Getting Unstuck (and Moving Toward Your Dreams)

by: Karen Schachter

If you've been sitting on some dreams of your own lately, or have been feeling stuck in some area of your own life, here are a few simple steps (simple, but not always so easy) that I'm using to stay focused on the goals and dreams in my own life that I recently shared with you. You can use these very same techniques - it's not rocket science, but it does take a bit of determination and a firm decision to go for it, despite the bumps in the road that ALWAYS come up.

1) Stay tuned in to your desire and your dream, no matter what. Even in the face of fear, or naysayers, or external pressures. So often, we experience a wish or a desire or a dream and then we shut ourselves off from it. We tell ourselves, "I can't do that" or "who am I to want that" or "I'm too busy" or whatever. So our lives stay in status quo and our dreams get put on the back burner (again).

Not fun. Trust me. I've been there. Whenever I hit a bump or a negative thought (from either myself or someone else), I keep envisioning what I want: I see me with my book, speaking to audiences of moms and girls, being a guide and a mentor to women who want MORE for themselves and their daughters. I imagine what that will feel like and I let the excitement wash over me.

Your desires and your dreams are in your heart for GOOD REASON. They are a part of you aching to be expressed (you wouldn't have them if you weren't supposed to be bringing them to life). What do you see, and how does that FEEL?

2) Get support from someone - or a group of people - who has your best interest in mind and who is striving to grow as well. Find a buddy or a coach or a mentor or a mastermind group who can help you hold your vision of what you want, who believes in you, and who can help you take action despite fear.

I know this can be easier said than done. Many of us are surrounded by others who are also stuck in fear and may not know how to really support us. I can tell you that for me, I notice who I admire. Who is living their life in a way that is similar to how I want to be living mine (not doing the exact same thing necessarily, but modeling the type of courage and audacity and authenticity that I aspire to?). Those are the people I consult with and share my visions with. That's how I chose my coach (and mastermind group) this past year - I found someone who was kind and compassionate, but also took a "no excuses" approach to living her dream.

3) Keep moving - baby steps sometimes, big bold steps other times - in the direction of your dreams and desires. We all feel fear - believe me, I've been feeling a lot of it lately - especially when we're about to do something new or important or meaningful. Fear is a FEELING (not an action). Sometimes it's there to protect you from real danger (like going up and petting a lion and getting eaten), but other times it's your unconscious mind's way of protecting you from imagined, or not-so-terrible-after-all, danger (rejection, failure, disappointment - small potatoes compared to being eaten by a lion).

So how do you take action, despite fear? When the inspiration strikes - act! When you get a good idea, when you're in the groove, when you just know something feels right - that's the time to take action!

I've found that the clearer I get about my goals, and the more action I take toward them (even tiny baby steps), the more things SHOW UP in my life to support what I want (it's like a bit of serendipity!). For example, the other day, as I was thinking about my upcoming "Be The Change" coaching program for moms and thinking about where I could hold the retreats, I began to visualize what I wanted (all this while blowing dry my hair on the way out to a party). At the party later that evening, I met someone who just happened to know of the perfect retreat house that was so similar to what I had been picturing. CRAZY.

You will notice that as you clarify and move toward your goals, a bit of magic will begin to happen.

4) Get out of your own way. Seriously, you are the only one in your way, so clear the clutter - the time clutter, the paper clutter, the mind clutter, the house clutter, the body clutter - ALL THE STUFF (both real and created) that continues to clutter you up so there's no room for you to have what you really want. Create the space and your dreams will have a place to land.

I invite you to join me in turning toward your dreams - go ahead and bring them right down into your heart and into your mind right now - and put one foot in front of the other along your path. I'm right here next to you if you need a hand.

Copyright (c) 2009 Healthy Bodies, Happy Minds

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What Normal People Want

by: Willie Horton

I know that people are constantly striving to get more out of life. I know that many people wish for, hope for, want for more success, more happiness, more wealth. But wishing, hoping and wanting something is simply a useless mental activity - a waste of energy - because the only thing that will get you what you want is beyond wishing, hoping and wanting - it's believing. More of that later! For now, if you really look around and observe the behaviour of so-called normal people, you will discover what normal people really want - they want you to be normal too.

There is nothing more threatening to the normal state of mind than someone who's different - in particular, someone who is abnormally happy and successful. It's not so much that normal people are jealous of abnormal success - they actually want to take the abnormally successful person down.

