Ideas: For a Successful, Less Complicated Life!

Let Your Subconscious Do The Work!

On May 12, 2008, I found the following article posted on: "Effortless Wealth and Abundance" (Blog).

You can have anything. You can do anything. You can be anything. But you can't do it. At least your conscious, thinking mind can't. You can't do it through effort and control and work. In truth, The subconscious mind does everything. It creates your whole world. Through its interaction with the conscious, thinking mind on one side and the vast universal intelligence which pervades the universe on the other, it orchestrates our experience of life. Where we are now is a result of the activity of our subconscious mind. Viktor Frankl, the Austrian psychiatrist and holocaust survivor, recounts an interesting story. We know a case in which a violinist always tried to play as consciously as possible. From putting his violin in place on his shoulder to the most trifling technical detail, he wanted to do everything consciously, to perform in full self-reflection. This led to a complete artistic breakdown.... Treatment had to give back to the patient his trust in the unconscious, by having him realize how much more musical his unconscious was than his conscious.

Know who is in control

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.
Viktor Frankl

First, we must realize that we are in the driving seat. Unlike Pavlov’s dogs or other animals who respond only by instinct, we humans have the power of choice. The Austrian psychiatrist and survivor of the holocaust Viktor Frankl wrote that between stimulus and response there is a gap, and inside that gap lies all of our experience. When we realize that this gap exists and that we can use it, we have tremendous power.

Most people have given that power away. They go straight from stimulus to response without a thought, reacting in the old, habitual way over and over again. It amazes me that people go through life running the same script for year after year, decade after decade, never seeming to realize that they have a choice. But this is the reality – you have free will, you are responsible for how you react, and you have the power to change ‘I must’ into ‘I choose.’

It all starts in the mind

Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
Viktor Frankl

The most important area in which we operate our freedom is our own mind. We are free to control our thoughts and change our own perception of things. This is a revelation to many people, who believe that thoughts happen to them. In reality, you generate your own thoughts all day long and you can be the master of them. Changing our beliefs is not instantaneous, but our beliefs do change throughout our lives and we can be active in controlling this process." .. [read the rest of this article]

Do You Make This Huge Mistake?

Check out this thought provoking article, written by: C.K. Reyes, one of the creators of: "Divine Purpose Unleashed" (Blog).

"Ordinarily, I would say that there are no mistakes.

And, to be totally honest this is true!  Everything teaches you something, if you let it. Every choice is a walk on the path of your life that will lead you somewhere. Each choice you make will give you an experience. Some choices will leave you feeling happy and others will leave you feeling sad. Some choices create peace in your soul and others chaos. Are you happy with the direction that your choices are taking you? Are you in integrity with yourself and happy with the person you are? Are your choices leading you to living your life purpose?

Don’t be hard on yourself!

If you notice that you are not satisfied with the results of your choices and the direction your life is taking, please don’t add to the unrest by beating yourself up and being mean to yourself. Please use this awareness as an opportunity… An opportunity for new choices that do lead you where you want to go. I invite you to make a shift that will drastically alter how you interact with your life.

Start taking 100% responsibility for your life.  All of it!

If you can make this shift in how you show up in your life, you will begin to make the changes you need to create a life you love, and for living your Divine Purpose. But first you need to see how you might not be taking responsibility, so you can identify the changes you need to make. Here are some common ways that people avoid taking responsibility for the direction of their life.

• Blame. Who or what do you blame for your circumstances? Do you blame your parents or your children? Do you blame your boss or your friend? Do you blame society or things that happened to you in the past? If you are thinking that you don’t blame anyone but yourself, write that down. Blaming yourself is blame. Get really clear on who or what you are blaming. Notice when you are blaming. Be gentle with yourself and just notice. If you notice that you are blaming, don’t blame yourself for blaming. Don’t make yourself wrong, just acknowledge where you are right now. If you are able to, change your words to reflect taking full responsibility. When you take responsibility you can powerfully make the choices that lead to creating what you do want for your life. It does not sound like this: “It’s all my fault–boohoo.” That is just more blame. It might sound like this: “Wow! Look at how powerful I am. Look what I created.” If you recognize that you created the very circumstances that cause you strife and unhappiness, you have the power to create what you do want. It may take a while to get this, but I promise it will be worth it!

