Ideas: For a Successful, Less Complicated Life!

How To Successfully Manifest Your Desires!

Check out this short article, I found on: "The Factors Involved in Successfully Manifesting Desires", written by: Anastasia Kile, the creator of: Energy Manifesting  (Blog).

"There is a system that anyone can use to successfully manifest their desires.

Your success will depend upon a number of factors, including you and the Universe.

You can’t just sit around hoping that your desires will manifest. There are certain things that you will need to do to be successful. Some of them will require work on your part.

You have to have a belief beyond doubt that your desire will manifest no matter what.

You have to be willing to get out there and work toward your goal - being willing to do whatever it takes.

You can’t limit yourself to the idea of just one thing being able to bring you your desire. You have to be willing to take action in as many different areas as possible. You have to be willing for your desire to come to you in a way that you never expected it to come.

You need to get absolutely clear about what you want.

You need to stay focused on your goal, expecting it to happen, no matter what might be occurring around you presenting evidence to the contrary.

As you do all of this, the Universe will give you suggestions, ideas, and hunches about what you should do. 

You might hear conversations in passing or feel a sudden urge to go down a street you’ve never been before. 

You might receive a postcard in the mail directly related to something that needs to occur for your dream to become a reality - all you have to do is make the phone call.

You might experience strange coincidences where other people, sometimes even complete strangers, just happen to do something unexpected that makes your desire come even closer.

All the help you need, all the guidance you require, anything you need to help you stay on track, will come to you.

Simply allow it to appear and pay attention to it when it shows up.

Follow the system and you might be amazed at what begins to happen in your life."

So What!

Check out this interesting article, I found, written by: Curtis Greve , as was posted on: The Positivity Blog.

"The other day I was talking with my good friend Pete and we were discussing the stock market, the job market and how there are a lot of people getting hurt and having trouble making ends meet, while watching their life’s savings drop in value by half or worse. Earlier that day, I had actually thrown a pity party over my IRA and my wife had to sit me down and tell me not to obsess over things I can’t control. 

I decided she was right, so to get my head straight; I called my good friend Pete. Pete is that guy that always makes you feel better when you talk to him.

This time, it was no different.  When I called, just the way he answered the phone made me feel better.  “Hello my friend.  How is my good buddy doing today?”  You got to love caller ID.

We chit chatted about family, friends, business and the economy.  As we were talking, Pete said something that really stuck with me.

“People ask me ‘what if you lose your job?’ and I keep saying the same thing.  So what! If I lose this job, I’ll find something better.  I may miss a house payment; my kids might have to take out a student loan to go to college, but so what.  What is the worst thing that can realistically happen?  I’ll end up better in the long run and I’ll be stronger for it.” 

You have to understand a few things about Pete.  He is the most upbeat, positive, ‘can do’ guy on the planet.  He came from a large family and his dad was a blue collar worker.  Pete decided that he was going to go to college, even though nobody from his family had ever gone to school past their senior year in high school.  He figured he would just get a football scholarship, which he did, to Purdue.

He did not just ‘go to Purdue.’ He met and married the best looking girl on campus. 

He was the starting center for the Boiler Makers for four years.  His senior year, his team was ranked 5th in the nation and he played in big bowl game.  Oh yeah, he was named to Purdue’s “All Century Team” years later.

He loved football and had a dream of playing pro, after he graduated.  Sure enough, he got drafted by the Green Bay Packers but got cut during his first training camp.  That is where the story ends for many big time college athletes.   Pete was different.  What was Pete’s response?  So what, I’ll go get a job and be very successful. 

Pete went to work for a real estate company and after a couple of years he decided he would start his own company.  He figured if the company went under, so what.  It didn’t go under.  In fact it was a big success.  Soon his company was a leading industrial real estate firm in Indianapolis.  Next he was approached by the world’s largest industrial real estate firm and asked to join them as their global head of sales.

Pete’s thought it would be a great chance to gain valuable experience so he talked to his family and his partners and made the leap, and, if it didn’t work out, so what. Today, he is still there, making more money than he ever thought possible and in every way “living the dream.” He has the family, the house, the job, interest in his old business, pretty much everything he thought he could have.

Kindness to Animals Matters!