One of the biggest issues that my clients have to face following my two-day personal development workshop is that, even though they have learned to become abnormal, even though they have learned (from a vast array of research stretching back over seventy years) that so-called normal people are actually totally and completely mad, when they venture back out into the ordinary, everyday so-called real world, almost everyone the encounter will be normal - will be insane.

A brief aside - because stating that normal people are insane requires an explanation! Here are some quick facts. About 96% of us are normal - we behave according to and conform to a variety of behavioural and social norms. Normal people control about 1% of their mind - in other words, they are only capable of paying 1% attention to what is going on in the present moment. Normal people's reactions and behaviours are automatically created by their subconscious minds which were programmed through snapshot learning during their formative years. In other words, the subconscious mind controls the normal person - not the other way around. If you're not in control of your own mind, surely that's a definition of madness!

There's more - societal norms tell us that we must work hard to be a success, that there are many outstanding things in life that only outstanding people can achieve - not normal people. Research proves that normal people only see what they expect to see, only perceive what they expect to perceive. In other words, normal people wander through life with their eyes closed, their senses dimmed, their life confined to the box created for them by their key influences during their childhood years and by a society that needs normal people to conform - whether that's a society driven by organised religion, the nation state or global corporate interests is a debate for some other day).

Back to my point - normal people want you to be normal. A client emailed me a couple of days ago saying that he had no problem opening, clearing and focusing his mind each morning - in preparation for the opportunities that every day holds for all of us. But, then, he'd get into work and be assaulted by normal people. People wanting to gossip (one of the greatest draws on our precious mental energy), people looking for a fight ("I deserve promotion", "Someone's getting involved where they shouldn't be", etc.) - and then he arrives home and is confronted by his teenage children - and, having three teenagers myself, it can often be difficult to remain calm, focused and effective!! All these everyday scenarios drag the calmest of minds into the dirt so that we end up reacting automatically all over again - and when did reacting make anything better!?!

You need to stop being normal - and, if you've started on the path towards being abnormal, you need to protect yourself against all those normal people who, unwittingly granted, was to drag you into their little dramas - want more of your attention, want you to make them feel important or better.

Why take the path that leads towards abnormality? Well, for starters, given my albeit very brief description of the normal mental state, do you really want to be normal? But, more to the point, you need to realise certain truths borne out by all the research that I've already mentioned. Anyone - and that includes you - can achieve the extra-ordinary and the exceptional. Anyone - and that, again, includes you, can achieve effortless happiness and success. You do not need to work hard to be a success. You need commitment, vision and belief - if you've got those, no work is difficult, no effort a strain.

The commitment you need is to your own state of mind. You need to cultivate and develop a clear, present and focused state of mind - a state of mind that is completely at odds with the normal cluttered, distracted mindlessness of normality. You need to commit to developing your ability to pay attention - not to your goals and dreams, but to the only time and place we have - the here and now. That means you pay more than 1% attention - that means you're already exceptional.

You need to believe. Believing is not wishing, hoping or wanting. Believing is seeing, feeling, hearing, smelling and tasting the success you want, as if you already have it. Those five senses that you rarely pay attention to are the very tools by which you can enable yourself believe and, more importantly, the only tools you have at your disposal to pay attention to the here and now - to be present, to be "all there", rather than "all over the place".

Don't want what normal people want - believe in the extra-ordinary.

Copyright (c) 2009 Willie Horton

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5 Major Causes of Personal & Professional Failure

by: John Chilton

1. Lack of defined objectives: Success will always lie just out of reach for anyone who does not set goals and create strategies to achieve those goals on a daily basis. It's a constant job. You need have goals at all times to prevent becoming content or stale in what you are doing.

2. Lack of self-discipline: Self-Discipline is a product of self-control. Anger, frustration, and stress can lead to loss of focus, energy level, determination and can result in a decline in personal productivity if you don't recognize and react to these situations as they arise. Controlling your emotions will better help you control external situations as well. Perspective can be changed greatly depending on your mood or stress levels.

3. Lack of persistence: For some it is a lot easier to start something than finish it. Motivation and drive may be running high with a new idea, job or project, but after time passes and several challenges have arisen, people can lose that original focus and determination they had before. I'm sure you all have heard the term "burnt out". If you can stay driven and focused and take satisfaction from the positives in your situation, you'll find success will come, and make everything a little easier.