• Making Excuses. What are your excuses for not having what you want or need? Get really brave here and tell yourself the truth. It will be worth it. Here are some to get you going: I don’t know how. I can’t. I don’t really deserve it. I slept in. etc., etc.. If you can see that your excuses are a form of self-sabotage, you can take your power back by taking responsibility for yourself. Instead of making an excuse, say out loud, “I choose not to….” or “I choose to…” Power is in choice. See if you can notice the difference in your body. How does it feel when you say, “I have to…” compared to, “I choose to…”

• Being out of integrity. Identify where you are out of integrity with yourself. Where does what you say and do not line up? Bring your actions and words into alignment with each other and the energy will open up for what you do want in your life.

What can you do to change the circumstances that you are not happy with in your life? Take 100% responsibility for the conditions, circumstances, and energy. I am asking you to have a shift in consciousness, a quantum leap of faith and direction in your life." .. [read the rest of this article]

Recovering From Setbacks!

Here is an article on: "How to Recover from Setbacks, 6 Tools for Getting Out of a Rut", written by: "Jonathan Nasman", as was posted on: "The Next 45 Years"  (Blog) 

"Challenges are what make life interesting; overcoming them is what makes life meaningful.” - Joshua J. Marine

Overcoming setbacks is one of the most difficult things to do. It’s hard to remain positive and take action when all you can focus on are your shortcoming. We easily get caught up in thinking “what could I have done differently” or “things would be different if I would have only done ____.”

Unfortunately, we can’t take back the past. Focusing on what could have been or how things might be different will only continue our paralysis. Only by focusing on what we can do now, can we climb out of the hole we’ve dug.

Here are six things you can do now, to get out of your rut:

1. Forgive yourself.

We all experience setbacks in life. We all have times where we feel disappointed in ourselves. We know we could have done better, we could have done this and we could have done that. Constantly nitpicking on all the should-haves and could-haves won’t change the past. If we don’t forgive ourselves, we’ll spend more time thinking about what we could have done rather than being productive. Take a moment to forgive yourself for all the mistakes you’ve made and really mean it.

2. Remember your success.

People have a tendency to focus more on their failures than their accomplishments.  This is a distorted view.It’s important that we learn from our mistakes and it’s also just as important that we appreciate our successes. Without remembering our success, we’ll lack balance and inspiration.

3. Stay in the present.

When we’re feeling stuck we’re likely either living in the past, or worrying about the future. We’re focusing on what could have been or what might not happen. Re-focus yourself and get back to the present, where life is actually happening. Instead of thinking “what could I have done” think “what can I do now.” .. [read the rest of this article]

Little White Lies We Tell Ourselves!

Here is an interesting article, written by: Stephen J. Hopson, the creator of the "Adversity University Blog".

"We all do it.

But that doesn’t make it right. We create our own adversity when we try to get away with lies we tell ourselves. There’s a saying that we might try to fool others but we can’t fool God our ourselves. Sooner or later those lies come back to bite us. Hard.

We lie to ourselves for two main reasons: fear and laziness. We’re too lazy to do what we know needs to be done. Either that or we’re afraid of facing what we know to be the truth so we gloss over things or look the other way.

Here are couple of the lies I’ve told myself over the years and how I found them not to be so true after all:

Lie #1:  I’m not well connected.

Truth: Contrary to popular belief, it’s not always who you know but mostly what you do (i.e. take action) that brings you closer to your goals. I have numerous examples of my own experiences that smash this little white lie to pieces but I will share 3 with you.

• Example 1: Up to this point, none of my speaking engagements have come as a result of someone I knew. That’s right, ZIPPO. It all began with the decision to have my speaking website professionally overhauled. What I needed was a user friendly site with video testimonials and clips, to name a few. It wasn’t cheap but two or three weeks after the new site went live, I got a completely unsolicited speaking engagement from the University of Phoenix (and many more after that). The funny thing was I knew no one from there. They found me through a Google search and once they visited the site, I was contacted to see if I was available and what my price was. Once I told them the specifics, I was hired. Just like that. No haggling over price, no this or that. Snap, snap and I was booked. Why? Not because I had any “inside contacts” but because I took action. It’s not who you know but what you do.
• Example 2: Several weeks ago, Mark Joyner from Simpleology launched a video competition for the BeTheNextBestsellingAuthor.com. Right around that time, I had just bought a new camcorder and was trying things out for this blog. While I was playing around with it, a subscriber alerted me to Mark’s video competition and suggested that I give it a shot. At first, doubt plagued my mind senseless but I manage to shove them aside and did the video anyway. Competition was fierce with over 200 videos submitted yet I came in first place.  Why?  Not because I knew Mark or anyone from Simpleology, but because I took action, made the video and then submitted it.  It’s not who you know but what you do.
• Example 3: In the late 1990’s, I was sitting on my couch, thinking of all the people who made a difference in my life. My fifth grade teacher’s face swam into focus. I asked myself, “How can I thank her in a big way for making a difference in my life?” The first thought was “On a talk show, why not!?’ The fact that I didn’t know anyone in Hollywood almost stopped me from at least giving it a shot. I wrote a letter to Oprah, The Gayle King Show (now off the air-she’s Oprah’s best friend), The View (with 4 woman including Barbara Walters) and Leeza (also now off the air). Would you believe that every single one of them (except Oprah) got back to me within a week? That’s right - I ended up surprising my fifth grade teacher on the national Leeza show!  And it wasn’t because I had “Hollywood” connections but because I took action and simply wrote a letter!  It’s not who you know but what you do." .. [Click Here]  to read the rest of this article.

