Motivational Words of Wisdom, Inspirational Words of Wisdom

Copyright 2005 Flaming Life Coaching INC.

Ever had one of those days, when things just spin out of control no matter what you do? You have? Welcome to the club of “life on rotation”. Because this is what happens when vicious circle takes over your life.

This, however, does not have to be. Personally and professionally, I have found 5 strategies to be most effective in stopping yourself from going into a catatonic maze in times of vicious circle. These strategies are interrelated, and when applied can help you keep your sanity.

1. Shift your focus by letting go of the problem and not trying to fix things. There are times when situations are best left alone temporarily. Your wanting to control a volatile or calamitous situation when you are overwhelmed only makes things worse. The best approach is to turn your attention to other matters and relax.

Getting yourself to relax may be difficult at first when a problem is gnawing at you. When this happens, take a deep breath, listen to your intuition and move away from the scene of tension. Take charge and do what is good for you. Be creative and take a break!

2. Choose your thoughts carefully. It is only natural that when things get out of control your thinking gets impaired. Still, it is important to watch your thoughts and emotions. For these are powerful energy which can constrict or open your path to finding new solutions, depending on how you use them.

I have great admiration for people who are able to remain calm and collected in the heat of recurring catastrophes. These people often radiate a special glow which seems to single them out.
I once asked a medical assistant of a colleague, how she was always able to remain poised in the midst of all the drama that went on 24/7 at work. She smiled at me and replied that when she was young her mother always reminded her that she could choose the way she wanted to see things, especially in difficult times. She said that knowledge was what got her through primary school. Because the kids were often cruel to her, since she never new her father. So instead of thinking herself depraved, she chose to think of herself as being privileged to have the special love and attention of her mother all to herself!

3. Change and raise your vibration by focusing on what gives you joy.
When you choose thoughts that support you and your condition, the built up pressure dissipates and you are more at ease. This makes it easier to raise your inner vibration from this position.

Connect with the source of life by remembering all the goodness surrounding you and feel grateful for being alive and well.

Laugh out loudly at yourself, sing off key… etc., be silly! Do whatever gets you into a natural high vibrant feeling of total bliss. Fully feel the excitement of the moment as your body tingles with renewed energy.

4. Be open to others. Invite other people into your life by having a giving heart. Share your knowledge and joy with people who want them.

When you are caught in a web of conflicting thoughts, it is easy to get wrapped up in yourself and your problem. This is understandable, but it is the least helpful way to finding solutions. “You cannot fight your way out of a cyclone when you’re sitting right in the middle of it’s wailing noise” is a favourtie expression of one of my great mentors.

Learn to wait for things to quiet down and then connect with other people for comfort and nurturing. Everyone has his story to tell and by sharing your story with others, you’ll find comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. This is a fact of life which we often forget.

5. Say ‘no’ firmly when necessary and move on. Leave behind whatever is not serving you for something new.

Sometimes we may experience moments of vicious circle in our lives, because we refuse to see what is happening to us. A change may be overdue and it is time to move on. If you have ever fought hard to hold on to something and tried various angles to succeed, all to no avail. Maybe you realised that the more you tried the more calamity you encountered? Try this.

Stop trying and give yourself the permission to quit. A Few days later, observe how you feel. My guess is that you will feel much better and more in control. This is the state you want to attain and maintain to break the chain of any vicious circle.

Be consistent in implementing these strategies, and very soon you’ll find that no vicious circle will ever be able to hold you captive again.

Not living the life you dreamed? Discover how to kick your unhappy life, unhappy relationships to the curb!

Learn how to use the events in your life for successful outcomes.

Recently, Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer and Pixar Animation Studios, gave a commencement address to the graduating class at Stanford University. He talked about creating passion, life and death, and “connecting the dots.” The dots were events in his life, many challenging and many positive, which led to his many successes. He shared with the audience that being fired from Apple Computer, the computer he founded, he was able to step back and develop the idea for Pixar Animation Studios. By achieving the great success at Pixar, he was eventually asked to come back to lead Apple Computer. This eventually led him to spearhead the launching of one the most revolutionary products of the 21st century…the iPod. He feels that he would never have achieved his successes without his failures and setbacks. He was able to connect the dots to see how it all added up.