4. Over-caution: Pretty simple, fortune favors the bold. Now nobody is saying go out and take huge risks, just be open to positive opportunities as they arise and take advantage when they do. You don't want to be looking back saying "yeah that was a good idea, but...". Playing every situation safe will get you by, but that's not the idea here.

5. Lack of Research & Planning: Any business owner will tell you that if you have a goal you are trying to achieve the first thing you should do is create a defined strategy on how to achieve that goal. Take the time and do the necessary research on all aspects of the task, and gather as much information as you can to help you make the most informed decisions you can. So much time, effort, and money could be save if a simple plan is created prior to beginning any major task.

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How to Build and Implement Strategies to Achieve Personal and Professional Goals For Success

by: John Chilton

When someone tells you: "you need to set goals in your life" , you probably cringe and feel like it's just a motivational phrase. However, the best way to achieve success in your life IS to set attainable goals for yourself. "I'm going to work out 4 times this week instead of 3....", "I'll put in a few more hours to get this project finished early....", "I'll pay a little extra each month and get it paid off faster..." are all small examples of how you set goals in your personal and professional lives and a lot of the time don't really notice that you're doing it.

Every goal needs a plan. Some goals will need less planning than others. You probably won't need to create a complex strategy for working out one extra day a week, but it does require organizational planning. You'll have to decide if you'll go before or after work. Decide whether to shower there or shower after at home. You'll need to figure out what equipment to bring each day. These are just a few requirements of achieving that particular goal. This is where organizational planning can be used to make the whole process of achieving each goal easier and more importantly more efficient.

Productivity and efficiency are two major keys to success, and having a strategy will put you in the best position to obtain these attributes. So here are a few keys to building and creating workable strategies to help you attain goals you set for yourself.

1. Vision - See the big picture. Don't get too caught up in small details when creating and carrying out your plan. Remember the most important part of the plan is achieving the end result. Don't get so wrapped up in individual aspects that it keeps you from doing the one thing you set out to do. Be flexible. If one aspect of your strategy isn't working, try to work around it. A lot of the time you may have to adapt your plan around circumstances that are beyond your control. Don't be frustrated when you hit walls, just know that they will, and always do come, and you're better served by being prepared and ready to work your way around them.

2. Ally yourself with the right people - Successful people don't usually become successful all by themselves. Ally yourself with as many people as you may need for the creation and implementation of your plan or plans. We all need friends to make it in today's world and having the right ones can provide help, ideas, partnerships, and sometimes help open new doors for opportunity. Keep in mind the purpose of an alliance is that ALL parties bring a useful tool to the table and all should benefit from the arrangement. Identify strengths and weaknesses within your group and use them to obtain maximum results.

3. Be persistent - If your first strategy is unsuccessful, replace it with a new one. If that plan doesn't work, make a new one. Repeat this process as many times as it takes, and you'll soon find the path you need to take. Here is the point where the majority meets failure. Failing can be a very discouraging thing, and if you're not prepared, and at peace with the fact that failure can and probably WILL come at some point, it can get the best of you. Remember, it's never over till YOU say it's over.

Following these key philosophies when creating and implementing your plans can help you set and achieve goals and that paves the ever-winding road to success. Everybody's idea of success can be different so it's good to have a solid idea of what success means to you. The most important part of all this is hopefully the success you have brings you happiness, so keep that in mind.

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Do It Yourself Online Guide – How To Do Things On Your Own?

by: John Smith

Are you creative? Do you prefer to do things on your own rather than taking professional help? You can also save a substantial amount of money if you do things on your own. If you wish, you can take help of do it yourself online guides to find out how to do things on your own.

You can browse internet for do it yourself online guides on home improvement, business, finance, etc. Go through the following lines to check out some of these do it yourself sections.

• Home improvement tips

Instead of hiring an interior designer, you can check your creative ability by using your own ideas to beautify your interiors. After all, you’ll be staying at your home; so, why to borrow someone else’s idea for your interior makeover. You can very well do it yourself. However, you can browse internet for home improvement tips.

• Earn money through internet

Have you ever browsed the internet for online money making strategies? There are a number of websites that offer several ways to earn money without stepping out of your home. You can choose from home based business ideas to multi player games that can be a source of your steady income. You can even utilize your creative skills for earning money.