Listening To The Music Between the Notes!

Here is a short article on: "Music Between the Notes!, written by: Pat Ruppel, the creator of: Plain Talk and Ordinary Wisdom

"As I sit listening to the patter of drops pondering what to write, I think of the beauty and wonder of this world and how most of the time we’re unconscious and miss so much of it. Just a little thing like a gentle rain can remind us to stop and listen to life that is going on all around and within us.

We miss it because we’re looking only with our eyes and ears and if it’s not obvious we move on. The essence – life – is the pause of your breath before you exhale, the feel of the air and expansion of the sky as you step outside, the sound of your heartbeat and the music between the notes.

Herein lies the key to a New World. The changes you’ve been believing in and praying for is already in our midst and in our presence if we would only look and listen with our soul eyes instead of our physical eyes.

Moment-to-moment and hour-by-hour, we can learn to be aware of the unseen and unspoken nuances around us and bring them into whatever we’re doing at the time allowing that energy to flow through us.

As Eckhart Tolle quotes from Hafiz, a 14th century Persian poet and Sufi master, as translated by Daniel Ladinsky in The Gift:

“I am a hole in a flute that the Christ’s breath moves through. Listen to this music.”

The answers we are looking for cannot be found in thought or form. We can’t use the same physical eyes and ears to understand. It’s as if we have to put that aside and listen as the animals listen. They are in tune with the energies and unseen forces of life and nature. That’s why they knew to move to higher ground when the tsunami hit in 2004.

Listening to the gentle rain connects me to the whole and I feel complete. For a little time, I’m conscious and sense the awesomeness of life. Sweet.

Is Being Lucky, Just Luck?

Here is an interesting article on: "7 Ways To Be More Lucky", written by: Steven Aitchison, the creator of:"To Change Your Life - Change Your Thoughts" (Blog).

"Do you think being lucky is just luck? Sounds like strange question, but luck is actually the combination of a lot of things you do in life and what you believe about yourself and others.

Dr Richard Wiseman has studied Luck for over 10 years and has shown that lucky people have certain traits and characteristics that make them more prone to being lucky.

  Defining ‘being lucky‘

Being lucky could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. What I am talking about here is being lucky in life, not lucky in the lottery or any other form of gambling, as this is down to chance alone. Being lucky in life is when you have the life you want and it seemingly happens by accident, by pure luck.

I work with someone who seems incredibly unlucky in everything she does. If something unlucky is going to happen it will happen to her. She is a manic person whose mind is constantly racing and she tries to do 100 things at once. When she talks it’s at 100 miles per hour, she asks questions about 5 times before taking it in, she is distrustful of people, she sees the bad in everyone and to top it off she’s a very nice person. However, she must be the unluckiest person I have ever met.

In contrast I know someone else who seems to be incredibly lucky. He is optimistic, sees the good in people, believes that good things will happen to him and his family and regularly has conversations about the good things he wishes for himself and his family. He knows what he wants and he goes after it with all guns blazing. Yet he is laid back, he is a very kind and generous person and is happy in life.

People who are lucky show certain characteristics and beliefs about themselves and the world so I would like to share with you the eight ways to be more lucky.