So I ask you, “Have you connected your dots?”

Here are five reasons why taking the time to connect the dots will give you a roadmap for success in your life:

1. 
   
   All Dots are Good
   Many times we face challenges in our life that, at that moment, look like failures. Because we are focused on the imagined “downside” of the challenge, we lose focus on the good that can come out of the challenge.
   
   I had an ex-Navy civilian in one of my workshops on downsizing. He said he was part of a downsizing process by the Navy two years ago in Ohio. You can imagine he was hurt, upset, and concerned that he wouldn’t find another job after his twenty years in the Navy. Then he refocused himself on what he could do to make this situation positive. He started doing job research, making telephone calls, networking, and sending resumes. Within three months after his layoff, he received his dream job offer from the Navy. It was a technical job he always wanted at a pay scale much better than his previous job. The best part of his new job was that it allowed him to move back to his hometown of Virginia Beach.
   
   All dots are good; it’s the way we look at them that lead to our success.

2. 
   
   Be Willing to Go to the Next Dot
   Due to past “negative” experiences, many times we avoid new challenges because we want to feel “safe.” How many times have you heard the following?
   
   
   
   

   
   

   “I’m never dating again because of my past experiences with…”

   
   

   
   

   “I don’t want to take on the new project because it is too high profile and I might fail.”

   
   

   
   

   “I don’t want the promotion because of what happened the last time…”

   
   
   Basing our past experiences on life’s variables that have no relation to the present will make us miss new opportunities. There is an expression I often use, “You need to go through the mud to get to the gold.” In other words, we all need to experience the “road bumps” in life to know and appreciate the real opportunities in life.

3. 
   
   Accelerate the Dots in Your Life
   You can speed the amount of success by continuously learning. Continuously work on your communication, career or business, and technical skills so that you can embrace opportunities that come your way.
   
   One of the best ways to learn is by volunteering. I recently had lunch with Carol at a recent conference. She shared with me that she had started working in a school over fifteen years ago because her kids were in the school system. Because of that, she volunteered for as many school-related activities as possible that would involve her kids. She became an expert and the person to go to concerning many school subjects. Recently, an opening in the superintendent’s office came up, and her name was on the short list. Because of her vast experience and, even more important, because many people knew of her expertise, she was an easy decision for the position.
   
   Learning accelerates your dots.

4. 
   
   Bypass Dots Only with Wisdom
   Many times we try to skip a step or two in life. We have heard about people who have “instant” success and then lose it all almost as fast. They never acquired the wisdom needed to maintain their success.
   
   Take time to learn from the events in your life. Like the quote goes, “Smart people learn from their mistakes; truly wise people learn from other people’s mistakes.”

5. 
   
   Go Forward and Connect the Dots
   Take time to plan your future events and goals based on your past events. Analyze the positive outcomes from those events and use them to plan for the future. That is the secret to true success.

So go forward and connect the dots, and you will realize your roadmap to success.

Is life kicking your butt? Discover how to stop living an unhappy life and live your dreams.

What you need to understand is that there is no barrier to what is possible. It doesn’t matter what it looks like. Everything that you desire is possible. Everything! The force of creation that you possess allows you to create anything you desire even though it doesn’t exist as yet. You possess the power and no one can take it away from you. The force of creation is working within you at all times creating your life from your beliefs. Your beliefs affect your attitude, actions and your results.

For you to give up on your dream is dumb because no one else can create them for you.

You are the creator. You create your life. You are in the drivers seat. You make the choices. And you enjoy the rewards or suffer the consequences of your creations.

What are you creating? What tools of creation that were given to you are you using? Are you using them to their fullest potential to benefit your life?

What are your beliefs? Are you holding strong to the fact that you are the creator and there is nothing that can stop you? Do you really believe that?

Believe this:
You are the creator. God gave you the powers and permission to experience reality on this physical earth in a physical body and you have everything that it takes to create anything you want. You possess the powers. You are the creator. All that is needed for you to create things on this physical plane is for you to desire it strong enough so that it presses through to this physical plane.

If you were purely spirit (with no body) you’d have anything instantly with just one thought, because once you conceive it in your mind then it becomes a reality. All thoughts are 100% reality on the spiritual realm, but the physical plane slows things down and causes it to take time to manifest. To get it from a spiritual plane to a physical plane takes focus. Focusing your energies will bring forth any spiritual reality unto the physical realm. For you to doubt is to negate your desire. Fear will negate your desire. You need to keep that in mind.

