Do You Deserve it, or are You Mistaken?

When thinking about your desires in life, there are 2 concepts that usually come into play. One of these concepts is obvious, the other is not, but both are powerful in determining whether or not you get what you want!

The most obvious thing that people think about is how they are going to accomplish any given task. This is probably the most self-limiting practice that you can consciously partake in.

Yes, it is a good idea to take action whenever you are inspired to do something that will take you towards your goal. However, if you constantly focus on how you are going to get something that you want, then you will easily fall prey to circumstances that take you off track.

Your only job in the process of creating what you want is to focus on what you want. The “how’s” will work themselves out by the simple fact of you staying focused on what it is that you desire.

The second concept is a bit more slippery to grasp, although it is equally as powerful in determining whether or not you are going to get whatever it is that you are after in life.

The concept that I am talking about is whether or not you believe - on the inside, where it counts - that you truly deserve whatever it is that you are wanting to attain.

As Antonio points out over at ThinkBanc¹, what you have in your life right now represents very specifically what you think that you deserve.

The beliefs that each of us have about our lives have been ingrained in us over the years and serve to dictate our lives on a day to day basis.

If those beliefs are positive and empowering, then you are good to go. However, if those beliefs about what we deserve are limiting, they are now coined as “self-limiting beliefs” and that is exactly what they do - they limit us to a certain level of success in life.

For some people, this comes in the form of health and weight loss. They don’t truly believe that they deserve to be healthy and beautiful like other people, so they subconsciously manifest that result over and over again into their lives.

For even more people, this same concept manifests itself with regard to their financial status. If you truly believed that you were deserving of riches, and that you could handle the “wealthy” lifestyle, then you would be in the process of manifesting that lifestyle every day.

Although most people will say indignantly, “I deserve money!”, the truth is that there is a self-limiting belief underneath the surface that is feeding them just enough of the opposite thoughts to keep them from ever amassing any significant wealth.

However here is the thing that you should take away from reading this post that can literally cause you to start manifesting money - or anything else - right at this moment:

If you have a strong enough desire as well as a belief that you deserve wealth, health, or anything else, you will set the universal forces in motion that will bring those things to you - just because you want them and believe that you deserve them.

As Robert points out over at the My Self Development² blog, the Universe does not have any feeling either way about what you are trying to bring into your life.

In fact, the Universe doesn’t have any feeling about anything. It simply responds to the energy that you put out there.

If that energy says “I want this and I deserve it,” then you will get it. However, if that energy says “I want this, and I think I deserve it, but deep down inside I’m not sure,” then all the Universe will deliver is more reasons for you to be unsure about your level of deserving.

The universal powers that are literally at your “beck and call” are just as certain as those that cause the sun to set each night, and then rise each morning.

Whether you live on a polar icecap where day-time and night-time can seem endless, or if you are in an area that gets a light and a dark cycle every 24 hours, one thing is certain:

The sun will always come back up and the night will always fall.

The fate of your life is just as certain, and just as predictable based on what you believe.

If you want success, then believe in success. If you are not experiencing success in some area of your life right now, then on some level, you either don’t really want it, or you don’t really believe that you can have it.

Either way, YOU are in control of what happens next.

Footnotes:

1 - ThinkBanc

2 - My Self Development

Did you feel that Tapping?

As you go through your life, you are on a general quest to better yourself, right? I’m not necessarily talking about becoming “enlightened” or trying to become a world leader (although props to you if those are your goals), but rather I am referring to the simple concept of wanting your life to become everything that you dream it can be.

I know that I have personally never met anyone who felt that their life was complete and that they didn’t really have anything else that they wanted to be, do, or have.

So, unless you are one of those people (if they even exist), then you are trying to get something done. Maybe it is to make more money, perhaps you are wanting to excel in personal relationships, maybe you just want to catalog the many different species of dust bunnies in your house. Whatever your goal is, then that is your goal, and you are working towards it.

That being said, see if you agree with the sentiment of the following statement:

“In order to accomplish my goals, I have a clear plan of action that will take me from where I am now to where I want to be, and I will not stray from my path no matter what!”

True or False: That statement is the correct way to accomplish your goals, and that type of commitment should be commended.

FALSE!

What?!?

We’ve all been told for years, including right here on this blog, about the importance of making a commitment to our goals, and then sticking to that commitment over the long-term in order to see those goals turn into reality.

However, it isn’t the “commitment” part of the above statement that is incorrect, but rather the “I will not stray from my path no matter what” part.

You see, it is our human propensity towards needing to be able to see the entire journey before we even take the first step that tends to keep most people well inside a “safety zone” that resides far from the happiness, freedom, or accomplishment that they long for.

As Bob Proctor says in the movie, ‘The Secret‘, most people who have ever accomplished anything didn’t know how they were going to do it. Bob does not talk very much about that concept in the movie, although the message that he is sending is very clear:

Despite the fact that having a plan of action is a good thing, in almost every case, things happen along the way that you could not possibly have foreseen.

In fact, as you pat yourself on the back for sticking to your plan and attaining a goal that you have accomplished in your life, take a moment to think back on the journey. How often did your plan get modified - if even slightly - based on your evaluation of any given set of facts that were in front of you? Would the word “often” even cover it, or would we need to bump that up to something more powerful like every single day?

The point that I am making is that by only sticking to one direct path - and by refusing to get off of that path - you will be losing the benefit of one of the most powerful concepts behind the Law of Attraction and conscious creation, and that concept is called INSPIRED ACTION.

Inspired action happens whenever you focus on a very specific goal - money, relationships, dust bunnies - and the Universe taps you on the shoulder to get your attention, and then points you in a particular direction.

You are basically being told “Go over there, and you will find a way to catalog dust bunnies!”

The problem with inspired action is that most people don’t understand it. They look in the direction that they are being inspired to go in, they don’t directly see whatever their goal is, so they shrug off the inspired action, and keep right on going with their original plan of action.

Then, when they get to the end of the road that they had mapped out for themselves, but don’t quite find the pot at the end of the rainbow they had expected, they suddenly remember that one time when they had the hunch to go in a different direction, but chose to ignore it.

By then, it is too late. Inspired action depends very much on timing. When the Universe says to do something, you should do it. Do you remember that old series of E.F. Hutton commercials that were on in the 1970’s/80’s? The tag line was “When E.F. Hutton talks, people listen!”

Well, that is YOUR job in the creative process - to listen. By staying focused consistently on your goals, by visualizing frequently what your success looks like, and by believing that you deserve whatever it is that you are trying to attain, the Universe WILL tap you on the shoulder and tell you how to get what you want.

However, if you shrug off that tap because it doesn’t make any sense, or because you can’t logically understand how taking that action could get you to your goal, then you will miss the proverbial boat.

The real irony to that fact is that had you taken action when you were inspired to do so, even though it didn’t seem logical at the time, it would have resolved into being based very much on logic and science once all of the pieces were in place.

Over at The Fast Lane¹, you can check out both a real-life story by Napoleon Hill that illustrates this concept, as well as a fictional story that also drives the point home. The take away fact from both of the stories is that a certain end result was desired, and the path to get that end result was shown, but not necessarily from the direction that it had been expected.