7 ways to be more  lucky

1. Belief: Believing that you will get the things you want in life and deserve the things you want in life will make you more prone to receiving them. Why is this? When you think about something you see a picture in your head, when you have a picture in your head your mind is locked onto receiving it. When you mind is locked onto receiving something it will start, unconsciously, to notice ways of getting what you want. It will start to notice opportunities that you might have missed had you not had that picture in your head and the belief it could happen.
2. Taking risks: People who are lucky take more risks. This doesn’t mean they gamble their house and take risks on new businesses and forgetting their family. Taking a risk can be calculated, you weigh up your options know what you can afford to lose and go for it. If it doesn’t work out you go for it again when you can afford to lose more.
3. Working hard: A lot of sports stars, singers, dancers, actors etc seem to have become famous overnight and are rich beyond belief. However what most people don’t see is that those same people have spent years of hard work and sacrifice to get to where they are today. Take Sylvester Stallone, he auditioned with every casting agency he could and didn’t get anywhere until he wrote a script for Rambo, and the rest is history. Working hard is a pre-requisite to being lucky.
4. Generosity: Being generous to others seems to be a trait in all lucky people. They give generously of their time and their money. They share their luck and wealth among others. A lot of people share their knowledge which can be more valuable than money or time. I have met so many people through this blog and I believe it’s because I share what I know and what I have learned throughout my life and throughout the research I have done over the years." .. [read the rest of this article]

Being Thankful?

This is a practice that is largely ignored by our greed based, materialistic society. Except superficially, for one day out of the year.

The media creates in the minds of the public a constant dissatisfaction with what they now have, the need to replace it for a more and better ??.

Automobiles are a good example of this: "If we are not driving a new ??", we are not considered "COOL", thus the "desire" (not real need) is created for newer and more expensive cars (ones that we cannot afford).

We seem to lack appreciation for the material prosperity we have been given. Instead we must have...MORE  MORE MORE!.

This mindset creates continual discontent, and eventually leads to "financial bondage" (a subject for another post).

Our lack of appreciation also extends to relationships with others. We forget that the presence of certain people, animals, and all other living things provide an unique enhancement to our lives.

We often treat these special beings with blatant disregard, by not recognizing the contribution they make to our lives on a daily basis.

What we as a society are in bad need of is to "slow down", take a few moments each day to "count our blessings", and to express genuine gratitude to the "Power of the Universe" (god) for all we have been given.

Begin by making everyday "Thanksgiving Day", you will be surprised at the positive difference that this will make in the way you relate to your world!

Today, What Are You Thankful For?

Check out this short thought provoking article, I found, written by: Lorraine Cohen, the creator of: Powerfull Living (Blog).

"In the spirit of Thanksgiving here in the US, focusing on gratitude this week (and beyond) seems appropriate. If you’re putting a lot of attention on stress, fear, anger, sadness, or pain about anything in your life you might be missing out on celebrating all that you have that is meaningfull and brings richness to you life.

In a recent conversation, a friend of mine said that when people are on their death bed, they often speak of the regrets in their life such as wishing they had spent more time with their family and friends, had more fun and pleasure, pursued more of the dreams they kept pushing aside because they were working so hard to making money, reaching goals,  worrying about the future…. They forgot to appreciate all they had in the present moment.

We can get so caught up in the day-to-day activities and details of our lives that we forget to slooooooooow down and look around at all that is right with us and in the world.

So, stop for a moment. Take a deep breath and count your blessings, gifts, and miracles that enrich your life. Celebrate every one of them no matter how small. When you add them all up, you might be surprised at how rich you truly are even if your bank account isn’t as flush as you’d like it to be.

For two great gratitude exercises, click here

My list?

Here are 7 I’m grateful for:

1. Incredible friends who unconditionally love me no matter how I show up, boost me up when I’m shaky, and kick my butt when I’m dancing around things.

2. My home. I’ve created a nurturing environment that is comforting and cozy.

3. Doing the work/service I love and getting paid for it.

4. My two darling cats make me laugh and tickle my heartstrings every day. They are two of my  greatest teachers.

5. All the gifts, blessings, and miracles that flow into my life every day, desired and undesired.

6. Nature in all of it’s beauty and abilities to bring instant peace, calm, and healing

7. My relationship with the Creator of All That Is that brings me back to remembering who I am.

What’s on your list?

Have a wonderfull Thanksgiving!

5 Mistakes: When You Are Taking Action!

Check out this article I found on: "Do You Make These 5 Mistakes When You Try to Take Action?", written by: Henrik Edberg, the creator of "The Positivity Blog"

“It is common sense to take a method and try it. If it fails, admit it frankly and try another. But above all, try something.” ~ Franklin D. Roosevelt

“Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk - and to act.” ~ Maxwell Maltz

What is holding you back from taking action?

Well, here are five action-related mistakes that I have made many times. I still do. Not as much as I did once though. Things are gradually improving.

These are the just some of the ways to hold yourself back in life, stop yourself from taking action and getting what you want. There are more ways of course. But this time I want to focus on the five most essential things that I think is holding me and a bunch of other people back.

