A New Beginning. As this had a very different meaning back in 2011 when I started this post it is interesting reflecting on where my inspiration was coming from back then vs. where it is coming from now. In 2011 I was between jobs and decided to try something that was very new to me and something that I found I was horrible at. I joined a group that had an interesting concept and a good part of it was an extensive study in positive thinking. This group was designed to educate and transform people to be the best they could be thru training materials and trips all over the world to enhance your life experiences. Besides support on a daily basis from the staff and teams the goal was to convince other people to join the group and pay the same money that you paid to get this great inspiration and enjoyment out of life and you would be enriched by the experience of offering it to others for a healthy chunk of money. It was so well organized - it pulled you in before you knew you were pulled in and a sales person I was not. I got more frustrated month after month - trying really hard to believe that I could sell and make lots of money and live happily after. I spent money in hopes to make money - but the making money part never happened - not a penny. I think that this lasted 6 or so months and thank God I was able to go back to a real job and was able to come back to the planet earth. The neat thing about it all was that it was not a bad experience at all. I spent a lot of time working on improving my outlook on life and being a part of my destiny and the positivity was contagious. Many people believe that I was doped - but I don't believe that I was. I spent every day on the phone with the individuals on my team and they were all genuine people looking for the answers in life and the ones that were good at selling were indeed making some pretty good money. I don't regret the experience - but I was missing the whole meaning of life and I was searching for all the answers and they were right in front of me and had been for a very long time - I just shut down the REAL spiritual part of my life - for many reasons - but not at all a good place to be. The only thing that was missing was my faith in God.....The Bible was not part of the reading material, or my life, at that time. I was not centered on God - I had rebelled for a very long time against "religion" - so it just was not a priority in my life any longer. It was centered on making money and getting out of a life situation that was making me very unhappy and all that positivity and learning helped me to keep it at bay and pretend that my life had purpose and that everything was going to come together just fine if I believed in myself and kept up with reading all the right material.. I started to go back to church. After going to a yard sale at a church in my neighborhood - I just felt that the gals that ran the yard sale were so sweet I thought "why not".....I followed thru and went to church the next day. Everyone was just as sweet as could be -and I really enjoyed the sermon. The pastor had a great sense of humor and spoke the truth from God's word and it wasn't so bad. The Church was magnificent with some of the most beautiful stained glass windows I have ever seen - simply magnificent. It just felt that that was the part of myself that was missing in my life and so I went back over and over again, getting more comfortable with worshipping and then I was offered an opportunity that ended up changing my life in a way that I had not expected. I was asked to take over the pianist position at the church because the person that was there took another position and they knew that I played the piano and they were as excited as I was. It had been a very long time since my last church position - so I was nervous but more than ready for the challenge. What an amazing journey this opportunity took me on.......To be continued.........

Every day comes with new possibilities to grow and to connect with someone. I ran into the most unlikely person today that has touched my life. I was sharing the experiences of my daughter in general conversation regarding her eating disorder. Out of nowhere this person steps away and told me to wait - she wanted to give me something. She shared the name and number of a therapist that specializes in eating disorders and shared with me that this person was her therapist and has helped her with her own eating disorder struggles of the past 15 years. She asked that it stay between her and I - because as I said earlier, total shocker as to who this person was. So I am being vague on purpose. On my drive home from this appointment, I felt a need to reach out to her in some special way. I will see her again in a month and I hope that I will be able to, if nothing else, sit down and write my thoughts down as to what I have learned in the life of a mother who has had to deal with this horrible disease for 20 years and hopefully in some way I can help her by sharing my experiences as she shared hers with me. It also opened another door for me to maybe share something new with my daughter that may help her. I just adore people that are open about their struggles. So many people hide behind them and by hiding - there is no way to receive help nor to give help to someone else that is struggling with the same problem. So share away - time is short and it's OK to be going thru challenges. When I see this person I see a professional that cares immensely for people, she has the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen and she has an awesome sense of humor and I enjoy talking and joking with her. Never did her weight enter my thoughts. She is very tall and not thin nor heavy. But the big thing here is that she spends most of her time worrying about how she looks to other people regarding her weight (because that is what people with eating disorders do) and it just is not important - so very not important. I struggle with my weight and have my entire life - but truthfully - who really cares???????? Most people are worrying about how they look and really don't care about how you look - if that makes any sense. And the people that comment on someone's weight are almost always struggling with something about themselves that they are afraid to admit.....So why the heck do eating disorders exist? That is the million dollar question.