Brad Isaac over at Achieve-IT² has put together a very effective tool for getting the “creative juices” flowing in order to call upon the power of Inspired Action, and I highly recommend that you check it out. I have done similar exercises myself, and as of the date of this writing - January 22, 2007 - I was blindsided with my most recent inspired action less than 2 hours ago, and I wasn’t even thinking about the goal at the time!

And finally, Elyse at Choosing Prosperity³ has a post that includes definitions from Abraham-Hicks that illustrate the difference between motivation and inspired action. It is a critical difference, and one that many people frequently don’t recognize.

In closing, please know that inspired action is usually pretty obvious. Everyone has random thoughts, ideas, or musings about their lives and their goals, and that is more of a background noise that is simply part of who we are. Listen to it and enjoy it because it makes up your level of uniqueness.

However, inspired action that comes as a result of consistent focus and visualization is usually much more direct, and will normally come at you when you least expect it.

It is actually a pleasant surprise, though, because when it happens, you will realize that you have just been handed a key that will unlock the doorways into the future that you want.

Do yourself a favor and use it.

Footnotes:

1 - The Fast Lane

2 - Achieve-IT

3 - Choosing Prosperity

Star Light, Star Bright, Make this Star do My Bidding Tonight!

As I’m sure applies to many of you, the “Star Light, Star Bright” rhyme has been part of my life since I was a little kid.

If you’re not familiar with it, it is just a little limerick that people say when they see the first star in the night sky, and then they make a wish upon that star.

For the uninformed, the original version goes something like this:

“Star light, star bright,
First star I see tonight.
I wish I may, I wish I might,
Make a wish upon this star tonight.”

Well, since becoming educated about the amazing power that each of us has to consciously create our own lives, it has occurred to me that a lot of the beliefs and practices that were once a foregone conclusion, have turned out to have little or no meaning in the world of conscious creation.

Now, that isn’t to say that the “good ol’ days” are gone and that we shouldn’t honor and enjoy those traditions. However, the truly educated will modify their approach as they learn more about how it all works.

In this particular case, I got a good laugh (and a permanent change in my rhyming) when I was inspired to change the last line to “make this star do my bidding tonight!”

Because, friends and neighbors, not only do we each have the power to command those stars, but for those of you who have dipped a toe into the Quantum Physics realm, or gotten an earful about Ho’oponopono, there is a very real chance that the star you’re wishing on is only there because you are looking at it!

However, whether you are ready to bend your mind around those types of concepts or not, the fact that you are the one - and the only one - who creates your reality is a very real fact, and it is a fact that you should take quite seriously. If you want to have fun that is!

That is the whole point, right? To have fun? I mean, if you’re not trying to have a good time, and to be happy, then what are you here for?

We are all here to enjoy what this world has to offer, and the most effective way to do that is to give ourselves the resources needed to enjoy life in the manner which resonates with us most as individuals.

Here’s the thing, though: If you truly want to make positive changes in your life (positive from your point of view, that is), then you need to realize that the power to command stars to do your bidding is a power that has to be exercised in order for it to do you any good.

The classic line from the Spiderman comic books was “With great power comes great responsibility” and that sentiment very much applies to your life.

If you don’t take the necessary steps in order to improve your life, then guess what will happen?

And no, that is not a trick question.

Too many people go through life with this totally inappropriate belief that “things will just work out” or worse, that their destiny is governed by the actions of others.

Believing concepts such as that are what land people well on this side of what they truly want their lives to be. If your life is not what you want it to be right now, don’t you think that it’s time you started taking responsibility, and, more importantly, started taking action?

Over at the Renovate Your Life with Craig blog¹, Craig Harper has put together a Top 10 list of traits that he has seen from people who have been consistently successful over the years, and sitting on your butt waiting for life to bring you some goodies is most definitely not on that list.

If you do not take action in order to make your life everything that you want it to be, who do you think is going to do it for you? I don’t care how many friends, family members, and acquaintances you have, I guarantee that no one is as interested in your well-being as you are.

Karen has a great post over at the Live the Power² blog where she talks about the simple fact that simply “showing up” is one of most important keys to success.

You see, “showing up” means consistently doing whatever it is that you are supposed to be doing. It doesn’t mean exercising like a mad man for 7 days straight and then taking 3 weeks off. It doesn’t mean curbing unnecessary spending for a month, and then blowing your savings in one weekend at the mall. It certainly doesn’t mean doing something nice one time for your significant other and then expecting to have a blissful on-going relationship because you got off your can one time and thought of someone other than yourself.

Consistency is the key! Consistency. Consistency. Consistency.

Did I mention consistency?

It doesn’t matter how much of a rocket scientist, brain surgeon, relationship wizard, financial guru, or fitness fanatic that you think you are. If you don’t consistently apply your knowledge towards self improvement, you’ll never make any permanent headway.

One of the problems that a lot of people have is that they think they have to “figure it all out” before they get started. As human beings having a 3-dimensional experience here on planet earth, we tend to think that if we can’t see the direct path from start to finish, that we shouldn’t even make the effort.

However, as Brian Kim so eloquently points out in his post entitled ‘You Don’t Have To Get It Perfect The First Time’³, experience is the key to learning how to attain success:

“Experience is a far greater teacher than knowledge simply because of the fact that experience shows you exactly what knowledge you need to pick up that you’re missing.”

So, at this point, you need to ask yourself which type of person you are. The type who wishes upon distant stars and hopes upon hope that the star will send you a miracle, or are you the kind of person who designs your own constellations?

Regardless of your answer to that question, you’re right.

Footnotes:

Renovate Your Life with Craig

Live the Power

BrianKim.net

The Power of Intention - Attraction via Attention

What did you focus on today?

No, what did you REALLY focus on today?

Does your answer to that question sound something like “I thought about work” or “I focused on the project I was working on” or “I had my hands full taking care of my family?”

Or maybe you would say something like “I didn’t have time to focus on anything. My day was just hectic! I can’t even remember most of what happened because it was such a blur.”

If your answer was similar to either of the 2 paragraphs that you just read, consider these details from what *I* focused on today. These aren’t just random musings, but the actual thoughts that I focused on several times today.

I thought about visiting my kids who live in Seattle (I live in Florida) and we went shopping at this huge mall that they have there. We spent large sums of money on food, clothes, toys, and at least one trip to the local Starbucks for a round of very unhealthy drinks. We also took a ferry ride, and ate at our favorite restaurant on the coast of Whidbey Island.

I also thought for quite awhile about standing on the back porch of my beach house in St. Augustine, on the east coast of Florida. I watched the kids play in the sand and we also hung out in the shade of the porch and listened to the ocean. I kicked back in the hammock for awhile with a very over-priced PDA and answered a few emails and read through some of my favorite blogs.

I also spent some time visiting my family who live in upstate New York. I had a blast playing in the snow, and then laughed when I got back to Florida and put my winter jacket back in the long-term storage closet.

I took a relaxing train ride to visit some friends in Texas. During the trip I alternated back and forth between working on my laptop, handling some minor business tasks on the PDA, and then I spent the rest of the time sleeping, reading, or just staring out the window enjoying the scenery.

I went to Daytona Beach and stayed at a favorite hotel right there on the coast. Not because it was the most expensive or the least expensive hotel, but because it was the one that I wanted to stay at.

I also visited one of my friends who lives in Key West, Florida, and stayed on for awhile to enjoy the summer weather, even though it is January-cold everywhere else.

