up to them that he'd been waving all along.  As I was passing them by I smiled at him but his vibrating hand just mechanically continued back and forth, back and forth with amazing speed.  He kept this pace up the whole time I was walking the aisle.

Finally as I almost turned to leave that aisle I decided to wave back to him.  That was it. That's all he wanted.  He smiled and stopped his waving duty.

Now, I'm not usually the kind of person who dotes on little children as if they were angelic little souls with a precious aura.  I usually look at kids and think they're cute and all, but then think of the work and responsibility tied to them (hence after 8 years of marriage I am still childless. Also I'm deathly terrified of being responsible for an entire human being's life...ugh...makes me shudder in fright!).  However, in this instance I couldn't help but smile. 

This little guy was so persistent.  Was he looking for something in return?  Only the same gesture of kindess.  Then I think about adults.  We walk past hundreds of our kindred spirits ever day.  Certainly, we don't go out of our way to wave and make sure they feel acknowledged.  Heck, most of the time we're just wearing a scowl from all the "weight" we feel we have endured that day.  If anything, kids teach us a lesson.  Smile.  Say hello to a stranger.  Loosen your load.  At the end of the day, it's those little things that can change your outlook on life.