Check out this thought provoking article, I found, written by: Michael Mountain, as was posted on: SmartNow.com

"Until recently, I believed that there weren't that many people who truly cared about animals. In the early days of Best Friends, we were often received letters from people that read, "I thought I was the only person who felt this way about the animals. Now I know I'm not."

These were the people at work who were trying to stop the building manager from clearing the homeless cats from the parking lot; or the kids at school who didn't want to experiment on animals; or the folks who held up rush-hour traffic to rescue a stray dog on the highway. And I thought they were a unique group.

My view changed after Best Friends commissioned Lake Research Partners to conduct a national poll to determine how people feel about animals. The results painted a whole new picture of how we, as a people, relate to our fellow animals.

The most extraordinary result came when we asked people how they would rate the statement, "We have a moral obligation to protect the animals in our care." 78% rated the statement 10 out of 10, and 93% rated it at least an 8.

When people rated the statement, "Animals should never be abused," 91 percent gave it a 10, and 97 percent gave it at least an 8.

I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised. After all, we were all shocked by seeing citizens of New Orleans being ordered to evacuate without their pets in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. It was like millions of people were all saying, "Can I really be the only person who is completely horrified by this?"

Conversely, billions of animals still suffer and die every year in factory farms and experimental labs, for sport, and even as homeless pets.

Even so, given the option, most people would like all these bad things to stop. The most recent and obvious example was the success of California's Proposition 2  in the 2008 election. Californians voted to improve the conditions for animals in factory farms - even though it probably means that things like eggs are going to cost more. This trend is consistent with the Best Friends survey.  More than half of those polled said they'd be more likely to buy food products from animals that were raised humanely, even if it cost more.

The picture that emerges is that more and more people are saying, "Yes, kindness to animals matters. But you're going to need to lead the way and make it reasonably easy for us to follow."

That's the way it's always been when it comes to social change. A hundred years ago, most people knew that child labor was wrong. But the practice continued until the Women's Humane Society of Philadelphia raised awareness, took a stand on the issue, and lobbied for the laws that would abolish it. (It's interesting to note that it was the people who cared about the animals who led the charge on behalf of abused children.)

When it comes to helping animals, we can all make a difference. Here are three simple things we can all do:

Getting Things In Their Proper Perspective!

Here is an interesting and thought provoking article on: "Putting Everything In Its Proper Perspective So You Don’t Beat Yourself Up Too Much", written by: Brian Kim.

"Everybody, and I mean everybody, has had that same experience of realization:

“If I only knew then what I know now…”

We beat ourselves up over how fast we could’ve achieved something, the opportunities we could’ve taken advantage of, the different paths we might have walked, etc.

As they say, hindsight is always 20/20.

But I want you to consider two things.

1. That it’s not possible.

2. That it should be that way.

It’s not possible to know it ALL in the beginning and sure, you can try to get some advice from other people who’ve been over the hill and maybe even send your own self back in time to tell your young self everything you know, but it’s not going to make any sense to your young self. Trying to give advice to young people is hard because it’s damn near a totally different language for them to understand. You can’t “translate” it. It just goes over their heads most of the time.

Language is insufficient to translate raw experience. It will only make perfect sense when you go through it yourself.

So the only way that you’ll truly understand is through experience and that brings us to the second point, that it should be that way – through that process of experience.

When you go through the process of experience, not only do you learn information, but you really learn. Experience sinks knowledge into our minds. There’s not enough credit given to the process, the process in which mistakes are made and lessons learned through experience and yes, while you can pass those lessons along, it won’t make any sense to the other person because that information is not attached to the weight of experience. The process is where all the magic happens and where all the “weight” is that “sinks” in all the information into our minds, yet nobody really realizes it because it’s so long and unpleasant most of the time.

Take for example, a common mistake that people will want to beat themselves up over which is getting into massive credit card debt when they were young. Let’s say it happened to you.

But look what might’ve happened because of that. Maybe you developed the habit of learning all you could about personal finance, self control, budgeting, and saving as a result while trying to pay down that debt. Had you not gone through that process, maybe you never would’ve developed those habits and learned all that information in the first place.

Maybe that experience forced you to take on a second job to pay down that debt, a job that helped you in some way find what you loved doing, which helped you find a totally new career you’re happy working in.

Maybe that experience led you to a new fulfilling career of helping other people get out of credit card debt.

Maybe it was better that you learned the lesson while you were still young rather than learning it right now, when you have a family and other people depending upon you financially.