1. Take your thoughts too seriously.

Thinking is often hyped up to be the best thing since sliced bread. In many cases it’s just holding you back. My perceptive is this: I am not my thoughts, I’m the observer of them. This allows me to not get too wrapped up in them. And to avoid thinking that what they are telling me is some kind of absolute truth. Often it’s just stuff that isn’t so useful that is boppin around in my head. And you realize you don’t have to take the thoughts so seriously. You can disregard them if you like.

With this perspective it becomes easier to get some distance to your thoughts and be in control of them instead of being controlled by your thought patterns. This allows you to take action despite whatever thoughts may be telling you. Common sense is of course necessary, but I think we often know what thoughts we should listen to and what thoughts that are just negative nonsense.

2. Take your emotions too seriously.

There is a time to listen to your emotions. There are a lot of times when that is not such a good idea. Again, to me, emotions are something that I’m observing. This allows distance to them and enables you to take them less seriously if that is useful for you in a situation.

If you have a negative emotion that is holding you back from taking action, then what can you do besides learning to take it less seriously?

One thing is to just accept that the feeling is there inside of you. Instead of rejecting it and trying to keep it out – thereby feeding more emotional energy into the feeling and making it stronger – let the feeling in and accept it. By just feeling the feeling fully without putting a label on it – you just observe it – you can reduce the power of the negative feeling within a few minutes. And then you can move your focus to taking action without – or with a smaller – feeling of uneasiness in your stomach.

Another way is simply to reframe how you view the situation. If you fill it with dread – via your thoughts – then you won’t feel like taking action. If you change how you look at it though, you can often change the negative emotions into positive ones. A useful way to reframe a situation is to ask yourself: what is awesome about this situation? This way you can start to look at it through a new, more positive set of lenses and at the same time pump up your enthusiasm which makes it easier to get started.

Taking your thoughts and emotions less seriously when needed is like everything else. It’s a habit you build and grow stronger. You are slowly and gradually able to get less and less wrapped up in your thoughts and emotions." .. [Click Here]  to read the rest of this article.

How do I raise my self-esteem?

Check out this article on "What Everybody Ought to Know About Self-Esteem", written by: C.K. Reyes, one of the creators of: "Divine Purpose Unleashed" (Blog).

"Your high Self-Esteem is the ticket to creating a life that you love.

But self-esteem doesn’t just happen. It takes an awareness of your internal conversations and belief systems. It takes a willingness to listen to the part of you that knows you are a divine being and worthy of having it all.

As I coach more and more people, I am finding that it is very common to uncover a belief system or self-judgment that says, “I am unworthy!” “I am wrong,” “I am unlovable,” etc. Many people ’should’ on themselves. Like, “I should do xyz,” or “I shouldn’t do abc.” We compare ourselves and feel less than and inadequate. The result seems to be that we are left with a self-hate and an innate ability to self-sabotage the very efforts that would leave us feeling great about who we are.

I’ve done it too!

I am currently engaged in a coaching process where I have uncovered an old belief that I am unworthy. Imagine that! Me? Yes. Where do our beliefs originate and how do they manifest in our lives? Mine originated at a very young age and manifested in the absolute knowing that I would be abandoned. Left alone. I get all kinds of opportunities to experience my shame. Today I know that this is an outdated belief and I choose another interpretation. The awareness of the origination of our beliefs is what allows us to choose a more empowering belief. It takes a lot of courage to give up what we have known about ourselves and discover new ways of being.

What is self-esteem?

Self-Esteem is a sense of worthiness to have what you want and to go after it. When you have high self-esteem, you are more willing to set and keep boundaries, to ask what you want, and to expect the very best for yourself because you know you are worth it. When you feel good about who you are, you are more likely to take the actions that are necessary to live your dreams.

How do I raise my self-esteem?

Make every effort to feel good about who you are and what you are up to in the world. I challenge you to take on some behaviors right away. Notice the changes in your internal world and then share with me what you find.

• Give up comparing yourself to others.
• Examine your beliefs and perspectives about yourself.
• Resist the temptation to “should” on yourself.
• Do not make any excuses for anything.  Take responsibility for your choices.
• Give up blaming others and, yes, yourself too!
• Give yourself permission to live your life purpose.  Today!

If you choose to engage with yourself in this empowering way, notice what comes up for you. Notice the internal conversations and the external manifestations. What obstacles have prevented you from embracing all of who you are and pursuing the experiences in this life that would leave you blissfully in love with yourself and your circumstances? What has been standing between you and your life purpose." .. [read the rest of this article]