• Business – finance strategies

Even if you take professional help, there are some situations when you need to take some financial decisions yourself. So, why not do it yourself completely? In the time of financial crunch, you can save a substantial amount of money if you look after your business – finance related matters yourself. With the help of online tips, you can maintain good credit, make smart decisions about your investments, protect yourself from being a victim of identity theft and so on.

• Utilizing leisure time

There are many people who want to do some productive work in their leisure time. Even elderly persons can invest their leisure time in landscaping. It is an excellent option for those who get bored at leisure time. You can browse websites to find out new ideas about growing seasonal plants, planning an indoor garden and even building an entertainment outdoor space.

• Online health guide

You must have come across online do it yourself health guides. They help you to know how you can take care of your family's heath. You also come to know what factors to take into consideration while making a diet chart for your family members.

Apart from above, you can also search for do it yourself online guides in the field of sports, technologies - gadgets, education, arts – culture, entertainment, etc. You will be astonished to see that there are ways by following which you can even make certain equipments on your own.

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How To Be Happy In 5 Steps!

by: Jose Tua

1. Avoid Overthinking

"You could spend a lot of time ruminating," says Lyubomirsky. "But that just makes you feel even more pessimistic, more out of control, and effects your self esteem. Your relationships will suffer and your job performance will suffer."

Get rid of pessimism. One of the most effective ways to cope when things are difficult is to adopt a positive thinking strategy. "What can I learn from this? Times are tough, I've been furloughed at work, but I can spend more time with the kids, adopt a new hobby, or learn a new set of skills."

2. Practice Acts of Kindness

Now more than ever we need each other to survive. Lyubomirsky found that doing good things for friends, family, or strangers can make you happier. Think of practical, everyday gestures that can make someone's life a little bit easier.

For example, Lyubomirsky says, "Maybe now many of us can't afford to take a cab to the airport, so offer to give a friend a ride."

3. Focus on Your Relationships

You don't need an expert to tell you that relationships are critical to happiness. Not being the bread-winner anymore or not being able to fulfill your kid's needs can weighh down hard on your family life. But the trick is to stop feeling guilty and focus on nurturing your loved ones.

"I was at a psychology conference where an expert was talking about the effects of this economy on families and how parents can't afford to buy their kids luxuries like toys anymore," says Lyubomirsky. "But what they don't realize is that kids don't care about toys -- what they care about is parents being grumpy and taking it out on them."

4. Pick a Goal

"If you find a happy person you will find a project," says Lyubomirsky. "Happy people all have goals they care about."

Commit yourself to a project – whether it is a business you want to start or a dance you want to learn. But it's also important to remember to be flexible in these times. Don't get frustrated if circumstances are stopping you from meeting your goals. Adopt and change!

"If your spouse has lost their job you might have to change your goal," says Lyubomirsky. "Or you might have to learn a whole new skill for a new job."

5. Take Care of Your Body

When times are tough, it's easy to get skip your regular workouts in favor of moping in front of the TV and eating a bag of chips. Your thinking is "I have more important things to worry about right now than looking good."

But carve out a small part of your day to give your body some TLC. It will go a long way in boosting your happiness. "Even if you can't afford to go to the gym," Lyubomirsky says, "take time out to exercise at home or meditate."

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Combining Law of Attraction with the Emotional Freedom Techniques for Success

by: Loren Fogelman

According to the Law of Attraction, you have the ability to manifest your dreams. What you focus on you get more of. If that is true, what are your dreams? Consider your professional goals and what you want for yourself. How big do you dare to go?

As children, we dream BIG. Remember how the world held so many possibilities for you? You were able to be whoever you wanted to be. As you got older, there were more influences in your life. Some of them were very limiting and narrowed your scope of possibilities. Good or bad, someone else's beliefs and values were imposed upon you. This happens to all of us.

Consider the messages you received. What did you learn about deserving? Were you good enough? Were your interests supported and heard by others? The messages you received affected your identity and how you saw yourself. For most of us, there is a combination of positive and negative messages which we receive about ourselves and our worth. Some of them become your beliefs and truths.

My goal has been to turn a negative into a positive. Instead of looking at having big dreams of success as being selfish what if you were able to transform that perception? How would things be different for you? . Once again, think about your childhood dreams and how big they were. Is there something you wanted to do which gets you really excited? Are you doing something you enjoy so much that you would do it for free?