Once you dream it, it exists.
Once you focus on the dream it becomes reality on the physical plane.
The choice is yours.

Repeat:
I will not doubt and I will not fear. The power is mine.

By: Maren Cruickshank
www.myjourney2success.com

Not living the life you dreamed? Discover how to kick your unhappy life, unhappy relationships to the curb!

Overcome economic difficulties with a change of perspective.

It’s Spring. It’s warming. In the last few weeks, the temperature at jump altitude has moderated. The blast of air as we roll up the door on the skydiving plane at 15,000 feet is no longer frigid. Two days ago, it was even a relatively moderate 42 degrees (F).

We’re no longer likely to feel the sting of ice crystals on our faces as we fall through a thin layer of frozen moisture. Jumpers are starting to leave their heavy, winter layers on the ground. Under canopy, it’s mild. The time between freefall and landing is becoming more playful - to be enjoyed and not just tolerated.

From 1,000 feet in the air, you can start to notice a swath of orange and yellow emerging from within the fields of green. The wildflower seeds have weathered another winter. They are sending forth their glorious reminder of Spring, of another winter past.

Even in the midst of the adrenaline soaked sport of skydiving, while hurling ourselves from aircraft miles above the ground, while clamoring to arrest our freefall and save our lives, there is the opportunity to cherish the reminders of the coming of Spring and the hope it brings with it.

Few things focus ones attention better than the challenge of surviving a skydive. There is a joyous clarity of purpose in freefall. The balance of life’s issues melt away.

But the single-mindedness that is required to survive a jump can also assure that the experience is nothing more than survived. It can take an extraordinary experience, one most people will never know, the closest a person can come to joining birds in flight and make it into a exercise of survival. But if we are willing to maintain our peripheral vision in the face of this life threatening challenge, a willingness to be more aware, it can be an adventure of the senses. It is our choice. It always is.

And this is much like weathering an economic slowdown. You will likely survive by keeping an absolute focus on surviving, or you can take advantage of opportunities by maintaining your peripheral vision.

In the midst of an economic lull, of a slump in sales, of a profit crunch, we become very focused. The challenge is clear. Revenues growth and profit margins must be restored. There is clarity of purpose.

But in the frenzy of single-mindedness, as all other goals become secondary, are you missing opportunities? Are you missing the signs of an economic Spring? You must not.

This economic slowdown will pass. And so far, it is barely a slowdown. It is more like a runner taking a welcome rest between sprints. When it has passed, what will be the state of your customer relationships? When optimism is restored, will devastatingly costly employee turnover increase? How about the vendor relationships you have worked so hard to develop. Will your extraordinary efforts that went into creating them be negated by short-term decisions during this time of uncertainty?

Yes, there is a clarity of purpose in a time of economic uncertainty. It may not be the time for new initiatives. But lapsing into a survival mentality, while perhaps successful at restoring revenues and profitability, comes at a potentially enormous cost.

Don’t miss the signs for a economic Spring. Don’t miss the inexpensive opportunities to bolster a client relationship or exploit a passing opportunity because your laser-like focus on improving profitability and revenues has cost you your peripheral vision. Be the one who sees the emerging Spring wildflowers first. Stay open the possibilities there to be noticed and developed. It will be a richer experience, more than just financially. You’ll be taking a risk, but all great accomplishments require it.

Is life kicking your butt? Discover how to stop living an unhappy life and live your dreams.

Refuse to give in to fear and be confident.

You know fear can be powerful, controlling, limiting, and immobilizing. But did you know that when you accept your fear and tune in to your confidence voice, you can regain control and reap immeasurable rewards? Let the author, a full-time professional speaker, share how some thoughtful and constructive risk-taking can lead to higher job performance and greater personal satisfaction.

How do we keep fear from controlling us? Trust me: I didn’t develop skill in this field solely by earning a skydiving World Record or jumping out of a jet over the North Pole–but it helped. Let’s start with some background, then weave in a couple adventure stories that illustrate how to face fear and heed your confidence voice.