I spent a huge amount of time driving around in my favorite Mustang, which happens to be brand-new, and is now parked in my driveway next to my SUV, my motorcycle, and the trailer that has my boat on it.

Have you figured this out yet?

None of these things actually happened today. In fact, most of them have never happened at all, at least not with the amount of free time and cash to spend that I had while I was thinking about them today.

What those last few paragraphs describe is my “dream life.” It is the life that I will lead (sooner, rather than later, thank you very much) once I have attracted everything into my life that I want to attract.

I don’t know how I am going to get the time and the money to do all of that stuff, but I do know that it is going to happen, because it is my Intention.

Sure, I have some business ideas and other financial concepts that may or may not power the lifestyle that I described. However, being an avid user of the Law of Attraction, I know three things that are critical to the process of attracting the life that I want:

1) I know that in order for me to get what I want, I must state very clearly my Intention to get those things.

2) I must focus on the things that I want on a daily basis, and I must practice those visualizations as powerfully as possible, and always in the present tense.

3) I do not focus on “how” it is going to happen. “Reality” has programmed my subconscious far too efficiently for me to be able to envision the path that will take me from where I am now to the lifestyle described above.

You see, the problem that a lot of people have with their self improvement efforts or their dreams of success is that they try to come up with some “master plan” in order to make it all happen, and then they just focus on the drudgery of the multitude of “tasks” that their plan calls for.

Who wants to focus on tasks? That’s like getting up on a Saturday morning and saying “I can’t wait to clean out the garage today! In fact, I think I’ll scrub the kitchen floor with a toothbrush while I’m at it, and then I’ll go clean up my teenager’s bedroom just for good measure!”

Could you get excited about doing all of those things? Okay, maybe there are a few of you who could (freaks! ), but most people have no desire - or ability - to get excited about the tasks that they have to do in order to accomplish something.

However, using the same examples from above, if someone were to tell you that by Saturday night all of those things would somehow get done without you doing them, you’d get pretty excited about that wouldn’t you??

That is the way that the Universe works whenever you use the Power of Intention to get what you want. Your job - as Mike Dooley¹ puts it, is to “always and only focus on the end result!”

Your job is not to decide how something is going to get done. Your job is only to state the intention that you want it to be done.

Is that to say that the Universe will work some magic and you will never have to lift a finger to attain your goals? Maybe or maybe not, but there is no way to tell for sure.

The Universe will show you the doorways to your dreams via inspired thoughts, but you have to walk through those those doorways by taking inspired action.

By consistently and powerfully focusing on and visualizing the things that you want - from a parking space up through world peace - you set the Intention, and you will then attract whatever it is that you need in order for your Intention to become a reality.

Here’s the “rub,” though. You have to believe it. If you sit around saying to yourself that the notion of some “miraculous” force coming to show you the path to your dreams is a bunch of rubbish, then you’ll be 100% right.

Why? Because that is what you are focusing on!

Flip that around to say something more along the lines of the fact that your faith in the delivery of your dreams is only a matter of when - not if - they will arrive, and you will once again be 100% correct.

Always remember the golden rule about life in general - YOU are in charge. Whether you want to be in charge of your life, or whether you believe that you are does not matter. You are creating your life, and you are doing it with your Intentions.

Footnotes:

Mike Dooley - Thoughts become Things

The Birthday Day

Are you one of those people who says that you stopped having birthdays after a certain point? Are you the kind who has turned 30 like 15 or 20 times?

Or are you the opposite? Do you celebrate your birthday with gusto? Do you think that ALL the world should sing, just because its your birthday?

I am more of a "gusto" kind of person myself, and since my birthday was this past Sunday, I thought I would share some thoughts on the whole "birthday thing" and also toss out a few pictures from the celebration, starting with this one of yours truly, hanging out with some of my friends who showed up for the party:

Apparently some of my REAL friends decided that we needed some more bodies at the party! :)

Now, as far as whether or not you should celebrate your birthday is - in my humble opinion - a no-brainer for anyone who who practices positive thinking and the deliberate and conscious creation of their life.

Whether you have been exposed to teachings about conscious creation¹, the Law of Attraction, and the like, or if you are just a firm believer in positive thinking, then you should be familiar with the concept of treating every moment as a gift.

Every single moment of our time is a glorious gift that we can do whatever we want to do with, and that attitude should permeate your life. By actually living your life that way, you automatically attract things worth living for.

Have you ever known anyone who celebrated their life with a passion, yet had nothing but horrible things continue to happen to them? I know that I never have!

Every single person that I've ever met who truly enjoyed every moment of their life and who were grateful for the opportunity that each of those moments represented was also repeatedly given reasons to continue to be happy and grateful!

Much like these people who showed up at the bar where we were having the birthday celebration:

Apparently these Amish folks were on vacation and decided to enjoy some of the spoils of modern civilization

You see, the secret to being successful is feeling good about your life and having FUN! If you are happy and confident that you are walking the path that truly resonates with you as an individual, then the people and situations that are needed for you to realize success will simply come to you, almost unbidden.

Or, if you are one of those people who just thinks that you are getting old, that you waited too long to get started on a successful career, health, or relationship path, and that birthdays are "just another day," then that is exactly what you will attract. More days in your life that are "just another day."

So, if every moment is a gift (and it is), and you can create success and happiness by cherishing and celebrating every moment (which you can), then imagine what you can accomplish by taking one day - your birthday - and making it extra special!

For me, although I work very hard at the many things that I do in the self improvement community, and although I frequently work 10 to 12 hour days, I also realize the need for balance. Just working hard will not bring you happiness unless you also take the time to enjoy your life in the process. Kind of like these girls, most of whom were part of the birthday bash:

Your birthday is a wonderful opportunity for you to take some extra time to focus on the wonderful people that you have in your life. Whether your circle of influence is huge, or if it only consists of a few very special people, the people that you deem to be a quality part of your life are most definitely something that you should feel gratitude for on a regular basis.

In my case, I am well aware of the fact that the people in my life are a very large part of why I smile so often, and even if I don't call or email as often as I maybe should, the feelings of gratitude that I have because those people are in my life are something that I feel on a daily basis.

In fact, sometimes you'll even put on a dorky hat and let people laugh at you all day long - just because the friends and family asked you to. My wife is no stranger to me looking like a dork, but SHE was the one who remembered to bring the hat that I tried to "accidentally" leave in the car:

So, the answer to the question of whether or not to celebrate your birthday as if you were happy simply to be here on this earth is a resounding YES!

Every day of your life has been and will continue to be a wonderful gift to you. Celebrate your very existence by celebrating each and every birthday - whether you are 9 years old, or 90!

Oh, and if your view through the camera lens looks like this by the end of the night...

...go to bed! :)

Footnotes:

1 - Energy Harmonics

How was your Day?

As you are sitting here reading this post at whatever time it is for your place in the world, ask yourself the following question, and give yourself a brutally honest answer - not the answer that you WANT to believe:

“Did I spend the last 24-hour period being happy with my life, motivated about the future, and excited and grateful just to have the opportunity to take the next steps in my life?”

If you honestly can answer that question with a resounding “YES“, then kudos to you. Your life is on track for monumental success - don’t change a thing.