When you are sharing your expertise and passion with others, you are being of service. When you are doing something you love, your clients will respond to your enthusiasm. They will gravitate to you and want a piece of that excitement which you have to offer. Believing you deserve to follow a passion is possible.

Each person has the ability to know they deserve to rekindle those dreams and pursue a profession which inspires you. I have witnessed transformations of this very kind. The secret is to align your inner desires with your actions. When that occurs, you begin tapping into your peak potential.

By clearing the limiting beliefs you will begin to feel a shift and a lightness. You deserve to do work which makes you happy. Beginning to transform one limiting belief at a time is all you need to do. Change can happen.

Louise Hay's book 'You Can Heal Your Life' discusses potential. "I love the visualization of standing at the seashore looking out at the vast ocean and knowing that this ocean is the abundance that is available to me. Look down at your hands and see what sort of container you are holding. Is it a teaspoon, a thimble with a hole in it, a paper cup, a glass, a tumbler, a pitcher, a bucket, a wash tub, or perhaps you have a pipeline connected to this ocean of abundance? Look around you and notice that no matter how many people there are and no matter what kind of container they have, there is plenty for everyone. You cannot rob another, and they cannot rob you. And in no way can you drain the ocean dry. Your container is your consciousness, and it can always be exchanged for a larger container."

Instead of moving away from a problem, choose to work toward a solution. Turning a negative into a positive. Begin to think about what you deserve. If you could have it all, as you dreamed and knew you deserved, what would that look like?

By continuing to use the tools of manifestation and the Emotional Freedom Techniques, you are moving in the right direction. You are beginning to tap into your true potential. Feel the difference as you begin to free yourself from limiting beliefs. You deserve to do it all and have it all. The only limitations you have are the ones you have continued to place on yourself. Recognize you have the ability to change your thoughts. Make the choice to take action and step into your greatness.

Activity: List one belief which you would like to transform. List all the ways this belief holds you back from taking action to grow your business. If you could change that belief to one leading toward successfully reaching your goal, what would it be? Write it down. List all the steps you could take to reach that goal. Now you are moving in the right direction.

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Giving Up: Have You Given Up on Yourself?

by: Margaret Paul, Ph.D.

"I feel like giving up," Emma told me in our first phone session. "I've worked and worked on myself and I'm still miserable. I've had years of therapy and I still feel unbearably depressed. Nothing is working."

"It sounds to me like you are abandoning yourself."

"What do you mean? I take good care of myself. I eat well, exercise daily, work hard and take care of finances - in fact I'm doing really well financially - and I pamper myself. I get massages, get my nails done, and buy beautiful clothes. I have a nice house, a caring husband, and two wonderful children. I DO take care of myself, which is why I feel like giving up. I don't get why you are telling me that I'm abandoning myself."

"What are you feeling right now?"

"Miserable and angry at you for not understanding."

"Are you willing to take responsibility for being the cause of your anger and misery?"

"What do you mean?"

"Are you willing to know that you are the cause of your misery and anger and to learn what you are doing to cause it?"

"Okay, but I don't know what to do."

"Emma, do you have any kind of spiritual connection?"

"No, I don't believe in God."

"I'd like you to imagine your own higher self - an older, wiser version of you. Are you willing to do that?"

"Okay."

"Right now, just take a deep breath and imagine that you are sitting with a very unhappy child. Focus in your heart and imagine that your older, wiser self is with you. Ask her to bring compassion into your heart for your unhappy inner child. Find a place in you that really wants to learn about what you are thinking and doing that is causing your inner child to be so unhappy. Now ask your inner child out loud, 'What am I thinking or doing that is causing you to be so unhappy?'"

Emma did this.

"Now allow your feeling self, which is your inner child, to answer you. Move into your unhappiness and allow that part of you to speak."

Emma's child: "You don't even know I exist. You never pay any attention to me. You never listen to me. You judge me all the time. You are constantly telling me I'm not doing things right and that I'm not good enough."

Emma was stunned. "Wow! That's right! I am always judging myself. Is this what is causing my misery?"

"Yes, it's part of it. Not only are you judging yourself, but then you ignore how you feel when you judge yourself. Then you project out on to others the fact that you are judging yourself and not listening to or understanding yourself. You got angry at me for not understanding you, which is a projection of you not understanding you. These are all ways you are abandoning yourself, which is what is causing your unhappiness. Now, ask your Guidance - your older wiser self - what you need to do so that your inner child starts to feel loved by you."