We know fear is going to be there, and that it will be intensely powerful. It can control us, limit us, and make our decision for us. If we don’t deal with it effectively, it can immobilize us.

There are two responses to fear: constructive and destructive. The destructive response goes something like this: We’re confronted with a situation that clearly and appropriately justifies fear, but instead we respond with, -I’m not afraid. That doesn’t bother me.” Another sign we’ve invoked the destructive response is that we put a barrier between us and the fear source. We waste precious time and energy shielding ourselves from the fear source. We could instead put this energy toward seeking solutions and resolutions to the problem if we could only acknowledge that we are experiencing fear.

The constructive response to fear requires a simple, but often difficult, step. And the step is difficult for a perfectly legitimate reason, because it attacks something that is important to all of us – our pride. The constructive response to fear requires us to admit we’re afraid. When we admit that we’re afraid, even if only to ourselves, when we accept our fear, something very powerful happens. We regain control. We’re back making decisions for ourselves. The fear doesn’t disappear, but its power over us wanes.

Early in the space program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration did a study. They had observed that a certain number of their pilots and astronauts were completing their missions successfully without suffering motion and stress sickness. Another group was consistently having the problem. Based on empirical research, NASA found that there was one factor, and one factor alone, that made the difference between the two groups. The ones who were going through the mission without a physical problem were the ones who had acknowledged in advance that they were going to be afraid. They had a constructive response to fear.

For all of us, but particularly for people who are achievement oriented, the idea of a feeling like fear exerting so much control over them can be hard to accept. The thought that a mere emotion–something that did not spring from their imposing intellect or determined will–could have a significant impact on them is extremely bothersome. To get comfortable with the fact that fear doesn’t necessarily make sense, yet has tremendous power over us, can be one of the most consequential events of our lives.

The process of identifying fear starts with a “feelings inventory.” To get started, sit where there are no distractions. Answer honestly: Are you angry, happy, sad, or afraid? You may feel more than one of the emotions, or all of them. Identify the source of each of these feelings-the real source. This may sound simplistic, but if you do it with commitment, you will quickly grasp the value.

To understand more completely how a feelings inventory can help you understand the interplay between emotions, think of a spacecraft in the weightless environment of space. It has retro-rockets that propel the spacecraft when they fire. They are there to enable the spacecraft to maneuver in all directions.

Feelings send us off in various directions just like the retrorockets. When they fire, we start to travel in a certain direction. When we identify the feeling and its source, we have the opportunity to counter its effect if we choose. That’s why it is so critical that we understand what’s occurring. It may be that we don’t want to counter the effect–that’s okay, too. The difference is that now we’re pilots who know what’s taking place as opposed to pilots with rockets firing at random and no idea where we’re headed. A feelings inventory is our control panel. Sometimes our retro-rockets may fire in a direction that’s good. It helps to know that, too.

Infants have few fears. During the early days of life, we tune in to our confidence voice like a radio picking up a strong signal. We don’t even need a vocabulary! The message is perfectly clear: Do it. Touch it. Put it in my mouth. Taste it. Twist it. Throw it on the ground. Never again will our confidence voice play such an undiluted role in our actions–fortunately. If we didn’t “catch” certain fears from our society, we would likely die young.

Unfortunately, once those fears do come into our lives, we usually take on more than we need. We find we become more adept at hearing our fear voice than tuning in our fainter confidence voice.

I was confronted with my fear voice when I had the chance to skydive to the North Pole. After three hours in the air, the Russian jet transport I was aboard had finally arrived over the polar cap. Along with my fellow team members, I approached the exit ramp. Within two steps of the edge, I realized I had a significant gear problem: I had forgotten to tighten my leg straps. If I went into free fall with my leg straps loose, on opening, my harness would shift upward. My chest strap would shift across my face, likely knocking off my goggles.

In that frigid Arctic air, with a single tear and a blink of my eyes, my eyelashes could freeze together. Should that occur in both eyes, I could no longer tell if I was heading for ice or water. I wouldn’t be able to tell when I was getting near the surface so I could make a safe landing. The worst case would be that my chest strap would shift above my head, no longer holding me in my harness. I would pitch forward and continue in free fall for what would become my final skydive.

I was faced with a very difficult decision and only a few moments in which to make it.