You’re Not in Control!

Here is a interesting and thought provoking article, I found, written by: Tom Stine

"I’ve recently written quite a bit about the topic of control. Over and over, as I look at my life, as I watch others experience their lives, I keep coming to the same simple realization: we don’t have control over our lives. We are lived by something, a force that operates through our bodies and conditioned minds. We are lived by LIFE itself. And whatever “we” are goes along for the ride.

Interestingly, as I was in the midst of writing my recent posts on control, I got to travel to San Francisco to hear Adyashanti give a weekend workshop. And guess how he started his first talk? Yes, of course, he started discussing control. I smiled when he mentioned control that morning. It was a wonderful talk, and as so often happens, I remembered almost nothing from it, even though it had a profound impact upon me. A good spiritual talk is memorable for its effects, not for its words.

Fortunately for me, I ordered a recording of the weekend, and after it arrived the other day, I began to listen again to the talk on control. It was even better the second time! Let me share a bit with you:

You’re not in control, but your desperate efforts to keep control actually does alter the way existence moves for you. It doesn’t move in the way your controller wants to, but it does have an effect on existence, your effort to control it. It doesn’t have the effect you want it to have, but it does have an effect. And you only know that when that control is totally let go of. Because when it is totally let go of, and you are no longer putting that energy out to existence or to consciousness, then existence starts to change.

Yes, of course, our efforts to control do effect the events of our lives, but not how we want them to. That explains so much. But as we let go of attempting to control, life then begins to flow. Ah, yes, perfect. It makes complete sense to me. Nothing to be but let go of one simple false belief: that we have control over our lives. So easy to say. So difficult fun interesting to do."

Showing Up Again!

Here is another interesting article written by: Karen Lynch, the creator of: Live The Power (Blog).

"Showing Up For Success 

A large part of being a success at any endeavor is a simple thing. Just show up. Of course we all know that in order to make something happen we need to show up but there really is more to it than just that.

We need to make the effort to accomplish our endeavor. I show up on this blog. I post regularly almost every day. I took time off for the holidays, sometimes I’ll miss a day or two but I’m fairly consistent. In my past career from years back I was in sales. Part of showing up meant picking up the phone and prospecting for new clients. I used to pick up the phone and prospect regularly, almost everyday and physically I always showed up. I guess I’m one of those responsible people who do what they are supposed to do. But there is a huge difference in how I showed up then and how I show up now.

It is Sunday afternoon as I am writing this. Now Sunday afternoon is a nice relaxing wonderful time. I do what I want to do and what I want to do right now is write. But years ago, Sunday afternoons were a time of anguish for me. Around about noon on Sunday I would start getting anxious and apprehensive. A sense of dread would overtake me and I never enjoyed a Sunday afternoon because Monday was right around the corner. My sweet husband would try to comfort and console me but nothing really helped. I hated Sundays.

The problem was I knew I had to show up for Monday. I had to be there and I had to make the phone calls for new prospects and I had to take the phone calls from the current clients and I dreaded all of it. Physically I always showed up but mentally I just was not there. Ever. Emotionally I was spent before I even got there. So my physical body did what was required but mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, I was truly not in harmony.
I tried to find other people who were successful and model them but I could never model their joy in their work because I just didn’t feel that. I tried. I really tried but I just could never bring myself to love that work.

But I was not a failure at that profession. In fact, I felt stuck. I felt like I made too much money to quit but not enough money to ever be happy. It would have been much easier had I been a complete failure and not made any money at all. Then I would have had a valid reason to quit sooner. Being unhappy didn’t seem like a good enough reason to quit I mean after all I was making money! I was very wrong about that.

I stayed with that work much longer than I ever should have. But I did learn some very important things about life and work. I learned about releasing the struggle and going with the flow and how life is so much sweeter when you are in the flow of life instead of paddling upstream. I learned about finding passion and joy and happiness and spending your time and your life doing something you love. I learned about not forcing things to work and not forcing myself to do things that were not in line with my true self.

So now I absolutely love what I am doing. I am showing up. I am not showing up with any sense of dread, confusion, or struggle but I am showing up for real life. I’m here and I am incredibly grateful. Life is Good.

So show up for Success. Show up physically but more importantly show up mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Show up in alignment with your true self. Your life is too precious not too.

Meditation!