Emma asks. "She says that I need to stop judging myself."

"Emma, I suggest that you start to notice your judgments without judging yourself for judging yourself. You cannot stop something that you are not aware of doing. So just start to notice."

Emma did start to notice, which enabled her to gradually become less judgmental of herself. As Emma learned and practiced the Inner Bonding process, she stopped abandoning herself and learned to treat herself with love.

"You know what?" she said to me in a phone session. "I feel joy for the first time in my life!"

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Law Of Attraction Tip: Your Outer Reality Is A Reflection Of Your Inner Self

by: Maria Meiners

One of the most important (and telling) indicators of the way your outer reality will look is how you feel about the person you see in the mirror.

If you don't like that person, find fault and are critical then chances are you'll also find fault, be critical and generally not like the world around you either. And conversely if you love the person in the mirror and are supportive and cheerful then you will find yourself living in a loving, supportive and generally happy world.

It's very simple really: Your outer world is a reflection of your inner world.

And a very easy way to catch a glimpse of that inner world is to look in the mirror. Go on....go take a look....I'll wait :^)

So what did you see? Do you like that person? Is that person full of great qualities? Would you be that person's best friend? Can you honestly look that person in the eye and say, "Wow, you're amazing!"

If your answers were less than positive don't despair. The truth is that the vast majority of people think less of themselves than they do of complete strangers.

But you can change that, starting right now. Begin by making a decision that starting right now you are going to have a new best friend and that person is YOU. Decide that you will love yourself regardless of your flaws and imperfections (think about it - would you dump a really good friend just because they weren't perfect) and that you will become your own greatest supporter and cheerleader.

This doesn't mean that you have to lie to yourself or spout false (and unbelievable) affirmations about how stunning you are. It does mean that you have to stop beating yourself up and focus on your good qualities instead.

Once you get in the habit of doing this I promise that the person in the mirror will change to reflect your new self-image. And as that happens the outer world will change too....and I think you're going to like that new reality :)

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Quotes By Famous People: 3 Inspirational Quotes That Lead You To Success

by: Michael Lee

We often turn to influential people for inspiration - whether it’s in the arena of sports, entertainment or politics. We observe how they act and how they speak. But perhaps what is most inspiring about them is what they have to say about succeeding in life. There are inspirational quotes by famous people on life that everyone would benefit from reading.

I myself am inspired daily by their words. In this article, you will know some of the most memorable quotes by famous people that can lead you to massive success.

1) “Though I'm grateful for all my blessings, it hasn't changed who I am. My feet are still on the ground. I'm just wearing better shoes.” - Oprah Winfrey

As powerful and as influential as Oprah Winfrey is, she has never let it go to her head. She remembers her roots, what she has been though; and yet she shows appreciation for what she has now.

This is one of the major reasons why the whole world still can’t get enough of Oprah Winfrey. If you’ve just been promoted, for example, don’t flaunt it for all the building to see. Don’t turn into a snob and don’t look down on others.

Instead, count your blessings and be thankful that you have reached this far. Then use your success to help others achieve the same.

2) “Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” - Barack Obama

When it comes to motivational quotes by famous people, this is probably one of the most relevant right now. If you really want to succeed in life, you have to take matters into your own hands.

Don’t slump on your desk complaining about the injustice of work. If you want that raise, don’t just wish it in your head. Start actively doing things that would get you that raise.

Don’t gripe about the broken coffee maker or the perpetually defected photocopy machine. Have the courage to write a report about it and process it to the right department.

3) “God doesn't require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.” - Mother Teresa

If you want to read inspirational quotes by famous people, you can’t go wrong with Mother Teresa. Her compassion for everything will not only strengthen your faith in yourself, but also your faith in others.

This particular quote teaches you not to give up so easily. Nobody is perfect. But that doesn’t mean people can use that as an excuse to come up with shabby results. At the very least, make the effort to fulfill your goals and success will follow.

We all have different interpretations of success and different ways of achieving it. However, based on all these motivational quotes by famous people, the most important success is the one we get from coming into an understanding with ourselves.

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My World View with Respect to the Law of Attraction

by: Rick Walker

I am currently trying to reconcile how the world interacts with the mind, specifically, my mind (obviously). This is where I am currently trying to refine my world view.