I had to decide between going back into the aircraft and giving myself a more thorough gear check or leaving the plane with my team. My team was my survival mechanism. Due to the speed of the aircraft, my only hope of landing with my team would be by exiting with my team.

I tightened my leg straps, knowing there could be as many as half a dozen other important elements of preparation I could have neglected in the excitement of the moment and the bulk of the unusual gear.

As I looked out that door and tried to make my decision, I heard from my fear voice and it said, “Jim get back in the plane! You’re about to kill yourself.”

Fortunately, my confidence voice was there, too. It had a deliberate, but quieter, tone: “Jim, you’re well trained. You’re well prepared and you don’t want to miss this opportunity. If you leave the aircraft now, you’ll have the experience of a lifetime!”

I had to listen to those two voices and decide if I was ready to take the next step. I did, and the rewards have been immeasurable. I found my true calling: as a result of that experience, I’ve been able to become a full-time professional speaker and help people understand how taking risks stepping outside their comfort zone-can lead to higher performance on the job and greater personal satisfaction. Immeasurable rewards await you, too, if you’re willing to take some thoughtful and constructive risks!

Is life kicking your butt? Discover how to stop living an unhappy life and live your dreams.

There are times in the life of every man who takes his stand on high moral principles when his faith in, and knowledge of, those principles is tested to the uttermost, and the way in which he comes out of the fiery trial decides as to whether he has sufficient strength to live as a man of Truth, and join the company of the free, or shall still remain a slave and a hireling to the cruel taskmaster, Self.

Such times of trial generally assume the form of a temptation to do a wrong thing and continue in comfort and prosperity, or to stand by what is right and accept poverty and failure; and so powerful is the trial that, to the tempted one, it plainly appears on the face of things as though, if he chooses the wrong, his material success will be assured for the remainder of his life, but if he does what is right, he will be ruined for ever. Frequently the man at once quails and gives way before this appalling prospect which the Path of Righteousness seems to hold out for him, but should he prove sufficiently strong to withstand this onslaught of temptation, then the inward seducer the spirit of self, assumes the grab of an Angel of Light, and whispers, “Think of your wife and children; think of those who are dependent upon you; will you bring them down to disgrace and starvation?”

Strong indeed and pure must be the man who can come triumphant out of such a trial, but he who does so, enters at once a higher realm of life, where his spiritual eyes are opened to see beautiful things; and then poverty and ruin which seemed inevitable do not come, but a more abiding success comes, and a peaceful heart and a quiet conscience. But he who fails does not obtain the promised prosperity, and his heart is restless and his conscience troubled.

The right-doer cannot ultimately fail, the wrong-doer cannot ultimately succeed, for “Such is the Law which moves to Righteousness Which none at last can turn aside or stay,”and it is because justice is at the heart of things- because the Great Law is good- that the man of integrity is superior to fear, and failure, and poverty, and shame, and disgrace.As the poet further says of this Law:

“The heart of its Love, the end of it Is peace and cosummation sweet-obey.”

The man who fearing the loss of present pleasures or material comforts, denies the Truth within him, can be injured, and robbed, and degraded, and trampled upon, because he has first injured, robbed and degraded, and trampled upon his own nobler self; but the man of steadfast virtue, of unblemished integrity, cannot be subject to such conditions, because he has denied the craven self within him and has taken refuge in Truth. It is not the scourge and the chains which make a man a slave, but the fact that he is a slave.

Slander, Accusation, and malice cannot affect the righteous man, nor call from him any bitter response, nor does he need to go about to defend himself and prove his innocence. His innocence and integrity alone are a sufficient answer to all that hatred may attempt against him. Nor can he ever be subdued by the forces of darkness, having subdued all those forces within himself; but he turns all evil things to good account - out of darkness he brings light, out of hatred love, out of dishonour honour; and slanders, envies, and misrepresentations only serve to make more bright the jewel of Truth within him, and to glorify his high and holy destiny.

Let the man of integrity rejoice and be glad when he is severely tried; let him be thankful that he has been given an opportunity of proving his loyalty to the noble principles which he has espoused; and let him think: “Now is the hour of holy opportunity! Now is the day of triumph for Truth! Though I lose the whole world I will note desert the right!” So thinking, he will return good for evil, and will think compassionately of the wrong-doer.