Here is a short interesting and unusual article, written by: "Janey Kenyon", as was posted on: Personal Development Inspiration and Uplifting Music (Blog).

"I meditate. Of course I do. Everyone searching for a bit of enlightenment does. I’ve heard myself say, I meditate every morning in my garden when I can. But if the truth be known, I find it hard
to meditate. Maybe you’re like me too. But we would never admit it, would we? It’s like the basic lesson in Self Realization 101. It’s difficult for me to shut down the monkey mind and settle into the
silence. When I settle, there’s always a party going on.

I don’t even have the excuse that there’s no place quiet enough. I’ve got plenty to choose from. Sitting down by the creek, in my garden, in the living room, or the comfy couch in the recording
studio, are all excellent choices. I don’t have kids or grandkids or a business that invades my mornings either. No, I have no excuses.

I don’t give up, however. During the summer, the obvious choice is my garden. I close my eyes. I feel the gentle Wyoming sun on my body. I hear the hummingbirds soaring about the blooms. The day is revving itself up to be glorious. Then the neighbor two acres away decides to mow. I wonder if I remembered to put softener into this last wash. An ant crawls up my leg. The mower hits a rock.

Like I said, I find it hard to meditate. But I’ve developed a system that works for me. Every morning and before I go to bed, I do this:

I take deep breaths, calming myself down, and then I open the valve of gratitude. I don’t think of specific things or my mind will take over. I immerse myself in an immense feeling of gratitude
for my life (and all that it entails – even the fact that it’s difficult to keep thoughts at bay for one lousy minute). I let gratitude overwhelm and overflow, up and out into the universe.

After releasing gratitude for all that is, I reverse the flow. Joy floods back in and becomes a torrent. I feel it hitting my heart, my mind, my body, washing me clean. It fills me to a point where
the dam breaks, letting gratitude flow once more, and the cycle begins again. What a way to start my day. Breathing in joy, breathing out gratitude. I feel I am Super Woman!

Try it sometime. I think you’ll get hooked too. Hooked up to the universe, that is. (And it don’t get much better than this.)

Triumph In Troubled Times!

Here is a short article, I found, written by: Dr. Philip Humbert, as was posted on: The Wealthy Attitude Blog

"One of the differences between winners and losers is their ability to cope with adversity, and there seems to be plenty of adversity to go around right now. From terrorism to economic recession and financial troubles, many of us would agree that, "These are the times that try men's souls."

But here is a truth that applies even in the best of times: Eventually trouble comes to each of us. Sometimes the trouble is financial. Sometimes it will be an illness, a fire or a business failure, but sooner or later, trouble comes to each of us. And interestingly, our response to life's "small" challenges is a much better predictor of our long-term success than our response to the "disasters" in life.

Disasters are big. We can't deny or avoid them; we must deal with them. It is no accident that Winston Churchill described the Battle of Britain as "their finest hour." When emergencies strike, we rise to the occasion.

The real test is with the "termites," the little things that are so easy to ignore. Things like paying our bills on time and living within our means. Things like staying fit or eating well. Things like time for loved ones, for rest and renewal.

These things are not dramatic and they are not urgent. We can neglect our health for years before problems occur, but winners are pro-active. They are "first responders." They see storm clouds in the distance and take action while others sleep.

Recently I saw a biography of Donald Rumsfield, and one of the points they made is that he "moves toward problems; he never turns his back or walks away." That is a sound strategy!

High achievers expect challenges. In the face of life's uncertainties, they maintain an attitude of optimism, humor, strength and determination. They know that as they become more and more successful, the size and complexity of their problems will grow. How could it be otherwise?

So, here are seven keys to solving problems:

1. Expect difficulty! This is no surprise, it is not "unfair" or unusual. Life is complicated. Get good at it.

2. Keep a buffer around the edges of your life. Maintain a "reserve" of extra time, savings in the bank, and a bit of energy to handle the unexpected.

3. Optimism and enthusiasm are essential. Fear and pessimism will never inspire greatness.

4. Words matter! View difficulties as "challenges" rather than as problems. How we talk about our difficulties makes a huge difference in how we handle them.

5. "We get by with a little help from our friends." Have a team of cheerleaders, experts and colleagues to help you analyze and over-come any problem.

What is Practicing Gratitude?

Check out this short thought provoking article on: "Practicing Gratitude", written by: Robin Skeen, the creator of: Robin's Reflections (Blog).