Very general simplification: There is no question we interact with our world, however, that perception is biased by our own mental filters. For example, a woman perceives the world differently than a male, a middle aged man perceives the world differently than a teenaged girl and I perceive the world differently than my brother. We all have a BRAIN, a documented organ in our bodies. Using various techniques, it has been demonstrated that electrical activity occurs within the brain and, further still, various locations in the brain responsible for mental activity (conscious, sub-conscious and autonomic functions) have been identified. These represent the various component activities of the MIND.

Where I am getting stuck is with what represents a THOUGHT and how it (they) create my reality. To my knowledge, we can't isolate the specific electrical signal that represents a single thought. Is it a single electrical pulse, travelling sequentially through a series of neural synapses? Is it a diffuse cloud of electrical signals from a diverse variety of synapses representing the multiple nuances associated with that thought (i.e. the emotional, physical and/or spiritual state in which the thought occurs)?

The mental activity certainly consists of electrical impulses and, therefore, creates an associated electromagnetic field. All matter is energy (through Einstein's equation E=mc2) and, therefore, all energy is matter (current or pending).

So, how do our thoughts interact (create) our reality? If I visualize $1 million dollars as my goal, how does it manifest?

Note: For the $1 million to simply "appear" through my visualization (i.e. "Law of Attraction" as advocated in "The Secret") would require a huge amount of energy (E=mc2), hence the requirement for accompanied "Action" or "Energy").

Furthermore, (from Wikipedia):

The Second Law of Thermodynamics states that the entropy of the universe always increases, or (equivalently) that perpetual motion machines are impossible.

The Law of Attraction (as advocated in "The Secret") violates, in my mind, the Second Law of Thermodynamics (which is a quantitatively derived, repeatedly proven physical law, not an empirically proposed, man-made "Natural Law") by proposing, essentially, "Something for Nothing".

The three part formula advocated in "The Secret" is:

1) Think,
2) Believe, and
3) Receive.

It makes no mention of the component of "Action". However, "Action" is required. Can a deer evade the wolf simply by visualizing itself safe and secure? Certainly to a point, within limitations, however, once the wolf gets the scent, flight and speed ("Action") is required.

What is the nature of our interaction with our environment? How do my thoughts "create" my reality? How do others thoughts influence / create my reality (given that I interact with other people and their thoughts - my wife, my kids, my family, my friends, even this group discussion)?

I am continually in the process of developing my world view, taking in ideas and concepts consistent with that world view and blocking / eliminating others that are inconsistent. More importantly, if my world view fails me, I need to revise, or even discard, it and replace it with another that works better, one that is more consistent with my beliefs. (i.e. Do you think the same way you did as a teenager? Are your values and priorities the same?)

My world view needs to be consistent with the observable world. My world view requires "Action" to accompany "Visualization". Others, apparently, don't.

My world view has to be internally consistent to work. Therefore, how does thought create my reality?

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People Who Are Confused Take No Action

by: Roseanna Leaton

To have clarity of intent both logically and emotionally is essential to the successful completion of any task. It is very easy to be in two minds over things. Life is, after all, our own subjective experience and every circumstance we are faced with becomes another learning curve. In most situations we do not have a practice run to see how things turn out; all that we can do is to try and work out what might happen if we act in this way or that.

There is no exact science to living one's life, although there's many a time when one might wish there were. It can seem that it would be easier of you were just told what you should do. But this is not really the case; this is your life that you are living and it is up to you to take control and direct yourself to where you want to be.

Often you may feel that you only have two choices, but if you were to look a little further you would realize that there are probably an infinite number of choices which you could make. One thing is for sure is that if you keep sitting on the fence...you will remain exactly where you are, sitting on the fence, and many an opportunity can be bypassed in this way. But you will only make your move, and decide on a direction in life once you are clear about what you want.

To have clarity of thought is what gives you the power to make changes. You cannot commit fully to a new direction if you are turning your head and looking over your shoulder for a glimpse of what you might be missing. To move on you need to do so with tunnel vision. This is really important because whatever you imagine you create and whatever you focus upon you attract into your reality.

If you are looking forwards one moment and imagining, for instance, yourself in a nice new job and then the next moment you are looking back and allowing yourself to think about the things you enjoy in your present job your focus is not at all clear. Be aware also that every thought you have has energy, and in this type of hesitant attempt at change you are creating some energy which moves you forward and then some more which tugs you backwards. You will feel like a log floating on the tide as the tide is turning and you will not know which way you are facing from one moment to the next.