The slanderer, the backbiter, and the wrong-doer may seem to succeed for a time, but the Law of Justice prevails; the man of integrity may seem to fail for a time, but he is invincible, and in none of the worlds, visible or invisible, can there be forged a weapon that shall prevail against him.

**Attn Ezine Editors / Site Owners**Feel free to reprint this article in its entiretyin your ezine or on your site so long as you leaveall links in place.

Not living the life you dreamed? Discover how to kick your unhappy life, unhappy relationships to the curb!

Take risks to prosper.

In Brief

• Although settling into your comfort zone may be tempting, it will not put you on the track to success. Growing personally and professionally requires you to bolster your risk-taking skills.

• Because the world is changing at a rapid and accelerating pace, those who are unwilling or unable to take risks will become ineffective if not obsolete.

• Being nimble and quick to adapt is part of being effective as a risk-taker.

• It’s important to let your judgment skills override a reflexive - and likely negative - response to fear of the unknown.

People who consistently perform at a higher level have certain things in common.

They are committed to their success.
They have a passion for their profession.
They have clear goals.
They are comfortable taking well-reasoned risks.

Their ability to take thoughtful risks is an important ingredient in their success. It is also a significant determinant in their level of achievement. Top performers are talented and persistent risk-takers.

By contrast, sub-optimal performers often settle into their comfort zone, fall into recurring patterns and stop challenging themselves in significant ways. The good news it that you can improve your risk-taking ability and hence your performance.

I am pretty knowledgeable about successful risk-taking. As a Professional Exhibition Skydiver, I’ve had to learn how to prepare both intellectually and emotionally to prevail in the face of some extraordinary risks. I’m among the few who has successfully made one of the most challenging stadium jumps in the United States into wind-buffeted Candlestick Park. By being willing to take some significant risks, I have been able to earn two skydiving World Records and be among the few to ever stand at the North Pole.

Skydiving is not the only setting where I’ve found effective risk-taking skills to be valuable. It has also been vitally important in my business career. I had to risk effectively when I was the Chief Operating Officer of an international design firm. The same was true when I was responsible for a portfolio of more than $140 million worth of commercial real estate. If I had not been willing to take some significant risks, I would still be someone else’s employee instead of working for myself for the last eight years.

The Lure of the Comfort Zone

The comfort zone is seductive. We all desire comfort. It’s human nature. However, too much comfort does not serve us well. An inability to occasionally step out of your comfort zone - to challenge yourself, to leave the familiar - will ultimately limit your performance.

Adaptability

Adaptability is vital and becoming more so. Change is pervasive and accelerating. Single-employer careers are nearly history and single-profession careers barely remain.

If you are going to thrive in a world of rapid change, you have to be adept at adapting. The more comfortable you are with taking risks and dealing with the resulting fear, the better you will be at adapting.

Change can be frightening. It confronts us with the unknown. It is common and normal to be fearful of change. Unfortunately, left unresolved, the fear response can profoundly limit your performance.

The Critical Step - Responding Effectively to Fear

“Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear,
not absence of fear.”

Mark Twain

Fear is powerful. It will significantly hamper your ability to risk effectively. Learning how to prevail in the face of fear is a critical step in improving your ability to take rewarding risks.

To become a more capable risk-taker, you need to move away from the instinctive response to fear and toward the counterintuitive response. The constructive - though counterintuitive - response to fear is to acknowledge and accept it.

This approach has been validated by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Early in the space program, NASA observed that some of its astronauts were completing their missions successfully without suffering motion and stress sickness. Another group was consistently having these problems. Based on empirical research, NASA determined there was only one factor that differentiated the two groups.

The astronauts who were completing their mission without these physical manifestations of fear had acknowledged in advance to themselves or others that they were going to be afraid. This research documents how profoundly a constructive response to fear impacts our performance.

The Rewards of Risk-Taking

Why take risks anyway? Why even consider leaving your comfort zone? Isn’t risk-taking something we are supposed to grow out of? Isn’t it just a remnant of impertinent youthful behavior we should have left behind as we matured and grew wiser?

The partial answer to these questions has already been provided. Risk-taking yields vitality and a higher level of achievement. But there is more.

For every reasonable risk there is at least one potential reward. This is a Direct Reward. A reward that can be identified at the time the risk is being considered.