Today is January 1, 2015 and I am thrilled to be back to my blog. It has been a really long time and a lot has happened since my last set of posts. I am looking forward to posting again on a regular basis. It is so helpful to see where you have been and where you are going by posting experiences and thoughts.

Self Confidence Can Replace Self Doubt

Those who are quick to see their limitations generally are slow in seeing their opportunities.

Movie producer Michael Todd once said, “Being broke is temporary; being poor is a state of mind.” So it is with opportunity. Whether you see opportunities or limitations is entirely within your control. How you view the world is a reflection of your mental attitude. If you focus on your inadequacies, you will be plagued by fear, doubt, and failure, but when you focus on your strengths, you will find courage, confidence, and success. Self-confidence can replace self-doubt only by deliberate, planned effort. When you start to doubt your capabilities, pause to review your previous accomplishments. Identify every experience that might be helpful to you in your present situation. When you apply the knowledge and wisdom you have accumulated, there are few limitations that you cannot overcome. (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

FOCUS ON THE SOLUTION - NOT THE PROBLEM

Life says, “make good or make room, but don’t make excuses.”

In today’s management parlance, “Lead , follow, or get out of the way.” When you are actively working toward a goal, there are no failures; there are only degrees of success. Choose to be a leader. Take the initiative. When you are faced with a problem or a difficult decision, don’t waste endless hours agonizing over the solution. If you analyze the situation objectively, you will always find an answer. Don’t focus on the problem; focus on the solution. Then get into action. As W. Clement Stone often said, “The emotions are not always subject to reason, but they are always subject to action!” (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

You Have the Tools to Feel Good

Who you are and what you know when you are born is everything that you need to know to thrive. You are born with a sense of self and a sense of wanting self to feel good and the mechanisms to bring it about. --- Abraham-Hicks Publications

Busy People Are Not Procrastinators

If you want a job done promptly and well, get a busy person to do it. The idle one knows too many substitutes and shortcuts.

Most of us will never know our true capacity for achievement because we never challenge ourselves to perform at our best every day. This truism becomes apparent when you are presented with an opportunity that really interests you. No matter how busy you may be, somehow you will find the time to pursue it. Conversely, duties that have little appeal for you are easily postponed and eventually forgotten. Busy people are not procrastinators. They know that life, as John David Wright once observed about business, “is like riding a bicycle. Either you keep moving, or you fall down.” The most effective people have a sense of urgency. They set deadlines and force themselves to establish priorities. Even if your activities don’t usually require strict deadlines, set them for yourself. You will be amazed at how much you can accomplish in a short time -- if that’s all the time you have. (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

Waste no words on a man who dislikes you. Actions will impress him more.

Waste no words on a man who dislikes you. Actions will impress him more.

Some people think they can talk their way out of any situation, and for a time they may be right. But if someone already dislikes you, either because of a simple misunderstanding or an error in judgment on your part, he or she will be especially difficult to persuade with words. Their emotions will always get in the way of their ability to think logically and reasonably. Consistent actions over a sustained period of time, however, will usually persuade even the most devout skeptic. If you constantly demonstrate that you are a generous, kind, and caring person, it will be very hard for even your enemies to dislike you. In any case, you will become a better person for having made the effort. (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

Happy Ending

You can never have a happy ending at the end of an unhappy journey; it just doesn't work out that way. The way you're feeling, along the way, is the way you're continuing to pre-pave your journey, and it's the way it's going to continue to turn out until you do something about the way you are feeling.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in West Los Angeles, CA on Saturday, August 6th, 2005 # 128

Good Deeds - The Greatest Gift are Gifts of Your Time & Yourself

Count that day lost whose descending sun finds you with no good deeds done.

It is well known among those who make it a practice to help others that doing a service for another benefits the giver as much as -- if not more than -- the receiver. When you do a good deed for someone else, you become a better person. The positive effect that your good deed has upon you will endure long after it is forgotten by the recipient. Good deeds need not be large or costly. The greatest gifts are gifts of your time and yourself. A kind word or small courtesy will be remembered and appreciated. (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

What is Your Definition of Success?

Medals and titles will not count when you get to heaven, but you may be looked over carefully for the sort of deeds you have done.