Most people, however, cannot honestly answer that question with a Yes. Sure, they may have had a few bright spots, maybe even some moments when “all was well in the world.” However, as a general rule, very few people are able to consistently maintain the proper state of mind to ensure success for even a single 24-hour period, let alone over the long-term.

I was inspired to write this post after yet another bit of wisdom from Seth Godin’s blog¹ where he talks about the failure of some politicians in his town. Turns out that in the very small town that he describes, some of the local politicians had a chance to win some votes and some support by using quality face-to-face time with the locals, but the politicians dropped the ball in a big way.

They missed a big chance whenever you think about it, because in that particular instance, they weren’t even being called upon to make a consistent effort on behalf of their supporters, but rather just to put on a good show for a small amount of time, and they couldn’t even do that.

Now, discussions about politics aside (can’t we all just get along?), the situation described by Seth is the same situation that we all find ourselves in day after day. We have a chance to consistently do things that will take us in the direction of our goals, or a chance to consistently drop the ball and let our lives keep on going in the same manner that has gotten us to wherever we are right now.

We tend to think of positive changes in our lives as something that can only be accomplished by some huge effort on our part, and that anything less than a massive accomplishment isn’t worth our time.

For that reason, whenever we fail to see massive success on a day-to-day basis, we tend to fall back into “default mode” and we then simply attract the energies into our lives that will keep us exactly where we already are.

Life, however, is made up of moments, not massive successes. Your moments can - and will - lead to every success that you could possibly imagine, but only if you consistently stay in the right frame of mind that will allow you to consciously create your life, rather than attracting “stagnation” by default.

People who are really successful continually remind themselves of their goals so that they can consistently say, do, and feel the things that will lead them to the success that they want.

Just knowing about a self improvement concept such as positive thinking, the law of attraction, goal setting, etc., will not do you any good unless you consistently apply that knowledge to as many moments of your life as possible.

Every single day you are presently with 86,400 seconds in order to be happy, to be grateful for what you have - thus attracting more of it - and to say, do, and feel the things that will take your life to where you want it to be.

So, whether you are a politician with a golden opportunity to shake hands and kiss babies, or if you are simply needing to keep a genuine smile on your face in order to keep your own stagnant attitude from reasserting itself, remember that you have 86,400 opportunities each and every day to do exactly that.

Then, looking once again at this question…

“Did I spend the last 24-hour period being happy with my life, motivated about the future, and excited and grateful just to have the opportunity to take the next steps in my life?”

…you can answer it with a resounding “YES,” and then you will truly be on the fast-track to success!

Footnotes:

Seth Godin’s Blog

50 First Dates...

I just got done watching the movie ‘50 First Dates’ with Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore, and I saw a great opportunity to share a lesson with my readers!

The premise of the movie is that Drew Barrymore’s character gets a head injury that causes her to only be able to remember one day of her life at a time. Each morning when she wakes up, she thinks that her life is exactly as it was before her head injury - same date, same job, same things to do that day, etc.

Adam Sandler meets her at a cafe in Hawaii and is immediately smitten with her. They agree to have breakfast at the same cafe the next day, but unfortunately for Sandler’s character, Drew doesn’t remember who he is!

So, the movie goes on with all of these hilarious and heart-warming examples of how he tries to get her to fall in love with him every day. Eventually it gets to the point where they find ways to remind her every morning about her situation, and she realizes that she only has until she falls asleep that night in order to live her life to the fullest. By the next morning she will not remember anything that happened the day before.

A very cute and pretty funny movie, but it is the message that really struck me, and I immediately saw how others could benefit from that message.

Imagine what it would be like to wake up every day, and realize that you only had that one day to enjoy your life. To realize that when you went to bed that night, anything that you wanted to enjoy in the world had to have been enjoyed that very day, because you wouldn’t remember anything the next morning, and you would have to start all over again.

Do you think that you might work harder than you presently do to enjoy each moment of your life?

Do you think that you might spend more time with your family, or your loved ones?

Do you think that you might put forth more effort at having fun, and less effort at working?

Do you think you that you might enjoy that day simply for the sake of enjoying it, rather than because you might be worried about what tomorrow is going to bring?

As human beings doing our time here on planet Earth, we tend to define ourselves in two ways:

1) What we did in the past

2) What we plan to do in the future

When you think about it, that is pretty sad, considering that the only moment that we can totally control is this moment - the moment that we are living in right now.

The past is completely chiseled in stone and can never be changed. Whether you are talking about what happened 60 seconds ago or 60 years ago - it’s done, and there is nothing that you can do about it.

The future, although more in our control than the past, is still in the future, and given the fragility of the human condition, the future may never come at all.

The only period of our lives that is completely, 100% in our control is the NOW.

Do yourself a favor, and consider this:

If you lost the ability to judge yourself on the mistakes that you made in the past, and you knew for a fact that you weren’t going to remember any mistakes that you make today, what would you do today?

I sincerely hope that you answered with nothing less than “I would live my life to the fullest, for these moments will never come again!”

Start living your life with that attitude right now, and you will be amazed at how quickly life starts giving you everything that you need to keep right on doing exactly that.

Everybody's been the dog...

For any of you Star Trek fans out there, you will undoubtedly agree that the writers for all of the different Star Trek television shows as well as the movies had their thumb as much on the pulse of humanity as they did on the joys of science fiction.

The trials and tribulations of the many different characters in the Star Trek universe certainly had the space-faring, phaser-blasting aspects that people enjoyed, but they also kept the general “message” of many of the shows and movies to be one that either acknowledged or taught about some aspect of simply being human.

In one such episode from the Star Trek Voyager series, Captain Janeway and the crew have a run in with the all-powerful beings from the “Q” continuum.

For you non-fans, the “Q” as they call themselves are a race of beings that have unlimited power to do literally everything and anything that they can imagine.

Readers of this blog, my articles¹, or any of the products² that I have put out there will recognize that same theme as something that I encourage every “mere human” here on planet earth to believe - that their power is limited only by their imagination.

In this one particular episode - and there is a point here, so stay with me - there are two “Q’s” that visit the crew of Voyager. One of them the famous Q played by John de Lancie, and another Q who has decided that he wants to “end it all” and commit suicide.

The members of the “Q” continuum are as well known for their arrogance as they are for their unlimited powers, so the notion that one of their number would want to die is simply beyond their understanding.

So enters Captain Janeway and the crew to act as moderators to this dispute between the two Q’s. Since the Voyager crew are “mere humans”, they play the part of the impartial observers who are charged with making a decision about whether or not the wish of an omnipotent being to end his life should be granted.

Since our human crew on Voyager have no idea what it is like to be all-powerful, the Q played by John de Lancie decides to take a handful of them to the Q continuum itself so that they can see what it is like to be all-powerful, and thereby showing that the idea of giving up all of that power and committing suicide is ludicrous.

At the time of the original airing of the episode many years ago, Star Trek fans around the world waited with baited breath for the next commercial break to be over so that they could see what it looks like to be all-powerful!

So it was that when the next scene materialized (sorry - Star Trek humor!) many people were confused to see the two Q’s, Captain Janeway and the rest of the gang to be standing in a place as non-remarkable as someone could possibly imagine.

They were standing on the side of a long and desolate road in the middle of the desert, with the road stretching off for what looked like eternity in either direction. Directly across from them was an old gas station, a few people sitting around looking very bored and very non-committal, and even an old dog who seemed to share the apathy of the humans at the gas station.