Better yet, a consistent pattern of intelligent risk-taking will yield something more: Compound Rewards! Compound Rewards are the surprise rewards - the rewards we cannot anticipate at the time we are considering the risk. These are rewards you would never have enjoyed if were not willing to step out of your comfort zone. But you will enjoy them if you are willing to challenge yourself, leave your comfort zone and take some risks.

It occurred for me. A few years ago when I was 10,000 feet over the North Pole and moments away from the 120 degree below zero temperature of freefall, I had no way of knowing what Compound Rewards that risk would bring. I had no way of knowing that jump would be the first step in a most extraordinary career transition that would lead me to abandon a fairly conventional corporate career path and make my avocation of skydiving a major part of my vocation.

We don’t know the rewards we will enjoy by our willingness to take thoughtful risks, but we do know the rewards will not occur unless we are willing to take those risks. And wouldn’t it be a shame to forgo some wonderful, if unknown, rewards just because we can’t seem to find our way out of our comfort zone!

“And the trouble is, if you don’t risk anything,
you risk even more.”

Erica Jong
Author and Poet

© 2004 Jim McCormick

Right to publish or post this article at no cost is granted provided copyright is attributed to Jim McCormick and the above information about the author is included in its entirety.

Is life kicking your butt? Discover how to stop living an unhappy life and live your dreams.

Happy and sad moment alternate in our lives and the problem arises when we realize we have no or very little control over them. A 100% happy life is utopist, but there are ways to train yourself to react better to problems and difficulties. Let’s have a look at some of the most frequently used methods of cheering yourself up, no matter how big the problems might seem.

Try to surround yourself with cute things, like children or animals. You will be instantly “contaminated” with their joy and innocence and, at least temporarily, a huge weight will be lifted from your shoulders. Children are also great teachers, even though they don’t realize it. Take their example, for a moment, and enjoy every single thing life has to offer you, like kicking a ball, throwing stones in the water or savoring a candy bar.

It never hurts to offer yourself a reward every now and then. After a long day struggling with problems your mind and body need some time off. Do one of your favorite things: watch TV all evening without moving a muscle, take a long hot bath, play a computer game or go out and dance. Fun moments will remind you of how life should be and this will motivate you even more to do your best and solve all problems as fast as possible, so that you can go back to fully enjoying life.

Gather some courage and face whatever is worrying you. The worst idea is to lock yourself in and to start feeling sorry for yourself. Thinking about a problem for hours and hours will do you very little good. It’s time to take action and, even though it is hard, to take the first steps toward solving the difficulties. If you have a health problem, for example, and you are afraid to go to the doctor just wake up one morning and do it. Don’t think about it, don’t analyze, just go. Once you get to the doctor your mind will probably come up with a dozen good excuses to get you out of there – try to resist it. The sooner you solve your problems the less chances there are of letting them grow out of control.

Immerse yourself in a creative activity, such as painting or practicing a new sport. This will keep your mind away from worrying and you will win some well-deserved relaxation. Seeing your friends is also a good method of eliminating stress and worries. You can try to combine the two and get involved, together with some friends, in a new and exciting activity. Physical activities work like a charm as they also grab the full attention of your mind. A tennis or soccer match won’t give you enough time to start having negative thoughts, as you will be focused on the action. Activities that involve your mind – such as chess, for example – are also effective, as long as they are fun and the competition factor is low.

By following the general guidelines presented above you will reduce stress factors and allow your mind and body to recharge their energy and respond better to any distressful influences.

Not living the life you dreamed? Discover how to kick your unhappy life, unhappy relationships to the curb!

Have you ever stopped to think about how you might catch yourself a monkey?

Have you ever stopped to think about how you might catch yourself a monkey?

Well, it’s simple really, even for the monkey trapping novice. Here’s what you need to do….

Step 1: Go to where monkeys hang out.

Step 2: Put a stack of peanuts in a small jar tied to a rope.

Step 3: Go hide in the bushes (holding the other end of the rope).

Step 4: Watch the monkey jump from the tree to stuff it’s fist into the jar to grab the nuts.

Step 5: Walk slowly towards the monkey.

Step 6: Watch the monkey’s hand get trapped in the jar because it won’t let the peanuts go.