It is a fundamental principle of Christianity, and many other religions, that in the afterlife the only real measure of success will be how you have lived your life, not how much money you have accumulated. Whatever your faith may be, a good rule of everyday behavior is to live your life so that when it is over you can take pride in the knowledge that you have made a difference in the lives of those who have known you. It’s easy in the crush of everyday life to lose sight of the true riches of life, the things that really matter. Psychologist Ilona Tobin defines true success as “giving and receiving love, having physical and mental health, enough wealth to provide you with options, and the time to enjoy them all.” Whatever your personal definition of success may be, make sure that it includes a healthy measure of the truly important things in life. (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

Taking Thought Beyond That Which It Has Been Before

You are on the leading edge of thought, taking thought beyond that which it has been before. Who cares what thoughts have led up to this. You're standing in the fresh now, and many of the thoughts that you vehemently oppose are the very thoughts that have given you the desire that has attracted the clarity of where you now stand. No matter how awful you think they might be, all were of value in the evolution forward. Every one of them.

--- Abraham

Excerpted from the workshop in Philadelphia, PA on Tuesday, April 14th, 1998 # 127

50 Questions That Will Free Your Mind (www.marcandangel.com)

These questions have no right or wrong answers.

Because sometimes asking the right questions is the answer.

1.How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
2.Which is worse, failing or never trying?
3.If life is so short, why do we do so many things we don’t like and like so many things we don’t do?
4.When it’s all said and done, will you have said more than you’ve done?
5.What is the one thing you’d most like to change about the world?
6.If happiness was the national currency, what kind of work would make you rich?
7.Are you doing what you believe in, or are you settling for what you are doing?
8.If the average human life span was 40 years, how would you live your life differently?
9.To what degree have you actually controlled the course your life has taken?
10.Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?
11.You’re having lunch with three people you respect and admire. They all start criticizing a close friend of yours, not knowing she is your friend. The criticism is distasteful and unjustified. What do you do?
12.If you could offer a newborn child only one piece of advice, what would it be?
13.Would you break the law to save a loved one?
14.Have you ever seen insanity where you later saw creativity?
15.What’s something you know you do differently than most people?
16.How come the things that make you happy don’t make everyone happy?
17.What one thing have you not done that you really want to do? What’s holding you back?
18.Are you holding onto something you need to let go of?
19.If you had to move to a state or country besides the one you currently live in, where would you move and why?
20.Do you push the elevator button more than once? Do you really believe it makes the elevator faster?
21.Would you rather be a worried genius or a joyful simpleton?
22.Why are you, you?
23.Have you been the kind of friend you want as a friend?
24.Which is worse, when a good friend moves away, or losing touch with a good friend who lives right near you?
25.What are you most grateful for?
26.Would you rather lose all of your old memories, or never be able to make new ones?
27.Is is possible to know the truth without challenging it first?
28.Has your greatest fear ever come true?
29.Do you remember that time 5 years ago when you were extremely upset? Does it really matter now?
30.What is your happiest childhood memory? What makes it so special?
31.At what time in your recent past have you felt most passionate and alive?
32.If not now, then when?
33.If you haven’t achieved it yet, what do you have to lose?
34.Have you ever been with someone, said nothing, and walked away feeling like you just had the best conversation ever?
35.Why do religions that support love cause so many wars?
36.Is it possible to know, without a doubt, what is good and what is evil?
37.If you just won a million dollars, would you quit your job?
38.Would you rather have less work to do, or more work you actually enjoy doing?
39.Do you feel like you’ve lived this day a hundred times before?
40.When was the last time you marched into the dark with only the soft glow of an idea you strongly believed in?
41.If you knew that everyone you know was going to die tomorrow, who would you visit today?
42.Would you be willing to reduce your life expectancy by 10 years to become extremely attractive or famous?
43.What is the difference between being alive and truly living?
44.When is it time to stop calculating risk and rewards, and just go ahead and do what you know is right?
45.If we learn from our mistakes, why are we always so afraid to make a mistake?
46.What would you do differently if you knew nobody would judge you?
47.When was the last time you noticed the sound of your own breathing?
48.What do you love? Have any of your recent actions openly expressed this love?
49.In 5 years from now, will you remember what you did yesterday? What about the day before that? Or the day before that?
50.Decisions are being made right now. The question is: Are you making them for yourself, or are you letting others make them for you?

If you don’t know what you want, don’t say you never had a chance.