Janeway and the crew are a bit confused as this scene is boring at best, and hardly seems what they had expected from the realm of a species of beings who literally hold power over time and space itself.

Q goes on to explain that this scene was the easiest way to envision the life of a “Q”, where the entire universe is your playground. That you can go anywhere and do anything - represented by the road stretching off in both directions - or you can stay in one spot and play with your power to have, do, or be anything that you can imagine.

The Q who wants to commit suicide goes on to explain that he has done everything that there is to do. He has seen what is at the end of the road in both directions, he has been each of the individuals at the gas station, he’s been the building itself, and, he has even been the dog!

The other Q, who doesn’t believe that suicide should be allowed, says with disgust, “Everybody’s been the dog”!

---

The moral to this little trip down Star Trek memory lane is that you - mere human who is just this side of enlightenment - have NOT been the dog.In fact, you haven’t been any of the other people, you haven’t been the building or the gas pump, and you most certainly haven’t traveled to the ends of both stretches of that long road in the middle of the desert.

Truth be told you probably haven’t even fully experienced who you are!

However, here is the moral to all of this (and thank you for the non-S/T fans who made it this far):

You CAN be the dog. Or the road. Or the building. Or the desert. Or the gas pump. Or the…. INSERT WHAT YOU WANT TO HAVE, DO, OR BE HERE.

You ARE a “Q”, and your time here on planet earth is simply a choice that you made to be here. Since you made that choice, the next choice that you can ask yourself is to decide what you are going to do with your time.

Are you going to exercise the power of the universe that is at your fingertips in order to make your life whatever you want it to be, or are you going to just lay there on the sand being the dog, and thinking - quite inappropriately - that your lot in life is to just lay there and be limited by whatever you see around you at any given moment.

Because here is the truth of the matter, my faithful omnipotent reader, the life that you see around you is not what limits you, but rather what you have created.

You are not surrounded by a sea of solid matter that is keeping you restricted to certain rules that will only allow you to have, do, or be certain things.

To the contrary - you are surrounded by a liquid mass of moving energy that you can manipulate in order to create whatever life it is that you want to be living.

Later on down the road, after you have been and done everything - including spending your time as the dog - then maybe it will be time to move on to something else.

Until then…let’s see what’s out there!

Footnotes:
Articles
Products

Energy Harmonics

I am proud to announce that the biggest and best product yet from Today is that Day is finally in Pre-Launch! Energy Harmonics is self improvement, Law of Attraction, and self mastery all rolled into one very in-depth product.

The information will be available in eBook as well as eClass format, and the final version of each will be available on January 1, 2007 - just in time for the New Year!

I am offering pre-sale prices right now that are a significant savings over the final price of the product, and you can also download the Introduction, the Table of Contents, and Chapter 1 of the book for free.

Check out Energy Harmonics now for all of the details!

The Law of Attraction meets Neuro-psychology

Anyone who has a basic understanding of the Law of Attraction or even just the power of positive thinking will tell you that the better you feel, the more your life will be what you want it to be.

Statements such as that are beyond debate in most self improvement circles, although the term “the proof is in the pudding” keeps coming to mind now that I have read a fascinating article in the AARP Magazine called ‘We’re Wired to Connect’¹.

It seems that our brains are wired to react to certain external factors in a certain way, and that by exposing ourselves to different types of stimulus, we can actually create a healthy environment - or an unhealthy environment.

Everyone has had experiences where being around a certain type of person has left them feeling better or worse than they felt before they saw that person. The article refers to this as “catching the other person’s emotions like a cold”.

At a higher level than we are consciously aware, our brain - which partially dictates our emotional state - reacts to the emotional state of other people. This can work in our favor or against us, depending on the type of people that we interact with.

The secret lies in what are called “mirror neurons” which are basically neurons that cause you to mimic what you experience in your environment. This concept explains everything from global war to global peace. Our brains are basically wired to say “If that person is doing it, then I should do it, too”!

Obviously our intellect comes into play and we are not slaves to these mirror neurons, but there is certainly enough evidence to suggest that our emotions - which are the entire foundation of the Law of Attraction² - can control our environment to varying degrees.

So, the next time you feel that you really like or dislike someone, listen to your feelings - they may have a better idea of what is going on than you think!

Further Reading:

¹‘We’re Wired to Connect’

²Law of Attraction

Stay Sharp Longer

If you need it, you're sunk...

The Law of Attraction - in essence - is simplicity at it’s finest. What you think about, you bring about. Very simple, very easy.

Or is it? Is it really just a matter of thinking good thoughts and then sitting back and waiting for what you thought about to come into your life?

Well, although sitting on your couch and waiting for the Key to the World to get delivered by the postal service is certainly not recommended, the basic concept of creating your life via your thoughts and feelings is very solid.

However, there are some sinkholes in the system that can - and will - trip you up if you are not ready for them, and needing things is one of the biggest.

The entire process of invoking the Law of Attraction involves matching your vibrational frequencies to the things that you want to attract into your life. When your vibrations are positive, then positive things will manifest, and the same thing applies to negative vibrations.

Contrary to popular belief, positive vibrations are NOT caused by what you think about. You can practice positive thinking all day long, but if you don’t match your feelings to what you are thinking about, you could very well manifest the opposite instead!

This effect happens when you want something, but the emotional feeling that you have about that thing is based in “lack”, rather than in abundance. Since money is the most common thing that people fail to manifest by stepping in this Law of Attraction sinkhole, I will use that as an example to illustrate the point.

Let’s say that you are trying to manifest a certain amount of money. For this example we will only use “normal” money that you want to bring into your life for things that you need to pay for. Although it is certainly possible to manifest large sums of wealth with the Law of Attraction, since great riches are something that we want - but that we don’t actually need - they won’t serve to illustrate this concept.

For now, we will focus on you just trying to bring in enough cash to cover your basic needs - a dependable car, enough money for rent, groceries, clothing, health needs, etc.

Since those are all things that we actually need, then we certainly feel strongly about having them. That is exactly when we start to put our foot into the sinkhole.

Whenever we need something - as opposed to wanting it - the vibration that we send out is one of desperation, which is certainly a negative feeling, and not very likely to bring about positive changes, aka more money in our pockets.

In addition to a baseline sense of desperation, we could also be sending out an entire host of negative vibrations; fear, doubt, worry, etc. Each of those negative feelings sends out a negative vibration and the Law of Attraction obediently brings us exactly what we FEEL about, not what we THINK about.

By having feelings of desperation, fear, doubt, or worry, the Law of Attraction will simply bring us more reasons to have those feelings!

One of the critical things that you must remember about the Law of Attraction is that it always delivers - every single time. If you don’t find a way to use it to manifest the things that you want, there is a pretty safe bet that you will be manifesting things that you don’t want.

How do you avoid this sinkhole?

All you have to do in order to get anything - and everything - that you want from the Law of Attraction is to FEEL GOOD! In the movie ‘The Secret‘, even though the audience has just spent 90 minutes learning the ins and outs of the Law of Attraction, Rhonda Byrne sums up the entire movie - and the entire Law - in one beautiful message that Nature helps her to deliver:

FEEL GOOD!