But unlike the tide, which you know will eventually turn in its own time and take you with it, your life will only move and change when you make the decision to move and change. And that decision has to be clear and heart-felt. Once you have made your mind up, and have decided for example to leave your present job and move to another one, you have to be aware that to look back over your shoulder will only pull you backwards, with a wave of negative energy surrounding you and pulling at your emotions.

Instead, every time you feel a tiny urge to look back, it is important to be resolute and keep your focus firmly in front of you. It is very helpful at such a time to imagine your life as you want it to be, to really picture your new job and your new co-workers and the fun that you will have. And if you start to think of things which feel at all uncomfortable, intentionally find a way in which to change them in your mind's eye. The key is to picture what you want to happen, and feel as you want to feel. This provides you with clarity and positive energy which will power your resolve.

This principle is true whether you are thinking about moving on in work, or in leaving home, going abroad or leaving your relationship. You have to be single minded and clear in your focus. You have to be strong and not allow yourself to look back over your shoulder as this will only create a negative energy force which will sweep you right back to whence you came.

You can use hypnosis for additional help. Hypnosis will help you relax and remain calm through times of change. It will also provide you with easy access to your creative and subconscious mind and so your visualizations will have greater clarity. If you really know what you want, the only way in which to make a change is to don a set of blinkers and step resolutely forwards.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis for change.
http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com

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You Will Only Hit What You Aim For

by: Roseanna Leaton

If you aim for the moon at the very least you will end up amongst the stars. If you do not take aim you will surely fail, and as you seek to justify your failure you may even cause yourself physical illness.

This statement popped in on my e-mail this morning as a motivational message of the day. It states the truth. A child who did not try to walk would only ever crawl, and would eventually come to believe that there was "something wrong with them" that prevented them from walking. Although they would think that they had something physically wrong, it would in reality be their mind which had stopped them in their tracks.

I am reminded of another saying; if you aim for the moon and you miss you will at least end up amongst the stars. It is amazing how many of us don't even try to do something because of some sort of mental blockage, usually experienced as fear. In avoiding that fear, we at the same time avoid so many opportunities which we might otherwise have enjoyed. The knock on effect of knowing that we have missed such opportunities can often lead to bitterness and further negativity.

At the same time we can find ourselves searching for something to justify why we did not even try. Like the figurative child who grows to believe that there is something physically wrong with them that prevents them from walking, the human mind is all to adept at thinking that something physical is the cause of failure. It is easier to think that one's failure to aim for the moon was due to the wrong weather, wrong temperature, and wrong direction, wrong anything...or to believe that you do not have the right tools, or the right equipment, and so on.

The difference between the person who aims for the moon and the person who does not aim at all is in reality all in how they each choose to think. The outer elements remain the same. One who aims for the moon will seek to find the necessary tools and equipment; they will find a way to get there simply by choosing to take aim. The person who chooses not to take aim will seek to justify their position, often causing physical illness to themselves along the way.

How can physical illness be caused? Take the child who does not try to walk; what happens to those unused muscles? They waste away. This is only one example of physical impairment which can be caused by ones mental attitude. Your mind can have a very great impact upon your physical well being. Your body is in fact a mirror of your mind and scientific research is now providing proof of this phenomenon. Every thought you have has the ability to transmit signals from your brain to every cell in your organism. It pays both mentally and physically to pay attention to what you are thinking.

Most people however are unaware of this connection. They think that a physical illness is just physical, and believe that their mind is an entirely separate entity. This pattern of belief also justifies an abrogation of responsibility about one's health. It encourages one to simply go to your local GP and expect a cure for any symptoms imaginable, no manner how your thoughts and behavior have contributed to the illness suffered.

Obesity issues are a perfect example of this. How many people now resort to gastric banding? Or diet pills? Or any number of novel surgical procedures? Is this not a wonderful example of abrogating ones responsibility for one's own health? Yes, there are some people who do have a physical cause of their obesity. But far more people do not; they just haven't found a way to get their mind around the subject of weight loss. They haven't found the right way in which to take aim.

No matter what it is you would like to achieve, you will only hit what you aim for.

Roseanna Leaton, specialist in hypnosis for health and well-being.
http://www.RoseannaLeaton.com

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