The people who complain the loudest about never having an opportunity in life are usually the ones who always have a ready excuse for their failures. Nothing is ever their fault; they are victims of their heritage, their environment, insufficient education, or any number of other factors that they perceive as placing them at a disadvantage. If you look hard enough, you can always find reasons for not attempting something or not sticking with the job to the end. Successful people, though, are not excuse-makers. They take responsibility for their actions, they set goals, and they assume responsibility for their achievement. Where others see despair, they see hope. They approach every situation with enthusiasm, confident in the knowledge that nothing is impossible for those who have a Positive Mental Attitude. (Another great one from Napoleon Hill Foundation)

Fortune Sides With Him Who Dares

Don’t be afraid to aim high when choosing your life’s goal, for no matter how high you aim, your achievements may fall below it.

Many businesses today advocate “continuous improvement” as part of their quality programs. They have realized that to remain competitive in today’s global economy they must constantly strive to improve every aspect of the business, otherwise they will be overtaken by the competition. The same ethic applies to individuals. All of life is a continuous learning experience. Every success and every temporary setback only serve to prepare you for the time when you will eventually prevail. Your short- and medium-term goals should be realistic and achievable, but your long-term goals should always far exceed your present capabilities. As the Roman poet Virgil said, “Fortune sides with him who dares.” (Napoleon Hill Foundation)

ARE YOU AN ACHIEVER

A burning desire to be and to do is the starting point from which the dreamer must take off.

Many years ago, the commencement speaker at a prestigious university asked all members of the graduating class who had a definite plan for their lives to hold up their hands. As he looked around the room, only three hands were raised. Twenty-five years later, when the class held a reunion, the combined net worth of those three individuals exceeded that of the remainder of the class. People who know where they are going always achieve far greater levels of success than those who merely drift through life, expecting circumstances to create opportunities for them. Successful people create their own opportunities by focusing on goals with an intensity that borders on obsession. In this way, every action moves them toward their goal. (From Napoleon Hill Foundation)

LIFE IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN

All is well, and you will never get it done. Life is supposed to be fun. No one is taking score of any kind, and if you will stop taking score so much, you will feel a whole lot better — and as you feel a whole lot better, more of the things that you want right now will flow to you. You will never be in a place where all of the things that you are wanting will be satisfied right now, or then you could be complete — and you never can be. This incomplete place that you stand is the best place that you could be. You are right on track, right on schedule. Everything is unfolding perfectly. All is really well. Have fun. Have fun. Have fun!

--- Abraham Excerpted from the workshop in Tucson, AZ on Tuesday, February 20th, 2001 # 118
Jerry and Esther

A rudderless ship and a purposeless person are eventually stranded on desert sand.

The goals you set for yourself -- like the rudder of a ship -- will guide you toward your destination, and without them, like a ship without a rudder, you’ll find it impossible to stay the course. Make goal-setting a habit in your life. If you sometimes have trouble staying focused, set small, attainable goals and stick with the job until it’s done. Examples might include finding a faster, more efficient way to do a routine job. Or taking the most difficult jobs first when you have the most energy and your concentration is at its highest level. Save the easiest jobs for last. A few small successes will inevitably lead to bigger achievements. (From Napoleon Hill Foundation)

Never Tear Down Anything Unless You Are Prepared To Build Something Better In Its Place

This rule applies to both individuals and things. It’s easy to criticize other people thoughtlessly for their shortcomings, and equally easy to find fault in their work or in situations that are not to your liking. It is far more difficult to be a builder of people and to create works of art, useful products, or profitable businesses. Make sure you are a builder, not a destroyer of people and things. When you criticize the actions or work of others -- your children, your employees, or others for whom you are responsible -- make sure your criticisms are positive and directed at the act, or the opportunity for improvement, not the individual. Include specific suggestions for their application and focus on the potential for success. Napoleon Hill

Why Meditation Helps Us With Positive Thoughts

As you deliberately look for positive aspects in others who surround you, you will train your Vibrational propensity into increasing improved Vibrations. So it does not matter how many negative thoughts you have thought before, or how long you have been negatively focused. You can deliberately focus—right now—on an improved thought.

Because the Law of Attraction is responding to your current thought, more thoughts like that current thought are most likely to come into focus for you. In other words, the Law of Attraction (that which is like unto itself, is drawn) will continue to dish up for you more and more thoughts that match your current Vibrational frequency. And so, the more you deliberately choose better-feeling thoughts, the more easy and ready access you will have to much better-feeling
Thoughts.

We teach meditation because it is actually easier, in some situations, to help you find “no thought” than to find a positive thought. . . . There is no better path to wonderful, meaningful, good-feeling relationships than the combination of a daily meditation—allowing your Vibration to find its natural balance—and the deliberate focusing upon positive aspects.


--- Abraham