That moment in the movie actually invokes an emotional response from a lot of people who see it because it takes 2 simple words that everyone is already proficient at using to demonstrate the fact that we can all have whatever we want by doing something that we all know how to do!

So, how can we bring all of that back around to help us manifest things that we need? Simple: send out “feel good” vibrations via Creative Visualization.

Again, remember that the Law of Attraction is activated via our feelings, not via our thoughts. In order to feel good about something that you don’t actually have, you can access the absolutely unlimited power and depth of your own imagination to envision a landscape where you DO have everything that you need.

Here’s the trick, though. It’s called Creative Visualization for a reason - you need to actually paint a mental picture that is so real in every detail, that you actually feel the feelings of being there.

Take the actual circumstances of the scene that you are visualizing and map them out in every possible detail to make it as real as possible. Actually paint the picture by adding in the same “real life” details that you would have if you were actually living that moment:

• What time of day is it?
• What is the weather like?
• What are you wearing?
• Who is with you, or who do you see?
• How big is the smile on your face as you spend the money that you manifested?

As you put together this pseudo-real set of circumstances in your head, it is absolutely imperative that you view the scene in your head as if you are actually there. You are seeing the scene through you own eyes, not through the eyes of a casual observer.

Also, your visualization must take place in the NOW, not in the future. Even though you don’t actually have the money yet, in your visualization you do have the money. If you make the mistake of visualizing a scene at some point in the future, then it will always stay at that point in the future.

And finally, the most critical piece to this entire puzzle is that when you are visualizing your scene, you must feel good about the fact that you are there and that you have the money!

The feelings that you generate with your powerfully holographic visualization are the entire point of the exercise.

If you create a detailed visualization, but think the entire time that you really don’t believe that it will work, because you really don’t have the money, and your rent is really due, and your cupboards are really empty, and because…etc.

Do you think that type of thinking will generate the positive vibrations that you need in order to manifest positive things into your life? Of course not.

However, you can - and will - bring those positive things into your life when you put yourself in the middle of your visualization by painting a great picture. Build a happy moment in your mind and believe in your created scene so much that you actually start to feel the way you will feel when that moment arrives.

That, friends and neighbors, is when you are in the sweet spot! At that moment in time, you have the Law of Attraction tightly within your control, and you can use it to manifest every single thing in your visualization, and much, much more.

This system works, and it will work for YOU, as well. Remember, though - if you need it to work, then it won’t. The Law of Attraction will never bring you anything that you need - no matter how badly you need it. However, it will bring you what you want - every single time.

If you have a need, then turn it into a want, and it will show up for you!

Today is that Day Success Community launched!

Well, it took a lot longer than I had expected due to some rather intense programming needs, but I am proud to say that the Today is that Day Success Community has launched!

In researching some of the “best of the best” when it comes to self development, self improvement, weight loss, success training, etc., I found that most of the programs that presently exist have some good points. However, most are lacking in one or more points that I believe are critical when it comes to actually achieving success, rather than just buying succes-related products.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some GREAT programs out there and the Success Community that I put together is not meant to be the “end all, be all” of personal development. However, in scoring other programs, I looked at several key points in the hopes (and achievement) of creating a program that was well-rounded, effective, and attainable.

The primary points that I looked at were:

1) Price - If a program costs a fortune, some people will have trouble attaining it, even if they truly believe in it’s effectiveness.

2) Material - Regardless of how much a self improvement program costs, if there isn’t plenty of useful material for the purchaser to use during their personal development efforts, the cost of the program - whether high or low - is pretty much irrelevant.

3) Support/Interaction - A lot of the programs fell short in this regard. Even if they were great programs at a reasonable price, it was the standard “Here’s the product, now you’re on your own” approach. Although there may have been customer service available, customer service isn’t really what someone needs when they are trying to turn their life around.

4) Accountability - What’s the use of getting involved in a lifestyle improvement program if you aren’t going to do the work? Most programs do not have a system in place for you to have both on-going learning opportunities, as well as on-going assignments that are based on the education that you are receiving.

5) Future Learning - Even the “best of the best” programs fell short in this category. There was great material to be had, but there was no tie-in with future products or future chances to continue your education.

This post is not a sales pitch for the Today is that Day Success Community, so I will not get into the systems that I put in place to eliminate some of the issues listed above.

However, if you found yourself nodding your head at some of the short-comings of present self improvement programs and you want to learn more, please do feel free to check out my solution and let me know your thoughts.

I am certainly interested in helping as many people as I can with this new program, and at the same time I am also interested in feedback that will allow me to make the Success Community a more powerful and effective system.

Feel free to check out the program here and sign up if you’re interested and you see the value. However, even if you’re not, I’d still love to get your feedback!

FREAKS! Sometimes they make all the difference...

If you've ever heard of Seth Godin, then you know that he tends to lean so far towards "out of the box" thinking that he is actually not even IN the box anymore, and I can't think of high enough praise for that type of behavior!

In fact, I think so highly of it that I've come up with some ideas on this that will help you in your self improvement and self development efforts, and big props go to Mr. Godin for his continual efforts at educating all of us on these much needed concepts.

I was inspired to write this post after reading one of his latest entries which I highly recommend you check out. It's called 50:1, and it's well worth the very few minutes it will take you to read it.

The basic concept is that people in general tend to live "in the norm". We play it safe, we do what is "expected", and we don't rock the boat.

Oh, there are people who claim to be boat rockers, but when push comes to shove, those same people will bow to the will of "them", and society will continue to roll nicely along with "them" in charge of what happens.

Well, not to throw a big ol' piece of negative thinking out there, but the question does come to mind: "Where has listening to "them" gotten us?"

This concept applies equally to business as it does to our personal lives. We all cruise through life doing what "they" think is best for us, but we fail to realize that each of us has the opportunity every single day to do things differently in order to make our lives a better place to be, which will in turn make the world a better place to be.

Now, does that mean that you need to stop what you are doing and suddenly go on some crusade to save the world? Absolutely not. However, if everyone just took a moment to think about what "they" say is right and wrong - and to challenge it when necessary - then "they" would suddenly lose their control.

"We" would suddenly be in control, and "we" would find ourselves in a position of creating the life that we want, rather than just living the one that was given to us.

In many ways, we are living in a world of duality. On one hand, people claim to be more enlightened and "in charge" than ever before, yet at the same time, we continue to follow the doctrines that have been laid down by the people that came before us.

That's not evolution. That's stagnation.

I don't know about y'all, but I would rather be a freak and evolve!

So, as you go through the next few days of your life after reading this post, just take a few minutes to consider the following:

• When I go to work, am I making a difference by thinking outside of the box, or am I just doing what I am told?
• At home, do I come up with new ways in order to achieve peace, harmony and happiness, or does my life look just like the one that my neighbors have?
• When I spend time with my friends, am I leading the pack, or am I just going with the "greater good"?
• When I interact with the family members and in-laws that don't live in my house, am I speaking my mind, or am I just "keeping the peace"?

Give those questions some serious thought, and refer back to this post frequently if you need a reminder about being YOU, instead of being one of "them"!

Makin' a few copies...

Have you ever noticed how most people in any given culture tend to have pretty much the same daily habits or rituals? In fact, it is that "sameness" that the culture is based on - at least in part.

However, have you also noticed that in any given culture, it is only the people who do things differently than everyone else who rise above and reach a level of success, enlightenment, or clarity that the others either don't understand or don't think that they can reach?