Step 7: Catch the monkey!

Now before you start laughing about how these primates have been beaten with the wrong end of the evolutionary stick, take a few moments to consider the things that you are currently ‘holding on to’ that no longer make sense.

What are you holding on to emotionally?

One of the great challenges of being human is letting go of the emotions that no longer serve you in a positive way.

All of us have experienced emotional hurt at some stage in our lives. It’s a very natural part of our existence and completely necessary to deepen our experience of the world. But are your past pains holding you back from your present and future happiness?

Does it continue to make sense for you to ‘hold on to’ any feelings of betrayal, anger, resentment, frustration or emotional upset? What would happen to you if you just started to let go of your ‘emotional peanuts’. What relationships would you heal? Who could you finally forgive?

Or maybe the person you really need to forgive is yourself. What impact would unconditionally forgiving yourself for all your mishaps have upon your life? Do you think it might be worth giving it a try?

And what about your material possessions?

Take a good look around at all the material possessions that you own. What are you holding on to that you no longer need? Do you have books on your shelf that you will you never read again? What about inside your wardrobe? Are there any items of clothing or footwear that you haven’t worn in the last 12 months. Are you seriously ever going to wear them again? I mean come on, really?!

My own experience of letting go.

I’ve recently gone through an exercise of giving away all the books, clothes, and knick knacks that I could no longer put to good use. I found the whole experience to be incredibly liberating. I now also have the added benefit of having the necessary cupboard and shelf space for new things to flow into my life.

As a part of my letting go process I also mysteriously stumbled across a misplaced envelope stuffed with cash and a couple of un-banked of cheques. What will you find by just letting go?

What will letting go mean for you?

Open your mind to all the amazing possibilities that will flow to you by releasing the things that no longer serve you. Doesn’t it make sense to get rid of the old couch before you bring in the new one?

If you lighten your load a little and create space in your life for your energy to flow freely, you’ll be back swinging through the trees in no time!

Copyright Damien Senn 2005. All rights reserved.

Is life kicking your butt? Discover how to stop living an unhappy life and live your dreams.

How many times have you been faced with a decision to make and all of a sudden you get this feeling of instinctively knowing what you must do? Something inside you is telling you the difference between what you should do and what you are meant to do. Many people interpret this as a hunch, a gut feeling or having an inkling.

It’s actually called your intuition.

The latin meaning of intuition is ‘in to you’. Makes sense doesn’t it. What a wonderful resource you each have at your fingertips and it can be utilized without formal training. All you need to do is become aware of this amazing power within you and start using it.

Intuitive messages come in a range of ways such as hearing actual words, visualizing a clear and distinct picture, in dream format, a deep inner knowing or a quiet, subtle nudge. It’s important that you become familiar with how your inner self communicates with you and how this message will bring with it a sense of calm confidence.

Here’s some tips to help you get in touch with your own intuition.

Practice

Take a few minutes each day to experience inner silence. Calm your mind and clear your thoughts so that the information from your soul can surface.

Be Open to This Power

Get past the ego that thinks you have everything figured out and be open to new possibilities. Your true path may not be the one that you are currently working on.

Get Creative

Creativity provides a forum for expression and a great venue for helping your intuition get past all the day to day stuff in life.

Ask Yourself Some Questions

When you ask yourself, ‘What’s the next step?”, you will instinctively know what you need to do. This is the time when you must begin to learn to trust yourself.

Remember, intuition is not something you can force, it simply must be allowed to surface. Give it time to work on challenges you may face, be open to the possibilities and you will be rewarded with an instant awareness and perhaps an “Aha” or two.

Intuition is never attached to results. There’s no rush, no confusion. Just a feeling of empowerment. Your own intuition will support your personal growth and help you through lifes transitions. Begin by putting it to work in small ways and eventually your sixth sense will enhance your life like your other five senses are able to do.

Let me challenge you to put yourself out there for the next twenty-four hours and make a list of all the times you have listened to your own intuition. Some of you may find that it speaks to you many times and others not at all.

That’s ok.

Sometimes it takes time and commitment to develop this skill but I guarantee you will find a huge difference in your life once you begin trusting this wonderful power within you.

Not living the life you dreamed? Discover how to kick your unhappy life, unhappy relationships to the curb!