"A daily practice of gratitude can help keep you feeling happy more often, simply because gratitude smoothes the rough edges in your life and keeps you focused on the good stuff, rather than obsessing about things that might detract from your sense of happiness.

Below you'll find three simple ways to use gratitude to be happier every day:

1)Be grateful for the blessings you have now. Obviously, focusing on the positive aspects of your circumstances helps you feel happy and content but its very easy to slip into a negative focus and see only problems and obstacles. Make it a habit to consciously focus on the good stuff as often as possible. You can keep a written gratitude journal, or simply recite a mental list of things to be grateful for each night before you go to sleep. If youre dealing with a lot of problems or upsets in your life right now, you may not think you have much to be grateful for, but even the small things can make you feel more fortunate. Give thanks for the people in your life, beloved pets, your health, freedom and more. Take nothing for granted, and you'll soon realize just how blessed you are.

2)Be grateful and optimistic about the good things on their way to you. One reason you may feel dissatisfied with your life is because you believe it will always be this way. However, just because you cant see any way to improve your circumstances now doesnt mean that miracles cant show up later. Instead of getting mired in pessimism and doubt, affirm and know that the things you want are on the way. Give thanks for these things as if you know with absolute certainty that they will be yours. The more you do this, the happier youll feel and that happiness will continue to grow as your circumstances improve.

3)Make mountains out of molehills. Have you ever made a big deal over a minor problem and blown it all out of proportion? Most of us have. While that's typically a bad thing to do, you can turn it around and make it a GOOD thing. Make a huge deal out of every tiny blessing and good thing that happens to you. Did you win $5.00 on an instant scratch ticket? Whoop and holler about it (even if only mentally)! Allow yourself to be overcome with the same amount of gratitude you'd feel if you won $50,000.00. When someone pays you a compliment, allow yourself to feel wonderful about it. When anything good happens, mentally turn it into a GREAT experience.

You may notice that these gratitude exercises have one common theme: they are all about PERCEPTION. In every situation there are positives and negatives, and your mood and mind-set are very much the result of what you choose to focus on the most. Choose pessimism and lack, and you'll feel miserable. Choose gratitude and joy, and you'll feel happy!"

Your Choice: Being Right or Being Happy!

Check out this interesting article, I found on: "Would You Rather to Be Right or Be Happy?", written by: Henrik Edberg, the creator of: The Positivity Blog.

"Now, this question might seem simple enough to answer.

But that isn’t the point. The point is if you are prepared to actually ask yourself this question continually. If you are able to be wrong (and not just say that you are able to).

Your ego wants to protect itself. And so you dismiss the possibility that you could be wrong to preserve and keep your image of, for instance, a smart guy/gal intact. People can go to some lengths to do this as you have probably noticed, as you or someone else refuses to accept that they are wrong even though everyone else knows it.

During one course I had in college about the nature of science our teacher said something like this: “scientists must die for a new paradigm to be accepted”. Meaning that a new theory that changes how scientists view the world won’t get a real foothold until the old professors and such people with much influence are either retired or dead.

Sometimes being right is so tied up in someone’s identity that if s/he would be wrong that would mean that s/he didn’t know who s/he was. So not being right is of course refuted fiercely.

Going from negative to positive.

The need to be right can, for example, make it hard to switch from a very negative viewpoint to a positive one. You are so invested in your negative viewpoint and being right that you resist the possibility there can be a more positive viewpoint. A point of view that would be a lot more beneficial to you than the current negative one.

What you focus on is to large degree what you can see. And what you think and how you behave is usually what is reflected in the world and people around you. You can only see and interact with life and your world through the lens that is covering your eye. You need to change the lens to be able to actually see another version of reality.

As Wayne Dyer says:

“Loving people live in a loving world. Hostile people live in hostile world. Same world.”

Unlocking yourself.

Yes, you can get a lot of positive emotions from being right.

But these brief emotional highs can also block your from even greater rewards and growth in life. They can imprison you in yourself and your beliefs about the world.

So ask yourself: would I rather be right or be happy?

This allows you to be a more flexible person, to analyse your beliefs, to see how you are standing in your own way and to correct yourself in various situations.

There is much freedom to be found when you can let go of the need to be right. It makes you feel so much lighter. I highly recommend giving it a try."