In fact, you can reasonably extrapolate the fact that in order for any culture to grow, there have to be people who try to do things in a different way than everyone else. Otherwise, nothing would ever change!

That society would continue to make copies of copies of copies, etc. The same information would continually be passed down, the same systems would continually be used, and the same results would continue to happen.

Over and over and over again.

Sounds pretty boring right? I mean, who wants to live in a society where nothing ever gets better, or at least more entertaining?

As human beings, it is our drive for growth that actually compels us to move forward in our lives. The Universal energy that each of us is made out of and that binds all of us together (like The Force, for you Star Wars fans) WANTS us to experience new and exciting things.

We were not put on this planet to get to some preordained point, and then just sit there wondering what to do next.

Let's go back to what I said in the beginning. In each culture, it is only the people who do things differently that affect any real change.

As I write this post, sitting happily in the United States of America, I am proud to say that our country is full of these people who know how to think outside of the box.

However, I also have to report the very real fact that there are many more people in America who do NOT think outside of the box, but rather they just go along with whatever is going on in society, doing their best to "fit in and make their way in the world".

Are you one of those people? Are you a copy of someone else's copy? How many times has the blueprint for your life been duplicated by someone else?

It goes something like this:

Grow up. Do good in school. Go to a good college. Get a good job. Get married. Have some kids. Buy an economy car, an SUV, or a mini-van. Start getting old. Buy a sports car. Have some grand kids. Grow old and die.

Repeat.

Congratulations. You've just successfully duplicated the pattern of millions of people before you, and now someone is making a copy of YOU and they are going to do exactly the same things that you did.

Sure the details may change, especially with regard to technical and medical advances, but as a whole, that entire pattern has been done before, hasn't it?

If you are okay with that, then go ahead and step up to the copy machine and stand in line with the rest. There are a lot of people out there just like you who don't want to "rock the boat".

However, for everyone else, here is bit of free advice from me to you:

Don't just rock the boat - jump out!

Swim for the nearest shore as if your life depended on it.

Ignore the people who are screaming for you to get back into the boat.

Disregard the people who tell you that you'll never make it.

Turn a deaf ear to the people who try to convince you to play it safe.

Swim, swim, swim!

Swim towards that shore where you can make a difference in the world!

Swim towards that shore where you can lead a life full of confidence, success, and happiness!

Swim towards that shore where anything goes, and you are free to live life on your own terms, advancing both yourself as well as the human race on the evolutionary scale!

And do you know what will happen then?

You will have risen above and reached that level of success, enlightenment, and clarity that the others either didn't understand or thought you would never reach.

YOU will be running your show. YOU will be calling the shots. YOU will be the "master of your domain". In short, you will be free, and all because you jumped out of the boat.

You refused to be a copy of someone else's copy, and you refused to let anyone else copy you. You scream for all the world to hear that you are ONE, and that you are UNIQUE!

You will be able to live out the rest of your physical existence with all of the trappings of the truly successful - money, freedom, power, material posessions and experiences.

You will be able to truly experience all that this physical realm has to offer, and you will sample it all at your discretion, or you will ignore it completely if it displeases you.

You will "go there and do that", no matter where "there" is, and no matter what "that" is.

In short, you will enjoy the ride.

Then, when you do finally fade from this physical existence, you will realize one very important fact:

We ARE all one. The same energy. The same consciousness. The same memory. The same purpose.

Our time here on this earth is specifically so that we can experience what it is like to be here, and what it is like to be an individual. When you go to the next level - whatever that level is for you - you can then choose to commune with "everyone else".

But for now - in this time and this place - get the hell out of the boat. :)

The Sands of Time

Linear Time. For anyone who isn't as much of a die-hard Star Trek fan as I am, I will explain the basic concept of linear time.

It simply means that things happen in order, and once they have happened, they are done. You can't go back, and you can't go forward. You live in the now (as it should be), and the things that happened in the past or that might happen in the future are - very much so - completely irrelevant.

That's linear time. Barring some future understanding of trans-dimensional travel and/or a working time machine, we are all experiencing linear time at this moment, we've experienced it our entire lives, and we will continue to experience it in the future.

Therein lies the problem if something happens in your life that you didn't particularly care for. Once it is done, then it is done, and there isn't a thing that you can do to change it.

On the other hand, that same concept is a large part of what defines our human existence, so it isn't necessarily a bad thing.

However, if you do happen to end up with something in your past that you wish wasn't there, the fact that we are all on this linear timeline does indeed become problematic.

So, your options are:

1) Just deal with it. What's done is done, and you can't change it. Move on.

2) Keep thinking about what happened, and keep reliving the negativity over and over again.

3) Apply what you learned about what led up to the incident to begin with, and go forth (on the timeline) with a positive attitude, knowing that you will never let that sort of thing happen again.

Option #1 isn't bad, because you aren't causing further injury if you just forget about it. On the other hand, if you don't apply what you have learned, then what is to keep it from happening again?

Option #2 is definitely not the way to go because by the nature of Karma - if you believe in that - or by the letter of the Law of Attraction, by continually reliving any sort of negativity, you will continually attract more negativity into your life. That's the Law. I don't make these rules, I just follow them - just like you.

Option #3 is obviously the best way to go. No matter how bad the experience was, it was a valuable experience for you because you now know how to keep that same thing from happening again. You aren't ignoring the fact that it happened, which would just invite a recurrence into your life, and you certainly aren't attracting more negativity since you are not dwelling on the incident.

So, having properly chosen option #3, you now have a blank slate in front of you. An unpopulated stretch of road that can literally lead anywhere that you want it to lead.

In fact, it is a rather long stretch of road in my very own past that has inspired me to write this post to begin with.

I am sitting in lovely Daytona Beach, FL, and the date is October 28th, 2006. My wife and I are at a friend's house, and we will all be leaving soon to go spend the evening with some of our other friends at a favorite local bar/restaurant called The Ocean Deck - so named because you can literally walk in off of the beach and get a drink or some great food.

I am very happy at this moment because I am experiencing many of the things in my life that I enjoy greatly. Friends, family, great location, and a night on the town with no early morning responsibilities waiting for me tomorrow.

However, a similar set of circumstances existed at a point in the not-too-distant past at this very location, and it was a dark experience for me that I hope you - the reader - can learn from.

I won't get into the specifics of what happened, but let's just say that I had a bit too much to drink and decided that I wanted to walk home.

To Jacksonville.

From Daytona Beach.

For you non-Floridians, that's about an hour and a half in a car, so you can imagine how long it would have taken me on foot!

Now, obviously that was a stupid, drunken decision to make, and now that we have traversed some distance on the linear scale since that incident, myself and the others who know about it get a good giggle when we consider just how ridiculous alcohol can make people - even people as fearlessly logical and "in control" as I am most of the time! :)

The moral to this story is that although I chose option #3 (apply what I have learned), my choosing of that option was not something that I only applied to that particular incident. Rather, it is an entire lifestyle that I have taken on, and I encourage you to do the same.

You see, every SINGLE moment in our lives is a chance to start all over again. People tend to say "after tonight I will...", or "starting Monday I am going to...", or, my personal favorite "in the New Year I plan to..."

Those concepts are utterly and completely ridiculous.

Why the hell would you wait until some other point in the linear timeline to start making sure that your life is everything that you want it to be??? Every MOMENT is a chance to start over!

Every single moment you can bite your tongue and not say something nasty or negative to someone else.

Every single moment you can lower your voice when you are arguing with someone.

Every single moment you can realize that you might have made a mistake, and then apologize.

Every single moment you can stop and think about how wonderful your life is and how whatever negative thing that you are doing is not in your best interest.

Every single moment you can stop, turn around, and head south down State Route A1A to go back to your friends and your family. Or, you can keep heading north, walking further and further away from the people that you truly care about, and who truly care about you.

Why have I spent so much time illustrating why you should put so much value on what could happen in any given moment?

Because, my friends, we are all on a linear timeline, and each of those moments will never come again.

Your life is RIGHT NOW, in this very moment.

Live it, and be happy.

Cheers.

Building a Jewelled Shell

Full credit for the concept of this post goes to one of my favorite mentors - James Arthur Ray. Since my introduction to him during the movie The Secret, I have found his teachings to be as powerful as they are timeless, and I am going to extrapolate on some of his wisdom here.

The problem begins with the very basic fact that as human beings, we want "stuff". That stuff may take the form of material goods and riches, it may take the form of satisfying relationships, or it may simply be a desire for a perfect level of health or spirituality.

Whatever your personal desires are, there is some "stuff" that you want. In fact, you are probably focusing on and working towards getting some of your stuff right now. Since you are reading a blog about self empowerment and self improvement, my sincere desire is that your search for stuff is going very well and that you are manifesting lots of great loot!

However, if you aren't meeting with the success that you desire, or, if you just want to continue on the successful path that you are on, I ask you to consider the following:

Which of the following things is more important? 1) The stuff that you are working so diligently towards gathering up. 2) Who you are on the inside.

Sorry to pop this quiz on you unexpectedly, but the right answer is, of course, who you are on the inside.

Why is that so important? Quite simply because who you are on the inside is not determined by the jeweled shell that you are trying to build on the outside!

Take a minute to think about this with 3 quick examples: Relationships, Money, Spirituality.

Relationships

Whenever you get involved in a relationship, what are YOU bringing to the relationship? You are bringing yourself, and all that comes with all that you are. However, do you NEED your partner in order to be complete?

Of course not! You are who you are regardless of what relationship you are involved in. If you need your partner to "complete" you, then your inner self needs some work, and that has nothing to do with your partner.

Someone once said that if people who are really close - so-called "soul mates" - are so close that they consider themselves to be 2 people sharing one existence, then what you end up with is 2 half people...

I don't know about you, but I'll keep my "me" just as it is, please and thank you, although I am more than willing to share what I have to offer with others.

Money

Money merely amplifies who you already are. If you are a saint who wins the lottery, then you'll just be a rich saint. If you're a jerk who wins the lottery, then you'll be a rich jerk.

Money does not make you who you are! However, by having enough money you have more opportunities to be who you already are. You can't spend your life sitting around and saying "Once I am rich I will...."

This may sound like esoteric B.S., but the truth of the matter is that as you become a rich person on the INSIDE, then you will attract the material riches that you have been chasing for so long to adorn your outside.

Spirituality

This one is a little tricky because the term "spirituality" means different things to different people. However, for the purpose of this discussion, we'll define spirituality as that which gives you strength.

For some people that will be their religious beliefs. For others it will be their intellect or their wisdom and experience. For some people, spirituality is determined by following what they believe their "path" in life is.

No matter how you personally define spirituality, you are now - and you always will be - the only person who ever knows if you are truly following your spiritual path.

Going to church does not constitute spirituality if you don't believe, and if you are just going through the motions. Getting an education to raise your IQ doesn't mean a thing if you don't plan to actually use your knowledge in a pursuit that you will enjoy. Following your chosen path in life can be a waste of time if you don't truly believe - in your heart of hearts - that it really is the path that you WANT to be on.

So, using the above illustrations as an outline, I would now ask you to think again about whether or not who you are on the outside - your jeweled shell - is more important than who you are on the inside.

Finding a perfect partner doesn't mean squat if you "need" that person, or if you aren't bringing yourself into that relationship as a quality person who has a lot to offer.

Getting rich is an irrelevant concept if you don't know how to BE rich, and all you are going to do is continue to perpetuate the same bad habits that have led your life to negative destinations in the past.

Being a highly spiritual person defined as how many times other people see you practice your religion, or how many times you show up for your classes doesn't mean anything unless your inner spirituality is singing with joy, hope, and faith.

So, what is the bottom line?

Focus on being the best YOU that you can be. You will then attract everything else that you need in order to build a beautifully jewelled shell on the outside!

Growing or Shrinking, Living or Dying

One of the many constants in our Universe is that there is really no such thing as "standing still". Oh, it may seem like you're standing still - figuratively or literally - but since the entire Universe is made up of constantly vibrating energy, I promise you, nothing is ever completely "still".

We live in an expanding Universe where the mass of energy that makes up all things is constantly seeking expression through every means possible - including the human existence. That energy wants to grow, and "standing still" is simply not an option.

However, that being said, in the figurative version of the term standing still, many people are doing their best to stay exactly where they are in life, despite the fact that they don't really want to be there to begin with.

Some people call this "settling", others use the term "complacency", while some may be harsh enough to simply call those people "lazy".

In his awesome blog, Ben Casnocha said it wonderfully:

'If you settle for 100% or A+ then you are settling. The crave to improve evaporates. If you feel like you've peaked then you've lost your "intrapersonal culture of improvement".'

What a great way to put it! Congratulations, Ben, you have probably just created one of the new buzzword terms for this generation!

Ben is 100% correct. If you stop kicking, biting, scratching, and clawing your way forward in life, then one thing is going to happen beyond a shadow of a doubt -

- you'll start sliding backwards.

Now, that isn't to say that life is supposed to be a struggle, and I don't mean to insinuate that at all. However, as most people are aware, there are often times in life when we are challenged and we have to fight to get what we want out of any given situation.

Sometimes that fight comes in the form of simply knowing when to turn the other cheek. It may come in the form of keeping your mouth shut when you really want to say something negative to someone else. You may have to fight in the form "sticking to your guns" in order to make your dreams manifest into reality.

Whether your version of "fighting" makes your life seem difficult is just your perception of the circumstances. Everything that we deal with in life is dependent 100% on our point of view. (Paraphrased from the immortal words of Obi-Wan Kenobi for you Star Wars fans)

In fact, if you subscribe to the increasingly well-received concept of Quantum Reality, not only is your life dependent on your point of view, it is CREATED by your point of view!

So, if think that your life is a struggle, and that it is easier to just stay where you are rather than taking the steps to move forward, I will refer you back to the top of this post:

If you are not growing, you are _____________________.

If you are not living, you ____________________.

The question that you have to ask yourself is whether or not you are quite ready to throw in the towel?

If you are, then go ahead and just lay down where you are right now. Life will invariably come by and run you over.

Otherwise, if you are ready to keep "fighting the good fight", then I invite you to use the power of Quantum Reality (as if you had a choice), and read my article 'Become What you Want to Attract'.

Miraculously enough, it seems that in order to be deliriously happy, all you have to do is decide that you want to be.

It will only be a struggle if you are one of those people who was filling in the blanks above...